Family Reunion Time

It's the Clifton get-together! I have to say, my mom and her siblings do a great job of getting together once a year. My brothers and I always give our mom a hard time about these get- together, we're so busy, etc.... This year, I was the only one able to go, but it was fun and my kids had a BLAST!!! Sloppy Joes (and MUCH more, but this is what my kids choose) for lunch, cupcakes, more cupcakes and pink lemonade! The park, the sand, volleyball, horseshoes, and new friends (cousins we haven't seen for a year.) The kids were dirty and tired, but they had a great time.

The 5 siblings: Uncle Gary, mom, Aunt Roxy, Uncle Mike, Uncle Brad.

This is Emmi, "little Gary's" daughter. She took right to my 3 kids and played with them the entire afternoon. My kids quickly learned her name and realized she would be their new best-friend for the day.

Our family. How cute!! We don't get very many pictures with Gma and Gpa, so this was nice!

The cousins: Rochelle and her husband, Chad. Tim and Tina. Me and Steve---and my side-kick Jaden who won't leave my side :)

What I have taken from this day--- I hope my brothers and I will stay in touch and hopefully see each other more than once a year. But, at the least, we do need to take a lesson from mom and her siblings and make it a point to get-together for fun and food. Family is so important and we often take that for granted. I thank God, that I have a wonderful family. In addition, I am blessed to have married into a great family as well. So many of my friends don't have good "in-laws", but I am grateful for mine. As, I am grateful for my parents. They are wonderful, supportive, and always there for us. Both my grandparents are gone now, but my grandpa and grandpa Balzer were at EVERYTHING us kids did. They were supportive and always there for us, and my parents continue this pattern. Friends will come and go, but family is here to stay. And, I am thankful for that.