Cinco de Mayo Gathering

    It’s time to tell the truth about our family.   The whole truth, no matter how much it hurts.   Are you ready? Okay, here it goes….

    My family is nuts!   Now I don’t mean are the dangerous kind of nuts, we just sound that way.    We’re the good kind of nuts.   We’re the family that if you drop in when we’re all together you wonder if the line between normal and abnormal has been crossed.

        WELCOME TO OUR WORLD!

       For the past sixteen years, Keith & I have been the host of the family Gatherings.   In the last two years those Gatherings have suddenly became every six weeks and have now gone in a whole new direction.~~Now each Gathering has a theme.   You’d think we’d be running out of ideas but not this bunch.   You put three sisters and an their 84 year old mother together and the ideas flow like water.

      This past weekend we hosted the Cinco de Mayo Gathering.  I have to admit , this was really a tough gathering for me.  Oh, the food was easy….We all love Mexican food so I have tons of recipes.   It was the decorating that was so hard.   It’s next to impossible to come up with anything Mexican related in our area.   Luckily my daughter Kara was able to pick up the paper products & I was able to fill in with lots of sombreros and wild striped sheets.

        Since we knew Kara would arrive early, my DIL, Renee, & I made short order of our cooking….We wanted to get in some “Kolt lov’en time” before everyone else arrived.   And love that baby we did!   Poor little guy was passed around like a football all day long.   He sure didn’t seem to mind as he slept through the whole party.    I swear, he’s the best baby ever.   I don’t think he even knows how to cry.  Kara & Paul sure lucked out with this one.

    Our guest started arriving around 10:00.  (Twenty-one people in all.)  That’s when the laughter and teasing started.   We always try to dress ‘in costume’ and who ever has the best wins a prize.   Believe it or not, the prize usually goes to my Mom.  I don’t know how she does it but just with things from her closet she always looks the part.   Well, this month she was beat out by my little sister Shelia and her family.  From the moment they walked up those front porch steps, the laughter started. Dressed in simple, authentic  decorated dresses, Shelia and Alex were a hit.   And Glenn was hysterical in his fake mustache.  (Which he lost while eating lunch!)   Of course they won the prize but I couldn’t help but hope they would have car trouble going home….I would have loved for the rest of the world to see my ‘always perfect’ sister dressed that way. HA

      As usual, each & everyone out did themselves in the food department.  I’ve never seen our tables so loaded with food.   We honestly could have fed twenty more people with food to spare.    Each recipe was authentic, down to our dessert of Mexican cake. (Thanks Sindy!)

     After lunch we had a pinata for the little ones.   Starting with the youngest to the oldest grandchild, each child got several ‘whacks’ until it finally broke, spilling candy everywhere.   Little hands made quick order of loading their waiting sacks.

      Then came the news we had all been waiting for.~~Seth & Codi told us the gender of our newest grandchild.  In our typical nutty fashion, this too had to be done in game form.   In the middle of our outdoor coffee table, there was a pink baby gift and a blue baby gift.   Seth & Codi were suppose to pick up the gift that told us whether it was a boy or girl.   First they picked up the blue gift but it was quickly put down and the pink one took it’s place.~~~Another little girl!   How exciting!   This will make us five grandsons & five granddaughters.  WOW   Our family is growing!

      From there we moved on to gifts for Sam & Renee’s little one.  (They won’t be back for our next gathering.)   And then it was time for a small Mother’s Day Party for Mom.~~She’ll be spending Mother’s Day watching Sindy’s daughter, Emily, graduate from Pharmacy school.  Oh how I wish daddy had lived long enough to see this day too.   I know there was never any doubt in his mind she would do it.   And Sindy is to be commended for working two jobs all these years to put her through.   Talk about a Mother’s love!

      Our day ended with hugs, laughter and talk of our next gathering.  (And NO Shelia, I am not going to dig a pit to roast a pig in my back yard!!)   Would you like to join us for Christmas in July?   (The more the merrier!)   It’s sure to be a day of laughter, tears and priceless memories.