Family

This has been a wonderful weekend! My parents came into town from Idaho for my dad's 50th birthday. To add to that excitement, my Aunt Jani from Cleveland, who was also celebrating her 50th, came with her husband, Doug. and son, Canyon. My Aunt Heidi from Florida also came to town along with my Grandpa Wanner. I definitely had the priveledge of being one of two cousins involved with this short-lived family reunion.

We (I) spent the weekend trying to fit in as much as possible while respecting age and the physical limits that accompany it. On Thursday, parents and I went to the LDS temple, to Mt. Vernon. Spent the good part our Friday in downtown DC doing the Old Town Trolley tours with a stop at the Capitol, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (where my dad and grandpa told me about every single airplane that was suspended from and it's importance in history- like watching the history channel live... my dad was in heaven! :) and in the evening we went to Old Ebbitts Grill, a favorite of several presidents, probably because it is across the street the White House. Today was my mom's birthday. We went to church early and then spent the day chatting and eating a delicious German Chocolate cake and "New World Lasagna", a favorite of mine created by my Aunt Leslie and cousin Rachel, complete with chocolate and salsa, beans and corn tortillas. It doesn't sound appetizing, but it really was delicious!

I felt very sad as my parents left this evening. Everything was wonderful about this get-together. I love my family. We are different for sure; each of us has different lives, different ideas about life and its purpose, different experiences. But one thing draws us together. We are family. No matter what goes wrong, no matter what we have done or haven't done, we are family and we love each other. That's what we're here for: to help each other on this mortal journey. Where would I be without my family? Who would I be without my dear family and goodly parents?