Jones Family Reunion

Yup... me catching up again. This is from the end of April/beginning of May...

Every three years my mom's family has a family reunion. We always have fun together, and there are always legendary stories to be told afterward. (It can be a rowdy bunch.) That never changes. But my grandpa's death at the beginning of the year meant a big change, and we missed having him there.

Some pictures from 3 years ago at the reunion in Branson, Missouri:


Grandpa Joe's favorite trick to show the grandkids: "blowing up" his muscle with the "hole" in his thumb. Always a crowd-pleaser. That and his "broken nose" trick.


We definitely missed our Grandpa Joe... no one was there to tell us any good jokes! But we know we'll see him again.

So this year it was my Grandma who brought us all together, and my aunt Sarah and who made all the arrangements to stay at a group of condos right on the beach in Oceanside, California.


My mom (top middle) and her two sisters, Alison (left) and Sarah (right) with Grandma Hazel:


I love how this family works. We don't see each other that often, and don't have a whole lot of contact between reunions. But when we're all together, it is a whole lot of fun. It is nice to just be accepted and cared about because you belong.

It was an amazing place to stay... so perfect. We were right on the beach. Four luxury condos, all interconnected within the same building, tons of room, and right on the beach. Did I mention it was right on the beach?? I loved being right on the beach. Nothing like going to bed with the sound of waves, waking up to the sound of waves, and being able to stare out into the waves whenever you want. Because, as I mentioned... we were right on the beach. This was the view from the rooftop:

Time on the beach was so enjoyable. The kids soaked it all in, and loved being around the other kids. I enjoyed being around my cousins and brothers. Great company.

Abby LOVED the freedom of sun and surf...



Her favorite part was probably being buried by dad, Uncle AJ, and the other kiddos...



Bekah was busy creating and collecting...



So did I...



Michael loved being around Garrett. They spent a majority of the time throwing things into the ocean and finding ways to turn it into a score-able sport...


Paul enjoyed his time with the boys...


Ella, however, was not such a fan of the free-flowing water.


She did dip her head in the free-standing water when it was safe enough, though. It didn't take long for us to learn that we should spend most of our time on the beach when she was napping. :)


It was just fun to spend time with everyone.

Mary Ann... a Kentucky friend (not a born-into-the-family member, we adopted her, though!) who is like a mom to me...


This was one of my favorite moments... Garrett and the girls walking from the pier. He was so cute with them, and it was a sweet scene...



With Uncle Paul... aka "Uncle Squalldude"...




Our California friends, the Rowleys, came up to spend some time with us...


And I think we surpassed some kind of record for number of children in a hot tub. Several times. In each of the condo's 5 hot tubs...


And they loved it...


Each reunion we have a "No Talent Show"...

Which always involves some kind of lip-sync production from the three sisters...




Which always provokes quite a lot of laughter...

This time it was the Cake song, "I want a girl with a short skirt and a long jacket." They felt they each embodied different parts of the character of the short-skirted girl. And we felt very entertained...



Michael and I taught everyone a musical puppet show. Not nearly as entertaining...


Some of my favorite parts of this long weekend... long talks with my dad, a night walk on the beach with my hubby, Apples to Apples with my aunts and uncles, murder in the dark with my cousins, seal watching at the cove, talking with my cousins and brothers, eating breakfast on the porch with my kiddos, playing "Don't Eat Pete" with all the kiddos, watching Sam and Jan try to fly a kite, a girl's only lunch on the town.

It was the perfect place, and great company. Our family enjoyed ourselves immensely...


So thanks to Grandma, Aunt Sarah, Christine (because even though you said you didn't do anything, I know you did...) and everyone who came!!


Until next time... we'll pick up where we left off!

And I'd be thrilled if it happens to be right on the beach again!