All six of Auntie Diane’s children were there, the first time they had all been together in quite a few years.  So was our “newest” cousin, baby Sara who had changed so much since we first met her at Christmas back in December.  Mark and I were accompanied by Mark’s sister Clare who was visiting us for a week or so before heading out to Bosnia on her final tour with the British Army. And the group was rounded out by a good number of aunts and uncles and cousins...there were more than 20 of us in all!

 
We played the slots ad lost, and played some cards and lost...and finally decided that we should all get out of town, so on Sunday morning we took a road trip out to Lake Tahoe and onto the small California Mountain town of Truckee. Heide’s family used to vacation annually in this part of the world so many fun memories of days past were discussed. Everyone had forgotten just how beautiful this part of the world is...

But for despite all the joy of sharing memories from the past, the highlight of the weekend was the new memories created during the main event on Sunday evening; Diane’s birthday party. We all met at Fitzgerald’s Pub and had a wonderful dinner. There were toasts to Diane and all sorts of fun gifts and everyone enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and good conversation! Diane, Happy 70th and here's to many, many more!