A day of Family Fun

Yesterday I headed out to Lawrence to spend a day with my family. Now understand, I do have multiple families: the family I was born into, and the family I chose, both are equally important. Yesterday was the family I chose, Marmee, Beth, and my best friend Jo (yes this is a Little Women reference, they refer to me as Laurie). Spending time with family fits into that "Live everyday to its fullest" category.

Marmee started the day by grilling up some delicious burgers and veggies (yum, grilled zucchini, potatoes we ended up not eating, and tomatoes!), and then as we ate, Marmee filled me in on all the family research she's been doing. Wow the stuff she has discovered about her heritage! I love Marmee, she kept asking if I was bored yet, but how could I be? I love learning about heritage and family stories, especially when they mean so much to someone like they do to Marmee. Beth, Joe and Marmee then showed me a whole bunch of pictures and videos from a couple of weddings that took place last month. One wedding Marmee went to was for a Rwandan Refugee couple (if you don't know about the Rwandan Genocide look it up, there's a really well done movie called "Hotel Rwanda" that I highly recommend). They're wedding was beautiful, not only did they have a traditional Christian wedding, but they also had the traditional Rwandan wedding the same night. I found this intriguing, as the reception starts with all the guests marching in to meet the new couple while singing, clapping and carrying gifts of food to get the new couple started. These gifts included milk, flours, grains, sprite, coca-cola, and Heineken!

After we all caught up, Jo suggested we head over to the elementary school playground to play 4 square! I hadn't played 4 square since I was in elementary school, luckily for me, neither had anyone else! So we all agreed, loaded up in the car and went and played! It was so much fun! You know what, it's not as easy as I remember it, and I also remember those squares being a lot bigger! We also went and played on the playground equipment as well, Marmee got lots of picutres, I'll post some of them when I get a chane to, and if Marmee will share them?!

We ended the day by going back to the house, having ice cream and berries, and winding the day down. My word I really needed that day. It had been quite some time since I had gotten to go and just spend time with them, and I realized how much I missed them. I really miss my Joe, we had been seeing each other once a week through gaming, but Footloose put an end to that, and I just haven't gotten back to it yet. I'll figure something out, I just don't know what I'd do if I have to continue going so long without seeing my Jo!

So I'll end this post simply by saying Thanks to Marmee, Beth and Jo, and I love you all!