California or Bust!! (Hillesheim Family Reunion)

Karaoke night with Bryan Adams

Nothin' like a little "Billie Jean"to get you movin'

The infamous Sunset Beach football team.

The cousins with G&G

Two peas in a pod.

Singing the Beatles with my sisters.

The Haka...very entertaining!

Gracie and Lily

Crab corpse, courtesy of Brooke.

Mr. August :)

Diggin' for sand crabs.

Me and Gramps

Chasing bubbles on the beach.

Delon out for a run on the beach...yeah right!

Windblown and wet...

Beach Buddies!

Beach Bum!

Making butterflies out of coffee filters, very cute and cheap activity.

The couple of the hour. :)

Ross, Wendy and Diana

Being around family wears Haydn out!

Diana and Ramsi

Gracie and her artillery

The monstrous water slide...I think I may invest in one of these.

Robin...one of the family.

All us girls...don't we look ravishing?

Serious conversation at the poker table.

Hittin' the road.

Jake's favorite way to travel.

Okay, so I dreaded the drive to California... was not looking forward to the millions of times the kids would ask,"How much longer?!" But the night of the 25th, we were on our way. Our first stop was in Elko. (This was so we could give the kids a break). Then the morning of the 26th we were able to take our time and stop when we needed. This leg of our trip was only about 7-8 hrs. That evening we spent in Brentwood, Ca, where I lived from about the age of 2 to 14. We stopped to spend time with our good friend, Robin (we, meaning my entire family and all the kids), who also use to be our babysitter. Robin and her husband, who farm and own several fruit tree farms, had recently built a home in the middle of a cherry orchard, talk about privacy. We all hung out for a couple of hours and let the kids play on this monstrous water slide. It was equipped with water guns too, so you could shoot everyone coming down the slide. It's always fun to visit someone you grew up with and talk to all of the time, but never see. Robin's twin daughters, Kenzee and Kaylee, were so sweet to share everything with the kids, whom they've never seen before. I think they were glad to have visitors their own size!
The next morning we took off to Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world. As soon as you're 3-4 miles away, you can smell the garlic...mmm, I love garlic. I wouldn't mind smelling that everyday. This is where my G&G Hillesheim live, my dad's parents. And thanks to them, we had a nice room in the Forest Park Hotel, close to where they live and with a swimming pool for all the kiddies. (Thanks again!)
The reunion was so much fun. We were able to spend a lot of time together. The first day we hung out and had dinner , played games and let the kids swim. On Saturday, which was also my birthday, we went to Sunset Beach for the afternoon, had lunch there and enjoyed the cooler weather. I'm not a fan of hot weather, so being on the coast suits me just fine! The water was of course freezing, but some of the guys still stripped down and swam out, apparently far enough to find a sea lion. The rest of us hung out on the beach, played football, dug for hermit crabs and built sand castles. My Grandpa was there and was so sweet to hang out and play with the kids. He still has so much energy...he is like the energizer bunny!
Later that night we had dinner and a show. Several of the cousins prepared little skits or songs to do for a talent show. I sang "All My Loving" by the Beatles, with my sisters. And Delon, well those of you who know Delon, would have loved to see him do the Haka, a Maori war dance. This was something he learned on his mission in Australia. It has been close to nine years since I have seen him do it...so this time was a whole new experience. Let's just say that it's funny watching a "white" boy do the Haka! (We're very proud of you Delon, way to do your angry face)! To close the evening, we all sang Karaoke together, Phantom of the Opera karaoke. I know, sounds strange, but very fun. Of course there was the occasional Michael Jackson and Bryan Adams. Wow, memories come flooding back when I hear those songs.
I think after it was all said and done, my fondest memory will not be the beach, or the singing, especially not the drive...but the pride I felt in knowing that I have such a great family and most importantly that I love to be with them. We are so lucky that we all get a long and can really have a good time together, no matter what we are doing.
And to my G&G Hillesheim...wow, what can I say? These two are the epitome of love. What a great example they are. One thing that always comes to mind when I think of them, is music and a good time. I have many wonderful memories growing up of the time we spent at their home for family reunions. All of the games, gathering around the piano, or in some cases, the banjo, and of course, sittin' with Grandpa and shelling roasted peanuts. We love you guys and wanted you to know that we are grateful that you started this whole mess! :)