Day 31

My grandparents on my mothers' side had 7 children. Five boys and two girls. And although they remain close in spirit, their lives have taken them from one end of the country to the other. I have an uncle in Hawaii, two in California, one in Minnesota, and both an aunt and uncle in Florida. 

The good part about this is I have family in some great vacation spots. The bad part is we rarely get to see each other. The 7 of them actually do a pretty good job visiting each other here and there once a year or so, but as you can imagine getting the whole clan together is quite a task.

Tonight I had the pleasure of sitting around the dinner table with all of them. My cousin is getting married in Cocoa Beach tomorrow and the entire 7 have made it for her special day. They haven't all been in the same spot for 3-4 years at least, and before that it was at my grandparents' funerals 10 years ago. Weddings and funerals- they are a great excuse for family to come together!

It was a lovely night. We passed our phones around to show off children and grandchildren, ate fresh seafood (I may have eaten a gargantuan piece of carrot cake as well...), and tried to catch up from the last time we had seen each other. It was also nice to actually be the short one for a change- at 5'11" I am a good 4-8 inches shorter than any of my uncles :). They think it's funny that my last name is now "Little".

Today is my 39th birthday, and although I miss being away from my husband and son, having the opportunity to eat carrot cake on the beach with this side of my family was a pretty good present. Happy Birthday to me!