the pondering pomegranate: the party's here!

i love my family.

i love

my husband

my children

my parents

my brother

my brother's family

my aunts and uncles

my aunts and uncles who are really cousins-once-removed

my first cousins

my second cousins

all those cousins' spouses and children

even my third cousins i've never met.

i LOVE my family!

and, on the rare occasion that we get to see each other,

i am over the moon with happiness!

it's harder & harder to get together

(most of them are up above the Mason-Dixon line),

especially now that my cousin's children
are almost all out of college.

we are busy, geographically-scattered people now -

with our own growing family trees.

so, what a thrill to gather to celebrate

the bat mitzvah of my cousin's daughter!

(bonus that they live nearby)

i loved every minute!

afternoon lull at my parents' house. Joseph was challenged to solve the Cube one-handed. he did.

bird's eye view

hmmm. maybe just one more picture.

3 boys and a grandpa ~ squish!

my Aunt Beth (dad's middle sister) with Mom

my brother Jeff & my hubby Mike

first borns: Samuel and Alex

seconds: Joseph and Samantha

me, Aunt Beth, and Mom

my cousin Tracey and me

my brother Jeff, our cousin Eddie, and me

enough lounging around & posing for pictures!

time to get cleaned up & ready to party!

tying ties together

mi familia

this celebratory dinner was about in the middle of the entire bat mitzvah events. my cousin's family hosted extended family for a dinner on Friday night, then the service at the temple was Saturday morning (which we didn't make due to oldest taking the SAT), followed by a lunch reception at which (i heard) there was a cotton candy machine, followed by afternoon naps, at which point we arrived, and, well, here we are....

the bat mitzvah's beautiful portrait in one of the outer halls.

as at her brother's bar mitzvah two years ago, there were many ways to entertain yourself at this party!

the green screen with props was one of them...

the bat mitzvah is the lovely girl at the upper left ~ the one with the green bucket on her head.

we adults were placed at circular tables; the kids were all on the other side of the dance floor.

the chocolate fountains were accessible to all,

& i really should've had just one more
chocolate-covered marshmallow.

Table Number One ~ my view.

hubby showing us who's at Table Number One:

meeeeeee, my cousin's fiancee Carol, my cousin Eddie, my second cousin Bill, my cousin Tracey, my Aunt Beth (dad's sister; mom to Eddie, Tracey, & Amie, who was unable to attend), my Aunt Sue (dad's sister & grandmother of the bat mitzvah), Dad, Mom, my brother Jeff, my sister-in-law Kelly.