Can we have summer "do-overs"?

Do you ever wish you could relive an event?

My youngest brother had a birthday this summer and with his family out of the country I just HAD to be with him.

Coincidentally our oldest son and his family had just arrived from Mexico for a vacation.

As many of us as possible gathered at the

Elm Creek Cafe near tiny Lincoln, Texas.

(I will post about Lincoln, Texas in the future sometime. It's been our family's

meeting place for just over 60 years!)

Work kept some of our family members from attending

and we truly missed them... but we all understood that

life just has these twists sometimes.

For me, it was the first time to be there with family since the passing of both of my parents in 2008. Funny though how

I felt they were with us. Does that ever happen to you?

I was thrilled Aunt Jo Anne, my father's youngest sibling and only sister, enjoyed the spotlight of being the

"head" of the family! She is such a dear to us and so much fun! Every family should have an "Aunt Jo Anne"!

You'll see in the pictures a young man sitting at the head of a table. He is our nephew. Those blonde kiddos are his children. You'll see our son (red shirt) and his wife (blue blouse/yellow shorts) and the brunette grandchildren having a grand time with cousins they are spending time with for the first time. So many fun stories associated with this gathering.

In one of the  pictures you'll see one of my brothers is teasing the younger one "thrilled" to point out to him that he now qualifies for the senior citizen discount. They are so funny together and there are always tons of pranks and jokes when they're around.

One son drove all the way from Houston to see his oldest brother and relatives since this is a rare occassion these days for my family. His effort was so appreciated!

Just look at those children.

They were a hoot!

Carmen and Ava were inseparable. Young David (our grandson) clung to his older cousins Thomas Allen and Forrest. That was fun to watch. David prefers to speak Spanish although understands English perfectly. There was no language barrier between the children.

What a blessing the day was.

Any way to have "do-overs"???

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Today I am linking to

Little Red House

for

Mosaic Monday

Check it out at

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/