California

Last Thursday Violet and I boarded the plane and flew off to California for a few days, leaving Tyler to chomp through his dissertation.  We've lived in Seattle for almost 7 years now.  CRAZY, right?!!!  We love it here, we really do, and we don't have any intention of leaving in the foreseeable future, but there is something completely satisfying about returning to the homeland, aka Berkeley.

Playing with Rose and John

Let me tell you--  my parents house is a bit like a sitcom.  Five times a day, people just show up.  There's a knock on the door, and you never know who it's going to be.  A neighbor, or one of my four brothers, or eleven nieces and nephews; always someone fun with a question or a cake or asking to borrow a lawn chair.  It's the way we were raised, in a very open-home kind of way where an average Tuesday night dinner is a weekly party where everyone is invited.  No pretense or formality; just everyone wanting to be together.  
Something Tyler and I miss more than anything in the world. 

        

On Saturday, and then again on Sunday we all got together.  All of my brothers.  Their kids.  My sisters-in-laws.  My parents.  We total around 25 when we're all together, and the wonderful thing about my family down there is that they get together so often and so easily that there is this very large and supportive loving community of people to raise all of the kids.  My nieces and nephews ("the cousins") are all best friends; the older ones kind of watch out for the younger ones-- it's really a fantastic thing.  

John, Violet, Samir, Rose, and April

Enter Violet.  

Honestly, she didn't really know any of them that well before this trip;

she was so little the last time we really spent any time with them, and then of course we were in India, but throwing her into the bunch was better than I ever could have imagined.  She just sort of tooled around with all of them, and played, and was looked after by some of the older girls.  And I got to hang out with my four brothers.  SO fun!

A few highlights from the trip:  

Reading the paper with Grandma Joy

Violet loves her Grandpa Eldon

Violet and mommy on the carousel

Playing with Sanjay

Violet at Samir's birthday party

Cousin fun

Dad and Mike

our lovely mother

Sammy

Uncle Petes!

Violet with Uncle David

Violet with Grandma Joy 

Fun at Point Reyes

Oh brother, who decided this photo was a good idea?