Non-Stop Family

by Maggie Sefton


Granddaughter AnaSofia dressed for a costume party at her neighboring pool in Fairfax, Virginia.  She went as the Disney character Mulan.  


After my conference in San Antonio finished,  Sunday July 27th, I flew straight to Washington Dulles airport, rented a car (my usual routine) and joined friends and family for a week of non-stop activities.  All four of my grandchildren were in town so that made everything more special.  And our Family is expanding.  Daughter Serena is engaged, and she and her fiance flew up from Texas   so Jeff, my future son-in-law could meet the rest of our Crazy Family.  Daughters Christine and Maria live in Northern Virginia, and daughter Melissa came down from Manhattan.


We even planned two days of group activities, which were hilarious to watch play out.  I told Jeff that getting our Family to do "group activities" was like herding cats.  :)   We're all Free Spirits plus all of us are. . . .how shall I say this?  Outspoken.  Verbal to the Max.  And  Independent, to say the least.   But, no matter what we do, we ALWAYS have a great time.   There's lots and lots of laughter and food, of course.



Since Jeff and his family are native Texans, he and Serena decided to accept his aunt and uncle's offer to host a "Full Up" Texas Wedding at their large cattle ranch north of Austin.  Dressy clothes for the ceremony, then switch to jeans and boots for real working ranch activies.   I'm getting excited already just thinking about it.   :)   The wedding won't be until next Spring.  Both Serena and Jeff are NASA people and trying to juggle all the demands on their time---conferences, plus Serena's astronaut activities----is difficult.

What are your family gatherings like?   Noisy?   Quiet and sedate?   Lots of Food?