These past couple of weeks have been busy (as usual) and exciting. There was a family picnic, where the last six siblings born to my natural mother, Guadalupe, got together with our families on a picnic. It was amazing and fun.
We all gathered here in Temple at Miller's Park. It was a bit windy, but with a full sunny day, the temperatures were in the high 70's. Perfect weather for fun, pictures, and family getting reacquainted. We never got around to doing our genealogy charts as I had hoped, simply because there was so much going on.
My hubby Bruce was busy grilling hot dogs, sausage, and hamburgers, while me and my brother Tomas got it all assembled. My sisters, Mary, Delia, and Virginia were all having fun with their grand babies, as well as Richard and his wife Sarah. 
There were about 15 youngsters running around, playing on the playground, to feeding ducks and geese by the pond; to busting open a pinata. They had even more fun when little prizes were given away, consisting of kites, coloring books, and - gasp!- water guns/toys. Even the grownups played. And, oh yeah.. they got some of us good! LOL. My granddaughter Mariah and my daughter Kayla snuck up on me once! Can you say Gotcha!!
At the end of the picnic, which seemed like 4 hours was not enough time, we vowed to do this again. Some of us shared face book connection to keep in touch. And we shared some pics.
The next celebration was for Kayla, my high school senior. The prom preparations were fun, from getting a perfect mask for the masquerade theme ball, to finding that perfect dress to match. We've always had luck getting something from Killeen Mall and the dress we chose was not only on sale, we got an additional 10% off for giving them an email for future advertisements. Debs is definitely the place we will always go to for special occasion dresses. Kayla already had high heel shoes from last year's prom and a wrap coat. She had already decided to wear her hair down (straightened with the hot iron) and so all was left to do was get her nails done. 
It's kind of fun to sit and watch the process. She just chilled talking with mariah next to her, getting her toenails painted and her fingernails tipped and painted. I sat and watched their tv on the wall, just relaxing.
When prom night came, Kayla didn't have a date this year, so drove the car to pick up one of her girlfriends. It felt a bit odd, as all of her previous dances were escorted by her ex-beau, Chris, but this year, he was still at Army Reserves AIT training and her current beau was unable to go. I peaked in on her in the morning, as she slept, getting the camera from her purse to download pics. Surprisingly, she didn't take a whole lot of pictures at the occasion. I whispered, "Did you have fun?" and she nodded, with a small smile on her face. I think of all the dances, her senior year one should be memorable somehow and I suppose being stag, with all of her friends in attendance, will be something wonderful to recall after all. 
So now we must think ahead to her graduation party (first weekend of June).I've plenty to do, from ordering invitations, getting food, to preparing a guest list. We've got a month to do it, but I fear it will go fast. For all the years my kids were in school, it's bittersweet for my last child to finished this saga of her life. But she's a bright kid with goals for her future, so I think soon enough, she will be a freshman year at college and going beyond. It's just part of watching your child grow up, but it's tough on a mom's heart to let go.
