Grandma Turns 100

Our main reason for going north last weekend was to join the rest of the family and celebrate my Grandma's 100th birthday! The family threw her a wonderful party and it was so fun to watch her enjoy it. Reaching 100 has been a goal of hers for several years and she truly understood that she had achieved her goal. She looked lovely and definitely not 100. Family members came from all corners of the country, and she had all five kids, all seven grandkids, and nine out of ten great-grandkids. We were sadly missing one great and his baby (a great great!). We haven't all been together in 15+ years!

Grandma has been on a steeper decline than we would like (after sailing through most of her 90s), so it was such a relief that she was doing so well on the day of her party and seemed to enjoy the festivities. We filled the room with garden style flowers to remind her of her own garden (she had the most beautiful one!) and hung tons of pictures from her life. The siblings were having a great time going through those while Em and I hung them.

The grands and greats

The official party was on Saturday and we had a really nice turnout. Since it was at the community church, there was a nursery and toys to keep the little ones entertained. Plus tons of cousins! The gang is in heaven with their cousins! My cousin Rachel's two girls are a bit older than our kids, but oh my, they are SO good with the small Vs! Our kids are totally in love with them! Between the toys, the cousins, the beautiful outside weather (including bubbles!!), and CAKE, we all had a great time at the party. [In a mother-of-the-year moment, I totally told Q that if she just didn't ruin the group pictures, I would give her a second piece of cake. She plopped down and grinned like her life - or her tummy - depended on it!] 

Grandma is one of the best people I know and it was such an honor to celebrate her. She is such a selfless person, but is also equal parts strong and spunky! She was a fantastic cook and taught me to be fearless in the kitchen (and to look at recipes as more of a guideline ... sorry Mom!). She would remind me not to be afraid to work hard and get dirty. And is still happy to laugh at my poor gardening attempts! We are a lucky lucky family to have her as our guiding matriarchal force. As Fiona says, "Great Grandma is the bestest!" Many happy returns to this lovely lady!