Family in the west

Lets see, out of the 10 Davis siblings, five still live in Maine and the other five are scattered around a bit.  The weekend before Mother's Day some of us got together.  My niece, Victoria, was celebrating some life achievements and those who could, came to Utah to support her.  There were the two brothers already in Utah, one brother from Idaho, myself from California and a sister who flew in from Maine--that makes five Davis siblings in one place!

Ebin and Jennifer

Victoria is Jennifer's oldest child and our family's oldest grandchild/niece.  Jennifer is the second oldest child in our family (second out of ten...) and the oldest sister.  I learned some of my favorite and frequently used life lessons from her, like: a doughnut covered in powdered sugar is good for the belly and good for the soul.

Jennifer, Ebin, Chris and me

Chris is the oldest child in our family and really knows how to be a big brother.  At one time or another he has helped all of us make our way in the world.  He treated us to dinner at a place called Tucanos.  I'd never been to a place like this, it is a Brazilian grill and people walk around with gigantic skewers of grilled meat.  They stop at your table and carve off a pile of said meat.  It is a carnivore's delight. 

Ebin pointing out his glass work

Ebin is the sibling just younger than I am in the family--so seventh in the line of ten.  He took us up to an old chapel in Salt Lake where he had done the window replacement work.  He works for a window company that specializes in repairing and restoring antique windows.  He loves his job, I've never seen him so happy and proud.  We were all thrilled to see his hard work and admire his glass skills.

The group at the chapel.  The lovely lady on the far right is my niece, Victoria, who brought us all together to celebrate.

Jennifer, Caleb, Chris and Emily 

Sunday, Caleb and his family drove down from Idaho. Caleb is fourth in the line of ten.  He and his wife have six kids now and I hadn't seen the youngest two babies yet.  It was amazing to see his big kids and the little ones.  It made me homesick for my own crew.

Shellie (Caleb's wife) holding their newest baby Gabe, Jennifer and Caleb

Me, Jennifer, Caleb, Ebin and Chris (#6, 2, 4, 7 and 1)

Annette, Christopher's wife, organized a big group shot to include in a Mother's Day card for my Mom.  Which was doubly awesome because so many of us were together AND so many of us stink at sending out Mother's day cards...

I really had a fantastic weekend.  Did I mention, I went by myself and left all the children with Will here in California?  I missed my family but it was lovely to not change diapers, walk children to the potty or be responsible for their general entertainment.   And to Victoria, congratulations on passing through some of life's milestones.  I am proud of you and so happy I got to come and celebrate with you!