Friends, family, and more family!

Q:  Why in the world are you guys in Hemet?  There's nothing there!

A:  That is exactly the point.

We wanted a place that was near-ish to friends in the San Diego and Riverside areas.  A place that had good security.  A place that had pools and things to do.  A place that had shopping within biking distance.

And that's what we found at the Golden Village Palms RV Resort here in Hemet.  It's not Hemet - Hemet is a nothing town.  But this place has been perfect.  We've had company several times.  We've had lots of chilling time.  Time to write, finish school, swim, make new friends, excel at water volleyball, bike a hundred miles, etc.

My good friend Janet Smith and her daughter Ashley came and spent the day with us once.  They came early and got in on the water volleyball.  We spent time at the pool, did dinner at Chili's, and got in lots of visiting and laughing.

Then a visit from my chicken-shooting cousin - Randy!  So good to catch up!  We go wayyy back.  Like all the way back to April, 1969.  I'm 4 days older than him!  We have lots of childhood memories together.  I had to get this picture just to show that there is still a severe difference in our heights. :)
A bit intimidating...I feel like a pip-squeak.

There.  A little more even ground.  By the way, bbq at Lucille's is excellent!  Great suggestion, Randy.

Randy brought his daughter Julianna with him, too.  She and Conni had a great time together.

Then we had a spur-of-the-moment visit from Bethy Watson.  Such a good time!  So glad she could come hang out with us.

When we picked Hemet, little did I know that my Aunt Margene lived only 30 minutes away.  She brought her 2 granddaughters down one evening to visit us.  So once again, we got to meet family we'd never seen before!

Conni with Aubrey and Jenna.

Jenna on the left - 7 years old.  Aubrey on the right - 8 years old.

The girls dad and my first cousin, Phillip, with his girlfriend Jess.

On Saturday, May 19th, we had the opportunity to go to our cousin's wedding up in Arcadia.  Smit and Janet picked us up on their way up from San Diego.  

Conni looking beautiful for the wedding.  I don't think my baby is a baby any longer. :)

The bride and groom - Dustin and Lavina.

I know these are Stuart and Crystal's kids, but don't know their names.  I DO know that they are ADORABLE!

Randy's kids - my kid's second cousins. Left to right:  Robbie, Clint, Jordan, Julianna.  So nice to see them all together!  BTW, they are the same ages as my kids - almost exactly!

Conni and Julianna again.

The bride, Lavina, and her sisters, Phoebe and Hannah.

My OK/VA friend, Donna on the left, and my cousin Misty on the right.

Another relative, and such a surprise to see her!  Janet and Michael Tuthill and their 4 kids.

That's it for now.  I had another visit from Aunt Margene again today.  She came and watched water volleyball, then took me to lunch.

Expecting more visitors on Wednesday, then Abe and Tim arriving on Thursday!  Can't wait to have my family together again.