Allbee Family Reunion

Two weekends ago we took a short roadtrip to California for an Allbee Family Reunion. This event was pretty momentous. My Grandpa Allbee died in 1981, right after my parents got married. His burial was the last time my dad's family had all been together. We have seen his 4 siblings at different times over the last 30 years, but the visits were few and far between and I hadn't seen most of my cousins since we were 10 years old or younger.

My dad's family life was great for a while but turned kinda tragic when his dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis that ate away at his ability to work and care for his family. My grandma suffered from a few nervous breakdowns and mentally checked out for a few years.

My Grandpa's grave was never given a headstone. My Uncle Dirk (Derek) decided now was the time to give him one, and this was the main reason for us driving out to Sacramento where my dad grew up. The experience was pretty amazing. My dad gave a great talk about his dad at the gravesite, and we then headed to my aunts home to eat some of their favorite meals from when they were kids.

The new headstone. I'm thinking Wilbur might be an awesome name for my next boy....not (sorry Grandpa)

Johnny did a great job keeping this guy entertained so I could listen

My dad is the oldest of 5, and the shortest brother at 6'2", I hope my boys get their height!

We were also in California for this guy, my 16 year old cousin Connor. He has Battens disease that is slowly taking away his motor skills. He is now blind, hard of hearing, and can't really walk. The disease will soon take his life, but a great desire he's had since he was 8 was getting baptized, and we got to see that the next day!

On Sunday we left Sacramento and headed to Redwood City for the baptism where my uncle lives, which is just south of San Francisco. I couldn't be so close to my favorite city and not stop by!

We had an hour and a half to show the boys the seals, hop on a carousel, and walk back to the car.

This baptism was one of the greatest experiences! Connor's mom had been against it for 8 years and finally agreed to it. My dad baptized him, my brother assisted, and Johnny witnessed, and it was amazing. I love the men in my life!

After the baptism we kicked it at my uncles for a few hours then started our long drive home. We stayed over night in Lake Tahoe then headed home the next morning.

The boys were surprisingly good in the car. They watched movies (Tangled, Cars, Despicable Me, Cars, Megamind, Cars, and on and on and on...)

Con had a 3 hour threshold, then cried and threw things. If Con threw a car at my head then Bubba hit Con, then Drake would reach across Con and hit Bubbs, then Con would hit Drake while he was across him, which resulted in 30 hours of me yelling "Quit hitting, no touching, I'm sorry Con - I won't yell, Drake you're not the mom! (Why?) I'm the mom! Bubba, don't bite Con! I'm sorry Con, its ok! (and on and on and on...)"

The car ride was magical.

We won't be taking any more road trips for a while, but I'm very grateful for this experience. I learned a lot about my dad's side of the family and I'm grateful for the life my dad provided me, considering where he came from.

And I guess I'm grateful for the opportunities my boys gave me to practice patience and love.......I guess.