Our 2013 Family Reunion

Family reunions have become a thing every year for my family, and I must admit I absolutely love them. I love being able to see and talk to family members that I don't see during the year and catch up. It's a joy to see new family members being added each year, whether it's due to a marriage or the birth of a baby! Every year I seem to forget how big my family is and it still surprises me each time! 

Everyone makes a dish or two and brings it to the reunion. The spread on the table is huge. Appetizers and entrees are served at the same time usually, and an hour or two later dessert is served. The first year I made mini cheesecakes that looked like the American flag, topping them with fruit and powdered sugar.  The next year I made firework cookies, and then I took a break because of time constraints. This year I volunteered again to cool, but I asked Sal if he could do the cooking. We ended up bringing pesto pasta salad, which is our own creation, and is delicious if you ask me, and the tomato salad that Sal made for our picnic in Pennsylvania. Everyone asked who made it, and while I was tempted to say I did, I was honest and told them Sal was the infamous chef. 

We spent the day outside, catching up with everyone and playing with my cousins. Before dessert we took our annual family picture in the front yard. Seeing how big our family actually is was incredible, and it didn't even include everyone!  We split up afterwards to take group pictures by generations. It's funny because my brother and I fall into the third cousin category, and with us were our much younger cousins that were mostly under 5! Of course there were our older cousins too, but most were extremely young. 

Before I knew it we were saying goodbye, with hopes to see each other during the year, but if we don't, we know there's always the reunion to look forward to!