The Jersey Shore

My trio had so much fun with their cousins this past week. We went to Jersey/NY for a family reunion on my dad's mother's side. My grandma was one of 12 kids. She died many years ago and only two of her siblings are still living but there are many children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even a few great great grand children and this makes for a very big reunion with lots and lots of cousins.




I learned quite a bit about my family this week. I have heard bits and pieces over the years, but got a clearer understanding of my grandmother's childhood this trip. Her mother died of complications from childbirth with her 12th child and shortly after her father was killed by a trolley. This left all 12 children orphaned. Some were old enough to be on their own and those that were did the best they could to get the younger ones out of the orphanage. One sibling was sent to a nunnery for a while and even became a nun. Apparently she was the last person one would ever expect to be a nun and that vocation did not last very long. It is amazing to me that with all the separation that occurred in their early years, these siblings were able to stay in contact and that all these years later a family reunion represented all but two families.





The pictures are of our first day. We spent a few hours on the Jersey Shore with a fun group of cousins. My kiddos had a ball.








CiCi did not like the water, but loved the sand. She rolled around in it all morning and had a ball.



My boys played in the ocean and searched for sea shells. They seemed unfazed by the frigid temperature of the ocean. I couldn't even stand walking on the beach with the water only hitting my feet occasionally. IT WAS TOO COLD!!! I am apparently spoiled by the warm temperature of the Florida beaches that I have always visited in the past.