Happy (Belated) Fourth of July!

Well, I made it back home again from my whirlwind holiday visit to Pittsburgh to see my Dad and various other family members. Even though Agnes had to work on Saturday and so wasn't able to come along, it nevertheless turned out to be a extra-great weekend because my son Jason and his family decided to come as well (Pittsburgh being about halfway between our home in Virginia and their home in Ohio). So not only did I get to see Dad and my sister and brother, but we all got to see the Munchkins, too! Here are a few pictures of the impromptu Fourth of July family reunion...

Proud Grandpa Bilbo poses in front of one of Dad's tomato plants with three of the four most adorable grandchildren in the world: Joe, Marcy, and Noah...


Marcy gets reacquainted with cousin Elena...


Bilbo with Dad and sister Lisa (she had to smile, since we're related)...


Bilbo, Lisa, and brother Paul get together for the first time in well over a year...


Grandpa Bilbo winds up for the pitch to Joe in the afternoon sort-of-wiffle-ball game. This picture was taken about four seconds before Joe smacked a line drive right into my leg...

Elena helps Noah demonstrate his amazing flexibility...

Cousin Eddie demonstrates his skill with the Nintendo DS to an adoring crowd of fans...

Eddie had also brought along his pet hermit crab, Sheldon (don't blame me, I didn't pick the name), but I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the fascinated Munchkins crowding around poor Sheldon's cage...all I could see was the backs of heads.

All in all, it was a great weekend. The weather was cloudy, but we didn't get rained out; traffic was bearable for all of us; and Dad cooked his traditional ham-the-size-of-a-Volkswagen, along with an enormous pot of his famous herbed mixed vegetables. I got to cuddle the grandchildren, Dad got to preside as the Family Patriarch, and Paul and Lisa and I got to see each other again. The only one missing was brother Mark, who lives in Florida.

We didn't do the fireworks, but we did something much better - we spent time together and enjoyed each other's company.

And now it's time for bed so that we can start the whole normal grind again tomorrow.

But I'll feel better about it.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo