Jama's 90th Birthday Party

Shane and I drove up to NoVA for Jama's 90th bday party. She'd rather throw parties now than a funeral at an undisclosed date (hopefully far off in the future!).

We made it just in time for the service at Christ UMC (my teenage and young adult church home). Unfortunately, there was no Sunday school. Shane had to sit in the car for a couple of hours and then try to sit still for another hour of service. 

The message was one that he should have found more interesting at least. Pastor John was talking about the history of their trips to Africa and how they've supported and grown a rural school (I was one of the people who could raise their hand when he said, "Who all was here when we started going?"). 

We ran into Jama and a slice of the extended family on their way out! We bumped into Bruce, Reyna, and Bryce, too, but we had to duck out before long.

We had a scheduled stop in Fairfax.

We could have rode the elevator down from the parking garage, but I spotted a pedestrian bridge. To quote the movie Up, "Adventure is out there!"

We met Cammy, Erwen, and their family for a ramen lunch! Cammy and Erwen are long time friends that we haven't seen since Shane was a baby. We'd last met at a Panera Bread in Centreville where baby Shane shoved a straw down his throat, barfed all over himself, and Carrie and I had to take him home for clean-up while Cammy and Erwen said, "Kids are gross."

It didn't stop them from having two of their own, so I guess no permanent damage was done to the gene pool. Cammy's brother, Andy, and her mom were there, too. Shane and Cammy's eldest, Aiden, went off with Cammy's mom for a little bit to explore outside the restaurant. Cammy and Erwen surprised me by paying for our meals before we had to scoot off to make Jama's bday party start.

 We made it in the nick of time. I didn't want to be scolded by Jama for being late! Shane was thrilled to see his cousins.

I dropped him off reading LOL Cats to get credit for arriving with Jama.

She was busy getting ready and talking to my cousin Beth. I hadn't seen Beth since Megan and Billy's wedding.

I got to talk to Jama for a moment, but then it was back to the races for her. More people were showing up and she was the girl of the hour.

I found Shane with B, Stu, and crew outside.

Bruce and Reyna drove up and Bryce popped out of the car to join everyone.

They climbed up the wall, walked along the top, and the paths around the retirement home.

Unfortunately, my phone died when we rejoined the party. No more pictures from me!

Thankfully, Nana picked up the slack and I grabbed what she posted to fill in the gap.

I spent most of my time in the kid room.....where I also entered a semi-nap-like state after a bit. Maybe it was the time of day. Maybe it was all the noise and commotion. Or maybe it was from the work week and then all the travel and excitement, but I was dead tired.

Gotta love being with family, though. The nephew in the background of the picture playing with weights was bonus.

Bruce and Reyna came and hung out in the kid's room with all the chaos.

Bryce belongs to them (in case you didn't already know!).

Big B and Sammy were hanging out, too. Sammy came waddling into the room with a cookie when one of the other kids knocked him over (whether by bumping into him or by throwing a yoga ball, I can't recall).

Sammy didn't cry or anything. He just got back up.

"He may have been knocked down, but you'll notice he didn't drop the cooookie!" Bruce said.

And he was 100% correct. Sam was a happy camper as long as his dad was nearby and he had a cookie in his hand.

Matt and Renee showed up late to the party. There will be jokes later, but in this picture Matt was comparing Sam + digesting cookie's weight to Aiden's. 

That's a joke of a different variety.

Don't worry. No one tired out. Either Matt or Renee. Here's photo evidence they ditched their kid. I was half-asleep, but Patrick looked over his shoulder every now and then.

Just kidding. There were plenty of people around including responsible adults around like Pop. Aiden knows Nana and Pop real well from when they babysit him at Rockbridge every year. This year they flew to 

It was fun pandemonium in our room, but there was a  more organized party going on in the other. I stopped by for caffeine, cake, and to peek in. Jama looked like she was loving all of the bustle. 

There were some opportunities for family pictures afterward. I can't remember the last time I'd seen my Uncle Beau.

Aunt Patty came in to see Aunt Dot. Macy wasn't with her, but she might have been afraid the twins would have shoved her hand in butter (Old joke.....really old joke).

Shane and I showed up in time for the clean-up.

He wanted to help with the cake, but got roped into some pictures instead. Pop helped him pose.

Honestly, I'm not sure about the chronology of these pictures. Megan and I could have been laughing at any number of things. Maybe we knew what was to come.

Nana got us mostly together for a group shot.

She pulled all of the siblings out for a shot, but the girls couldn't leave Kathleen behind! 

I don't know when Jama will throw her next party, but if the whole clan shows up again you know I'll be in!