Happy Birthday, Dad!

The first half of my trip last week was for Dad's 90th birthday. I was in Shreveport from Friday to Sunday. The weather was gorgeous and the family came out in full force. All but three of the grandchildren were there for the party and two of the great-grandchildren. (All of the children, of course, as my brothers and I put on the party.) My brother Keith is a newlywed and his new bride was absolutely essential. She planned all the decorating and she and Keith did a huge amount of work to put the party together. So thanks to them.

I also got to see my favorite uncle. Uncle Jim was there to tell great stories and I even got to bring home tapes of his best ones from Forest Hill, LA. The photos are of me with my Uncle Jim and my dad who is seated in the photo. The other photos are of my mom and the gorgeous birthday cake.

It was an awesome party and I think it came off without too much worry on my mom's part. I especially loved seeing all the first cousins and some spouses have a great time outside. Except for one young one who is still in elementary school, there is only an eight-year spread between all the Jones cousins who are in their early thirties or twenties. So the kids had a great visit.

I have a wonderful family and this kind of family get-together gives me something to look forward to as my children get older. I'd really like to have all of my kids and their spouses and kids together for a celebration and family get-together for our 40th anniversary. So that gives us until 2011 to work out the details.