Big Sky Invasion

In 1998, when she was four years old Maggie was a flower girl in her cousin’s wedding. My niece Kelly had dozens of little girls from which to choose, and she chose Maggie. There have been many kindnesses afforded to Maggie in her life, but I cannot think of another gesture that has touched me more than this did. Many brides would not be so selfless, but then Kelly was not your average bride as you can see from the picture. (Admittedly, Maggie looks a bit freaked out in this picture, but this was before the widespread availability of the delete button and digital cameras, so you took what you got.) Despite the face, Maggie had a great time and loved being the center of attention. In fact, that day may have set the stage for Maggie demanding the spotlight evermore.

The wedding was in Helena, Montana where Kelly went to college and still lives with her husband James. They now have three daughters. That means my brother Ed is a grandfather, and for some reason that still cracks me up. (He is not that much older than I am.) He also happens to relish the role and he adores those girls.

Ed’s three granddaughters, Sydney (9), Jaymee (7) and Katie (5) are the only members of the “next” generation. Ed and his wife Dianne live in Los Angeles, 1200 miles from their granddaughters, but there is a lot of travelling back and forth between LA and Montana and they see them quite often. Those trips do not often include San Francisco so we are limited to pictures and stories. Last night the two oldest made a rare appearance in San Francisco and we were able to hang out. It was a blast.

Sydney and Jaymee are big enough now that they get to visit their grandparents without mom and dad. They flew down with their aunt (my niece Tootsa) and will fly back with their grandmother. Ed and Dianne are taking them everywhere and the kids are having a great time. Yesterday they drove the 400 miles to San Francisco so they could visit my mom, their great grandmother. It is a whirlwind visit. Today they are heading back via Monterey so the girls can go to the aquarium.

I invited everyone over here last night and we ordered pizza and caught up. Those girls were hilarious. They synced the Wii that Steve and I have not been able to figure out and made Mii people for us. They entertained us with song and dance and hung out with Maggie. I told them Maggie likes “All the Single Ladies” and when we played the song, they immediately started dancing with her. Maggie was beside herself with joy. I do not usually capture moments like this.

These girls are their mother's daughters, that's for sure. Seems this family is a source of some great moments in Maggie’s life.

Have a great trip back to LA and then to Montana, ladies. Please come again and bring your sister!