Labor Day in CT

We had quite the Labor Day adventure this year... we arrived in CT just days after the entire Northeast was devastated by Hurricane Irene.  The power was still out in half of the state and as luck would have it, 1918 was still in the dark.  But we were determined to have a great time and to enjoy our visit with all of the Mack family!  We luckily had the good fortune to have a free night at a Marriott hotel, and we booked a room down the road at the local Residence Inn for the first night.

The following day, we imposed upon the generous hospitality of Uncle Peter and Aunt Nancy (and Cousin Sarah!) and moved down to Southport for two nights.  Aunt Nancy was smart enough to have saved all of her little girl toys in the attic, and Virginia put all of them to use: baby carriages, play kitchens, tea sets, and more!  It was a little girl's dream come true.  When the power finally was restored to 1918 and it was time to move on, we had a hard time getting Virginia to agree to move out.

It was nice to have a few nights in 1918 as well (for the uninitiated reader, 1918 is Thomas's grandmother's house, and it is about to become the home of Thomas's Uncle John and Aunt Joyce).  Virginia spent plenty of time splashing in the pool and remarking about the fallen trees that the hurricane left behind.  Thomas and I spent lots of time going through old photos and boxes in an effort both to help John and Joyce clean out decades of Mack family junk and also to find information for our ongoing genealogy efforts.

The weekend was filled with lots of Mack socializing... a trip up to Yale for a Thai Taste lunch, dinner at the von Eulers' home, a visit to Rawley's (of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives fame) for milkshakes, and a cookout at the Steven Macks.  Virginia loved seeing all her cousins and we were amazed at how quickly she learned everyone's names.

Harvey Outings

We had a couple of great outings in August with the Harvey boys and family.  Now that Doug has become an official resident of Los Angeles, he made a few appearances in the Bay Area over the summer.  We had a blast celebrating some belated birthdays with the Harvey family (at Trader Vic's - our favorite) and also going with Virginia's crazy uncles to Gilroy Gardens.

Cutest Keiki:

It was a virgin mai tai, we promise:

Riding the Gilroy Gardens train and having a blast:

Those crazy Harvey boys:

Icee is as big as the kiddo!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

One of the joys of scanning all of our old photos is getting to see how much Virginia and I are alike and how many similar things we do! Here are a couple of like mother, like daughter shots:

Family Reunion

Even though all of the Webb family has endured great sadness in losing Granny this month, we were able to find some joy in our loss because we were all able to gather together in Montgomery for her funeral. This was quite a feat - Granny had three children (all with spouses), seven grandchildren (all with spouses), and 5 1/2 great grandchildren (Suzanne is pregnant with #6 due in October). And those children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren live in some pretty farflung places: Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Charlotte, and all over the great state of Alabama! We realized that this was actually the first time that everyone was in one place at one time since the grandchildren have all gotten married. It was a great gift that she gave us to allow us to have a family reunion of sorts.

Virginia had an absolute blast playing with her cousins. She is right between Suzanne's two girls in terms of age, so the three of them went wild playing ring around the rosie, blowing bubbles in the backyard, and generally wreaking havoc.

The Webbs thoroughly enjoyed each others' company. We hope to do it again soon at a Webb family reunion?!?!?

Frances Brice Webb: 1924-2011

Very sad news in the Webb family this month - my grandmother, Fran Webb, passed away on July 25 while we were at the beach with Mimi and Papa. She had been quite sick in the preceding weeks after a more than decade-long battle with rheumatoid arthritis, so her death was not unexpected, but it nevertheless is a great loss for all of us. We feel so blesssed that she lived long enough to know Virginia and her other four great grandchildren! And we will carry many happy memories of her with us.

Thomas and I began the long process of scanning and digitizing old family photos this spring and summer and I have lots of great old photos of Fran/Granny from my childhood. Here are some of our favorite Granny memories:

The Not So Redneck Riviera

Thomas and I took Virginia to the Redneck Riviera (aka Panama City Beach, Florida) in late July for a vacation with Mimi and Papa. We hadn't flown in a plane with Virginia since January of this year - our longest stretch of non-flying yet - so we didn't know what to expect from Virginia at this age and stage. We were beyond pleasantly surprised to find that things had gotten much easier. We borrowed GayGay's iPad, and Virginia was entertained by Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes for much of the trip. Thank you, Steve Jobs! She also enjoyed ample snacks from the flight attendants (Biscoff cookies and Ben & Jerry's - Delta rocks for having ice cream aboard its flights). She didn't nap, but that was to be expected.

As you can probably imagine, the beach was a hit. Panama City is a lot nicer than when I was a kid due to a lot of redevelopment. We stayed at Aqua which is a nice high rise resort where my dad and his friend share a condo. Virginia spent many hours in the pool, playing in the sand, and even jumping major waves with daddy in the Gulf. We hit up the Back Porch for dinner,Pier Park for shopping, and Miracle Strip at Pier Park for amusement park rides. Virginia ate lots more ice cream and also chowed down on her first crab claws (we told her to "bite and slide" and she got a big kick out of it).

Hurray for the Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July is a major event in Alameda. We are home to the longest hometown parade in America, which is kind of a strange distinction to have, but we wear it with pride. Alameda has two downtown areas, so the parade is made to travel a very long distance to show merchants in both areas a little love. Everyone in the town attends - it is such a great slice of small town living!

The parade route travels just one block from our house, so we camped out with GayGay and PopPop and some lawn chairs this year. Virginia donned her Independence Day best - a dress courtesy of Auntie Lynn. She got lots of compliments from everyone at the parade (the parade committee chairman stopped just to photograph her after spotting her on the sidelines), and she seemed to eat up the attention.

After the parade, we attempted (unsuccessfully) for Virginia to take a little nap, and we then went with some friends to our neighborhood block party. Several homes on our street share a common backyard pool, and they open up their homes for a multi-family extravaganza on a few holidays a year. Virginia swam and swam and also jumped on their trampoline for hours. She then slept for 13+ hours that night - the Fourth was a success!

My Fair Lady

We took Virginia to her very first Alameda County Fair this year. This was a major event - it was probably ten times the size of the South Alabama State Fair that I grew up attending, and we couldn't even begin to cover it all in one day. We focused our energy on carnival rides and eating kettle corn, and called it a day!