"Z" is for Zillion

I have a zillion people in my family. Or so it would seem. Seriously. I used to know the exact number, but I lost count at 100 this time and didn't want to start over. A hundred. A zillion. There's really not that much difference when you figure how many of them are under the age of ten. Then it feels closer to a zillion. For sure.

But that is what happens when your mother gives birth to ten children. We are spread far and wide... Mississippi, Michigan, Utah, and Idaho. The grandkids are spread from some secret location in Iraq to just up the street and just about everywhere in between. There are so many great grand kids, my mother can't remember all their names. I barely can.

This weekend, the oldest sibling escaped from Detroit and payed us a visit so it called for a family barbecue. While there were zillions who couldn't make it, there were still zillions that did. While there has been a couple of times in the past five years that all the siblings have gotten together, I don't know that there will ever be a time when the entire family will congregate in one place. There are just too many, spread too far. Wouldn't that be a fun picture to have, though?

(People! What is up with all the grey hair??? How old do you think we all are? Just in case you are wondering, there are 20 years difference between myself on the far right and the oldest on the far left.)

One of the fun things about having a zillion people in your family is that you are probably related quite closely to the conductor of the most awesome little pint sized train in town who takes you on all the rides you want. It's always a big favorite, even for me, as old as I am, I still look forward to riding the train every summer almost as much as the little kids do. Thank you sister dear and your equally awesome husband for obliging us, as always.

Then of course, we have a dad who cares not about water shares and when it's his turn to irrigate. He is a farmers worst nightmare. He takes it when he wants it and runs it for as long as he feels like it and you just hush up and let him do it. He got rid of his trampoline and his giant slide, so now the big treat after train rides is playing in the water while the rest of us sit around and visit and devour dad's infamous salt and vinegar roasted chicken. Flood irrigating is a cheap and easy way to entertain a zillion or so little - or not so little - kids.

So concludes my first "ABC Wednesday" experience. I didn't tune in until we were on the letter "C", so I missed the first two, but managed to do every other letter, tying it in to every day life. It's been a great time, and I can't wait to do it again.

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