Paige's Pages: CA Family...part II

Life is good in Southern California and it is even better when family is there to comfort you, support you and treat you with their best-most-awesomest kindness ever!

Kathy is my mom's cousin (Kathy's father and my mom's mother were sister and brother), so that makes me Kathy's second cousin? Or is her daughter my second cousin? What about her daughter and my son? My son and her son...third cousins? No matter, we are all just a bunch of cousins. Fun, crazy and good-hearted cousins!

I stayed with Kathy and her husband Paul for the three nights I was in CA (after the conference). Each night started with a cocktail hour with Paul at the helm, bartending and providing some great stories. Kathy was in the kitchen, whipping up the most yummy dinner (healthy too) for us all, while providing walks down memory lane. All the while the news was on...we were catching the latest information. What a great few hours each night! During dinner we would chat about life and our current state of affairs with laughter and humor. For the dessert course? Chocolate of course! Smooth, rich and from Oregon. Yum-yum!

Each morning we would get dressed ready for a walk around the neighborhood. Down hills, up hills, around the bend...noticing homes new and old. The deminishing nursery houses tell the tale of the past and future. The county once boasted "the flower capital of the world", pointsettias everywhere! Now the bare ground (void of all the green houses) is ready for "75 homes here", another "50 homes there" and on the second day we walked along where the greenhouses are still standing, but empty. Ready for demolition and ready for another sub-development to move in. Change is everywhere.

Kathy and Paul's daughter Kari is just a few years older than me. She is fun, funny, smart and oh-so artistic! Her home is amazing! She can take any space and turn it into a place of warmth and coziness. She works hard! Her son Austin is a kick! He is 15 years old and I think he just gave me a glimpse of what is coming to a town near us in the very near future...CJ is 10! The teenage years are just around the corner.

All in all, staying with family is the best. I felt welcome and comfortable every second. We have similar stories and know all the same family members...talking is easy and always enjoyable. I hope that another 10 years don't fly before I can head down there again!