then, east! to Flagstaff

loved the open desert road (once we managed to get out of LA...whew, that's a big town) 

a little bummed to leave the biodiesel options behind for old gerty as we crossed the ca/az border

but so excited to see my familia! And the good food--swoon! Martanne's and Thai food, but the best was the empanada making. Hiking with the ladies in the Flagstaff forest and my first ski (with the much needed support of Veronica and inspiration of cousin Silvie, age 3, blazing the way on the slopes).

my camera at the time was still in her box most days as she didn't have a case yet...so photos were few and far between. 

 

I love that my cousin has old family stuff around. my aunt's piano that my mom played as a kid. the family tree. so many stories in these lines and boxes. my childhood was all about these stories. I lingered so very quietly at the edges of the adults table at big family dinners (notice the long line of names on the bottom of the tree? that's my grandma's 8 brothers and sisters) so I could go unnoticed, abosorbing each turn in the story lines and begin to see how they all fit together. Asking my Mom to tell the stories over and over afterwards. The Wild West! The romances! The heartbreaks! The rollercoasters of hardship and success. I soaked the stories up with wonder, shock and pride. These stories are me. With only Great Uncle Sid still with us, I'm afraid we've lost so much of those stories I didn't know to ask about when couldn't even see over the table, and then didn't care about as a disgruntled teen. sigh. I do my best now, to fill in the blanks with my parents and their cousins. there's something I like about the blank spots too. And the new stories of the little ones continuing it all.