More About Mesa

With the kids settled at Great Grandma's house and me at my hotel, I joined my sister Karla at a party for her daughter Gabrielle. It was actually a celebration of accomplishments by the Activity Days girls, a church group for young ladies ages 8-11.
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We enjoyed sandwiches, salads, chips, and fruit while the girls shared their handiwork and received awards. Then came games like Musical Chairs and Button, Button, Who's Got the Button.

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Gabby (age 8) had a great time in the balloon-popping game, trying to stomp everyone else's ballons while protecting the one tied to her own ankle!

After the party we hurried back to Karla's house because this also happened to be Prom Night for their older daughter, high school senior Brianna (age 18). We were anxious to see Brianna all done up in her prom finery.

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Here she is getting a final touch-up by her sister, Elyssa (age 21). Elyssa and her husband Ross also had an eventful day, moving out of their apartment and into a new one in another town that very afternoon.

Here is Brianna with her date, Josue (pronounced Ho-sway; maybe the Spanish form of Joshua?). Doesn't she look gorgous, like a princess?

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Their prom was held in a museum, which I thought was a very unique venue. When I talked to her the next day, she said it was pretty cool. They only danced one dance and spent most of the night walking around and looking at the exhibits.

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That wouldn't work so well in our rural area. The museums you'll find in our little towns might consist of a couple of small rooms! We're not very cosmopolitan.
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After Brianna and Josue headed to Prom, I stayed for about an hour to visit with Karla until I returned to spend the evening with my own children. (Stay tuned for the 3rd and final segment of my Mesa trip blog.)

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This is Karla cuddling with two of her four cute grandchildren, Jaycee (22 months) and Brooke (age 3).

And here we have my brother-in-law Brian with their youngest, Addison (age 4). He's become bronzed by many years of roofing in the hot desert sun!

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At 1pm on Sunday the kids and I headed to Karla's house for a final visit. We stayed almost 5 hours and joined them for a dinner Karla and I enjoyed in our younger years: Mexican chicken casserole with a green salad and potato halves baked in butter!

While dinner was being prepared, my nephew Josh (age 23) dropped by with his fiance Zemina (pronounced Zuh-MIN-yuh). They've been together for about a year, so I was excited to finally get to meet her.

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They're planning a July wedding at this time, though nothing is definite yet. (Groan... Why does everyone in the Valley want to get married in the stifling summer heat?)

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It turns out we picked a busy weekend with plenty of opportunities to see Karla's family coming and going. It was great!

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And yet another unexpected event lies ahead. More on that tomorrow!