Family Gathering

When we moved to the DC area 15-1/2 years ago, young and naive,  most people assumed that we didn't know a soul.   Really, though, our family's ties to this area run pretty deep.   Glen's parents were both born in Washington, DC and Glen's mom even graduated from the same high school as Spencer and Cami.   When we moved here, we had Glen's paternal grandparents living nearby, as well as three aunts and their families.     

The Crain side wasn't represented yet, but they soon changed that as well.   Over the course of that decade and a half that we've lived here, we've had all of my seven siblings do at least a short stint living in the area.   Four of them have settled down and made it their home.    

My side of the family is pretty tight knit and we see each other pretty regularly.   Glen's family, however, is another story.   When Grandma was alive, we used to get together with them a couple times a year.  Since she passed away a few years ago, it's been a much less frequent occasion and we miss seeing them as much.  So when Glen's aunt hosted a cousins' get-together a couple weeks ago, we  were excited to go!  

↑↑↑ This was all the Goold cousins except Glen's five siblings and Stephanie.   ↑↑↑

There were kids galore...

and lots of activities to keep them busy 

for the young...

and the old.   

It was fun spending time with some of the younger generation...

There was some serious adorableness going on there...

and I couldn't get enough of this smiley little sweetie-pie!  

My girls were excited to get their fill of baby-loving while they were there!  

Cami's the cousin once-removed in this picture, but Jane and Jill are much closer to her  age than Glen is!

Danny and Jeff had a little impromptu jam-session going on that was fun to listen to!  I knew that musicality ran in the Goold side of the family, but I had no idea how talented they were! 

This little cutie, Tristan, was very impressive!  He is barely two, but can name every single one of the animals in this set....in English and in Farsi!    And I'm not just talking dog, cat, cow...  He says daschund, polar bear, jaguar, etc.  

We all really enjoyed the time we spent together that day and it was great to reconnect.  They may mostly live in the DC area, but we definitely don't see them often enough!  

*****************************

He did it!

After months and months of training and fundraising, he did it!   

On Friday night we went to a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) inspiration dinner where Glen learned that, despite not quite reaching his goal yet, that he had placed third on his team of over 100 participants for fundraising amounts. 

After a pasta dinner to give the runners some good fuel, they had some speakers lined up to help inspire the team before their big race.    Immediately following a very entertaining writer from Runner's World (who also happens to be a huge supporter of LLS), it was Glen's turn to give a short presentation about the human side of the purpose of Team in Training.  Glen brought our family picture taken during Spencer's treatment and shared a bit of our story.  He closed by reading the "Little Soul," (that never fails to move me to tears) and thanked everyone for all they were doing to make a difference in the fight against blood cancers.  He returned to his seat and looked up to find the entire room giving him a thunderous standing ovation.  It was a proud moment. 

He went to bed that night with a nervous excitement about the upcoming race.  Saturday morning dawned early but happy, when Glen learned that overnight he'd met his fundraising goal.  It got the morning off to a great start and he was cheerful and chipper as he headed out with his brother in the wee hours of the morning.

I had every intention on going down to cheer him on and watch him finish, but alas our old car wouldn't start and I ended up having to  drive all five kids to their five different activities  (instead of Spencer being able to help with the driving).   At least I thought to take this one picture as he hopped out of the car on the way into the Metro station. 

Much to the happiness of 35,000+ runners (and a whole bunch of mulch haulers), the predicted rain and cold held off until the late afternoon and they actually ended up with a beautiful day for physical exertion--not too warm, not too cold, and not a drop of rain until it was all over.  Glen wasn't aiming for any specific time.  In fact his quote when asked is that he hoped to finish the race the same day he started, which I'm pleased to say he accomplished without issue!   

He and his brother came home exhausted and famished, but happy to be done.  We spent the rest of the day picking up kids from their various activities and trying to make sure that the marathoners did not starve.    Glen's brother Alex left bright and early on Sunday morning and now Glen is turning his thoughts to his 100 mile bike ride coming up on June 1st. 

Go Glen! 

**********************