Way too long with favorite people!

It's been 2½ years (and 3 grandchildren) since all 5 of the Broadbent siblings have been together. We've had a few gatherings for reasons happy & sad over the years but there was always one family missing.

On Saturday, December 23rd were not only in the same state but the same place at the same time. We gathered at Kevin & Kelley's home for brunch, gifts and a Wii tournament. Not everything went as planned, the Wii tournament never really happened, however, Kevin & Kelley have ton's of great toys and we had a blast playing with them. After eating and a few group pictures we decided to expose our inner rocker and played Rock Band. You might not be able to tell but there are 2 guitars, vocals and drums (for the Rock Band illiterate). I don't know who laughed harder, the performers or the observers.Just setting it up was a challenge for Kevin. The girls formed a girl band first and just the setup of that was an experience. Poor Kevin was so patient with his ditsy sisters as they all kept pressing buttons and messing up what he'd started. Of course selecting our respective band members was a huge challenge, we are girls afterall...Kevin thanks for being such a good sport with all us!

A bit of competition took place too. The first drummer wasn't doing as well as her husband thought she should so when the next band formed, he took over the drums. After the song ended he admitted that the drums weren't so easy to play after all.

Kevin showed off his Rock Band expertise by playing the advanced guitar then switched to the advanced drums. We all commented on his selection of the hardest drums level forgetting that's he's a percussionist. Course, when it ended, he too commented on the difficulty...little rusty, Bro?

When it came time to open gifts we rigged things so that Grandma (aka, Nama) and Papa could join in the fun via webcam. As everything was getting set up Kevin decided to play with the webcam first. It was unanimous that he needed a facial, maybe that should have been part of his Christmas gift....

The Wii was played by some as a few of the littler ones slept, some even in the same room as the doubles tennis game was going on. But we couldn't let the music in us die. We also played a bongo game...4 sets of bongos...the screen telling you which bongo (right, left, both) or when to clap in rhythm with the song selected. As was the case with the other video games, there were many giggles and lots of laughter at ourselves and each other. So much for thinking we were all coordinated and know how to keep a beat.

We had a great time. It reminded me of when I was little and visiting my grandparents in Cedar City, it felt like there were people and grandchildren in every corner of the house. We may be somewhat small in number still (6 grandchildren and 4 in-laws to date) but it was a houseful of family, laughter, fun, and love. Let's make sure that our next gathering isn't 2½ years away and that Mom and Dad can be there in person next time. How I love these crazy people I'm lucky enough to be related to!