The reason we went to SoCal in May was to attend the high school graduation of Gina, Kymberlee’s cousin. The night before we enjoyed a great meal prepared by Gina’s parents, Debi and Danny. If I’m ever stranded on a desert island, I want Aunt Debi there because she makes incredible meals and makes it look easy. Thanks Debi!

We also went to see Great Grandma Ruth who was there for the graduation. She calls Evie her angel, and I hope she enjoys seeing us as much as we enjoy seeing her. She is always a hoot to talk with and quick to smile. If you are keeping up with my posts, she is the sister of Auntie Fran, featured in this post.

But of course we were all there for Gina. She is a pretty incredible girl and I’m sure her parents are very proud of her. She’s heading off to Johns Hopkins in the fall, and we all know that she will do well. What makes her special in my eyes is that the night before her graduation, here she is on the floor playing with a Barrel of Monkeys with Evie. Not texting her BFFs, not watching something on YouTube, and not wanting to be out with her friends. That says a lot! And as you can tell from the pictures, Evie absolutely adored her.

We all had fun with the 80s toy drawer. Memories of Rubik’s cubes flashed through our heads as we all played with the toys time forgot. But the monkeys were definitely the hit and made us all conscious of the time that had passed since Gina was a baby. I only have Kym’s family photos, but Kymberlee remembers fondly the times she was able to play with her when they were both younger. We look forward to Gina’s future and hope Debi and Danny can continue to mentor us in our raising of Evie. If Evie is anything close to the woman Gina has become, we’ll consider ourselves blessed.