Glad to be a Q!

How I love this quote!

Dr Suess memory quote

It’s extra meaningful after this weekend.

For the first time since Makenzie was born I spent 3 nights away from her and I spent a very special weekend with 10 amazing ladies I’m lucky enough to call my cousins!  I missed Kenz like crazy but it was so very worthwhile.

Let me go back in time…

It all started with Sarah & Jimmy Quilty.  They were the most loving, wonderful grandparents anyone could have.  They had 5 children and my Dad was the youngest of them.  From the 5 children came plenty of grandchildren who turned out to be my awesome big cousins!  My sister, Melissa, and I grew up always loving the visits from our cool cousins.

Q family photo

Q Family reunion circa mid 80’s – Melissa and I were the ones rocking the sandals with socks.  Hotties!

Over the years we’ve all moved around the world for jobs, for love and for adventure – Cali, Florida, New Orleans, Detroit, Germany, Thailand, Cleveland, Philly, you name it – but despite the miles we’ve remained connected as Q’s.

Q fam reunion in Buffalo

Q Family reunion in September 2010.  You can’t see feet in this picture but Melissa and I were NOT wearing sandals and socks.

The last 4 years haven’t been easy for our family because we’ve lost 3 of our wonderful Aunts, but from the sadness came the reminder that we NEED to make it a point to stay connected.

………………………….

And the Q Cousin Weekend idea began…

There were months of e-mails, texts, plans, more plans and ideas…

and then it happened.  It really Happened!!

On Thursday, Q cousins from Cali, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania & New York met up in Center Valley, Pa for 3 nights of fun.  It was Amazing!  We relaxed, we slept in, we talked, we went to NYC, we took selfies, we saw a Broadway show, we ate, we reminisced, we cried, we told secrets, we told inappropriate stories & we laughed.  We laughed a lot.  It was the kind of laughter that makes you sore the next day.

The pictures say it best…

Q cuz reunion trampoline selfie

All of us trying to squeeze into a photo.

q cuz reunion 1

Facetiming each other next to each other.

Q cuz reunion 2 Times Square

Times Square, we made it!!

Q cuz reunion kinky boots

Checking out Kinky Boots!

Q cuz reunion laughter

My favorite picture – Pure Hilariousness

Q cuz reunion Mel and Les kiss

Cousin love in the Big Apple

 

Q cuz reuniong 3 NYC skyline

City skyline! We took the scenic route into NYC but ended up with this great picture.  Life is truly about the Journey & not the Destination.

 

The weekend flew by and on Sunday we said good-bye and headed our separate ways.  I was very happy to see Denny (aka Daddy Daycare Pro – thanks honey!) and Makenzie, and they welcomed home a much more relaxed and recharged wife and Mom.

As for the moments my cousins and I shared, Dr. Suess was right.  From the time we spent together came memories…  awesome and very special memories that will remain as part of the Quilty story.  There’s no doubt that Jimmy & Sarah were watching over us (hopefully only hearing the G-rated stuff) and smiling knowing that they were the reason for this weekend.  There are few things in life more important than family and I am beyond incredibly lucky to be a part of the Q family.

LLKK to the Q cousins until we meet again!

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