How I love this 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 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 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…
All of us trying to squeeze into a photo.
Facetiming each other next to each other.
Times Square, we made it!!
Checking out Kinky Boots!
My favorite picture – Pure Hilariousness
Cousin love in the Big Apple
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!
