Gabe and Mommy in California.

Last week Gabe and I took a trip to visit my grandparents and his great-grandparent in Los Angles California while Garrett studied about 16 hours a day for his upcoming medical school board exam. It was a nice break from the normal routine and great for Gabe to get to spend time with "MaMom and Papa or G" (as he calls them). It was fun to visit with my grandma and grandpa. They are so full of great stories about their lives, their children, the lives of their parents, and their grandparents. Every time I visit them I come home full of more knowledge of where my family came from and priceless stories about their lives. I also managed to get copies of a few photos of my grandma and grandpa's wedding, their parents and even my great-great grandma. For those of you who know me well, know that I love family history and feel that it is an important part of our lives. So, as you can imagine the time I spent with them this week was and will always be treasured. We mainly hung out at the house, played, and visited with family. On Friday and Saturday night my 9 year old niece, Italia, spent the night. She is such a big helper and little mother. Gabe loved wrestling, playing soccer and cars, watching movies, and throwing the balls back and forth with her. They were more like brother and sister then cousins. On sunday my brother and his wife, both of my dad's brothers and their spouses, and my cousin Nikki came over for dinner. It was so good to see and spend time with the Passanante side of my family. On monday night we stayed the night with my brother and his family in LA. My brother was a 2nd year medical student last year, so he understands fully the stress and pressure Garrett in under to study for board. It's nice to have a family member who understands our situation a little better then others. Gio (JoLee) is a great example to us of hard work and dedication. He has fought hard to be where he is today. I love his family so much, especially his Italia. She is such and amazing little girl. We love her so much and are so lucky to have such a sweet niece. On tuesday morning Cindy (My sister in Law) dropped us of at the airport. It was sad to say goodbye to family and the warm weather, but it was also good to be home. We had a great time and I will always remember the time we spent especially with Grandma Joan and Grandpa Joe. My Grandma Joan is an amazing example to me of so many wonderful qualities. Those qualities include; patience, dedication to family, understanding, hard work, loyalty and love etc. I hope that someday I can be half the women that she is. Thank You Grandma and Grandpa for the fun week. We love you so much.

Gabe with (as he calls him), "my PAPA"! He loved his great-grandpa. Every morning he would ask for him as he was still waking up. It was so cute to watch them together. They went out back and picked oranges a couple of times. Gabe loved it.


Gabe showing G-ma and G-pa his tongue. They got a kick out of him. He has become quite the character and made us laugh a lot.

Gabe watching the airplanes while we were delayed 3 long hours for the cock-pit window to get repaired in LA. This was all after boarding the plane and making it to the runway. They then decided they needed to go back and have it fixed. It was supposed to take 5 min, but ended up taking 3 hours. Fun trip home!!



I love this picture. He loved his aunt Cindy. He preferred her to me while she was around. Maybe he's a little jealous of his little brother growing inside me?



Gabe and Italia having fun.





My Dad and his older brother and Gabe next to them. Any resemblance? I think so!



Gabe staying busy!





My Grandma and Grandpa Passanante's wedding Dec 2nd 1950.