Family Pictures

I was playing with old photographs yesterday and dug out some family shots that have been loved and pawed over for many, many years. There were 5 kids in our family and I have to say there are very few of all five of us together. Often I was the photographer and so there are some of the other 4, but all 5 is something unusual. This was one of the few I found.I'm the oldest one up there at the top and beside me is John. Tina is right in front of me and beside her is Tom. Mark is the baby, of course, and we have never been able to figure out what he was doing in this picture. I think supposedly there was a cookie involved, but I'm not sure. There are a couple of pictures of Mark with his eyes crossed and he tells us that it was because he always wondered what he looked like with his eyes crossed.... but, you know, how many times did he have to see?

The reason I was looking through the pictures was the occasion of our 35th wedding anniversary. I posted a few pictures on facebook, but there are a couple more I've always liked.

This was taken on our honeymoon in Acapulco, on a boat tour of the harbor:Apparently we were boarded by pirates who then posed with us for pictures! You can't tell that by this time, Montezuma's Revenge had hit me and I was constantly scanning for the nearest bathroom! I think that drink in my hand had calmed things for the cruise so I was a bit more relaxed. I had been so careful about everything I put in my mouth while Bob, on the other hand, had been cruising all the little taco stands down the alleys.

A few years later, we went to Jamaica. Not one of my favorite trips, but Dunn's Falls was beautiful:Yes, I am wearing clothes. It's just a weird angle. Back then, the tour took you to the bottom of the falls and you climbed up. It was really nice and peaceful and a lot of fun.
Nowadays, the parking is at the top and you come down steps. After climbing to the top, there is a gauntlet of shops one must run before reaching the safety of their tour bus. I found out about this change when I took my mom on a tour from a cruise we went on together. It really changes the feeling about the place.

Finally, after Rob came along, we didn't travel much until he hit about 4 and we went to Bermuda with Tina and her then-husband John. This is us at dinner one evening:Notice the parade of dinosaurs on the table in front of "Bobby". Our waiter, Manuel, told him that at night, the dinosaurs will come to life and grow. I can't tell you how thrilled we were with that! Luckily Rob didn't believe him.