A week of bonding....

10 Grandchildren and 1 Great-grandchild

Desperate measures....

We just returned from a week of vacationing with our entire family.  When I say entire, I mean all of us.  As in both my sisters and their respective families, and the head of it all, my mom.  We've been doing this now for three years.  This is the first year that we were all able to make it, although my oldest sister and her oldest son left midweek because of work commitments.  We chose Marco Island as our destination.  We try to go to different places in Florida every year, as to make it more exciting.  We rented a 5 bedroom 3 bath home for the week.  Each family unit was assigned a night to cook, plus they also had to bring breakfast and lunch items.  Suffice it is to say that we ended up doing 3 grocery runs.  The food just disappeared.  We also had a toilet paper shortage which was remedied by assigning each family a roll of toilet paper to be used the last three days.  Now that was funny!  (See pics)  We typically woke up around 9, had breakfast and then headed to the beach.  We were steps away from Tigertail Beach which has an inlet that needs to be crossed before you get to the actual "beach".  Not everyone was happy about walking through that inlet, especially Marlene my oldest sister.  She was grossed out and horrified.  But the rest of us did fairly well.  Upon our return, we usually went into the pool and then kept eating.  It was really an eating fest.  But the point of this vacation is for all of us to enjoy each other's company for a week.  With work and school commitments and such a gap in ages with our kids, it's difficult to get everyone together.  Well, this does it.  I am so glad we were all there.  I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it because I got to hang out with the people I love most in this world.  These are the folks who have been there during the good, the bad, the pretty and the ugly.  We, as a family unit have endured what every family has - joyous births of children, losses of loved ones, illnesses, unemployment, crisis, financial hardships and uncertainties.  But the one thing that has remained a constant is our love for one another.  I think each of  the people you see in the family picture below knows that.  We may disagree, and have different opinions on a variety of topics, but we all agree that we are one.  We are what two people, Luis and Ofelia Alvero (my mom and dad)  started, and now have become a group of 20+ individuals that are grateful, humbled and blessed to have each other.  I dare speak for all of us when I say that.  WE are blessed!

The Family