Everyone had had a busy summer and things were starting to wind down with the start of the new school year looming large, so we took one last family trip to California. It was a gloomy day and we were about to experience a rather gruesome trip, but this woman seemed happy enough as she checked is through security so that Sarah Jane Benjamin and Suzanne could settle in at the gate area. The kids read as Suzanne went off in search of coffee while this man tried to reassure us that all would be well with the flight. He was right except that the same didn't apply to our suitcase which got pretty beaten up in the transit. Here Jane and Suzanne looked out for the rest of our bags, hoping that they met a better fate. We then made our way to the stop for the courtesy shuttle while Benjamin showed off the new suitcase we were given by Continental Airlines.

Once we got the rental car (no small feat as it turned out), we headed for Dansyl's house where they served a wonderful plate of vegetables and cheese to help us get over our road weariness. Sylvia, Benjamin, Dan, Sarah, Jane, Suzanne and David were all ready for dinner, so we sat down to eat. The meatballs flashed out so quickly that they spilled over their bowl but they made a wonderful combination with the mashed potatoes as you can see from Benjamin's face.