COUSINS

 I haven't been able to sign in to my blog, so today I tried again and, WALLA! I did it on the very first try.  I had thought, and also I was very worried that I'd never be able to login ever again.

Today I'd like to share a picture that I got off Facebook.  It's a picture of my cousins out in California getting together.  Not all of my cousins, but just a few on my mother's side of the family..

I think this is a wonderful picture of them.  From Right to Left:  Lola, Tirre, DeeDee, Arlene, Jacque, Carla and her husband.  I believe they are all in San Clemente by the beach.  I wish I could have been there with them all.

I miss my family very much.  I left California in 1962, and returned 2-3 times to visit, but it's been a very long time since I have seen them in person.  We do keep up with each other on Facebook, but it's just not the same as seeing them in person, but it will do.

My mother had a very large family.  I think she had 13 brothers and sisters, for a total of 14 children, so you can imagine the number of cousins that my brother Dennis and I had.  There were always quite a house full of kids spending the night on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to arrive early Christmas morning.  It was so much fun.  Dennis and I would be at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Pasadena, California for 2 whole weeks on our Christmas break from school.  My aunts would take turns taking me to their homes so that I could play with my cousins, April & Jacque, and Annette & DeeDee.  I remember going home with DeeDee's mom and dad, and with Jacque's mom and dad.

I lived with DeeDee's parents, Danny and Betty Arellanes for the first two-three years of my life until Annette was born.  Then I went to live with my father's mom and dad in San Gabriel, California, Pablo and Natalia Flores Diaz.  My dad's name was Thomas Diaz.  

I make no mention of my mother Rebecca Arellanes Diaz because I don't remember her at all.  She disappeared sometime before my first year of life.  Hence the name of my blog, Abandoned in Pasadena, because that's where she left my brother Dennis and I while she went shopping for furniture and never came back.  I did live a happy life tho and I was extremely spoiled by my grandparents in San Gabriel and my Dad too.