"A Perfect Sister I Am Not, But Thankful For The Ones I've Got"

When Marlene Dietrich and Mackenna Gallachin O'Brien came to call, Chelsea, Sawyer and I drove down to the San Diego airport to pick them up. Dana Point is exactly 60 miles south of LAX and 60ish miles north of San Diego, and although John Wayne airport in Newport Beach is the ideal place for visitors to arrive and depart, Southwest Airlines doesn't always cooperate with the cheapest flights. The drive to San Diego is prettier and faster than LAX so it worked out well for all of us and included a little stop at Fred's Mexican Cafe for delicious enchiladas. The picture below only shows the cleaned-up aftermath, not the table loaded down with too much food and drink.

Me, Marlene & Mackenna Gallacher, Chelsea (el bambino isn't in the picture)

We called my niece, Valerie, who lives in La Jolla, to meet us at the San Diego temple and say a quick hello along with her girls, Audrey and Alyssa.

Me, Marlene, Audrey, Valerie, & Alyssa Gathright, Sawyer & Chelsea, Mackenna

Driving back up along the coast we did some other stuff, of which I'm not at liberty to mention. I had French Dip planned and waiting for us in the crockpot, and although it didn't turn out as good as usual (I continue to remind Chelsea that when it comes to French Dip, 4-5 hours on high always works while 7-9 hours on low never does, at least in my crockpot from 1979). Still in all we made do with yet more food. Between that and the early flight Marlene caught after teaching early-morning seminary and the even earlier flight Mackenna caught from Salt Lake (she needed a break from BYU and her masters program) everyone but me sacked out early. I thought the night was still young so had to content myself by snapping obnoxious photos.

On Saturday, my other sister, Cheryl Munns, drove down from West Covina to join the fun. We were sad Sandy couldn't make it for this impromptu sisters' retreat. And of course it's not the same without my sisters-in-law, Gayle and Melissa, here, either. Nothing in the history of time will compare with the great adventure all 6 of us had in Europe on the "Woolf Girls Cross the Pond" trip in 1995.

Mackenna, Cheryl, Marlene, me at The Fisherman in San Clemente-yummy Chicken Alfredo is always a treat there

Marlene W. Gallacher, Cheryl W. Munns, Joyce W. W. Woolf

Sunday was spent at church and Roger's Gardens in Newport. Mackenna had a HUGE reaction to something in the air and had a response like I've never seen. Several people in church thought she was either really overcome by the spirit or had a lot of repenting to do. I continued to defend her honor by explaining the red swollen tear-filled eyes and runny nose were due to allergies. Our prescription for recovery was a Sunday Mexican Train tournament which lasted into the wee hours of the night and included hot Pero and cream and more food and more food and more food.

Sawyer had mixed emotions upon our visitors leaving when we dropped them off at the San Diego airport on Monday. He loved having them here and all the hugs and kisses he got, but he was also glad to get his Nannie Joy's undivided attention back.

Goodby my dears--we will miss you and can't wait til next we meet again (which in Marlene's case is two weeks when I head up to Sacramento to check on the folks and visit the dentist).

Sawyer doing what he does best, snuggling next to my heart.