95 Birthdays

Last weekend, Tal, Savannah, and I traveled to Illinois to celebrate my Grandma Rowell's 95th birthday. It was my first trip to Illinois in over two years. In addition to celebrating Grandma's milestone birthday, it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

Our family with Grandma Rowell

Many family and friends came to celebrate, including my cousins from Chicago, Colorado, and Arizona.




It had been 1.5 years since I'd seen my sister Renee, as well as my brother Michel, Sheree, and Mya. Here's a rare photo of all of us, including my mom and Grandma Rowell:


Savannah also met her Great Grandma Rowell for the first time.


Grandma Rowell is a mom to 5 children, a grandma to 12, and a great grandma to 20. Here's a picture of Grandma Rowell holding her newest great-grandchild Sarah (#20) who was born in June.


Savannah also met some of her second cousins, including Hannah from Arizona and Lilly from Colorado. I enjoyed meeting some of Savannah's second cousins, too, or seeing how they'd grown over the last few years!


In celebration of Grandma's birthday, all of our family contributed to a book with 95 reasons why we love Grandma Rowell. I love Grandma's baking, especially her 8-cup cookies and 7 layer bars. Also, Grandma is a talented seamstress. I treasure the ornaments, quilts, and doilies that she's made for me over the years. Our family is blessed to have Grandma Rowell as the matriarch of our family.