Aunties are the Best!!

As the title states...aunts are pretty great, but there's one in particular that absolutely everyone in our family would do anything for...my great-aunt Vi. :) She is just one of those special people. Everyone in our family has fond memories of Auntie Vi, but the common one is the fact that she always sent us a $2 bill on our birthdays with a card that would be full of well wishes and a letter scrawled out in her nearly imperceptible handwriting! For the entirety of my life, Aunt Vi has lived in California, in a suburb of Sacramento. I remember being in the 3rd or 4th grade and she came home to visit (as she does every year for at least a month), and she pointed out the part of the state she had lived in to me...in EVERY state. Yes, you read that right...Auntie has lived in every state. She is truly a fan of warmer climates though...haha...which we are trying to convince her to leave! The entire family has ganged up on her and by the comments she was making last night, I do believe come spring/summer she will move home to Indiana for good....and we would all be thrilled! ;)

Okay, so this post does have a purpose...haha...Thursday night we had a surprise 89th birthday party for Auntie. And amazingly, we did surprise her!! ha Only for Aunt Vi would 60 family members travel to the little town of Oldenburg for a family-style chicken dinner at the Brau Haus. That's more people than attended the family reunion this year! :p It was really nice to see some of the family that I haven't seen in YEARS. Jenna even made it down from Indy. We had family from Indy, Cincy, and of course everyone else was local to Osgood/Versailles/Batesville area. In lieu of gifts that Auntie wouldn't be able to transport back to Cali in her trademark old white suitcase, we all gave gifts that she could use when she moves back to Indiana. haha (see, I told ya we are doing our best!?!) So, one of the cousins will store the "Auntie's IN Store" for her return. It was great seeing Auntie (I'm hoping to go visit her in Cali before she moves back here) and spending time with our extended family.

Enjoy the pictures! :)

Auntie (seated to the right, side view)


The Menchhofer's



me & my buddy, Ethan