This past June, my family celebrated a wonderful and incredibly rare event. Our Grandma Great (Grandma, Mom or just simply Nell) celebrated her 100th birthday! Think about that for a minute. Before June, I couldn’t name anyone who was 100 years old, let alone say I knew them personally. It’s such an incredible feat that her family came in from all over the country to celebrate with her. And if I have learned anything about the Rodes since joining them, it’s that they know how to party!
Family and friends gathered at Grandma Great’s house for the festivities. It’s always fun getting everyone together.
This little guy is Dylan, son of our cousin Melissa. As you can imagine from this picture, he is quite the little man with a fabulous personality. You’ll see plenty of him throughout this post. Here, Nathan is trying to get Dylan to go up to the camera. I love the curious look he has on his face.
“Ok, really, what is that huge thing? You keep telling me it’s a camera!”
Think about all the people you have met in your life, the lives you’ve impacted, the friends you’ve made. Now multiple that over the course of 100 years. It was incredible to see the number of people who came out for Grandma Great’s party, each with a story of how she impacted their lives. It was truly an experience listening to them.
Sisters! How amazing is this photo?
No birthday party is complete without presents and birthday cake!
And some well-timed photo bombs!
The cousins of Generation Four!
While trying to set up a giant family photo, Tippy decided to do this… Not sure why. But it’s Tippy, and that makes it funny!
The best photo from that day? It’s our family photo of course, which includes five generations! That’s right, five generations together in one photo. It’s truly remarkable!
When I look at this photo, I can’t get over how lucky I am to have married into such an incredible family. And to think, this photo all began 100 years ago when the amazing Nell Goodyke was born. Happy birthday, Grandma Great! Here’s to many more wonderful years!
