80 years young

On August 18th, Dereck's grandmother turned 80! His sister, Alexia, put together a weekend celebration that truly memorialized her life and gave people the chance to honor the amazing person that she is. The weekend started off with a lobster luncheon boat cruise in Boston Harbor. It was truly a beautiful day!

Pre-cruise Dereck and Tariq (Alexia's husband)

Here is Alexia, Sandi, grandma Joyce, Kim, and Aunt.

Here she is getting serenaded on the boat. She wasn't so happy about that.

Some views of the Harbor.
Kim (cousin), Dereck and Alexia

Delicious cake

Me and the Captain

Day 2 of the festivities was a surprise party! This picture below was when she first walked in and saw everyone there for her. She was truly shocked! There were about 80 people there - mostly family and family friends and long-time neighbors who all had a story to tell about how she had touched their life. This woman is amazing. Dereck wrote a poem that his cousin read and Alexia and Sandi did all the decorations and the food was catered and sooo good. A lot of work went into this event, but it was so worth it for her! She was so grateful!A lot of people got up and gave speeches about her. Here is Dereck's mom giving a tribute.

This is Dereck's cousin, Jon. He gave a very funny/touching speech.
Another cake!

Enjoying the festivities!

And then the dancing began! Soul train line and everything... watch out!