Easter Fest & Spring Showers!

Woo Hoo! Spring is finally here!!! And along with Spring comes...EASTER! As you can see, we had a day of fun and games at our church "EASTER FEST"! John and I, along with my brother, Greg, and our daughter-in-law, Jessica, took the kids to enjoy all the fun activities. Lexi, Josh and Austin participated in the Easter egg hunt...they competed in all the games, such as ring toss, knocking down the cans, tossing the frog etc. As you can see from the pictures, they also enjoyed the giant obstacle course and slide (they HAD to do that one more than once!). We all had an awesome time and the kids took home a BUNCH of candy!

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Last Tuesday night, myself and all the girls I work with gave Julie Krist (our pastor's daughter) a surprise personal bridal shower. Early on after her engagement, we had all informed her that she would HAVE to have ALL of us stand up as bridesmaids in her wedding. Soooo..being the wonderful, considerate, thoughtful people that we are, and in order to save her time and to save us money...we all went to the resale stores and bought our bridesmaid ensembles. As you can see, for a total of about $70, we were able to put together a "lavishly lovely" bridesmaid's party! Entertainment was provided by "Elvira and The Human Ipods" (a.k.a. Louise, Dawn, Karen, Stacey), who performed amazing renditions of, "My Guy" and "Goin' To The Chapel". Believe me, this performance won't soon be forgotten! lol Because we discovered that Julie has a fear of clowns...we, of course, HAD to have a cake decorated with a clown bride and also a few clown cookies!

Seriously though, Julie received some beautiful nighties, a beautiful pair of "custom made" house slippers, and also some very personal "unmentionable" items! I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we haven't laughed so much or so hard in a very long time AND....a good time was had by all!

Friends, Family, and Fun!

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I don't know about you...but our weekend was certainly a busy one! Our friend, Terry, came in from Mason, MI on Thursday and was here until Saturday night. Friday night a whole group of us went to the Woodside Bible Church in Troy for their "Comedy For A Cause" show. There were two comedians on the program, Tom Ryan (not the local guy) and Tim Hawkins. I have to say that I haven't laughed that much in ages! After the show, we all (18 of us)went to the Alibi Restaurant to eat. Saturday John, Terry and I went out to breakfast, then spent the WHOLE day (at least until 5:30 p.m.) shopping. Terry doesn't have many large stores or malls near where she lives, so when she comes here, she tries to find those things that she isn't able to find in Mason. I think we pretty well covered most of the Lakeside Mall area! lol We went to Ram's Horn for dinner, then John and I were off to my parents' house for my dad's birthday.

My brother and his family and my daughter's family joined us at my parents and we all enjoyed pineapple birthday cake, vanilla ice cream AND coconut pie! It was all very yummy! As you can see by the pictures, Jake, the new puppy, also came to wish my dad well. And nooooo...you aren't "seeing double"....there actually are TWO puppies! My mother fell in love with Jake last week, and since she has been wanting a dog, she decided to buy Jake's brother for her and my dad!! The new puppy was a hit with everyone (including Terry) and now Terry wants one too! She has put her order in for the next litter which is scheduled to arrive sometime in July. I think I should be due some kind of a "finder's fee" or something!lol The two dogs enjoyed playing together and we all enjoyed watching! The new puppy doesn't yet have a name, but I will certainly keep you informed when my mom decides on what he will be called.

So, once again, the weekend has FLOWN by....and Monday is almost here again. I'm sure this will be a busy week for everyone. I sometimes miss all the activity that comes with Easter...the buying of candy and Easter baskets, shopping for Easter outfits and coloring Easter eggs. Well, maybe I really don't miss coloring Easter eggs all THAT much! lol So, on that note, I hope you all have a blessed Easter and enjoy a wonderful time with your families!

Puppies and Family

Greetings! Yes, I'm back again after a long absence. Like you, John and I have just been trying to survive more cold, snowy days! I don't know about you, but I am SO DONE with winter! Spring can make her appearance any time now.

We have been keeping busy with all the usual winter activities....eating, working, eating, working, eating, renting movies, eating popcorn, etc., etc., etc. Needless to say, the diet has pretty much gone down the drain for the time being. And how is YOUR diet going?? lol

This past weekend we got together with my family at my mom and dad's house. We feasted on ribs & chicken followed by blueberry pie and cheesecake. We watched the movie, "Next". As you can see from this week's picture, we have a new family member. My brother and sister-in-law just got a new puppy that they named, Jake. He is very cute, very fluffy and very little. When I asked my nephew, Austin, why he got a dog, he told me that, "he prayed and asked God for a puppy, and God talked to his Sunday School teacher, Miss Barb, and told her that he wanted a dog, and (since she breeds dogs), she gave him a puppy! Now, if THAT isn't a "faith builder", I don't know what is! As expected, Jake was a big hit with the whole family...including Auntie Karen & Uncle John! And, "no", we will NOT be praying for a baby!!!!

Have a great week!

Cabin Fever

Welcome back to our blog. It has been awhile since we have made a post, so I hope to bring you up to date on the events of the last couple of weeks (not that anything very exciting has been happening!)

As you can see from this week's pictures, we have certainly had more than enough snow! I do have to say, though, that the snow has been quite beautiful...but all the cloudy days are a little depressing and can sometimes bring on a case of cabin fever. And, as you can see from the other pictures, cabin fever can bring on the "heebie jeebies"....causing our faces to make all kinds of weird contortions! Even, Austin, my nephew was affected! But, not to worry, as all you ladies know, nothing helps cabin fever more than going shopping and buying a new top or a new pair of shoes! Oh Yeah! So, once again, all is well!

Besides shopping and making faces, we also participated in a Euchre tournament with my brother's Euchre group (I won $15 for 5th place!Woo Hoo!), we had dinner with Hal & Linda at Cathy's house, we went to the movies and saw, "Michael Clayton" (two thumbs up!) and we have been fantasizing about a trip to somewhere warm and sunny. Believe me, it hasn't helped that we have friends who are in Florida and Hawaii that keep calling and sending pictures on the camera phone to let us know how warm it is where they are! lol Well, that's OK...John and I will be glad to return the favor when we take our next "dream" vacation! So, take care, and maybe we'll do something a little more exciting for the next blog entry.

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BIRTHDAYS, FUN AT WORK & A NIGHT OUT...

No.....we did NOT fall off the face of the earth! We are still here, working, living life and having fun. During our absence, I was enjoying life at the office with Dawn & Stacey, my co-workers. They are great pals and a lot of fun to work with!'

During the course of the month we celebrated Alexis'(John's granddaugher) and Beth's (my daughter) birthdays. For Lexie, we all went out to dinner at Big Boy's, then came back to our house for cake, ice cream and presents. She liked the jeans and top that we got for her, but she REALLY loved the Hannah Montana doll! For Beth's birthday, I had her and her family over for spaghetti dinner (her favorite) and, once again...cake, ice cream and presents. Beth especially loved the 2nd season Muppets DVD that we got for her. Since she loves family pictures, we also gave her a family photo album. After all the celebrating, we all enjoyed playing "Caranium Pop 5"...a great game that I would highly recommend!

This past Friday night we got together with Sandy & Al and Jimmy & Shelley and went to Mac Ray's where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner followed by the "Rat Pack" show. It was a live show by two guys who sang all of the old songs of the Rat Pack as well as some rock & roll and country songs. The entertainment was great and Shelley's special brownie mousse parfait was a wonderful finish to a delicious dinner. Saturday night John and I went to the movies with Sandy and Al to see "The Bucket List". It was a very good movie, though a little more sad than I had anticipated.

So, that's it for this week. Hope you enjoy the pictures and we look forward to the next time!

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HOLIDAZE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Finally....holidays are over and we have once again settled back into somewhat of a routine. Our holidays were all good. There was lots of food, presents, lots of food, family, lots of food, friends, and lots of FOOD! I swore that I would never need to eat again until Easter....but, of course, that resolution was short-lived! Thus, the reason for resolution #2....BEGIN THE DIET! So far, I have lost ONE WHOLE POUND! Woo Hoo! Don't laugh....just how is YOUR diet going??

Seriously, it was great to be able to spend time with so many of our family and friends through the holidays. You all helped to make them special. I apologize for not having any pictures posted. It's not that we didn't take any...we took zillions...but we had them put on a cd and haven't been able to find it!(Guess that means I should clean house!) So between that and the fact that I left our camera at my friend's (Terry) house, I guess it means that all you have is just a boring blog to read for this week. But I guess that's OK since it has been kind of a "slow news week" anyway! lol

So, I hope all of you have a good rest of the week and that you have great success with those diets! And remember, John and I would love to hear from you and to know if you read the blog or not....so, if you DO visit our blog, and you don't find it too boring, please leave us your comments by clicking on the "comments" link at the end of each entry. It is just another way that helps us feel like we're keeping in touch with everyone. So Happy New Year! We love you!

PRESENTS, PARTIES & POPPA!

Yes, we ARE alive and well and, just like you, we've been preparing and looking forward to Christmas! Since the last time I posted to the blog, we began the month by going out with our good friends, Sandy & Al and Jimmy and Shelley, to celebrate Sandy & Al's 38th wedding anniversary. Yes, you read that correctly...Sandy has been "putting up" with Al for a WHOLE 38 YEARS now!!! Wow...I bet Santa is going to reward her with something REALLY good this year! lol Seriously, though, we all went out for a most wonderful dinner at "Lelli's" in Auburn Hills, after which we came back to our house where we gave them their Christmas gifts. It really was an awesome evening...and, once again, Congrats to Sandy and Al!

After celebrating the big anniversary, John and I hosted a dinner party for some friends from church, as well as my brother and sister-in-law. We invited Dawn & Tim Waage and Hal & Linda Barringer over for dinner and conversation. Everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner of stuffed chicken breasts (at least, no one got sick! lol) and then we just enjoyed a lively game of, "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?"...which we sadly discovered that most of us were NOT!!!! lol

Last weekend we were so pleased to have John's daughter, Jessica, and his grandaughter, Emma come for a visit. Unfortunately, they chose the weekend of our HUGE snowstorm to drive all the way up from South Carolina! After about an 18 hour drive, they did arrive safe and sound and more than a little tired. We really enjoyed visiting with Jessica and playing with Emma (who is almost 3). I was so happy to have the opportunity to get to know both of them better, and was thrilled that I am now known as, "Grammy" to Emma! They left on Tuesday to go back home, and we're happy to say that the trip back was much quicker thanks to dry roads.

This past weekend John and I were invited to Randy & Dona Radcliff's for our annual gift exchange & dinner. We were joined by Bob & Jan Marasco, Terry Hall and Harold and Jeanette Cooper. We all were treated to a culinary masterpiece ala, Randy...a wonderful prime rib dinner...which was cooked to perfection! I think now I'm going to have to "up my game" for my next dinner party! After dinner, we enjoyed delicious desserts and then....PRESENTS!! Woo Hoo! Everyone seemed pleased with their "Christmas Bounty", but, as always, the best part was getting together with all of our friends.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and as we do every year, all of my family will be going to my brother's house to enoy dinner and gifts and just time spent together. As I get older (and hopefully, wiser) I find that those times we're able to come together with friends and family to talk, laugh, reminice and make memories, are what I treasure most in my life. So, as Christmas approaches, John and I wish for all of you blessings, love and the warmth of family and friends in the new year! We love and treasure each of you!

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