Christmas Eve 2008

Our families all gathered at Dad's house this year for Christmas Eve. Dad and Reva are still in AZ. You know... parents are gone and the kids throw the party. We are still trying to get even for all those night we were sent to bed and they ate steaks and popcorn. Ha-Ha!

Xavier is showing off his walking skills to Grandpa.














Santa came and brought all the good kids their gifts.



Xavier meet's Santa for the first time.

Jordan got a great bow. How did Santa know he wanted one?

Laurie Ann took her turn on Santa's lap. I guess she was a good girl too.

Alex's turn with Santa. Was it for coal or a gift?

What did Santa bring Nick?

Billy is a goos sport. He must be to fit in so well. What did Santa bring him?

Ashley sat on Santa's lap and never spilt a drop of her wine. My how they have grown up, from the baby bottle to a wine glass.

Eric was excited that Santa didn't forget him either.

Xavier's turn on Santa's lap. He loves anyone who gives him paper.

Grandpa and Xavier opens his gift from Santa. Xavier got a John Deere.

Mandy was a good girl because Santa had a gift for her too.

Santa was glad to see Sandy in the group this year.

Cookie took her turn on Santa's lap. He wouldn't say how good she had been.

Since Mrs. Claus wasn't here this year, De had Santa sit on his lap instead. Somthing is just wrong with that.

Here are the family pictures I had on my camera.

De, Corrine, Ashley, Nicki, Billy and Jordan.

Cookie, Alex, and Nick.

The party ended with a card game. Who would have guessed?

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Mickey

Wii Party

We all had a great time at the party. There was a lot of laughs and a few punches too. We had a bowling tournament and a few boxing matches too.

Nothing like great cousin time. LOL!!

Paw-Paw has a mean curve.

Cookie looks like a pro.

Mickey threw the ball backwards more than forward. The crowed gave her bad looks. Who is the real bowler in this group anyway?

Look at the orb on the wall while
Laurie is bowling. Guess who was there watching the games.

Now the boxing begins. We had....

Brother against brother.

Father against Son.

De and Jordan box. Got to love those

father-son matches.

Nick and Jordan box.

It was a lot of fun. Hope to do it again soon.

Love,

Mickey

Laurie Off To College

We dropped Laurie off at William Woods today for her 3 week summer classes. Here are a few pictures of her departure.

Susie stops by to say good-bye.

We are on the way.

We finally make it after several stops and an accident that closes Hwy 70 for an ARCH helecopter to land. It was 4 miles of a parking lot. Anyway here is us making it to her dorm.

We helped her make her bed and raise it up to get her dresser under it to make more room. Her girlfriend, Jill, helped her do some unpacking. We got to meet her roommate, Katie, before we left. It was time for them to go to supper so we kissed her good-bye and left. It is only for 3 weeks so I didn't get teary.

Things are a bit quieter this evening.

Love,

Mickey

Emma's Dance Recital

Emma's 2008 season dance recital was 3 busy evenings, Wed was the dress rehearsal, Thurs and Fri were performances. Grandma Sandy got to do hair and makeup, costume changes and taxi service all 3 nights. It was a treat for me!

She was (of course) the star of the show and the most beautiful girl there.

She was in 2 dances, First the ballet to "I"m So Pretty".












The second dance was Emma's dance competition group dancing to "Ducks Dance Too"











Thursday Night "Old PaPa", Reva and Aunt Cookie joined me for the show. And Friday NaNa (Marie) was able to see the show too. That left PaPa (John) with the other 6 kids. Bless his heart, he was a little crazy when we got home.

Emma and her friend Lucy waiting patiently back stage for their number.



My very tired princess!!!

It was a very busy week .... this was on the way TO the Friday show!!!

Graduation Party

We had such a good time. Linda Hemmer-Nadler showed up around 11 am to help me set up. That was a blessing because it had stormed the night before and filled the pavillon with water and mud. I had Laurie bring up shovels and a broom to clean up with. That put me behind a bit. Linda helped to decorate with Laurie, filling coolers with drinks, and just jumped in all over the place.

Then other people started to come and chipped in too. Sue Cotner, from bowling, helped with the food and serving table, Dad Lewis helped with the coolers and ice. Howie did all the BBQing. Susie did store runs for me.

Look at all the people who showed up to celebrate, the Schmidt's, Ann, Cookie & Boys, De, Corrine & Family, Dad and Reva, Aunt Rosie and Uncle Charlie, Cammie and Family, the Arnolds, Jeanie and Jamie Bethmann, JoAnn, the Tranklers, the Crotty family, the Heckman's, Laura, our Neighbors, and many more people.

The weather was beautilful until the very end. Then it poured. We were up to our ankles in water.LOL!! It didn't dampen the spirit though. Thanks to Everyone for Everything!

Love to all,

Mickey

Laurie's Graduation

Laurie Graduated from St. Charles High School on May 29, 2008.

Here are a few of the pictures.

Before the ceremony:

With Paw-Paw

With the Whole Fam Damly!

During the ceremony.

After the ceremony with Paw-Paw

With the Whole Fam Damly

With Extended Family (Howie and Shawn).

Whew they all made it. It was questionable on all 3 at one time or another. LOL!

Love Mickey