Category Archives: Michelle

Christmas 2012

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Christmas this year was truly a fantastic holiday event. Michelle was able to join us all on Sunday and stay until Christmas evening, so all three of the children were here for Christmas morning to unwrap their presents. The holiday kicked off with attending midnight mass at St. Bernards on Christmas Eve. Cookies were baked and breaking from some holiday traditions the children were actually not allowed to open a single present upon returning home from midnight mass.

One of the great things about having children that have grown up is that they are prepared for Christmas morning. They get dressed appropriately for pictures to be taken while they open their gifts and almost as importantly they start the coffee. Christmas morning was fantastic with a lit tree and snow outside. They awoke to more candy than they could readily consume in a day in their stockings and plenty of presents under the tree for all of them.

They all got what they wanted and then some and spent Christmas day playing card games, watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and playing Connect 4. Grandma made a fantastic ham for dinner. It really was one of the best Christmas days ever. As always all the pictures can be found on the pictures page.

First Day Back to School!

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These are a collection of pictures taken on the three separate days that each of my children went off to start their first day of school for this year. For Eddy this is his first day of high school, for Patty this is her Sophomore year, and for Michelle this is her last year of high school.

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Patty’s Birthday 2012

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Patty’s birthday was delayed this year, so that everyone could show up and the 26th this year was bad for several reasons. We had a cookout this year, which is something of an on again/off again tradition that was started several years ago. This birthday was attended by myself, Patty, Eddy, her Mom, her Great Grandma, Aunt Becky, Uncle Andrew, and their children Abby and Zach. It was fantastic that they could all make it out.

The cookout, which is done on a coal burning grill featured chicken, hotdogs, and hamburgers. The sides were potato salad and pork and beans. Something for everyone. It all came out good this year. The weather was perfect for a cookout reaching the mid to low 80’s and not a drop of rain all day. It has been something of a drought this year, so it did not seem likely that rain would be ruining this cookout. Everyone ate to their fill and Patty opened her gifts.

The only gift Patty really wanted this year was a cell phone. This has been a request for the last couple years. That wish has finally became a reality on her 15th birthday. Now she can stop borrowing Grandma’s phone and use her own for all of her Facebook and texting needs, which will inevitably consume a great amount of her time from now on. Just not at school where they are likely to confiscate the phone. As always all the pictures can be found on the pictures page.

Fun ‘n Stuff

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The kids all had President’s Day off from school, so it was best to take advantage of that and make sure to do something as a family. Michelle, Patty, and Eddy had no objection to my plan for the day. The first step was to get everyone some lunch, from there it was on to a place that I have been going since I was a kid.

Fun ‘n Stuff is a fairly easy destination for a cheap family activity. My parents used to take us kids there every once in a while. I always remember having a good time. The place has not changed a great deal. There have been some changes, but there is something really nice about being able to come back year after year and have the same fun. There is plenty to do there, but I mostly take the kids for the roller skating, arcade machines, and air hockey.

The kids all went roller skating. More specifically they all went roller blading. I remember when roller rinks started carrying roller blades they were usually a few more dollars to rent, and I never bothered to try. These kids though have gone ice skating and have been using roller blades for quite some time, so they are more versatile than I ever was. We held a little air hockey tournament. The kids are honestly getting pretty good at air hockey. It was a fun day.