Lv2Scrp

23 + 4 days

Denny and I went to Kalamazoo today for Marc's birthday ....

23

           ... years ago today.

      How could I have known then ... how proud i would be of you now?

I love you so much. 

Happy Birthday my son.

[thanks]giving 2008

 

Thanksgiving at my in-laws
clockwise left to right: Nick, Alan, Hannah, Raquel, Abe, Paula, Maria, Grandma, Denny, Marc, Alissa

Things are always the best they can be [for me] when I'm with my family.  That means Marc and Alissa being home from Kalamazoo.  And Nick and Sara being with us too :)  That's what this Thanksgiving was for Denny and me ... and it was wonderful!

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Wednesday afternoon: Marc and Sara arrive from Kalamazoo shortly before 4pm.
This time they brought their dog Saber ... Abby has a friend to play with!



... going for a walk (Marc sees me with the camera, haha!) ...

Soon we head over to Kensington .  We are having a Thanksgiving Eve Dinner tonight.  I get to introduce Marc and Alissa (and Sara's roommate Megan who has joined us) to a bunch of my co-workers.  Sara and Nick aren't here though, because they're at Nick's dad's.

After dinner, we go down to the auditorium for the service.  I volunteer in the bullpen, but tonight is my first time working backstage.  I'm a little nervous, but everything goes fine, and the service is awesome!

After church, Denny and I stop at Gus O'Connor's in downtown Rochester for a drink with a ton of Marc and Sara's friends from high school that they are meeting up with.

So many of these guys were like my own kids when Marc and Sara were in high school.





It was great seeing them again!!

Note to self:  You know you're getting old when your son buys you a shot to take with him!
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Thanksgiving Morning at our house ... Marc and Alissa pose with Abby and Saber.



And later, at Grandma and Grandpa's house ... with their dog Winnie.



Meanwhile, in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen, [Uncle] Denny carves the turkey.
left to right: Uncle Alan, Aunt Maria, Nick, Sara and [Uncle] Denny



... and within seconds, the family is lining up ....................!

me, Alissa and Marc

After dinner, everyone piles into the living room in front of the TV.



Michael and Nick decide to play the game of "Life".

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After a full day of eating and visiting in Wyandotte,
Denny and I (with Marc and Alissa) head back home to Rochester.
Nick and Sara were off to see Nick's mom.



We decide to play

"Battle of the Sexes"
Marc and Denny vs. Alissa and Pam

Ummm ... yeah, the girls won!

Q. The Vulcan range of motorcycles is made by which company?
A. Kawasaki !!!!!  **

** This was sooo funny, Alissa and I kept accidentally and randomly getting answers right, that we really shouldn't have known, haha!  The guys were like, 'what the heck?!?!'
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Friday morning ... Denny cooked breakfast:
Eggs, canadian bacon, hash browns, corned beef hash, toast, orange juice, coffee ... Mmmmmm!



After breakfast, we watched some old home movies from the fall of 1989
when Marc and Sara were 3 and 2 ... was that really 19 years ago?!?

Then Marc found a WWF Royal Rumble video from 1998, haha!



Abby and Saber were bored ...



... as was Nathan ...

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Far too soon, it was time for them to head back to Kalamazoo.



Abby and Saber watch as they pack up the car.





One last Thanksgiving Weekend pic .. love you guys soooo much  : )

... miss you already ...

.

Image is Everything.

Lest you think my son is in reality the trashy boy he appears to be in the College Life layout below, let me assure you ... he is quite the opposite!  Alissa sent me this picture she took of him today before he left to do a presentation he had at school.  Very handsome Marc ... I don't know how you were quite so convincing for Halloween this year : )

College Life

I got a couple new pictures from Marc and Alissa the other day ... they are happy just living their day to day life together: classes, work, getting together with friends.  Just everyday moments.  It reminded me that these are the moments, the regular everyday ones, that years from now we'll look back on with fondness.

[misunderstood] lyrics

"I laughed so hard when I saw this memorex ad.  When this song came out in the summer of 1995, this is exactly what Marc & Sara thought it said.  All of us still laugh about it to this day."

          ------>   You Oughta Know by Alainis Morrisette.  The lyrics (we now know) are " it's not fair to deny me of the cross I bear that you gave to me ..."  But how many people thought Alainis was talking about her cross-eyed bear?  Marc and Sara must not have been the only ones  ... (look at this)    : )

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Now that's what I call a Marguerita :)

Denny and I spent the day in K-zoo today with Marc & Alissa.

We took them this coffee table (in black-brown) that I had found on my IKEA trip last week with Sara.  After watching the Lions (lose) ... we went to a great Mexican restaurant by their apartment called La Pinata .. Alissa and I shared this giant Martguerita :)

Before heading back to Rochester, we picked up a couple of cartons of ice cream and watched You Don't Mess with The Zohan (funny!)

Great day!  Love my son (and his girlfriend) ... :)

Bribe

I've never been above bribing my kids.  Yeah, I used to pay them for their grades.  And I would promise them all kinds of stuff for photo shoots.  They're in their 20's now and I'm still bribing them.

Our television died last week and we had to get a new one.  I just sent Marc (at Western Michigan University) this email.  Hope it works :)

WMU Progression [updated]

Moving Day

Denny and I drove out to Kalamazoo today to see Marc and Alissa!  They had spent the last two days moving into their new apartment so it was great not only to spend the day with the two of them, but to see their new place and take them a few housewarming presents.  Including the scrapbook I had made them.  They loved it .. well Alissa loved it (Marc's a guy, and let's face it, he's been getting these things for years).

We also got to meet Alissa's mom and dad and lots more members of her family.  Then we all went out to The Olde Peninsula for dinner to celebrate Alissa's birthday which was last week!  It was a great day.  I only took a couple of pictures but I had my laptop with me so I fooled around with them on the 2.5 hour drive home.