Terry Turns ... (Only the cake will tell!)

Happy Birthday, Terry!

Terry had a momentous birthday on Saturday. He said that it really seemed wierd to be an age that he always thought was "old". I won't tell you the age because it is the same age I am turning in August. Now he knows that it is not really old!  He shared his cake with his sister, Barb, who just had a birthday last week.

We had a family party at our house. Ken and Sandy came, Barb and Ron, Aunt Shirley and Aunt Bev, and Shelley, Bob, Matthew, and Nolan. (and me) We had a great time eating and talking and opening presents.

Terry is reading his cards. He got a new golf bag, golf hat and golf glove. He also got some money and lots of cards.

Nolan was so cute all night and so good! He just talked and smiled and laughed! What a cutie! Everyone enjoyed seeing him. He has grown so much and loves to be standing up! (With someone holding on to him, of course!)

Matthew liked watching Grandpa open gifts.

The "girls" (and Nolan) had a good time talking around the table in the family room while the guys watched the Final Four on the big screen TV. They were all wanting Michigan State to win and they did!

Terry is re lighting the candles on the cake for Barb to take her turn making a wish and blowing out the candles.

We had a nice evening. We don't get together all that much, so it was fun to visit and laugh together.

Pinewood Derby

This is a belated post that I should have written about last week, but just didn't get the time. We attended our annual Pinewood Derby at church and Shelley, Bob, Matthew, and Nolan came! Terry had gotten a car for himself, Bob, and Matthew and they had all worked hard on getting them just like they wanted them. I put this picture of Nolan first. This was actually taken as they were leaving the Pinewood Derby. I wanted to show that Nolan was there, too, and was very good the whole night.

Matthew was very excited to be in the race and asked all week "is it Friday yet?" He actually painted his own car and did a super job! Shelley taped the stripe for him so he wouldn't go out of the lines, but he painted the whole car very carefully. He ended up winning second place in his age division and here he is holding up his medal. The fact that he came in second has Terry already planning for next year because Terry is the one who worked on preparing all three cars for the race. He worked on the wheels, the weights, etc. to get them to go fast.

This is one of the tracks that the races take place on. One even had a photo finish camera!

There were about fifty or sixty cars in the race and they were very creative! Matthew's car is the blue one with the black stripe.

All of the kids (and adults) were crowding around the cars before the races to see their own and all the other creatively painted cars. Matthew wanted to see his and had to squeeze in a look between two other boys.

Matthew's other grandpa was still in Michigan at the time and came to watch the race. So Matthew had both grandpas and his dad, mom, brother and one grandma there. I am not usually in the pictures since I am the only one who takes the pictures.

Terry won first place in the adult division and was very pleased that his car was the fastest since he is very competitive. Terry? - No! He just wished that it had been Matthew's car that won first place - well, not INSTEAD of his, but at least along WITH his!!

Bob and Matthew are holding their cars here. They had a good time together that night.

       Here is what the races were like.

We had a fun night. We made a good memory and I'm glad I have the pictures to remember it!

Esme' Video II

Here is another video I took of Esme' and Shari feeding her when we were at their house in Tennessee this month.

Esme' Video

I took this video of Esme' when we were in a restaurant in Gatlinburg this past month. She was very interested in Mark's food! The person talking in the background is me - my voice sounds horrible!

TENNESSEE TRIP

Our trip to Tennessee was uneventful until we got to Kentucky and drove in the mountains. We got into a really bad SNOW storm! It was also very foggy and it was part sleet at times. Several cars had slid off of the road and one had rolled over. It was a very tense and quiet two hours through Kentucky. But it was worth it to finally be able to see Shari, Mark, and ESME'!  :)

 We had such a great time being with them! Esme' is just so beautiful and sweet and cute and funny! She has a really cute personality and I just loved playing with her! 

These pictures are not in any particular order because I have quite a few and since I don't have much luck with that anyway, I decided not to even try. Here is Esme' before she got her bath. She has discovered her feet and loves to put her toes right into her mouth! 

Shari is feeding Esme' squash  here. She likes squash and sweet potatoes, but prunes not so much. I just love her little chubby hands which you can see here!

Playing with bunny

Esme' loves to kiss people with her mouth wide open. She is also saying, "Da da da."

All dressed up for church. We went with Shari and Mark to the church that they have been going on Sunday. I think it is called Providence. They have been attending for quite a few weeks now and have almost decided to stay there. They have met a really nice couple there and have gotten together with them outside of church at least once.

Grandma giving Esme' some kisses.

Even though it rained most of the time we were in Tennessee, we had a great time. Saturday we went to Gatlinburg. We went to the aquarium there and then walked around the town for awhile and found a place to eat. 

Esme'  sitting patiently in her carseat.

This is the aquarium in Gatlinburg. It was not raining much and very foggy in the city. After dinner, we could barely see the mountains and it looked like the lift went straight up into the clouds! Below are some more pictures of Gatlinburg.

The aquarium was really nice. In the picture below, we were in a glass enclosed tunnel with fish all around us. 

Mark, Shari, and Esme'

Walking around the streets of Gatlinburg - This the back of Shari.

Below are some more pictures of Esme'.

This is a picture of Shari and Mark's townhouse. You come in on the garage level to a landing, then you go upstairs to the living room and dining area and kitchen. There is also a half bath on this level. You go upstairs again to three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a laundry room. It is very nice and much more convenient than their last place for having company because of the extra bedroom and bathroom.

 

We had a very nice time visiting and playing games and eating with them. They are always so hospitable and easy to be with. Can't wait to go again! When we got to the mountains, though, it was raining hard and it was very foggy and difficult to see our way. It was a relief to get into Ohio where it was actually sunny for awhile!

NOLAN IS THREE MONTHS

Time has flown by and our newest grandson is already three months old! He is starting to respond to us more and smiles and coos at us. He is so precious! My only problem is that SOMEHOW I call him " Logan" once in a while! I don't know why!!? Maybe we just go to Logan's too much! I know we do!

This week we took Shel and Bob and the kids out to eat to celebrate Bob's fortieth birthday. Nolan enjoyed it and we enjoyed playing with him.

I got to babysit a couple of times this week and spent a lot of time with Nolan and Matthew. He smiled quite a bit for me.

He looks like he is intently listening to a conversation here!

I finally got in a picture!

Nolan loves to stand up (with someone holding on to him). Here he is standing on the table at the restaurant.
Each little one has his own unique personality and we are excited to see what Nolan will be like. He is growing up so fast and we want to enjoy every minute! Grandchildren are a blessing from the Lord!

Mom's Birthday

Terry and I took a quick trip to Grand Rapids on Tuesday of this week to visit with my mom and Roy and my sister Carol and Don. It was a beautiful day to travel and we really enjoyed it!

We spent most of the day just visiting because we really haven't seen any of them since Thanksgiving at our house. So it is just nice to sit and talk and catch up. I didn't take more than three pictures because most of the people there don't like getting their pictures taken and I would rather just sit and visit anyway. So these are the two pictures I took - a couple didn't turn out so I won't post them.

Mom and Roy make such a great couple! We enjoyed the day with them. The six of us ended the day by going out to eat and then going back to Mom and Roy's to have some strawberry shortcake. It was good to see everyone again! 

BOB,

Happy Birthday!

Bob

Brother, Son, Husband, Daddy

Good natured, patient

kind, loving

Son-in-law

A poet I'm NOT!  :)

Technology is Wonderful!

Seeing Esme' and Shari twice in one week!

What fun to come home yesterday and find that Shari had left me a video message on tokbox!

I just can't believe I am going to get to see Esme' as often as I want! :)  This is how they look on my computer screen.

Shari said that they were getting a snowstorm in Knoxville and already had about an inch of snow. (Very unusual for them!) Well I am glad to spread the joy around!!

Isn't she sweet? This just made my week!