Happy Anniversary - 33 Years

Yesterday Howard and I celebrated 33 years of marriage. How the time does fly by. Thirty-three years sounds like such a long amount of time and yet it has gone by so fast and so much has happened in those years. Howard gave me these beautiful roses, 33 red ones and 1 white one for the year to come. We didn't do anything special to celebrate since it was our bowling night! He did have them put our names up on the score screens so we got lots of congratulations after that. I guess it is an accomplishment to stay together that many years.

I Couldn't Believe My Eyes!!

Yesterday as Zoe and I were headed out for our afternoon walk, I saw this huge thing fly from feasting on an unfortunate squirrel in the middle of our road up to our neighbor's roof. I have never seen one of these in person but to the best of my knowledge (and a Bird Book I have) I think this critter is a Turkey Vulture! Amazing. His body did look like a turkey but that head definitely looks like a vulture. He hung around for quite some time, flying down from time to time, between cars going by, to help himself to a little more of the squirrel. After about an hour he finally gave up and flew off to greener pastures.

Happy Fall!!

Yes, the calendar says it's officially "Fall". Many of the signs have started to appear here in Michigan. The stores are full of apple cider, donuts, mums and pumpkins. The nights are cooler and some of the trees have even started to show signs of changing leaf color. But the days are beautiful, sunny and warm. Fall in Michigan is beautiful but so short! Before we know it the snow will be falling and so will the temperature! A few flowers are still blooming and will last until the first frost so I'm trying to enjoy them as long as possible.



Life is slowly getting back to normal. Howard and I have decided that we are suffering from a sort of "let down" now that the wedding is over. After all the wedding hoopla and plans and fun we are just back to our normal life. At least Howard is back to work. I'm still in limbo I guess. I did call the Dr. (vet) that I'm supposed to be working for last Monday when we returned. Then again on Wednesday since he didn't return my call. He must be really busy because he still hasn't called me back yet! I'm really trying to be patient and just count on starting sometime near the end of the month. When I go by the new office it doesn't seem to me like they will be in there any time soon though. So, I guess I'll try to wait a bit longer.
We spent a little time out in the yard this weekend since the weather was so nice. I bought a few mums to plant for a little Fall color. Zoe was enjoying being outside too!



Amber and Andrew should be getting back from the honeymoon soon, I think. With all the excitement I didn't really get a chance to ask them what their schedule was! I'm just assuming they will be going back to work tomorrow but since I haven't heard from them, maybe they decided to take two weeks for a honeymoon! I guess we will hear from them when we hear from them.

Wonderful Wedding Weekend Full of Family, Friends & Fun!!!

What a wonderful weekend!! Of course, the highlight was the wedding on Saturday, September 15, but we had so much fun and activity leading up to that day! When I arrived on Wednesday Amber and I picked up her gorgeous dress and I was trained on hooking up the bustle! That evening we just relaxed and waited for Howard and Scott to arrive from their long drive. All went well, the gifts arrived (having filled up the entire trunk and back seat of Howard's car).
Thursday morning was our scheduled trip to the White House. Apparently you have to "know someone" now to get in for a tour. You can also contact your Congressman and he will get you in. We met our guide, Cindy, and unfortunately because Bush was practicing a speech in a section of the White House we were scheduled to see, we had to wait outside for an hour and Andrew couldn't stay. He still had a bit of work to finish up so it was just Howard, Scott, Amber and me on the tour. We saw all the colorful rooms, The Red Room, The Blue Room, The Yellow Room, The Green Room, State Dining Room, and even stood on the front portico! That evening we all walked to dinner, both families, to a local restaurant.



Friday morning Amber, the Bridesmaids and I all went for our mani/pedi's at a local salon.

The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the Rehearsal Dinner that night. The dinner, hosted by the Porters, took place in the Westin Hotel's Pinzimini Room and was wonderful. Very private and fancy! Amber and Andrew presented their attendants and parents with wonderful, thoughtful gifts and everyone enjoyed the amazing food. After dinner all the under 30 set headed out to a local karaoke bar for more fun!



Saturday morning the Bride, her maids and I all enjoyed a pre-wedding brunch then headed off to the hair salon. Amber's hair looked amazing and she only suffered a moment of not liking her hair and then decided it was fine! Yeah!!! Around 3:30 we all started getting ready so we could have our photos taken. The Groomsmen (including Tyler and Scott) went first and then took a limo to the wedding site. Then it was the Brides turn, including her Bridesmaids and parents, for pictures. The Westin had a lovely little park area which was perfect for pictures, complete with a beautiful fountain.




Then it was our turn to head out in the limo.
When we arrived at Cabell's Mill we only had about 10 minutes before the ceremony began. The ceremony itself was so beautiful. Kathy (Andrew's Mom) was escorted down the aisle by Andrew, with Bob (Andrew's father) close behind. Then I was escorted down by my handsome sons! That was a treat! Then each Bridesmaid was escorted by a Groomsman and finally Howard and Amber came down while the string trio played! It was a beautiful location and the weather cooperated. It was actually a little chilly which helped those of us who were on the warm side!!
The ceremony itself was so lovely.




They had both written what the loved about each other and that was read by the Pastor. It was so touching to hear their feelings about each other. They do compliment each other so well and are such good friends and you could really tell it from their vows. They had so many nice touches in the actual ceremony. Early on the Pastor called up both sets of parents to stand with them and promise to support and accept them into their families. All too soon the vows were over and it was time to get the party started! After pictures, of course!! Hopefully we got tons of great pictures of the families.


After the Bride and Groom made their entrance Howard gave his Father of the Bride speech which was wonderful.

Then it was the Best Man's (Andrew's brother, Chris) turn and Maid of Honor (Nicole). After that was the first dance, followed by the Father/Daughter dance and all the other ceremonial touches, cake cutting, etc.



Then the dancing began. It was so much fun to watch the Bride & Groom and all their friends on the dance floor. Those "crazy kids" know how to have a good time and they certainly had it that night! They all have so much energy and I learned a couple new dance moves!




The party continued until 11:00 when we had to be out of there. We all took a bus back to the hotel and the after-party started in the lounge of the Westin. Only the die-hards stayed for this one! Many went off to bed as it had been such a long, exhausting day! We just didn't want the day to end! Amber and Andrew had to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m. so they didn't stick around and many others had early flights so the party didn't go on too long.
Tyler and I had to be to the airport by 10:00 and Howard and Scott began their drive home. Everyone made it home safely, some with a few flight delays, but at least they made it home. Amber and Andrew are on their fabulous honeymoon in Costa Rica and life slowly gets back to normal. Life post-wedding seems so calm!
It was so wonderful to see family we hadn't seen in a while and have some close friends there and meet lots of new people! Andrew's family is so nice and Amber is so fortunate to have so many new "sisters" and a new brother!


We can't wait to see what the future holds for this much-loved, newly married couple!!

Happy 19th Birthday Scott!!

Well, the baby of the family had another one! His last year as a teenager too! The pictures that follow were taken over the 3 days of celebration! It lasted 3 days because he didn't stay home long enough to celebrate it all at once. Friday, his real birth date, he went to school and then went to visit some friends at Michigan State. When he got home on Saturday we were busy running around and he still had the lawn to mow so we finally got around to dinner out and opening his present (a new digital camera) that evening but then he went out again to a party with some friends (hence the fancy schmancy suit). On Sunday I finally got around to making the cake and fixing him another birthday dinner so that's why he had a 3 day celebration.
We are busy doing last minute things before we leave for Virginia on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will try to get last minute things done and it all packed up so we can leave bright and early Wednesday morning. We have decided that Howard and Scott will drive over, with all the shower gifts piled up in the back of his car, and I will fly. That way I will be there a little earlier and can make it to Amber's last fitting and learn how to bustle up her dress.
We are all getting so excited about the upcoming weekend and all the celebrations we plan to have and all the people we will get to see who we haven't seen in a while. Like Tyler, who we haven't seen in almost 9 months!! It should be a wonderful time and they are predicting good weather too which is a blessing since the wedding is outside, the ceremony anyway. Then the reception moves inside and onto a covered terrace.
I will be taking lots and lots of pictures and will share with my 3 faithful readers when I get back on Sunday! Everyone travel safe!!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!!

What a great evening! If only the Tigers had won or even come close it would have been "perfect"!! Unfortunately, they stunk up the place. They looked so tired but our seats were so great we really didn't care! Our friends, The McGinnis' invited us to attend the Tiger's game last night. Cheryl's brother-in-law is the Executive Chef there at the Tiger's Den. It's not open to the general public but since we "know someone who knows someone" we got to go in! He had prepared a fabulous buffet with all kinds of food; shrimp, beef, orange roughy, chicken, pasta and lots of things to go along with it, including a scrumptious dessert bar complete with Cherries Jubilee! While eating dinner we could watch the Tigers and White Sox warm up on the field before the game! That part was fabulous enough but then we got to our seats and WOW, they were great. We were on the third base side, just a little past it, and only 12 rows back! These were the best seats I've ever had at a Tiger's game. Thanks to my new camera I got lots of close-ups of my favorite players too! It was really a great night and THANK YOU MARK & CHERYL for thinking of us!! It was really a treat!

Nice Weekend, Beautiful Weather, New Beginnings...

Well, another summer has officially come to a close and we celebrated it's end at the McGinnis' pool which was really nice. The weather was gorgeous and we just spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the sun and the pool.
Today is the first day of school here in Michigan. But not for me. It does feel odd not to have that "first day of school" excitement and prepartion. Scott has one class but not until tonight but we are going out to lunch to celebrate the beginning of a new school year and a new commitment to get all A's!! We can at least strive, can't we? He's signed up for 3 classes but is going to add another today. Tyler begins his classes today also after having a well-deserved week off, most of which he worked! He's got a pretty full schedule with classes 5 days a week. Although now that he has gotten his surfboard back I'm sure he'll find a little time to squeeze that in too.
Amber is coming down to the wire with all her preparations. Things are going smoothly right now. The dress is in, she's had the fitting and only minor alterations are needed, thank goodness. Hair and nail appointments are made! Hotel reservations all set. I finally found some shoes to go with my beautiful dress! Friends and family are getting excited too and we are all counting down! Only 11 days to go!! Wow, that really makes it sound close!
Eventhough summer supposedly ends after Labor Day we still have nice weather here and we plan to enjoy it as long as we can. I heard on the weather today that by the end of the week it will be near 90! Since winter is long and miserable here, we plan to enjoy what's left of "summer"!