Twins....

  In June we added 2 new furry friends to our family collection....they came from a litter of 5 and they looked identical that we couldn't separate them so we took them both.....many people thought we were crazy but it seemed like a good idea at the time....later we will come to learn it may not have been.....

 It took us awhile to be able

to tell them apart...but one is a darker gray than the other. The darker gray kitty was named by Brooke as "Alley" and the lighter gray kitten is "Simona"....

My brother Phil has a house with a Pole barn and lots of kitties....so we went out and gathered these 2 beauties up and took them home...

 

JULY came in with a celebration....!!! we usually always celebrate the 4th of July at my house that Kate and family were living in, but this year when they moved out I had a temporary tenant for the summer so we celebrated at Mom's..

First to arrive.....Amy, Eric and Ella for her 1st 4th of July.....

 

Ava's birthday is the 5th of July so we celebrated her birthday along with the countries with as usual food, cake, gifts and then the fireworks, they were on their own....

First Food...Katie made a red, white and blue punch....a pintrest idea...worked out good and tasted that way too..!

 Then we had shisk ka bobs ...chicken, steak and of course those pesky vegetables.....  and then stars of watermelon....before birthday cake....

   After dinner it was time to celebrate Ava's birthday with her cousins and cupcakes. Happy 6th Birthday Ava!!!!!

 

 

Ava had her official birthday party with her friends at the Dance studio where she dances.....what a cute idea...all the kids practice a routine for their parents to watch complete with their own costume of choice, make-up, hair, pizza and cake....it really was fun to watch and for only 2 hours they accomplished a lot and did a great routine.....

 

May and June were busy months.....we celebrated Mom's birthday, Alana's 1st communion and heard the news that Katie and Blake and the kids were moving from my house to a new house in Batavia.

   Mom celebrated her 86th birthday with family, cake, candles and a bunch of Grand kids ready to blow out the massive fire.....

As you can see Mom looks a little disappointed that Andrew beat her to the punch for blowing out her candles.....we are lucky to be able to celebrate everyday we have but what a huge accomplishment to reach the wise age of 86!!! Here's to many more, Love ya Mom.......

 

 In May, Alana made her First Holy Communion....it is a big deal for a little girl...it is amazing how the dresses are fancier every year...but to a Catholic it is the first time that they will receive the body of Chirst....it requires preparation through the Religious Education program and their first experience at humility when you need to make your first confession....Alana was one of the readers at the Mass and I must say I was quit impressed.....there's no way I will ever get that close to the pulpit....that is why God created Grand children so I don't have to......Congratulations Alana.......

Greek Style

 

 

 

We kicked off the Easter season with a pre-Greek Easter celebration. My sister Kathy and her husband came in from Ohio and so we needed no other reason than that to celebrate.....a few phone calls, a hunk of meat and lots of family and Greek Style cookout was had. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we began by preparing a leg of Lamb and some chickens for the Bar-B-Que.  Tasty little morsals....then people began arriving and bringing their dishes in as well....

...Needless to say when you put a bunch of Greeks together with family, food and more food, and Ouzo everyone is bound to have a good time.

We lined up all the Grand kids and had egg races on a spoon, egg races with a partner and prizes for all.....

All in All it was a great time...had by all....

Let 2012 begin

      Well oddly enough this is my first post of the year, and what a year it has been. Between economy, work, health, family and everything in between, this year rates up there at the top for the most memorable years in my life.....before I get to the present I have to go back start at the beginning of the year.....

      Everyone waited in January for the other shoe to drop and the weather to change and become what it is suppose to be...cold, blistery and miserable. It never happened. It was the mildest winter we have had since I can remember. Plants that were to weather over never did. The temperatures never fell and the snow plowers lost a lot of money with only 4 snowfalls during the season. It did not bode well for the economy of these people.

   We started off the New Year with Amy cutting off 10 inches of her hair that she then donated to Locks of Love I am proud of you Amy, that aught to make someone very happy.....
   By the end of the month we celebrated Bill and Laura's oldest daughter, Alana on her 8th birthday...done up girly style with a party and crew of people to do hair, nails, make-up etc.....she is growing up quickly. Unfortunately..I forgot the camera so I will make sure next time to be better prepared.

  We then moved into Lent and at the church it is always a busy time for us. We tried something new this year where we served soup and bread following the noon mass on the Fridays during Lent. It went over very well, but lying underneath the surface of the event was the knowledge that we could serve a hearty meal and no one would know if you needed the meal, were homeless or just hungry. It was a very satisfying experience. We for the first time actually had volunteers that wanted to make soup and before you knew it there was a soup competition going on. The recipes all had to be meatless and it was amazing how many actual recipes are out there that taste great but have no meat......when we finished the competition so to speak we had enough recipes to create a Lenten Soup recipe book....Thanks to all the cooks, volunteers and eaters for a very special Lent......