A hello to you all!

Hello my sisters!
It has been a month since someone posted last so I guess I will do it once again. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we were each in our own places. Larry and I went to Christy and Sean's for dinner who had invited their neighbor over. Bill babysits the dogs for the Holmes when they go camping or out of town. He is single so loves the home cooked meals. We fixed the usual food...all good and we ate too much. Got the kids here now till tomorrow. Cindy and Ed had Reece and Maya to hug and kiss for over a week so they were happy. Es and Stan were just going to take this Thanksgiving to start Holiday decorating and laying low this year. It's nice to do that once in a while but would get lonely if done regularly.

Hello it's Nathan! I'm staying up at Nana's for Thanksgiving and I just wanted to say hi. HI!!

It is cold out and we have had our share of snow already. Looking forward to going to Ky. for Christmas where there is no snow!! I think Larry and I will stay till after New Years with Cindy and Ed. It should be fun. I hope everyone got their fill of hugs and kisses with their grandchildren...I know I did. My three are doing well in school...all A's and Olivia is in the district finals for hoop shots. She was the best in her school and now moves on to district competition, then regional. If she make sit that far. Teachers thought she played on a basketball team cause she was so good. Well she plays with her brothers at home and has a lot of help. She is a little artist and is as tall as her brothers. Nathan is doing so well in Math that his teacher is recommending he skip fifth grade math and move on to sixth grade level. Next year he would be doing seventh grade level. His report cards are wonderful. Logan starts basketball next week and he too is doing very well in school. They love their teachers and teachers love them. Nathan is a natural group leader and loves being head of the class. Logan is a wonderful team player but also guides well. Olivia is still happy to work with her friends but getting better at speaking in front of her classmates. She performed in a play last week. She tends to be shy. She will get over it.
Larry and I are fine. We finally got Larry's brother moved into his new apt., bought a few pieces of furniture to fill it and he is getting used to it now. It is still in the same town and nothing is new eccept the apt. It is a few blocks away from the old one. We can relax a bit now that he is resituated. We are feeling fine and staying busy. I am looking forward to some studio time now with the cold weather here. Got some new ideas for paintings.
Well, I think I have taken up enough space here so will close now. I hope everyone is fine and happy. I love you all with all my heart and remember that we are always together in our hearts.
Your loving sister,
Rose

California dreamin'....

Hello my sisters,
Well, I think it's time I wrote a few lines on the blog regarding Larry and my Calif. trip...seems the blog has been a bit dry lately. Not many posts...whats up with that?? Our trip was wonderful, absolutely wonderful! We spent the night in Detroit the night before because our flight was so early and it took the stress off the long flight. We got free parking tickets from Christy's boss so that helped save a little money. Our flight was good, on time, and we spent the first day vegging. Next day Kathy and Jeff came to Napa, stayed three days, we went thru a part of harvest, learned a lot about wine preps, placed a giant rhino sculpture in Linda and Peters yard and on Sat. Kathy/Jeff flew home and we drove to Santa Barbara. Stayed on the boat three nights..was awesome. We left on weds., the guys took an extra car home to Napa and Lin and I took the coast route with the other car to try and find driftwood along the ocean. Well, we got as far as Big Sur along a cliff dropping down to the ocean when traffic stopped. We were halted because of a fire! We waited for more than an hour before they let us go and we finally made our way toward home. We never did find driftwood! Then the day before we left for home we flew in the little plane to Chico to see Eric! It was great to see him...he looks wonderful and seems to love the area he lives in. It looks as tho he has finally found his niche in life as a firefighter. Then the following day we flew back to Michigan arriving at 12 midnight...drove home and arrived here at 3 something Sunday morning. Wow, were we tired!!
But we hit the floor running and got right back into the groove of things. Wish I were back in Calif. right now especially with this cold weather we are having. Thank you, Linda and Peter for a wonderful 12 days! We miss you two.
We sisters, please do not forget that I love you all and wish everyone well. Keep letters posted on this blog.
Love, Rose

Olivia and Rose visit Kentucky

Hello family of ours! We are writing to let you know that Olivia and Rose came down to visit and we are having a wonderful time. We have done so much we are worn right out! They arrived on Thursday night the 18th. We just chilled that evening and then on Friday we went to the Lost Cave. Olivia panned for gold and found some wonderful stones. Then she and Rose took the boat tour into the cave. It was exciting. After that we hit the candy store to see what kind of haul Livvie could make. It was fun. She also got to ride the carousel. Saturday Ed, Rose Olivia and I went to Park City and hit the jackpot! All the rides and stuff were $2.00!!! So lets see, she rode the bumper boats with Uncle Ed and loved it. Then her and I rode the sky lift up where the Alpine slide starts but decided we wouldnt go down the slide, just ride the lift back. It was really high. Then she jumped in the harnessed trampoline, rode the bumper cars against Uncle Ed again and to top off the rides, her and Ed did the go-carts. She drove her own and ended up with the fastest one and flew around that track. It was quite exciting. Rose treated us to a wonderful lunch and we came home with plans to veg a bit, but ended up in a big water fight and got drenched. It was great. That night we watched a good movie called Alvin and the Chipmunks. Was funny. Today which is Sunday we went to the Flea Market to see what goodies we could find. Olivia has decided to collect fans so she started her collection. We walked and walked all over and now are home and waiting to eat a wonderful dinner of roast beef that Rose is making. Yum....... While we are writing this Olivia is outside with the metal detector seeing if she can find some treasures. So its been a fun and exciting visit and Olivia has been just wonderful. She hit is off big with my dogs and they just love her. She has thrown the ball and loved them up good. Tomorrow they go back to the airport and we will be doing lunch at the Aquarium restaurant before we leave. Whew.......Im worn out but loving every minute of it. Now Ed and I will prepare for our next big visit at Christmas. Love to everyone, Cindy ps....i have posted a couple of pictures.

Lake Charlevoix camping!

Hello my sisters!
This summer is going fast! Here we are at Augusts end almost and still trying to cram in as much as we can before the snow flies. Just got back from an overnight in Mt. Pleasant at the casino...yes...you heard right! Larry's sister and brother-in-law (they are avid gamblers) racked up points and treated us to a reserved room, bought dinner and all we had to do was spend a little gambling money. We lost but Sue won over a grand. It was great fun!
Two days before that we were up in Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix camping with the kids for 5 days. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! We swam every day, water was warm, clean, clear. It would be a great place for a reunion if everyone would enjoy camping. Kids rode bikes all day, they had a park on campgrounds, we went exploring in town, climbed Avalanch Hill (an old ski hill) which gave a spectacular view of the lake. We had great fun, kids were great and was a nice 5 days. We are lucky to have such beautiful places in Michigan.
Next month Kathy and Jeff come to visit, a week later Miss Olivia and I fly to Ky. to visit Aunt Cindy, in Oct Larry and I fly to Calif. for harvest (I hope) and maybe we can get in one more campout before it gets too cold. Then this winter we will work on our bathroom. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I am soooo sorry about Lucy, Es, my heart aches for you. I really liked the little bugger too! We will miss her.
Well, I need to go now. Am going to help Vera can tomatoes. I love you all and will leave you with another lovely thought.....I enjoy this one because I believe it is so true.

"As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people."...... P.G.Woodhouse, Something New

A view of summer!

Hello my sisters!
It is a beautiful day! We have been very fortunate to have had such nice weather this summer! Enough rain to make the gardners/farmers happy but not enough to keep everything soaked too long. The temps are warm and cool breezes keep us from complaining. This season suggests a good harvest for fall. All is well here with us. Have a BBQ planned for friends, camping trips, air trips in Sept. and Oct. will finish off the good weather season for us northerners. Looking forward to some fun days before we pull out our fall coats again. Hope everyone is doing okay. I am including a thought for you all...one that I think is beautiful and true. Till later.....

"In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things and happy in small ways." ...Edith Wharton, A Backward Glance

I am personally working on that one! I love you all,
Rose

Family Reunion

Well since no one else is going to write about our week's vacation, I certainly will. What a great week we shared with all of the kids, which of course includes the husbands. The weather was great, the water was cold and a good time was had by all. Thank you Linda and Peter for allowing us to share this time with everyone, it truly is worth waiting for every two years. The house was wonderful, big, roomy and with spaces to get away if you so desired. Even the two dogs enjoyed it, though Lucy is a little chewed up...........................just kidding Lin. Thank goodness we took the boat with us, the kids got to go tubing and were able to watch The Blue Angels fly right over their heads from the boat. (Course they came home alittle crisp from the sun, but loved it). Its always so great to catch up on everyone's busy lives. Ing it was wonderful having you there the whole week and Finny was loving it. Thank you for taking all the kids to the movies, what a treat for them. It was restful, though chaotic as usual, but thats what it is all about. Cindy, we missed you terribly and would have loved to have Maya in the mix, she would have loved it. Hopefully in 2010 you will be there as well. All we needed to complete the picture was Kathy and Erik and Reese and Kelly. Maybe next time everyone can come and it will be the best yet. It is so hard to come home after having such a great time, but alas, all good things must come to an end. I loved every minute of the time we spent together and am already looking forward to the next one. Thanks again for a wonderful time. Es

Just An Update

Well I have returned from Kentucky and had a wonderful trip. Thanks again Ed and Cindy, you are such great hosts, it was fun and lucrative.........(wink!). By the way, we got our grass Cindy and I am planting today, so will keep you posted, how did your flower boxes turn out? Have you made a decision on whether you can make it to Traverse City? I am keeping my fingers crossed. Stan and I went up to Northport yesterday to check out the marina. Didnt want to take the boat up if there wasnt alot of room, but as it turns out, its perfect. No one was staying at the house either, wondered if we couldnt get in early if no one has it this next week............what do you think Linda? The boys left for Calif. Thursday night, had a three hour delay and made it out after 10 p.m., which made a late night for Theresa and I. Called at three a.m. to let us know they arrived and havent heard much since then, must be having a great time. I am looking so forward to our vacation week, it will be so wonderful to see whoever makes it. For those that cant we will be thinking of you and missing you. Well that about sums it up, see everyone soon. Rose and I will be getting together to discuss the food and menu's today and then Tate and I go to Splash Village in Frankenmuth to spend the night and play in the water. Love you all, Es

A poem!

Hi girls! We just got done with a thunderstorm and dime sized hailstorm! Whew! Its a quiet Sunday now so I thought I would write a little note on the blog. Went to church this morning and visited with the regular church folk, had a good sermon. We sure do like our Pastor and admire what he and the church is all about. It makes Sunday very special to us. Went to lunch with my old friend Vera and her 94 year old friend Lena after church. Two absolutly great women. I enjoy their company any time we are together. Larry had a golf skirmish in Saginaw with a bunch of friends...he was itching to play an 18 hole game of golf. Unfortunatly he may be rained out!
Olivia and I are heading for Ky. to visit Aunt Cindy and Uncle Ed in Sept. Looking forward to another visit with my sister and Livey is excited about the plane trip. Then in Oct. we may be heading to Calif. for harvest and a visit with Kathy and Jeff. Looking forward to going West again. Life is good...we are well. Hope the same for all of you. I am including a little poem that I love so I am sharing it with you. It comes out of the book "The Storytellers Daughter"...a very good book about the Middle East. Hope you like it. I love you all, Rose

From every heart is a window to other hearts,
They are not seperated like two bodies
Just as, even tho two lamps are not joined,
Their light is united in a single ray.

Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi-author

Heading South

Well no one seems to want to post anymore..............whats up with that? I am heading down to Kentucky for the weekend to spend some time with my little sister. Will be leaving this afternoon and getting there tomorrow afternoon. I am taking my little Lucy with me so it should be quite an adventure for her. When I return the boys will be heading to California and after that we have the Traverse City house so it is going to be a full summer, one of which I am looking forward to. I hope everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying their summer so far, I think of everyone alot and love you all. I will write again when I return, see you tomorrow Cin. Love Es.

Whats Up Girls???

Well no one seems to have anything to write about lately, whats up with that? Has anyone started with their photo ops, still not sure what was decided upon. Cindy, I dont hear from you much, havent even gotten any updated pictures of Ellie Mae and Linda we are expecting to see some of Fergie once you get her. Rose you will need to start thinking about a puppy too, or yours will be too young to play with ours..............................lol. Anyway girls, publish any new info so we can all enjoy it and I love you all, miss you lots and cant wait till we can go on another sister trip, I have the gifts already.....................................smile! Love Es.

A day with the old girls!

Hello my sisters!
Yesterday I drove my 84 year old friend Vera to see her sister Gladys (age 88) in a neighboring countryside. Another sister Doris (age 86) was there for a little while getting her hair rolled by Gladys. There is one more sister (Retha) that lives an hour away who is 90?. Now, Gladys is about 5 ft. but has a twisted spine so that her right shoulder almost meets her right hip causing a swagger when she walks and reduces her height to 4ft. 5 in. But that old girl (she has had 2 strokes...you would never know it) still does her own garden, cans ALL her own produce from that garden, cleans house, drives and put on one hell of a good dinner for us we visited! All the sisters still live in their own homes, drive their own cars and refuse to be helped by anyone....they are firmly independent. Listening to their stories of their farm life as children, all the things they could do, their strong belief in God and family made that afternoon a very humbling experience for me. I reflected on my own siblings and our lives together and away from each other and I realized how similar we all are even tho a generation separates the old girls from us. They love each other fiercely and always want to be together when ever they can. There are squabbles among them and certain sisters favor the company of another sister but they all celebrate the times they are ALL together! I was amazed at how much in common I felt I had with these seasoned women and how very grateful I felt for my own four siblings. Every day we watch ourselves get older but our love for each other is always there and always strong. It will see us through many sad times in the future.
I love you all, Rose

My grandchildren!

Hello sisters!
Just a quick note to let you know the results of the Michigan talent/acedemic search. Both boys were well above their age/grade levels in the MEAPS test but blew us out of the water with the big MATTS test!! This test is geared at 8th. grade level subjects. Nathan scored at 7-8 th grade level work in Math and Science and Logan scored 6-7th grade level. Olivia is doing very well but struggles with spelling a little and not a whiz at Math like her brothers. We went to parent teachers conference last night and all three teachers were very proud and complimentary towards the children. Nathans teacher is recommending he get bumped up to a 6th grade Math class next year...she thinks he needs the challenge. Logan's teacher says she wishes she had 25 of Logan in her classroom so we were pleased. These tests will remain in their school files all thru their education. Will be tested again next year.
Nathan starts soccer again next week...he has been to two professional soccer games in Detroit with his mom compliments of the owner of the team. They got the VIP treatment both times complete with autographs in the locker room. Nathan loved it! Christy has Olivia signed up for a summer art program at U of M this summer and we hope to get Logan into a swim program of some kind. The kids are fine...healthy and happy. I am very, very proud of them. They are coming here to spend the week next week...its their spring break! We will begin our rail trail training then....want to eventually make 15 miles this summer. Got some camping trips planned with them too. Should be fun. Have a happy, safe summer and keep in touch.
I love you all,
Rose

Cindy will not be left out!!!

Hello everyone. I didnt use and old picture because I thought someone had to be in the shadow. My bad. Here are my pictures for shadows, I hope you like them. The first one was the light from the window on my pantry and the second is Ed and Maya in shadow looking at the seals when we were in Virginia this last visit. I still want to do this......so Linda Lou, whats the new theme? I love you guys and miss you all soooooo much. Love Cindy

Shadows

Here are my entries for our shadow theme. The red one is the sun shining through the trellis on the utility room door, the other is our driveway. What is the next theme Lin, considering Es and I are the only ones who put anything up, we

would like to get started on our next project. Love Rose

Shadows!

Hi girls, once again I am forced to use older pictures if I want to participate. I am lost without my camera, but am working on getting it fixed. These are from last summer, one taken on the sister trip, the other in Rochester. What is our new theme.................is it severe weather or what? Love you all, Es.

Shadows!

Hello sistas!
No, Lin, you will not be the only one posting this month! I will be late because I have a 36 exposure film in my camera and dont want to waste it. This month is around to you again ,Lin, so decide what you want this months to be. Weather is easy but maybe we need an easy one.....I'm good with it if everyone else is. Hope you are all well.
I love you all, Rose

An Old One!

Hey Sisters,

I found a shadow for you. Looks like I may be the only one to contribute this month. What is next months theme? I know how about extreme weather? Hope you like this one.

Having a Wonderful 50th Birthday!!!

Well, even though I am not with all of you I have to say the girls and Ed have made my 50th birthday very memorable!!! I came in to work to have my office completely decorated with balloons, banners, confetti, you name it, and posters on the doors all over, isn't it nifty, Cindy is 50!!!! So I cracked up and brushed the confetti out of the way to start working, (the cleaning crew is going to be upset!) Then the girls came in and brought dounuts. At about 10 I got a message that I had a package at the front of the hospital. Ed had sent me a beautiful plant with mylar balloons attached. That was great. Then I get a vase full of black carnations, babys breathe and one red rose from Shawn and Jean. Im thinking, wow, this is great and then the girls call me up front and in wobbles this really old guy that takes my hand, sits me down and sits on my lap telling all kinds of jokes, farting on me and shaking like he can barely stay sitting in my lap. He had a bouquet of about 9 black helium balloons with a big mylar. Then he made me help in up by pushing on his butt and he ripped his pants off and acted like I did it. It was very funny and sweet that they planned it. And to top it off, they gave me a cake and sang Happy Birthday! I have to say it has been a good day. And Ed and I took tomorrow off so that just tops it all off!!!! Thanks to those who sent cards and know I love you all dearly. Love Cindy

Little Caesars Hockey Playoffs

Just wanted to update everyone on the end of our hockey season. Devin's team went into the quarter and semi finals today. We won our first game this morning that went into 4 on 4 overtime and then 3 on 3 overtime, it was a nail biter. The semi final this evening went all the way to a shootout and once again Devin did not allow a single goal in the shootout, while we scored two on the other goalie.................so we are on our way to the Championships for the third year in a row. We will be playing at the State Fair Grounds in Detroit on March 15th which will be the end of the fall/winter season. Devin has been invited to attend a Belle Tire AAA practise, they would like to take a look at him so he may be playing with the big boys soon. His goal of course is to try out for the 14 and under Junior Olympics in two years and to do that he will need some AAA caliber playing. Won't be easy, we will have to take him near Detroit for practises, but we will see how it goes. Will keep you all posted. Hope everyone is well and looking forward to our summer get together, I know I am and it cant come too soon......................I am sick of winter. Love and kisses, Es.

Linda's visit!

Hello my sisters!
Well, its Tuesday morning and I am sitting here with my second cup of coffee reflecting on this past week. This week of having Linda here for coffee every morning.....I miss her already! We talked a lot, the three of us spent lots of time together, drank wine, we started a mosaic for the back of my stove, went up to Traverse City for an overnight (saw the summer house, gambled, shopped and ate) and Linda got to see a hockey game with Esther in Flint. Lin and I took a walk at night with a flashlight after a snowstorm early that week....was magical! Thanks for coming, Lin....we enjoyed having you here! We love you!!!
Your big sister, Rose

HELLO AUNTIES!!!

Happy Lunar (aka "Chinese") New Year. It is the year of the Rat (or Mouse, as we like to say at the big D) and I hope it's a good one.

This will seem like a cheesy ad but actually since I don't qualify but everyone else does, I thought it would be a good way to see if y'all could win some free stuff as well as perhaps a trip to Dland or Dworld or whatever with the kids/grandkids. So pass the word along to your daughters in case anyone is interested!

Oh and if anyone does plan to come to So Cal with kids I can get 3 peeps in on my Silver Pass and Mark gets another 3 peeps in, so we can get us two plus Fin plus 5 others for free :D

Love y'all!!!
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Back, behind reverse.....

Well girls, I didnt want to be left out in the cold so, since my camera is out of order, I am submitting pictures taken last summer or there abouts. (Rose did this a couple of times). Anyway the first is of Devin's back, the second is behind the gate, and the third is the reverse of taking Linda's picture.

Im a dork

I know that somehow the theme got changed. Not just by me, but I think Rose rearranged it a bit too....hahah I went into it with the end of in my head and that is where my pictures went. oh well. I liked the grave also, thanks. sorry to hear about your camera Es. That sucks. I want a new one so bad I cant stand it. I want a digital still, but one with more stuff. Love you guys, and oh yes, Rose picks the theme for next month, then Linda, you, me.....etc.....if we keep it to whos oldest to youngest we wont forget. Love and hugs, Cin

Cindys back, rear or reverse pictures

Hello my dear sisters.....sorry Im a little late on this but I have been really sick this whole week. Love the pictures so far even though the theme wording was changed just a bit....hahah My first picture is the End of life. Second is the End of our road. And the third is two in one, the Back of Eds head and End of his hair...hahaha Love to all of you, Cindy

Behind

Hello girls, here is my picture..........as you can see I am " behind". Love Es.

Behind, In Back of, Reverse

Hello girls, here are my pictures for this month. The first picture is the footprint of a deer that was "left behind" and the second one is "behind" the kid's fort in the back woods. Let me know what you think. Rose