Christmas 2013

 First we celebrated here on the 22nd.

What fun to see the excitement on Oliver and Trenton's faces as they open gifts.

 Lots of packages!

 Trenton likes the magnetic Ball of Whacks because it can be configured many ways.

 Oliver can even do Simon with his feet!

 Then it was on to Mom's to exchange presents.

Mom's holding a picture of her entire family and an album from her 90th birthday party.

 The tree is small but very colorful and nice in her living room.

 Then it was time to celebrate with everyone in Paramus. The kids got all set up to play video games downstairs but had only about 10 minutes to play on a busy Christmas afternoon.

 Thanks Carolyn and Dino for hosting us and feeding us. It was great to see everyone again.

 Thanks, Caroline for taking a nice picture of all of us - a first!

 This year we took pics with our better camera, too, with great results.

 What a good pic of a happy family.

 The pictures wouldn't be complete without our annual timer-taken pic of us with a special gift. Jay's holding a headlamp; John's holding binoculars; and I'm holding my Surface tablet. 

 Floppy's been coming around lately!

Yes, that's a deer with floppy ears, like a dog's! We see her frequently. 

Thanksgiving, 2013

 We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday just as much as on the actual day.

 You can see all our favorite foods in these pictures

 and the happy, hungry faces of everyone waiting to chow down.

 Jim and Sheryl went home after a morning hike at Round Valley with John. After rest time the boys and I braved the cold for some outdoor fun. We played all sorts of games and ran around after 

smashing pumpkins for the deer. The deer finished all we smashed in one day!

Oliver's 5th Birthday Party

 We had fun dressing up as ghosts for the party. We are dressed as our own ghosts, 50 years from now. John's a hunter and I'm a sunbather!

 Jay's unique skeleton costume took him hours to assemble. PVC pipes made an excellent skeleton! Adding a mask from his childhood and the costume was complete.

 Trenton was a fierce ninja.

 Do these colors and this arrangement remind you of anything? Candy corn!

 Kathy's "bun in the oven" costume was creative and ideal!

 This is one cute birthday boy! He had many Halloween and birthday celebrations this year. 

 Len, Oliver, Arlene, Trenton and Sue, Len in back row. Great costumes, again!

 John's missing his ghostly sheet because Jim thought it would be a good addition to his costume.

 Pinning the eyes on the ghost was great fun. Oliver chose each person for their turn, spun them around and giggled with glee when people did silly stuff.

He loved all of his presents (thanks for the good ideas, Sheryl). We're looking forward to seeing if this Hot Wheels race track really sticks to the wall.  Jim and Sheryl fed and entertained us well again this year!  

Mom's 90th Birthday Party

 Mom's 90th birthday party was a complete success!

 Elise and Chris became engaged the day before the party. He proposed halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge! 

 Trenton, Oliver and Bryan made creative magnetic shapes while

 some of the others played corn hole and still others

 had fun getting reacquainted. Out of the 45 guests, 24 were family! All of Mom's immediate family and their spouses were there!

 We posed in birth order from right to left; usually we do it left to right. We feasted on cake, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and kringle. A couple hours later we feasted on pizza! 

 What a crowd!

 The entire family! Thanks Len and Sue for taking our picture.

 Grandma with all the grandchildren and greatgrandkids and below

with spouses - Jessica, Joey, Chris and Sheryl.

 Now we're in the correct birth order lineup, and below 

with our spouses.

Thanks everyone for helping to make this day a complete success!

The Jersey Shore

 Returning from our summer travels a week early allowed us time for a wonderful visit with Trenton and Oliver, oh yeah, and Sheryl and Jim, too. The clubhouse is a work of art. The boys love it.

 After a delicious dinner at Fins and before Italian ice for dessert at the incomparable Strollo's, we enjoyed the beach! Quite a few people were also enjoying the gorgeous evening. 

 The beach is a second home to the boys,

 a place where they always have fun.

What a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday, thanks everyone!