Dad's 70th Birthday

 Family

It's one thing that my parents always emphasized was important.  We were going to be together no matter what... so make the most of it!  We celebrated being all together in the same house for my Dad's 70th birthday.  Family galore packed that house!

Here are some great photos (mostly courtesy of my sister Chris) in for some reason randomized Blogger order & not always right side up.  :P 

Ben on the swing... escaping momentarily from the stuffed house.  :)

 We each wrote a letter to my Dad (& the kids drew him pictures), then we put them all in a big book for him to keep.  He's definitely not the most outwardly sentimental guy, but I know that is a gift he will treaure.

 We played outside,

 

 exploded already hailed-out pumpkins,

 celebrated Diane's birthday, too,

 enjoyed cousins,

 & more cousins,

 celebrated Mass together in the shed

 with the help of more cousins,

 crowded into Mom & Dad's room in the morning (you mean this doesn't stop soon?),

 explored the farm equipment,

 Michael with my Dad

 John & Maria

 James

 James & Rebecca, our kindergartners, enjoyed some art time

 Mom got her snuggle time with baby Lily

 Veronica... about 50 applications into her chapstick

 Uncle Neal & Dad along with my cousin Troy & my brother-in-law Taylor played guitars & sang for HOURS in the garage

 Michael & Gus

 Doug & Diane enjoy their tiny Lily

 sentimental aunts, uncles, & friends enjoying the music

 Lucy & Veronica grooving to the music

 Chris & Dad 

 Rebecca & Lily chatting

 Teresa with her PURPLE balloon to decorate the treehouse

 Chris, Maria, & Clare with Teresa

 The treehouse!  Quite the step up from our crooked board in the tree there, Dad.  ;)

3 generations!  Dad, Doug, & Lily

 

What a wonderful weekend & what a wonderful family God has blest us with!  I'm so grateful.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wedding Adventure - Part 2

I have always LOVED the mountains. I remember countless family vacations for camping, hiking, fishing, & skiing in the mountains. So, everytime that I looked out the window it made me catch my breath & smile. It was a fabulous place to spend my birthday. :) It was obviously a unique one... complete with red velvet cupcakes for breakfast & elevator birthday serenades... not to mention a brand new sister. After a morning full of fun at the hotel with all of our relatives, we grabbed a quick lunch at Taco Bell, fancied ourselves up, & took the drive to the wedding. We were all exhausted, so I was glad it was a 40 minute ride. After we arrived Darren stayed with the snoozers in the van until it was time for the Mass. It was in a beautiful Church in Greeley with gorgeous stained glass windows. Mom looked gorgeous & held it together amazingly well. She is so happy for Doug. Doug & Diane were so kind by having a lot of the grandkids play a part in the wedding. Julia & Clara were the lovely candlelighters.

Joseph was an usher & got to bring in my Mom. Maria, Veronica, & Lucy were the flower girls. Matthias was the ringbearer. Here comes the bride...

Fr. Jon, two other priest friends from college, & Diane's grandpa who is a permanent deacon all witnessed the ceremony. Augustine, Micheal, & Samuel were the servers. Andrew was so honored to bring up the gifts with cousin John. This was only his second time ever & he was very focussed. My Dad was the best man & Diane's sisters were the maids of honor. Doesn't he look handsome?

Here's our crowd! Diane puts our immediate family count up to 38!

The biggest surprise of the weekend was walking into the Church & seeing Darren's parents! They drove all the way that morning just to be part of the fun. We really enjoyed having them there.

Dad

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Thank you for your generous love, sacrifice, & support.

I'm so blest to have you as my father.

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Look Alikes

August 8th we had a fun adventure to Columbus for the second annual reunion on my Dad's side. It was a rather toasty but beautiful summer day.

There were aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins, new spouses, guitar playing, fishing, card games, & lots of old memories to enjoy. We don't go crazy with organized games, t-shirts, or any of that jazz yet, but we'll see what the future holds!

Andrew & Rebecca especially liked chasing around the ducks, playing on TWO playgrounds, & eating way too many potluck desserts.

I love seeing my family . . . and this is only a small fraction of them! It means so much to me to stay connected & it has been so much harder without Grandma & Grandpa around. But, I could feel them there with us as we all enjoyed each other. I know that they are smiling down on us all from heaven. May they rest in peace!