Halloween Heirs

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

The King and Queen have requested the presence of heirs to a Halloween Brunch

at the City Nest!Little Fairy is especially welcomed. As are her parents and Aunt and Uncle. The Menu:

Pumpkin French Toast

Devilled eggs with olive spiders

(served ala eyeballs)

Apple slices with cream cheese dipping sauce

And, of course, holiday cookies!

Once the food is served, the Royals invite their heirs to partake in games and merriment.

Stickers are handed out by the Little Fairy.

The Royals are pleased to present their Official Portrait of the day.

Happy Halloween to One and All!

The Knot is Tied!

The siblings are reunited, The cousins are (mostly) gathered,

The bridesmaids are readied,

The church is beautified,

The singer and pianist are warmed up,

The cousins are anticipating,

The flower girls are petal-ing,

The couple is married!

Then, off to the reception.

The guests are seated,

The grandfather takes his granddaughter for a whirl

around the dance floor.

The wedding has happened; the Knot is tied.

Congratulations, Ryan and Emily!!

Sweet Shower

Seeing expectant parents is one of life's sweetest things. They are entering a new journey, knowing that their lives are certainly going to be changed. Who will the baby look like, what will he be like, how will his delivery go, how will the nights go...the list is long.

One thing is certain, though: life will never be the same as pre-baby.

However, I know one thing myself: Drew and Laura's baby is one lucky little fella

to be getting them as parents. And he's going to have two sets of special grandparents and

family members.

Here are his Grandmas with his Mom.

Here is his Dad with our Anne - they have known each other their whole lives. No doubt Ellie will love to get her hands on this new baby boy as her cousin-by-proxy.

The Rholl brothers are going to be great Uncles for this baby

boy who must grow up to be a Patriots fan!

Bedtime reading for the baby will include books that everyone brought to the shower

as well as a handmade book with greetings of love from the shower guests.

And, hopefully, the little fella enjoyed a piece of delicious Hungry Caterpillar

cake (from Mariano's) indirectly "fed" by his mama. Oooooh, was it good!

Both Grandmas provided baby with sentimental clothing pieces:

Carol with sweater, hat, wool rompers and Hawaiian shorts and shirt that Drew wore as a little guy, and Nancy with a hand-knit "Hungry Caterpillar" sweater.

We eagerly await your birth, sweet baby, and wish you well in your last weeks of

confinement in your cozy, dark cocoon.

What a Party!!!!!! (Pink Suitcase Chronicles #40)

When my sis and her husband were invited to a very BIG birthday party in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and he couldn't go I got to be her "stand in" date! And what an amazing party this turned out to be. We loaded up Pink (and her Blue) in the trunk and off we went. Due to privacy of the birthday individual, I won't mention his name, but here you can see his house (mansion) and the lovely party invitation. The theme of the party was

MUSIC IN THE AIR.

In usual "sister style" we had both brought nearly the same dresses (black) to wear to the party with shawl wraps the same color (cream) as well - luckily I had also packed another choice to wear so we didn't look like twins at the party...but here you can see our shoe choices we selected beforehand. Isn't it uncanny that we can shop separately and still come to choose clothes nearly identical? (However, you can still easily distinguish who's who based upon one who tans and one who doesn't.)

Here we are enjoying our specialty blue beverages that were very very delicious. And here with are with "Elton John" in his younger life. "Wolfgang" was in an especially happy mood. No REQUIEM feelings for him tonight, that's for sure!

As one who enjoys a barbershop quartet.

these four certainly sang harmoniously.

(It's the house in the background that is miniature-sized, not the singers.)

"Tina" and "Cher" were looking groovy.

"Lady Gaga" was outrageous as usual.

But enough talk about famous people...let's eat!

Tents and tables were set up all over the grounds of the mansion. Each area featured "picnic" food which far surpassed any picnic I've ever attended! Flowers in each area were spectacular.

The food - oh the food.

At dusk,we entered a specially-created concert pavilion for a night of music by Chicago music newcomers and legends. Ever hear of the MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET? They were the headline entertainers and they gave an a.m.a.z.i.n.g concert.

Can you feel the magic in the air?

Following the concert, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday " to our host. He's the one in white in the middle of this picture.

By now it is about 11:00 PM and we are escorted to the waterfront for fireworks

and desserts in this tent.

Again, a.m.a.z.i.n.g. And the first "pie bar" I've ever encountered.

See those horizontal lights in the background? They were boats in the lake enjoying the

fireworks from the other side - hello, Darilyn!

All too soon the party was over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to be sure. Now I know just a little bit what it would like to be royalty. Perfect for a night. However, the glass slipper still fits this working girl just as fine today when I am back in "real life."

M & M Get Married in Michigan (Pink Suitcase Chronicles #37)

Ah, wedding season is upon us! And I love it. Why? Simply because weddings celebrate love, family ties, friendships, young and

old(er) people together, pretty females in special dresses, handsome males in suits and ties - and happiness bubbles over like no other time in life aside from the birth of a child. I am a huge fan of happy!

Our family (minus little Miss E.) celebrated the wedding of Mike G. and his beautiful bride, Meghan N. together in Michigan this past weekend. Mike is John's long, long time friend from elementary school and Anne has been like a pseudo big sister to Mike; Wes and I consider Mike to be a part of our family, too.

How I remember the antics (and mischief) these two could get into together in the past - the volcano "explosions" in the kitchen while I was busy ironing upstairs, the time I looked out the window to see both boys standing on top of our shed, the forts they built from curbside refuge, the sleepovers where I feared to see the "morning after" effects. Many years later, it was Mike that made John tell us about John's blind date with Kari and their budding romance. These memories came flooding back to us as we watched Mike making his vows to Meghan, and both of us were rather teary and choked up. We love this guy.

It wasn't all that long ago that Mike gave the toast at John and Kari's wedding and that teared us up as well. We know we have been blessed to have Mike in our lives, and now Meghan will be blessed as well to have him as her husband.

I loved the colors - and style - of the bridesmaids dresses. Perfect for a spring wedding.

May is a special month for wedding memories for us, too. Soon we'll celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Once we got to the reception venue (let's talk about charming here, it was in an old classic theatre ballroom) the eating and celebrating continued. After Meghan danced a bit with her father, all fathers were invited to share in the dance with their daughters.

Meaning that after Mike danced with his mother, Penny, all mother's were invited to dance with their sons. Here we are.

Seeing my four dance together certainly warranted yet another camera pull-out!

Though, I am not quite sure that one in this picture was excited to see the camera pulled out yet again --- I apologize.

Wishing you a very long and happy marriage, Meghan and Mike. Thanks for including us in your special day!