JJ......The next "American Idol" Super Star!

Like father like son! And this Mama couldn't be more PROUD!!! JJ entered an "American Idol" type of contest in our town and has made it through two rounds and into the finals! Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the video I took of him from my camera doesn't play any sound when I play it on the computer, grrrrrr! So after several hours of trying, (6 to be exact!!) the video I got on my cell phone will have to do. It's not the greatest quality, but it at least I was able to retrieve it. The finals are on March 21st, so we will be trying to get to the bottom of the camera issue before then. If we can't, Julie will just have to be ready with her camera! So without further ado, here is JJ singing "Praying for Daylight" by Rascal Flatts!

A blast from the past!

Marie, I'm sure you remember Brett?(!!)
He and his wife Jeanette and their 2 kiddo's Kaia (6 years old) and Blake (3 years old) came up from California to visit. Brett gave us a call and we all got together at our house for dinner. a couple of days later they treated us to dinner and then have been able to stay with us for a few days! Their kids are adorable and we've had a great time enjoying their company! James and Brett have had us laughing so hard telling stories of the olden days! It's been great for James and Brett to be able to reconnect! We are hoping to visit them in California!

This is Brett and his little boy Blake when we went to Hunan Garden:

Brett and Jeanette's darling daughter Kaia:

Brett and James playing Guitar Hero:


Brett's oldest daughter Mallory (who is now 21!) and his youngest daughter Kaia:

We were surprisingly kid-free for New Year's Eve so we went with Brett and Jeanette and another old friend Madgen and her husband, and went out to dinner and then back to Madgen's to watch the ball drop!
Brett and Jeanette:

James and I:

James and Brett and their celebratory bottle of Martinelli's grape/cranberry Sparkling Cider!

Aunt Janel's birthday dinner.

Aunt Janel's birthday is December 29th. This year we all went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner and had so much fun! When James, Troy and JJ all get together, it's crazy, always filled with lots of laughter!
James and I

Troy and JJ:


Troy and Whitney:

Mikey:

Lora and Whitney:

Lora and I:

Aunt Janel getting her cake:

Happy Birthday Auntie, we love you!

Christmas 2008!

We had a nice quiet (and a tad bit lonely) Christmas at home this year. We visited Timothy on Christmas Eve and took him his presents, and then went to finish up our last minute shopping. Mikey left cookies and milk and an adorable letter for Santa, and we managed to all get to bed at a decent hour. (Thanks to the snow storm, I was housebound and able to 90% of the wrapping before Christmas eve. That's definitely a first for us!) Christmas morning we opened presents and then relaxed the whole day. Greg and Shannon did stop by for a visit, but that was the extent of our day. We had lots of yummy food and so many things to be thankful for!

Mikey's letter to Santa


Timothy trying on his new leather jacket:

JJ Christmas morning:


Mikey:


Whitney:


And The Aftermath!