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Blake’s 3rd Birthday
Blake’s birthday party was last Sunday. He had 12 friends, you’ll like this Larry…all girls! Of course Reid and Ethan were there, but they were no competition for the birthday boy!
Oh! There was a face painter, so it might be hard to recognize Blake. He was a blue lion!
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Labor Day Weekend…a Labor of Love!
At 8:03 AM Saturday morning, Sept 5th, our third grandson, Ethan Thaddeus arrived! Arriving two weeks early he still weighed 7lb. 5 oz. and measured 19 1/2 in. long.  Andrea went completely natural, enduring a painful “corkscrew” delivery (his shoulder was stuck). He is adorable…Brian particularly loves Ethan’s sideburns that match his.Â
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My 60th Celebrations!

Decided to keep the 60th a small celebration (unlike the 40th & 50th). Had dinner with some close friends last weekend. Note the beautiful orchid arrangement Dawn made (and small bouquets for each lady). Kenny, I do look much better when pictures are taken out of the sunshine, don’t I?
Dinner on my birthday was at Dawn’s. Reid was sick, so he went to bed early. Blake helped Mommy decorate…he especially loved the balloons and the Mickey Mouse cake.


Shannon put together a little book of “60 Things I’ve Learned from My Mom”. Some were pretty standard things a mother should teach a child i.e., “Patience”, “Work Ethic”, “Pride” etc. Some were things our mother taught us i.e., “Kill them with Kindness”, giving people the “Benefit of the Doubt” etc. Some things were applicable to just us i.e., “The Fall Family Lazy Gene – it does exist and I’ve taught her how to combat it”, “How much she loves Mickey Mouse cakes”, “How to pronounce things correctly – The ‘Mary’ test is a perfect example”, and of course “Family – Nothing matters more”.
It was a great birthday and would only have been better with all of you here. We got close on Christmas…we need to keep trying!
Happy Birthday Sweet Sixty
MARILYN, THE UTAH FALLS HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC SIXTIETH.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY BEING THE SECOND SIBLING.

THE SECOND CHILD FOLLOWING SOMEONE AS CONFIDENT AS LARRY.

THE SECOND PRETTIEST CHILD (FOLLOWING GARY).

THE SECOND SMARTEST (FOLLOWING KENNY).

AND THE SECOND CLASSIEST (STEVE & RONNIE TIED FOR FIRST).
BUT MARILYN, YOU ARE SECOND TO NONE WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE AND DEVOTION TO THE FAMILY.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
KENNY, LISA, ELLIOT AND NATALIE
GS2 has arrived!
GS2 is on his way…
Grandson #2, that is. Dawn has been in labor for 8 1/2 hours. We’re hoping Charlotte will have a cousin with whom to share her birthday (otherwise he will be a leap year baby)! I’ll keep all posted.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving…
I hope. For those of you who weren’t able to make Gary’s 50th birthday party, we gave him what may turn out to be just that gift. We gave him a $25 bet that the Yankees would win the World Series (oh well), and another $25 bet that the Giants would win the Super Bowl. What I don’t recall is the odds…I think either 30 to 1 or 40 to 1. Funny thing is, Gary isn’t sure where he put the ticket. At this point, he has decided not to look for it so as not to jinx them. I agree, but I certainly hope he’ll have to look for it after the game.
Five years ago I was in Arizona at a business conference. Archie Manning was the motivational speaker at one of our meetings. At the question and answer session, one of my co-workers asked Archie which son was a better quarterback. Surprisingly he said Eli! He stated that Eli had better control than Peyton. He certainly seems to be showing that control in his last few games. Hopefully it will continue.
Wish Gary and the Giants luck!
Gary’s 50th Birthday Bash
Better late than never. October is such a busy, fun-filled month for us; Steve’s father’s birthday, Steve’s birthday and Blake’s birthday so we’re having a party and even a play ground for the kids from www.softplaydesignandinstallation.co.uk. But best of all this year, was getting together with family to celebrate Gary’s 50th. My pictures are a little out of focus (hopefully Kenny & Gary have better), but I thought my few pictures might get the ball rolling with others posting theirs.
The first two pictures are from our evening at Havana’s. The third is a shot of the Neshaminy Creek in Chalfont from the bridge (remember when it was an old wooden bridge?). The last is one of the covered bridges we visited.
Ronnie’s Riotous Raucous!
After a fabulous feast at Lou Malnatti’s (sorry Shannon) we continued to party at my house amidst the destruction/construction of our kitchen. Most of the evening was spent trying to take a picture of the six of us (guess I better learn how to use the delay). Who could ask for a better 48th birthday, right Ron?









