Happy 80th Birthday Grandma!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
80 years ago today, Eileen Marie O'Meara (Hall) was born! We are so lucky to have such an amazing matriarch of the Hall Family and an incredible role model to learn from. 4 children, too many grandchildren and spouses for me to count right now, and almost 13 great-grandchildren later, we all gathered to celebrate. There were over 50 of us there for grandma, and as far as we know, only 4 that were unable to make it. You were all missed! We had an awesome time. Thanks grandma for always being there, I am proud to be your granddaughter!

So, obviously we're back from our trip to Portland and had a GREAT time! We were all able to visit my grandpa in the hospital after his back surgery - it went very well - and even under the circumstances was great for the kids to see their Great-Grandpa. We also had dinner with Grandma Doris at the Spaghetti Factory and it was fantastic! Gotta love those leftovers ;). It was so awesome to see everyone again, and especially for all the kids to reconnect with their cousins. Time means nothing to them, they just pick up where they left off from the last visit. We had a great time hanging out with everyone (Thank you Uncle Mark and Aunt Judi AND Uncle Steve and Aunt Sue for your hospitality this weekend - we pretty much lived at these two homes all weekend!) We all hung out and caught up with one another, met two new cousins for the first time, celebrated a first birthday the same day as Grandma's celebration, Kimmy's baby shower, and the Sunday football/poker event at Uncle Mark's for the "guys." It was great! Lots of pictures below from the trip ... Enjoy!

We finally got to meet JT!

JT and I

JT, Kailee and Cam

JT and Cam

Mom and JT

Mom, JT, and Dad

GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Uncle Joe, Grandma, and Uncle Dan

Erin, Aunt Judi, and Shannon

And we finally got to meet Nate!
Liz and Baby Nate (Katie is in the background telling secrets)

Christine giving Isaac a massage - we think

Cameron, Jackson and Stella

Mom, Aunt Cathy and I

Dad, Jim, Uncle John and Ken

Grandma and Suzanne (Happy 1st Birthday!)

Aunt Fluffy and I

Me and JT

Dad, Aunt Sue and I

Alex and Dan

The Great-Grandkids

The Great-Grandkids + Kimmy & Lucy!

JT and his cigar - thanks Uncle Rick!

Dan and Cam

Cam and JT (Who's putting who to sleep here?)

Aunt Sue and Isabelle

Uncle Steve

Kailee getting her first massage

Cam's first massage - whatever - I think I was 30. Thanks Christine!

SPAGHETTI FACTORY
Cam, Grandma Doris and I

Cam and Papa Rick

Me, Grandma, Dad, and Theresa (and my wine)

Mom and Cam

Cam and I

Happy Friday!

Well it's been one heckuva week! But ... my Christmas decorations are up - including the tree. This is huge. I've had 5 large rubbermaid totes sitting in my living room for the past few days, so this is a great accomplishment! Wanted to post some pictures from last Saturday ... Kailee's 6th Birthday and of course, the disappointing Civil War game. Headed to Portland this weekend for Grandma's 80th! Looking forward to seeing everyone! Will post pictures next week!

Kailee and her birthday clan!



Is this not the BEST picture? Tinkerbell birthday cake and R&R ... fantastic party, Kailee!




Reagan looking sooo cute while helping us cheer on the Beavs!

Civil War

No Comment.

Friday's Thanks

My thanks for today is actually for the Thanksgiving holiday we had with family yesterday. It was wonderful spending time with everyone. The food, the visits (the wine - thanks Mike for joining me in our "shots" :) And, might I point out, the only item which we did not have leftovers.) Thankful we all had a safe drive up and back - had some pretty nasty rain, thunder, and lightning storms. All in all a great day (we'll pretend the photo radar wasn't there, Bryan.) At any rate, mom and dad come into town today for the weekend, so looking forward to extending the holiday. Below are some pictures from our day. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was equally fantastic!

Why can't I have pie first? Huh? No fair!

Cameron and Scout

Cameron and Grandma Denise

The bright spot on the hills on an otherwise
very fall day!

Bryan, Cameron and Grandpa Lasky

Hmmm ... think I need some more wine? :)

Cameron running up the driveway

working off his dinner ...

Bryan looks SO thrilled! :)

Cameron and Great Grandma Peterson

Great Grandpa Lasky and Cam

Grandma Denise, Cam, & Great Grandma Lasky

Theresa & I

Another dinner guest

Cam and Papa Mike

No caption needed ... what a cutie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I Am Thankful For:
* My husband
* My son
* The roof over our heads
* The jobs that let us have that roof over our heads
* The food in our pantry, in our fridge, on our table, and under our table
* Family and family and more family.
* Good friends that make me laugh and let me cry
* Good health

And let us not forget some of the little things:

* Toilet paper (for obvious reasons)
* Health insurance
* Microwave ovens, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.
* The little signs they put in steaks to let you know how done the steak is (because how else would you know?)
* The movie "16 Candles"
* The smell of daphne (the flower)
* Our DVR (otherwise I would never get to see the shows that I want to see)
* Coffee (this requires no explanation)
* Red wine (with all those antioxidants and gum disease-fighting power- I read an article on this - it's true)
* Weekends
* My kollage edukation
* Swimming pools in an Arizona summer

I am also thankful for the freshly baked apple pie on the counter that my sister made (Thanks Theresa!), one which I cannot believe is still untouched, and Uncle Steve's mashed potatoes waiting patiently in the fridge. Bryan, Theresa, Cam and I are all headed up to Prescott to spend the day with Bryan's family. The high up there today is around 48, so we'll be pulling out the winter coats. (Yes - we do wear them here!). Looking forward to a wonderful day with family.

May your Thanksgiving be full of all things wonderful. We all have much to be thankful for!