February 12, 2010: Grandma Clara turned 90 years old! The family hosted an Open House to celebrate her amazing life. Aunt Diane had put together a beautiful display of framed photos and decorated the tables with fresh flowers and garden themed accents. Cousin Nichole had created a dvd slide show of family photos that played at the entrance where people could write messages on papers featuring copies of the same photos. The signed pages were assembled in to a commemorative guest book for Grandma at the end of the evening. Mom and Aunt Annette helped with the food and kept the buffet table stocked all night. Various grandchildren brought different desserts ... I made my sinfully delicious mint brownies.
It was a wonderful evening spent with family. I was most touched by the comments from dad's various cousins about how close our family is. They were all so impressed by how well the siblings get along and how the grandchildren are so comfortable with all of their aunts and uncles. Several of them had assumed that Eisley was mine when they first saw me with her. A couple thought Olivia belonged to Denice! I love that despite the fact that we see each other on a fairly regular basis, we still enjoy being with each other and genuinely like one another. Some various photos that I was able to get before my camera batteries died:
My cute little man with his oh so nutritious dinner that he obviously served up himself! I am pleased to see that he had celery sticks to help balance the sugar cookie and pretzels!
I had a great time with Eisley while Denice enjoyed a child-free meal! Eisley loves necklaces so she was content to play with my necklace while her mom ate.
Beautiful girls ... Denice, Olivia and Deb.
Allyson was having fun with her dad. Bryan would lean back with her on his shoulders and she'd laugh and laugh. She is growing up so quickly!
Mr. Creighton didn't want to stop chewing his food long enough to smile for a picture. I was lucky to get this one of him with his mom, Sara!
The table decor was lovely. The fresh flowers and framed photos were perfect.
My lovely ladies ... Maddie and Liv.
Miss Keira did not want her photo taken. She would run and hide each time she saw the camera pointed her way. She thought she was being sneaky - I managed to catch her before she dove under a chair. The photo isn't completely in focus because she was moving, but I love the expression on her face! Gotcha!
Little Eisley, working on tooth number 2, was being awfully silly with her tongue! She was happy to have a necklace of her own when Keira shared her bell on a ribbon.
Little Asher is so adorable. He was shy upon arrival, until Olivia came along. He was more than happy to go with his "Wivi!" He was so cute all night - especially when it came time to put all of the chairs away. He was very concerned about what was going on. I explained that the chairs were going night-night because he was worried about them going on the cart under the stage. He then proceeded to help us "carry" the chairs by holding on with one hand. He's such a big boy!
Me and my honey. Ed met us at the party because he had to go straight to the gym after work. He's in full on marathon training mode. I was happy he was done in time to join us.
This was just funny ... Eisley gnawing on a cup because her mouth was sore!
Beautiful Michelle with little Eisley.
Our family with the lady of the hour. Grandma told me she'd been sure that no one would come. She had a fantastic turn out and I think she enjoyed the evening. We had a nice visit as we looked over old photos. There was one picture of Grandma at the age of 4, with the family outhouse in the background. She shared a story with Olivia about how she and her sister had dropped their cat down the outhouse and I saw a look on Grandma's face as she told that story that made me think she'd probably worn that same mischievous expression when she was 4!
Happy birthday Grandma!
3 comments:
You got some great pictures too Tam! I LOVE the one of Michelle and Eisley and the one of you and Ed..they turned out great!! I agree..even though we all see each other fairly often, we still love being together and it's always fun! Love you tons!!!
Thank you, Tamera! I so wish I could have been there, if only to add an exotic note of color--all those blue eyes and light hair! Can't believe how big Ally is. You got wonderful photos of the little ones. I miss their little personalities so much. You're lucky you get to see them so often. Wish I could have been there to talk to the cousins and chat with Dad's family. Thanks for letting me see how it went! I was thinking of all of you last night. xoxo
4 pictures of Eisley and zero of Senya? The sibling fighting is about to start right now....
Cody's grandpa has the same birthday as Grandma! We celebrated both birthdays this weekend (except he was turning 84). Tell your kids they're the sweetest things ever, I always love seeing them.
Post a Comment