Lilly is One!

Lilly's birthday!

We had a fun time celebrating Lilly! Mary Jo, Meg's mom, drove from New York with 6 of her girls. They had a great time playing with their niece, Lilly, and their nephew, Sam. At first Lilly didn't know what to do with her cupcake but as you can see she figured it out. She enjoyed Aunt Trish's gift of her old cell phone! Lilly is on the verge of walking--such an exciting time!

The Grand Canyon North Rim

Grand Canyon

Today is Grandpa and Grandma's 56th wedding anniversary. In their honor I'm posting our Grand Canyon pictures. Dan and I felt very connected with our parents while we were there. George and Marie Brewer actually honeymooned in a cabin at the North Rim. We might have been in their very cabin! And my mom and dad honeymooned in a similar little cabin at Lake Tahoe. We had fabulous weather while we were there and spectular hikes and picnics soaking in the view. Enjoy! We sure did.

Patrick and Shaunna's wedding in Pasadena

The wedding reunion

What an amazing gift to have such a wonderful family! Pat and Jean provided the setting for 4, count them FOUR, family reunions--the Bowlers, the Brewers, the McCabes, and the Dalys (Jean's family from Ireland). All their friends, neighbors, fellow parishoners, partners, and clergy friends played a role in hosting each one of us comfortably and feeding us abundantly.

Jean had masterminded their back yard so that all 30 of us hanging out there had a comforable place to relax. From the moment we first walked into the backyard and saw the Irish relatives chatting at the table I "saw" grandpa sitting there with them. His spirit was in us the entire event enjoying the chat, the food, the grandkids, and the dancing!

Every night we were graciously served an abundant meal. The rehearsal dinner for 100 was unbelieveable! The food was so delicious. We celebrated our 32nd anniversary that night with a champagne toast surrounded by all our children. What a thrill.

One of my favorite moments was in Patricia and Daniel's pool. All our children and grandchildren were having a great! I was so filled with joy just enjoying everyone enjoying themselves!

And the wedding! It was beautiful. Patrick and Shaunna were very relaxed and able to enjoy all their guests.

Thanks to all the Pasadena Bowlers and Friends for all their hard work giving us all such a memorable week together.

Latest Lilly Pictures

Lilly celebrating the 4th! Aunt Ellen stayed out of the pictures.

Mayo Visit

Mayo

Thought you all would enjoy a few photos from our week up at Mayo. We were so blessed by great doctors and nurses caring for Dan. Trish and I got to see a few of the sights of the "Medical Disneyland". The picture of Dan was taken on Wednesday--it was his first day to set foot on Minnesota soil. He was feeling real good that afternoon.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! Lots of great dads in our family! I was thinking of dad yesterday as I was doing some landscaping work at one of our rentals so I thought I'd post some garden photos. Dad gave me some neat tiles last July. My friend Gloria helped me turn the little plot of earth next to the back door into a work of art.
Mike was telling me how dad always whistled or sang while he worked. So I decided to try it yesterday while I was digging away. It made the work more enjoyable. I'm sure that's why dad chose "whistle while he worked"! I'm hoping to start a new habit. Thanks Dad for being so cheerful.

Memorial Day Reunion

Memorial Day Reunion

We began our weekend honoring mom and dad with a big celebration of Patrick and Delia's birthdays! How wonderful to be together!
Sunday, after a traditional breakfast at the "Video Cafe" we all headed for the Giants game. It was very exciting to see Barry hit one out of the park.
Monday, Father Greene once again honored dad and mom with his encouraging words. We unveiled the plaque honoring my parents. It is appropriately on the St. Michael side of the altar where dad usually served as a Eucharist Minister. After the blessing of the plaque we had a reception in the church hall. It was great to meet many of their friends. Then we headed out to Holy Cross Cemetary and prayed together at mom and dad's gravesite and left flowers from their garden. We stopped in at "Molloy's" and reminisced about the Irish foot stomping gatherings our parents attended there every year.
After the Pasadena crowd headed south Mike, Dan and I spent a beautiful day at Jack London State Park in the middle of the wine country. We enjoyed seeing and hearing lots of birds and frogs. Then we stopped in Sonoma and had a delightful dinner at a neat resturant.
Dan and I spent the rest of the week walking and enjoying our favorite local spots. Thank you Lord for the blessing of being able to travel across country to be with family!