Family pics

Kathryn with her hamster collection.

Happy Birthday to Jack! He really wanted a guitar for his birthday. Uncle Renn gave him an electric guitar ad Travis gave him an acoustical. What a lucky kid!

Travis and Becky

Isaac sure liked Jennie!

Pretty Keira feeding Isaac. Oh I sure miss him!!!

Just a few photos to share!

Love,

MOM

Cousins Unite!

Last week my cousin Donna came to visit and brought her darling daughter, Lindsay, who was a year old the last time I saw her. Yes, it has been that long! They drove here to Virginia Beach from Buffalo, NY and spent one whole day with me. Can you believe it? Donna had to get back for an appointment on Thursday, but decided to make the tip anyway, even tho it was a quick one with lots of driving.

This is how we looked last time we saw each other! Lindsay grew up to be a wonderful young woman and I enjoyed her so much. She seemed to be content to sit and look through the family history research that I have accumulated for the Winspear family over the years. She even spouted names and dates that she remembered from visiting cemeteries with her mom. How lucky Donna and Lindsay are to be able to team up and enjoy doing the searching and researching together!

As I mentioned in a previoius post, Donna and I only recently reconnected after all these years. Our fathers were brothers, Jim and Burt Winspear, of Buffalo, NY. Donna happened upon my Dad's blog while searching on line for Winspear information. Since Winspear history has been my pet project for years, we got together and shared info. I have lots of names and dates and am still finding more! Donna has the advantage of visiting local sites and cemeteries in Buffalo and surrounding area. She knows where all the bodies are buried! 

We had so much fun talking and sharing and scanning photos. We discovered that we have much more in common than just our family history. So now were are delighted to be not only cousins, but friends! And Lindsay too! 

The Good Life at Virginia Beach

The past two weeks have been busy ones! Matt, Anna Marie and Danielle came and brought Mabry, Danielle's best friend. When Grandpa Jim heard they were coming he decided that he wanted to come also. So we had a house full and loved it! Matt took over the television, my Dad laid claim to the deck, and the girls loved their futon on the floor in the TV room. Anna Marie made sure everyone got down to the beach every day, plus they got in some bike rides through the park. 

Grandpa Jim (with his goofy face for the camera) learned a couple new card games from the girls. Mike got into the act also and I could hear them laughing and laughing out on the deck.

Grandpa Patch bought the girls hats and t-shirts from Life is Good. Pretty nice picture of the Chesapeake Bay in the background!

We ate out on the deck every night. Hot dogs, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake--Life IS Good!

A weekend in NYC

This past weekend Mike and I took Danielle and Mabry to New York. We had such a great time! We drove up Friday morning and got there around 1:30pm. We stayed at the Mariott Marquis in Time Square. We walked all over for miles and I quickly became exhausted in the 90 degree heat. But I was able to keep up, only at a slower rate than everyone else. 

So maybe that's not keeping up after all. But I walked, and got there eventually. The girls were willing to shop till they dropped, only they never dropped. I, on the other hand, dropped several times. We had a fabulous Italian dinner at Sophie's the first night. We all had good meals, but in the end we agreed that Danielle's Fettucini Alfredo was the best. Wow--all cream and butter!

On Friday night we went to see the Addams Family. It was fabulous! Nathan Lane was Gomez, Bebe Neuwirth (aka Lilith) was Morticia. The whole cast was excellent! We loved it! The second night we saw Wicked and it was also fabulous! Great story and again, the acting and the singing was wonderful. We feel really lucky to have been able to get tickets for these hit productions.

On Sunday, before we went home, we took a buggy ride in Central Park. It was a lovely thing to do, tho Mike was embarrassed to be doing something so touristy. Sal, the driver, gave the girls a carrot to give the horse. They were a little nervous about that, but it was fine. Then the long drive home, not our favorite part, but our weekend was great! We all came home happy!

Facebook

I opened a Facebook account. don't ask me how this happened, it just sort of did. I clicked onto the Parent's Magazine photo contest and it wanted my Facebook account. So I opened one! Simple as that. Suddenly all these people pop up that have accounts that I know. Mostly relatives, fortunately. I guess it must have searched my AOL address book, which is the email account I gave them. Can they do that?

So far it looks like a lot of my relatives making smart-alec remarks back and forth. Hey, I think I might like this! They are all so sassy! I like that about them! And no one ever comments on this blog, so maybe Facebook is the way to go. Honestly, I kind of avoided it because I thought it was a thing for the kids and I didn't want to become a voyeur into their private lives. You know, the lives that they expose to everyone with an Internet connection? But then the first person I got a friend request from was Mary!  So I guess I will play along and see where it goes.

Pretty Baby!

Everybody knows we have the prettiest babiest in our family! We wouldn't be normal if we didn't think so!

Therefore, it only makes good sense that our little Isaac should be entered into the Parent's Magazine Cutest Kid Contest, tho they may have a different name for it. Well surprise, he has been entered into this contest! So please follow the link and vote for our little cutie. The one with the most votes gets on the cover! Vote-vote-vote! Vote every day until it's over, yes, they allow that. 
Everyone knows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I sure wish I was the one holding Isaac right now!

OUR HANDSOME and HAPPY GRADUATE!

If you haven't seen Kyle for a while, he has grown into a man while we were looking the other way! And a handsome man too! Kyle graduated from high school recently and is now facing his future! What to do, what to do? 

I have a rather old fashioned suggestion: Get a job and work your butt off! Develop a reputation for someone who is hardworking and reliable! Save your money. The past has been fairly easy, but the future will not be. We want the best for you, and it is up to you to achieve it! Our prophet has said that "Our decisions determine our destiny"! Keep this as a mantra to remember and live accordingly. Show your love for your family and your gratitude as well. It is wonderful to have friends, but when things get tough you will learn that your family will always stand by you.

We are so proud of you and look forward to seeing good things happening for you in the future! We love you Kyle!