Leeners, Budders and all that jazz...

We came home from California this week and didn't get to lumber o'er to Leener's house until tonight. She absolutely slays me...talking up a storm, showing off her new striped Gap zip-up jammies, making sure I knew her Gramma Tina was in town, and identifying family connections right in her own living room. "...Gramma Tina is Mommy's mommy; Mommy is Lena's mommy; Babajuje is Daddy's mommy; when Lena has a baby, Mommy will be a gramma and Simon (a/k/a Budders) will be an uncle" - you get the drift. She kills me.

Anyway...after looking around "My Three Sons and Other Tales..." tonight, I realized that the Brighton Vaiseys don't really have equal exposure on this here blog, so as of now that all changes. Fratake...as Dylan would say...

Our trip to the punkin' patch with Leeners and Budders...

A Very Special Girl

California...here we come!

California was so fun!!!! We had the pleasure of traveling to the other side of the world to see our oldest son, Steve, and his remarkable wife, Rebekah. They have produced four of the most incredible children ever born. (The other two live in Brighton...:)) Just thought I would share some pictures of the greatest joy I have ever known. I should qualify this by saying that watching Dylan play football is right up there as well. (Since I have never seen Jeff score a goal in soccer, I am bitter and won't mention him in this posting.)

It was DeeDee and Milo's birthdays, so we had a bowling party...fun...fun...fun!!! Let's just say we all needed bumpers! Birthday cakes, lots of singing...you know the drill. Milo had fun helping the next door neighbor cut down their extremely tall pine tree...hence the hard hat. Milo made sure that the cool guy with the chain saw had a piece of birthday cake in exchange for the opportunity of donning that yellow beauty. He cracks us up!

ZuZu (a/k/a Eloise) and I took a trip to Target and she picked out those beautiful sparkle shoes...pretty shoes. She wore them everywhere. Talk about a treasure...that ZuZu is a trip and a half! She never stops talking, but always has the sweetest things to say. What a fun time we had in California...even though Dyl missed a big football game. The burn is still being felt...not to mention the heaps of homework he faced upon return to school. He may have to phone in Milo's baptism in two years. Not a good time of year for #3 son.

Family Treasures

Check out RAY FOX...father to RUTHANN (that cute little Mary Jane shoe-ed toddler). How stinkin' cute is she? Her father had a drug store in the mountains and is seen here standing proudly in front of his establishment.










AND...who thought five kids would be fun? The pin curls and the bow tie are killing me.

Almost Birthday Time!!!

Another year goes by, but this year I am going backwards. No more of this 50-something stuff. I will be 49 on October 6th. Happy Birthday to me!!! Thank goodness for hair dye and wrinkle cream as no one ever suspects my age. That is, unless they see me hanging with my grandbabies...but the teenager calling me "Mom" confusing everything. I love it!

Latest news includes school is back in session, so Dylan and I are now on a regular schedule. I love it when summer hits, but about halfway through I start craving some sort of order. Left to my own devices, I will stay up all night and sleep all day. What a joke that is! I would take four straight hours of sleep in a row and feel really fortunate. Menopause is such a mean bed fellow...get it?



Dylan is playing football again this year. He is on the Fairport Red Raiders Mod B Team #1. That's my boy...#63 on top! I never thought I would have a football player as Jeff was always a soccer player and Steve played the guitar. Ok...Steve played some soccer, too, but preferred the guitar any day. They both tried football for a year and I must admit I was glad they gave it up. I wasn't fond of all that smashing into each other. But...enter Dylan...and you have something to smash up against. He is covered with bruises, but loves the sport. Steve (husband) is the official team photographer and I must admit is turning out some sweet pictures of the team. All the parents are raving.

We are preparing for a trip to California in October for Delia and Milo's birthdays. It's hard to believe that DeeDee will be 8 years old and ready for baptism. Can it be so???? Milo will be 6 and wants a green Power Ranger costume (killing me), Eloise is as beautiful and chatty as ever and Oliver just turned 1. We can't wait to see them. California is so far away...have I said that before?????

Work is good. I really enjoy working with my students in the computer lab. My co-workers are great people, too, which makes going in every day all that much more fun. Steve's work has been interesting with the economy such as it is. I tell him not to sweat it as I have us covered. My BIG huge paycheck might take us to Friday. We do have health benefits, though, so that's the good news!

Nothing else exciting to report. I miss my family and friends that live far away, and my dream is to take a world tour to visit everyone. Given I have a teenager at home and money is an interesting topic these days, I don't foresee much travel in the future. As I work on my latest passion of family history, more than ever I would love to connect with family members I haven't seen in 30+ years. With all that's available on the Internet now, gathering new branches to the tree happens all the time. I love it!

Life is good and all I can say is thank goodness for the World Wide Web!