Christmas in Michigan

Here are some pictures from our Christmas vacation.


The cousins on Mary Kay's side of the family.



Both Katie and Mary will be helpful big sisters.


Before the action starts.


Worse than a lump of coal. (I haven't figured out how iPhoto works with Blogger yet. I may never.)


The prime rib. Or as Mary calls it, the roast beast.


Merry Christmas!

A Bomb Went off in our House

Please consider contributing to the Derek and Mary Kay disaster relief pfund.

Wizard of Oz Barbies

Mom and Dad got Katie and Mary all the Wizard of Oz Barbies for Christmas. Katie was excited about all of them. Mary really wanted Glinda. She was sorely disappointed to have found herself with the responsibility of opening the wicked witch.

9 month/ Christmas pictures

We took Alina to get her 9 month old pictures today... you will probably see one of these again in your Christmas card, but here are a few from this morning.

My personal favorite (this picture changes depending on which browser you use... I'm talking about the first Santa hat picture) :)

Mary Tells a Joke

Sure, she's the straight man in this joke, but she carries it anyway.

Katie's Dance Practice

They let Vittoria in to Katie's dance class for a little while today. Here's what she's working on.

Katie the Photographer, part 2

We got a new camera. At almost the exact same time, Katie started insisting on taking pictures. Attached are some of her finer pieces. I'm glad electrons are almost free.







She is better than most at getting pretty good pictures of Mary.


Here's a funny one of Norm.


And, of course, the self portraits.



She has also taken pictures of most of the toys, so she can later identify all the damage Mary and the new baby do.

UPDATE: Rare behind the scenes video footage of the artist in action.



Also, some of the pics that she took.

Thanksgiving in CO 2007

Great Uncle Glenn and Baby Alina


Mom is getting the bird ready. That salt she is shaking on has 227 servings in that can! We laughed because they only said that so the sodium on the bottle would be something people might consider putting in their mouth.


In she goes!


Waiting the 1.5 hr cook time


Out she comes!


Which is prettier? The table or the man sitting at the table?

Bath Time!

Molli gave Alina a bath while I was in CO. She's pretty cute and liked it a lot.

Flock of Sheep Who?

Mary and I were telling knock knock jokes the other night.



Does the way she says flock remind you of how someone else used to say fork? What about sheep?

Happy Thanksgiving

We were sad that Norm couldn't be with us on Thursday. Fortunately, he's doing much better and we should have some pictures with him soon. But here are some pictures we did get. Including Mary trying to perfect the pout.

Preparing for Christmas

We went to the Henry Ford today to get a Christmas tree and talk to Santa. They also had a bunch of model trains set up.






They're not booing, they're saying "Tony loaf."

Buttermilk Pie

Buttermilk Pie (makes 2- 9" pies or 1 large pie)
Mix together
1/2 C flour
1/2 t salt
3 3/4 C sugar

Melt and add to above
2 sticks margarine

Add and mix well
6 eggs- slightly beaten
1 C buttermilk
2 t vanilla
Bake at 350 till center is solid After you put the pie crust in the pan, put it in the freezer while you mix up the filling.... it keeps the crust from getting soggy.

Is it a boy or a girl

Mary Kay had the ultrasound today. Everything looks good. The nurse said she knows what the sex is, but she didn't tell Mary Kay. See if you can tell.