Lora Joins the "Blog" Group!

Lora "found" her blog and added to it. We've added her link to her reunion picture at the side. Click on it and you'll be connected to her family blog. Thanks, Lora, for connecting to us!

Human Kids Spend Day with Grandma

Grandma was able to babysit with Zabe, Jayda and Tori again on Monday. They spent the night Sunday night and had dinner with she and Grandpa the next day. Zabe was able to go on the bus with Grandpa for the morning route...Grandpa said he was really good, and Zabe said he enjoyed it. (He chose not to go back for the afternoon route, though!) We spent some time at Wal-Mart, and the kids were able to watch a movie and some television. We had a great time!

Laney and Taylor Have Skating Party

Grandma and Grandpa were invited to the Birthday Party at the Skating Rink for Laney and Taylor (Laney turned 8 and Taylor turned 10). In addition to all of Laney's and Taylor's friends and their families, Lora's family was there, Stacy's family was there, and Kay and Tony came. J.J. and Amy had arranged for the exclusive use of the skating rink for the party, and they had pizza and ice cream. It was lots of fun to see everyone skating together, and Laney and Taylor had a terrific time entertaining their friends.

Valentine's Day 2009

Lawrenceville 1st Ward Valentine Party

Mom and Dad are Activites Chairmen in the Ward, and there was a Valentine Party on February 14 for couples. It was really fun! There was lots of chocolate, a chocolate fountain, and entertainment and dancing. There were about 80 people there. Mom and Dad work pretty hard to have good activities, and it was agreed that this was one of the better ones, thanks to everyone's help. Because it was an adults-only party, we missed Alexis' help, but we appreciated her babysitting so that Dahra and Darryl and Lora and Jonathan were able to come.

Zabel Pictures

Grandma's Cousin, Doris Grauerholz, sent some Zabel pictures with her Holiday card. Thought you might enjoy seeing them. The one of me as a baby with my Dad and Mom we have on our "family" wall, but the other I've not seen before. It's my Dad (on the far right) and his brothers and sisters with their parents, Marie and Albert Zabel (taken for one of their anniversaries).

Grandma Gets to Babysit Human Kids

Grandma was given the opportunity to babysit for Zabe, Jayda and Tori so that Lora and Jonathan could go to a Valentine Play. Lora had fixed dinner for us, and we had a great time eating, playing "Go Fish" and "Crazy Eights", and preparing Valentine Cards for school. Zabe decided to cut out different animals that he felt represented members of his class to put on the Valentines. We had a great time trying to figure out how to make them. The most difficult seemed to be the chicken. Grandma got to go with Lora to take them to school the next day, and she was able to visit their classrooms. What fun!!!

Kay Steps Up to the Plate

Kay received the Brinkerhoff Blog announcement, and immediately started her own blog! At this rate, we'll all be up and running soon. It's fun to be able to work on everything together...it's YOUR turn to get started. Believe me, if I can do it, you can! It will be so neat to have everyone hooked up! That way you can tell the story the way you want to, and Mom and Dad don't have to work so hard! Sounds like a win-win to me! Thanks, Kay, for stepping up to the plate! Click on Tony and Kay's reunion picture to the right and you can see what a good job she did already. She even has the wedding website linked. Way to go!

Dad in Stillwater Paper

We received a New Year's letter from Barbara and Calvin Slater (family friends in Stillwater). They sent this newspaper picture from the Stillwater paper Friday, July 25, 1952. Dad was seven years old and is in the center of the picture. He and his Dad built the soapbox derby car. They called it the Apple Derby Race, and it was an annual event in Stillwater.

Grandpa Talks Alden Into Doing His Hair

Grandpa liked Alden's hair at the Dinner-Dance (spiked up in the front), so when Alden and Darryl came to visit on Saturday, Grandpa talked Alden into fixing his hair like it. Only problem was that the "gel" was "mousse" and it didn't work quite so well. Grandpa loved the attention, though!

Daniel Has Girlfriend and Blog!!

Daniel has a girlfriend. Her name is Jamie, and Mom met her when she went to Houston in January to help with year-end accounting. She's a Kindergarten teacher, and Mom thinks she's really special. She created a Blog with pictures of the two of them, and it puts the Brinkerhoff Blog to shame! You can view it by clicking on Daniel's picture on the right-hand side of the Blog. Seriously, it's really fun to see the updates and to see what can really be done when you're creative. Thanks, Jamie, for keeping us up to date!!

Brielle Spends the Night

Brielle called Grandma to see if she could spend the night on Thursday (it works because Brielle doesn't go to preschool the next day). Grandma had an appointment the next day, so she told her they would do it the next week. Brielle called several times during the week to see when she could spend the night. When it was just two days left, Stacy said she started "packing". She was so organized, and she wanted several different containers to put things in. She brought her babies (2) and a stroller, plus several toys, clothes and bottles for the dolls. When Thursday morning came, Stacy asked if Brielle had packed her clothes. She had to spend more time getting her clothes and toothbrush ready to go. Brielle and Tony decided that pizza would be good for dinner, and Brielle got to stay up for a while to play. She also went with Grandma to walk the dog. She forgot to pack her coat, so she wore Grandma's sweatshirt. The next day they got to play "babies" and games. Fun age...fun time!

Birds are Back!

Grandpa put up the bird feeder that Osengas gave him, and we've got lots of birds, including wrens, some cardinals, and a woodpecker. We had to chase the squirrels off, so Grandpa made the chain longer. We're hoping it keeps them from bothering the birds. Every day the birds have parties, and it's fun to watch them from the window. The bird (a female cardinal) that keeps running into the window is back, and Tony got a movie the other day. She did it all last year, and there is a triangular hole in the outside window that looks like she's been doing it since before we moved in! Tony got us a bird-watching book last year, so it's fun to find the different species that enjoy the banquet.

Jim Loves His Bus

Jim's been driving a bus for Gwinnett County Schools since the first week in October, 2008, and he loves it! He comes home with stories every day. Even though he has to get up at 6:00 in the morning, he works for six hours (6:30 am to 9:30 am and 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm), it has been a good fit for him. His latest story is about a young girl from China who came to this country with her Grandparents last month. When she first got on the bus, she was scared to death, and didn't speak a word of English. Jim had someone translate for her and has been learning "hello" and "goodbye" and "welcome" in Chinese. The other day she came in with a little stuffed dog and handed it to Jim. Jim looked at it, smiled, and handed it back to her. She indicated that it was for him, so he put it on the dash in his bus and took a picture for us to share. He does a GREAT job helping the kids feel welcome and giving them a good start to their school day!