Three - in - One

Hold on to your hats - here's a super 3 in 1 event posting coming your way.

First stop, Thanksgiving Fostoria style. We celebrated on Saturday at Lois and Dave's and enjoyed a wonderful feast, prepared exclusively by Lois. In fact, she put in such a stupendous effort that she was admitted to the hospital the very next day. There was a happy ending as she is now better than ever (if that is possible!) Dave did make an executive proclamation, however. Lois is NOT to single handedly prepare another Thanksgiving dinner.

At the celebration, David presented the 2010 Z3FL trophy to the winning manager, Carly, who is the skipper of the Tremont Pierogies. Congrats!



The OSU/Michigan game was on the same day. Notice Mike confidently wearing his UM hat. Alas, it was not to be. Buckeyes win (again!)



We also had cupcakes to celebrate three November birthdays - Evan, Jake and Jen. Hayley was very happy to help out her big brother with his cupcake.








And to round out the day, the annual Turkey Bowl took place in the field next to Lois and Dave's villa. We are happy to report there were no injuries and everyone was on good terms at the end of the game.



Next stop, Coral Springs, Florida, where Melanie and Mo hosted an early Christmas gathering. This would be the first time all three grandchildren would be under the same roof - and we made the most of it! Melanie set up a holiday picture shoot at the Buy Buy Baby store she manages in Coral Springs. There is a photo studio in the back, and the photographer worked miracles getting a baby, a toddler, a four year old and a Granddad to all sit still at the same time. Here are Barb's pictures of the photo shoot.

Where's Nathan?




Here's Nathan!





Here are some of the "professional" results!








There was lots of activity, including a very festive holiday dinner where everyone made a special dish. Mo even challenged Carly to an appetizer and dessert cook-off - time limit and everything. Mmmmmm Mmmmm good! A small fire in the oven did not dampen our good time - it was even caught on video...





The following are in no particular order - just giving a flavor of the fun-filled gathering.















Our final event was the Good Family Christmas gathering. This group has been meeting annually for over sixty years. Here's a collection of photos taken at the event that was graciously hosted by Uncle Dave (Dad) and Uncle Lowell (in absentia.) What a crew!

Visit to Long Island and Jackson Heights

We just concluded a wonderful visit to our Long Island family. Please see The Pearce Family blog (link to the right) for an outstanding account of our terrific (and less than terrific) experiences. Lexi did such a great job describing our visit that there is nothing we can add except to express our joy and to share the cooking video below. It features two chefs--"Ruthie" and "Rosarita." (Lookout Food Channel!) If you wish to receive a copy of the recipe, including the secret ingredient, please contact Rosarita.



We also had a great breakfast visit with Nicole and Darrell and viewed their recently painted living room/dining room area. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the art work recently installed is stunning as well. What a lovely home they have in Jackson Heights.

This and That

Before the fall holidays hit, we thought we'd catch up and share a few pictures. The first group were e-mailed to us from mobile phones, and Barb cannot figure out how to make them bigger or clearer. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Anyway, here's our latest: Sami at about 2 1/2 months, Michaela and Nathan previewing their pumpkin cookie jar, Carly and Scout on a roadtrip, and Scout in her Browns' jersey awaiting kick-off.










Jim had a business meeting in Washington in mid-October, but was able to spend an evening with the NY/DC Pearce family. As always, he had a great time playing with Michaela and Nathan.





Here Barb is modeling the "lovely" retirement hat she received from Margaret. We think Margaret looks stunning in it - and if anyone wants to borrow it, just let us know!



And finally, here's the "over fifty" crowd after they completed the Cleveland Rite-Aid 10K (6.2 miles) race this past spring. Not bad for some aging boomers!