Laura's 90th Birthday

Faithful Reader, surely you recollect my having mentioned the other day that we would be at the nursing home last night to celebrate the upcoming 90th birthday of Susan's grandma Laura. There's a large "social room" across the hall from Laura's room that we use when members of the extended family want to celebrate a birthday with Laura or Elmer (Susan's grandpa) or just gather when Susan's aunt Candy is in town from AZ. So we enjoyed pizza and soda followed by cake and ice cream . . . and, of course, visiting throughout the evening. Here are some highlights:

The birthday song!

Laura and Elmer had 10 children, 3 of whom have passed away (Bruce, Bonnie, and Ginger). Of the 7 remaining, 5 were at the party (from left to right in the back row): Candy, Judy, Roger (Susan's dad), Patty, and Jackie.

Laura and Elmer have 29 grandchildren, 2 of whom were at the party: Kathy (Patty and Buddy's daughter) and Susan (Roger and Sue's daughter).

According to Susan's not-quite-certain calculations, Laura and Elmer have 56 great-grandchildren (and 5 great-great-grandchildren), 3 of whom were at the party: Hillary, Suzanna, and Abigail.

A nice closeup of the birthday girl. Happy 90th birthday on June 12th, Laura!

97 Years Young

Susan's grandpa turned 97 today! This afternoon several of us gathered for a birthday party at the nursing home where Susan's grandparents live. There were E.J. and Laura (Susan's grandparents), of course, but also three of their children: Patty (and her husband Buddy and their daughter Kathy), Jackie, and Roger (and his daughter Susan, her husband Kevin, and their daughters Suzanna, Abigail, and Hillary). Cake, cookies, birthday gifts, puzzles, games, visiting, photos . . . we did it all.

Here are some pics of E.J. (the birthday boy), Laura, Roger, and Susan. Do they look related?

Happy Birthday, E.J.!

Tomorrow is the 96th birthday of Susan's grandpa, E.J. (her dad's dad). Susan's aunts arranged for a few family members to gather this afternoon at the nursing home where E.J. now lives, and we had birthday cake, coffee, and some baked goodies. Susan's grandma, Laura (E.J.'s wife), is soon moving into an apartment in the building connected to the nursing home, so after cake and visiting, we all walked over to view the new apartment. It's new and very nice, and its proximity to E.J.'s home will make it convenient for Susan's grandparents to spend a lot of time together.

The girls were a big hit this afternoon with their great-grandparents. It's especially nice to see E.J. perk up around them, becoming more alert, enjoying their hugs and kisses, holding their hands, remarking on their resemblance to one another, and calling them "cute little guys." (E.J. was not necessarily known for this kind of affectionate reception to children in his earlier years.) It was a leisurely, family-oriented afternoon . . . and here are the pics to prove it:

E.J., the birthday boy

Susan's aunts Patty and Jackie (E.J.'s two eldest daughters) and her cousin Kathy (Patty's daughter) cutting and serving the ice cream cake that Patty and Buddy had made

The girls with their great-grandparents: Laura, Hillary, Abigail, Suzanna, and E.J.

A sight rarely seen: E.J. holding hands with a child! (That's Hillary, by the way, who also gave her great-grandpa lots of kisses on his forehead, stroking his head as though he were a pet golden retriever!)