Congrats to Nichole...

A great big 'congratulations' go out to friend Kim's daughter Nichole, for graduating with her BSN and passing her RN licensing. Wow, it seems like a long journey with Nichole changing schools and moving a lot, but she finally got the job done. I think Kim said she's taken a job at Froedtert. Good for you, Nichole:)

Happy Birthday to Natalie:)

Wishing a Happy 6th. Birthday to my niece's daughter Natalie. Sorry this photo is a proof, but it is a favorite. Nattie (on the left) is shown with her younger sister Delaney, who everyone in the family agrees is the reincarnation of our Ellie. How true:) I'm sure Natalie and Delaney are proud of their new baby brother! Hint to Hannah...I'd love a photo:)

fast fingered Elle

Elle said she was embarrassed when her symphonic wind instructor introduced her to the group yesterday. He started by saying that he asks his students to play the 12 major scales in at least 2 minutes to pass into the group. Under 1 minute and 30, and you get an 'A'. He mentioned to the group that Elle got all 12 scales correct in 32 seconds. After the session, seniors approached her and said they were impressed. Good for Elle. It's hard being a freshman musician. You always have to fight your way through the ranks...such competition.

on a lighter note...

Little bitty kitty Leo is growing fast. He now weighs 5 pounds, and is almost 5 months old. He is enjoying his life with his surrogate Mom Lena, and also the attention he gets from the college girls:)

Elise's news...

Sorry it took so long to update. I was blindsided by Elise's story, and it actually took me a few days to recover. The cyber family might remember Elise's sick friend A.W. who we all took under our wing. At Christmas we sent packages, and I sent Elise money to buy her kids gifts. We were told (by A.W.) that she had cancer. Well folks, it was all an elaborate lie. It seems A.W. is an addict, and has abusing several substances for months...even throughout her pregnancy. The poor children. She made up the story to gain sympathy and apparently through a variety of Docs, obtained scripts for some potent pain meds. Needless to say she was 'let go' from her job, and had been increasingly difficult in the work place, with all sorts of physical and behavioral outbursts. Such a shame. The family really needs our prayers at this time. No word yet on if she is rehabbing:(

Elle has news...

Congrats to Elle today, as she was asked to be in the Symphonic Winds group at Fondy High. This is neat on a lot of fronts. First of all, it is an 'audition only' group, which doesn't include auditions from freshmen or sophomores. (To be fair, Elle has a summer birthday, so she is 15 1/2.) Also, she is a great sight reader, not unlike her Dad, so she doesn't feel challenged at all by the freshman stuff, which a very good teacher noticed last semester. Our fellow musician family members out there...Kylie and Erik, Andrew, Krissy and Gretch, Jeff, JoJo and Mom, friends Debby and Stan and their entire families, and the Rochon clan know what I'm talking about. It's hard to be excited about things, when they are too easy. We're hoping Elle will find challenging music and have to work hard to perfect it. We are looking forward to the first concert. We are psyched. Love to all our cyber friends. Elise just called with some news...will update tomorrow. xxoxx

good-bye to a jazz great

David "Fathead" Newman, a jazz saxophonist who was a key member of Ray Charles' band for a dozen years and later became a high-profile session player, has died. He was 75 years old. You might remember he was in Fondy (Paul played in his combo) in November. See blog 11/22/08 for photos. Elle said she really felt privileged to have seen him in concert, and to have met him after the show.

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

Birthday wishes go out to nephew Tyler today, as he turns 32. We have lots of fond memories of him as a child. Hope he's doing something special today at home in Sussex. Photo is from his 12th. birthday in 1989 with baby Eva.

more Vegas pics

Elle drives now and Vegas trip...

Wow, it's been tough returning to the frigid temperatures. It was truly perfect weather in Vegas this past week. It was sunny, actually we never saw a cloud, and the temp was 65 during the day. We had a great view of the airport from the Luxor resort, and also a nice view of the southern strip. Eva's favorite magicians are Penn and Teller, so we bought tickets for her birthday. Penn and Teller met folks in the lobby afterward, (the show was terrific) and we got autographs and photos. Also, I was interested in seeing Gregory Popovich, the famous 'cat trainer' and also a talented acrobat from the Moscow circus. He did not disappoint us. We sat in front seats. Popovich almost fell into our laps, as a skit went haywire, but caught himself. Eva ordered a strawberry margarita at midnight on her birthday, and spun the wheel at a quarter slot for a seven dollar winning. She was thrilled. Elle was thrilled also today, with the acquisition of her temps. We spent an hour driving around the high school at 3:30. It was a snow day (actually below zero day) so we had the parking lots to ourselves. Once I download all the pics from Vegas, I'll add them.

hard to come home

Although I love my community, it was SO hard to come home to a 70 degree difference. We're pretty wiped out tonight, but just thought I'd check in. I know my Mom was concerned because of the plane crash,(we were nowhere near New York) so I just wanted to let the cyber family know that we've arrived safely...more to come.

pizza party

Elle and friends Lisa and Emily celebrated the new year (and Elle's driving) with a pizza party. The weather has just been so bad for days, it's hard to find a good time to practice...although, if she can drive in this weather, she'll learn fast:)

ringing in the new year

We had a lovely visit with our friends from Valders on the 2nd, and have planned a spring 'do' to celebrate birthdays (we have 7 in the family.) I left the menu for our New Year's Party up to Paul, and he decided to go very casual. He has worked harder (for more gigs) than any other year, so he wanted to relax and unwind. Our friends are so cool and go along with the flow, so we had Mom's horseradish burgers and James' new favorite sweet pepper cheese ball. We also had the usual fruits and veggies and also a great chocolate chip meringue bar. It was wonderful catching up. The folks always take great vacations, and they shared photos and stories. Now we look forward to Saturday, when we pack and leave for our 'Vegas Vacation' with the girls. We are going to the Titanic exhibition, as well as some really great concerts, but I have to be secretive in case Eva (the birthday girl) reads this:) More to come...
Photo is from 2000...nice memory.

Elle is driving

Tonight I took Elle driving...oh my gosh...it was glare ice at UW. She turned a few donuts, but otherwise did pretty well. Mom was not at ease. Daddy Paul will take her tomorrow.

frozen tundra

It was almost impossible to go anywhere yesterday, with the rain turning everything to ice. Today we woke to 0 degrees, and then the temp rose to 21. This is the strangest weather year I can remember. Of course, the main story from 2007 (recapping the year in the paper) was the flood. I wonder what spring will bring when all this snow melts. Don't want to think about another flood:(