The Chiefs Win the Super Bowl and Lincoln Splits His Chin

After a nail biting season with several injuries on our side, the Chiefs prevailed and won the Super Bowl.

The game was one of the best I'd ever seen. I was sure after the first half when the Eagles re-injured Mahomes' ankle, the game was over. 

But the Chiefs came back after a 10 point deficit at half and won the game 38-35!

The stress started about an hour before the game when Lincoln decided to take a fall down the steps and split his chin open. Split chins run in our family with Teresa leading the pack with having her chin stitched up 3 times. Violet has one on the chin and Michael has numerous stitches all over his head. Lincoln's only 7 years old so he may just break Teresa's record.

Happy Birthday Trish

I'd like to say that birthday dinner for Trish was a little quieter than taking all the kids to a restaurant but take out pizza at Trish's with her dogs Luna and Max was almost more chaotic.

Nothing like getting all together for a birthday. Happy Birthday Trish! Looking forward to the party in a few weeks!

Chick Fil A Artist

A few years ago during Covid, Melissa and kids were at Chick Fil A and saw a request from Chick Fil A saying if you have an artist in your family, have them draw a picture and send it to us and have a chance to be featured in one of our kid's meal prizes.

Melissa had Violet draw a picture and recently found out Violet was one of many kids selected to have their artwork featured in one of the kid's meals across the country. 

So if you happen to see this picture in a kid's meal from Chick Fil A, grab it...in fact grab a couple...and Violet will be happy to autograph it for you.

Family Portrait Wall

With Goldie turning 1, I can now complete my family portrait wall in my office. 

 

I"ve always had pictures of Michael and Melissa's first birthdays. I then added their high school graduation pictures. I added my high school graduation picture. There's a few cute pics and signs thrown in and my caricature from 1960 something when we went to Disneyland. When Melissa and Jamie got married, I added their wedding picture.

Then the grandkids started coming. It took a year for Goldie to turn 1 and the wall has seemed incomplete without her picture. Is it complete? I'm sure I'll think of something else to add but for now.....ta-da!

The Big 4-0

Even after all the pre-parties and anticipation, Melissa couldn't prevent actually turning 40.

Trish and I volunteered to babysit so Melissa and Jamie could go out to dinner without the kids. That in itself should have been her best gift.

But in the end, her 30's are over and the fiesta 40 has just begun. Happy Birthday Melissa! 

Happy Birthday Shirt

Okay, I caved. I decided to keep my tradition going for 2023 of having a unique thing for each person's birthday. I found this shirt on Amazon which says "It's my Birthday! Sign My Shirt". Instead of having other people sign the shirt, the birthday person signs their own name and I get a picture.

Since Goldie's birthday is the first one of the year, only her name appears on the shirt. When Melissa has her birthday, then her and Goldie's names will be on the shirt. And so on, and so on, until mine and Jamie's birthdays where we'll have all the names and the shirt will look much more unique. And the best part of all is I get to keep the shirt.

Fiesta Forty

Melissa and Jamie both turn 40 within a month of each other. You might have heard this story before but I really do think they were absolutely made for each other. I may have my quirks but when you take their birthday numbers and take out the back slashes you get 1261982 for Jamie and 1261983 for Melissa. (That's 12/6/1982 for Jamie and 1/26/1983 for Melissa.) Their numbers are consecutive. WEIRD!!!

Back to the party - their birthday request was a big birthday bash complete with catering, decorations and music.

Trish and I decided to throw the party but since it couldn't be a surprise party, we decided to keep the details a secret. The idea of throwing a party and getting all the decorations was rather simple. Actually putting it all together was brutal.

There was putting together the balloon arch for photos (a must request from Melissa). Thanks to  Stephanie, Trish and Stacie.

The cake and cake pops. I love the pinatas and sombreros cake pops mixed in with the fiesta balls.

The DJ courtesy of Stephanie and Trish.

And I couldn't have done all my part without the help of Teresa. This is one of the few times where both of us actually sat down. I worked so hard I logged 20,000 steps on my Apple Watch (get to stepping Michele).

Even the guests did a great job of keeping the details secret although some thought the whole thing was a surprise.

Let's don't forget the party favors. Not everyone got a shirt (OMG that would have been a nightmare in itself) but Melissa and Jamie did get a fun remembrance.

Having the party at the fireman's union hall was a blessing in itself. As the party was winding down every fireman in the place started putting up tables and chairs, sweeping and mopping the floor and generally cleaning up. It was a sight to see. Happy Birthday Melissa and Jamie. Next time we're renting a place that does ALL the work!