Welcome Home Uncle Joe and Big Brother Andrew

Uncle Joe and big brother Andrew were able to spend Christmas with us. Uncle Joe flew in from Texas and Andrew flew in from Los Angeles, California. Uncle Joe surprised Janet (Grandma Dogs) for Christmas. She had no idea that he was flying in. Boy was she surprised when she saw him. I think that I can finally hear out of both of my ears. Andrew had some down time in between filming TV "stuff" to come back to the "Region" to spend time with his family including his dad,step-mom, little sisters, and brother. We got to spend Christmas day with him and eat dinner as well as breakfast with him. The kids sure enjoyed seeing their big brother. Josh took a shining to his big brother. We hope his siblings didn't drive him too crazy and ruin any chances of him having children. Jamee even got her big bro's autograph. They think Andrew is the coolest because their big bro is on TV. We can't wait to see him in the show "Greek". He already has five people at this house in his fan club. We are very proud of him and what he is doing with his life. As you can tell by the pictures James was happy to see his brother and his oldest boy. Priceless. Their visit made our holiday. It was nice to spend time with them since they live so far away. We hope they enjoyed their visit as much as we did and hope that they can visit us again soon. Who knows maybe we will visit them.

Christmas Day at the West House

Well, Santa once again visited the West house. The girls got the one thing they asked for a Nintendo DS and Josh got his Black and Decker Power Tool Workshop. After opening all the gifts we attended Christmas mass at St. Bridget and then off to Grammy and Grampy's house.

Next, we went to spend Christmas with the West family at John and Dee Dee's house and finally we reached our last stop Aunt Elaine's and Uncle Doug's to spend Christmas with the Malyj/Evon family. It was an exhausting day, but we enjoyed spending time with our families. The kids were showered with gifts and we stuffed ourselves with great food. We can't wait until we get to do it all over again next year!

Céline Dion Concert

I along with my parents and Aunt Elaine got to see Celine Dion in concert @ Conseco Field House in Indy on Dec. 21st. We didn't think we were going to be able to go since my parents were without electricity the day before and the weather was unfavorable. Fortunately, my parents did get their electricity back and the snow held off. The wind and freezing temperatures were another story. The drive to Indy was rough. We were being tossed everywhere along I-65 by the gusts of powerful winds. Thank God we made it to the hotel with enough time to grab a bite to eat in the food court @ Circle City Mall and then off to Conseco Field House. We took a cab because it was bitter cold and walking would have been out of the question. We had excellent seats as you can tell my pictures. Celine looked beautiful and put on what I must say is one of the best concerts I ever attended. The concert was a Christmas present from my parents and I must say a day without cooking , cleaning , and relaxing with the kids yelling "MOM!" was the best present I could ask for. Thanks mom and dad.

The West Family Christmas Tree

The West family Christmas tree is finally up. The kids have been begging us to put the Christmas decorations out. We are always hesitant because Josh can't keep from playing with the the decorations including the giant talking Santa and the dancing Rudolph. This year we added another White House ornament James's Uncle Dan and Aunt Lovonne sent us. James is hanging that ornament in the picture. The kids decorated the tree all by themselves. They did a wonderful job didn't they? They are pictured in front of their masterpiece. HO HO HO Merry Christmas everyone!

Anne's Musical Debut as a Flutist

Anne Mari made her debut in her first concert with the CYO Band at Andrean Catholic High School on December 14th. She plays the flute. As we all know those Wests have full lips which is great for playing flute (kissing too, but she wouldn't know that shhhhhh). We were all impressed with the beginning band's performance. They were very good considering they have only been playing since the summer. The CYO Band is under the direction of Mrs. Rainey and Mr. Little. Anne Mari played three Christmas songs. She didn't think she was going to be able to play all three songs because one of the songs she couldn't get, but she practiced hard all week and was good enough to play in the concert. Anne Mari gets all her musical talent from her dad. Thank God for that!

Songs of the Season Christmas Program

The girls recently had their Christmas Program at school on December 12, 2008. Here are a few pictures for those who weren't able to make it. Jamee's class sang "Up on the Housetop". She had to dress up as a reindeer and wasn't a happy camper. Brown is not her signature color you know. Anne Mari's class sang two songs: " Christmas is Coming" & "Jingle Bells". It was a great program and we enjoyed the Christmas concert-Songs of the Season. It was directed by the school librarian, Debbie Replin, and the school art teacher, Mrs. Peretin. The music director was Brenda Bondi. We are truly blessed to have these wonderful teachers who put in so much time and effort in putting this program together. We definitely left the program with beaming smiles. Merry Christmas to all our family and friends.

Santa's Rein"deer" in the West's Backyard

What a beautiful site we were treated to today. Josh and I looked in our backyard and what did appear but Santa's tiny rein"deer". There were seven deer altogether. They entertained Joshua for a half hour. It is the longest I have seen him sit in a long time. Snow was falling ever so gently on the deer who didn't seemed fazed by it at all. I was so excited to see them. It is my favorite time of year because I know we will see deer. There were no males only females and a baby. I hope this isn't the only time they will appear in the backyard.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the West family to all. We started off the festivities with carving pumpkins. They look great if I say so myself. Then is was off to trick or treat. It was a gorgeous night for Trick or Treating. The kids didn't have to wear a jacket or carry an umbrella for the first time I can remember in a long time. As you can tell by the pictures the West family went as the characters from the Wizard of OZ. Josh was the tin man, Anne Mari was Dorthy, Jamee was Glenda the good witch, and daddy was the cowardly lion. I was supposed to be the wicked witch of the West but we couldn't find my costume in our Halloween stuff in time. Oh well. I sat and passed out candy to the little ones in the neighborhood. Although there were more big kids than small ones this year. James took the kids around the big block and I took them around the small block. I was surprised how many houses were not passing out candy. We have enough candy to last a year! Our favorite costumes of the night were the cousins, Lisa, Errol, and Casey. They went as the presidential candidates Hillary, John McCain, and Barack Obama. Casey went Trick or Treating with us and then they took Joshua and Anne Mari with them to a Trunk or Treat activity at their Church. Jamee was too pooped to go with. She is usually the first one to quit. All in all I think it was a great Halloween.

Anne Mari's Friends from School Birthday Party at County Line Orchard

Anne Mari celebrated her 10th birthday with her school friends at County Line Orchard. The kids enjoyed going through the giant corn maze, were treated to an exclusive hayride, and we roasted hot dogs over a campfire as well as made our own s'mores. Yummy! The kids had a blast. We couldn't of asked for better weather. It wasn't too cold, but a little windy. The kids had a great time and made a memory for Anne for a lifetime. Her friends said it was the best party of the year!

Joshua's Preschool Field Trip to the Apple Orchard

Josh's Preschool had their first field trip of the year to County Line Orchard. The kids got a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch, learned about the important jobs bees have at the orchard, how the apples are picked, cleaned, and processed. We had lunch and then they got to visit the kid's farm where Joshua fed a goat for the very first time. He was a little hesitant at first but after a little coaxing from me he finally did it. It was a big step for him with his sensory issues. I was proud of him for trying. He took the picture of me holding my pumpkin. We may have a natural photographer on our hands. I was glad I was able to make it to his first school field trip.

Happy 10th Birthday Anne Mari

Here is a picture of the Birthday girl and her cake. Our baby is 10! She blew out all those candles in one big breath. How time flies. It seemed like she was just born yesterday. We hosted a family birthday for her at our house. The menu included beef sandwiches and homemade chili. The food must have been good because there were no leftovers! The cake was from Stracks and was great as usual. The family showered her with hugs, kisses, and gifts. We are lucky she was born into such a great family. Happy 10th Birthday Anne Mari! She is officially in the double digits. Welcome to the tweenies (FYI: that is the stage between being a kid and a teenager.) God help us!

Apple Picking at County Line Orchard

We took the kids to the local apple orchard down the street where they picked apples for the very first time. We went to the kids petting zoo, apple orchard, and then they rode the moo-choo train. The weather was perfect and there were no crowds since we went when the kids had a half day of school. Except for the mosquitoes they had a great time. They loved picking suncrisp and fuji apples. The apples were delicious. It was a nice family outing.