Family Update

Just got back from Kalamazoo. Had a great time and played a ton of games: dominoes (Elizabeth cheats), memory, dance, dance revolution (Victoria is getting good), wii bowling, rockstar careoke (turns out Mitchell has a good voice---who knew?), guitar hero, books, and magna doodle, just to name a few!

Mitchell and Victoria got great report cards that called for a shopping spree at the mall in Grand Rapids. Although I've done that with Morgan and Jordan, the best Mitchell and Victoria ever got was a Target shopping spree (due to the lame mall in Kalamazoo). We had a lot of fun and the kids got some great outfits from Abercrombie and Gymboree.

Greg got a promotion recently, so he's putting in some longer hours with his new responsibilities. He's happy to be able to affect some changes at Pfizer and is energized again. Great to see, but that means his job satisfaction means they are unlikely to look for something a little closer to home. They have a good life in general and are very happy there. I'm glad for them.

Sandy always makes new recipes when I visit. I love it! She's a great cook and goes to a lot of trouble to make sure we have good food. Greg is equally adept in the kitchen and they often cook together. He made some really good steaks---on top of the stove---never had that before. After dinner, they made a new dessert that was a big hit. S'more bars---delish.

Elizabeth is so much fun. She kept saying, "I wuv you, grammy---and grandpa too!" ---so darn cute. She still goes to bed so easily, it's amazing to me since she's in the toddler bed and can get up whenever she wants. We don't think she realizes that yet as she still calls for mom or dad when she wakes up in the morning and will wait a very long time for them to get her.

There is a lot of snow on the ground in Kalamazoo. Wisconsin is consistently having below zero temps. Steph and the girls still like the snow, but I think Bryan has about had it with going out every hour to keep up with the snowblowing.

We're all going to Steph's for Easter, so that is going to be fun. I'm going to get with Morgan to plan the menus as she's the cook in their family. Steph's job is very flexible. She can work from home as needed when the girls are home. Gotta' love that!

Mindy was lamenting the fact this week that she couldn't even get her dad to be her valentine. She has decided that law school isn't for her, so she has withdrawn (we're happy that she did it in time so we get a full refund for this semester). She still has a year to change her mind, but she is now in search of a "real" career job (she is currently still working at Emeril's, but that's not her career). The deal is that she has to be able to support herself wherever she goes, so we'll see where she lands. She wants to experience life and go to a big city. Totally Mindy to want to go somewhere where she doesn't know a soul. Of course, if it were up to me, I'd have her right back here in Nashville. I miss my girls!!!

Butch is at the Daytona 500 with his brother this weekend. He leaves for our annual ski trip next Saturday. I decided not to go this year since I haven't skied in about the past 4 or 5 years anyway. I'm heading to St. Louis for some family fun and research.
I'm really looking forward to it.

I've spent the day reading---haven't done that in a long time, but I'm reading the BEST book! Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (blogger won't let me underline). 1000 pages, but it's going fast!

See y'all soon!