Mike's B'day Celebration

Just posting some pics from Mike's family style birthday celebration last night.

Birthday Honoree:

Hors’dourves & Sangria!

Chatting before dinner:

We fired up the grill and grilled BBQ ribs, shrimp,
grilled veggies, corn, beer boiled brats and the rest of the homemade
tater salad from the 4th!

After dinner chat:

GP & Papou & YiaYia & Mita:

Time for Oreo Ice Cream Cake!

Mike opens some gifts:

Saying goodbye - John with the Valet Umbrella!

and Mike suprises John with a hidden party popper.

All in all a very nice evening!

Independence Day 2008

Happy 4th of July! It was a nice celebration here with the boys, their girls (er, women) and Ingrid and me. Grilled chicken & hot dogs, homemade tater salad, a nice garden salad and chips and dip! After dinner John and Jenny headed down to Oldtown Manassas to watch the fireworks display there and the rest of us waited for dark to settle in...wasn't long before the night was filled with the sound of whistling mortars and bottle rockets...so we went out and had a little fireworks show of our own in the backyard until it started raining hard enough to send us back inside to dry off and watch a movie. It was a nice 4th of July.

Happy Birthday Michael! (July 5th)

Nineteen years ago, the excitement of the fireworks (and the fact that Ingrid was nine months pregnant) started the process of Michael's entry into the world. After a fabulous 4th of July meal and watching a neighborhood fireworks display Ingrid said she was feeling a little odd. Pauli and Mom said we oughta head to the hospital because it was Michael's time to be born. So we packed up and headed to the hospital, and try as we might to get the doctor to deliver him on the 4th of July he said "eh...relax and wait" We didn't have to wait long...Michael was delivered at approximately 12:50 a.m. on the 5th of July. Nineteen years has brought him a long way from this:

to this:

to this:

and we are proud of who he has become:

It's been a pleasure to have him home on break from school and we'll miss him when he heads back to Orlando. (I'm guessing Jessica will too!)

Happy Birthday Michael!
We love you!