a picture's worth a thousand words...but I'll write some anyway

In chronological order…the first set are from Janessa’s “I finally got my license” celebration. Please note the Special Olympics “winner” ribbon Laura provided along with a motivational card outlining her successes.








Afterwards, Brian demonstrated how not to eat chocolate fondue.





Now on to the first birthday of the 2 week birthdayfest. Janessa is wearing a steering wheel cover she got as a present, and eating another gift.











Then came Laura’s birthday Black & Tan party. The black and tan’s varied in contrast from mostly black and light, to black and lighter black, to cloudy brown.











Lizzie’s visit from NY…and a shiny new haircut for baby.








And here are the bulk of the pictures from the 4th of July We Love America patio BBQ and Confetti Free For All

First, the food…








Somewhere at the beginning of the afternoon we decided to see how many cheetos could be fit into a human mouth. First attempt: Janessa with 6, or was it 8?





Second attempt: Carol and Laura, with I think 10 or 12…








Then came Erin and Erica, with I have no idea how many because I was laughing too hard…








And because Brian doesn’t do anything he can’t win at, here is the Brian series with a whopping 30 cheetos in one mouth. It’s a good thing he didn’t need help because none of us knew the Heimlich. Avert your eyes, children!











Random pictures taken between the time I got drunk and the time I sobered up



































Some of the food missed our mouths and ended up two stories below in the parking lot. Behold, the fallen/thrown chicken wing, who was later joined with his brothers the hot dog bun, hamburger patties, chips, beer, and god knows what else.





I noticed this later, if you can read the sign above Carol and Dave, you will see that we were grossly violating the rules of the patio. July 5, 2008 headline: “25 twenty-somethings fall to their deaths after disobeying clearly marked balcony safety guidelines”





Dave’s tiny hat under a bigger hat really never got old. It’s too bad the ones we have of the hat on Franklin the Cat weren’t on my camera.





And what party wouldn’t be complete without Janelle and I doing what we do best








What, you might ask, was the cause of Janelle’s intense glee? Why, Neil Diamond, of course!





Here’s Janelle on my birthday imitating Sheba sleeping.





And I couldn’t resist the cuteness…





That was exhausting. Good thing no more pictures should be necessary until Vegas in August.