Party time... excellent!!

May 2010:

Cinco De' Mayo just happens to have extra special celebratory reasons in this family! 
It is my Gramps bday... this year he turned the young age of 89.  For this memorable big birthday we had a HUGE party!!  When I say huge, I mean huge!!  There were 32 of us stuffed into Gramps little house!  There wasn't any room to park on his street, because it was lined both sides with OUR cars.  My Aunt and Uncle and their two dogs even came from Reno to be with him!  It was tons of fun even though he wasn't feeling so hot.  He was sick, but that didn't stop us from celebrating!  He was such a trooper, and I bet was so excited when we all left and he could actually hear himself think!  It got a little loud... but the weather cooperated and the kids were able to play outside, which made it a little less loud!

A little about my Gramps...  He was in WW2.  He was a paratrooper in the Battle of The Buldge.  They were fighting and a German tank was firing at them, it hit and killed his friend next to him, a piece of shrapnel hit his arm, they couldn't save his arm, so he has his "stump".  The kids all love his stump and think it is funny when he waves it at them.  I guess in a way it is a good thing that he was injured because that is how he and my Grammer met.  She was working at the hospital and they fell in love!  He was awarded a Purple Heart, and was featured in a photograph in Time Magazine.  He doesn't talk much about what happened.  As a matter of fact, I had never heard the story until one Thanksgiving he and Jonathan were talking and all of the sudden he started telling it.  You could hear a pin drop in the room, it was so quiet.  For almost all the people in the room it was the first time hearing the story.  My mom said that she had only ever heard in one other time. 

He is a super hard worker and does amazing things with his one arm.  He mows his lawn...twice a week, he sharpens the mower blade, and he keeps a mean looking yard.   A few years ago, he got cancer in his throat.  He had to have Chemo, and even though we had to fight him to do it, he did and we are glad that he is here with us today! 

The cake: it was huge, and VERY tastey!  He loves to watch Bull Riding with my cousin Chris.  Very fittingly they put a little bull on his cake so that he could have a toy to remember the big day!

 The girls loved having cousin time.  Not all the cousins were able to be there, but these three are usually attached at the hip at any family gathering! 

We love you Gramps!  Happy 89th, and here's to as many more as we can have with you!!!  LOVE YOU LOTS!!!