Sean and Katie come to Phoenix!

Okay, I'm going to start with the story of Sean and Katie's first trip with CD...I am paraphrasing so forgive any details that I may have skewed, but the general story is: the first time Sean and Katie traveled together as CD partners...well, Sean already was smitten, to say the least. So he decided to dress in a crazy bowling shirt (that has a huge HANSON on the back), plaid pants, and a wig to see if Katie could handle his madness. Apparently, it was a hit! Yes, that's our Sean...so...when he and Katie were scaling down to spend the summer in LA, he sent me the bowling shirt with a note: "Mama, check out the back of the shirt! I recommend finding a long pink skirt, a scarf, a bowling ball and a free Tuesday night!" I decided to save it for the first meeting with Katie. So the bowling shirt and the curlers were my take on Sean's Mama's outfit..it took a few takes for them to get it...why the h@#$ is my Mama wearing curlers???? But it was a wonderful "yes, that's my Mama" moment!

And you can see...the doggies loved them...especially Katie!

Welcome to our family, Katie. I couldn't have asked for a more loving and wonderful partner for Sean....

Family Resemblance

Do you see it?


I think Arya looks a little like me...wishful thinking?

Auntie Terry can't wait to meet her!

2008 In Review -- It was a very good year!

What a great year...here's my "year in review":
~Since it was a leap year, Torryn had his 3rd real birthday and Connor did too!
~Willy-Nilly joined our family.
~Kaitlin and Chivon turned 14 -- wow!
~Jean and Bill visited and were joined by Sean and Jan for Jean's 60th birthday. What fun!
~Ty, Carrie and Vance came to town for March madness...more fun!
~I joined the local Theatre Artists Studio and took acting and writing classes. It's a blast!
~Jake and Jill moved to Maricopa and have been terrific supporters of my Theatre! It's been great spending time with them.
~Jeni, Chivon and I went to CT to see the Rubinos, then we girls took the train to NYC. Lots of fun and drama with a huge thunder storm.
~Kaelin Paige Shurts was born on June 30th...a beautiful granddaughter.
~Sean turned 34 in July. Wow!
~I attended my 40th Class reunion in Arlington. What a great time and wonderful folks. I am really glad I did.
~John Johnson and I had a wonderful dinner at the farm. He loved Bill and Jean and the beauty of Bow. It was great. He was in awe of the silence of the country.
~Carrie and Zoie met me in Seattle for a Mariners game. Zoie wowed everyone around us, that's for sure.
~Barack Obama was elected President -- big WOW!
~Thanksgiving and Christmas were just terrific at Jackie's (Jake's sister). What a wonderful family...and it was really special seeing Drew too.
~Sean and Katie got married in Reno on November 15. They are beautiful and happy and I am very grateful...can't wait to meet my new "daughter"!
~Hayden Kathleen Porter turned 1 in November -- she's my fence baby!
~I played a crabby old lady in a production at the Theatre. It was a humbling but very fulfilling experience.
~My wonderful Universe conspired to get Sean assigned to lead two Challenge Days here in January...so he'll be able to spend time and again, I am very grateful.
~Torryn selected the Daytona 500 as his 13th birthday excursion...so we'll be headed there in February. What fun to look forward to!
~Thanks to all of my wonderful family and friends for a VERY good year. I am really looking forward to an even better 2009!

Willy and the bug!

Maybe it's a girl/boy thing...but Willy was definitely not as gentle with his bug as Muffiny was with the grasshopper! I left out the final one to keep this rated G!

Chivon's School Picture

Well, what can a VERY proud G-Ter say but WOW! Hard to believe she's a freshman in high school! Go to http://missourigang.blogspot.com/2008/09/chivon-and-marching-band.html to see her in the marching band and cheerleading!

AHS Class of '68 40th Reunion

I am so glad I went up to attend my class reunion. The people are wonderful, the stories were so fun, and the day was just fantastic. Here we are! Go the the Reunion blog site link on the right to see more!

Doggies at Play

Willy begs Bodie to play...then they run and play and run and play. Then they crash and sleep! Notice the chicken that has been completely de-stuffed! It's hilarious. But they have left the cow in tact. Willy likes to make it moo!