Happy Birthday Joe!



We finally made it to New York! After the Christmas flu kept us away over the holiday, we were able to make the trip over the January holiday weekend - Martin Luther King Day AND Joe's birthday. The trip quickly became an on-going birthday celebration for Joe with cakes at every stop thanks to his brother and sisters. Anna was all too happy to participate in the sugary treats, which were also offered to her at every stop.

The first stop on Saturday was Uncle John and Aunt Yvonne's new home in Yonkers. They surprised Joe with a birthday cake following lunch. The big highlight for Anna - besides the cake and Uncle John attempting to give her rootbeer and cookies, was Cousin Rachel's dog, Sara. While Rachel may be the original owner of the dog, Sara clearly belongs to Aunt Yvonne now (it seems that Sara "moved" back in with John and Yvonne temporarily in what is looking like a permanent arrangement). Anna enjoyed taking Sara for a walk and tried to teach her how to jump rope (or in this case the leash).

The next stop was Aunt Mary's house, where Christmas was still in full swing. Each year, we enjoy seeing Uncle Joe's extensive Christmas Village display and thought we had missed it. Uncle Joe left everything up and we were able to enjoy the festivities. The village has grown to a densely populated suburb and the diplay can rival anything at department stores.

Aunt Mary was a bit sidelined thanks to recent foot surgery. Anna enjoyed pushing her around in the wheelchair. Despite her mobility limitations,as always, Mary and Joe spoiled us with excellent (and nonstop) food.. We also got to witness the New York Jets big playoff win (Uncle Joe even took a 5 minute break from the game to join us for dinner). Go Jets!

Aunt Loren enjoyed us for dinner and brought cannoli cake and rum cake to celebrate Joe's birthday. She also spent some quality time playing with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head with Anna. In between Anna enjoyed (and was sometimes terrorized) by Bonnie, the golden retriever.

We returned home today where we celebrated Joe's birthday with leftovers (at his request) and presents.

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend!

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