Happy Birthday John Curtis!!!!!!!

Last Sunday evening, we all gathered at Maria's house to celebrate her father's 70th birthday. John is a super father and grandfather and has known me since I was six years old. My Dad is a wonderful man, and through the years he and John have been there to "supplement" each other in the raising of their only daughters. A challenging job, indeed! Maria loves Sherm as her own, and I feel the same about her Dad. Here's to you, John! Love you bunches!

Zachary made a brief appearance to enjoy dinner with us. Maria made salad and lasagna, and Phil grilled sausage dogs on the grill in honor of he and John's New York roots.

Aiden was all over the place! Backyard with ball and bat, helping Phil grill, playing tag with his sister.

Kaleigh and Seth on the back deck, with their hot rods!

...."she's got a little Sherri in her, somehow......"

Kaleigh was in charge of giving John all his birthday gifts. Grandma looks on.

The two "cookinest" women I know!!! Thank you Judy for teaching Maria your craft! You are a super mom and grandma and we love ya!

Uncle Mark with his nephews and niece...crazy kids!! All five of them! Love you Mark!






Aaaahhh, Philmaster the Grillmaster!

....since we were six.......

Maria made her world famous lasagna, complete with salad and great french bread. You go girl! Who taught you to cook like that?? Judy!!!

Maria cracking up at something Phil said.

Yummy lasagna!!!!

John modeled one of his new shirts for the crowd.

Clown cake for John! The kids split the clown into fourths.

Happy Birthday John!! Thanks for many, many years of laughs, advice, and giving me my best friend!

Maria Hosts a Fun Fourth!

On Saturday, July 4th, we gathered at Maria's for some great food, fun, and fireworks! Maria's home is adjacent to Creekside Park, and her deck was the perfect place to watch the show after the sun went down. Many thanks to Maria and Phil (otherwise known as the grillmaster) for such a great evening. Seth, shown here with his mom, was my fireworks buddy as he sat in my lap during the entire show.

Maria's mom Judy, Kaleigh, and Phil, the master of the Baaa-baa-cue.

Aidan and I shot some hoops and got in a little baseball before our great supper. Zachary was attending a party at a friends house this year and also had a great time!

Cousin Brandon, who also attended, despite a bad case of poison oak that had his face swelled up like a balloon. Also pictured is John, Maria's Dad.

Kaleigh chose her star spangled bathing suit for the occasion.. she wore it all day and until the fireworks were over, when it was time for bed! Here she is "striking a pose". What a ham!

....not that I can say much....Kaleigh loves her little brother! (most of the time)

Phil took charge of the grill and we enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, kielbasa, potato and pasta salad, watermelon, and all the trimmings. Judy made one of her famous cheese balls and that was all Maria and I needed to make our 4th perfect!






The show from the deck was outstanding! Unfortunately, this was the time my camera batteries died, so I only got these two shots.

A great evening had by all!!! Thanks Maria, for another wonderful experience we shared, as we have so many over the last 35 years! I love ya sis!

Stainin' Statons!

Two summers ago, as temperatures reached 100 degrees some days, my wonderful Dad labored hard and long to build a huge deck on the back of my house. This deck has been the scene of so many wonderful times for me, and a great place to sit and reflect, think things over, even cry when necessary. It is my favorite "room" of my home in the summertime! I cannot believe how talented my father is in that he can envision something, and then bring it to fruition. He is amazing! This summer the deck was due for a coat of stain, in order to protect the wood and enhance the color. So, on a beautiful and not so hot July 3rd, Sherm and Sherri set out to stain the deck! We had a ball and worked together all day long.

Each part of the rail system had to be stained individually. I would roll the stain on, and Dad would come behind me with a paintbrush and fill in the gaps the roller would not get. It was a bit of a tedious process, but together we got 'er done and had some great father-daughter time in the process.

The master of Home Improvement at work. Tim Taylor's got nothing on my Dad! :)

We completed every part of the deck with the exception of the flat surface, which was to be the easiest part, since Dad's plan was to spray the stain on it. We decided that we would need one more gallon of stain but, alas, the paint store had closed for the holiday weekend and Lowes and Home Depot did not carry our brand.

Stay tuned!!! Pictures of the completed deck to follow!

Thank you, Dad, for all you have done to make my life better. You are an inspiration and I love you!