It's all in the FAMILY - Feasts, Fun & Foolishness

At the risk of riding this birthday horse to death ... a sweet friend asked me to post my party pictures on the blog for those who have not seen them on Facebook.

I have to admit. . . My 65th Birthday Party was the most fun birthday I have ever had so I don't mind "reliving" it one more time. GRIN

A FAMILY DINNER

my favorite way to celebrate

For those of you who are wondering . . .

yes - I cooked my own birthday dinner -

and I'll have to say -

I TOTALLY ENJOYED every second of it.

A simple oven cooked meal -

baked chicken, baked potatoes, baked beans,

creamed corn, and Sister Shubert's rolls.

Oh, and lots of raw veggies and fruit.

Wouldn't you love to know what Mamaw was telling Daddy James?

Love the expression on his face!

Serving it up!

My little veggie eating girl! Sweet Hallie!

The "grown-up" table.

The theme of this party was "Simple & Easy" folks -

paper plates and plastic cups! Elegant we are not!

Roy's mother (Mamaw), Keith's grandfather (Daddy James), and son-in-law, Keith.

Daughter, Lori & Son-in-law, Dennis

What's a Birthday Party without

CAKE & CANDLES?

To make serving the cake go faster,

I had pre-scooped the ice cream.

You'd have thought I was a genius.

It was the hit of the party.

Doesn't take much to impress this crowd! LOL

Granddaughters, Hillary & Maggie dissed the cake for

Key Lime Pie - which they were determined NOT to share!

Grandaddy just about got a fork in the back of his hand

when he tried to horn in on their pie!

SURPRISE!!

My sweet curly-sue didn't get the "no gifts" memo and brought

Gran a beautiful devotional book and a gift card to LifeWay.

Does she know me, or what?

This is what I got with my gift card - Willow Tree's newest.

It's called: With my Grandmother

The best gift is time spent with you.

Perfect!

THE FUN

THAT TURNED TO FOOLISHNESS.

This is where it all began.

Because I'd said - no few times - how much I missed John being there, Lisa said, "Well, Momma, if it will help - I took a picture of his picture."

That was all it took.

Lori said, "Oh, let's make a mask from his photo and let Dennis wear it to stand in for John in a "family" picture."

So Lisa went to work on the computer with her photoshop skills.

Here's the result . . .

We were all laughing so hard the girls could hardly get the mask on Dennis!

Our family portrait . . . complete with our favorite guitar player.

Somewhere along the line

the FUN turned to pure unmitigated

FOOLISHNESS.

We all took a turn wearing the mask. Then all six of us changed our status and profile pictures on Facebook.

Poor John! He was in Cleveland, OH on his computer trying to smart back at all six of us at once.

Never fear. He succeeded! If anybody ever thinks they're going to best John Wooley when it comes to one-liners and humor - they've got another think coming!

What a riot. We laughed til our sides hurt. But one thing is for sure - John may not have been with us in person but he was sure with us in spirit!

The best part of all that is wonderful in life -

FAMILY!

Roy with his sweet sister, Gennett.

Maggie & Dennis - wishing John was here to jam with 'em.

A boy and his dad. Race & Keith are the best of buddies.

My little girls. Sisters. And best of all, friends!

Sweet goofy granddaughters, Hillary and Maggie.

Lisa and her Hillary

Roy and me with our firstborn.

My sweetheart. He makes everyday special.

If I'd have known turning 65 was going to be so much fun,

I'd have done it years ago!!