Two months behind....

Okay, you can blame this one on me, but its getting difficult to find the time to keep everyone updated on the inner happenings with the Kennedy family. Yea, its a lame excuse, but it beats the truth! ;-)
So where do I start? Well, the last you heard from us (or Ann Marie since I was touring Europe) Savannah had undertaken the process of selecting the pumpkins for Halloween and I must say, she did a fabulous job! Now, I must be the first to admit, it was not as much fun as "pumpkin chuckin" in Rochester with our friends the Marcus's last year, but Savannah did the best she could without a trebuchet and a Ford van to aim at!

For the "Trick or Treat" and accompanying parties Savannah selected to be a "Pirate" this year, as well as a Duck which had been procured from the previous year. Ann Marie chose the ever popular "Nurse" outfit, but then again I do not remember any nurses at Duke or any other hospital stay I have been subjected to looking that good, even without heavy medication! I stuck to the easy to assemble "Mr. Baseball" outfit assembled from playing days gone by. On the evening of candy Ann Marie and our good friends the Dadd's toured the Sunset Lake neighborhood and collected enough sweets to please the entire family! Well done Savannah and Charlotte!

Next on the tour for the family was a Thanksgiving at the Maynard's in Harrisonburg, Virginia! We had not been to see Ann Marie's brother and his wife Anne since the birth of their first child, Dylan. Well for three solid week Savannah could not stop saying "Go see cousin Dylan", so plans were made to visit for the long holiday weekend. After a short 5 hour trip up and one painful stop at Chic-Fil-A, Ann Marie, Savannah and the pups made it to Joey's house (thanks for the gassing Mac!). Thursday while Joey and Anne Brie went for a bike ride to benefit the local food bank, we played at a local church park and visited with some of the farm animals in the surrounding farms. Later that evening a fine meal was shared around the family table along with some friends and thanks were shared in that we all had our health, our families were together and strong, and that it had been a wonderful day to share together. After too
much turkey, green bean casserole, veggies and sweet potatoes (yes, we had dressing but not until we had finished dinner, but that's another story!) we put the kids to bed and shared stories and great laughs well into the night. Friday brought a visit to the local kids museum, some great coffee and scones and more turkey in the form of leftovers! Some play time in the park was right on time after lunch which was followed up with dinner at a friends home and a movie to round out the night. Its nice to spend time with family!

The next stop would be the Pharmalink Holiday party here in Raleigh! As many of you may know already, Ann Marie resigned from PPD a couple of months ago to join Pharmalink and its growing business. While this was the first time I met many of the group I have to say I saw a lot of old friends in the crowd as the pharmaceutical industry is a RTP melting pot! I am not going to say much about the party as I will let the photos go the talking, but I cannot leaving this subject without saying that some people should dance and some should not, you be the judge! It was a great time and I cannot wait for next years party! "Did someone request Kenny G?"

The smell of Merlot had not cleared the air when it was time to pick out the 2007 version of the Kennedy Christmas Tree! We went to our favorite lot near our home and selected a fine tree to grace our home of which Savannah was particularly proud! She did not care for the saw which the men used to freshen the cut on the base, but she thought the netting that was applied for transport was cool! After an evening of decorating the house was ready for the holidays and the next stop on our tour!

Last night (December 8th), we held our Kennedy Christmas party for the first time in a couple of years. The event was well attended by family, friends and neighbors and a good time was had by all! The food was superb (Thanks Caswell from Southern Magnolia Catering), the beverages flowed freely and the stories that were shared were only outdone by the kids in attendance! Funny, 3 years ago we would have been lucky to see two kids at our parties, there were almost a dozen in attendance this year! What changed? HAHAHAHA! From 5 to 9 the party rocked on and the lights finally went out for the night at midnight, but we are already planning for next year! (See Dick & Mary, you should plan your vacations around your next door neighbors parties!)

Finally, today we celebrated Ann Marie's Grandmothers 85th birthday with a brunch at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. In attendance were Ann's parents and Aunt and Uncle from New Jersey as well as the guest of honor, Grandma (or as Savannah calls her, Babcia!) It was tough to eat after feasting the night before, but we somehow managed to pull through and down a plate or three, then we toured the hotel that is beautifully decorated for the Holidays with a theme of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Well, I guess that gets us somewhat up to date with the happenings around the Kennedy's in North Carolina so without further adue I will sign off for tonight with the promise I will update you all again after the "Big Guy in Red" visits on the 25th of December. So till then.....

Mike "Who took the Vodka", Ann Marie "Red Hot Dancer" and Savannah "Is it Christmas Yet?" Kennedy

Ever have one of those days?