Sunday, January 15, 2012

Celebration Parties...

Yesterday was a day of celebrations in our neck of the woods....the first a baby shower with all the trimmings and the second a retirement celebration!  Both parties were for good friends and we were glad to be a part of them both!

The baby shower was for Megan, a long time friend that in fact I was teasing  about being the first face she ever saw, -as I was the nurse in the operating room when she was born!
Here is the cute cake for the shower...yum!
 Good food and great company!
The cute mom to be, her (also pregnant sister) Jen and niece Emily.
The glowing mother-to-be!!!
-who got many wonderful gifts to start this little one's life with! It's so much fun to go to a baby shower...I took my little 96 (!) year old friend who reveled in every minute of it!!
Debby (foreground)  the cutest grandma around and mother of these pregnant moms, -was our next door neighbor at the time that we were newlyweds and has been a dear friend since...40 years ago!

Emily excited about the new baby...
and a tender moment with her mother.
Then this celebration a few hours later and some distance away!  Judi (L) was a pediatric nurse for a well known children's hospital for many years. She was also my room mate in nursing school 40 years ago!  She is one of those rare (I've never met anyone like her!) people that makes you laugh! We have had experiences that are ones you tell many years from now and tears roll down your cheeks remembering.  Everyone loves her and  feels this way about her, so there were many people there to fete her. This was one of several parties for her.   She does not like to be the center of attention at all.  She does not drink either.  Hence the glass of wine in her hand to get ready for it. lol
 Judi is one of ten children.  Here are a few of her siblings (from left...sister Lois, Beth, Judi, Laurie, brother John, and sister-in-law Diane -their daughter and grandson in front).  Laurie came from the keys in Florida to be with her.  She has a brother who is an executive chef  in Washington DC (who serves the President and many other political figures frequently).  Another brother is in Florida too so Judi has some fun places to visit relatives now that she has time.
The dinner was an Italian food buffet that was delicious and these little goodies were as good as they look!!
Me, Judi and Cindy...friends in high school, then nursing school...and still today.
 The evening began with a "royal robe" fit for a queen...of retirement??
-and entertainment...an Irish dance group that was phenomenal!!
-and then a big night of dancing...this is "YMCA"!  Judi is in the middle of it all...I know that glass of wine helped!! I've never seen her dance before!  There were some moves that I shook my head at.......you OK, Judi??? (Yes, we'll be telling this one years from now and laughing too!)
We decided to leave for the long trip home about the time the party was supposed to end.  More people were coming in the door at that time so I think the night was really just beginning for this group! Not sure what time Judi got home but I am sure it was later than she's been out in years!
Here she is reading a candy bar poster to nieces and nephews that I made for her.
Nobody deserves it more! Happy, happy retirement and much fun, friend!!!!

16 comments:

Cro Magnon said...

You've made me feel quite tired after reading all that! My congratulations to all concerned.

Stacy said...

Fun weekend. Sorry I didn't get back with you. Kyle says he thinks the Dr. is correct with some family history things on his side that I forgot about.

Kerri said...

Baby showers are so fun...I haven't been to one is so long! The cake is adorable!
Congrats to your friend Judi! I love stories of friendships...they're so important to us women, aren't they? The older I get, the more I cherish those friendships.

Susan Anderson said...

What FUN! I loved looking through these photos.

=)

PS. Old friends are wonderful, aren't they?

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Wow, you are a party animal sweetie!!! I thought I had an excitin' weekend movin' cattle. Heeehehehe!

What fun!!! The Shower and the party looked amazin.

God bless and have a fantastic week sweetie!!! :o)

yaya said...

I think Megan looks like Debby in those pics! How fun for both sisters to be preggo together. I laughed at the Judi pics...she's a corker and I think she's a really good friend and she makes me laugh when I've been with you guys. I hope she enjoys her retirement and to say I'm jealous is an understatement! Congrats to everyone!

Jennifer said...

looks like some fun times

Jilda said...

WOW, I love party weekends!

Molly said...

congratulations all round - lovely pictures

Darlene said...

Both celebrations sounded like so much fun! We have a lot of baby showers in our ward, but I haven't been to a retirement party since my husband retired and that was 20 years ago. He was only 55!

It is so nice to have friends that you knew from high school and nursing school. I suppose that is because you haven't moved around like I have. We've been living in this house for 20 years and that's the longest either of us has lived in one place. No wonder we really think of it as home.

The old phrase "Make new friends but keep the old, the one is Silver and the Other is gold." is really a good one, I think. I wish I had some of the old ones. I only keep in touch with one of mine.

rjerdee said...

Wow! Happy Times!

Teresa said...

What a great time of celebrations! Isn't it fun to see the full circle with your young friend - being there when she was born, and now seeing her become a mom herself. It's so special to be able to know someone through all the seasons of their life.

Deb Shucka said...

Wow! This was bursting with celebratory joy. So much fun. Thank you for sharing it all.

Katherines Corner said...

Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful celebrations with us. I loved the photos. Almost like being there. Hugs and smooches and happy wishes for the weekend!

Hope said...

great reasons for celebrating!
congrats to all!
take care!

Rick Watson said...

I'm with Cro Magnon. I'm taking a nap.