Farkle '09 in pictures (Part III)

The next day at Farkle Christmas represented a changing of the guard with the departure of TJ & Brandy and the arrival of the Nelsons. The missed each other by about 4 hours, I think! One of these years, we'll get everyone there at the same time ;)

Claire & Grace were especially excited about the arrival of the Nelsons because the population of little Farkles doubled.

Grace & Zachary playin' some tunes:

Brianna opening presents:

Zach, Heather, & Jon, just out of the car after driving all night!

Grace & Brianna snuggling:

The only 3 women in the house who would sit next to Marty! ;)

Claire, Grace & Brianna's picnic:
Reading books with Emily:

Twins!

On Monday, the 28th, we headed to the mall for a photo scavenger hunt. Here's Granny in a big hat:
Here's the girls' team, all in shades :)
And the girls' team on the escalator. (Missing from these pictures is our fabulous photographer, Nita)
And here's the boys' team in their sunglasses picture:

And the boys' team in front of a mirror:

(I must note that despite the fact that the guys were asked to leave JCPenney for taking pictures, they did in fact win the hunt. Better luck next year gals!)

Stay tuned for more Farkle fun...

PS - If you are unable to see these pictures in your email (Granny!), just visit the blog at www.familyfarkle.blogspot.com where you can see all the pictures together :)

Farkle '09 in pictures (Part II)

The fun continued on the 26th (we cram a lot into a few days!) when we returned to Susie's. First up was one of our favorite Farkle activities, The Road Rally:

Team 1: Nita, Andrew, Steve, Austin, & Susie:

Team 2 (& the winning team!): Aaron, Mark, Elissa, & Terry (missing is driver Marty)

Team 3: Thomas, Brandy, TJ, & Dennis (missing is Claire, who didn't really enjoy the Road Rally so much and wasn't so excited to have her picture taken)

And Team 4: Josh, Granny, Emily, & David
Next up was the theatrical debut of writer/director Claire who decided to write her own skit. It was titled 3 wishes. She wrote it, picked out the costumes, selected a cast, and then we performed in front of the family ;)

Here's the talented playwright:

The snowman:

The 3 angels:

And, last but certainly not least, the four rock guys:

Finally, we ended the night with another Farkle Favorite: Gag gifts!

Aaron with his gift, a book entitled, "Professor Nita's Brain School"

Dennis, with possibly the most-traded gift of the night, a giant remote control!

Cindy with a robot pencil sharpener:

Brandy's beautiful cow mug:

Leave it to the meat man! Jen with a wienie roaster:

Stay tuned for more pics to come...

Farkle '09 in pictures (Part I)

We had a fabulous Farkle Christmas this year. Despite numerous snowstorms and a few car problems, everyone made it to Farkle Headquarters (aka Susie's house) safely. The Farkle festivities officially began on Dec 23 when the first out-of-town Farkles arrived. TJ & Brandy drove in from Oklahoma, and Steve flew in from Georgia. Christmas Day is when the planned activities began.


Cuddling Cousins Emily, Grace, Claire & TJ



Steve and his not-so-G-rated skit. Hilarious!

Poor Dave was ambushed in a Farkle edition of "What Not to Wear". TJ played Stacey London & Thomas played Clinton. I'm thinking TJ should have analyzed the hairy legs-dress-boots combo before pointing the finger elsewhere....

One of their selections for David's new wardrobe:

Only in Wisconsin...actually, not even in Wisconsin!

A nice out-on-the-town look, don't you think?

No, that's not Grandma Morgan with a beard! It's Dave again. In a dress. Hmm...

Elissa & Grace watching the show:

On the 26th, the Farkles took the show on the road and performed at the local nursing home. Aaron and Josh participated in the kids' skit. Aren't they the handsomest trees you ever did see??

And here's Emily, our tree angel:

Andrew, the woodsman, who also made his Farkle solo debut singing "Wonder of Wonders" from Fiddler on the Roof:

Aaron, TJ, Nita & Steve in a skit:

Farmer Steve:

Granny & Dave "How Great Thou Art":

Granny & one of her favorite residents:

Gracie, snuggling with a gift from one of the residents:

Elissa & Grace watching the show again:

Grace the tree and her "ugly" face:

All of our trees: Ryan (honorary Farkle), Grace, Paige (honorary Farkle), Claire, Aaron & Josh

Grace's singing debut: a rousing rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle!

This is just a small portion of the talent showcased. The girls are watching the whole show on video now and loving every second. If I can figure out how to get it posted here, I will :) Stay tuned for more pictures soon...

(Note: These pictures are a compilation of our pictures, the Wimmers' pictures, and the Nelsons' pictures. If you have any to share, please send them along :) Thanks!)

Farkle Talent

I'm working on a post with pictures, but here's a quick preview of the Farkle festivities of 2009. We had a family talent show on Saturday night (the 26th), and Dave, Thomas, Aaron, & Josh performed one of the most popular talent show pieces from years past...this time with a different ending :) Enjoy! Pictures coming soon...

Happy Halloween!

Here's a picture of Granny Morgan and the girls at the nursing home after we made scarecrows. After we posted pictures of Granny from last year's 100th birthday party, Granny wanted you all to see her new skinny self so that you'd recognize her the next time you see her ;)

RIP Grandma White

As all of you likely know, Grandma White passed away yesterday morning (10/27). Granny Morgan & Susie have been busy making phone calls and all the necessary arrangements. They got her obituary into the local paper, and it is online today. Here's the link:

http://lodienews.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=1888&TM=46514.06

It's awe-inspiring to think that this morning's sunrise was the first one in 36,852 days that Grandma White wasn't alive for. She had a long life filled with both blessings and loss, and I hope that she now is resting in peace.

We all got together and had supper together last night and shared stories. Granny is doing quite well and was even back at the nursing home yesterday afternoon, receiving an outpouring of support from the staff and other residents and volunteering to help out. She, Terry, and Susie will make the trip back to Spirit Lake, IA, on Saturday for Grandma White's burial.

I have a few pictures of Grandma White from her years here in Lodi. I thought I'd share a couple. If anyone else has pictures or stories they'd like to share, send them on, and I will get them posted!

Grace & Grandma White at Halloween last year:

Susie & Grandma White at her 100th birthday party:

The whole crew at the 100th birthday:

Mother & Daugter at the 100th bithday party: