Sunday, November 14, 2004
Catching Up
Wow, I have not been checking in on any of this since the end of October as we have been gone.
So much has happened! ! ! ! ! Soccer, Golf Tables, GUILTY VERDICTS, Concerts, Rupfs, etc., etc! ! ! !
Talked to Steve tonite and he filled me in that we now have a new great niece - Elizabeth Duarte! ! ! CONGRATULATIONS to John and Alex and of course to the proud grandparents, Jim and Anita! ! ! These girls are really tallying up in the younger generation - I think that they outnumber the guys! I guess that that's the girly thing to do! Congratulations to all of these new parents. We are so happy for them and wish them the best!
Glad to hear that Taylor is home and doing well, at least alot better then grandma - Take care of that rib Marge ! ! ! Good thing you had a great cruise and a wonderful time before the accident!
Carrie and David's wedding was BEAUTIFUL! Her colors were Cinnamon and Ivory - truly exquisite! It was a fun, fun Dutch Wedding!
You Soccer and Soft Ball girls are really doing GREAT - Keep up the Great Work! ! ! I really enjoy hearing about all the games.
We have 6 soccer players in our family and they are also doing really well - Nicolaus' team is undefeated and the others are also doing great. Our Annie is 4.0 and Nicolas is 3.9 - and we are so very, very proud of them - the lower grades don't evaluatethe students like that but they are all doing so very, very well. 8th Grade Annie is playing the piano Beautifully and I am so happy and proud of her. Megan is also taking piano, is doing so well and loves it too. As soon as Karyn gets moved out of the COMPARTMENT and back into their home (which I don't think can happen soon enough for them), she plans to get Kathryn started with piano too. With all of this talent, surely somebody will let me retire!
Speaking of retiring, Lori is after me to retire from the travel business. I think after Ernie's surgery, I will probably be working from home. I still really love the contact with people and I truly get excited planning trips for them. It's the next best thing to traveling there myself! ! ! When I quite enjoying it, I guess that's when I'll hang it up.
When Ernie saw that Rupf name in the paper at the time that Laci was found, he told me that he tought it was the Rupfs from here. Ernie said that Warren Rupf's grandmother delivered him and probably all but Pius as well. This entire ordeal, has brought out so many names and people - it seems that somebody knows somebody thats related to somebody else in this Peterson Case.
Ernie had a booth at the Sugar Plum Faire and one of the gals that I work with called about 11am to tell me that we would have a verdict at 1pm. WOW, were we ever shocked! ! ! . A gal from the Church (Big Valley Grace) walked through with the verdict and the reaction was incredible! There was clapping, cheering and shouting - some had tears of relief. Well, who would have thought that in only 7hrs and 14 minutes, they would have the verdict - apparently not Garagos. I'm happy for the Rocha family as they can finally put this to rest, however, at the same time I feel badly for the Peterson family (mom, dad and siblings). One news caster said that the jury could sum up the entire trial in 1 paragraph. He didn't elaborate, but that was a pretty profound statement. I have followed this trial daily and read every paper - it's hard to imagine that this happened so close to home (Mike and Jana). My friend Evelyn even told me that I was obsessed with it, but I was just genuinely interested ! ! ! I think that Marge was just as interested - right Marge??
We got home late Tues. nite from Maui. We went 5 days early to spend some time on our own. I had a seminar over there (it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it). Oh yes, we had a great time ! ! !
We were wined and dined royally and loved every minute of it. We were about 40 travel agents viewing alot of hotels, and condo's - the $8300.00 per nite room at the Four Seasons was not available for us to see as it was occupied! As Ernie would say, I can't sleep that much! ! ! Hey Leo and John, they have some great Golf Packages with unlimited Golf - you can even pick your Tee Times a full year in advance! ! How's that for planning?
For my birthday, Lori, Karyn, Steve and their families, gave us a delightful night out on the town. We had the best dinner at David Pauls in the Lahaina Inn. They had prearranged it and we had the most delicious seafood dinners! ! ! ! ! ! ! We were both stuffed and said that we would pass on the desert menu, however, the waitress said that out children and grandchildren would not allow us to leave the restaurant without desert - they proceeded to bring us this delightful Sampler plate with Happy Birthday written on the plate with chocolate - Goodness it was more that we could imagine! Our children were much too generous - we wish that they could have been there to have shared this wonderful evening with us! Thanks again kids! ! ! ! !
I hadn't taken the camera, but the restaurant forwarded the two photos that they took for us. If you ever have a chance to try this place out in Lahaina, you would definitely like it! Last year the seminar was in Kauai, and next year it will be in Hawaii (the big island). They are alot of fun and see places that we would definitely never be able to stay in! ! ! !
Ernie fell in love with the HEAVENLY BEDS at the Hyatt. I have to agree, they are the most comfortable hotel beds that we have ever experienced!
If you ever need a travel agent, I know alot of great places - something for everybodys budget.
Tomorrow, we're off to SFO to visit Dr. Hsu. We were disappointed to have received a letter from Workman's Comp the Wednesday before we left for Maui denying Ernie's surgical procedure. Apparently, they need more info before they will approve it. We already had this appointment scheduled, so they plan to do more xrays, etc. to further document the need for the fusion and pinning in the up comming surgery. We already celebrated our Thanksgiving on Oct 24th in anticipation of the surgery, but I guess that we'll just have to wait to see what happens. Hopefully it will be before Christmas, as Ernie is Ready to Get This Show on The Road! ! !
Well, it's time to say goodnight - enough bragging (Uncle Bill said it was okay) and info for this time.
Love you
Auntie Mary Jane
