The Turner Family

That little girl Devyn turned 16 on Wednesday. Back when she was about 10, she developed quite a taste for lobster and ever since, we have celebrated her birthday with a family dinner at the Red Lobster. So there we went again. Dennis got her the bouquet: 15 pink roses (her favorite color) and the 16th, a yellow rose in the center of the bouquet to represent the first Man in her life, her maternal grandfather who passed away when she was very young. She was quite emotional, of course. Another family tradition at Devyn's birthday. She gets her own can of "shootin' cream" to eat as she chooses. So here she is chugging some.

Meg’s Christmas present this year was a room makeover. We had thought she would have twin beds in her room so we didn’t bring any bedding for a queen-sized bed. Needless to say the room was a little dull. So we recruited her Aunt Janet to do a makeover. Janet and her daughter Sydney put their heads together and came up with the most amazing room for Meg. They even asked friends and family to send pictures, which are displayed in a really cool wall hanging. Everything is hand made from the bedding and pillows to the wall hangings and the curtains. A lot of thought and hard work went into the room. Meg was so surprised and bit overwhelmed, it was just wonderful! (Sorry, I got it all on video but the file is too big to upload... or something?)

Our two Christmas trees and the new furniture. First we opened the stockings. Later we got to the big gifts under the trees and Garrett was so excited he couldn't sit down. Meg loved everything, she's already half way through her first book and has picked out her outfit for the first day of school. Our homemade gift from Garrett! Merry Christmas!

Just prior to mom's surgery , we all -- mom and dad, the Fees Road Turners, and Tiffani and I -- went out to a local Oktoberfest and enjoyed some hoppy IPAs, some cider , some pulled pork , and some political discussion . Oktoberfests being what they are, the event was outside and the temperature was in the low 40s. Our thin autumnal blood kept us from being too terribly warm, but the frivolity of the evening sustained us for about 90 minutes.

Seamus on his first Halloween of the week. Seamus and Sophia on the actual Halloween. The Hulk costume received many compliments. Of course, notably, Sophia brought the Spartans the extra edge they needed this weekend. The Neff parade of Halloweenies, and our little Spartan. Bompa says this is Nick's 'come hither' look. Nick vamping it up with some vampires, ghouls, and mummies. When he got home that afternoon he mentioned that his legs felt too hairy, so we believe a trend has been initiated.

Tiffani suggested that a baby shower for Harry and Rebecca take place when we all gather at Christmas time. Thus the poll at right. Post your comments.

And here are some long-overdue photos from my mom's birthday party in Lincoln. Kids on trains, Nick rocking some sunglasses, a snap of the birthday girl with her "kids," listening to a toast.

Garrett celebrated his birthday with a few of his friends at the local Laser Tag venue, Shadowland. They ate hot dogs and Cheetos, washed down by the good old Coke in a bottle. They had the place to themselves so the only bad guy was Flash... aka Mom! He got a few Nerf guns, some MSU attire and a pink t-shirt that says "Somebody call a Vet because these puppies are sick". He loved it all! THANK YOU FROM GARRETT

Has anyone noted that we seem to celebrate birthdays at Mexican restaurants? A great night, with a complete sharing of lice amongst many of the attendees who shared in the communal sombrero.

This is Holly, my reindeer, after being stuffed. She has two outfits which are below. Below is Holly in her two outfits. The background of the pictures of Holly is not real snow (I wish it was, though). Holly is standing on a upside down bucket-thing which is sprinkled with cotton balls, infront of my Mom's bedroom door. I wanted to have the pictures look as though she was standing in a reindeers' natural habitat. I would like to thank all of you for the Very Special Christmas that I had this year. Thank you for all the lovely gifts, I have or will use them alot. This was posted by... Meg Turner

The group started out at the bottom of the hill and grew to a total of twenty kids by the time we left Scarborough Street and headed towards "Trunk or Treat" at the church. Meg is the witch in the back and Garrett is Jango Fett from Star Wars (blue suit). This is the older crew that lingered behind. Meg's friend, Megan, was a personal shopper. My favorite was Napoleon Dynamite. Meg had a Choir concert last week. Jason is keeping a close eye on Garrett. "What did I do?"

Nick as either a member of the Army , or the Michigan Militia . Dr. Cori Crocker, in class with siblings. The cowgal and her horse. Seamus as the Human Torch , from the Fantastic Four , in a pose that both displays his muscles, and hopefully not foreshadowing, yet unfortunately resembling a mug shot. The pre-departure crew, with no worries about the drizzle of the night, just visions of massive candy acquisitions. They were under strict orders to retrieve Butterfingers and Paydays for their parents.

Happy belated birthday!