Days with the Dorans

  Well, Sunday was my mom's "day" and everyone went out to celebrate her at a fun dinner! You may notice reading this that I am not in any pictures... That's because I am still miserably sick. I started feeling sick on Friday (during field day and when we were setting up my mock camp at school) and I didn't get out of bed all weekend (except to use the bathroom) until Monday morning when I HAD to go to work (can you imagine leaving that for a sub?!- ugh). But Steph and my mom sent pictures and videos (on her fb) and I was so happy that they had fun together! It looked like a blast so I'll just have to find another random day to go and check it out. I'll bring Joey with me too since he was working in Kalamazoo and couldn't make it either. Glad everyone else was able to be there with her!

  Not the best picture but it will do... My brother hasn't been the best about telling me about things, but we did manage to go to see both TZ and Maddy play ball this season. Timmy had a great season and even got pulled up to Varsity a few times! I remember when I found out about that game and I texted with him and although he wasn't sure if he would play (he did) he was so excited for the opportunity. It was big potatoes for sure and I was so proud of him! The kids' school doesn't know how to use a comma... We also got to see Maddy play! It's always fun to come back to "my" sport! It's changed a lot since I played but it still brings back so many memories! Maddy played great at short and had some nice hits too! Nana & her girls! Papa was there too but didn't get the photo op, I guess...

I'm not sure that anything can beat the wonderful surprise/scavenger hunt gift I got last year from my babes and to be honest, nothing needs to be done. The best gift is really just being together. With Joey working in Kalamazoo, that can be hard but we got him home! I was talking with Jeff on my way home from work and when I pulled up to the house, I screamed, "OH MY GOSH! JOEY IS HOME?!" I was so excited! Although I had to work Thursday and Friday it was so wonderful to have him home and we even played my new obsession card game (5 crowns) and no one really complained. Zach got me flowers (a hanging plant that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies), some seeds and watering can) and he and Seany also wrote me really nice letters. I really appreciated them cleaning up and getting our deck summer ready! It was so nice to all sit out on the deck and just catch up! Ali came home around noon so we got to have ALL the babies together for a couple hours. We reenacted an old Mot...

  For YEARS Papa has been asking us to recreate his most favorite picture EVER! He still sometimes walks by this picture and will just start laughing. Well- this was the year! I bought clothes that matched these kids as best I could and we took 100s of pictures, laughed our butts off, and had a blast! I think his reaction says it all! Happy Birthday, Papa! You are so very loved!

Well... Joey's last Spring Break with us isn't exactly what we thought it would be... Our dog sitters fell through so dad stayed home while the rest of us were off! I was nervous about driving since he always does the majority of the driving but I had Joe and Al and it wasn't too bad. It was so great to get there and we of course hit Nacho Hippo the first night. The weather was pretty cool but getting out of the snow was all we really cared about! We did have a day that was nice and warm and we took advantage of that! It was fun that the cousins got this last hoorah together! Of course Joe wanted to hit the wing place one last time- it was a bit strange again not having dad there. They were going to send him pictures but then thought that may be mean. We also hit a new putt-putt place (or at least I don't remember it). It was kinda cool because you had to take a train to get to the holes. We had runs, played games, Joe played music, and we ate and laughed and it was a f...

So I had gone out with Jen Hart the last day of school and had dinner and she let me know that Christmas Day she tested positive for Covid. I was a bit nervous all of Christmas... Thankfully I took a test and it came back negative. Danny was finally out of quarantine which meant that we could go the the WMU Bowl Game! Danny was able to get two four packs of tickets free so we took the Bigs and the Drapals all went too. It was general admission and funny that as we were walking to the game we ran into them! There were a lot of people with masks on which made us feel more comfortable and we were spaced out from others too. WMU won and to celebrate we hit the Detroit Brewing Co for dinner and Drinks. My phone made a movie of my pictures and I uploaded it  HERE .

Unfortunately we got word that Santa moved! He's no longer at his cabin. We were SO sad that we couldn't go and see him anymore but were happy for him and Mrs. C. We made many great memories together and wish them all the best in their retirement down south- maybe they do a Santa's Condo down south... That trip was always a fun gift from Nana and Papa so they were on the search for another family fun activity to do together instead. They found Glenlore Trails which is a light-show type outdoor activity that people said was a lot of fun! Unfortunately Uncle Dan tested positive for Covid THE DAY we were to go. Thankfully his only symptoms are not smell and no taste but unfortunately that meant they were all quarantined for not only this but also for Christmas! Since we found out literally hours before we were on the hunt to see if anyone else could join us since they had already paid for the tickets. Most friends were busy (December is a nutty time) but Joey's friend Jake...

We decided a while back to have a new tradition of Lefse making~ Because Great-Nan used to always bring it for my birthday/Christmas and not only is it SOOO yummy, it's a way to feel close to her. We had this date down in the calendar and then Sean's play was pushed back to the same day because of the cancellation of school because of the school threats~ So... after the play, we headed to Nana and Papa's and made the magic happen! Well everyone except maybe Joe...