Tim and Elyse informed us a few days before Christmas that our next grandbaby, due May 17th, will be…another boy! The room has since been painted blue and the crib is put up. Can baby showers be too far off?

Fast forward to February. We started the month by traveling to St. Louis. Nick and Ash picked us up from the airport and we started the 3 hour trek to Macomb. We were greeted by snow. But to see that cute little boy, it was all worth it. More than once he was the center of attention, showing off his new clapping skills.

Friday we did Nick’s “honey do” list and made our way around Macomb in the snow. That night we had Debbie’s Italian beef sandwiches (yum) and of course her daiquiris. I’m still full.

Saturday night we took a drive across the Mississippi river and into Iowa, to eat at Martinins. Great view, great dinner, great martinis, great company…it’s a night we’ll remember for a long time.

Before we knew it, it was time to travel home – on Super Bowl Sunday. So much for the game. The visit was worth so much more.

I have done the Avon Breast Cancer walk for 2 years in a row, but this coming year, they’ve changed the L.A. walk to Santa Barbara. I needed a new goal to stay motivated. The kids had told me about seeing Disney half marathon t-shirts in the restaurant so I did a little research. Because it takes place the first week in September, Danny and I have decided to walk/jog the Disney half marathon for his 60th birthday. Let the training begin. We started out with 7 mile walks. Then we added in a bit of jogging. Now we stay within our 7 miles but are jogging more to decrease our time. The distance is no problem, but the event has a 3.5 hour time limit. My short legs can’t get me across the finish line without jogging some of it.

To help us train, yesterday we went with my 24 hour Fitness “gym gang” on a bike ride to beach and back. The trail takes us 22 miles, along the river bed, the Honda Center, Angel Stadium and beyond. We then go a few more miles down the beach to Mutt’s to catch breakfast. Just enough time to get feeling back in parts that are numb. It was a cool start, but turned into a 75 degree day…just perfect. Nothing like SoCal in Feb.

Next weekend we’ll be going to Tempe, AZ. Luke has been accepted to ASU and we’ll be taking a tour of the campus. We’ll meet up with Glade and Carol as well as Mark, Lisa, Butch and Judy. We’ll also get to finally meet their American Bulldogs – Luke and Lani (don’t even ask about their names).

We’ll be home another weekend and then the Corvette (YELW KAT) is taking us to Las Vegas.

In the meantime, Lani has been accepted to WIU, but is still hoping to hear from Cal Poly Pomona. Luke also go accepted to CO State Univ, but we’re hoping he’s stay closer in AZ.

Graduation is only a few months away. That will be followed by the kids turning 18. Then it’s off on our Alaskan cruise, with the best friends anyone could have. Sounds like it’s going to be a busy year!

End of year is always cause for reflection. This year we’ve certainly had events to look back on. But before we get to that, I’m long overdue for some looking forward. I’ve sent out word, but here’s the formal posting: Elyse and Tim are pregnant! Baby Katz is due May 17, 2010. We find out if grandchild #2 is a boy or girl on Dec 22nd. Our vote is for a healthy baby!

So if I look back on this past year, it would definitely be defined by becoming grandparents for the first time. If you look anywhere on the site you’ll see it covered in Hayden’s name. Although Nick and Ashley moved back to Macomb, IL this past June, we’ve been video conferencing quite a bit. It’s a great joy to see Hayden’s face light up when he sees those funny looking people on the computer. And of course our faces light up when we see him “dancing” around to Lady Gaga. They’ll be here the day after Christmas. I can’t wait to give him tummy raspberries in person!

While the economy took a turn for the worst in 2009, we’ve been lucky enough to keep working. The restaurant is slower and I took a cut in pay and in hours. Going down to 30 hours has been a blessing in disguise though. It allowed me to train for the 39 mile Avon Walk that took place this past Sept. Many Friday’s I spent with Danny, walking 7 miles. Danny had never done this amount of walking before and he found out he actually enjoyed the “walk therapy”. After getting over his griping about hurting, he found out the end result was pants that were too big for him. While the Avon Walk is in doubt for next year since it’s moving to Santa Barbara, some sort of walk/run is in the works so that we’ll continue to be motivated to train. After all, Danny turns 60 next year and he wants to prove he’s not just an old grump.

In keeping with the “we’re really not old” theme, we went out bought a 2006 Corvette. How appropriate that it’s bright yellow, since this is Danny’s favorite color. Andrew and Kathleen turned us onto their Corvette Club, PCC and the rest is history. Again, this site is full of PCC news, although I haven’t put in our last trip to Temecula or the upcoming Christmas party yet. By end of January, I’ll be turning in my leased BMW and that yellow Corvette will be seen on the 241 toll road 3 times a week. I hope the Highway Patrol will be looking the other way.

This past Sept. Luke and Lani started their senior year of high school. Both are doing good. Lani is heavy into drama and has a great set of friends because of it. Luke made the varsity soccer team. He is also already been accepted to ASU for next year. We’re waiting to hear back from the other schools that both have applied to. Keep your fingers crossed.

So life keeps moving on. Nick and Ashley celebrated 2 years of marriage this year, while Tim and Elyse celebrated one year. One grandchild this year and one next. Next year is another Circle K Cruise Year. The destination will be Alaska. I guess it’s all about the kids, grandkids and the travel. If this is growing old, I like it.

I’ve also posted just a few pictures of Hayden’s 9 month photo shoot. There are more on Nick and Ashley’s site and Facebook for those of you who follow.

Yesterday also brought us some happy news: Luke was accepted to ASU. That makes him now a college student in training. We look forward to hearing from other colleges that both he Lani applied to.

This morning we got up at 4:15 to walk the CHOC walk at Disneyland and CA Adventure. Cliff and Karen have been volunteering time with the Make a Wish Foundation. They asked us all to join in the CHOC walk as part of their team. Rick, Linda, Sandy and Don joined in with us. At 5k, it truly was a walk in the park, winding through both Disneyland and California Adventure. Seeing the teams, the signs and the volunteers, really was an inspiration. Thanks for asking us guys!

Last year my niece Kim convinced me to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer with her. While I was successful in completing all 39.3 miles (that’s a marathon the first day and a half marathon the 2nd), I did not sign up at the event to do a repeat. It’s very hard to conceive doing the event again while the blisters are still fresh on your feet.

Danny wasn’t so convinced I shouldn’t repeat. He kept me walking all winter, putting his feet where his mouth is (now isn’t that a visual). By February, I had decided to sign up again. I talked to Kim and found out she had already done so as well. Feb. is also when I took Danny on his first 7 mile walk.

By April, I half heartedly answered an email I received from Avon. Someone in Anaheim needed a walker buddy. I took the plunge and asked which end of town she lived on. Too bad, Patrice lived on the West end of town, over 10 miles away from me. Her daughter Tiffany has asked her to do the walk. At 22, Tiffany didn’t have much training she needed to do. Patrice knew at many..cough, cough…years older, needed to do more. I suggested a place for us to meet and she was wiling to make it happen.

Patrice never complained about the drive or the walk. Sure she got out of whack a couple of times, but it never stopped her. (She did keep the chiropractor busy though.) She was always on time and never questioned the distances I made her walk. She put herself in my hands and followed my grand plan.

By May it was down to fundraising. Danny’s plan was to ask Tony to do a wine tasting. One evening and 24 guests later, and my goal was made. Add in some additional wonderful friends and I raised $2,000 for this good cause.

August brought us to the dreaded 20 mile walk. Once again Patrice proved herself to be a trooper. We picked up Kim midway through and then walked her back and dropped her off. Total miles were 20.25. Do one 20 mile walk. Check. Done.

The time flew by and the next thing you know it was time to rock and roll. Long Beach here we come. Kim ended up riding in with Danny and me. She was meeting up with her “podcast” friend, Heather. So they know each other, but have never met. I knew Heather was 6′1″. I knew Patrice is 5′9″. I knew I was in trouble.

Since we kept a good pace and made it the lunch stop at 10:30, we grabbed lunch and waited to eat until we met up with Danny, Rick, Luke, Lani, TJ, Elyse, Keith, Diane and M at mile 14. We ate, re-lubed, adjusted what needed adjusting and took off again. That stop made the rest of the day possible. That and Danny running out to greet us every 5 miles or so. Thank you all so much! Especially the guy in the pink wig.

26.2 miles, 1 sunburn, 3 blisters and ??? hours later, Patrice, Tiffany and I crossed the finish line in the top 3rd. Heather and Kim did the half marathon the first day. Good job girls.

Day 2 came up too fast. I know I can recover from a 14 mile walk and walk the next day. In this case, I was still sore the next morning. Kim had chewed her feet up again, but she still got on the bus, and started the walk with us. She was doubtful she would be able to finish tho and Heather announced she was sticking with me. Kim told her I’d make sure she finished. Little did I know that at her height, and Patrice’s height that Tiffany and I would have to jog in between to keep up with them. No, no, no, you guys can’t walk together. Tall girl with short girl only. That’s better.

Kim stayed with her friend Barbara (who finished with me last year while she was pregnant) to cheer us on. I got to see and hold little Sophia. I was so busy kissing her I had to run to catch up with the girls. It was worth it tho.

We came in very early – about 12:30. Too early to stay to see Patrick Dempsey. We had to run home because I needed to nap before celebrating Danny’s birthday.

I did not sign up at the event to do a repeat. It’s very hard to conceive doing the event again while the blisters are still fresh on your feet. Hmmm, Santa Barbara in 2010? Only if you sign up.

So we set out on a red eye for NY. We spent the first part of Thurs getting rained on ourselves. When it cleared up, we took a cab to Bella Luna to have dinner with Uncle David, Aunt Anita, Fern and Rob. I haven’t seen Fern or Rob in years so it was fun to catch up. The next day Rob was on a plane for Singapore for a 6 months stint. The problem was though that David and Laurie weren’t traveling into the city until Friday. This meant having a 2nd dinner with David, Laurie, Lea and Casey on Friday night. We had seen David and Laurie at Nick and Ash’s wedding 2 years ago, but it had a more years since we had seen the girls. Another enjoyable dinner catching up with family.

By Saturday we boarded our ship bound for Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Bermuda. 2 ports we had been to and 2 we hadn’t. Had some rough weather sailing down and our “swim with the stingray” excursion was canceled. (Too bad that was the only excursion we had planned.) We did some good shopping on Puerto Rico though and really enjoyed Bermuda, where we took a ferry over to the capital city of Hamilton. We then took a bus around to Horseshoe beach. Too bad thousands of other tourists did the same thing that day. We had a tight channel to get out of in Bermuda and while playing bingo, we thought the ship was going to turn over. Even the bingo board slid across the floor as many people panicked. No cause for alarm – guess they had everything under control.

After 12 long days, we made our way home. After all, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…

Before I go, a big thanks to Elyse for taking a new family picture. Thanks also to TJ for using it as a new banner for our site!

Getting ready to go see Fleetwood Mac with Karen and Cliff, Carol and Don.

I know you all got the email: Nick and Ashley are moving back to Macomb. Guess we’ll be using iChat a lot more again.

Luke and Lani are finishing up 11th grade. Lani went to prom last weekend, mostly because all her friends are seniors. Elyse took some beautiful pictures of Hayden and Ethan. Check them out if you have access.

Gotta go!

Avon 2 Day walk is in Sept. Danny and I have been walking already. I also have a new walker buddy. Patrice and I will meet up again in another week – after Kayleen’s visit this coming weekend. Wine Tasting – my first fundraiser – is May 9th. The following weekend is Phil Fiandaca’s wedding. Before you know it, school will be out and we’ll be flying back to NY for 2 days followed by a Caribbean cruise to Puerto Rico, Grand Turk, St. Thomas and Bermuda. Luke and Lani will officially be senior’s by then. That’s a wow! Hopefully I’ll post new stuff before then.

We has a nice time and by 3:30 we cleaned up everything and headed out to the hospital. When we arrived, the doctor was explaining to Nick and Ashley that she needed a c-section. By 5:30 or so, they were the proud parents of Hayden Marcelo. At 3 1/2 weeks early he still weighed in at a respectable 6 lbs, 13 oz, and 18 inches long. Mom and son are doing fine. Ashley will be out of the hospital by Weds. Check out the pics of the beautiful boy!

January – started the year with an engagement party for Tim and Elyse. Met Elyse’s family for the first time.

March – we went to Puerto Vallarta with Diane and Keith. Catch the pictures. We went on ATVs and took a sunset cruise. Ate at some of our favorite restaurants.

May – Nick asked the fateful question: “If you had one wish in the whole world, what would it be?” Wait – I used that line 3 times to Danny’s mom. All 3 times I was pregnant. Hey wait a minute…could it be? Yes, we were told we would be grandparents in early 2009.

June – held a poker party fundraiser for the Avon 2 day Breast Cancer walk. It was a huge success and put me over the amount needed to join in the walk.

July – finally took that Mediterranean cruise. Many cruise party preceded our big 11 days. We saw Barcelona, Nice, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Sorrento and Palmermo. Picture are also posted. Part of our group were the Haines’, Jessen’s and Robert’s. Can’t begin to describe the memories!

August – Elyse turned 21 and Becky came to visit. We took everyone to Club 33 in Disneyland to celebrate. It’s always special for us when Becky is around.

September – threw a wedding shower for Elyse. The following weekend, I walked all 40 miles of the Avon 2 Day. What an amazing experience. 5 million dollars was raised from the L.A. walk. enjoyed it so much, I’m going to do it again next year. Get ready to open your wallets again.

October – we met Glade, Carol, Butch, Judy, Mark and Lisa is Puerto Vallarta. Found some new restaurants…can you tell, it’s all about eating! Came back and threw Elyse a wedding shower.

November – Tim and Elyse got married. What a wonderful ceremony and reception. The happy couple now lives in Anaheim in a new townhouse they just bought.

December – attended some wonderful parties with family and friends. Now it’s time to wrap it up (pun intended) and celebrate. See you all in 2009!