I can’t believe that spring break is over. We just returned from Nuevo Vallarta last night. Little Hayden is sleeping peacefully in his carrier right now and starting this coming week, we’ll be watching him on Weds and Fridays. Also can’t believe he’s 3 months old now. He’s so beautiful. Will try and post vacation and baby pics after this.

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.

This is the first time I’ve given a shower and the guest of honor didn’t show up. With the holidays, Elyse and I decided to wait until January to throw Ash a shower. We knew it was a little late, but first babies always come late, don’t they? Imagine our surprise when her water broke this past Sat – the same day as the shower. We got the “we think…” phone call at about 8:00, but didn’t get the “it’s not a false alarm” phone call until 11:00. At that point it was way too late to call off a 1:00 shower. We knew everyone would understand – and besides, I needed people to help us eat all that food we’d ordered.

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!

Yes another post starting with “I can’t believe another year has gone by”. As 2008 draws to a close we take a look at the highlights.

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!

The showers were over. The engagement pictures finally taken a few weeks before the wedding (see them posted). Now if was time to pray for good weather, hold on and enjoy the ride. Timothy Joseph Katz wed Elyse Anne Maria Mabe last weekend. Sandwiched in between rain, cold weather and the wind and firestorms yesterday was picture perfect weather for an all outside wedding. (Thank you for all your calls, at 3 houses away from evacuation and 1 mile away from the fire, we are all ok.)

The rehearsal was wonderful and relaxed. The next day started with a 7 mile walk for Danny and me. I figured with all the partying to come, the walk would come in handy. Then it was off to hair and makeup for me. For Ash and Lani the day also started early with a.m. hair appointments. Before we knew it, it was time to go off to the Centennial Heritage Museum. With everyone in place, the ceremony started after 4:00. Flower girl Marissa (my great niece) was afraid to go down the isle and ended up coming down on her daddy’s leg. We give her a break tho as she’s still batting 500 after last year’s flawless performance at Nick and Ash’s wedding. Little Ethan Gomez, 6 months old, was pulled down the isle in a snazzy red fire truck. Elyse made a beautiful entrance followed by a touching ceremony by Pastor Greg. We laughed and cried and truly celebrated the union.

Formal pictures followed with the Centennial House and fountain as a backdrop (pictures posted but professional pics to follow later). Then it was time to party. The food and drinks were great. The DJ had some great music and the dance floor heated up. I’ve never seen TJ or Elyse dance with more people before. In the meantime, I was busy visiting with family and friends. Nothing like a wedding to bring people together.

The next day we hosted a small brunch. As the bride and groom weren’t leaving on their honeymoon to Santa Barbara until later in the day, we had our out of town guests, our family and the Mabe family over to open up presents and continue the celebration. With 3 brothers and a sister, Elyse is the middle of 5 kids. Since we’ve raised 5 ourselves, it made for a nice size “small” group. Thanks to Dina and Jim, Sarah and David, Jonathan and Sarah, and Peter and Paul for joining us! I’m grateful that Uncle David and Aunt Anita are still able to fly in from NY, and Bernie from Seattle. Kayleen, Glade and Carol and Travis and Ashley all came in from AZ. Sharyne, Sydney and Trevor traveled down from SF. Honorable mention to Beatrice, Mike and Sylvia and Myriam all coming in from the San Fernando Valley and all of the Jessen/Reynold’s coming in from Apple Valley. That takes the same time as a flight from SF, doesn’t it? I’m sure I’ve forgotten some of you who traveled far, but thanks to you and all our other guests for making this a wonderful and memorable event.

We now look forward to the end of a busy year. But hang onto your hats…it won’t be long before Ash’s gives birth to little Hayden Marcelo Katz – our first grandchild. Just when I though I was done giving showers…

Please check out all the photos. I managed to get some of them under a wedding file names, but others (like our Europe pics) are hidden in between. If you go to view all, you should be able to pick them up.