Hey Ya!

Good Monday Morning from Sunny SoCal! We wanted to say hello (aloha Charlotte) to let everyone know we are thinking of ya!

Love,
Drew & Halle

(Pic is from our trip to the zoo yesterday)

Hello to all,

I was making a scrapbook for Dad lastweek of all the pictures from Granny's funeral and I came across this photo, Does anyone remember what year this was?

Thanks to everyone for sharing the photos.

I had dinner with Michelle last week. She looks great! Seems very happy living IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE!! Boy I thought the eaasternshore was bad. Actually it is very pretty in western maryland. Alot more hills than here on the FLAT Eastern Shore! Some really good food there also!

Happy Belated Birthday Ronnie! Hope it was a fun one!

Love to all Connie

Michelle's boys

I started playing around with how to add
pictures. It took me forever to figure out how
this works. I'm not very computer literate.
Here is a picture of my boys at a lake near my house.


Love,
Michelle

Hello from Michelle

Hi family,

Charlotte thanks for setting up this wonderful blog where we can all keep updated on what's going on with our lives.

Connie was in my neck of the woods for a farmer's conference, and we've had dinner together the last two days. Henry stayed home to work on the farm, but we had a great time with a couple friend of theirs.

It was so great to see all of you again, and I hope we can see each other soon at a family reunion. Anyone have thoughts on the reunion? Mother's Day at Richmond park?



My boys are doing well. Jeremy turned 14 in December and is 3 inches taller than his mom now. Josh turned 12 last week and is funny as ever. They both are in all advanced classes in middle school and make straight A's. Mark and I have no idea how we got such smart and good children. I'm doing well and staying busy with teaching Kindergarten, working part-time at a jewelry store every other weekend and two nights a week. As if that's not enough, I've started a new Master's program in Early Childhood education. I'm supposed to be reading and writing a paper tonight, but am avoiding doing the work.

Love to all and hope to hear from you soon,
Michelle

From Little Ronne

Hi to all the family ! Sorry I haven't been more interactive but the last couple months have been my "busy" season. I was great to see everyone at Granny's funeral, see and Pat would both have been so please to see the family they loved so much all together. Nothing made either any happier than to be surrounded by the chaos of everyone together and talking and laughing not to mention eating. There has never been a Goodwin event that good food was not a prominent part of. Thanks for the great pictures that were sent via e-mail it is wonderful to be able to connect so quickly when we are spread so far apart.
Great new look for Sarah with the hair cut, you look like a career woman now and congrats on the interviews you recently had. Thanks to Jay for being the "super hero" and rescuing you from the blizzard at Dulles. Happy 31 st Birthday also Sarah ! Speaking of Birthdays the wonderful book The Cat in the Hat turns 50 this year! Silly you may say but there is not one of us that hasn't had the book read to us or not read it to a child and enjoyed it. In honor of the "Cat" , Random House with First Book ( a group that gets books to low income children that might not other wise own their own book) has a promotion, if you will take the time to go to seussville.com/CITH_50th/ and follow the directions for send an E-Card they will provide a free book to a needy child for each E-card sent. It is a bit of wimsy and fun but it also is a very worthy cause. So often we forget the fun in our day to day life and this would make such a difference with the many family members we have and feel free to pass the site on to others. Our own "Cat in the Hat" Dave will be reading to 2nd graders dressed as the Cat as part of the Birthday celebration. Look forward to hearing from you all soon, anymore ideas aboiut a warm weather get together?
Love and Prayers to all, Little Ronnie

After a weekend of not having a computer (I thought I would die!) - Ok - I did have my laptop - but it is just not the same! I have a new hard drive and am now rebuilding all my programs. So, you will be seeing lots more photos and be hearing lots more from me! I feel like this is a great way to keep in touch - I feel so far away sometimes and this helps bring us all back together.
So, to update you from the land of paradise.
I had a friend visiting last week and we went to the Probowl. But, before we did that on Saturday, we also went to the hotel where the football players were staying (it happens to be the only hotel on our side of the island with 4 beautiful lagoons!) So, off we went with my 3 and 8 year old (who, by the way, knows nothing about football) and my friend and her 10 year old (who knows everything about football!) So, while the kids were playing on the beach - we did see a few people walking by and I just figured the buff, hefty guys were football players. So, I sent my friend, Terry, with her son's football cards to get autographs. As she was turned down for one autograph because she asked if this guy was Tony and then handed him a card to sign of - you guessed it - the wrong Tony. So, walking back to our blanket, head hung low and embarrassed - I am pointing at another guy walking who looked like a player (again - that handsome, buff kind of guy) - and she immediately knew who it was! It was Zach Thomas of the Miami Dolphins... she was so excited -got an autograph, and I sent my camera over with Gabriel and she is trying to take a picture and sweet Mr. Zach tells her that it really helps when the camera is on! LOL -that was the only football story we had for the weekend! That same time - at the lagoons (which are only about 4 feet deep at the most) a guy drowns while snorkeling. I thought he was about 40 - but the paper said that he was only 27. I have never seen anyone drown for as long as I have been going to the beach!
Anyone watch LOST???? So, what is up with that? Now, that it is back on - I am soooo curious as to how Juliette and the "project" came to be.... what about Greys Anatomy?? Is she really dead?

I love seeing all the posts - Strouds - you can dictate for your mom! Hirtz's - where oh where are you all????? Smith's - Aunt Audrey can just post as a comment and I will move it to a post. Saenz's - lets hear more from you all! Goodwins - (both sets) - Christian - where are you??? You computer teacher you - lets hear from you! Drew - are you out there??? I am glad to see all the aunts and uncles getting on here!

Well - I should go feed my children dinner - it is a little cool out tonight - must be low 70's - just had to throw that in!
Lots of ALOHA!!
Charlotte

No Sleeping at Dulles!

Hey Everyone -- Sarah & Jay here. For those who haven't been paying attention to the weather on the east coast, it's pretty ugly. Icing and sleeting here in DC, snowing heavily north of here - something like 1-2 feet of snow expected in Syracuse - where Sarah is a) going to school and b) trying to fly to. Sooooo -- Sarah's flight this evening was canceled, and it's rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon (yeah, right!). We got Krispy Kreme's on the way home, so breakfast is covered - and we'll hang out here at my place until it's time to drive back out to the airport.

I'm (Jay) quite pleased to see that both of my parents have managed to find the blog and post to it --- I feel your pain, Kelly!!!!

Enough for now....