HAPPY BIRTHDAY - JOSH

This is our fourth son, Joshua Dean on his birth day, April 21, 1981.

As usual we were expecting a girl but Judy knit a "coming home" sleeper that was gender neutral just in case we got another son...and we did...and we were elated, again.

Home in his own bed.

Here's big brother James with the "hey I feel something wet on my leg" look and big brother Justin with the "ha ha ha...suck it up big boy, you wanted to hold him" look.
Josh has the "oops, did I do that" look.


This is our Josh on his first birthday. This little boy had a perpetual smile on his face...just like his mama.

Josh's second birthday.

OK...where's my breakfast?

Wow, a carrot cake...for me?

Josh on number 3.

Well, we will skip a few years, here is Josh on his seventh birthday

For any of you who can't remember ever seeing Josh with hair...voila!

And again.

Josh was, and is a lover of the game. Here he is...and as always, that infectious smile.

Until today. Hey Josh, how does it feel to be a year older?

(Don't you just hate it when someone asks that lame question?)

This is Josh, now 28, with his lovely wife Brandi.

Yeah, you see the proof...Josh ate all those ribs.

Happy Birthday Josh. We're proud of you son.

Well...It's about time!

I mean, it's about time for a new post on this blog. And what better reason than to share photos of the newest member of the Mooney family, born this afternoon.

Here's Grandma, mama, big sister Maggie O and new baby sister, daughter and granddaughter...???(not sure what to call her yet)

Here's a closer look at her.

She looks a lot like big sister Maggie. She is beautiful isn't she?

Wow, wow, wow...what an amazing gift grandchildren are!

Grandma was definately thinking "pink". She was absolutely certain that this grandchild was going to be a sister for Maggie.


The details will be up to mama and papa to share.
I made a few suggestions for names...like Matilda Lou...didn't seem to get much interest...maybe Martha Belle...again not warmly received...so I guess I should just leave it up to James and Nic to name their little darl'in.

Stay tuned. This might just get this blog back on track. Seems like it takes something significant to get some blogging to happen. And this truly is significant.

Congratulations James and Nicola.

Cancun +30*C to Calgary -30*C

There is something wonderful about the Christmas season no matter where you are. Here Judy is standing beside the Christmas tree in our resort in Cancun.

I guess the song "Six White Boomers" forgot to mention that one of the boomers stopped off in Mexico to give birth. Here she is disguised as Santa...and the Joey in her pouch is disguised as the Lone Ranger...or since this is Mexico maybe it's disguised as Zorro.

I couldn't help myself. We were walking along the sidewalk one evening and saw this hockey game on the TV outside OutBack Jack's Steak House. I had to capture the moment...Tampa Bay 3 at Montreal 1....there wasn't anyone watching though...it really doesn't take much to entertain a Canadian.

Here we are at Margaritaville...."it's five o'clock somewhere"....

The night before we left to come home, and every night while we were in Cancun for that matter, we spent an enjoyable time soaking up the heat of the outdoor hot pool. This is truly an accomplishment if you remember Judy's fear of water.

We are getting ready to head back to Calgary. We just had to get a picture from our rooftop pool and lounge area with the beautiful blue of the Caribean in the background.

Judy and I were sunning ourselves beside the pool before we left to catch our plane home. It was obvious that there was a wedding pending so Judy couldn't leave until she saw the bride. Here she comes, as the music plays...

Not a large crowd...but a beautiful bride in a beautiful setting overlooking the white sand beach with the blue Caribean as a back drop...30 degrees...light warm breeze...

And a few hours later this welcomed us back to Calgary...blue sky...white snow banks...-30 degrees with a cold north breeze...wind chill factor once again a factor....bbbbbrrrrrrrr.

And we're home. Wonderful holiday...but "there's no place like home" I say as I click my red sunburnt heels together. Now we look forward to having our children (and especially our grandchildren) at our home for Christmas.

Ola! Here we are, stuck in Mexico!

Well, here we are stuck in Mexico...James drove us to the Calgary airport at 10:00 AM on Saturday. We flew WestJet and arrived in Cancun around 6:30 PM. The first thing we did when we got to the hotel was try to find something to eat...voila!...la buffet.

Of course there is no snow in Cancun so we just had to eat outside...

..and then we had to look around the facilities...and what do we find but a bunch of king sized beds surrounding one of the many pools...gonna have to try this out for suntanning in the daylight...beats the tanning booths for sure!

And so after a fun evening and a great sleep we have sunrise over the Caribbean from our rooftop deck and pool area...I just had to wake up everyone to see sunrise over the ocean...it was spectacular.

We went for a walk on Sunday morning and found Bubba Gump Shrimp!

A few doors down we came upon Jimmy Buffet's MargaritaVille.

Kenny kinda looks like a Mexican

Back at the resort...and we found those king sized beds in the daylight...

...and spent a little time tanning...

We went out to Pericos for Mexican food in the evening...this little devil snuck up behind Jacquie and scared the bejeebers out'a her when she turned her head..

Mama felt like a giant when she got to dance with this little fellow...he finally moved to the stage so he could stand on it and not feel so short beside her...

Here she is with a pot on her head..about to take a shooter of papilla juice...it was a challenge keeping her under control...you know how wild and crazy she gets when she gets a few shots of fruit juice in her.

See what I mean?

And so that was a day in Mexico...and moonrise over the Caribbean...beautiful...warm, no snow...no ice...except in your glass...I'm just say'in...it's rough being stuck here in Mexico....

Grey Cup Sunday - aaahhhh Stamps...well done!!!

It's Grey Cup Sunday in Regina...and Caden John is a true blue...er...red Stampeders fan.

So is Dad...he couldn't put the ball down...not even to feed his babies. There was a lot of red in the Mooney house this day.

Liam is going to give Caden a run for his money in being the most dramatic Stampeders fan in the Mooney clan.

This is Liam, Evan and Dylan all decked out in their Stampeders gear.



Liam and Evan are looking to Dylan for some leadership in their cheering section.

Dylan thinks it's funny...probably because mama is aghast at their Stampeder gear and their obvious enthusiasm.

Evan wants to follow Dylan's lead so he's giving his own "Go Stamps Go" cheer.

The boys love their team...and their soothers...except Evan...he get's enough comfort from the bright red Jersey that he doesn't need a soother...and really...aren't soothers for Riders fans anyway?

This puts things into perspective. Kind'a like Gulliver's Travels...these little darlin's are so beautiful...and so small...wow...four grandsons...wow!!!

Caden is trying to get the guys going with some moves to go with their "Go Stamps Go" cheers.

And here's the architect of their committment to the mighty Red and White...old double naught...Justin Charles....well done Mr. Mooney...proud of you!!!