HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Introducing... Calvin as "The Dude" a.k.a. The Big Lebowski, and Jeanine as an 80's Movie Extra.... Please note that the shirt I am sporting was indeed worn by my own person in the actual 80's. I have saved it for this long because who could throw away a shirt like that? I was just waiting for the opportunity to wear it again.


AND....I had to include Calvin's Flip Cup Inaugural Event. He was not only playing for his first time, but also drinking beer which is a rarity.

Please note...The cigarette of Calvin's was for costume purposes only. He is a non-smoker.

Hey Matt I found this on You Tube

Dear Jean and Mom Paula

Jean - I will send you the link to set up a new account ONE more time. Hopefully this will solve your blogging disfuctions.

Mom - I'm proud of you that you've finally gotten re-started. Please try to keep Jean in line

If anyone else is having problems let me know and I will send you the link again.
SHEEESH!!!

Love, Jeanine

conversion from jean to pam

just checking to see if this works.

I did it -- I'm back!

I think I can now write in this thing again. For awhile, I could only comment. Matt -- hope you are getting as much fun out of this blog as I am. I love when I open it and there are new "postings" ( is that what you call it?) Sure would be nice to hear from some new family members, and , John, where are you?? Let me go see if this works now! Take care, Matt! We think of you lots!

Just wanted to say...

I had an exceptionally terrible day today. So I am home now and I opened up the blog to look at Abbee's picture to cheer me up. Then I read all the other posts. You know, all the people that are mean and evil in the world are probably that way because they don't have anyone who loves them. I am so lucky to have you all and after reading everything (and seeing Abby of course) I don't feel bad anymore. Screw the bad people (sorry for the language Mom), I have family who loves me. So there!

Love U, Jeanine

PS. Calvin said he loves me too and he's not the "bad people" referenced above. Hehehe

Abby's Halloween Party

I am many posts behind (pictures to post of the Bouyea birthday, the Ben/Meredith engagement and Sarah and Rob's wedding) but, in the meantime, I thought you would all get a kick out of "Abbee." She had about 10 of her "friends" over on Saturday for a costume party. Now that Abby has Halloween behind her, she is counting down to Thanksgiving. Love to all! The Bouyeas

(Sigh)

I found this article today on-line. (click on "this" it will take you to the article).

Well, I hafta say I totally disagree with this article. But, Philly just can't win ANY contests it seems. Go Eagles?

Love, Jeanine "Not Unattractive in Philly!!!!"

we heard form matt

Ok several attempts were made this weekend by matt to call home using his computer-The first six tries were an occasional hello and a lot of noise,
most of the noise being me saying Matt matt are you there!
Finally sunday night we did carry on a conversation. Sometimes you would loose matt all together and others you heard him as easily as you do on the phone. If any of the smart people who read this know what to tell uncle john to get so he can talk on line to matt please pass that on.
Matt wants to send out thankyous to uncle booby /aunt judy
aunt pam and uncle t and jeanine and calvin - i hope i have not forgooten any one
He was mentioning names and going in and out at the same time I may have missed some.
The temperture has dropped some over there it now stays around 90%-he continues to work many nights and days at the same time -
Not much else to report on what he does but he has enjoyed hearing about the wedding and the travels from amanda and kenny. John and i do want to thank everyone for keeping matt close even when he is so far away! love mom.

A Toast to You (Matt!)

More wedding details

So glad to hear from you Matt!!! I feel like this wedding was not particulary full of embarrassing moments, but of course I could have just missed them or indeed been a part of them unawares. One happening I failed to mention was the fat lip Sarah gave me while dancing. Luckily it wasn't too obvious, but it existed nonetheless. I believe her wayward elbow was the culprit.

I can't for the life of me remember the name of the dance that Ben does, but he did it full out 100% that night and while I wouldn't call it embarrassing, it definetly was pretty spectacular. I hope they caught the full thing for the wedding video.

I would also like to note here that I was very happy that since Meredith will be joining the family soon, I will no longer be the only cousin with brown eyes. We did a nice dance to "Brown Eyed Girl" to celebrate.

Here are some more pics!

As if we needed any proof...

As if we needed any proof that I am the superior driver....today the state of North Carolina has my back. Yours truly aced the drivers test with a 100% score and zero questions skipped. Kenny was up next and failed to meet the standards I set. Passing one question and answering one incorrectly, the boy walked away with a lowly 95%. Perhaps this story would have been a lot more humorous had Kenny failed outright, but I still felt it was worth sharing.

So the poor driver and I are now official residents of North Carolina .

In case anyone is interested, our licenses look like something you would give a child to play with at home. We were able to pick our background though.....a lighthouse, state seal, state map or a Wright Brothers plane. I should note that when my friend Morgan (an NC native) told me about the opportunity to select my license background, my immediate thought when she said "seal" was, "Why would an aquatic animal with tusks, flippers and a red ball on its nose, be chosen to represent this souther state. Going in, I thought the cute seal or the lighthouse would be my selection, but upon further review it was quite difficult to ascertain that it was a house of light. So I went with the state seal. Kenny picked the state map which was a poor choice IMO because it looks like a big blue blob. I wonder if there is a study being done about which is the most popular choice.

Cheerio. Time to await the movers arrival. Can't wait to unwrap my bottles of vitamins and pencils from tissue paper. It will be like Christmas.

So no surprise but it looks and sounds like the wedding lived up to the almon tradition. sorry i couldnt be there but from the pictures it looks like i managed to see most of you. glad everyone had fun and keep the pictures and stories coming (i know somene made more of a fool of themselves than the last post lets one)

SARAH AND ROB WEDDING EXTRAVAGANZA

Hi Matt and Family Bloggers,

Hopefully everyone has recovered by today from the "Wedding Spectacular" that was the wedding. Highlights for me were of course the ceremony which was beautiful, I loved that they rang the church bells when Sarah and Rob came out of the church, did you hear them? The "Beat It" dance off which included Mike Bouyea (you always have to say the last name just cause it's such a cool last name)tying a tie around his head in true 80's gangster style and busting out Michael Jackson moves was not to be missed. Grandmom dancing with Ben and Tom to "Sexy Back," was something I would have never anticipated. And of course "Livin on a Prayer." There was a mystery photographer that captured that song and the ensuing mayhem on my camera so I'd like to send a shout out to whomever that was. Please let yourself be known. Also, just in case anyone was doubtful, Rian's fiance, Mike, was in true "Almon form" with his dancing shoes on. Emily and Dustin's new bowes were also lots of fun and spotted throughout the night on the dance floor as well.

The Matt Head had lots of fun. He was the life of the party actually next to the stars of the show, Sarah and Rob. He was spotted all over the place with the bridesmaids and with Sarah's college buddies. He drank A LOT, being served drinks by the groom himself, Aunt Judy and Aunt Carol and he even was toasted by the men of the family, the groomsmen and whomever else happened to be in the vicinity. Whatever drink shot that was looked totally disgusting, I think it was black. Hopefully it didn't make the Matt Head too hungover the next day.

I want to post bunches of pictures here on the blog, but I'm worried if I do that it will take to long for the real Matt to load up on his computer. Hopefully, Matt, you were able to access the pictures on Snapfish. If you weren't let me know and I'll send them to you directly through email. I did pick a few to show here. Enjoy!!!

First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY Amanda!!.
Well is sounds like alot of effort had to go into making me presentable so just make sure all the single girls no that i'm very high maintenance to look that good. Can't wait to see all the pictures.

ATTENTION...

The "Matt Head" has been completed. He is printed, cut out, pasted to some cardboard and ready to party. I'll have you all note two things. #1 Matt's(Your)original picture was without a right ear because it was hidden behind Jenny's head. I, with all of my crafty artistic skills, managed to cut what looks like an ear from part of Jenny's face (sorry, that's what happens when you associate with our family). #2 Matt's(Your) original picture also came with a flat head since it was cut off at the top. I employed my crafty skills again and printed out two Matt heads; cutting the hair off of one and pasting it to the other in order to round off the top of his(your) head. I swear you can't even tell. I ask you all to examine "the head" closely on Saturday and I'll bet you don't even notice my handywork. That is why I had to point it out here, you see.

All in all the "Matt Head" is lookin' good and is ready for a close-up. Good choice of photo, Matt.

We really are going to miss you Matt, but you will be there in spirit and before the reception is over everyone there who doesn't know you already will know all about you, how much you are doing for us and how greatful we are.

Tims Fish

This is one of the fish Tim cought !!!

hey

so the blog seems to go in spurts with activity here. Ben congrats. that said you better not be havign a fast wedding and getting married before i make it back. not much new going on over here. as my mom stated before i have made it to the pool that is at a base close by once. i jump a 20min shuttle ride then walk about a mile to get there but it was def fun and something to break up the day. does anyone use yahoo messenger? rumor is you can talk online through it for free but i don't know anyone who has it. if any is on it let me know or send me an email...i dont want to post my IM name for millions of people to see. i mean i'd be harassed constantly with thousand of women and couldn't' get work done. i do have one request for the upcoming wedding. can matt's head replace the matt looking like an idiot for the photo? i think since i was given admin right i can actually switch it out with a more flattering picture (kenny looking your way here). how is the new house hunting going anyway? why weren't you all down there a few years ago and i could have made the trip from fayetteville there. ok well hope everyone is doing well and talk to you all later

matt

Great Forum for Posting Good News

Just wanted to make certain family members aware that this here blog would be a great place to post good news. :O) What a great way to update all of the family on recent happenings! Pictures of happy moments can be posted and shared with one little click of the mouse. Ahhhheeeemmm....

i heard form matt

Good morning to all,
I did hear from Matt this morning,(email)
he said it is a little cooler and his hours are long
i quess some days start at seven he and he works until after midnight
he has gotten to go swimming in a pool over there
and that reminds him of home
he aksed what was happening at home and i did fill him in on the big news from Ben

he had little else to share
keep the letters and card coming
looking forward to seeing every one at the wedding and hitting the dance floor.
Love to all
mom,aunt mary \,mary

Since noone is posting...

I thought I would insert a "Hall of Fame" worthy post from my old blog "If I could write a book." Some of you may have seen this before if you were reading my old blog, for that I apologize. I think it's worthy of a re-read just the same. My personal blog lasted for about 3 months during the spring when I actually had a bit of spare time. Unfortunately, I had to give it up to do things like work. Blah.

Top 10 Awkward Things That Can Happen When Dealing With Strangers

10. The eye contact you, as the driver of a car, receive from a pedestrian as they are crossing a crosswalk and you are stopping at the stop sign to let them cross. I feel I am usually the receipt of a questionably "I dare you" type look, like I am going to blow through the stop sign and run them over.

9. When a new line at the grocery store opens up and everyone swarms over to the new lane. Either you get some butthead who was at the end of the original line, but becomes the 1st person in the new line (so everyone is pissed off). Or you get a "You go ahead." "No you go ahead." type situation. "Fine. I'll go then. Bye"

8. The pressure you feel to check out as efficiently and error free as possible in a Self Check-Out lane with people waiting behind you. I find this especially stressing in a place like Home Depot where you have to manage a bunch of oddly shaped objects that never seem to scan correctly.

7. I don't feel this way but apparently others feel compelled to leave a voicemail when they dial the wrong number. Obviously the person on the message isn't who they want to talk to, but they leave a message saying "Sorry I have the wrong number." Why do people do this? It baffles me. I don't know if this counts as an awkward social situation, but I'm thinking the caller of the wrong number must be at least somewhat awkward if he/she is leaving this type of message.

6. Being followed by another car back to your parking spot in a crowded lot. I absolutely hate that. I'm always paranoid that person is going to hit the gas a bit too much and accidentally run me over. Is it that serious to find a spot? How do they know my spot isn't the absolute last spot in the aisle? One time this actually happened and my spot was not only the last spot in the aisle, but it was the last spot in a satellite parking lot across the main parking lot road. The people followed me the whole way and then didn't take the spot. Then sped off like they were mad. Now that I think about it, maybe they were going to try and rob me or something and decided against it at the last minute. Whew!

5. When people I don't know tell me "Awwww your dog is so cute" or "You have a beautiful dog." I always say "Thanks" But, this is really a stupid response because I have nothing to do with how fabulous Chloe is. But, I can't think of anything better to say. And if I said "I know" I would sound conceited even though I'm not talking about myself.

4. Waiting for people to move out of the way in card stores. I just really hate that. There is never anywhere else to really "be" when your waiting for someone to move away from the cards you want, so then I always end up flipping through the "Mahogany Happy Birthday to my Daughter" cards, or some such other card type that does not relate to me in any way.

3. The feeling of someone directly behind you pushing a shopping cart. Can't you just feel the pain of that cart running into the back of your ankles??!!!??

2. Waiting in bathroom lines and trying to judge who you think looks the cleanest, so given the option you'd go into the bathroom stall recently vacated by them. As opposed to Donna Disgusto right in front of you.

1. Riding in an elevator for a substantial amount of floors with one other person that works for your company, but you don't actually know who that person is. You only know they work for your company because one of your company's floor buttons is depressed. Then when the first person leaves some sort of vacant pleasantry is exchanged, like "Have a good one" (I hate that saying) or some such. To me, I just think this confirms that both people are sitting there right next to eachother thinking "This is awkward" "What can I say?" "I'll be damned if I talk about the weather." Then this pressure is relived somewhat when the person exits and comes up with a witty comment like "Have a Nice Day."