A few photos from up north in Onekama from this past week. A lot of good food, drink, football and some sledding with the whole gang:

After a few days of tough guys, Duch and Lew have emerged in the lead with 6 correct and each with their LOCK yet to play. After that is a pack of guys with fours and threes.

Ringing in the New Year on a sour note is Timmy, who’s now run off seven straight incorrect picks after nailing the first game. Grummy has reversed his fortune with two wins after reeling off six turds. It doesn’t seem likely for Bonus to repeat at this point after digging himself quite a hole but, if Penn State can cover in the Grandaddy he might be back in this (remember the Rose Bowl is worth 2 points). We’ll know a lot after today’s games.

The main storyline is of course Mr. Bonus who’s looking to win his fourth consecutive title in the Bowl picks. Word on the street is that the Bank of Boston gave Bone a line of credit with his 2008-09 winnings as collateral. Why not? But there are a quite of few men who stepped onto Brady’s turf to take a swing. Other storylines:
* Unlike the past few years we didn’t have the pre-bowl smack talk between Greek and Timmy Adams. We’ll have to see if that heats up. Jim won last year’s head-to-head.
* We’ll see if Jack can retain his title on pure picks. The boy wonder was the only one of us to go toe-to-toe with Bone last year and remain standing after the BCS championship was decided.
* Schlimmy comes in with a solid runner-up performance after his Bucks laid an egg, but this year OSU won’t be getting crushed in the BCS championship, perhaps it’ll open the door for Scotty to shine.

Related:
* Bowl Picks 2007-08 [Bonus wins Pool, Jack impresses]
* Bowl Picks 2006-07 - Double Bonus!
* Bowl Picks 2005-06 - Unreal run by Bonus

After an outstanding Christmas Eve, Abby and Mike woke at around 7:30 and got to work. We checked that Santa and the reindeer ate the snacks then dug into the gifts. Grandma Jonnie came early in the morning to watch the festivities and later Sarah, Todd, Elle, Mom, Dad, Grandma Jill, Grandpa Kemp, joined us for more gifts and then a nice dinner and drinks. Enjoy a few photos from the great day:

Similar to last year, we made it over to Mom and Dad’s for some egg nog, wine, some Middle Eastern food and our rendition of the Christmas story (this year with speaking lines for the participants - step your game up!). After a gift exchange and dinner we headed by home to get ready for for Santa. Abby and Michael left out cookies, milk for Santa and carrots, celery, and on Abby’s orders, we left one bowl of water for Rudolph, one for all of the other reindeer. We also spread some special reindeer food outside in the front yard. Enjoy a few photos:

We spent Thanksgiving up at the Bones and had another great time. Ron, Dina and family joined us on Friday and we also celebrated Ron’s 40th on Saturday. Enjoy a few photos from the long weekend:

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What a Halloween for Mikey and Abby. It was a long run for these guys that came to an end Friday night. They first put on the costumes back at Disney for Mickey’s party, then onto parties at Abby’s school and finally the big day.

Here’s a few photos from the trip to Wiard’s orchard to pick out the pumpkins, play some games and hit the hayride:

A few days later, here we are checking out Abby’s harvest party, carving and painting the pumpkins. Finally it was onto to Halloween first in downtown Saline for a few games and then to the neighborhoods around the area:

What a great day it was on Saturday for the sixteenth annual Dooley Brothers tailgate. The weather forecast assured everyone that it’d rain but there was not a drop. The temperature outside was the story, warm in the morning but dropping quickly as the game approached. On the field, the Spartans overcame a few mistakes and a bad call favoring the Wolverines to pull it out at the Big House.

Thanks for everyone that stopped by and for all the friends that called this week to check in. A big thanks to Brady Bonus for the classic t-shirt design, and for the guys that came in from out of town: Kevin Kuehne, Dave Henry, Timmy Adams, Nick Popoff, Bonus and more. Enjoy a few of the photos from the day:

2001: Jess confirming on eHarmony there are no stronger candidates before giving Dools the green light

Happy Anniversary to Jess! It truly was a case of beauty and the beast.*

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* and I might add he was a handsome beast at that!

It was a wonderful day in Northville on Sunday as we were in town for Carly Pelon’s Baptism. Jess presided as God mother for the ceremony. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice party at Johanna and Robert’s with the family, the kids, a little Ryder Cup golf, enjoy:

And how about some exclusive video from the church:

Update 9/17: Just added some new photos from Aunt Dee.

Thanks to Dad for sending these over, along with this summary:

Pictures of the wedding of cousin Theresa Mary Costa and Frank Paluzzi on the beach at Sea Bright NJ. An event attended by Mom and Dad to see relatives and cousins not seen in many decades. A highlight was meeting Oliver and his mother from Paris, France who flew in for the wedding. Uncle Joe Costa stayed with Oliver’s grandfather while serving in WWII, helping the family survive the aftermath. They families have stayed in touch ever since. Oliver’s father is a friend of French President Sarkozy.

[GD.com aficionados may notice a few photos from the dock of the Doris Mae.]