SENIOR PROM

Here are a couple of pictures from Michael's Senior Prom which was held just a few weeks ago at the Museum of Science & Industry. He and his girlfriend Stacy had a great time.

As a side note...times have changed since we attended our school dances. Students had to submit to a breathalyzer (sp?) before they were allowed to enter Prom. Those that did not pass had to call their parents to pick them up - they weren't allowed to ride home in their limos. Great idea, huh?

Class of 2008

We are pleased to announce the graduation of:

George Paul Karamihas

Carl Sandburg HS ~ Class of 2008
Thursday, May 22nd

In the fall, George plans on attending Moraine Valley Community College to pursue a degree in Art.

Dinner with the Tsourmas'

We enjoyed a lovely evening at the Tsourmas house the other night. Lots of laughter, John's famous salad and lots of other goodies were had by all. The kids all had a great time hanging out together while the adults laughed, talked and boozed it up in their beautifully remodeled kitchen.

Caroline brought out the family videos of John's Baptism and birthday party. It was fun to see everyone from 40 years ago. We especially enjoyed all the hairstyles and fashions.

Grand Prize Winner

Last Saturday, mom and I spent the afternoon together at the Philoptochos Tablescapes Luncheon. All the tables were decorated with different themes, ranging from fun to elegant. The afternoon was fun, meeting new people, strolling violinists and helping out a few good causes. The highlight however was the Grand Raffle, a table setting for 8 including dinnerware, stemware and silverware. Not to mention the linens, pitchers, carafes and centerpiece all valued at over $1000. Imagine our surprise when they pulled the ticket and announced mom's name! What a thrill! You know what this means, party at the Karoubas house!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Yes indeed, another Mother's Day has come and gone, but not before stopping by Auntie Katherine's house for a great time.

Much to everyone's delight, our beloved treasure and Queen, Yia Yia Eleny was there, as well as Auntie Pat, Auntie Katherine, Tula and Eleny. Each was treated with special attention and phenomenal food, just as it should be.

And though we may have missed the rest of our family on this special day, our prayers and wishes go out to all of you, with equal fervor...

Happy Mother's Day to all our Moms!!! XOXOXO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA

Wednesday, May 14, is Barbara’s birthday (66) and we had a fun celebration this past Mother’s Day at the Shuber home. The men (yes, the MEN) prepared Eggs Benedict for the ladies AND cleaned up the considerable mess in the kitchen afterwards.

Kim made a cake for Nana.

The chefs are intent on their art. Head Chef Michael was yelling at the apprentices when they messed up. Think he's watching too many reality chef shows?

Eggs Benedict with Mimosas for everyone!

Happy Birthday, Barbara, and many happy returns of the day. Enjoy your special day knowing you are loved.

Happy Birthday MOT

I called Kim to see if she had some pix of the birthday boy to post, as she was looking through her files, trying to find the most humiliating photos, we had this discussion:

Me: How old is Tom today, 35?

Kim: 37.

Me: No, are you sure? 37?

Kim: Yes. I'm going to be 40 in November, he was born in 71, he's 37 today.

Me: No way.

Kim: I know, I don't want to talk about it, we're so old.

Alas, it's true, our baby brover is 37 today. But we will always remember him like this:

Caption written by Dad: "Wanna see me do a George Washington?" 6-16-73

And this:

His post about the rocks didn't surprise us in the least, he has a lot of experience to draw on: Tom and Jeff Campbell used to knock their heads agains the huge boulders in our yard on Ambassador Drive. We hear that Jeff recovered.

Some other things we remember about Tommy:

He liked to eat the turkey leg at Thanksgiving because it was "the only piece thats smaller."

The time his leg got burned by the lightbulb and it blistered up like a water balloon.

Nikki was his best friend.

Beaking his leg while riding a bike in the empty pool in Cicero.

His parakeet Junior never learned how to say his own name, despite the tape Tom made and played for him. Incessently. Joooonier. Joooonier. Jooooonier..........

"Watering" the trees.

The coffee can on car trips.

Big Wheels and his inability to whistle.

Deeply enamoured with Bambi, whenever Kim or I suggested that we all play house, Tom would volunteer to be the deer. Despite our best logic, we couldn't make Tom understand that a deer was not a member of the typical American Family. He dismissed our arguments, dropped to all fours at the foot of my canopy bed and said, "Pretend I'm the deer and I pee on your bed. Psssssss." What do you think he was trying to tell us?

Happy Birthday, Tommy. We hope that all those years of playing Barbies and sleeping between your sisters prepared you well for the house full of women you have now.

Free Rocks

As you all may know, we just bought a house. It is a nice little Ranch in Elk Grove, CA.

We love it.
Unfortunately, the previous owner could not afford a lawn in the back yard, and he put in rocks...

We are talking about A LOT of rocks. 1100 sq ft. - 11 tons.

Dorie and I were going to work this weekend to move some of it around the yard so we could put in a lawn, but we did not know what to do with all the extra rocks.

So...I put an ad on Craigslist.com. "FREE GRAVEL". Within 20 minutes, the phone started ringing. Within 2 hours people showed up.

As of today, my yard looks like this:

Not bad considering I was just quoted $500 to just pile it up out front, and I was responsible for getting rid of it. They are still out there cleaning out the rest of the gravel.

I am now going to post an ad: "Need to put down Sod - FREE BEER."

All in a days "getting out of" work,

Tom