Welcome

I am pleased to welcome you to the 2017 edition of our Valentine site.  We hope that you will enjoy seeing our photos, reading the photo captions, and catching up on the many developments in our lives.

Wow!  This has been a busy year.  Its Valentine’s Day already and we are just barely getting the content onto our Web site by the deadline.  Brooke (My Mum) and I have been working to get the photos up.  Each year, she and Kevin (My Daddy) seem to take more photos.  Loyal editor that I am, I always find room for them.  I am remembering the days before digital photos as a much more peaceful time.  Kevin has been updating our site content.  As usual, he is meeting his deadline at the very last second..

Both Brooke and Kevin have continued on their dieting program.  You will notice that they continue to thin out in the photos throughout the year.  Kevin stalled a bit at the end.  But, I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you that.

Dog lovers will be glad to see plenty of photos of the newest doggy addition to our extended family.  Lexi was born early last year and came to live with Brooke’s mum (Louise).  There are plenty of puppy photos for those of you who like that stuff and quite a few photos of Lexi as she is developing into the devilish girl that she has become.

Brooke visited her sister (Sharon) and brother-in-law (Van) in London.  They had quite a bit of fun and visited enough sites to give you a decent photo tour.

Brooke and Kevin visited Palm Springs in May to celebrate the 19th anniversary of their engagement.  Just as they did years ago, they climbed Mt. Jacinto (the place where Kevin popped the question).  We have included many beautiful photos from the hike.  There is even a celebratory shot at the summit.  Upon reaching the summit, Brooke and Kevin realized that they had accidentally stopped just a few feet short of the summit on  their visit 19 years earlier.

My sister Erin received her Masters in Counseling degree from National Louis University in June.  The ceremony was inspirational and it was a fitting end to a great accomplisment.  Proud photos are included.

My sister Caitlin and brother-in-law John moved into their first new home in September.  Their new digs are only about 15 minutes away from Casa Trainor.  This has led to Brooke and Kevin making periodic dog walking visits to give proper exercise to the Grand-dogs Hamlin (aka Homer) and Berkeley (aka Stanford).  Photos of Homer and Stanford are included.

Have you heard that the Cubs won the World Series? This was a big deal for all of us here in Chicago.  We watched the games.  We ate the food.  We bought the hats.  We celebrated the wins.  We cried over the losses.  Finally, they won the Series so that we could buy the T-shirts and cry some more.  Photos included.

Caitlin and John were working on a major milestone year.  In addition to moving into their first house, they also announced the expected arrival of the first grandchild.  After months of secrecy, they hosted a “gender reveal” party.  Close inspection of photos from the party will reveal the gender.

Brooke and Kevin traveled to New Jersey for the Thanksgiving holiday.  They visited with the Hughes and Emerson parts of the family and celebrated Aunt Theresa Hughes’ 90th birthday.  While in New Jersey, they also attended Kevin’s 45th high school reunion. Kevin had taken Brooke to the 25th reunion.  They both agreed that everyone looked considerably older.  Nevertheless, fun was had by all.  Photo included.

In January, Caitlin and Erin joined Brooke and Kevin on a trip to Washington D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington.  At age 63, this was Kevin’s first participation in a demonstration.  It was a rewarding, enjoyable, and exhausting trip involving a round trip bus trip with other marchers (without overnight stay).  There are photos from the trip, photos of the march, and photos showing The Trainors proudly displaying the family banner at the march.

I said earlier that we have more photos than ever before.  So, you will find shots from holiday meals, museum excursions, hikes in The Grove, and assorted other events.  Let’s just say that our family is into sharing and my Mum was getting very artsy this year.

Before I finish up, I must include an update on the teddy bear members of our family.  From previous Valentine’s cards, you may remember that there are many of us teddies.  We were honored this year to be joined by two new arrivals.  The biggest new bear is Hugs.  He wears a hoody all of the time and resembles my sister Caitlin’s husband (John).  Our other new arrival is Lucy, a redheaded teddy named after Lucille Ball.  Like her namesake, Lucy is a lot of fun.  Personally, I am looking forward to relaxing after this Valentine’s card goes to press and catching up with all of my teddy bear siblings.

We Want to Hear From You

As always, we want to hear from you.  So, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts using the comment box below.  Also, you may reach us by email.  Our current email addresses and our postal address are listed on the Contact page.

Visit the 2017 Photo Gallery

Please remember to visit our 2017 Photo Gallery.

All the Best,

Boo