Stacey Bode Photography

I’m helping my Dad with a little photo project he’s getting ready for my Grandma Bode’s birthday next month.  I figured it was about time to post a little ode to grandma, so I grabbed a few of my favorite images to share.  My grandma’s name is Mildred (or “Milly” as we sometimes call her), and she is such a spirited, strong lady, who has one of the biggest laughs you’ll ever hear.  Whenever one of us kids was sad or pouting about something, she’d always chime in with a funny comment to make us laugh.  She also sings some very sassy songs in Luxembourgish (yes, it’s a real language).  She’s also the one who gave me the name Weinerwurst.  Not the most flattering of my nicknames, but still one of my favorites.  Love you, Grandma!

The Bode side of my family are farmers.  My aunt Mary and uncle Dave still run a dairy farm in Wisconsin.  Extremely hard-working folks.  My granny is the one on the left.  You rock those overalls, Grandma!

Here’s one from her wedding day (early 1940s).  So lovely.

Ok, this may not have much to do with my Grandma, except for the fact that this is her sister, Marie.  I just love this photo.

Here’s G-Ma workin’ hard for the money….so you better treat her right!  This is also the photo that sadly made me realize that I look nothing like her…..well, except that I smile really big around food too.

Again, that’s Grandma on the left all gussied up.  Not sure who the other gal is, but I’m guessing they had a swell time that day.

Hey, look what runs in the family!

Happy early birthday, Grandma!!!

Not that there’s any kind of interweb blog entry coolness contest or anything, BUT this post is going to be hard to beat in my book.  First, let me start by saying that I’m lucky to have the most awesome-est mother-in-law there ever was.  I’m always saying that knowing Susie makes me feel like I won the mom-in-law lottery.  Not just some $5 scratch-off either.  We’re talking power ball mega millions.  On top of all that, Susie has had a wonderful man named John in her life for over 30 years.  He’s a super-smart, generous person, and they make such a fantastic pair.  So, these two incredibly special people just happened to get married this past weekend!!!  Woo hoo!

We headed to their place in Florida for the festivities.  In true Susie-and-John form, the wedding itself was low-key and marvelously relaxed.  However, the weekend was filled with friends, fun, and lots of love.  I’m so excited to share these pics with you!

Their friends Rick and Jinny stopped in for a surprise visit, and brought Susie this gorgeous bouquet.

Here they are taking care of the paperwork at the courthouse.

Dominic and Vilma also came out to share in the celebrating.  They are the closest thing to family without technically sharing genetic information.  Vilma made the bride and groom a lovely quilt (she made it in only 3 days too!).

Again, not a contest, but how many brides have a wedding photo with a rest room sign on one side, and a stairwell of prisoners being transported on the other side?  That’s gonna be hard to top.

This is why I should never be released from behind the camera.  Must.  Attack.  Bride!

Here’s Matt sportin’ his courthouse mannequin look.

Their ceremony was short, sweet, and totally made me cry like a baby.

Matt congratulating “the new dad”!

Who invited these goofballs?

Susie, do you even realize how adorable you are?

My second favorite post-wedding activity is chasing Fletch around the yard.  My most favorite post-wedding activity is……

…eating CAKE!  Look Evita, we used the birds you gave me!  They worked real darn well I think.

I crack up at this pic of Dominic giving Fletch the what-for after he tried to “cut” the cake before Susie and John.

I told Susie to hold her bouquet and act “bride-y”.  Here’s what she came up with.  Equally angelic and hilarious.

I love you both so very much and can’t properly express how much it means to me to have been part of your big day, and all the other non-wedding days.

To view a slideshow of more images from Susie and John’s long-awaited, highly-anticipated wedding, please click HERE

I’m starting to think that our puppy is actually a gorilla in a puppy outfit. When he kidnaps a starlet and climbs the Empire State Building, I’ll be screaming “I told you so”.

Today, my dad was teaching a Master Technician class and wanted me to come by to snap a group photo. I hope I didn’t embarrass him by shouting “DAD!” several times in front of the fellas. I’m sure it would have been worse if I had tried to call him Mr. Bode and broke into fits of raging giggles. There probably would have been snorting too.

After the photo, I got to listen to a few minutes of my dad’s instruction. The next time I talk to him, I’m going to work “the importance of CFUs when selecting a compressor” into the conversation. He’ll be all like, “WHAAAAA???” and “my daughter’s a freakin’ genius”.

One small disclaimer. I did not suggest the high school football pose below. That was dad’s doing. I’d have put them into a pyramid.

Matt and I just got back from a wonderful, relaxing trip to visit his mom. We talked, hiked, watched movies, and ate pancakes. 100% aaaaahhhh. We were so spoiled that when we returned, I woke up the next morning wondering why I couldn’t smell bacon and coffee. WHY??? I nearly ran to the car in my jammies to drive back to Florida.

I also love that whenever I hang out with Matt and Susie, usually all three of us are snapping photos. I’m sure we look like some sort of gadget cult.

I typically don’t use this blog to voice political opinions. However, I’m happy to post a montage of Susie’s Obama support. It was all over her house. Have I mentioned how cool she is?

Today we celebrate hamsters, robots, and the birth of Matt. Why DON’T!

Matt received not one, but TWO magical greeting cards that play tunes. One plays “Mr Roboto”, and the other plays the happiest hamster rave dance remix. These were from his mom and g-ma.

I promise he was more excited than what’s conveyed in this photo.

Whaaaa????

Matt nearly blew his mind wide open with the dueling magic.

Now we move on to Christmas at my folks’ place in Marietta. Definitely a “the more the merrier” type of gathering. There WERE more, and it WAS merry.

My mom and I love to make cards. It started out as something fun we could do together, and has gradually turned into a full-blown obsession. I swear, a few hours of making cards while chatting, drinking, and listening to dorky music, is better at stress relief than bikram yoga. Today, mom made some lovely cards with lots of yummy autumn colors. Typically, I don’t like to make the same card twice since creating the design is my favorite part. However, I’m putting together packs of cards to give as gifts, so today I was a one-woman assembly line. I got a lot done and had a blast chillin’ with mom.