Christmas Pics

Click on this link to see a ton of Christmas photos! (Still waiting for Zam Fam photos...)

http://2009ourholidaygatherings.shutterfly.com/.

Mery Christmas from the Webers

Rani's Orchestra Recital

Tuesday was Rani's orchestra recital. Her class has really improved since the 6th grade. She's just growing up too fast! All of the usual suspects were there (minus two...) Mom, Dad, Uncle Paul, Gamaw, me, Lawana, Wes, Liam, Alice, Brandon, and his girlfriend Candice (who the girls really love BTW). But I'm sure Uncle Wayne and Big Daddy were there in spirit. They never missed her recitals and were always so proud of her, as are we all!

Renaissance Festival

Rick and I took Rani to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday. Yes, it was cold and misty and muddy. But we enjoyed seeing all the various costumes. Some were dressed to the hills while others were very scantily clad. It was interesting... Notice the picture with the horse-drawn carriage is actually a wedding processional. They have a beautiful organic chapel that is covered in vines. One of the pictures has a man with a bunch of bras on a stick - reminded me of Big Daddy!

Uncle Glen passed away

It breaks my heart to write that Uncle Glen passed away at 4:30 am Austin time on November 9, 2009. His family was with him. He suffered from cancer and will be greatly missed by us all.

Glennard Lyle Smith Aug. 21, 1919 - Nov. 9, 2009 Glenn was born in Saratoga, TX to William Frank Smith and Ella Woodward Smith. A beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather was called home Monday morning. He served his country in the US Air Force for 30 plus years and retired in 1979 as CM Sgt.. He was a Freemason for 60 years. He is survived by wife of 61 years, Harriet Smith, children Darrell Smith, Cheryl Smith, Sandra Smith, and Carol Loncola and husband Gregory Loncola; grandchildren, Heather Barfield, husband Jason Cole, Eros Smith, Sanya Jochec Lolly and husband Ryan Lolly, Stacey Bigler, Susan Bigler, Lesley Brooks; great grandchildren Rhett Lolly, Reece Lolly, Natalie Baade and Forest Cole and numerous relatives and dear friends. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The American Cancer Society.

There will be a viewing on Wednesday, Nov 11 from 6 to 8 pm at the Harrell Funeral Home on Frontier Trail in Austin, TX.

Address: 4435 Frontier Trail
Austin, TX 78746
512-443-1366
Link to Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4435+Frontier+Trail,+Austin,+TX+78745&sll=34.307144,-52.734375&sspn=93.963004,163.476563&ie=UTF8&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=1

The viewing will be followed by a graveside service at the National Cemetery at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The graveside service is at 1:45pm on Thursday, Nov 12.

Info: Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
1520 Harry Wurzbach Road
San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone: (210) 820-3891
Cemetery web page: http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftsamhouston.asp

Mom, Dad, Uncle Paul, and I will be attending the viewing and cemetery services. Gamaw will be there in spirit. She is not quite ready to attend another funeral but said she could serve best by keeping the kids while Mom is away.

Happy Hallowen!

Enjoy...

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Last weekend Rick and I took Zoe to Old Town Springs for PetFest. We had a lot of fun. It was hot, but that was my excise to get a snow cone! Zoe was in a costume contest. The theme of the festival was Western Wear so Zoe wore her pink cowgirl costume. She's so funny when I put it on her. She doesn't like it at home but as soon as she gets it on in front of a crowd of people, she literally starts strutting! People were pointing at her all day and saying how cute she was. Many of them even stopped us to take her picture. She was a finalist in the contest but Miss Piggy and Kermit won. I was proud of her anyway! She had so much fun that she slept all the way home.

McKinney, Texas

Last weekend Rick and I went to McKinney, Texas for his friends' wedding. We had such a good time. The wedding was beautiful, the town quaint and cozy, and the hotel room was awesome! And we found a coffee shop which served the BEST Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte. I almost want to move there just to get to drink that every morning!

Check out the pics:

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Big Daddy Honored at Festival

Big Daddy was honored at this year's Conroe Catfish Festival. Actually, the whole festival was dedicated to him as a long-standing member and good friend to the Friends of Conroe. They insisted Gamaw be at the festival this year. She really didn't feel up to it but her good friends, Diane and Vicki, went with her to give support. From the moment she arrived, she got the VIP treatment including special parking and seating, condo accommodations, food and a multitude of friends to be with. They had placed a huge poster picture right at the front of the stage. The picture is of Gamaw and Big Daddy dancing several years ago near the stage with the words Catfish Festival behind them. Ironically, Gamaw took that very picture with her to the festival to show her friends. Also, all of the bands dedicated their performance to Big Daddy and they all told a story or two of him when they came onto the stage. And the festival publishes a newspaper about the festivities. Big Daddy was highlighted a few times in the newspaper. I know Gamaw is glad she went and I'm sure she's as honored as I am to be writing this story about a great man.

Employee of the Month!

Ashley just got awarded the Employee of the Month over all of the TWA employees at Intercontinental Airport! Awesome, right? (I hope I get this story right) Apparently she saw a woman fall on the escalator and not one bystander stopped to help her. Ashley, on the other hand, rushed over to see if she was alright. She called a medic and stayed with the woman until the medic arrived. Days later her company received a letter explaining how heroic and comforting Ashley had been to this woman. Weeks, or possibly months, later (you know how slow government jobs can be) Ashley was escorted to the head of all TWA employees to be told of her accomplishment. They shook hands and took pictures. It was really awesome! Congrats, l'il sis!

Mave pic

How cute is this picture?!?! Uncle Larry took it while Maverick was in a rare mood...

Pics from the Cruise

These are a few pics we had taken on out Babymoon.

Our Babymoon!

Last week Rick and I enjoyed a beautiful Caribbean cruise. It was very relaxing and we had a wonderful time! Although, after seven days at sea, we were happy to return to real life. Please enjoy our last 'couples' vacation for at least 18 years! hehe

(click on the link below)

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Floral Creations

Mom, Aunt Cynthia, and Aunt Debbie made sooo many floral arrangements for Big Daddy's funeral. They were all so beautiful. I guess that's how Mom copes with the death of a loved one. She made a lot of arrangements for Wayne's funeral too but I really think they may have gone overboard this time! Someone told me to just sit back and let them do it so I did. Gamaw's carport looked like a flower shop that night!

Ashley's Tribute to Big Daddy

Kenneth Wayne Muecke
You may recognize him as K.W., Kenny, Kenny Wayne, Uncle Kenny, Mickey, Mr. Muecke, Daddy, and other names we can’t even mention, but most of all we all know him as the one and only… Big Daddy. Many say “they broke the mold when they made him” which is true. Big Daddy was a character, a prankster, a joker, and everyone knew his jokes and tricks. there was the Mongoose, the Moose Horn, the card tricks, the bug in the ice cube, the Jackalope, the Moon Dog and ‘ScareMo!’ just to name a few. Everyone’s got a story to tell of his practical jokes.
Now, Big Daddy was also a bit of a show off. He made sure everyone knew about his newest toys and gadgets and most of you, at one point in time, got to take the Cadillac out for a spin, but this is only because he was so proud of what he had and he worked so hard to get where he was. What he was most proud of in this world was his family. He had his beautiful wife, Norma, of 54 years, his children, Wayne, Penni, Johnny, Kitty, Greg, and Debbie, and he had so many grandkids and great grandkids… we’re still counting. He loved all of his babies to the depths of his heart. He loved each and every one of them so deeply that he would give anything just to see them smile. All of the kids loved Big Daddy and remembered him for his slobbery kisses. Rani remembers helping him pick and water his fruit, spending the night and sleeping “right in the middle” with Gamaw and Big Daddy. She and Olivia would lay out his clothes before he took a bath and when he shaved, the girls would put shaving cream on their face and sit in the mirror with him, pretending to shave with him. Dylan remembers his most treasured moment as being when Big Daddy gave him a pocket watch that belonged to his great grandfather, Louis John Muecke. Many of the grandkids remember Big Daddy for teaching him how to peel and eat crawfish, they loved his jokes and magic tricks and most of all they remember him for always being happy. At every gathering, yo could see the pride on his face while he sat back looking at his abundant family and he knew he was the source of why the house was so full of love.
He was a man who loved unconditionally; everyone was welcome in his home. He didn’t care who you were or what your shortcomings were, he took you in and made you family. He wouldn’t let you leave empty-handed. He made sure you were going to leave with a full belly, a full heart, and at least a bag of fruit or some leftovers. This man did not take ‘no’ for an answer. Big Daddy also loved his fruit. He watered his fruit, picked his fruit, and counted his fruit one by one. At any given time, he would tell you exactly how many fruits he had. He grew lemons the size of grapefruits, limes, oranges, peppers… and his most prized fruit… the persimmon.
For the last year or so Big Daddy had suffered from tremendous back pain. Although, to look at him you could barely tell. He was a stubborn man and he was not going to let pain stand in his way of living life to the fullest. His love for Norma and his kids is what kept him going strong. He still attended all the family gatherings, birthday parties, boils, and their extra curricular activities despite the pain. Bob Bauer had a story to tell about a hunting trip they went on together years ago. “ It was a cold winter in Colorado and it was Kenneth’s first time hunting so we stopped on the way to buy him a pair of boots. When he tried on his normal size, they were just too tight on him, so he tried on the next size up and they were way too big. He didn’t want to risk wearing the bigger size and having trouble walking and getting blisters so he went with the smaller size. For the next ten days, Kenneth wore the boots around and they really hurt his feet. When we got back home he left the boots in his closet until the next year. And when he went to try the boots on again, he noticed those tight boots had newspaper stuffed in the toe of each boot. When he tried the boots on after pulling out the paper, they fit perfectly and the pain was gone.” So what we need to think about is that Big Daddy’s pain is gone and he continues to live through all of us, for he will always be known as a legend.

Compiled by Ashley Zamorano, granddaughter

Big Daddy - The Loss of a Legend

It is with great sadness that I tell you Big Daddy passed away last week. Most of you reading this already know. And I know I'm about a week late on getting this news in the blog but the time since his death has gone by so quickly. The funeral director said 'planning a funeral is like planning a wedding in two days.' Gamaw is doing well but she has had many loved ones with her this whole time. She says she's taking it one day at a time. I know it will be very difficult once everyone goes home and the last rose petal falls to the floor. Big Daddy suffered complications from the back surgery. We all knew it was risky but he said he just couldn't live in pain any longer and now he is pain-free and enjoying the company of Wayne, I'm sure.

The ceremony was beautiful but, in my opinion, too sad. He would have wanted a celebration like what you see on the Zatarain's commercial... beads and bras flying through the air, saxophone playing, confetti... the works.

Thanks for all your prayers, love, and support. He will be deeply missed by us all. Tomorrow I will post an essay that Ashley wrote about him. It's awesome.

Big Daddy's hospital status

The latest update of Big Daddy's hospital status is that he is doing well. If you didn't know, he had a back fusion operation and is now recovering in Clear Lake Rehabilitation facility on Medical Center Blvd. The transition from hospital to facility was rough on him. His blood pressure had dropped and he was very 'loopy'. But I think a lot of that had to do with the medication they were giving him. That has all been adjusted now and he is doing well. Yesterday he almost got into his bed all by himself. He will most likely be there for a few weeks since is was such a major surgery but we are looking forward to his homecoming!

Saltimbamco

This past weekend we saw the Cirque du Soleil performance, Saltimbanco. It was great and everyone really liked it. Who went? Rick and I, Dad, Uncle Paul, Rani, and Dylan. Rick and I had seen the Cirque before but the rest of them said they had never seen anything like it. I'm addicted to these shows, esp. the ones I saw in Vegas... amazing. Everyone should see at least one Cirque performance. I am fortunate enough to have seen six, and counting!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend. Rick and I took the kids to Mom and Dad's house for BBQ chicken and hamburgers and S'MORES! And Ashley made a fourth of July cake too! Also, all the kids swam in the pool. Then on Saturday Rick and I spent the day at the rent house and then grabbed the kids and went fireworks hunting. We got to watch 2 different sets and the second set was awesome! It was the main Houston fireworks display at Eleanor Tensely Park. It was a dual display.

My Birthday

Thursday was my BIRTHDAY! I worked, we had a mini celebration with gifts, ice cream cake, and cupcakes. Then I went to Mom and Dad's house for dinner. EVERYONE was there! The Arizona Bauer's are visiting (Larry, Eileen, Eunice, Jenn, Luke, Braydon, and Sophie). Uncle Bill and Paula came and Rick, Brandon, Isabella, Debbie, Olivia, the Zam Fam, and Gamaw and Big Daddy. Mom sure does know how to throw a dinner party for 25 guests at the drop of a hat! Gamaw brought fabulous desserts. There was cheesecake, chocolate cake, and more cupcakes! Yumm-O! Thanks everyone!

Gwen's one year old birthday party

These are the pictures of Gwendolynn's 1st birthday party. The first few are of Isabella making the pasta salad all by herself! Then she and I made a ton of cupcakes for the women to decorate that evening, the night before the party. I have determined that Gwen LOVES cupcakes!

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