Happy birthday, Bonnie Jean!

Wow--has it been a whole year? It's sister Bonnie's birthday again. (And cousin Ally's, too. Happy birthday, Cuz!)

Mike and Jeannie have always been proud of our family's Scots-Irish roots. When Bonnie was born, they wanted to name her for her mom as well as her heritage. So they quickly settled on the name Bonnie Jean. "Bonnie" is a Scottish word that means "pretty"--and for a human she is rather foxy. I think she started getting that way sometime after posing for this first portrait at the age of 30 minutes.

Part of her name choice was also due to the fact that M and J liked a song called "Go Home with Bonnie Jean." More on that later.

Over the years there have been lots of famous ladies named Bonnie, including actresses Bonnie Franklin and Bonnie Hunt, singers Bonnie Tyler and Bonnie Raitt, and a gangster's girlfriend named Bonnie Parker. Here's a picture I found of the latter with her sweetie and business partner, Clyde Barrow.

 But I digress.

Our Bonnie Jean has always been an avid reader. Here she is at the age of seven, showing what can happen if you read too many Pippi Longstocking books!

Her other passion when she was a little girl was riding horses. The closest she came to having her own, though, was when she got this bridle for her eighth birthday.

I hope that later, when she wanted a car, M and J didn't just buy her a steering wheel.

When Bonnie grew up she married a really nice Army guy named Fred.

They had a son named Michael, who is now a much bigger dude called Mike.

And then they had a daughter, Annabelle, who will soon be a high school senior.

Some years ago, when they lived in Germany, Mike and Annabelle learned to ride unicycles.

Not to be outdone, Bonnie decided she wanted to ride one, too. Here she is practicing with some homemade training wheels.

Finally, here's our Bonnie Jean with M and Annabelle all bedecked in plaid, showing that our Celtic pride is as strong as ever:

Which brings me to that song that figured in her name selection: "Go Home with Bonnie Jean" is from a Broadway play (and later a movie) called Brigadoon, by Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe. It's about a Scottish village that isn't on any maps and which appears for only one day every hundred years. Time awareness isn't my strong suit, so this doesn't mean too much to me. But the music and dancing are quite bonnie. (I'm a quick study!) I'll finish this birthday blog with a clip from the movie for your enjoyment. (If you prefer to see the bigger widescreen version at YouTube, here's the link. Please note that it's not a short number--just over five minutes--but M says that greatness can't be rushed. So hang in there.)