The Mullenium Observer: Happy Mullen Christmas!!

Raising a glass to the Extended Mullen Family!
[Left to right: Paul Mullen, Mike McGarvey (top of head just visible), Sarah McGarvey, Sean Mullen, Lacee Mullen, Karen McGarvey (in green in the way back), Jonathan Mullen, Brendan Kinslow, Julie Mullen, Chris Kirkwood, Cara Mullen, and the raised arms of Annie Mullen Patrick and Mary Mullen Kinslow]

The 2009 Mullen Christmas Festivities officially kicked off on Friday, January 8th at approximately 5pm and didn’t end until 48 hours later on Sunday afternoon, January 10th. In-between that time, well, let’s just say that we generated a lot of recyclables!!

As always, Mullen Christmas consists of two … two … two parties in one! The Friday evening party consisted of my brothers and sisters and their children, or – as we have become collectively known – the "New York Mullens". While we’re still very close mentally and emotionally, we’re no longer quite so close geographically. This year, family members came from such far-flung locations as Providence RI, Syracuse NY, Washington DC, Waltham MA, and Woodstock NY. The weather cooperated … sort of. We only got a dusting of snow but it was brutally cold. Temperatures of 20°F were in stark contrast to the legendary 2006 Mullen Christmas where we basked outside in sunny 72°F weather.

To combat this year's cold, there was a constant fire in the fireplace and attendees had to resort to the temporary but comforting warming effects provided by alcohol. In particular, this year’s Christmas party introduced the group to Mullen’s Irish Cream, a drink that owes its creation to a suggestion made by Betty Cahalin (first cousin once removed) from the UK. The photo above shows a portion of the Friday evening crowd saluting the extended Mullen Family with a glass of the homemade concoction.

Besides the surprising amount and variety of beer consumed, Friday’s party was also notable for the opportunity to see one of our own, Brendan Kinslow, on national TV. Brendan is a cheerleader at Villanova University and, a few weeks earlier, I managed to DVR a football game between Villanova and William & Mary. As is the usual case, the ESPN camera lingered on the cheerleaders during one of the commercial breaks. Brendan seized that opportunity to follow his Dad’s advice and insert himself into the tableau. As a result, a national television audience was treated to the following sight:

Not exactly what the ESPN camera crew had in mind, I'm sure, but we certainly had a lot of fun replaying Brendan's 5 seconds of fame over and over and over again in slow motion.

All told, 31 New York Mullens attended the Friday party. For some, what started as a Friday Evening party morphed into a Saturday Morning party. When I went to bed slightly before 4am, Mike McGarvey, Sarah McGarvey, Kevin Mullen, and Pete Sankowich were still going strong. I understand that they finally crashed a little after 5am.

Saturday morning arrived way to soon for most party-goers. But after a fortifying breakfast of eggs, English muffins, strong coffee and Karen's ham, the exercise portion of the day was launched. Some Mullen Members ran or walked outside, others lifted weights in the basement, and still others jumped on the Spinning bikes. The photo below captured Dave and Marilynn in what appears to be a seated climb. Their anguish-free faces indicate that perhaps they should have turned the tension knob a notch or two in the clockwise direction. Other spinners that morning included Sara Sankowich, Rebecca Slovak, Ryan Mullen and myself.

At around 2pm, the "Philadelphia Mullens" began to arrive. Fittingly, the first to arrive was Aunt Mary, accompanied by Peter and Marie. With the aid of a small brace on one leg, Aunt Mary was able to easily navigate to wherever the focus of the party was. She started out in the living room but quickly moved to the kitchen when the snacks came out. When dinner was served, she was perfectly situated at the center of the dining room table. At mid-party, I discovered her sitting in the back of the kitchen in front of the Family Tree talking to her son, Tony, and providing me with a photo opportunity that couldn't be beat.

With the addition of 29 Philadelphia Mullens, the total attendance at the Mullen Christmas Weekend Extravaganza reached a grand total of 60, just a tad less than the record attendance of 2005 when the "Connecticut Mullens" showed up. Attendance would have been even higher if the party hadn’t been competing with the Eagles-Cowboys playoff game that evening at 8pm. Apparently, rabid Eagle fans like Doug Peikin and Mark Slusarski were petrified at the thought of stepping foot into a NY Giants stronghold (i.e., my house) on game-day and causing bad karma to descend upon their team. Kudos to relatives like Linda McKain, Steve Kada and Tony Notarfrancesco who ignored these silly superstitions, boldly entered my house, and caused their team to be totally demolished and dismembered by the Cowboys. I tell you, though, I’ve never seen a fan as rabid as Tony! He could barely sit still hours before the start of the game! And once the game started, he was all over the house! Fortunately, his Blackberry Support Group was able to talk him off the ledge when the wheels fell off the Eagles playoff bus. In all seriousness, though, Tony and Cathey jointly share the Star of the Party award for hanging out and watching the entire game with us and then staying the night at the local Cranbury Marriott.

Here are a few candid shots of party-goers starting off 2010 the right way. Additional photos will eventually be added to the Mullenium website. If you have any web-worthy photos, email them to me and I'll put them up.