Christmas celebration at EPCOT - December 26

(By the way -- 2 new posts....so keep reading further down)

The day after christmas we had a great (but chilly) time with Kyle, Kristin, and Karington. Each year I've seen the "Candlelight Processional" there, but this was the first time for them. It was just magical - so beautiful and inspirational. There is an orchestra, choir of over 150 voices, the Voice of Liberty, and a celebrity that reads the Christmas story from the bible. After doing the 4 concerts at church, it's so wonderful to just sit and be entertained. We flew to Paris for dinner....ha. Actually, The Bistro in France is pretty close. Joyeaux Noel

French Onion soup, escargots....oo la la!And some fun too.....3D at "Honey, I shrunk the Audience" Nothing fazes Karington, she didn't even flinch with all the fireworks at the end of the night.
Love you all and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas 2009 - Early Presents and Karington's 1st Birthday!

We started early this year and had a nice dinner and opened gifts on Dec 21 before mom flew up to Chicago.

But of course, December 20th was Karington's first birthday - so that was a BIG part of the celebration!! (Don't let her expression fool you - she really was excited).

(I think she's making a wish before she blows out the candles....) Her wish came true....she gets to eat the WHOLE thing herself!
Well, not exactly. We ate the "other half" that wasn't mauled.
Then on to presents. When she first arrived we quickly put the breakable ornaments higher up on the tree. Of course that put the "stuffed" looking ones near the bottom and the dogs ate several of them over the next few days. Hey - they looked like dog toys, didn't they??
Apparently Karington finds the whole "4 generation" picture pretty funny...!
Those antlers were always too tight on my head. Now I know why - they are meant for babies!

Thanksgiving Week - 2009

Our Thanksgiving day was the biggest family gathering we have had ....maybe ever. All of our kids and their kids, son-in laws and mom. Only missing Carol J (David's girlfriend) and Ilga who was in the hospital due to a stroke. But fortunately she is doing quite well and we brought her leftovers on Saturday which she thoroughly enjoyed....including BOTH pies (apple and pumpkin that mom made). We are truly blessed!

The back porch was perfect for the grandkids to play - it was a gorgeous cool day (mom's on the phone with Ginny). Sharing is a tough concept for a 2 year old, but the girls were so cute together. Karington even took 4-5 steps while we watched....she's walking!! Kyle and Ivan are great dads - to all kids!!

David was being taught the ropes here on how to read a book....Allison is quite the teacher :-)

Jacob is the incredibly cute and mellow fellow - he just grins and watches...but don't ever leave him out of the action - have to make sure he can see everyone and he's happy.

We spent 2 days at Disney - first visit for the 3 kids. Allie was familiar with Pooh and Tigger and was enamoured with them! We waited in line for this photo and she kept walking up and trying to see them along with other families (before our turn) -- pretty cute! On the 2nd day Kyle joined us which was extra fun (and helpful wrangling kids and strollers off/on trams, etc). Just a fabulous day!We took about 250 photos during the week on my camera and more on Kristin's and Jenna's - so these 6 show just a bit of all the wonderful experiences. Lots of toys and clutter and noise -- LOVED it. What a great family.

Nobles visit Nov 8, 09

Kristin, Kyle and Karington were here for the afternoon. Mom and Ilga joined us for a cookout. Karington at 10 months is too little for steak, but she loved her first taste of ice cream!! Opa....always funny.... :-)
She's so good at crawling and the sandy pavers outside on the porch were taking a toll on her knees and the tops of her feet. So how about Gramma's socks? Not so stylish, but hey - it worked.

Dance, dance, dance - Oct 25 and Nov 1, 2009

All of the dancers LOVE "So You Think You Can Dance" so Christine, Wendy, and I drove over to Tampa to see the concert - the top 12 dancers from last season performing live. WOW - so fun!!

For All Saints Sunday, we honored all members that had passed away within the past year with a New Orleans style jazz funeral processional. I was hesitant that this would be the right thing...dancing with umbrellas, but it worked out really well. Blurry ....but kind of cool....captures the essence of the movement.

And then the week before, we danced one of my favorite pieces - "City Called Heaven" which is very melancholy and sad. About people (slaves) that had such a difficult life that only heaven promised a happy place for them.

Oct 2 - Jake's Blessing

(PLEASE LOOK ALL THE WAY DOWN - THERE ARE 3 NEW ENTRIES)
While they were in Orlando, Jenna and Ivan decided to quickly pull together the Blessing for Jake. The cute white outfit is the one that all the grandsons have worn and it fit just right. Very classy looking baby!! Jake is always smiling!!!!!!! Grandmother's beaming.....
Seriously - does this child ever take a bad photo? I think not!
We do have to work a bit harder at ensuring the adults are looking their best, but not him.

Oct 1 Chatterley's here for Adam's Wedding

Jenna and Ivan were here for Adam's wedding. The weather was gorgeous!
Later in the day, we joined them for the ring ceremony and reception at the Chatterley's. Ivan was mesmerizing the kids with a tiny lizard. Allison was fascinated, but didn't want to get too close!

Maris is the "Jake master" - whether sleeping or awake, Jake is a sweety!
Allison made it 1/2 down the sidewalk and then detoured with tears, but not for long. She bounced back and was happy again.
We really enjoyed the evening and spending time with everyone. Weddings are wonderful.

September 30 - Chatterley's visit

Jenna and Ivan were in Orlando for Ivan's brother Adam's wedding. Jake is 6 months old now. Old enough to smile and do lots of cute stuff....but not crawling or rolling over yet, so he's easy to keep track of. Never cries - love that! He thought Dasher was funny. It was the first time for Ruth, Ilga and Kristin to meet him. Kristin drove all the way over from Tampa with Karington which was wonderful so that we had all 3 grandkids together for the 1st time. We're smiling! Blue, blue, blue....eyes, sweaters, shirts..... Jenna's friend Ashley stopped by to visit so there was a lap for each one. Out of 4 photos, this is the only one where all 3 kids are on a lap and looking at the camera. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle...... Kristin always thinks about the best "photo op". She realized that Allison and Karington had the same dress, so she brought it with her and dressed the alike. Awwwwwwwww!!!!!! How cute is that!? The last time they were together Karington was just a few weeks old - now she's 9 months.
Jake is so photogenic! Looks a bit like Charlie Brown, don't you think?

Sept 12 - visit with Karington and Kristin

Kristin and Karington were in Orlando for a visit today...can't believe how much she has grown!! (Karington of course). She is crawling and pulling herself up so easily - you really have to watch where she is going....look out Dasher and Blitzen!

We enjoyed a lunch with everyone at Perkins:
She loves to grab your mouth..... Or your glasses....

Or slip down your legs (looks like she's falling...don't worry, she's not!)....

Happy little girl - yummy cereal!

40th High School Reunion in Carbondale

The final stop on the vacation was Carbondale - to attend my 40th HS reunion. It's the first time I've visited there in 20 years, so it was fun to drive around and see all the familiar sights....starting with our house. Looks pretty good, yes? The trees are HUGE!On Sunday, we attended the Presbyterian Church - the sanctuary looks EXACTLY the same - after 40 years. But the overall church has expanded which is nice. The lady sitting behind us remembered mom and dad....what are the odds?

And of course the reunion....Ginny and James may remember a few of these faces: Kalman Edelman on the left (back row), Harold Koplewitz, Sue Isbell, and seated, Gordon Olmstead and Joan Lougeay. It was really wonderful....about 60 people were there and I knew around 20 of the them quite well. Really happy we decided to go!!!! (Decided we all looked pretty good.... :-)