Christmas at Pa & T's

Christmas has come and gone and left precious memories. We all enjoyed good food, good fellowship and good fun! Here are a few pictures from Christmas day.

 This was Hayley & Richard's favorite present to Laynie.  I guess Laynie can play in the box.


Nate uses all of his "hot air" to blow up a ball pit for Em.  Thanks to Uncle Matt & Aunt Stef.



The girls enjoyed this new toy.

 Does anyone recognize Sophie's hand-me-downs on Laynie? 

 Sophie helps Pa open presents as she did with us all.

 Grandpa & Linda enjoyed the confusion.

Matt slept all day with a headache.

Big enough for everyone!

I have a great video of Heidi skating with Sophie's new skates but the video would not load.  I will have to share it through some other medium.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!

The Big Cat

While I have been getting ready for Christmas and a trip to San Antonio to see the Sikora gang, John has been hunting in British Columbia.  It was his first "cat" hunt ever.  He was fortunate to get his cat the very first day out.  The weather was snowy and cold, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself.  We now have a cat  hide in the freezer waiting for the taxidermist to do his thing with it.

Moving On To The Next Holiday

With the Thanksgiving meal behind us, Heidi, Nate, Hayley, Richard, Pa and T worked at putting the Knisley home into the Christmas spirit.  Hayley celebrated by coloring her hair.  Nate carried all of the heavy stuff upstairs from the basement.  Pa nailed everything down and fixed burnt out lights.  Heidi placed everything in its traditional places. The babies played in the midst of everything. Sophie decorated various items with beads.  T orchestrated the whole mess and Richard.......where was Richard?  He was here somewhere.  I suspect he was tucked away somewhere playing Angry Birds on his phone.  It was a fun day and we are ready for all festivities to come.



Hayley found an alternative way to heat up her hair.

This was Sophie's masterpiece.

Our tree before decorations.

Nate entertained the girls as much as possible.

Em kept her eye on everybody.

Our mantle is getting crowded.

Our tree after decorations.  Can you find the chili pepper, Heather?

Happy Birthday Laynie

Last Saturday, we all celebrated Laynie's first birthday.  Hayley fixed a nice supper and the men enjoyed the Ohio State Buckeyes on TV while the kids played.  It was a fun evening and Laynie seemed to enjoy the attention.  We all missed the Sikora family.

None of us (except maybe Hayley, Richard and Sophie) ever saw Laynie be so vocal. She usually is fairly quiet, but not this evening. She enjoyed the cake and everyone watching her.

 Em and Laynie like playing with each other.



 Laynie was very delicate with the cake.

What a face!

Fall Festivities

This past weekend, we had a hodge podge of activity.  On Friday night, we enjoyed "Techno Night."  Now when I was younger, that would have meant lots of strange music and lights bouncing off of mirror balls. Not so with this generation.  Sophie taught Pa how to play "Angry Birds" on the "evo".  What a sight! 

Everyone had their own equipment:  iphones, ipads and laptops. Now that lingo alone is enough to make your ears perk up.

Pa seemed to be engrossed in his game.

On Saturday, Pa was cleaning up outside so he blew the leaves into a pile so we could jump into them.

Sophie enjoyed the activity

but Laynie didn't think it was fun.

Em's World

Sunday was Em's party to celebrate her first birthday.  Lots of people were there.  Here are a few samples of the day.

Her cake made by none other than the famous Erin Alsop of The Cake Kitchen.  Fabulous as always.            
                              


Abram slept through the entire party.





Laynie enjoys the festivities.

  
 Sophie poses with the birthday girl and her mom.


Em enjoys her "E" cookie



Check out the size of the piece of cake Sophie shared with Olivia.





Is this how you do it?




Heidi fixed Em's hair so pretty-for a while.




Cute cake!




Raegan enjoyed the party also.



Looks like a perfect angel doesn't she?

It's About Time

Yes, early this morning, our country fell back in TIME.  We gained another hour.  I wondered to myself, "what will I do with this extra hunk of excess TIME?"  Well, I decided it was TIME to blog again.  The girls have been on my case since July.  Not that nothing has been happening, just that I did not have TIME.  Well here goes.

 Anthony was my partner all evening. What 13 year old kid likes to dance and with an old woman at that.  We had a blast!!

This was Pa's position for the do si do!

John and I were invited to a square dance last night.  It has been 20 years since I have done that!!  We (I) had a great TIME!!!!!  John was very gracious to go with me.  The McFaddens like to have fun, so there was a potluck and lots of dancing.  We stayed out until 11:00 ("levim") which is way past our bedTIME.  I got lots of exercise and some sore hips. John enjoyed being a wall flower, but he did smile the whole night.  I promise to post more often if TIME permits.

The Ohio State Fair

In keeping with a very old tradition, T took Sophie to the State Fair today.  It was all about animals today. Soph is not fond of the rides, although she did try out some of the tamer ones.  Both of us went down the giant slide together and I must say, neither one of us were prepared for the experience.  Needless to say, we only did that once.  Her favorite was the pony ride and she enjoyed the horse shows in the coliseum all day long.  It took three tries before she had the courage to milk the cow.  With tired feet and legs, we called it a day and what a day it was.

This was the favorite activity.  Too bad it didn't last longer. Go cowgirl!

This has been a favorite for three years now.

Sophie was all smiles until the ride started and then it took her by surprise.  We had to stop the ride and get her off.

Ahhhh....bumper boats.  Sounds like fun but Sophie thought the other kids were being mean when they ran into her.

I think Sophie managed to feed every animal in the petting zoo.

The turkeys were a fun stop.

One of our rest stops to enjoy fresh squeezed lemonade--the coliseum!

What a cowgirl!!

Hello everyone.

We finally got some milk!!!

Next year, all the girls get to go--put on your walking shoes.