Even More Pix!

More Christmas Pix!

Merry Christmas!

All of our children and grandchildren got together to celebrate Christmas Eve. It was a bit chaotic but lots of fun nonetheless. There's nothing more fun than seeing the grandchildren ripping open the presents and just enjoying being with each other and horsing around.

Carving Pumpkins

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is carving pumpkins. I'm now having just as much fun with my grandchildern as I did with Laura, Sarah, and Bec when they were growing up. Trevor and Abby helped clean out the pumpkins and design and carve the faces. They are both creative just like their mom. It was a bit messy cleaning out the seeds but definitely worth the effort. Jane cooked up a batch when we were finished and they were as tasty as ever.

Dollinger's Pumpkin Farm

One of my favorite Pumpkin Farms is Dollinger's, not far from where we live in Joliet. This was our second year to go with Trevor and Abby. It was cold and windy but we still had a lot of fun getting lost in the corn maze, playing "King of the Haystack", petting the baby rabbits and choosing pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Abby enjoyed getting her face painted and Trevor spent some time building dams in the stream on the Dollinger's property. The pumpkins we chose were so big we had to use a cart to get them to the car!

Bengston's Pumpkin Patch

I'm embarassed to admit that these pictures were taken October 4th, but better late than never I guess. Jane and I met Matt and Bec at Bengston's Farm for a visit to their pumpkin patch. We had lots of fun. O was amazed at all the pumpkins (no pumpkin shortage here). Matt and O had a lot of fun "Pumpkin Tipping"and o ended the day by picking out pumpkins for herself and little brother Alex. Although this picture doesn't show it, O's favorite pumpkins were the green ones. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Galena Vacation

Jane and I have been pretty busy lately, so when we had an opportunity to take a few extra days on our way home from a conference in Minneapolis we grabbed it. We had a wonderful stay at the Queen Anne Guest House in Galena, IL. Our hosts Mike and Anita were charming and made us feel welcome immediately with a parlor party that featured wine, homemade soup and conversation with the other guests.. Mike's breakfasts were amazing. We also enjoyed the trolly tour of the area and eating out at a couple of great local restaurants. I think we'll be returning soon!

The Bathroom Remodel Begins!

This week I finally began the bathroom remodel. We presently have a 60-year-0ld "Rube Goldberg" maze of galvanized, copper, plastic, and cast iron pipe. I've begun by setting up a workspace in the basement and I'm going to start replacing all the galvanized pipe with copper. Later we will replace the cast iron waste lines with CPVC pipe. My goal is to finish the copper this weekend. Here are the "Before" pictures. Stay tuned for the "After" photos.

Final Swim

Last weekend Jane, Sully, Charlie, and myself had the last swim of the season (we closed the pool this weekend). The water was a bit chilly (72 degrees), but nobody-- especially the boys-- wanted to end the swim. Finally we were shivering so much we had to quit. I can't wait until next year. It will be fun to see how much better all of our grandkids will be able to swim next year. I know they will all enjoy the pool as much as ever!

Batting Practice

Sully brought a T-Ball set with him when he came to visit last weekend. He was quite anxious to try it out and soon after he arrived we found time to put it to use. Sully has a great swing. It didn't take much coaching on my part and soon he was swinging level and keeping his eye on the ball. As you can see from the photos it wasn't long before he was "hitting it out of the ballpark". Who got the best workout? I did... chasing the ball!!!

Yardwork

J

Jane and I received a gift this morning...a weelbarrow full of dirt for our flowerbeds. Fortunately we had a lot of help on hand because Sully and Charlie were visiting us this weekend. The boys, assisted by a friend, Julia from across the street, really "dug in" and before we knew it the dirt was spread and the flowerbeds looked fantastic. The reward for all this hard work: a weelbarrow ride!