Christmas 2008

There wasn't any snow, but we were able to travel safely. The big toys from Santa were the Pet Shop for K and Spiderwick books for T. Mom received a suitcase and Dad a gun. He is getting ready for New Year of "Change."

Above is a picture of Nanny with the grandkids and Aunt Lisa peeking in. We had a great day of visiting family and it was nice to have Aunt Julie back after 6 years away.

This was the Christmas season of sightseeing. Kennedy had her picture taken with 3 different Santas, we went to the State Museum with Grandpa K, downtown on the circle with the Stumps and Wilsons, Disney on Ice with Lili and Shawna, Children Museum with K's first grade class and a quick trip home to renew a holiday tradition of helping Mody decorate cookies. It was a busy month, but I hope we can do it again next year. May God Bless all of you in the upcoming year!

The girls with their new PJ's

Family Vacation

Just after my last entry we left for Florida for 6 days. We had a great time, even though the weather was not too good. Thanks to Jane and Bill we were ablet to stay on the beach at Cocoa Beach, which the girls thought was the best thing about trip, besides the pool. The weather was in the record lows the first few days, so we kept busy by going to the Kennedy Space Center and Disney. By the time we were done sight seeing the weather warmed up and we were able to spend time at the pool and beach.

The Kennedy Space Center was great! We learned a lot and Kennedy kept asking everyone why they named it after her? Tressa took lots of pictures and was amazed at how tall the space rockets actually are.

It was a great day to go to Disney, not too cold or hot. Kennedy wanted to see Cinderella as soon as we got there and we were able to see her which thrilled K. She was so nervous standing in line as she watched the other kids greet Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Her greeting was a bow to each princess, which is now the greeting to everyone. Tressa was happy to go on Space Mountain twice and any other roller coaster. By the end of the day we were tired and ready to head back to the condo. My favorite part of the trip was having a van again! The whole trip was perfect every thing went right and both flights were great. This was the first plane trip for K and she did excellent.

Fall Photos

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the cool weather, football games (Boiler Up! Ball U), changing color of the leaves, harvest time, driving home to Manchester and listening to Van Morrison, Back on Top (best fall songs) with a Starbucks in my hand. Here are some of our favorite fall photos for 2008! (In case you did not know, double click on the pictures and it enlarges them).

Midnight and Kennedy

Tressa took this picture today, great job! This may be our Salon 4H entry. He sure does love her and she loves playing with him! The days are getting colder, but this does not stop her from being outside and singing to him.

Its Halloween!

The "Dice and Princess" had a great time making the rounds on 900 N, you would have thought we had been to 20 houses instead of 4 with all of the candy, cookies, carmel apples, socks, pencils, towels...the list goes on. Thanks neighbors, we will send them your way when the sugar high becomes too much for us to handle. We also took some Halloween photos at Jefferson Pointe...

When can I get my ears pierced?

For a very long time Tressa has been asking to get her ears pierced and since I was 12 when I had my ears pierced, I thought she could wait until she was 12. Here we are just a couple of weeks away and I gave in. As her Dad and I know that since a very young age, T-Bird has been terrible about taking medicine and just 2 weeks ago she had to take eye drops for pink eye and it was an ordeal! So it was no surprise that when it actually came down to getting it done we had melt down...with a 10 minute coaxing we got it done and she looks beautiful, but I still had to throw in the picture of the tears and squeezing of moms hand. We had driven to Ft Wayne so Nanny and Aunt Lisa could be apart of this momentous occasion. Meanwhile as all of this was going on, Kennedy could care less as she was trying on the Halloween hats. It was a great day!

Silly games!

Why not try Sumo Wrestling? The girls thought this would be a fun game to play and they enjoyed bouncing off each other. Fancy and I thought they had lost their mind, but we enjoyed the laughter. Thanks girls for the silly antics.

Nanny has a birthday

Over the weekend Nanny had a birthday and Lisa and I kept her busy! She celebrated her 71st birthday on Friday the 26th, with Lisa and I by having lunch at the Scholar Inn (great food and atmosphere) and then to the Butler Victorian House for a tour. Beautiful home right by I 65, the neighborhood has changed a little since it was built in the mid 1800's. Next we were off to tour Crown Hill, one of our favorite activities to do, visit old cemeteries. I have a great picture of Nanny by the Thomas Marshall mosoleum. After pizza and a mean game of scrabble with Ashton (Nanny won), we went to the Casino in Anderson. Nanny and Lisa were the big winners! After another game of scrabble we went to bed!

The next day the girls and I took Nanny to the Huddleston Farm, with scenic drives down US 40 and the back roads of New Castle. May Nanny have many more bithdays and may we be able to enjoy them with her!

I am a good reader!

This past week has been just the girls and me and this picture shows how tired I can be by the end of the day. We read to Kennedy every night and she loves it. On Tuesday she wanted to read to me. Biscuit was the book and she read all of it with help on only 3 words. If you know Kennedy you know what an accomplishment this is! She would stop and tell me "I am a good reader!" Yes you are sis and we could not be prouder! Another accomplishment this week was the tying of shoes (I mean really tying them)! A big thank you to her teacher for the extra help.

Where was Tressa? No not on the couch with a snack in her hand, no not on the mule, no not on the computer...alas she was in her room catching up on "Americas Got Talent." She loves the show and is pulling for the 4 year old to win. Tressa loves for us to read to her to and right now we are reading "The Cat Ate My Gymshorts." It was written in 1974, and I was telling Tressa how there are some simalarities to me, I too was a Blimp at that age and my best friend was the Beauty. I wasn't too crazy about gym, mainly because I never could climb that rope and touch the ceiling, cheaters! I chewed my nails too and still do, but I am getting better. I may have been the Blimp, but I look better in the long run (although this picture does not show it) and I still have that best friend and she still is a beauty and always will be in more ways then one.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Holiday weekend and the weather was great too. On Saturday we went over towards Cambridge City to tour the Huddleston Farm Museum. In the 1800's John Huddleston and his family took advantage of the National Road (now U.S. 40) traffic and started an Inn/Tavern. The farmhouse was built specifically for this business and he was not only an entrepreneur in this but in farming as well. They had 12 children and other family members who had moved from North Carolina to help with the farm and business. We left there and tried to see the Farmers Pike Festival, that is east of New Castle (just follow the garage sales on St Rd 38). All of the traffic caused us to detour and head back home. I want to see the birthplace of Wilbur Wright which is just north of there, maybe next time.

Chris and the girls took advantage of the weather and went fishing down the road, as you can see Tressa caught the first fish!

Kennedy spent the night with Grandma and Papa on Saturday which she loves to do! It is a new adventure to play with Grandma's toys, help with the chickens and playing with Oscar and Snowy. Aunt Julie arrived from Colorado on Monday, we are glad to have her home and wish her the best as she prepares for this new adventure.

summer days

We are trying to get used to the schedule of homework and after school activites. It has been a hectic week, but the kids are glad to be back in school. Chris has been traveling for the past two weeks. Last week he was in Spokane,WA where he toured many farms one of them being the largest rhubarb farm in the world. A total of 51 acres! My Granny Messmore was the best rhubarb pie cook! I have never had another pie like hers. In my memory she had rhubarb growing down by the hitch post and I would go out and tear off a piece and eat it raw. If I wanted a pie she would send me off to go gather some down by the barn. Loved the stuff and still do. Her farm was the best place for a kid to play, it had a big brick house with barns, horses, pond and creek.

We took Midnight and his buddy Jack for a walk the other night so I thought I would throw in a picture of how special evenings can be.

First day of school 08-09 year

Aunt Julie visits

First day of school, Tressa goes off to Middle School and Kennedy is in 1st grade. I am home trying to decide what I should clean first, but alas the computer calls me to blog. Thank you girls for a great summer! We enjoyed the mule rides, summer fun with friends, campfires, movie nights, 4H activities and swimming. Some of my favorite pictures follow.

Pig walk what a beautiful sky!

Fancy the mouse killer

This is Fancy in the bean field preparing to pounce on his latest mouse! The total count for the week was 5, left on the porch for us to clean up. Thanks Fancy!

July 31, 2008

Where has the time gone? Only 2 more weeks and the girls go back to school! They are very excited as is Mom and Dad. The fair week was hectic, but we enjoyed it! We did not do well in the animal judging, but Mom and Dad don't want to spend the cash to improve in that area. Anyway, the most memorable times according to Tressa was eating the "Lions Paw" and for Kennedy it was talking to the Queen. K did great showing pigs and sheep Mini and Tressa improved in showing on her pigs. Above is Tressa showing Wilbur, while Kennedy was off talking to the Queen. Great job girls we are so proud of you!

July 11, 2008

The County Fair starts tomorrow. We are excited and stressed at the same time. This past week we have taken photography, electric and flowers in to be judged. Tressa received blue ribbons on all three projects. We are so proud of her and enjoy making the memories as we prepare these projects each year. The time goes by so quickly. We take the pigs in tomorrow and will show on Monday. Kennedy will show Mini on Wed and Thurs. She did a beef poster for mini beef. Will update next week on the status of the busy week.

Our pictures over July 4th weekend, consisted of the Laura Ingalls theme...hope you enjoy! We enjoyed the company of the Hunts including the tractor and camera. Owen and Tressa had a good time riding with Shannon on the trail ride of Mules. A big "Thank You" to Derrick in suppling fireworks and keeping us safe.

Week of June 23rd

Tressa left for Rainbow Christian Camp on the 22nd she will be gone for 6 days! What are we to do? Who will walk the pigs, feed the dog and cat, take care of Kennedy? Oh that's right the parents. Who else? We will miss her, this is the longest she has been gone from us, but we know she will have a good time, this her third year at Rainbow.
To keep Kennedy busy we scheduled a week of activites, Monday was time with Sarah, Tuesday off to the gym, Wednesday a day with the "Chicks" which meant dressing up as batman, and Thursday Mom and Aunt Karen took her to the Childrens Museum. At the Childrens Museum her favorite part was the Carousel and the dress-up area where you could put on your favorite superhero costume. Her favorite was Superman and Superwomen. She looked so cute and darn if I did not take my camera!
By Tuesday she was telling everyone how much she missed her sister, but at night she would rally because she could sleep in her sisters bed. Alas, Friday arrived and we awaited the arrival of our dear daughter, preparing ourselves for the smelly suitcase and the grumpy girl who lacked sleep. Dad and Mom waited in the shed as the time approached acting like two kids awaiting Santa Claus. Finally the rattle of stones, appearance of the van and a ruffled blonde head girl appeared, dropping her bags in the drive waiting for the doorman (Dad) to pick them up and deposit inside. With a brief hug and hello she jumped in the air, grabbed the remote and landed on the couch at same time hitting the Nickolodean channel, six days away from TV can't slow down this girl! We left her to rest, but learned later that her favorite part about camp was the slip and slide (awesome!), meeting new friends and learning more about the Bible. She explained to me that some say that in heaven the streets are made of gold and have pearly gates, but it actually says that it looks like gold and pearl, which means it is even better then gold and pearl! Yes, we want all of to meet us there someday and walk those special streets and enter those magnificant gates as long as you believe in Jesus Christ he is who we put our faith in each and every day. God Bless.

The week of the June 16th

Just celebrated Grandpa Karl's 70th Birthday on the 15th. Even though the top layer fell off the cake we still thought is was good. Aunt Karen made wonderful chicken and salad! Enjoyed everyones company good to see all of them.

The girls left on Tuesday to go to Aunt Lisa's for a couple of days. She spoiled them rotten by getting them toys, clothes and taking them to a movie and a play. They went to the Wagon Wheel to see Wizard of Oz and then the next day to Huntington to see the movie Kung Fu Panda. Tressa's favorite part of the week was the shopping for clothes, Kennedy loved feeding Ike and the donkeys.

June 13th

We are saddened today about the news of Tim Russert, moderator of Meet the Press. Chris and I had the honor of seeing him at the annual Purdue Fish Fry a couple of years ago. He talked about his dad and his simple upbringing. He was a great speaker, down to earth, will be missed as some one you could count on to get the story right.

June 12th

Busy day running errands etc. We went to the orthodontist to get K's head gear. After enjoying good food at Tammy's for PChef it was time for bed, Tressa volunteered to read to K. Picture perfect...Iwould of never guessed it would end like this after the 20 minute fight at the Walmart over who was going to push the cart.

June 7, 2008

What a beautiful day, at least where we live, south of us there is lots of flooding. Aunt JuJu has come to visit and the girls look forward to seeing her. Mom and Tressa prepared to watch Big Brown make history at the Belmont, but much to our disappointment it did not happen! At least I did not make a bet on that one! Fancy was not amused by his bonnet, but he still looks good in the picture. Ended the day enjoying our neighbors company and wonderful stories!

June 6, 2008

We participated in the Relay for Life this evening. A big ""thank you" to Tressa for walking for the family in honor of Grandpa WAM, Uncle Richard and Cory. We miss them all, but know that they are at peace now. Unfortunately, a storm started to come in and we had to pack up everything, but we look forward to next year!

June 5, 2008

This pictures was taken last October in Moscow, Indiana. I wanted to take a picture of Kennedy in front of a E L Kennedy covered bridge and this was the closet one. E L Kennedy and his brother built covered bridges and were from Columbia City, Indiana. As of Tuesday night the bridge was destroyed by a tornado. It was a beautiful long bridge and we took several pictures that I will cherish. Not only was the bridge destroyed but most of the town (not much there to begin with). Nanny and I went there last year for the Bridge Festival then went to Milan to tour the 1954 State Basketball Champs museum, it was a great day.

Weekend adventure

Over the weekend we cooked smores with our friends the Mengs and Hunts. We thought you would enjoy the pictures. The tutu's were the hightlight of the night and we also enjoyed the wonderful sticks the kids brought up from the field.

June 4, 2008

The girls are out for the summer and what better way to kick off the summer by starting a blog. Right now they are busy in the bathroom putting pantyhose on their heads. We are busy planning activities for the Relay for Life this Friday and Tressa has been a big help. Last night we went to Shirley to take pictures for Tressa's 4H project and ended up at the Shirley Museum and Ice Cream Shop. Tressa had the best ice cream, Cinnamon Crunch! We just signed up for Library activities so we are off to read books!