A CheeseBall For the CheeseBall!!! Happy 40th Ray!!!

TODAY IS RAY'S 40TH BIRTHDAY!!! We are having some family over tonight to help us celebrate, Aunt Jeanne and Chip, Jen and John, Kaitlyn and Kiley are all coming so it will definately be a blast!  Just a pic of the bacon encrusted cheeseball...yep that's bacon! 

Ricky Skaggs - Children Go Where I Send Thee

I can remember listening to this song a lot when I was younger,
especially around Christmas time.... Bridget said it's her new
favorite Christmas song.





Thrift Store Harvest

Bridget found these grapes
and hung them in the
sunroom out back

Snowflake's-A-Fallin'

Another picture from our tree....

....so it's snowing outside, got a brine turkey on the grill
smoking w/ maple wood for supper,
headed to the Danison's for lunch,
and some guitar pickin,
w/ Andy, Dave, and Carl,
and they always have some great songs
to pick on....
AND TODAY'S NOAH'S BIRTHDAY!
12 YEARS OLD
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH BUGS!

...and good to hear from ya Josh....
I miss our times around the fires, and hangin'
out in the anchorage catchin' up.....
 

So it's been several years since we've lived in a house

like this, so we had a lot of fun decorating this year.

Bridget found several Christmas trees over the past

months that we've placed everywhere, it's like

a forest in the house!

 

 

So  this is the one in the boys room

 

This is the one in the living room

 

This is the one on the back porch/Sunroom

(not the greatest picture)

 

This is the one in the kitchen

 

This is our ficas we got from Kingwood Center's Greenhouse Sale

 

This is our window looking into the kitchen

and our snowman collection

(not the greatest picture)

This is our dining room lamp,

Bridget found these beautiful shades at a thrift store

 

This is our living room fireplace

 

Another shot of our living room tree

 

....and this is our white tree in our bedroom

 

NOW WE'RE ALL READY FOR CHRISTMAS!

Surprise For A Turkey

So Noah's birthday is Saturday, but they recently received

 a cool ping pong table (courtesy of the Kunnas Family)

that was in need of a net and some paddles.....

Happy early birthday....

they are growing up way too fast!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Worky Turkey

So I will be working for Thanksgiving
(Double Time and 1/2, woohoo)
Bridget and the boys will be hanging out tonight
with Jeanne, Chip, Jen, John and the crew....
We wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

Fun With Friends

So we had a fun Saturday!  Spent the day working on another pork shoulder (one of my favorite things to do on the grill) smoked w/ maple, which I'm coming to find plentyful up here, and I like it's flavor on pork, (can't wait to try it on a turkey) and we finally pulled out the last of the Christmas decorations.  Bridget and the boys have been working hard this week decorating the house.  Had the chance to get together w/ our friends Jen and John, (w/ Kaitlyn and Kiley) and our neighbors Gale and Joe, Christopher and Christy w/ their little ones Noah and Zoe, and Lee and Arlene.  The pork turned out pretty decent, and it felt good to have people over to the house, enjoyed everyone's company and fellowship!

Bridge

Another shot of one of the bridges we passed while on the train last week.
The tree kinda got in the way, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

Noah Receives Certificate

That's our boy! 
On the honor roll for his first quarter!
He takes after his father, ya know.
Fine young man!

They are doing the ECOT program this year,
Max and Noah both have their own computer desks set up
and the program is fantastic.  You can find out more about ecot at
www.ecotohio.org

Good Job Noah!

The Sound Of The Train

I was raised with a traintrack in the backyard, and everyday, (at least 4 or 5 times a day)
a train would go by, sounding it's horn, and ringing the bell.  You wouldn't think it would
be a pleasant sound, but it always made me feel at home hearing it.  Even at night, when I was asleep and the train would roar, it was a sound that I didn't realize how much I missed
until I'd been away from it for a while. 

We like trains!
This is the train we rode Friday on
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Cuyahoga River

Budge and I
at the Cuyahoga River

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Another shot taken while on the train, using another HDR effect.....
We all had a great time!

 

 

 

tried an HDR effect on this shot, under one of the bridges going by.

 

Day At The Track

The pictures that follow are from today's trip to the railroad.

Do The Locomotion!

(We didn't take this photo)
Wasn't sure whether we would be able to do this or not, (had a scheduled day off for this for two months now, but the car has been through a new head gasket and a new alternator) but, we're headed to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for a train ride today.  We did this last year, and loved it.  Bridget is "makin' bacon" in the kitchen (bacon egg and cheese biscuits) and getting ready, boys invited their friend John over to go w/ us, and we've got a day off of school and work planned to go have some fun!  Wooooot, wooooot!
There's a link below, that you can't see, for a video....
(links won't show up and I don't know why)

Click here for a video about the railroad!