Christmas 2012

Christmas Carols

Just before Christmas we went to our friends, the Morgans, house for some cookies and caroling.

What Have We Been Up To, you ask?

In case you haven't heard, 2013 is going to bring us another Anderson. We are waiting to find out if our kids will have a brother or sister to torment...I mean play with! Any guesses?

Dancing Queen

Sarah Jane at Ballet class.

The "Big Man" Visits Cincinnati

Last Saturday, Santa stopped by Cincinnati to check in on all the good little boys and girls. First, he stopped out at Legendary Run, by GG and Hi-Pop's house. The line to see him formed pretty quick and on the opposite side that we were standing, so that wait took some time. When it was Tom and Sarah's turn, they stepped right up showed Santa their lists and got to have a few minutes with him.

Later that day, Santa made it all the way across I-275 to Terrace Park and St. Thomas Church.This time we were the first in line and once again both kids stepped right up and declared what they wanted for Christmas. Santa's elves were there and gave each kid a book for being so good. We also made cookies and some picture frames. Then went out to dinner with the Williams' family afterwards. It was a really busy day and both kids handled it perfectly. Great way to start the Christmas season.

Gingerbread Men

Yesterday, Thomas came home from school with the 3 Gingerbread Cookies above. Apparently, he made these all by himself! He said (from left to right) "This is Mommy, Thomas and Daddy". That got a laugh from both Emily and I, for two reasons. First, what happened to Sarah Jane? Second, click on the picture and look at the "Daddy" Gingerbread cookie. Do you see why we were laughing?

St. Thomas Thanksgiving Feast

The kids had their Thanksgiving Feast at St. Thomas School today. The kids were very cute saying their prayers and dressing up as a Pilgrim and Native American. Tom's feathers said what he was thankful for this year (Scary People, Halloween, and Family).

The Gift of Hair

Tom has been trying out some new hair styles lately. I think this is his favorite. The after bath, spikey do! As you can see, he was pretty excited with his new look.

Yo...GOOT!

Sarah Jane enjoying some Yogoot.

Kids 1st Football Game

It was a bit cold and windy, but we made it down to the UC vs. Syracuse game this past Saturday. It didn't look good in the first half, but UC rallied and brought home a winner for our kids' first game.

The kids were a little overwhelmed by all the loud noises and people. I think we are still a year or two away from Tom really getting into it. Either way, we had a nice Saturday down at Nippert.

Happy 5th Birthday Thomas

He was not in any hurry to be born, now we can't slow him down!

This video catches some of Tom's Birthday party (we got him a bike without training wheels, which he has already mastered!) and our trick-or-treating from last night.

Halloween Party At School

The kids had their Halloween Party at St. Thomas today. Emily volunteered to bring in and decorate the treats so she got to witness, firsthand, the craziness of 20 + kids on a sugar high. Reports from the scene were that everyone had fun and everyone was WIRED!

Pumpkin Carving

The kids' school, St. Thomas, had their annual Pumpkin Carving Night last night. We got our pumpkins in a cart and headed up to hang out with the kids' new friends. It was super crowded, both of our kids got to play with friends from class and see their teachers. Emily and I got to talk with some old friends (the Williams) and some new friends (Guidos/Terrells). It was a pretty fun event. We are so happy our kids are at St. Thomas this year. So far it has been a very good experience.

The Bulldog Bombs!

Tom just wrapped up his 2nd season of soccer. This season's team was the Bulldog Bombs. It was amazing for me to see the difference between last season and this season with Tom. He just knew what to do this season and it showed.

Our team had a lot of fun and held our own out on the field. We'll see who comes back next season!

First Day of School

This was a few weeks ago, so I apologize for the lateness of the post. The kids are both going to school at St. Thomas in Terrace Park. So far, so good. They both like it and enjoy being able to walk to school and sleep in past 7:00 am! Emily is enjoying that part too.

Our Latest Project

It has been radio silent around here for too long! The video below shows why. This "little" project took us about a month and a half to complete. Believe it or not, this is actually step one in a two step project. So, not finished yet, but I was pretty proud that we did this on our own. Well Goffo, Grandpa, John, and Nate helped a bunch, but we didn't hire a contractor, so I count this as a self made wall. Hopefully the next step (deck building) won't be as bad, since the weather is getting cooler and we kind of know what we are doing now.

He Jumped

Tom is now a diving board enthusiast. Every time we go to the pool, before we leave, he has to go off the board. He doesn't even want me in there to catch him anymore. Big stuff, T-Man!

More Pictures from the Johnson/Anderson Trip

 The Johnson's and Anderson's outside our cabin.

 The kids eating dinner on the porch.

 Emily and Dena enjoying the train ride.

 Sarah Jane eating a Smore.

 The train whistle was a BIG hit.

Ready to leave the station!



Family Vacation

We took a family vacation last weekend to meet up with our good friends the Johnsons. Since they live in Jacksonville, FL and we live in Cincinnati, we tried to find the a good meeting point. It just so happens that Blue Ridge, GA was that point. We rented a cabin in the mountains for 3 nights and off we went. Blue Ridge is right on the border between Georgia and Tennessee (see the picture of Tom above). There are a ton of things to do in this little town (train rides, rafting, hiking, shopping, swimming, etc., etc) so we had lots of options. We ended up doing the train ride (top picture) and some swimming in Lake Blue Ridge. The important thing for us was spending time with the Johnsons and relaxing for a few days. I think it was a very nice get away for our family.We look forward to doing it again next year.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sarah Jane!

7th Anniversary

Summer

This picture defines Summer to me. Fast melting dip cone all over the face of my little girl. She didn't want to eat it too fast because she would get an ice cream headache. But the melting ice cream was also bothering her. I think we all like those kind of problems, right?

Snakes and Sparklers

We went thru 4 boxes of Sparklers on the night of the 3rd. On the 4th of July we got to see the BIG fireworks over at Terrace Park Country Club. I'm not sure which one the kids liked most?

I Like Summer (And Chocolate)

Sarah Jane enjoying a Chocolate Covered Frozen Banana on a 100 degree day. (Check out Votto the cat in the background)

Van Halen Says.....JUMP!

We had a very nice day at the Farm last Saturday. The best part was Tom overcoming his fear and jumping off the dock into the lake. The first time he did it, he got water up his nose and got mad at me. He said something like, "You can never make me do that again, daddy!" Fast forward to 5 minutes later and he has jumped off the dock 3 times without anyone catching him and loving every jump. We spent the next 30 minutes doing Cannonballs and Spin-A-Rama's.

Destin Wrap Up

 The kids in the big chair our last night in Baytowne.

If you look back to last year's June Posts, you will see Tom and Francie with their favorite waitress, Dora. Well, Dora is still working at the Cantina Laredo so we got an updated picture of all the kids with her this year. We even got her email address so we could keep touch with her until we visit next time.

Last Day in Destin

We said good-bye to the beach and enjoyed some chocolate chip pancakes for lunch at the Donut Hole, Destin's third best restaurant. Bye Bye Destin for another year.

Destin Day 6

We went to the pool, but that got cut short when another child's diaper exploded and "contaminated" the water. So, the afternoon was spent feeding the ducks and trying to catch the lizards.

Destin Day 5

We finally had a day that the ocean was under control. Tom did some wave hopping with daddy and Hi-Pop, then made a bed of sand so he could relax on the beach.

Destin Day 4

The 2nd best restaurant in Destin.

Destin Day Three

Brian's beer belt, which we have used a bunch (thanks rainy weather). The kids coloring. The Big playground before dinner. End of the night Merry-Go-Round.

Destin Day 2

The birthday boy on the beach. Tom and Sarah fighting the wind and sand. We even got a little sun today.