Our Youngest Grandmonster & Christmas...

Okay...I just have to share two more picture of Christmas. They may well be my favorite. Bailey truly loves her Pa (what they lovingly call Claude). If you can understand that love and the wonder of an almost 2 year old at Christmas, then you will delight in these pictures as much as I do.

Finishing Up the Holidays...Spamalot...

Well, all good things must end as the saying goes. We drove Katelyn home Friday, January 2. We had dinner with Nissa and Todd and looked at all the great improvements they have made to their home. Saturday we drove to Chelsea and had lunch with Jake. He knew of a new Mexican restaurant in Chelsea so we tried that and it was great. Then we walked to the chocolate shop newby and got a little dessert for the road. Then my hubby endulged my need to go to the Teddy Bear Factory. They make the Gund teddy bears here. The monkey you see named Wah Wah that Bailey holds while enjoying her thumb and the cow named Sally you see with Hayden sometimes both came from here. I purchase 2 stuffed animals for my collection: an elephant and a turtle. I know the grandmonsters will enjoy these additions to the Gramma toys when they visit. Then Claude and I hurried on home before the storm came.

Claude and I finished our holiday season with a trip to the theater. We went to Cincinnati this time to the Aronoff Center to see SPAMalot. It was a total delight. We had seats 4 rows from the stage in the center. The play is based on the Holy Grail with Monty Python humor and sketch things added throughout. They even threw in a few one-liners from current events. Several of the actors were from the Broadway run. You could tell they were all having a good time. And that close up you could see them exchange grins with each other over things that happened. It was a great play, a little baudy in places but we really had a great time.

Katelyn's Visit...

Katelyn was a joy to have around. Saturday, while everyone was here, Michael and Andie took her out for dinner at a new sushi place in Georgetown. She has always wanted to try it and they enjoy it so...a huge tray of food was ordered, a few lessons in chopstick use were given and learned, and Katelyn found a new thing she likes to do.

We also gave her a new hair color. We colored her hair and then put a few highlights in it. I will be forever grateful she didn't go for the black color that was discussed...oh my, I am truly grateful.

We also drove Katelyn to see Midway College and Transylvania University. Katelyn plans on moving to Kentucky after she graduates and taking up residence with her aged grandparents while she goes to school. To help her get to that point we did a lot of homework including a project with painted styrofoam balls. She wanted to see Monty Python's Holy Grail so she an Grampa watched that one evening. Her reaction..."That made no sense. It was as silly as Napoleon Dynamite!" We spent New Year's Eve singing at the nursing home in the afternoon with Papa and then hitting the store for the final set of treats to complete our festivities for ringing in the New Year together. Let's just say here that the aged ones held their on this time. We started our film festival at 6pm and watched, back-to-back, all three Lord of the Rings movies. We finished at 3am. We consumed shrimp, buffalo wings, jalapeno poppers, ice cream, soda, nuts, candy, and the list goes on. Katelyn was the only one who hurled during the night. I'm sure when she moves in we can toughen her up!!

Post Christmas Visits...

Monday we took Gramma Bonnie to the airport. Claude and Katelyn drove her in my car. Andie and I got the mini-Marx's ready and we headed out in Andie's van to Newport, Kentucky to the Newport Aquarium. Claude and Katelyn would join us after being sure Bonnie was okay to fly home to Utah. This has been a most anticipated trip for the mini-Marx's. Claude and I visited it when we went to see the Eagles Concert. It is a small aquarium but very well laid out. You get to walk through tunnels of water so you have fish over your head. There are places where you actually walk over the water in the aquarium so you have fish under your feet. There are tanks with frogs, snakes, jellyfish and more. There is a 'Frog Bog' with stuff for little kids to climb on and in and stretch those muscles. You can pet sharks and watch penquins play. They even have an exhibit with otters and one with birds. Crocodiles roam in one pen that has a bridge over it with glass in the bottom so you can see them under you. The kids played in the Dino Dig (a sandbox). It makes for a great time in a well arranged space. The bonus at Christmas is they have a scuba diver dressed as Santa in a Hawaiian print shirt. He actually swims in the huge aquarium with the sharks. So the kids can have their pictures taken with 'Scuba Santa'. We managed to find him there still even though Christmas was past. Here are a few pictures of our great day at the Newport Aquarium.

Christmas - Post 6 (Friday & Saturday)

Friday the boys all left us for breakfast at Waffle House. Food was consumed and a good time had by all. Johnny Cash even sang, "Walk the Line" a favorite and a traditional Waffle House breakfast experience for Michael and Hayden.

The cousins played and played...

Friday night we had dinner at CiCi's pizza and played games and Todd won stuffed animals for the kids...

Saturday we did hair cuts, bang trims and styling... Christmas ornaments were decorated for friends and family...

Jake took Nissa and Todd on a tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort and managed to also include a visit to Daniel Boone's grave. Claude took Nissa and Todd on a tour of Sadieville and the surrounding area. This included the traditional 'lock-up' in the Sadieville jail which still does not have a key. Nissa and Todd gave me a 1000 piece puzzle that was VERY, VERY tiny. We managed to get this one put together also. A viewing of the Eagles concert was shown on the big TV in the basement. Sandwiches were made from leftovers and we pushed food on people to empty out that fridge. Todd taught Michael a game called Ochre (I might have really butchered that name) which Michael was able to find on-line and now is a huge fan. Sunday morning, after a big breakfast, the Thompson van would leave for Michigan with one passenger missing. We got to keep Katelyn with us for another week. Michael headed back to La Grange to check on Bobo the cat and get ready for work the next day. Andie and the mini-Marx's would stay for a few more days.