Cookie Party

Our 2nd annual friend cookie decorating party. 

Goodbyes

On Dec 17th we said our final goodbyes to Ohpa. He was surrounded by family. He lead a long and healthy life. 92 years. He saw so many changes in his lifetime. Created an amazing family with Ohma and taught us all so much. He might not have remembered our name when we stopped by for a visit but he knew we were family. Here are a few of my favorite memories of him.

When we lived in the Heights, he tickled me while I was hanging upside down from my knees on the swingset. I fell. No serious injuries but I am sure am he got a stern look from my mom or grandma after that.

He had a belly dancer at his retirement party.

I got him boxers for christmas one year covered in ants. Ants in his pants.

He thought EL was a boy when she was a baby due to her 1st name.

Whenever I asked him for a photo, I got this big cheesy smile.

I loved seeing him and Ohma get all fancied up for square dancing.

He loved Hershey chocolate.

He would eat whatever was served to him. And liked to have his desert right after dinner. Pie and vanilla ice cream if given the option. Chicken and dumplings and fried chicken were two of his favorite meals. He didn't like to cook on the grill. He wasn't a fan of having breakfast for dinner (ohma managed to sneak it in a few times when I stayed with them). Budweiser was his preferred beer.

We also said goodbye to Rusty. He was up there in years. Loved to follow you around the yard and get a scratch or two when you walked by. No doubt he is up there with Ohpa now, watching over us.

Decorating for the Holidays

Figuring out where everything would go in our house took a while. It was so nice to have everything finally together. No more storage/ aus/ usa. I had lots of helpers decorating the trees. We managed to have 7 trees this years. 

Stand 1 did ok until we added the weight of ornaments. Fell once, DB caught it. Fell again, no one caught it. Thankfully only 1 ornament really shattered (DB fixed right up for me). Propped tree in the corner for a day until a new stand was purchased. Now we have a heavy duty tree stand and no issues.

Village Christmas

Another amazing Village Christmas brought to us by the businesses around town. Reindeer hair. Cookies and hot chocolate and cider. Games and crafts. All topped off by a warm and sunny day.

Nov Moments

 Veteran's Day Assembly

 MA's 1st school dance.