A visit from...

Who is that guy?

Oh,yes, it's Santa Claus!

No,  maybe I better not go up there!

As long as my teacher stands here, maybe it will be ok.

You're kind of a hairy guy aren't you?

Why yes, that is a reindeer.

Give me my present and let me out of  here!

Of Elves and Things

Here are some pictures of the activities we  partook of at Big Cedar.  I wasn't sure this picture would come out.  It was a night time wagon ride, therefore really dark!

 The kids had fun making ornaments for their tree at home.

A girl elf helped us.  Gussie wasn't real sure about her!

Gussie and Grandpa played a few games of checkers.  I think Gussie won!

The younger kids really liked the Lincoln Logs.

We also had cookie decorating.

They enjoyed playing bingo.  Even though they never won, they walked out with some good loot!  The first guy to win gave them his bag of delicious chocolate popcorn.  The last lady to win also blessed them with her chocolate popcorn.  They enjoyed eating it while watching Sound of Music and what was left, I inhaled!

Big Cedar 2013

Our week at Big Cedar consisted of reading,

foot fights,

 wrestling,

putt-putt,

horses wanting to smell 

Gussie,

photo ops with the grandkids,

and waving to horses!

More to come....

Cats, Barns & Fun

The family headed to Greg's in Columbia last weekend.  There are always an abundance of kittens.  Olivia loves them!  Luckily, this kitten loved her too!  No matter how many times we moved the kitten up and put both of her hands on it this is how it ended.

Michael was a little skeptical of the cats.  Once I told him they just wanted to rub against his legs he seemed okay.

There was lots of running and jumping off of this deck.

I told Michael to stand against this barn so I could take a fancy picture of him.

He chose this pose and I think it shows his true personality!  He is such a joy to be around!

Showboat Star

We just got back from Branson. After a 7 1/2 hour drive that should have taken 4! Lots of snow, ice and jackknifed tractor trailers. This is just a taste of everything that we did. Our cruise on a large boat included dinner and show. Catherine was asked to come up on stage and she did really well.

Thanksgiving

For some reason I was feeling energetic this Thanksgiving. So, I went to the dollar store, bought some goblets and proceeded to paint them. I thought they turned out pretty good!

I decided to use real plates, silverware and napkins this year.  It was just like eating at Martha Stewarts house!

Catherine took some vegetables and arranged them like a turkey.  Her biggest challenge was her cousin Olivia who kept trying to eat everything!

I thought it turned out really cute!

Food Stuff

There has been a lot of eating going on around here. This isn't just your regular old eating. This is special kinds of food eating! First we went to a Brazilian steakhouse. Michael, Jr. thought he was in heaven. That boy ate so much I'm surprised he was able to walk out the door! Every time a server came to the table he told me, "I want some of that"!

We took Mom & Dad to a sushi restaurant.  Dad didn't seem to grasp the idea that wasabi is spicy and you only want a little bit of it.  Don't take pea size bites of it all by itself!  I think this was their first and last time eating sushi!

Steve & I stopped at  a restaurant that we have driven by for many years.  (Tim/Debbie - have you eaten here?)  It's called Blue Springs in Highland, Il.  It goes without saying that the pie is large! 

Fall Pics

I was reminded yesterday that I haven't put a new blog up since Halloween. Just being lazy! Here are some pictures that I took at Lake of the Ozarks State Park. There were only a few other RVers there. It was quiet and beautiful. This is one of our favorite camping places.