Seed of Fruit Fracturer

I'm really enjoying spending time with my family during this Christmas break.

About a month ago, Heather and I wanted to surprise the girls with an outing, so we booked the tickets.

Today was the extra special day:

We went downtown to Local 127 for lunch. Great food and we left stuffed!

After lunch we walked down to the Aronoff Center for the Arts to catch the show. After the girls figured out why we were there, we went to find our seats to watch the Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra perform The Nutcraker.

It is a beautiful place!

At intermission:

After the show, they had a Sugar Plum Parade, which allowed anyone who wanted to to go up on stage and see some of the set, dancers, crew, etc. While the line was extremely long, it was pretty neat.

We all really enjoyed the show quite a bit!  Check it out next year!

Halloween

A week after our return home from Florida was Halloween. Livvi had a party at her martial arts club on Friday the 29th, where she tried her costume out for the first time. She went dressed in a painter's smock, cowboy hat, and a star badge, armed with paint brushes in her holster.  That's right, she went as a martial (marshall) artist.  Get it?  My parents came and watched Joie at Liv's party while Heather and I went to dinner with some friends from high school.

Liv wore the same costume on Halloween while Jo dressed as a little princess. My parents and Heather's mom came over and hung out with us as well. Heather and her mom took the girls through the neighborhood while my parents and I handed out candy. We also had pizza (for us), hot cider, and had the fire pit going as it was a little chilly!

When the girls came back, they assumed the candy distribution role. Livvi even poured her newly acquired candy into the candy bowl to hand out to the other kids.  I got the telescope out to check out some stuff in the sky (Jupiter, the Moon, etc.).  I was hoping to show everyone Pleiades, but it didn't appear until after everyone left.  Besides, my mom calling me a nerd really hurt my feelings. :-)  She just calls them as she sees them!  :-)  It was good hanging with everyone that night!

Merry Christmas!

Can you believe it is Christmas already? The stockings are hung by the chimney with care and it appears Santa stopped by for a quick (and, thankfully, light) delivery.

This time of year was busy, just like every Christmas, with holiday activities with the homeschool co-op, American Heritage Girls, church, work, family, and, of course, Joie's birthday party.

Our church's worship band presented, for the fourth year in a row, Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. It keeps getting better and better each year. This year, our leader asked me to audition for a very small part (30 seconds?). It was an honor and a thrill to be a part of such a great concert!

Last night, we did our annual trek over to Delhi to visit Heather's side of the family. We ate, opened presents, and enjoyed each others company. When we got home, we noticed the PJ Fairy had stopped by while we were gone to give us all new pajamas, as she does each year on Christmas Eve.

We spent the morning together, just the four of us, sharing just a few gifts with one another. Around 11:00 a.m., we left for Ammaw and Ampaw's for brunch and, yes, more gifts. We also got to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus! We came back home a few hours later so some naps could take place. We went out again later for dinner at a hibachi Japanese restaurant. Yum!

All in all, a great Christmas! Merry Christmas! Pictures will be posted soon.

Thanksgiving Tradition

Back in the early 1960's, when my parents were in college at the University of Cincinnati, my dad couldn't get home for Thanksgiving. Between football, wrestling, and being far away from home, it was nearly impossible to get back to family for the holidays. He recalls a Thanksgiving where he and his roommate had White Castle hamburgers for dinner. Heather and I started somewhat of a tradition years ago in trying to have White Castle every Thanksgiving. I don't think it was intentional at first because it was pretty much the only thing open. We've been doing it nearly every year for most of our 10 years together. Today, we kinda kept the tradition alive. We had White Castle, but not hamburgers. We had bacon, egg, and (sorry, Dad) cheese sandwiches. I think these are yummier than the hamburgers, though Heather is not as quick to agree! Happy Thanksgiving!

October Was a Busy Month

On October 3, Heather and I had dinner with four other couples who are fellow alum from Oak Hills High School class of 1984. None of us wanted to go to our 25th high school reunion later that month for many of the same reasons. It was good seeing old friends again. More than half of this party of ten were Christians, so it was a fun evening with good food and my money wasn't used to inebriate other classmates!

Three days later (10/6), the girls had their 6-month visit to the dentist. All went well. It was Joie's first visit. And everyone survived!

Two days after that (10/8) was picture day at their homeschool co-op. The pictures were supposed to be one of Livvi by herself, one of Joie by herself, and one of Livvi and Joie together. Let's just say the only one that took place as planned was of Livvi by herself.

Two days after that (10/10), we went to Iron's Fruit Farm in Lebanon, Ohio. We got to do a hay ride, pick apples off trees, pick our own pumpkins, etc. We had a really good time! It was muddy in spots, but the weather was fantastic! Grandma Embry, Aunt Jessica, and cousin GiGi were able to tag along as well.

The next day (10/11), was Heather's surprise birthday party. I had been planning to do this for a few months, but the last 2-3 weeks got a little hectic. I actually had to lie to Heather the day of (I have since asked for forgiveness). She was surprised and I think had a good time. Her dad was even able to come up from Florida to surprise her as well!

Five days after that (10/16), Livvi took part in her first belt promotion exam. I already posted about this.

Two days after that (10/18), we went to the Renaissance Festival. We weren't there for long but we enjoyed it. We will probably go back again some day. Certainly some interesting people there, that's for sure!

Finally, the next week (10/25-28) we went to French Lick, IN for some R&R. We visited Heather's cousin and his family in New Salisbury, IN on the way there on Sunday. On Monday, we didn't do too much, but we did bowl that night. Our scores:

Livvi - 96

Joie - 105 (had a little help...game still under protest)

Heather - 141

Ammaw - 100

Ampaw - 141

Me - 103

On Tuesday, we went to Amish Country. It rained nearly the entire time. On Wednesday, on our way back home, we stopped at the Marengo Cave and took one of the tours. Very cool!

On Friday (10/30), Livvi attended the CMAC Halloween party, where she got first prize for the most original costume. She was Dr. Si Copath, a mad scientist.

Oh, and the 31st was Halloween!

Pictures for the month are here. WHEW!

Memorial Day

I'm a little late in posting this one....

On Memorial Day, we usually try to get to our town's parade in the morning. This year was no different, except one of our own was able to participate. Livvi marched in the parade this year as a part of her American Heritage Girls troop. It was great seeing her walking down the street waving to people.

Something I can't seem to overcome, though, is the emotion I feel about our vets. I feel like an idiot to some degree when I am fighting back tears during this parade. Whether it is an 80-something year old vet from Pearl Harbor riding in the parade or a 20-something year old vet at the airport leaving for duty, I have an incredible amount of pride for them (to the point of tears many times)! We have an incredible country with some pretty incredible people. Our vets are the finest.

When I started writing this, I thought we had two vets in our extended family. However, after a quick poll, it turns out there are at least eleven (within the last 2-3 generations)! I'm sure there may be others. Here are the ones we know about:

• Heather's dad (my father-in-law), Joe Ness
• Heather's uncle, Don Page
• My uncle (Dad's brother), Bill Shaut
• My dad's uncle, Les Shaut
• My dad's uncle, Eddie Shaut
• My dad's uncle, George Streeter
• My mom's cousin, Henry Maines
• My mom's aunt, Jeanne Shirey
• My mom's uncle, Clarence McNett
• Heather's dad's uncle, Herbert D. Ness
• Heather's dad's uncle, James Ness (at age 15, lied about his age to join army, and served with Teddy Roosevelt in the Rough Riders)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! God bless you all! We love you!
(If I missed any, please add them via a comment to this entry)