Christmas Morning

Before dawn Christmas morning CJ couldn't stand it any longer and snuck downstairs to make sure Santa had arrived. He was pleased with what he discovered and was quickly back upstairs to drag me and Steve out of bed. He fed the pets while we made coffee, he has learned that even presents must wait until the P's have their coffee. Very soon CJ was surrounded by presents and wrapping.


He spent the entire day in his PJs with his toys around him. Time was taken to eat and watch our new videos.

Tucker was just exhausted from playing with his new toys.
It was a wonderful day to relax and reflect.

Boys gone wild

A gingerbread house kit has been sitting on the kitchen counter for several weeks.
CJ with friends Matt and Tim decided to take some time out of their busy schedule to decorate it today.
If you would like your image of them to remain pure do not read any further.

The man on the roof is on look out and may have a gunshot wound.
The candies at the front door are mines.
The man on the ground is not sleeping.

Merry Christmas to All!!!

More Snow

This time the snow was in Maryland. For Christmas this year Steve and I gave each other a ski trip. So off to Wisp is was. Wisp is in western Maryland just beyond West Virginia. They had just gotten a massive snow storm, that same one that brought us an inch and Philly 23 inches. Tuesday was cold and grey but the skiing was great. We skied from early in the morning until mid afternoon, with no lines at the lifts we were up and down the mountain no less than 12 times.

After showers and a snack we ventured to a brew pub (imagine that) for dinner. Dinner was yummy. CJ had a flatbread pepperoni pizza, we had a chicken, spinach and cranberry pizza.

Shortly after returning to the hotel CJ and Steve went out for more time on the slopes.



Tuesday brought blue skies and warmer temps. It warmed up enough that Steve took off his gloves for a few pictures. This one is of CJ and I (aka Darth Vader) on the lift.


The trees were beautiful with snow clinging to the branches. What a great sight with the blue skies!


This is CJ making his way down one of the trails. CJ and I decided that we preferred the green trails while Steve managed to sneak away and try the blues and even a black diamond.
While I practiced the ever elusive art of keeping my skis parallel, CJ and Steve were much more adventurous. They liked to ski off trail, sometimes through the woods. They managed to find several 'bumps' that would get them airborne for a second or two.

It was a wonderful way to start the season.

Relaxing...

Tucker and Steve spent a restful evening on the couch enjoying the Christmas tree and watching hockey. Unfortunately since the Blue Jackets were playing and losing there was no enjoying the hockey game.

Snow!!!

It snowed last night, a wet, heavy, cling to the trees snow.
So far just a half an inch.
Since the plow has been by twice somebody is expecting much more!
We hope so. There's nowhere to go and plenty of hot chocolate in the house.

Update - we didn't get anymore snow. It has been cold and it's still on the grass so we might be able to say we had a white Christmas.

First Concert on the Big Stage

The 6th grade band, orchestra and choir got a taste of things to come the other night. They all stayed after school and in the bitter cold walked their school books, bags and instruments over to the high school. Each group was given time to practice. While not practicing they were given the opportunity to do homework and study, and some did. Others used their time to play paper airplane football, gossip, giggle and just enjoy their time together. Dinner was served shortly before the concert and believe it or not the mac&cheese ran out before the cookies!

The concert itself was amazing. Having music class everyday has been great for these kids. While last year's band sounded good, last year's orchestra was still hard on the ears.

Not anymore!!!

Both groups were fabulous.

And yes the choir was great too, I'm just partial to band and orchestra.

The high school has a great set up and the kids loved playing on the big stage.

Thanks for a great night!

Thanksgiving Dinner - take two

The boys enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner so much that we did it again. After a day of working on school projects and the hunting and capturing a Christmas tree, we sat down to a yummy Thanksgiving dinner (in December).

A week later CJ said he thought we would never be done the leftovers. They are gone but it took 2 turkey quiches, a couple of batches of turkey salad and a bunch of turkey sandwiches. We love turkey and cranberry!!!

Star Wars in Concert

Wow!!!

This was a concert worth every penny and we'd even do it again!

The orchestra and the arrangement were amazing.

They were so good that it made me want sit down and watch the 'first' three movies with CJ.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Traditions

Turkey, stuffing, and Mark in a Cowboys shirt.

C.J. becomes a Cowboys fan for the day so he can hang with Uncle Mark.

This year Mark got both the turkey legs, next year he'll have to fight C.J. for them!

C.J. and Bunny exchange Christmas gifts.

On Friday, CJ, Bunny & I met up with one of my best friends from elementary school. Richard and I hung out together from second grade on. We spent hours playing MouseTrap in his basement.

We then made our brief visit to the Art Museum - hey wait was that The Thinker?

Who cares we came for the Armor!!! Someday...



The girls, as always, were dressed for the occasion.

A moment at the Art Museum

Ever wonder how to get an adolescent boy the an art museum.
With armor of course.
CJ has been to this exhibit once before with Bunny and requested to go again.

Maybe someday he will see another section of the museum.

That's a Big Basket

We've been by this building/basket a bunch of times. I've even been inside of it. But each time I see it, I am amazed by it's size. This is the headquarters for The Longaberger Basket Company. Yep, it's an office building! I guess if you work here you don't have trouble giving directions - take 161 to the big basket and turn right!

Friends?

Dickens and Tucker were spotted being friendly. Or is it that Dickens has Tucker trapped on the chair? He may weigh only 8 pounds to Tucker's 100 but he rules the house!

Red Tail Hawk

Recently there was an article in the paper about how the Red Tail Hawks are adapting to life in the city. It would appear that this guy read the article too. Each day on my way up 23 he is there sitting on the wires looking for food. One day I even got to see him swoop down into a field, don't know it was a successful hunt, but it was fun to watch.

An Afternoon of Fun

Angie and I spent Saturday afternoon at The Morgan House. It's the only restaurant I've been to that I am not upset to hear that the wait is 1.5 hours!! It's an old house that has been converted into a restaurant and store. There are rooms with jewelery, furniture, holiday decorations, Buckeye stuff, food stuff and much more. After a wonderful soup and sandwich lunch we continued to shop, filling our basket a little more and thinking we would definitely be back for another lovely afternoon.

Time for Trick or Treat!!

Mr. Spock is ready for Trick or Treating.

The fire is lit and the crew is gathered. It's a good night to stay close to the fire.

The first stash gathered completely without parental supervision.

The best treat - Mountain Dew
The worst treat - hand sanitizing wipes

Halloween is in the Air

Pumpkin carving is a Ziejewski family tradition. This year we had to fit it in before Steve left town for the week. Sunday night we each decided on a design and went to work.

Which pumpkin belongs to which carver?