Friday Night Dinner with Mom and Dad

We had dinner with Mom and Dad on Friday Night. It went pretty well. We ordered pizzas from Markos and it was quite good. They were in pretty good spirits. Dad was a little down about the driver's test. Rayna spent the day with Mom and Dad since she couldn't go to school and Patty had to work. Dad was thrilled to have her.

Emailing: n8607322_46856612_202

http://picasaweb.google.com/lochmann1/ChristmasInCostaRica2008?authkey=BzB9VViLJmg&feat=directlink

 

I’ve attached the photo album of our photos from Costa Rica Christmas.  We had a great time as you can see from the photos.  It was quite an adventure.  We went on many excursions.  I would definitely go again.  It took awhile to get there but it was the same time zone so no need to adjust to that.  The people are very friendly and very patient with Americans.  Abby and Andrew speak Spanish.  They were quite shy speaking to often but in a pinch they could interpret for us. 

The trip eliminated much of the stress that goes along with the Christmas holiday.  It was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Photos from Dad's birthday

It was very nice to have so many of us together for Dad's birthday at Mom and Dad's house.  After everyone left, Mom said, "She is happy that we don't fight with eachother."  I thought it was interesting that she modified her usual statement which is that "she is happy that we all get along so well."  I believe that for a family of our size -- we are closer to the latter statement than the earlier statement.  For that we can all feel lucky!
   Elise came with baby Landon... he is the sweetest little baby. He did not mind at all being held by his many loving aunts, great aunts and cousins.

---

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. See how it works.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Grandpa had a great birthday party with lots of family visiting and great food.  Mom and Dad seemed to have a good time.  The ham, cake, snacks, and Charmie's salad were all tastey.  What a legacy Dad has!  He looks great in his tye-dye t-shirt.  Elise's little guy is adorable.  My wife liked holding him a little too much.

Dinner w/Mom & Dad

Because of the REALLY COLD WEATHER (Boooooooo Hisssss) Russ and I went over to their house last night for dinner instead of them coming here. I made a new recipe, baked Spaghetti Pie w/cheesy garlic bread which everyone liked especially Mom she loves pasta of any kind. (I think next time I will add more oregano and basil though).   We talked about that plane crash in the Hudson river, Bush's upcoming farewell speech, looked though some old photos, and how lucky Kyle and Mel were to be on that cruise until sunday. Stayed until about 7:00 pm and then came home to our puppies and PJ's.

Mom and Dad

I think it is useful to put a post on the blog each time you visit Mom and Dad (or as much as you want). Although this is technically a public blog, I think it is safe to share ideas and things in a general way (without real sensitive info). This would be helpful in sharing ways on how to best care for them. What they like to eat? What mom would eat? How to get them to share more? Anything like that? We have been doing this calendar for 4 years or something like that. It has worked pretty good. It just a way to ramp it up a little.

Also, it would be good to just share the story of the visit and any fun, funny, or interesting things about your visit. Mom sometimes brings up people from the past out of the clear blue sky. It could serve as living history. I am going to try to figure out how to download an entire blog.

Of course, keep posting your own family stuff. We love reading it and frankly don't get enough of it! Even though we all have our own little families, we are still a family in the bigger way.

Maybe I am nuts. I don't know.

Photo of The Famous Graves

I just saw this photo on Molly's Facebook page and LOVE IT!

An adventure retrieving the morning paper...

The weathermen were right about the freezing rain prediction and no one knows better what a challenge that will add to the otherwise pleasant task of retrieving the morning paper  than  I.  But, heck, it's the Sunday paper and my day will not be complete without my coffee and the paper.
  Onward... Tilley and I head out the garage to OUR DRIVEWAY!!!  Tilley is my canary in the mine and she steps innocently onto the asphalt which is glare ice.  She doesn't fall -- 4 legs come in handy, and quickly makes her way over to the snowy edge.  I realize that I need to do the same, but not before filling a small bucket with salt to spread.
At one point on the way down I foolishly decided to cross the driveway.  On my way across I started to slide and literally spin slowly around on my two feet until I reach the other side.   The paper is in the box which reminds me that we never tipped this new deliveryman as he didn't write us a sappy xmas letter like the previous driver did complete with her address and photos of her cats.  Need to take care of that ASAP! 
  You would think that this story would be  over and success would be mine.  But, sorry, now I need to climb Mount Myers on Plat Road.  Tilley and I proceed safely up the snowy edge, she's taking her time.  I turn around to coax her along and she's disappeared.  (Nick, you're not alone in having a dog who in typical dog fashion is oblivious to time and space when the scents of the forest and a deer trail beckon).  So now I must trudge out in deep crusty snow to find her.  She is a block away sniffing around and snacking on deer poop.  The hike back up to our house through the snow and the woods is exhausting.  All this for the morning paper...
  When we finally pop out at the peak of what we call the precipice, I plant my American flag and head in for my coffee.  No, first I'll go back out and snap a few pictures and write this entry to the blog.
 
Be safe out there.
Also, this morning reminded me that husbands sure come in handy... Michael is out of town this weekend.  Great timing honey!
Amy

---

Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. Get your Hotmail® account now.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. We went out to eat with Mom and Dad on New Year's eve. It was fun. They seemed to be in pretty good spirits although they seem a little less motivated on things these days. We played a game with Mom, Poke non or something like that. Then we all watched some crazy guy do a motorcyle jump in Vegas to the top of a building and then back down again.

Hot Mama from the 40s

This is a picture I recently saw of Mom at their house.  I photographed it with my digital camera so the quality isn't great.

Mike and Amy

Check out this great photo of Mike and Amy!