River's Christmas Party

River's school had their second annual Christmas party last Friday and she was excited to play hostess to her mommy and daddy.  We enjoyed a delicious meal and then were treated to some Christmas Carols afterward. 

Yummy ham!

River and her classmates.  River is hard to spot.  Follow the arrow.

There she is!

She rehearsed "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" all the way there.

Waiting patiently to see Santa.  (More on him in a future post!)

Festival of Lights 2010



River with her Aunt Cathy


River (and JoAnna and I) recently enjoyed our first visit to The Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights with our friend, Cathy.  We have been enjoying the zoo quite a bit this year thanks to Cathy and Michael who gave us a family membership for Christmas last year.

All photos (with the exception of the first and last) were taken by Cathy.

All bundled up. 

Yes Cathy, I AM smiling. 



The reindeer were resting up for their big night.



River actually wanted to ride the shark but the girl in front of us picked that one. 



"I want to touch it.  I want to touch it."



Awe and wonder; both captured right here. 

That's one gigantic nutcracker!



Thank you, Cathy and Michael.  It was a wonderful gift.



Three is a Magic Number

Family and friends joined Jo, River and me to celebrate River's Third Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's.  I had expected it to be loud and chaotic and.. well, it was but it was also far better than I expected.  A great time was had by River and all her little pals and that is all that matters. 

Over the past three years River has given me the joy of experiencing so much for the first time.. again.  This may have been a celebration of her first three years but she has given Jo and I what seems like a birthday everyday for the past three years.  

The Scooby Doo Cake made by Iris Klonne of createcoolcakes.com.  It was as delicious as it was fun to see!

Thanks to all our family and friends who stopped by.

River could not stop talking about her Scooby Doo cake!



Making a wish.



I'm sure this is some sort of health code violation.

Lots of goodies were unwrapped.

Lots and lots of goodies!



(Psst, Please don't tell her I ate a chicken wing!  P-p-p-lease!)





"Thank you, Mr. Cheese!"





Big days call for big naps and sweet dreams.



Three is a magic number,

Yes it is, it's a magic number.

Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity

You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.

Faith and Hope and Charity,

The heart and the brain and the body

Give you three as a magic number.

It takes three legs to make a tripod

Or to make a table stand.

It takes three wheels to make a vehicle

Called a tricycle.

Every triangle has three corners,

Every triangle has three sides,

No more, no less.

You don't have to guess.

When it's three you can see

It's a magic number.

A man and a woman had a little baby,

Yes, they did.

They had three in the family,

And that's a magic number...

Gone Catfishin'!

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Our neighbors, The Loziers, surprised River with her very first rod and reel! River immediately set out to perfect her casting technique. Izzy (one of the local "community cats") stopped by to give River a hand.. er, uh.. paw.

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Porch Swings and Popsicles

Memorial Day Weekend, 2010.
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River spent the holiday in Eastern Kentucky. Enjoying all the sights and sounds that make such gatherings the treasures that they are. These are the times that she will look back and remember her family all being together at once. Carefree days of creaking porch swings and the slam of a storm door repeating itself over and over as she and her cousins run in and out. Days of popsicles, strawberry shortcake, watermelon and sweet tea. She will remember the laughter of all the generations gathered as they reminisce over country ham and cornbread. At night she will remember the sounds of crickets, whippoorwills and the gentle braying of cattle off in the distance as fireflies flicker outside her bedroom window on her grandparents farm. No worries just happy times.
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As she grows older, River's mother and I will make sure that she understands that these days were brought to her, and insured, by the men and women of the United States Military, many of which made the ultimate sacrifice so that little girls and boys could grow up and enjoy times just like these.
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Memaw and Pepaw's Farm.

. A couple of modern day cowgirls coming in from feeding the livestock.

. Sharing the swing with Pepaw.

. At the playground with Mommy and Uncle Monkey.

. Taking a break at the playground in the shade.

. Time for a quick dip on Memaw's deck.

. Ahhh! That is better!

. JoAnna and her Pappaw Clarence.

. Future Wildcat?

. She means business!

. Watching the game with Memaw.

. River's cousins, Ashley and Mikkah.

. River and her cousins. Taking this picture was like catching lightening in a bottle.

. On the railroad.. just like Pepaw.

. Watching the clouds roll by. Is there a better way to spend an afternoon?

."There is no place like home." - Dorothy Gale

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Spring 2010 Photo Round Up

Here are some miscellaneous photos taken over the past few months in no particular order.

Jo and River outside Perry Park's Glenwood Hall on Mother's Day 2010.

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Relaxing at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Michael's House.

.Having a good time with Aunt Cathy.

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Standing beside the B29 "Bockscar" at Wright Patterson Air Force Museum. This is the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945..

.With Mommy, standing beside a Gemini space capsule.

. Enjoying refreshments at the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum's cafeteria.

. Trying to negotiate a little more time in the pool.

. Operating some heavy equipment at the Duke Energy Children's Museum.

. Acting as Foreman in the "Quarry" at the Duke Energy Children's Museum.

. Toy shopping with style.

. Hanging out with Lightening McQueen.

. Spending quality time with Reagan and Daisy.

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