Thursday, December 27, 2007

Winter Hike









Today, I rallied the troops to take a hike. It was a beautiful day here in Loveland - 50 degrees and sunny. We headed over to East Loveland Nature Preserve so that we all could blow off some steam. The boys LOVED running around and taking pictures with their cameras. (Santa brought Jeremy one this year.) Josey loved it too, until she wound up on the other side of O'Bannon Creek. It took quite a lot of convincing to get her to swim back. The best part of the day was Jeremy saying, "Wow, Mom, it looks like there are lots more beautiful trees, but it's only their reflection in the water." The worst part was the tantrum he threw when he realized he couldn't bring his hiking stick home. When we got home I fixed dinner out of my new Rachael Ray cookbook using my new Rachael Ray knife (both selected by the boys). Actually, Jeremy picked the recipe for me to make, too. It was Medditeranean Chicken with Artichokes and Olives, because he liked the picture and maybe it would be like chicken nuggets.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas Celebrations




We've had quite a Christmas at the Case House. Christmas Eve, we enjoyed the day at Mom's house, saw another top-notch performance by Zachary in the Children's Choir, and had an evening of fun with the entire Strohm clan. We did a group photo for the first time in several years. Jeremy LOVED Steve and Shara Leigh's dog, Thomas. Zachary sang and signed for Santa.



There were many, many hits when it came to toys and games this year. One big winner is the electric circuit set. We ALL enjoy it!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Vacation Time is Here!





It's Tim's first day off work and the kids' first day off school for Christmas break. We wasted no time getting started with the vacation fun. If you had told me this morning I'd be ice skating this evening, I never would have believed it. We went downtown to see the C.G.&E. train display. (This has been a tradition for us since before Jeremy was born.) The kids had a great time, and we even saw a friend from Jeremy's class. The two of them just LOVED the Thomas train. While walking back to the parking garage, we watched the ice skating on Fountain Square. Somehow, all four of us were soon on the ice. The boys did GREAT. Zachary even skated on his own.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

December Weekend




We had a great weekend at the Case House. On Friday night, the whole family went to the MOPs babysitting fundraiser at church. I cooked and cleaned up a spaghetti dinner for 30 kids and any adult helpers who were brave enough to eat it. Tim was the ONLY husband who helped out directly by being there. It was a good thing he was there, because our neighbor, 20 month old Quin, was only happy when he was held by Tim. What a good guy! Saturday, the boys braved the slush to build a snowman. That night we enjoyed "Christmas in Loveland." We rode a horse drawn carriage through Loveland, visited the historical society train exhibit, made crafts in a log cabin, saw the Loveland Art Studio, experienced kettle corn (some of us for the first time), AND saw Santa. And we were only rained on by an icey slush for about 1/4 of the time. Loveland was beautiful with many lights and luminaries. This morning, Zachary and Jeremy sang in the church choir for the very first time. Zachary, who had not even wanted to go to practice in the beginning, was awesome. So great that I was completely overwhelmed. Embarrasingly, you can hear me crying in the video. I'M SO PROUD OF HIM. So proud that I'm choosing to ignore how Jeremy made faces and acted silly most of the time. (Jeremy is second from the left in the front rown. Zachary is just behind him to the right in the second row.)

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Turkey Weekend









We had a great, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. Dinner at Mom's was great, and we got to meet Jeff's new girlfriend. Zachary and I made placecards. He was really into the project and did a great job! (Even though he said, "Mom, this is really a lot of work," when we were not even halfway through!) Jeremy must have been zonked, because this is how he fell asleep Thursday night. (I promise you, he is sleeping in the above photo!) Friday, we went to see the Bee Movie. Saturday, the boys got to go see Mr. Magorium with Rachel. Lucky kids!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

It's Gone!


Well, the tooth is out. Grandpa Hicks took us to IHOP for lunch today (thanks, Grandpa!), and it disappeared somewhere in the midst of a smiley face pancake frenzy. Hopefully, the TF will accept a note in lieu of a tooth, because I'm not going looking for it.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Hello family!




We had a great tailgate party at the Bengal's game today. Tim made some killer omelets. He's quite the popular chef in these parts. The game, however, was not as much fun. A few exciting moments, but an overall disappointment. The boys had fun at Grandma's house.


ZACHARY IS ABOUT TO LOSE A TOOTH! Tooth fairy, get ready.