It’s tough to only see family via video, and doubly so since it’s been harder to see the Fords. But video has gotten better over the years, and while it pales to being in the same room… it’s still something that can connect us, despite our distances.
An early Xmas in Atlanta, with the Ford kids in the midst of opening up their gifts.
One great gift that the Fords got was a Karaoke set. Shortly after it was plugged in, all the kids began taking turns singing songs. As you can probably imagine, it was both awesome and incessant for the remainder of the day:
For a part of the morning afterwards, Tricia and I drove a bit around Decatur and she showed me around. Before heading home, we stopped over at a place called Revolution Doughnuts.
A little later in the evening, Katie got on Skype with Tricia and her family. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone on the laptop, talking with everyone down in Atlanta.
As is our annual tradition, we had an early Christmas with the Holder family at their home in Atlanta, GA. Recently, the Fords moved down to Atlanta as well, and are currently staying with the Holders. Needless to say, we had a very full house – which, over the holidays… is the best kind of house.
Over the weekend, Liz and I headed down to Frankfort to participate in some family photos. A friend of Tricia’s is a photographer, and was going to do some group/family pictures for all of us. What normally is a 45 minute trip ended up taking a little over two hours. Moments after we got into the car, we realized that…
We woke to the sound of Isabelle pushing on our bedroom door, asking if we were awake yet. The kids were up and ready to open gifts, and Liz and I were the last ones still in bed. On walking downstairs to the kitchen, I saw the main course for our lunch resting on the countertop. Let the games begin!…
For Thanksgiving, Liz and I trekked to Merrillville to spend Thanksgiving at Tricia and Darryl’s house. Early in the morning, we woke up and began prepping some side dishes to take with us. We did veggies: green beans, carrots with an orange/ginger sauce, and some garlic mashed potatoes. While the potatoes used a rather remarkable amount of butter, I have…
A few weeks ago, Liz’s mom got a hold of a little play pony. It’s actually really sturdy, and designed for someone to sit upon. Liz gave it a test run. After the Halloween festivities were over, Audrey also decided it was her turn to take a ride. Throughout the evening, we had Disney’s The Sleeping Beauty playing in the…
Two weekends back, Liz and I travelled to Frankfort to celebrate Paige and Audrey’s birthdays. We had an area in a small park basically to ourselves, had a lot of great food, and even played a little football. It was really overcast (and the forecast called for rain pretty much all day). But to our surprise and delight, the rain…
An annual tradition of the Beesons is for their family to get together during Christmas… and to bowl. I attended the 2007 gathering, and this year it was held at a place called Frankfort Bowl. Interestingly, the bowling alley was located up on the second floor of a building in downtown Frankfort. Cameron, surveying the five lanes. Everyone setting up…
One of the staple parts about Christmas day with the Holders is Anne’s monkey bread. When it’s early and you’re still waking up, this paired with a cup of coffee is a little slice of heaven. Napoleon, with a little sad look on his face… but still cute as ever. Gifts spilling out from under the tree. Another shot of…
Flying in to Georgia last night took about 3 times longer than necessary. Our flight was delayed for an hour or two, and after our plane finally landed… we were stuck behind three other planes, waiting for a gate. To top things off, a part of Liz’s luggage didn’t show up. And so we killed about an hour waiting around…
This past Sunday, a lot of folks gathered at Dan and Katie’s house, to help celebrate Audrey’s first birthday. Families from all over (from Darryl’s side of the family, as well as Tricia’s) got together to celebrate Audrey’s frist year. The birthday girl, and the center of attention. Digital cameras were everywhere! The initial taste test… Things get a little…