Polar Express

We rode on the Polar Express on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad last weekend. Lorelai had a great time.

On the return journey, they have a Pajama Parade. Can you tell which one is from our family?

Merry Christmas!

Ho ho ho!

Christmas Story House

Last weekend, we went to the Christmas Story House. We met the actors who played Randy, the mean elf with Santa and the leg lamp deliveryman.

Cleveland Christmas

Cleveland rocks!

The Grinch

Time for a holiday classic.

And JJ, check out THIS lens flare.

Snow

For the benefit of those in warm climates, here is a picture from all the recent snow.

Christmas Questions

I got the idea to do this from another blog. We haven't posted anything in awhile, so I thought this would be something fun to do =)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. It just depends on the gift. I like to wrap gifts more though.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. It's just easier.

3. When do you put up the tree? I would like to do it the day after Thanksgiving each year, but it just depends if we are out of town or not.

4. When do you take the tree down? Hopefully by the end of January.

5. Do you like eggnog? Oh yes!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The Moody family dog.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Derek's parents and my parents.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Our niece and nephew =)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes...my grandparents got us one.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? We try to mail them, and we always try to make them creative.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? When I was a kid, I would get the worst clothes from some relatives. I am way too picky, so it is just better to wait for me to tell you what to get or get me a gift card.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I try to keep in mind things people have mentioned to me throughout the year, but I don't start shopping until late November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift? Nope.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies, Buckeye Balls.

16. Lights on the tree (colored or clear)? Clear.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I like so many, it's hard to just pick one.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We do both.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course!

20. Angel, star or ribbon on top of the tree? Well....I would like a nice star, but right now we have a ball with Santa on it.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Both

22. Favorite children's Christmas song? The Chipmunks Christmas song

23. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Being so busy.

24. Favorite ornament, theme or color? I like a lot of different ornaments. The one for me and Derek's wedding day, some old ones that belonged to my great-grandmother, and 2 little snowmen that have me and Derek's names on them.

25. Turkey or ham on Christmas Day? My family fixes ham. Derek's family makes tenderloin.

26. What do you want for Christmas this year? A long, heavy coat to wear at work =)

27. Does anyone in your family dress up as Santa? Well....Derek has before!!

28. Age you discovered who Santa was? I had to be around 8 years old. I found a gift in my parents' room that later Santa gave my brother.

29. Eggnog, hot chocolate or apple cider? Eggnog and hot chocolate.

30. Traditional colors (red and green) or other colors? Red and green

31. Do you have any Christmas decorations on your roof? Nope.

32. How does Santa get into your house? Chimney or magic key? Chimney.

33. Do you prefer gifts or gift cards? Both.

34. Favorite children's Christmas cartoon? Charlie Brown Christmas

Cabo Wabo

Here are several of the sites around the greater Los Cabos area.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

To celebrate the fall season, we tried out a recipe that a friend shared online, Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal. It was easy to make, looked nice, smelled great and tasted even better!

Dustin's Dirty Thirty

Dustin's thirtieth birthday party was this weekend.

Early in the evening, the Power Wheels proved to be a popular toy.

Later on, the adults hung out around the fire pit.

We brought a bag of ice for Jack to eat.

And Emily provided the entertainment.

Country Comes Home

The Grand Ole Opry returned to the Opry House last night. The Opry House had been closed since the floods in May. Opryland and Opry Mills are still closed so the reminders are all around but this is a big symbol of Nashville's recovery. Many of the members of the Opry showed up and they all came out on stage for "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" as the first act.

Charlie Daniels got the crowd moving with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".


Riders in the Sky.

A big round of applause for Nashville!

Trace Adkins sang a song with Blake Shelton and then asked him to check his Twitter account. Blake was asked to join the Opry.

Halloweekend at Cedar Point

We went to Cedar Point for Halloweekends yesterday. Lots of fun!

Here we are waiting for our first ride, Maxair.


Angie with her pal, Lucy.

My pal, Charlie.

Angie in the classic arcade. The game still worked although Angie disputes the results.

Ho Hum

Now that's marketing.

Cooking with Michael Symon

Unfortunately, Angie couldn't go to her cooking class with Michael Symon this year but I went in her place. It was like an episode of Julia Child when the manual pasta machine broke and then the backup Kitchen Aid threw the attachment into the audience.

Indianapolis Start Heart Walk

We participated in the 2010 Indianapolis Start Heart Walk.

Dylan getting tag teamed by both of his Grandmas.

In case you didn't know, I'm the aunt.

VTR Photos

I wasn't originally going to post these to the blog but the Velvet Tango Room regulars really seem to like them. Just two photos of the Velvet Tango Room.

Kodak Brownie

I recently came into two older Kodak Brownie cameras. The Six-16 is much older and uses a type of film that is cost prohibitive to use for entertainment. Don't expect any blog posts on that one soon.

The Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash is a more modern but still basic design. Think of it as the VW Bug of the camera world. It takes pictures but only in bright sunlight, not very well and has no controls except for the shutter release and film advance knob. The shutter is two metal wheels that mechanically provide the shutter time. It gives a very satisfying "clink" sound. On the plus side, this is the camera that brought photography to the masses.

Here are the results.

Minneapolis

I went to Minneapolis for a meeting this week and got to go to a Twins game at the new Target Field. It is a great new stadium!

Isaac Cahill

As a follow-up to the Uriah Cahill post, we decided to make sure we captured the Cahills in Indianapolis 70 years ago.

Here is a picture of Isaac (Uriah's son and my great great grandfather). He's in the middle.

He was a vice president at the Disciples of Christ and headed the international missionary work. In a familiar routine, for years, he commuted to Indianapolis while the family lived in Cleveland. On his customs/immigration form when he returned from Jamaica (via Puerto Rico), he listed 222 Downey Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana as his address in the U.S. Here is his apartment (now known as the Missions Building) at the former Disciples of Christ headquarters.

Start Heart Walk

Derek and I will be participating in the Start Heart Walk on September 18 in honor of our nephew and my grandfather. My sister's team has a goal of $3000. If you would like more information or if you would like to make a donation, please go to this link:

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/indy/teamdylanblake

Thank you for your support!

Lorelai visits Ohio

Lorelai (and her parents and grandparents) came to visit this past weekend. She had a great time at Aurora Farms!

Lorelai fed the ducks.


She counted "3, 2, 1" and then lifted off.

Soon, she'll be counting one-to-three for breaking and entering.