The New Family

So we have been trying to get Sara to poop in the toilet for weeks and resorted to bribing her with a trip to the toy store. After looking around for a while, she found a baby zebra that was all alone and she was sad that it had no friends with it. Quickly she found a mommy and daddy zeba and decided that was what she wanted.
We are pround to have them because 1) she pooped in the potty, 2) Sara has a compassion for the lonely and 3) good family values.
That makes us smile.

Cinco Good Bye-OH from the kids perspecitve

I gave all the kids cameras last April for our slumber party send off for Jake and Sam. The kids took all of these. All I did was crop a little.

Many of you have wondered what goes on at Aunt Margaret's slumber parties. Well the main thing is Aunt Margaret sleeps on the couch and half sleeps while she listens to the kids talk, moan, thrash, and all those things little kids do in their sleep. I make sure they can find the bathroom in the night, I get up often to cover them with blankets. This year, neither Sam, nor Sara could sleep on the floor, so I pulled them up on the sofa with me. Golly, we all slept better after that. In this photo, I just poured my first cup of coffee. Kids don't lie when you give them a camera.


But we sure have a lot of fun, and I'd never give it up. I don't have a lot of toys but they all have favorites. We play with toys, watch a movie, visit with each other..


































































Then we sleep. Believe it or not, Sara was really asleep in this photo of her draped on my sofa.



Of course, we always act up and party. Here, Kyle is being silly. Doesn't he look good? All the kids took a turn at Cheerleading. Way to go Livvy.
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The kids look forward to the slumber party. Sam is ready for pancakes. Grace is easing into the day.

I don't sleep well, but I love and crave the slumber party too.

Back to school

Emily's back at school. She's staying in a four person dorm room in the oldest building on campus. It's on the fifth floor and there's no elevator. It sure doesn't seem like a lot to take to school until you climbed the steps for the umpteenth time...

Laurie starts school tomorrow. Her building is being renovated so she's in a different location at a different time than last year.

We hope everybody in the clan has a great school year.

Best Dog Ever

I know everyone thinks they have the best dog ever but they are wrong. Clearly we have the best dog ever.

Not only is he a great friend, a good watchdog, and a pretty good foot warmer, but he also makes a pretty good backrest.

Mike meets the clan- Part 2

I'm really glad Margaret took pictures because although we brought a camera, Mike and I didn't take any pictures at the party. We were too busy having fun with everyone. Thanks for coming out to meet him. Mike is from a smaller family. His parents didn't have a lot of siblings. Now he is learning how fun it is to be in a big family. He had a great time and liked everybody. Also, we will not be getting married in Florida. Instead we will be getting married in Ohio somewhere. We're not sure which city yet. Let the planning begin!

Mike meets the clan

Tonight, most of us made it over to Dave & Jane's house to meet Mary's fiance, Mike. We had a nice visit and were very lucky the heat let up for a change. The cake was a beach theme...imagine that.


They make a pretty cute couple. We didn't quiz Mike on names at the end of the evening but he seemed to hold his own pretty well. Mary just kept smiling all evening!

Molly and Robin were smiling too.

Sara was busy and remained happy way past her bedtime. Grace moved too fast for me to get any pictures of her.

Two poodles, Ben and Brutus. I had not met Brutus before...he is a big pup. Very good temperment but busy. He was running around all evening with the kids and with "Annie", Kyles dog. My photos of the two dogs together are just a blurr.

Sorry, I didn't think to get the Harrison group to pose together. A good time was had by all. Welcome Mike, hope you and Mary make it south often.

thanks for the shirts margaret!

We really missed being at the reunion this year and hopefully in coming years we'll figure out how frequently we can make it. This year's absence came with a consolation prize in the mail. Margaret sent us shirts!

My Job

So some of you may know what I do and some of you may not. Either way it is a lot of fun and sometimes a lot of work but almost always a spectacular result.

This is my upper office.

Our latest set was put up and lit in one week. By one week I mean that it was done by the next weekend. It actually took 4 twelve hour days and one fifteen hour day plus a small army of awesome volunteers.

It seems a shame that it will only last for 4 weeks before we tear it down and do another one.

Em's Epic Adventure

My first post! This blog was such a great idea, it is a very helpful tool to keep us all connected even when we are oceans apart.

And as many of you already know, I was over on John and Monica's end of the pond two weeks ago. I was visiting my friend Lucy in the UK, and took the pictures to prove it!

I have WAY more than just these, but I am going to put more up in separate posts once I get them all together. For now, these are only photos I took while in London, enjoy!















The Tower of London...which wasn't really a tower at all. The historical society banner amused me.















London bridge- Very big! And yet so beautiful. Wish the bridges in Cincinnati were this refined.















Me and Lucy on the train. Excited much?




















An old church in London. I honestly can't remember the name, there were a LOT of old churches.
















You see these double decker buses everywhere, I got to ride in one of them as well.
















Trafalga square, it took us forever to find, but it was worth it. Each of the four lions were separately sculpted by hand.





















The Peter Pan tribute, another hard to find statue. It was in the very back corner of St. James park.





















A tribute to Queen Victoria's son. I forget his name... >_<

















The house of Parliment! It is a lot bigger than I imagined, and right along the Thames river.






















Couldn't pass up Big Ben!






















Why was I using my phone? It doesn't even work over there, and with a conveniently placed booth right behind me too... for shame.

















Another tibute to somebody... Right in front of Buckingham Palace
















And there it is!
















This picture is from Brighton, a seaside city about 40 miles south of London. This is Brighton Pier.
















And a better shot of the pier. It goes out a long ways...

















Back to the city, with the Eye of London. I didn't get to ride this however, the line was about two days long and we didnt have a reservation. But London is still awesome on foot.






















Big Ben again.

















A palace with eastern architechural influences.





















Yet another old church. Their size and intricate details never cease to amaze me.


There will be more photos coming in the future! But for now I gotta get packed up for college. I am heading back to school this sunday. I send my love to everyone.

Someone came to visit

Prior to the reunion, Milla gained a playpal while Jay, Michelle and family went to Florida. Here are some pics of Milla and Gryphon hanging out together. When Gryphon left, she was sad to see him leave.

you know...

if everybody who is a contributor to beth and jims made it a goal to post one item a week there'd be something new for everybody to see every day. there's got to be something interesting going on in your life, right?

don't forget to take that digital camera along and let's get those digies up there. how's that for cheerleading?

Now blooming at Mapleleaf Gardens

I'm excited. As a novice at orchids, I'm delighted when anything blooms. I've learned a bit in the last couple years about enough light and feeding. They aren't ribbon winners but I'm pleased. It's a hobby that requires patience because many only bloom once a year. The bonus is the flowers last from 2 weeks to 2 months. I'm guessing these won't last long due to the heat we are having now. The C. Ports of Paradise is taken at an angle (dizzy) on purpose. It opened sideways...so I turned my camera.

Top to bottom:

• Brassolaelia Morning Glory (2 photos)
• Cattleya Ports of Paradise 'Emerald Isle' (classified as "green")
• Oncidium Carnival Costume (has bloomed for me 2 years now)
• Iwnanagara Apple Blossom
• Laeliocattleya Blazing Treat