Traditional Lighting of the Licking County Courthouse

Every year the Licking County Courthouse in Newark is lit for the first time of the season...the evening is full of carols, waiting for santa claus and of course finally the lighting...i have many memories going to the courthouse as a kid dressed in snowsuits anxiously waiting for santa to arrive....before we caught up with my mom, mike, deb, kelly and the rest of deb's clan we stopped for some cashew turtles at Goumas' the best chocolate in licking county....

kim bundling up before venturing onto the square

you have to stop for a piece of chocolate

before the lights go on

after they are lit and a happy kelly

finally, an updated picture of the four of us!!!

my mom and mike

the gazebo even got some holiday love.

And just in case you have not had enough..see it for yourself:

Thanksgiving Day...

....started at kim's mom's house for meal number one of the day,. here is kim, heather and kim's two nieces....oh yes, vera belle is also there front and center...

late afternoon we headed to my mom's house...where we ate some leftovers and pumpkin pie before planning our big plans for black friday...

thanksgiving day also bring the birthday of two of our furry friends...ruby j and miss nelly...they got stuffed toys from my mom but they were quickly confiscated by bully biggie....

Happy Birthday Ruby and Nelly!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I give thanks to those who have touched my life this year in more ways than I could ever express. 2008 has had its ups and downs but you have all been there to make some part of everyday special....wishing you a very special thanksgiving with your friends and family...I love you all!!!!!


**Special thanks to sharonandrews, heather and nina for a few of the images you enjoyed in the slideshow.

First Snow...Can You Smell It?

I love the smell of late autumn snow falls, have you ever noticed? Next time take note -- go outside, close your eyes and take in the crisp clean smell of fresh snow..it is almost as good as those first few hints of spring....no accumulations to write home about but i will take anything, if it is going to be cold, we might as well have snow...here are a few shots around good manor this evening:
I spent sometime outside playing frisbee with dakota and the game continued in the barn when i got a bit chilled:

then just a little fun with photoshop:

and to end -- we took a random trip to walmart last night with deb and kelly....we picked up a candle at the recommendation of sharonandrews, a buddha find and i got a pair of shoes to trek around the yard in the wet, cold and hopefully snowy yard this winter.

DW Weekend at Good Manor

The DW's minus poor Wingie made the trip to Good Manor earlier this month-we had a great time despite the lack of smile on kim's face.....thanks eveyone for making the journey to Ohio.

YES WE CAN

I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN...PROUD TO ELECT BARACK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT OF THE USA....AN EVENING IN AMERICAN HISTORY NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN....AS OBAMA SAYS....AMERICA - A PLACE WHERE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.........