poke it with a stick. image gallery

more cabin shots

this is a picture of adam taking a picture of rex. if i remember correctly, there was also a picture taken of me taking a picture of adam taking a picture of rex. why? why not!

dusty just hanging out in front of the local grocery store. for some reason, this photo reminds me of those ghostly dreadlocked twins from matrix reloaded. or maybe its just me..

by the end of the night keith was too lazy to actually use his hands to take a drink. we found a straw for him so he could just suck it out, but the straw as too short and fell all the way in to the bottle! ha!

rex taking a quick look outside the back door.

adam found a comfy play to lay for a while...

clean cabin

we were mercifully snowless this year, which was a good thing considering one of the vehicles we took up probably wouldnt be able to handle the two-track path if there was much accumulation. here is a great shot of the front of the cabin, now featuring a new red steel roof! wave to the camera, adam and jeffry lee!

we made sure to leave the place looking its best. since we did such a good job of cleaning, i wanted to capture a few pictures of it looking nice and clean! thats the wood stove on the left, straight ahead is the table we play games on through the night, and all the couches and chairs we hang out in for the rest of the evening!

the living room area of the cabin.

here's the kitchen. we dont actually use the sink because we dont want to bother with starting the water pump. i've never actually used the stove either, but i'm sure it works!

guns!

keith and aaron drove us up this year. it was pretty easy considering that there was absolutely no snow on the ground and the trail back to the cabin was not muddy at all- no fear of getting aaron's car stuck or anything! just past the vehicles you can see the guys shooting up the different targets we brought.

jeffry lee, in what seems to be a moment of reflection. guns seem to do that to him i guess...

off to the cabin

one tradition that has strangely sprung up is the proliferation of silly hats. aaron started this by always having some sort of goofy hat that he would wear the whole time we were at the cabin. last year i cranked it up a notch by pulling out a full-on sombrero! this time jeffry lee came prepared with these strange face warmers designed to look like iron man and the green goblin. where did he find these?!?

gathered together at aaron's place, standing around waiting for everyone to pack up their stuff and get ready to go!

under the tree with care 2

that night we set up a bed for ourselves in the living room. kinda strange, but totally comfortable!

oh, poco- even you got into the christmas spirit, huh?

under the tree with care 1

we all gathered together in the living room for gift time! barbara wanted to be the gift elf (the person who gives out the gifts), so she started with her favorite sister!

dad was quite pleased by the insulated underwear we got him. kind of a strange gift, but its the only thing he wanted, so who are we to say no?

the gifts began to pile up!

dad got barbara a new set of ice skates- an awesome gift that barbara was so excited about!

and fun was had by all!

prizes! 2

bubba digging in to the latest lego collections he got! i guess he's over the star wars sets because all he wanted this year were ones from the ninjago lego line. i dont get it, but he was pumped!

aves, getting a little help from her dad, opens up one of the big boxes!

every year there is one big prize that is given out. growing up, my brother and sister and i would always argue about who would be getting the big 'grand finale' prize that year. i must admit, it was often me (as the baby of the family, i was admittedly spoiled...). this tradition has even continued now with the kids. chad, jill, and i never get the big ones anymore, but now we love to give the big ones to the kids! usually mom and papa get something large for the kids to end the night on, but i was really pleased this year because the 'grand finale' gift was one that diana and i had gotten for the kids! the girls know that their aunt diana does hair, so this year we got them a little hair cutting station of their own! they were so thrilled that they can play 'aunt diana' now at home!

prizes! 1

one of the first prizes aves got was a collection of little horses. she was really excited about them and wanted to get right to playing! we took them all out and she grabbed them one by one and told us why she loved each one!

the kids got some new pajamas as well- they sure look cute in their onesies! (as a side note, tweets doesnt actually need glasses, she just got a pair of them without lenses and loves to play with them!)

jilly was almost as excited as the kids by the toys they opened! not entirely sure why, but that reaction is priceless! (which probably means she would be mad at me for posting this one...)

ultrasound 2

these pictures are so cool! in this one you ca see his profile as he chills out in there!

this is one of his foot. you can even make out all the individual bones that make up his little foot! looks like he's got all five toes on that one!

here's his profile again, this time he's scratching his head. must be confused as to what exactly the nurse is doing out here!

our little man already has his dad's sense of humor! 'how are things going in there, son?' his response: a thumbs up!

finishing touches

diana wanted to have the crib by the window so our little guy would be able to enjoy the sunlight (perhaps she is trying to get him to not have his father's aversion to the outdoors...)

the shelves are ready for all the baby stuff that we will need as the big day draws nearer and nearer!

bowl me over

larry took the bowling part very seriously- i think he even had his own ball and shoes! tim? not quite as dedicated to the art of bowling...

the girls chatting and enjoying the food, gifts, and fun of the work christmas party.

look at all that fried goodness! only at a bowling alley...

kat and tim. awe, dont they make such a cute couple?

crib in pieces

after finding all the assorted hardware that fit the crib, i got busy putting that bad boy together!

turned out pretty nice, huh?

contained

here's the shelves (looking a bit messy already) before we put the new containers up.

much better, huh? the key to diana's sanity is organization, and this will certainly do the trick!

brink thanksgiving

bubba and i playing after sunday dinner. last time we were in town i showed him a fun card trick. he wanted to show it back to me and let me see how good he had gotten at it!

when diana and the girls came back down we all hung out in the living room- this is what our visits to grand rapids are all about: just sitting around with the family having fun and being silly together!

aves shows aunt diana what exactly she wants from the toys r us catalog that came in the paper earlier in the week!

all the while, poco is enjoying the nest of blankets and sheets he made down in the laundry room...

keenan thanksgiving

barbara, dad, and diana all enjoying the holiday together.

dad, bill, and diana hanging out in the living room chatting it up while the food is being prepared.

diana, grandma, and grandma's friend in the living room.

our gross dog pretending that he's a baby for diana to hold. it works out pretty good, because that way diana and i can get some baby carrying practice in before the little one arrives. which i'm sure was poco's plan, right?