Thanksmas, Christgiving

This was the year the Leone's visit at Thanksgiving which means...early Christmas (on the Ohrberg side)! Here are some pics:

Not clones, just cousins

Faith

Juliana

Giina iis happii to get a Wii

The whole gang

Paul's Birthday

For Juliana, one of the benefits of having a birthday close to a holiday means you get to celebrate twice. We have a party with friends early and another party with family, usually at Thanksgiving. For Paul, well, he's not a kid any more. He gets to share his birthday with a holiday and a daughter. But his presents are bigger :) and we all get to eat lots of cake (or brownies)!

That's 43 for Paul...

Juliana Turns 7

This year Juliana requested "a strawberry cake that looked like a wedding cake". She invited some friends to the movies, then back to the house for the party. They all had a fun time and the girls stayed the night. Can't believe it has been 7 years!

Faith, Josh, Juliana, Sophia and Andrew

Dropping leaves from the tree house.

Hair Today...

Gone after Halloween! Since my hair will not be as long for a few years, I decided that my costume would incorporate my hair. And now that Halloween is over, it is time to cut! I know some people look at long hair with envy, but it can be quite dangerous (back me up on this one Ash)! It gets caught in retracting seatbelts, windows getting rolled up and can be quite painful when you husband rolls over in bed, especially in the middle of the night. I am very happy to send my hair to a happier home for someone else to enjoy! Thanks Kelly and Juliana for cutting. Here are some pics for my non-facebook friends and some bonus ones for my blogging friends...

Halloween 2009

The kids have now reached an age where they can enjoy carving their own pumpkins. Cleaning them out is another matter. We used the tools from a Pumpkin Masters kit and the kids were able to do most of it themselves. The kit makes it very easy and the templates are a wonderful help!

The finished product

Andrew got creative and made his amulet out of Legos

We took the kids to Old Town to trick-or-treat in the afternoon. Paul won a prize for his costume. So many people were amazed and lots of kids were confused.

Lily Munster, her headless butler,
a young myopic Dracula and their dalmatian

Juliana wanted more spots on her face for neighborhood trick-or-treating

Miscellaneous Mischief

Andrew making a rubbing from a headstone during a recent Spotlight field trip

Juliana just being...Juliana

Yes, that is Juliana in the stereo case (a.k.a. T.V). Not sure what program she is
performing for Andrew

The kids and neighbors lawn surfing

Juliana priming some drawer fronts for the shelving unit

More Backyard Wildlife

Here are some more pictures of wildlife for my fellow nature lovers. The kids got home just in time to see the owl. Would love to know what type of bird is in the first picture if anyone knows!

A deer next to "the bear trap" (aka: a rope hanging from the tree)

It is pretty amazing to see an owl in the wild!

Look closely...what do you see?

Andrew's Birthday

Andrew celebrated his 9th birthday with a sleepover and skating. Yes, exactly the same as last year---with the same friends. It is nice to see kids keeping friendships despite all 3 going to different schools!

Peach Pickin' in Millington

After talking to a vendor at the farmer's market in Old Town Olive Branch, I decided to take the kids to Jones Orchard in Millington to pick peaches. I found out the orchard has been there for decades and also offer a wide variety of apples and peaches. We waited until the Elbertas (the really soft and juicy ones) were ready in early August. Wish the Choates and Cooks were here to join us--they would have loved it!

Jake and Cam (our new neighbors) joined us for our first peach picking adventure in Millington.

Andrew's peachy creation

Juliana with two of the bigger peaches

Boating at Bull Shoals

This summer we were invited to go boating and share a condo with our friends/neighbors the Heinze family. They introduced us to a great Lake in Bull Shoals, AR. We enjoyed the fantastic scenery, delicious food and a clean, clear lake. We had a fabulous five days and nice weather with only about half a day of rain. Our family was able to waterski and kneeboard, some of us for the first time. Needless to say, there is currently a contest underway as to who can do the most 360's on the kneeboard. Here are the pics:






We are so grateful for the Heinze family. If it had not been for their gracious invitation, our children would not have had the opportunity to experience watersports, which they really enjoyed. Thanks again Heinze family!

Another Barrage of Posts...

from the last 4 months or so. Apologies to my faraway friends as I am failing miserably to reciprocate with maintaining my blog! I think I see a New Year's resolution in the works...

Are You Ready?

Okay... I am posting 5 months worth of mindless, yet mildly entertaining, out of date information about our otherwise uneventful family. Hope you have a little time on your hands...we have been busy and like I mentioned, it has been 5 months!

11 Years Together

June 19th was our 11th anniversary. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Olive Garden and visited Bobbie who was recovering from knee replacement surgery. We are such party animals. Thanks to the Heinzes for watching the kids!

Annual Blueberry Picking

This year we picked three different times! That may be a new record. On our second visit, we ran into Mr. Lewis. The kids have become a little more efficient, although Andrew tries harder to perfect his throw-a-bluberry-in-the-air-and-catch-it-in-his-mouth trick. It just wouldn't be the same if Juliana did not find some creature to be her very temporary pet. This year, a very tiny baby praying mantid.

Waterfowl for Wildlife

While living at Erie Cove, we saw our share of ducks and geese and their undesirable leave behinds (which Paul DOES NOT miss). Now at West Ridge, we get to watch foxes, squirrels, birds and catch frogs. One of our neighbors has convinced a family of foxes to trust us humans enough to venture into our backyards. I think they have learned to associate the smell of the grill with free food, but not by us! While the Cook family was visiting, the three members of the fox family were kind enough to make an appearance. Here are some pics of Loxy, so named by a neighbor.

Test your fox knowledge:

1. What is a male fox called?
2. What is a female fox called?
3. What is a baby fox called?
4. What is a group of foxes called?
5. What kind of fox is this?






1. todd
2. vixen
3. kit
4. skulk
5. Gray Fox

The Cooks Come to Visit

It is always exciting to read an email from a great friend who lives across the country. Especially when the email contains something like: "What are you doing this weekend?" I was very surprised and excited to find out that Ashley and kids would be making their way to Mississippi, from Texas, as a little side trip. For those of you who don't know how great she is, not only can she change a van tire in khakis and not get a speck of dirt on her, she can survive a 3,000 mile road trip with 3 kids and still be her composed, sensible, laid back self. Oh, how I envy thee! While they were here, we went to Mud Island and Ashley taught us how to play Commando (no, not the Friends definition) which has now become THE summer evening game. It was great to see the kids again and I realized how much I miss them and how fast they are growing up.

Cam, Juliana, Kegan, Jake, Garrett, Andrew and Anna

Beach Girls 2009

Every year a great group of women get together and escape to the beach for a few days. I have been fortunate enough to have been invited for the last three years. We enjoy delicious, fresh seafood, have great conversations, share priceless advice and have a lot of laughs! I love going on this trip every year--it is nice to be able to hang out with just the girls. Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking care of everything while I am away--all the while never making a single complaint.