Easter 2013

This was the first time I have braved coloring Easter eggs with the kids.  We used Kool-Aid and food coloring because I had those on hand. 

The kids enjoyed it.

And our final products ended up ok.  The brown ones were actually grape Kool-aid.  We won’t use that flavor again; they looked bad and they tasted like grape boiled eggs.  Not good.

Then we went to Papaw’s for dinner and the annual Easter Egg Hunt. 

The Easter Bunny hid all of Kora’s under sticks.

She almost didn’t have a big enough basket.

And then she enjoyed the fruits of her labor in the Gazebo.

Tuck’s were hidden a little bit more challengingly.

I know he circled around a couple of them multiple times.

But he loved racing around the front yard looking for them.

He finally found the one in the mailbox.

And settled in to inventory the booty.

It was a cool day but the kids had fun and we ate like kings, of course. 

Which One Do YOU Think He Looks Like?

Papaw?

Or Grandpa Charlie?

I think we are seeing a glimpse into the future.

2011 Hole Family Christmas

Christmas Eve is always the annual Hole Family Christmas. Long ago we outgrew Nanny’s house and now have it at the Clubhouse at the golf course.  Nanny, the eternal matriarch of the family feels obligated to host. She is just starting to accept help, at age 95.

This is Nanny and her brood of 9 grandchildren (2 were missing), 13 great-grandchildren (2 were missing) and 3 great-great grandchildren.

(One day Nanny was lamenting that she was so old that she was a Great-great Grandma.  I told her it had nothing to do it with age, but rather that she was just doubly great.)

I know I am biased but I think she has done well and has reason to be so proud of the family that she reigns over.

You are one in a million, Nanny, and we all love you so much.

Have I ever told of how Nanny got her nickname: Nanny Hoo Hoo?  When we were little, whenever she would come over, she would poke her head in the door and holler “Hoo Hoo, is anyone home?” And so that translated into our young lives as “Nanny Hoo Hoo”.  And we always differentiated our Grandmothers as Grandma Dora and Grandma Nanny.  It wasn’t until I was well into my 20’s that I came to realize the redundancy of the title.  It was always just the way it was.

I have been so blessed to have such wonderful women to model and look up to.  Thank you Nanny Hoo Hoo for all that you have done and taught us.

I love you so much!!!

Happy Father’s Day

We had our Dad’s over for dinner on Sunday.  We ate REALLY well.  Pork chops and zucchini on the grill, corn, Beef House rolls and strawberry jam.  TJ is so good at grilling.  And I made an apple pie that Dad claimed beat Marie Calendar’s. 

Afterwards, we went outside for some game time.  First it was football.  Tuck is pretty good at making up his own rules.  “Hike it to me” “Chase me” “Tackle me”

Then some catch with Papaw and Daddy.

Can you say Charlie Brown?  Don’t do it, Tucker!

Silly faces

The kids were helping Daddy try to set up the new game: Big Birdie Golf

Kora was very good at fetching the golf balls.

The kids with Daddy.  This was JUST prior to Kora doing the ants in her pants dance.

And more football.  This time with Grandpa Charlie.

We had a good time.

Easter 2011

The Easter bunny came to visit our house.  He left a nest on each recliner for the kids.  Unfortunately, my camera does not do well in low light so these pictures are lacking. He left some eggs filled with candy and money, a singing card, and some stickers.

Tucker also now has a REALLY BIG grasshopper and spider which I hope will soon go live in the sand box.

There’s nothing like a good chocolate high before breakfast.

Later in the day we went to Papaw’s and Gamma Deb’s for a late lunch.

We had ribs.

And they were Delicious!!!!We were calling the kids Pebbles and Bam Bam.  They were a little prehistoric gnawing on those bones.

And then it was time for the Easter egg hunt.  Here they are patiently waiting to be released to the back yard.

And then the hunt begins. 

Tuck did really good helping Kora out and showing her how it’s done.

But she took off pretty quick and filled her bucket. This is her first official egg hunt.  Last year she was just too little, only 5 months old.

Not only did we find quite the stash of eggs but we found a good mess of mushrooms too.  Over half of them were in Deb’s flower beds.  This is quite the year for mushrooms.  Dad deep fried them and they were quite tasty. 

Thanks Papaw and Gamma Deb for a great day.

April Storm at the Homestead

April 19th brought a pretty big storm.  We spent about 45 minutes in the basement. The kids never even woke up as we hauled them to the basement and then back to bed once the winds died down. I hate storms that come after dark.  This one hit about 945. 

Dad called about 1030 to say that he lost two barns at the house.

The next morning a couple of guys from the Crawfordsville office and I made a tour of the county to inventory the havoc. 

This is Dad’s concrete block barn, or what is left of it.

This one just collapsed in upon itself.  This one housed mismatched stuff and junk.  This barn has been here for over 65 years or as long as Dad can remember.

This is what is left of the big pole barn.  This one has been here since I can remember.  Dad said Grandpa Bernard built it so we know it has been there at least 38 years. 

The wind just sheered off most of the posts.

And it took part of the barn, laid it in the yard and then blew off with the rest of it.  These boards are planted so deep into the ground that you can’t even budge them.

Debris, tin and two by fours are strewn over 1 1/4 miles.  It will be a while before the fields dry out enough to go and clean things up.

Trusses were laid down on mowers and tractors but the worst damage to any of them was a bent muffler stand pipe on the little blue Ford.  The John Deere drove right out once the Bobcat lifted the truss. And then they were able to pull all of the other equipment out.

And this barn was not even touched.  It’s back was to the wind, which we think saved it.

There was a plastic funnel laying on the ground right here and it never moved.  Crazy.  There was a family of raccoons living in an old file cabinet.  They were NOT happy once the cleaning crew started moving their “home”.

This is the view I found at 430 pm after taking the previous pictures at about 930 am.  There were about 20 guys there helping clean up and they had cleared the pole barn completely.  The concrete floor was swept clean and all the debris was piled ready for pick up.

And as Uncle Gerald said: “You know it’s a big storm when it blows in a dozer!”  Now that’s funny!

I guess Nanny cried when she came over and saw it.  The old homestead has changed/lost a lot over the years.  It is slowing blowing away, literally.