Quick Trip to Kansas City

After Christmas, we made a quick trip to Kansas City to see Jeff's family. We woke up to about 3 inches of snow on the first morning we were there which was fun for the kids. The big girls got to do some shopping, the little kids got to play in the snow, and the highlight of the trip for Jeff was getting to eat his favorite b-b-q at Jack Stack down on the Plaza. We also spent an afternoon with Grandma Great and she taught us how to play dominoes, which Maggie won by a long shot. It was a shorter trip than we usually make but fun was had by all. More pictures from Christmas and our trip under our "links to pictures".

Say it ain't so... Krysta is 18!!!

It doesn't seem possible but Krysta turned 18 years old today. And as always, I ask myself, where does the time go? Not that turning 18 helped with her making decisions. The toughest one tonight turned out to be where she wanted to go for dinner. With eight people... it didn't take long to end up at Buffalo Wild Wings...no 2 hour wait like other restaurants and the food came fast so it turned out fine. Her best friend, Kristi Genton joined us as did Greg. Happy Birthday Krysta!! We love you. (The Charlie Brown cookie cake was last minute...Jake picked it out.)

Snow/Sleet/Rain

This morning we woke up to snow coming down very quickly. Jake was certain this meant that Santa was on his way. We got a few inches out of it before it turned into sleet and then just rain. It's now a nice slushy mess.

THE Concert!!

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus with the Jonas Brothers came to town and along with thousands of other screaming girls, Michelle took Maggie and her friends Hannah and LeeAnn Saylor. Maggie ended up being less than thrilled to go a few weeks ago when she realized it was going to conflict with her 30 minute Christmas play at school. But...once she was in the arena, and the lights went out, and the SCREAMING began...she was up on her feet and into it just like the rest of the girls. This was Maggie's and the Saylor girls first concert and I must say... Hannah's parents being the concert goers that they are would have been very proud of Hannah's enthusiasm during the concert. Overall it was a fun concert and more exciting for the parent to see the girls enjoying it so much and getting into it.

Hannah Saylor, Maggie & LeeAnn Saylor at the concert Enjoying some cotton candy before the concert.

Screaming Girls during the Jonas Brothers performance.


A snipet of "Best of Both Worlds"

Tis the Season....

Lots of yummy cookies!!

Maggie's face painted
Jake & Santa #3
Julia, Frosty & Jake



Our December started right off with a cookie/ornament exchange party and has gone non-stop since. And, there's more to come but thought I would post a few pictures before things get too busy too keep up with. Jake has sat on 3 different Santa laps and I'm pretty sure his list changes with each one. This is the first year he is totally into the idea of "Santa" and is very curious about the man in the red suit. For the moment, that is who he wants to be for Halloween next year. We enjoyed Breakfast with Santa this morning with some friends and on the way there Jake asked if we were going to Santa's house for breakfast. Just a little confusing for a 4 year old. There are several more class parties coming up, a girl scout party, a Hannah Montana concert, a birthday for our almost "18" year old, and whatever else we can fit in our calendar between now and Christmas day. Whew!! Hope everyone is enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holidays!! :)

Jake's 4th Birthday

The only group shot I could get at the party.
Jake ready to bowl
Jake and his cake

Jake is now a big 4 year old. We had a bumper bowling party for him and a few of his friends. Jeff's parents drove in for a very quick weekend visit so we got to have a family celebration with them and then his party with his friends. He got several new car ramps with hot wheels, spiderman themed toys, lightsabers but surprisingly his favorite seemed to be the Cincinnati Reds ball cap his mommy got him. His eyes got real big and he ran to see it on him in the mirror. He ran back in and said, "It's perfect!!" Happy Birthday Jake! ~More pictures on new link~

Thanksgiving with Friends

One Big Turkey!!
Thankful for our friends!
This year was a little different Thanksgiving for the Woolfpack. Usually we make the drive to Kansas City for Turkey Day to be with Jeff's family. But, because I work retail now, I had to be at work way too early on Friday morning. So... the Rice family graciously included us in their Thanksgiving with their family and friends. We enjoyed visiting old friends from FL who made the trip up and of course enjoyed all the yummy food! Thanks Rice Family!

Early Thanksgiving Dinner with Maggie

Today, Maggie's 3rd grade class prepared a Thanksgiving lunch for family and friends. Jeff, Jake and I were able to attend and her class did all the preparation work and served all the parents. We had a great meal that consisted of salad, homemade ranch dressing, cranberry salad, real mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, rolls and turkey. Plus, pumpkin pie and individual cheesecakes for dessert. Each child made placemats for their parents and wrote on them what they are thankful for. Jeff's said, "Thank you for making money" and mine said, "Thank you for making food all throughout the year." She wants me to be sure to say that the reason she is thankful that Jeff makes money is because it pays for our food and the important stuff. ;) Each child also had to say one thing they were thankful for in front of all the parents and Maggie said she is thankful for everyone who takes care of her. And of course, we are very thankful for Maggie!!

Trick or Treat Fun

Spiderman & "Bat" Girl waiting for Daddy to get home to go Trick-or-Treating. The carved pumpkin was done by Krysta. She gave a speech in one of her classes on "How to Carve a Pumpkin".

Silly Jake & Maggie ready to get some candy!

Jake as his FAVORITE character: Spiderman! In action...shooting his web.

Maggie decided to ditch the Hannah Montana wig...was getting on her nerves...so at the last minute put on this bat headband, put on her fangs, and went as a very "bat" girl.


Here is Maggie as Hannah Montana with her brownie troop at a local Halloween Festival. She's the one with the long blonde wig. ;)

Maggie's 9th Birthday

Today Maggie turned 9 years old. She had her birthday party on Sunday at Glo Golf at the mall. It's indoor putt putt with blacklights and everything glows. She had a fun time with her friends and got some new cool gifts. This morning she opened up her family presents. Her best gift was the Hannah Montana tickets she got for the upcoming concert in December. I think she may have had an idea, but she seemed surprised and is excited to be going to her first concert. And no, her mommy and daddy did not pay an insane amount of money for the tickets. Jeff just got lucky and got right in when they went on sale with Ticketmaster.

GranC comes for a visit

GranC came to town for a few days while Granddaddy Mike was doing some work in Phoenix. It's been almost a year since they were here for a visit. The rain seemed to follow her from Texas as it rained non-stop for the majority of her trip. She helped Michelle get caught up on a few small jobs around the house. Maggie & Jake both enjoyed her reading lots of books with them.

LSU Defeated!!

Jeff, Krysta & Jake made a little road trip to Lexington to the Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday to see Jeff & Krysta's favorite college football team the LSU Tigers play the UK Wildcats. LSU came into the game as the #1 seed and undefeated. We happen to be at the last LSU/UK game a few years back when LSU beat UK in the final seconds also known as "The Bluegrass Miracle." It was an exciting finish to say the least. But...the Wildcats had different plans on this gameday and after 3 overtimes, gave LSU their first loss of the season with a winning score of 43-37. Although it was a tough loss, they had a good time and Jake loved his first college football game.

A Toasty trip to the Pumpkin Farm

The Gang's All Here!
One of several Jake picked up
Maggie got this one

We continue to have warm temperatures for the month but made our second annual trip to Daniel's Petting Zoo this morning to get our pumpkins. We met up with friends from church so the kids could play on the playground equipment, feed the animals, and take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. Last year, the temperatures were pleasant and so were the moods of the kids and parents. There was a little more whining this time because the sun was beating down on us, but overall, the kids enjoyed it and everyone got a treat to take home. More pictures in the "Daniel's Petting Zoo" link.

Zoo Time

Jake, Lily, Samuel & Vince
Jake & the elephants



Jake and his mommy met up with some friends at the Cincinnati Zoo. It is not feeling like Fall yet, but hopefully within the next week or so we will start having some "Fall like" temperatures. Jake always enjoys seeing the animals, especially his favorite..the elephant.

Fun with Melissa!

On Sunday afternoon, Jake and Maggie, went home with Melissa Mayo because daddy was out of town and mommy had to work. It's been awhile since they have had a chance to go over to their house and Jake was beyond excited to be going to "Melissa's house". The first thing Jake said to me when I saw him was, "Can I go back to Melissa's house?" These are a few silly pictures that they took while there. Thanks Melissa!!! :)

What Jake has to say....

Today when I picked up Jake from pre-school, one of the things to bring home was his hand traced on paper. On each finger is something that evidently Jake told his teacher's about himself. So, here are the 5 things Jake shared about himself (in his words):
*Spiderman movies*
*My friend is Maggie*
*I like Spiderman*
*I like chicken nuggets*
*I like blue*

Spiderman, chicken nuggets and a friend named Maggie. What more could a 3 1/2 year old want?

Weekend Visitor

Maggie & Peter

Due to the holiday weekend, Maggie got to bring home one of the pets from her classroom at school. Maggie was beyond thrilled to be the one who got to bring home Peter the rabbit for the weekend. Jake was pretty excited as well. Overall, it has gone well and he has been a good guest. Except for the fact that I had to be the one to clean out the cage and the only word to describe that is NASTY!! I'm just happy to be taking the rabbit back to school in the morning...alive. I never told her teacher of our experience the last time we "rabbit sat" for some friends when we lived in Louisiana several years ago. Not a happy ending....

Natalie's Photos

Natalie got a new camera for her birthday and most of what she takes is of herself. But, she did take some around the pond the other day so I posted a couple on her page. She's also using up the batteries to make little videos so maybe we'll post some of those soon.