OHIO FAMILY TIME

After our doctors in Shreveport we took the rv back to Van Alstyne, TX to leave it at a friend of our son's til we got back from Ohio. Thanks to him we were able to relax and enjoy our trip knowing our house was safe. We brought our son Duane Jr. back to TX with us so he could back to work. His wife Brandey and the twins Emma and Ava stayed in Ohio to visit longer with family. Jr. will fly back to Ohio in a couple of weeks and drive them back home.
Our first stop in Ohio (Mon. afternoon) was the home of Gene and Donna Emrick. Gene was the first plumber I worked with when I started my apprenticeship in 1966. We have close friends every since. Then it on to Barbara Harmon's house to spend the night. Barbara is the widow of my best friend who we lost in an auto accident some years ago. She and her friend Gene joined Louise's sisters Martha and Marycarol and friend Dave at Marion's, our favorite pizza joint. The next morning it was off to stay with our daughter Rachel, her husband Benji and children Maddy, Simon and Judah. This would be our base till Christmas. Wed. we had lunch with friends Pam and Eddy Shouse. Dec. 23 we went to visit daughter Stacy and her partner Ruth Ann in Cincinnati. We were joined by son Jr and his family.
Stacy and Ruth Ann fed us well, we opened gifts and played with the girls.

First painting experience!

Dec. 24th we went to brother Dennis and sister-in-law Pat's house for Wegley Christmas. We ate more delicious food, opened gifts and played games. Of course, Stacy, Ruth Ann (Woof to the girls), Jr, Brandey and the twins joined in the fun and games.

Dennis and Pat and family.

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning we were present for the Latimer family bedlam.

Santa was here!

Stockings first.

Judah has the Stiff-Arm-Paper-Throw down pat. He is 1 1/2 mos. older than the twins. Two year olds are always fun at Christmas!

Simon (4) is the Bomb!

Gifts all around. (Louise is on the couch.)

Wolverine and Spidey put in an appearance.

Maddy loves her new clip-on earrings.

After gifts, Benji cooked a delicious breakfast. We ate ourselves silly then played a new board game with the children. Soon it was time to pack our bags and give Maddy her room back. We headed to (Louise's) sister Martha's house for dinner with Marycarol and Dave, niece Teresa and her son Shawn, and Uncle Paul and Aunt Ronola. A couple of hours later, all partied out, we headed out to spend the evening with Jr and family. Next morning it was time to hit the trail back home to Texas. We arrived safely around 11pm and headed for bed.

All in all we had a good time. Even our drive to and from Ohio was enjoyable because the weather was good (except for several hours of rain on the way back) and we had no accidents. As with any trip away from home it was stressful, but we managed to come back with only slight colds. Louise even managed not to gain any weight!


Enough is enough!

Louise and Duane