Merry Christmas to All!

MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

All our love to friends and family - at this joyous season & always!

Happy Solstice, Happy Hannakuh, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad & Joyeaux Noel !

Christmas Tree Hunting with the Renshaw / Sirimoglu / Dana / Pehrson / Goodale Family !

Every year at Christmastime, our best friends - the Goodales - and their family head to Piper Mountain in search of the perfect Christmas tree for each of their homes. This has been their family tradition for years, and this year we were invited! And it was SO much fun. We hope to do it evey year from now on.

Thank you to Johnny and Deanna for inviting us :) Now we KNOW we are "family".

Here are the highlights:

Melissa, Heath, Isaac, Halis, Sydney, Meaghan, Devon & Matt

Isaac in awe of the tree.

Melissa climbs the tree that she wants so that no one else can have it!

Isaac and his Mommy.

The prey has been "taken down" and the hunter shows off his "game".

Meanwhile, Meaghan attempts to cut down her own tree. It only took her 2 days, 3 hours and 17 minutes. We are so proud :)

Halis and Heath having a chuckle.

And the former football player lifts his tree high over his head, while ...

... the computer techie drags his. He is no fool!

Melissa REALLY preferred this tree, as she could fit more presents underneath it, but Heath wanted something a little less, well ... a little less ugly.

This is US.

My son never wants to smile in family photos. He always looks like we have taken him prisoner. And Meaghan is rubbing the chapstick on her lips. But hey, Halis and I are smiling!

Grandpy and Auntie Missy show Isaac how to make a snowball.

AND LET THE SNOWBALL FIGHTS BEGIN ....

Johnny says this one has Melissa's name written all over it.

What an arm on this one!

Look out, Devon knows what he is doing! He has a snowball and he's not afraid to use it.

Grandpy and Meaghan exchange snowballs. Although it looks like Grandpy may have won this battle.

Sydney, Meaghan, Grandpy, Devon & Missy.

Auntie threw a small snowball at Isaac's feet, and he thought it was wonderful!

Meaghan took a few hits.

Jodi took one hit on the head ... and judging from the background of the picture, so did Grandpy.

Hey, what are all those "nuts" doing in that tree?

Ok, now off to the sleigh rides ...

Isaac, Halis and Matt get cozy on the sleigh ride.

We say goodbye to the horses, and eachother.

What an AWESOME day!

Goofing with Isaac and Meg at Borders Bookstore

American Folk Festival, 2006

WOW! We had an absolute blast at this year's American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine. Halis, Meaghan, Isaac and I did alot of dancing, visiting with friends, parading, walking the river, dancing, and more dancing. We danced to Salsa, Zydeco and music from the Bahamas.

Now, we have always known that Meg has her own unique rhythm but we were blown away to discover that Isaac's got his own unique moves as well ... at only 17 months old. He loved the music and just kept on dancing. He created quite a crowd during the Zydeco performance. And later in the evening, he had the young ladies swept off their feet with his smooth moves. (See Isaac's dance video below):

Meaghan enjoyed quite a special treat when she was chosen out of a huge crowd to be the young lady to join the Bahama Junkanoo Revue for their parade grande finale. A lovely lady from the group called her over to wear a traditional headress and to dance with the group. Meaghan was beaming! It was such a great experience for her. And as Halis pointed out, Meaghan tends to get chosen for special music related experiences like this. There must be a larger musical plan for her.

As for Halis and I, we just enjoyed dancing and playing with the kids. We have attended the Folk Festival for years without any kids ... and we must say that we enjoyed it far more with them then without.

BY THE WAY ... if you have never attended the American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine ... GO! It is wonderful and it is free to everyone.

Sebasticook Lake, Newport, ME

Yesterday, Halis, Isaac and I went into town for some ice cream. By "divine providence", we met some really great guys who just moved to this area from Seattle, Washington. They came to live with their dad, Larry (a.k.a. Papa). They are James and Kevin. And they are all Unititarian-Universalists! Kevin is a divinity counselor and James teaches guitar and hand drums. It was a wonderful conversation and we look forward to getting together with them soon.

After enjoying some delicious banana boats, we three headed for a "dip" in Sebasticook Lake. There was a storm approaching, but we managed to get in some quality "rock-throwing" time.

Here are some photos:



Isaac and Daddy throwing rocks from the dock.



Isaac throwing rocks at the camera. Oops!



Sunset at Sebasticook Lake, Newport, Maine.

Goofing Off

Halis, Meaghan, and I spent last Saturday night goofing off with Isaac. This is a short 2 minute video of us throwing around all the laundry that I had just finished folding. Oh well ... Enjoy ...

Uncle Jamie's Visit

My brother, Jamie, came to visit our parents on August 5th, 2006. He brought his good friend Dave along. They came up to attend a VW show with my Dad on the 6th. It was a great weekend. We all hung out at my parents' house ... riding the Mule, working on my Dad's VW, eating, laughing, and cutting down trees (Halis). Isaac loved riding the Mule! And he was able to spend some time getting to know his Uncle.