As the year ends

It's hard to pick out just a few pictures to represent the whole year but here we go.

Braden's Christening	Florida	San Diego
Dan's Birthday party	Granite countertops	Kyle turns three
Scarlett Sophia Wilson	Williamsburg, Va	Amy's birthday party on our deck
La Grange Pet Parade	Cicadas	Central Park, New York
37th Anniversary at Geja's	Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee	Braden turns one
Scarlett's Christening	Saugatuck, Michigan	White Sox game
Chicago Botanical Garden	Lindsey turns three	Lori and Keir buy a new house
Another trip to New York	Jill's surprise birthday party	Disneyland
Thanksgiving at Lori's	Hill Christmas Party

Let it snow

  It started Friday morning and snowed most of the day.

 

We ran out to the grocery store early and then stayed in for the rest of the day.

I called for the MRI results and they said I have a herniated disk and a bulging disk. They recommended physical therapy so I started at 7:00 on Saturday.  A variety of different exercises.

At noon we went over to Lori's for lunch. We're watching Scarlett and Lindsey overnight.

Winter Wonderfest

There's a winter festival at Navy Pier.  We took Kyle and Lindsey on Thursday.  I have acute sciatica and my leg was really hurting but I decided to go ahead so as not to disappoint the kids (and miss seeing them).  After I was walking around a while it got better. The "fest" is in Festival Hall up on the second floor so we parked indoors and left our coats in the car.  Lots of attractions and "rides" for kids.

 

We had lunch at Riva Cafe downstairs and then walked down to the the other end of Navy Pier and went into the Atrium.

It was really a fun day.  Kyle and Lindsey enjoy each other so much.

It's a wonderful life

We just had a great Christmas.  Christmas Eve went went over to Lori's for dinner. She put on a great spread. and we had a lot of fun with Lindsey and Scarlett. After Christmas cookies and candy can pie for dessert we headed over to Hinsdale where Dan and Amy were attending a family party.  We were picking up Kyle Braden to take them to our house to go to bed.

We left out some stuff for Santa and his reindeer and then settled in for a long winter's nap. Dan and Amy came about 10:20 or so and helped carry all the gifts up to put around the tree. 

 

 

 

 

On Christmas morning we all got up and watched Kyle and Braden open their gifts from Santa and their parents.

When Keir and Lori arrived another round of present opening began in earnest.

It was a wonderful day and everybody had a great time.  Had a wonderful Christmas breakfast with the traditional coffee cake, egg casserole and chicken and apple sausages.  By the time we got that all cleaned up and all the gifts opened it was time for the little ones to take naps.

Later that afternoon Jill put on a scrumptious beef Wellington dinner.

All ready for Christmas

I can't believe it has been a week since I last wrote something. We've been busy getting ready for Christmas. I finished the last of my shopping for Jill at Von Maur on Thursday when I met my buddy Mark for lunch at Yorktown Mall.  Friday I ran over to Keir and Lori's at 8:30 to watch the girls while Keir and Lori went to the doctor for Keir's follow-up visit after the sledding accident. (A Wild Day) I had a blast - we stayed up in the playroom for the whole hour.

After I came home we wrapped gifts for about four hours. (And we aren't that slow at wrapping). After that we ran to Trader Joe's for some wine and a few other things.  When I got up in the morning my left leg hurt a bit but I didn't think too much about it.  By Saturday morning it was hurting a lot and I had a fluttery sensation in my thigh.  I went to the doctor and he said it was acute sciatica - this is inflammation of the sciatic nerve which runs all the way down your leg.  He ordered x-rays of my back and tried to get me in for an MRI.  Unfortunately all of the nearby MRI places are already closed until December 26th.  I've got some pills which I've been taking since yesterday afternoon but I'm pretty disappointed with them.  Lots of pain and not much improvement - hoping things get a little better today.

We ordered a lot of gifts on line this year, maybe even more than last year. Ironically the last gift to arrive (yesterday) didn't make it in good shape.

 

 

 

It was very warm yesterday with a lot of fog. Last night our friends Jack and Jeanie (from Houston) came over. We had a nice lasagna dinner and a great visit.  They were here from 5:00 until about 12:30. This morning it is cold and it is snowing out.