Our gang at the zoo: L, K, V, J, Katja
Dear
George,
This
was the fourth Thanksgiving in our grandchildren V and L’s young lives. I’m sure they don’t remember anything
about Nos. 1 and 2, and even No. 3 is doubtful. So this might be the best Thanksgiving so far for our
youngest family members. It was definitely
one of my and Katja’s favorites. This time J and K decided to bring the kiddies
north. Because of the constraints
in her work schedule, K flew up and back, while J drove the 800 miles with the
children, doing a stopover in Alabama each way. I was amazed that V and L managed so well on such a long
trip, but they are growing up all the time and get along together
amicably. Their verbal skills have
developed a lot since we saw them in May, and they’re now capable of playing
board games and operating sophisticated technology (well beyond their
grandparents’ abilities). Our
holiday days were filled with nonstop adventures and excitement, whether at
home or out in the community. At
day’s end the children would go to bed about 7 or 7:30, and we wouldn’t hear a
peep till morning. Here are a few
photos which capture some of the highlights of Thanksgiving week.
Love,
Dave
We
did the zoo on our very first outing on Tuesday. Lulu, the new baby giraffe, was the biggest attraction, but
not far behind were the elephants, a baby aardvark, the manatee, the polar
bears, and the white lions.
The
children loved the petting zoo.
They got to feed the goats by hand, a scary but titillating prospect.
The
playground in the Children’s Zoo was lots of fun too.
One
nice thing about coming home at the end of the afternoon was the daily bubble
bath.
On
Wednesday we went to the Children's Museum at the Museum Center. L was impressed that Cincinnati’s Union
Terminal had served as the real-life model for Superman's Hall of Justice.
The
holiday train display was in full gear.
I'd
prepared to have the children perform a Thanksgiving play. They were initially wary, but when they
got their Pilgrim and Indian hats they got more enthusiastic.
Much
to everyone's surprise, V had a moment of stage fright just before the show,
but she pulled it together when her mom joined her on the stage. Here the two Indians, Growling Bear and
Flying Squirrel, are making their on-stage entrance (along with our visiting
sheepdog Sophie who has a tennis ball in her mouth).
When
they weren’t busy acting, the children loved going up and down in our
elevator.
They'd
also gotten more artistic since we'd last seen them.
K
flew back for work on Thanksgiving evening, and J took the kids and grandpa to
the bouncy-bounce palace in the suburbs on Friday.
Afterwards
we went to the thrift shop. J told
the kids he would buy them some kittens, but, if they couldn't find any
kittens, he would buy them some mittens.
They wound up settling for mittens.
After
racing about at full throttle, the children were capable of falling asleep in
mere seconds in their car seats.
Katja
joined us at Skyline Chili for hot dogs (kids) and four-ways (adults).
V
takes the dogs for a little walk on each of her visits to Cincinnati. Here she is outside our house with
Sophie.
A
last day picture on our patio: J holding L, Katja, me holding V, Duffy in the
rear.
A
car full of kiddies and goodies, headed south on Whitfield Avenue toward New
Orleans. We got a little
teary-eyed.
G-mail Comments
-Phyllis S-S (11-28): Dave, They are so adorable.
Phyllis
-Donna D (11-26): david,
this is awesome! such great pics...looks like sooo much fun!!
-Linda K-C (11-26): Sweet photo , sweet memories, will try
to share Xmas as wonderfully as you did thanksgiving, it means a lot to me to
see these wonderful photos. I
still think we all need a time with Burke and Lundg*** ca vacation.
-Linda K-C (11-26): Also the older the kids get the more
they remember us, they speak with great affection to me about you and Katja.
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