Oma's 82nd Birthday

Wednesday was Oma's 82nd birthday.  Samantha made it special by calling Oma to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Jonas, Helen and I were there ....

to help Oma celebrate.  We ate cookies and ice cream.  Lots of cookies and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Oma.

Anniversary in Florida

Helen and I just returned from Bradenton Beach, Florida where we spent 8 lovely days together celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary.

Our goal was to do nothing.  OK, so we rode bikes ...

ate interesting food in interesting places ... 

and watched beautiful sunsets ...

but otherwise, we easily accomplished our goal.  It was our 4th trip to Anna Maria Island and a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary.  

Lucky for us, Samantha and Jake joined us for the last 4 days.  It was great!  We taught them how to bike ...

and loaf ...

and watch sunsets ...

like old people.  We are very pleased they were willing to join us.  Thank you Jake and Samantha.  It was a blast!

Oh yes ... we even followed a sunset home.

Electric Razor

Recently I ran out of razor blades. Normally, I would merely buy replacement blades and be done.  However, as I was scanning the options my eyes fell upon this ....

an electric razor.  No, not an electric shaver but an electric razor.  A Gillette Fusion Power MVP Razor.  You actually put a battery in this puppy!


I smirked and scoffed immediately dismissing it as totally ridiculous.  Then, as I thought about it, hmmmm ... it does has Fusion Power.  It also has an on/off switch. It even has 5 blades plus a sideburns trimmer.  "Soothing micropulses.  You'll barely feel the blades."  Pretty cool.

The fact is ... I like it.  How embarrassing!

New Year's Eve at Freemans'

Glenn and Mary hosted a wonderful New Year's Eve Feast.  Dan, Susan, John and Suzanne also joined us but left before I could get a group photo. Here are our hosts with a few of their 152 Nutcrackers.

Happy 2011

Christmas Holiday 2010

The Christmas Holiday was a blast!

As they say, the Christmas Holiday is a time for family and friends. Lucky for us ... we had lots of both this year.  Christmas Eve brought loved ones from near and far.  Samantha and Jake were here from Colorado and Andy and Donna from Missouri.  Jonas experienced his first USA Christmas with help from the Gs, Jorge and Carolyn.

We stayed up late, played games and wrapped presents.  Late that night we toasted the Newlyweds and the 1 year anniversary of Jake's proposal.

On Christmas Day, 15 of us gathered at the Gs' for food, family and fun.

The gift exchange took hours and Dad laughed so hard that one of his teeth fell out ... no kidding.  We took some goofy photos like this one I've captioned 

Bright Men with Brighter Hats.

We took "normal" photos as well like the traditional cousin tree shot:

The first one, taken in 1984, included Helen:

We took photos of lots of other fun people too:

In the early evening we visited Oma at her house where we exchanged gifts and reverted back to goofy photos like this one I've named

Presenting Oma.

Later, we retreated to Greenwood where the 5 of us shared a casual meal, some creative gifts ...

and lots of love.

I'm tellin' ya ... the Christmas Holiday was a blast!

Grandpa George turns 90

Helen and I were invited to join Samantha and Jake in Utah from December 19th through 22nd to celebrate Grandpa George's 90th birthday.  We also got to meet more of Jake's family.  The entire trip was fantastic.  I took tons of pictures ... waaaaaay too many to post here.  It is impossible to recite all of our wonderful experiences.  But, let there be no doubt, Utah hospitality is second to none. 

The day before the birthday party we had a fantastic dinner with Robert and Tracy at The Roof ....

where we also enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights at Temple Square and a breathtaking view of the Temple.

We got to see Jake's childhood home, his junior high school (and the long hike up the hill toward home), his high school (Bountiful High School ... the home of the Braves), and the University of Utah where Jake got his undergraduate and graduate degrees.  It was a blast.

Robert's educational and entertaining driving tour of the City filled us with a wealth of fascinating and historical facts about Salt Lake.  It was interesting and fun.

Grandpa George's 90th birthday party was legendary.  Here Robert lights 90 birthday candles with a blow torch as Grandpa George looks on.

Here is a glimpse of the yummy birthday dinner (at an interesting African restaurant) that we were privileged to attend:

We will be forever grateful for the warmth and hospitality we received.  

Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa George.

Christmas Carolers

Tonight Helen and I enjoyed a visit from some cute Christmas Carolers.

Helen gave them cookies.  They gave us joy.

Merry Christmas.

Jonas attends the THS Winter Dance - AFS Holiday Party

Last night, Jonas and Riley went to the Topeka High School Winter Semi-Formal.  School dances are not customary in Germany.  Jonas is truly having an American experience.  In typical Dad fashion, I had to take a picture before they left.

This afternoon, we hosted the AFS Holiday Party.  Students from around the world, and their Kansas host parents, gathered at out house.  The students brought a dessert customary in their home and told of a special Holiday celebration from their homeland.  Today we had students from 10  countries and 3 continents.  We have hosted this party for the last 12 years and we always enjoy the presentations ...

the yummy desserts ...

and the fun students.

Good tidings to you.

Granddad Award - Kirk & Cobb Christmas party

Yesterday I drove the Gs to Kansas City so Dad could receive another Award.  This one was presented to him by the Kansas Association for Justice, an association of 300+ lawyers throughout Kansas who advocate for the rights of the injured and who are dedicated to preserving the right to trial by jury.  Dad was a founding member in 1960 and served as its first President.  The original vision was to improve the civil justice system and raise the standards of trial advocacy and trial practice through education.  We are very proud of you Dad.

Most of his staff attended the awards ceremony.  At slightly slower than the speed of sound, brother Sam drove up from Springfield in his snazzy BMW Z6 convertible.  It was a fun family gathering.

On the way home, Sam apparently caught the quick eye of a Missouri Highway Patrolman who also loved his snazzy little car.  Speeding tickets are such a nuisance.


Last night we attended Helen's office Christmas party.  Helen has worked with Steve Kirk for more than 37 years.  Like wow!  Here is Steve with his wife Joann.

Food and fun was followed by a group photo.

Helen is the one wearing the Santa hat.

Fun Christmas decoration ....

Now here is a fun and creative neighbor ...