2004

Christmas 2004

Christmas was, as always both joyful and amusing. Ben is finally back from the Peace Corps, so we all got together for a family Welcome Home party. Things were their typical level of insanity.

Christmas Day at my parent's house

I cannot even begin to guess what Dad is yelling about. But I love this picture

Ben looks pretty good for having eaten foreign food for the past 2 1/2 years.
His hat is Kyrzyg, and he has lots of pictures of people wearing hats like this or similar.

Uncle Gary and Ben's Uncle Chris had to "document" everything, including documenting the documenting.

Grandmom, her kids, and all her grandkids except my brother.
Ben was starting to get pretty tired at this point, as you can tell.

The Klishis and Horne clans. That would be one Klishis clan and two Horne clans.
And Michael, who would qualify as a Klishis, except that he's too quiet.

Notice that most people are talking or yelling. This is typical.
What you can't get from the picture, however, is that fact that everyone in this family is loud.
Really loud.
I'd try and explain exactly how loud, except you wouldn't believe me.

Ben gave Michael a turban from Afghanistan. I got a burka.

Uncle Gary insists: Try Me!

I really like this picture of Grandmom.

Why am I so happy? Because these are Anti Establish Mints.

Sometimes little brothers give really cool gifts.

Baltimore

We made a fall trip to Baltimore. As usual we did some work around the house, as well as making sure to eat well.

Dad didn't bring any painting clothes, so had to borrow what was available in Grandmom's basement. He turned down the fluffy pink bathrobe, but was stuck with the pink sweatshirt.

Dad, Grandmom, and me

Semester's Over: Get to Work!

As soon as we came back from Eric's graduation, we started painting the deck, and the window frames, and took care of some other small projects that needed taken care of. I'm pleased with the way the house looks now.

Eric's Graduation

Eric graduated from Mary Washington College. We drove down to Virginia with my parents for the occasion.

The ceremony was very exciting. Lots of speakers. Who gave long talks. Lots of speakers.
Liz, Uncle Gary, and Eric, after the ceremony	Obligatory picture of Michael and me with Eric. The azaleas were quite beautiful.
Uncle Gary was glad that Eric graduated, although his wallet is now empty. (Lucky him, he gets a year break from tuition since Math graduates from high school next year.)

More March House Stuff

We also replaced the kitchen doors.

Old hood is gone, and so are some of the mauve tiles. Tiles will all eventually be removed, and new tile put up. (In case you can't tell, the old tile is mauve. Doesn't particularly go with anything)	Look! It spins!
This would be far more impressive if the eye was not drawn immediately to the missing tile. Ah well, at least we now have a fully functional hood.

Guest Bedroom: Done!

Once we came back to Morgantown, we got to work on the house, redoing the guest bedroom. Definite improvement I think.

Removing wallpaper is so much fun. Lucky for us, Kat provided much assistance, mostly through staying out of the way.	See! I do work!
A work in progress. Walls are done, the windows took a bit longer.
Voila! Finished product!

March Vacation

Since everyone in Cincinnati was ridiculously busy, we went east for spring break. We spent time in DC with Kim and Mike, and then spent time with Grandmom, doing projects for her. Plus, we ate a lot of seafood.

Flat Stanley enjoyed the Wright Brother's exhibit at the Air & Space Museum.	Michael at the Washington Monument. This picture is just for Susan.
Mike was starting to get a little bit tired of Flat Stanley.
We definitely enjoyed our visit with Grandmom.

Christmas 2003

Michael's family came down to visit before Christmas, then after Christmas, with the insanity of Brian and Stacie moving, the Hornes and Grandmom came to Morgantown. As Pit was at our house, we had to make do with another game. This was relatively quiet, although there are no outside witnesses to verify this fact.

	You can see how Wilson feels about Uncle Michael

Apparently Michael and I are the only ones enjoying this.