John Hoopes visits Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina!

We had a great visit with Dave's dad just after Christmas. Thanks for coming!

If you come to Dayton, you'll probably end up at the Air Force Museum, like it or not. There isn't a lot to see here, but this is big, and free. Here are Dave and his dad enjoying the planes.

The kids and I finally caught up with them!

John brought Pirate stories and toys. Here the kids are listening to the story while playing with their new toys.

We spent one night at the Great Wolf lodge, a hotel and waterpark. Everyone had a great time! And what a great picture of us in our swimming suits!

We made Thai and Indian food while John was here. Dave and his dad shopped for ingredients at several local ethnic markets.

We drove south to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was just after a snow storm, and was unusually cold for the south. The scenery was amazing! The waterfalls were frozen, and there was snow on all the trees! Perfect day!

We did a short hike to a famous waterfall.

Emily and Benjamin take a little break.

Here we are at the top. It was pretty and quiet up there.

Christmas Traditions

Waiting on the steps Christmas morning. It's almost time to visit the Christmas room!

Emily got some princess books. Dave read them out loud.

The kids were excited about their presents. Too bad they didn't open their new pajamas earlier on in the game! Here is Benjamin with the walkie talkies that santa brought.Emily loved her fancy new dress!

Joshua got a race car set, and was done with Christmas. He didn't need anything else!

Here we are on Christmas Eve. The stockings are hung...
I love our Christmas traditions. We have a nice mix of the Osmonds and the Hoopes. We eat a traditional meal like my family had growing up: Norwegian meatballs, mashed potatoes, rolls, creamed rutabega, green cabbage, corn, and carrots. We had rice pudding for dessert, and Benjamin found the almond and won the chocolate santa. Then we dressed up to put on the nativity play (Dave's family), and finally, we all "laid in a star" (also Dave's family). You can see the picture below. It was fun to have Joseph and Kathryn around to take a picture of our star!

This is just a cute picture of Emily in her winter gear.

On Christmas Eve this year, we made candy trains. The kids (and Joseph and Kathryn) did a beautiful job. The trains looked delicious!Here is our rendition of the nativity play. Emily was Mary, Dave was Joseph, Benjamin and Joshua were wisemen, Joseph was a shepherd, and Kathryn was the angel. They did a great job!

I went in to Ben's class for their Christmas Party. We had a great time. Here is a photo of Ben with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Smith.

We met Joseph and Kathryn at Clifton Mill for an amazing light display. Fortunately is was fairly warm, and we had a really fun evening.