Grandsons visit

It's always nice to see family. After a very nice Valentines day, and not so stressfull day at Block, we had a very nice visit with the grandsons. Of course their parents came along as well. Deb made a really tasty lasagna for dinner. We spent some time playing with toys and then watching a DVD with little John.
Little John liked to dance and clap to the music on the DVD. It was fun to dance with him.

Little John is not one for sitting still. Always going from one thing to something else. So it was hard to capture his attention for pictures. But Caleb is easier as he will still sit still. Although that probably won't last as he is very close to walking. Won't mom and dad have fun with 2 boys to chase around the house?

Everyone got to hold Caleb.

And as always, Bean had to be part of what was going on. Little John seemed very interested in Bean. Although Caleb not so much at first.

All in all it was a great weekend. I can't believe how fast the boys are growing up.

Valentines day

Happy Valentines day. Andrea made this sign for us last year so we decided to keep it to put up every year. And Valentines day wouldn't be complete without some beautiful flowers.

Welecome to Kennebunk Maine. Deb and I went on a little get away to celebrate Valentines day. This bridge separates Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.In case you are not sure where it is, here are the approximate lattitude and longitude. I saw this above a store front and thought it was different.There are many interesting places near Kennebunkport. We actually stayed in Kennebunk.And some very interesting shops in town.If you look closely you can see icicles hanging from this window decoration. This monument is dedicated to all those men and women that have served our country. A very nice tribute.Although it was very cold out, the ducks didn't seem to mind going for a swim.But I think this one somehow got lost.And of course we needed a place to stay for the night. This is a very nice Bed and Breakfast. Notice the sign below the big sign?To top off the night we had a very nice dinner at a local restaurant. The food was good and the prices very reasonable.

Pampered Chef

Well Deb decided to host a Pampered Chef party. One of her co-workers at Block has been doing Pampered Chef parties for about 8 years. It is always fun entertaining family and friends.
Before the party got started, there was some preparation.


Karen set up some of the products on the dining room table for the guests to look at ahead of time.

Karen and Deb made two items for everyone to sample. The first was Jerk Chicken Nachos made on the round stone. The second was a brownie dessert made on an oblong flat stone. But before that there were some appetizers.

Karen working on the jerk chicken nachos.
And along with Nachos, you need sour cream. Look at the handy little dispenser.

While the guests enjoyed the nachos, they also got to look at the Pampered Chef catalog at all the interesting products.

Then came the dessert. It was really good. Andrea volunteered to help make the dessert.



And a good host always makes sure her guests wine glasses are full.

Any time there are guests in the house, Bean wants to be in on the action. He doesn't like to be left out. So he found himself a place where he could oversee all the excitement. Of course he really wasn't into Pampered Chef so he just slept.

A history of our cats

Before Deb and I met, I had Norman. Although he was originally my daughters cat, she could not take him when she moved out after college. So I got to keep him. He was a loving and extremely affectionate cat. He loved everyone even if you weren't a cat person. He was around for approximately 15 years.

Before Deb met me, She had Bonzai. Bonzai was an interesting kitty. She was not as affectionate and sometimes a little crazy, but she had some very nice points. Whenever Deb would get an empty cardboard box, she would chew out the corner so she would have a place for her head to rest. She also loved to chase balls around the floor. And loosing them. When Deb moved out there were at least a dozen under the stove. She also used to love to look out the window at the birds. She wasn't much for letting you pat her unless it was on her terms.Then there was Gus. Our first kitty in our new home. He was the sweetest kitty. Very playful and extremely lovable. He loved everyone. We got him a kitty tower from freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/) which he absolutely loved. He would race up and down across the dining room and up the tower and back down. He also loved the laser as well. Unfortunately we lost him unexpectedley. Only 1 year old.

We couldn't go with out a cat for long so along came Bean. He is a very affectionate kitty. Not a lap kitty though, but is still very loveable. Especially if we have been gone for any time. He is definetly a cat with a routine. He loves to drink from the kitchen or bathroom sink. He likes to play with splenda packets and anything like that. He also likes to knock things off the kitchen counter. Which he does all the time. Unfortunately, one reason episode involved a hot mug of Deb's tea early one morning. Not sure if he knocked it off on purpose or if he hit it as he flew up on the counter as he sometimes does. He will also race up the stairs if he thinks someone might be going up. I think he needs to be first. In addition he is usually outside the bedroom door first thing in the morning waiting for Deb to get up. Needlesss to say, he has numerous nicknames like meetball and dufus and sometimes fruit cake among others. He is also a big boy at 13 lbs last vet check up.

Well we thought Bean could use a playmate. So we adopted Izzy. A female part Siamese. She was a very pretty cat and also very playful. Although she absolutely hated it if you tried to pick her up. The 2 got a long very well together, for 6 months. Although she was a few months older, she was a little smaller, probably the Siamese in her. As I said they got along for about 6 months. Then all of a sudden one day she freaked and her and Bean had a knock down drag out fight. Even after separating them for a short time, they still came out fighting. We think maybe she got fed up with Bean. He plays agressively some time and he is probably 1 1/2 times her size. So we gave her back to the shelter to be adopted by a family with no other cats.

Well then along came Frankie. This time we thought we would get another boy cat as well as a kitten. Figuring the 2 could grow up together. Frankie's name was Francis at the shelter so we changed it to Frank. Frank and Bean just seems to go good together. They did play a little together. Bean liked to lick him. Which was sometimes followed by him biting Frank. Well Frank is a very affectionate kitty. He will sit in my lap for hours. However, he got sick about a month after we got him. And unfortunately we don't know what is wrong with him. He has had 2 different blood tests and been looked at by 3 different vets. It doesn't look good for the little guy. We keep praying for him. Perhaps a miracle will happen. Will keep you updated.

Being a Grandparent can be so much fun.

I love being a grandparent. Although my grandchildren are still quite young, I can certaintly see them coming up with some of the below statements. I hope you enjoy.


Being a Grandparent
> 1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes
> of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she
> applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, 'But Gramma,
> you > forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!' I will probably never put lipstick
> on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye...

> 2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday.
> .....He asked me how old I was, and I told him, '62.' He was quiet for a
> moment, > and then he asked, 'Did you start at 1?'

> 3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old
> slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the
> children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally,
> she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them
> back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the
> three-year-old say with a trembling voice, 'Who was THAT?'

> 4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own
> childhood was like: 'We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made
> from a > tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild
> raspberries in the woods.' The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all
> in. At last she said, 'I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!'

> 5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, 'Grandma, do you know
> how you and God are alike?' I mentally polished my halo and I said, 'No,
> how are we alike?' ' You're both old,' he replied.

> 6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word
> processor. She told him she was writing a story. 'What's it about?' he asked.
> 'I don't know,' she replied. 'I can't read.'

> 7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I
> decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was.
> She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying, 'Grandma, I think you should try to
> figure out some of these yourself!'

> 8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the
> lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a
> few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered,
> 'It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with
> flashlights.'

> 9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, 'I'm not
> sure.' 'Look in your underwear, Grandpa,' he advised. 'Mine says I'm four
> to six.'

> 10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother,
> 'Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today. 'The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep 'her cool. 'That's interesting,' she said, 'how do you make babies?' ''It's simple,' replied the girl. 'You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'.'

> 11. Children's Logic: 'Give me a sentence about a public servant,' said a
> teacher. The small boy wrote: 'The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.'
> The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. 'Don't you know what pregnant
> means?' she asked. 'Sure,' said the young boy confidently. 'It means
> carrying a child.'

> 12. A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids
> home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the
> truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties.'
> 'They use him to keep crowds back,' said one child. 'No,' said another.
> 'He's just for good luck.' A third child brought the argument to a close.
> 'They use the dogs,' she said firmly, 'to find the fire hydrants.'

Belated Christmas

Well I had planned on posting before Christmas. Well better late than never.

Decorating for Christmas can be a lot of fun. I can watch others do it just fine. I did hang one ornament on the tree. Deb and Andrea did the rest. Andrea added the ribbons.Some of the other decorations. Andrea likes to wrap the pictures. It makes a nice touch.Here are a couple other decorations. There were others but unfortunately I either didn't take pictures of them or they didn't come out good enough.And even the toilet received a little Christmas decoration.And here is our tree lit up. Not the best shot.

Christmas in Ct. This year the Hobden family Christmas was in Ct. (Patty and John switch every year). Here Paige and Caleb are playing with an old toy while waiting to open this years presents.

Both John and Paige really liked John's Thomas blanket.Paige waiting to open another present.
I asked little John if he wanted to open more presents and this was his response. I guess he was overwhelmed.
Finally after all presents were opened, the two oldest sat down to watch a video. Before Paige, Grace and family had to head back to NH.

Christmas in Lowell. Well I didn't take ,many pictures. The first one is Matt after he saw that he finally got his Kayak. The wait is finally over. Unfortunately it was a little too large to wrap so we put it on the back of the couch (with a nice bow).

And Andrea received a new laptop. I think she was pretty happy with it.

After Christmas I went to visit Paige and Grace.Grace really seems to like Curious George.