2011 Thanksgiving in Galveston, TX

This year we repeated our tradition of getting together at Thanksgiving with the kids and families.  We also returned to the house in Galveston, TX, we had rented two years ago.  Chris' family and Karen's family were able to come.  Doug was pretty busy getting ready for his wedding to Ashley Kulju on 10-DEC; we missed you guys!  However, we'll all get together at the wedding!

Here some some pictures of the house, the Grand Victorian, that we rented.  It's in the historic district of Galveston.

 

 This is the view from the back:

The heated pool in the backyard was a big hit!

Here are a few of the nearby houses.  Some are rather colorful.

Gram (aka Rosie) led the kids in making Rice Krispy Treat turkeys.  They were a bit messy but delicious.  The kids had a great time!

As I mentioned, we really enjoyed the heated pool; we used it just about every day.  Here are some pictures of us enjoying the pool.

 

All the kids thought it was neat to hang unto Chris.

Karen, Logan and Kayleigh enjoyed the water.

 The kids had fun jumping off the rocks/waterfall into the water.  Here's an Adam, the "flying banana" in an action shot.

On Friday night we walked to the Galvez Hotel to see the kick-off of the Galveston Christmas season.  The tree in front of the hotel was well lit.

They also had a band of bagpipers playing Christmas songs - very unique.

Here's the Flachman clan in front of the lobby tree.

Chris, Adam and Lottie enjoyed the Galvez lights.

  All the kids (and adults) enjoyed the gingerbread house display:

While we were together, we celebrated Logan's birthday; he'll be 4 on 18-DEC.  He enjoyed opening the packages:

We also open Christmas presents while we were together.  Lottie, Adam and Logan are having fun opening presents.

Shane took the kids outside to pop some snappers.  The kids had a great time making them pop.

Gram enjoyed being with the grandkids.  Here she is with Lottie and Kayleigh.

Chris enjoyed testing the hammock on the upper porch:

Amy is getting Lottie's hair ready.  The end product was beautiful.

Yes - the kids enjoyed bathing together in the upstairs bathtub.  Here's the whole gang in the tub:

While we were there we also had a great Thanksgiving meal - complete with deep-fried turkey thanks to Shane and Karen.  We didn't get too many shots before or during the meal, but someone did get a good picture of Adam and Lottie ready to "chow down" on some turkey legs.

As were were getting ready to leave, we tried to get a final picture of the four kids.  Here they are:  Kayleigh and Logan Flachman and Lottie and Adam Callicott.

 We had a great time and look forward to seeing everyone again soon in Columbus, OH!

Garvan Woodland Gardens / November 19

On Saturday, 19-NOV, Rosie and I went to Garvan Woodland Gardens with Wayne and Delma Jensen.  The HSV Big Band had a free Christmas concert at 6 pm in the chapel.  After an excellent concert, we went to see the lights.  This year the Gardens has a total of 1.8 million lights in the display.

Wayne and Delma are ready to see the lights.

Here are some selected pictures of lights around the Gardens.

 

 

 

 

Rosie calls this the "Grinch Tree."

The train is always a big attraction.

Santa's sleigh is new this year.

Complete with Rudolph.

Here we are at the lighted wreath - just to prove we were actually there!

The weather was nice, and the lights were excellent as usual.  The Garvan Woodlands Gardens' lights are a great place to get into the Christmas spirit.

The Fletchers Vist HSV / November 1-6

Graham and Lorraine Fletcher arrived in Little Rock on their way back to Washington D.C. from Australia.  We met them in Little Rock, and they stayed with us in HSV the first week of NOV.  It was fun to get to visit with Graham and Lorraine again.

We took them to see some sites around the Village.  Here they are at the overlook.

 

On Wednesday we went on a boat tour of Lake Hamilton.  The tour was organized by Dick Paulsen - a member of the HSV Anglers' Club.  The tour was great fun.  Rosie took a picture of Graham, Lorraine and me as we head across the water.

 

Many of the houses on Lake Hamilton are beautiful.  Here are some random pictures of Lake Hamilton houses:

As expected Rosie organized a card making session while Lorraine was here.  Here are pictures of the group with their finished products.  

Lorraine and Rosie took the short trip to Hot Springs for a traditional hot bath.  Here they are ready to head into the baths.  Do they look like Romans?

We drove to Scott, AR, to visit the Cotton Museum and eat at Cotham's restaurant - real "home cooking."  The museum even had a small cotton patch.  

Graham is doing a bit of cotton pickin'.

We took them for a walk on the Cedar Creek trail.  Here they are on the trail.

We had a great time visiting with Graham and Lorraine and showing them around the area.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by.