Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Maryland with the Janes' and Mcneils. It was loads of fun, and Zola made lots of new friends - some real, some not-so-real.

Zola and Kristy.

Zola is just as happy with a pretend person as a real one. Makes you wonder if we could have just left her at home for the weekend with a puppet or two.


Zola loved the D.C. metro. Lots of noise, lights, and movement.





Smallie Power! This is their sign.



The Janes and Mcneils play a game called

Nertz. It's highly competitive and sometimes people die, or (best-case-scenario) are maimed. Kim (second from the right) is the best at it. Drew (far left) is disguised as a beach towel.

Here are the Mcneils and the Janes'. Thanks for letting Zola and her parents crash your Thanksgiving party!

Ma and Pa

Zola, I imagine like most babies, seems to like her parents no matter what. This is a kindness on her part that will, I assume, soon wear off. For now, though, she seemed to like Dad's short-lived mullet hairstyle.




The most disturbing thing is how easily Ma cut the mullet - as if she's done it thousands of times before . . . Here, Jana is trying to look as trashy as dirk - if you look closely you'll see her missing tooth. Weak sauce, Jana. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to look like a true Pennsylvania scratcher.

Learning to Play

Zola is getting big enough (3 months this week) to start to play with toys and friends. Soon enough, she's going to be asking for the keys to the car.

This is one of her favorite toys. I think these little dangling things talk to her. I'm positive they're smallie sympathizers.


This is Maggie - Zola's first friend. Maggie is a great friend. She's always helping find Zola's pacifier and toys and is very gentle and careful with her.




We watched almost the entire Pittsburgh Steelers' game on Sunday. Zola thinks the Cleveland team is a bunch of chumps! She's ready to fight them all (that's why her fists are clenched).

Party of Three

We blessed Z. at church on Sunday and took this picture later that afternoon.

Don't worry, Mom. I wore a tie and Zola wore a white blanket.

Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Marshal

Marshal and Lindsey made the journey from Chicago this weekend. This was the first time little Z. has met both sides of an aunt-uncle marriage. We had lots of fun driving through the PA countryside, playing "spot the Amish," and guzzling Hershey's milkshakes.

Love the new outfit. I do heart Chicago.



A beautiful fall day in Big Valley, PA.





Dirk and Marshal inside the Greenwood furnace.
The furnace has never held more heat.



Chocolate World is lots of laughs.

It's moo-tritious

Marshal and Jana on a secret sample-survey mission.
They could tell you about it, but then they'd have to kill you.


It's like crack. You just can't get enough.


Marshal really does deserve the name "Sug'" (short for Sugar).



Thanks again for coming to visit, L. and M.!

Halloween

Zola and Mom, ready for Halloween.
We didn't get much candy, but that's okay.
Bears don't really like candy. They prefer berries and grubs.