Christmas!

Lauren gave Quinten a toy story watch!


Our matching Rudolph's with their ski helmets.


Santa brought Quinten a grill!

Grandpa Jim spent the day with us!

Toy food for the grill and Pink Barbie!

Christmas brought great joy again in our home. We had a lovely dinner Christmas Eve followed by Christmas Eve service. Quinten participated in the Christmas Eve service as an angel in the play. Initially he declined but he changed his mind half way through the service. Lauren went over to her mom's after 9 so we celebrated with her after the church service. Jim Zappe came over early afternoon on the 24th but became ill and spent the day and evening in bed.

Christmas morning Quinten provided the first gift by sleeping in past 7am! Mark's dad provided the first memorable incident involving the garage door. Quinten asked for shirts, socks, underwear and a grill. He had been a very good boy and received all his requests. We are trying hard to keep the gifts simple so the real meaning of the season is not lost. The night before I was questioning my decision thinking I was being too much like Scrooge. Christmas morning I knew I had made the right decision. Quinten took his time opening gifts and appreciated each and every gift. He does not have all the "stuff" most kids have but he enjoys what he owns.

We were also pleased to spend Christmas with my parents. It has been a hard year for my parents; having time with them this holiday was deeply meaningful. They loved having their family over for part of the day.

COSI

Discovering how the water gun directed the flow of the shapes.


Playing with legos proved as much fun as the science!


Quinten and Haley "touch" a cloud.

Clifford came to COSI!

Quinten and I went to COSI for the first time in mid-December. Our friends-Karen, Haley and Ian joined us which was great. The front area had so many wonderful and entertaining activities that we joked we might not even go into the exhibits. Thanks to Janet's parents who purchased a family membership so they could go for free! There are so many exhibits that we did not explore half before going home. We sat in a weather show where Quinten exclaimed "I'm bored". The science man really did a wonderful job bringing science to life. Once he created the cloud, all three kids became very excited. We spent four hours at COSI and cannot wait to return.

Santa Train

Daddy and Quinten. This is one of the first pictures where I see how much Quinten looks like his daddy!


Santa and Quinten get a visit.

Is he coming?!!

Once again we went on the Santa train starting in Nelsonville. We went Sunday afternoon and the train was packed. Santa made his appearance n the first 30 minutes. Quinten was quite excited to go and taked about the Santa train to everyone. However, he "froze" and did not utter a single word. He did take his toy magazine to show Santa that he is requesting a toy grill. Quinten is being quite practical asking for socks, shirts, underwear and the grill. We want him to know the magic of Christmas but the real meaning of the season-love, grace, blessings from his family. But, I think that we are on a good start with him.

Trick or Treat!

Creepside Festival-downtown Gahanna


The family pumpkins!



My sweetheart~!


Ready for trick or treat!

Halloween night was brutally cold with temperatures in the 40's. Quinten loved getting dressed up but decided against going out to collect the goodies. He preferred to stay home with daddy to pass out candy. Quinten went to the houses down the street and came home to hang out with daddy on the porch. We participated in numerous Halloween activities-downtown Gahanna, the library, school parade and the main event. Quinten's costume came from several sources all of which he will actually wear again!

October Visitors

Sarah and Ethan Zappe.


Spiderman on the move! AKA Ethan Zappe



Transfixed by the Disney channel....

Before the big lip episode...

"The Destructors" as Mark liked to call them!

Mark's brother and family came over for the OSU/Purdue game weekend. We always enjoy their visits and were happy to host them once again. The boys are two years apart and have begun what I hope is a long friendship. They played nicely together and Quinten was a good host sharing toys. Ethan was much more active than I remember Quinten being at his age but high energy in well behaved boys does not bother me at all. Ethan was fun and really entertaining for everyone. Since he had just turned two the previous weekend, we celebrated his birthday with Ohio family who could not be in Pennsylvania. Grandpa Jim, Grandma Cheryl and Great Grandma Thelma were able to be here on Saturday which made the time more special. Quinten enjoyed having someone to play with and cannot wait for them to be together again. There was one incident where the big wheel and bike collided which resulted in Ethan receiving a big fat lip but as Steve Zappe said "the visit would not have been complete without some blood!".

Halloween 2010

Mark, Janet, Quinten and Lauren's pumpkins!




Quinten and Ethan in their costumes and playing with the pumpkins!




Our sweetie pie fireman!




Getting ready to go trick or treating!



Halloween might be more fun for Mark than anyone else in our family! He decorated the house inside and outside a month before Halloween. Quinten talked nonstop about being a fireman though being the Frisch's big boy was tempting. Creativity is not Janet's hallmark so she was pleased that he went with the fireman. Temperatures plummeted trick or treat night which was held on Thursday before the 31st. Quinten let me take pictures and then declared that it was too cold to go door to door. Personally I agreed with him. He decided to go to a few doors and came home. We had less than 10 kids come to our door which was very disappointing as seeing little kids in costume is one of my favorite aspects of the holiday.

Camping at Mohican State Park

Looking down from the fire tower where Lauren, Claire, Quinten and myself climbed!



Does this provide perspective for you? Audrey tried several times to climb but never made it past the first several stairs. The stairs had a railing but nothing between the railing and the ground!



The kids hanging out in the hamock!



Grandpa Jim enjoying the fire? Rest is great when you are camping!



Quinten busting out some dance moves. This one makes me laught!

Last weekend we took the camper out to Mohican State Park. We invited Janet's nieces, Claire and Audrey, along with Mark's father to join us. It was a full camper but we enjoyed every minute. Perfect weather enhanced the weekend. OK-it was a tad cold at night but we had space heaters for the tent and in the camper. The sun cooperated and felt great! We spent Saturday morning hiking and exploring and the afternoon canoeing down the Mohican River which was much more like a creek! Claire wanted to try kayaking and took off so fast that we could not keep up! Mark relented some cooking to me! We keep things pretty simple and had to eat out Saturday night as the canoe trip took longer than anticipated. Turns out that was a wise choice as I did not have enough food! Sunday we went home and enjoyed more time with my nieces. Lauren enjoyed having someone close to her age along for the trip. Quinten loved having Audrey and Claire with him.

First Day of High School

Father and daughter.


The high school freshman!

Lauren started her freshman year at Gahanna Lincoln High School late August. While she was ready for school, she was not as excited for the sumer to end. I was not prepared for the emotions I felt as she headed to the bus stop. Tears in my eyes I looked at Mark and said I am not ready. Mark had a few tears in his eyes as well. Lauren will do great academically and socially though the transition is a big one.

Pennsylvania Visit

Steve and Ethan going for a ride!



Lauren and Matt really do love each other!


My cool dude!


Look up Ethan!



The 2 youngest cousins got along great.

We went to Pennsylvania to celebrate Steve Zappe's 40th birthday. Luckily we were joined by Chris and his family and Mark's mother who came in from North Carolina. Time with the Zappe/Maloy family is always enjoyable. As the cousins get older, it is entertaining to see the relationships develop. Lauren and Matt did not bother with any electronics and had fun! The three youngest played well in Ethan's play room and in his kitchen. Ethan is starting to talk and is a very active little boy. I forgot that he was not even 2!

Birthday Palooza!

Quinten is chasing Charlie down the slip-n-slide!


Early Birthday gift of an excavator.



Janet made this train cake. Quinten only wanted one candle and one gummy bear in the train cars.




Mark received University of Illinois patio lights for the camper!

Quinten and Mark decorated a birthday cake for me!

August means a birthday palooza for the Zappe family. As most of you know, Mark and I share the same birthday. Quinten has his own day three days later. I hired a sitter so Mark and I could go out to eat at Eddie Merlot's restaurant. It was beyond delicious! I had the Chilean Sea Bass and Mark had the Filet Mignon. Both of us were very happy with our choices. We exchanged our gifts the previous day.

Quinten was allowed a party with four friends. We kept it simple hosting at our house and using outside water fun. I was a little nervous not know exactly what I was doing with the kids and activity. Quinten was beyond excited to host his friends at his home. When the kids all came in for cake and ice-cream, the noise level was loud! It was wonderful to see the kids come together and play and play. We were also fortunate to have my parents, brother, s-i-l and sister Patti join us. Mark's father and b-i-l came and made the day perfect for Quinten.

Dells Part 2

Our room view from Madison!



The waterfront on the UW campus in Madison.



We finally found a train in Wisconsin. This one never went faster than 15 MPH and only lasted an hour with a break!

We had some silly fun with our new friend at Mexicali Rose!

These acrobats were very high in the ski. Mark had to leave the show it made him so nervous!

Wisconsin Dells

We took a summer trip to Wisconsin during the 1st week of August. Yes, we are traveling again Uncle Jim! Originally, we decided to take the train for the experience. Amtrak has limited service which meant we traveled to Cincinnati for a 1am departure. Arriving at the train station at midnight Amtrak called saying the train hit a tree in West Virginia and would not be arriving on time. Amtrak arranged a private bus to drive us to Chicago which was our final train destination. By 2am it became clear that there was never going to be a train and there was no bus. Mark started driving and drove through the night stopping only after we were in Milwaukee! Heavy rain and construction added to the difficulty of the drive (don't ask me as I fell asleep!). Looking at the bright side, Lauren and Quinten were wonderful-stayed positive and no complaints. I was disappointed as I wanted this experience for Quinten but moved on by morning. We did have a memorable trip to say the least! There are so many pictures and I will attempt to post the ones I think you will enjoy.

Tommy Bartlett ski show. Rather cheesy but the giggles coming from Quinten were priceless.



Lauren and Quinten loved horseback riding. They loved it so much that we went two times. Lauren rode Jett both times and Quinten and mommy rode Elmo and Smoky Joe.



Quinten found a cave at the Dells during the boat ride and the hike.



Quinten awaits teh train that never came!



This does not look as bad as it might appear. We were at the feeding area and Quinten wanted the goat to look at the camera!