Florence

Just received these pictures from Italy and hope you enjoy them.

Florence

In front of Baptistry

Campanile di Glotto

Campanile di Glotto from the top. It a long way down!

Keith Called

We received a call for our world traveler tonight so for those of you who are interested in what he has been doing in Italy just keep reading.

His group has been working second shift and has had every weekend off since they arrived in mid April. They are staying on base at the base hotel so he has his own room but he does have to go to the lobby to use the Internet. Because it is one of the few wireless spots in the area he does not use it much. He said that it is very slow because so many people are using it. He is going to try to use it to send us some pictures tomorrow. We can't wait to see them and if we do receive some we will share them here.

Last weekend he and some friends traveled to Venice. He actually said they were disappointed as the city seemed dirty and there was a lot of graffiti everywhere. Today they traveled about an hour to the city of Florance. They did a lot of site seeing and visited some of the museums seeing a lot of Michelangelo's work including the statue of David. They enjoyed this city so much they are planning on going there again tomorrow. Actually they will be leaving in just a couple of hours as it is already Sunday morning there.

He has also done some shopping and of course purchased some PEZ on European cards. We knew he would be looking for some of these. Since he is now over 1000 dispensers it's our guess we are now starting on the road to 2000!

The Newlyweds

Kris and Charlie swim with the fishes

Charlie and Kris returned from there Honeymoon with some great pictures and I am sure wonderful memories. They were swimming with stingrays and dolphins. They did a zip line in the jungle and a lot of just plan sightseeing. And as with any cruise enjoyed a lot of great eating and entertainment.

They did however have a luggage problem more than once while on their trip. Their luggage was lost on the way to Florida and they did not get it until 3 days later when it caught up with their cruise ship. On the way home they flew to Philadelphia while their luggage took a flight to Baltimore. Oh well it's all good now!

Now for those who would like to see some pictures from the wedding you can use the link here to watch a 10 minute video made from pictures taken by all the photographers that day. Enjoy

http://uncutvideo.aol.com/users/dad17370/9583818c19f3596abac7fb2d6cdcf5a0?index=0

Italy

We just got a note from Keith. For those who know him he is a man of few words and so was the note. For the most part they are just working. He did say they drove up to the Alps last weekend and he sent us a few pictures. We figured we might as well share them so here are a couple of our favorites.


We are not sure that after two months there he will want to come back to the states.

We wanta go...and we wanta go now!!!!!!!!!! Any one out there with us?

Largo Di Barcis

Claut

San Martino

Things To Do

We continue to be busy around here even when you think that we should have some free time. We did get to spend time with Kris and Charlie for the first time since the wedding. We went to Lancaster on Sunday and took Charlie out to supper for his birthday. After that we went back to their house we we downloaded all the wedding pictures to my laptop. Now I get to go over all these pictures to see which ones we think are the best ones. After a little work taking out all the duplicates we have it down to a little under 900 pictures to look at. From these we have picked about 100 or so that we think best captured the wedding and the reception. I am now trying to put these into a video that we can share with our family and friends. Since I was also given some audio files from one of the photographers I hope to cut these in with the video as well.

So keep watching. Hopefully we will have this video finished soon!!

Made It To Italy

We got a short e-mail from Keith today. The trip to Italy was fine and he did not lose any luggage. This is noteworthy because Charlie and Kris had luggage problems flying to Florida and back again. We are not sure how much we will hear from him as we don't know how much he will be working. We just hope he has some time to do some sightseeing. After all how often do you get an opportunity like this?

For those who are interested Keith is in the Pordenone region. This puts him close to Germany, Switzerland and not far from France.

A Couple More Shots

Still Busy

We still don't seem to have a lot of free time even two weeks after the wedding. I guess that some of that is because we now have the yard work that needs completed. In fact we needed to mow the yard again Saturday night.



We did get more pictures this weekend when we went out to supper with Dave and Donna. They gave us a disk with 170 pictures that they took at the wedding. It is fun to see that each photographer seemed to have a different perspective and no one seemed to duplicate what another had done. This is one of the many they took from the balcony. We still have to see the 3D shots that Hillary took and look forward to see what she has done with her talent. While we are on the subject of pictures if anyone happened to take pictures at the brunch and would like to share them please let us know. We all seemed to be so tired that morning we forgot to take any. As soon as Kris has time to make some decisions on her pictures we will be sharing more of these with everyone. We hope you look forward to seeing these as well. I did see one were two lovely ladies (who happen to be neighbors) were giving everyone their "Beauty Queen" wave from the carriage. I am sure Kris will be sharing that one.



As for our world travelers Charlie and Kris returned home Sunday night from their cruise. They had a great time and have many pictures from their travels. I am not sure we will ever get through all of these. Just as they return home Keith leaves tomorrow afternoon for Italy. We just put another clock on our PC that shows Italian time. He will be six hours ahead of us so I guess most of our communications will be by e-mail. I hope he sends us some pictures as it will give us something to do!!!

Home Alone

Although things are getting back to normal here it also seems very quiet. Charlie and Kris left for their cruise on Saturday evening and Keith went back to SC Sunday morning. Kinda like an Empty Nest all over again.

But we got right back into the grove doing some lawn and garden work on Sunday afternoon. The flower gardens have been cleaned up and the lawn has been mowed for the first time this year. Many of the spring flowers are beginning to bloom and we have seen a lot of our annuals pushing through the ground as well. Now if the weatherman will just give us a little more warm weather we would be truly happy.

We have also been going over some more of the wedding photos. All I know is that after a week I still find pictures I have not looked at before. I guess Kris and Charlie will have a lot to do when they get home. Knowing her she will have hundreds of pictures from the cruise as well. It may be a while before everything gets printed.

Party Time

We continue to look through the pictures from last weekend and thought that you might enjoy some from the reception. I don't know of anyone who did not have a good time. Somehow the 5 hours we were there seemed more like 5 minutes. I still can't believe how fast it was over.

We hope you enjoy these shots.

A Look At The Rehersal

Here is a sneak peek at what we were doing on Friday night. As you could tell on Saturday everything went very well. What a great group of people Kris and Charlie had for their wedding party!

More Photographers Report In

We continue to receive photos from the Paparazzi and are enjoying every one of them. We hope you enjoy them as well as we will continue to post some here over the next few days. These were taken by Kris' other parents John and Jackie.

Karen, Josh and Jackie with Kristin before the service.

Everyone got into the fun!

Can you find the Bride and Groom among all the photographers!

Krysta and Brett's Grand Entrance

The Wedding Is Over

After getting up last Friday morning at 7 AM and going to bed sometime Sunday night we managed to survive one of the greatest weekends any parents could hope for. Charlie was handsome but "Sorry Charlie" Kristin was Elegant!

Everything went as planned and in fact even better that we had expected. The day started with all the girls coming to our hotel room to have their hair done. The on staff hair designer, an old(sorry about the age remark) and dear friend did a great job making all the girls look great. After a quick lunch it was off to the chapel. The service was beautiful and the chapel was the perfect venue adding to the overall feeling of the day. When we finally arrived at the reception it could not have been better. Kristin's vision was fulfilled and all the hard work over the last two years became but a memory.

The best part was that all our family and friends had a fantastic time celebrating with us. Everyone had said the day would go by quickly but for us it was over way to fast. We were glad that we had planned the brunch for the next morning. It gave us a chance to again thank everyone for their love for Kris and Charlie and say goodbye before they all headed for home.

Now we sit here after two days of sleeping as much as we could realizing that there is nothing for us to do with these creative juices that we had flowing for the last two years. This could lead to depression. But then again Kris has been given over 1200 digital pictures that she needs to look at and decide which ones are the best. And this total will rise as not all the paparazzi have sent us their pictures. Maybe there is some work there for us yet!

A great looking group!

Can you spot yourself?

Got the moves!

Last Pre-Wedding Post

As we draw to a close this will be the last chance to post before the wedding. Tomorrow morning will begin around 7am and should end sometime around 12pm on Sunday. We have a full list of must dos to complete before we see all of you at 3:30 on Saturday.

Tomorrow will begin with a final trip to the florist. After that Keith and Alan will load the truck with everything for the chapel. Then it's off to pick up their tuxes and get the room at the Eden. After unloading everything that stays there it off too the chapel to begin the decorating.

Meanwhile back at home the girls will be finishing the floral arrangements. After that it's off to do whatever girls do to get ready. We will all meet up for the rehearsal at 7pm. Then back to the hotel for any final projects. From what I can tell Saturday will just be a blur. I am glad there are lots of friends around to help!

We hope you all have a safe trip and look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday! Till then....

Less Than Three Days

Today we took all the decorations and favors to the Eden and completed the final arrangements for the reception. This has given us over half of the spare bedroom back. On Friday the rest leaves for the chapel and the room will be empty!

Kris printed the programs today and tonight they were folded and are now ready to go. One more last minute item completed. Tomorrow we start on the flowers. This is the last major project that needs to be done!!!!!! I'm loving it.

Keith arrived home about 7 PM. But don't worry he will not be sitting around with nothing to do. We have him lined up to help with the flowers tomorrow, chapel decor Friday and other little things on Saturday morning. In fact we have many friends set to help with last minute items on Saturday. Without them we would indeed be going crazy.

Still Not Completed

Just when I was thinking that everything was completed some last minute changes caused some last minute work. I guess I can't complain since I was the one who came up with the idea. Well with this completed I hope we are now ready to take everything to the Eden tomorrow. I sure in my old age I will forget something but at least we will be making that trip a few more times before Saturday.

I also have to stop at the bakery tomorrow to drop off some supplies for the cake. We are sure it will look great and take it from all of us it will taste wonderful. I think we all had more than enough samples of her work before we made the decision.

I also will be making a stop to drop in on Mom and make sure that all the arrangements are in place to get her to the wedding. The Home has arranged to have her transported to and from the chapel as long as there are no health problems that day.

I am sure after tomorrow there will be things to add to the list but we will deal with that when it happens. Till then it time to relax for now.

List Gets Smaller

As the weekend gets closer the list is somehow getting smaller. Today I finished the last decor item that was waiting for me in the shop. We have also started to pack up everything that has been stored in the spare bedroom for the last two years. Tomorrow many of these things need to be taken to the Eden when we have our final reception meeting. The rest will go to the chapel Friday. We hope to have all the decorating there completed before the rehearsal that night.

Guests have begun arriving in the area as early as today. Ryan is flying in this afternoon from California. Keith will be leaving Columbia tomorrow morning to drive home. And some friends have told us that they have begun packing for their travel this week. We are all excited to see everyone and wish you all a safe trip.

With all the people who are arriving early it looks like the party may get started Friday night. We plan on meeting everyone who is in town at Wedding Central (our hotel room) that night after the rehearsal diner. A good time should be had by all. We look forward to seeing all of you this weekend.

Almost Ready

More details were completed today as we had our last meeting with Rev Ronald Lausch before the rehearsal on Friday night. Alright it was more like Easter dinner at Uncle Ron's but we did get some final details completed. The service is set and the programs are now ready for Kris to print. Our next big day is Wednesday when we have meetings set with a couple of vendors to finalize there roles for the day.

As we close in on the last few days we want to again thank all our family and friends who have helped bring all this together. Many of them will be taking care of the little details on Friday and Saturday that you just don't think about when you start the planning. Without them our stress level would have been much higher. As it stands now we know we will all be able to just enjoy the day. Now if I can just get the on-staff hair designer to come up with a new way to do a comb over my day will be complete!

Sneak Peek

Since we are less than a week away from the wedding we decided to give you a sneak peek into the decor. Like the frogs we posted earlier this year you need to look around at the ceremony and reception to find out where they are used. Hope you enjoy the peek into the wedding.

What? Did you really think I would put entire pictures up for you to see? Were would the fun be in that?

Enjoy The Feast

As we approach the final days of the wedding planning many final decisions still remain to be made. One of those is completing the arrangements for the reception including the final guest count and menu selections. After the final guest count was completed we decided to add a little to the evening's celebration. We have decided to enhance the Hors D’ouvres, add something special to the traditional Wedding Toast and give guests more than just Wedding Cake to finish off their meal. All in all it should be a great time for family and friends as they share in our joy.

The seating arrangements have been completed with very few problems. Although we have all heard horror stories about not being able to place some guests at the same table or even at adjacent tables we have no problems like that. In fact in our case our only problem was most of our guests could all be placed at the same table. This should make for a great party!

Off To Europe

Keith has been informed that he will be spending 60 days in Italy beginning sometime in April. He has not received the exact dates yet but at least it will be after the wedding. He will be assisting in some upgrades to F-16's based there. He is hoping that he will have some time to travel to France, Switzerland, Germany etc as they are all a short train ride away. It sure is a great opportunity for him to see thing that most of us can only dream about.

To add a little more one of his buddies from SC is going there as well. This will give both of them someone to travel and hang out together with while there. Although I am sure they will make new friends it nice to have someone you know with you as well.

Getting Closer

It's getting close to crunch time and we continue to both get things completed and add to the list as well. Over the weekend Randy and Deb came to the house to take pictures of all the decor items that have been created over the last two years. This will give Kris and Charlie a permanent record of everything they had for the wedding. After they finished that we spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up some small floral projects.

This week is being spent finishing up the plans for the reception. We have been going over the RSVP's to make sure that we have everyone listed and the right meals in place for everyone. We than have to get all the table cards created using this information. Hopefully the few missing RSVP's will show up this week which allow us to complete this task.

For those of you who were keeping score the Petite has won by about 3 to 1 over the Salmon. I was thinking about getting one of each for myself just to make sure they are both good. But I guess that might be a little much!

Back To Pezing

Among all the wedding planning we can not forget to keep up with the new Pez releases. In February we were hunting for crystal hearts and found all but three of the 39 we needed. Today we received all 7 of the new MLB releases. These include the BOSTON RED SOX, ATLANTA BRAVES, CHICAGO CUBS, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS, BALTIMORE ORIOLES, & NEW YORK YANKEES. Now my only problem is that we have all these Pez, along with some NASCAR from last year, that need to be entered into the data base. Hopefully I can find time between the RSVP's and the last of the craft projects to get this completed. One thing is sure, this will put Keith collection at over 1000 dispensers. It's a good thing the wedding supplies are leaving this month because at this rate we will need to expand the Pez Museum into a second room.

Busy Weekend

Today was Kris' Bridal Shower which was hosted by her Bridesmaids. Because many of her friends live outside the area we decided that our house would be the most central place to hold the event. Our only task was to clear out the furniture in the family room so we could put 20+ folding chairs there to accommodate the guests. The girls planned everything else including food, games etc. They did a great job and everyone had a wonderful time.

Meanwhile Keith called tonight to let us know he is going with some other airman from his base to Utah for a week in early March. They will be helping with a training exercise that will include fighters from his former base in Idaho. He will return before the wedding which is a good thing since he is one of the Groomsmen.

This And That

First some news from the south. Keith has put his name on a list of Airman willing to go to Italy for three months this summer. They will be there to assist with some aircraft upgrades. There are seven names on the list and only five will be going. Let's hope that he gets to go. How often do you get a free trip to Europe.

Wedding plans are still on track with little things continuing to be checked off the list. All the plans are set to get Grandma from her room at the Health Care Center to Sell Chapel. The social workers have arranged for one of the home's vans to transport her. Being able to have her attend was one of the reasons that the chapel was chosen so we all hope that this works out.

From Far And Wide

As the RSVP's arrive we are glad to see that friends and family will be coming from all over the country to help us celebrate. In fact some of Kristin's friends are arriving from as far away as California while Charlie has family coming from places like Virginia and Michigan. It is going to be a great time to see old friends and make some new ones as well.

Even some of the people who have agreeded to help are traveling a long distance to Lancaster. Ryan the ceremony reader is flying in from LA. Maybe he should get a special prize for most miles traveled. Teresa our family hair stylist has about a two hour drive. We are so blessed to have friends like these.

The Little Things

They say the little things add up and I guess that it's true. Things that we did not really think about six months ago now need to be completed within the next few weeks. It's many of these little things that will make the day so special for everyone. What little things you may ask. Well how about making sure everyone is served the meal they are expecting. See if you can figure out how that works when they drop that favorite dish in front of you. Then there are the final meetings with the DJ, the Eden coordinator, the cake lady etc. Add in the fittings for dresses and tuxes and you see that there are not a lot of free days between now and March 29th.

Even with all this going on we still took time out on Sunday afternoon to meet Kris and Darlene, an old friend from Danville, for lunch in York. A local Greek church holds a Greek Fest every February and all of us enjoy the homemade food. Good food and good conversation always make for a wonderful afternoon. Can't wait till next year.

Well enough of this I have RSVP's to get entered into our excel file. By the way the Petit Filet has taken a 4 to 1 lead over the Salmon. Of course the final tally is not in yet so check back for updates. We should have results by early March.

There's Music In The Air

Yesterday Kris and Alan spent the afternoon working with the organist to finalize the music for the wedding. It took about two hours to make all the decisions but with the help of a very talented musician the process was a very plesant one. The pipe organ in the chapel is a wonderful instrument and will add so much to the service.

While we were there we went up to the nursing home to begin the process of trying to have Alan's mother attend the service. Since her health is in question we will not know if she can attend until that day. However we need to have all the plans in place since she will need special transportation to the chapel and back again. Although it is only 1/2 a mile away pushing her there and back is out of the question. Alan's brother and sister-in -law will accompany her that day if she is able to attend. Let's hope all goes well. She just turned 90 and this is her only granddaughter.

Weekend Off

We took a break from wedding planning this weekend and spent some time doing some of the other things in life. On Sunday we joined Kris and Charlie in Hershey for the town's Community Days. Since it was such a nice day our first stop was at the zoo. While there we ran into an old friend who has been working there for over 30 years. Kris took some great pictures of the residents and I even got a couple of good shots.

After that it was off to the Auto Museum. None of us had ever been there and again it was just nice to get away from planning for a while. We ended the day with a stop for a mid day lunch before heading for home.

Meanwhile Keith is in West Virginia with a group of guys from his base. They took a few days leave, which they planned last fall, to hit the slopes. Not quite the same as out west but skiing with friends is always fun. We just hope that they found some snow at the resort and that the slopes are not all just ice covered.

Early Election Results

In keeping with the election year theme and with 15% of the votes recorded, Petit Filet and Chicken hold a 3 to 1 lead over Salmon. Remember however these are early exit poll results and it is still to close to call. So make sure you cast your vote with your RSVP. As Mayor Dailey used to say in Chicago "Vote Early, Vote Often". ( OK I'm dating myself with that one...I saw it on the oldies channel )

In other news plans continue to go forward. Our friends Donna and Dave have agreeded to do a unique suprise project for us at the wedding. I could tell you more but then I have to have Keith........well you know the rest. They are joining a group of family friends who are helping us make this a special day for for Kris, Charlie and all of our guests. We thank them all for what they are doing. Without everyone's help we would have lost what little sanity we have left.

Find The Frogs

As many of you know Kris loves frogs. Over the years she has had many frogs for pets. She has also collected many frog toys that can be found throughout her house. So it is only natural that there should be some frogs attending the wedding. Luckily the frogs pictured below have agreed to be part of Kris and Charlie's wedding celebrations. It is your mission, should you decide to accept it, to find the resting places of these little guys. The Father of the Bride will be glad to let you know where these little fellows are. ( but only at the end of the night) So keep your eyes open. You never know when one of them may jump out.

Two Months To Go

As we approach the two month mark in the wedding countdown things continue to go well with all our preparations. We have had a productive week and it's only Thursday. Yesterday Kris put all the invitations in the mail, another milestone on the calender.

Today Kris and Alan went to the florist to finalize the order for all the flowers that will be needed. Everything that Kris and Mary will need will be delivered on Thursday before the wedding. We will then all get together that night to complete all the arrangements, bouquets etc. Can you say "No Sleep". Looks like we may be having a little sleep deprivation that entire weekend.

Now the big job ahead is when the RSVP cards begin to come back. Keeping track of the food and finishing the seating charts is one of those check it four time and then check it again kind of jobs. Good thing we are good at data bases. If this doesn't make our eyes cross nothing will. We are all now looking forward to April and some sleep.

Have Gun, Will Travel

I guess you need to be a child of the 50's to remember that TV show but the title fits what we did Saturday evening. The people across the street from us put a new floor in their dining room so after coming home from work we went over to see how things were going for them. They were just finishing the floor but still had all the molding to replace. To lend a neighborly helping hand Alan, armed with his nailing gun, put the molding back up in less than 5 minutes. Any chance to play with the new toy.

Sunday was yet another wedding planning day. We caught up with Kris in Harrisburg and spent the morning with her friend Mary and Mary's mother Erma. They have agreed to be our flower consultants and help us put all the floral arrangements together. It was a very productive morning and most of the final design decisions were made. Since we are doing most of the work ourselves it was off to the flower shop to order all the flowers that we will need.

After all that Kris came back to the house and spent the next three hours or so finishing up a lot of projects that had been started over the last few months but needed some final touches. All in all a very good day and a lot taken off the list of things that need completed. We might even make it to March with our sanity in tact.

The Menu Is Set

Begin Your Evening With

An International cheese & vegetable crudite display served with crackers, french bread and ranch dip

Hors d’oeuvres served Butler-style
Assorted Miniature Quiche
Fried Mozzarella
Mini Egg Rolls

Dinner Will Include

Champagne for the traditional toast of the Bride & Groom

-
Tomato Bisque

Mixed Green Salad

-

Choise of

Petite Filet Mignon with Sautéed Chicken Breast Suprema

Filet of Salmon with Light Basil Cream Sauce

Vegetarian Pasta Primavera

-

Roasted Red Bliss Potato

Green Beans with Julienne Carrots

Freshly Baked Rolls and Butter

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Hand Dipped Vanilla Ice Cream Station

Coffee, Decaf Coffee, Herbal Teas and Iced Tea

Open Bar 5:30-6:30 and 8-10

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Some of the people Kris works with had a surprise party for her today at a Japanese restaurant in Lancaster. The surprise actually worked as she had no idea when she walked in that we would be there. It was a small gathering but we all had a good time.

Along with that more wedding plans were completed. It has been decided that we will be attending the Eden Champange Brunch on Sunday morning after the wedding. Since we need to make reservations for this Kris is asking people to let us know if they would like to join us. You can just e-mail us and we will add you to our list. The breakfast is 27.95 per person and if enough people attend we may be able to get a group rate. Additional information can be found at their web site http://www.edenresort.com/dining_sunday.cfm

Last night Kris printed her RSVP cards and has most of the invitations address and ready to go. She hopes to be completed by the end of the week. At least that's the goal. I guess it's about time for Dad to go get measured for his Tux. At least Keith did it when he was home on leave.

Watch as our chef makes an onion volcano.

Dad's New Toys

Although we put Kris' new floor in last fall and she also had new doors installed, we never found the time to get the moldings in place. The Christmas season came along faster than anyone wanted and there just was no time to get this completed. Well speaking of Christmas Dad received an air compressor and nail guns from Santa. With these new toys in hand we now somehow found time to complete these projects. Give Dad a new tool that makes noise and he will find a reason to use them. At least Kris is glad to have this done.

There was a second reason to meet up with Kris this weekend. She had arranged a meeting with the wedding coordinator at the Eden to start to put the final plans in place. It was a very productive afternoon for us as many questions were answered and items crossed off the list. The final meal selection was made and hopefully everyone will find something on the offering that they will like. We also found that some tasks we were planning on doing will be completed by the Eden staff. Little things like putting out the favors, table cards and other small decor items will be done by their staff when they set the room. This is a load off our list of things we needed to do that day.

Our next big task is to get the invitations out now that we have the food selections to complete the reply cards. I bet you keep hoping that I will tell you what is on the menu. Well there is a red meat, a chicken and a fish. There will also be a vegetarian selection and something special for the flower girl and ring barer. Keep watching for more information. I gotta get you to come back and read more somehow.

Back To Normal?

The house is getting back to normal after the holidays. Keith drove back to SC on Sunday and today the Christmas decorations came down. The family room is now more usable and the dad's shop is no longer used for gun smithing. The only problem with that is that Keith took all the guns back with him. I guess Dad will not get another chance to play until Keith comes home again.

So it sounds like everything is back to normal. Well if you call normal the fact we are only a couple month from the wedding with many thing yet to be completed. We spent New Years day working on wedding favors and will be with Kris and Charlie on Saturday for meeting with the Eden to begin those final arrangements. Then there are dress fittings, tux fittings, floral design, invitations to go out, etc, etc, etc. I guess you can say it's back to normal! Stay tuned right here for continuing updates on the wedding saga.

Keith working on his Japanese Arisaka rifle which he finished before leaving.

Happy New Year

It has been a busy Holiday season for us this year. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had a wonderful time as the entire family was together for Christmas. Keith was home, Kris and Charlie were here as were Barb's parents and her brother and Alan's brother and sister-in-law. A full but fun house.

The Sunday after Christmas the Wells boys decided it was time to sneak up on some more poor defenseless targets. This time they also figured it was time to let Charlie in on the fun. Since he had never been shooting the boys brought out the big guns! And that really means the BIG GUNS.

Keith had his 8mm Mauser that kicks like an Elephant gun and Gary polished up the 44 Mag. known to Dirty Harry fans as the most powerful handgun in the world. Feel lucky punk? Soon after the boys began their assault on the range a crowd began to appear to see what was making all the noise. Not an easy thing to do at a gun range. After two hours of arm ripping fun Charlie was officially declared a Wells Boy sore arm and all.

Keith fires the 44 mag while Charlie takes aim with the Mauser.

Christmas Is Coming.....

.......Keith is home. He arrived yesterday around 8pm. One of the first things on his list of things to do was wrap all the gifts that he had shipped here over the last several weeks. After a nine hour drive I would have never had the energy to do that! Ahh youth!

Today after we were finished at work we converged on the mall to help Keith get some last minute things and grab some supper at the Food Court. Then home again to finish the wrapping. With that behind us there is not much left that needs to be done except sit back and wait for Santa to appear.

We hope everyone else is ready for Christmas and the arrival of the Santa.

Waiting For Santa

Well after another nothing storm this weekend which did not keep us away from the mall, as the weatherman had predicted, we managed to complete the last of the Christmas shopping. Then it was a quick stop at the Post Office to drop off the Christmas Cards we promised would be out before next year. We also made a trip to Barb's parents to drop off some things we had ordered for them online. They had more ice than we had here and in fact we had to make a detour to get to their house as a large tree has come down about two blocks from them. It took down the lines but did not affect their power. Guess they were on the right side of the block.

Keith plans to leave SC on Friday morning whenever he gets up. He has to work Thursday night so he might just sleep in. It will be great having him home this year. We just need to finish up those last minute things and wait for the big day.

Two Weeks And Counting

It's hard to believe that we only have two weeks until Christmas. We are however getting closer to being ready for the big day. Just ask the UPS driver, he seems to be here every other day lately. Today he delivered four boxes, of course some of those were shipped here by Keith. Why have them shipped to SC and then have to drag them all here. Besides we have a wrapping center already set up in the basement. ( sorry Keith it doesn't come with free wrapping )

The tree is up and a lot of what we have has been wrapped and is now in the antique sled we always use to hold the presents. It's just an old family tradition I can't seem to stop. And, as always, Santa's hat is hanging on the end of the sled. If all goes well there should be a few surprises hidden in the sled on Christmas Day. Now if we can just get the Christmas cards finished. That's right, if you were looking for a card from us it has not been mailed yet. This just keeps the expectations high for a while longer. It also means we have not had time to finish them yet. Keep looking in your mailbox. They will be there before 2008, I promise!

First Snow

Today winter found us as we saw the first snow fall that needed to be cleaned from the streets and our cars. This area received about 1.5" of the white stuff while more fell to the south of us. The part that hurt the most was when we checked the weather for South Carolina and saw that it was 67 degrees at 5pm tonight.

Anyway after cleaning off the driveway I decided a few photos were in order. So for fun I turned the flash on and although I know it will not light the house it did give me this rather nice affect.

If this doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit maybe the many packages that UPS brought today would. I told you I would be doing my shopping online this year.

Its The Season

It is that time of year when we never have enough time to complete the things that need to be done. Add onto that continued preparations for the wedding and we seem to be working on yesterday everyday. Well today Alan had the day off so it was spent getting the outside decorations set up. It turned out to be a great day to get this task completed as the sun came out after 11am making it a beautiful day to be outside.

We have begun hitting the stores doing some Christmas shopping but it looks like a lot of this will be done online, late at night, when we have the time ( why waste it sleeping ). Wish lists have been exchanged with the rest of our family members. Many of the items on these lists contain Internet links. It's a great way to make sure everyone gets what they want and makes it easy to find it the right item. How did our parents ever get all this done?

We are looking forward to this weekend as we plan on attending a Holiday Party with some old friends in Danville. We don't seem to get up there as often as we would like so we always a wonderful time when we do. It also is a great way to kick off the Christmas Season. We hope you all find the time to spend with family and friends as well.

Woking On The Collection

For the last 6 months or so all the new Pez that we have purchased were just stored in plastic bags piled in Keith's room. After coming back from SC we decided we better get another tote and get things put away. So tonight the work began. After sorting Pez all over the floor we began labeling containers and getting things put away. Time was also spent sorting out the doubles that have been accumulated over the last year or so. Many of these are because sometimes we buy new releases at the same time just 500 miles apart.

After sorting everything out we now have a new total.....Drum roll...... 964 different dispensers, 80 duplicates and 146 pez related items. The closet is getting full.

Going To The Chapel

Today we went to the chapel to check out the decor items we have made and make the final decorating decisions. For the most part everything we have and have done worked out just as we had hoped. We had a couple small things that need some additional work but this puts one more thing into the completed column before the major Christmas season get into full swing. It's hard to believe we have just over four months before the big day.

Also this week we did the PDOJ. For those of you not paying attention that's the "PEZ DANCE OF JOY". We found the 4 Christmas PEZ with the snowflake stamps on the stems. They are not showing up in all the stores and it seems the Santa is the hardest to find. Well add 4 to the total. 1000 here we come!

PEZ Update

Now that we have been home a couple of days we have been able to add the PEZ that we purchased at Myrtle Beach into Keith's database. His total is now 951 different dispensers and 144 non dispenser items for a total of 1095. This total does not account for the duplicate items he has which add between 75 to 100 more. It looks like we need to find 5 more items to get to an even 1100.

Many of the PEZ he got this time were either dispensers that are only released in Europe or vintage PEZ that have been on his wish list. As always at these things we found most of what he was looking from one dealer who lives in Austria and who at one time worked for PEZ. As Keith said we paid for her plane ticket again this year.

It never fails to amaze me that after 12 years of collecting he has amassed this large a collection. This display holds only a small portion of the collection. Most of the PEZ are in their original packages and stored in small plastic cases. Maybe we should open our own PEZ Museum !

How Far Would you Go....

...to buy a PEZ. Well if you were us you would invade Myrtle Beach for the weekend. It started when Barb drove down on Thursday and was the first to arrive at about 5:30 that evening. Keith arrived around 1:30 Friday morning when he drove over after working until 11pm Thursday night. Alan was the last to arrive when he flew in on Friday night at 11:30.

On Friday Barb and Keith spent some time at the PEZ convention and then did some site seeing including an evening walk on the beach. Saturday again found all of us shopping for PEZ. By the time we were done Keith had 35 PEZ to add to his collection bringing it to 949 different dispensers. If you go that far to buy PEZ you need to buy more than one. After we left there we went to Broadway at Myrtle Beach, which is a large shopping and entertainment complex. Saturday night was again spent walking on the beach and looking for sea shells. After all the motel was on the beach making access easy. You can get some great deals in November.

Sunday morning after some pictures of the sunrise over the sea it was time to part company and to head home. At least we will see Keith for Christmas this year as he has been approved for leave.

Five Months And Counting Down

It was another wedding planning weekend as we spent today in Lancaster with Kris doing some final preparation. We started out this morning doing some shopping for vases for the floral design. After that it was off to the Eden Wedding Show for some last minute ideas and to meet with some of our vendors for some additional thoughts.

After wrapping up some things there it was back to Kris and Charlie's to work on some of the projects still to be completed. It was a very productive afternoon and we left feeling good about what we completed today.

In news from the South, Keith and his roommate are moving out of their apartment and into a house owned by a fellow Airman from their base. This will give them room to work on their cars and the ability to do some of the woodwork Keith likes to do restoring his vintage firearms. It also gives them a yard were they will be able to spend time outside enjoying the great fall weather in Columbia.

It's All About The Wedding

It seems like life is either work or wedding. For example this week Barb and Kris took their day off on Thursday to meet with our "ON STAFF" hair designer to allow them to make the final decisions for Kris' hair design. I am told that all went well and Kris is very happy with what they will be doing.

Today I am not working so I spent this morning doing some wedding shopping and will be heading out this afternoon to start getting some prices on flowers. This Sunday we are meeting in Lancaster to do some shopping, attend a wedding show at the Eden and then back to Kris and Charlie's for some work on ..you guessed it wedding decor.

We do however have a break planned as we hope to be attending a PEZ convention with Keith in November. It is a weekend we are looking forward to. We will keep you posted!

The Clock Keeps Ticking

This past weekend Kris along with her friends and design assistants Dustyn and Eric spent a day at our house going over all the decor items for both the chapel and the reception. After looking at everything some minor adjustments were made and a few small projects were passed on to the rest of the crew (guess who that is). Overall most of what is needed has been completed which is a good thing as the retailers favorite time of year is coming and there will not be much time for wedding work until next year. By that time we will be into the 90 day warning and a new list of must dos will be waiting.

In other news Kris has updated her house website with more pictures of the floor we installed including some of the work in progress. http://savko.net/house/kitchen.htm Take a look and while you are there take some time to look at the other pages. Don't miss the surroundings page as there are some pretty nice pictures posted there.