Birth of a Fireplace

Mixing the mud to be used in assembling our fireplace.

As an adult I know just how much easier it is to do your job while people watch you.

This guys job is going to be real easy.

Mom and Dad went with a color additive to make the mortar black.

Chad liked the looks of the work so much he decided to jump in and help.

You can tell he is a novice because he needs to show a little more of his backside to really be working.

Three boys watching his every move.

"Why did you pick that rock?"

"Can we stick pennies in it when your done?" and other fun things thrown out at him while he works.

For as many time as were were told that "This is the messiest I have ever seen this living room!" I point my parents back to this picture and say "No this is the messiest it had ever been.".

The performer and his audience.

Seems like I remember that on our way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and this guy was there too.

We sat at the booth next to him and we watched him eat.

Almost finished.

Completed!

You can tell we have had a fire in it to test out the fireplace.

We see Monroe hanging proudly over the mantle.

Our story closes with Brett sitings on the coach watching T.V..

Home sweet home.

Snow Angel

Brett making snow angels in 1977.

He really loved to do these.
He loved to make them even more after I showed him that you were supposed to be "face up" when making them.

Look at him smile.

•••••••••

He is not wearing "The Belt" in this one but the belt he is wearing is a doosie.

Snow

Here is the house surrounded by snow back in 1977.
The next year, on this very date, we had a blizzard.

The blizzard of 78.

That was a lot of snow.
I am sure it was a real pain for people with jobs and stuff but for a kid, it was great.

We missed a ton of school and had hundreds of adventures in the snow.
Forts, tunnels, sledding and crazy deep snow.
I have had stories to tell for 32 years.

Happy anniversary blizzard of 78 survivors!

You couldn't make a snowman with blizzard snow but I made one the year before.

Totem Pole 1973

This is our totem pole that my Mother made for us.

A telephone pole and her imagination and wah-la, a totem pole.

Since we loved Lone Ranger and Tonto we loved having our own totem pole in the backyard growing up.

This is the totem pole in it's original resting place, the back yard of Lexington Ave.

It made the move with us to the country and I am not real sure about it's whereabouts or it's condition today.

You can see more about it HERE and HERE.

Brett 2009

Brett 1977

I think you need to turn up the heat!
You can almost see your breath in here.

Just a Swinging

1975, Beechgrove Park, Welton family reunion.

I see that my brothers and I all have matching shirts on.

I also see my cousin Steve and his sisters, Sondra and Rhonda.

There is some other kid that I don't recognize on there too.

Why aren't these swings on playgrounds anymore?

You used your legs and your arms with this swing. A full body work out and team work.

Hold on tight and run a fast as you could. When you got it going fast enough (Or you wanted to make the older cousins do all the work) you picked up your feet and swung like Batman going from building to building.

In 75 we played. We played outside and we were fit kids.
I can remember only one or two kids that couldn't climb up a rope in gym class back then.
I wonder how many kids can't or have never tried to climb a rope now?

I wonder if I can now?

First Snow

This is me enjoying my first snow.

•••••••••••

Who is that teenage holding me?

Fruity Smiles

Mom and I with another snowman.
This one has a fruity grin.

Dad and I pose with this guy too.
This must have been my first adventure with snowman.

Sledding

I named the saucer sled as my favorite Christmas present as a kid but I was raised sledding not on a saucer but on a toboggan.

This is probably one of my first times sledding.

Most memories I have riding on the toboggan have me being up front in the sled.
That means when you hit fresh snow it all flies right up in your face.
Talk about cold! You had to scrape the snow off your face.

All my toboggan memories are on Uncle Georges sledding hill.
His hill was awesome!
I mean so good that it almost ruins sledding anywhere else kinda good.

Dad and I are on Uncle Georges hill in this picture.

Those are some good memories.

Cousins, cold and hot Chocolate.

We also have some funny home movies that show Uncle George crashing.
I need to dig those out this winter and post them.

Snowman

That's me with one of Mom's snow creations.

My face looks like I think I am a King on my throne.

Where are my gloves?

So this snowman is Santa and it looks like he is bringing me a little brother for Christmas.

Wonderful work on the snowman Mom.

Is that food coloring on the face?

*********

I like how they made a platform for me to sit on too.

*********

Brett in snowman form prior to his birth in December of 1967.

How many other people can say that?

I need to go because it looks like I am getting fussy.
It is probably my cold hands.
Cold hands make me fussy.

Twins?

I am not sure of the year that this picture was taken but I am guessing it was 1982 or 1983.

This was when my little brother, Brett, caught me in height.

We were both exactly 6'4".


I forget where we picked up the shirts. I think it was Play it Again Sports or whatever it was called before that.

You can also see my first car. It was a Datsun B210. I can't remember the year it was made.

You can also see Dad's homemade green house behind us.
Can't you taste the tomatoes?


Well Brett wasn't happy at 6'4" so went on to 6'6".
He always had to out do me.

My New Room 1974

Yep. That's my bed in 1974.

This is before I lived in it though.
We had just built a new house and I imagine the pictures were snapped to capture our room in its pristine state before Brett, Chad and I could make our mark on the place.

I still have the bear and the baseball.

The horses might be in Mom and Dad's attic.


Brett and I shared a room and this is his bed.

Notice the Fisher Price movie viewer on his bed.

1974 was two years before our nation Bicentennial celebration and red, white and blue was everywhere.
Especially in our room.
Just look at it all.
What you can't see is the carpet. We had red, white and blue shag carpet.

The 70's were great.

Christmas 2009

We have had a couple of busy weeks as I am sure you have too.
Here is a brief review of our Christmas.

We had a progressive dinner with Elaine's family.

My nieces and nephew entertained us at their home where we had appetizers.


We went to our house for the main course.

We then finished up at Elaine's parents house with desert.

Elaine's Dad read part of the Christmas story at each house.


A few days before Christmas Levi asked his girlfriend, Hope, to marry him.
Thankfully she said yes and they came to our house so we could congratulate them.

Elaine welcomes or new addition to the family.

The ring!

Here is the happy couple.

Christmas Eve found us at my parents house and it can be seen HERE in a smile box that my Mom created.




Christmas morning at our house and we wake up to our tradition orange rolls.
I still haven't fixed the oven so Elaine made them in the toaster oven.


Levi is anxiously awaiting the orange rolls.


Joel got his letter jacket.

Megan and Levi got netbooks.



Scooby got a flying squirrel.


The master mind of a great weekend.

Don't worry, I got some toys!

Happy new year!