WALSH SUMMER OF 2012

 We started the summer by ending the school year with Ella's 8th grade dance.

Ella is the one with her hair pulled back.

Then we celebrated Ella's birthday.

We had hoped to make it to Dollywood several times during the summer to make the most of our yearly passes, but the summer passed so quickly that we only made it once.

Mike and Lisa got to take a weekend together to Asheville, NC.  There they discovered just how much they love Vegan food.

Vegan cheese plate

Mike had the peppercorn crusted setan

Vegan dessert is delicious!

Ella made her second flight alone as she flew off to New York City to visit Columbia University.  From there she traveled to Washington, DC to visit George Washington University both with an ambassador's program where she met and traveled with kids her age from across the globe.

Next, it was off to Paris, France for Ella and Lisa and eventually, Mike

Ella with her friend Megan from Vermont

Ella and Lisa with Megan and her parents

Ella with the River Siene

So much beautiful architecture!!!

The grounds of the Louvre

Dining was always so much fun!

Mike joins us!

The view of Paris from  Sacre' Coeur Basilica on Montmartre Hill

Visiting artists at Montmartre

      

              The best view in town is from Printemps Department Store

A wonderful night out!

Versailles!

Inside the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Out for a show

Back home it was summer as usual for a few days and then...

Four soccer players from England, Scotland and Brazil came to stay with us.  We had such a fantastic week getting to know Andrew, Nikki, Leo and Stephen

One of our last memories of the summer was hiking to the top of the Chimneys here in Tennessee.

Nikki, our new giant friend from Scotland decided to join us

...so did our Steiner nephews

And that was (with a couple of weeks spent at Grandma Camps for the kids) the Walsh Summer of 2012!

MIDWINTER TAPAS

As we pull together the pictures since our last post, we realize we have had quite the sampling of events in January and the first half of February.  With this in mind, we decided to go tapas style and give you small bites of the fun we cooked up over the past few weeks.

APPETIZERS - Noise and energy from the children add spice to our lives.

Victoria decided to take Martial Arts
 with Shea

 Victoria's school class
went ice skating

                                 

 

Ella put together a group of Richard Simmons wannabes for her school's
lip-sync contest.  

                         

                                  Egan is taking up gardening

He loves going to class one morning a week

Shea's cub scout group went on a field trip to the city
fire department

ENTREE - a small portion of social events with a side of adventure made life interesting for Mike and                Lisa

                                           

                                                     ... ready for a Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser                                                   

...at the Broadway
Musical Les Miserables at the Tennessee
Theatre in Knoxville.  The traveling performance was excellent.

                                                    Lisa with her friend, Susan on a trip to NYC

                                                     to attend a Gift and Home show

...at Knoxville's Evergreen Ball in support of 'Friends of the Smokies'

DESSERT-Mike's birthday and Valentine's Day offered a sweet change to our everyday routine.

 

We tried out Mike's new bb gun that was gifted to him from Shea

Shea having fun at his
 Valentine's Day Party

A SNAPSHOT (WELL, A FEW) OF OUR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR FESTIVITIES

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse (except maybe Victoria).

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there (it looks like he has been)....

Christmas finally came and we all had a wonderful morning nibbling on cinnamon rolls and sipping hot chocolate while the house transitioned from a magical wonderland to a chaotic mess of paper and packaging. 

We spent the day lounging in pajama's and enjoying our new toys then settled down to share a meal.   Our holiday menu included Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, Gratin Potatoes, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Cauliflower, Asian Pear Salad and Homemade Dinner Rolls.  Desert this Christmas was an Almond Marzipan cake with cappuccinos (The foamy milk was steamed in Lisa's new frother -- a present from Victoria).

The day after Christmas we made the seven hour drive to Lisa's family in Grabill, Indiana where we celebrated Christmas again.

 We made a stop in Grabill to visit the hardware store where Lisa used to work.  Mike and Ella got a little carried away ....

Egan and his cousin Roma helped Lisa's dad do chores in the barn.  Egan insisted upon going wherever his grandpa went-even climbing the ladder to the haymow.  

 Every year Ella writes a play for all of her cousins and siblings to perform in front of the adults.  This year they did a take on American Idol.

After Christmas in Grabill, we travelled to the annual Steiner New Years family get-together in Angola, In.  We all hang out for a day or two or three, play games and get caught up with each other.  This year we also celebrated Lisa's grandfather's 90th birthday.

Maurice Steiner with his great-grandchildren at his 90th birthday party

After the party we took off to make our way back to the Chicagoland area to visit our friends and loved ones in Highland Park, Il

 Yes, Victoria got a hot pink highlight while we were there.  Funny story as to why... at her private school they have strict uniforms.  Victoria wanted a highlight in her hair to add some personality to her daily existence and wardrobe 'sameness.'  Ironically, the school only allows permanent hair changes.

Loaded up and ready to go home-not as excited to leave as they were to get there...

Thank you to our wonderful family and friends who so warmly welcomed us into their homes during our long Christmas break!