A Late October Visit from My Parents

My parents came for a visit the weekend before Halloween. We had dinner in a 140 year old schoolhouse, but I forgot to take any pictures of the actual schoolhouse. The picture in the top left is from the benches in front on the school, where we were waiting to be seated. We went out to IHOP for breakfast the next morning, which is jut how Tara and I cook breakfast best.

Charlie's Parent's 40th Anniversary

My parent's were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in October and we couldn't let them do it all by themselves. So..., we assembled a team of babysitters, converged on their home, brought some transportation, and took the party downtown.
We started off at Tastings at the Conrad. What a great place for wine and apps! John, Donna, Patty and Chris all met up with us there, as an added surprise.
After a strong showing with the wine tastings, we moved on down the road for some dining and imbibing at St. Elmo's. What great food and company!
Well, the night had to come to a close at some point. Our transport returned and brought us all home. What a wonderful night! Happy 40th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Belle and Logan's Birthday Party

We had a combination 1st and 8th Birthday party for Isabella and Logan at Christy's house in Indy. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun with our family. Thanks to all of you for coming and to Logan for allowing us to bring lots of pink to his party!

The Civil War Train Ride

Charlie's parents came to visit last month and we surprised them with a Civil War train ride up in Lebanon, OH. We were running late and actually were able to get the train to stop to pick us up. Amazing how that worked! It was a beautiful day for a ride with great company.

Dad's Retirement Party

June 12th was my Dad's retirement party at my sister's house. We had a Jimmy Buffett / Fishing theme going. It was a lot of fun! Top right are Belle and Grandma's hands together. Ethan running around in my shoes (hilarious!) at the bottom and me on someone's motorcycle in the garage (not sure who's that was?).

Various May & Memorial Day Pics

Above are a few pics of my ladies from back in May. The smaller one really likes hats. Below are some pics from our trip to Tami & Jeff's lake house over Memorial Day weekend. Belle wasn't 100% sold on her life jacket, but she dealt with it and seemed to enjoy zooming around the lake. She'd start to whimper some when we slowed down, but became much happier when Jeff gave it some juice!

Easter in Indy

We went to Indy for Easter back in April. Again, I've fallen a bit behind with our blog, but hope to recoup a more current status soon. A new addition to the Hyde family and our pictures is Alexander (Feb '10) below. Belle is excited to have a new buddy.

Indy Elson's Come to Cincy in Jan

Isabella had some grandparental company come visit back in January. She asked that we try not focus on the drool above the horse on her sweater.

Isabella's Baptism

Well, I'm a bit behind the times, but wanted to catch up. On December 13th, 2009, Isabella Sue Elson was baptized at North United Methodist Church, where Tara and I were married and I was also baptized. She did a great job being an attentive and quiet parishioner. Isabella really enjoyed the dress mom picked out for her; at least she did after it was all put on her. We followed up the service with a reception at Isabella's grandparents' house. How thoughtful of them to put up a lit tree in her honor! It was a great day!

Some October Family Times

Above are pictures of some October family fun, including great-grandmothers, grandparents, aunts & uncles, and numerous cousins. In the top right is a proud grandmother, her daughter and her two granddaughters.

A Few September Activities

Yeah, yeah... I know it's not September (or even October), but it is nice to see short sleeves again, huh? Above are some pics of a few visits and other fun September activities. I'm not sure we'll be back out on our deck like that again any time soon. Please note the well executed Heisman stiff-arm delivered by Olivia in the bottom left.

Charlie's Parents Come to Cincy

Very recently, or a couple of weeks and change ago now, my parents came to town for a visit to celebrate the end of another school year (Your patience with the blogger is much appreciated). We took a little evening dinner cruise down the Ohio River on the Belle of Cincinnati Riverboat. Unfortunately, we sort of forgot to take any pictures of the actual boat. However, it was a beautiful night for a boat cruise and we had a nice long peek into the ballpark to watch some of the Reds vs Cubs game. Also, while the parents were in town, we went out to lunch for some "ribs in bibs" action at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. It was quite an awesome meal and also helped train us in proper bibbing etiquette and technique, which may soon become useful knowledge.

A Visit from Tara's Dad and Leila

Tara's Dad and Leila came to visit us last weekend. We gave them a tour of Cincinnati, at least where we go. The tour also went downtown, where the Taste of Cincinnati festival was going on. Tara gave us all a very thorough (and probably literally over an hour) tour of the massive Proctor & Gamble compound downtown where she works. We capped off the day with some great ice cream from Graeter's, our local gourmet ice cream shop, and me "ice skating" through a pile of poorly placed dog droppings in my sandals. Leila tried to compete by exploding her powdered cookie all over, but she was no match. Nice try Leila!

Ethan's Baptism & Mother's Day in Indy

We went to Indy this last weekend for our 7 month old nephew Ethan's baptism. It's great to be only 2.5 hours from our family in Indy. Tara somehow hid from the camera this weekend, but that's okay. She's in every other picture in this blog. In order of appearance, my mom and Grandma are with me in the top left. Sister and her (4) boys on Ethan's big day in the top right corner. Sister, Aunt Nancy, Grandmother, and dad with me in the bottom right. We had a great time!