Party Videos

All of these videos are from our grand

January Christmas party, featuring the

grandkids.  I understand if you don't have 

time to view them all, but I hope you

have time for a sampler.

Kids at Play

More Kids at Play

Evan's Dinosaur

Airplane Parade

Airplane Parade II

I hope at least one of these brought

a smile to your face.

Party Time: the Wrapup

Here are the rest of the pictures from our January

 Christmas party. Videos will follow.  If you 

haven't seen the first batch, you may want to

scroll down to the preceding blog post.

I sure am glad someone suggested snapping

some group pictures while we were together.

L to R: Bri, Amanda, Stephen, Hunter

(Sorry about the red-eye. And can you tell

the kids are saying "cheese"?

L to R: Claire, Matt, Jennifer, Evan

(Is Matt tickling Claire to make her smile?)

Okay, more fun and games.  After Evan

say Hunter torturing action figures with

our new dinosaur, he decided to try it

out on this snake.

The dragon awaits his turn.

But Evan has already worked his way up

to sacrificing this baby doll to the T-Rex.

The girls instantly fall in love with their

magnetic "paper" dolls.  I don't know

what else to call them.

These girls will climb when permitted. And

 it's a special occasion, so anything goes.

Well, not just anything.

Somehow, Hunter blocks out the noisy

surroundings to focus on his puzzles.

Somehow, Hunter, Claire, and Bri all

squeeze into their favorite folding bench.

Meanwhile, Evan prefers a little more

elbow room while fiddling with his CD player.

You can't tell it from this picture, but the

girls have been pursuing the battery-powered

Weasel that goes rolling all over the floor.

Bri has finally trapped it!

Claire decides someone should bring a

little order to the chaos.  So she carefully

arranges the tropical frog collection.

Be sure to check back for the videos.

They're the greatest.  To a Grandpa, at least.

Puzzle Time, Music Time, Kitty Time, Party Time!

Puzzles and music were big hits on a 

recent visit from Claire and Evan.

Claire has become the resident "puzzle-

meister," though all the kids like puzzles.

Evan was rockin' away on his keyboard.

Claire astonished me with the speed with

which she assembled these Winnie-the-Pooh

puzzles pieces.  Each had a punch-out picture

 with not very distinct shapes. But No Problem.

Knock, knock.

Come in, but please don't disturb

the geniuses at work.

A standing ovation for an admiring

audience of one.  But moms are everything!

Kitty Cat has had a pleasant but "guarded"

relationship with all the kids ever since he

was a kitten.  He's older than our boys and

was introduced to the girls when they were

under one year old.  He's often a little skittish

when they "chase" him trying to pet him, but

at times he's really mellow.  As you'll see.

Evan is privileged-- not every cat lets you

pet him at mealtime!

Bri knows that gentleness goes a long way.

C'mon, Hunter.  I've got him!  

Here's your chance!

Good Kitty.  You will be rewarded for this.

This past Monday we held a belated

Christmas gathering at our home for 

some friends who rarely can get together.

The grandkids helped us host the event.

This geo-ball is still one of the kids favorites.

Matt, a math and physics guy, likes it, too.

All of the children are starting to get into

puppets.  Some interesting revues are in

our future, I'm certain.

This little table has paid for itself many

times over.  The children turn into little

adults when they dine together.

Well, Bri has disappeared, but the others

are chowing down on their cupcakes.  YUM!

Claire cringes as Evan demonstrates his

"no-hands" technique.

It works great!  You should all try it.

(I asked Evan if he does it to keep his

hands from getting sticky.  BINGO!

Ya gotta think like a kid.)

The aftermath.  Now back to playing!

Hmm.  More and more interest in letters and

 words.  Not surprising. They all love books.

And by the way, if you've missed Bri in

the last few pictures, here's where she

turned up-- at the adult table.

These four sure do play well together.

Or by themselves.

Evan thinks an electric drill is just the thing

for Grandpa's knee.

At least one classic picture resulted from

this party.  It all began with Hunter climbing

up on my knee.  Then Evan.  Then Claire.

Finally, Bri.  But only after she had taken a

picture of the other three on my knee.

I knew there was some distinguishing fact

that identifies this as a Christmas party.

It's the PRESENTS!

Hunter and Evan received dragons, which

rank along with dinosaurs and snakes as

their current favorites. And Hunter loves

showing his great stuff to Granny.

When Granddaddy learns that the girls

received little change purses, he calls them over.

When they're older, they'll learn to bring

their change purses to him even before

he calls them.

I have too many photos and videos for

one blog, so I'll pause here.  Hunter, who

always says "C'mon," will lead you to the

next blog post, where the fun continues.

And Evan seconds the motion . . .

"C'mon."

Five January Videos

Here are five videos that give a 

sampling of the fun around the Loyd house.

Tumbling (and giggling)

with Evan and Hunter

Brianna and Hunter's

Big Puppet Show

A Visit to the Stream:

the First Waterfall

(Hunter is in my backpack)

The New Trail leads to

New Waterfalls

A Special Song for

Indoor Bicycling

There's still some of January left, so

there may be pictures and videos yet to come.

If I have time to pick up the camera, that is.

January Action-- Part Two

Cold January days don't keep us down.

We have fun indoors and out.  Here is

some more pictorial evidence.

Bri and Hunter latch on to some raggedy puppets
and put on an impromptu show.  Two shows, actually.

Hunter thinks the new dinosaur might be a little
dangerous.  I never said it was a plant-eater.

But Hunter likes to live dangerously.

The children are thrilled to see that Grandpa has
cleared some walking space alongside their own
private stream.  Bri calls it "amazing."

Hunter enjoys riding in Grandpa's backpack, but
on his next visit he will walk ALL the way to the
stream and ALL the way back.  Now that's amazing!

This pristine little stream is spring-fed,
litter-free, and has one little waterfall after another.

After the stream, we take a virtual vacation in
Grandpa's station wagon.  Don't worry about the
doors being open-- we're not going very fast.

SNAKES!  Now that's something to worry about!

Hunter finds a "critter box" in the garage.  So
naturally he stuffs it with railroad cars.  Naturally.

These "Orange Tail" caps are from my father's
air force reunions.  His group of P-47 Thunderbolts
were known as the Orange Tails due to their special
paint job before crossing the English channel on
D-Day in 1944.

Hardly a visit passes in which Brianna and Claire
don't end up doing some art at the dining room table.

Hunter, with his newly adopted hat,
is on the prowl for adventure.

And the next adventure to come his way is a
pack of vinyl frisbees.  He has to throw them all.

Then it's down to "the tree" to do our balance exercises.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Hang on, Grandpa.  I won't let you fall.

These boots are made for walking-- yeah!

Evan says, "Remind me not to sit with my back
to the television next time.  This is awkward."

Claire and Grandma can read book after book
after book.  Just like Claire's Mom used to do.
Sometimes we have to stop to catch our breath.

On a rainy afternoon we have to do our
free-wheeling indoors.

No problem.  Except that the plastic wheels tend
to slip a little on the wooden floors.  And these
aged floors are not level.  But sometimes that helps!

It sure is fun to have speed demons zooming
around the house 30 years after the first
time.  Deja- vu.

Time for the grand experiment:  is there room
to ride the bicycle indoors?
YES!  There is!

Have we seen everything now?
NO!  We haven't!
The next blog post is all videos.
Don't miss it!