A Very Merry Christmas

We were lucky this year to share 3 wonderful Christmases! The first was just us exchanging gifts and preparing a delicious Christmas Frittata. Then we were off to the Terry Murphys to share Christmas with the Murphys, Mom, the Coopers, the Williamses, and the Bayolas from Hawaii. Even sweet little Kelsey and her mom and dad were able to join us. After a wonderful meal, we all gathered around to exchange gifts, the most for Kelsey and Benjamin!
On Saturday, we packed Santas sled and headed off to Minnesota for a Schmitt Christmas. All we can say is thank goodness we have a SUV or we would have been in big trouble! It was packed to the gills but thanks to the "Master Packer" (Ed) we got all the goodies in with a little room for our luggage. Sunday morning was our Christmas morning with the Schmitts. I think it was successful, the biggest hits were the kitchen set and guitar with microphone for Benjamin. See the video, I think there might be a career in music for this little man! Santa brought a sled for Benjamin and we all took turns going down the hill, reminded me of all the times Mark and I went to Swan Pond with Dad.
We'd like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and successful 2008! Look for details of our exciting new adventure for 2008. Love Chris and Ed

Happy Holidays

Just in case you forgot what this time of the year is all about - look at the happy smiling faces of these two characters -

Warm holiday wishes from Ed & Chris!

Acoustics

Thanksgiving

Whew! What a jam packed weekend! From yoga class to wine tasting and everything in between! Once again, our fav Minnesotians drove down to spend the holiday with us. While Ahmpa watched Benjamin, Mike & Jessica joined in on my yoga class, probably to limber up for all the eating on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving day dawned cold and snowy but that didn't stop Jessica and Mike from participating in an 8K race at Lincoln Park Zoo - brave souls! Dinner was shared with some Coopers, Mary, Roland and Brad as well as Aunt Arlene.

Saturday, Benjamin spent some quality time with the "Big Guy" at breakfast with Santa. He was a little shy and apprehensive at first, but quickly warmed up and soon they were the best of buddies!

We all had to go back to work on Monday just to rest!

Check out the video of Benjamin testing out the acoustics!!

Frontier

Viva Las Vegas

We were in Vegas over the weekend and little did we know that they had planned a Big Bang for us! Unknown to us, they were going to implode The New Frontier to make way for a new resort complex. Being that it was Vegas, they planned this for 2:30am - we had originally planned to head out to see it but found that we had front row seats from our Treasure Island hotel room. We cut the evening short to catch the event! Here is the video taken from our window - it was cool and a little scary at the same time = sorry it's a little grainy.

Mom's80th Birthday

The entire (almost) family gathered on Saturday to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday - all 5 of her kids and their spouses were able to attend - they came from far and wide. A fabulous dinner was held in Mom's honor attended by 30 closest family members. After the dinner, a majority of the guests met up at Hollywood Casino - and guess who was the big winner - the birthday girl! But not to worry, the rest of the gang didn't do too badly either! The wonderful family weekend ended with breakfast on Sunday. Kelsey and Benjamin even showed off their Halloween costumes! Those are some cute kids!

The Ampa Song

Venice, Prague & Paris

Hi everyone - I have uploaded the rest of our pictures! Enjoy!

The Orient Express

If you ever want to experience true luxury anddecadence, take a trip on the Orient Express. From the moment you check in, you are transported back into a more elegant time. The uniformed representatives check you in, take your luggage and then escort you to a local hotel for a traditional Venetian drink called a Bellini (pear juice, ice and Italian sparkling wine)while your luggage is placed in your compartment. Onboard, you will appreciate the fully restored 1920's original Orient Express Pullman cars. Beautiful wood,with handmade inlays, polished brass and the clever compartment setup. The actual compartment is about 5 x5. It contains (for daytime) a settee, table and washbasin - the basin is enclosed in a separate closet.For night, the settee separates into 2 bunk-like beds,very comfortable. Every detail is attended to by your own cabin Steward.

After boarding, we dressed for dinner. Yes, it's formal all right! Tuxedos and cocktail dresses - and all looked elegant. We shared a table with a couple from England, she a podiatrist and he was a"househusband". Dinner consisted of 5 courses, each more delicious than the other. After dinner, we visited the fully restored Barcar for a cocktail and to enjoy the piano player. It was an interesting night - with the beds set up, there isn't much room for movement. In the morning, we had breakfast in our compartment and watched the scenery. Unfortunately, it was raining too hard to get out when we pulled into the Vienna train station. Lunch was served in one of the 3 dining cars. Once again, each restored to it's original glory.

After 2 glorious nights in Prague (details later) - we reboarded the train to Paris. Once again, as we passed through small towns, it seemed like people were waiting for us. But this time, when they took pictures of us, we started to take their picture!

This was truly an experience of a lifetime, we both loved being transported back to a more elegant time. A time when travel was considered a special treat and people dressed and acted accordingly.

Introducing....Kelsey Marie

We joyfully welcomed a new member to our family on Friday 9/14 - the baby with no name...actually she does and it will be revealed once mom and dad give the okay! But Great Uncle Ed and I went to Milwaukee to check her out and give the Murphy family stamp of approval! Our new little angel is adorable! Mom & Dad and Grandma & Grandpa Cooper are thrilled and look forward to bringing her home on Sunday.



More to follow -

A weekend to remember!

It all started when our favorite Minnesotians came to help me celebrate "the big one"! On Saturday we spent the day at Brookfield Zoo - can't say who had more fun, Benjamin loving the animals or us watching him! Saturday night we went to the Schnitzel Platz for Octoberfest, food was great and Jessica even won a beer drinking contest, she had to drink from a baby bottle! We were so proud -

Sunday was the best, 20 pajama clad family and friends surprised me (or should I say shocked me) at 9am for a champagne breakfast! Can't believe they were able to pull it off. And I can't believe I didn't hear them coming into the house! Everyone did a wonderful job and it was the best!

But it didn't end there, on Monday courtesy of my former siblings, the Grim Reaper paid me a visit at work! Yep, right there in front of the entire office!

It was a wonderful fun weekend and I will never forget it! But then again, I'm glad it's over and we can get back to our boring life. Oh, did I mention that we leave in less than 2 weeks for our Orient Express trip? Can't wait!

Ragtime

Ragtime!

We spent the weekend in Minnesota with the Schmitts - found that Benjamin has a hidden talent - singing showtunes! Jessica popped the "Ragtime" cd in while we were driving back from St Paul - could be a careeer!

Erins Wisconsin Shower

Mary and I joined the Ryan family at Erins shower in Milwaukee this past weekend. Dennis' family was warm and welcoming and it was evident that they are crazy about Erin and looking forward to the baby's arrival! It's down to the wire - only a few more weeks! As you can see, Erin is glowing - this seems to really agree with her! Hopefully our next entry will be all about our new family member!

Fly me to the moon....

Thanks to Ed, I was able to fulfill a longtime dream of flying an airplane! Ed gave me a gift certificate for an "intro flight" lesson. I spent some time on the simulator, then was taken up in a 4 person Cesna and actually took control of the plane! It was incredible!! We flew almost to Rockford - it was thrilling and terrifying at the same time! The instructor even let Ed join us for the flight. Fortunately for all of us, the instructor landed the plane since I ended up in the grass on the simulator! How nice it would be to fly to Rochester to visit the Schmitts - sure would beat the 5 1/2 hour drive -

Christmas in July

G-Ahma (great grandma) brought a special treat for Benjamin this weekend, an animated penguin that sings and dances. Check out the fancy moves!

Erin's Baby Shower

We had a wonderful time at Erin's baby shower on Saturday - lot's of family and friends gathered to celebrate the upcoming birth of Erin and Dennis' new baby girl! They were overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone! They came from near and far, Erin's brother Roland and his lovely wife Cicely were visiting from London, soon to be (again) great grandma Murphy flew in from Florida, the Schmitts of Minnesota were present, as well as the Bayola's from Hawaii!

yeah, yeah, yeah

Benjamins 2nd Birthday

Coming soon! More photos and videos of Benjamins 2nd birthday party!

Welcome

Ed and Chris have decided to join the rest of the world with our very own blog! We thought this would be an easier way to share our family and travel adventures! Come back again soon!