Christmas Day night with the Wahls

Carving the turkey

Mark-n-Ellen brought hats for all.

Mom and Dad gave Johnny and me "Stones into Schools"...and we gave them it too:)

Always some good sounding music to be played and heard.

The boys guessing at our game of charades.

Ella Kate Engelen's Baptism

Thanksgiving Weekend at Wrightsville Beach Wilmington NC

Ben swam in 58 degree water!!!!

Anna and Johnny watching Ben run into the ocean.

Ella

Ella in her "Santa's Helper" outfit.

Learning to play the djembe with Uncle Johnny

Thanksgiving

What a wonderfully busy weekend. We started out celebrating Thanksgiving Day with Johnny's side of family, visiting both the Schultz and the Brinkworth side. We woke up at 4:35 am on Friday morning to catch an early flight to Wilmington, NC and had Thanksgiving with the Wahl side of the family. Dad and Bob picked us up from the airport...it was beautiful, sunny, and high 50s on the coast. We had a great Thanksgiving meal (third one for me and Johnny) and then a game of ultimate football followed by a bonfire to close out the night. Saturday, we hung out, played with Ella, went to Wrightsville Beach, played with Ella some more, watched Ben run into the ocean (62 degrees)....needless to say he didn't stay in long, took a nice walk, and then Ella was baptized. She was so good, never cried, and was just as cute as ever. After the baptism, we went to one of Megan and Bob's favorite restaurant, Boca Bay, and then toured Airlie Gardens. It was all lit up and a-glow....a perfect start to the holiday season. I wish I had some pictures to post!! I will get them up as soon as Renee sends some to me:) We finished with a 12 hour car ride home today....sooooo worth it though. Wished you lived closer Megan and Bob!! Thanks for a great weekend.

Our Annual Fall Trip to the Red River Gorge

We sat by the fire all night, and watched and listened to the changing of the woods as the sun went down. Slowly, the pink sky transitioned into a black, star-lit night. The moon even woke Johnny up because it was so bright.

Looking out over Koomer Ridge with our morning coffee.

A beautiful 6 mile hike to the top of Natural Bridge by way of Hood's Branch Trail.

It was so windy at the top, and 75 degrees!! What a warm start to November.

Halloween

We had a nice Halloween, even though we didn't get as many trick-or-treaters as expected. Renee and Mike had great costumes. Here are some pics.

October

We have been busy here lately on Hycliffe.  A couple weeks ago we enjoyed a beautiful day of climbing at RRG with Dad, Mom, Renee, and Mike.  Last weekend we cycled out in Lanesville with Dad and Mom past rolling fields, whizzed by tall corn drying up for harvest, had picturesque views of old barns and homesteads, and glided past lazy dogs soaking up some sun on front porches.  This past Friday night, Johnny and I got to see our favorite musician, Bela Fleck (banjo), perform with Edgar Meyer (bassist) and Zakir Hussain (tablas) at The Brown Theatre in Louisville.  We talked with Bela after the show and found out he recently married Abigail Washburn (clawhammer banjo)....what a match made in heaven...they make some beautiful music together!!

Johnny's uncle was in town from Afghanistan and his family from Florida and we got to hang out with them all on Saturday after Mitch's last soccer game of the season. 

Today, Johnny and I did the Harvest Homecoming Bike Tour in Floyds Knobs and opted for 25 miles instead of 40 because we were so tired from the weekend already.  We woke up to a chilly 42 degrees outside and had frozen fingers and toes 3 miles into the ride.  We thawed out after about 9 miles and the sun kept us warm, even though it never got about 50 degrees while riding. 

I think we will wait for a warmer day before the next ride we do:)

Taste of Fall

The weather has turned amazing here.  The past couple of days we have woken up to temperatures in the 50s and have cycled after work with temps in the 70s...blue skies with puffy white clouds and sunny. Johnny and I enjoyed cycling in the park with Mom and Dad this past weekend, who just got their first road bikes!! We also enjoyed "Brew at the Zoo...and Wine Too" on Saturday afternoon at the Louisville Zoo.  Microbreweries from all over the country brought their finest stouts, pale ales, and other specialties.  The little 4oz tasting mug was very deceiving and soon the amount of beer consumed equaled massive amounts...not so great for the next day, but very fun in the process. 

I have my fall mums planted in hopes they will root deeply and come back next fall (being the perennials that they are) and their bright colors have livened up the front of the house.  Mr. Coy is still swimming happily in his pond out back and a yellow finch couple landed on our Purple Cone flowers and Black-Eyed Susan's yesterday and chirped about while eating the seeds right off the flower. 

Update

My hand is finally healing from horseback riding 2 weeks ago in Hoosier National Forest with Johnny, Renee, and Mike.  My horse, Shakira, had me gripping on to the saddle for dear life and I actually had a bruise on my hand, not to mention very sore adductors.  Johnny was on a horse named Bandit (the name tells it all). Renee told the owners we were all very experienced riders (Johnny has never ridden a horse before) so that we could run:) It was a blast once we got over the initial shock of gliding through the forest without one hoof on the ground. We had a great weekend with Renee and Mike in Bloomington, kayaking, hiking, riding, and eating some fabulous food. 

This weekend, we finished drinking the last of Johnny's very first homebrew (Hycliffe Hop Ale) and bottled his 2nd batch, a milk stout. He got 49 beers out of the batch!  I'm excited to taste this next one.