An Ollinger Reunion Lunch

The group of Ollinger "girls" got together for lunch again today and there were nine total this time. Every few months we all try to get together for a lunch visit for whoever can make it. Ages range from 80-something down to 3 1/2 and it is always a very pleasant time.

Olivia was as excited as always to get to be with Grandma and go to a restaurant. Even her Aunt Lynn took a little extra time from work to join us today.


Olivia ate well as usual and then went around the table showing off and goofing off with everyone.

Once again it was a nice visit and we look forward to the next time we can get together again.

Even I got to be in a picture with my daughter for once.

She is really starting to look like me don't you think?!?

Workin' With Dad

Olivia had a good time "helping" Dad put shelves in the closet of the new office. She had to wear her tool belt and put her tools in it to follow Dad back and forth. She even had to carry her little plastic drill around because that's what Dad was using. She had to make sure I was fully aware that she was "helping Dad"......"they were doing a lot of hard work"......"they were very busy".....and she is "very strong and can carry things for Dad".

Dad got to learn what it was like to try to get something done with a 3 year old two steps behind you asking hundreds of questions. I think his patience was wearing thin because at one point while she was in the closet I heard her call out to me "patience Mom, patience!"

They got the job done and it turned out really nice and will be a lot of added storage for office and scrap booking stuff.

I put this entry in just to test the new Internet service. I can't believe it took about 1 minute or less to load the picture when before it would have taken about 20 minutes just for one picture. I don't have to walk away and wait for it to finish anymore!!

New, Faster Internet On The Way!

It has been a hectic first month of 2010 but some good things are coming out of it. We've been busy "spring cleaning" and changing things around in the house. Last weekend we spent fixing up the spare room/playroom downstairs to move Jenny into a new and improved "teenage" bedroom. She lost a window but gained two more closets. She is also excited about the privacy she is gaining (especially from a certain 3 year old that likes to hang out with her big sister).

Then this past weekend we spent transforming Jenny's old bedroom into a new office so we won't have to stand by a counter, cramped in by the computer. We will be moving the computer and everything that goes with that into the new office along with my scrap booking things. We also gain more storage with the closet in there and can actually use the room off the kitchen as a pantry rather than computer, odds and ends, junk, etc gathering place.

Also this next week we have people coming in to install wireless internet.......finally.......we are giving in. The dial-up service we have been painfully putting up with all this time has gotten too slow to even make it worthwhile so that will be exciting. I am looking forward to more updating on the blog with the faster Internet and won't have to sit and wait 20+ minutes just to upload one picture!! Stay tuned for an updated blog site and many more consistent updates!!

Welcoming 2010 With The Pitz's

It's been a hectic beginning to the new year as you can tell it's been a while since an update. Although we have had better starts to past new year's we had a good time at Bob and Cindie's home on New Year's Day.

The holidays were pretty hectic but a lot of fun. All the Pitz's got together to bring in the new year and it was great to see everyone again. Olivia, of course, had a great time and always gets along with everyone. She always loves to chase around their two dogs and cling on to her cousins when she isn't flirting with everyone else.

Aunt Cindie and Uncle Bob gave her a play laptop computer with a mouse that she loves. She plays the games on it and has learned how to spell her name and also "Dad" and "Mom". She really learns things fast and just seems to soak up information. It is nice to get back into a routine and start looking forward to Spring coming back and we can then come out of hibernation.

Thanks Bob and Cindie for the gifts and the great day at your house!

Merry Christmas 2009 !

Merry Christmas to everyone!
We had a really nice Christmas and Olivia had so much fun. We spent Christmas Eve making cut-out cookies and she helped to decorate them all. It makes such a mess but she had a lot of fun and was excited to pick out the cookies that we would leave for Santa.
After spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon preparing for a houseful of people coming for Christmas day we went to our 4:00 pm Christmas Eve church service. After that we came home to open a few gifts that were exchanged between us.

We almost forgot to set out the cookies and milk and then it was off to bed to get a good night's sleep before our busy Christmas day.

Olivia woke us up at about 6:00 am and said "hurry, there are pwesents under the twee!" She had a great time opening everything and we all had fun watching her. Everyone got a lot of nice things and then it was to get ready for all the Manning side to come to our house.

It can get pretty crowded in our house but we had a great time. The food everyone brought was terrific and I think everyone had a good time.

Once again Olivia got a pile of presents from Grandma, Grandpa and her aunts. Being the youngest she of course got to hand out all the presents to everyone and was in her glory getting all the attention.

The holidays can sure be exhausting but we really had a great time and made many good memories.

Next stop will be celebrating Christmas with the Pitz side on New Year's day.....but that will be at Bob and Cindie's house so I can spend the week recovering from the Christmas weekend!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours!!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Olivia's first visit with Santa happened this past Saturday when he came to town for a little gathering at the fireman's hall. We never got to try to sit on his lap last year because we never had time or reasons I can't remember, but since he was coming so close I thought we would try it this year. At 3 1/2 I figured she could handle it but in the couple days before she would say she would talk to Santa "when I'm bigger". I thought she would throw a fit or refuse to go near him but she surprised me again.

I think it helped that I told her it had been a long time since I had gotten to talk with Santa and I was so excited to get to see him again. She took that all in and I convinced her she had to let him know what she wanted for Christmas. We got there just as a firetruck was honking it's horn bringing Santa to the party. She went right up to him saying "Hi" and "Mewwy Christmas" and tried to push her letter on him. He was very nice and asked her to give it to him inside when she could sit on his lap and talk.

So she went in with her list made out, in an envelope and was determined to get it to him which was a good thing because she drew a blank sitting on his lap and could only think of "a candy cane" that she wanted. Santa actually produced one on the spot for her but she couldn't think of anything else she wanted. She was a little starstruck but did so well and I got some good pictures of it. We had a lot of fun after that eating some snacks and making ornaments. We even got that all done and got back home for nap time.


We have to soak in these years while she is young and makes the holidays so much fun!

Merry Christmas!!

Jenny Is 14 !

I need to catch up on my blogging! Jenny's 14th birthday was on December 4th. she had some friends over to spend the night and had a good time. Olivia and I had baked and decorated some cupcakes for Jenny's birthday. Olivia gave her a present which was one of those necklaces that are broken in half. Jenny's half says "big Sis" and the other half is for Olivia to wear when she is older that says "lil Sis". We also had the traditional birthday meal with Grandma and Grandpa Manning on Sunday, December 6th. This year Jenny picked a salmon dinner that is a really good recipe I had tried before but it think it turned out the best this time. We all enjoyed the salmon, potatoes and peas but especially enjoyed the Simma's cheesecake birthday cake that Dad picked up.

We had a really nice visit, she liked all her presents and is constantly reminding us that she will be starting to drive in 1 1/2 years. Hard to believe!!

Happy 14th birthday Jenny!

I'll be doing more updates to come soon since my birthday and the holidays are coming up so soon. Watch for the "visit with Santa" update to be here one of these days!