Christmas 2009 Was a Smash!

What a great time Christmas was this year. During all the preparations and throughout the three day event for our family. My wife was such a superstar this year, as she finished her shopping up early, prepared the Christmas Cards, and wrapped up almost all of the presents. What a champ! I am so grateful everyday for the wondrous person she is, and all that she accomplishes. She makes life so comfortable for our family.

Here is the Christmas 2009 Photo Gallery (click here to go to a bigger slideshow of the photos)



The big events kicked off on Christmas Eve, where Nana Kay and Pop-pop had a great little dig at their house. Dawn, Marlin, Alex, and Austin representing from Kay's family. From my neck of the large tree came myself, Suzanne, Lydia and of course lets not forget Gramma Dolores and Grampa Bill. The food was great! They had everything to eat from shrimp, veggie and bread platters, and cheese and crackers to a wonderful spread of mac cheese, turkey, potatoes, various caseroles, and don't forget the gravy. Yummy! Enough food to feed a small army. Of course Suzanne made her famous stuffed mushrooms, and nearly a half a platter to send home with her biggest mushroom fan, Marlin.

After about two hours of eating, it was time to open presents - WOW! What a great time. Lydia had soooo much fun!



The next day at our house, Lydia opened a few presents in the morning from Santa and Suzanne, and then the rest of the presents would have to wait until after our brunch offering. I am proud to say that Lydia had NO problems waiting to open the gifts. The two she opened that morning provided her with enough fun for the morning. Suzanne made a great spread of food including the usual appetizers, halupki, stuffed mushrooms, and lasagna. Oh my goodness - I am such a spoiled boy. What a great layout of treats!



Then it was time to get back to present opening. Everyone exchanged presents, and had a great time! Lydia received so many presents. She would open one, and then play with it for a period of time, and then open another, and play with it. Repeat...Repeat...Repeat. By 5 PM or so, she had enough with the present ordeal, and proclaimed that the rest would have to wait until the next day. WOW - what character this little one has! I am so proud of her for not being subdued with material obsession. She was so much more into a great quality time of curiosity and exploration.



So by 3 PM the next day, she had finished opening her presents. She loved EVERYTHING that folks had sent her, and doesn't appear to have an outright favorite as of yet. Family discussions will NEED to be had about downsizing the purchases, but that aside, it was a great experience for Lydia. Lots of fun was, and still is being had by all.



For everyone who was able to share this wonderful holiday with us - thank you - thank you - thank you. We are so blessed to be in such a great situation, and please think of those who are not as lucky as we. Merry Christmas - the New Year is just around the bend!

Some other notable holiday videos:

Lots of Photo Updates!

There have been a ton of photo updates since November 10th, so family and friends, check out the new photos.

2009 Year in Review

Now with everyone scattered across the country, We expect to see photos and videos emailed to me for posting on this FAMILY blog as well as FAMILY video galleries and photo albums. This is VERY IMPORTANT to Us and Lydia who will not see the family as much these days.

Lydia Plays With Bernie the Bunny! In his cage!

Fall Is In The Air - Well the Leaves are Anyway

It is that time of year again, and as tradition dictates, it was time to work on cleaning up the leaves the day after Halloween. So off to the front yard I go, to rake up Lydia a big, huge, massive leaf pile for her. This was really the first year she was able to enjoy it! And enjoy it she did.

One trip to the leaf pile on Halloween day, and three trips to the leaf pile the day after. Wow! This is awesome!

From 2009 In Review

(There are more leaf pile photos in the referenced gallery above)

Here is a great video of Lydia LOVING IT!

2009 Happy Halloween!!!

Wow what a great Halloween Lydia has had this year! After nearly a month's worth of preparation, and lots of events building up to Halloween, we have finally wrapped up that chapter! Great stuff.

Check out the 2009 Halloween Photo Album.

Lydia has marched in her school parade, carved a pumpkin, attended a Halloween Party at the discovery center, and of course spent a day at the Jackson's Pumpkin Farm! Good stuff!

Video of Carving the 2009 Pumpkin:



Video of her first house of Trick or Treating:



Video at Uncle Jack's:



Hope you all enjoy watching this great stuff...it was a blast!

Getting Caught Up Since July

Well it is official, more than half the family has officially fled to Florida, and as such, I must start providing them with material to show what my family has been up to. So to start out, here are some galleries that have been posted/updated since July:

2009 Year In Review
Sesame Place Trip
Trip To The Outer Banks of NC
Lydia's First Day of School

I will start posting stuff a bit more regularly here now that everyone has fled for the winter...

Me personally...I LOVE THE CHANGE IN SEASON!

Lydie Land 2009

Welcome to Lydie Land 2009. Ok, it isn't quite Neverland, but I am working on it! Comes complete with condo (tent), beach (sandbox), Swimming Pool and a park. Check out the shots below...



(click slideshow above to see a bigger one!)

I think Lydia is going to have a great time playing with all these great gifts she received on her birthday!

Little Lydia's 3rd Birthday!!!

The day was bound to come. The day my little girl turns 3 years old. Before you know it, she will be off to college. The day was grand as we shared it with Lydia's entire family. What a wonderful day to be proud of my daughter!

Lydia made out pretty well. She had a wonderful cake, got a new car, A very large swimming pool and a tent/campfire combo. What a lucky girl! Here are the photos (click to look at a larger version of the slide show...



If you would prefera slide show with music...click here...

Long Awaited Updates

Lydia and family have been having a great time as of late. We have been so busy with things, this is my first update in two months.

The photo gallery has been updated with all sorts of photos. Check them out....

Kreegans Public Photo Gallery

And for those who haven't seen Lydia in quite some time, here is a little video for you to watch...

A Very Hapy Valentine's Day!

The girls had a very happy Valentine's Day. Mommy and Lydia scored their flowers (Lydia's first flowers), gifts from the grand parents, and Daddy scored a "Smores Cheesecake." Lydia received many cards and well wishes from around the east coast.

Auntie Pam really spoiled Lydia with a few toys and gifts. Of course Gramma and Grampa gave Lydia a wee bit too much candy. While Mommy and Daddy scored some babysitting for a movie night! Yeah!

The Photo Gallery has been updated with new photos from the days. Below, Lydia shows off some of her valentine's treasures.

Lydia is A Great Reader!

Here's Lydia reading me and her stuffed friend Wubsie a story.



Not too bad for a two year old....

Pay extra close attention to the reference to the goodies that can be eaten at Gramma and Grampa's house :-)

Punk Rock Lydie Bug!

I have always thought mohawk's were pretty cool...but Lydia shows just how cool they are. I am expecting her to break out with a British accent at any moment.

Lydia Stars In A Magazine!!!

Lydia's fame moves up from being splattered on billboards across Broome County to starring in a trade magazine. Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing puts out a monthly magazine called NACS Magazine to discuss the going ons within the Petroleum retail industry. This national trade organization ran an article on the Mighty Marts Local Business Model associated to their charitable activities. And sure enough, little Lydia starred front and center in the January 2009 magaizne. Check out the article below:

In a tough economic climate, Manley’s still makes charitable contributions a priority.
BY HOWARD RIELL

Pulling the Sled With The Four Wheeler...

You know when you call to check on your daughter when the grandparents are baby sitting for you. There are things you just aren't prepared to hear. "Oh, Bill is outside pulling Lydia around in her sled....with the four wheeler." This is one of those statements.

I have the utmost of confidence in Gramma and Grampa, and I know he was going slow and being cautious. However, it is still a shock when you hear something like that. Above is a picture of Gramma and Lydia, and of course the sled Grampa was pulling Lydie around in. This blog entry would have been even better if I had a photo of Grampa, Lydia, the sled and of course the four wheeler. After I thought about it for a while, it sure sounds like fun being pulled around on the four wheeler in a sled. Why haven't I ever tried that?

Grammie Sue 2009 Winter Visit

In the heart of the coldest part of winter, Grammie Sue came to visit little Lydia. Leaving her tropical paradise in Florida, to brave the weather for the sole purpose of spoiling her grand daughter. Lot of fun with the family, and lots of great food for the visit. Too bad the weather never rose above 10 degrees while she was here...we north easterners felt horrible for her ;-) Above you will see Auntie Pam and Grammie during dinner, and below, Grammie and Uncle Jack entertained Little Lydia.

Below, little Lydia plays with some new toys that Grammie gave her...her favorite cartoon characters from Wow-Wow Wubsie! Both stuffed animals and rubber action figures. Grammie Sue recieved gifts from Lydia each day as well. It wa sa great visist and great to spend time with my momma. Notice in the photo below, you can see a little of Grammie Sue's genetic influence.

Grammie Sue is back in Florida now...all warm and spoiled, and we miss her.

Sled Riding With Auntie Pam and Uncle Jack!

After eating a wonderful breakfast cooked by Uncle Jack (in honor of Grammie Sue). The kids all went outside to play. YEAH!!!! Lets go sleigh riding. It was the first day above 20 degrees in over week and a half, and we really wanted to get out of the house. Below is a great shot of Auntie Pam and Lydia ripping down the hill. Now that is good for laughs isn't it?

Princess Lydia would never be expected to walk up the hill herself, and below is Daddy pulling her up the hill. I guess there may some other motives here in play. I figure I am starting to set a standard for the future men in her life. Just trying to set the bar pretty high :-) I know wishful thinking right?

However, one thing I can say, when Lydia asks for something she gets it. "Snow Angel Uncle Jack!" And Uncle Jack just plopped in the middle of the frozen pond to make one. Lydia only has to ask, and the masses flock to her feet :-)

Now you have to go check out the gallery for the other shots here. Have you ever wanted to see Uncle Jack's belly? Well, it is easy enough....just check out the gallery, and you can see his belly in action as he makes the snow angel. The 2009 In Review Gallery is Here, and has been started!

Remembering My Brother

We walked thousands of miles together, in our very different shoes.
Teaching me so much: wrestling, fishing, baseball, football, and hockey.
Watching Saturday cartoons, sorting through millions of sports cards together
The best sleigh riding trails known to mankind…
Shooting the bb gun was a blast (except when you shot the windows)…
Summer Days at Beaver Lake...
Defending me when I could not defend myself…
Playing pool in the basement, even if I could never win…
You let me pal along, even when I wasn’t wanted…
Driving me to school each day, showing me the finer points of music…
Super Bowls and family outings…
The talks we had when I would drive you places…
Race night at thunder mountain was always fun too…
Always time to share a smoke together…
Boating and Fishing on the Chenango…
Looking up to you in all the things you did not fear…
Caring so much, I wished there was more I could do to help…
Always with a bounce in your step, always a smile on your face…
We weren’t the closest of brothers; our passions were so different,
But each and every moment we shared, I hold dear to my heart.
I love and miss you so much my brother…