Somehow we started a tradition of quirky present “wrapping” with Johnny.

Many of his gifts represented something on the outside, and something on the inside.  It was fun to try and figure out each ahead of time.  Much of it was things he can finally take possession of now that he's of age, haha!

Quite a fine looking young man too.

What do you do when you turn 21…

THIS is what you do in our house. ;)

She brought a .308…!

You know you have the right addition to your family when she brings a handgun (.44 magnum) AND a rifle (.308 Winchester) to the birthday party shoot… 

To top it off, both were bigger than anything Johnny or I own.  So, we went shopping for some ammo and I decided to give these things a try.  Pretty cool technology.  Composite (plastic) casings…

Even the new waitresses give us a special birthday touch.

Love these shirts! Scattered, Smothered, Recovered!

That's the way I feel once I have some Waffle House hash browns for sure. :)

Keeping of the birthday traditions…

…but adding people to the group. ;) We call them "Barton girls".  Savannah joined us at Waffle House as part of Johnny's birthday weekend.

It’s nice to feel appreciated at work

In all the craziness of the daily grind, and the constant change, it's nice to know you're appreciated.  Cognex makes us feel like we belong and are valued as employees.  I got to divided up some yummy snacks with the kids. 

Zoe’s worries were apparently founded…

I can't say I like this trend…. Last year it was the first U of M win for 9 years.  This year, it was the first time Michigan won at Columbus in 22 years.  However, I am glad to see Michigan back in the game.  It's good for the Big10 that they're finally showing up again!  Unfortunately, my mother was happy about the results… ;)

Let the kitten showdown begin…

Because it makes for a great picture of Johnny and Savannah. :)

It sure was fun to hang with everyone at Stef’s house over the break.

Check out this puppy dog eyes Savannah's casting at Johnny.  I think this was about a "free" kitten that Stef knew about… Laughter, games and memories.  

You never know WHAT to expect when my boys are around…!

We were just sitting there enjoying our tradition of watching The Christmas Carole after Thanksgiving dinner and all of a sudden THIS started…!?

Shooting stars… ;)

Some more of the decorations at Stef's house.  I thought it made a cool, reflective pic so I grabbed the shot.

It was fun to play phone games at Josh and Stef’s this past weekend.

I like how cute she makes her house with the Christmas decorations.  It's funny trying to figure out which cats are real and which ones are statues too…

Zoe looks a little nervous about the Buckeyes heading into this past weekend’s big game…

Cameras have become pretty amazing

It used to be the only geeks and nerds like me had a camera with them all the time.  Now everybody has one in their pocket AND takes pictures of everything around them all the time.  

While we were finishing up Laura's deck, the moon came out to say hello.  So I grabbed this shot on my iPhone while just standing there in her driveway.  I don't even know how it's possible to capture something like this, in such low light, so far away, cropped in so much, with such great color and gradient representation, but I love it!