Halloween 2010

Christmas 2009

5 Christmas this year.
The first was Christmas Eve with
Uncle Jon and Aunt Judit.
Jon had to work Christmas Day
so we exchanged gifts the night before.

#2 was Christmas morning
at Mommom and Poppop's house
with the family.


Ashton...oops, I mean Batman
was a thrill to watch.

Uncle Josh's remote control helicopters
were a very big hit!
(...well, at least with the big kids)

#3 was Christmas night
in Baxley, Ga at
Stacy's father's house.

After all of the gift exchanges
Stacy pulled out her Wii game system
and we all took turns
boxing, bowling and golfing.

#4 was 2 days after Christmas
with Stacy's Father's family in Brunswick, GA.

We spent a lovely afternoon eating,
swapping presents, & playing outside.

And #5 was later that evening
with Stacy's Mother's family.

We met at a Spanky's restaurant for dinner,
and then carried the party over to
Stacy's Aunt & Uncle's house for dessert
and more gift exchanges.


For those of you who may not be familiar
with "Wii Boxing", please enjoy as Ashley & Mark
(Stacy's sister and brother-in-law)
provide this hilarious demonstration...

Seeing Santa

Every year we make a trip to see Santa


This year Santa was hiding in the Savannah Mall

First we found the train near Santa's workshop

After the train, we wandered into the north pole (Bass Pro Shop)
where Santa's helpers (Bass Pro staff)
directed us to the arts and crafts, the holiday decorations
and the ONE thing that every little boy (future Bass Pro customer)
needs at Christmas time...
...a shooting range.


Thankfully, Ashton did not "shoot his eye out"
and with that,
it was time for Santa...

Happy Halloween 2008!!

Jack Skellington courtesy of Jon Sturgis


For our pumpkin,
Stacy, Ash and I checked out a couple of local pumpkin patches.

With her degree in Interior Design, Ashton and I agreed that Stacy was best-suited for the pumpkin carving honors :)

She did give Ashton plenty of opportunity to help with the guts-removal...

...after his first slimey quasi-handful, Ash decided that it was womens-work.

I, of course, was in charge of the camera.
Last year Ashton was Moe Doodle,
and this year THE RED POWER RANGER!We opted to go Trick or Treating in Stacy's neighborhood this year, and we had a blast!

I was actually somewhat surprised that Ashton didn't go for longer than he did. Stace and I took turns taking him out, but after only a few streets he was done.

It wasn't from fatigue, mind you, he simply knew that he couldn't dig into his haul until he came home and we checked out the loot.


Stacy and the girls at her office
decided to dress up 80's-Style for Halloween.
I loved it.
She looked just like every girl I had the hots for in High School :)

After trick or treating
I surprised Ashton by introducing the Power Ranger
to the local (well-fed) sheriff(the creepy-looking guy in the back is Jonathan)

The girls hangin' out.

Before long, everyone was trying on the fat suit...
'Plump Jon'
'Baby-Got-Back Judit'

*~* FIREWORKS *~*

2008's 4th of July was celebrated near the Westin Hotel overlooking the Savannah River.

Last year Stacy, Ashton and I found a spot on Hutchinson Island, next to the Westin, that afforded us an excellent vantage point for the show. It also gave us access to a little-known shortcut providing quick escape to the interstate once the festivities were complete.

Needless to say, we definitely took advantage of that again!



Don't worry...
Ashton only had first-degree burns after playing with the sparklers :)

So sweet....

Yes, I'm still sans hair in this photo...
No, Stacy didn't like me clean-shaven...
Yes, I now have hair again.

This is SUCH a cool pic!
Love it!!
Grand Finale...

Easter Eggs, Easter Basket and CHOCOLATE!

Stacy and Ashton dyed Easter Eggs together this year (I had to work). He certainly seemed to thoroughly enjoy decorating the eggs... there's no doubt that he enjoyed breaking them with daddy the next day!


Ashton's Easter Basket from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.


Ashton LOVES Chocolate!
After digging through Ashton's Easter basket,
he and I made up a basket for his Uncle Jon
(who happedened to be working that day at the Fire Station across the street from us)


Stacy, Ashton and I after church on Easter.

St. Patrick's Day & a Visit from Cris!

Another St. Patrick's Day came and went in Savannah, GA. Despite the parade being held 3 days before the actual holiday, Savannah still had very large crowds and lots of fun.

A week before the celebration, the Southern Sturgis' were delighted to get to enjoy several days worth of visit from my cousin Cris. She was making her way cross-country from California to New York, and managed to find time to spend several days with my parents, my brother Jon and Ashton & I (she kept a beautiful blog of her journeys...check it out!)

For the 2nd year now, Ashton and I participated in the 'Shamrock Run' in downtown Savannah.
First, there's a Kiddie Run around City Market (Ashton strutted... jogged, then strutted again), and then a 5k for the adults. Despite the rainy weather, I did ok on the run this year and shaved 2 minutes off of last year's time! I was pleased. Ashton waited for me at the finish line with Stacy and Cris (my cheerleaders).



Here's a super-quick vid from before the race:

Waiting to race! from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.

What a year to be Thankful for...

The only thing more enjoyable then my brother Josh trying to "add color" to a family picture is when I post that pic on this blog for everyone to see (your welcome Joshua). As always, Mom's efforts in the kitchen were GREATLY appreciated when her holiday feast proved to be mouth-watering and delicious!!
I'll be posting today's updates in reverse-order so that you can enjoy the events in the order that they happened...


Thanksgiving with the family from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Merry Christmas One and All!

What a glorious Christmas we have had this year!! I guess I'm s l o w l y getting older, and perhaps wiser, because the best present I received was Ashton...healthy, and under my roof.

In Savannah, we have to go through several cycles of warm-to-cold-to-warm before Winter finally sticks. As such, Ashton started getting sick in early October, and he seemed to stay that way through November. Thankfully, we were sickness-free during the Holidays (of course, as I type this I can here him starting to cough back in his room).

Ashton went on his first 'field trip' this year when he and the kids from his daycare ventured out to the Savannah Mall to take pictures with Santa...
On Christmas morning, he and I started the crazy gift-unwrapping extravaganza at our home, and then went out to Mommom and Poppop's house for Part Two, with uncles Josh and Jon.

Opening gifts (with the cat's help) Christmas morning...

Christmas at home from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.


More gifts (and tape)...

More Christmas at home from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.


It took a little bit of time for the adults at Mom and Dad's house to get around to opening their own gifts...we were all having so much fun watching Ashton tear through his like a Tasmanian devil!

I'm not sure that Mommom was too impressed though, when one of her 'smart --s' sons gave her a beaded necklace for her glasses....personally, I think they look very grandmotherly :)

All and all, a very lovely Christmas this year. It would have perhaps been even better if we had been able to visit with Ashton's Nashville family, but we send Season's Greetings out to Janma, Aunt Rachel and Uncles David and Jon!

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a BUSY holiday season this has been! To wrap up the old year - and to welcome in the new one - Ashton, my brothers and I met up with my folks at the Sunbury Crab Company for New Year's Eve dinner. It was wonderful. Delicious food!! While we always try to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together as a family, this is the first time in a long while that we've all been together for New Year's Eve.
The only one missing was my sister-in-law Judit, who spent the holidays with her family in Hungary. She was SORELY missed (especially since there was no one here to keep her husband in check....or to help Mom with the kitchen....or to help keep Ashton occupied....ahem, I mean we love and miss her very much).

Here in Georgia, we can not buy "real" fireworks legally, but we can buy non-explosive fireworks (big Sparklers, really). Luckily, Ashton is still at an age where these displays are quite thrilling. Enjoy the vid...

New Year's Eve 2007/2008 from Mike and Ash on Vimeo.
The fireworks in the above vid had pictures of butterflies on the package. Ashton kept waiting for the butterflies to fly up out of the sparkles and pops :)



And with that, another holiday season comes to an end. It was a bit tiring, but extremely enjoyable...one of the best years ever, IMHO. I don't know why Ashton is so wore out in this picture...Daddy did all of the work! We wish peace and prosperity on all family in friends in 2008! Take care everyone!!