20170831 + 2 Favorite Girls

20170831 + Up in the am and in to work. Rough day at the office... Home and D & DGF7 went to the Clippers game tonight, he got great seats for his bday.  L&I ran to Meijer to return some stuff while J&G played back at the school. Home and into the basement to watch the first OSU game of the season. They Buckeyes did NOT look good the first half, but the second half was great. To bed late after the game.

20170830 - Foreshadow

20170830 - Up an into the office.  Had some pretty good meetings today, making me think about a lot of things. Stayed late for some calls and finish things up.  L&G to J's CC meet, there were 21 schools there and he got 3rd in his school with a time of 13:05. Home and D at work, J doing homework and G&I vegged out on the couch together for a bit watching cartoons.  D home, L getting ready for her trip.  Watched some TV and did some email.

20170829 - 2 Double Day for D

20170829 - Up in the am and in to work through heavy traffic this morning.  Pretty busy day with calls all the way home.  L&G went to J's CC meet where J ran another amazing time of 12:20 :-o I headed to Ds baseball game. DGF7 and a friend of hers came to watch too. L dropped off G at the ball park and J at home and headed to J's 8th grade open house.  D had a great game with 2 awesome doubles that turned the tide towards the win with about 5 RBIs and his runs across home for a 17 to 9 victory. After the game G&I picked up some grub at DQ and headed home.  J was out riding his scooter someplace and came home to get his ice cream.  L home shortly after for her coney and D came in. We got a minute to talk to D about his first day of work at Panera delivering food.  He said it was ok. Boys to bed and I stayed up a bit getting things lined up.


20170828 - G Ground out

20170828 - Up in the am and feeling like I have been drug behind an old truck down a dirt road.  I guess that is the price you pay for so much fun the previous day.  In to work and getting ready for the week.  Seemed hard to get things done today, definitely a Monday. Finished up the day and headed to an auction house to pick up a coupe of things before heading home. I spent the entire way home chasing issues that were still smoldering. Made a quick stop at Dave's warehouse to pick up some items and then home and checked in with J and headed back to G's game. It was miserable.  D picked J up and they headed to Scouts. I left as soon as the run rule was announced. Home and L&G soon after and G was pretty upset. Hung out at hoe a bit then got Doc and headed to Bible Bangers with Doc. Home and helped D with some ebay stuff.  up late lining things up and getting them done.

20170827 + 31 Coasters

20170827 + Up in the am and J&I headed out.  We swung through McD's to get some grub and then headed South to Kings Island.  We had all-inclusive tickets so we had extra parking and photo passes that we gave away.  We started riding at 10:30am, got in 31 rides, and finished at 8:00pm = 9.5 hours =1 ride every 20 minutes.  J&I rode every roller coaster there at least twice and our favorites we hit 3 to 4 times. It was a perfect day, the weather was awesome and the Fast Passes were priceless. In fact the Fast Passes were J's favorite part of the day. He said 'I love walking past everyone waiting in line and just getting straight on the ride'. We had an awesome day, just J&I having fun riding rides playin carnival games and hanging out. He is a great kid and I can't express how luck I am he is my boy.


I cherish these one on one days I get, as the boys are growing up so fast and we don't often get to just sit back and enjoy each other's company. I love you Jacky boy.

20170826 - Dylan turns 18!

20170826 - Up in the am and L had already dropped J off at school to goto his CC meet and L&G went to D's baseball game. I headed to J's CC meet and got there right before his race. There were 6 schools there and tons of runners. J had an awesome run and got 5th out of 6 schools with his best time of 12:10. We hung out there a bit before heading to D's game. We got there just in time to see D turn a great play at home. D's team won by one and at the final huddle they sang Happy Birthday to Dylan and then hunted him down to give him some birthday spankings.





After the game J&I ran to the store so J could get some gifts.  Then home, J did some wrapping and I headed back to G's game to meet L.  G's team was getting killed, they are pretty awful.  After the game LG&I headed to the West side so G could play his next 2 games: G did great and even pitched a bit, they won both games.  After the games we headed to Buffalo Wings for D's bday dinner.  DJ & DGF7 were there and had tables for us.  Gma&paW arrived, followed shortly by Gma&paB and the Coles.  It was a nice meal and we all headed home afterwards so D could open his gifts and have some of the frozen Oreo cake L made for him. He opened all of his gifts and was very surprised to see the plane tickets and awesome seats we had gotten him for an upcoming Colorado Rockies game in Colorado :-o After D's bday party we all loaded up in the car and headed to the McClain's to watch the Mayweather vs McGregor boxing match. What a busy fun day!

20170825 + Fruit and Nut Mixer

20170825 + Up in the am and in to work. Had a crazy busy fast day topped off with an emergency right at the end in true Friday fashion. L&G were in Westerville for baseball practice D filled out his paperwork at Panera so he can start work there soon and headed to DGF7s. J was home waiting for me. I got home and we headed to Moe's for dinner. It was a good meal and the boy eats like a horse. We headed to Kroger to get food for me to take to work. I then got a newfangled hair cut and we headed home where J mixed the dried fruit and nuts for me to take to work. L&G home and ate and we headed down to watch John Wick 2. D & DGF7 came over to watch the movie and played with their phones the whole time. I returned the movies and came home and crashed.

20170824 - Garage Springs

20170824 - Up in the am and headed in to work. I got to yell at embarrass J this morning as he was reclining in the neighbor girl's driveway waiting for his bus :-) In to work and getting ready for meeting after meeting day. Got a bunch done today, had a last minute call come in that kept me until 5:45 that put L in a bind: she was running J and his CC friends around and was planning to go to D's baseball game, but had to head home as I found a guy that could come this evening to fix the garage door. I got home as quickly as I could. L headed to D's baseball game, J and his buddy Conor, G&I had some pizza and then G&I watched the guy fix the garage door. I lent a hand when I could and Jim from next door came over to borrow some tools for the car repairs he was doing. L&D got home, D's team won and he had some big hits tonight. The garage door is fixed, garage put back together and L pulled her car in, good to go. JG&I headed to get some ice cream and beer and we all hung out a bit until time for bed. Up late catching up on past blog entries.

20170823 - D's an EAGLE!!!!

20170823 - Up in the am and in to work.  Pretty Loooong day.  Headed to pick up an auction win after work and then home.  LJ&G were at J's CC meet and he ran another 13.40.  They got home and L headed to the high school for an open house and J&G headed to Subway to get themselves some dinner.  D&I headed to the church for his Eagle Board of Review.  They took D in at 6:55...  I hung out in the lobby and did some email.  Chris stopped by to talk about lawyer stuff and Penn stopped to chat too.  Then I got the call from D at 7:13 that he was done???  I rushed in to see what the outcome was as these BORs usually take 2-3 hours and he was done in 1 hour and 15 minutes...  D had a big grin on his face and I asked him if he made it and he said 'Yup I'm an Eagle!'  I gave him a great big hug, SO PROUD!  We chatted with Rob a bit about the BOR and how he got out so fast, got their pic and then headed to Wendy's to pick up some dinner and the gas station to buy a Powerball ticket.  Home and took a deep breath.

20170822 + DETOUR

20170822 + Up in the am and in to work. Had a fast productive day. Headed home and ran into traffic.  The city had blocked off the main road due to power lines down from a huge storm that blew through today.  Home and had dinner with LJ&G, D at DGF7's. G shooting the bb gun in the backyard, Vicki stopped by to chat, L too k Lilly on a walk, I made a couple of calls and then we headed to the basement to watch 'John Wick', D joined us when he got home. Exhausted and to bed early.

20170821 - Dylan's LAST Scout Meeting

20170821 - Up in the am and everyone off to school.  I worked from home this morning so I could pick a colleague up at the airport and transport her to work.  Got to work, had lunch, got rolling, L texted me the garage door is not working... Finished up the day and headed home to a busy night: L went to J's CC meet, J had a less than 14 min 2 mile run, I met D at G's baseball game, G's team lost, but he did great.  I left G's game early and headed to a meeting with the varsity baseball coach to get next year lined up and that meeting rolled into the Athletic boosters meeting.  After that I ran home to pick up J and head to Scouts for Dylan's last Boy Scout meeting EVER (as a youth).  Robby, the Scoutmaster, gave a great speech on Dylan's behalf.  Home and got Doc and headed to bible Bangers for a bit.  Home and sent a couple emails for work and the boosters.


200170820 + 18 Seconds of Chaos

200170820 + L picked up J from his bday party early and then took D&J to church.  I was dead asleep.  When they got home D&J put up the new tent we got to make sure all of the parts were there.  The thing is huge and it was only $30 :-)  In the office trying to get organized and keep ahead of things.  D headed to DGF7s, J went scootering with some friends, L headed in to her classroom.  At 4 I headed to Olentangy to meet Gma&paW and get G for his 1st baseball practice with another Fall team he is going to play with.  He was the smallest guy there but did great.  I got through a ton of paperwork while he was practicing.  After practice we headed to the movie store and then sat in the Panda Express drive through forever to get dinner.  Home and tried to watch a movie, but it wasn't very good so we gave up and got everyone to bed.

20170819 - Family and Friends

20170819 - Up in the am and we all jumped in the car and headed up to the Farm. We got there and met the family at the Farmhouse and then headed over to the Chestnut Grove Church where many generations of our family are buried for a memorial service for Martha. Roger gave us a history lesson of everyone buried there and our connection to them. There was a nice service, with nice things said by some of of the family, very sad. We all then headed back tot he Farm to have a nice lunch. Everyone chatted and caught up for a bit and then headed out. After everyone was gone GmaW, DJG&I went and got a couple of plants to plant across the road from the Farmhouse. We got them planted and then LDJ&I headed home, G is spending the night.


We stopped at the store on the way home so J could get a present for his buddy and then we dropped him off at the bday party. D headed to DGF7's and L&I headed to the Jamborleapley, a party a guy I use to work with has every year. Kevin had put in a big pond and told me all about it, it was amazing. We had some food, hung out and chatted and relaxed a bit. Home and had some issues getting the big TV working, but eventually watched the movie 'Life'. To bed, but up VERY LATE arranging things for D's bday.

20170818 - Neighborhood Skunk

20170818 - Slow start this am, boys to school, L getting her classroom ready, in to work for a quiet day of catching up. Was in the conference room all day but got a TON of things done. Home and D off with DGF7 someplace and LJG&I headed to the high school to watch the first soccer game of the season. Gahanna won and we met the Mallonns at DQ after the game.  We heded home and had to wait in the car as there was a skunk checking ou tthe front bushes :-o

20170817 + Last First Day :-(


20170817 + Up in the am and got D's Senior picture at the mailbox.  L got a little choked up... Headed in to work to get caught up from being in meetings for the last couple of days. Got a lot done today with some good future thinking discussions.  Home the back way through thick traffic.  Had dinner with the fam + DGF7.  JG&I headed to the phone store to get J's new phone activated.  Home and spent a couple of hours trying to restore J's old data on his new phone.  Finally got that done.  Boys to bed, up VERY late looking for bday gifts and ideas for D.

20170816 - Two to Go

20170816 - Up in the am, L&G already up as G was up at 4AM with a nightmare and they slept the rest of the night on the couch. Took pics of G&J by the mailbox. First day of 8th and 5th grades! Headed in to work and yelled at G at the corner while he was doing his safety patrol duties :-) In to work for another day long meeting. D watched the McClain kids this morning before they headed to Florida for vacation. Took a break at lunch to make some calls. Finished off the day. Headed to pick up an auction win and then on to D's game. D had a great game and his buddy Drew joined the team so all the boys are having a blast. G's team lost big, but G said he had a good game. Home and J was hanging out, he didn't feel well. We had some dinner and the little boys told of their first day back at school, all good. All boys to bed and I was up late naming photos.

20170815 + Day Long Meeting

20170815 + Up in the am and in to work to get the drinks in the meeting room before the all day meeting.  D watched the McClain kids today.  J had a timed run for CC today and had his best time ever.  We had some planning issues with D and his college planning meeting for this evening, but got that planned.  Sat in the conference room all day and took notes during the meeting.  After the meeting I headed home and GpaW was there and G headed out to a Clippers game with Tom and Landon.  We had some dinner and GmaW and Aunt Nancy showed up from their trip to Minnesota to see Aunt Jane and family. We had a nice chat and then everyone took off.  D scanned in his Eagle project paperwork and then LD&I headed to the college planning meeting, there is sooo much to do...  Home and settled in for the night. G home, he had a great time and is very excited for tomorrow.

20170814 - Rushing

20170814 - Up in the am and in to work.  L out early to help set up a teacher appreciation thing.  Had a stressful call on the way in this morning.  D did some babysitting this morning, cleaning at the restaurant and mowed a yard in the afternoon before his game in the evening.  J had CC and had another really good run time today.  G went to his school today and saw his room and met his teacher for next year.  Home and rested a bit before JG&I headed to the ballfield to see D's game.  We stopped at Scouts and dropped off the awards from summer camp and got to D's game as they were walking off the field.  D's team lost, but they had fun.  Home and D got cleaned up and we headed to the movies.  I had sent out an invite to a bunch of dads in the area to bring their kids to see 'Dunkirk' before heading back to school.  There were 7 others there for the movie and it was a really good movie.  After the movie we hung out and talked with some of the others that went to see the movie with us.  Home and all boys to bed.

20170813 ‡ Last Swim

20170813  Up in the am and everyone to church.  G was presented to the Church as a 5th grader and everyone got a devotional, except G, they ran out :-)  After church DJ&G headed to Youth Group function to play wiffle ball, have lunch and some fun. L&I had some lunch, worked on cleaning off my desk and in to L's classroom where I hung a bulletin board for her and then she tricked me into hanging things for other teachers while we were there...  Back home, boys home and hanging out. We all headed to the pool for the last $1 hot dog night of the summer for dinner. D spun off to DGF7's and LJG&I watched 'Adventures in babysitting' (L's pick).

20170812 - Broken Again

20170812 - L&J up early to a CC meet.  J&I out looking for phones for him, his is acting up and the screen is coming off.  We stopped at D's game for a bit.  D was having  great game and J found some friends to play with.  We headed out before the game was over to go see G's 1st game with his team. It was a LONG game, G did some pitching and got a couple of hits.  After the game D&I ran and got groceries and came back tot he house.  The McClain's and Tom and Landon came over for a cookout. We had some great food, the kids made their own pizzas and we cooked them on the grill.  We sat and chatted for hours.  The McClains bought a house while they were here :-o Everyone headed home, we got everything cleaned up and off to bed.

20170811 + Hanging Downtown

20170811 + Up in the am and in to work a bit later than usual as I wanted to confirm our email was actually working before heading in... In to work and had a productive fat day. L&D met with a Scout rep to review his readiness for his Eagle Board of Review and it went well, L was a bit annoyed with the experience... Home and D over to DGF7's for dinner, G spending the night at the Coles and LJ&I headed down to Creekside to meet the Mallonns at the Pigskin Brewery for dinner and to listen to the music.  Home and hung out, J's buddy Conor spent the night.

20170810 + GpaW Bday

20170810 + Up in the morning and in to work. L took J to pick up his schedule for next year. L had Dr. appointment to get cleared for teaching. She had to get a shot and it hurt her (panzy). Our email quit working at work so I headed home to use home network. LDJG&I met Gma&paW for a very nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The boys told of all their vacation adventures. Everyone had plenty to eat and desserts were passed around, the wait staff sang happy bday to GpaW. It was a very nice night. We headed home and DGF7 was at our house and DJG&I joined her to watch Fate of the Furious. D&I out late returning movies. Happy bday GpaW! We Love you!

20170809 - D Back to Baseball

20170809 - Up in the am and D headed out for an interview and I headed in for a busy morning at work.  GmaB spent the night last night to take the boys school shopping today. At lunch I ran downtown to the Scout Store to get awards. Back and finished the day and headed to D's game. Hung out with the Dixons and had a good night. D's team lost butt those boys are having a blast.

20170808 - G Back to Baseball

20170808 - Up in the am and ready, D came home early,  I headed in to work.  Trying to get caught up on reporting. J had CC practice today. Had a full busy day of catching up. Headed home, L & GmaB went to D's baseball game, they lost but D played a bunch of different positions and even pitched.  J headed out on his scooter and G&I went to his first practice with his Fall team, this will be an experience for him... I hung out and talked with Tom and his dad until I had to go to the Scout Board of Review.  Home and we all hung out and chatted for a bit.  G headed to bed and DJ&I watched 'Colossal' before heading to bed.

20170807 - Back to Busy

20170807 - Up in the am and in to work.  It was a very quiet morning with a lot of catching up going on.  Full day in front of the desk sorting through email and getting things in order.  D worked a couple hours this am, got a hair cut and L got him all signed up for school.  J had CC practice this morning and G didn't get up until 11:30.  L has everything put away, laundry done and holding everything together.  After work I ran home for a minute, D went to DGF7's for dinner, J ran out for a scooter ride, I ate some pizza from last night and hung out with L&G for a minute before heading to a Landscape Board Meeting.  Home and LG&I watched 'Beauty and the Beast', D&J to Scouts.  D&J home, D over to a friends for the night, J finished the movie with us.  I got Doc and headed to Bible Bangers.  Home, checked on J&G and headed to bed.

20170806 + Putt-Putt & Tiny Soap

20170806 + Up in the am and we had a good bfast before getting packed up and hit the road. It was a nice day and we made our way across PA. We made a stop for ice cream and putt-putt at Dr. Doolittle's Roadside Cafe & Creamery in DuBois. We were joined by Bigfoot and a T-rex. It was a fun course surrounded by old train cars and we all did trick shots and had a blast.


More driving through PA, all the way to Grove City PA where we drove through the little town to see giant tools, a huge fish and a brain tree! We found a nice little restaurant and had a good meal.


On to Ohio and nonstop to the farm. Gma&paW weren't there so we ate a bunch of junk food, looked for some cats and got our picture pic taken in the corn, only a month late as I forgot to do it on the 4th of July. The last leg of the trip was smooth and we got home. We got the car unpacked, D&J vanished to DGF7's and scooter friends. G hung back with L&I and inspected all the little soaps we got on our trip. 9 great days, 1650 miles and countless memories.


The last leg of the trip was smooth and we got home. We got the car unpacked, D&J vanished to DGF7's and scooter friends. G hung back with L&I and inspected all the little soaps we got on our trip. 9 great days, 1650 miles and countless memories.



The Winger 2017 vacation was GREAT!

20170805 - Rocket, Books, Crosses and Baseball

20170805 - Up in the am and we had a good bfast before getting packed up and hit the road. It was kinds rainy and the traffic was pretty bad as we made our way across MA. We made a quick stop to see a Polaris Missile in Auburn and then headed across the Connecticut boarder to the Traveler Restaurant in Union CT. It was a neat place with big plates of good food and each meal comes with 3 free used books. We ate ourselves full, got our 15 books and hit the road again. 


Our next stop on the West side of CN in Waterbury, the Holy Land from the 1960s. It was run down and has been closed for years, but still super cool to trespass on. Back on the highway and through NY and into PA a bit of the back way to South Williamsport for a surprise stop at the Little League World Series Complex. They were closed but we were aloud to drive down around the stadiums and get some great pics. We found a Ponderosa type steakhouse to fill up on steak. We made our way to the hotel and attempted to go swimming, but the water was too cold so the only night we get to go swimming on the whole trip was a bust. Back to the room and we watched some TV.


20170804 - River cruise

20170804 - Up in the am and we headed out of the big city for a day closer to nature. We headed to Concord to meet up with Bruce and Ellen kohler, our cousins. We made our way to their place and took a tour of their house and grounds. We then headed to the grocery to get some supplies for a picnic and on through the beautiful town of old houses to the river. We got our canoes and kayaks and headed down river to the Minuteman National Park. We made our way on shore and had a nice picnic in the orchard of The Old Manse. The history lesson was especially interesting with all the family history Ellen added. Quite amazing the connection she has there.


After we ate we headed into the park for a walk through the start of our Country.  Amazing the think that there, on that spot, the world changed. We took our time, Ellen recited the rest of the poem that is not on the monument from memory. When our photo was taken a rather loud woman asked if we could move so she could get a picture of the monument with no one in it. If she only knew who she asked to move and the information she could have learned if she would have been polite...


Back into our vessels and headed up stream this time. There was a gentle current, and the boys had a good time hunting for turtles and exploring the banks. After our excursion we stopped for some ice cream before heading back to the house where Bruce Grant and I split off to get ingredients for dinner at the store. Back to the house and we all relaxed for a bit. The boys playing in the woods and eventually found some old tennis rackets while exploring the house and took them to the front yard where they used a wheelbarrow as a net for some sort of game.







L and Bruce started preparing the meal, and G came to assist with the lobster part and it turned into a bit of fun when the snapping and pinching going on. Everything cooked up and ready and we had a feast of lobster, swordfish, steak, fresh salad and corn on the cob from the local farm. What a superb relaxing meal. We finished up and helped clean things up before saying goodbye and heading back to the hotel.  A more relaxing day the previous few.