091130 - N-over-ember

091130 - Up and back at the desk. Got some big stuff done as the day blew by. Out for dinner and then L&J went to the grocery whlie DG&I played pirates and shot eachother. L&J got home and we decorated the Christmas tree.

All boys to bed and the sound subsides. L&I sit for a minute then I head out to meet the Bible Bangers. Tomorrow starts December...

091129 - Chores

091129 - Up and LDJ&G to church. I got clnd up and worked at the desk going through the mail, putting receipts in, planning the day... Everyone home for lunch then we got some things done around the house. Dylan tested the fire ladder in his soon to be new room, we then put plastic over the window.


To Target to get a bed in a bag, army bedding for D's room, Once Upon a Child to get basketball shoes for D&J, Blockbuster, Home Depot for paint. We then met up with Gma@paW and hit the Army Surplus store for some camo netting (more room decorations). Then we all went to Tumbleweed for dinner. Home and got the boys in bed ready for a new week of school and work...

091128 - Corn Bed

091128 - Up and everyone had bfast. Uncle Dave came over and helped M&A get GGmaH's bedroom set loaded up in GpaW's truck. Good to see Dave and the boys enjoy playing with him. Everyone at the barn swinging and having a good time. Then Jack lost his boots in the 'mud'. I found him whimpering in the barn in his stocking feet soaking wet, L got him up to the house and cleaned up. We had everything loaded up and said goodbye to GmaW and headed home.

LG&Lil headed out first in the big white car. DJ&I took the truck. Going down the road I noticed lots of dust and missing corn in the fields along the road; they were harvesting. I pulled off the road and took the boys out into the field where we met a semi driver that was stuck in the mud and watched the huge combine garble up the corn and the tractor pull up along side so the combine could offload the corn in a golden fluid. They though that was pretty cool.

We had lunch on the road and a lot of good conversation. L&G had the car unloaded when we got home and Joe the neighbor spotted us and came over to help me unload the furniture. We got the stuff unloaded and the truck parked behind Doc's in nothing flat.

In to the house to settle in and DJG&I played on the Wii until G had to go take a nap. D&J kept playing while I updated the blog and published our wishlist. L called us up to get ready for the parade tonight.  Lori has the details here - Santa Claus is coming to town

091127 - Stickys, Shopping, Bday

091127 - Everyone up ate and down to the barn swinging on the rope, checking on Dusty, Nibbles, cats etc. L&I were about to head out to brave the Black Friday crowd when we saw Lilly running up to the house, DIRTY! I went down to spray her off; it wouldn't come off. It was burs, those nasty little round velcro things impacted in her coat. L tried to comb them out but ended up giving Lil a really bad hair cut...




We did finally head out towards Ashland and stopped at a furniture place, lunch, jewelery store, video game store and finally met up with Gma&paW & the boys at a hunting store. We split off again and headed to the some more furniture stores, Target, Toys R Us and a hobby shop before getting dinner from Mr. Hero.






Back to the Farm to eat and have a bday party for GmaW and open her presents. The boys got to bed and were asleep before the light went out.

091126 - Dinner & Hike

091126 - As usual there was a huge spread of food in the old Farm house and relatives poured in from all over the globe. Louise gave a nice prayer and we all ate more then necessary...


After the dinner the able to move, roll or those fortunate enough to be able to walk headed out for a hike up to the camp. We walked back to the falls and the boys got to burn off some energy.


This camp is actually where Lori and I met and nearly every year we get our picture taken on this rock.

Our family evolves and we get older. Thanks to God I can spend it with the family and friends I have.

091126 - A Hunting We Will Go

091126 - Everyone up and D&J wanted to go down to the barn and play war. It took quite a bit of convincing that they really wanted go hunting... So DJ&I met at the farm house and went a hunting with Roger, Johnny, John III & John Christian. We headed out through all kinds of brambles.

We saw a bunch of pheasants and Jack & I found one in a bush that they kicked up and shot.

There was lots of shooting (the accuracy isn't what it use to be...) and the men got five birds! Dylan and Jack both had birds in their game bags right off the start. Towards the end of our tour of duty Roger shoot a bird we couldn't find, but Jack's keen eyes found it, right where Roger & I had already looked. Then there was a brief excuse session before Roger the boys and I headed back to clean the pheasants.

At the spring house Roger gave the boys a lesson on field dressing a bird.

The boys favorite part... the heads!

091125 - Traffic

091125 - Up and on the pc. D&J home from school today so I am trying to work in the noise. L took them on a big walk and then they got everything ready to go. I got to a stopping point and packed up. We made a stop for gas and bright orange hinting vests so we don't get shot playing in the woods at the Farm. We got on the road by 2pm and POW! So did everyone else.


As far as you can see on both directions there are cars trying to go the same way we are... The 1 HR trip took 2 today.
Finally made it to the Farm and took a socializing walk for the dogs and they did pretty good. Worked on the dog pen for a bit while the boys played in the barn. Back up to the house for our favorite Chinese from Chinatown! Got the boys to bed in decent time and we wetched 'Four Christmases' VERY FUNNY! Now for some rest for the big day tomorrow.

091124 - Guns and Noses

091124 - Up and at the desk.  Got some work done and caught up on calendars and tasks.  Then DJ&I hit the road.  We went to Blockbuster to get some games and movies for the long weekend, gas in the car and then headed up to Powell to one of the renters to drop off a 3 day notice, Happy Thanksgiving!  The whole way Jack was doing his new nose sniffling thing... Home and G had helped L fix dinner so we ate quick and then down to try out the games we got.  D&J took over the Wii and G&I had to play some ping pong.  L left to get a sweater and we broke out the 1st person shooter game!  the boys really liked it, but it was a bit too hard for them...  Play time over at 9 and off to bed for the boys.  L&I stayed up and watched 'Angels & Demons', REALLY GOOD!

091123 - All Busy

091123 - Up and at the desk all day, got everything done I needed to.  Got D&J and ran to the gas station, Blockbuster & WOW to return some equipment.  Home and we all ate.  L out with Jen for dinner and to see 'The Blind Side'.  I got D&J ready for karate, grabbed G and off we went.  G did really well at karate or 2 hours...  Home for baths and bed.  The Bible Bangers came over tonight and we had a short discussion and then watched 'Knowing'.  Very good movie.

091122 - Farm Follies

091122 - Up and EVERYONE to church for Sunday school. L had J&G in her class, D went to his class and I found Dan Shupe and went with him to his adult Sunday school class. The first 40 minutes were spent with everyone 'discussing' the service time changes. Then a bit of time for them to realize they didn't know how to use the VCR, then thy tried to rush through a lesson... Pretty much affirming why I don't want to take part in a church...

Home, changed and then headed to the Farm. The boys watched 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and ate on the way.

Once we got there Dusty escaped and gave us all a bit of exercise...

Here GpaW tries to sneak up on him... After Dustys capture I did some concrete work on the tank at the spring house, while D&J (best of friends today???) explored and played. G learned how to swing on the rope by himself. When G came to

See how I was doing he got to put his hand print in the wet cement (if you look at the photo below real close you can see it in the bottom right corner).

Back up to the house and found D&J barricaded by toys in front

Of the TV. All together and going out to eat for pizza with Aunt Weezer & Paulette.

Drove home and finished watching the pirate movie with the boys.

091121 + Beat Michigan!

091121 + Up and everyone ready, except L. The boys and I waited and waited... Finally our princess was ready and we headed out to the toy store for the annual Christmas list making event... The boys only got lost in the store once and Lori had about 3 nerves left, so I call that a success!!! After Santa picks which things he is getting off the lists they will be posted to the right for others to view...

We then all suited up in our OSU garb and headed to the Pettit's OSU Michigan party. O ate way to much, the kids played outside and the Bicks WON!!!!

Home after the game and J&I played the Wii, L worked on her desk we pulled put of the trash and D&G watched 'The Land Before Time' movie. Got the boys their baths, they got I'm a fight, so they all had to go to bed... L&I stayed up and transfered the Christmas list to Amazon, and watched the Oregon Arizona game.

091120 - Worked all day. J went to the Dr and they think he has a hernia... Ugh, the poor boy! D home from school in a $hit mood and transfered it to the other boys and caused early bed. L& I had a quiet movie night, where she slept and I watched 3 movies and played on the laptop.

091119 - Sell a Cake

091119 - Up and busy all day. Got a lot done. LG Nicole & Lena to Delaware to get a table of their Grandparents. DJ&I got dinner on our own then off to the Scout cake sale.

It was a good sale and Jeff & I caused some bidding wars. We also set a record for the most paid for a cake $175 (it was a charity auction and our company bought it), it made the little Scout very happy. I did come home with 2 cakes, so we all had a piece for a nightime snack then off to bed. L&I watched her shows them off to bed.

091118 - Make a Cake

091118 - Up and back to the lists. At the desk all day and a ton more done. Ran out with Howdy; gas, bank, grocery (cake stuff), blockbuster. Home, ate and then L&J headed to karate while DG&I mixed up 2 cakes and cooked em.

When L&J got home the cakes were out and ready to nibble on. D&I started icing and icing AND icing...... everyone went to bed and we are still icing... But we got it done. And it looks pretty good!

Now down to watch 'Star Trek'!

091117 - Lists

091117 - Up and had my lists ready for the day. Got a TON of things done for work and many things for the house: vent screwed in place, basement insulation replaced, all 3 boys bathed and Grant's fire ladder installed. L had a church dinner so the boys really did good helping get all this done.



After the boys went to bed L&I worked on the Christmas list... already! Watched 'The Ugly Truth', cute movie. Then off to bed to start all over tomorrow.

091116 + Shots & Meatballs

091116 + Up and off to an early start. Full fast day, cut a bit short by the requested assistance of L to with her to COSI to help get H1N1 shots for the 3 boys. We got there in good time and close to the front...




L said we were #411 in line. We waited about 30 minutes before we started moving. Oddly enough when we left the holding room they were on #4:41 in line, or 4:41pm. ;-). D went first, followed by a squirming J, then a screaming G!





But they all made it and D was pleased to remind J&G that because he I'd 10, he doesn't have to come back for the follow up shot. We had to hang out at COSI for a bit to make sure no one had a reatcion to the shot, them out and under the tracks to the Spaghetti Warehouse for a really good dinner.
Grant talked the entire way he. Evidently when he has to poop, it inspires his to talk nonstop loudly unitl he reaches a bathroom...

091115 - Up and L off to church alone this morning. I got coffee and read the paper while the 3 nutters ran wild. L home and we got organized. I got film on all the windows except Grant's, as I need to install and test out his fire ladder before we winterize his window. L raked leaves and DJ&G helped here and there between GI Joe, Playmobil & LEGO distractions. D got his hobbyshop purchase, little army guys all glued into position and started painting them.



Jack helped me take the glass out of the doors I salvaged for L a week or so ago. D got in on it to. G got up from his nap and I convinced her to off load the herd so we could have a quiet meal. We dropped the boys off at Nicole's and headed out for dinner.
Picked the fellas up, home for bath and stories and bed. L&I watched some TV and updated our blogs

091114 - Search, Work & Football

091114 - Up & out just me and boys. Bunch of stops; Home depot, hobby store, geocaching
Kroger, Blockbuster, Wendy's ( where rhey screwed me in the drive thru). Home for lunch then out for some yard work: J cleaned out the culvert under the drive them DJ&G helped me trim the pear and apple trees





D helped me trim the grape vines, where I took a nice slice off the tip of a finger. OUCH!!!
we had some friend over to watch the OSU game, good game! The 6 boys kept themselves occupied.
We watched 'UP' after the company left. Then all boys to bed, except D, he got to stay up a bit longer and J screamed himself to sleep because it was so unfair... D&I enjoyed football and talking.
He is a nice boy when the compotitiom is asleep.

091113 - Friday the 13th Indeed

091113 - Up and an absolute horrible morning. Very loud to say the least... Boys off to school, me working my butt off at the PC all day.
Everyone back home for a moment. Then D off to a froends and Jack helped me clean out my office closet until L called us for dinner. After dinner we all bundled up and walked downtown for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a little energy burn. Home for spilled hot chocolate, a movie w my boys and a HUGE bowl of popcorn.
Tonight is blog catch up night...

091112 -

091112 - Worked my butt off
DG&I and cole to scouts, movies
L&J to play, christmas story
Watched movie

091111 - More Treasures

091111 - The afternoon brought a nap for G, LEGO time for J and reading for D. Then we gathered up some small toys. Some notebooks and some water proof containers L got us and put together our very own geocaches to hide. I just need to register them on www.geocaching.com so we can hide them.
Rich showed up and we packed the cars full and headed out for dinner, with some Matt detours of course... We introduced GpaB to geocaching and he was really good at it. We found 3 out of the 4 we were looking for! I thunk he likes it. We headed to Applebee's for dinner but the fee shit line was over an hour long... So we headed over to the HomeTowne Buffet which suites the guys here in the family just fine;-). We ate as much as we could but still couldn't get our bodies to match the shapes of the veterans of the hometown buffet... I think that is a good thing???
Home and finished watched 'Kelly's Heros', an old war movie, with the boys. Getting them ready for bed I talked to D and asked him if he knew what happened to us 10 years ago. He was only 2 months old then and of course wouldn't. But it gave me a moment, quiet and alone I could share with him and let him know how happy I am to get each extra day with him. Then he went on picking out clothes for school tomorrow. I don't know if he gets it, but I hope it sinks in... I stole moment to get a huge hug from Jack and some big kisses from G. Very lucky to have these wonderful boys and L each and everyday. I love the noise they make, the laughs the cries the good times and the stessfull.
They are mine.
This is my family.

091111 + Letters & Vets

091111 - Up and checking work to make sure no fires. Sat down and started reflecting on the last year and how lucky I have been to get one more year. At 8:15pm tonight it will be exactly 10 years ago we had the car accident in which I lost my right eye. I send letters to people on this day to let them know I am thinking about them and thank them for being a part of my life over the last year. Lori is always top of the list, I keep going down and the tears always flow as I remember the love and friendship given to me over the last year. I hear Lori star her PC and moments later she comes into my office to let mw know how much she still loves crazy old me. This doesn't help the tear situation but she gets me a tissue.
Soon Gma&paB are here and Jack is home from school. We all gather up and head over to Dylan's school where GpaB participates in the Veterans Day program. It was very nice and hard not to be emotional after my morning... We met Dylan & Jack's teachers, that make me feel old. Home and Nicole, Sam & Lena over. I think we are going out for dinner, but let's see how the afternoon unfolds...


091110 +

091109

091109 - Back to work, got everything organized, PERS, CREI, WORK
J&D home early from schoool, some 1/2 day crap
D had a friend come over and play
Trying to get all the things done I organized this am

091108 - Clean up & Searching

091108 - Up, L to teach Sunday school and D had to acolyte. I hung out w/ J&G, made them bfast and hung out until we were all back together. After lunch we cleaned up the party stuff and all back to normal. When G got up from his nap we headed out. We delivered things we borrowed for the party and then did some geocaching. We found 6 of them today!!! We took L along and she did pretty good. I think the boys like doing it almost as much as I do. I love it because it gets us out of the house and doing something together. We hit a resturant on the way home. Back to base and got the boys cleaned up. Jack collapsed from pure exhaustion and DG&I watched most of G.I. Joe. All boys to bed and now time to get some rest.

20091107 - 4th Annual OSU Football @ Winger's

20091107 - Well L & I after a lot of hard work got the house ready for our yearly football party.  We were a bit nervous this year as we are having it quit late and were afraid of the weather.  Well that worked in our favor this year as we had a record turn out of family friends and LOTS OF KIDS!!!

Just before the OSU Penn St. kick off they started showing up and it didn't stop.  All total we had 71 folks show up and for the first time the kids outnumbered the adults (Adults 35, Kids 36).  IT WAS FUN!!!  There was a flag football game, food, the OSU football game, LEGO building, food, 2 ginormous screens, crafts for the kids, and lots of food.

What party would be complete without a half time pinata?!

Everyone had a good time and enough chili, beer dogs, chips and dips they could tolerate.

091107 - H1N1 Line

091107 - Up and out with D&J running errands. The first thing we see is cars parked everywhere and a line of people like you rarely see. This line is people waiting for the chance to get the H1N1 vaccine for thier kids.
We hit 2 banks a couple stores and one of our rental; thing look good there. While we were there I ran across the street to talk to the neighbors. And then I ran back to the car, threw the door open and got the car stopped before it crashed into said neighbors fence and mailbox. Yes, Dylan was monkeying in the car and knocked it out of gear... It gave D&J quite a fright! Don't think that will happen again... Then home to get ready for our big party this afternoon.

091106 + Good Grades

091106 + Dylan got grade card 1 B+, rest As
Cleaning out garage for party
Out to get supplies
Long johns for dinner
Garage prep

091105 - Found it!

091105 - Up and crazy morning; all kinds of things going wrong. But Cindy, Lee & I made it just in time. Fast meeting as Ivo wasn't ready and I filled the gap with an SOW presentation, a visit from HR and then we were done.
We headed out and found 2 geocaches before heading to the airport. The one I am holding is one we couldn't find last night in the dark.
Keeping with the morning theme of chaos we made about 10 wrong turns on the way to the airport. But we have made it! Cindy was able to standby on an earlier flight so we split up and headed through security. Now I am waiting 3 hrs for my flight. Will try to get caught up on thing... Can't wait to get home!

091104 - Meeting & Quest

091104 - Up and in to work for an all day meeting: it was quite good. After the meeting Cindy, Josh, Lee and I headed out on a quest to drop off my "Geo-coin" at a nearby geocache. Well it was dark and the first stop had us climbing all over a creek bank with plenty of people stopping to ask if we lost something (other than our minds!). We could not find it so we rushed to another one and ended up walking around in a dark scary wood in a park... still no luck. We then headed to dinner with Tom and had a good meal. After dinner I noticed it said there was a geocache in the parking lot. Could that be possible? With a bit of luck Josh found it in a light post(Josh & I holding the find in the dark)! We all signed it and they were hooked! We went out and tromped around another wood and found another one! Success! Back to the hotel and a quick conference in the lounge and off to sleep.

091103 - Flying

091103 -Up calls all morning. Took a quick break to go vote. L took J&G to Nicole's for a bit while i Finished changing all my password and other stuff I needed to get done before I fly out. I quickly got packed, D got home from school and the gang took me to the airport. J'S feel asleep on the way so I didn't get the usual loving send off.

Up and away, I am always amazed when I look out the airplane window and look down on the amazing world.

Made it to Boston and Cindy & I waited around for Lee for a couple hours. We got Lee, made it to the hotel, chated a bit and then off to rest. Good to be with the team.

091102 + Leaves

091102 - Up working. Took a break on this beautiful cold day to watch J&G play in the leaves. Was checking my account an found a fradulent charg on a car for $50 from Sparechange.com, so watch out for those gius in your facebook accounts!e Spent too much time changing passwords to prevent further losses... Finished up, went out and had a fast dinner and then for the first time in a long time took D&J, kicking and screaming, to karate, where they can do all the kicking and screaming they want! The of course did great, got to spar and had a good time. Stopped by the 'Container Store' on the way home. Home, snacks and all boys to bed. Jeff stopped over and we cut our his daughters pinewood derby car. Doc came over and the 3 of us headed out to Bible Bangers night. On the way home from the meeting we made a trash stop and salvaged some old glass windows for L to do God knows what with... Changed some more passwords and then downstairs to the basement for my final night of LEGO sorting. To bed LATE.
091101 +