20110930 - Too Wet for Wingers

20110930 - Up and out to visit Courtland this morning for a bit. Then at the desk except for a quick run to a rental with Jeff. Closed out my week and grabbed the boys to take our camp stove out to the brave scouts. It was raining hard and with D just getting over pneumonia, and not wanting J or G sick we just hung out for a bit and played cards and games with the Scouts brave enough to sleep in the rain. Home, all joys to bed, L&I watched a movie, she is finally feeling better...

20110929 - Blaster

20110929 - UP and at the desk. Took a break to walk into the backyard and watch J run in his 'Jog for Jefferson' event. He did really good. Back at the desk to finish off the day. After work L took J&G to J's practice and I took D to get fitted for his instrument... Quite an event... After his attempt to play the trumpet (see attached) they decided to assign him the trombone... Hope that goes better for him... After his fitting we ran to a music store and found a suitable trombone he could use and returned a driver license to the lady that was in front of us at the store (Devi Gardiner). Home and watched the videos of D's performance until we cried :-D

20110928 - Playful Practice

20110928 - Up and a typical day, still nervous and preparing...  Took all the boys to D's baseball practice.  J&G ran around and had a good old time.

20110927 - Fast nervous days

20110927 - Normal but nervous day at work.  Then everyone rushing out to baseball games.  L went to D's game where they ended in a horribly close heartbreaking loss :-(  J's team on the other hand had a great game a blew out their opponents.  You can tell by the icing from his cupcake on the bill of his hat  :-)

20110926 - Nervous about work and what I was told last Friday about finding another position in the co....  Did not get much info today on that, but started making moves to be prepared.  After work and a fast dinner J&I dropped D off at Scouts upstairs at the church while we headed downstairs for our Den meeting.  The boys had fun and we got home and off to bed they went.  I headed out to meet the guys.

20110925 - Nice slow Sunday at home.  Ran some errands with D&J.

20110924 - Grant's Kicks

20110924 - Up early and to G's soccer game where he really showed them how to play.  G is really good and got like 5 goals...  Home and I cleaned out the garage whole the boys used the scooters and did tricks.  We were suppose to go camping tonight as a family with a city program, but G started running a fever so we stayed home.  It was too cold anyway  :-)

20110923 - Just days

20110923 - Up and pretty slow today.  I got some strange message at work today... That I should talk to some folks about some other internal jobs that were available... Lee got the same message...  Odd and worrisome...  We hung out and had the TV off most of the evening and got some good fun games in.

20110922 - Up normal day of work and rushed dinner and baseball.  J's team lost in a blow out...  Home and all to bed and ready for tomorrow.

20110921 - Fun then back to work

20110921 - Up in the morning and coffee all around for everyone.  Then the fam filtered off to school.  I chatted with Arno and Gwen and soon they had to go.  It was a nice visit and we packed a lot in, but I am ever so very happy they finally came to visit and that my family met some more friends that I have had for years that they really never knew.  I hope they come back again, and soon.

Now for the disappointing part of their visit...  Our boys were good...  I mean exceptionally, rare, oddly they were good...  Not that this was a bad thing, but it was not a 'True' experience for the soon parents to be...  Well I guess they will have to get that experience on their own...  and they will ;-)

20110920 - Bullets and Funnel Cakes

20110920 - Up in the morning and D&J to school and L in to work.  G&I headed out with Arno and Gwen to run some errands.  We stopped at Meijer where G got some handcuffs and Gwen picked up some gifts for family back home.  We grabbed some coffee and some lunch at McD's.  A stop a Wal-Mart for X-Large flipflops for Arno. A stop at the garage door store, where G dropped a lock display on his head and Arno and G played with an automatic door.  I got my parts and we headed home and we fixed the garage door.  Pretty soon the big boys got done with school and made there way home and we piled in our huge gas guzzling car and headed north to the Farm. 

Gma&paW had nice spread at the Farmhouse and we snacked, gave the full tour and out to the barn to visit the animal, ponies, cats and GUNS!  Everyone got to shoot.  It was Arno and Gwen
s first time shooting and they did pretty good (Gwen did better ;-)  We were shooting 22s and had a lot of fun.  One last shot for Arno, a 9mm Ruger pistol  !!!BANG!!!  that was LOUD!  Arno got a swing on the rope in the barn and then we headed out for dinner.


Dinner was not at any old restaurant...  no way....  We hit the Ashland County Fair!  This was a new true American experience for our friends.  We saw every kind of animal possible and some new ones.  We talked to to the horses and we ate one of everything there!  We swung by the Farm on the way home and then headed down the road.

Back home all boys to bed and we stayed up having very good adult conversations we don't normally have the chance to...  After lots of beer and many hours of idea discussion we hit the hay.

20110919 - Wooden Shoe Friends

20110919 - Up and at the desk all day and as I was finishing my dear friend Arno & Gwen arrived, and I can now officially announce after many weeks of silence, that Gwen is pregnant! It is a great pleasure to see after many years of trying to persuade them that they would be fabulous parents and hiding toys at there house (old Indian legend) that they are finally going to be parents. What better place to experience being a parent that in our house... We sat and chatted and the boys all worked with them on the gifts they had brought them (like our boys needed more stuff)...


We had a nice dinner and then to get them even more acclimated to the craziness that come with kids we rushed off to Cub Scouts. I introduced our guests and drew a map of the world and tried to get the boys to understand from how far away they had come. Arno explained a bit of their homeland and Gwen translated some sentences the to Dutch the boys threw at them. I think the best connection came with my explanation that try were from the country of the guys that were always chasing Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies... Arno and Gwen were very impressed with the boys saying the Pledge of Allegiance and other patriotic thongs we were doing. Gwen even jumped in and helped with the crafts.


Back home, all boys to bed (after behaving exceptionally and unexpectedly well for a change) and we sat around and had some beers (not Gwen) and talked for hours. Very nice!

20110918 + Guns and Collar

20110918 + All up and to church.  Home and L&G ran out to get G's soccer picture taken, D mowed and J helped me clean out the garage.  Had some lunch, finished cleaning out the garage and then I headed out with the boys.  We went to an airsoft store and got an education on airsoft guns, then on to Home Depot for supplies and finally Meijer so D could get his new gun and we got a new collar for Lilly and some other odds and ends.  The boys were pretty crazy...  What was I thinking taking all 3 at once??? 
Picked up Panda Express and home to watch 'Thor', good movie.  All boys to bed and L&I stayed up, went through the paper and watched 'Defiance', an incredible movie, true story, of 4 Jewish brothers that hid Jews in the forest during WWII.

20110917 - More on the L side than W...

20110917 - Up at the crack of dawn to work in the concession stand at the soccer fields. It went pretty good and I was done in time to watch G tear up the game with about 6 goals... He is a natural. W for G's team!! Cold weather is setting in and I'm not much of a fan of that...
After Grant's game we headed to J's baseball game, where J had a pretty good game. But Ricky Walsh - In today's game, Rays @ Yankees, Ricky Walsh accomplished the hardest play in baseball, the unassisted triple play. He was playing shortstop, caught a infield pop fly, the runners were in motion, not tagged up and he stepped on second and tagged the runner coming from first. I have never seen that before. Way to go Ricky!  W for J's team!

Then off to a double header for D.  Well the first game was like watching a train wreck....  And after a short break the second game was like watching a speeding train collide with the previous train wreck...  L x 2 for poor D tonight.  He is so sick of losing...

All back to the house to clean up, relax and watch the BUCKEYES!!! OH NO, another train wreck....
This is going to be a long fall...

20110916 + Best Burger in Town

20110916 + After a long day at work I loaded the fam up in the car and we headed downtown to The Thurman Cafe.  It was another cool place the kids love and I had an AWESOME burger.  We will definitely be coming back here!  Stopped by Blockbuster on the way home and all home to watch a a movie and get ready for 4 sport events tomorrow.... :-o

20110915 - Tooth and Hair Loss

20110915 - Up and at the desk all day. Ran out and ate standing up while L&J ran out the sort to get to J's baseball game. I followed shortly after with D&G. We watched some of the game and they were NOT doing good tonight... D&I bailed out early to go to a Scout Recruiting night: I got 3 new Scouts :-o
Home and J was getting a hair cut for school pictures. We got the boys in bed and convinced J to pull one of his teeth before pics tomorrow: HE DID IT!
Hung out in the basement.

20110914 - Watching Howdy

20110914 - Up and at the desk all day. Can't get garage dr fixed until tomorrow so it's still halfway up... D back to warm up for his game. Dinner with the rest. Back to watch Howdy's game.  They lost AGAIN... and D is pretty bummed out for never winning...  Home all boys to bed, I ran out and got KFC and a movie.

20110913 - SKUNKED

20110913 - 2am,       I smell a skunk...

Where's the dog?  

Oh crap she is outside... 

Here girl!
She approaches funny... hunkered down... The smell is worse... 

Oh SH!T!!!  She's in the house and on the carpet before I know it... 

Drag her out to the garage, wipe her down. open the door and windows, through her bad out there. 

L up because of the stink... Wiped up the floors... Opened the windows... TRIED to sleep...

Up early, dog outside... Worked my arse off to try to find some time to take care of stinkalotasaurus...  Had a couple minutes so tied her to a tree and soaked her in peroxide, baking soda and soap, back in to work.  Rinsed her off, scrubbed the hardwood floors, back to work.  Soaked her in vinegar, baking soda and soap, back to work.  Rinsed her off and washed with shampoo, back to work.  Rinsed her off and washed her with apple cider vinegar, washed out the garage, back steps and patios, back to work.  Rinsed he off again, applied mouthwash, got lime for behind the shed were she OBVIOUSLY got sprayed, back to work.  Rinsed her off, fenced off behind the shed to keep her from getting in it again, carpet guy here to clean the carpets, cut all the hair odd her tail and face, back to work.  Washed her with tomato juice, cleaned up the yard.  Rinsed her off and one more shampooing.   Final clean up.  She smells just ok, the stink from behind the shed is suppressed, I am soaking wet in vinegar, peroxide, tomato, shampoo and dog hair and smell like something you would scrape off the bottom of a shoe!


Everything cleaned up, in, exhausted, ate, updated this blog while conserving enough energy to at last wash myself...

And just for icing on the cake.... 

The garage door cables came off and the garage dorr is stuck halfway up...

20110912 - Just a day

20110912 - Up and at the desk all day.  Did take a break for a quick walk while I talked with Lee.  Out at the end of the day to help D with some of his homework and then dinner with the fam.  J read to me on the back porch, then all in for showers and a snack.  We watched some more of the "Apple Dumpling Gang' and then all boys to bed.  I headed out with Doc to meet the guys, then back home to schedule some scout meetings.  Lilly went out late and I smelled skunk...

20110911 - Pug

20110911 - All up and out to church. After church we were going to do some mowing at our flip house, but the city beat u$ to it$$$$... So we headed up to the farm to see GpaW's new toy, a Pug. It is a little utility vehicle that is pretty cool. We drove it all the way to the cemetery and both D&J can drive it (G REALLY want to...). We then headed to a Chinese buffet for dinner and Paulette went with us. Drove home, all boys to bed, trying to prepare for a new week...

20110910 - GAME DAY

20110910 - All up and out in the cold fog for G's first soccer game. He did great, got injured twice and scored 3 goals! "We beat the crap out of them"...

Next everyone to J's baseball game. J did pretty good and the won too!

Next game was D's and it was a nail bitter, but they lost again...

All home to watch the second scary half of the OSU game. The managed to win, but not the best performance... I rested a bit while L and the boys gave Lilly a bath. Then I joined them getting ready for tonight's meeting, g liked my grass burner.

The guys over for a nice meeting. To bed LATE.

20110909 - School & Blue

20110909 - Up and took G to school, than at the desk the rest of the day. Took the fam out to eat at the Blue Danube, a local joint down by campus. The food was just ok, but the atmosphere was really cool and kept the busy staring at the ceiling.
We drove through some neat neighborhoods on the way home and got home, relaxed and watched a movie.

20110908 - Questions

20110908 - Disturbing morning at work, made it through the day.  During lunch ran and finalized 2010 taxes :-o Finished work and had dinner with the fam. L out to church, the boys up playing loud and rough like the ceiling was going to fall in. Up from the desk and we ran to the bank and the movie store. Back home to watch some 'Apple Dumpling Gang'. A restless mind with questions round work, tax lady talking about emergency preparedness in this economy, and the President printing more money acting like that will create jobs... My head hurts and shoulders are tense!

20110907 - G Day 1!

20110907 - Up and J to school, L to school, D home watching a movie and shortly after G&I headed in to his first day of preschool this year and I got to go with him :-) G was a bit shyer than usual but got into the swing of things by the end. We got him a Happy Meal to celebrate.
Home for lunch and then into the office for an extra busy day. Dinner with the fam and then to the basement to play the Wii, and other games with the boys. Time for bed and then up late working.

20110906 + D still sick

20110906 + Up J off to school, D home sick and I was at the desk. L took J to his baseball game, he did well. G&I tried to go to J's game but I squeezed G's water bottle while he was taking a drink and the lid came off soaking the poor fella :-( We did get movie so went home, dried off and hung out with D. Boys to bed. Up late watched a movie

20110905 - Grant Zippin!

20110905 - Up and all hanging out, L out on some errands. D really sick and in bed sleeping. JG&I didn't want to hang out with the sick crowd so we jumped in the car and headed out. We starter with a McPicnic at Friendship park. The adventure continued down south in Logan county at the zip lines. J and G got suited up and off they went.




Grant got a bit weepy, but maned up and tensed up and shook all the way through and ended with a smile!! :-) He even did the super zip at the end! We stopped at a flea market and everyone got something cool. We wrapped it up with a Chinese buffet and metal animals!




Home and D still drowsy. But we all watched a movie and off to bed. I ran over to meet with the Bible bangers.

20110904 - Rainy Flea

20110904 - Up and L in to teach Sunday school. We had some lunch and loaded up for a trip. D was in some pretty serious pain so on the way we stopped and got him some medicine. It started raining on the way but did not let that discourage us from our annual trek to the Johnstown Swappers Day. We walked around, I in my umbrella hat, and my family far away from me: I think everyone was jealous... D&J got Airsoft guns, G got a very loud machine gun, I got a backpack and poor L almost got a puppy... A bit wet but happy we headed home for the dry evening of shooting.

20110903 - History

20110903 - Up in the am and no games or anything on the schedule: except the first OSU football game :-) We hung out at home all day and got stuff done around the house. Gma&paW stopped after the hottest football ever for a visit. In the evening we loaded up and headed to Tecumseh outdoor drama. We were about 6 rows back and the boys loved it. D's throat started hurting and G in his normal quiet voice narrated parts of the show for all to hear... "is that a real horse?!", "Why is that guy crying?!". It was a good show and we got home late.

20110902 - Buggin Out

20110902 - Up in the am and to the last customer visit then to the airport to try and catch an early flight... holiday weekend... not a chance: another day lost traveling. When I finally got home I ran by D's end of season football party to see him. Then home to catch bugs and play with J&G.

20110901 - Customer Cache

20110901 - Up and out on customer visits. Richard and I found a cache between visits. After work I headed out on my own to a Chinese buffet, the mall and Barnes and Noble.