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Wednesday, December 29th, 2010Man oh man, it is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and that another year has nearly come to a close. Where has 2010 gone? It seems as though it was yesterday that Tara, the kids, and I were all waking up to the new year in sunny Florida. Now we are already closing it out in the melting snow of Michigan. We've made a lot of memories over the past 12 months - too many to recount here - and enjoyed the companionship and support of our great family and friends. Since there are too many tales to be retold in this limited amount of space, please feel free to explore many of them yourself by clicking on the Current Events page below. Speaking of Current Events, it is the holiday season and that means lots of Christmas related updates. I have a ton of pictures from our various Christmas activities, all of which have taken place between December 19th and December 26th. I have already posted the pictures of Christmas with my family, which you can see by clicking on the Peters Family link. New pictures include a bunch of pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. Next up is our celebration with Tara's family, which can be seen by clicking on the Allen Family link. Finally, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a gift or two that was forgotten about - not wrapped or placed under the tree, but left discreetly in its hiding spot - and I had a couple of those this year. You can see the kids with theirs by clicking on the Missed Gifts link. All of the items can be found by clicking on the Christmas page under Current Events.
Wednesday, December 21st, 2010As I stated previously, the Christmas season snuck up on Tara & I like never before this year. Maybe it is because we usually have the months of November and December off from the kids sporting events and that wasn't this case this time around. Who knows, but here it is only four days before the big event and we are still unprepared. Because of this, we will not be sending out Christmas cards this year. Instead, our entire family would like to wish every one of our friends and family a joyous and festive holiday season. May the new year bring happiness and success to you all, and may your friendships continue to flourish.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming: the updates. First up this time around, going in chronological order once again, is Samantha's final indoor soccer game of the year. Her team played a younger team than usual this week, and despite jumping out to the early lead couldn't hang on for a victory. To read more about the action and to see some pictures of Sam playing, click on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page. Next up is Tyler's basketball team's playoff game pictures. His team fought hard for a victory, but it wasn't meant to be as they suffered a 1-point loss in overtime, eliminating them from the playoffs. You can read more about this game and see the pictures of Tyler playing by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page. The biggest update this time around, in the minds of the kids as well as for the amount of pictures, is of the Peters family Christmas gathering on December 19th. Since my parents and Dwayne, Erica, Donovan, and Marissa are going to be away from home during our normal Christmas gathering, we held the event early this year. You can see a bunch of pictures by going to the Christmas page under Current Events and clicking on Peters Family.
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010Time has gotten the best of Tara & I this year, and because of that we will not be sending out Christmas cards this year. Since that is the case, our entire family would like to wish every one of our friends and family a joyous and festive holiday season. May the new year bring happiness and success to you all, and may your friendships continue to flourish. As you relish the goodies, decorate every nook and corner of your home and enjoy the get-togethers... May the joy and festivities continue to radiate in your lives, long after Christmas is gone. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Rodney, Tara, Tyler, Samantha, Drew, and JaydenOn to the updates... I have quite a few to add this time, so I will attempt to go in chronological order in my listing. Some of these items have been on the website for a few days, but since it has been such a short period of time since my last update I will list them here as well. Previously on the website, but new to many of you, is the addition of Tyler's last two regular season basketball games at the Cage Fieldhouse this year. His team had a rough season, and these two games were no different as they both resulted in losses. The boys all continue to play hard, and good things will come to them as they continue to work on their game. You can see not only these last two games but the entire season by clicking on the Current Events page and then on Tyler's Cage Basketball. Next on the docket is the addition of the pictures from the "Tiny Tim Trot", which is a children's version of the "Run Like the Dickens" race through Holly. Both Samantha and Drew wanted to participate this year, so Tara generously signed them up and braved the cold to watch them run one lap around the track at the Karl Richter Campus. I don't have a lot of commentary to add, but their is a few pictures, which you can see by clicking on Tiny Tim Trot on the Current Events Page. Another item that was previously posted was the visit to Michigan Stadium that Tara & I took to watch the hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State, dubbed "The Big Chill at the Big House." We had a great time at the game, and would love to do something like that again. You can read a lengthier write-up of the game (which I have been told is somewhat humorous) and plenty of pictures by clicking on The Big Chill on the Current Events page. Our next event took place the day after the hockey game, and that was our visit to see Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World. Despite the horrible driving conditions Tara & I had a promise to fulfill to the kids, and we managed to keep it. I also took some pictures of our house decorated for the Christmas season after we returned home. You can find both sets of pictures under the Christmas page that is located on the Current Events page. Last, but certainly not least, are the pictures from Samantha's 7th soccer game of the indoor season. Her team played to a hard fought 2-2 tie in this game, and Sam played the second half in goal. She did a great job, despite allowing one of those two goals. Tara & I were most proud of her for being the only player on her team to volunteer to play in goal! Apparently the other girls didn't want to be blamed if the team lost... anyway, you can see the pictures from this game, as well as game six which was also recently added to the website, by clicking on the Current Events page and then on Samantha's Indoor Soccer. Whew! That was a mouthful! And I typed it all out!
Sunday, December 12th, 2010Last week was a busy week, but this coming week should be a little less hectic for us (remember, all things are relative - it will still be busy). Instead of two basketball games, a soccer game, and work and family obligations this week we have two soccer games, a basketball practice, and work and family obligations. Gee, when I type it out it doesn't seem all that much different... Tara & I got to attend a hockey game yesterday, this one at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. That's right, an outdoor hockey game between the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans! Tara & I had a blast, even if we were jammed into our seats (bleacher seats, that is) just a bit. The best part: a 5-0 victory for the Wolverines! If you know me at all you can guess that I had my camera handy the whole time. Feel free to check out the pictures and read a little bit more about the game by clicking on The Big Chill on the Current Events page. I have also added the pictures from Tyler's last two regular season basketball games at the Cage for this year (they will have a playoff game or two, but times are "To Be Determined" at this point. You can see the pictures from these games by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page. Last, but certainly not least (I'm going by age of the participant here), is Samantha's sixth soccer game of the year. Her team is on a bit of a roll, winning their last two games in blowout fashion. They will have a couple of tough games coming up next week however. In the meantime you can see the pictures from the last game by going to the Current Events page and clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer.
Monday, December 6th, 2010Less than a week ago I updated the website and said that things were going to get crazy at home with a variety of year end activities and kids sporting events, and that still holds true. I said that I may fall behind in getting things updated too, but so far I have been lucky enough to keep up with things. This next week may be a bit of a different story, however, as we have something going every night for the next 6 days (including tonight). It goes a little something like this for us: Soccer practice, basketball game, basketball practice, basketball game, soccer game, basketball game & hockey game (that last one is The Big Chill hockey game at Michigan Stadium for Tara & I!). Once again, please remember to keep checking back for new stuff! I have added quite a few things since December the third, and if you have checked out the site since then you will have already seen some of them. I will recap those recent updates for those who haven't been here lately, which is likely most of you out there. Starting with the newest updates, I have added a bunch of pictures from Jayden's 4th birthday party which we held on December 5th. We invited over our family members to celebrate with us, and we thank those who were able to attend! You can see the pictures by clicking on Jayden's 4th Birthday on the Current Events page. Tyler also played in a basketball tournament on December 5th with his Cage basketball team. I wasn't able to attend so I don't have much commentary from the games, but Tara was able to take some pictures for me. I added the pictures from their three tournament games to the website, as well as pictures from their 6th and 7th games of the season. You can find all of them by clicking on Current Events and then Tyler's Cage Basketball. One other recent update was of Samantha's 5th indoor soccer game of the fall season. Her team won this game, but you can see pictures and read more about it by clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page.
Sunday, December 5th, 2010It doesn't seem possible that it is December already, but a quick look at the calendar says it is so. Of course December is always a crazy month, with Jayden's birthday (she turns 4 this year! unbelievable!), Erica's birthday, family Christmas parties, school functions, and on and on. This year it is even crazier, with both Tyler and Samantha participating in sports. Because of all that is going on, I may fall behind a little bit updating the website. Just remember to keep checking back for new stuff! Speaking of reasons to come back, I will have pictures from Jayden's fourth birthday party soon, as well as lots of pictures from both soccer and basketball games. Of course there will be lots of Christmas pictures to enjoy too! This time around I have two updates to the website. The first is of Tyler's two most recent basketball games. Even though the team didn't win either game, Tyler continued to play well on a personal level. You can read my game recaps and see the pictures by clicking on Current Events and then on Tyler's Cage Basketball. The second update is of Samantha's sixth soccer game. Her team had much better luck than Tyler's, as they scored a 6-0 victory for their second win of the season (against two losses and a tie). You can read her game recap and see some pictures by clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page.
Saturday, December 4th, 2010It doesn't seem possible that it is December already, but a quick look at the calendar says it is so. Of course December is always a crazy month, with Jayden's birthday (she turns 4 this year! unbelievable!), Erica's birthday, family Christmas parties, school functions, and on and on. This year it is even crazier, with both Tyler and Samantha participating in sports. Because of all that is going on, I may fall behind a little bit updating the website. Just remember to keep checking back for new stuff! Speaking of reasons to come back, I will have pictures from Jayden's fourth birthday party soon, as well as lots of pictures from both soccer and basketball games. Of course there will be lots of Christmas pictures to enjoy too! This time around I have two updates to the website. The first is of Tyler's sixth basketball game. It wasn't a pretty game for the team, but Tyler played well on a personal level. You can read my game recap and see the pictures from the game by clicking on Current Events and then on Tyler's Cage Basketball. The second update is of Samantha's sixth soccer game. Her team had much better luck than Tyler's, as they scored a 6-0 victory for their second win of the season (against two losses and a tie). You can read her game recap and see some pictures by clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page.
Friday, December 3rd, 2010It doesn't seem possible that it is December already, but a quick look at the calendar says it is so. Of course December is always a crazy month, with Jayden's birthday (she turns 4 this year! unbelievable!), Erica's birthday, family Christmas parties, school functions, and on and on. This year it is even crazier, with both Tyler and Samantha participating in sports. Because of all that is going on, I may fall behind a little bit updating the website. Just remember to keep checking back for new stuff! Speaking of reasons to come back, I will have pictures from Jayden's fourth birthday party soon, as well as lots of pictures from both soccer and basketball games. Of course there will be lots of Christmas pictures to enjoy too! This time around I only have one update to the website - Tyler's sixth basketball game. It wasn't a pretty game for the team, but Tyler played well on a personal level. You can read my game recap and see the pictures from the game by clicking on Current Events and then on Tyler's Cage Basketball.
Monday, November 29th, 2010Since I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to update the website again before Thanksgiving day, so I will wish everyone a great day now. We hope that everyone has a chance to spend the day with the ones they love, and truly appreciates all that they have. I know that I am grateful to Tara, Tyler, Samantha, Drew, and Jayden for being such a wonderful family... I know I couldn't be prouder of them all. On to the updates: I added pictures of Tyler's most recent basketball game late last week, so they technically aren't new this time around. I didn't mention them on the home page here before today, so I will count them as new so that everyone has a chance to see them. You can find pictures of his fourth game of the year by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page. I have also added the pictures from Samantha's fourth indoor soccer game of the year, which was unfortunately a loss. She had another decent game, but didn't manage to score. You can read more about the game by clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page, where you can also view the pictures from the game.
Saturday, November 20th, 2010Since I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to update the website again before Thanksgiving day, so I will wish everyone a great day now. We hope that everyone has a chance to spend the day with the ones they love, and truly appreciates all that they have. I know that I am grateful to Tara, Tyler, Samantha, Drew, and Jayden for being such a wonderful family... I know I couldn't be prouder of them all. On to the updates: I added pictures of Tyler's most recent basketball game late last week, so they technically aren't new this time around. I didn't mention them on the home page here before today, so I will count them as new so that everyone has a chance to see them. You can find pictures of his fourth game of the year by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page. I have also added the pictures from Samantha's fourth indoor soccer game of the year, which was unfortunately a loss. She had another decent game, but didn't manage to score. You can read more about the game by clicking on Samantha's Indoor Soccer on the Current Events page, where you can also view the pictures from the game.
Monday, November 15th, 2010I'll make this another short writing this week, as it is getting late and I have to get to bed soon. Morning will be here before I know it tomorrow... I have added new pictures from Samantha's third indoor soccer game this time around. Her team scored their first victory on Friday, November 12th in a blowout. Sam netted her first goal of the year en route to her team's 9-0 victory. You can find this update on the Samantha's Indoor Soccer page under Current Events. I have also added pictures from all of Tyler's basketball games (Game 1 was actually added between my last writing and this update, but it is new if you have been here since the 10th!). His team lost their first game, but they have rebounded nicely in their last two - both victories. You can pictures of all of his games by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page.
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010I'm going to keep this short and sweet today and just get right down to business... I have added pictures from Samantha's second indoor soccer game to the website. Her team played to a 2-2 tie on Friday, November 5th. She played well once again, but also has some things that she needs to work on now that the pace of play is so much quicker. You can find this update on the Samantha's Indoor Soccer page under Current Events. I have also added the schedule for Tyler's new basketball season. I don't really have a lot of details about the workings of his season yet, but as Tara & I figure things out I'll post them here. You can see his schedule by clicking on Tyler's Cage Basketball on the Current Events page.
Friday, November 5th, 2010It's been a hectic couple of weeks here in the RodandTara household, even though both football and soccer season ended a couple of weeks ago. Drew also decided to take some time off from from hockey, so we should have all kinds of time available. For whatever reason we just never seem to find the time to relax. I haven't really had much to add to the website until just recently, so nobody has really missed anything too exciting. This week has when things have really picked back up for us. Halloween happened over the past weekend, of course. Samantha kicked off her first season of indoor soccer on Monday, November 1st. Tyler is starting his first season on a new basketball team in a new (for us) league. Now we are back to our old crazy jam packed lifestyle! Updates this time around include our Halloween activities. Clicking first on the Current Events page and then on the Halloween page will allow you to see pictures from both Samantha and Drew's school parties as well as their evening at the school's annual Boo Bash with Jayden. Of course Halloween would not be complete without trick-or-treating, and you can find pictures of our kids with Donovan and Marissa from that haunting evening. I have also added pictures and information for Samantha's indoor soccer season to the Current Events page. Her first game has already occurred, and although we would have loved a victory Samantha had fun nonetheless. She played pretty well considering that she had never played in this type of game before nor had she ever practiced with the team. You can see the pictures by clicking on the Samantha's Indoor Soccer link. I have also added a page for Tyler's new basketball season, but at this point I do not have the information added to it. Hopefully shortly after his game on November 6th I will find a few moments to get his stuff added as well (no promises though).
Monday, October 25th, 2010Tyler's football team played their final game last weekend, and all that is left of the season is the awards banquet next Saturday. Samantha's soccer team closed out their season with a 3-0 win in their last game on Saturday, October 23rd. Drew had his last skating lesson of session 8 today (Sunday, October 24th). Three fall sports sessions have reached their conclusion. Normally this would be good news in our household, allowing for some downtime before things get underway once again around Christmas time. This year, however, things are going to be a little different for us. Tyler will be playing basketball at "The Cage" starting in November (and practices will be starting this week already). Sam will be playing indoor soccer at the Genesee Fieldhouse starting around the same time. Drew will continue to skate - the only question now is when he will resume? He has decided for now that he would like to take a break. I think that this is largely because he is tired of the "Learn to Skate" classes, but who really knows. I guess for now it is OK, but I don't want to wait too long before he gets going again, this time with real hockey gear on. I have three updates this time around. One of them is my write-up of Tyler's football team and their 2010 season. I have summarized each game as well given my thoughts of the season, both before it got underway as well as sharing my feelings on how things turned out. You can read about it on the Current Events page, clicking on Tyler's Football, and then on Season Recap. The other two updates are related to Samantha's soccer team. They played their final game this weekend, as I said, and came away with another victory. I have posted pictures and my usual write-up of the game on the Game 8 page. I have also added a Season Recap for Sammie's season as well, which is done in a very similar fashion to Tyler's recap. Both of these updates can be found by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page.
Sunday, October 24th, 2010Tyler's football team played their final game last weekend, and all that is left of the season is the awards banquet next Saturday. Samantha's soccer team closed out their season with a 3-0 win in their last game on Saturday, October 23rd. Drew had his last skating lesson of session 8 today (Sunday, October 24th). Three fall sports sessions have reached their conclusion. Normally this would be good news in our household, allowing for some downtime before things get underway once again around Christmas time. This year, however, things are going to be a little different for us. Tyler will be playing basketball at "The Cage" starting in November (and practices will be starting this week already). Sam will be playing indoor soccer at the Genesee Fieldhouse starting around the same time. Drew will continue to skate - all that is left to be decided is, after paying for both basketball and soccer, do we have enough extra money laying around to buy all of his hockey equipment too? If the answer to that is yes, then he will move on to "Learn to Play Hockey" and if not, it is back to skating lessons for one more session. Christmas is just around the corner, so extra money is getting hard to find right now! I have three updates this time around. One of them is my write-up of Tyler's football team and their 2010 season. I have summarized each game as well given my thoughts of the season, both before it got underway as well as sharing my feelings on how things turned out. You can read about it on the Current Events page, clicking on Tyler's Football, and then on Season Recap. The other two updates are related to Samantha's soccer team. They played their final game this weekend, as I said, and came away with another victory. I have posted pictures and my usual write-up of the game on the Game 8 page. I have also added a Season Recap for Sammie's season as well, which is done in a very similar fashion to Tyler's recap. Both of these updates can be found by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page.
Monday, October 18th, 2010The heavy update season is winding down for now, until the winter sports season kicks off (which could be sooner rather than later this year, as Tyler may be playing in a different basketball league this fall, Samantha is going to play indoor soccer, and Drew may be moving on to actually learning to play hockey as opposed to learning to skate soon). For now I have three new additions to the site to tell you about. First up is the new addition of Drew's field trip information and pictures. His class was fortunate enough to get to take a class trip to Mitchell's Farm (which happens to be located just a few houses to the north of us) on Thursday, October 14th, and Tara was able to take advantage of the opportunity to chaperone! You can see lots of pictures and read a little bit more about it by clicking on Current Events and then going to the Drew's Field Trip page. The next addition is of Samantha's seventh soccer game of the season. They had another blowout win on Saturday, October 16th. Sam played a great game, making one nice save while playing goal and netting two goals before her coach told her to back off in the second quarter. You can find out more about this game (and all of the others) by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page. You will also find the addition of the official AYSO league pictures by going there was well. The last addition to the site is of Tyler's sixth and final football game of 2010, and the last game of his youth football career (as well as the last game of my coaching career, I hope). His team won all six of their games this year, and also got first place in their division. Great job boys! You can see and read about this game and the other five by clicking on Tyler's Football on the Current Events page. I have also added the official Holly Youth Football photos to the Tyler's Football page as well.
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010I don't really have much to say today, so I will limit my comments to the updates this week... First up is the addition of Samantha's sixth soccer game of the year. Her team continued their unbeaten streak with a 6-1 victory on Saturday, October 9th. You can see pictures and read about the game by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page. The other addition is Tyler's fifth football game. His team also extended their unbeaten streak, this time by a score of 28-7 against Grand Blanc, also on Saturday, October 9th. You can see pictures and read about the game by clicking on Tyler's Football on the Current Events page.
Monday, October 4th, 2010Happy anniversary to the love of my life and the woman I have been happily been married to for the last 13 years. Thankfully for me, they are indeed the same person! I love you Tara, and I look forward to many more years by your side. I don't really have much to say at this time, as we all seem to be fighting through a bout of the flu this past weekend. Tara and I got the romantic opportunity to spend our anniversary at home together, sleeping the day away trying to recover. Fun! I do have a couple of additions to the site this time. First up (since his game was earlier in the day on Saturday) is the addition of the game description from Tyler's football game at Bendle. I don't have any pictures because Tyler was too sick to play and it was raining out, so Tara didn't want to get the camera out. You can read about the game by clicking on Tyler's Football on the Current Events page. The other addition this time around is of Samantha's fifth soccer game of the year. Once again, it was another blowout game. Sam didn't have her best game, but she was struggling through her own battle with the flu. You can see the pictures and read about the game by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page. Enjoy!
Saturday, September 25th, 2010I cannot even begin to explain how crazy and hectic our life has been over the past couple of weeks. Between working overtime, the kids practices and game, family functions, and school activities it seems that we never get more than an hour at a time at home. To top it all off, we went a couple of evenings without power last week! I'm just going to get straight to the updates this time, since there are so many of them this time around! Going in chronological order, the newest update involves our visit to the St. John's Applefest in Fenton. This is an annual church carnival that takes place at Jerry & Gail's church, and the kids have a blast riding the rides and playing the games. They also love the cake walk and the "Happy Apple Tree" (where you open Tootsie-Rolls to see if you get a winning number). You can see lots of pictures of our time here by clicking on Applefest on the Current Events page. Skipping football and soccer, which I will group together below, the next place that we went was to Drew's hockey lesson. Drew is progressing well through his skating lessons, and should be moving on to hockey lesson soon. Check out these pictures on the Current Events page by clicking on Drew's "Hockey". Right after Drew's hockey we went to the Peters Family Reunion. Because of the hockey lesson, which overlapped with the beginning of the reunion, we were arrive late to see some of our family members. The kids had a blast on the playground, and there was even a whip cream incident that you can read about by clicking on Peters Reunion on the Current Events page. The final update that isn't related to the kids sports is the Broncho Tailgate party that we attended. This was an event that was geared towards the younger kids, but Tyler and Samantha had fun as well. The kids spent most of their time on the inflatable slides, but they also tried out some of the other games as well. You can see those pictures on the Current Events page as well, by clicking on the Bronchos Tailgate link. On to the sports... I'll start with Tyler's football, since he is older and his games have started earlier in the day (although his and Samantha's game times have been close the last two weekends). Tyler's team has played two games since my last update, and both of them were blowouts. His team has now played three games, and they have outscored their opponents 90-28. The opponents total could have been even lower, but we are moving kids around to so many places that we are practically begging teams to score. You can read more about both games and see pictures of them (Thanks to my Mom for taking them!) by clicking on Tyler's Football on the Current Events page. Finally (whew!) I have added pictures from three of Sam's games. All three of those games were blowouts as well, and since a soccer goal is worth way less points than a football touchdown their point differential is even more astounding: 41 goals for, 2 against. Sam has six of those goals so far this year, and she is pushing hard for many more. Hopefully she won't spend the whole season playing defense just to prevent these large scores. You can find out more information about these games by clicking on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page. One last thing that I almost forgot about - the journal from our St. Ignace trip has finally been added to the site. Check it out by clicking Journal on the St. Ignace camping page.
Sunday, September 12th, 2010Where did our summer go? It seems like only yesterday that the kids were climbing off of the bus for the final time hooting and hollering about the beginning of summer vacation, and now they have already been in school for a week! If only I could figure out a way to get the summer off with them... Speaking of school, as I said the kids have completed their first week of the 2010-11 school year. Tyler, having entered the sixth grade, has moved on to a new school for the first time, entering middle school with the 7th and 8th graders. Aside from having to wake up at 6:00 in the morning to be ready for the bus by 10 to 7:00am he seems to have adjusted well. I haven't heard any complaints about his schedule or new classmates yet, so Tara & I are keeping our fingers crossed that the rest of the year will stay the same. Samantha has entered the 4th grade this year, and although she didn't get the teacher she wanted she too seems to have adjusted well. She was placed in a split class this year with both 3rd and 4th grade students, which made her quite nervous. Once she realized that the school tends to pick smart, self-motivated students for the split classes (to help ease the load on the teacher, I am sure) she decided that it wasn't such a bad thing after all. A little ego boost never hurt anyone. We have a third student this year as well, as Drew has entered kindergarten. He too has adapted amazingly well. He was excited to have one of the boys from his baseball team this past summer sitting at his table in class, and has been able to have lunch with one of his best friends, Tevin. He even got on the bus his first full day (we drove the kids to school on the real first day of school, though Drew only had a partial day that day) without so much as even a glance back at Tara as she stood there waiting for him to get on. When I asked him later that day what it was like riding the bus for the first time he simply replied: "Awesome!" You can see pictures of all three of the kids on their first day of school by clicking on Current Events, then on First Day of School. Now that school is underway, that means that fall sports are right behind. Tyler's team played their first game of the season on Saturday, September 11th. They came out strong end never really let up, finishing the game with a 34-14 victory. You can see pictures of this game and his scrimmage by clicking on Tyler's Football on the Current Events page. Samantha's soccer team also kicked off their season that same day. Her team jumped out to an early lead and never let up, as the 11-0 score showed. Click on Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page for pictures of this game. Plus, Drew is still taking his skating lessons as he works towards becoming a hockey player! The end of summer also means one thing for us - the end of the camping season. This year we concluded with our annual trip to St. Ignace for the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Although the weather was a little cool and a lot wet we still were able to enjoy ourselves. Although I do not yet have my journal completed, you can still check out a bunch of pictures by clicking on the Camping page under Current Events. You can also find a bunch of new wallpapers from our camping trip by clicking on the Wallpapers page.
Friday, September 10th, 2010Where did our summer go? It seems like only yesterday that the kids were climbing off of the bus for the final time hooting and hollering about the beginning of summer vacation, and now they have already been in school for a week! If only I could figure out a way to get the summer off with them... Speaking of school, as I said the kids have completed their first week of the 2010-11 school year. Tyler, having entered the sixth grade, has moved on to a new school for the first time, entering middle school with the 7th and 8th graders. Aside from having to wake up at 6:00 in the morning to be ready for the bus by 10 to 7:00am he seems to have adjusted well. I haven't heard any complaints about his schedule or new classmates yet, so Tara & I are keeping our fingers crossed that the rest of the year will stay the same. Samantha has entered the 4th grade this year, and although she didn't get the teacher she wanted she too seems to have adjusted well. She was placed in a split class this year with both 3rd and 4th grade students, which made her quite nervous. Once she realized that the school tends to pick smart, self-motivated students for the split classes (to help ease the load on the teacher, I am sure) she decided that it wasn't such a bad thing after all. A little ego boost never hurt anyone. We have a third student this year as well, as Drew has entered kindergarten. He too has adapted amazingly well. He was excited to have one of the boys from his baseball team this past summer sitting at his table in class, and has been able to have lunch with one of his best friends, Tevin. He even got on the bus his first full day (we drove the kids to school on the real first day of school, though Drew only had a partial day that day) without so much as even a glance back at Tara as she stood there waiting for him to get on. When I asked him later that day what it was like riding the bus for the first time he simply replied: "Awesome!" You can see pictures of all three of the kids on their first day of school by clicking on Current Events, then on First Day of School. Now that school is underway, that means that fall sports are right behind. Tyler has been at football practice for about three weeks now, and has even participated in an organized scrimmage already. Samantha is entering her second season of U10 AYSO soccer, but her first with a new team and coaches. Both of their seasons officially get underway with games on September 11th. For schedules and pictures, click on either Tyler's Football or Samantha's Fall Soccer on the Current Events page. Plus, Drew is still taking his skating lessons as he works towards becoming a hockey player! The end of summer also means one thing for us - the end of the camping season. This year we concluded with our annual trip to St. Ignace for the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Although the weather was a little cool and a lot wet we still were able to enjoy ourselves. Although I do not yet have my journal completed, you can still check out a bunch of pictures by clicking on the Camping page under Current Events. You can also find a bunch of new wallpapers from our camping trip by clicking on the Wallpapers page.
Monday, August 23rd, 2010Believe it or not, but our oldest son is now an 11 year old young man! Happy Birthday, Tyler! We are keeping ourselves busy now with hockey, football, and soccer, so free time is certainly limited. Those three activities tie up four nights each week (and we have all three of them on Monday!), plus after Labor Day we will have both football and soccer on Saturday's. Fun, fun, fun! I have two additions to the website this time around, and both of them are related to Tyler's birthday celebrations. The first addition, Tyler's Birthday, has pictures of our small celebration at home that we had on his actual birthday. The second addition, Tyler's Family Birthday, contains pictures from the birthday party that we held with family a few days later. Both sets of pictures can be found by clicking on Current Events.
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Man, has summer flown by this year or what? We just got back from one of our last camping trips of the year this past weekend, and Tyler and I start football practices next week. Drew is back in his hockey skating lessons already (going on two weeks now), and Samantha is just itching to hear from her new soccer coach so that she can meet her new teammates. Jayden has it made for a couple more years before she really has to worry about anything too much. Wish I could trade places with her! Plus, in less than a month, Tyler, Sam, and Drew all start school once again. Tyler has moved on to the middle school and Drew is just starting kindergarten, so they are both in for new experiences this fall! Tara & I have been busy working long hours, trying to fill in some of our down time with family bike rides as a way to get some exercise. They seem to be fairly hit or miss, though, trying to schedule them in around all of our other activities. Speaking of that camping trip, that is what this site update is all about. We spent the weekend in Deckerville for their annual Homecoming celebration. We camped with my family (Dad & Mom, Erica, Donovan, and Marissa) as well as our friends, Jeff, Becky, Thomas, and Andrew. Tara & I had a good time socializing with everyone, and the kids had a blast at the truck pull and the parade (and swimming, fishing, and riding their bikes!). You can go to the Camping page under Current Events and click on Deckerville to see lots of pictures as well as read about our weekend. I have also added six new wallpaper photos to the website, all of which were taken during our camping trip. They include a scenic photo, as well as a family (well, the kids anyway) and individual photos of the kids at White Rock Roadside Park. Check out the Wallpapers page to see what's new. If it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit. As always, please enjoy the site, and come back often!
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010I can't believe that it has been three full weeks since my last update! I guess that is what happens when I let things slide a bit. Thankfully I am finally back on track, and hopefully I can stay that way for a while. Let's see... over those past three weeks our family has taken two camping trips, and we had a blast on both of them. Our first trip was a trip to Bay City with our friends Jeff & Becky and their boys Thomas and Andrew. We had two great nights of camping and we did some fishing, although we didn't have great luck with that. The second camping trip was a weeklong stay at the River Ridge Resort in Stanwood. Aside from being in the middle of nowhere, the campground was amazing. The kids would have spend every waking moment at the pool if they were allowed to. Although we didn't really do much outside of the campground while we were there we did have a good time. As always with our website, you can find lots of pictures from both of these trips. Click on the Camping page under Current Events for all kinds of information and photos. Enjoy! I have also added nine (9!) new wallpapers from our camping trip. You can find a variety of sizes to use as your desktop wallpaper by clicking on the Wallpapers link. The final addition this time around is of the Little League team/individual photos from the beginning of the season. I have finally (yes, I have been sitting on them for almost two months now - I guess the memory is starting to slip now that I am getting older) got around to adding them to the website. See them by going to the Current Events page and then clicking on either Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball, or Tyler's Baseball.
Monday, July 26th, 2010I can't believe that it has been three full weeks since my last update! I guess that is what happens when I let things slide a bit. Thankfully I am finally back on track, and hopefully I can stay that way for a while. Let's see... over those past three weeks our family has taken two camping trips, and we had a blast on both of them. Our first trip was a trip to Bay City with our friends Jeff & Becky and their boys Thomas and Andrew. We had two great nights of camping and we did some fishing, although we didn't have great luck with that. The second camping trip was a weeklong stay at the River Ridge Resort in Stanwood. Aside from being in the middle of nowhere, the campground was amazing. The kids would have spend every waking moment at the pool if they were allowed to. Although we didn't really do much outside of the campground while we were there we did have a good time. As always with our website, you can find lots of pictures from both of these trips. Click on the Camping page under Current Events for all kinds of information and photos. Enjoy!
Monday, July 5th, 2010Holy crap! We have already made our way through half of 2010, and I barely remember it happening. Where does the time go? With the end of June comes the end of the baseball season for Tyler, Samantha, and Drew. Drew's last game actually took place on June 23rd, so I have no new updates for him. Tyler played what was supposed to be a consolation game on June 28th, but due to a lack of players it turned into a fun scrimmage instead. Check out Tyler's Baseball on the Current Events page to see pictures from this scrimmage. Samantha's team hasn't played in another game since my last update, but she did play in the coach-pitch All-Star game on June 30th. She played a great game, getting three hits and playing all over the field. Plus, her team won! You can see pictures by clicking on Current Events and then going to the Samantha's Baseball page. A new addition to the website today is of Samantha's birthday party with her friends at the bowling alley here in town. Although not everyone she invited was able to make it, she had a great time with those who did. Plus, they had the whole bowling alley to themselves, so they could make as much noise as they wanted and were free to roam around all over the place! As you can imagine, pictures can be found by going to Current Events and then clicking on the Samantha's Friend Birthday link. Another new addition to the site is a group of pictures from our evening of fireworks at Groveland Oaks. We met up with my parents and my sister and her family for the show, and had a great time. You can see lots of pictures by going to Fourth of July on the Current Events page. One final set of additions is a few new wallpaper photos. One of them is of the sun and clouds that I took while at Tyler's scrimmage on June 28th. The remainder are pictures from our trek to see the fireworks at Groveland. Check out the Wallpapers page to see how I did...
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010Holy crap! We have already made our way through half of 2010, and I barely remember it happening. Where does the time go? Since it is here already, Tara, the kids, and I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July holiday weekend. With the end of June comes the end of the baseball season for Tyler, Samantha, and Drew. Drew's last game actually took place on June 23rd, so I have no new updates for him. Tyler played what was supposed to be a consolation game on June 28th, but due to a lack of players it turned into a fun scrimmage instead. Check out Tyler's Baseball on the Current Events page to see pictures from this scrimmage. Samantha's team hasn't played in another game since my last update, but she did play in the coach-pitch All-Star game on June 30th. She played a great game, getting three hits and playing all over the field. Plus, her team won! You can see pictures by clicking on Current Events and then going to the Samantha's Baseball page. A new addition to the website today is of Samantha's birthday party with her friends at the bowling alley here in town. Although not everyone she invited was able to make it, she had a great time with those who did. Plus, they had the whole bowling alley to themselves, so they could make as much noise as they wanted and were free to roam around all over the place! As you can imagine, pictures can be found by going to Current Events and then clicking on the Samantha's Friend Birthday link. One final addition is a new wallpaper photo of the sun and clouds that I took while at Tyler's scrimmage on June 28th. Check out the Wallpapers page to see how I did... If it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit. If there is anything on the site that you really enjoy or something that you would like to see added, please feel free to drop me a note at the email address below. As always, please enjoy the site, and come back often!
Saturday, June 26th, 2010Only two more games, and then our 2010 baseball season is officially over. Drew's year is already done, as he played in his last game on June 23rd, but Tyler has a "consolation game" to play on Monday, June 28th, and Samantha is playing in her first ever All-Star game on Wednesday, June 30th! We are very excited about both games, because their play had been improving as of late, and we want the year to end on a good note. Fingers crossed! I know it has been over a week since my last update, but I really don't have anything too exciting to say or add at this point in time. I have been working overtime (which means getting up at 3 o'clock in the morning - ugh), so I have been too tired to add these events to the website on a daily basis like I had been. Speaking of adding events, the additions this time around are completely limited to the kid's baseball games... Drew's Baseball has two new additions, as does Samantha's Baseball and Tyler's Baseball. One of these days we will be able to do something together as a family, and maybe then I will have something new to add to the site as well!
Friday, June 18th, 2010We still have a week and a half left of baseball craziness, and then we can get on with our summer! Yard work, camping, fishing, just enjoying the break. I can't wait, even though I know it is just a brief lull before football, soccer, hockey, and school starts back up. Without any major news to report at this time, I will go straight to the updates. Since my last "major" update on Saturday, June 12th, I have updated Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball, and Tyler's Baseball. Each of the kids had two baseball games during this past week, with mixed results. Drew's age group doesn't keep score, so no results for him. Both Tyler and Sam split their games this week, taking turns winning and losing. The big news for Samantha was that she made the All-Star team for the first time this year! Congratulations Sam, we are so proud of you! I also made a new addition to the website, which is pictures from our trip to the Detroit Tigers game on June 14th with Samantha's baseball team. We had a great time with our baseball friends, and even ran into friends and family while we were there! Check it out on the Detroit Tigers page under Current Events. One further addition to the site was of some wallpapers of Tyler from while he was at Camp Tamarak. You can find them on the Wallpapers page.
Thursday, June 17th, 2010The pictures from Drew's Baseball game on June 16th are now available. Drew had another good game... getting on base during each of his three at-bats and also sliding into home each time he rounded third. Great job, kiddo!
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010The pictures from Samantha's Baseball game on June 15th are now online. Sam had a strong game yesterday, just in time for her team's All-Star voting. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she makes it, especially considering how heartbroken she was last year to have missed out. Wish her luck!
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010The latest pictures from Tyler's Baseball and Drew's Baseball games yesterday can be found on the Current Events by clicking on their respective links. I have also added three new wallpapers to the Wallpapers page of Tyler during his time at Camp Tamarak.
Monday, June 14th, 2010I have added some pictures to the website from our trip to the Detroit Tigers game on June 13th with Samantha's baseball team. We had a great time with our baseball friends, and even ran into friends and family while we were there! Check it out on the Detroit Tigers page under Current Events.
Saturday, June 12th, 2010The craziness hasn't begun to die down in our house yet, even though the kids are officially done for the school year now. We still have two more weeks of baseball left, and then things will begin to get back to normal (well, normal for us, not for most families). Speaking of school, both Tyler and Samantha did very well for the 2009-10 school year. Tyler got all A's and B's, and he even surprised us by winning a Presidential Excellence award at his fifth grade graduation. Tyler will be leaving the elementary school, starting his first year in middle school in the fall. Samantha also got A's and B's, and will be advancing to the fourth grade next fall. She will be joined by her brother Drew next year at school, as he enters kindergarten. As for Tyler and his burn injuries from his Memorial Day incident... he seems to be healing very well. For the most part his face appears as it did before he was burned. If anything, it looks like he was sunburned, as the new skin is a little pink compared to his old skin. His arm is also healing well, though it too is very red where the new skin is. He no longer requires visits to the burn unit at the hospital, so that is certainly a good sign. He still needs to be cautious in the sun, however, as his new skin needs to be treated as if he were an infant. That means lots of sunscreen and moisturizer. All things considered, he (and we) were very lucky. Thankfully he has handled the whole thing better than I ever would have. He even changes his own bandages and applies his medications. Great job, Tyler! I don't really have too much to add regarding the updates at this time. As usual all of the kids current sports pages have updates available. That means that Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball and Tyler's Baseball all have new information on them. I have also added my Journal to the Camp Tamarak page as well. I have added a few new pages to the site during the course of the week. Last Sunday we celebrated Samantha's Birthday. Pictures from her family party can be found on this page. I have also added pictures from Samantha's Henry Ford Trip that she took with her school, a page of pictures of our encounter with a Hot Air Balloon, and pictures from Tyler's Graduation, which I discussed above. All of these items can be found on the Current Events page.
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010If it has been a while since you have visited the website or talked to either Tara or myself, I want to take a moment to pass along some information about Tyler. On Sunday, May 30th, he opened the gas grill and was greeted by a fireball, resulting in second degree burns to his left arm and first degree burns to his face and right arm. We made the trip to the ER immediately after, and he has been to the burn unit at Hurley Hospital twice since then. At this time he has been OK'd to return to school and he requires no more visits to the burn unit. They expect him to make a full recovery with minimal scarring, provided he suffers no sun burns this summer. Tyler, as well as Tara & myself, will be keeping sun screen with us at all times this year! Throughout this entire ordeal Tyler has handled himself with a level of class and dignity that I wasn't sure he had. He has answered all of the questions that anyone has asked of him, and dealt with the stares that inevitably come with burns like he had on his face admirably. I am very proud of the way Tyler has handled the entire situation - from the burn itself when it first happened right to the very end of the healing process. Good job, Tyler, we love you! Since it has been close to a week since my latest update, there are lots of additions to the site. Samantha had a very busy weekend, playing in one soccer game and two baseball games on Saturday and then turning 9 and celebrating her birthday on Sunday! Drew had his last skating lesson for a while on Sunday as well, and followed that up with a baseball game on Sunday. He also pitched in and played some during the second of Sam's baseball games on Saturday when her team was short handed! Tyler had been laying low, watching his team play as his arm heals. Hopefully he can get back on the field next week! As usual, Jayden just tags along for the ride and soaks it all in. As long as she has a friend to play with at each of the games she could care less! As for the updates and additions, Samantha's Soccer, Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball, Tyler's Baseball, and the Camp Tamarak pages have all been updated. The only new addition to the site is a big one - Samantha's Birthday. Pictures from her family party can be found here. All of these new items can be found on the Current Events page.
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010What a crazy couple of weeks since my last update! First off, Tyler and I headed to Camp Tamarak with his school for a three day, two night camping adventure. I think that the kids had a lot of fun, but I sure had a rough time! The food was terrible, and the chaperones weren't really allowed to participate in any of the activities. Plus, the food was awful. I actually lost close to 10 pounds in the three days I was gone. The food was so bad that I had to have Tara sneak me in a pizza and snacks the first night! Over the course of our time at camp, Samantha had a couple of games that I missed. She had a soccer game on Tuesday evening, in which she scored two goals! She also had a baseball game, but she missed that because of the soccer game. Drew had a baseball game scheduled for Wednesday night, but he opted to skip that to see Tyler in the mock Olympics at camp. Both Tyler and Sam had their school field day on Friday, and I took the day off work to take Drew and Jayden with me to watch them. Over the three days of the Memorial Day weekend Tara & I both busted our butts to finish a bunch of the work in the front yard, mainly weeding and mulching flowerbeds. Sunday night we had an experience we hope we never have to repeat. While working on cooking dinner Tyler went out to open the grill after it had warmed up, and when he did he was greeted with a giant fireball that resulted in a trip to the ER for 1st degree burns on his right arm and face and second degree burns to his left arm. Thankfully he should have a full recovery with no lasting side effects, but it was a scary moment to be sure. This past week has been tied up with baseball games and attempting to catch up on the website. I am still not there 100%, but progress is progress and I want to get things moving along. As for the updates and additions, Samantha's Soccer, Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball, Tyler's Baseball, and the Yard Work pages have all been updated. New additions to the site include the Camp Tamarak, the School Field Day, and the Tyler's Burn pages. The Camp Tamarak page is incomplete at this time, but hopefully the update to it will be coming soon. All of these new items can be found on the Current Events page.
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Monday, May 17th, 2010Another crazy week under our belt. Unfortunately we had several baseball games rained out this week - one for Tyler and two for Samantha. We squeezed two soccer games in as well, settling for a win in the first game and a loss in the second. Our weekend wasn't much better... Friday started out with the end-of-the-year celebration at the kids school, which Tara & I volunteered to work at (or got volunteered, depending on your point of view). I worked on cooking hot dogs, while Tara started out wrapping the cooked dogs in their buns and then moved on to face painting. The kids had a blast, trying out the various activities and jumping in the bounce houses. Saturday got started in the morning with the second of Sam's soccer games (this one was the loss). After the game we headed out to do some shopping - we had to pick up a birthday present for Marissa's birthday party, which was our next event. We wound up the day with a crawfish dinner at the home of Sam's baseball coach, Ian. The kids had fun playing around with the live crawfish, and Tyler found a new delicacy that he really enjoys. Sunday was a little more normal, as we Tara took Drew to his skating lesson and did some grocery shopping. I got to stay home and catch up on our yard work - I mowed the lawn, patched up some holes in the ground along the fence, rototilled the garden, and weeded some of the flowerbeds. After that I suffered through the night with an extremely sore back - or a pulled muscle or cracked rib, I don't really know at this point. Only time will tell... And now for the updates for the past week...
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010So that I don't fall too far behind in keeping the website updated each week (with 6 baseball games and 1 soccer game a week, I would quickly be overwhelmed) I have been attempting to update the latest info as soon as I can. For the most part this results in several updates per week. While this is really no big deal, I have struggled with the best way to keep everyone informed as to what is new each day or each week, depending on the frequency of your visits. I attempted a list, but wasn't really happy with the way that was set up, so I did away with it after a week. Now, I will be trying something new... Since I don't want to have to rewrite the homepage each day with new and witty remarks, I will be listing the updates below with the date of the addition. I will attempt to keep each of the write-ups for the additions like I normally would, but the information surrounding it will stay the same. I will keep the updates listed on the home page for a week or so, after that you will have to check out the Update List (on the far right above, or at the bottom of the list below) to see what has changed since you were last here. Without further ado, here is the list...
If it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit. As always, please enjoy the site, and come back often!
Monday, May 10th, 2010So, over the past week I tried a different method of alerting everybody to new items on the website. Well, I wasn't really happy with it, so I will be going back to my old tried and true methods for the foreseeable future. If you must know what has been updated and added since your last visit, please refer to the Update List (on the far right above, or at the bottom of the list below). Now that I have all of that off of my keyboard, I will go over this round of updates... First off, Tyler, Samantha, Drew, and Jayden went above and beyond for Mother's Day this year. They treated Tara to a special breakfast treat in the morning. Tyler and Sam also gave her the gifts that they made in school, and later in the day Tyler cooked dinner for us. They even took pictures of the event, which you can see on the Mother's Day page under Current Events. Next up is an update of Drew's "Hockey". He has successfully completed his first learn to skate session and will now be moving on the level 3. You can see these pictures and read more about his classes on the Current Events page. Samantha also played a soccer game this past weekend, despite the miserable weather that we experienced (it was more like football weather - windy, rainy, truly miserable). She had perhaps her best game of the season, scoring her first two goals of this spring season! You can get all of the information from this game on the Current Events page by clicking on Samantha's Soccer. Finally, Tyler also played a baseball game over the weekend. Unfortunately, it was another loss for the good guys. There is a couple of pictures and a brief write-up on the Current Events page under Tyler's Baseball.
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010What a busy day of baseball we just experienced! A parade in the morning, team pictures following the parade, and then three games - first came Tyler's team at 12:45pm, followed by both Samantha and Drew at 1:15pm. Although it rained in the early morning, we were fortunate to avoid it throughout the course of our day. The parade made it's way through town without a hitch, and the picture process went off without a hitch thanks to the schedule that Tara set up! Thanks dear! I had to help coach Tyler's baseball game (I'm an official unofficial assistant coach), so I was unable to catch any of Sam's or Drew's games, but I heard they both played well. Tyler's team lost, but he did manage to collect both his first strikeout and his first hit of the season. He also had an outfield assist today while playing centerfield, doing his part to get a runner thrown out at third base. Sam's team had a good game, winning 23-0! She ended the game with three hits, one of which was a line drive that ricocheted off her coach! She scored three runs off of her three hits. She also made a nice catch of a throw from a teammate to get a runner out at first. Neither Tara nor I were able to make it to Drew's game before it finished, but I was told that they played quite well (getting a win, I believe). Drew got on base a couple of times and also helped make an out. Hopefully I can get a score for this game Monday night at his next game. If I can, I will post it here. A big thank you to Jerry & Gail for coming over and watching Drew's game for us! I also need to thank Hannah for taking pictures of both Sam and Drew's games, since I couldn't make it and Tara was busy keeping score at Sam's game. Thanks! Below is the listing of this weeks updates so far, in chronological order. I will be adding the new updates here as opposed to attempting to write a new paragraph for each event, at least until the busy baseball/soccer season concludes.
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010OK, OK. I've had three updates in the past three days. In an effort to make this easier for everyone (alright, mainly easier on me), I am going to just make a listing of the updates for the week. Since we will be having baseball games four nights a week and soccer on the weekends, there will be a lot to add to the site for the next couple of months. I am hoping to add them as quickly as I can because that helps me to keep on top of things. Hopefully this will help me, but also make it easier for you to find the additions since your last visit. So, with all of that being said (or read), here is the listing of the updates for the past week...
Monday, April 26th, 2010OK, OK. I've had three updates in the past three days. In an effort to make this easier for everyone (alright, mainly easier on me), I am going to just make a listing of the updates for the week. Since we will be having baseball games four nights a week and soccer on the weekends, there will be a lot to add to the site for the next couple of months. I am hoping to add them as quickly as I can because that helps me to keep on top of things. Hopefully this will help me, but also make it easier for you to find the additions since your last visit. So, with all of that being said (or read), here is the listing of the updates for the past week...
If it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit. As always, please enjoy the site, and come back often!
Sunday, April 25th, 2010Since it has only been three days since I last updated the website, I am only going to comment on the new update and leave the old stuff here... First, I want to thank Tyler and Samantha for coming with me to work last Thursday for "Take Your Child to Work Day." I had a good time showing them around my plant, and they had a good time seeing all of the things that happen there. They even got to run my machine for a while! They even got to make a top (you know, the spinning toy) with their name on it. Now, the update for this time is of Sam's latest soccer game, number 2. Her team pulled out a 4-3 win, and she almost scored a couple of goals. She did a great job during this particular game! Now, the old comments...
Friday, April 23rd, 2010For those who haven't heard yet, my Uncle Steven successfully made it through his heart surgery and is now back at home recuperating. We are all pleased with the progress that he has made. I also need to apologize for the lengthy delay between website updates, but things have gotten into full hectic mode here at home, with three kids playing baseball (covering Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday until the season starts), one playing soccer (Sam, on Monday's and Wednesday's, with games underway - mostly on Saturday's), and one hockey player (Drew, on Sunday's). With that being said, I am just going to start listing the updates... First up is the addition of Samantha's Soccer to the Current Events page. So far this page has the info from her first game as well as some practice pictures. Keep checking here for more game results and photos. Next in line is the addition of Drew's Baseball, Samantha's Baseball, and Tyler's Baseball to the Current Events page. These three pages currently have pictures from some of their practices, but they will be stocked with game results and pictures once the season gets underway. After the baseball additions is some photos of our new used truck, which you can see on the Current Events page by clicking on The "New" Truck. The final addition at this point is the pictures of our trip to the University of Michigan's now annual spring football game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. You can find those pictures on the Current Events page by clicking on UM Spring Game. I also have one update this time around, and that is for Drew's "Hockey". I have added the pictures from Drew's most recent lesson (lesson 4). You can find all of Drew's hockey pictures on the Current Events page. Whew! That's it for now. Remember to check back often, as there will be many updates coming over the next couple of months with all of the sporting events going on.
Friday, April 9th, 2010I have to report out that my Uncle Steven made it through his heart surgery successfully, and is well on the road to recovery - he has already kicked my Mom out of his hospital room. That sounds like the cranky old man that I know and love! Since I just updated the website a couple of days ago, I don't have much to report that is new this time. While I was busy updating the site, Tara was taking the kids to the children's museum in Flint. Those pictures are now available on the Current Events page by clicking on Children's Museum. Later that evening Tara & I took the kids to the Detroit Pistons game, and I have a lengthy write-up and a few pictures available from that activity that you can find on the Pistons Game page under Current Events as well. Everything else is pretty much the same, so I will leave it here for all to see: We had a busy holiday weekend, working in the yard on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning (until the rain came - argh!). We managed to get some of the flowerbeds that we have neglected for the past couple of years cleaned out and the side driveway prepped for stone, but we still had more work that we would have liked to accomplish. Thankfully we have a whole summer ahead of us to work on it. Saturday afternoon we headed out to do some errands and ended up eating dinner at Fuddruckers. I was glad that we did, because when we returned home we couldn't get the garage door opener to work. It took us a bit of time, but we finally realized that the power had gone out (apparently just after we left). That made for a long night of egg dying in the dark (well, by candlelight). Thankfully the planned movie watching was able to be salvaged by laptop. Unfortunately the movie, Where the Wild Things Are, pretty much sucked. Not one of the six of us enjoyed it - for those of you counting, that is twelve thumbs down. Sunday was better, although between the kids excitement over their Easter baskets and dinner and an egg hunt at Jerry & Gail's house I didn't manage to get anything accomplished. Oh well, one day of fun and relaxing certainly didn't hurt my feelings. As you would imagine after a holiday weekend, the main update this time around is the pictures from our Easter activities. You can find a bunch of them by clicking on Easter on the Current Events page. I also found some pictures from our trip to Miyako Steakhouse towards the end of last month. We took the kids to provide them with an opportunity to experience the show at least once in their lifetime, and they didn't leave disappointed. You can find these pictures by clicking on Current Events and then on Miyako Steakhouse.
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010The first thing that I need to say is directed to Uncle Steve - get well, old buddy. Get lots of rest while you recover from your surgery so that I can see you when you come back up north this summer. We had a busy holiday weekend, working in the yard on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning (until the rain came - argh!). We managed to get some of the flowerbeds that we have neglected for the past couple of years cleaned out and the side driveway prepped for stone, but we still had more work that we would have liked to accomplish. Thankfully we have a whole summer ahead of us to work on it. Saturday afternoon we headed out to do some errands and ended up eating dinner at Fuddruckers. I was glad that we did, because when we returned home we couldn't get the garage door opener to work. It took us a bit of time, but we finally realized that the power had gone out (apparently just after we left). That made for a long night of egg dying in the dark (well, by candlelight). Thankfully the planned movie watching was able to be salvaged by laptop. Unfortunately the movie, Where the Wild Things Are, pretty much sucked. Not one of the six of us enjoyed it - for those of you counting, that is twelve thumbs down. Sunday was better, although between the kids excitement over their Easter baskets and dinner and an egg hunt at Jerry & Gail's house I didn't manage to get anything accomplished. Oh well, one day of fun and relaxing certainly didn't hurt my feelings. As you would imagine after a holiday weekend, the main update this time around is the pictures from our Easter activities. You can find a bunch of them by clicking on Easter on the Current Events page. I also found some pictures from our trip to Miyako Steakhouse towards the end of last month. We took the kids to provide them with an opportunity to experience the show at least once in their lifetime, and they didn't leave disappointed. You can find these pictures by clicking on Current Events and then on Miyako Steakhouse.
Monday, March 29th, 2010Easter is coming up soon, and that means Spring Break for the kids (who get close to a week and a half off, by the way). Tara and I are just pleased to be able to get a long three-day weekend out of the deal! I have no major or interesting news to report, and our activities over the past week have been relatively subdued, so the updates this time around are limited to Drew's most recent skating lesson, which you can find on Drew's "Hockey" on the Current Events page. I have also finally scanned the studio photos from Drew and Jayden's most recent birthday photo sessions. You can find them on their respective pages by clicking on Studio Photos.
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010What a busy weekend! Samantha went to a slumber party Friday after school, and Tara had a purse party to go to in the evening. Saturday morning the remaining three kids, Tara, and I drove to Novi to attend the 97.1 Sportsfest to check out the activities offered by the local sports teams. Tyler, Sam, and Drew also had a birthday party to attend for the boy next door that afternoon. Tara, Jayden, and I headed out to run some errands while they were partying. Later that evening we headed to Miyako Japanese Steakhouse with some friends for dinner so that the kids could enjoy the show. Sunday was only slightly less busy, as we all went to Drew's ice skating lesson before participating in a free skate session. Whew, I need a rest! I have added several pictures from our weekend, so check the Current Events page for the latest. On the Drew's "Hockey" page you will find the pictures from Drew's latest lesson. On the Sportsfest page are pictures of the kids enjoying themselves in various sporting endeavors. The page titled Gordon has some pictures of Tyler's new pet lizard, a bearded dragon. Finally, the Ice Skating page has pictures of us attempting to stay upright on the ice after Drew's hockey lesson. One other reminder - if it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit.
Thursday, March 18th, 2010Sorry for the long delay since my last update, but when the weather is this nice this early in the year here in Michigan you must do everything you can to take advantage of it. For me, that meant ignoring the website a little bit. Unfortunately, even though Spring is just around the corner, the weather is supposed to turn colder soon, so it will be time to head back inside and get the winter jackets back out once again. There isn't a ton of news or information to share with you this time around, so the delay can be forgiven somewhat. The biggest piece of news to report is that Drew is officially registered as a kindergartner and will start on his educational path in the fall! It's hard to believe that he is starting school already, but at the same time he seemed like he was ready a year ago. Now, three more years and it will be Jayden's turn, and that will mean no more kids at home during the day except in the summer. Just thinking about it makes me giddy! My only picture update to the site is of Drew's new adventure - Hockey! His first lesson occurred on Sunday, March 14th, and they will continue over the next several weeks. Check out Drew's "Hockey" on the Current Events page for more information. Also, keep checking that page for more updates. I have also added a season recap (finally) for Tyler's basketball team, similar to the recap I did for Samantha's team. You can find it by clicking Current Events and then Tyler's Basketball. One other reminder - if it has been a while since you visited the site, all of our activities from 2010 can be found on the Current Events page, with older activities on the Past Events page. To see what you may have missed since your last visit, click on the Update List page - it lists all of the updates in chronological order so that you can easily find out what may have been added since your last visit.
Monday, March 8th, 2010What a weekend. On Friday night we went to look at a possible new pickup (no decision yet). We spent the better part of our day at the gym watching Tyler's basketball team win their second playoff game and then later follow that up by winning the 5th/6th grade championship game! Congratulations, Tyler! You had a great season and we are very proud of you! Saturday evening it was dinner out (for Tara & I anyway) with friends at a Japanese Steakhouse (good steak, but pricey and too many vegetables). Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out to do some grocery shopping in the afternoon (that's always fun and exciting). Now that the basketball season is over we are entering a brief slow period before baseball gets underway. Drew does begin his skating lessons on Sunday, March 14th, but we have no other activities scheduled for a while. I guess we should try to enjoy it while we can... I only have basketball related updates this time around. There are two additions to Tyler's Basketball, which you can find on the Current Events page. I have also added a new wallpaper, of Tyler's championship basketball team, to the Wallpapers page.
Sunday, February 28th, 2010Saturday turned out to be the final day for Samantha's basketball team, as they lost their playoff game. Unfortunately the season didn't go as we had hoped, but all of the kids had fun and are planning on being back. So at least we, as coaches, were successful in that part of our job. Tyler's team did much better taking an easy 49-19 win in his playoff game. The win puts us in the semifinals next weekend at 10:00am. One more win puts us in the championship game at 1:00pm. Keep your fingers crossed for us! Updates this time around are limited to the two playoff games that Tyler and Sam played in. Check them out on their respective pages under Current Events.
Sunday, February 21st, 2010I don't have much to report at this point in time. Our week days are still crammed full of basketball practices and catechism after school and work. Saturday we spend at the gym, winding up with a win for Tyler's team and a loss for Samantha's. Next Saturday is the first day of the playoffs, and a win by either team extends the season out another week. Aside from that little bit of information, I have nothing new to report. I have two updates this weekend, and they are both from our basketball exploits. The final regular season game, Game 5, has been added to both the Tyler's Basketball page and the Samantha's Basketball page.
Monday, February 15th, 2010Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! There is no way I can properly express my appreciation to Tara for the wonderful surprise that she gave me Saturday evening (and no, we are not having another child!). I was resigned to the fact that we were going to spend the evening seeing the Wizard of Oz on stage, which is what Tara told me we were doing in an effort to pacify my begging to know what the plan was. I was thoroughly shocked when she presented me with tickets to the Detroit Red Wings game while we were at dinner instead! Needless to say, this was much more palatable to me than the play would have been. To top off the wonderful evening, I was allowed to spend it with my best friend! Once again, thank you Tara! We didn't have any basketball games scheduled this weekend, so we decided to take advantage of a rare free day by taking the kids sledding on Toboggan Hill in Davison. Tyler and Samantha were each allowed to take a friend, and we had a great time sledding down the hill and enduring the walk back up. The best thing was that nobody was injured and nothing was broken, unlike one of our past trips where my shins were bruised when we broke a borrowed toboggan. Some of my southern family may remember that incident! Updates this time around are limited to our two Saturday activities. Check out the Current Events page to see pictures (and read a little more about) from our Sledding trip and the Red Wings Game. I have also added a new wallpaper photo from the hockey game, which can find find on the Wallpapers page.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010We just finished a lousy week in our house, as every one of us fought the battle with the flu and lost. Somehow Tara was able to use her super-immunity to avoid getting sick despite being the first one there to aid those of us who were down for the count. Thanks dear, we all appreciate your help! We are now on to another jam-packed week. Yesterday (Monday, as I write this) was catechism for Tyler and Samantha, and Tara had to work in the evening (she works during the school board meetings). Today and Thursday it is basketball practice for Tyler and Sam, and Wednesday is a baseball clinic for Tyler, Sam, and Drew (his first year of t-ball). I think that Friday is a day of relative relaxation, as the kids have no school (even though Tara & I still have to work). This will be our routine for the next month or so, then Drew will start his skating lessons for his hockey adventure. After that baseball starts back up again for real. With all of these kids activities going on, I need to find a relaxation league for adults! Thankfully the flu ended in time for us to make our scheduled trip to Chuck E. Cheese's last Friday to celebrate the fact that Jayden hadn't had a potty training accident in over a week. We are all happy that she has reached this milestone, and we are equally as proud of her. Way to go Jay! You can see some pictures of our gaming activity on the Current Events page by clicking on Chuck E. Cheese's. We managed to make it to both of the basketball games on Saturday as well. Tyler's team played a close game, and his two free throws played a major role in getting us the win. Pictures of his game can be seen by clicking on Tyler's Basketball on the Current Events page. Samantha's game didn't go so well, and I am still steaming over the final score. You can see pictures of her game on the Current Events page by following the Samantha's Basketball link. I have also added the official league pictures to each of their pages as well.
Monday, February 8th, 2010What a crappy week! I say that with absolutely no pun intended, as the flu ravaged our house this past week (and the ending of last week). Every one of us came down with it with the exception of Tara, who somehow used her super-immunity to avoid getting sick despite being the first one there to aid those of us who were down for the count. Thanks dear, we all appreciate your help! The flu put an end to our sporting activities during the week, ruling out basketball and the baseball clinic that the kids are signed up for. Thankfully we were all healthy enough by Friday to make our scheduled trip to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate the fact that Jayden hadn't had a potty training accident in over a week. We are all happy that she has reached this milestone, and we are equally as proud of her. Way to go Jay! You can even see some pictures of our gaming activity on the Current Events page by clicking on Chuck E. Cheese's. We did manage to make both the basketball games on Saturday as well. Tyler's team played a close game, and his two free throws played a major role in getting us the win. Pictures of his game can be seen by clicking on Tyler's Basketball on the Current Events page. Samantha's game didn't go so well, and I am still steaming over the final score. You can see pictures of her game on the Current Events page by following the Samantha's Basketball link.
Monday, February 1st, 2010Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to Rodney. Happy birthday to me! With that unpleasantness out of the way, on to the important things! We had a rough weekend basketball-wise, as Samantha and Tyler both their games on Saturday. Sam's team got off to a hot start before fading, and Tyler's team was in a dogfight throughout. The rest of our weekend was a little more relaxing, thankfully. We went out to dinner to celebrate both Drew's and my birthday on Saturday evening, taking Donovan and Marissa with us. Sunday started off at church while Sam served, and then her and Tyler went to friend's houses to play in the afternoon. The rest of us played video games and built Lego's (and did some grocery shopping). All in all, a nice weekend that ended too soon. Now we are back to our busy weekly schedule. Catechism for the older kids and Tara on Monday and basketball practices on Tuesday and Thursday. Thankfully (as of now), Wednesday and Friday are relatively activity free. Give us enough time and that will change too, however. Updates this time around are limited to the basketball games from this weekend. You can see both sets of pictures by clicking on the Current Events page and selecting either Samantha's Basketball or Tyler's Basketball. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010First things first, Happy Birthday Dad! Now, on to the rest... What a successful weekend! It all started out on Saturday morning, with Samantha's second basketball game of the season. After getting blown out 38-0 during the last game, I was honestly just hoping that we wouldn't get shut out this week, but the team pulled through and not only scored, but they scored enough to win the game! I feel relieved to get my first win as a head coach, and Sam is equally excited as well. Tyler's basketball game immediately followed Sam's, so I had to move fast to change jersey's. His team won their game as well, although neither their head coach nor I thought that they played extremely well. I guess the style of play doesn't matter as much as the result, a win, moving their team to 2-0 this year. Later in the afternoon we welcomed into our home lots of family and friends to celebrate Drew's 5th birthday. It's still hard to get my brain to believe that it has actually been five years since the first time I held him. Drew received a lot of very nice presents, and it was a great time seeing everyone so early in this new year. Sunday was more of a relaxing day, although it never seems to be relaxing enough. We took Drew to Lapeer to try out ice skating for the first time (he says he wants to give hockey a try), but that didn't go so well ("my feet are cold"). After a lot of cajoling, he made a second attempt and seemed to be doing ok before he came off the ice with the same complaint. He did manage to stay on his feet most of the time, and he was able to skate short distances on his own. I guess we will be trying again before we sign him up for his first skating lessons. The rest of Sunday was our lazy time, as we came home from skating to eat lunch before all 6 of us took a nap. The nap seemed to take away all of our energy though, so that was about the end of our accomplishments for the weekend. Updates this time around include the pictures from both Sam's and Tyler's basketball games. You can find them on the Current Events page under Samantha's Basketball and Tyler's Basketball. I have also gotten around to adding Tyler's 10-year and Sam's 8-year photos. You can find them on the Studio Photos page by clicking on the appropriate name, then going to the final page for each child. The biggest update, however, is from Drew's birthday bash, which you can see by clicking on Drew's 5th Birthday, also on the Current Events page.
Monday, January 25th, 2010What a successful weekend! It all started out on Saturday morning, with Samantha's second basketball game of the season. After getting blown out 38-0 during the last game, I was honestly just hoping that we wouldn't get shut out this week, but the team pulled through and not only scored, but they scored enough to win the game! I feel relieved to get my first win as a head coach, and Sam is equally excited as well. Tyler's basketball game immediately followed Sam's, so I had to move fast to change jersey's. His team won their game as well, although neither their head coach nor I thought that they played extremely well. I guess the style of play doesn't matter as much as the result, a win, moving their team to 2-0 this year. Later in the afternoon we welcomed into our home lots of family and friends to celebrate Drew's 5th birthday. It's still hard to get my brain to believe that it has actually been five years since the first time I held him. Drew received a lot of very nice presents, and it was a great time seeing everyone so early in this new year. Sunday was more of a relaxing day, although it never seems to be relaxing enough. We took Drew to Lapeer to try out ice skating for the first time (he says he wants to give hockey a try), but that didn't go so well ("my feet are cold"). After a lot of cajoling, he made a second attempt and seemed to be doing ok before he came off the ice with the same complaint. He did manage to stay on his feet most of the time, and he was able to skate short distances on his own. I guess we will be trying again before we sign him up for his first skating lessons. The rest of Sunday was our lazy time, as we came home from skating to eat lunch before all 6 of us took a nap. The nap seemed to take away all of our energy though, so that was about the end of our accomplishments for the weekend. Updates this time around include the pictures from both Sam's and Tyler's basketball games. You can find them on the Current Events page under Samantha's Basketball and Tyler's Basketball. The biggest update is from Drew's birthday bash, which you can see by clicking on Drew's 5th Birthday, also on the Current Events page.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010I need to start off with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my youngest son, Drew, who is turning '5' on January 23rd! It seems like just yesterday that Tara and I were holding him in our arms for the first time. I can't imagine doing that now, though. They grow up so fast! Well, it took a ton of work, but I finally have the Florida Vacation pictures and journal online. Hopefully I didn't miss anything! It has only taken me a little over two weeks to get it done, so I should have everything... Over the holiday weekend (Martin Luther King day was a holiday for everybody in our family except Tara, who still had to work) we to took a day and went to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We had a good time looking at all of our dream cars, and followed that up with a ride on the People Mover to Greektown for lunch at Pizza Papalis. After we ate we ran some errands (a stop at IKEA, some returns at Old Navy and Meijer, and some shopping at Best Buy and Meijer) and ate dinner at Applebee's. It was after 11:00pm when we finally got home. On Sunday we got together with Dwayne, Erica, and their kids to celebrate Christmas. I know, I know. It's a little late in the year, but it was the soonest that we could all gather in one spot. We ate dinner before the kids were allowed to open their presents. They also spent a lot of time playing, which is good, since they had been begging to get together for quite some time now. It was good to spend time with family once again. The major update to the site is the addition of all of our vacation pictures and the journal that goes with it. You can find all of them on the Current Events page under Florida Vacation. I debated for a long time about whether these pictures should be listed under 2009 or 2010, but since the trip was so recent and lasted into the new year I decided to include it as a current event. Maybe, as we do more things throughout the course of this year, I will move them. But then again, maybe not. It's my prerogative! I have also added a bunch of new wallpapers (36, to be exact) to the Wallpapers page. I have also added the pictures from our trip to the auto show to the site, as well as our Christmas gathering with Dwayne and Erica's family. Both sets of pictures can be found on the Current Events page.
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Well, it took a ton of work, but I finally have the Florida Vacation pictures and journal online. Hopefully I didn't miss anything! It has only taken me a little over two weeks to get it done, so I should have everything... Over the holiday weekend (Martin Luther King day was a holiday for everybody in our family except Tara, who still had to work) we to took a day and went to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We had a good time looking at all of our dream cars, and followed that up with a ride on the People Mover to Greektown for lunch at Pizza Papalis. After we ate we ran some errands (a stop at IKEA, some returns at Old Navy and Meijer, and some shopping at Best Buy and Meijer) and ate dinner at Applebee's. It was after 11:00pm when we finally got home. On Sunday we got together with Dwayne, Erica, and their kids to celebrate Christmas. I know, I know. It's a little late in the year, but it was the soonest that we could all gather in one spot. We ate dinner before the kids were allowed to open their presents. They also spent a lot of time playing, which is good, since they had been begging to get together for quite some time now. It was good to spend time with family once again. The major update to the site is the addition of all of our vacation pictures and the journal that goes with it. You can find all of them on the Current Events page under Florida Vacation. I debated for a long time about whether these pictures should be listed under 2009 or 2010, but since the trip was so recent and lasted into the new year I decided to include it as a current event. Maybe, as we do more things throughout the course of this year, I will move them. But then again, maybe not. It's my prerogative! I have also added a bunch of new wallpapers (36, to be exact) to the Wallpapers page. I have also added the pictures from our trip to the auto show to the site, as well as our Christmas gathering with Dwayne and Erica's family. Both sets of pictures can be found on the Current Events page.
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010Well, it took a ton of work, but I finally have the Florida Vacation pictures and journal online. Hopefully I didn't miss anything! It has only taken me a little over two weeks to get it done, so I should have everything... Unfortunately while I was diligently working on the vacation pictures I fell behind on a couple of other events: our trip to the North American International Auto Show on Saturday and our Christmas with Dwayne, Erica, Donovan, and Marissa on Sunday. Hopefully I can get them posted this week, but I make no promises. I also have some new additions to make to the wallpaper page once I can get all of those resized. Those get pushed to the back burner, but I will get to the sometime soon. For now the only update to the site is the addition of all of our vacation pictures and the journal that goes with it. You can find all of them on the Current Events page under Florida Vacation. I debated for a long time about whether these pictures should be listed under 2009 or 2010, but since the trip was so recent and lasted into the new year I decided to include it as a current event. Maybe, as we do more things throughout the course of this year, I will move it. But then again, maybe not. It's my prerogative!
Monday, January 11th, 20102010 is well underway, and I am far behind in keeping the website updated. So much for all this free time I was going to have now that I no longer had to worry about schoolwork, right? I have decided to update the site now and not wait until I finish sorting through everything related to our trip to Florida over the Christmas break. I have somewhere around 1,000 pictures to sort through and a journal to finish writing (I make notes of the days highlights at the end of each day, but I only write things out when I find the time - so far I haven't found enough time!) before I can post any of that data. With that being said, let me give you a quick update on the family... I finished my last semester of schooling in December (unless I decide to go back for a Masters degree - which isn't likely to occur for a while, anyway) and graduated from the University of Michigan - Flint. I thought that I was going to have all kinds of free time to catch up on things around the house, but instead I am coaching basketball - head coach for Samantha's team and assistant coaching on Tyler's team. That takes up 2-3 nights per week, plus we play games on Saturdays. Tara is still working at the school as well as at home, making sure everything runs smoothly (without her the house would grind to a halt!). She is hoping to go back to school herself later this year, but she needs to settle on a major first (nursing or business, business or nursing). Tyler is on the downward slope of his elementary career, finishing up 5th grade. He remains as busy as I am, playing basketball for his third season this winter. Sam is in the same boat, playing her first season of basketball. She is doing well in 3rd grade. Drew is about to turn 5, and is ready for his turn in kindergarten. Jayden just turned 3, and is still trying to ace the art of potty training. I think Tara and I get trained more than she does, most days. Back to the updates. I have opted to skip the "Year in Review" like I posted last year. I decided that if you wanted to know what kinds of things we did over the past year, you can look it up easily enough on the Past Events page. Also, I opted to include our Florida vacation pictures under 2010 instead of last year, even though most of the trip did actually occur in 2009. This is mainly because I wanted to keep it with the more recent activities... things tend to get lost more easily on the Past Events page. Finally, the actual updates. I have added the page for our Florida Vacation, even though I'm not quite ready with it yet. Information and pictures from our trip will be coming soon. Keep coming back to find out more. Samantha's Basketball has been added, as well as Tyler's Basketball. These are the pages to check look at the find out the results of their games and see pictures from them. Information and pictures from Game 1 has already been added for each of the kids. |
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