Category Archives: Patty

James’ Birthday 2012

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James’ 14th birthday cookout was held at Becky and Andrew’s this year. They offered to host it, because they had a scheduling conflict and could not make it on Saturday, and so they did a huge favor to us all by hosting it at their house and buying the food. The birthday was held on Monday, which was Labor Day, and it was great. Grandma, Becky and Andrew, Zach, Abby, Patty, James, and I were all there.

Dinner was hamburgers, but they were not just normal hamburgers. These were specialty hamburgers that they prepare at Giant Eagle. The burgers included blue cheese, bacon and cheddar, jalapenos, and a turkey burger for Becky. Andrew did the grilling for the hamburgers and hotdogs. It all turned out great. Chips and watermelon slices made it all even more enjoyable and we all ate to our fill.

Becky and Andrew bought a very decorative chocolate cake and we finished the evening by having cake, ice cream, and James opened his cards and birthday presents. He actually received quite a few more presents than there are pictures of, because there were items that he wanted that had to be ordered from the internet. It was an awesome birthday. As always all the pictures are on the pictures page.

First Day Back to School!

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These are a collection of pictures taken on the three separate days that each of my children went off to start their first day of school for this year. For Eddy this is his first day of high school, for Patty this is her Sophomore year, and for Michelle this is her last year of high school.

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Bike Ride and a Cookout

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We took a nearly 25 mile bike ride going south from our house on the Towpath. That is us at nearly the bottom of the map. Patty and Eddy are pointing to the “You Are Here”. We have never traveled that south on the Towpath before and if we were to continue we would probably see a new map. Seeing a new map is definitely a new goal for us. It will have to be some time when we get a better meal before our trip though, since we were all getting rather hungry and had to turn around and go back home.

I called my Grandmother before we got home and asked her to put the potatoes in the sink so start soaking. Patty is still going faster than Eddy and I, so I asked her if she beat us home, which she did, to take the grill out and start it if she could. It all came together perfectly. There were hamburgers, steak, baked potatoes, and a salad. It was all very good and we ate to our fill. We ended the night by watching a few movies. Here are all the pictures from the trip.

Museum and Dinner

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It was decided that sitting around on a beautiful Sunday would be a complete and utter waste. Patty and Eddy were asked what they would like to do today and Patty said that she would like to go to the Akron Art Museum. We all agreed that it would be a fine idea. I asked her to go to the website and see what the pricing and hours would be and away we went.

We took our bikes and sadly that has been a bit of a rarity this summer. Now that both of them are in high school they have so many commitments. Eddy has football practice and Patty had lacrosse practice. The days when a bike ride would have been feasible it was too hot. There have been far too many days in the 90’s this year, which is exactly the opposite of last year when it rained almost every weekend.

The bike ride and the museum were fantastic. We stopped for dinner while we were in downtown Akron and then we rode home.

Patty’s Birthday 2012

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Patty’s birthday was delayed this year, so that everyone could show up and the 26th this year was bad for several reasons. We had a cookout this year, which is something of an on again/off again tradition that was started several years ago. This birthday was attended by myself, Patty, Eddy, her Mom, her Great Grandma, Aunt Becky, Uncle Andrew, and their children Abby and Zach. It was fantastic that they could all make it out.

The cookout, which is done on a coal burning grill featured chicken, hotdogs, and hamburgers. The sides were potato salad and pork and beans. Something for everyone. It all came out good this year. The weather was perfect for a cookout reaching the mid to low 80’s and not a drop of rain all day. It has been something of a drought this year, so it did not seem likely that rain would be ruining this cookout. Everyone ate to their fill and Patty opened her gifts.

The only gift Patty really wanted this year was a cell phone. This has been a request for the last couple years. That wish has finally became a reality on her 15th birthday. Now she can stop borrowing Grandma’s phone and use her own for all of her Facebook and texting needs, which will inevitably consume a great amount of her time from now on. Just not at school where they are likely to confiscate the phone. As always all the pictures can be found on the pictures page.

March 18th Bike Ride

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It all started with Patty saying “I want to go to the bridge and see the turtles”. This lead to a 30 mile bike ride and the turtles – they would not disappoint. The unseasonably warm weather here in North East Ohio has encouraged wildlife to venture out and sit in the sun. It was snowing this time last year, but this year it has already reached 80 degrees. The pictures of the turtles are from a bridge in Akron and another north at Beaver Creek.

This year so far we have seen turtles where we normally would not see them and we have even spotted beavers, although we do not have a picture of them. It is neat to see the turtles and be able to take bike rides in March, but I think it will be more impressive in a few months when the lily pads are all over the place and there are fish and other things swimming around. Everything will look so much more alive.

One great thing that could happen this year is if it does not rain every single week. Last year was a record breaking year for rainfall in Ohio, and it made bike rides far fewer and further between than I think any of us would have preferred.

Fun ‘n Stuff

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The kids all had President’s Day off from school, so it was best to take advantage of that and make sure to do something as a family. Michelle, Patty, and Eddy had no objection to my plan for the day. The first step was to get everyone some lunch, from there it was on to a place that I have been going since I was a kid.

Fun ‘n Stuff is a fairly easy destination for a cheap family activity. My parents used to take us kids there every once in a while. I always remember having a good time. The place has not changed a great deal. There have been some changes, but there is something really nice about being able to come back year after year and have the same fun. There is plenty to do there, but I mostly take the kids for the roller skating, arcade machines, and air hockey.

The kids all went roller skating. More specifically they all went roller blading. I remember when roller rinks started carrying roller blades they were usually a few more dollars to rent, and I never bothered to try. These kids though have gone ice skating and have been using roller blades for quite some time, so they are more versatile than I ever was. We held a little air hockey tournament. The kids are honestly getting pretty good at air hockey. It was a fun day.

Mock Trial

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Patty went to the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in downtown Cleveland, right next to the lake, on Friday to participate in Mock Trial. She was the Bailiff and Time Keeper for Archbishop Hoban and if she listens and pays attention to the other students who got to be the prosecutor and defense lawyer then maybe she will get to do that next year.

She recieved a pin and they won the meeting, so there will be another meeting at some point in the future. She should be receiving another pin at that time.

Christmas 2011

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The children and I set up the tree. The presents started accumulating under the tree. The kids received gifts from Holy Family, which is the Catholic church in Stow. The children got gifts from our family friend, Mary. Grandma and Grandpa Rollins in Maryland sent gifts. There were, of course, gifts from me. Great Grandma even had some gifts for the kids.

When Christmas finally came and Santa had finished putting gifts under the tree there were plenty of gifts to go around. The kids woke up and they knew what to do. They had to make coffee. It was a tradition when I was growing up in my parents house that nobody gets to open gifts until the parents are awake and have had their coffee, and so it is a tradition in my house as well. Coffee and camera in hand they went about dividing the gits into piles.

The first thing they opened was their stocking. The unwrapping of the gifts came next and they were pleasantly surprised with what they had gotten. They both wrote letters to Santa and most everything on their list was to be found in their pile. They both received money and gifts cards this year, and that helps them pick up the odds and ends that they wanted, but did not get. As always all the pictures from Christmas are on the pictures page.

Patty Playing Violin

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Today was the Archbishop Hoban Winter Fine Arts Festival. The talents displayed tonight were the String and Wind Ensemble, Concert Choir, and for the first year ever the Guitar Ensemble. Patty plays violin with the string and wind ensemble who have songs dedicated to just them and other songs where they play with the choir singing.

The performances went from 7pm till almost 8:30 with a 15 minute intermission. It was great to be there and I got to meet Patty’s music teacher, Mr. Kelvington. It is times like this that I am glad that Patty’s Grandmother encouraged these children to pick an instrument in grade school.