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.

Firestone Scrimmage

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Eddy had his first scrimmage with the Archbishop Hoban Freshman football team. It was an unseasonably cold morning in August. There was a fairly steady rain and the temperatures did not get out of the 60’s. He is pictured here lined up as a wide receiver. He is learning a lot and will get more time in to play once he gets a better grasp on the game. This is his first year playing and he is doing a great job showing up for all the practices and following directions.

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.

Cedar Point

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My Dad’s company picnic was at Cedar Point this year. The tickets were at a reduced price and my parents took care of the kids admission, so all I had to do was drive up there and pay for my own ticket. We had almost the entire family up there for this event.

My brother, Adam, his friend, and my Mom arrived on Tuesday. They drove in from Maryland. They ended up spending a few days at the house until Thursday when my Dad drove up from Columbus and my Mom and him left with the kids. They went swimming and had early access to the park, as a benefit of staying at the motel. Adam and his friend left Monday morning.

My brother and his friend stayed at the house and that Thursday night we went to the airport and picked up my sister Amy. She flew in from Texas. It was all a big secret, because she wanted to surprise my Dad at the park. Amy ended up staying with me until Sunday morning when she had to catch the return flight home.

I drove to Cedar Point, because I was the only one with a van to hold the six people that would be returning home with me. The four of us, Adam, his friend, Amy, and I all arrived and went on several rides. We then went back out to the van to grab some lunch out of the cooler we brought. My kids, Eddy and Patty, met us at the van. They had already eaten. We then set out to find my Mom and Dad for the surprise of meeting Amy. It was a great surprise.

We all hung out together for awhile. We went on a few more rides and we had the happy accident of getting stuck on the Snake River Rapids ride. The reason this was a happy accident was while we were stuck on the ride for 45 minutes we managed to get flash passes, which allow you to get up to the front of many rides. I do not think we would have been able to ride so many rides in the few hours we had left before the park closed without those passes.

Father’s Day

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Father’s Day was fun this year. Awoken to a gift from Patty and Eddy. I got a pair of headphones and pistachios and Hershey Kisses. Most of my gifts involve food for some reason. Michelle sent me a message wishing me a “Happy Father’s Day”. It is nice to have a day.

Eddy’s 8th Grade Graduation

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Eddy has graduated from the 8th grade class at St. Paul School. Now that Eddy has graduated from St. Paul the only reason the family should have to go back is for church and church events. Now all of my children are in high school. Kristy made the trip out to see the graduation, as she did last year. The kids were extremely happy to see her.

Grandma’s friend Mary helped me pay for the graduation pictures, and so I should have some pictures of Eddy and his graduating class to give out to family. The students, for the most part, are all going in different directions. Some of them are going to public schools where they live. Some of them are going to different Catholic high schools. I believe only a few of the students are going to Archbishop Hoban next year, so Eddy should be meeting all new people.

The graduation was great. The small reception afterwards was nice. I am sure that Eddy is going to miss living so close to the school that he is attending next year. I do not think that Archbishop Hoban is realistically in bicycle riding range. Unless, he starts getting up really early. I’m sure he’s going to be getting enough of a workout with football.

The Big Blue 100

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Eddy has added a ninth foot to the collection and a particularly large plastic piece to add to the group. There are quite a lot of feet making up this necklace and adding another orange foot certainly gives it some weight. It is a very impressive assortment of plastic feet he has acquired this year. The real weight came from one piece that he earned quite recently.

Yes the big blue 100 piece that Eddy got to add to his growing collection of formerly only feet. This piece is awarded once the student walks 100 miles. He has been proud of his accomplishments up to this point, but receiving a special piece for hitting this milestone was certainly a big deal.

The weather has gotten nicer and Eddy is able to ride his bike to school now. He has slowed down on bothering to show up for walking having reached the magic 100. This is not to say that he is not still doing the walking, but it certainly is nice to sleep in occasionally with the school year winding down. He is also participating in the conditioning workouts at Archbishop Hoban High School twice a week, for football, so exercise is not something lacking in his schedule.