Hearts, Stars, and Moons

More Updates!

2010-09-17T13:21:00.001-04:00

Lets see… Paige’s volleyball team has yet to win a game yet, however you can tell that the team is much improved over last year! I think there are a few wins in their future very soon. Paige is playing excellent volleyball and I’m very proud of her!

We were at the cabin over Labor Day weekend. Turns out, the twin rivalry badminton match is pretty fierce. Corey and Paige played best of 3 and it was a very tight 3rd game, let me tell ya! Paige ended up coming out on top, but it took everything in her to win it. I have a feeling this badminton rivalry will continue for years to come! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the main event! Paige can certainly get airborne!

In other news, Elvis has officially been with us for six months. I had forgotten how he looked when we got him! Here’s when I originally shared with you we had him. Here is how he looks in comparison to then. Wow! Looking good Elvis!

Hopefully, I’ll be back soon to report some wins! Samantha starts volleyball soon and Paige has certainly got one coming to her!

Playing Catch Up

2010-09-14T20:29:00.001-04:00

So, I haven’t posted any birthday news yet for Corey and Paige. Lets just say they had totally different ideas of what a birthday should be. However, they did both agree that the boat club would be a good location! I would say that all in all, both kids had the birthday they wanted!

Corey wanted a more relaxed environment. Sat out on the deck, opened gifts, did some fishing, and of course, as you can see below, put loot in his pockets!

Paige, on the other hand, wanted a PARTY! Full of dancing and music. We managed to get that done too! We even had a disco ball! You can see the party below!

Last, I am happy to report that Corey got his braces off yesterday! It’s amazing how much older he looks without them!

I’ll be back here soon! Volleyball news to report soon!

Paige’s Volleyball Game Schedule

2010-09-02T10:26:00.001-04:00

Hot off the press! I hope you can make a game or two!

Weekday	Date	Home / Away	Opponent
Thursday	9/2/2010	Away	Jackson
Tuesday	9/7/2010	Away	Pleasantville
Wednesday	9/8/2010	Home	Dublin Grizzell
Monday	9/13/2010	Away	Hilliard Heritage
Wednesday	9/15/2010	Away	Blendon
Thursday	9/16/2010	Away	Pickerington Lakeview
Monday	9/20/2010	Home	Norton
Wednesday	9/22/2010	Home	Perry / Mccord
Monday	9/27/2010	Away	Worthingway
Wednesday	9/29/2010	Away	Worthington Kilbourne
Thursday	9/30/2010	Home	Dublin Sells
Monday	10/4/2010	Home	Dublin Davis
Wednesday	10/6/2010	Home	Hastings
Saturday	10/9/2010	Tournament	New Albany

Pelotonia '10

2010-08-21T12:37:00.001-04:00

I had the chance to do something very special today! I was able to raise (with a lot of help from my coworkers) $1000 to ride 23 miles in an effort to fundraise to find a cure for cancer! It was a part of Pelotonia '10

This whole week has been special! My teammates from Michigan came down to Columbus to join me on Thursday. We were able to be a part of my employers kick off downtown on the steps of the statehouse! Afterwards, My teammates and I got a tour of the headquarters, by no-one less than our CEO! He gave us a tour for about 30 minutes then gave us tickets to Huntington Park to enjoy a Baseball game that evening! Wow! What great seats we had! Here is a view of my legs propped up on top of the dugout along the 3rd base line!

The next day we were able to register for the ride and were able to see The Counting Crows in concert. Additionally, we got to hear Chris Speilman speak. What an emotional night that was!

This morning at 5AM we left to go ride. Free breakfast, followed by a 7:30AM start time for my group of riders! None other than Archie Griffin started his ride next to me! Wow!

It was a beautiful morning for the ride and so well coordinated! There was a rest stop at 15 miles, and it was a good thing because I was completely out of water! I ran into one of my best friends from work and finished the last 8 miles with her! When we finished we both realized we could have rode longer, but were so very impressed with how well we did! Here is my route:

View Larger Map

Or feel free to "Fly By" my route!

If you ever have the opportunity to be a part of something like this, please do so. It is so worth it and so much fun!

Additionally, I was able to compile a list of survivors and those that lost their battle with cancer to ride for and give me inspiration. My goal was to honor at least one person for every mile I was riding. I ended up with 25 names. Well, since I made it, it seems appropriate to give a shout out to all of the folks I rode for today.

Here are the names!
Ryan Salmons
Trey Martens
Jane Lykins
Ruth Lykins
Geneva Lykins
Bessie Scott
Gretchen Grafflin
Nana Grafflin
Violet Baier
Gary Falter
Linda Falter
Ellen Guy
Bob Monroe
Tom Starrett
Karen Wells
Charlie Tufts
Mira Tanagho
Jim Edwards
Jeanne Doyle
Yvonne Wallace
Mike Smith
Aunt Margie
Uncle Bud
Kathy Varney
Becky Feyh

To all of you above and anyone else out there fighting or could not fight anymore! This one was for you!

Funny Story to Share

2010-08-17T19:14:00.001-04:00

The gentleman that Corey is, has been helpful enough to mow the lawn for us of late. Yesterday, he did another fine job doing just that. After he had showered and had a bite to eat, he decided to relax and watch a show. After trying both TVs downstairs, he let me know the satellite was out downstairs. I didn’t think much of (quite frankly, we don’t have the best service in the whole world and have experienced this before). He then went upstairs to try. Same outcome, no satellite signal. He decided to watch a DVD, and I in turn decided to call the company later that evening. I reset the receivers as instructed, blah, blah, blah while the automated voice gave me instructions as to what I should try next.

Turns out, next was to go outside and make sure the cables were connected. As I was approaching our dish I saw something sticking up out of the ground. I took another look and released it was pieces of coaxial cable lying on the ground. I immediately hung up the phone with the satellite company. Problem revealed!

The funny thing is that the cable was absolutely shredded! I have no idea how Corey ran it over with the mower without seeing or hearing it, and even more frightening, not getting hit by it! Luckily he was not hurt, however he did get a chuckle out of realizing that he was the reason the TV didn’t work! :-)

More “short stories” to come soon!

Summer!

2010-08-14T15:01:00.001-04:00

So, of course you’re right, it has been way too long since I’ve visited my blog! However, we are truly enjoying our summer so far. I have some great news to share! Samantha and Paige both made the volleyball team! Yay!

We have been to the cabin a few times and enjoyed the peace and quiet, however for the most part it has been pretty busy at work, etc. I seem to be getting some photography work recently too. That certainly does add to the lack of time for this!

The kids had a surprise visit from Uncle Jeff and their cousin Gracie about a week ago, so I thought I’d share some photos we took at the park while Gracie was with us!

Enjoy! I’ll be back soon!

Spring has Sprung!

2010-04-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

I finally officially broke out the camera today! I think I'm finally over my winter blues. I really think it's going to stay warm for us for now on and I have the inspiration once again to pursue my hobby (and blogging).

Since Spring Sports started while it was still cold, I have lots of track news to share! Paige is running the 100m and 200m dash for school. She is doing very well and seems to really enjoy it! She was even first in her heat in the 200m last week!

The kids all seemed to enjoy their Spring Break and they've already been to the cabin once this year! I have the pool open, and after a visit from the plumber we have water!

Samantha has been the shopping queen of late! New skinny jeans, new high top canvas shoes, you name it, if it's cool she's after it! I think she really enjoyed her shopping filled Spring Break!

Corey relaxed over Spring Break. Now that I have his first report card ever with nothing but A's and B's, I realize how hard he worked and how much he deserved that relaxing Spring Break!

I, on the other hand, have managed to break my first bone in my whole life. Just my left ring finger, but wow it hurts. Off to the orthopedic specialist Friday for good news, I hope!

Jack and I are looking forward to our niece's wedding this Saturday and a trip to the cabin the following weekend.

It turns out Elvis loves it at the cabin. No leash and no boundaries are his cup of tea. He's completely over his illness and seems to be acclimated to our family now. He's a pleasure to have in our lives. I told you I broke out the camera today, so here are some Elvis photos! I truly intend to start taking photos again every day! I'm excited! Enjoy!

Okay, Okay

2010-03-24T19:59:00.000-04:00

I get it.... Everyone wants an Elvis update. I can't believe how many emails and phone calls I get about him. It's like we've had another child!

So lets see, last time I posted, he had us wrapped around his scrawny little paw, well LET ME TELL YOU, nothing's changed! :-) However, we can add to his list of ailments. Elvis also has ring worm and kennel cough. No worries, we have the medications for that too and quite frankly, he's doing great now! He's barely coughed today and is as spry as a puppy, playing fetch and other puppy games!

I've been walking him and he was obviously trained at some point in his life to heel, stay, and sit. So, we're working on advanced stuff like down and shake. Why not? He seems to be very smart!

He's very protective of all of us and seems to be the most loving dog I've ever met! He loves to be in your lap, next to you, in the same room as you, etc. He really wants someone to be with him all the time! When he hears noises, he has a great big bark and lets what he hears know that they better stay away!

I think his fear of adult males is subsiding, but he needs a little more time. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet a million bucks that a very mean man wasn't very nice to him in his former life. We're fixing that now! He's slowing learning to trust Jack. I know Jack will see this, but I think Jack's heart has the biggest place for Elvis already although he'd never admit it!

What else? Lets see... Elvis went to the groomer and had his very bad haircut corrected, we got him some cologne because he couldn't bath for a while (he smells so handsome now) and he's eating dry food now. Doesn't bother him at all even though he had all those teeth removed.

All and all, Elvis is doing well. I have a request though! Email and call me about the kids next. It seems so strange to get all these inquiries about Elvis! :-)

Where did I leave off?

2010-03-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

In 2009 I think. Okay I admit it, I'm not a winter warrior. I give in when it gets cold! Lets face it, I was born in Turkey, moved to Okinawa, lived in Hawaii 5 years, etc anyway, I'm sure you get the point.... NO SNOW! I will definitely be one of those snow birds when I retire!

What's new with us? The kids are still THE MOST AMAZING children ever, and last Saturday we added a new son! His name is Elvis. Since I'm the world's biggest fan of the King of Pop, it seemed only natural to add the King of Rock to our family.

Elvis' story:
Elvis is 7 or 8 years old
He's a pure bred toy poodle
He's ugly (only because life was so hard, his personality is incredibly handsome)...

Paige had been researching dogs with no dander for quite some time. I think she found out her friend Cyle got a new dog from the pound and that made the search even more so vigorous!

We looked at AKC.org and determined which breeds of dog where "hypoallergenic" and came up with quite a long list of breeds. I was surprised! I always thought it was a Chinese Crested (hairless) or nothing!

Paige found Elvis and Henry (both toy poodles) on the Franklin County Dog Pound website and convinced me to go meet them. Samantha, Paige, and I, in turn, loaded in to the car and went to the pound. Turns out Henry, who was very handsome, had two holds on him, but Elvis had none. We requested to meet Elvis and waited almost a half an hour until they brought him to us.

Poor Elvis had, and still has, gashes on him from being shaved. He apparently was so severely matted that he needed to be shaved almost to the skin. He weighed only six pounds and should weigh 10. On top of it, he was terrified of us when we raised our hands to touch him. The girls and I gave Elvis his space for a little while, then decided we could use the doggie treats they left with us to get him to warm up to us. Turns out, we all warmed up to him. He really looked like he could use someone to love him and it turns out us girls have a lot of love to give!

I had some concerns about his age and discussed with the girls that the life expectancy for Elvis was only about 4 more years. I explained he wasn't our "lifelong family pet." I asked them if they were okay with that. The response from Paige was, "can't Elvis just have a nice last 4 years of his life?" I welled up with tears and said, "Yes, of course he can." It really didn't matter what he needed or what the rest of his story was then, he was already a part of the family!

Anyway, Elvis had several teeth extracted due to disease, he was neutered, he was gashed up from shaving and had an ear infection. Needless to say, we came home with 3 kinds of medicine and the medicine that only the heart has for Elvis.

Of course, we had to visit PETCO to get food, a leash, the necessities if you will, and brought our little old man home!

Turns out he's pretty sick, he vomits daily (more than once), but it's from all the medication he's on, but he has ALL of us wrapped around his scrawny little paw already. We love HIM and we are so happy to have him for however long he stays with us!

Elvis is going to the groomer tomorrow, so hopefully the next photo you see of him, he won't be so scraggly, but here's our new little man!

I'll be back to blogging more regularly soon. I PROMISE!

Family Photo Time

2009-11-28T16:55:00.001-05:00

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T18:01:00.001-05:00

More Than A Day

As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we're poor,
Feel like bums, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.

We have friends and family we love;
We have guidance from heaven above.
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We're wealthy, when push comes to shove.

So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you've got;
Realize it's a lot,
And you'll make all your cares go away.

By Karl Fuchs

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

2009-11-21T09:03:00.001-05:00

Paige is a fan of the saga, so we went last night to see the movie. I simply could not believe the lines or the amount of tweens and teens all in one location. Amazing! I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie Twilight, but did enjoy the books, so we gave it a shot. There was a smile on Paige’s face from ear to ear all day yesterday. She was so happy about seeing the movie on opening day, I thought she might pop! Turns out the movie was pretty good and we had a wonderful time.

Here’s a nice shot of the two of us on our way out from girls night out.

Paige cracks me up!

2009-11-13T18:03:00.000-05:00

Paige texted me today to tell me she was bored. Her comments are below:

Paige: I'm bored

Me: Me too!

Paige: What should I do?

Me: I don't know

Paige: Well you were a kid once. What did you do when you were bored?

Me: Cleaned house for my mom.

Paige: No you did not. You're just saying that so I'll do it.

Me: :-) Lots of Laughs!

Paige: I'm not as stupid as I look ya know (with following photo attached:)

She is such a hoot! She always makes me smile!

Decided to do it

2009-11-10T17:15:00.001-05:00

I’ve spent this evening working to start my own business as a photographer. Lets see, got a TAX ID number, check, made a blog, check, created a business start up flyer, check, built an online availability calendar, check….

Ut oh! Need customers, equipment, and a studio! No worries, I’m starting small and I’m not quitting my 9-5 job……….. yet!

Check out my BLOG and you’ll get the point! Wish me luck! Oh, and if you live in central Ohio please give out my info!

Time for new Kid photos!

2009-11-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

Today, I decided it was time for some new kid photos. It's been so long since I've posted anything new here I thought it might be good for you all to catch up on what everybody looks like now! Turns out they're so grown up and so freaking good looking! Here's the new photos from today!

Corey’s Wrestling Schedule

2009-11-07T16:29:00.001-05:00

Opponent	Date	Time	Location
Hilliard Memorial	12/2/09	5pm	Hilliard Memorial
QUAD	12/5/09	TBA	Dublin Davis
Hilliard Weaver	12/9/09	5pm	Hilliard Weaver
Hilliard Heritage	12/16/09	5pm	Jones Middle School
Walnut Springs Invitational	12/19/09	TBA	Walnut Springs
McCord/Perry	1/6/09	5pm	Jones Middle School
Dublin Sells	1/13/09	5pm	Dublin Sells
Big V Tournament	1/16/09	9:30am	Hilliard Memorial
McCord/Perry	1/20/09	5pm	Jones Middle School
Tri	1/25/09	5pm	Academy
Hastings	1/27/09	5pm	Hastings Middle School

Please join us for some wrestling action if you can!

Almost two months!

2009-11-07T16:19:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost two whole months since I've done anything here! Guess that speaks to just how busy we've been with 3 in sports! Fall sports are over now officially as of today. Corey will be wrestling this winter so hopefully we'll be a little less busy! Tons of photos taken this season, however I can't possibly imagine how long it might take to upload two months worth of photos, so here are some recent ones from sports and Halloween. Also, we have to show case Paige without her braces!

The team poster that Josie, I and a few other "photographers" compiled to make for Paige's volleyball team.

Samantha's team poster.

Samantha as Lady Gaga on Halloween.

Paige as a hippie on Halloween.

Corey as Corey on Halloween. (He's too old to dress up!)

And finally, Paige sans braces!

Samantha's Volleyball Schedule is finally here!

2009-09-18T09:08:00.001-04:00

All games will be at St. James the Less

Date	Time
9/19/09	12:30 pm
9/26/09	9:30 am
9/26/09	11:30 am
10/3/09	9:30 am
10/3/09	10:30 am
10/10/09	12:30 pm
10/17/09	8:30 am
10/17/09	10:30 am
10/24/09	8:30 am
10/24/09	9:30 am

Come see The Vikings play!

Overnight trip to the cabin

2009-09-05T20:43:00.000-04:00

Jack and I had full intentions of shutting down the cabin for the season yesterday, however I forgot the pool winterizing kit... Duh! Anyway, it was a nice evening spent together and since luck had it that we couldn't shut the cabin down, relatives wanted to use it today so it worked out perfectly!

I like the idea of shutting the cabin down in October anyway!

Here are some photos I'm proud of from our trip! Enjoy!

My Photo is indeed published at Schmap!

2009-09-02T23:17:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited!!! I just found out I'm a published photographer!

Check it out here!

I just also added a new widget to my blog where my Schmap Photo of Wrigley Field scrolls through! Hooray!

post signature

More Sports News!

2009-08-27T08:30:00.001-04:00

We just found out that Samantha has a round-robin scrimmage on Saturday at St. Brigid in Dublin from 8am - noon! I can't wait for an opportunity to see her play!

Last night was quite a whirlwind! I started out at 4:30pm waiting for someone to show up with the keys to the concession stand. At about 4:50pm, I was finally met by someone with no keys! Good thing this wasn't a large crowd because I can't imagine a line of hungry people waiting while there was no way to serve them food! Anyway, I worked the first half of the game at the concession stand then moved in to the gym to see Paige play in her scrimmage. At the end of the 7th grade game, it was back to the football field to see the end of Corey's scrimmage. While both teams lost the scrimmage, there is still good news! Corey made "Gold O"! So an explanation is in order, I'm sure! "Black O" is first string Offense, "Gold O" is second string Offense, and "White O" is third string Offense. Corey was on "White O" until his play in the scrimmage yesterday. So, he's moved up from 3rd string to 2nd string! All he needs, in my opinion, is a few more weeks and he could be one of the "Black O".

Paige managed to get significant playing time during her scrimmage, and made some great plays. I haven't yet figured out who the starters will be on the Volleyball team, but as soon as I know her position, I'll be sure to share it.

This is certainly a whirlwind, but it is a LOT of fun! I hope to have some photos soon to share with you!

Updates to the volleyball schedule

2009-08-26T15:31:00.000-04:00

I'm off to two scrimmages and working the concession stand, (not sure how I'm going to be in all those places at once) but I wanted to let you know there have been changes to Paige's volleyball game schedule. Click HERE to see.

Hope to be blogging some good news soon about wins!

It’s time for the long awaited…

2009-08-19T07:24:00.001-04:00

Volleyball game schedule! Paige’s volleyball schedule is out now and she is so very excited about the opportunity to play in games! I, on the other hand, need to figure out how this will work with Corey’s game schedule and also, Samantha’s schedule that I hope to get shortly! If you can make it to a game, please feel free to come by and root Paige on!

Date	Place	Opponent	Time
8/26/09	Home	Hastings (Scrimmage)	5:00 PM
8/31/09	Home	Walnut Springs (Westerville)	5:00 PM
9/2/09	Away	Hilliard Weaver	5:00 PM
9/8/09	Home	Newark Heritage	5:00 PM
9/9/09	Away	Dublin Grizzell	5:00 PM
9/14/09	Home	Hilliard Heritage	5:00 PM
9/16/09	Home	Blendon Middle	5:00 PM
9/17/09	Away	Jonathan Alder Jr. High	5:00 PM
9/21/09	Away	Dublin Karrer	5:00 PM
9/23/09	Away	Perry/McCord	5:00 PM
9/24/09	Home	Pickerington Lakeview	5:00 PM
9/28/09	Home	Worthingway	5:00 PM
9/30/09	Home	Worthington Kilbourne	5:00 PM
10/1/09	Home	Dublin Sells	5:00 PM
10/5/09	Away	Dublin Davis	5:00 PM
10/7/09	Away	Hastings	5:00 PM
10/8/09	Home	Jonathan Alder Jr. High	5:00 PM

Selfishly...

2009-08-15T01:28:00.000-04:00

I couldn't be more proud. Paige is a volleyball player... and Corey is wearing number 57 this year for football. (any Cleveland Browns fan knows the significants of this.... Clay Matthews!). Honestly, this is the time I've been waiting for... for my kids to be a part of a team and know what it means to work hard and to know that you have to do well in school to have this priveledge. I'm SO VERY PROUD!

Stranger on my own blog...

2009-08-04T21:46:00.002-04:00

I realize it has been over a week since my last time sharing with you! However, Paige, Corey and Samantha were away at camp and we spent the following weekend at the cabin. I chose some pictures I like to share here from our weekend.

The kids seemed to have a wonderful time at camp and really enjoyed the time at the cabin. As always, the weekend consisted of swimming, sleeping in, catching lightening bugs, badminton, and more sleeping in. Unfortunately, we came home to a warm refrigerator and freezer. Luckily, we have another in the basement so we didn't have to lose all of our food. The repairman will be by tomorrow to tell us if it is worth it to repair or if we need a new one.

Corey is back to football practice this week and Paige has volleyball tryouts next week. For some reason, Samantha's volleyball camp was cancelled this week, but I'm sure she'll be at it soon too. With all these sports going on, it seems summer ended too soon. I'm sure we'll manage some more good times before fall though. Enjoy!
We had a lovely mist on Friday morning and I couldn't resist this photo!We had so much rain we ended up with a pond! This photo is the reflection of the leaves in the new "pond"Couldn't resist this photo of Paige and Corey arm in arm driving the mower!I finally captured a sunrise! I was up at 5:30 to do it, but I finally did it!Probably isn't anything special to anyone else, but I just love this shot!Glow sticks at night!Paige with her glow sticks!A glowing Samantha!And of course Corey too!