Where have the past 8 years gone?

Tuesday June 16th marked Jennie and I's 8 year wedding anniversary. We have known each other for a little over 11 years now and man has time has flown by. I am sure that 4 kids, 3 addresses and 2 states help with that but it seems like we were just dating not to long ago. We have been blessed during these first 8 years with a beautiful family, a good job, a nice home, good friends and no major issues, knock on wood.

What was suppose to be a big surprise filled day turned into a rather normal day. We had the carpets cleaned in the morning. Then took the kids out for lunch at McDonald's. Came back home put the little ones down for naps while we cleaned up a little. I then ran to Home Depot to pick up some mulch and stopped to pick Jennie's present up on the way home. She has been wanting a treadmill for quite some time now and I finally found a decent deal on one and picked it up for her. I think she was a little surprise but loved it at the same time.


What a geek.


Striking a pose.


The new treadmill just waiting to be used.

Now we just need to figure out where to put it. We then dropped the kids off at the grandparents and headed off to our surprise. I had the whole thing planned out and it would have been perfect if not for some high winds. Jennie had no idea what we were going to do and wouldn't have until we pulled up if I had it my way. I was going to surprise her with a hot air balloon ride over the Ohio countryside. But instead of floating over the trees we ended up spending 3 hours driving around. The launch site was an hour and a half away and five minutes before we get there they call me up and tell me we have to reschedule because it was going to be too windy where we were going. The weather was perfect on the ground but the higher up you go the windier it got. I was so pissed that they spoiled my perfect plan. I ended up telling Jennie what we were going to do and now we have to reschedule for a different day.


This is as close as we got to going up.

It will still be fun but not as good as I had planned. It would have been fun to see the look on her face as we pulled up to a huge balloon sitting in a field ready for take off. We ended up going shopping at the Super Wal Mart so it wasn't a total waste of time but not what I had planned at all. While it was nice to shop without any of the kids I would have much rather been sailing around in a balloon. We finished off the night with a trip to DQ and then went back and picked up the kids.

Now I will have to come up with something even better next year to make up for this debacle. It was still nice to spend a couple hours without the kids, as those are extremely rare, and here is to many, many, many more years together. I love you honey:)

Brooklyn : The Artist (A Year in Review)

I just thought that I would share a little of what Jennie and I got to see everyday. Brooklyn is quite the little artist and seems to love drawing and coloring. Every day when she came home from school there was at least one picture in her folder from the day. She is always drawing and coloring when around the house and not playing. It is amazing to see some of the stuff that she brings home. I know she didn't get that from me. Who knows, maybe instead of a superstar athlete she will be an artist. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have. These are from various times during her first grade year.


This is how Brooklyn sees mom......


and dad (looks just like me)........


and Maddux (notice the Wii in parenthesis; all Maddux thinks about)........


and Nolan..........


and Payton (Patin).

It is funny because she gave everyone green eyes except Payton who has blue. Payton is the only one who doesn't have green yet but it is amazing that she picked that up and colored our eyes the way they really are. It is amazing how smart these kids are and the things they pick up on.


Here is a family portrait (I must have been on vacation because I don't think I am in this picture).


This is one of my favorites. it is a Valentine's poem and says, "My dad is my favorite Valentine. He takes us out to dinner. He is going to take me to a dance. My dad loves me too."


A Valentine heart that says she loves mom and dad.


A picture of a lighthouse.


Some flowers in a pot.


Her very own Easter egg.


The circus that she went to.


An apple with a worm in it.

I hope to get some of these framed and hung up one day. There are so many others that I would like to post but some are just too big to scan. I may try to take a picture and post them that way but until then we hope that you enjoyed these. Maybe one day when she is a famous artist these first edition originals will be worth millions (we can always hope).

Play Ball!!

The season has finally started and we got to play our first two games this week. After having the first two games get rained out we finally played a couple of games and are unofficially 2 - 0. They don't keep score during Maddux's game but we have definitely scored more runs than the other team and our kids know it. They are very quick to tell me that they won. It has been a lot of fun so far and I have seen a lot of improvement over the last 2 months. We have actually played very well the first two games. We have made some great plays in the field and have been hitting very well. There are a couple of lapses where the kids are drifting off into their own world but for the most part they are done a very good job. I am looking forward to seeing how we play the rest of the season and continuing to watch the kids develop and grow their game. Maddux is having a lot of fun and has made some new friends in the process. We don't have many pictures from the game, as Jennie was struggling with the camera, but I did manage to get some good still shots of Maddux. Hopefully by the end of the season Jennie will have learned how to use the camera and we will get some good shots.


Maddux taking off right after connecting on a pitch. I believe this is the picture when he hit me with the line drive. We are not allowed to go after the ball with our glove and are left to try and get out of the way. Well my reactions aren't what they use to be and I couldn't get out of the way in time. I felt bad for Maddux because what would have been a double for sure turned into a single because the ball didn't go anywhere. He has the meanest swing, by far, of anyone on our time and of anyone that we have played against so far. He is one of the only kids that I throw overhand to because he hits that better than underhand. It seems the harder I throw it the better and further he hits it.


Yours truly pitching to the kids. The first inning of our first game I threw overhand and ended up striking out 3 of the first 4 batters. The next inning I went underhand and we hit through the order. It is kind of funny because I have always thrown overhand in practice and they hit fine but couldn't in the game. There are still two kids who can hit overhand but everyone else gets the underhand stuff.



I worked with Maddux on switching up and batting left handed today and he actually did quite well. He doesn't seem to have any problem with the stance or swinging just doesn't have the power or timing down quite yet. He had a couple decent hits today and we will keep working on it and hopefully turn him into a power hitting switch-hitter.


This is our best Bo Jackson impression. I couldn't get the stare out of him but a good picture none the less.


No problem with the stare here. Now I just need to get him to look like this when he comes to the plate. Try to intimidate the picture.


Tried to get him to do his best pitcher impression. Eyes just peeking above the glove.


Just hanging out happy to be playing ball.

We had picture day today so hopefully we will be getting Maddux's rookie cards hot of the press. They will be an extremely limited edition item and hopefully worth some money one day. I also hope to get some better action shots in the coming weeks, stay tuned.

A Weekend of Food, Fun, & Family

This past weekend was a blast as we had a lot of Jennie's family in town visiting her Grandmother. We had all her aunts and uncles from her dad's side and a couple cousins (Ken & Helen, Chuck & Suzie, Dan & Karolyn, Harvey & Kathy, and Michael & David). It is always a lot of fun when everyone gets together and can spend some time together. I know our kids, and I am sure all of them, love to hang out and play with those they don't get to see quite as often. Maddux still calls Harvey "Bee-trap" which is a name Harvey came up with 2 years ago on a visit to California. Everyone came in Friday and stayed until Monday making it a long but quick weekend. I know that the kids played extremely hard, as did some of the adults, and there was lots of good food all weekend long. The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I am sure that Grandma Elaine also enjoyed seeing all her kids and having them all together. It is just a shame that we can't get together more often. We are glad that everyone could make it and that everyone returned home safely. Here are some pictures from the weekend.


There was a lot of backyard baseball this weekend and was mostly the Uncles throwing to the kids. Here is Harvey pitching to Brooklyn.


Harvey again pitching. The best shot of the day was Chuck throwing to Maddux and Maddux hitting a line drive right back into Chuck's chest. I believe it left a mark as the reaction time isn't what it use to be.


Nolan drinking some bottle water. I just love the way he wraps his whole mouth around the drink and then turns it upside down. A word to the wise : don't ever let Nolan drink out of your drink unless you are done with it. Jennie learned that the hard way a long time ago. He tends to backwash and you will end up with floaties in your drink after he is done.


Nolan just hanging out watching the other kids play. These kids were so worn out at the end of the night. It was kind of nice because there was no fight when it came to bedtime.


There was a lot of corn hole with the adults and as much as I hate to admit it, Dan and Chuck cleaned up. I am not sure if they even were beat. The fact that Greg wasn't there gave everyone a chance.


We did celebrate Chuck's 60th birthday on Sunday with a little cake. He turned 60 a few weeks back but figured we would celebrate it since everyone was in town. Of course the kids had to help him blow out the candles.


There was also a talent show for the kids on Sunday and Nolan did somersaults. He really hasn't developed a talent yet, outside of eating, but has picked the somersault thing up. Like his brother Maddux he does the headstand during the somersault. He almost looks like one of those streets dancers who contorts their body all around.


He hasn't quite figured out how to stick the landing yet but we will work on that.


The swing is another favorite attraction at Grandma and Grandpa's. It does lead to an occasional fight but for the most part they are pretty good about taking turns. Nolan loves to climb all over it any way that he can. Payton has also become a very big fan of the swing in the last couple of months. One of these days I will have to get her on video in it.


Here is everyone watching the kids during the talent show. There will be a video of that later on.


Here is one of the cutest pictures of the weekend. Karolyn holding Cambrie who is sucking on Karolyn's arm.


Brooklyn smashing Harvey's pitch. I don't know how far the ball went but the trajectory looks good.


Not sure what Brooklyn is doing here but it looks like she is massaging her mouth.


Brooklyn and Kenzie watching Dan get Brynnley.


The adults also played hard as apparent by Dan taking a little nap. Not sure how he slept with all the noise from the kids but he does look comfortable.

As promised here is a little video from the talent show. I am not sure what happened but I missed the first verse of David's song. He sang the song from the Wedding Singer and did a very good job. Maddux then does some of his kata and a routine that Michael helped him with. Thank you again Michael for taking time to work with him a little bit. I know that he loved it and will be talking about that for some time. Brooklyn then does a hula-hoop routine followed by some jump rope. She is very good at the hula-hoop and as you will see in the video would probably still be going if Jennie wouldn't have told her to stop. She was crowned as the hula hooper of the month for her class a couple times during the year. I know she didn't get that from me. Then Maddux demonstrates a little of his self-defense with me as the victim and finally Nolan does his somersaults. I hope that the quality is ok and that you enjoy the video.

A day of lasts and a day of firsts.

Well Maddux's soccer season has finally come to an end and he had a lot of fun along the way. It also marked my Smurf soccer coaching debut. Maddux was playing the only team that has beaten them this year and they needed someone to help coach one of the teams on the field. I don't know if the end result has any indication of my coaching skills or not but we redeemed ourselves and won 14 - 6. Maddux scored 3 goals and had a lot fresher legs than last time. The last time they played this team was the night after Brooklyn's sleepover and he stayed up pretty late with them. He then had a karate tournament at 9:00 in the morning and soccer right after that. You could tell that he was a little tired and not his usual self. The other team had a very good player that Maddux just couldn't keep up with. Well this time was a different story and I am glad to say that Maddux held his own. It was a nice way to end the season and now Maddux can turn his attention towards the baseball season.


The kids love to bunch up and play right next to each other. A good coach has to spread his team out and get them ready to attack.


Maddux on the kickoff. Look at that leg extension; must be the karate.


The end of the game handshakes.

He just had his first game Tuesday night and I am happy to report that we are now 1 - 0. We killed the other team that we played and even though they don't actually keep score all the kids knew that they won. After the game every single one of them came up to me and told me that we scored more runs than them. The game started out a little slow as I struck out the side in the first inning. I am not sure if they were nervous because all the people around or what but after the first inning everything was fine. They play coaches pitch and you get five pitches or three swinging strikes. You either get three outs or bat through the entire lineup and then switch. Well we hit through the lineup twice and they didn't at all. We also had one inning where they only had 4 batters get up which is outstanding. They really played well last night and I think the season is going to be a lot of fun. I have already since a big progress in Maddux over the last month and a half. He is catching a lot better and has always been able to hit. We just need to work on his concentration during the games and paying attention to what is going on. Like his sister, he likes to drift off and look at the surroundings. I guess that is to be expected from a five year old but something that we will work on. Jennie forgot the camera so we don't have any pictures yet but we play again on Thursday and I will make sure there are some then.

Brooklyn's Field Day.

Well the last couple days of school for Brooklyn are upon us and that means a lot of end of year fun. Last Thursday each class had a cake-walk, with the parents volunteering to make cakes for the classes. They usually have about 6 - 8 cakes for each class. The kids have to pay 25 cents to play for a chance to win. Brooklyn was lucky enough to win on her 4th try making her two for two. She was so excited to win and this is what she picked out.


The presentation was great but the cupcakes were so-so. Of course Brooklyn had to pick the prettiest one and this was it. She had a lot of fun so I guess that is all that matters.

Then on Friday they have what is called Field Day. This is were the classes race against each other in various relays with one team winning the whole thing. I took the day off work so I could be one of the coaches. Maddux and I took Brooklyn lunch, Domino's Pizza was her request, and then we got to go outside and play with the kids during recess. Maddux loved every single minute of it and knew some of the kids from his karate class. It was good for him to get out there as there are not many kids around that are his age. He just got to run loose for 20 minutes and have the time of his life. I also must say that I enjoy going out there and playing. I am really just a big kid and it is funny to watch the other kids react to you playing. They all run up to me and have to tell me something, show me something, or come over to play with them. I may have even enjoyed myself more than Maddux. I have gotten to know some of the kids, because of my frequent visits for lunch, and they are a blast to play with.


Here is Maddux and Brooklyn swinging during recess. One of the few times that they were actually together.

Then we just hung out for 15 minutes and waited for the games to begin. We were team Navy Blue and had about 25 total kids of our team. There were 9 teams total which included kids from K - 6th grade. The weather was absolutely perfect and a great day to be outside. They would break the kids into grades and have them race against each other. There were sack races, races were you had to carry stuff, races were you put on super large clothes, and all sorts of others. Each grade got to race three different times so a total of 12 races total. It was so much fun to watch these kids try and do the various things. The kicker was that the coach had to be the last one to participate in each race so we were very active during the day. We ended up coming in third place and just couldn't catch those top teams. It was really a neat way to send the kids out and I know that they had a blast being outside with all their friends. Brooklyn and I will have to redeem ourselves next year and take over the throne. We will have the wild card in Maddux next year to help us.


Brooklyn with her class getting ready to compete. The kids were able to buy shirts with their school mascot and team colors on them to show their support. We didn't get the notice in time last year to get one so Brooklyn was very excited to get one this year.


Brooklyn with classmate, Ria, and Maddux waiting for their turn. They also gave each of the kids Popsicle's during the day which was perfect for the weather.


Brooklyn and coach with their matching shirts. We will get them next year.

Well Brooklyn officially has 1 1/2 days of school left but according to her all they are going to be doing is packing up and eating. I guess they really didn't do anything at all today and not much scheduled for the next two days. I know Wednesday is their last day and is a half day which will mostly be a class party. I think Brooklyn is ready for school to be out and the summer to be here. Not sure Jennie feels the same. Maddux can't wait to start school next year and hopefully he will make some friends his own age. It is crazy how fast time flies by. Before we know it they will be off to college and all grown up.

It only took 3 years.

Well it has taken three years but Jennie can finally park the van in the garage. I don't even think it has been parked in the garage since we got it. Between us remodeling the house and using it for storage last year and then us just being lazy over the last year, it has been full of junk. Well this weekend we finally cleaned it all out and threw a ton of crap away. My father built some shelves when he was here in May and we finally got everything organized and put away. Now if we can just keep it that way. Jennie figures if she leaves the van parked inside then it can't get too messy. We will see how it goes. Here is a before and after picture to show the difference.


Before : Notice the junk all over the place. It is amazing at how messy it was.


After : What a difference a day makes.

We still have a little way to go and once our shed is built in the backyard it will be even cleaner. We just need to find another excuse to get my dad back here so we can put him to work on that.