First Snow of 2009

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. A little over and inch of snow and still falling, but it may as well have been a blizzard as far as the kids were concerned. We headed out shortly after breakfast and discovered snow that was perfect for snow balls, snow men, and even snow forts.


Patrick decided to test his boundaries with a couple of snow balls aimed at dear old dad. Owen was soon in on the mix with a sneak attack on Patrick!


Here's some video of the boys running around throwing snow balls while Kate admired the snow man.


I decided it was probably time to put the camera away and defend myself when all three of them took aim and fired snow balls my way. Even Kate managed to get one in the air.

From First Snow Fall

Welcome Baby Emily!

We (Beth and the kids) got together with my Mom and Dad this past weekend to celebrate Christmas a little early. My brother and his wife were expecting baby number 2 any time, and we decided to celebrate early to give them the flexibility to visit the new baby whenever he/she arrived. We joked that now they could haul out of town first thing Monday morning. Sunday evening that joke turned prophetic. Mike and Betty Ann were on their way to hospital around 9pm, and by 10:40, they had a new baby, and I had a new niece, Emily! Beth went a step further and surprised me with a quick trip to D.C. to visit my nephew and new niece.

Aidan was very eager to show off his new sister "Em-muhl'" to me. He was also quite the proud little brother holding his little sis.


I of course didn't waste too much time getting the chance to hold my little niece. I may have been a bit of a baby hog, but I was only there for a 1 day visit after all. :-)


I did however have to find some time to play with Aidan and learn all about his fascination with trains. So Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma all got their turns holding the newest addition to the clan.




First things first, I helped Aidan pick out an outfit for the day and got him dressed. He loved his bear shirt, so it was a quick choice:


From there, it was an afternoon of playing trains and racquetball with the robot claw.


While I was there, Mike and BA were happy to be able to put me to work helping bring the holidays to life. We got their TV mounted back on the wall, and then took an extended family trip to pick out a Christmas tree. Aidan and I walked around and supervised the selection process while Mike and BA picked out the perfect tree. A little living room rearranging and presto, the perfect tree was ready for Christmas decorating to begin...


I had a fantastic time visiting and it was wonderful to see my brand new niece. I look forward to visiting again soon, and I know that Beth and the kids are eager to get their hands on the newest member of the family.

Lots more pictures out on Picasa, so be sure to look around and see the great shots of the kiddos!

From Emily arrives

Halloween 2009 and Trunk or Treat!

Halloween is always fun and the kids had a ball getting their costumes together this year. Kate like the whole idea so much she had two costumes. Our little witch was wicked cute, but this costume was "too itchy" so it didn't last too long.


The "real" costumes were much preferred, largely cause the kids got to help pick them out themselves. Kate's little red riding hood was a hit, especially when she got to show it off to Grandma and Grandpa. Patrick and Owen have been huge fans of my old school GI Joe collection, so they were thrilled to find GI Joe costumes to pick from this year. Patrick picked Duke complete with rocket launchers on his arms. Owen was a fan of Storm Shadow, especially the criss-cross swords in his backpack.


After a few more pictures it was time to head out for a trunk or treat party with the neighborhood crew. Lot's of costumes and candy and good friends made for a quality evening out. Here's the whole crew posing for the mama-and-papa-razzi.


While we were there, Kate saw one of the adults dressed up as Elmo, which was great at fist, but very quickly changed when she remembered how much she hated big costumed characters. Clinging to Daddy's leg was the only way we could get her past that situation.


Hayrides and jousting were also big thrills for the whole gang. Oh and tons of candy of course. More pictures out on Picasa.

From Halloween 2009 and Trunk or Treat

October Fun

The month of October came around fast this year. The kids are growing up as fast as ever, and its fun watching them all play together now. Kate has everybody wrapped around her little finger. Her and Owen were rolling around rough housing and making silly faces and posing for Mommy. They are all my favorites, because they are just so sweet together. Here's one of the best...


Of course, as sweet as they can be, Owen is making sure Kate is fully educated on the science of sillyness. Cue silly faces:


Owen's also turning out to be quite the photographer, and his turn behind the camera turned out a couple of awesome shots of Mommy and her baby girl.


The boys are also in full swing on the soccer fields. I've been coaching Owen's team this year which has been a lot of fun, but hard work too! Patrick's team is doing great and they are actually in the top of their league. He's starting to catch on to defensive strategy and is becoming quite a fullback. Here's our two soccer studs and a couple of action shots to boot!



The boys though can always count on baby sis to be their biggest fan. And she can always count on having them wrapped around her finger. Like this shot with Patrick doting on his sissy.... More pictures as always out on Picasa.

Carmen Ohio closing out the Buckeyes vs. Badgers

After the game was over, it was impressive the number of people that stuck around in the stands for Carmen, Ohio. And after sticking around myself to see and hear it, I understand why. Awesome hearing that many people singing right along with the band, echoing throughout the stadium. I'm just glad it came out well on the video.

Script Ohio at the Buckeyes vs. Badgers

TBDBITL comes back up the field playing some of the Wisconsin fight song, and then transitions into Script Ohio. Harder to make out the letters, but with the scoreboard in the background, and being that close to the action, it didn't matter. I had chills the entire time. Sorry for the exuberant cheering, whistling, and random shots of too men giddy as kids in a candy store, but when you're in the moment, you're in the moment. :-)

Ramp Entrance Buckeyes vs. Badgers

Enjoy.

Buckeyes vs. Badgers

I got a call late Friday from my brother in law asking if we'd be interested in going to the Buckeye game if he had extra tickets. My lovely, smart, understanding, wonderful (did I mention understanding and wonderful?) wife said there was no way she could go, but she didn't have a problem with me going. Saturday morning comes and confirmation that there are 2 tickets available. Oddly, I had little trouble talking my buddy Jeff into coming with me. Fortunately his lovely bride is equally understanding! :-)

We made it up with plenty of time for some pre-game festivities. First things first we caught up with Jason and his dad for some tailgating. Here's the crew getting warmed up for the game.


With plenty of time we had a chance to catch up with Steve and Irene who were tailgating near the stadium. Always good to catch up with good friends, and its even better in such a fun atmosphere!


After watching the band head into the stadium, we made our way to our seats. All I can say is WOW. Section 13AA, row 3. Sitting about 20 feet from the pylon, close enough to practically touch the field. I have to admit that I felt like a kid in a candy store...an enormous candy store. Jeff and I were hooting and hollering like maniacs and loving every minute of it!


While the offense didn't make much of a showing, the defense and special teams were on their game. A win is a win, and the Buckeyes pulled it out. We had an awesome time at the game and I can't wait to go back again sometime. Check out Picasa for a ton more pictures.

Buckeyes vs. Badgers at Ohio Stadium

Videos of TBDBITL on YouTube shortly too!

What a spectacular weekend!

First up this weekend was our Tae Kwon Do testing. Patrick came in with lots of confidence, excited about moving up to his next belt. His confidence showed as he did his form. He was spot on and even did well in the sparring, getting in a nice combination. No pictures yet of Owen and even me doing our tests, but I'll add them to the site when I get a chance to pilfer them from my dad. A couple of videos out on Picasa, so be sure to click the pictures and links to see it all!


Owen had his own burst of confidence on Sunday, as he decided he was ready to try riding his bike without his training wheels. He gave it a go on his old elmo bike, and almost had it but decided it was too small. Off came the training wheels from his big bike and he was ready to go.


It didn't take Owen long at all to be cruising. The look on his face said it all: He was very proud of himself!


Not every ride was perfect, but I was in the right place when it counted. By the end of the night though, he had it down cold and was zooming around the circle with his neighborhood buds!


Kate had her own great day. Hard to believe, but even Kate is getting into the school swing. She starts pre-school and today was meet the teacher day. She was very excited to meet her teachers, especially so she could show off her puppy dog jeans and shirt outfit! :-) She hit it off right away with her teachers.


Kate and her teachers all seem excited about the coming year. It continues to amaze me how quickly all three of the kids grow up, but I sure am enjoying the ride!

From Spectacular Weekend

Birthday fun in C-bus

Back in May we loaded up and headed north to celebrate some birthdays. First stop was a kid favorite, although the jury may still be out from the adults. When you think of Chuckie Cheese, you think of birthday parties, so it was a great place to celebrate with Jake. He and Owen were quick to head to the front of the table to get close to the pizza and the cake...


Patrick and Grandma were witness to something that seems hard to believe....Kate chowing down on some pizza. Yes, the girl can definitely eat, she's just going and going and going ALL the time.


From there, the games and 'rides' took over. Kate got lots of Aunt Bri time, and Owen tried his hand at mini-pop-a-shot. The boys enjoyed the "monster truck"...


After Chuckie Cheese, it was back to Bri's house to celebrate a belated birthday for Kate. Fortunately, Kate will not have to worry about self esteem issues, since she got to be the perfect pretty little princess that gets her own Dora doll to dote on. Some baby dolls with hairbrushes and bottles, a princess dress, tiara, and even a tutu made for a great afternoon for the 'queen' for a day.


We had a great time watching the kids have fun!

Growing up fast!

Our friend Courtney has some great shots of the kids from some recent photo shoots. Kate was first with her two year old pictures. Can't believe my baby is 2 already! She's still no bigger than a minute, but with a smile like this she can still get anything and everything she wants...


Of course, her big brothers are not to be omitted. Fast as you can blink they're growing up as a couple of handsome young fellas. Seems not too long ago when this big sack of potatoes fit in my arms, but Patrick is not such a little dude any more. And yet again, with a sweet little smile, he's setting quite the example on how to charm friends and influence people!


Owen has not missed any of the charm tips either. While this sweet little face often has a devilish or impish little grin, he can still turn on the charm when he wants to! Here again, I can't believe he'll be climbing on a bus this fall. I picked him up this morning and asked him if he'd been eating bricks and he grinned and said "Yep, tons and tons of bricks!". What a ham....


Courtney's got a couple of sets on Flickr with more pictures. Just a couple of the boys since we just got done with those pics, but there's a ton of Kate since she's had a few weeks to work on them. Awesome stuff!
Patrick and Owen are here.
And Kate is here.

Backyard building project....

When we emerged from our winter hibernation, we discovered that our old playset had pretty much had it. Leaning waaayy to the right from the windstorms from last fall, boards starting to crack, and splinters all over... it was time for this hand me down to be down and out.

So a couple days before Easter, I posted an ad online to come and get it if somebody had the skill and time to turn our trash into their treasure. An hour later, I had more than 20 offers, and the next day the first responder showed up Saturday morning and carted it off in a couple hours. In the meantime, I headed over to Sam's and picked up 6 enormous boxes to start my adventure.

This week I sorted out all the hardware and got some good advice from friends that had been there themselves. Saturday morning, I was up bright and early, and spent a couple hours sorting and marking all the wood. By 9 on Saturday a couple of my great neighbors, Eric and Steve, had arrived and the construction project began. We had a few false starts here and there, but we actually had a great time working together on the project. By the afternoon, we were in the backyard making great progress, and even picked up some additional neighborly and friendly help from Srinath, Curt, Todd, Chris, and Scott. Many hands, and a few beers, truly make light work. But just as it seemed we knock it all out in a day, we discover a missing part that wasn't even on the main checklist. Grrrr... But still, 7 hours of work yielded a playset minus the swings. Kate and Owen had ball with the Tire Swing, and Patrick was up in the clubhouse. The neighborhood gang had some fun on it too...


Thanks to some very helpful folks at Sam's Club I soon had the missing parts for the Swing Beam. I was hoping for a good Sunday, but the weather report seemed to be against me. However, when we woke up, we had what appeared to be a brief window before the rain would move in. So Beth agreed to play the role of "adult helper" and we headed out to finish up the swing beam. Lo and behold it wasn't too long before Srinath and Todd noticed us back at it, and with their help we had everything all set and ready to play in no time. The kids have been outside with friends or on their own every minute today in between scattered showers, and with the nice roof on it, Patrick and Owen even held out in the clubhouse during a passing shower.

So, after a lot of hard work and lots of help from great friends, we've got a new playset that oughta give the kids years of fun. Holy cow, I practically sound like the crummy DVD that came with the set, but it really is cool. Best part, its sturdy enough even for me to climb up top and swing on the swings. God save me if I'd have tried that on the old set... :-)

Here's the finished product.

From Playset DIY

March Madness

March madness brought the Dayton Flyers an NCAA tournament bid, and they even managed to put a victory up in the first round. That had our Flyer Faithful household revved up for the games. Kate even got in on the action with her new cheerleaders outfit. If you check out the video, she's even got the "Goooo Dayton Flyers..." and "Go UD" cheer down pretty well.


Of course, the month of March also brought out a preview of spring, and the kids were quick to get outside and enjoy the weather. Kate, with a little help from her brothers, has decided that its time for her to use the big swing.


Patrick and Owen in the meantime have developed a new game to play with the playhouse. Here's them playing roofing repair. I guess the windstorm last year left a lasting impression on these young workers. :-)


Warm weather brings all the neighbors out too, and Kate loves having her friends over to play too!


No matter how you look at Beth and I are glad that the warm weather is coming back so our crazy little monkey's can get outside and play! A few more pics out on Picasa.