K and I went to Jacobs Field today. We saw the Indians beat Oakland 4-3 with a 3-run homer run in the seventh. I used the tickets from the snowed out Opening Day.
We celebrated B's birthday along my mom's and mother in law last Sunday. It was a beautiful day.

J was letting his cousin drive him around during the party.

We call Alpine Structure on Monday to let them know we are almost ready for the storage shed to be built. T and I put down a ton of rocks down. It also was the one of the hottest days of the year. We only could get one load of stones on Monday. We were going to wait to get more later, but Alpine called on Wednesday and said they could built it on Thursday. So we spent most of Wednesday getting and spreading more rocks. While K and I were at the game, they built the shed. It looks good. It is 10X14, plus a self for more storage. We should start moving thing in there tomorrow. I will add a picture of the shed before we paint it and after.

See you Down by the Bayou

Friday B turned 9. She had a couple of friends spend the night. I think they had a fun time. They swam at Nana's first then back to our house for a fire and play time. Nobody got much slept but they had fun.

Today we did not do much til late afternoon. T and I started and finished leveling the beams for the shed. I have failed to mention the shed we are putting in. We ordered it in May, but had to do the site prep ourselves. We rented a tiller to help turn over the dirt in the backyard. We ran out of good weather and time to get the shed installed before we left for vacation. We will call on Monday and set a date for them to assemble the shed. I will add pictures when it is done.

The other thing I failed to mention is the hail storm hit Mogadore on the last day of school. Both the car and van got hail damaged. We called state farm and told them not to hurry with our claim. Yesterday we went to a claim center and got a check for $3600 to repair the car. We are going to call about the van.

Tomorrow is the party for my mother in law. She turned 60 last week. It is actually my mother's birthday. We will have to get her a gift and have her over later next week.

See you next time, Down by the Bayou.

Planes waiting for a gate at Chicago.

Final Trip review.

Monday. We were awaken to a major thunderstorm. The kids did not wake up, but the adults did. Helen's rain gauge showed 5 inches fell overnight. Her stream in the back yard was flooded. There was flooding all over north Texas. We made it to 6 Flags shortly after opening and stayed until 10pm. It was a fun day. Everyone got to ride the rides they wanted to, except me. The parachute ride was closed due to high winds. I rode that ride with my cousin over 20 years ago.

Tuesday. Helen had a few errands to run before she leaves for Idaho, so we did some of our own. We had breakfast at Krispy Kreme before heading to the DFW National Cemetery. I still miss my uncle. Then it was off to the Dallas Cowboy Golf Course for the 3rd time. I finally got the right sized shirt with a logo. We made it back home for a late lunch then swimming at the splash area. The pools in Hertiage were closed due to the heavy rains on Monday. The kids went up to Lauren and Matthews, while we packed. It was a fun trip even if I did not get to see 2 baseball games or ride 'Chutes over Texas'.

Wednesday. We left Helen's house at 4:45am during another heavy t-storm. We saw a lighting strike hit a tree or a house about 100' from our car. It lite the night sky up like it was daytime. Our flight to Chicago was on time. It was bumpy for the first 40 minutes. When we landed in Chicago we had to wait on the tarmac for 75 minutes. United's computers shut down while we were flying to Chicago. We finally went to a gate and then bought lunch. The flight to PIT was delayed, but not too long. We landed in PIT, got our luggage, went to the parking place and headed home. We made it to the parade for Briley. On the way home from the parade we picked up a pizza,ate, and then crashed.

I will catch everyone up on things that happened since we got back.

Til then---See you Down by the Bayou!

Friday: We left for San Angelo in the late morning. We stopped for DQ for lunch. It rained for most of the drive towards Abilene. The gates opened at Foster Field at 6pm for the game between the Colts and the Laredo Broncos. I met up with Ken Franz and Frank (the voice of the Colts). Ken was able to talk me into being a human bowling ball for a between inning promotion. I would post pictures of me in the steel "bowling ball" but thankfully T did not take a good picture. B was in the "Dress like a Colt" promotion sponsored by John and Patti Ballard. K was a base sweeper later in the game. Then the lighting and rain hit the area. The game was called after 4.5 innings and the Colts won.
Saturday: We drove around the San Angelo area, hitting the local movie theatre to see Shrek the Third. The kids also did some swimming before we headed to Foster Field. However, the storm last night made the field unplayable. I was very upset that I would not get to see my Colts play. We ended up going to Zenter's for dinner. They have steaks that are out of this world. I ordered a huge t-bone well worth the price.
Sunday: We drove back to Ft. Worth. We ate at Sonic for lunch. In the evening We had a Father's Day gathering at Aunt Helen's. Marc and Amy came over with Anna. Wes and family come down as well. It was good to spend time with Marc and Wes. Wes had to work while we were visiting and I did not get to visit with him much. There was some "Ladder golf" (aka Hillbilly horseshoe) played, with the Bracken father daughter combo lost to the Carr team.

I will finish the trip review tomorrow.

We arrived back from Texas today. I will recap the rest of the trip tomorrow. Here are a couple of pictures from the trip.

B took part in the "Dress like a Colt" on field promotion sponsored by John and Patti Ballard.

This is what the Jeep said as we pulled into the gas station near Aunt Helen's house.

This is bridge to the Tot Lot. The flood water from the 5 inches of rain knocked down the metal guard rails on the bridge.

K and his cousin Matthew show off their cowboy hats.

Maybe it was my kids that caused the United computer failure. They visited the cockpit before our flight from DFW to ORD. The captain loved K's cowboy hat.

Trip Update.

Tuesday. We had an uneventful drive to PIT. It is only 80 miles via Rte 30 to the airport. Our flight to Chicago left and arrived on time. We eat lunch in the airport while we waited for our flight to DFW. We arrived a tad late due to afternoon t-storm we had to dodge on the way into DFW. Aunt Helen had BBQ waiting for us when we arrived. Kelly and the kids greeted us as we pulled into the driveway.

Wednesday. Today was Briley's picture day. We drove to the Texan and spent an hour taking her picture at various locations. I saw Lou Holtz walking to a meeting while we were getting set for our first pictures. Helen meet us at Grapevine Mills for lunch. She and T took the girls shopping for the rest of the afternoon. I took the boys back to Lankford Trail. After the ladies returned, everyone went swimming. So far it has been a smooth trip.

Thursday. We drove to Gainsville, TX and visited the Frank Buck Zoo. It is a small zoo north of Ft. Worth. The kids got to feed a giraffe. We sent about an hour there looking at all the animals. We had a picnic in the park at the zoo. After lunch, we rode the train around the park. The kids loved it. We return back to Ft. Worth. I had to go return a shirt I bought yesterday at the Cowboys Golf Club. T and J went with me. J fell asleep on the return to home. Currently, the kids are with Helen at the pool. I will sign off and join them.

I will update everyone when we return from San Angelo.

--Bayou

Saturday was the last day for teachers. I don't think I will miss my temporary room. I left early to go to Kent's last t-ball game. He played catcher. He looked like he knew what he was doing behind the plate. After the game, Alex Ross watched the kids while I went to Mr. Byer's house for a cookout. It was a fun time, but very sunny. Teresa got sent home early and we all went back for a campfire. We bought stuff for s'mores. I thought it was a good time. I hope Terry and Linda did as well.
Today was a fundraiser at the Aeros game. We had 11 people working and we needed everyone. It was busy from the time the gates opened until we closed in the 8th inning. I am not sure how much $$$ we made, but alot more than last time. We have another night for July 9 at the same stand. When I got home I cut up the branch dad cut down earlier this week and mowed.

That is all for now,

Bayou

Today was the day all teachers live for-----------LAST DAY FOR STUDENTS!!!!!!!!! T brought the kids up to Mogadore for lunch. She helped me move my stuff into my new room. We made about 5 trips before we let B and K to see my room. During the 6 trip, a major storm hit Mogadore. There was a tornado warning, complete with a siren, and golf ball sized hail. Yes, the Saturn received hail damage again. It looks like the van was spared. I have to go in tomorrow for teacher in service, but I will leave early for Kent's game at 11:00am. He is going to be the catcher. I am sure he cant wait. He was suppose to play a game tonight but the weather cancelled it.
I still haven't made up my mind about the wrestling job. It is a major pay cut, almost 40%. I think the best thing to do is let Vinny take over as head coach and his pay would go from 11% to 10%. I will waffle on this for awhile. I haven't sign the contract yet. I will talk thing over with Vinnie after I get back from Texas.
I haven't forgotten about the Cavs. The truth is, I don't really like the NBA at all. I miss the days of Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Craig Ehlo, and Ron Harper. I am happy that a local kid is leading the Cavs to the Finals. I think they are one player away from winning it all. However, LeBron could take over this series and bring the first championship to Cleveland since 1964.
If you have nothing better to do and want to listen to the San Angelo Colts, go to sanangelocolts.com and follow the links. I have been following them almost nightly. They have a 23 year old announcer who is pretty darn good. If you listen, you might here my name. They have nightly trivia and most night I get it right and Frank says my name. I haven't won game tickets yet, but I think living in Ohio might have something to do with it.

See you Down by the Bayou!

I went to Columbus for the state track meet. I met up with Jerry, Kevin and Charlie Somerville. I arrive to see the D1 state record in the shot fall. The new record is a half foot short of 70' There were plenty of state records set this weekend. We stayed at the Hampton Inn about 10 miles from Ohio State.
Mogadore held its graduation on Sunday. I don't know how MHS can have 55 graduates and take 2 hours to graduate them. It is a nice service, but it could be shorter. I think they are making changes for next year.
I played golf tonight. I will blame the weather for the bad round.

Til next time, Bayou