First off, Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays! K and I root for the Rays (when they are not playing Cleveland). We saw a game in Tropicana Field in 2006 before our cruise. We were one of the first groups to visit the touch tank full of cow-nosed rays. I took both K and B to see the Rays play the Indians this season. The tribe sweep all 4 games in Cleveland this year.

I did not write anything about the way the Cowboys played last week in Arizona and I will not write anything about how they played yesterday. Hopefully, it was a case of playing on the road and some good home cooking will turn things around this week.

I went down to Atwood and helped move and load the Buss's camper and boat. It was a beautiful weekend. We could have camped this weekend. A nice big campfire would have kept us warm.

B spent the weekend at my in-laws. T and the kids went up there yesterday while I was at the lake. It sounds like they had a good time.

Saturday afternoon and evening we visited with the Moore's. We watched the Buckeye's spank the Spartans. The entire team looked good. I hope they look that good against PSU next Saturday night. If they win that game, they will have the inside track to the Big Ten title again this year.

The Mogadore Wildcats have locked up a home playoff game again this year. The Cats have made the playoffs every year I have been teaching. I think they have had home playoff game 8 of those 10 years and have won 9 of those games.

It looks good for golfing today. That is, if Jarret feels well. He might have an ear infection. He was up a couple of times last night. He finally total T that his ear hurt. He has a dr. appt. this afternoon. If he is not feeling good then I would need to stay home with him while T takes B to baton.

Go Rays!

--Bayou

T is starting to work more as a sub. Friday she worked all day in the Jackson District after 2 days at Mogadore. She will be at Mogadore all next week. I hope this will turn into a full-time job next year. She will be added as a sub for Perry next week.

Dad and I closed the camper yesterday and took the boat out of the water. We could have gone camping this weekend. It is a great fall camping weekend again. I will head to Atwood tomorrow and help the Buss's closed their camper and take their boat out of the water.

Mogadore rolled to 9-0 last night with a win over Waterloo 35-6. They will go for 10-0 next week against East Canton. SkyFox made their annual appearance at the game. When we watched the highlights on Fox 8, K and some kids he was playing with were on TV. He thought it was really cool.
This link might work http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7672698&version=1&locale=EN-US

GO Buckeyes!

--Bayou

ACORN strikes again...

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/14/mickey-mouse-tries-register-vote/

I just want to see someone come in and try to vote as Mickey Mouse.

This past weekend was fabulous. We went to Atwood for the weekend. It most likely was the last weekend to camp. Dad and I will tear things down this Friday. I really can't say more about the weekend other than near perfect. It will be a long 6 months until we can camp again.

It looks like T's time at the hospital is going to come to an end. She is on 3 sub list for local schools. I would like for her to work at least 2 days a week at the schools. Mogadore wants her for the next couple of days to train her, that is if one of the other schools doesn't call her in. I think she will continue to work every other Saturday through the end of the year and then decide what she wants to do about working there.

I play golf last night. I shot a 46, but no great shots to write about. I can still golf two more weeks, if the weather holds out.

The Bayou Steelers are 6-0 in MNFFL play.

Mogadore is 7-0 and has locked up a playoff spot. If they win this week, they should have a home playoff game.

Here is an article from the Canton Repository and their endorsement of Kirk Schuring for the 16th Congressional District.

http://cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=434437&Category=3&fromSearch=yes&subCategoryID=37

It does mention his opponent has moved into the district so he can run for this seat. I have heard he did not buy the house, but is renting it. I guess if he loses he can return to his "other" house in the Youngstown area. I don't believe we need a carpetbagger for the 16th District. He is just using the same talking points as other Democrats running for office. I hope it doesn't work and a native son will represent the 16th District.

Turn next time,

--Bayou out!

I think everyone knows I lean more right than left, even though I belong to one of the largest unions in the United States. However, I believe the Democratic nominee is the wrong choice for America. In my mind, he is not qualified to be President. Here are a couple of articles about ACORN and what they are doing to get him elected. It is sad that this group has to break the law to get their candidate elected. I guess Senator Obama can't win this election on his own merit, so he needs people to break the law to help him win.

http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=76355CF4F6DB1CAFBE25F970E3FB9294?contentId=7599386&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/07/acorn-vegas-office-raided-voter-fraud-investigation/

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/09/judge-orders-ohio-elections-chief-verify-voters/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/09/acorn.fraud.claims/index.html

I will post more articles on other topics later, including ones about the race for the 16th Congressional district in Ohio.

-Bayou for President

If you take away Wednesday, this has been another beautiful week in Ohio and it doesn't look like it will change any time soon. The 70s will be here through Monday.

The kids have been enjoying the outdoors after school. There friends come over and they play for hours. It is better than them watching TV after school.

The Mogadore golf team headed off to Columbus yesterday. Who said Mogadore is just football? This is the third straight year the team has earned the right to golf at the state meet.

Speaking of the football team, they head to Windham tonight and should beat them. The Cats are currently #1 in Region 21 at 7-0.

Go Cats! Go Panthers! Go Flashes! Go Buckeyes! Go Cowboys! Go Browns! Go Rays!

First, here are a couple of pictures.

This one was taken the Sunday the leftovers from Hurricane Ike hit NE Ohio. The kids played in the yard all day. It was about 85 degrees with 60 mph winds.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080914_036.jpg
Here is a picture of B. She marched in 20+ parades this year.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080927_023.jpg
Here is one last shot of me and K at an Indians game. This is the game we both got a ball during batting practice.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080917_064.jpg

We went down to Atwood for Fall Festival. The campground was packed. There were people camping in place they don't normally let people camp. It was must of the same as the last few years. This year B and K wanted to go on the haunting hayride. So, I was elected to ride with them. It was not too scary. They had fun.
Saturday. We had to leave early. I shot my 4th wedding of the year. It went well.
Sunday. B went with another family to her parade. The rest of us enjoyed the car show. The model airplane airshow. We watched the airshow from the lake. It might have been our last boat ride of the year. We had a late lunch or early dinner and then a couple of games of corn hole. But, it was finally time to leave and pick up B. We are hoping to head to the camper again this weekend. We need to start packing things up.
I golfed a 44 tonight. The shot of the night was a 60 foot putt for birdie on the par 3 #2. We will try to golf again next Monday as long as the weather is good.

Just a quick post today. I shot a 41 last night in part to a good night putting the golf ball. I parred 4 holes on the night and shot bogey golf on the other 5. I hit the ball well with all clubs. Thankfully, this round of golf will not follow me over to next season, so my handicap will remain high for the start next season.

Another weekend, another trip to Atwood. The weather was not as good as last weekend, but nothing fell out of the sky while we were camping. It was trick or treat weekend at the campground and the whole family made it down to the camper. But, before trick or treat, B marched in the Sugarcreek Swiss Festival. Thankfully, they were #15 and were done before the last unit left the staging area. We made it back to the campground in time to change and start trick or treating at 4.
Sunday's weather was overcast and cooler, low 60s. But, still no rain. The family took a long boat ride to the East Marina to look at a pontoon boat. It is an older, 28 foot pontoon boat. It looks really good for its age. The seller seems to be asking a bit much for a 30 year old boat with a 30 year old motor and no trailer. We may give them a price we are willing to pay. We will see.
We had dinner at Olive Garden for T's birthday. Her parents meet us there. After dinner, we all went to welcome B home. She had a bus trip to Geneva for the Grape Festival. She has marched in all but one parade Carol Koontz Baton troupe has entered. She is suppose to march at the Wolleybear (sp?) Festival next weekend, but it is Fall Festival at Atwood. We will see.
Tonight is golf Monday. I can golf on Mondays through October. I hope to play each Monday til then.

Til next post,

Bayou

I went to dinner with a friend I meet while working at SDMI. He was my contact at a paper mill in Mississippi. He was interviewing with a company in Mt. Vernon. He is not sure he would take the job. I drove to Lexington, Ohio and we had dinner at a sports bar. The 3 hours passed by quickly. I hope it is not another 10 years til I see him again. But, until then, email works.

Today was day 10 of the perfect weather in Ohio. We have not had rain since before Ike hit us last Sunday. There is only a 30% chance of rain this weekend, then even some good weather forecast into next week.

--Bayou

The regular season for golf ended last week, but I can play through the end of August. I played last night and shot a 45. The score was the best round of golf since I returned from the cruise. It also included my second EAGLE of the year! I hit a monster drive on the par 5 #3 at the Sanctuary. I followed that shot with a beautiful 7 iron, 8 feet from the pin. I made the putt for eagle!
The good weather is still hanging around NE Ohio. It looks like another wonderful week. Of course, that means I will need to mow my grass this week.

The Bayou Steelers are all alone in first place of the MNFFL. We are in quest of our 4th MNFFL Super Bowl championship.

--Bayou

What a weekend. It was a perfect Atwood weekend. The weather was great. It was sunny and mid-70's. We went for bike rides, walks, boat rides, played corn hole and just had a great time.

Today, B had a parade in Louisville. T replaced one of the marching moms. She said her legs are a little bit sore. K and I went to Progressive Field for the last home game of the season. The Indians won and both of us strolled the bases after the game.

I will try to post some pictures soon.

--Bayou

Quick blog tonight. I went to the Indians game with K tonight. We sat in section 103 row C, right center field. Both K and I caught batting practice baseballs tonight. K received one courtesy of a Twins player and I caught mine on-the-fly off the bat of Justin Morneau. Yes, we both brought our gloves and I am glad we did. I would not have caught the ball from JM with my bare hands. This baseball marks the first baseball I have ever caught or fielded at a baseball game. I have come close a few times in the past, but this is the first one I got to take home with me. I will post pics later. Oh, by the way, the Indians won, 6-4.

Bayou is off to bed.

Happy Birthday to my brother.

Football recap:
Mogadore beat Rootstown to go to 4-0 on the season.
Ohio State lost big time to USC.
Cleveland lost again to the Steelers.
Kent State beat a D-1AA team.
Akron lost---that always makes my day.
The Cowboys beat the Eagles last night.
And the Bayou Steelers have won their first two games of the MNFFL season.

Bayou, DDS struck again last Thursday. K has lost 7 teeth since April 27th. He really does look like a jack-o-latern.

Again, there is no need to write about my golf game this week.

I saw Sarah Palin's plane as it was landing at CAK yesterday. She was in Perry Twp for a fundraiser. I am sure the GOP ticket will be in Ohio more and more as the weeks roll on.

T should get approved to start he new job tonight. I am not sure when they will first call her to sub, but it will be sooner than the hospital will call.

--Bayou

SNOW DAY!!!!! well not really, but leftovers from Hurricane Ike hit NE Ohio and caused many, not mine, schools to close today due to damage or no power. My kids are going to enjoy their first snow day today, while I am at school. T is going to love having them home all day today.

I will get to football in a later post. There is not much to write about anyways,

--Bayou

Did you forget? I have not and hope you haven't either. The fire station down the street from my house has their huge American flag flying from the ladder truck. It is a beautiful reminder to everyone what happened 7 years ago today. Here is my blog for last year, scroll down and read my entry from Sept 11.
http://bayousteelers.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html
Here is another link you need to read.
http://www.webloggin.com/william-r-ruth-remembering-the-victims-of-911-by-big-dog/
I hope you take time to remember those who lost their life in the attacks. Say a prayer for their families who have spent the last seven years without loved ones. I remember watching TV at my parents house after school that day. It was just something we needed to do. We needed to be together and comfort each other. I hope we never have anything close to those attacks again, but I am sure people said that after Pearl Harbor.
Here is a link about the Pentagon Memorial. It is being dedicated today. It looks beautiful and I can't wait to visit it and pay my respects to the victims.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/11/pentagon.memorial/index.html
Now, I do not get political in my blog, because if you know me, then you know I will be voting the McCain/Palin ticket. I believe Senator McCain wants to keep the military strong and prevent any future attacks against the United States. I believe he is the right candidate to lead our military for the next 4 or 8 years.

God Bless you,your family, and God Bless America

-Bayou

Weekend recap---We did not go to a football game Friday night. But, Mogadore, Massillon and Perry won.

Saturday. I took Kent up to Mogadore for the JV game against Norton. Mogadore won. It might be the only JV game I will see this year. T and I went to my 20th high school reunion. I had a good time visiting with some of my classmates. It would have been nice to see some other friends there, but with them living out of state I know it is hard to travel back to Ohio for a weekend. It was a good time none the less. In football action, the Bobcats of Ohio U gave the Buckeyes a scare. I think the Bucks had a case of "looking ahead to next week's opponent".

Sunday. Sue and Rick from Vienna stopped by to pick up some of their stuff from the cruise. We took a bag of stuff from them in our van, since they were flying back to Ohio after the cruise. We made plans to visit them next month to share more cruise pictures and videos. Then it was football time. Jeff came over and watched the Steelers beat Houston and then Dallas beat Cleveland.

Today is J's first day of pre-school. It is hard to believe he is big enough to go to school already. Last night he was excited about going to school, I just hope it is that way when T drops him off.

I will post MNFFL game results tomorrow.

Ok, back to the cruise...

Day 5---Grand Cayman.
We ate breakfast in the Windjammer. We needed to be on shore for our excursion by 10:30am. We tendered ashore in plenty of time. The Pirate Ship excursion was neat and the kids had a wonderful time. You get a good idea how big cruise ship are when you sail by them in a smaller craft. The pirate ship we were on was 3/4 the original size of Christopher Columbus's ships. After the pirates gave the kids the Pirate's oath and made them clean the deck, we were able to swim. Everyone (me, T, B, K, J and my cousin's boy, M), but my mom, went for a swim. Most of us walked the plank for a 6-8 foot jump into the water, while me and M jumped from the top rail of the ship 15-18 feet above the water.
Once we returned to shore, we did some shopping before return to Mariner. Tonight was the second formal night. I broke out my Dallas Cowboy bow tie. I received it as a gift from my aunt and uncle before my wedding. I figured since my aunt was on the cruise, it was a good time to wear it.

Day 6---Cozumel, Mexico
This was our first time to Cozumel. I was not sure if I would like it or not. Boy, was I surprised. It was much better than I ever thought. It was beautiful. The local taxi driver said the hurricane a few years ago wiped out much of the "eye sores" of Cozumel. Us and the Westcarrs spent the day at Paradise Beach. The kids had fun using all the water toys, snorkeling gear, kayak, bungee trampoline and floating mats. We did some shopping in the port area. We found the prices there to be some of the lowest on the trip. Dinner tonight was lobster. I think they were better on Mariner than Enchantment, but that is just my opinion. Briley watched the kids tonight after kid's club. T and I went to the Quest and as they say--what happens at the Quest--stays at the Quest. All I will say, if you sail Royal Caribbean, go to the Quest.
B did a good job watching the kids in our room. She is getting so big. It wont be long now, til she is babysitting. My little girl is growing up way too fast.

Day 7--At sea
We tried to pack in everything we wanted to do before the last day on the last day. It was nice to go for a swim. We meet up with the Lyons and Millers. We took pictures and packed:(
It was a wonderful trip. We counted down the day from 400+ to this cruise and now I have cruise withdraw. We chatted with so many people on cruisecritic.com on a daily basis, I miss it. We are looking forward to our next cruise. We hope to be on Freedom of the Seas in July 2010 cruise to the eastern side of the Caribbean. I will be letting everyone know dates on cost later because it was a blast cruise with friends and family!

The drive home was quick and painless. We did overnight at Missy and Tim's. It is great having them live half way between our house and the port.

There you have it, our "can't wait til '08" cruise review. Now, you just need to see the 700+ pictures and the hours of video we took on the trip...Lucky you!

I'm sorry I have not finished the cruise review. I will finish it soon. Here is a review from one of the people T and I met on the cruise http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=46038

Mogadore beat Holy Trinity Catholic 52-31 Friday night. HTC is from Canada and played very well against the Cats. The Cats are now 2-0 on the season.

This was the weekend for out annual Labor Day Baseball trip. This year we travelled to Cincinnati and watched the Reds beat the SF Giants 9-3. After the game, we (Jared, Erin, T and I ) went to King's Island. T and I went there 15 years ago on our first ever baseball road trip. It was only $15 for twilight admission. We went on a handful of rides in the 5 hours we were in the park. The groups favorite ride was the Drop Tower:

Drop Tower
Feel your heart drop when you plunge 26 stories from a height of 315 feet straight down at speeds of over 61 mph on the tallest Gyro Drop in the World!--from Kings Island website.

Congratulations to Cliff Lee of the Indians on winning his 20th game of the season last night.

The MNFFL draft was held last night. This is the 9th year for the league. I will try to keep you posted on the the Bayou Steelers as they try for their 4th MNFFL title.

Day Four----Ocho Rios, Jamaica

We had a nice proper sit down breakfast in the main dinning room. I like the sit down breakfast better than the push-pull-trip-and-shove buffet breakfast.

Two years ago, we spent the day at Margaritaville and we would do it again this year. It would be nice to see Jamaica, but the kids love the freshwater pool and slide. We also did some shopping. B got her hair braided. She looked so cute. J even had one braid put in.

We made it back to the ship in time to play some putt-putt golf before dinner.

Tonight we saw the ice-show. It was amazing what the skaters could do on such a small rink. Before we went to the ice show, J and K were in a Pirate's parade. They both looked the part. I beat they will be pirates for Halloween again this year.

We pass the Freedom of the Seas late at night. It was sailing from Grand Cayman to Ocho Rios as we were sailing to GC. It was too dark to take a picture. I have a feeling FOTS will be the next ship we sail on in 2010.

Next Stop: Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Day Two--Sea Day

This morning was the Meet and Mingle for the "Hurricane Dodgers". That was our cruisecritic.com nickname. We had over 40 people meet in one of the bars. RC gave out some prizes. The fun came after the RC people left and we had time to meet the people we had been talking to for the last year.
The 6-9 year old kids club had a circus parade toady. K was a magician and he made his asst. disappear. It was cute. T went to a wine tasting seminar. B and J went for a quick swim before getting ready for the first formal night. The boys (me included) dressed in tuxedos for both formal nights. The girls looked lovely in their dresses.

Day Three--Ladabee, Haiti

Ladabee is RC private Island. B went ashore early with my aunt to play in the water park. The rest of us made it ashore to watch B in the park. We swam for an hour or so and had some lunch. I did some photography around the island while the kids went to kids club.

T and I had dinner with Craig and Martha at Chops. It was nice to have a kids free dinner. B watched J in our room. He fell asleep at dinner. This was the first time we let her watch her brother. She ended up calling us twice, but we were happy with her babysitting J.

I will keep adding more about the trip so check day in a day or two.

My first teacher day was last Friday. I have another one tomorrow. Kids will arrive on Tuesday.

We went to Atwood today. We went down just for the day. The kids swam at Boater's Beach. I was glad to be back at the lake. It has been about 6 weeks since we were there. We will be back down there in a couple of weeks. There are only a few camping weekend left.

Some score from Friday night:

Mogadore 27-7 over Mineral Ridge
Perry 48-14 over Barberton
Massillon 48-24 over Butchel

We had a small delay getting onto the ship. B was staying with my mom and my mom was on her way from Orlando. RC would not let B board until the adult in her room checked in. I finally talked to the Pier Coordinator and B received her Seapass card. We boarded about 12:30. The Ocean Adventure crew greeted us as soon as we stepped on to the ship. B, K and J all signed up for kids club. After they signed up, we headed to Windjammer for lunch. During this time I was talking to my mom to see when they would arrive. My aunt from Texas was going to surprise my mom by cruising with us. She booked the trip in January and only I knew about it. I am a great secret keeper. Once my mom arrived, she headed to the WJ for lunch. I waited in our room for my aunt who was checking in at the pier. I finally met up with my aunt and my cousin's 2 kids and took them to WJ. My mom was on the phone with Kerri. Mom could not believe what she was seeing! She was almost in shock! After a quick bite for the Texas travellers, it was off to see Dawn. It took a second to sink in, but she realized who was knocking at her door. You should see the video. I might have to put it on youtube.

The sail away party was fun. We were on the pool deck with Craig and family. We had some time before dinner so we explored the ship.

Dinner was good. The Texas travellers had their own table tonight, but it was changed for the rest of the cruise. The kids checked out kid club.

Bayou, DDS was put into action. I pulled one of M's (my cousin's son) front teeth. Not, to be outdone, my mom pulled the other one. The "cruithfairy" left 5 dollars for him.

We did see some of the "Hurricane Dodger" on board. We all were wearing our bright teal blue t-shirts. It was fun meeting people we talked to on-line for the last year. If you are going to cruise anytime, check out cruisecritic.com. It has all the answers for cruisers. There is a section for meeting other cruisers that will be on your ship.

Day One ended and we all fell asleep in our very comfortable beds. More tomorrow.

--Bayou Cruiser

The kids are off to school. I will be off to MHS shortly as well. I am going up to drop off stuff for my classroom. My first teacher day is Friday and I will have students on Tuesday.

Pre-cruise drive to Florida. We left on Thursday, August 7 at 10am and arrived in Fort Mill, SC about 7pm. We took our time and ran into some traffic. Missy's girls were happy to see the kids. We visited the rest of the night with them. On Friday (08/08/08) were did some swimming in the neighborhood pool. B loved the 2 water slides. After dinner, Tim and I went golfing at Carolina Lakes CC. It was a challenge to golf with someone else's clubs on a course I have never played. It is a tough course, but we had fun. We spent the night playing Rock Band all night long. We were up early on Saturday morning for the drive to Port Canaveral. It was about a nine hour drive due to a couple of traffic tie-ups. The Radisson at the Port is a beautiful resort. The kids loved the pool and the food was delicious. We meet up with Craig and Martha. They arrived about 10 minutes before us. After dinner, we did see Sue and Rick. We had driven a bag of theirs down because they flew down.
I was up at 6am on Sunday morning ready for the cruise. I wanted to go out to the beach and see the ship come in, but they were already in port. The Mariner of the Seas made the other two ships (Disney Wonder and Carnival Sensation) look so small. We had breakfast at the hotel and then it was hang out until 11:30 to get the shuttle to the port. We waited with Sue and Rick. Craig was on the 12:00 noon shuttle. Finally, our names were called and we boarded the bus for the short ride to the port.

Next entry will be the first couple of days aboard Mariner of the Seas.

Here are a couple of pictures from the cruise

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/08cruise_350.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/08cruise_537.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/08cruise_551.jpg

I will start writing about the trip later today or tomorrow when the kids are in school.

Bayou has reutrned, but is way too tired to blog about our 7 night cruise. Please check back in the next few days to read about our vacation.

Bayou has left the building.

Bayou has left the building.

It has been a couple of days since my last post. I was busy Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon with weddings. The weddings went well and the pictures turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Sunday we were invited to Lake Mohawk with the Poormans. We had a picnic lunch followed by tubing. Everyone had a couple of turns riding the 2 person tube. K was not going to ride the tube, but he finally gave it a try and loved it. The Poormans have a beautiful 24 foot pontoon boat with a 90 horsepower engine. It was fast! We are use to 25 horsepower engine on our boat at Atwood. Both T and I woke up this morning a little bit sore in the back and arms.

Today was golf day. I think I need a week off. I played 3 holes really well, but the other 6 were not good.

Update on the San Angelo Colts. They are in a tie for first place. They are going to be the second seed in the post-season even if they finish in first place. The regular season ends on August 18. I might need to head to San Angelo for the playoffs later this month. I have been know to do crazy things like that in the past.

Here are a couple pictures from the last two Indians game I attended.

From Sunday
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080727_037.jpg

From last night with my nephew
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080729_002a.jpg

I was wearing a t-shirt my friend is selling in Detroit. So don't think I was rooting for the Tigers last night.

I would write about my golf game, but it is not worth it right now.

The parties yesterday were a fun time. The baseball party was from 1-4pm and the 80's party started at 4. It was fun to see everyone in 80's dress. Matt and Lauri won the trivia contest. The Hallgrens won for Best Dressed and my sister won for Best Hair/Best Food. She made McRibs sandwiches! My mom even went as far as buying a pack of cigarettes to complete her dress. Here is a picture of her: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080726_011.jpg
I dug out my Bill Bates jersey I wore in my senior pictures. T wore her Kent State tank top she wore to the first day of band camp in 1988.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080726_023.jpg
Our cruise friends from the Youngstown area made the party. They were happy to meet some more cruisers.
The only downside was the rain storm.
K and I went to the Indians game today. They lost 4-2 to the Twins.

--Bayou

Here are a couple of pictures. Just click on the links:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080723_021.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080724_121.jpg

We watched an amazing t-storm hit the area. It dumped an inch of rain in a short period of time causing flash floods. It was still raining when we got up in the morning. We left for Shea and it took us almost 2 hours to get to the Journal Square PATH station. We wanted to go to Ground Zero before the game, but due to the massive traffic jam, we passed on visiting the WTC site. We made it to our seats at Shea in the bottom of the first. It took us over 3.5 hours to get there. It should have taken, maybe and hour and half or so, but traffic was bumper to bumper and stop and go. It was a quick game, lasting only 2 hours and 20 minutes. We left Shea at 2:30pm and we were home 10 hours later.

It was a fun trip and I just might have to plan one next year.

I arrived home early this morning. We had a safe trip. I think, for the most part, we all had a fun time. There are many reason why I would never want to live in the greater New York area. I don't want to list them, but I would start with the traffic.

The drive to NY was smooth. The boys watch dvds or play video games most of the trip. J only took a small nap during the drive. We ate dinner at a local mall. We did some shopping and picked up some All-Star stuff 50% off. I did not book a hotel with a pool. I cant believe there is a hotel without a pool anywhere. But, that was the only downside to the hotel.

We drove over to Staten Island and caught the ferry into New York. The sky was hazy and overcast. We did see the Statue of Liberty and the skyline. We caught the 4 to the Bronx. The Yankees beat the Twins. After the game, we ate dinner at the ESPNZone in Time Square.

More later...

Bayou is taking a couple of days off from blogging. Please check back on Friday.

I am just checking in from Ann Arbor. I golfed in the rain today and it show. My team did not win the outing toady. We were only 18 shots off the lead. I did golf with my buddy Jared. We had a good laugh throughout the day.
My back held up really good during the drive Michigan this morning. I did hit a few golf balls once I arrived at the course. I was pain free and remain pain free now. I hope that is the case tomorrow for the drive back to Ohio.

--Bayou

Bayou, DDS was not needed to remove K's tooth yesterday. He lost the tooth to the right of his missing front teeth. So, he now has a 3 tooth gap! I told him he will need to eat dinner through a straw. He was playing on a float toy in my parent's pool. Thankfully, the tooth was sitting on the float and not on the bottom of the pool.

My back is feeling much better. The meds are doing their job. I hope I will be able to swing a golf club this weekend.

The kids are in Bible school this week. They are having a good time so far. B went to the Great Lake Science Center today. Tomorrow she is working at the Calvary Mission.

Of course with this warm weather, we are spending more time in the pool. This is the weather we have been waiting for all summer along.

I went to BW3 tonight and won more glassware for the TX Hold'em tournament. It is fun going out with my brother and meeting some new friends.

Til next time,

Bayou

No trip to Atwood seems complete without some rain. After having a nice dinner with the Buss's, a t-storm rolled in. It lasted about half an hour but it was long enough to flood everywhere. Then, more fun on Sunday morning. I sprained my lower back to the point I could not move. T had to help me get into the camper. I could not help her pack up and head home or unpack when we got back home.
I did go to the doctor's this afternoon. He gave me some anti-inflammatory drug and a pain killer. I hope I am able to golf this weekend. I will be staying off my feet for a couple days, except for some exercises the doc wants me to do every day.
The kids have Bible School this week. I am sure they will have fun.

Here are a couple pictures from my last two games at Progressive Field. The Indians beat the Rays in a 4 game series.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080710_004.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080711_013.jpg

---Bayou

K and I went to the Indians-Rays game last night. The Tribe scored 13 runs, en route to a 13-2 victory. It is by far the most runs I have seen the score all year. I will post a picture of me and K with our Tampa Bay hats and Indians jersey when I get a chance. My brother was also at the game with Marc and his mom and step dad. Marc is not a blood relative, but we have called him a cousin. So my aunt in Texas had her sister, brother-in-law, 3 nephews and a grand-nephew at the game, while she was home in Fort Worth.
Speaking of Texas, the San Angelo Colts made the playoffs. They tied for second place in the first half of the ULB season. But the league awarded playoff spots to both teams in second place. Who knows, I made end up travelling to TX for a championship series like I did in 2005.

Til next time,

See you Down by the Bayou

Week in Review.

Wednesday. We headed down to the camper earlier than we originally planned. Dad was not going down because he picked up an extra day at work. We made it to Atwood in time for dinner.

Thursday. We had a nice family boat ride in the early afternoon. We were going to swim, but the rain started and did not ended after dinner time. The Buss's came over and enjoyed our fire after the rain.

Friday. Happy Fourth of July. B marched in 2 parades. I went to the first parade. T's parents drove down to see her march. I then went and shot a fraternity brother's wedding. The weather was great. It was at a local golf course. I made it back to Atwood about 11:30pm. T let the kids stay up until I returned. They made it back to Atwood to see their fireworks.

Saturday. The weather was fantastic. Sunny and in the 80's. We went to Boater's Beach on the Buss's boat. I enjoyed riding in the pontoon boat. I'm normally the driver and don't get to just relax and let someone else drive.

Sunday. The Necko's came down for the day. We had fun with them. Christy is one of just a handful of friends from Perry I see and talk to on a regular basis.

Monday. The boys and I did some fishing in the morning. I was the fisherman of the day with 4 fish. K and J did not catch anything this time. We packed up and made it back home by 3. B went to baton and I went to golf in the evening.

So there you have a recap from last Tuesday to today.

I was not surprised when I heard the Indians traded CC. I was surprised it was to the Brewers. I figured it would be the Cubs. I figured the Cubs would do just about anything to win a World Series this year. It has only been 100 years since their last championship.

Our cruise documents have not arrived yet. They should arrive soon.

--Bayou

Picture Time

I took my mom to see the Indians play the SF Giants.

B and her baton troupe in the Bolivar parade.

This was not J's first fish he caught, just the largest. He did catch his first fish today at Lake Muncy. It was a small bluegill he named Nemo. So, I guess you can say...J found Nemo. J was the fisherman of the day. He caught 10 fish. K caught 2 and I caught 3. I was too busy baiting hooks and taking fish off hooks to do much fishing.

Til next time,

Bayou

Wednesday. K's team lost their playoff game. They did not play well. But, they have improved from week one. The team's end of the season party will be here next month. I will take K and his friends to the field and let them play.

Friday. K and I went to see the Indians beat the Reds in the Battle of Ohio. CC pitched 8 great innings, 4 hits and 10 strikeouts. The fireworks show afterwards was spectacular. I am not sure when I last went to a fireworks night in Cleveland, but it wont be my last. Uncle Jared drove down for the game. Thanks to a rain delay, he was able to make it to the game before the first pitch.

Saturday. We headed to Atwood for the night. It was more to get ready for the 4th of July camping trip. We boated for a little bit before heading to the regular beach. We got to swim for about 15 before we headed back to the camper. I am glad we left when we did. It started to rain as we were pulling into the dock. The storm hit in full force a few minutes after we got back to the camper. It was so bad a tree near our camper fell into the lake. Tent campers near us had their tent flatten and stuff blow all over the point.

Today. T got up early and went to work. She was back about 3:30. We had rain on and off all day. Nothing as bad as yesterday, but enough to keep everything soaked. We did have a fire and pie irons for dinner. We could of had fish. K catch a nice size white bass.

---Bayou

I am sorry I haven't posted picture lately. There is something wrong with our computer and we need to get it checked out.
Monday, I went golfing at 3. It was to play next week's match early. The weather did not look good for us to complete the 9 holes. However, after some rain on the first hole, we did not get wet. There was bad weather all around North Canton, but none on the golf course. During the round, I received a call from T. She told me K's game was moved to Tuesday due to the weather. I thought great, I can golf at my regular time as well tonight. I don't know the last time I golf 18 holes of golf at one time. But wait, if K's game is moved to Tuesday, then I can't take my mom to see Omar Vizquel return to Cleveland for the first time since he signed with SF in 2004. I never finished the second 9 holes due to a thunderstorm rolling across the area. I did shoot a 43 for the first 9, much better than the 48 from last week. Shortly after I arrived home from the golf course, Coach Tom called and let me know K's game was being moved to Wednesday. Yea, I can take my mom to the Indians game.
Tuesday was my mom's b-day. I took her to the Indians game. It was nice to spend time with just her. Omar received a nice ovation when he was introduced to the crowd. The Giants went on to beat the Indians 3-2.
Tonight is K's game, but the weather might PPD it again.

-Bayou

Has it been 10 years already? My sweet little girls hits double digits in age. We has a small gathering to celebrate B's b-day. Right about the time the storms hit, T took B and her friend to see a movie as part of her birthday. She is saving her birthday money for a Nintendo DS system. K used his Christmas and birthday money for his, so B is following his lead.
I will post a picture of B from her party in a later post.

Happy Birthday B!


Love,

Daddy Bayou

K had his first baseball tournament game tonight. They scored 2 runs in the top of the 7th inning and held the other team scoreless in the bottom of the 7th to force extra innings. We went on to score 7 runs and needed each of them. We got the 3rd out after they scored 6 runs. K through the runner out at first for the last out. He did not have a great game at bat, but he was real solid in the field. We play again on Monday.

Final Score
Gold 24
Grey 23

Welcome to Bayou's Travel Service, or the latest baseball trip I have scheduled. This will be the first baseball trip without my buddy from Michigan, but he has prior plans the week I am planning this trip. I am taking my 2 boys and going to NYC with a friend and his boy. We will be seeing two day games, one each in Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. It is the last year for both stadiums. My sons have both been to Yankee Stadium, but not Shea. My friend has never been to NYC at all, so it will be 2 new stadiums for him and his son. We are heading to NYC in July for this trip.

Here is the list of stadiums I have seen a game in, plus any other family who were there as well. The word retired by a stadium means baseball is no longer played in that stadium or the stadium is no longer standing.

Tampa (T,B,K,J)
Boston (T)
Baltimore (T)
NY Yankees (T,B,K,J)
Chicago White Sox (T)
Minnesota (T,B,K)
Cleveland-retired (T)
Cleveland Progressive Field (T,B,K,J)
Detroit-retired(T,B)
Detroit Comerica Park (T,K)
Kansas City (T)
LA Angeles (T)
Oakland (T)
Texas-retired
Texas Ameriquest Field (T,B,K)
Seattle-retired (T)
Florida (T)
Atlanta-retired (T)
Atlanta Turner Field
Philadelphia-retired (T)
NY Mets (T)
Washington-retired (T,B,K,J)
Chicago Cubs (T)
St. Louis-retired (T,B,K)
Houston-retired
Pittsburgh-retired (T,B)
Milwaukee-retired (T,B)
Cincinnati-retired (T)
Arizona (T,B)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado
San Fransisco-retired (T)
San Diego-retired (T)
Montreal (T)

T: 34 stadiums
T: 29 stadiums
B: 11 stadiums
K: 8 stadiums
J: 4 stadiums

Toronto is the only major league I have never visited. T and I will increase our stadium count on our Labor Day trip this year. Maybe next year I will plan a trip to Chicago and Milwaukee and get my boys to Wrigley. We'll see.

--Bayou

This week T and I did most of the landscaping we wanted to complete before our party next month. Speaking of the party, we are hosting K's baseball team post-season party the same day. The baseball team will be here from 1-4 and then the 80s party from 4 til ??? It will be a busy and fun day. T said "We might as well have both parties on one day, because I have clean the house once before the party and once after the party".

Saturday. We went to the Bolivar Strawberry Festival. B marched with her baton troupe. Afterwards, we went back to the camper with some friends.
Sunday. It was both Father's Day and my wedding anniversary. T and I have been married for 12 years now. The kids gave me a card and my new gas grill. The grill was also part of my anniversary gift. K and I went to see the Indians beat the Padres 7-3. T, B and J went to T's brother store in Cuyahoga Falls. There was an Irish Festival going on along the river walk. We went back to the camper for another night at Atwood.
Today we made it into Nana's pool for the first time this year. I went to golf from there. I was rusty and shot 48.
Tomorrow went are going to plant grass in the back yard and put mulch in the front yard. So, if you are not busy and want to help...come on over.

--Bayou

Friday was the last day of Cub Scout Day Camp. K caught 2 good size catfish. We could of had dinner with what he caught. He ended up having a fun time all week and is looking forward to camp next year.
We had less than a hour after camp to get ready for the season ending baseball game. We only had 9 players show up for the game. But the nine who showed up came to play. K went 2 for 4 with a couple of RBIs and fielded his position well. Then, the lighting came. With 1 out in the top of the seventh, the ump called the game.....with K's team holding onto a 2 run lead......YES, WE WON!!!!!!!! We scored 5 in the bottom of the 6th to take the lead and held on to the lead.
But with the thunderstorm in the area it meant the after game party here at the house was cancelled. We will try to rescheduled it after the tournament game next week.

Happy Flag Day (today)
Happy Father's Day (tomorrow)
Happy Anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Bayou, 12 years! (tomorrow)

One last thing, the big announcement will not happen. SD Myers called me last week and wanted to know if I would consider working for them over the summer. I said I would think about it. However, they would want me to do some training. With this training it would not be worth me going to work for them this summer. My old boss said I could do the training in December this year and work next summer. I am open to the idea as long as it is not every week. So, we will see what happens later this year.

-Bayou

Here are a couple of pictures from Cub Scout Day Camp. I did not attend on Tuesday and Thursday, but I did "walk" Monday and Wednesday. I am planning on going tomorrow. Here is K's den for the week. We are at the North Industry Sportsman Club.

K has caught 3 fish so far this week. Here is #1 and good size largemouth bass.
You can't go to camp with out learning to use a bow and arrow. Today they used a bb gun.

Tomorrow is the last regular season game. We are hosting snack time here at the house after the game. We are going to have a campfire and smores. It should be fun.
T and I did landscaping on Tuesday and today. We are getting things in shape around the house. I will post pics after it is all done.
Til next Blog, Bayou

Tonight, K's team snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. They were up by 7 runs going into the top of the 7th inning. The other team scored 8 runs, including 3 after 2 were out. K's team did not score in the bottom of the 7th. It was very frustrating as a coach. The defense look like we were playing our first game. K had another solid game at bat, 3-4 with a double and a couple of RBIs. He did good in the field, minus one play in the 7th. We have one more regular season game on Friday.
K also spent the day at Cub Scout day camp. It was fun for him, but not so much for the adult "walkers". The highlight of the day for him, was catching a largemouth bass. He is going back tomorrow, but I am taking the day off. We need to do some things done around the house.
I have updated the San Angelo Colts standings in the ULB. Check out their website at sanangelocolts.com They are a game or so about .500 but in second place. The top two teams in each half of the season make the playoffs.
Also, no new news on my big news. I hope to find out something tomorrow. Stay tune.

---Bayou

Time to get caught up.

B had 2 teeth pulled by Dr. G. Her orthodontists wanted them out to help her adult teeth moving into place. It was not the way she wanted to start summer break, but it needed done sooner or later.

K had another game on Thursday night. They lost, again, and looked good in the first couple of inning but things went downhill fast. K had an ok night at bat 2 for 4 and scored a couple of runs. He did a good job at 3rd base. We went to Kremeland in Navarre after he game. (The game was in Navarre)

Thursday was my last day of school. T came up and helped me move all my stuff in storage for the summer or home. Earlier in the day, 2 of my wrestling mom's brought in some gifts for me. They wanted to thank me for the year's coaching.

Friday, Jerry S. arrived at the house at 7 and we were on the way to Columbus. We arrived by the start of the 4x800 relay. It was hot and sunny. It was the first 90 degree day of the summer. Presley did not advance to the finals of the shot. She is only a freshman and hopefully, will be back in Columbus next year.

Saturday was a better day for track. It was overcast, 80s, and breezy. We left about 6 and were back here by 8. It was a fun couple of days watching the best in Ohio run track.

It is summertime on the Bayou.

---One last thing, keep checking back for a big announcement and no Mrs. Bayou is not pregnant!.

K's team lost another game last night. It might have been K's best game, both in the field and at bat. He threw out a couple of runners at first and he caught a pop fly. He played 2nd base the entire game. Coach L is letting the players keep the same position to help them understand how to play the position.
Yesterday was the kids' last day of school. I am still in school til Thursday. We have exams tomorrow and Thursday. I have been cleaning up my classroom the last couple of days. It is difficult to "store" stuff when the maintenance department has taken over my shop and storage space. I am promised it will be out of there by the start of school. We will see.

Here is an action picture from Thursday night. K beat out an infield grounder. They lost the game and are on a 5 game losing streak. They have 2 games next week.
In track action last night, Presley did not advance to the state meet in the disc.
Today is going to be busy. K had practice this morning and B has a parade in the afternoon. We also have a family graduation party for cousins on my dad's side. Today is the first day T has worked in a few weeks and she might have to work tomorrow as well. I get some quality time with the kids.
B and K are down to one day of school. I have 4. I will miss the teacher in-service on Friday, as I will be in Columbus for state track.

See you next time--Down by the Bayou.

K' had a baseball game last night. They lost 22-20. But, K had a good game both at bat and in the field. He played catcher and pitcher's mound. He caught a fly ball and got two batters out at first. He hit the ball well. He reached based with 3 solids hits and one grounder he beat out. They have another game on Thursday.
Track season came to an end tonight. The 4x200 relay team finished 6th in their heat and Ryan finished 7th in his heat. The top 4 in each heat advance to Friday's finals. However, Mogadore will have a state qualifier. Presley Destro finished in 2nd in the shot put.
6 days of school left!

What a beautiful weekend at the lake. We made it to the camper about 2:30pm. K had baseball practice and we left after lunch. The weather was great. We got to see our friends from the campground and catch-up on the winter. The Moore's neighbors bought a new fifth wheel camper and it is beautiful. They must have spent a pretty penny on it. They bought a Salem at the same time dad bought his. But, they were have problems with it from day one. We did have a big picnic on Sunday. the entire family was down at some point. The Moores came down as well. We ended up sitting by the campfire til midnight. It would be nice to have the Moores back down camping again. Monday, B had her first parade with her baton troupe. It is one of twenty or so on the schedule. She will not be able to all of them, but she will be in many of them. On a sad note, K's fish died over the weekend. He was heartbroken. It was his fish in his room. He had to feed it and clean the tank. He was responsible for it. Swimmy was buried at sea, well in Atwood Lake.

This is the photo finish of the 100M dash last night. My guy was in lane 4 and he advanced in 4th place edging out lane 3. It is an amazing shot and by less than half a foot, he runs next week and the other runner doesn't.

The track season will go on for another week. We had the 4x2 team advance to next week along with a 100 meter sprinter. They will run next Wednesday and if they are the top 4 in their heat they will advance to the regional finals on Friday. Here is a link to all the results: http://baumspage.com/tf/ne/2008/norwayne/res08.htm

We are down to 8 days of school left!

K and I are off to baseball practice, so til next time,

--Bayou Out!

B's class sang the National Anthem at the Akron Aeros game today. It was a chilly day for baseball but it sure beat going to school. The picture is from our seats in section 102 Row A seats 1-3.

After the game, we went to AAA and paid off our cruise. It is hard to believe it is in 80 days.

Last night after the track meet I went to BW3. I won the final game of texas hold'em. I won a BW3 hat! The track meet had its ups and downs. I thought my disc guy would advance, but he threw 20 shorter than normal and missed going to the finals. However, we have runners in all events except the 110HH and 3200 meter run. Hopefully, we can get someone to advance to next week. Here is the link to the results http://baumspage.com/tf/ne/2008/norwayne/res08.htm

The final results will be posted after the meet tomorrow night. I will post it in a later blog.

It was golf night last night. I hit the ball well until I reached the green. I shot a 47. It is not too bad. I have not golfed since April due to rain and K's baseball games.

When I got home there was a package from the National Marrow Program. I sent away for it last week. There is a student from Perry HS with a rare type of cancer who could be help with a marrow transplant. I could not make a marrow drive at the high school, so I went on line and had a kit sent to me. Here is the link to the site http://www.marrow.org The kit is free, for the first 10,000 people who sign up. I checked today and there is another drive at Perry on May 30. Check the website for details. I have tried to donate blood as often as possible and this is another way to help others.

Bayou

The PTC Finals were yesterday. We finished 7th (out of 7) in both boys and girls divisions. But, even with that results, we still had several guys set personal best in their events. I am hopeful someone will advance to the regional. Here is the link to the results http://baumspage.com/track/portage/county/res08.htm

K's team lost its game yesterday. Their only game this week is on Wednesday. Of course I will miss it due to track. We went down to his field this afternoon for a little practice with a teammate.

Til next time,
See you Down by the Bayou

Last night was the first night of the PTC League meet. The semi-finals in the sprints and the field events were contested at East Canton. We did advance 1 guy to the finals (top 8) in the 100, 200, 300 hurdles and 400. Steve and Zack placed in both the shot and disc. Steve was 2nd in the disc and 3rd in the shot. They both hit personal bests. Steve almost hit 46 feet in the shot. He could advance to the Regional meet with a 46 foot put. (It is actually called a put not a throw.)
K played a game last night. According to our scorekeeper, the team did not look good in the field or at bat. He has another game tomorrow morning. I am upset I will miss the game. This is the make-up game from Monday's PPD. I hate missing his games.

Bayou

What a beautiful day! It was almost 70 degree and sun. I had to mow today. If I did not mow today, it might be 5 days until I would get a chance to mow again. It is going to get cold, rainy and overcast for the rest of the week.

$3.95----Unbelievable!

Today was Opening Day for the San Angelo Colts. I was able to listen to the game over the Internet. It was good to hear Frank call the game. He is on his way up the ladder to the big league. He must pay his dues just like the players. I am not sure I like the 2 man booth the Colts have this year. I am sure I will enjoy it once I am use to it. Here is the link to the game recap http://sanangelocolts.com/news/?id=6272

Did you see Asdrubal Cabrera turn the unassisted triple play last night? I can't find a link to the play. I was talking to my aunt in Texas and did not realize it til after the commercial break. It is the second unassisted triple play I have seen on TV. I saw on back a few years ago. It was the Fox Saturday game of the week.

Mike Wagner stopped by after practice. He is getting married next year and graduating from Akron in August. I am happy for him. I am glad he was able to use his talent to help pay for a college degree. I may try to get him as a volunteer coach next season.

Til next time, Bayou.

Bayou, DDS was at it again today. I ended up pulling K's other front tooth. It was hanging by a thread. I think K is done losing teeth for awhile. Heck, if he lost anymore, he might not be able to eat.
Today was a crappy weather day. But, it was a day to clean the house. I went through some old clothes and got them ready to donate.
The kids got me up early to make T breakfast in bed. Thankfully, she only wanted an omelet, bacon, and juice. I can handle making those foods. I am planning on getting T a new camera before the cruise. The kids made cards for her as well.

If you need any teeth pulled give Bayou, DDS a call.

A couple of things to blog about today.

Thursday. The Wildcat track team did not fair well at Dalton. But, we did sweep the throws events. (Girls shot and disc and Boys shot and disc). It was a soft rain most of the night. K's team won 16-9 in the rain as well. T said K did well in the field and bat.

Friday. I went to see my nephew play 12 year old baseball. His team lost, but I enjoyed watching him pitch.

We are heading down to the camper today. We are not staying the night, but it is a beautiful day to enjoy being outside.

I forgot to let you know, I stepped down as the Mogadore Wrestling coach. The time away from the family was the biggest factor to step down. It was not fair to my wife to drive the kids to all their stuff (girls scouts, boy scouts, baton, etc...). I missed a father daughter dance again this year, and I feel bad about missing stuff. I have offered to stay on as a volunteer assistant if the new coach wants me to help. I will miss somethings about wrestling, but I wont miss the bs that happened this year.

--Bayou

PICTURE TIME!

It is not even October, but we have a Jack-o-lantern in our house.
There were not too many people in Section 414 last week.

This brick is located in Heritage Park at Jacobs Field. The Anderson's are friends of the family. T worked at the Subway Rich owns. Heritage Park is a walk down Cleveland Indians history. On your next visit to Jacobs Field, take time to visit it. It is located behind the centerfield wall.

These picture were taken with my camera phone. I can take better pictures with my "real" camera. Speaking of photography, I finally sent in the paperwork for my own LLC. On April 14, 2008, the state of Ohio granted me T and T Photography, LLC. I feel so official. I hope to make some money doing something I love. I have 4 weddings booked this summer so far and all have been word of mouth referrals. So, if you know anyone looking for a photographer, let them know about T and T.

Thank you, Bayou

WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!
K's team won its first game of the year tonight. 22-21. The scored 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. The fielding and batting were better tonight versus last week. However, they could have been better. It is very tough to get a team of 7 year olds to listen during every pitch of every at bat. I tend to get into the game more than the other coaches. One parent wants to get me blood pressure monitor. K's next game is Thursday, which is his actual birthday. I will miss it due to the Dalton Relays.
I was absent from school today. I finally went to see a doctor about my sinuses (sp?). They have been bothering me for about 10 days. I tried everything under the sun, but nothing work. I went to see Dr. Bruno. She is very nice. My former doctor, Dr. Rowley, left NCMF last year. I need to establish a relationship with a new doctor.

The track meet Friday night was delayed about 45 minutes due to thunderstorm. We were able to finish the meet before 10:30pm. The Wildcat boys finished 5th. The highlight was the 4x200 meter relay team breaking the school record. However, the times is not that impressive. But, for now, the four guys own a school record.
Here is the link to the results:
http://baumspage.com/track/mogadore/res08.htm
Saturday was prom. It was held in the same place as my wedding reception. It is located just a mile down the road from MHS. T and I had a good time. It looked like the kids had a fun prom as well. I have been to 8 prom and I had never danced with a student, until last night. The DJ played Tom Jones' "It's not Unusual" and one of girl's from the dance line come over and asked me to dance. I really can't say the last time I danced to a "fast" song, but I think I held my own.
Today, we had K's birthday party. It was about 60 but sunny. It was just family, but that is a big party. We had baseball food and had a Cleveland Indians cake. K got a couple of baseball gifts, a tent, and a rocket. Uncle Kevin gave him the rocket. I can't wait to launch it. We will need a large space for launching the rocket. We are told the rocket can go up 400-600 feet. Stay tune.

I mowed the grass on Wednesday. I will need to mow it again before K's b-day party on Sunday. Speaking of K, he had his first coach pitched game last night. His team lost, but got better as the game went on. He played RF and 1B. He did field and ground ball and ran to 1B for the out. He did ok at the plate. The one time he was called out, the ball was not in the 1B's glove, it was on the ground touching it. It was the ump's first game and I guess I can cut him some slack. But he did not know some of the basic rules of the game. The team has a practice tomorrow and we will work on some basic baseball.
Tonight is the Wildcat Invitational. The weather is not looking good right now, but I hope it clears up. I did all the preliminary work last night and I am finishing things up during study hall and lunch. I will post the link with the results when I blog next.
I also booked another wedding for later this year last night.
-Bayou

The game last night was cold as advertised. Jeff and I were the only ones in section 414. The usher who watched over sections 414-418 made sure anybody who had a ticket in the 500s stayed there and not in his 400 sections. While I am glad he kicked 10 or so people out of our section, you really have to think--Does it matter? There were less than 20,000 fans at the game last night. All the fans could have filled the lower bowl and the bleachers, so why not? the game was on ESPN and I am sure it look very empty on TV. I think it would have looked better to fill the lower bowl and give the appearance of a full crowd. Anyways, the Indians managed to score only 2 runs in the 18 innings I saw over the weekend. They are now 1-3 in games I attend. Thankfully, I am not planning another game until June. Hopefully by then the weather will be warm and stay warm....Bayou

I felt the need to post this picture of me and K. We went to see the Indians play the Yankees today. We finally had a beautiful day for baseball. It was sunny and upper 60s. The tribe lost the game 1-0. It broke their 5 game winning streak. I am going up tomorrow night with T's cousin. It might be another cold game. There is a cold front moving through the area tonight.
Bayou, DDS was not needed to remove K's front tooth. He was waiting to run the bases after the Indians game and it fell out. He was wiggling it during the game and finally came out. The other front tooth is loose and will fall out before long.

The Wildcat track team was at the Aurora Invitational. We finished 7th out of 8 teams. That is big news. We were the smallest team invited, but managed to score enough points to beat Berkshire. Here are the results. http://baumspage.com/track/aurora/res08.htm

Happy Birthday to my sister, Dawn. I am not allowed to write her age, but it rhymes with morty.

It has been a beautiful week so far. I golfed Monday. Butch and I won our "best ball" match 2 and 1. We shot a 41 between us. We both hit the ball well. We made a few key putts to win or halve a hole. I will miss next week's opening night because I am going to see the tribe play the Yankees.
Last night the wildcats lost both of their dual meets against Rootstown and Garfield. But, we did manage to lower a couple of times in the running events. The field events saw a couple of personal bests. I think the weather being so nice for practice and meets has helped us get better as a team. I can only hope that will continue for the rest of the season. I can get use to sunny and 70 each day.
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/TeamResults.aspx?Cal=73323
I don't think I can put it off any longer. I will mow my yard for the first time tonight after practice. With my busy schedule, I don't have many night available to mow. If I can't do it tonight, then it will be Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

Call me Bayou, DDS.

I think I miss my calling as a dentist. I pulled 2 of B's teeth in the last 24 hours. She let me pull one last night and another this evening. They were next to each other and now she has a big gap on her left side. She will be losing another tooth, next to the gap, in a few days. Then, she will have a monster gap.
We had a busy Saturday. K had his first scrimmage in the morning. He looked ok batting, but dropped a fly he should have caught. He needs to remember to use two hands. His hits were solid hits into the outfield. The rest of the team did ok. We still need to improve our defense. I have been given the job of "left side defensive coordinator" and 3rd base coach. I get to stand in left field and position the fielders. We have a few more practices until our first game on May 1st.
We left the game and headed to Atwood to set up camp. Dad already had the camper on the lot when we arrived. We launched the boat and set the dock into place. We will need to go back and level both the camper and deck. I am happy camping season is finally here. I am not sure when we will spend our first camp, but I can't wait.
Til next time, the Dentist is out of the office.

I have a little catching up to do with my blog.

Monday. K and I went to the Indians game. I could use the same picture from 2 weeks ago. The weather was the same. Clear skies and cold. The tribe lost to the Red Sox.

Tuesday. We ran against Woodridge and Streetsboro. It was a beautiful day again. We lost to both schools by 100 points. It wasn't even a fair fight. We did have a few kids do well, but even that was not good enough.
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/TeamResults.aspx?Cal=73322

Wednesday. The junior high held their first track meet of the year. They had a few bright spots. Again the weather has been beautiful. I guess the bad weather will be here by the weekend.

Now it is my time to rant about the Indians. I am glad that Joe Borowski is on the DL. He can try to find the missing mph on his fast ball. I am not a big fan of his. He did convert 85% of his save chances last year. It just seemed like he needed a 3 run lead in order to earn the save. Now, the rest of the bullpen baffles me. They were the best in the league last year, now they can't get anyone out. The reigning Cy Young winning is 0-3 with a 13.5 era. How ugly is that stat? C.C. will be a free agent at the end of this year. He is pitching himself into a smaller contract each and ever start. If he wants the $20 million per year for 6 years, then he better wheel off 10 straight wins and get that era down under 3. Of course, I can't forget the position players. The left field and right field players (Michaels, Gutierrez) are both under .200 with only 1 HR and 6 RBIs. The infield has Blake and Cabrera batting under .200 with 0 HR and 12 RBIs. The team is 4.5 games back of division leader Chicago. I don't think it is time to make a change (fire wedge), but if things don't improve then something must be done. There is too must talent on this team to win 5 games.
The NFL released their schedule this week. The Dallas Cowboys return to Cleveland on Sept. 7. It is their first trip to Cleveland since 1991. I went to that game. It was Labor Day weekend and the Cleveland Airshow was going on at Burke Lakefront Airport. The crowd was about 200,000 people in the downtown area. The football game and the airshow ended about the same time, so there were a ton of cars on E. 9th St trying to get on 77 and 71. I should be able to get some tickets for the game. I would like to get to a Cowboys game in Dallas this year. I would like to see them play in Texas Stadium during their last season. but, it doesn't look good. I can wait to see them in the new Texas Stadium in a few years.

Til next time,

Bayou out.

To my Akron Zips friends.......Kent State beat Akron in baseball last night.

I had a wonderful birthday dinner on the 8th. T and the kids bought me a new gas grill. I can't wait to use it. The weather stayed nice for the track meet last night. We did not win either meet, but we had several guys improve their times/distances. Here are the results from last night:

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=52301

--Bayou

I know you are asking why I have a picture of a golf ball on my blog. Tonight was the first practice night of my golf league. I played like I haven't play since the end of October. I shot a 47. I did manage to par 2 holes. You can figure out there were a couple of 6s and 8s on my scorecard. So, why would I post a picture of a golf ball after that bad a round of golf? One word: EAGLE! I hit my second shot on the par 4 #15 at the Sanctuary into the cup from 125 yards out. It was my first eagle in a non-scramble round of golf.
The sun was out today. The temperature was over 70 and I made an eagle. It is not a bad way to start celebrate my birthday, albeit a day early.

The entire Bracken family (minus my wife) gathered to celebrate a couple of April birthdays. April is a birthday bonanza. Josiah, Micah, Tim, Dawn, Steven and I celebrate our birthdays in April.

Here is a website for the track team's result from last night.

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=49213

Here is the team page for the track team.

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/School.aspx?SchoolID=7941

You can check out the results the day after the events.

Here we are bundled up for the game last night. Tonight was not to bad for Mogadore's first track meet. We lost to Manchester but beat Lake Center. I don't have the results in front of me, so I will need to post them later.

Today was my first game as a season ticket holder for the Indians. Ok, I actually have a partial ticket plan, but I do get playoff tickets before the general public. The tribe won 7-2 and are tied with KC for first place in the AL Central. I took K to the game. I know my uncle would be upset with me, but we left after 5.5 innings and 2 hours. It is a school night after all. There were 6 people, including me and K, in our section and a total of 17,000 fans in Progressive Field. It was 34 degrees for the first pitch. I will post a picture tomorrow from the game.

Bayou out!

Spring Break will end in a few short hours. I think I packed plenty into my break. It is only 10 weeks until summer break.
Here is a recap of the last couple of days. Friday, I picked up a rental car for my weekend in Detroit. Thrifty gave me a 300 to drive. I enjoyed driving in style. The Sweet Sixteen games at Ford Field were not that good. Davidson took control over Wisconsin and Kansas pounded Villanova. But, we had a great time at the games. I had to get up early Saturday and drive to Austintown for a track meet. It was a "pre-season" meet. They did not keep score or post time. Coaches needed to time their own kids. We looked ok. The throwers looked good. We might have some competition for the top two spot in shot and disc. My brother came over and watched UNC and UCLA advance to the Final Four.
Today was just a relaxing day. It is back to the grindstone tomorrow.

We had a fun time at Great Wolf Lodge. I think the water park was just right for our kids. I have heard some other water parks have "better" water slides, but for us, this was the place to be. We were upgraded to a big suite with a fireplace. We had plenty of room for everyone, but we were not in the room too much. It was great to spend time with Craig and his family. We are going to have a great time on the cruise with them. We are going to look at going again next spring break.
We left around 3pm, but we could have stayed until 10pm if we wanted. However, K and I went to see the Cavs play the New Orleans Hornets. I had won the tickets through Continental Airlines on-line auction. We (k and I, plus 28 other people) had dinner with Cavs GM Danny Ferry before the game. It was neat to talk to him about the state of the Cavs.
Today is a rest day. There is not much on the schedule which is nice. I put plenty into this spring break and it is not over yet.

Til Sunday,

Bayou

Papa helped J find his Easter eggs Saturday morning. There was a covering of snow overnight, so finding the eggs was a little bit harder than other years. After the hunt and brunch, we drove to Austintown for a family gathering on T's side of the family. We went to Easter service at Trinity and my niece was baptized. All the kids did really well at church. J did announce, loud enough for everyone to hear, that he had to go pee. We made it to Streetsboro after we had lunch at my sister's house. It was a busy couple of days.

The yearbook staff got a late start to State College. We even had to go back and pick someone up who overslept. We made it to Jostens around 12:30. We did the plant tour. I thought I knew how they printed books, well, I was wrong. We have a 4 color book, so they print it 4 times. One time each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Then we had lunch near the campus of Penn State. We did tour the campus and visited the Joe Pa statue and the Nittany Lion shine (above). I bought a shot glass to add to the collection. We made it back to Mogadore around 9:30. I will gladly take another group again in the future.

Bayou out, for now.

Well, Kent State looked like a high school team in the first half of their game against UNLV. They scored 10 points in the first half---yes, I said 10 points. They did manage to make the game close in the second half. The lost 71-58. UNLV will take on Kansas tomorrow. I am doing ok in my bracket at school, I got 14 of 16 picks correct. Hopefully, I will do that good or better today.
Today started spring break. We will be busy over the next 10 days. I will be heading to the Jostens printing plant in PA next week as well as taking the kids to Great Wolfe Lodge in Sandusky. I will also be heading to Ann Arbor to see the NCAA South Regional games. Plus, I have an earlier season track meet on Saturday the 29th.
Before we can do all that stuff, we have a couple of gatherings this weekend. Tomorrow is an egg hunt at my parents house, plus a birthday party for my 1 yr old niece. Then, it is on to another party for T's cousin's little boy's first birthday party. On Easter, my youngest niece will be baptized. After the brunch we will head to T's parents for Easter dinner. So, you can see we will be busy for break. But, after break there will be about 50 days of school left til summer break.

I don't think I will be going to see the Flashes in Omaha. They are playing at 2:55pm. I doesn't look good for me to travel 14 hours to see them play. They need to beat UNLV and Kansas and I will be able to see them in Detroit the following week.
The OSU Buckeyes will host UNC-Ashville in the first round of the NIT tomorrow night. I might head to C-bus with G. The tickets are only $20. Akron will head to Florida St for a game tomorrow night in the NIT.

KENT STATE IS IN! They will be one of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament. They won the MAC Tournament tonight with a 19 point victory over the Akron Zips. This is the fifth time the Flashes have played in the tournament. The closest location is Washington DC, so I am not sure I will be able to attend the first round game. I did talk to Uncle Gary and he said he would go if it is close and I wanted to go. I am going to the Detroit Regional semi-final games on March 28th. Jared is going to get tickets for us.

Happy Pi Day! (3.14). It is a math thing and I am not a math teacher. During my first few months of teaching one of the math teachers told me I was not a "real" teacher, I was just the "shop" teacher. It is one of those things that stays with you. I know she was kidding, but I still played along as if I was mad about the comment.
Gas has gone down to $3.29. The snow has melted to the point I can see grass in my backyard. I also see a small pond back there as well. I am sure rivers will be flooding soon.

$3.45 a gallon. Unbelievable!

We all survived the storm. We got about 19 total inches of snow at our house. The airport said only about 14.5 fell there. We did go out Sunday and picked up B from her overnight on Friday night. K went to a birthday party for a neighborhood kids Sunday afternoon. He had a fun time. The weather was sunny and warmer. T did make it to work both days. Track practice starts today.

There was 18" of snow in my backyard at 2:00pm. The snow is still falling and we could get 8 more inches. T went to work after the snowplow finally went our street and I could dig the car out of the driveway. Several people got stuck in the street before the plow made its way here. It is time like this I ask myself....Why in the bald-headed hell, don't I live somewhere else?

It has been a relaxing week. Well, almost. The wrestling team rolled up the mats on Monday and Tuesday and then we had the end of the year awards night last night.
The was a busy week for birthdays. J turned 3 on 3/4 and my niece, Leighah, turns 1 today. This week also marked the 5th anniversary of my uncle's passing. It is hard to believe it has been 5 years. It seems like it has been just a few months. I can remember so many times I spent with him and my aunt. I take time, when I hear the National Anthem, to remember time spent together.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from my uncle:
"Why in the balded-headed hell didn't we go to San Diego?" He said this to my aunt when we were in Chicago in May of 1991. I do recall the temps in the 50's when we went to the 'new" Comisky Park. We did end up in San Diego a couple of years later.

Here is my aunt, cousin, uncle and myself at Superbowl XXVIII. The Cowboys defeated the Bills for the second straight year.

66 degrees and sunny. Now, we will see what tomorrow brings. I did not mention yesterday I went to a volleyball tournament at Jackson HS. I meet a family from the Youngstown area that will be on our cruise in August. We meet up on Cruise critic and have been chatting for a few months. It was fun to meet them and watch their daughter play some volleyball.
We also celebrated J's birthday. He will be 3 tomorrow. We had a "small" family party. But, we still had 30 people at mom and dad's house. There is no way we could have held the party here.
Tomorrow is election day. I will be happy to see all the TV ads stop til later this year.