55 Degrees!!!!!!!! I am sure it will not last for long, but it is nice to see some green grass.

Yesterday, we had our taxes done. We will be getting money back from the IRS. It is "forced saving" account. We will use this money for our boat, camping fees, and other things around the house. We are still up in the air about a cruise next year. If we think we are going, then we need to set aside some $$$ this year.

Speaking of cruises, I have two friends cruising this week. A long time friend from the neighborhood is on Monarch OTS with his girlfriend and parents. Other friends leaves tomorrow for the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer aboard Grandeur OTS. The Buckeye cruise has about 20 former Buckeyes on the ship. It will be full of just Buckeye fans. The money raised on the cruise goes to the cancer research center at OSU. I would love to do something like that someday.

T is going to have a choice to make soon. She was called in to work at Edison today, but she was scheduled at Aultman. This is the third time in the last four days she has been called by Perry. She was already working at Reedurban and other schools called her. I would love for her to leave the hospital and work at the school. Hopefully, she will get hired by a school in the fall.

--Bayou

What a difference 48 hours makes. It was in the upper 40 yesterday and all the snow is melting away. It looks like the warming trend will continue today. I am sure we are not done with snow, but it is a nice break.
The Jr High wrestling team place 2 guys at the PTC Tournament yesterday. It was the end of a difficult season for the junior high team. They started out with 8 wrestlers. Early on 2 quit the team and one was injured. When the injured wrestler returned, we lost one to grades. Hopefully, they will stick with wrestling and join the high school team.
The high school team has the PTC Tournament this weekend. The seniors should do well. It is possible to have 2 PTC Champions and a few more place. Then, it is on to the sectional tournament the following week.

Quick post today. First, it was cold! The temp on my car read -9 on the way to school. All we needed was a 10 mph breeze and schools would have closed for the day. It was a beautiful clear blue day. The temp are going to hit the upper 40s by the weekend.

I will be at the Junior High PTC Wrestling Championship this weekend. We only have 5 guys on the team. I am not too sure how things will go. I hope we have a couple of guys place.

Tonight was scheduling day. It was quicker than most years. I will have a new schedule next year, but I like it. I will also have a new junior high class. I will need to get a book for the class. I do not use a book for any of my classes. I use one OLD textbook as a reference in Home Maint. class. I would love to get a new book for that class as well.

---Bayou

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shinning and the temp topped 40 degrees. The kids went outside again and played in the afternoon. I will post a couple of pics from the last couple of days. While the kids played, I took down all the light along our fence in the backyard. I have not turned on the lights since the end of Christmas break, but I haven't had time or the weather was too bad to take them down.
We did not attend a Super Bowl party this year, so we had our own. I am glad for my brother that the Steelers won. I am more glad the game was close and entertaining. T said the commercials were not as good as years past. I liked the one second ad for Miller High Life. It was straight to the point. Now, it is college basketball time and pitchers and catchers report in ten days!

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers from the Bayou Steelers.

Today is Saturday. I went to Aultman to have some blood work done. Don't think anything is wrong. I went to my new doctor at NCM. She just wants to run routine blood work. I ran into my mom and we ended up having breakfast at Aultman. It was nice to spend time with just her.
When I returned home, we went and signed K up for baseball. He will be in pitching machine this year. After lunch, the kids headed outside. They are sliding down our very small hill in the backyard. They are having a ball.
The Super Bowl is tomorrow. It is hard to believe is has been 15 years since I went to SB XXVIII. I went with my aunt, uncle and cousin from TX. The game was in ATL. The Cowboys won 30-13 over the Buffalo Bills. I would post some pictures from that trip, but they aren't digital pics.
I went to see my new doctor on Thursday. She is very nice and close to my age, so hopefully she will be my doctor for a long time. T, J and I went out to lunch. Sometimes I feel bad for J. He is the third child and very rarely get alone time with me and T. After lunch we went to Target. We found a couple of great things on sale. First, an easy up sunshade was regularly $79, but on sale for $25. Second, we found an air hockey table on sale for $18. It was regularly priced at $69.99! K wanted one for Christmas, but Santa was already bringing the Wii. We will give it to him for his birthday, but give it to him before May.
Today, I received my Varsity K membership card. They finally are allowing band members into the "club". Band members do earn letters, so we should be allowed in the "club". Of course, that just means, I will be receiving more requests for $$$.

See you Down by the Bayou.

SNOW DAY #2

The phone rang at 5:45am with the news I did not have school. I already knew it thanks to Fox 8. I turned off my alarm and went back to bed. I still was up around 8:30 and ate french toast T made for me. The kids did not want any, so I had my fare share.

We have a nice coating of 6 inches of snow on top of ice. There was freezing rain until 10:00 when it changed over to snow. We have enough snow on the ground to cover my fire ring in the back yard.

T got called into work today. It took here 30 minutes to get to the hospital. She called at dinner time and said she would be working a full shift. The roads should be cleared by the time she returns tonight.

Bye, Bye Bayou.

Here are the winner of K's den. He took second place. I am not like most fathers who do everything. I let K design, cut and sand his car. I added the weight and spray painted it. I really don't know what the house would look like if he painted it himself. Most fathers design it, cut it, paint it and add weights and the scout just watches.

After the Pinewood derby, we went to my sister's for my niece's first birthday. It was good to see my Aunt Jean. She is in her 90's and still gets out and about herself. She broker her leg last summer, but she can move around pretty good. She did leave before sundown, because she doesn't trust her driving at night.

Sunday, we went and picked up J. He spent the weekend at grandma and grandpa's. He had fun. Then we all went and saw Paul Blart, Mall Cop. It is a cute family friendly movie. It was #1 at the box office this week. I don't think it will win any Oscars, it was good for plenty of laughs.

Stay tune, I heard there is another snow storm heading this way. It is due to arrive tomorrow evening with 6-10 inches of snow. We might have some beignets for breakfast on Wednesday or monster pancakes.

With the weather cold outside, it is time to start talking baseball. It is less than 4 weeks til pitcher and catchers report.

I went to see the Indians play the SF Giants on my mom's birthday last year. I thought it was going to be my last time seeing Omar Vizquel play baseball. After all, there aren't many 40 year old shortstops in the MLB. However, according to mlb.com, Omar and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a 1 year minor league deal worth a million bucks. The Rangers want him to play SS in case there SS of the future doesn't work out. The Rangers come to Cleveland in August, so I might get a chance to see him play again.

My San Angelo Colts might not be playing baseball in 2009. There are many legal issues that must be taken care of before they can play ball. Luckily, the season doesn't start til the end of May. It looks like the ULB will be out of business, but the Continental Baseball League has invited all former ULB teams to join them this year. I hope something works out and the Colts can play in 2009.

It doesn't look like I will be a season ticket holder for the Indians this year. The team raised tickets prices. Last year, I bought 2 tickets to 20 games for $400. The same priced seats this year will be over $500. I will still go to a couple of games, but 20. I think I will enjoy listen to them play while sitting on our boat.

I am not happy with Aultman Hospital. They wanted T to work 10-2 ever Tuesday and Thursday. They have called her off both days this week. To make matters worse, she had to turn down a school job today, because she was suppose to work at Aultman. I think she should take all school jobs and call of the hospital if she is working at a school on a Tuesday or Thursday.

Til next time, Bayou.

What do the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints have in common? If you guessed, they are the only teams never to play in a Super Bowl, then you are correct. I can give a pass to the Jaguars (joined the NFL in 1995) and the Houston Texans (joined the NFL in 2002) for not making a Super Bowl. However, Jacksonville played in the AFC Championship game in 2000.

But, the Lions and Browns, have no excuse for not making 1 Super Bowl in 43 years. They went a combined 4-28 last season. So, I don't think I will be watching the Browns or the Lions in a Super Bowl anytime soon.

I am starting to watch Fox News's coverage of the Inauguration of President Obama. Although, I don't agree with the future (it is only 10:20am right now) President, I do wish him well in his new job. Because, if he does well, then the United States does well. However, I believe no matter what he does, the media will say he is the greatest President ever. I am sick of the media giving him a free pass on everything he does and will do.

Where is the liberal media criticizing the cost of the Inauguration. The estimated cost-$150 million. The cost of BOTH Inaugurations of President Bush was less than $100 million. I guess it just something else we, Joe Taxpayer, gets to pay.

Back to what is going on with the Bayou family. Sunday night, we went to our friends for an evening of football and Wii. We were having so much fun, we almost stayed the night.

Monday, I took K to the NW wrestling tournament. Mogadore did well. We had 2 Champions, 2 3rd place finishers and 1 4th place finisher. I missed going to the Dies Tournament. Most of the wrestlers were out early, but we did have 1 wrestler place 4th. If you do well in that tournament, you will do well in sectionals and districts.

Til next time, Bayou Out.

Recap from the last week: COLD.

Today, I went to Kent and played in the Flasher Brass Alumni Band. I enjoy the Flasher Brass game better than the marching band alumni game. With FB with just play. We don't have to worry about marching and playing at the same time.
I got to see some friends and fraternity brothers I had not seen since the last event I played in, two years ago. The alumni group is planing a camping trip in June. It sounds like there will be a good turn out for it.

The Kent men's team lost to Miami (OH), but the women defeat Ohio U in OT. After the game, we gathered at Ray's. The fraternity used to hold "unofficial" meeting at Ray's before the "real" meetings. I think more business got done at Ray's than at the other meeting.

It is official--the Bayou has frozen over. Speaking of freezing, T left a 12 pack of Sprite in the trunk of the car. Guess what happens to pop when you leave in outside with a temp of -10? Thankfully, clean up will be easy, since the pop is still frozen. I will just need to pick up the ice (pop) cubes.

Til next time, Bayou Out.

SNOW DAY TOMORROW!

Ok, it is really a cold day, but no school. We will have an extra long weekend.

You can see the pictures from our sledding yesterday in the other post. The snow left the area by mid-afternoon on Saturday. We figured we could go out on Sunday and play in the snow. My in-law's house sits up on a hill. So, we could either sled in their front yard or back yard. However, the snow was not "good" sledding snow. It was very light and not packable. We tried to carve out a path for the sled, but gave up. My father in law suggested we try the driveway. He had plowed it the night before and there was a layer of packed snow and ice. It provided the fun we needed for sledding. We stayed outside for about an hour or so. Then went inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.

My thoughts on the "final four" of the NFL. Go Arizona. I hate the Eagles, Steelers and Ravens. I am not sure who Browns fans will root for next Sunday. The hated Steelers or the city that stole our team. It is a tough call, so I am rooting for the Cardinals from Arizona. Which means the Eagles will win. My question is---When to pitchers and catchers report?

Pictures from sledding at the in-laws.

J was brave enough to go down the driveway by himself.
Mommy was the distance champion!

K was the winner of the "Most times down the driveway"

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. It looks like the first major snow storm of the year hit 24 hours too late for a snow day. The storm should blanket NE Ohio with up to 10 inches of snow or more by early Sunday morning.

We had to take K to doctors this afternoon. He come home from school with an ear ache. We figured he should be seen by a doctor today instead of waiting til Saturday, when the snow storm will be in full force. Then we went out to Quaker Steak and Lube for dinner. We figured we were out so lets get some dinner. We were seated without a wait, but no one told our waitress we were in her section. Finally, after 10 or so minutes, a waitress came over and asked if we had been waited on. We said no, and she said she would be right back. She left and returned about a minute later and gave us a free appetizer and 20% off our bill for our wait. It was a nice surprise. We ended up with this waitress and she was great. The manager even came over to see if everything was ok. It was a nice little bonus. The food was good. We will have wings for lunch tomorrow. Again, as we left the waitress apologized to us for making us wait so long. We tipped her well since she did take good care of us.

Tuesday the wrestling team lost to Coventry. It was senior night for 6 wrestlers. We had a nice dinner for them after the match along with a slide show.

Wednesday night my dad came over and guided me through the install of the dishwasher. There is a small leak (10 drops of water during a wash cycle). I need to purchase a special wrench to tighten the supply tube.

Check back for pictures of the kids playing in the snow later this weekend.

--Bayou

So close, yet so far away. The Buckeyes played 3 quarters of good, solid football. I am not sure what happened in the 3rd quarter. Texas came out of half-time and had 2 TD drives. The Buckeyes did not have an answer. But, they show heart in the fourth quarter. They were down 17-6, but did not quit. They went up 21-17 with 2 minutes left, but could not hold the lead. I stayed up until the end. The only good thing with a Longhorn victory, I am still alive in the bowl pool. So, if the Buckeyes had to lose, I at least want to win some cash.

Tonight, starts a tough 4 weeks for the wrestlers. The schedule is just loaded. We stepped up the schedule this season to help everyone get ready for the league tournament and sectional tournament. Tonight is Senior night for 6 wrestlers, 4 of them started as 7th graders when I first started coaching. We are going to have a dinner afterwards.

T bought her Christmas present yesterday. She found a dishwasher she likes. We have been without one since Thanksgiving. We will install it on Wednesday.

--Bayou

Christmas vacation ends at 6am tomorrow morning. We had a good time over the 2 week break. We visited friends from the cruise on Jan. 2nd. They live in the Youngstown area. They invited us, my mom and sister's family for dinner. They did some remodeling to their house and wanted to show it off. We had plenty of food, drink and fellowship. We are hoping to cruise with them in 2010 on Freedom of the Seas.

Today we took down the Christmas tree and decorations. It is a sad day. I even unplugged the outside lights. I will get outside soon and take down the lights and pack them away.

Go Buckeyes! Hook the horns.

9 things I want to happen in 2009

9. Kent State will go to a bowl game next season. (Yea, right. The Flashes haven't been to a bowl game since 1972. But, if they do, I will be there. I think they will play SMU in the new Artic Bowl in Nome, AK.)

8. Mt. Union will win the D III football championship. (Ok, this is not a reach, but this time my mom will attend the game.)

7. B will visit more states than I will this year.

6. I will save money on my car insurance by switching to Geiko.

5. K. will hit a hole in one before I do.

4. The Bayou family will have more "staycations" this year. (But, we want to book a "Cruizing again in '10" cruise.

3. The Browns will play the Cowboys in Super Bowl XLVI. (OK, the game will be in 2010, but the teams will be good in '09)

2. The Cleveland Indians will beat CC Sabathia and the NY Yankees in Game 7 of the AL Championship series and go on and will the World Series.

1. It is the family goal to have over 55 different people on our boat this year. (So, this means you are invited to visit us this summer.)

Check back in 364 days to see how well I predicted the future!

Happy New Year!

Santa bought us exactly what the kids wanted this year.

Nana and Papa with all the grandchildren.
Christmas at the in-laws.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I wish everyone health and happiness in 2009. I am looking forward to a wonderful year.

Til next year,

Bayou

Merry Christmas from the Bayou.

Ok, it may be late, but it still is the Christmas season.

We went to Christmas Eve church at FUMC. I love the contemporary service. It is up beat and geared towards a younger (am I still young?) crowd. The message is the same but delivered a little different.

The Bayou family had a great Christmas. We started off the day bright and early here at our house. Santa brought the family a Wii. The kids really wanted one, so we are happy he brought us one. After showers, we were off to my parents house with everyone. It is a tight squeeze getting all 19 of us in the living room. It was tough to watch the kids open gifts with the other grandkids gathering around the one opening the gift. It may be time to re-think Christmas morning at my parents. It might be time to look at different times for each family to spend quality time with nana and papa at Christmas.
After Christmas morning we were off to Teresa's parents. We ate, opened gifts, ate and played the Wii. We headed back home around 10pm.
The day after Christmas, we hit Toys R Us. B and K bought DS games with gift cards. We did some unpacking and clean up around the house. We are planning to take down the tree in a couple of days. But, the Christmas lights will stay on until I return to school.

Til next time, Bayou.

Beignet Breakfast 2008

Dig in!

As in years past, we eat beignets for Christmas Eve breakfast. We have past the tradition on to K's teacher this year. She had asked her students some of their family traditions and K told her about eating beignets. I hope she made some and enjoyed eating them this morning.

We have a busy couple of days, just like most of you. Tonight we will attend church and watch The Polar Express. Hopefully, after the movie the kids will be ready for bed. B had already informed us everyone will be up at 7am tomorrow morning.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Today I took the kids to Atwood. We left T behind to do "Christmas stuff", if you know what I mean. It was about 24 degrees, so we did not stay outside too long at any one time. We checked on the camper and it looked fine. We walked to the shoreline. They lower the water level down 10-15 feet during the winter months.

Lot 667 is our summer home, but in December it is a vacant lot.

In the summer the kids would be under water.

These are our steps to our dock. The dock is in storage for the winter.

The kids "helped" T ice the cookies tonight.

Yesterday, I went to Columbus to watch the basketball Buckeyes. It was the first time I saw them play hoops since the Final Four in Atlanta. My buddy Rick called me about 11am and invited me down. It was a good time. The Buckeyes defeated UNC-Ashville.

Happy Festivus from the Bayou.

Christmas vacation and it feels like Christmas. It was 8 degrees this morning when I woke up. The wind chill was in the -15 degree range. We have a light dusting of snow on the ground. I am not sure we are going to get measurable snow fall before Christmas, which is too bad. I enjoy having the white stuff on the ground at Christmas time.

Some things from last week. The annual MHS Talent Show was the best in the recent years. I stayed in Mogadore and took pictures of the basketball game. The Cats are better than last year, but have a long long way to go before they become a .500 team. But, with basketball it is tough to win if you don't have some size and we don't have it.

Saturday night I went to the Winking Lizard to watch the Cowboys game. The game was on the NFL network and I don't pay to see that channel. I met up with Jeff, Liz and her dad (both are Cowboy fans). We had a good time until the fourth quarter. Somewhere I thought the Boys would pull out a victory in the last game at Texas Stadium, but I was wrong. I am glad I didn't spend the money on a ticket to the game.

Sunday, T had to work. We stayed at home and watched football. As it works out, the Cowboys will make the playoffs if they beat Philadelphia next week. I am not sure that will happen, but it is nice to know they control their own playoff fate.

We have a few things to do before Christmas Eve, Day, Day after. Tomorrow, I am taking the kids to Atwood to check out the camper. If the weather is warmer we may take a short hike. T had things to do (wrapping) and she wants the kids out of the house for a few hours. Christmas Eve morning we will enjoy a "Beignet Breakfast". It is our Christmas Eve breakfast tradition. K told his teacher about it and she is going to make some beignets over break.

Of course tomorrow is Festivus and I would love to post my "airing of grievances". It would be a nice long list, but in the spirit of Christmas (which, according to someone I have none) I will let things in the past stay in the past.

I am off to relax and enjoy my vacation.

---Bayou

Merry Christmas from our little SAND-tas!

I did some work on to our pictures and couldn't wait til Christmas to post one of them.

I did forget to mention, B had strep throat last week. She wasn't feeling well on Wednesday night. She stayed home on Thursday and went to see her doctor. He comfirmed she had strep and told her to stay home from school on Friday. I stayed home with her on Friday as T had to sub at Lohr Elem. She was feeling better Saturday and she went to school today. I hope she did not spread it to anyone else.

It is Monday and only 5 days left til Christmas break. This year we have 2 full weeks off school. I am sure T will be happy to get me and the kids out of the house on Jan. 5.

I am in a little better mood today. The Cowboys won last night. It always makes my Mondays better.

Saturday was a long day. I was up early to drive to Mogadore and pick up the junior high wrestling team. We were at Fairless Middle school. We had a couple of guys do really well. The newer guys are working hard and will develop into solid wrestlers as the season advances.

Saturday was also my sister's Santa party. T had to leave B's baton Christmas party, so B could sit on Santa's lap. It sure beats standing in line at a mall. I will add some pics later.

Speaking of B's baton party, she earned a huge (3' tall) trophy for marching in 20 parades this year. She was a busy little girl. I know she enjoys it, even though she will complain about it being too hot or too cold to march. T was asked to be a marching mom. We will see if she does this.

The family Christmas cards went out on Saturday. You should be receiving one shortly. I did not included a Christmas letter because I write this blog. If you want a review of the year, go back to January and start re-reading my posts.

One last thing, the Bayou Steelers lost in the MNFFL playoffs. We lost to the Pimpin' Pioneers again this year. It look like we will be playing the Basement Boys for 3rd place.

Blog you later,

Bayou

Do you ever wonder what people think about you or your family? I would think we all wonder about it, but really don't care if we ever knew it or not. Remember, the movie, 'What women want' with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt? Mel's character gains the ability to hear what women are thinking. Now, I am not going review the movie, but imagine if you had that power. You could hear what other are saying about you, your family, your spouse, your kids, your house, your car, your clothes, etc... First, would you want this power? Second, what would you do with the information you heard? Third, would you treat people different bases on what they think about you? Interesting things to think about. Don't forget to look at it from different points of view. People only like you because you have money. Or, they only like you because they have to.

Just something to think about.

Well, a week has past since my last blog. The routine here has not changed much during the last week. T and I put up most of the outside Christmas lights. We put up a "light" tree in the front yard complete with light up presents under it. We put up the tree last night. We still need to add lights and the trimmings. We would have done it today, but B had an overnighter last night and did not return til after 5 today. My brother came over to watch the Cowboys-Steelers game. his friend and children come over as well. It was tough to watch the 'Boys give away a 10 point lead and lose on a pick 6. We hope to decorate the tree tomorrow, in between B going to baton.

The Buckeyes are heading to AZ again this year. They will play in the Fiesta Bowl against Texas. It is the 4th straight year they are playing in a BCS bowl. Go Buckeyes----Hook them horns!

I have a busy wrestling week coming up. I am taking the junior high to Streetsboro. I have my van driver's certificate and we only have 7 wrestlers, so everyone fits in the school van. The other coaches will drive themselves to Streetsboro. It save the athletic program from paying a bus driver. I am trying to help out the wrestling team as much as I can this season.

The varsity is at home on Thursday. I will stay and take pictures.

It is my Christmas prayer that those who see $$$ at Christmas time, take a moment to realize what is the true meaning of the season.

Time to play catch-up.

Wednesday. The kids had school, but I did not. The big event of the day was the Leon's Day Before Thanksgiving No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament Classic. I won this event back in 2005 and won it again this year. It came down to me vs my brother. I had him out chipped and won the tournament. We played other game after the main event, but I wen tout early.

Thursday. We ate lunch at Dawn's and dinner at my in-laws. I was able to watch the Cowboys beat Seattle. Everything was going well until B wanted to eat an apple around 9:45pm. She used a potato peeler to peel the skin off the apple. But, she used the peeler to peel off part of her left index finger. Thankfully, it was not deep, but we could not get it to stop bleeding. We ended up taking her to Robinson. They were able to control the bleeding and wrapped her finger and hand up. She went to see her doctor on Saturday and he rewrapped the finger. He said it looks like it is starting to heal.

Friday. K and I went to the Division VI State Championship game at Massillon. Delphos St. John's beat Hopewell-Louden. After that game, I met up with Keith Moore for the Division IV game at Fawcett. It was cold, but not too bad. After the games, T and I went to dinner with her aunt from PA. We ate at LeFever's in Cuyahoga Falls. We had a very nice time.

Saturday. T had to take B to the doctors. So, me and the boys stayed around the house. We took the kids to T's parents while we went to T's high school reunion. It was a fun time. T had not seen most of the people in attendance since graduation.

Today. I don't know why I bother to watch the Browns. They found a way to lose today on this overcast, rainy day. The kids have tomorrow off. B will head back to the doctors to have her finger examined and rewrapped.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

T had to work Saturday and Sunday. So, the family did not do too much this weekend.

The kids and I went to my parent's house to watch the Buckeyes destroy Mich again, 42-7. Jeff and the boys were there, so the cousins played nicely together.

Sunday, I could not stomach the Browns game, so I cleaned up the backyard and put away any remaining article of outdoor furniture away. I would have raked leaves as well, but they were snowed covered. Thankfully, the Cowboys beat-up the 49ers.

Gas is down to $1.63 near our house.

If I don't blog before Thrusday....Happy Thanksgiving from the Bayou.

First off, gas is $1.79 near our house. I can't remember it that low in a long long long time.

Second, The big D is complete for my brother. I am glad for him that it is over. I am sure things will work out for the best for him and his kids. UPDATE: My brother just called and he is very happy with how things went this morning. We are going out tonight to celebrate and watch the Steelers.

Third, we have an agreement in principle on a pontoon boat. We had thought about buying late in the fall, but we did not like any of the boats we saw for sale. However, a camper friend of our has been having medical trouble and is selling his boat. It is a beautiful 21' pontoon boat that can hold 11 people. So, we will be able to take more people out on the lake than in the old boat. It also comes with an enclosure, full cover, and trailer. We will work out all the details and sign papers at a later date. I wish I had a picture to post, but when we get it into the water, I will post a pic for everyone to see.

It is lunch time, so----Bayou out.

There was another afternoon/evening of black ice on the roads. I drove from school to Dover and the weather and road conditions were terrible. However, once I was south of Canton, the weather and roads improved. Then on the way home, bad roads returned once I hit Stark County. I did not see one salt truck on the road, in either direction, on I-77. I hope this is not an indication of things to come this winter.

The Bayou Steelers are in the MNFFL play-offs. There are still 2 weeks left in the regular season. We will be battling for a first round-bye in the play-offs. The top two teams earn byes.

The Browns added a W to my sports weekend Sunday night. But, this weekend is the big game---Ohio State-Michigan. It kicks off at noon from the Horseshoe. T has to work, so I will watch the game with my mom.

-Bayou

With the weather turning cold, here is a picture to remember the summer. Here is J with on our neighbor's boat. We really like their boat. It is a 21' pontoon boat. It has room for 12 people. We would like to have a boat to take our friends and family all at the same time.

This past weekend was a good sports weekend. Ohio State-won, Dallas-won, Michigan-lost! The Browns play tonight and we will see what will happen there. I am not expecting a W from them.

The weather turned a little nasty today. An Alberta Clipper came across Lake Erie. Now, we did not get a measurable amount of snow, some up closer the the lake got dumped on. We had to deal with road freezing----black ice. It always take time to get used to driving in winter conditions.

--Bayou

http://recordpub.com/news/sports_article/4465973

It is not everyday an athlete from Mogadore signs with a Division 1 program in any sport. So, when it happens it is newsworthy. Nate is a great kid and I am glad he is going to the best golf program in the state. I wish him nothing but the best at KSU next year.

Not too much is going on here at the Bayou household. Wrestling season starts tomorrow and I will miss something about it, but I will be glad to be home before 4pm everyday.

--Bayou

16 years. It has been 16 years since T and I went on our first date. It was just a week after Bill Clinton defeated George HW Bush for the Presidency. T and I are not planning anything special for tonight. I am sure we will try to go out soon to celebrate.

Here are some fun facts about 1992:
Gas was $1.09 a gallon in Nov. 1992
Golden Girls and Cosby went off the air.
Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show and Jay Leno replaced him.
The Dallas Cowboys we on their way to winning Super Bowl XXVII in January 1993.
The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series,
Ohio State and Michigan played to a 13-13 tie. The QB for the Buckeyes that day; Kirk Herbstreit. OSU President (then and now) G. Gorden Gee said "A tie is one of our greatest wins ever," Who said the leader of the largest university in the country needs to be a smart man?

Mogadore's season came to an end Friday night. The Hopewell-Louden Chieftens beat them 30-0. I am really impressed by this group of kids and coaches. They could have quit after the homecoming game when 5 starters were kicked off the team. But they hung in there and won the league again and hosted a play-off game. 10-2 again this year, not too bad.

Ohio State rolled. After the OSU game, I took the kids to Christie and Mike's. We had not seen them since the cruise. (T was scrap booking so she did not go). The kids love playing together. K played on their Wii most of the night. He is hoping Santa brings one this Christmas.

Yesterday was a bit different. The Browns and the Cowboys did not play. So, with no real interesting game on, I did things around the house. T went back to her all-day scrap booking event. I even had to wait til 4 to watch the Steelers play.

Dan called me about his boat. He is going to sell it. He is giving us first shot at it. He would like something down to know we are serious about buying the boat. We are, but putting something down before Christmas it tough. I had hope to wait til after we got our taxes back, but we might need to do something soon. His boat is a 2004 21' pontoon boat with a 4-stroke 25 horsepower Nissan outboard motor. He wants $12,000 for the boat, enclosure and trailer. The boat is in tip-top shape. But, if we don't buy it, I am sure we can find something else next spring.

--Bayou

It is going to be a raining evening in Mansfield. I am heading there to see the Cats play Hopewell-Louden in Round 2 of the play-offs. We lost to them last year in Round 2 at Ashland College. It will be a tough game for the Cats.

The Buckeyes are back in action this week. I hope they can run the table and get an at-larger BCS bid or share the Big Ten title with Penn State and possibly go to the Rose Bowl.

The Cowboys have the week off. (Thank the Lord). The Browns let another game slip through their hands last night. Denver beat them 34-30. So, I am not sure what game I will watch. I guess I will be rooting for the Bayou Steeler players.

--Bayou

It is just past 10:30pm on election day and Senator John McCain lost in his bid for President. It looks like the Democrats will gain in both the HOR and Senate. It is going to be a long 2 year and even longer 4 years. I am sad because people who supported the President elect can't tell me one reason why they voted for him. They must want 1 trillion dollars of new spending. Who is going to pay for it? Well, 95% of us will get tax breaks, so I guess it is on the top 5%. But wait, he wants to redistribute the wealth. Well, again, where is that coming from? The top 5%. But, don't forget small businesses. You will get tax increases as well. And all business will pay more taxes. I wonder what those companies will do? Maybe, raise their prices. So, I guess it is an increase for everyone who buys anything. I guess I am glad I am not in the top 5% of the wealthy people in the United States.
I could go on and on. It is just not worth it.

K went to a wrestling clinic this week. They had a "tournament" this morning. He placed 2nd. The kids that beat him, wrestled for the Perry Youth Wrestling team last year. He enjoyed wrestling. I think he will join the youth team next year.
You might not be able to tell he lost a tooth last night. It was the tooth next to the front tooth that is missing.

T took this picture today. It was the first station in the area to go under $2 a gallon.

Mogadore beat Leetonia last night 30-14. They will play Hopewell-Louden next week. HL beat us last year.

I mowed the grass for the last time this year. It was more to mulch up leaves than cut the grass. T and I cleaned out the barn and packed away stuff for the winter. It was a beautiful day. We could have gone camping this weekend and not been too cold. It was almost 60 today and it should be 60+ and sunny tomorrow.

Til next time,

Bayou

I guess I can report on the first snow fall of the season. The was snow on cars as I pulled into the parking lot here at MHS.

I did golf on Monday. It was cold, but no rain. Butch and I did not keep score. There was no one on the course, so we "hit'em til we liked 'em" I did hit some good balls of the tee and sank of couple of long putts. It will be a long time til golf season opens again.

The Bayou Steelers are 7-1 in fantasty football. We are a game ahead of Deez Nutts (my brother in-law). Monday night LenDale White carried the team to a victory. Hopefully, we can ride this good play into the play-off and win our 4th MNFFL Super Bowl title.

Til next time,

See you Down by the Bayou

Well, the Cowboys and Browns saved my sports weekend.

Yesterday, was trick or treat. We were out for only an hour. B was a yellow M&M. Kent was a Cleveland Indian and J was a pirate. The kids enjoyed it, but after an hour they were ready to go home. Since they trick or treat at Atwood, they get their fill of candy early. Of course, there was plenty of candy for me and T.

Mogadore will play Leetonia this Friday night. I would like to go see either Canton South or Canton McKinley play on Saturday. But, I might just stay at home.

Tonight will be the last week of free golf. Hopefully, the weather will hold out.

There are 8 days left in the election. I can't wait for it to be over. The media has crowned Obama King of the United States. I believe with him in the White House, we are starting a march toward socialism. Why do I want my wealth to be spread around to everyone else who is to lazy to get a job? Why would anybody want to work, if the government just spreads the wealth around? I guess I am the idiot who will continue to work to support all the deadbeat democrats on welfare.

John McCain will get my vote. Kirk Schurring will get my vote.

Bayou for President.

It has not been a good sports weekend for Bayou so far. Mogadore lost. The Buckeyes lost. The Rays lost game 3. The Cowboys have a tough game against Tampa Bay and the Browns are the Browns.

Leetonia will travel to Mogadore for the first round of the playoffs. Mogadore have made the playoffs ever year I have taught. They have hosted 8 first round playoff games.

T worked yesterday at the hospital. When she got home we attended a benefit dinner for one of K's cub scout friends. He is in need of new hearing aids. His dad is fighting cancer and the family is struggling to pay medical bills.

When we arrived back home, we started getting ready for the Buckeyes' game. We had a fire in the back yard. My brother and his boys came over along with the Hallgrens. The Tolins were invited but the oldest son broke his collarbone and they spent the evening in the ER.

I would rather listen to the Buckeyes on the radio than the TV. We ended up sitting around the fire for 3 quarters. The weather was crisp and cool, but very enjoyable.

---Bayou

Some more truth about ACORN.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/voter.fraud/index.html?iref=topnews


Now, the article says no voter fraud has happened yet, but does that mean it wont happen this year? If a person has a list of 20 people registered in 20 different locations and votes 20 times, this is voter fraud. If ACORN has 1,000 people voting 20 times each, that is 20,000 votes which will be more than enough to win Ohio. If they do this in every battleground ground state, the election will be a victory for Obama.

Go McCain/Palin!

Christmas is coming early for the Bayou children. I purchased a Wii system from jjhuddle.com. I will go to Salem to pick it up after school today. The kids will be so happy on Christmas morning. They loved playing it at Missy and Tim's when we were there before the cruise. I think I will need to purchase Rock Band. T loved playing it.

I was almost Christmas at the gas pump yesterday. Gas was down to $2.29. I don't think it has been that low since early 2007.

There was a McCain/Palin rally at Green HS yesterday. They focused on national security. Senator Biden believes we will be attacked within the first 6 months of an Obama presidency. He said they will test him to see what he does under pressure. I don't think anyone will test John McCain. They know not to mess with him. My question to everyone who wants to vote for Obama; Why put American lives at risk with him in the White House? His supporters want the USA out of Iraq, yet an attack on the USA would put us in another conflict. So, instead of bring home soldiers, we would be sending more soldiers into harms way. Go job, Senator Obama.

The Rays lost Game 1 last night. I let K stay up and watch some of the game. I hate that the games start after 8:30pm here in the east. I am sure I will be flipping channels Saturday night between the world series and the Buckeyes.

The Bayou Steelers lost there first game this past weekend. It is going to be tough couple of weeks without Tony Romo and Reggie Bush. They have been big point producers for the Steelers. We still have a 1 game led on Deez Nutts.

Go Rays. Go Wildcats. Go Panthers. Go Buckeyes. Go Flashes. Go Cowboys. Go Browns.

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