Hello June....well I guess i should blog about May

J's baseball team has been getting better each week. We did have a grudge match against Coach Tom's team. We looked pretty good. Tom said we will have a good 6 year old team next year. J has been hitting the pitches from the coach rather than off the tee. He is improving so much.

K's team finally won a game last week, 13-9. K has had good days at the plate and not a good day in the field. Or he will have a good day in the field and not at bat. He has made a number of good defensive plays at second base. His pitching has improved lately. He had one really bad outing, but the rest of the time he has looked good on the mound.

B had her first parade yesterday in Canton. I am not real happy with how things are being run in her baton group. The numbers seem down and some people have left the group who were very instrumental in setting the schedule.

I did run both track invitationals at MHS in May. It was a little less stressful since I only had one job to do. The weather was divine both nights.

We made it to Atwood for one night two weekends ago and then for the Memorial Day weekend. The kids swam Saturday for the first time. It was chilly but not too bad. Sunday we had our party. It was fun. There was good food, good friends and great weather (85 and sunny).

We found a nest of barn swallows in our boat's battery compartment. They hatched this past weekend. They are so tiny and their eyes aren't open yet.

We did some fishing this weekend. B out-fished the boys. But, J caught the largest fish.

I will add some pics later.

-Bayou

I found out today that I will be back at Mogadore next year. The only catch, I will be teaching health. This is a part-time job. So it means a big pay cut, but it is a job.

I will blog more later.

--Bayou

We celebrated K's birthday today. He turned 9 yesterday. He played in one of the coldest and windiest game ever. He pitched pretty good. He struck out 2 and field a ground ball. The team lost the game. They need to find their hitting groove.
B and her cousin after the Bands in the Round last Thursday. The concert went by quickly. I remember that concert lasting for hours. I am proud of all B has done this year in band.

Before I went to BITR, I took J to his baseball game. He made a good play on this ground ball. He got a hit in the only time I saw him bat.

I need to get my calendar to fill in the blanks from the last week or so. So, saty tuned for my next update.

I guess this is turning into a weekly blog. So, here is the recap from last week.

I finally got my permanent crown on my tooth on Tuesday. It was pain free.

We did a quick trip to Michigan. We went and saw my friend's little boy in Damn Yankees! He was a bat boy. We did not stay, so we did not get back until 3:45am on Sunday morning. Then it was on to my nephew's confirmation and party. It was a fun time with the family.

That is about it.

Well, it has been a week since my last blog. Sorry. It has been a busy week with kids. K and J have ball practice and B has baton. We don't have much time to do much else. The weather was nice until Saturday. It was chilly at ball practice yesterday for both boys.
One thing I have been trying to do is walking 3 or 4 times a week. In March I walked 12 miles and so far this month I am at 6.2 miles. I need to pick up the pace. I generally walk at the park down the road, but there are a couple of nice walking paths in the area. Hopefully, the weather will be nice and I can get out and walk a bunch of miles this week.

Happy Birthday to me. We went to Kalahari for the night. It was great water park. The place was really busy, but we didn't have to wait too long for any one ride. B and K loved the Flow Rider. I even gave it a go. My college roommate, Craig, and his family joined us as well.
We had a birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then had cupcakes back in our room. All in all, it was a fun way to spend my 40th birthday.

Well, I guess I can tell everyone the news....Mogadore Local Schools is suspending my contract at the end of the year due to financial reasons. There are 4 teachers who will be "RIFfed" at the end of the school year because of budget cuts.

I first got wind that I might be let go around the middle of February. Even, until I actually received the letter today, I had hope something would change and I would still have a teaching job. However, it does not look like that will happen.

This is something I never thought would happen and still can't believe it is happening.

I have already started the process of finding a new teaching job. But, most schools don't post job opening til the end of April or early May. I am hopeful to find something close to home. Keep us in your prayers.

Spring Break is wrapping up. It has been a beautiful week. We set a record high of 86 degrees F today. The family went to Atwood and under dad's direction, set up the campsite. We moved to lot #701 this year. It is bigger than our other lot. It is located just behind our 'old' site and next to our first ever permanent site.

Tomorrow, we head down to put the dock in place and launch the boat for the 2010 season. We figured we have close to 60 different people on the boat last year and invite you for a ride this year.

Yesterday was April Fool's Day. T and I woke up the kids and told them they had a snow day. They jumped up and looked out the window as well said April Fool's. Then, with a little help from my mom who was dog sitting, we posted on Facebook that we got a dog. It came complete with a picture of the dog and J. Everyone sent in an idea for a name. A few people bought into the joke hook, line and sinker. I am already thinking of jokes for next year.

I thought I would add this picture of J. I guess he needs to stay in school until he learns to read.

Well, I haven't done a good job keeping up with my blog this month.

The highlight of the month is Bear's birthday. We went to the Massillon Rec. Center. The cousins all showed up for the swimming and the aunts and uncles showed up at mom and dad's house. T made his SpongeBob cake.

The Wildcats played Warren JFK in playoff basketball. I went and met up with the Lyons. Sue was home sick, but Rick and 'stina showed up. The Cats went on to win the game, just like in football.

I went with Mike N. to the Kent State-Akron game. Kent St defeated the zips for the second time this year. Mike N. and I went to several high school basketball games in the past two weeks.

Kent St. beat Tulsa in the first round of the NIT. I was not able to attend due to K's wrestling banquet. The Flashes play Illinois tomorrow at Illinois.

The Buckeyes are on the Sweet Sixteen. They are having a great season and are two games from the Final Four.

The weather was been great for March. We even had a campfire last night. We made pie irons and s'mores. It was great! We listened to our new XM radio as we sat by the fire. See above picture.

Til next time, Bayou

Happy 5th birthday, Bear!
We had a party at the Rec. Center.

We went to the Pro Football HOF for his football pictures this year.

The snow is 99% gone. It was in the upper 60's yesterday and today. It might not stay this warm, but it is nice to see the sun.

Friday was Snow Day #2 for me. The kids and T had to go. It might have been only the second time ever I was off school for a snow day while the kids went. I picked up the bear from pre-school and had lunch with my sister. It was so much fun were spent most of the afternoon together.

Today we went to MUC to see friends of our from the cruise. Their daughter plays volleyball. This was the closest tournament to us, so we went. T had to work this afternoon/night.

I talked to my dad today. He is going to work tonight. I hope it goes well for him. He said he feels fine. I hope so.

It is almost the best time of the year.....MARCH MADNESS!

Dad came home today. He had surgery on Sunday and wasn't feeling well yesterday. So, they keep him one more day. I went and visited him today. He is getting used to using only his right arm for everything. It is going to be a long, long six weeks for him. I am glad everything went well for him. Also, glad my brother did not suffer the same fate, as he fell on the same patch of ice as dad while trying to take dad to the hospital.
There are other things going on in my life I don't want to post about at this time. I will do so in due time. Maybe. If you want to know, give me a call or email.

Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days for the kids and T. I still had to get up and go to school. I measured between 18-24 inches of snow on the ground. This is the most snow in February as measured by the Akron/Canton Airport.
Thursday night spent about 5 hours in the ER with T. She had some pain in your belly. We thought it might be her appendix, but it was not that or a kidney stone or gall bladder. The doctor wasn't 100% sure what was causing the pain. She was feeling a little better today.
I was on the way home from buying K's his iPod Touch when my brother called. Dad fell and broke his elbow. I went over to Aultman and saw him. He is going to stay overnight and have surgery tomorrow. Stay tune.

Bayou out.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it had a nice play area and swimming pool. I think the next time we visit T's aunt, we will stay here again.

We went to Atwood today to check on the camper. T had never been to Atwood during the winter time. It was beautiful. We walked out to the point. We had to make our own tracks. We left before the snow started to fall. The snow is falling now and I heard we might get 2-5 more inches of snow by tomorrow morning.

Snow day #2 for my kids, but I had school. Most of the schools near mine had school today, but the students still complained about having to go to school.

We had another 3 to 5 inches on top of the snow from the weekend. I didn't go out and measure it, but that is my uneducated guess.

Congratulations to the Saints from the Bayou Steelers! New Orleans is like a second city for me. I spent a ton of time in the big easy during my four years at SDMI. I picked the Colts to win, but hoped the Saints could pull it out. We went over to the Moores for the big game. Again, we had a great time.

Next year, Dallas will host Super Bowl XLV. I am going to try to figure out a way to make it down to TX for the game. If you have a couple of extra tickets, let me know.

Fun at my in-laws the day after the big snow.

I am so glad the Saints won. I thought the Colts would win going away. We went over the Moore's for a party. Maybe one day Cleveland will be in a Super Bowl.

Feb. 6, 2010

13" of snow.

I really don't think I need to add any comments to go along with these pictures.

Ok, my wife told me I forgot to mention K and I went to Mogadore for their wrestling match on Saturday. The wrestled Butchel and North. With only 5 wrestlers the matches went by quickly. After that, then it was on the Kerri and Brian's.

What a weekend. It didn't seem to stop, once it started. It started once I got home from school. T had to work and I took the kids to Mogadore to see the Cats play basketball. They beat Waterloo. We got home about the same time as T.

Saturday, we were up and ready for a new day. We signed up both boys for baseball. It is going to be a busy spring/summer with two in baseball. Then, it was off to wrestling. K had his tournament. He finished fourth in his group. He got a medal. Overall, it was fun watching him wrestle. He said he wants to wrestle again next season. Next on the list, baseball practice. K's team had an indoor practice. It was nice to see the boys again. We had a good time. It was more fun than practice. So, you think the day was over...wrong. After practice, it was over to Kerri and Brian's to help them move. We actually just move boxes to help get ready for Sunday. By the time, I got home I was ready for bed. Oh, J had an overnighter with his friend J.J.

Sunday was move day for Kerri and Brian. I help pack and unpack the furniture into a box truck. I am glad there was plenty help. In the end, Kerri said 80% of the stuff that needed moved, was moved. After going up and down stairs moving furniture, I think I will buy a ranch house if we ever move. Once, we got back home, T and I sorted picture orders from the dances we photographed. Again, I was ready for bed.

Bayou is tired and could go to bed now.