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

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

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

See you Down by the Bayou

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

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

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

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

See you next time, Down by the Bayou.

Planes waiting for a gate at Chicago.

Final Trip review.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I will finish the trip review tomorrow.

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

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

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

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

K and his cousin Matthew show off their cowboy hats.

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

Trip Update.

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

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

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

I will update everyone when we return from San Angelo.

--Bayou

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

That is all for now,

Bayou

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

See you Down by the Bayou!

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

Til next time, Bayou

Today was the last day for seniors. Thank God!!!!!
I will not miss them. They have alot of growing up to do. It is almost like they expect everyone to do things for them. There are some very lazy graduates entering college or the workforce.
We had the track awards last night. It was quick and to the point.
K had a very good night at t-ball last night. He was at pitcher's mound for the first two innings and stopped several ball. Him and Dan made a couple of outs. He did better at the plate last night.

It has been a couple of beautiful days. I hope it continues through the weekend.

Til Next time,

Bayou

Sorry far not blogging in a week. I am sure how many people actually read this, but it a good way for me to remember what is going on.

Last week was the first week without track practice since early March. In a way it is great not having anybody in regional, but that means no one advanced which is a let down. I will be heading down to Columbus on Friday.

I still have not made up my mind about wrestling. I have thought about leaving everything to Vince. I have thought about staying on as a volunteer on my schedule and I have thought about staying on at 10%. Maybe it is time to move on. It is apparent to me they want to do away with wrestling, so why should I stand in the way?

Friday, we made our first camping trip to Atwood. We arrived about 6, just in time to set up and eat dinner. We sat around the fire at Ranger Larry's.

Saturday, we went back home to pick up Briley. She had a slumber party at the Poorman's. Then we went on to Kelli Pollock's graduation party. The kids had a fun time. They have an awesome house. Big yard. Basketball court. Swimming Pool. Then it was back down to Atwood. It rained during the overnight, but we slept right through it.

Sunday. T had to go to work....oh wait...They called her off at 5:30am. She was already in Bolivar. It was sunny most of the day. K and I went fishing off the boat. We actually caught a few bluegill. K did his own casting and catching. The sky started to get dark and we headed back. It stormed for about 15-20 minutes, then Christy and Mike arrived. We had a nice visit and boat ride. It did rain a couple of short times while they we here.

Today. Briley did a ON with McKayla (Ranger Larry's granddaughter) last night. She did not get back til 1pm. So while she was gone this morning, we went back on the boat. K and I caught fish at the same time. I had one almost to the boat and K caught his. These were the only two fish we caught today.

Just a side note about gas prices. It went up to $3.49 on Wednesday and it is "back" down to $3.19 today. I am so glad we are flying to Texas next month.

Friday: It was a fun day with the talent show. The talent was pretty good. After the talent show, Rich had a brief meeting of the Athletic Council. He let everyone know there will a tag day for the booster club. Then he passed out the new pay schedule for the coaches. Everyone pretty much stayed the same, but the wrestling coaches. We got cut by over $2800 between the two of us. Oh, by the way the AD got a raise of about $2800. Unbelievable. Just another shot at the wrestling program. I have not decided what to do yet. I am trying to look out for Vince more than myself. He will be hit hard by the cut. I spent the entire ride to Norwayne fuming over how something like this could happen.
We did not advance anyone to regionals next week. So, the season ended. Lets see how long it takes to get paid.
Saturday: K went to practice, then we all went to Atwood. It was camper wash day. Jeff and his family came down to the camper. We all had a nice dinner. Jeff took the kids out for a quick boat ride. It was raining off and on while we where there.
Sunday: We started the site work for the barn. We also started to do some other work around the yard. We could not really get into working because T was scheduled to work. Well, she got called off about 2pm. So we had some more time before my track meeting at Rootstown. We are going to plant some pumpkins on the side yard, so we spent time working to get that area ready. We will get a tiller tomorrow and hopefully finish all the work. We will then need to get crushed limestone for the base of the barn.

Later,

Bayou

K lost his second tooth today.
The wrestling team worked a food stand at the Akron Aeros game. We made over $100. I am not sure the total, but not too bad. We have 4 more times to earn $$$.

Me and K before one of his games.

Sorry again. I try not to go so long without writing things down. It just seems something is going on every night.

Recap of the week:

Saturday: Mogadore boys team finished ahead of Rootstown! We did not win any events, but did manage to score in most of the events. I went to the "post meet" gathering. We talked about the pros and cons of the first team/second team awards the coaches must go back to Rootstown and vote on.

Sunday: Akron Aeros game. We had 7 people working. We need to get 10 and we should have that next time.

Monday: K had a game. K has changed his swing. I am not sure why, but he is now doing a check swing. I will need to work on that. He could be getting more power in his swing.

Tuesday: Best day of the year, weather wise. It was 85. I mowed the yard and tried to straighten up where the stumps used to be. I will be rented a tiller soon and getting the yard ready for the barn.

Wednesday: What a difference a day makes. A storm front went through in the middle of the night. I was awake most of the night, only J made his way into our bed. The temp dropped into the 50's. The district track meet was held at Norwayne HS. It rained on and off most of the 7+ hours we were there. We managed 1 point. Zack Trainer was 8th in the shot. We will have chances to score tomorrow night. I doubt we will have anyone or relay team advance.

Thoughts on the Cavs: I actually watched 2 games so far in the series with NJ. I hate pro basketball. Give me the NCAA any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Thoughts in the Tribe: There are some in the national media that think the tribe can make it to the World Series. Are they kidding. This is Cleveland. Nothing good happens here in sports. The pitching is ok. The closer has 2 blown saves where he was one strike away from the save. I watched him give up a hit and homerun to tie the game on Sunday. Then the next 2 guys get hits and then a 3 run home run to win the game for Oakland.

That is enough for now,

Bayou

I am sorry I have not blogged in a few days.

Monday: It was golf night. I shot a 44. I did hit some good shots tonight. It was only 4 shots better than week 1, but it felt better. I birdied 7. I hit a monster drive, good 3 wood across the water. My pitch shot was 15 feet from the cup. I hit the putt!

Wednesday: Day one of the PTC Championship. We did not advance as many as we thought we should. The Mog coaches ran the girls discus. We missed most of the first part of the meet.

Today: Mogadore hosted the JR High PTC County Division Championship. It got off to a rocky start. Some of the coaches we upset that we changed the format from what was sent out. The coaches meeting took alot longer than it should. It got heated. In the end, the "games committee" (me and Rich) have the right to change the format. It went alot quicker than a high school meet. Here is the link to the results: http://baumspage.com/track/ms/ptc/county/res07.htm

Tomorrow: We will be at Ravenna for the high school PTC meet.

I missed Kent's game on Wednesday night and tonight. I feel bad about missing these things. But Coach Tom is doing a good job with the kids. I will be there Monday for the game.

Have a good weekend,

Bayou

Thursday: The track team did ok at Dalton. I spent most of the night talking to Jerry Somerville while watching the relays. Our best finish was in the shot and disc. Both teams finished in 2nd place. The weather was beautiful.
Friday: My tooth is hurting more and more each day. T tried to call Dr. Cohen, but he is not in til Monday.
Saturday: We were at Avondale. We did not look as good as the other night. We need to continue to work on defense and backing each other up. Kent hit the ball pretty well. He is practicing with his own tee in the backyard. Grandma picked up the kids so T and I could go to Prom. Prom was held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was a good time.
Sunday: We had K's birthday party today. It was a wonderful weather day. The kids played nice together. K got plenty of gifts, but he did get his bike. It is a tad big for him now, but he will grow into it in no time.
I have golf tomorrow. The weather should be nice. I hope to play a ton better than last time.

5 weeks of school left!

Bayou

Yesterday, I received an email from United about a flight number change. So, I went into their website to copy down the new information. I noticed they changed B's seat assignment. They moved her 3 row behind us. I called their 800 number 2 different time and no one could help move her back to her original seat because the plane is full. Today, I called one more time. Brian at United was able to "open" a couple of seat together and move me and B a couple of rows in front of T, K, and J. I am amazed by fact Brian was able to help me, when no one yesterday was willing to help.
We ran against East Canton last night. We were able to get the meet in before the rains came. There was heavy rain and thunderstorms at bedtime. We even got pea-sized hail. We will be at Dalton tomorrow for the Toby Grimm Relays. It is the "funniest" meet of the year.

Keep on Smiling, Bayou

Tonight was K's first t-ball game. We played at Navarre. There were some good plays and some bad plays. We don't have another practice for almost 2 weeks, but we will play 4 games between now and then. K did ok. He made good contact with the ball when he batted. When we got home, he went to the back yard and hit off his tee. He still needs to work on his fielding. He played first base and right field. One of the rules of the league has everyone playing every position during the season. Coach Tom has each kid playing 2 positions per game. Tom is doing a good job. He does ask for the coaches' opinion. We play again Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
The rest of this week is busy. We ran at East Canton tomorrow and Dalton on Thursday. A jr high meet is squeezed in on Wednesday.
I ordered our shed today. We are buying a 10x14 shed. I need to get the site ready. I have 3-5 weeks til it is ready. The shed is built in pieces and put together on site. We will need to paint it when they are done building it. I would like to have this done by the time we leave for Texas. Speaking of Texas, I purchased the 10 game flex package for the Colts. We are going to see them play on the 16 and 17 of June.
B is sick. Nana took her home from K's ballgame. She won't go to school tomorrow. Her temp is 102. T will take her to the dr tomorrow.

Good Luck to the Eagles (k's team sponsor is the local Eagles' club.)
From the Bayou

What a night last night. It was a cool damp night for the Wildcat Invitational. I managed to stay dry, of course I was in the press box. We had some problems. Mo Raddish said he had everyone for the finish line. Well, we did not have anyone and Dave Ross recruited the stands for workers. Then I was told I had to let coaches make substitution for the races. I was not happy. I gave all coaches until 8pm Thursday night to turn in their lineup. But Rich told me I had to let them make changes. It wasn't to bad only a couple of changes that did not figure in the scoring. The results can be found at http://baumspage.com/track/mogadore/res07.htm
This morning we had t-ball pictures, then practice. It will be interesting to see our first game. The kids don't know all the basic rules. It is hard to keep their attention long enough to do some work. Jeff called during practice to fill me in on the draft. The Browns were able to draft Joe Thomas, OT from Wisconsin and Brady Quinn from ND. It had to be like Christmas for Phil Savage. The Browns traded with the Cowboys to get Brady. Jeff brought the boys over for pizza and draft watching. Ok, the kids played and Jeff and I watched the draft.
Tomorrow we are heading to Atwood to put in the dock. Tim W should be there to help out. He will be camping on the Moores old lot and sharing our dock. It will be nice to have a familiar face at Atwood since the Bates and Moores will not be there.

Til next time....Bayou Out!

Guess what happened today? Kent lost his first tooth. I was wiggling it and he moved his head and pop! He didn't even know it at first. It wont be long until the neighbor tooth is gone. I havev a feeling he will lose a bunch of teeth in the next couple of months. He had t-ball practice until the rain came.

The entry deadline for the Wildcat track meet has come and gone. I am waiting for Gary to email me the files to upload the data. I am using the school's laptop to run the meet. I do not trust our old computer. I will be glad when the meet is over. It is a lot of work, but hopefully, everyone has a good time.

The Indians are on a little winning streak. They have won 5 straight and 6 of 7 since the trip to NYC. I am glad they are off to a good start. It seems like most years they get off to a horrible start and can't recover. I hope to see them in person soon.

See you Down by the Bayou

0.5 seconds was the difference between winning and losing. The 4x400 meter relay team lost by 0.5 seconds to Rootstown. We were leading the meet 63-60 going into the 4x4. We ended up losing 65-63. There were a couple of spots we should/could have picked up points. We had a good showing against Garfield, but still lost.
Against Rootstown winners included: Kirkpatrick (1600, 3200), Bauer 300H, Green 200, and Holland 400. The 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams won. We could have picked up a couple more points in shot or disc. Trainer is getting pushed by Seymour. Hopefully this will push Trainer to work even harder. Seymour needs to work on his work ethic. He could be a 45' guy in the shot, if he worked harder and listened to coach Cat. He is a big boy and can only get better.
The weather will turn rainy for the next couple of days. Hopefully, by Friday, the sun will return.

Til next time,

Coach Bayou