Take me out to the ballgame

Yesterday one of the doctors I work for gave me tickets to the Toledo Mudhens game. So, off to the ballgame we went. We arrived during the second inning, and as we walked by the stadium promotional booth we were stopped by a young lady. She asked us if one of our children would like to race "Muddy" the mudhen around the bases after the third inning. Kenna and I recognized this as a unique opportunity and both Ella and Tanner were initially very excited. But then Ella said she didn't want to and Tanner changed his mind too. As Kenna filled out the legal forms I convinced Tanner he should do it. He very reluctantly agreed. The lady then took us down into the tunnel where we met "Muddy."

Let me try and describe how "Muddy" smelled. I want you to imagine mowing a big lawn at noon in Aug, take the shirt you are wearing and pass it to your neighbor who is also mowing his lawn. When he is done he passes it on to his neighbor. Repeat this process twelve times with the same shirt. Then take that shirt and put it in a gym bag for no less than 5 years. That is what "Muddy" smelled like. You'll notice I had Mary because Kenna stayed with Sarah, Ella, and Rylee and I thought she needed both hands for that. Mary plays an important role in the story later.

Next we went to the gate to the field to wait for our cue. Tanner became more nervous and decided he didn't want to go out. But there was one out until the end of the second inning and there was no time to get a replacement so we were committed to him going out there. The promotion lady told me that "Muddy" would walk him out and I had to stay in the tunnel. The inning ended and out went Muddy (no more apostrophes, please) but Tanner stayed put and would not go with him. They had already announced his name on the intercom. The lady looked at me and said you can go out to first base with him but he has to run around the bases by himself. OK. So I grab his hand and out the three of us go (don't forget Mary). So we get to first base and Muddy and a big cup of Tim Horton's coffee start running. Tanner stays put and begins to cry. Did I mention it was a sellout crowd of 10,00 people that night? Muddy and the coffee cup are encouraging him to run, the crowd is cheering him on, I, of course, am begging, pleading, and bribing him to run. Remember, I was told I couldn't run the bases with him. This goes on for an eternity (approx 30 seconds). Finally I look at the coffee cup and ask "can I run with him?" I figure Tim Horton's was the sponsor so the coffee cup had more authority than Muddy anyway. The cup said yes and off we went. Muddy was in the lead rounding second but Mary and I overtook him midway towards third and Tanner stormed from behind to win at third base. So, I have become the guy-who-ran-the-bases-carrying-a-baby-and-dragging-his-crying-child-behind-him. Good times!! Ironically, Ella ended up crying hysterically for two innings because she didn't get to run the bases. Eventually though, everyone recovered and a good time was had by all.

P.S. today was my last day as a fellow. I am now a full fledged doctor. Now Kenna is the only boss of me.

NaNaNaNa NaNaNaNa HeyHeyHey Goodbye!!

After eleven years and over 106,000 miles we bid farewell to "daddy's little red car." This car served us well, taking us across country several times, multiple trips from chicago to cincinnati, and multiple trips from toledo to lexington. We were going to try and make it last one more month until we got to cincinnati but the exhaust pipe broke. After that it sounded more like a Harley than a Honda. So it had to go before my hearing did.

Let me introduce you to my new wheels, a four-year-old Honda CR-V with low miles and this thing called a "CD" player. For those of you who are wondering the color will be called "cougar blue." I always felt conflicted driving a red car.

Fun in the sun

We spent a wonderful week on the beach in North Carolina with about 30 members of Marc's family! We stayed in an ocean-front house (the beach was literally the backyard...AMAZING!) The weather was great. We were on the beach all but one day. The kids had loads of fun getting to know their cousins and second cousins. They had playmates all week long. I was in heaven! I think at least one of them (usually Tanner) has asked me every day since we got back when we are going to go back to the beach. ASAP, buddy. We can hardly wait!

Thanks Brent and Diana for planning such an awesome vacation for all of us!

Happy Birthday Ella!!!

Today our sweet Ella is 5 years old. She had lots of fun at the beach.

Today for her birthday dinner she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's so she could ride the clock. She had lots of fun. She made some new friends in the tube network hanging from the ceiling. She is such a fun loving girl and makes new friends very easily. Yesterday out of the blue she said she wanted to go say hi to our neighbor Pat. When I asked why she said "because I haven't seen her for like three weeks!" She then spent the next hour on the neighbors porch talking to her. Even Tanner went over to say hi.

We will miss our neighbors when we move.

Happy Birthday Rylee!!!

I know that it is a day late but we were on the road yesterday coming home from the beach. She turns 11 this year. She had lots of fun at the beach and was very happy the whole trip. Here she is hanging out with Aunt Jennifer on the beach.

Here she is sharing a joke with Uncle Jason in her grandpa's really cool office.

Rylee is our sweet little bug and her smiles and giggles brighten every day.

My dad's office is cooler than your dad's

I can't really say that my dad is cooler than your dad because that would rarely be true. But I can say with confidence that my dad's office is cooler than your dad's. We were in Washington D.C. for the fourth of July and we visited my dad's office. My dad is the Director of the Office of Surface Mining within the Dept of Interior. He apparently regulates surface mining and land reclamatiozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, if you're not involved with coal mining it is a snozer of a job. But his office is in this old building right off of Constitution Ave, so across the street (literally) is the Vietnam memorial and Lincoln Memorial. This building was built in the 1930's and my dad's office is called the Octagon room. It is like the Oval office (though lesser well known) in that it is known by its shape. It is even purportedly slightly larger than the Oval office. It was in this room the commanders of World War II met to plan the war.

This is the plaque on the wall that explains what happened there.

But the coolest part of all is this private shower off to the side with the Office of Surface Mining logo on it.

We were able to watch the fireworks from the lawn in front of the building. Excellent seats for the show. They shut down Constitution Ave a couple of hours before the fireworks and we went out and tossed a frisbee around on Constitution Avenue. That was pretty fun. It did rain while we were outside waiting but the kids still had a good time.

Here is Sarah Margaret with her namesake, my grandma Margaret, while they watched the fireworks.

It was a great Fourth of July celebration and we were very excited to go and celebrate the birth of our great nation in its capitol.

Bumbo bliss

Mary is the first of my five children who has enjoyed this little invention, the bumbo. We love it. When Ella first saw Mary sitting in it, she said, "Look mom, Mary can sit up like a real human!"