Mother's Day (at the ballpark)

Another Mother's Day for the books. It started around 8:30 with breakfast in bed for Christine. The kids and I tossed around lots of ideas on what to make, from pancakes to waffles to corn dogs (yeah, corn dogs are officially one of the food groups in our house). We decided on bacon, biscuits, pineapple and raspberries. We decided to get a little creative with the presentation. Here's what Mommy had to look forward to this morning in bed:





Now, doesn't that look appetizing! A little bacon "hair," raspberry/whipped cream "eyes," and a pineapple "smile." Served up with a little bouquet of flowers and a glass of milk. Welcome to Cafe Koehrn.

After Christine enjoyed all that, it was back to a normal Sunday for us. We headed off for our usual Sunday grocery run. Then it was back for a quick lunch, as we had plans this afternoon. Earlier this year, Spencer participated in a reading program at school and was awarded a ticket to a Fort Wayne Tin Caps baseball game. The Tin Caps are our local minor league baseball team. We decided to make it a family day and got tickets for all of us to go to the game with Spencer. It was a little chilly, but the sun was shining and ultimately the Tin Caps won the game 7-5 over the Lansing Lugnuts. Suprisingly, we actually made it to the end of the game. Here are a couple of shots from the game:

Ding-dong, the Winny is dead.....

Well, not really. But the ole' Windstar was ready to go to the big minivan parade in the sky. Translation....we traded her in for a newer model. At 160,000 miles, she served us well, spending much of her time on the highways and byways of Indiana, Michigan and Canada. Here's one of the last photos we took of the old girl, doing what she did best.....our trusty tailgate partner at an MSU football game last fall!









On Saturday, we visited the local Honda dealership to test drive the van I had been researching for some time now. We liked it and the kids loved it. I tried to get Spencer to pony up 20 bucks toward the purchase price, but no dice (he claims he forgot his wallet...likely excuse). We got a decent trade-in value for the Windstar and a good deal on the new van, a 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L. It's going to provide a little extra room and storage for the long trips we take during the year. Here's the new ride, along with a photo of the kids, who looooove the power sliding doors. Christine looooooves the fact that it has heated leather seats and a 6-disc CD player so she can finally listen to all her Canadian music groups. Aside from the DVD entertainment system and a couple of other minor details, this one has all the bells and whistles Honda offers. We like it.










By the way, you see the soccer ball in Syd's hands. She's playing on a munchkin soccer team that plays on Saturdays. She had her first game on Saturday. For not playing before, Syd did a great job her first time out. Aside from dribbling the ball the wrong way a couple of times (all the kids did this at least once), she had decent foot skills and her stamina was great, considering the kids ran around the whole time. We couldn't find the camera before we left for the game, so we'll post some soccer pictures in the coming weeks.

Punta Cana

As some of you know, Christine and I took a very well-deserved vacation trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic over spring break. We left the kids with Grandma Sandy and we flew out on Friday, April 2. It was definitely paradise found. One week was not long enough to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere here. We are definitely looking forward to returning some day. Here's a little movie montage of some of the photos we took while in the Dominican. We can fill you in on all the details when we talk to you next. A note of thanks to Misty Olson at Bartelt Travel for planning a great trip!

Spencer's been published

For Spencer's latest assignment in his 1st grade class, all the kids were given the opportunity to write their own book. They were given a blank book and asked to go to town on it, making it look as professional as possible. At first, Spencer wanted to write a story about Ben 10 fighting the Bakugans......,









.....but we steered him in a different direction. He chose to write about his many trips to Grandma Marilyn's house in Canada. It turned out really good and you'll have to be sure to read it when you're in The Fort.

Once Upon a Lilypad

Thursday, Feb 18 was the night of Spencer's school play, Once Upon a Lilypad. The first graders put on a play at school about a frog trying to learn how to be a better jumper and learn from his mistakes, not letting people put you down. It involved all of the first grade classes. There were 3 microphones on stage, with a couple of kids on each microphone at one time with small speaking parts.

Here's a picture of Spencer, his best friend Max and their teacher Mrs. Uhey ("you-ee"). The kids in her class were alligators, hence the rockin' hats.

Snow Day

Due to the "white death" (as predicted by our local idiot weather forecasters), both Christine and Spencer's schools were closed today. Last night, they were calling for up to 12 inches of snow today. I think we got 4-5 inches. For those of us who grew up in Michigan and Toronto, that's a typical afternoon in winter. However, here in Indiana, all hell breaks loose. The grocery stores are overrun with people stocking up for the 2 months they will be stranded and drivers either go 40-50 miles under the speed limit or they cruise around like nothing's happened. Either way, accidents will and do happen.

Christine decided to bundle everyone up and get a little fresh air.

We've had this blow-up tube for some time and the kids had used it in the pool during the summer. It is actually a snow tube and they put it to good use today. Here's a video from the improvised sledding hill on the driveway.

After all that, it was time to come in and warm up. The kids love hot chocolate, especially with marshmallows. A mess is usually made, but I suppose it's all worth it.

Y-ball

We signed Spencer up to play basketball through the YMCA, hence Y-ball. It's first and second graders on the team. There's a lot of traveling, fouling, and double dribbling, but the kids have a great time. The refs let them play through most of it, only stopping play if someone steals the ball or steps out of bounds. Spencers's team, the Nets, has done pretty well through 4 games, winning all of them. In fact, last weekend, Spencer got the game winning shot with a minute to go. This week was pictures before his game. Here's a photo of the team. Spencer's sportin' the wicked red crocs. They all get along great and are pretty tired out afterwards. Makes for a quiet afternoon at home!

We love Transformers!

We love Grandma Sandy! Due to bad weather and sick kids we just now were able to do Christmas with Grandma. The kids were excited with all the great gifts they got. After all the ripped wrapping paper and toy boxes were cleaned up, we noticed one gift unopened. It was for Spencer. Seeing as how Spencer really likes his Transformers, Grandma saw a really cool Transformer poster in the store and thought Spencer might like it for his room. We weren't exactly sure which Transformer it was gonna be, as Grandma said she didn't know all the characters but thought Spencer would know the difference. So, I take off the plastic wrapping and begin to unravel the poster. The first thing I saw was what looked like cleavage. I don't remember any of the Transformers going without clothes, so I was confused (and slightly excited at the same time). I proceeded to unravel the poster completely and, to Daddy's delight, saw a lovely poster of the hottie Megan Fox, human co-star from Transformers. After the prolonged laughter and teary eyes from said laughter, Christine snapped a photo of Spencer and I showing our surprise to Ms. Fox. Like I said to open the post, We love Grandma Sandy!

Beware democracy....she can vote now!

Yep, it's official. As of 11:00am yesterday, Christine has gained her US citizenship. She still has her Canadian citizenship, so she's now dual. Here are a couple of photos from the ceremony. There were 52 people from 22 countries who were becoming citizens. We had to be at the US District Courthouse in Fort Wayne at 10am. Little did we know, the actual ceremony didn't start until 11:00am. We briefly debated on whether to take either/both of the kids and we decided against it. I'm glad, as we had roughly an hour and a half to kill before everything started. There were several families in attendance who brought small kids and they were a bit cranky to say the least. At 11am, the judge came in. He spoke for a bit, then we heard from representative Mark Souder's spokesperson and a lady from the Daughters of the American Revolution. They are charged with making sure all new citizens are given a small US flag and a booklet on flying/caring for the flag. Then, after saying the oath of citizenship and the Pledge of Allegiance, each new citizen was called up to receive their citizenship certificate. The judge made a few more remarks then dismissed the group. Afterwards, he hung around to take photos with anyone who wanted to. We're glad the process is done. Now, when we win the Powerball and I keep my promise of moving us to Canada, it'll be my turn to start the process again for myself!

We have a winner!

It's done, it's done, it's done! After a year of toiling, I've finished tiling the floor. Granted, there were many weekends where no work took place, but it's done nonetheless. With Christine and the kids gone to Canada last week, I felt it was a great time to finish up the work without the pitter-patter of little feet to get in the way. They left Saturday morning and I got to work. I had a little tile cutting/setting to finish before I could start grouting. Once the area under the stove was tiled/grouted, I moved it back into place and began the arduous grouting process. Long story short, I was finished putting all the trim back down around the perimeter literally minutes before they got home the afternoon of the 24th. Here are a couple of pics of the final product.

I think it's safe to say that grouting is one of my very least favorite home improvement activities. It wasn't so bad when I did the bathroom and laundry room. But doing the hallway and entire kitchen was a different story. My shoulders are still sore from it. No pain, no gain.

We're still not done working on the kitchen. We were at Menard's today looking around, and saw some nice countertops we liked. It's either countertops or appliances. Whichever "dies" first I guess. Thanks to all who have given compliments on the floor. I know it's not perfect and there are little blemishes here and there, but I'm pretty sure I saved a fortune by doing it myself. Plus, Christine and I both think it turned out great. I'm done with home improvement for a while. However, we've discussed ripping up the carpet in the living room to put down hardwood. I'll stop now while I'm ahead.

Holiday Fun in the Fort

We've had a busy couple of weekends, as I'm sure everyone has. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has absolutely flown by. This weekend has been the only weekend we haven't had something on the calendar to do. Still, we were quite busy with last minute shopping and visiting Santa.

Last weekend, the kids made gingerbread houses. Actually, Spencer and I made a gingerbread house and Syd and Christine made a gingerbread train. They both turned out pretty good.









Today, we planned on going out to see Santa at Jefferson Pointe. First, we took a couple of photos in front of the tree (you know, before clothes, hair and faces got dirty!).








So, it was off to see Santa. We were third in line so we didn't have to wait long. The weather was a bit misty and foggy, but otherwise not bad. We were worried about Syd, as it's been crying and clutching my neck for the last 3 years. She made Spencer hold her hand, and a little reluctantly, she made her way to Santa's lap. A note about Santa this year. It might be noticeable from the pictures, but this guy creeped me out. He wasn't really sitting per se, but more like lounging in his chair. Legs were thrown over the one side and he was slouched to the other side. And there were two fans blowing on him, like they have on a model's photo shoot to blow their hair around. The one fan was blowing right in the kids' faces. I was keeping a close eye on him. I didn't want to have to lay Santa out with a right hook, but I wasn't going to let Santa take advantage of anyone. Either way, the kids had a good time and got a sucker out of the deal. Plus, we dropped $20 on a couple of cheezy photos taken by Santa's helpers. The photos we took with our own camera turned out better.







Here's one of the kids outside by the big tree at the mall.










This Saturday, Christine and the kids are off to Canada to visit her family. I'll be home alone, just me and the christmas lights. By the way, I got all my electrical issues figured out (I think). No breakers have tripped, no more smoke, no more burnt GFI outlets. And after seeing lots of LED lights on people's houses, it's convinced me to stick with the old fashion ceramic bulbs. They are brighter, more colorful and just more fun to look at. This means getting an electrician in here next summer to run a couple of 40 amp circuits, dedicated to outdoor lighting. Please save your speeches. I know the old bulbs cost more to run, burn more electricity and are all-around bad for the environment. Call me a traditionalist, call me old fashioned, or call me Clark. All would be compliments in my book. Thanks, Dad, for putting up the big bulbs when we were little. I can only hope Spencer has the chance to do it when he's grown!





Have a great Christmas!!

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I may have gone too far....

Well, I have officially went "Clark Griswold" this year, with a hint of smoke. As some of you know, I'm a bit of a connoisseur of Xmas lights, especially the big C-9 bulbs. My fascination goes back to my childhood and will be permanently fixed in my holiday brain. But I digress. This year, after several calculations and diagrams, I thought I had found a few more amps available on a circuit to plug in a few more strands of lights. See diagrams below.

Well, I think I finally went too far. Last night, I couldn't figure out why a few strands weren't coming on. I checked and double checked all the connections and extension cord runs, only to find all was well. Then I went to the outdoor timer (I mean, who leaves lights on all night). The settings were good, the plug was good and the GFI seemed okay, operative word "seemed". I finally decided to just leave one cord unplugged for the night and try to fix the issue on Sunday. About a half hour later, I see the kitchen lights flicker ever so slightly, then a soft, barley audible "pop". With a hint of mystery, I went outside, turned on the lights and saw something I didn't want to see. The GFI outlet was slightly blackened. I went to unplug one of the extension cords and couldn't get it to go initially. You see, it had began to melt to the outlet. A little panic set in at that point. I immediately went to the circuit box to find two breakers had tripped. I killed the power and went back outside to assess the situation. With screwdriver in hand, I was getting the effervescent aroma of burning electrical components. Once I removed the outside cover on the GFI, I proceeded to remove the receptacle. It was then that I saw the potential disaster I had averted. Here's what the GFI receptacle looked like after I took it out:

So, my first call Monday morning will be to a qualified electrician to fix my GFI. I'd do it myself, but some of the wires feeding the receptacle were a little crispy. Maybe this is my opportunity to switch to the new LED lights that are all the rage. Or I could have the electrician just install a couple of 30amp circuits. Yeah, that should do the trick! No comments needed. I'm sure I'll be the butt of all jokes down at the electrician's shop after he sees what I did.

Merry Christmas to all,

Your friend "Clark"

Halloween '09

The pumpkins are starting to rot and the candy is slowly disappearing. Another Halloween in the bag. It was a cold one this year, only around 40 deg during trick or treating 6-8pm on Saturday. We had another get-together with our friends, the Colglazier's, along with my little buddy, Bobby, and his daughter Jane. Christine and Janet were kind enough to take all 5 kids trick or treating, while Wade, Bob and I stayed back to hand out candy. We barely made it that night. Luckily the fire pit was raging hot and the beer was cold. Rough, I know, but somebody's got to do it.





Spencer, the evil Canadian hockey vampire







Sydney, the spooky Croc-wearin' witch who needs a winter coat to stay scary

The big kids hanging out in the driveway (thanks to our photojournalist Bob)

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All things football

Well, it was a great weekend for football...especially if you bleed Green & White like we do here in The Fort! What a fan-frickin-tastic win by our Spartans over the Univ of Michigan Wolverines (or skunk bears, as we like to call 'em!). It came down to the wire and the Spartans eeked out a 26-20 win over U-M in overtime. Ah, the sweet taste of victory! Two words:

GO STATE!!

On another related football note, Spencer is halfway through his flag football season. Saturday was perfect weather for football...50 degrees, stiff west wind, light rain. Memories of my high school days flooded in. Then Spencer ran over to me and broke me from my dream. He said, "Dad, my stomach hurts." I said (like I do everytime..thanks Mom), "Do you need to go poop?" Spencer replied, "No, my stomach hurts cuz it's raining." Duh, I should've known. Anyway, once the game got under way, all was well. He actually enjoys playing. For a bunch of 6-8 year olds, it's amazing how much athletism abounds with these little guys. I think our local high school will do pretty well in another 10-12 years.

So far, Spencer seems to be relegated to the offensive and defensive lines, center and nosetackle respectively. I guess he comes by it honestly...the old man was a two way starter on the lines back in the day. That's me, circa 1991, putting a vicious block on some punk from Comstock I think (actually looks like an illegal block in the back, but who's keeping score).

Here's a short video of Spencer playing center on offense. I love the way he goes down field for a pass after hiking the ball. Listen for me cheering on the QB for a "wide open Spencer". Proud dad, I guess, despite the slight rule violation!

And here's the team photo from Saturday. By the way, his team is the Irish. Seeing as how that's the Notre Dame brand and we only pray to Michigan State in this household, I gotta let it go for this flag football season. It could've been worse I suppose. Spencer's in the back row on the far right in case you couldn't find him.

Drum roll please......

Let's all put our hands together to congratulate Christine on being named....are you ready.....State of Indiana Biology Teacher of the Year! She was honored this past Monday evening at the Fort Wayne Community Schools monthly board meeting. Even if she is modest about the whole affair, I'm absolutely proud that she was awarded the honor. It's more proof that she is an incredible educator (even though most of her friends, coworkers and family already knew that!). This award definitely emphasizes the hard work and dedication she puts in for those kids at her school.

Here's a picture from the award presentation. Christine in the middle with her principal Chad Hissong on one side and the FWCS Superintendant Wendy Robinson on the other side.

By the way, the board meetings are broadcast on a local cable channel. It will be re-broadcast this Thursday at 7pm on Comcast Ch. 54 for those that live here in The Fort. I'm gonna attempt to record it to DVD and add the video to the blog if possible. Stay tuned!

Great job, CK!!!

Sing with me: "Go right through for MSU...."

"....Spartan teams are here to win, they're fighting with a vim, rah, rah, rah!" The boys in green and white are coming with a vengeance. With a win over Montana State today (44-3), the Spartys showed what they're made of today. Way to go Spartans!





We'll be cheering the Spartans on next week against Central Michigan, as we're going to the game. Should be a great time with great friends (Wade, Janet and Bob). I'll be sure to post any appropriate pictures! Go Green! Go White!

First day of school - 1st Grade

On Wednesday, Spencer had his first day of school as a 1st grader. He was really excited to go back, mostly to see some of his friends from kindergarten. Christine and I took the morning off to get him on the bus the first day. The photos below were taken at the bus stop. We went to Back to School Night tonight to meet his teacher, Mrs. Uhey (pronounced "you-ee"). She has a very positive attitude and sounds like the kids are going to have a great year.

Here's the result of a long day at school. He was wiped out when he got home. He had a great day and is very excited about 1st grade!!

Canada Summer '09

We made another successful pilgrimmage up to Canada a few weeks ago (sorry for the posting delay....I do have a life you know!). We didn't do too much exciting, especially since it was so darn hot and humid most of the days we were there. We spent some time at the splashpad in Ian's (Christine's brother) neighborhood park. It was also nice to see Beckie, Bill and the kids for a couple of days too. One afternoon was spent watching Mikaela riding horses at an equestrian stable. She's quite good and actually did some jumping. Then we spent another afternoon at the Stewart kids' school, as it was Ryan's kindergarten graduation. The kids in his class were split up into teams and participated in a variety of games: egg race, waterballoon toss, sidewalk art and tattooing. Thanks to Ryan's teacher for allowing both Spencer and Syd to take part too. Funny story from that day. When Ryan's teacher asked him if he wanted his friend Spencer to be on his team, Ryan quickly snapped back, "He's not my friend, he's my cousin!!" This was followed up by a huge hug between Spencer and Ryan. Here are a few photos from our week up north.




Mikaela and Syd with Cashew





Syd and Grandma Marilyn at putt-putt golf




Ryan, Spencer and Adam concentrating on the egg race




Syd enjoying her ice cream and gummi bears at the kindergarten graduation




Mikaela taking a break from the slip-n-slide




View from the Blue Water Bridge, coming back into the US




This is the scene on every trip back to Fort Wayne from Canada, completely wiped out from a week's worth of fun at grandma's house in Markham.