Green and White pull one out

On Sunday, we attended Soccerpalooza, a soccer festival that featured several Big 10 schools, local college teams and high school teams playing at the local university, IPFW. MSU men's soccer was playing the Duke Blue Devils at 10:30am. We packed a cooler of lunch food and cold drinks, as it was gonna hit 90+ degrees that day. Luckily, the game was early enough that we weren't going to be in the real heat of the day. When we got there, the crowd was pretty much split in half for both teams. We initially took seats in the bleachers, but the sun was too intense. So we moved to one end of the field where some tall trees were providing shade. From there, we sat in the grass, ate our lunch and watched the Spartans pull out 1-0 victory over Duke, who coincidentally is a top 10 preseason favorite. So much for ratings! Way to go Spartans!!

After the game, we hung around to see the players come off the field. Syd had washed her soccer ball the night before and brought a Sharpie to get some signatures. The players who signed her ball were very nice and obliging to a little future Spartan. We even got the legendary coach Joe Baum to sign the ball!

Next up is our trip up to East Lansing on Sept 4th to watch the Spartan football team take on Western Michigan.

Another one bites the dust...

Well, not really. But I did play in a lot of dust this weekend...sawdust! As the previous post states, I took on another DIY project...laminate flooring. We've been tossing around the idea of ripping up the carpet in the living room and dining room and replacing it with wood flooring. Last weekend, Menard's was having a Crazy Days sale and they had a very good deal on laminate flooring. Rather than buying for the living/dining room like we originally planned, we decided to get enough to do the kids' rooms. So much for plans! Plus, Spencer's allergies are in full force right now and taking the carpet out can only help with that.

On Wednesday night, we started clearing out his room, filling the hallway, Syd's room and our room with all his stuff. It was amazing how much stuff a 7-year old can collect.




This is our room with his toy box, dresser, and mattress on the floor, and various other odds and ends.





This is the hallway, seen from Spencer's room. His bookshelf, extra bedding, clothes and various odds and ends are here.





Syd's room got his box spring, bedside table, lamp, and various odds and ends. It's all the "various odds and ends" that killed us!





Here's my blank pallette, sans carpet. The carpet only took about 10 minutes to pull up. I vacuumed and cleaned up some old drywall mud from when the house was built. All in all, the subfloor was in excellent condition.


As of Friday night, the room was ready for work. Saturday morning rolled around and I got started around 7:30am. My goal was to get the project done on Saturday, as Sunday was gonna be busy with an MSU Alumni picnic and Christine getting last minute things ready for school starting on Monday. While she kept the kids entertained without losing her sanity, I progressed all day at laying flooring. I wished I would have kept a little handheld counter to count the number of times I went up and down the stairs that day. All I know is my legs are still feeling it at nearly 10pm Sunday night. I'd measure, come downstairs into the garage and make my cuts. Then back upstairs to put the floor down. I think I finally laid the last piece around 5pm. Then I cut the quarter round trim to go around the perimeter. That only took about 45 minutes to put down and nail in place. At that point, every muscle in my body was telling me to stop. My knees were shot, my back was shot and I think I had inhaled too much sawdust. On Sunday, we got everything back into his room except the old bookshelf and toy box. We're going to get a smaller bookshelf and put the toy box in the basement. Just trying to de-clutter a little bit. I'm sure it won't take long for Spencer to start collecting new stuff!




Looking into his room from the hallway












In his room, looking toward the hallway and into the closet. The closet was the area that took the most time, getting the planks cut to fit around the stub wall that framed the closet door. I think I trimmed and cut one plank about 5 times, shaving a little off each cut to make it fit snug around the wall.






Another angle, looking toward the window and bed.

We're gonna see how this floor looks after a while and how it holds up before progressing on Syd's room. Plus, my knees need a few days to recover! Now that I've got practice on laying the floor, I suppose it'll be easier to tackle the larger living/dining room areas down the road.

I said I wouldn't do it again for a while....

but I've started another DIY project...and of all things, it's flooring!!! Pictures to follow soon. Hint: it doesn't involve grout

Dale Hollow mini-vacation

Last weekend, we headed to Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky-Tennessee border to visit Aunt Karen E. (AKE) and Uncle Glenn. We had never been to their place before and were looking forward to a little fun in the sun on the lake. We drove down to Indianapolis on Thursday night and stayed at Casa de Kelly with Uncle Tim and the dogs (Aunt Karen K. [AKK] was on a trip to Texas). We had a nice meal at the local mexican dive then headed home to rest up for the remaining 4-1/2 hour trip to southern Kentucky. On Friday morning, we got up and picked up Papaw on the way. He was riding with us down and Tim was bringing him back on Sunday.


Once we arrived at AKE's, the kids were dying to go for a boat ride and swim in the lake. Dale Hollow Lake is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority and is roughly 22,000 acres in size with 620 miles of shoreline....that's a big lake! At it's deepest near the dam, I think they said it's about 130-140ft deep. And warm. Water temps while we were there were around 86-90 degrees....much like bath water.


The kids had a fantastic time and I think the adults did too. After spending Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and the first half of Sunday boating, swimming and tubing, everyone was wore out for the ride home Sunday afternoon. But it was all worth it. Much thanks to Aunt Karen E. and Glenn for putting up with the traveling circus that is us on vacation. Also much thanks to Aunt Karen K. and Uncle Tim for bringing their boat down for more fun times. It was good to see everyone and spend some quality time with Papaw too. Hopefully there's an open invitation for next year! Enjoy the pics.





AKE, Papaw and Spencer





Spencer, Papaw, Syd, Christine and Uncle Tim






Syd, the rock star






Spencer giving the thumbs up. He's ready to tube!







Christine and Syd having a great ride





Man down!!

The Grand Slam......

Spencer's last baseball game was yesterday. There were only four kids on his team due to vacations, but they managed to pull out another win.

I want to apologize for the audio on the video, but I am a proud mom. When Spencer saw the clip he told me not to yell for him next time. Oh well, what are you going to do?

Flight over Toronto!

Brent was very generous to take the kids and I for a flight over the city. Here is a picture of Brent and Spencer in the plane. Brent was very patient and explained everything to Spencer. Spencer has loved airplanes and rockets forever. This was the best part of our visit for Spencer.

A picture of Toronto's lakeshore. The CN Tower can be seen in the distance on the right. What a great way to see the city!

Although Sydney was disappointed that she had to sit in the back, she loved the flight.

A picture of Brent with the kids before we took off.

Cousins.....

Ryan and Spencer dancing in the Candy Store at the trailer. They still correct anyone who calls them "friends", they are "COUSINS". It still makes me laugh.


Sydney and Adam playing with Thomas. It is amazing that a little piece of track and some wooden trains can entertain children for hours.


Spencer and my nephew Owen. I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of "Super Owey" - maybe next visit.

Sydney and Riley at Grandma Marilyn's.

We can't seem to get a decent picture of all four kids at the same time. There is always one who isn't interested. Oh well, here is a picture of Owen, Spencer and Riley.

Cambridge BBQ

Our first stop on our trip home this summer was my Uncle Larry and Aunt Doreen's. We were so fortunate to be able to visit with all three of my cousins, their spouses and children. Thanks Uncle Larry for organizing and hosting a great afternoon. Good food and great company!

...and the bombs bursting in air.....

It seems we have officially started a new tradition for the Fourth of July festivities. Like the last few years, we begin with a cookout with our neighbors Doug and Lyla. If I had to describe what great neighbors are like to someone, I'd tell them about Mr. Doug and Miss Lyla (that's what Spencer and Syd have called them since they were babies). After the cookout, we get the firepit going out front. A healthy dose of bug spray on everyone, cold drinks and S'more stuff is all we need for a good time. Oh, and a few fireworks. Doug and I have been steadily increasing the size of our production each year. This year was our best yet, although not over the top. With so many people in our subdivision doing their own displays, we don't have to do much to get a good show. Once the sun went down, the kids did a few sparklers and had S'mores. We all enjoyed the show from our driveway, even if it was a little hot and humid that night.





Syd made sugar cookies for the evening fun.

Our neighbors' son Tim brought over his new pet chameleon, Zep, over for a visit with the kids. According to Tim, he'll get to be 10-12 inches long when full grown!

Tim and his girlfriend Larrissa enjoying the show.

Daddy taking a break from lighting off fireworks. It was a little muggy that night, as evidence by the sweaty shirt!





Here's what was left of our hard work. There wasn't anything left of the big mortars we set off, just the tubes that we used to shoot them off. All in all, it was a good time and I'm sure we'll do it again next year!

More friends to The Fort

Much like our friends Dena and Brent from Canada hadn't been to see us in forever, our friends Sarah and Andy also hadn't visited in a very long time. With Sarah being an OB/GYN, it's very hard to schedule free time for them to come for a visit. However, we picked a weekend in June and made it happen. We incorporated a Fort Wayne Tin Caps baseball game into the visit for Friday night. After the game, the ballpark put on one of the best fireworks displays we had seen in some time. It was the best $7 tickets we ever spent! The kids were well-behaved and all had a great time. Here are a few photos from their visit.

Memorial Day Fun

After many years of discussion, we were finally able to coordinate with our friends Dena and Brent to have them down to The Fort for a visit. Christine and Dena have been great friends for many moons and we have kids that are the same age.

When we were up to Markham (that's Canada for all those non-Canadians reading) back in March, Brent had mentioned that he wanted to attend the Indy 500. Brent and some of his friends said they'd make the trek down south if schedules permitted. Well, the moon and stars were all aligned and I was able to score tickets to the race. We made the plans and they committed to coming down for the long Memorial Day weekend.

Being that Brent is an avid pilot with his own plane, it only made sense for them to fly to The Fort (a short 3 hour flight) versus making the always-long 8-hour drive. They flew down on the Saturday and we had a nice visit. Then it was early to bed for an even earlier departure to Indianapolis the next morning. It was hot that weekend, but we made the best of it. Everyone had a great time and we look forward to the next visit with them. Here are a few photos from the weekend.

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.