minnesota

Who knew a place could still feel like home even though you haven't lived there in 11 years?

Going back to Minnesota is always something I really love - not only do I have a lot of really great friends there, it really does feel like home. We started in Rochester visiting friends for a few days then went up to the cities - and driving through Bloomington (where I grew up) always feels good inside. I even gassed up at the station that I learned to pump gas, drove by my old house, drove by the Toys R Us where I got my first job, and had the chance to play basketball with some high school friends.

It's been a wonderful trip so far - here are a few pictures.

Bowling with Ben, Becky, Bailey, Phoebe, Abbye, Micah, and us.

Taylor and Bailey

Jeff and I at Target field - went to see a Twins game in the 'new' stadium.

All of us in the glove at Target Field

View from the big screen (Jeff and I climbed the steps to see what it was like - just for fun).

View from our seats.

My classic lunch...so good.

Jeff and Tay in our seats.

teenager

Who knew time really does fly?

Last week Taylor turned 13 so we are now officially parents of a teenager. Sigh.

She had a great time hanging with her friends - and so far hasn't changed much at all - just as lippy as ever...ha.

Here are some pictures of her birthday...

Birthday crew - Laura and Trinity, Kayla, Jessica and Lake with Dizzy.

Taylor and the girls eating cake truffles.

Taylor, Emma, and Wroxy at the Toledo Zoo.

The girls at Mr. Freeze in Perrysburg after visiting the zoo...needed to cool off.

still dizzy

Who knew having a puppy could be just as much fun as going to the dentist for a root canal?

Ok, so maybe not that bad - but having a now 4 month old in the house has made for about 6 weeks of interrupted sleep. Things are going better and we are seeing some improvements and steps forward - problem is that they are generally followed by a few steps back. Some things are getting better, but then we just add new problems - like digging many holes in the back yard, or not coming when she is called and wanting to be chased all around the backyard when all we want to do is go inside, or waking up every morning at 5:30AM and barking for the next 2 hours to let us know she's awake - just in case we didn't know.

She is a great puppy and we are still very glad we got her (most days). Here are some pictures of her with Trinity and also sleeping next to me. She does love to sleep in very odd positions at times, which is cute and hilarious. I'll see what I can do to get some other pictures of her up here so you can see her various exploits.

take my kid to work day

Who knew work could be fun? All it took was about 30 kids running around for a day...

So a few weeks ago, we had 'take your kid to work day' here at Ford. It's the second year I was able to bring Tay with me and I really enjoyed it. They had activities for us to do, games to play and food. It was a good time...here are some pictures of the event:

Dizzy

Who knew 6.6 pounds could make you lose weeks of sleep?

Yes, our puppy is now UP TO 6.6 pounds - and steadily growing to the max estimated target of 9 pounds...look out. We have had her for a little over 2 weeks now and we have certainly had our ups and downs. Taylor did a great job of naming her Dizzy - so far, it completely fits.

We are over a week into crate training and have seen some signs of improvement - although we are still looking forward to getting a full nights sleep. She is super cute though and is getting along with Trinity (our other dog) which was a concern of ours. It's fun to see how excited she is to see any of us after being gone for a while - she is already part of the family.

Since it's been a while since I've posted, here are a few 'catch up' pictures - they are not in any particular order (sorry):

Tay and Dad at the Nutcracker (Fox Theatre) over Christmas break

Same place...this time with Mom

Tay, J, Nadia and I at Taylor's performance of "The Emporer's New Clothes"

wait, what?!?!?

Who knew you could take a week off and lose your mind?

I took vacation last week and didn't really do much at all. It was a great break to an intense 8-10 months. I even had my work phone turned off and didn't log into work e-mail at all during the week - I can't remember the last time I've done that - been years at least. It was great.

While relaxing and enjoying my time off, I kind of lost my mind and agreed to something we have been talking about for a long time...sigh...

Yes, we finally got Taylor the puppy she has been wanting. Her name is Dizzy and she is 10 weeks old today. She is a papillon and will get to be around 9 pounds or so when full grown. I've always been a larger dog person, but Tay has been wanting a small dog for a while now - and it was hard to pass this one up. We picked her up Friday night - in Indiana (we were visiting family) and have started working to settle in after arriving back home on Saturday. 2 nights down...and many more to go. Only a few 'accidents' in the house so far, but I'm sure there will be many more to come. We are pretty sure we made the right choice though, she is already starting to feel like part of the family. I'm sure I'll have many more updates on her as we go...

Speaking of Indiana - I have to thank my in-laws for such a great visit. They took such good care of us, we always leave feeling spoiled. From the dinners of lasagna and chilli dogs, to them picking up my favorite sodas, they always seem to go out of their way to make us feel right at home. They even have coffee ready for me each morning when I wake up - and I really enjoy starting the morning looking out the window and talking with them while drinking cup after cup of the good joe he brews. It's always a treat to visit them and it was just what we all needed (although I'm not sure they knew they were signing up to have a puppy at their place overnight - sorry!).

On Sunday, we went to see Lake's figure skating performance - she really rocked it out and we were so glad we didn't miss it. It was great to watch Lake glide across the ice, and also fun to see the rest of the family and hang with them in the stands. Always fun to squeeze into their family even for a little while. Well, I guess it's back to work time...as you can tell, I'm being highly productive.

12th night

Who knew so much work was required for one little production???

Opening week is upon us - first dress rehearsal was last night and Thursday is opening night of Taylor's latest play. She will be playing the part of Viola and is pretty excited about this. It's a new venue, new stage (they are doing this one 'in the round'), and and older cast so we are eager to see how this one turns out.

Once again, Tay is going all out - she dyed her hair a bit to match her twin in the play and will be wearing her contacts again to help with the lighting glare.

Should be another crazy weekend for us, and I will post pictures once we have some from the event. After this, we may all take a month off...

cooliosity

Who knew I could invent awesome words? Actually, it turns out I'm not all that original...a bunch of people are already using that word. Go figure.

So I was trading e-mails with my buddy Abram and just flat out told him he was jealous of my cooliosity. He then decided to define that word in clear terms. I was laughing so hard I had to wipe away tears. See his definition below - and believe me when I say this is now a permanent word in my vocab.
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cooliosity: A measure of awesomeness in defining how much more amazing Kevin is than anyone else.

ie: "Yeah man, I had such a great day, one day I might be like Kevin." "Yeah, his cooliosity is off the charts."

see also: better than you; why are you staring?; nah, keep trying; one day, one day.
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On a funnier side note, he tried to add this to the Urban Dictionary, but stopped after reading the warning below:

"Don't name your friends. We'll reject inside jokes and definitions naming non-celebrities."

So close...

cold huh?

Who knew work could effectively eliminate your ability to blog for 6 months?

I guess I can't blame it all on work, but I'll give the majority of the blame there. I'm going to try be better about getting back into updating my blog - as well as reading other peoples (something else I haven't done in about 6 months).

Got this picture from Jeff in Minnesota - thought it was pretty awesome...I do miss Minnesota very much...but maybe not this part of it.

august? seriously?

Who knew getting back from vacation could make time fly?

So, yeah, it's August...and I haven't posted in weeks...wow.

Crazy how life comes at you right? Last week was totally nuts - I don't think we had one night all week without something going on - then the weekend kept up the trend. We were able to have a little fun along the way and there is proof below. We attended a wedding of some great friends on Saturday (and danced the night away). On Sunday, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit my sister and family (pictures of that to follow - don't have them with me).

Tomorrow, we are running to...wait for it...CEDAR POINT!!! WAHOO!!! We are dragging Nadia to Cedar Point tomorrow and are going to ride till we hurl...or at least until we are too tired to continue. I was thinking, "Gee, I really don't want to be at work. What can I do to get a day off?" Leave it up to the wonder twins (Jaimie and Nadia) to come up with this awesome excursion. I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pumped. I'd say there will be pictures of that as well, but I'm not sure taking the camera is a good idea...I'd probably drop it out of my pocket while I was upside down or something.

Anyway, few pictures of the wedding below. Can't wait for the weekend.

Me and my date...oh wait, that's the next pic...this is me and my buddy Abe...awww

Check out the ladies that let me accompany them to the wedding...how lucky was I???