A long, long, time ago...

I posted regularly to this blog. My Ph.D work has really kicked in and I rarely get the time over here. Plus, facebook is so easy to post to, it makes it harder to come over here and do long form, more personal writing.

Since January, I have been involved in a cover band, called the Crestview Kings. It has been a great experience. We played out to a packed house in May. We have several gigs lined up. I have completed almost all of my Ph.D class work. I am in the running for the coordinator position at my work.

Lara has kept her job secure for another year. The kids have done great in school. The girls enjoyed another season of soccer. Carl applied and was accepted into IMSA, the Illinois Math and Science Academy. He'll start in the fall, which means our baby will be leaving home soon. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around it.

We were nearly flooded out of our home in May, during the flood in Metropolis. The water was once in a lifetime high. I'll get back to you with pictures later.

Fall Soccer

The girls have really come into their own playing soccer.

Labor Day

Here is a sampling of our Labor Day Parade. The girls are getting the candy. I took video of the band---Carl marching, and Lara one of the parent boosters. Below is the photo slideshow.

Pageants, Plays, and Productions...

Here are the various children in the church Christmas play and Carl in the School Band Christmas Concert:

The Highs and the Lows

Still don't have our camera back from the police.....

But, even without pictures, I will brag on Carl a little bit. He took a first at State on saxophone on a very difficult piece. It was cool to watch.

However, this week, after winning another scholar bowl tournament, Carl snuck off to an ex-teacher's room, took some of her candy, and left her an anonymous, but not very nice, note.

He was caught.

He served an in-school suspension for that little stunt, but I do believe he learned his lesson, since he has had to spend his own money to replace the candy, apologize to the teacher in person and in writing, apologize to the principal, AND has been grounded for a month from video games and TV.

On another front, Maggie was asked to spend the night at a friend's house and Katie wasn't. That is happening tonight. No big deal right, except that up until now, if Maggie were asked to do something, so was Katie, not because we push them as a package deal, but they had a similar group of friends, and it has always worked out that way. Now, we're starting to see some differentiation, and it ain't gonna be pretty. Katie feels passed over, Maggie is overjoyed. Katie is crying, and it is cold comfort to know that there will come a time that she is asked to do something and Maggie is not.

The kids in the Christmas Parade...

Carl and Katie participated in the Christmas Parade this year. Here are some pics:

Melissa's Halloween Party

The girls were invited to a wonderful Metropolis tradition put on by Mike and Melissa Rushing, a dress-up Halloween party with fun and games. The girls had a blast. True to form, Maggie was a zombie and Katie dressed as a flapper. They both are cute as buttons!

Football and a Party

Tonight, we attended a Massac County Football game, at which Carl played in the band. Maggie and Katie had a great time. After the football game, Carl went to an overnight birthday party for his best friend, Joey. Lara and I look forward to a quiet night.

Tomorrow, Carl will spend half the day with his friends, the girls will have a morning soccer game, and I will be at a huge tailgate party my work puts on during family weekend at SIU.

Last Nice Day For a Soccer Game...

From here on out, soccer will likely be cold and wet. This was the last nice soccer game at which we took some pictures. Maggie had already broken her arm, but she dressed and went out to support her team even though she couldn't play. However, about halfway through the game, Maggie started watching the game one field over.

An Overview of the Last Couple of Weeks...

includes a visit from Emily, Maggie and Katie's friend, and pictures from Nashville. Enjoy:

The Massac County Youth Fair...

has become a yearly event for us. Each year, the kids participate in the greased pig contest. Here are some pictures:

Our Wonderful Mini-Vacation...

As July began, we packed up the family, and embarked on our mini-vacation. First stop, Six Flags!

While we were at Six Flags, one of the ride attendants dropped Carl's glasses, and we had to stay the whole day and night (until 10 pm) to retrieve them. However, we made the most of out time. We picnicked in the parking lot, rode all the rides we wanted, saw some performances, and stayed for the night parade, which was fun. We had a long drive to Springfield, Illinois, but ended up at Jim and Nan's house around 2 am. We slept like the dead!

The next day, we were going to spend the afternoon at the Springfield beach, have a picnic, and see some sights, but the beach was closed (hence the kids' sad looks in the first pics below). However, we got over it, had a wonderful walk on the Lincoln Memorial Garden trails, and then spend the evening with Lara's grandparents, and had awesomely good ice cream at Krekel's in Springfield.

We got up the next morning, and drove BACK to St. Louis to spend a day at the zoo. We were joined by Jim and Nan.

We had a great day, and made it back home to Metropolis by about 10 pm that night.

Lara and I had a chance to see some old friends in Carbondale that night, but age was catching up to us, and we decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Unfortunately, when we got home, Lucky, our new dog, had injured herself in her kennel, rubbing her nose raw and chipping her front teeth on the kennel door. Even with someone watching her and letting her out regularly, she worried herself practically sick. We have decided that it is probably time to take our chances with the dog in the house instead of the kennel, or the next time we travel, we will professionally kennel her.

We went down to the river and watched the fireworks in Metropolis on the 4th. They were beautiful.

Let's Check in on the Kids...

Carl got his cast on this week. Here is a picture:



Maggie got sick with tonsilitis and had to go to the doctor this morning. She got a shot which was delivered by a pretty big needle. She was tough, but it scared her and made her cry a little. She's got a bruise on her butt at the injection site. I took her out and bought her some Disney Cars toys, and then she spent part of the afternoon making this:



Katie attended a foot skills soccer camp today (which Maggie was supposed to, too), and then went shoe shopping with Mom (she's her mother's daughter). Here she is in her soccer camp shirt:

Soccer: A kick in the face is fun!

The girls started soccer this year. Both have talent and show promise. Maggie is like a dynamo on the field, and Katie is one the strongest kids (has the best throwing arm) out there. In one of her first times in goal as the goalie, Katie went down to pick up the ball, and got kicked square in the face. She had to be taken out of the game temporarily, her glasses were way bent up, but she did come back in later and play. Their team is kind of the Bad News Bears of the league, but they are getting better.

Eastertide....

Here are the girls at the local Easter Egg Hunt:

The Kids At The Park....

A few weeks ago, it looked like we had seen the last of the freezing weather. On a breezy, very mild March day, I took the kids with me to a function at my work. On the way to the event, we stopped at a terrific park in Carbondale. It is a memorial park developed by the family who lives next to the park. Their son, Jeremy, died on the busy road by their house. The park was set aside as a safe place for kids to play, and is based on the boy's drawings.

Kids Music Programs...

This month, Carl participated in a region wide honor band, and the girls participated in their school music program.

Maggie And Katie Turn 8!

Here's my birth story for these two. Lara had them at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, which had a great room, with home-like fixtures, where she was prepped for giving birth to the girls. It so happened that a Murphy Brown episode was on, the one about how much trouble Murphy was having with her new baby, and then there was a Planet of the Apes marathon on. So, there was a little something for both Lara and me. Then, when the girls were born, (V-back) and a squirrely looking orange-haired swarthy kid with a weird shaped head came out, Lara and I had to decide real quick whether this was Maggie or Katie. We both agreed that this one had to be Maggie. For about 10 of the next 20 minutes, I think Lara and I were wondering, if this was how weird the first one looked, just what the hell might the second one look like?? 20 minutes after Maggie, the next one was born, and she looked perfectly round (not having her head stuck funneled into the birth canal like Maggie had) and could have been Carl's twin at birth (cute as a button, bald as a baboon's ass). As they have grown, Maggie still has been the wilder, unusual one, (though her skull bones finally moved to where they needed to be) while Katie still shares many of Carl's facial features.