French (family) Connection

Drew Playing Soccer

2011-04-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

Little Striker

Drew has started playing soccer now. At 3, it is pretty young, but he is so excited to be just like his big brother and big sister. There was a big discussion between Ty and Ellie whether Drew should wear Tyler's number (7) or Ellie's number (3). since 3 was the only one available, Ellie won out. When I brought the uniform home, Drew was so excited, he immediately changed into the uniform and went running around the house yelling "Look at me, I am a soccer player". Needless to say, the socks didn't make for good footing on the wood floors. After several spills, he wanted to put his cleats on too. Not a good idea!

With Buddy Kyra

The first game was last Saturday, April 2nd. The team had not had chance to practice due to rain. The other team appeared to have been practicing since last year. I wanted to check the birth certificate on one kid. I think he was already shaving.

"Herd Ball"

Regardless, that kids had lots of fun, and enjoyed the snacks. At 3, what more can you ask for, right?

National Aquarium

2011-01-22T13:57:00.000-06:00

Took kids to National Aquarium in downtown D.C. It is pretty small, occupying the bottom floor of the Commerce Department. The new attraction is a pair of baby sea turtles. For those of you with kids who have seen Finding Nemo, they turtles pretty much look like Squirt. Very cute.

Drew was actually scared to get too close to most of the exhibits, especially the sharks and octopus. But the sea turtles were different. As you can see, he got right up next to the glass.

Happy Holidays from French Family

2011-01-20T14:39:00.000-06:00

Somewhere far north of the Arctic Circle, Santa is checking his list for the2nd time..
Santa: “Hermie! Bring me my list, it is time to check it twice. Hermie! Where is that darn elf? I never should have agreed to let him take that online dentistry course...”

Hermie: (Comes running in with long list) “Here I am Santa. Are you ready to start with the next family? Let’s see, we were in the F's. Next up, the French Family.”

Santa: “Okay, I remember, they live in Kansas, right?”

Hermie: “No, they have moved twice since then. They actually have same address they had 5 years ago. Their house looks a little different now, but has the same coordinates...”

Santa: “That doesn't make sense.... Oh well, just make sure the GPS on the sleigh is updated. Let's start with the oldest child, Tyler. Is he still soccer nut?”

Hermie: “Yes, he loves all things soccer. He is playing travel soccer year round. His parents even let him attend a week long soccer camp at UVA this summer. He is also literally following in his Dad's footsteps, taking up running. Father and son completed their 1^st 5K together. He did quite well, finishing just under 25 minutes. He even won a pumpkin pie in a 1 mile race for his 4^th grade class with a 6:57 mile.”

Santa: “Okay, I’ll give him a “Nice.” Maybe a gift of shoe deodorizer for his cleats and running sneakers. I hear they get quite stinky. How about his sister, Eliana?”

Hermie: “She is into sports too, playing soccer and she took up swimming this year. She loved it, taking to it, well, like a fish to water. She started 1^st grade this year and has taken off with her reading and writing. She is a great big sister to little Drew - you should see them play kung fu with each other. She really enjoys the arts, and went to see both Mary Poppins and Sound of Music this year.”

Santa: “Sounds like sweetheart - how about a gift of tickets to Taylor Swift concert (not sure I can even get those). And the youngest? Little Drew?”

Hermie: “He is a real firecracker. Very sweet, but delights in pushing his parents buttons. He loves being back in their old house where he can pedal around the cul-de-sac, chase the soccer ball, and play with the neighborhood dogs. He is a big help around the house - he loves to cook and rake leaves. He loves to take things apart and is constantly getting bumps and bruises. His parents nicknamed him ‘Destructo.’”

Santa: “He’s only three – I’ll go with “Nice” this year. Maybe a gift of bubble wrap to protect his cute noggin? Now, Mom and Dad?”

Hermie: “The Dad, Dave, is doing well, still finding time to run a few races. He even completed his 1^st marathon this fall. He enjoys playing at photography and updating their family blog. The Mom, Melissa has 3 jobs, still working part time for Booz Allen and full time as a Mom, not to mention general manager & designer of the house renovation.”

Santa: “Hmmm. Hope she uses her new kitchen to make me cookies. I think the best gift would be to unpack a few boxes for them. So who’s next on the list?”

Hermie: “Let’s see....E...F..G.. Ah - Lady Gaga.”

Santa: “Definitely “Naughty” - and don’t get me started on her clothes...”

Leaf Jumping

2010-11-28T22:35:00.000-06:00

Posting a few pictures taken a couple of weekends ago. One of the forgot joys of our old house was the amount of leaves to rake each year. This pile is only one part of the front yard, 6 days after picking up all the leaves. At least the kids enjoy it!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-01T19:34:00.001-05:00

Carving Pumpkins! - This year the kids all helped, especially with removing the yucking pumpkins guts. Ty picked his design out of a template book. It was a little tricking, but it is supposed to be a flaming skull. Ellie's and Drew's match their outfits - a butterfly and very hungry Caterpillar.

Update on renovation project

2010-09-21T06:41:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the lag in providing update on the house renovations. Between getting ready for the move, the kids starting school again, and last minute details on the renovation, we have been a tad busy, but in a good way.

A lot has happened since last update. We finally got all the inspections complete (phew), allowing the drywall to go up and flooring to go in. As you can see from the first photo, we have new entryway, the garage is complete, and windows installed. We still need siding, but for now, the contractor is focusing on the inside to get it ready for the move the first week of October.

That brings us to the second photo, which is shot standing in the old kitchen, looking into the new kitchen. The perspective is similar to the first two photos from the July 5th blog update. The new kitchen will be in the area where you see the refrigerator now. There will be island in the middle, with new appliances, counters, custom cabinets, etc. We are really looking forward to the open floor plan.

In between packing, moving and keeping the rental we currently live in ready for showing to prospective tenants, I hope to find time to add a few photos of the second floor later this week.

Ty's 1st Race

2010-09-18T18:38:00.002-05:00

Ty' has been asking to run a race with me for quite some time. I toyed with signing him up for mountain bike race, but we haven't had enough time to train for it this year.

Since we moved back to Virginia, he has started running with me on some shorter trail runs. I have to admit, he is in great shape - must be all that soccer he plays.

When I found out my work was sponsoring a 5 K, I signed Ty and I up for it. The Navy Federal 5K benefits the Committee for Helping Others and is run in Vienna, VA. I figured 5K was safe distance to start, and I knew the course fairly well.

On the day of the race, Ty was pretty excited. I talked to him about his expectations, and his goal was to finish in top 10 in his age group. Unfortunately, the youngest age group as 19 and under, so Ty knew he couldn't keep up with 18 and 19 year olds. He ran a great race, setting a comfortable pace, not chasing other kids that started too fast and picking them off later. After seeing the rest of the family new the finish line, Ty managed to finish strong, at just under 25 minutes. He finished 7th in his age group, and more importantly, 3rd fastest time for 10 and under. A great time, given it was his first race and I intentionally paced him a little slow. Needless to say, I was very proud Papa. He is already asking about his next race.

By the way, click on the Title above, or here to see race data captured by my garmin 305. For more information on my garmin, click here .

Steelers Training Camp

2010-08-19T22:33:00.002-05:00

During the last week of August, I took a day to visit the Steelers training camp at St. Vincent College. The campus is located in scenic Latrobe PA, in the foothills of the Allegheny mountains. Both Tyler and Ellie came along and had lots of fun. We watched practice, took part in the NFL experience and even got some got some autographs. While we came close to getting fan favorite Polamalu - he one person down from Ellie, we did get lasts year's number 1 draft pick, Ziggy Hood.

Polamalu was impressive - last player off the practice field and last player signing autographs. And yes ladies, he does have better hair than you. The second photo is action shot of him making interception during practice.

There was plenty of stuff for kids to do - a whole NFL experience in which they could throw passes, kick a field go, go through obstacle course, and try one full pads. Take a look at the last photo - you can barely see Ellie's fingers sticking out of the shoulder pads

Guess Who Turned 3?

2010-08-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

We had small celebration for Drew's 3rd birthday last Friday. A bigger party at the pool is planned in a couple of weeks. For now, he enjoyed cookies and ice cream. If anybody asks him how old he is, he holds up 3 fingers and says "Tee"

House Renovations - Exterior

2010-08-02T20:45:00.002-05:00

Next in line of updates on the house renovations. I figured this time I would provide a view from the outside. The first picture was taken about 6 years ago. We actually used this to advertise the house as a rental when we were in K.C. You can see the single car garage on the right side.
The second picture of the outside is also taken from the front, but is from the opposite corner. You can still see the old garage that will become our new kitchen. Above the old garage, they have framed out the new Master Bedroom. The workers are putting on new roof and pouring cement for the foundation of the new garage, which you can see in the last photo.

The final shot is straight on. The new, 2 car garage is framed out, along with the new roof over the entrance and Master Bedroom. The 2x6 supporting the overhang on the garage will be replaced by columns with brick on the bottom. We will also have new columns to replace the existing ones around the entrance. The new garage does eat into the driveway a bit, but it will be nice to have space for both cars.

House renovations - 2nd Floor

2010-07-10T20:52:00.006-05:00

Couple more pictures from the house renovation, this time on the second floor. These are before and after pictures from the second floor, which currently has master bedroom, (2) kids rooms, a study, and (2) baths. We decided to do was widen the hallway about 18", move the master bedroom out over the existing garage/new kitchen, then use the space that was the master bedroom to add new bathroom for the kids and new bedroom for Drew.

The first picture shows the old view from the master bedroom doorway, looking towards Ellie's room. You can just see the handrail for the stairs on the left. The second picture, is taken from within what will be the new master bedroom looking towards Ellie's room. You can see how much longer and wider the hallway is. The framing for the wall and door to the master bedroom is showing.

The 3rd pictures shows the old view from the opposite end of the hallway as the first - standing in Ellie's doorway and looking down the hallway towards master bedroom. Compare that to the 4th picture (ignore the mess). You can see again the wider hallway, and the framing for both Drew's room on the right and the new bathroom on the left.

Once again, I have included the architecture diagrams for the old and new 2nd floor layout. Next week, I hope to add some shots of the exterior. That should give an idea of how everything fits together.

Renovation - first floor

2010-07-05T22:08:00.022-05:00

In case you didn't know, we are having major renovations done to our house before we move back in. When we moved back to Virginia last year, our tenants still had another year left on their lease. For the past year, we have been renting in the same neighborhood. We started the renovations about 3 weeks ago when our tenants moved out. Over the next few months, we thought it would be fun to post some pics of the work in progress.

This post focuses just on the kitchen area. We are having the wall between the garage and kitchen knocked out, and moving the new kitchen into what is the existing garage. The first picture shows the kitchen before work started. You can see the door from the "old" kitchen out to the garage on the right, and just a small bit of the door to the deck on the left. The second picture is the same view after the wall between the garage and kitchen has been remove. Pretty exciting!

The 3rd image is also a picture of the "old" kitchen, but taken from the opposite side as the first two. I was standing with my back to the garage facing the oven and sink. Do you like that faux brick backsplash? I know Melissa won't miss it. The last shot shows same view, minus the counters, cabinets, stove, etc. We are going for the minimalist look.

The last two images I have added are the blue prints of the before and after looks on the 1st floor. I apologize for the poor resolution, I had to convert them from pdfs to jpegs, so they might be a little hard to read. For the most part, we are leaving the living room & family room alone, and only making minor changes to the dinning room. The before or existing blueprint is on the left, with the new one on right.

Ellie Swim Team Trials

2010-06-25T20:59:00.007-05:00

Ellie has joined the swim team at our neighborhood pool - The Wahoos. We are not wild about the team name (kidding), but the team is good and the atmosphere great. Of course, Ellie is only 6, so we don't want to get carried away. She has great stamina and swims pretty fast. She needs to spend a little more time in practice on starts and finishes, but she is doing great for her first time. The first photo is start of 25 meter butterfly for 8 and under. She is in the bottom lane, with the white swim cap.

She is competing in all 4 strokes:

freestyle,
back,
breast, and
butterfly

Most important, she has lots of fun with the other swimmers and coaches. Her first meet is Monday, June 28th. I hope to post update a couple of days after that.

Quick update on Ellie's first swim meet; she swam three strokes and achieved 3rd in Butterfly (out of 8 swimmers) 8 and under, 1st in Breast (out of 8 swimmers) 6 and under, and 4th in backstroke (out of 24) 6 and under.

Drew helps in Poppop's Garden

2010-05-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends back, Melissa took Drew down to Charlottesville to visit the grandparents and see a Sesame Street Live show. Drew had great fun watching Elmo, Cookie and the rest of Sesame Street. He also had a lot of fun helping Poppop plant his garden.

Ellie's new Bike

2010-04-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

We final went and got Ellie a new bike, without training wheels. She took to it right away, zooming up and down our sidewalk. She still needs a little time to learn turns. The good news is, she has learned how to crash from one of the best, her old man.

Signings

2010-04-01T21:30:00.003-05:00

Ty was lucky enough to get a couple of autographs recently. The first one was at a book signing for Rick Riordan. He has written the popular kids books called Percy Jackson Series, based on Greek and Roman mythodology set in present day. The first one was made into a so-so movie, called Lightening Thief. The author is touring to promote his a new series based on Egyption mythology, called the Kane Chronicles. Ty got an autographed copy of the new book.

The author signed books and answerred questions at Politics and Prose, a neat bookstore in NorthWest D.C. Ty was pretty excited, even if it did make for a long night.

The second signing was at a card trade show. Steeler running back Rashard Mendenhall . Ty was very excited to meet him and get his autograph.

Christmas Newsletter

2009-12-24T15:21:00.004-06:00

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies….okay, this isn’t the condensed version of the classic The Wizard of Oz, and as you may have noticed from the return address, we aren’t in Kansas anymore. But like Dorothy, we survived the cyclone, of moving, that is.

Reflecting back, it has been a good year. It started out with Dave looking for a new job – Capital One decided to shut down their KC office by mid-summer 2009. I guess that would make Dave the ‘Scarecrow’, but looking for work instead of a brain. The combination of work opportunities and family lead us to follow the yellow brick road back to Virginia, where Dave found work at Navy Federal Credit Union. While he is enjoying his new job, it was great that he had time off to help with the move and spend time with the kids this summer, although we did not even make a dent in the “Honey Do” list.

Speaking of the kids, they have shown the heart of the Tin Man as well as the courage of the Lion adjusting to the move, a new school, and their activities.

Before we moved, Tyler attended his first overnight camp with our Church. I think we were more scared then he was, especially because of the spectacular summer Kansas storm that decided to roar through the first night. Tyler continues to play soccer – he joined the Annandale Boys and Girls Club travel team. He teamed up with a great group of boys and has excellent coaches who hail from England. Ty started the 3rd grade, and has not missed a beat socially or academically. He still enjoys anything sports related – he’s plowing through sports novels and even decorated his new room with Hokies, Steelers, and other sports paraphernalia. Dave and Ty also enjoyed going to the Steelers vs. Redskins preseason game.

Ellie was busy this summer, attending cheer camp and Vacation Bible School. She was very excited to start Kindergarten ½ days this Fall, and has made lots of new friends. After school, Ellie keeps busy with soccer in the fall and swimming in the winter. She also continues with gymnastics year round. She and Drew have a grand time reading and playing together in the afternoons waiting to pick Tyler up from the bus. Did we mention she lost her first two teeth?

If you know Drew at all, you will not be surprised that he insisted on not being left out while big brother and sis went off to school. The first day Ellie and Tyler left for school on the bus, he was NOT pleased (see picture on the right), so we found a great pre-school for him. He calls it "Drew’s School". His personality is really developing, somewhere between class clown and daredevil with a whole lot of sweet in between. It seems not a day goes by that he doesn’t have a new bruise or bump from trying to keep up with Ellie and Tyler and he always succeeds in cracking us up with his silliness. He loves life and makes the most of it every day!

Melissa (guess she is Dorothy?) has been the glue that keeps the family together. She still manages to squeeze in a couple of days of work each week for Booz Allen while taking care of the kids and house. Not sure how she does it, but my guess is it involves ruby slippers and flying monkeys.

Of course, we can’t forget our oldest child, Toto, I mean Aspen. She is doing well for an old lady of 14 years. She still loves taking walks and begging for table scraps. In fact, since we don’t have a fence, she has managed to take herself on numerous long walks.

In between taking the kids to practice, work, and the move, we have managed to have some fun. Before we left KC, we made a point to see several KS landmarks including the horse and carriage ride around The Plaza, the Liberty World War I Memorial, and College Basketball Hall of Fame. The highlight of the KC sites was the American Jazz Blue Room, where we heard an impromptu performance by KC native and Grammy-award winner Oleta Adams. She was amazing! We then moseyed over to the historic Musicians Foundation Club for an after hours performance (opens at 1:00 am). We wrapped up our KS stint with a going away party, complete with a huge water slide.

Dave & Melissa also finally made it back to Blacksburg for the first time in 10 years. We had a great time tailgating and watching Hokie football. Melissa took Tyler and Ellie to see their great grandmother – not sure who was more excited, Grandma Trout or the kids. Dave continues to find time to run and mountain bike, and even ran a 50K for his 40th birthday. Tyler has started to join Dave on the shorter runs. Don’t tell Ty, but his old man has trouble keeping up with him.

We miss our dear KC friends, Oklahoma Joes’ Z-man sandwich, and Gates BBQ sauce, but we are happy to be able to call on grandparents to help with babysitting, and to enjoy birthdays and holidays with family, catch up with old VA friends and make some new ones.

One more thing…remember at the end of the Wizard of Oz, where the Great Wizard leaves Dorothy behind while he travels home in a hot air balloon? Well, we will be moving again next year. This time, it is only about a mile down the road, back into our old Virginia house.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fountain Head

2009-11-10T21:58:00.000-06:00

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fountain Head

Trying out new tool to share info from my garmin. This was ride at Foutainhead trail this past Sunday (beautiful day). You tube video of what the ride is like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VzA5wnf7Dk&feature=related

Halloween 09

2009-11-03T20:05:00.001-06:00

First Halloween back in VA was a success despite a little rain and Ty recovering from pneumonia. Ty was a rock star, Ellie Wonder Women, and Drew was Elmo. Drew really got into it this year, loving all the candies. Dave's parents made the trip up from Charlottesville too. Dad French was Batman to go with Ellie's Wonder Women.

Drew School

2009-09-28T21:28:00.004-05:00

We found a great pre-school for Drew to attend 2-days a week. St. Mathews Preschool is literally right behind Ty and Ellie's elementary school, making drop off and pick up easy. And Drew absolutely loves it! He calls it 'Drew's School'. He still misses Tyler and Ellie, but it helps now that he has his own thing too. Of course, it helps us parents a little too

As you can see, his teachers are really good. They create a warm and caring environment for the kids to learn in. Each week, he comes home with some project he worked on, and boy is he proud of it.

1st Day of School

2009-09-08T09:13:00.005-05:00

Click on title above (1st day of school) for link to more photos. Kids first day at school. We have almost 30 kids at the bus stop, thanks to budget cuts. Makes for a fun morning, however. I am thinking about setting up a starbucks at the corner - I can probably make a ton of money with the mom and dad crowd

Ellie loses her first (and second) tooth

2009-09-01T19:30:00.001-05:00

Before we left Kansas, Ellie lost her first tooth on June 20th. Then when we got to Virginia, she lost her second. Both on the bottom front. Combine that with her entering Kindergarten, and this have been a big year for our little girl!

We are back in Northern Virginia and settled in (mostly)

2009-08-26T16:32:00.001-05:00

We have finally started to settle in, with most of our stuff unpacked or in storage (thanks Mom and Dad Fulton). Ty and Ellie start school next week. What a long summer, getting out in May in Kansas, and not starting on Sept in VA. Lots of stuff going on, so I am going to try to make shorter, more frequent posts instead of one big one.

Last weekend, Dave took Tyler to see the Steelers vs. Redskins preseason game at FedEx Field. It was a bit wet, but we have good seats, 11 rows up from the 20 yard line, behind the Steelers bench. Except for traffic, we had a great time. Plenty of Steelers fans around us. I have posted pics online here

Back in Northern Virginia

2009-07-01T09:16:00.003-05:00

I know it has been ages since I posted, but I have a good reason - we moved back to Northern Virginia (aka NoVA). Late last Fall, I learned my company would be closing their KC office. Since then, Melissa & I decided to move back to DC area and have been working on finding place to live. As some of you might know, we still own a house in NOVA. Unfortunately, the tenant's lease runs through next summer. After much searching and many false starts, we finally found a house to rent in the same neighborhood, meaning the kids won't have to change schools when we move back into our old house.

More information to follow, but if you would like our new contact information, shoot me an email at dave.french@gmail.com or sent one to Melissa's work email.

Going 30 for turning 40

2009-02-19T14:22:00.012-06:00

For those who don’t know, I recently had the “privilege” of turning 40. Along with a little extra ‘attention’ at my annual physical and having to get glasses, I tried to ignore it. If you know me, I am not big into birthday celebrations anyways. When Melissa asked what I wanted to do, I replied, “same thing I do each year to celebrate my birthday, run a race.” I know it’s childish, but it’s my way of saying “I’m not getting older”. So on February 14^th(yes - I abandoned my wife and family on Valentine’s day) I took part in the 5^th Annual Psycho – Wyco Trail Run.

A Trail Run, in flatter than a pancake Kansas? Yep, and this is my 3rd year doing the race, but the first time I actually signed up for the full, 3 loop, 31 miles version. The course is a 10 mile loop, described as being “rocky, rooty, and hilly bridle trails & single-track trails.” Okay, but this is still Kansas, so how tough could it really be??? Highlights of the course see map) include:

only 22% of the course is flat, the rest has average grade of 17%>
Total of 10,000 feet in elevation change
There is 1/3 mile section of paved road, but wait, it is at 20% grade
“Fall down hill”, a negative 20% grade of mud and ice (and yes, I fell once)
“The Triangle” as twisting, turning, game-trail section that makes you dizzy
“Speed demon ridge” a fun, downhill section along top of ridge
>“Misery Ridge” every see mountain goats on animal planet? Sort of like that with more mud

So how did it go? If you have to pick an ultra to do, this is the one. Fully staffed aid stations every 3 – 4 miles manned by super-friendly people, many are seasoned ultra runners and stocked with every kind of sugar you can think of.

First Loop
Start of race, I lined up with 250 other weirdos (or trail nerds and mudbabes as they like to call themselves). The first loop I was feeling great. A little icy, with temps around 29 degrees. The sun was just coming up, making for beautiful morning. I started a little fast, due to race high. Around mile 3, while somewhere in the ‘triangle’, a runner in front of me startled a deer, who charged out of her hiding place. I yell for someone to put a race bib on it. Rest of first loop went great, but I finished a little faster than I wanted to at 1 hour 50 minutes. Feeling great, having fun.

Second Loop
I added some body glide to my feet to help with hot spots, stocked up on jelly bellies and gu, and took off for second loop. Lots more mud, combined with some fatigue, made me a little slower, so I start walking up the hills. Coming out of the slippery triangle section at mile 14, I eat my 1^st package of caffeinated powerbar gel and felt good enough to pick up pace. I passed time over the next several miles by chatting with another runner. The interesting thing about these races vs. road races– everybody is so friendly! I made it through second loop at 2 hours, 17 minutes, including about 10 minutes at aid stations. My body is feeling the effects of first two loops, so I stop just long enough to get some food (pb&j, Gatorade and mountain dew) before taking off for final lap.

Third loop
I spent most of the final lap in daze, but I do remember lots more mud, lots more walking, lots of slipping / sliding down hills. I keep eating rest of my gels and jelly bellies, but I guess it wasn’t enough. Around mile 7, I started to feel a little dizzy / light headed and wonder if I will be able to finish. Fortunately, at mile 8 is an aid station. A staffer asks what I need / want, and I sort of blankly stare at him as I hand over my water bottle for refill. He suggests some sugar, and hands me a mountain dew. I think I owe him my life, because 2 glasses of dew and I feel the fog lift. Only 2 miles to go, and I know I can make it now. Only problem is, they save 3 bad @ss hills for last 2 miles of the loop. I think I was actually moving backwards between the mud and my lack of strength on the last hill. However once I cleared, it, I summoned my last reserve of energy and ran it home for last ½ mile.

Results

So how did it feel to finish? Perhaps this joke describes it best –

One friend sees another friend hitting himself on the head with a hammer.

Second friend asks “Why are your hitting yourself with a hammer?”

First friend responds “because it feels so good when I stop”.

Seriously, I finished with decent time of 6 hours and 40 minutes and it was a total rush. I finished 5th in my age group and 31st out of 100 overall. Not a bad way to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Why do it? It is hard to explain, but there is something spiritual about it when your whole world narrows down to one thing. There is no room for worries or pressure or anything else. Plus, my Garmin Watch estimates I burned through 3,500 calories, meaning I got to eat whatever I wanted the rest of the weekend, including the delicious turkey dinner Melissa made on Sunday to celebrate.

You can read more about the race at the KC Star or at the race site

Photos courtesy of SeeKCRun and Rich Stigall

Christmas Time

2009-01-20T22:41:00.006-06:00

Okay, I realize it is almost February, but I am finally getting around to uploading pictures from Christmas. Hey, it is not like we were late on our Christmas / New Year's / Martin Luther King / Inauguration cards this year. Oh yeah, I guess we were, since I just dropped them off at the Post Office today.

As you already know, the main gift this year was a trip to Disney World. We were to suppose to get back around 5 pm on December 21st. However, thanks to delays, we got home around 1 am on December 22nd. At least we didn't get delayed on the way there.

So, that said, we still got the kids a few things. I think Tyler's favorite gift was probably the Palomalu jersey. After they way Palomalu played last week, who can blame Ty? As for Ellie, I am pretty sure the American Girl doll was top of her list. As for our boy Drew, he just had fun tearing into everything. I think he was surprised no one was giving him a hard time for making a mess.

Where in the world (Disney) are the French's?

2008-12-16T17:12:00.010-06:00

Here is a hint (photo at left). For Christmas this year, we took the family to Disney World. Both sets of parents are here as well. It is only our 3rd day, but we have been busy! We have seen lots of the characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, as well as the characters from Bolt (Mittens, Rhino and Bolt), Frozone from the Incredibles, and lots of the princesses.

The highlight for Ellie so far was the diner with Cinderella. During dinner, we had visits to our table from Cinderella herself, along with Prince Charming (Ellie danced with him), as well as the evil step mother and Cinderella's two step sisters, Anastasia and Drizella. Let me tell you, the two step sisters were the most entertaining of all the characters. Just take a look at these two photos.

This is a great place to be for the Holidays - lots of lights, decorations and celebrations. Cinderella's castle is all lit up each night, along with an incredible fireworks show. Over at the studios, there is a great show inspired by Fantasia, called Fantasmic. It is an amazing use of pyrotechnics, water, and lasers. Oh yeah, don't miss the Osborn e Family Lights (not this Osborne). Can you believe all these lights were done by one family on their house?

Later this week, I hope to have a web album up of our pics. You can also click here to see photos taken by Disney photographers.

Ellie donates hair to Locks of Love

2008-10-23T22:52:00.006-05:00

Ellie decided she wanted to get her hair cut. Not the usual trim, but really get it cut, like 10 inches worth. Some of Ellie's friends had donated hair to the Locks of Love program, and she wanted to do the same. Locks of Love donates hair to underprivleged children who loose it due to medical treatment, such as chemo. Ellie is holding the hair she donated. While supportive, Melissa was a little hesitant, since Ellie has never had her hair cut before. Take a look at the next picture, which was taken a week before, to get an idea how much hair she had.

As you can see, her stylist did a great job. Ellie has been going to Shearr Madness for several years. Her stylist, Ms. LeAnn treats her like the Princess we all know Ellie to be. First, she measured the length to be cut to help Ellie imagine what it would look like. Then she cut it (I think Melissa shed a few tears) and styled it. And we all love the new look. Not only is it much easier for her to get ready each morning, we all now see her bright eyes. And it does help with sports too.

Hokies defeat Huskers

2008-10-15T22:10:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks back, I took Tyler up to Lincoln, Nebraska. What is in Lincoln, besides the state capital? It is home of the Huskers, who hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies for a great football game on September 27th. I always wanted to see a game at one of the large, Midwest schools. At 85,500 + seats, I decided to take advantage of the "local" game. So after Tyler's soccer game, we drove a short 3 1/2 hours Northwest of Kansas City to Lincoln. We made it in time to grab a quick dinner at the Spaghetti Works for some yummy pizza before walking over to the stadium.

Before I get to the game, I have to say, if you ever have a chance to go to a Nebraska game, do it. It is everything good about college sports: knowledgeable but respectful fans, family friendly atmosphere, marching bands, music, and lots of cheering. I lost count how many Nebraska fans asked us where we were from, wished us good luck in the game, and were just plan nice. Even though we were sitting on the Nebraska side, I didn't have any concerns having Tyler with me.

As for the game, it was very exciting. Tech blocked a kick and Nebraska ran a kickoff back for a touchdown. It looked like Tech would win it easily when they were up 28 - 10 late in the 3rd quarter, only to have Nebraska score twice to make it 35 - 30 with 2:30 left. The game came down to Tech forcing a turn over on the final Nebraska drive. Whew! On the way out, many of the Nebraska fans congratulated us on the win. A quick trip to Starbucks (coffee for me, water for Tyler) before heading back and making it home at 3 in the morning. Hope we can make the game next year, when Nebraska visits Blacksburg.

Drew is walking!

2008-10-10T23:33:00.004-05:00

Click on the image below or click here to see Drew taking stroll through the kitchen. Drew has taken a few steps here and there, but yesterday, he really got the hang of it. Boy, are we in trouble now!

Welcome to Drew's World

2008-10-07T22:22:00.008-05:00

Welcome to Drew's World, where everything is good, because, well, everything is a toy. Drew is a true blessing and a very sweet boy. However, he is 100% boy, a total rascal, and gets into everything (and I mean everything). Tyler and Ellie really took it easy on us by comparison. So Melissa signed Drew up for some 1-on-1 time at "My Gym".

Drew goes on Monday, when Tyler is at school and Ellie is at pre-k. He loves it. You can see him thinking 'finally, some place I can get into what ever I want and no one will mind!'. Chasing bubbles, crawling around, climbing, playing in the ball pit. I wish my day was more like that.

After a hard day's playing, Melissa is a little tired out, so she sometimes lets Drew drive home

Drew's 1st Birthday Party

2008-08-25T22:47:00.007-05:00

Drew finally put his foot down and demanded we give him a birthday party. What was the big deal? It was only 3 weeks late. Okay, so maybe it is true what they say about the 3rd child getting neglected, but we tried to make up for it with a good party.

We rented a moon bounce - figuring the older kids would be entertained (that does not mean you, Dave). And they were. Tyler didn't want to in, even though it was dark, and Ellie cried when she realized we weren't keeping it. But the one that through the biggest fit? That would be Drew. He loved bouncing around in there, giggling and belly laughing the whole time.

Besides a moon-bounce, we let Drew have some cake. I think he liked it. We had some pictures done at Penny's on Drew's actual birthday, so it wasn't his first cake. Check out the gallery at the right with some pictures.

Even though Drew made sure he was center of the attention, I think we managed to have a good time too. Lots of food (home made brisket, cole slaw, hot dogs) and picture perfect late summer day made for a nice time.

And of course, lots of presents for Drew. I think he started to get the hang of opening the presents. Or maybe it was just playing with the paper. Either way, he had a great time celebrating this momentous occasion! Wow- where did this past year go?

Happy Birthday Drew!

2008-08-05T23:10:00.005-05:00

Hey - come a little closer... I have a secret to tell you. Andrew Richard French turns 1 year old today! We can't believe have quickly he has grown. Seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital, now he is looking out the window with his buddy Aspen and eating corn off the cob (with a little help).

To celebrate, in addition to the couple of pictures I have posted here, I have also posted a new gallery of pictures - see link to the left or click here. Melissa took each of our children to have their photos taken each month of their first year. If I get my act together, I will scan in pictures from Tyler and Ellie's first year also. It will be fun to see who Drew looks more like at this age.

We aren't actually planning a party for Drew until next weekend. That is why I don't have any cake or birthday party pictures in this post. Check back in a week or so, and I hope to have a shot of Drew eating his first bite of cake!

Spotlight on Tyler

2008-07-09T22:03:00.005-05:00

In case you didn't know it, Tyler loves playing sports. Soccer, basketball, football and right now, baseball. The spring season of machine pitch comes to end this week, and Tyler's team has had a good season. The highlight of the year was 3&2 (that's the league he plays in) night at T-bones game. The T-bones are local, unaffiliated minor league team.

Each 3&2 team gets to march around the field prior to the game. As an added bonus, the team that sells the most tickets gets to take the field with the T-bones. Guess which team that was? Yep, ours. Tyler was ecstatic to run out onto the field with 'a real baseball player'. In fact, I think the whole team was pretty pumped.

Ty also spent a week at football camp. He has signed up to play flag football in the fall. No idea what position he will play, but he does have a pretty good arm. Might have to get Tyler some time with Uncle Todd for QB lessons.

Besides playing sports, Tyler has joined scouts. He just finished his first year, making it to Bear Cub. We went to year-end picnic for the ceremony. Tyler also spent a week at Scout Day Camp. Melissa and I both helped out with activities on different days. Even through it was extra hot that week, the kids stayed cool with water fights and spray down by fire engine.

Next post will be for Drew, as he gets ready to celebrate his first birthday.

Spotlight on Ellie

2008-05-25T23:26:00.005-05:00

Since I am so far behind on posting, I thought I would make one post dedicated to each child over the next three weeks. First up is Ellie, who recently had her second dance recital. She danced to Zippa Dee Doo Dah. She had a great time and absolutely LOVED skipping on stage. We also curled her pony tail into tiny spiral curls - very cute!!

I also wanted to include one more picture of Ellie from soccer. She is in the middle, wearing blue. If you look closely, you can see Ellie has her tongue sticking out - just like her brother does when he is playing sports. Is that a Fulton family trait Pop Pops??

baseball, baptism, and babes

2008-05-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been full of activities for the kids. First, we had Drew baptized on Mother's Day. He didn't complain at all, but did try to wiggle free. As pastor Bob said 'May the Lord use Drew's strength and activeness towards His end". Ellie also sang in the kids choir that morning.

The next weekend saw the end of both Tyler's and Ellie's soccer seasons. Ty had a late morning game, followed by a lunch pizza party at a local park. Ellie had a late afternoon game, followed by pizza party dinner. I think we have had our fill of pizza for a little bit. Dave had a great time helping coach both teams, but we are glad to be down to just one sport - Baseball.

Ty has adjusted quickly to machine pitch baseball. He has gotten a hit at every at bat so far. And Ellie has lots of playmates at the games. What a bunch of divas.

Just returned from falling off edge of the earth

2008-04-12T22:49:00.007-05:00

So the last time I posted, back in January, I said I would have video of Ty playing basketball. Umm, Tyler not only started playing basketball, he finished it. Not only that, he has gone on to soccer and baseball. Oh yeah, Ellie has started playing soccer too. And guess who got volunteered to help coach all three? Now that I am officially helping coach, and Melissa has her hands full with Drew, I don't think I will be boring you with too many sports pictures.

So lets see. Tyler did great this year at basketball, often scoring several times in one game, and being very aggressive on defense - can we say 'foul'? As for soccer, he is really enjoying it. He helped lead the team to victory in their last game by scoring 2 goals in the first half, then switching to goalie the second half. It was the first time he has played goalie, but he made some great saves. Must be the coaching. So far, baseball is just practice. Ty has a big adjustment to make, since this is the first year of machine pitch.

Ellie is super excited to be playing soccer this year. I was spectacular in coaching her team to a 5 - nothing loss. But the girls definitely had fun, so it wasn't a total loss (pun intended). She is also getting ready for a dance recital next month. She likes dancing, but not the practicing part.

And Drew keeps growing. He is long and lean (95% length, 50 percentile weight - where does he get that from?). Still babbling away, with an occasional da-da or ma-ma- having no idea what he's saying. He is eating more baby food and just starting to crawl. For now, his preferred means of locomotion is scooching or rolling. Can't leave that rascal alone for more than 20 seconds without him finding trouble. Don't let the sweet looks fool you.

Lots of 1st for Drew this month

2008-01-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

No, Drew is not talking, at least not saying anything we understand yet. And it is still too early for him to start crawling - thankfully! No, it is something much more fun, and messy. Drew has started eating solid food. Well, I'm not sure you can call baby food solid, but you get the idea. He has really taken to it, making all kinds of happy noises when we feed him. And like any baby, he likes to make a little bit of a mess with the food too. We started off with rice cereal mixed with milk, in the last week have added peas, sweet potatoes and applesauce (his favorite).

The only downside? Stinky diapers!!! Hard to believe such a sweet face can make such a mess. Also this week, Drew has finally decided he is okay with sitting up. Usually he prefers to recline - must take after his daddy! Tyler took the picture below the other night for us. Drew was sitting up to watch Ellie do some silly dance for him.

Next week I should get some pictures and maybe video of Tyler playing basketball and Ellie singing in Church.

December

2008-01-07T23:07:00.000-06:00

This December was one of the snowiest in Kansas City history. Since the kids were off from school, we did what any parent would do - put them to work shoveling snow! Ty and Ellie are still too young to realize it is not supposed to be fun.

One good thing - we had a white Christmas. We decided to stay in KC for Christmas. It was a quiet, relaxing time. At least until Christmas morning. Actually, Ty and Ellie were extremely well behaved, letting us sleep in until 8:00 am. They even helped Drew open some presents!

After opening stockings, we had our traditional coffee cake complete with candle and singing happy birthday to baby Jesus. Then, on to more presents!

Melissa had fun picking out the kids' Christmas outfits. The boys had matching shirts, and, of course, Ellie had a "fancy dress."

Fall Flies by

2007-12-26T23:46:00.001-06:00

Wow - Fall sure flew by. The time between Halloween and New Years is one big rush. Even though it is snowing out now, I thought I should post an update from November before getting to the Christmas photos.

Every year, whether in NY, VA or KS, we try to get out as a family and see the trees turning color. This year we took a hike to the nature sanctuary in Parkville, MO. The trails were pretty challenging, but the kids did great. Melissa and Dave took turns with carring Drew in the Baby Bjorn. He loved being outside.

Of course, what would Fall be without ranking of leaves? We don't have nearly the number of leaves to rake like we did in Virginia, but it was enough to keep the kids busy. We even got help from the neighborhood's kids. Ty is playing in a pile of leaves with Lily, who lives down at the end of the cul-de-sac and is in 1st grade with Tyler.

A few more pics - from Tyler's 7th birthday party. We had a soccer party (indoor) at All American Indoor Sports. Lots of fun - the kids played soccer for an hour, than ate pizza, cake and played games.

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-04T08:50:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we made our annual trip to the KC Pumpkin Patch with some friends of ours, the Wilts. The kids all had lots of fun with hay rides, corn maze, pumpkin cannon, petting zoo and haunted barn. We even managed to convince the kids to pose for a few pictures.

One we got home, Dave spent the better part of the day carving the pumpkins. You can see the results of my attempts online at
http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.french/PumpkinPatch

Ellie's 4th Birthday Party

2007-10-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

Eliana had her 4th birthday party at nearby rec center . In honor of her birthday, we had a "Barbie 12 dancing princess party. For the first hour, each girl got to dress up in ballet costume, complete with tiara, wand and tutu. The girls really seemed to enjoy it.

I am trying a new feature this week - I am only uploading a few photos, as usual to the blog. However I am uploading more pictures to an on-line photo album. If I do this right, all you have to do is click on the link above to view it. If that does not work, try entering this URL: http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.french

Tea for two, downtime and a new babysitter

2007-10-18T21:44:00.001-05:00

Ellie recently went to a friend's birthday party - a tea birthday party. Melissa curled Ellie's hair and dressed her in a beautiful navy dress. The party was held at a Victorian gift shop and tea room. The place provided fancy dresses & hats for all the girls to wear. Ellie had a pretty red and black dress and hat. The girls were served tea and crumpets (soda and cake) and had a lovely time.

However I don't want you to think all we do is run the kids around from one event to the next. We do occasionally get some down time. I couldn't resist taking this photo of Melissa and Drew catching some zzz 's together. Too bad you can't hear them both snoring in this picture.

I am happy to report that Melissa and I finally found a baby sitter we think we can trust with the kids. She is very patient with them, can match their energy level, and is someone we have known for years. I included a picture of her watching Drew for us the other night.

Family Photo time

2007-09-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

We had some family pictures done recently at a couple of different places. Before I get to them, wanted to share a candid of Drew. He is growing fast!

The next few pictures were done by a local portrait studio.

Back to School

2007-08-27T22:55:00.001-05:00

Wow - I can't believe summer is already over. Tyler started first grade last week. He is very excited about going to school for the whole day. With the birth of Andrew, I think this is perfect opportunity to put a little more structure back in Tyler's day.

Lots of other firsts also. Andrew had his first bath at home. He screamed bloody murder through the whole thing, but snuggled up nice once he got the towel around him.

Tyler and Eliana continue to be wonderful helpers and great big brother / big sister for Drew. Eliana insists on helping us change Drew, usually by singing him songs and holding his 'bink' to help keep him calm. Both kids are always asking to hold Andrew and rock him to sleep.

Melissa is recovering very well. All the help we have received from our extremely generous neighbors, friends and family has made it easier for all of us. From bringing over meals to driving the kids to events or offering play dates, we are extremely blessed and can't thank you enough.

We even got a visit from 'Auntie Ceil' who flew all the way out from DC area. I am not sure who was more excited - Ellie to have someone to play with, Tyler for having someone to kick the soccer ball around with, Melissa for having one of her best friends to talk with, or Dave, who got to go mountain biking with Ceil. Always good to catch up with good friends.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2007-08-14T21:48:00.000-05:00

The Good - We celebrated Andrew's one week birthday by taking him to Children's Mercy for a follow up on his PAC. They performed a second EKG and a chest X-ray. The cardiologist said everything looks okay, and definitively ruled out PVC, and Long Q T syndrome , both of which would have been cause for concern. That leaves PAC, which is just something we will have to watch, but is not cause for extra concern.

The Bad (relatively speaking) - Little Drew is doing his best to follow in his brother's footsteps, so to speak. For those who can remember, Tyler's nickname when he was an infant was 'Sir Whizalot'. Well let's just say Drew is no slouch when it comes to peeing all over the place. We try not to laugh, but when he gets himself all wet and then gets upset about it (dare I say.. p!ssed off?), it is pretty funny.

The Ugly - No, I am not going to subject you to a picture of me in the morning. This is worse - we have officially embraced suburbia by giving in and buying a mini-van. After much research, we chose to go with the Hyundai Entourage. Not as cool as the HBO series by the same name, but a great car. The kids absolutely love it. Melissa and I find have found we actually like it too. Like our neighbor said, mini-vans are the car you want to hate, but can't.

Next post - Ty's starts back to school

We have finally decided on a Name

2007-08-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

It is official - we submitted the birth certificate today. Baby John Doe French is now.........

Andrew Richard French.
Melissa always favored that name. My hang-up was Andrew has been a top 10 name for at least the last 5 years. I am a little sensitive to that, having a somewhat common name myself (Seems when ever I am in a group of more than 5 guys, at least one other is named David). Turns out that Drew is not nearly as common. While his name is Andrew, we will call him Drew.

Melissa has been doing great - she is recovering well from her c-section. She started walking around yesterday, and was up for a shower and solid food today. Drew has a slightly irregular heart-beat, called premature atrial contractions. However it is pretty common and almost always corrects itself. If all goes well, we will be going home tomorrow (Thursday). As you can see, Tyler and Eliana are very excited to have their little brother come home.

Pics from the kids

2007-08-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

We bought the kids digital cameras. We figured we'd need assistant photographers to help us keep up with all of the recent changes in our family. Plus some pictures from kids' point of view should be interesting.

Tyler's camera is a Polaroid i531. Very kid friendly, easy to use and hold, with 5.1 MP camera and video. Tyler has learned pretty quickly how to use it.

Ellie's camera is Fisher - Price Kids Tough camera. While the resolution is not nearly as crisp (640 x 480), the camera is great for 2 - 4 year olds. Easy to hold, both LED and view finder, it is a great camera for her. The last photo gives you an idea of the range of output.

New baby is here!

2007-08-06T12:06:00.001-05:00

No name yet, but Tyler and Ellie now have a new baby brother! 7lbs, 13 onces and 19 inches long. Melissa and baby are both doing great. The little monkey has already learned how to roll over on his side and is grabbing everything in sight.

Now if we can just settle on a boys name.

Zoo, Pool and grandma

2007-07-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

A few more pics to show what a tough live the kids lead. Trips to the pool, the Kansas City Zoo (snake picture is for Grammy French), Princess Dance class and visits from grandparents.

Even thought we moved to KC within a couple of months of our parents moving to Charlottesville, they have been wonderful about coming to visit. And yes, I realize it is a little weird that both sets of grandparents live near each other and that they are good friends.

Also, I finally got the video loaded from Ellie's dance recital. Be sure to go to the bottom of the post to see video.

4th of July bike parade

2007-07-13T21:46:00.001-05:00

Last week was annual 4th of July neighborhood bike parade. Ellie was thrilled that she could ride her own bike this year. We spend part of the morning decorating the bikes. Then we walked down to the start, lined up behind the police car and rode down to the pool in a parade of red, white and blue. After the parade, there was plenty of water and Popsicles to cool off. We spent the afternoon one street over, eating hot dogs & playing kick-ball (the kids beat the adults once again).

We meant to make it out for fireworks, but the weather was questionable and the kids pretty worn out. We decided instead to let the kids fall asleep on the couch watching fireworks on TV.

Summer Fun

2007-07-09T23:02:00.000-05:00

Melissa has been keeping the kids busy, or is it the kids have been keeping Melissa busy? Either way, the kids have had lots of activities this summer. Both Tyler and Ellie are taking swim lessons through our gym. The instructors are great, I guess you could say they are hands on (ha ha). The small class size has allowed Tyler and Ellie to make a ton of progress. Tyler is now doing the backstroke, while Ellie is learning the crawl, swimming underwater, and floating on her back. As you can tell, she thinks it is all great fun.

Besides swimming, Tyler & I just finished up baseball. The season was a little long, in part because all the rain outs forced a few games to be rescheduled. With coaching help from several team dads, the team showed great progress. At the last game, our team caught 3 or 4 fly-balls for outs, and everyone had a least one hit. However I think their favorite part was at the end of each game, when I handed out games balls. Even though I made sure everyone got at least one game ball during the year, the kids really seems to enjoy it.

As for Ellie, she just finished taking gymnastics. She had tons of fun. She learned how to do somer- saults, hand- stands, swinging on parallel bars, walking the balance beam, and pretty much being the little monkey that she is.

Somewhere in all that, Melissa found time to take Tyler to soccer camp. The camp was through our church, taught by a former pro and world cup player. It was very good learning experience for Tyler. Meanwhile, Ellie took part in a 'Princess Dance' camp - something that combined two of her favorite things. Each day, the girls dressed up in their favorite princess outfit and learned dance steps.

That is all for this post. I hope to have pics up from the 4th of July bike parade in a week or so.

New connection to the French Family

2007-06-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

We have tried to keep it a secret as long as we can, but as you can see, it is no longer possible. We are expecting our 3rd child in mid-August. Both Tyler and Ellie are very excited. Tyler, who is a great big brother to Ellie, says "now I will be responsible for two kids." He is definitely the oldest child.

Before you ask, no, we don't know the sex of the baby. Tyler is okay having either another sister or baby brother. Ellie , on the other hand only, only wants a baby sister. She says "boys are yucky". Apparently Tyler is not a boy, since he is her brother. I probably should mention that the photo to the left is intentionally cut-off. Not that I don't think Melissa is beautiful, but the focus of the picture is the kids (all 3 of them).

Speaking of the pictures, I included a couple of sonogram pictures as well. Yes, I am actually putting pictures of my wife's uterus on-line. Besides, you know how they say you take less pictures with each kid? Well this one is getting its face on the Internet before either Tyler or Ellie did.

Tyler and Ellie have been wonderful since we told them. They love going to the doctor's with Melissa to see the pictures of the baby and hear its heart beat. Ellie is always asking to kiss the baby (Melissa's big, beautiful belly).

In case you aren't as good as the kids at reading sonograms, the first one shows a profile of the baby's head, arms and chest. Good looking kid, huh? The last picture is of the baby's feet, or more accurately, one of the baby's feet. Sort of looks like the baby is getting ready for a good kick into Melissa's bladder. Must of have been watching Tyler play soccer.

Boys of Summer

2007-05-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Tyler had two soccer games and a baseball game 0 Phew! He did well, scoring a goal in one soccer game (see first photo) and getting a couple of hits in the baseball game.

Guess who was 'volunteered' to coach Ty's baseball team? Turns out the league had enough players, but no coach. So I volunteered. Of course I end up missing the first game and team pictures due to work. Fortunately for me, I have lots of help from all the other Dad's - everyone 'pitches' in.

Unfortunately for Melissa, she is stuck being the Team Mom, which means she handles all the emails, coordinating practices and did I mention all the emails? I think I got off easy.

For kindergarten and first grade, games are coach pitch, with each kid getting 5 pitches to swing at. Like every sport he has tried so far, Ty really likes it. He has a good arm, and is getting very good at hitting. More than once I have had to jump out of the way of a line drive or risk ending up on episode of America's funniest home videos.

Eliana's Dance Recital

2007-05-26T23:31:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Ellie had her dance recital. She was very excited and practiced for weeks. Her dance classes' outfits were adorable. There were about 8 girls from her class on stage - sang ingand dancing to 'Rock-a-bye Baby'. Each girl brought a doll to hold and sing the song with.

I finally got the video up (see below). It is only 15 seconds, but I had to chop it down with the original being over 140 MB. Ellie is very cute, but I am pretty sure most of you don't want to wait for that to download. For now, you will have to get by on a few more photos.

By the way, we got a new video camera. Our old one has been great for almost 7 years. However the motor that drives the tapes has started to go. Total repair cost was a little over $200, so we figured we would just invest in a new one. We went with hard disk model and are very pleased.

artwork and butterflies

2007-05-09T22:16:00.001-05:00

Tyler's art teacher selected one of Tyler's paintings to be displayed in an annual exhibit at our school district's main Resource Center. Tyler's kindergarten class studied the work of Jasper Johns. The noticed he painted letters and number, usually with primary colors. Tyler chose two words he knew, and painted each letter, surrounded by a square, using a different primary color for each letter / square combination. Pretty cool, huh?

Later the same week, Ellie was playing outside when she spotted a butterfly in our neighbor's flower garden. Using her butterfly net, she caught the butterfly all by herself. With a little help from our neighbor - Mr. Kurt - we were able to transfer the butterfly to our bug cage. Ellie and Mr. Kurt made sure the butterfly had flowers to keep it company during its 'observation'.

It is the little things our kids do that makes us parents proud.

Europe - Paris

2007-04-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

Paris was our final stop on the trek across Western Europe. Our former neighbors from Virginia, the Cliatt's, were the perfect hosts. Their place was centrally located, their kids were perfect playmates, and their beds just right for recovering from a long day of site-seeing. Our first night in, the Cliatt clan took us on a 15 minute walk from their place to Trocade'ro to see the Eiffel Tower lit up for the night. Every hour over 20,000 lights flash for 5 minutes to make it "Sparkly" as Ellie said.

The next day, with a little help from Steve, we took a short ride on the RER out from Avenue Foch to Versailles (see if you can find it on the map). Ellie slept through most of the tour, but the rest of us enjoyed it. It is easy to see how France became the center of power in Europe during King Lois XIV reign. Although I have to say, he comes across as having a bit of an ego. Self styled as the "sun king", his nobles ritually greeted him each morning as he rose from bed to shine his light on his subjects.

After Versailles, it was back to Eiffel Tower. We climbed up to the first level, Dave carrying Ellie. From Level 1 - 2, everyone, including Ellie, climbed the stairs. That's us celebrating our victory. It was late, so we hoofed it back to our home base, the Cliatt's.

Tyler and Ellie had a great time playing with Carter and Charlotte. Steve and Sara Beth graciously watched our kids that night while Melissa and I had a late dinner. First, we walked the 5 minutes to the Arc de Triomphe. Yet another climb to the top, but it was worth it. First, the view down the Champ-Elysees at night was spectacular. Even more entertaining was watching the traffic in Paris' most famous, and dangerous, round about. No way you could convince me to drive in that mad-house.

The next day, after tearing the kids away from playing, we managed to drag them to the Louvre. Keep in mind, living in DC for 10 years, with National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, and Corcoran, it takes a lot for a museum to impress me. I was impressed. That place is gigantic! We did get to see the Mona Lisa (the kids got front row!) and a couple of Michelangelo's statues. After a quick bite for lunch, it was off to the Notre Dame Cathedral. While I couldn't find touch-down Jesus , I did find at least one guy watching us. Something about the way he looked told me it was time for us to head out.

That is exactly what we did the next day. Again with help from Steve, we took ourselves and all our luggage via the Metro to the train station. Just in time to catch a bullet train from Paris to Brussels.

We spent the next day recovering in Brussels before having a fabulous dinner out with the Robinson's and their friends. The next morning, it was off to the airport and the long flight home. I will leave you with humorous pic taken at the airport featuring our friend and beloved mascot of Brussels, the Manneken Pis.

Europe - Normandy

2007-04-16T23:35:00.001-05:00

We spent a couple of days in Normandy, visiting the site of the D-Day landings. Everything from the museums to the outdoor monuments was extremely well done. It was perfect mix for the kids, spending time in museum and outside climbing on old cannons and in bomb craters. Although the irony of watching the kids play on the old cannons and in the bomb craters was something to behold.

First stop was to Longues-sur-Mer to see the remains of 4 German 150mm canons. The defenses they built are still impressive, 60 plus years later. The massive guns could launch shells 24 km, and rained havoc down on the Allied ships the morning of D-Day.

We also visited the Rangers' monument at Pointe du-hoc . The story behind the Ranger battalion that had to scale these massive cliffs to knock out German cannons is amazing to see. The kids had fun running in and out of the massive craters left over from the Allied bombing and shelling.

The final stop was to the American cemetery at Omaha beach. The weather was very foggy, but it seemed appropriate as we toured the grounds. The highlight of the trip was meeting our new friend, Buddy. Buddy was part of the second wave of Allied forces that landed at noon on D-Day. It was an honor to shake his hand and introduce him to Tyler.

Europe - Mt. St. Michel

2007-04-15T07:12:00.000-05:00

After Monet's Garden, we headed West towards the Coast to visit Mont Saint Michel in Normandy. This location is amazing as it it an island during high tide and connected to the mainland by a small bridge during low tide. The tides here are among the greatest in France, with a swing of up to 14m between the high and low water marks. The first monastic establishment began construction in the 8th century. The age of the beautiful sites we visited while in Europe is difficult to grasp.

Despite the fog, the site was still impressive, especially under the lights at night. The facility is still home to monks and nuns. Because we were there on a Sunday, we were fortunate enough to catch part of Mass. The singing was beautiful. The kids were mesmerized - Ellie stretching to see where the "beautiful singing was coming from." The kids also enjoyed climbing up to the top of the monastery, 250 above sea level.

The gothic architecture throughout is beautiful. The thought and planning that went into the planning are astounding. For example, half way up, you encounter a 'cloister garden', a place where monks could meditate. While our kids didn't meditate there, they did have fun playing.

Our next stop is Normandy and WWII memorials before heading off to Paris for a few days.

Europe - Giverny France and Monet's Garden

2007-04-14T17:16:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we left safe confines of the Robinson abode to strike out on our own. We were headed from Brussels to Normandy, France. But first, a stop at Claude Monet's home in Giverny, France.

Monet's home has two beautiful gardens, much of which is recognizable from his paintings. While it is a little out of the way, the trip was worth it.

The kids had a nice time running around, stretching their legs and even looking at the paintings. Looking at the gardens, it is easy to see where Monet receive his inspiration for classics such the water lillies paintings.

Europe - German Castles

2007-04-13T16:17:00.000-05:00

Next stop on the tour was a visit to Germany. We took a train from Amsterdam to Koeln (Cologne), where we visited the main attraction, its Gothic Cathedral. To say we were impressed is an undestatement. Started in 1248, it was not completed until 1880, and houses the golden shrine of the three magi (remains of the 3 wise men).

After Cologne, we hopped in the Robinson's car for a trip to Burg Rheinfel in St. Goar Germany. After touring the castle ruins, we took a ferry down the Rhein to see numerous other castles. The Kohn-Dusseldolf ferry was a wonderful way to travel. The adults relaxed on the deck, enjoying the sun and drinking German beer as the kids played on the slide.

After an all too short ride, we talked the kids into getting off in a small, picturesque German town right out of a story book. We walked around for a short while before jumping on a train back to the cars. Last stop for the evening was a to Moselkurn. The next day morning, we hiked to Burg Eltz, which is one of the best preserved castles in all of Europe. Construction started in 1157, it has been in the Eltz family since. It is still occupied by the decendents of the original owners. It looks like something right out of the sound of music.

I-am-ersterdam

2007-04-10T16:17:00.000-05:00

After visiting the gardens, we continued up to Amsterdam. Highlights included visitin Van Gogh Museum & the Ann Frank House, both of which made good impression on the kids.

Amsterdam is a wonderful city, with great night life, lots to do and very easy to get around in. That is if you keep an eye out for all the bikes. Everyone uses bikes here, to work, for play, taking kids around, all walks of life. At the train station, inside of a park and ride, there was a park your bike garage, two stories tall.

Tyler really enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum, especially the famous Sun Flower paintings, which he studied in his art class.

Both kids seem to get a lot out of the Anne Frank House, which is extremely well done and kid appropriate. Very moving - I highly recommend it.

More Keukenhof - this time with People

2007-04-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

Figured I better show some pictures with us actually in them, or you might not believe we were there. First up, a shot of my beautiful bride and I. That is followed by our wonderfully photo-genic kids, then finally a rare family shot. We were really, really lucky to hit the gardens at the right time. Unlike the US, Europe has had an unusually warm spring.

Europe - keukenhof

2007-04-09T01:37:00.000-05:00

Don't really have any good words to describe how beautiful the gardens at Keukenhof are, so I will just post some pictures.

Europe - Brugges

2007-04-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

We spent our second day in Europe visiting the historical Belgium city of Brugge (or Brugges if you are Dutch). The architecture of Brugges provides yet another example of classic European beauty. We stayed busy shopping, riding a boat on the canal, climbing 366 steps up the clock tower, and seeing one of the few Michelangelo statues outside of Italy - the Madonna.

Our first activity was hopping on one of the many boats along the canal that winds through the heart of Brugges - a great way to see the city. Plus great fun for the kids.

After the ride, we decided to visit Our Lady Church. The architecture inside the church is impressive, but what makes the visit a must see is that it houses one of the few Michelangelo's outside of Italy. It is worth the visit.

Our final stop of the day was up the Brugge Clock Tower. For a few Euros, we had the priviledge of climbing 366, narrow, twisting steps up to the top of the bell tower. It was pretty challenging to navigate, with people climbing both up and down. Dave had the extra challenge of carrying Ellie the whole way.

Europe - Brussels

2007-04-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

We have been in Europe for 5 incredible days. I can't believe all the things we have seen so far. There is no way this trip would have been possible without the help of our friends, the Robinson's and Cliatt's. We can't thank you enough.

After an overnight flight from DC, we arrived early Saturday morning in Brussels. After dropping our luggage off, the Robinson's whisked us off to see Brussels, determined to keep us awake the first day and make the time adjustment as easy as possible. Thanks to a busy schedule, lots of coffee for Dave, and playtime for the kids, it worked perfectly. Hope we are half as lucky on the way back.

Our first visit was to historic Grand'Place in downtown Brussels, also known as Market Square. To say we were impressed is an understatement. This is our first trip to Europe, and the architecture is incredible. We strolled around hitting all the tourist highlights, including the famed Manneken Pis.

After seeing the sites, we looked for a good place to have lunch. Dave and Melissa had the mandatory "mussles in Brussels" and some very good local beer. I don't know if I will be able to go back to American beer after this.

Lunch was followed by more walking around, then an early night. The kids settled in great, Ty sharing a room with Will and Ellie sleeping in Emily's room. In all, we couldn't have asked for a better first day! Tomorrow it is off to see Brugges (or Brugge, depending on which part of Belgium you are from).

Easter Eggs, Dancing and Soccer - Must be Spring

2007-04-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post one more update before we head out on vacation. That's right, I said the "v" words, but more on that later.

First, an update on the kids' activities. Saturday was the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. The day started out nice, but quickly cooled off as the wind picked up. At least the rain held off. Ellie and Ty both had lots of fun grabbing as many eggs as they could. Ellie particularly liked the purple and pink eggs. Melissa behaved herself this year by not taking any eggs for herself.

Ellie is almost finished with her dance class. We have a recital in a couple of weeks where she will show off what she has learned. If you click on the picture to the left, you can see a little tap routine.

Tyler has finished basketball and is on to soccer and baseball. Dave "volunteered" to coach Ty's baseball team. By default, Melissa is "Team Mom" and has been taking care of the administrative side of things - lots of phone calls and emails. Games don't start until May, so for now, it is more soccer. He definitely stays active, and loves it!

Okay, back to the vacation comment. We are going to Europe for a couple of weeks to visit friends in Brussels and Paris. It is something the whole family is really looking forward to - now that we ALL have our passports. A warning to anyone else considering international travel (including Canada and Mexico) - plan WAY ahead!!! The State Department is inundated with passport applications and it is taking several weeks to even get your application into the system to be tracked.

Our good friends from back East, the Robinson clan, have kindly opened up their house as home base, Kirsten has put together an AWESOME itinerary which includes trips to Amsterdam, Brugges, Luxemburg, Normandy and of course Brussels. If we're lucky, our trip to Keukenhoff Gardens in Amsterdam will coincide with the blooming of the tulips. We are then off to visit former neighbors, who are on assignment in Paris, for a couple of days. Dave will have his laptop, so we will try to make a few posts while we out of town.

March Update

2007-03-20T22:56:00.000-05:00

Finally getting around to posting a few more pictures of the kids. First couple are from Tyler's basketball games. It was amazing to see how well all the kids on the team progressed during the season. In his last game, Tyler grabbed several rebounds, then turned around and started a fast break. (see first picture). Notice Tyler's imitation of Michael Jordan's tongue thing. Apparently it runs in the men's side of Melissa's family.

After leading a fast break, sometimes Tyler would pass, sometimes he would keep it himself and shoot. It was great to see his confidence grow. He worked hard, practices often and it really started to payoff. Hopefully he will take after his Uncle Todd, who was pretty good left handed ball player as well.

The last two pictures are from Ellie's dance class. Ellie still loves dancing. She often practices her dance moves around the house. In the picture below, you can see her working on her moves with her instructor.

If you click on the photo, or here, you get a special treat - a short video of Ellie dance in her tap shoes. The file is a bit large (16 MB), so it may take a little while to load.

Hoop Dreams (or white man can't jump)

2007-02-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

Basketball - it is the the latest sport Tyler has decided to try. One of Melissa's friends recommended a great program for kids called "Upward Bound". The program focuses on fundamentals, sportsmanship, and competitiveness. The whole thing is done really well, including nice jersey's and shorts, intros with music and smoke machine, and even cheerleaders (which distracts Tyler at times).

Each week, Ty has one practice and one game. Melissa and I have been spending some time at the gym with him working on the basics as well. Ty does well in practices, and does very good job of listening to coaches. But come game time, he gets so excited he something forgets what he has learned. His enthusiasm has been fun to watch. It reminds me of what we forget too often - that sports, especially kids' sports, are about learning and having fun.

Ty loves to practice, and Melissa has been working with him at our gym whenever she can. Dave even made it one day this week. Melissa, Ellie and Tyler all ganged up on Dave for a scrimage. Anyone that has seen Dave play basketball knows how unfair that is....for him.

This week was probably the first week we have seen Ty put it all together. He played good defense (making a couple of steals), dribbled and passed well, and even took a couple of shots. Of course, Melissa is taking credit for all the extra practice time she has put in with Ty.

Ellie's Dance Class

2007-02-07T23:06:00.000-06:00

Okay, I am finally getting around to posting about Ellie's Dance class. Sorry this has taken me so long. My only excuse is that it took a while to learn how to edit movies files from Melissa's camera. The camera saves movies in Apple's *.mov format, and our home computer prefers Windows *wmv or *.avi format. Mr. Jobs and Mr. Gates don't play very nice together. Anyway, you aren't here for my complaining.

Before you look at the videos & pictures, I should explain why they look the way they do. The parents have to sit outside the classroom, watching through a large window that has open blinds on it. Those hozizontal lines you see aren't my fingers, it' s the blinds. You can pick out Ellie is by her black leotard.

To see the first video, click here or on the picture. As Ellie dances across the floo r, she looks out the window and sees Mommy and Tyler. So what does she do? Click to see.

To view the second video, click here or on the picture of Ellie in her ballerina pose . It is great fun to watch her in class. She listens so attentively to what the teaching is saying. I wish she would listen to us half as well! Every Friday, she is so excited for dance class that she gets dress in her leotard as soon as she is done with breakfast. Of course, her dance class doesn't start until noon !!

The last video shows how enthusiastic she is. The girls are asked to spin around. To see what happens to Ellie when she spins too much, click here or on the last picture below.

Christmas 2006 in KC

2007-01-16T22:28:00.000-06:00

This is the first year we celebrated Christmas in Kansas City. Even though we haven't celebrated the holidays here before, we found that most of our same traditions worked just as well here as anywhere else. As you can see, we had lots of help wrapping presents from Santa's little elves.

Another tradition our elves like to help with is making Christmas cookies, especially with Pop Pop. Aspen made sure to keep an eye on the cookies while they were baking. That is our new stove she is staring at - Dave's Christmas present to Melissa. Okay, okay, Dave didn't really buy the stove for Melissa. Our stove died on Dec 22nd, with family coming to visit the next day! Thank-you Lowes for delivering so close to Christmas.

Anyway, back to the cookies. Melissa and Dave enjoyed a nice dinner out while the kids frosted cookies with Grandma and Pop Pop. At least we think they managed to frost cookies instead of frosting each other. All we know for sure is both the kitchen and the kids were clean when we got home. I wonder if Aspen got to 'help' clean up as a reward for watching the cookies? Oh well, at least the cookies tasted great. Sorry, no pictures of the cookies, we ate them all ;)

As you can tell, Santa was very generous this year, especially to the kids. Ty got lots of Legos, erector sets, sports stuff and a new fish tank. Ellie received a new baby doll and lots of princess stuff. Her favorite gift may have been the new 'big-girl' bed from Santa. For those of you who don't know, we don't raise good sleepers. Ellie has been spending lots of time in our bed. So we made a big deal out of asking Santa for a new bed. And guess who has been sleeping in it on her own most nights? Christmas really is a time for miracles.

I hope to upload a picture of Ellie's new bed shortly. Her room looks great - no longer a nursery, definitely a girls room. I should also have pictures of Ellie's dance class and Ty's basketball games up in the next few weeks.

Snow Day!!!!

2006-12-09T09:07:00.000-06:00

As you might have heard, our recent run of great weather came to an crashing halt. First with a ice storm, then two days of snow. We received about a foot of snow, causing the schools to close for two days. Melissa bundled the kids up and headed over to the local hill for some sledding. Click on any of the pictures below for some video highlights.

Video 1 - Ellie Sledding (click here or on picture)

Video 2 - Tyler Sledding (click here or on picture)

Video 3 - Ty pulling Ellie (click here or on picture)

KC Christmas Tree Lighting

2006-12-07T22:07:00.000-06:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we went down to the Crown Center, downtown KC for the lighting of the Christmas Tree. In addition to singing, music, ice skating, and the lighting of the Christmas tree, they had fireworks.

Since it was so nice out (for November), we had a picnic dinner on benches while watching the events. The kids loved the fireworks. Ever wonder what happens to the tree after the Holidays? In this case, they use the wood from each previous year's tree to make ornaments. All proceeds from ornament sales go to the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund, which assists thousands of Kansas City's less fortunate each year.

However the best part was the fountain. Kansas City is second only to Rome, Italy, in the number of fountains it has. The Crown Center has one of the largest, with over 49 water jets that shoot water up to 60 feet in the air. Water is supplied from 7,500-gallon underground reservoir & is recycled into the fountain at a rate of 2,200 gallons per minute.

For Christmas, they created a water shows that featured the fountain dancing to "Carol of the Bells" and "The Nutcracker Overture." Click on the pictures below to see for yourself

Click
here to view first video or click on the picture

Click here to view second video or click on the picture

Tyler's 6 Birthday

2006-11-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

We decided not to gamble with Kansas's oh so predictable (not!!) weather and celebrated Tyler's birthday inside this year. We held his party at our gym and enjoyed pizza and games. Tyler wanted a Lego birthday. We had a Lego relay, and topped his cake with Lego building blocks, and a Lego Bionicle creature. Compared to Ellie's cake, Tyler's cake was much easier on Mom and Dad - we put Tyler to work building the cake toppers.

During the party, the kids had a great time playing around running through an obstacle course and playing scooter hockey. The highlight of the party was a scooter train.

Tyler's friends were very generous - he received lots of great gifts. He even wrote his own thank you cards this year. Wow - how did he get to be 6 already??!?

Halloweeen Pictures

2006-11-13T23:37:00.000-06:00

Just realized I haven't posted any pictures from Halloween. With both kid's birthdays and Halloween so close together, it is hard to find time to keep the blog updated.

Tyler has rely been into Superheroes, especially the Justice Leauge . Last year, he was Batman. This year, he wanted to be the Flash, the fastest human alive. We got him to slow down just enough to be photographed before he took off to collect as much candy as possible. Actually, it was Tyler's idea to pose like this.

Ellie, on the other hand, wanted to be princess (big surprise !!). Melissa found a beautiful Cinderella costume for her. Complete with tiara, blue dress and glass slippers, Ellie looked every bit the princess that she is.

Melisa got roped into dressing up as well, since she was 'room mom' for Tyler's kindergarten class on Halloween. She won't let me post any pictures, but she looked good in a cat outfit.

Even I got into the act. We have a costume contest at work. Since everyone knows how much I like the Steelers, I decided to go as Troy Polamalo. If any of you have ever watched a Steelers game in the last two years, he is the guy on defense with the long flowing back hair hanging out his helmet. I even had a small Larry Johnson hanging off the back - a little jab at the local Chiefs fans.

Trip to Arboretum

2006-11-04T11:46:00.000-06:00

Not too much to say, just some pretty pictures from trip to Overland Park Arboretum last weekend

Ellie's 3rd Birthday - Part 2

2006-11-01T22:13:00.000-06:00

Did I mention that Ellie likes princesses? Take a look at the cake we made for her. Melissa found the design on-line. Basically, it is two sheet cakes on top of each other. The towers are two ice cream cones stacked on ends, with a 3rd sugar cone for the turret. Strawberry wafers and licorice string combined for the drawbridge, with Hersey kisses around the top. We were pretty proud of our creation. Best of all the kids thought it tasted great.

We had several activities for the kids, including: decorating crowns and coloring pictures of princesses such as Belle, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White. We also played 'pin the crown on the castle'. I have to confess to spending a little too much time drawing the castle. But hey, nothing's too good from my little girl, right? Oh, I guess I should explain the kids' expressions. We took this picture after the party, and kids were having a little fun. I don't know where they get their silliness from. Personally, I blame grandpa and pop-pop.

Had to get one shot of Ellie posing in front of her Princess decoration. She was pretty excited to see it hung up. We had to leave it hanging in our kitchen windows for several days before she let us take it down.

Ellie's 3rd Birthday - Part 1

2006-11-01T21:46:00.000-06:00

Can you believe Eliana has already turned 3? In some ways, she is definitely a little girl. Take princesses and dress up for example. She loves to play dress up. You can see her modeling a pretty sequene dress and feather boa - a birthday gift courtesy of grandma. She even has the right look and pose for a run-way model. I don't think my mother has had this much fun shopping for Ellie since she picked out her first, new-born outfit.
Ellie also loves anything to do with Disney Princesses, so imagine how excited she was to get the Snow White dress up outfit from my Uncle and Aunt. She has been running around in one or the other outfit for days now.
Last picture is from Ellie's birthday party (more pictures in the next post). She received a special call from Cinderella, wishing her a happy birthday. For once, she was speechless. However her smile tells you how excited she was.

Trip to Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-29T21:25:00.000-06:00

October 1st was unusually nice day, so we packed-up the family truckster and headed south to the KC Pumpkin Patch. Lots of fun things, including a corn maze, pumpkin toss, zip line, and hay rides. Tyler was really impressed with the pumkin cannon - pumpkins were launched more than 300 yards using a propane tank.

Thought I would start off with a rare family shot. Notice how we are all smiling before entering the maze. It was pretty tricky - turning us around several times. If it weren't for Tyler, we might still be lost in the there

Of course, no trip to the pumpkin patch is complete without a picking out a few pumpkins to take home. Ellie and Dave are eying a few nice pumpkins to take a rest on. We also found some that were good for carving.

Look Mom, No Hands!

2006-09-05T23:20:00.000-05:00

David decided it was time for Tyler to ride without his training wheels. We figured it would take lots of work, patience, and band-aids. We were wrong - Tyler is a natural. He only needed a little help getting started, and he was off. Dave had a hard time keeping up with Tyler. Not only did he ride across the cul-de-sac, he learned how to turn and stop. Ty then started riding over bumps, the sidewalk and even on the grass. Look-out Dave, I think Ty is ready to start mountain biking!

Pretty soon, Ty was too fast for Dave. Hmmm, this might be a good way for Dave to get his running in! I think the best thing Dave taught Tyler was how to fall. If any of you have every seen Dave after a ride, you know that falling the one thing he has had a lot of practice with!

You know Ellie had to get into the act. Once again, she is showing no fear, riding over what ever gets in her way.

Hey lady, come back here with that bike! I didn't realize the circus was in town. Okay, Melissa didn't really steal the bike. The kids started to get a little tired, so she road the bike back up the cul-de-sac to our house.

Baseball

2006-09-05T23:15:00.000-05:00

Ty decided he wanted to try Tee-ball next.

Ty's 1st Day of Kindergarten

2006-08-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

It is official - Tyler is now in Kindergarten. Not quite sure when it happened, but it somehow snuck up on us. If you know Ty, you can imagine how excited he was about his first day. New back-pack, shiny new sneakers, he even got up early to make sure we got there on time. We all went with him for the first day, being a big event and all. The school even had coffee and donuts to make it easier on the parents.
Ty's teacher, Mr. Stidham, is great. He is very out-going, taking as much time with the parents as with the kids. You can guess which ones are harder to handle ;) Surprising, Mom & Dad held up pretty well.

Tyler has already told Melissa she can't give him hugs when she drops him off. I figured we had a few more years before that started! Must be he is worried about his image. Take a look at the cuties he is hanging with. That's my boy!

Vacation back East

2006-08-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

Melissa and the kids recently returned from an end-of-the summer vacation back East visiting friends and family. They spent the majority of their time in Chartlottesville visiting both sets of grandparents. It sure was nice of them to move to Charlottesville to make things easier for us. I am not sure who was more excited, the grandparents or the kids. Everyone had a good time, with visits to the library, pool and a tour of some university located in Charlottesville we had never heard of. ;)
Melissa's brother, sister-in-law and niece came down to Charlottesville the second weekend. Ty and Ellie were very happy to see Uncle Jon, Aunt Nikki and cousin Kaylee. Ellie and Kaylee could even pass for sisters, especially in their matching outfits.
Melissa and the kids spent their last few days visiting friends in Northern Virginia (aka NOVA). Since moving to Kansas, Melissa has been feeling a little land-locked. Melissa wanted to take the kids to the beach, since Ellie had never seen the ocean and Ty was too young to remember his first visit. They spent two days in a house near Bethany Beach with the Robinson clan. We were lucky enough to overlap our visit with the Robinson's who were visiting from Belgium. It took Ellie a few minutes to get used to the "noise" of the ocean. However, she quickly grew to love the big sand box and shed tears when it was time to pack up. Ty, Ellie Maddy, Emily, and Will played in the surf, buried Will in the sand, and collected tons of sea shells.
Besides catching up with Robinsons, Melissa and the kids spent some time with "Aunie Ceil and Uncle Anthony". Their kids, Chloe and Jordan were great hosts to Ty & Ellie. We also squeezed in a visit with the Biancheris. Ty loved playing with Adam's trucks, and Emma and Ellie played with dolls and rocked out on a keyboard and electric guitar. Ellie also insisted on doing lunch with her first friend, Abbey. We had a great time and hope to be back to visit soon.

2006-07-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ty has been asking to go fishing for quite a while. We finally made it over the local farm / park the other day and had a great time. While Dave had to the do the dirty work (read "hook the worms") the kids had a blast. Ellie didn't want to wait; she put her pole in right away while Dave was trying to bait Ty's hook.

These fish were pretty crafty. I guess they are used to finding hooks in their food, because they knew just how to nibble without getting caught. However, it didn't take too long for Tyler to land his first fish. It was a little small, but hey - it was his first fish! In no time at all, he landed his second fish. What a natural!

Not to be out-done, Ellie also caught her first fish. Even though she only caught one, it was the biggest fish of the day! I don't think she was as excited about it as Tyler was, at least not until I put it back in the water.

2006-06-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

Have to apologize - it has been a little while since the last update. Now that school is out for the kids, we have been busy doing all the typical summer-time activities. Melissa and the kids spend lots of time at the neighborhood pool. Tyler has been practicing his swimming every chance he gets. He is learning to swim pretty far on his own as well as starting to swim under water a short way. Eliana also loves the water, especially when she wears her water wings. She loves the freedom she has, swimming / floating both on her belly and back.

Tyler has started tee-ball. It took a little while for him to get used to the tee vs. pitching, but he is having lots of fun. Last week he cleanly fielded a rocket off of once bounce, turned to first and through the ball on target. Dad was very proud.

We also take time to slow down and enjoy small stuff, like popsicles, miniature golf and bicycling. Tyler loves to go for rides. We went five miles the other day on a new by trail - Ellie rode in the trailer, pulled by Mom. Ty only had one crash the whole way. Again, Dave was very proud - especially the way he crashed

Melissa took time last weekend to paint Ellie's toenails. She waited very patiently to get her favorite color - pink! She insisted on wearing sandals for the rest of the week to show off her feet.

2006-05-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

These pictures come from Melissa's newnikon cool pix s3, a Mother's day gift from her really cool husband. We needed a second camera for spur of the moment photos. Our Cannon Digital Rebel is great, but makes Dave look like a tourist carrying it.

Grandpa and Grammy French came to visit us in Kansas the 2nd week in May. Unfortunately Tyler, Melissa and I were all sick for a good chunk of it. Ellie seemed to make it through fine. At least the grand parents got to spend lots of time with the kids :)

We did manage to make it out to the Johnson County Arboretum. The Spring flowers we in full bloom. Tyler and Ellie had lots of fun smelling the flowers & running in
the prarie grass.

Wrap up of Tyler's Soccer

2006-05-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

Ty's last couple of soccer games this weekend - with two games today and one yesterday. Busy! You can see Tyler's team in the first photo, minus two kids who could make it. The team did great, finishing with 4 wins and only 2 losses. I know, we aren't suppose to keep score, but what are proud parent's to do?

I also included a couple of action shots of Tyler. He played really well in the first game, never wanted to come out. Photo 2 was taken just before he scored his first goal - YEAH! I would show you a picture of it, but unfortunately, I only got his legs. He also had a real nice assist and started a couple of fast breaks.

No more soccer games for this year. It looks like T-ball is next. Hopefully he will have the same coach and many of the same teammates. The kids sure had a lot of fun and got along very well

Couple of photos of the kids

2006-05-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update - tomorrow's will be longer.
First picture is Eliana hamming it up. Do you think she knows how cute she is? Melissa didn't even have to get her to pose - Eliana just does this when the camera comes out. I think we are gonna be in trouble when she gets older.

Here's Tyler showing off the loss of his second tooth. His is still very excited to show his friends and teachers at school, but isn't telling complete strangers like he did with the first tooth.

2006-04-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday was Ty's second soccer game. He is having lots of fun and doing pretty good as well. He has an advantage being left footed, and is not afraid to mix it up. If he keeps it up, he get a goal sooner or later. Even though they don't keep score, his whole team knows they have won their first two games!

If you have never had a chance to watch a bunch of 5 year olds play soccer, you are missing out. 90% of the time they're all crowded around the ball, with the remaining 10% being when someone gets lucky by kicking it clear to start a fast break.

Ellie enjoys going to the games too, and often gets involved during warm-ups. During the game, she proudly tells everyone 'that's my brother'

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2006-04-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

Went to our neighbor- hood Easter Egg Hunt last Friday. Unfortun- ately, we were either a few minutes late or they started early.

Either way, Melissa flashed some East Coast attitude, until she realized the kids didn't really care and were having fun regardless. At least it made it a lot easier for us to get some good pictures!

2006-03-30T23:16:00.000-06:00

Last one for today. First picture is Tyler showing off his missing tooth. He was very excited about losing it - he told everyone all about it, even strangers. He was especially excited to get a gold one dollar coin.

The second photo is from this weekend. Ty and Ellie went with Melissa to a charity concert. Several business where on hand to help out. Ellie got a free hair styling courtesy of a local salon. She was very patient, sitting through the whole process. She really liked the sparkles in her hair.

2006-03-30T23:09:00.000-06:00

A couple more post, mainly about Ty and Ellie playing baseball.

Tyler is getting real good at throwing, and pretty good at catching. Of course, he will tell you it is your fault he didn't catch it if you don't throw the ball right to his glove. Always wanting to do what big brother does, Ellie makes sure she is not left out. She has a pretty good arm.

Aside from baseball, Ty will be starting soccer this weekend. Once a week, they practice for 1/2 hour, then play a game for 1/2 hour. Both kids are taking swim classes as well and love it. Should be fun once the pool opens for the summer.

Getting ready for the superbowl

2006-02-04T22:18:00.000-06:00

Family shot of the family before the superbowl. Melissa, who is taking the picture, had a Roethlis- berger jersey on. Even Aspen got into the act, with a Steelers bandana.

2006-02-01T17:14:00.000-06:00

Trying out this a way to keep folks up-to-date on our family. Mainly, you will see lots of pictures of the kids, so I expect the grandparents will probably see this site more than anyone else.

I used to have a website, but this seems a little less maintenance, so we will try it out. Maybe I will actually update it more than once every 3 months.