No time for updates
during the last couple months of 2006.
Kim’s mom who battled
cancer for several years moved in with us back in December to be closer to Kim
and the kids and to make it easier for us to help her. My mother (and her friend
Cliff) were very instrumental with getting her safely up to
I traveled for
business, the kids were active in sports and school, and Kim took care of us
all.
10/12/2006
Summer came and
went. Wow we did a lot! Kim the kids and I headed to our regular
vacation destination,
The rest of Summer is kind of a blur. I worked my tail off on two
major projects which unfortunately occupied most my waking hours. I also
completed a CCNA Power Camp and a CWNA Boot Camp. I challenged the certification
exam for the CWNA and passed! I've also taken several courses for my new
IT Architecture job. I have learned so much over the Summer
my head hurts. I love my new job but it's really tough! Be careful
for what you ask for, you just might get it...
Kim and the kids
remain busy as always. Jacob is in Cub Scouts and plays tackle football
for the McClean County Cougars (the same travel team
Kyle graduated from last year). Jacob plays Line Backer and Safety on
Defense and Half Back on Offense. Jessica is a Brownie and Cheerleader
for the Cougars and Kyle was a starter on the Freshman Football team at
During the third
game of the season, Kyle was injured with a dislocated elbow. After
several weeks of rehab, Kyle was close to coming back to play but came down
with mono. Fortunately all that is behind us now and he is back in the
game. Kyle made it back in time for the last home game and last two away
games. Unfortunately he lost his starting job at LB but he gets to play
special teams. Kyle also got to play LB the last 6 minutes of the last
home game, which was important for him. He worked very hard to get
healthy enough to play and was lucky to make it back before the end of the
season. Coach tells us that while Kyle was out all those weeks, he missed
learning several new plays and it would be unfair to the other "evenly
talented" players that haven't missed a game. Kyle has one game left
this season then a break until wrestling season.
Kim and I are
doing great. We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary back on July
1. Which means we've been a couple for 20 years, since
high school. I fall more in love with her and she gets more
beautiful every year. I am one lucky man!
5/14/2006
Happy Mother's Day
Mom, Marlene, Kim, and Sarah! Heck! Happy
Mother's Day to everyone. It's official,
Kyle is going to State for Track (4x400). Kyle's individual 400 speed was 59 seconds, but to qualify for State he had to
place 1st or 56 seconds. No matter, because he's going for the 4 man
relay! Congrats and Good Luck Kyle!
Jacob received
First Holy Communion last Sunday at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Jacob's
Flag Football team plays very well and most are looking forward to tackle in
the Fall with the Cougars! Jacob also earned his
Wolf badge in scouts.
Jessica just
crossed over from Daisy's to Brownies in Girl Scouts. We are very
proud! Jessica is asking to sign up for Soccer. I'd rather she play
baseball but if we can't talk her out of it, then I guess I'll have to get a
soccer ball sticker for Kim's mini-van ;-0!
I'm still slugging
away at my CCNA Power Camp and hope to challenge the test in June. Now
that its getting nicer out, I started back with the
weekend landscaping gig for exercise and for play money. Next weekend I
start the Instructors training for the Motorcycle Safety Course. I'll
start teaching the basic riders course at ISU sometime in June. As for my
career, its going GREAT! I just accepted a
position on the newly formed Telecommunications Architecture Team. My
focus will remain technical but will widen to include other networking
technologies including but not limited to wireless.
Kim enjoyed a nice
Mother's Day. We gave her a new Sony digital camera to replace the Canon
which mysteriously broke. She's been busy as heck working with the PTO on building
the new park at Washington School. They raised
over $100K from parents and the community. They secured 150 volunteers,
per 4 hour shift to complete the project in just 5 days. Kim has also
completed another season of teaching CCD at St. Mary's. To be honest, Kim
is the busiest of us all. She runs the kids to all their activities and
keeps the "house" calendar which keeps us all on track. Thanks
Honey!
2/26/2006
Kyle completed his
final BJHS Wrestling Season at the Regional tournament yesterday. He won
two matches and lost two which knocked him out of the State tournament
hunt. Had Kyle won one more match he would have advanced to Sectionals
next week. However, Kyle has nothing to fret
about. He had a fantastic season winning nearly every match and placing
1st in several tournaments. We're all very proud of Kyle and his
achievements. Now its time to strength train and get ready for High
School football!
Jacob has two more
games left and Basketball season will be over. At Jake's age they don't
really keep track of wins and losses but I can tell you he probably had the
most rebounds out of any kid in the league. He's a very aggressive player
for his size. Next year Jacob will be playing for Kyle's former football
team, the McClean County Cougars. Kyle finished
his final season with the Cougars this past season and now looks forward to
High School ball. Jessica is still involved in gymnastics and Daisies
(Girl Scouts). Jessica wants to play basketball next year, so we'll likely
sign her up.
Kim and I are
doing great. We're not nearly getting enough exercise but we think about
it all the time. Kim pretty much runs the kids around all week and keeps
the house running smoothly. I pretty much work all the time but we're all
very happy and things couldn't be better (or at least without winning the
lottery)...
1/31/2006
Happy Belated New
Year! This year we stayed home and didn't go back to
The first night,
we had Microsoft Pre-Keynote Reception Passes and VIP tickets to Bill Gates Keynote. During the
reception, I had a Three Star General (Lt. Gen.) come over and introduce
himself to Kim and I. Lt. General Bill Essex
said he noticed my short haircut and wanted to see if I was in the
service. As it turns out he was the Commander of the Airforce
and Army AFFES Exchange. Yes, I snapped to attention and used sir each
time I addressed him. Steve Ballmer walked by earlier and I didn't break
a sweat but when a General walks up I got butterflies and my hands started
sweating. It was pretty cool. Later that night Kim and I attended
the Palm VIP Party with a buddy from Microsoft. As it turns out they were
announcing the Palm Treo 700W at the
party. A Palm with Windows Mobile 5.0, go figure... We got back to
the room very late...
The second day I
dropped Kim off at the Oasis Spa for a day of Ultimate
Pampering. I dropped her off at 9 AM and headed to the
conference. When I returned to the
The third day I took Kim to CES and made her walk miles and miles,
covering most the LVHCC with me. Around 4 PM, we started hovering around
the bar near the entrance to the Hilton Theater. I wanted to see Larry Page (co-founder of Google) speak but we didn't have
tickets. Luckily a door man gave my wife and I
two tickets and after a few bloodies we slid into line and walked straight to
our seats. Larry Page had Robin Williams assist with audience
questions. It was a riot!!! Later we had dinner at Benihana's Village at the Hilton.
The fourth day we gambled, walked the strip,
and visited