MITTIN92

Where are we?

2009-07-20T17:51:00.003-04:00

You can find us here.

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW

2008-12-20T15:21:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite songs from the movie White Christmas is "Snow". Well, don't get me wrong I love having a white Christmas. My kids love to play in the snow but I think we have enough snow right now for the rest of winter! On Tuesday night this week we got about 6 inches. On Friday we got another 8 inches. School was canceled and the kids played outside for quite a while. Mitch didn't even make it into work because the roads were so bad. We all enjoyed hanging out together. It was a great way to start Christmas break.

Even Mitchell loves to play!

The kids all made a hill to sled down!

Hope had to dig out the deer and the presents. They were buried under the snow.

Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Carving & Trick or Treating

2008-11-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

We had a great time this year trick or treating with the kids. The weather was absolutely beautiful especially for Michigan. When you live in Michigan you never know what kind of weather you are going to get especially at the end of October. This year it was 67 and gorgeous. The kids didn't even need to wear a coat over their costumes.

Hope drawing on her design

Digging out the pumpkin

The kids' pumpkin creations
They did a fabulous job!

Halloween at Greenfield Village

2008-11-03T08:35:00.001-05:00

Hope getting ready!

Almost all the cousins.

Can you find the Batman pumpkin?

Austin got to push Meg all night. He LOVED it!

Collin & Hope with their cousin Connor

Connor has been trained well especially in front of the camera :-)

Snack time with Ava

Time to go home

School pictures

2008-11-03T08:29:00.004-05:00

This year the kids school pictures turned out great!

Soccer Season

2008-11-03T08:25:00.001-05:00

Austin played JV soccer this year and had a great time. Here are a few pictures from his season.

Having fun at Austin's game.

1st day of school

2008-11-03T08:18:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from the first day of school. I have not been blogging in a long time so I thought I would give you a quick recap of the fall events.

Austin ~ Freshman
Collin ~ 5th grade
Hope ~ 3rd grade

Austin is "officially" taller than me!

Austin's 1st 5K

2008-08-16T13:39:00.005-04:00

For the last 7 to 8 weeks Austin has been running/training to get ready for soccer this fall. Last week he decided to run in his first competitive run. He ran the Wood Duck Dash this morning. This was a 5K at Lake Erie Metro Park. The only bummer was the AVID runner in our family "Dad/Mitchell" had to work so Austin was on his own. He did a GREAT job considering this was his first time and he really did not know what to expect. We are so proud of him. Check out some pics from the race.

The t-shirt says "I ran my tail off at Lake Erie Metropark"
Cute saying!

New York, New York

2008-06-23T16:19:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics from our trip to New York City. We had a fabulous time. We got to do almost everything we planned out to do. Some of the highlights were the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Museum of Natural History (from Night at the Museuem of course), Empire State Building, and of course shopping on 5th Avenue.

The Statue of Liberty from the boat.

On top of the Empire State Building

Getting ready to go on a tour of Central Park

The fountain from Enchanted in Central Park

The famous Tiffany's from "Breakfast at Tiffanys"

Museum of Natural History

A new addition to the family

2008-05-04T21:57:00.005-04:00

Our niece Christina had this precious bundle of joy on April 22nd. Her name is Megan Paige and she is just adorable.

Welcome little Megan

Hopie was a natural holding Megan

Collin didn't want to give her up

Austin thought she was sweet

"Great" Uncle Mitchell & Aunt Tina

Spring Has Sprung

2008-05-04T21:54:00.002-04:00

M&M's YUM!!!

2008-04-14T19:37:00.003-04:00

On our last day in Florida we stopped at the Florida Mall. We came across M&M's World. The kids loved it not to mention that the M&M's were delicious.

One fun day at Disney

2008-04-14T19:23:00.004-04:00

Before I receive any hate mail, Austin chose not to attend the Magic Kingdom. He traded it for a day of golf with his friend from school. We brought along Hopie's friend RuthAnne and left Austin with her family. Works out great cuz she has a brother a couple years older than Austin.

This was our last ride of the day Thunder Mountain Railroad! Hope's favorite ride. As you can see in the sky a storm was brewing!!!

This picture was taken as we were leaving the park. I loved these topiaries when we walked in but it was way too crowded to snap a picture. Instead I made the kids stand in the rain so I could create a memory :-)

Fun Times at the pool and Cocoa Beach

2008-04-14T19:02:00.006-04:00

Cocoa Beach Pier

Hopie & her friend from school, RuthAnne

Collin & his friend from school, Connor

The boys saw this license plate and we couldn't pass by without snapping a picture.

Collin's catching a wave

Basketball Season

2008-03-10T08:47:00.005-04:00

Just in time for "March Madness" our family has come to the end of basketball season. Austin had a great time playing this year and a little added treat was being coached by his cousin Daniel. Collin had one game that they set up for the 4th graders and he had a blast. This year was Hope's first time playing basketball and she loved it. She was so sad to see her season end. She had a great first time experience. She played point guard at times but I think her favorite was just making baskets! Here's a few pics from their season.

Austin put 2 more points on the board with this shot.

Collin loves to play defense.

Hope had fun bringing up the ball.

Dancing Lights Video

2007-12-20T15:34:00.000-05:00

I DID IT -------YIPEE!!! This video does not even do the dancing lights justice but I thought it would give you an idea of what they were like.

Christmas Lights at the Toledo Zoo

2007-12-20T13:59:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago we headed down to the Toledo Zoo to see the "Lights Before Christmas". The zoo really goes all out for this event. Hope was disappointed that we didn't see any animals but we saw a TON of lights. Our favorite was the dancing lights. They had a huge section of trees that blinked to the beat of some favorite Christmas songs. They did a phenomenal job. If I can figure out how to upload a video I will post it but in the meantime here are some pictures.

Trimming the tree

2007-12-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

This year we put our Christmas decorations up in stages. The last stage was putting the tree up on a Saturday morning. It went very smoothly. I just love Christmas decorations but when January 2nd rolls around its time to put everything away. After we were finished with the tree we added a little scavenger hunt to the traditions. The kids had a blast searching through the Christmas decorations in order to be the first to solve the scavenger hunt.

Pictures of our favorite ornaments soon to come!

Lion King

2007-12-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Hope and I had the privilege of going to see the Lion King at the Detroit Opera House. I won the tickets on the radio and we were both very excited to go. It was a great show and a beautiful theater. We had perfect seats and we both really enjoyed the show.

Ready to leave for dinner and the show!

Dinner at Red Robin

The Opera House was all decked out for Christmas.

Snow Day

2007-12-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday we woke up to a beautiful snow. Now it is all melting away and dirty but it was very pretty on Sunday and Monday. The kids were thrilled not to have to go to school on Monday, especially since this week was a short week with half days on Thursday and Friday. Here are some pictures from the fun they had playing in the snow.

Bundled up to face the cold!

Hope really is under there somewhere!

Mitchell made a little hill outside for the kids to sled down!

Isn't the snow pretty!

Thanksgiving Traditions

2007-11-22T23:02:00.001-05:00

nuff said

Trick or Treat

2007-11-02T09:25:00.000-04:00

Our hunter and veterinarian

This year Halloween was a bit different for us. We had church on Wednesday evening but we managed to fit everything in. The weather was great! The kids headed out around 6 and they were pretty much tired out by 6:40. Believe me they got PLENTY of candy. I can't imagine how much candy they would have gotten if they had been gone for another half an hour. Then we headed over to church where they got some more candy!!!

Here are some pictures of a fun evening.

Hope with my parents dog Hershey

Can you see the little animals coming out of her pockets?

Marathon Update

2007-10-23T12:24:00.000-04:00

Mitchell's version of the Marathon:

I finished. It was not pretty but I did cross the line.

Tina, Austin, Collin & Hope's version of the Marathon (otherwise known as the right version):

Considering the week leading up to the Marathon he did AWESOME! We are so proud of him. We cheered him on as he got stuck about a hundred yards back with leg cramps. As he started his approach to the finish line the crowd in an uproar cheered him on. We were so proud of him when he crossed that line no matter how ugly it was. We didn't think it was ugly at all. Believe me if you saw some of the way these people crossed the line you would agree (ex. getting carried off on stretchers, barfing ..... you get the hint).

Anyway, if you haven't gotten the hint we are very proud of him. He says never again but I'll let you know in about a month :-) By the way, he ran 26.2 miles in 4 hours 1 minute and 19 seconds.

Here are some pictures from the day.

"I can see I have legs"

2007-10-18T12:35:00.000-04:00

In the words of Navin R. Johnson

"I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."

Okay it's not the phone book, but it is the 30th annual Free Press Marathon booklet found in Thursdays Free Press. My name is on page 18R last column (just in case you are looking for it.)

I am cautiously optimistic for this years marathon. After last years total let down, I was hoping for a much better race this year. I just got out of Dr. Beaman's office (best doctor in the world.) The pain I have been feeling in my left knee is NOT ligament damage or anything that I could make worse by running on Sunday. I was sooooo nervous that my bp was 20 points higher than my norm.

by the way Navin R Johnson is the charater that Steve Martin plays in "The Jerk"

Birthday Wishes

2007-09-22T20:08:00.000-04:00

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BRENNAN!!!

It sure is hard for us to believe you are 2 years old already. We hope you have fun opening all your presents at your birthday party. Wish we could be there to give you your birthday hugs but your mommy and daddy will have to hug you for us. We love you very much. Happy Birthday!

LOVE YOU BUNCHES! Aunt Tina, Uncle Mitchell, Austin, Collin & Hope

Soccer has begun

2007-09-08T16:51:00.000-04:00

Soccer season has officially begun. Austin is playing this fall and loving every minute of it. Here's some pictures of his soccer games.

Back to School

2007-09-08T16:42:00.001-04:00

The kids started school August 27th. I haven't had a chance to post since the kids were in for a week and then off for Labor Day. Austin was spoiled because he didn't have to go back until the 7th because the junior highers had that time off because the 9th through 12th graders were up at school camp. Needless to say, he was not complaining for those extra few days of play. He kept himself pretty busy hanging with me and golfing with his cousin.

So here's a few pictures of the kids first day.

Cool 8th grader

Spectacular 4th grader

Adorable 2nd grader

13 YIKES!

2007-08-10T08:59:00.000-04:00

Happy 13th Birthday Austino!!!

It's hard to believe that 13 years ago I was 2 hours into a 5 hour labor. This stinker was 10 days late. I'll never forget on August 9th Mitchell begged me to get out of the house and go to the movies with him. My reply, "I'm not leaving. I'm never going to have this baby!" I think my response was par for the course and I'm sure anyone who has ever had a baby and was 10 days late would be quick to agree.

Austin is such a joy to us. He's a hard worker, he loves to play sports, he loves little kids, and most importantly he loves the Lord. It is such a joy to see my son reading his Bible and wanting to learn more about the Lord.

We love you Aus! Happy 13th!!!!

One of my favs in the Smoky Mountains!

Getting ready to Work hard!

Being silly with Connor

I had to fight for this pic, but I finally got it.

Room Makeovers

2007-08-09T17:59:00.001-04:00

This summer we re did Hope's room from a lime green room to a cool pink and purple room. We also updated the boys room with new curtains and bedding. Here's a look at their new rooms.

Butterflies are sooooo cool!

The new vanity and headboard were my mom's when she was a little girl.

Check out the cool curtains my mom made for Hope.

Collin's side

Austin's side

What a cool Tommy room. The bedskirt is my favorite part.
It looks like a pair of jeans rolled up.

New curtains

My Grandpa

2007-07-30T10:20:00.001-04:00

Saturday evening my grandpa went home to be with the Lord. He was 82 years old when he passed away. He leaves his wife of 61 yrs, one daughter, 2 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

His viewing will be on Tuesday, July 31st at the Michigan Memorial Funeral Home from 1-9. His funeral will be at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. I would really appreciate your prayers since this is the first time that me or my children have had someone close to us pass away.

Fun at the Pool

2007-07-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

All my kids absolutely love to swim. The last few Mondays we have gone swimming with friends. Here are some fun times with friends.

Hope with her friends.

Dillon loves throwing Austin in the pool.

Collin with his bud Garret

Austin really was flying on that one.

Never too late to show the muscles.

Derek shows off his moves.

Dillon's lovin the diving board.

Up North Fun

2007-07-30T09:43:00.000-04:00

We spent the week of the 4th of July up at Mitchell's family's cabin. We had a great, relaxing time. Apart from Austin stepping on a wasp, swinging back into a tree, and swinging out on a rope and having the rope get caught between his legs it was a fairly uneventful week.

Here are some highlights.

The kids loved to take Connor exploring.

Yes, Collin has a belly button too.

Time for silly faces.

Hope loves to give Connor some "lovin"

What an intense flame.

OW!!!

YIKES!!!

Poking fun at Uncle Grant's fashion sense.

Fun playing on the beach.

Collin's new invention.

Dillon's always willing to show off his guns.

Collin's taking after Dillon.

Baseball State Finals

2007-07-30T09:32:00.000-04:00

I feel so bad about being so behind in blogging but here are some pictures from the boys "State Baseball Finals". They made a great run all the way to finals but fell a little short. We were so proud of them. Congratulations for a GREAT season.

Daniel was pumped for the big game.

Our nephew Joshua

Daniel's 1st pitch of the game.

Congratulations Daniel & Joshua

2007-06-13T08:31:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, my nephews won the baseball regional finals. It was the first time in Inter-City history that the baseball team had gotten this far. Yesterday was the quarter finals game, and they WON again!!!! So we are headed to Battle Creek on Friday to watch them play for the state semi-finals and hopefully we will be going back again on Saturday to watch them play in the state finals game. We are so excited for them and can't wait to watch them play on Friday.

Here are some pictures from their regional win.

Can you tell Daniel is excited

Schools Out, Schools Out . . .

2007-06-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

Today is the day all (but one) of my kids has been looking forward to the last day of school. Hope did not want school to end but I am sure she will enjoy her summer! The kids had a GREAT year and now we are all ready for a nice break from homework and alarm clocks.

Here's some pictures of their celebration.

Can you see their enthusiasim?

Hope with her GREAT teacher

Hope with her good friends

Collin and his buddies

Congratulations Daniel!!!

2007-06-01T18:08:00.000-04:00

We love you Daniel!

Our nephew, Daniel

Only 11 more years til Hope graduates!

The 4 D's

Definitely not a spend thrift!

2007-05-29T15:53:00.001-04:00

He was thrilled with his new bike!

Collin finally decided it was time to spend his birthday money. His birthday was on February 23rd. He is our saver. He has been waiting and waiting to find the perfect bike. We have probably been to the store a half dozen times and we really thought he needed a 20 inch bike. However, every time he tried them out we saw that the bike was not going to last him very long. So on Monday night I told him to try out Austin's bike. We lowered the seat and it was a perfect fit. Now to find the same bike! Toys R Us here we come. Lucky for us we found the exact bike but in blue. Perfect! No getting confused on whose bike is whose. So here is Collin with his birthday present!

Being silly!

How we spent our Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

Mitchell surprised me for Mother's Day and our Anniversary with a hardwood laminate floor. We searched and searched to find the perfect color and finally found it at Lowes. Well much to our surprise someone suggested we try Sam's Club. Sure enough we found the perfect color (even better than Lowe's) and for half of the price. Our weekend went extremely smoothly considering house projects usually have a glitch here and there. We started on Friday afternoon around 2 and worked until 10:30. Saturday was our HUGE day. Mitchell worked so hard from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. He did a GREAT job and I am so very pleased with how everything turned out. Thanks for all of your hard work Mitchell!!!

Here are some before and after pictures so you can see the transformation.

Hope and her new friend

2007-05-29T15:45:00.000-04:00

Hope was playing in the backyard last night and discovered a new friend. Mitchell taught her how to pick him up and she had a great time playing with him. He only got dropped on his head a couple of times but he seemed to recouperate quickly. It's so funny how she can be such a girly girly and yet play with frogs.

I tag the entire internet.

2007-05-26T10:39:00.001-04:00

My wife guilted me into this so here goes. These are 8 facts you have been dying to find out about me.

1. I hate the smell of bananas.
2. I would rather smell poop than potpourri.
3. My dream job would be a short order cook at a Coney Island.
4. I love music but I cannot tell one note from another which if I have been behind you in church you already know this.
5. I kicked Tina out of the kitchen about 10 years ago (not because she can't cook but because she was cooking and I couldn't).
6. Dessert is a four letter word.
7. Potato is the only vegetable that I eat.
8. Since I started running I have run 2,720 miles. That is from New York to Los Angeles.

Tagged!

2007-05-25T16:54:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my niece Nicole and my friend Elizabeth who felt the need to tag me here is my list of 8 things you have always wanted to know about me. I'm sure the suspense has been killing you so here goes.

1. My parents were originally going to name me JoAnn.
2. I do not know how to swim and it is way too late to try and teach me. However, I made sure ALL of my kids know how to swim.
3. I completely and thoroughly enjoy crossing things off my "to do" list. I enjoy it so much that if I forgot to write something down I will write it down just so I can cross it off. Ok I am a little bit OCD.
4. When I was little I bit the foot off of my Barbie doll and blamed it on my cat.
5. I cannot go to bed with the house in disarray. Back to my OCD.
6. I've known Mitchell for more than half of my life. We met through a guy that I used to date. It's funny because I have basketball pictures from high school when we (Temple) played Inter-City and Mitchell is in them.
7. My parents are deaf but I do not know sign language. However, I can read lips which can come in handy during sporting events.
8. When I was little I always wanted to be a mom.

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom

2007-05-20T16:12:00.000-04:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. We got to celebrate with them on Friday and had a great time. I was so tickled that I got to surprise my parents with a picture frame. I loved it because there was a spot for "then" - a picture from their wedding day and "now" a picture from Christmas. Happy Anniversary! We love you!!!

I've never been 'shrooming before

2007-05-17T21:09:00.001-04:00

I have been told that going mushrooming is really fun, but it can be hard to find the little buggers. I now know that both of these statements are completely FALSE. 10:45am I received a call from Tina wondering what is this strange thing in the basement. Of course I am at work so I have no idea what she is talking about. Thankfully we live in the digital age (and we have a Mac,) so she can send me a photo of the fungus among us. She was a wee bit upset about the intruders, but after 15 years of marriage I am able to defuse this type of situations. (May 16th was our wedding- Mitchell & Tina 1992 = MITTIN92 do you get it? huh do ya?) When I got home the real fun began.
rip out the moldings - check
pull back the carpet - check
cut out the padding, - check
tear out the drywall - check
look for the leak - ?????
Where is the leak? The carpet is wet. The pad is soaked. Even the bottom 1/3 of the drywall is damp. I expected to see signs of water coming down the wall, but I saw nothing. I am sure that is where it came from, so we will just have to watch during the next few hard rains.

Do not think that this is normal for me but I never felt totally overwhelmed (even though home handy man jobs are not my forte.) I had a strange sense of peace that can only come from the Lord. A line from Facing the Giants (a must see movie) keeps coming back to me. "Praise God when we win. Praise God when we lose." Bottom line is this is a minor set back. God is good, and I get to praise HIM.

I'm not sure, are these the kind that you sauté with a porterhouse steak?

When Tina first saw these babies, she thought they were rotten potatoe chips the kids had set along the bottom of the tv stand.

Here is the damage cause by the water.

Catching up!

2007-05-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to catch up since obviously I haven't been blogging in a while. Before we went to Florida we celebrated Hope's 7th birthday. She had a great birthday. She got a bike from my family with her favorite theme butterflies. She was finally able to buy her pink ds from money that she received from the Tallys and we got her some new games. Lots of fun. I can't believe my baby is 7.

Florida in pictures

2007-05-03T16:21:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the highlights to recap our fun trip to Florida. I can't believe it has already been a month since we went. I had a hard time picking favorite pictures because we took WAY too many.

We loved petting and feeding the dolphins at Sea World.

Austin shouldn't have messed with Darth Vader!

Fun on the tea cup ride!

What brotherly love!

Great times in the pool! Check out her cool Minnie Mouse tattoo.

I just love these pictures. The sky just looked so pretty and the castle in the background.

Epcot had their garden festival and so many pretty topiaries.

Fun with Hope

Don't mess with Hope!

Nostalgia!

2007-05-02T16:08:00.000-04:00

I was recently thinking about how much time has flown by and was inspired to put my thoughts down on paper so here goes.

It has been 36 years since I was born.

20 years ago I got my driver's license.

19 years ago I graduated from high school. 20 years ago that Mitchell graduated.

18 years ago I met Mitchell.

16 years ago I graduated from college.

Almost (May 16th) 15 years since we got married.

13 years ago that I got pregnant.

12 1/2 years ago I had my first baby.

12 years ago we built our home.

9 years ago we had Collin.

8 years ago Collin had his kidney surgery.

7 years ago we had Hope. Our last baby :-(

4 years ago Hope burned her hand.

3 years ago we bought our first Apple (This one's for Mitchell) Since then we have converted many! We brought them over from the dark side and they now see the light!

2 years ago Collin (majorly) broke his arm and had surgery.

YIKES! Where has the time gone? How can something that happened so long ago also feel like it was just yesterday. I am so thankful for all of these wonderful memories and I am so looking forward to the many more to come.

You're out!

2007-04-26T08:42:00.000-04:00

Why are we, at times, asked to do the very thing that we do not want to do?
I grew up downriver. As far as my friends knew their were only two sports. Football and Baseball. In my family the only real sport was swimming.
I did none of the above. Soccer and basketball were my sports ( by "my sports" I mean I played them, but I was never really good at either.) I was a member of the Pepsi Tiger's fan club. I have sat thru so many Tigers games that I can not even give a close estimate to the number of hours I have wasted. So on a superficial level I understand the game, balls, strikes, outs, and even some of the nit-picky rules (balks, ball thrown out of play.) I hold no claim to the ins and outs of the strategies that make a great manager.
The sport is so slow that I can not even stay awake for half of a game. Basically I do not enjoy the sport. Austin does, and he is pulling Collin & Hope with him. So what is a good father to do? I go to the game and root on the Chargers. That is until Tuesday's game, when the umpire did not show. Coach Conn asked if I could ump the plate. So I did. I am sure that I blew more than my fair share of calls. But it is only Jr high ball.
I found myself realizing that yelling at the ump is not a good idea. The first strike that I called a coach started to yell about the "bad" call (for the record I still think it was a strike.) If I were the vindictive type, I could easily see how the strike zone could grow as the coaches complain.

Austin has a game today if it is not rained out. I think I might be a little late to avoid a similar situation.

On a geeky note, Check out Larry's site if you have a Mac. If you do not own a Mac... I'm sorry. Go buy one and then you can use the cool stuff Larry talks about.

Happy Birthday

2007-02-27T08:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Tina's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is but it's not even close to 40. We spent the evening with a sick kid (Collin) and a funeral visitation. People we have not seen in years would say "I didn't recognize you (Mitchell), but Tina looks exactly the same.

Well that is obviously true on the outside. She is still one beautiful lady. But on the inside major changes have occurred. Her compassion for her kids grows exponentially each year. Her patience with me must be growing because she still loves me more than I deserve. Her desire to serve the Lord and to see her children serve Him grows daily.
I have been blessed by the Lord with a diligent, loving, caring Proverbs 31 woman.

Tina, I love you!

Going, Going, Gone

2007-01-28T15:35:00.000-05:00

We were trying to think of a clever title and this is what we came up with. For all of you out there who are dying to know what is gone I think you might be in for a little surprise. Hope decided last week that it was time to let go of some of her curly locks. She had been getting headaches when she would wear her hair up in a pony tail and she was getting tired of picking her hair out of her mouth. So last Friday I took her in and she got her first real haircut. In the past she had always had a little trim here and there but this was more than just a little trim. She loves her new little hair do and she looks adorable. I can't begin to express how much easier it is to comb through after her bath (a lot less tears are shed now!) As you will see below after taking off 2 pounds of hair (literally she weighs 2 pounds less now) her curls are back in full force.

On top of old Smokey

2007-01-28T15:29:00.000-05:00

Here is the house/condo we stayed at in Tennessee. Let me just tell you that we would have been in BIG trouble had it been snowing the slightest amount. We had to trek up the side of this mountain grasping for dear life (at least I was) as we cut corners and our tires grasped to make it all the way up. Thankfully, I was in the car with Mitchell whom I felt completely safe with his driving. The other driver's on the trip who shall remain nameless (but you know who you are) NOT quite so safe.

This is the driveway to the condo!
Can you imagine if it was snow and ice covered?

Carol, I'm trying to make up for all the lost time blogging. Hopefully this will cut me some slack!!!

Snakes, frogs and birds oh my

2007-01-28T15:25:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to go to Science Alive to take pictures for Collin's class. It was such a blast to finally get to see what I have continually heard about for years. First we met Mr. Frog very green, then it was Paulie the parrot, O.K. Jack was the lovely milk snake, then we met Harriet the Spring Hare, and last but not least was Sunkist (the 40 pound python) pretty for a snake but not my fav. Here's some quick shots of our fun times.

Tennessee Fun

2007-01-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

Right after New Years we took a quick trip down to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We had a GREAT time. We were so spoiled with the awesome weather. I think it was in the sixties pretty much the whole time we were there. Some of the highlights of our trip were horseback riding, hiking in the Smokies, Ripley's Aquarium, putt-putt and just fun times hanging out with the fam. Here are some pictures of our trip.

Austin at Laurel Falls in the Smokies

Hope riding Max (Her favorite horse)

Collin at Ripley's Aquarium

Mitchell and Tina at Laurel Falls

The whole gang! Aren't we a happy bunch!!!

Fight Night

2006-12-21T19:16:00.000-05:00

The Wii brings out the best in all of us.

My own IT department

2006-12-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

We got home today from our morning b-ball. Col & Hope had prime time camp and Aus had his first 7th grade game (more on those in a min.) Tina plays the phone messages and I hear Paul saying he some how deleted Safari off of his dock. No biggie it is easy to do that. But he did not know how to get it back. Collin was listening and he pipes up, "I can tell him how to do that." Okay, let's call him. I dial and hand the phone over to Col and he does the rest. The best part is when Col has Uncle Paul open his finder and look for the Safari icon. He tells him "just look down they are in alphabetical order." I started to giggle. It is not everyday you get to see an 8 year old walk a doctor through a computer problem.

Cold-Eeze Rock!

2006-12-16T22:58:00.000-05:00

Colds are not fun.
But I have a great and powerfull ally.

Monday at noon I got hit with a cold. Sneezing, runny nose the whole deal. No prob I'll just pop some coldeeze (or target generic) and in two days max the cold will be gone. I did and it is gone. I have been told by some that they taste bad. Okay they are not the greatest but a two day cold is worth a little metallic taste.

Wii Wii Wii all the way home.

2006-12-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

No this is not about our five toes. This is about Nintendo's Wii game system. Austin has been saving his money for a while. I told him that he probably would not find one until after Christmas. Tina was at Franklin Park Mall in Toledo. Right in the middle of the mall was a Wii stand. Two ladies with Wii shirts were there playing the games, but not selling them. T asked where one could be bought and the response was "I think Game Stop is getting a shippment this morning." Well of course there was a line for just the possibility that they might get some, but the line was only about 15 people long, still a tad too long to wait for a "chance" to get one. As T went around the corner, she saw him. No, not Santa but someone even better. The UPS man with a cart full of boxes heading to Game Stop. Needless to say, she double timed it back to the store and waited to see how many of those beautiful white boxes would be going home to happy (for a while at least) children. "There are plenty" was the phrase that rang through the air. Sighs of relief were heard throughout the store.

Needless to say T was the hit of the house when we unvailed the catch of the day. Yes we waited until after all of the home work was done. We are surprised you didn't hear the screams of excitement at your home.

We'll let you know how the Wii rates as soon as we figure out how it works.

She has cooties.

2006-12-05T14:41:00.000-05:00

Q: What is worse than mom/wife being sick?

A: Eternal damnation.

That is it. Nothing else is worse. Nothing runs smoothly when T is ill. I can't prove it but I believe that the kids fight more when she is sick. I know that my patience goes down at these times.

The blog is mine mwha ha ha ha!

2006-11-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

Turkey Trot (TT) update

I receive a note from China asking how the TT went this year. That girl is pretty brave asking about my running events after what happened at my marathon. The turkey trot went much better than the marathon.
David (Carol's big bro) set a personal best, so I figure I needed to do the same. Yippee a pr (personal record.) That sounds impressive, but it really is not. I've only run 2 races at that distance (10k=6.21371192 mi.) My first 10k was last years TT. It was 15deg with a wind chill of -2, and that was at the start of the race. The temp just dropped as the race went on. I really think I could have beat that time if I broke a toe during this race.

But the best thing this year was my shirt. I signed up online and I know that I selected an adult medium. I am not a rookie when it comes to doing things online. I always renew my car tabs via the net. I do all my banking online. I can use ebay, amazon, itunes. I can google anything.

I KNOW that I selected adult medium.

Does this look like a med?

They gave me a youth small. Small? Hope could not even where this. Thankfully after the race I was able to trade it for a youth large. Collin is now the proud owner.

could you please help me? We need to guilt Tina into more blogging

THE SINGLE MOST DISAPPOINTING DAY OF MY LIFE.

2006-10-31T22:05:00.000-05:00

I know that you all are asking yourselves, where did the marathon ticker go?
Well let's just say I sent it packing. The free press marathon and I are not on speaking terms. It got the best of me on Sunday. 26.2 miles were waiting for me at 7:15 am, but after 20.4 miles I was DONE. What a disappointment that was for me. For 20 weeks I trained, I logged 427.23 miles (yes I keep track down to the hundredths of a mile. Don't you?) All in anticipation of stopping the clock in less than George W's. time (apx. 3 hours and 45 min). 10 miles into the race and I thought all is well (don't start to fast...check; make sure to drink...check; keep an even pace...check.) 3.1 miles latter I hit the wall. How is that possible? Half way there and I was exhausted. My Scottish heritage got me thru the next 7 miles ( I paid good money for this race and I am not about to stop now.) But alas I could not even walk much less run. This year was not a good one for the Tally boys vs. marathons. Grant and his partner were done in by the AuSable, and now the freep got me. Next year we shall be victorious ( Lord willing.)

Thank Heaven for Pack n Plays and Little People

2006-10-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

This morning I got to babysit my "great" nephew Connor. When I picked him up I found out that he wasn't feeling his normal, cheerful, self. I felt so bad that he had such a rough night, but I was more than willing to take him anyway so that Christina could get her appointments taken care of. Needless to say, the kids were very green that Connor was coming over and they weren't going to be here. However, I was thrilled that I got to have him all to myself!!

We had a fun time. He was a little angel even though he wasn't feeling top notch. He played with the Little People that I insisted on holding on to and then it was time for a snappy-nappy. Time to pull out my pack-n-play. Yes, I kept that too just in case a baby came over. He laid down without even a cry and slept until his Mama came to pick him up.

Thanks Christina for letting me have my baby dose for the morning. It was a pure joy.

Hi Guys! See Mom, I'm a happy kid (even though I didn't sleep so well last night.)

Check out these cool animals!

I just love this car!

Fun at the Village

2006-10-23T20:06:00.000-04:00

Ok! Stop right there! You don't have to be so shocked that I have blogged 2 days in a row. It has just been an exciting weekend so I thought I better blog now while it is fresh in my mind. We had a great time at Greenfield Village on Friday night. This is an annual tradition on the Tally side. The kids look forward to Halloween at the Village every year. Mitchell and I were trying to figure out how long we have been doing this. The only way I could figure it out was to look back in my "handy, dandy, scrapbooks". We were shocked to find out we have been doing it for 6 years. This year the kids decided to be Mulan (Hope of course), Stitch (aka Collin) and the almost grown out of dressing up :-( pirate (Austin).

Princess Mulan

Anyway, we meet up with all the Tally's (at least those who still think it is a cool thing to do ~unlike Daniel and Joshua) and we walk the lighted pumpkin path at the Village. Half way through we stop at this cafe and eat or drink whatever sounds tasty at the time. We asked Austin what he likes to eat there and he said he doesn't really like to eat he just likes to stop there and hang out with the fam.

Fun with the cousins (Hey where's Ava???)

I don't know how this happens but it seems like every year we end up running into the Brown clan (friends from church) as well. The kids were thrilled to see Rory, McCauley & Griffin so of course we had to get pictures with them. We also got to run into the Sherf triplets (they were the cutest little yellow peeps).

The Sherf clan

The Golden boys

Hope & Rory (aka Jo Jo)

This years big hit was the Headless Horseman. We ended up spending about 15 minutes taunting the poor guys. Hope, Collin and Austin kept asking Ichabod Crane if he was a pirate or Jack Sparrow. I don't think he appreciated that too much especially since he ended up saying I AM NOT A PIRATE I AM I-C-H-A-B-O-D CRANE). At one point Hope was yelling (LOOK, LOOK, HE'S COMING, HE'S COMING) at Ichabod. She was trying to give him the heads up (no pun intended) and the more he ignored her the louder she got. Anyway they put on a great show for us.

"hamming it up for the crowd"

Check back tomorrow. You never know I might really shock you with 3 days of bloggin in a row. We'll just have to wait and see.

I thought the Tigers pumpkin was cool. I loved the TT (Tina Tally) but I was informed that it is just the symbol for pi. Whatever, it is still a cool pumpkin of my initials.

Disney Free & Fun

2006-10-22T09:45:00.000-04:00

It's not often you hear the words Disney and free together. The majority of the time Disney is known as expensive. It all stems from their theme parks and then trickles down into their store, costumes, movies, and then don't forget all the toys associated with the movies that the kids MUST have.

Well, our version of Disney and free does go together. Last weekend I got a phone call from my Dad saying he won 8 tickets (I must confess, at first I thought he was talking Tiger tickets) then he told me for Disney on Ice. Well, I knew Hope would be thrilled. He asked if we were interested and I didn't even have to hesitate I said sure. So last Saturday we headed up to the Palace and watched 100 years of magic. Everyone had a great time. We were quite spoiled to be honest. We got free parking (in the suite parking lot) and then we had a suite that was fairly close to the ice. Last but not least, we had our own tv so the boys could turn on the Tigers game.

Here are some pictures from our fun time.

The stars of the show.

Princess Hope

Fun in the suite.

Getting ready to watch the show!

Hope was exhausted on the way home.

I thought I could run

2006-09-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

I thought running a marathon was a huge accomplishment. That was until I read about Dick Hoyt. This was in Sports Illustrated. Don't stop after you read the story (I know its a little lengthy) you have to watch the video. Make sure you have tissues in hand.

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly] I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life. This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. "He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time. ``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.'' And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. ``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Here's the video

Mitchell

Back to School!

2006-08-28T21:48:00.000-04:00

Well, this morning was a big first day for all of my kids. Austin joined the world of junior highers, Hope had her first day of 1st grade (time to go to school all day) and Collin was thrilled to pieces to enter the 3rd grade world. I wish I had been using a digital camera 6 years ago that way I could show you Austin entering 1st grade but I was using the old-fashioned camera, and believe it or not we do not own a scanner. Hard to believe I know especially since my husband is such an electronic guru.

Anyway, everyone had a great first day (yes, even me) However, mine was spent at breakfast with a good friend and shopping at Target. See it was only a half day I could survive that~ Right? Yes, I am looking for a little convincing. Tomorrow will be a different story. Tomorrow is the first time in 12 years that I will be home alone on a regular basis :-( I'm not quite sure how I will spend my time. Because believe me many people have asked. I guess I will figure it out as I go along. Right now I have a couple of house projects I would like to tackle and hopefully the time will fly by as quickly as people have assured me it will.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures of a great first day~

Why? Tell Me Why???

2006-08-21T21:55:00.000-04:00

Can anyone tell me why this is always bound to happen? Why is it I can go out in public (around my home) all put together (hair, makeup, etc....) and see absolutely no one that I know. However, I can go on vacation (Up North), head home, stop at Birch Run (an hour and half from home) Let me preface this by saying we had been at the Tally cabin (not the cleanest place in the world). I looked pretty grubby, tired, not much makeup on, hair (similar to a bad hair day). Anyway, back to my story we stop at Birch Run and Austin decides he would like to go into the Addidas outlet. Mitchell, Collin and Hope were munching on a snack so I decide I will take him in alone. I walk into the store and low and behold I hear, "Well, hello Mrs. Tally" I look up with curiosity wondering who in the world is speaking to me and I see a guy that I went to high school with. Why?????? Why don't I see anyone when I am put together? Well, at least I can say he still recognized me. I may be giving away my age but I did graduate in 88. Anyway, I just thought this scenario was pretty funny.

Fun Times at Hershey!

2006-08-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

Chocolate Capital of the World

2006-08-16T11:28:00.000-04:00

Last week we took a trip to the Chocolate Capital of the World ~ Hershey, Pennsylvania. We had a great time there and we had some adventures as well. On the way down, we had a flat tire in Ellyria, Ohio. So while Mitchell changed the tire on the side of the turnpike I was on the phone with Wal-Mart where I purchased the tires and they were able to direct us to the nearest Wal-Mart. Little did we know that Sunday mornings at 8:45 are a busy time for Wal-Mart in the tire department. We got our car in and they said give us a couple of hours to have it fixed. So we walked over to McDonalds, had breakfast, browsed Toys R Us once they opened, headed back to Wal-Mart and before we knew it our tire was fixed. The kids were great through the whole experience. Mitchell and I kept looking at our watches trying to figure out how much time this was eating up. Well, for a 7 and half hour trip it took us 10 1/2.

Once we got to Hershey it was GREAT! Our hotel had a fun pool which the kids took full advantage of. We went putt-putting and one of our favorite things (well I confess it was mine) was playing family Bingo. It's not that I enjoy Bingo. I enjoyed the prizes. First place won 3 large candy bars, 2nd place won 2 and so on. Austin and I won second place so we were pretty stocked with candy for the evening. As we drove around town to check things out you could literally roll down your windows and smell the chocolate. YUMMMMMMMMM!

One of the days we were there we spent at the Hershey Amusement Park. It was a blast. The kids loved it because most of the rides we only waited about 5 minutes to get on. I think there was one roller coaster that Mitchell and Austin rode that they waited for about 30 minutes. The next day we went to Chocolate World. The kids got to participate in an Assembly Line of Hershey Kisses workers (It reminded me so much of I Love Lucy when Lucy was working in the chocolate factory). We went through the chocolate tour of what goes into making a chocolate bar and we also so a 3D movie.

Fun times!!! Great memories made!!! We will definitely venture back to Chocolate Town USA!!

Happy 12th Birthday Aus!!!

2006-08-10T08:02:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that 12 years ago today Austin was born. Wow! It really does seem like yesterday. I remember walking in the parking structure at Oakwood Hospital and deciding that I wasn't quite ready to go through labor. I tried to convince Mitchell to take me home but he didn't seem to go for that idea. It was probably a good thing since 5 hours later Austin was born. He is such a joy to us and we love him dearly. It is amazing when I think that in a year he will be a teenager and in 2 years and 7 months he could possibly be taking drivers training (as you can see, he has drilled this date into our minds :-) Anyway, enough sappy talk. Happy 12th Birthday Austin!!! We love you.

Kings Island

2006-07-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

Let me just tell you Kings Island is a great amusement park for kids. We had a great day and gorgeous weather. The kiddie park was not just a bunch of cheesy rides that went around in a circle. Believe it or not they had some really exciting rides. Mitchell took the boys on the "Beast". I took the boys on a cool ride called the "Italian Stunt Job" and Hope pretty much hung out in kiddie land all day. They had all the characters from Nickelodeon and everyone was pretty excited to see Patrick and Sponge Bob of course. Hope was quite the "chicken" when it came to trying out some new rides. We finally talked her into going on the Scrambler and she laughed "from her toes" the entire time. However, roller coasters were not her thing.

Can you find Mitchell, Collin & Austin?

The mini-scrambler

The new Fred, Shaggy & Daphne
I was never a "Velma" fan. I'm sure it needs no explanation.

A Good Deal

2006-07-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

It is very rare that Mitchell and I will stumble onto a good deal. We usually have to search one out. However, we got an EXCELLENT deal when we took the kids down to Kings Island. We were at the ticket booth trying to figure out who qualified for adults and children. We were in the process of figuring out exactly how many tickets we needed when a nice gentlemen walked up to Mitchell. He asked us if we would be interested in buying some extra tickets he had from his company picnic. Mitchell found out he only wanted $20 (a good savings since the ticket prices were $36). We jumped on it and then found out he also had 2 tickets to sell with wristbands that were good for free pop through the whole park for the whole day. YIPEE!!!! Let me tell you I think we probably went through $50 just in pop alone. I'm sure had we not had those wrist bands we would have went a little more thirsty. So we got 2 tickets, 2 wristbands for free pop and a free picnic lunch. We were so giddy! You would have thought we were just given the moon.

Our free lunch. Not too shabby. Fried chicken, rolls, chips, pretzels, pop and don't forget a popsicle for dessert. Courtesy of Time Warner Cable. Our "employers" for the day!

Fun with Friends!

2006-07-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

One thing you quickly learn when you are at the pool a lot is that you end up with a lot of pool pictures. So I thought I would show you a few from when Collin & Hope brought their friends who just happen to be brother & sister (Zach & Isabelle) swimming.

What is it about pool pictures that always just turn out so adorable. It must be something with the water.

Fun with Friends!

2006-07-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

Pool Time Fun

2006-07-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

I am playing around with blogger this morning and can't seem to figure out why I can't publish the words with my cute slide show of pictures. I hate it when I can't figure these more than likely simple things out. So instead of screaming at the computer and being frustrated because Mitch doesn't have his cell phone on I will just post my story above. I figure until I can figure it out this is good enough.

So below you will see some pictures of our "summer-time" fun. We have had a great summer swimming at my brother-in-law's pool. My kids absolutely love the water and I am thrilled about that. We practically have to drag them out of the pool~ blue lips and all when it is time to go.

They will definitly miss this fun when the dreaded "winter" comes, but until then we will enjoy our pool time fun!!!

Pool Time Fun!

2006-07-21T09:29:00.000-04:00

Family Camp Fun!

2006-07-12T19:25:00.000-04:00

Family camp was our first get away for this summer. The kids absolutely had a blast. We had a blast down at the lake every day. The first day we got there it was a bit chilly but Thursday and Friday it was warm and beautiful. Collin and Austin loved the new waterslide and let's just say Hope tried it ONCE and that was enough for her. By the time we got ready to leave on Friday night Hope had decided she would like to live at Family Camp. I asked her, "What would Daddy do for a job?" she thought it would be great if he could work at Fun Land. Mitchell would fit in quite nicely there don't you think. I wish I had a picture to share with you of the lovely characters that work there.

Whoa that was so cool!

Austin and his new friend ~

Grandma I just love this ferris wheel

Grandma is that Ted I see out there???

Can you help me catch a fish?

If you look closely you can see Mitchell's feet just after he blobbed Collin

The cold water couldn't keep Austin off of the cool, new slide

Collin made it all the way to the top of this 30 ft. rock climbing wall

A mother doe with one of her 3 fawns.
Beware! The hunters are coming in just a few months!

Celebrating Independence from the rotten Brits

2006-07-12T19:03:00.000-04:00

We had a great fourth. It was pretty laid back. We ran a few errands to get ready to go to Family Camp and decided while we were out it would be fun to buy the kids some sparklers. One would think sparklers would not be hard to find. Well, we found out in the city of Woodhaven you cannot purchase ANY fireworks. So I called around and found some sparklers at the $store. Even a better deal then I would have gotten at good old Meijers. So we got the kids some sparklers and for the first time we bought some fun fireworks for Mitchell to light off that night. We had fun with our little fireworks party. My parents came and watched the light show. If you are wondering why aren't there any pictures of Austin it is because he's over a friends house for the night.

Papa & Hope watching the festivities

Collin loves it!

Hope's not quite sure

No, we didn't burn the house down. I just thought this was a cool picture~

Heads up picture takers!

2006-07-12T18:57:00.000-04:00

This is a warning out there to all of you Mom's who take many, many pictures with the lovely digital camera. A digital camera was hard for me to get used to but now I absolutely love it. However, there is one drawback to digital. When you are taking pictures with the "old fashioned camera" you couldn't lose a picture. Once it was on the film it was there and if it did get lost or ruined it was the stupid tech at Wal-Mart's fault. However, always be careful if you are taking pictures and decide you need to go ahead and delete one. Be careful not to delete ALL FRAMES instead of just one single picture. We had to learn this the hard way and I lost about 20 pictures from Family Camp. I was bummed because I couldn't recreate funland pictures all over again. So I just wanted you to learn from our mistakes. Just a heads up to all you picture takers.

I admit it!
I am the guilty one!
Gone...gone are the memories of Hope and her friends.
It's all my fault.
mjt

World Map

2006-07-12T08:03:00.000-04:00

I have added the map I got from Chrissy. Now all I have to do is sit back and watch the millions of little red dots show up. Okay maybe millions is a little bit much but we shall see.
mjt

Nature at its finest

2006-06-30T09:56:00.000-04:00

This afternoon as I was cleaning I kept hearing this bird. It was so close I started to wonder if it was in my house. I kept looking out the front door for him but I never could see him. I could only hear him. Until low and behold I decided to look down on my porch. The sneaky guy (a baby robin) was sitting on the ledge as close to my front door as he could get. He continued to chirp away as he was waiting for his mother to find him. So as he left the porch (barely able to walk) I decided I would look around because I knew his nest had to be close by. Well, I never did find his nest but as I was looking through the study window I realized we had another nest this was not a robin's nest but morning doves in our weeping cherry. The kids love it when they can see the Lord's handiwork up close. Here's a shot of one of the two morning doves that were nesting. They had just hopped out of the nest to explore for a little while until their mother came back to feed them. Just as quickly as we found them now they are gone.

Keep scrolling!

2006-06-30T09:55:00.000-04:00

Please scroll down pass the lovely apple people to see the graduation updates!

I certainly wouldn't want to be accused of leaving out my daughter at graduation time!

They're back!

2006-06-19T06:31:00.000-04:00

The good people at Apple have given me 3 more reasons to watch TV.

Graduation Time!

2006-06-07T07:20:00.000-04:00

Our niece Laura graduated from High School last month. I'm sorry I am late posting this. It's hard to believe that Laura graduated. I can remember sitting at her Kindergarten Graduation. Better yet, I remember when I first came around the Tally family. Laura was only 9 months old and she loved it when her Uncle Mitchell fed her coke (without her mother's knowledge of course). I know this is such a cliche but time really does fly by so quickly. She looked so happy up on that stage with her cap and gown. Congratulations Laura Boo.

It's over!!!!

The 2 graduates

edited by mjt: I had the coolest job at Laura's O.H. I got to be the bar tender. Slushies in strawberry or lemonade with a little umbrella.

Congratulations Hope!!!

2006-06-07T07:17:00.000-04:00

Kindergarten Graduation has now come and gone for this Tally family. Our baby graduated from Kindergarten last night. She did a great job in her little play. (Of course she was a bit nervous) there were a lot of people there watching. However, she overcame her nerves and did great. The emotions were flying quite high (with me of course). There's just something about pomp and circumstance playing and seeing your little one walk down the aisle with that cap and gown that just gets you so choked up. Anyway here are some highlights from the fun night!

Before the nerves kicked in!

Our family

Wonderful friends

Don't her brothers look thrilled to be there!

Okay I know it has been a while, but better late than never.

Our "great" niece's first birthday

2006-05-23T11:30:00.000-04:00

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY AVA!

Today is officially Ava's 1st birthday. It still hard for us to believe we are "great" Aunt and Uncle but we are thrilled to death to have babies around again. (I guess I should say I am thrilled! Mitchell could forget the whole baby stage and be quite content with life.) Anyway, we celebrated her birthday on Saturday and had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures to recap her big day.

What a nice family picture!

BEFORE!

AFTER! Yummy!!!

Fun times catching fish!

Boys will be boys!

Ava is quite intrigued with David's humor

Hope loves having a baby around to love on!

Uncle Mitchell took this of Laura without her even realizing!

All my kids just love holding Ava!

Washington D.C. part 2

2006-05-23T11:14:00.000-04:00

I have so many good pictures from Austin's Washington trip that I had to post a few more. This may have had a little to do with me telling the guys don't come home with less than 100 pictures. I was a little bummed that I couldn't go with Austin on his last elementary field trip, but I knew it would be a good bonding time for him and his Dad. Needless to say, they came home with 118 pictures. This could have something to do with letting one of Austin's class mates take some pictures on the plane because she had never flown before. Anyway, here are some more of the sights they saw. Enjoy!

A cool picture Mitch captured of the Lincoln Memorial

Don't the clouds just amaze you with God's handiwork.

Hanging out on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Changing of the guard

World War II Memorial

Special wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier

Iwo Jima

Washington D.C.

2006-05-17T09:05:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my oldest finally got to go on his 6th grade trip to Washington DC. Mitchell and Austin had a blast. Austin came home saying it was the best field trip he had ever been on. I replied with "It better be. It was certainly the most expensive field trip you ever went on!" I'm not quite sure what their favorite spots were in D.C. They were pretty exhausted by the time they got home. Talk about a whirlwind day. They had to leave for the airport at 4:50 a.m. and they walked in the door around 10:00 p.m. that same day. They saw everything from Arlington to the Capitol.

Here's a great class picture!

Just for our Hope. The Hope Diamond. Personally I'd take my Hope any day over this one!

Thank God for the wonderful country that we are so blessed to live in.

They just work

2006-05-03T10:15:00.000-04:00

Occasionally I (Mitchell) will be adding to this blog. I just love the new ads for the mac. Last night I caught one of these commercials, and today I found the link to the rest. Go here to check them out.

Spring has finally sprung!

2006-04-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

I always forget how much I love Spring. Living in Michigan it is a very short lived season. However when it finally arrives it is great. I love planting flowers and seeing all the beautiful colors that the Lord has provided for so many different things. I wish it could last a little bit longer. Here is a picture of our beautiful weeping cherry tree. In about a week it will just be a tree with green leaves but for now it is just breathtaking.

She's Growing Up

2006-04-25T13:38:00.000-04:00

Our little girl is growing up. On Friday we took off Hope's training wheels on her bike. You would have thought that was the most awful thing we could have done to her. Needless to say, she did not have any desire at all to learn to ride her bike without the security of her training wheels. After a few tears she gained up the confidence that she needed and now there is no turning back. She is doing great on her bike! The training wheels are now in the garbage and she has not even encountered any dreadful boo-boos (not yet at least)!

Spring Break II

2006-04-13T15:32:00.000-04:00

Collin beating his dad down the slide

Fun times!

I won!!!

The raft slide we couldn't get Hope off of

I'm freezing!

Our last adventure over spring break was a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio. We had an absolute blast. The kids and Mitch loved the waterslides and I loved watching them. Hope was a little bit of a chicken and on the second day Mitchell told her you are going to go down the raft slide at least once and if you don't like it you don't have to do it anymore. Well, she went basically kicking and screaming and when it was over she was back in line before Mitch could even get out of the pool.

Spring Break Fun

2006-04-12T01:33:00.000-04:00

Usually over spring break we head down to Florida. This year was a bit different. We decided to stick around here and do something adventurous this summer. So on Thursday we headed down to the Toledo Zoo. We had a great time with my mom. The kids loved hanging out with Grandma at the zoo. You wouldn't believe what these meerkats were doing. No not that! Every time they saw us they came and posed for a picture. You would have thought they were one of my children. They were trained to wait for the flash and then run off. My children however are much cuter.

Grandma and the kids

Cheese!

No this isn't Aslan

60 years together! WOW!!!

2006-04-12T01:02:00.000-04:00

This is what 60 years together looks like.

Recently, we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. We were so excited to see them reach this milestone. We celebrated by taking them out to their favorite restaurant "Texas Roadhouse" and coming back here to have cake. It is so unique to see a couple together for 60 years. You hear so many stories of how couples who have known each other for so long give up on their marriage but not my grandparents. They met on March 9, 1946 and were married on March 16, 1946. Yes, you read correctly. They knew each other for 7 days and were married. Now 60 years later they have 1 daughter, 2 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. What a great legacy to leave their family. I hope Mitchell and I will make it to our 60th.

Here we go

2006-04-11T19:40:00.000-04:00

This is our first attempt at a blog. Let's see how it goes