It's Snowing!!!!

It hasn't snowed here since Christmas Day 2004 and we were in Forida so we missed it. Erin woke me up to flurries. After I got out of the shower, the snow was sticking. The pictures are about 15 minutes after that. It should last until noon when the rain will take over.

What a Fun Weekend.

First was the Football game: The kids in the band just had such a great time. Since the football game was held on Friday (Halloween) they let the band dress in costumes. Jake wore Jim's Pimp costume from Mardi Gras. You could see him from across the field without any problems, he is the one in the flaming Yellow/Green Coat. You might have to watch the video a couple times to see all the fun outfits.
Second was after work on Saturday: I went to the Mall to pick up something real quick from William Sonoma (which they didn't have). When I was there, I noticed that Tim Gunn from Guide to Style and Project Runway was going to be in Macy's @ 1:00pm. So I went to check it out. It turned out that he was hosting a Fashion Show @ Macy's . So I called Erin right away, so she could get to the Mall to see him. I was standing in line and started talking to the women around me. Long story, but one woman actually had 2 tickets for seats in the show and invited me to sit with her. So I got to view the show (seated). Erin got there pretty late but she was able to see the show from the back. At the end of the show he did a Q&A session which was funny. It was great to see him up close. I did get some pictures but on my cell phone and I can't figure out how to download them.

MHS Homecoming 2008

MHS Homecoming! Jake's date is his girlfriend, Emily. He took her to a nice Chinese Restaurant prior to the dance. Erin and her date, boyfriend Michael. Went to the Lakefront with friends to take pictures then to dinner @ Semolina's. Both got home late (dance ended @ 12:00). I haven't gotten the details but Jim said that Jake had a great time. But got the feeling that Erin wasn't as thrilled with Homecoming. She went to an after party and I won't tell you what time she got in. All I can say is thank God we live in a small town and she never has to travel too far.

20 years

As many of you know, Jim and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary this month. Thought it would be fun to see the difference from that day to now. What do you think? Have we changed much?

The 1st of 2 Homecoming

This is the first of two Homecomings that Erin will attend. So watch for the next Homecoming pictures in a couple of weeks.

NAPLES FLORIDA

Jake's Marching Band

Sorry the quality isn't so great. One day I might actually figure Erin's camera out to get some good action pictures.

Hurricane Tracking - keep your fingers crossed for us.

1.Nola : http://www.nola.com/hurricane/wide.ssf?http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT07/refresh/AL0708W5+gif/143912W_sm.gif
2. Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/Active.aspx?storm=1&type=track
3. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/storm/homepage/index.html

Jake's 16 - Hurrah!!!! and Driving - Yippee!!!

My baby is growing up.

Artist?

Maybe not! Last weekend I went to a Painting Party and this is what we painted. It's suppose to look like this: http://www.corksncanvas.com/503Girod/classes/september20.html. It fashioned after these pictures http://shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/~nh1/images/michalopoulos%20top%20notch.jpg Should i quit my day job?

Dinner

Except for the fact that school started on Friday, it's been a quite week. The bright spot was this dinner. A friend had a meeting in Massachussets and he brought back lobsters. Yummy! this had to be the best lobster dinner I've had in 20 years.

Vote for Fly

http://www.worldwidefido.com/watch/6308/fly-chasing-shadows

Bad Back

If Shannon can put sonograms of her babies, then I can put my MRI pictures of my bulding disk. Can you see it? I had the MRI done today. My doctor hasn't seen these pictures yet. So I'm technically self diagnosing. Right before Jim's birthday pary, (while cleaning), I picked up the recyclable bin to put it out on the curb for pick up. In my effort to clean, I think I aggrevaited my disk. Ever since, I've had back pains and then it started down my leg. Not as bad as it was 5 years ago, but enough to finally go see the Orthopedic surgeon. No, I don't plan on surgery but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing any permanent damage. I go to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon. I'll keep you posted on my important updates. Oh! I'm not kidding myself, Shannon's pictures are much more exciting. It's been a quiet week, can you tell?

What a week!

Well, it was an exciting week at the Mutual Fund Store, and I'm not talking about the 4%+ drop in the Market. Wednesday, there was alot of commotion in the Lobby. When I went to check it out, I found that a Movie was being made in the Building. Thursday, they were filming in front of our office, in the hallway. Friday again outside our window. The video is through that window. Can you figure out who the star is? It's Harry Connick Jr. The only thing between Harry and me was a mirrored window and about 2 feet. I tried to meet Harry and we were even invited to lunch with the Movie Crew (but that didn't work out). The movie is "Living Proof", is for TV and it will be released in October. I'll send info when it gets closer to the release.

Erin's 17th Birthday!

Her new pride and joy!

Alan R. Murphy: Nov 30, 1928 - June 7, 2008

A sweet gentle soul.

Jim's Party

Yes - There were men at the party, but we looked much better then them. As you can tell we had a great time. Only happy faces. Jim got some great gifts and, of course, some gag gifts (age appropriate). Hard to tell by this picture, but I asked everyone to wear black. It took Jim about 8 guests into the party to realize that there was an unusual amount of black attire for the evening. He thought it was funny. I also had a little Q& A session about Jim. I asked questions like: What was Jim favorite sports team? (a. Raven, B. Redskins, c. Staints) What Right Wing Christian Organization did Jim Belong to? (a. Luteran's for Lesibians, b. Gay Nazi's for Christ, c. LDS - Baltimore Polygamy Sect) No offense to any Religious Groups. It was fun and we had a great laugh at Jim's expense. We had way too much food (a contant battle at our parties is how much to feed everyone- Jim wants more, I (in true McDonald fashion) go for just enough.) The family ate sandwiches and chicken wings all week. Bye and Bye we had a great time. Maybe for number 60, I'll plan enough ahead,to get some family members here. You've got 10 years to paln for it.

Jim turned 50

Jim turned 50 last week. The picture is of his cublicle at work, and that is underwear not diapers. Why might you ask is underwear stung across his cubicle? Funny story! A couple of months ago, Jim went biking with a fellow co-worker straight from work. So he had to change in the office bathroom into his bike gear. On his way out of the bathroom, he inadvertently dropped his underwear on the floor and went on a bike ride. Well, is was found by others and pinned to the bullentin board (knowing full well that they were Jim's). And as you can tell he has never been able to live it down.

What a night

Last night was Erin's Ring Ceremony at the High School. The ring ceremony is the presentaion of their High School Rings to the Junior Class and the official declaration that they are now Seniors. Anyways we were running late (for a good seat) but managed to get there a couple of minutes before it started (Thank God we live a mile from the School) Oh! in my haste I forgot the camera - sorry no pictures. Well, the weather outside was horrible, the sky was a bit green, Erin was convinced that we were all going to die because a Tornado was coming. We pictured the headline on Morning Paper, "MHS Entire Class of 2009 gone due to Tornado hitting the building during Ring Ceramony". Anyways I diverge. The ceremony (which I thought was going to be special and a tear jerker) was a dissappointment. We couldn't hear a word of what the speakers were saying, mainly because the PA system sucked, we were in the highest seat possible and the fact we were in a building with a Tin Roof during a terentual down pour. We later learning that Mandeville got 7 inches in a hour. Here's the Kicker. After the ceramony as people started to leave, they came back with news that the parking lot was flooded. In some cases, the water was up to the side mirrors on the cars. As people went out to check their cars, they all came back with the same story. The parking lot was under 2 - 4 feet of water. Of course, we took the new car. Luckily, Jim got to the car and found that the water was only up 1/2 on the wheels and nothing in the car. Whew! Thank God we were late and ended up parking on the high ground. Unfortunately, many of our friends did not have the same experience. If I can find any picture I'll post them. In the end we got a bit wet but still ended up with a Senior. (I'm gonna cry). UPDATE: This is a picture Erin's High School Ring

Fly

Richmond Weekend

We had a great weekend in Richmond. First we got to spend some time with Jim's Sister and her family. The boys were crazy for their Uncle Jimmy. Then we went to a beautiful wedding held at a Vineyard in the hills of Virginia. We ended the weekend with lunch and touring the city of Richmond with our dear friends, Laura and Ans. I've been from Montana to Lousianna to Virginia in a weeks time. Now it's time to settle down and get back to work.

Erin's Blog?

I should call this the Erin Blog because I feel that most of the information is about Erin. But I do have a comment about Jake at the end of this post. OK - So the picture is Erin's picture that she painted for Art Class. She got 2nd place in the Art Show for this genre. Next news - the kids got their ACT scores. Jake got a 23 (not bad as a Sophmore) and Erin got a 30. The Avg Score for a Senior is 19-21(?). So the kids are smart - Do I give Jim credit or is it from my genes? Oh, the never ending debate.

New Car

We finally had to make the decision to get a new car. After many hours researching on line, and a couple of test drives, we bought a new car. The decision was forced upon us, when the Blue Jeep (125,000 miles) broke down on the Causeway (2nd time in 3 months). The tow bill was $225 (ouch). The decision came down to a Ford Escape, Ford Edge, and Saturn Vue. We decided that the Ford Escape had the best gas mileage but only in a V4 and we were concerned about the power the car would/wouldn't have once the whole family was in it. The Saturn Vue was an excellent price, I could get alot of perks, but it was just too small for my adult size kids. So that left the Ford Edge. Its a bigger vechile but the kids (and Jim) will fit comfortably in the back for our long trips to Dallas, Maryland and Florida. If you were wondering what will happen to the Blue Jeep, we are keeping it. Jake insists that it's his car and will fix it. I figure if it can drive the 1 mile to school and back, then it will do. It pretty much has to last more 1 year. Then off to the junk yard.

PROM

Erin had a great time! Before Prom, she went with a bunch of friends (and date) out to dinner. They went to a nice (expensive) restaurant, that had a Prom deal - $60 a couple including tip. After the Prom, was an party at a friends house (who lives in the neighborhood, thank God - no driving).

The Trip to No-Where!

Yesterday morning, I got up at 5:30 to make a 8:40 flight (thru Dallas) to Phoenix. I had a one day training seminar for work. The flight took off on time and everything was going well. Until we started our decent into the Dallas. The turbulence was crazy. We had 3 major drops (it felt like a Roller Coaster) before we pulled up and aborted the landing. I was very very close to tears. The Dallas Airport closed shortly there after and we were sent to Shreveport, LA. Now those who don't know, Shreveport is a very small. So small that we had to sit on the tarmac because 6 other flights were also detoured to this airport and they couldn't accomodate all these planes. So our plane and a couple others couldn't get to the terminal. We sat there for 3 hours when they finally decided to send us back to New Orleans (because the Dallas airport decided to shut down for the remainder of the day) Apparently, Dallas was having major thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and flooding. When we got back to New Orleans, we hoped to reschedule our flight for a later time. No such luck. New Orleans Airport took on 11 flight that were also deverted from Dallas. The place was a mad house. So needless to say I went home (and happy to do so). The positive side is that I got alot of reading done.

Braggging Rights

Erin volunteered in her Chemistry Class to be a representative for Mandeville High School in a Literary Rally at SLU. The Rally is basically a test given to those respresentatives from a variety of Local Schools, in the Subject they volunterred. So, out of 23 kids, Erin got 1st place, she smoked them (5.5 points greater then the closest score) Here's a link. http://www.selu.edu/resources/litrally/results/index.php?test=CHEM&div=1&st=Submit

Now she goes on to test in April at LSU.

Irish/Italian Parade

Last weekend, the kids and I had an opportunity to ride in the Irish/Italian Parade in Chalmette, La. It was fun! We threw Beads, Footballs, Potoatoes and Cabbages (it's tradition to throw food for an Irish stew.) The ride lasted about 3 1/2 hours. This was the first ride for the kids and they had an Excellent time. Best part, it was free. A friend's Uncle is the local distributor for Red Baron products and needs riders for the Float.

USS New York

It was a Great Navy Day. The temperature was 74 degrees on a beautiful sunny day. A bit hot but

I loved it. The ceremony was unorthodox for the Navy. Usually it's just speakers, but this time they had preformers. The USO, Rebecca Lynn, Charlie Daniels (he wrote a song for the Ship) and a Fireman from New York who sang the National Athem plus another song at the end of the ceremony. He was fabulous, I could have listen to him all day. They didn't have the normal party afterwards (too many people, 4000+) but that didn't keep us from partying. A bunch of contractors and Gov't workers spent the evening and night in New Olreans painting the town red. Here's a link to the ship: http://www.ussnewyork.com/wordpress/

Erin's 15 minutes of fame

Erin was an extra in a Movie this past week. The Movie is called " Cirque du Freak". The movie is based on a series of Books. She found the part by searching Craig's List and and saw the it was being filmed in New Orleans and they need a bunch of High School kids as extras. So she told a couple of her friends and they all went down (3 weeks ago)to audition and got the part. One Friend, Sal, got an extra part. Another friend David , was invited to also be an extra in another movie (cause he was 18), that's filming next week. Their part was filmed this past Thursday and Friday. The scene was in a High School and the extra's had to run down the hall, away from a spider (spider will be computer generated). They worked for 2 days and had a great time. The pictures are with one of the stars, Josh Hutherson, here's a link to the other movies he's done. http://imdb.com/name/nm1242688/. We are not sure when the movie will be out, the site states sometime in 2008, movie info link http://imdb.com/title/tt0450405/. I'll let you know if she can be seen in the movie, then one day you can rent it. Personally, I would never go see this movie if my kid wasn't in it.

MARDI GRAS - Parade Season: Jan 25th - Feb 5th

Can you tell? We had a great time.

The costumes are from the Float that we rode on, The Funky Tucks Funky Fox Float. We had 13 bags each of throws, approx the size of a pillow. The Throws were beads, stuffed animals, plungers, frisbee, Toilet paper, ect. This particular Crew (Tucks Parade) is a bit on the bizarre side. Not a conventional Mardi Gras parade. We ride for about 6 miles, that can take anywhere from 3-5 hours.

We spent the whole weekend downtown, running around Bourbon Street, eating, and of course drinking. Some day we will realize that we are getting old and can't hang like we use to. Anyone wanting a great time should ride with us.