Monday, November 30, 2009

 

Henry in front of the U.S. part of Niagra Falls. We had a great time in Canada. There is lots of stuff for kids and it wasn't very crowded at all. On the flip side, some of the attractions were closed.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Canada and it was right on the Falls. Unfortunately, we couldn't see them on Tuesday night because of the fog. Wednesday morning we had a great view.













We'll have to go again in a few years when the Maid of the Mist is open.






This was the view from our window on the 38th floor.









Another view from our window.



























Jack with some 3-D glasses on.



Tuesday, November 24, 2009

 

Here are the beams that we are going to use for the lakehouse fireplace mantle. The one on the bottom will be the mantle, I'm not sure what we are going to do with the smaller ones but we'll find a use for them.





Jack after drawing a marker mustache. Not sure why he did that.




Monday, November 23, 2009

 
We had our first conference with Henry's teacher last week. Henry is doing great in school but is acting up a bit. We asked Mr. Roeth to keep us informed about his behavior.

We got Henry's first report card last Friday. He is "Achieving" in all his reading skills, which means he has already mastered what he should know at the end of the school year. He is "Transitioning" in all his writing skills, showing growth to where he needs to be at the end of the year. "Emerging" is where he is expected to be so Henry is doing great in both those areas.

Math schools are also great. He is Achieving and even Extending (student exceeds year-end expectations) in those. Mr. Roeth is going to start giving him second grade projects since he's so advanced.

Socialization and behavior on the other hand had a few minuses. "Demonstrates self-control" and "Follows classroom routines/agreements" both are areas where Henry needs improvement. I shouldn't be too worried, he might be a bit bored and he did get checkmarks on the other 8 things. I'm proud of his school work and will work with him on behavior. I know he can read great, we read every night and I'm amazed at the words he knows.

 

Henry frequently brings home pictures he has drawn describing what he did over the weekend, what he likes to do, etc.  Here is the one he did last week.  I think its pretty self-explanatory and I love it.  He even drew me in a orange shirt, which he knows is my favorite color. 

 

Sarah and I watched State of Play last night.  It's a political thriller and was a good movie but something in it took me back to January, 1989. 
 
When I graduated from college, I got a job working for Congressman Ralph Regula in his Canton district office.  My salary was $18,000 a year and I actually had not gotten my degree yet because I needed to pass my Spanish profiency test first (which I did shortly after starting).  When George HW Bush was elected President, I decided to attend his Inaugural Ball in D.C. and invited an old friend of mine (Susan Markowich) to go with me.
 
I had very little money, see salary above, so had to get a cheap hotel and found a place called the Americana Hotel in Crystal City.  It was a mile from downtown DC and it was cheap so I booked it.  When we got there, I could not believe how bad it was.  Crystal City just sounds like a glamerous place but the Americana stood out.  In a glittering city of all new high rise buildings, the Americana was an oasis of seedy.  I think our room was a converted janitor's closet. 
 
I haven't thought too much about the Americana the last 20 years until last night.  Russel Crowe took a guy to a hotel to "interrogate" him and what place popped up on the screen?  Yeah, the Americana.  I can not believe the place is still there.  It looks exactly the same, the rooms still are seedy and I had to stop the movie and tell Sarah when they flashed the outside of it. 
 
The Inauguration weekend was a fun trip and I went back in 2000 for George W's.  This time I stayed at the Hilton in Alexandria though.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

 
Downtown after the Massillon McKinley game. I love this tradition but it doesn't happen every year.

 



The scene downtown Massillon last evening after the Tigers beat Canton 10-7 to move on in the playoffs. Blocking off the streets is a tradition in Massillon and happens after big wins over McKinley and big playoff wins. The team buses normally come through and everyone pounds on them, this year they stopped and let the team out, something a lot of people were not happy about. That should be done only after you win a state championship. I enjoyed the drive through downtown on our way to the state finals in 1982.

Friday, November 20, 2009

 
Just booked our airfare to Florida for spring break in March. It was a little tougher this year because of Henry being in school, we had to go certain dates. We worked around it, he will miss one day the week before his spring break starts.

I'm picking the boys up this afternoon and we are headed to Massillon. I'll drop them off with my dad/sister and head up to Cleveland for a elected official reception (Sarah went to Cleveland early this morning and will meet me there). Then we are going to see Wicked tonight.

Tomorrow morning we are picking up the barn beam for the fireplace then Sarah and the boys will head back to Columbus. I am going to see the Massillon v. McKinley game II in Akron on Saturday night and might head back after the game or might stay over in Massillon. Not sure yet.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

 
Just got back from Cleveland. Our company President is retiring and they had an event for him which was nice. I went to the Cavs game last night then we had another meeting today. Afterwards, I went down to the lake and did a little work. No photos though, didn't have the camera.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

 
Jack being silly.

 

Outside the 'shoe before the OSU v. Iowa game. We just tailgated and did not go into the game. Maybe I'll take Henry next year.

Friday, November 13, 2009

 

This is our fireplace at the lake. Well, not really but I think its similar to what Sarah is envisioning except I think she wants the stone to look more like the photo above. And the hearthstone will be one solid piece of limestone. And I'm not sure yet what we are doing about the fireplace insert. If we end up getting one, and I need to make that decision quickly, then it will probably be a Vermont Casting unit and not look like the one above. So what exactly about the photo above looks like what our fireplace will be? I guess its the barn beam. I was extremely lucky yesterday to find one from a friend of the family in Massillon. I was searching high and low for one and only found a couple places that even had them and none were near me or Massillon.

I think I like the real stone in the photo above over the faux stone we were looking at previously. It's easier to cut and install but is a bit pricier. I'm not that concerned about the cost though because the area isn't going to be that big.







Wednesday, November 11, 2009

 


 


 


 


Jack with a raspberry on his thumb.

 
Quiet week.  I really should be working this weekend at the lake on the basement but Henry wants to go to a Blue Jackets event on Sunday and we need to watch some of the Bengals game and Saturday is the Buckeyes v. Iowa.  The family is headed down to the 'shoe if its nice to experience gameday/tailgates. 

Monday, November 09, 2009

 
The house definitely looks different. We are really going to have to paint and finish off the concrete block with something now.
The grout is finally done in the kitchen. It looks nice.

Here is the beginning of the downstairs bedroom.

Here is the new Pella sliding glass door. The middle two doors slide out. They are really nice.

Here is the new window all framed in.

Here is the before photo of the downstairs fireplace.

Here is the after photo with the hearth built. It was my first mason experience and it went well. I know it doesn't look like much but its just a base; I'll put a 2 inch piece of limestone on top to make it even with the bottom of the firebox. Then I'll stone veneer the front and sides to finish it up. We'll also veneer the wall around the fireplace.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

 
Heading down to the lake Sunday morning for two big projects, both of which need somewhat warm weather which we are getting. First, I'll grout the kitchen floors. Then, I'll build a brick hearth below the fireplace box. If I get that done, I'll start in on staining Henry's closet and the baseboards so I can get them installed.

I plan on taking my Veteran's vacation day on Monday so I'll have two days to accomplish these projects. It might be another cold night on Sunday but I'll survive.

Friday, November 06, 2009

 


Henry took this photo. Pretty good one.

 


Henry took this photo. Pretty good one.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

 


Tuesday, November 03, 2009

 


Not the best photo since its from a camera phone but here is the new door.

 
Garage door removed and the window being removed. I ended up staying down at the lake last night because there was a tarp over the garage door because the new sliding door couldn't go in until today. It was cold but I had a heater in my room so sleeping was fine.
Floor didn't get grouted yesterday, too cold.

Window from the outside. We will paint the house at some point.


New window from the inside. No screens installed yet though.




This morning.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

 
Massillon lost to McK yesterday 35-21. We are still going to the playoffs but our RB blew out his knee so we won't go far. I believe this was my 30th year in a row (and 33rd game in a row because we played them in the playoffs a few years) but it almost didn't happen. Henry had a pretty high fever Friday night so I ended up staying home. He woke up with a normal temperature otherwise I wouldn't have made the drive up. He seems fine today.

Thanks to my friend Denise for giving me an extra ticket and letting me sit with her. I miscounted and needed a last minute one.

Here is my friend Dave Weber coaching the Tigers. He had reason to be mad.

The team comes out, the balloons go up.



Hen and Susie David.

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