Phoenix

Nicole and the kids flew to my brother and sister-in-law's in Phoenix, AZ to watch their kids (my two neices) while they went on a Mediterranean cruise.

This first picture is at a cool little restaurant that was recently featured on the Food Network called Joe's Farm Grill. They are basically a grill that makes their own food from their own farm onsite.











These pictures are at a local Park in Phoenix and at Papago Park at a natural geological formation called "Hole-in-the-Rock".




















Nicole and kids visited an old west town in Chandler, AZ called Rawhide Western Town. They got to be in jail and ride some donkeys.









These pictures are of the kids at the Arizona Museum of Natural History. They got to do a little mining for fools gold as well as see some bones of dinosaurs. It was fun but not quite as cool as the website makes it out to be.




On our last day there the kids had a little lemonade stand and Hannah and Micah were flying her mechanical bird. This was the nicest day when I was there and it was quite windy but not raining and cold like the other days I was there. Nicole and the kids were there for 3 weeks and I came to visit on the last three days. The weather was just down right hot until I came. As soon as I came it got cold and rainy. It was the coldest days for that day of the year in the last 50 years. I think I brought the crappy Ohio rainy weather with me!

Greek Easter

Several Sunday's ago (4/27) we went to the Milmore's house for Greek Easter. Since Dan is Greek, the Milmores also celebrate (more as tradition and meal and not religiously) Easter according to the Julian calendar (rather than the Gregorian calendar). This goes back to one of the first controversies of the early church between the East and the West which both (i.e., Orthodox and Roman Catholic) claim apostolic authority for their observance of. Since the Protestants came out of the Western church (i.e., Roman Catholics) we simply observe it at the same time as the Catholics do.

Anyway, we had Greek food which included some chicken and spanakopita which is basically a Greek pastry or snack. We also played the easter egg tapping game which Nicole won. After lunch we went outside to play bocce and give the kids a ride in Dan's new lawn mower trailer which we put together before lunch.

Micah's Pledge of Allegiance

This is a much talked about video (amongst our family) of Micah saying the pledge of allegiance at 2 1/2 years of age. Notice his emphasis ;-)

National Museum of the USAF

Three Saturday's ago we had our second visit to the National Museum of the US Air Force. This time we got to visit the Presindential and Research and Development galleries which was pretty cool. To do this you have to get there early and you have to have a US identification to get on the bus which drives you into a secured area.

After this Nicole and the kids spent the rest of the day in the cafeteria while Andy and I walked around the other three hangars full of planes and such. Nothing new for me since I'd been there before but this time I spent most of time reading and watching things that looked interesting. The last time we came I was so overwhelmed with everything that there was that I didn't look closely at anything but sort of took it all in from a distance. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Pike County Dogwood Festival

Three Friday's ago we went to the Pike County Dogwood Festival in Piketon. It is basically a sidewalk fair of sorts which "features exhibits highlighting old-fashioned arts and crafts, antique car show, bike show, cyclists Dogwood Tour, chain saw skill, fiddle and banjo contests, pie eating contest, horseshoe contests, band concerts, and lots of good old-fashioned food."

We went with a good friend from work who was in town from the Tri-Cities. Immediately upon arrival we sampled their deep fried cuisine. Our dish of choice was deep fried pickles which were actually not as bad as they sound. The only odd thing about it was that the pickle was warm which was a very strange sensation. The deep fried pickle was to be dipped into ranch which I think improved the whole experience.

Despite the description, the only thing worth looking at was the food stands and there was some decent music. We did not get to see the antique cars, bikes, chain sawing, fiddling, pie eating, or horshoes. Perhaps those were all on Saturday and Sunday or we just missed them.

The kids got to ride ponies which they enjoyed. Dinner included deep fried hot dogs (AKA corn dogs) and deep fried cheese. Dessert was deep fried oreos. The whole experience was a deep fried redneck evening. Overall, it was a fun night and a good sample of small town Ohio life. Not a place I would ever want to live.

Big Butter Jesus

AKA: "Touchdown Jesus" or "Drowning Jesus"

We went to Cincinnati last weekend to visit the new IKEA in West Chester. Since we were going to be over there we thought we'd stop by and see "Big Butter Jesus" just off of I-75 behind the megachurch Solid Rock Church in Monroe. It is a 62-ft. high fiberglass and styrofoam over metal frame depiction of Christ after the Resurrection looming over the Baptismal Pool. As if these pictures weren't enough entertainment for your day there is also a nice song on YouTube for your listening/viewing enjoyment.

Columbus Zoo and Hockey

The zoo had a member's only Easter event where they had candy and such which we attended with the Milmores. During the week we went to a Junior Blue Jackets hockey game in Columbus. We wish we would have went to a NHL Blue Jackets game instead but oh well...we had fun and we each got ourselves a new hat ;-)

Katelyn Milmore's Birthday

On Saturday we spent the day at the Milmore's celebrating Katelyn's 3rd birthday. The party had a princess theme so everyone bought her clothes (naturally) and princess stuff. This first picture is of Rebekkah and Katelyn playing in the bubble-making machine.











Pretty much the only game that they played was pin-the-crown-on-the-princess. Luckily for Katelyn, whe was not the princess that everyone was trying to pin the crown to.











One thing we've learned after living in Ohio for almost a year is that it seems to rain all the time. And I'm not talking Seattle rain which amounts to a constant mist, but the kind of rain that causes floods all the time. These rains combined with moles that create mazes of tunnels underneath your grass equals mudholes perfect for an after party stomping. Here the kids are stomping the mud like they are attempting to "make brickes without straw."

Easter in Chillicothe

We spent Easter at the Milmore's in Chillicothe this year. The kids found their Easter baskets and did an indoor Easter egg hunt and then we had a nice Easter dinner.