Lexy

Where were we?

I must apologozie for our long absence from the Blog, I have no good excuse. However, here we are, BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!!!

Still in Hanover, the Parks have added a new family member. No, no little bundle of joy, but a little larger bundle of joy in the form of an 18 Yr old Exchange Student from Ecuador, Jessica. She has been with us since Aug of last year and will stay with us through June of 08.

Lexy is now in 5th grade, and still as strong as ever in the cheerleading world. She has just been invited to join a competetive cheerleading squad, which will allow her to travel and compete throughout Central PA and surrounding states. Should be lots of fun, but it may mean no college for her. If any of you have ever done something similar, you know that it is not a cheap little hobby. So get your checkbooks out, as we will be reaching out to you for more Fundraising opportunities. This may also put her hopeful acting career on hold.

Tracy has since come back to Global Payments, as of April last year, and she is glad to be back. She is managing a team of Relationship Managers for our Premier accounts, as she did before.

Michael, is still the same old Michael. Same job, same cigars and wine, and same MIA Profile every football season.

Rather then catch you up on everything we have done for the last year and a half, let's just start with 2008, shall we?

2008 started off with a Redneck pub crawl (self initiated) through our little town of Hanover. Hanging out with us were our good friends, Melanie, Jarhead, Jenn and Lara. The night became sloppier as it moved on, ending with Karaoke, front yard wrestling at 2AM and Queso dip shattering on the sidewalk.

Jessica took part in an Exchange Student Talent show with other students from Central PA. It was a great chance to meet students from other countries. For her portion of the show, she presneted a video about Ecuador.

That's about all the news for now. We will try to post weekly, to keep everyone updated. Lots of plans over the next few months, so stay tunes.

Sampler Week

...and so wraps up the first 40 years of my life. Celebrated in the home town of Pittsburgh surrounded by my many friends and loving family members. The party just happened to be a giveaway night at the farm. Yes, the first 10,000 guests were given parting gifts ala leftovers from the folk's yard sale. Well, not exactly given, but REQUIRED to take with them a piece of memorabilia. The kids enjoyed themselves as well, as Poppy passed out countless hats that he had collected over the years. While it was wonderful to see everyone, it was a harsh reality when one guest reminisced of the string of cars that used to line the vineyard...the convertibes, the Shelbys, the Grand Prix, the Stealths, and the occasional hand me downs from our parents and older brothers had now been replaced by minivans and....well, minivans. Wow, I miss the 80's.

Following a week long trip on the west coast (Portland, Spokane and Hollywood), I came back home in an attempt get my life (and my lungs) back in order.
Tracy and I got the opportunity to hang out with Carinne and Dan at the Orioles game one Thursday night. As they were in between (one time in) Band Camp and School starting, they had some time to kill. We had Dinner at Bay Cafe (strongly recommended), where Dan was deeply enticed by the ads for the Sunday brunch from 10-2, including all you can eat AND DRINK. We stayed awake during an 11 to 2 trouncing of the Orioles, and then finished off the night at the Inner Harbor at Capitol City Brewing Company.

On Saturday, Ron came into town with George, who if you don't know him bears a slight resemblance to sasquatch, Justin the Hairdresser, and another buddy of theirs, whom don't know well enough to assign a nickname. Regardless they spent the day at the Corvette Show in Carlisle, and then headed south to Gettysburg to meet up with me for some libations. We kicked off Happy Hour at the Dobbin House, then had dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Company. We finished off the night at McClellan's at the Gettysburg Hotel. Most of the boys went off to Sensation's gentleman's club, while Ron and I hung in town and chatted with locals, Robin and Paul. As usual I got the recurring question of who was older between my brother and myself. What I didn;t expect was the reasoning why it was believed that I was the elder. Robin seemed to think that I must have been older due to my level of maturity. Yeah, OK, I enjoyed that moment for a while. Today, I got the scoop on the boys that left. According to Ron, the Gentlemen's club was truly just that last night, as it was Male Revue night. This didn't stop the boys from going in anyway and enjoying their night. A night that would eventually end up with George spreading Justin across the hood of the car, while Justin claimed he was the Tasmanian Devil. Really, sometimes, it's just best not to ask.

Lexy had her first game today as a cheerleader for the Gettysburg Warriors. She was a natural, cheering on the Red and Black to a 7-6 win in the opener.

Finally, my ponder of the week. As I had three or four samplers at various brew pub's during the week, I was shocked to find out I had to pay for them...after all, are they not , only "Samples"? What a cruel trick to play on a beer drinker.

Waterproof

OK, so as usual, I got some catching up to do. But I promise, I am going to make a conscious effort to learn how to spell the word conscious...and then...I am going to make a conscious effort to update my blog on a more regular basis. I am sure this will pan out about as well as my new year resolutions.

It was late in August when I had a trip out to the Southwest, which included Phoenix and Las Vegas. I stayed at the Hooter's Casino Hotel in Vegas, for no other reason than I got a deal. If you know me then you know I am a bargain shopper, and I got a room for $62 a night. When I got there I was shocked and dismayed at the skimpy little orange and white outfits be-boppin all over the place. Here, I thought I was staying at a theme hotel in Sin City that depicted wildlife and owl-watching. Despicable! Well, three good things came out of the trip. The first two were the aforementioned Hooters, and the last was a surprise run-in with none other than Ashlee Simpson herself. As I sat playing video poker, I glanced over and saw Ashlee standing not 5 feet from me. I called her over. She smiled and shyly asked if I wanted to go swimming with her and her two friends. I hesitantly agreed. The next thing I knew I snapped out of it and realized that I was still sitting at the poker machine, staring jaw dropped open with her five feet from me. As she walked away, I began to bang my head on the machine, realizing I had my camera in my pocket and froze like an idiot. It paid off, though, as my head-banging drew me a Royal Flush and paid out $100. Woohoo!!! Your loss, Ashlee!

Lexy left for her dad's at the end of June as we celebrated Tracy's B-Day before her departure. Mom and Dad came in for a quick visit to join us for dinner at the Altland House, where it was reported that Billy Joel and his luck of the draw wife at the time, Christie Brinkley once stayed.

While Lexy was away, Tracy and I tried to enjoy our relaxing time together. We didn't do too much exciting, as we both still had a lot of travel to do for work. Tracy picked up a new job with Bank of America and went to Louisville, Knoxville and two or three other "villes"....er...sorry, "vulls" as they say dahn sath n'at. My travels took me to Boston, where I got to visit Fenway for the first time and became and instant fan of the Red Sox. What a fan base this team has and what support the town gives them!!! I got to see the best and the worst of these die hard fans. It was a Monday night, 95 degrees and high humidity. They were playing the worst team in the league (the Royals) and were LOSING to them 4-0 through 6 innings. As I was dripping in sweat from head to toe, packed wall to wall with thousands of drunken idiots, I enjoyed watching the beloved Sox come back and win 5-4 in the 8th inning, including a homer over the Big Green Monster. I must say that loved every second of it! Of course I had to follow it up with a trip to Cheers...

At the end of July I headed for the beach with a packed SUV to go on the family vacation....by myself :( Yeah, Lexy was still in Atlanta, and Tracy was working the week in Louisville, so I left for North Carolina by myself. Just me and my cigars. Met my brother and his family (minus Carinne, working her little but off at home for the summer) in Raleigh. Had a few drinks and then shot over to the airport in Raleigh to pick up the wife coming in from Louisville. The next Morning we headed to Ocean Isle Beach, NC (the far south end of NC), where we further met up with the Reynolds (Ron's neighbors). We all brought our livers and left them at the door. Although my beach towel dried out, my liver is still hanging on the deck railing. On Monday we drove to Myrtle Beach and picked up Lexy flying in from GA. Everyone was glad to see her...she just wanted to get to the beach and play with the kids. She didn't care who was picking her up. What a week, though! 105 Heat index all week, and stale breeze most of the time limited our time actually ON the beach. Thank God for the Isle's Restaurant Tiki Bar!!!! Three of these days we sent on the deck of the Tiki Bar overlooking our kids swimming in the pool, while Tarbender Kimberly, and Waitresses Elizabeth and Kenri broughgt us numerous cooling libations and conveniently forgot to ring many of the drinks up. We felt guilty, so we frequently left plenty of extra money in the tip to pay the extra part of the bill that was overlooked :)

Upon returning it was a short lived hiatus, as we had to prepare for Lexy's birthday party the very next day! We had a dozen or so kids at the house swimming in the pool and jumping on the trampoline, as the princess turned 9 years old. As part of her birthday surprise, we wrapped up 4 tickets to HersheyPark in a big Hershey Bar (ala Willy Wonka). She had her friend Kelsey stay the night and we were off, yet again, the very next morning to spend the day in Hershey! A blast was had by all. The heat and the walking was a little torturous, until we discovered the Tidal Force flume ride. The girls stood in line for an hour, while Tracy and I just stood at the end of the ride and got soaked by the surging boats crashing into the pool of water at the end of the run. We played the games smart, as well. That day they had a deal where you pay $20, get a wristband, and you can play all the games in the park all day and win all the prizes!....Well...we THOUGHT this was a smart move, until you know who had to carry around all of the stuffed animals all day. I may have "accidentally" dropped some on the way out of the park, that evening.

In closing, I would like you to ponder the concept of the Waterproof Sunblock. We tend to buy every bottle, in SPF 8, 15, 30, 40, even 50 (which Ron slapped on at the beach). We have it in cream, in spray, in white, purple and blue. Here's my question. If we get waterproof sunblock, why would there ever be a need to reapply it. I apparently still have some on me from my Lake Erie vacations when I was five. It would appear no amount of showering will ever eliminate this stuff. Sleep well, and change the sheets in the morning.

Spring Partying

I know, I know...WAY past due...

Where to start, well, back in March we made a little jaunt back to the old Maryland stomping grounds of Eldersburg. It was time for an adult night out and throw 15 kids at the babysitter, while the Hodges, the Serio and many other joined in the raising of the green beer on St. Patty's Day. We went to Mikal Johns Irish Pub for a few Guinness!!

We started to opening of the pool in April, albeit too cold to swim obviously. With the help of our new neighbor Marv, I am happy to say the pool opening was a success. We had a small party to start off the spring with some neighbors and friends. Mel and Wendy and the kids stayed the night, as we spent long late hours by the chiminea, making fun of Wendy...ahhh the old days.

Wendy: Is that windmill just decorative or...

Michael: No, it's fully functional, Wendy. It powers our whole house...

May brought us some warmer weather, including some record highs in the 90's, but the pool water was still a bit cool for the old man, here. No fear from the kids though. Lexy and her neighborhood entourage braved the bitter chilly waters of Park Pond...God Bless em.

On Memorial Day, we joined Ron and the fam along with the Grimms up at Little Mexico Campground in Winfield, PA (center of the state). One should never drink and smoke so much in one weekend. We did, however, enjoy placing bets on whether Bev or Steve would fall down next. The kids had a great time too, as they all bought tubes for a couple bucks each and floated on down the river...over and over and over again...
Steve and Ron, we are sad to report, came in second in the horseshoes marathon to Mullet boy, after 5 gruelling hours of drinking and heaving (the shoes). Little Mexico officials are still searching for the last two horseshoes that Steve threw.

It's June, now, and weather is still a little on the cool side for the time of season. But it is still nice enough to enjoy most of the day outside.

This past weekend, we were invited to head to the Moose Lodge with some of the neighbors. We wrangled ourselves a babysitter, and headed out to party with
Marv and Diane
Cindy
Missy and Barry
and Butch
Aside from the limited selection of wine (White Zin and Riunite Bianco), which forced me to drink 10 Beck's Darks all night (yeah, feel sorry for Tracy the next day), it was a great night of dancing and BS-ing with the neighbors. At $5 for a round of drinks, how can anyone go wrong, right?? A fun, yet cheesy band, Blue Tonic, a local favorite in Hanover, rocked the night away with classic rock and pop from the 70s and 80s. Looks like we may be joining the Moose, baby...WOOHOO!!

C'mon spring!

Saturday April 1st. Warm weather is comin'. Speent some time outside today doing chores, how glorious. Met some neighbors two houses down today, Melvita and Mujo (pronounced Moo-ho...but you know with the latin sort of kchck sound from the back of the throat for the "J") from Bosnia. Very nice people. Already he has challenged me to be "best neighbor". Tracy and I have decided, since they are not traditional names, that the best way to remember their names was "Cujo and the Cheese (Velveeta)". This is the best way to remember their names (Mujo and Melvita). Not a reference to their names, because they are very nice and could be fun, but those names are just so dog gone hard to remember.

We're busy trying to set up Tracy's home office, so she can start working from home. Got some office chairs on Ebay that I have to pick up in Philly on my way back from Jersey and Long Island.

Ron and Lynne and Mom are coming in next weekend, so i am sure we wull have some stories to share next week. See ya then.

OK, enough Winter!

So, February is gone, the days are getting longer, football is over and I am stuck drowning my weekends in wine and...well...ok...just wine. Next weekend tells us it will be 75 degrees though, so hopefully we will near the end of the winter blahs soon. I just got back from a trip out to Spokane, WA. I went from cold and dry weather to cold and wet weather...it's a crap shoot. 10 hours of traveling each way was no prize though. Tracy heads out to Jersey this week and New Hampshire, next. So the traveling is not slowing down anytime soon.

So, I'm sitting down doing my taxes...what a treat this is. "Uncle Sam Wants You...or well...screw you, he just wants your money". There is no freakin way we owe this much...someone, somewhere has it in for us. After spending 25 bucks on Tax- Cut software, I decided to take it H & R Block, anyway, becuase, the thing is, I LOVE spending money uselessly!

Last week, Tracy and I went to Lancaster, PA for dinner and drinks. Great place if you like one way streets. We were in the city, so we didn't have to battle any Amish carts. Dinner was quaint at Cherry's Back Alley Bar and Grill, followed by drinks at Kegel's and Molly's Pub. We HIGHLY recommend Molly's, what a great little Irish Style Pub. Molly was a black lab belongning to the original owners.

We went to church this morning. An unusual event for us and an even more unusual experience at the Hanover Community Church. not quite the type of service I am used to. As a non-denominational church, I figured it was a safe bet. After 90 minutes of telling us how we needed to bring more people to church (losing business, I guess) and endless powerpoints and countless COUNTLESS signing songs from the powerpoint...I was spent. The search for a fitting church continues.

Next stop...ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!!