Halloween Fun!

Happy Halloween! Bickley and the kids take some time out to carve pumpkins. Don't worry...I was busy inside cleaning the seeds and baking them with some butter and salt. Yummy!

Who's "Overrated"?

Well, this past weekend we ventured to Happy Valley to cheer the Buckeyes on as they took on those crazy Nittany Lions. A big "THANK YOU" to Jaime and Josh for working their little tails off to find us tickets. We really appreciate it!

A tailgate is not complete with family, friends, good food, and, of course, Buckeye gear! We had all the bases covered! Josh is all smiles as we set up our tailgate and prepare for the day's events.


Jaime also brought some tears to our eyes when she asked her little sis, Sue to be her maid of honor for her and Josh's upcoming July wedding! Again, CONGRATULATIONS, Josh and Jaime! We're so excited for your big day! It will be here before you know it!


Above, me and little brother Josh (sporting #47...yeah, he could take on the real #47 AJ Hawk any day of the week!) and then me and Bickley.


Bick's friend Michael sports his Buckeye hat! Check out that spirit! It's really cute, although I know I couldn't have pulled it off!

Josh surprises us all with his alter ego "BUCKEYE MAN"! Watch out, Penn Staters!!!

Josh gives Bick a little taste of what the Lions are in store for from those crazy nuts from Ohio! (above, me and Jaime pose for a pic.)

Josh asks Jaime's brother Patrick to be a groomsman.

Above, Bick isn't left out, Josh asks Bick to be a groomsman as well. (Group photo - Bickley, Jennifer, Josh, Jaime, and Patrick)

Those "over-rated" Buckeyes....or at least according to the over-polite Penn State fans we ran into. We may be over-rated, but our team had no problem taking care of business. Note to self, in the future it might be smart to run your mouth off AFTER you get a "W".


Even with the Pope cheering on the Lions, no luck. Final score:

OSU - 37

those timid Lions - 17

GO, BUCKEYES!

Sleepless in Seattle!

...well, not really! Our weekend was so jam-packed that I slept just fine at night. Colleagues from work and myself (20 of us total) ventured out to Seattle for a little, weekend getaway of fun. We traveled in style from the airport to our hotel with limo service. I could really get use to that!

Then we grabbed a little bite to eat at the Cheesecake Factory before doing some of the "touristy stuff". Our first stop was the Space Needle. What a great view!






We lucked out and even though it was a little rainy and dismal, the sun did shine now and then and we caught two rainbows over the Space Needle. Pretty cool!

Saturday morning we ventured out to the Farmer's Market. Our first stop, and the reason we decided on Seattle in the first place was because of the Pike Place Fish Co. If you've never been there, it's quite the experience - even if you don't enjoy fish [like me]. The fish market actually became well known after adopting a philosophy of four, main principles, taught to the workers from a motivational speaker. Basically, he told them that even though their job might seem very routine and maybe uneventful, that they needed to realize what an important job they had. The motivational speaker shared with them that they needed adopt the following rules at work:

1. "Be there!" - for every customer and for each other - that when they came to work they couldn't be worried about outside stuff and what they were going to do after work...that they needed to be attentive and receptive to their patrons.
2. "Play!" - and they do! They have cool, little chants; they throw fish to customers; they crack jokes and more! They enjoy what they do.
3. "Choose your attitude!" - they needed to understand that different customers visit this huge, tourist attraction (i.e. the market) every day...the same questions were bound to get asked again and again; they were certain to have to repeat themselves a gazillion times in a day, but, how they responded to it was what counted.
4. "Make their day!" - each day their goal was to make each other and their customers' day, and this they DO as well!

These same, four goals have been adopted by our school, and we share them with our students as well. Of course, they've been altered a bit, but it really does work. You can find more information about the "Fish Philosophy" by going to http://www.charthouse.com/content.aspx?name=home2

The market offered a little of everything - flowers (at unbelievable prices! I was bummed that I didn't live closer to buy them up by the bunches!!!), canned goods, fruits and veggies, art, clothing, and more! [above, Tami and I]

The view of downtown Seattle from the ferry. We took a little afternoon jaunt over to Bainbridge Island. [below, Dana and me]

It was cool to walk around the island and check out the neat, little shops. It was beautiful and scenic, of course, as well.

Saturday evening we enjoyed dinner on the Spirit of Washington - a train. A good time was had by all! [above - Jody, me, Cindy, and Dana]

[the whole gang!!!!]

Fall fun!

The kids just wrapped up their fall sports and FUN they did have! Emily gave rowing a shot this year, and she seemed to really enjoy it. It's a club sport and their rowing club has several different teams for the different races. They compete all over Ohio, too. It was interesting to check out the meet, even though it wasn't quite as entertaining as we had thought...the boats don't race against each other - they race for a time and then from their they place according to their time. And, you only get to seem them row through the finish line. So, although it's neat to watch her race, you really don't get to know how well they do until after all the other races are complete. It's interesting, and most importantly we're glad she enjoys it! Saturday was her last meet.

Greg also enjoyed Emily's rowing meet...kind of. Well, at least he enjoyed playing in the sand/dirt! A true boy at heart!


Greg also wrapped up his sports this week, with his last football game. Unfortunately, they didn't win, but he really enjoyed the season and he learned a whole lot. We're excited to watch him again next season, now that he knows all the ins and outs.