Rip and Tear

Thanks to all (including Santa, of course) that made this mornings 6:30am wake up call worth while. It might have been just a bit overwhelming for Tucker

ICE!

Gaylord Palms...if there's one close to you, it's a great time. Entire conference hall with ice sculptures, igloos, ice ornaments, even an all ice nativity scene. Hand carved and absolutely amazing. A bit pricey, but if you live in FL and walk the dog in shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas day, it's well worth the $$ to feel cold for an hour.

Making Cookies!

Our Little Angels!

The boys sang last night in the Church's Christmas event. The children's choir was a small part of an amazing presentation, but nothing beats the sound of little kids singing at Christmas. They stole the show.

Wassail!

Let the Holidays begin! Wassail party at the Cheek's.

"It's beautiful Clark!"

Well, it's not quite up to Chevy Chase standards, but Jennifer is at it again.

Mmmmm Turkey

20 at the house...
Turkey Tetrazini, Turkey Soup, Sweet Potato Pancakes and Cranberry Bread for the next week

Tough end to the Season

Brayden played in the Championship Game for his Hockey League tonight. The game was the best of the season and Brayden had one of his best efforts. Braydens Redwings were up by 2 with 8 minutes left to go in the game when the Blackhawks squeaked one into the net. With just 2 minutes left, the Blackhawks did it again and tied the game. The Redwings had a chance to take the lead with seconds left, but couldn't make it happen. The goalie play on both sides was amazing with lots of great shots getting denied and many parents sighing in the bleachers. In sudden death penalty shots, the Blackhawks scored and the Redwings just couldnt answer. The Blackhawks skated around the rink with the cup while the Redwing locker room was filled with tears...I guess when you dont get a medal just for showing up, the kids take it a little more seriously. Many Mom and Dads "coaching" their little guys on how to walk out of the locker room with heads held high. I told Brayden that it is just an unfortunate part of being an Ohio Sports fan, so close, but so far away!

Uncle Bryan and Aunt Jennifer!

Congrats to my sis and her husband on the delivery of their baby boy! Andrew Michael Keach was born last night just before 11:00. He weighs in at 7 pounds, 11 oz with a full head a hair. Everyone is healthy and happy. While the boys were somewhat disappointed their choice of names were
overlooked (Aniken, Rainwater or Bob), the excitement was clear when Alex exclaimed, " we're going to be cousins and not kids anymore!"

Great job Lauren, Mike and Andrew. We're so proud of you guys and excited to watch you take on this rewarding new journey in your life.

Stimulating the Economy

The Cheek family is doing their best to get this economy up and running again. It's been 8 years or so since we've owned a boat....funny how that happens to coincide with the age of my oldest child... anyway, we're back in action. We found a nice little boat last month and took the plunge. This 16' Carolina Skiff passed the first family test two weekends ago when we headed out into the river for a little 20 mile cruise down to a spoil island just North of the Sebastian Inlet. We brought beach towels, lunch and fishing poles and had a great time splashing around!

Fall in Florida

As far as I'm concerned you can have your colorful trees and cold weather. Fall in Florida means Sailfish!

B's B-day!

The big question is, did he really expect boys to come to a skating party or did he think, "the girls will really dig this this!" One of the Moms actually asked Brayden to do more backwards skating.....he's already making nice with the girl's moms and he doesn't even know what he's doing.

In all reality, there were 2 boys at the party and Brayden had a fantastic day skating around with his friends. Very few had skated before, but as amazing as kids are, they nearly all were skating w/o help by the end of the day. We all had a great time!

The Amazing Tooth

The amazing part is that our 8 year old finally lost his first tooth! With that being said, there are at least 3 more the tooth fairy has on her 30 day pick up list. Poor Alex is eating a good amount of soup these days with his front 4 pretty much out of action.

Hallooween Preview

Boo at the Zoo with friends Loren and Garrett

Fall Soccer

I can't find the hockey shots and will have to get the kids up soon, so look for those tomorrow. Fall is in full swing as we hit temps in the low 50's overnight. Brrrrrr....thin blooded Florida kids can't handle it. Not to worry, it should bounce back to the low 70s with highs in the mid 80s soon. Love this time of year!

Little Tikes (thumbs up)

In the hopes no other child might have to deal with Daddy and a hack saw, I shot Little Tikes a quick email to tell them what happened. I didn't ask for a thing, just told them what happened and asked them to look into making a design change. Frankly, I told them Brayden is probably too old for the toy and should have known better. Someone from customer service called within 24 hours to talk to me. They apologized for the accident, said they would send a part to replace the piece that was damaged and offered to send a toy to Brayden for his troubles. While I am often insistent on fair consideration for my troubles, in this case I have to emphasize that Little Tikes was all about making this right without a single request from us. Two days after the call we received a letter confirming the offer and apologizing for the mishap.
In a world where we so often see companies shifting blame and wiggling out using fine print, I applaud Little Tikes for their customer friendly customer service.

SAW 6....no, just Hacksaw 1

I was heading home from Orlando on Thursday and got a call from Jen....somewhat more distressed than usual. It was also 3:30, when she should have been sleeping, so I was a bit concerned.

The boys have a Little Tykes workbench with a small hole in the bench that holds a lantern hook. The hole is, of course just a fraction smaller than Brayden's index finger. You've probably figured out where this is going. Brayden stuck his finger through and couldn't get it out. The plastic was too thick to do much and the fire station was the next option, but we thought a shot with the hack saw might get through.

I've never seen Brayden quite so concerned. As a parent of a child who at the age of 7 is often one step ahead of you, his concern was a nice reminder that as a parent your kids still need you and have to trust you. A quick strafe of my hand with the saw and Brayden was on board.

I made a couple cuts, it relieved the tension and out popped the finger. Yey...

While I never would have guessed that using a hacksaw to free my kid's finger would be one of the coolest things I've done as a Dad, I have to admit, I'm riding a pretty solid Dad high right now and trying not to feel to guilty about it.

Indian River Paddle Classic

We did it! Last weekend we ran the first catch, photo and release "paddle only" fishing tournament in Brevard County. It was a huge success with 47 paddlers, $6,500 in prizes and raffles, catering by a local restaurant and the awards ceremony at the Zoo. We were able to raise 100% of the operating funds from outside donations, so approximately $4,500 or 100% of the registration fees, raffle ticket money and money collected for beverage sales during the event is going to go directly to charitable causes the support youth involvement in the Indian River Lagoon. What an exciting weekend and event. Special thanks to our long distance fisherman! Brent flew in from Mass and Jeff from Virginia to help out for the first year. Brent took home a new fishing rod and hat to boot. I'm already looking forward to next year.

IronMan Mike

For those that have not met my brother in law, he comes from pretty competitive family and never passes up a challenge. (enter funny comment about Lauren here). This past weekend he competed in his first full length Ironman! Yes folks, that's 2.4 miles of swimming, a 112 mile bike and little 26.2 mile run. We're all pretty proud of your efforts and wanted to tell you that being a dad should be a piece of cake after that....hah!. Jennifer, Alex, Brayden and I enjoyed following your progress all day yesterday and raised a glass in your honor when you finished.

Rocket Launch

Now there's an image to get the day started right

First Day of School

Thanks Samantha

Summer of 2009....What a great summer. Driving to Chicago, Michigan and Ft. Wayne, trips to the beach, a shuttle launch, Virginia, Kings Dominion, sight seeing and a wonderful dinner with our best friends in DC. Phew.

So, tomorrow the kids head back to school. Pictures to follow. I'm sure Jen will take the standard "kids with lunch box in the front yard" or "kids with back pack by the pool" and we'll get them all up.

But the summer will certainly be best remembered by a great new friendship we developed. Our idea to get Jennifer's cousin down from Michigan to spend the summer with us turned out to be a great success. Samantha made an impact on all of us, was a great friend to the entire family (immediate and extended..Jane, Barbara, etc...) and will be missed by all. She flew home on Saturday, and I'm sure she's enjoying being back with friends and family. Thank you Samantha.....We'll get that contract drawn up for next year whenever you're ready. :)

D.C. And Alex's 8th

Somehow we managed to get through an evening with our best friends in DC and take no pictures. Go figure. Always happens that way. Hopefully someone took a couple that we can grab.

Up...Up and away!

Endeavor makes it off the ground to join up with the international space station on the 127th shuttle flight....wow.



Endeavor makes it off the ground to join up with the international space station on the 127th shuttle flight....wow.

Mmmmm 4th of July

Fireworks, Kids having fun, Grill back in action....all is right in the world today.

Happy 4th of July

Thanks to those serving and our veterans. They make it possible for us to celebrate this day. God Bless You!

Uncle Bryan and Aunt Jennifer

It's about time for new members in the kid club! Congrats to Lauren, Mike and TBD....lovingly referred to as P-Nut! YEY.....

OUCH!!!!

Ford F-150 King Cab vs. Honda CRV...I mean really, pick on someone your own size. Everyone was fine. A sore neck and emotional day, but the auto-body shop says I should have the car back in a week. For what it's worth, not my fault! Rear-ended at a stop light.

Baseball Game

Thanks to the neighbors and Northrup Gruman night, we had some free tickets to the Manatees Bball game on Friday. Mommy had to work, but somehow we made it through the 78 degree, breezy evening at the baseball stadium w/o her. The pic might come out a little small. Possibly b/c there are some copyright issues being infringed upon? You'll have to ask my attorney about that one.