I've Been Converted

It's official. I am no longer...a boxer wearer. After 10 years of enjoying the comfort that boxers bring, I've decided that the support of briefs is more important to me. Believe me, this wasn't an easy decision, but after a few too many "incidents" while exercising, it was clear that a change was necessary. I'm sure that this information is extremely important to you, so I've decided to include a picture as well.

Oh yeah...I've been working out...

Family Bowling Night

Well, Colin and Anna just got done bowling for their first time. We found an alley just a few minutes from home and by the time we were into our 7th frame we had the place to ourselves (which was good because Anna was doing quite a bit of exploring). Colin bowled a 70...with bumpers of course. Anna bowled a 76...with the help of Mom of course. And Lizz bowled a 136. I don't remember what I bowled....I wasn't really keeping score. Anyway, I think Anna had more fun with the air blower than bowling, but that's just fine. It's about the whole experience. Or at least that's what I kept telling myself after I got my you-know-what handed to me by my wife. I think I may have to schedule a rematch.

Mushi Mushi!

Earlier this month Lizz began a homeschooling curriculum with Colin called called Five In A Row. The nice thing about this curriculum is that you can make it as easy or as complicated as you'd like, and since were still testing the homeschooling waters, we're keeping things fairly light. The idea of Five In A Row is that you focus on one book a week (five days in a row...get it?), and they give you a variety of actives related to the book. Well, this weeks book was A Pair of Red Clogs, which takes place in Japan, so this weeks activities included learning about Mount Fuji, drawing the Japanese flag and wearing traditional kimonos, as seen to the left (OK...so they're big t-shirts cut down the middle and tied with scrap cloth...they got the idea). In addition, the kids got to try sushi (California Rolls), which didn't go over real well. Colin told Lizz, "I really wanted to like it, I just didn't." I give him an A for effort.

Back Up and Running

Well, the last few days have been interesting to say the least. On Sunday afternoon Hurricane Ike decided to send a breath of wild air our way. In addition to ripping shingles and siding off of houses, and knocking down quite a few trees, Ike took out power from East Indiana to Dayton, OH and down to Northern KY. As a matter of fact our local power company reported on Monday that 588,000 customers had lost power.

We fared the storm quite well, aside from losing a few tree limbs and a small piece of siding. We were without power from 12.30PM on Sunday until about 2.00PM today, which was a bit challenging. However, after looking at pictures and reading about the devastation the hurricane caused down in Texas, I feel pretty ashamed for even feeling sorry for myself.

Having lived in Florida for over 10 years I never thought I'd see a "hurricane" make it's way up to Southern OH.

Camera Fun

Thanks to my Dad and his plethora of America Express points, the Mele Family has a new toy: A Canon DC320 Camcorder. It's one of those nifty camcorders where you can record directly to a mini DVD. Below is one of our first takes: