Luke turned 2 today!

Pictures from our little get together are here. I didn't do any editing. I just posted the whole lot that I took. Pick the ones you like.

Super Bowl scrapblog

Megan created a scrapblog of the Super Bowl party we were at with some friends.

In memory of Cecelia Pantell

Sunday, January 21, a memorial was held at Dad's house. Many people came and shared some very nice stories about Cecelia. One of the stories we found most touching was that of Cecelia's hairdresser and how Cecelia did nice things for her and her child, who has been sick and in and out of the Children's Hospital. Cecelia touched alot of people. Below is what was read during the gathering at the house:

We are here today to honor Cecelia Pantell.

Cecelia was born September 27, 1916 in Indianapolis, IN.

Her father, Morris Klein was a tailor who arrived in the US as a teenager from the Czech Republic. Her mother, Jenny Klein worked with Morris in their tailoring and cleaning business in Indianapolis, IN.

Cecelia had one brother, Leo Klein who is a retired CPA in Los Angeles.

After high school, Cecelia attended Butler University & Conservatory in Indianapolis, IN. where she graduated with a degree in music. She then became a high school music teacher.

In 1941, she married her husband, Leon Pantell who was in the coast guard during World War II.

They soon moved to Los Angeles where Leon became a Los Angeles policeman and Cecelia worked at Air research as a planner (this company played a significant role in sending the first man to the moon).

When Leon retired, they moved to San Francisco where Leon worked several jobs.

They next moved to Reno, NV where their two sons were attending the University of Nevada.

Among other things Cecelia did in her lifetime, she was the choir director of at least 15 choirs and she also taught voice and piano lessons.

While in Reno, Cecelia and her family owned Rhodes Fish & Chips in Park Lane Mall for several years.

Cecelia is survived by her husband, her two sons, her daughter-in-law, her brother, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.

Some pictures are here. Colin will be posting some more later.

Thanksgiving at Mike's

We had a good group at the house for Thanksgiving. Here's a few pictures from the event. We're looking forward to seeing Colin's pictures soon. (hint, hint!) :-)

View Thanksgiving 2006

Pacers Game

We took TJ to the Pacers game last Friday night for his birthday. We had a good time even though the Pacers lost. Here's a couple of my favorite pictures.

Of course, you need a picture of the birthday boy, too!

Scrap blogging by Megan

Megan has been busy with a new site we found, called Scrapblog

Here is some of her work. We tried embedding it here in the blog, but it doesn't render properly, without pushing all the links and everything all over the place. So, why don't you just go visit it here.

Enjoy!

Violin Performance by Veronica

Veronica had a concert at her school this past Saturday. I thought the family would like to see. Here is a picture before it started.

First, she wants to waive hello.

And now the performance - please forgive the amateur behind the camera.

Sheryl Crow Concert

Megan I went to the Sheryl Crow concert Friday. More here.

State Fair 2006

Indiana State Fair 2006 - my first (and last) deep fried Oreo. I'd been talking about one for so long, Deb insisted I try one. Whoo! They are rich!

Champ a.k.a "Twitchy"

Here's a video of Champ finishing off a pudding cup for Megan.

Luke Walking

Luke was over today for just a bit, but I was able to capture him taking a few steps, so I thought I'd share them.

By the way, there are pictures from my trip to the Dayton Air Show July 30 on my blog(video and pictures).

Kelly Clarkson Concert

Veronica went to the Kelly Clarkson concert 7/25 here in Indy. As you can see from the pictures, she had a blast. The blue stuff in some of the pictures is confetti. Originally, they were going to sit on the lawn, but Deb was able to upgrade the tickets so they could sit in the pavillion.

Veronica had no clue she was going. Deb told her they were on their way to a Girl Scout outing. It was Danielle, Veronica's friend in some of the pictures, that figured it out. "Wait! Is today July 25th? We're at the Kelly Clarkson concert!" And the hysterics began. Yep, they ARE excited! Kelly Clarkson, I am told, puts on a terrific show. Opening act was a group called Rooney. Deb said they were good too.

Deb's Montanna trip

Debie made a trip to Montanna June 1 to see her cousin graduate from high school. It's beautiful up there. Here's the pictures.

Megan is 21

We took Megan to Maggiano's for her 21st birthday, and yes she ordered her first drink(s). We had a very nice meal, great service, and an enjoyable evening. Here are the pictures.

Veronica is 15

Veronica turned 15 this week. It was a quiet birthday. We took her out for dinner at the Bone Fish Grill, and then we went to see "Over the Hedge." Here are the pictures from the event, which include a few rowdy pictures from the dogs. View VeronicaBday2006

Memorial Day

We’ve decided to just enjoy Memorial Day. It has been a busy weekend for Debie and I. Saturday, we both worked at the track. We were there at 5:30am to open the stand our booster club got. It was a long day. We were home at about 6:30pm. Debie worked again yesterday, Race Day, and it was BUSY! They arrived at 5am to open and Deb said they were busy from the time they opened. Debie didn’t get home until around 8pm. So, needless to say, she is completely exhausted. So, we’re just chilling out today at home, watching movies, and getting some needed rest.

And if you are interested, here’s all the track coverage from the local paper.

For sale

Tyler and Cherie have put their home up for sale. Oh! and they are looking to build a new one! Cherie said she'll post more details later, but gave me permission to share their great news with the family! Woohoo!

Frustrated with the system.

Deb and I got Megan’s GQE scores back today.
Subject/MegScore/Passing Score
Math/411/486
Eng/392/466
We are frustrated. So is Megan. Deb’s got her on all kinds of waiting lists, but GEEZ, the system moves slow. Ugghh!

New Mexico Trip

Debie and I returned from our vacation Wednesday. We went to New Mexico. We didn’t really have an agenda, which was nice, so there wasn’t a set schedule each day. We visited a lake one day, just drove the desert another, and did a balloon ride one morning. All in all, we had a great time.
Pictures are here: We drove around and waited for the sunset one evening. These pictures won’t win awards, but the better ones are posted. One picture might just be the title for a new section on my personal blog - maybe for pictures? Can you guess what the title of it might be? Then the balloon ride, oh yeah! That was a rush! Pictures from ground crew.
Huge thanks to Cherie and Latrice for helping out with the girls!

Mike's new job

I've done more in the first 3 days than I did in the last 3 weeks at the last job. There is plenty to do and it appears to be a good fit. So, hopefully, this job will last!