Zac is Sick Today

Hello all,

Jennifer got a call from Gashland Elementary. Zachary has become ill at school and needs to be picked up ASAP. I am heading home now to relieve Jennifer so she can go back to work for month end.

-Andy

Signs of Spring

Hello all,

My neighbor Jeff mowed his yard this evening. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but the yard needs to be mowed already. It is not even April yet! That means I need to change the oil and sharpen the blade. I wonder if my weed eater will start? It is a 50% chance I guess. Oh, the joys of Spring.

-Andy

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Lothenbach

Hello all,

It was good to see Grandpa and Grandma Lothenbach tonight. We had dinner at Diane's house after Ali's follow-up doctor's appointment. All is well with Ali! Yippee! After dinner, Grandpa Lothenbach and Jen renewed their cribbage game. Jen took 2 of 3. I think Grandpa was just letting her win so he has someone to play when he comes down. :) Sorry Jen, but Grandpa never lets anyone win that easy. Who gets a 24 in their crib anyway?

Anyway, after the games were over Diane showed some video she shot while we were down in Orlando at Disney World. It was great to watch the kids smile as the remembered the park. I hope they never forget how much fun they had with their mom and dad. I know I'll never forget the time we spent at the park.

Anyway, it is past 10 o'clock. I should be getting off of this computer and go to bed.

-Andy

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Laundry is DONE

Hello all,

It has been an uphill battle since we returned from Orlando, but I finally put the suitcases away and all of the laundry from the trip has been washed! It was a small accomplishment in light of this weeks events.

Ali is feeling much better. She wanted to go outside and play today. She is getting ready to go back to school and be normal again. I love that kid.

This afternoon she and I hit baseballs in the cage downstairs. She wants to learn how to hit, too. I'll keep you posted to her progress.

That is about it for now.

-Andy

Zac's Baseball

Hello all,

Zac is getting back into the swing of things with his baseball team practicing inside a gym to stay out of the rain. He is still hitting both left and right handed this year. Personally, I think he hits better left handed. His glove is getting better, too. As the team works together and get to know one another, I think he will find some friends quickly. I love baseball. I hope Zac keeps loving it as well.

-Andy

Ali is HOME!

Hello all,

Ali was discharged from Children's Mercy at 12:05 PM today. Thank the LORD for a speedy recovery from the flu!

-Andy

Ali doing better

Hello all,

It has been a tough 24 hours. Ali is still at Children's Mercy. They have removed the monitors, but she still has an IV. She has named her IV IVY. She is eating a little bit more, but she is still very skeptical of food. She has some jello about an hour ago. Jen and I slept at the hospital last night. Diane kept Zac. Say a prayer for my daughter please.

-Andy

Post from Children's Mercy

Hello all,

Tonight Ali has become ill. She started throwing up around 6:30 PM and it is now 9:00. They are talking about moving her to the main hospital. I am scared.

-Andy

Class

Hello all,

I am in DB2 Access Path Eval using Explain. It is a LOT of stuff I wish that I had been taught while building the PAT application with SODS. Oh Steve Brown... I think I now know why we continued to have ghosted orders.

-Andy

Back to work

Hello all,

It has been a busy day today. It was my first day back at work in a week. I am out Tuesday and Wednesday for class. It was a grueling day.

-Andy

Traveling

Hello all,

We made it home. We are all tired. Thank you Kurt and Marcey Louder to picking us up at the airport.

-Andy

Last Memories of Disney

Hello all,

We walked around the Magic Kingdom for one last time tonight with the kids. It was jut the four of us. We let the kids each pick one last ride before heading back to the hotel to pack. Zac chose Buzz Lightyear. Ali chose the Laugh Floor with Mike Wikouski. Ali really wanted me to be the guy that is put on the screen and made fun of by the animated characters. Unfortunately, I was a row off and the guy behind me was chosen instead.

Zac finally scored enough points on Buzz Lightyear that he was ranked Planetary Pilot. He was SO excited. He had tried so hard all week to finally score enough points to move up. He made it on his last attempt. I am proud of you Zac.

As for Jennifer and I, we enjoyed out last night on the park. We had our picture taken in front of the castle one more time. There is something special about this place for sure. I just kept smiling and thinking about all of the memories I had made in this week. What a great time.

OK, Jen is looking at me to help her pack. I should get going.

-Andy

Busy Day of Fast Passing!

Hello all,

What a day of Fast Passing at Magic Kingdom! First we Fast Passed Space Mountain. I must admit, I did not enjoy this ride. It broke down while we were in the car ready to ascend the hill. Then I started feeling ill while zipping through the hills in the dark. Oh, I was praying for the ride to get over before my body took issues on its own. Oh, I was glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel for sure!

After Space Mountain, we were off to Thunder Railroad. Zac and Ali both love this ride. It was awesome today. The sun was out and it felt great to be out in the open air.

From Thunder Railroad, we went on Splash Mountain again. This is also a favorite of Ali and Zac. They love the story that is told as the log winds its way up the mountain and then falls into the brier patch.

For dinner tonight we ate at Tony's Seafood restaurant. I had an excellent meal. It was some of the best salmon I have had in a long time.

We just finished watching the evening fireworks and enjoyed our ride over the lake back to the Grand Floridian. What a great day!

-Andy

Day of Rest

Hello all,

We are taking it easy today. I took Ali swimming this afternoon in the heated pool while Diane, Jen and Zac rested in the room. We will be heading back over to Magic Kingdom this evening to ride some more rides and watch the fireworks!

-Andy

Epcot

Hello all,

OK, so today we spent the day at Epcot. The favorite ride was TEST TRACK by GM. We all got to ride in a car and simulate a test car at the GM facility. We went over rough terrain and steap hills. The best part was the high speed test. Zac was having a blast. I loved watching his face as we accelerated and the car banked into the tight turns. I loved it today.

I can't wait for tomorrow.

-Andy

SeaWorld

Hello all,

Today we spent the entire day at SeaWorld! The kids had a great time feeding the sting rays. Jennifer and Ali fed the dolphins. Zac, Diane and I stood on the observation deck and took some pictures.

We took in the dolphin show and seal show as we walked around the park. We skipped the Shamu show. Some of the people I talked to said the show was not the same since the trainer passed away earlier this month.

After we made it back to Disney, we headed back to Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks. The kids are having a great time. I hope we sleep in a little bit tomorrow morning! I am tired!

-Andy

Back to Magic Kingdom

Hello all,

We slept in a little bit this morning as we adjusted to the time zone change. We spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom again and went to Tomorrowland for most of the day. Zac likes Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger training. We sit in cars and shoot laser beams at Zurg and his henchmen. On my first pass I had the high score of 400,000 for the family. No one has even come close to beating that so far!

We made it back to the house just in time to get some ice cream and get ready for bed!

-Andy

Leave for Disney

Hello all,

We made it to Orlando! We are checked into our hotel and have already made it over to Magic Kingdom. The kids were in awe as we walked down mainstreet toward's Cinderella's castel. This is going to be a great vacation!

-Andy

Last Games

Hello all,

I am VERY proud of my kids today. Zac's game this morning went great. His team showed a lot of progress today. They worked hard and played as a team. Way to go Little Rattlers!

My daughter's game was a much more physical game than I wanted for the last game. The other coach was not calling anything on her team and was whistle happy for any of my girls. I told my girls at half time that this was not the game I wanted for them, but it was the game they got! I think today's game was more like what the next level of girls basketball will be like next year. However, it was not appropriate for Upward Bound today. I am very proud of my girls. They all took bumps today. I am very proud of them all.

After the game, I took the girls to McDonalds for ice cream. I received several thank you cards which let me know my effort was appreciated very by both the parents and players.

Mom came down today to watch the last games. She was pleased to see all of the smiles and how thought Dad would have liked the games. This one was for you Dad.

Love,

-Bud

Finally Friday

Hello all,

You know you are ready for a weekend after a week like I had. I worked through lunch today as I worked on estimates and quick hitters before I take off next week for Disney.

I am looking forward to putting this place out of mind for a while!

-Andy

Day 3

Hello all,

The test took me 2 hours and 40 minutes to answer 17 questions. It was all essay. I was given the SQL and the data and had to solve problem. Each question required each step to be documented and the correct answer provided. I hope to get my results soon.

Good night,

-Andy

Day 2

Hello all,

One day is over. Day two was very tough. Steve Brown... I needed you today! I could really have used someone to bounce some ideas off of in my class.

-Andy

Intermediate SQL Workshop

Hello all,

I am in an SQL workshop today. It is kicking my butt for sure. I have not worked with left outer joins, case statements and pivot tables in a long time. I think the nested table expressions and common table expressions will come in handy sometime, but right now I just want to get an 85% to pass the class.

-Andy

Sunday

Hello all,

I've been doing laundry now for weeks it seems, but the seasonal change is finally here. My closet has both Spring clothes hung next to Winter sweaters. I can't wait for April to be here so I can put all of the long sleeve shirts into storage until October!

-Andy

Five Years Later

Hello all,

Mom, Danna, Nicole and I all stood at Dad's headstone this afternoon. Five years ago today my Dad passed away in his home in Randolph, Iowa. Today was cold. Mom had been to the cemetery a few days earlier to clear a path and clean off Dad's headstone. The sun was out today and I could hear the blackbirds in the trees nearby. I miss you Dad. I wish I could just take one more ride with you in the truck. One more casual conversation to pass the time would be a precious gift. You were taken well before your time. You would be so proud of your grandchildren. They are all growing up so fast. Ali and Zac talk about you all of the time. They ask simple questions that should be beyond their years. A nine and seven year old should not need to ask their father if Grandpa was watching their basketball game from Heaven. Like a champ, they answer their own question with a smile and say He sure was!

I miss you Dad. I know you are in a better place right now. You are no longer in pain. Thank you for loving me the way you did and raising me to be the man I have become. I am doing my best to teach my kids the same lessons you taught me.

I love you Dad.

-Bud

Basketball games

Hello all,

You would not believe it, but both the Zac and Ali's team played real basketball today. There were scattered occurrences of passing and team play. I feel that both teams are tiring of basketball right now. The kids are looking forward to baseball and soccer. There is only one more week to go and then they will be on to their next challenge. I hope the lessons I have tried to instill within them will stick.

-Andy

Oopps..

Hello all,

My install that went into production last night is getting backed out tonight. So much for simple fixes.

-Andy

Communicating and Listening Class

Hello all,

I am now better equipped to communicate and listen. Well, that is according to DST. I am a graduate of the DST core curriculum of Communicating and Listening. Now, I just need to remember to listen when people are talking to me! :)

-Andy

Zac's Basketball Practice

Hello all,

I was very impressed with the girls new offense, so I put the same scheme into play with Zac's team. I hope that they remember what they are doing this Saturday.

-Andy

Zac's Baseball Team

Hello all,

Tonight Zac and I were introduced to his baseball coach and many players on his team for this years baseball season. Their team name is the Vipers and their colors are while/royal blue/sky blue. Zac was very pleased to see he will be getting a fitted baseball cap this year and real baseball pants, socks and belt.

-Andy

New Offense

Hello all,

I know there are only two games left in the season, but I am sure the girls will not follow the Ball-Screen-And-Roll offense. Therefore tonight I installed the wheel. Each player has four positions and rotate to their right. The play is put into motion when the guard will call out Rotate! Everyone breaks to their next position and attempts to get open. I hope this works better than the make it up as you go approach.

-Andy