I Know Someone Can Relate!

You may have to click on the pics to actually read the comic...

This must be a series this week to celebrate "back to school"! When I read yesterdays comic (top) I had to laugh & share it because it is SO TRUE in this house. I actually do dance and sing, especially when the boys are bad...they hate to hear "7 more days 'til school starts"...They (including Brad) know I am secretly, and sometimes not so secretly overjoyed when it's time to go back to school! Then, this morning, reality set in when I read the next one (I changed the names of course). It was scary...I actually think someone must be watching us! How could this author know my little one is definitely typhoon-like?! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

FOOTBALL

Eagles fans get your jerseys now!

Thanks to all who have sponsored me!

A BIG thanks to all of you who have pledged me for the MS 150 City to Shore Ride. The big ride is September 16 & 17. Thanks again to all who have made donations.

Golfing
Saturday October 7. We have a tee time of 9:00 AM at Willowbrook. I am just looking to get a partial head count down. Willowbrook has clubs to rent for those of you who would like to play and can't get your clubs here or for those of you who are just willing to give it a go and have some fun. If you are interested in playing please leave your name in the comment. Thanks.


Link to MS 150 page -
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/PAE/personal/default.asp?pa=52646757&pd=PAE0EMS120060916CTS

Football season is Here!

I was in my same seat I have always been in since the "Linc" has opened. I expected to see a good game between the Eagles and the Steelers, and I did.
I saw some good stuff from the Eagles' defense, and since our starting running back (#36 - Brian Westbrook) is not going to play until the regular season, seeing #28 (Correll Buckhalter) running like old times was a refreshing sight. #5 (Donovan McNabb) was crisp and no one got hurt from the 1st teams, so that is always a positive.


#90 (Darren Howard) from the Eagles looked impressive as he sacked #7 (Ben Roethlisberger) (yes, I know how to spell his name). I have stated this though, Pittsburgh really needs to rethink their kicking situation. Their kicker, Jeff Reed is really struggling and maybe they should make a move to bring in someone else. If not to replace him, at least someone to push him (scare him a bit).

bandwagon

so i'm jumping on it and posting a pict of me and my man jeff (a.k.a. jefé or señor stuhmer, as i sometimes like to call him) at a wedding 2 weeks ago. i'm smiling really, really, really hard. must have been thinking about the reunion.

My Summer

I love all the posts that have been going up, but I went an entire summer (again) and went no where. I saw three movies at the theater (Cars, Monster House, and Barnyard). I cleaned the pool 86 times and went swimming 5 times (though my boys used the pool a lot, especially during the heat wave). I went to Chuckie Cheese 3 times, and Kid's Castle 2 times (when it rained or was too hot to swim). I went to the Catty Playground with the boys on 4 occasions (but never made it into the Catty Pool, though we did plan to and it rained - go figure). I washed my Explorer 8 times (yesterday being the 8th and as I type this, it is RAINING)(slow summer - it sat mostly), and went to 1 Eagles' preseason game (Steelers tomorrow). I played numerous hours of video games, read the blog daily and usually many times a day (slow summer - like I like it). I finished 3 more graduate courses (online - easy stuff - Flash animation, Intro. to Windows XP, and Photoshop Elements)to take my level to MS + 45 credits (only 15 more to hit the max.).
Now, I have to go back to work. This morning is the beginning of my 17th year of teaching, and after 72 days off (yes, 72 days without work, but the checks come every other Wednesday), I have to begin again (as I have 16 times before and will for at least 17 more). I have to sit through the "welcome back" speeches, the "this is what is new this year - changes in the Student Handbook, I get to go out for lunch with adults, and then go back for a 36 points of light faculty meeting. I can't wait for the students, Inservice days BLOW.

Sturgis 06

What a beautiful site, here is a shot down Main Street in Sturgis. More bikes then could ever imagine. It is amazing some of the ideals and imagination some people have and they express them in their bikes. Pretty cool stuff! Dispite all the very cool custom bikes here, I was surprised at how well my bike was received. So I guess I did it right. I rode up to Sturgis on the beast with a group of 8 other guys and we stayed the entire 10 days. We stayed a campground the entire time which is really the way to go. The campgrounds are a lot of fun and offer all types of entertainment, ranging from on site bars, concerts and other things I won't mention here because they are, well lets just say family friendly.



This picture to the left is me and the beast parked on Main Street. Surprisingly enough, you can usually find a parking spot. We actually only went into Sturgis 2 days of the 10 days we were there. We spent every morning and early afternoon riding. We had mapped out routes to many different towns and scenic attractions. One of my favorites towns was Deadwood, of course had to spend sometime in Saloon #10. This is the saloon that Wild Bill Hickock was shot and killed in. Although the town does really hold any of the original wild west feel anymore due to numorous fires and mudslides it is still a very interesting and historic place to see. We rode to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, Custer National Forest (where the filmed most of Dances With Wolves), Spearfish Canyon, The Badlands, The Black Hills national Forest, The Needles and Iron Mountain. Some very incredible riding and beautiful country.





This last picture here is just to show that I actually did ride my bike all the way there, it is hard to see in the background but that is the Welcome to South Dakota sign. Don't know if I would ride all the way up there again. Although my bike may look cool, it was not made for the long haul. Might have to be a trailer queen next time. But I did it once and that is all that matters in my book. All 9 of us made it up there and back with no casualties and major bike problems so that right there made it a very successful trip. Plus all the fun we had, well, that we can remember and for the good times we can't, well that's what the pictures are for. Guys, the stories I have for ya, I'll fill you in at the reunion, might even bring some pictures. I haven't stop smiling since I got home and I think it is going to stay that way for awhile.

Ride On!!!!

Maine Vacation

Since other people have been so kind as to post vacation pictures I feel I should post some as well. Here are some pictures from mid-July when Michael and I went to Maine for a few days. We had never been there before but packed a whole lot into those short days. We want to go back soon!

The first picture is a view out our bedroom window in Old Orchard Beach. We actually had a shorter walk to the beach than this picture lets on!

The second picture is from the town of Ogunquit. As you can see, the beach is much rockier than where we stayed. It was so beautiful though, and this picture hardly does it justice. There were many shops and restaurants here.

The third picture is from Portland, where Michael and I took a sunset boat tour. Portland is a great little city with great restaurants, little shops and a happening art and craft scene. I wish we had had more time there. Plus we had THE BEST lobster roll there at the Portland Lobster Company!

Which brings us to the last picture. Okay, it's not a great picture of me but it was the main (maine?) reason we decided to go to Maine: the LOBSTER! This is also in Ogunquit. It is in a restaurant right by where picture #1 was taken, in fact. Yes, folks, that's me with a 2 pound lobster. And it was wonderful. Yes, I ate it all myself. Yes, I miss Maine.

Nothing Could Be Finer...

then to be in (South)Carolina! This is our family vacation every year. Two years ago we starting staying for two weeks which makes for a nice relaxing stay, not trying to cram everything in to one week. The condo in picture 1 is where we stay. We visited the Ripley's Aquarium this year (pic 2) the kids are petting sting rays. The beaches are just beautiful with soft white sand and ocean temps at 80+. The Jersey and MD shores really dont compare. The boys like to go mini golfing, we havent attempted to take Trisha yet. And below are pics at 2 of our favorite eating establishments, Stickey Fingers (ribs of course) Has anyone ever eaten there? We think they are the best! And The Crab House. I'm looking forward to the day when I no longer have to retreat to the condo for nap time or chase a little one back and forth from beach to pool all day!

Ontario Canada

Here we are with a few fine catches on Whitefish Lake in Ontario, Canada this past July. We had a great time relaxing and fishing for the week. The kids are enjoying being pulled in the tube behind our boat. We practiced mostly catch and release but this stringer held our Monday night meal. ---Maryjo

Does anyone remember our class trip from June of 1981 ? If so, you may recall some of these pics. Can anyone guess where the views from the windows were taken from ? We won't see these views again. Can anyone name all of the people in all of these pics ? Anyway, just thought I would share some of these old memories with all of you. Hope you enjoy !

Your fellow classmate,

Patty Newhart (Snyder)

Vacation!

Let's see some pictures of your summer vacation! Here are some of ours. We went to Bulgaria, but we went to a beach, and to be honest, it could have been a beach anywhere in the world. so it wasn't really like going to another country. Still, the sun was shining, the pool was cool, and we had a good time. What did you get up to this summer? Share your pictures!

Gerber anyone?

I posted last week about our trip to Bulgaria, and just minutes after I posted, the BBC broke a story about how MI5 had foiled a terrorist plot in London. Here's how our journey unfolded under some of the tightest security ever seen by British airports:

Since only essentials for travel were allowed on the plane ("essentials" was defined as travel documents, baby formula, and prescription medication to be taken in flight), we had to dismantle all of our hand luggage. Nothing was permitted to be carried in pockets, and everything had to be in clear plastic bags. We ended up travelling with three large ziploc bags; one contained our passports, tickets and John's wallet, the second contained a disposable changing mat, diapers and wipes, and in the third were two baby bottles filled with water, and a small container of pre-measured formula mix. We took the bare minimum of baby things, since the flight was only 3 hours and Chris is still breastfed, with the odd bottle for topups or fussiness.

We arrived at the airport an hour earlier than we needed to, since we were expecting delays after having seen pictures of what was going on at Heathrow and Gatwick. We checked in, where staff checked our passports, and then went straight to security. Before we walked through the security gate, our passports were checked a second time. Then a security official emptied our ziploc bags and (even though they were clear plastic and she could see everything in them) looked at every single item in each bag. Then she asked John to taste the water in the bottles and the formula in the separate container. So he did. Then we went through the security gate one at a time. On the other side of the security gate was another official with a wand, which she used to scan over me, Georgia, John and Chris. Yes, they scanned my baby. They also had a peek in his diaper, which (fortunately or unfortunately - depending on your point of view) I had just changed. Then there was another security official, who emptied the ziploc bags again, and this time asked me to taste the water and formula. Then, we had to have our passports checked for a third time before passing through to the departure lounge. All the time, we were surrounded by members of the South Yorkshire Constabulary (i.e., the cops) who were carrying BIG machine guns. This is unheard of in Britain, where regular cops don't carry arms and the ones who do are in a highly-trained, special armed response unit that no one sees very often.

Once we got through security, everything was as normal. You could go to duty free and buy booze, you could go to the shops and buy touristy junk, magazines, chocolate, etc. Our flight took off on time, and we arrived at our destination 20 minutes early.

This was at one of the smallest airports in the United Kingdom. I can't imagine what security must have been like at major airports last Thursday. By the time we flew home 2 days ago, the threat level had been lowered from "severe" to "critical", so the journey home was somewhat less eventful. We still had security checks but thankfully, no one looked in my son's diaper.

It's good to be home.

August B-Day Haiku

welcome to three eight
to all you august babies
so far it's the best

hey, i think rusty's was the 17th.

anyway, happy happy happy!

Hey, it's Colin's BD, too.

I think it's the 17th, anyway. HB D, Col. Belated, Matt.

Strolling Through the Park One Day....

Shelia and I had a last minute excursion to the park today (also her birthday!). She was home to celebrate her sisters 50th, which is also today. How rare is that!? We caught up briefly while the kiddies played. From left to right is Trisha (mine) Maggie, Laura, Bobby (hers), Jake and Luke (mine). She cannot figure out this blog thing...Matt, I think she needs an invitation! She lives in Virginia and will be teaching 1st grade this year. I will not reveal any more in hopes that she will soon check in herself. She does read the blog so if anyone wants to say hi, feel free.

Thurs/Friday nites...and Saturday.

I'll be back in Catty Thursday and Friday. Anyone have plans for being out at nite? Please post. Might as well post for Sat nite, too, maybe give people a chance to get together. FYI, Schuler family reunion is on Saturday (doesn't look like I'll be there). If you need info on it, let me know.

Matt's Birthday Week

Sorry El Presidente, Mundo's birthday is today. He turns 38. As a penalty, you must pass him your beer.

By the way, today is also National Relaxation Day - which I guess is appropriate for the original Beacher's Birthday.

Have a happy one Matt!

Happy B-Day, Blog Master

Everyone sing with me,
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Matthew, Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!!"

Happy Birthday Matt, How does it feel to be 38 (now you are closer to Lew's age)?

Senior Picnic/Prom Memories

ok, humor me...i just got a new toy and am shocked that i actually got it to work so quickly!! this will be the last that i post today...how about some prom and picnic memories/antics! Can y ou believe those two studs, how appropriate they are both named Cunningham!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

Keeping in the football spirit, and since fall practice officially begins on Monday (are you ready Tim?), do any of you recall when this elated spirit was captured by The Morning Call in 1985? Do any of you have kids starting or playing for any high schools in the area? My oldest, Jake, will start with the Middle School team this year (didnt have that years ago), this team is now the youngest h.s. team..we had freshman, that is no more...Jake played QB for the knee hi teams, not sure if that will continue through high school. Kind of hope not, since the nerves are already shot, and I cant keep my big mouth shut in the stands when some idiot, so-called fans are condemning the kids (and coaches)!

cheerleaders for this last team

Not sure how this will show up...this is the first time i have scanned anything. This entire squad consisted of girls in our class, except for one who went to catholic school...if you can see them, can you name them?

Name them - If you can

I came across an old 100 lb football pic
Name as many as you can
Row 1
26 - Robb Piotrowski (Donna)
70 - Rusty Molchan (Donna)
24 - Joe Cunninghame (Donna)
37 - nobody knows (too many names)
32 - Brian Lower (Kristen)
41 - George Muschlitz (Randy)
56 - Dave Snyder (Kristen)

Row 2
69 - Darren McCloskey (Kristen)
55 - Chip Shimko (Kristen)
57 - Mark Benninger
30 - Danny Spaits
42 - Mike Muller (Kristen)
39 - Chuck McGlade (Kristen)
25 - Jeff Fickes (Kristen)
38 - Randy Gillespie (Kristen)

Row 3
36 - Frank Reightler (Donna)
54 - Dave Hodes (Kristen)
22 - Tony Carfara
68 - Freddie Farah
46 - Steve Freeman (of course, its me)
72 - Mike Gehringer (Kristen)
40 - Bobby Kulp (Kristen)

www.ratemyteachers.com

this site is kind of funny and might generate some discussion/debate.

credit to Pauko for pointing it out.

Jim Grey says "Hey"

Guess I'm one of the few still here in Catty. Been married for over 5 years,have a 4 year old son Kyler and a step-son Ryan [15] We moved a couple times within the past 2 years. In Sept. of 2004 we moved into a home in which we gutted and basically completely remodeled it. After a little over a year in it, we were informed by the airport that they were taking our property. It sucked pissing away our time and money into a place we lived in for a little over a year, but was not worth fighting it. My wife and I actually wouldn't have minded moving out of Catty, but we could not ask our oldest son to start all over in a new district. So we moved into a new home within the past couple months. If we are forced to move again, I think we are going to go get liquored up and leap off a damn bridge. Thats a little bit of whats going on with me. The website looks great. Maybe 1 day I'll try this blog thing.
Jim Grey

Wish you were here...

...in beautiful, sunny Bulgaria? Yes, that's right. Bulgaria. My family and I leave this afternoon for a week away at the Black Sea resort of Slanchev Bryag. Now, Bulgaria isn't somewhere I normally would have thought of as being a holiday hotspot, but there you go. Some friends of ours went a couple of years ago and raved about the place. Apparently, it's cheap. A pint of beer costs around 50 cents. I've never had Bulgarian beer. It's all very exciting.

I have to confess though, that I'm a little nervous. This is the first time we're going on vacation to a place where I don't know the lingo. I can be polite and say hello (zdravey), thank you (blago darya) and where is the toilet (kade e toaletnata?) but that's it. And it never fails, whenever we go on vacation, someone gets sick and I end up going to the drugstore and speaking to the pharmacist and getting whatever drugs we need to solve the problem. For example:

Summer 2004, Georgia gets sick after flying from London to Washington D.C. I am able to speak to the doctor at the emergency room (yes, she was that ill) because I am fully versed in American.

Christmas 2004, Georgia gets sick flying from Manchester to Oslo. I have learned enough Norwegian to explain the problem and get assistance. Of course, most Norwegians speak better English than I do, but the kind, drop dead gorgeous Norwegian man humors me and lets me have a go at pigeon Norwegian (are you getting it that my family, in particular my daughter, does not travel well?)

Summer 2005, my husband injures himself not once, not twice, but three times while on vacation in southern France. First, he developed a toothache, so I was able to get him some toothache stuff. Then, he got bit by something and his arm turned bright red and swelled to twice its normal size. I got bug bite cream. Finally, one night he had a dream he was playing soccer, and went up to head the ball into the goal. He headed the wall instead. After he assured me he did NOT need to go the hospital and get a catscan, he took some Advil and went back to bed wearing his cycling helmet to prevent any further injury.

So everyone cross your fingers that my husband and daughter manage to come out of this vacation unscathed. John is already talking about renting a jet ski and I'm having visions of Bulgarian emergency rooms. At least I'll be able to find the toilet.

From Michelle Rozelle

I received the invitation on 8/5. It is pretty bad when it can go
overseas and make it at the same time in our little town in
Tennessee. I know that I said I would becoming home-----but things
unfortunately changed. I have heifers that will be arriving from the
west on that weekend. I hope that someone will take pictures and
have a couple of vodka/cranberry drinks with a twist of lime for
me. I have attached pictures of our bull and our newest heifer
calf. You are more than welcome to post it on the blog. For some
reason I am unable to do it. Thanks Michelle

RSVPing

since there seems to be some ideas and concerns floating around about figuring out who will be attending what events (specifically the picnic). maybe Steve could do another "evite" just for the picnic. like the one Steve did for the Reunion Main Event. which by the way, if you click on that link will show you who is planning on coming. in some cases it is tough to figure out the usernames, so when you use these things please add your real name to the message area. i've added a link to Steve's Evite to the right hand sidebar under the Reunion Main Event link.

(btw, Littlemomma, i think that is Lisa Pillar? yes we can stay at the bar past 10 o'clock, 4 hours is certainly not enough time to properly catch-up with this many people)

anyway back to my point. Steve, maybe you and Carol can work out a plan for a Picnic Evite, where it will keep nice organized lists of who is and isn't coming. or if that seems like too much work, we can keep reminding people that, here on the blog, you can click on the "Saturday Picnic" link on the right sidebar and people can rsvp there.

Randy could make and Evite for Golfing, somebody can do a Stitch and Bitch evite, etc etc. you'll need to get a list of emails from Steve and then go here and make your invite.

just a thought.

Anyone not get his/her invite?

I sent out the invites last week, and have received 2 responses and 1 check so far. I also received two invites back. One for Becky Shull (McCloskey) and one for Robb Piotrowski (had Allentown address - fixed that and am sending new invite).

I got an email from Jim Grey, he is doing fine and I will ask him if I can post his bio.

Let me know if you have NOT received your invite and possibly send me an email (stephen.freeman@verizon.net) with an updated home address I can check.

Da Prez

Lets clear up any confusion

Since so many people have shown that they still check in on the blog lets try and clear up any confusion for the activities on reunion "weekend". It will probobly help the planners if we let our intentions for that day known since the invite really focuses and requires a reply for the reunion only.

So who's in for:
The picnic
Golf
Poker
The big Event

I can't make it to the reunion because...

I'M IN THE PUB!!!

My invitation arrived this morning, 8/5, after having been sent on 8/2!! 3 days to cross the Atlantic! Steve, I'm impressed!

Invitation Received

Steve...I received my official invitation by mail yesterday (8/3). Great job!

Picnic Info

Carol is having blog issues. She has asked me to let everyone know that the Catty pavilion has been booked for October 7th from 12:00-3:00 for our picnic. However, we were wondering what you all might like to do for food? We thought not to heavy beacause of the wonderful dinner at the Blue Monkey that evening. As you all know, Catty pavilion has grills, so we were thinking maybe hot dogs and hamburgers? Maybe everyone can bring a covered dish? Please advise how many children, and their ages so that we can arrange games for the children to play. Please post any suggestions that you may have.

More Blasts From the Past!