Happy Birthday, Stephanie.

My oldest niece, Stephanie, turns 15 years old today. She is also the oldest of all the nieces and nephews. I wanted a nephew in the worst way, and announced to my co-workers that if it was a girl, I would have nothing to do with her. I wouldn't hold her, play with her - nada. Man, I ate those words! They reminded me of those words when I would parade her through the bakery when my sis was in. She was followed by 2 more nieces, and I didn't get my nephews until 6, 9, and 12 years later. By that time, she and her 2 sisters had me wrapped around their little finger.

So, happy birthday, Stephanie. Your Uncle Mark loves you a lot and I'm proud of the young lady you have become.

Below, a video of Stephanie playing Canon In D on the piano and violin - she recorded the piano part first

3 Cowboys

My brother-in-law emailed me this picture from his cell phone - I thought it was too good to not pass on. My nephews with some of their Christmas presents:

Christmas Canon In G

A video my sister posted of my oldest niece, Stephanie, playing a Trans Siberian Orchestra Song. She recorded herself playing it on the piano, and plays along on the violin. Five years of piano lessons, one year of violin lessons - I think she does pretty great.

Dangerous dudes

My nephews love camoflouge, and evidently have been playing "hunting" today. My brother-in-law sent me this picture - a bit dark, but I loved it. My dad said they look like little Muslims. :-)

The new King Saul

My brother-in-law sent me this picture from his cell phone to my email recently of my youngest nephew with the caption "The new King Saul." I never did ask why he is dressed up, but thought it was a cute picture.

A pilgrim, an Indian, and a hick

My family isn't much for Halloween, but my sister's neighbor really likes my nieces and wanted them to dress up and go to her place. They did, and stayed in their outfits so we could see them when they came down to my parents' for the evening

Katie was a pilgrim


Allie was an Indian

And Stephanie was a "hick" - her description, not mine. :-) If you look closely, you can see a weed she is chewing on to add to the effect

Happy Birthday, Stephanie

I want to wish my niece, Stephanie, a happy 14th birthday. Fourteen years ago today, I sat in the waiting room waiting to become an uncle for the first time. I was so badly hoping for a nephew, but I got two more nieces before my other sister married and finally had three boys, but I love them all equally.

Stephanie is no longer a little girl - they do grow up so fast. I am proud of you sweetie, and love you a lot. Happy birthday.

Pictures

Here are a few pictures I snapped of my nieces & nephews recently. Most of them were taken with my cell phone, with the exception of the last two photos, but they turned out pretty decent.

Below: all six kids from oldest to youngest: Stephanie, Allie, Katie, Josiah, Benjy, and Nathan

Nathan, trying to pick up one of the pumpkins my dad grew

A few weeks ago, the Johnny Appleseed Festival was held here in town. They had this apple by the gazebo, so I snapped my nieces' pictures in it. Here is one of Katie & Allie

And Stephanie - the apple wouldn't hold all three girls at one time:

Josiah, in his denim bib overalls worn for pictures at Walmart

And Benjy in his denim bib overalls

Birthday greetings

My oldest nephew, Josiah, is eight years old today. He is over in PA, and we won't get to see him on his birthday, but I'd like to wish him a happy birthday on here. Happy birthday Joey. Love you buddy.

My video

Here is a video I put together of family pictures, with the song "Thank-you Lord, For Your Blessings On Me" as the music track.

Fireworks & Cornhole

Yesterday was July 4th, and what better thing to do on July 4th, than to eat, play games, and go to see fireworks.

My sister Vicki had us up to her house, along with her husband's parents and brother. There is a
game that has been around for a while, but seems to be getting more popular, called cornhole. Similar in some ways to horseshoes or lawn jarts, for those not familiar with the game. My brother-in-law bought the materials and made his own.

There are two raised wood platforms with a hole cut towards the top/back of it. The platforms are places 30-some feet apart, and 4 people play, teams. One person from each team stands at each platform and throws the bags at the other platform. Person from team A will throw one, then team B, going back and forth until all of the bags are thrown, then the score is tallied for that round, 21 being the score to end the game.

There are 4 red bags, and 4 blue. They are filled with dried corn - hence the game name - throw corn through the hole.

Scoring goes like this: a bag in the hole is 3 points, any bag on the platform is 1 point, but points can get canceled out by the other team. If team A gets a bag in the hole, they are up 3 points, but if team B gets one in the hole, it cancels out those 3 points, and neither team has any points for the round. If team B gets a bag on the platform, as opposed to the hole,

one point gets canceled out from team A. At the end of the round, all points are added up and subtracted - if team A has 8 points for the round, and team B has 6, team A gets 2 for that round. If team B also has 8 points, no one gets any for that round.

The game is more challenging than it sounds. It is one thing to get a bag on the platform, another entirely for the bag to stay there and not slide off or get knocked off.

I put a few pictures in case someone is not familiar with the game. It is a lot of fun. My niece's cat was exploring, and I

got a picture of her sticking her head up through the hole.

After we played games for a while, we ate. Steve (my

brother-in-law) had been grilling. He marinated a pork loin

in terriaki sauce and grilled it, plus a venison roast that had

been marinated in something, barbecued chicken, and of

course hamburgers.

Added to that was macaroni & cheese, macaroni salad (yuk!) and pasta salad. Mom made the strawberry shortcake dessert that we like that has jello and pudding in, and it was a hit, as usual.

After we ate, we played more cornhole and sat around. At 8, Vicki, Steve, and the girls, and Mom & Dad, and myself, headed for the Canfield fairgrounds to see their fireworks, which was a nice display, though we were so early, we sat for an hour and a half waiting for them to start at 10:00. Also took us 30 minutes to get out of there - the place was nuts!

Catching Up

I haven't done a normal non-book review post for a while, and though nothing really exciting has happened, thought I'd do a quick post so I don't become like my friends Cindy & Steven who haven't blogged since Jimmy Carter was president. Ok, I am exaggerating, we didn't have blogs or internet then. :-)

My preacher brother-in-law, Paul, got ordained this past Sunday, so we all went up to our denominational campgrounds in Stoneboro, PA for the ordination service. He has been preaching for a few years, but completed his course of study and other requirements that are required. To be honest, I have no idea what an ordained preacher can do that a non-ordained one can't, but I am proud of him anyway. :-)

But man, the ordination service lasted forever! I got married, had kids, saw them grow up and go to college during the ordination service! OK, I exaggerate again, but wow. The benches are hard, and a certain part of me was very sore. The service started at 10:00 am. We sang and all that, and then our denomination's president got up to preach the ordination message at 10:25. Don't get me wrong, he is a great & godly man, and I think the world of him, but he IS a long preacher. An hour and ten minutes later, he finished his message. And still we sat. On hard, uncomfortable benches. And oh - I forgot to mention family got to sit way up front in that humongous tabernacle! I was in the third seat from the front.

After the message, there was a lot of reading by different pastors, and for a lot of it, the six guys being ordained had to read a response. They prayed several times, including a prayer around each wife of the guys being ordained. (They each had one wife, though the way I worded it sounds otherwise). I have to admit, I was thinking of ways they could make the service a whole lot shorter! Finally, it was done somewhere after noon, and my brother-in-law is now an officially ordained minister. And no, I don't ever plan on sitting through another ordination service!

Two blog posts ago, I reviewed several books in one blog. To my surprise, one of the authors commented on the review I did of his book and posted a link to my blog on his blog and on his website (Adam Blumer) The link is still there for anyone who wants to see...... :-) OK, it made my day, sorry to go on about it so. :-) I actually thought to myself that I was glad it wasn't a book that I gave an unfavorable review about. And then the next day, I saw an author whose book I did give an unfavorable review to, also commented on my blog. Yikes! He was nice about it though, and to my credit, I did like the other four books in the series.

Anyway, a couple of my friends suggested that I contact a couple of publishing companies to see if I could get books from them to review on my blog. Three have replied so far, and I think all three will do it. I have signed up for one so far for sure, and I can go on and pick what I want to review from a selection they have available, which is cool, as I won't have to review anything that doesn't interest me. Such as gushy romances or marriage improvement books. ;-) I can pick any type of book from that publisher to review. It doesn't have to be fiction. (thanks Judy & Steven for the sugegstion!)

So hopefully, I will be doing some more book reviews on my blog, and possibly participate more blogosphere tours as I did with Amy Wallace. My first book that should be on its way, involves a blogosphere tour. If you don't know what that is, as I didn't before I did one, you review the book on a certain day, post pictures of the book and author if you want, and/or interview questions with the author. The book I will be reviewing for that is "The Justice Game" by Randy Singer, which I have a special interest in as it is. The book is a about a courtroom trial, and the author had posted a description of the trial and a short video to watch, and wanted visitors to his website to vote on the outcome of the trial. He would then write the book according to how the vote turned out. Interesting idea. I can't wait to see if it goes the way I voted. :-)

OK, so that blog wasn't so quick after all. I do have one more thing if anyone is still reading. :-) Someone emailed me a really good YouTube video that impressed the socks off of me. A while back, Barrack Obama made the statement that we are not a Christian nation. In this 4 1/2 minute video, Representative Randy Forbes (Virginia) has an excellent response to that comment. I wish we had more like him. Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o

Vacation pictures

for anyone who is on my friends list on facebook, I have put several more pictures on there, 76 at last count: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026649&id=1100140954&saved#/album.php?aid=2026649&id=1100140954

Cape Hatteras Light House

(My last vacation blog, best if read in reverse order that they are listed in)

The Cape Hatteras Light House was built in 1803. The Cape Hatteras light marked very dangerous shoals which extend from the cape for a distance of 10 nautical miles .The original tower was built of dark sandstone and retained its natural color. The original light consisted of 18 lamps; with 14-inch reflectors, and was 112 feet above sea level. It was visible in clear weather for a distance of 18 miles.

A new light house was built in 1871, costing $167,000.

Due to erosion of the shore, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved (by Expert House Movers) from its original location at the edge of the ocean to safer ground 2,870 feet inland. The move was controversial at the time with speculation that the structure would not survive the move, resulting in lawsuits that were later dismissed. Despite some opposition, work progressed and the move was completed between 1999 and 2000 in a massive operation. Rededicated in 2000, the lighthouse is fully open to the public at its new location further inland.

Specifications:

Construction material: Approximately 1,250,000 bricks
Height above sea level: 210 feet (64 m)
Height of the structure: about 207½ feet (63.2 m) (from the bottom of the foundation footer to the top of the spire on the roof)
Daymark: black and white spiral stripes
Number of steps: 268 steps to reach the light
Brightness: 800 kilocandelas from each of two 1000-watt lamps
Flash pattern: Every 7.5 seconds a short flash is visible
Visibility: From 20 nautical miles (37 km) in clear conditions. In exceptional conditions, it has been seen from 51 miles (94 km) out

For those not very familiar with light houses, a couple of things you may not know. Every light house is different by color/design, and each one has a different light pattern.

Below, the Cape Hatteras Light House.

My nieces & nephews sitting on the steps of the light house. It is open to the public to climb, but we were there after hours.


My parents in front of the light house. To take the next few pictures, I was lying on the ground to get the whole light house in the picture. My sisters took pictures of me, so I was able to see I looked as silly as I felt. One picture showed everyone standing around me, giving the appearance that something had happened to me - and no, I won't be posting those pictures. :-)

Paul, Pam, and the boys in front of the light house. The shot that they were looking at me had Steve's hand and camera in the corner.

Steve, Vicki, and their girls.

Ocracoke Island

Ocracoke Island is one of the most remote islands of the Outer Banks. It can only be reached by ferry, private boat, or plane. It has one 2 lane highway running the length of it, and measures 9.6 square miles, 16 miles long and half a mile wide. In many places, you could almost throw a stone from the ocean on one side into the ocean on the other side. Population 769 in a 2000 census.

One of the main attractions is the Ocracoke Lighthouse. Built in 1823, it stands 75 feet tall. It is the oldest operating light house in North Carolina, and the second oldest in the USA. It has a steady light, and you cannot climb it, but can go inside the base.

First picture, Josiah in the doorway of the light house.


Shot taken looking up inside of the light house.

The Ocracoke Light House.

Benjy.

The beach at Ocracoke where we hung out while Peter, James, & John fished. The water was much bluer there, most likely because it was coming in from the Caribbean, and the beaches were whiter.

Another shot of the light house.

Ocracoke Island: Blackbeard

The first place we went to on Ocracoke Island, was Teach's Hole. A gift shop and exhibit dedicated to Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard. It wasn't a very large exhibit, but interesting, and the kids loved it, especially the gift shop, as they all seem to be into pirate stuff right now. The harbor close by is where Blackbeard was defeated and killed.

First off, a picture of the building - self-explanatory, I guess.



Below, a picture of the news story appearing in the Boston News Letter containing an article about Blackbeard's death. It was published in mid February of 1719.

Below, a copy of the reward announced for Blackbeard's capture.

A replica of Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge.

And lastly, a replica of what Blackbeard was supposed to look like.

The Ferry

If you have never ridden on a ferry, it is an interesting experience. The day we went to Okracoke, it was about a 45 minute ferry ride there and back each way. Once the ferry started off, most people got out and stood on the boat. We stood at the front where we could see the best.

Picture I took from the front of the ferry we were on.
Picture of us driving onto the ferry, taken from inside the van. Notice the dirty windshield......

Another ferry going past us. Notice it has a rather large truck on it.

Just a picture of the shore from the ferry.

And lastly, a picture of all six kids at the front of the ferry.

And one funny thing that happened on the ferry: Vicki blew a bubble with her gum and just as she did, the wind blew it out of her mouth. She was looking around trying to find it, and to her horror, she saw it sticking on the bumper of the car behind us. She pretended to tie Katie's shoe to remove it.

The Treasure Hunt/Old Lighthouse Site

A picture of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, taken from the original site of where it stood for many years.


Some pictures of the "treasure hunt". This was meant to be at the end, but can't seem to move it - the chest after being dug up.





At the site where the other part of the treasure map was supposed to be. This is where the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stood for several years, before it was moved to prevent further erosion from the ocean. There remains a circle of stones that were part of the foundation. Each stone lists lighthouse keepers of the lighthouse and the year(s) they were there, such as this one below:


This stone just has what the stones are about. And also has my niece's shoes on it. :-)

And lastly, the futile hunt in the middle of the stones for the treasure map, which was never found.

Vacation pictures. The House

Here are a few pictures of the house, and pictures taken from the house. First up, the swimming pool, taken from the top deck.
The picture below is a view from the top deck shot toward the front of the house. You can see the ocean above the trees.

The next picture is shot also from the top deck toward the rear of the house, and you can also see the ocean - the part they call "The Sound" (not sure why)

View of the deck from my room below.

View of my room from the deck. It was decorated with an airplane them, geared for young boys. What can I say, I liked it too.

The last picture, above, is a view of the front of the house. I meant to take more pictures inside, but never did.