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Hey all you web heads out there in cyber-land. Thought I would put a little something out there to let you all know that I am still alive.

So in my last posting I told you the news about Angie and I getting engaged after making a trip to the mall. What I did not tell you was what we did after going to the mall. We saw that the Goody’s store in Piqua was going out of business, turns out it was their last day of business. So we went in to see what there might be left. Turns out the store was practically bare, they were selling the racks and all. Anyone who has ever been in a Goody’s store knows how pretty open they are, without the racks of clothing they are pretty much a warehouse. So here we are shopping in this warehouse setup, all the racks that still have clothing on them are right there in the center of the store and the rest is pretty open with the exception of a few empty racks clustered together in the corners. While checking out Matthew was pushing Jonathan around the wide open alleyway in his stroller. Angie and I were at the checkout, there was only one open and it was the one which you have to stand in the main aisle to use. The setup is a lot like Kohl’s in this regard. Well, while checking out Matthew walks up and is on the phone with his mentally unstable mother and she is yelling at him for walking around the store by himself. There is one way in and out of this store and we are standing right next to it and we can see practically the entire store and she is yelling at him for walking his little brother around because he is not right next to us like we are in the ghetto that she moved to. So I grabbed the phone and said if there was going to be any yelling she could do it to me and ended the call, he did not need to be put through that.

I will fast forward to this past week, Matthew is down in Kentucky with his step dads parents riding a dirt bike, a gasoline powered dirt bike, not the pedal kind. His protective gear consists of a helmet and…well that’s it. So on his dirt bike in shorts and a T-shirt with only a helmet to protect him, he wrecks. Nothing too serious thankfully but he did end up getting a pretty nasty burn from the exhaust. Don’t get me wrong here, I am ok with him riding a dirt bike, as long as he is properly protected from injury. This includes a chest protector, pants, boots, pads, gloves, helmet and goggles. So she is 4 hours away while he is permitted to endanger himself and gets injured, yet she has the audacity to throw a fit about him being several yards from me in a secure and monitored environment.

Can someone help me out here? Can I get some thought on what exactly is wrong in her mind? In my shoes what would you do, morally, legally? How could I have married someone like this, how did she hide her idiocy for so long so well?

Well, I have included some pictures of his injuries so everyone can see what I have to be upset about.

Take care web.

This weekend Angie and I, along with Matthew and Jonathan went to the mall to do some shopping; some jewelry shopping.  We found just what we were looking for at Kay Jewelers, the salesperson there was wonderful, took a great deal of time to explain the different options with warranties and such.  She helped us find the perfect ring, just what we were looking for, the best of what each of us wanted in a ring.  A marquise cut with smaller stones on each side set at an angle, a beautiful wrap that surrounds the engagement ring with 6 more stones.  It is perfect.

We have been talking about this for some time now, before Jonathan was in the picture but sort of held things off with the pregnancy and then when Jonathan was born.  We have found ourselves facing some difficult times, as all couples do.  But we wanted to move past it, push through it and that says a lot.  So now we are on our way to the next chapter and I can’t wait.  We have not set a date yet, we do know that the summer is definitely out of the question.  I think we can both agree that an outdoor ceremony would be nice, I think that the fall would be awesome, great time for photographs too.  Spring is too unpredictable and winter…seriously, outdoor ceremony in the winter?  So we are just looking at finances now, that will give us a better indication of a date than anything else.  We have some credit cards to pay down before we make things final, and we would be better equipped for a pleasant honeymoon.

I can’t tell you how it feels to look over at her sitting on the couch, legs tucked up under her watching TV with that ring on her finger.  She really brings out the beauty in it as it does her, I could watch her all night.  And she is happy too, which makes me even happier.

It is a great feeling to have someone that is there with you, there for you.  I can’t imagine life without her, or Jonathan, or Matthew.  They are all my world.  I look at her and picture her hair all done up walking toward me in a dress, friends and family all around, giving her that kiss that seals the deal.  I can’t wait to get this date set, you can bet I will keep everyone updated on that when it happens.

Below is a picture of the engagement portion of the ring on her finger, though the picture really does not do it much justice I will try to get a better shot of it at some point.  Maybe a black and white would work best.  Anyway, here is the preliminary shot.

Like I said, I will get better ones very soon, just wanted to get this out there to share.  I also found an awesome band as well, I will get pictures of it put on here with the updates on hers.  The icing on the cake with both of our rings is that they were the perfect size right out of the case, no sizing needed.  Divine intervention at work here?  Be back with more pictures soon.

Take care web.

Scott

I thought I would take a moment to share with you our trip to Hocking Hills over the 4th of July weekend.

We left home around 8 am on Friday the 4th to pick Matthew up at 9:00 am.  Once he was secured in the car we were off to the hills.  The drive down was not too bad at all, only a couple of hours.  We stopped for breakfast, made sure Jonathan had a full tank and a dry diaper.  We arrived down in the area near lunch time by the time all was said and done.  Lunch was at a great restaurant called Olde Dutch Restaurant in Logan, Ohio.  The food there was wonderful and I highly recommend it, check them out at http://www.oldedutch.com/ .

After lunch we drove a bit, checking out some of the areas near the office where we had to get the key to the cabin.  At around 3 pm we got our key and map to the place.  What a job to get there.  So many hills, so many turns, in the middle of nowhere, it was great.  So, we got there, checked the place out and unloaded the trunk.  Then we were back over the hills and around the turns to get to he store for food to get us through the weekend.  Back at the cabin we checked out the hot tub, Matthew got in and liked the rejuvenating effects.  Jonathan and Matthew turned in a bit early and Angie and I took our own soak in the hot tub, even though it was raining.  It was great, champagne and cooling raindrops mixed with the hot water and steam.  No stars the first night from the storms but it was ok.

Saturday started out rainy, but by noon the skies cleared up and the heat rose.  Matt and I played with his truck off and on, gathered fire wood, readied the fire pit for marshmallows after dark.  For lunch we made burgers on the grill and had chips with cookies for dessert, made for a nice picnic style lunch.  We pretty much just hung out at the cabin all day on Saturday, the drive to civilization was too winding.    Later in the afternoon we had some steaks on the grill with grilled corn on the cob.  This was in one word, yummy.  After dinner we packed Jonathan up in his backpack and did some hiking on the trails around the cabin, there were 83 private wooded acres to walk; with hills and such this was a nice workout.  Once back at the cabin we put Jonathan to bed and headed to the fire pit to make smores, everything tastes so good away from home.  After cleansing the marshmallow goop from ourselves Matthew headed on up to bed and Angie and I went for another soak in the hot tub.  This night there were stars and a light breeze, what a way to relax after hiking.

Sunday morning sucked, this was the day we had to head home.  This of course meant work, cleaning up, packing the car and such.  But we were heading to the caves and trails around Hocking Hills also which helped make it better.  With the car almost completely packed up, just a few more items, I rolled my foot while going down the stairs to the car and sprained my ankle.  The pain from this was almost enough to make me vomit, the pain along with the hot sun, I wanted to pretty much die right there on the ground.  Matthew went inside and got me some ice to put on it and I sat for about a half hour just icing it and wanting to die.  Angie and Matthew finished with the last few things in the cabin while Jonathan and I took in the sights of the stones.  We headed to the store for an ankle brace and some mineral ice for my ankle, grabbed some lunch and headed to Old Man’s Cave area.  I never realized how intense that hike could be, especially doing it on one good foot.  But the hike was beautiful, lots of nature to take in.  I would love to go back down there and take it in without intense pain shooting through me so I could enjoy it more, hopefully we can soon.  Jonathan loved seeing it all from the comfort of his backpack and Matthew had a good time.  It was hard to tell how Angie was liking it, she seemed to.  All in all it was a good trip, just unfortunate that it was so short.

Hopefully we will be returning down to this area soon, I really enjoyed it.  We have lots of pictures to share with you, these are posted on Jonathan and Angie’s sites, please visit them and enjoy. 

Until next time.

Take care web.