October 16, 2004
Welcome back. We just came back too! We just spent 5 days in sunny Florida! We went down to New Smyrna, and witnessed the aftermath of the three hurricanes. There wasn't as much stuctural and tree damage as I expected, but there was a lot more beach erosion than I expected. Aside from the beach, we also spent some time in St. Augustine (visited the oldest Spanish fort) and in Orlando! (Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom). We've got lots of pictures, so go check them out. (Pictures of Luke playing soccer, Alex jamming onthe drums at Animal Kingdom, the fort at St. Augustine, and Grammy in a sombrero! (ok, it's really a sun hat)) We also caught a sneak peek at a new Mount Everest ride being built at the Animal Kingdom! Thanks for stopping by!

September 11, 2004

lunteered) Finally, I wanted to mention that we moved into our new house! We want to that Shari's family (and o
September is here that means two things. First school has started. Alex is in second grade (and "it's boring" :) ). Lucas is starting preschool. He goes two times a week. Along with school, both kids are playing soccer! Lucas WAS excited, but when he got there, he didn't feel like playing much. Alex still loves playing. Both Alex and Luke are on blue teams. The second thing september means is: FOOTBALL IS HERE! Another exciting season is about to start (tomorrow). Alex is also back for his second season of football. Mike is his coach (he was supposed to be one of the assistants, but the team ended up without a headcoach, so Mike got volunteered) Finally, I wanted to mention that we moved into our new house! We want to that Shari's family (and our new neighbors) for helping us move. "Many hands make light work"! Anyway, we are all moved in now. There are still some boxes, but all the main boxes have been unpacked. That's it for now, that's for stopping by.

July 10, 2004
Just a quick update...We took a trip out to CT to see Mike's family. It was a lot of fun. Alex and Luke got to meet their cousins for the first time. We also went to two dinosaur museums. (The kids were thrilled!) We went to the Dinosaur Park near Hartford (The kids got to make plaster casts of Real Dinosaur footprints!) and we also went to see the Peabody Museum (Yale) where they got to see real dinosaur SKELETONS! The only bad thing about the trip is we found out Alex is alergic to cats. Also, we are buying a new house! When I say new I mean NEW. It's being built as you read! The framing was already up, so we didn't pick out the floor plan, but we are picking out colors, countertops, floors, lights,... Check out the new pictures. Gotta go! Thanks for stopping by.

May 31, 2004
Happy Memorial Day! (Seems like I am only updating this on major holidays...just a coincidence.) Anyway, Spring/Summer is here, which means more yard work. However, times are a changin'. The fruits of our labor are coming to bear...Alex is helping, and I don't mean just moving mulch, pulling weeds,...he's done that before. He's MOWING THE LAWN! Don't believe me? Check out the pictures section! In other news, we just came back from a mini vacation to Idlewild! (In the backwoods of PA...no really, it's in the middle of nowhere!) The kids loved it! No other major news yet...ok...maybe a little, but it's not really official, so I'm not going to say anything yet...too bad...suffer...just check back here soon!

April 11, 2004
Happy Easter! A quick update for everybody. Two things of interest: 1 - Lucas broke his heal! Freak accident with the fishtank. But he stepped on the corner of the base, and the corner hit right in front of the heal, causing a hairline fracture. He was in a cast for 3 weeks (Glow in the dark, completely waterproof cast. Modern technology...) He got it off last Monday (April 5th). He still limps around a little, but what can you expect! 2 - Mike got a new car. He wasn't in the market for one, but after spending time in a couple rental cars (with no problems) he noticed his front suspension was critically worn down (the front end wobbled back and forth SIGNIFICANTLY) Anyway, Mike bought a Honda Accord. The foreign cars are a bit narrower than the American cars Mike is used to, but the reliability and gas milage won him over (has as much leg/head room as the Chrysler he was driving). That's all for now!

March 7, 2004
Just wanted to give you a quick update...more a stream of conciousness but here goes..., Lucas had the tubes put in and he is hearing much better now! Mike stress tests came back negative (even though work is very stressful :) ) They told him that everybody has them, he's just one of the "lucky ones" that notice them. However, he hasn't noticed them in a couple months! Alex is enjoying skiing. He has progressed through 3 levels in six weeks. The season is just about at an end (a couple of pictures have been loaded). Lucas has started playing soccer (again see the pictures). That's about it. Thanks for stopping by. PS Mike's birthday is tomorrow. So call him and wish him a happy birthday!

January 3, 2004
Another new year. The holidays were busy, Shari's family was here at Thanksgiving, and Mike's was here at Christmas. Both sets of parents are cruisin around in new cars. The Kastl's were toolin' around in a new Subaru Baja (redesigned version of the old Brat), and the Barton's were sportin' a new H2. (Cool to drive, but impractical to own). A couple of quick family updates: Lucas has had several ear infections recently. So many that we will be visiting the ear specialist to have tubes put in and his adnoids removed. In other medical news, Mike has had some weird heart problems. (Premature Ventricular Contraction) They lasted for a few days right before Christmas. He has been to a couple of specialists, and things seem to be ok now. He went in for a stress test recently, and he'll know the results soon. (Things had to be ok otherwise they wouldn't have let him leave the stress test facility. That's about it for now...new pictures have been loaded, so go check them out! Thanks for surfing by...