We had a great day during the last day in PA. After a wonderful trip to Chuck E. Cheese's with Aunt Aimee, Grandma Fran and Emerson we went back to Aunt Aimee's house and the kids played.
Jack is a great dog. We really enjoyed our time with him. He is quite the spirited dog and loves to play. But, he was also cuddly at night and very, very kind. He is so great with kids.
See All of the Pictures Here at this link
Thanks to Glenn Beck... he always goes "above and beyond."
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| So You Think You Can Douche | ||||
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This is poetry...
William Shatner Does Palin
Found it while waiting in the Pittsburgh Airport for our flight.
Intense.
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We really had a great time at my Grandma Leonard's house on Saturday. We had triffle (which is one of her very best desserts. Brought back memories!) Aidan had fun on the piano, playing with all the toys and enjoying the patio.
It was great to see everyone. I wish we lived closer.
This is on my Grandma's wall. It has a letter for each grandkid and spells out "Grandma." Very nice.
We have had lots of family portrait pictures during this trip! 
Aidan with my Aunt Mel. It's been great to spend so much time with her. She is so fun.
Aidan with my Mom, Grandma Karen.
Me with my Grandma Leonard. She influenced me so much. I remember well when she said, "Be yourself, go do what you want. You deserve it." She gave that advice when I moved out after graduating from college and got on with my life. Penniless, but very happy. Thanks Gram for your wisdom. It was some of the best advice I have ever gotten. 
You can see all of the pictures here at Facebook
We had a great time at Bill & Aimee's house. After a great spaghetti dinner we roasted marshmellows by the fire.
See all of the photos here from a great day at Aimee and Bill's House
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We had a great time yesterday with Uncle Terry, Aunt Sue, Benny, Emerson, Grandma Fran and Aunt Aimee at Idlewild Park in Ligoneer Valley, PA. Aidan LOVED the roller coasters.
See all the pictures here on my public Facebook Album
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We had a great time during our trip to State College. We went to Baby's Diner. Then did some shopping for a stuffed animal Nittany Lion for Aidan. Then on to the Creamery for Ice Cream. I tried the Peachy Paterno and it was GREAT!
Then we went on to Beaver Stadium and then over to the Lion Shrine for some pictures. It was a great day and a lot of fun.
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These are pictures from our fishing trip in Huntingdon County. We had a great time and it was beautiful. Aidan helped reel in 2 fish. He really enjoyed spending time with his uncles.
I can understand why people would want to fish. It is peaceful and very relaxing. Well, if you aren't chasing a four year-old around the rocky perimeter of a creek. :) But, I'm not into capturing live animals and releasing them. I do respect good fishermen though. And Aidan's uncles and Pappy certainly are. 
See all the pictures here: Fishing Trip Summer 2009
We had a great time taking pictures at the college. Aidan took the ones you see of me and Norma. Doesn't he do a great job with the camera?
College Sweethearts:
A lady walking by took this one:
See all the pictures here: Facebook Album, you don't have to be logged in to see all the pictures
See our pictures from 2006 @ JC: Return to JC 15 Years Later
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Today it was really great to meet up with Egypt again from MissTeacha. She has been in town this week for an AP World History institute at Rice. Norma has been there all week as well for Economics AP. We had a chance to have dinner with her earlier in the week, but today she came up to Kingwood to see the house, our school and have some chinese food with us.
Aidan just loved being with her. She is so kind, nice and warm. He just really loved having her at the house.
We had a chance to drive down to the high school and it was open because of summer school, but all the kids had left. So we walked through it to show her the school. My classroom was open, so she had a chance to check it out.
I know the school is special. It's beautiful. But, you take it for granted when you work there and you see it every day. But, the look on Egypt's face and the "Wow," that kept coming out of her mouth reminded me... I need to remember how lucky I am to teach at this school. Both Norma and I have to count our blessings. We've taught in many different schools and AHS is by far the best.
So tonight I'm feeling fortunate. Fortunate to have had a chance to meet and spend some time with Egypt. Very fortunate to have this wonderful life that I have. I must have someone looking out for me!
Pictures from our very first year at the school:
 |
| AHS Open Nest |
1_Introduction: AHS 2007-2008 Video Intro from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
This is the introduction I used for the year end videos in my World History Classes.
2007-2008! It was great.
AHS Alma Mater 2007 from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
The Astros are back to .500 at 43-43. They beat the Washington Nationals tonight in the bottom of the ninth. It is exciting to see them playing so well. It is going to be fun to watch them in the second half. They are always a great 2nd half team.
This is a picture from last weekend when we went to the game. We had a really good time. I remember when Aidan said, "This is the most awesomest day of my life," as he glanced down from peanut heaven on Minute Maid Park.
Why does the media have to be so freaking ridiculous?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
MissTeacha is in town from Memphis, Tenn. for the same AP (Advanced Placement) institute that Norma is going to at Rice University. So we invited her to dinner at Chuy's Tex-Mex, one of our very favorite restaurants.
We had a great time with her and Aidan just loved her. He talked her ear off.
She blogged about him and it just cracked me up:
Awesome day. Awesome training. Awesome David, Norma and Aidan! Amazing city and people! So much to, do so little time. . . yikes. After 1 day, Houston is looking to be a contender on my “Get out of My City” List.Well, we think he's exceptional, but we are biased! :)
David is really cool and knowledgeable about Houston. He and his family is amazing. Aidan, a 4 year old knows and understands the word “Responsibility.” He’s sooo smart. Norma casually said, “Well, he IS four.” I don’t know a 4 year old that uses the word responsibility and knows what it means. So, he’s exceptional to me. Maybe I need more exposure to little kids, then I’d know!
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I am a very lucky man. 14 years with the best wife. Thank you Norma for being so good to me. "La You."
Last Year's Fireworks
Fireworks on the 4th, Always (My Anniversary) from 2006
I am pausing a minute to take a break from my work. What work you ask? Well, I have been working upstairs in our house for two days now. We decided to sell our bowflex and treadmill and reclaim what used to be our "workout" room for additional space. We have been having a very successful time at the YMCA and Norma and I feel like it is a place we'll keep going to for years. So why have a room in the house be packed full of gym equipment when you are going to a gym now?
So that part of this has been very liberating. My plan is to help transition the upstairs rooms so that they are more for Aidan than anything else. It will give him more space to play, color, watch dvds, and have fun with friends (which we both know is coming soon - lots of sleep overs etc.). We have 3 rooms and a bathroom upstairs.
1 - the office. Which is jammed full of years and years (we've lived her 10 years now) of stuff. A lot of it is packed with computer equipment over every shape and size. Including 3 or 4 computers themselves. We had a couch in there, 3 connecting desks and two book shelves. Oh yeah, and a tv and tv stand. The room was packed. The biggest obstacle though is the closet. It's a french door opening monster closet. And it is packed full of school books, binders, materials for teaching and an incredible amount of wires, routers, laptops, old desktop computers, old lamps, etc. What a mess.
2 - the workout room. The biggest challenge in this room was the closet. It is the storage for all things holidays. But, it had also accumulated tons of garbage and old and broken material that just had to go. I cleaned that out yesterday and it was a chore. But, now there is lots of space in there. :)
This room had a tv stand, tv, bowflex, and treadmill. The treadmill is gone. We sold it. The bowflex will be gone on Sunday - also sold. Both are going to good homes and we are working out better and more than ever at the "Y" - so all is good there. The plan is to move the couch into this room and create an upstair's den. A place where Aidan can play, but we can also crash with a laptop or book. It will also have some toys for him. Maybe even a small desk so that he can draw and color.
3 - Aidan's Room. We really aren't doing much differently with his room. It is the one room upstairs that is semi normal (that and his bathroom). We are going to clean out the closet and have already sold a few items on Kingwood Yard Sales.com.
Right now I am probably 1/2 way done with my work. It doesn't look like it. Everything is a mess. But, I am making progress. I needed a break to clear my head and possibly motivate myself a little more. Finishing the closet in the office is just a bear. I keep saying to myself, "This cost so much money and was so cool." But, I know I will NEVER, EVER use it again. So it's time to get rid of it. Sell it or give it away to someone who can use it.
This is liberating, but it is also torture. I am saying goodbye to a big part of my past life. All this technology stuff was such a cool part of my life, but it isn't who I am anymore. It is time to say goodbye. I'm a teacher now, a technology using teacher... but, I'm no "Mr. Fixit Computer Guy" any longer. And it is time to get some room back and have some livable space.
This is painful.
Wish me luck.
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