Memorial Day Ceremony

Many folks don't know that my lovely bride Amy was an award winning speaker. But it's true! When she was a junior in high school she wrote a speech for the Voice of Democracy competition called "Democracy...The Vanguard of Freedom."

She presented the speech and won the school, region and went to the state competition...where she placed first. Then the speech was judged at a national level...and she placed 10th in the United States.

On Memorial Day Amy was asked to take part in the Warsaw parade based on that past success...and to ride in the van with this year's winner.



After the parade, Amy was asked to speak at the ceremony at the cemetary. Amy gave her speech from 17 years ago and added some current perspective to it. She did a great job.



I am always proud of her...but sometimes I don't take the time to mention it. Great job Amy!

New Website

The Coshocton Town & Country Club has a new website! Check out www.coshoctoncountryclub.com to see if you want to join!

America's Got Talent

Lincoln Elementary held their annual talent show yesterday and it was a hoot. Many students from the school were brave enough to get up on stage and show their stuff. There was piano students, dances, and even a gymnastics display (they were very bendy!).

Needless to say my girls are not shy! So they both took part in the big day.



Jade performed with her group in Lollipop. They were great as always.



Skylar performed by singing Our Song by Taylor Swift. She did a great job too!

It was fun and of course all of the kids did a great job.

My Dance Queens

Okay so American Idol is over for the year, but my American Idols are still dancing away. This week has been a week full of dance pictures. Amy has spent most of this week there...and we have some fun pics of the girls in their dance outfits!

Here's a shot of Skylar and Jade in one of their outfits!



Here are couple of individual shots. Jade learned this move from me...stretching in the morning!



And here's a shot of Skylar in one of her new outfits too! I want to get Amy one of these!

Jade's First Lost Tooth!

It was a big day yesterday for Jade! She has been waiting and waiting and waiting for her first tooth to come out. And yesterday was the big day!



She was pretty excited to have it done. And of course she was excited to find some money from the tooth fairy! There are very few things better than seeing your little girl smile with that sort of innocence. Have a great Monday everyone!

A Visit From Bella

Last night (Saturday) we had a visit from my niece Bella!

Bella is a beautiful, head-strong, smart little girl that is fun to be around. She and the girls have a great time together!



Not only did they do a little dress up...



But they also read a book or two!



We were so glad to have her! And I will say that we were very thankful to have Skylar and Jade as our little babysitters. Bella is very energetic (as three year olds are!) and the girls kept her entertained!

Queen of Clean Up Day

I have decided that my wife is the Queen of Clean Up Days in Coshocton.

First she helped to head up the Coshocton Clean Up day that took place in April. Lots of folks got together to help with that day...and there was updates on the blog here about it.

Then we helped with the Park Clean up day. Again...there were pics here on the blog.



Now it was time for the Coshocton Town and Country Club! It was another opportunity to roll up our sleeves and help out. And of course Amy was in the middle of it! We were weeding, painting, spreading mulch, and more! Here's Bob Brode driving the front loader (they wouldn't let me near that thing!).



We were really pleased with the turnout...so thanks to all who helped. Let's make this a great summer!

Great Graduates

I know that High School and College graduations are going on right now, but this post is about a couple of my favorite folks that just graduated from Leadership Coshocton!



My mother in law Connie and Heather Guess were just 2 of the 20 or so that attended the graduation ceremony a couple of nights ago.

It's a long year for the attendees of Leadership Coshocton, but everyone I talk to says it is a great experience. So hats off graduates!

An Exciting New Project

The Coshocton County Board of MRDD and The Coshocton County Career center are beginning an exciting new project for our community!



The two organizations are going to erect a new Community Message Center at the corner of State Route 36 and Airport Road in Coshocton County. This impressive symbol at the entrance of our community will serve as a welcome sign to the approximately 10,000 cars per day (numbers based on Ohio Department of Transportation study) that pass this intersection to arrive at the Super Wal-Mart and other businesses located here. On this sign, there will be a full color LED display that will promote local events, organizations and activities 24 hours a day in Coshocton County.



In addition, a second, smaller sign will be located at the corner of 7th Street and Chestnut Street in Coshocton in front of Hopewell Industries (the adult workshop for the Coshocton County Board of MR/DD). This Community Message Center will also include the LED display to promote local activities and events. With both great locations, it’s a truly exciting, positive project with lasting implications.

They have asked Hasseman Marketing to help with fundraising efforts...and we are excited to be a part of it. Look for more news and information in the future, but we think this is going to be a big project that helps Coshocton County for years to come!

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to take just a moment to post a "thank you" note to Amy. As the card we made for her says...She is a great hairdresser, makeup artist, transportation specialist, cook, friend, wife and mom. Jade, Skylar and I really appreciate all she does to make this a happy home...but we probably don't tell her enough.

I love you Amy...thanks for being the best!

As a quick note...a shout out to Amy and I's Moms too! Thanks for making us who we are!

The Hair and the Hare

So as promised I wanted to show you the pictures of Skylar's new haircut. To be fair, Jade got her haircut as well but try as I might, I can't tell the difference!



When Sky was out feeding the rabbits Amy took a couple of pictures!



She was very excited about the new look. Amy and I are excited they did well enough at the business to have some success. Thanks to all who have supported them so far!

Inside Coshocton--May 08

And here's the latest and greatest edition of Inside Coshocton. The feature this month is Clary Gardens here in Coshocton County. Enjoy!

Inside Coshocton April 08

It's been a while since I have posted the show here on my blog. So here is the April edition. Enjoy!

Nice Message for a Monday!

As we all get our groove back this Monday morning I thought this might be a good post. I got this late last week...here you go!

ATTITUDE

“THE LONGER I LIVE, THE MORE I REALIZE THE
IMPACT OF ATTITUDE ON LIFE. ATTITUDE, TO ME,
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FACTS.

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PAST, THAN
EDUCATION, THAN MONEY, THAN CIRCUMSTANCES,
THAN failures, than success,
THAN WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OR SAY OR DO.

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN APPEARANCE, GIFTEDNESS, OR SKILL.
IT WILL MAKE OR BREAK A COMPANY…A CHURCH…A HOME.

THE REMARKABLE THING IS, WE HAVE A CHOICE EVERY
DAY REGARDING THE ATTITUDE WE WILL EMBRACE
FOR THAT DAY. WE CANNOT CHANGE OUR PAST…

WE CANNOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WILL ACT
IN A CERTAIN WAY. We cannot change the inevitable.
the only thing we can do is play ON the one
string WE HAVE, and that is our attitude…

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me
and 90% how I react to it. and so it is with you…
WE ARE in charge of our attitudes.

-CHARLES SWINdOLL-

Update on Fluffy Flops

So yes...we determined the name of the company would be Fluffy Flops. The girls worked hard (with much help from Amy) and put up their booth at First Fridays. They only had about an hour before the monsoon came and chased everyone away.

But they did great. After they paid back the bank for the change...and put back money for future inventory...they came away with $46 ($23 each). Not bad for only an hour there!

So you guessed it. Amy took both of them on Saturday to get their haircut. I will post pictures of that later!

A New Business Venture

Amy and I recently read the book "Young Bucks." This book is about creating young entreprenuers so that they can become millionaires when they grow up. Frankly the concepts are not new...but it reminds us how to encourage our little business-people.

With that in mind, my oldest Skylar really wants to get a certain haircut. So rather than just pay for it, we have encouraged to her come up with her own business to make the money! So on First Friday (yes that is this Friday!) Skylar and Jade will be selling their newest creation!



Please stop by and check it out...and of course you can purchase them for only $5! These Flip Flops are decorated by the girls and of course are quite comfortable. We are debating the name of the product right now...so please feel free to vote on this in the comment section. We are between "Fluffy Flops" and "Slip Flops." What do you think?



At any rate, please stop by First Fridays and support the young entreprenuers of Coshocton County! Hey...maybe the Port Authority will want to give them a loan!

Lake Park Clean up

The weekend after Clean Up Coshocton Day, Lake Park held their annual clean up day as well. Amy always helps with this, and I felt that since the girls and I could not help the weekend before, we should definitely be there for this!



It was a good day for it, with the sun peaking out some. We cleaned up trash and spread mulch at the playvilion. And I must admit the girls did a pretty good job of pitching in.



We always feel like it's important to give back when we can.