The Millersport Corn Festival 5K Race

Wes, Cheryl, Zoe, Heather, Meg and I ran our first ever 5K (3 1/2 mile) race Saturday. I grabbed and early lead...........

............as Seth ends up holding everybody's belongings!

Race Participants...

.....Meg showing great form.......

...........Cheryl.....being closely watched by the Millersport EMT squad......

.....Heather with focused determination..........

...........and Wes and Zoe taking a casual confident approach!

Begin With The End In Mind....

Close to the finish ....with the American flag waving me home........

..............and finally.....cheered on by "those who went before me" (Wes, Zoe and Heather) the finish in 34 minutes.....

...and at the finish line....

....I'm presented with a special medal by Heather engraved with "Bill Weaver 1st 5 K 8/30/2008 Pressing On" which is the inspirational song I work out to..........

..........and given a special "sweat hug" from Chelsey........

............OK...that's better! : }

The Winners of the Day

The Family 5 K capillary building runners...........

..........and especially Zoe who BEAT ME......and to whom I had to at least momentarily award the "first place" medal.......

..........but who ultimately won the BIGGER OFFICIAL CORN FESTIVAL RIBBON for 2nd place in her age division!!
You are a runner, Zoe.....

Heather Becomes a Nurse!

After a lot of hard study and work including her latest stint in the Knox County hospital emergency room, Heather was honored in a pinning ceremony last night...... Here she is proceeding in to Adena Hall on the OSU Newark Campus.

The official moment.......

..........coming off stage to an awaiting admirer........

..........and a round of applause for the class of 2008.

Congratulations !!

You're going to be a great nurse, Heather!

When You Have a Granddaughter Who Lives in France....

........you find creative ways of making music together! This morning Sam called on Skype which allows us to "be in the moment" together via the internet. Eloise was.......well....just being Eloise.....talking to us in both Englifh ("I love you!")...... and French ("Au Revoir!") She played a tune for us on her flute and Grandma joined in to make it a duet. We got the latest on their vacation trip and are looking forward to seeing pictures of Southen France on their blog.

Just had to throw in this picture of Alyssa.....

........for her name sake Aunt Claudia JEAN!

A Gift From Our Neighbors...

Back in the spring Jackie and Dave told us they had something for us but we wouldn't be receiving it until later in the summer. This is now the view we have through our window over the kitchen sink. The plants growing up their TV tower are morning glories and they are gorgeous.....well.....until they grow another 3 feet and choke their television reception!!

....for now they provide a color splash.....but only in the AM.......

.....thus the name........MORNING Glories!

Seek First to Understand...and then be understood....

.........That's habit 5 of highly effective people....which I teach when I do corporate leadership training. Over the last three evenings before going to sleep I have been watching the speeches of Michelle, Hillary, Bill, Joe and tonight Martin Luthur King's "I have a dream" speech and then Barack. I will then listen next week to hear speeches by others who see things differently. One thing I have gained furthur and clearer understanding of is that I thank God for America and other places in the world who have protected freedom of speech. This wouldn't be happening in Iran!

Happy Birthday, Seth!!!

It was party time this evening at the Olive Garden.........

........Heather's parents Dave and Nita joined the rest of the Weaver/Williams clan for the celebration.

Those of you who eat at the Olive Garden know how the walls are decorated with pictures of families.....Italian families.... eating and living and loving.....and as I looked around the table this evening I saw the same thing.....OUR FAMILY....living, loving and laughing TOGETHER.

And finally.....the gifts....

.......Not just a Reds shirt but tickets to a Reds game, the hotel, and the Newport Aquarium........From Heather......and......

......from us.....a shadow box.....with memorabilia from his past as Licking Valley mascot, "Poo Man."

Happy Birthday, son!!! Thanks Heather for the wonderful job planning the celebration!

The Forces Gather.....

..........to help prepare Meg's new house for occupation. Small group leader, Tim Luden, provides perspiration and inspiration for several key projects.........

............and the professional paint team of Chris and Sonia show up early and work all day..........

..........who better to install the dish washer, fix the leaks and solve other plumbing needs than Houston Plumbing's best, David Glasmeier.........

............and of course.......painter, electrician, television installer, construction engineer.........The Marvel himself......son Seth........

..........Pat..........our HGTV decor redesign leader......... works tirelessly........

..........Meg creating a new look for her kitchen.......

...........yours truly.......grimacing at fence post removal...........

..........and then......one of the real benefits of having friends and family together on a project........to eat and laugh and connect. I love these people!

5 K Preparation

...........so this morning I Got up..Got Out and Got Busy in CONTINUED preparation for this coming Friday's Millersport Corn Festival 5 K race. I have 3 main goals for doing this. One is to inspire myself to regular workout. My dear trainer, Heather, tells me that each time I do this my heart builds new capillaries thus improving heart health. Since my father died of a heart attack at this age, building additional cappillaries sounds like a good idea to me. Another goal is to run....or better said ...slog (slow jog) the whole 3.1 miles. Today I ran every step of the 1.4 miles to Seth and Heather's house and back. The 3rd goal will remain a secret until after I've run......I hearby challenge my running partners...Meg, Wes, Cheryl and Heather to prep this week.....THE OL' MAN IS GOING TO BREATHING DOWN YOUR BACKS!

She loves me....

..........she loves me........

............she loves me................

.............she loves me........

............she loves me............

..........she loves me.........

............she loves me.......

............she still loves me ..........41 years today.........And I love you more than ever before, babes. Happy Aniversary!

The Girls Head Into Their New House...

.........to see.......

.....their new BUNK BEDS.....I put together for them last night......

............Sleep tight girls..... I love you.....

Sunday Afternon At Bob And Claudias

We just love the tranquil setting of Bob and Claudia's log cabin. It makes for a great place to gather.

The pond.....the pines....and even......an old pair of boots welcome us.......

Sights Around The Lake

Bob Prepares The Vitals

tooling Around The Pond With Uncle Bob.

And What Stuff Really Matters Anyhow??/

........Food with family.........

........friends in a boat.......

..........and as John Denver would sing....."Hey it's good to be back home again......!!"

The Garden Bounty

Most of the garden is food for the soul......but a section still provides delious Jet Star tomatoes to the table in the form of BLT's etc....

...this year thanks in large part to the wet beautiful spring.......

....we have a bumper crop......... And as if she doesn't have enough else to do......today Pat canned about 28 quarts of these delicious fruit..

..........I love this girl that I married 41 years ago tomorrow!!!!

From Cutting To Canning....

....the end product will be wonderful when the snow flies in Vegetable soup and chile!

Ever jack Hammer a Hearth????

There's a first for everything! When my HDTV wife decides a hearth has to go.....THE HEARTH HAS TO GO! Meg's house continues to undergo preparation for the "girls" to move in.....including creating wall space for furnishings. My old neighbor friend installed the hearth for a woodburing stove he used for years......but.....IT MUST GO!

.......AND SO IT WENT!!

The Painting Continues....

....thanks to Seth Watts of our small group for lending a hand........

.......as Meg and Hailey turn the girls room.....ORANGE!!

And Finally At The End of the Day...

.......BUBBLE REFRESHMENT.....

Fun With The Grand Kids

Alyssa....

With The Girls Around The Pond

...........something yucky on the fingers........

......it's just great having our grandkids near again.........

The Girls Help Grandma Build a Brick Walk in the Garden...

......clearing off a place to work......

..............placing the bricks..........

............and loading and "accompaning" the bricks to the work site...

Hailey Discoves a Worm......

.......and shares it with her sister.......

who takes an interest.......

..

.....and studies its outer structure........

Let The Work Begin....

For those regular following this blog you know that Megan, Hailey and Alyssa are making a new life for themselves back here in Ohio....here in Newark.......well....here in Claylick......and here on Pleasant Chapel Road.......NEXT DOOR TO US!!

The work preparing the house has been started as you can see. Here's Wes trimming trees and delegating the dangerous roof work to Zoe and Addy!

Zoe has the job of picking the accumulated maple tree gunk out of the spout and deposting it in a tub on the ground.

.......while Adele uses the hose to clean the gutter and send the stream of debris down stream to her sister.....truly a team effort!

To My Friend Paul....

Paul is a frined I used to officiate volleyball with. In the last year we have reconnected since he bought a piece of property down the road.

After purchasing the plot he contracted cancer and has been fighting the tough battle against it with the help of God and Cleveland Clinic!

He planted a wildflower garden that he isn't getting to see much since he lives in Johnstown. So here for you, Paul, is a picture of your garden.

ENJOY!

Gathering at the Botanical

Pat prepared some delicious kabobs which WE then grilled.........

....I can smell them as I blog!

............. Sonja and husband Chris, visited and enjoyed both the shishkabob and the pond..........

Remember Kids???

As I was listening to Hailey read the Book "Drummer Hoff Fired It Off" I recalled that I have read this book to each of our kids (and now grandkids) a total of hundeds of times! Corporal Parrel brought the barrel, private Parriage brought the carriage...BUT DRUMMER HOFF FIRED IT OFF!

KAHBAHBLOOM!