Kristy Masters ASL Level 1

Kristy finished her first year of American Sign Language training and the girls and I were able to attend her big final presentation. Kristy had originally invited her Mom to attend the presentation but she was unable to do so which allowed us to have the honor.

The first thing I noticed as we entered her class was how much her classmates looked to Kristy for assistance with signs they were unsure of. As her classmates were all practicing their scheduled presentations they discussed their concerns with my sweetheart. How pleased I was to see Kristy participate in something that she obviously loves to do and to be revered as being a source of mastery regarding these skills.

Although I understood very little, in fact I think Molly understood more than I did, I really enjoyed watching Kristy's final ASL presentation. Her instructor has often commented on her wonderful ability to appropriately use facial expressions along with her abilities to communicate with sign language. I was able to at least get the gist of her presentation through her facial expressions. Kristy completed her level 1 training obtaining a grade of A throughout all of the courses.

So with one year down Kristy has only one to go in order to be considered fully competent in using ASL.

Chilly Jillys

One of the first things about her home town that Kristy introduced me to when we were first dating was Chilly Jillys. It has been the tradition for ice cream every summer since. The girls have grown up with this place just like Kristy did.

Chilly Jillys will certainly have it's place on our list of things we will miss.......

In Remembrance on Memorial Day

Kristy's Mom has been a faithful family genealogists ever since I first got to know her. It was a unique experience to be able to join her on one of her quests to find some of her lost relatives. And what better time to do so then on Memorial Day. So we headed out to Tipp City, Ohio and located the Lutheran Cemetery.

The cemetery had been uncared for for so long that most if not all the headstones had fallen and been destroyed. So as an effort to correct this the cemetery headstones had been gathered and encased in this wall. There were only a few complete stones, most were only pieces.

To also participate in our normal activity for this holiday we also decorated the grave sites of former military members with a flag. It is always nice to see the many little flags placed by veteran and military organizations and others like us in honor of those who were willing to sacrifice all for our freedom.

On a disheartening note, behind the wall we found more headstones piled up, many headstones in fact. This was certainly an eye opener concerning the difficult nature of genealogical research. We sifted through the many headstones searching for the names of Tove's ancestors.

We ended our little adventure with a visit to Kristy's Grandpa's grave to also pay respect and place some flags. We had a wonderful day spending time with Kristy's parents.

Time with Kristy's parents..... top on our list of things we will miss

Memorial Day Weekend 2006

As our traditional Memorial Day weekend has gone since Kristy and I first met, we made plans to camp. However, this year was a bit different than the others. In light of our preparations for our big move to Missouri we decided to spend this year's holiday weekend with her parents in the tent trailer and we had fun all the same.

As a side note the above photo depicts the current gasoline prices, if there ever was a gasoline war I think we are losing. Last year on this very weekend we were paying only $1.89, for a reminder check out our June 2005 archive page on the June 12th entry. Anyways, we were happy to pay $2.53 which is a good indication of how the last year has gone with gas prices. It had been rumored that these prices would jump back up past $3.00 by Memorial Day.

The tent trailer has brought us so many good times which is why decided early on that it would be making the move to Missouri. We haven't actually figured out how it will get there but it's on the list. So on this annual camping event we forged some more memories together as a family and also got to enjoy Kristy's parents and their mini-farm.

With it's pond full of bass, open fields, resident ducks, playhouse, swing set, trampoline, paddle boat, fire ring, golf cart, the recently remodeled wrap around porch, and plenty of Allis Chalmers tractors there is much to be desired here. Above all of that of course is Gary and Tove, Kristy's Mom and Dad. There was no other place we would have rather spent our last holiday weekend in Ohio at then with them. They will be the part of Ohio that we will miss most. From the first time I met them in the nations Capitol City they have always treated me with kindness far above that which I had grown accustomed to from most others. They are ever diligently in pouring their love onto our little family and that has been most precious to us.

During our little camping experience at "Grandma's" as the girls call it, Molly and Neleha were more than willing to assist their Grandpa Davis with feeding the ponds fish.

Ironically enough of course, soon after we fed them we then fished them. I caught a little blue gill and Neleha demanded the opportunity to "pet" the fish.

Molly joined in soon after. The blue gill was eventually released back into the pond, a bit traumatized, I'm sure, but unharmed all the same.

During our holiday we also celebrated Dale's birthday. The cake and ice cream really hit the spot.



Later in the day I assisted Parker with catching a BIG ONE. He reeled that baby in all by himself, a real fisherman he is bound to be.

As the sun began to set we all found some time to relax and enjoy the peaceful environment and each others company.



With the sun all but set we gathered around the fire ring for smores and conversation.

Oscar has found his place on the farm. Apparently he is a real hunter, he has bagged mice, birds, moles, rabbits, and anything else that moves. In fact he has a couple of sparrows that are constantly nose diving him during the day. These birds actually swoop down and attempt to peck Oscar all day long. We think he may have killed one of their friends or their babies, either way he has made some mean enemies. All the same however, he has found his place, "Oscar the Animal Slayer".

With the gift of this 1979 Mercury Zephyr 7Z from Kristy's Grandpa, I have been anxiously engaged in restoring this collectible car. The kids found some fun in it while the rest of us were enjoying the fire. The funny thing is that the car is older than all those kids age combined.

After our full day of Memorial day weekend fun we settled into the tent trailer with the kids. A movie and a good night sleep.....

Chubby Checker on Stage at Riverscape

With a last minute notice from our good friends the Williams, we scrambled to Riverscape to see the Chubbster twist onto the stage. We actually arrived just as the man of the hour was exiting his tour bus and was able to get some great photos.

As he started his show we quickly came to a conclusion, Chubby didn't have enough of his own hits to fill a two-hour show. He borrowed from others however and still put on a great show. He was very interactive with the crowd and at times pulled fans onto the stage to join in the fun.

The concert was actually part of the annual "Riverblast" festival held in downtown Dayton encompassing Riverscape and many of the surrounding streets. I had never seen Dayton so full of pedestrians, it was a cool experience.

We all enjoyed Chubby and the festive environment but of course we were all anticipating the big hit "Twist". However after about 40-minutes we stopped waiting and went over the levy to secure good seats for the laser/fireworks show. Chubby held off the twist for the very end of the show and we all missed it. Thats the breaks I guess.



The seats we had however were well worth the missed hit single. The show we experienced on the banks of the Miami River was the best fireworks show I had ever seen.





We had a great time with our great company, great music, awesome fireworks, and perfect weather.

The Williams and Riverscape, the list keeps getting longer............leaving Ohio is not going to be easy.

Horse Rides at Carriage Hill

Kristy's long-time friend, Jessica and her husband Mike recently purchased their first home in Troy. In the midst of this big transition Mike and I discussed his need for some much needed R&R. So we decided that fishing would do the trick. Then we got the idea that we could fish at Carriage Hill Metro Park while Kristy and Jessica took the kids on the horse and wagon rides. The plan worked out great. Although there are no photos of the fishing, we did have a very relaxing time. We didn't catch much but it was great all the same.

The kids also had a blast riding them horses around. From the pictures you can tell they had the time of their lives.



With Neleha's dare devil attitude "look at me with only one hand on the reign" I am sure glad they were wearing helmets. Which reminds me of a discussion Kristy and I just had about the recent iimplementation of safety devices. When we were kids safety was a much different topic, it is amazing we ever made it out of childhood alive.

Carriage Hill, Jessica & Mike, that list of things we are going to miss keeps getting longer and longer....

Field Trip to Young's Dairy

One of Molly's last field trips with Head Start was to the famous Young's Jersey Dairy located in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Young's is known for their very creamy ice cream and very flavorful varieties. The dairy is actually where the cows are milked and the ice cream made but you can also find mini golf, batting cages, carnival rides, hay rides, a farm animal petting area, a pumpkin patch, and Christmas tree farm. A perfect place for the Head Start kids to end their year together.

We followed the bus over and I must say Neleha was very upset that she didn't get to ride the school bus with her big sister. We promised her that we would go on a bus for her birthday and that seemed to pacify her.

The kids started off with a healthy lunch and then it was off to the Dairy Tale Theater where they learned all about Young's Dairy and how it came to be. They also learned about the process from cow to cone on making ice cream.

The kids then got hands on experience with a milking simulator. Molly is an old pro at this, having gained so much experience with real cows at the local county fair.


After a relaxing hay ride we stopped into the petting area where the kids could get up close and personal with the dairy's newest additions, baby farm animals.


The goat feeding was a frenzy not to be missed. As the kids lined up to receive their handful of goat food, the goats became so excited they could not even contain themselves.

The kids enjoyed having these overly excited goats scramble all over the place just to lick the food from their little hands.


What would a trip to the dairy be without a cup of ice cream?


After ice cream the kids got to enjoy the farm tractors and a game of "ring-around-the rosey" before the trip had come to a close.



Molly and Neleha had a real blast at the Young's Jersey Dairy, just as they had the many times we had been here before. Young's Jersey Dairy, another thing we will miss....
check out the dairy on the web at www.youngsdairy.com