Medina International Fest

Today Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls performed at the 3rd annual Medina International Fest (as they did in 2010 and 2009). Dad and Andrew were at hockey, but mom was on hand to take the following video footage. This was a retirement performance for one of Abby's good friends, Jacqueline (aka, Jackie), who will be hanging up the dancing shoes to focus on her volleyball career.

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Hockey Tryouts

Today Andrew had his first tryout practice for the Strongsville Mustangs Pee Wee travel team. Parents aren't allowed in the stands, but I was able to get a couple short clips with my mobile phone while watching from the lounge. Last year Andrew was on the PW3 team; this year he will be on either the PW1 or PW2 team. Really makes no difference to us as long as he with a few of his teammate buddies from last year. Today was mostly skating drills. There will be two more tryout practices the week following Labor Day (but he'll still have plenty of regular practices between now and then too). Good luck Mr. 97!

First Day of School 2011

Well, another summer has come and gone, and today was the first day of another school year. Hollywood Abby started her sophomore year of high school this year, while Hollywood Andrew started 7th grade (sort of a sophomore of junior high). As tradition would have it, Mom was on hand to take lots of pictures including the one shown here.

For a walk down memory lane, here are a few links to first day of school in recent years:

• 2010
  
• 2009
  
• 2008
  

Summer Vacation - Part 7 (the end)

This is our final summer vacation post for 2011. To finish off our vacation we toured a couple new minor league baseball parks: the Tri-City ValleyCats (Troy, NY) and Auburn Doubledays (Auburn, NY) home parks. We also walked around the quaint little Finger Lakes town of Skaneateles. To finish off our vacation, we spent some time with the McEuens again in Painted Post, NY.

Summer Vacation - Part 6

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, the following highlight reel is from our final evening and day in Lake Placid, NY which included swimming at the Crown Plaza Resort Boathouse Club and a hike down a short path to see the High Falls Gorge (this latter activity was a paid hike and a bit of a ripoff - but interesting nonetheless).

Searson Celtic Band

One item I forgot to mention as part of our Lake Placid, NY activities was a free concert in the park by Celtic lady rockers Searson. We had never heard this band before, but we all enjoyed it. Yes, you'd think we'd have our fill of Irish music; but still, they were really good. Here is a brief clip of their performance.

Summer Vacation - Part 5

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 27, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains again. This time we hiked the Balanced Rocks off Pitchoff Mountain. This hike turned out to be one of my favorite hikes yet because the payoff at the end was absolutely stunning with large, bald-faced rocks overlooking scenic valleys and lakes.

In Kneed Of Surgery Again

In the winter of 1987, this Hollywood Dad blew out his knee downhill skiing in northern Michigan. Although the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was damaged, I proceeded to have arthroscopic surgery on that knee twice over the next couple years and rehabbed it back into shape on my own. Eventually, in 1999, I had reconstructive surgery to repair the ACL using a piece of my patella tendon. Well, after 12 more years of wear-and-tear, the ACL is still good, but I incurred some slight meniscus and cartilage damage. That was all fixed yesterday with my third arthroscopic surgery. All seems to have gone well and I am now on the mends.

Welcome, Rico

Yesterday the Hollywood Four became the Hollywood Four-and-a-half when Andrew brought home his adopted new child from our local Petco store. As part of Andrew's birthday present he was finally allowed to adopt a pet - a gerbil. Once his new gerbil was all setup in his new habitat, Andrew decided on his name ... Rico. Welcome to the family little lion-man, Rico.

Summer Vacation - Part 4

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 26, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. First we drove up Whiteface Mountain on Veterans Memorial Highway. The end involved about a quarter mile hike to the lookout post up a rocky stairway. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain. So we left and found a dry trail to hike on Catamount Mountain. This was a great trail, but the end of it was a bit challenging and the girls were too scared to go farther. Still, great views and some interesting colors along the way.

Happy Birthday - Andrew Turns 12

Today Andrew turned 12 years old. To celebrate, he had six friends over for a sleepover tonight. The boy swam in Lake Frogerick, ate pizza, Andrew opened gifts, they played video games, ate cookies and ice cream, and then played more video games (which they will probably be doing until early tomorrow morning). Happy Birthday Andrew - enjoy.

The Bridgestone Invitational

Today I took my mother (grandma Carole) and Abby to the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club. I was able to (eventually) sneak them both into our YRC/Holland Signature Suite overlooking hole 16 (the Monster). It was hot, but a good time was had by all. My mom was able to get autographs for Jim Furyk and Mark Wilson. He highlight of the day, however, was seeing Tiger Woods. In the end, Adam Scott was the winner this year.

Summer Vacation - Part 3

Here is the next installment of our highlight footage from our summer vacation in New York. This highlight reel is from our time in North Creek, NY (in the Adirondack Mountains). We stayed one night at the Copperfield Inn (near Gore Mountain) in this quaint little mountain town. We hiked a couple mountain trails, went for a swim in the large outdoor pool, walked around the village and had a great dinner at Trappers Tavern.

Temporary Clip for Emerald Key Dressmaker

Summer Vacation - Part 2

Here is part 2 of our summer vacation highlights - Andrew's CanAm Hockey hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY (with the ghost of Herb Brooks in their ears).

Summer Vacation - Part 1

On July 21 the Hollywood Four took a summer vacation. Like last year, we traveled to upstate New York. Our vacation comprised of four major activities this year:

1. Ben (Karen's nephew) and Heather's wedding in Painted Post/Corning, NY on Friday, July 22 (and the weekend around it);
2. CanAm Hockey camp for Andrew in Lake Placid, NY;
3. Hiking in the Adirondack Mountains (mostly Dad, Mom and Abby); and
4. Minor league baseball games at the Tri-City ValleyCats and Auburn Doubledays home parks.

Here is a highlight reel from our activities from category 1) above.