Once every ten years

Trimming the bushes on the side of the house was over due. Last time it happened was in 2013 with Mark Brown's assistance. So since this has only happened twice in 10 years, I thought it was worth a post.

After the bushes were trimmed, the trimmings were taken to an undisclosed location where they will be turned into kindling by the sun. ^AH

Marquis de Lafayette

For Lucy's bottle history project, she had to make a head resembling Marquis de Lafayette. She had some help from the family when there was an unexpected snow day called at the end of January. Her research and speech was just as impressive as her bottle.

One rope -> two kids -> three contestants

Lucy and Sabrina were tugging over the rope when Gus decided to get in on the action.

WYD Pilgrimage Begins

Tonight we attended the first meeting of Christopher's World Youth Day Pilgrimage. There are 28 people from our Diocese planning to make the trip in August to Portugal to see Pope Francis. They'll get to visit Fatima and experience the universal church as an estimated 2 million Catholics descend on Lisbon. It sounds like an incredible time and Christopher is excited to attend.

Snow Couple

We got some snow today that was perfect for making snow people. These two popped up out front.

Howling at the moon

I went to the woods this evening to pursue the mighty white tail. I climbed a tree at the top of the hill at a farm I've hunted many times before and waited for my quarry to arrive. Unfortunately I must have made too much noise or smelled too stinky because the deer didn't show.

After it had gotten dark, I climbed down the tree (which was very precarious) and began to collect up my things under a full moon. It was then that I heard the howling and yelping of the coyote pack in the next field over.

I made sure to note their approximate distance based on the noises they were making. I hurried along quickly in the dark trying to determine if they were coming closer.

I don't like to use a flashlight because I don't want to disturb the deer but tonight I made an exception. When l was said and done, I told myself I was the alpha predator in the woods tonight and proceeded to walk confidently down the hill to my truck.

I made it home without any altercations and am now reflecting on the evening as my domesticated canine peers out at me from underneath the coffee table - probably waiting on a good moment to strike!

Pearl Harbor Day Parade

 Here's a video from WLWT Channel 5 covering the Ryle Marching Raiders performance in Hawaii. 

Huakaʻi palekana

Huakaʻi palekana means safe travels in Hawaiian - at least according to Google. 

As I write this its 5:24 a.m.  About an hour ago I dropped Christopher off at CVG on his way to Hawaii with his band buddies.  It will be a quiet week without him around but we know he'll be having a fantastic time on the trip.  

Traveling is something he'll be doing more of in the next 9 months.  Today he leaves for Hawaii but August he goes in the opposite direction to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.  What an experience that will be.  

In Hawaii he will be playing with the Ryle Marching Raiders at the Pearl Harbor Day Parade.  We look forward to hearing stories from his trip and wish him and the rest of the band safe travels. 

Clara likes to hit things...

She is a strong, energetic person. She doesn't, on the surface, seem to have an angry demeanor. But she REALLY likes to take out her aggression. She has begun karate at a new Dojo. This school teaches mixed martial arts. Lately, they've been doing a lot of jujitsu. She loves it. Here are a couple videos... not the most exciting stuff she's done recently, but if you look close, you can see how happy she is to be moving.

Three kids on the Band Field

Last night Christopher performed for the last time as a member of the
Larry A. Ryle Marching Raiders. In 2021 he joined marching band as a
junior and played the baritone with a group of people who were
obsessed with bananas. The band was ranked 4th in the state as a
result of their show last year and we were very satisfied with the
season.

This year a few things changed. First of all Sabrina had just picked
up the trombone beginning in January 2022 and decided she wanted to
become a Marching Raider in the summer. She alongside with her brother
dedicated many hours to practicing her instrument and marching. The
two of them bonded over their many trips up and down Frogtown Road.
They competed at many locations throughout Kentucky and even into Ohio
on their way toward a memorable state competition at EKU.

Then on the final week before the band was set to perform at state,
the call was made to the Howard home asking for one more Marching
Raider. Apparently one of the color guard members was unable to
perform at state so they needed someone to dress in the uniform and
attend practice this final week. Molly stepped up and was on the field
for the final two performances of 2022. Her job was to hide behind a
prop and move it at the appropriate time. She performed her role
flawlessly.

And so, for his final performance as a Marching Raider, Chris had the
honor of marching along side his two sisters. It was quite a memory
as they marched into Raider History earning third place at the KMEA
State Marching Band Competition.

Funny Gus

Clara took this photo of Gus and I thought it worthy of including on the blog. 

Senior Night

Tonight was Senior Night for Chris at Ryle. There were 27 seniors who were announced before the football game.

Late night parties

Clara was entertaining a friend last night. I came out to tell them to turn down the music, but they were listening to one of my favorite songs so I waited till the song was over before I sounded like a grumpy old man.

All grown up

Christopher is in his final year of high school.  We don't know what next year will bring, but we're just living in the moment right now.  We snapped a few photos at Newport on the Levee that I wanted to share here as a small preview.  

Wool Fest 2022

 We've been going to Wool Fest for years.  About 18 years to be precise.  We took our family out there this past weekend and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  We were missing Christopher this year because he opted to go with some friends up to the Renaissance Fair but that's to be expected.  Here's a photo of when we went in 2012 and several more from this past weekend. 

This is from 2012.  One one our trips to Wool Fest, there was a mishap where Lucy's blanket was left on the bus.  We tried to get it back, but alas it was never to be seen again.  If you notice, in this photo of Lucy in the back of the stroller, she has a blue blanket with her which as I write this I cannot recall if that was the blanket that was lost or the replacement.  Also, please take special note of Clara's pose with the straw coming out of her face. 

The kids are growing up so quickly!

The day after

 The Sunday after a band competition is rough.  Its particularly rough on a young 8th grader with all the physical and emotional strain that marching band puts on a person.  Fortunately on this particular morning we went to 11:30 mass so she got a little extra sleep but I'm not sure that sleeping propped up against your mother's chair is the best way to get rest. 

Youth Season 2022

 Clara didn't really have a specific objective when she came out deer hunting with me for youth season on Saturday.  She simply wanted to spend time with her dad (I think) and get outside.  Shooting the buck, field dressing it and getting to meet the most charming butchers in northern Kentucky were just a bonus.  

Moon photos

Some photos taken of the moon over consecutive nights using the long lens borrowed from Fr. Bolte. 

Family Celebration of Anniversary

 One of the traditions that has been started is involving the entire family in the celebration of our wedding anniversary.  We treat it kind of like a mini birthday celebration since our wedding anniversary is the beginning of our family.  One year we had a fancy dinner where we had to dress up, but this particular year we opted to just gather everyone together for dinner on the back deck and take a photo.  

Nineteen years

Today marks 19 years together as husband and wife for us. To celebrate we went downtown to Washington Park to check out a craft fair, then headed over to La Cantina for dinner before driving to see Shakespeare in the park. It was lovely time spent together.

Two stinky band kids

I was sitting at the table this evening after Chris and Sabrina returned from their first 12 hour band camp day. While I loved being with my two marching band kids, the smell will be hard to forget.

Getting ready for deer

This year I'm pre-setting a couple of trees with bolts so that I'll be ready to just climb up when deer season opens in a few weeks. Clara was kind enough to accompany me to the Deis Farm yesterday.

Daylilies

There are some daylilies that are planted in front of our house. Instinctively I pick the flowered heads off to encourage more growth. I learned this from years of watching my mom do the same thing to the daylilies she has in her back yard.

FC Cincinnati

We were given tickets to tonight's FC Cincinnati game vs Nashville Soccer Club. It was very entertaining and made a memory with Lucy, Clara and Pops. The game ended in a draw but was exciting for the entire 90 minutes.

Now whether Lucy took away any pointers for her own soccer game remains to be seen.

Late night stargazing

A few kids were gathered on the front lawn to gaze at the stars this evening. We saw a few satellites and heard strange sounds that went bump in the night. Good times …

Sisterly love

Molly was asked to mow the front lawn. After much cajoling and a few tears, she finally went out and started to mow.

And then she came back inside.

She said she wasn't strong enough to push the mower up the front hill.

So Lucy lent her a hand.

Nothing is new under the sun

In the bottom right corner of this photo is my grandfather, George Hessler.  This photo is from a Marydale Retreat which happened approximately 50 years ago and probably consisted of parishioners from St. Paul's Parish.  

Now in July, 2022, I look at this image and see something I hadn't realized before.  My grandfather is pictured along with the grandfather's of my sister-in-law Kelly and brother-in-law Mark.  I suspect that as I continue to study the faces and names in the image, more connections will emerge.  I am confident that these men had no idea that one day their children's children would be related to one another.  

Recently I've been participating in the "Bible in a Year" podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz of Ascension Presents.  Yesterday we started the book of Ecclesiastes which includes verses about King Solomon's vanity.  Fr. Mike states that the word vanity as translated in the Bible is probably more closely translated to the word vapor to help us understand the writer's meaning.  He points out that vapor exists for a very short time and then disappears.  He continues to explain that the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes is calling us to recognize that if we live for the things of this world, we will never be satisfied for as it is written in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1, Verse 8 "The eye is not satisfied by seeing nor has the ear enough of hearing."  He goes on to reflect that some day your decedents will no longer remember your name or know anything about you.  So if everything will fade away, Fr. Mike suggests that we must concentrate on those things that are eternal such as our relationship with God.  

I'm sure these men on this retreat had a relationship with God and they probably felt very close to him after this weekend together.  I'm sure at that stage in their lives they had a variety of pursuits that were worldly or mundane as they strived to provide for their families.  It is amazing to me that even though we're reflecting on this single image 50 years later, this photo and this retreat still serves a purpose of reminding us about how great God's love is for us.  How eternal his word is yesterday, today and forever.  

Chris and I at Grays Arch

We took a 6 mile hike down at Red River Gorge this evening. We hiked the LONG way to get to Grays Arch with 20+ of our St Tim's Youth Ministry friends. Chris and I snapped this photo while underneath Grays Arch to mark the occasion.

Red River Gorge

Clara snapped this photo today down at the Slade Rest Area and Visitors Center.

We went to Red River Gorge for a 6 mile hike. We took Gus but Molly stayed back with Phyllis to bake things.

It's a very quiet house this evening.

Florence Fireworks

 The city of Florence displayed their best fireworks last night.  We invited some friends and attempted to shoot some firework photographs.  After some quick work in post, here's the best image commemorating the evening's Fireworks.