The Jack Show!!!

Jack David Spears was born on September 18 2008. Here is a precious 2.5 months old on Thanksgiving weekend at the Spears home in Indianapolis.

Thanksgiving with the Kramers / Spears

More Thanksgiving FUN! Nicole and I always swim in the Perry Meridian High School Alumni Swim Meet on the Saturday of Thansgiving break. It's fun. The current high school team swims against any alumni that can come. It's always a reminder of how much I don't swim in the off season :)

Sat night, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Kramer's as usual and it was good to see our family. And as you will see on the other entry, Sunday was a Jack show! And Papaw was also the guest of honor, he came up from Florida to see everyone and meet his newest Grandson.

We have so much for which to be thankful. Above all, our relationship with Christ is what brings us life. Praise Him.


Even though Mom is mid-blink, had to this on because my Dad is the funniest Dad everrrrrrrrr!



I can hear it now...."Papaw's little fooo-ooo-oxes" Haha!

My Aunt Carla and cousin Kelsey! You can tell they are mother and daughter...

Nic and I with Grandma

Brothas!

Thanksgiving with the Lehman's 2008

OSU vs Michigan with Katie and Dustin

Rushing the field after the game!!!

Mary's birthday at Quaker Steak and Lube

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!!

We had a good time on Sunday with Dick, Mary, Dustin, and Katie when they came down to go to a birthday lunch for Mary at Polaris. We value living so close to them. After lunch, we went to the ski shop to get excited for ski season!!!!!!!!!! We hope you know you are loved on your birthday, Mary!

The making of Christmas card 2008

Laura Finell and her dog (Bischon/German Shephard) stopped over to visit while Steve Tutor, her fiance, was in Las Vegas for his bachelor party.  We watched a movie, ate pizza, and talked her into taking our Christmas picture. Thanks for the visit Laura. We wish you and Steve the best.

124 mile 2-day bike ride to Cincinnati

Our 124 mile journey on the Little Miami Scenic Trail

Danielle and I decided we wanted to make a trip down to Cincinnati to visit our friends. We thought to ourselves, we have certainly driven our car many times; let's try something different: a bike ride. The Little Miami Scenic Trail begins in Springfield OH and travels uninterrupted all the way to the Ohio river. Check out the map to see the towns it passes through.

We started our trip in Yellow Springs Ohio. Danielle eagerly awaits on her bike to get the ride started. She is a little nervous to begin the daunting 62 mile ride to Madeira.

We did not stop to take many pictures along the way. Partly because our saddle sitters wore sore. If we kept going, we could ignore the pain. So I tried to snap a few photos while in motion. Our ride down involved a stop in Corwin at an awesome ice-cream shop, a lunch stop in south Lebanon, and a brief restroom stop in Loveland.

After 5+ hours of bike riding, we finally arrived to our destination. We spent the night with our great friends, Dan and Becca Larson. We enjoyed a great evening with our friends: Todd, Caitlin, Christie, and Kristi. We ordered pizza and talked politics about the election 2008. Of course, our main motivation to get to Madeira was our dear friend Annabelle.

The next morning we went to church with our Cinci friends, ate a brief lunch, and began the second leg of the trip around 12:30 pm. I challenged Danielle that we should try to ride all the way to Corwin, 37 miles, without a break. Then we could stop and eat lunch and some of the ice cream we saw from the day before. She laughed and doubted the option. 18 miles into the ride, we decided to stop at 25 miles. When 25 rolled around, Danielle encouraged us to keep riding to 37. I was shocked and my rear desperately needed a break. Her motivation inspired me and we pushed on to Corwin, tag teaming the lead bike.

Above is a picture of Danielle at the Xenia Station. At this point, we were at mile 114 of 124. We were anxious to get back to the car to give our legs a well needed rest.

We made it! The second leg was completed with only one stop and took only 4 hours and 15 minutes. 124 miles in two days. This was Danielle's longest journey ever on her bike and my second longest. A great way to spend weekend with exercise and friends.