Curses.

Well, here we are again, back at square one. Once again, a promising Cleveland sports team has fallen short of a championship. Even with the best record in the NBA, the coach of the year, and the league MVP, our city won't be representin' in the finals.

But there were a couple new fans in town this year. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Barnes joined the ranks of the millions of Clevelanders who avidly watched Lebron and the gang try to capture the prize. It happened one pizza and movie night, the night of Game One against the Magic, when the Chatty kids were sleeping over at our house while the Chatty parents were heading down to the temple. I suggested that Jill and Jake put Jenna to sleep in my bed and hang out for the game. Despite the loss, we had fun, and Jake was hooked.

Jill sneaking a peek at the game - Glenn getting pumped over a good play

intense moments....

taking Jenna home to bed

I invited them back for Sunday's Game Two, and like the Cavalier's season, the rest was history. We shared every other night together, until nearly midnight, rooting on the Cavs. We all screamed (and I mean SCREAMED, who cares if there are five sleeping children upstairs?) when Lebron hit The Shot in Game Two (which I have to say was one of the most exciting moments of my life). We commiserated over the Game Three and Four losses. We were sure the Game Five win was the turning point. And we quietly took in the Game Six loss that ended it all.

Through it all, I was most impressed with how Jake held his own with my sports-fanatic, statistics-spewing, die-hard husband. I think he'll fit in just fine around here.

I'm just sorry that Cavs playoff fever ended up being much ado about nothing.

Some curses aren't ready to be broken.

Welcome to Cleveland, Jake.

I need a Hy-5.

It had been almost 9 months since I ran my last 5k. And in that nine months there wasn't a whole lot of running period. Walking, yes, but running--not so much. But I thought it was about time to try my hand (or feet, rather) at another. Melissa and Jake were on board with me.

On Monday Melissa and I ran our old route for the first time in ages. I thought it would be a good idea to take a test run on something other than a treadmill before the actual race. Suffice it to say, I thought I was going to die. Seriously. I made it the whole way, but just barely. And, for the last little stretch, I was muttering "Come on. Come on." under my labored breath. It's not like I was just sitting around this whole winter...since January, I have consistently exercised 5 times a week! But out on the road...all that effort just didn't translate well. At all.

But I was already registered, so there was nothing else to do but show up Saturday morning. And pray I wouldn't look like a complete idiot.

not looking good so far in the idiot department...

And so the race started off well. We had beautiful weather, a nice course, and good company. And much to my surprise, as we passed the 1 mile point, the timer guy yelled out 10:17! Are you kidding me? A ten minute mile? Hey, that is pretty good--better than the treadmill even! And then at the 2 mile mark, it was 20-something. Wow, I'm even keeping my pace here. Not bad. During mile 3, Melissa and Jake were itching to pull away and I gave them my blessing. I was on my own at that point, with the National Anthem (what?) in my head, starting to feel the burn. I kept telling myself that I had done it before, I can do it again. That even though I was dying right then, I would be fine after it was over. Then I heard some guy behind me point out the red light ahead to his friend. That red light was the finish line. The clock ticking off our time. And once I realized that, I had something to look forward to, and I was even able to pick up the pace a little. And I ended up coming in at 31:17, just one minute behind Melissa and two minutes behind Jake. And at a pace of 6 MPH...faster than my usual 5 MPH on the treadmill.

after the race, in all our sweaty glory

It felt good to run the whole race, and to finish in a decent time, at a consistent pace. But you know what this means, don't you? I've gotta step it up on the treadmill, baby!

Zooropa

There were three new monkeys at the zoo this week...

One of them just did his first school report on these guys...

The brave soul wrangled the crazies all year...

We had beautiful (albeit humid!) weather, which held until seconds before we boarded the buses for home. And then the sky let loose...

And the secret to keeping the wild ones in check? A bag full of Twizzlers!

Raindrops are fallin' on my homework

This was what the sky looked like across Northeast Ohio this afternoon. And what followed soon after these clouds rolled in was a downpour like no other. It was fast and furious. It hit right as I was heading out to take Andrew to his piano lesson. Which also happened to be the time Emma and Leah were riding their bikes home from school. Which meant that every last square inch of them and their school supplies were drenched. The only thing to do was to dry it all out. All over the family room floor. Soggy, saturated, soaked school supplies....such a silly storm!

I love a parade.

One of the perks of being a baseball player around here is the opportunity to march in the Memorial Day parade. Grandma Franklin dropped our very own slugger off at the starting point, while Glenn and I staked out a spot on the grassy median somewhere along the route.

We are a fairly small little suburb, and so our parade is quite humble.

Besides the baseball players, you have the color guard,the high school marching band (featuring our favorite flautist!),the Scouts, the mayor, the volunteer firefighters, and a couple of old cars.

The main attraction is the candy that the various participants throw to the spectators. And Andrew took his job very seriously.The girls took their job very seriously as well, filling a huge bag load of treats that were showered upon them.

With beautiful weather, a hefty garage cleaning, a bit of gardening, a little time on the new PS3 (more on that later), and a BBQ with the Chattertons and Barnes, the parade was the perfect addition to a lovely Memorial Day.

Supporting Porter

We sure enjoyed the Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis walk this year. My biggest concern was the weather forecast which called for some rain. But the whole time we were enjoying the zoo, it stayed completely dry! Nice weather, good friends, and (more) family made for a wonderful outing.

After lunch there was some dancing...

...and some singing!

Some people were slightly influenced by my promise to take any karaoke singers to Mitchells'. Macey and Brooke took me up on the offer and boldly took to the mike...

...and yes, I did deliver!My only question is...on a day where we all came together to support our favorite three year old, how is it that I never snapped a single picture of the little dude?

What's wrong with this picture?

(Besides the fact that the faucet needs a good cleaning?)

Notice what's NOT coming out of it? Yeah, the water's missing.

When I {ahem} flushed the toilet at 5:45 this morning, I noticed it sounded a little funny. Didn't think much of it, until I went to wash my hands and there was nothing. I headed into the kitchen to try that faucet. Nada.

I was on my way to my exercise class, but thought I should give Glenn a heads up before I left. We both came back downstairs, hesitantly checking the basement (please please please don't be flooded), and then Glenn asked me to go outside and see if the hose would turn on. As soon as I made it out of the garage, I saw what the problem was. The trucks, road blocks, and "High Water" signs were a dead giveaway.

(The scene from my bedroom window for most of today)

Fortunately, the locker room at the rec center made a shower a possibility for me, and the bottled water we had stored in the basement made a "shower" a possibility for Glenn (yay food storage!). Obviously I would not be drinking my usual close-to-a-gallon amount of water, and so the usual resulting issue was not a problem. A quick stop at Melissa's (yeah, she had water) was all I needed.

And before the kids got home from school, we were back in business.


Just another lesson in gratitude. And in our dependence on modern conveniences. And in emergency preparedness. Who knew?

Where in the world is Amy Franklin?

Guess where I am?

I just happen to be at my sister's house.

No, not that sister.

And no, I haven't caught a plane to California.

I'm still in Ohio.

At my sister's house.

The third and final Brooks girl has migrated to "the heart of it all."

Because, given a choice, where else in the world would you want to live than near family?

Two down, three more to go...until I get them all out here.

You're Welcome, Kris Allen

Yes, my dear Kris, it was because of me that you are in the American Idol finale.

When the show first started you didn't thrill me that much. Others thought you were so dreamy, and yeah, you're cute, but you're no Michael Johns. In all honesty, I didn't know how you had made it as a finalist to begin with. Besides, there were some others I was rooting for (Danny Gokey), and then there were always the show-offs getting all the attention (Adam Lambert).

Long about the Final 7, the week you sang "Falling Slowly," everything changed. I listened to your version of that song a million times that week. And you just kept getting better.

So much better (than Danny Gokey there in the end) that I was finally, after dozens of Idol contestants parading on and off that stage, inspired to pick up the phone and vote. For you. Before your (awesome!) "Heartless" was even over. And I pretty much sat there on the couch and continued to vote for you, over and over. (There was a filler-packed Biggest Loser finale to get through, what else was I supposed to do?)

It has been a long time since I dialed those numbers. But it was the right thing to do. You deserved a spot in the finale.

And I was happy to lend a hand.

P.S. Continue to wow me like you've been doing, and I just might vote again next week. I want you to give Adam a run for his money.

Trying to find the silver lining.

Brooke's "Spring Into Music" concert was an emotionally charged one.

Not only do you have performances like this:

But it was also her last concert at Holly Lane.

The fact that Miss Griffin was not hired as a full time teacher is a long, frustrating tale. One that is rehashed over and over in hushed whispers among parents behind the principal's back. And although it will never amount to anything, it feels good to commiserate over Holly Lane's biggest controversy. Miss Griffin is one-of-a-kind, someone who breezed through our school and changed it forever.

We should be grateful we even had her at all.

Grateful that she made our children so happy.

Grateful that she shared her talents.

Grateful that she helped our children develop their talents.

So maybe all there is to do is this:

...and remember the time we had a music teacher like no other.

Love how Miss G is sporting the owl necklace we gave her earlier in the day