The backdrop to their entire stage was an LCD screen so they could make it look however they wanted.
2026-06-21
Julie and I got to enjoy her Christmas present!
We saw a Journey concert in Cincinnati last weekend. Lots of old people… hahahaha.
2026-06-20
Pebbles finally likes me?
I was helping Johnny and Savannah sort through some of the leftover Kubina stuff in their basement last weekend. When I showed up, May was happy to get lots of pets. Pebbles realized there might be a good reason to warm up to me and ended up letting me pet her too! She figured out I wasn’t so bad and hung around without complaining for the rest of the weekend. :) 
Zoe always wants in on the hugs!
It’s cute that whenever Jewels and I take a hug break, that Zoe wants in on it…❣️
My next book
I found this book on Gustav Eiffel’s life in my grandpa’s collection and decided to read it finally. I had pulled it out back when we were cleaning out my mom’s storage center once we finished the work getting Steve and Janice settled in Waynesville. Since I had been up in the Eiffel tower with Julie in 2000, I found it interesting. He designed many bridges over the years prior to the tower. Some of the longer ones are pictured here in the center of the book. 
Finished?
I’d been wanting to try organizing the back of my Jeep a little better. It was too hard to get to my tools, winch extensions, impact sockets, fluids, and kinetic lines. Plus the bags I had on the top layer would flop around too much even though they were tied down. So I bought one more packout box (labeled grinders in this pic), reused my old “ammo crate” style boxes from my first Jeep (labeled winch line and kinetic), and everything fell into place nicely. On the fluids box, I ground away some of the packout engement to make it easier to get the impact sockets out without removing the kinetic box. I may try doing the same for the grinder box? This lets me have the maximum visibility out the rear window too.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
2026-06-19
Cool winning graphics!
The Dragon’s stole home plate with the bases loaded for the win in the bottom of the ninth. It was going into extra innings otherwise. Two outs and a full count no less. Exciting!
Nice night for a Dragon’s game.
It was family night with church so we dragged John and Savannah along with us. It’s fun to sit in the shadow of the buildings where dad started his Delco career 60 years ago.
I think it’s time for a sticker update…
I guess you can call my Jeep, table, and office doos my sticker book or my junk journal?! Here’s how they look currently. It’s fun to think about the memories, locations, and fun associated with each of them. There are even some that remind me not to do “THAT” again, hahahaha.
These don’t include outside of the Jeep, or my ammo boxes, water bottles, clipboards, folders, etc…
It’s not just about the watches…
As I look at my shelf here, I see so much that gives me great memories and inspires me to continue the efforts for my family, our relationships, prayers, etc. It’s really too much to process sometimes when I count the blessings of my ancestors, my parents, my wife, my kids, and the fruits of my labors. It’s a privilege to have them all, and I pray I can continue to provide for and enjoy them for years to come. I also pray for them as I rotate through my list each week as I go about my days.
As I consider how my watch collection has settled out, it reminds me of so much. My grandfather’s watch on the far left. I remember him showing me how to use the slide rule on it, him flying with it, teaching me to turn wood while he wore it, etc. On the far right, my retirement watch and realizing it’s basically the same watch acquired at about the same age as my grandfather. In between I have my fathers, my work anniversary one, and much more that each has special meaning. I recently reacquired the watch my dad was last wearing before he died too (that I bought for him). It will be on the shelf soon too.
But it goes further than that. I’m so blessed with my wife who loves me for much, who I love so much, our deep friendship over so many years, and the life we share together (Cyclones memorabilia). Andy’s handiwork burning his name in the wood and all the stickers representing all the time spent with my boys. The construction bucket, WD-40, and picture of my dad bringing me home when I was born representing all the time we spent together and all he taught me! The pictures of my ansestors reminding me where I came from and my Christian heritage I’m so thankful for❣️There’s more including the camera representing my engineering career.
Thank you Lord!!
It’s fun to see the things the kids left behind…
This is the door to what was Andy’s room which was my room growing up, and is now my office. If I remember right, this was part of the “wrapping” of one of Isaac’s presents back when they were pranking each other. Of course, there’s a couple ninja figures involved too. Don’t mess with duct tape, it’s serious business. It’s been holding that sign up for more than a decade! 🤪
2026-06-18
Isaac approved collection…?
Over the years, I’ve slowly collected keychains, clasps, caribeeners, swivels, and hooks of various types. I just started hanging them goether off my shelf and it slowly grew into this kind of cool looking mess. 🤪 Whenever I need to link or carry something, it’s close at hand, but still conveniently out of the way for most of the time.
It was fun to get buzzed by Andy
He let us know he’d be driving by so we could honk and wave. I shudda snapped a pic of grabbed a vid…
It didn’t dawn on me to look it up…
When I had been at Cognex for three years, they gave out this gift as a thank you for 3 years service. I always liked and wore Citizen watches and love it. But for some reason, I never thought to look up the specs, history, value, etc. I finally thought to and was pleased. It’s solar powered, has sapphire glass, and is quite accurate. It’s a Citizen Eco-Drive® Corso and has a long history with the company. A prefect watch for simple and/or dressy occasions. Fun!
2026-06-17
I like this sitting spot and storage chest
It’s in the lobby of the arena at Camp Jabez and is made from old doors, floors, and barn siding. Pretty cool!
Jakalope waiting for the garbage man…?
This little guy was hanging out at the back of our chiropractor’s office. He looked like a pretty big bunny the way he was just standing there.
Tools on the left for perfect food on the right!
Pork chop steaks were on the menu this past weekend!
Julie cleaned my dad’s ring for me
She got it nice and shiny, especially the stone. It shows off the way the facets underneath shine through to the smooth top surface.
It’s kind of cool to think of him with that ring starting his career, and me with my watch at the end of mine❣️ I miss being able to compare stories and keeping him up to date with the goings on of our lives… I look forward to seeing him again some day when the Lord returns or we’ve both finished our races.
2026-06-16
This is what happens when Andy goes swimming…
He finds the abandoned buoy anchors and draggs them ashore so the state park knows where to find them next time…
Turn about is fair play!
Zac got me back. If you’re gonna have to get a duck, at least have it be a cool Batman duck! This one’s gonna get a place of honor.
Dogs enjoying the reunion
I think the dogs enjoyed the reunion as much as I did. I think the people at the reunion might have enjoyed the dogs more than they enjoyed me! 🤪
2026-06-15
Lots of the cousins paddle boarding❤️
Jana, Caleb, Logan, Chris, Andy, Zac, and Chloe. The girls enjoyed paddling around. The boys devolved into feats of strength of course! Hahaha. The “adults” (old people) and Chloe the Bassett watched from the shore.
Zoe livin’ her best dog life!
She enjoys all the love and rest she gets at the annual reunion for sure.
Reunion camping fun…
Andy and Sophie do a Lady and the Tramp look alike, but with a steak! They also made breakfast with an axe and a pizza box! Which one do we trust more with the axe?! 😂
Johnny cooks hotdogs, and also gets a good rain vibe going. The weather was really nice except for an hour or two on Saturday, but we enjoyed music, games, and chatting right through it❣️
2026-06-14
Lots of peeps wanna see inside my camper
So here you go. Fan, lights, charging station, coffee station, fan, sleeping bag, dog kennel, clothes, supplies, clothesline, and a pillow. Everything I need and everything in its place. I have Velcro and magnetic blackout covers on the windows and door. They keep it cooler and let me sleep past sunrise sometimes.
2026-06-13
A fun addition this year…
Larry’s brother Scott (and his wife Anita) joined us at the reunion this year. Scott brought this little e-bike! We all took a turn terrorizing the campground with it… That was until the ranger pointed out to Scott that it didn’t have any pedals, so wasn’t an e-bike. Instead it’s classed as an e-motorcycle and isn’t allowed. ðŸ˜
Sibling and cousin throw-downs
We enjoyed a few rounds of cornhole too. Andy pretty much wiped the floor with all of us. Larry was a close second. Andy later told us he even won the tournament at their church! $50 Chick-fil-A gift card. He was a ringer! Hahahaha.
Enjoying the great outdoors.
Between my work around the house, exercise, play, and volunteering, I average 90 mins or so outside per day. In this case, a boardwalk with Chloe (upper left), a hike with Laura (lower half), and sitting around the camp with family (upper right)❣️
Thursday to Sunday, no hookups…
I successfully kept my battery running by supplementing with some solar energy the whole weekend. It powers my fan, charges my devices and makes coffee. Average in for the day was 100 watts and max out is 40 or so. Maybe 45 if it was really cold (winter) and I was running Zoe’s heating blanket.
I can normally run it without charging for a couple days, but the reunion was scheduled for four 🤪
Ceremonial burning of the log❣️
When I picked up the log for the family reunion this year, it split in half (upper left)… It’s finally rotted and full of ants enough that it’s falling apart. With most of the cousins in attendance, we decided this was the year to lay it to rest in the fire ring… But not before Andy gave it a proper eulogy. He related why he’d started saving it (to whittle a stool), how we’d always made our marks on it each year, where it lives (holding down my generator cover) while waiting for each reunion, and even the church-a-monk log throwing competitions. I think he actually brought tears to a couple eyes (upper right). He’s a sentimental guy though, and saved a little bit for his shelf of precious memories (lower right).
We’re not done yet though… We noticed a log that refused to burn, TWICE! We named it Shadrach when Andy pulled it out of the fire (with his bare hands) the second time…! Log number two begins…
2026-06-12
Waking the dogs and collecting berries along the way
I came home empty though… Not for lack of berries, but rather lack of restraint! 🤪
Julie and I enjoyed the high school drama awards.
Stef and Josh invited us to go along with them to the Schuster to see the Miami Valley High School Theater Awards. We found a bunch of high school vagabonds milling about downtown (upper right) haha. While we were waiting to go in ,I snapped the cool alley pick of the Water Street water tower down near the Delco Lofts where Dad first worked (upper left). I also thought this building (lower right) looked like a big monster took a bite out of the top of it.
It was fun to see how the emcee dressed, in a full ball gown, and added a great sense of humor and fun to the evening. It was cool to see Jet perform one of their pieces on the stage. Last year, Cody got to sing a solo there!
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