Wild West City

Yes, it's still there! Everything is the same as when we were kids, except for the part where Spiderman came barreling down Main Street on a horse.

Backyard Camping

We want to go camping with the kids, so we decided to give it a "trial run" in the back yard. Everything was perfect - no detail was missed. We set up the tent, blew up the air mattresses, sleeping bags, the whole nine yards. We even picked up one of those 10 dollar charcoal grills from Walmart and cooked hot dogs and grilled marshmallows. Unfortunately, we couldn't control the temperature outside and overnight it dropped to 50 degrees, which was too cold for Ryan to sleep. We'll try it again next summer but we'll go in July or August. The tent was great though. It reminded me of the old Hillery canvas tent that dad took us camping in when we were kids.

Dinner and Dancing

Friday night was dinner and movie night. We got chinese food and watched Mall Cop with the kids, then Danielle and Joey danced till bedtime.

A beautiful weekend at Seaside

We went back to Seaside this weekend. Despite another hurricane that came up the coast, the weather held up and we had sunshine for the whole trip. A boardwalk clown made Joey his pirate sword and Michael won his on a floating duck game. Our next trip down the shore will be for the Que by the Sea, a barbecue competition held in Seaside Heights at the end of September. I'm sooo looking forward to that! -Mike

NBC News

The only way we could get a digital copy was to have Mike video the news with our camera.
http://tinyurl.com/DanielleK

Someone should let Hallmark know about this!

Hurricane Bill

Danielle and I went to Seaside Heights this weekend. We couldn't go in the water because of the strong rip currents from Hurricane Bill, so we enjoyed clam strips and a few cold ones on the pier instead.

Rock Band 2!

Fishing

The boys and I went fishing at Lake Musconetcong on Sunday. We dug up worms from the garden and caught six fish. -Mike

Fun at Seaside!

Argh!

I have no words for this one...

National Night Out

Michael and his friend, Kyle, at National Night Out with N.J. from the NJ Devils.

Thriller

Joey and his friend Kyle were dancing machines at National Night Out on Tuesday. They are dancing to Thriller!

Moon Over Hopatcong

I love this picture. It was taken right after my wife spotted Joey mooning everyone at the barbecue. Check out at the flare in her nostrils. Of course, I stayed behind to take pictures of the whole thing, so now Joey and I are both in the doghouse.

New Belt

Joey earned his purple belt on Saturday! He loves karate and we are so proud of his accomplishments!

Quote of the Day

Michael's comment on the lunch I made him (Steak and salad): "Can I have something else? This really wasn't pleasing to my tastebuds."

Give me your tired, your poor...

Yes, we were all of those this week!

Kovach on Ice!

Quentin had fun (I think) ice skating for the first time! Even Grandpa Kovach got in on the fun! Michael and I had a great time skating with them. I am always amazed at Michael's talent on the ice. I love watching him skate!

Danielle :)

Statue of Liberty trip

We took a trip to the Statue of Liberty on Wednesday. The line to climb the statue was too long so we decided to walk around the base. That's my nephew, Quentin on the left. He lives in Arizona. - Mike

Bone appetit!

Unfortunately, the bone gives him really bad gas.

Golfers

Michael and Joey started hitting golf balls in the back yard last week. Michael's got a nice drive considering he's never been golfing before. I'd like to take him down to the driving range in Randolph to see how well he does. -Mike

Look Who's Walking!

Ryan's new swing

Spring Hockey

Michael's spring hockey team ended with an impressive second place standing. They won an outstanding semi-final game on Saturday with a 4-1 win. Not bad considering that they were entering this game as the underdog and not favored to win. So our Sunday plans were put on hold for the final game that we didn't think the kids would play in! Although they did not will the finals, Michael played one of the best games of his career in goal. We are so proud of him!

June Hockey Games (click to make larger)

Gold vs. Blue Knights

June 15th: 31 shots on goal, 24 saves (about .77). Final score 7 to 5, Gold team lost. Next game is Monday June 22nd at 6:15 in Randolph against the White Team. Michael will be in goal again. - Mike

El Gato is back!

Michael did a great job on Sunday. It was a tough game, but he made his first-ever bouncing glove save. -Mike

Joey

Joey earned his blue belt today! He is loving karate and doing a great job. We have seen such an improvement in his balance and coordination.

Back in goal

Starting this weekend, Michael is back in goal. I think it was good for him to skate out for the past few months, but it's going to be good to see him making saves again. We've been working hard in the basement getting him ready.

Michael's team won last night's game 9 to 3. -Mike

Graduation!

Congratulations Joey!

The Push Pop

We stopped for ice cream on the way home from a friend’s communion yesterday. Joey fell asleep in the car with a push pop stuck to his bottom lip. - Mike

Parking Meter

Never give up and pay the parking ticket because it's easier than fighting it. In this case we put our money in the meter but the clock was defective. When we returned 20 minutes later, we had a ticket for $35.00 waiting for us. We fought it with this picture and won. -Mike

Black Tie Dinner

Danielle and I went to Washington, DC to accept an award she won from Honeywell. While we were there, we attended a dinner for the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That's where this picture was taken. Looking at my wife, it's clear to me now that we have beautiful kids because they have a beautiful mom. -Mike

Just a great picture...

The boys were watching Mike last week pump water from Horseshoe lake...

Spring Hockey

Michael is having a lot of fun this hockey season. He is out of goal and playing center! Last game he had his first assist. He team is doing great with a 2-2 record. He plays on Sundays and Saturdays. Bring out your winter coats and come down to watch a game!

Mother's Day Tea

Joey's school hosted a Mother's Day Tea yesterday. The kids sang songs and then we ate cookies together and decorated a bird house. It was a great mom and son day!

Kick-A-Thon

Joey raised the most money from his karate school for the St. Jude's Kick-A-Thon! He received a certificate, shirt and backpack. Thank you to everyone who donated to this cause. His karate school raised enough money to give one child oxygen for three days!

Teeth!

Ryan just cut a back molar. That makes his tooth count up to 5!

National Take Your Kid to Work Day

Thursday, April 23 was Take Your Kid to Work Day. I brought Michael and Joey in with me for a half day and then we went to lunch at Burger King. The kids hung out with Owen, the son of a guy who works next to me. This is a picture of them playing with Michael's Nintendo DS. -Mike

Nets vs Magic at the Izod Center

Michael and I went to a Nets game at the Izod center. Neither of us had ever been to a basketball game before, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but both of us went home talking non-stop about how much fun it was. What suprised me the most was the level of good sportsmanship the teams displayed towards each other. It's a lot different than hockey.
-Mike

signs that your dog was in the garbage

Spring Hockey

Michael's spring hockey season starts on April 20th. Here is a link to his schedule:
http://www.dkovach.ehost.com/09SpringMiteSch.pdf
(Copy and paste link into your browser.)
He is on the gold team. Hope everyone can catch a few games!

Wow!

Ryan ate an entire hot dog for dinner today! Complete with a side of corn and an ice cream sandwich for dessert!

A Visit with the Easter Bunny

Michael looks like he is too old to be there.
Ryan has the "WTF" look.
And Joey, well, we apparently tramutize him everytime he needs to go near something in a costume. You can't see him, but Mike's arm and knee are pushing Joey toward the bunny!

Things are getting better for Ryan. Now that his pneumonia is gone, he is sleeping through the night. I took this picture when we got home from a birthday party on Saturday. - Mike

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Ryan was finally feeling well enough to eat his birthday cake. He loved it! (He also had a bath when he was done!)

BOAT!!!!

Art show

Michael had two pieces of artwork featured in his school's art show displayed at the Ledgewood Mall. One was a picture of the American flag he took when Uncle Kevin came back from Afghanistan, and the other was a drawing of the Statue of Liberty.

George Visits the Firehouse!

Joey had a visitor this weekend! George, his class monkey, came for a weekend visit. He played basketball, drew pictures and even visited the firehouse!

my co pilot fell asleep

I took this picture while I was working from home the other day. I try to work from home whenever I get the opportunity, and Ryan sits right next to me at mission control. -Mike

Brotherly Love

A New Belt!

New Belt!

Yeah Joey! He has earned his orange belt in karate! He will be getting it on Tuesday, February 24th at 5:45. Everyone is welcome to come!

SAVE THE DATE!

Ryan's FIRST birthday party will be on Saturday, March 21st!

More details to come!

Quote of the Day

Joey: "Remember when you ate Ryan and then you had to go to the hospital so the doctor could get him out of your tummy?"
(Joey referring to Danielle's past pregnancy.)