Truck Stop

I think that one of these exhaust tips would look great on my Honda...

Seaside Heights

One of the great things about living in NJ is that you're always within driving distance of the ocean. That makes it easier to enjoy it during the off-season while the beach crowds are still months away, and before the show "Jersey Shore" starts filming.

That is Michael's melon in the picture. He is getting tall.

Meet the newest member of the family.

Joey earned enough stars on his star chart to get his reward, and we picked up his new Guinea Pig this weekend while we were down at the shore.

Since the Guinea Pig is a female, I guess Danielle finally got the girl she always wanted. However, it didn't take long for Joey to masculinize it and name it Blaster :)

Joey-ism # 101

Dad, what was your name when you were younger?

Updates

The last two weeks have been pretty busy in our house! Starting from the top left and going clockwise: Danielle accepted an award from NJ Senator Menendez for being a "Pioneering Woman", Ryan learned how to ride on my back (it's one of those small milestones in our house), Joey advanced another rank in Karate, Joey went to three birthday parties, Danielle and I discovered that playing with the kids stuff after they go to bed can be fun, and I think we have a rabbit living under our deck.

The Couch Strikes Back

Master John Makeover

How do you know when the hockey season is over? The only thing you have to talk about on your blog is your new bathroom.

But seriously, my wife bought everything we needed to re-do our master bath for less than 50 bucks. That includes paint from Home Depot, new curtains, shelves, a vase, a new mirror and storage compartments. I think that's pretty amazing.

This weekend

We helped Uncle Stephen move into his new house this weekend. The boys helped install new locks and door knobs.

On Sunday, Danielle surprised us with a trip to the Model Train Convention for my birthday. Some of the layouts we saw were amazing; I realize now that most of the work spent on setting up a model train comes when you create the scenery, not when you lay out the track.

Aaarchieee!

Danielle and I visited the Smithsonian museum of American History in Washington, DC. These are the original chairs that Edith and Archie sat in on the TV show "All in the Family". It's funny how two pieces of furniture can say so many things about the 70's.

The real reason we went to Washington was so we could attend the annual NEA Gala and to visit with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. We'll be returning in the spring - hopefully with the kids - so we can see the rest of the Smithsonian!

SuperBowl 2011

In our family, one of the traditions we enjoy is celebrating SuperBowl Sunday with the boys. Danielle spends most of the day cooking, and the boys and I spend most of the game eating. This year, we had pizza rolls (milk & egg free ones, too), home made tortilla chips with guacamole, salsa and refried beans, chili and cheese dogs, Doritos and soda.

Joey-ism #402

Daddy: Do you know what psychology is? It's the study of the brain.
Joey: Oh! I have one of those. I left it in the basement. Hang on... I'll go get it!

I laughed for a few minutes, until Joey came back from the basement with a little rubber brain and put it on the table in front of me :)

Snowy Record

We broke the total snowfall record for January with 36 inches. This is a picture of our back porch.

Mullet Car

The kids and I gave Mommy's car a mullet while she was in Dallas.

Joey's First Kumite

Joey's been studying Karate for a couple of years now, and he's progressed through a rainbow of different colored belts as a "little dragon". He was recently invited to move up to the Juniors program so he can begin learning some basic forms, katas and kumite (sparring) techniques. Here is a short video of Joey's first kumite.

Pond Hockey (well, sort of)

Michael has been getting a lot of ice time this week by practicing on a skating rink behind the firehouse. When it gets cold enough, they dump a full tank of water (about 1500 gallons) on the rink to smooth it out. Here is a movie of Michael playing with Uncle Stephen.

The Happy Napper

He must have had a busy day at Nursery School today. Actually, it's been a tough week for Ryan. He had tubes but in both ears yesterday (for the third time) and he spent much of the morning recovering from the anesthesia they gave him during the procedure.

Ryan's First Day of School

Ryan started Nursery School this morning. He did great! He colored a picture with crayons, made a dog out of a paper bag, and listened to the teacher read a story.

Michael and Jamie

We met Jamie Langenbrunner (captain of NJ Devils) at the snack counter after Michael's game in Randolph yesterday. His son plays for the Montclair Blues.

Our first batch of wings

Danielle and the boys got me a deep fryer for Christmas so we could experiment with new Michael-safe chicken wing recipes. Here's how we made our first batch:

8 tbsp Frank's Hot Sauce

2 tsp white vinegar

3 tbsp Earth Balance imitation butter

1 shake of garlic powder

1 shake of red pepper

1 shake of oregano

some salt and pepper

Stir the sauce over low heat. Bread fresh wings in flour (no eggs or milk) and deep fry for 16 minutes at 375 degrees. Cover with sauce and serve with a lot of water!

Cousins

We had another great visit from our nephew, Quentin. It was sad to watch him leave this morning, but I'm thankful for the time we got to spend with him. It's amazing how fast the boys grow up.

In this picture, their hockey gear doubled as protective armor for the mock battle in our basement.

Santa Run

Michael helped out this year on the Santa Run. It was pretty cold, but for the first time in 2 or 3 years, it wasn't snowing or raining. We drove around town for seven hours handing out candy canes then returned to the firehouse for pizza, subs and birch beer.

A special "thank you" goes out to my wife and other people that served us cookies and hot chocolate along the way.

Thanksgiving Hockey Tournament

We spent Thanksgiving Weekend in Philadelphia at a hockey tournament. Our hotel was right next to a railroad and the airport, so there was plenty of stuff to see right from our window.

We also visited the Camden Aquarium and swam in the hotel pool between games. On the way home, we stopped at Geno's Steaks for an authentic Philly Cheese Steak with Wiz (that's the way you have to ask for it - it's short for Cheese Wiz).

One year later...

2009 vs 2010

Joey-ism

The boys and I got haircuts tonight. When we got back home, I helped Joey get his pajamas on and asked how he liked his haircut. He said "it's ok, but it kills girls". I had to think about it for a minute, and then I remembered... after the barber finished cutting Joey's hair, he stepped back and said "now that's a ladykiller haircut!"

Buddies Day

The boys and I had a long overdue Buddies Day on Sunday. We started by going to the local pet store to look at the fish and other animals. The store had this huge tank of crickets, and of course Ryan had to remove the lid to look inside. I'm not sure how many escaped before I saw what he was doing and closed the lid :)

Our next stop was 7-11 so we could get some Slurpees and bring them to Horseshoe Lake. It was 60 degrees and sunny, but it was a little too cold to drink them outside so we headed back to the truck and finished them in the parking lot.

For the rest of the afternoon, we just drove around Roxbury to look at train tracks and old railroad bridges. The town received stimulus money to restore some of the rail lines, and I think most people are against the idea of more trains going through our town, but the kids and I agree that trains are cool so we don't mind. I can't wait to show them what happens to a penny when you leave it on the tracks.

Atlantic City

Danielle and I went to Atlantic City for the Teacher's Convention this weekend. Danielle had to deliver a speech to an audience of union executives and other delegates, participate in a forum with teacher representatives from each county in New Jersey, and fulfill some other TOY obligations. It was a nice weekend but we really missed the boys. They got to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa though so I'm pretty sure they had a good time.

Halloween costume

Last night, Michael asked me what I would be wearing for Halloween. I told him that I wouldn't be trick-or-treating, but I'd be crouching in the bushes watching him knock on doors. He said "Dad, why don't you just dress up as a bush for Halloween?"

What a great idea :)

No more crib.

This was such a happy moment for Ryan, but for some reason it was sad for us. This was the crib that all three boys slept in. One by one those milestones go by...

Danielle Kovach, 2010-2011 NJ Teacher of the Year!

Congratulations to my wife Danielle for winning New Jersey Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011!

Danielle's going to be on paid sabbatical after January. She will use the time to perform her duties as Teacher of the Year, which include numerous speaking engagements and trips. She'll get to meet the President and have tea with Joe Biden in the Rose Garden, to attend Space Camp in Huntsville and to be a presenter for the 2010 Teacher's Convention in Atlantic City in the High Tech Hall. The NJEA leased a new car for her since she'll be doing so much travelling.

NJEA.org - Special Education Teacher Danielle M. Kovach Named 2010-2011 NJ Teacher of the Year

Stitches Are Out!

Joey went to the plastic surgeon and had his stitches removed. It was no big deal, in fact they came out when the band-aid was pulled off.

I brought him to work with me for the rest of the day. We ate lunch at McDonalds, and Joey did odd jobs around the office and played on the gym equipment.

Wetdown!

What a great weekend! Saturday was Suckasunny Day (correct spelling) followed by a wetdown to celebrate Roxbury's purchase of a new tender. To those of you that have no idea what a tender is, they used to be called tankers until a few years ago when FEMA decided that the fire department needed to standardize it's terminology, so there would be less confusion while coordinating multi-jurisdictional responses for large incidents. In other words, they were afraid that if someone from New Jersey called for a tanker in California, they would get a water drop from an airplane instead of a truck. So if someone from California asks for an engine, do we get to send them a locomotive?

You say potato...

Anyway, the kids had a good time. There was a lot of good food and plenty of beer, and trucks from neighboring towns came in with lights and sirens before they stretched their lines and soaked our new TENDER.

Drum Roll, Please...

Bang away, buddy! Just keep it in the basement...

It was an interesting weekend. Michael played in two hockey games - his team lost to the Long Island Ice Cats on Saturday and they beat the NJ Devils on Sunday.

At Sunday's game, Joey hit his head on the bleachers and ended up with almost 20 stitches. He toughed it out and didn't even cry while the doctor put in the stitches. At one point he even made us laugh by acting like a monster! After having 3 boys, I guess we've come to realize that a weekend is not complete unless it involves something dramatic like an ambulance ride to the emergency room.

Next Sunday is Michael's hockey jamboree in Stockholm, and Joey's Karate school is having a demonstration on Saturday for Succasunna Day. I don't think Joey will be participating, but we may stop by to lend our support.

Unfortunately, our flag football season is over because of Joey's stitches. We just can't take any chances. However, I'm looking forward to watching many Jets games next to him on the couch!

Appetizer

When all you get from the garden is three peppers...

Make Salsa! Thanks hon.

Pepsi Shootout Hockey Tournament

We spent Labor Day weekend at a hockey tournament in West Chester, PA. Michael's team played well considering we had two games at 6:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday. They lost to Delaware in the semi-finals, but they took third place overall.

We stayed in a hotel that had two pools (the kids loved that) and between games we squeezed in a trip to the American Helicopter Museum. We saw a replica of the helicopter used in MASH, and a retired Apache. The kids got to sit in a few of the helicopters and play with the controls.

First Day of School 2010-11

The bus picked the boys up right on time at 8:46 AM on Tuesday the 7th. We had a great summer with quite a bit of travelling towards the end, so hopefully the kids have a lot to talk about at school today. The house is very quiet right now..

Wise guys

Ok, I get it... the kids want a pool.

Ohio Trip

We had another great trip to Ohio. Dad and I put up the new porch in record time, and the kids had fun at the playground, picking berries and playing with Smokey's cat door. Dad's garden probably produces more tomatoes than the state of New Jersey, and some of his zucchini are almost as big as Ryan. Those are the grillin' zucchinis :)

Down the Shore

We took a quick trip down to Seaside this weekend. It was good to relax and do some crab fishing, but the weekend wasn't exactly uneventful. For the past few weeks, beach-goers have been talking about their shark encounters in the waters around Seaside Heights and Seaside Park. We didn't think much about it until we heard that a six-foot sand shark came right up onto the beach about an hour before we got there. There's a pretty good video of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFVeibNMhLg

I guess you can't blame the shark, he's just going where the food is. Maybe he likes fried Twinkies and sun tan lotion?




..And here are some pictures from crabbing. In the first picture, Michael's trying to shoot me with a dead fish that ultimately ended up being used as bait. We caught close to 15 crabs with that dead fish!

Our Newest Rock Band Member!

Froggy

The first of Joey's three tadpoles was released into the wild. It's been over a week since he lost his tail and turned into a frog, so it was time for him to get his own pad.

He now lives in the water retention basin off Eyland Avenue.

Biking at Kittatinny

Michael and I took the bikes up to Kittatinny State Park on Sunday to do some trail riding. We did about 4 miles around the park, found some pretty good fishing holes and watched the planes land and take off at the airport. Afterwards we stopped at McDonalds for lunch.

Lake Aeroflex

We went fishing at Lake Aeroflex in Andover yesterday. There’s a small airport at one end of the lake, and the runway is positioned so the planes have to land and take off over the water. The fishing wasn’t all that great but it was fun watching the planes fly right over us.

Danielle won the “first fish” contest and her reward was an apple pie. Unfortunately, she had to make it herself because she’s the only one that knows how to cook.

Moon Confusion

Michael: Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.

Me: That's right, do you remember who was with him?

Michael: (deep in thought)
Me: Here's a clue.. his first name was Buzz.

Michael: (eyes wide) "Buzz Lightyear!"

Franklin Mine

Danielle and I took the kids to the Franklin Mineral Museum on Sunday. It was HOT, but luckily most of the tour was inside air-conditioned buildings. There were some interesting rocks but very few visitors. Local attractions like the Franklin Mine and Wild West City seem to be having a hard time in this economy, probably because they're competing with places like Great Adventure and Action Park.

The kids did some mining and found some willemite, franklinite and calcite. We used our black light at home to see how the willemite and calcite phosphoresce in green and red.

Driveway Driving

It will be 14 years, 8 months and 18 days from today when Ryan will be asking me for the car keys. With any luck, my car will still be running (it's a Honda.. it could happen).

Beatin' the heat wave!

Temperatures hovered in the upper 90's all weekend, but we found some fun ways to beat the heat.