Angie and Mike's Blog

My Little Brother Aaron gave us this blanket the first Christmas they were matched. I think the year was 2003. We pull it out each year during the holidays. It's always been a favorite of Harley's and now the other kids are starting to like it, too. Who'd have thought such a simple gift would turn out to be so special?

Labels: Aaron and Callie, Angie, Birthdays and Holidays, Harley, Maddie, nate, Tommy

We took a few days off around the Memorial Day weekend and set out for Cincinnati. We made it all the way to the El Dorado rest area before we had to stop and change a diaper.


That made Maddie very happy. That and we were only 30 miles into a 2,000-mile journey.


At the next rest area, we stopped for a feeding.


Then, in Kansas City, it was time to feed ourselves. We also took time to feed Maddie.


Still a pretty happy camper!


But getting tuckered out as we pulled into Columbia, where we’d stay for the night.


The next morning I had breakfast with Gerik, a former newspaper colleague. We didn’t actually work at the same paper but had the (mis)fortune of working for the same company. He suggested the Broadway Diner.


Aren’t those some killer pancakes?


The place is pretty popular.


Driving through St. Louis we caught up with this car from Johnson County. I’ll seldom claim Johnson County as being a part of Kansas but when I’m in another state I usually get pretty excited to see another car from Kansas. I especially get excited if it has a dog sticking its head out the window!


We used a backroom at a small gas station to feed Maddie in rural Illinois.


This is eastbound I-64 entering Kentucky. The westbound lanes are on the top deck.


Downtown Louisville.


We detoured to Elizabethtown because Angie likes the movie so much. I like it, too. Afterall, it’s about a roadtrip. We got there too late to tour the Coca-Cola museum and were disappointed that we couldn’t find any quaint, local places to eat in the downtown. So we ate at Shoney’s near the interstate. It may be a chain but at least there isn’t one at home.


Aaron holds the tickets to our Reds game as we prepare to enter the stadium on Saturday.


The view of the plaza and downtown Cincinnati from the upper deck concourse.


Another view of downtown Cincinnati.


Aaron, my Little Brother from Topeka who now lives in Cincinnati, went with us. It was the first time he’d been to a Reds game. It was also the first time I had to look up to him as he’s grown to more than six feet tall.


Great American Ball Park from the upper deck. Our seats were just off to the first base side of home plate and while it looks far away in this shot, they were really good seats.


This was Maddie’s first Major League baseball game so we took a self-portrait after the game. I saw my first Major League baseball game in Cincinnati when I was nine years old.


I’m not sure how Aaron can see anything through his hair.


I had hoped that “Great American Ball Park” was an original name but it’s not. Turns out it’s an insurance company. Still sounds cool, though.


On Sunday, we went to the zoo, which we’d heard ranks up there in the top three or four in the country. It was a neat experience but we can see more animals at our zoo and not have near the walk or number of visitors to deal with.


Trying not to get too hot while waiting for the train.


The train ride was nice. It reminded me of the train rides we’d take at Joyland.


Maddie started to get a little cranky, as did we, so we made it a short visit to the zoo.


But we made sure to see the polar bears first.


And Angie wouldn’t leave the zoo without seeing the chimpanzees. She insists they are my cousins.


Of course, the real reason for the trip was to see Uncle Chuck. He’s my dad’s older, and only, brother. He’s got three kids, two of whom I don’t think I’ve ever met. I’m sure Angie’s got cousins she’s never met but her family is so stinkin’ big. On the Shepherd side, though, there aren’t very many of us (not counting the chimps) so I wanted them to meet Maddie.


This is Libby. She’s 13 and my second cousin. Her father, Scott, and I are first cousins and 17 years apart in age. I guess its only appropriate that Libby and I are also 17 years apart. She did a great job holding Maddie.


The last time I saw Libby she was a playful six years old. At this rate, the next time I see her she’ll be in college.


Maddie was is good spirits all weekend, despite all the driving we did. Here she’s pretty happy to be out of her car seat. Because she’s a Christmas Eve baby, and because Christmas is Angie’s favorite holiday, we decided to stop in Santa Claus, Ind., on the way home.


In Santa Claus, it’s Christmas all year long.


We also stopped at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, a family-owned ice cream shop along the original Route 66 alignment in southwest St. Louis.


Now, I don’t know of a dog that wouldn’t like ice cream but that’s not an insult to Ted. It was really pretty good stuff and I’m not even a big ice cream fan.


There weren’t as many photos taken on the way home as there were on the way out. We were just too pooped. I don’t think we were home an hour before Maddie and I fell asleep on the couch. And Harley was glad to see us, too. She’d been at Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd’s house while we were away. Right after Angie took this photo she sneaked out of the house to Target. We didn’t even hear her leave.

Labels: Aaron and Callie, Angie, Cincinnati, Family, family outings, Maddie, Mike, On Location, Route 66

Angie and I went to Tulsa on Saturday to spend the afternoon with Callie. It's the second year in a row we made it down for her birthday. After lunch we stopped by SuperTarget so I could buy some socks in order to go bowling. Following a couple of games, we left for a shaved ice stand we'd spotted earlier in the afternoon. We had a good time and still can't believe that she's 14 and starting high school this fall. She was 7 when they met!

Labels: Aaron and Callie, Angie

We've yet to see The Simpsons Movie but we're completely hooked by the Simpsonize Me! web site! It's really a Burger King marketing ploy, as it will clearly tell you on the site, but it's fun nonetheless! This is what Angie, Callie, Aaron and I would look like if we were little yellow people. Angie insists that my Simpson likeness is the best! What do you think?

Labels: Aaron and Callie, BBBS, Friends

Angie and I went to Tulsa on Saturday to celebrate Callie's birthday. We went out to eat at a place called Cheddar's. There's a new one in Wichita, but we hadn't been there yet. After lunch, we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium. One the way out, Callie snapped a picture with her cell phone. Angie nearly cried when she learned that Callie has her in her "fab five" labeled "sis." We're really glad we decided to be bigs so long ago.

To see a slideshow from the aquarium, click here.


Before we dropped her off at her house, we played around with her new puppy, Max. He's already much bigger than Harley and is only a few weeks old!


Max, a puggle.


Our time in Tulsa was great but the drive down and back was an adventure (Attention Oklahoma officials: some of the highways in Oklahoma, especially the ramp linking I-244 East with US412 West in Tulsa, are in horrid condition). There's been an enormous amount of rain in the region lately causing many roads and highways to flood, including this portion of the Kansas Turnpike just north of the Oklahoma border. Maintenance crews were out to warn us as traffic slowed to a crawl. We were hugging the dividing wall and the right side tires were still in the water. Angie shot this image out the passenger side. Notice a pole sticking up; that's where the edge of the roadway is.

Labels: Aaron and Callie, BBBS, Friends, On Location

Angie and I felt like proud parents today after hanging out with Aaron and Callie in Topeka. Angie was matched with Callie during college and I was matched to Aaron during our stay in Topeka. Though we're not officially matched anymore, we stay in touch and get together whenever we can. It just so happened that both Aaron and Callie were in Topeka this week to see relatives so we made the drive up.


"damn hippies! get off my lawn!"



We ate a great lunch at HuHot, which is a must for anyone ever in Topeka. We followed that with a round of mini-golf and a few rounds of skee ball. It started to rain about the time we finished, but we headed out to Lake Shawnee to take some pictures on the new pedestrian bridge. With a few more minutes to spare, we headed to our old favorite coffee shop before taking Aaron and Callie back home. Aaron will be a freshman in high school this year and has really gotten into the band. He plays the sax and has started guitar lessons. Callie is maturing into an intelligent young woman, bravely facing her parents' divorce.

Labels: Aaron and Callie, BBBS, Friends

After Christmas, Angie and I went to Topeka to visit Aaron, my former Little Brother. Our match ended in 2005 when he and his family moved to Cincinnati. They still make it back to Kansas every now and then to see family and we make it up whenever we can. So these pictures are from our short jaunt up to Burnett's Mound on Topeka's southwest side. Angie took the pictures of Aaron and I together and I snapped the portraits of him by himself and the self-portrait.

Labels: Aaron and Callie, BBBS, Friends