Ho Ho Ho! The Staley 2010 Christmas!

This year the Staley Christmas was on Sunday, December 19th. Dustin and I put our heads together and decided we should have a white backdrop filled with snowflakes and, of course, lots of colorful props for our Christmas photos. Everyone was in the Christmas spirit and really had fun in front of the camera - even Mike! After our lively picture taking session, we all headed upstairs to open gifts, which is always a good time! After gifts and snack time, we played Hedbanz. Just how did Aunt Norine get "Nude Beach" Logan??? And how about Uncle Ron getting "The White House"? See photos.

So glad everyone was able to come. We'll start right now planning our next Christmas get together, hmmmmm.....

Kelsey's Feeding School, 9/1/10

This past fall, September 1, 2010 to be exact, Kelsey entered the Helen DeVos Childen's Hospital Intensive Feeding Therapy program. While Logan and Olivia went off to their school, Kelsey, with backpack in hand, went off to her school, "Feeding School". She has been completely dependent on G-tube feedings since she was 5 1/2 months old, but not anymore!!! She graduated from "Feeding School" on November 1st! She is completely independent of her G-tube!!! Yea Kelsey!!!!!! We're all so proud of her and Cheryl for all their hard work!!

She'll have to maintain her weight for 6-9 months before the doctors will remove her Gtube. The program Kelsey was in, is the first and only one of it's kind in Michigan, as well as only one of a handful in the whole United States. She received multiple feeding therapy sessions on a daily basis for eight weeks. The program offers a multidisciplinary approach to feeding therapy. Lead by a psychologist, the team consisted of speech and occupational therapists, a nutritionist, a medical doctor, physician's assistant, a social worker and of course, the parents. The goal was to improve eating through feeding sessions and behavior modification. Through all of the tantrums, fits, food refusal, spitting, throwing and everything else imaginable, the end result was all well worth the effort! Everyone remaining patient and calm, well, that was a tough one too! This program was a huge effort on everyone's part and it was truly a very grueling and trying time for Cheryl. We salute you Cheryl for your stamina and love for Kelsey to see it through!! You are an awesome mom!

Kelsey had entered the program eating mostly yogurt and would only eat in front of the television. Now, Kelsey eats at the dinner table with the rest of the family. She eats over 72 different foods and drinks her liquids from a squeeze bottle. There is every reason to believe that once she becomes more aware of the connection between hunger and food satisfaction, she will feed herself and initiate meal times. Until that time, there may be more time spent at the Helen Devos Feeding Clinic. But, for now, a huge milestone has been met. What a great accomplishment! Congratulations to both Kelsey and Cheryl! We love you!

Thanksgiving, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! This was the first year Ashley wasn't home for Thanksgiving. She and Jonathan were in Indiana. There were only 10 of us here this year, but we really had a great time! The Ohio kids were able to sit at the grown-up table!! Dinner was yummy and playing Hedbanz was a hoot! We missed the rest of you! See you all on the 19th for Christmas!

L39 Comes Home to Papa, December 5,2010

The L39C Aero Vodochody Albatros N139VA, now with a new tail number of N139VS, arrives in Mason after a 2 hour flight from Gadsden, Alabama.

Ron and his instructor Richard Hess flew back at 27,000 feet with an air speed of 425mph, but unfortunately also had a head wind in excess of 50 knots. Ron's final check ride is scheduled for Thursday, December 16th and Ron will be licensed to fly the newly restored jet.

Good friend Dan Schiffer is hosting the plane to be stored in his hanger in Mason, Michigan for a time until a home can be found large enough to store the 9900 pound bird.

This plane typically will be tracked by radar, so you can watch the latestest at flights online.

Riders anyone???

Chicago Visit, 10/28/10

This past weekend Ron and I went down to Chicago to support Carol at her biggest event of the year, San Miguel School's 4th Annual School of Rock concert at the House of Blues. Featured was Jim Peterik & World Stage playing music from the 1980's. (Think "Eye of the Tiger", "Working for the Weekend") What a great time we had! The music was fantastic! We even stayed up past our bedtime! We were very impressed watching Carol in action executing her job brilliantly! Nice work Carol!!! Our favorite photographer was off duty and enjoying the concert with us, so no photos of the evening, but the next day, he had set up a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home for Ron and brought his camera along for some great photos. It was a beautiful day and the tour was very cool! We ended the tour with a walk up and down the street seeing several other homes designed by FLW. Couldn't have picked a better way to spend the day! We enjoyed spending time with Dustin and Carol and their friends! Great company, great restaurants and great city! Thanks for a really special time Dustin and Carol!

Ron's Induction Into The Montrose Sports and Community Hall of Fame

On Saturday night, October 2, 2010, we traveled back to Ron's hometown of Montrose, Michigan where he was inducted into The Montrose Sports and Community Hall of Fame for the Special Achievement Award. Dustin, Ashley and Jonathan joined us for lunch in Hartland and then we all headed north to Montrose for a trip down memory lane before the induction. Dustin put a mic on Ron and asked him questions about growing up in Montrose as we drove around town. (That'll be an interesting video for the future generation to see!) We met Mom and Aunt Norine at McDonalds and then we all headed over to the Montrose Community Auditorium for the induction. Kerri, Phyliss and Earl met us there. Congratulations to my very impressive and well deserving husband! I'm very proud of you! Thank you to everyone who came for Ron's special evening. Also, a very special thank you to Dustin for the great photos!

Logan's 1st Football Game, 9/11/10

Logan began his football career on Saturday, September 11, 2010 playing for the Lowell Red Arrows. He started the game off with a great kick Don said. He played right guard and defensive end. He played the entire game except for 60 seconds! Logan squared off against one of the opponent's defensive players who was about 124 pounds and at least 12" taller than him! Logan is 54" tall and weighs 72 lbs, but he never let the big guy get through the line! Awesome! Unfortunately, the big guy was throwing mud in Logan's face and grabbing his face mask. Take the high road Logan, you'll always win doing the right thing! Good game! Goooooo Red Arrows!

Gatorfest Runner Up, 9/11/10

Congratulations to Kolby for being 1st Runner Up in the Anahuac Gatorfest which is a 3-day event and brings in about 30,000 people each year! Anahuac is the Gator Capital of Texas officially recognized by the Senate and House Resolutions in 1989! How cool our own Kolby was runner up for Little Gator King! Seriously though, his mohawk alone should have been enough to crown him king! You are awesome Kolby! We are so proud of you! Peace!

Lauren and Firefly, 7/13/10

I want to back up once again to this past summer. There were so many news worthy happenings that I have to go back and mention them! On July 13th, Lauren's horse Firefly was taken to Turning Point Farm in South Lyon, Michigan for the American Hanoverian Inspection. Each summer there is an inspection tour around the U.S. for Hanoverians to be inspected and branded by German judges. Standards are kept highly selective. The Germans have run the Hanoverian Society in the city of Hannover, Germany since 1735. The American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is the sister society and is based in Lexington, Kentucky. At the inspections, foals can be registered, inspected and branded to prove they are full Hanoverian blood and meet the highest standards.

Firefly attended her first foal inspection with her mother Lucky in 2004. Firefly was awarded the honor of "Top Hanoverian Filly"! Just so happens Lauren was at this inspection with her trainer Marie. Lauren was playing with Firefly when her other trainer Karin said "Lauren, there's your next horse!". Lauren replied "Yeah right.". Lauren told me that at that time she could only dream of owning such a talented horse. But, just 4 short months later, Lauren became the new owner of Firefly! Mike and Kerri recognized Lauren's love for horses as well as her dedication and knew Firefly should be hers. Apparently, it took a lot of convincing Firefly's owner to sell her and to this day, she still regrets letting her go!

Lauren's plan was to show and breed Firefly, so the next step was to prepare her for the Mare Performance Test (MPT) where she would be scored on temperament, conformation, correctness of gaits and ability to perform at the highest level of competition. There are three portions to the MPT - Free-jumping (jumping in a chute without Lauren on her), Triangle (showing the walk and trot in the shape of a triangle to view all angles of the gait) and Riding (showing the gaits undersaddle and her willingness to perform as a riding partner). To achieve the "Elite Mare Status", Firefly needed an overall score of 7. So, at Turning Point Farm this past summer Firefly was tested. She fell short of elite status, but her score of 6.44 was a high enough score to enter her into the Main Studbook, which means that she can be bred and have her foals registered and branded with the AHS.

Lauren told me she learned a lot preparing Firefly for that moment and although Firefly did not achieve elite status, she is still a very special horse to her and it certainly doesn't hinder her ability to shine in the show ring and produce beautiful babies! Lauren plans to breed her in the next few years and will research many stallions to find the best fit for Firefly! If you want to get an idea of just how beautiful these horses are you can check out Firefly's sire Feiner Stern. Lauren says she looks a lot like her daddy! Congratulations to Lauren and Firefly on a lot of hard work and a beautiful partnership!

FALL FOOTBALL!

It's that time again! Football Season!!! Dustin and Carol came home for the first UofM game of the season against UCONN. Final score was 30-10 Michigan! Makes for a very happy boyfriend, right Carol? Next game is Saturday, September 11 at Notre Dame. GO BLUE! And for Jonathan, MSU crushed Western with a 38-14 victory! Next game is Saturday, September 11 at Ford Field in Detroit against Florida Atlantic. GO GREEN!

A New Runner, 9/5/10

Congratulations are in order for Shannon and Melissa! On Sunday they both ran a road race as part of the Great Geauga County Fair. Shannon ran a 5 mile race and and averaged a 9:24/mile pace to finish in 47:01 minutes. Larry ran the race with Shannon hoping for an easy run. Surely she would walk and he would be right there with her for moral support. He was quite surprised and proud as Shannon only walked 1 minute of the race! How are those knees Larry??? Nice going Shannon! Melissa cleaned up in the Women's 45-49 age group with a solid victory! We all bow to you Mis. You are still in great shape! Congratulations!

Naiser's First Big Trip

I asked Denni and Greg to give me some information about their first trip abroad this past summer so I could post it. Denni gave me a very nice run down of the whole trip, so I've decided to post it using her words. Take it away Denni!

July 12 –16 Paris
16 –17 Basel, Switzerland
17 Bern, Switzerland (Day trip)
18 Murren, Switzerland (Swiss Alps)
19 Milan, Italy (Day trip)
19- 22 Rome, Italy
22 Florence & Pisa
23 Venice (Day trip)
24-25 Basel, Switzerland
26-28 Munich, Germany

Absolutely LOVED Paris! Greg and I were amazed that it didn’t get dark until 10:30-11:00 at night! Would love to go back and see more…which really would not be much! Highly recommend the Fat Tire Bike Tour (located right under the Eiffel Tower). If we had done this first, it would have eliminated the quarter size blister I got on the ball of my foot from all the walking we did the first day! I now know why French and Italian women are skinny!

Switzerland was the most beautiful. Bern was probably my favorite town! Angie and I laid in front of the famous clock there. (When playing this game, you need to make sure that there are lots of people around. They either look at you like you are crazy or take your picture!) We stayed in a Swiss Chalet in Murren! The small town of Murren was up so high that we had to take a tram and 2 different trains to reach it. The air smelled so crisp and fresh. The Swiss cows actually wear bells and you can hear them up in the mountains. Since it was in the 40’s during the day, our beer actually stayed nice and cold! (I could have stayed there forever and not just because of the cold beer!)

Rome, of course, had the best sights to see, but I was not impressed with the city itself and it was HOT. You have to see the Vatican and Sistine Chapel in person. Pictures cannot capture their granduere! (same for the Duomo in Milan). Florence is near the Tuscan part of Italy and was beautiful. We took a bus tour to learn about the city and it’s history. We would loved to have gone further south. (Saving that part for the next time around!)

Venice was amazing as well. How this city is built with all the water is crazy! It’s literally like walking in a maze! Wish we could have stayed the night and been able to ride in a gondola. But time was not on our side this trip…maybe next time!

Back to Basel, Switzerland – Since my cousin Angie, who lives there, was gone so much before we got to her again, she was unaware of the Tattoo (Music) Festival that was taking place in town. We just happened to stumble upon it as well as all the parades that took place. Angie and I again snapped a ‘laying down’ shot in front of a group of guys from Scotland wearing their kilts! Although I saw some very interesting outfits, I don’t think any of them got as much attention as my pink shorts did with the locals!

Munich - The first thing I could smell was hops!!! I guess with all the brew houses around, what else would you smell! I loved it! The weather during our two days was rainy and cold. We did get to take a bike tour around parts of the city and learned a little about the history. Marienplatz (town hall) is beautiful! I don’t remember the name, but there’s a street that runs in between two churches in town and during Hitler’s days, if the Jews did not salute his statue before crossing the street, many were shot to death. Today there is a path of copper plated cobble stones down this street to represent the bloodshed lost. Since it was rainy, most of our time was spent at……yep you guessed it…Hofbrauhaus! We probably couldn’t tell you much about the food that was on the menu, but we can tell you about the BIG ASS beers we had! Oh wait, Greg did eat two pig knuckles in two days! They were really good! On our last night, we met a family from Boulder, Colorado and some local ‘elder’ women. We had a great time. (I could have pimped Greg out to one of the ‘elder’ local women and made good $$!) Oh, and my last ‘laying down’ picture was right in front of the polka band!!!!

We saw so much in 14 days! Greg and I tried to think of anyone that could have kept up with us and no one came to mind. I can honestly say that these trips are getting harder as we get older. Greg keeps telling me that it was a once in a life time trip…but I’m not buying it. I can see another trip in our future, older or not!

Another Camper, 8/25/10

Camp Staley was reopened for a few days when Little Miss Olivia decided to come for a visit! She played dress up, swam in the pool, colored, swam in the pool, made a doll house, swam in the pool, ate at the Yum Yum Tree, swam in the pool, went downtown to play at the playground and go to the toy store and Oh My Lolli, and then, of course, swam in the pool! Olivia got a big surprise when Uncle Ron jumped in the pool after she kept telling him "You can't get me!". I'm not sure who had more fun, but I can tell you the whole pool room was soaked! Thanks for coming Olivia! Good luck with kindergarten this year!

Dustin's Photo Shoot with Dwyane Wade

Dustin had an amazing belated birthday gift this year: he had his first photo shoot with an NBA star, none other than Dwyane Wade! It all came about because through his friend, Jeff Nelson, who started the non-profit US Empowered, an organization that empowers highly effective teachers to guide under-performing students in low income schools to successfully enroll in and graduate from four-year colleges.

Dustin originally photographed their largest event of the year, the Annual Graduation Gala, where there were numerous items on silent auction, and a handful of *priceless* items up for live auctions. One of the most sought-after items was a package in which 5 people would be able to play a full basketball game against Wade and "the President's Men." The President's Men consisted of 4 of President Obama's best basketball friends growing up. The package sold for over $10,000 and included a photographer to make sure the winner had plenty of photos of the priceless event.

The game was played on August 14th at the East Bank Club and was a very private event. Dwyane was a great guy and spent time with everyone at the event, hung out with all the kids, and played a great game of basketball. Dustin photographed the entire event, but if you don't want to wade through all the photos, you can find the best of the best HERE.

Racing News from Kzoo

Going back again this summer, let's talk about July 31st when Mike won the Modified Division at US131 MotorsportsPark with his Super Bad 1983 C10 Red Chevy Pickup!! Mike won out of 80 cars and it took 7 rounds. That win netted him a nice $1250 and moved him up in the year-end standings to 7th! Winning time: 8:70; Speed: 153mph! The top 10-point leaders from each division qualify to race against several teams from other Midwest tracks at the Team Finals. There, they compete as individuals as well as for team points. Team Finals will be held at US131 September 16-19. Congratulations on a great win Mike and good luck at the Team Finals! By the way, would you mind giving Kerri some of your winnings so she can meet me at Von Maur?

Now, the sweet looking Dragster you see belongs to Erin. It seems she has found the need for speed like her dad. Kerri tells me that she is faster than her dad! Erin's fastest E.T. is 8:46, although she usually runs 8:70 at 153mph. Very impressive! They have recently started running her car on alcohol and are planning motor modifications this winter. Apparently, these times are way too slow! For more photos and info, go to http://www.dragaction.com/ and click on DragAction, page 2.