Worth The While

Happy Halloween!

From Spider Girl & Her Spider!  Plus there's an album at the right with more pictures:  Halloween 2009.

Pumpkin Carving 2009

   Daddy working hard.
  

   Remi sized pumpkin.

   Lara's lil' pumpkin.

   The finished product.

 
 
 

A Whole New Season!

The Worths have been SUPER busy... hence the lack of blog posts... so here are the highlights in what's become our quarterly newsletter:

Long Labor Day Weekend Trip For Mommy & Lara

I took Lara along for my annual trip to Rockford, IL to visit one of our favs Tricia DuPre.  Her son Timmy is Lara's age, so of course they are BEST buds too.  I spent one day teaching all of Trish's 8th Grade Journalism classes.  Teaching is SO hard!  Thank goodness she made sure I got out on the Rock River on another day to recover.  Remington and Daddy had a good time bonding while we were gone.  And the Dups sent us home with the most adorable birthday gift for her.     More pics from the trip in Rockford 2009 album at the right.

 

 

 

Soccer... UGH!

Miss Lara just wrapped up the soccer season.  Games on Wednesday evenings and EARLY Saturday mornings not only kept us quite busy... it was NOT a pleasant experience.  The previous pics here on the blog were from practice--which quickly got boring, and she felt pointless.  Thank goodness I only took my camera along to the first game when it was fresh and fun---because it. became. TORTURE!  Not just for her, but for her many "fans".  She spent three quarters of the final game crying beside the car to go home.  Nice!  But once she heard there was a goody bag and trophy to wrap up the season, she managed to make it in for a good two minute showing in the fourth quarter.  There's an album of the GOOD memories titled Soccer 2009.  We knew early Soccer would be a disaster, so we scrambled to sign her up for something she definitely likes--Gymnastics.  That's our commitment for Sunday evenings. 

Parties, Parties, Parties!

Our friends Gretchen and Chris threw the coolest birthday party for Lara's 4 year old pal Cooper.  "The Reptile Guy" came to their house and brought ALL kinds of scaly things.  From itsy-bitsy box turtles and frogs, to snakes of ALL sizes!  And I took Larry to his first "Wine Week" at Smith & Wollensky.  Great food, and of course plenty of drink, with some FABULOUS people.  Album for more is called September Parties 2009.

 

 

OCTOBER!

We're packing the month with a lot of the usual fall fun like visiting the pumpkin farm and carving them up.  We stumbled upon a different agri-entertainment place this year:  Leeds Farm in Delaware County.  There's one more new album called Leeds Farm 2009.  Mommy also took Lara to the Palace Theatre in Columbus to see "Cirque Dreams Illumination".  I was pleasantly surprised she hung in for the whole show.  And another former ONNer took the plunge.  On October 17th Carrie Capone became Mrs. Mark Mahoney.  Their wedding was a BLAST!  

 

 

 

 

 

August! Already?!?!

      August is a HUGE month for us because we celebrate the birth of our youngest.  On Sunday, August 9th we had a "Mickey Mouse Fun House" of sorts to mark the occasion.  Of course there was tasty food and cake, plus plenty of presents.  But once the Birthday Girl went down for a nap, many of the adults "rocked out" on Guitar Hero World Tour.  So Remington fans and "Worth Rocks!" groupies can check out highlights from the big day in an album at the right titled Remington's 2nd Birthday.

    Plus another good friend is "taking the plunge" (pun intended) into professional photography.  So he met us at Alum Creek Beach to capture the girls enjoying some of summer.  This picture is one of the many GREAT shots he got, so I made yet another album at the right titled  Rob Abel Photography.

    What has the 4.5 year old been up to?  Now that she's in Pre-K her class leaves the building for field trips.  They've gone to Magic Mountain, The Columbus Zoo, and a few of our great state metro-parks.  Now as the seasons switch, we're excited to watch Lara try something else.  She's a full-fledged pee-wee soccer player!  With her pink cleats, pink ball and pink bag... she's more than prepared to LOOK the part.  Here are some pics from her first practice.

   

 

Worths Back In The ATL

Two years ago in early July the Worths went to Atlanta for Jr. Olympic Volleyball.  But at that time, Baby Worth #2 was just finishing baking in Mommy's belly.  The ATL played host to Jr. Olympic Volleyball once again this year.  And we had a total BLAST checking out fireworks, doing some touristy things and of course swimming-- not just as a family--now of four--but with SEVERAL great friends.

Like...those blond Parsell Girls!  Hailey, Makenna, and Reagan, along with Mommy Nicole, joined us for the first time for an out-of-town volleyball tournie.  Their Dad Shawn, is a VanGuard Co-Director with Larry.

Also two years ago at this time, my friend from forever-ago Dee Drake, became a Mommy when she met lil' Addison Mae in Vietnam.  So we missed Dee on that trip south, but she and her sister Christa have hosted me/us in the Atlanta suburbs many times.

Here are ALL of our lovely little girls ready to go see some fireworks for the 4th!

We were not hurting for entertainment!  We hit the Children's Museum and The Georgia Aquarium.  Chista owns a "Bounce-O-Rama" where we had a pizza party.  After a day at Dee's pool bumming her floatation devices, I broke down and bought the girls matching water wings at a TWO-STORY Target.  Now they are both ALL over the pool.  "Atlanta 2009" is an album at the right with more highlights of our adventures.

 

Summer Already Flying By...

...and it's only a few days into the season!

Although we're both crazy busy with our jobS, we've already managed to squeeze in some crazy FUN too. 

Highlights:

 A "Pinkalicious" Party!

My friend Tammy came up with the BRILLIANT idea to host a totally pink party to celebrate one of our favorite books.  Eight little ladies coloring, icing pink cupcakes and eating a variety of pink food.  Photo album at right titled PINKALICIOUS!

 

A Cook Out With Dear Friends AND Their Offspring!

Pictured: 

Lara, Liz Kallmeyer-1yr. & Audrey Taylor-6.5yrs.

 

ONNer Barb Geller hosted some past and present Networkers.  A beautiful day, with TONS of great food & company.  She even lined up a bouncy house--sitters included--for all the kids.  Sa-weet!

 

A Steamy Day at Kings Island!

Pictured: Lara, Remington, Landon Flaugh-4yrs. and Logan Flaugh-6.5yrs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry called me "adventurous" taking the girls to an amusement park "on my own".  But as you can see, our fab-friends the Flaughs went along too.  They have an AWESOME "Nickelodeon Jr." section with all kinds of rides--even for Remi's age.  It was 90+ degrees, so the Sponge Bob Water Park was a big hit.  And my friend Audrey gets "Mom of the Year" for taking a good dousing so her oldest could enjoy White Water Canyon.   Photo Album at right titled:  Kings Island 2009.

***Congratulations*** 

Jenn and Nick Savage!

Married June 20, 2009 in Westfield Center, Ohio

Current Networker has also become a GREAT friend.  The "Ladies of the Network" had a terrific time celebrating her waning singleness earlier in the month.  Then we road tripped it for the big day--sleep over included.  Everything about it, especially the bride, was BEAUTIFUL! 

 

 

For What It's WORTH

After work and a trip to the dentist Monday that left half my mouth numb, I came home to find our house TRASHED by intruders.  Needless to say... since that moment, it has been QUITE crazy for us. 

We are still finding things missing, like this morning Larry discovered a box of cereal he recently purchased was not in the pantry.  THAT one we had a laugh about... but the IMAC, the laptop, our cameras, video camera, all of the Wii & Nintendo DS items, our DVD library, and some of my jewelry are gone.  Probably for good.  We realize it is mostly just "stuff" that can be replaced and we're lucky it wasn't a lot worse.  Thankfully on this day Remington and I weren't already down for our afternoon nap.

I wanted to share with our friends and family what we've learned from this experience with the hope that it may one day protect you or make it a little easier if--God Forbid-- you become a victim too. 

1.  Have a backup for your backup.  Larry backed up the computer every time it asked... but where is that backup?  IN the computer they took!  He does have SOME stuff on flash drives.  But we purchased the MAC and the camcorder about this time last year... and it's one of those "fancy ones" that doesn't use tape.  So ALL of our video is either on the card in the camera or on the MAC.  Gone are EVERY "first" Remington has done, Lara's first season in the "Joyful Noise Singers" at church, our vacations,  and Bishop Watterson & VanGuard Volleyball matches.  Not to mention all the financial info we kept on there.

2.  Think about your home security.  Our house did not have a security system when me moved in.  We never considered one.  Our neighborhood isn't super swanky, but it's no where near "the hood".  There's only one way in and out and we sit in the back of the development.  But NO neighborhood is immune.  The security system owner told me his business is BOOMING right now because many people are just like us and think about it after the fact.  After talking with many law enforcement types, I also learned it's GOOD to answer the door...or at least look out a window and let them know you ARE home.  These "daytime robbers" look pretty average and will knock first before they make the next move.  If they see you they'll likely hit someone else nearby, but at least you'll help with a description.  Our house was broken into from the back sliding glass door AND kitchen window...both accessible from our nice/secluded deck.  Crazy how things I like about the house were PERFECT for the criminals and things I hate (we don't have a garage entrance into the house) maybe kept our losses lower. 

3.  Make your valuables look in-valuable.  My jewelry drawer was tossed all over the bed.  They just took a pillowcase and filled it.  They emptied my ring container, which had some family pieces and took everything in little blue Tiffany's boxes.  I'm wishing I wasn't so organized!  I had a couple of more pricey pieces in a travel bag in the same drawer... but it seems they didn't dig through it.  At any rate, you can't second guess... but I DO know if my Tiffany's stuff was in Avon boxes (no offense Betty) they wouldn't have known what they had IF they had opened the box.

4.  Throw out old prescriptions.  We do news stories on this ALL the time.  But yes, our medicine cabinets were big draws for them.  They did take about 30 Oxycontin pills left over from a surgery Larry had.  For that reason... some speculate they could come back.  Great!

5.  The biggest lesson:  Watch Your Neighborhood!  If they don't hit our house again once we get what they took replaced, they've had success in our neighborhood now.  Spring and Summer = higher crime rates and the economy IS as tough as it's been in a LONG time.  So yes, a lot of people will turn to these "lower profile" crimes to make money.  3 different area Police Departments are meeting today to talk about similarities in cases.  They're said to be 3-4 people... sometimes the driver just lets them out and comes back.  So if you see anyone out of the ordinary in your neighborhood... at least write down a license plate.

I also want to plug Executive Security Consultants:  614-481-3222.  Owner Doug Huey is a parent of one of Larry's volleyball players.  He started the business 20+ years ago with his wife after he got out of the Ohio National Guard.  Great LOCAL Guy!

Finally, a thank you to everyone who has reached out to make sure we're doing ok.  We are all fine--Thank You God!  Lara hasn't noticed anything YET... but I'm still wondering about what to say when she wants to watch a Disney DVD that "disappeared"?  Without computers at home we may be a little more out of touch for a while and it looks like I have yet another excuse to keep from posting family pictures quickly-ha!  Looking for every positive I can :)  Stay Safe!!!

Way To Go Columbus!!!!

 

The Capital City was jam packed early this morning for the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.  The event to raise money to fight the ugliness of cancer is in its 27th year.  It's grown every year, but with the economy the way it is, organizers were just HOPING it would equal last year's numbers. How 'bout these numbers:  2008- 40,200 some ... THIS YEAR- nearly 46,000!  INCREDIBLE!

Plus I just LOVE my station!  (I haven't read the email yet that I hear is in my inbox about taking away my 401K match yet).  They did a one day telethon for the Race For The Cure on Friday and raised $14,000!  At least $2,000 was raised between 5am-7am...Heather's show.

And how cool do all the pink wigs and Heather Pick t-shirts look?

 

This is just a SMALL portion of Heather's Team.  When the idea was born, the station had no idea they would SELL OUT of the 7,000 wigs they ordered.  She touched SO many, but she would also be the first to tell you her battle was like SO many others.  The survivors who RAN today or the ones currently in treatment riding special trolleys-- we did it for them too! 

I had SO much fun today spending time with many of the people I care an awful lot about.  We had a "Pink Party" on the patio of Bar Louie to soak it all in.  Speaking of soaking, the forecast for today's event did not look bright.  But a line of strong storms broke up just to our west last night.  We probably had 5 rain drops during the entire party and even some sunshine.  Of course HP was there and she's still the best party planner.

**There's a photo album at the right titled:  Race For The Cure 2009**

My Kind Of Mother's Day?

We didn't have a real PLAN for the weekend.  Since I've had children, that's the way I've been "forced to fly" a lot of the time and I've actually gotten a lot more comfortable with it.  I worked the night shift Friday and had to work the 10TV Food Parade four hours on Saturday too.  I can't really count that as WORK though because it's fun to do LIVE TV for a good cause and this is the second year it's been at the Columbus Zoo.  So my mom takes the girls to see the animals while I log my TV time.  And can I just show you this guy who's getting a lot of air time in the Cap City:

Isn't he the CUTEST?!?!  The newly named Beco was born the end of March.  Right now he's only out for the public to see for a few hours a day.  And of course there's a LONG line--especially on the weekend.  But Grand was up for the task and the girls DID get to see him.  They also got a slushy, cotton candy, a flamingo hat etc.  THAT is how "Grand" does the Zoo with girls.  Haha!  It's a real kick to watch the three of them have a day of it.

One more elephant side note:  Mom Phoebe carried that cutie for more than 2 years and he came out 400+ pounds.  Now THAT'S a Mommy!

 

 

Then we got home and THIS arrived:

My very own pink wig!  It's part of a "Heather's Team" package for the upcoming Race For The Cure in Columbus.  It still hurts to be without my good friend HP.  But this promotion to honor her memory has REALLY taken off.  There are going to be THOUSANDS of people downtown Saturday AM wearing these and a shirt with her picture on it.  (A little more background for those who don't live here:  Heather Pick's last TV appearance was in October.  She wore a pink wig and did a live shot from her home to bring more awareness to the fight against Breast Cancer.)

 

Lara is a big fan of Heather's CD and of course she's a HUGE Pink-lover... so she was also VERY excited when I opened the package.

Once Remington woke up from the afternoon nap, we headed to the Polaris Mall.  Grand treated us to California Pizza Kitchen.  Then the girls treated her to more fun at the Mall Play Place.

Heather may have had a hand in how I spent my Mother's Day.  We often talked about how she LOVED gardening and I LOATHED it.  I went out to tackle some weeds in the AM and didn't finish until evening.  Not only did I pull weeds... I went to Home Depot and bought some flowers and shrubs.  I planted 8 things with my very own muddy hands!  I'll even admit that I liked it!   Now I look forward to watering and loving the new additions with the girls.   What a gift! 

Happy Easter!

I haven't taken many pictures since "Disney On Ice".  Especially since my little "pocket camera" is toast.  But we made sure we had the big camera with us this weekend for a Pancake Breakfast/Easter Egg Hunt @ Aunt Pam's church Saturday AM... Auntie Dawn & Mike's visit Saturday PM and of course all things Easter Sunday.

Although it begins at 8:30am, the Egg Hunt @ Radiant Life is AWESOME!  SO many eggs and great prizes for all ages.  Aunt Pam taught Lara how to shake the eggs to choose candy or the "tickets" for the bigger items at the prize table.  And it didn't take Remi long to figure out whether a plastic egg in fact contains candy and is "Worth It" to her.  Plus they had a big inflatable slide and a Twirly-Whirl-- perfect for their ages.

Saturday evening Auntie Dawn and Mike came down from Cleveland.  We went to Scali's with Grand.  Auntie Dawn and Mike ALWAYS spoil all of us.  They brought baskets and homemade goodies-- including HUGE chocolate covered strawberries.  Yum-EE!  I even got a t-shirt and hat from Mike's trip to the NCAA Finals.  Whew whooo!

 

That purple stuff on Lara's face is lip gloss!

Daddy colored eggs with the girls Saturday afternoon and we left one in each of their baskets for the Easter Bunny to eat.  But "He" almost forgot to come!  At 7:15am Larry mentioned that I had forgot to fill them w/the treats and hide 'em.  OOPS!  I almost got caught when Lara came out of her room.  Whew!  I've only got one more year to step up my game or she's going to be on to me/us.  So if you'd like to see more pics of all the fun, there's an album at the right titled "Easter Weekend 2009".