Happy New Years!

Lucy and Cassie living it up on NYE 2007!

Have a great 2008 everyone!

Sweet and Sassy

Sophie's aunts treated her to a girl's night out and a pampering at a salon for little girls last week for a Christmas present. Sophie loved the attention and now insists on putting on glitter spray whenever we go out. Thanks Aunt Steph and Aunt Krista!

Getting Together with Old Friends...

This is what the holidays are all about...

Brad sent me this picture from our annual holiday poker game at Dave's house. In the picture is Rob Pratt, Dave Pratt, Brad Baker, me (with no chips), and Charlie Wentling.

The week ended with a visit from Sean and Jeff.
"The tennis boys always enjoy me..." -Caleb

The Month of December

We have had a busy but wonderful month in December.

Tammy has been providing daycare for four other kids this year. It has been a lot of work but we definately enjoy having them in our home. Each of the kids are special in their own way and it has been a nice change for Caleb and Trey to have playmates around all the time. Things have slowed down at the Treehouse but the playgroups are still a big hit and the community has really embraced the idea. Tammy and Jennifer will be planning out their winter sessions soon.

Carly, Trey and Carson...

Sophie and Caleb played indoor soccer this past session at the Countryside YMCA. It went really well and it was nice for me (dad) to watch my kids playing soccer instead of coaching all the time. Caleb played in the Candy League and was on the Gummy Bears team and Sophie actually got combined with a rec and select league so she got a chance to play in with some older, more experienced girls.

The kids love playing in the snow. Early in December we had a couple of decent snowfalls. Hopefully the pond will freeze over this winter so they can get some ice skating in too.

Trey and Sophie playing in the snow!

Christmas and Hanukkah were wonderful as always. We had Hanukkah dinner with Tammy's parents and Elaine at Silver Spring House and had the Chudnoff family over to our place for presents and a sleep over. Christmas brought all of the Reed's over to our place including Stephanie in from Chicago. Santa was good to the kids and we even got a new foosball table.

Christmas morning.

Towards the end of the month we were all pretty exhausted but a visit from the Tackett's down from the state up north and Aunt Bernice and Uncle Fred from California kept us on the go!

me, mom, mike, krista, aunt bernice, caleb, uncle fred, dad, tammy, trey, sophie, stephanie

As for me, I having taken up swimming lately and am just enjoying some time away from coaching to spend time with the kids as much as I can.

Some random moments...

Memories...

Just had a good time showing the kids old tv shows I used to watch... Go to YouTube and search for picture pages, bloodhound gang, electric company, etc, etc, etc.

If anyone finds the clip where all the kids are running and jumping past each other and the images are repeated over and over let me know. Anyone know what I am tlaking about? I think it was Electric Company but I couldn't find it...

senior prank

This was a pretty impressive senior prank here in Wilmington... They took apart the seats inthe middle of the night and changed the big W to an '08. Too bad they put the apostrophe on the wrong side...

Quick Updates

Sophie - Sophie is attending a church camp this week and seems to really be enjoying it so far. She is looking forward to starting second grade in a couple of weeks. Next week she is travelling to Chicago with Tammy and Gigi to visit the American Girl Store. She has been working so hard on riding her two-wheeler and is so close...

Caleb - Caleb's favorite thing to do this summer has been to swim at the pool. He is a little fish now. He also has enjoyed our trips to Kings Island and visiting the grandparents...

Trey - If you saw Trey's face you would think he has been spending the summer training as a boxer. He is cut and bruised from head to toe. He loves the outdoors and has been keeping Tammy on the move from sun up to sun down.

Steve and Tammy - The Treehouse is doing well and takes most of Tammy's time when she is not with the kids. Steve is in full swing with soccer and already back at work. Yep, summer is over. We did get away to see Robert Randolph and the Family Band recently with Ali and Mike. It was a nice evening.

Outer Banks Pictures

Swim Lessons.

Wilmington News Journal

Today's Wilmington News Journal featured a front page photo of Sophie and friends from a Treehouse class!

Click here.

OBX 2007

Quick Updates!

Steve - Tennis season is over and we finished 3rd in the Dayton area which is great. The school year is about to end and this summer I hope to be a full time "pool dad".

Tammy - Tammy has been very busy with the kids and the new business. The studio has been going well and she is working on her summer schedule.

Sophie - Sophie just finished 1st grade and is looking forward to some time off of school. She is still working hard on her gymnastics which meets twice a week. She is on the preteam which is the group before the competitive level of gymnastics. We have enjoyed going to her meets and watching her progress.

Caleb - Caleb just finished his first year in preschool and a fun season of soccer. He loves sports and ia amazing at tennis on the Wii.

Trey - It is pretty much all about eating for Trey. He eats a lot. He is also into climbing on anything he can... He is starting to say some words, "daddy", "outside", "more", etc...

As for the family, we are heading to the Outer Banks on Saturday so look for a video and pictures soon. Drop a line and let us know what is new with you!

Caleb playing soccer...

http://www.muralauction.com/

Today's Wilmington News Journal frontpage article:

3/15/2007 7:32:00 AM

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The Treehouse, something different in Wilmington for young children and their parents, will have open house hours Friday and Saturday. In the foreground left to right are operators Jennifer Spees and Tammy Reed. The kids in the photo left to right are Sophia Reed, Trey Reed, Jaxton Spees and Xander Spees. Unique space for kids opens Puppet theater, pirate boat swing will spark fun, creativity Wilmington residents Jennifer Spees and Tammy Reed will host a grand opening of The Treehouse, a unique play space designed especially for young children. The Treehouse will have open house hours from 10 a.m. to noon on both Fridays and Saturdays, as well as from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Fridays. The Treehouse is located at 35 N. South St. in downtown Wilmington. The Treehouse aims to provide a safe, creative, fun environment for children to explore, learn, interact and develop new skills. "We created The Treehouse with the intention of enriching the community by offering organized playgroups, yoga for kids, parent/infant sign language classes, and birthday parties," Spees said. Reed added, "We hope to offer children of Wilmington and the surrounding communities a place to play, use their imaginations, and cooperate with peers." Spees holds a master's degree in human development and family studies from Colorado State University, and a bachelor's in early childhood education from Miami University. She previously worked at various child development centers focusing on children ages birth to 6. She has two sons ages 4 and 1, and is pregnant with her third child. Reed holds a bachelor's degree in humanities from Antioch University McGregor in Yellow Springs. She is certified as a yoga instructor by Karma Kids Yoga. Reed has extensive experience working with children of all ages. She has three children, ages 7, 4 and 1. In the one-hour playgroups, children will experiment with art, media, music, creative and cooperative play with peers. Time will permit both free play and structured activities with a playgroup facilitator. The 45-minute Yoga For Kids class for 3- to 5-year-olds is designed to introduce a child to yoga through a series of fun, creative and sometimes silly activities. The 45-minute Infant Sign Language class for expectant moms to 2-year-olds is designed to help your infant or toddler communicate before they can use words. Studies show signing with an infant leads to better communication, and also enhances language skills, stimulates intellectual development and promotes prereading skills, according to Spees and Reed. Parking available behind Wilmington City Hall in public parking lot. For more information about The Treehouse, visit www.studio35.wordpress.com.

Waynesville 2007

Funny Video... I ran for OSU!

Another of my students videos...

Caleb makin' Pizza

Caleb's preschool class took a trip to Papa Johns this week...

Week in Review...

Pictures worth a thousand words...