A New Look

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Here's a shout out to Amy Lay, Margaret Lay, and Kathy Dierkes.....yes, I'm still alive. I just don't blog much, if any, anymore.

2 1/2 weeks left on busy season. It will soon be over!!

Martin

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wow! Second post in a month.....I better start pacing myself.

Well the dog saga was just that a saga...we ended up getting a one year old dog from the humane shelter. It was a mixed breed....part boston terrier, part spaniel, part chow. He is a pretty good dog.....house trained and very smart. He is FULL of energy, and loves Madeline to death....well nearly to death. He wouldn't leave her alone......jumped on her, knocked her over, and basically just gave her what she has given every other animal she comes in contact with....stalking. But this one scared her......so after much discussion, Newman had to go back. It was a sad day for some in our house.....Mac and Andrew. But maybe we'll try again some day. Right now I enjoyed not getting up at 4-5 am and letting him out.

The boys started school this week. Mac is in 7th grade and Andrew is in 5th. Madeline will start kindergarten next week......she goes two days next week and then full time the following week.

My class reunion is coming up....it's actually only the 19th year for us, but we are combining with two other classes to get a larger group. It has been fun the last week or so coming up to the reunion. Several of our classmates have been posting pictures on facebook in a group. It is so funny to see all the big hair and mullets. Oh the memories.

Hope everyone is doing well. Drop me a comment or email to catch up.

Martin

Friday, August 01, 2008

Okay, I will start posting again. It has been very hectic this year. I bought a business on January 1, so I have been completely flooded with trying to live through a tax season, get acquainted with new clients, keep up with administrative work, etc. etc. etc. But all in all it was the best decision I've ever made. I am so much happier than when I worked as a CFO........even though the pressure of running your own business is high, it sure beats where I was. I've gone through so many emotions during the past seven months......rushing through busy season and trying to learn all the clients' business, dealing with employees, former owners, merging three offices into one. And after April 15th it didn't stop......making upgrades to computer systems (buying a server, developing a website, evaluating new tax software, on and on and on. And I've enjoyed nearly every minute of it.


The summer has been good. Business is growing, vacations were good, and now we're ready to get back to normal (if our family can be normal)

Mac and I were talking yesterday about his summer and he said he was way too busy! I have to admit, he had a full schedule:

  • one week of church camp
  • Annual Leconte hike
  • one week of Boy Scout camp
  • one week of a Level 1 Boy Scout trip to St. Louis
  • one week vacation in Springfield, IL and Wisconsin Dells
  • one week at his grandma's in Illinois
  • one week of Vacation Bible School

now he is going back to school in a couple weeks. It has flown by.

Next of the agenda is adding another to our family........a dog.

I'll keep you posted on the next post. No promises, but hopefully it won't be sixth months from now.


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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

It's almost been 6 months since I posted my last blog. I'll try and do better. After April 15th I start posting more regularly. Biggest news......I started my own business....a CPA firm, so needless to say, I'm quite busy right now. I'll give you all the details later, but keep me in your prayers, because tax season is stressful enough without the added pressure of starting a business.

Talk to you soon.

Martin

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Monday, August 13, 2007

Wow it's been a while since I've posted.

The end of the summer came with a vengence. We finished up with a long weekend trip to Gatlinburg with ALL of my family. We had a great time......12 adults and 14 kids all in one cabin. Let's just say a table for "26" is hard to come by at any restaurant. Some of the highlights were Go-Karts, Mini-Golf, Ripley's Aquarium, Dollywood, Pancake Pantry, and the Old Mill. I know we made some good memories, and the kids will be talking about this trip for many years to come.

Andrew went to fiddle camp the first weekend of August. This was the fifth year he has been. It seems to get better every year (more organized, better lessons, etc.) The competition is better now, too. He didn't place at the competition, but he still performed well. He also got to go swimming at the local pool that has a diving board and slide, ride horses, and his group played at a nursing home.

Mack has started soccer again. He wasn't too thrilled with playing this year, but once the games have started I think he'll be okay with it. I think he is just worried about being on a new team with some older boys. They had a "friendly" game with Fairview this past Saturday and although we got beat 6-1, Mack did very well. His team is playing the first tournament this weekend, so we'll see how it goes.

Today is the first day of school.....we now have our kids in three different places. Madeline is in pre-school at Eagles Nest, Andrew is in 4th grade at Winstead, and Mack is in 6th grade at Hillsboro. We are hoping for a great year from all three.

Well I better sign off.......take care and I'll post again soon.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

We're off to Gatlinburg again this week. All my family is coming into town tomorrow night and we head off to Gatlinburg on Thursday 26 people in a 7 bedroom cabin. I'll update when we get back.

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Friday, June 15, 2007



The LeConte hike was great!! We drove over to Gatlinburg on Saturday morning.....after a few hick-ups with fighting kids we finally made it to the hotel. The kids were excited about where we were staying. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn right next door to their favorite mini-golf coarse....Ripley's Davey Crockett Mini-Golf. We let the kids play a round of mini-golf, then we walked to Damon's next door for some dinner. Andrew won a prize on a claw machine in the lobby of the restaurant......he loves those things. After that we swam in the hotel pool. It had a water slide so the kids had a blast......I've got a great picture of Madeline going down the slide. She was a little sceptical at first, but as always she has no fear and just got right to it. Next it was to the grocery store to get snacks and supplies for our hike the next day. Andrew played yet another claw machine, and won yet another prize. I swear that kid is the luckiest claw player to ever play the game. He has mentioned more than once that he wants a full size one at our house. After a few tears (okay, quite a few) of not being able to play again we made it back to the hotel. I distinctly remember threatening that we would just skip the hike.......agghhh I've turned into a typical dad!!

The next morning we got ready and started heading to the trail head for the Trillium Gap trail. I wanted to show Andrea where to pick us up on Monday morning......it was a good thing we took the effort to find the trail head together, because we had a little difficulty finding it the first go around............After that we stopped by the Visitors Center of the Smokey Mountain National Park to get a trail map and get the boys a pin for their hiking sticks. Andrea then drove us up to the trail head for Alum Cave Bluff trail. After a few goodbyes and a promise to take care of her boys we were off.

The past couple of hikes we've done have been with a larger group. And although we missed our friends, I'll never forget the times with just the two boys. Mackinley and I are typically all about getting there.....Andrew every so often would give me some perspective and told us several times to "enjoy the walk" or "Wow look at that scenery"......I love that boy!!

We had a nice lunch together at the Alum Cave Bluff.......turkey sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe, chips, and granola bars.......We had a squirrel that got within a couple feet of us, so we gave him a little snack, too. After lunch we strapped on our packs and hit the trail again. We had a snake cross the trail right in front of us, and it made the boys both jump. I'm sure I would have too, I was pulling up the rear and didn't see it until they came out of their skins. I tried to get a picture of it, but it was too fast.

We made it up to the lodge in about 3 1/2 hours. Once we got checked in, we rested for a little while and then walked up to Myrtle Point for some great views. Dinner was great. I don't think the food is all that good, but after a long day of hiking anything other than trail mix is a treat. After dinner we went up to Cliff Tops to watch the sunset..........we didn't get to see a very good sunset, as it was cloudy, but it was still pretty nonetheless. The boys have a great story about hearing a "rock slip"......it was hysterical so ask them about it sometime.

We usually always play Monopoly in the Clouds with John Voss, but he couldn't come with us this year.....besides a couple girls were already playing. We played Scrabble instead. I told them anyone who spells out LeConte gets triple word score no matter where it is played. Wouldn't you know Mackinley got it in the second round.........A few rounds later Andrew put a "Mt." in front of it.......we loved the creativity so much we gave him the same deal.

The next morning was breakfast (pancakes, grits, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and ham)......yum!! then the hike down. We took Trillium gap down, so we got to see the llamas bring up the supplies.....there was a caravan of about 9 of them.....that was pretty cool. The highlight of the trip came with only about a mile left on the trail. We got to see a momma bear and her cub. The boys were a little frightened at first because several people we met on the way down kept warning us that the bears were down the trail........the first one said "within a quarter mile", then "200 yards", then "right around the bend". The anticipation was more than Andrew could handle. He was truly scared by the time we got up to them. I think Mackinley was scared too, but he'd never admit it. I was a little concerned too, but when I saw the crowd that had gathered I figured surely we wouldn't be the slowest runners in the group....ha-ha. The bears were eating leaves along the trail and we were within 15 feet of them. They totally ignored us, and after about 10 minutes they left the trail and disappeared in the woods. I got some great pictures of them......they are quite a bit smaller than I expected, but still beautiful animals.

All in all it was another great trip......I guess we hiked about 15-16 miles over two days.....Not as much as last year, but still a good hike. The lodge will take reservations starting on 10-1-07 for next year.......I'll be making the calls again. I told the boys as long as they want to keep going....I'll take them......I hope it lasts for many years to come.....I'll take Maddie in a couple years (maybe when she is 5 or 6).

Click on the link below for some pictures of the weekend.

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by mmaguire05

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