Lily looked around at all the activity and watched everything that was going on. She didn't appear to be afraid of anything.
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| Komodo dragon |
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| Aunt Sheryl and Lily in garden |
Lily entertained us with growling sounds while we were visiting the bears.
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| Lily |
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| She loved sitting on the lion |
Lily's first visit was a success. She was very well behaved. When we got in the car to leave she was a little cranky but once she was strapped in and we took off she fell asleep.
Lisa took us to a Hibatchi grill in North Canton for lunch. It was really good. Lily slept the whole way there and through part of the meal. She woke up refreshed and ready to go. We had a great day.
July 21st is the actual date of Lily's birthday.
July 22nd Rusty, Terri and I, after breakfast at Honeymoon Grill, went to the Ashery in Holmes County. We shared the road with some of the buggies.
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| Buggy on road |
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| Buggy at Ashery |
We got a lot of great snacks at the Ashery for Terri's and then some to take home with us.
Later that evening we had dinner with my brothers and Debi at Azteca - a favorite of the Bookmans.
July 22nd is Parker's birthday. It's hard to believe but he is turning 5 - where has the time gone. Parker is the oldest in this young generation of Bookmans.
July 23rd we had a busy day today. Went to Swenson's to have Galley boys for lunch - yummy. After Swenson's we explored Don Drumm Gallery, then we had cherry sundaes with chocolate custard at Strickland's - more yummy. Later that evening we went with Terri and Andy and their friends to a winery in Manchester. They get together every Thursday and do something for dinner. Everybody brings something and they have potluck.
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| Don Drumm Studio |
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| Art work in courtyard |
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| Don Drumm art work |
Friday the 24th was another beautiful day. We met the Firestone girls at lunchtime at Dietz's for their annual pontoon boat day. We cruised around the lakes and hit a couple of lake bars. Barbie's husband Dave joined us and was our driver for the day. Later in the journey, Rusty also joined us. It was a great day with great friends.
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| Max making sure we didn't hit another boat |
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| The Gang at Howie's on the Lake |
These ladies have been great friends for over 30 years. We see each other once or twice a year but always have so much fun together.
July 24th, in addition to being my son Bryan's birthday, it is also Rob's (my sister Lynnie's oldest son) birthday. Also, lil Gary and Emma share this birthday - they turned 4 and are the younger siblings of Parker. Happy birthday to all of you.
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| Gary, Emma, Parker |
Saturday the 25th we met Rusty's cousin Rick and his girlfriend, Donna at the Art Expo at Hardesty Park. This is an annual event that he is involved in. It was great seeing what all the artists have to offer. Later we had lunch with Rick and Donna at The Mustard Seed Market and Cafe - very good. It was good spending time with them.
Sunday July 26th had breakfast with Goober and Cary (my brothers) at a place called Molly Browns. It's just a small little restaurant in Portage Lakes. We had a good breakfast. Later in the afternoon we went to Chad and Mary's to spend some time with them and have dinner. Dana and his two girls also stopped by so we had a chance to spend some time with them.
Monday July 27th had lunch with Rusty at the Upper Deck in PLX.
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| Rusty - Upper Deck |
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| Selfie on Upper Deck |
This evening is our annual Margarita Madness at Don Panchos. This affords us the opportunity to get together with a lot of the people we worked with at Bridgestone. Quite a few of them come out each year so that we can see them. Sometimes this is the only opportunity we have to see these people since we are only in Akron for a two week visit. Year after year, they come out and we have a great time. Kelly France, daughter of our good friends Dave and Gail, is always our waitress. She does a phenomenal job year after year.
Tuesday July 28th we spent the day with Erin, her mom Carole and the kids at West Branch State Park. Packed picnic lunches and spent the day on the beach. You guessed it, another beautiful day in OH. Parker just charged on into the water without any fear whatsoever. Lil Gary and Emma were a little more reluctant to go in but once they did they had a blast. We had a wonderful day spending time with the kids. They are so active, it took all 4 adults all we had to keep an eye on them. We had so much fun with them but we were exhausted when we got back to Terri and Andy's.
Wednesday the 29th we met Terri and Andy's friends at Honeymoon Grille for breakfast. This is a group of people they have known since high school and they spend quite a bit of time with them. Lazed around most of the day until it was time to go to Azteca again for dinner. This time Skeet, Lisa and Lily were able to join the rest of the Bookmans. Love these opportunities to get together with the family over dinner.
Thursday the 30th Rusty met John Garger, another former teammate, at Panera for breakfast. I just went for a nice long walk while he was gone. In the afternoon we went to the Bridgestone headquarters for the retirement celebration of Sue Habyan and Cheryl Schlosser in the Atrium. They both retired from the Human Resources department after many years of service. We represented some of the HR staff in Nashville carrying their gifts from them since they couldn't make it to Akron. It was a wonderful celebration and we were able to see more friends from the company that gave us so much.
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| Delicious cake |
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| Sue and me |
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| Sue, Cheryl and Steve Charles |
Stopped by Debi's in the evening and ordered pizza from Gionino's - my favorite pizza, sausage, onion and no sauce - delicious.
Friday we had breakfast with Cary at Honeymoon Grille. Later in the morning we met up with Rusty's niece Heidi to catch up. We don't often get to see Heidi or her family. Later that day we met Terri and Andy at the Ido Cafe for an early dinner. After dinner Rusty and I went to the Firestone Stadium for an Akron Racer game. Firestone Stadium brings back a lot of great memories. We both played softball here when we worked in the Akron office. We had a lot of fun at the game.
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| Sunset behind home plate |
Since we will be departing Akron on Monday, we met up again with Mary, Colson and Kim at Starbucks for coffee and pastries on Saturday for one last opportunity to spend time with them. We had dinner that evening with Terri and Andy at El Fogon Mexican Grill. We had a really good dinner and just missed seeing Debi, Lisa and Lily as they came in after we left. The food was really good and I can see us going back again.
Sunday August 2nd the big day for the Bookman Trio - their birthday celebration at Portage Lakes State Park (Big Oaks Pavilion). It is absolute chaos for their birthday celebration but it is so much fun watching the kids enjoying themselves. Gary and Erin are doing such a great job with these 3 cuties. I love them to pieces. Erin makes sure each one of them has their special alone days.
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| Birthday cake |
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| Birthday cookies |
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| Blowing out their candles |
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| Saying thank you to everybody |
They had a blast at their party. Monday August 3rd we headed back to Nashville. We had a great visit with everybody and there was lots to do on this visit. It was great seeing everyone but it was great to be back home.
50th Coventry High School Reunion
The weekend of August 28th we made a second visit to Akron. This trip was to attend Rusty's 50th High School Reunion from Coventry High School. We arrived on Thursday evening spending time with Terri and Andy. On Friday, Debi Bookman and I had lunch at Red Lobster. This was the first opportunity Debi and I have had alone and it gave us time to catch up. It was great.
Saturday the 29th the boys, Parker and Gary, were to have their first soccer game. We were excited we were there and could attend. But first, we met Mary, Chad and Colson at Starbucks for breakfast. We were surprised to have Donovan join us. He is heading out later this week for a year of study in international law in Dublin, Ireland. It is always great spending time with Mary and Donovan.
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| Kicking to the goal |
After breakfast we headed to Boettler Park for the soccer game. The parking lot was packed, this is big business here at this complex. It is such a hoot watching these little guys play. They are so darn cute and I love them to pieces.
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| Parker |
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| Parker, Emma, Gary |
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| Lil Gary |
Saturday night and we are ready for Rusty's reunion. It is being held at Raintree CC. They did a great job setting up the ballroom. Some of Rusty's friends saved us a place at their table. Unfortunately, the food wasn't that great. By the time we ate it was mostly cold, the establishment could have done a better job setting up the food.
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| Welcome |
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| Welcome Cake |
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| Class of 1965 making silly faces |
Rusty had a great time renewing acquaintances and seeing old friends. The band, Out of Sequence, played some great music and there was lots of dancing going on.
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| Table mates |
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| Time for selfies |
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| Rusty and Mary Wooster Newell |
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| Rusty and Carolyn Mack |
Sunday the 30th I stopped over at Debi's to see her and my brothers before we were to take off on Monday. After a short visit with them, I stopped by Skeet and Lisa's to see them one last time. Little Lily was sleeping when I arrived but soon woke up. It is always so good seeing the little ones.
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| Lily and her cute pigtails |
This was just a short visit so we could attend the Reunion but we did have the opportunity to see several of our family members. Monday the 31st we headed back home to Nashville. Another visit to Akron on the books. Next year we will make even more trips to Akron as we have several weddings to attend.
