It is finally Fall!!!

Summer had her preschool field trip on Friday out at The Orchard & Co. Since the preschool does not have buses, they needed parents to come too.  We had a lot of fun. But Summer... 

She had TONS of fun!  They had a giant corn kernel barn and Summer was covered in corn dust by the time we managed to get her out.  We also picked apples and I plan on making some fresh apple pie in the coming days.

I felt pretty crummy last week from a cold that she brought back from school, but I did manage to get some runs in to help keep the cobwebs from forming.  

How about those BROWNS?!?!?!  First win in 635 days!  Even Evan was sporting his Browns gear!

And Buckeyes not looking too bad either.  Evan couldn't believe the score at halftime! 

We went to Cleveland this weekend for a few things.  Saturday we helped Dawn's aunt move.  It was going great until my Garmin GPS watch caught a corner while I was carrying a dresser down the stairs.  DANG IT!!!  Not really repairable, to my knowledge because the body broke where the bolt goes through and it is water-tight sealed so you can swim with it.

Sunday we had a family reunion and it was hard to keep Summer from running to the playground every few minutes.  She could spend an entire day at a playground and still want to keep running around.  Such a fun age. 

Here comes the rain again! Rain has started moving back into Southern Ohio and will continue pushing into the rest of the state as we go through the morning with showers and storms most of the day. Highs will be in the low 70s, so wet, cloudy, and mild for the start of the workweek with some on and off showers tonight as well.

The rain will be sticking around for the first half of the week with some heavy downpours in pockets.  

We will warm into the upper 70s Tuesday and getting into that warmer air will help fuel the storms. There is not a great likelihood of any severe weather today, but Tuesday and Tuesday night we are in the Marginal/Slight Risk for severe storms. Tuesday's rain will be on and off and a few of the cells could get gusty, including some hail, and cannot rule out the chance of a tornado. Marginal Risk for Eastern and Southern Ohio, but the higher risk of severe storms, a Slight Risk, for Central, Western, and Northern Ohio. The strongest storms though will likely hold off until Tuesday night.

The rain will wrap up early Wednesday and start leaving. Marginal Risk for severe storms early Wednesday morning as the rain races out of here. So wet Wednesday morning then mostly cloudy and mild. Mid 70s for Wednesday then upper 60s by Thursday, for the high temps. Partly cloudy and cool for Thursday then more sun and warming into the lower 70s for Friday and Saturday. Rain possibly returning Sunday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

I'm Back! Had a great staycation around Ohio!

Well... last week was planned differently, but wouldn't have changed it. We were planning on going to the Carolinas for Dawn's cousin's wedding, but with a one month old and Hurricane Florence we thought it best to stay at home instead. This allowed for some fun family time.  I already had the week off of work, so we tried to make the most of the time together. 

We started off last weekend staying inside due to all the rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon.  We had some dead grassy spots in the front yard from the summer's heat and lack of rain at our house, so Summer and I planted new grass seed.  It has already started popping up, so we need to make sure we keep up on the watering.

Monday I was able to take Summer to preschool and then went for a five mile run while she was there.  Gotta take advantage of the down time.  Evan and Dawn were resting.

Then the family went to the Columbus Zoo after preschool.  Fun time! 

Tuesday we took a trip back to my parents' house.  Lots of country cooking.  Summer was making elephant ears here. 

We got back just in time for me to join the Columbus Westside Running Club for their Tuesday evening run.  Then it was Taco Tuesday with the club and the rest of the family came to eat as well. 

Wednesday we had preschool then swimming lessons for Summer.  I stayed for family swim afterward and we worked on getting more comfortable in the water. Then, while the rest of the family was napping in the afternoon, I went out and got a new lawn mower since our mower was on the outs.

No preschool Thursday so the family went to Hocking Hills.  This photo does not do this location justice.  That rock wall behind us is at least 100 feet high.

Love going to Hocking Hills!  We also always stop at Millstone BBQ on the way back.  SO GOOD!

Friday was a chill day.  We had preschool in the morning then got stuff done around the house.  We did go out and get some Hot Chicken Takeover for lunch. 

Summer woke up early enough on Saturday for us to go for a run again with my peeps.  Great morning for a run!

The best part about the time off was that the four of us were in a routine enough that we actually got great time to spend together.  When Evan was born, 5 weeks ago, it was a little chaotic at times. This time we were more in a groove and fit in the fun excursions.

One more dry day before Florence brings us rain. Today we will start out with a dry and sunny morning with warm temps. Clouds from Florence will start moving in for the afternoon with highs in the low-mid 80s and humidity making it feel a tad sticky. Rain will start arriving from the south late this evening and continue pushing in overnight and for the day on Monday.

The track of Florence's low pressure will track north, today, through Eastern Tennessee & Eastern Kentucky. Then it will turn northwest and track along the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia later tomorrow and into Pennsylvania Tuesday. The heaviest rain will be east of that track, so Ohio will be spared from torrential rains in the Appalachian Mountains. The heaviest rains for Ohio will be to the southeast and SE Ohio could see 1-2" by Tuesday morning and little to no rain for far NW Ohio. High temps for Monday will be cooler, highs in the mid 70s, with winds 10-20 mph from the NE early in the day and switch to the NW later in the day.

High temps bounce back into the low-mid 80s for the rest of next week. Tuesday morning we will have clouds and a few lingering showers, mainly early, then some clearing later in the day. Mostly sunny skies return Wednesday and Thursday. A cold front approaches for Friday with scattered showers and storms looking likely. The front then stalls over Ohio on Saturday and that may trigger more rain. We will have to keep an eye on this because if Florence slows down or speeds up then it may adjust the timing of the next round of rain. Have a good one!
Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Good luck Summer! We now have a preschooler...

So Dawn just dropped off Summer for her first day of preschool.  No crying, no pleading... just "Bye Mom."  Summer has been asking to go to school for a long time and she has been so over-the-moon excited to make new friends and learn more.  She now will have responsibilities for the rest of her life.  HAHA!

Labor Day was a pretty good day.  Worked the morning shift, ran some errands, mowed the grass... then relaxed.  We had a few friends over and it was a pretty good day... Hot, but we managed to stay cool in the shade and the kids had fun in a new pool. 

Some would say that we had a whale of a good time.  Meijer had some of these little kid pools on clearance so we picked one up for the kids.  Summer had a blast with our friend's daughter.  Evan... well he just slept. 

This kid loves to sleep!  Everyone is doing great at the house.  Dawn is taking about 200 photos an hour of Evan.  I almost got a photo of him smiling yesterday... ear to ear smile, but it only lasted a quick minute. 

One more hot day, then a couple rounds of rain on the way. We will warm back into the lower 90s today with humidity making it feel like the upper 90s. We will, again, see isolated showers/storms pop up in the afternoon due to the heat and humidity. Clouds stick around tonight with an spotty shower possible. A cold front will pass through Thursday triggering more showers and storms, so be sure to have the rain gear handy tomorrow. It will also cool us off with highs in the lower 80s. A spotty shower/storm possible Friday, but most of the day looks to be dry with partly/mostly cloudy skies.

Then we get to the weekend and the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon. Gordon officially made landfall last night between Boloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama. It was a strong tropical storm and was barely below the hurricane criteria. The storm will continue northwest into Western Arkansas the next 48 hours then take a right-hand turn and head toward the Ohio Valley for the weekend. The forecast models continue dropping our high temps for the weekend so we are going to go with mid 70s for highs Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The big question is when will the storm make that right-hand turn. The GFS and Canadian model have the turn earlier and bring in steady rain for Saturday PM and lasting through Sunday. The Euro model holds off on the turn a little later and does not bring the steady rain to Ohio until Sunday into Monday. So there is still some uncertainty in when the rain will arrive and leave, but it does look like Sunday will be wet for us.  The newest GFS is leaning more towards the Euro with delaying the rain. So I did up the chance of rain for Monday from the early morning forecast. High pressure builds by Tuesday with sunshine coming back. Euro, the delayed rain model, still keeps a little early morning rain for Tuesday, so keeping a 20% chance of rain. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Weekend trip, keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Gordon

Well... with the new addition to the family, I had to increase my stroller capacity.  Since I did so much running with Summer, and plan on doing so much with Evan I wanted to make sure I found a great running stroller.  BOB makes some fantastic strollers with shocks to help absorb the bumps along the trail/road.  They are pricey though, so I checked around for a used one and found a gently used one for a decent price.  It is money well spent, in my opinion, because I normally would run hundreds of miles a year with the stroller.  Summer loved it!  No adapter for the car seat for Evan, yet, but his neck needs to be stronger before any running. 

We went to Dawn's parents for part of the Labor Day weekend.  That means pancakes for Summer, and she helped as well.

Evan got a bath in the kitchen sink and that kid LOVES baths.  

With the extra hands helping take care of the kids, I took a run over at the Royalview mountain bike trails.  Great trails.  I wish I would have had more time to run all of the course, but I REALLY want to go back and crush the small portions that I missed.  

At the top of one of the hills there is a foundation of an old house that likely burned down long ago.  You can still see the fireplace and chimney standing tall.

Here is a view of some of the trail.  So many fun curves including some epic downhill portions that I blasted at around a 6:30 pace.  If I caught a root or rock I would have went flying about 30 yards down the hill, but it felt great.  Just like being a kid. 

The heat is on! Today it will be a hot Labor Day with highs in the lower 90s and humidity making it feel like the mid-upper 90s. This heat will stick around for most of the week and slightly cooler heading into the end of the week and next weekend. Due to the heat and humidity, there will be a slight chance for pop-up isolated rain in the afternoons for the first half of the week. As a cold front get closer by the end of the week the chance of rain will go up, despite slightly cooler temps. While there is a slight chance of rain every day on the extended forecast, the best chance of rain will come next weekend as a cold front will pass through.

We are also keeping a eye on the tropics. In the Eastern Atlantic there is Tropical Storm Florence and that will likely stay a topical storm for the coming days and continue in the direction of Bermuda. Another cluster of storms south of Florida early this morning have organized into Tropical Storm Gordon. The 8:30AM update from the National Hurricane Center has the storm with 45 mph winds along with 60 mph gusts over Southern Florida. It is expected to sustain the strength of a TS over the Gulf of Mexico. It is then projected to have 60 mph winds and LOTS of rain for Louisiana, Mississippi, & Alabama by midweek. We will keep you posted. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael