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

I love Google Photos... here is why...

So I obviously have to be up early for work.  So I miss out on the evening and the early morning shenanigans at home.  But Dawn and I backup all of our photos on Google with our accounts, so I can see photos from her phone and she can see mine.  So this was from Saturday night when we went to a friend's wedding reception.  

Or how about Summer and Evan hanging out on the couch.  Summer has been a fantastic big sister and so helpful.  I wish I could be around for moments like this, but at least I can see what I am missing.

While I don't THINK he knows that he is smiling here... Evan has been making so many facial expressions and I am just trying to enjoy these young months as much as possible. This was also from here phone.  

As for me... It has been busy lately with some close friends and family visiting lately, so I have had to skip afternoon naps and it's been too hot to run, so I made a few early morning runs before work.  Summer is also starting preschool next week, so we have been busy with orientation and open house with that.  Hard to believe she is getting that old already...  

In other news... I am participating in the Labor Day sale on Etsy, so if anyone is interested in saving some money... stop by my Etsy store.  Just go to BalmByBuck.com

Goodbye 90s! We can safely say that today we will not reach the 90s in Central Ohio because a cold front is passing through early this morning. The front, currently draped along I-71 from Cleveland to Cincinnati, will slowly move toward the Ohio River in SE Ohio for midday today and eventually push farther to the SE. Low Pressure along that front, currently in Western Kentucky, will slide up that front and pass by to our south. With the Low so close and the front still moving though, we are going to keep a low chance of some isolated showers today with the best chance for Southern Ohio. Clouds will slowly clear through the day with more sun by the evening along with cooler temps today and highs near 80. We will still stay a tad humid today and tomorrow then getting more humid this weekend. Tonight the clouds will clear out, but patchy fog will likely form overnight & for Friday morning. Partly cloudy Friday and comfortable with highs back in the lower-mid 80s. Then we get to your Labor Day weekend... There will be some spotty rain trying to pop up, but it will only be about a 30% chance of rain for each day. So I wouldn't cancel outdoor plans, but make sure that you are prepared in case you get caught in one of these isolated showers. Temperatures will continue to warm up from the mid to upper 80s through the extended weekend. Long term forecast models continue warming us to near 90 by the middle of next week with the chance of rain still very low. A better chance of rain returns later next week and that should help start cooling us down a little. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

I am BACK! Along the #BucksBabyBeard... for today...

I got approval to keep the baby beard for one day and one day only, but it does feel good to be back into a routine, but I really did love the time I got to spend with family. 

We had family walks to the park...

I told Dawn to take some time for herself and she went to get a haircut, so I took the Evan and Summer to play at Scioto Park and play near the river... but not in the river... 

Summer got her first real haircut too and just got the ends evened out. 

I also promised Summer that we would sleep outside in the tent, so we did that two nights.

And I just had a great time hanging around with the kids and get used to the new addition to the family.

To finish off the time off on a great note... We helped celebrate Tara Morgan's wedding on Saturday night, so Dawn and I had a fun date night! It was nice to get out, without the kids, and enjoy time with just the two of us.  Love her so much.

As for the weather... Summer isn't over yet! For the next three days we will have high temps near 90 and humidity making it feel like the mid 90s. Lots of sun today with some afternoon clouds bubbling up and a slight chance for some isolated pop-up PM rain. Clearing and staying warm tonight. Tuesday should be dry for the area with the heat and humidity sticking around. A final push of hot air on Wednesday with increasing clouds and scattered showers and storms likely for the second half of the day. Some models are holding off on the rain until late into the day, but rain is likely. Some lingering early rain possible Thursday as less humid air arrives for the end of the week. Partly cloudy for late Thursday and Friday with highs near 80. A push of warmer and more humid air for the weekend along with a slight chance for some rain later Saturday into Sunday. Right now the chance of rain for the first Ohio State football game is pretty low, but we will keep an eye on it. Have a good one!


Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

The whole Michael family under one roof!

This is a very rare photo. Marcus has been in Europe teaching, Amanda is in Florida working at Disney, and Bryant lives six hours east now near Philly... so it has been about 360 days since we have all been together in person.  It was initially only supposed to be a quick lunch, but the Cleveland Browns were not on TV at my parent's house so everyone stayed later and Clark was able to come after work.  So we all got together and caught up.  Moments like this will never be overlooked.  Truly a special time to have the whole gang together.   It will probably be another 10 months until this happens again because Marcus is aiming to teach English in Hong Kong next.

Everyone commented on this amazing flower arrangement that a good viewer friend, Mindi, dropped off last week.  It was a group gift from some of my amazing friends on Twitter: Mindi, Cathy, Rick, and Dawn.  They are sitting here beside me now and still look amazing.  Mindi also got a few small things for Summer and Evan too.  Summer has not stopped playing with her vet doctor toys.  She keeps using the stethoscope to check our eyes.

Speaking of Evan... he is about to set sail!  He has been sleeping a LOT, but slowly waking up a little more each day and is a champion eater!

I have not ran much while off because of how there are a bunch of moving targets with all that is going on, but I did wake up before the rest of the house yesterday and went for a seven mile run before the sun came up. 

But made it back in time to make breakfast for the family.  The garden is doing alright... Tomatoes have started to die off from the hot May and June, but peppers are going crazy!  I foresee some Philly cheesecake stuffed peppers in the near future. I used a few peppers on the omelets yesterday.

Also yesterday... well technically Saturday, the Ohio Valley Emmy's took place.  I was nominated for three categories and won in the category of Technical Achievement for the Augmented Reality weather forecasts.  A director and photographer also entered with me so the three of us brought home some hardware.  I was not able to go with the newborn, but Edwin, the photographer, came by the house yesterday to drop off the Emmy.  So many other people from our station won as well.  So honored to be recognized and also to work with such great coworkers.  Edwin gave a great speech thanking God, family, and our management, who push us to raise the bar. Summer was confused and I had to tell her it was not a toy. It will have to be put away with my others, until the kids are old enough not to play with them.  HAHA.

Today's breakfast is simple.  Along with my black coffee as I post this.  It sounds like the rest of the house is waking up so time to get ready to start the day.  Sorry for any typos... got to go! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Home as a family of four

Here are a couple more photos of the family at the hospital before we came home.

Someone told us that your other kid will look like a grown adult and they are right.  Summer looks so big in this photo...

But even more when we came home and her and Evan could lay out on the baby blanket.  It is really crazy how fast time flies and how fast they grow up.

When Summer was born we were soaked with rain for the next straight 20+ days.  One of the big rains brought more than 3" of rain after she was born, within a 24 hour period.  Well... Same thing happened with Evan.  We had almost 3.5" of rain over the weekend.

The garden beds drain fast, so they likely didn't get all of that to soak, so I had Evan help me with some watering.  Things are going pretty well at the house.  Evan is sleeping better than Summer, but the hard part is trying to entertain a 3 year old while caring for the newborn the entire time.  Thankfully Evan sleeps a lot and he is pretty chill.  Things are going well and I will check back in soon.  So blessed to have time to spend with the family and adjust to the new addition.  See you all soon!  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael