Weather continues to be beautiful! Kids enjoyed the afternoon while dinner was cooking. Trampoline and bike riding were on the agenda. Eli did share some 4 year-old wisdom on the way from school.
“Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and Leprechauns use magic because they don’t want to be seen”
I found this statement to be very insightful and I agreed with a strong affirmation. Tomorrow will be the usual Tuesday whirlwind with the 5 Star gymnastics shuffle.
Spring is here. Today was a sunny welcome to the wet spring that we’ve had this season. We enjoyed the day by taking a trip to the park. Eli and Natalie played on the playground for 45 minutes and then we went for a walk around Loop 1 (see map below). They didn’t understand what they were getting into. They realized about 20 minutes into the walk. The whole trip took about 45 minutes and both were beyond thirsty…Boone County did not have the water fountains hooked back up for this season. I’m sure they will sleep well tonight!
Day 4 was a typical Saturday. Eli (a.k.a Star Wars Junky) watched #2 and Natalie played with Madison next door. Everyone got to talk to Mom when she called at lunch time. After a relaxed day, we decided to have some Chinese food and a treat…ice cream at Diary Queen was fun for all. See the photos to see Nat and Eli eating their favorite vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice one and the park will be a nice change of pace.
As usual, everyone was glad that Friday was finally here. Eli, Natalie and I joined the Noltings at our favorite Mexican restaurant Real Fiesta. Mom was missed and I had to take over during the ordering process. Eli tried to play the “pout” when I insisted on getting something other than the cheese quesadilla – he finally agreed to the taco – plain with cheese. The rest of the day was uneventful…boring I know. Looking forward to talking to Mom tomorrow.
Everyone is doing well as day 2 wraps up. Girls Scouts and a quick bite at Wendy’s filled the small amount of time from school and bed. Kids are looking forward to talking to Mom tomorrow morning.
Shelley should be over the Atlantic right now. She and another faculty member are on a two week trip to Denmark with a group of kids from Newport Central Catholic HS. They should arrive in Copenhagen around 3 AM EST to start their adventure. You can follow their progress on NCCHSTravel.com as the group will be posting photos and comments about their travels.
This will mark the start of the longest amount of time that Natalie and Eli will be without their Mom. We will be posting how the remaining Wykles handle the 14 day separation. Keep tuned in.
Another year has passed and our birthday season has concluded with Shelley’s 35th birthday. The festivities kicked off early with the present unveiling on Friday afternoon. She was quite surprised to find a brand new Dell computer (Inspiron 530s) with 19″ widescreen LCD. On Saturday morning (officially her birthday) she received many kisses and the compulsory birthday cards. One card played the “chicken dance” and the other played the “hamster dance”. The new musical cards are quite fun and the kids do enjoy them so much. Eli even performed his artistic dance impression of the hamster dance. The birthday was concluded with a dinner out at O’Charley’s.
A rare and late winter storm hit the Midwest. Northern Kentucky got nailed with 12 – 15 inches of snow.
ESTEP, SHAYNE, 36, of Palm Harbor and Orlando was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, December 16, 2007. He most recently worked at Tampa Harley Davidson and before that Performance Honda in Wesley Chapel. Shayne is survived by his parents, Jim and Millie Estep of Port Orange, his sister Gina Menendez (John) of Orlando, his brother Kelly Estep of Palm Harbor; his nieces Julia Estep of Palm Harbor, Shelley Wykle (Chris) of Kentucky his great niece and nephew Natalie and Eli Wykle and his girlfriend Kristin Baykal. A memorial service to celebrate Shayne’s life will be held Saturday, December 22nd, at 6PM at Newcomer
Family Funeral Home in East Orlando. In lieu of flowers and per Shayne’s wishes donations for Julia, Natalie and Eli’s college funds may be made to any Wachovia Bank, Account # 1010184448535, please make any checks payable to Shelly A. Wykle, Memorial Fund. To read more about Shayne’s life and to send a message to the family, please visit:
Mitchell Shayne Estep was born on August 9, 1971 in Elk Grove, Illinois. Mom and Dad are Millie and Jim Estep. He has an older sister, Gina and an older brother Kelly. He was known as Shayne from the beginning. Shayne was the baby of the family until at the ripe old age of 18 months he became an uncle to Shelley. Although uncle was the official title, big brother was more the description.In the spring of 1973 the entire family moved from Illinois to the West Virginia/Kentucky area. Growing up in this area allowed Shayne to “live big” which quickly became his way of life. From the time he was able to walk he didn’t carry a blanket around like other children, he carried a queen sized comforter! Legend has it that in the mornings you were never to talk to him or even look at him until he made the first move, otherwise you would get “the look”. As Shayne grew older, he grew smarter, and smarter, and smarter. He loved to learn new things, yet hated doing it in school. He used to purposely miss the school bus just so he wouldn’t have to go. Nevertheless the school would always call when he wasn’t there and then his mom would have to drive him to school in the Lincoln Town Car. If he had to be there, he liked to arrive in style! From the age of 7 until around 12 Shayne had every “boy toy” imaginable, go cart, motorcycle, mom’s car. That’s right, mom’s car! He used to take the car, along with Shelley and the dog (so they couldn’t tell) and drive around the neighborhood. Shayne had a way of talking you into doing things that you knew you shouldn’t be doing. He always made it sound like the right thing to do, even riding in the car with a ten year old driver.
In 1986 Shayne moved to Florida with his mom and dad, to join his sister, brother and niece. He was no longer the big fish in the little pond. He was the big fish in the big pond. In 1989, with a little help from his sister, Shayne graduated from Lake Brantley High School in Apopka. After high school Shayne tried college, but figured out that he learned much more about life from experience and not school.
Everyone that has ever met Shayne has a story about him. A story about how he affected their life. Shayne was a unique person with whom you could use every adjective known in the English language to describe. He was witty, intelligent, caring, angry, loving, spontaneous, sneaky, funny, amazing, responsible, quick-witted, sharp-tongued, irresponsible, clever, brave and giving, just to name a few. He was the guy that made you laugh until you cried. Please help him continue to be that guy by sharing your “Shayne stories” with those you know. Shayne didn’t live as many years as we would have liked, but the years he did live, he was always “All In”.
The family would love to hear your stories at Shayne’s memorial service on Saturday, December 22nd. The celebration of his life will begin at 6:00 pm at Newcomer Family Funeral Home on Goldenrod Road in Orlando. After the service the celebration will continue at the home of Shayne’s sister, Gina Menendez, 380 Hammock Dunes Place, Orlando FL 32828.
Shayne loved his nieces (Julia and Natalie) and nephew (Eli) more than life itself. In lieu of flowers and per Shayne’s wishes, donations to their college funds can be made to any Wachovia Bank, account number 1010184448535, checks should be payable to Shelly A Wykle Memorial Fund.
This is a new site in the works. Sorry for the limited content. I’m currently knee deep in my MBA studies and will be updating when I get a free moment.