Monthly Archives: August 2009

First Day of School – 2009

Today was another momentous day for the Wykle family. Many firsts were accomplished today.

Shelley started a new position at Cooper High School as a full-time Chemistry teacher.
Eli started kindergarten at his beloved Little Red School House.
Natalie caught the school bus from home instead of suffering the “before & after school care” program at the local YMCA.

Here were a few shots from the Goodridge “open house” hosted on 08/18.

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At the day’s conclusion, all were happy and excitedly discussed their productive “firsts”!

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PA Wykles Visit KY Wykles

At the end of July we had the pleasure to host my cousin Mark Wykle and his family from Pennsylvania. Mark, Beth, Ben and Elyse made the 10 hour trip from their home outside of Philadelphia, PA to our humble abode in NKY. The trip was only the second time (first trip in 1999) that Mark and Beth had visited us since settling down in Kentucky. Mark’s sister Jennifer also joined the fun to fully reunite the Wykle threesome that have grown up together sharing everything since infants.

The trip introduced both Natalie and Eli to their long distant cousins from the East. The kids had great fun playing and connecting with other kids with the “last name of Wykle”…”Cool” was uttered a few different times by Natalie. Poignant thoughts given that Natalie has so carried her own scarlet letter, being called “Wykle” by her friends. I tried to tell her that it is just a natural thing that seems to happen with our name…your dad also was call “Wykle” and your mom has now been branded the same by good friends.

The visit was a great success and a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo was a definitely highlight. The day was cut a bit short by some rain, but only after many of the exhibits had already been enjoyed.

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The visit also corresponded to Shelley and my 11th wedding anniversary that allowed us to eat a fabulous dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – Maggianos. Here are just a few shots from the evening.

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Natalie Attends Olympic Gymnastics Camp (OGC)

For anyone that follows Wykleville, you obviously know that Natalie is very involved in gymnastics. After a successful 2008/2009 season at level 3, Natalie was moved up to level 4 after the year end Five Star dinner. To further develop her skills and diversify her experiences, she signed up for a gymnastics camp that was held in nearby Batesville, Indiana. Natalie (and five team mates) attend a week long camp hosted by OCG. The obvious draw of this camp besides the learning opportunity was the interaction with former Olympic gymnasts. This camp’s director is former gold medalist Svetlana Boguinskaia (1988, 1992 & 1996). In addition to Svetlana, this camp would also be attended by Samantha Peszek from the 2008 Olympics. Natalie thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was beaming for days afterwards and has many items that have been signed by both Svetlana and Samantha. Treasures to last for sure!

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Punta Cana 2009

“The Tradition Continues”

This post is definitely late given that we returned from Punta Cana on July 18th. Busy times lead to prioritization of efforts…the Wykleville blog has taken a back seat. Needless to say, the trip was a hit! As can be seen in the above picture, only two couples (Wykles and Noltings) from the 1st annual adult vacation were able to make it. The Robertsons had family related issues that precluded them from attending the 2nd annual trip. However, in an effort to keep the tradition alive, a flat version of Tina and John made the trip. The “Flat Robertsons” had a blast also! You can see their escapades in a separate photo album here.

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Given the great success of last year’s trip, the group decided to return to the same resort Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort and Spa in the Dominican Republic. The resort was the same and the weather cooperated perfectly, with only 30 minutes of total rain fall during our 7 days. The following pictures are a few shot from our first evening in Punta Cana.

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Before leaving the mainland, we decided that we would again go on the Saona Island excursion due to the immense fun that we had last year. We were not disappointed, as the trip proved again that it was a nice distraction from the daily resort laziness. Our videographer turned out to be the same guy from the previous year. Ricardo claimed to remember us from the previous year…I’m not completely convinced, but it made for a cool instant connection.

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This year we decided we would try and venture out and meet some other vacationers. We were quite successful and met many nice Canadians and a group of brothers from England. Here are a couple of pictures of our new vacation friends.

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Conclusions – The second year was as memorable and delightful as the trip last year. We left the island vowing to make the trip again next year. The 7 days of rest and relaxation is therapeutic for both Shelley and I. After 11 years of marriage and kids, it is easy to loose ourselves in the day to day grind and forget about what made us who we are. Love, fun, and sun for us all!!!