Healing Update

Hello Everyone,
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I am healing well and feeling pretty good. Not too much pain and swelling has gone way down. I have progressed to a walking boot and crutches for the next few days. Here are some pics after taking off the original bandages today. The cut is looking good. Below is a treatment method, the GameReady is a compression/icing device that blasts icy cold what into the compartment and simultaneously adds compression to reduce swelling and pain.

Goin to the Gard'n Music Video

Keith Love and I had a great time recording a spoof rap song about gardening. Now there is a music video to boot. Enjoy and laugh!
The video is on youtube currently, I will get the clip and post on here, but click the link and it will take you to youtube.

"Goin to the Gard'n (Music Video)"

Surgery Update

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for all the emails and notes about the surgery. I am doing well now the day after.
Surgery for my big toe was successful. The doctor encountered one small unexpected finding. There was a considerable section of cartilage on the head of the metatarsal that was significantly worn down and pretty much gone. He had to drill a bunch of small holes (microfractures) so that the bone will bleed and the cartilage will heal itself. I will be on crutches for about a week and then a walking boot for a couple weeks after that. Then I will be working to get back in shape. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Catch you guys soon.

Sept 1 = Anniversary

Its hard to believe its been a year already. Ashley and I took a weekend trip up to Cape Ann and toured the towns of Rockport, Gloucester, and Manchester. I had an appearance on the 1st in Manchester and we took advantage of the time to enjoy the beautiful beach, singing beach, that is in Manchester by-the-sea. We came back home and ate some of out wedding cake according to tradition. We exchanged gifts a week early though because our gifts for each other came in early and we are like two children and could not wait. Ashley gave me a beautiful Baritone Ukulele from Hawaii. I gave Ashley a very nice Cape Cod bracelet and matching necklace. We both loved our gifts and havent stopped using them since we got them. I even played the Uke at church when I joined the worship team for the first time last Sunday. It was great. Enjoy the pics and thanks so much for the anniversary wishes, cards, emails, and gifts. It is certainly nice to relive that awesome day a year ago.

Cape Cod Trip

A little while back Ashley and I got a chance to go stay down on Cape Cod. We went down on a Thursday night and stayed in the town of Brewster. We spent Friday down in Falmouth/Woods Hole and visited the aquarium where our good friend Keith Love was interning for part of the summer. We then took an evening ferry over to Martha's Vineyard and explored the towns of Vineyard Haven and Oaks Bluff. Lots of cool shops and restaurants. Saturday we went to the beach in the morning and then rented a sail boat for the afternoon. It had been a while since I had done any sailing so needless to say the first half an hour on our BeetleCat were a little scary. Once I got the hang of it we were cruising but a stiff wind and choppy water made for a stressful outing. We spent our Sunday closer to the tip of the cape in a town called Wellfleet. I rented a surf board and surfed most of the day while enjoying the beach and the great dunes on the Atlantic coast. A great weekend and we got to pretty much see it all.

NASCAR Visit

Brad, Wells and I had the opportunity to do an appearance at a NASCAR practice in New Hampshire. We got to tour the pits, the garages and had front row seats to the Sprint Cup qualifying. We got to meet a couple of the drivers including Denny Hamlin, a Richmond product and graduate of Manchester high school.

July 4th and Hollywood

This is really late.. hmm... Well we went out to LA for a game on July 4th. What a great time. I got to see some of my cousins, Carey Vogel and his family, and some of Ashley's family. I scored 2 goals in the game and got to spend the weekend checking out LA, Malibu, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, and then we stayed at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood. Matt Reis warned us of Hollywood, naming it Hollywierd. We experienced that as a man dressed in a Spiderman suit sprinted passed us down the sidewalk, jumped and clung to a street light pole while tourists took pictures. Contrast that with our celebrity hot spot bar in the lobby of our hotel where we saw Matthew Perry and Tara Reid.

Summertime Fishin

Just a couple pics of Ash and I out on the boat with Wells Thompson doin a little bass fishing. Wells lives with a host family in Wrentham, Ma right on lake Pearl. We have been out quite a few times this summer to swim, fish and enjoy the sun.