Unfortunately, blogs will not be updated frequently due to the recent power surge frying my computer. We're working on the problem.

Another weeks gone by. Not a lot going on this week. Sarah worked like crazy and Joel just wishes he would get some work. We did finalize holiday plans this week, so those of you keeping track here ya go. Thanksgiving will be here in Ohio. Sarah did get the day off, so we will be cooking a large turkey, making pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and of course green jell-o. As tradition states, albeit a short one, Sean and Sadie will be joining us for Thanksgiving, but that only makes four of us and if tradition hold, we will cook enough food for 10. So if you'd like to come spend the day with us, just RSVP and bring a bottle of wine. For Christmas we will be spending the weekend before in Chicago for the Mulder family Celebration and returning to Ohio on Christmas eve where we have the honor of hosting the Hull family Christmas. Sarah is very excited to host her first family Christmas and I believe I saw a little bit of a 10 year old's fervor in her.
As for the current holidays, we did a little festive pumpkin carving on Saturday. We both won awards in very legitimate categories. Sarah won "most reflective of actual art," and Joel won "most inefficient use of space." We are both very proud. Come to think of it... everyone at the party won in some category or another... huh. Anyway, today is Monday and things just aren't right here. Check out this picture of my mums. See anything wrong for mid-October. Ahhhhh!!! It's snowing like crazy! This is just going to make Sarah more anxious for Joel to get the electrical out to the garage.

What? Huh? Another week's gone by? Time flies these days. So many things show how time just flits on past us. The most obvious in Ohio this week was our first snow. Yeah. Snow. Here we are, minding our own business, thinking we got plenty of time left in the summer to do all those crazy awesome things that we do in the summer, and BOOM, it snows. Truth be known, it was kinda fun to see. Anywho. We keep on keepin' on. Sarah is still in PICU (pediatric intesive care unit) and it's still kinda rough. She's on call every fourth night, which is acceptable for a month or so, but since Sarah is going to do a lot of interviews for new residents coming up, the powers that be scheduled all her heavy call months early in the year. She has been on call every fourth night since July. Much more of this and she will need some kind of 'ICU. Unfortunately she has one more rotation of it. As for Joel, he plunges head first into substituting next week. (hey, who's writing this?) All the paperwork is in order, fingerprints have been taken and filed, and FBI background checks have all cleared (told ya so). He is excited to get back to work again. Although with that and a full time school schedule, he may need an 'ICU. He did run his first competitive race today and it was a complete success. Although not as spectacular as Sarah's 26.2 mile triumph, Joel and Kevin ran a respectable 5K run in Cleveland's Race for the Cure. They completed it in less than 34 minutes... that's 10.8 minutes per mile people! Well hey, they were proud, it's their first race... but not their last. Plans are underway for next month's "Turkey trot." It's a 5 mile run that helps support food shelters in Cleveland. Kevin and Joel like to run for causes, using their powers for the good of mankind.
Well that's about all there is this week in Ohio. Enjoy the fall my friends. It's a magical time of year.

I've added a some new links, over there... to your right. There is not a lot in the photo gallery now, but the galleries will grow. You can also sponsor Joel in his 5K this Saturday. The money supports cancer research. And then there's Kevin's blog... the views expressed on Kevin's blog are those of his own and may not reflect the views of Two Loon's... but then again... they may.

So here it is. The Ohio Mulders have decided to take that extra jump into the 21st century and create a blog. This will be handy for all the friends and family to catch up on the Ohio Mulders who are notorious for going a long time without phone calls or emails or any other signs of life. So here ya go. There is a lot going on in Ohio. Most exciting is that Sarah finished her first marathon!! Yeah, she and our friend Sadie ran 26+ miles for no apparent reason. Sean, Sadie's husband, and I watched as best we knew how. She finished in 5 hrs. and 2 minutes. Not to shabby. It was truly inspiring for me, and I have decided to join her running hobby as well. This Saturday I will be running a small 5K race for the cure in Cleveland. Yeah, I'm starting out small, but we are already looking at different marathons around the area that we could both do together. The beauty of the whole thing is the price of the hobby. $70 for a nice pair of shoes and you're good to go.
In other news, as some already know, I have decided to leave collegiate academia. It was a hard decision, but I feel that my talents and temperament is better suited for a different path. The path that I am now embarking on is secondary education. Since I already have a lot of experience in biology content as well as some teaching experience, I was accepted into an accelerated program at Cleveland State University (CSU). I will be fully licensed to teach by next fall and just like my new hobby it is free. Since Ohio is in need of good high school science teachers there is a state grant to train qualified individuals. I applied and they fell for it. That demand in Ohio also all but guarantees me a job in the fall. Finally I'll be out in the real world again. I've started classes and enjoy them. Next week I'll begin substituting for Cleveland Heights School district.
That's about all that is going on. It's fall and the world is beautiful. The nights are getting so cold that Sarah and I pulled in our house plants from outside. We counted 53 this year. Sarah insists we have enough, but I'm not so sure. Keep checking this site, since I intend to post frequently. Emphasis on "intend." And to all who read this blog remember, there is always a room at the Two Loon's Lodge.