Ed Gray and Family
Our Trials and Tribulations...
Ed Gray's Blog
Its Been Awhile......
So sorry for the lack of blog updates. Much has happened since the last update. First.....the whole gray family had a terrific spring break despite the fact that we were all in different places. Up in New Jersey....our place is fabulous....the weather wasn't so great but that didn't matter. We do what we always do....visit with family, run on the boardwalk and eat
Jackson is doing great....his club team looks poised for another state title......so far, its clear they'll have the number 1 seed in the state tournament. Jack is also running track for Cheyenne MS...so of course he's busy. Given that the Gray family are huge Villanova b-ball fans....we have been very happy with the NCAA tourney this year...although its always bittersweet when your team does lose which they did in the national semifinal vs UNC. Hats off to Coach Wright and the team.
For me......tri season is almost upon us......I've trained throughout the winter but let my diet slip.......been doing a lot of swimming and running but little time on the bike. That changes this month. Tri diet is in full swing. So far, I've competed in the Frigid 5-miler, Red Bud 52 mi bike ride, Red Bud 10k run.......at the end of this month....its time for the OKC 1/2 Marathon...then "tri-time".
Well.....EJ made his commitment and his choice is SMU. He spent quite a bit of time with the final decision.......but we had a couple of last minute trips which help finalize his decision. He has met a few people who will be going to SMU and that helped as well. EJ will enter in the Fall as a SMU Hilltop Scholar and he also received an academic scholarship called the Rotunda Scholarship. We are very excited and proud of him. He graduates next month.......with a good looking resume'. Right now, he's finishing his varsity soccer career at Edmond North HS.
Well....hopefully, I got everybody caught up. I promise I won't wait as long for the next update.
Heading into Spring Break........2009
Its been awhile since I posted...so here we go. Got back from Gulf Shores, AL with EJ and Edmond North soccer team. I was the team chaperone....had a great time......you really learn to appreciate time with your kids as they get older and closer to being out the door. The team did well, going 1-1-1 but unfortunately didn't advance.
Last weekend, Nanci and Jackson were in Springfield, MO for a tournament with Jack's team, OFC91. Those guys did great and actually won the tournament without giving up a goal.
Spring break starts in two days. EJ and his buds are going to West Palm Beach, FL for the week, while Jackson and his friends are going to Wolf Creek, CO for some skiing. That leaves Nanci and I to ourselves....so we are going to head up to Ocean City for a few days.
This time of the year also means college basketball season.........GO Villanova!!!!
Joined facebook recently as a way of communicating with my tri-okc and bike edmond friends.......look me up.
Hopefully will have some pics when I get back from jersey........see ya
Texas A&M Visit
Did a quick trip to College Station this past weekend. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive from OKC to A&M and about 6 hours on the return. A&M is a very big campus, and was quite intimidating at first but we quickly warmed up to it. Its a very different culture.....lots of nice people, tradition and good food. Aggieland is on EJ's short list and he seems very interested in the private dorm approach instead of university dorms. Private dorms offer more amenities, nicer rooms and better food for a just a little more money. If he goes to A&M, we think he will room at "The Tradition" private dorm......we'll see. I attached a couple of pictures for review......see ya!
Jersey Shore Rental Calendar
Please click the IP address below to view 1947 Asbury Ave Rental Status:
Tornadoes & Valentines
As some of you may have heard an F-2 tornado blew through northwest okc and edmond on tuesday, 2/10. I actually snapped a pic of the actual tornado as it formed about 300 feet from our office. The picture was taken from the second floor balcony. Very scary....but we were fortunate that our house appears ok....we just lost power for about 4 hours. Fortunately we installed a back-up generator for the house so we were able to still have lights and power. Others were not so lucky......particularly those folks up in oak tree cc.
Well, onto valentine's day.....Nanci and I went to "1492".....a new world meets old world restaurant....it was very good.....lots of cubano/spanish influenced food. Food was well presented and tasted great. One surprise when we ordered calamari for an appetizer was that fact that the calamari was whole squid.....yikes!, check out the blog pix.
FYI, EJ was accepted as a Hilltop scholar at SMU (very nice). We are just waiting on responses from Texas A&M and Texas before he makes a final decision. We are actually heading down to College Station for a visit to the A&M campus this weekend. Should have some pics posted next week.
Jackson has his 8th grade social this weekend as well. High School soccer starting this week, so we will again be doing some traveling. I am heading down with the Edmond North team to Mobile, Alabama for high school tournament next week. Then Nanci goes to Springfield, MO for a club tourney with jack's team.
We did close on our shore house....with much thanks to my brother Lou who closed it out for us. It is currently being leased thru Berger Realty (609-399-4211) in Ocean City, New Jersey. However, if anybody's interested in renting directly.....we can save you some money. Feel free to call my assistant, Megan in the office if there is any interest. Her number is 405-419-7706.
I am also in the process of initiating a website which will display a public calendar of lease availability and ultimately have some published rates. Talk soon!
The Weekend......
Well, January is finally over and spring is right around the corner. Going into the last weekend of january......we have kept ourselves fairly busy. As go most weekends....it started with my weekly long run as part of the OKC Landrunners Marathon Training Program. Bill Snipes and the folks over there do a grea job of preparing people for the unthinkable. I encourage you to check out their website www.okcrunning.org. I have attached a pic of me at mile 9.1 of a 1 mile run. The picture makes me look better than I felt at the time.
On saturday 1/31....we went out to dinner with Bob and Mary Hines along with Alan and Debbie Clark....sort of an informal dinner club that Bob and I have been working on. We went to "Red Prime"......a contemporary steakhouse located in midtown at 4th and Broadway. Food was great but the martinis were even better. As usual, I forgot my camera but Bob was quick with his iphone and snapped a pick of me and Nanci.
On the kids front....EJ has been nominated to be a art of the exclusive Hilltop Scholars Program at SMU where he would be a part of close-knit group who would live and study together in the dorm environment as part of the Honors Program. Despite this....EJ still remains undecided about school...........we know he's feeling the pressure but we know he will make a good decision.
Jack is Jack.....finishing B-Ball and getting ready for club soccer. He and I have been working out at the gym trying to get him ready for another tough season.
Work is crazy, but fun and the company continues to do well. Valentine's Day is coming up so I goot get a dinner reservation somewhere...any ideas?
Ocean City House closes on 2/16 and Nanci and I are taking trip out there in the middle of march. talk in a bit.....
End of January 2009 Update
Haven't blogged in awhile.....we are in the final stages of closing on the house in Ocean City, NJ. So far, so good....we continue to keep our fingers crossed. My brother Lou is also a partner on the "shore" house and he has been helpful on the cross-country transaction.
On the kids front......EJ still hasn't made a college decision yet but he's getting close. So far, he's been accepted and received scholarships from SMU, TCU, Baylor, and Tulsa. He's still waiting to hear from Texas-Austin, Texas A&M, UNC Chapel Hill and William and Mary. We will let everybody know as soon as we know.....
Jackson continues to do well in basketball. Unfortunately his team had their first loss of the season at the Norman Invitational Tourney but they are still 17-1 and have already locked up the conference championship. After winning the conference in football also, we are all getting excited about this group of boys and how they will do at Edmond North. So far, Jack and his teammates have gone 14-2 over two years in football and 35-3 in basketball winning a total of three conference championships. Next up is club soccer in the spring......
Nanci continues to be busy with kid management, her therametics business and tennis. She has also started to run and appears to like it.
For me, I'm back in training again after a rough 2008....which included some success: OKC Half-Marathon, Red Bud BIke and 10-K, Redman Aqua-Bike, Hotter-N-Hell 100 Bike race and a couple of sprint triathlons. Of course, I also developed over-training syndrome and wound up getting a cardiac catheterization (what the &^%%).......but, I'm back in the saddle again this year....
Right now, I'm in the middle of marathon training....having completed a recent 12 mile long run at Chesapeake Boathouse....it was 18 degrees with a 20 mile north wind....I actually had icicles on my face....yikes......
Anyway, talk with you in a bit
Happy New Year 09 - Back from "The Shore"
Well....we made it back from New Jersey in one piece. Of course, we drove as is our tradition. With each passing year, it seems to get a little harder to make the drive...although, with help from EJ doing some of the driving......it is manageable. The end of our vacation was awesome.....we visited quite a bit with family and the weather actually was not that bad. We ate a lot of cheessteaks, hoagies, pizza and of course seafood. Nanci and I both ran quite a bit....me on the boardwalk and Nanci on the downtown walking trails.
The boys had a great time......mostly with cousins and hanging on the boardwalk. We were also lucky enuf to catch the Eagles kick the crap out of those dreaded cowboys and make an improbable run to the playoffs. When we got back to Edmond....we were able to the Thunder game against the Warriors and catch a rare win. After the game we went to the annual Parker NewYear's Eve bash.
As we head into January09, we look forward to watching Jackson and his Cheyenne 8th grade team continue on their undefeated streak. Oh and btw, we received notice that EJ was accepted into SMU which helped really make the vacation. On that note.....gotta go.....Happy New Year!!!
P.S. Check out the pix of our new "shore" house.......
Fun back in Philly and New Jersey
Well, we arrived in New Jersey after 2 days of driving from Oklahoma City. The weather was not that bad on the road with the exception of a small stretch between Indianapolis and Dayton, OH where we hit an ice storm.
After getting to Jersey, the whole family plus EJ's girlfriend Micah decided to take to trip back to South Philly where we got chessesteaks from the world famous Pat's steaks. We also visited the tallest buidling in Philly, the Comcast Center. On Christmas Eve we went to Atlantic City where I proceded to get food poisoning from "PF CHANG'S".......bad food.
Oh by the way, Nanci and I signed an agreement of sale to purchase a house at 1947 Asbury Avenue in Ocean City. We are very excited and looking forward to spending time at the new house.
We're still on vacation.....so we'll blog a little more in a few days. Also, keep an eye out for some pics in our photo gallery.
December 5-7, 08 Party Weekend
It was a very busy weekend. Friday nite was the Cheyenne Middle School Cotillion. Jackson and his girlfriend Natalie Lindsey attended and had a great time. Friday nite was also the Arvest Bank Party....no party pics but a good time was had by all. Spent some quality time with Brad Kreiger, Kelly Brander, Cindy Nunley and Emily Friedman and spouse.
On saturday nite, Edmond North had its Winter Dance at the UCO Grand Ballroom....EJ and his girlfriend, Micah Maiers double dated with Greg Parker and Nicole Nunley. The four of them along with their others buds got a Limo and a good time was had by all. Others who attended were friends Aaron Birk, Chase Funderburke, Caleb Yates, Jackson Dean, Andrew Holsaeter, Garrett Folks. Pics attached in the photo section.
Saturday nite was also the Bob and Mary Hines Holiday extravaganza. Another great time was had by all who attended. A bonus was the OU thrashing of Mizzou in the Big 12 championship game. Nanci and I had fun but unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pics....this was probably a good thing. I think Andrea Gibson took some pics so depending upon the level of embarassment...they may show up at a later date.
Next week is more holiday parties along with college visits to SMU, TCU, Baylor and UT. Until then.......
