Our 13th Wedding Anniversary

(August 26, 2008) 13 years ago on August 26, Rhian and I were wed in a beautiful ceremony along with a wonderful reception. It didn't look like the wedding was going to be a magical day as was originally hoped. Here's the story to my best recollection.
Rhian's best friend growing up in Trindad, Michelle Boodoo, had flown in from London with her husband Gary DeSanctis, to be the Maid of Honor. Everything was great the first day they arrived. Then things fell apart. We're not sure what really happened. I was still working ridiculous hours as a new General Manager of a broken Pizza Hut, Rhian and I were busy getting ready for the wedding, and at the same time trying to entertain them. Despite our best efforts, things fell apart. I tried everything in my power to reconcile, but not knowing the problem, and just trying to remind them of their friendship proved to be futile. We invited them to the wedding rehearsal the night before, and they failed to show. After the rehearsal, Rhian would make one last attempt to save her friendship with Michelle (who was staying at my sister Karen's house), by telling her she still wanted her as her Maid of Honor. In not so many words, Michelle refused. Karma would rear it's head later that evening, as Michelle and Gary would walk from Karen's house down Wesley Chapel to the store (they loved walking everywhere, since they did it all the time in London). On the way there they got robbed without injury. As Rhian's father put it, it was "poetic justice". Rhian was disappointed to say the least (she would tearfully write a letter to her before leaving on our honeymoon the following Monday), but with the biggest day of her life happening the next day, she decided to make her sister Rhonda the Maid of Honor, and had Deri's friend replace Rhonda as a bridesmaid, and looked forward. My dad would have a nice rehearsal dinner at his house, where Rhian and I would eat our last dinner as single people! :o)
Our wedding day turned out to be a rainy one. My best man, James Gist, (my best friend whom I met while I was in the Air Force stationed at Moody AFB in Georgia), took me to Headlines Studio in Little 5 Points to get my hair cut and styled. I believe my appointment was at 10 AM and the wedding was at 1 PM, so I made sure I had given myself enough time. I had brought my tuxedo with me to change at the church, just in case I was running behind. Everything went better than planned, and I was at Sts Peter & Paul Catholic Church dressed and ready to be married an hour before the scheduled start time. (Those that know me were/should be impressed! :o) Rhian, who was known to always be on time, wasn't on this day. She had planned everything to a tee except on how she was going to get to the wedding. She got dressed at the Hensler House in Clarkston and took photos. Upon realizing she didn't have transportation, I believe she called the church and talked to her mother (I'm not sure of all the details), but I know her coworker at the time Shelia Keoghby brought her in her van to the church one hour late. The pastor, Father Richard Wise, was pretty stressed about it. Despite this, we would have a beautiful wedding. Everybody talks about getting "cold feet" or "pre-wedding jitters" but neither of us had any. Having been engaged for nearly three years had something to do with it. Also, marrying the person you truly love and to know that you could spend the rest of your life with helps as well.
Members of the wedding party not already mentioned included my friend, (and my assistant manager at the Redan Pizza Hut), Cary Fugitt, was a groomsman, along with my soon to be brother-in-law Jason. Along with Rhonda and Deri's friend, my sister Karen was also a bridesmaid. My nephew Kyle, who was nearly 3 at the time, was the ring bearer. Rhian's friend *** daughter, who was about Kyle's age, was the flower girl. My Dad and Rhian's Dad were ushers, and Rhian's mother was tasked to pick the readings and the responsorial Psalm. She, along with my dad were tasked to do the readings, with Rhian's sister Deri was tasked to do the responsorial Psalm. My dad, being the prepared person he is, had completely memorized his reading. Deri, unfortunately, was given the task of having the wedding guests repeat the hardest responsorial Psalm ever written. She would say a Psalm and ask for a response, to which there were a few mumbles and nothing more. I felt bad for Deri. Guests at the wedding included Rhian's Grandmother, Gladys George (Rhian's Mother's Mother), her Auntie Baby, her mom's cousin Alvin, friends from Rhian's job at Bank South, along with friends of our family and Rhian's family. (I hope I mentioned everybody!) . Rhian was wearing a long, beautiful white dress, and the brides maids and maid of honor would be in purple. I would be in a white tuxedo with a white cumber bun and the groomsmen along with Kyle would be in the same with purple cumber buns. It would be a beautiful wedding. Thanks to Rhian's mother, the reception was held at the Hensler House in Clarkston. It would be where Rhian and I would spend our first night together as husband and wife. The Hensler House was a restored house that was decorated as it would have been in the 1930's. There was plenty of food and plenty of soca music provided by Ibis International. Rhian's cousin Alvin would introduce us and ask the question all Trinidadians ask when it rains on one's wedding day, and that it "Who ate out of the pot?" Trinidadians believe that if you eat your meal out of your pot, it will rain on your wedding day. Of course, I was the guilty party, as I did this quite frequently! :o) Everybody would eat and drink well and dance into the evening. Rhian's grandmother would be the only one who wouldn't leave the floor the entire time music was playing. It was a site to see!

Saturday at the Zoo

Despite windy conditions and the threat of rain from what was now Tropical Depression Fay, Rhian and I decided to celebrate our anniversary early by taking the kids to the Atlanta Zoo yesterday. Christian has been quite a few times with his Pap Pap, but this was only my second time with him. Christian was able to tell us where everything was, and was more concerned with riding the train and playing at the playground. Reagan really enjoyed herself as well. Both really enjoyed watching the flamingos (mangoes as Christian calls them)and the otters. We would spend a couple of hours there, and we finished the day off with a nice dinner at Cafe Sunflower in Buckhead.

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Christian's First Week of School

Christian's first week of school went very well. He has made several friends, including a girl named Maya. To have Christian tell it, "I'm Maya's friend, but she says she's not my friend!" On all but one of the days, Christian did not want to leave because he was having too much fun. Play time is at 1 PM, so he is playing when I arrive to pick him up. All the teachers are amazed at how well he assimilates (there's that word again Karen) with the other children. We thought he was outgoing and intelligent before he started school, but once he started school, it was like a light switched on. He has new found confidence when dealing with strangers (especially with girls his age :o), and is saying and doing things beyond his years. Grandmother Patrick called and Christian answered the phone. When asked where his mommy was, he said "She's not here, she's at work. I can take a message for her." This coming from a 3 year old! She told me that Christian sounds like a grown person on the phone. However, his new found confidence has also caused him to get into trouble though. :o( His routine has been to eat eggs for breakfast, and upon finishing them, asking me for a piece of candy. I would verify that he ate all his eggs before he would get it. Well, Christian figured out that Daddy was more concerned with an empty plate then with him eating them; or so he thought. On Monday, he showed me his empty plate, less then 5 minutes after receiving them. Being suspicious, I looked, and found his eggs hidden in the ladder of his toy fire engine. I scolded him, told him that I didn't appreciate his lying, and sent him to his room. After about 30 minutes, he apologized, and said that he wouldn't lie again. This would turn out to be a lie! On Wednesday, feeling a little smarter, Christian got his eggs, and two minutes later, came to me with an empty plate and asked for candy. I knew right away that he hadn't eaten his eggs, so I told him I was going to look to see if he hid them. Quickly, he got nervous and said "No daddy! Don't come out!", and began pushing me, trying to hold me back. I searched all over the bonus room looking for the eggs. He had done a much better job of hiding them, having learned from Monday's experience. Finally, I found them. He had hid them inside the Ottoman, having taken only one bite. I scolded him again, sent him to his room, and told him that I would think about if he should go to school. I took his eggs to him in his room and told him that he needed to eat his eggs before he went to school. He was sitting on the glider, sulking, and didn't respond. I came back 5 minutes later and told him that he still needed to eat his eggs. He was now on his bed reading his books, and said that he would eat them after he finished reading his 3 books. He finally came out and said that he had ate his eggs. I told him I was going to look in his room for them, and he had no problem with this, so I know he ate his eggs! While buckling him in the car, he said to me "Daddy, I'm sorry." and I asked him what he was sorry about. He said, "I'm sorry about the eggs. I won't do that ever again!" I was touched. It bothered him that he had disappointed his daddy. I know there will be other times he will test us, and lie to us, but it was nice to know that he knows right from wrong, and that it's important for Mommy and Daddy to be happy with him. As Dad said in a bowling analogy, it's okay for children to go from gutter to gutter, but as long as they don't end up in the gutter, then they're okay. (or something like that :o)).

Christian's First Day of School

The day everybody suspected I would have difficulty with arrived this past Monday, when Christian began his first day of school. Several family members were more worried about my separation anxiety than Christian's! :o) Christian had been looking forward to his first day of school for two weeks. His clothes were already laid out for him along with his backpack when he awoke. He got himself dressed, put his backpack on, and came out and said "I'm ready for school!" Reagan was still sleeping, so we had to wake her up. Christian went into her room, Reagan awoke, smiling (as she always does), and Christian said to her "Sorry Reaggie, we have to wake you up, but I have to go to school." It was so sweet! Christian was excited the whole way to school.
When he arrived at the school at 9:30, there was no trepidation on his part. As soon as he walked into his class, he began playing, forgetting completely about me! (So much for our worries of separation anxiety!) His teacher, Ms Tamika, had to tell him to say good-bye to me.
When I arrived to pick him up at 1:30, he was out on the playground playing. Before he noticed me, he was complaining in general that it was too hot. He then began telling everybody "It's time to go inside, it's too hot!" So he's definitely not shy nor afraid to express his opinion! His teachers all said that he did really well, and had no problem doing anything they asked, and wasn't shy about assimilating with the other children. On our way home, I asked him how his day went, and he told me "I'll tell you when we get home." I asked him what was his favorite part of school and he said "It's a secret, I'll tell you when I get home." Of course he never told us anything specific about school, other than the fact he had a lot of fun. He does this when he really likes something.
His first day of school turned out to be a great success. Our little boy is growing up! The next thing you know, he'll be off to college! :o)

More Pictures From the Fyock Family Reunion

I just finished up pictures that my dad had taken at the reunion; just when you thought there couldn't be any more pictures from the reunion! Enjoy!

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Happy 92nd Birthday Grammie!

For those of you that may not know, Grammie (Ruth May Sharp) was my dad's mother. If she were still alive, she would be 92 years old today. Even though she passed away in 1974 when I was 8 years old, I have many fond memories with her. Despite having debilitating arthritis, she would always find time to play with Karen and I. She loved playing the games Sorry!, Bingo, and Tiddly Winks with us, and would even go outside and play catch. She would also serve us Gobs from Harris & Boyer bakery, where Pap Pap worked as a night watchman. Every time I see a gob or hear someone mention them, I think of my Grammie. Looking back now, I realized what a sacrifice she made to spend time with us.

Both of these pictures are from around 1971.

Christian's Last Day at the Library

Today was Christian's last day at the Cochran Library "walker lap-sit" story time with Ms Revonda, since he starts preschool next Monday. Christian has been going to the library nearly every Monday since he was about a year old. The children's library librarians, Ms Revonda and Ms Debra, have had the pleasure of watching Christian grow, and have always been amazed with his intelligence and manners. Monday story time has always been the highlight of Christian's week. During story time, he's learned sign language, his alphabet, learned to play different instruments, sing along with songs, along with lots of other things. Outside of the story time, he's learned to operate a computer, learned to solve puzzles, did coloring, as well as develop social skills by interacting with others. His favorite thing to do was shake the shakers during the sing-alongs at story time. We were always the last to leave. We would always stay about 2 hours, since Christian always wanted to stay and play. Our routine after we left was to look for trains, since the library was right next to the tracks. I told Rhian that our little boy is growing up; he's graduating from Ms Revonda and is heading to preschool. :o)

PICTURES FROM DECEMBER 2006


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Monday at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum

(August 4, 2008) Since our flight back to Atlanta wasn't until 6:55 PM on Monday, we decide to head to Pittsburgh early and check out the children's museum in downtown Pittsburgh. There were plenty of activities for both Christian and Reagan. I took Christian into the art studio, where he got to do printmaking, mono prints, and did 2 paintings. He also went outside to play with the clay and the water pumps. He also got to play on the swings and on the playhouse. Rhian would take Reagan to all the age appropriate displays. We would spend several hours there, the kids really enjoyed themselves, and Christian left with several prints. There's a lot to do there, so we didn't get to see the whole museum. Despite that, it was a nice way to spend the last day of our vacation.

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Sunday Afternoon in Johnstown

(August 3, 2008) Our family would go visit several places within Johnstown after the brunch. We would first stop by my dad's old house on H Street in Morrellville, then visit my Great-grandfather and Great-grandmother Sharp's grave site on D Street. We would head up D Street to Westmont and take a tour of homes in the richer part of Johnstown. We then drove over to the upper part of the Inclined Plane, where Christian and I took pictures from the observation deck. We picked up some Chinese food in Westmont, then headed west on PA 56 over to Hefley Springs to fill up on some fresh mountain spring water. We would also visit the Conemaugh Gap, the highest gap east of the Mississippi. We would drive back to the hotel room and eat our dinner and relax for the rest of the evening, and prepare for our trip back the following day.

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Fyock Sunday Brunch

(August 3, 2008) Another recent Fyock tradition is the Sunday brunch at the Country Inn Bar & Grill in South Fork. The brunch is a nice way to wind down the reunion and finish conversations from the day before or have conversations that you didn't get to have. Our family met up with Aunt Regina for mass at St Patrick's in Moxham at 11 AM, and then met up with everybody at noon. As usual, there was food and plenty of good conversation. Afterwards, we all said our goodbyes, as most out-of-towners began their journey back home. Our family, along with my parents, Karen, Kyle, and Kevin Kleitches met up at Forest Hills cemetery to pay our respects to our grandparents and other respective family members. We then said our goodbyes as my parents, along with Karen and Kyle, headed back to Pittsburgh for their flight to Atlanta. Kevin would head back to Uncle Bruce's, and we would head back to our hotel room.

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The Fyock Family Reunion

(August 2, 2008) The Fyock Family held their 37th annual family reunion Saturday in Elton. It has been an annual event, held the first Saturday of August every year (except 1977), since 1971. The reunion started the year after Grandma Elizabeth Fyock (Mom's mom) passed.
With mom being one of thirteen children, the reunion is a nice way to get to see all the aunts, uncles, cousins and their spouses/significant others every year. Being a father now has given me a new perspective on family, and I really look forward to seeing everybody. I got to see my cousin Jean for the first time in over 30 years. It's amazing how much she looks like her mom, my Aunt Helen. It's great seeing those you haven't seen in a long while. Our time on earth is short, and as Mom's brothers and sisters advance in age, I cherish the day or two I get to spend with them, as tomorrow is never promised!
A tradition of the Fyock family is to play horse shoes. The first couple of years of the reunion, the horse shoe pit was an exclusive club to play in. You didn't play unless you knew how to throw. As a child, I remember watching with my cousins legendary shoe throwers such as my Uncle Frank, Uncle Archie, Uncle Whitey, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Arnold, Uncle Al, and my dad. (I apologize for names I may have forgotten). I always looked forward to the day I could throw shoes with "the men". (Lofty goals, right? :o>) Over the course of the last 10 years or so, David and Michael Hillegas have put together a horseshoe tournament that everyone over 15 can participate in. All names are strictly at random, so there's no telling what kind of teams will be paired up. One thing that has been consistent, that there is usually a Hillegas in the finals, and a champion nearly as much. This year was no different, as the finals saw Mike Hillegas paired with Uncle Arnold against the pair of David Hillegas and Uncle Howard. Mike and Arnold would take the trophy this year. Legends have emerged amongst the cousins; people like "Little" Bruce, Wendy, Mike and David. They always make a good run, regardless of with whom they are partnered. I have yet to achieve this status, considering my poor showing this year, but at least I'm living my dream of playing! :o)
Another tradition was started this year at the family reunion: karaoke. After the success of the karaoke at Uncle Bruce's 75 1/2 birthday party, it was decided to have him come to the reunion. We got to hear what the lucky few got to hear at Uncle Bruce's party, and that was the sultry sounds of Aunt Chris voice singing a few songs. Several people would try their hand at singing, and the cousins would join in and sing our tribute to Little Bruce by singing "Don't Bring Me Down" by ELO. A tradition within a new tradtion was started when a "competition" amongst the males and females was started by singing "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" to close out the evening. It was never determined officially who won, but my non-biased opinion thinks that guys won outright! ;o)
A few of the cousins along with Aunt Regina would continue the recent tradition of the "Fyock Reunion After Party" at Little Anthony's in Moxham. There would be more karaoke and consumption of alcohol, along with lots more conversation.

CLICK HERE to view pictures from the family reunion (I'm still working on the captions)


CLICK HERE to view pictures from the after party at Little Anthony's

Second Day of Pennsylvania Trip-Dinner at The O'Leary's

(August 1, 2008) The Friday evening before the Fyock family reunion, it's been a Sharp tradition to visit with my dad's (and our) adopted family, Pat O'Leary and his family in Moxham.
Dad worked for Pat's mother-in-law, Elizabeth Kukoly when he was a boy, and she "adopted" him as a son. They remained close, and she would become "Grandma K" to Karen and I when we were children. She always remembered us on Christmas and our birthdays. Birthday cards would always be signed "xxoo, Grandma K" and would include a stick of gum taped to the card.
When we visit the O'Leary's, we're always treated to lots of food and drinks. Of course there is plenty of good conversation and the yearly question from my dad to Pat: "How's Pitt going to be this year?" :o) If you didn't know any better, you would actually think we were related. It's nice to have an extended family and visiting with the O'Leary's is always a highlight of our trip to Johnstown.

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Second Day of Pennsylvania Trip-Fishing at Sparks Farm

(August 1, 2008) Friday was another busy day as The Sharp men began the day fishing at Sparks Farm on the Juniata River in Everett, PA, while the women went running/walking at The University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown track. My dad has been fishing at the Spark's farm with his family for over 60 years, and the tradition has passed on to Kyle and I, and now it has been passed on to Christian. Before making the trek down PA 56, we stopped at Sheetz Convenience Store to stock up on sandwiches and drinks. On our way in to Spark's Farm, we stopped at the top of the hill, officially known as Hoot Owl Summitt. We know it better as "Pee Hill", and did as the name says. :o) When we arrived at the farm, we were greeted by Jack Sparks, the son of Mr. Sparks who used to let my Pap Pap (Dad's father) fish there with his family when my dad was a child. We got a tour of the Spark's house and dad and Jack reminisced about old times there. Mr Sparks had a few chores to tend to so we headed down to the river to carry on the Sharp tradition. Dad had purchased fishing poles and night crawlers the day before, so along with our purchases from Sheetz, we were ready to catch lots of fish! Something must have been wrong with my fishing rod, because Kyle and Christian had caught over 10 fish before I caught my first one. Christian caught 3 fish (2 on Kyle's pole I believe). Christian and I ate lunch as Christian had his fill of fishing for the day. Dad and Kyle headed downstream to "sunfish hole" to try their luck. After about an hour, Kyle and Dad headed back and joined Christian and I for lunch. We then took a tour of the Spark's Farm. Dad headed back to the van as Kyle, Christian and I walked up the road "to see what we could see". Dad went back, picked up the van, and picked us up. We made another stop at Pee Hill and stopped at a rock formation near the exit for what is now another Sharp tradition; placing coins between the cracks. Dad and Kyle have done this for several years, and now Christian joined in on the tradition. Overall it was a great day. As Dad says: "It never rains at Sparks!"

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