Merry Christmas !

Merry Christmas from Newton Lake PA. Santa made his annual appearence last night and he brought the girls bunk beds. They were quite surprised.

Here are two short videos of the girls on Christmas morning.

Video 1 and Video 2

The Cookies are Here !

Marion had two assistants tonight to help her making her Christmas cookies.

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson ) visits Scranton

Not since JFK visited Scranton in 1960 has there been this much hoopla in the City of Scranton. Today, one of Dunder Mifflin's finest, Dwight Schrute visited the city and thousands of people waited hours to see him. From a young boy growing up on beet farm to walking the Red Carpet at the Emmys, and now Scranton, it seems this man has really made it. What's next ... maybe he'll be the first actor to walk on the moon. In all seriousness... it seems like Mr. Wilson really made an effort to show the people here he appreciates all the support the show gets from the area.

Here are some links to photos,video and an article related to his visit.
Photos 1
Photos 2
Video 1
Video 2

Scranton / Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Well ... after a long wait ...and zero creativity. The new name for the Yankees AAA team will be the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Kudos to the staff for the painstaking effort to come up with such an original name.

Still happy the Yanks are here, just disappointed in such a lackluster effort to distinguish this team from the parent team in NY. However the after the great "Lackawanna Wonderful" ad campaign I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

My pick was the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre Bombers .

End of Deer Season 2006

Deer season ended today without a bang ... at least without a bang from my gun. I saw nine more doe today and one buck, but I couldn't tell how many antlers he had so I couldn't shoot. We'll try again after Christmas with our muzzleloaders. Maybe we'll have more luck !

In search of the perfect Christmas Tree !

Tonight the Sokoloski's and Yurgosky's made their annual trek to find the perfect christmas tree. In keeping up with tradition ... we failed.

Regardless ... the kids had a great time.

First Snow of the Winter !

Had our first snow of the year today, and it looks like I'll have some help shoveling the driveway this year.

Happy Birthday Annie !

Annie celebrated her 7th birthday today ! Happy Birthday Annie !

First Day of Deer Season !

I didn't notice any antlers on this deer so I couldn't shoot.

Weather was great today ... temp near 60. I saw 13 doe and 3 bear... but no buck :(

Here are two short videos I took of this bear. Video 1 and Video 2

Slumber Party !

Looks like the girls had a wild time at their party !

Penn State Tailgating !

Chris Mattise, Ed Sokoloski, Paul Sokoloski, Blaine Fawcett, Don Flynn, Jim Good, Keith Yurgosky & Tim Lutz

The boys from Lakeland made their way to Penn State yesterday for some tailgating at the Penn State vs. Temple game. The game was a rout but we had a great time.


Here is Blaine, Keith & Paul by the JoePa statue (with the bandaged knee).

Beauty is but a light switch away ... but fat is always there.
- Tim Lutz

I Spy !

I was wondering why my shrubs have been looking so bare ... hmm... seems I have a friend who finds them quite tasty.

Chuck E Cheese !

Annie had her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese tonight !


Here is Emily helping Annie celebrate her birthday with Chuck E


Here she is with a few of her friends who attended the party.

Santorum - Swann Song

(who dresses their kids like that ? that should be considered abuse)

The votes are still being counted but it looks like the Democrats are going to take the House of Representatives and maybe even the Senate. In Pennsylvania Bob Casey routed Rick Santorum.

I just heard that in Rhode Island an exit poll stated that 62% of voters were happy with the job their current Senator, Republican Lincoln Chafee, was doing, and yet they still voted him out of office. That can only say one thing... people are unhappy with Bush and taking it out on the republicans. These same exit poll results showed 75 percent of Rhode Island voters disapproved of Bush's job performance.

As for Lynn Swann ... well we all knew how that was going to turn out. He never had a prayer, the republican party hung him out to dry, they never gave him any support. Swann may be able to go back to the football booth for ABC ... after Craig James called Joe Paterno and "old fart", there may be a job opening.

John Kerry how can you be so stupid ?

The republican party has to live with the Mark Foley scandal this election, but not to be outdone... John Kerry has come to the rescue of the democratic party with a blunder of his own. Yesterday, even those his comments were taken out of context, he disrespected pretty much anyone who has ever put on a US military uniform. I have never served in the military and I was appalled at his comments, so I can't even imagine what those who serve are feeling right now. It's a good thing he married into money or he too might have found himself in Iraq. Looks like we won't have to worry about a Kerry 2008 campaign.



In other news , my nephew Brad came up to fish while on fall break from college. Brad landed this nice bass on a perfect day for fishing.

Trick or Treat !

Here is Marion and Emily at the Halloween Grand March fighting that Lakeland wind.



... and here are our two little halloweeners getting ready to head out and raid the neighbors of their candy. Emily said today was the greatest day of her whole life. :)

Cute as a Pumpkin !

Made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch today! Here are the girls picking out their halloween pumpkins !

Casey - Santorum Debate

WOW ! I watched the Bob Casey - Rick Santorum debate last night. It should have been a pay per view event. They went at it like two junk yard dogs.

Best lines of the night:
Santorum: "I don't know how you can say so many words and say nothing."
Casey: "Hey Rick, I know things are tough, don't be a desperate campaigner."

I feel America has lost some of its luster recently, but after watching that debate last night I feel better. It's nice to know we live in a country where two guys from different political parties , and two different beliefs, can fight it out like that, and be civilized when it was over.

America there is still hope.

Perfect Weather !

Nice day to take off. Columbus Day and temps were in the 70's here at Newton Lake. Did some fishing in the morning and caught four bass, two of which were over 4 lbs.

Here is a picture of the house with the colorful leaves in the background. In a week's time we will be living in a the hellpit of NEPA again. We can look forward to 7 months of crappy weather.

The Honorable Mark Foley

Mark Foley has to be the pride of the republican party right about now.
The old saying is what comes around goes around. Let's see what all those pundits who bashed Clinton will say about Foley.

Yankees AAA team is coming to Scranton

The big news today is that the New York Yankees AAA team is coming to Scranton , PA. Hmmm... how very interesting ... I remember a little bird telling us that back on September 5th.

http://yurgo.blogspot.com/2006/09/scranton-wilkes-barre-clippers.html

Unfortunatly it looks like our county commissioners have sold the team right out from under us. So now as soon as attendance dips, this team will be gone from Northeast PA.

Montage and the Red Barons were two of the major building blocks in getting NEPA back from dispair. It's funny how history repeats itself. Only time will tell.

Newton Lake Tailgating

This is how we watch Monday Night Football here at Newton Lake. A twenty foot screen, firepit, and cold beer. Nothing better :)

Tiny Dancer

Emily took her first dance class today. I wonder if this is what Elton John meant when he was talking about a Tiny Dancer?

Emily's back to school !

Emily went back for her second year of pre-school today. Don't let the picture fool you...it wasn't pretty. She had a meltdown... but at least she's there.

Scranton Wilkes-Barre Clippers ?

Guess who is coming to Scranton ? You heard it here first !

First lost tooth !

Big day today for Annie ...she lost her first tooth ! I hope the tooth fairy comes !

Off to Princeton

Brad is off to Princeton. Best of luck !

Back to School

Annie started back to school today, 1st grade already. Here she is with mom before heading off to class.

Bye Bye Red Sox !

The 2006 Boston Red Sox Season Imploded over the weekend. They are done. The Yanks destroyed them taking 5 games in 4 days. Long live the Evil Empire !

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Here are Marion & I in New Smyrna Beach, FL ... aka: the shark bite capital of the world !


That is the one minor detail they failed to mention in the travel brochure.

Penn Staters - The Next Generation

Here are the Sokoloski & Yurgosky kids beeming with Penn State Pride in the heart of Cane, Gator & Seminole Country. Luv Ya Lions !

Bathing Beauties !

Next Stop ... the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Here is Annie & Emily laying in the water at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Perfect Sunday

Today was a perfect day. It was about 80 degrees and no humidity. Picture perfect ... couldn't script it any better. The water temperature in Newton Lake was 78 degree. Annie and Emily had a great time swimming. When we moved to the lake it was because of days like today.

So-Called Americans in Beirut

I am aggrevated as an American Tax Payer that money is being spent, and our troops put in danger to evacuate idiot American's from Beirut. If you chose to go to that part of the world ... find your own way to get back ... and use your own money ... not mine ... or better yet ... stay there :(

World Cup Moron !

I watched the World Cup Finals today. Italy won in OT. I am not a huge soccer fan, but it was very exciting to watch, and it is easy to see how people can get caught up in the euphoria surrounding it. As an American ... we found just another reason to dislike the French when their captain head butted an Italian Player and was kicked out the game, during a 1-1 tie in overtime. This guy is a moron ... to make a cheapshot play like that with so much on the line, he let down an entire nation. Here is a link to a video of the head butt.

In other news ... fished again this morning ... the fishing isn't the same since we got all that rain, but we did manage to land these two nice bass. The bass are definitly starting to fatten up.

Murphy's Law of Fishing

When you catch your biggest fish ... nobody will be around to see it.

I caught this 4 lb bass today while fishing by myself. The Gatorade bottle is 8 inches long ... this was a big fish.

Is Ken Lay Really Dead ?

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way. If I had $100 million in the bank and I was looking at spending 20+ yrs in prison. I'd be gone. A little plastic surgery, a little bungalow on an island in the South Pacific. Why not take the chance ? So what if you get caught? What are they going to do... send you to jail for 20+ yrs ? Ken Lay didn't make all that money by being stupid.

Congrats to the Fawcett's

Congrats to Shannon & Blaine Fawcett who added a daughter Zoey to their family.

Here is a picture of Shannon and her 3 girls, Riley, Zoey & Molly. I guess this makes Shannon a MOAB ... Mother of All Babies !

We should have built an ark ...

This is the same view as taken 3 days ago ... you can see how much the water in the lake has risen. I measured 16 inches of water in my boat!



This boat and our dock didn't fair very well.

Rain, Rain, and more ####### Rain !

Great summer we are having here in NEPA. Flooding is becoming a major problem.


Here is the Lackawanna River spilling over its banks in Carbondale PA ... and...


This is photo taken on the Poplar Street Bridge in Mayfield PA.

Check out this video that shows the speed of the rushing water.


Here at Newton Lake, the lake has risen over a foot since Sunday ...docks are busting all over the lake. :(

Another great day for fishing !

Blaine Fawcett took this shot of Newton Lake at 5 am this morning. Another perfect day for bass fishing.