Templin Times

Kevin's 19th Birthday Celebrations

2010-08-24T00:58:00.000-04:00

Take Me Out to a Cubs Game!

2010-08-24T00:57:00.000-04:00

2010-08-24T00:56:00.000-04:00

2010-08-24T00:54:00.000-04:00

Dinner at Red Lobster!

2010-08-24T00:52:00.000-04:00

ERIC

2010-04-27T22:31:00.000-04:00

Eric's 17th Birthday @ TGI Fridays

Eric on Trumpet @ 2010 Super Size Symphony @ ND Joyce

Eric on Trumpet & Tom on Trombone!!

2010-04-27T22:24:00.001-04:00

WAKE UP - 2010 Easter Service @ GCC

2010-04-27T22:22:00.000-04:00

Carnival Cruise Excursion to Sting Ray City

2010-04-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

2010-04-24T23:02:00.001-04:00

@ Sting Ray City

2010-04-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

2010-04-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

Jet Skiing in the Caymans

2010-04-24T23:00:00.001-04:00

Underwater Photos

2010-04-24T23:00:00.000-04:00

Cayman Islands July 2009

2010-04-24T22:58:00.000-04:00

New Buffalo

2010-04-13T13:15:00.000-04:00

Eric's 2010 Spring Break

2010-04-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

High School Musical Jr. by Christ the King Catholic School starring my nephew, Quinn, & niece, Aurora!!

2010-03-16T16:45:00.002-04:00

2010-03-16T16:44:00.000-04:00

2010-03-16T16:43:00.000-04:00

2010-03-16T16:42:00.001-04:00

2010-03-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

2010-03-16T16:39:00.001-04:00

2010-03-16T16:38:00.002-04:00

Mom & Dad with all the grandkids!

2009-12-27T23:35:00.000-05:00

Nick with Bradley & Brennen

2009-12-27T23:33:00.000-05:00

Singing Christmas Carols!

2009-12-27T23:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T23:28:00.000-05:00

Cousins

2009-04-26T20:16:00.000-04:00

2009 Spring Band Concert

2009-04-26T20:13:00.000-04:00

Symphonic I Band

Symphonic II Band

A Late February Snowfall

2009-02-24T22:41:00.003-05:00

Bunny Prints in the Snow!

Kevin's Oboe Audition @ Purdue

2009-02-24T22:23:00.003-05:00

Sign hanging in the warm-up room!

Tom took this photo through the window since no one was allowed to go into the audition room!

Banana Stickers!

2009-02-24T22:19:00.002-05:00

Tom following the instructions on the banana sticker!

Read the sticker on the banana!

Me & My Two Brothers!

2009-01-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

Christmas With the Imus'

2008-12-26T22:59:00.002-05:00

Building Memories ... Bringing Home Our Christmas Tree!

2008-12-26T22:55:00.001-05:00

2008-10-29T12:54:00.000-04:00

2008-10-29T12:49:00.000-04:00

2008 Penn Marching Kingsmen Semi-State Performance @ Ben Davis H S

2008-10-29T12:40:00.004-04:00

The End!

2008-10-19T20:24:00.003-04:00

The Penn Marching Kingsmen's ISSMA Performance @ Lafayette Jefferson H S

2008-10-19T20:14:00.003-04:00

INNOVATE08

2008-09-18T22:36:00.002-04:00

Tom and members of the GCC Drama Team perform "Church on Fire!" during the first day of INNOVATE08 at Granger Community Church.

Adrienne & Tim's Story

2008-06-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008 Carb Day @ the Indy 500!

2008-05-27T13:30:00.002-04:00

A Smiling AJ Foyt!

Tom Sitting in a Race Car!

and Mark!

The 2008 Indy Pace Car!

2008 South Bend Symphony Side-By-Side Concert at Bethel College

2008-05-27T13:17:00.001-04:00

Tsung Yeh and the Side-By-Side Orchestra!

Kevin being recognized for his English horn solo!

Kevin & Liz Nichols

The Templin Family!

May 2008 Trumpet Recital

2008-05-27T13:11:00.000-04:00

Eric's Trumpet Solo!

Eric's Trumpet Quartet (minus 1)

Eric's Trumpet Teacher,
Craig Heitger

2008 GCC Women's Retreat

2008-05-27T13:06:00.001-04:00

Sandi, Shelley & Chris

Kevin & Eric

2008-03-05T18:15:00.000-05:00

Vivianna & Adrienne

2008-03-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

My cousin, Adrienne's, beautiful daughter!

"Look, I got a sticker for getting my shots!"

The Proud Mom!

The Penn High School Pep Band Performing at the New Wal-Mart in Osceola!

2008-03-05T13:30:00.000-05:00

The Store Manager Joins In on the Trombone!

Hi Eric!

More Manowe Moments!

2008-02-18T12:33:00.000-05:00

2008 Son City Kids Retreat @ Manowe

2008-02-18T12:29:00.000-05:00

My Bedroom, The Antler Room

The Fireplace

The Edison Gardens Team

2008 Jazz a la Mode

2008-02-14T23:46:00.000-05:00

The After School Jazz Orchestra 169

Eric on the Trumpet!

January 2008 Penn Winter Band Concert

2008-01-17T23:15:00.000-05:00

Kevin & the Symphonic I Band

2008-01-17T23:14:00.000-05:00

2008-01-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Mr. Scarecrow and our Pumpkins

Our Purple, Inflatable Spider

Eric's Pumpkin Creation!

Tom's Spread ... Diminishing Rapidly!

2007 ISSMA State Finals @ the RCA Dome

2007-10-31T23:54:00.000-04:00

Our Marching Kingsman, Eric!

Penn Marching Kingsmen

2007-09-23T11:59:00.000-04:00

2007 Carnival of Bands
Clarinet Section

Entering Freed Field
Penn vs. Riley
9-21-07

Penn Marching Kingsmen @ The 2007 Carnival of Bands

2007-09-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

2007-08-31T23:52:00.000-04:00

Baby Cardinals

Kevin found this one while he was mowing the front lawn.

He just missed it by inches!

We found this one in the evergreen tree next to the garage.

Moon Flower in the Front Landscape Area

By our Mail Box

MOON FLOWER

by Mark Heard

When the moon blooms
Like a flower in the night
Petals of Heaven-born silver light
Its seeds ride the wind
To the souls of men
So silently

There is a fanfare
In the changing wind
For those who will listen
Beginning to end
And the nightingale pleads
For the well-tuned ears
Of every man
Oh the sun shines
Like a torch at sea
Author of all
For the eyes that see
Blind eyes know it only as a mystery

When the moon blooms
Like a flower in the night
Petals of Heaven-born silver light
Its seeds ride the wind
To the souls of men
So silently

Penn Marching Kingsmen
August 31, 2007
Penn 47
Marian 7

2007 Penn Marching Kingsmen Parent Show

2007-08-18T13:09:00.000-04:00

The Trumpet Section

Tom on the Field with Eric

August 16, 2007, South Bend Tribune Photo of Tom & Eric

2007-08-18T12:52:00.000-04:00

Penn High School freshman Eric Templin, right, shows his dad, Granger resident Tom Templin, how to hold the trumpet Friday.

2007-07-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

X Marks the Spot

Ice Cream Break @ the Marina

Gasing Up the Boat
The Only Fish We Saw in the Lake!

Ducks Swimming by the Gas Dock

2007-07-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

Kevin Riding in the Tube
"Look, No Hands!"

2007-07-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

Boat Side View of the Canyon

Resembles a Cliff Drawing

Kevin, a Natural Boatman!

2007-07-19T23:38:00.000-04:00

Sunset @ the Glen Canyon Dam

Now This is My Idea of a Boat!! :)

Is this the crew of the S.S. Minnow?

2007-07-19T23:24:00.000-04:00

Sunday, July 8
Page, Arizona, Lake Powell
Driving to the Grand Canyon

Today we are renting a boat for the day on Lake Powell. We got a preview of the dam and lake yesterday evening, as we drove into Page.

Lake Powell was as exciting as a day at Cedar Point!

Tom stopped at Wal-Mart this morning, while the boys and I showered and got dressed, to pick up food, beverages, and other things we needed for a day on the boat. Amazingly, Tom was the morning person this morning!!

We picked up the boat rental shortly after 10 a.m. this morning. It had to be filled up, and back, by 5 p.m. I was surprised that we used $70 worth of gas. The boat must have had a huge gas tank because the gauge showed that it was 3/4 full before filling it up.

Lake Powell is a huge, man-made lake that was created when the Glen Canyon Dam was built to stop the water from the Colorado River in the 1960's. We decided to explore the area of the Lake known as Navajo Canyon.

The boat was a 19 foot power boat, with a small, blue awning. The sun was unbelievably strong, with virtually no shade anywhere. The temperature was well over 100 degrees. We sprayed on SPF30, and hoped we wouldn't burn, taking turns under the awning.

Tom did most of the driving, with me doing some on the way back. When we went a certain speed, there were wakes, and the boat would slap the water. One time, on the return trip, the boat went air born. The boys loved it, and wanted Tom to go faster. I felt the opposite way.

We rented a tube to pull Kevin on. Eric was disappointed because he couldn't ride on it because of his broken ankle.

Kevin rode on the tube twice, and loved it! He was the only one of us that got in Lake Powell!!

I was surprised by how much Kevin liked the boat and the water. He seemed like a natural. I can see him some day owning a boat, and living near a beach.

We ate lunch on the boat, in a tiny cove, with some shade provided by the rocks around us. It wasn't exactly by choice, but by chance. The boat was lodged by wall-to-wall rock. We had to use the paddle to push off the rock. I think our situation made Tom nervous, and he wanted to leave as soon as he finished his sandwich. We were so close to the walls of the canyon that you could touch them! The current was turning our boat around, and was pushing us into the rocks. We saw tiny lizards running around on the canyon walls.

On our way back to the marina where we rented the boat from, we stopped at another marina to cool down a bit, enjoy some ice cream, take a bathroom break, and check out the gift shop. Eric got a really neat hat with an antelope on it.

After we docked and cleaned up our boat rental, we all loaded into the van for our drive to the Grand Canyon. We all were parched from being in the sun, and couldn't believe how many beverages we had drank, with only one bathroom break all day!

2007-07-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

Animal Footprints @ an Almost Dried Up Creek Bed

Bessie Taking a Leak :)

2007-07-19T23:17:00.000-04:00

Looks Like a Bear!

Are we at the Great Wall of China?

2007-07-19T23:08:00.000-04:00

A Jack Rabbit

The Dirt Road

A Double View

2007-07-19T23:01:00.000-04:00

Grosvenor Arch

Eric Etching His Initials on the Base of the Arch

E
T

2007-07-19T22:51:00.000-04:00

The Triangular Cliff in the Center Looks Like a Piece of Candy Corn

Tom Playing With Rocks

Skeletal Remains

2007-07-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

Making Their Way Back Up From the Canyon!

The Summit @ Bryce Canyon
We were here on 7-7-07!!!

2007-07-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

A Beautiful View of Bryce Canyon

Eric, Kevin & Tom on a Trail in the Canyon

A Lot Farther Down Than It Looks!

2007-07-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

A Trail in Bryce Canyon

2007-07-18T11:54:00.000-04:00

A Close Up of a Hoodoo

Eric & Tom @ Bryce Canyon

2007-07-18T11:51:00.000-04:00

A Tunnel in the Rock

Views of Bryce Canyon

2007-07-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

Tom & a Hoodoo

More Hoodoos

Kevin & Eric

More Unusual Hoodoos

2007-07-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

Kevin & an Elk

An Approaching Storm

A Mountain Lake

Approaching the Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon

2007-07-18T11:43:00.000-04:00

Saturday, July 7
Cedar City, Utah to Bryce Canyon

WOW is about all I can say about the natural beauty we saw today. The drives are as gorgeous as the destinations are.

Before entering Bryce Canyon National Park, we stopped at a gift shop. They had some beautiful things, at good prices. Kevin got a tee shirt, I got a Navajo cross pendant, and Tom got a wood flute.

Tom, Kevin, and Eric hiked part of the way down into Bryce Canyon, while I stayed up near the rim. I was fortunate to see them, so I could photograph them down in the canyon. They heard me call their names; and even stopped and looked up, for one of the photographs!

After our visit to Bryce Canyon, we ate lunch at Ruby's ... Tom ordered a cheese steak sandwich, with mushrooms and onions, and thought it was one of the best he's ever eaten.

While I looked at rocks in a store across from Ruby's, Tom bought us dessert -- homemade cookies!

Our drive to Page, Arizona, our next destination, was a surprise when Tom turned onto a dirt road from the highway! I thought he was just taking a short-cut. The short-cut turned out to be 46 miles long!!! Apparently, he had planned this, but hadn't told anyone.

The dirt road wound through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. The area became a National Monument just a short while ago, in 1996.

The dirt road, consisted of plowed sand and dirt, scattered with rocks for traction; and is only drivable when it doesn't rain.

We saw about six empty beer bottles lying on the road, and about the same number of vehicles.

Wildlife was few, and far between. The most common animals we saw were jack rabbits and chipmunks.

There was a partially dried up river running through the area, with many dried up streams. Whenever we saw green plants, if we looked, we always found at least a small amount of water nearby.

In places, the road made the whole van vibrate. In one part, we thought the van would become stuck in the sand, but the van's inertia pulled us through! We also survived two large holes in the road, and driving over a creek, at the very beginning of our adventure!

After we arrived in Page, Tom checked us into our hotel, while we waited in the van. We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express, using points. So the best part is that the room is free, and it is a suite; so we have a sofa bed again, like last night. It is Eric's turn for the sofa bed.

We ate dinner at Fiesta Mexicana. It had excellent food and drinks!

2007-07-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

The One Mile Long Tunnel

2007-07-18T11:24:00.000-04:00

Tunnel Views

2007-07-18T11:21:00.000-04:00

Our Rental Van @ Zion

Kevin on a Trail @ Zion

Tom Swinging from a Tree!

2007-07-18T11:17:00.000-04:00

Kevin @ Zion National Park

Kevin @ Zion

2007-07-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

Tom & Eric @ Zion National Park

2007-07-18T11:11:00.000-04:00

More Borgs

Kevin & a Cactus

Shelley @ Zion National Park

2007-07-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

Friday, July 6
Leaving Las Vegas for Utah

We are beginning our road trip to Zion today. We stopped at an ABC Store last night, to buy beverages to get us started this morning.

The drive from Vegas to Zion National Park was as breathtaking, if not more than, the Park itself. We stopped for lunch at a Jack-in-the-Box in Hurricane, Utah. We were all hungry, and there weren't many restaurants to choose from.

Tom's favorite thing in Zion National Park was the one mile long tunnel that wad built in 1930. It was really neat, with several windows cut into the rock. As Tom put it, "Serendipitous".

My favorite part of the Park was the rock structures themselves. I loved the multi-colored layers.

Kevin enjoyed hiking up a couple of trails; with the temperature averaging 100 degrees or more all day!

We are now driving to our next destination -- Cedar City, Utah. We are staying at the Springhill Suites by Marriott.

We ate dinner at Rusty's tonight. The woman that checked us into our hotel recommended it. It was good. Eric has become fond of crème brule, ever since he had it at the Paris buffet. It was gone before we had a chance to taste it! The rest of us shared homemade bread pudding.

We are going to bed earlier tonight, so we can get an early start on our trip to Bryce Canyon, and then on to Page, Arizona. The boys are happy ... they each have their own bed tonight; thanks to a sofa bed that Kevin has volunteered to sleep in.

2007-07-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

A Borg Encounter

Warning! Borg @ the Bar!!

The Enterprise

Eric & Voyager

2007-07-18T11:03:00.000-04:00

Tom's New Friend!

Place Setting @ Quark's Bar & Restaurant

Tom Enjoying a Romulan Ale

2007-07-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

Kevin, Shelley & Eric

2007-07-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

Thursday, July 5
Las Vegas

We all slept in today. Tom got in the shower first, and is already down on the casino floor. The boys and I are planning to join him once we are all dressed and showered. -- Tom ended up losing, what he won last night, playing Black Jack :(

We had crepes at the Paris for a late breakfast/early lunch. We all chose different ones. Mine was rum soaked bananas, Tom had pear with walnuts and almond paste, Kevin had cinnamon apple, and Eric had berries (raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry). We all loved them!

We are going to the Star Trek Experience today at the Las Vegas Hilton. We bought our tickets on the way at the Fashion Mall. They were 1/2 price! While the men went in search of the tickets, I shopped at my favorite clothing store, Coldwater Creek!

The Star Trek Experience was really neat! There were two ride simulators. One was Borg-themed; the other was Romulan. On the Borg one, you felt as if you were being assimilated. You sat in these comfy chairs, with 3D glasses on, and got poked and prodded.

On the Romulan one, you sat in a hard, plastic seat with a seat belt on. It was as if you were being attacked by a Romulan Bird of Prey, with lots of jerking and movement.

After Star Trek, we had dinner at P.F. Changs, in Planet Hollywood a.k.a. the old Aladdin.

We went to bed somewhat earlier tonight, since checkout is at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning!

2007-07-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

The Paris Hotel

Eric, Tom & Kevin at the Bellagio Conservatory

2007 Summer Vacation

2007-07-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, July, 3
Driving to Chicago O'Hare
Flying to Dallas & Las Vegas

We left our house, for Chicago's O'Hare airport, at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 4:30 p.m. Chicago time. We are flying American Airlines from Chicago, to Dallas, to Las Vegas; not by choice, but by Frequent Flier Mile ticket availability!

We drove through the Skyway McDonald's for lunch. We weren't sure what to expect at O'Hare, with the recent car bombing at the airport in Scotland, and the foiled attempt in London last week. On the radio, while driving to Chicago, we heard that ALL European British Airways flights had been cancelled for today.

We drove the red Dodge Grand Caravan to Chicago since we have not sold it yet. We parked at a place called Park N Jet. The shuttle was there when we were unloading the van, and promptly dropped us off right in front of the American terminal.

The check-in line at O'Hare went quickly because we all had carry-on baggage, and followed the 3 oz. Ziploc bag rule for liquids. Eric was pulled aside because of his walking cast. They used a swab on his cast probably to check for explosives. Eric broke his left ankle 11 days ago while playing basketball at a neighbor's house.

Because we got to the airport early, we checked to see if we could catch an earlier flight, which we did! We all even got to sit near each other. The flight has been great until now ... we are circling Dallas for 30 minutes waiting for a thunderstorm to pass; so I've decided to begin this summer's travel journal :)

We've just been told that the weather has cleared. Now we are waiting for traffic! We finally landed in Dallas about 8:30 p.m., after an hour of holding.

We're all pretty hungry since they don't serve food on the airplane any longer. As soon as we step into the airport, we see a Texas barbecue! The food was sooo yummy!! Maybe the connection wasn't such a bad idea ;)

Our flight to Vegas was delayed, so we shopped at Fossil. Tom and Eric both got new leather wallets!

After landing in Vegas, we stood in a "long" line to be shuttled to our rental car. It was a cool 98 degrees! We rented a gold, Dodge minivan.

We soon arrived at our hotel, the Paris. All in all, we got to our room at 4 a.m. Eastern time ... a.k.a. 1 a.m. Vegas time. To put it mildly, everyone was grumpy and tired, after a long day of travel.

Wednesday, the Fourth of July!
Las Vegas

Eric manages to subtly wake up the whole room at 8 a.m. Vegas time!

It was shortly before 1 p.m. by the time we all showered, and left the room. We were all parched and famished! We decided we were hungry enough to eat at the Paris Buffet. The Buffet was fabulous! The desserts were even better!!

We were tempted by our hunger to get something quicker to eat, since the line wrapped around three times. A man from Argentina who was ahead of us in line, had been to the buffet before, and told us how good it was; so we decided to wait.

Eric's walking cast, and crutches, has been a conversation starter at most every place we've gone to; hence the conversation with the man from Argentina.

After lunch, we walked around Paris, and did a little shopping. The Paris shops lead into Bally's. While I shopped, Tom and the boys went to the Arcade at Bally's. I told Kevin where I was going (so far, my favorite -- the $20 store!). Tom tried calling my cell phone twice, but I didn't hear it! He eventually found me ... still in the $20 store!

Eric wanted to feel what the outside 120 degree heat felt like, since we have only been indoors today. I think he is a glutton for punishment :)

We walked over to the Bellagio, and happened to see the end of the outdoor fountain show.

We walked through the Conservatory. It had the most gorgeous, long-stem roses!

We are heading over to Caesar's Palace next. We have continued on our shopping spree, with LOTS of looking, but little buying :) Currently, the boys are in Houdini's Magic Shop with Tom. I think Kevin is picking out a card-type magic set, usually his favorite kind. Eric is interested in a coin magic set.

While the boys were in the magic shop, I stopped at a Natural Color makeup counter. I let the gal sell me a mineral powder concealer, but held off on the foundation.

After Caesar's Palace, we had dinner at Margaritaville. We then headed back to our hotel, Paris. I took a nap, while Tom and the boys watched Myth Busters. After a while, Tom went down to the casino, played craps, and came back with $100! It's been another late night for all of us.

2007 Dake Academy

2007-07-15T22:59:00.000-04:00

Kevin's Ensemble, The Royal Trio

The 2007 Dake Academy Participants

Kevin's Wisdom Teeth Come Out!

2007-07-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

Kevin in Recovery after Having His Wisdom Teeth Removed

Eric's 14th Birthday Present from Mom & Dad

2007-07-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

A "Professional" Remote Control Helicopter

Eric Making Repairs to His Copter

The Copter in Flight!

Eric Preparing His Copter for Flight

Eric's 8th Grade Class Trip to Washington, D.C.

2007-05-28T20:21:00.000-04:00

Eric's Bus Departing for Washington, D.C.

Cousins @ a Chicago Cubs Baseball Game

2007-05-06T15:42:00.000-04:00

Kevin, Eric & Quinn

Mom's 60th Birthday!!!

2007-03-04T18:01:00.000-05:00