So—-sorry to have been gone so long. The reality is—after losing Ricky last Fall I really let Reidonline.org go into a hiatus. Each time I logged into the site, I thought how much I needed to add Ricky pictures. It made me face the sadness of his loss all over again. Now, I know some of you are thinking—he was just a dog!! And he was a dog—he also happened to be one of the best friends I could ever ask for.

With that being said, here is my long overdue photo memorial of my Best Bubba. I hope you enjoy them even a fraction of how much they mean to me.

SO—I will always miss my friend, but its time to get back to the work of keeping you all in the loop of our family. There is so much to catch you all up on that I really don’t know where to begin…

How did Rich do in lacrosse this Spring? Not so well actually. Its not that he didn’t play well. It’s that he didn’t get to play. About a week and a half before the start of the season Richard “Evil Keneval” Krause suffered a pretty severe break of his left arm. Its kind of a long story, but it involves a pyramid of boxes, an unfortunately positioned pot-hole, a bicycle, and a tree. You are welcome to do the math—–or just email Richard about it. He can tell you the whole story, Richard@reidonline.org.

The whole thing has really been a bummer for Rich’s Spring. He missed every lacrosse game, a school field trip, 2 Boy Scout campouts, a few summer camps because he will not be cleared for contact until early July, and a lot of the normal play activity outside that he usually gets to have. We were very lucky he did not need surgery on it though—-so really we were lucky. Richard got his cast off on June 1st, and is now in a manageable, more comfortable soft splint. So at least now he can shower normally, go swimming, and play non-contact sports.

Shannon has been super busy this Spring! Other than putting up with me—she has had a lot on her plate. Rich’s lacrosse league was short of coaches. Being who she is she stepped up and volunteered to be a Head Coach. Of course she got the Hopkins Blue Jays!! She really enjoyed working with the kids, and being in that role. We had some great coaches and great parents who stepped in. The team had some tough breaks (starting with Richard’s arm), and didn’t experience a lot of success on the field in terms of wins. However, the players did improve greatly—-and many of the parents expressed to us that their sons had never had more fun playing the game. At this level, that is really what it is all about.

Shannon also continued playing lacrosse. In the Spring she ended up playing for Novalax, a Northern Virginia club team. She actually tried her hand in goal, and got her first win as a net-minder. She is thinking about committing herself a little bit more to the position in the future. She just started Summer ball last night. Oh, and she has been playing on a kickball team. Yes, competitive kickball is now in her blood. I will let her tell you more about that one when she cares to post. Or you can email her about it Shannonk@mgoblue.com.

Professionally, Shannon is still in her role at Johns Hopkins. Most of her time and focus at Hopkins revolves around her knowledge as a clinician, but most of the work is more in research. She has been volunteering her Fridays at JAI Medical Clinic to put her clinical skills to more use. Shannon is really enjoying her work at JAI. JAI provides healthcare services to those that need it, but lack the means—other than Medicaid to get it. To learn more about JAI click here www.jaimedical.com.

Watching our favorite teams has been all over the map! We don’t even need to talk about that dog gone night in Seattle. You all know all to well how much fun I was after that game. Unlike many of my fellow Cowboy fans—-I am very excited about the upcoming year. Tony Romo is the closest thing to upside we have had in a long time. If he is what I think he is—-watch out!

Hopkins Lacrosse had a crazy year. For those unfamiliar, Johns Hopkins is to Lacrosse what Kentucky is to college basketball and Notre Dame is to college football. Not everyone who loves the sport loves them—-because if you don’t love them—you hate them. We love them. They got off to a rough start. At one point, the team was sitting at 4 wins and 4 losses. There was a thought that Hopkins may miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in well over 30 years. Well—-they got it together in a big way! Hopkins won their last 9 games in a row—-4 of which were in the NCAA tournament. They ended up beating Duke (you may have heard something about their lacrosse program) 12 - 11 in the NCAA Final to win their 9th NCAA Championship, and their 2nd in 3 years! Of course, we were right there for all of it. Shannon even went to road games at Syracuse (in the middle of a blizzard) and to North Carolina on the Johns Hopkins bus shared by fans and the band.

Awesome shot of the game winner for Hopkins!!

The other exciting news is that we are back in the Jeep business! I made a big mistake—HUGE—6 years ago. I traded in my ‘94 Jeep Wrangler for of all things the biggest piece of junk car ever made. That would be the ‘99 VW Jetta. Don’t ask me what I was thinking. I wasn’t. I hated that car—and myself in part for years over the error!! The Jetta was not with me long, and I replaced it with my Accord which I love. Its practical, comfortable, and great for family and work driving. However—even though the Jetta disappeared my want for another Jeep did not. About a month ago we got a 2000 Wrangler, and it has been awesome! We are all enjoying riding around in it. I feel like I am back in the club, and I think Shannon and Rich are enjoying it as much as I am. The next step is getting Shannon comfortable with driving it—as it is a 5 speed. I am kind of worried that once she gets the hang of it I won’t ever get to drive it again!

As for Little Baby Romo… He is not so little anymore! And he is absolutely crazy!! We love him very much, and we have to because he is in what can only be defined as the “terrible boxer puppy stage” of life! He is now bigger than Ricky ever was, and his abilities to get in trouble are boundless! However, it is a blast for the most part and he is such a big part of our family!

Little Baby Romo

Bigger Baby Romo (8 Months)

So that is it—up to now. You have the updeate for what has gone on in our immediate family here in Columbia. I will do better with the blog, and keeping you all up to date.

Look for updates around Rich’s summer, and of course the recently updated “Dear Jerry and Wade” as Bill has left the building. I also am going to try my best to get Shannon involved in the blogging. I would love for her to keep you all updated on her adventures in life, her sports activities, and of course her love for Johns Hopkins lacrosse.

Thank you for reading, and don’t call it a comeback—we have been here for years (well at least more than one anyway).