Here's my kiddo and me with her boyfriend (also a great kid!)
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Amusing Amusement
Mini Golf, batting cages, go-carts, roller coasters, driving range, rock walls...
and a slammin' arcade! (Long live Skee Ball!!)
Here's my kiddo and me with her boyfriend (also a great kid!)
Here's my kiddo and me with her boyfriend (also a great kid!)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
After the Credits Roll
It sure got quiet out there.
Movie dialog stopped.
Credit roll music stopped.
I waited a couple more minutes thinking they'd left the living room
and went to ask if they wanted a late snack...
..and found;
zzzz...
Movie dialog stopped.
Credit roll music stopped.
I waited a couple more minutes thinking they'd left the living room
and went to ask if they wanted a late snack...
..and found;
zzzz...
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
School Tells Boy "Take the Flag Off Your Bike"
What a friggen joke. Apparently, in California (well, that about says it all right there...) there's a 13 year old kid who has an American flag on his bicycle to show support for the veterans in his family. The school administrators said some other students complained....and you see where this is going, right?? You just have to see the insanity for yourself to believe it. (Click here for text and video)
Good God, where are we headed? And why are we all in this handbasket?
Good God, where are we headed? And why are we all in this handbasket?
Saturday, July 03, 2010
I love a good 4th of July Parade
Watchin' the Mini do her thang...
You see some crazy stuff!
And sometimes Elvis!
You see some crazy stuff!
And sometimes Elvis!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Band Geeks
Tonight was the band's first official "performance".
What that means is, they use the parents for guinea pigs.
We all assembled on the sidelines of a parking lot that is marked off like a football field to watch the first couple numbers of their field show and their show for State Fair next week in Indy. Not too shabby. Although, it definitely looks different from the vantage point of bleachers instead of being on the same level.
There was the huddle/pep talk. (My kid is on the outside edge - she's the one in Khakis and a blue shirt. Heh).
Here are a few photos of the band doing their thing.
She tries to be unique and march to the beat of her drum (no pun intended...really. She's not a drummer :p) but she's not quite as "stand alone" as the kid in green! It explains why she likes him though. (OK, to be fair, he forgot his stuff and his mom brought it...but she showed up late.)
Ah to be young, infatuated and in band...
Wait. Band love is BAD.
What that means is, they use the parents for guinea pigs.
We all assembled on the sidelines of a parking lot that is marked off like a football field to watch the first couple numbers of their field show and their show for State Fair next week in Indy. Not too shabby. Although, it definitely looks different from the vantage point of bleachers instead of being on the same level.
There was the huddle/pep talk. (My kid is on the outside edge - she's the one in Khakis and a blue shirt. Heh).
Here are a few photos of the band doing their thing.
She tries to be unique and march to the beat of her drum (no pun intended...really. She's not a drummer :p) but she's not quite as "stand alone" as the kid in green! It explains why she likes him though. (OK, to be fair, he forgot his stuff and his mom brought it...but she showed up late.)
Ah to be young, infatuated and in band...
Wait. Band love is BAD.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday
This past weekend, we went to the husband unit’s sister’s home. Their mom turned 90 and all her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids surprised her with a family reunion type party.
Truthfully, I’m not really crazy about any of them, but tolerate a few. The feeling is probably mutual.
When I went inside the house for something, I saw a 12pt buck mounted in a living room.
Seizing the opportunity to get out of mingling I asked a curmudgeony non-mingler about it and about the flint lock under it. That started a conversation that did two things:
1) It kept me from having to go back out and socialize
2) It was something I was interested in, which made time pass
The conversation skipped from the mount to hunting to guns and I was invited to the room where the toys were kept. Shotguns, rifles, and all manner of bows. Vintage ammunition that isn’t made anymore and a .22 lever action that I’ve never seen, and couldn’t tell you what it even was, other than it was purchased brand new during the Great Depression for $7.00. There were cabinets full of stuff like that.
Totally made the day worth it.
When we pulled out of the drive to start toward home, we headed down a country road that edged a little lake. We saw a boy about 14 years old or so, leisurely walking along side the road with a .22 rifle propped over his shoulder. How often do you see THAT anymore?
Gotta love small towns in the MidWest.
Truthfully, I’m not really crazy about any of them, but tolerate a few. The feeling is probably mutual.
When I went inside the house for something, I saw a 12pt buck mounted in a living room.
Seizing the opportunity to get out of mingling I asked a curmudgeony non-mingler about it and about the flint lock under it. That started a conversation that did two things:
1) It kept me from having to go back out and socialize
2) It was something I was interested in, which made time pass
The conversation skipped from the mount to hunting to guns and I was invited to the room where the toys were kept. Shotguns, rifles, and all manner of bows. Vintage ammunition that isn’t made anymore and a .22 lever action that I’ve never seen, and couldn’t tell you what it even was, other than it was purchased brand new during the Great Depression for $7.00. There were cabinets full of stuff like that.
Totally made the day worth it.
When we pulled out of the drive to start toward home, we headed down a country road that edged a little lake. We saw a boy about 14 years old or so, leisurely walking along side the road with a .22 rifle propped over his shoulder. How often do you see THAT anymore?
Gotta love small towns in the MidWest.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
The Shirt
Monday, MiniMe wore her shirt to school and figured she'd take a lot of heat for the anti-obamaluv sentiment. As some of you know, on election day we started off as a long standing red state and woke up the next day in a blue one. That's a story in itself, but I digress...
Back to the homemade shirt.
A couple of interesting things to note;
She wished the words had come out not so slanty, but she didn't realize how "downhill" they ran until she actually put it on. Undaunted, she trudged ahead with her plans...finding out that some people don't really know jack about the things they support.
Several thought the shirt was endorsing Obama and a few others had no idea what the stimulus package was...only that it was "something good to help people get money."
Hmmm...
So my kid explains in the most simplistic short cut way she could find and tossed in a few enlightening facts for good measure. Like, how their generation is the one that will have to pay it off, and likely their kids and grandkids, too. This was met with a few blank stares and a few raised eyebrows as well. Those surprised faces mean one thing; there's still some hope for the future, people. Maybe some of the next generation will turn things around and instigate change. That's what I'm talkin' about, people. Hope & Change.
As far as the back of the shirt, don't even get me started on the whole "nobody's ever heard of the "Gold Standard" business.
Here are some buzz words that I think never show up in American high schools in any government or economics class:
"Gold Standard"
"Federal Reserve"
"Nixon"
"Bretton Woods Agreement"
"Fiat"
"Hyper inflation"
How can they expect kids to learn what brought us to this state? I realize there's no way to stop the snowball from rolling down the mountain and picking up speed while growing, but at the very least if you teach them how dangerous and destructive it can be when it destroys whatever is in its path at the bottom, you give them a tool to understand how to keep another from starting.
I've read comments all over the net about how screwed we are and how bad it's getting. I've got news for you; you won't see the worst. Your kids will, and so will your grandchildren.
Another side note about the shirt's message; You have to educate your own kids about issues. Don't leave it up to an entity funded by the government. That's like asking Chrysler, Ford, and GM to educate kids about what a "bail out" is. Conflict of interest much?
Back to the homemade shirt.
A couple of interesting things to note;
She wished the words had come out not so slanty, but she didn't realize how "downhill" they ran until she actually put it on. Undaunted, she trudged ahead with her plans...finding out that some people don't really know jack about the things they support.
Several thought the shirt was endorsing Obama and a few others had no idea what the stimulus package was...only that it was "something good to help people get money."
Hmmm...
So my kid explains in the most simplistic short cut way she could find and tossed in a few enlightening facts for good measure. Like, how their generation is the one that will have to pay it off, and likely their kids and grandkids, too. This was met with a few blank stares and a few raised eyebrows as well. Those surprised faces mean one thing; there's still some hope for the future, people. Maybe some of the next generation will turn things around and instigate change. That's what I'm talkin' about, people. Hope & Change.
As far as the back of the shirt, don't even get me started on the whole "nobody's ever heard of the "Gold Standard" business.
Here are some buzz words that I think never show up in American high schools in any government or economics class:
"Gold Standard"
"Federal Reserve"
"Nixon"
"Bretton Woods Agreement"
"Fiat"
"Hyper inflation"
How can they expect kids to learn what brought us to this state? I realize there's no way to stop the snowball from rolling down the mountain and picking up speed while growing, but at the very least if you teach them how dangerous and destructive it can be when it destroys whatever is in its path at the bottom, you give them a tool to understand how to keep another from starting.
I've read comments all over the net about how screwed we are and how bad it's getting. I've got news for you; you won't see the worst. Your kids will, and so will your grandchildren.
Another side note about the shirt's message; You have to educate your own kids about issues. Don't leave it up to an entity funded by the government. That's like asking Chrysler, Ford, and GM to educate kids about what a "bail out" is. Conflict of interest much?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Weekend Opus
'Tis the season. No, not that season...well, yes it is, but that's not what I'm talking about.
MiniMe's band has wrapped up the most successful band season ever in the history of the school's band performances and scorings in competition.
Now the search begins for new music and new flavor for the next contest go-around.
Here's something I hope they'll think about; Anvil of Crom from the Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack.
Here's an awesome rendition by the Cincinnati Pops who employ the use of something that really does sound like an Anvil.
I. Love. It.
Truly, it has a powerful feel that transfers right to your core and gets your blood rushing and makes you want to bang on something...
Click it!
MiniMe's band has wrapped up the most successful band season ever in the history of the school's band performances and scorings in competition.
Now the search begins for new music and new flavor for the next contest go-around.
Here's something I hope they'll think about; Anvil of Crom from the Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack.
Here's an awesome rendition by the Cincinnati Pops who employ the use of something that really does sound like an Anvil.
I. Love. It.
Truly, it has a powerful feel that transfers right to your core and gets your blood rushing and makes you want to bang on something...
Click it!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Getting Out of Debt
MiniMe has a close friend that’s been her constant buddy for about the last 10 years. They’ve done everything together from learning to dance in a parking lot to consoling each other during 9/11 at school. They’ve fought each other and stood up for each other and everything inbetween.
About six months ago the friend asked me if he could borrow one of my airsoft pistols to play games with some friends. I let him. He returned it in a few days in the same condition he left with it in.
A couple of weeks after that, he asked if he could borrow it again so I let him. This time, it was lost.
He looked and looked for it and called everyone who may have had access to it, to no avail. I gave him a ton of time to look for it, but ultimately told him that the best thing he could do is just replace it or pay for it. I wanted to help him realize that part of growing up is taking responsibility for yourself.
Over the weeks (and months) that followed, one reason or another would crop up that he couldn’t pay for it or couldn’t find a replacement, so we sat down one day and had a chat. In the end an amount was established and a “dollars per hour” was agreed upon that he would come over and work off the debt for the lost airsoft.
Today he did. He came over and worked his butt off doing pretty hard labor (landscaping with colored stone) and when he was done, he washed the truck that the stones had been hauled in. We also bought him lunch and took a long break talking about school and the new girlfriend he has…and the fact that he’d recently decided to shave his head and found out he has really bad timing!!
Anyhow, the gun in the middle is the one he borrowed
And this is the replacement
Now let’s have some fun with the translations inside.
(Click to embiggenate)
I think my two favorites are (misspellings included):
Never dissemble the gun by yourself, which will cause the trouble and dangerous.
And…
Never shoot as joking, always look before shoot, the careless use may cause injure and be punished.
About six months ago the friend asked me if he could borrow one of my airsoft pistols to play games with some friends. I let him. He returned it in a few days in the same condition he left with it in.
A couple of weeks after that, he asked if he could borrow it again so I let him. This time, it was lost.
He looked and looked for it and called everyone who may have had access to it, to no avail. I gave him a ton of time to look for it, but ultimately told him that the best thing he could do is just replace it or pay for it. I wanted to help him realize that part of growing up is taking responsibility for yourself.
Over the weeks (and months) that followed, one reason or another would crop up that he couldn’t pay for it or couldn’t find a replacement, so we sat down one day and had a chat. In the end an amount was established and a “dollars per hour” was agreed upon that he would come over and work off the debt for the lost airsoft.
Today he did. He came over and worked his butt off doing pretty hard labor (landscaping with colored stone) and when he was done, he washed the truck that the stones had been hauled in. We also bought him lunch and took a long break talking about school and the new girlfriend he has…and the fact that he’d recently decided to shave his head and found out he has really bad timing!!
Anyhow, the gun in the middle is the one he borrowed
And this is the replacement
Now let’s have some fun with the translations inside.
(Click to embiggenate)
I think my two favorites are (misspellings included):
Never dissemble the gun by yourself, which will cause the trouble and dangerous.
And…
Never shoot as joking, always look before shoot, the careless use may cause injure and be punished.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Dads & Daughters
Since way before any of us kids were born, my dad has always had Harleys around. Back in the 50's & 60's he was really big into racing them. There were shelves full of trophies and plaques that are present in my earliest memories.
Growing up, I never remember a time that there wasn't a Harley or two around. Some of the best father/daughter bonding moments between me and my dad took place in a barn tinkering with a Harley engine or just going joy riding. I never even learned to ride a conventional bicycle until I was 10 or 12 years old, because I had a motorcycle and a horse. That's weird, but true. :p
I've mentioned my dad's love of Harleys here and there on the net and talked about an accident he had a couple years back just after he turned 75. Someone on a forum I frequent remembered that and sent me a video that I just had to share.
For all you dads and your Cinderellas...
Growing up, I never remember a time that there wasn't a Harley or two around. Some of the best father/daughter bonding moments between me and my dad took place in a barn tinkering with a Harley engine or just going joy riding. I never even learned to ride a conventional bicycle until I was 10 or 12 years old, because I had a motorcycle and a horse. That's weird, but true. :p
I've mentioned my dad's love of Harleys here and there on the net and talked about an accident he had a couple years back just after he turned 75. Someone on a forum I frequent remembered that and sent me a video that I just had to share.
For all you dads and your Cinderellas...
Monday, October 06, 2008
MiniMe and Training Day
I posted the following brag on a forum and a member who reads my blog suggested I post it here. I could never turn my back on my adoring public :p
So here it is:
It's taken me a good long time to get to the point that I can post something like this.
Way back a few years ago, none of my immediate family wanted anything to do with firearms or shooting.
Every time I begged anyone to go to the range with me, no one was interested. Whenever I went, I was always the lone person there with the place to myself.
Slowly but surely somewhere between the trips to the gun store, chatting up firearms all the time, and my NRA magazines laying out everywhere, the idea has sunken into their minds that this pastime of mine isn't going away...and if you can't beat them, join them.
Yesterday was a training day...one in a series of steps up the training ladder we've all been taking by way of personal protection. My kid rocked it. She so kicked my butt and her dad's, too. She was hitting everything exactly where she was supposed to from many different positions and while moving, too.
She was using my Kimber and let me tell you...it's only a 3 inch barrel and the grip is shorter because it's only a 7 round mag. Because of these characteristics, it's very lightweight. This means in addition to everything she was doing, she was also managing recoil and contending with extreme muzzle flip. Not an easy task when taking a completely motionless stance, much less while on the move.
She's turned into a built-in shooting buddy and I'm just so proud of her!
So here it is:
It's taken me a good long time to get to the point that I can post something like this.
Way back a few years ago, none of my immediate family wanted anything to do with firearms or shooting.
Every time I begged anyone to go to the range with me, no one was interested. Whenever I went, I was always the lone person there with the place to myself.
Slowly but surely somewhere between the trips to the gun store, chatting up firearms all the time, and my NRA magazines laying out everywhere, the idea has sunken into their minds that this pastime of mine isn't going away...and if you can't beat them, join them.
Yesterday was a training day...one in a series of steps up the training ladder we've all been taking by way of personal protection. My kid rocked it. She so kicked my butt and her dad's, too. She was hitting everything exactly where she was supposed to from many different positions and while moving, too.
She was using my Kimber and let me tell you...it's only a 3 inch barrel and the grip is shorter because it's only a 7 round mag. Because of these characteristics, it's very lightweight. This means in addition to everything she was doing, she was also managing recoil and contending with extreme muzzle flip. Not an easy task when taking a completely motionless stance, much less while on the move.
She's turned into a built-in shooting buddy and I'm just so proud of her!
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The Best Day. Ever.
So yesterday, we drove a little south and met up with an RFC’er who was kind enough to invite us to shoot at his range for the day. He brought a ton of toys and almost enough ammo (that’s an inside joke because he’ll be reading this and I’m obligated to give him a batch of crap )
The day started off with shooting a couple Rock River Arms ARs and holy moly that was cool!
At first, MiniMe didn’t want anything to do with the whole day. At all.
She sat there with an iPod and earmuffs on top of it text messaging whoever would entertain her. She had the most frowny grumpity face I’ve ever seen her make. Bar none. I tried six ways from Sunday to talk her into trying the ARs, but she wasn’t having any of it.
After a little while of shooting those, and using glass to look down range at our targets, I guess she figured we wouldn’t be having so much fun if there wasn’t something to it… because when we moved down to the pistol range where the pistol caliber rifles could be fired, she decided after much coaxing that she’d give it a shot (pun intended).
We started with rifles and she decided after watching everyone take a turn, she wanted to try the Marlin lever action .44mag.
To say that she surprised herself would be an understatement.
Then there was a Marlin 39A, the Remington 40x mil surp., the Winchester 9422, and finally the one that won her over for good…
The BSA Martini Mark III.
It was like crack to a junkie. She couldn’t put it down.
We went through lots of handguns from the S&W 617, to Browning Buckmarks in 5.5” and 10”, to the Springfield XD9...
...but she kept going back to that Martini. The trigger pull was 2 ounces and the most fun she had was picking off empty shot shells that were set up on top of the target stand at the base of a berm. She never missed one, and it was a big deal to her because her dad did.
We were joking and giving him a hard time and said, “let the kid help you out”, so she sat down and slid over, and before most people could have probably gotten a fix on that sight, she’d already picked that sucker off the stand. Grinning ear to ear, the whole time.
All the way home she went on and on about how much fun it really was, and how much more she wanted to learn. She sat in the back of the van with her sketch book, drawing up targets that she wants to construct because she thinks they’ll be fun to shoot. She asked me about 4 times for a rifle for Christmas and said, “I need to add one more thing to a list of stuff I want to do in my life before I die. I want to have a whole case of ammo and be the only one who shoots it all in one day with no interruptions. Mom, can you buy a set of reactive targets?”
HA!
So that was my Saturday… a day that started out being something fun for two of us, and a pain in the butt for one of us…
But ended up being the most awesome day for the one who never expected it.
She wants to go back with me soon and take the defensive shooting class, so that’s in the works, too.
Awesome.
I think I finally got the shooting buddy that I’ve wanted for the past couple of years.
All thanks to Jay, who might be really good with old moms & dads…but who’s awesomely great with sulking teenagers. Even when he can’t make a stylish exit because he’s lost his keys…
The day started off with shooting a couple Rock River Arms ARs and holy moly that was cool!
At first, MiniMe didn’t want anything to do with the whole day. At all.
She sat there with an iPod and earmuffs on top of it text messaging whoever would entertain her. She had the most frowny grumpity face I’ve ever seen her make. Bar none. I tried six ways from Sunday to talk her into trying the ARs, but she wasn’t having any of it.
After a little while of shooting those, and using glass to look down range at our targets, I guess she figured we wouldn’t be having so much fun if there wasn’t something to it… because when we moved down to the pistol range where the pistol caliber rifles could be fired, she decided after much coaxing that she’d give it a shot (pun intended).
We started with rifles and she decided after watching everyone take a turn, she wanted to try the Marlin lever action .44mag.
To say that she surprised herself would be an understatement.
Then there was a Marlin 39A, the Remington 40x mil surp., the Winchester 9422, and finally the one that won her over for good…
The BSA Martini Mark III.
It was like crack to a junkie. She couldn’t put it down.
We went through lots of handguns from the S&W 617, to Browning Buckmarks in 5.5” and 10”, to the Springfield XD9...
...but she kept going back to that Martini. The trigger pull was 2 ounces and the most fun she had was picking off empty shot shells that were set up on top of the target stand at the base of a berm. She never missed one, and it was a big deal to her because her dad did.
We were joking and giving him a hard time and said, “let the kid help you out”, so she sat down and slid over, and before most people could have probably gotten a fix on that sight, she’d already picked that sucker off the stand. Grinning ear to ear, the whole time.
All the way home she went on and on about how much fun it really was, and how much more she wanted to learn. She sat in the back of the van with her sketch book, drawing up targets that she wants to construct because she thinks they’ll be fun to shoot. She asked me about 4 times for a rifle for Christmas and said, “I need to add one more thing to a list of stuff I want to do in my life before I die. I want to have a whole case of ammo and be the only one who shoots it all in one day with no interruptions. Mom, can you buy a set of reactive targets?”
HA!
So that was my Saturday… a day that started out being something fun for two of us, and a pain in the butt for one of us…
But ended up being the most awesome day for the one who never expected it.
She wants to go back with me soon and take the defensive shooting class, so that’s in the works, too.
Awesome.
I think I finally got the shooting buddy that I’ve wanted for the past couple of years.
All thanks to Jay, who might be really good with old moms & dads…but who’s awesomely great with sulking teenagers. Even when he can’t make a stylish exit because he’s lost his keys…
Saturday, July 05, 2008
It doesn't get much better!!
What an awesome fun day of shooting lots of stuff!
I'll have a detailed post about it soon, but I couldn't wait to get this bit up:
Here's my baby with a 9mm.(Springfield XD9)
I'll have a detailed post about it soon, but I couldn't wait to get this bit up:
Here's my baby with a 9mm.(Springfield XD9)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Boomerang
~
I’m sure we’ve all seen it. The crap that some kids do…
I’m talking about when they think it’s funny to fake a “drive by” with paint balls or air soft guns on unsuspecting people. Like this
Or this
Well, odds were in favor that it had to happen sometime…
Injured man returns gun fire on paintball pranksters
A Ruth man is hospitalized in Salt Lake City with eye injuries after being shot with a paintball Thursday night.
Sheriff Dan Watts said the man heard noise in his backyard and went outside with a flash light and a gun. Several Ely teenagers who had been trespassing on the man's property got into a vehicle and one of them shot him in the eye with a paintball gun as the car drove away. Watts said the man thought he had been shot with a real gun and returned fire striking the car but not injuring any of the occupants.
The sheriff's department detained the youths and the one who fired the paintball gun is being held at the juvenile detention facility in Elko. Charges might be pending.
The man who was shot with the paintball has a detached retina and it was not known Monday afternoon if he would lose sight in one eye, according to Watts.
Link to source
I’m sure we’ve all seen it. The crap that some kids do…
I’m talking about when they think it’s funny to fake a “drive by” with paint balls or air soft guns on unsuspecting people. Like this
Or this
Well, odds were in favor that it had to happen sometime…
Injured man returns gun fire on paintball pranksters
A Ruth man is hospitalized in Salt Lake City with eye injuries after being shot with a paintball Thursday night.
Sheriff Dan Watts said the man heard noise in his backyard and went outside with a flash light and a gun. Several Ely teenagers who had been trespassing on the man's property got into a vehicle and one of them shot him in the eye with a paintball gun as the car drove away. Watts said the man thought he had been shot with a real gun and returned fire striking the car but not injuring any of the occupants.
The sheriff's department detained the youths and the one who fired the paintball gun is being held at the juvenile detention facility in Elko. Charges might be pending.
The man who was shot with the paintball has a detached retina and it was not known Monday afternoon if he would lose sight in one eye, according to Watts.
Link to source
Friday, June 06, 2008
Remember McKenzie?
Remember the 11 year old who field stripped an AR15, put it back together, and did a function check in under a minute?
Well, here she is at the range. What a shooter!
Well, here she is at the range. What a shooter!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Congrats, Grad!
Meet the college grad:
We set off for a day of celebrating her achievement with her. The fam got together and had lots of fun as always. Remember last Christmas when I said we’d have some newbies in the bunch? Meet baby Addison Ann with her proud dad and mom!
Gee…I really like the name Ann :-D
Here’s proud mom handing her off to grandma who’s been waiting for a girl to spoil forever! (She had all boys)
There were games and lots of socializing…
And then one of the Superman types.
Here’s me (below) with one of my favorite people in the world, my uncle Charlie…
This was an especially fun event if you were a little boy. There were rocks to scale, giant trees to climb and hide in, a campfire, and a new dawg… and if you were lucky, John would drive you around the field. It could get interesting after he's had a few glasses of that beer he's brewed himself. (OK, he's good at it)…
John! Wait for Aiden!!
Never mind. The new dog is more fun to hang with…
Aw… MiniMe needs a dawg!!
Here’s a few of us by the fire, wrapping up the day. I don’t know what uncle Charlie must have been saying, but whatever it was…it must have had my full attention!
We set off for a day of celebrating her achievement with her. The fam got together and had lots of fun as always. Remember last Christmas when I said we’d have some newbies in the bunch? Meet baby Addison Ann with her proud dad and mom!
Gee…I really like the name Ann :-D
Here’s proud mom handing her off to grandma who’s been waiting for a girl to spoil forever! (She had all boys)
There were games and lots of socializing…
And then one of the Superman types.
Here’s me (below) with one of my favorite people in the world, my uncle Charlie…
This was an especially fun event if you were a little boy. There were rocks to scale, giant trees to climb and hide in, a campfire, and a new dawg… and if you were lucky, John would drive you around the field. It could get interesting after he's had a few glasses of that beer he's brewed himself. (OK, he's good at it)…
John! Wait for Aiden!!
Never mind. The new dog is more fun to hang with…
Aw… MiniMe needs a dawg!!
Here’s a few of us by the fire, wrapping up the day. I don’t know what uncle Charlie must have been saying, but whatever it was…it must have had my full attention!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
No matter what zone you're in
...Time won't slow down.
Over the last few years, my very good friend Shar and I have had such different schedules and hectic family stuff we just haven’t seemed to be able to meet in the middle to visit.
There was a stretch of years that JL worked a different shift and the only time we ever really saw each other or got to spend time together was on the weekends.
Shar had four young boys and for a time she was on her own with them while trying to juggle different jobs and kids’ schedules, too. I used to watch her youngest boys whenever she needed a hand or take them places when she just needed a break. When you spend that kind of time with another family, they become intertwined in your heart.
At some point, her family got pulled back together, JL started working a normal shift and in the blink of an eye years silently slipped past.
Chance brought us to the same place with both our families in tow. I wanted to prolong that tiny little fraction of time and I decided to use money that I’d been saving for something else and invite everyone out for lunch in the city where we were instead.
The kids are so grown up now and the “catching up” was amazing. My heart ached for missing it all when it happened. I’m going to make it a point to keep the connection going because time goes so fast… you don’t know you’re missing it until you look over your shoulder at where you’ve been.
In a breath you can step from piano lessons and soccer games into college applications and wedding plans. In a blink, it's gone. And you miss it.
Over the last few years, my very good friend Shar and I have had such different schedules and hectic family stuff we just haven’t seemed to be able to meet in the middle to visit.
There was a stretch of years that JL worked a different shift and the only time we ever really saw each other or got to spend time together was on the weekends.
Shar had four young boys and for a time she was on her own with them while trying to juggle different jobs and kids’ schedules, too. I used to watch her youngest boys whenever she needed a hand or take them places when she just needed a break. When you spend that kind of time with another family, they become intertwined in your heart.
At some point, her family got pulled back together, JL started working a normal shift and in the blink of an eye years silently slipped past.
Chance brought us to the same place with both our families in tow. I wanted to prolong that tiny little fraction of time and I decided to use money that I’d been saving for something else and invite everyone out for lunch in the city where we were instead.
The kids are so grown up now and the “catching up” was amazing. My heart ached for missing it all when it happened. I’m going to make it a point to keep the connection going because time goes so fast… you don’t know you’re missing it until you look over your shoulder at where you’ve been.
In a breath you can step from piano lessons and soccer games into college applications and wedding plans. In a blink, it's gone. And you miss it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Kid Stuff
I looked around a little bit on the Discovery Toys page and remembered some of the things we had from them. When MiniMe was born, I had a friend named Kathy who sold Discovery Toys for a living so she could stay home with her daughter. It looks like there’s a ton of new stuff, but there are still some things that are the same…like Marble Works… I remember Kathy had two sets (before they came out with all the different ones) and they set them up side by side with different “plans” from their mantle to the floor to “race”. It was fun to try to come up with the fastest course with all the twists and turns you make constructing the run. I’m pretty sure the grownups had just as much (if not more) fun than the kids!
Of the things we had, one was the Boomerings –Those little colorful chains that interlink. We used them for so many things because they are WAY tougher than the look-alikes found in stores. It’s been over 14 years since we got them and we *still* have some around that we use in a pinch for stuff. They were great for hooking on to a baby bag and linking toys to instead of shoving toys in the bag to take up space. I gave a couple to my mom when her luggage tags broke off of her suitcase at the airport and she STILL has them on a bag she travels with!… oh! I used them to link in front of the lower cabinet doors from knob to knob in order to keep prying fingers out of the cabinets! When we moved to our second home, we were renovating all the bedrooms and the closet was nonexistent for awhile…I had those links strung from the changing table to a doorknob and used them to hang all of her clothes until the closet was finished and the organizer was installed. They never warped from weight or anything. When we had a dog, we also used them to extend his leash! HA! Hmm…that’s all I can remember using them for off the top of my head!
We also had the Measure Up Cups – There are 12 of them and they’re not only numbered, but they each have an animal shape on the bottom that actually makes a pretty good cookie stamp!
These were really great for math, too! Like if you had sand in cup 2 and cup 7, and if you dumped them both out they would fill cup 9.
The books, music, and family style things are mostly different (except for the bath gels, etc.), and I noticed they don’t have the clothing line anymore. That was really neat because all the clothes were reversible, and they were all tagged with colors and shapes in the label so that your child could match any of the label pictures and the clothes would make an outfit together from the socks up. It’s really a neat way to let kids learn to dress themselves when that independent streak hits! I wonder why they discontinued that line.
We also had the whole line of Think It Through Tiles. Those were awesome. They were these little plastic cases with tiles inside. On the back of each tile was a design and the front was a letter or number. In the booklets that come with them, you answer the questions by placing a tile in the matching square in the case. When you’re finished, you close the case, flip it over and open it back up. The design you’ve made (from the back sides) should match the design in the book (like a self correcting answer key). MiniMe’s kindergarten teacher liked them so much when she borrowed them for class, I ended up giving them to her and buying the next stage that was a little more difficult.
Anyway, all these things are really worth looking into.
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