Dream Home and Magic Carpet Ride Camp

Today was Austin's last day at his Magic Carpet Ride Camp. After dropping Austin off at 8:45 for camp, I drove by the house of my dreams to take some pictures. I love the house, but hate the location. Maybe someday, if we win the lottery, we can have a similar house built some where with a lot of land surronding it. I've attached a picture of it. What do you all think?

Austin's Open House presentation began at 11:00. The class sang two songs and performed a freeze dance before acting out a story about painters and elves. Austin was one of the five painters. When the teacher asked him what the picture was of that he was pretending to paint, he exclaimed "a dinosaur". Austin did a fabulous job. Bravo, Austin!

After class we came home and had some left over pizza for lunch. I fixed Austin an ice cream cone after lunch for a job well done.

Since it has been so hot outside, in the 90's, I decided to take the kids somewhere to play indoors while dad worked. However, when I got on the highway, traffic was at a stand still. It took 45 minutes to travel 5 miles. Upon discovering that the accident was still 10 miles further up the highway, I decided it would be best to turn around and head home. On the drive home Jennifer and Austin fell asleep. Once we got home Sariah fell asleep as well. Maybe it was all for the best that we all came home.

Chick-Fil-A

We dropped dad off at work this morning. He looked especially handsome in his business casual attire! Then we took Austin to his Magic Carpet Ride Summer Camp. After that, all of us girls went to the post office and shopping. We cannot mention what we bought because it is a surprise...sorry dad :)

After we picked Austin up from camp, mom and the kids all went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We all got a free sample of their new cookies and cream milkshakes...Delicious! Sariah and Austin had fun playing hide and seek in the playground while mom and Jennifer watched from the booth window.

It is going to be another long day at work for dad. We miss you, Honey! Hopefully, you will have some fun, even though you are working hard. We love you very much and we look forward to the weekend so that you can join us on our adventures.

Chuck E. Cheese

After picking Austin up from Summer Camp at Imaginon, mom took all of the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. The kids and mom had a great time. Mom won 75 tickets on the Tower of Power game. Sariah tried again later and won 99 tickets. Yippee!!! After pooling all of the tickets we ended up with 475. Amazing!

Dad met us later at Chucke E. Cheese for some pizza. He rode his motorcycle and looked very cool when he walked in. He was very handsome in his bandana, navy blue sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, and black motorcycle boots...a rebel with charm.

Austin fell asleep on the way home. I guess all of the excitement and summer camp tired him out.

Sariah, Jennifer, and mom usually hang out together while Austin goes to summer camp and Dad goes into work. For instance, yesterday, the girls went to Marshalls and Sariah got three new summer outfits. She looked fabulous in them all, so mom couldn't resist buying all three.

Always the baby

So why is it the baby has all the attention? We went to the store the other day to get a few items for around the house. Our attempt to make our little mark on this earth easier. Or, maybe not. Anyhow, back to the baby. My wife just can't take enough pictures of her. So much so, she has employed me to use my cell phone.
Ok, have to go.

New family photos!

Yes, we got new photos! They look cool! Kris got us all great outfits!

Family Portraits

Shopping

Had a good weekend of shopping! I actually had a good time. I was really into getting Kris some new cloths. I love her, crazy for her, can't breathe without her. She has been really, really great to me. Still not sure why. She knows I'm evil and mean, but she sticks around. And when I say stick around, I mean she loves me. It all works for me. She is the most wonderful mother and wife. I love you Kris!

Your Knight

Found my feet

The past few days, Jenny has been very cute in the morning. Ok, for me she has. I'm sure mom may think otherwise at times, but for the last week I've been getting up early to start my work day. I am lucky enough to hear Jenny get up and actually play by herself each morning. We just stare at each other as I take off the blanket that mother had so neatly tucked her in with. I usually run my hand from her head down to her feet. It is really cute. I hear a few giggles, some tossing and turning, and a few cooings. So I try to get up stairs as quickly as possible not only to enjoy it, but to head off further disruption. I don't want the cute sounds I love to turn in to louder cries for attention. Then mom is awake, again, before she gets her restless 4 hours of sleep per baby trip. So I hurry!!! This time, she kicked her feet up in the air! I've caught Jenny two days in a row now playing with her feet in the air. It is the coolest thing! I really do enjoy being a father. You can tell by looking into her eyes she is learn each moment and takes in everything she can. And, in that great pursue to absorb the world around her, I believe this is the very reason it is so hard for her to sleep. She is too afraid to miss something. How can I blame her? I live life one day at a time too, thoughtful and thankful for the day I had.

Yippy!

Austin and I picked up Sariah at the airport yesterday!!! We hid behind a pillar at the airport, waiting for her to appear from the jet way. It took a little while and we both had to exercise extreme patience, but we pulled it of. Sariah and her airline companion were at the terminal looking around for us. Oh the companion!

RANT section
So what is up with this unaccompanied minor’s fee??? Here is how it works for US Scaryways. These jokers make me take her to the gate, wait till it leaves, and then I get to go. When she arrives, I again have to meet her at the gate. The fee is $40 per leg of the trip. So a roundtrip, no connection flight, is $80. Now I have to ask you all, what that gets me??? I told them that I should be able to drop her off at the curb and they started with the same speech; you must take her to the terminal. So then I asked, does the same companion sit next to her for the whole trip and of coarse the answer was a no. So what gives? I pay $80 extra and I have to escort here to an from the gates. Please, what the hell is that about??? Why pay the damn $80. Oh, and get this for a money hungry, over executively ran to the ground group: Now, I can plan every trip over the internet. However, to book my daughter a flight, an unaccompanied minor, I have to do it over the phone. And guess what I get for that forced feature, another $5 charge! Not even a damn meal. I should at least get a few free drinks at the airport!!! This airline is the perfect extortionist or just too damn arrogant. Oh, and we bail them out of bankruptcy. Nice! Another good old boy club move!
RANT over

So anyways, she is here and fine. Austin just can't get enough of her. They have fun together. They are feeding ducks, running around the park, laughing at each other, and playing with Jenny. Too much fun.

Father's Day

Sunday, June 18, we all got up early and took David (dad) to Cracker Barrel for a Happy Father's Day breakfast. After breakfast, we came home and gave dad his Father's Day presents. He received a heart shaped plate that Austin painted red with Austin's right hand print and Jennifer's left foot print on it. Austin also gave dad two frosted beer mugs with family pictures on them, and two books about a father and his son. Jennifer gave dad a 10 X 13 close up photograph of her adorable face, and two books about daddy's little girl. Mom (Krissy) gave dad a button down dress shirt with motorcycles and flags on it and some Tommy Hilfiger cologne. Dad also received a photo album filled with pictures of Austin and Jennifer having fun with their #1 dad from the entire family.

Aunt Karen and Uncle Dave came over for a cook out during the afternoon. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and snappy grillers for lunch. Of course, they were cooked to perfection by the Grill Master himself...Dad. Aunt Karen and Uncle Dave gave dad a gift certificate to Starbucks for Father's Day.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing with the kids and enjoying the beautiful warm weather here in Charlotte.

At the end of the day, when we were tucking the kids into bed, dad said it was the best Father's Day ever.

Power Cord?

Ok, I thought I had lost another device from the lightening storm. Great. The target, my 2nd libretto 100. I use it in the kitchen, behind my chair. I like to keep track of stock quotes and quickly look think items up. It's like a day planner, dictionary, spell checker all in one. Well, on the last storm we had, I had unplugged everything. Today, I had just walked over and hit the F5 button to refresh the Yahoo! quote screen. Nothing happened. Still a blank screen. So I look at it for a few seconds and hit the power button. It flickers a few and goes out. So I do it again. Nothing this time. So I pull the battery out and look at the connections. I re-insert it and press the power button. Nothing. I'm not happy now. So I take the battery out and try it again. Still nothing. I'm thinking, "Great. I lost another device. This is not fun!" However, for some reason my eyes are guided down to the outlet. Of coarse my view is obstructed by the trash can. So I move the can over and there it is. The plug is lying on the floor. Nice. I plug it in and whaola, it works. What a dork!

Mission work anyone?

I just got a call from my brother Danny in Phoenix. He just got back from mission work in Rocky Point, Mexico. Now, the last time I was there was in college at NAU. It was the party hang out. Take off Friday night, be there that night and party all night till Sunday noon. We had to sleep a few hours before trying to get back over the boarder you know. Anyways, my brother and I are much older now and are doing our part to give back. We owe it to society and we know it. Usually my offering is much easier on the back, since I do computer work. Folks still need that too. However, I'm thinking about joining my brother on these monthly, or so, missions. This last one was to help build up a rundown women's shelter.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shawzer/slideshow?.dir=/794ere2&.src=ph

It looks most impressive to have that many diverse folks get together for a common cause. I think this would be a great learning experience for my offspring as well. I do wonder how they will take to it. Ok, I’m done wondering. I think I'll take my older daughter first. She might like the trip to Phoenix, but the mission work will be very rewarding. There is nothing like helping others to build self awareness and esteem. Plus, it will build character and mold our children of the future. (My political correctness stab). She will also have something to write about at school too. The more I think about it, the faster I'm going to get a plane ticket. This is a great idea!

Thunder Storm Baby

WOW!

We had some awesome thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. It was so intense we got hail. I think we got more hail than snow this year! Thunderstorms are my favorite. But, I was not that smart about protecting my stuff. After the Saturday storm I lost a VoIP router and had to replace it Sunday. I was a bit bent about it, but it was my fault. I should have unplugged it. I guess it was the phone plug that took the hit. It was the first to go, but the router slowly just stopped with all traffic, but anything could have happened.

We had limbs down all over. It looked like we never cleaned the area. Mom and Austin went out and jumped all over it with a large garbage bag. By the time I got down there, after the VoIP issues, there were only a few more limbs to pick up. Nice job Mom and Austin. We drove around the neighborhood and saw one tree that just split in half about 3 feet up from the ground. That was odd. As we kept driving around we saw all these siding pieces up and down the road, but we couldn't find out where they came from. On another road, the next block, we saw a house missing their siding on the chimney. Wild. We did some community clean up and I got a few scraps from the large tree that had split. No biggy till Austin steps on my toes, where some cuts are.

Luckily, Vonage had called two weeks ago to offer a second line, free for two months. I agreed. I asked for a phone adapter, but they sent a new VoIP router. I wasn't sure what to do with it on Tuesday before the storm, so it sat on the counter. Well, it came in pretty handy Sunday morning when I was swapping out the VoIP routers. I guess I should be somewhat thankful that my other routers, PC's, printers, and devices didn't take a hit too. Now that I have the new Motorola router in place, I've noticed a better QoS between network traffic and VoIP. So far so good. I had my #'s forward around so that no communication was disrupted. It was all good. But I had to call Vonage to have the 1st line moved to the new router, 2nd line. It was painless once I told him I wasn't going to troubleshoot the first VoIP router.

June 10, 2006

Ok, this is getting to be too much fun! I've been running around doing all the family stuff I can stand. Austin had his presentation from this session’s summer camp. It was cool. This is his 3rd presentation. This time he had a big role as a lion, again. However, this year he put a spin on it. His interpretation of the lion was a cross between a lion and a snake. He thought he'd act out his role by slithering around on the floor. Maybe it was a lion with no front legs. Who knows. It was still funny! http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shawzer/slideshow?.dir=/3d56re2&.src=ph

My daughter is starting to get a good handle on being an adult. She decided to school me on a blog entry from the beginning. Nice. Let me share part of it with you.

". . . Hi Daddy, About your blog thats pretty cool. I left you a comment. I guess it didn't work. . . I also read the part where it said,"I can't wait until Sariah get up here and we get things up to speed so i'll have less chores to do." Now to me that sounds like when I get up there and get used to the ruteen(ithink i spelt that wrong) then I'm going to be doing your chores. A tip to while your writing your Blog(s) profread before you post it because in the first paragraph of the blog on June 7 I think it was you weren't making any sence. Like for example you said,"Today I was able to map the floor." When I read that I was like what the heck is he talking about. . ."

How cool is that! Not a little girl anymore. We DO look forward to her real soon. Oh, Sariah, it is spelled routine. Ok, that was fun too!

OH man! My Kris just reminded me about Perry's birthday party at the bowling alley. That was cool. He had a Batman cake. We all bowled and enjoyed the day indoors. It was very hot outside. Here are some pic's; http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shawzer/slideshow?.dir=/fd36re2&.src=ph

The guys are gearing up for poker tomorrow. My wife told them to just pay her now since I was going to win and we were going to eat out with it! Too cool.

The big switch

Ok, I've switched to this blog, blogger.com Let's see how it goes!

June 9, 2006

Today is another day of blog yuck. Yahoo seemed really on top of it the first day. But, since I've emailed back, it has taken another day of spotty postings. I tried today to delete, deactivate and rename the files, but this same mess just came back time after time after time. So now I'm keeping this blog save in a word doc on my laptop. I seem to get a little pissy when I write so much and it slips off to the internet black hole. You never know, I may say something profound and feel ten feet tall just to have my knees knocked out from under me because I lost it all on this blog. Nice!

Well, I'm going to wrap this up. If they can't get it done, I'll just have to link to another account. Go figure.

June 8, 2006

Today was fast and slow. Kris and Austin got ready to head out to Summer Camp. I had an appointment today at 1100 and couldn't make it. It was for the better. I just don't have what it takes to sit around and not be productive. Ok, productive like I want to me. So I stayed home. Not a bad thing. I had plenty of time to myself and I was all alone. So I cranked up the radio and did house work. I was able to mop the kitchen and the hardwoods, do the dishes, and fix a few odds and ends around the house before 1100. Of coarse as the time got closer, the more I was behind. What to wear and what not.

I met Mom and Austin at home around 1430est. They had just got in from playing outside. It was starting to rain. I got in just in time as well. It poured when I walked into the house. However, that was short-lived before the sun jumped back out. I was hoping for a little more rain. I was trying to avoid watering. I think I did for today. I'll have to check the forecast, which is a crap shoot anyway, before the sun comes up. I believe in watering well before the sun comes up and not while it is out.

Austin was very sketchy describing his day at summer camp. I have to draw it out of him in a fun way. But I think for the most part, he has just forgotten. It was nearly 4 hours after he was there when I asked. So I can't blame him. He still likes it. He looks forward to it every day.

We got flight tickets for Sariah to join us for a month starting June 21st. This ought to be fun. I sent her an email of the itinerary. And she replied back today that she got it and is looking forward to the trip, as she does every year. (Something pretty cool about your kids emailing you)

June 7, 2006

Well, I'm not sure this will post or not. It's really getting frustrating. I've submitted at least 4 post and some multiple times. The counter says I have 8, but damned if I can see them. I'm not very impressed thus far. I do have to admit, I did a cut/paste from Word the 2nd time, the 6th. The 5th, I did a cut/past from Yahoo mail to use its spell checker and it posted fine. The time before this post, I cut/pasted from notepad (how many control characters are in there) and it still won't list anything.

I sent an email to them. We'll see what happens. But in the mean time, I'll keep posting. Maybe, I'll save it locally just in case. How odd does that sound. But such is technical life.

SO, back to my life. My daughter Sariah is flying in 6/21. I know I bought the tickets. It beasts driving. Man, 600+ miles one way starts to rub you the wrong way. Ugh. ANYHOW, it should be great fun. She is a wonderful daughter and I can't wait to get her here and up to speed so I have less chores to do.

June 6, 2006

YES, you can edit after the fact. And YES, I can use word or whatever to do spell checking. Cool. But I did notice that while I do an edit after I've posted, it didn't like the double space I was trying to do after punctuations. Not sure what that is all about. I was using my son’s laptop. But cool.

Austin went to summer camp for the 2nd day. I think it is very cool. We just drive up and drop him off with a camp person at the curb. Like a big boy. This is really cool. I think it will be good for him when school starts too. He has been so excited to run a bus, that this step is in that direction and he is cool with it. He even wants us to pick him up to the curb too. But the line is so long and a very slow process. Maybe I want go one day this week. Mom is much more patient than I.

Well, I got a blast from the past email just the other day. Lisa Taylor (Bruno) had emailed me out of the blue. What a great thing this internet. She found my email address on the schools website. So we've trade several emails now. Nice.

So how about this fixed gas hike. Wait till there is a natural disaster that imitates an outage and raise the prices. Since the prices are still so high, I can only image that this was in play for a long time. The Oil companies just need a good play to raise them on. Nice move. If I could do it, would I? Hmmm, maybe not. There is only so much you can do with that much money. It is a bit over board. Life for me is measured by ones relationships, not money. So I'm doing well. But I can always do more and I will.

June 5, 2006

Adding Children's Choir list here:

Everyday Choirs

1. Bath
   
2. Making Bed
   
3. Brushing Teeth
   
4. Room Clean
   
5. Getting Your Own Breakfast
   
6. Feed Pets
   
7. Set Table
   
8. Wash Dishes
   
9. Watering the Garden/Plants
   
10. Homework/read book/Write story
    
11. Put Laundry in Hamper
    
12. Do Laundry
    
13. Being Easy-Going
    
14. Taking Responsibility

Bonus Chores

1. Being kind to Others
   
2. Sharing with Others
   
3. Do Extra Chores
   
4. Doing yard work

Behavior Challenges

1. Arguing with friends
   
2. Arguing with Parents
   
3. Arguing with Siblings
   
4. Being Mean to Others
   
5. Lying
   
6. Not accepting directions
   


***Original blog entry below***
ROTGLMAO much the same way I entered this world trying to starting this blog.

Why? Well, I'm not sure. Let's see how this turns out. I have to admit, the limitation of geocities web builder is not very user intuitive. In fact, it lacks a spell checker, it doesn't allow you to cut/paste from another program that has spell checker like Word, and you can only get FTP to work if you aren't parsimonious like me. Yes, I still use the free version. What do you want? Seriously, I still communicate effectively to family and friends. I chose the sunset backup because Kris, my wife, loves sunsets. I found it in the Organization section, go figure. I had a few other choices like the black deco, but I thought that was too formal. But then again, I don't think I'll really care. Hmmm, I wonder if I can edit this after I post?

I think this will be a great rant and rave area too. BTW, I'm composing this in yahoo mail to use its spell checker. I decided to use my son's laptop, which is a stripped down operating system with nothing more then IE. Go figure, I'm still cheap. LOL. At least the kid is happy. He accesses all his video games free over the internet. Keeps him happy, which keeps me happy. The latter is important to me.

Well, I need to make this short. It is 0125est and I'm sure at least once I'll have baby duty before sunrise. Oh, my son starts summer camp. He is 4. That is amazing. He goes daily from 0900-1130. Pretty cool. I think he liked it. He didn't tell me much. He said they danced, got a t-shirt (which I saw) and danced, then read a story. As long as he wants to go back I'm good with it! I think I was more excited about it than he was.

ps My son's IE isn't working right. Spell check didn't launch in yahoo mail.
Great.