It's over:(

So Christmas has come and gone and the relief I feel is a nice bonus to the season. I love Christmas, but with three young boys, their only thought is on the gifts they get. We continually remind them of the reason for the season, and they will repeat it to you if you ask, but that doesn't change the number one thought in their heads. With that in mind, Marcy and I had promised ourselves that we would trim the amount of money spent, which we did. Now the trick is getting the boys to be ok with it. I really didn't want to have an argument with them Christmas morning that what they just unwrapped was it. It wasn't like they weren't getting much, but just not what we had done in the past. They have so much crap, I just didn't see the purpose of adding more crap to the pile. The good news is, they didn't mention anything about the scaled back gift pile or seem to be very upset that mom and dad didn't get anything. We decided that our trip to CA, that we leave on Saturday for, was our gift to each other. We drove to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on Friday for a visit to grandma and grandpa's house and they got a bunch more stuff, but most of it was craft or science type stuff, which the boys love and is better than a big pile of crap. Did I mention that we have thousands of McDonalds happy meal toys? If you have 3 boys and get them a happy meal, you get three crappy toys, all of them the same. If you go to McDonalds just twice a month, that's 6 crappy toys. Multiply that by 12 months and you get 72 crappy toys. Most months, we don't average twice a month, but during busy times, the number increases to make that average more realistic. I tell you this so you know just how much crap is in my house. I throw away toys at every turn, still can't move in half my rooms due to the lack of visible floor in which to put your foot.
The drive home on Friday was especially scary, since the temperature had a range of about 40 degrees, the fog rolled in and we couldn't see squat. We made it home around 9:30pm and it was still 58 degrees, which is far better than the single digits we had just a few days earlier. I was unloading the car and getting some non-kid time, when a thought hit me. ITS 58 DEGREES, IN IOWA, IN DECEMBER! I decided I was taking the Christmas lights down right then and there. You see, last year, I took the lights down in 10 degree weather and half of them were frozen to the bushes and to the house, so it wasn't a pleasurable experience. It only took about 20 minutes to get the lights down and into the garage, drag the inflatables inside and roll up the extension cords. I woke up Saturday morning to 20 degree weather and freezing rain, Mark 1, Weather 0. Now as I looked out my window, a bit smug since I had beaten mother nature, I soon realized that now my driveway, which doesn't get much sunlight, is now covered in a layer of ice that will not melt until June. Mark 1, Weather 1. The boys loved skating on the driveway and I didn't fall as I tried to retrieve the mail. I even taught the kids how to run down the yard and launch yourself onto the sled and use the sidewalk as your own luge track. Sometimes, it's fun to live in Iowa, even in the winter. Sunday was spent trying to chip some of the ice off the driveway. Since the temperature had gotten up into the upper 30's I was able to make a little progress, but 1/2 is still covered. Today is supposed to be in the 40's, so lets hope I can beat that June prediction.
I forgot to mention in my first paragraph that I did get one thing for Christmas. Marcy was at a party that had one of those white elephant gift exchanges, where you can either pick from the pile or steal what someone all ready has. Well someone was sitting with a Coca-Cola mirrored clock that most people would find unnecessary, but Marcy knew that I might be interested, not sure why she thought that, I mean Coke, yuck:) I had this precious piece of art sitting in the kitchen, where the boys aren't allowed, waiting for a trip to the basement where it would be hung in a spot of honor. I made a trip to Lowes and when I got back, learned that Max had practiced his soccer kick on my gift, shattering it and thus breaking my heart. He "says" it was an accident, but he might actually just be a Pepsi fan, not sure since he hasn't drank either. I will remember this and if I catch him with a Pepsi in a few years, I can guarantee you that I will smash his favorite toy that next Christmas, no matter what it cost. You can't put a price on a broken heart.

Winter is here.

As I write this, we here in Iowa are awaiting an ice storm, predicted to hit us sometime today. We can hope that our weather forecasters are wrong, which they often are, but I'm guessing we will get this one. I really don't mind when we get snow, the roads are cleared pretty fast and it looks so nice when all of the trees and bushes are covered in white. Ice, on the other hand, I could do without. I mentioned last winter that right outside my office window is a four way stop. When the roads get slick, the number of people who slide through this four way goes through the roof. Last year, we watched as two people blew the sign at the same time and missed each other by inches, causing one guy to get out of his car, fall and get back up several times, only to give the finger to the other diver who was long gone. I nearly pissed myself laughing so hard. Now, we waited in anticipation earlier this week for this guy, or his more angry brother, to show up. I'm so dedicated to the window watching activity that I ate my lunch standing up so I could watch the danger zone while I ate. I watched as car after car drove up to the sign way to fast, tried to stop on a dime, only to realize that 4 wheel drive doesn't mean 4 wheel stop. My lunch time was a bust, a bunch of near collisions, but no contact. Seeing as how I still needed to work, I could only look out the window when I got up from my desk or returned. On one occasion, I watched a stopped semi get rear ended by a Jeep, but little damage to the vehicles. I guess I should say that I'm not looking for anyone to get hurt, I just want to watch what I know is going to happen, and it finally did. I was walking back into my cube when I looked out my window to see a 4 wheel drive truck approaching the four way stop at a pretty good clip, a clip I knew wasn't going to allow him to stop at the stop sign. I had to walk forward a bit to see the actual intersection, so I did and saw 2 cars in said intersection. At this time, I made sounds that clued in my co-workers that show time was quickly approaching, and BAM! Dude in non-4-wheel stop, blows the sign and drills a car in the rear drivers side door, bounces off and hits another guy coming the other direction. First dudes car blew up like a piñata, but the preferable candy inside was replace with plastic car parts and assorted lens covers and trim. I felt sorry for the two unsuspecting bumper car participants, but no sympathy for mister four wheeler. Little tip for those of you who don't normally drive on ice, slow down. It's that simple. This ain't Indy and you aren't Mario Andretti (or Danica Patrick, if sex is important to your reference). I might suggest that you also concentrate on the task at hand and tell Betty Lou you'll call her when you get home. That way, both hands and your brain are involved in the task at hand. Just a thought.

I should be head of security

Tell me how this works. This photo was online and it shows pirate boats that, according to the caption that was with the photo, are hijacking the ship on the left. How do you hijack a ship when your boat is 30 feet, or more, lower than the ship you are hijacking? How do you get up there? Is the hijacked boat dropping a rope ladder? I think we can solve this whole problem by sending an email to all ships entering the area and tell them, if a small boat pulls up beside your much larger boat and knocks on the side, don't let the words "candy-gram" fool you, it's not candy, it's pirates. Keep your rope ladder up and continue on your way. (I hope you got the candy-gram reference, if not, watch a really old Saturday Night Live)

12 days of Christmas

It's that time of year again, yes, it's time to figure out what the 12 days of Christmas actually cost. I hear this every year on the radio or read it on the net and I must say, I don't give a crap. I'm not sure why we have the fascination and I can't figure out where you would even go to get most of these. Does Wal-Mart have a section I haven't seen yet? If you were thinking about getting me or the fam the entire list, let me save you the trouble and tell you what I think of this particular list.

1. A partridge in a pear tree. Are you going to eat a pear from this tree? That partridge has shat all over it, because I've seen what birds that stay indoors do. If you leave the tree outside, that bird ain't sticking around, so you get jipped out of the bird half of that gift. This isn't feasible.

2. Two turtle doves. More birds. Who needs all these damn birds? What good are two turtle doves? What can you do with them? Eat them, that's about it and I don't think there is much meat on those, so I don't want them.

3. Three French hens. More fricking birds. At least this seems to be a practical gift in these economic times. I would ask that they be packaged by the Purdue company, if at all possible. I think if the boys see me slaughter their Christmas present, therapy can't be far behind.

4. Four Calling birds. First thing, more damn birds. Second, I have three boys that can't be quiet, your going to give me 4 birds that there is no chance in hell I can get to be quiet? Keep the damn birds and send me 4 calling girls. Just kidding honey, it was the only thing I could think of with calling in it. Oh wait, calling cards.

5. Five gold rings. Go ahead and send this one.

6. Six geese a laying. I think we found the occupation of the writer of this song, bird distributor. I've never eaten a goose egg, but I think I'll pass.

7. Seven swans a swimming. I don't have anything for seven swans to swim in. They might be pretty birds, but I was attacked by one when I was a kid and kind of have a phobia about them. If you want to scare the crap out of me, send the swans.

8. Eight maids a milking. Not sure what the West Des Moines code is, whether they allow cattle within the city limits, so you might want to check with the city before you send them. I'm pretty sure Marcy would veto the maids part, unless they were cleaning the house.

9. Nine ladies dancing. I'm not sure what kind of "dancing" these ladies are doing, but if it involves a pole, it ain't happening in my house. I think this list is all ready getting me in trouble with the maids and calling girls, so lets just say no thank you.

10. Ten lords a leaping. Just don't do it.

11. Eleven pipers piping. Let me think about this, do I want eleven guys playing the flute in my house? I'm going to go with a no. Do I have to feed these guys? I hardly think the cost of food is worth the enjoyment I'd get from the piping. I'm guessing one of those pipers would end up with his pipe in an uncomfortable spot after he began his work a little too early in the morning.

12. Twelve drummers drumming. I've mentioned on this blog before that I love the Isserettes, a drum and dance corp. here in DSM, so I like drums. That being said, 12 drums in my house might be a tad overkill. Of all of the gifts, except for the 5 golden rings, this would be the only other one that I'd consider. Most of the others would just crap on the carpet.

A couple of things I noticed on this list. The birds are obvious, but seriously, what the hell. The other thing is, there is only one practical gift on the whole list, what's up with that? I'm going to give you my list, although I'm not sure I could get it into the song.

1. One Big screen TV

2. Two leather recliners

3. Three thousand dollars, to finish off my South Africa mission fund raising

4. Four pounds of Alaskan snow crab legs (went to Red Lobster for lunch, so my mind focuses on one thing at a time)(No I didn't eat 4 pounds, I just wanted to)

5. Five gold rings (It's still a good investment)

6. Six bottles of Fat Tire Ale (good beer from Colorado)

7. Seven full days of vacation, in a warm place, with my wife

8. Eight crazy nights of vacation, in a warm place, with my wife

9. Nine dollars to fill my whole gas tank (that means the price needs to get down to $.81 a gallon, we are almost there, it's $1.39 here now)

10. Ten bags of ice melt so I can make it through the winter

11. Eleven minutes of quiet in my house (I'm a dreamer, it will never happen)

12. Twelve months of above freezing temperatures

This is what I came up with on short notice, but if you have the means, send it my way:)

Thanksgiving

I think I'm pretty clear on this blog, about what I'm thankful for, but here are a few more recent ones.

1. I'm thankful that I wasn't up to full speed as I drove into a 10 police car speed trap yesterday.

2. I'm thankful that Makiah's blood tests came back negative for diabetes!

3. I thankful I don't have a bad back. I just went this morning to help a friend into a car because his back was out. He didn't look like he was going to have a comfortable day tomorrow.

4. I'm thankful gas prices are down to a price I can afford, I filled up the other day for $1.51 a gallon, JEALOUS?

5. I'm thankful that I have family/friends that believe in my missions and have sent me money.

6. On that note, I'm thankful that airfare to El Paso dropped from $512 to $390. A little tip though, after you book your flight, don't go back to see if prices went any lower, you might not be happy with what you find. (My flight dropped another $90)

Have a great Thanksgiving and God bless!

Cooking Cajun

I recently went down to B&B Supermarket in DSM, a little neighborhood grocery store with a deli in the back, for a sandwich. This is the store owned by my ex-inlaws, that I always recommend to people if they are looking for a place to eat or to by meat. One of the sandwiches they serve is called Dad's Killer, which is loaded with meat, cheese and everything else they have access to. I love this sandwich, it's better than anything else in DSM, my opinion and the opinion of a recent poll. You have the option of having your sandwich toasted, which is always a nice touch, but I'm not sure why. You tell me, why is a sandwich better if it is slightly warmer and the bread has a bit of a crunch? Anyway, this got me to thinking that I should now toast my sandwich that I made at home on Saturday. We have a little toaster oven, so I figured I was set. I made my sandwich on a hoagie bun and carefully placed it in the oven. After a minute or two, I decided I would check on it, since I was inexperienced in oven sandwich making. I was slightly surprised, when I opened the door to the oven, that flames came shooting out of the oven. I was a bit more concerned when I noticed that my hoagie bun was indeed, on fire. As I stared at my hoagie bun, the first thing that went through my head was, "That is going to taste bad." I now realize my first thought should have been to put the flames out, but my priorities are typically based on my stomach, so this was no different. I finally snapped out of it and wondered to myself, how will I put the flames out? Water wasn't an option, this is an electric appliance and I'm sure the following fire would be much worse than the small one I had now. A fire extinguisher seemed a bit of an over kill, seeing as how the fire was the size of a half a hoagie bun. The mess the extinguisher would make would be far worse than the small fire I have now. You will be happy to know that the fire burned it's self out and I was able to replace the top with another and eat my lunch. I will say that a burnt hoagie smells a bit like a dirty ash tray, so that was a bummer. I think I'll leave the toasting to a professionals and just eat mine cold next time.

Trigger pulled, times two

I finally did it. I have been contemplating a switch from my cable provider, Stealfromyoucom, to DirecTV. (It's really Mediacom, but after the bill rose again, I re-named it) I ordered and had DirecTV installed, moved my phone and internet to Qwest and returned my equipment to Stealfromyoucom. I've had DirecTV before and always liked it, despite the cable companies claim that I will not be able to watch TV if the wind blows more than 4 mph or there is even a prediction of sprinkles. I just couldn't keep up with the bills. I've cut $80 a month off my monthly bill for the next 3 months and $60 beyond that. My internet will be a bit slower, but I'll manage. The boys actually gained channels that they like, so they are all for it. We'll see what happens the first time it goes out. I say, read a book.

The second trigger pulled wasn't by me, but makes me every bit as happy. If you read this blog consistently, and that means all 4 of you, you have seen me beg my friend Chad to come to South Africa with me. Today, he has posted on his blog that my badgering has worked and he will be joining in on the fun. I haven't been this excited since they brought the McRib back.

Sad

I just witnessed something that I wish I hadn't seen. There may be a funny comment in this post, but by no means is this funny. I was sitting in my car today, having my lunch, when I witnessed two guys that appeared to be homeless walking down an alley to my right. They approached a dumpster, lifted the lid and began moving trash bags around. This dumpster was behind a small office building, so I was wondering if they were looking for cans to recycle, old computer equipment to try and sell or just looking to see if there was anything "good" in there. They found a bag that they found particularly interesting, so they ripped it open. They then proceeded to eat out of the bag. I've heard of people eating out of dumpsters behind restaurants, especially fast food, because they throw away food that is perfectly fine and still wrapped in the wrappers. Since this was behind an office building, I'm guessing this was neither fresh nor wrapped up. I'm not sure if that was a sign of the economy or just the way they live, but makes you wonder what you would be willing to do to survive, if you had too. I'm not sure I could eat out of a dumpster. I pray I don't loose my job so I have to find out my limits. I pray you don't loose yours either.

Why do I live in Iowa?

Today is November 7th, the temperature at 10am is 35 degrees and it is snowing. Is winter almost over?

Doing my duty

I went out to vote yesterday and was happy to see a constant flow of people in and out of our local voting place. I'm not a very political person, but I do vote. I figure, people in other countries walk for miles and risk their lives to vote, and all I have to do is go 2 blocks and only risk a possible 2 minute wait to vote, seems like I could at least make the effort. I also don't usually watch the 5 hours of election coverage, mainly because I get bored, but decided to watch this year. I was amazed at all of the graphics, statistics and interviews, it was very interesting. I'm really not sure how they can award a state to a particular candidate when only 23% of the precincts are in and the vote still appears to be close, but it usually turns out right, so they must know something. I know there were problems last election with them calling states, only to find out they had to un-call them. I'm guessing they refined there system after that. The funniest thing I saw was on NBC last night. The came back from a break and were going to update us on states that they have called. They went through their list until they got to Arkansas. The put the state graphic up, which said 0% precincts reporting, 0 votes for Obama and 0 votes for McCain, then, had to tell me that it was too early to call that state. You think? Maybe you want to get 1 precinct closed, then call it for whoever won that. To hear the TV guy stumble for what to say when 0% popped up on the screen made the whole night better. Mason and Makiah voted in their class rooms and it was interesting to get a 2nd graders and a 1st graders view on the election. Mason was going for Obama and Makiah was for McCain, even though neither one could tell me why they had chosen their particular candidate. Obama won in both rooms, which made Mason very happy and devastated Makiah. It took a little pep talk to bring him back up with the "Maybe in 4 years your guy will get in" speech. I'm hoping that in 4 years, the country will be in such good shape that the Republicans don't even throw out any opposition, because they know it would be a slaughter. I'd have said the same thing if McCain had won. I just want this country back on its feet financially, in the worlds eyes and in Americans eyes. I could care less who gets the credit.

One door closes, another opens up.

As you know, I've been going to Juarez, Mexico for the last four years on a mission trip. This year, because of the violence there, we won't be crossing the border into Mexico. I'm sad about this, but I'm also aware that the safety of the missionaries has to be top priority. I'm pretty sure it would be really difficult to get people to go on the next trip, if we lost several members of the team on this one. It's a hard sell. If we tell people we have a few extra spots open next year, due to the untimely deaths of a few the previous year, people might think twice about plunking down the money it costs to go.



So what will we do? Well, that isn't set in stone, and I'll tell you from past experiences, it's best to plan what you can, and then listen to what God says. Our leaders are always well prepared, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and you have to go with the flow. God has a plan, and we just have to listen, then follow. Right now, it looks like we will do some work for a mission that currently takes people on what they call Border Immersions. What they do is, take people across the border and show them how the people live in Juarez. They visit some of the same missions that we work with when we are there. I really can't explain all that they do, but you can go to their site and check it out. http://www.rmselca.org/cristo_rey.htm

I'm excited to see what happens, what we do, and how we can impact the people of Juarez, without ever crossing the border. I'm certainly glad we are going down to do something and not just cancelling the trip. We know that these Border Immersions work, because our leaders were introduced to Juarez through this program. By us helping them, they can expose more people to the need in Juarez, and in my mind, we are doing every bit as good in that mission as we would have done if we crossed. I will miss the experience we have in Juarez. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it takes you out of your comfort zone and I think that adds to the experience. I'll miss the people we see every year and especially the kids. I won't have anyone to call me "Americano," so I guess I'll have to assign that job to someone, so I feel more at home. It will be weird to be State side for this year, but I think we are going to do our best to keep it a mission trip, no movie runs, no trips to the mall and certainly no TV.

Trick or treat

I forgot to put any pictures of Halloween, so here you go.

Piquachu (sp?), the little yellow thing in the front, is a friend of ours, the other three monkeys are mine. Max had all of the women giving him the "AAAWWWWW, isn't he cute." It must be the uniform, a chick magnet. Here are a few pictures at the park today.

And finally, here are a few of one of our beautiful trees.

Accidental death

Let me tell you a story about today, that you are going to want to laugh at, but I promise you, it wasn't funny. I'll start it with a little set up. Our neighbors had a garage sale today, I didn't need a sample of shampoo or a used pair of shoes, so I stayed clear of the shopping extravaganza. The boys, however, decided to run over and see what they could find that might be worthy of a piggy bank raid. They came upon a snake, not a real one mind you, but a 7 foot stuffed animal that appears to have been won at a carnival or similar place with "quality" prizes. Mason decided that he HAD to have it, so he inquired as to the price. I was actually proud of him for that, he usually would go right for the "Can I have this" approach, but this time, he appeared ready to bargain. He isn't one to spend his money frivolously, no he'd rather spend mom and dad's apparent endless supply of the green stuff. He has asked me on several occasions if I could just write him a check? Kids these days, give me the money and I refuse to do anything to earn it. Anyhoo, the lady of the house decided that the $.50 she was going to get for it from someone else wasn't as big of a prize as a smile on a child's face, so she gave it to him. Hurray for us, more shit in the house, dad couldn't be happier. I know Marcy will say, "At least it didn't cost anything." Yeah, that makes it better. (HUGE sarcasm in previous sentence.) So they bring "snakey" as he is now known, into the house and proceed to fight over him, big surprise. There is finally a lull in the commotion, so I head upstairs to work on a few things. Not 5 minutes after I get upstairs, I hear crying, which isn't unusual in our house. It's either Makiah because Max is sitting too close to him, or it's Mason because one or both of his brothers have done something as tragic as move a toy from one place to another. I ignore the crying. Now I hear the crying coming up the stairs, but I can't tell who it is, and I continue to ignore the crying. It's getting louder and coming to my door and SURPRISE, it's Mason. I try to calm him down and ask him why he is crying. He says "I was mad at Max, so I hit him and jklshfiyihvuirhfiowhguwfiwhowjh." Yeah, I didn't get that either, so I asked, "You hit Max?" He says yes. Funny thing, Max isn't crying, so this story is bound to get better. Mason continued, "I got mad at Max, so I hit him and snakey broke open." HOLY SHIT, that can't be good. I run down stairs with Marcy right behind me and what do I see when I get to the bottom of the stairs? The front room covered in little Styrofoam beads, that of course, 2 of the boys are scooping up and pouring onto other toys, chairs and each other. You maybe asking yourself, "Where are the pictures of that." Well, you can go to hell. I had only one thought at that time and that was to stop the bleeding, from snakey of course. I grabbed him up and squeezed the neck back together to stop the flow of static, powder, Styrofoam beads. I asked Marcy, rudely I'm sure (sorry baby), for a body bag (aka garbage bag) to place the remains of snakey inside. During this waiting period, Mason is standing next to me crying that he wants to keep snakey and put all of these beads back into him. My response of choice would have been, not a chance sparky, but that would have fueled the crying, so I refrained. I don't know my exact words, but again, they were probably rude (sorry buddy). All I saw was that I was going to spend the next 2 hours cleaning an area I hadn't anticipated cleaning today. My mind works in steps, you do this, then this, then this, until you get the desired result. I had all ready done step one, stop the bleeding. Step two was to dispose of the body, which I did when the body bag arrived. Step three, de-foam the 2 kids covered from head to toe in little, teeny tiny, itsy bitsy, little foam beads. Did I mention they had static? I believe I did, so out comes the vacuum. You may have a dog or a cat that likes to be vacuumed, but I can tell you that Makiah and Max are a bit too ticklish for that. I had to hold Makiah with one hand, vacuum him with the other, all while yelling at Max to stop throwing handfuls of beads around. I finally got Makiah done and started the same procedure with Max, this time yelling at Makiah not to get back into the mess. With both boys relatively clean, I sent them into the other room with the still crying Mason. I start vacuuming up the beads on the floor, when I hear Max behind me crying. Why you may ask? Because he wants a toy that is yet to be uncovered in the front room that now looks like the North Pole. I'm an asshole, so I deny the request, which is like throwing gasoline on the fire, he is up in flames. I don't care, I have bigger problems to deal with than another tantrum, I'm so used to those they just roll off me. Makiah has now decided that he wants to help me clean, but I've decided that I have all ready cleaned him off once and was unwilling to do it again, request denied. Now we have fit number 3 going on in the other room, Mason because snakey is dead, Max because I refuse a search and rescue of a plastic dinosaur and Makiah because I refuse to clean up another mess, both him and when he "helps" me clean. I'm happy to say that the room is as clean as its going to get. I know we will be finding those damn beads for the rest of my life, but there is only so much a guy can do. I hope you enjoyed a look into my day, but if you laughed at any of this, I hope the same thing happens to you, then see how funny you think that shit is.

I'm scared for our future.

I was at the library tonight, looking to see what kind of books they have about South Africa. I'm standing at the computer, doing my search, when two guys walk up to the computer next to mine. These guys are probably in their early 20's, but I'm a horrible judge of age and weight, so they could have been in their 50's, I wouldn't know. I hear the guy typing on the keyboard ask the other guy, "How do you spell jail?" The other guy paused, then spelled it. Guy number one repeated it, with a hint of "are you sure" in his voice. I thought, maybe he is retarded, so he didn't know how to spell it, we move on. Then, brainyack asked, "How do you spell prison?" Now I'm scared for 2 reasons, first, he can't spell two very easy words for a 20 something year old. Second, why does he keep looking this subject up? I was hoping that he wasn't checking on the number of years of a jail sentence he would get for a library massacre. They mumbled a few things that I couldn't quite make out, but I decided I didn't want to wait around to see if they decided the shooting would be worth the time they would serve. I went to the far corner of the library to find my book and read in silence that comes with the back corner. I didn't hear any gunshots, so I headed to the counter to check out my book. I'm a terrible speller, but not being able to spell two very easy words, makes me wonder if they can read at all.

Pumpkins and Mice

We had another busy weekend with Saturday spent at the pumpkin patch and Sunday at Chuckey Cheese. Here are a few shots of the pumpkin patch:Trouble times three.
One big ass rabbit.

Playing in the corn.
Making corn angels.

Spending time with Aunt Michelle. (We went to Howell's tree farm for this, so they didn't miss-spell the sign)

I think the boys had a good time, although Makiah was very disappointed that we didn't get to ride the tractor and wagon, for another $3.50 a person. It all ready cost us $11.50 for the kids to get into the play area, plus we were buying a few pumpkins, so I didn't want to have to sell a kidney just to be able to afford the afternoon. We had had a ton of rain last week, so I was worried that it would be really muddy, but the parking lot was the only place that had much mud. They had a little maze we went through that was a little muddy in spots, but not too bad. They had a slide that, as you can see, was a little rough on the butt.

We found out that sweat pants make you slide all the way to the end of the slide.
Today was spent at Chuckey Cheese, which is normally one of my least favorite places to go, for several reasons. One, one of the kids is usually sick a day or two after we go. We'll see if that happens this time or not. Two, it is crazy and I feel like I will loose one or more of the kids in the mayhem. Three, it's expensive. The kids can go through tokens like they are nothing and it seems the "prices" for the prizes is going up, so it takes a thousand tickets to get a sucker and it costs $20 to get those tickets. I'd rather drive to Target and buy a whole bag of suckers for a couple of bucks and be done with it, but then that wouldn't be any fun. Luckily, we got away with using the tokens from the party and a few we had left over from the last time we were there, so no money exchanged hands. I've heard many people bash the pizza at Chuckeys house, but I actually like it. I wouldn't order it for carry out, but I will never complain about eating it while I'm there, especially if someone else is buying. Marcy just left to take Makiah to his second birthday party of the day, so he ought to come home on a nice sugar high. Thankfully the parties are indoors, because Iowa is experiencing 60 mph winds and a kid with a big coat could end up in Illinois. Next Thursday is beggars night, which for those of you not in the Des Moines area, is trick or treating night. I grew up in St. Louis, MO and Springfield, VA, and I had never heard of trick or treating on any other night other than Halloween, until I moved to Iowa. They say it's supposed to be safer when they move it off of the actual Halloween night, but I don't buy it for a second, and here's why. If they are concerned about drunk drivers, who the hell is drunk by 8pm and on their way home from a Halloween party?(8pm is as late as you can trick or treat) I'm sure the number of drunk drivers is no higher on Halloween night, at 8pm, than it is any other night. Now, if you were allowed to trick or treat until 10pm, like we did when I was a kid, you would have an argument, but until you provide me with statistics showing a high number at 8pm, I'm against moving the night.

YOU"VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Check this out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081023/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_avatar_murder

I know she wasn't arrested for murder, but arrested for unlawful use of a computer, to kill a fake person in a game? Man, I thought people in the US were over sensitive, this has got to be record. How do you call the police with this complaint? I think I'd change my password and start over, the police aren't needed in this "murder." Lets let them focus on the real ones.

Hunting

So at the meeting I had last Saturday regarding my Africa trip, I heard a few things about the game farm we will be staying at. First off, it's 3000 acres and by the looks of it, rather dry and barren. The most interesting thing I learned, was that there is a price for each of the animals you may want to hunt. I guess I just assumed that you went hunting and shot whatever you found or whatever was in season, like in the US. Not the case. It appears you choose what you want to hunt, per this price list, and then set out to hunt that particular animal. I'm not sure if you get a refund if you don't get the kill, but I'm guessing not. I'll find out for sure when I go, because I'm very curious. Here are a few samples of animals and costs:

Sable (looks like a mink) $15,000
Giraffe $3,500
Zebra $1,000
Ostrich $500
Wildebeest $850
Nyala (looks like a cross between a deer and a yak) $2,500
Jackal $50
Porcupine $50

You can see that the jackal and the porcupine get no respect. I mean, come on, a porcupine can be dangerous, can't it? I know I wouldn't mess with one. I was surprised that you could even hunt some of the animals you can. Wildebeest, sure, their ugly and by the looks of the Discovery videos I've seen, plentiful, but Zebras? I never would have though of hunting, basically, a pony. There are a bunch of other animals on the list, most of which I've never heard of and would have to look up so I could tell you what they were and to be honest, not that interested in writing "some sort of deer" after 20 different animals. I did mean to mention the warthog was $300, which seemed about right, but I'd love to know how they came up with the other prices. The park we stay at doesn't have all of the big 5, which is Cape Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Cheetah, and Rhino (not going to try to spell the whole name). They do have Cape Buffalo, but I don't think you can hunt them there, you'd have to go to a park right next to where we stay. There, you can hunt a lion, which, again, I didn't know you could do. You can also hunt a Cape Buffalo there as well, but I'm not sure about the rest of the 5. There are a bunch of other "fees" for the hunt, but the animal prices interested me the most. I'd like to think that we could do the same thing in the US, here is my suggestion:

Deer $1,000 (because so many people like to hunt them and maybe we could cut some of the budget deficit this way. It would probably just drive the deer population higher than it all ready is, which is way to high in Iowa, so maybe the cost should be adjusted)

Crow $.05 (I know, they have a purpose, but I'm sure a zebra does as well and they shoot them. Plus, I bet there are a shit load more crows than zebras)

Neighbors cat who shits in your kids sandbox. We pay you $50 (nuff said)

I'd say raccoon, skunk or possum, but it appears there is a lot of poaching here in Iowa, because they are all over the road and I'm not sure the population could handle a hunt.

I'm not a hunter, so I'll leave that to those that enjoy that. I will try to find out what it cost to hunt a lion, because that price would interest me the most.

Family update

Marcy just spent the weekend in St. Paul, MN at a women's conference. (I'd call it a men bashing seminar, but seeing as how it's a faith based gathering, maybe it wasn't so bad) She seemed to have a good time and it was a good break for her. I try to do as much with/for the boys as I can, but most still comes down to mom. She is a fantastic mother and keeps the boys schedules, which would be very difficult for me. We missed her while she was gone, but all three boys are still alive and without physical scars, so we should be good. Hopefully my parenting style isn't causing any emotional scars that I will pay for in years to come:)
The boys are all loving school. I watched Makiah show Max how to stop, drop and roll, which he learned at school for fire prevention week. It was pretty cute, although I'm not sure Max grasped why he was being asked to roll on the ground. I heard Makiah explain it, but it seemed to confuse Max a bit. We were wrestling the other night and Makiah did a running knee drop onto my ribs, which are brittle since I'm so old. (Thought I'd beat you all to the punch) Needless to say, I was in a bit of pain, but considering where I normally get a knee, I wasn't complaining. Health wise, we are all doing well, which means somebody will be sick tomorrow. In fact, I can't remember when the last time one of the kids was sick. Of course, I hear there is stuff going around, so it's probably just a matter of time. Mason and Makiah are both in a computer class after school and just finished a science class. They like that kind of stuff and we encourage them to get involved as much as they want in it. Makiah has decided he wants to play soccer again in the spring, so we'll see if that lasts until sign up.
As for me, pretty much the same. I just finished reading my third book by J. Maarten Troost and it was another good one. I think I wrote about his other two, when he lived on small islands in the South Pacific. This book was about China, called "Lost on Planet China." It was really good, he makes me laugh and his books are very informative. If your looking for a fun read, check out his stuff.
The weather in Iowa is up and down, as usual, but the trees are beginning to change, so they are beautiful. We are expecting a lot of rain today and tonight, so I'm sure my lawn mowing days aren't over for the year. I'd love to put that thing away for the year, because it sounds a bit sick and I don't want to mess with it this year. It sounds like how my step father use to drive, like a wave. It's like you hit the gas for a second or two, then let off for a second or two, then hit the gas again and so on. It works, but it's annoying as hell and I'm sure that isn't a good sign about its health. The weed wacker died early in the summer, so I have to borrow a friends all of the time. Again, didn't want to deal with it this year, so I'm probably going to buy an electric one next year and a really long cord and give up on the gas powered ones all together, I've had bad luck with them.
Halloween is just around the corner, and thankfully, Mason has decided to skip the ever so tight Flash costume for a new, much less tight SpongeBob costume. That makes dad happy. I think Makiah can get one more year out of Spiderman, but this HAS to be it. I don't know why they don't want new costumes, but they seem to want to wear the same one until the pants become capri pants or they completely bust out. Lets hope the weather is as good as it was last year and they should bring in a good haul for dad, I mean them.

Who have you met

Marcy and I went to see a show the other night. I don't know if you watch NBC's Last Comic Standing or not, but it's a show I love. After the season is over, the top 5 finishers go out on tour together. They stop in Des Moines every year, but this is the first time I've actually gone to see them, thanks to Marcy who bought us the tickets for my birthday. The show was at Hoyt Sherman Place, which for you out of towners, is a really old house in downtown Des Moines. I don't know what the history of the house is, but it has a nice little theater for shows like this. The comedians were good, especially Louis Ramey and Marcus. There was an intermission where you could go out and meet them and buy their stuff, so Marcy and I walked around to check out this really old house and saw them in the room that had a huge line, to buy beer. Seeing them there, making them accessible to the fans, got me to thinking about the famous people I've met. Some of them are famous in a lot of places, some are famous in small circles and one is WORLD famous. In fact, there was a poll taken some years ago to find the most popular people, ever. The number one, I've never met and hope to put it off a few more years, that is Jesus. The number two person, was Muhammad Ali, who I've met. I see a flash back coming. I was in Washington, DC with a group of high schoolers, I had just graduated, from my church here in Urbandale, Iowa. We happen to be in a mall that was attached to the Marriott, just off of the Mall. A friend had been in the hotel lobby going to the bathroom, when she came back with a slightly perplexed look on her face. She said, and I quote, "There is some famous guy signing autographs in the lobby." I asked who it was, BUT SHE DIDN'T KNOW. She must have been living under a rock, how in the hell do you not know who Ali is in 1986, not that far off of his prime, or at least the peak of his fame? I wasn't in the mood to run all the way to the lobby to find out it was Richard Simmons, who she probably didn't know either, so I asked a few more questions. I asked what he looked like and what people were saying. She said she thought he was a boxer because he was signing a boxing glove. I immediately said "Muhammad Ali?" She said, "Yea, that's it." If a person's eyes can bug out of their skull, mine did. I don't remember the level of my voice, but by the looks of her face, it was quite loud, as I yelled "Give me some paper!" This was worthy of a RUN to the lobby, where who did I see standing there, but Ali himself. I swear I could have soiled myself. My heart was pounding like a jack hammer, Ali for pete's sake. I joined the crowed and stuck my meager piece of notebook paper and pen as close to him as I could. Then, the champ looked at me and asked, "What's your name." THAT"S IT, SHIT MYSELF! I now know what all those girls that were screaming for the Beatles felt like. I'm surprised I even knew my name at that point. I managed to squeak it out and he sign my paper and handed it back to me. I then protected that paper like a mother hippo. (If you know anything about Africa, you know that the hippo is responsible for more deaths and injuries than any other major animal on the continent, do mainly to their over protectiveness of their babies) He then proceeded to show us a magic trick, that this same girl who didn't know who he was, screamed out how he did it. I wanted to smack her. He was gracious enough to sign ALL of our stuff, then show us a magic trick, and she ruins it with the secret. I saw how he did it too, but I'm not going to tell, I'm mean, who wins here? Then I started to think about the other famous people I've met and was wondering who others have met. So here is my list, at least what I decided to put down, now you guys post who you've met.

Muhummad Ali (Boxer, of course)

Evander Holyfield (Boxer)

Michael Moorer (Boxer)

Jacques Cousteau (Oceanographer)

Mr. T (A-Team:)

George Stephenapoulos (now a political analist)

Peaches and Herb (Motown)

Many Washington Redskins from the 2006 team ( a bunch, including Clinton Portis, Rock Cartwright, Joe Gibbs, James Thrash and even owner Daniel Snyder)

A bunch of Christian artists, like Mark Hall from Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, The Afters, John Reuben (OK, that one is just significant to me and Makiah)

Who have you met? You didn't have to have dinner with them or even like them, but who have you spoken to or shook hands with?

Send people over

I've updated my South Africa blog with donation information. Please send anyone you think might be interested to that site. I'm praying I can raise the needed money quickly so I don't have to crunch at the end, but I'll take it any way I can.

Thanks, in advance, for all your help. I hope that together, we can make a difference in some peoples lives!

IT'S A GO!!!!!

My trip to South Africa is a go. Keep an eye on the other blog for updates, ways to donate, or how you can help me get there. Thanks to everyone for their concern for my safety, their support on my decision and their willingness to help. I will continue to try and update everyone on family stuff and hopefully a funny thing or two on this site, but you can guess that I'm going to be a little preoccupied trying to get together the money for the trip. I still have Juarez in Feb. and a trip to CA in January, so maybe I'll do something stupid on one of those to keep you entertained:) You can almost count on it!

So my 40th birthday has come and gone, but the 40 year old jokes continue. I'm not offended though, or even upset, just happy to still be here and hope to be here another 40, God willing. Marcy had a surprise party for me, which was a pleasant surprise. I spent the afternoon watching my Redskins win another road game (on the computer since they don't show good games here in Iowa), then went to a bar with my friend Joe to watch a few more games. Of course, this was so Marcy could clean, decorate and let our friends in before I got home. Thanks baby, it was great. Thanks also to Michelle and Mindy for helping clean and decorate:)
Marcy and I went to see Fireproof, a movie currently out starring Kirk Cameron, if you remember him from Growing Pains. He has since changed his life and is a follower of Christ and made this movie about marriage. If you can get past the bad acting, some cheesy lines and the predictability of the plot, it really is a good movie. Not going to win any awards, but the message is very powerful and the advice is relevant. I would especially recommend it for newly weds, engaged couples or those struggling in their marriage. I'm none of those, but you can always use a refresher course.
Marcy and the boys are all doing well. Makiah's reading has improved a ton, so we are really proud of him. We read with him every night and I can tell you that there are several books that I wouldn't care if I ever saw again. I may have my own book burning in the back yard if I see some of these same books come back. I now know that I don't give a damn if baby bear likes blackberries. Good for him, doesn't need a book written about it for crying out loud.
I promise not to put too much on this site about my possible South Africa trip, I'll leave that to the sister site listed to the right. When I went to watch football with Joe the other day, he did say that he is really interested in going as well, so I'm hopeful he will. We've talked about doing a mission together for a few years now, but his schedule hasn't permitted it. I hoping my friend Chad will go as well (hint, hint Chad). We go to Juarez together every year and I think because we know each other well and have worked together before, we could really be an asset to the building team in Africa. Plus, Chad is into photography, and what better place to take a few pictures than on a photo safari. That is part of the trip, which sounds really cool. The boys want to know if I will get to see a lion? I'm not sure if they want me to see it or try to feed it, and see where the cards fall. I know Chad's heart is to serve, and even though both of our lives have changed due to Juarez, this would probably set a whole new level of humble, for me for sure. Juarez puts my life in the USA in perspective, I'm guessing Africa would only increase that.

New blog

I'm starting a second blog, I've included the link to the right in my "places I go" list. It will hopefully be my next mission, but I have a lot to do to get there.



Check it out:

http://sendmetosouthafrica.blogspot.com/

Be on the look out!

MEXICO CITY - Missing in Mexico: One truck carrying 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a 23-foot (7 meter) inflatable prophylactic.

See full story:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_fe_st/lt_odd_mexico_missing_condom_mobile;_ylt=Aoris9ZKdhsYQfyeVcSM8SMuQE4F

Don't let this go unsolved, keep your eyes open.

This is the week, just a few days away, that I turn 40 years old. I'm sure my wife will tell you I don't act my age, but I'll tell you that most days, my body feels it. If I walk past you early in the morning, or late at night, you'll swear I'm eating a bowl of loud Rice Krispies. (Snap, crackle, pop) To hear me go down a flight of stairs is like listening to a popcorn popper with just a few kernels in it. You'll notice all of my comparisons are food, not surprising, I'm always hungry as well, not sure if that has anything to do with 40 or not. Thursday is the big day and I will spend the evening at a gathering for the radio station with a few close friends. We're hoping to raise awareness for the station, and maybe some funds as well. I hope this night, and an on air fund raiser at the end of the month, will get us back on financial stable ground. I really love the new sound of the station, I'd hate to lose it.



I've kind of reflected back over my 40 years and realize how lucky I have been, to live where I've lived, visited where I have visited and met the people I know. I'm thankful I met Marcy, who may have saved my soul. I'm thankful that I began going to Lutheran Church of Hope. I'm thankful that God spoke to me 6 years ago, and sent me on my first mission trip that next year. I'm thankful that I went to Mexico, for a reason that only God knows, because I have met the finest people I know on that trip and can't imagine my life without them. I'm thankful for my 3 crazy boys, who drive me nuts, but make me laugh. Who make me want to pull my hair out, well, someones hair, but who make me want to cheer them on. I'm thankful for the house we live in, as messy as it may be. It shelters us from the Iowa heat and the arctic winters we have grown to love. I'm thankful for the job I have, and pray it is here for a long time. I'm blessed and I know it, even when I don't show it. I want to thank all of you for being a part of my 40 years, some for all 40 and some for just a few. I hope I have made a positive impact in your life, because you most certainly have in mine.



Now here is an article I found. This is taken from an AP news story about 2 suspected terrorists removed from a plane in Germany. What I found interesting, wasn't so much about the 2 arrests, but about a film that was released which has caused the Netherlands to be a target for Islamic terrorists. Here is the piece:

The Dutch anti-terror chief warned earlier this month that the Netherlands remains a top target for Islamic terrorists because of publicity surrounding an anti-Islam film, "Fitna," by lawmaker Geert Wilders.
"Fitna" sets Quranic texts against a background of violent images, which the report said "is considered a major insult and provocation" by terrorist groups. The country's terrorist threat has been rated as "substantial" since the film's launch in March.

So, your religion is portrayed as violent in a film. What do you do? Get angry, dispute it, then blow up things in the name of your religion. Do you see the flaw in this whole thing. Your doing EXACTLY what they say you do in the film, but you claim your doing it to defend that you don't do it. Holy shit that is one f'd up rational. I can't even wrap my mind around the stupidity of that whole thing.

Misc.

There was an article in the Des Moines Register that I had to share. There is a high school outside of Des Moines called Prairie City/Monroe (like a lot of schools in Iowa, it is two towns that share a school building). This past week, they were playing a team from Albia, if I remember correctly. It was late in the fourth quarter and PCM was up 38-0. One of the PCM players was injured, so the game was stopped to take care of him. The coach's for PCM and Albia were discussing just stopping the game, seeing as there was no chance for the outcome to change. Someone, and I really can't remember who, but I believe it was the PCM team, came up with the idea to let the special needs kid on Albia's team score a touchdown. The quarterback for PCM agreed to fumble the next ball and both teams would allow this player to pick it up and run it back for a touchdown. It was the coolest thing I had read in a long time. They interviewed the quarterback after the game and he talked about how cool it was to see how excited that kid was after running into the endzone. It was so nice to see that a bunch of high school kids wanted someone else feel so good. They gave up a shut out, something a team strives for, for the good of another. (Me, wiping away a tear)

I took the day off the other day, and worked harder than I have in a long time. I'll give you a short run down, just so I can brag it up a little:

1. I started by delivering Max to preschool at 9am. He had cried every time we had dropped him off, so I was working him pretty hard to not cry. Marcy gave me the info that she would bring him a surprise if he didn't cry when I dropped him off. It worked and we had our first tear free drop off. We'll see if that carries through until Monday.
2. I then went to Lowes to pick up paint brushes, for use later.
3. I went to the WDM library to renew my library card so I can return to checking out books. I then save a book that I have been wanting to read so I can get it when it is returned. I found another book to read in the meantime.
4. I returned home and sealed 4 more windows that I had previously stained. I received 20 windows, free, from the manufacturer because the windows in the house were rotting and under warranty. I had all ready installed 2, stained and sealed 2 more and these 4 left 14 windows left in their boxes.
5. I took those said 14 windows and carried them up an extension ladder into my attic for winter storage. I had to build some storage areas in the attic, to make storage easier.
6. I then cleaned the garage to get it closer to allowing a second car to enter. It is getting closer to winter and I don't want to be scraping windows all winter long.
7. I fixed a retaining wall block in my flower garden that had sunken down. I had to pry it up and jam dirt under it to level it out.
8. I had built a retaining wall to build a garden behind, but I had never finished it by packing dirt behind it to stabilize it. We'll, that was my next job. I also leveled part of the dirt in the garden.
9. While all of this was going on, I did 5 loads of laundry (washed, dried and put away) and a load of dishes.
10. I took the cloth vertical blinds down from the back sliding glass door, washed them, then had to iron them because they curled up, and re-installed.
11. I learned how to wire my outlets in the basement, so I hooked up 8 of them and flipped the switch for 5, and they all worked. The others will be hooked up in the morning.

That was my day, and I hope it sounds as busy as it was. I was so sore the next day from lifting the windows into the attic, I thought I would have to take a day off to recover from my day off.

Today, we had a food day at work and I ate until I was sick. Everyone brought food that was so yummy, and I'm not one to pass on free food, especially now with me economic status as it is. The office also wore their favorite team (Iowa or Iowa State) apparel, since the interstate rivalry is this weekend. I like both, but root for ISU when it comes to the head to head match up. There was a group of Iowa fans that were very vocal around my cube and they had an Iowa blanket thrown over a chair. I decide to play a trick and rolled a brownie into the shape of a turd, and left it on the blanket. I know, it's juvenile, but it was funny as hell when they finally saw it and tried to decide if it was a turd or not. They finally figured out it was a brownie, although I don't know how, possible the sniff test, I'll ask on Monday. I couldn't help but laugh at what I had done. Sometimes I amuse myself and I don't care if anyone else thinks it's funny or not.

Pray that my material in the Houston warehouses doesn't float away. I'm not, by any means, suggesting that plastic is more important than people and homes, but prayers for them should happen without asking, it should be the first thought you have, so I don't need to mention it, right?

Weddings and old friends

Here it is, the end of the summer, the boys are in school (Max starts pre-school on Wed), the pools are all closed and football season starts this week. I'm always glad for fall, the weather is cooler and that helps cut down on my sweating at inopportune times, my Redskins begin their 12 rebuilding season in a row and the grass stops growing so I don't have to mow any more. I have all ready taken down the pool and hauled all of the supplies into the attic for the winter. It does make me a little sad, realizing that another summer is gone. We had a great summer, our trip to NC was a lot of fun and a hit with the boys. I'm working on replacing all of the windows in the house and spent part of Saturday on a ladder 2 stories up and not feeling very comfortable. Being on the ladder wasn't as bad as trying to hold the window so it didn't crash to the ground and smash into a bunch of pieces that I can't put back together. I would have to lean back to swing the window open and closed, which just added to my uneasiness. I finally had Marcy get on the ladder and I installed it from the inside. She is much more stable on the ladder, might be because she is a foot and a half shorter and 100 pounds lighter. The two windows we replaced were rotting out, so I wanted to get them done before winter, the rest are on a need to do basis.

Marcy and I have spent the last two weekends at weddings and I don't want to sound to sappy, but the weddings are kind of emotional for me. They remind me of when I met Marcy and our short courtship and then marriage. Both of the weddings were really nice and I even had fun at the receptions, which isn't always the case for me. See, I'm dance challenged. I don't enjoy it and I don't have the ability to do it without looking like I may be having a seizure. I'll attempt a slow dance, just to keep the wife happy, but I really don't know what the hell I'm doing there either. I pretty much grab onto Marcy, which is the only part I do enjoy, and then walk slowly around in a circle while spinning slowly. It seems to work and like I said, the wife seems happy. The last wedding was for Holly and Larry, I have been going to Mexico with Holly for several years now and met Larry on our last trip when Holly brought him a long. I've always loved Holly, she is so sweet and really has a heart to serve, and Larry seems to be a perfect match for her. He was my roommate while we were in El Paso and I liked him a lot. I was able to spend the reception with some friends from my Juarez trip, which is always fun. These two weddings will have me dreading the next one just a little less.

We watched Gustav do far less damage than expected, so prayers were answered. Michelle is in Jamaica for a visit and was actually delayed in DSM a day and then got stuck in Memphis for a night because her flights were cancelled when she was trying to get down there. I'll be anxious to hear how much damage was done when she gets back. We are keeping our eyes on Ike, which may be the next storm to hit Jamaica and hope that it doesn't cause too much damage, if it goes that way.

I had an old friend from high school get in touch with me last week. It was good to hear from him and we hope to have a get together this week to catch up. I haven't seen him for almost 10 years. In fact, the last time I saw him, mom was still alive. He asked me about her and even remembered a specific story about her. It's nice to hear someone tell a memory of her with such fond memories. The thing I remember the most about him is, we both failed photography in 10th grade, because when we were supposed to be taking pictures on the school grounds during class, we were sitting on the bike racks talking. We had a lot of conversations on how much we hated school, what we wanted to do with our lives and how hot this one girl was that was in our class (I can't remember her name).

I'll try to post a picture of Max on his first day of school on Wed., he is getting so big:)

The counting is done, and all appears to be in pretty good shape. What they don't know, is we are pulling our 5.5 million pounds (It was over 3 million to count and the rest was in railcars). We will be moving our business to a different warehouse and they might be getting the idea we are doing that because they weren't that happy to see us. We got through the security gate and went into the office to find the guy that was going to get us started. There was only one girl in the office and I'm pretty sure we scared the hell out of her. She was sitting behind a Plexiglas window with her back turned to us, so I knocked on the window. She turned around, but didn't ask if she could help us or even get up to come over to open the window. I may have freaked her out when I tried to slide the window open to tell her why we were there, but hell, she wasn't moving and I wasn't interested in sitting there all morning. She finally came over, we told her why we were there and she made us leave the main office a sit in a little waiting room. She got us some visitor badges, here is mine and you can see that she thought I was worthy of a James Bond badge.

John was jealous because he got 003 and nothing cool has ever been 003. We finally met Nick who got us started. When we walked into the warehouse I thought we were in Fort Knox.

These bars are some sort of metal, but not sure what. There were these:

They were stamped with Alcoa, so maybe this was aluminum. I don't think there was anyone at this warehouse that had a sense of humor, or they were terrified of us, because whenever we cracked a joke, they either stared at us or acted like they didn't hear us. In fact, the only person we have encountered that even smiled, is the girl at the front desk of the hotel. She must of had a customer service class or something because she smiles and is friendly, a novel idea when dealing directly with people.

Chad, thank you for the website. One problem, on the list of toll booths, I can't figure out which is the one I blew through. I was on I80, but I'll be damned if I can figure out which one on the list it is. I guess they won't spend too much time and energy chasing down the $.30 to $.80 I owe them.

I've got to get back to working on the spreadsheet, so goodbye for now.

I'm a fugitive from the law

So I'm in Hammond, IN, just south of Chicago, and I'm getting the idea that I might not be in the best part of town. It looks OK, but I'm staying in a Marriott property, there are 2 more Marriott's right behind mine, and there was a guard booth to enter the properties. It is currently unmanned, but they obviously felt it was necessary at one time. Now, instead of a guard, they have a sign as you walk in the front door that says they aren't responsible for anything that may happen in their parking lot. Not exactly the way to make the guests feel relaxed, but I guess if you are from a big city, at least you will feel at home. This hotel has the same thing that a hotel I stayed in with my brothers and sisters in KC. They have a happy 2 hours, with free drinks, on week nights. I'm not much of a drinker anymore, but it's nice to know I can stop in for a beer and snacks tomorrow night. The girl at the desk mentioned nachos, so I was in at that point and anything she said after that was blah, blah, blah. I will say that the temperature in the hallway was about 55 degrees, so they either keep meat in there or this place usually houses polar bears and penguins. There is no reason for it to be that cold. My room is set at 68, which is usually where I like it, but it seems colder to me now. I went to my thermostat and read the directions to raise it a degree or two, but found that the instructions affixed to the wall appear to be to something different. I tried and tried, but was unable to kick it up a couple of degrees. As I lay here, my body seems to be adjusting from the Arctic hallway, so I'll hold off on the call to the front desk. We had a little excitement at the end of our 5 hour drive here. The road we were on turns into a toll road just outside of Hammond. I saw the signs stating that the toll booth was ahead. I was following the Indiana signs, when a semi pulled right in front of me, I mean a foot from our front bumper. I was trying to stay off his ass, but of course, when he pulled in front of me, he also jammed on his breaks. In the midst of my heart failure, I must have missed the sign that said "Pay toll, stay right," so I zoomed by the toll booths in the left lanes reserved for those with the electronic pass things in their cars. I wasn't actually expecting the police to chase us down, but I did feel a bit like a fugitive from the law, sort of. Since it was a total accident, I'm hoping I don't end up with a big fine being sent to me. It's a rental car, so they'll have to really work to track me down, but I'd be happy to give them their $.30 if they can find me. Well I'm off to bed, have to count 3 million pounds of plastic in the morning and don't want to be sleepy when I try.

First day of school

Here are a few shots of the boys on Wed., first day of school.

If you look closely, you will see that Mason has lost both of his front teeth.

The first one was loose, but took forever to get out. The second one, much faster. Once it was loose, some of mom's compulsive behavior came through and he stayed up half the night working on it. The gap the 2 teeth left is huge, so I hope he doesn't have 2 Bucky beaver teeth come in. Their first day of school went well, but it's nearly impossible to get the 411 out of them. All they ever seem to remember is recess and lunch. I hope they are retaining some of the teaching, cause it's a long hard life when you don't, trust me.

I'm still staying up way to late to watch the Olympics. Now, of course, the women's beach volleyball finals were on later last night and the men's is on at 10pm tonight. Since these are 2 of my favorites, I have to stay up for them. I hope you all watched Shawn Johnson win her gold on the beam. It's amazing how much I was into women's gymnastics because of her, and I don't even know her. Since she is from WDM, I wanted her to win so bad. The saddest thing I've seen in the Olympics was watching Lolo Jones trip over the 9th hurdle out of 10 when she was winning the race. I went to the send off we had in DM, I've heard her interviewed on local TV stations and I watched her at the Olympics and I must say she is one of the nicest people I have ever heard. After she fell in the Olympic finals, something she had worked all of her life for, she still had the grace to grant an interview to American TV. Then, during that interview, she stopped to hug and congratulate the silver medalist as she walked behind her. I heard her say "Great job sweetie." That about brought a tear to my eye when I thought about how disappointed she must be, but still stopped what she was doing to say good job. THAT is what the games are about and I think all of Iowa is more proud of who she is, rather than what she has or hasn't done. I better go, the volleyball match is starting soon. USA, USA, USA

We are getting ready for the boys to start school this week and not a minute too soon for mom. The problem is, since they haven't been on a schedule in several months, getting them into one is proving to be more difficult than we had figured. We are getting them to bed around the correct time, but they aren't falling asleep. No, in fact, they are still up, around and including 10pm. This wouldn't be as big of a deal if they would stay in bed and stare at the ceiling, but no, they insist on jumping out of bed with the lame excuse that they have to go to the bathroom. This might be a valid excuse for a trip to the can, but after 3 times in an hour, I start to get a little suspicious. They either have prostate problems or they are trying to pull a fast one on mom and dad. We have tried the reward method, if they do well, and the penalty method, if they do not. It works at times, but the last 2 nights have been penalty nights. Last night was the funniest. Mason loves to play the Wii, so that is threat number one. It usually works, because he doesn't want to loose the Wii that he now has to read to us for 20 minutes everyday to earn. You certainly don't want to do the work to get something, just to loose it. Wait, that sounds like taxes. Anyway, we had several conversations about them both staying in bed, but specifically with Mason because it is usually Makiah that gets out and Mason just follows. I told Mason, "Don't worry about what Makiah does, you just do what you know is right." I had this same discussion with him regarding "trouble makers," as he put it, in school. Not 2 minutes after I had this nighttime version of the discussion with him, and after being warned, I hear his feet hit the floor right in the middle of my Olympic watching. I went up stairs to find both of them out of bed and mom yelling from our room that the Wii was gone for tomorrow. Seeing as how they were being so loud, they didn't hear the last part, so I relayed it to be sure there was no confusion. I said to Mason, "You just lost the Wii," which he responded from the other room, "Dang it." I wish I could convey the disappointment in his voice when he realized it was gone. His comment was the funniest thing and if you know Mason, you can hear him saying it, much funnier. He now has lost it and the computer for the last two days, so he isn't happy. Wish us luck tonight, we are running out of time to get this down.

Olympic obsevations

I'm so tired. I've been up past midnight every night since to Olympics began, and getting up at 5:30 am for work. They really need to make this a month long competition so they can show all of the highlights at a more reasonable hour. As soon as I receive a letter back from the International Olympic Committee, I'll let you know when this will happen. I think it's a brilliant idea. Here are a few things that have stood out to me, and I'm sure you've seen them.

1. Michael Phelps, WOW! Nuff said.
2. Female beach volleyball outfits. WOW!!!! Nuff said.
3. I think along with steroid testing, they need to inspect the shoes of the Jamaican 100 meter sprinter. I'm pretty sure there are little rockets in there. He quit running with 15 or 20 meters to go and STILL broke the world record. Shit that's fast. I'm pretty sure I would just be limping out of the blocks as he finished the race, if I were to take him on. I think I'll save that embarrassment for something a little less obvious.
4. Back to volleyball, but this time indoors. I played sand volleyball (we don't call it "Beach" volleyball in Iowa, since there is no beach) for about 15 years and loved it, but if I had to play indoors with these people, they would kill me. I can't see the ball half of the time they hit it so hard.
5. I watched 2 interviews with the William's sisters after they won their gold in doubles tennis and I must say they were very happy to be representing the US and bringing home the gold. For two people that have won a ton of money, they put their Olympic gold at the top of the "favorite win" list. I was proud of them, for what ever that's worth.
6. US women's softball. Can we give the teams they play a 3 run head start? The US is crushing their opponents and I think it would be a nice gesture if we spotted them 3, so the US would only win 7-3, instead of 7-0. Just a thought.
7. I've been pretty impressed with the US men's basketball team, both on the floor with their play and their respect of the other teams and countries. It was nice to see the national anthem being play in game one against the Chinese and every player on the US had their hands on their hearts. Bravo!
8. Speaking of that, I have seen a lot of people with their hands on their hearts. I'm not sure if they were coached on that by the US Olympic committee or not, but it is awesome to see.

I'm sure I will have more, but I need a nap before the evening sesion begins.

Olympics and poo

So I'm watching the Olympics and I have a few observations.
1. The opening ceremonies were unbelievable. My favorite part were the drums. I can honestly say that I have never seen 2008 drums all playing at the same time. The precision of the drummers was awesome. The rest of the show was great as well and the Chinese should be proud of it. They said that 15,000 people participated in the performance. WOW, that is a lot of people to get to go in the right direction at the same time. When you watched all of the "actors" run off the field, I was just waiting for 2 to crash into each other, but I didn't see it happen. I read an article about people who were pissed that the Chinese government would spend that much money on a show, when there are so many people who need the basics in life. Agreed, there are much more important things in life other than a good show for us to watch, but lets not forget how the Olympics pull the world together, all be it for 2 weeks. I know the conflict in Georgia is going on, but most of the news you hear now is positive things about the Olympics. I'm even hearing less about the pollution than in the beginning, even though the air still looks like a "dark and foggy night" in a thriller movie.

2. I saw the most exciting swimming race I have ever seen. I like to watch swimming in the Olympics, but the 4x100 free was the best. I'm sure you heard, but just in case you haven't, let me tell you why this win was so good. The top team going into this race was actually the team from France. One of their swimmers decided to run his mouth and say "we will crush the Americans." Apparently this dude has never heard of giving the opposition incentive. The french got out fast and were ahead by 3/4 body length, or more. The guy who made the comment was the anchor leg of the race. Well I'm sure you did hear that the Americans passed the french and won the gold. I've never cheered so much for a swim race as I did that night. I remember my days of volleyball and I liked nothing more than to beat the team that either whined about everything or were cocky. Go USA!!!!

3. The women's gymnastics was on last night and the Americans took silver. It was sad to see Alicia Sacramone fall twice, but the girls did great and we should all be proud. To see them hug and smile at the Chinese team, after they had just lost to them, shows what the games are supposed to be about. Not running your mouth, but doing your thing, and then, win or loose, smile and keep your head up. Keep watching and rooting for Shaun Johnson, our local girl. She did great in the team competition and will compete in the all around and individual apparatus.

4. While looking at some Olympic pictures on the web, there were some photos that came up after the Olympic ones ran out. There was on of a guy with a bushy beard that caught my eye, so I clicked on it and read the caption, and I'm not making any of this up. In fact, I will include a link to an article so you can see it if you want, but here is the story. The guy is an "artist" who had a piece of his "art" in a gallery in Switzerland. This "art," was an inflatable piece of dog shit. Apparently, this piece of "art" broke loose, as large inflatable pieces of dog shit are prone to do, tore down a power line and crashed into a children's home. The "art" piece is called "Complex Shit." Where has are school system gone? Can we get some federal funding back into the arts so we can teach people that Macy's Thanksgiving day parade balloon rejects, do not constitute art. I haven't found a picture yet, but the article says the turd is as big as a house. Of course it is, it was made by an American and we go big or we go home. This still makes me laugh every time I read it and picture those poor children watching a huge turd smash into their home. The smell must have been horrible:) I can only imagine the phone call to the electric company to tell them their power lines were taken down by a piece of shit. Oh to be customer service that day.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318241/1997763

And another

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Today is my lovely wife's birthday, so if you see her, wish her a happy birthday and tell her she looks great for 45 years old. In reality, she is much younger than that, but I'll refrain from giving out her actual age in case this is the birthday that she becomes sensitive to her age. Since her birthday is today, that tells me that our anniversary is a mere 3 days away. We will have been married nine years on Thursday, and since my first marriage only made it a year, I have smashed my record and hope that I'm just in the early stages of the final out come. We have had a whirlwind of time together, starting with only knowing each other for about 3 months before we got married. I've been told I'm crazy, for more than one reason, but this is the one gamble that has paid off. We had Mason soon after we married, no she wasn't pregnant when we got married, but it was pretty quick. While we were figuring out the parent thing, along came Makiah. With much discussion, we decided that our lives weren't crazy enough, so lets have another, and Max makes us 5. We have done so much in our 9 short years together, travel, kids and all the little things to go by so fast. I hope the rest of our lives are just as much fun.

Happy Birthday Marcy!!!!

Grandpa is in the Olympics!

This is the Russian delegation coming into the Olympic stadium. What events are all of these old guys in, horseshoes? Is there a checkers event now? Can you win a gold in early buffet dining? Sorry, that was probably uncalled for, but in all of the other photos of teams coming in, there is a smattering of older people. Somehow, the Russians have emptied out the old folks home and shipped them to China. If one of these dudes wins a medal in anything other than shooting, do a drug test, they have been scarfing steroids.

Nice try!

Todays winner

You can see that they are pretty much in their space, but the angle worried me that they would hit my car when they were backing out. I think the only way this could be worse, was if they were completly sideways, which they were oh so close to being.

What have you seen today? Nothing good.

That is a movie quote, first one to guess the movie and post it in the "comments" section, gets a big fat nothing, but the knowledge that someone else memorizes useless movie quotes will make my day.

There hasn't been a lot going on here on the west side of Des Moines recently. I would like to say our schedule is slowing down, but why lie when there is nothing to gain. The boys have been busy with 2 camps and swim lessons, plus they went to Adventureland (an amusement park here in DSM) yesterday and school is just around the corner. I can hardly believe that Mason will be in second, Makiah in first and Max will start preschool. I'm all ready trying to figure out how to pay $90 in school fees, $80 in school supplies, lunch money and Max's school tuition. How much can you sell a kidney for? We are having Makiah's 6 year birthday party next weekend, so that should be fun, if you like a bunch of screaming little kids, cake in the carpet and every toy we own dumped out. I hope we have good weather and we will have them in the pool and killing my grass with a slip-n-slide. We broke it out the other day and I tried to teach Makiah and Max how to slide. They must have thought it was a slip-n-run, because they would run the length of the plastic, not one dropping to a knee or butt. Max finally fell, therefore getting a bit of the "slide" in slip-n-slide. Makiah finally started sliding on his knees, then moved to his butt, and finally to his stomach. They really liked it, even though the hill is not exactly Everest, or even Everest's tiny cousin, slope. No, our hill is more like a gradual slide that has the elevation change of 2 to 3 feet. I remember when I was a kid, playing on one at a friends house all day. When we were done, we pulled it up to reveal a bright yellow strip right down the middle of their front yard that didn't go away for months. After the boys were done, I pulled ours up to reveal a strip of grass that is smashed down, and after 5 days, has not fully recovered. We are also planning on getting the bounce house out, which will kill another part of the yard, but hopefully will keep the kids occupied.

A little update on the board I'm on. I'm still not 100% sure what my role on this board is. There have all ready been some big changes in personnel and the music has been fine tuned. I like the sound of the station, we will see if we can get it, financially, back on its feet. I think the mission is a worthy one and I think our plan is valid, now we need to get the word out and look for people who believe in the mission as well and can help in the recovery.

I found a homeowners worst nightmare the other day. I was moving a piece of furniture and found the carpet had something all over it. It appeared to be mold or a stain, so I looked behind a piece of the trim and could see some mold. I pulled the trim off and cut into the wall to see the level of damage and found the insulation inside the wall was soaked, along with the floor plate and a few of the studs. Not exactly what I had planned on when I started the day. I called the insurance people, who reminded me that my policy, and yours too, doesn't cover mold damage. I had seen that before on TV, but was hoping they would make an exception for me, but no such luck. Now the question will be, what is considered water damage, which is covered, and what is mold damage, which is not covered? My opinion, the mold was caused by the water, so it should be covered, but insurance companies don't make millions, or billions, of dollars by being nice guys. They charge you as much as they can and fight paying every claim, but by law, you have to have it. That's a good racket if you can get it. This would be my first claim ever on my homeowners insurance, but my guess is they won't cover enough to make it worth paying my deductible and having my rates go up. I'm sure I'll be trying to figure out how to come up with the money to fix this on my own. How much for that kidney?

Last weekend our church had what it calls Taste of Hope, which is an event for anyone, member or not, to come to our church parking lot for free food, free games, music and fireworks at night. The kids love it, even though the lines are long. They have a petting zoo, that this year had chickens. Marcy was inside the zoo with Makiah and Max, the animals would probably kill Mason with his allergies. I was outside the fence trying to get pictures of the kids petting the animals, and failing miserably. I really suck at photography. I was watching Max try to pet some medium sized chicken when all of the sudden he tried to pick it up by its neck. He had a hold of it and was lifting when I yelled at him to put it down. He did and I told Marcy to turn around and get Max before he killed a chicken and we were banned from petting zoo's across the country. The last thing I want to see is a family picture with one of those red circles around us with a line through it. We got out of there without any fatalities, so there are petting zoo's in our future. When I told Mason the story, I realized that Max was "choking the chicken." Now, whenever I tell the story, I get an extra laugh that the boys don't understand yet, but they will. The fireworks they have at night are some of the best fireworks we see all year. I'm amazed at how good they are. The guy who owns the fireworks company goes to our church, so I'm sure we get extra special treatment for less cost, but it is impressive any way you look at it.

Hope all is well with everyone. Maybe something exciting will happen next week and I will have something to write about. The insurance guy comes on Wed., so maybe a argument and/or fight will occur as well.

On our recent trip to NC, there was a day that we went to a place called Kitty Hawk Kites that sold, well, kites, among other things. It was kids day, which meant they had crafts for kids (they got to make their own kites), face painting (Makiah got a "shark") and there were demonstrations of a few games, I like to call burner games. They didn't show hackey sack, but these were in the same category. I'm not saying anything bad about them, just the kinds of things you would see guys in ponytails and hemp clothing doing. One game was two sticks that you "juggle" a third stick, making it spin and fly. It was actually a lot of fun and I was considering buying myself a set, until I saw the $30 price tag. I knew my fascination would end shortly, either with continuous play or a serious eye injury, and my kids would last all of 5 minutes with either of the afore mentioned results, so I decided against it. The guy who was demonstrating, had a ponytail, but not the hemp clothing.(see guy in yellow shirt)He was wearing a regular shirt, but his face was screaming out "I need hemp, stat." Seeing as how one of my 2 stereotypes was dead on, I was satisfied. Well low and behold, in today's Des Moines Register, I see a picture here locally of a guy who is teaching kids the stick juggling thing and all be damned if he doesn't have a ponytail. Still no hemp shirt, so I'm going to have to re-think my stereotype, but it's good to see I'm heading in the right direction. The other game was a kind of top that you juggle, again for the lack of a better word, with a string. While the guy was demonstrating in NC, he was also balancing on a board that was on a round tube (right behind my sister-in-laws butt, on the ground), so it was moving. I decided not to try the tube thing, seeing as how a concussion or broken hip would do nothing for my ego or my ability to continue to deny that I'm getting older.