Been Watching You...

I know that as a father, your kids are watching everything you do, and usually right in the middle of everything you are trying to do. Most of the time that is OK, but this weekend I was setting some of the final tiles on the steps. (yes, there was still some tile to be set...notice I said FINAL)

Laying tile is kind of a "concentration type job" as once you set it, it is there for life, so you don't want to mess anything up, and it seems Brecken wanted to be there for the historic moment of Daddy finally finishing the tile.

He was crawling on me, and messing with my tools, and pretty much in the way. Steph noticed this and said, "Brecken will you help me with the laundry?" His little bottom lip pushed out and you could tell he was pretty hurt that daddy really didn't need his help. In a split second, this whole Rodney Atkins song went through my head, and I whispered in Brecken ear, "you tell mommy you can't, because you are busy helping daddy."

He stood up and said, "Mommy, I can't, I help daddy!"

I gave him some orders on how to help me, and he did them just like I asked. I went out to cut some tile, and didn't see him for a minute.

Then I saw what he was up to. He was asking for his "lizard hat" and a pencil...and a tape measure. It was one of those moments when you realize how important it is to be a good example to your kids.

Steph took a couple of pictures and it made my day to see my "little bear" doing everything I did.

For the record, I changed Kolby's diaper that day and fed her as well, and Maxim and I went out for a great kayak trip, and then fished for an hour or so while Brecken slept. This 3 kid thing is work.

Here is the "Watching You" song by Rodney Atkins.

Stage Presence

Maxim's school had their Spring Speech Festival on Friday, and Maxim did a version of "Hickory Dickory Dock". We worked on his delivery and I told him about stage presence, and how to work the crowd.

I think he nailed his performance, not sure where he got the "bow" from? Must have got that from the Decker side!

I was not the first fool in the water!

All this talk in the news about waterboarding has me itching to get my boat and wakeboard out on the water. Waterboarding has a dual meaning in our family...one lazy summer day my folks were out at the house and a boat went by pulling a wakeboarder and Grandpa Bob said, "that guy is waterboarding."

We got a good laugh, and every now and then Steph and I will talk about going "waterboarding".

On Tuesday night we enjoyed the first night of yard work. There was a bunch of guys fishing right by our dock and we were working on the lake side of the house. I was coming around the corner of the house, when Steph told me not to look at the lake. Of course I did. A couple guys were out there riding...I hope they had wetsuits on. We could actually hear them scream from about a half mile away when they would jump in the water for the first time.

Yard work now...Play In May!

Spellcheck?

Looks like the Washington Nationals are trying to watch their budget in these tough economic times as well...as they could only afford to put 8 letters on their jersey. Either that or the local Huron Newspaper did their proof reading.

Summer is here.

We put up the trampoline tonight...which means that winter is over.

That doesn't mean we won't get another snow, or 10 inches of rain in 2 hours, or a 70 mph wind storm, but it does mean we can lock the boys in the octagon for some cage fighting.

Kolby Cries For Her Daddy!

Steph has left me alone with Kolby 3 times now since she was whelped a couple months ago. Don't get me wrong this little girl is an ANGEL most of the time, except when it is time for daddy to be the sole-caregiver for her and her brothers.

Last night I got home from Pierre at 6:30, and Steph left for town soon after to pick up Maxim.

That left the ever-energetic Brecken and the soft and cuddly Kolby in the care of their extremely road-weary daddy.

Brecken proceeded to scream the words "Pizza Monster" like a madman while eating some pizza, and Kolby woke up soon after that hungry. I fed her and changed her and did everything you are supposed to do, but she started crying, and kept crying for almost 3 hours...until about 5 minutes before Steph got home.

She did this exact same thing a couple weeks ago...cried the whole time Steph was gone, and then quit about 10 minutes before she got home.

A friend of ours told me she cries for me, because I don't smell like Stephanie, and that I should wear or hold a shirt of Steph's while she is gone and I am trying to comfort her. I would be afraid to answer the phone if I was wearing my wife's shirt let alone if someone would happen to come to the door.

I'll deal with the crying...it can't last forever?

Happy Birthday - HO-DADDY!

Brecken turns 3 today...hard to believe the little Hulkster has only been 2 for one year. We think his terrible 2's lasted for about 2.5 years, and are still going.

We celebrated his birthday for 5 days...and he is still not tired.

Here is a picture of Grandma Penny and all of her boys (the one in the grey hat has the look in his eye doesn't he?).

Happy Easter.

Easter is the day when you want to dress your kids in spring clothes for church, but the weather says, "not quite yet".


Our family celebrated Easter by wearing flip flops to church...no shorts yet...sorry Grandma Reece, we will wear the cool shorts you bought the boys a little later in the month.


We also celebrated Brecken's 3rd Birthday this week...like 4 days worth of party!


Today was the big present and cake day...here are some photos from our Easter/Brecken Birthday Extravaganza!

YES...YOU ARE AT THE RIGHT SITE!!!

3 years of blogging on the same template, and I decided to change it up...nothing drastic, just a little spring cleaning.

Like Penny commented, if something is missing that you really liked on the site before, let me know and I'll bring it back.

I'm just here to serve.

School Lunch Program

I ate with Maxim at his school this afternoon. I forgot how much fun the lunch room is when you are in grade school.

Chicken strips, mashed potatoes, corn, pears, a bun and some typically-somewhat-warm 2% white milk, all for a couple bucks. (I think school lunch programs is what caused me to put ice in my milk...both Steph and I can't stand milk that isn't next to freezing.)

Maxim and his best friend Moses ate like champs, and I only had to tell them 4 or 5 times to settle down. I was leery of being "that dad" and going to school to eat with him, hoping he wouldn't be embarrassed, but we had a blast with all the kids at his table.

Here is the commemorative photo of the event...Moses and Maxim.

Kolby being Kolby.

A night as a waiter...

James Valley has a fund raiser event each year that is a dinner theatre format...think the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in Minneapolis, but with farmers and house wives doing the acting. Which actually makes this dinner theatre better than the ones in big cities.

Steph and I volunteered to help as wait-staff for the last night of the event. We were assigned our 3 tables, and I was pleased to notice that one of our tables was Steph's family and a couple other families I know, and then my boy Chris H. and some other folks were at another, so I was in for a good night of fun...and my first ever waiter experience.

I was doing great, and hadn't ticked anyone off or spilled coffee, when I heard from a table behind me, "hey boy, get me some coffee...", or something to that effect.

"Hello, Verlie." I said in my best Jerry Seinfeld to Newman voice.

Looks like "VJ the Great" got his tickets a bit late and ended up in the back row, but in just the right place to give me a hard time all night long. For the record, his wife was a pleasure to be around as she always is, but Verlie must have forgotten this was a "high class event".

He hounded me all night, and even threatened to write bad things on the blog if I didn't take care of him, so for about 5 minutes I tried to do what he wanted, then I thought, "Wait, he complains about me all the time on this website anyway so why should I be nice to him?". So I spent the rest of the night giving him a hard time.

I finished the night without spilling a drop of coffee, water or anyone's food, so it was a success, and I think Verlie had a good time as well. Next year I will request a different area to serve, or maybe I will actually request Verlie's table.

Obama's first "_____gate".

I guess a little hug has led to the Obama's first international public relations problem...here is a little news story about "HUGGATE". Leave it to the Brits to get upset about something like this.

By the way, if the networks start using that word (huggate)...know that I just invented the word...they better give me credit.

Snow Day Boxing

What a better way to pass the time on a snowy morning than to let the boys work off a little steam with the boxing gloves. Maxim threw some good combinations, but Brecken has the height advantage! I know you are thinking he is shorter than Maxim, but think about where his punches land!

Here is a shot from the Rumble In The Jungle...Maxim's big straight right jab.

Transformers Do Exist

Maxim LOVES the Transformers movie and has quite a few toys...he also LOVES "Army Guys", which to him is anyone in camouflage.

Yesterday while working at the Emergency Management Center for the flooding that is happening in northeast S.D. I worked with a Sergeant in the Nat'l Guard. I thought the whole day that Maxim would be so fond of this "Army Guy" and think that it is cool that his dad was working with him.

So this morning I told Maxim that I was kind of a Rescue Hero yesterday. He said, "How?". So I told him that we were protecting people who's homes could possibly flood and that the "Army Guys" were in charge of protecting the company's transformers by putting sandbags around the ones that are on the ground and located in a flood plain.

All Maxim heard of my statement was "Army Guy" and "Transformer". He said, "Dad, there is no such thing as Transformers. They are just a pretend movie."

I spent the drive to town showing him transformers on power lines and the ones on the ground...I still think that he thinks they change into some sort of robot.

Baylor Soccer Team Beats SDSU In Last Second Shot

It is late, and I can't sleep, but YES, you read that right...I said Baylor Soccer.

Soccer is the only sport I know of, well, now put basketball in to that list, where the athletes would rather FAKE an injury than do all they can with their abilities to win a game. It is so common in soccer for a guy to go down and grab his ankle after getting "bumped" in the shoulder, that in the Premiership they have 2 guys that just run on the field with a stretcher and haul him off.

I think Baylor's Rachel Allison pulled a soccer trick last night, and it shows how un-tough she is. She went down in the 2nd half with a legit knee twist, she even cried on TV. Then she came out about 5 minutes later, apparently Mr. Miyagi was in the locker room and gave her the "Karate Kid" rehab and then slapped on a tape job on her boo-boo.

Fast forward - :23 seconds left in the game, Baylor is up by 1 and Ashley Muckenhirn fouled Allison to put the 50% free throw shooter at the line, BUT WAIT! Oh poor Rachel's knee was hurting too bad to shoot free throws, so they bring in Whitney Zachariason, who played only 78 minutes this whole year, and only has 15 points total, but is known as a good free throw shooter. She hit 1 and missed one, so we were still in it.

Long story short, we got beat on a last second shot, by the only Baylor player that had a good game, and the referees also called a game that didn't help SDSU at all...OK I'm super bitter tonight, but I felt like we had a chance.

All I have to say is, "Hey Rachel Allison, HOW'S YOUR KNEE?" Oh yeah, one last thing, the entire state of South Dakota saw you jumping up and down like a madman after your teammate hit the winning shot...then you forgot to limp back to the bench until about your 4th step...anyway good luck in soccer next year.

So I'm done ranting and venting now, and would like to congratulate SDSU on a great season and a great 1st run in the tourney. As Ron Burgundy would say, "You stay classy, SDSU!"

End Of The Rainbow

If you have ever wondered what is at the end of the rainbow, we found it the other day east of Iroquois, I guess the pot of gold is really just the Fast's house...who knew?

Gaslight Anthem

Many of you know that I love music, and lately I've really been into a band called The Gaslight Anthem. I caught them in concert on a whim during my travels last summer, and have since downloaded (legally) their latest album called "The '59 Sound".

It's funny how my music taste changes with the seasons...I listen to a little bit of country during pheasant season, a lot of rock and punk during the hockey season, Jack Johnson, Sublime and Bob Marley during the summer and in the spring, just about anything that has an upbeat feel to it...this spring it is the Gaslight Anthem. I have declared this will by my spring kick off album.

You know when a band plays a live song on Letterman they have made it, but when they do it this well you know they are a good band.

St. Patty's Day

I feel like the 3rd grader who's mom forgot it was St. Patrick's Day...I'm not sure why it's a big deal to wear green today, being as I'm not Irish. In fact, I should have probably worn orange since I'm a little bit English and a Protestant...but I wouldn't want to get car-bombed by the local radicals.

I actually thought St. Patty's was next week...that's how hectic my schedule has been lately...I'm a week behind in holiday celebrations.

Funny thing is, if you go back to March of 2008's posts...I wrote almost the exact same thing as I did this year...I guess for my readers I must be getting a bit boring and redundant.

Coming Clean On Self Haircuts.

Last night while Maxim and I were in Wal-Mart I noticed his hair was a complete mess in the front, which was to be expected because he was wearing a stocking hat all day at recess and then on the way to the store. I tried to fix it so he didn't look totally a mess, but couldn't get his head to cooperate. Maxim's hair has a lot of cowlicks so this is not out of the ordinary for him.

Then I noticed that his hair seemed a TON shorter in one spot than the rest of his head, I couldn't blame it on his hair stylist, since I share a bed with her, so I said, "Maxim, did you cut your own hair?"

He got a sheepish smile on his face and said, "But it was bugging me, am I in trouble?" I couldn't stop laughing at him, "No, you are not in trouble, but we are going to take a picture and send it to mommy."

Apparently, in school, he got bored with a scissors and took a chunk of hair off the front. He's artistic, so it might be his first "expression" with his hairstyle. I laughed it off, and Steph got on him a little bit, but she laughed as well.

I didn't know what would possess him to cut his own hair, until a repressed memory came back into my head this morning. I too had cut my own hair at one time when I was about his age, but I blamed it on the barber, Ivan L.

I don't remember the whole story, but I had recently got a hair cut and was combing my hair and one piece kept flipping up in the back, so I got out a scissors and chopped it off, thinking I had solved the problem.

My mom noticed and asked me if I cut my hair, I said, "No" of course, because I thought I would get into trouble. She must have figured that Ivan the Barber did it and she said, "Well, we aren't going back to him." I kind of remember being bummed, because he had this cool suit of armor in his barber shop that I liked to look at.

Soon after that Ivan the Barber went out of the hair cutting business, and my 7 year old mind couldn't help but think I had something to do with the downfall of his Hair Cutting Empire.

Wow, I feel better now that I got that off my conscience. So mom when you read this...I'm sorry I lied to you, and Ivan if you read this blog, I'm sorry about ruining your business 20-some years ago.

Also, Ivan if you still have the suit of armor I would be willing to buy that from you, as a peace offering for single-handedly ruining your barber shop business.

Blowing things up.

This is what happens when you have long winters in South Dakota.

Back Home

I got to the house tonight around 9pm...well, now it's last night...all the kids were awake and happy to see daddy! So was Steph, they boys behaved and I swear Maxim grew an inch...Kolby actually grew about a pound.

She stayed awake for me long enough to see her eyes and hear her burp and cry a couple times. Thursday is back to a normal schedule for me, which will be nice.

Steph and I will be celebrating our 11th anniversary on Saturday so look out for a wild night on the streets of Huron...which lately have been more dangerous (per capita) than the streets of Long Beach!

Leaving California

I left for home this morning, had a great time at the conference and grabbed a few new ideas, also had a great time outside of the conference with some new friends.

I was invited to supper with some folks from Laguna Beach last night and I thought it was a great opportunity to take in the local scene of Laguna Beach...was it ever.

I was in a gated neighborhood where Kobe Bryant owns a home...an extra home. $22m buys you quite a view in Cali.

It's a nice eyeopener for me to see how good the simpler, quieter, slower life is in S.D.

Can't wait to wrestle the boys and hold my girls tonight.

LBC

It is 80 degrees where I'm at today...a 90+ difference from what it is doing back home. Steph called me and told me the temperature from her car thermometer and I couldn't believe it.

I'm in Long Beach for a conference and will spend the next 4 days in the sunshine, and in a hotel conference room. It's a nice break from the cold, but it would have been nice to bring the family along.

I know Uncle Skipper, I owe Steph a ton.

Kolby is 2 weeks old.

It is hard to believe that we have had Kolby at the house for 2 weeks now. She does a lot of sleeping and laying around. (not that I expected any different) Brecken finally likes her and is interested in what she is doing and what "jammies" she has on. Actually he calls her a "he" all the time...it's pretty funny when you try to correct him.

For the record Steph wanted me to go snowmobiling with my friends last weekend, it was a blast and will most likely be a yearly trip...if the snow cooperates. I didn't wreck the sled so it was a good trip, however I did just get a cortisone shot for the tendinitis I have in my right forearm. When your arm makes a noise when you move it, that is never a good thing.

Sledding in the hills.

It's late and we are driving back from the Black Hills, but I wanted to get an update on the site from the weekend of snowmobiling with the crew.

We had non-stop fun.

Here is Jamie F. running a little up hill.

Running Outside Pays Better.

Since I was at home for the last few days with our new little girl, I was away from my gym, and wasn't in my normal workout routine. So to change things up a bit I ran outside instead of on a treadmill. Runners know that running outside during the winter takes about as long to get ready for as it does to run the 5 miles.

I put on 2 base layers and my running suit and the full face fleece hat and headed outside. I always feel like I run harder outside and that is because of the change in grade, which is usually just a solid 2% when I am on the treadmill. So the payoff at the end of the day is always better when you run outside, not to mention the cool stuff you find beside the road.

I have never found anything at my feet while I run on a treadmill, I do get the pleasure of watching ESPN or CNN while I run, but in the Great Wide Open you see "stuff". Roadkill, tarp straps, old shoes, life jackets and clothes, it's crazy what ends up in ditches around a lake. Most of the stuff I never even think about touching, unless it's a screwdriver or a good pair of sunglasses. On Saturday, I found something and then actually looked around to see if there was anymore of it laying around. Right there on the side of the road a nice $20 bill. I didn't find any more money, but it made my run that much more enjoyable.

I bet more people would run or walk outside if they knew they had the chance of picking up a $20.

Now that I post this, I assume you will all comment about how you lost a $20 the other day out by Lake Byron...while you were running.

Brecken warmed up to Kolby.

Brecken was a little leery about his little sister coming into his life. He didn't really pay much attention to her for the first few days, but then again he's 2. He also battled an ear ache and a fever since Wednesday.

This morning Breck woke up with a great attitude and no signs of sickness, so he was ready for his first photographs with his little sister. (Father's Note: as soon as the camera was put back into it's case...Brecken said, "all done, mommy".)

Kolby Capri

Steph finally got her girl...3rd time is a charm right?

Kolby was born on Feb. 11 at 5:40 a.m.

She was 20" and 8.3 LBS.

HERE SHE IS.

And here is video of Brecken actually paying attention to Kolby.

Baby Girl

Kolby Capri was born this morning..she is eight pounds and twenty inches long. Steph is doing great.

T-minus this week and counting.

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith,
you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

-TOM PETTY-

Waiting for a child to be born would be a lot easier if you had a big Daktronics scoreboard to countdown the time until birth. (See what kind of program you can create for this Brent.)

I am almost completely sick of answering the question, "No baby yet?". I can't imagine how sick of it Stephanie is. I actually came into work about 20 minutes later than usual yesterday just to mess with people...leaving them wondering if we were at the hospital.

Sunday morning in church I ran the sound system, so we were not sitting in our usual area...my phone started vibrating and I looked a the caller ID and it was Grandpa Bob wondering if we were at the hospital...that's how crazy this has become.

I think the most frustrating thing for Steph is that the boys both came about 2 weeks early, and this one is nipping on it's actual due date...Happy Valentine's Day?

Bubble Boys

Couldn't Believe This Was On YouTube.

This is a blooper from KELO - TV from a few years back...it shows the importance of having the right video cued up to run when you are talking about "laying someone to rest"...I'm sure Prez Bush 1's mom was not a coyote...but it's funny none the less.

Still Waiting.

Don't worry you haven't missed the news...there is no baby yet...it will be posted here shortly after it happens.

It's funny how women get all giddy about someone else having a baby, we get at least 4 phone calls a night from Steph's girlfriends, and some very obscure folks whom I really don't talk to on a regular basis...all wondering if the baby has come yet.

That's how men are different, guys don't call each other asking about babies...we might ask in passing, but never the context of the call. I held a 15 minute conversation with a close friend today and all we talked about was wakeboarding and other dude-stuff for 14 minutes and 30 seconds...the other :30 was about how we were still waiting for the baby.

This is the week???

So Baby3 should be here this week sometime...it hasn't hit me until last night when I walked in to the nursery that we have no clue if we get another boy or if we will have pink dryer lint in our future.

I'm assuming that if it is a boy we won't have to paint much, but if it is a girl we will have to change the green and brown paint, to something more "girly", and change out the horse and cowboy pictures to princesses and unicorns.

I guess I know what I am doing on Saturday if the baby comes mid-week.

SDSU Women are turning into Gonzaga?!?!

Every year when March Madness starts there is a team or 2 that throw up this great Cinderella story and go way further in the tournament than people ever expected. I know you remember Gonzaga in 1999, Kent State in 2002, Davidson in 2008, George Mason in 2006, and 1983 North Carolina State with Jimmy V running like a mad man on the court after they won.

Not all Cinderella's make the championship game, but what they do for their schools is remarkable...after George Mason made their run in 2006, 2007's enrollment went up like 20% or something like that. Gonzaga experienced the same phenomena, and now they are almost expected to make the men's tournament every year.

Well, we are still waiting for the SDSU men's basketball team to catch up with the football and women's basketball program (last nights win did help), but the nation is starting to notice what is happening in Brookings with the women's program.

The New York Times did a story on the women's team and you can read it here by clicking.

Brecken LOVES Angie.

I am pretty sure that Brecken loves me, his mommy, his grandpas and grandmas, but I also think he has his first crush on a girl. An older girl at that, and married, to one of my best friends.

"ANNNNGIE'S HOUSE!?!?!" that's what he has said for the last 3 mornings as soon as he wakes up.

On Monday he woke up super cranky, whining and screaming...and he wasn't even out of bed yet. Steph said 5 words, and it was Christmas Day for him. "We're going to Angie's house."

He popped up, smiled and started jumping on the bed. He spent the morning there with Steph and Angie's youngest girl...doing who knows what, I'm sure making a mess of their playroom as usual.

Tuesday night we were headed back over to the Fast's for the evening, Brecken was singing praises to Angie the whole way over, and screamed the whole way home. Then this morning he woke up and I'm pretty sure walked up to Steph and said, "go to Annnngie's". He did get to see Angie as Steph and the girl's went out to eat for lunch...so he got his fix today.

Angie eats it up, and I think with 3 girls running her house it is nice to have a boy-fix every now and then, but I worry that Jared (Angie's husband) might be getting jealous of all the attention that the little guy gets, and he will put an end to Brecken's desire to go live with Angie.

This is about right...

A buddy sent this to me yesterday. He thinks he's funny, and unfortunately it's pretty true.

(note the cup of coffee that the crazy parent threw at the referee...pretty sure some folks have been tempted to give me an early shower of hot liquids)

Another Video Post...but worth it.

Don't know if you caught the Winter X Games on ESPN this weekend, but here is the insane highlight of the week. Maxim and Brecken were trying to figure out how much speed they needed to huck a snowmobile off the deck, over the trees and then barrel roll it 2 times and land cleanly on the frozen lake below...they are so not getting a snowmobile.

Gotta Love TV Shopping Channels...

Candy Cigs.

Last night we picked up the bunk bed in Mitchell for the boys, and on the way home Brecken had to go potty, so we stopped at a gas station called the Country Pumper (Or the Country Dumper as our family knows it) and Brecken did his job.

He was proud and when he goes potty in the potty chair at home he gets a handful of M&M's. So he thought that if you go potty at a gas station you get candy too, and I couldn't say no.

FLASHBACK: Does anyone from Huron remember Skeezicks Grocery? (Not sure on the spelling) Well they had the best array of candy, and every once in a while Sally and I would get to take our bikes down to that marvelous house of candy...I usually got the same thing, a couple packs of baseball or football cards and some candy cigarettes. I actually like the taste of candy cigs, and every once in a while when I would find a box I would buy them as a joke. I hadn't seen them in years...until last night.

So Brecken is looking at candy, and he sees this box with a cowboy on the front...great marketing to attract his attention...so I say why not and we grab a couple boxes of the sweet flavorful sticks of pure sugar.

Steph was less than impressed, but I talked her into snapping a picture of Breck and his new favorite candy. ROUND-UP CANDY CIGARETTES!

I'm Back!

HEY EVERYONE I'M BACK.

I finally got the snow out of the driveway on Saturday night, but not before getting barely stuck in a super hard drift about 30 feet from my garage! (and yes I did have it in 4-wheel drive!) Thanks to the neighbors for the quick pull to get me out. I think I could have pulled it out on my mountain bike!

So you all think you are naming our next child? There were some pretty good names in the list, some ridiculous as you would expect. This whole naming your child thing is taking on a life of it's own. It would be a lot less stressful if we only had one gender of names to pick. I honestly don't know if we will have it narrowed down to 1 boy and 1 girl name before it is born.

Finally a photo of the boys...I made them go outside on that day it was -45 degrees and -60 with the windchill. I kind of wanted to celebrate the day! (kidding)

Steph's First Post.

So we have a few baby names for our yet to be born baby. We don't know what we are having and it is another headache that Tom has given me. We should have found out, that way I could be buying a bunch of pink stuff or getting some blue stuff. Since we don't know we haven't settled on a name yet.

Skipper is out for a boy as that one is take in Tom's family, and Walt wouldn't work beside Maxim and Brecken. We have the girl's name narrowed down to a few, but are still open to suggestions.

If you have any please post them in the comments area.

Tom is not allowed to post anymore to this blog until he gets the driveway blown out again, so you might not see him until April...so until then I have taken over this blog!

My Snow Removal Budget Is Tapped.

The City of Huron tapped it's 2008 snow removal budget with about a month and a half left in 2008, and it was kind of the joke around town that the budget consisted of 4 tanks of gas, 4 dozen donuts and 14 cups of coffee.

This year isn't epic as far as snowfall, but I am getting sick of getting the driveways clean and then the next morning there is 2" of fluffy...I move that only to have it blow back in the next day when the 40 mph winds kick in.

In the past I think I have filled my snow blower 2 or 3 times a year...this year I am on my 5th tank of gas, and from the looks of things I'll go through another tank tonight!

Wonder if I have to change the oil after 3,000 miles on my snow blower?

Click here for a link to what it looks like outside today.

4X4 works...when you use it.

Remember the days of rear-wheel drive cars?

It seems like the cars produced now are all-wheel drive, on-demand 4-wheel drive or front-wheel drive. The only brand new car with rear wheel drives are sports cars.

Most every family in South Dakota probably has a 4-wheel drive car in the garage...if you don't you probably have a front wheel drive. You have to with the snow and ice we get around here. That brings me to a story that happened on Wednesday night.

Grandpa Bob picked up Maxim from school and took him to the bank, I think it is kind of a Grandpa "show and tell" thing. He gets to show off his grandson. On their way home dad took a "back entrance" to the house and while avoiding an overgrown tree limb he hung a front tire on a snowbank and his rear tires were on pure ice. He tried to rock it out, but he and Maxim ended up hoofing it to the house. (It was only a 2 block walk.)

When I got to their house dad informed me that I had to pull him out, so we drove the Yukon over to the spot and hooked up a chain. I was actually surprised that he was stuck with a 4-wheel drive pick-up in such a little snow pile. I barely pulled him and he popped out. On the short drive back to the house I wondered if the Yukon's auto 4-wheel drive even kicked in.

We got to the garage and I mentioned that I barely even put tension on the chain...he said, "Yeah, it probably would have helped if I would have put the pick-up in 4-wheel drive!" The whole time he was stuck he was trying to get out with only the 2 back wheels spinning on ice.

NOW I MUST ALSO COME CLEAN...I razzed him about it for a while, then dropped it because I remember my own misfortune only 3 weeks prior. We were loaded up and ready to head to town and the windshield was covered with a fine misting of ice, so I tried the lazy man's scrape of spraying some wiper fluid on it and just driving it.

I made it about 400 yards before I ran smack into a huge drift that blew into our road the night before. About a half hour later I got the Expedition unstuck...with the help of the little Subaru!

Winter driving tip #1 and #2: Scrape your windows and make sure your 4-wheel drive is engaged before you declare yourself stuck!

NHL's Winter Classic at Wrigley.

The NHL's Winter Classic was played at Wrigley this year...my 2 favorite things...hockey and Wrigley Field together. It was a good game too.

Here is a quicktime video of the rink set up.

Mite Hockey Festival

We spent the weekend as hockey parents, as Maxim played in his first tournament. It was entertaining to say the least. My team on average is 2 years younger than all the other teams we played...so we didn't exactly compete. As a coach it is frustrating getting beat 11 to 1 on average. Even though they don't put the score on the board, the kids know it and I know it.

Today in our final game we beat an Aberdeen team 4 to 1 or something like that...when we got into the locker room one of the boys shook up a Mountain Dew and started spraying it like it was champagne and we had just won the Stanley Cup. It ended our weekend on a positive note.

Maxim improved each game...he went from skating in the pack of kids to really trying to get the puck and a couple of times he carried it for a while, then some big 8-year-old from Sioux Falls took it away from him. He had fun and that's what mattered.

I spent the rest of the afternoon today behind the snow blower moving the 4 foot high drift in our extra parking spots...and then watching the Vikings blow it. I wonder if Coach Childress goes into the locker room and asks all the players if they had fun out there and then gives them a pep talk about the score not mattering? It works for me!

Simple.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Messing With Cassidy.

I spent most of my Christmas messing with my niece Cassidy...she is a quick-tongued teenager now and I enjoyed my time with her and Carson. Here was one of our moments where she wanted to wash out my mouth with soap.

Merry Christmas from the boys.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas all you loyal LOL readers.

The presents have been opened and the boys are playing with the 4 year old PlayStation2 and the Wii sits here, brand new games and all, with no friends to play with him...irony.

The weather down South is warm...I'm wearing shorts today...might even run outside after the main event this afternoon. Celtics vs. Lakers! I have a few side bets with co-workers on my Celtics.

We spent yesterday walking around Branson's Landing...it reminded Steph and I of Phoenix...very upscale and cool shopping area with things for the kids to do. We ate at my favorite restaurant last night, Joe's Crab Shack. B-rad, Cassidy and I made a mess with some crab and Brecken only spilled one drink, so the meal was successful.

It has been nice just hanging out with my sister's family, Cassidy is 6' tall and weighs about 50lbs., Carson, Maxim and Brecken have already earned us a phone call from the Guest Services about our noise level.

We are going to eat some shrimp and grab a movie tonight...then maybe some time in the pool and hot tub.

From our family, Merry Christmas and hope you have a peaceful holiday season...mine has been super...my phone only rang 2 times for work related reasons in the last 48 hours. I did get 145 e-mails in the last 3 days.

Blogging from the road...

We are almost to Branson, MO to spend Christmas with Brad and Sally...about 30 miles ago I finally let my dad drive...we went through every sort of cruddy weather in the first 10 hours of the trip and the rain/snow/ice/wind finally let up enough that I thought Bob could drive.

Funny how your roles change through out life...it's not like he's not a bad driver, I just feel more in control if I am driving and I don't want him to have to be stressed out about bad weather.

The boys are doing fine on their first real long trip in a while...but why wouldn't they? The Expedition is like a rolling living room...they have a DVD player, a PlayStation2 all the books you could want. If Sally and I would have traveled like that we would have not gotten into as many fights.

It is better traveling like this than it was as a kid...I like having a laptop with Internet access in a car and a MP3 player with 10,000 songs loaded up. Makes life easier and more entertaining, than seeing how many times you could smack your sister in the arm before your dad would threaten to "pull this car over and start smacking bottoms!"

Well the GPS is telling us there is only 38 miles left to get to our destination...another one of my favorite little tech tools...I haven't looked at a map in about 2 years! We will post a Christmas Picture of the family in Branson.

Enjoy your Christmas.

Show Cancelled.

So we didn't go to prison last night...weather was bad down South.

I'm sure there was a prison riot after they heard we weren't playing...like straight out of the old Sean Penn flick Bad Boys. It actually didn't break my heart, because I am super busy, and I got to spend the night with family.

I'm going to prison tonight.

Tonight I'll be doing hard time at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield...then about 3 hours later I get set free. The band I play in is doing a concert for a prison ministry. We will play about 13 songs for the inmates.

Should be pretty cool, although I'm not sure if this is a good sign of our band's future success. Our first show was a hit, about 200 people were forced to listen to us as they attended an event to benefit a local family...we had twenty-five 8-year-olds dancing in front of the stage and about the same number of 80-year-olds covering their ears in the back of the room.

I think Johnny Cash played Folsom Prison at the height of his first round of popularity...I don't want to say we have peaked, but I'll keep you posted on our next gig...if it's a birthday party, I'll know we are failing.

NHL Players Are Real People

Joe Sakic is a popular name among folks who even somewhat follow the National Hockey League. The Colorado Avalanche team Captain jacked up 3 of his fingers while running a snow blower.

You might find that funny, and anybody who runs a snow blower probably knows exactly what he did to hurt his hand. (Can you say wet, heavy snow and a blocked chute?) What I find amazing about this, is that Joe Sakic is a multi-millionaire professional athlete...and he clears his own driveway of snow. Find a guy in the NFL/NBA or MLB that does that? There might be a handful of Midwesterners in those leagues that do their own "chores", but it would be a small contingency.

So while NFLers are out there shooting themselves in the leg at nightclubs...the NHL guys are running snow blowers and mowing their own yards...another reason why I love hockey.

Read the Joe Sakic Story HERE...

Gopher Killers

Leave it to a handful of South Dakota farm girls to wreak havoc on some Gophers...Great win for State!

Read the story here...SDSU women knock off Gophers

Cowboy Brecken.

Big Sky

I went in church this morning...on the mountain...Big Sky, Montana.

If you ski or snowboard, rock climb, mountain bike or hike you know what I am talking about. It is a feeling of being keenly alive, into the wild, in the awesome creation of God. I think God made mountains to remind men how little they are and to give us a place to open our spirits to his awesomeness.

As far as the snowboarding, it was a blast for the first runs of the year. The snow wasn't deep, and all the runs are not open, but it is early season Big Sky beauty.

I got done and headed straight to the hotel hot tub...I have a feeling I will be a little tired on Monday. Well worth the pain.

Drumming Workout

A few of my musically-inclined friends and I have put together a band and we are playing a couple "shows" in December. One is at the Denalli Voss Benefit next weekend, we are looking at that as kind of our warm-up for our big show at Mike Durfee Prison. That's right just like Johnny Cash...we are playing a prison to start our career as a band! Hey, it took Johnny years to make it to the Folsom Prison.

My dad has organized a ministry at the prison for a few years and I went down one other time to play my congas for a "praise band" type of thing. Very grassroots, inmates right in front of you singing along to some popular old churchy songs.

This time my dad asked my buddy Jeremy to put together a band and play for their Christmas-time meeting. So he put together about 13 or 14 songs that we all kind of know and so far we think we have a nice little 5 piece band. Jeremy is amazing on vocals and guitar and his wife plays the keys and sings as well. Joe, a buddy of ours, plays bass like the way I wish I could play bass...and Jim, another guy that plays at church is going to join in the fun with the acoustic...Travis W. is our sound guy and we will make him help carry gear.

Last night we had our first practice...we played for about 3 hours pretty intensely. I have been playing the drums quite a bit in the last 3 years, but mostly just tame, church music that I play as loud and fast as the music leader and sound guy will let me. This new project is way harder than anything you would find in the halls of our church...still not really that hard. We play music by Kutless, Sanctus Real, Natalie Grant and Tree63 if you are familiar with them. So it is intense music and strong fast drumming...so I did that for 3 hours last night...I am sad to say...I AM SORE THIS MORNING. My shoulders and arms feel like I chopped wood for 3 days. It was a blast though, as I haven't had that much playing the drums since the time I sat in with a high school band during the girl's basketball tournament...and that was like 6 years ago!

It will be fun to see if the inmates enjoy the music and the message...I might video tape some songs and post them to the blog...or I might not...depending on how good we sound!

Denalli Voss Benefit

I made this for an up-coming benefit for a local couple who's child has a very rare disease. Her story was in the Plainsman over the Holiday weekend...read it here. (I actually hesitated posting the link to give the Plainsman credit for the story since I know who wrote it, who took the picture...they did do a nice job on the layout though!)

Please consider coming to the benefit or donating items to be auctioned.

Uncle Outsmarts Nephew in Ongoing Battle of the Pranks.

Uncle Skipper was in the 605 area code this weekend, and that means all of us nephews are on our toes watching our backs for any pranks, jokes or snuggies.

We basically mess with each other trying to play practical jokes and good verbal jabbing back and forth. It keeps us on our toes.

He showed up on Friday afternoon when I was reffing hockey, and he didn't do his usual, wait for a real quiet point during a lull in the game and then yell, "COME ON, GLANZER...GET IN THE GAME!" I waited, but it wasn't there.

The only trick I was going to play on him was one that didn't work the last time, because he caught it...so vindication would be to play the same trick and get away with it.

Alarm clocks are easy targets, and Skipper travels with one of those old analog dial clocks...glow in the dark hands and everything. (He can't tell time on a digital clock) The last time they were in town I reset their alarm for 3 AM, but he figured it out before he went to bed. So this time I set the other alarm clock that my mom has in the room all the time, thinking that he wouldn't check that one...I also sprayed a couple hits of cologne on each pillow for him to enjoy. I think that one gave away the pranks as Juanita noticed it right away, then checked the other clock in the room too.

Sometimes I feel sorry for Juanita as she is always collateral damage in the whole pranking of Skipper things that we try to pull on him. Like at the James Valley charity auction when Scotty F. buys useless things and then puts them on Skipper's number, and she ends up paying for them, I feel kind of bad about that...but then it goes away when we get Skipper to admit we pulled one on him.

The best story of the weekend came from my dad, Skipper's own brother. Mom and dad and Skip and Juanita went out to eat on Friday night and someone noticed Skipper's new glasses, and Juanita said, "yeah, I think they make him look younger!" My dad comes back right away with a classic, "Yeah, about 30 minutes younger."

That line will forever be in my quiver of insults...thanks for driving up here to make Thanksgiving interesting Uncle Skip, it was worth your expense in gas money for us.

My son is my conscience.

The other day Steph and the boys were driving behind me in another car as we all drove home...I was in the lead and as I was coming up to a stop light it turned yellow...for the record I was traveling at 30mph and the nose of my car was in the intersection when it turned yellow.

Steph and the boys stopped at the light and Maxim noticed that I had gone through the light, so he makes Steph call me and to tell me that I was sinning by going through the stoplight...he learned about going through stoplights from his mom, by the way.

We had a good laugh about it, but now he thinks it is his duty to call me out every time I break a traffic law. Yellow lights are a no-no, don't complain about old people driving slow, and don't speed...we were driving into town and I passed someone...I had to speed up to do it, and, yes, I did go over the posted 65mph, but just for a second to ensure that our family safely passed the idiot going 60. Maxim said, "Daddy is sinning again!"

I'm going to start playing a movie every time I get in a car with him so he isn't paying attention to my driving habits.

Snowboarding behind the Expedition

Last night after I got home from Montana the boys and I went right outside to play in the snow. A beautiful 4 to 6 inches of powder was all over the place and we were loving it.

Just as the sun went down, I remembered something that I had wanted to do last winter...snowboard behind a car using my wakeboard rope to pull me.

So I begged Steph and crazy enough she agreed. She brought out my snowboard, boots and I got the rope...the boys stood in the back of the Expedition with the back window up so they could yell at me, and Steph pulled me up and down the road in front of our house...IT WAS A BLAST.

I knew I couldn't have been the first person to think of doing this stunt, so I googled "snowboarding behind a car" today, and it turns out some folks call it "carboarding". I posted a video and this is exactly what we did last night except we weren't on the lake...that isn't frozen enough yet!

Quantum of Something

I'm a huge James Bond fan, and with that said, the new Bond flick is in a theatre near you. I heard some bad reviews, some said Bond was dirty and ragged all the time and it didn't stand up to the old standard of Bonds. Some said the plot was shallow...I would agree with that one...but the action made up for it.

I went to the movie in a Montana theatre tonight, action from start to finish, then just when you think the movie was wrapping up, the movie stopped. "M" was just saying something to Bond and all the sudden the screen goes black and a Fandango commercial pops up. The place went wild...you would have thought that a referee blew the biggest call in the state tournament game.

After the reset movie ended a few folks went to complain, they reset the movie to let us see the end. So they reset it and it was about 20 back from where we were in the movie when it stopped, so we watched the big final fight scene and got to the point when it stopped the first time and all we missed was 8 words! Then the credits rolled!

Most of the folks in the theatre laughed that we sat there for another half hour waiting for the last 2 lines, but when we walked out there was about 3 or 4 couples that were complaining to the manager about ruining their experience and they wanted their money back. Some people will complain about anything! I was just happy to see the end and the always cool ending credits where Bond shoots a bullet at the screen.

I was born today.

Yep, birthday number 1 after 35. No, I'm not all depressed about getting older, I'll leave that to the almost-40 year-olds named Sally Sue. In fact, I told a couple of guys I work with how old I was the other day and they didn't believe me, they made me get out my driver's license to prove my age, they thought I was 29 or 30...so I guess that's good, right. Eye of the beholder.

I celebrated another year by running 6 miles and then eating my favorite meal at Grandma Penny's last night. This morning Steph made me pancakes and sausage, another favorite I get like 2 times a year when I have time for a sit down breakfast...I ran another 6 miles and lifted super hard today...So all in all my birthday was about eating a ton of calories and then running and lifting it off...the price you pay for sitting behind a desk all day.

Last night, Brecken gave me his birthday present...he skated without a chair or leaning on the wall or any help at all! He's 2 years old and skates almost as good as some of the 5 year-olds I coach in mini-mites. I was all smiles when he skated away from the chair he was pushing, and came right up to me and tackled my leg.

Maxim also gave me a present, his was in the form of comedy. If you remember a few weeks ago, Steph cranked her ankle over in the church parking lot and it was pretty messed up. Well, Maxim must have really thought it was kind of funny to see mom laying in a pile of pain, so last night as we were walking out of church, Maxim pretends to fall, then he screams and holds his ankle...then he gets up and starts walking while dragging his "hurt" ankle behind him. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time...Steph was gonna spank him for teasing her, then she broke out in laughter.

Another life moment brought to you be DeSmet Farm Mutual.

Don Meyer Story

I'm not easily intimidated, I always feel during an initial conversation with someone I have the upper hand, because of my strong personality and ability to talk to any stranger, famous or not.

I had Bo Jackson laughing and telling me stories about his childhood like we were old friends within 3 minutes of meeting him. MLB catcher A.J. Pierzynski was hated by most reporters when he arrived at Twins training camp...I liked him and always enjoyed interviewing him. I was a little nervous when Gordie Howe was at the other end of my photographers camera, but come on...it was Mr. Hockey. Even Tom Kelly, who I am sure thought I was a high schooler, gave me a good interview and after shook my hand and said thanks with a look of respect.

The camera is a great equalizer, and most folks have trouble being comfortable in front of a camera, so I had a little help. But there were 3 people, in my almost 10 years of interviewing sports figures, that intimidated me. Charles Barkley, Randy Moss and Northern State University Head Basketball coach Don Meyer.

Barkley got easier to interview as the years went on, but Moss and Meyer were 2 guys I always got nervous to interview. Moss, more so because of the situation, in a hot locker room after a game, or on the campus of Minnesota State Mankato after a training camp workout...he didn't want to talk to us, and I knew I had 5 minutes to nail an interview with one of the best receivers of all time.

Then there is Don Meyer, the first time I drove to Aberdeen to interview him he had just finished practice and I sat him in a chair on the court...camera rolling and I started asking him questions...after one of my first questions he looked at me and said, "Well, that's not a very good question." Then expanded on it. Boom, he had the upper hand forever in our relationship of reporter and coach.

I think he brought out the best in me, because I knew each question I threw to him had to be a good one...sometimes you ask a dumb question to buy some time to think of something else to talk about. He saw right through that. He didn't know it, but he made me a better reporter. I thought he was kind of grumpy, and in the years to follow I never did get over our first meeting. He had my utmost respect and I now understand why he is such a good coach...I didn't even play for him, but I wanted to do my best to make him happy.

A month or so ago Coach Meyer was in a serious car accident...I think if you read the ESPN story you might get a glimpse as to how much of a leader/coach/quality human Don Meyer is...read it by clicking here.

"Hunnys" can't fly space ships.

For the last couple of days the Toy Story toys have had center stage at our house...it goes in cycles, sometimes it's Diego and Dora, sometimes sports, sometimes cowboys and usually Star Wars or Transformers...but Brecken pulled out Woody, our 3 Buzz Lightyears, Jessie and the little green men the other day and it has been Toy Story time ever since.

While the boys were riding in the backseat the other day, we heard Maxim say, "No Brecken, your Hunny can't fly a space ship!"

We looked at each other trying to figure out who "Hunny" was. Turns out Brecken was holding Jessie, which the boys think is Woody's wife, pretending that she was flying. So I asked Maxim who "Hunny" was...he said, "It's a someone who you are married to, and Hunny's can't fly space ships."

So Steph and I laughed a ton at the fact that I call her "Hunny" and she calls me "Hunny" a ton...at least enough that Maxim knows that is what you call, "a someone who you are married to."

This guy named Dirk is my friend...

So this dude, Dirk and his family of 33 kids and his long-suffering wife Julie, moved to Huron about 4 months ago so that he could be the Souled Out Center youth pastor. Dirk and I hit it off pretty quick because he knew one of my best friends D. Decker from Sioux Falls. (By the way, the picture off to the right is Dirk...at least I think it is...or it is a much younger, better groomed and less grey brother of Dirk, or it is Dirk and it was taken a year ago.)

In all honesty, I use Dirk to replace the lost time with Decker, because I miss all the fun he and T-Rav and I had. Don't tell Dirk, but he is kind of a poor-man's D. Decker and he's good for a few laughs every now and then and a couple of text messages.

Dirk got a new computer so he can stay hooked up with all the kiddies and young adults that he ministers to, and it came equipped with a built in web cam and he has been sending these crazy videos to me and of course I post them to my youtube web channel, just to torture him and let other know how funny Dirk thinks he is.

This one I attained kind of on the down-low...it was sent to his wife while he was working in his home office, he has like 3 different accents and then gets spastic about coming upstairs to eat tacos for lunch...I was told to post it and then the person slipped me a $50.

In all reality Dirk is one of the most solid guys I know, he's a great pastor, and a great friend, but this is what guys do to each other to show their love, they bust each others chops, punch each other in the shoulder and post their stupid videos on-line. (He also listens to pretty girly music)

Mayne Street

As a former sports anchor I had some hero's in the job, guys that did the same job as I...just way better than me, and most of them on bigger networks, Mark O., Barry Melrose, Keith Olbermann, Suzy Kolber and Willow Bay to name a few.

I even became e-mail friends with ESPN's John Buccigross after I gave him a little heads up on the kid phenom Thomas Vanek prior to his service at the U of Minnesota and then on to his current NHL stardom.

There is one guy whom I think is the best all around anchor that ESPN ever turned out...Kenny Mayne. I was not sure if he just had good writers or he was that funny and clever. Well, ESPN must have realized that their current crew of anchors is lacking some punch and they brought back Kenny in a web-series called Mayne Street. I'm not sure what the series will be like, but here is the first installment, classic Mayne.

If it's a boy we are giving it away...

A funny story re-surfaced this morning while I was chatting with our neighbor.

A while back Stephanie asked Maxim if he wanted a brother or sister (in case you didn't know we are expecting a new human in the family in February). He said he wanted a sister and he wants to name it Rebecca. In his mind, in no way shape or form are we having anything but a little sister.

So Steph asked him what happens if we have a baby boy...he said he would give it to the neighbors Gayle and Kathy, because they don't have any kids...just dogs. We got a great laugh out of that, and then promptly told Gayle and Kathy about it.

Gayle's response was classic, "ahhhh, no way, I've already been there done that and married him off." or something to that effect.

I can't wait until February when the baby arrives, if it is a girl we will call our parents first and tell them the great news....if it is a boy, I am calling Gayle and Kathy first and telling them their great news. We can figure out some visitation times I'm sure.

I must be getting older.

We just had our first storm of the year...it wasn't even that bad. Barely any snow and a little wind, temps were normal for this time of the year.

The crazy thing is I am usually excited about snow in my yard, but all I can think about is moving to Florida, Arizona or Texas or Belize or somewhere warm all the time.

Steph's love of ankle injuries.

Steph has broke her left ankle playing softball...broke her right ankle in a car accident when she was 7 months prego with Brecken, then about a day before we left for Arizona last year she was hauling Breck down to bed and she severely sprained her right ankle walking down steps.

It's been a while and now that she is in her 7th month of pregnancy it was time for some drama. Tonight when she was taking the boys to the car to take them home from church, she somehow rolled her ankle enough to send us to the ER to make sure it wasn't broken.

Once the pain dulled down we laughed. She will be in a boot for a week or so and she should be fine after about 3 weeks. She didn't even sprain her bad ankle, it was her "good" ankle. Now I guess they are both sketchy.

The good news is that we have all the medical equipment one would ever need to care for an ankle injury.

High School Football Reunion

As most of you know I spent almost 10 years in the TV business anchoring sports...just like Sarah Palin, but I was in a bigger market than Wasilla, AK.

The local sports scene became such a big part of my existence I never thought I would disconnect from sports at that level...boy was I wrong. After leaving TV in late 2004 I also left the high school sports scene. I didn't go to a prep level event for almost a year, and then only went to a couple of game where Steph's relatives were playing. (reffing hockey is excluded from this)

Last night as I was heading into Sioux Falls I realized that it was the quarterfinals of the high school football playoffs, so I made a couple of calls and I ended up watching the Lincoln/Roosevelt game from the sidelines just like old times.

It was the first high school football game I had been to in almost 5 years! It was a fun homecoming of sorts...running into old friends, colleagues and coaches. I kind of forgot how much fun it was to be right there on the sidelines.

I actually followed the guys back to KSFY and hung out for the broadcast of the sports that night...it was fun but it also made me realize I don't miss the TV business as much as I thought I did.

I am glued to the TV again tonight as it looks like "CHANGE" will be in our future as far as the new President is concerned.

My Neice...the abstract artist.

My Niece Cassidy is one of the funniest, most enjoyable middle schoolers I have ever been around. I think it comes from spending so much time around her Uncle Tom. She is wise beyond her years.

She is also giving Andy Warhol a run for his money with her art work. She sent me her latest masterpiece...I might pay her for an original, frame it and hang it in our living room...or I might just right click on it and make it my desktop wallpaper.

Either way, I think it is a beautiful painting Cassidy.