Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

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.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

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.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

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.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

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.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

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.


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

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.

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

Sunday, December 07, 2008

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.

Friday, December 05, 2008

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!

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

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.


Monday, December 01, 2008

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.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

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.

Monday, November 24, 2008

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!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

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.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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.

Monday, November 17, 2008

"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."

Thursday, November 13, 2008

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)


Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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.


Monday, November 10, 2008

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.

Friday, November 07, 2008

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.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

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.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

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.


Friday, October 31, 2008

I'm rerunning a post from last year...

I don't think I have ever rerun a post, but it makes sense today after I took a quick walk around my building.

To read a timeless blog click here.....

BOB UPDATE: Papa Bob is coming home today from the hospital, we are planning a little party at his house, eating his food and drinking his IBC Root Beers.

The boys want to bring over the game Operation to play with him...I actually used the game last night to teach the boys what the doctors did to him. I think Maxim thought that was cool and he wants to show Grandpa how his nose turned red when the doctors took out his old knee parts with a tweezers.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Papa Got A Brand New...knee?

So Papa Bob underwent the knife this morning.

He now joins the likes of Mary Lou Retten, Angela Lansbury, and countless other baby boomers who need help making it into their golden years by getting a shiny new titanium knee.

The surgery went great and the Docs say he should be rolling around on the floor with the boys by the end of the week.

So for all those of you who in jest told Bob at one point in his life, "See you later, when your legs are straighter." Well, the next time you see him will be that time!

Here is a video of what they did to his knee.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Hunt Video

A quick video I made for the guys in my hunting party.



Thursday, October 23, 2008

Class Pictures.

As I look back on some of my school pictures I think I took some of the funniest pictures...like my first grade picture just off to the right...classic school picture, you have seen that one on the blog before.

Maxim got his kindergarten pictures back this week...he looks completely normal. Not that I am disappointed or expected any different, but my pictures were always laughable...Maxim gets his photogenic traits from Steph...every one of her school pictures looks like a Glamour Shot.

So here they are, side by side, Maxim's kindergarten picture and his dad's kindergarten picture.






Friday, October 17, 2008

Gone Hunting.

GONE HUNTING
I might blog in the next 6 days, I might not...check back when you can.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Holy Bloggsville.

Apparently this blogging thing is going around our family like a head cold.

LOL guest blogger Brent started his a few weeks ago, then on the secret down-low "members and invite only" his brother Jon started an invite only blog...that I think Ann might be in charge of editing. Don't look around for a link, that is top secret family only. We have to have some privacy around here.

The latest to get blogging is the one person that probably taught us all the most about computers...Lil' AJ broke his silence with a Dog-Blog...visit that one here. Or follow the link to the right...I put him under his brother simply because of age.

Now I guess we will wait for Uncle Skipper and Scotty to suit-up and start blogging. Scotty blogging might be a stretch because of all that wedding planning he is doing now. So I guess you are next in line Skipper! I think http://www.barnburner.blogspot.com/ might still be open for you!

Opps Skipper, some dude from Italy beat you to the barnburner.blogspot.com URL.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

This one is for Sally...

For some reason Rick Springfield songs have been flying around the office lately. he did play the Corn Palace this year and one of the gals went to the show...so we give her a hard time about getting old.

From the stories I have heard he is pretty good in concert these days, even at 59 years old...the guy is ripped too.

So I was looking on youtube.com for a song to terrorize my co-worker with, and I found this and couldn't help but think of my sister, who loved and most likely still loves Rick's music.


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Messin' With Sasquatch.

If you watch ESPN or any sporting event you have most likely seen the Jack's Links "Messin With Sasquatch" commercials.

One of the newest ones is a favorite of my boys. They come up to me with a pretend shook up drink then say, "here big fella, want a cold one?"

Then I open it pretend to get sprayed in the face and then chase them and push them down...I know it sounds lame, but we do this for hours.

The commercials are right up their with the freecreditreport.com commercials in my book, about the only creative spots out there.

Here is the one we love.


Monday, October 13, 2008

It's like Juneau up in here!

The rain has been pretty persistent over the last 8 days...the sun came out today and nobody knew what it was. Reminded me of my days living in Juneau, Alaska.

One thing that stuck with me from living in Alaska was that when it rains you don't stop your outside activities. If you did up there you would end up inside for weeks at a time.

The boys like it outside in the rain so the other day we went out for a little playing in the puddles.


Sunday, October 12, 2008

Pheasant Tales: Maxim The Hunter

This weekend was the resident/public land opener for pheasant season...kind of the "hey, we live here...we get to hunt our land first" weekend. On Saturday about 10 of us guys from around the lake hunted the public ground just across the road from our house. I wanted Maxim to go with and he was more than happy to get out his new hunting vest and go walk the field with his dad and some buddies.

Saturday was great, a little bit of mist in the air and the dogs worked great. Annie was a solid as the last 12 years I have hunted behind her and Lilly finally started as good as when she is about 3 days tired. Meaning she didn't run like a crazy English Pointer, but she was controlled and solid. Both dogs had 2 points each the first day where birds were taken over their heads, and one was about the coolest thing ever. Where both dogs were pointing the same bird, (Lilly actually honoring Annie's find) and I gave the shot to a friend's kid...he nailed it with one shot and was super excited.

Maxim walked about 2.5 miles with us and loved every minute of it...we did a lot of pretending that we were Clone Troopers and fighting the bad guys. Hey, if Star Wars gets him into the wild, let it be.

Sunday was raining all day long, but I felt the call of the wild to get out in nature again, so with a steady rain falling, I asked Maxim if he wanted to go hunt again, and he was ready with his full-on rain suit and rain boots.

We walked about 2 miles and he loved it. Lilly had the only 3 points of the day...the first was a hen, the 2nd was a rooster that I took with one shot, and the 3rd point was the scariest thing I have ever been a part of...

Right at the end of our hunt, Lilly locked on point and I approached her from my usual 45 degree angle, and I noticed that she started creeping forward, so I stopped about 10 feet from her with Maxim right at my side. Since I thought the pheasant was moving I let Lilly creep without "whoaing" her. As she crept I noticed that there wasn't much cover to the area she was going, so I scanned a little harder at that spot.

In the "wild" your senses are always pretty keen and alert, and I always love the adrenaline rush I get when one of my dogs go on point...it's the rush of the hunt for me. The big pause before the explosion of wings. This was one of those "story" moments. I loved the fact that Maxim was right there with me in the controlled environment of dog, gun, father, rain, adrenaline, nature, and bird.

As Lilly crept I noticed a lump of strange grass that almost looked like a rock for a second...then it dawned on me that it wasn't a rock, and it wasn't happy and Lilly was about 2 feet from a Red-tailed Hawk with about a 4 foot wingspan and a huge open beak. I tried to call her off, but she was locked...so was the hawk. I swear it looked into my soul and noticed the fear it caused me. I had grabbed Maxim's arm and pulled him right to my side. I quickly pointed out the hawk to Maxim and said, "look right there." Just then Lilly was about a foot away from the hawk.

I didn't know what the hawk was protecting, a fresh kill or a nest so I decided that Lilly needed to get away from the area...no sense in paying a vet bill. She didn't respond to my calls so I had to buzz her on her collar, that got her attention and she came right to my side. I called in Annie and with Maxim's hand in mine we slowly walked by one ticked off hawk...about 8 feet away. The closest I have ever been to a bird that size that wasn't in a zoo.

I kind of high-tailed it out of the area since I didn't want it to attack my dogs or my son, and then Maxim and I went into full story mode. We relived the tense moments staring down a hawk and when Lilly went right up to it and it didn't move.

I can't help but wonder if he fully understood how cool today was for his dad, but I think these moments are what makes life on Earth.

Friday, October 10, 2008

New Addition Coming Soon...

I haven't officially blogged about the newest member of the family, because...well, it isn't exactly here yet. We are expecting another kid in February...we have no idea if it is a boy or a girl, but we are pretty sure it is human.

Pretty sure, because we had the ultrasound yesterday, and the technology for that has developed quite a bit since Maxim was in utero. Now with the 3D version you almost can see what your kid will look like before you get it. It does look a bit alien on the video, but at times you can see features and fingers and toes.

With that new technology I invite you to take a look at our new baby on the video below. We will call it Baby G for now.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Bob's Knee 2.0

If you know my dad you know his knee.
It was an old soccer injury from college, back in the dark ages of medicine where instead of fixing the knee, they just tore out everything. So instead of some cartilage between his bones he has bone on bone...sounds like fun.

I think the general public has prescribed a new knee for Bob for many years, but I think he was hesitant to jump on the original "hack and stack" old knee replacement they came up with about 10 years ago. So it is 2008, and he is finally convinced that the Doctors know what they are doing and he will go under the knife later this month.
He went to "knee camp" on Monday which must be a bunch of 60-something former athletes sitting around a doctors office pretending they are inmates at a prison...."So what are you in for?" Then they all give their back stories on how they tweaked-up their knees.
Almost like an AA meeting...the scene at Knee Camp goes something like this.
Bob - "Hi, my name is Bob, this is my first time at knee camp."

The Group - "Hi, Bob."

Bob - "I blew my knee out in the 60's and some doctor hacked me up pretty bad...now I really don't know what to do, I mean people tell me I need a new knee, and it hurts....it hurts pretty bad." (some tears are shed here, and a rather large woman hobbles over to Bob and hugs him...)

Large Woman - "It's OK Bob, let it out."
Bob - "All I want to do is ride my horse, shoot my guns and play with my grand kids...and I am scared, really scared that this won't help."
80 year old golfer - "It's OK Bob, we are all here for you."
And "boom" like that dad came back from Knee Camp with a new lease on life, his knee is getting fixed, which should straighten it back out and make his left leg as long as his right leg while standing. He won't have to buy size 36 x 32 x 30 Wranglers anymore, and Penny won't have to hem up the left leg of his dress pants any more.
I'll keep you updated on Bob's Knee version 2.0 throughout the surgery and recovery process, and I think since I am family I am not violating any HIPAA Laws.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Fantasy Football Team For Sale.

So I complained about the Cubs performance in the playoffs in yesterday's post, but I will not complain about the way they were managed...I love Lou Piniella, and beg him to stick around for another couple years. I believe in what he has done, even when we lose...which coming from my family is pretty good considering that my Grandpa Walt used to say that Tom Kelly was a "dummy", all the while the Twins were winning World Series titles.

So as far as being a manager of a team I am having a slump right now...after a couple years of Fantasy Football success stories, 2 trophies and a couple of great runs in the championship game I have started the year 0-4.

I would fire myself, but I don't think it is my fault, so I want to sell my franchise. If anyone wants to buy them I can put together a pretty good package deal, you don't even have to worry about a stadium to play in...all you need is an Internet connection and a computer made before 1999.

The worst part about my horrible start, is that my brother-in-law is undefeated and leading the league. Thanksgiving is not going to be fun if I don't start winning some games here soon!

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Sick from bad baseball, and also a Birthday wish.

I purposely didn't blog about the great regular season the Chicago Cubs had this year because I didn't want to jinx the run for our first World Series title in 100 years. Well, the run is over. In typical Cubs fashion they self-destructed with horrible offensive production and errors all over the field. We were eliminated in the first round without winning a game.

I was physically sick on Saturday night watching they waste away the season with their unpassionate performance...but as a loyal Cubs fan, I am used to saying this..."Next year is our year!"

Now that my sports-rant is over, I must wish my favorite sister a happy 39th birthday. Sal is the reason I love figure skating, the reason I can duck out of the way of flying object while I play the drums, the reason I don't put mayo on my cucumbers or coldmeat sandwiches. She taught me the glory of french onion chip dip, Little House on the Prairie, and the Brady Bunch.

She was a super babysitter for many years, and a super friend...just wish we would get to see each other a bit more.

Happy Birthday, Sal!

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Raccoon Hunting

We live in the country now and part of the deal you get on the outskirts of town include mice, bugs, and other critters that frequent the great outdoors...no big deal really, until a raccoon tries to get into your back door.

We did have one other raccoon encounter at our house...I was gone at the time, but lucky for us our next door neighbors are gun-toting officers of the law, and they had a pretty good time shooting a raccoon that had gone up a tree in between our house and the neighbor's house.

So yesterday around 4:00ish Steph calls all out of breath, "a raccoon was scratching at our bedroom screen door trying to get in!" She thought is was a cat at first, then realized that it's a cat you don't want to pet. She closed the sliding glass door and the 'coon just sat on our deck for a while and then went back by our dog kennel and they were going nuts barking and scratching at it.

So when I got home I got out the .12 gauge, and let the dogs out and it was still there all frightened and hidden under some stuff that is in between our garage and our neighbor's garage...Annie actually pointed it right away, I called them off and got them both back in the kennel and proceeded to throw stuff at the raccoon until it climbed up on some stuff where I could get a good shot at it.

The problem was if I shot it where it was at that point I would have blown a hole in my garage, so I sent Steph in to get the Red Ryder BB gun. I shot it about 4 times with that to make it uncomfortable and just tick it off enough for it to move into a different position. That worked perfect and I blew it's face off from about 10 feet away.

The boys of course wanted to see it so I scooped it up with a shovel and laid it on the road...they gawked for a while and then we threw it across a field in a ditch. As Maxim would say, "Good times, Dad, good times."

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Dropping to a knee...Scotty-Style

(a little poem to celebrate Scotty F. getting engaged)

You might know this gent by his other names,
Scooter, Waldo or Scotty, it's all the same,
He's the bachelor that could never settle down,
And he is known by everyone in every town.

He always has time for a visit or a chat,
And he usually is wearing that colorful number 24 hat.
Although he loves Jeff Gordon we still think he's cool,
But if Kasey Kahne saw him he would bump draft him into a pool.

Then a few years ago he met this girl named Stephanie from the Falls,
And ever since he met her, his mother says he never calls.
A year ago he brought her to meet the family tree,
She wasn't scared of us, she actually liked Skipper, and me.

Scotty was smitten with her we all could tell that,
She even went to the races and let him wear that dumb Jeff Gordon hat.
So now some months later their love has grown,
And as Aaron said, "the family blog must let to the world be known..."

That at the NASCAR race last week in K.C.
Scotty dropped to a knee,
and said, "Stephanie, my love, will you marry me?"

Skipper and Nate caught her as she felt a little faint,
The green flag dropped and some cars traded paint,
She couldn't speak for almost an entire lap around the track,
Then she stood on her own, and answered him back...

She said, "yes", and the crowd cheered on through,
Scotty and Linda hugged Steph, and Amy did too.
He gave her the ring that he had held onto so tight,
The race went on and they all celebrated that night.

Yes, this poem is somewhat true,
He sent me a text message so I could tell you.
Waldo is engaged and we all send congrats to he and his friend
Now Linda won't have to do his wash each weekend.


CONGRATS STEPH AND SCOTT!
(jeff gordon is a loser, KASEY KAHNE RULES!)

Monday, September 29, 2008

The Brothers In The Great Outdoors

So on Saturday, on a whim, we packed the Expedition and the boat and headed for our favorite campground...Lewis & Clark right outside of Yankton.

You might say, Tom you have been traveling for the past 5 weeks, why would you want to go camping??? We needed a break from life, well actually Steph needed a break from the house and the boys.

The water was great, and the wind was non-existent so the on-water activities were a blast. I forgot how much I love that lake...Sorry Lake Byron, but the Lewis & Clark reservoir has you beat.

The boys, aka...the Wild Animals...were returned to their natural habitat for 48 hours and everyone was happy. They hugged trees, rolled in sand, took wizzes in places they shouldn't have and rode their bikes about 3 miles.

Yes, Maxim got off the gravel road in front of our house and actually got to ride on real pavement...he rocked it, and Brecken with his little bike and training wheels tried his hardest to keep up. He pumped his little pistons for 2 whole miles on Sunday morning...it was great.
We took some pictures of the loving brothers out in the "wild", and isn't it amazing when you take a picture and it captures the very essence of each child...go ahead and click on the picture to the left, and note Maxim's caring and loving nature...embracing his little brother with a hint of leadership and guidance. Also note Brecken's face...it is the look he gives right before he hits you.
Then note the very next frame...where Brecken delivered a "junk punch" to his big loving, nurturing and sometimes bossy brother. I also think Brecken's face is alot happier in the 2nd photo...which explains a lot about this little man.

This will be one of those pictures that will live a life of it's own in about 12 years at Maxim's graduation...and then again at his wedding...when his little brother gives the "Best Man" speech.

Friday, September 26, 2008

A stinky hotel, tiny TV and drained hot tubs.

I usually stay at the Hampton Inn Hotel chains...I stayed in Yankton tonight and it is a town without a Hampty, so I chose a hotel based on the pictures on Orbitz.com.

It had a nice pool, and a Minerva's restaurant attached to it. So based on the fact that Minerva's is one of the swankest restraint "mini-chains" in SD I picked this Best Western joint. Big mistake. The Minerva's is the best thing that happened to this 1970's showpiece of Yankton's Eastside.

To quote Maxim..."It smelled like a wet cow" in the hotel room. It did have newer carpet, but the comforter and bedding was brand new in 1984...it screamed Miami Vice. I cranked open both windows and aired it out. If Steph would have been along we would not have stayed at this dump...she is a bit of a hotel-Nazi, which I am fine with.

I got done working out and decided to hit the hot tub...but it was drained...another strike.

So I just flopped on the hard mattress to watch some sports on a 25" TV...The Twins won, and the Cubbies lost...so a 50-50 night.

It doesn't really matter how the Cubs do for the next few games since they clinched the division, but I don't like to see them slump going into our World Series run.

Needless to say it wasn't worth the $120 I didn't have to pay for it, but I will never stay there again...I can't wait to get home on Friday night and sleep in my own bed...even if I have to share it at 4:30 a.m. with a 6 year old pillow-stealer, a 2 year old wildman and my blanket-hogging wife.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The humming road...

I drove from Kearney to Grand Island, Nebraska today...the road was built with 500,000 recycled tires...or some crazy number like that.

The construction of that road causes your tires to make this high pitched humming sound...like a guy on a sportbike was always revving his motor to pass you.

Its interesting for 2 minutes...then annoying for 45!

Tom Solo

When you are on the road for travel you do a lot of things alone that you would usually do with family or friends.

One of those things is eat. I usually eat at chain sit-down type restaurants...tonight it was the Red Lobster. When I roll SOLO I always find a TV and sit down to watch a game or whatever is on. This means I sit at the bar and eat next to some other traveling dude.

I always have this desire to talk to the other dudes and I make sure that they know I am traveling for work, as if they would think I am some crazy loser eating by myself. I don't mind eating alone every once in a while, but it is nice to have the boys to goof off with, and Steph to gaze at me telling me with her eyes to try a little bit harder to control the boys.

The other thing I have noticed is how little time it really takes me to eat at a place like this when alone...last night I was in and out in less than 20 minutes...this would usually be at least an hour episode with the boys. Sometimes I feel like I really didn't get my money's worth by leaving that quickly...but it gives me more time to get back to the hotel and sleep.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Dock Party.

This weekend was one of those bitter-sweet weekends as our usual group of "younger" guys went around the lake pulling docks and boat lifts out for the winter.

Our crew and another group started at noon on one corner of the lake and about 15 residents later had completed our loop. There is still one or 2 left to do, but nothing big. It kind of amazes me how efficient we have become in our labor...every house is different, each place has different equipment and a different shoreline or it needs to be floated out. It took us 6.5 hours to do all of them, but the work goes quickly.

I guess with the exception of a couple of wakeboard sessions that I am bound to sneak in over the next few weeks that is the official end of another summer. Way to short this year.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Garbage to the head.

So tonight me and the boys were rolling solo, which kind of means I was babysitting. Steph pulled me on the wakeboard for a session, and then bailed off with her girlfriends for some Mexican food.

Maxim had to sign up for hockey so we zipped into town got some food, then spent an hour signing up and visiting with hockey friends. A bunch of Maxim's buddies were there so we let the kids run around the hockey rink. Both boys were red-cheeked and thirsty when it was time to leave, so I hit the gas station.

I filled up the Subaru, (which now has 172,000 miles on it) and picked up a Vitamin Water for Breck and a Milk for Maxim. Maxim pulled the "down and out". He slammed the milk and fell asleep a block later. Brecken was up for the long haul.

When I was climbing back into the car a bug landed in my hair, and so for about 5 minutes I feel as if I have this bug crawling all over me, you know the feeling. Then about half way home, this bug keeps landing in the back of my hair...again, and again...every time I get all school-girl freaked out that this bug is trying to nest in my head.

Then it hits like 3 times in a row real quick, and it feels like it is on my neck, so I am in full squirmish mode while driving in the dark at 65 mph. So I grab my neck where the bug is sitting in hopes to end it's life, and I realize that there is a tissue on my neck...and a couple more on my shoulder and back. Then I get hit by one of those rubber shoes (Crocs) that Brecken had on...I yell at him to stop and he laughs.

A little bit later I'm on the phone with cousin Erkel and he starts again with the throwing things...a couple of tissues (where they came from I have no idea) and then the other shoe, and finally the empty bottle of Vitamin Water!!! Pretty much everything he threw hit me in the head. Eric said he had no pity for me, and I actually think he was cheering Brecken on to keep throwing more junk at me.

When we got home and I opened the door to the backseat, there was tore up tissues ALL OVER.

I said, "Brecken, that was naughty, you made a mess!"

He said, "Brother do."

Someday he will learn not to blame things on his sleeping brother.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

#2 with a Coke Zero...

So they tore down the McDonald's in town this week, and now that I can't have a Number 2 with a Coke Zero, funny how that makes me completly crave a McDonald's greasy burger and cold fries.

I heard someone say that its gonna be 3 months before the new one is done...now when we lived in SF we had about 5 Micky-D's to choose from, so when they tore down one I just drove to the other one...but in the H-ron there is only 1...so I'm am like a junkie without a fix.

This might be a blessing, because I have been stuck at 199lbs for about 2 months, it doesn't matter how hard I work out or how good I eat, I am not making any progress to my 6-pack abs. Maybe 90 days without McDonald's will do the trick.

Shoot the whole town might lose some weight...and if you have ever been to Wal-Mart on a given night, you know some people around here could use a little less McDonald's...me included.

Side note: If they tear down Godfather's we are moving back to Sioux Falls...the next day.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Reason to blog...

This blog is turning into one of those small town weekly newspapers...sorry but things are a bit slow around our house and I haven't had that burning desire to write lately.

But we do have a reason to blog today...because tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept 10 is Uncle Skip's B-Day.

So send him your best or better yet, drive to his house and chase him around for about 10 minutes threatening to spank him...call them Barn Burners and give him about 64? of them.

I speak on behalf of all the cousins when I say we loved and hated our birthdays because of Uncle Skipper "the Whipper".

We did love running from him and in all reality the whole Barn Burner thing was pretty fun. Now that he is almost 70 I think I could hold him over my knee for 60-some whoopin's.

Happy B-day ya old dog.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Sleeping In.

I've been working 12 hour days for about 8 days now...so I slept in today.

It was great.

I got up at 7:30 a.m. and didn't even feel guilty. I would have slept longer but Brecken came into our room around 6:00 a.m. and decided to sleep upside down in bed. When he does this you know you are going to get kicked in the face at some point.

I remember in college we used to sleep until 10:30 a.m. or some days just turn the TV on and stay in bed until we needed to eat.

Kids make life fun, but they wreck mornings sometimes with their energy...I left the house today and the boys were chasing each other with a shoe, a toy gun, a blanket and a can of WD-40...who knew that those 4 items could be such entertainment at 10 minutes to 8? Steph was still in bed...LUCKY.

Friday, August 29, 2008

The Fair. The End of Summer.

The SD State Fair has a special place in our family's heart, after all it is one of the reason we moved to Huron from Wessington Springs back in the mid-70's, as dad was the State Fair Manager.

Yesterday was the big kick off of the end of summer celebration, and in typical family fashion I was there from about 7am to 11pm...working our booth, emcee duties at the Freedom Stage and we hit the bullriding last night.

I don't know what it is about the fair that I love so much, but I also, in a way, always hated the fair because it marks the end of summer. The nights are cool and the days are shorter and school REALLY starts after Labor Day.

It seems like Fall is here and the clock on "lake time" is ticking...anyone want to help get the boat lift and dock out of the water...before the water gets colder?

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Just like the fights at our house...

Guest Blooger Brent S. sent this video to me from the movie Never Back Down...it must have been shot from a camera phone during the taping of the movie.

Reminds me of the fights at our house. Maxim will do all these cool Jedi and Kung Fu Panda moves...then Brecken just slugs him and walks away.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Happy B-Day to my Aunts.

My aunt Gloria and Linda have birthdays only a year and couple days apart...makes me think that Grandma and Grandpa had pretty busy schedules 60-some years ago right up until about Christmas day...if you do the math.

So today Gloria is celebrating her 2nd anniversary of her 30th birthday...which used to seem old, but now that I'm 30-something 60 is the new 40....so Happy 40th Aunt Glo.

Hard to believe these 2 young looking, hip ladies are another year older...their 2 brothers on the other hand....NOW THOSE DUDES LOOK OLD, AND WRINKLED AND 1 OR 2 STEPS FROM THE NURSING HOME!

Friday, August 22, 2008

11 year reunion

The summer after college I went to Alaska to help my sister and brother-in-law at Echo Ranch...a great opportunity and time well-enjoyed in Alaska turned into a couple of lifelong friendships thanks to the Internet and e-mail, one buddy in England and the other in Canada.

One of those guys was Donovan Epp from Canada. We hit it off from the start and have been in touch on and off through the years. Trading pictures of weddings, kids, and life event type stuff.

We hadn't seen each other since I left Alaska and somethings had worked out over the last couple weeks, that Dono and family were going to be in the area. So after a couple hitches in the schedule we finally hooked up in Mitchell on Wednesday night.

The visit was cut short by some unfortunate circumstances, but we had a blast and even though our wives or kids had never met, it was like everyday friends getting together for a little pizza.

There is one picture of Dono and I from Alaska that we both have and it has sat on every desk I have ever worked at...he's in my cowboy hat, and chaps and I have this killer thrift store shirt of his on...don't ask what led up to this photo, but it is a classic.

So we took another pic in the parking lot of the hotel on Wednesday before they got back on the road to celebrate our little reunion...here are the 2 photos.



Monday, August 18, 2008

Kindergartener

The whole first day of school turned out to be a pretty big non-event for Steph and I. I walked him in, dropped off his backpack and turned him loose on the playground. He found a buddy and was GONE. Didn't even wait to give me a hug or anything.



Here is the first day of school photo, and yes that is another black eye. His right eye just healed up and is no longer black, and on Saturday night he ran into some lumber. I promise that is how it happened...I am seriously worried about people thinking we beat the kid, but both incidents happened at Grandma Penny's so I guess she has an unsafe home.


So starts the journey....oh yeah, Grandmas...you can click on the picture for a BIG version of it.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

First day of school.

NEMO - First day of school! First day of school! Wake up, wake up! C'mon, first day of school!

MARLIN - I don't wanna go to school. Five more minutes.

NEMO - Not you, dad. Me!

NEMO - Get up, get up! It's time for school! It's time for school! It's time for school!It's time for school! Oh boy! Oh boy!

--Taken from the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo--
______________________________
Why do I have a feeling that this will be the exchange between me and Maxim on Monday? You mean to tell me I have to have the kid at school before 8:30! I think I can do that. No more working on Montana time for me!
Yep, kindergarten starts next week. He could care less. The only long term planning he has right now is Friday's opening of the new Star Wars movie The Clone Wars. He's been talking about that since May.
I feel sorry for his teacher, she had better brush up on her Transformers, Star Wars, Dinosaurs and Army Guys. I would love to be a fly on the wall for his first week of school.
I'm not sure he knows how long this whole school thing is. I think he is expecting a week or two of activity-based fun with buddies. Reality will set in around March, when he is still going to school...then in 5th grade it hits you...that you aren't even half done with your education.
Then when you are in your 30's you start thinking about going back to get your Master's.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Every 4 years...

Those of you who were in grade school in the '80's with me...do you remember your teacher telling you that you were going to learn the metric system of measurements, and that it would replace the English Standard Measurements in a few years.

What happened to that? I'm still filling up with gallons of gas, driving in miles at miles per hour and trying to contain my weight under 200 lbs. (I would much rather be weighed in Kilo's or stones...sounds a lot better)

With the Olympic in full swing I am doing a lot of conversions in my head trying to figure out what something or someone weighs. It's really annoying to think that I could enjoy the Olympics without doing a bunch of math in my head if my teachers would have followed through a bit.

I feel that the push to continue to turn America from English Standard to the Metric system got lost somewhere in the Clinton administration's "to do list".

I wonder if the American athletes that compete in events using different measurements bother to do the conversions. I think it would be good mentally to not do them...for instance if you were in weight lifting...67 Kilos...Ohhh I lift 67 pounds all the time.

It only worked in track and field, everyone know how far meters are, until you do the 5K.

For the record, I am in the running to win a bronze medal in Olympic event viewing.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Somewhat Old Music Day...like 4 Non-Blondes old

Since I entered the digital music world a few years ago with my first MP3 player, I have found that I rarely take any CD cases with me on road trips or day to day activity. While it is super nice to have 3 CD cases full of music on one little device, I realize that I seldom listen to some really good non-current music that I have in my collection.


Like music from my college days...I just never ripped it to my computer and downloaded it to my MP3 player out of sheer laziness. Last month I put 2 of the most definitive albums of my generation on my device, Pearl Jam's "Ten" and Nirvana's "Nevermind". It had been months if not years since I had listened to either album.


So over the last couple weeks I have been pulling some "college music" out of the case and giving it some rotation on the MP3 player. A couple of old U2 discs, They Might Be Giants, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Material Issue, Rush, Seven Mary 3, Gear Daddies, The Nixons, a 2 disc Johnny Cash gem, and House of Pain.


Now when I have the player on "shuffle" and an "old song" comes on, it's like new music to my old ears...try it this weekend. Dig way back in the cd library and pull out that old 4 Non-Blondes CD...it will take you to another time and place.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Maxim vs. a doorknob

Let this be a lesson to all children reading this blog...never run away from your parents when they tell you to put your pajamas on.

But if you do run away, make sure you are looking forward not back at your parents or you will jack your eyeball on a door knob.



Last Night...right after the incident.

This morning...Brecken keeps looking in mirrors to see if something has grown over his eye too.



YO, Adrian......

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Canton, SD...North Dakota's Dirty Ashtray.

Yeah, I've been away, sorry. But I do come back funny. I love Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central...every once in a while he makes fun of places I've been to, like the Butte, MT episode and last night he made fun of Canton, SD. I actually can't think of anything in Canton except the cop that trys to bust everyone going through town.

So here is the clip...MOM, sorry about his potty mouth, but they do bleep it out.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Win-DDDD

I spent the last half of the week working in the Aberdeen and and Webster area...on early Thursday morning they got hit with a pretty nasty storm. 112 mph straight line winds for an extended period of time.

We had power out at several different towns, but Webster was the worst hit, and some customers are still out today (Saturday). Being in town right after the storm reminded me a lot of Spencer's tornado. Everyone was just walking around looking at broken stuff. (I'd put pictures up on the site, but I'm too lazy)

I actually like the emergency communications side of my job, there is a lot of energy and the days go super fast...but I don't get to see my family.

So on Friday night when I got home the boys wanted to wrestle and play...Steph had set up the slip-and-slide, and within 5 minutes of pulling in the driveway I had a swimming suit on and was flying down a sheet of plastic filled with freezing cold water. A great way to start the weekend off. The boys loved it when I threw them down the slide like bowling balls. We ate at the lake restauraunt with Papa Penny, as Brecken would call them...they are kind of like one person to him. Today is their 40th wedding anniversary. The prime rib was stellar.

We hung out on the deck for the rest of the evening enjoying some natural air conditioning, and capped the night off with a skateboard session on our halfpipe with Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda watching the boys show off.

We have some friends coming from Sioux Falls this evening, so should be a party for the rest of the weekend.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

New Job Title On My Resume'

Let's start out by saying I am still up in the air about the new South Dakota High School sport of Competitive Dance Team or Competitive Cheering. I'm not gonna argue, the girl's are athletes and it takes athleticism to compete, but I find it hard to think that someday I will get to watch highlights of "competitive cheering" on the local news at night, and I will care about the outcome of a competition, or whom the state champion is.

With that said, one of Steph's friends coaches the "Competitive Dance Team" at Iroquois High School, and she asked if I would put together their dance routine music. I have watched the movie "Bring It On" and have caught some of this "competitive cheering" on ESPN 2 at 1:30 in the morning, and I kind of understood what she wanted. I like a challenge, and I have never edited a music mix of this sort, so it would be a new job title I could bestow on to myself.

So on some recent road trips I packed my MP3 player with all the Hip Hop/Dance-type music that I own, and wrote down a set list to compile the songs together...DJ style.

It is harder than it sounds, but I think I got the right amount of flow, speed, breaks, and cool samples included in the 1 minute and 15 seconds of funk that Iroquois will be the best dance team in a 5 mile radius of the town. I actually think it turned out really good.

I'm also pretty sure that my obscure taste in underground and indie music will have the girls dancing to the only mix in the state that includes music from Timbaland & L.L. Cool J., Jurassic 5, Public Enemy, Family Force 5 and sampled school bells and bomb explosions.

I guess I will be cheering for IHS' competitive dance team this year, unless someone else wants music from Lake Byron's biggest name in underground dance mixes...DJ Tommy G.

Monday, July 28, 2008

My boy Mark-O

Watch this clip...about 2:15 in you get to see Mark-O in a younger state...pretty cool to have this old video...and he's still going strong.


Sunday, July 27, 2008

I fell asleep in a crib tonight.

Let's just say we have been having some trouble getting Brecken to sleep lately. I think he knows that the party dosen't stop at 9:30 p.m. when he is sleeping and it kills him not to be involved in whatever is going on.

Friday night was a late night getting home so we struggled with him. We did the right thing as parents and gave up, letting him fall asleep in our bed...then moving him to the crib.

After a day spent outside, on Saturday, I though he would collapse from exhaustion into his own bed. Nope. After his bath, he didn't want anything to do with his bed. So we faught him on it.

Steph finally got him settled enough that he would lay his head down and scream at only 50% of his volume capacity, so I took over the job of patting his back to settle him the rest of the way. Now, that is tough to do for a long period of time, because you are bent over the railing of the crib, so I decided to jump in with him.

His bed is pretty comfortable, and I must have been pretty tired, because Steph woke me up 15 minutes later...I was all curled up in a ball, and would have spent the night there if she would have left me alone. Now I am awake writing on this stupid blog at 2:30 a.m.