"Today is What!?"

The last day of school, that's what! What's funny is that Emily didn't really have a reaction to it. Some kids were like "Wow, I am so glad that's over!" and others were all "Aww, I'm gonna miss it!" but she was kind of like "Ehh, it is what it is". What can ya say to that huh? Now each kid had to behave or else...they got their folder signed. Emily actually got hers signed twice but this was the first of the year. I had told her if she went the rest of the year without getting it signed we'd go to Olive Garden for dinner. Well, here it is Friday night, and guess where we're going for dinner lol.

Memorial Day is comin' up. Besides the 3 day weekend, there aren't really any plans made. Except for cleaning the house...arggh. I swear, our house was built for the sole purpose of attracting dirt and messes. I was reading Dear Abby one day (as I always tend to do) and there were responses to a letter a mom wrote saying she made her kids clean the house every Saturday and nothing could be done until that was done, thereby creating resentment and strife among the family as the kids got older. Now I agree there are more important things then a clean house in this life but man...as soon as we get it all spiffied up it's right back where it was. Talk about a never-ending battle.

We played our company softball game last Saturday. I skinned my leg up bad...I mean bad. Right now I have to keep it covered and it either hurts, stings or itches 24/7. We didn't win the tournament, but at least I'm in a lot of pain.

Zach has learned a valuable negotiating tool recently: fall to the ground and cry like you've lost the will to live. I bought these Shrek Sludge fudge ice cream bars from 7-11 last night and was trying to share one with him and since he didn't get to hold it by himself, which he would have dropped if I had let him, didn't want any part of it. He's going to have to learn things the hard way I guess. Just like his old man.


Zach: "Hey Dad, you make a better door then a window."

Me: "What?"

Emmy: "What he means is, he can't change the channel with you standing there trying to get the (makes quote motion with hands) "perfect picture."

Me: "Ahh...gotcha...what are you watching anyways?"

Both: "The World Series of Poker!"

Me: "Cool...rock on."

Sometimes...I look back on all the stupid things that I did while I was growing up...and I no longer wonder why my parents would get so angry with me. I know exactly why they would. I would tell them the teacher didn't give us any homework when everyone knew she had. Lying was always my Achilles' heel if you will. In hindsight, I think the reason I would lie to get out of trouble was because I never knew what the alternative was. If I admit it, I was sure to get punished...or spanked...or worse. But in the mind of a boy, lying was kind of like a 50-yard pass into double coverage. You think if you 'thread the needle' just right, you'll be free and clear. But more often then not, the pass is batted down, or worse, intercepted and run back for a touchdown. My parents would always hope the last time was the last time, but it never was. I try to keep in mind that kids are single-minded up until adolescence. I won't expect mine to remember anything until they're much older, so that when they do remember something it's a mini-celebration lol. Emmy knows exactly what will happen if we catch her in a lie. Every now and then we do, esp. when it comes to her brushing her teeth. She would say she did it, but then I would ask to smell her breath. If she was willing to let me, I knew she had brushed them. If not...automatic pop on the behind. My spankings don't hurt much but it hurts Emmy inside because she knows she misbehaved. Now, when I ask her, she flat out tells me yes or no, and it's little things like that that make me feel we're all going down the right path. One step at a time.

"Brewster's Millions"

This is by far one of my favourite movies of all time. If you haven't seen it...and if you have Comedy Central I find that hard to believe, then I shall fill you in. Richard Pryor plays Monty Brewster, a career minor league pitcher for the Hackensack Bulls who never stops believing he can make it in the bigs. He notices a man taking pictures of him at the ballpark and starts thinking he is a scout for a major league team. Well, after a night that includes hitting on a player's girlfriend and getting in a fight, he finds himself in jail, plus the team has cut him. Well, the photographer winds up bailing him out and bringing him to a law firm in New York. Monty's thinking Yankees but they have something else in mind.

As it turns out, Monty has (or had) a rich uncle who leaves a video will for him. He has two choices. One, he can take a million dollars cash and walk away from everything else, or two...he has to spend $30 million in 30 days and not acquire any possessions or assets. If he can pull it off, he gets the somewhat larger inheritance of $300 million. After some consideration, he decides to give it a try.

Long story short, he...well, if you really want to know how it ends, go buy it or rent it. I'm no snitch. But I'm mentioning this movie for a plethora of reasons.

One...the first time I ever saw this movie I was staying over at a friend's house and it was on cable. His name was George Bailey (not kidding) and I still remember the first day he showed up in our 5th grade class. Kinda quiet, but once you got to know him he was really cool. So everytime I see this movie I always think of him.

Two...the scene right after the photographer bails him out of jail, they get in his convertible and drive to New York city. It's early in the morning and it's kind of cloudy and Monty doesn't have a care in the world. Reminds me of when I used to do things by my watch and have only myself to worry about. I guess that would be the 80's and 90's.

Three...Just the very idea of not only spending $30 million but having to. Nowadays it would be pretty simple. One of the stipulations of the challenge was that you had to get value for your services. Couldn't you buy NBC's prime time slots for Thursday night and burn through the money really quickly? How would you fill three hours with the whole country watching? Either that or hire Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey to sing to me...hmm

Happy Mother's Day to Cari and to my mom as well. Didn't get Cari a present because...she had already gotten some for herself! Her request was no present, but I got her these anyway:


Right now they're starting to blossom...then they die...(sigh). I tell ya...whoever comes up with a non-dying flower...rich man.


Zach: "Hey Dad, do you want to play Hungry Hungry Hippos with me?"
Me: "Hmm...we better wait until 3 in the morning when your mom is asleep...she'll appreciate it more then."

Is money everything? The world we live in seems to think so. Now our family isn't broke by any means...but some days we wish we didn't have to worry about bills. All my life I always told myself not to want for material things but part of that was that I never made much money in my life. Isn't that like the fox who couldn't have his grapes and sulks off saying they were probably sour anyway? You can't take it with you when you go ya know. I heard a story in church a long time ago where this rich man died and when he got to Heaven St. Peter was escorting him to his home. They kept passing nice houses and Peter said that those belonged to his butler, his maid, etc. They finally get to this very modest house and Peter says "Here we are."
Well the rich man was furious and asked why he only got this shack. Peter explained that his servants had lived their lives through Christ while he had not. Pretty spooky eh?

I guess the point is not to let money be the deciding factor in everyday life. But man that's hard sometimes. Reason number one people get divorced is money. Reason number one married people fight is money. Seems like all we need to make all of our problems go away is a little more cash in the bank, but that's not true. If you look at the other side, the grass may seem greener, but it's just a different shade of green. Look closer and you'll see different weeds, different bugs, and different things wrong with the grass.

"Save The Bees!"

Save the what?! Believe it or not, Texas is facing an epidemic of...well...epidemic proportions. There is a new disease going around called colony collapse disease that is currently decimating the honeybee colonies to the point of economic ruin. Now you may be asking, "But Mike, how can something that we shoo away at picnics and kill at will be that vital to our existence?" Well, calm down and I'll let you in.

Currently bees are responsible for $200 million in honey every year. Now I like honey as much as the next person. In fact, honey is the only food that cannot spoil. And I admit, when the sopapillas come around at the end of a mexican dinner, I'll be the first to ask "Hey, ya got any honey chief?" But I think I would be okay if there weren't anymore honey around. But that's not all that bees are good for. They also pollinate a lot...and I mean a lot of crops such as apples and almonds that everyone needs in some capacity.


You know how hard it is to find a video on honeybees? This is the best of the bunch!
(get it? Honey? Bunch? boo...)

God bless the bees. May they return to their colonies to save the cheerleader...save the world.

Moving on...

Had a great time at the zoo last week. If you wanna see what we saw click here.

Also had a great time at the Highlands opening too. Here's some highlights:


I told you this place was like a small town!


(to the tune of 'Because I Got High')

"I wear this funny hat...because I got high"
"I wear this funny shirt...because I got high"
"I wear these funny pants...because I got high"

"Because I got high...because I got high...because I got hi-i-i-igh..."


KC: "Hey everyone! Wanna hear some new crap or the old crap?"
Us: "Old crap! Old crap! Old crap!"
KC: You people suck you know that? I've written great songs lately! "Shake Your Booty Part 2"..."Get Down Tonight (Again)"...this stuff is Grammy gold!
Us: "Look, just sing what was considered music in 1976 before we rush the stage."

Here is what the Studio Movie grill looks like during the daytime...


...and at nighttime...



Ahh...creative bliss...

Congratulations Dirk Nowitzki on being the first European B-baller to win the MVP award. Still cannot believe we were bounced in the first round to a team that is currently down 2-0 to Utah. Ack.

This week went by fast seems like. Sure, we're all working for Friday but why not expand the work week to eight days? Three days off would do everyone a world of good. Man, if I were president...think I could get this passed? First thing I would do is listen to like everyone in the world and PULL OUR MEN OUT OF IRAQ. People are dying needlessly over there and creating a lot more fatherless kids then there needs to be. That's just me. To be illogical for just a moment...here are some things I would do if I were president:

Raise the minimum wage to $9/hr. Can people live in $5.15 an hour? Of course they can't. Assuming to fill up your car it costs $30...so after taxes you'd have to work seven hours to fill 'er up? That's crazy!

Someway...somehow...provide medical/dental/prescription coverage to every man, woman and child in America. This has to be done. Every time I see a kid with bad teeth...or sick even though there is a medicine available...really saddens my heart.

And finally...

Have a national Xbox360 or PS3 tournament in every game. This is dumb I know but America seems to be all about how good they are at these kinds of things so why not welcome it with open arms? Have all kinds of prizes.

What would you do if YOU were president?

"They're History..."

Good grief.

This is all the entire city of Dallas is saying this morning after the Golden State Warriors embarassed the Mavericks 111-86. I think we're going to be the Indy Colts of the NBA. Seriously. All the hype, all the regular season glory, only to not just lose in the playoffs, but lose b-a-a-d. Honestly, I do not know where they go from here. This is the exact same team from last year. What changed? I'm too bummed to think about it. Let's see how the Big Four teams did recently:

Cowboys - out in the first round
Stars - out in the first round
Mavericks - out in the first round
Rangers - too horrible to even get in the first round

At least we're not Wisconsin.

We have quite an agenda this weekend! Cari and I took Friday off and are going to the zoo today! We actually have two, the Dallas Zoo and the Ft Worth Zoo. Since we've been to the Ft Worth Zoo I wanted to go to the Dallas one, but Cari chimed, "I don't want to be run down by wild animals!". Turns out a few years ago there was an animal or two that got loose and roamed the streets. Geez, one pack of black rhinos gets out for a day and everyone freaks out. This is how it was in olden times ya know!

Then tomorrow, mom is coming out and we are going to the grand opening of the Arlington Highlands. What is this you ask? Well, we took a huge chuck of unused land and built this little town of shops, restaraunts and even a movie theater. There's even street names so you don't get lost! And believe ie, it's big enough that you could get lost. Plus, all the restaraunts are having free samples of their menus and live music from none other then: KC And The Sunshine Band! Um...is this confirmed? It's just a rumour, right? That's the best we could get? What, were the Bay City Rollers booked?

And finally, what entry would be complete without a visit through Mikey's garden:


Honeysuckle! This hasn't grown in my back since...ever!


These berries have grown on one of my trees since forever...blackberries I think? They're pretty good. Cari got mad when she found out I ate some.

This tree I hate. Every year it grows these organic land mines and no one even uses them! All they do is hurt your feet if you step on them and the lawn mower shoots them like 50 yards when it gets one.

And the first purple flower on my Mexican heather is out! I thought it would take longer but since we've gotten like 100 inches of rain in the last two months, wallah!

Why did what happen at Virginia Tech happen?

I'm sure everyone knows "what" happened...but does anyone know why? Only God knows. I sure don't. Then he takes the coward way out and shoots himself. I hope he is burning in hell for what he has done. What he has put the 33 families through. What is truly sad is...unless you were a friend or a relative of them, you probably weren't that affected personally. I can't even imagine watching TV and finding out that someone in my family had died...and in that way. Not even heroically. Just...for no reason.

Peace be with you Virginia Tech.