"They Say It's Your Birthday!!"

OMG, can Emily be TEN?? Can she? It's been a great ten years. Saturday we took her and two of her friends to...the Magic Time Machine! This is a restaraunt in Dallas that used to be a school back in 1917 but they renovated it and made each part of the restaraunt its' own theme. Not sure what our theme was, but I would guess "table in a restaraunt"...:


That's Emmy on the right, Kat in the middle and Amanda on the left. Best friends for what seems like ever.


Hey, that's a pretty good picture of us! I hadn't shaved all week so I look quite different from the Ranger game.


Jerramy: "Hey Mike, wanna see a magic trick?"
Me: "Um...sure?"


Jerramy: "TADA!!"
Me: "Wow, that's...great...guess you're not ordering lunch then?"
Jerramy: "NOPE! Savin' $20 today!"


That was our waiter, Paul Bunyan. He was very loud, rude and obnoxious. So, just like any other waiter around yes?


Money money money!! Emily got some serious cash. $125 to be exact! That may include her Target gift card, not sure.

Then, Tuesday night, the family came over for some cake cupcakes and ice cream and of course...more presents!:


New sheets!! Zebra print!! Who else has zebra print sheets? Maybe Austin Powers? What about the Ladies' Man? Hmm...maybe we should get something a little more...less sleazier? But I know she's been in the mood to redecorate her room into something a little more mature. Kudos to her!


Hey, that's a great family shot! Except for the boy...geez, why is it so difficult to smile in a picture? And do it without looking like a nut.

Tomorrow we're going to the circus!! Zach and Emmy have never been, and I haven't been since I was a teenager...or 21...one of those. And this isn't that cheap circus that uses people in animal costumes, but Ringling Brothers!! Hopefully it's non-smoking.

So Emmy is ten eh? It's been a lot of fun to be honest. I took her to Subway this morning for a dad daughter breakfast where it was just the two of us. We didn't talk a whole lot, mainly because we were devouring their new breakfast sandwich. Flatbread, cheese, and breakfast meats equals YUM. We did talk about a few things though. Good to have a kid who actually wants to talk to you about things. We've always been able to talk about things though. Sometimes we're silly, but often we get pretty deep. I never miss a moment to tell her to enjoy being a kid. She told me it seems like her childhood was flying by so fast. But I know she lives every day to its fullest. Next week she's going on a trip to New York with her grandparents and her cousin! I'm gonna be 37 this year and I've never been! Well, hang on a second...I did get to see Niagara Falls twice while I was living in Canada. Truly awesome sight. Wish I had a camera back then. Would have been cool. Dad was my age now when we lived in Canada in 1989. So far I've managed not to have to displace my family anywhere ha ha. Some of my favourite memories happened in Canada though. I'll mention them on here every now and then. One of my faves was in 9th grade. We only had four classes a day, plus an hour at lunch. I would run home each day so I could hang out with Mom. If I ran I could get home in five minutes. I also had my first job while I was up there. Working for Starways! Not as glamorous as it seems. They would drop off tons of flyers at my door and I had to roll them up in rubber bands and deliver them to houses. $30 a month. Underpaid? You betcha! But it was fun to walk around the neighborhoods. You could always smell curry and chinese food cooking somewhere. Emmy probably won't get to live in another country as a kid, but I'm sure she'll be okay with that.

"We're Back!!!!"

Yes, our week of fun in the sun has come to a much-too-soon finish. Why is it the weeks drag on and on but when you're off work it zooms by in a blur! We did quite a lot of things in 9 days. First up:

The Johnson Space Center


I'm not sure what that look on Zach's face is, but this is a crystal replica of the solar system. Pretty cool.



Some really good shots of us riding the tram. It was a long ride! But it took us around the entire complex.


This is the actual command center where they monitored the space shuttle launches back in the 1960's and 1970's. They don't use it anymore because the needs outgrew the space.


Me: "Okay guys, smile!"
Emmy: "What's that loud roaring sound?"
Me: "Oh, it's just the rocket above you about to blast off in fifteen seconds."
Zach: "What???"
Me: "Oh I'm just kidding..."
Emmy: "Whew, that's a relief..."
Me: "Yeah, you have twenty seconds."


Hey, a great family shot! the rocket behind us is almost as long as a football field. And the booster behind us is one of FIVE.


The crew of Apollo 13! Jim Lovell is in the middle I think. Some people say the movie "Apollo 13" is based on this very mission. Sounds possible.


This was a really cool homage`.


This was one of the capsules in a starry background. Had to turn off the flash so it looked especially luminous.


Me: "Hey, what are you doing with those moon rocks?"
Technician: "I'm preparing them for storage."
Me: "Hey, wait a minute! You're not even real! How are you talking?"
Technician: "We are communicating on a level light years ahead of everyone else."
Me: "Really?"
Technician: "Good Lord no...you're just nuts."


That's a good way to take a nap in space...man that would drive me crazy.

They had something really cool there: human foosball!:



I didn't play...fear of being kicked in small spaces.

What a busy day! Afterwards, we headed to Kemah! I had never heard of it until now, but they have a really cool Aquarium restaraunt which we patronized:




The waiter, "Ryan", said they had the 3rd largets cylindrical aquarium in the country! Plus, they had this:


A 200-lb. grouper fish! Again, "Ryan" said if they live in the ocean, they can get as big as 1,200 lbs. Another great shot of ye olde kids.

After dinner, we went down to the sting ray reef and actually got to pet some of them. One of them kept flapping their fin and getting everyone wet. I hope they cooked him up, but they probably didn't:


Lousy punk.


Tree frogs! They had some other cool exhibits like snakes, a trantula, and some scoropions that glowed in the dark!

Then we walked around the Boardwalk they had. A lot of things to do, and a lot it would cost to do them all. We did let Zach and Emmy play a game and they won these:


These were a source of irritation for everyone from this point forward. They each had one, and yet they found a way to fight over whose was whose.


There's a cool shot of it. I wanted to ride the ferris wheel, but was outvoted 3-1...(sigh).

Then...off to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, TX:


There were other buildings too. Unfortunately we couldn't bring a camera in, so here are some fun facts:

1) Yes, the employees get to eat whatever they want as long as they are clocked in;
2) Yes, we got a scoop of 1 of 16 flavours after the tour was over. I got Mocha Almond Fudge. The kids got...strawberry...cuz, you know, you can't just walk into a store and get strawberry. Cari got the Southern Blackberry Cobbler. One of my personal faves;
3) The pipes that transport the ingredients as well as the finished product look white at first, but upon closer inspection there is actual frost that has formed on them.

Finally, we made it back Wednesday morning about 1:45am after a jaunt through San Antonio to visit Cari's aunt. Now that we were a little more rested, we headed out to NorthEast Mall for some lunch at Genghis Grill, then we made it to the movie theater to see THIS:


Man was this an explosive movie!! It's a shame Optimus got his arm ripped off but he only needed one to kick everyone's butt.

Then Friday we made our way to the Ranger game!! We swung by the Ballpark and bought eight seats in section 315 which is way, way, WAY up there. At some point we managed to get some seats a lot better:


There's Josh Hamilton!! Emmy and Carson would shout "Go Josh Hamilton!" and you could see Josh's head turn slightly to see who was shouting ha ha.


Here Josh is making an incredible catch. I missed it when it happened, but I caught in on the new HD Jumbotron!

What was the final score?


YEAH BABEE!! We destroyed them! Nelson Cruz had 8 RBIs and a mammoth home run.

Saturday night Zach and Emmy spent the night with Cari's parents while we went to a wedding for...someone I never met and will never see again. Afterwards we went and saw:


Horrible Bosses!! Man this was a hilarious movie. So glad my boss is nothing like this. Do I even have a boss? No one ever comes around me and gives me mountains of work to do. It's like being a small business owner with all of the financial stability and none of the constant money worries.

Then, Sunday, we...well, we chilled. I did the laundry and we did absolutely nothing. And it was great. We did have a birthday celebration for Emmy, but I'll get to that next time.

"Here, Fishy Fishy..."

Yes, the Overall household has welcomed its first pet! Emmy also got her first birthday present: a fish! A blue Betta to be exact. What name did Emmy give him? Why...Blue of course! Here's a few pix:



He sure likes the bottom of the bowl, doesn't he? Better at the bottom then floating at the top I always say. So far Emmy has done a great job keeping up with him, feeding him and making sure she sees to his every comfort. Now only if she would do the same for me ha ha.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!! is right around the corner. Cari is off today but I still had to go to in. But I started the day off right. After dropping off Emmy at her Girl Scout camp, Zach and I stopped by the donut shop and had a guys' breakfast together. I love seeing him get so excited about the little things in life. He's just like his dad. Hopefully we will be able to do more of these things before they get too big and think I'm just not as wonderful as they used to.

So far we're planning a trip to Moody Gardens, then a stop at some boardwalk close by, then to Johnson Space Center, then a return trip through San Antonio. Then Friday night we're going to the Ranger game!! Playing the Blue Jays of all teams. This is the only home game they have all week and it happens to be on a Friday. Plus, we get fireworks after the game!! Rock it!

Man, the Rangers have been lighting it up recently. We've pitched back to back shutouts and have won eight games in a row! We're in first place but not by much. Our nemesis, the Angels, have been pretty consistent too so the lead is only like a game and a half. I think we're finally clicking though, so I pity any team that has to face us right now.

Last weekend we dressed up like cows to get free Chick Fil A! Since I never put any pictures of ME on here:


I guess black is slimming ha ha. I think that's a pretty good shot of me! I may Facebook it.

Uncle Dean turned me onto a site called BTJunkie which is a bit torrent site (hence the BT) and a lot of movies I couldn't convert to MP4 are on here. I guess some people invested in a decent program instead of the freeware I did. I really wanted the Transformers movie from 1986. I have the VHS tape but no one got me the DVD for Christmas. Zach wants to see it now that he got his first taste of the G1 cartoon from 1984. Someone did a marathon on July 4th so I taped them. Well Zach really got into it. Here's a clip from the movie:


I did a whole post back in 2007 on this movie but I felt it deserved a special mention. Zach and Emmy are always asking me why I like Transformers so much. Hey, there's something to be said for things that you really enjoyed as a kid. Hoping Zach will cultivate the obsession as he gets older. So far he's into something called Bakugan. Don't really understand it. Don't want to understand it. All I know is I step on them all the time.

"One Busy Weekend!!"

Hey, when it's July 4th, it's all business, all the time! And man, did we pack a LOT into 3 days. Actually four. I got off early Friday so I went home and put up a fence panel that was sorely needed. Of course, by doing so, I pulled off some slats on the panel next to it so now I have to replace THOSE. Ugh. Why did the previous owners use mismatched beams? Idiots.

Then...Saturday night we went to Putt Putt! I tell ya...playing with adults is one thing, but when you have two kids who seem to play every hole except the one they're supposed to, it's a marathon:


Me: "Hey guys, that's not a real mushroom!"
Emily: "Yes it is!"
Me: "Really?"
Zach: "NO! Have you ever seen a mushroom this big outside of Chernobyl DAD?"
Me: "Hmm, you have a point...and your vocabulary is ever-expanding son...every day..."


Geez, where did my neck go? Mental note: stand up straight for every single picture for the rest of my life.


Aww, what a great family shot.


Emily: "So now Dad I'm going to actually hit the ball with my club."
Me: "Is that how you are going to get it into the hole?"
Emily: "Yep!"
Me: "Well, that's better than how I was going to do it."
Zach: "How's that?"
Me: "Handheld fan and a lot of light kicks!"


Man has Emmy got a swing! Lots of power! Heaven help the pitcher that has to face her when she plays little league this fall.

Then...Sunday...we went to the Leavitt Pavillion to take part in their celebration! They really went all out. Bounce houses, free cotton candy (which tasted a little like fiberglass, but was still good), and of course, fireworks! They had live music before and patriotic songs during the show. I was beyond exhausted, but it was worth it:


I think I need to teach Zach how to slide down properly...unless he did that on purpose...hmmm.


This was a bounce house where they tied two kids to a bungee cord and the first one to make a basket won. Zach won one and the other kid won one. All good. I got this shot as he was completely off the ground!


Emily did kind of the same thing. She had to get a football farther than her opponent which happened to be a girl in her girl scout troop...also named Emily! Small world sometimes.

Next...face-painting! We waited in line for almost two hours to get this done. I kept asking Zach and Emmy "are you sure you want to spend the rest of the night waiting in line? Cuz that's what's gonna happen!" They kept saying "Yes we want to do it." So...finally...we made it:


Me: "Let's turn those frowns upside down!"


Me: "Emmy, nice work...Zach...(SIGH)..."

Zach got a dragon and Emmy got a frog. $7 well spent yes?

Now for the main event:








That last one is my fave. Very creepy.

THEN...after that...we went to Casa de Overall and shot off some of our own fireworks!:


Me: "Hey Camron, what kind of fireworks do you have there?"
Camron: "It's something called a 'doobie'...I bought it from a guy behind the fireworks stand."
Me: "Um...yeah...why don't we throw that down the sewer before the police show up."


It took an eternity to get this picture...an eternity...

THEN...Monday we went to grandma's house for a cook out:


Me: "Hey Dean...what's with all the corn?"
Dean: "Well, we're trying to eat healthier these days...did you bring pie?"
Me: "Yup...apple...cuz apples are good for you!"


Dad: "Geez, what the heck is this?"
Me: "It's guava paste! Eat it!"
Dean: "He's right Kerry...it's like a gooey piece of heaven!"
Dad: "Um, I see that...would you and the guava paste like to be alone?"
Dean: "Actually, yeah..."


Nice shot of the Overall males...wish Grandpa could have been part of this one. I guess no one lives forever. I think just knowing that helps us live our life a little less hectic than it has to be. If you knew anyone who died does it seem like their entire life went by that fast? Everything they worked for, seemingly pointless now. I really don't think they're in Heaven going "I can't believe what's going on down on Earth." No matter what walk of life we come from, we all have about the same amount of time to live life the way we want to.