"They Say It's Your Birthday!!"

Yes, Cari has reached the big 3-5!! Sometimes she forgets how old she is, but luckily I'm always there to remind her. I had something big planned too. I made a reservation at Maggliano's Little Italy restaraunt for eight people. Unfortunately, two of them cancelled at the last minute. But there were six of us! Cari was very surprised. She even got a gift card to Starbucks from the Morrows and a lovely bottle of peach wine from the Barkers! And man, what a meal. They had a "Marco's Pasta For Two" which included a salad, pasta, and a dessert for $39.95! They even threw in an uncooked pasta dinner to take home and have later! We ate like kings for like three days. I got the eggplant parmesan. My goodness, it was good. Here's a funny pic of us:


Taken at just the right time.

Afterwards we went to a piano bar and had some drinks. Was a really fun night.

Emmy had to do a project for her book report on "Matilda". She had three weeks to read the book and get the project done, but of course it got put off until the last minute. The last 3 days to be exact. So we cut and pasted and drew and painted and coloured like crazy to get it done by Wednesday. But we did. Here is the finished product:


The lighting wasn't great so I re-positioned it and took a few more pics:


You start at your house and make your way to Miss Honey's house! There were game pieces, dice, and cards that you can draw to either go back spaces or move forward spaces.


"The Chokey"


Not sure what Zach's race car is doing there, but I'm sure there is a good reason for it.

Speaking of Zach, he got to take Ted home! Ted is the class Build-A-Bear and we had to take a picture of Zach with Ted for the journal:





Not sure which one I like the best. Maybe the one of him asleep?

Zach got in a bit of trouble this week. He bought some play money at Dollar Tree and snuck it into school. Then he gave some to his friends. His teacher saw it and asked him where he got it. Well, he told a lie and said that I put it in his pockets without him knowing. Then he lied about giving it to his friends. He got a pop in the butt and last night Cari and I spent about 30 minutes with him talking about how important it is to tell the truth every time, because one day, someone is going to say something about Zach that isn't true and Zach will want us to believe him. I told him we won't be able to do that if he doesn't be honest with us each and every time. I really hope it's just a boy thing and not something deeper. I used to lie all the time and it about drove my dad nuts. I just have to be patient with him and give him time to break this habit on his own and to carry a big stick when he makes mistakes. Not literally beat him with a stick, but to not spare the rod, to quote Aesop. Sometimes he can be the sweetest, funniest kid, but that's the Jekyll side of him. The Hyde side is screaming, crying, and kicking when he doesn't get his way. Lately that side has been dying down little by little thank goodness. But it still flares up from time to time. My patience level is really tested sometimes. Good thing I do what I do for a living. Patience is definitely my biggest virtue. That and my sense of humour. Wish I could make a living with that.

"One Nice Week..."

And what makes it so nice? I used some sick days and had me a nice short work week! I usually use them around this time of year because...it's Cari's birthday! Numero 35 to be exact. Kind of a big one I think. So, as I always do, I went up to her office and brought her the finest red roses Kroger's had to offer! $10, how can you go wrong, eh? I got to see her new desk and meet her new co-workers. Probably won't see them until next year around this time, but I think I made my usual impression on them. Definitely earned some brownie points. Cari thought she was being sent another packet of claims to work, so she wasn't in any hurry, but then she saw me and was quite surprised! Mission accomplished!

What else did I do? I also brought some lunch up to Zach and Emmy and we had lunch together! We all 3 couldn't sit together since Zach goes at 10:45 and Emmy goes at noon. I brought Zach Jack In The Box and Emmy got Braum's. Was a really nice time:



The ol' iPhone doesn't take the best pictures, but it travels a lot better than a camera.

Zach showed me some tricks on the playground...


...and Emmy showed me the world's biggest french fry...


Gotta say...it's pretty big.

Zach had his first T-Ball game of the season last Saturday!



Not the best pictures since I forgot the camera at home grrr! But he did hit a couple of doubles. I hope he plays forever.

Zach read the Frog And Toad story "Cookies" almost all by himself!! I was so proud of him!! I guess reading to your kids really does pay big dividends! Last night we tried to read "A Button". Zach was reading it pretty well but he got tired and wanted me to finish it. I love those stories so much. They have been a part of my life since I was 5. I remember Mom reading them to me. They even had records that you could listen to a narrator. Maybe she will get them out this weekend since she is watching both of them this Saturday night. Cari and I are going out to Maggliano's restaraunt for her birthday!! Oh...I wanna say something, but I won't.

Found some really funny Letterman bits on ol' YouTube recently:







That last one always puts me in the mood for a burger...can't figure out why...

97 days until my Christmas vacation!! So ready for a break. It's not actually that busy, but the calls we get just drain me sometimes. Especially the agents. I tell ya...when the sellers don't know anything and they come to us for stuff they were supposed to know in the first place...? Come on guys...get your job done.

Watched Benjamin Button again recently. Man I forgot how great that movie is. Haven't found anything like it. Really changed the way I looked at my life and what really matters. I know that life is supposed to be about more than just a random collection of days. But other times, it is kind of comforting that mistakes I made in the past can stay there and I don't have to worry about them anymore. I look back on them constantly and just cringe that I ever did them in the first place. The best parts of our lives are the ones we choose to take with us as each day approaches. Having this site helps me do that so much easier. Digital cameras and camcorders make memories that will stand the test of time. I hope Zach and Emmy will read these posts when they are adults and parents and know how much they mean to me.

"Time moves pretty fast. If you don't slow down and look around, you might miss it." - Ferris Bueller

"We're Back!!!!"

Yes, after many hours of driving to and fro our trip to Alberquerque has been concluded! We had a really good time. The first thing I noticed was how much cooler it was there! Was like fall! God forbid it feel like that around here! Actually, this week has been excellent. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the 60s...felt great. We did some cool things too:


What a welcome sight!!


The mountains are very abundant here!

We went to Alberquerque to be part of a surprise party for Cari's aunt Kathy as she was turning the big 6-0. It was pulled off without a hitch:


John: "Oh darn, I missed you coming in and being all surprised. Could you go back out and come back in and act exactly the same surprised as you just did?"

We also got to hang out with Uncle Larry. He's pretty entertaining when the wine is a-flowing:



Me: "Um, Larry...don't you think you've had enough?"
Larry: "I'll tell you when I've had enough! You sound just like those fools at Alcoholics Anonymous!"

Larry actually mixed four different kinds of win into one bottle. The results were...less than tasty. Maybe why wineries don't sell it that way.

The next day we headed off to a place called Exploria! The exclamation point is supposed ot be there, I'm not shouting. Lots of cool hands-on exhibits:


This was a gigantic track that all these balls moved on constantly. The thing on top actually rotated balls upward then they fell back down. Weird!


This was a water fall where the water seemed to travel in perfect unison. Emmy actually was controlling how fast or slow one of the streams moved.


I thought this would make a neat picture. Basically a fan blowing lots of pinwheels.


Zach: "So you see Papa, by connecting these wires and turning this crank, I am able to control the movement of electricity!"
John: "Zach, I think you just showed me how I can save hundreds on my electric bill!"


Lots of mirrors!

When we came back into town it had cooled off considerably. Now it's not killing me to go outside at any part of the day! Was so nice to be at home in my own bed.

A couple of other things happened in the last couple of weeks. I forgot to post anything last week due to it being a short week at work and not much going on.


Emmy lost a molar! She ran out of her room freaking out, which I don't blame her. If you were just sitting there and you felt a tooth pop, you'd be shocked too.


T-ball season has begun! This was Zach's first practice, and as you can see, he knows someone's taking his picture. What a ham. He actually has his first game tomorrow! And it should be around 60 degrees at 9am, not the 90-95 it had been this summer. Now that it's cooler, hopefully we can get some rain through here!!