"You Want Cookies? Too Bad!"

Yes, that venom-laden title is correct. As of last Sunday, we did the last table-top for selling Girl Scout cookies. And man, not a moment too soon! It's very tiring work having to set up cookies and replenish the table and then pack everything up. Just knowing this was the last day made it a lot of fun. So as we were selling, young Zachary was running around a lot and was bored so Cari suggested that I take him to a nearby park. Well, the only one around was Leonard park. So, using the wonderful map app on my iPhone, we found it. It was pretty cool, right in the middle of the neighborhood. So, being the photographer that I am, I took my camera and captured Zach in his "natural habitat":


Zach: "Wow Dad, this rock climbing sure is fun. How high do you think I am?"
Me: "Well, judging by the position of the sun, about...27 feet."
Zach: "What!? What happens if I fall down!?"
Me: "Oh, I'm sure someone will catch you."
Zach: "Not instilling me with a whole lot of confidence here!!"


Here Zach is with my keys playing the xylophone on the jungle gym. No better use for car keys, right?


Man, no better picture than this one, right?


Well, maybe this picture is the best one. Believe it or not, it took six tries to get this shot. I kept cutting off one of our heads every time it seems.

Saturday we're going to Grapevine Mills mall to see their new aquarium they built last year! We would have gone sooner but it's like $75 for us to go. The Girl Scouts had a discount ticket promotion so I scooped em up. Can't wait. They have this thing called a "shark walk". Apparently you go down a glass hall and they swim all around you. Might be cool. We're doing that after Zach and Emmy finish their soccer practices! And yes, Cari is going to coach both of them. I wonder if she knows what she's getting into. I'm sure she does. She always knows what's going on.

Man, did you hear about this?


Only in my wildest dreams would this ever happen to me...apparently this guy was cleaning out his dad's house after he died and found millions of dollars of old comic books!! My collection would never be worth a fraction of that I'm betting but this is truly a collector's dream. The whole collection sold for $3.5 million. Man...just leaves me speechless. Zach really wants to collect them but the ones he wants are really over his head as far as dialogue goes. Heck, they're almost over my head! I bought him one last year form the Justice League line and really tried to simplify it for him but it was impossible. Maybe in a year or so we can try it again. So glad I have a guy in our house that's into that kind of thing. Any dad who has all daughters might be a little envious of me. Nothing wrong with that.

"Valentine's Day...Is Here..."

Yes, the time of year when flower growers and chocolate makers start working overtime to make sure that all guys don't find themselves in the doghouse because they didn't do enough or spend enough to buy their significant other's affections. Naw, just kidding. We shouldn't do it because we feel we have to. We should do it because it's a chance to show them what they mean to us. So, after my usual Tuesday morning workout at the Y (I'm such a creature of habit ha ha), I stopped by Kroger's and picked up some roses, a card, and a $15 Starbucks card for Cari! I managed to sneak them onto the kitchen table and she didn't even notice them until about 2pm since she was working at home. Yeah, I can swing things like that when I wanna. So, when I got home, everyone else got their present too:


Duct tape! I managed to find gold duct tape at Joann's during lunch and Emmy just loved it. Both her and Young Zachary got duct tape and some kind of heart-shaped rainbow thing that looks pretty cool when it spins around. Then, they gave me my present:



An Angry Bird!! The red one in fact. It even makes the sounds when you push the top of its head. I haven't played with it yet...but I will!

Hey, here's a funny picture of Valentine's Day 2006:


Does anyone look like they were ready for a picture to be taken? Emmy got some books! Not sure what the rest of us got. All I know is Zach cried the whole night. The whole...night. I guess he didn't feel very good but it was hard to enjoy dinner ha ha. The other night I stopped by and got everyone a Starbucks drink. Well, Zach has the bright idea to microwave his to heat it up. As he was taking it out, he picked it up by the lid and of course the cup dropped out of it and spilled everywhere. He really took it hard too. Cried and screamed for about an hour. I managed to calm him down though. I usually can. Just have to take their mind off of it and fixate it on something better. I told him we might be able to go to the park Sunday and this time I'm gonna make sure we do. Super Bowl Sunday I was going to but I couldn't get the laundry done in time. Well, last night I started it early so it can be done by tomorrow night. I'm proud of doing the laundry. Takes the burden off Cari and I really don't mind doing it, just as long as there's something good on TV. Man, I found my new favourite show on MLB network. Called "Baseball IQ" and the object is to name as many answers under a given topic. All 30 MLB teams have a representative that plays for a charity so something good is being done. Really taxes my knowledge of what I learned collecting baseball cards all those many years ago. Zach and I are trying to get back into collecting them. Sure, I know who all the players are now, but it might take a while for Zach to learn them. That's cool. Rangers start the 2012 season pretty soon, and of course we will watch early, and watch often. We have to win it all this year. Just have to.

"One Cool Surprise..."

Yes, sometimes you can plan on doing something fun and just maybe it can become so much better. We had tickets to go see "Big Miracle" Saturday night, which, if you haven't see it, it's really good. And, if I could get into Youtube here at work I'd post a clip of it. But, I cannot. So, I'll tell you a little about it. A reporter in Alaska is looking for a story to film to add to his reel. A kid whose entire family is Eskimos wants him to film his cousin riding a snowblower. Reluctantly he agrees, but while he's filming, he sees water mist coming out of the background. When he checks it out, he notices a family of whales stuck there due to the rest of the ocean frozen over. Well one thing leads to another, and the entire country gets involved in freeing them. Was a really good movie. Made me feel good all over. So as we're leaving, it turns out that the new 3-D version of Star Wars Phantom Menace was also premiering. And there were lots of characters in full costume to help promote it. Really wish I had my better camera but the iPhone came to the rescue. Couldn't find Emmy anywhere but Zach was right next to me so he got to see a bunch of them up close and personal:


Darth Vader! This costume was so much bigger than the picture can...well...depict.


This one might be my favourite shot. The stormtrooper even let Zach hold his blaster!

Sunday we went to Central Market for something called Chocolate Fest. Hey, I'm there.


Free chocolate? Won't pass that up. We also picked up a great sirloin steak and some sliders too. Everything there is made in house. Doesn't get fresher than that!

Friday night Zach finally got to have a friend spend the night:


Sure, when people move, the iPhone makes pictures like this one. This is Nicholas, who I hope is one of Zach's best friends for the rest of his life. This is the kid who made up the song that drives Zach nuts when I sing it, but is hilarious when he sings it. You can see what it is here, but they get along really well. This one was taken at Braum's. The next day we picked up some donuts and went to the park:


It was 28 degrees, so we stayed for about nine minutes then got home as fast as we could. It was so cold, my car remote wouldn't work. Fortunately I hadn't locked it so I could get inside and start it up.

Valentine's day is coming up! Got a surprise in store for Cari. I usually do. It's a really great thing when I am able to do something nice for her. Seems like I cause more trouble then I'm worth sometimes. Always working on that but that doesn't mean there aren't stumbling blocks along the way.

"Talent? Where?"

Why, in the cul-de-sac of course!! Zach and Emmy organized this talent show and some of the neighborhood kids participated. Emmy got out her cello (of course) and Zach did what he does best...rode his scooter up and down and all around. I managed to videotape the whole thing and even snapped a few pix:


Emily:
Don't need nothin'...but a good time...how can I resist...
Don't need nothin'...but a good time...and it don't get better than this...
Me: "You know, you really haven't lived until you've heard Poison played on a cello."


Poetry in motion!! I guess the act was them riding them in unison. Looks like they got it all figured out.

Turns out the kids that won the whole thing were voted on by the judge...who was their brother. The fix is in!!

Looking forward to this weekend. Gonna sell cookies Saturday from 3-6 then...if Zach and Emmy have been good...we'll go to Chuck E Cheese! Not my favourite place, but it's really cool that they are old enough to go and play games by themselves and Cari and I can just relax a little. Then Sunday...is...Super Bowl Sunday! A rematch of Numero 42 between the Pats and Giants. Who wins this one? I think it comes down to who wins the penalty battle. Less penalties should give you the win. I gotta go Pats this time. Why? Cuz I went Pats last time and lost! Once burned...not this time. We're going to a friend's house who supposedly have this huge TV. Gonna make some snacks and play squares. Hopefully I'll win some cash!

Sunday I'm supposed to take Zach to a birthday party for his friend James in his class, but I just got some disturbing news from Cari. Apparently Zach took $20 out of some money that did not belong to him and took it to school to buy concessions. Argh! Why does he do that? Furthermore, why does he think no one will ever find out? Anyways...he's in some big trouble when I get home tonight. I bet the guy who said kids were a blessing never had any. He's going to pay for this one, Zach is. Big time.

I've been organizing our pictures on Flickr lately and it always takes me down Memory Lane a little. Take this picture for instance:


This was during one of our Saturday morning trips. Emily was about 3 1/2. Such a fun day. This was the day we discovered that ducks will eat breakfast cereal when adults won't because it tastes terrible.


This was another really fun day. I should have been out shopping for a birthday present for Cari but instead we went here, to the River Legacy Science Center. I had never been here before, so when we got here we were kind of awkwardly walking around. We found a path, and this half-finished house.


This was during our trip to Disneyworld back in 2006, if you couldn't guess from the Donald Duck and company display in the background. That had to be one of the best weeks since I hadn't had a vacation in like four years. We need to go back again now that Zach is old enough to ride some of the rides. Tall enough? Ehh...we'll see.

I haven't showcased any YouTube clips on here lately, mostly because our work computer now won't let anyone watch it. Geez, what's next? Shock collars to keep us awake?

By this time tomorrow I will have been here at Healthmarkets for four years!! This was a very important anniversary for me to reach, mainly because the record for time at a job was four years with Pizza Hut. Geez, what was I thinking working there for that long? I guess it was nice just to have a job that I could make more than $175 a week. Yeah, that is what I made when I was a temp back in the mid-90's. Geez, what was I thinking working for them!? I'm really proud of myself for realizing that what I was doing wasn't working. The way I was going through life wasn't working. I owe a lot of what I have to some people, sure, but who doesn't? When I'm called upon to help out I'll be there first in line. Maybe that's why we're really here. You can accomplish so much more when you push up then when you just stand there.