"Happy New Year!!"

But Mike...wasn't New Years' like 2 months ago??

Well...yeah...but not in China!! Apparently they celebrate the new year in February, so Zach's class decided to celebrate too! And, the good thing about only the first grade particpating is there's no long lines of people lining the halls! I tried to get some good shots of the boy doing his thing, but he's a slippery varmint. I did get a few pix though:



Zach: "So Dad, does my mask look Chinese?"
Me: "Well, let's see...does it say 'Made in China' anywhere on it?"
Zach: "Actually, yeah...is that good?"
Me: "Oh yeah! If we can make egg rolls in America, they can make paper masks!"
Zach: "Spot on philosophy as always, Pop..."



Here is the army of kids marching down the hall in their giant Chinese dragon. They really worked hard on it, from what Zach tells me. And who wouldn't take the word of a seven year old, right?

It's hard to believe everyone is alomst done with school! Spring break is just around the corner. I managed to secure the Monday off that week so we might go to Seaworld or Six Flags or something. Always good to take time off from work. When we don't have a job, we find ourselves constantly looking for one. Then, when we get one, we find ourselves constantly looking for ways to take time off. I don't think we were designed to ever be truly happy. Maybe because we can't do everything we want to all the time. I have all these dreams about fun things I'd like to do all the time but there just isn't enough time. Maybe the idea of it is mor eexciting then actually doing it. Hmm...

"Back...To The Park!"

The park? Don't you mean the future?

Well, sometimes the park is the future. Lately I've been feeling like I haven't been doing as much for Zach and Emmy as I used to, in terms of taking them to do things that they are on the verge of outgrowing. Like the park. Cari had the chance to go to a Dallas Stars game with my sister, which left the three of us up to our own devices! Since we were hungry, we stopped by McDonald's (Zach's favourite place) and had dinner first:



Normally I don't go to McDonald's since their menu isn't the best for someone...or anyone for that matter. But this was kind of a special occasion. I'll explained later.

Next...time to feed the ducks! Some people use bread, others use crackers, but we used...



...Elmo cereal! Emmy picked this out as a joke when we were grocery shopping, and it tasted terrible according to her. What good is a healthy cereal when it needs sugar to make it taste better? But when you're a duck, you're happy for anything that comes your way. And man did the ducks eat it up:



They didn't fight over it much like they usually do, but...what can ya do, right? Duck fights don't happen everyday I guess.



I'm not sure what I was trying to accomplish with this shot. But I think I look pretty good here. I guess Advocare really works. My face got half-sunburned from selling Girl Scout cookies the day before. Half burned? How does that even happen? If there is, I always find a way.



I love this shot. This is the one that made the whole night worth it. You see...

For the last couple of Mondays, I've felt kind of down that I haven't been able to take Zach and Emmy to the park as much as I would like. More so for Zach. Emmy is probably okay if she doesn't go as much as she used to, but Zach loves to go every chance he gets. It's those chances that lately have been few and far between. Between selling cookies and sports and all the other things that have been going on, I find myself feeling bad that maybe I'm not doing my part. It's probably silly, but that feeling is there. This night helped make up for some of that. All I can do is all I can do.

"HOW BOUT THEM RAVENS!!"

The...Baltimore Ravens?

Oh yeah!

Thanks to some bets I placed with some different people who thought the 49ers had a shot to win this thing, I managed to win a free lunch, a free Super Bowl party feast from Wingstop, and $40 from good ol Jay! What might i need this for you may ask? Well...the Wondershare company makes this program that can pull the movie off of any DVD and convert it into iPod or tablet format! I've been using their free version but it leaves this annoying watermark right in the middle of the screen. By registering it (and paying for it), that watermark goes away. My goal is to convert some of the kids' movies we have onto our tablet to use for the driving we will do on wherever we go for our vacation. We should probably start planning it now since we always seem to put it off until the month before we are actually off. Last year was really great. Seaworld was really fun as was Kemah and Moody Gardens. We talked about going to California and maybe seeing a Rangers game there. There would be a lot to see too. Hollywood, the Walk of Fame stars, and more than I can recall right now. I'd love to go to San Francisco too to see some of the landmarks featured in what is probably my all time favourite movie:



What's Up Doc! It is over 40 years old but has held up very well as a screwball comedy. Go to IMDB.com to read about what it's about but the exchange of dialogue is arguably unmatched. I'm trying to plan a game night with Dad and Keri and watch it together just like we did in the 80's. Was such a nice way to pass the time back then.

This morning was really cool. They had "Muffins With Mom" at the school so Cari took them up there about 7:20:



Well, that kind of freed up my morning, so I hit the gym since I won't be able to go tomorrow cuz Emmy has to be at the high school by 9am for a concert rehearsal. I did the stairmaster for the first time in a while and actually did 30 minutes at level two! I haven't been able to do that in a while. I felt really good when I left. We just finished Advocare for the second time and I lost 11.8 pounds! Nice to wear some shirts that have never really felt right.

Emmy lost a tooth last night! Of course, the entire event was overshadowed by Zach. First, instead of letting Emmy tell me like she wanted to, he ran in the house and shouted it first, causing Emmy to get really upset with him and push him to the ground. Zach then 'pretends' to trip harder and falls harder and hurts himself. Then he hides the tooth so Emmy can't find it which means the tooth fairy can't swing by and leave a $5er under her pillow. Cari and I had to sit down with him and talk to him about things like this, and I feel bad for Emmy because it takes away time that we could be spending with her because she needs us too, and it always feels like she's not getting the attention she needs. I think that tomorrow morning before I have to take her to rehersal I'll take her out for breakfast just the two of us and really let her know how much she means to us. We owe her that much.

"Back To The Grind..."

Yes, the holidays are over, and all of us that are lucky enough to go to work are getting back into the swing of things. But Saturday we took some time and did some fun things around one of our favourite places, downtown Fort Worth! We even managed to take a few pix here and there:



The Cowtown Cycle Pub! Apparently you can make reservations to ride on it. The entire car is powered strickly by pedaling! So have a brew and get some exerise at the same time right?



Of course, Emmy had to have her picture taken with Toad! Taking this made me think of back in 2005...



Man how things grow...

After that we made a trip down to the Fort Worth Museum located just around the corner from the bookstore:



Again, this reminds me of an earlier time we were here...



That was such a fun week in July 2007. It rained every day that week except for Monday, so we had to do as much as we can in one day.

This weekend is gonna be one of the best of the year! Get to go see a movie tonight. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters! Apparently the fairy tale brother and sister hunt witches for a living now. Could be pretty cool. Then Sunday...SUPER BOWL!!! I have bets with three different people that the Baltimore Ravens are able to pull this one out. If they win, I get a lunch at work, $20 from my friend Brian Morrow, and $40 from my brother in law Jay. If I lose...well...will have to pay for that for a while. I feel good though. Got one of my hunches here. They usually work out.