"More Visitors!"

You know....just when I think I've purged my home of all outside creatures...



...a woodpecker decides to make my tree her new home! Now, while I admire the handiwork she did drilling a perfect hole to get into the branch, everytime we leave the house or come home all we hear is the constant tweets of the baby birds in the branch. Finally, Cari managed to get a shot of the mama bird:



I had to crop it a bit but it's a pretty good shot. Hopefully we'll be around when the eggs hatch and we get to see them come into the world for the first time.

Zach finally started coach pitch baseball!! He's been waiting to get rid of the T-Ball approach to hitting and now's the time. He went one for two so I'm very proud that he's learning the ins and outs of real baseball...



Man he looks sharp.



His coach had him play catcher the whole game, which I don't think is his best position. He's got too much speed and reflexes to be sedimentary the whole game. Maybe I'll make trouble and bring it up with his coach if he puts him there again.

After the game Cari and her friend Branda decided to go have some girl time alone so Jerramy and I took all the kids to...



...you guessed it, the Water Gardens in Fort Worth!! I was a little surprised to find out that Carson hadn't ever been here. My kids of course have been here a bunch. So we walked around and got some pretty cool shots:



Emmy was nice enough to take this shot of Zach and me!



This shot is currently my wallpaper at my computer at work! I may need to get this one printed up.



If you look closely, you can see the rainbow. Hint: It's to the left.



Me: "Hey Jerramy, whatcha takin' a picture of?"
Jerramy: "There's something fascinating in the water."
Me: "Oh yeah? What?"
Jerramy: "More water..."
Me: "Oh! Yes, that is...fascinating..."



This is a good background shot. So glad the city of Fort Worth decided to kick in a few bucks and make this place a true landmark for the rest of us. I don't remember when I first came here. I always thought it was a school field trip, but who knows for sure. All I really want for Zach and Emmy is to look back on their childhood and realize it was really great. Some kids aren't having so much fun and are wanting to be adults so fast. Hopefully it doesn't come too fast. I still like being the main thing in their lives...even if it's only me that believes it.

"They've Bloomed!"

Like clockwork.

Every three years, the irises in my flower bed manage to spring forth actual flowers! Here we are after three days:



And after three more days...



Now I can start to see the purple bloom starting to appear. I wish I had different colours that all bloomed at different times, that'd be really cool. I'll have to check out Lowe's or something I guess.

Zach starts real pitch baseball tomorrow!! He hasn't played t-ball in over a year, but so far he is showing he hasn't lost any of that instinct that makes him so good. We were practicing in the front yard last week and he can still scoop em up and throw em out!

Finally watched "Throw Momma From The Train" last week! Can't beleive it's over 25 years old and I never saw it. It was really good. I don't think I could ever bring myself to take someone's life though. I guess that's why I don't believe in the death penalty. Who among us has the right to determine whether someone lives or dies? After what happened this week, it's hard not to read about people dying:



And...



...it is just ridiculous that these things have to happen in the world. I really hope this isn't some kind of pre-determined course that a higher power put in force for one reason or another. If I find out that these were merely random acts of stupidity and unfortunate circumstances, I'd be okay with that. Really.

"Last Dance....Tonight...."

Yes, to quote the wonderful yet sad Donna Summer song, this year marks the last daddy daughter dance that Emily and I will go to as she is finishing up her last year at Little Elementary. I suppose all things have to end at some point. But it really seems like the last 7 years just kind of breezed by rather quickly. But, that's why someone invented cameras, right? A few pix:



This is a really nice shot of us. I may need to have this one framed. Someone on Facebook commeneted they thought I'd slimmed down. That's always nice to hear. It's always kind of hard to bring it up since you take the chance that the person you said it to didn't know they were trying to lose weight in the first place. Make sense:



We ended up accompanying Emmy's friend Ryann and her dad so I had someone to talk to while they ran around to who knows where. I thought this was a pretty good shot of them being silly. They were playing "Can't Touch This" and I busted a move. Emmy acted embarassed but deep down I knew she was embarassed to be seen with me. I didn't mind. I had fun.



Afterwards we all decided that the Melting Pot was the place to be. Not Braums, where we usually go. Mainly because someone we all know would be there talking his head off. But it was really good. We all shared the S'Mores chocolate with the marshmallow and graham crackers. Was really rich.

Then, Sunday, we got to go to our first Ranger game of the season! Section 9 which was really good seats for being in the outfield. But first, we got to walk the field in the Girl Scout Parade! I'd never been on the actual field before so it was kind of cool:



One guess who knew I was taking a picture?



Speak for yourself.



Josh who? Man did he get booed at this game. And he will continue to get booed at every game he plays here for the rest of his days. That's what you get for not standing by your word and drfecting to the enemy.



Johnny Football threw out the first pitch! I guess when you're the only freshman to win a Heismann trophy there are certain perks. Maybe I should win a Heismann, then I can throw out the first pitch. Someday...someday...

Well, we won the game 7-3, thanks to three Ranger home runs!! So, Zach did a dance only he can do:



Oh, to be young again...not caring what you do in front of people. Ha ha...

All in all we had a pretty fun weekend. As we began the 2013 Rangers season, we say good-bye to the annual spring tradition of the daddy daughter dance. There might be more later on, but for now this looks like the last one. They all had one thing in common though. We always had a fun time. But this year seemed to be the most fun. She's getting to be so grown up. She will always be my little girl though. No matter what she does in her life or where life takes her.

"One Fun Weekend!!"

Besides being Easter weekend, we also managed to squeeze in a trip to Six Flags! I switched shifts with someone at work to get off early so we could enjoy the park longer. And, since the iPhone 4 has a better camera, I managed to snag a few pix:



We always start with the Merry-Go-Round. Emily was doing something else so it was just the three of us + the Barkers. This is a good shot of da guyz.



I thought this would make a good shot of Zach and Carson. How Zach is managing to keep all of his teeth in his mouth and not lost any yet is beyond me.



Not quite sure what Jerramy is looking at...literally...I have no idea.

The next day we watched Zach's soccer game then went to Rita's Italian Ice in Euless:



Me: "Hey Jerramy, how's that Italian Ice taste??"
Jerramy: "MMMMMMHHHPPPHHMMM......."
Me: "I see..."

Then Jerramy and I took the kids to the River Legacy park! I had no idea this place existed, but Mr. Tour Guide apparently knew where everything is:



Everything is dinosaur-related...apparently.



Good background shot. It's actually a pretty cool place.

Then...Sunday...Easter morning! I bought a new shirt at Penney's just for that day. It's got Easter colours but it may be a little...I don't know...fruity? I hope not. After the morning church service the kids hunted eggs at their grandparent's house:



Zach: "Are you sure this is the magic Easter egg?"
Cari: "Um...define magic...?"
Zach: "Like...is it made out of real gold?"
Cari: "Ohhhh....then no. It may have some candy in it though!"
Zach: "Good enough."



Now I remember. Emmy had a camping trip with the Girl Scouts...that's where she was. Here we see she's on the hunt for some eggs. No Easter dress, but she got boots!



This was a lizard that was creeping around. He actually stated still long enough for me to move in and get a good shot of him.



Of course, what Easter would be complete without Silly String!! Everybody got sprayed...including...



...poor Cari. She leaveth alone, only to get supersoaked by yon string.





No one was safe...not even me! Everyone kept spraying me AND my camera...even after repeated warnings or my wrath went completely ignored...they shall pay for this.

I know I haven't had anything really profound to say lately. Maybe everything there is to know in life has been learned. Maybe not. But the kids are almost done with school. Emmy's gonna be in junior high in like four months! And Zach will be in second grade! Time just keeps moving on...and there's absolutely nothing any of us can do about it. So just enjoy the ride.