"Now, To Be Fair..."

Get it? We went to the fair? No? Nothing? Fine, let's move on... On October 4, Dad, Keri and I went to the State Fair Of Texas! It was such a nice day out and the rest of the family was in New Mexico at a wedding. I think Keri goes every year, but I hadn't been in over 15 years, so the whole thing was all new to me. The first ride we went on was the giant ferris wheel I sometimes see when I drive through Dallas:



Pretty high up there. Turns out Dad has a slight fear of heights...or enclosed spaces...one of them. Well, this ride has it all! We managed to enjoy our time off the ground:



Apparently it was the "cheesy smile" hour or something.

Now, time for a snack...



This was supposed to be a combination of pecan pie and ice cream but I think we got something else. It had blueberries, fried dough and white chocolate chips. Was still really good!



Chicken fried bacon! Yep...not enough nitrates in bacon, let's deep fry it and serve it with ranch and honey mustard. Yep...still really good though.



Yep...just a couple of studs, chillin' out.



Dad: "I'm telling you son, I give the best massages!! Trust me!"

Me: "Um...it's not that I believe you, it's just...um..."

Dad: "What? What is it? Is there something I can do?"

Me: "Yeah...NOT RUB ME DOWN would be great!"

Dad: "You don't know what you're missin'..."

Me: "I'm okay with that."

The whole weekend was marred by a huge branch that fell out of our tree! I spent about half the weekend cutting, sawing, and lifting. Was worn out. Fortunately John and I managed to get it cut down and carried to the curb. Of course, it was not without a casualty. A giant branch fell and knock John off the ladder and he fell back and landed on his foot and broke it! In hindsight we realized we should have cut smaller parts first then gone after the bigger ones. Who knows, the same thing would have happened maybe?

Really enjoyed myself at the fair though. Was nice to hang out with family and not quibble and bicker like some families tend to do. Will have to make more of an effort to make time for people.

"Oh...so sick..."

Yes, I used some sick time before Zach and Emmy started back to school, and up first was taking Emmy to Six Flags:



I had to make them pose with Bugs! Why should I have to make anyone pose with Bugs...ah well...



Emily: "Hey Dad, why is there a giant hearse at Six Flags?"

Me: "I think someone died about fifteen minutes ago...maybe the guy who runs the Merry-Go-Round."

Camryn: "OMG this place is depressing! I don't want to be around dead people!"

Me: "Not people...person...singular."

Camryn: "Ohh...okay...I feel better then."

Next stop...Dallas Vintage Toys! I've been following them on Facebook for about a year and now that I had some free time, Zach and I made our way to see what all the fuss was about. Let's start with the location! It's in the middle of not-so-spectacular Dallas...on the 6th floor of what looks like a totally deserted office building! I spent 10 minutes driving around before I realized where exactly this place was. But, we managed to make our way in and up and when we got there they had just about everything you could imagine ever having as a kid. Zach had a look of wonder as well:



See? Wonder. I think I lost track of him for a bit because there were so many rooms! It was basically an office converted to a toy store. And, he managed to find this:



A hoverboard from Back To The Future! To my utter shock, it wasn't a working model. Shucks.



I don't even remember these being released back in the day. Of course I was about 11, so that may have had something to do with it.



We were wondering if that was the real R2-D2, but he didn't really say anything. Just sat there. Ah well.

I always feel better when I'm able to take them out to do something fun. I'm not sure why, but I get this nagging feeling that if we don't have these excursions every now and then, they will start to feel like I don't want to spend time with them. Yeah, it's probably as far-fetched as it sounds, but maybe more parents should try and do that out of sheer guilt. I watch Zach in the bath and he'll start talking about something that's really exciting to him and I just watch him in complete amazement as he talks. I guess it's true what they say...the most valuable thing you can give your kids is your time. I think that have that from me.

"We're Back!"

...from where, you may ask?

Well, stop bullying me and I'll tell you!

We managed to go through THREE states in ten days! First to New Mexico, then to Colorado, then back to Texas! As we always do, we go through Amarillo and have lunch here:



Pretty sure this is a real bear. Pretty sure I could take him in a fight. Then again...

Cari and I shared the 9 oz. rib eye lunch special. Any left?



Nah.



Me: "Hey now Emmy...put the gun down...I didn't mean it, honest!"

Emmy: "Take it back."

Me: "Fine...you do NOT have a funny-looking face."

Emmy: "You know this gun isn't real, right?"

Me: "It isn't?"

Next, we made our way down to Albuquerque and did a little mountain climbing. Some great views:





Next, onto the aquarium:



Jellyfish! Taken with an iPhone of all things!



Nice shot of me and the boy.



Nice shot of me and the girl!



The Atlantic coral reef...majestic!

Here is a hummingbird I managed to get a picture of:



Not too bad eh?

Next stop...Colorado!! One of the neat things we managed to see after dinner was this:



We didn't do much sightseeing but we managed to make our way to Coors Field to see the Rockies play the Pirates! Man, what a view:



Pretty cool how they left that part of the wall open to see the Rockies as the sun sets...



...and here's a #selfie:



Now, on the way home! Before staying in the luxurious "Buffalo Inn, we attended a play in the city of Canyon, TX, which is famous for really two things. A giant canyon...



...and a play about the history of Texas! Up until the turn of the 20th century that is:



Apparently it starts out with cattlemen and farmers at wits with not only Indians, but railroad committees trying to take people's land...



...but eventually everyone manages to get married and everything is wonderful. Of course, they somehow forgot about the Mexican War, the battle of the Alamo, etc... but who would make the drive out to watch dying soldiers, right?

What a long ten days! So glad to come home and sleep in my own bed. Slept in five of them during this whole road trip. Hopefully everyone will remember these trips as they become adults and go on through their lives. When we got back from Canada we never took another family vacation. Part of me always wonders why. I remember the Grand Canyon trip when I was very little. Most of it seems to get lost over the course of time. So glad for digital photography. No chance anyone's forgetting a trip I'm a part of.

"I'm (Almost) The Biggest Loser!"

Well, I say almost because even though I didn't win the grand prize, I managed to lose 8.5% of my body weight and win...$36. Not a lot, but it's something. I started out at 273 lbs. and finished at 249.8 lbs!:



Now how were you wondering did I manage to accomplish this? Well...one word. Well, actually a bunch of words. But the main one was...celery. A ton of it. Literally. If enough is eaten it can fill you up and it burns calories while you digest it. I actually did really well (2+ lbs. a week) starting out while not exercising a whole lot. So, I go into the final two weeks needing to lose 5.8 lbs, starting to get a little worried. So I started walking in the morning. Three miles! Every day. That and keeping a balanced diet managed to put me over the top! Someone even started walking with me:



He managed to get his butt up at 6:30 and came with me! We had lots of time to talk about things. Mostly what was on his mind ha ha. No worries. Glad to have him along.

Saw some weird things as well:



Possums...ugh...unfortunately, this guy had a short demise three days later:



I wish I could say I was sad about what happened...but...it's a possum! Yecch.

So now I have to make sure and keep this off. I'm not planning on going nuts and putting it back on. Not since people seem to comment a lot more on how much I've changed. Feels good to hear that every now and then. I look at pictures of me from years ago and I can see what they mean.

"Baseball Time!"

Now that Zach's baseball season has finished, the playoffs are about to begin! We tied one game, lost another and won the rest. And a big part of the Pirates' success was my boy! He can hit the coach's pitches not only long but high and deep! So glad they gave him Babe Ruth's number. Which is four. Anyone know that? A few pix:



I love this picture. And yes, he made the catch.



This was a great swing shot of him. I've been coaching third base and I'm still trying to get the hang of when to send the runner home and when to hold them. My philosophy is, I'd rather keep them at third and get them home on the next hit than risk them getting tagged out by a good relay throw. Ah well. What can ya do?



Zach: "Hey Dad, how long do I have to keep standing like this?"

Me: "Um...just a few more minutes...trying to get the perfect picture."

Zach: "But my ankle is starting to separate from the rest of my leg!"

Me: "I'll get some duct tape, fix you right up."

He has his first playoff game against the Oakland A's Saturday. If they lose we still play one more game. But I have a feeling we can beat these guys. Hopefully our guys can play a bit better defense and keep them from scoring their 5 runs an inning. So glad they have that rule, otherwise some of these guys would keep scoring into the triple digits. I played 2 seasons when I was 11. That's how I got that scar on my head. Wish I had enjoyed it more. Looking back that was some of the best days of my life.

"Zach Is Communized!"

Or...something to that effect.

On May 4 Zach completed his Eucharist and Sacrament and is now an official member of St Vincent de Paul!! SO now, that makes everyone...but me. Ah well. Someday this too shall happen for me. But for now, a few pix:



Zach: "How many wafers am I supposed to put in this dish Dad?"

Me: "Well...it's hard to say..."

Zach: "Care to venture a guess?"

Me: "Um...36?"

Zach: "36 it is!"



Three generations! I wish Grandpa could have been there with us. Hopefully he was there in spirit.



One nice picture with him...was that too much to ask? Apparently so.

And, we lost a family favourite recently...



Still can't believe he died. He made it to 50 then...die. Seems like when someone does a 100 lb. weight loss there's always some of them who never live much longer. But his comedy was the stuff of legends. Always makes me hungry for a good Chinese Buffet. You'll live with us forever John...as long as there is YouTube.

"A Rainy Park Visit!"

I decided to take Zach and Emmy up to the park a little while back but it was cut short by the rain. This has been by far the weirdest winter in the history of Texas..ever. But we managed to have a little fun. Plus, we found my favourite flower:



Quite a few of them! Here's a great pic of them:



Currently my desktop screen at work!



We tried to feed the ducks but there were like two of them and they had no interest in eating cereal. Ah well. What are ya gonna do...

Every now and then I get these little pangs of guilt when I don't take them to do things like this as often as I'd like. So when the opportunity presents itself I always take advantage.

I decided to do the Biggest Loser contest as work! Winner gets half of all the entry money. Last year's winner got $475! If I lose 22 lbs I win a share of the other half. I started at 273 lbs and after 2 weeks I'm down to 267.2 lbs! Looks like celery really is a wonder vegetable. Hopefully I can stay the course. I also do some running/walking at Chisolm park down the street which can only help...at least that's my philosophy. Looks like it's working pretty good so far.

"One Fun Spring Break!"

yes, I know this is a little late in coming, but when work gets busy, I get busy. But I did manage to take spring break off so that I could hang out with Zach and Emmy and do some things none of us have done before. Our first stop was a place I stumbled upon while at lunch one day:



A real life coin shop! Emmy bought two unopened pennies (very shiny) and Zach bought a Texas Bicentennial medal (again, very shiny). It was pretty cool.

Tuesday Emmy accepted a Six Flags invitation so it was just me, Zach...and Zach's friend Chelsea. I am usually the one taking their friends to this place for the first time:



Yep, we all knew this place was what I was talking about.





After we walked around here...we went down to the Trinity River:



I didn't even know Zach threw up bunny ears until a week later ha ha.

Turns out Tarrant County pumped a few bucks into turning the riverfront property into a medical education campus, complete with waterfalls:





This shot got me a little unwanted attention from a Fort Worth police officer. Turns out...no standing!

Wednesday The Overalls and Barkers saddled up and went out to the Living Science Center at River Legacy Park:



Yes, he's looking for bugs. He was told to.



Not sure what Emmy found...but I'm pretty sure it made its way home with us.

Next stop...the Fort Worth Stockyards:



Emmy: "Hey Dad, what does that sign mean behind me?"

Dad: "I think it's calling you a cow..."

Emmy: "What!? Why would Fort Worth be so mean?"

Dad: "Not sure...I'll file a complaint."



Lunch! I was beyond starving so a big ol burger really hit the spot.



The running of the bulls! They didn't run much though. Just moseyed.

Then...the shootout:





I guess we know who won.

Then The rest of the week we tended to Zach as he had to have a dingleberry-ectomy (in layman's terms, he had to have his ascended testicle lowered. He was a trooper though. Now he's "good to go."

Yes I made Fluffy pose for this:



Was a really fun week. First time I've ever taken spring break off. May have to make this a traditional thang.