Sunday, July 19, 2009

Coming to you on the road...

from beautiful Snyder, TX.

I don't know what possesses people to live in small communities like this. I don't have an issue with small communities mind you it's just small communities in the middle of nowhere. Actually it's small communities with no aesthetic appeal. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. De nada for my Spanish friends.

A small town in the mountains. Pretty. A small town on the beach. Nice. A small town in the middle of West Texas dirt and heat and grime. Huh?

Had a great trip yesterday. Kids were fabulous. Left the house at 12:00, left McDonald's down the street from our house at 12:15. Stopped by Kelly's Alma Mater in Abilene, Hardin Simmons for 1/2 hour. She got very nostalgic. Got to Snyder, our halfway point, by 4:40. Map showed we shouldn't be there until 5:00 and that was leaving at noon with no 1/2 hour stop. (BF moment)

We are fixing to start our second leg to the mountains of Ruidoso. Hope today goes as well as yesterday. Except for last night. Reagan would not sleep. So, needless to say Kelly will be napping and kids will be watching movies while I am chewing and itouching the music scene.

We'll keep you posted.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Looks like we're staying in Texas...

Ironically, I am writing this from Chicago. As much as I wanted this, uprooting a family is not an easy thing to do. So we'll stay put and fix up the house and keep Texas as our home. I can't complain. We could live in Taxachussets.

It's been a while since I've updated you on the family. So here goes...

Madison is 6 going on 13. She'll be 7 in September. She is growing up so fast. She is all about fashion. Something the old man knows a thing or two about. I bought her a pair of pink Chuck Taylors which she wore to vacation bible school. They were a big hit. It must be the gay side in me coming out. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

She is a fantastic student. (BF moment here.) She won the outstanding student award for her kindergarten class. Madison is a huge helper around the house. Earning dollars all along. The girl is a fish. Spends every possible moment in the pool. She's got the tan to prove it.

Ian is a very vocal 3. Will be 4 in January. The other day we were swimming in the pool and he swam up to me and said, "Daddy! You're my best friend!" Needless to say, my eyes weren't just wet from the pool water. He is a caring, loving, frustrating child. Just when you think you got him figured out he changes on you.

He loves to play the Wii. It is an absolute hoot to watch him play the games. Lifting his feet, dancing to the music. It is more fun to watch him play than to play the games themselves.

Reagan is almost 20 months old. She is into everything. Everything. My mom, who has had her share of grandchildren, said Reagan, of all the 16 grandkids, is the worst/best at getting into things. The other day we found her sitting atop a stack of music drawing on the wall. Not so bad you say. Well the stack of music was on top of the piano. She was about 4 feet off the ground. She made it up there with no sound. We did not hear the building of the sophisticated ladder. She did not stomp on any piano keys. She did not disturb any knick-knacks or papers on the piano of which there are many. The parents first thought is to get her down from there followed very closely by, "Impressive!"

She is starting to talk a lot. She mimics the words we say and says them in her way. Although not quite exactly what we say, she is very close.

Kelly is doing well. I know she's tired. Three kids and a bum for a husband. She is the backbone, the glue, the keystone; what have you. Honestly, all I have to do is go make a living. She makes the living worthy of a life.

I love her more than she will ever know.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day...

To my Dad, my brothers, my father in law, my brother in law..to all dads everywhere.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The trip from...

"he" double hockey sticks.

Wednesday, I was scheduled to board a plane for Dallas at 7:20 pm. Home sweet home. The flight coming in was delayed so we didn't board until about 8:00. We finally pushed out of the gate about 8:25. We would be a little late but they usually make this time up during flight so maybe just a little. The talk in the terminal was of the big storms rolling through Dallas. Hail, lightning, the whole nine yards. Eh, it would roll through and be in Shreveport by the time we got there. No issues.

Luckily the seat next to me was empty which made what happened next bearable. Side note, the guy sitting in the window seat was an American pilot. Referred to from now on as AP. I have come to realize all will be well if AP doesn't lift his head up from his reading material. As we are taxiing down the tarmac, the brakes are applied as if we were landing; very strongly and abruptly. First thing AP does is look up from his magazine and focus out the window.

Crap.

We pull along side another plane and the pilot informs us of the storms in Dallas and we will be waiting 1 hour on the tarmac for them to blow over. So, off the engines go and we wait.

Finally, after shooting a -20 on Tiger Woods golf on the iTouch, we take off.

The flight to Dallas was uneventful until the pilot informed us we would be flying around West Texas for a while until some storms blew over. An hour later, we land at the runway that goes northwest to southeast. You have to fly over Grapevine to reach it. It's on the far west end of the airport. Our terminal is A gate 26. The longest taxi possible at DFW.

After what seemed like an eternity, we got to our gate. Only it was closed and they had to find another one for us. Gate A 28 was open after only a short 25 minute sit on the tarmac.

Off the plane, onto the Skylink. Skylink is the tram that carries you around the airport if you are far away from your car or connecting flight. My flight left from C26 so I qualified. All I had to do was hop on the tram which traveled clockwise around the airport and I would be at my truck in 2 stops. I should have known that tram was closed and I would have to take the tram that only traveled counter-clockwise. 8 stops later I was at my truck. Did I mention the thing was packed like Skoal in my brothers gums? All with sleeping cots for their night at the airport.

Drove home and walked in the door at 1:30. 6 hours after I was supposed to be on the plane.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

65 Years ago today...

guys my nephews age were on and preparing to be on a beach swarming with Nazi's and their pillbox's. A pillbox is a concrete bunker, usually the concrete is about 4 feet thick, with a "window" about 1 foot by 3 feet to see and shoot out of. The Nazi's had these pillbox's all along the beach pointing their machine guns at our boys as they hit the beach.

The music you hear was on the hit parade in 1944. If they had had Ipods, many of them would have been listening to this music as they prepared to storm Normandy.

If you find yourself in a patriotic mood this evening and want to watch something WWII D-Day ish, you can't go wrong with any of these choices:

Ike: Countdown to D-Day

Band of Brothers

Saving Private Ryan

Whatever you do today take some time to remember the greatest generation.