Category Archives: Fun

Water Rocket Fun

October 28, 2009Fun, TinkeringFun, Tinkeringwarren

I am sitting here at Panera (yes…again…I know, I should go to work some) looking out at the dark rain clouds rolling in and wishing that we would get a bunch more days of nice weather. I have always loved Summer. I sort of dread the coming of Winter and Fall.

I was thinking about some of the things that I love about Summer and water rockets came to mind. I think it sort of mixes water, heat, adventure, a little danger and an explosion of sorts. How can I not love it?!

When we lived in TN, we decided to make a water rocket to keep us all cool and give the kids something to chase. You see, a water rocket shoots water all over the place and anyone nearby gets soaked. It also launches pretty high up in the air and someone has to go and recover the fuselage.

So, what is a water rocket you ask? Simple…it’s a 2 liter bottle with 3 inches of water in it. Add some compressed air and off she goes! I glued some pvc pipes together in an “L” shape and added a bicycle valve and stem to the back (drill a hold in a pvc cap and insert the stem…seal with silicone). All you do is put 2-4 inches of water into a 2 liter bottle and carefully hold it upside down on the open end of the pvc pipe. Add compressed air via the tire valve at the other end and you’re in business. As the air builds, the water starts to leak signalling that it’s time to let go!

By not making too tight of a fit between the bottle and the pvc (some people suggest a tight fit but that’s more dangerous), you run very little risk of having anything explode. I added some duct tape to the tip of the pipe to make is a snug (but by no means tight) fit between the pipe and the bottle. Air will leak before pressure will build up too high.

Of course, the bottle flying off the end of the pipe could be dangerous so make sure it points upward and not at anyone/thing. Other than that, a water rocket is an absolute blast and something kids and adults will enjoy. As Winter sets in, consider the design of your water rocket for next Summer. It will be worth the wait!

Going for Broke

October 26, 2009Family, FunFamily, Funwarren

Some friends had a birthday party for their kids at an “inflatables” place. Basically, there is one big room full of inflatable Jupiter Jumps and slides and stuff like that. The kids were having a great time for the most part…all except the smallest kids who couldn’t fit through “the Big Squeeze”, a tight spot in one of the inflatables. Really, all they had to do was push their heads though and they would have been fine, but the little kids got stuck.

(at the top of the Wall of Doom) (Ready to jump!)

(Isaac going over the Wall)

You see, there was a big wall they slid down to get to that part and the “Big Squeeze” was the other direction. One or two kids could easily be sacrificed and left in the Gully of Fear, but there got to be a backlog so I went in to hold the “Big Squeeze” open so they could get through.

Of course, I am a big stupid kid so I decided to continue playing on the inflatables. Isaac and I raced through them, plowing down women and children as we went. It was heap-big fun! Of course, these things are really built for kid feet, not adult feet. So, with my adult feet firmly attached, I plowed through one ride and met up with a kid-feet-size step to climb one of the walls. My square-peg foot didn’t fit into the round-peg step and “the Legend of Warren (the goof-ball)” was born.

(uh…girl…you have some cake on your face!)

I hobbled my way through the rest of the maze, but I was pretty sure I had done damage. Emily wasn’t around so I got 11 kids to carry me over to the party room where I could self-diagnose my torn up foot. It might as well be broken…it’s blue and hurts like crazy.

Ok, enough about me…there was a party too and it was fun. Happy birthday kiddos!

(see…they even invited the crazy clown!)

(the injuries)

Do you ever forget to act your age? Ever pay for it?

I suppose the Big Squeeze should be used as a public service announcement also…folks, don’t forget your mammograms.

Limerick Thursday

October 22, 2009Fun, ThoughtsFun, Thoughtswarren

So, I am sitting in Panera this morning contemplating life and enjoying a Cinnamon Crunch (™) bagel. I have to go finish fixing up an unfortunate pickle/kitchen drain incident but I need some motivation. I decided that a limerick might put me in the proper mood to do manual labor. Most limericks are crude, and although I typically appreciate such humor, I will not share any of those here. Instead, I will write an inspiring ditty to motivate and educate…

My house is so old that it creaks
Many of its pipes have clogs or leaks
so when disposing of food
check on his mood
for your husband’s blood pressure may peak!

Oh, oh…here’s another one I just came up with…

Never put pickles down the drain and cause the dispose-all to strain
better to feed to the dog
than to cause such a clog
and make you clean up a pickley rain!

By the way, this is a limerick that makes me laugh. Its author is unknown but hilarious I think:
There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan.
When asked why this was,
He replied “It’s because
I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as ever possibly I can.”

So, do you have any G or PG-rated limericks you care to share? Haikus are welcome too. Got any good plumbing stories to make me feel better? Want to buy my house?

Toothless Wonder in WV

October 6, 2009Family, FunFamily, Funwarren

WV has a lot of bad statistics associated with it. We deserve some of the bad press, but I think I have an explanation for one problem in the state. You see, WV leads the nation in tooth loss. Apparently some 43% of folks in WV aged 65 or older have had all of their teeth removed. It’s not widely known, but belts are outlawed in WV. Older folks typically obey the law. So, a person faced with a sealed beer bottle and no belt buckle with which to open it will naturally turn to the bottle opener God gave him. Tooth loss among WV’s older folks simply a matter of the anti-belt lobby which is so strong here in WV.

(Abigail came up with the post title, by the way…)

Among younger folks, I have a harder time explaining tooth loss. My daughter lost (i.e. I pulled) another tooth last night. She’s lost 5 teeth since March, Only 1 of those has been replaced by a new adult tooth. So, Abigail is nearly toothless here in WV. What could possibly be causing such change in her? Surely she isn’t getting older on me. No, there must be something else going on here causing young people to lose teeth…

Wednesday Five

September 30, 2009Fun, ThoughtsFun, Thoughtswarren

I got this meme from Evil Twin’s Wife. I think it’s supposed to be a Friday thing, but she bucked the system and did it on Monday. I asked to play along and I’m going to also be a rebel and post it on Wednesday! You see, I am eccentric and weird (I’m bald, right…I must be eccentric!)

The way this works is that she gives me five words, upon which I am supposed to ponder and delight you with my expositions on the meaning to life as related to said words…
If you want to play along, leave a comment and I’ll flip thru a dictionary and send you five words. Of course, you can leave a comment even if you don’t want to play…

Salt – We have our garden in Malden, WV which used to be especially famous for its salt mines. It is still known by some as Kanawha Salines after the most important mine in the area. The other cool thing about the area is that Booker T Washington spent several years of his early life in the area (which was, of course, popular because of its mines).

Ballad – I can’t improve on the words of my favorite ballad (which is PG by the way):

Football – by football, I think you must be thinking of “real” football like they play in Europe. My high school didn’t have that barbaric sport that is so popular in the United States. Anyhow, I played real football in high school. I don’t know that I was ever great at soccer but I had a lot of fun smashing into other people. My kids both play soccer now and I coach my son’s team…it’s a huge part of our life now.

Tube – I guess you can say I got my start in a tube, but we’ll leave my mother’s anatomy out of this. Probably more interesting is the fact that we don’t have cable tv in our house so we spend very little time watching the tube, though we do have a pretty big tv. When we were first married, we couldn’t afford cable. We had to come up with other things to do with our time…you know, like talk. Of course, that has gotten old, but we have found other hobbies to occupy our time. So…not much tube in our house

Escape – Escape is one of those funny words that I always chuckle when I hear. There is a part in Finding Nemo when Dory reads the word “escape” on a submarine hatch…but she reads it “es-skap-eh”. So now, every time I see a Ford Escape, I feel compelled to say out loud, “Es-skap-eh” in my best Dory voice. I couldn’t find that clip but I like this one too so you’ll have to cope:

Me Warren…you Jane

September 28, 2009Adventure, Fun, Nature, WVAdventure, Nature, WVwarren

I returned a bit to my primal-ancestral ways this weekend. Besides the urge I had to dance ’round a fire with a spear, I had an opportunity to swing among the trees. In Fayetteville, WV, there is a fairly new canopy tour among the trees in some of the most beautiful forest I have seen in a long time.

(yup…raining)

Anyone in this area knows that it rained cats and dogs this Saturday. The tour company cancels for neither man, no beast…only lightning. I guess the Post Office still has one up on canopy tours. Anyhow, we arrived in the pouring rain and prepared for our tour. My preparation involved hitting the restroom one last time and slamming down some health food…a Snickers bar.

The tour is 2-3 hours in length and there are no tree-side rest areas along the way. I suppose, since it was raining so hard, we probably did have some options but no one wanted to really go there when it came to going there.

So, we tied into our male-sterilizers…I mean harnesses and started the course. It was breathtaking. We whisked, platform to platform between what appeared to be ancient trees. At first, we started at near ground level. As we progressed slowly down the mountain, we quickly ended up in the tops of enormous hemlock and magnolia trees. At the highest point, we were 85 feet off the ground in a tree…not the top of the tree, mind you. It was far taller than that.

Hemlock trees are being decimated by a beetle that destroys entire forests. A portion of our tour fees goes to treating the trees to prevent their destruction. After standing high up in the tree, I am pleased they are dedicated to preserving such beauty. We could see all around. There were “fields” or rhododendron and mountain laurel. There were wild, rushing streams and rock formations formed long ago. It was incredible and a bit spiritual for me. It just felt like how life is supposed to be. I mean, the ziplining was a blast, but I think I may have enjoyed just looking out through the forest and seeing nature. The only noise was the sound of raining falling through the leaves (and down my back) and the rush of the streams.

(I am flying by…the photographer’s timing was good!)

So, as I mentioned, it sort of rained some….I think Noah once said that too. Anyhow, my pictures aren’t great, but I don’t think they could begin to do this trip justice anyhow. The Rivermen do a fantastic job and I can’t recommend them enough. If you have an urge to get outdoors, to have a thrill, or just do something different, try ziplining in WV!

Now I am experienced

September 14, 2009Family, FunFamily, Funwarren

Last night was my first time. I had held out, saving myself I suppose. Everyone said it would be special. I wanted it to be magical…something I would never forget. I had never been to Chuck E. Cheese. They just didn’t exist anywhere near where I grew up so that wasn’t an option. Once we had kids, I was busy…every single time somone had a birthday party there. Last night, Emily’s school had a fund raiser there and she committed me before I had a chance to make other plans. So, I got protection (hand sanitizer) and headed inside the place.

At first, I was pretty overwhelmed by the smell of kids and the number of germ-hiding locations. In fact, the germs were so bold that they didn’t even try to hide. They seemed to be flying through the air before my eyes in fact. Anyhow, we ordered some…uh…I guess you’d call it food. We ate and then started to play. Now folks, I never have really grown up…or at least I never grew up right. We played skee-ball and rode on the rides. Isaac showed me his expertise at a reaction time game and Abigail pedaled herself into the air on a magic bike.

I tried to ride the rides but I didn’t fit too well. The manager finally came over and asked me if I wanted a job as Chuck himself. “I’ll pass I think…I am part elephant and am afraid of mice.” She just shook her head and walked away. Don’t grown-ups understand? I am playing!

(I wanted to see if the bucket full of tokens we got were gold)

All in all, it was a pretty good time. A lot of kids from Emily’s school were there and I am sure they raised money. I had a pretty good time too. In fact, I wasn’t really ready to leave. I did need to take 2 showers and I did a dance with a scrub brush and a bucket full of Mr. Clean!

Well, it is after 4:00

September 9, 2009Family, Fun, WVFamily, Fun, WVwarren

We took a trip to PA this weekend to visit with family and help with some home winterizing projects. I used to dread the trip from WV to PA (and even worse when we lived in TN) but as the kids have aged, we have found that a few movies, books and video games save lives. The kids travel very well and it’s become a non-issue for them to pack up and go. Emily and I count on a bunch of caffeine though as we always drive at night after we get out of work. It’s a 6.5 hour drive so that usually puts us in pretty late (especially when you consider that it follows a long work-day).

Anyhow, we count on caffeine and the groovy tunes to keep us going and it usually works very well. We headed up I-79 and drove until we got hungry. Subway usually agrees with our tummies so we pulled into one and ordered the usual. Emily ordered an un-sweet tea (she isn’t truly a Southern girl apparently). The feller at the counter said, “We don’t serve sweet tea after 4:00.” Emily said, “that’s nice, but I want UN-sweet tea.” They went back and forth several times saying the exact same thing. We were still in WV so one would think that we spoke the same language, but it was pretty clear that communication failed early on. Finally, the guy told her that they don’t serve ANY tea after 4pm.

(We got this one stuck in our heads!)

A lot of places in WV and elsewhere still have blue laws. I am familiar with them and couldn’t really care less as they don’t affect me. My wife without caffeine on a trip, however, does endanger my life. Green (tea) laws in WV must be overturned! We were in prime dinner time hours so I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have sold their tea. And heck, they waste tons of food at Subway (as in all restaurants) so I can’t imagine that throwing out a bit of tea at the end of the day would have caused them much distress. No, no, I think there must be some moral reason why tea is banned after 4pm! If anyone can enlighten me on the issue, please feel free. My life may depend on it!

Hats off!

September 4, 2009Fun, ThoughtsFun, Thoughtswarren

I was browsing through the old pictures and I found a few from our beach visit this summer. First of all, I have this thing for licking bells. I am not proud of it, but it’s my vice. I am slowly dragging my family into my addiction as well. The kids will occasionally join me in the…uh…culinary experience. Add more ketchup and Isaac will lick anything.

Anyhow, we went to the beach at Tybee Island, GA this summer and we always visit the Tybee Island light house. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I spotted my new friend!

Part of what makes this so fun for me is the opportunity to embarrass Emily. Well, that day, I had the opportunity. You see, there was a troop of Girl Scouts who had just unloaded ahead of our arrival. I walked right up and planted a big one on the bell, right in front of them. I undoubtedly gave the leaders a topic for discussion around the evening campfire so it was a pretty good day in my book!

On the way back from the lighthouse, we spotted this sign which struck us as really funny…I am not sure that folks want to think of their congregation as “the slow church” in most cases, but one church, at least, was proud of it!

I say hats off to people who do whatever it is that suits them, be it licking a bell or going to slow church!

Ever hula-hoop on a hillside?

August 24, 2009Family, Fun, WVFamily, Fun, WVwarren

We went to a family reunion this weekend. It started a few years ago as a pig roast but after Aunt Margaret got into the liquor cabinet and decided the pig needed a drink too, we have toned it down some and now have burgers and similar picnic food. We always have a great time but it’s never really a reunion until Emily’s cousin and I blow something up or do something stupid.

This year, we opted for stupid…we started off by hula-hooping on a hillside. See, in WV, there is very little flat land. Any land that is flat is a flood plain and lately, that land is pretty soggy with all the rain. So, we decided to hula-hoop on the hillside. Isaac was the only smart one. He started off wearing a helmet.

The kid is a genius with a hula-hoop! He can walk around spinning it. He can walk and talk and probably could bake a cake while hula-hooping. It turns out, his sister is similarly gifted. Me, on the other hand…I am not so blessed. I got the rhythm and lubricated joints, but I just cannot hula…and especially not on a hillside.

Cousin “D” and I discussed it and we decided hula-hooping on a hillside was no where near stupid enough. The kids brought their razor scooters. We stood at the top of the hill and a dim light lit above my head. A-ha! I know stupid when I see it. Both my Mom and wife said at the same time, “He won’t be happy until he hurts himself or someone else.” Oh how I wish all of you could be known that well by somone.

Anyhow, I jumped on the scooter and headed down the hill. The first few rides were fine but I quickly discovered that the front wheel bore too much of my weight on the wet ground. Finally, just like my Mom and wife said, I was able to finally be happy. I sunk the front wheel in deep and the scooter stopped. I was not so lucky. I went head over heels and did a very dramatic roll down the hill. Now that’s stupid!

(click for a video)

I want you to notice the whole row of adults watching the geniuses ride down the hill. Just like a car wreck, they had to watch!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!