Tag Archives: Fun

Spitball for the generations…

Family, Fun,

We were at a birthday party last night for some family members.  It’s always a good time to get together with family.  This party was especially fun as the kids and I got to show off a little bit.  Isaac and his buddies at school must have been talking about spitballs because he asked me to show him how to properly make and deploy a first-class spitball.  When he asked, he even had straws for he, Abigail and me…I guess he figured what my answer would be.

Preparation

We headed out to the front porch and I discussed proper spitball construction material, the physics of flight and viscosity issues with cold-weather spitballing.  All-in-all, I think they received a pretty thorough crash-course in spitball mechanics.

Direct hit

Of course, we took dozens of practice shots at each other.  I was able to score hits on both kids…above the neck…before I ran inside to shelter.  Isaac and Abigail devised a master plan to lure the unsuspecting adults outside into the “shooting range”.  They begged and pleaded and sounded pathetic…every trick they could come up with to get some adult outside to help them with their “problem”.  Finally Granddad picked the short straw and took one for the adult team.

Victory!

I was proud of the kids for the expression of their new-found knowledge.  The three of us stood and looked out over the valley.  We saw the future as we stood there waiting for our straws to cool.  My newborn nephew was at this party and the kids and I schemed about all of the fun things we will teach him.  See, I am all about passing on important and useful information to younger generations!

Smelly Cat

Fun

I was never a “Friends” guy. The show just didn’t appeal to me for some reason. Anyhow, I did see a few episodes. One in particular makes me think of Seph-baby, our somewhat new cat. Seph-baby (we added the baby part, it just seemed right). So Seph-baby is the smelliest cat on the planet. We feed him science diet kitten food, the same brand we feed all of our wild-life. He is the only one that really stinks.

We clipped his claws the other day. We do it in the bathroom for some reason…I guess so we can lock him in. Anyhow, we grabbed him and started to clip when he, like all good cats, freaked. He jumped around and hissed and did all that cat stuff. His most effective counter-measure, however, was the stench that he somehow released. I initially thought it was just a flatulence bomb but my hands smelled like him as well. I wasn’t holding his hind parts so it’s not like he dropped a bomb in my hand. All I can figure is that his father was a skunk or he has some other extra-powerful reek capabilities.

The nasty beast has also taken to stealing tissues and napkins, new or used, from anywhere he finds them...

(Click above for a video or here if that doesn’t work on your computer)

Well, we finished clipping his claws and then had to scrub our hands. The whole room was fouled (which isn’t uncommon in our house…just not usually from the cat). Poor smelly cat, I don’t know what we’re feeding him, but I am sure it’s not his fault!

MANKs no more

Adventure, Family, Fun, , ,

For three days we have been MANKs – Married Adults, No Kids.  School starts Friday (why on Earth would anyone make the first day of school on a Friday?) and the kids’ summer camp closes the week before school.  As we both work, that left us in a bind.  Fortunately my parents are retired (mostly anyhow) so were willing to watch the kids for this week before school.  The good and the bad thing about that is that they are 350 or so miles away.

We headed to PA last weekend to deliver the kids.  Sunday afternoon rolled around and we headed back to WV.  It was the strangest thing…no movies were playing in the back seat, no one was kicking my seat, there was no complaining or fighting.  It was very odd.  Emily and I stopped at an outlet mall and I heard not one whiny, “Are we ever gonna leave?  I am sooo bored!”  I didn’t have to take anyone to the public restroom lecturing them not to touch ANYTHING!  Travel was so very weird.  I just wasn’t sure how to go about my trip.

Anyhow, once we got home, we “organized” the kids’ stuff some too.  Some things were put away properly and many things were filed in the plastic container out back.  You see, without the kids around, we get stuff done!

I miss my kids.  They are great and I love them tons.  Still, a few days as a MANK is a welcome change for us and for them…and I think my parents had fun too.  After all, they got some good child labor out of the deal!

Feet

Family, Fun, ,

I have pretty normal  feet…actually, my feet are nearly perfect, but that’s another story.  My kids have feet too and that’s what I am here to talk about today.

So, Isaac’s feet.  Isaac is 10.  He wears a size 10 1/2 shoe.  That’s an adult 10 1/2 by the way.  I only wear a 10 and I am done growing (up at least).  Isaac’s maternal line sports gunboats way back so it’s in his genes to have big feet but I expected a little time to save up for the process.  I am terrified of the cost of buying 2 foot long shoes for that boy when he reaches 17 (or 13!).  To put it all in perspective, I took a picture of Isaac’s feet alongside the feet of his two best friends this weekend when we went ice skating.  I suspect you will pick out the one that is different…

Of course, to grow a foot like that, a boy needs to eat…a lot!  I started gardening for the healthy, outdoorsy nature of it, but now we are forced to garden just to feed the bottomless pit!  Alas, a parent’s work is never done!

Now…about Abigail’s feet.  She has normal petite little 7 year-old feet.  We were at the WV Power (our farm team) game the other night and the wolf from a local radio station spied her tootsies.  I think they must have looked tasty though the wolf was clearly disabled.  Typically a wolf has a good sense of smell but this one was apparently unable to sniff very well.  He untied her shoes and retied her shoes and generally tried to get her riled up and (to my surprise) she let him do it!  We’ve had foot-happenings this week and that’s a little weird for me.

You see, feet usually disturb me.  I won’t force mine upon you, but let’s just say my “no-longer-the-biggest-feet-in-the-house” are doing just fine and will remain properly covered as all feet should be!  I am hoping next week we move onto something more tolerable like ear wax or something…no more feet!

Covering one’s hind-end

Family, Fun, Thoughts, ,

Last Christmas, Isaac was given a membership to study Taekwondo under Grandmaster S.H. Kang.  He’s done really well and enjoys fighting and learning his forms (routines practitioners do to increase balance, focus, etc).  I have seen him split a number of boards and he is learning how to defend himself very well.

It occurred to me that his teenage years are coming up.  That time is, of course, always full of moody, brooding, hormonal fun.  I suppose many parents lose touch with their kids when they become teenagers.  TKD seems like an easy place where Isaac and I can find common ground so I started taking classes with him a couple of weeks ago.  I figure the exercise will be good and Isaac and I get a chance to talk on the way to and from the training studio.  If we ever find ourselves in a moody teenage fit or a dark alley, I also will have skills to…uh…calm the situation.  Plus, this is really a great chance for each of us (esp as he gets bigger) to be all manly and tough and express frustration in a controlled way.

So, I started taking lessons and I am here to tell you, TKD is a serious cardio workout.  I am not in bad shape but the free-fighting very nearly kills me each night.  It’s just constant exertion and challenging balance maneuvers.  I am certain that those movie scenes where people fight each other for several minutes is bogus (as if we needed evidence!)  Unless you are in great shape, a real fight doesn’t last long without oxygen tanks nearby!

Anyhow, I am learning my stuff and trying to get more flexible.  Isaac insists that I will have to bow to him when he becomes a black belt.  He probably will beat me there since he has 8 months head start, but I remind him that another TKD rule is that kids essentially bow to their parents…this part is going to be interesting!  Anyhow, I am here to tell you that even the stuff I thought looked simple is anything but…but at least I am covering my hind-end defense-wise and getting in better cardio shape so my Emily and the kids can enjoy me even longer!

Dye job

Fun

Today is wild hair day at the summer camp the kids attend.  They have all sorts of fun activities for the kids but wild hair day has been the most anticipated in our house.  Abigail was going for the tie dyed look.  Emily braided her hair last night and let it dry in braids.  This morning they sprayed the braids then undid her hair.  The color didn’t take the way we expected but the dried-in braids were awesome!

Isaac’s hair is so short that it didn’t have much chance to stand up but the color was awesome!  He’s got a cool iceman look and it works for him!  When I dropped them off this morning, they definitely had the coolest looks of the kids who were there!

As usual, I am having a bad hair day.  I am ok though…don’t worry

I am part mermaid

Adventure, Awesome, Family, Fun, , ,

I think I was born to live on the beach.  I have been to the mountains and the cities and foreign lands (like New Jersey), but I think I relax and enjoy my time at the beach more than anywhere else.  If I could live at (or near) the beach, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I keep trying to do my best Percy Jackson routine under water…you know, where he holds his breath for 8 minutes because he is a demi-god- son-of-Poseidon (if you have no clue what I am talking about, check out the movie and books!)  I never seem to make it much past 45 seconds or so which must mean I am not a demi-god.

I guess that must mean I am part mermaid.  In fact, I tried on a seashell bikini top and it looked magnificent…they did throw me out of Red Lobster though.

Anyhow, we went to the beach last week so I felt like I had returned to my homelands.  We had tons of fun boogie boarding and body surfing and skim boarding and falling asleep under the tent and chasing crabs and watching for sting rays and reading mindless books.  Abigail finally discovered that she can ride the waves so the beach turned into a lot of adventure for everyone!

We usually sit around and read all evening but this year we added bocce to our evening fun list.  We all had a bunch of fun playing although Isaac was a little overzealous in his throwing of the bocce balls.  He and I did our victory dance several times which pretty well cleared the beach…so it was perfect!

The local wildlife was interesting though we found one that had stayed out in the sun a bit too long (which we didn’t realize at first…talk about funny as we tried to sneak up on him to get a picture!)  Anyhow, we saw sting rays and little fish and “diggers” and pelicans.  The shrimp boats were always nearby too…and we enjoyed the fresh shrimp indeed!

By the end of the week, things had started to get a bit silly…which meant it was the funnest time!  I don’t know who taught these kids to act this way…probably their mother…

Box wine and culture

Family, Fun, WV, ,

Last Sunday we attended Symphony Sunday, a day of showcasing local orchestras, ensembles, etc culminating in a performance by the WV Symphony.  The University of Charleston opens its beautiful lawn to the crowd of several thousand people to enjoy the performances.

Boats always anchor near the lawn to hear the music
but they have to dodge the gigantic coal barges that pass by...
One of the views from our seats...the WV Capitol

It rained in the morning so we didn’t even think of attending many of the events, but by the early evening, all was clear so we packed up our lawn chairs and headed to Kanawha City (the part of the city where the University is located).  We tend to sit towards the back of the group as our kids need room to fully appreciate the event.  Many people with kids hang out there and it usually works out pretty well.

The Symphony chose a “Wizard of Oz” theme for their performances and played many numbers that were in or referenced the movie.  It was pretty cool aside from the fact that there were quiet parts of several songs which were inaudible from the back.  As my father-in-law says in reference to the violins, “they need to do more sawing and less plucking.”  If they added one more row of speakers, I bet we could hear the plucking too!

The WV Symphony...we were waaay back
The Capitol was beautiful at night though I think they need to check on it...it seems to be leaning a bit

Anyhow, most of the performance was cool except for the pockets of white trash who decided to break out their boxes of wine and drink out of plastic dixie cups.  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with box wine, but many of the folks put on airs of culture and high living.  As you might guess, they were as tacky and ridiculous as can be.  In my mind, I am thinking, “this ain’t high living…you fools are ignoring the music, drinking wine from a box and sitting on the wet grass in heels.  By the way, nice big wet spot on your butt…bring a chair next year.”    Folks came decked out in their Sunday best and did their very best to go on and on about their lives and generally make it hard to hear the music and even harder to ignore their inanity.

Ok, sorry…that all sounds like I didn’t have fun…I definitely did have fun.  We played some and we ate good ice cream and had a great time all together.  The WV Symphony is awesome and a great thing for the state.  The show always finishes with fireworks and that show was the highlight for most people there (based on the cheers).  It was a pretty cool show…a river barge floats into place on the river adjacent to the University’s lawn and we all get to see the show up close…

(Maybe the fireworks were my favorite part too…)

A bridge

Adventure, Family, Fun, , ,

A few weeks ago, we went to Pittsburgh so Emily could participate in some training.  The kids and I basically tromped around the city on foot and saw some interesting things.  Of particular interest to me (and not at all for the kids) were the bridges.  Of course, Pittsburgh is famous for its bridges…the number of them if not the beauty.

So we walked from our hotel in the downtown area across several of the bridges and saw some pretty neat things.  I pretty much don’t think about bridges at all as I drive over them.  Rarely do I get the chance to walk on them so it was pretty cool to sort of explore the bridges in Pittsburgh with my kids.

The “art of steel” that holds those bridges up is really interesting and somehow appealing to look at for me.  Maybe it’s the guy in me who still likes to play with matchbox cars and tonka toys and the like, but I really liked standing on the bridge admiring its strength (I feel so inferior).  I guess I am pretty fascinated by the parts that make up the bridge…imagining the folks hammering and twisting and cursing the pieces into place.  Pittsburgh sort of means all that to me anyhow.

We also saw some more human things there including tons of gum and the graffiti that seemed too philosophical to be left as a scrawling on a wall…though more people probably saw that than if it had been written somewhere more “appropriate”.  We saw panhandlers on the bridge and the kids had some serious questions for me about their plight.

Once again, I am reminded to take time to smell the…uh…bridge?  Well, I guess I’ll stick to smelling the roses but if you get a chance, spend time exploring a bridge.  You won’t be disappointed!  Most of these pictures were of the Roberto Clemente bridge by the way….

Strong Swimmers

Fun, WV, ,

Most times, when I drive down the road I pretty much ignore signs and billboards.  So many of them are not clever or are visually assaulting.   WV has way too many other things to look at. Every now and then, though, I see one that makes me smile.  One of the local hospital chains in Charleston placed signs all over and this one is just down-right hilarious I think!  The poor kid will be scarred for life once his friends show him that picture in junior high, but until then, way to go little swimmer!

In other news, we had a bit of an adventure with the little orange kitten this weekend…I think you will enjoy!