Chickens on the farm

This chicken is stuck in the 80's. The bleach-blonde extensions are hot! It looks like the lead singer of White Snake. He struts around like he knows how cool he is too.
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And here's Jordan

Jordan is looking pretty good.
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One of the kids together

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Chloe getting her picture taken

We are at Wheeler Farm getting kid pictures taken today. These are justkid pictures, we will do family pictures next month.

We have a friend that takes great pictures and I will post more as they get done. The one here was taken with my Blackberry. I will post a Jodan too - later.
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Last Night's Family Party

Last night we went to a family party that included my brother from down South and my sister that is in from Sacramento. My parents also invited my aunts, uncles, and cousins from my Dad's side of the family. It has been a while since I have seen any of them. It is interesting to see some of my cousins that I played with as kids as adults and with families of their own. If only I could have known the future and made fun of them as a kid for how they turned out as an adult.

I did hang out with my cousin Mike for a couple hours. Mike works at Microsoft in their sales department for hardware vendors for Utah. I don't mijd Microsoft and all, but we had to butt heads on a few points (like Vista and Windows Mobile). I did give him props for Windows 7 (everything I have seen is good for Win 7 - out next month or early October I believe). He wanted me to know about the Zune HD coming out soon and how great it is. I said that as nice as it may be, the iPod has all the consumer love right now and without a kick-butt narketing campaign that won't stop. Plus, new iPods all allegedley coming out on Sept. 9 with an improved Touch as the highlight (can you say camera and movie-making tools?). The iPod rules and while the Zune HD might be a good product, people have already invested in an iPod and are not going to switch over to a new platform.

Kids tell their parents they want an "ipod," the parents might get something else (iPods are expensive you know), but the kids want an authentic Apple iPod. Nothing else has the coolness factor. I think most kids would be disappointed if they asked for an ipod and got a Zune.

And even with all the geek talk I was able to make fun of Ry-ry a couple times and had the whole table barreled over in laughter - even Anne a couple times.

Note about today's post: Sorry about spelling and such, I wrote this entire thing from my Blackberry.
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Garrett has to do anything BTone does

Garrett built his own Starburst tower and needed me to blog about him too.
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That is a lot of Starburst

BTone made a super stack of Starbursts to eat at the family party. Looking tasty!
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This is Ry-Ry

This is Ry-ry asking me when I would update my blog again. This is the answer.
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I Like My Cat And All...

You might have a hard time reading the bumper sticker, but it says, "I Love My Cat" and this driver even has the double-whammy of a license plate frame that says "My Cat's The Best" (I don't think you can read the frame). I do enjoy my cat - I have posted pictures of Princess Fuzzyboots many times on the blog, but there is no way my wife could ever con me into getting either of these items for my car. For a minute I thought that Diana might have gotten a new car, as I passed I looked to see if she was driving.

School Is In

Today was the first day of school for the kids. Chloe has been ready for a while. Jordan wasn't excited but he does seem like he is ready for school to get underway, and hopefully he is ready to put forth a big effort and get great grades this year. You can see pictures of their first day below.

Diana and I are ready for school to get started. After a bust July and an August that seemed even busier, the school days seem to slow down and help us get into a groove. Diana even got up early to make bacon and blueberry pancakes - with fresh blueberries! It was great! Hope that keeps up for a while, I like bacon and pancakes.

On Saturday me and the kids went to Seven Peaks. It is a long drive down there, but it was worth it. The kids loved the wave pool and lazy river. At first they seemed very scared to go on the water slides, but once we went on one they loved it. We then went on more and more, some with tubes - like "Cave In," and some without - like "Flashflood." It was the perfect day to go to a water park. The weather was great, the sun was bright. We had our sunscreen on so there wasn't a lot of uncomfortable sun burns.

The only sour note was how many times Chloe almost drowned. She thinks she is a better swimmer than she actually is and in the wave pool she would get crushed by the waves. Her swimming really has improved the last little while, but not good enough for the open seas of the wave pool. The people on tubes are right on top of you. I had to save her a couple of times, one time she was really going under and coughed up a bunch of water - she even said her life flashed before her eyes. Other than the multiple near-death experiences the day was really fun!

Sign at the Doctors

At the kids doctor. They need well checkups for school - and Chloe even needs shots. This sign was hung up in the office and I love it! So simple, yet so true, and so many that do not listen.
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A Great Sign

Another great sign was found while on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The sign reads "Do Not Sit On The Historic Stairs." So, it is OK to walk up and down them, just do not stop and sit? What the heck, over?

All By Myself

This is another picture from Oakland. It is Chris all by himself, I circled him because most of you don't know Chris and probably could not pick him out in a picture. He refused to come with the rest of us to go get dinner. We took forever to find the burger/chicken wings place and there he sat. Sad. I got a picture of him doing nothing as we went up to the second level of food kisoks at the top of the stadium in our never-ending search for a burger.

Wait a second, who is the bigger loser, the guy that trudged around the stadium for a half-hour for a $10 cheeseburger or the guy who rested in his seat the whole time? Discuss!

Milk

When you get your milk look for the expiration date. There will be a name near it (see the picture). If it says Jason you are cool. I know that Jason. He lives right down the street from me and works at the dairy. I always trust that Jason milk will be the best. Thanks Jason!
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I Am Doing Chores

At the beginning of summer Diana wanted to find a way to have the kids do chores, but not have to fight with them about it. We thought that if we raised their allowance up enough that they could get some good money, the fighting would end and the kids would actually like to do their chores. We raised their weekly allowance so they are eligible to earn $20 a week (big jump, they were getting $3 or $4 a week before this. Chloe has embraced the idea and regularly makes $12-$15 a week from doing her chores and not fighting about it. Jordan, on the other hand, just does not care. He fights tooth and nail and sometimes just down right does not do his chores. Last week he told Diana he did not want to do chores and did not care about the money (remember, he still owes me $40 for Mill Hollow this summer). I heard him say that and jumped at the chance to make $20. I told him he did not have to do his chores, I would, but I get the money. Diana quickly agreed and I am doing Jordan's chores this week.

This week Jordan has the downstairs living room and bathroom for his chores, as well as kitty litter box and feed and water the cat. Pretty easy. I don't know why he is so against it, I did all of them in about 10 minutes last night. Here is the downstairs after I was done last night:

Yes, I know the door is broken off the cabinet in the bathroom. I always meant to fix that, but there is sits. Diana knows that at some point when it is not at all convenient I will decide I am not going to do anything else until it is fixed. Probably about 10 minutes before I receive a Nobel peace prize or something like that.

Africa

I was looking at the map of all my blog visitors today and I noticed I had none from Africa. I guess I need more Africa-centered content. I will keep an eye out for things about drought, apartheid, civil wars, and religious killings. Wow, reading that list makes me think that I might not want any readers from Africa.

Just kidding, I love Africa and I even have a friend and his wife that are heading there (South Africa and then a trip up the coastline) for a vacation. Maybe I can get him to check my blog while there so I can get a red-dot on the map! Good idea.

Update on Diana's Bruise

Got home from mancation this morning and expected Diana's bruise to be a lot better - it wasn't. She even says it hurts. I know this is important to all of you so I will keep you updated.
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The Oakland Airport

I have a 6am flight this morning. I am already at the airport, an hour early and breezed through security. It was another night of sleeping well (because I am so tired). Not a lot of tossing and turning, but it is a quick night when you get to bed at 11 and wake up at 4.

The A's ended up coming back at last nights game. They even took a lead for an inning or 2. The White Sox eventually won it on a Jermaine Dye 10th inning home run and Jenks closed the door on the A's.

It has been a long and fun mancation and as it draws to a close I can think of only one thing....where do we go next year?
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The A's Game

The mancation continues tonight at the A's game. The A's are playing the White Sox. The A's already have given up 2 runs in the top of the first. Here are the pictures I have so far.
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Pictures of San Francisco

Just got back to the hotel after a day down in San Francisco. We went to Powell street to see the Trolleys and we went to Niketown. We then went down to the Embarcadero and walked to Fishermans Wharf (Pier 39). We went to some shops, saw the seals. Dave and Owen bought more Raiders stuff. We went to Hard Rock for lunch. I had a bacon cheeseburger. Here are some pictures of todays adventure.
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In the Morning

Good morning. After a good nights rest. Slept like a baby - woke up every 2 hours crying for my mommy. Got up to a calm day in Oakland and headed over to the Dennys for breakfast. I got pics of the view from our room. You can see right into San Francisco and also the Oracle arena and baseball/football stadium. Owen got steak and eggs for breakfast. A good meal for a growing boy.
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Game Wrapup

The Raiders ended up killing the Cowboys in the game last night. The Cowboys fans were being ridiculed all night long. We saw Pin Head, Darth Raider, the Wolfman, Skull-man Raider fan, and many more. The best shirt of the night was a black t-shirt that had Clark Kent ripping open his shirt to show a Raiders uniform. The game was good. Darren McFadden was awesome. The walk back and forth between the stadium and the hotel was interesting. One tip if you come to a game: buy your stuff (from the street vendors) after the game - the prices were down to $5 for everything. Owen and Dave bought even more stuff. Here are the last picture from the evenings.
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Even More Pictures from the Game

The game has started.
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More from the Game

Still warming up. A tons of Dallas fans are here, but the Raiders fans can drown out their cheers for the Cowboys. The game is almost ready to start. Just had Raider players introductions.
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At the Stadium

Just walked to our very nice seats for the Raiders game (thanks a ton Littlkins). I am posting pictures through email. I hope it works! If not, I will update when home.
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In Oakland

Currently at the Taco Bell across the street from the Oakland Coliseum. In Oakland for the Cowboys-Raiders preseason NFL football game. Staying at the Days Inn. Having a good time so far - more good times to come. We are going to an A's game tomorrow. This is the beginning of the mancation.
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Going To Oakland

I fly to Oakland today for day 1 of the Mancation! Me and a couple friends (and one of my friends sons) is going to the Raiders game tonight, touring San Francisco tomorrow and finally an Oakland A's game Friday night. We come home early on Saturday. I have to send a thanks to Littlkins who got us the Raiders tickets. I will be blogging from my phone as I am not going to take my computer for the trip.

Keyboard Cat

The cat loves to sit on the piano bench and listen to the kids play. Here is Jordan playing with the cat.

The kids have loved having a piano, they do their 30 minutes of practice and then they play around on the piano all day long. I hear it all hours of the day. Diana says that is how they are all day while I am at work too. I am happy they like the piano. They are getting pretty good.

Diana's Bruise

At Diana's Friday doctor appointment she had to get her blood drawn. She asked that they take it from her hands because she bruises easily and her arm veins are hard to draw from. The lady asked if she could try her arms and Diana said sure, but you aren't likely to get anything. The lady tried anyways and pushed through the vein or missed completely. The nurse then needed to move the needle around in Diana's arm to find the right spot. Diana winced as the nurse asks if everything is OK. The bruise has been getting worse and worse over the past few days, here is what it looks like today. Hope it gets better soon.

At The Doctor's

Went to the doctors with Diana and Jordan yesterday (Chloe went babysitting while we were gone). It was a long visit. There was a lot of pulling and pushing and Diana even got her blood drawn (you should see the bruise today). The office was right across from university hospital and you could see the helicopter pad from the window. I got a picture of the helicopter on the pad (see below), and I told Jordan if it takes off to let me know so I could get a picture from my blog. Then, I took the picture of Diana below, and the helicopter took off. Jordan tells me and I run over, but for some reason my Blackberry takes forever to reset after taking a picture. Anyways, at least I got the really good picture of Diana below.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

Went and saw the new Harry Potter last night with the family. It was an OK movie. Could be one of the best of the Harry Potter series. As of now, I still think I like Order of The Phoenix as the best movie. The thing about me and Harry Potter movies is that I hate re-watching them. They are good the first time, but once they are on DVD and the kids want to watch them over and over I think they are horrible. I am sure this one will be like that as well as there was already parts of Half-Blood Prince that I did not like the first time.

I am sure you have read the book, but I still won't give away any spoilers, this movie is a lot about hormones and a very little about action. The book was about half and half (hormones to action). I feel like they cut out action to focus on the hormones and that is not what I want in my Harry Potter movies. The action and magic should trump all. The big ending is the same, but there are different people there and the way it happens is not like how it happens in the book. There are also some other big differences from how the book does things, but the main events are still all there.

Overall, it is a good movie, but not great. I sure hope the movie makers can make great movies for the final book (which they are splitting into two movie).

Our Piano

Yesterday, we got our piano. Diana has wanted a piano for a long time, but it was never in the cards. We had been looking around at different pianos and were starting to get pretty serious about getting one. While in San Diego I got an email from Diana about a piano her Dad had found. It was an OK piano. Diana called her Dad and he said that he would get it for us (as a Christmas present). We were pretty excited but did not tell the kids. The delivery guys came yesterday morning to drop it off and the kids have not been able to keep their fingers off of it. They play all kinds of music - some of the stuff from memory, some from their books and sometimes they just sit and play around on it. Diana loves having a real piano in the house and can't wait to have the kids get even better and be able to play anything. Below you can see pictures of the kids sitting at the piano playing.

The Most Disturbing Thing I Have Ever Seen

I was watching ESPN this morning and this commercial came on. I can not believe this is an actual product, and that this is the commercial they decided to use for it.

Coldstone

Tonight Diana had me take her to Roberts. That is a local arts and craft store for scrapbookers. Diana had some hard-earned money to spend. She has been scrapbooking like crazy lately and was out of some stuff. It just so happens that the Roberts is near a Coldstone. I decided that we could not get that close to a Coldstone without getting something so I asked my lovely wife what she would like me to get her. She said, "Whatever, you pick." That is where this story starts.

I walk into a pretty busy Coldstone and look at the wall to decide what I am getting Diana. I choose the Peanut Butter Perfection. Last time I got her German Chocolate Cake and she was not that impressed so I had to go with something different for her this time. The Peanut Butter Perfection will be the perfect choice for her. I will be all good this time.

But what for me? Isn't that always the question. I ask for my usual, the Cherry Cheesecake minus the cherries plus strawberries. The girl behind the counter looks at me and says, "Oh, you mean the Strawberry Cheesecake." I look back at her and say, "I didn't see Strawberry Cheesecake on the menu." She gives me a weird look and turns around to make my shake.

Maybe it is just me, but I find that funny.

Oh, and the shake was delicious.

At Lagoon

The kids and I went to Lagoon today. It was a good time. We hit Rattlesnake Rapids and then went to get Ice Cream. I got a Strawberry Shortcake cone and Chloe got a Brownie Fudge cone. Jordan did not want anything so we just stopped at Arby's to get him a drink. Next we headed over to the Scrambler, Boomerang, and Paratrooper. We had a super good time. I let the kids do Go-Carts today, which they have wanted to do for a long time. They really, really liked it. They wanted to go again.

We then did the Tilt-A-Whirl, Jet Star 2 and the Bat (one of the worst rides ever). We then went for dinner. I had chicken strips, Chloe and Jordan had pizza. We then went on more rides, and the details get a little fuzzy here. I know we saw the Turn of the Century, Sky Ride and the Jumping Dragon (not worth hype for sure).

The kids ended up going on the Go-Carts again - but this time Chloe paid. I was not going to pay if the I am taking the kids to Harry Potter and Seven Peaks this week. I thought my July was crazy, but Diana and I went over the August calendar and it is just as crazy.

Here is the beginning of a wild month.

Sew What?

One of my many talents that I don't make a big deal about is my sewing skills. Well, that is not exactly true. I do not have much skills in the area of sewing, but I will try anything. Chloe got a small tear right on the seam of her swimming suit and we are going to Seven Peaks this weekend. Someone had to try to fix it (there is no way I am buying a suit for a couple more weeks of summer). I pulled out the needle and thread and a couple minutes later I had a fixed swimming suit. I hope it stays closed for the weekend. You all probably think I am a little cooler now, don't you?