Toilet Troubles

Joey:  (reading a sign in the bathroom stall) Do not flush anything down the toilet other than toilet paper.
(Slight pause)
Joey:  (sounding panicked) MOM!!!  What do I do with my pee!

The Mulchmaster 2000

This is how Ryan mulches tree clippings...cave man style.

Fishing Trip

Michael and I went fishing at Echo Lake on Saturday, and we caught 8 fish between the two of us.  Our next trip will probably be to Oak Ridge.

Fathers Day 2012

How do I describe my favorite day of the year?  I can only think of one word:  Awesome.  We had bacon-infused waffles blanketed with two eggs for breakfast, played mini-golf in the backyard on Michael's golf course, and fished with the boys until sundown.  We went to a monster truck show (thanks to our favorite Ohioans), and had a great cookout with Danielle's parents.  I would do it all over again if I could.

Donuts with Dad

Ryan's nursery school had their annual "Donuts with Dad" brunch this morning.  Ryan can't eat donuts because of his food allergy, so he ate both of the muffins that Danielle packed for us.  He has only one year of nursery school left before he moves on to kindergarten.  Time is flying by too quickly - I wish that I could slow it down a little.

Oldify

We were sitting around the table playing a game called "Oldify" last weekend.  It works like this: you take a picture of someone with your phone, press a button, and special software adds about 30 years to the person's face.  I wish I had saved some of the pictures because they were funny.

The "before" pictures made a pretty cool collage, though.

Model Rocket

The boys and I are building our third model rocket.  It's a great hobby if you have enough patience to wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step.  Stay tuned for pictures of the final product.

H2Oh No!

Who needs expensive toys?  Sometimes all it takes to keep Ryan happy is a garden hose and something to shoot water at.

But don't turn your back on him.  Last week he discovered that the garden hose fits nicely in the exhaust vent for our central vac system.  Before I could stop him, he managed to pump about a half gallon of water into the system.  I sucked most of the water out with a shop-vac, and I got the rest out by taking the system apart and drying it out.  Thankfully it's still working.

Memorial Day Parade

The boys rode with me on Rescue 16 in the memorial parade again.  This year was Michael's turn to sit up front.  The parade was followed by a short ceremony at horseshoe lake to honor the veterans.

Joey-ism #148

Joey: How does my new suit look?
Me: You look fantastic! You're going to be fighting the girls off of you.
Joey: Dad...I can't hit a girl!

A Hockey Mom can survive

Most women use a Band-Aid to cover a blister.

Not my wife - she is the Chuck Norris of hockey moms. She uses hockey tape. That blister has no idea who it's messing with.

Bald Eagle

Joey had to present a science project in front of his class. For his project, he researched the bald eagle and made a fantastic display that showed an eagle sitting on a branch.

While we worked on his display, I was particularly impressed with his desire to learn how to use a drill press and saw. He put on a pair of safety glasses and jumped right in. After he was done drilling and cutting, Danielle helped him build the nest, make the eggs, and glue feathers to the bird.

Fishing Season

It's that time of year. I taught Ryan how to cast by tying a Hot Wheels car on the end of his line, which is the same way I taught Michael and Joey. He is so excited that he has been walking around the house with a fishing pole all week.

Science Fair Night

Joey's experiment was interesting - he proved that you could clean a copper penny with taco sauce. He was awarded a certificate of achievement with a special mention for his use of a "green" cleaning agent.

My Birthday Dinner

Danielle and the boys gave me a steak dinner for my birthday. I think that Ryan will be the next grillmaster when I'm ready to hand over the tongs, judging by his enthusiasm around the grill. The kid can cook (and eat) a sweet potato like it's nobody's business.

Busy Joey

Joey is having an exciting week. He placed in a Karate tournament on Sunday, and he read the morning announcements to the entire school this morning!

Because we're not Giants fans!

But we're glad that a team from NY won the Superbowl. We had chicken nuggets, hot wings, pizza bagels, nachos and dip, and homemade soda to watch the Giants beat New England.

I remember when beer used to give me a hangover. Now I get food hangovers. Is that a sign of turning 40?!

Oh Cod, not the fish!

OK, I admit it - I fell asleep while watching Ryan. But did he really have to dump all of the fish food in the tank while I was sleeping? Why would he do that??

It all started with a little Christmas tree...

The tree in this picture was donated to the Roxbury FD by Lake Silver Springs. It adorned the back of our fire truck while Santa spread Christmas cheer and candy canes to the children of Roxbury. At the conclusion of our event, we donated the tree to a needy family with two boys - ages 5 and 7 - with money and gifts collected from my company. The tree proved to be the catalyst that encouraged financial contributions from many people, and hopefully made a family's holiday season a little brighter.

www.ginnieshouse.org is an organization with a tough mission - they provide advocacy services for children who may have been abused, assaulted or witnessed a violent crime, including domestic violence. It was through their outreach that we were able to find a needy family to accept our gift. I met their executive director, and we agreed to sponsor another family next year. All we need is another Christmas tree to get the ball rolling.

Chocolate Chip Mint

This weekend, we made chocolate chip mint ice cream in the Big Red Ball. Next weekend is something with peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallows...