Karate Joe: Then and Now

Danielle and I are so proud of him for sticking with it.  And now that he is a brown belt, the school expects Joey to really work on his forms and technique.  They will ride him harder during class, hold him to a higher standard, and really push him to perform until he earns his black belt.  We have no doubt that Joey is up to the challenge.

Hockey Mom

Hockey Mom is a term that people use to describe a certain kind of person.  However, nobody understands the true meaning of the term better than my wife.  Who else would do this for their son?

Brown Belt!

Way to go, Joe!

Washing the bikes

Ryan probably put more miles on his big wheel than I put on my motorcycle this summer, but that's alright with me.

Ice Cream Ball

Can anyone think of a better way to tire out a kid than making him run after an ice cream ball?  His reward is ice cream, our reward is a good night's sleep.  It's a win-win!

Aeroflex Lake

 

It was another great day of fishing.  We didn't catch anything, but we had a good time motoring around the lake.  It was Joey's first time in a boat, and I don't think he took his eyes off the fish finder long enough to cast a lure.

Boat Motor

Show me a kid that doesn't love working in the basement with his dad.  This is our new project - it's a 1957 Johnson boat motor that hasn't turned over since Grandpa used it.  With any luck, we should be able to clean out the carburetor and getting it running in time for the next fishing season.

On a side note, I think it may be time to get Ryan his own set of tools!

Bigfoot

Guess who has the biggest foot?  Here is a clue:  it's not me.  Oh well, maybe I can wear his hand-me-down shoes.

First Day of School 2012

The boys are off to another year of school.  Michael is starting 6th grade, and Joey is starting 3rd.  Ryan still has a year left of nursery school before he starts kindergarten.  The fact that Ryan let me take his picture today is a landmark event in itself!

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.