Everybody should be so lucky.
William
Monday, April 20, 2009
Happiness Is.......
Seeing the magic in this boy's eyes each and every day.
Everybody should be so lucky.
William
Everybody should be so lucky.
William
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Hippity Hoppity
Wow, has it really been two weeks since my last blog? Shame on me.
Christopher is growing up. Our little baby is now our little boy, and he now has a "big boy bed" to prove it.
He has adjusted very well to his new bed. When Aidan had this race car bed, he spent the first few weeks alternating between the bed and the floor next to his door. Christopher has not done that, and has been in his bed each morning that we have gone upstairs to get him. Smart kid.
As I told you in my last blog, (if you can remember that far back) Dianne came into town for two weeks. Everybody has been running her ragged since she got here, and I am sure she is enjoying some peaceful rest on her plane ride home this morning.
During Dianne's first weekend in town, she and Lori went to Austin to run in a race. Cricket was supposed to also run, but her boys got the flu and she had to stay in town with the sickos. Lori and Dianne stayed at the Lost Pines Resort just outside of Bastrop, and had a really good time. The race was on the property, and the scenery was stellar. Dianne ran/walked the 5K and Lori ran the 1/2 marathon. (13.1 miles) The weather was great and they really enjoyed themselves. Here is a picture of both of them at the finish line.
While they were there, they decided to do a bit of horseback riding. Here is both of them thar root'in toot'in popgun shoot'in cowgirls ready to ride to open range.
They left on a Friday and got home on Sunday just before noon. I was really, really, really, really happy to see them. I survived my weekend with Monkeyboy and Roosterboy, but I was ready for some help. Did I mention that I was happy they were home?
Last week absolutely flew by, as we visited with Nana as much as possible. Like I said before, I am quite sure that Nana needs a vacation from her vacation. Aidan and Christopher can be more than a handful, but when you also throw his cousins Wyatt and Jackson into the mix, it becomes a game of survival.
All the fun and games during the week led up to a wonderful Easter weekend. This Christopher's first egg hunt, and he was ready.
Aidan on the other hand is now a wily veteran, and has no problem finding the hard ones.
All the kids had a blast, and I must admit it's pretty fun watching them get so excited about something. There were plenty of smiles to go around.
We got cleaned up on Sunday morning and made our way over to Nana's house by 10:00am. We took some quick family pictures before the boys started getting crazy and dirty. Here is our beautiful family.
There was lots of candy a toys to go around and all of the boys were really having fun. Nana got all of the boys an Easter paddle ball and they were a hit. Here is Aidan posing with his.
Like I said, we all had a great time, and I would like to thank Dianne for her hospitality. Here she is posing with her youngest "baby".
I was a great two weeks and a whole lot of fun. Now it's back on a routine, with lots of baseball and soccer still to be played. I will post some videos of Aidan's first baseball game soon. Until then, Happy Easter and God Bless.
William
Christopher is growing up. Our little baby is now our little boy, and he now has a "big boy bed" to prove it.
He has adjusted very well to his new bed. When Aidan had this race car bed, he spent the first few weeks alternating between the bed and the floor next to his door. Christopher has not done that, and has been in his bed each morning that we have gone upstairs to get him. Smart kid.
As I told you in my last blog, (if you can remember that far back) Dianne came into town for two weeks. Everybody has been running her ragged since she got here, and I am sure she is enjoying some peaceful rest on her plane ride home this morning.
During Dianne's first weekend in town, she and Lori went to Austin to run in a race. Cricket was supposed to also run, but her boys got the flu and she had to stay in town with the sickos. Lori and Dianne stayed at the Lost Pines Resort just outside of Bastrop, and had a really good time. The race was on the property, and the scenery was stellar. Dianne ran/walked the 5K and Lori ran the 1/2 marathon. (13.1 miles) The weather was great and they really enjoyed themselves. Here is a picture of both of them at the finish line.
While they were there, they decided to do a bit of horseback riding. Here is both of them thar root'in toot'in popgun shoot'in cowgirls ready to ride to open range.
They left on a Friday and got home on Sunday just before noon. I was really, really, really, really happy to see them. I survived my weekend with Monkeyboy and Roosterboy, but I was ready for some help. Did I mention that I was happy they were home?
Last week absolutely flew by, as we visited with Nana as much as possible. Like I said before, I am quite sure that Nana needs a vacation from her vacation. Aidan and Christopher can be more than a handful, but when you also throw his cousins Wyatt and Jackson into the mix, it becomes a game of survival.
All the fun and games during the week led up to a wonderful Easter weekend. This Christopher's first egg hunt, and he was ready.
Aidan on the other hand is now a wily veteran, and has no problem finding the hard ones.
All the kids had a blast, and I must admit it's pretty fun watching them get so excited about something. There were plenty of smiles to go around.
We got cleaned up on Sunday morning and made our way over to Nana's house by 10:00am. We took some quick family pictures before the boys started getting crazy and dirty. Here is our beautiful family.
There was lots of candy a toys to go around and all of the boys were really having fun. Nana got all of the boys an Easter paddle ball and they were a hit. Here is Aidan posing with his.
Like I said, we all had a great time, and I would like to thank Dianne for her hospitality. Here she is posing with her youngest "baby".
I was a great two weeks and a whole lot of fun. Now it's back on a routine, with lots of baseball and soccer still to be played. I will post some videos of Aidan's first baseball game soon. Until then, Happy Easter and God Bless.
William
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Calm Before the Storm
It's been a pretty slow here at the Thornton household since my last blog. Both of Aidan's games got canceled last weekend because of inclement weather, and we mostly stayed around the house. Aidan and Lori ventured out on Sunday and went to the movies with Cricket, Wyatt and Jackson. They saw Monsters vs. Aliens and really liked it.
Christopher and I stayed here and played the "let's see what I can get into next" game. Oh.....it was loads of fun. I lost.
It's hard to believe it's already April. So far, this year has been a blur. Aidan only has 10 weeks of school left, and then he will officially be a 2nd grader. Wow, that is hard to believe. His transformation from a "little boy" to a "kid" has gone by too quickly. While I have enjoyed the ride, I must say it is sad to see that portion of his life ride off into the sunset. The good new is I still have one that is cuddling age. The bad news is he is also growing up too fast. Like they say, hug'em while you can.
We are all looking forward to Nana coming into town this week. She will be here on Wednesday night, and will be here through Easter. She and Lori and Cricket are going down to Austin this weekend for a race. Dianne (Nana) will be doing the 5K and Lori and Cricket will be doing the half marathon. Let's all wish them luck.
At the same time, I could also use a good luck charm myself. You see, while they are off chasing their Chariot's of Fire, I will be here taking care of the monster boys by my lonesome. This includes one soccer game, one baseball game, and Aidan's baseball pictures....all on Saturday. Gulp. If I live through that, it will be me, Christopher, and Aidan doing "guy things" for the rest of the weekend! Ahhhhh...Ahhhhhh....Ahhhhhhh...Ahhhhhh. (In my best Tim Allen Grunt)
William
Christopher and I stayed here and played the "let's see what I can get into next" game. Oh.....it was loads of fun. I lost.
It's hard to believe it's already April. So far, this year has been a blur. Aidan only has 10 weeks of school left, and then he will officially be a 2nd grader. Wow, that is hard to believe. His transformation from a "little boy" to a "kid" has gone by too quickly. While I have enjoyed the ride, I must say it is sad to see that portion of his life ride off into the sunset. The good new is I still have one that is cuddling age. The bad news is he is also growing up too fast. Like they say, hug'em while you can.
We are all looking forward to Nana coming into town this week. She will be here on Wednesday night, and will be here through Easter. She and Lori and Cricket are going down to Austin this weekend for a race. Dianne (Nana) will be doing the 5K and Lori and Cricket will be doing the half marathon. Let's all wish them luck.
At the same time, I could also use a good luck charm myself. You see, while they are off chasing their Chariot's of Fire, I will be here taking care of the monster boys by my lonesome. This includes one soccer game, one baseball game, and Aidan's baseball pictures....all on Saturday. Gulp. If I live through that, it will be me, Christopher, and Aidan doing "guy things" for the rest of the weekend! Ahhhhh...Ahhhhhh....Ahhhhhhh...Ahhhhhh. (In my best Tim Allen Grunt)
William
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cock-A-Doodle-Doh!
Last week was Aidan's very first "Wow, I get to stay home from school for a whole week" spring break. We decided to take advantage of the week by making a trip to Lori's parent's ranch in Tennessee. I always love going to their place, and always look forward to visiting the country. The only unfortunate byproduct of such a trip is the always dreaded ............. take the 18 month old on a plane phenomenon. For those of you that have never had the pleasure of experiencing such a phenomenon, congratulations on the extra years of life you still have in your possession. For those of you that have been "lucky" and brave enough to conquer such a monumental excursion, bow your heads for a moment of silence to pay homage to the years of your life that vanished amongst the screeching cries, stinky diapers, and furrowed brows of irritated passengers.
We got the to airport in plenty of time, and even made it through security in a pretty timely manner. Things were looking up. They remained up until we boarded the plane. Christopher decided that it was just way too quiet on that plane, and he needed to throw a fit before takeoff. It was about that time that essence of life started exiting my pores at an alarming pace. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh.....please start this plane and take off where this boy will stop crying and go to sleep". I must give Lori credit. She handles these situations much better than me, and I can only imagine how tough it is to actually be the one holding the little monster while exacerbated death stares surround your position. He finally went to sleep after take off, and was relatively quiet the remaining flight.
Nana picked us up at the airport, and after a quick trip through the drive thru at Mickey D's we were on our way to the farm. About an hour and a half later we arrived at the ranch, and one deep breath of that crisp mountain air made all of stress just float away.
The first few days we were there it rained.....and rained......and then rained some more. There was lots of time indoors playing dominoes, playing games, watching basketball, and just relaxing. It was fun, but we were all getting a bit stir crazy and wanted to go exploring outside. By the third morning, the rain had stopped, the fog was lifting, and blue skies were starting to show.
It was still a bit nippy outside, and we all enjoyed the warm fire in the fireplace.
By late morning it was absolutely beautiful.
Blue skies meant it was time to play, and Nana and Aidan jumped on the Gator.
"Hey....watch out for the photographer!" While they drove down to feed the chickens and horses and cows, Lori and Christopher and I went to take some pics of the scenery. Oh....and what beautiful scenery it is.........
By the next day it had dried up so much, we went uphill to play on the swing set. It was still a bit muddy (notice everybody's groovy boots), but that did not deter the fun. Christopher and Aidan really loved swinging on the swings, and climbing the "rock" wall. Christopher's favorite thing by far was the slide. He loved the slide, and wore out Nana and Lori.
Aidan loved swinging out as far as he could on the mountain side.
Now this is the look of a boy having fun with his Nana.
Here's Christopher having fun with his da da.
What an incredible view from up here on the playground.
The beautiful day was capped off with a stunning sunset. The camera does not even begin to do this sunset justice. There were so many colors in the sky, and it was so beautiful, it was almost indescribable.
The next morning we woke up to another beautiful day. The main thing on the agenda for the day was to go fishing. Aidan was really excited about fishing, and he let us know about ........ um.....50 times before we actually went. We left Nana and PawPaw in charge of Christopher, while Lori and Aidan and I went down to the pond. It did not take long for Aidan to hooked his first fish, and we were able to capture a picture of that monster before we released him back to the deep.
We all caught some fish, and had lots of fun.
We spent the next couple of days playing outdoors during the day, watching March Madness during the evening, and playing dominoes and Monopoly at night. On our second to last day, we went over to PawPaw's parents house for a short visit. Christopher was looking mighty handsome. Here he is with momma and da da.
Aidan had lots of fun playing by the creek that runs in front of their house.
It really is a beautiful area.
Out last morning was spent packing and getting our minds right for our plane ride home. We took a couple of pictures before we left, and then we headed on our journey home.
The plane ride home was one of our least enjoyable memories to date. Christopher was an absolute hellion, and was so distraught at one point, that the flight attendant asked Lori to go to the front of the plane with the boy. I guess there were fewer people to distract while sitting in the very first row. Needless to say, Lori was really embarrassed. Christopher did much better once he was up front, but he did not sleep the whole way home. Not good. Lori deserves a medal for her unwavering dedication and nerves of steel.
We did finally make it home late Friday afternoon. It's always a bit depressing leaving such beautiful scenery and then coming into our house and looking out the window. Talk about a major difference. Wow.
We had a wonderful time, and once again Steve and Dianne were fantastic hosts. We are already looking forward to our next trip up to Tennessee......one that will probably be.....driven.
William.
PS. I told Aidan I would not tell this story, but it's just too funny to keep to myself. (PLEASE CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON WITH THE WORD ROOSTER ABOVE IT. IT IS LOCATED ON THE UPPER RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE. AFTER CLICKING PLAY PLEASE SCROLL BACK DOWN HERE AND CONTINUE READING) About the third day we were there, Aidan and I went exploring. We were in the Horse stable when I decided to go out of the side door and walk over to one of the other cabins that Nana and PawPaw have on their property. Aidan said that he would meet me there, but he wanted to go down by the chicken house and wash his muddy hands off in a rain barrel that was right beside the coup. I made it to the cabin, and I was on the porch of the house sitting in a swing as Aidan finished washing his hands. He was a couple of hundred feet away, and after washing his hands, he starting walking up the road, and making his way up to the cabin. As he left the road and started up the hill, I noticed a Rooster peek his head out of the coup. At first I did not think anything about it, but suddenly the theme from JAWS popped into my head. The Rooster started stalking Aidan, who was unaware of the impending doom. I thought to myself "surely that Rooster is just showing off and has no real intention of attacking".......boy was I wrong. Aidan had left the road and was about 6 feet up the hillside when the Rooster went into his frenzy. No sooner did I get the words out "Lookout Aidan, that Rooster's coming after you" he was already on Aidan's back, and poor Aidan was already tumbling down the hill. Now, judging from the Ungodly blood curdling scream that was emitting from Aidan's mouth, you would have thought the Rooster might have died from fright, but that was not the case. Instead, he was attached to Aidan like a cat to a scratching post. Aidan was tumbling down the hill end over end, and screaming bloody murder. I leaped up from my swing, and made a bee line to the boy. I reached him after he had tumbled down 20 feet of the mountain, and I punted that Rooster off the boy's back. I have never seen Aidan that shook up. He was crying uncontrollably. After checking him out for cuts and bruises, I walked him back to the house. He came out of it with just one scratch on his back, and a buttkicking he will not soon forget. He did show his bravery later, and went right back in that chicken coup with Nana to collect eggs. He just took a big stick with him.....just in case. The lessons he learned........Roosters are MEAN.
Most importantly : Roosters don't sleep...they WAIT!
We got the to airport in plenty of time, and even made it through security in a pretty timely manner. Things were looking up. They remained up until we boarded the plane. Christopher decided that it was just way too quiet on that plane, and he needed to throw a fit before takeoff. It was about that time that essence of life started exiting my pores at an alarming pace. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh.....please start this plane and take off where this boy will stop crying and go to sleep". I must give Lori credit. She handles these situations much better than me, and I can only imagine how tough it is to actually be the one holding the little monster while exacerbated death stares surround your position. He finally went to sleep after take off, and was relatively quiet the remaining flight.
Nana picked us up at the airport, and after a quick trip through the drive thru at Mickey D's we were on our way to the farm. About an hour and a half later we arrived at the ranch, and one deep breath of that crisp mountain air made all of stress just float away.
The first few days we were there it rained.....and rained......and then rained some more. There was lots of time indoors playing dominoes, playing games, watching basketball, and just relaxing. It was fun, but we were all getting a bit stir crazy and wanted to go exploring outside. By the third morning, the rain had stopped, the fog was lifting, and blue skies were starting to show.
It was still a bit nippy outside, and we all enjoyed the warm fire in the fireplace.
By late morning it was absolutely beautiful.
Blue skies meant it was time to play, and Nana and Aidan jumped on the Gator.
"Hey....watch out for the photographer!" While they drove down to feed the chickens and horses and cows, Lori and Christopher and I went to take some pics of the scenery. Oh....and what beautiful scenery it is.........
By the next day it had dried up so much, we went uphill to play on the swing set. It was still a bit muddy (notice everybody's groovy boots), but that did not deter the fun. Christopher and Aidan really loved swinging on the swings, and climbing the "rock" wall. Christopher's favorite thing by far was the slide. He loved the slide, and wore out Nana and Lori.
Aidan loved swinging out as far as he could on the mountain side.
Now this is the look of a boy having fun with his Nana.
Here's Christopher having fun with his da da.
What an incredible view from up here on the playground.
The beautiful day was capped off with a stunning sunset. The camera does not even begin to do this sunset justice. There were so many colors in the sky, and it was so beautiful, it was almost indescribable.
The next morning we woke up to another beautiful day. The main thing on the agenda for the day was to go fishing. Aidan was really excited about fishing, and he let us know about ........ um.....50 times before we actually went. We left Nana and PawPaw in charge of Christopher, while Lori and Aidan and I went down to the pond. It did not take long for Aidan to hooked his first fish, and we were able to capture a picture of that monster before we released him back to the deep.
We all caught some fish, and had lots of fun.
We spent the next couple of days playing outdoors during the day, watching March Madness during the evening, and playing dominoes and Monopoly at night. On our second to last day, we went over to PawPaw's parents house for a short visit. Christopher was looking mighty handsome. Here he is with momma and da da.
Aidan had lots of fun playing by the creek that runs in front of their house.
It really is a beautiful area.
Out last morning was spent packing and getting our minds right for our plane ride home. We took a couple of pictures before we left, and then we headed on our journey home.
The plane ride home was one of our least enjoyable memories to date. Christopher was an absolute hellion, and was so distraught at one point, that the flight attendant asked Lori to go to the front of the plane with the boy. I guess there were fewer people to distract while sitting in the very first row. Needless to say, Lori was really embarrassed. Christopher did much better once he was up front, but he did not sleep the whole way home. Not good. Lori deserves a medal for her unwavering dedication and nerves of steel.
We did finally make it home late Friday afternoon. It's always a bit depressing leaving such beautiful scenery and then coming into our house and looking out the window. Talk about a major difference. Wow.
We had a wonderful time, and once again Steve and Dianne were fantastic hosts. We are already looking forward to our next trip up to Tennessee......one that will probably be.....driven.
William.
PS. I told Aidan I would not tell this story, but it's just too funny to keep to myself. (PLEASE CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON WITH THE WORD ROOSTER ABOVE IT. IT IS LOCATED ON THE UPPER RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE. AFTER CLICKING PLAY PLEASE SCROLL BACK DOWN HERE AND CONTINUE READING) About the third day we were there, Aidan and I went exploring. We were in the Horse stable when I decided to go out of the side door and walk over to one of the other cabins that Nana and PawPaw have on their property. Aidan said that he would meet me there, but he wanted to go down by the chicken house and wash his muddy hands off in a rain barrel that was right beside the coup. I made it to the cabin, and I was on the porch of the house sitting in a swing as Aidan finished washing his hands. He was a couple of hundred feet away, and after washing his hands, he starting walking up the road, and making his way up to the cabin. As he left the road and started up the hill, I noticed a Rooster peek his head out of the coup. At first I did not think anything about it, but suddenly the theme from JAWS popped into my head. The Rooster started stalking Aidan, who was unaware of the impending doom. I thought to myself "surely that Rooster is just showing off and has no real intention of attacking".......boy was I wrong. Aidan had left the road and was about 6 feet up the hillside when the Rooster went into his frenzy. No sooner did I get the words out "Lookout Aidan, that Rooster's coming after you" he was already on Aidan's back, and poor Aidan was already tumbling down the hill. Now, judging from the Ungodly blood curdling scream that was emitting from Aidan's mouth, you would have thought the Rooster might have died from fright, but that was not the case. Instead, he was attached to Aidan like a cat to a scratching post. Aidan was tumbling down the hill end over end, and screaming bloody murder. I leaped up from my swing, and made a bee line to the boy. I reached him after he had tumbled down 20 feet of the mountain, and I punted that Rooster off the boy's back. I have never seen Aidan that shook up. He was crying uncontrollably. After checking him out for cuts and bruises, I walked him back to the house. He came out of it with just one scratch on his back, and a buttkicking he will not soon forget. He did show his bravery later, and went right back in that chicken coup with Nana to collect eggs. He just took a big stick with him.....just in case. The lessons he learned........Roosters are MEAN.
Most importantly : Roosters don't sleep...they WAIT!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
STEEL
11 years ago today I made the best decision of my life.
Most of the time, when someone makes a statement like this, it requires quite a tale to support such a boast. Not this time. This time all it took was my reciting two simple words. Those two words provided the cornerstone to my existence, and have given me incalculable happiness. What are these magical words you ask?
"I DO"
Thank you Lori for 11 wonderful years. I could not have found a better mother, a better friend, a better wife, or a better person than you.
William
Most of the time, when someone makes a statement like this, it requires quite a tale to support such a boast. Not this time. This time all it took was my reciting two simple words. Those two words provided the cornerstone to my existence, and have given me incalculable happiness. What are these magical words you ask?
"I DO"
Thank you Lori for 11 wonderful years. I could not have found a better mother, a better friend, a better wife, or a better person than you.
William
Friday, March 13, 2009
What The Duck?
So, I'm sitting at the computer wondering if the rain would let up anytime soon, when lo and behold I received a sign.
Yep, that's our front yard, and yep that's two ducks that just landed there about 15 minutes ago. We might be in trouble.
William
Yep, that's our front yard, and yep that's two ducks that just landed there about 15 minutes ago. We might be in trouble.
William
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Spring Foward
Yesterday's weather was fantastic, providing you were one of the following:
A) Kite
B) Sailboat
C) Windmill
If you were not one of the above, the weather proved challenging, and the wind elicited more than one "this is ridicules" response during Aidan's baseball practice and soccer game. Lori was also not to pleased to find out that in addition to her Saturday morning running groups' scheduled hill sprints yesterday, they would also be fighting the 35mph gust while doing so. Mmmmm...Mmmmmm doesn't that sound fun? It's no wonder why she looks so forward to 6:30am on Saturday mornings. I can't think of one other thing I would rather be doing at that time.............well.....Ok...I lied. What I meant to say was I cannot think of one other thing I would not rather be doing than running wind sprints up hill against a 35mph wind at 6:30am on Saturday mornings. That's about it in a nutshell.
Aidan's first baseball practice was yesterday, and it went great. He was a bit rusty, but I was very impressed with his hitting. With the weather, soccer, and some recent illnesses, we have not had very much time to practice. He picked up right where he left off last season, and he was stroking the ball pretty well. His first baseball game is April 4th, and by that time he should be in the groove.
His recent soccer games have been cold and miserable. In addition to the awful weather, his team has also been playing awful. They have just looked bad, and many of the kids were getting kind of discouraged. Yesterday, they broke out of the doldrums, and played like they wanted to be there. Aidan had his best game of the year, scoring 3 goals, and preventing at least 4-5. We were very happy with his effort, and he had a lot of fun.
Christopher is such a little devil. He is a handful, and getting more brave and more independent each and every day. You have to watch him like a hawk or he will be into something quicker than you can blink. Here is a picture that I took of Christopher the other day. He was playing with my reading glasses, and when he put them on, I thought the looked like the kid from Jerry Maguire.
Such a ham.
Such a ham.
I have to apologize for not blogging more recently. After building the new computer, I finally had a machine that would support the most recent video games. I got the game Fallout 3 about a month ago, and it is an absolute time eater. Hours seem like minutes when you are playing, and any "spare" (blogging time) that I have recently had, has been spent immersed in Post Nuclear Role Playing. I have however recently completed the game, so I now have most of my "spare" time back for blogging. So there you have it, you all have been deprived your weekly Thornton updates because of my video game weakness. You should all feel very important now.
Well, got to go. Lot's to do on this beautiful, windless day. I have already mowed the lawn, and I see a trip to Home Depot in my very near future. Lori wants new plants and flowers (Spring is Here!), so you know what that means..............Lori gets new plants and flowers. Gotta keep momma happy.
William
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Down With The Sickness
For the last 4+ years, we have been really blessed with Aidan's health. He, unlike most kids, just never gets sick. Injured?........well that's a whole different animal indeed, but as far as viruses, and infections go, Aidan has been almost impervious. All that changed on Sunday when Aidan came down with a really nasty virus. He looked truly awful, and as any parent can attest, it's really difficult seeing one's child in so much discomfort.
Aidan was absolutely miserable, which in turn made us equally as miserable. Now our misery was not the viral kind, but instead stemmed from our feeling of helplessness. There is just not much you can do for viruses, you just kind of have to "ride" it out. NOT A FUN RIDE!
As a parent, there is probably no worse feeling in the world than to see your child hurting and not being able to fix it. I spent the last two days being Aidan's "cabana boy", catering to his every whim, but it hardly helped with his disposition. You know something is terribly wrong with your six year old son when you offer him cookies and ice cream and pizza and all he can muster is a whispered "nah, I'm just not hungry". The horror.....the horror.
His fever finally broke yesterday morning, and he took a very long nap in the afternoon. After waking up from his nap, he seemed like he might be turning the corner. We kept our fingers crossed during the night, and when he woke up this morning, he said he was ready to go to school. Let's hope he makes it through the day OK, and gets his appetite back. Unlike his father, that skinny monkeyboy does not need to lose anymore weight. Hopefully he will come home ravenous and in good spirits.
So far Christopher seems fine. We are praying that he stays that way. We do not need a 18 month old coming down with a viral infection. I'm not sure that daddy could handle it.
William
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Oh Lord it's Hard to be Humbled
Well, Aidan's soccer season started off with a bang yesterday, and humble pie was served by the truckload. Wow, talk about a beating.....gesh.....I thought a one point they were going to have to stop the game to repair the net. Aidan, being the fierce competitor that he is, did not take the beating too well, and was visibly upset most of the game. He played his butt off, and we were very proud of his effort, but he could not do it alone. Two of his better teammates were sick and did not make it to the game, and there were just too many outstanding players on the other team for Aidan to make a difference. As a matter of fact, two of the players on the other team looked like they had done nothing but eat, sleep, and drink soccer since they were born. They were phenomenal players, with the ball skills of players twice their age. They could score at will.......and did. Like I said, it was quite humbling for Aidan's team and the parents. Oh well, there is always next game.
I did manage to get a couple of minutes of video of Aidan's game. Thankfully, this minute or so does not include the other team scoring. Please disregard the screaming madman in the background. His yelling did not help, but it did make him feel better.
William
Friday, February 6, 2009
Taking off Cruise Control
I know, I know, it's been too long since I last blogged. I would like to say that it's because I have been too busy, but that is really not the truth. The truth is, there just has not been too much going on lately. No sports, no birthdays, no special occasions, just everyday life. I figured most of you would not want to hear about such routine happenings.
All of that changed yesterday with soccer season officially up and running. Aidan had his first practice yesterday, and to say he was a bit rusty would be an understatement. I have never seen him huffing and puffing like that before. It was like watching a "mini me" after I started back to the gym last week. Both of us have a lot of work to do.
Christopher is becoming more independent each and every day. If his progression stays the same, he should be moving out in the next few months. No, not really, but let me tell you, he is a little firecracker. If it can be climbed and it's dangerous, he's your man......err....boy. I do not remember Aidan being such a Daredevil, and that's a scary thought. He is not quite talking yet, but it won't be long now. He can babble with the best of them. Now we just need to start his potty training. I cannot wait to get him out of diapers. It will be glorious!
All of that changed yesterday with soccer season officially up and running. Aidan had his first practice yesterday, and to say he was a bit rusty would be an understatement. I have never seen him huffing and puffing like that before. It was like watching a "mini me" after I started back to the gym last week. Both of us have a lot of work to do.
Christopher is becoming more independent each and every day. If his progression stays the same, he should be moving out in the next few months. No, not really, but let me tell you, he is a little firecracker. If it can be climbed and it's dangerous, he's your man......err....boy. I do not remember Aidan being such a Daredevil, and that's a scary thought. He is not quite talking yet, but it won't be long now. He can babble with the best of them. Now we just need to start his potty training. I cannot wait to get him out of diapers. It will be glorious!
I have not taken any new pictures lately, and for that I deserve to be flogged. I will make up for it in the next week, and I will post some new picture of the monkeys. They are growing up so fast.
William
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
HAL 9000's First Cousin
Well, two weeks ago I did something that I have always wanted to do, but never had the guts to do it. Skydive you say? What, are you nuts? No, this was not quite that reckless, but brave nonetheless.
I purchased all of the components down to that last wire, and built from scratch, a top of the line monster computer. Yep, that's right, all by myself. Now, if that does not sound too difficult for you, just stop reading now, for my shameless boastfulness will just be wasted on deaf ears.
I did a whole lot of research before I purchased a thing, and I mean a WHOLE lot. I am notorious for that, and it drives Lori up the wall. I can spend weeks reading reviews on products that I am interested in, before making my decision on what to purchase. I did the same this time, and it paid off. The new computer is super-stinking-COOL! Now before I dazzle you with pictures of the BEAST, let me tell you what is in it.
CoolerMaster HAF computer case
Cooler Master 1000W Real Pro power supply
MSI Eclipse Motherboard
12 GB of DDR3 Corsair Dominator 1600C8D memory (6) 2GB sticks
I7 940 @2.93ghz Quad Core processor
CoolerMaster V8 processor cooler
ASUS 4870x2 2GB Tri Fan Graphics Card
Western Digital Velociraptor 300GB 10000RPM gaming hard drive
(2) LG CD/DVD R/RW sata drives
NZXT Sentry Dual Bay Digital Fan Controller
LG W2452 High Definition Monitor
It took me a couple of weeks to get the motherboard and the memory to start being nice to each other. I had to flash a new bios, and adjust some of the voltages and the timings, but now she is purring like a kitten. Without further adieu, I present THE BEAST.
Lori thinks it looks like it belongs on the set of a STAR WARS movie. I'm just thankful she agreed to let me build it. It's amazing what a bit of groveling can accomplish.
William
I purchased all of the components down to that last wire, and built from scratch, a top of the line monster computer. Yep, that's right, all by myself. Now, if that does not sound too difficult for you, just stop reading now, for my shameless boastfulness will just be wasted on deaf ears.
I did a whole lot of research before I purchased a thing, and I mean a WHOLE lot. I am notorious for that, and it drives Lori up the wall. I can spend weeks reading reviews on products that I am interested in, before making my decision on what to purchase. I did the same this time, and it paid off. The new computer is super-stinking-COOL! Now before I dazzle you with pictures of the BEAST, let me tell you what is in it.
CoolerMaster HAF computer case
Cooler Master 1000W Real Pro power supply
MSI Eclipse Motherboard
12 GB of DDR3 Corsair Dominator 1600C8D memory (6) 2GB sticks
I7 940 @2.93ghz Quad Core processor
CoolerMaster V8 processor cooler
ASUS 4870x2 2GB Tri Fan Graphics Card
Western Digital Velociraptor 300GB 10000RPM gaming hard drive
(2) LG CD/DVD R/RW sata drives
NZXT Sentry Dual Bay Digital Fan Controller
LG W2452 High Definition Monitor
It took me a couple of weeks to get the motherboard and the memory to start being nice to each other. I had to flash a new bios, and adjust some of the voltages and the timings, but now she is purring like a kitten. Without further adieu, I present THE BEAST.
Lori thinks it looks like it belongs on the set of a STAR WARS movie. I'm just thankful she agreed to let me build it. It's amazing what a bit of groveling can accomplish.
William
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Tis the season to be jolly, and so on and so forth. This message has never been more clear, as these last two weeks have been choc full of wondrous merriment, and boundless joy. With Aidan out of school, and seeing family, I have been way too busy to blog. I hope to make up for lost time tonight, and hopefully get back on track afterwards. I hope you enjoy a brief synopsis of our Holidays.
After celebrating my birthday, we had a couple of days to finish all of our shopping and prepare for another grand Christmas. Christmas this year was done a bit different. Normally we are here in town for Christmas, and travel to see family afterwards. This year we decided to spend Christmas in Temple with my mother (Grandma) and my brother (Uncle Jim). Lori's parents came into town on the 19th, so we decided to have an early Christmas here, and leave for Temple on the 24th.
Our pseudo Christmas morning (the 23rd) started out bright and early. I guess that anyone who has ever been a kid understands the reason behind that. Aidan was up bright and early, and woke us up to make sure we did not miss opening gifts. Although Christopher is still to young to really understand what's going on, he had no problem with the concept of ripping/tearing off wrapping paper. Here he is just after opening his MEGA BLOCKS dump truck.
Aidan understands fully what it means to open gifts, and he just might be the Mozart of gift opening. He is a blur. Monkeyboy had a really good year, and we could not have been more proud of his accomplishments in sports and the classroom. Because of this, he got an extra special gift this year from his mom and dad, and he was ecstatic after opening it. Here he is just after opening his XBOX 360.
Yes, we have created a videohead monster.
We spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the wrapping paper devastation and playing with our new gadgets. It is always so much fun to see the utter joy on the children's faces when they get presents. After we finished our pseudo Christmas at our house, it was time to do our second Pseudo Christmas at Nana and PawPaw's house. Cricket, Wyatt and Jackson meet us over there, and we all tore into our gifts with verve and gusto. We all got some really fabulous gifts, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Here is a picture of Nana and PawPaw Claus.
Christopher wanted in on the Santa hat festivities so I snapped a picture of him in Nana's lap.
After we left Nana and PawPaw's house about 9:00pm, we decided to pack the CX-9 up and leave for Grandma's late that evening. We figured we could miss all of the Christmas eve traffic. We did miss the traffic, but let me tell you, with everyone in the vehicle asleep except for me, driving at 2:30 am was really tough. I was one tired puppy by the time we got to Grandma's house. We all went straight to sleep and looked forward to our visit.
We spent Christmas eve visiting and playing. We had a lot of fun with Grandma, and even got to visit with Uncle Jim a bit after he got off work. We all got to bed at a decent hour, knowing that the two monkeys would be up bright and early.
Jim arrived about 7:00am on Christmas morning, and wouldn't you know it, Santa was able to find both the boys and left them some pretty cool gifts. Christopher loved the Police Car that Santa left for him,
and Aidan loved the Kick and Go Scooter that Santa left for him. After playing with their Santa gifts for a minute, Aidan and Christopher were ready their presents from Grandma and Jim.
The first order of business for Aidan was to open the enormous box with his name on it. I knew at the time that Grandma had purchased a Gaming Chair for Aidan and had it shipped to her house. She wrapped the box after it arrived, and placed it next to the tree. I got the camera at the ready to record his reaction. Here he is just before opening it.
Boy o boy, here we go.....and just like that the paper started flying. As soon as he opened the box, his expression went from jubilation to confusion in a half a second. I too was perplexed until I stood up and saw what he was looking at. The geniuses at Amazon decided to ship him a HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL STUDIO DOLL HOUSE instead of his chair. He did not know how to react. As soon as I saw it, I told him about the mistake, and told him we would get it corrected. Needless to say, he was a bit disappointed. That disappointment lasted just as long as it took him to open his next present. He got a really cool LEGO helicopter from Uncle Jim, who was alsoinsane nice enough to help him put it together. Here is Uncle Jim with the masterpiece they created.
Christopher of course loved all of his toys. He had so many, he barely knew what to do. Here he is playing with a couple of them.
The rest of the visit consisted of visiting, playing, eating, and having a great time. We stayed until the afternoon of the 26th, and then headed home. I took a couple of pictures before we left that turned out pretty good. Here is Lori and the boys sitting on the swing at Grandma's house.
Here is one of Grandma and the boys.
We had a great visit, and it was great having Christmas again in the house where I grew up.
We spent the next couple of days relaxing in town, visiting with Nana and Pawpaw and Cricket and the boys. The boys spent a whole lot of time showing off their gifts, accompanied by an inordinate amount of screaming. Boys will be boys.
The 29th rolled around, and with it came Cricket's birthday. Oh yeah, another reason to eat some more cake! We went to a very nice restaurant for dinner, and topped it off with cake and ice cream. Yummy. Here is a picture of Christopher wishing Cricket a happy birthday.
Lori's parents left on the morning of the 31st, and our good friends from Houston came in late that afternoon. It has been a while since they have been here, and we were really looking forward to their visit. It was wonderful spending a couple of days with them, and like always time flew by too quickly. Here is a picture of Ken and Hailey just before midnight.
I could not think of better friends to ring in the new year with. Aidan even stayed up until midnight for the festivities. We spent much of the night playing poker. Let me tell you, Aidan is a card shark. You might think I am kidding, but he put a hurting on me and Ken during a long session of 5 card draw. The kid is a natural. Here he is showing his poker face.
Saturday came too quickly, and we had to say goodbye to our good friends. We had a blast while they were here. I snapped a couple of pictures just before they left. Here is their beautiful daughter Carley striking a pose for me.
She is such a cutie. Here is one last photo of Ken and Hailey and Carley, joined by our two monkeys.
Good times.....good times.
Well, believe it our not, that was a brief synopsis of the last two weeks. Believe me when I tell you that you don't want all the details. You would be reading for hours. In a nutshell this is it.......We have a wonderful extended family, and fantastic friends. God has truly blessed us.
Thanks everyone for a fun filled holiday.
William
After celebrating my birthday, we had a couple of days to finish all of our shopping and prepare for another grand Christmas. Christmas this year was done a bit different. Normally we are here in town for Christmas, and travel to see family afterwards. This year we decided to spend Christmas in Temple with my mother (Grandma) and my brother (Uncle Jim). Lori's parents came into town on the 19th, so we decided to have an early Christmas here, and leave for Temple on the 24th.
Our pseudo Christmas morning (the 23rd) started out bright and early. I guess that anyone who has ever been a kid understands the reason behind that. Aidan was up bright and early, and woke us up to make sure we did not miss opening gifts. Although Christopher is still to young to really understand what's going on, he had no problem with the concept of ripping/tearing off wrapping paper. Here he is just after opening his MEGA BLOCKS dump truck.
Aidan understands fully what it means to open gifts, and he just might be the Mozart of gift opening. He is a blur. Monkeyboy had a really good year, and we could not have been more proud of his accomplishments in sports and the classroom. Because of this, he got an extra special gift this year from his mom and dad, and he was ecstatic after opening it. Here he is just after opening his XBOX 360.
Yes, we have created a videohead monster.We spent the majority of the morning cleaning up the wrapping paper devastation and playing with our new gadgets. It is always so much fun to see the utter joy on the children's faces when they get presents. After we finished our pseudo Christmas at our house, it was time to do our second Pseudo Christmas at Nana and PawPaw's house. Cricket, Wyatt and Jackson meet us over there, and we all tore into our gifts with verve and gusto. We all got some really fabulous gifts, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Here is a picture of Nana and PawPaw Claus.
Christopher wanted in on the Santa hat festivities so I snapped a picture of him in Nana's lap.
After we left Nana and PawPaw's house about 9:00pm, we decided to pack the CX-9 up and leave for Grandma's late that evening. We figured we could miss all of the Christmas eve traffic. We did miss the traffic, but let me tell you, with everyone in the vehicle asleep except for me, driving at 2:30 am was really tough. I was one tired puppy by the time we got to Grandma's house. We all went straight to sleep and looked forward to our visit.
We spent Christmas eve visiting and playing. We had a lot of fun with Grandma, and even got to visit with Uncle Jim a bit after he got off work. We all got to bed at a decent hour, knowing that the two monkeys would be up bright and early.
Jim arrived about 7:00am on Christmas morning, and wouldn't you know it, Santa was able to find both the boys and left them some pretty cool gifts. Christopher loved the Police Car that Santa left for him,
and Aidan loved the Kick and Go Scooter that Santa left for him. After playing with their Santa gifts for a minute, Aidan and Christopher were ready their presents from Grandma and Jim.The first order of business for Aidan was to open the enormous box with his name on it. I knew at the time that Grandma had purchased a Gaming Chair for Aidan and had it shipped to her house. She wrapped the box after it arrived, and placed it next to the tree. I got the camera at the ready to record his reaction. Here he is just before opening it.
Boy o boy, here we go.....and just like that the paper started flying. As soon as he opened the box, his expression went from jubilation to confusion in a half a second. I too was perplexed until I stood up and saw what he was looking at. The geniuses at Amazon decided to ship him a HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL STUDIO DOLL HOUSE instead of his chair. He did not know how to react. As soon as I saw it, I told him about the mistake, and told him we would get it corrected. Needless to say, he was a bit disappointed. That disappointment lasted just as long as it took him to open his next present. He got a really cool LEGO helicopter from Uncle Jim, who was also
Christopher of course loved all of his toys. He had so many, he barely knew what to do. Here he is playing with a couple of them.
The rest of the visit consisted of visiting, playing, eating, and having a great time. We stayed until the afternoon of the 26th, and then headed home. I took a couple of pictures before we left that turned out pretty good. Here is Lori and the boys sitting on the swing at Grandma's house.
Here is one of Grandma and the boys.
We had a great visit, and it was great having Christmas again in the house where I grew up.
We spent the next couple of days relaxing in town, visiting with Nana and Pawpaw and Cricket and the boys. The boys spent a whole lot of time showing off their gifts, accompanied by an inordinate amount of screaming. Boys will be boys.
The 29th rolled around, and with it came Cricket's birthday. Oh yeah, another reason to eat some more cake! We went to a very nice restaurant for dinner, and topped it off with cake and ice cream. Yummy. Here is a picture of Christopher wishing Cricket a happy birthday.
Lori's parents left on the morning of the 31st, and our good friends from Houston came in late that afternoon. It has been a while since they have been here, and we were really looking forward to their visit. It was wonderful spending a couple of days with them, and like always time flew by too quickly. Here is a picture of Ken and Hailey just before midnight.
I could not think of better friends to ring in the new year with. Aidan even stayed up until midnight for the festivities. We spent much of the night playing poker. Let me tell you, Aidan is a card shark. You might think I am kidding, but he put a hurting on me and Ken during a long session of 5 card draw. The kid is a natural. Here he is showing his poker face.
Saturday came too quickly, and we had to say goodbye to our good friends. We had a blast while they were here. I snapped a couple of pictures just before they left. Here is their beautiful daughter Carley striking a pose for me.
She is such a cutie. Here is one last photo of Ken and Hailey and Carley, joined by our two monkeys.
Good times.....good times.
Well, believe it our not, that was a brief synopsis of the last two weeks. Believe me when I tell you that you don't want all the details. You would be reading for hours. In a nutshell this is it.......We have a wonderful extended family, and fantastic friends. God has truly blessed us.
Thanks everyone for a fun filled holiday.
William
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