And so it goes .....

Come to the Cabaret !

2011-10-23T02:25:00.002-04:00

Oh, how we love to have Grandma in town. My mother came up for a visit this weekend, which was nice because now that she's retired, she can spend more time with us and less on the road traveling. The girls love having her around, and was doubly nice for the parents. Mom volunteered to watch the girls tonight to give Rachel and I the chance to go out on a date without having to spring for a sitter (they're expensive now). Rachel needed to go and see the current play at West Chester University for her theatre class, and it just made sense to combine the two activities into one. However, that was also the cap to a very busy day for us. My day was fairly mundane, as I had to work until 1 PM and pick up ice cream. Rachel had it far worse -- after morning tae kwon do lessons for her and the girls, there was the Primary activity at church, picking up a birthday cake, setting up for daughter #2 birthday party, cleaning up, taking a rogue child home, and then home to eat a quick dinner before off to the play. What a day! In any case, it was nice to have that extra Grandma hands to help with the girls.

In fact, I don't even mind the fact that I made the decision to miss my 2oth high school reunion in Virginia to spend time with everyone. High school wasn't the highlight of my existence, so it actually wasn't too hard to decide what I was going to do. There was the surprise that a girl I barely knew back then told me that she'd miss seeing me - and then backed that sentiment up with a memory of me to prove that she wasn't just putting me on to try and pump money out of me for a ticket. Oh, well, perhaps I'll live long enough to go to the 25th reunion.

Aaron

WOW

2010-04-16T00:35:00.003-04:00

Has it really been eight months since my last post on here? I have been such a slacker, but it seems that between school, work, and being a father there is little time left for other things. Let's try to catch up:

The end of August brought a start to another semester. I took four summer classes, so I was only able to enjoy two weeks of summer before starting up again.

September was pretty uneventful -- as was October. Although this time period brought the start to my favorite season of all, FALL !! I want to find a place where the weather is like that year round, and move there.

November brought Thanksgiving, and our Black Friday baby -- Courtney. Thank goodness for Loretta and Rory Sargeant -- you saved the day at the last minute.

December brought the end of another semester, which included barely passing Statistics. It's okay, I totally half-assed that class.

January was awesome, because I had a month off between semesters. It was also bad, because Rachel told me that it was time to stop putting off thinking about where we were going to transfer to once we graduated from community college. I ended up applying to four colleges ...

February and March were good -- February marked getting into two of the schools I applied to, and March brought a surprise birthday party for me that Rachel planned. March also marked getting into BYU -- yeah, me at BYU, look out Provo.

April is rapidly passing by, and my final semester is wrapping up quickly. The big question is whether or not Rachel and I are going to walk for graduation. We're going back and forth trying to decide.

I leave you with perhaps the funniest video clip you'll find on youtube:

Sometimes a good thing is just that

2009-08-04T01:02:00.005-04:00

This past weekend, we made the trip South to visit with my sister before she left for her semester abroad in El Salvador. While this was the main reason for our journey, there was a little side trip that was also planned. Rachel noticed on the Redskins website that the Red Cross was going to be holding a blood drive that was sponsored in some way by the Redskins. If you signed up to donate, and actually went through with it, you got a goody bag that included some Redskins stuff. In addition, you were also entered to win a few door prizes that included: autographed mini-helmets, apparel, or club level tickets to a home game of your choice. The final bribe, and the one that I wanted, was special VIP seating to training camp on Saturday or Sunday. While I am admittedly squeamish about bleeding on purpose, no matter how good the cause, I can be bought. Last year was the first time I gave blood, and it was for a free ticket into the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. This year, it was for VIP access to training camp to be a little closer to the team that I have been devoted to for as long as I can remember. So, Andrew and I made our appointments last week and showed up on Saturday morning at 8:30 AM.

We were taken back to give our history, first myself then Andrew, to be tested to see if we qualified to give blood that day. I still had my Red Cross card from last year, with a scan bar on it, so I gave it to the lady to jump past the medical history and go straight into testing. This is when the rather English-challenged lady tried to inform me three times that my card was from another district, and that I was going to be considered a first time donor after my repeated "WHAT?" and "EXCUSE ME?" responses. This continued the whole time she was asking me questions, as her think accent muddled the line of communication between us. She probably thought I was some ignorant hick or partially deaf at the very least. Finally, I was given the computer to answer the personal health information and I passed. I was escorted back to the area they were taking the donations, and lo and behold -- Andrew was already stuck with the needle and filling his baggie. I had volunteered to donate double red cells, not only because the needle to procure the blood is smaller (I'm a wuss), but because I now have a valid excuse not to give blood for a longer period of time. So, by the time we both were finished -- training camp that day was not even a possibility. We got passes for Sunday morning, and the debate started on whether or not we'd go.

Sunday morning comes, and it's raining. Rachel checks the website to see if practice outside is canceled or not, and we find that it's still on. Andrew, my oldest daughter, and I piled into the van to head out. We park, and walk to the practice fields. We go over to the VIP access entrance, and are told that the Red Cross area is not inside the fence (like we thought) but a roped off area "over there" the guy informed us. We wait at where we think the player entrance is, but the players ended up going onto the field another way. I decided to go over to our "special access" area, and find that they area they've picked is crap. It's roped off, for sure -- but it's further away from the field and players than those who didn't give blood were able to stand. I was PISSED!! As we drew closer, a young woman asks us if we're holding Red Cross passes and we affirm that. She tells us that they are now letting Red Cross people into the VIP entrance, and to go back to be let in. We tell her we've already been there, and were turned away. She says, "Oh, they decided to let the Red Cross people inside the fence now." I'm fully expecting to be turned away again, but the same guy now lets us through. The team is all out on the field now, so I pull out the camera to get a few pics now that we're much closer to the players. As I turn it on, I see that the power is zapped. Rachel had charged the battery before we left, so I was puzzled. My daughter informs me at this point, as I'm lamenting the fact that I didn't check it before we left, that she and my middle daughter were playing with the camera the night before at the party for Nancy. Great -- how angry could I get? I was too pumped. So, I snapped exactly three pictures before the camera died. Then the rains came. My daughter was complaining about getting wet, and that she wanted to go home. She also saw the Papa John's and Johnny Rocket's food trailers and kept reminding me how hungry she was. The combination of the rain, the complaining, the fact that the camera was dead all combined to force us to go home. Andrew and I were both a disappointed at our luck, but I can't say it was a total loss. I'm posting one of the rare Redskins pics, and one of the ones that Ryles took the night before playing with the camera. Enjoy.

So remember -- if you're holding a blood drive for your Eagle Scout, church, sports team, etc .... I can be bribed into bleeding on purpose if you have a goody bag in store for those who sign up to donate. And it has to be something good, none of this "the feeling you get for doing a good thing is reward enough" crap.

Another One Down

2009-05-15T01:44:00.004-04:00

Friday is the official date when final grades are due from our professors for the spring semester. My professors this time around have all submitted their grades, so at least I didn't have to wait too long. Here's a breakdown:

Microeconomics, Grade: A. I don't know how anyone in that class didn't get an A who completed it from this professor. The discussion board topics only required students to respond a minimum of three times over three different days for full credit (100%) in the respective chapter. There was also a chance for extra credit if you responded more than three times over three different days. The homework assignments allowed multiple attempts to keep trying until you got it right, and the exams were all open book. Shame on anyone that didn't get an A (from this teacher, not for microeconomics in general)

English Writing, Grade: A. I placed into an English prep class once I ended up taking my placement test last summer. I was annoyed, but it was fairly obvious to anyone that I was rusty in my writing skills. My score was enough to place me into English 101 at some schools, but the standards for MontCo are higher for whatever reason. I got an A in the class, but it really was kinda a no-brainer.

History of Western Civilizations, Modern European, Grade: A-. The class consisted of weekly discussion board assignments, in which we had to interpret in our own words the chapter that we read. There were four papers we had to write that each covered a quarter of the class, one midterm and one final. There wasn't much room for error on any of these assignments, which I found annoying.

Accounting II, Grade: B+. This was mainly due to Rachel's tutoring, as her ability to pick up on accounting principles quickly made me jealous. I started out fine, but struggled later in the semester. I give full credit to Rachel for helping me attain the grade I did.

Introduction to Astronomy, Grade: B-. I struggled a lot, as the work required a lot of time that I didn't have to devote fully to the class. I started to lose focus about a third of the way through, but was able to pull things together for the final. I'll always wonder if I could have gotten a higher grade in the class if I had been able to devote the time I needed. At least my lab science elective is over with early, instead of putting it off until my last semester as originally planned.

In all, a successful semester. I'm taking a full load this summer as well, and by the end of August, I'll have officially completed my first year of college. Not bad, considering the dismal failure that I was back when I was fresh from high school. Sorry to bore you all with the details, but I am proud of the progress I've made.

Sports Evolution

2009-05-08T22:00:00.003-04:00

Growing up in the Washington, DC area you would think that my sports loyalties would all lie with the local teams. Redskins, Capitals, Bullets (I hate the Wizards name), and the Baltmore Orioles were the "big 4" teams of my youth, yet the only team I follow and root for is the Redskins. Dad was a big fan, and passed that onto me. The rest of the sports teams in the area never appealed to him for various reasons, so they never appealed to me until later in life. In that vein, here are the reasons I like the teams that I do (and perhaps one or two for teams that I despise):

Pro Football - Washington Redskins - number one in my heart. 'Nuff said.
College Football - I don't have a specific team that I root for all the time. If pushed to make a decision, though, it's between Michigan and Tennessee. Michigan because I liked their helmets when I was a kid, and Tennessee because their mastcot reminded me of Davey Crockett.
MLB - Chicago White Sox - I used to watch TV on an old black and white TV in the basement when I was a kid. Channel 20 (WDCA) would show Oriole games at night sometimes, and the first baseball game I watched was the White Sox/Orioles. Greg Luzinki hit two home runs, and the Sox beat the Orioles. In addition, I was a kid and I liked their uniforms better.
NHL - St. Louis Blues - I thought the name was clever, and Brett Hull was a scoring machine with Adam Oates feeding him the puck. Curtis Joseph came along later and cemented them as my team.
NBA - Utah Jazz - Pro basketball was the last of the four sports that I started watching, and I found out that Grandma Haslem was a big Jazz fan. I had no idea that Utah had a professional sports team, and it seemed like as good a team as any to root for.

A gentle nod of appreciation to the following teams that I subliminally root for:

Pittsburgh Penguins - that's all living with Jim for six years, then hanging out with him and his family in the space between then and now. I saw many a Pens game at the Cap center, and almost got into a few fights for cheering too loud. This is the main reason I hate the Capitals now, and their fair weather fan base.
Anaheim Ducks - Chris Pronger became my favorite Blues player, once Curtis Joseph and Brett Hull both played for the hated Red Wings at some point in their careers. Why not?
Washington Nationals - I still hate the name this many years later, but figure I can root for them since I wanted baseball back in the Nation's Capital for years.
Miami Heat - I liked Glenn Rice when he won the National Championship for Michigan, and he was drafted by the Heat for their inaugural season. I also thought their marketing department came up with a really sweet logo that survives to this day. Dwayne Wade is my favorite NBA player, anyhow.
San Diego Chargers - the late games in the NFL took place on the west coast, and San Diego's uniforms were very cool for the younger me. The lightening bolts on the helmet and pants were the best.

Now, a few teams I hate -- besides the Dallas Cowboys, which everyone who reads this blog should already know I consider the anti-Christ.

The Oakland Raiders - I don't mind people being passionate about their teams, but these people are just annoying. I hate watching the silver and black face paint, the shoulder pads with spikes, the skulls, outfits and general mayhem of the fans. I admit, part of this hatred is due to the spanking the Redskins took in the Super Bowl from them -- I am adult enough to admit it.
The NBA teams as a whole - I really just don't like much of the NBA at all, including the Jazz and the Heat, as their league is made up of wannabe "thugs" with their full sleeve tatoos, wearing their bling on the court, and the fact they allow teams to draft kids right out of high school. That just irks me for reasons that I have a hard time articulating without sounding partially racist, so I'll leave it at that.
Detroit Red Wings - they are the Yankees of hockey. They buy the players they want, and have a great team year in and out. Succeed breeds animosity, I guess. Plus, they always seem to beat the Blues - even when we had a great team a few years ago and were ranked higher in the playoff seeds. Fetchers. *mutter* Plus, they ended up signing Brett Hull and CuJo to contracts, which tainted their image in my mind ... Hull more than CuJo, though.

And there you go.

For the LOVE!!

2009-05-06T02:42:00.002-04:00

Okay, I just noticed that iTunes has raised the prices on their songs to $1.29 ....

That BLOWS! Yet another price increase on something. I'll just chalk this up to the recession, I guess. Just like Edy's and Breyer's Ice Cream now coming in 1.5 quart containers, down from 1.75 quart, down from a half gallon. This sucks.

Whatever happened to Customer Service?

2009-05-06T00:28:00.003-04:00

Recently, as I was on my way home from work, Rachel called me to let me know she was going to place an order with Domino's for dinner. It was the end of a long week for the both of us with work/school, so ordering pizza just sounded nice and easy. They were running a special, the 5-5-5 deal, where you could order any combination of one topping medium pizzas and their new sandwiches. We've used their online ordering service previously, and never had an issue. So, Rachel place the order while I was en route home. They gave an estimated delivery time of 35 to 45 minutes, and an hour later we still didn't have our order. The oldest two were complaining they were hungry, which started to grate on our nerves the longer it took. Rachel and I both called the store on our cell phones to try and ascertain why our order still had not arrived, but due to their automated answering service, were stuck on hold. The door knocked, and an hour and a half later -- our food had arrived. I signed the credit slip, and the driver apologized for the time it took saying, "We had no orders, and then within minutes we had 40 orders at the same time." I gave him my standard 10% tip and he left. Upon review of the receipt, I noticed that they had three bottles of soda listed on the ticket, but I had no soda delivered. I asked Rachel about it, and she went ballistic. The only way to get the 555 deal that day was to order three sodas, and the fact they were missing in addition to the severe lateness of the food was frustrating. Rachel tried to call the store to find out what happened, but became mired in the same holding zone of phone calls experienced earlier in the day. She had to get to work anyhow, so she grabbed and jetted to work.

Here's where the problem came in -- we had paid for soda that we never received, and all calls to the store were met with no resolution. Rachel decided to send an email complaint via their website to see if the issue could be resolved. Since the Domino's account we use to order is in my name, the very lackluster response was sent to my webmail addy. Basically, the response stated, "Sir, we're sorry you had a bad experience. This store is a franchise, and we're sending your problem to them with the hope they will contact you to resolve the issue. Thanks for sending us an email. Leave us alone now." I was pissed, but since I've worked in retail I decided to allow the local store to contact us and make things right. A week went by, and I was done. I sent a follow up email to Domino's corporate telling them that I was completely unsatified with the lack of concern on their part to my complaint. I paid for product that I never received, albeit $3 of soda, but that shouldn't matter. I was working on the "it's the principle of the matter" at stake, and not the amount of money. I was less tactful in my mail than Rachel was, and ended up having to edit portions of the email since I had exceeded the 1000 character limit. I just informed them of my unresolved issue, and that since the local store was unconcerned about my issue that I expected corporate to take care of it. Monday I received a response from them that is paraphrased, "Sir, we're sorry that your problem wasn't addressed by the local store. We're sending you some gift certificates to placate you, even though we still don't admit fault. Our franchises act independantly of corporate, so I'll again pass your concern onto them for training purposes. Go away once you receive your certificates, which should arrive in 7-10 days." I swear, if they're $5 off an order of $25 dollars coupons, I'm going to go ballistic.

It just seems that companies these days could give a crap about their customers once they have your money. If you've paid for a product or service that is consumable, tough crap if there turns out to be an issue. I'm waiting to see how this turns out, because I'm not going to take my father's line of "FINE, I'LL GO SOMEPLACE ELSE YOU JACKA--!" Sure, there's plenty of places that offer pizza, but Domino's oven baked sandwiches (bacon ranch chicken especially) are so good. *sigh*

Sunday

2009-05-04T01:13:00.004-04:00

Rachel ended up having to work again today.

Whenever she's at work, I do have some Daddy/daughter time with the girls which is good and bad at the same time. It's good because I get one on one with them and I see firsthand the things they do, which Rachel only tells me about after the fact. It's bad because I do not possess the same level of patience as Mommy does with their less than savory antics and I get frustrated with them easily.

Linz recently has become fascinated with animals, even taken to acting like them. Today, Allie had Linz and Ry-Ry penned up underneath the kitchen table in the "bad animals" cage. She was using the chairs to pin them in, and was feeding them crackers. It's so much fun to see their imagination at work, and how a little thing like the kitchen table can occupy my girls for a few hours. It also allowed me to watch part of the Red Wings/Ducks hockey game in peace, with only the occasion "bark" or "meow" drifting into the living room. That was the cute part. Later in the day, Linz was playing quietly in the back room with a Magna-Doodle type toy. Ry decided she was being too quiet, and took it from her and ran away. I now have a screaming Linz running at me, a screaming Ry because I caught her and took the toy away. In addition I have my own personal play-by-play announcer Allie giving me the blow by blow account of the events that led up to the toy being taken. Frustrating. It ran downhill from there, culminating in finding Linz in the bathtub, fully dressed in her clean pajamas after I had already given her a bath and dried her off.

Serenity now....

Soccer Blues

2009-04-26T19:05:00.002-04:00

I'm annoyed today. I know, shocker, huh?

Why is it that some people think the world was created to serve them?

You'd think a little thing like a bottle of Gatorade wouldn't set a person off, but I've had enough of this guy. He walks into the snack bar today (uninvited) like he owns the place, tells me what needs to be done and how to do it, grabs a Gatorade from the fridge, opens it and starts to drink. He then proceeds to tell me about his day, how long it was, and how much he did for the fields starting at 8 o'clock in the morning. He sighs, and then walks out without paying for his drink. Now, I grant you - I don't like this guy. I've had previous encounters with him, and his wife for that matter, that left a bad taste in my mouth. But taking a Gatorade from the snack bar? Why? Do you think that you deserve it? Do you think that because you are a board member, you can rape and pillage the snack bar at your whim? I am on the board as well, and I paid for all the stuff my kids ate/drank when they were in there. There was another board member that paid for his bottle of water and pretzel while I was working. Unless you're working the snack bar that day, or are dropping something off -- STAY OUT.

Gatorade ruins a day -- who knew?

BTW

2009-04-24T21:26:00.003-04:00

For anyone eagerly anticipating a completion of our day to day activities in Disney with JJBB back in December, I must disappoint you now. I just felt that it was going to turn into a boring, dull rehash of a vacation that most people probably couldn't care less about. Besides, that was way back in December and it's old news now. If you really want to know, I'll tell you. Just not here.

Good for You!

2009-04-22T19:08:00.005-04:00

The last clip I watched of a beauty pageant, before today, was the Miss USA contestant who fell on her rear. Before that, it was the hilarious Miss Teen USA who butchered an answer during the question round. Today I finally watched the now infamous clip from Sunday's Miss USA Pageant, and the response from pseudo-celeb Perez Hilton.

I don't understand what the problem is. I honestly don't. Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was asked an intentionally pointed question by a (and I use this term loosely) celebrity judge with an agenda and an axe to grind. I found it convenient that the openly super-gay Perez asked a question to Miss Prejean, who the judges probably knew attends San Diego Christian College, and who lives in a state that just passed Prop 8 in the last election. Miss Prejean answered the question openly and honestly, as she should have. Should she have made up an answer just to win the crown? Should she have been given a ZERO for her answer just because she thinks marriage is sacred, and be defined as one man/one woman? Since when was it a crime to believe in something?

The backlash against her is a bunch of hooey.

Why is it okay for people to persecute her for having an opinion? Is it because it's different than another's? Perez Hilton needs to realize that the world doesn't revolve around one person, and it's okay for people to have differing viewpoints. To go on his video blog and call Miss California a b-i-t-c-you know the last letter for opposing gay marriage -- that's going too far. Grow up, sir. Whatever your personal feelings are on this explosive topic, respect the fact that not everyone shares it. Again, grow up.

Oh, and by the way - this is Barack Obama's opinion on marriage. You going to call him the same thing you called Miss California too, Perez?

Wow

2009-04-18T23:21:00.002-04:00

It appears that I've been away for about four months - but in reality, I've been feeling overwhelmed by my school load this semester. You would think that I would be able to fit in a short freakin' post here and there, but for various reasons, I haven't.

Here's updates, and a few pictures:

Aaron - seems that his remedial college English course has jogged his memory on how to rite English papres. Mi teecher sayd that eyem gooder then eye youst to bee when eye startd the smester *giggles*. Actually, I find it ironic that by the time I take and pass English 101 that I'll have written papers for no less than seven college level classes. Funny and sad at the same time. Astronomy is the real problem class this semester, and I would recommend that if you are going to take classes online avoid the lab sciences like the plague. There are just some classes that do not translate well into an online format. The math part I'm doing well at, it's the rest of the class that I'm struggling with. It doesn't help that my professor is the head of the Astronomy department, and is VERY meticulous in his testing. The study guide he posts is also very misleading, as he'll list twenty topics that he's testing on - but in actuality he's only going to ask for like three of them. The rest are questions that will require you to apply the theory of the study guide, and not a regurgitation of facts. Thank goodness he's grading on a curve. Other than that, Aaron's biggest accomplishment is making four-star General on Call of Duty 4.

Rachel is good, she's very busy as well. She's doing very well in accounting, math, economics and her computer class which should be no shocker to those that know her well. Between weekly playgroups, Relief Society presidency meetings, raising our kids, being Mommy, working part-time for Gymboree, and being a wife - there isn't much time left for much else. I try to encourage her to go to book club, or take the occasional G.N.O. to the movies to help her gain perspective on life. Busy, busy, busy.

Allison had her first t-ball game today. We're not sure how she became interested in the sport, but it fits with what we're trying to do with our kids. Rachel and I felt that it's important to provide exposure to different sports/activities to kids, just to see what they are interested in and what they excel in. That way, you can drop any unnecessary activities and focus on what they enjoy and do well at. Between kindergarten, soccer and now t-ball, Allie is keeping very busy.

Ryleigh is doing well. She's finally potty-trained, after deciding that she wanted to do it. She's as stubborn and pig-headed as her father sometimes, and that was no different. She fought and fought and fought us, until she decided it was time and has been doing well ever since. She wants so badly to be on the soccer and t-ball field with Allie, but can't just yet. Rachel did find her a purple glove and ball, so now she and Allie can play in the backyard, tossing a baseball around.

Lindsay is growing too fast, she's going into the nursery in the next week or two. She's at the mimic stage, where she emulates what she sees her sisters doing. The poor child gets blamed for everything that goes wrong around the house by her sisters, and can climb just about anything. She was even climbing the chain link fence at t-ball practice the other night, like Spiderman. She's very cute, and is the most cuddly at this stage of the three girls. She loves to hang around Daddy, which I eat up like Mom's biscuits.

That's pretty much a short update - I hope to get on here once a week, but please send me an email to remind me if the blog isn't current. I sometimes get tunnel vision.

Hope everyone is well.

On a side note, Halle Berry's performance in X-Men is abysmal. I don't know why anyone considers her a good actor.

Day 2

2009-01-05T01:20:00.005-05:00

We checked out of the All-Star Sports, and got our luggage transferred to Saratoga Springs. There was a food court at the hotel, so we picked up a light breakfast for the girls. They didn't disappoint by eating just the frosting off the cinnamon roll we bought for them to share, and then wanting the bagel I purchased. We then caught a shuttle to pick up our rental car, to use to go grocery shopping and to drive to SeaWorld the next day. We drove to the Magic Kingdom to meet Jim and Jess at that point, and decided to take the ferry boat over since the Monorails from the parking lot were packed. The kicker was that the girls still had no idea where we were, or where we were heading. My plan was to let them see if for themselves and then tell them where we were, and Allison didn't disappoint. She saw the castle in the distance, and the gleam in her eye blazed strong. When we entered the park, she started hopping up and down. Allie then got Ryleigh all wound up and they started running around. Rachel and I were also excited, because it was our first trip to DisneyWorld as well. Rachel had been to DisneyLand when she lived in SoCal, but it was different she said. The difference? "DisneyLand is dirty." We met Jim and Jess after the little play that went on outside the Castle, and hung out together all day. Allie and Ryleigh got to meet characters they'd only seen in movies, rode special rides, and just completely enjoyed themselves. I was so glad that we were able to give them these memories, and I owe it all to Jim and Jess and their generosity towards me and my family.

When the day was done, Rachel and Jess went to get groceries for the week with the rental car, while Jim and I took a bus with all the kids back to the hotel to get checked in and such. We checked into the hotel, and were underwhelmed at the bell hop counter by being ignored for a good ten minutes while Paco was shifting papers around. When he finally did turn his attention to us, Jim told him that we needed to pick up some bags that were transferred earlier in the day from All-Star Sports. He asked for the name, and I told him. He then told me to write it down, so I did. He comes back out and my worst fears were realized when came out with no luggage. By this time, another guy pulled up in a golf cart, and was handed the paper with my name on it. He goes into the back, and comes out with our luggage....thank goodness. He loads it onto the golf cart and takes all of us to the room. I get the girls changed, and into bed. Rachel and Jess show up with the groceries a little later (they got lost) then expected. We were in bed early that night, just a long day. Here are a few pictures, enjoy.

Our Little Vacation in December - Day 1

2009-01-03T21:49:00.004-05:00

It seems that I've neglected to post on our recent vacation to Didneywhirl. For those of you who don't speak Philly - that translates to Disney World. Last year when Jim and Jess came out for Christmas, and told us that they had joined the Disney Vacation Club. They told us to clear a week in 2008 to join them down in Disney, and they would use their points to take care of lodging for the week for both families. Since they were taking care of that, all we had to do was budget for park tickets, plane tickets down, food and souvenirs, and a rental car for one or two days possibly. What a generous offer from my dear friends - more like family, I say. In any case, over the year we scrimped and saved our pennies, and used the budget minded talents of my wife to be able to afford to go. So, I'll try to break down the vacation like I did our reunion earlier this year, so I don't leave anything out (if possible.)

Day 1 -

We left on Sunday evening from here. We couldn't find anyone to take us to the airport, unless we left our car with them for the week. I don't really feel comfortable doing that, as I have this fear that they're going to save the gas in their car by tooling around town in ours running errands. We ended up finding a long-term off-site parking lot that wasn't too expensive to eliminate begging for a ride. We flew Southwest (my first time) down, and I can see why they are a successful company. We took the Disney Magic Express shuttle from the airport to our hotel for the first night, as we weren't joining Jim and Jess at the resort until the next evening. It was late, and we just wanted to get the kids down and sleeping. Our bags didn't make it to the room until well after midnight, but Rachel had prepared for that by packing the PJ's in a carry-on. I walked down to the McDonald's to get us some dinner, and in doing so found out two very important things about Orlando that would serve me well. First, EVERYTHING is more expensive - Second, that I would have to get used to half-cooked hamburgers served by some flunky in a costume for the next week. That ended our night, and we were looking forward to starting early the next morning.

Here's a picture of our hotel for the first night - All-Star Sports.

Time has flown by

2008-12-18T01:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the end of an important period of time for me, and also the main reason I have completely neglected posting much of anything on here for the last two months. December 17th ended the first semester of community college for me at MontCo, as I took the last of my four finals Wednesday morning. I call this an important period of time for me because my last attempt at college courses seventeen years ago ended in dismal failure. (See previous post for more information on this topic.)

Macroeconomics proved to be the most difficult on me, as the semester wore on I fell more and more behind and it showed in my final exam and project. I thought the timing of my taking a macroeconomics class couldn't have been better, as the theories, ideas, and policies of the U.S. we learned were able to be seen in action due to the current recession and failing of our economy over the past few months. It's one thing to learn theory, it's another to learn the theory and see it put into action. Rachel and I took this class together, even with that, the teacher challenged us with every exam. In any case, I'm glad that class is done with. Accounting was more interesting than I thought it was going to be, but that is her forte rather than mine. Rachel and I took this class together as well, and are planning on taking part two together next semester. I decided to take college algebra to shake the cobwebs loose, and it was a prerequisite to move onto other higher math for my degree program. I needed to have 3 credit hours of a P.E. credit, but most of the courses offered were only two hours or weren't offered online. I found a class that would fulfill three credit hours, was offered online, and was a topic that I could get into: Human Sexuality. Everyone who knows me well said that class was perfect for me, or laughed with embarassment at the topic. I was one of two guys in the class, and ended up gaining a few fans of my posts to the message board discussions. Two finals I was able to take online, and two had to be taken on campus - they are all done, and I have tentative grades for three of my classes. Just waiting on the teachers to finalize and post official grades before I celebrate anything. In any case, I've proven to myself that I am smart enough for community college at least, and my confidence is growing a little bit. Thank you to everyone who have voiced your support, and thank you to my wife for encouraging me to take a step into the unknown. I'll be posting some over to the next few weeks to get anyone caught up, but more so for me to be able to journalize my life over the past two months.

Another week

2008-10-27T01:40:00.002-04:00

I was talking to Rachel last week, and she had to remind me that I was taking this coming week off. I think I'm going to need this vacation to get caught up, or get ahead again on some of my assignments for different classes. I didn't do so well this past weekend setting aside enough time to get everything done, so it felt like I was behind the eight ball all weekend. Oh, well, it went with my crappy week like stink on a diaper. Time to take a small breather and put the nose to the grindstone again, and stop slacking off because I'm "doing so well".

Ouch

2008-10-24T22:22:00.001-04:00

Today sucked.

Just a bad, bad day. That's all I have to say about that.

Peace.

Just a reminder....

2008-10-20T13:20:00.003-04:00

Election day is only two weeks away. I am still an undecided voter, however I just want to remind everyone it is your civic duty to get out and vote. If you don't vote, you don't get to complain. Make you voice heard and vote!!

Its about time.....

2008-10-20T13:12:00.002-04:00

So I know that it has been a while since I posted to the blog, however in my defense, by the time I sit down to type I am either just finishing schoolwork, housework, or just plain exhausted to type anything fun. So I usually don't. But today I thought I would just do a quick post to do a little catch up.

The girls are doing great. Allie loves kindergarten and can't wait to go back everyday. She really doesn't like Sat and Sun because she does not get to go to school. Oh well. I will encourage it as long as I can. It seems that it will eventually wear off, or so I am told. Ryleigh is well Ryleigh. She is loving having some time in the morning with just mom. She is beginning to really pick up on her letters and numbers and is just as willing and eager to learn as her sister. She wishes she could go to kindergarten too. In fact up until about a week ago, she was convinced on her next birthday she was going to be 5. Even though she fully aware that the number after 2 was 3. When asked she would say she was going to be 5, and when asked why, she would say "because when you turn 5, you get to go to kindergarten." Aww, if only it were that simple. Lindsay is at the age where she is getting into everything. She loves the fact that she can walk and loves to walk everywhere. No more crawling for her. She really is a great baby. She is beginning to try out her voice. Yesterday she tried adding her voice to the ward choirs. As they began to sing, so did she. It was very cute.

Aaron and I are still both in school. It is going well. We almost halfway through the semester and both think we are doing fairly well. I try to study as much as I can during the day, but not always easy with 3 kids. Other than that, I am very excited about fall being here. I love the cooler weather and the smell of fires etc. It is fun. It also means that the Holidays are not very far away. I am excited.

Man, I am sick

2008-10-03T02:30:00.003-04:00

Okay ... I know it's late, but I had to post that I am embarrassed that I just sat through watching "Blades of Steel" with Will Ferrell ....

Man, am I sad.

What a Good Day!

2008-09-26T22:10:00.004-04:00

Today was a good day for me.

To those that have read this blog over the past year, have heard me talk about people coming in and then leaving our lives. It's always hard when a friend leaves your life, and harder still when contact is lost with them. A few weeks ago, I received a comment on this blog from Scott Eck. Scott left a message, letting me know that he had come across my blog and that they were coming out for a visit in a few weeks, and would like to see us. True to his word, he called one night and left a message to call them back. I called Scott, and we chatted for a while that night. It was really good to hear that he and his family were doing well, and we shared the events of our respective families over the years. Scott let us know when they were going to be in town for a week, and when they would be available to hang out with us.

I was able to secure today off from work, as one of the other techs needed Saturday off, so we swapped. Scott and Arlene called and decided to come down to our house for a visit, since they had a few hours to hang out with us. I was hoping that they would be able to stay with us all day, but I couldn't be greedy, as they were there to visit family. They arrived, and it was like they never left. We breezed right back into our conversations, and it was like the four years between visits to our home never happened. It also made me sad, because I love those two, and want them to be around me again. Trust me, they are some of the best people I've ever known in this life. We ended up making the hour journey to Shady Maple, and whiled away our time there having lunch. Their son, Adam, decided to make a lovely drink after lunch was pretty much done. You'll be able to see how nasty it was by the look on Scott's face when Adam actually drank the concoction. I can't begin to tell you what was in it, but it consisted of soda crackers, root beer, slurpee, ice cream, jello, among other things - and yet for some reason, he needed ice to top it off. We invited them back to our house for a round or two of cards, and possibly dinner, but their plans didn't allow it. So sad, but at least they made the effort to come see us, and I'll be forever grateful to Scott and Arlene for making me feel important enough to make time in their vacation for us. We love you guys forever, and I hope we'll always stay in touch!

Another Season

2008-09-22T23:29:00.004-04:00

Well, it seems like the business in the Palmer house wasn't about to abate. Rachel was talked into coaching Allie's soccer team this fall season by the coordinator. Rachel had coached this past spring, but wasn't sure if she was up to doing it again in the fall. We received the roster for Allie, and there was no coach listed. We sent an email to the soccer board, only to find that there weren't enough coaches for the Pee Wee teams. It was looking like there was only going to be 4 teams, unless a few people stepped up. Rachel wanted Allie to play on a team where she had fun (although Allie seems to like soccer for the snacks she gets as much as the game), and not sitting counting the daisies. So, Rachel was talked into being the coach again this year. She was supposed to have an assistant from the local high school, but it didn't work out that way for whatever reason. We had some friends agree to watch the younger two while we were at Allie's game, so it turns out that I am kinda the assistant coach. No, I didn't make the picture, but that's okay. Did you think that was enough for Rachel and I to take on?

Heck, NO! Rachel and I were also talked into sitting as members of the Pottsgrove Soccer Board as assistant Pee Wee Coordinators. There were a number of jobs on the board that went unfilled in the spring, and we just felt that since we're going to be in the area for a little while, that it made sense to give back to the community. Rachel also said it couldn't hurt my resume, be it for a job or if I want to try graduate school. Yeah, that's Rachel for you ---already has me in graduate school. Here's a few pictures for you:

Another Path

2008-09-22T00:26:00.003-04:00

It's amazing how our wives can sometimes frustrate we men.

I had talked for over a year about the possibility of going back to school, but it never happed due to the economics of it all. My last experience with higher education left me with zero confidance, and made it hard for me to even consider going back. I was at a point in my life, back then, where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a career. I was just going to college to keep my parents placated, and because that was what I was supposed to do. I had a good job, making good money, and there didn't seem to be a need for me to pursue that path. I also had really poor teachers, and I was badly prepared for what college would hold for me. All these added up to my non-chalance towards school, and since I was paying for the whole thing myself, what did it matter if I attended or not?

All these years later, here I am, still with the same company. Thank goodness, it's not in the same job I held back then, but how many people my age can say they've been with one company for almost twenty years? In any case, I have started to feel in the past year that my "glass ceiling" has been reached. Yes, ladies, the glass ceiling applies to men as well. I was pretty much told by my supervisor that I wouldn't be suited for supervisor level and above, due to my impetuous nature and my tendency to call a spade, a spade. Well, that didn't sit well with me and I ended up feeling very depressed. That also started me thinking that I needed to make a change in my life, that I needed to make that change because it sure as heck wasn't going to happen on it's own. (Listen to me talk about change, looks like the political ads are getting to me). But how? Well, we visited Ben and Sarah in July and that's where the serious talk started. Rachel applied for me, and then kicked me down to take the placement tests. So, now I'm a 35 year old college freshman. I'm taking 12 credit hours, all online, and it looks like I can do something more than fix printers. Wish me luck.

Aaron

I Need to Catch Up

2008-09-21T23:56:00.004-04:00

Well, I figure that it's going to take me a little while to catch people up on the goings on in our life. I figure that August is as good a time as any, so we'll start with Allie's first day of school. Our local elementary school has always been good to us, as we've dealt with them before from when Zach and Daniel were living with us. The administration was always so nice about the situation, and worked with us through some issues. Well, now it was time to actually send one of our own children to their school. The principal actually remembered Rachel when she went in for the registration forms, and asked how the boys were doing. They held a kindergarten preview, where the kids rode the bus to school and met their teachers without all the "big" kids being in the halls and such. Allie was so proud of her little project, and took great joy in telling me about the rules she learned on how to behave. From the hand signals they were to use if they needed the bathroom, to the stoplight and clothes pins the teacher would use to help in keeping order among the children. Well, inevitably, time went by and it was time the weekend before school started. Rachel told Allie that they would go out together and pick Allie's first day of school outfit at Gymboree (shocker). Well, Rachel had a few outfits already in mind for Allie to choose from (double shocker). When Allie didn't even come close to picking them, Mom was a little annoyed. Well, I told Rachel that she promised Allie could pick out her own from whatever in the store she wanted as long as it was under a certain dollar amount. Well, Allie won out and got what she wanted to wear to school:

Rachel and I were very emotional over this, and I was thankful that work was understanding in letting me start late that day. Rachel waited with Allie at the bus stop, we took more pictures, and then once the bus came, I hightailed it to the school to try and get pictures of Allie getting off the bus. Silly, I know, but it's something we wanted to do for her. I was able to be in position to get a couple of pictures as Allie got off the bus. She was so excited, but also scared at the same time. I could see in her face that she was nervous. Anyhow, Congrats to Allie for making it through her first day in grand style and for continuing to do well up to this point.

Wow, too LONG

2008-09-14T23:59:00.003-04:00

As I was talking to a friend yesterday, I couldn't help but realize that it's been well over a month since I last posted anything. Well, tonight, I am kinda pissed about something so I needed to vent. I find this is a good way for me to blow off steam, and I'm able to go forward to put the issue behind me.

EDIT: Okay, I posted what I really wanted to, and had Rachel read it. I feel better now.

Sufficieth to say, I'm tired of people taking advantage of Rachel and my good nature. Time to pull out the shears and prune the "friend tree"

The Olympics

2008-08-10T08:33:00.003-04:00

When I thought about the Olympic games this year, I couldn't help but wonder how the world was going to react by the games being in China. There was a lot of outcry about the human rights issues that China is perpetuating, what with Tibet, the memories of Tianamen Square, and how certain nations were talking about boycotting the Opening Ceremonies, and then the sudden war between Russia and Georgia. Just amazing how the world works these days. Rachel was working, but wanted to watch the beginning of the games. I decided to DVR the start, since I had to put the kids to bed anyway.

There was nothing I can say to pay the proper tribute to the spectre of the Opening Ceremonies. Say what you want to about the Communist Government, and the atrocities that are continuous reported against the populus - those fetchers know how to put on a show. I think there were two parts that were the most memorable to me. First, when the dancers were using the suits they were wearing as paintbrushes, and on the floor was a canvas. Just so clever, and so majestic. The second part was similiar, when the parade of nations was going on, they walked through some kind of paint, and then walked across a white canvas on the floor. Their shoes then left footprints of color along the length of the canvas, so by the time all the countries walked through it, the canvas was not blank any longer. They then used the canvas as the lecturn from which the IOC welcomed everyone to the games and all that other administrative crap that goes on. The Chinese sure encorporated their very majestic and beautiful culture into what they presented to open the games of the 29th Olympiad. I was duly impressed, especially since I was able to fast forward through all the friggin' Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Visa, and McDonald's commercials to just watch what Rachel and I wanted to watch.

Much Love to all.

Daytime Talk Shows

2008-07-31T13:42:00.003-04:00

Jerry Springer.

Those two words tend to provoke a reaction when it's brought up in a conversation, for good or for ill. It used to be funny when a fight would break out every once in a while, and it was good TV. When the show first started, or when I first started watching it, they actually had topics that mattered. Once the producers of the show realized how much money they could make from advertising, and how the ratings shot up when a fight broke out, the die was cast. Now, every show has to do with people having sex with other people, with different contributing factors, i.e. My cousin's father is my father too, and I'm having his baby, or I'm sleeping with my grandpa, or My dog is looking REALLY good right now - show topics like that. It's so fake at this point, I'm surprised that Vince McMahon or Stone Cold isn't the host. The staged fights, the girls "accidentally" tearing off a breakaway shirt to expose a bra, the audience members flashing their parts for Mardi Gras beads, and the general quality of guests. Springer is just such a joke, yet I'm watching it now as I post this. *Sigh*

Vacation Finale

2008-07-21T17:59:00.009-04:00

We left Detroit at 8 AM on Saturday morning, according to plan. Rachel and I worked hard to keep to our plan for the whole two weeks. She's such a trooper! Me Love. We toyed with the idea of just going through Detroit center, and let the GPS do it's job to find our way around the closed I-75 - but to be safe, we decided to take the detour. Doing that added at least a half-hour to our trip and ended up ticking me off. I knew I should have just followed my instinct on that one. Oh, well. We had decided to use one day of our trip to go and see the historical sites in Kirtland, Ohio either on the way out or the way back. Ben and Sarah said they might want to join us, so we decided to go on the way back home. It ended up that they weren't able to go, but we did. We got to town about noon, after stopping for lunch. We dropped into the visitor's center, and saw the 20 minute film they put on for everyone. Then Elder and Sister Caviness, from Spokane, Washington took us on a tour of the complex. Apparently, Main Street Kirtland used to go right through where the complex is located now. It used to be just two buildings: the Newell K. Whitney store, and the Whitney home that served as the old visitor's center. You had to run across the street from the visitor center to see the home. Well, the city had been petitioned like 4 times to move the road for safety's sake by the church - and with help from Steve Young, it finally passed on the 5th time (if you want the whole story, I'll email it to you.) So, the road was moved and Kirtland underwent some restoration. They built a sawmill, ashery, schoolhouse, the Johnson Inn, and restored the Whitney store and home to as close to original as possible. Here's a picture of us outside the Whitney Store:

We took leave of the Caviness' so that we could make the 2:30 PM tour of the Kirtland Temple. The Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized LDS church) have been in possession of the building since the late 1800's, and have restored and kept the building in such beautiful shape. There was a $2.00 fee to tour the temple, but we gladly paid it to be able to walk in the Temple where so many sacred things were started. They didn't allow pictures inside the temple, but those of you who know me, shouldn't be surprise that I took some when the tour guide took the rest of the people downstairs to the first floor. I know that I am sneaky, and I'll repent if needs be.

These were the second floor, where the "teaching" part of the temple was located. There were benches and collapsable desks on the pews, so that depending on which side of the temple was being used, the people could turn and face whoever was officiating. I wasn't able to secure the lower level inner court, where much of the manifestation of spirit occured .. the tour guide didn't leave a chance to. You could, however, purchase pictures in their gift shop .. which I suspect is the real reason they wouldn't let you take pictures from inside the building. Oh, well. It's well worth the two dollars.

We left Kirtland, and headed out to Jim/Jess' house again, as they offered to let us stay with them for the night to help break up our trip back home. I am so glad they did, after our day in Ohio, we were beat and the kids were also tired, cranky, etc. We had a small cookout, spent a few hours in their pool, and mostly got the chance to spend another night with our dear friends. We wish there was more time, or we lived closer to them. Thank you Jim and Jess, we appreciate it.

Love to all.

On a side note, our camera died the death of being drenched in a rainstorm after being on the roof of our mini-van since Ohio and part of Pennsylvania after Aaron left it up there. I was shocked it was still there, but the memory card kept our memories intact ... an answer to prayer.

Time Flew, Part 2

2008-07-21T17:33:00.004-04:00

In the interest of trying to keep my postings short, and ensuring that people read them, I decided to break up last week into 3 parts.

Thursday - We took a tour of the Renaissance Center, GM headquarters, which in turn gave us a spendid view of Detroit as well as Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Apparently, Windsor is the only point of Canada that's directly south of the United States, according to our tour guide. Speaking of tour guides, this lady was a piece of work. We took the train into the city, and it got there about 3 minutes past the 2 PM tour. The lady said that we could still catch them, since the next tour wasn't until 2:30 - and the kids were already getting antsy. The woman at customer service downstairs was great, she walked us to where the tour was and said that we were joining them. The tour guide was taken back, as there were 3 adults and 7 kids, and she obviously didn't want us in her group. Well, after being told she was going to take us, she welcomed us and we went on our way. Our tour consisted of seeing the Riverwalk, the setup of the building, and the 72nd floor restaurant atop the Marriott Hotel that was the center tower of the 5 tower complex.

The top picture is the view of Joe Louis Arena, where the Red Wings play hockey. I zoomed the camera in, so it doesn't really look like this close from the tower. The bottom picture is of the Caeser's Hotel/Casino in Windsor, Ontario. I know it's cliche to rip on the urban part of cities in the U.S. and I grant you that the cliche about Canada being so clean and organized is also at play in my comments, but here goes: Detroit is so freakin' nasty and dirty, yet Windsor looked so clean and pleasant from the top of the building. Both cities had Casinoes (Casino's?), both cities had apartments, roads, cars and such. Just looked so much nicer across the river. Oh, well.

Friday - Rachel and I assisted Sarah in helping get together the cake for Sabrina's birthday party. Sarah had a plan to make a cake from smaller cupcakes and frosting them in a certain design. It was a great success. With Sarah's help, as well, our gift to her was the hit of the party. We got her a baby stroller, pink teddy bear, and Allison picked out a bubble whistle for her. The stroller didn't leave her side all night, and when we packed up and left in the morning, she was up and already pushing that thing around before breakfast. So, thanks to Ben, Sarah and their family for inviting us into your home for the week. I hope we weren't a burden, and that we can see all you again sooner rather than later.

Love to all.

Time Flew

2008-07-20T22:36:00.004-04:00

It seemed that a blog was a good way to keep up our family and friends on the goings on in our household, and it has been. Being with Ben and his family in Michigan was a blast, and also very relaxing. We arrived on Friday evening, Ben rented an auger to dig holes for a privacy fence, and was diligently hammering away at the holes while we were en route. I helped him blast through the last 14 or so holes to make the most of the rental fee of the auger, you should see my poor taste in shoes for that job. My Crocs are dirty, dirty, dirty - and wouldn't have stopped the auger, but it was worth helping out Ben after all he's done for me and my family. Saturday was spent relaxing. We didn't do a darn thing, just sat around watching movies and talking, the kids playing in the sandbox and the adults playing "Ticket to Ride - Europe". It was everything I hoped it could be - vacation is for relaxing, after all. Rachel and I spent a long drive on Friday, and Ben was tired from the auger, so we just called it even and hung out the whole weekend. The only bummer was that Ben doesn't allow the TV on Sunday's, so looking for things to keep my short attention span busy was hard, but I made it. Church on Sunday was also good, the Detroit Temple shares the parking lot with the Stake Center where Ben attends, so that was pretty neat. It was also odd, in a way, since the Stake Center looked way bigger than the Temple did. Rachel and I meant to make it back to see the Temple and take pictures, but we never did. Looks like another trip to Michigan will have to be made. Here's a short summary of our week with them:

Monday - Trip the Detroit Zoo. Coolest part? The Kangaroo exhibit, where you actually walked down a path through the exhibit itself, where the kangaroos roam free and across the path sometimes. We also found out that baby Clay (my nephew) thought I was pretty cool, and loved to hang out with me.

Tuesday - We went to the local mall for storytime at Potty Barn Kids. Allison and Ryleigh both love having books read to them, so story time is such a great thing for them. We got there, and Allison decided to push her way to the front like she always does. You should have seen her weaving around strollers, kids, parents, and store displays. Coolest part? We found Ryleigh her own set of Pirate stuff, since she's obsessed with them since our trip to Teach's Hole in North Carolina. We bought her a plate, glass, napkin for the table and then some gold dubloons, with a lamenated treasure map. I am always trying to get her to do her Pirate voice, because I love it, and we're also going to try and make the Pirate weekend at the PA RenFaire.

Wednesday - We were going to try and make this beach on Lake Erie, where there is a row of fountains for the kids to run in and a huge jungle gym. It was supposed to rain all day, and we were running late getting the kids together. Rachel and I told Sarah not to stress, and if we didn't go there, it wouldn't be the end of the world. We were on vacation, after all, and it's not like we needed to go someplace everyday to make the week feel worth it. So, we spent the afternoon keeping the kids busy outside in the sandbox, while swapping stories. Just fun getting to know Sarah better, for me at least.

More on the rest of the week in the next post. Love to all.

Ahhh .... Vacation, Part 2

2008-07-12T20:43:00.003-04:00

Well, everything worked out the way we needed it to when we were at home, so Rachel and I packed up the kids and made our way to Detroit to visit with Ben and his family. We left our house at 7 AM and headed out. We looked at both ways we could have gone, either I-76 or I-80, and from a time perspective it was about a 20 minute difference in favor of I-76. To be fair, it also was going to cost us $16 in tolls to take 76 out. So, it was worth us saving that money to take I-80. It ended up working out, just seemed like a long drive. By the time Rachel and I reached the Ohio border, Punchey the Clown showed up and decided to drive the rest of the way to Ben and Sarah's house. Everything was making us laugh, from the Mennonites who couldn't figure out how to put more than $20 in gas at a time into their mini-van, to the almost 7 foot tall guy riding on a motorcycle that was wayyy tooooo smallll for his tall frame. I seriously wanted to ask Punchey if he was part of the same circus as that guy.

We finally got within a half-hour of their house when traffic started. Whoever is in charge of the roads in Michigan needs to have the crap kicked out of them, like now. I'm asking for a volunteer in this, since the negligence in detour signs came within about 50-feet of landing us in Canada! Yep, I-75 just south of the city was CLOSED - - - completely. HUH???!!!?!?? I've never heard of an entire Highway being closed down completely. Thank goodness we received a GPS for a present, so we just made the last left turn short of the toll booths to Canada, and then let that little thing work it's magic to get us to Ben and Sarah's house. Now, get this - the exit to Ben and Sarah's off I-75 is exit 69. Now, that's funny enough - except that the road that exit 69 drops you off of is Big Beaver Road. I am not making this up. Exit 69 - Big Beaver Road. Rachel and I and Punchey LOST it. I mean headache, tears and everything from the laughter. Well, we turned off the exit and the car in front of us was from Missouri. The Show Me State. Yep, Show Me your Big Beaver on 69 crossed my mind immediately. Funny, funny, funny stuff.

We look forward to spending about a week with Ben and Sarah in Michigan, and getting to know them and their family together much better. Off exit 69 - Big Beaver Road. Bwahahahaha

Love to all.

Unexpected news

2008-07-10T09:13:00.003-04:00

Tuesday I had a follow-up appointment at the oral surgeon for the two molars that I had to have extracted. I went to the dentist a few weeks back, with pain in my jaw. After xrays showed that my roots were infected, and a consult with an oral surgeon, it was decided that I would have the teeth yanked. The recovery has taken longer than I wanted, but I'm in pretty good shape right now as I write this. Let's just say it's a good thing that I like ramen soup and jell-o. In any case, the removal of teeth wasn't the reason for this post.

I made it into the little chair to wait for the doctor to see me, and after a short time he popped in. Seeing how this was a follow-up, I knew it was going to be an in-and-out deal. So, the doctor pops in and starts me off with, "Well, the pathology reports came back in, and you'll be happy to note that it was negative." Pathology report? WHAT? I was like, "Um .... pathology report?" He says that while doing the extraction, he found a cyst in the walls of my gum that was most likely the cause of the infection. That makes sense, since I put off going to see anyone in the first place. On a side note, I hate dentists. I hate having things stuck in my mouth, I hate gagging, I hate the sight of the dental tools, I hate the burning smell the drill makes (even when it's not being used on you), I hate the taste of the nasty flouride paste that they put in the little mouth piece, I hate the spotlight they invariably end up shining directly into your eyes, I hate the little things they make you bite down on while doing xrays, and probably most of all: I hate the sound of the drill, which you can hear from the waiting area, and it makes me want to run out to the safety of my car every time. Now, with this being my opinion of dental health, you can imagine how much it took for me to go to an oral surgeon in the first place. I even stayed and had the procedure. This was mainly due to my doctor and his wonderful staff. Except for the wench initial receptionist who gave me such a hard time for not filling out her stupid forms for the millionth time. Jackweed. Well, to get back to my point - there was a "growth" found, that they sent out for a biopsy. The doctor said they told me after my procedure, but I really wasn't in a good way what with the taste of blood fresh in my mouth. Well, my focus was on the report from Quest so I didn't really listen to much to the doctor at this point. He checked me out, and saw that my healing was going well. I then looked at the report again, and saw NEGATIVE on the paper. I was about two seconds from wanting a copy to make sure again that there was no cancerous stuff found.

It shook me up for a few hours. Even though the report was negative, I didn't even think that cancer was even a possibility. Just a wakeup call for me, that's for sure.

Ahhh.......back

2008-07-08T01:53:00.003-04:00

Well, as with all good things, this weekend did come to an end. To recap, the girls and I spent the holiday weekend with Jim and his family in Pittsburgh. Well, outside of Pittsburgh, but it's easier to call it Pittsburgh as most people could locate it on a map with little problem. It's kind of like telling people that I live in Philadelphia, even though we live like an hour away from there. In any case, we drove back today. A recap of the weekend:

July 4th - had a cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs. We found that Allie just loves to be bossy, and gets mad when other kids don't do exactly what she wants. We also found that Jim and Jess have a large GeoTracks collection that Ryles became obsessed with. Jim bought a box of fireworks, and we lit off about half of them that night.
July 5th - we decided to visit the outlet mall at Grove City as a group. It's always difficult to try and find something that everyone is going to enjoy, so this just seemed like a safe and easy choice. So, we (RACHEL) decided to go "shopping". Just what men love, going to outlet malls with their wives. Now, shopping is what sets men and women apart. I think a comedian said it best, although I can't remember which one to give the credit to, but I loved the way he put it when he said "Men and women approach shopping differently. Rest assured, when a man goes shopping, he's coming home with something. It doesn't matter if it's an air freshener in the shape of the Taj Mahal, or day old rice crispy treats from the bakery. It's the hunter mentality. We shop, we buy. Women, on the other hand, can go shopping all day and return with nothing. How is this shopping, I ask you? As far as I'm concerned, you just wasted the day looking - let's just stop calling it shopping." In any case, we did actually pick up a few things, so it was shopping. Jim/Jess bought dinner for everyone that night at Smokey Bones (my favorite) restaurant ..... BBQ chicken and broccoli for me. The night was capped by the rest of the fireworks to the delight of the kids, and we all went to sleep early that night.
July 6th - What a great relaxing Sunday. Jim opened his pool, and we took Lindser for her first swimming adventure. Ironically, it was in the same "boat" floating toy that Ryles took her first swim in at Jim/Jess'. We were better prepared this time, as Lindser had an actual swimsuit and not just her onesie over a swim diaper. It was also a ton warmer than the other times we've dipped in their pool, so that was a bonus. We relaxed with a lunch outside, and then for dinner Jim grilled steaks, corn, and chicken for everyone. Just a wonderful, lazy day that you yearn for when life starts reminding you how busy you normally are.
July 7th - We packed up, cleaned up the mess the girls made (0kay, and the mess we made) while Jim worked from home in the morning. We decided to have lunch with them before getting on the road for home. We planned to have lunch at the Quaker Stake and Lube and popped in about noon. Well, when we pulled up - a mini-bus from the local retirement community pulled up and unloaded the bulk of their residents. Jessica was waiting at the hostess stand trying to secure a table. It was pretty busy for a Monday afternoon, but it didn't look packed by any means. Well, lovely hostess walks up and the following exchange occurs:

Jim: Table for 8 - four adults and four kids.
Hostess: (puzzled look) how many?
Jim: There's eight of us.
Hostess: (looks at seating chart, grunts) I don't have anything for you.
Jim: Okay, we're going to Primanti's. (To us, with hostess right there) Sorry, apparently they don't have anything, and she's not going to even quote us a wait time.
Hostess: (confused look) Oh, you want to wait? Hmm..... I think we might have something ...... let me see ....
Me: Screw this, let's just leave blondie to her needlepoint and physics books.

So, we went across the street to Pittsburgh's own Primanti Bros. restaurant. Kinda a neat regional restaurant. They put the coleslaw and fries inside the sandwich, you can catch the food network special on the place or check out their website. After lunch, we left for home. It's always a good time with Jim/Jess and family, and we look at them as our second family.

Happy Fourth of July!!

2008-07-04T07:02:00.004-04:00

Well, this morning I sending greetings and salutations from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! When Jim, Jess and Billy came out for the Christmas holiday last year, we were trying to decide when next to get our families together. We usually came out to visit for the Memorial Day weekend, but this year I decided that I was going to take the Fourth of July off. After a quick talk to all parties, we decided it was a go and here we are.

Work was tough to slog through yesterday, seeing how I knew that I was on vacation once the day was up. I decided early on to start my day at a store that was farther away, and then work back methodically until it was at least 4 PM before I could go home. Well, I accomplished this goal a little too well. We didn't end up leaving our house until like 5:30 PM after dropping off movies at Hollywood video, getting gas, and then playing the stop and go game of traffic south of Reading, PA. Things were good on the trip, except for the construction hold-ups on the turnpike until we decided to stop in Breezewood for dinner, bathroom/diaper breaks, and to stretch our feet. McDonald's is a parents best friend at times, as most kids will eat the chicken nuggets without complaining. It can also be a demon, as that's all that the kids will eat, even though the parents might actually want to go somewhere else for dinner, but don't want to hear the bitching once the "Golden Arches" come into view. Anyhow, that's where I decided to stop and eat. Big mistake - - and it was all McDonald's fault. The drive-through lane was packed, and we needed the bathrooms anyway, so we parked and went inside. I stood in a long, long line while Rachel took the two oldest to the bathroom. Once Rachel was done with that, I took Lindsay to change the diaper and so I could use the facilities as well. That was done, and I popped Lindsay into the high chair, sat Allie and Ryleigh down into the booth, while I fed Lindsay some baby food. Rachel finally was able to order the food, and then we left. Well, guess what took us so freakin' long at McDonalds? THERE WAS ONLY ONE REGISTER OPEN FOR EVERYONE!!! Yep, some pimply-faced kid was taking everyone's order, and then there were a few people in the back filling them at a snail's pace. So, between the drive-through and the counter business, there were two registers open. On the day before a major U.S. holiday. Morons. I know that everyone on the six o'clock news claims that travel is down from past years due to gas prices, but for the love, there are still going to be people traveling.

We got back on the road, and then were treated to the cat and mouse game being played out by the crazy truckers zooming in and out of traffic in the rain. Rachel and I were both getting nervous about passing these guys, and couldn't wait until the rain stopped, or we got to Cranberry (our destination). Just seemed like there were a lot of impatient drivers last night, wanting to get home at all costs, and things were in the way. In any case, we're here at Jim and Jess' home, and it feels like a second home to us. I love these guys and can't wait for the next few days.

More later - but I will say this: Happy Independence Day to everyone!

Why do I feel so weird?

2008-06-27T23:40:00.003-04:00

Tonight, for some reason or another, I decided to create a myspace page. Rachel was working tonight, so I was playing COD 4 on the Playstation - and quit when she got home.

Why do I feel so weird for making a page? For some reason I can't explain, just feels odd. Like I'm trying too hard to be youthful. Oh, well - - it'll probably sit around collecting dust like my Facebook page, my free Juno account, and the other cool internet stuff that I thought would be fun, but soon were ditched. In any case, if you wanna add me as a friend, I need some more pictures of everyone in my friends section. I may feel weird about making a page, but I don't want to also feel like a loser. Thanks to Jim and Jess for already adding me as a friend, much love sent out to you guys, and we'll see you in a week.

Peace.

It Makes me Wonder

2008-06-26T23:14:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, you'll see something during the normal course of your day that makes you stop and think. Monday was one of those days for me. Check out this sign I saw outside the 7-11 that's near my office:

Now, here's my thinking: if someone walks into a 7-11 dressed in the manner they're describing and picturing ... you've got bigger issues than trying to ask them nicely to leave or to remove the offending clothing.

"Sir, you'll have to put down that shotgun and take off that mask... we don't allow people in ski masks to come inside"

"Sir, that fake mustache will need to come off or NO SLURPEE FOR YOU!!"

"What a minute, that's a Bill Clinton mask ..... Get outta here you fooler"

If I was working the register at the local convenience store, and someone in a ski mask comes inside, the first thing I'm doing is pooing myself. Second is opening the cash drawer and throwing all the money at them while cowering behind the counter with the porno mag display as a shield. The sign just struck me funny for some reason, just misguided optimism. What do you think?

RUSH !!!!

2008-06-26T22:23:00.009-04:00

Okay ... this posting is a little late in the offing, I admit. Should be a good read in any case.

During Christmas, Jim and Jess came over from Pittsburgh to stay with us for the holiday. We were discussing when next we would be getting together. Rachel and I decided to spend the Fourth of July with them this year. I've only had that holiday off once since we moved up here, and I wanted to take it off. Jim called me back in March to ask if there was any way for us to come out a few days early, since RUSH was coming in concert to Pittsburgh. Since my co-worker was already off that week, there really was no way I could take that extra time off. I felt bad, since RUSH is one of my favorite bands, and it was Jim that introduced me to them. The first RUSH song I remember hearing was "Roll the Bones" although I didn't know it was them when I heard it. They were on the Tonight Show (Leno, BLECHHH) promoting their album and I liked the song. It wasn't until years later, that Katie and Jim informed me that RUSH sang that song. The album "Counterparts" came out, and that started Jim and I going to see them in concert. We saw them on the Counterparts tour, Test for Echo, and I think one other time ... not sure on that one, Jim will have to let me know, but I think it was one other time. Well, I saw from looking at the concert schedule that RUSH was coming to Philly. I told Jim he could always come out here to see them, and he said he would talk to Jess. Well, Lo and Behold, Jim and Jess made a weekend out of it and came out two weeks ago. Jim bought my ticket as a birthday present, and also drove down to the stadium.

Whomever schedules events for the Sports Complex should be drawn and quartered for the fiasco of that Saturday. Either that, or raffle off a chance to take a ballpeen hammer to his "nether" region by five lucky fans. Get this: RUSH was in concert at the Wachovia Center, the Soul (arena football) were playing a home game at the Spectrum, and Jimmy EFFING Buffet was playing at Citizens Bank Park and sold the stadium out. I was shocked, all we needed was Manchester United playing an exhibition at Lincoln Financial Field to complete the total cluster screw that was going on in the shared parking lots of all these sports buildings. We left the house at 5:10 PM and parked at 7 PM - and passed the following sign:

We found out that the Citizens Bank parking lot was a "No Tailgating" zone, these signs were posted and Jim was given a flyer when we paid and went in (20 bucks ... OUCH). I had parked in this same lot earlier this year when I went to a Soul game, and paid 12 bucks. I guess I didn't account for the Jimmy Buffet inflation variable when choosing a lot. So, Jim and I started walking to the venue, passing these people along the way:

I guess these good people didn't get the flyer on the way in. This was nothing compared to the debauchery that was seen in the "tailgating allowed" parking. Let's just say beer pong tables, inverted beer keg hits, tops optional and a moon bounce were all spotted. We got to our seats at 7:20, Jim scored some great seats for us. Thank you so much, Jim. Like you said, RUSH isn't the same without you. The only hiccup? I finally know what weed smells like, thanks to the dipweeds that were sharing the row with us. They lit like 4 doobies during the concert, much to the chagrin of the family of four in front of us, with their two sons. The older of which sang along to every song in both sets of the concert. I leave you with some really bad cell phone pictures from the concert:

Changes at the Palmer House!!

2008-06-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

So it has been almost a month since the reunion and we haven't blogged. Well at lot has happened. Allie had her Kindergarten screening (to determine where she will be placed in the fall). She did really well and we await the results. Basically we are planning on half day (in the past the kids that needed extra literacy help and were behind were put into full day), but with the addition of an additional full day class they may put a better mix of kids in full day as well. So we wait to find out. Ryleigh is Ryles. We keep trying to potty train, but she really doesn't want anything to do with it. So we will see how it goes. I may give it another try here next week. We will see. Lindsay probably has the biggest news......she went from basically just rolling to sitting up, crawling, and pulling herself up on anything and anyone that will let her. She even is getting brave and trying to move from one object to another, letting go sometimes and basically just being a busy bee. She will be walking before I know it!!! Wow how time flies. Aaron and I are doing great, getting ready for a busy summer and looking forward to some relaxation, if we can get some! Hope to hear from you all soon.

P.S.

2008-05-27T00:59:00.001-04:00

I'm still the only one in the family to have blogged about the family reunion - so again, I rule.

Part VIII

2008-05-27T00:35:00.006-04:00

Well, as you can imagine - Saturday morning was very hectic. Ben had to turn in the keys to the realty office by 10 AM, so the scrambling to finish packing and loading cars began early. Rachel let me sleep in a little bit, as I was up and running by 7:30 AM at the latest each day. Everyone got their cars loaded, and then did a quick sweep of the house to make sure we didn't leave anything under a chair, in a couch cushion, or in any of the bureau drawers. It suddenly occured to me that Rachel nor I had taken any pictures from the back deck of the house, or from the view we had from our room. I quickly snapped a few pictures before we left the house. It was funny, about 8:30 AM, there was a pick-up truck sitting in the driveway with people inside. We naturally assumed it was the cleaning crew to get the house ready for the next occupants. Boy, I'm smart. Anyhow, here's the pictures from our room and the view from the third floor deck we had the whole week.

Rachel and I didn't get a chance to see the Bodie Island Lighthouse, except from afar, so we decided to make a side trip. Everyone pretty much went their separate ways at this point, since the agendas of the families were also so different. We went to the lighthouse, checked out Nags Head Hammocks, and basically just wanted to stay as long as we could before heading back. We stopped at a place on the border of North Carolina and Virgina to get gas, and ended up buying a 5 lb. bucket of Carolina BBQ for later. We busted it open on Sunday when we got home, and I was a little disappointed. Just not that great.

We made a stop in the Williamsburg area, not only for bathrooms and to stretch our legs, but because I needed a new pair of pants. Yes, I know it's an odd thing to stop for. Vicky and Ben both had asked for all four brothers to be in the blessing circle for their infants, as both had permission to bless them in Mom's ward. I knew from the Sunday church fiaso that my pants were still way too dirty to wear for a blessing. I was able to secure a new shirt, pants and tie for the occasion. Thad and Brooke graciously opened their home for us to stay with them on Saturday night, and we decided to stay. We arrived at Mom's house in the afternoon to the relief of Lindsay who was screaming bloody murder for the last ten minutes of the trip. All in all, a great trip with minimal problems and blow ups. The next post will be funny and memorable moments that didn't make it into the posts of the week in the OBX. I invite my family to submit their own stories to me, as I probably missed some.

Love to all.

Part VII

2008-05-25T22:57:00.017-04:00

As with all good things, our week was surely coming to an end. Rachel and I talked on Thursday night about possible activities for our last day. I told Rachel that I thought we should start packing our bags, so that Friday night and Saturday morning would go much smoother. Yeah, fun - I know, but at least we could get some laundry in and done. I mean real laundry, not Beth's kind of laundry. We found out that some of the family were going to do the aquarium that morning, so less of a chance for us to get behind on packing. Well, best laid plans sometimes go by the wayside on vacation. We did get most of our laundry done, but we ended up taking the girls out and flying our kites on the beach. Rachel got her's started in the front yard really nice, but we reeled it in and went to the beach. Well, the beach SUCKED on Friday - we thought the wind was being blocked by the house and the sand dunes because it was almost impossible to get the kites to stay up in the air for any amount of time. We moved back down the beach to the public walkway, and no more dunes equals KITE in the air.

Allison had to use the bathroom, and there just happened to be a port-a-pottie at the end of the walkway to the beach. Allison told me to wait outside, because she could do it all by herself. Ryleigh was allowed in, for reasons I still don't know. Allison is turning into a little woman more and more each day. I thought that by raising three girls, I may get an inside view of the confusion that women cause men, but I still haven't figured it out. So, I was flying my kite outside the pottie waiting for Allison to finish. Rachel was off with her kite getting it up high in the air, and she yells for me to come over. We walked over, and saw that the crabs on the beach were busy digging their holes into the sand. I thought it was pretty cool, so I snapped off some pictures. Allison and Ryleigh, however, responded with ear-splitting screams of terror. It didn't help that I told them if the crabs came too close, that Daddy would eat them. Gotta love it.

Oh, and about the time the girls were screaming, the wind died down and kite in water. We wrapped it up to take back to the house, and took the girls inside to take a nap, or at least have quiet time. Rachel came back out, and we got her kite up in the air - the whole 200 feet of string even. It was pretty cool, and was fun -- until just about everyone else in the house came out and it just got too crowded in the front yard for 6 people flying kites. I was frustrated, so we went inside to chill out. We started packing backs, and getting dinner ready. We were going to eat early, so that would leave the evening for everyone to pack and scramble to clean, etc.

That was the plan, but again, best laid plans. Allison wanted to go into the kiddie pool, since it was still pretty warm out that day. I threw on my suit, and went with her to hang out. It also had the added bonus of occupying the kids, so Rachel could pack easier. Just for fun, I jumped into the pool - it was so cold, there had to be shrinkage of seismic proportions. Well, it got much warmer in half the pool once Thad and Ben rigged the outside shower's hot water to run into the pool. The downside? Nobody could take showers for about an hour and change after we were chased from the pool by lightening and thunder. In any case, a large portion of the family ended up in the pool for about an hour, playing with water pistols, throwing a football, and such. Allison even came over to the big pool with me, and with assistance from a life-jacket and Daddy, she swam the length of the pool more than 10 times. Rachel and I were so proud, as she's been afraid of water for a long, long time.

We divyed up the leftover food to each family, and then retired to bed. Rachel and I had a relaxing day, ironically, because we didn't leave everything to the last minute. It was a sad night, because we knew it was our last in the house.

Part VI

2008-05-24T21:16:00.004-04:00

There was a lot of discussion in the months leading up to the reunion about having a family portrait done. There were some of us who wanted to try and find a professional photographer, and some wanted to have Amy pose everyone, set the timer and then run into the shot. Rachel and I were in the first group. We just figured it made more sense to try and hire someone to take the picture and see if we could make sure everyone was looking at the camera, space evenly and snap when the majority of the kids were looking in the right direction. So, Sarah and Rachel started looking for photographers. It eventually turned into Sarah doing most of the phone work, leg work, and arm twister. The first person we decided on, we later changed our minds on because of the amount of money she wanted to charge as a "sitting fee". It was some insane amount of money - she was screwing us over for having a large group. Rachel and I wanted to have a more relaxed setting for our family, and to take as many pictures as the girls would have patience for. We asked Amy if she would be willing to go to the beach with us and snap photos of us on the dunes, and on the beach. We wanted to make sure that we had as many photos as possible. Amy agreed, mostly because she likes us the bestest, and we set it up. Ben and Sarah also asked Amy to do their family's candid shots, also just in case.

The issue of the family portrait was still up in the air at this point. As far as I was concerned, Rachel and I had Amy for our family shots already lined up, so I wasn't too worried. I floated the idea of hiring someone just for the ENTIRE family portrait, and then hiring Amy to do the individual families one at a time. It was just one idea I had. Well, Sarah ended up spending almost a whole day on the phone with multiple photographers asking them all the same questions. It wasn't looking good from a cost perspective for us. Sarah did eventually find Ocean Edge Photography, and spoke with Mr. Allen Hooper the owner/photographer. What a godsend this guy was to us. I didn't get all the particulars, but the basics were: our session would last an hour, he was bringing an assistant, and they both would be taking a ton of pictures. He also was the only photographer that suggested a setting he normally uses for beach portraits for other clients. Sarah went ahead and booked him for our portrait.

Thursday came, and we got dressed into our outfits to go to the beach with Amy for our pictures. Ben and Sarah asked if we minded if they tagged along that morning, to try and make it easier on Amy. They also wanted to make sure that Amy didn't waste an entire day taking people's pictures and missing her vacation time. So, we all piled into our cars and made the trip to Coquina Beach to take our portraits. Thursday was the hottest day of the week, and also the most beautiful for pictures, thank goodness. We spent about 20 mins taking pictures of the family and the girls, and didn't stop until Lindsay started eating the sand. Ben and Sarah also did their thing with Amy, so all in all, it only took about an hour for both families to get done. Rachel looked at the pictures on Amy's camera, and they looked good apparently. Amy is burning a CD with those pictures for us, and I thank her for her time and for her creativity. Allison has always loved Aunt Amy taking her picture, so this was no different.

We got the kids home, fed, and in bed for naps to make sure they were in their best moods for pictures that evening. I pulled out my book for a read, played some Halo 3, MarioKart and Guitar Hero to end out my afternoon. Dinner was prepared early, and then the whole family changed and piled into cars to meet Allen at the shoot. Ben called earlier in the afternoon to make sure we were still on, and Allen said if people wanted to get there a little early, he would start doing some of the families. We met Allen and Phil and headed off to the dunes to start. Things were very smooth, Allen was the consumate professional throughout. He may not have ever done such a large group in one sitting, but things went well. He stayed long after the hour had expired to get the shots that he wanted, and that we wanted as well. I can't wait to see how they turned out, from Amy and from Allen. If anyone is in the OBX, and wants pictures taken, email me ... I have a photographer for you. I'll also be posting some of the pictures Amy took of our family on the beach later, once I get the CD from her ... until then, you'll just have to imagine me in the Speedo *shudder*

Love to all.

Part V

2008-05-23T23:21:00.008-04:00

Wednesday promised to be a gorgeous day, the first sunny day of the week that wasn't accompanied by a cold, brisk gusty wind. On one hand, I kinda liked the wind, due to the fact that it had the potential to blow sun dresses up - but on the other hand, we were on vacation and I was looking forward to a nice day for our trip. I'm a history nut, and love going to visit sites of significance to the building of this country. We were staying 9 miles from where the Wright Brothers made their name in Kill Devil Hills, and gave birth to aviation. We also were only about an hour and a half from Ocracoke Island, where Blackbeard the Pirate had a base while plundering and terrorizing the Eastern Seaboard of the Colonies. I wanted to see Ocracoke while we were so close, and Rachel agreed.

There is a ferry you have to take from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke, it's free and takes about 40 minutes travel time. The ferry runs every half-hour, so it's usually not a long wait. We left the house at about 9 AM, and were going to try and make the 10 AM ferry. Everyone else was going to stop at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, and take pictures from the top of it. I thought if we could fit that in on the way back, we would, but otherwise, I wanted to concentrate on our day together. We did end up making it to the ferry with about seven minutes to spare, but since they were only running one boat - - no dice, we got in line for the second one. Rachel got out, took Allison to the bathroom, and checked out the tourist trap of a t-shirt shop by the landing. So, 10:30 rolls around and they start to load the next boat. We ended up one car short of making it onto the boat ... if we were driving a compact car, they would have let us on. So, we're first in line to make the 11 AM ferry. I now get out, and take a bathroom break. I grabbed a Queensryche t-shirt to wear for the day, not only because the band is still mind blowing, but because I wanted to look like a bad donkey (edited for content). Black sunglasses, metal band t-shirt, and shaved head equals bad mother. Well, I start peeing, and this jackweed starts talking to me, "So, Queensryche, huh? I saw them once in San Francisco about 16 years ago. My brother bought me the tickets, and ......" Trust me, it kept going the whole time I was peeing. I just wanted to start barking at him or something. I just left and went to the t-shirt tourist trap and found the girls these adorable pink and black tie-dyed t-shirts. They have a skull and crossbones on them, but the skull is wearing a pig-tailed wig. Pirates with a twist.

We made it onto the 11 AM ferry, while everyone else was still at Hatteras. I just waited in the car and snacked on some of the stuff we brought, while Rachel took a few pics of our van from outside the passenger lounge.

We landed on Ocracoke, and it was still about 12 miles to the city. For those of you who care, Ocracoke was voted 2007 winner of "Best Beaches" by Dr. Beach - so they have celebrity endorsements, which I require of all my vacation destinations. We snagged a map of the tourist stuff while waiting for the ferry, and found a few of the places we wanted to see. First stop was Teach's Hole, a pirate museum/Pirate souvenir shop. The museum was pretty small, but I love stuff like that. They actually charged us for the kids to go in, which kinda peeved me, but rules are rules. It was more of a general history of Blackbeard, and pirates in general. I loved it, and read every single placard on the wall, watched every video, and scared the girls by talking like a pirate (call our voicemail and listen to our new outgoing message for an example). Once we were done, we were dumped into the souvenir shop. Ryleigh wanted a pirate hat and hook, and Allison wanted a bag of pirate jewels and coins from the big chest. Oh, and a do-rag makes me look even more menacing - I have 3 now, picked them up down the street in the discount pirate shop.

After we left there, we pulled out the map to navigate our way over to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. Well, let's just say the map of the city makes everything look spreadout, but it's not. Things are very compact, and I whizzed right by the parking for the lighthouse. Granted, there was only space for about 4 cars and one handicapped space, so it's not like I missed a huge lot. We made our way around and parked. Ocracoke Lighthouse is still in use by the US Coast Guard, so it's not accessible to the public. It's also one of the plainer lighthouses we saw.

We went to a few more spots, but it was starting to get late and we were going to head back to see the Hatteras Lighthouse and go to a very funny store we had seen billboards for. We were stopped at a general store, when we saw Ben drive by on Main Street. We chased after him, but by the time we were able to turn onto the road, we missed him. I decided to guess that he was going to go to the Lighthouse, but wrong again. We did find Mom, and the rest of the family who had just pulled up. We hung with them for a few minutes, but they were going into town and we were pretty much done. We made it right onto a ferry heading back, and scooted down the road. We stopped at trymynuts and picked up a few items to try. We then stopped at Dirty Dick's Crabhouse so I could get a t-shirt, and headed home. We did stop at the Hatteras Lighthouse, and then went home to get ready for dinner. Wednesday night it was decided that all of us were going to go out to eat, so we met at this restaurant at 6:30 PM. They had seating for our large group, and I took great pleasure in pissing off some of the other patrons by being very loud and having fun. Good food, not stellar, but I'd go back for the Carolina BBQ if noting else. Wednesday night we also did our Gag Gift exchange, but that's a story for another night.

On a final note, Ryleigh didn't take off her pirate hat or hook except at the dinner table from the moment we left Teach's Hole until bedtime. She started affecting this pirate growl, and I heard her muttering as we got into the house. I listened closer, and I hear, "I'm the meanest Pirate" and "Arrrrr, Matey". I start with "Shiver me Timbers" and "Walk the Plank" and sure enough she's copying me. Very Cute! I tried the rest of the week to recreate that, but all I got was "Daddy, I'm not wearing my costume." Shucks, what a doll.

Love to all.

Part IV

2008-05-22T20:26:00.007-04:00

Monday night into Tuesday morning, we had a heck of a storm roll into town. The wind was kicking up pretty hard, almost felt like the house was rocking ... either that, or someone was doing some laundry downstairs. *giggles* The sun did end up coming out on Tuesday, but it was still pretty windy. We had our own walkway down to the beach in the backyard, and we could see that the water was a lot closer to the house than it was in the previous days. Amy decided to walk out to get a closer look, and to her surprise ... part of the steps down to the beach were gone. Yup, they were there the night before and now they're in pieces lying on the beach.

One by one, pretty much everyone had to see this and take pictures, and I'm glad to say we were no exception. I took the girls out as far as Rachel would let me, as the walkway felt kinda rickety in addition to being destroyed. We took some pictures of each other, and Amy took one of all 4 of us, since Lindsay was inside drinking heavily.

I took Allison and Ryleigh out front to play in the sand of the volleyball court, while Ben, Andrew, Thad, Rachie Ann and I threw around a baseball. The wind was still blowing pretty hard, and that was playing havoc with the flight-path of the baseball, but it was still fun. I was getting bored chasing the ball into the overgrowth, so we had a pickup game of basketball. Chris came out, and made the teams an even 3 on 3 match. Rachie Ann, Ben and I took on Thad, Andrew, and Chris - it was a pretty evenly matched game, and I was impressed by Rachie's skills on the court. Mom even popped out to tape the game - - she tapes everything these days, and especially the week of the reunion.

If you look closely, at the picture of the house, you can see Mom up there playing Alan Funt, and Rachel was able to zoom in on our camera for the shot on the right. Rachel and Amy went down to the public beach landing, and found that the water was right up to the landing, so the beach was pretty much closed. They also found a condemned house on the beach, so if any of you are looking for a cheap place to stay - I can hook you up, if you don't mind the possibility of a house collapsing on you at some point of your stay that is. Since the beach was closed, the kids were playing in the sand of the volleyball court. All was well, until the battle over the shovels started and we had to take kids inside.

On a side note, the house next to ours is a duplex. One side is a rental property (that's also for sale), but the other side is a private residence. We were tossing the baseball around, and I noticed that they older couple were taking their dog for a walk. I didn't pay too much attention, until Ben kinda motioned for me to look to my right, and there's the old guy coming up to me in his attractive dark socks, shorts and tennis shoe ensemble. He basically told me to be careful when I went into the brush to look for the baseball, as the ticks are a problem. He walked off with his wife, I rolled my eyes and made a partially obscene hand gesture and went back to playing. Later, I was picking up the ball to throw back to Ben - and I noticed that sure enough, there's a tick crawling on the seams. I killed the sucker, and got the kids inside. We all checked for ticks, and Rachie Ann found one on her. So, Sorry Old dude for the Hand Gesture .... My Bad, Yo.

Love to all.

Part III

2008-05-21T19:10:00.008-04:00

I'm usually a load to wake up in the morning, due mostly to the fact that I am a border-line insomniac. I usually fix my lunch, lay out my clothes, and take my shower the night before so I can sleep as long as possible before getting up and throwing myself together and scoot to work. It's a sickness, really. Well, for some reason I kept going to bed early and then waking up between 6 and 6:30. It's amazing how that happens, I was even able to eat breakfast at a leisurely pace. I might have to try and go to sleep early more often, if my body will accept a new schedule of sleep instead of sleep deprivation.

Monday morning we decided to visit the N. Carolina aquarium with Andrew and Amy, as the weather was supposed to be bad that day. Due to the fact that we have a Philly Zoo pass, we found that the aquarium would let us in for free. We tried to shmooze the ticket lady into letting Andrew and Amy in as well, but no dice. I guess it's not true what they say about people in the South being stupid. It's a nice aquarium, right on Manteo Island. It's smaller than I'm used to, but the girls had a blast.

They started out with some of the local wildlife in the swamps and marshes, then moved to local fish and other reptiles. They had an exhibit on hurricanes, specifically Hurricane Irene which tore up the Outer Banks back in 2003. It's always amazing how violent nature can be.

Allison and Ryleigh loved watching me touch the rays in the see and feel part of the trip. We couldn't get the girls to participate, except for when Ryleigh frustrated the mentally challenged guy who was in charge of the starfish part. Ryleigh kept splashing the water, and that guy kept telling her to stop, but Ryleigh wasn't listening.

We brought lunch for everyone, and so we ate on the way to the Outlet Mall that was near our house. There was a storm coming in, and the wind was kicking up. It was mostly looking at a few stores, and killing time before we went back to the house. Ben and Sarah had scheduled the photographer for Monday night's family portrait, but that was cancelled due to the store and wind. So, Monday night we spent playing the Palmer family favorite game "Loaded Questions". We've long since ditched the official instructions, and made up our own set. Officially, you have a board, playing pieces and there's a deck of cards. We've eliminated everything except the cards, and turned the game into a part Roast of the family, and part see who can be the funniest. Having the whole family there just made the game a ton of fun, except when people try to hard. Sometimes, only the truth is funny.

Love to all.

Part II

2008-05-20T17:41:00.005-04:00

There was discussion about holding a family devotional/testimony meeting on Sunday morning at the house, but it was really wishy-washy as to whether or not to have one. Rachel and I decided to see if there was a meetinghouse close to where we were staying, as I thought it was important to attend church even though it was vacation. We searched and found the building was about 9 miles from the house, so luck was on our side. As we were getting ready for church, I pulled out my slacks to iron. Well, I must have crawled on my knees in something at work - because they were filthy. It wasn't a big deal, but I was forced to wear jeans with my shirt and tie. I felt like a complete idiot, but I figured attending church was more important. Besides, it wasn't like I was wearing a swimsuit, no shirt, and goggles (no matter how sexy that may sound). We stayed for the first hour, and then went home. I know that Thad, Ben, and Rachie Ann and some of the kids pulled out the boogie boards in the afternoon and went body surfing in the frigid weather. Well, not frigid exactly - - but I saw some of the adult's nipples through their shirts on some of those people after they were done. Wha-HOOOO ... nipples !! Although when it's family, and it's mostly guys - the sexiness of it all is lost. It did look like fun, I'll admit. Dinner was hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill, just something easy.

Last November, Rachel and I were talking about the reunion and how it coincided with Mother's Day. We wanted to do a digital scrapbook for Mom, and we started playing with different programs online to accomplish that. I kinda forgot about it, but to Rachel's credit, she brought it up a few weeks later. We decided to see if we could get all the siblings together to submit photos and stories of Mom. After some phone calls, and emails - everyone was on board. We waited until after the winter holidays to start taking submissions, and I still had to decide on a program to use. Well, after some poking around, I decided on a website called Picaboo. I LOVE IT ! Coming from a guy, and considering it's scrap booking - - that should speak volumes. I played around with it for a week or so, just trying things out and seeing what I could make. I ended up making a 2007 Palmer yearbook for our family, and getting it printed to see the quality of the finished product. After that, we started asking for submissions from the siblings to get started. I tried to encourage people to download the software on their own computers and do their own pages, and a few took me up on that. The book was finished by mid-March and we had it printed in April after combing over it for mistakes. I had friends and family proof-read it with me, just in case. After leafing through the finished pages, I knew I had a guaranteed crying, blubbering Mother after she finished looking through it.

Ben decided to kick it up a notch by suggesting we put together the pages from the book in a slide show on his computer, use his big screen projector and show it to her along with music, while everyone read their pages on the wall. Then, after that was done, present the book to her as a "Gotcha!" moment. I loved it, and Ben started work on it. He was able to get that done in a short time, once we realized you could save the pages as .jpg images, then import those into PowerPoint. So, stage was set - - and mission accomplished: Mom started crying as soon as she saw Thad's image on the screen and didn't stop until the last two collage pages. It wasn't always easy to keep everyone to my timeline, and I know I probably pissed some family off in the process at one time or another. I just knew how Mom would love to have this, and how important it was that I get it done. Thank you, Sarah, for your support and encouragement. Rachel the Wife and you both deserve a mention in here, as I quit several times when things got rough. Both of you picked me up, and I started again. I was very proud of the work that I put into that book, and very proud that a LUNKHEAD like me could do something so creative with the use of such a wonderful program.

As you can see, I've added Picaboo's web link to my blog to help advertise such a blessing of a program (Money, please ... HINT HINT).

Love to all.

We're Gonna Break This Up

2008-05-19T22:07:00.005-04:00

::BEEP:: Download complete ::BWONK, WONK::

I've downloaded the pictures from our camera tonight, and instead of trying to do one post and fit the whole past week into it, I think it better to make a few posts and spread things out. Anticipation makes the whole thing worth more, at least that's what Rachel tells me. So, in that vein, I'll begin:

I took Friday, May 9th off of work to help with getting the luggage/car packed up for the trip and to help make lasagnas for our dinner on Saturday night down in North Carolina. Rachel and I thought that we needed to make things simple for dinner that night, so that everyone could unpack and unwind from the drive down from Virginia. With 28 people in the house, we figured to make 4 or 5 pans to make sure there was enough for dinner and have left over's for lunches and such. Well, I made the decision to go ahead and make 6 pans, just to be sure. We were able to freeze 4 of them, and they all made it down. We left on Saturday morning about 6:00 AM, and started the trek down. We used Google Maps to see what the fastest way was going to be, and we also got the address of the house in North Carolina to plug into our GPS. Both points of reference agreed that going down the DelMarVa peninsula, then across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel into Norfolk and then continue south to Nags Head. The total trip was only about 6 to 7 hours that way, so I was stoked. With some gas in the tank, food in the belly, we started.

Nothing really fun to report, we made a few bathroom breaks for Allison (okay, us too ...) and found that the "5 Dollar Footlong" Subway marketing campaign has worked on Allie. We stopped at one to use the bathroom, and I look in the mirror and see Allie miming the TV commercial. (I hate this commercial, and all like it for some reason.) Rachel usually is pretty nervous going over bridges, but she only got edgy a few times going over the span of bridges and tunnels that make up the span of 17 miles. We even stopped at a rest stop to take in the view, change diapers, and snap a few pictures.

There were a total of 5 cars making the trip on Saturday (Andrew and Amy came on Sunday), and we all kep in good contact over the trip making sure everyone knew where everyone else was. Since we left from the furthest away, we ended up in the lead. Well, since we left earliest and my family's penchant for dragging ass gave Rachel and I the lead. Once we got about 30 miles from the Outer Banks, we decided to stop and give Ben and Sarah a call to see where they were. They were the ones picking up the house key, so no reason to haul buns to get there to sit in the driveway of the house. We needed to pick up a few things from the store anyway, so we stopped and gave them a call. We were just ahead of them, so our stopping gave them the lead. They called us to let us know they were able to get the keys early and the race was on. Ever notice that traffic just seems to know you are in a hurry? We ended up behind every pokey person on HWY 158 ..... I used some fancy driving to get around them, but from what Ben said, they were in the lead to stay. I followed the GPS turns, and wouldn't you know it ... We WON !!! Apparently, Ben had directions that took him the long way around and gave the contest to us.

We got into the house, and unloaded our cars. Rachel and I started the lasagna, and finished unpacking our stuff. Vicky, Zac, Mom, Nancy and Rachel all arrived at about the same time, so we got them unloaded as well. Rachel and I paid for an extra room for the girls, so we got two rooms on the middle floor of the house. Now, this is a twelve bedroom house we were staying in ( I'll be posting pics of that later), and the middle floor had 6 bedrooms. Both our room, and the girls' room looked out on the beach and the Atlantic Ocean, just like I wanted. So, with dinner started and our van unpacked, we helped get the kitchen setup and finished dinner once Beth, Chris, Thad and Brooke showed up. Vicky had made some spaghetti for the kids, which most of the adults ended up eating as well. I was annoyed that more people didn't eat my food, but it was all good in any case. Saturday ended with most everyone turning in early, which was just fine with us. More to follow.

Love to all.

Hello from OBX !

2008-05-16T13:39:00.002-04:00

Ahhh ... relaxing ...

Just have a few minutes and wanted to post a short something to those people who read this blog at all. Most of the people that do read are with me at this time, so I'm not counting on a lot of response to this post. Currently, I'm sitting on my laptop in Nags Head, North Carolina in a 12 bedroom house right on the beach. My family got together this week for our first "official" Palmer family reunion, and thanks to my brother Ben, it all happened this week. I have to give him some huge credit, as getting all my family together wasn't an easy task to complete. I have three brothers and four sisters, plus our mom and all our kids (16 in total) together in close quarters for one week.

It seems like only yesterday that Ben started planning for this, beginning with a conference call during the Winter of 2006. It also didn't help matters much that I was the head complainer, and thought this was a terrible idea to try and pull off. I guess it just pissed me off that Ben was putting this whole show together, without consulting my opinion about location, times, etc. Well, in the end, Rachel and I came up with some alternative locations, Ben listened and we talked it through with him. It finally came down to Florida or North Carolina, and since North Carolina was going to be closer and cheaper for most people, that decision was made. I got fully on board, once I saw that Ben liked the fact that someone else was getting involved and trying to come up with alternatives. So, Rachel and I pitched in and made this thing happen. Time certainly flew in between then and now, and I can't believe this week is coming to an end. I'll be blogging more in the next weeks, including pictures, once we get home and get back into our routine.

Love to all.

Pepsi Stuff and Coke Rewards

2008-05-01T19:24:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am collecting both Pepsi and Coke points, so if you have any you want to get rid of - I'll take the codes off your hands. Just email them to me.

Breaking news: Aaron is officially a moron - Rachel tells me that April has 30 days, and I kept insisting that it had 31. This is officially my penance:

Thirty days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31, except February which has 28 ... 29 in a leap year.

Now back to life.

Trains and Parking

2008-04-19T21:58:00.003-04:00

I had to work today, as it's my turn for on-call coverage for the next two weeks. I was down in Glen Eagle, and had 4 tickets I needed to close at a site in Wynnewood. The drive was okay, it's nice not having to deal with the normal traffic patterns that occur during the work week. As I arrived at Wynnewood, I knew there was something up. There's a train station that's right across the street from the shopping center that I was going to, and it was packed with people. The local rock station, WYSP, was onsite with a trailer and there were signs for McCain, Obama, and Hilary littering the parking lot. There were two or three police officers onsite directing traffic, and people were everywhere. As I was stopped at a green light by one officer, I saw an Amtrak train pulling into the station. Now this shouldn't have seemed odd, except that this station was for SEPTA, not AMTRAK. The last car was different, and had patriotic bunting on the railing. I saw the train stop, and a roar from the crowd as a figure emerged from the car. I didn't get a good look, I shrugged and pulled into the parking lot to get my work done. After circling the lot for 20 minutes, getting the finger from someone for backing into my well-sought after parking space, and going into the store I finally figured out what all the hub-bub was about from the first employee I saw who asked, "Did you see him?" "See who?" was my reply.

Yep, I found out later in the day that Obama was doing a whistle-stop train tour from Philadelphia to Harrisburg and that Wynnewood was the first stop on that tour. One of his regional campaign offices was just up the street from the station, so I guess it made sense for him to stop there and greet some of his volunteers and such. The figure I saw emerging was Mr. Obama stepping from the train, as the news reports of his attire matched the figure I saw stepping from the last car. I thought about heading over to the station to see what was up before I knew who it was on the train, but I needed to get work done and didn't have the time to screw around. If I had known it was him, I probably would have taken the time to at least see him speak, but that's all hindsight at this point. Regardless, the parking lot when I left the work site was littered with cars parked in all sorts of places, all getting tickets from the nice police who were no longer directing traffic as they weren't in "legal" spots. That was probably the funniest part of the afternoon.

Enjoy.

Guitar Heroes

2008-04-17T21:43:00.008-04:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I have always been addicted to video games since I was a kid. My first paycheck from the paper route that Thad and I ran went to buy a Nintendo NES - yep, the original one with the square game cartridges. I moved up when the next gen came out, and bought a Sega Genesis when I got my first real job. That graduated into the Genesis 32x (it was a gift), then the Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Playstation 2, Xbox, and now the PS 3. I have always liked rock music (see previous post on Queensryche), so when I saw Guitar Hero II for the PS 2 I had to have it. I bought it one afternoon at Target, when the boys were still with us and plugged it in as soon as I could. I have to admit, in a cheesy way it made a lot of sense to me. It felt good to play along with some of my favorite songs, and some new ones that I didn't know. When Guitar Hero III came out last year, no brainer, right? I ended up selling my PS2, Xbox, most of my games, plus the guitar hero controller and decided to concentrate on my PS3 collection of games. Rachel bought me GH: III for Christmas with some of the proceeds of that sale. It's so much fun. I love the Les Paul Guitar controller, the fact that it's wireless, and that Rachel worked with Dee Gallion to make vinyl cutouts of the TriRyche and a "got Queensryche" sticker for it to display my love.

The EQ presidency decided last month to do a game night together, and Ed brought his PS 2, GH: II game and controller. (side note, GH II game doesn't work with the PS 3 - so I gave to Ed). I was supposed to go as well, but ended up having to work late and I wasn't able to attend. We decided to get together again on Tuesday, and I brought the PS 3 and GH: III over to play. We ordered pizza, drank soda, and rocked out to some of the classic bands and their most popular songs. I took a few pics, and am sharing with you now.

This is a Thinker

2008-04-17T21:33:00.003-04:00

So, I was in a store the other day - and saw this placard on one of the registers. Now, I noticed that this wasn't on all the lanes, just two of them. I asked the cashier what it was for, she said they have two lanes designated as ADA lanes and this was the sign for them. I let it go at that, but it started to eat at me. So I ask all of you:

How is a blind person supposed to know what lane in a store is ADA compliant?

(on a side note, another person I posed this question to asked me a follow-up question: Why is there braille on the number keys for a drive-up ATM?)

Happy Birthday Allison!

2008-04-10T21:09:00.004-04:00

Well, today was Allison's fifth birthday. We actually had her "official" party on April 5th, because Grandma Palmer was planning on coming up that weekend anyway, so we wanted Grandma to be a part of that celebration. Her party was fun, we had the Wrights and the Otts, and Brody L. in attendance along with our family for pizza, then cake and ice cream. Rachel searched long and hard for the Cinderella cake pan to make the requested shape for Allie. Aaron brought home the five dollar pizza from Genuardi's for lunch, and it was fun.

Thursday night brought the Palmer family tradition of the birthday boy/girl choosing the dinner of their choice for the family. In that vein, macaroni and cheese was had by all at the Palmer house tonight. Aaron brought home little ice cream cups for the girls, and we sat around with Allie wishing her the best on her day. I can't believe that she is going to be starting kindergarten in the fall, time sure flies.

Love to all.

Official Birthday Party

2008-04-01T22:06:00.006-04:00

Well, since Easter this year was on March 23rd, I decided that I would postpone my "party" until the 30th. We did have my meal of chicken pot pie, and a small cake on Sunday night, since Rachel had to work on the actual date (24th). Jim and Jess called and emailed me birthday wishes (THANK YOU GUYS, I LOVED IT!), one text message from K.S. (you know who you are) and I received two calls from my family. We talked to Kim Wright during the week at some point about her making it to the party, and she offered her house to host the event. What a great friend the Wrights are turning out to be! It's sure nice to find people that you click with, even though the only common thread in the beginning is that you attend the same church, or work at the same company, or had abusive fathers, or smoke a ton of weed ... you know, the classics.

I also decided a few weeks back to make Carolina BBQ for this party. Now, I've never worked up the guts before to attempt this recipe alone. Usually, I get the stuff to make it and end up waiting until Mom comes up, and she cooks everything. What a great way to learn, huh? This time, I didn't have the option, so I called her up and asked for the recipe. Now, my mother learned this recipe from my Grandmother(father's mother), who learned it from her family on a hog farm in rural North Carolina, who probably learned it from the Confederates. She also learned grandma's recipes for southern style cole slaw, chicken pot pie, buttermilk biscuits (add cheddar for cheese biscuits), and southern banana cream pie all passed down and taught. The rub? Grandma never used a written recipe, she just knew how to make all that stuff. So, Mom never wrote them down, either. You should see what I wrote down when I asked Mom for her help. It's actually funny, often you'll see the words "Oh, add some *insert ingredient called for here* - and don't be shy. But don't add too much, either." I started the roasts on Saturday night about 9:30, and then spent a good 3 or 4 hours obsessing about it on the couch. I finally stopped worrying, and fell asleep around 3 AM. When I woke up, I was jazzed. It smelled like it usually does when BBQ has been cooking all night. I pulled off the foil, and it turned out great. I was very, very happy with my first try. I toned down the spice, due to the fact that I didn't want to burn faces off when the meal was served.

The Otts, the Gallions, and the Wrights all joined with us in observing the birthday celebration. The Otts brought my favorite Salt and Vinegar chips, Kim made wings and a cheesy potato casserole, and the Gallions made chocolate Heath bar fondue with a ton of dippers. We sat around, eating dinner and watching Empire Strikes Back (Kim knew it was my fav and popped it in) and talking. The BBQ turned out so much better than I could have hoped, and now I'm keen to try it again, using the written down dimensions I used for the spices to find the exact measurements so I can make it the same each time. I'm hoping it will become my "signature" dish to bring to people's houses, or to make for dinners. I'm also wondering if I could use our big ole roaster pan, instead of the oven. Maybe I'll try that next. Thank you all for your birthday wishes, and for your love to me and my family.

Whoopsie

2008-03-24T21:34:00.006-04:00

I forgot to add a few pics of the Easter outfits that Rachel picked out for the girls. I've never seen a woman so determined to get a certain white sweater in my life. Here I thought that a white sweater was a white sweater - but I realize that I am a guy, and things like that just don't matter to me as much. Our big joke is that if I was left to dress the girls, they would be wearing flip-flops and jeans all the time.

After taking the pictures of the girls outside, I decided to walk into a low hanging tree branch and had a nice Easter egg of my own on top of my noggin. I'm not surprised at this, because I'm very clumsy and whack my head all the time at the Gallion's house on their hanging kitchen light fixture. You can see the little blood mark in the middle of the pic, Rachel just had to snap it for posterity. Now, I share with you ... because that's who I am.

Easter

2008-03-24T21:09:00.006-04:00

In the land of the groundhog, Easter is still ruled with an iron fist by a bunny rabbit. I can't help but refer everyone to the scene in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where the Knights are being held up from going into the cave by "a fearsome creature" which turns out to be a bunny rabbit. The knights decide to charge it, and this little bunny jumps up and bites their heads off one by one until being finally dispatched by the Holy Hand Grenade. "Thou shalt pull the pin, and count to three. Three being the number thou should countest to, and stopping on three. Thou shalt not skip two, or count to four ..." etc etc. I need to watch that movie again, it's been years. Anyhow, I digress.

Easter started by the girls attending the weekly "Mommies" group on Wednesday. There was an egg hunt, and a visit by the Easter bunny. After first being freaked out, Allison and Ryleigh both warmed up to him for a few pictures. After that, on Saturday, Allison and Ryleigh got the chance to dye eggs with Daddy before going to bed. They loved it, especially the part where the tablet was dropped into the vinegar and it started to bubble and fizz. We were able to dye about 15 eggs, and only lost two when the girls were holding them up for pictures.

We decided to cut down on the candy this year for everyone, and instead got the girls each a new outfit (besides their Easter dresses), a small pink baseball glove for each, some pink peeps, and once chocolate bunny each. They loved it, and Allison can't wait to play catch with Daddy. Sunday we had Daddy's birthday dinner, since Rachel was working on Monday night (the actual day), and Chicken Pot Pie was on the menu. Allison helped Mommy make a simple cake for Daddy and sang "Happy Birthday". Simple, but nice. So, it was a good day.

Love to all.

I Love People

2008-03-22T21:24:00.007-04:00

I've been working in the grocery business since I was 16 years old, in fact, I've been working for the same grocery store chain since I was that age. I don't have the same job that I did when I was 16 (whew!), and it's taken me to where I am today. I started in December 1989, yup - the tail end of the decade of Big Hair, speed metal, leg warmers, and the "brick" cell phone. I can't believe it's been that long, but it has. I checked the calendar. Twice. Then cried. All better now.

So, in these past 18+ years, I can't have helped but have a few good stories about co-workers and customers. I thought I'd share a few with you.

1. I was working the cookie aisle when another cashier was called up front to check. He thought that since he was more senior than me (union seniority ... blech) that it meant they should have called me first. He's complaining the whole way from the back of the store to the front, walking past me muttering the whole way. I say, "Steve, drop dead" and the guy goes down like a ton of bricks in front of a customer who begins to freak out. She freezes, turns to me all wide-eyed and starts to flustery shout, "Call a manager, call an ambulance, please, I need help." Steve picks himself up, dusts off his pants, and walks right past this dumbfounded woman and opens his register like nothing happened.

2. I was working on a register printer today, and I have the thing in pieces so I could replace the thermal printhead. I have parts spread out over the entire belt, and I'm covered in dust and old pieces of receipt from cleaning out the bottom of this thing. Some lady comes behind me and starts to unload her cart, while I am in the midst of working. I look at her and say, "Ma'am, this lane isn't open" To which she looks at me, and growls "Well, aren't you buying that?" "Yes ma'am, our store now carries IBM parts for printers. They're over on the chip aisle, but not the chips you can eat. May I show you to the day spa, and make you an appointment with Serge for your massage? We also have lion tamers and real penguins on sale with your club card on display in the lobby" is what I should have said. I fought to only respond with a "Ma'am, there is no line in register #5 and I'm working on the printer for this lane." (This happens all the time to me, I'll have a scanner/scale, printer or various other items taken down or in pieces, and customers invariably will pop into my line assuming I'm open, even with the obviously non-working register in plain view.)

3. There were recently self-checkout lanes installed into one of our stores that is under remodel. You know the kind, where you have a kiosk to ring your own groceries. They're popping up in grocery, hardware, and other big box retailers across the country. Well, since they are new, the employees are trying to encourage people to use them so that customers know they are there and to lose fear of using them. One customer got all up in arms when told that the self-checkout lane was open and no line. "I think it's an atrocity that you installed those machines. How dare you expect your customers to do a job that you are supposed to be doing." Yep, endless war in Iraq, genocide in Africa and self-checkouts - - - same, same.

4. Back in the early 90's, my employer was running a "Tapes for Education" program, where you could turn in your grocery store receipts to your school, they were tallied, and the school could send in the accumulated totals plus the paper receipts to cash in for books, athletic equipment, etc. My high school decided to run a contest to see what student could turn in the most receipts, and win a fifty dollar prize. It was a landslide - I won. I think you know how. Second place was another student working for a competing grocery store who had a similiar program. Apparently it wasn't even close. Hurrah for me and my Sega Genesis game.

5. My favorite story of all - I was late for work, and forgot my apron at home. I grabbed one of the spares from our broom closet and started my shift. At the time, we had this huge salad bar which did a TON of business during lunch since we were the cheapest, fastest, and healthiest option for the City Government office that was less than a mile from our store. Our company had also changed to a smaller plastic-handled bag, making it harder for the cashiers to bag someone's salad container, and being able to keep it flat. Especially the BIG salad containers, those things wouldn't fit in the bottom of the bag until you rocked it to one side and kinda wedged it in there. Most people didn't care, since their salad was a tossed one anyway. I found a way to be able to get the over-sized container in the bag without turning it into a gloppy mess. A customer comes through with one of these big salad containers, and I start to bag it. He says, "Be careful. I worked hard to separate two salads into this one container, and I don't want them mixed." I have no idea why he didn't choose to use two different containers. "No problem, I'm an expert at bagging these" as I squoze too hard and dropped the thing into a bag completely by accident messing up this guys work. I turned bright red, and he's pissed. He pays, rips the bag out of my hand and storms to customer service. He rips the poor lady a new one, and storms out of the store. It's at this point that I look down and realize that my name tag says "Rick". Bwah hahahahahahhaha ......

Proud As Punch

2008-03-16T21:18:00.003-04:00

So every week we have playgroup. Each week another mother is in charge of planning an activity for the kids. It is just a bunch of moms from church and their kids. We do things like go to the zoo, play at the park, have a Valentines Day Party etc. Last time I was in charge I planned at trip to the local Brusters Ice Creamery. The kids loved it and it was different. Free Ice Cream didn't hurt either. This week it was my turn and Aaron actually took charge of it for me. At Genuardis, they used to do preschool tours of the store. They would take the kids around and show them things about the store, have them point out colors and some of the other cool stuff in the store. Well, Aaron thought this might be fun for playgroup, so he worked it out with the Asst Manager to bring our group. So on March 12th, we all headed to the Royersford Genuardi's for a tour. It was great! Allie was so proud to be at her Daddy's work. She told everyone. She was at the front of the group. She loved every minute of it. Ryleigh kind of just hung out with Daddy the whole time. The hit of the day was the baler (it is where the boxes get crushed, before being tied together). It turned out to be a great tour. The kids had a blast and it included free pizza and cookies for all.

All of the sudden it was a little too quiet.......

2008-03-16T20:56:00.004-04:00

It was a tuesday night about two weeks ago.....Aaron was at an Elders Quorum meeting, Allie was in bed for being naughty, Lindsay was asleep. So it was just me and Ryleigh hanging out. She had been running back and forth between me at the computer and the front room, watching something on tv.....and then it was just too quiet! I found Ryleigh on the floor in the living room with Allie's fingernail polish all over her legs!!!! It was kind of funny I must admit. I proceeded to give her a bath, and the purple came off, however, the blue dye they use in the nail polish, did NOT! Ryleigh did not understand why we kept calling her Smurfette! She kept saying "I am not Smurfette, I am Ryleigh". So just a little insight into our lives!

Breaking Benjamin - Breath OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

2008-03-14T21:13:00.001-04:00

This is the song that sold me on the band, enjoy.

Breaking Benjamin - The Diary of Jane - Music Video

2008-03-14T20:07:00.001-04:00

There is an acoustic version of this song on the "Phobia" album, but only if you purchased the physical CD. I downloaded from iTunes, and missed out. I did get the song since, it's good, but I prefer the heavier metal version.

Breaking Who?

2008-03-07T22:17:00.007-05:00

So, I've discovered a new band. Now, they aren't a new one by any stretch of the imagination, they do have three albums (that I've found). There was a local radio station FREE 94.1 - WYSP "The Station that Rocks" that I used to listen to all day. They used to have Howard Stern in the morning, then the Barsky Show midday, Matt and Huggie for two hours, and finish with Kidd Chris on my way home. It was an all talk format from 5 AM until 7 PM during the week, and I loved almost every minute of it while driving from site to site (Matt and Huggie were annoying). Well, it started with Stern leaving then being replaced with the god-awful David Lee Roth. They then brought the Opie and Anthony (blech) syndicated show back for a few hours in the morning, but that didn't last. In one week, they fired most of the on-air talent, and "Brought the Rock Back" and made it a rock station again. Which basically means they started playing really bad rap/metal fusion or pop/rock stuff that passes for what I consider rock these days. In all of this, my radio station listening moved to the sports radio station WIP - 610 AM on your Philly radio dial. That's really unacceptable, since all they talk about is the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Sixers - and bag on the Redskins.

It appears that I've gotten too old for that "dang kid music" of rap, rap fusion, and that type of vibe. I sometimes will get to a store, and there's inevitably some white kid from the suburbs in a track suit three sizes too large for him, baseball cap turned sideways, really scruffy hint of a beard, earring, inevitabling blasting some urban garbage at a decibel level that shakes my window from the new row over. It's really annoying, and I just don't get it. So, in light of that fact, I've shunned a lot of the newer music in favor of remaining securely in the late '80's Hair Metal era, or the early 90's grunge that I'm comfortable with. I'll include RUSH in this, as Jim Jardine turned me onto them while we were roommates in Virginia, even thought they don't really fit in the hair metal or grunge music. So, in light of these facts, I was out of the loop for any new music probably since we've moved here back in 2001.

So one Wednesday, I was listening to 93.3 WMMR - the other rock station in town that actually plays Queensryche still, and heard this song that I just couldn't get out of my head. I was lucky enough to have that song be at the end of a 3 song set, so they named the artist and song. Breaking Benjamin "Breath" . I went home that day, logged into iTunes, and listened to the song clip again still loving it. I then decided to check out the album it was on "Phobia" and ended up using 10 bucks of my iTunes gift card (perfect birthday gift for me - March 24th) to buy the whole album. I didn't know there were groups putting out this heavier type of music that I like. I was under the assumption that 3 Doors Down and the like were what was passing for my type of music. Boy, was I wrong. There are still some really good heavier metal bands, nothing to the like of Metallica, Megadeath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden from my youth, but good enough for me to actually download some current music. In the end, I now own all three of Breaking Benjamin's albums - and the kicker is that they are from the Philadelphia area, so they come around here when they can, apparently. They are on tour with Seether, and some other band I've never heard of, or you can always watch their videos on YouTube. I recommend "Breath" "Diary of Jane" or "Polyamorous" for your listening pleasure. I have some of their videos posted on my Facebook page as well. Finally, something to drown out the freakin' people who keep bothering me while I'm trying to work. I can't wait for them to come local, so I can see them in person.

My latest

2008-02-24T23:47:00.000-05:00

Today's post: Something that I really hate. (shocker, huh?)

Rachel and I have been married for almost 9 years now, so far we've lived at Mom's in Fairfax, in Manassas VA, and Pennsylvania. We've met a good number of people in that time, and made some lasting friendships. We've also made good friends, who turn out to totally snub and forget us once either they or we move. Some history first.

I never was really big on keeping in touch with people, not that it wasn't important to me to do so, but I just didn't think about it. I complained a lot when the house in Fairfax broke up, with Jim moving back to Pittsburgh and I ended up at Mom's again, about friends not keeping in touch with me. I complained all the way up here to Pottstown, as the people I thought were my friends never called/emailed/visited me. I realize now that some of this was my own fault, as I didn't make the effort to keep the lines of communication open with them. That being said, with Rachel's help, I am a ton better at keeping in touch with friends and family than I ever was before.

Which leads me to my current issue. I really hate it when friends move away. No matter if it's the next county, or across the nation, the result is the same. "Let's keep in touch" or "I could never lose you guys" or "You're too special to forget" or some amalgum of these sentiments is invariably uttered by one or both parties. I hate that, because in my own experience, this never happens. I've lost countless friends to the wind, all promising to keep in touch -- but emails go unanswered, phone calls and voice mails ignored, and these people I let into my heart STOMP on it with their callous shoulder turned to me. I would much rather someone tell me, "Look, we had a good run. I like you a lot, but let's be honest, I'm moving away and will never see you again. I'm going to be making other friends, and I really don't have the time or effort to keep in touch with you." That would be honest, and refreshing for once, rather than telling me how much I mean to you, and then completely ignoring when I try to keep in touch. I take that stuff personal. So, to the Edwards, the Ecks, the Smiths, the Abels, and now the Hassels, amongst many others - - goodbye.

EDIT: I wasn't talking about Jim and Jessica in my post about the house breaking up and not staying in touch. They've been solid on that count.

Family Portrait

2008-02-20T00:23:00.000-05:00

I worked on Saturday, and was checking our work schedule for this week. I completely let it slip that Monday was President's Day, and it's one that is observed by Safeway for backstage employees. There are seven "corporate" holidays that Safeway observes for their backstage staff, with President's Day being an odd pick for one of the seven. I mean, you have New Years, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as the big six. I just don't get how President's Day made it over Martin Luther, or Columbus Day. For most of the office is off, but Field Services is required to have staff in the field of some sort. Checking the schedule, Paul was scheduled, with Kris and myself having off. I was fully prepared to take the shift, to make some extra money - until I got called out for a sev 1 on Sunday. So, after calling Paul to apologize for not taking the shift, it turned out I was off.

Rachel and I decided it would be pretty fun to get a family portrait done, since we all had matching shirts (another story, I'll tell it if you want later). We got in touch with Picture People early, thank goodness, and were able to secure an 11 AM appointment. We had already washed and dried out outfits the night before, just in case, and headed to the mall. After all was said and done, here's how the picture turned out:

For some reason I love the Product (RED) items from the Gap. I'm not sure if it's the cause it represents, or the colors, but I just love them. I ordered a shirt from Gap.com, along with Allison, Ryleigh and Linday's, as the girls shirts were on sale for 4 bucks each. Rachel bought her's on Monday at Gap in the mall. The salespeople were all looking at us, and thought it was pretty neat we decided to go with their product for our family portrait. I am even wearing two Product (RED) leather bracelets, as you can see. I think it turned out great, and we got the chance to use the shirts we originally bought for something else (again, if you want to know, ask again later).

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

Today we take the time to honor those loved ones in our lives. For their love, their sacrifice on our behalf, and to let them know without a doubt how much they mean to us. Apparently that means flowers, candy, and jewelry.

I have long held the belief that Valentine's Day is a Girl Holiday. What I mean by that is nothing more than this: I've never expected a present, or flowers, or candy on this day from my significant other. I grant you the following facts: First, that before I was married to Rachel, I never had a girlfriend on this holiday, so thus - I never got anything. Second, I have low expectations on for gifts on any day - besides my birthday and Christmas. Third - I always hated Valentine's Day growing up, because the kids at school always butchered the spelling of my name and I never got the "Love" valentines from the girls. So, in my own little world, Valentine's Day meant very little to me, until I was married. Even now, I'm happy with a silly card, or a picture from the kids. Low expectations is the key to happiness.

So, to all my friends, family and others who read this blog - Happy Valentine's Day from the bottom of my cynical heart. I love you all, some more than others.

p.s. If you really want to make me happy, four little words: Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts. You can even wait until the middle of next week when they are 75% off at your local drug store/grocery store.

Avenue Q - It Sucks to Be Me - Tony Awards

2008-02-04T20:00:00.001-05:00

Allison has been watching "Johnny and the Sprites" for a little while now, it's on Playhouse Disney apparently. Well, the story goes something like this: Johnny finds out there are magical creatures are living in his backyard, and so he sings with them for the at home audience because apparently that's what you're supposed to do when you find there are magical creatures living in your backyard.

Nancy let me listen to a CD she burned of the Avenue Q Broadway musical a few years ago. She had been to see the play in New York, and loved it. It's won Tony Awards, and has since been playing not only in NY but made the trip to Las Vegas. It's a very irreverant, adult version of Sesame Street for those of you not in the know. I freakin' loved it, and laughed so much when I heard the songs Nancy played for me. It's now in iTunes, and on my and Rachel's iPods. I just love how very taboo subjects are poked fun at and sung about, with no regard to if people are offended.

To tie these two very different subjects together, I present Allison. Rachel noticed how she thought the voice of Princeton (main character in A.Q.) sounded like Johnny from the Sprites show. Well, after an assist from www.imdb.com we found that John Tartaglia was indeed the voice of not only Princeton, but also Rod from Avenue Q. He also was tapped to start his own kids TV show on Disney, and that's where "Johnny and the Sprites" was born. After reading his biography, he apparently grew up around the puppets on "Sesame Street" so it wasn't a huge stretch for him to be still working with puppets. He also was appearing as Lumiere on the Broadway "Beauty and the Beast" cast. Just a wonderful talent to watch and behold. Well, Allison also figured out that Johnny is the singer for a lot of the A.Q. songs, and sings along in her car seat after wearing Rachel and I down to listen to it again. I gotta tell you, listening to Allison sing along to "Everyone's a little bit Racist" will make you cry laughing .... trust me.

Love to all.

Okay, FINE!

2008-01-01T20:58:00.001-05:00

Happy, Rachel? I moved you up on the list of family sites.

Sleigh Bells Rung

2007-12-27T04:29:00.000-05:00

Well, the whirlwind associated with Christmas has come and gone for another year. Our family enjoyed the company of my best friend, Jim Jardine and his family, Jessica and Billy this year in our home. Jim and I usually try to see each other once to twice a year, with us coming over to Pittsburgh or them coming over to see us. They came out earlier this year for my birthday weekend in March, and we took the boys with our family to see them over Memorial Day weekend. We were trying to find a time where we could visit again this year, and I invited them to spend Christmas with us, since Mom was going out of town, and Nancy as well. Since we weren't sure if the boys were still going to be with us or not, we decided not to make the trip down to Virginia to spend with the remaining family down there (Sorry Thad and Andrew, et al). They agreed to spend the majority of the week with us, since I was on vacation that week from the "salt mines".

They arrived Sunday to a steaming dish of lasagna for dinner, and we spent the night just chilling out, talking and visiting with each other. Monday was spent with me in the kitchen getting the dinner ready, with Rachel, Jim and Jess, ready to help at a moments notice. It ended up working out well, except for the mashed potatoes. I freakin' started them too early, so they sat in the strainer while I got other dishes cooked, until Rachel went to make them and they were GLUE. That just blows. Thank goodness Mom sent up potato pearls, so we had to fake that part of the dinner, but it was that or serve glue. We used the Safeway 2-hour turkey recipe again, and the turkey, again turned out fabulous. We invited John and Kim Wright, from church, over for the meal since they are quickly becoming good friends of ours. Dinner went off without a hitch, and Allison helped me make cookies for Santa. Next time, I'm using less peppermint chips in the recipe, since the oil made my eyes water each time I removed a batch from the oven. With the kids in bed, and the adults soon after, we all settle down for a long winter's nap.

Christmas morning, for the first time in years, I slept until 8:30 AM. The girls were still asleep, and we didn't have older kids anxiously biting their lips in anticipation of presents. I'm sure that's coming in the next few years, though. The girls came downstairs, along with Billy, to the joy of Santa's visit in the form of presents. We exchanged gifts with the Jardine's, and just basked in the warmth of family and being together. I received a few text messages from a dear friend at work (that's you Kirsten *wink wink*) while making pancakes for breakfast, wishing me and the family well. We played with all our presents the rest of the day, until the smell of Rachel's traditional Christmas dinner of steaks and baked potatoes wafted through the evening air. It was a good day, in large part because of the company it was spent with. Throughout the day, phone calls were made and received from family, which made the day seem complete. Thank you to all who called, or wished us well through emails and text messages. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Say it Ain't So, Santa .... Say it Ain't So

2007-12-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

Rachel's Dad and his wife, Becky, stopped by our home on Wednesday night for a holiday visit with our family. They had spent some time with Wes' family (his mom, and brother) in upstate New York and were returning to North Carolina to spend a few more days with Becky, Zach and Daniel before flying home on Christmas Eve. They originally planned to stay with us only a night, but decided to stay and hang out with the girls for a whole day before leaving on Friday morning. We decided to go to the mall, and have the girls visit Santa, so that the grandparents could see the magic of Christmas through the girls eyes. I waited in line with Allison and Ryleigh, and Rachel gave Lindsay to Santa when it was our turn. Wes had his camera to snap a few pictures, as apparently even Santa Claus at the mall has turned evil.

The trend of charging out the whazoo for pictures of kids with Santa now is annoying. It used to be a service that the mall would provide for the customers of the particular mall, with parents being able to take pictures at will for FREE !!??!! Now, they have people and stuff blocking Santa with signs telling you to be respectful and not take pictures of your kids with Santa (see green sign in foreground). What does that mean? Be respectful? I think that loosely translates into "Please don't take pictures of your kids with Santa, but you can pay 15 bucks for one 5x7 photo from our camera". They also claim that "Visits with Santa are always welcome" on the sign, but don't tell you that it also comes with a high-pressure, guilt laden sales pitch. I almost expected the freakin' lady to tell me about the cost savings of a Time Share in the Napa Valley, in addition to the photo. They were awful, especially since they knew that Wes snapped a couple of pics of the girls. I almost don't ever want to go to the Mall again during Christmas with the girls, because Santa is now a sell out. Just another childhood memory ground to dust, sacrificed at the altar of the Holy Dollar.

Survivor Ends - Todd Herzog victorious

2007-12-17T00:48:00.000-05:00

Okay - in a previous post, I spoke about my love for reality (or not so reality) TV. Sunday was no different, as we were looking forward to seeing how the season ended. Rachel and I run hot and cold with Survivor sometimes, but it's always fun to see how the drama plays out. We were both rooting for Todd or Amanda to emerge as the winner, as they both backstabbed their competitors to get where they ended up. Glad to see that Todd was unapologetic for his actions, and basically said, "I started playing as soon as I got to China" as opposed to Amanda, who was counting on her doe-like eyes, and pushing the "I was following Todd, so I'm not that mean" card on the jury. So, in the end, Todd took everything like a man, and turned at least two votes his way to take the million dollar prize. It was nice to see that James took home the most popular survivor cash, and that multi-billionaire producer Mark Burnett decided to "tip" poor Denise fifty grand to "make your life the way you want it." I'm guessing she'll spend it on Cheez Whiz and scratcher lotto tickets, maybe upgrade to the 1990 Ford Tempo 4-door model. Come on Burnett, fifty grand? I hope that's coming out of your overflowing pockets, and not being charged to the production budget that CBS is footing the bill for.

Now for my annoyance part of the post. What is it about Survivor and making sure that everyone knows that so and so is a Gay Mormon? This is now the second Gay Mormon contestant (that we know of) to compete, and third overall. Raef from Survivor: Guatemala was a Gay Mormon river guide, Neleh was a Mormon student, and now Todd the Gay Mormon flight attendant. All of them did very well in their respective seasons, with two of them making it to the final vote. I mean, what's the deal with bringing that out and sticking it front and center on their nameplate when they do their "aside" interviews? Does it matter? You would think that in the day and age in which we live, that being gay is a non-issue anymore, let along on a freakin' reality game show. I guess they just love to do that kind of thing as a thumb of the nose to a known conservative religious sect for some reason. Just annoying that they don't match a Gay Catholic or Gay Baptist tag on the other contestants who happen to be gay along with holding a job. Just annoys me to a degree, but that's me.

Way to Go, 'Skins

2007-12-17T00:38:00.000-05:00

In a windswept Meadowlands Stadium, the Redskins pulled out a solid victory over the division rival New York Giants, 22-10, on Sunday night. Rachel and I were watching the Survivor finale on CBS, so I was completely unaware of the score, or even how things were going in the game. After we had caught up with the DVR (which I love), I switched over to the game to get a score while we were watching the after show of Survivor (more on Survivor in my next post.) First thing I saw was WAS 22 and NYG 3, first thing that Rachel saw was Jeremy Shockey being carted off the field. I started laughing, as I thought the Skins had no shot of winning this game. Well, as I kept swapping between channels, I saw the Giants go down to score a TD to pull within 12 points, and I thought "Here we go again" as the Skins were stomping the Giants into the fourth quarter in the game at FedEx earlier in the year that ended in a loss. Well, this time, the defense held - in addition to the Giants continued trouble hanging onto passes from Eli Manning. There was no more scoring the rest of the game, and a very happy Aaron celebrated by doing two loads of laundry.

Can you Believe the Time?

2007-12-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it has been over 6 weeks since Lindsay joined the clan!! I can hardly believe it. Lindsay had her one month check up a week ago (I know, a little late in posting the details). She is in the 75th percentile for both her height and her weight. I was a little shocked, since both of her sisters barely made it on the chart at the same age. See what happens when they get to cook a little longer I guess. She weighed in at 10lbs 3oz and measured 22.25 inches long. Her nickname is fitting more and more. Allie and Ryleigh have both taken to calling her "tank". Although Allie calls her Lindser Tank. It is really cute.

Ryleigh also had an appointment the same day. She needed to get the second half of her flu shot. She did great. No tears or whining at all from her. And as a reward for her bravery she received two Backyardigans stickers. You would have thought she won the lottery. It was so fun.

Lindsay is really a good baby and has been getting better at sleeping at night. She does really well with her sisters always wanting to love on her, but lets us know when she has had enough. She loves to be held and has begun to smile. It is really great.

Just thought I would share Lindsay's progress with everyone. We are so grateful to have her in our family and look forward to all the "firsts" again.

Lindsay's Blessing

2007-12-02T21:15:00.001-05:00

When we were down at Mom's at the beginning of November, one of the things that we needed to accomplish was find a date that would work to bless Lindsay, so that as many family members could attend as possible. After a straw poll was taken, it was decided that December 2nd worked out best for us, as that date was also working for Rachel, as her father would be in North Carolina and be able to possibly participate as well. I talked to Bishop Duersch, and he said that would be fine.

Well, it turned out that we picked the weekend that they were calling for our first ice storm of the year. Great. Well, Rachel's father, wife and Zach/Daniel came up on Friday night, and ended up staying in a hotel room that Becky rented for them. Mom and Thad came up Saturday night, then Andrew/Amy and Nancy all came up Sunday morning. Andrew called Saturday night to see if what time that church started, and said he would call in the morning for directions. Well, we weren't up when he called the first time, but the second time he called we were. They ended up getting a later start than they would have liked, but started out for the journey, determined to get here. Well, as time passed that morning, and showers were finished, and people getting dressed, it was looking close as to whether or not Nancy, Andrew and Amy were going to get to our house in time. We got a call from Nancy, giving her "40" and not even 3 mins after that call, Andrew called to give us same. Even with leaving after Nancy by about a half-hour to fourty five mins, Andrew was now only about 3 miles behind her. So, we all piled into the cars and got to the church only a few mins late. The blessing was pretty much what you'd expect, I was nervous that I was going to say something wrong, or bless her with the wrong name.

Wes and Beckie (Rachel's dad and step-mom) left church right after sacrament meeting with the boys, because they had such a long drive back. The rest of us returned to our house for a family dinner we put together, before everyone returned home. It was a nice weekend, and I am glad to have everyone show up that could have. Pictures to follow.

???

2007-11-29T00:25:00.001-05:00

Why am I watching Project Runway right now?

::goes to find movie with guns and bombs::

::digs out Transformers: The Movie::

Ahhh..... much better!

Ahso .... Vely Tastee .. |o)

2007-11-28T23:52:00.000-05:00

I was a late comer when it came to "Chinese" food. To this day, I remain a picky eater. Chinese always has tons of veggies, which I am not a big fan, or has odd sounding if not odd tasting sauces that the stuff is cooked in. I remember the first night that I was taken to Chinatown in D.C. and ordered my first dish, Orange chicken. I wasn't too sure it sounded great or not, but in my condition at the time, I would have eaten just about anything. It ended up being great, and I stuck to ordering that as my staple for a long time, even though Chinese food was never at the top of my list of foods to eat. Then one night, my oldest friend, Alan Kanyan, and I went to Ying Chang's (sp?) in Fairfax for dinner. I knew it was there, as it's only about a mile and change from Mom's house, but due to my avoidance of Chinese, I never went. Well, that's when I found out about General Tso's chicken and hot/sour soup.

I couldn't have found a food that screamed Aaron more than this. Basically it's fried chicken nuggets cooked in a hot and sweet sauce, with dried hot peppers. It's spicy, sweet, and served with white rice. That place became a regular of Alan and mine, especially when they started their lunch buffet. I just love the crabmeat rangoons, General's chicken, the hot/sour soup and other fare offered on the buffet. When we moved up here to Pennsylvania, one of the things we tried to find was "our" chinese food greasy spoon. We tried all over Pottstown, but the General's chicken up here is way different than what I got used to at home. It's more of a sweet and sour sauce, with a ton of carrots, onions, broccoli and other filler to hide the fact that there isn't much chicken in the dish. Rachel is okay with the food, as sweet and sour chicken is pretty much the same no matter where you order from. So, now I've found that sesame chicken at our new greasy spoon chinese joint is closer to what I'm used to. It's not as spicy as I like, but at least it isn't eight bucks worth of broccoli and ninety-five cents of chicken.

Whenever we go back to visit the family in Virginia, we always try to squeeze in a trip to Ying Chang's for lunch with Mom, Nancy, or whomever wants to go with. On our last trip, Allison saw that I was using chop-sticks (very gay, I know) to eat my food, and wanted her own set to try. I attempted to give her the kid friendly version, where the back end is molded together, but she wanted the ones that are just like Daddy's. Well, here's the result:

She had a ball eating the yellow noodles, and actually ate something besides the mini desserts they have. The one bad thing was that the little (Avenue Q reference coming) cawrring me olee enter, offensive to me Lady wasn't there for Mom to talk to about the water, her kids, or general merriments. Oh, well, such is life, the food was just what I wanted and I was able to enjoy not only the Tso's chicken, but they also had sesame chicken as well.

Sorry

2007-11-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, for the 4 or 5 of you who read this blog, I apologize for not posting much this month. I work in the grocery business, so November is a very busy time for me. That coupled with the new baby caused me to procrastinate posting much of anything. Well, something happened recently that has caused me to want to post something that's been bothering me since this event.

Okay, first off - I am not perfect. I make mistakes in my life. Some are really big ones, others are minor. I don't always consider the feelings of others, I curse more than I should, I don't eat a balanced diet, I talk about people behind their back, I talk about breasts a lot, I watch too much TV, I have downloaded songs illegally, I don't mow my lawn or do yardwork religiously, I am blunt with the truth, these and many other traits are things that I am not always proud of.

But one thing I am not is a sanctimonious flake of a person, who casts people aside like they are garbage if they exhibit a flaw, or do something to me that I don't like. If a person wrongs me, realizes their mistake and apologizes, I am more than willing to accept them into my life again. I do believe in second chances for people whom I have welcomed into my life as friends. I only "burn the bridge" with a person after repeated violations of my trust or if there is no sorrow for their actions. I also am not a person who just meets sorrow with silence, and will accept an apology with words when sorrow is expressed. I just don't understand how someone, who claims to be a Christian, would do this. It's spelled out in the Bible, to forgive people. No one is asking you to forget, for the love, and move on like nothing happened. I'm not even asking to be welcomed back into your good graces. All I am asking for is to be forgiven, and then if the bridge is still too far to cross, then it doesn't have to be. It's just frustrating for me right now, as I have lost someone that was important for me from my life.

What I did was wrong, and I am sorry for it. But let's just get this straight: I have apologized, over and over. I cannot do more than that.

The Final Countdown

2007-11-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Well, today marked the end of Allison's first season of competitive soccer. Last Sunday was supposed to be the end, but due to the weather last week, it was decided to postpone the final weekend to November 3-4th. The last weekend of Pottsgrove soccer is called a tournament, as all the teams play 3 games, and the association turns into festival mode as well. There were soccer vendors, a moon-bounce, but no funnel cake. Disappointed was I. Daniel and Zachary were able to take part in some of their games, but as Becky was leaving that day as well, they weren't able to play in all of them. Zach made two games, and Daniel only one. It was very cold, and the wind was swirling, but we were only able to stay for half of one of Zachary's games. Lindsay was bundled up, but even so, with the wind blustering across her little face, it just made it difficult for us to rationalize us staying. Becky came back to the house, and left soon after she packed a few more things into her SUV before her trip home. Our year of service came to an end, with tears of thanks, and a brief hug with each of them. They arrived home safely in Carolina at 8:00 PM or so. Things seem quiet again without them, and I do miss having them around after getting used to them being here. I hope that they will adjust to being home with Mom again well, but have no doubt they will.

Allison's games were on Sunday, starting at 2:00 PM. For the rest of the season, the first half hour is spent on drills, and a mini-practice for a half hour. The rest of the hour is spent on the game, it's really up to the coaches. Well, this weekend there was no practice time, just three 20 minute games with no half-time break. The first game went great, with Allison's team scoring a ton of goals, and most of them by players who hadn't scored at all in the rest of the season. The second game was more of the same, as the team showed real signs of progress from the beginning of the year when we had only two kids who ever scored. That game showed that Allison was tired, and she ended up playing with a boy on the other team more than the soccer game. Coach Chris looked at us at one point and said, "Looks like someone has a little boyfriend." We laughed, and then mosied over to the last field for the final game. We ended up getting hammered that game (even though no official score is ever kept) by that team, but all the kids were tired and just wanted it to be over. Allison came over to us and was so excited about getting her trophy. Coach Vince gathered the kids around him, and handed a trophy to each of the players, with words of praise for each of them. Allison was called, and Coach Vince said, "This player was scared to play sharks and minnows when we first started, but she overcame that and scored a goal this season." He was great with her, and I thanked him for all his help in getting Allison to understand the game and enjoy herself. If he's coaching in the spring for the afternoon session, I want him to coach her again. Rachel and I are toying with the idea of trying to coach a pee wee team, if my schedule permits. Congrats Allie on your first foray into competitive sports .... you BETTER DO WELL !!! (giggles)

Halloween

2007-11-04T22:38:00.000-05:00

Our last holiday with the boys ended up being Halloween. The original plan was for Becky to stay with us through Thanksgiving, and then she would return to North Carolina with the boys over their school break. Unfortunately, Becky was only getting two weeks leave from her unit, since she extended her active duty stint with the Army. We had already planned to have the boys with us, so we got costumes ready for the big night. Rachel and I were having a hard time with Allison deciding on a costume, as she kept changing her mind. Shocker, I know. We were at Target, and found a SuperGirl costume she really loved, but it was too big for her. She was so upset that it wasn't going to fit her, and we were back at square one. Finally, a few days before Halloween, we ended up at K-Mart, as all their costumes were discounted by 50%, and we were determined to find something that would work. Well, we found the same Supergirl costume there, but it was still one size too big. We bought it anyway, and decided in pure parent fashion to "make it work" by pinning it if we had to. Ryleigh was pretty easy, as we found an adorable Red Riding Hood costume almost right away. I got a hold of Becky while she was still in Carolina, and told her that Zach wanted to be a Carolina Panthers football player. She was able to get hold of a jersey (a freakin' nice one for a kid), and he was done. Daniel was done a long time ago, as he first wanted to be Diego. Rachel and I felt that was really juvenile for him, and he was that last year anyway. He changed to a Power Ranger, even though I felt this was juvenile, too. We were at Kohl's and found a nice costume, for cheap, and bought it weeks ago. So, we were done.

Rachel and I have been going with the Gallion's for trick-or-treating in their neighborhood for the last two years, and decided to go ahead and do that again. So, off we went. It ended up being a good time, albeit with the older kids having to be constantly reminded to wait for the younger kids. It was so funny, since this was Ryleigh's first year of T-o-T, and the first two or three houses she kept wanted me to open her candy immediately. She soon got the hang of it, and had fun with it. By the end of the night, she wanted to walk like the other kids, but wouldn't let go of her little duck that her prizes were stored in. So, I was the caboose in our train with her, and Allie ended up walking with Kirk Gallion and holding his hand. I am so glad we have them as friends, and that my kids feel comfortable with Dee and Kirk. By the time we took the 10 minute trip home, Ryleigh was crashed, and ended up with her costume as her pajama's as well. Oh, well, it was fun in any case.

Our Newest Addition

2007-10-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

Hoo-Ray !!

Today, October 20th, we welcomed Lindsay Erin Palmer into this branch of the Palmer Family Tree. She weighed 8 lbs. and 2 ozs, and measured 19 inches long. Rachel was again, a trooper, during the whole thing, and yet again, a very short labor. We arrived, checked in, and were in the room by 10 AM then Lindsay made her appearance at 12:55 PM. There was another woman delivering in the room next to ours, and when Rachel said she had to push, I went to try and find a nurse. None to be had, and the doctor was AWOL, too. So, I hit the red cross call button on the bed, and went into the hallway to wait. Marcia (more on her later) came, and asked if everything was okay. I said that Rachel said she needed to push, so she came in, and checked. The doctor showed up 2 mins later, and then here's Lindser. She already has a nickname, too. They put her up on Rachel's chest, and she took one look at the baby, and Rachel says, "You're Momma's little Tank, huh?" Just a chubby, healthy baby, with a nickname only Daddy could love.

Marcia was our nurse today that helped deliver Lins. Marcia was also the nurse that helped deliver Allison, 4 1/2 years ago. Marcia was also the nurse that we took our LaMaize (sp?) class from in the hospital before Allie was born. We're officially inducting her into the honorary Aaron and Rachel Palmer family as an emeritus member. Anyone who is that involved in starting our family deserves it. Thank you also to Doctor Tucker, who was on-call this weekend, for delivering a healthy baby. She was great !!

A High Point in My Life

2007-10-11T00:31:00.001-04:00

I was looking through pictures recently, trying to organize and pick some out for a project that I'm working on. As I was going through them, I found pictures that I forgot I had taken, some that I hadn't seen in a while, and some that I consider treasures.

It was December of 2005, and one of the presents I asked for at Christmas was a membership in the Queensryche fan club. (For those of you who do not know who Queensryche is, shame on you.) It came close to the holiday, and Rachel says, "Go ahead and enroll, it's one of the presents I wanted to get you." YES!! I signed up, and about a month later I got my package of stuff from the fan club - signed 8x10, some stickers, and a certificate. It's a little odd for a 32 (at the time) year old man to be so excited by this, but I don't care. My love for this band goes back to 1992. I had moved in with Tom and Jim in the Main Street house, and I was playing video games with Jim one night in his room. He puts in a CD to listen to, and I was hooked. Queensryche - Empire. Geoff Tate's voice, combined with the guitar licks from Wilton and DeGarmo, the thudding bassline from Eddie, brought together by Scott Rockenfield's drumming just amazed me. I must have borrowed that from Jim 10 times in the first month after this. Well, then Jim bought Operation: Mindcrime, their album that was immediately before Empire. Again, I was blown away. The whole Mindcrime album is a concept album, and tells the story of an underground revolution set to take down the government, and the false idols of religion. From started to finish, just my favorite album of all time. I still listen to it to this day, and if I start the CD, I almost compulsively have to listen to the whole thing. I love it. It also helped me through a rough time of transition for me, as I just left Mom and Dads and was trying to make it on my own. I think that's why it's stuck with me for so long, because that album helped to bring me out of my shell .. hard to explain to another person, but that's what I feel.

One of the things I wanted to do in my life was to see Queensryche perform Mindcrime, but live in concert. I accomplished that in 2005 once, and twice in 2006. Well, then the summer rolls around and they are announced they were the opening band for Judas Priest for their tour. Now, one of the perks of being a fan club member is the requesting of Meet and Greet passes. You actually have to sign up for the passes on their website, for the concerts you are planning on attending. They then pool the requests and randomly (yeah, right) pull people out of a proverbial hat to give passes to. I say randomly, because I don't believe it's random at all. The same people always seem to get passes, all you had to do was see the pics they posted on the forums to see that fact. Well, the time came when they announced the concert in Hershey that I was attending, and the time came and went and no pass. No surprise there, there are two pretty active local fan clubs in this area that have people who usually receive this honor. Well, I get home from work last year, and I see an email from the fan club. I get that nervous, sick feeling as I opened to find that I had been picked to receive two passes to go backstage. Well, the friend in our Ward who I usually metal out with decided against going to this concert, and now I have backstage passes. He still drug his feet, even knowing that I had these passes. Oh, well, fall out. I ended up promising one to this guy on the forum who was pretty cool, and because I didn't want it to go to waste. I told him my only requirement was that he HAD to take pictures of me with the band. Well, the night came, and my instructions were to go to Will Call window, show my ID and pick up my passes. I still didn't believe it. Well, there they were ... one envelope with my name in black marker, and inside were two passes.

I met Scott almost immediately, and we hung out before the concert. He was older than me, a music teacher from the Scranton area, and looked kinda dorky. We were both able to sneak our camera's inside the venue, as the meet and greet was scheduled for during the Judas Priest set. We jammed all through the Ryche's set, a lot of older songs that I hadn't heard live. I took my Rage for Order vinyl record backstage, and sat it on the table with a borrowed silver Sharpie. Well, they all walked in one at a time ... they talked with us, signed my record, posed for pictures, and just were so good with the six people who were backstage with me. As I left the backstage area, I was treated to the LOUDEST music I've ever heard, as Judas Priest was cranking at that point. I left and headed for home, since I was going to this same concert a few days later, and I really felt like a tool alone at the concert. I got what I came for, so no worries. Thank you, Jim Jardine, for turning me onto this incredible band. Thank you, Rachel, for giving me the gift of the fan club. Thank you Queensryche for your music, and for allowing me to fulfill a dream of meeting you face to face. Pictures now -

First Pic - Geoff Tate (I was considering naming our child Tate, if it was a boy. Rachel said she would've considered it, and liked that we could nickname him Tater)
Second Pic - Eddie Jackson (great background vocals, and hammering bass)
Third Pic - Michael Wilton (he wanted to made the faces at the camera, not me)
Fourth Pic - Scott Rockenfield (he said that it meant more for him to meet me, than vice versa)
Last Pic - Matt Stone (he replaced Kelly Gray, who replaced Chris DeGarmo when C.D. left the band before the release of Q2K. Stone's wife was so normal, I couldn't believe it)

I posted these pics on the band forum, and one of the comments that was made was asking if I was a giant, or something. She had been to a few meet/greets and remembered how tall she thought Geoff Tate was, and here I am much larger. I replied back something to the effect of - "Yes, I am a giant. Please look for me at the next concert. I'll be on the lawn, devouring little children." She said she couldn't stop laughing after reading my reply.

Email, Email, Email

2007-10-07T22:47:00.001-04:00

Okay -

Rachel and I are trying to put together something for the family reunion that I think everyone needs to participate in. No, not think, but HAVE TO participate in. I sent out an email to each of my sibling's email addresses that I have (no spouses, except for Brooke), asking for them to read the email and please respond if you are in or out on this one. I also posted something on the family website, asking for everyone to check all their email addy's for a message from Rachel and I. To this point in time, I only received 3 responses back, all wanting to participate. I even went as far as to make a second posting on the family website, asking for everyone to please email Rachel or I ASAP to tell me if they are in or out on this project Rachel and I are trying to undertake. Well, still nobody new has responded. It's really starting to tick me off at this point. If I can't get everyone to participate, it's fine, and Rachel and I will go on with this project without anyone. Just frustrating, since I see that people have visited the family site, and still haven't sent a simple mail out. Oh, well ... I need to stop obsessing about this for now. Got enough stress to carry me over.

On a lighter note, the Redskins beat down the Lions today at FedEx Field. Rachel and I were having some new ward members over to "try them out" and see if they could fill our vacant friends position that needed to be filled once the Hassells abandoned us. John and Kim Wright (sp?) are a trip! They came over between conference sessions for dinner and to hang out for the second session. Our dear friends, Liz and Ed Ott had a special day today, as it was the baptism of their son, Sam. Liz told Rachel about it yesterday, and invited us to come. They were doing a simple family and friends thing, and didn't want it to be a big deal. So, I took Zachary with me, since he is between Katie and Same in age, and they usually end up playing together once the Otts and us get together. He was a little annoyed, since he wanted to sit and watch football. It was an honor to have the Otts invite us. They only had family there besides me, so it felt good that I was able to go. There was a chance that I was going to have to go on a sev 1, but the page never happened, so I dodged that bullet. We came home after the picnic, and socializing to watch the end of the Skins game. I walked in and John said "Hey, the Skins are getting creamed, it's 24-3." I am never surprised at how the Skins can sometimes disappoint me, so "Oh, well" was my resigned reply. Well, Allison then told me that wasn't true and the Skins were winning by that score. I saw the Carlos Rogers interception run back for a TD, so that was sweet. Then we flipped back to conference, and when the choir sang, we checked on the Chargers game. That was sad, too. Both my Skins and my Chargers won, so a man has to be happy with that, huh?

More later, I have to let some anger die down a little before my typing starts.

It Falls on Me

2007-10-01T18:18:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems like almost everyone who voted in the latest poll agreed that Fall was the best of the seasons. I would have to agree, so all those who voted along with me, give yourself 10 bucks. All who didn't agree with me .... assume punishment positions.

Allie's Big Day

2007-09-30T21:42:00.000-04:00

Today was a big day for Allison. Allow me to brag like hell!

Today was the Primary program at church. The chorister for primary wanted to do something special for the song "I Know that my Redeemer Lives" with some of the kids. Allison, and another little girl, Addison, were tapped to start the song with a duet. I thought it was kinda silly, since it's little kids. Those little kid singers on talent shows always drove me nuts, because almost all little kids sound EXACTLY the same when they sing. Boys, girls, to me, they all sound the same. Well, first off, Allie was having a blast on the stand waving to Rachel, Grandma Davis and me. She was so proud of herself sitting in the front row. (On a side note, Zach and Daniel couldn't have been more irreverant, if you want to know more, email me.) Well, it comes time for the song, Allison is standing in front of the microphone with Addison. Rachel and I were very nervous that Allie was going to freeze up once she saw everyone in the audience. Well, she was great. She was loud enough, and sang better than Addison. Now, I'm sure that Addison's parents were a little annoyed at that, since Addison was originally supposed to do this as a solo to begin her musical career. I'm not sure when it happened, but Allison was brought into the picture later. I looked over at Rachel, and she's bawling. So cute to see Allison perform well, and then see my wife get emotional over it. And to answer your question: even after this, I still think all kids sound the same when they sing, so I'm not biased now just because of Allie.

So, after sacrament meeting, since Rachel is now on strict bed rest, we went home. Allison didn't have to be at the soccer field until 2 PM, and we were responsible to bring half-time snack and after game snack too. We threw all that together, got everyone lunch, watched a few minutes of the 1 PM football games, and then went to the fields. Rachel was feeling fine, but I told her she had to stay home. I asked Zachary if he wanted to go or if he wanted to stay home. Football was on, so Zach didn't answer me, but continued to watch football. I got annoyed, and sent him to his room for "quiet time" along with Daniel, in whom I was still annoyed at his antics during the Primary program (like I said, if you really wanna know, email me.) So, Allie, Grandma Davis, and I set out for the soccer field. Now, there are eight kids on her soccer team, 3 girls and 5 boys. Of the eight, there are varying degrees of talent. Two of the boys are really good, and the rest are just "okay". Allie is on the younger side of the team, and the less talented. Now, being a parent, I'm always encouraging her to do her best. Last week, she was running up and down the field, flapping her arms because she says it makes her run faster. All I can do is laugh when she's not looking, and tell her that flapping arms only works for birds. Well, today was no different. Allie was running up and down the field, usually behind the ball and the kids, and trying to kick it when it came to her. Most of the time she stays out of the way, and is just happy to have a uniform on, running up and down on the field, and getting a snack after all is said and done. First half over, and we brought grapes for the team (we were snack parents this week). Second half, Allie was on the sidelines, but was brought in as a sub pretty quickly. The mob of kids were in one corner, kicking the ball around, when suddenly it squirted out to where Allie was standing, and without even thinking, she kicks the ball and buries it in the back of the net. It was her first sniff of a goal, and the first girl on her team to score one, too. I was so amazed. I couldn't believe that she scored. Her coach, who has been AMAZING with her, got a huge grin on his face, gave her a high five, and looked right at me with a thumbs up. She was so excited, but kinda calm too. She almost acted like she does it all the time, as she walked back to her team's side of the field to prepare for a kickoff. I walked right onto the field, and gave her a high-five and a head tussle. I don't care, I'm proud of my daughter. Sue me. After the game, the coach goes to each of the kids, and gives them a little talk to tell them what a great job they did. He came to Allie, and said how great she did in scoring her goal. Allison, in pure Allison form said, "Thanks" and went back to her juicebox. He then said to me, "I saw the ball come out, and then Allie sized it up and kicked it. It wasn't an accident, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. I'm so happy for her." My reply, "My wife is going to be PISSED that she missed this."

Allie started out the season rough, she came over to us on a few occasions crying that she didn't know what to do, and she was scared of the kids and coaches. She's come a long way since then, with our encouragement, but also with Coach Vince and Coach Chris' attention. That's also why Coach Vince was so happy for Allie, since it's usually two other kids on the team who score ALL the goals, game in and game out.

GOOD JOB ALLIE !!!!!!

Football Poll

2007-09-19T21:05:00.000-04:00

I have to admit some disappointment in the fact that only 3 people voted in the latest poll. Punishments will follow.

Hail to the Redskins !!

2007-09-19T20:51:00.000-04:00

Well, it's Wednesday, and I should have posted this yesterday. Congratulations to the Washington Redskins for starting their season 2 -0 after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. It was kind of nice having the 'Skins win one in Philly, as we usually end up getting pasted by Donovan McNabb. I watched the entire game, and only really got pissed at Jason Campbell twice. Once was his terrible interception, and the second was a missed touchdown pass to perhaps the best Redskin of all, Santana Moss. I'll admit it, when we traded Lavernaeus Coles to the Jets even up for Santana, I was a little annoyed. All I knew about him was that he was fast, but injured a lot. His first season with us, I was blown away. Just so fast, and such a quiet leader. He was nothing like I expected him to be, as I was really expecting a player who in losing by 40 points, still does a little dance when he gets a first down. I hate that type of player.

Congratulations to Chris Cooley (my favorite Redskin) on his new contract, and the incredible catch he made for a touchdown. He's going to be a 'Skin for a few more years, and I couldn't be happier. I've been a big Cooley fan since he came into the league. First off, he's a Utah State alum (like Mom), he plays the game like it should be played on the field, and he's a colorful figure off the field too. The Philly press was trying to hammer him and Clinton Portis for making a scene at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City after the game, but I loved it. I also loved all the people who I work with giving me crap about how we were "lucky", and that the Eagles lost the game more than the 'Skins won it. I told them that in the end, the only stat that counts is the final score. I don't care how we won two games, we won them. Hopefully it continues, but if it doesn't ... that's fine as well. I love my Redskins through good, bad, ugly, and indifferent. I'm trying to find a Cooley jersey now on eBay, so wish me luck.

Sick Father + Two Children + Pair of Scissors =

2007-09-12T10:59:00.001-04:00

This story is a perfect example of why moms should listen to their intuition. Last Thursday I had to take Zach and Daniel to soccer practice, because the Doctor had told me to take it as easy as possible I decided to see if Aaron would watch the girls while I went, rather than chase them around the soccer field. Aaron had been falling asleep on the couch off and on all afternoon, since he was after all sick. He assured me he would be fine and that the girls would be fine, he would stay awake. I told him, if wanted to sleep I would take the girls with me it would not be a problem. Well in the end I left the girls with him.

When I came home from practice I was so busy getting everyone ready for bed I did not even look at the girls very closely. Then as I was changing Ryleigh's diaper I noticed some of Allie's hair on the floor. I asked Aaron if he had given Allie a haircut, she did need one after all. He said no and that was that. I then looked at Allie alot closer, she had taken the scissors to her hair and given herself a new style. But apparently that was not enough, she decided to cut her sisters hair as well. Man......Aaron was laughing when I pointed it out to him. I was a little mad. He apparently had fallen asleep. He saw the girls over in the corner with the scissors. He asked Allie if she was cutting paper...her reply "No". So on Friday morning we went and got Allie's hair fixed. It is a lot shorter than I wanted it, but what do you do!!!

Ryleigh's we haven't fixed yet. Probably will see what happens with her hair. She doesn't seem to mind.

Moral of the story.....never leave your children home with a sick father who is half asleep any way...no matter what they say!!!!!

Patriot's Day

2007-09-11T23:50:00.000-04:00

I didn't know that today was officially known as Patriot's Day. I don't know why I was unaware of it, I just thought it was more of an unofficial moniker. It would seem to me to be unnecessary to mark this day with any name, as I will never forget the events of that horrible day. I mean, is there a name attached to December 7th or November 22nd or even April 12th? (If you know what is important about these dates, I invite you to comment to this post.) I don't need a calendar date to remember those I consider Patriots to this country.

In any case, I digress. For those of you who don't know already, Rachel and I are guardians to our nephews while their parents are on active duty in the Army overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. We enrolled them in the local elementary school, and they seem to really like it. Well, seeing as Becky is stationed at one of the air bases in Iraq, she was able to get an American Flag for Zach and Daniel that had been flown on an F-16 fighter, and one that was flown on a Chinook helicopter as well. She also went the extra mile of getting another two flags for the elementary school that were also flown on the same aircraft. We made sure the administration got the flags, and accompanying certificates. Well, Rachel received a phone call last week from the principal of the school. Being that I am who I am, a call from the principal at home is never something you look forward to. In this case, I was fine ... no suspension for me this time for trying to look up the girls skirts. She said that they were having an assembly to recognize Patriot Day at the school, and wanted to present the flags to the student body on that day. They also wanted to honor Becky and Eric, and have the boys recognized for their parents efforts. She just wanted to make sure that it was okay if they did that, and for us to make every effort to be there for the assembly. I had a doctor's appointment today, Rachel dropped the girls off at a friends house, and we met for the assembly. The principal had invited the Pottstown Mercury newspaper to the event, and they decided to show. They interviewed Rachel and I, the boys, and took some pictures. The principal ran down the basic tentpoles of the assembly, and then she said she was going to be recognizing us as well as the boys and their parents. Rachel got nervous, because we would be sitting in front of the entire student body, and have to stand at some point.

So, the kids start to file in, and it's the normal rowdiness that precedes all elementary school assemblies. Nice to know that this didn't change from when I was their age, too. This time, though, it's Rachel and I sitting in front watching them, instead of me being in the audience wondering who the odd looking bald man was sitting next to the hot lady. It was a nice presentation, the boys told where their parents were stationed and what they did for the Army. The boys teachers from last year, and this year held the flags up for the students to see. The principal, true to her word, introduced Rachel and I as the boys guardians and as Patriots to the country as well for our service to the country. I almost teared up at this point, because I never thought of this being a big deal. Whenever someone would say to me, "You are making such a huge sacrifice" or "I don't know if I could do something that big, for anyone" my counter was always, it's family. You do what you have to for your family, because you love them. I am proud to do this, as it shows a huge level of trust in Rachel and I from Becky and Eric. I did it for those reasons, not to be lauded or recognized publicly. I did it because I was asked to. If someone wants to buy me a HD Big Screen Television now or replace my iPod that they lost, I won't complain. *giggles* Otherwise, this is Rachel's and my labor of love. Just nobody else better get any ideas, we gave at the office.

I am not sure if the paper is going to run this story or not, it's really up to them. If you want to check out the website, it might be on there: http://www.pottsmerc.com/ also available at your local WaWa or Turkey Hill.

I hate ....

2007-09-10T00:13:00.001-04:00

There are few things in this world I hate, although many that I don't like. I don't like seeing pro athletes, famous actors, musicians, etc. in commercials toting the wares of jeans, sodas, delivery companies, also etc. It's just annoying, like I am going to buy NFL Sunday ticket because Peyton, Eli, and Archie Manning told me to. I just figure, stop spending the money on their exhorbitant sponsorship fee, and maybe my bill will go down.

DirecTV is a scam, by the way. They recently switched over to the Dish Network business model of leasing their equipment to their customers, all without really notifying their customers. Last year, our Tivo (TM) DirecTV receiver died. We went to buy another one from Best Buy (TM) because that's what always was done in the past. Rachel even worked at their call center in Utah for a time, and the customers always purchased the equipment from whatever store they wanted to, and then called to have it activated. Well, once our Tivo died, we called DirecTV customer service who told us we could lease one from them for $99 bucks one time fee, and then $5 a month leasing fee. Or we could buy it outright for $499 and not pay a leasing fee. Hah !!! We went to a few different stores, and finally ended up talking to a guy at Best Buy who assured us that once we bought the equipment, it was ours, and no leasing fees involved. We bought the machine, took home and hooked up. We called DirecTV to have the receiver activated, and all was well. Until New Years Eve. Rachel and I looked at our bills, and noticed that our bill for TV was higher than usual. Upon further inspection, there it is ---- an effing LEASING FEE. Rachel called that night, to see what the heck was going on. Between the two of us, we spoke to a few different people, all who told us the same thing: DirecTV now leases their equipment, just like Dish Network. What our lovely foreign call center person (notice I didn't use any slurs in the sentence) who activated our receiver in the first place didn't tell us was that by activating this new DVR, we were agreeing to the Leasing Fee AND were now signed up for a two year contract with them.

WTH ??????????

The one supervisor that Rachel talked to even told us that there was no entry in our account that said we were told of the new policy DirecTV had taken towards hardware. We weren't told any of these things, they admitted it, and they still said we were locked in. Sure, if we wanted to cancel our service, that was fine, but we'd be receiving a bill from them for the entire two years of subscription fees we would have incurred on our account in addition to the early termination fee of $149 (or some amount like this). He said that there was nothing he could do, and I think Rachel even talked to this supervisor's boss that night, who told us the same thing, "Sorry." They gave us the address of the legal department, and we would have to take it up with them if we felt we were illegally dealt with. What a crock ! So, we talked about it and decided it really wasn't going to be worth the time and effort to try and wrangle with a bunch of effing lawyers over a TV bill. (BTW- this is what they count on with their customers.)

Fast forward another few months, and we decide to downgrade our package with DirecTV to help save us some money. Rachel calls, and gets the package lowered to the next lowest tier. A few days later, we get a letter from DirecTV stating that since we lowered our package, that we were in breach of the contract we had with them upon activating our DVR. Oh, I was PISSED !!! Rachel ended up calling customer service before I got home, or else my colorful metaphors to whomever I got on the line might have gotten me into trouble. They said that everything was fine, and showed nothing on our account that would be a breach of contract. So, it's been quiet now, and our contract is almost up with them. I think it's in October .... I already have a picture of my rear end to send in with my last payment, along with an invoice of my new service with Dish Network. Screw them for screwing me over.

One last thing - this post originally started as a vehicle for me to say how much I hate the Dallas Cowboys. So, I hate the Dallas Cowboys.

UPDATE: After Rachel read my post, she was afraid to tell me that we actually have a 3 year contract with DirecTV once we activated that DVR. Looks like I'll have to save that picture for next year.

Potter #1!!

2007-09-09T00:45:00.001-04:00

Looks like Harry Potter and the OOTP is the number one movie among Palmer family and friends who partook in the polling !! Congrats to J.K. Rowling, yet another accolade to throw on the collective pile.

Under the Weather

2007-09-09T00:34:00.000-04:00

Being sick sucks. I hate being sick. I woke up on Wednesday morning, with my throat very, very sore, and just knew a doozy of a cold was coming. You know how that is, right? I mean, once you've lived in your body long enough, you know when something isn't right. My tell for sickness is the sore throat. So, Wednesday I knew all day what was coming. I sucked on hard candy, and gargled with salt water, which I knew wouldn't work, but sometimes old wives tales turn out to be true. Thursday, I awoke and was just miserable. My head hurt, coughing my head off, achy, and just altogether a mess. I worked that day, and just knew it was a mistake. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. We got dinner and the kids squared away. Friday morning came, and I was still just out of it, but this time I called out to work. I don't call off from work unless I am a danger to drive, and in my condition, I just didn't feel safe behind the wheel. Saturday, I'm in a little better shape, but still sick. I was supposed to go to a training meeting at the Stake Center, but blew it off so I could rest. I'm sure Dave is going to be pleased with me. So, this is a short one .... take care of your bodies, all !!

Heroes

2007-08-30T00:16:00.000-04:00

Monday nights are usually a slow night around the Palmer house when it comes to watching TV. Rachel started watching "Prison Break" when it first came on, but I never got into it. I would usually take that time, and play "Guild Wars" or download music. I started to watch with Rachel eventually and got hooked on the suspense, and the writing on the show was fantastic. You just never knew from one episode to another who would survive, or where the story was going. Just an amazing job of creating suspense. So, when this new show came out called "Heroes" on NBC (of all places) - it seemed hokey. Not to mention the fact that it came on at the same time as PB, we just never watched. Even as the series exploded among fans and critics, we still were oblivious to the hype. So, summer came, and there happened to be a marathon on the SciFi channel of said show. There was nothing else on, so I watched an episode at midnight. Boy, I got hooked. I watched the next one, then the next one, then the next one, until 4 AM. That's when SciFi decided to sell their time to the assorted wares of juicers, pasta makers, speed reading, and Showtime Rotisserie Ovens. Yes, the set it and forget rage overtook the marathon and I had to get ready for bed in any case, since Church was right around the corner.

The marathon began again, but I was only able to watch one or two more episodes. I decided to set the DVR to record all upcoming episodes. In all, I probably watches 9 or 10 of them. One would think that I wouldn't have been so late on the uptake with this show. It's a match made in heaven for me - in an X-Men kind of way. Well, the inevitable DVD was released on Tuesday. Rachel and I had a rebate coupon from Costco, and we chose to buy it. I am so glad we did, but we've only made it through the first two shows so far. NO RUINING IT FOR ME !! NO SPOILERS !!

My favorite character is Matt Parkman, the LAPD officer who can read minds. Of all the powers on the show, that would be the one I'd like to have. To be able to read people's minds would pwn. The other power I would like to have, if mind reading was taken, would be invisibility, but who wouldn't like that one. So, I'll close with a hearty "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" and switch my laundry over to the dryer. Peace.

A Proud Father

2007-08-27T01:17:00.000-04:00

Mark it in your journals - August 26th, 2007 - Allison Palmer starts her journey into sports.

Yes, it's true. Allison had her first Pee Wee Soccer game today. Now, before anyone jumps all over me for enrolling my child in a league that plays games on Sunday, let me say " I DON'T CARE. " Daniel played in this league in the Spring, we were impressed by this soccer club and decided to have Zach, Daniel, and now Allison play for the fall season. Part of your enrollment fee includes the jersey, the matching color socks, which is pretty cool. Daniel and Zach were both red teams last year, and now Allison has joined their ranks. Just so funny to see.

We hurried over to the field after church let out, as church is done at 1 PM and they start at 2 PM. We brought lunch with us, and we able to get Allison partially dressed, as their jersey's weren't done printing yet. This year, all the teams got sponsors on their jerseys, to help defray the cost of "upgraded" uniforms. This year, Zach and Daniel have actual soccer jerseys instead of a T-shirt with a screen printed number and logo on it. One of the teams that were playing on the pee wee fields were green, and sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods. That's right, there was a large DICK's logo on those poor kids shirts. I was laughing. Anyway, here's Allison all decked out for her game:

I definitely teared up at the sight of this. She's getting so grown up, and is really starting to explore the world around her. I am so proud of her, she's my little angel and gift from Heavenly Father. So, the game went well, Allison was having so much fun. They don't keep score, but try and teach the kids basic skills for a few years before moving them up by age to their next level. Allison is 4 and will be able to play pee wee for another 3 years before she is forced to move up. That's if she wants to keep doing it. Rachel and I have decided to expose our kids to as much extra-curricular events as we can until she finds something she likes to do. Maybe this will stick, maybe not. In any case she's just so cute in her uniform, a few more pics and I'll stop my head swelling with pride.

One last thing: Allison knew from past experience with her cousins that after the game was over, that the players got a drink and a snack. So, after the game was over, we looked over at her and saw her surrounded by a bunch of blue jerseys. She followed the wrong team back to their coach, and was digging into their treat bag. It ended up working out better for us, because instead of a Tootsie Pop, Allison got a Sunny D and some cookies. No sticky suckers !!

I don't get it, Maw

2007-08-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in front of the computer tonight, kinda watching what is on TV right now. It's NASCAR Primetime, some sort of "behind the scenes" summer show filler. So, a commercial comes on, for the umpteenth time tonight, for the DVD release of "Blades of Glory". Now, I love movies. Besides video games, movies are probably my second great hobby. I love going to the theater to watch, I love the home delivery that Blockbuster has now, and I love getting movies for gifts on birthdays, Christmas, Anniversary, or just because. I love all kinds of movies, with the notable exception of the British period pieces (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion,etc) that just annoy me. I must have missed the boat entirely on Will Ferrell, though. I just don't find hardly anything he does funny, as a lead actor. I loved him in Old School, I will admit that, but he wasn't really a lead in that movie. "Elf" - BAD "Anchorman" - Atrocious "Talledega Nights" - hokey and stupid "Zoolander" - weird. One of the newer movies he's tolerable in is "Stranger than Fiction", mostly because he isn't trying to be funny or cheesy. I didn't like him on "Saturday Night Live", either, to be fair. The cheerleader sketch was overplayed, although one of the most well known of his many less than funny parts. I just know that whenever he's in a movie, to avoid wasting money seeing it in the theater, or buying it from the store. I just don't get why people think he's so funny.

Granted, I think a lot of what is considered "potty humor" is funny. I just laugh when someone gets covered in poo in a movie from an exploding port-a-potty. I also love "America's Funniest Videos" because people get hurt on there all the time. I told Rachel a long time ago, that I hate when people fall down in front of me, because my first reaction is never "OMG - are you okay?" it's almost always "BwaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" and then I come to try and pick you up and see if you're okay. Doesn't matter if you're 16 or 60, people falling down is funny to me. We went to Hershey this weekend, and I was standing in line for the virtual tour of the chocolate factory. Rachel took Allison to the bathroom while I stood in line, and held Ryleigh. While in line, I look down to my left and see a woman on the ground who slipped on what looked like a shake of some sort. I had to stifle myself, because I just kept imagining her face while biffing it onto the ground. That in turn made me want to laugh, but I didn't want to appear to be more of a douche than I already do. So, I just kept eyes front and centered and cleared my mind. Just a little insight into my mind. Sick, aren't I ?

Fare Thee Well !

2007-08-16T23:56:00.000-04:00

Okay, so ..

I am sitting at home last Monday, and I get a phone call from the Bishop. Now, this is almost never a good thing. Not that I don't like the Bishop, just that a phone call is usually a harbinger of change. Well, after talking to him, he told me that The Smiths were moving, and he wanted to get some people over to help load the truck on Wednesday. I was like, "okay, what time" and "how many people you want", stuff like that. We ended the conversation, and then it sunk it. The Smiths? No way. I was kinda shook up, and afraid that I had not listened to the Bishop properly. I called Dee Gallion, to see if she heard anything about this. I figured if anyone knew this bit of information, it would be her. Well, for the first time ever, I scooped Dee Gallion. I asked her to call the Smiths, to see if they were moving, otherwise I would have to call the Bishop back and tell him I wasn't really paying attention to who was moving. Dee called back, and sure enough, they're leaving. What a crappy week, first the Hassells leave, and now the Smiths. There will always be a special place in my memory of Phil Smith. He and Paul DeNys showed up at our doorstep on the evening of our first official day at church to welcome us to the Ward and to see if we needed any help or anything moving in. It was a nice gesture. Phil and I have been friendly since.

I wish you luck, Phil and Tracy. I hope you find what you were looking for in Utah, and that you keep in touch. We'll miss your spirits, and I'll miss finding new ways to shock Tracy with my colorful metaphors and crude tongue. Ask me about the last time I made Tracy blush, it's a good story, but not to be shared in the pages of this blog. Love you guys, and the primary program just won't be the same without Matthew. Fare thee well.

Our Weekend

2007-08-16T23:03:00.001-04:00

I love going to Renaissance Faires. I love them. There is just something about the whole experience that I get caught up in. Maybe it's the food, there is nothing like chowing on an oversized smoked, grilled turkey legge while watching human chess or the joust. Maybe it's the people who work there, dressed in traditional attire and affecting an english accent. It could be the atmosphere of the tents, selling everything from hand fired, hand made silverware from a blacksmith to those selling attire of the period. A lot of it is encompassed in the attendees, those that dress up for the fun of it, or people like us who just go and want to bathe in that whole affair. We try to go once a year, and it's getting more fun now that Allison knows more about what is going on. More on that later.

We arrived a little later than we usually go, since Rachel wanted to stop at the Carter's outlet in Lancaster to try and get some more accessories for an outfit that she picked out to take the baby home in. I was a little annoyed, since it took us a long time to get to the outlet due to traffic. Neither of us knew how to get to the Faire from the outet, so I decided to stop at a hotel and see if they knew. Yes, I stopped for directions ... sue me. Rachel popped in, and they actually had directions typed out for people. I was impressed. The Faire is held on the grounds of Mt. Hope Mansion (http://www.parenfaire.com/ if you want to check out the site), and once we were inside and got a schedule of events, we found that the first joust was just about to start. We meandered over, and found seats on the ground. Allison loved the horses, and Ryleigh loved that she was able to run around for a little bit, free of the stroller. After that was over, we went to find the childrens area for a show that Allison would like. There was a guy dressed in a jester's outfit who was doing some fire-eating. Allison was a little freaked, she turned to Rachel and said, "Mommy, he shouldn't play with fire like that." We chuckled, and assured her that nothing was wrong, and that it was safe if you knew what you were doing.

We checked out a black-smith demonstrator, who was showing people how to do make some basic items using iron and a simple coal forge. He was good, we saw him make a toilet paper dispenser and he was also refinishing a knife, fork and spoon that he made the previous year. Allison and I were mesmerized. She loved the hammering mostly.

Before we arrived at the Faire, Rachel and I discussed what we had to do while there. Rachel wanted to see human chess most of all, and I wanted to see the Ultimate Joust. Well, it was time for human chess once the blacksmith guy was done with his project. We got there, and found a perfect spot for viewing. Basically, human chess is pretty self explanitory, it's a large chess board with the pieces being humans. Every year there is a theme to the Faire, this year being Sir Walter Raleigh and the Duke of Essex quarrel and Irish rebellion. Last time we went, the theme was the feud between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth, before that it was Queen Elizabeth against the Spanish something or another. It's always been Queen Elizabeth, though. So, human chess pitted the Duke of Essex against Sir Walter Raleigh. It's a predetermined outcome, and the pieces have set-piece fights as they fight over spaces on the board where they've been moved.

The end came when the Duke of Essex demanded that Elizabeth name him as her successor, and Raleigh defended the Queen. The outcome of this disagreement would be determined during the final joust of the day. We never stayed long enough for the Ultimate Joust, as it takes place at 6 PM, and the kids are usually wiped out or we are after that long out in the sun. Well, we decided to stay this year. I'm glad we stayed. It's a full on joust, albeit with-out the full armor. I am assuming later in the year, when it's cooler, the Knights probably wear more armor as heat exhaustion is less of an issue.

They have special effects and everything, I wish I had known that the English Knight, Sir Lucas, was going to enter through wall of fire caused by burning hay and gas. It was sweet, and would have made a great picture. So, they have the joust between the 4 knights, and at some point the Duke of Essex gets pissed and decides to storm the throne and take by force. There ensues a battle between forces, and Sir Walter Raleigh is successful and the Queen orders that the Duke be imprisoned in the Tower of London for the rest of his life. So, at that point, we were walking out and Allison was upset, because there were no dragons. Well, the place we told her had dragons was right outside the joust arena. They sell these dragons that sit on your shoulder, and you can animate by playing with their tail. They also have a dragon egg bazaar, where you can buy a dragon egg, and they'll hatch it by putting it through this machine that drops a cannon ball through a series of ramps and smashes into your egg. They have different size eggs, at different size prices, so Allison picked the egg out she wanted to try. Well, she ended up winning two dragon sculptures from her egg. She is so proud of them, and shows everyone. She also plays with them. It is so cute to see her tell people, "These are my sculptures. My daddy got them for me." So, she has two pet dragons now. Man, I love that kid. In the meantime, I told Rachel that I think it would be cool to dress up for the next time we go in some simple costumes. I want to have a kilt and tartan, and the girls in matching peasant dresses. Mom said she would help me work on it, because she thinks it's a neat project. We'll see though.

Hootie - Three Inch Tool

2007-08-12T15:55:00.001-04:00

Too Funny !!

A Sad Day

2007-08-09T20:23:00.000-04:00

Today is a sad day for me. Allow me to explain.

The end of last week marked my six year anniversary here in Pennsylvania. Rachel's is a month away, but I can't get over the fact that we've been up here that long. We spend two years in the apartment, and four here. In that time, we've always been in the Pottstown Ward, and we've recently decided that it's not such a bad place to be. For a long time, we really didn't like it at church. We were able to find little excuses not to go, or sometimes not even find an excuse. We would normally go on Sunday's I had to teach in Elder's Quorum, but that was pretty much it. We just felt very left out for the longest time. I thought it was because we didn't have kids. Here we were, this young couple, but no kids. We didn't know hardly anyone, and the people we did know never really seemed to know us. We always had people asking if we were new, up to the fourth year of our anniversary here. It was okay for a time, but after a while, we just added that to our reasons to not attend. It also didn't help that every time Rachel and I made friends with someone in the Ward, they'd move. It is still a running joke between us, that "If you want to move from the Pottstown Ward, make the Palmers your friends." It started with Mark and Natalie Edwards, to Scott and Arlene Eck, and now to Dustin and Erin Hassell. Most of our friends promised to stay in touch, but never did. We tried to keep the communication open, but either never received calls back, or emails went unanswered. That's why I am sad. I am going to miss the Hassell's most of all (unless Dee and Kirk leave, then I will miss them the mostest.)

Erin and I sat up talking last night, and just talking to her, made me realize how much I am going to miss them. Dustin is such a great man. He has a quiet, but powerful spirit to him. Just talking to the man, or listening to him teach a principal in class, just makes me envy that leadership quality he has. He was called as the EQ president like two weeks after moving into the ward, and I just couldn't figure it out. Here he was, moving into the ward, and out of the blue, he's chosen to lead the quorum. Chah, Right !! I started to talk to him before and after pack meetings, and I found him to be this really cool guy. I mean, he's not a huge pro football guy like I am, but he let me tease him about things, and never took offense to me (that I know of.) Then there's Erin: what a freaking hoot ! I didn't have a decent read on her when they moved into the ward, all I could remember thinking about her was I thought that she seemed like a Molly Mormon, goody-two-shoes lady. Well, at one pack meeting, there was cake. I love cake. A lot. Cake. One half was yellow, and one half was chocolate. Well, I got a piece of the yellow, and it wasn't very good. Erin let me taste a piece of her chocolate, and it was so much better. I made a comment like, "I should have gotten the chocolate." Next thing I know, their daughter is bringing me a piece at Erin's request. I thought that was sweet, and what Erin did was nice, too. Cake. Well, that started my thaw to her. She's such a fun loving, salt of the earth, sweet woman, how could you not love her? So, Rachel and I started to do things with them. We had dinner with their family one night, although I had to leave early because of work, but Rachel said it was nice (Erin sent home dinner for me, so I thought so too.) We sat up talking about her family and life last night, I shared my life experiences as well. We traded some of our favorite videos from the internet, and just had fun. She's nothing like I originally thought, which goes to show you that first impressions are often wrong. I completely missed the freaking target on the Hassell family, and it makes me sad to think of the time wasted because I didn't get to know them much earlier.

So, I get called to be the second counselor in the EQ presidency a few months ago. Dustin said he knew I was going to be the next one for about six months. Fetcher. Cake. The Matson's moved closer to Temple for his schooling, so we had an opening for friends. The Hassell's slid right into that slot, and fit perfectly. We were on the cusp of really becoming close, and then the phone rang. Dustin was calling me to let me know, firsthand, that he had accepted a job in California and they would be moving by the end of the month. I remember being very upset that night. I just kept saying, "it's happening again." I was almost crying (honestly). We offered our help to their family, to move, paint, clean, etc. but they said everything was fine and taken care of. Dustin left with the kids to start work, and Erin was left behind to get their house packed up and cleaned up to sell before she joins them. She mentioned she needed a place to stay for a night or two, once they packed up the furniture. We were more than happy to offer our home up to her, as one last gesture to a dear friend departing. Erin is flying out tomorrow, and we're sad. We love you guys, and hope to see you again one day. We started missing you the day you told us you were leaving.

And the Winner IS ......

2007-08-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

Well, looks to be a 3 way tie for winner of the "Harry Potter" poll posted. Poor HufflePuff .... again they get the poopy end of the lollipop. So, thank you to all who voted ! Check out the new poll coming out soon.

SIGH

2007-08-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

You know it's bad when you sit back, and think "Wow, I am surprised that I am still alive." I only say this, because now that I am a parent, there are times when I just don't know what to do when my kids misbehave. That also causes me to try and remember all the stuff that I did as a child, and also what I got away with that Mom and Dad never found out about. It's just odd being on this side of things now, and seeing your kids try to get away with things.

I grew up on Dad's Mantra "A parent is always right. Even when we're wrong, we're right." I resented Dad for that, and still have some hard feelings towards the way he decided to express that mantra to me. Even as I got older, instead of him letting go, and letting me find my own way in life, he decided to turn the screws even tighter to exert his will upon me. He always said that I reminded him the most of himself, and I think that freaked him out. I have fought against that for all my adult life, with Dad's bad habits and attitudes almost hard-wired into my head on a subliminal level. I remember when Rachel and I were in the Manassas Ward, and one of our friends were blessing their baby. I was asked to be in the blessing circle, and that was an honor. After sacrament meeting, the parents of the mother of the baby came up to me, and said "As long as you walk the Earth, your father will never be truly gone." I thought this was a curious thing to say out of the blue, until they told me that they knew Mom and Dad when all were younger, and from their recollection I was a pretty good copy. I don't mind it anymore, but that used to really frost me when people said those things. I've gotten over most of my hard feelings towards Dad, but there are some things I was to remember to help me do right by my family. Even in our family, each of the siblings have a different opinion on Dad because he treated us all differently. And, get this, there's nothing wrong with that. Don't ever let another person influence your memory.

So, anyway, back to my point. Parents are smart. They've been where the child has been before. All it takes is a little observation of a child, and you can recognize their patterns and their "tells" (to use a poker term.) I was almost always astounded as a child when Mom or Dad would know when I was misbehaving. I thought they were psychic. Now with Allison, and Ryleigh, I watch what they are doing and I know when they're hiding something. This skill has also been refined while Zachary and Daniel have been with us. Not to say that all children are demons, or that they need to be constantly monitored, but you just know when there is something amiss. That's when you look back and try to remember the things parents said to us to get us to fess up and admit to it. Funny how the mind works. Even funnier now that I'm on this side of the table. Maybe I'll have a grilled cheese with my little Aaron ghost I'm looking at, and let the memories glide between us.

"Attention, Lords and Ladies of the Ward !!"

2007-08-01T22:22:00.000-04:00

On Friday, the first activity I wasn't in charge of in the last two years was pulled off. Rachel is still on the Activities committee, so I was well aware of the pending doom that she was predicting. Well, I am glad to say that she was wrong, and that I was jealous at how fun and successful the activity was. There was plenty of food, there were plenty of people who showed up, and there was plenty of fun to be had. They decided to do a Medieval theme, with the crowd separated into teams (colors) who sat together, and captained by Knights who would either compete in events or choose members from their team to compete in their stead. I was the White Knight, as Rachel volunteered my services. Dustin said that he was trying to give me a break from participating, but Rachel knows that I was perfect to pull off the cheesy loudness required for such the job. I wore my white Skins jersey, white turtleneck, motorcycle gloves with the gauntlets, and my fake throwback Skins helmet.

Now, when I was still the activities chair, my committee had started to tentatively plan this shindig. I had already selected Ed Ott as the King, as he had acting experience (in L.A. even) and would do a good job being over the top. We planned the menu to be finger or hand foods, and no silverware. The only thing we didn't start to plan were the activities. I wanted to do a scripted event, where the outcome was predetermined, and that way we could have a villian and a hero already thought out and all we would have to do was practice and then roleplay. Well, that never happened. They planned six events: tug-o-war, wife drag, skateboard joust, wench pillow fight, piggyback horsey ride, and the Gauntlet. The Knights only competed in the tug-o-war, and chose contestants for the other events. Apparently, the Black Knight was supposed to cheat in the events by messing with the other competitors. Unfortunately, the Black Knight was an attorney who spent half the night on his cell phone, and didn't play up the part like it needed to be done. Rachel told me after the night was over, that her and Melia thought I should've been the Black Knight, as I would have done a great job in screwing over the other competitors. Regardless of my color, I still took glee in being the villian for a few events. In the horsey race, I stepped right into one of the people who was racing and prevented him from winning. It was awesome. The guy never knew what hit him, just bounced off me. Everyone was BOOING and shouting that I was cheating - - - but Ed, in his dubious King voice proclaimed "I saw Nothing" when the Green Knight protested. The next racer I took it easy on, and gave a chance to avoid me tying my shoes in the line of racing. That was funny, but that guy's kid came up to me after the race, telling me to stay off the course so his Daddy could win. Nevermind the fact that this guy was racing a teenage girl .... I told the kid to nevermind what I did and to never speak to me like that again. (On a side note, I despise this child and his brother. They are both Zachary's friends at church and Cub Scouts, so I am well aware of their horrid behavior before this episode.) In the Gauntlet, one of the tasks was to arm wrestle each of the Knights. I licked the hands of the kids who weren't racing for my team, and generally was a menace. Like I said, incredible night. I was also the unofficial Town Crier, as my voice was the loudest, until sissy boy Dustin got a microphone.

I had people coming up to me, telling me what a great job we had done. I told them all I was jealous, because I didn't pull this one off. I guess I was kinda hoping for a stinker of an activity, so that I would be validated as having pulled off the best get togethers. In any case, everyone had a blast and was sent home with a warm belly. Our only unfortunate event occured later in the night, when Ed noticed that his iPod was missing. I bought a cable to hook my iPod to the system in the Cultural Hall for the Sweethearts Dance to play music. Ed wanted to borrow my cable to play his celtic music while we were eating and socializing. Well, some choice individual decided they wanted the iPod more than their decency and absconded with it. They took the charger and the iPod, but left my cable attached. We have suspicions on who took it, but unless decency takes over, it's gone for good. Such a crap thing to happen to such good people. Things like that have affected people's views on the Church, and have caused many a person to go inactive. Just frosts me ..... a few more pics, and this post will be done.