iPod Shuffle

Marie's Wedding / Traditional Irish
"Step we gaily on we go,
heel and heel
and toe for toe,
arm and arm
and row and row,
all for (Erin's and Rex's) wedding."

When was the last time you square danced? At a wedding? Well, Haley and I did at Rex and Erin's! Probably the best wedding I've attended. It really reflected the character of the bride and groom. On a day that they had every right to make themselves the center of attention, they instead made everyone else feel special. I knew it would be a special event when Rex asked me and Jilian to do him a favor in a very serious tone. Then he told us to have a good time. Classic Rex, even the bad pun. I was very impressed with all the work that had gone into transforming the barn into a magical setting for the reception. The hand-written notes and photos for the guests reflected how much they cared for the people that they chose to share this day with them. My daughters loved the hayride from the location of the ceremony to the barn and were kept quite busy with their buckets of goodies that Rex and Erin had placed for the children attending. The birthday cake that Rex made for me (since my birthday happened to fall on the same day as their wedding) was the crowning touch, complete with expert decoration (despite the fact that he didn't get to take his cake decorating class last spring).


White Wedding / Billy Idol
"Hey little sister, what have you done"

Tonight Grace and Mattie had a friend sleeping over. Grace told me that she didn't want Haley sleeping with them because she says dumb 5 year old stuff. So I told Haley that I wanted her to sleep in our room tonight. Well she went off the deep end, fussing and crying, wailing basically. Karyn, Mattie and I talked to her for about ten minutes trying to calm her down and explain to her that she could always do what her big sisters were doing. Finally Grace comes in and asks Haley what's wrong and Haley tells her that we won't let her sleep with the big girls. Grace then says that she can sleep with them - the crying stopped instantly and I wanted to be angry with Grace for putting us through that and then giving into Haley's fit. But I couldn't because it was just too funny.


Peter Schilling / Major Tom (Coming Home)
"4 3 2 1
Earth below us
drifting falling
floating weightless"

What happens when you ask your Dad to play with your Polly Pockets and your Lincoln Logs with you? In Haley's case, her Dad created a Polly Pocket Rocket that catapulted the tiny dolls into the air. Soon, Grace and Mattie became involved and we had to take the toys outside because the dolls kept hitting the living room ceiling - hard. Once outside we were able to launch the diminutive playthings quite far until one of the Lincoln Logs got broken and the girls lost interest. Not one so easily defeated, I thought long and hard until the next morning when I came up with the ultimate Polly Pocket Rocket - a long paint stirrer and a wine bottle. We were able to launch the little ladies up over the trees and power lines and onto the neighbor's lawn (although most of the time they landed on my car with a thud).

So much water moving, Underneath the bridge, Let the water come and carry us away

For the most part, you can trust Jilian's description of our awesome whitewater adventure this past weekend. However, she omitted a few minor facts:

1. While it is fine to grab a fresh skewer at the business end while putting brats on it to cook, one that has already been used to cook should not be handled in such a manner (right Jilian?)
2. Six and seven are not equal and there are no swamp creatures trying to board rafts on the New (Monica, meet Andrew - he was on the boat earlier, he fell overboard, now he is climbing back on)
3. Yes Bill, I can eat a 12 inch sub when it may be my last meal
4. Sun warmed ripe berries picked off the vine and quickly thrown into your mouth are the best
5. Joel is a wimp for not "showering" under the falls
6. Frisbee is a great way to pass time and hang with friends
7. Waterlogged railroad ties aren't as heavy as you might imagine
8. 5-6 people can really throw an "ethnic" pretty far using a raft as a catapult
9. 1 person can fairly easily turn over an overturned raft
10. Andrew does an impressive 1 1/4 forward flip off of a high rock
11. Supporting the Grandin Theatre can be lots of fun
12. 62 is not old

Thanks Bill for donating the trip to the Grandin and for being a great guide, thanks Karyn for letting me bid on it and for letting me use the van, thanks gang for coming with me and making the trip such a blast, and thanks weather for being perfect.

I can't wait for the next adventure!

Crosby, Stills & Nash / Wasted on the way

Time goes by...

Just a quick post to assure any that still check this blog that I'm still alive. I've survived the May and June birthdays, end of school, softball, etc.

So far the summer has been dominated by time at the pool and movies - many with Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted). Not a bad way to pass the time.

Quick kid anecdote: I think Haley's recent high fever was at its peak while we we watching a movie and having Peanut M&Ms. She turned to me and observed "Under the color, there's chocolate. And inside the chocolate, there's a peanut." She said this as if it was the first time she had ever had Peanut M&Ms (it wasn't) and as if she was the first person to have ever observed this phenomenon. I hope it was the fever and that she hasn't started smoking wacky weed at 5.

Another Haley story: She loves chocolate, every kind, every way. Last night I had some music on while I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and she asked "Dad, what's this music? I really like it!" It was the soundtrack to the movie Chocolat...

Madonna / Hung Up