M - Just some pictures

My boys at the Thunder game

Joel kept playing catch with the girl behind him.

M- Joel's 2nd Birthday

Joel turned 2 on Monday. I know it sounds cliche to say "I can't believe how big he is" or even "Wow, where has time gone?" Seriously though, I'm really not ready for him to be so big. Sometimes I have moments when I want to keep him just the way he is right now, but at the same time, I love watching him grow up. I love every new step he takes and every new thing he accomplishes.

There are a few things he does now that I hope I never forget. I hope I remember the way he kicks his little feet out when he's running. He looks like kind of a goof, but it's so cute. I hope I remember the way he calls every big truck a "tracker" (tractor) or "tah truck" (fire truck). I hope I remember how much he loves his stuffed duck and elephant, "kack kack" and "el-punt".

Obviously there are a lot more things I hope I remember, but I won't keep on. More than all that though, I hope he continues to have the same sweet, sensitive spirit he has now. He may be covered in bruises most of the time from the many tumbles he takes, but he really is very sweet natured; kind of like the man he's named after...

Here are a few pictures from his party on Saturday.

M- A few of Joel's favorite things

Lately it seems as if Joel has grown up so much. He's really turning into a big boy faster than I'd like. Here are a couple of pictures of Joel with the things he loves most right now.

Number 1 - Daddy

Number 2 - Tractors

Number 3 - Suckers

Number 4 - Cars

Number 5 - The Science Museum

N - First Day of School

Joel started Sonshine School today at our church. School actually started last week but his party-animal parents let him skip the first week to go on vacation. I'm sure that's the first of many parent-approved "playing hookie" days.

So did he like it? I think this picture says it all.

He's about as expressive as his father isn't he???

Actually despite appearances and his mother's worry I think he had a good time. When Mary picked him up he was so busy chasing bubbles it took him awhile to notice she was even there. One thing I know for sure is they wore him out. Looks like me at the office each afternoon around 2:30pm (minus the duck of course).

N - Chicago Vacation 9/9/2009

We all feel like road warriors this evening. We drove from Chicago to Springfield, MO with really only one stop in Springfield, IL to see the Abraham Lincoln Museum. Below is a picture of the outside. The museum takes you through Abraham Lincoln's life from birth in Indiana to Kentucky to Illinois to his time in Springfield and on to Washington, DC and the White House. Family deaths including his mother and 2 sons not to mention the Civil War really took a toll on him.

Across the street from the museum is the old Union Station. It was a pretty day so we took a family photograph.

Roughly 1,400 miles under our belts and about 280 to go tomorrow. Joel has been a real trooper. He's not lacked in things to do and is usually wiped out at the end of each day. There are few things cuter in my book than our little boy when he's asleep.

Looking forward to seeing some of you this weekend at Sequoyah State Park on Lake Fort Gibson for Ferguson Family Fun and the rest hopefully soon.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/8/2009

This morning we drove to the Museum of Science & Industry. It an impressive building. The museum is massive with something for everyone. Of course the main attraction for Mary was the Harry Potter exhibit. They had over 200 items from various Harry Potter movies. Even for the casual movie fan such as myself it was pretty impressive. Joel and I enjoyed the quidditch interactive game the most. Here is a picture of Mary with the Flying Ford Anglia which transported the Weasley brothers to Hogwarts in the 2nd movie (or so I'm told).

After the museum we ate lunch at the Frontera Grill. This is one of Rick Bayless' restaurants in Chicago. For the uncultured or uninformed, Rick Bayless is a master chef of some sort and recently won the Top Chef contest on BravoTV. Mary has been watching it and cheering for him. He is actually from OKC and his parents started The Hickory House BBQ restaurant. I had flour tortillas folded over Samuels artisanal melted cheese and grilled shrimp with smoky, spicy chipotle peppers served with black beans and young greens (AKA quesadillas).

We went for a swim in the hotel pool this afternoon and snuck out on the balcony to snap a picture of the Oprah festivities.

Tonight we took the "L" down to the Chicago White Sox game. We didn't have tickets but really lucked out and got FREE tickets in the lower level between home plate and 3rd base. Someone had extras and gave them to the ticket window clerk. We just happened to be the lucky couple that walked up at the right time!

The home team fell behind early so there weren't many moments worth cheering for but Joel took advantage of every opportunity.

The scouts were all over us before we got out of the cages.

We're hitting the road again tomorrow. Have a great 9/9/09.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/7/2009

Happy Labor Day!

Our hotel is really nice. Our room is on the 16th floor and looks right down on North Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile. We have a great view of the John Hancock Center out one side and if you look between the buildings we can see Lake Michigan out the other side. Here is a picture of Joel checking out the cars and horse drawn carriages below on Michigan Avenue. He had a great time jumping off the windowsill onto the bed.

This morning we drove to Lincoln Park. It is a beautiful park just off the lake and has a free zoo. I made my family proud by not only finding a parking spot on the street (read FREE!!) but I also squeezed the mini-van into a spot made for one of those SMART cars. I know you are impressed.

It was a great day to be outside, sunny and not too hot. The gardens in the park were really pretty. Here is a picture with the John Hancock Center in the background followed by a picture of Joel and Mary watching the polar bear.

Tomorrow Oprah Winfrey AKA the most powerful woman in the world is taping her 24th season opener a few blocks south of our hotel on a stage at Michigan Avenue just north of the Chicago River. They have the street blocked off from there nearly up to our hotel. I'm sure it will be a madhouse. Doubt we'll actually walk down there but I guess we can technically say we were there. If I get any crowd pictures I'll include those tomorrow. Here is a part of the stage with the Chicago Tribune building in the background.

Tonight we ate at Gino's East, my favorite Chicago-style pizzeria. Then we walked over to Navy Pier and had some ice cream. Here is a picture of the Chicago skyline.


Tomorrow we're off to the Museum of Science and Industry. I think we'll try to make it to the Chicago White Sox game tomorrow evening.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/6/2009

Saturday brought rainy weather and a stop at America's Cave, Meramec Caverns.

We borrowed a backpack from a friend for Joel to ride in and thought this would be a great chance to try it out. It worked out well until at one point the tour guide said if you are over 5'9" you may need to duck down so as not to bump your head. My quads were burning after several minutes of squat-walking through the cave with an extra 25lbs on my back.

Even with the extra workout the cave was spectacular and definitely worth the stop. Here is a picture of several stalactites.

I think the day's highlight for Joel was either jumping in puddles in the hotel parking lot.

Or flying high over the corn in Illinois (PS - if you like the view of cornfields in every direction, you'll love the drive from St. Louis to Chicago).

Saturday night we made it to Bolingbrook, IL where Adam and Christina Mearse live. We enjoyed visiting with them, going to church in Naperville, and playing with their kiddos. Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful. We played whiffle ball in the backyard. Mary and Jackson cheered us on from the trampoline.

On the way from Naperville to downtown Chicago, we drove through Downers Grove where my family lived before moving to Oklahoma. We stopped in front of our old house and I got out to take some pictures. The current resident found it odd that someone was taking pictures of their house so they came outside. I introduced myself and we had a great visit. We even got a tour of the old homestead. Here is a picture of Joel sitting on the front doorstep. I remember a similar picture of me and Joel's uncle Joel on the very same porch over 33 years ago.

N - Chicago Vacation 9/5/2009

Mary, Joel and I woke up to cloudy, humid weather in Rolla, MO this morning. We didn't make it to Rolla until about 10:30pm last night. We would have been here sooner if not for a detour through Ozark, MO to eat at Lamberts, home of the "Throwed Rolls". There was over an hour wait but we decided to tough it out. It was definitely worth it. You all know my affinity for rolls. However when you combine that with throwing and catching it becomes simply irresistible. I've attached a picture of Mary catching a roll. However if you know Mary, you know this picture was staged. Joel enjoyed the balloons and watching the model train in the waiting

area.

Today we plan to drive to Naperville, IL and will stay with Adam and Christina Mearse. Along the way we play to stop at either the Meramec Caverns or several Abraham Lincoln sites in Springfield, IL. Whatever we miss today we'll probably pick up on the way back next week.

M- For Hillary

I can count on one hand the number of people I've stayed in touch with since middle or even high school. I know that's not saying much about me, especially with the invention of Facebook which I'm sure I'll end up joining to everyone's surprise one day. But, that's all beside the point.

There is one friend who I know will never escape me. And, to top it all off, today is her birthday! So, this one's for you, Hillary, and probably no one else.

Over the years we've had a few laughs

From counting blue vans to IHOP name gaffs

From laughing at guys in grocery stores

to buying dry ice and water and more

From singing songs as loud as we could

to talking on the phone later than we should

From staying up late with frozen Dr. Peppers

to writing each other in code in letters

All these were fun and memorable too

Still there's more that we've shared between us two.

We've been with each other in spirit or person

to listen to the other when hard times worsened.

We've been with each other in good times and bad

And angered each other with a few fights we've had

But no matter the season of life that we're in

I hope you're my friend till the very end.

Happy Birthday, Hill.

M- Puppy Love

Joel loves dogs (woof woofs). Every time he sees one he barks at it until he can't see it anymore. The funny thing is that he generally won't touch them. This was not the case last night though. He had a great time with Buddy. Here are some pictures Uncle Mike took.

First they played chase.

Then Joel fell down and Buddy attacked.

At first, Joel thought it was funny.

Once he'd had enough, he decided to practice his martial arts skills to get Buddy to go away.

Happy Father's Day

N - South Dakota

Recently I made a weekend trek with several friends to Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota . We had a great time - camped out, saw Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Devil's Tower and even the geographic center of the United States.

Evidently we made quite an impression on the good folks of South Dakota, so much so that they decided to honor us in a somewhat peculiar way.

Here is us posing for the artist.

M- Sleepy Swinging

Joel is a very schedule oriented child.  He likes things to be done at a certain time and certain way.  Everyday after lunch he lays down for his nap.  Today, I thought I'd take him outside to swing to get him good and tired.  He lasted approximately 3 minutes before this happened.  

N - First Pic

In case you haven't heard, Mary is prego!  Here is the first picture of Joel's little brother or sister.  The little one is expected to arrive on January 22, 2010.  We are very excited, as is Joel.  He just doesn't know it yet.

M- Just a picture

Uncle Mike took this picture in McAlester.  I wanted to share it because I think he actually looks sweet instead of incredibly ornery.

M- Birdbath fun

Our backyard lacks what Aunt Dana's does not... TOYS!  I know that over time we'll accumulate a lot of them so I'm not worried about it.  Plus, Dana lives down the street so any time we feel like playing outside, we just go down there.  Ironically, while there are a lot of toys to play with, Joel's favorite is the birdbath.  On a bright note, we've never seen a bird use it, but Joel on the other hand leaves soaking wet often.  Here are a couple of pictures that Uncle Mike took.