Bass Pro Boys

Last week? (or was it the week before?), I had the honor of taking my boys around for about 1/2 a day.  It was an incredible experience, warming and filling my heart with memories that I will forever cherish.  Since I like to keep things in chronological order, I won't comment yet on this pic.

I picked the boys up (WP and O'Mike) for those of you that have not met them.  I had been told they had eaten breakfast, but I was soon informed by 'motor-mouth-mike' that 'he' was hungry.  So, I asked what 'he' wanted to eat, and then both of them chimed in unison "chikzen-n-fries", no, not the most linguistically correct pair, that's for sure.  So, we headed to Sonic, and sure enough, they each inhaled their extra breakfast as if it'd been a week since seeing food.

While surveying the Sonic landscape, O'Mike was telling me all about Bass Pro, as he'd recently been there, as if he was trying to initiate me on what to expect.  He told me about the fish tank, about Santa, about the boats, about BigFoot steps in the concrete, about guns ~ it was all pretty amazing what his memory was parroting back for me, as if he was going to be my advance tour guide since he thought I'd never been there before.

All the while, WP just ate and smiled, letting little bro keep me engaged with stories of yore.

Pulling up into the parking lot, it was all these little guys could do not to rip off the car doors and beeline for the entrance.  They were amped, live wired, and ready for whatever lie in wait.  As I was walking in, O'Mike looks up at me and asks if I was going to shoot BigFoot if I saw him inside.  I set aside his fears and tell him no, only if BigFoot starts attacking us will I put him down.  That calmed his nerves as we had just finished a talk a few minutes earlier about my gun, and why I carried a gun.

A new land speed record was established, as we made it to Santa's workshop in under 2.0 seconds, this while doing the 100 meter hurdles.

The boys were immediately fascinated by a celebrity.  #1 Nascar driver Jammie McMurray was in attendance (Bass Pro is his major sponsor), and he was shooting print ads with a model wife, and a model son.  The model wife was young, blond, very attractive (just like Jackie, their Mom), and ever the casanova, he was striking up conversations with her.  He didn't care that she was trying to work; he was trying to make his presence known too. 

The model son could have been WP.  He was groomed and pedicured with perfection, eyes gleaming, hair coiffed, and clothed in high fashion GAP, and a sweet, sweet boy.  Well mannered, and 6 years old.  He followed instructions perfectly, smiled when told to, looked up into his momma model eyes at all the right times, and make Jammie look like he was the perfect Dad.

It really was quite fun to watch the production go on, as there were a crew of 8 required for lighting, staging, and taking the photo's.  We didn't know this was going to be happening, but it turned out to be an extra bonus for the boys.  They played Nascar race cars with the model mom and model son for quite some time and really enjoyed it.

In between turns on the Nascar circuit, O'Mike was making moves on another young MissMeJeans beauty, whose name was Halie.  5'2", 88 lbs (maybe 80), exceptionally petite, blond, maybe 20 (max), and a gorgeous smile ~ which held O'Mike in a trance.  Oh man, is this one going to be a player I tell you, or what.  He knows how to work a room, knows how to talk to the ladies, knows how to get their attention, keep their attention, and make them swoon.  He is going to leave a trail of broken hearts in his path.  I see it now.  He is 3, has the moves of Jagger, and has been flirting since he was 2.  Look out girls, look out.

We were at Bass Pro a solid two hours, and could have been easily a solid four hours, as we barely covered 20% of the store.  During that time, we had two trips to the potty ~ and in the name of decency, I'll not re-tell a funny story about one of those trips.  Will and I played a new game of checkers, which we invented, and from which, WP, with his analytical powers of deduction soon took to, and legitimately beat me 5 games to 3 with our new rules for this game.  It was pretty amazing to watch.  Just to watch his face, see the intensity, watch the wheels spinning, see the focus, the determination, wow, this boy is after my heart with that focus and analytical mind. 

While WP and I were in our rockers playing checkers, I tried on multiple occasions to keep O'Mike from fetching a pair of waders and heading for the trout stream.  It took a team of security personnel, a kind elderly grandma worker, (and me), to keep him at bay, or we'd have been frying fish for lunch.

Then, it was back to Santa's workshop for another visit, and more one-on-one flirt time with Halie and O'Mike.  She taught him how to hold the gun when shooting.  She showed him how to use the radio remote for the mud track, and she took him to the train tracks to watch the chu-chu.  That was boring to him, he told her he wanted to go shoot more guns, so they walked almost arm in arm back to the shooting area, and there he plied his trade for at least another 15 minutes of private time with Halie, as WP and I played the Nascar track.

WP told me he was hungry again, so I had to rescue Halie, and we were on our way out.  As we were walking out, O'Mike looks up and says "Pappy, what is her name?", and I tell him "Halie".  He immediately turns around and shouts (he didn't need to shout, we were only 10' away), "Thank you Halie!", and with a big smile and a wave to her ~ we were gone.

Now; about the picture.

Prior to arriving at McDonald's for more "chikzen-n-fries" which the boys had requested for lunch too, we had to make an unscheduled pit stop (Nascar speak) at Nini's.  My phone was dead, and not having a car charger that worked, we went to get Nini's phone.  While at Nini's place (I'm so glad she let's me live there with her), the boys were given a Sam's size bag of giant marshmallow's.

It took them 20 minutes to polish off the bag, and 80% of the marshmallow's were on their face, hands, hair, clothes, car seats, car windows, carpet, nostrils, ears, floorboards, and some even made it onto Poochie the poodle in the car next to us.

This picture is after WP had washed his face in the McDonald's sink (though he still looked like he was covered in the white goo).  I couldn't get a good pic of O'Mike, as I could never get him to sit still or stop talking, so I just posted this one of WP.  However, you will see O'Mike off to the side, as he is in his element.  Note the little boy at the counter with his Dad.  O'Mike took the entire lunch time introducing himself to this little boy and his Dad, and found out the name of his soccer coach, what color his blanket was, who he voted for on Nov. 6th, and he was inquiring to the Dad about his thoughts on the San Andreas fault when it was time to go.  Man, can this little boy talk!  Motor-mouth-mike, with the moves of Jagger, the looks of Cooper, and the confidence of Reagan ~ look out world.

What an awesome, awesome time I had.  I talked about it with Nini for several days afterwards.

I love my boys.  And up next, my girls!  Last Friday was going to be my time with them, but that got shifted around, so look for my next blog about them soon.

Until then, Happy Birthday Nini Pam!  I love you.
 

Spaz

This is my Emma Jo, my precious Spaz.  I love this little girl, no surprise there, but how she melts my heart is such an unusual story.  You see, Spaz has bi-polar tendencies with me.  One day, she might look at me like I am the anti-christ, and the next time she will accost me with so many hugs and kisses that I lose count.

I wish I had a close up picture of her face; as so often, that is how I am viewing her.  Our faces are within inches of each other; and she's got the Vulcan mind meld thing going on with me.  That, or she's angling for another donut, or Popsicle, or snickers, or fruit loops, or etc.

On Halloween night, I made a rare appearance and went out candy-ing with all the kiddo's in a neighborhood that would quickly drive me to the funny farm if I had to live in it; with 114,217 children under the age of 7, all living within 2 streets of each year.  Kind of like 'the bronz', only BA style . . .

Spaz was dressed as a Princess.

You know what those long jump runners looked like this summer at the Olympics?  Speedsters that would begin their quest by running 50 yards at full bore, and then leaping high into the air to land in the sand pit about 30' away.  Well, that's what Spaz reminded me of on Halloween night.  She saw me from a distance, lit out on a beeline to me, and at about 50' away (she would have shattered Carl Lewis' long jump record by more than 20'), she leaped into the air knowing that I would be there to catch her.  And of course, I did.  We did the face time, she gave me her incredible bear hug, and we locked lips for several great kisses.  Then, just as quickly as it had begun, she was off, because after all, there was candy to be consumed.

Many times you have read about my love of being a daughter daddy, and about the special love and bond that I have with my two daughters.  Well, I've been kind of in a sad funk recently for Angela (my youngest daughter), and her two daughters Monster and Spaz (aka Ava and Emma) because their Daddy is in berzerkistan for 7 more months.  He's been gone for almost 2 months, and the girls have done great overall; but I know as a Daddy how much they must miss their Daddy, and he them.

So Joe, this one is for you too.  I love you, miss you, and will continue to pray vigilantly for your safe and quick return.  But, until that time, I got your back.  I'm a good Daddy too :-).

Nanny Bird

Tomorrow would have been Nanny's 77th birthday.  I miss her, and I know Pam does too; probably not a member of the family that does not miss and think about her frequently as we enter into the busiest and fastest 3 months of the year.

Happy Birthday Nanny.  I love you.  I look forward to seeing you soon.

This year, we are gathering as a family at our home for Thanksgiving; which is my favorite holiday of the year.  It will be a family reunion of sorts, with many of us having not been together since our last reunion here at our home 7 years ago. 

But, it will also be a celebration, as we come together to be thankful that Carter has overcome and beaten his cancer; while we remain saddened that our precious Nanny did not beat hers.

Our feast this year will be centered around a menu full of Nanny's favorite's, and I for one, can't wait to be the co-sous chef with Angela as we take over the kitchen to prepare the feast.

I will undoubtedly not be as un-flappable in the kitchen as Nanny always was.  She somehow kept her cool when 70 sets of butts & elbows were jostling for position in the kitchen as she tried to finish her work.  For me, it will take a combination of Valium, and blocking the entrances into the kitchen, which is about 180 degrees different than Nanny's approach. 

No wait, she did the Valium thing too! :-) 

I remember how Nanny always loved to have the family together at the holiday's, how she went out of her way to make everyone's favorites.  I remember the fireplace fires, the football, the feasts, the late night games, the cousin's sleeping over.  I remember 12 girls squeezing into the bathroom to use it all at the same time.  I remember Spencer racing at light speed from one side of the fence to the other side.  I remember the Oldsmobile's.  I remember sitting on the front porch for hours doing nothing but yak and watch cars drive by.  I remember when she brought us to tears when she asked if Jackie was still dating the moron.  I remember in 2000 that Nanny was so overjoyed when she got her front landscaping re-done, and how she was so proud of her "thing on a stick".  I fondly remember all of her visits to our home when she would bring her Mazzio's free fill it up cup.  Then she would sit at the bar, dangling her bird legs, and be perfectly content for hours on end talking and watching; just to be around us.  Wow, what love.

Man, I love those memories.  And I love you Nanny.  Happy Birthday!

The Pappy Awards

In an attempt to take our minds off of the hottest summer in the history of my life; here are a list of the winners for the 2012 Pappy Awards to the greatest g'kids in the world:

Best Smirk: WP.  WP has patented his smirk since he first flashed it over 5 years ago.  He now has several variations of his smirk.  Make no mistake, there is no one better at smirking than WP.  2nd place is so far away, it's not even worth a mention.


Best Strut:  WP.  Locked this up early in life.  He displayed how to strut better than he did walking.  Runner Up Jared Henry. 

Most Likely To Trip On A Weeble People:  WP.  Thankfully, I will one day be able to transfer the crown from my head to WP's, though that might topple him over too . . .

Best Past Hurler:  WP.  He gold metaled in this sport.  He regularly took the silver and bronze too.  Thankfully, none of the other kids wanted to compete in this sport of regurgitation.
 

Best Line Leader:  Jared Henry.  Good grief does this young stud know how to corral a line.  No one better.  And dude, if you're not in line; Jared will make sure everyone knows it!

Best Bear Hug: Emma Jo.  Runner up Jack Arthur.  I love how each of them run into my arms, Spaz usually ends hers with a leap, and a squeeze that might take my breath away if I weighed 17 lbs., but with the extra 200, I don't have a problem handling it.  I love their bear hugs.

Best Kisser:  Emma Jo.  Gorgeous lips, perfect pucker, and the best kiss is usually immediately followed by the previously received best bear hug.
 
Flip side for worst bear hug: Jared Henry, runner up Ava Corinne.  Oh my, these guys need work on their hugging skills.

Best Snuggler:  WP.  This little boy inherited it from his Momma, who was a snuggling queen.  Though I've not been able to enjoy many nights of snuggling with WP (he prefers snuggling with his Momma), the ones that I have been to enjoy have been quite memorable.

Best Butt:  O'Mike.  Yes, with O'Mike's baseball swing, his new uniform of the day is quick to catch on in the big leagues as the constant crotch grabbers will finally feel the freedom that O'Mike is displaying.  Of course, if an adult does it, he lands in the Pervert Wing.  When O'Mike was interviewed about it, his reply was simply "It helps me to run faster."

Best Boy Smile: O'Mike.  Runner Up Jack Arthur.  They will suck you into their worlds with their smiles.

Best Current Jock:  Jared Henry.  Lettering in Football, Basketball, Baseball, Skeet Shooting, Swimming, Shot Put, Checkers, etc., this dude knows how to play sports! 

Best Laugh:  O'Mike.  No one is even close for 2nd place.  He's been putting out adult sounding belly laughs since he was 6 months old.

Best Smile / Best Eyes:  Ava Corinne.  Her smile is infectious.  Goodness, you can't help but melt when she is smiling at you, and when combined with her eyes; you've got to be dead not to be moved by what here tandem pairing of smile/eyes will do to you (or me).

Family Most Un-likely To Breed A Black Headed Anything:  Take a look at this group of toeheads.  Good grief, and they are all natural!

Best Sleeper:  Spaz.  No one is even close for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, etc.  She sleeps so much she's got the Top 10 spots zzzz'ed up.  This picture here was quickly snapped in between naps.


Best Swimmer:  WP.  In our pool with a 12" depth, 48" width, and 60" length, WP can do amazing things.  In a regular pool, you would never know he has not had a swimming lesson.  Though for safety precautions, he should...

Best Imitation of Dearth Vader: O'Mike.  The boy hates to wear clothes; we just hope he is not the next magic mike.  At least in this photo he kept his diaper on.  WP reported several near hits as Dearth was navigating blindly around the death star.


Best Hair:  It's a 4-way tie.  Emma has incredible pig tails, and super fine super soft hair.  Ava has the most luxurious thick long black hair (just like her momma), and looks great no matter how it is styled.  WP was the original faux hawk, then O'Mike added his take on the faux hawk, and when they each have a clean shaved boy hair cut ~ dude, their hair looks awesome.

Best Eater:  Ava Corinne.  Runner Up Jack Arthur.  Ava is my pizza buddy, or tostada queen, or donut/cookie hound.  This sweet little girl loves to eat.  She has my nearly insatiable appetite, and has since she was 2 hours old, screaming for more milk!  One of my all time favorite things to do with Ava is take her out to eat.  She loves food as much as I do.  And Jack, he's the only one I know that can eat more grilled hot dogs than I can.  I usually stop at 12, Jack stops at 36.  I hear he has sights on the hot dog championship in NYC on July 4th, 2027.

Best Gamer:  Jack Arthur.  Runner Up Jared Henry.  These boys know their games.  I hear they are both working on a new game App, and if Android buys it, they'll make the whole family rich as they have shared with me that we'll all have a job at Stank Studs.

~

And that's it for this years awards.  New categories are forming as we speak.  I have more pics, but apparently I'm about at my upload limit, as they are taking FOREVER to upload, so I will save them for my next post.

I love my boys and girls.  They are growing up so fast.  So, so, fast.  Wow, I must be getting older; that's what my Grandpa used to tell me...



 

  

Ava Gets Saved!

This is Ava Corinne.  She's always been years ahead of her actual age; physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

I am very proud of Ava.  Even more so now, as last Friday she prayed with her Momma to receive Jesus into her heart to be her Lord and Savior.  Hallelujah!

Welcome sister.  I Love You with all my heart. 

I love my heritage.

- Pappy

My Blue "Vette" Heaven

"I have a need. A need for speed." As quoted by Tom Cruise (one of the biggest idiot actors of our generation) from the movie Top Gun.

Well, I have a need for speed too.  BIG time need for speed.  Ever since I can remember my very first roller coaster ride, I have wanted to go fast.  I tricked out my early motorcycles for extra HP.  My first car was a Dodge Charger, and holy cow, did I ever pay the big bucks for that beauty to have extra speed gear added on.  It's wasn't the fastest Dodge Charger in high school, Scott Ambler had that beast, but it was a worthy challenger.

I've had an adult only Kawasaki rice rocket that was so fast it was scary (and was the culprit for putting me in defensive driving school and having my license revoked for 3 months). I've owned a Datsun 280Z, a Firebird Formula 400, a TransAm 400HD, a TransAm 400SD, a TransAm Turbo, a Buick Regal Turbo; and then the mid 80's and 90's happened and I became a sensible Dad driving mostly Cadillac Sedans . . .

But, I could only hold off the speed bug for so long, so in 2000, my first Vette was purchased, and you've seen my previous blog about her.  A gorgeous red head turning stunner.  Fast, goodness she was fast, and in only 3 weeks time after I put her up for sale, she was adopted by an even older grandpa than me, that has since given her a good home in Bartlesville.  (It was his 6th Vette to own).

Then, along came blue.  She was named Bliss by the previous owner, and she's still going through a bit of an identity crisis as I've only had her for 5 weeks.  I've been calling her Blue, and VII (although she is technically the newer VII, not the original), and Joe named her 1Nation, which I like a lot too, and might end up getting her tagged that way.  Her color is Jet Stream Blue Metallic.

She just turned 4, and had 13k on her when purchased.  Not a blemish to be found inside or out, under, or beneath; just like a car like her should be.

She is my land jet.  Rocket fast.  6 speed manual gears of pure fun, super charged adrenaline.  Man does she have an incredible growl when you ignite her after burners.  And the Z06 air intake hood vent amps up the volume.  I read that the top speed is 197, but I'll only do that if I can get on a race track, or out to the Bonneville salt flats.  For now, I am limited to on-ramps, and have to shut her down before merging :-).  Joe and Angela both were able to experience the thrill of 83 in 2nd gear, and we got there pretty quick . . .

Before you ask, I've only been to 92, and that was for a brief stretch of lonely highway while I was driving her home from Indy.  Her previous owner lives in a suburb of Indy, and I made a flight to Indy to pick her up and drive her home, where we became quite familiar with each other on that 14 hour road trip home spread over 2 days.

Good gosh, she is so quiet on the inside.  The faster you go, the quieter she becomes.  Low speeds, she moans, she groans, she whines, she cracks, she pops; she HATES to go slow.  But get her onto the open road and open her up, and everything seals, she hunkers down for low drag, has no wind noise, and her big soft luxuriously soft leather seats just envelope you and lull you into race mode.  (Her seats are actually more comfortable than my Lexus seats were). 

And the sound system.  Wow.  I've got an incredible sound system at home with all kinds of techno gizmo's, amps, tuners, high watt speakers, super cool Elite Sound that surrounds me and cracks the plaster on the walls at about 3/4th's volume.  But, inside the Vette, especially with some classic Queen or classic Def Leppard; oh man, be prepared to be amazed.  And of course, when Flo Rida's bass hook kicks in on "I've Got A Good Feeling", people probably wonder about my ethnicity; especially when it is cranked up.

Yes, if you come to my home for a visit, I'll gladly take you for a 'test ride' as my co-pilot; though please don't ask to pilot :-).

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary

Happy 35th anniversary to Pam.  The Love of my life.  I love you with all my heart, and every fiber of my being.  I can not imagine loving you more.

How is it possible to continue being deeper in love with someone every year?  All we hear is how someone fell out of love, how someone found someone else much younger, how someone is no longer compatible, how they gotta go find themselves, etc.  That's all ca ca.  That's all from the devil spewing his venom over our society.  I'm telling you right now that if you are truly in love with someone, you're never going to fall out of love with them.  It's impossible.  You think Jesus can stop loving me?  No, no matter what I do.  And His love is eons of infinity deeper than what we humans are able to handle.

I absolutely adore our daughters.  They are two of the finest mothers and wives that I've known, and God blessed me to be their Dad.  I'm just now reaching an age where I am able to enjoy them as adults, not just my children.  You think it is possible for me to one day stop loving them?  Never.  And their children ~ good golly miss molly ~ I melt into their eyes when I am around them.  I turn into a gelatinous tub of pliable goo willing to do almost anything in the world that they ask for (I draw the line though at going to the Zoo, or getting a dog).  What other reason is there for me to allow them to do (or have) things that neither of their parents would have ever been allowed to do or have?  It's another kind of love.  Not a deeper love, but a different love, and a love that I could never abandon.  I'd rather be dead.

For our mates, there is no such thing as fully compatible.  We're all imperfect; we just have to adapt to various levels of each others incompatibility.  It's about learning to balance the things you dislike with things you like, and that turns into love.  Deep, abiding, committed, fully functional love.  Simpatico.  The pinnacle of perfection.  Pam dislikes more things about me than I can probably count on both hands and feet.  But, it works; incredibly well.  Gods love bonds us together. 

How do I grow deeper in love with this woman every year?  I have no idea; I just know that I do.  Today is our 35th wedding anniversary.  She is more beautiful to me now that when I first lusted after her when she was 16 and in her blue polyester pants.  This woman puts the jones in my bones.  When she gets all spruced up, geez, to this day, it's all I can do to not foam at the mouth like a rapid dog.  And usually I do . . .

~

Now, about these guns.  As you may or may not know; I started carrying a Ruger 9mm last fall, and after the initial license training class, I have since taken a defensive technique class, and have added a Beretta 9mm Nano to my collection.  I rotate carrying either, as one is more easily concealed than the other.  I am looking forward to Nov. 1st though, as I'll most likely always open-carry every where I go.  And, I do have my eye on a nice little .380 made by Smith & Wesson.  The ultimate in concealment.  (Note to those with large generous giving hearts; my birthday is Oct. 19th) :-).

Last Sunday, we went shooting with my brother in law and son in law.  These men are master marksman (they have accuracy skills I can only dream about), and the combined ownership gun total of their Dads would probably be enough for them to hold their own gun show at Expo Square if they wanted to.

Pam did not want to go shooting at the range, though Angela did, and dude, is she ever a dead-eye natural.  She was making head shots from 17 yards out like she's gone through 10,000 boxes of practice cartridges!

We get back to the house, and Pam finally relented to the peer pressure of shooting a gun, and she ended up loving the various ones so much that she decided to take this assault rifle home with her ~ and dared anyone to come and take it away from her!

~

Ah, my wife, finally a gunner.

Yep, she's got a great personality.

Yep, she's got a great sense of humor.

Yep, she's got a over-flowing gift of mercy.

And yep, she looks great in those jeans!

I love you Pamela Jean.  I love my life with you, and I am thankful for our 35 years together. 

I know I will love you even more after 36, but I do not know how.  - Mike