Camping Adventure

September 25, 2009. So for a month or two, I've been telling the boys that we would go camping as soon as it cooled down (camping in this part of Texas during the summer is insane). When we finally got some cooler temps this week, we were all excited to plan our campout for this weekend. All week we had nice, cool nights. And wouldn't you know, as soon as it's time to put up the tent last night, we have an all-too-familiar muggy, sticky night. I had to bust out my camping fan (and shed some clothes) just to give us a little bit of relief in the tent. We also had to fight off quite a few skeeters. Nut definitely took the brunt of that battle...he's got the bites to show for it today.

But all in all, I wouldn't trade our camping adventure for anything. (Although, next time, I'll bring a book or my laptop or something to occupy me after the boys fall asleep.) When we woke up, they begged me to leave the tent up so we could sleep in there again tonight, so I take it they had a pretty good time too. Now, if we could just get some more fall weather, we can start planning our next campout.

Beeju doing his best wild animal impersonation, and Nut peeping through the window. Noah was eager to go exploring for some "nocturnals" - one of his passions. We only found a bullfrog, but that seemed to satisfy their need to see an animal.

Taking a breather after some intense rounds of "Chutes & Ladders" and "Candy Land."

Beeju cooling down with some refreshing chocolate milk.

Nut, Froggie, Mater and Lightning McQueen getting ready to zonk out. Night, night boys. Sleep tight. Papa loves you!!!

Almuerzo con Mi Nino

September 25, 2009. I went and had lunch with Noah and his kindergarten class today for the first time. (I use the term "lunch" loosely since his class eats at 10:15 am.) Loved it! And unlike the Nazi-style elementary cafeteria at the Dallas school where my friends Marc and Jenn and their adorable kiddos are, this place was full of the energy and giggly conversations you would expect from a room full of 5 year olds. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go back.

I especially loved getting a giant hug and kiss from my boy during the day. And as he was walking away, just before he went through the doors, he turned around and blew me a big kiss and waved like crazy. What a sweetheart! I just can't get enough of him.

He wanted to capture a "fish face" shot too, so here it is. Cute Beeju!

A few nights ago, I walked past the boys' room and could hear giggling coming from the closet. So I went to investigate and found this. Noah, perched in the top corner of the closet, trying desperately (and unsuccessfully) to not bust out laughing. Not sure what his pose is here, but it was something goofy. I took several more, but they just kept getting sillier and sillier. And the pics got blurrier and blurrier as I was laughing harder and harder. I tried to take a wide shot so you could see how high this is. The bar that those shirts are hanging on is about 6 1/2 to 7 feet high. I'm still not really sure how he got up there. I guess where there's a 5-year-old will, there's a way.

And Miles to Go Until I Work, And Miles to Go Until I Work

So normally my 40 mile commute takes me 60-70 minutes each way. After 6 1/2 months of that, I've mostly gotten used to it. But when it took me well over an hour and a half the other day (thanks to a horrific backup on the Grand Parkway), I decided to add up some of the things that slow me down each day. Gee, you think these things have anything to do with why I can't do 40 miles any quicker than an hour?

1 railroad crossing
4 school zones
11 stop signs
35 traffic lights (almost all of which seem to have an affinity for red)

And, on rainy days, at least 50 bagillion drivers who seemingly have never, ever driven when it's wet outside. But I digress.

I'm thinking of chartering a helicopter. I wonder if the firm would approve putting a helipad on top of the building for me. Oooh, except that one of my former clients had an executive get his head lopped off by the company helicopter. Ouch. So on second thought, I'll just be sure to pack a snack and load up on some CDs for my drive in the morning.

Hey Pest Guy, You're Bugging Me

(This post might not make as much sense to non-Mormons, but you'll still get the point.)

So today was my quarterly pest control service. The guy came and started by doing his thing around the outer perimeter of the house, in the yard, etc. Then he came inside to do an interior treatment. I was busy working, so he just went about his business.

Out of nowhere, he appears next to me, and we have the following exchange. Keep in mind, this was not a family member or a long-time friend or anyone that I had even spoken to for more than 30 seconds. This was the pest control guy. Who I had never met. The pest control guy. A stranger.

Pest: "So...you just got divorced?"
Me: (looking up from the computer, confused) "Uh, yeah. I did."
Pest: "So you got excommunicated, huh?"
Me: (genuinely shocked) "What?!? No. What makes you think that?"
Pest: (looking at me as if he caught me in a lie) "I saw the pictures of the temple in your closet."
Me: (thinking, "this pest control appointment has gotten very bizarre, very fast") "Actually, I just barely got those pictures framed and haven't had a chance to paint and prepare the wall they're going to be on."
Pest: (again with the "lie" look) "It's cool, man. Been there, done that. I was Mormon and got divorced too."

At which point, there's silence. I grabbed a pen and signed the pest control report he had laid on the counter. He walks out the back door and then turns around and says, "hang in there bro, hang in there." And off he went with his bug sprayer.

Huh?

Ambition

Beeju's school had a parents-only event tonight. The first part was a meeting for everyone in the cafeteria to introduce us to all of the teachers and staff and have a brief presentation by the PTO chair. Then we all separated into our individual classrooms to have a presentation by the teacher. As a side note, Noah's teacher has so far been amazing! We are SO lucky to have such a great school with great teachers right in our neighborhood. I hope the boys never have to change elementary schools. But that's not the point of this post...

In Noah's classroom, there's a chart on the back wall entitled, "What we want to learn in kindergarten." Then going down the chart is each child's name and a brief phrase about what they want to learn. A lot of the answers were "Mary - how to read" or "John - how to tell time." One boy put "how to be a Power Ranger." My boy was a bit more aggressive with his goal. "Noah - how to drive daddy's and mommy's cars." Atta boy, Champ!

One of Noah's friends was a bit more content to let the teacher dictate whatever she wanted: "Tanner - stuff." I love kindergarten!

Preschool Graduation

Thursday, May 14, 2009. This is going back in the vault a bit, but when we went to a birthday party for one of Noah's preschool classmates this weekend (a post on that to come), it reminded me that I never posted about his preschool graduation. So here it is.

A slightly blurry shot of Noah receiving his "diploma" from one of his teachers. This was my favorite part of the entire night. When each child walked out, the school director would say, "John Smith, future ________" and then fill in the blank with what the child wanted to be when he/she grew up. As you might guess, there were lots of doctors, nurses, teachers, firemen, etc. When Noah's turn finally came near the end, she announced, "Noah Simiskey, future daddy." At which point, the entire crowd let out an "ahhhhhhh" and my heart just about burst with pride. How on earth did I get so lucky?!? I definitely don't deserve to have such adorable and loving boys. But I'll take it!!

A slightly better pic of my man in his robe with his diploma.

Beeju (silly face and all) with his teachers. They were so, so great! I have a class photo on the fireplace mantle, and Noah often likes to say good morning to Ms. Jolie and Ms. Adrianna when he wakes up. Everytime we drive down to Pecan Grove, he asks if we can detour over to his old school.

Beeju and his best friend, Jake. I'm only posting this because I know that Noah likes to look at the pics on my blog, and he'll want to see Jake.

Papa getting his first tickles/squeezes in post-ceremony. This was the brief after-party in his classroom.

The pic of Beeju on the wall outside of his class.

The after-after-party - Jamba Juice and another "crazy pose" by the graduate. For a couple of months, just about everytime a camera came out, Noah would strike a silly pose. I have a couple from graduation that I didn't post here of him doing it on stage. And if you watch the video below, he busts one out at the very end of the performance. He might not have stayed in the "crazy pose phase" so long if I hadn't died laughing every time he did it. I wish I had a tenth of the charisma and personality that this kid has.

This is Noah's class performing "Twist and Shout." The video is a couple of minutes long but worth a viewing. My favorite parts: (1) Beeju's studly pointing at the girls on either side of him during the lyrics "you know you look so good" about 15 seconds in, (2) his air guitar performance starting about 56 seconds in, and (3) his "crazy pose" at the very end when the music stops. Classic Beeju! The guys also performed "My Girl" later on which was another hit with the crowd.

Ok, ok, I know...this was PRESCHOOL graduation. But still. I'm dang proud of my "future daddy." It was a big adjustment for him going to school this year, but he did so great. I just couldn't be a prouder papa than when I look at my boys and see how great they are and how much potential they have. They each have very, very special destinies ahead of them.

Congratulations on your big night, Beeju! I love you!

Everything in Its Place

Noah and Sam (especially Noah) have always like to organize things. For a long time, Beeju would ask me if he could mess up his room, just so he could have the satisfaction and joy of cleaning it up. And he often will just mill about the house looking for a mess to clean up or something to vacuum. Normally, he was a very sensible and good system for putting things away, stacking them up, etc. But occasionally, the "system" is only known to them. I wish I had more pictures to illustrate this, because it happens all the time. But these were the only ones I could find.

For some reason, they felt like my normal, orderly line of shoes wasn't "proper." So they reorganized my closet for me and stacked my shoes in various spots, including on top of these paint cans.

This was how they organized their Cars paraphernalia.
My kiddos even like to have order when they eat. What a Nut!