my belly ached from laughing so hard...

at the new edition of Quirkee that hit the worldwide online magazine rack today! I now have a new fancy Quirkee badge link on the left over there. Click on it and watch what happens. I promise you will not have monkeys flying out of your computer monitor if you click on it. Do it. I dare you. I double dare you. I triple dog dare you! Don't be scared, the Quirkee badge needs you.

If Quirkee was a newspaper we could deliver it around town in this...



Some people call that art. I think those artists have too much junk and extra glue at their house.

I decided to stop...

listings shoes on eBay for an hour and write something on this blog! It's been a few weeks since I have had the chance to sit down in front of the computer and not automatically start listing auctions or shipping shoes. I'm up to my eyeballs in sandals, pumps, and wedges! Oh, and a few men's shoes, too. Some I actually got to keep because they fit. I finally doubled my personal shoe collection to...6 pairs! You would think my closet would be full of them, right? C'mon, I'm not a woman!

Julia has been afflicted with the snotty nose bug, or whatever you call it. I think she passed it to me when I was giving her all those hugs and kisses she can't live without. She's had a rough time going to sleep the last few days, which means we have, too. Of course, it didn't help last night when every time I laid my head on the pillow my nostrils turned on like a fire hydrant. Thank God for aloe vera tissues.

Coan started school this week in the 3 year-old class. It is safe to say that he wasn't as excited as last year to be going back to school. His fits of uncontrollable freak-outs in the hallway and classroom when he gets dropped off are definitely getting less. Today when Steph dropped him off he only screamed for a couple of seconds. Tomorrow we're hoping for one second. Here he is on his first day...



As you can see, the word "Cheese" was not in his vocabulary that morning. I would think that he would be itching to go back to school after spending the summer at home. We did lots of playing and stuff, but the last month we have been mostly inside in the air conditioning. You can only play outside in the Texas heat for so long before you pass out and the fire ants attack you in the grass! We stopped going down to the school playground to hit golf balls since they don't water it in the summer and our driving range grass died. Hopefully it will rain soon!

Well, that's all for now. I guess I should do some work before they wake up from their naps. We're going to get on the webcam and talk to the family in Tulsa. Coan and his cousin are going to babble on about monster trucks and pooping on the potty. It should be priceless!

there was a party...

for an "end of the summer celebration" at our best friends' house! It's hard to find a better photo than this one...

but I'll try and beat it with this one...

which is not near as good as this one...

Those boys act just like their Daddies...

Watch your back Noraa.

a new video star hit the scene.

Move Aside (and let the girl go through)

I had a dream...

about this funny magazine that comes out every Thursday. Wait! That wasn't a dream! It was real...and real funny, too. Grab a coffee refill and take a break from whatever it is you are doing so you can read Quirkee.com. If Quirkee was in paper format, we could get this guy to sell it on the street for us.

quirky
adj : informal terms; strikingly unconventional [syn: far-out, kinky, offbeat, way-out]

Yep, that guy is quirky for sure!

a friend came by to visit...

in the tree outside. I moved my office downstairs last week with the help of a true friend (the desk weighs about 300+ pounds), so now I have a view of the backyard and this huge oak tree right in front of me. Every once in a while, Crunchy the Squirrel comes by to say hello. Coan likes to name the animals and this one was fortunate enough to be called Crunchy. I hope he doesn't get crunched by a car because I will miss him.

they built it...

and we finally went...to the Dell Diamond for a Round Rock Express baseball game! It was the first live ballgame for the kids and our first trip out to see the Express play. Mommy's company had their annual summer picnic there, decked out with hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, sodas, beer, margaritas, and a game to cap it off! It was a bit toasty in right field as the sun was beating down with it's full on 101 degree heat, but we brought our gloves in case a foul ball decided to head our way. I also brought the camera with my new lens to test out.



Coan and the man in the row ahead of us had a different opinion on where that ball went.



The Express ballpark is a great place for a family outing. They are the AAA league farm team for the Houston Astros and are partially owned by Nolan Ryan and son, Reed. Last night was Nolan Ryan bobblehead night. Oh yeah, we got one. Behind the outfield there is a swimming pool, several playgrounds, and a rock climbing wall! We'll be climbing that one day soon.



Also for entertainment was the mascot that Coan named "Baseball Dog". Yes, he's doing the Chicken Dance. As you can see from the crowd, nobody wanted to do it with him.

she started a game called the...

Watch me crawl backwards and hide under this chair...game.

"Peek-a-Boo!"

I could not believe...

it was Thursday again! That means a brand spankin' new edition of Quirkee.com is up for the world to read! I don't know about you, but I'm addicted to Quirkee like I am my coffee. I guess there are worse things in life to be addicted to.

Today I am spending the morning with my baby girl as big brother went to play at a friend's house. Right now she is in my lap listening to Radio Paradise with me while I type this blog entry one-handed. She was in her excersaucer bouncing up and down.



Okay, now she's taking a nap. It must have been that workout. We've been watching her attempt to crawl the last few days. She's been getting up on her knees and rocking forward towards whatever book or toy is closest to her. Eventually she gets there and then scoots around to go the other way. It won't be long now and we'll have to go through the house and baby-proof it again. They sure grow up fast.

I had a secret to tell...

Guess what?

No, I'm not gay. Not that kind of gay anyway.

But I am happy about a new edition of Quirkee.com that came out today! Read it and you will also discover happiness.

in a backyard close, close to home...

we discovered a new use for the Sand and Water Table. Nothing beats a Sand and Water Table except...a Sand and Monster Truck Track Table!

That side is normally saved for water, boats, and a little bridge (now CRUSHED by a monster truck!) This seemed like a good alternate use of an existing toy. Plus, all the trucks finally got dirty like good monster trucks do!

The little sister, of course, just sits back and takes it all in. She is constantly watching his every move, sometimes laughing and sometimes saying...

"Psst, Daddy. That brother of mine sure is a goofball."

The collection of trucks continues to grow. I found out from the Monster Jam website that there are about 45 trucks in the series. I think they keep adding more because Hot Wheels discovered I am not going to stop buying them until I have them ALL! I mean, Coan has them all. He's a good kid and has been doing a great job on the potty, so I think he deserves them. We're going to start making him work for them in other ways now, like doing the cooking, cleaning, washing the cars, mowing the yard, painting the rest of the house, etc. There is no free ride in this family!

That sounds funnier the more I say it

His newest monster truck from today is by far the coolest. It's a '57 Chevy and it just happens to have his name on it. What are the odds of that? Apparently he owns Coan Racing, a racing transmissions and converters business that supplies this truck. So...why am I buying these toys? He's really going to have to start pulling his weight around here.

(Click to enlarge)