Polar Bear at the Glass

You can read the story below to get a better idea of what was happening here...

Polar Bears

With Amy in Dallas till Wednesday, I took Monday off work and thought I'd take the kids to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. I've posted images before of a previous trip, but that was the 'African' side of the zoo. Today, we went to the 'North American' side.

It was pushing 100 degrees by the time we got there, so we weren't expecting too much activity from the animals. I was initially proved right when we went past the lounging kangaroos & wallabies, both sacked out in the shade. We strolled over to the sea lions and got a small treat. A family of three were playing and the kids were fired up.

Right next to the sea lions were the Polar Bears; honestly, I was not expecting much. I've seen Polar Bear exibits before at a few zoos and those big northerners don't take kindly to warm weather, especially a day like today. As you can see from the pictures, I was quite mistaken. They were all about having fun. From the upper observation deck, we could see a few of them playing in the water, so we went down to where you could view them from below. I wish I could post all the shots I took. Absolutely AMAZING. I've never seen anything like it. A couple of them were playing right up against the glass. The coolest part was that we were the first ones down there, and when one of the bears saw us, they stopped and he wanted to play with us. He grabbed a little rubber washer toy he had and kept pressing it up to the glass like he wanted to play 'catch' or something. It was really incredible.

The pictures don't even do the size of this thing justice either. Their paws alone seemed as large as my torso. This went on for about 10-15 minutes until it appeared he wanted to go back and play with the other bear. Jude and kerrigan were beside themselves. The only thing that suprised me more than the bears was the kids nerves. They weren't scared or intimidated at all. They were right up on the glass wanting to get as close as possible.

So glad I had the camera.

Polar Bears Cont...

Polar Bear wanting to play with Jude.

Polar Bears Cont...

I think Jude wanted to play with him, too.

Burrito Eating Contest Results

Here's how the competetive eating went:

There were waves of contestants. The first wave had five eaters, the second wave also had five and the third wave had four. I was in the third one. The guy on the furthest left, Marc (to my right), is my boss at work.

I didn't stand a chance. The first wave's winner ate all three burritos in 5 min 2 sec. The second wave's winner ate all three in 4 min 22 sec! The winner of my wave won in a marathon 8 min 30 sec!! Marc,was a bite shy of winning our round. I got through the first one on pace with everyone, but I couldn't keep it up. Those black beans were killing me! Hard and gritty, they were tough to swallow without much water. Especially since 'chewing' was at most optional. Once I ran out of water, I gave up.

I ended up eating only 1-1/2 burritos when it was all said and done. I took the third one home and ate at for dinner.




I'm full... I'm going to go take a nap.

This really threw Jude for a loop

He couldn't quite process how we could be in the same picture together like this...

Kerrigan's Summer Haircut

Kerrigan AFTER her haircut tonight...

She was very excited about it.

Kerrigan's Summer Haircut

Kerrigan BEFORE her haircut tonight...

Doug's first day of school

Found it...

Wow, not too much different from Jude's.

I guess that this would be back in '79?

Jude's first day of school

Last Monday was Jude's first day of Kindergarten. He has had such a great time and loves school very much.

If you're wondering why he's staring school in July, it because it is a year-round school. Very good actually; 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off for the whole year. Not bad. Seems to be a great system and much of Raleigh is on this schedule.

On Thursday, we had a meet the teacher night at his school already. We all went together and got to meet his friends from class, their parents and Jude's teachers.

When I saw this picture, I couldn't help but think of the picture of my first day of school. I'll post that one when I find it.

This is us on vacation with Amy's family earlier last month... sorry, I forgot to post this one sooner. Probably the most recent 'family shot' we have. We had a great time. Well, Amy and the kids had a great time. I drove them to the beach (4 hours, one way from Raleigh) on a Friday, then I had to come back alone to be back at work that Monday. I got to go back at the end of the week and enjoyed the weekend with them, then we all came back home together on Sunday morning.

Still, it was a great time!

Moe's National Burrito Eating Contest

A few of the guys and I from work are regulars at a local burrito joint, called Moe's (a lot like 'Chipotle' for you guys back in Cleveland). A few weeks ago, my boss and I saw a store promotion for a burrito eating contest where you could win Moe's burritos for life, so we filled out the card and entered.

Just today, I got the call from a Moe's rep saying I was selected for the contest. Sweeeet. I think Marc was a bit bummed he got dissed. Sorry, Marc.

Here's the deal, next Saturday (July 29th) I show up at Moe's with approx. 29 other burrito bashers. The first to eat three 'Joey Bag of Donuts' burritos wins, and advances to the next level... Uh, I don't even know what the 'next level' is... I think a state-wide burrito eating contest or something.

Anyway, I'll have Amy take pictures so you can see my burrito gorged grill. Should be fun. A bunch of my co-workers are coming and I'm going to see if some friends from church will drop by as well... what a riot this should be.

Win or lose, I still get to eat free Moe's burritos next Saturday!

Praying for you, Tiffany !!!

Just got some sobering news from our dearest friends in Virginia Beach, Rob & Tiffany Jeffers, that Tiffany has gestational trophoblastic disease (neoplasia). It is a cancerous growth that is on her lungs. I do not know many details, other than that Tiff has had her first chemotherapy treatment today and that she is and always has been the text-book definition of optimism and amazing attitude.

We are going to try to go up to visit this weekend. All of our hope, love and prayers are with them.

Rob and Tiffany's blog is here, though I will try to post here all her progress as we get word.

Dilly Bar Conspiracy

It seems that Dilly Bars aren't quite as big as they used to be.

I concede that this may just be a case of things seeming smaller because everything seemed bigger when we were kids, but I remeber when I'd get these things and they seemed like they were like dinner plates. Okay, an exaggeration, but they did seem big.

Tonight, I picked up some DQ treats for Amy and the kids... we got a few things and a dilly bar (for the first time in years), and it looked so small! I put a ruler to it and it was only 3" diameter.

Like I said earlier, maybe it's just me, but I think they are significantly smaller than I remember them being.

Kids with Friends

Amy took the kids to our friend Eva's house while I was in Cleveland. These are Eva's children, Laurel and Davis. They had fun playing in the pool and also with all the water balloons.

Mocha the neighborhood cat

A neighborhood cat spent a couple days outside our house last week. We had never seen her before so we called the number on her collar. The owners said she was an outside cat and liked to spend time away. So, she holed up on our back porch a few nights. Kerrigan loved her very much and played with her a ton. Farewell, Mocha, wherever you may roam.

Satchmo Dies : July 6, 1971

35 years ago today...

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, dies in New York City at the age of 69. A world-renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist, he pioneered jazz improvisation and the style known as swing. LouisDaniel Armstrong was born in New Orleans, the birth place of jazz, in 1901. He grew up in poverty and from a young age was interested in music.

His joyous voice, both coarse and exuberant, was one of the most distinctive in popular music. His music had a major effect on the swing and big band sound that dominated popular music in the 1930s and '40s. In 1947, he formed a small ensemble, the All-Stars, which he led until 1968. Louis Armstrong hadmany nicknames, including Satchmo, short for "Satchelmouth"; "Dippermouth"; and "Pops." Because he spread jazz around the world through his extensive travels and hit songs, many called him "Ambassador Satch." Although in declining health in his later years, he continued to perform until his death on July 6, 1971.

So why Cleveland

I put up a post about my 16 hour episode at the Cleveland hopkins International Airport, but I failed to mention the reason for the trip.

My good friend, Ryan Painter, had a suprise 30th birthday thrown for him by his wife, Karin. She wrote to me a month or so ago to see if I could make it. At the time, it was a long shot, but we checked out prices and found a decent flight.

I had a great time at Ryan's party, even though he found out by accident effectively removing the 'suprise' from suprise birthday party. However, he was suprised to see someone from North Carolina make it up to Toledo, Ohio for a party. Mission: Accomplished. Happy Birthday, Ryan. You're the MAN.

As if that weren't enough, I was able to spend the rest of the weekend with Brian 'Chicken Hawk' Thomas and the rest of the Thomas posse. The kids are so big and it was so good just to be with those guys. Brian, if you read this, thanks for being there, man. You helped make that day at the airport bareable. No joke. I wouldn't have made it without you.

Happy Anniversary, Amy!

Happy Anniversary, Amy!

Today, Amy and I have been married for 8 years. To celebrate, friends of ours across the street came over to watch the kids so Ames and I could go out. I had made reservations at a brand new restaurant in downtown Raleigh called '18 Seaboard'. By new, I mean that it just opened about a week ago. Very, very nice. Amy got a fire-roasted chicken with a nice Pinot Grigio (which she loved), and I ordered a grass-fed filet mignon with a classy Brooklyn Brown Ale. For desert, we split a lime angel food cake with orange slice and pineapple sorbet. Even the coffee was excellent.

It was so nice to get out and enjoy some time together at a slick restaurant. And, as Amy said best, it was nice to go somewhere that didn't have a kid's menu. So true.

So, if you happen to be downtown Raleigh, I highly recommend 18 Seaboard. Happy 8th, Sweetie!