Thursday, December 31, 2009

We are All a Little Safer

Mother, Son Jailed on Drug Charges

Whew, that was a close one. Imagine what COULD have happened if the police hadn't taken action. Common Sense died in 2009.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Speaking of Stupid

Its not uncommon to see people jetting around town after a snow storm with a few inches of snow atop their vehicle which invariably flies off and lands on the car traveling behind these knuckleheads. All this happens at speeds of 40-60 mph.

Here are a few pictures of these lazy people.



And just when I think they couldn't be outdone, I saw one with a few inches of snow piled up on the cars hood. I could not fathom how the guy could actually see the road in front of him. I wish I had taken a picture of that but we were moving when I saw him.

Look at this D-Bag

I don't know what it is about Washington weather that makes people go a little nuts, but it always brings out the worst in people. Maybe its the low pressure or something else, but people just turn into "D-Bags".

I use that word liberally, sometimes too liberally. The other day I was approaching the mall on a three lane road. The right lane was a turn lane only. Wouldn't you know it, since that lane ends, some guy in a SUV decides that he will use that lane up until the end and then cut in at the last second. But bozo isn't that smooth, he cuts in but can't complete it since we are all sitting in traffic. He is now sitting half in the right turn lane and half in the middle lane. There are no less than six cars behind him waiting for him to get out of the way so they can turn right.

I say out loud to myself, "Ugh, Look at this D-Bag". I hear from the back of my car a little voice that says, "Where? I wanna see the D-Bag". Its Jack. I wince a little and decide I will now start using a word like Knucklehead from now on.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Good Deed for the Day

I got a call from my neighbor Eric, he said that an ambulance was out front and looked stuck in the snow. We grabbed our shovels and went out to see if we could help. After ten minutes of some digging, the ambulance still wouldn't move. They couldn't free it because there was snow packed under the middle of the truck. This was a diesel ambulance, not one of those converted vans, it had double wheels in teh back and chains on the wheels, too.

A Fire Department plow truck came by and they hooked it up to the front, a couple tries and it was free. The video is of that plow truck coming back from turning around. The ambulance ended up going down a different street.


Indoor Fun

Kate and Jack made peppermint stick reindeer today.


Kate taught him the trick of dipping it in your hot cocoa. Mmmmmmm, cocoooaaaa...

Snow Patrol

I went out to shovel the walkway, even though snow is still falling, but I figured that it would be easier when I do it again tomorrow. Meanwhile, Jack wanted to get out and play a little and so did the dog. Being cooped up for a few hours will do that.

The dog was buried and bounded over the snow to get through, but was able to make it back by high stepping it. The boy couldn't make it through, so I pulled him on the sleigh and it worked great. Exhausting, but fun.






Jack in the snow.

Snow

The Washington DC area got walloped today with 11 inches and the snow and its still falling. Its due to fall the rest of the day so we could have accumulations of 20" when its over. We went outside to "play" and shovel off the walk and by the time I got to the end of the walkway (25 feet), it was already covered on the other end.

I took some pictures and a few short movies of the dog and Jack enjoying the snow. The dog seemed to really enjoy getting out and running around. I don't know how dogs do it, being naked and all in the snow but still enjoying themselves. The ultimate optimists.


Monday, December 7, 2009

Christmas Tree

We put the Christmas tree up on Saturday when it was snowing. Kate put some Christmas music on and it started to feel like the Holidays.

Snow Day

Saturday it snowed almost all day, big fat flakes in the morning which made for great snow packing, which means its snowman making time! Thi is the first time I can remember making a snowman with Jack. I think our usual outings into the snow are made up of frolicking (yes, frolicking) in the snow and maybe throwing snowballs at the dog.

Boo Boo in the snow.

Smiling Jack in the snow.

We made ours with a nose, eyes and a tongue sticking out. No carrots were available.


As soon as we finished making the snowman, we decided to destroy the snowman. Jack is no fighter, as you can tell by the video.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Thanksgiving (Chuck E Cheese)

Mom and Dad treated the boys to a few hours at the local Chuck E Cheese while Karen and Kate slept in after getting up at 4:30 in the morning to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad were real troopers to take three boys to chucks for a few hours. I had never been and its a mad house even though the place was not all that crowded. They treated on the coins and I got the pizza. The place is a mini-casino for kids, same atmosphere, same energy. I even saw a kid outside who was begging for change saying he was down on his luck.

All the games will spit out tickets or ticket if you suck at the game. Each ticket is worth about 1 penny. The tokens are worth about 25 cents, so you know they are making some serious cash from this activity. I think the state will get involved in teh future, its a great racket for the joint.BTW - The boys eventually converted all their tokens onto tickets and came back with about 900+ tickets in all.



Joshua, Jacob and Jack taking a minute to realize how important it is to realize that family is - whoa, cool, its a dinosaur...

Mom, Joshua and Jacob taking a break.

Joshua driving a mouse, too?

Joshua playing air hockey while his brother gives him advice on how to beat the three year-old.

Me and Jack taking a break from all the chaos that is Chuck E Cheese.

Beep, beep, I am driving a mouse around. Where else can you do this?

I don't know who was showing who how to play some of these games. Sometimes Jack would direct, sometimes Dad would.

Papa John and Jack.

Papa John and Jack again.

Jack playing air hockey.

I wish Dada had been in this picture, but its still a pretty good shot.

Papa John and Joshua.

Thanksgiving (Ted's Montana Grill)

We went to Ted's Montana Grill for our Thanksgiving, because nobody felt like cooking a big meal. I had never had a Buffalo Burger before and it was delicious - bring on the Bison!

GG and Joshua.

GG and the boys.

GG, Papa John, Jacob and Joshua.

Karen and Jacob.

Mmmmm, Chocolate Shake.

Erik, Karen and Jacob.

Three John Goodyears.

Thanksgiving (Miscellaneous Pics)

Fierce. (or as fierce as you can be with foam swords)

Mom took us all to Walmart and let the boys get one big present. This is the shot of them all hanging off of the cart with their new toy in the basket. That was a great treat, Thanks Mom.

All the boys together (Jacob, Jack and Joshua).

Rocco the killer (of fleas).

Tickling is a favorite at any family gathering.

Jack eventually loosened up.

Jack got some GG time, too.

More GG time.

When they weren't playing games, the boys would like to hang around Mom and get some GG time.

I found a game online that the boys wanted to play on the lego/Star Wars site. It was fun and they really liked uncle Johnny's help when we would destroy the droids with the lightsaber.

Mom getting smooched by Karen and Jacob.

Meanwhile, Karen worked on her won puzzle and some of us would chip in and help for a few minutes at a time. Dad was helping when I took this shot.

Jacob and the Star Wars lego thing I put together for them. It must have had 3,000 pieces - it took me about two hours to put together.

Karen and Erik had an LCD flat screen mounted above their fireplace, so Jack would stand in front and look straight u to watch it. He becomes the TV when he watches, so his mouth opens and he will stay in these neck-stiffening positions just to watch SpongeBob.

Jack and his beloved train.

The boys had foam swords and liked to play fight with eachother.

This is my favorite pic of Jack, getting smooched on by Mom. He gives this look when he is "smooched-out".

Jack on his laptop, showing Mom a few shortcuts.

Jack playing that Star Wars Lego game we found online.

Jack playing with Dad and his train. Jack loves that train - thanks GG (mom).

Dad and Jacob.

Thanksgiving (PF Changs)

Mom and Dad invited us out to the PF Changs at the Mall of Georgia for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner - their treat. PF Changs has a great atmosphere and the service is usually good, too. It was familiar for us since we have one close to us as well. I like the lettuce wraps with veggies. My father seemed to like those and wasn't horrified that they contained tofu.

Forgive me for taking sooo long to get these up, there were a lot of pictures to go through and process and I am lazy.

Jack, Joshua and Jacaob outside the restaurant, under the horse.

Mom and Dad.

Kate and Jack.

Jacob and Me.

Jacob and Dad.