Do Crocodiles Actually Cry Big Crocodile Tears?

May 15th, 2008
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Vacation! It’s coming soon!

Do you know the last time we went on a real vacation? A real getaway? Me neither.

In a few weeks we are going to pack 900 pounds of stuff into the back of Momma’s truck, and guess what…it is all Ace’s!

Seriously, how can such a little guy require so much stuff? The list of stuff to pack is 3 or 4 pages long!

Anyways, if we manage to successfully drive the overloaded vehicle (at what point are you required to stop at the weigh stations with the semis?) halfway across the country, we are going to be in for some good fun in the sun!

So you are probably imagining a beach somewhere,  South Carolina? Florida? Nope, and nope…Iowa!  Yes, I said it…Iowa!

Seriously! We are driving to Iowa to visit some old friends, and we are staying at one of those hotels that have the indoor water park! I’m excited! (I’m really a 12 year old in a…man I hate to say it…almost 30 year old’s body)

Not only do they have an indoor water park, the hotel is located on a lake for some outdoor water fun as well!

I’m so excited!

Even though all of this puts a big smile on my face there is one thing about the trip that I’m sure will make me cry big crocodile tears…

The gas prices make me cry big crocodile tears!
I think I cried 23.743 gallons after filling up my truck. 🙁

I plan on taking a record number of pictures on our road trip, as long as I remember the camera (and we don’t have to pawn it off to pay for gas to make it all the way home) 😆 .  I should have some good shots to show all of ya’s .

Oh yeah!  If the weather cooperates, Ace will be visiting the zoo for the first time this weekend!  Please don’t rain! 🙂

This summer is going to be sooo much fun! 😀

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Posted in: Entertainment, Family |
Views: 7,315
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Momma’s Going To Kill Me

May 9th, 2008
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So, I’m pretty sure Momma is going to kill me! Why? Because, I have a weakness for FREE stuff. Especially free stuff with wheels and an engine. 😀

In the past year I have acquired an 87 Chevy Blazer, a 77 Honda motorcycle, and 4 old push mowers that I didn’t pay a penny for. The free “junk” is piling up behind our shed at amazing rates! (If I don’t stop bringing home so called “junk”..I may just be found mangled in the “junk pile” behind our shed. 😆 )

Guess what…none of the free “junk” ran when I got them. (and most of them still don’t…but they will).

My most recent score was a 1970’s something model John Deere 56 riding lawn mower…yes…for FREE! I found it on Craigslist and was all excited! I am tired of push mowing our yard. I knew it didn’t run, but I know that almost anything can be fixed. I was really looking forward to kicking back, with no shirt, catching some rays, with a beer in one hand, and the steering wheel in the other as grass clipping flew all over the place. 😀

So I picked it up and brought it home, but guess what…not only did it not run, but it had no mowing deck. That means no blades. That means it is not mowing crap 🙁

Momma asked, “What the hell are you going to do with it if you can’t mow with it?”

Well, a few weekends ago I managed to get it started and actually move under it’s own power. Amazing huh? While most people would have taken this old worthless pile of junk to the dump for a proper burial, I found a good use.

Dad and Ace Riding On The Mower

Quit snickering at my oh so cool camo hat and good jeans!

Now I just look forward to kicking back, with no shirt, catching some rays, with Ace in one hand, and the steering wheel in the other as we zoom around the backyard dodging the land mines and annoying the neighbors with the rumble of a 6 horsepower engine running beneath our seat!

Screw mowing…let’s just ride!

By the way…I just realized that if I do things right, you can click on the picture and actually comment on the picture alone. Expect all pictures on DadThing to be like this for now on. 😀

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Posted in: Family, Funny Stuff, Like Father Like Son, Pictures |
Views: 17,342
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Early Memories

May 7th, 2008
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We all have what I call our “early memories”. The ones from our early childhood that we will never forget.  What are some of mine?

  • Climbing a fence because a snake chased me up there.  I yelled for my Mom until she came out of the house and chopped the snake up with a shovel!  She saved my life!  She was my hero!
  • My parents owned a junk-yard when I was very little.  I remember watching my Dad working on cars all day every day.  I wanted to do my part, so I would go around to some of the cars and take off the valve stem caps (ya know the little black caps where you put air in your tires).  Then I would have to put them all back on different cars. (A 2-3 yr old’s form of customization) 😀
  • Sitting on my Dad’s lap while he operated the crane at the junk yard.  I faintly remember watching the wrecking ball come crashing down and crushing the cars.  I have always liked demolition… 😀
  • Riding in a race car.  My Dad used to build and drive race cars.  I remember riding around the track during warm up laps with his friend. (Of course he didn’t fly around the track at full speed, but to a 2 or 3 year old it was an unforgettable experience!)
  • Riding in my Dad’s “Stinky Truck”.  My Dad was a big hunter/trapper.  And along with the hunting and trapping came all sorts of stinky things.  Dead animals, blood, guts, urine, feces, and bait.  His “stinky truck”  was rank!  I will never forget the smell of that thing.
  • Seeing my brother fall into the 8 ft end of the pool underneath the solar cover.  Neither of us could swim yet, so I was scared to jump in after him.  I could just see him sitting there at the bottom of the pool not knowing what to do.  My grandma came running up and she couldn’t swim either.  We both just sat there helplessly as my brother slowly floated back to the top and my grandma could pull him out.  Luckily he was OK…just a little cold. 😀

Thinking about things like this make me wonder what Ace’s “early memories” will be?  Will having me catch him inches from the floor be one?   How about the scary car wash?  Maybe his first birthday party?

Who knows if he will remember any of that stuff, but I know I will!  I’ll just keep on doing my best to provide him with fun experiences that hopefully someday will be included in his list of “early memories”. 😀

What were your “early memories”?

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Posted in: Growing Up, Looking Back |
Views: 6,445
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Get Out Of The Street!

March 27th, 2008
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As I was driving down the street on my way home from work I see Ace sitting in the middle of the front yard in his pajamas.  “What the hell?”, I say to myself.  Did he sneak out the front door when Momma was checking the mail?

Nope.  I know better.  Momma would never let that happen.  Momma was in the front yard to talking to the neighbor lady.  The neighbors daughter was playing with Ace in the front yard.

It was pretty cool!  Ace was loving it!  He found a two foot long stick and was whacking everything in sight with it.  We have one of those political signs in our front yard and Ace would run and tackle it.  He was having so much fun not being restricted by the walls of our house. 😀

The neighbors go home and it’s Momma, Ace, and me in the front yard.  Now he seems to be obsessed with the street!  I sit him down in the yard up by the house and he runs for the street…every time!

What is so enticing about the street?  I mean, it is just a big slab of boring pavement with cars zooming up and down…

Even at one year old I need to tell him to get out of the street.  I didn’t think that day would come for at least a few more years.

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Posted in: Discipline, Growing Up |
Views: 5,349
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Blizzard of ’08 – Party Has To Wait

March 10th, 2008
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Friday I left work early because the roads started to get slick and snow covered. What usually takes me about 45 minutes to drive, took a bit over 2 hours.

Central Ohio was hit Friday and Saturday with about 20.4 inches of snow, which broke a previous snow fall record of 15.3 inches for a single storm in this area, set in 1910 .

Large amounts of snow are not shocking to Momma and I because we lived in Colorado for about 4 years. It was nothing to get a couple feet of snow overnight and then be expected to be on time to work the next day. 😉

Here, the whole city tends to shut down if we get over 2-3 inches of snow, but I loaded up Ace and Momma into the truck and we slowly made our way across town to Grandma’s house. It was pretty nice to have hardly any traffic to deal with.

Since there was no traffic, and people without 4 wheel drive couldn’t really get around, there were tons of people walking down the middle of the road because the sidewalks were knee deep! I’m not talking about side streets here. I’m talking about the main routes through town! BRILLIANT! I did have to stop a few times and wait for people to get out of the middle of the road just to get through..!

Anyways, we made it to Grandma’s with no problem where Ace’s Uncle Mike and three year old cousin Olivia were waiting for us to take them sledding. It was way too cold for Ace to go with us, so he stayed home with Grandma.

We had a good time sledding. Olivia wiped out hard! Then Olivia and Momma sat in the truck, while Mike and I were trying to kill ourselves on the big hill. 😀

Here is a quick clip of Mike and Olivia’s wipe out…

[youtube 6NOHLkomItc]

Well, when we got back to Grandma’s, Momma took Ace sledding down the sidewalk. We just couldn’t have him miss out on all the fun. 😀 Here are a few pics…

So anyways, with all the snow and bad roads we decided to postpone Ace’s birthday party until next weekend. Hopefully the roads will be clear by then… 😀

PS: The prank caller returned tonight at about Midnight. Momma answered the phone this time. There were three young girls laughing in the background. Momma asked for their names and they said, “Guess!”. Momma let them know that they are disturbing a sleeping baby and to not call back here anymore…and so far they haven’t. 😀

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Posted in: Funny Stuff, Pictures, Videos |
Views: 7,206
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