Christmas 2011

My Angels

I'm going to attempt to write this without crying.  It's been six years since Ethan passed away.  The holidays will always be bittersweet because our boy was taken from us so soon.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and his handsome face and blue eyes.  He makes every second with Rhys that much more precious.  I will never take him for granted because I know how truly special he is.

What makes this even harder is that our beloved dog Buffy died on November 27th, a little more than a week ago.  I've been trying to find the courage to write about her, and it's not easy.  I had given them Thanksgiving leftovers and she choked on a piece of ham that she tried to swallow.  I tried to get it out in time, but I wasn't fast enough.  She was such a good dog that only ever wanted to play and fetch.  I will never forgive myself for not being able to help her and I hope she knows that.

I can only hope that both of my angels are together running around and happy together.

Vid Rhythmic

Booger!

Pearl Jam on Fallon!

Video Dump

Adorbs!

#Comedy

I think my tweets are funnier than anything I write longform. :-/

• Think I'm going underwear shopping at WalMart tonight. I smell a bunch of twitpics in your collective futures! #Bikinibriefs #packagebulge
• I'm thinking about renting a comedy this weekend. I better reserve Soul Surfer early at the @redbox. #comedy
• Every teardrop is a waterfall, huh? Then what is it when I take a piss, Chris Martin? #comedy #coldplayusedtobegood
• Not sure how I feel about signing up for my benefits and choosing Plan B.
• I think I'll change my gamertag to Farts McSphincter.
• I think I'll change my gamertag to Wang Cockengobble. #beatingadeadhorse
• Got my free Red Box code. Think I'll rent Green Horn...LOL! I wouldn't rent that if it came with $1.
• The Restaurant.com coupons have too many restrictions. Dine-in only for dinner during an eclipse while a virgin is present is a bit much.
• I feel like M Night missed an opportunity to use the Bloodhound Gang's Fire Water Burn in this movie. #thelastairbender
• Why hasn't there been a sequel to the bible? Harry Potter had like 10 books and I don't remember him being nailed to a cross. #comedy
• If Dippin Dots are the ice cream of the future, then we've been living in the future for like 10 years now.
• My wife turned 30 today. Time to trade her in for two 15 year olds. :-D #comedy

Also, this!

Ride 'Em Horsey!

My Old Self

Whenever I see old pictures of myself I just cringe and think "what was I thinking?" There's never been a hairdo or shirt that I've worn that I've looked back on and given the thumbs up to. Its to the point that if i see a picture of myself from a week ago i immediately regret my clothing, hair, and face.

Give it 6 months and it'll be to the point I'll see a picture of myself from that morning and just think "my shirt is ridiculous! What was i thinking?" and just go naked everywhere.

Sent from my Windows Phone

Rhys Sliding and Swinging

He really likes the swingset!

Pitcher

Tonight we were trying to teach Rhys how to catch a football. My wife would throw it to me, then I would throw it to her to demonstrate catching the ball. Instead of catching it he would let it bounce off his belly and then throw it back.  His throws are incredibly accurate for a 2 year old, as he's shown us time and time again with Hotwheels to our heads.  So, Rhea made the proclamation, "I guess he can be a pitcher and not a catcher" to which I replied, "I would prefer it that way"

And we exchanged an awkward glance.

Sent from my straight Windows Phone

Amazing

It seems to me the guy that coined the phrase "giving 110%" was a bit of an underachiever. I mean, the sky's the limit when you decide to break the laws of mathematics and go over 100, so why did he limit himself to a measly 10% over?  If you're going to go, at least go to 150%.  Give it something, you lazy ass douche.  110%?  You might as well be giving me nothing, captain weaksauce.

And ever since this guy decided that 110% was the new maximum, it has just snowballed.  Now everyone goes way overboard with everything.  Everything is amazing.  The slightest thing happens and it's immediately dubbed AMAZING. 

"I watched the latest episode of Cake Boss and it was AMAZING!"

First off, if Cake Boss can be called amazing, then what's not amazing? 

"I stepped in cat shit this morning and it was AMAZING!"

Secondly, how many shows about cake are there going to be before we hit saturation?  I scroll through my cable channels and I see at least a baker's dozen (see what I did there?) shows about cakes, cupcakes, wedding cakes, and cheesecakes.  And they're all AMAZING!

Our culture has turned into the app store.  One decent idea floats to the top of this sea of shit and immediately there are 50 of the exact same thing with slightly different names.  Angry Birds spawned more games with either angry, birds, or some combination of those words in the title.  Even the Angry Birds people were making more Angry Birds games than anybody could ever play.  And they're all AMAZING!

It occurs to me that the guy that's giving 110% would have trouble watching every show about cake and playing every game about pissed off birds.  It's all because of him that we have all of this shit.  He broke the dam and now we're just swimming in it.  And it's AMAZING!

Sent from my amazing Windows Phone

Fireworks at the Botanical Gardens

Happy 4th of July!

Rhys Riding His Trike

He's a quick learner. And a goof!

Counting In Spanish or Trains Are Frustrating

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Birthday, Rhys!

Rhys will be 2 years old tomorrow, the 15th. I can hardly believe it's been 2 years since I saw him born. He is the smartest, funniest, meanest, handsomest kid I've ever seen! We had his party on Sunday. He got so much stuff it's not even funny. Toys, clothes, etc. And cake! So much cake!

Birthday And Hail

It's been a totally busy week this week. Sunday was my birthday. I turned 36. I'm not thrilled about it, but what are you gonna do? At least I had a kick ass cake and fun time. Alana and Kenneth went with us to Twin Peaks restaurant (and paid). It was awesome. Rhys really liked it! Sunday my wife's family came over and we had some pizza and cake. I put Rhys' house together, too.

We had some storms roll through on Tuesday. We got some giant hail. Baseball-sized hail. I've never seen any that big before (that's what she said).

Playing In The Sprinkler

Zoo Slideshow

We took our first trip to the Zoo yesterday. Here's some pics! There's more on the way, too!

Helping Daddy Mow

Mowing, a photo by Gemini Ace on Flickr.

Rhys and I mowed the yard this morning. He was really good and helped a lot. The yard is looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I'm selling my phone on eBay, so if anybody wants a Samsung Focus with a cracked screen, I'll give you a deal!



Via Flickr:
Sent from my Windows Phone

Hello Ladies

As if this kid could get any cuter, he cranks it up a notch! LOL!

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The Hard Way

Why is it when I pay a bill, they are able to have the money pulled out of my account faster than you can say, "damn that was fast", but when money is owed to me everybody takes their sweet ass time?

I'm currently in a holding pattern in life financially. First off, I've been waiting on the IRS (or as I call them, the goddamn IRS) to send me the money from our first time homebuyers tax credit. It's been 6 months and all we've done is call the IRS and beg for information on why its taking so long. Come to find out our file made it to the audit department because they want more information. Since people were falsifying paperwork to get in on the tax credit, they started requiring additional proof we actually live there. Thank you government and thank you America. And don't even get me started on what a taxpayer advocate does.

Second, I've been waiting since January to get the health insurance date fixed by my previous employer so I can get reimbursed for $200 I had to spend due to their screw up. Personally I expect Jesus to come back before I expect them to get their shit together.

And finally, I am still waiting for Dell to pull the trigger and hire me as a real employee. I'm languishing here as a contractor making peanuts while doing a job that I know pays a lot more. And I have to smile about it the whole time.

I just want to know why it is that it always has to be the hard way. The IRS had to pull my amendment aside, they had to screw up my insurance and not my coworkers, and Dell has to keep me on a string just for the hell of it.

I cant believe that this is karma because if that's the case I must have raped the pope in a past life.

Sent from my Windows Phone

Rhys Knows His Animals

Dirty Boy

Summer is fast approaching and I think Rhys is going to love it. He is already an outdoors kid. He loves dirt, as you can see. Of course, he's a boy so what do you expect.

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The Recap

It's time for the recap. This is where I bemoan not writing on here more and resolve to do it more often. I'll also be giving a update on what Rhys has been doing and how awesome it is, so don't leave yet.

We mowed the yard yesterday for the first time. Well, the first time with our brand new lawnmower. We also did some landscaping to get into compliance with the HOA rules around here. I really don't know what purpose the HOA serves just yet. So far we've given them like $200 and we haven't seen anything. I'm sorry, but for two bills, you better be out here scraping gum off the street and making sure I have a Cafe Latte as I pull out of my driveway every morning. Of course, that two hundred is for the year, but still! At least stick some asshole in a golf cart and have him drive around with "HOA Police" on it so I know there's not somebody out there just rolling around in my money and laughing.

Otherwise, my house has been taken over by mexicans. Rhys has become enamored with Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go. To the point of all he wants to do is watch Diego. He knows it's on Netflix, so he turns on either the Xbox or PS3 and tv and says "Go Diego". The other night, he woke up around 3:45 am. I went in and picked him up and he immediately pointed towards the other room and said "Go Diego". I said no, it's bed time, but he can be pretty convincing sometimes. So, we ended up watching 4 episodes of Diego before going back to bed.

Since it's getting warmer and we sprung forward last night, we will hopefully be outside more. Rhys had fun outside the other day and the girls really liked it, too.

What's Up

I don't even know what to say on here anymore. Life is so busy that the days go by so fast and before I know it its been a month since I've posted on here.

Basically I'm working for a contracting company hoping it turns into a real job with Dell.  I hope it happens and happens soon. I'm tired of living in limbo as a contractor.

Other than that, its just Rhys Rhys Rhys!  And that's the best thing ever! He amazes me how much he learns every day. He has become addicted to Diego and Dora. He will sit there and watch a whole episode without moving. He won't do that with anything else. 

Anyway, that's about it.  I'll check back in 6 months. LOL!

Sent from my Windows Phone

Rhys Saying Xbox And Waving At Kinect

Rhys In The Snow In Texas

Dancing Baby Rhys

Need For Speed Slideshow

Great Start In Halo Reach Multi

More Rhys Videos!