Sweet Corn

Today is the first day that the delicious sweet corn on the cob goes on sale around town. Gaeddert Farms gazebos are the best part about summer. Actually, eating the corn we buy from those gazebos is the best part, but when you see those little green and yellow buildings, you know summer goodness isn't too far away.

Morning Harvest

Snapped this one a couple miles north of home on my morning bike ride. What I like about living in Kansas is that you don't have to go very far, even on a bicycle, to get away from the city and into the country.

Soft Toss, Hard Hit

I was working with Amber on her swing tonight while we were waiting for Andrew's game to start. She gave it a hard shot...so hard that it stuck in the fence WAY over my head. The girl's gonna be a monster on the softball field.

Water-logged Dog

We loaded up the SUV and headed north to Wildcat country for a family reunion. It was a pretty light turnout but still a great day all around. My Aunt Penny brought her dog, Gracie, with her and the kids loved playing with her. She would run around the edges of the pool and bark at them while they played in the water. This is my niece, Leah, posing with Gracie. A real life beauty and the beast.

These Apples Are Gayla

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Sara was making an apple salad for the family reunion tomorrow and these Gayla apples, they're the guys we'll all be dining on. She even managed to work Snicker candy bars into the recipe somehow. Yeah, she's pretty amazing like that when it comes to chocolate.

The Vases of El Monterrey

Went out to eat tonight at a Mexican restaurant. These vases were on the ledge next to us. That is all.

Silent Shockers

On a break from Wichita State University basketball camp, the place got pretty quiet so I snapped this picture of the practice gym. I like how the reflection of the light from the windows forms a non-existent rectangle. I couldn't see it when I was just looking across the gym, but it showed up nicely in this snap.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Tonight was Andrew's first night ever to umpire a ball game. He had to start with a T-ball game before he can move up to machine pitch. So, we got there a bit early to make sure we had the right kind of balls for that level, something for him to drink, and a comfortable place for me to sit and watch him ump games for teams I care nothing about. He did a great job. He held a coaches meeting before each game, introduced himself, briefly covered the rules with both coaches, and let the kids play ball. He ran a pretty tight ship and didn't even have to eject anyone!

Spinning the Twine

One of the things Andrew has always wanted to do finally happened tonight. He got to be the starting pitcher in tonight's game. He pitched a pretty good game for his first time out. He played great defense and showed that he is really thinking when he's on the mound. A nice showing by the boy. Too bad some of the other guys on the team didn't come to play. A lot of errors tonight. We could've easily won this one but gave up the victory 9-10. We meet back up with the same team later this week. Watch out, Bandits!

H2O

Today is the first day of summer, and boy is it a hot one! Excessive heat warning until tomorrow night. Feels like 105 with 50% humidity. Yuck. That's just one of the reasons I don't like summer. Too hot for me. I have no desire to be out in that grossness. Water is my friend. So is air conditioning. Other reasons I hate summer: mosquitos, mowing, sweating, people wearing less clothing that have no business wearing less clothing, etc. You get the point. Tomorrow will be a great day. Why? Sure, it'll be hot and have all of the things I just listed above. But tomorrow...tomorrow will be the first day in the slow death of summer. The days will begin getting shorter little by little until we are once again back at my favorite spot of an early sunset and late sunrise and cooler temperatures and football and basketball and everything else I love. Don't get me wrong, I'm not all doom and gloom in the summer. I love buying corn on the cob from the local farmers, I enjoy going to the farmers market and buying fresh apple butter, I enjoy having a wine cooler or something similar after mowing the yard, I enjoy watching the kids chase fireflies, I enjoy watching the kids play baseball, I enjoy grilling out and the 4th of July, I enjoy a good bike ride in the early morning (even though it involves sweating), and I enjoy a good thunderstorm.

Father's Day with 'The Father'

This was the window next to us in the church we attended in Stillwater. The window reads "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased". Seems pretty appropriate for Father's Day!

Aqua Slam

Baseball Park Dinner

And for dessert, Amber treated us to her very first home run! It was very sweet!

Turtle on a Boat

Look at the pimped out life little Clod the Turtle is living. He spends most of his day in an aquarium, but sometimes he gets all uppity on us and chills on his boat in his private pool. Yeah, his pool is big enough to take a boat ride. The little dude has got it good!

Playoff Baseball

I was nowhere near a baseball diamond tonight, yet this was on the kitchen table. I can't escape from it. It's following me! But, I prefer this version of the game because you can play it in the A/C. Play ball!

Silent Running, Pt. 2

I think the picture tells the story here. Even Amber got into the act, helping the tow truck driver haul off her dad's car. It's a pretty good gig when the guy pays you in lollipops. Maybe it was his subtle way of letting me know I was a sucker for driving this car. The tow truck diver, Marc, was the nicest guy and very helpful. AAA to the rescue!

Silent Running

Silence. Just silence. That's what I got tonight when I tried to start the car. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE car problems. Especially when I think I know what the problem is and spend money and time trying to fix it and it doesn't work. Throwing good money after bad, that's what I'm doing.

A River Runs Through It

A lot of rain fell last night. It was loud enough that it woke me up. I began to think about the baby turtle we have in a small aquarium in the back yard. Was it filling up with rain water? Was the turtle swimming for it's life? Can turtles drown? So, I got up at 4AM to go save the turtle. I think turtles can breath under water...well, at least for awhile. But, I wasn't sure. I'd like to think the turtle was grateful for my move to action. On another subject, today was supposed to be day 2 of the baseball tournament but the rain forced us to cancel. The picture above is the creek that runs through the park. Normally, you drive this road as you enter the park and the creek runs under the road. Not today. More rain is on the way right now so I don't see the water residing anytime soon.

Cooking the Q

Had to work the grill at the baseball tournament today. We have another shift tomorrow. Burgers, brats and dogs. I can think of worse jobs to do.

Molly Frankenstein

I dropped Amber off at camp this morning and she made a point to introduce me to the friend they created, Molly Frankenstein. Consisting of bread bags, newspaper bags, grocery sacks, rubber gloves and newspapers, she a was pretty friendly creature, even though she was short on good looks.

There's A New Sheriff in Town

I don't think it's a mistake that this billboard sits above the building next to my office. I get to see it everyday. It's gonna be a good year, no matter how hard Nebraska and Colorado and the other teams in the Big XII try and screw it up for us.

Wall "O" Light

I picked up Andrew from OSU Cowboy Basketball Camp today. His team won the 5 on 5 tournament for his age group. The kid's got skills! Kind of interesting to be in a Big XII town at a Big XII school on the day when there's so much talk about the Big XII dissolving. I'm pretty sad about that. The Big XII is a good family of schools and the fans enjoy paying other schools in such close proximity. I don't care about the UCLA's or the Michigan's. Those schools seem a world away from me but I can relate with the school's in the Big XII. If things fall apart, college sports just won't be as enjoyable if my favorite teams are playing games with their new "friends" in Arizona. Ugh. Thanks for ruining the party, Nebraska.

Shower on the Shox

I wasn't sure we'd get tonight's game in with all of the rain building back our way. We were delayed by about 30 minutes but we got the game in. We beat the other guys 13-7 in a muddy battle. Got another one tomorrow night. Let's go SHOX!

Ford Photo

Picture of Andrew with Coach Ford from Oklahoma State Basketball Camp. A decent photo taken by a guy who makes a better coach than a shutterbug.

Eat at Joe's

That's something I've never done. Eat at Joe's. Been to Stillwater many times, but have never dined with the Eskimo. I don't even have a t-shirt! Drove by it tonight after dropping A1 off at OSU basketball camp.

Taste of Happiness

A1 is going to be gone for a few days attending basketball camp at Oklahoma State so he picked where we ate dinner tonight. Freddy's for the win!

Rock of Wisdom

We've been taking care of the dogs for the SIL/BIL, as well as tending to their garden (i.e. watering the green things). Sometimes when you help others, you can learn something.

81º

Helping out the SIL & BIL by taking care of their dogs and watering their garden. Tonight was a perfect night and the thermometer in the garden supports that.

Banged Up Bats

The way these bats look is obviously a good thing. It means we're finally hitting the baseball. A1 wins tonight against the Bulldogs 12-10.

Caution Cone

Just a warning...the summer is about to get busy. Very busy! Not sure what to expect in the way of photos. Lots of sports, traveling, holiday get-togethers, reunions....I'm already tired.