Shady Lady

I attended a luncheon at The Orpheum for work today. Parking space was at a premium and my co-workers and I ended up parking a couple of blocks away at the Methodist Church. It was pretty hot outside so we walked through the alleys to take advantage of the shade provided by the buildings. I noticed this piece of art spray painted on the wall along our stroll. I didn't mean to take a black & white snap, but I think it adds to the mystery behind the message.

My Tree Son

Bible Sunday

Today is the day! It's the day she's been wanting to arrive for a LONG time. Today is the day she gets an honest to goodness real Bible at church. She was so excited that she was ready to go before the rest of us. She got up on her own and got herself ready. The hard part was having to wait for us to catch up to her. The girl was pumped up! It was a big day for her, and as a dad, I'm glad she was excited about it. Now, if we can get a repeat of this morning's performance on school days. Crossing my fingers.

Doin' the Hustle!

Today was a fantastically busy day! It started off with the 1st Annual Hornet Hustle at the Kansas Coliseum. This was a fundraiser for my daughter's school in an effort to raise enough money that we can stop having to sell wrapping paper, cookies, candy, etc. They seemed to have a great turnout with over 300 participants so I hope it did the trick. Stephanie G. did a great job pulling it together with the help of so many others. My brother drove 2 hours to join our family for the event which was great. He's a cross country coach so he gave us some really good advice being this was our first run ever. We also were lucky enough to get to hang out with the Running Lawyer, and we also saw Oz Runner from just up the street. Good people all around us! Everyone did a great job, and I'm proud of the entire group. We're already looking forward to next year's run where we'll all be in better shape and run farther than this year.

After the Hornet Hustle, we hustled out to the farmer's market to buy some sweet corn for my son's birthday next week, but sadly, the season is over and there was none to be found. But we didn't walk away empty handed. Absolutely not! We left with a large jar of honey, a jar of apple butter, a jar of Elderberry jelly, and a jar of Pepsi jelly made with real Pepsi (bought some Diet Pepsi jelly for Mom & Dad). They had Mountain Dew jelly, Code Red jelly, and other flavors that we'll try another time. Before we left, my daughter and I were watching a magician and he gave her the honor of pulling out a LARGE nail he carefully hammered into it. That's something she won't forget, and he let her keep the nail, but only after I insisted he wipe it down first. We grabbed a quick lunch and hustled home to take an afternoon rest.

We wrapped up the day by hustling over to Applebee's then hustled to McLean Park for a free movie in the park. They were showing "The Princess and the Frog". The weather was great and you can't beat free, especially when they throw in free popcorn, free lemonade, free sno-cones, and free popsicles. What a day! One I'd hustle to do all over again.

Sidelines

Friday night, and the high school team goes head to head. It's a new season with a new coach, and the crowd at tonight's scrimmage proved that hope springs eternal.

Scrimmage Tape

Football season has started! Tonight was the scrimmage for the middle school football team. I ran tape on the game as usual and got it ready for coaches to review over the weekend. Here's to a great season!

Morning KISS

I walked into my office this morning, and this guy's ugly mug was there to greet me. It was a 7-foot cardboard stand-up one of the new employees brought in to decorate their cubicle. That's cool!

Promise or Threat?

Band teachers today have really stepped up their game. During open house the other night at the school, I saw this in the band room. Thank God I played the drums!

Temporarily Untitled

I can't title this one until I have time to write the story behind it. Story coming soon...

Number 24

Waiting for our food to be delivered at lunch. Haven't been here in a long time. I love Jason's Deli for two reasons: the Beefeater sandwich, and their ginormous stuffed baked potatoes.

Heaven is a Circle

At least, today it is. My favorite pizza. My favorite ice cream recipe. All in circular form. Twas a good day.

Waterfall Wall

From last night's jalk with Joggers & Lagers.

I Don't Like Beer

It's true. Can't stand it. And tonight, I was a little nervous about this group I met up with that does two things totally foreign to me. They jog and then they drink beer. I'm really not a fan of either. But, in an effort to get moving and get healthy and get skinny and allow "Hot Mike" to make a comeback, I joined them tonight. I didn't jog, I "jalked", meaning walked and jogged. Mainly, I walked. I think it was a 2-mile stretch. After the exercise, we all met back at a favorite local establishment to cool off, eat dinner and enjoy a drink. I started with water but soon found what looked to be a beer I might enjoy. What the heck. I was out with new friends so I ordered up a Van Diest Fruli Strawberry Beer. It is blend of Belgian white beer and strawberry juice and it made my mouth very happy. None of that messy alcohol aftertaste. Why let that get in the way of flavor? So, I now have something to drink if I'm ever in a situation that calls for a beer. Since it's difficult to find in local liquor stores, hopefully I'm in Belgium when that happens.

Acoustic Goodness

I didn't take this picture but I would have if was anywhere near the guy tonight. I ran across a song tonight I can't stop listening to. Its by Jeffrey East. It's called "Bein' Loved By You". I wrote about it on my other blog that you can read here.

Beware the Hook

Evening Stroll

Game Face

Tomorrow. First day of school. First day of football practice. He's been preparing all summer and he's ready to go. He's gonna do great!

Sweet (picture of) Corn

I've been wanting to snag a picture of the corn fields I drive by each day. The kids and I had some extra time after haircuts, football equipment checkout, and breakfast so we stopped on a lightly travelled road to see what I could get. I took several different shots, but I walked away with this one. I think it's a real winner with the contrast in colors and the rich, blue, Kansas sky in the background. As simple as it is, I love this picture.

Hot In The Shade

It was H-O-T today! Got to 109º! Over lunch, I parked my car in the shade and ate with the windows down. The wind as blowing and it felt just like a blast furnace pushing hot air into my car. Miserable. When we went out to dinner tonight, it was still over 100º. Ree-DONK-you-luss! Everyone wanted to go to Cracker Barrel. Besides the food, my favorite part of visiting the Barrel is all the great stuff to take pictures of. This was the coolest thing inside the restaurant and it immediately caught my eye. The temperature dropped 20º just looking at it. If it's hot where you are, feel free to stare at this picture as long as you like.

Rockin' with the Rockettes

The world famous Radio City Rockettes were in town today to promote their Christmas Spectacular. They were also promoting their "Kick Across America" campaign. The Rockettes taught the crowd that was in attendance how to properly kick and then everyone formed a kick line and kicked. They did this at the same time as people in 7 other cities: New York, Los Angeles, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Diego and Fresno.

By the way, the two in the middle are radio DJ's, not actual living breathing Rockettes.

Back Road Birds

In the last week, as I walk along the back road each morning, and sometimes in the evening, I've seen horses, deer, and tonight, geese. That's what I love about living on the outskirts of town. Nature is not afraid to show its face.

Behind the Scenes

This is where I spend part of my day when at work. It's like being inside a giant VCR.

Huh?

Oh. Of course. It is 2010.

It's like being inside a giant DVR.

B.A.D.

I asked him what he wanted to call this post. He said "Beastly Awesome Skills". The title I chose fits better. "Basketball After Dark". Well, no one can say the kid isn't confident!

First Church of Pepsi

We went shopping today to pick up some last minute school supplies for the kids. It's Sunday and I'm amazed at the places you can find a good sermon. This message is courtesy of Pepsi. Found inside Walmart. I will drink a Pepsi this week just because of this display of goodness. Congratulations, Pepsi! You win!

Hello, Horses!

I guess after seeing me walk by their meadow on a consistent basis, they're comfortable enough to come and say "Good Morning" to me. They would just stand there and let me pet their noses and the side of their faces. They weren't spooked at all. It was a nice way to sort of commune with nature. Very peaceful.

Meadow of Horses

From the morning walk.

DQ Dessert

Today was Miracle Treat Day. For every Dairy Queen Blizzard sold, $1 goes to Children's Miracle Network. So, we did our part. We even bought one for the neighbor boy. Above and beyond, that's how we roll.

I See The Sun

It's Summer. It's hot. You can't escape the heat of the Sun. Not even above our table inside our favorite restaurant.

Morning Walk

Morning view. Road of seclusion. Except, road construction has made this a major thoroughfare. All serenity is gone until they get that roadwork done. Let's expedite the project, huh guys?

Pole Position

Racin'

Sara scored some free tickets to 81 Speedway tonight. You know, growing up where I did in Con,and also living in Nashville, TN and now Wichita, I've been surrounded by racing and dudes who spend their weekends working on cars. The surprising part is I've never been to a car race in my life...ever! Not until tonight. How did I avoid it all of these years? Amber loved being there tonight. She said it's much better than watching TV. I guess I need to get her out more. She sat there and smiled and screamed all night, especially when the loud cars drove right in front of us. I gotta admit, it was pretty cool. We even went out on the track to talk to the guy who drives the pace car. He's the guy Sara knows from high school who gave us the tickets. So, thanks Matt! We had a great time.