Little Al is our dog. I have talked about him before,but I have to give the whole story to describe these pictures. We got Little Al sometime in early 2000 from Amber's brother Alan. He (Alan) originally wanted Al for himself, but there was a city ordinance in the town he was moving to that prohibited pit bulls. So, we got to have Little Al since Big Al could not keep him. Al has been our dog, actually more like our firstborn, ever since. He is great with Abbie and all of the family. He loves going to Ralph and Janice's and will torment us if he thinks we are going without him. But of all the people he loves, Big Al still seems to be his favorite. Alan stayed with us for a couple of days last week and I took these pictures of Little Al after he found out that Alan was coming. Al was beside himself until Alan got here. Al did not stay with Alan for very long, but he sure has never forgotten him. It is something that just makes me smile.
Embarrassing pictures that parents take of their kids are fun aren't they? If you are the parent, of course. I could not resist catching Abbie "in the act." There is an old photo of me in a similar position, but I had fallen asleep. Over the years that photo has provided much joy for many family members not named Joby. So that is why Abbie gets the same treatment. I know, my photo was not broadcast over the internet, but that is the price you pay for technology, right? By the way, her favorite part of this process is when she comes running out of the bathroom with her underwear around her ankles yelling "all done, all done!"
We went to Mom and Dad's this past weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had a good time and enjoyed some great food. The kids were fun to watch and really enjoyed it when Amber read to them. We really did not get to stay very long since I had to get back for a meeting. It was good to see everyone, though.
I went to my first Thunder basketball game last night. My brother-in-law has season tickets and was nice enough to ask my father-in-law and I if we would like to go to the game against the Rockets. I enjoy watching sports, but I am not a fan of being in crowds of LOTS of people. I have been to a few sporting events in my life. Our family used to go to Kansas City and watch Royals games when I was younger. I got to see George Brett and Bo Jackson hit home runs and Bo broke a bat over his knee. I have only been to a couple of Sooner football games. One at Norman and the Big 12 Championship in 2004 at Kansas City. That being said, I think one of the best parts of going to the event is the crowd. Yes, it is fun to watch the stars shine on their stage, but when the crowd gets into a good game, that is what I enjoy most. There were some good crowds at Kansas City, but in an open park like that, it was not overpowering. The big 12 championship was almost all Sooner fans and when AD ran for a touchdown to our endzone, it got pretty nuts. I was hoping the crowd would be "electric" for the game last night and for the most part I was dissappointed. Do not get me wrong, I really enjoyed the game, but the crowd seemed flat for the most part. The team played a good 1st quarter and a decent 2nd quarter to trail at half 56-50. I thought the 1st half was a good showing and more than I expected against a team as good as the Rockets. The 3rd quarter was brutal. The Thunder could not hit anything and by the time they started to score, they were down by about 15. Through all this time it seemed to me the crowd was not as loud or excited as I had expected. The 4th quarter was better and the Thunder looked like they could make a run. I started to feel the crowd coming alive and there were critical points that could have turned the game. First, early in the quarter, the Thunder trimmed the lead to 8 and had a chance to get it to 6. After a steal, we had the ball and the crowd was into it. The Rockets fouled us and called timeout before the free throws. Our best player was still on the bench for his start of the 4th quarter rest. The coach did not put him back in, we missed both free throws, Houston made a couple of buckets and in no time we were down by 12 instead of 6. Then, later in the quarter the team started playing good defense and the crowd started to pick up. THE play that could have "Blown the roof off the dump" was a breakaway after a Houston turnover. We were pushing the ball up and I could see Kevin Durant (our best player) coming on the backside for an alleyoop that would have been HUGE. But the pass was behind him and we turned the ball over and the crowd just fizzled. I had a good time and I think the team can be good, they are just young.
Hi there. I am sorry for the long hiatus, but it has been tough to find the time and I have not taken any new pictures recently. I have any number of things to rant about. Aggravations at work, the aggravating new dress code at work, the aggravating (if not scary) election results, and numerous other aggravations. But, I choose to talk about the picture above. This past weekend we went to Ada for a brief visit to celebrate Dad's birthday (belatedly). Even though the stay was brief, it was a very enjoyable trip. Mom had the idea to have a picnic style lunch at the park and it was a great idea. The weather was pefect. There was lots of sunshine and almost no wind. We all ate some KFC (Abbie too, thank goodness), then played on the swing, jungle gym, and fed the ducks. Abbie really took to leading mom and dad around and sort of "showing off" for them. It was neat to watch. I have not really seen Abbie be like that with mom and dad until now. It made me smile inside and out. When the ducks saw us coming, they made a beeline (or is that a duckline?) to us for what little bread we had. They were honking up a storm and Abbie is not real fond of loud noises. She went to dad for security and thats when I took this picture. Again, it just makes me smile. We missed Jami and her crew, hopefully the whole gang can get together for Mom's birthday, I am interested to see what kind of trouble Abbie and Rosie get into. It is late so I will stop, but I will try to be on a little more often. Have a good weekend. 
I had planned on finding a picture of some longhorns and posting it upside down for this post, but I thought this picture of Abbie was too cute. She loves wearing dresses and saying cheese for pictures. OU-Texas is this weekend and I am really excited this year. It seems that I have had to work the past couple of years on OU-Texas, but this year I am off on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also, the game could be the biggest of the year. #1 vs. #5, ESPN College Gameday will be there, and I get to stay home and watch the WHOLE thing! I am pumped! I am also ready to watch the OSU-Missouri game. I am interested to see how both teams handle the pressure of a big game against a great offense. I think the OU-OSU game at Stillwater could be bigger for us than the Texas game (provided we beat Texas). But, there are a bunch of games to play before worrying about that. I also noticed that the Newkirk Tigers are 4-1 and 2-0 in District play. Maybe the Young's leaving town has brought some success to the lowly Tigers? Just kidding, guys. Anyway, I am off today and tomorrow, so I hope to get some pictures and maybe some more posts in. If not, BOOMER SOONER!!!!
I have been looking at blogs quite a bit lately. I have been searching for blogs regarding pharmacy and to my surprise there are quite a few. But, the sad thing is that the common thread among almost all of them is the bitterness and anger that is displayed. These people are stressed, feel very unappreciated, and taken advantage of. I have found at least 20 pharmacy blogs and they are littered with stories of hateful customers, doctors, and inept store management. I have been surprised to see all this venom spit out due to my profession. But here is the thing, I identify with ALL of them. All of the stories make me think of days that I have had to deal with at work. I feel like I am a positive person for the most part. Granted, I can get pretty worked up over stuff at work just like the next guy. I am not immune to the frustration felt when people are hateful. I guess seeing my wife when I come home, and maybe little miss smiles-alot on the left, seem to help me leave work at work (for the most part). So watch out for those angry pharmacists.
I am a little bit at a loss for words. I realize that I have not written much lately, but not much has been coming to mind. I have been thinking about "being a pest." I have been known to pick at people a little bit. I know my sister, wife, and now my daughter would attest to this. I caught myself the other day while Abbie was sleeping. She was sleeping peacefully on the couch and I had this need to run my finger on the bottom of her foot. I wanted to see if she just wiggled her foot, pulled her leg back, scratched her foot, or slapped my hand. Why? I do not know. Amber has asked me before why I persist in picking at people when it is obvious that they are not amused. I guess I just want to see a reaction. I want to see what kind of response I can elicit. I know that sounds childish, but that is about the best explanation I can come up with. It sounds better to me than "I am a jerk who likes to pester people." I even have picked at Little Al while he was sleeping. I am thankful that he is as patient as he is. The old saying about letting sleeping dogs lie just has not set in, I guess. When I was in elementary school we had a dog named Marcus. He was a voracious eater, as most dogs are. He would growl if anyone got within 3 feet of him while he was eating. Well, that was just too cool to me. I can remember him biting me twice when I pestered him while he ate. On my first day of school in the First grade, I thought it would be funny to poke the kid in front of me when he raised his hand. Needless to say, he and I started the first grade school year with our names on the board. I think he got in trouble more because his mother was the teacher, but that is neither here nor there. Does this sound stupid to anyone other than me? I am sure Jami could go on for some time about the numerous ways I have pestered her over the years. I am sorry, I just can not explain it. Anyway, say a prayer for Amber and Abbie, that they do not go crazy living with me.
Yes, that is a fly that I took a picture of. Yes that is my hairy knee he is perched on. I thought it might illustrate the point in my blog today. Some people (ok, MOST people) would be repulsed by an image like this. But, some would look and be interested, even fascinated. As a parent, I have come to find out that there are events that happen that I would not have taken note of before becoming a parent, but now they are of great importance and significance. A young child deciding on her own to go to the bathroom and poop by herself is not really a thing to be cheered and ballyhooed, is it? It sure is if you are her parents and she has been fighting with you about potty training! Abbie did just that today. She went to the bathroom on her own, and went #2 by herself. I will never cease to be amazed. I know we may still have to work with her and have some setbacks, but it sure was something to see, no matter who you are.
I have been uploading photos to my flickr page by the ton. This is one from late 2006 on a football Saturday. I have been looking around on the flickr site and it is pretty interesting. The site has groups that contain certain types of photos that people have uploaded. There are groups that visually try to debunk the myth that pitbulls are just naturally evil. I had to put a couple of Little Al on there to help the cause. There is a group that has pictures of tornados, which is very cool. Since I have been adding pictures from early to late, I have seen a number of pictures that surprise me. I just can not believe the changes Abbie has made in 3 short years. She started back to Mother's Day Out today. What a difference a year makes. Last year she cried like crazy in the first few weeks, but now she is excited to "go to school." I could talk a ton about all the football I have watched in the past 4 days (it has been great!), but I do not want to bore anyone. Suffice it to say, OU has looked real good so far, but with some areas still needing work. I am finishing up my vacation and will be going back to work on Saturday. I think I have to work when OU plays Texas, too. That seems to happen every year! Have a good week.
You may have to turn this up, Abbie was not very close to the microphone. She is actually signing the letters while saying them. Do not forget to pause the music player while listening to Abbie!
We went swimming today. This picture is from a few days ago, Abbie and her cousins were trying out her "slip and slide." When I got home today, it just seemed like a day to be in a pool. Abbie's cousins Jake and Zach were over and I asked if they wanted to go. They have a pool in their subdivision. Once I said swimming, Abbie was all for it. She said "swim, swimmin," to me about 20 times in a minute or two, so we went swimming. Abbie loves it. She has a floaty vest that she wears, but she is pretty brave when it comes to getting a mouthful of water. She knows to kick her legs and really has a ball with it. If Daddy hadn't gotten sunscreen in her eyes, it would have been the perfect time. I hope she continues to enjoy swimming and that we can keep giving her those opportunities.
So much time and so little to say. Strike that, reverse it. I feel like I have a bunch of stuff to talk about, but I am afraid it will only come out as random anecdotes and ramblings. I am in a musical "mood," if you could call it that. I took my MP3 player to work this weekend and it was eye-opening to hear some tunes again. I listened to some classic rock, contemporary Christian, and of course, The Beatles. Then, Amadeus was on this evening. Although it is not really a documentary, it is a great movie and Mozart had unbelieveable talent. So, after listening to The Beatles, and watching Amadeus, I have been thinking about people who can not only play wonderful music, but about the people who wrote it. Mozart was composing at 4, can you believe that? Lennon and McCartney went from Love Me Do to the epic Abbey Road and even to the sometimes bizarre white album. There was a big evolution in their songs from the early to late 60's, but they still produced some of the best music ever (in my opinion). I just want to interject a word of thanks to my Dad for introducing me to most of the music I have been talking about. Without Dad's album collection or listening to classic rock stations to and from our trips to work, I would have no idea who Edgar Winter is or what the rockin' pneumonia and boogie woogie flu is. Dad's enjoyment became my enjoyment. Then, about when I hit my junior year of high school, I started to have my own music to enjoy. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and some other bands from the Seattle area just really seemed to have the music I liked. When the lead singer of Nirvana died, the drummer, Dave Grohl, went on to make an album of songs he had written. He played drums, guitar, bass, and sang on almost the whole album. Just another example of a really gifted musician and song writer, just in a different package than John Lennon or Paul McCartney. Actually, Dave Grohl recently got up on stage at a Paul McCartney concert and played drums for Band on the Run (one of McCartney's hits with his band Wings), and Grohl's group, the Foo Fighters, did a remake of the song. I feel like I am rambling a little, but as I say, listening to some music has gotten me thinking.
Well, Abbie's 3rd birthday has officially ended. Celebrations may now cease. All kidding aside, things went pretty well with the birthday this year. Amber toned down the extravaganza and I think it helped her (Amber) to be able to relax a little and enjoy the party more. Abbie had a good time at Chuckie Cheese with Barney, but really enjoyed the cupcakes and presents at home. The family enjoyed putting together Abbie's blocks (yes, we really did). At my parents house it was fun to see Abbie playing with Rachel, Rosie and Lawrence. I did not take my camera, so I am sorry for no pictures of that. I was glad to have some time off to celebrate, it was a fun time.
While we were at Mom and Dad's, Jami played the piano. I fancy myself to at least be musically informed, but the piano is just beyond me. I took lessons as a youngster, but of course did not apply myself and they did not take. Now, I would love to be able to sit at a piano, put a sheet of music up and just play. That is a wonderful talent. I suppose I could pick up a tuba and play, but as you know, tubas are not quite as melodious as pianos. It is a little tougher to find one lying around, too. I say all that to say that I am proud and even jealous of my talented sister. I wish I had her talent with the piano. 
Abbie's last day at Mother's day out was Thursday. They had a little program to celebrate. Each class came out and sang a song or two for the audience. Abbie's class sang one of her favorite songs. She must have been overwhelmed with the crowd, because she did more staring than singing. The night before she had been singing her song a little differently than usual. She kept inserting the word "loud" at a certain point in the song. We figured they had been practicing and the teachers were telling them to sing louder as they sang the song. It was a real fun thing to watch, and it makes me feel like Abbie is growing up. She is talking more and more each day. One of her favorite shows is called "Signing Time." It is on PBS and is a cool show that teaches sign language. It has helped Abbie with new words and she has learned the signs, too. I think it is going to be another beautiful day today. I hope to get out and walk or go to the park so Abbie can play outside. She loves to be outside whenever she can. I hope everyone has a good weekend.Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I have to say this one was good and bad for us. It was good for Amber and I to spend some time together when I got home from work this weekend. It was bad because Abbie had an ear infection and we had to cancel our trip to see my Mom and their new house. Amber's mother was also very ill and bedridden today. It can really create problems when I have to work on the weekend. Abbie's little ear issues cause problems, too. I was very dissappointed that we did not get to see Mom and Dad. It has been tough to get time to see them since we moved down here. I am hoping that their moving will help with some of that. But I do hope everyone has had a wonderful Mother's day.
There are a number of ways to say it. "The apple does not fall far from the tree," or "she is her mother's daughter." The way we always said it in my family was, "He has the genetics for it." Things that our parents have given to us, and often their parents gave to them. I am grateful for many of the traits that I have from my parents, but migraine headaches are not one of them. I have always been thankful that I did not have headaches like Dad has had. This morning, I had a migraine. It is strange to think of a headache making you sick to your stomach, but it sure can. I generally would not be so sure of calling it a migraine, but when migraine medication gets rid of it, it is probably a migraine. Amber had a sample of Relpax left over from her battle with migraines a couple of years ago. I had to try it because I would not have been much good at work in that condition. After a couple of hours, I felt OK. As migraines go, it probably was not the worst in the world, but it was one of the worst headaches I have had. Amber thinks I should see a doctor because my headaches have been increasing in number and (unfortunately) severity. After the one this morning, I am inclined to agree with her. I talked with Dad tonight about his headaches and the similarities with mine. He said he had had a migraine this morning, too. It just makes me think that I had better get some more medication before the next one. Because I have a bad feeling that there WILL be a next one. Thanks, Dad, I really appreciate it!
My father-in-law turned 70 on St. Patrick's Day. Abbie learned this rendition of Happy Birthday for him. He has the birthday present that keeps on giving: kidney stones. He is going in on Monday to try and break them up. Ralph and Janice are great in-laws. They have always been supportive and never tried to make our decisions for us. But, since June 9, 2005, they seem to be interested in one member of our family much more than the others! We are planning on having a party this weekend for Ralph, it should be a HOOT! Have a good weekend.
