September 26: Tractor Supply Co and the Moles

Every year we get a mole problem in our yard. I think they come from the field behind us. My wife thinks I overreact about their presence beneath our grass, but I've read about the damage those little buggers can do to your yard. The past few years I've called on Natural Way to come out and lay a product called Talprid in the ground to get rid of the gophers. Talprid are these rubber worms that mimic a favorite meal of moles. However, these worms are made of a toxic chemical. This year, the guy who cuts my lawn told me I could buy a similar product at Tractor Supply Co., but for a much more economical price. So, this afternoon, I stepped into Tractor Supply Co for the first time. It was...uh, well, interesting. The product I was told about is the same thing as Talprid, but just made by a different company called Montomco. So, upon returning home, I laid mole baits inside a few trails in the front yard. And, in a nutshell, not only did I visit a new store today for the first time, I also became a murderer. Nice.

September 25: Microsoft Outlook

I did the manual set up of Microsoft Outlook on our laptop this morning. Nothing groundbreaking here, as I've set up email on our Mac plenty of times. However, this was the first time I did it for Outlook and also the first time I've set it up on a PC. Thrilling stuff, huh?

September 24: Working Like a Couch Potato

The whole family has been going through a bout with some kind of virus or bug the past week or so. My wife and I are the latest to get it. So, when the kids went to school today, my wife called in sick (and for the record, she really was sick). She wanted me to do the same, but, unfortunately, I had some work tasks that couldn't wait until Monday. However, I only had a few meetings in the morning, leaving my afternoon focus on the aforementioned "busy work". So, we seized the opportunity. I took the laptop wireless, parked my butt on the couch next to my wife and we caught up on all of the television premieres that we recorded on the DVR while I worked. As a side note, we watched the premiere of "Detroit 1-8-7", and I highly recommend it to my fellow Michiganders. I didn't catch all of the authenticity in the show, seeing as I am not a Detroit native, however, it's just a good show regardless. And, to end on a humorous note, my wife spent the entire hour of the show trying to figure out what the "1-8-7" represents. She thought it was some kind of Detroit thing, but she couldn't figure out what. Afterwards, I had to explain that "1-8-7" is the police code for murder.

September 23: Red Day

My son's first big thing for Kindergarten is Color Day. Each month, his class focuses on a specific color. Color Day is the final day in class for the color, and they celebrate it. Each student takes home a bag filled with a snack and an educational item themed in the color. Each student also brings in a small, personal treasure within a brown lunch bag. The child thinks of 3 "clues" to share with the class about his treasure, and the class has to try and guess the identity of the treasure. Tomorrow is Color Day. Tonight we spent the better part of the evening selecting my son's treasure and helping him decide on the 3 clues. He picked one of his Spider-Man guys, and he thought of the 3 clues all on his own: "My treasure has webs. My treasure has white eyes. My treasure has blue pants".

September 22: The Doctor's Office

It's that time of year again! Leaves changing color, kids back in school and germs EVERYWHERE!!! Yep, it's the true season of sharing, as it relates to kids and germs. My daughter is feeling it firsthand, and, because of her asthma, I had to get her in to see our doc today; just to make sure things were all good. It was a doctor's visit unlike any I've ever experienced, and I'd like to share the enchanting tale with all of you here and now. All the way to the doctor's office, my daughter was frighteningly concerned with getting a shot. I'm not sure why, as she's had few shots there aside from vaccines. But, she was scared nonetheless. We get into an exam room, the nurse takes her temperature (fever, unfortunately), does the Pulse Ox, and all of the basics. Of course, my daughter asks if she will need a shot to which the nurse responds she "doesn't think so", but won't make any guarantees. Doc comes in, checks out my daughter and informs us that they need to give her a dose of steroids to assist with her breathing; which is not an unusual thing given my daughter's asthma. I warn the doctor against a liquid dosage, as my daughter doesn't like the taste and should her gag reflex kick in, it will not be a good thing. The doctor checks their supply of steroids for pill form and returns with 1/2 pill dosage and 1/2 liquid, as they didn't have a full dosage in pill form. We convince my daughter this is a good thing, as she only has to swallow half of the liquid dose she would normally be required to take. She takes the liquid first, and we use the pills to kill the taste; as, allegedly, the pills taste better. Yeah, right. Don't think that's very true, as no more than a few minutes after the doc leaves us, my daughter sends the liquid dosage back out into the room...and, all over the floor! I warned them, didn't I? I get the nurse, and she moves us to a new room. The doc returns and breaks the bad news that we still have to get a dose of steroids into my daughter. And, I don't think the liquid form is an option anymore. Thus, that leaves us with only one option...yep, you guessed it, the shot. I have to say, after all of that, I am so proud of my daughter! She took the shot like a pro, no tears. And, they even let her pick a little something from their toy box, which, of course, helped a ton. On the way back home, I treated her to a Slurpee and promised the next time we were at Target I'd buy her a Barbie, since the toy box was lacking one of those. After all that, it wouldn't surprise me if the next time we visit the doctor she asks for a shot. She's a very quick learner that way.

September 21: Book Club

Since my kids started school, even daycare, they've brought home these Scholastic Book Club flyers and order forms every month. This past year, the teacher's had informed us that we could even order online as opposed to writing out a check and sending it in to school with the kids. Today, I had my first experience ordering online from the Scholastic Book Club. I had been wanting to get the kids some new books, and after some research I found that the Book Club prices really are better than a local Borders or Barnes and Noble. Besides, for every 3 books I order, my kids' classrooms earn a free book; so everybody wins!

September 20: Atypical

A short while back, I got a few moles removed. Primarily because my wife battled melanoma last year and these couple of moles just didn't look right. Today, I got the lab results back and, thankfully, everything is cool. However, the lady from the Dermatologist's office did say that both moles were atypical, and that they were changing shape at the time of removal. That was a new experience for me, and a bit scary at the same time. She said the shape-changing isn't imminent that they would have turned into melanoma, but rather atypical moles have a higher probability to lead to that result if not removed as compared to normal moles. Jeez, to think just a year ago I didn't even know melanoma was as deadly a form of cancer as it is. You really do learn something new every day, don't you?

September 19: 2nd Grade Room Mom

This year, prior to school's first day, my wife and I committed to getting more involved in school committees and such; figuring it's a great way to meet the other parents and an even better way to have some say in the school's future direction. Of course, we didn't know what to expect or what we would be getting ourselves into, but we still felt compelled to be more transparent for our children's sake. Ironically, the only tip I had was one I took away from a class zoo trip for which I volunteered the year prior. That is, no Mother wants to be a Room Mom in 2nd grade because of the whole "First Communion" thing and everything involved with that particular milestone. Obviously, I was never going to be a Room Mom, but that advice stuck with me for some reason as a key point to remember. Unfortunately, I guess I never shared it with my wife. Because on Day 1, she went ahead and volunteered herself to be the Room Mom for my daughter's classroom, and, by golly, she got the job! So, what does this have to do with a new experience for me? Well, I can only guess that somewhere down the line my role in this matter is going to grow in some manner. I mean, my wife is already juggling family and career...I don't know how she can expect to take on more and do it alone. And, that's cool. I'm more than happy to help out however I can, whether it's calling parents, delivering things to the school or licking envelopes. It's definitely going to be a new experience, and I couldn't ask for a better partner with whom to experience it. Even though we were warned...

September 18: Slurpees

It's been a big Slurpee summer for my family. We've hit the local 7-Eleven more this year than we ever have. Maybe because the kids are older or maybe just because the darn things are so addictive. Today, on the ride back home, my daughter asked when the first Slurpee was created. And, I didn't have an answer because I had no idea what the history of the Slurpee is. So, for those of you who've had that same experience that left you speechless with your kids...this one's for you. The Slurpee concept was originated by a poor farm boy from Barnes, Kansas named Omar Knedlik. The idea came to him while owning a Dairy Queen when he began serving semi-frozen bottled soft drinks to customers since the establishment did not have a working soda fountain. As the drink became increasingly popular, he came up with the idea to create a machine to dispense his new-found invention. Working with a Dallas-based company, called the John E. Mitchell Company, he developed the first modern-day ICEE machine...yes, that ICEE. The company made and sold about 300 machines before order volume became unmanageable, at which time ownership elected to go in the direction of distributorships to grow the business. In 1965, 7-Eleven began buying the machines and called their version "Slurpees". And, there you have it...the origin of the Slurpee.

September 17: Hey, how about that?

Little thing here. One of those "boy, I feel stupid" moments, if you will. Today, I discovered a pair of nylon exercise pants, I've had for probably a year or more, have a zippered pocket on each front side, just below the open pocket. I had no idea. Nice place to keep the old wallet safe, though.

September 16: Playing Possum

Yesterday, my son is sick and misses school. Today, my daughter's school calls and she's....well, she allegedly had a stomach ache. Let me emphasize the word "allegedly". Here's how the whole thing went down. I'm sitting at my dentist's office and my cell phone rings. Of course, first thing I'm concerned with is how rude it is for a patient's cell phone to ring during his appointment. So, I glance at the number, silence the ringer and let it go to voice mail. However, something about the number is familiar. So, they take my X-rays, and, as they're finishing up, I realize the number is the kids' school. Of course, I'm thinking my son isn't feeling well and I have to go get him. Thus, I apologize and excuse myself to return a call to the school. The school tells me that my daughter came down to the office complaining she had a stomach ache. They say she's returned to class and if it's serious she will probably come back down to the office. Not exactly the most comforting statement to share with a parent. Thus, I leave my appointment and go to the school to pick her up. I walk into the school office and the minute my daughter and I catch each other's eyes, I can see that her "stomach ache" was simply a fable, if you will. Still, I knew there was something triggering her desire to go home, so that concerned me and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. As such, I decided to take her home...only 2 hours were left in school, anyway. And, it turns out she was just bored and wanted to come home because her brother got to stay home the day before because he was sick. How can you punish a kid for that? We talked about it, and I think she understands that she can't pull that kind of trickery again. At least I hope she does. Funniest part is it reminded me of my childhood when I used to put my head by the heater for about 10 minutes then call my Mom in my room and tell her I didn't feel good. They say everything you did as a kid comes back to haunt you when you have kids of your own. I guess there really is some truth to that.

September 15: Fish Food?

My son's been a little under the weather lately, and we decided it was finely time to take him in to see the doc. So, I kept him home from school today and scheduled an afternoon appointment with his pediatrician. The doctor's office has a huge fish tank in the center of the waiting room, and, of course, my son was drawn to it. I figured, better the fish tank than all of the germ-infested toys scattered around the waiting room. As we were watching the fish circle the tank, I watched something I'd never seen before amongst fish; and we have a fish tank at home. I watched a fish relieve itself of its feces while another fish trailed closely behind engulfing the feces as quickly as it hit the water. Apparently, the second fish thought feeding time was a bit early on this day, and had mistaken the feces for the standard Tetra tropical flakes. Gross, I know. Thankfully, my son missed the entire incident or else he probably would have announced to the facility what had just happened. But, twould have made for an even more interesting experience, I suppose.

September 14: Broadway Here We Come

Today was my daughter's first day of acting class. It was a little odd. We went in and the woman running it basically told us that we couldn't stay and to come back and pick her up in an hour. Apparently, if parents are around during class, the kids are hesitant to "act". I guess it's one of those"creative" things. Well, of course, we weren't just going to leave her there, so we sat out in the parking lot for an hour. So, this is what we're looking at once a week for the next 12 weeks. I wonder if Sandra Bullock's parents went through the same thing?

September 13: A Desk and 4.5 Hours

Tonight was the opening of Monday Night Football. Two games. One channel. And, thank God, too. As tonight I tasked myself with assembling a new 6-drawer dresser for my daughter's bedroom. It's a Target product, RE or Room Essentials brand. Pretty nice quality, in fact. Problem is, so many parts, so little time. Or, at least that's what I discovered, as it took me 4 and a half hours to put the thing together; and, I still had to attach the drawers the next day! I don't believe I've ever spent 4.5 hours putting together a piece of furniture. Nor do I ever want to do it again.

September 12: Shea

My wife was reading a food label and the ingredient "shea" was in the product. At which point, my wife informed my daughter that she couldn't eat this particular food item; indicating that shea is a nut-related product (if you recall, my daughter has a tree nut allergy). So, my daughter asked me to look up shea and write about it in my blog, thus here we are. Shea is actually in reference to the shea tree, which is a tropical African tree with fatty nuts that, when crushed, yield shea butter. Shea butter is a vegetable fat used in food preparation, and today quite frequently used in chocolate products as a substitute for cocoa butter. And, no, people with nut allergies should not ingest foods, or even use products such as soap, moisturizer or lip balm, that contain shea or shea butter.

September 11: Siren

I'm always happy to try a new beer. Today, it was Siren, which is made right here in Michigan. Traverse City, in fact; which I usually associate more commonly with wine. The website Beer Advocate doesn't give it a very high rating; Two Beer Dudes a little bit better, but I didn't think it was too bad. Kind of reminded me of the old Red Dog beer made by Miller; though I don't know why since they're two different styles of beers (Siren is an amber ale and Red Dog a lager). Maybe it's the red and white label, who knows?

September 10: Gushers Gone Wild

Disturbing. That's the only word I can think of to describe the Fruit Gushers commercial I saw on Nickelodeon this evening while watching "iCarly" with the kids. I'd never seen anything like it on, what is promoted as, a children's television station. It was even more disturbing to learn my kids had already seen this commercial more than once before. For those of you unfamiliar with the product, Fruit Gushers are a fruit snack made by Betty Crocker (or General Mills) that contain liquid inside the gelatinous skin that "gushes" out when bitten into. The commercial in question tells the story of Todd, a popular Jr.-high student who was born with a gusher in place of one of his eyes. Thus, he is able to provide his friends and fellow students with a quick "gusher"treat simply by spraying it in their direction via his "gusher eye". The whole concept is, well, gross to be blunt about it. And, being a former employee of the advertising business, I have a real hard time finding the connection between the product and the commercial. Judge for yourself by watching the commercial here, but I'm just not seeing it, sorry. If you have a different perspective, and you want more gushing, check out the website they've set up to support the TV ads. Whether I agree with it or not, I guess I'm the sucker here, as the commercial obviously triggered some emotion in me, and now I'm talking about it to all of you. Even pointing you out to the website. Just goes to prove that effective advertising doesn't necessarily have to be good advertising.

September 9: Twinkies

Somehow the topic of Hostess Twinkies came up this evening and my wife shared that the Twinkie does not actually contain any sugar. Of course, I thought her statement was ludicrous (and I don't mean the rapper). But, my wife stuck with her argument insisting that the proof of that lies in a book called "Twinkie Deconstructed", which she heard about on NPR. And, while her argument does not hold up as she presented it, as sugar is in fact a Twinkie ingredient, her overall point was quite valid. Upon a closer look, I was surprised by some of the things I learned about the make-up of a Twinkie. First, there are 39 ingredients in a Twinkie! Yes, 39. That's a lot of parts to such a small, spongy snack cake. Secondly, some of the ingredients are what you might consider unsafe to eat. For example, take corn dextrin. Sure, it's found in a lot of different food products. However, it's also that glue you find on postage stamps and envelopes. How about cellulose gum. Used frequently as a thickener for favorites like ice cream and low-fat salad dressings. Yummy! Also used in rocket fuel to give it "a slightly gelatinous feel". Yep, the core components of eggs, flour and sugar are considerably outnumbered by additives and artificial replacements. So, why would Hostess go and replace such natural ingredients with chemicals and other man-made products? Shelf life, plain and simple. Those natural ingredients do not provide the longevity a food manufacturer needs in order to turn a hefty profit by keeping the product in a ready-to-eat condition on a grocery store shelf for God knows how long. So, they replace eggs with emulsifiers and butter with artificial flavors and colors. There's an interesting article from ABC News from which I learned most of this stuff that you can read here. It's kind of sad when you think about it. And only leaves me wondering what would Twinkie the Kid think about all of this? His expression says it all.

September 8: Kludgy

On a conference call this afternoon, one of my business partners used the term "kludgy" in reference to an educational PowerPoint deck that the Instructional Designer for our project had developed. I'd never heard the term before, and she couldn't really define it clearly, but we all had a chuckle over her recurring use of it on the call. This evening, I decided to look the word up to see what it really means, and thereby determine whether or not I should be offended by her choice of words. Kludgy is in reference to a badly assembled collection of parts hastily assembled to serve some particular purpose. It's often used to refer to computing systems or software that has been badly put together. So, I guess I should take it as an insult, huh? Especially since the aforementioned PowerPoint deck was the proposed learning solution for about 5,200 bank associates. By the way, the first known use of the word was in 1962. If you want to learn more, I recommend this site.

September 7: First Day of School

Yesterday I wrote about preparing my kids for the first day of school. Like it or not, today it arrived. It was a landmark day of sorts in our household as today was my son's first day of Kindergarten! If it's possible, I was both proud and sad at the same time. Seeing him in that classroom, independent and eager to get the experience started warmed my heart, but I'll admit that leaving him there and realizing that, once again, it's just going to be me in the house, and that this is the first day of a routine that will continue for the next 13 years, it made me a little teary eyed. Of course, I told my wife that it was just the classroom being a bit dusty.

September 6: A First Desk

Tomorrow is the kids first day of school for the 2010-11 school year. We've been working hard the last couple of weeks to ensure we had everything ready - from clothes to supplies to their rooms. This year, we decided it would be best if both kids had a desk in their rooms and that they should do their homework each night at their desk, as a way to build some routine into homework and put them in an atmosphere in which they can focus on home work alone; no matter how minor or brief the homework might be at this age. So, today we bought and assembled my son's first desk. It's one of those Target deals, but it was on sale and about $30 cheaper than for what it usually sells. It's perfect for his room and his academic needs. However, it does make his room look much older, as if an older kid resides there. My little man is growing up...

September 5: BW3s and the Draft

I'm in a Fantasy Football keeper league, and every September, right before the NFL season kicks off, we get the owners together and have our draft. The past few years it's occurred at a number of different locations, from Shield's Pizza to our Commissioner's home. This year we drafted at Buffalo Wild Wings. I gotta say, the place goes all out for its fantasy football customers. Simply for having our draft there, each owner took home a plastic BW3 mug, a foam BW3 koozie, and a $10 off food voucher for your next visit. They also provided us with a draft board and player stickers to post after each owner's selection. Not only was this the first time we drafted at a BW3s location, it also happened to be the fastest draft we've ever had. We cruised through 15 rounds in approximately 90 minutes; that has to be some sort of record for any fantasy sport draft! Needless to say, it was a great time. It would have been even better had I drafted well, but leave it to me to ruin a good thing. Oh, well, there's always next year...

September 4: The Romeo Peach Festival

Every year around this time, my wife brings up the annual Peach Festival in Romeo; commenting that it would be something fun to do one of these years. Well, 2010 was finally that year. Yep, we loaded up the family into the Vue and headed north to Romeo to partake in some peaches and whatever else came our way! Apparently, every other family in Macomb county decided that 2010 was their year, as well, as the streets of downtown Romeo were packed. We managed to immediately discover a fair down one of the side streets and the kids, of course, had to go on at least one ride. Unfortunately, that's about all we found. There were a lot of booths up and down the main street selling a number of different peach-themed goods, but not too much else. So, we packed it in early, but decided to make a pit stop at Westview Orchards on the way back home. This turned out to be the big hit of the day, as they have a huge play area for kids that features several wood play sets, including a pirate ship, castle and tractor. We took a hay ride out to their 5-acre corn maze, then headed back to the main part of the farm to visit their petting zoo, huge hay stack, and 40-foot slide. We wrapped things up with some cider, donuts and, of course, a peach pie! Yes, it's still officially Summer, but today sure felt like a Fall day instead.

September 3: TJ & WF w/C&A

Our family has a bi-monthly routine of shopping Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes. It's bi-monthly because it's a 20-minute drive one-way to these stores and not typically the way we want to spend our time every weekend. So, we do it twice a month, traditionally on a Friday evening when the traffic isn't as heavy as it would otherwise be, say, on a Saturday or Sunday. We make a family event out of it, usually eating out somewhere prior to doing the food shopping. Anyway, with the upcoming Labor Day holiday just ahead, I decided to take today off and spend it with the kids to celebrate their final day of Summer freedom before heading back-to-school on September 7. Some celebration for them, as I ended up dragging them along with me to Whole Foods and Trader Joes in an effort to eliminate the need to make this trip over our long Labor Day weekend. This marked the first time that I had gone solo with the kids on this particular endeavor, and, to be honest, I really didn't know which kids would show up: the jovial helpers who follow Dad's instructions and listen intently OR the crazed wild bunch hellbent on creating mischief and doing whatever they damn well pleased. Luckily, it was more of the former and less of the latter in this instance. Though it took significantly longer with 3 of us than it usually does with 4, we successfully secured everything on our list (and then some) and knocked this one off of the weekend task list; giving us more time to do something a bit more fun! You gotta love when things just come together nicely.

September 2: Shoo Fly

Today, the biggest fly I, personally, have ever seen landed on our patio door. Seriously, this thing was the size of a penny. Not just large enough to fit inside the center of a penny, but the height and width of the entire penny. It was almost as if the darn thing was daring me to wave it away from the door. Spooky.

September 1: Blogging Bonanza

10 blog entries in one day! I have to admit, that's something I've never accomplished before. And, let's just hope I never, ever have to do it again.

August 31: Insurance is a Good Thing...at Least Today

The storm a few weeks back left three trees down, a broken fence and a snapped Invisible Fence. And, that's just the damage before I have the guys come out and take a look at our roof and siding. I know I've covered all of this in previous blogs, but I found it pivotal to summarize the history to this point as today when I opened the mailbox I found an insurance check sitting inside. This is the first claim we've ever filed since we've been in our current home, and only the second claim I've ever filed since becoming a homeowner in 2000. I have to commend the Insurance company on their speedy delivery of said services, as I figured it would take at least a few more weeks. Thankfully, we were dealing with just tree removal and some other minor things for now and not "Mayhem" from the new Allstate commercials! If you haven't seen these advertising gems, I highly recommend taking a look here.

August 30: Knowledge for the Journey Home

The final day of vacation is never a good day for me. The whole thought of leaving wherever it is you've traveled and returning home, only to have to go back to work and...well, it's not one of my favorite things. Though one expects the return home to be the same old routine, during today's shuttle ride back to the airport I learned something new. And, from the radio of all places. The driver was listening to NPR, with a segment on Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen. I learned that Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar. His birth name was Farrokh Bulsara. He didn't begin to be called by the name of Freddie until he was 8. I did a little more research on his life this evening, and it's quite an interesting story. If you have any interest, or perhaps are simply a Queen fan, there's a pretty good biography here.

August 29: One Fish, Two Fish, Butter Beer is This Day's Wish

One of the nicest perks of staying on the Universal Resort is that we can enter the parks an hour before the general public has access. This morning, we awoke a bit earlier than we had been to take advantage of that opportunity. We returned to Islands of Adventure, specifically to do the Harry Potter Wand Shop experience; which was a 2-hour wait on our first day at the parks. Today, it was still 45 minutes, but we decided to wait. The experience has about 20 people enter the wand shop. There, the shop keeper selects one child from the audience for whom to find the right wand within the shop. The experience involves some unique special effects to recreate a scene right out of the Harry Potter films. After the wand attraction, we stopped in the street to purchase a Butterbeer. One word: awesome! The park's version is like a caramel/butterscotch Slurpee. I can only imagine the sugar content in one of these things. From there, we ventured back to the side of the park we had not yet visited and Seuss Landing. This was the first time my wife and I rode The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train, The Cat and the Hat, the Caro-Seuss-el and the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish rides. And, it just happened to be my son's favorite attraction in the park! Which, of course, made the experience for my wife and I that much more fulfilling.

August 28: Universal Fun

Kids' choice today, and they elected to return to Universal Studios in an effort to hit the remaining attractions that we didn't catch during our short visit yesterday. Among them, several first timers for myself: Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, Men in Black Alien Attack, The Simpsons Ride and Revenge of the Mummy. That last one I had to take on solo as the attendees working the gate advised that it's a high-speed roller coaster in the dark, and, therefore, it might be a little too intense for my daughter; even though she wanted to go on it with me. Of course, we also did the park favorites such as E.T. Adventure, the Animal Actors show and the Twister ride for a second time (my wife and daughter went and I stayed outside with my son). We were even lucky enough to catch a few characters around the park and get the kids' picture with them. Among the "stars" were Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, Woody Woodpecker, Curious George, Jimmy Neutron, Diego and the Madagascar gang (well, Alex the Lion and the Penguins that is). Coupled with the fact that yesterday we got pictures with Spider-Man, Wolverine and Sponge-Bob, it was setting up to a great experience for the kids. Once again, a few hours at the park left us tired and hungry, so we headed back the resort way for a bite to eat and another afternoon of swimming!

August 27: Adventure and Roller Coasters

We decided to do the Islands of Adventure theme park as the first stop on our trip. Primarily because it had the new Harry Potter attraction, and because it was a Friday and we figured there would be less people than on a weekend. So, after a quick continental breakfast at the resort, we headed out to the parks! We hit the Marvel Super Heroes area first, taking in the Spider-Man ride. From there, it was off to Jurassic Park for the River Adventure, which turned out to be a bit too much for my son; specifically the 85-ft. drop at the end. It's in water, but still quite a scare. Though very well themed, unfortunately, Harry Potter offered only a little excitement for us, as my son was too short to ride the main ride (and my daughter didn't want to), and there are only 2 other rides in the attraction. However, my daughter and I did ride the Flight of the Hippogriff, which is really her first authentic roller coaster experience. I have to say, she is now hooked! So much, that we had to immediately go again. The nice thing about staying at the Universal Resort is that your room key can be used as an Express Pass to avoid the long lines. Thus, we were able to hop on again within 5 minutes! After getting the lay of the land, we decided to hop over to the Universal Studios theme park. The kids were itching to go on the Jaws ride. But, first we did the Shrek 4-D attraction. After Jaws, my daughter and I went into the Twister attraction, although I don't think she saw any of it because her face was buried in my chest the whole time. Tired out from all of the excitement, we headed back to the resort for some swimming and snacking. Only 3 days left. Why do I spend valuable vacation time dreading the day we have to go back home?

August 26: Mears, Marmaduke and Many Other New Experiences

Travel day. We awoke about 4:30 am, departed the house about 6 am, arrived at my In-laws at 7 am, dropped off at the airport around 7:45 am, took a 10:05 flight and arrived in Orlando at approximately 12:45 pm. Needless to say, it had been a long day and it was only half over. Maybe that's why our experience with Mears Transportation, our shuttle service from airport to resort, wasn't all that I had expected. First of all, I thought that the shuttle was specifically for our family. Thus, when I was a bit surprised seeing strangers awaiting the next van to arrive. Secondly, we were given one of those buzzer things when we checked in at the Mears stand; you know, the ones they give you when you are waiting to be seated at a busy restaurant. Again, I expected to jump in the shuttle immediately and be on our merry way. Finally, we had to sit on the shuttle an additional 20-30 minutes at least while we stopped at various other hotels in the Orlando area dropping off the "stowaways" that hijacked our ride. Forty-five minutes later, we were dropped off at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, which we would call home for the next 5 days. Thankfully, the rest of the day was much more enjoyable...we went down to CityWalk for a while, took a swim in the pool and ordered up an early evening snack to the room while watching the movie "Marmaduke" on the TV. That image alone of both kids in PJs, sitting on the edge of the bed, table pulled up to them, snacking on Mac and Cheese/Salad/Fruit, and watching a movie that hadn't even come out on video yet erased all remaining stress of the morning. I am so looking forward to the next 4 days!

August 25: Surprise!!!

With the kids summer nearing its end, my son starting at a new school, and my daughter absolutely dreading the return to school, my wife and I wanted to do something really special as a family to end the summer with a blast. So, this evening, we surprised both kids with the announcement that we were going to spend the next 5 days at the Universal Studios Resort in Orlando! We had booked the trip about a month and a half ago, but we kept the entire vacation a secret from the kids; often finding ourselves the culprits of several little white lies in the process (but it was well worth it!). Ironically, the kids didn't believe us at first. They just kind of looked at us like "yeah, right, Mom and Dad". In fact, it wasn't until we started packing after dinner that I think they finally realized we weren't just pulling a fast one on them. Even then, I think they still have their doubts we are going to Florida. I guess we'll have to wait until we arrive at the airport and board the plane tomorrow morning to see the reaction we were expecting this evening. Bummer.

August 24: Branch Tree Service to the Rescue!

Finally! Branch Tree Service arrived early this morning to begin the process of removing our fallen fir trees. Word of note, if you happen to visit their site using the link in that first sentence, crank up the computer volume as they have a rockin' little jingle! It's our first time using this particular company. I could wait only so long on our regular tree company before having to move on to greener pastures (literally). Anyway, it took the two guys nearly all day to trim down the trees to manageable pieces that they could toss aboard their truck for disposal. Luckily, they were able to save a major portion of our Red Maple, which has had one of the fir trees laying on it since last Thursday's storm. On the flip side, my Invisible Fence wire was split in the process, which now requires a visit from our Invisible Fence technician. Isn't it wonderful how life always balances itself out?

August 23: Fossilized Rock

The fallen trees still adorn the landscape of our backyard. It's starting to feel like they've been there forever...and that is NOT a good thing. I've been awaiting a specific tree company we've used in the past, as they are economical and they do a good job. However, they've decided not to return my calls. I'm sure they are very busy, and I'm sure there are other customers whose homes and yards are in much worse condition than ours. Still doesn't make it any more tolerable to look out the back window and see a small forest covering the ground. But, that's a blog for another day, I'm sure. Today's is about all of the cool things that come up from the ground when you have 3 big trees fall down. No, I don't mean the tree roots or the now exposed Invisible Fence wire. What I'm referring to is the fossilized rock I found while poking around the "crash site". The rock appears to have two small insects that have been fossilized into the rock, leaving only the impression of their once living form. I've never seen anything like that in my own backyard. My wife's immediate response was "I wonder if it's prehistoric". Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that, as I know nothing about fossils or fossilization. The good news is that there are hundreds of sites that do. I haven't bothered to take the time yet to research it myself, but if you're interested you may want to start here at Discovering Fossils. Let me know if they reference anything about insect fossils.

August 22: BTS Shopping

Yes, we all know it's that time of year again! School is just weeks away from starting and today was our day to knock off the required supplies for the first day. This year marks the first time both kids had a specific list of school supplies; granted my son's list encompassed only a few items. So, we did Target, and went through the rigorous process of finding the notebooks, folders, #2 pencils and all of the other goodies. In the midst of all of this "excitement", the recollection of my own school supply excursions in year's past came rushing back to me in vivid color. I always liked the process of getting everything I needed for school a few weeks before it started. It's the rest of the whole school thing that I could never stand; you know, actually going. Unfortunately, neither of the kids share my sentiment about the school supplies component. Anyway, we were able to secure all required items and then some. It's going to be a good school year...I can feel it!

August 21: Mowing Again

The aftermath of the storm last Thursday left branches and leaves all over the yard (and the neighborhood for that matter). Yesterday, I attempted to clean up by rake and hand, but today I got smart. I mowed the lawn myself for the very first time this year! See, we have a weekly lawn service that doesn't do a great job, but still frees up the 3 hours I would invest weekly to do it myself. At the rate they're charging me, having that 3 hours to spend with my family is well worth it; for now at least. I'd forgotten how good it felt to do the job myself, not to mention the results. A lawn definitely looks much nicer when cut with a little pride and love and not just the sole purpose of earning a paycheck. You would think it would be the other way around.