Horse Manure Park

Had ribeye's on the grill tonight, marinaded overnight in Stubb's...  First time I tried it and it definitely earned an encore. Real beef marinade made in Austin, Texas. Good stuff !!

Thursday night... my "hump day" as they call it.  Most people's hump day is Wednesday -- that is people with normal, daytime, Monday through Friday-type jobs.  That would not be me.  No, I'm not complaining.  I could change it if I quit my job really wanted to. After tonight I still have Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights to go, but at least there's some light at the end of the tunnel. Neil is crabby as hell tonight.  Both Beth and I trying to figure out what his major malfunction is.  Nothing is making him happy.  I'm afraid it could be a long night for the Speaker of the House.  The one good thing about it is we both know this isn't forever.  Well, that's good and bad.  Time goes too fast.  This reminds me of a beautiful song by Darius Rucker called "It Won't Be Like This For Long."  It pretty much sums it all up.  Warning: if you've got children or grandchildren, this will make you cry...   Click the play arrow in the lower

Come on, she was a waitress at Hooter's.  I doubt she was valedictorian of her class... and she probably dyed her hair before this picture was taken to avoid the inevitable "blonde" jokes.  Still, this is pretty funny.

A fun weekend; the Budahn's camped in the Brainerd area this weekend, so we spent Friday night watching the Vikings win their preseason game -- then on Saturday we joined them for mini-golf at Pirate's Cove . Even though the place has been there for years, Beth and I have never given it a try (no, we don't get out much). It's actually a really, really cool mini-golf course and I want to go back! Anyway, Saturday night we went out to Budahn's campsite and had a delicious chicken dinner and then Brian and I solved (most) of the world's fantasy football problems around the campfire with the sweet nectar of life . Poor Ava had a rough weekend, but she was a trooper. It's a good thing she's got her dad's hard head. First she got her noggin bumped by a car door (no harm done), then she ran smack into a tree at the campground, which left a nasty bruise on her right cheek. It's a little freaky because it almost looks like someone hit her -- but t

It's just the preseason, but I had to check out how the ol' Purple and Gold looks on my boy. I think he looks pretty sharp. Yep, he likes it!! Okay, nap time. (Gotta save your energy for the regular season)

I normally don't talk about football on this blog. That's what my "other" blog is for . However, this is a memorable day for Vikings fans. For better or worse, it's a memorable day!!

Well I survived my first week back to work. It took a couple nights to get back into the swing of things, but it's sort of like riding a bike. The NHRA races were at Brainerd International Raceway this weekend. Wish I could tell you about some stuff, because it would make this a pretty interesting blog. However, I really need my job, so I'll just say there's never a dull moment. Ava started Vacation Bible School yesterday, which runs through Friday. Beth sort of got recruited to help out once she got there. There were only two teachers for 15 energetic three year-olds and Beth felt their pain! I don't think she minded helping out. Actually, I think she likes getting out of the house for a couple hours each day. She's been on Mom duty 24/7 for the past five weeks. Ava was pretty excited when she got home. She seemed to enjoy it. Neil decided to rock and roll all night last night. Beth is taking a nap right now. She let me sleep because, after all, one o

I finally have a little time to sit down and start updating my blog. Farm Fest is over, but what an outstanding weekend of fun. I was the first camper to roll in Wednesday evening and the last one to leave Sunday afternoon. Yeah, I'm still recovering. Farm Fest weekend is best described as too much food, too much beer, too much fun and too little sleep. But it's a once-a-year shindig and we make the most of it. We didn't do too much Wednesday night. Beth and the kids camped at the farm that night, but the remainder of the weekend they stayed overnight at grandma and grandpa Dau's. Dale and Mel rolled in around 8 PM, Ross came that evening too. We sat around the campfire, but went to bed very early (especially compared to the next few nights!). Thursday morning was downright cold -- you could see your breath! After breakfast, we got to work setting up the "big top" and unloaded all the music equipment. Ross, Denton and Jax cutting down dead tree limbs

My brother Bob is a MacGyver kind of guy. He can fix just about anything. My nephew Rick sent me a funny e-mail with pictures of home-made repair jobs and every single one reminded me of Bob. So in that spirit, here are some more home-made repair jobs I found that you just might find at Bob's place: Bob says, "Don't throw away that empty plastic bottle. I could use an extra sprinkler!" No hot water? No problem, says Bob. Bob's answer to the Hewitt Hilton. Now that's what I call a deer stand. Bob's favorite chair. Good as new. This is how Bob shops at Wal-Mart. It saves time and is a great conversation piece. On those hot summer days, Bob will do anything to stay cool.

Just got back from Bismarck last night. Long trip with a three year old and a two week old -- but it was a fun adventure. My nephew Jacob was baptized and the Baumann's were great hosts. We finally got home last night at about 11:30 PM. Traveling with a breast-feeding infant can be time consuming. But we got home safe and sane . Nothing else really matters, right? Now it is time to gear up for Farm Fest! I've been making a list -- now it's time to open the camper and start filling it up! It's something I look forward to every year (and I know I'm not the only one!). Even though it will be over before I know it, it's one of those weekends where you pack as much fun as you possibly can into three days. I'm up for the challenge. And even though we've hardly rehearsed at all, I've got this feeling that the music will be solid on Saturday night. Don't know why, just one of those feelings... And suddenly, summer will be over. Unbelievable.