Horse Manure Park

It is back to reality after spending the weekend in the Bismarck/Mandan neck of the woods.  We had a good time with Jon and Sara and the kids.  Got a babysitter and went out Saturday night and had a really good time.  Then a long trip home on Monday and back to work the same night.  Oh, the cold chill of reality.  Yuck. Something you don't hear anything about on national media coverage is the flooding that is happening in Bismarck.  The Missouri River is wreaking havoc and many homes and businesses are in imminent danger of being destroyed.  They are sandbagging like crazy, but who knows if it will be enough.  A nasty storm blew through last night and I was sure I'd have a couple trees down when I got home this morning, but we lucked out this time.  Today it is chilly, wet and windy.  Summer is free to show its face any day now.  I'd like to get the camper open next week if the weather isn't going to be crappy.  It's time...

A quick note before the weekend.  We are off to Bismarck tomorrow after Ava's last day of preschool.  Next year she starts kindergarten.  I don't see how that's possible because she was just born yesterday. Got the lawn mowed today.  This is the second time getting that job done so far this season.  We've had plenty of rain and nice weather - a perfect combination for growing a bumper crop of grass... er, the legal kind of grass, I should say.  I suppose the illegal kind would grow nicely in this weather too? I'm adjusting to my new computer.  I tell ya, a Mac is everything my friends were telling me it would be, and more.  Easy to use, smooth operation, and the damn thing just works .  What a nice change! Neil's vocabulary has tripled in the last week or so.  For the longest time he grunted and screeched as a means of communicating, but now he's actually using words and they are coming fast and furious.  "Light" is a new one...

The world didn't end today.  I couldn't be happier if I was twins. In fact, I am.  Weird.

Yesterday on Facebook I noticed a few people were commenting about the world ending on Saturday.  I saw enough comments to get me interested in what the heck this was all about.  Because I pretty much live in a cave - or perhaps better described as a "bubble" surrounded by Mac-n-Cheese, Dora and sippy cups - I hadn't heard that some quack named Harold Camping is predicting the world will end on May 21st at 6 p.m.  (I'm not sure what time zone he's referring to, so I can't help ya there.) Anyway this delusional man has convinced himself using "fuzzy math" and numerology that the Bible has revealed (in secret code that only he can decipher, of course) that Armageddon will occur on May 21, 2011. What makes Harold so special?  Well, he's managed to dupe his followers into contributing $12 million to help him build radio stations, called Family Radio, all around the world to spread his cultish point of view.  He's sort of the Wolfman Jack of ...

One of those funny parent moments tonight that I just have to save for posterity. After reading to Ava tonight, she began to recite all the things she did today and finished by saying, "And I was a really good girl." I replied, "I love it when you're a good girl!" To which she quickly responded, "And I love it when you're not mad!" Excellent point.

Well what do you know, I'm back!  It has been an interesting couple of weeks here.  We've been inundated with sickness... Ava was sick for nearly two weeks and ended up losing nearly 10 pounds (weight she couldn't afford to lose).  Beth was sick for a week.  Neil was sick for a couple of days.  Somehow, I avoided it.  Of course, I was sick last month, so I did my time. My old laptop was also sick.  Very sick.  Another virus knocked it for a loop and a half.  I ended up making the decision to go a different direction.  Goodbye Bill Gates, hello Steve Jobs.  From one billionaire to another, right? Yes, I got a MacBook.  I am still trying to get the hang of it - it is a different operating system, but I am very slowly figuring it out - sort of.  My old college buddy Dan  has been helping get familiar with the ins and outs of this new machine.  It really is a lot different than what I'm used to, but change is not...

Hey there blog readers... Due to a massive computer malfunction I havent been able to post anything, which is why you've not heard from me recently. I should be up and running again next week with a whole new system, so thanks for your patience and I will be back real soon!

Well, it has certainly been an interesting weekend.  Beth's birthday was Sunday.  We had a full weekend planned.  We had planned to go to Elk River on Saturday afternoon to see Elizabeth Budahn in a play, "Sleeping Beauty," something Ava was very excited to see.  On Saturday evening I had arranged for Korey and Shelli to come over after the kids went to bed and surprise Beth with a birthday drink.  Sunday was going to be our day together, celebrating "Mommy's" birthday. Ava changed all those plans at 2:30 AM on Saturday morning.  She threw up a nice pile of rice and chicken in her bed and started puking every 45 minutes for the next 18 hours - and that is without exaggeration, trust me. Grace kept her vigil next to Ava all day Saturday... She really had no spunk at all Sunday and vomited about every 2 to 3 hours.  I think the worst has passed now.  She took a little food this morning (Monday) - her first since Friday night - and she's keepi...