Mark Miller- Sawyer Brown

Friday night we enjoyed another Sawyer Brown concert, this time in St. Joseph. They are always thoroughly entertaining. We got to meet Mark and the band for the first time, which was a pleasure.



I tried to remember all the times we have been to seen Sawyer Brown in concert. The first time was 1999 when I went with Sharla and her parents to the Kansas State Fair. I have never been a big country fan, but was surprised by the entertaining show they put on. Since then we have seen them several times at both Kansas and Missouri State Fairs, American Royal several times, Country Stampede twice, Harrah's, Independence Sports Lodge, Atchison, Las Vegas and St. Joseph.

Mark and the guys are on their 27th year in 2009 and set to release a new album soon. If you haven't been to see them, you need to get out more. :-)

Shawnee Mission Park

With 70 degree weather and Sharla off to New York I rounded up the boys and headed to Shawnee Mission Dog Park this evening. It is actually staying light long enough for us to get a walk in after work, which is nice. The boys love exploring the woods on the trail and the dogs have a chance to run down to the lake for a dip (no matter what the temperature). We have many great memories from Shawnee Mission Park and are grateful to have it close to home.

Leaving the park at sunset is quite an amazing sight, given that hundreds of deer wander out to feed. You really have to be careful as you drive because they are anywhere and everywhere in the park. All the trapped city deer in one place. Tomahawk Golf Course is right next to the park, so it isn't uncommon to see them all over that course too. At least they have some refuge, but they are definitely getting over populated and I believe they are having some bow hunts to thin out the herds.

Sawyer Brown

It looks like tomorrow will be my last day to bike commute to work for the month. My pace slowed in the second month of the year, but I am still on track to reach my goal of 1500 miles for the year. I have been enjoying the ride home with mild afternoons lately. Today it was almost 60 on my return trip. It is amazing how refreshing a nice ride with fewer clothes can be. Tomorrow is supposed to be almost 70 so maybe I will be able to slip away to take the long route home from work. I have been enjoying keeping up with Lance Armstrong on Twitter the past week. He rode the Tour of California last week and is back in Austin now. If you haven't been on Twitter, check it out.

Tonight we watched President Obama address Congress. I continue to feel inspired by our new President. Regardless of politics, I believe it is refreshing to have such a lively and well spoken person leading our country. I hold out hope he can reverse the tides and get us back on track. He has a big job ahead of him though.

Tomorrow Sharla heads back to New York until Friday. We are headed to St. Joseph Friday evening for a Sawyer Brown concert. We are officially in the fan club now, so we're hoping to get back stage for their meet and greet before the concert. Our tickets are on the second row, so we'll have our annual fill of Mark Miller before heading home to enjoy the weekend.

Snoop

Below is a long lost Snoop Dogg shirt from back in the day. I finished cleaning out my closet this morning and headed upstairs to clean my clothes out of the closet in Brady's room. It turned out there were a lot of old clothes up there that fit again, although some were severely out of style. I had started cleaning out the closets awhile ago, but as part of our Project Change event this month we are doing a clothing drive. I rounded up two more bags of clothes to add to the 3 bags I took earlier this week. My closets are officially clean, for now.

While the boys napped I headed to Dick's Sporting Goods with the gift card Sharla gave me for Valentine's Day. I have had my eyes on a Giro Livestrong helmet for awhile now. In addition to the helmet I was able to pick up a jersey to ride in when it warms up. I can't wait- thanks honey!

Updates

It was an early morning heading to work today to get a jump on things. Yesterday I did ride to work in full morning light though, which was nice. I got a call about 7:50 am this morning from Brady saying his tooth was about out. After I chatted with him and Brett I overheard the commotion of him losing his first tooth while I talked to Sharla. He is sure to have an exciting day showing everyone at school the missing tooth and thinking about the Tooth Fairy visiting tonight.

Also, Lance Armstrong's time trial bike has been located in time for his race tomorrow.

Worst Week...

The name of a new show I have been enjoying, but also the way I am feeling after a flurry of negative things this week. It all started with my truck on Monday. I am realizing after doing some research that I'm overdue on having my timing belt changed. The mechanic recommended a flurry of other items that also needed to be done. Somehow we're going to have to compromise. So, between the economy and all the added expenses we have had lately I am feeling more than stressed. To top it off, after I got layered up to ride home this afternoon I take off and find out my rear tire was completely flat on my bike. Back up to my desk I went to call Sharla to round up the boys. Today definitely was not my day. I am driving tomorrow so I can take my turn hauling everyone to 24 Hour Fitness over lunch. I'll be hoping things take a turn for the better soon.

Pet Fox

I surpassed 600 miles on the yellow Giant today. At lunch we hit 24 Hour Fitness for a little more riding. The two times we have done this we have got a great workout. Today we tried the recumbent bikes, which were much more comfortable for a long period of riding. I rode over 16 miles in 30 minutes and was dripping with sweat by the end. I am a little surprised more people don't bike for exercise, but I understand it isn't the most comfortable thing in the world. Compared to running though, the bike is heaven on my knees.

This evening we rushed to the park to enjoy a nice evening before the cold front blew in. Tomorrow is supposed to be 20 degrees cooler. Brett is a swing-aholic, he would never stop if you sat there and pushed him. Brady is a collector. I think he get this from his mother. Tonight he was rounding up pine cones and walnut shells. He had his hands and pockets full. Not sure what he thinks he'll do with all of this stuff, but he feels good carrying it around anyway.

While I worked on the fence Sunday I had company. The boyz were going crazy in the back yard, which usually means someone or something is back there in the pasture. This time is was our friendly fox. I think he must live in this abandon barn, we see him from time to time, but not really regularly. I guess Sunday was a nice day for him to sun himself.

Livestrong

I hit 200 miles for the year on my way to work after dropping my truck off at the shop this morning. It was having trouble getting going last week and shockingly, needed a new starter. $400 later I have a functioning vehicle again. I swear if I didn't have to shuttle kids around all the time I would get rid of one vehicle and we would be a single vehicle family...maybe one of these days. The owner of the shop says I need $1200 worth of work done now since it has surpassed the 90K mile mark. Guess we'll see if the money fairy hits me in the head anytime soon.

I still have 100 miles to go on the month to keep the pace I started January. It isn't looking good after a lackluster past two weeks. I should be good to go the next two, but doubtful that I will get that many miles in unless I go for a long fun ride. I am over 800 miles total, which I am happy with, but seems kind of silly considering Lance Armstrong is on a week long race which covers 750 miles across California. He does make millions doing it though so I suppose if it were my living I could muster a few more miles a day. If you haven't heard, he got his $10k+ time trial bike stolen Sunday morning. At night I dream of having a bike like this.

D-Fence

Our side fence bit the dust this week. The posts have rotted through at the base. With the muddy conditions and the dogs jumping up on the fence it has begun to fall over. I placed some wire fence along the inside to keep the dogs back a little, but it is just a goner. The funny thing is that even with the gate open and the wire fence falling over, they never once tried to get out. They could have just walked out, but they are pretty timid around this wire fence so luckily we didn't have to conduct a city-wide dog hunt like my coworker did last week.


After placing a more sturdy temporary fence I pushed over the old fence pretty easily. I was actually surprised to find that all of the posts were placed in concrete; they had just rotted at the base of the concrete. I had to dig pretty large holes to get all of the old concrete out, so the new posts will have a solid base holding them in. Hopefully we are long gone next time these need to be dug up.

I placed the first post, which was up against the basement wall, so I didn't leave a big hole next to the foundation for an undetermined amount of time. I got the rest of the posts placed Saturday afternoon and covered them at night to help insulate the concrete a bit overnight. Sunday afternoon everything seemed pretty sturdy so I mounted the gate and cut down the posts before putting up the 2x4 rails and then the pickets. I chose to reuse the gate we had since it was still in good shape and it doesn't take long for the cedar pickets to weather and all take on the same appearance.


I'm pleased with the weekend's work. The temporary fence is still up to keep the boyz from jumping on it for a few more days. I'll have some regrading work to do to make sure everything is flowing away from the house, but that is for another day.

Valentine's Day

We had a terrific family day today in celebration of Valentine's Day. After opening up presents and having a little breakfast we headed to the Plaza Library for another Jim Cosgrove (Mr. Stinky Feet) concert. The boys are always a little strange at these concerts, a bit shy or scared it seems. Anyway, it was great entertainment for a Saturday morning.

This afternoon Sharla headed off to scrapbook and I went back to work on the fence. I was able to place the other 3 posts so once the concrete is sufficiently set I will be able to get the fence and gate on. I was hoping to finish tomorrow, but we'll see how things go. I have to get into the office while the boys nap to make up time I was short while Sharla was in New York.

Brady skipped his nap this afternoon and played in the yard while I worked on the fence. It was fairly nice out, so he enjoyed playing with the dogs in the back yard. Tanner decided to join him on top of the dog house and torment Trevor, who is too fat to jump up there.

BK Flame

Today is a great day. For V-Day Sharla tracked down something I have been wanting since the day it came out. I can't wait to wow everyone today with my new cologne: Burger King FLAME! "The scent of seduction with a hint of flame broiled meat." Watch our ladies. :-)

FIRE MEETS DESIRE

Exhaustion

I lay here in exhaustion tonight after a long and full day. We started the morning with my truck acting up. After debating what to do with the day, it started and we went ahead as planned. Brett's daycare was closed so he went with me to drop Brady off at preschool. Afterward we hit the grocery store for more Valentine's goodies and Home Depot for fence supplies.

Our side fence posts have rotted so this has been moved up my priority list. I have around 11 feet of fence along with gate. I will reuse the gate and turn the new portion of fence into cedar picket. I will have to post the entire process when it is complete (hopefully this weekend), but below are a couple of pictures from today.

At lunch Brett and I picked up my coworker Ryan to deliver Project Change fliers around the neighborhoods near our office. We are having a clothing drive at our office for the Shawnee Community Center and are going to be collecting from the neighbors later this month. Brett did great and we delivered to the entire area in one hour.

Tonight I took the boys to play and eat at McDonald's before going to Jamie's for haircuts. They did great and have fresh cuts to show off to their girlfriends tomorrow at their Valentine's parties. When we got home I had to chop up fruit for a tray Brady is taking to school tomorrow. The grapes, bananas and strawberries were easy enough, but cutting up cantaloupe and pineapple were more than I felt like doing after a long day. It is done now though and I am just hoping I don't forget anything on the way out the door tomorrow morning.

Below is a sign I noticed while sitting at a light on 75th Street this afternoon (across from Shawnee Mission Medical Center).

Boys Night In

Brady is going to lose his first tooth any day now. It is his favorite conversation these days, and rightfully so. He is very excited about the exchange of his tooth for money via the Tooth Fairy.

Since the boys are both in booster seats now they don't have a good place to rest their head on long rides. Sharla found some neck pillows that they have been enjoying, although we haven't been on a ride longer than 10 minutes since she bought them.

We worked on Valentine's tonight. Sharla found these trucks to make and got a few knocked out before heading to New York. We made 21 more tonight so we should be set for Brady's party Friday. We're going to have to reload on candy to get Brett's done tomorrow.

No riding today. I may get a ride in Friday, but that's up in the air right now. I am having some problem with my truck starting so I may take it to the shop Friday after I drop the boys off and then ride my bike from the shop to work. If not I will probably be going to the gym at lunch to ride. I'm anxious to give the recumbent bike a try and see how many miles I can rack up in a lunch hour.

Moonset

Brady has coined the term "moonset" for the setting moon that we occasionally see early in the morning. There was a moonset this morning on my way to work. Today was my only day of the week to bike commute. Sharla is off to New York for the rest of the week so I have double duty with the boys. We'll be happy for her to be back Friday evening. I went over 800 total miles today and am nearly to 200 miles for 2009. I haven't been doing great the past couple of weeks, but I'm still on a good pace. It was 70 degrees on my way home this afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am thrilled at the thought of regular spring and summer rides in shorts and a t-shirt. So much easier and more enjoyable than layering up to ride through a freezing headwind.

Brady

I decided to avoid the threatening thunderstorm today and drive into work. Not surprisingly the forecasters were off and it only rained briefly mid-morning. It would have been a nice day to ride. I would have had a challenging head wind on the way in, but probably would have had a new record on the way home with a 40 mph wind at my back. Anyway, Ryan and I hit 24 Hour Fitness at lunch and decided to ride the bikes there for some exercise rather than play one on one. We rode for about 40 minutes and 14.5 miles. I really enjoyed the exercise (much better than running), but I am not sure Ryan did so much. Anyway, I debated and decided that the miles should count to my total bike miles I am tracking off to the right. It won't be long before I am over 200 miles for the year and 800 miles since I started bike commuting.

Tonight Brady informed us one of his bottom teeth is loose. We have a book that we've read about loosing your teeth, so he is pretty excited about that actually starting to happen and the prospects of the Tooth Fairy visiting our house. I teased him about tying it up to the doorknob, but apparently he isn't quite that anxious for it to happen. He went with me to volleyball and sat there by himself watching and occasionally practicing a little dribbling. I am sometimes shocked and amazed how big he seems. It is exciting to watch him grow up, but sad at the same time. Fortunately right now we have more of the ornery little boy and not as much of the reflective growing boy, but we see glimpses now and then.

Horsing Around

I'm feeling a bit tired from a long weekend, even though I got plenty of sleep. We were happy to enjoy the weather in Lebo Friday and Saturday.

The boys got a little ride around the arena on Levi Saturday afternoon.

Today we took it easy. After lounging and watching Sunday Morning we made our way to the dog park. I worked on taxes while the boys napped. Comparing what I did to what our trusty accountant has done the past few years I am convinced he is worth the money.

We have a busy week in store with Sharla heading to New York Wednesday. The boys and I will try to find a way to survive for a couple of days until mom comes back. Hopefully we can keep the house in some kind of order until then.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Around Christmas I bought two recycling kits for the boys. I was hoping to give it to them and show them/ learn what fun recycling can be. These have sat in our closet since then. I decided it was time to give it a try today so we tore up some scrap paper I brought home from work and let it soak for 2 hours.

After making a few white stars and hearts we decided to add some food coloring and make something we can give out for Valentine's Day. The pieces that have already dried have turned out well. We're hoping for the best for the pink creations below.

I didn't really plan on this being a holiday craft. I wanted to focus on the recycling aspects, but the boys enjoyed the process of ripping up paper and creating something new out of the old. Brady has had some interest in the recycling bin we keep in the garage, so maybe this will get his mind going a little more about things we can do that are good for our planet.

Setting Sun

We are in Lebo, Kansas this weekend for the funeral of Sharla's grandmother, Jackie Rowley. She lived a long life, passing away Tuesday evening at the age of 88. I did not know enough about her, but I know she is happy tonight looking down over us with her husband Fred. Rest in Peace Jackie.

Cold Stone

Tonight we headed to Cold Stone for a little birthday ice cream before Brady's coupon expired. It was a cold night for ice cream, but our minds were on the tropical weather heading our way the next few days. Brady chose the chocolate peppermint and Brett went for berry yogurt.

Jack Johnson

Today I picked up a couple new Jack Johnson cd's. I have enjoyed the three I have now so much I had to hear more. We first picked up the Curious George soundtrack for the boys a couple of years ago. We were so impressed with the music and the messages that we bought his newest cd, Sleep Through the Static. A few months ago I bought another and have been jamming to all 3 lately. I can't wait to put on the headphones and delve into some of the older stuff. If you haven't heard any of his music, definitely give it a try.

Superbowl Sunday

After spending some time cleaning up the house this morning I headed to work to straighten things out in preparation for the upcoming week. The ice had to be pretty thick to have survived the 65+ degree temperatures yesterday. It should be getting back into form again this week.


I took a detour on the way home to drop books off at the library. I cruised by the new "Merriam Village" strip center to check out the Circuit City that was built but never occupied before they went under. Hopefully they find a new anchor as there are no other tenants coming in until they get someone major in there. They are working on some sort of waterfall across the road which will dump into an area behind the Merriam City Pool.


When I got home I loaded Da Boyz into the truck and headed to the dog park. It was not nearly as nice today and the attendance was back to normal levels, which was nice. They have shredded all of the Christmas trees and dumped them on the trails. Trevor loves to roll in the pine needles, which is a vast improvement over the things he normally rolls in.


They found a liquid pit to mud themselves in. It will be awhile before they make their way inside the house again. Lucky for them they have a nice spot with lots of dog beds in the garage. They have had their fill of exercise this weekend. Looks like we could be in for another beautiful weekend next week too. We'll keep our fingers crossed.