Marching Around

 A fun month of busy work.  The Scouts had their annual pine straw fundraiser again after a break last year due to some COVID issues.  This was actually the last event in 2020 where we all attended before the next week, everything shut down.  It is so weird already thinking that really happened 2 years ago.  But the boys were back in business and unloaded a truckload of 1300 bales of pinestraw, and delivered it within about 7 hours.  

The girls continued their leadership class at church, and had some practice leading songs and leading a short lesson.  They also get many opportunities to have girl parties at Mrs. Janie's house.  I think the girls also had some fun mentor gatherings below as well.  The girls also did some heavy baking this month earning service hours, but also serving many of our older ladies and sick ones with some treats.  

Directly after the pine straw sale, I headed down to Dothan for a week for a Cyber Inspection.  And talked our team into getting some pictures with the Nuclear Peanut...I don't know what these pokemon cards were, but they looked funny, so I included them...We had a quick trip with just me and Davis and Ruby to the zoo.  Ruby had not been in quite a long time to the Birmingham Zoo, so it was fun to walk around and enjoy a pretty day.  I don't know if Ruby will remember, but she thought it was so funny when a family behind us kept picking on a "Ryan" when there was a horrible smell near the giraffes.  So I played right along, turned and yelled "Ryan, that was terrible, DO NOT do that again, Please!"  Hahaha.  Ruby looked at me like I was crazy, Davis didn't think anything was abnormal, then Ruby later laughed at Daddy yelling at "Ryan".  Anything for those smiles...Some small group pictures at Mrs Retha's house below...and my favorite thing to do on Sunday mornings is to snap the little ones pics when they are all in class.  Now they know I will do it, and they try to catch me when I walk by.

And probably the dominate set of pictures below is our visit from Eloise.  I think Marcus and Emily were at our house with her, but don't remember much of their visit, just Eloise.  Ruby and I were a friend's (Kennedy) bowling birthday party, and when we got home they were at our house.  Ruby told us the next day "I had a super fun day, and when we got home, ELOISE WAS THERE too!"  It was a great visit, and she had us all to her attention, even riding the "roller coaster" thru the hallway.  

And the only other story I had for this month was of my first visit to Ruby's school to meet her for lunch.  I was very excited, and we had been talking about me coming for a while.  But on this day, she knew I was coming that week, but not on this particular day.  I had us both a glass bottle coca cola.  I had her a happy meal from McDonalds, and I was excited to surprise her for lunch.  And she has recess a little longer than the rest of her class so she was a little behind them.  So when she saw me, I could see her big smile, but also that she was red faced from some running.  We walked into the lunch room, and sat down at the parent table.  She looked at me, then started gagging.  "Run out to the hallway, right now to the bathroom"  and she did.  And made it to puke.  Ruby has some reflux issues we are working thru, and any excitement or stress seems to trigger these episodes (or so we know now).  So she came back to the lunch room, then she was scared and worried that she would be sent home because she threw up.  So now I am in just console and help Ruby calm down mode...lunch just gets put to the side.  So like a good dad, I tell her "Hey, I am not going to tell your teacher, and you don't have to either.  We both know you are not sick, and you just got over excited"...which seems to help a bit.  So basically I spent then the next 15 minutes trying to keep her calm and laughing and scored a hit asking her if she wanted to take her happy meal under her shirt to eat later.   She laughed super hard, so hard, that I laughed hard too, and while it was really not that funny, we both needed some relief from this stressful lunch.  So I learned a lesson that day...don't try and surprise Ruby for lunch.  And she had a great happy meal snack when she got home from school that day.  

And the bottom pictures are of Ruby paying for her and Ms. Lisa's meal one night at Chicken Fry'd.  Lisa said she was so nervous and wanted to make sure she had the right amount before she got to the cashier.  Then got hand sweaty nervous with the money and change received, but I am so glad Lisa captured this moment, because it is little moments like this where you feel so big at doing these things others may see as insignificant.  Ruby and I shared a moment just a few nights ago, where I failed as a Dad because I didn't see how big other similar moments are in her life, how scary things can be for others no matter how much assurance you try to provide that all is OK.  I hope I can slow down more, and recognize the "big" moments in others lives...and that last picture helps me see a joy and those inner feelings that I can often overlook.   

Night Out with Nate

 This night began as a surprise present for Davis' 15th Birthday, and it had finally arrived.  Magan and I were excited to take the boys to their first big theater event like this.  Nate Bargatze is probably our current favorite comedian.  Magan was kind enough not to question my fear of being late, so we started heading downtown at about 4PM on this evening to be there for the show at 7:00PM.  But being early has its perks, as we found a parking spot basically right across 3rd avenue from the Alabama Theater.  And I also knew that the Pizitz food hall would be easy to get into and eat, so there we went.  

Me and Magan and Sam had some really good cheeseburgers from "The Standard", but Davis is more adventuresome, so he tried the Vietnamese restaurant.  We had a giant order of tots which put us into a Napoleon Dynamite conversation.  And Davis had to get a boba tea, or I was not going to deny him as he shared way to much information he had on different boba teas of the world.  I am going to encourage him to join the Scholars Bowl team next year, as he has way too much useless crazy bits of information about EVERYTHING.  And our meal was done, and it was only 5:30PM, so Sam picked on me for being early, but with the calm I felt being a one block walk from our destination....nothing he could say would make me any less thankful that we were where we needed to be with plenty of cushion.  

We arrived at the theater very early, but it was nice to walk down to the stage and look up to the very back to where our seats were in the balcony.  We looked all over, and I think I like the balcony better than anything in the mezzanine level...well, maybe not where we were at in the balcony.  We could actually touch the ceiling and were the second row from the very back.  Oh well, you get what you pay for.   :)

The show started a little late at 7:30PM, and we were introduced to Aaron Weber.  Pretty funny guy that did about 10 minutes of material.  He had a funny bit about his parents, one being an avid church goer, and the other an illegal gambling hall manager.  Both looked for ways out of paying any taxes.  Another joke about taking out a whole row of theater chairs, and it possibly being because he decided on a large popcorn instead of just a medium.  

Graham Kay from Canada had been on the tonight show, but we didn't know him any.  He had a different style than Aaron and Nate, but he was still pretty funny.  He had a good local joke where he talked about someone having a home in a trashy place like Walker County.  Then after everyone stopped laughing he said "If you are from there, I'm sorry...If it makes you feel any better, I have never been there, but I asked a local waiter today where is the trashiest place around here, and that was her response".  After more laughter, he said, "and it appears from your reactions, her information has been verified".  Nicely done.

And then the man we had been waiting for...Nate Bargatze on the "Raincheck Tour"!  Now, we heard him just fine, but when you are seated where we were, you basically just have to trust the voice to know it is him.  Ha, it was close enough.  I am sure this is going to be another hour special on Netflix, and he was got some really good new material.  Bits on how his parents drove the family everywhere, and how they took him to the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel just to show them where others would stay...hahaha, the boys just kept laughing because we had done all the same things to them.  The best bits were his lack of any home repair skills, with a gut busting ender told in his perfect flat style.   We laughed at the show, then laughed all the way home remembering all of the funny jokes.  An amazing show.  Happy Birthday Davis.  

Sam's College Hunt - Mississippi State

Number 2 on our college visits was my old home of Mississippi State.  And since Sam will be driving probably a good distance no matter where he heads off to college, he got to be behind the wheel on our 2.5 hour drive to Starkville.  We arrived a little early, so I was able to take him to the Swalm Chemical Engineering Building where we shot the potato gun on the roof, the Library (with a tour of the John Grisham room) where I first experienced this thing they now call the internet, the Sanderson Center where I watched the pom squad practice, and a walk down Engineering Road where almost all my classes where, before starting our official visit.  

MSU provided a lot of information, but seemed to be primarily talking to me, and I am already sold on it being a good school.  The young guy wanting to make his mark on the world sitting next to me is the one they should be talking to.  But it was nice that one of Sam's friends, Thomas, was also there sitting right behind us for the first presentation, so we were able to hang out with him and his parents for most of the rest of the tour.  

I think overall impressions were good.  He noted that the campus was huge compared to UAH.  We both noted that the cafeteria selection and quality was not the gem found at UAH.  The dorm rooms may be getting smaller at MSU that even when I was there.  He got to see the "traditional" rooms that I was in during my college years with "itty bitty living space".  No individual rooms here on campus.  

This was the only place I ever even considered and visited.  But it was my home for 5 years, and I fell in love with the campus.  It was truly a small town feel that met my personality well, and I think would fit him well also.  I think they will still come in as the cheapest in his group that we are visiting, so we will see.  Regardless, this was a fun day, where I was able to reminisce a little, tell some fun stories, eat some MSU ice cream.  

We did miss hitting Little Douey's BBQ, as Magan was back in the Emergency Room.   Oh well, maybe next time.  But he drove home using my old route to Dodge City so we could check on mom.  Glad she is better now with a double dose of blood pressure meds.  Sam finished his longest driving day ever, hitting over 350 miles.  And with the new Honda Civic, we got 37 mpg.  So that was good no matter where he ends up going.  

One Night at Marcia's

Not much for this blog, as the stay with Aunt Marcia was cut short again.  Magan's blood pressure spiked up after getting her hair done (Magan...if I forgot that day...It looked great!).  I think something similar happened last time she was planning to spend some time with Marcia.  The kids are always excited to hang our with cousins...just hoping my old lady can get this heart thing figured out so one day they will be able to stay more than one night.  

 

AHG Funtimes

Wow, busy month with AHG.  For Anabelle's Explorer group, we had a visitor from Puerto Rico teach us some Spanish, as they earned their World Languages badge.  Magan was the light skinned blonde haired mother of Jesus during a pre-meeting activity about being Girls Growing with Grace.  I think Rashann was Queen Esther, Shaley was Priscilla, and Melissa was Ruth.  They all did a great job, and the girls loved moving from person to person hearing their story.  There is always some kind of cooking or baking or snack making going on...and I think this one was to make some treats for local fire fighters.  Then we got to celebrate our successful Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser with what seems to be a new tradition...the silly string war.  I don't remember seeing Ruby in this war, but I had a small battle with Belle...then I became a big target, and really just couldn't see much of anything.   Love love love these girls and our AHG fun times!