Impromtu Swing and a Funny Sad Baby. :(

The back yard at our new place has lacked kid friendly activities since we've been here, and because the kids have been asking for a swing, I decided it was time to take action.  However, I didn't want to buy a new rope and board so we looked around the garage for available resources.  We had a 12 ft nylon rope used to pull sleds, and an old tractor tire tube we'd used at the lake for floating on.  Our tree had some great branches for a 50 ft rope, but only 1 long, low hanging branch for a short rope.  So, due to limitations of resources and time (Those kids really wanted a swing; yesterday!"), we ended up with a swing that became more fun than I would have planned given more time and resources.  The kids loved it and it has held up surprisingly well!  The low hanging limb sways in perfect rhythm with a the big circular motion (Somewhat like a teather-ball) of the swing.  Here's a quick video of some fun we had after the swing went up.

As a bonus, here's a funny (maybe sad if it's not your kid) video of our youngest family member putting on his best sad face........because of the piano.   And we thought we'd have musical kids?

The End.

Cabin Macho Stuff

Traditionally, things that happen annually for many years become tradition.  I'm hoping this thing becomes that: The Cabin Macho Guys Camp-out

This was the second time dad, the brother-in-laws (1 cuz included), and I spent a November night at "The Cabin" doing "Manly Stuff" like eating raw steak, spicy hot-sauce, and sardines.

 When dad cooks steak, you can always count on two things: The steak will be beyond excellent and it will be as rare as hens teeth.

It may become mandatory to bring a headlight for the midnight hike with guns so as we don't have any more close calls mistaking our own group for a pack of wild men.

This picture was taken at about 10:00 pm under a full moon.  The 5 second exposure makes it look like daylight and reminds me of this joke: A photon checks into a hotel and the barhop asks "Do you have any luggage?" The photon responds "Nope, I'm traveling light."  Find the delivery of it here.

Another night time day time photo.  The cabin looks nice bathed in moonlight!

Seven Christians walk into a cabin and begin playing poker.....could be the start of a joke.  My skill at poker is probably funnier than that joke would be.  Those pennies took off faster than a buck in rut.

Speaking of a buck in rut, this guy grabbed the bull by its horns and took a Louisiana Hot Sauce Sardine to the throat.  Didn't even flinch. 

This photo exists because my skills at poker are, by comparison, as good as a T-Rex in a sit-and-reach contest. First one out takes pictures.

Mr. Landis visited us during the week and joined the guys for our night at the cabin.  He's a swell guy so don't judge him wrongly just because he looks like a homeless college student.

All in all, it was an awesome evening and the boys and I can't forget to thank our lovely wives who slaved away in a climate controlled house with a plethora of children demanding their precious attention all evening.  Thanks for the time ladies and maybe someday you'll get some shopping in or pedicures or hair-dos or honey-dos done.





And here's another young buck taking the sardine challenge.

Summer's End

Teachers enjoy the liberty of having 2 months off every work year.  Activities like family trips, home improvements or an extra job are commonplace among us during this time, but one thing is certain: August 1st beckons us back to our classrooms and the teacher-like mentality most of us have put on hiatus for June and July.  I've had a little longer mental break from teaching this summer than most, and while I had a few visual flashbacks at the city pool, most of my summer has been teacher-free.  While I love my job and the people I work with and for, summer is a special time for family activities in our household.  Here are a few captioned snapshots of what a teacher's summer might look like from our life.

 

Father's Abilene Tennis Super Open.  Or as Mr. Manning like's to put it: FATSO tourney.

 

  

My reward for playing 4 hours of tennis in old shoes.  As a side note, I would have tried putting the dead skin in a pop machine to see if it was worth anything, but then where would my souvenir gone?

 

Summer means "Fishing" which means "Worms" which means "Really cute faces on kids"

 

"Fishing" usually means catching fish.  Unfortunately, this was about all that was catch-able that day.

 

I love taking the boys "fishing" which really should be called "Keep-away from the hooks!"

 

We found a dead dog this summer.  He'd been dead a looooong time. Nothing sparks the interest and imagination of a little boy (and big ones?) like a dead, mummified thing in a barn.

 

Conveniently for Americans, the 4th of July happens over the summer.  Wouldn't that stink if it had been during the winter?  Those founding Father's new what they were doing waiting around until July.

 

Abilene allows the locals to discharge large quantities of grade A explosives giving you a new appreciation of what it might be like to live in a warzone.  This pic may look like a terrorist attack, but it's all about context: Blowing up stuff near a pile of grain is just fun in Abilene.

 

My genius wife +Emily Engle had the idea of visiting as many state parks as possible this summer.  We notched 5 on our belts this year and Milford is a great one that's close.  We had a blast checking out a variety of parks.

You might see a pile of feces.  Or you might see a swarm of feces loving flies.  I see a magnificent green color created by God.  It's all about perspective!

 

 On one of those State Park visits, we "Buckled down" and paid a little extra for the comfort of a shack-abin. It was pretty tiny but awesome.

 

Summer means a lot of swimming.  This beach was perfect for the whole family. Too bad the next morning it was covered in green/blue algae.  It's been about a month since that swim and we haven't grown any new limbs yet.

 

Summer means staying up late.  And fishing.  And star-gazing.  Truly "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

 

Taking God's palette of nature and adding my own weird creativity.

 

Summer means seeing animals.  Summer also apparently means being watched by crazy googly-eyed hawks!

 

Summer means frozen Popsicles!

 

This summer will be remembered for #Rain.  Lots of rain.  We were definitely blessed with rain after a very dry summer previous.

 

When there's rain, there's....Waterfights!

 

I don't know why but this picture makes me laugh.  Maybe because it's the antithesis of these pictures; which seem so tough and manly.  Watch out for the Mafia Cat Boys!

 

State Parks have a lot of geese!  I may or may not have encouraged my son to chase them.

 

So many beautiful cool nights this summer.

 

Summer means riding on boats.

 

Summer means butterflies.

 

More rain!  They're pretending to be ducks.

 

Puddle jumping has to be one of those activities kids love almost as much as their parents don't. 

 

All the moisture made the ground think it was spring again.  Weird seeing these things in July/August.

 

Summer means parades with friends!

 

Is the re-occurrence of water pictures getting annoying? Water was everywhere and we were thankful, but maybe a little ready for some sun and heat too.

 

Summer means the county fair and talent shows.  +Emily Engle  took 1st place in Abilene!  She won a bucket of car-care products.  I was so happy......for her I mean.

 

Summer means camping with family.  Mom and the kids.

 

Summer means Thomas K.'s birthday! +Shannon Keltner 

 

Camping and Birthday's are a good combo.

 

Summer means playing glow-in-the-dark-frisbee.

 

Summer means eating breakfast outside.

 

Summer means eating lunch outside.

 

I'm not exactly sure what +Lance Powell is doing but I'm pretty sure he's hailing a new era of awesome shirtless-ness and finding disc-golf discs at Tuttle.

 

Summer means eating supper outside.  #Steak

 

Summer means lots of family time. +Rachel Powell 

 

 Another cabin camping experience.  Not bragging, but that was one good breakfast right there.

 

Summer means 1/2 marathon relays with my wife.  

 

Summer means watching dad still show everyone up at skiing slalom.

 

Summer means family and boat time.

 

Maybe one of my proudest moments of the summer.  My 4yo son loved skiing with me.  Couldn't believe it!

 

 Summer means finally catching some real fish, even if it was the last day of summer!