Let It Rain!

Poncho Time!

Taken with my cell phone. Keith, Kyle, Korey and myself enjoy an Orioles game at Camden Yards. The Orioles were playing the Washington Nationals in the "Battle of the Beltway".

It rained and we sat through one delay some time in the 7th inning I think. Then half way through the ninth inning it rained again and went into delay. We decided to head home at this point. The game was tied 2 - 2, but not being sure of the weather and still having a long drive, we thought we would just bail. It was raining fairly hard at this point.

Just as we got home though, it sounded as though they were playing again. It was hard to tell because we could barely pick it up on the radio. As it turned out, they did indeed finish the ninth inning and won 3 - 2.

Yeah, we got wet but it was still fun. What boy doesn't like playing in the rain? :) This was a Father's Day gift to Keith from Kyle and Korey. I got to tag along as they had an extra ticket.

At Camden Yards now. More to come.

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Brothers on Father's Day

Brothers

It was hot today on Father's Day, so I pulled out the sprinkler so the kids could have some fun. They were like two pigs in mud. Boy did they have a good time!

Father's Day on the homefront was very nice. Later on in the the day we stopped over to see my dad and give him a couple gifts. One of the things we gave him was a "Grandpa Scrapbook" that Shelly put together. She really has gotten good with this scrapbooking stuff. :) I got a Dad book as well, which was just as nice.

Overall it was a nice relaxing day. You can't ask for more than that. :)

Top 10 Dog Peeves About Humans

Shelly came across this and I thought it was kinda funny.


Top 10 Dog Peeves About Humans

10. Blaming your farts on me... Not Funny... Not funny at all!

9. Yelling at me for barking... I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG!

8. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?

7. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose... Stop It!

6. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.

5. The slight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooo -- What a proud moment for the top of the food chain.

4. Taking me to the vet for the "big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!

3. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.

2. Dog sweaters. Hello? Haven't you noticed the fur?

1. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth, you're just jealous.

Dover PD FOP 15 - The Champions

Dover PD FOP 15

The season comes to a close and the team celebrates by raising their trophies. Several of Cade's teammates were on his team last year. He had the same coach and I once again helped assist the best I could. Sadly, it looks as though we may not be able to play in Dover Little League next year. Apparently no more waivers are allowed from other leagues. Our house lies just ouside of the border of what is considered Dover Little League. Next year we may end up in Camden Wyoming Little League. I'm going to try everything in my power to try and get him back in Dover. I personally feel that the fields are a lot better as well as the program.

Anyway, Cade did great this year. I think he likes pitching, catching, and first base the best. But honestly most kids like those positions because they get the most action. :)

Check out some baseball photos from the end of the year party over @ Flickr.

An Interview With Cale

Cale doesn't seem to get a lot of news worthy attention since he's still quite young. I've been home with both boys the past couple days because they both have been a little ill (mainly Cale). Anyway, it appears as though they are on the mend and should be able to return to daycare tomorrow.

Today I had the opportunity to interview Cale and ask him some questions that dug deep into his inter-being. :) Check it out!

Get The Blog Via Email

Want to receive the blog via email? Previously I used Bloglet, which didn't work all that well. It died and now I'm using FeedBlitz, which works great.

On the right pane of the blog, towards the bottom I have the email submission form to subscribe. After you subscribe, you will need to validate your subscription by clicking on a link in the email sent to you. If you did not receive an email be sure to check your spam filter. Be sure to let your email client know that mail from FeedBlitz is not spam.

Each day FeedBlitz will check to see if there are new posts for you. If something is new it will email the post to you.

Basically, FeedBlitz is an RSS Aggregator similar to what I discussed last month. You can add other RSS feeds to it as well by going in "New Subscription". For example, if you wanted to add a feed that would email you the updated pictures I have over at Flickr without going there you could add the following to the url field:

http://www.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=30779657@N00&format=rss_200

So scroll down and look to the right for the Email Subscription form. You'll find it below the archives. Enter your email address and click the Subscribe Button underneath. Then check your email and activate the subscription by clicking on the link in the email. Again, if for some reason you didn't get the email check any spam filter you have and train it so that it knows it's not junk.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. It works really well. You should use it for other feeds as well. :)

Check Out Cars

Race To See Cars!

Pixar seems to always come up with some unique plots for their movies. Sometimes I question them before I see the film, but they always seem to pull it off (ie Finding Nemo, Monter's Inc, and The Incredibles). Cars was no different.

Cars is GREAT! Hands down it's probably the best kids movie we have seen in the theater this year. Over The Hedge, which we saw a few weeks ago, was good but it seemed to be missing something for me. Cars was everything I was hoping for. Pixar has yet to disappoint in my book. Anyway, you will probably recognize many of the voices in the film. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin, Larry The Cable Guy, and John Ratzenberger all lend their throat. John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers) has been in many Pixar films over the years. There is a funny clip that runs during the end credits dealing with Ratzenberger and his voice in many of Pixar's films. It's worth sitting through the credits to see.

Race to the theaters to check out Cars!

On a side note, check out the Disney movie Eight Below when it hits the shelves on June 20th. This was another GREAT movie that the kids will love as well. It tells a story of survival of 8 snow dogs that were left in Antarctica during a super harsh winter. Their owner, who was taken away from them against his will, fights to go back and rescue them. It's a must see family movie!

Shelly's New Ride

Happy Gal

Ok, so we had a 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette. Shelly liked having a van, but never really dug the Silhouette. Before that we had a Pontiac Montana, which she seemed to like better overall.

Recently, however, the Silhouette became problematic. When we took it in to get looked at the repairs were too substantial for a vehicle she never really loved that much. I liked the Silhouette, but I didn't have to drive it every day.

Anyway, today we went a dealer that her company does business with. Additionally, as it turns out, the father of one of Cade's friends from school (Madison) also works there. We drove down there and looked at pre-owned vehicles that were only a year old or so. Initially we went to look at vans, but our eye ended up catching something different.

Introducing the 2006 Chrysler Pacifica. Honestly I had never heard of it and never really seen it before. But the car / minivan / SUV looked cool to us. Both Shelly and I test drove it and decided that we liked it better than the van. We left the dealer and returned home to do some homework on the vehicle and pick up the kids from daycare. They would help us make the final decision.

So the vehicle got good reviews and most everyone that has posted feedback on the vehicle has liked it. The main down side was the gas mileage, but to us it was a wash because the van wasn't too good either. We picked up the kids and headed back.

The decision was between a 2006 Town & Country and a 2006 Pacifica. Both slightly used but in excellent condition. Cade liked the Pacifica better. Cale seemed to like the van better. I think mainly because it had a video system like our old van. Majority rules and we opted for the Pacifica. After telling Cale that we would eventually install a DVD system in the other vehicle, he seemed fine with the decision.

Did we get a GREAT DEAL since Shelly had contacts? Not really. I don't think so. But it was definitely a fair deal and I'm not disappointed. Our old van had lost a lot of value and they gave us well more than what it was worth. It's all a game to a point when you buy a car. But we are happy with how things went.

I'll try and take more pictures soon so people can get a better look inside and out.

Cade's Graduates Kindergarten

Cade's Kindergarten Diploma

Yesterday Cade graduated Kindergarten! There was a brief ceremony and then a party to celebrate. During the ceremony each student said what they liked best about Kindergarten. Cade stated that learning math was his favorite thing about Kindergarten.

He's going to miss his friends and school and Mrs. Connelly, whom he grew quite attached to. I can't believe how much he has learned over the past year. Mrs. Connelly did a GREAT job!

The good news is, he'll get to play with some of his older friends at daycare once again now that school is out. Although he got his diploma, there are actually two more days left until the year is over.

Check out some of the photos taken today at the school.
Take Me To Flickr!

Triple Play!

Yesterday Cade had a game in which he played as the pitcher in the second inning. During that time he caught an infield fly (out #1), ran to first tagged the bag after the runner had left it (out #2), and then ran to second to tag the bag after that runner had left it (out #3). In all the commotion and people yelling, he never threw the ball. Instead he made all the outs himself. :) A one man Triple Play Baby! Nice job Cade!

Start Your Engines

Race Day

Another day at the races. It's become a family outting for my pre-marriage family. That is, my dad, mom, and brother.

I'm not a huge fan, but I do like to go one of the two times they visit. Matt Kenseth won this year in an exciting finish.

The weather was perfect this year. Initially they called for rain but we managed to dodge a bullet. In the end it was very nice. Check out the cloud formations in the picture. Very cool.