look what we got!

We've entered the 21st century! Dayle said "I wish we had a toaster". Avery says "I've got one"! History was made!

Our first toaster!

First day back

Hey guys,
Remember me telling you about my obsessive compulsive friend at work?
Last week on my first day back I was very busy catching up on e-mails, voice mails, loose ends, etc. Late in the day my boss popped in to say hi. We were having a nice chat about our vacations when Miss OCD showed up at my door. "Kyle, you forgot to give me that report I needed before you went on vacation!!!!!" She left before I could answer her. ---Insert frustrated emoticon here --- Who cares if the report is a few days late? I've never met a deadline I couldn't miss.

playin' possum...

Stepped out on the back patio Sunday evening at dark-thirty, thinking I may see our resident cottontail. Look what was visiting instead...

Thoroughly Inspired

By mom's blog tonite, I feel led to submit one of my own!

Today I spent the afternoon with a sweet family. Stacy (who discipled me in highschool) and her husband Matt have two beautiful chillens. Arden and Elliot. Arden is full of spunk and attitude and excitement and love. And Elliot is a chubby 8 month old with cellulite. Who could resist such a pair?! We wanted to feed the ducks so we found a park with ducks and two large swans (they mate for life, you know) and lots of hungry catfish and a lone moss-covered turtle. As much fun as it is, feeding the wildlife, I'm convinced after seeing the feeding frenzy today that there is no way that these creatures could fend for themselves if the world ran out of bread. As soon as the critters realized what was going on, they flocked to us! We could have easily started a riot. The highlight of the park was watching Arden chase a squirrel around and around a big tree with a crumb of bread in her hand. At one point she stamped her foot and looked up at me with a pouty face and said something like "I just want to feed him!!!" Too cute!

After lunch, Elliot went down for his nap, Stacy went out to run a couple of errands and Arden and I were snuggled on the couch watching the old Peter Pan. Maybe one of the best things she does is when she wants a popsicle for a snack. Then she's a little sticky and slightly fruity smelling the rest of the day. After Peter Pan, we watched the animated Barbie learns to Dance (or something silly like that) and she put on her best dancing dress and we twirled around the living room until she collapsed in a sweet, sticky, sweaty pile and asked for her back to be tickled. And tickle her back I did...until my arm got tired.

I realize that this post is neither witty nor sarcastic, but it is the sweet moments during the day that make Dallas livable for me. Today definitely had it's sweet, strawberry popsicle sticky moments!

ps- Stacy, if you read this, you have inspired me to dust off the bread baker machine...I'll let you know how it turns out!

The BIG Hike

In my own effort to bond & promote family unity, may I submit a couple of observations from our recent family vacation? There were no major meltdowns or family fights, no big tell-offs or feats of strength, i.e. leg wrestling, or games of "can you top this". The highlight of the whole week was getting to spend time with Kyle & Betsy & Austin (hopefully their girls will be able to join us next time)...along with Clint & Lisa, of course.

Dayle mentions seeing some interesting folks in Durango. I must have been too preoccupied with something else to give them much notice (like, do you think we can find a clean, bathroom here?...or...I need some chocolate!) Anyway, one of the week's best experience for me was the 9-mile hike I enjoyed with Dayle along the Piedras River. We set out mid-morning with lunch & bottled water in our backpacks. Couldn't believe the beauty before us. Every turn of the trail revealed something new & different. To say it was breathtaking is an understatement. Words can't do it justice. We hiked up & down for 2 1/2 hours, crossed footbridge #3, then (thankfully) sat down on a log in the shade to eat our PB&J sammies & bananananas. Then we were off again. After about 1/4 mile, the trail suddenly narrowed and we stopped to evaluate. Looking down, we saw a large muddy footprint - couldn't tell if it was black bear or mountain lion! Time to go! We retraced our steps and made it back to the trailhead in record time. Along the way, though, we had to detour down to the river to cool our tootsies in the rushing water. Now barefoot, we carefully made our way to a couple of big rocks farther out in the river. After several minutes, we adjusted to the cold water, and Dayle couldn't stand it any longer. She was soon sitting in the river (almost) fully clothed! You'll see the sireeeen in the picture below. We got out, dried off as best we could & Dayle put on the dry shorts I had in my backpack. We made our way down the mountain and back to the car just in time to beat the approaching afternoon shower. Fred, Avo & Josh had been fishing for trout all day. Avo's big event was falling in the water (I would like to have seen that) & bug bites; Fred's big event was catching enough fish for our supper. All in all, a great day, especially after stopping in Pagosa Springs for iced coffee on the way home! yum.

More later.

For Starters...

This blog was created with the intention of fostering the feelings of family unity (mothers, fathers, daughters, cousins, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles) through sarcasm and witty comments on life and the people in our lives. Names have been changed to protect the characters of our stories and it is likely that some stories have been embelished to increase the hilarity of a situation, but the basic happenings will remain true.

So to kick off the fun, I (Dayle) would like to comment on some of the local personalities recently witnessed in their natural habitat while on vacation in Durango, Colorado. After a white-water rafting adventure down part of the Piedra River and some shoping around downtown Durango, the "children" were ready to pile back into the car and head for Pagosa. Meandering slowly back in the direction of the parked car, many pitstops were made. Some good: coffee and to see our rafting guide's art work. Some not good: another music store and a lengthy stent in a touristy store. During one of the not good stops, some of us continued to wonder down the street.

Perched on a firehydrant at an intersection, I saw quite a sight like I've never seen before. Sitting on a near-by bench were a guy and girl. Probably late 20's. Dressed like...they were in a musical? And dirty. With one dirty dog. Avery thought they were married. I'm still not convinced. He had one of the most interesting hair-do's I've seen, to date. It was a combo mullet/dreadlocks. With lots of tattoos on his fingers and several missing teeth. We overheard him say they had come from Montana (or was it Minnesota?). Hitch-hikers. Which is why I was surprised when another, slightly cleaner local, came up and introduced himself and after a couple of minutes of conversation, realized they had a friend in common. Their new friend offered a couple of beers and when they positively and enthusiasticly responded, he hurried back to his big van and handed them two tall-boys. Hmm. I wonder if everyone in Durango keeps beers in the van for such occassions.

None of these comments are made out of judgement or scorn, I'm simply curious as to who they are, how they ended up in Durango, what do they feed their dog, and where to next? But strangely, I was not surprised to see them there playing their mandolin on the sidewalk. It seemed perfectly natural. Which makes me wonder. Will I turn into a roving ragamuffin once I've moved to Colorado...