Murphy's Law

We had a busy few days. After getting back from San Antonio, we drove out to Frisco to see Allison and Henry; Brad, Erin and their newest addition, Caden. Will had a great time with their dog, Riley, although I think Riley enjoyed Will a bit more:

Incidentally, this is why I don't like to be in the pictures: cleavage isn't a good look for me.
Luckily, there was enough beer for everyone
This is one month old Caden; Brad's already teaching him the finer points of Mexican beer.
Caden's averse to flash photography; he did get enough time to throw out some gang signs.
Will wonders if Riley can come out to play ball.
This is Awesome Henry and Allison. It's a unanimous decision that Henry's a rock star; the guy is funny and gets along with damn near everyone. Plus, he's coo-coo for Allison, which makes him alright in my book.
This is just a funny shot to end the night: Riley having to be dragged away from my son, who stands there in his rocket ship pajamas wondering why his new friend was yelling at him.

We had a blast this weekend; thanks to everyone who was around!

SeaWorld

We hit Sea World last week. It was very hot.
Did you know Shamu's 20 already? And retired?! Must be nice. She's all kicking back in her whale-sized recliner, checking emails on her laptop and having her kids do all the work and bring her fruity drinks.
I don't know where I've been lately, but apparently Sea World's owned by Anheuser-Busch; we walked through the Clydesdale stables and, seriously, those things are huge. One was eating so I made sure to keep Will far from the edge of the cage. Unfortunately, that meant putting Jason right next to the Budweiser wagon. I've never seen him so happy.
My boys at the shark tanks. Will thinks that if he sits very still, nothing will eat him.
We spent most of our time at the waterpark--I'm not kidding, it was really hot. Above, Jason is amazed that he couldn't flip Will off the see-saw.
After the park, we'd go back to the house we rented and somehow wound up playing drinking games not played since college. We had to go online to get the rules; part of the rules included wearing an empty box of Bud Light on our heads. Mindy was very, very good at this part of the game.
Another rule was drinking out of a bowl. Pete was very, very, very good at this part.

Over the river and through the woods....

Will and I made the trek to Houston last Friday for a couple of reasons: the main one being a picnic for our dear friends Rob & Noelle and the second reason for seeing Abba(h) and Papa.

Will was very excited at the thought of so many good friends and family being around:

Abba(h)'s make shift potty chair:

Below, Will demonstrates the fists of fury that will be unleashed if his Thomas the Tank Engine cup isn't filled with Heineken immediately.

Finally, we finished up the weekend with a hand-jive. You can tell the difference because Will doesn't look so angry.

So we got to spend a lot of time with Abba(h) and Papa but weren't able to make it to the picnic. I felt like a schmuck; having called Rob the day before and flat-out saying "Yeah, we'll totally be there; give me directions" and then having to make that sad phone call with a curt "notsomuch" as there's a screaming toddler in the background.

We'll have to make it out to the MacGregor pad later this summer when it's not so close to bed-time; I hear their neighborhood pool is rocking.

Hopefully with some adjustments

I think I took these last night after Will's bath. As this shot was taken, I got a very clear mental image of what I'll be facing in 14-15 years:
A very cute boy driving around in his car.
But hopefully not naked and exhibiting signs of public drunkeness.

Dinner at Carter's

Tonight our friends Jenny & Justin (& Jovie) invited us to our in-laws for dinner. Fun was had by all, but mostly by Will, as he watched us all play Wii. Will watched Wii. Will watched Wii. Heh.
This particular game (above) is designed to help balance and posture by simulating a high-speed ski jump (or would that be Skii jump?). Anyway, you start out crouching and then go up on your tip-toes for takeoff. Will especially enjoys that part.
Will got a little dazed by the end of it and his eyes got red.
We figured some dinner would help out and make him a little less demon-child.

Thaaaaat's better.

Yes, he's allergic to corn. Why do you ask?

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

Jason was off all of last week, so he did some work on our monstrous backyard. The Carter Texas Raceway is open for business.

Primary seating area is first up: we had to get a new umbrella because our original one broke due to the high winds present here on the Prairie. We also bought Will a chair so he can join in on the philosophical discussions Jason and I have in the evenings.


My Iraqi-brother sent me this for my birthday; his name is Augustus. The timing on his delivery was impeccable as the bush Auggie sits under had just been planted minutes before his arrival. Just in time, too, as poor little Auggie fell over from exhaustion after peeing for 25 minutes straight. Still hasn't recovered either.

Below is the second seating area; Auggie's close by and is aerating our elephant ears.

Here we have Six Flags over Carters:


Our small amusement park dedicated to our sweet little bundle of joy. Included is a Slide of Death with a Gunslinger Swing Set attachment. We've also got the Crab of Doom Sandbox, No Horsin' Around rocking horse (that really shouldn't be left outside, but we're lazy) and a food court that normally has an umbrella but our in-laws are holding it hostage until we return a movie.

The thing w/ the wheels just above the No Horsin' Around rocking horse is not intended as a spinning ride designed to make you vomit. Oh no.

The last time my parents were up for a visit, we were dismayed (dismayed, I tell you) about the amount of times we would have to move our chairs because Will had the audacity to move from one park ride to another. To solve this problem, Jason made this stool that allows you to swivel around so you never have to injure yourselves with neck or back strain while watching the kiddies play.

I would also like to make it known that Jason did all of this with little to no help from me. This includes choosing the paint colors on our own homemade teacup ride. Yes, it is Buff Gold and Black, and yes, that's the same "J-Double Diamond-C" design he has tattooed on his body, but honest to God, he came up with that on his own.

All the digging, sweating, planting and planning were also pretty much all Jason. This is how he spends his birthday week. I love that boy.

A tip

Don't give a child a red marker.