Rex really doesn't like Storms

 When it was a little dark outside and sprinkling a little, Rex was in his favorite spot under the bed.

When it became a full blown thunderstorm, the poor guy started trembling and panting.  Eventually he got under the desk and stayed there, very quietly.  He looked so sad.

Eli's Last Day of School

 For three school years, I have driven Eli to school each morning.  Kindergarten, First grade, and Second grade...they ended today.

The school with the ice cream cone out front was his home, and now he's moving on to the next one...on to Third grade. 

Family Camp at Mo-Val

 2014 was another year for us at the Mo-Val Family Camp.  The beautiful Mrs K grew up going to this camp with her family, and it's a semi-tradition now with ours.  It's been a few years since we have been able to go.  This year was really nice weather-wise, and the other families that gathered here with us for the Memorial day weekend were fine quality people as well.  Our cabin was Oakwood, and parked out front you can see our chairs and POS Blue, which I rode on the small circuit of hiking trails.  Tyson also did some riding with one of the other kids and they had a blast.

 Straight away, Tyson and Eli went fishing.  They are obsessed with fishing.  Here, Eli is celebrating his big catch on the first morning.  You can see the dock with the paddle boats in the background.

 Of course, Tyson is the true outdoorsman of our family.  He caught tons of big fish while we were there. He had to rescue Eli from having to remove his own fish from the hooks.  He saved a lot of other people, too.  I was usually doing something else when fish had to be removed from hooks.

 The first day was mostly overcast and cool.  In the background, another view of the dock and the lake.  Eli is the little guy in the blue life vest on the edge of the dock.  In the foreground is a picture of the Unibomber, I mean Photobomber.

 The pool was a bit green.  And chilly.  I think the water was 70 degrees.  Hell, I would have requested a wet suit.  Deanna, Tyson, and Eli were playing water basketball.  My family doesn't seem to understand what "Damn this water is cold!" means.

 Except for this one.  She knows darn good and well what cold water means.  She was sitting next to me on this bench watching everyone swim.  Notice her flip-flop tan.

 Hanna flashing me the horns.

 This is the artistic photo of the bunch.  That's Eli down by the edge of the water, fishing with his shirt off.  I love the lighting here.

 Wait, let Hanna take a selfie.

 The hay ride.  No hay, but a fun ride.  We were crammed into this beg trailer behind a tractor, and off into the woods we drove.

 On the hay ride, I snapped a picture of the platform that I helped build.  It's a platform for the kids to stand on when they start the ropes course.  It turned out pretty good, but I work on bikes, not wood.

 The start of the slip and slide.  That's our cabin up on the hill on the left.  This year's slip and slide was a little too cobbie for most.  It's always a big attraction, but this year the chosen spot was a little too rocky.

 A nice sunset over the lake as we passed over the dam.

 Grandpa is lost in thought as the kids play Tenzie.

On the last day, we made our family banner, complete with our Bible verse.  We have our cabin, our bikes on the trails, our tractor and hay wagon, our trees, our fishermen, our lake, and our kayaks all represented.

Car Watching - 1993 Ford SVT Lightning

I wish I had gotten a better photo of this truck.  But, we'll go with what we have here.

The 1993 F-150 SVT Lightning truck was quite an odd duck in those days.  It sported a 351 with most of the Mustang Cobra's engine tricks (GT40 heads and such) as well as a host of other go-fast goodies.  A performance truck, you say?  While they may be normal today, in 1993 most trucks were not meant to go fast.  Later, the SVT truck became quite a monster.  Once it moved over to the "new" body style and Modular engine family, it sported overhead cams, a supercharger, etc.  That one became very popular at the drag strip.

What I find most striking is how small this "big" truck is.  In the background of my photo, you can see a modern F-150.  It dwarfs this 93.  In fact, this truck looks much more like a modern Ranger than an F-150.  This one is in really good shape, too. 

Car Watching - 1959 Impala

I had never seen a 59 Chevy Impala in person before.  I have seen many photos, but never up close.  You really, really have to see one up close to grasp the magnitude of those tail fins.  They are majestic!

I snapped this photo while stopped at a light on 141 today.  The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and this guy had all the windows down.  Seemed like the perfect classic car at that moment.  It was obviously an unrestored daily driver.  Good shape, not perfect, but a perfect example. 

Hanna Graduates from the 8th Grade

 It doesn't seem possible, but Hanna just graduated from the 8th grade.  At times, she seems like she is already 20+ years old and ready to move out and move on, and other times it seems like she just graduated from kindergarten.

 Here, she poses with the old man.  I am still taller than her, even with heels on, but she's better lookin'.

Here, she poses with her bestie post-ceremony.  Congratulations, beautiful girl!

Go Carts are Fun

 Max, Gus, Hanna, Tyson, and Eli wait in line at Swing Around Fun Town to ride the go carts.

 The anticipation was killing them!

 Max drove with Eli.  They were careful to put their belts on properly.

 Tyson gives us the thumbs up.

 I think Max and Eli are discussing strategy.  Either that or they are practicing gang signs.

 Eli is revved up!

Later, I drove with Eli.  He didn't think the old guy had it, but I was able to pass a ton of cars.

Hanna and Tyson get Confirmed

 They are two good lookin' kids, aren't they?

 Oooh, La La!

 I look like I ate too much.

 Hanna poses with her mom and I.

 The three of them went through the same confirmation series at our church....

 ....and then we had a little get-together at Gus' house.

 Hanna getting confirmed at the church in her town.

 Posing with the two little guys.

Posing with the dark haired boys.

1985 Nora Cup Vector Sticker

My Vector friends, I pulled out one of the last stickers that I saved from the 1985 Nora Cup campaign.  It's in astonishingly good shape.  I don't think I'll peel and stick it to anything, though.

Hanna, you like my snack ?

I texted this photo of my afternoon snack to Hanna today.  She is hopelessly in love with Nutella.  I added the cheap iced coffee photo just because it shows I'm a hopeless diabetic in the making.

After 13 long years, A New Mower !

I know it doesn't look like a mower, but it's in there.  My mom bought a mower for me on my birthday in 2000, sort of a birthday gift and a house warming gift.  I just threw it out at the end of last year.  It had a bent shaft, burned oil, and became nearly impossible to start.

....and along came my in-laws.  My Christmas/Birthday/ gift was none other than a new mower.  Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa.  Not only does this mean that I will not have to borrow their mower, but Tyson will have an instrument with which to earn a little cash this summer and in future summers.

Squirrel Nip ?

 As I was getting ready to walk out the door on Thursday to take Eli to school, I stopped as I saw this little guy furiously digging through the beautiful Mrs K's flower pot on the front porch.  I mean, he was gettin' it!

He stopped briefly to take a breath, and then went back at it.  Is there such thing as squirrel nip, you know, like cat nip?  Whatever he was after in that flower pot must have been quite attractive.

Car Watching - Mustang Boss 302

 Not the classic Boss, but the modern Boss with 444 horsepower.

Hanna and Eli posed with the Boss.

Eli the Baseball Player

 Tonight, Eli stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat with the dirtiest knees of any player who has not yet been on the field.

 He whacked the ball for a double.  Then he stole third.   Then he was hit home.  Great!

 Two weeks ago, Eli was called up to be the catcher.  He was not happy about it.

He wasn't half bad at catching, but he was pretty lazy about getting up to get balls that went past him.  I think it was a good experience for him, as his catching really needs to improve.