Happy Father's Day to Me!

My Father's Day started with a hard solo bike ride.  It was hot and sticky, but I got out early enough to avoid the hottest part of the day. Hard to ask for anything more than that.

But wait!  There's more! After a nice early dinner at Deanna's parents' house, Hanna invited us to swim in the pool with her at the apartment she is watching for the summer. Still quite hot outside, this sounded like a great idea.  Hanna also gifted the Beautiful Mrs. K and me tickets to the drive-in (plus popcorn!). Such a thoughtful little one!

Tyson had to work so he couldn't join us at the pool. But he was also super thoughtful and brought home Iskender from Aya Sophia, my favorite.  My stomach is alive with happiness.

Not to be outdone, Eli knows how to ensure that he will be in my last will and testament. 

 

Miscellaneous Ramblings of an Actual Madman

People need playtime.  Hound Dogs need playtime, too.  Remi brings his tattered, deflated ball up to the door and flings it at the door until someone comes out to play with him.  It's adorable and pathetic at the same time.

The Hound Dog also has his own way of stalking the yard.  If you'll remember, Rosco and Rex stalked the yard...but they never sat their asses down on the top step like a human.  Mind you, Remi doesn't spend much time sitting like this.  He is usually bouncing across the yard like a deer.  Yes, a deer.  One day I will get a video.

In other news, I have 50 days straight of more than 10,000 steps.  I consider that pretty significant.

Also in other news, we have a cool sticker for your car.  Now would be the time to peel off the old political bumper stickers or the student parking decal you've had since the 90's and replace them with an honest-to-goodness South Side Cyclery sticker!  While supplies last. Specifications subject to change without notice.  Not available for sale in Honduras.  Retail value 1/10 of 1 cent.
 

Team Kakouris goes to the Races

Sunday dawned and it was time to load up and head out to the UFD Mountain Bike Race at the Forest City Trails in St. James.  Eli and I were signed up to race, but since he's been at football practice all week, he was sore and crabby and didn't race. But he came along anyway, and that made it possible to bring along everyone's favorite Hound Dog, Remi.  Remi loves car rides. And Remi has his favorite spot, which is on top of Eli. These two are so precious together!

We all know that I cannot control myself when it comes to the start of a mountain bike race.  And today proved to be no different than my very first race in 1988.  The Beautiful Mrs. K snapped this pic of me doing what I do...shooting out of the barrel of a gun when the starter says GO!  I love the Forest City Trails, as they are super-duper-tight and technical. As such, I didn't want to go into the woods behind anyone.  And I didn't.

But I did come out of the woods behind a few guys.  The Cat 1 mountain bike races are small but very dense with talent, so in a 16-man field there are 10 guys that have won races.  I led the first lap but my own talent ran thin and I finished 6th.  I checked my lap times from 2019 on the identical course and I was spot-on.  I have a grimaced smile going on here, happy to be somewhat competitive with the competition, but also bummed that I couldn't do more.

Races over, the crew was hungry and ready to go home.  There was a big back-up on highway 44, so we tooled into lovely downtown St. James for a bite to eat and to wait out whatever was blocking the highway.

The Hound Dog had a great time at the races.  He's still a bit of a spaz when it comes to people and people on bikes, but he got the hang of greeting folks properly.  Most fall in love with this big, sweet monster.

We rewarded Remi with his own Sonic Burger.  He was a bit tentative at first because we rarely let him eat such things.  But after he realized he was given a chance at an honest-to-goodness people burger, he laid into it!

Highway clear and stomachs full, we headed home. And although the trip was a bit stop and go for a while, Eli and Remi found their comfy spots in the back seats.  It was a fine outing for Team Kakouris!
 

Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend

I can't really rattle off all of the things the Beautiful Mrs. K and I did for our two days off in a row.  The weather was glorious, so we took a hike.  Since her bionic shoulder is still healing we couldn't bring the Hound Dog...he pulls too much and is still too wild.  Couldn't risk him pulling her down.  We chose Don Robinson again because it's so amazing and it's close.

Spring is in full effect and the lush greenery added to the beauty of the State Park.

The giant crevice is still one of my all-time favorite views.  I wish the camera could do it justice.

Sunday, we had a chance to get the kids together and go out to eat in a nice outdoor setting.  Our plan was to eat dinner and then go visit my dad's gravesite at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery.

Look at these fine people. This is what I work for.

The cemetery was closed by the time we got done eating.  Not a really big deal, as I normally don't visit on Memorial Day because it's just too busy.  We will choose a weekday or something less hectic like we usually do.  Instead, I changed out the light fixture for the backyard.  We had a very homely fixture with old-fashioned spot lights.  This new one is LED and it will blind you.  Very good for spotting the Hound Dog doing something crazy in the backyard at night.