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1st Day of School

Today was Seth's first day of school. I don't know if it actually counts or not since this is just pre-k but it will be the first time he is gone all day every day of the week to school so it was just as traumatic on us. When I say "us", I mean the parents. Seth really didn't seem to notice.

He was really excited to go and didn't bat an eye when we left him alone in his new room. Now, he will have some adjusting to do though. First, he isn't used to getting up as early as is required to get him to school. He was really tired when the day was over. Also, Seth likes to eat breakfast when he is ready and he wasn't "ready" this morning so he went to school without any breakfast. (are we horrible parents?) He will need to learn they won't make him a waffle whenever he is ready. Also, he will need to learn he needs to eat at lunch time. He didn't like what they were serving only because he had never seen it before, so he didn't eat again. Needless to say, he was hungry when Shelley picked him up.

All and all it was a successful first day. But, we have crossed over to a new time when he won't be home all day with his mother and little brother and that makes us all very sad.

Sleeping Issues

We are having sleeping issues in our house lately. Getting the boys to bed hasn't been the issue, keeping them them there has been though. Every night starting around midnight we start getting little visitors and we begin playing musical beds. Every night is different. We may go a week or so with it only being Seth and then another week where it might be Chase and then it is always fun when it is both of them.

For example, this morning I woke up on the couch, Shelley in Seth's bed and Seth and Chase in our bed.

Anyway, when I saw this video it said everything I have been feeling.

Thanks to Robin for the original post.

Cowboys 16 Texans 28

We are now 2 - 1 in fake football and the loss yesterday is concerning. The third game is the all important "dress rehersals" where the starters play the majority of the game. The did play almost 3 quarters and looked very sloppy doing it.

-- We had a high number of penalties
-- Special teams looked horrible
-- We couldn't run the ball
-- The kicking battle looks to be leaning towards the rookie.
-- We couldn't stop the run
-- We weren't able to get pressure on the QB either.

So, with next week going to be mostly backups playing we won't get the next good idea of what we have until the season starts. I'm still optimistic but they have to play better than they did Saturday.

41

Yesterday was my 41st birthday and that is something that is still hard for me to comprehend. I don't feel old enough to be 41.

But, we had a great day that ended in attending The Wiggles concernt at Nokia Theatre. If you had asked me twenty years ago what I would be doing on my 41st birthday, I think I could have listed a thousand things and going to see the Wiggles would never have come up.

Being 41 is off to an inauspicious start as well. I am on day 2 of being 41 and I have already had to go to the doctor. I hate doctors but I have a sinus infection that is killing me and I finally had to break down.

I'm 41 and I'm falling apart..

Another Post About Elvis

Here is another post about Elvis and I can't promise it won't be my last.

Back in 1997 when Shelley and I went to Memphis for the 20th anniversary of Elvis' death we got to do a lot of neat things. This was when The Ordeal occurred and I don't include it in that list of "neat" things.

But, the highlight of the week was attending the very first Elvis Presley in Concert event.
This is a live show that has toured the world and features all of Elvis' previous back up singers and band who all perform live while Elvis performs via video on big screens above the stage. It is a very impressive show and if they ever start touring again and appear in your city, I highly recommend it.

But, the highlight of the show was this duet between Elvis and Lisa Marie singing "Don't Cry Daddy." It was very moving then and it still chokes me up when I watch it today. This video isn't the best but it gives you an idea of what it was like.

If you can't see the video then click this link.

Elvis' Handgun Stolen From Graceland Museum

I swear this wasn't me.

Story

Cowboys 31 Denver 20

The Cowboys are now 2-0 in fake football. While you can't judge anything on pre-season, I do see a crispness in the way they are playing.

A few things I noted:

1. Romo continues to look good.
2. The running game looks solid and between Jones and Barber I think they are going to have a good mix.
3. They got some pressure on the quarterback.
4. They have a solid battle going on at kicker and it will be interesting to see who wins it.
5. I'm still not seeing much out of Bobby Carpenter.
6. I'm excited about Isiah Stanbeck. He looks like he could be an exciting player.

All Shook Up

With our trip to Memphis and this being the 30th Anniversary of Elvis' death, there has been a lot of "Elvis" in our house.

You have to love it when you hear your 2 year old sing "All Shook Up". This is what I heard last night from Chase.

I'm all shook up
uh uh, oh yea
I'm all shook up

It was very cute.

Here's the real thing. Link

My Celebrity Love Match

I'm sure Shelley will find this funny.


More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

Why they do what they do

If you can't see the video then go to this link.

Day Five of our Vacation

Day five was really just a drive home and we didn't have many activities planned. But, we had decided to go to Mud Island on our way out of Memphis. None of us really knew what Mud Island was so we hadn't planned on seeing it but then we discovered it was a scale model of the Mississippi that the boys could play in. It also has a museum all about the Mississippi so we were actually pretty excited to go see it. But, our excitement turned to disappointment when we were told that it was closed on Mondays.

So, we headed out of Tennessee with our next stop being Texarkana to see some of my family. But, along the way we stopped at Washington, Arkansas. This is what their website says about Washington.

Established on George Washington's birthday in 1824, the town of Washington today is one of America's premier historic villages. Historic Washington State Park is a National Historical Landmark, a National Register of Historic Places site, and an Arkansas state park you'll want to visit.

Today over 30 carefully restored historic structures including classic examples of Southern Greek Revival and Federal architecture, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and those of hand-hewn timber framing or brace-frame cottage construction, stand as a legacy to life in Washington from 1824 to 1889. Tour the public buildings and homes; see the remarkable collections of antiques, guns and knifes; visit with the guides in period attire who will greet you at each stop; ride the surrey around town; and step back in Arkansas's time.

It was an interesting place but it was too hot to spend much time walking around it. Here are some pictures though.

Day Four of our Vacation

Day four of our vacation was what the trip was about and that was our visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis. This wasn't our first trip to Graceland and if you want to read about it, then read this previous post called The Ordeal. This visit was much more pleasant.

The boys were fascinated by Elvis prior to our trip, loved listening to his music and kept telling us "Elvis Died."

I really think they enjoyed their tour of Graceland. I don't think they had seen anything like it before.

Here are some pictures from our visit.

23 - 10

Football season has started and I'm thrilled. That is all I have to say right now because it was just a preseason game. No reason to be going out and buying my Super Bowl tickets just yet. But, according to the Super Bowl website, I might already be out of luck.

Entries for the random drawing are accepted between Feb. 1 and June 1 of the year preceding the game in question. All entries must include name, address, phone number and email address, and must be sent via certified or registered mail. You will be notified by mail in October or November if you are eligible to purchase Super Bowl XLI tickets. Requests for tickets to Super Bowl XLII, to be played Feb. 3, 2008 in Glendale, Ariz., will be accepted beginning Feb. 1, 2007.

Day Three of our Vacation

Day Three started with a trip to the Memphis Zoo. It was a really nice zoo and they even had Pandas.

The day then moved to the Pink Palace Museum. The museum was once the mansion of the founder of Piggly Wiggly until he lost it in bankruptcy. Again, it was a very nice museum with a replica of the first Piggly Wiggly which was the first self service grocery store.


We then went to the Memphis Children's Museum which was one of the nicest Children's Museums I've seen. It had an actual police car, fire engine and air plane that the kids got to play in. It also had a stage where kids could put on a show and our two couldn't resist. They were quite a hit.


Day Four tomorrow..

Day Two of our Vacation

Day two started off with me realizing that despite how nice the Peabody is, I really like the free continental breakfast at places like Hampton Inns. We tried to find a place for breakfast but had no luck so had to settle on some things purchased from a small shop in the hotel. I don't know but I imagine it cost a small fortune.

The next stop on our journey was The Clinton Presidential Library. I imagine those that know me are shocked but we have a plan. Shelley and I committed to take the boys to all of the Presidential libraries and figured we would start with President Clinton's when they were young so they wouldn't remember it. :-)

It is a really nice facility with beautiful grounds. I also got to read about all the good work and great results President Clinton's gun laws had. (tongue firmly in my cheek).



After leaving the library our next stop was Memphis. We took a "Duck" tour of the city once we got there. If you are in a city like Boston, Baltimore, Memphis, Seattle or Philadelphia that offers one of these tours, I recommend it. It is a different way of seeing the city you are visiting.

After the tour we went to our friends, Diane and Tim, where we were staying and got to enjoy her fried okra. This may have been the highlight of the day.

Day Three tomorrow..

Back from Vacation

I have taken a few days off from blogging because we went on a little family vacation.

Day one of the vacation had us driving to Little Rock, Arkansas where we stayed in the Peabody Hotel.




Chase loved the view from the hotel.


If you didn't know The Peabody is famous for its ducks. They have a tradition that started in 1939 at the original Peabody in Memphis where at 11 am the ducks march down from their home on the roof and walk along a red carpet to a fountain in the lobby. Then at 5 pm they reverse it and march back up to their home on the roof where they stay until the next morning. Here is a picture of the march back up to the roof. The boys loved this.


A funny story about this happened 10 years ago when Shelley took me to Memphis for the first time. We went to the Peabody that morning to see the ducks and we were a little early so we decided to go and see them on the roof. After viewing them for a few moments we noticed it was almost 11 am and we needed to get back to the lobby to watch them march into the fountain. So, we went to the elevator, selected the lobby and when we arrived at the lobby, the doors opened and we were facing a red carpet and at least 50 people staring at us and expecting the ducks. We were embarrassed and they were disappointed.

I'll write about Day Two of the vacation tomorrow.

Congratulations Michael Irvin

Congratulations to Michael Irvin for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a die hard Cowboy fan I love it anytime a Cowboy gets put into the Hall of Fame but the Cowboys of the Nineties are very special to me.

I grew up a Cowboys fan but never lived in Texas so to finally be living in Dallas when the Cowboys experienced arguably their biggest success was very special to me. And Michael Irvin was a key component of that success. He has been referred to as the heart of the team and that is easy to see if you look at how they were after he got hurt in 1999, they were never the same.

Now, I know Michael might not be a popular choice because of his off the field problems but no one can argue about what he did on the field. I won't defend his choices but I will say I believe he is not the same person any longer and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Now we just need to get the other Dallas wide receiver who wore 88 into the Hall of Fame.