Last Post of 2014

Per last year, I will finish with Bode's school picture and some other photos.

Another banner year in the McGuirk household.  Bode is now in first-grade and doing great.  He did cross-country, flag football and gymnastics, continues to do swimming and ice skating, and recently started piano.  We couldn't be more proud of our little dude.  He also started to lose his teeth.  I think we are up to five visits from the tooth fairy, with the most recent losses being his two front ones.  We avoided a Christmas catastrophe because Bode's one tooth was really loose on Christmas Eve.  We thought we were going to have a visit from both Santa and the Fairy on the same night, and we were unsure if these two folks get along (what if they had a troubled past, perhaps they once dated, or something like that).  Fortunately, the tooth stayed in for the duration of Christmas Eve.  However, as we were eating our Christmas breakfast, Bode bit into his waffle and out pops his tooth.  Problem solved, but now, eating has become an issue--no biting power.  I think one of the teeth is already coming in, so he'll be back to ripping into apples in no time. 

Ashley had a great year despite the disappointing season of the Auburn Tigers.  And she's even starting to realize the quality of her year should not really depend on the wins and losses of a some football team (a running argument in the McGuirk home during 2014).  We, of course, will continue to be fans with the hope that someday, the weekend won't be ruined if Auburn should happen to lose :-)  Here's a great picture of my beautiful "French" wife.  Not bad for 44.

2014 also saw the addition of Joey, a wonderful Boxer who joined our family back in March.  We think he's become comfortable in the house, but it's really hard to tell...

And what's a year-end review without Harley.  She'll be four in a couple months, but she still acts like a puppy whenever someone comes to our house (much to our disappointment).  But her affection is heart-warming, as she gives Ashley some huge "happy whines" whenever she returns from a business trip (or, quite frankly, whenever she comes home from work).  Such a nice way to be welcomed home.

I had another great year--how could I not with the above folks in my life.  I'm still teaching at USAFA--this January will mark my 15th semester teaching (including summer sessions).  June will mark my 20-year point in the Air Force.  I guess this means the McGuirk Family will have to make some life-decisions in 2015, so stay tuned.  Pleasant New Year's to everyone and Happy 2015!

Christmas Dinner

The Thanksgiving Turkey was such a hit, Ashley decided to cook another bird for Christmas.  We also bought a ham, so we had plenty of meat.  Christmas morning, we realized we had forgotten to get potatoes and any type of salad.  Fortunately, Dave came to the rescue, bringing a salad and spuds down from Denver.  The meal was exquisite, something out of Dickens novel (although I will refrain from that particular lexicon, per Ashley's direction).  My Mom even managed to make it in time for food, so it was a wonderful Christmas meal.  Here's a group shot--not really posed, so people's expression are hit-and-miss.

The meal finished, we started the process of digestion.  We spent the rest of the day watching Bode play his various Xbox games and just spending some good quality family time.  On the day after Christmas, Dave returned but also had Teddy and Charlie with him.  Bode was thrilled, especially when he learned Teddy and Charlie would be spending not one but two nights with us.  Oh glorious day.  We had another fine meal (reheated leftovers, but sometimes the reheated meal is better than the first go around).  The boys...and dogs enjoyed it.

For those of you that have met Harley and Joey, realize the dogs can sit still provided the proper motivation.  I'm holding a big piece of ham in each hand if you can't tell...

We then had another round of gift-openings (that's three for those of you keeping track).

The boys spent the night playing together--video games, Hot Wheels, and whatever else boys do.  Today, we all went swimming, had some lunch, and now the boys are again in the basement doing something on the Xbox.  Bode has charged me with getting a subscription with Xbox Live so he can play Plants Vs Zombies Garden Warfare.  I told him I'd look into it, but he might have to use some of his Christmas money if it's a monthly fee.  This puzzled him for a moment.  I'll let you know how things work out :-)  Finally, here's a shot of Ashley wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

She's close to "cracking" a smile :-)  Happy Weekend to all.

Christmas

I'm happy to report Santa Claus made a successful delivery to our house.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  First, a couple of pictures of Bode in front of the Christmas tree before the fat man came.

Note the above picture is on Christmas Eve eve, not Christmas Eve.  Bode would not allow a fire on Christmas Eve.  I tried to assure him Santa uses a special chemical to prevent himself from being burned, but he was skeptical.  We spent Christmas Eve lounging around the house.  Ashley and I both squeezed in some exercise at the gym, and then the three of us went to a movie--Penguins of Madagascar.  It was very entertaining.  We had a light dinner, and then I tried to convince Bode to watch Christmas Vacation with me.  He didn't get most of the humor--perhaps in a couple of years.  We also posed for some family pictures, Bode again opting to go shirtless.  Maybe Santa will bring him some clothes...

We all then snuggled in for a long winter's nap.  Joey and Harley needed no convincing to go to bed, as they were wiped out from a day of hard playing.

We were about to go to bed when Bode reminded me to put some cookies and milk out for Santa.  Tragedy averted.

Bode slept with us on Christmas Eve, and he even slept in...until 7 or so.  We got up, and Bode was thrilled to report Santa had come.  We hurried out to the tree, and Bode immediately opened up his stocking.

Santa also remembered to bring things for Joey and Harley.

The highlight (for me at least) had to have been the present Bode got Ashley.  Bode's school had a "present room" and the kids could all go and shop.  Then, a little envelop was sent home that just had the costs.  Thus, we didn't really know what Bode was getting us.  I was taking him to school one morning and he said, "I know Mommy will like her present.  I just wanted to get her something really beautiful."  And when we woke up Christmas morning, he said something similar.  Very cute.

Next are an assortment of pictures from the opening.  Bode really raked in the loot--a kite, lots of Xbox games, a Hot Wheels track, some cold hard cash, Nerf guns, some great Lego sets, an Amazon Fire, and other odds and ends I can't remember.  Santa (and our family and friends) were extremely generous.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning, and things only got better because Nana, Papa, and Uncle Dave showed up for lunch (to be continued :-)

ABQ Xmas

We spent the last three days in Albuquerque visiting the Albuquerque McGuirks.  Bode sees his cousins a few times a year and loves the time spent with them.  We figured they'd be doing all sorts of exciting things.  Here's an action photo...

Yup, that's Bode playing the Xbox.  You'd think we didn't have one at home.  Alas, I chased him off the computer and urged him to actually play with people.  The kids pulled out a lot of toys that they hadn't played with in a long time.  Pat was thrilled to help them dig these items out of the garage.  Speaking of Pat, Dana has gone back to work, doing a few shifts a week as a nurse.  Pat is rediscovering his domestic skills.

They had the Ping-Pong table set up in the garage (get them a garage heater if you are still shopping for them).  We had a great time playing doubles.  Sean and Brenna, while decent players, were no match for the team of Grammy and me.  We dominated the youngsters (perhaps they were being kind to their elders).  After each game, I told myself I'd go grab the camera to record some of the rallies, but I never did.  Shame on me.  Bad blogger.  Baaaad blogger.

The kids all slept in the Great Room upstairs.  They fight over couch space and blankets, but we let the kids work that out themselves (it worked in Lord of the Flies, didn't it?)

I can't say we did a whole lot other than spend time together...which I guess is the whole meaning of the holidays.  We played Uno (Bode won) and watched football, and ate waaay too much.  We did go to Trampoline World, which was a smashing (jumping) good time.  Here's a cute shot of Bode and Devin in the car.

Sean, Devin, and Bode also watched Return of the Jedi, and I commended them on their cinematic tastes.

On our last night there, we opened presents.  Everyone, including Ginger (the dog) was ready for some action.

 

We had a great time opening the presents.  The highlight had to have been the present Pat and Dana et al. got Bode.  It's a "Fart Bull Horn" which is exactly what it sounds like.  Hours and hours of entertainment.  Here's a movie.  It's rather long, but the payoff is worth it :-)

We had a wonderful time in Albuquerque as we always do.  We are now relaxing at home.  I think Ashley is rubbing down our Christmas goose, err, turkey, and Bode is watching Spiderman or something like that.  I suppose I'll go downstairs, and maybe we can all watch a movie for some good old family fun.  Bode, of course, will be firing his favorite bull horn :-)  Pleasant Christmas Eve to all!

Ski Weekend

We spent the past weekend up in Breckenridge.  The snow season has been strange.  The mountains had seven feet of snow before Thanksgiving.  However, they have received very little since then.  The conditions were decent--nothing spectacular, as there were some brown spots, and Ashley's favorite part of the mountain (Peak 10) was not open.  But we still had a great time.  Bode went to ski school (pictures of that at the end of this post).  We dropped him off around 0830 and headed over to the lifts.  It wasn't cold, but it was overcast.  Still, it was very beautiful.

Ashley and I didn't want to be around the crowds (which was silly, because it wasn't very crowded) so we headed over to Peak 8 and up to the top of the mountain.  Here's a nice shot of Ashley.

We also stopped for an Epic picture, which is basically when the Breck photographers take your picture and link it to your pass.  We'll try to take as many pictures as possible over the coming ski season.

We rode up T-bar and then over to the Imperial Lift, which we did several times.  Neither of us is in good ski shape.  One of the neat thing about our ski passes is sensors throughout the mountain will track where you go.  Thus, at the end of the day, we can see how much we skied.  Ashley and I did over 10,000 vertical feet before noon, and then we decided to get some lunch and take a break--no sense getting hurt on the first day :-)  We were able to track Bode's skiing via Ashley's phone.  Little Dude skied over 9,000 vertical feet, and he rode up the Quick Silver lift 14 times.  We were supposed to pick him up at 3:30, so we headed over early to try to see him coming down the mountain.  Here are some pictures and movies.

This part of the mountain isn't steep, so Bode wasn't going very fast.  However, I did get this movie of him at the very end practicing on a bump (aka a mogul).

He looks amazingly stable on skis.  I'm sure we'll continue to do ski-school as often as possible and as long as its financially feasible :-)  Finally, here's a nice picture of Bode all geared up.

Whenever we go skiing, we always wonder why we don't move to Breckenridge permanently.  Who knows--maybe we'll do so in the not-so-distant future :-)  Pleasant day to all.

Seven Years Old

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone.  We've had a wonderful week.  Ashley had a birthday on Thanksgiving.  She celebrated by cooking a turkey and all sorts of side dishes, and even made some great desserts, whipping up a carmel pound cake and an apple pie.  Her brother, David, nephews Teddy and Charlie, and my Mom came over for the feast.  We had dinner around 1 pm, and then spent the rest of the day digesting.  I think the boys played on the Xbox--Minecraft, Plants vs Zombies, and maybe some Lego Star Wars.  When the boys went to bed, we watched Catching Fire, which was surprisingly decent.  Sadly, I didn't have the camera out, and failed to get pictures of anything.

Friday morning, we woke up sort of early, and hungry.  Ashley continued her role as chef and made pancakes and bacon (with an assist from Dave, who went to the store).  Bode was anxious to open his birthday presents.  He really hauled in a lot of loot; you'd think it was Christmas.

He got all sorts of things--some board games, a radio, some clothes, a DVD, and two powerful nerf guns.  And when I say powerful, I mean they actually hurt if you get hit (well, sting is probably a better word, but Bode really whines when I shoot him).  Below is a movie of Bode opening one of his guns.

Following a relaxing morning, Bode, Dave, Teddy, Charlie, and I went to the Air Force vs Colorado State football game.  It was a beautiful day--we probably could have worn shorts, but we knew it'd get colder as the game wore on.  Before the game, there was a C-17 fly-by.  First, a still photo.

Next is a movie.  Bode thought the plane was going to crash into the press-box; little Dude's depth perception is slightly off :-)

Before the game, I had to get Bode something to snack on.  He pays a lot more attention to the game if he has kettle corn; hence, we got a large, which lasted until almost halftime.  I, of course, had a few handfuls.

Our seats weren't the best.  We thought we'd be able to move to some empty ones, forgetting Colorado State has a lot of local fans.  They really packed the stadium.  Bode, Teddy, and Charlie sort of watched the game, but they spent much of it playing (which isn't a huge surprise).  Here's a shot where they were surprisingly sedentary.

At halftime, we headed out to the parking lot.  Dave's friend, Josh, had brought some refreshments.  The boys took the opportunity to play an impromptu game of football.

Bode and I left early, not so much as to beat traffic.  We caught the end of the game on TV, and Air Force amazingly won. To Bode's surprise, we had the below cake (no, Ashley didn't make this one).

And we certainly can't have a birthday post without us singing Happy Birthday.

Ashley and Bode had wonderful birthdays.  We can't believe he's already seven.  We go back to work/school on Monday, but we are all anxious for a prolonged break over Christmas.  Pleasant week to all!

Bode's School

Unlike last year, which has a Kindergarten Holiday Recital, there was no such group activity for the Keller Elementary First Graders.  I think the second and third graders have something, but the first graders were sort of left out.  Thus, Bode's teacher put together a little Thanksgiving event.  It started at 1:00 pm, so I had to leave work early (darn).  I got there late, so I didn't have a great seat, and it's hard to cram 20+ adults and 20+ kids into a first-grade classroom.  This first picture shows where Bode was standing--he's on the far right leaning up against the desk.

The kids all sang some songs and recited some Thanksgiving trivia.

They also came to the front of the room in groups of three and told a joke.  The jokes were actually quite funny and all were Thanksgiving related.  Below is Bode's group.

In case you couldn't tell, the joke was, "What is Superturkey's real name?" and the whole class says, "We don't know."  "Cluck Kent."  They sang some other songs, which were interesting, but if you've seen one, you can probably imagine what the others sound like :-) They all finished by introducing themselves and taking a bow.

Afterwards, there were cookies and snacks.  I hung out with Bode and his friends for close to 40 minutes.  I was in my uniform, which seems to attract kids to me, and I had to field all sorts of questions. One little guy didn't remember my name, so he just kept calling me soldier.  Very cute.

Three more days until the big Iron Bowl.  Ashley is already pacing.  It will be impossible to match last year's game; a win would be a wonderful end to the season, but Auburn has unravelled these past two weeks.  Here's hoping they can pull it together for one more game.  Pleasant Turkey Day to all.

Bode's Birthday Bash

Alliteration is such a good device to use when titling a post.  We recently celebrated Bode's seventh birthday.  We celebrated early because Bode's birthday is the day after Thanksgiving (and the day after Ashley's--I better go get her something).  He wanted to have a party, and we figured attendance would be minimal if we waited until this Friday (Black Friday).  Thus, on 16 November, Bode had his birthday celebration.  We did the party at the same place we did last year.  This was not our choice.  When planning the party, we threw out all sorts of suggestions--Trampoline World, Bouncy House World, etc.  We didn't even mention Aerials.  At some point, Bode says, "What about that place we did it at last year?" We sort of brushed him off, but he kept bringing it up.  Rather than forcing him to have his party at some other place, we were good parents (pushovers) and acquiesced.  Below are some action photos.  First up we have Bode, Brenna, and Rylan in the big swing.

Next we have Bode coming off of the big slide.

Here's a shot of all the kiddos getting ready to go to the next station.  I think the names of all the kids are (from left-to-right) Rylan, Levi, Daniel, Lexi, Jocelyn, Brenna, Kennedy, and Donovan.

There was a zip-line...

and lots of jumping into the big foam pit.

After 45 minutes of play-time, the kids were ready for cake and ice cream.  We, of course, had to sing.

Afterwards, the kids...and the adults...enjoyed some cupcakes and socializing.

Bode said he had a great time at his party, and we appreciate everyone that came.  Even though he had a party, complete with snacks and ice cream, Bode has informed us he expects a cake on his real birthday.  Funny how this works :-)  We are both off today (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving).  Bode doesn't have school either, so we might try to see the new penguins movie.  We probably should go to the gym and work off some calories prior to tomorrow's feast.  Pleasant day to all.