Handy Manny

Today was Halloween. However, in order to be politically correct, daycare (aka preschool) had "dress-up day" on Friday. This was done in order to ensure kids whose parents do not celebrate Halloween do not feel left out. F*ck 'em was my initial thought, but I managed to keep it to myself. Ashley said it was probably a good decision on my part to keep quiet, and I figured I could silently vent to the millions (tens) of readers of this blog. I feel much better.

Since dress-up day was Friday and Halloween was today, Bode got to wear his costume twice. He went as Handy Manny, which is a character on Disney. He's a little handy man that is Spanish (Mexican) and goes around fixing things with his tools, which have the coolest names like Stretch (ruler), Turner (flat-head screw driver) and Philippe (philips head screw driver). Here's a picture of Handy Manny I grabbed from the web.

Now here's a picture of Bode in his costume standing in our foyer. Note Mommy really got into decorating this year.

Some friends of ours invited us to their neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. They live in Oakwood where the houses are closely spaced meaning more candy per square foot. The neighborhood really goes all out. Here are some action photos. First, we have Bode and Mommy. Ashley dressed up as Kelly, one of the characters from the Handy Manny show.

Bode doesn't really get scared of the spooky things. Maybe he simply doesn't know any better. There was one house with a smoke machine with an opening grave and a scary looking corpse. Bode thought it was funny, and would probably still be there watching it if we hadn't dragged him away.

We had a wonderful time trick-or-treating, and, as usual, Bode played too hard. Harley played very hard because she spent the time playing with Bailey. I didn't get any pictures, but in two weeks, Clay, Callie, and Bailey will come over to watch the Auburn-Georgia game. I'll be sure to take some pictures then--the bitch is getting huge! Pleasant week to all.

Bode's First Football Game

On Saturday, Bode went to his first football game. We have some friends (Nancy and Ron) that have two children attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Nancy is also an alum, while Ron went to Indiana, so much like me and Auburn, Ron married into being a Miami fan. Miami was playing Army, the weather was beautiful, and it turned into a perfect Saturday afternoon (note the evening was tarnished due Arkansas giving Auburn a beating; as Forest would say, that's all I have to say about that).

We headed out around 1100 and arrived just after noon. The Miami campus is beautiful. Here's a picture of Ashley, Nancy, and Bode in a large field just outside the basketball arena.

The band was playing, and you can probably notice the bouncy inflatable castles off in the distance. We made a bee line for them because Bode was anxious to play.

There was one bouncy device that had little canons which shot out nerf balls. It reminded me of the old-school American Gladiators. Here's a picture of Bode preparing to fire.

We then headed to the stadium. Ashley started to check her ticket to determine the right section and seat. Nancy just laughed. "It's really sit where you want," she told us, explaining it's not usually a sell out. Ashley was a bit bewildered at first--why wouldn't it be a sellout. I then had to explain to her the difference between an SEC game and a MAC game :-) We found a place to sit, right near the field, and watched as some parachutist brought in the game ball.

Bode needs to work on his football IQ. While he has the clapping and cheering thing down, he doesn't really know why he's cheering. He thinks the team has scored every time we cheered. Despite this little misunderstanding, he was a big help in firing up the crowd.

Here's a nice picture of Ashley, Ron, and Nancy.

Here's a cute picture of Nancy describing Ron's...err...ahh...maybe she was talking about how close Miami was to a first down.

At some point, Bode started to run out of steam. We had been in the sun all day, so we headed over to the other side of the stadium for some shade and relaxation and also a nap.

At one point, Miami was down 28-14, but they scored three straight touchdowns and held on for the victory. It was a great game, and afterwards, we were thrilled.

After the game, we met Katie (Ron and Nancy's daughter), her boyfriend, Ben, and Andy (Ron and Nancy's son) for a nice dinner. Unfortunately I didn't bring the camera, so I didn't get any good shots, which I'm sure will disappoint Bode because he adores Katie. After the meal, we headed home. Bode got some more rest in the car.

We had a wonderful time in Oxford, and the joyful memories do help to offset some of the sting of Auburn's loss. This morning, I woke up early and ran the Dayton Corridor Half Marathon. It was another beautiful day--actually a bit too hot near the end of the race (which I'll use as an excuse for my time). I haven't seen the results yet, so I don't know how I did. I don't think I earned any age group awards, but I was pleased with my result (1:31:40--barely under a 7 min per mile pace).

Big holiday tomorrow (Columbus Day--got to love those obscure federal ones). Ashley will work while Bode and I stay home and play. Pleasant week to all.

Birthday Party

Today is a good day. Auburn won a squeaker against the Ol' Ball Coach (South Carolina). Final score: 16-13. Defense looked great, although it was probably the poor play of SC's quarterback. Air Force (the mighty Air Force Falcons) beat Navy 35-34 in overtime. Alas, the Steelers couldn't give us the trifecta and lost to Houston, but two out of three ain't bad. Next week, Auburn plays on the road against Arkansas. I won't comment, as I've shown no ability to predict when they will and will not play well :-)

Bode's friend, McKenna, had a birthday party. The weather was beautiful (compared to yesterday), so the kiddos were able to run themselves ragged in the backyard. Here are some action photos. First here's a shot of Bode, running. Form is a bit off, but we'll work on that.

Chad (McKenna's father) set up an obstacle course for the kids to run. Bode loved it--he kept wanting to do it over and over.

They also had a contest to see who could get a bite of an apple without holding onto it. Bode was unsuccessful, and kept shouting he needed to use his hands. It was very funny.

They had a pinata in the shape of a doll house. All the kids took a whack sans blindfold. Eventually Chad had to pull the plug to let the candy out.

They also had pumpkins for all the kids to decorate.

Of course, there was plenty of cake and ice cream

It was a lovely party, and in Bode parlance, "He played too hard." He fell asleep on the ride home, and was rather reserved the rest of the evening. He didn't put up any fight going to bed, and when I was leaving his room, he said, "You have a good rest too, Daddy." Very sweet.

Long five-day week for the two of us, although I am half-tempted to take Wednesday off and relax. I'm running the Dayton half-marathon next Sunday. Should be fun. Pleasant week to all.

An Even Dozen

We had a wonderful Fall weekend in Dayton. Saturday was great--did a little running, a little work around the house, a little time with the family, and topped it all off with an Auburn victory against Florida Atlantic. We'll call it a win, but what it really did was showcase how bad Auburn's defense is. Going into the game, Florida Atlantic had converted only one first down in the past two games. In the first quarter against Auburn, they were three for five. Additionally, Florida Atlantic was averaging only six first downs per game. Against Auburn, they had more than 20. Twenty! That is horrible. Final score was 30-14, and the offense had bits of greatness. But in October, Auburn plays South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU. They're dead.

Sunday (today), we headed up to the Apple festival. Here are some photos. First thing we saw was a big tractor, which Bode loved. It wasn't doing anything--just parked, but he liked it anyways.

They had a bubble blowing station for the kiddos.

And a goat that would hiss at you.

There were lots of different animals.

And there was some festive entertainment to which we could all sing and dance.

It was a very enjoyable few hours and a great way to spend some outdoor time with the kiddo before winter arrives :-)

Today is Ashley and my twelfth anniversary. We didn't do anything too crazy, nor do we have any major plans. Ashley was gone all last week, and I'll be gone for some of this week. We're heading out to dinner--the MCL cafeteria. Yes, that place where the old people eat. We mature beyond our years :-) Plus, they make a great mac-n-cheese, which the Bode-man loves.

Finally, here's a picture of Harley. Bode took this picture. Every now and then I'll grab the camera and see there are fifty or so pictures, all taken by the little guy. Most are blurry messes, but some turn out great.

Pleasant week to all, and here's hoping the team can do something about their defense!

Labor Day Fun

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone, and we have had a wonderful time. The college football season started with a bang on Saturday, and it looked pretty grim for awhile. Auburn was losing 38-28 with under four minutes to go against Utah State, the same Utah State I bashed in my most recent column. I really thought the team was going to lose--even texted these very sentiments to a few friends. Auburn scored a TD with two minutes to go. They only had one time-out left, so the on-side kick was do-or-die. Amazingly, they recovered it in what will probably be the worst moment in the Utah State head coach's life :-) Auburn then took the ball down and scored the go-ahead TD with 30 seconds to go. It was an amazing victory...and also made us think it might be our only celebration this season :-)

Saturday, the high was 96 degrees. Ninety-six! In September. Crazy. What's worse is Ashley and I ran the Alterfest 5K Saturday morning. I was hoping for cooler conditions, which usually equate to better times. We both ran, and did quite well. Ashley finished second in her age group with a time of just over 25 minutes. What's funny is her age category was women 31-40, so Ashley aka the old woman had to compete against all those thirty something kids. How fair is that??? Needless to say, we enjoyed the race, and have our sights set on the US National Championships later this fall (to watch on TV--did you think we meant to race? Don't be silly...)

There was a big parade this morning in Kettering. Bode, Ashley, Harley, and I went to it. Here's a shot of Ashley and Bode moving through the staging area toward the parade route.

Note how cloudy it is. Also note the people to Ashley's left in coats and jackets while Ashley is in shorts and sandals. I tried to warn her, but she didn't listen to me. At least we had the good sense to put Bode in a jacket and shoes. Once we arrived at a suitable viewing location, we snapped a quick picture of me with the kiddos.

The parade started, and Bode was really excited. However, nothing could top Emma being at the parade. Emma is our neighbor's 11-year old granddaughter. She is queen in Bode's eyes. He adores her--and rightfully so. Emma is such a good kid--if we could mold an older sister for Bode, we'd use Emma as the guide. Here's a shot of the two of them.

One of floats was a big Star Wars theme. Ashley had to hold me back to keep me from running onto the course and trying to climb into the Falcon's pilot seat.

Following the parade, we headed home. Bode was tired and wanted to be carried. This is getting harder and harder to do. Fortunately, I had Ashley with me to do the heavy lifting.

After a quick change of clothes and a bite to eat, we headed back to the festival. Here is a shot of Mommy and Bode now properly attired.

Like many of the festivals around here, there were bouncy-houses, which Bode quickly sought out. Here are some action photos of him bouncing around on a trampoline.

There was also a big slide...

and an obstacle course.

Finally, the highlight (for me) had to have been the Star Wars float from the parade, docked right next to the kid's area. Ashley demanded she be in the picture with this monument.

Short week ahead of us. I'm sure Ashley will spend most of it fretting about Auburn's (lack of) defense. I told her she was like this after every game last season, and they won the title. This does little to assuage her fears. Pleasant week to all, and let's hope for slightly warmer temps!