A Little Pre-Christmas Cheer...

Attended a couple of very interesting Christmas parties and had a chance to catch up on all the latest gossip...

I have been promised pics of the party we attended at Merrill and Tony's house and here are a few of the one at Ronnie's...the house was beautiful and the food (we all brought something) was more than we could handle...here are Shirley and Helen enjoying themselves...I'll post the rest of the pics when I get them....




Here is a great pic of "Monk's Covey"...at least that's what Richard called it..I am not seeing all these women..I'm no "player".. but they all are very dear friends...and I adore every one of them...it just seems that I have more women friends than men friends..but it only seems that way...all the men I hang with are on poker nights at the Moose and it's like two .... actually three....different sets of friends...one set never meets the other...then of course there are all the guys I hang with at the fishing pier and that's another whole set of different friends...so I consider myself a very lucky man for having all of them in my life....of course the only ones that draw all the attention are the women...as it should be...it seems that they are the only ones that I like to take the most pics of ....I wonder why that is?....From left to right..Ronnie, Ingrid, Helen, Shirley, Kellie (Ronnie's sister), and Covina...can you blame me for wanting to hang with all these beautiful women...I'll say it again...I'm a very lucky man.....


One of my friends send a couple of shots of some backyard buddies that have been hanging around her house....the Osprey is a young bird that has been hanging out in the trees around her house...we watched up close for a long time the other day and got some great pics...it seems that it was dining on a snake it had captured...the remains were on the ground under this perch...the Armadillo has been hanging around her house for awhile....she finally got a chance to get up close to it and surprise it...when he saw her he didn't run he just buried his head the leaves, closed his eyes and "hid" from her...must be part Ostrich...















While we are on the subject of animals....I took this shot of a Heron down at the pier..I don't believe I've ever seen a bird perch like this...it was a warm day and I thought that it was getting rid of excess heat...if anybody has a better answer...let me know....










Kyle got the Mustang Selene all cleaned up...he was so proud of it that he took a great pic...I told him I'd put it on the blog for him to gloat to his friends...he loves that car...hey the "Monkmobile" ain't so bad either...Kyle's car will however run mine ragged...it's in great shape and for sale if anyone is interested.....If you have to ask how much...you can't afford it.....














Of course no blog entry would be complete without a W.C.G. update...first a happy birthday to my grandson Kevin and my granddaughter Samantha...both December babies...now we have to add Callie to that list and her mother Shannon birthday is Today the 16th...Happy Birthday to you all....






Dakota and the new baby are getting along well according to the reports from Mom and Dad...she is a little jealous and wants the same attention as the baby is getting...she climbs on the bed when the baby is getting changed and rolls over on her back to let them know that she wants to be changed...she climbs into the babies carrier and makes baby sounds to get attention...which I'm sure is hilarious...but all in all she is being a good big sister and trying to help out in her own way...














Dakota still is the star of the show and she wants everyone to know it....

















Well That's All For Now...

Semper Fi

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish

Monk

So Much To Be Thankful For...

I know that last year I referred to this time of the year as the "Holi-Daze" and in many ways they still are a crazy mad rush that either pushes you toward an anxiety attack or just overloads your senses until you get that glazed look in your eyes and begin to mumble a lot...but this year has been very special to me...Callie Jean...the newest arrival on the planet...has come into my life..On December first...she is my son's brand new baby girl and I'm sure she has become a major player in the "World's Cutest Grandchildren" competition...my grandchildren (as far as I'm concerned) will now hold the top five positions in the competition...your welcome to compete but I'm the only judge so your odds of winning are slim and none..and as they say...slim left town...















We had a great pre-Thanksgiving dinner at my friend Ronnie's house...she is a 911 operator and was working on T-Day...so she decided to share with us a little ahead of time...it was a good time and we all ate to the extreme...lots of laughs with my friends and as a special Thanksgiving bonus...I got to spend it with my son Kyle as well...

Kyle and I have been doing some fishing together...before this he could care less about the sport...but I took him out to the local fishing pier here and we just happened to catch some fish that day and that was enough to get him excited about returning to try again...here he is with a nice Spanish Mackerel and a Pompano...there is nothing like success to wet the appetite for more of the same...when we fail and still keep coming back for more is when it becomes a true test of either our desire to achieve, our will power, our love, or..in some cases...our level of stupidity...

Got some great pictures of Dakota's Thanksgiving with her Mom and Dad...she loves to dress up and loves to share with her Mommy and Daddy...I truly believe that when you look into the eyes of a child under the age of five..(before they go to school)...that you are truly looking into the eyes of God....there is nothing more innocent and pure on this earth...

Some additional thoughts and pics...got lunch for this Osprey at the fishing pier...when I laid a nice size Jack on the deck and stood back this magnificent bird swooped down and came in just above our heads to grab it and take it to this perch where he or she spent the next two hours finishing every last bite...all I can say is that the vacationers on the pier that day thought that I talked to the animals...I had told them to get the cameras ready and I set the whole thing up...when I whistled that bird came right down on cue...I was just as amazed as they were..but I didn't tell them that....

This by the way is what someone sent me as a representation of what goes on in a woman's brain as compared to a man's...(it's supposed to be animated but if your computer doesn't show it you can still get a good idea) ...it seems that the woman has all these balls she is using to make decisions and remember things and a man only has "two"....hence the supposed difference of reason between us...of course I don't believe that for a minute..where did I put those car keys?......

Well That's All For Now...

Til Next Time....

Semper FI...

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish

Monk