Where Did August Go ?.......

Wow I just lost a whole month..I'm getting ready to head back south and just realized I didn't post one thing for August....Well I've got plenty of Pics and some interesting stories to tell...so here goes...

This of course is my lovely daughter Kelsey and myself...I thought your friends and family are supposed to tell you if you they think it might be time to change a hair style or a look...all last year I sported a Fu Man Chu kind of look with my mustache...well as it turns out no one liked that look and only after I changed it to the one seen here did they say it was about time...they said that my mustache made me look like some evil hell's angel or at best like that guy on the cable show that builds a new motorcycle each week..the name eludes me right now...but you know the one...his mustache goes all the way down the side of his neck...well anyway...they all said that they hated that look on me and were real glad that I changed it...why the hell didn't they tell me that in the first place...just think of all the potential dates that I chased away...they tell me that this look makes me look more like myself...whatever that means...I've never been the tall, dark and handsome type anyway so I don't think I lost to many opportunities for romance in either case.....

Kevin and Diane had a birthday party for my grandson Alex...16 years old...wow it's hard to believe I have a grandson that's ready to drive...both a car and his parents crazy with worry every second he is on the road...welcome to the club Kev and Di...here are a few shots of the party and guests....Congrats Alex...be nice and have some sympathy for mom and dad......

This is one of his presents from his Aunt Sue....Alex is a fantastic baseball player and his aunt did this excellent pen and ink...it was the hit of the party... pun definitely intended...

Travis and Shannon took Dakota to a small carnival and she had a ball with Dad and Mom and really loved the petting Zoo...

How could you not love a face like that...I don't care.. she is the Worlds Cutest Granddaughter in the one to two year old bracket and of course my beautiful granddaughter Samantha wins hands down in the teenager bracket....Here she is with her dad at our family picnic...She's a little camera shy but I'll get a better pic for next time...

Of course Travis had to prove his manhood at the carnival and win his girls a prize...it only took ten dollars or so to win this beautiful fifty cent blow up hammer which I'm sure lasted at least until they got home...You Da Man Trav....!!

Here are a few more shots of their day at the Carnival.....looks like fun...

Speaking of fun here is a video of Dakota's favorite thing to do...Dance...I guess she is quite the dancer...of course there will be a lot more practice until she reaches the ballet...but she is off to a good start..the dog looks good too...but he did the smart thing and got out of the way...

Bath time with Dad looks like fun too...I think Dad has a little bit to much fun...Dakota doesn't seem to mind...I wouldn't bet against it...but I'll bet the next pic I get in the bath that the dog will be there as well....

Speaking of the dog...I guess she is pretty rough with him...but no matter what she does she gets away with it...It's a good thing..he doesn't look to happy in this shot...if the dog ever decided to go mid-evil on her she would only be an appetiser...that's a big dog...but American Bulldogs are well known for their love of kids....and besides she always kisses and makes up with him in the end....

I mentioned our family picnic... we always have a great time and this year was no exception...I must have hit 300 shots to the outfield over the course of the day..and on top of that we played six games of volleyball....this was one hurtin' old man at the end of the day...but I couldn't let the kids have all the fun....my nephew Dan's son Zack winds up for the pitch in this pic..he has a ways to go but he's got style...

We ate til we busted and of course played cards...the kids never stopped and I'll bet they all slept til noon the next day...

My sister Jean just got back from her son's place in Idaho...she visited her newest grandson for the first time...the whole family went...Rick, Kelly and even Grandpa Bob...

Zack looks pretty good in my hat...but I think he'll have to grow into it before I get him his first real Panama Jack.....

I'll leave you with a few more pics that I got off the Internet....there are some pretty creative people out there....they also have way to much time on their hands...

That's All For Now...

Til Next Time...From sunny Florida

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish

Semper Fi...

Monk

Bits & Pieces....

Sorry I haven't written anything since the end of June... the summer is just flying by...I've had an overload of VA appointments for physicals, eyes, ears,and teeth...getting new eye in August...at least it will seem like that...actually it's cataract surgery and it will seem like getting a new eye...I have worn glasses all or part of the time since I was three and this last operation will give me almost 20/20 vision in both eyes...for the first time in my life...the left eye was done three years ago and I've had to wait for the other eye to get bad enough for them to do the surgery...Like every other old fart...no offense to my old fart friends....Alfred E. seems to be the only one who doesn't age or worry...I want to be just like him....I will have to have reading glasses...a small price to pay for being able to see clearly again at least most of the time...I also have new hearing aids and a new gold crown..do the words "falling apart" mean anything to you...60 may be the new 50 but it's more like the new 70 when you have to have all this repair.....

We all were sorry to see Travis and family leave to return to Edwards AFB in California...but it was great to see him and TWCG and Shannon...we had a little going away breakfast just before they left for the airport...I was on heading for the golf course after and invited my golfing partner and neighbor Karen along with Dina, Ryan, Andy and Kelsey....Dakota ate like a horse she has no problem letting you know when she is hungry...we had a very savvy waitress and she got Dakota's breakfast out fast and first...she was eating ten minutes before us and as far as she was concerned that was still to late...she was ready the minute we walked in the door...

To demonstrate my point I have added this video..the first one I've ever had on the blog... click on it and if it works...it won't be the last I hope....this is one my son sent me after returning home...eating neat is a learned skill that she obviously not been practicing...if only we all could be this uninhibited and innocent....

The Fourth of July seemed to just come and go...I didn't have any plans and spent the day amusing myself...everyone else had plans for the day so I went to the movies and fished in the afternoon....but Andy did call me from the road to tell me that they had made a trip to pick up some fireworks he and his friends were going to take to a party that night...here is a pic of just some of them...it turns out that they hit a Two for One sale and then the guy threw in a bunch more for good measure because they spent so much....I'm just happy to report that I didn't get a phone call at Midnight informing me that my son had blown off all or most of his fingers...I'm sure glad that my children's guardian angels are on duty 24/7.....

Kyle sent me a pic of his newest mode of transportation...it goes 15 or 20 miles per hour and he accepted it as payment for some work he had done for a local body shop in Cheyenne...the Mustang is now on the road...I asked him to send a pic but haven't got one yet...needless to say with a Mustang that is over 500 horsepower...the scooter will get more use as the price of gas keeps climbing....I really don't know what he is going to do with it or any other odds and ends he has accumulated in Wyoming...He is moving back to Florida by the first of August to attend school there...he figures that if he wants to be a Marine Biologist that he better get somewhere near the water...Florida has some of the best schools for Marine biology in the country...He is shipping the car back for the same cost or less than it would cost him in gas to drive it to Florida...and I don't think the scooter will be allowed as carry-on for his flight...it looks like I'm going to have some company in Florida this winter...It will be nice to have him around...maybe not for my bank account but none the less...nice...he will be staying in an apartment that my friend Lisa is getting prepared for him...I can't thank her enough for all that she has done for him...she has even helped get him set up for school which starts in August in Florida...THANKS LISA YOU ARE A SPECIAL PERSON.....

Went to a very special birthday party at Karen's house....her mom celebrated her 100th Birthday....Wow...here she is with Karen and her son Richard...she still has it all together and from the look of her the energizer bunny has nothing on her....she will just keep Going and Going....







Here are a few of the beautiful sunsets that I enjoy because I was smart enough to buy a house on the east side of lake....Also a Pic of my neighbor and friend Peter who is shown here being towed out to a spot in front of the dock about 50 yards to drop first of several tires filled with concrete for a mooring bouy that we use...Who's towing him?...Why his wife of course...for those of you who know me...no comment!!



That's all for now.....

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish

Semper Fi

Monk

What More Could A Father Ask For......

I will say it again....I am a very lucky man to have the children and grandchildren that I have...they make me proud to be their Dad and even though at times it seems like they aren't listening to Dad's advise...in the end they always do the right thing...not that dad is always right..they just end up doing the right thing...they are guided by their own moral compasses and that compass is true...I'd like to think that I had some part in that alignment but in the end they have to choose which fork in the road they will take every day and that decision is guided by what's inside each of them.....

Father's Day was great... I got to go over to Kevin's house and see my three fantastic grandchildren...Kevin got a backyard swing for Father's Day and it was a load of laughs trying to figure out which branch of the tree to hang it on....we had only one choice that would keep it away from the trunk far enough to allow it the right space to swing...of course that branch was one of the thinnest on the tree...I sure hope it holds up..if that branch breaks it probably won't hurt anybody but it will scare the crap out of them....lets put it this way...the branch was so thin that the eye bolt that came with the swing went all the way through to the other side...




Kevin said he probably won't use it much..no offence to my daughter-in-law Dianne and the kids but he just wasn't comfortable in it...we all had a laugh when he said that if he ever fell asleep in it that he would look like this and wake up with a stiff neck...

They were going to take it back for a trade up to a hammock but once Dianne got in it she claimed it for herself...she says Kev will still get the hammock but the swing chair stays...


We all got to hang around...no pun intended.. and watch and give advise on the swing installation...Kev and Dakota got the first ride...Dakota was not happy to be on Kev's lap this is the first time she has seen her Uncle in a few months and at this age..if a few months goes by...you have to re-introduce yourself...I even had a few minutes of..."who the hell are you"...looks when I first saw her again and I had just seen her in April...













Shannon is due in December with child number two for them and grandchild number five for me...Travis has got two more years in the Air Force and is still deciding if he wants to stay and be an Officer or join the federal employee ranks...perhaps FBI, DEA or CIA....he can use his years in service and get a great job with his Combat Arms Instructor skills...he has a couple of years to make up his mind....who knows what will be happening around the world by then....



I got to have supper with Travis & family, Kelsey and Andy for Father's Day...Dakota was a doll as usual....she looks better in my hat than I do....she found out that Blue Cheese salad dressing is better if you just stick your whole hand in it and then lick it off....we all thought the mess she made was cute...I'm sure the waitress wasn't so happy after we left...I gave her a little extra tip to cover the hardship of cleaning up the mess...that should have eased the pain...















A father's love is unflinching....a big strong military man will even suck on his child's pacifier rather than see her get a strangers germs after it has hit the floor in the restaurant...Hey Travis let me know if there is a cure for whatever you come down with...






In other proud father news....My son Ryan had his Police Academy graduation this past week...He not only was the highest achiever on all academic tests he was chosen as the best overall student of the class...which includes shooting, academics, role play and physical fitness training....He wouldn't let me show his face on the blog...but I will show you his back getting his certificate and awards and a blurry picture of him giving his speech as top student...it was a very well thought out and delivered speech and made me even prouder...he thanked his instructors and his fellow students and was very humble...in Rochester in particular a cop has a very dangerous job...one of his fellow graduates has already found out how dangerous...he, like Ryan..has been out on the streets on patrol for the last several weeks...he was stabbed by a perp in a family dispute...he managed to subdue his assailant and make an arrest...Ryan has already had his gun out several times and has made one of the larger drug busts in the last few months while doing a traffic stop....God bless you all.....














Kyle is doing great in Wyoming...he has finally settled in and... as of yesterday...the Mustang is ready for the road..HOORAY....He sent me a picture of himself in a pair of safety glasses he bought for two bucks....hey Kyle.. I think you paid about a dollar ninety to much...good for a laugh though....










Some other odds and ends....I have spent several pleasant hours down on the dock fishing for perch and have been having some pretty good luck...I have yet to catch a smallmouth bass yet this season...I helped my neighbor Tom's son Hunter rig up his pole with one of my homemade jigs and in a few minutes he was fighting to stay on the dock when a good size smallmouth hit his plastic kiddie pole...it took the three of use to wrangle the hapless fish to the dock...way to go hunter you out fished me and got a great picture and memory...congratulations..... P.S. The fish was released safe and sound....

I met a man who carves and sells walking sticks...not canes...but the seven or eight foot tall...Moses-like walking sticks....he hand carves some very interesting characters on them... I am going to give him one that I purchased several years ago... that is rather plain.. to endow with his fantastic images....here are a couple of pics that he emailed me...you can contact him at floodminnow@yahoo.com for more info....very reasonably priced by the way.....















My friend Lisa (on left) was here for a week...she was taking a week long certificate course at the local and apparently world renown Wine and Culinary Institute here in town...she won't know if she passed the course for several more days..the tests are graded in London....well La-De-Da...it was great seeing someone from my second home again...I do miss my Florida friends very much...but I do have some great New York friends as well... she and my friend Dina hit it off and we had several great meals together while Lisa was here....

I eat breakfast at Patty's Place here in town every morning...the other day I met a man who was traveling across country by bike as a personal holiday for himself....he has been taking care of an ill wife for awhile and his children gave him an early Father's Day gift of taking care of their mom while he does his thing....here is a pic of him and Patty outside her restaurant....I wish him well and pray for his wife....God Bless....



Last but not least a couple of unique sunsets that I thought you would enjoy.....

That's All For Now...

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish...

Semper Fi...

Monk