Two girls and an Air Hog - TKP

No "Air Hog" is not a new nickname for their Dad (though some who have heard me preach may think it is not far off) - "Air hog" is the name of the new, cool toy that the kids have.

When I was a kid, I liked any toy that flew: gliders, parachute men that you threw in the air, model rockets - didn't matter as long as it could fly - so when we were in Minot a few weeks ago and I saw this thing, I just knew that I..... I mean "the girls" just had to have it.

As you can see below - it consists of a rocket with two little airplanes attached to it.....
You use a slingshot to shoot the rockets and the airplanes into the air - "more than 5 stories up" the box said (and I would think that was close) - like so.....
The result is this.......
When the rocket gets to its "5 story tall flight" - it releases the little airplanes that then float and cruise around landing a couple of hundred feet in either direction (here is one of the kids after picking a plane up - as seen from the launch site).......

So the best parts of this....
1. It was $10
2. No batteries required
3. The kids thought it was great fun running after the airplanes
4. (Related to #3) I did not have to run after the airplanes
5. The kids were dog tired after 2 1/2 hours of running after airplanes
6. I get credit for being a "fun dad" - and I probably enjoyed it more than they did!

It is good to be a dad! :)

Minot Maniacs

Well due to overwhelming pressure from the man who has been monopolizing our family blog for goodness knows what, I decided to let those who wonder "what are the rest of you doing?" have something to read about.
We recently went on a road trip to Minot, ND. It was super fun and it was our first journey with the D's. We shopped and swam and looked at cars and motorbikes and ate out. I am sure that Tim will never be the same because I don't think he has ever survived a longer shopping trip. The rest of us loved it and so did Tim when the center of the mall fill with stock cars to drool over on the second day there.
Anyway the few days were as relaxed as we have been on holiday for a while and we all really needed the break from reality. Yes I am saying being with the D's is spaced out time.
Well back to Tim's ramblings for a while. I will be back to rescue you from him when I have a minute. :)

Your new contest = TKP

Someone asked how to pronounce "Flangerotty" - it is:

Flang - er - ot - y (just as it is spelled - b/c I spelled it phonetically)

Now - here is the real question:

"Flangerotty is used in a commercial for what product?"

(If you have been watching hockey playoffs - this should be easy to answer - as the commercial is on all the time).

Anyone brave enough to be the first to tell me? :) First correct answer gets an all expenses paid trip to Bienfait (Please note that "all expenses" have to be paid for by you yourself!) ;)

The lost has been found - TKP

If you have not read the post below - please read it first or this one will make no sense (chances are that it will make no sense either way - but it at least has a better chance if you read the other one first)

THE FLANGEROTTY HAS BEEN FOUND!!!!

I had given up on it - and then - like a miracle - I found it. This teeny, tiny little thing - I found it. It freaked me out!!!

Now, I still do not have a running mower (in fact I think I am missing another part - one related to the Flangerotty) - but at least I am getting closer.

Miracles do happen!!! Now, where is that faith-healer when I need him????? :)

Crying over my "Craftsman" - by TKP

So - have you ever had one of those days when you think, "This is going to be a nice day" - and then......

I had really good intentions of helping Sari in the yard today (cleaning up, taking stuff to the dump, power-raking the lawn with the mower), unfortunately it did not end that way.

For some reason - possibly because it saw me being happy - the lawnmower decided not start today (we have not used it this year yet), so I showed it - and tore it all apart. I had pieces spread all over the back yard ("Ha, who is laughing now", I asked it, but it said nothing) .

Unfortunately, as of 10:30 tonight, it still doesn't run (I know - hardly a success story, hey?) and, in fact, a little part (I think it is called a "Flangerotty" - though I could be wrong) - a very tiny spring from inside the carburetor float chamber, has gone AWOL. It is lost in the backyard somewhere - which is another disadvantage of not having a garage - when you drop things like "Flangerotties" (or is the plural "Flangerotti" - I am not sure) :) they get lost in the leaves, grass and other nature-type things out there (Which may be why you see very few garages with real grass on the floor).

Anywho, I am fairly certain that the "Flangerottie's" absence is not going to help me to get the mower running (I am also pretty sure that they do not just throw in extra parts for fun - though I often seem to have lots left over - "Flangerotti" are not cheap you know?)

Now - just so you don't think that I am just stupid (I can hear you when you say those things you know) I do know what I am doing. I took automotive courses in school and have kept 5 old mowers at our Bible camp running through many a summer of neglect and harsh treatment (from me that is - the other people who use them are very nice to them).

In the end, I took the carb off (8 times - seriously), took the head off, cleaned the valves and cleaned, checked and adjusted the magneto (Which, by the way, I had to get Sari out there to help with. She tried starting the mower while I held onto the spark plug wire. Not surprisingly, I got quite a shock from it - then she proceeded to pull the rope like 3489789347 more times... and you all think that she is so nice and sweet) and then - of course - I lost the "Flangerotty" for the second (and final time) in the day.

So, after working from noon till 7:39:33 tonight - nothing! Well - not quite nothing! I had to drain the gas several times.... I can't remember several significantly large portions of the afternoon - but (on the bright side) I did feel quite happy about the whole thing - if you know what I mean. :)

So - if any of you have a spare "Flangerotty" - or know a good "Lawnmower faith healer" - please give me a call will you?

(PS. Yes - I know it is not really called a "Frangerotty" - I just like saying it) :)

My little SUVs - by TKP

SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) are really great because they are dual purpose - they are tough enough to work hard and yet they are pretty enough to take out for a night on the town.

For years (and for those same reasons) I have referred to Sari as my SUV (surprisingly - she takes it as a compliment) :) - now we are raising some little ones of our own.

As you can see below - girly girls these ain't....



My goals here are many......

1. Raising non-girly girls (See "SUV" above)

2. Spending time with them doing something they wanted to do. Fortunately, I like this much better than playing with Barbies! (I DO TOO LIKE HOCKEY BETTER THAN BARBIES!!!! Those other stories about me are just total fabrications with no grounding in reality.)

3. Playing road hockey two little girls is very good for the ego - makes you feel like Wayne Gretzky (Well - it would if I was not so out of shape - those little girls can run for a long, long time - and I am getting old, ya know?)

4. It is a "Daddy Dating Strategy" - I am hoping that playing hockey will teach them to fight, use their elbows and be mean - something that I think will come in handy for them when they start dating - in 20 years or so.

Girly girls are great - but I will take SUVs anyday! :)

(Ps. We were in Minot last week and the mall was full of stock cars - too bad for me hey? One of the cars had a "M.A.D.D." sticker on it - "Mothers Against Drunk Driving". On the other side it had a "D.A.D.D." sticker - "Dads Against Daughters Dating" - I think I am going to sign up for that group!)

Why I am suing "Estevan Student Basketball Association" (or "How to hurt yourself while playing basketball with a group of 8 year olds") TKP

Ok - I am not actually considering suing anyone (mostly because the people at fault are all related to me and - therefore - I would end up paying damages to myself) but I did have an interesting evening with Megan's "basketball windup party".

Somehow I missed the message that the last night was a "Parents vs the kids" night. So when we got there I (being the "in tune with my kids" dad that I am) said "Oh, well! That is too bad! Maybe next year! Are they serving hot dogs at this thing?" The look that I received (one that I have seen from her mother several hundred times) told me that I was going to have to race all the way back home to get stuff so that I could play.

So, driving like a wild man (well - as wild as one can drive in a Chevy Venture minivan) I made it home in record time. I ran in the house, went to the bedroom, changed and then thought, "Where are my gym shoes?" Realizing that they were downstairs, I proceeded to run down the stairs, through the family room and down the hallway to the room that has some of my sports stuff in it. Now, being the energy conscious guy that I am (read "cheap") and being in a big hurry, I did not turn on the basement lights - so here is what my basement looked like to me.....
Had I turned on the light, here is what the hallway would have actually looked like.......
As you can plainly see, my eldest daughter (because she needed room to play "Dance Dance Revolution") shoved the coffee table across the room and into the hallway (something that they have been asked NOT to do 940386589078945790480 times - yes I have counted!)

So I come running as fast as I can through the dark basement ("Parent/kid basketball" had been going for more than 5 minutes by now and I just knew that - if I did not hurry - all the big time scouts would be gone and I would miss my big chance to break into the NBA - something I had been dreaming about for.... like... 5 minutes at least) and I run headlong right into the coffee table. Actually, I ran "Knees-long" into the table, then fell over on top of it and pushed it (at a tremendous speed) 3 feet down the hall right into (and partially through) the wall at the end (as the following pictures will show).....

So - I was not very happy at that point (to say the least). I would have posted more pictures - like the big bloody scrape that I got - but let's just say that the censors would not allow it and leave it at that, shall we?. :)

Now my knees hurt and are swollen, my back hurts and - to top it all off - I was right..... by the time I got back there the scouts were gone! Can you believe that???? I would have impressed them too - you should have seen me block that blonde kid (I don't know why she was crying - bloody noses don't hurt that much!)

Oh well - it was worth it. It was fun playing with them. The real star of the team is below. :)