2007, Installment II

Here’s installment II and it’s not as soon as I’d hoped but I’ve been busy so don’t gimme a hard time. Since we returned from our roadtrip early we decided to hit the beach for a day. After nearly 3 weeks of 100+ degree heat it was a little bit of heaven to sit on the shore in 75 degree weather with an ocean breeze in our faces. I napped, the boys played in the surf, Donna read a magazine. Sweet.A family visiting from Kansas had laid their blanket out next to us and the lady kept trying to make small talk with me while a couple of their kids played in the water. I don’t really like people in general and I really don’t like small talk with people I don't know, even when I’m not trying to nap. I was wracking my brain for a way to distract her so I could move to the other side of Donna and get back to nappin’. As the woman droned on about their long drive to California I was thinking of a painless way to kill myself (gnaw through my wrists?) when I noticed a school of dolphins had come close to the shore.
I seized this golden opportunity and began shrieking, “Sharks! Sharks! They’re in close! Run! Save your kids while you can! Hurry! They’ll be eaten for sure! Do something!” The woman and her husband jumped to their feet and raced to the water, dragging their kids to the safety of the shore while I made my move to the safety of the other side of Donna, where sweet slumber awaited me.

Next came VBS week and that was fun but it was a lot of work and we were tired so the following weekend we hooked up the pop-up trailer and met Mike & Melissa up at Emma Wood for a couple nights of beach camping. It’s not really an ideal camping spot for the boys because it’s too rocky for their tastes but there’s something about going to sleep to the sound of crashing waves. Mike & Melissa

Here's me with my favorite little gal in the whole world, enjoying the morning on the beach.

At the beginning of August I set out on the annual “guys only” fishing trip to Mammoth. In the past a slew of guys went and it was a blast. This year the usual suspects fagged out for one reason or another – work, lack of work, mommy wouldn’t let them, whatever. So it was just me and Dean this year. I have to say, outside of the year Jason went I think this was the most fun trip in the 6 years of the trip’s history. There was zero pressure to do anything, I didn’t hassle planning a menu & grocery shopping (we just bought food in town), there was plenty of room to sleep and plenty of room to fish. And Dean is just an easygoing guy. The fishing was excellent, I scored limits both days. We slept in till 10:00 each morning, we took naps, had great conversation around the campfire, I spent time in the Word. It was just incredibly recharging.

At the end of August school kicked off yet again. First grade, these boys are growing like weeds. Time really flies.
This year Donna was asked to serve as the vice president of the PTF. She’s incredibly gifted in this area so she took the position. And it’s a pain in the neck sometimes but on the upside I get to call her “The VP” and I’m technically “Mr. Vice President”. Which is nice.

At the end of the first week of school Jack and I traveled to Arizona for the dove opener (as usual). The heat was oppressive which translated to excellent hunting. We got down there early and scouted our spot. It was a great spot, there were a TON of birds in the area. So the next morning we rose extra early and raced to the area. We parked the truck and looked at the clock. It read something ridiculous like 3:30 in the morning. Take a close look at that clock.

So we sat in the truck running the air conditioning and guarded our spot, prepared to jump out and defend it with extreme prejudice if necessary. Turns out it wasn’t necessary, we didn’t see another soul the whole time. The shooting was fast and furious, we were dumping birds left and right. The Eurasian Collared doves were in abundance so we knocked down a total of 10 birds before succumbing to the heat.
We retreated to the air conditioned sanctuary of the Super 8 for showers, naps, and pay-per-view movies.
I took this picture because it just reminded me how he's my little boy... and I know someday he'll think I'm a dummy but right now he wants to do everything like me, right down to lining up his boots the same as mine. I wish I was half the man he thinks I am. Around 3:00 Jack began prodding me, “Daddy, c’mon!! Let’s go hunting!!” I tried to tell him it was too early and too hot but he wouldn’t budge so we got dressed and went down to the truck. I can’t really explain how bloody hot it was. I have an outdoor thermometer on my truck that has a max reading of 122 degrees and the thing was pegged. As we drove through town I was looking for any excuse to delay so we pulled into Dairy Queen and I bought him an ice cream cone. I was pleased to see him take his time with it. But eventually he was done and we were forced to brave the heat. After a short drive we arrived at an alfalfa field where we’d had good luck in the past. We took our position along an irrigation canal and waited. As I had anticipated we were too early and it was too hot. I don’t recall ever being so hot in all my life. I was pouring ice water over both our heads and it wasn’t doing a thing. Now Jack is a die-hard hunter and he’s not going to complain about anything but I could look at him and tell he was miserable. When he said, “It sure is hot, isn’t it Daddy?” I knew he was struggling so I said, “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” It was obviously the right choice because he didn’t protest one word. We got into the truck and cooled off in the air conditioning and cruised the area. After an hour or so we found a field that we nicknamed “The Mother Lode.” The birds were thick as flies at a fertilizer factory. We didn’t give a rat’s fanny about the heat as we dropped bird after bird. I was one bird short of my limit when I looked over at Jack and noticed that he was doing his best impression of Bob the Tomato from VeggieTales fame.

His face was a deep red and he looked miserable. It actually frightened me. I quickly cased my gun and began pouring ice water over his head and body. Within a couple minutes he cooled down and was back to his old self. But rather than risk anything happening to my favorite hunting partner we just rolled back to the hotel where we cleaned the birds and took showers. We had an early dinner and then turned in early (we actually fell asleep watching The Sandlot). We learned our lesson from the day before and slept in a bit. We arrived at our spot just a few minutes before legal shooting time and got ready for another stellar day of shooting dove. We were not disappointed as they bombed in on us from all angles. By 7:30 our limit was in the bag and we were on our way back to the motel.
We got home from Blythe around 2:00 and it was still blazing in the valley. We had already made plans for a Labor Day swim party at our house and as fun as it sounded in the planning stages.... I was just freakin' tired and didn't want a house full of people. But they came anyway and it turned out to be plenty of fun. I have pictures of Dean in various stages of slumber on my furniture but I'll spare you the ugly details.

Later that month we took the trip to Independence with Dean and his kids. It's in the archives so feel free to dig it out. I'll just post this picture like any proud daddy would.
That takes us through September 30th. It's late and I'm tired else I'd keep going. I'll have the remaining 3 months up in a week. If it's not a week, it'll be two. Relax, it's not like you have anything better to do with your life.