Blasted horns!

Spending New Years Eve at the Hockey game. Two of the boys bought horns. I'm about ready to bend them in half (the horns, not the boys) and it's not even the second period. Oh well they are following the Zachary rule "have fun, and don't do anything stupid".

Is this how the Pilgrims did it?

Thanksgiving traditions

All of mom's side of the family except one converged at our house for the holiday, quite a treat to see everyone. We broke all traditions by having steak instead of turkey. We did follow one big tradition... All 21 people pack as tight as sardines in the kitchen instead of spreading out throughout the the 2500 square foot of the house. Some things never change.

Finished product

Only casualties were a few tears shed by mom, shaving cream in one eye, and the death of the caterpillar.

Straight down, no side to side!

15 years old, it's time for the first shave

Don't get burned

This firebreather was hand crafted by the on, the only, Zacharooni!

Rrrrggg

This handsome fellow is pegleg Matthew.

Haloween 2010

Each of the kids carved a self portrait pumpkin this year. Which one is this? Your right... Chelsea

Lovin Tornado hockey

6 in the penalty box at the same time. These are some fighten fools. Tornadoes 5 Wildcats 0

Hockey in Dallas

Took the family to see the Texas Tornadoes. Nowhere near the level of the caines but 10 bucks for a seat 4 toes from the ice, can't beat it!

Hot enough to ...

Just fill in the blank for anything that would apply to greater than 103 degrees and up to 108 degrees every day for the past 10. When I first go to Oklahoma I was suprised by how comfortable it was here with lower humidity. When it hits 105 humidity does'nt matter any more!

We are working around the house - 20 minutes outside and 1 hour inside rotating. At least we're not camping in a tent with Kevin Jr. and the Boy Scouts. (Matthew has been sick this week and could'nt go).

Military grade insects

Signs posted all over Fort AP Hill

BSA National Jamboree

Visiting the Jamboree with the boys in Virginia. Left at 4am, it is now nearly 11am, have been here about an hour and still in the traffic line. This is one of the full visitor lots not including the 40000 participants.

Life is good #3

Decided to take a break this evening and cook out by the pool. We are getting closer to finishing the house. Another weekend that was too short.

Life is good #2

Life is good #1

Poop and run

Can't teach kids manners these days!

Unpacking is exhausting!

Long, long, long day of unpacking finally did Chelsea and Lizzy in. We only have about 50 boxes to go and all of is have hit critical mass. Don't think I ever want to move again!

First shower

Chelsea and Lizzie's first shower in the new house. Lizzie has not figured out she is a dog so all bathing occurs in the shower with Chelsea. Aroma therapy shampoo of course.

Finally made it

This trip was extremely long. Took us about 24 hours to make the drive from North Carolina. Driving separate care is really a drag. Now the fun of getting settled in. Today is a day of rest, Kevin goes to work tomorrow, B and the kids with the help of her sister and our daughters will have the daunting task of unpacking. Fun...fun.

Guard dog

Lizzy was not much on keeping us safe on the ride to Oklahoma. She did bark once at a couple of dogs that were at a very safe distance then put her tail between her legs. I wander how to teach her that she is a dog?

AT Hike - Good Bad and Ugly

We went on the long awaited Appalachian Trail Hike this weekend. Started on Saturday at 3am (EST), time zone matters because I flew in about midnight from CST which made for less than 2 hours total sleep included the nap to the trail. Day one was uneventful other than the trail was really pretty and proved I am in much WORSE shape than I thought I was. My right knee pooped out at about 7 miles of up and down, unfortunately we were going 8.5 miles that day. Kevin Jr. started feeling poorly that evening but survived fine.

Sunday morning started at about 5:30am with Kevin Jr. throwing up all over him, me and the tent (who needs an alarm clock!). After cleaning up best we could decided to push on with the group, not that we had a lot of choice. I learned that on the AT Trail it is an all or none adventure. There are no stores, payphones, or taxi-cabs along the way. After a bland breakfast Jr. made it about 1 hour and was sick again. We struggled through 7.1 miles till our lunch break and Jr. was feeling better, but had still not tried to eat anything. By this time Danny and Daniel were also sick but had not tossed their cookies yet.

Jr. ate some lunch and we packed on about 2 miles when it all started again. At this point we decided that this was not a safe situation with the heat and exertion, coupled with very few out points on the trail. We backtracked the 2.6 miles to a Hostel who we hired a ride to Johnson City, TN. That is another posting.

Our AT experience lasted 2 days and 20.2 miles. We dealt with the no sleep, fear of bears, PUDS (pointless ups and downs), met some nice and strange folks, diarrhea/vomiting, and how to get to a city that was 29 miles away with no car, not knowing anyone, and no phone. All-in-all it was a great time and hope to do it again under different circumstances.

Owe Yeah - the sickness was due to tainted sweet iced tea from Bojangles that Kevin, Danny and Daniel drank. Before it was over, the rest of the team abandoned the trail due to illness and we all made it back to Sanford about 3 AM on Monday.

Some thru-hikers we turned out to be!

And the crew.

Heading home to see my honey!

Learning to fly

This baby bird (blur in the picture) was trying to learn to fly on the porch of the camper. He kept trying to fly through the closed door. Little practice and he will soar with the eagles.

Sunset at the KOA

The iphone does not pick up the vivid colors of this sunset but sufice
to say it is amazing!

Back from camp

The boys made it back from an exciting week at Camp Raven Knob. They
had. Good week of learning new things, hanging out with friends and
enjoying the cool weather (maybe not the cool weather). Other than
the worse than normal stink, one pair of broken glasses and a cut toe
they came back normal. Thanks to Danny, Guy, Lonnie, and Aaron for
staying the week!

What I am reading

Just finishes Ozzy's biography. Actually was a really good book that
confirmed and disputed many of the myths about this great rocker. I
was especially surprised by the real story of him biting the head off
a bat. It is absolutely true but then there is the reason for how it
came to happen. I was even more suprised by his true feelings about
religion. SPOILER the Satan thing was all a hoax! It was a good read
that I recommend assuming you already like Ozzy
, otherwise you probably should skip this one.

Mighty Rabid Racoon

My new hospital owns a house here in town that is used for temporary housing of different people. This house just became vacant and I went to see what we needed to do to get it back ready for occupancy. When I drove up a raccoon came down a tree with a very small baby raccoon in its mouth and walked directly toward me - broad daylight. I've always read that this is very unusual behavior and that their is a high likelihood it is rabid. This animal walked directly toward me to a point of being 6 to 8 foot away when it calmly turned and walked through the yard and up another tree - baby in tow. I was telling some folks at work and they told me that the family that lived there before had left a note to the next tenants to please feed the raccoons and their names. Apparently they had turned them into wild pets. So much for the rabid theory.

Trying to cool off

Today I finally decided to cook a meal in the camper. I am growing
tired of eating out. Cooked a hashbrown and ham dish with mixed vegs
on the side. Was a nice treat but heated the camper to a stifling
temp! I am now sitting by the pool, enjoying the breeze and waiting
on my laundry to finish. This is not the normal wash day but the
camper is too hot!

Father's Day

I received a call first thing from my kids wishing me a happy fathers
day. It warmed my heart to talk to them. My tolerance of having two
residences is wearing thin so it was great to get the call. Since I
couldn't be with the family I drove onto the city and looked around
Cabelas for a while. Great place to look around and avoid the heat.
Picked up the last suitcase in the luggage set we have been getting.
Also picked up 2 bear bells for the AT hike. I think we have about
everything now.

Loretta Lynn and Pam Tillis

Decided to go stag to a concert here in town at the casino event
center. I know who the performers are but can't name one song. Sold
out which I think suprised everyone, should be fun though I sure wish
my bride and kids were enjoying it with me! Merl Haggard and Ray
Price tickets went on sale today for November, sounds like a hot date
for B and I. Maybe they will announce a big hair band soon so I can
sing along.

5 Star dining

This is the inside of Smokey Allen's. Total seating was 9 1/2 booths.
Lots of local pictures, business cards, caps etc. Can't wait to take
the family. I think next time I will have a frito pie and a bowl of
beans and bits.

Oklahoma BBQ

Tried my first Oklahoma BBQ this evening. This local favorite (no
chain food here) is called Smoky Allen's. I tried the 3 meat plate. The
chicken was incredible. Seasoned with pepper and I think it was
smoked and even though it was white meat it was very tender and
juicy. Second was the bologna which was OK but probably won't get
again. It was very minimally seasoned it at all. Last meat was the
chopped beef. It has fine chopped with heavy sauce mixed in. I have
really decreased my beef intake to nil bit really enjoyed it.
Macaroni salad was nothing to write home about but tasted good. The
Cole slaw was amazing! I think it was homemade because it had a
"dirty" appearance with lots of spices- a real treat. Topped it all
off a big glass of unsweet tea. Cost less than $10! Can't wait to go
back.

Calm after the storm

Came a heck of a storm through Oklahoma this evening but looks like it
has blown over. Scary for a bit but dropped the temp to the 60s which
is nice.

Friends from Florida

Met two unbelievable guys at the KOA this evening. I doing some laundry when two bicyclers walked in to try to stay the night. The weather was turning very nasty and the closest campground that allows tents is about 20 miles away. The KOA bent the rules and let them stay. I talked to them a while and they are riding their bikes for the summer from Key West Florida to Alaska. They are students - Dirk is a Marketing major and Marc is a Film/Theater major. Talking to them was amazing, living from town to town going 60 miles a day by bicycle. You can follow them at www.iloveadventuring.com. Marc's blog has the most detail. I wish them the best of luck!

Biggest Loser Finale

Tuesday night was the season finale for the Biggest Loser. It was interesting this season because one of the contestants was from Sanford where we are moving from and one of the guys in the finale is from about 50 miles of where we are moving to in Oklahoma. It is amazing watching these very overweight individuals melt away the pounds through 8 hrs a day of hard exercise and minimal eating. To celebrate the season finale I tried a local drive in that has been in operation since 1948 called George's Drive Inn. They are known for the burgers. I have to admit it was one of the best, reminded me of the burgers Granny used to make at the Tasty Cream in Friona. I also tried the Frito Pie, it was not near as good. Though this picture looks like a 2000 calorie meal that is a slap in the face of the Biggest Loser, the reality is I ate a couple bites of the Frito Pie and less than a half of the burger - still probably more calories than they get in an entire day.

Can you identify this bird?

Not sure what this breed of bird is but they are all over the place here in Oklahoma. They are funny birds that will run in front of you if walking or running. When you stop they stop, and they travel in front of you at about the same speed you are going. They only fly away if you make sudden movements. When your all alone in a new place its the little things that get your interest!

Lizzy is family too

Going through the pictures I brought with me to Durant and found this one of Lizzy our Laboradoodle (half lab half standard poodle). She is as much a part of the family as any of us.

Evolution of movie rentals

I decided I was going to rent a movie today and went to the local rental place. I was welcomed by a sign that said no rentals, everything for sale. The cashier told me that both them and Blockbuster were going out of business due to Redbox and Netflix. This same thing happened about 2 months ago in North Carolina. Redbox is a self-serve kiosk that you rent movies for $1 per day, Netflix is a mail service that you have a monthly fee, choose your movies online and they mail them to you. We have tried both and like Redbox best as long as there is a convenient Kiosk. In Durant the only one in town right now is at Walmart. Guess I will stick with cable TV for now.

Rough start to the day

Started the day off by passing a kidney stone (#12 that I have passed) not that I am counting. Luckily it only took a couple of hours to pass. Feels like another may be brewing - hopefully will pass before I go back to work tomorrow.

Evening visitors

Each evening when I get home to my temporary digs (the RV) I am welcomed by the neighbors horses. Ther are 4 in total, all look better taken care of than many folk's children! I have enjoyed sitting in the lawn as the sun goes down as they feed in a clover covered pasture. It is very calming watching them roam through the pasture with the only care being which plant to eat. Thusfar these horses seem like pets but based on the implements that are on the property I'm guessing they are used in the rodeo. The local school of higher education Southeastern Oklahoma State University has a rodeo program that I hear is pretty good. I look forward to following them and hopefully taking in some of the events. So far Oklahoma is turning out OK. I just can't wait for the family to join me!

Stay off the roads if you can!

Hard to believe that B and I have a 16 year old daughter! Chelsea takes her driving test July 8th and assuming she passes will be cut loose on the open roads. HIDE IF YOU CAN! Actually she is turning into a pretty good driver. North Carolina requires new drivers to drive for 1 year with a learners permit before they can take their test and get a license to drive alone. Initially I was put out with this rule but have come to decide it is a good rule to follow. For one thing it forces you to spend adequate time practicing, the second and equally important is you don't have to add them to your insurance until that year is over - result is a total savings of $130/month. I'm considering keeping her in a learners status til she gets married to someone who can afford her.

Camp time

Kevin and Matthew are getting ready for Boy Scout camp. This Matthew's first year and I have no doubt he will do fine. Kevin on the other hand is an old pro now at Scout camp. He had gotten a job at Camp Durant this summer as a CIT but due to the move he had to make a tough decision. Either work at camp or go on a backpacking trip with me on the AT trail, unfortunately could not do both. He chose the AT (I did not sway him either way but am glad he chose the AT so I could go). Next week he gets his Life Rank and all he lacks is a couple of merit badges and his Eagle project. I could not be more proud!

Missing B

Worst part of this move is being away from B and the kids. The kids are always off doing something with friends but B and I go together like peas and carrots. We are 4 days apart - its going to be a long 7 weeks!

Hiking Red Rock Canyon

B and me went hiking at Red Rock Canyon which is north of Las Vegas. It was another great place that I recommend spending the day. It if pretty in a desert and rock kind of way. We had plans of hiking 10 miles and made it about 2. Terrain is very rocky and unstable, altitude was too high, it was too hot ..... but really we were having too much fun with the Vegas night life and 10 miles the next morning just was not in the cards!

Backpacking at Ravenrock

Matthew and I on our first backpacking trip at Raven Rock State Park outside of Lillington, North Carolina. Matthew was a trooper and we went 5 miles without one complaint. He was carrying about 25 pounds which is about a quarter his body weight. Raven Rock is great park with hiking, primitive camping, picnicing etc. They have just completed the new ranger station which is really nice and of course "green" construction. Highly recommend a day trip if you are in the area.

First Day

I survived my first day of my new job in Durant Oklahoma. Other than the normal anxiety of a new job it went very well. Everyone is very friendly and helpful to the new guy. I look forward to the challenges of a new company, hospital, and town. B and the kids will not be here until early July (which is an eternity away!) but I think they will like our new home. For now I am living in the RV at the KOA across the street from the new Casino. I tried out the casino fitness center this evening which is included with the KOA. Wow, what a setup. More on that later. Adios.