The weekend that was, 2/14/25

 Wow, this was a fun weekend!

Yes, I wore a Captain America
long sleeve to the movie!

It got off to an early start... the kids had a snow day on Wednesday, then one day of school before a four-day weekend.

I wanted to see the new Captain America movie (Brave New World) and Adro suggested we go see it Thursday night. YES! We met Adro at Chili's for dinner (me and Bub split a sampler platter and Adro and Evey shared their cheeseburger and chicken crispers with us, respectively.) Then off to the tiny theater at Hollywood (is that what it's called?) in Lawrence.

I thought the movie underperformed. It was boring for stretches at a time. But Adrianne and the kids all enjoyed it, giving it a 7. I gave it a generous 6.

Adrianne had the day off Friday and proposed we go to the casino that morning. It was Valentine's Day, after all. I can work from the casino — the sports book there is nice and offers tons of seating not connected to a game.

Also, Adro is still feeling the glow from hitting a royal flush for $1,000 a week ago!

Alas, not much luck this trip, but we had fun. I clocked out around 11 a.m. and gambled alongside her for a few hours. Then, Jack-in-the-Box, which is AMAZING. Back home, hang out with the kids who were just chilling. (Quick aside: we played charades Wednesday night... it was fun!)

Friday evening I did Bub's laundry while watching sports. Eventually I crashed out hard.

Saturday morning I made breakfast burritos that turned our really good. I read a few comic books. Chilled out. Cleaned the kitchen. Evey invited her friends to come over to get ready together for winter formal, so we had several girls here at the house. I watched golf on the couch.

That evening, I watched a little bit of the SNL music 50th anniversary special, then would switch over to the NBA All-Star game. I hit $40 on a $5 bet placed on Tyler Herro winning the three-point contest (my only bet of the day.) Adrianne sat with me and worked on our taxes. Somehow, we were both having fun.

Judy came upstairs from her pregame nap to watch the KU/Utah game with me. What a lousy game. These Jayhawks have no teeth. Never led the entire game. It's like they're just jogging around out there. 

It's Sunday morning as I write this. Quiet here, the family went to church then are picking up groceries. The good news is, this is kind of a bonus Saturday for me... me and the kids all get Monday off for Presidents' Day.

UPDATE: The family has returned home from church and groceries! Church was good according to Adro, but she adds that Evey would qualify it as "rough." Apparently Boyd fell asleep so hard he snored; McDonald's screwed up the breakfast order and the lady didn't know what the word "milk" meant... but Lunchables were only 99 cents!

Anyway... I'm looking forward to today and Monday. Then we go to press on Golfdom on Tuesday... but I don't have business travel for two weeks, so I can get caught up on things.

Ready for better weather, the HOJ has been closed for a few days now. It's almost March, really. 

  

Let's GO, Koko!

 Back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls?

Koko... it's all good!

Twin Tahoes

 I enjoy coincidences, and I thought I’d share this one, because when it happened, I just laughed to myself and thought, “what are the odds?”

I was heading to town to pick up Boyd from school, but left a little early because I wanted to buy some propane for the HOJ patio torch. I get my refills from Gene’s in Eudora, because that seems to be the cheapest one around. I pulled into the closest open spot to the propane cage and as I parked, I looked forward and realized I was pulling up to the same car as I was driving — in front of me was a white Chevy Tahoe, maybe even the same year. I don’t see this same make/model too often, so I thought, “huh!”

I was in a bit of a hurry to make it in time to pick Bub up, so I quickly grabbed my empty tank and headed toward the cage. As I got closer I saw there was a loose tank already sitting there. I looked over and there’s a guy a little older than me nearby, waiting for his refill. I gave him a quick nod and almost said, “tell the guy to keep it open for me,” but I figured the extra tank would be enough of a sign…

I go inside, pay and walk out and the Gene’s employee was waiting for me with my refill. I said thanks, grabbed it and started walking up the hill (the parking lot here is unusually sloped) and as I looked up, the guy who was waiting for his refill is throwing his refill in the back of the Tahoe that was across from me. I look at the two cars and the two of us with refills in our hands and I couldn’t help it, I asked him, “What are the odds? Same car, same refill, at the same time?” He laughed a little. Then I couldn’t help myself, I said, “Hold on, are you a time traveler? Are you me from the future? Because we even look a little bit alike!”

He laughed and said, “Everything but the hair!” and then pulled off his Jayhawk hat to reveal … less hair than me, but pretty much the same head of hair!

He asked me what year my Tahoe is — mine’s a 2011, his was a 2014 — and how I liked it. He told me he loves his car, he’s put a lot of miles on it, then he walked back into the grocery store, and that was that.

Maybe I'm weird, but I couldn't help but think... what are the odds?

HOJ stocking caps

Whaddya know, we look good in these matching stocking caps!

Especially Evey! But also Boydee… and mom and Koko! 

Family Christmas 2024

It was fun having the family over for Christmas... we had beautiful weather and a great spread of food! The kids are all growing right before our eyes. 
 

Did Bub rock the bells?

I see him in the festive hat. But did he rock the 7th grade band concert? 

I couldn't see him from my vantage point. But we ate Wendy's afterwards in celebration of his performance.

ROCK THE BELLS!!! 

Happy 18th birthday Evey!

We went to K Macho's to celebrate! 

Food was great. Restaurant was HOT! 

Happy Thanksgiving 2024!

We hosted Thanksgiving here at the house. It was a great spread! My sister has the group photo, I'll have to get it from her.

We had our family, Jess, Rod, Lupe and Ben. So nine of us total. Judy made the turkey and ham... I made stuffing... Evey made green bean casserole... Jess made mashed potatoes, broccoli & cheese, and a few desserts... Lupe brought two pumpkin pies and dinner rolls. 

The dinner conversation was for sure... interesting. Lots of talk about cataract surgery and falling down???

It ended up being warmer outside than I thought it would, so we opened the HOJ and watched HORRIBLE NFL football. Chatted Chiefs expectations with Rod and Ben. I finally felt normal enough (from the full stomach) to have a few beers. Adro came over and joined us.

We wrapped it all up and called it a night. We weren't too exhausted. Probably because Adro took a few days off last week and she had the house all ready for company. Really, I should take a photo of the fireplace, it has so many Thanksgiving decorations on it, I told her it looked like something you'd see at a hotel!

***

Friday was interesting because the Chiefs played a 2 pm game — Black Friday football. We hosted the neighbors at the HOJ. It was a good crowd and the weather was again mild... the HOJ thermometer, which has been openly questioned before, showed 55 in the shade. I did have the Solo Stove and the patio torch both going and with the sun, it felt nice. When the sun got lower, it got cooler. 

I made chips and queso (NAILED IT, it was almost entirely gnoshed!) Teresa brought over some BBQ meatballs that were really good. Josh brought over a big loaf of Hawaiian bread and a dip. Jessica made an epic charcuterie board (she had Jett and Marina with her, and Marina's boyfriend Connor, and doggy Luna). Sarah brought some goat cheese and crackers. It was quite the spread, we had all three tables pretty much packed with food.

The Chiefs game was another nail-biter. I don't even know how we won that one! 

Once the game ended it cleared out pretty quickly but I turned on the jukebox and me and Adro sat around the Solo Stove a little longer...

Evey's friends Addy and Ava came over to the house and took Evey out to the Mexican restaurant in Baldwin in celebration of Evey's birthday. I thought that was really sweet of them. Evey turns 18 the upcoming Saturday. 

New Orleans trip

Adrianne and I took a few days this week to hang out in N'Awlins! It was a work trip for me, a mini-vacation for her.

It was a ton of fun, to combine work and play. We hit the casino, the French Quarter and went on a river boat trip. 

Let's do that again soon! 

Bub is cheesy

Senior day at the Eudora football game!

Proud to be there with our Cardinal senior! Love you Evey! 

Happy birthday Adro!

We celebrated a day early because Evey and I have a short trip to Louisville on her actual birthday.

The kids took her shopping and then to lunch at Free State (while I took part in a fantasy draft at Rick's) then they came and picked me up… and off we went to the casino!

We stayed for a good stretch… I hit four sevens then Adrianne hit four deuces on a game where deuces pay out better… I think that was a $200 hit right there. We left in the black, even with the bar tab.

An amazing drive-thru dinner at Jack in the Box concluded our fun birthday celebration.

Happy birthday Adro! 

(Random aside… the food game at the Rick's draft is LEGIT. Smoked wings, some kinda Cajun dish, turkey sliders, bacon-wrapped lil smokies, pizza, donuts, someone even brought a coffee maker!) 

Can you believe

That this girl is a senior in high school? 

This photo is from November 2015. I remember the room, the bunk bed, the smell of her hair when she got out of the bath. I remember that glo-worm!

Where has the time gone?  

(And whatever happened to Crocky the crocodile? He was pretty cool.)

It’s time to BeReal

I enjoy posting to BeReal mostly because I get to see what Evey is up to at that moment (you can't see other people's BeReal unless you post your own) but sometimes I'll get a fun one, like this time when me and Bub were eating lunch together on a summer day.

Rick & Julie visit the HOJ

I've wanted to do this for a long time and a few weekends ago we had Rick and Julie Younger over for dinner! 

Evey and I grilled burgers on the Blackstone… with bacon, grilled onions and mushrooms as toppings available. Grilled buns, too.

It was fun to show Rick how I've put some of his bar memorabilia to good use in the HOJ. Evey and Boyd don't know/understand Rick very well, but he loves our kids very much… he's watched them grow up from afar both from my phone, and when they happen to be by the bar. 

But then again, does anyone really understand Rick? Maybe just Julie. 

And yes, Adro got the bunny ears treatment from Rick, as is tradition whenever Rick's in a photo with more than one other person!