Happy 15th birthday, Bub!

Boyd turned 15 last week!

He had a soccer game in DeSoto that night, so we celebrated at... TACO BELL?!? (Sorry, this photo is from a previous get together.)

Happy birthday Bub!

Congrats Lexie and Jeffrey!

Wow, what a fantastic time at the Lexie/Jeffrey wedding reception in Derby. The Abasolos put us up in the Villa and we had a fun weekend back where Mike and I grew up...

We grabbed lunch with Richard and Cis, Jerry and Karen and Sean. We stopped by Mom and Dad's graves and cleaned them up a little. The Kung-Fu Panda toy has finally been retired, it looks like a string trimmer or mower may have taken him out...

The food was amazing, the music, the dancing... 

Congrats Lexie and Jeffrey!

Lunch at "Jeff's"

 On Sunday, Adro, Judy and I went to the downtown Jefferson's location to sit in Evey's section and enjoy some $8 cheeseburgers. It was soooo good! The girls went shopping, I tried to get a much-needed haircut. Unsuccessful (they were PACKED), I ended up at Rick's instead.

So I guess it was a success after all!

What a fantastic weekend! Aug 1-2 2026

I don't even know where to begin... Spider-Man Brand New Day was excellent. Minsky's pizza was great. Quick visit to the pool... afternoon church with Adrianne, then over to Rick's for a few cold ones... that was Saturday.

Sunday was somehow even better. Woke up, asked Adrianne what was her plan? Do some laundry, maybe pull some weeds. Then about 30 minutes later I walked into the living room... what if we just went to the casino right now, instead? She was in. I had to do two chores real quick, giving her some time to get ready. Then we were at the casino for 2.5 hours.

What-a-burger on the drive home then we picked up the kids, turned around and headed to my sister's for some incredible barbecue from Blindbox BBQ. Then we drove to Starlight for the Young the Giant / Cold War Kids concert — the first time Jess, both her kids, and me and Adro, and our kids, have ever gone to a concert together.

Evey had to open Scooter's at 4:45 am the next morning, giving us an out if we wanted to bail on the concert a little early... I asked both kids towards the end, and neither of them wanted to leave early. We closed the concert down.

I texted Jess that night, from the HOJ, to let her know we made it home fine. It was 11:59 pm. I told her -- that might be one of the best days of my life I've ever lived, that just happened. 

Remarkable.  

 

Some more Padre pics

A few more photos from the South Padre vacation…

Pretty good trip! Rental house was cool, and great location. Weather was decent (there was a huge heatwave in the Midwest while we were down there.) Food was good. 

We avoided sunburns (I believe) and saw a ton of dolphins on the dolphin watch! 

PIBCo’s best customers

We are back from a week in South Padre Island! It was a fun vacation and went off without a hitch. Even the drive was smooth… and the gas was cheap, $3 a gallon down in South Texas!

I didn’t take a whole ton of photos but I did do a lot of relaxing and midday drinking. I cooked breakfast twice. I got another giant breakfast burrito.

But the exclamation point of the trip (ok, aside from the dolphin watch) was our close proximity to the brewery… and we took full advantage of their happy hour!

More photos to follow… 

Evey’s Summer Bash

Vacation photos from Grenada

 

Back in late February, Adrianne and I took a little trip to the island of Grenada. I thought I'd post the photos here before it became a distant memory.

It was an interesting trip. It was good, it was also just OK at times.

The OK:

The food was OK. I was disappointed in breakfasts, since I'm a big breakfast guy. Also, I don't love seafood, and there was a lot of seafood... I did my best.

Getting into the island was a nightmare. We stood in line for customs for almost three hours. And we really hadn't eaten anything since Atlanta. I'm grateful our group shared snacks on the plane because it turned out United (or whoever) sold out of all their food right away, and they can't stock much because Grenada wouldn't allow them to do that... so everything I tried to order... sold out. But we had a mix of beef jerky, peanut M&Ms, some other crap... but honestly, we didn't grab breakfast in Atlanta because we were worried about making the flight... that was so stressful...

Also I'll add that our group just doesn't party like we used to. I guess we're getting older, growing up.

Last complaint: we went snorkeling and the snorkel tour was to look at these underwater works of... art. Why do I need to see underwater art? Here's an idea... how about we snorkel and admire... the fishes, the fauna, the weather? Now I've got to combine snorkeling with being an art critic? How far have we fallen, from just appreciating nature?

I will just briefly go on about the snorkeling -- it was wild, and I'll admit I enjoy snorkeling and seeing colorful fish...  but the first work of art we saw, was titled, "Woman on a park bench sending a text message." WOW! You can't see that in real life anymore, anywhere...

Annnnd... it was a drag getting home. We took a big delay in Miami, or wherever we were. We sat in a TGI Friday's for a long time... and by then, I also was a little sick to my stomach, which added to the stress...

OK.... enough bitching... here's what I enjoyed...

We took an afternoon boat trip on a catamaran and that was the highlight of the trip. The view was great, the fresh air, the cold Caribs... swimming in the clear water... the beachside lunch (it was lobster and fish soup, I barely ate)... that was all really cool. (I will eat lobster, I just don't really enjoy it that much.)  

Another highlight was taking a hike in the rainforest and making it to a waterfall, where we swam. The hike was intense but I was able to keep my footing the whole way... swimming in the cold, cold waterfall pool was a rush and something I'll always remember.

I also enjoyed the last half-day of the trip, just walking up the beach with Adrianne, and going shopping at the local markets. We should have done this sooner. That was relaxing.

It was an interesting trip. Very cool to see another island. The room was nice, the view was great.

I'll always be grateful for these experiences. The awesome outweighed the bad. Did I mention I saw a monkey running through a tree like you'd see a squirrel in Kansas? The Carib beers were smooth. 

Next time, I'm just hoping for some smoother travel, and a little more down time to relax... and find the food I really dig!

8th grade promotion

Well that’s a wrap on middle school! Boyd is done with 8th grade and is now a 9th grader… a high schooler!

Congratulations Boyd! 

Boyd and Koko at the HOJ

Koko likes to party too, but she gets a little camera shy… 

Eudora Soccer Club finishes 4-2

It was a good season! We’re all wrapped up.

We could have gone 5-1 if we had a few breaks and a better head coach. I really thought we were going to break through and at least tie that one Gardner team, but we couldn’t do it. At least I don’t ever have to see/hear that coach again… unless we’re playing Gardner in high school and his son is on the team…

Boyd had a nice season. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t lead the team in scoring. Lucas (third from left) had a breakout season and had multiple hat tricks, and even a five-goal game in his last game of the season.

Boyd scored in multiple games and had one (two?) two-goal games. Lots of great dribbling, passes, goal kicks and corner kicks. He knows how to kick the ball hard, something a few of the other guys can’t do. 

And this wraps up my coaching career! Boyd will be in high school next year, and his coaches will be paid to be there. No more amateur hour for him. 

It was a fun run. I enjoyed the highs, hated the lows. But someone had to coach. Glad both Evey and Boyd tolerated me! 

You know the difference?

Evey makes that jacket look good! 

We both went to the KU/Cincy game last season. We both saw a loss. 

You got the movie reference though, right? 

(Also, I might have two broken legs I didn’t know about, damn!) 

Got to visit Grenada!

Poker night!

 This photo is a little old... but it was a fun night. Adrianne was in Orlando at the GCSAA Conference in Orlando, and Evey was at a sleepover... I told Boyd, it's just you and me, it's a GUY'S NIGHT! We gotta do something macho. So we played a little head-to-head Texas Hold 'Em.

I learned:

* Boyd can rock an Adidas track suit, like Jam Master Jay from Run DMC

* He thinks every hand is a winning hand

* He probably knows more Eminem than I do

It was a fun night! And I was losing early, but came back big time with a straight and took all the chips by the end of the night.

***

I don't have photographic evidence of this, but we've had a couple fun dinners together over the last few nights. I grilled ribs on Monday, that was a hit. Toasted sammiches. Tonight was red beans and rice, asparagus (nailed it in the air fryer!) and biscuits.

Tonight I got made fun of by the kids because I proclaimed, "Don't you EVER EVER EVER... EVER!!! Ask a woman if she's pregnant!" 

Evey and Boyd were like, ".... uhhhh, OK!"

And then they expected a story. 

No story. Just a lesson!

Trust me, I was just making a point. 

And now they know!

Christmas 2025

Things I'll remember:

* Evey, Adro and Judy sitting through all of Edward Scissorhands

* Boyd sleeping in until 1 pm

* Opening gifts — the best gift moment in my mind was the Peppa Pig + Evey toy Boyd bought (with his own money) for his sister

* My favorite gifts were the StarLink Mini (from the family) and the Spider-Man coasters (Evey got those for me they're SO COOL!)

* I made green bean casserole and stuffing for that evening's dinner

* The Johnsons came over and we had a fun gift exchange. Adrianne got each of them that portable charger for their cars, a thoughtful gift

* Adrianne really had everything so organized for Christmas, it was stress free

* Eating outside at the HOJ the weather was beautiful, pushing 70 degrees! 

* A beautiful sunset!