I read my local hometown paper, The Statesboro Herald online and found out that my cousin's son (my 2nd cousin, right?) is a successful local race car driver.
A few days later there was an even better article--with video.
Congratulations to Ricky Jr, Ricky Sr, Karen and Paige!
Update: A bit more from Southland Magazine. Ricky races at Screven Motor Speedway.
Hailey wrapped up a week of church camp at Holy Cross today with a special morning mass. The theme was missionary work and her class represented France. She also was in the choir and it was great.
My family back home went to the Vidalia Onion Festival Air Show this weekend. See the rest of the photos here.
This year, Easter weekend was simply fantastic!
Today marked a special Easter in our family in that it was also a celebration of my God son's first birthday. Oh, he's a right handsome little man.
We enjoyed a great afternoon of sunshine and egg hunting and then a late lunch with all the local cousins back inside. Here's my God son again, this time with me.
And lest I forget, here's my beautiful daughter Hailey in all of her Easter dress splendor.
Before I met my wife I thought I knew happiness. Life became so much better with her.
Before we had a son I thought I was content. Then I learned I could love someone more than myself.
Before we had a daughter I thought there couldn’t possibly be any more love within me. Then I found that love isn’t divided by the important people in your life–it multiplies.
As expected, I rolled out of bed this morning to the dulcet tones of my daughter's voice. I'm now the parent of a 6 year old girl. She had her pick of any breakfast she could have in town: Picadilly, IHOP, Waffle House--anything. Hailey wanted "Papi" to make her french toast. Aww... Life is good!
This post is dedicated to my wonderful daughter Hailey on her birthday. It is also inspired by my "foodie" friend who's blog I sincerely enjoy reading and have tried to emulate in this post.
This is only my 3rd time making french toast. I can say with certainty that I've never felt terribly comfortable in the kitchen. Sure, I love to eat (and it shows). It is easy to appreciate the difference between good and great meals. Suffice to say that learning to cook well was taken for granted. However, when you cook something for your child--even as simple as this--and they love it, you are inspired to make it better.
My first foray into french toast a while back was coincidental: I had eggs and bread, not much else and a little time. I whipped it up and served it to Hailey in a press for time and obligation. She ate it all without even one "finish your breakfast, honey" from dear ol' Dad. Hmm, now that is interesting. I'd made enough and it turns out that everyone in the house had eaten their french toast with no words of encouragement. Cool.
A week or two later I come home and Maria has been to the grocery store on her way home. There, next to the whole wheat and whole grain breads we usually enjoy, is a loaf of texas toast. It does not really register until I open the refridgerator and see a new dozen organic eggs, prominently placed to be noticed. Ahh, gotcha. French toast good. French toast with proper ingredients that Maria does not have to actual cook herself is even better.
So all of the leads us to today. Like last time, I assemble the ingredients on the counter and ease through the cooking process.
I crack two organic eggs into a dish and add 1/4 cup of 2% milk. I whip this vigorously until well mixed. One at a time I soak the toast, first one side and then the other--twice. I place the egg covered toast into a non-stick pan pre-heated to medium. The cooking time is just a few minutes per side.
Off the heat and onto a plate, I add a light coating of powdered sugar and then syrup to taste. Today's batch--my best so far--was received with smiles and appreciation.
Happy birthday breakfast Hailey!
8:45pm on a Friday night. But this isn't any ordinary weekend. No, this is a Hailey birthday/Superbowl weekend extravaganza! Tonight I've already been to the K-1 cheerleader end-of-season party. Fuddruckers may never recover from the chaos that a couple of dozen little girls created.
And folks, that's the warmup.
I fully expect to be up with the sun to either cook or take Hailey a mega-breakfast. It's gonna be french toast or pancakes or waffles or some such. Mmm...
Later in the day will be a gymnastics-themed party with a gym filled with kids. Some of my "dad crew" will be there so it will probably be as great for me as it is for her!
Sunday... Oh, Sunday. Too much to deep-dive into so let's go bullet points:
Let me tell you a little story. It will ramble a bit but bear with me.
A couple of weeks ago I had let Maria know that I wanted my 40th birthday to just come and go. I expressed an interest in a nice dinner out for the 4 of us but no party or big deal. No need to rally the family for the cause. Maria encouraged me to at least take the day off. Nah, it'd be just another day at work in the life of "Papa Goose" (a story for another time).
About a week before my birthday, my life-long friend and suburban Atlanta neighbor Lee wrote to ask for help. On the Friday after my birthday he needed help to pick up a large grill and move it to his house. The email thread amongst his family discussing the details was lengthy. He was reaching out to us locals, like Joey and Wayne, for assistance. I'd just taken several days off over the Christmas and New Year's holiday and did not think it was a good plan to turn around and take the next Friday off too. Plus, I had a vendor coming for a lunch meeting that day. Anyway, as Wayne made a commitment to help, I said I could meet up after work that day.
So Thursday, my actual birthday, comes. I enjoyed a great breakfast and card from the family that morning. At the office I got a nice card signed by everyone in the department. At lunch, Maria came with me to Papi's in Midtown for our monthly Cuban lunch date. During the afternoon I took several birthday calls from my sister, mom and others. That night it turned out that Ash had to work but Maria, Hailey and I went our for a great seafood dinner. All told, it really was a low key, easy day. Nice.
Friday I am back to normal with Hailey and carpool in the morning and work. The vendor I'd been expecting shows up and we step out for a light lunch and to discuss our latest agreement. At around noon I get a call from Maria's principal. She tells me that Maria has fallen on the travertine floor and hurt her knee. It is not terribly bad, she goes on, but Maria needs to go the a local clinic to get checked out. She adds that they cannot take her (some kind of worker's comp issue) and that I need to come pick her up and take her. Can I be there in 30 minutes? Egads...
The vendor I am meeting with accepts the news and we work quickly to get our check and move out. The traffic back to the office is extra bad while I continue to take periodic phone calls from the school checking on my whereabouts. At the office I tell my boss the short of it and leave my desk as is with the intent to come back later after all is taken care of with Maria. The "beautification" (i.e. major construction) project on Peachtree takes a while to navigate. I mean it's Friday, right? Running terribly late I shoot up the highway exiting on the 6 lane that takes me to Maria's school. Guess what? It is down to 1 lane on my side (more construction--thanks Atlanta!) and it takes nearly another 30 minutes to go the last 2-3 miles. Suffice to say between the stress, traffic and worry I am fit to be tied.
I arrive at Maria's school and circumvent their efforts to keep cars out of the bus lane. A locked gate? Ha! A nice lady inquires as I walk into the school as to whether I will be parked there long. Nope, just here to pick up my injured wife who could not get to clinic by any of dozens of teachers and staff I see coming and going. Hold it together, Ashley...
I am met at the door and whisked quickly through the front office and into the clinic. Maria is there, as are many faculty and staff buzzing around like bees at the hive. She is sitting with her leg propped up and loosely bandaged. There is not even any ice on it. Maria tells me it's not as bad as she thought. She adds that these "three guys" looked at it and think it's probably going to be ok. What three guys? She points behind me to Lee, Joey and Wayne who have come into the clinic through a side door. Still stressed and edgy, not really processing it all well, I can only ask, "What are you all doing here??"
Dang, you got me!
L2R: Joey, Maria and Wayne
Maria shows me the camera.
Well it seems that Maria, my friends and the folks at her school had been in collusion behind my back--for weeks. They had taken great lengths to craft elaborate stories and plans all in an attempt to get me my for my 40th birthday. They even roped my boss into it.
Maria proceeds to tell me that I'm a hard person to get one over on. That urging to take Friday off? I wouldn't bite. The email thread about helping move a grill Friday afternoon? Nope. I've fallen and I can't get to the doctor? Well it took far too long for me to get there but I guess that was the ticket. I tell you what, they are some tricky, conniving, sneaky jokers... and I love them all.
There are cheers and hugs and handshakes and happy birthday wishes all around. I take some heat for taking so long to get there but all the stress and worry has washed away. But that ain't all!
Maria goes on to tell me that she has reserved a cabin at Elijah Clark State Park for the weekend. Lee, Joey and Wayne are all here because they have taken the day off, packed up and are ready to speed me away to the lakeside cabin mountains for a guy's weekend--right now. Outside she gives me a packed bag of clothes--bathroom stuff included--and a poker jar. Go and have fun she tells me, completely happy to have orchestrated a successful trip for me. I am the luckiest guy on the planet.
I will work on part 2 of the story soon. In the mean time, and especially for those of you who were in cahoots with all this, please feel encouraged to leave your own comments and perspective.
This morning we went to Hailey's school for assembly. We were there to watch her receive an award for the virtue patience. I have not been to one of these events in a while and it was a real treat. Here's why:
The school gym was filled with exuberant voices of students from kindergarten to 8th grade. As the assembly began they all rose to their feet for prayer and to respond to readings from the Bible. It was amazing to hear these hundreds of children with their voices raised in unison in prayer. Later, as a special treat, the 2nd grade class recited a famous old Irish blessing. Their tender voices were so humble.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
What a day today. The snow was awesome and it deserved to be captured and shared. I would love to take credit for the video and fun but all the props go to Maria.
The music, "Snow" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a bit loud when viewing the video. Enjoy!
Hailey and Maria were asked to read one of the Prayers of the Faithful in Spanish at IHM's international. The prayers included other moms, dads and students reading in their native languages. There were prayers in French, German, Italian, Swedish and Russian. Hailey did a great job with her prayer. We were all really proud of her.
Sometimes, you just have to ride. On Saturday Hailey and I went to Dublin and Statesboro for a (too) short trip.
Dublin:
My mom came to visit my Granny Hardin and so we were able to get 4 generations together. Granny Hardin was doing well enough for us all to go out for lunch.
Also, Hailey enjoyed the tea set my Mom gave her!
After lunch we all went back to Granny Hardin's house to visit and also to let Hailey play with her cousin Samantha.
Statesboro:
I wish I'd had more time. We got in around supper time so we ate with "Grandpa Frank", My sister and her family. Then Hailey played with her cousins until she gave out while the adults all visited at my parent's house. The next day we stopped by my sister's house to visit before heading back to Atlanta. Hailey was EXCELLENT the whole trip!
Me? Not so much... :-)
Ok, for a quick moment of self-realization: I'm an "old married guy."
Today Maria and marked our 17th year of marriage. How did we celebrate? In the morning I went one direction for music/keyboarding lessons for Hailey while Maria took our son and a few other teens to tutor elementary school students. Swap places. At midday, Maria takes Hailey to her Kindergarten interview while I take the teens to lunch. At mid-afternoon it's Maria and Hailey off to a birthday party while Ash and I drop off the other teens and then head home to work on chores.
Ahh, one our favorite holidays of the year. Not only does Valentine's Day invoked a sense of love but it's great for kids! Next month all of us adults can get our St Patrick's on.
Here we find Hailey with friends in class playing (maybe it's clean up time).
Now Hailey is showing off her special Valentine's Day headband--complete with hearts!
Lastly, we see snack time! And, yes, those are in fact heart shaped jello snacks being devoured by eager, hungry little Pre-K'ers.
Superbowl--schmooperbowl. We've got BIRTHDAYS!
Hailey had her birthday party today at Jumpin' Jamboree, an indoor play gym. It was GREAT! Here is Hailey way up on top of one of the inflatables.
Later on there was pizza, cake and drinks.
Here is the "oldie but a goodie" song "Happy Birthday (Hailey)"
Happy Birthday Hailey!
My sister and her family came into town today to do a few things around Atlanta related to their home building project. All of that pales in comparison to what we did tonight.
Around 6pm or so we headed up to Discover Mills in Lawrenceville to do something I've wanted to do since it opened: go to Medieval Times. Yeah! So we shell out the big bucks for tickets and head in.
First let me tell you that this place holds about a thousand people. The stage is a giant oval and the whole seating area is only about 6 rows high. That means that every seat is a good seat--Hazzah! Their plates and bowls are metal--and there are no utensils. Everyone inside is in character from the beer wenches to the King. The show is a massively choreographed event meticulously timed to the lights and music. I don't want to tell you the details of the show but suffice to say that the 2+ hour event is pretty cool.
So, advice.
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| From Medieval Time... |
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| From Medieval Time... |
Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend this year, Maria and I took the kids down the Statesboro to visit with the family. We always have a great time--even though it feels to short. Here we have all 4 cousins together for their annual Christmas picture sitting. They are al growing up so fast! I will load a group of pictures to the web and post a link to the album as soon as I get a chance.
Peace and joy to you and your family this holiday season!
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