This is one of my favorite pictures of Boo. It was taken at Mimi's last birthday party...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Jog-a-Thon
David completed 37 laps in his Jog-a-Thon today, totalling just under three miles in 46 minutes and 23 seconds! That means David single-handedly raised $297.00 for the new kindergarten playground!
Not to be outdone, Charlie completed 20 laps himself! Aunt Sue was there as well, running alongside the kids and cheering them on!
Not to be outdone, Charlie completed 20 laps himself! Aunt Sue was there as well, running alongside the kids and cheering them on!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Art of Improv
Today was dress-up day at David's school. Kids were supposed to dress up as a favorite book or movie character. However, David forgot.
So, when his teacher Mrs. Ek got around to asking David who he was supposed to be, David answered, "I'm Harry Potter on summer vacation."
So, when his teacher Mrs. Ek got around to asking David who he was supposed to be, David answered, "I'm Harry Potter on summer vacation."
Thursday, May 10, 2007
The Devil's El Torito
David and Charlie got to sleep over at Grandma's on Saturday, so Sherry and I decided to go to El Torito for dinner. (We still had money left over on a gift card we had received from Grandma and Grandpa.) It was Cinco de Mayo, so we made sure to get there early, around 5:00 p.m.
There weren't many people there when we arrived, although you could tell the restaurant was preparing for a crowd. We were seated in a room that was virtually empty. We ordered, and our drinks were delivered promptly (mango margarita for Sherry, strawberry margarita for me; delicious) along with my dinner salad (Mexican Caesar, always good).
The room began to fill up. Sherry and I were relaxing, just sitting and talking, not having to be anywhere. But as time went on, we realized that the other people in the room, who had been seated after us, were being served their food!
Our waiter had not been around for a while, so I flagged down a manager and told him about our situation. He apologized and said he would check on our food for us. He also asked if we'd like another round of drinks, and I said yes.
A few minutes later, a waitress stopped by to take our drink orders. I said I'd like a regular margarita, and Sherry said she didn't want anything. We waited and waited; still no food. Eventually the waitress returned, but instead of bringing me a regular margarita, she brought the mango and strawberry margaritas we'd ordered originally! And literally two steps behind her was yet another waitress with the exact same two drinks! There had definitely been some miscommunication between the bar, the manager and me. We sent the drinks back. My regular margarita showed up shortly thereafter.
Then, finally, a waitress arrived with our food. (Whatever happened to our original waiter?) The order must have gotten lost somewhere; it had just been too long. She placed the tray of food on a fold-out stand by our table. I stopped myself from saying to Sherry, "Watch, now she'll drop it," just as the waitress lost control of the tray. Sherry and I sat frozen as the waitress tried to catch it. She managed to keep the whole thing from falling, but a good portion of the meal landed on the floor. Some other customers got up to help her (which I should have done too, but, honestly, I was frozen in disbelief at this point). What we didn't initially realize was that the waitress had severely burned herself; I had ordered fajitas, and they were served on a sizzling hot metal dish. She had grabbed the dish without thinking when the food began to fall.
With the help of the other customers and another waitress, she managed to get control of the tray and head back to the kitchen. I'd call our situation comical at this point if the waitress hadn't gotten burned. We finished off a second big basket of tortilla chips still waiting for our food.
Eventually, our original waiter returned with our order. Nothing was spilled, and it was finally time to dig in. While we were eating, the manager stopped by apologizing profusely, and told us that the meal would be free of charge. We thanked him and asked how the burned waitress was doing. He said that she had run back to the kitchen crying, but that she was okay. (Had she been crying because of the burn, or because of the two uncaring customers that had just sat there motionless during her crisis? Either way, we felt bad. And later, she came to our table to apologize. We said, "Don't be silly! At least you're okay!")
So that's how we got a free meal at El Torito. But the real reason I'm glad we didn't have to pay was because our food wasn't that good (Sherry had a shrimp burrito, I had the chicken/shrimp/beef fajitas). Anyway, we've still got money on our gift card. Maybe next time we'll just go for drinks.
There weren't many people there when we arrived, although you could tell the restaurant was preparing for a crowd. We were seated in a room that was virtually empty. We ordered, and our drinks were delivered promptly (mango margarita for Sherry, strawberry margarita for me; delicious) along with my dinner salad (Mexican Caesar, always good).
The room began to fill up. Sherry and I were relaxing, just sitting and talking, not having to be anywhere. But as time went on, we realized that the other people in the room, who had been seated after us, were being served their food!Our waiter had not been around for a while, so I flagged down a manager and told him about our situation. He apologized and said he would check on our food for us. He also asked if we'd like another round of drinks, and I said yes.
A few minutes later, a waitress stopped by to take our drink orders. I said I'd like a regular margarita, and Sherry said she didn't want anything. We waited and waited; still no food. Eventually the waitress returned, but instead of bringing me a regular margarita, she brought the mango and strawberry margaritas we'd ordered originally! And literally two steps behind her was yet another waitress with the exact same two drinks! There had definitely been some miscommunication between the bar, the manager and me. We sent the drinks back. My regular margarita showed up shortly thereafter.
Then, finally, a waitress arrived with our food. (Whatever happened to our original waiter?) The order must have gotten lost somewhere; it had just been too long. She placed the tray of food on a fold-out stand by our table. I stopped myself from saying to Sherry, "Watch, now she'll drop it," just as the waitress lost control of the tray. Sherry and I sat frozen as the waitress tried to catch it. She managed to keep the whole thing from falling, but a good portion of the meal landed on the floor. Some other customers got up to help her (which I should have done too, but, honestly, I was frozen in disbelief at this point). What we didn't initially realize was that the waitress had severely burned herself; I had ordered fajitas, and they were served on a sizzling hot metal dish. She had grabbed the dish without thinking when the food began to fall.
With the help of the other customers and another waitress, she managed to get control of the tray and head back to the kitchen. I'd call our situation comical at this point if the waitress hadn't gotten burned. We finished off a second big basket of tortilla chips still waiting for our food.
Eventually, our original waiter returned with our order. Nothing was spilled, and it was finally time to dig in. While we were eating, the manager stopped by apologizing profusely, and told us that the meal would be free of charge. We thanked him and asked how the burned waitress was doing. He said that she had run back to the kitchen crying, but that she was okay. (Had she been crying because of the burn, or because of the two uncaring customers that had just sat there motionless during her crisis? Either way, we felt bad. And later, she came to our table to apologize. We said, "Don't be silly! At least you're okay!")
So that's how we got a free meal at El Torito. But the real reason I'm glad we didn't have to pay was because our food wasn't that good (Sherry had a shrimp burrito, I had the chicken/shrimp/beef fajitas). Anyway, we've still got money on our gift card. Maybe next time we'll just go for drinks.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Bad dog!
On Thursday, Espie and Aunt Dana were taking their regular early-morning walk around the neighborhood. Almost home, a loose pitbull ran across the street at them. Aunt Dana, being very frightened, screamed "NOOOOOO" at the top of her lungs at the dog. She pulled Espie and ran as fast as she could. The pitbull followed them for a bit but then stopped. Aunt Dana went to the police equipment store that afternoon and purchased pepper spray.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Quick Trip to Viejas
Sherry and the kids and I took Grandma out to Viejas yesterday to place Grandpa's bet and to go to the Outlet Center.
The Outlet Center was a ghost town. Even though it was chilly and in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, we didn't expect it to be as dead as it was. So, we basically had the run of the place.
Our first stop was Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream (thanks Grandma!), then Sherry and the kids headed over to KB Toys while Grandma and I went to the casino.
We went upstairs to Off-Track Betting and bet $50.00 to show on Stormello for Grandpa. Grandma also bet $5.00 on him to show. Then Grandma wanted to play some slots, so we found a traditional 25-cent three-reeler in the non-smoking section. She quickly lost nine dollars out of her initial twenty, so we switched to another similar machine on the other side of the room. After a few pulls on the new machine, she hit two double-bars and a wild card, which paid $15.00. She was now up $2.00 for slots, so she declared, "That's it! Let's go!" Good for her.
We cashed out her $22.00 and headed back to the mall. Grandma wanted to stop by the Silver and Gold Designer Outlet to get a present for Barbara, but when we got over there, it had gone out of business! Oh, well. At least David was able to get a birthday present for his friend Daniel at the toy store.
Go Stormello!
The Outlet Center was a ghost town. Even though it was chilly and in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, we didn't expect it to be as dead as it was. So, we basically had the run of the place.
Our first stop was Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream (thanks Grandma!), then Sherry and the kids headed over to KB Toys while Grandma and I went to the casino.
We went upstairs to Off-Track Betting and bet $50.00 to show on Stormello for Grandpa. Grandma also bet $5.00 on him to show. Then Grandma wanted to play some slots, so we found a traditional 25-cent three-reeler in the non-smoking section. She quickly lost nine dollars out of her initial twenty, so we switched to another similar machine on the other side of the room. After a few pulls on the new machine, she hit two double-bars and a wild card, which paid $15.00. She was now up $2.00 for slots, so she declared, "That's it! Let's go!" Good for her.
We cashed out her $22.00 and headed back to the mall. Grandma wanted to stop by the Silver and Gold Designer Outlet to get a present for Barbara, but when we got over there, it had gone out of business! Oh, well. At least David was able to get a birthday present for his friend Daniel at the toy store.
Go Stormello!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Five Degrees of Separation
Chuck-O likes grapes from Los Olivos
Chuck-O is wearing a shirt bought at the Firestone Winery in Los Olivos
Grandpa is near Los Olivos at Rancheros/Santa Barbara
Oprah has an estate in Santa Barbara
I think I had a dream about Oprah last night
"$50.00 on Scorpio!"
So, Grandpa called me from Rancheros this afternoon.
"Mark, I've got a friend that has a horse racing in the Kentucky Derby Saturday. Is there someplace close by where you can place a bet for me?"
"Yeah, I think so," I responded. "I think I can bet it at Viejas or Sycuan."
"Okay, well if it's not an inconvenience, could you bet $50.00 for me on Scorpio to show?"
"$50.00 on Scorpio to show," I verified.
"Yep," said Grandpa. "He was listed at 30-1 this morning."
"Okay, sure. No problem." Then I asked him how his trip up there had been ("No problems," he said) and told him to have fun, and we exchanged goodbyes.
Then at the last minute, I thought, Wait. I better verify this.
"Dad, Dad, wait! Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here."
"Hold on one second. I want to double check this, especially while I've got you on the phone." Who knows how hard it would be to get a hold of him later?
So I went to the Kentucky Derby website, and started scanning the list of contenders. Scorpio... Scorpio... Scorpio...
"Dad, I don't see a Scorpio listed anywhere. You said he was 30-1?"
"Yeah, 30-1."
I started reading off the 30-1 shots.
"Zanjero? No."
"Storm in May? No."
"Liquidity? No."
"Teuflesberg? No."
"Stormello?"
"That's it!" he cried. "Stormello! $50.00 on Stormello!"
We both laughed. "Scorpio?!" I'm glad I double checked.
"Mark, I've got a friend that has a horse racing in the Kentucky Derby Saturday. Is there someplace close by where you can place a bet for me?"
"Yeah, I think so," I responded. "I think I can bet it at Viejas or Sycuan."
"Okay, well if it's not an inconvenience, could you bet $50.00 for me on Scorpio to show?"
"$50.00 on Scorpio to show," I verified.
"Yep," said Grandpa. "He was listed at 30-1 this morning."
"Okay, sure. No problem." Then I asked him how his trip up there had been ("No problems," he said) and told him to have fun, and we exchanged goodbyes.
Then at the last minute, I thought, Wait. I better verify this.
"Dad, Dad, wait! Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here."
"Hold on one second. I want to double check this, especially while I've got you on the phone." Who knows how hard it would be to get a hold of him later?
So I went to the Kentucky Derby website, and started scanning the list of contenders. Scorpio... Scorpio... Scorpio...
"Dad, I don't see a Scorpio listed anywhere. You said he was 30-1?"
"Yeah, 30-1."
I started reading off the 30-1 shots.
"Zanjero? No."
"Storm in May? No."
"Liquidity? No."
"Teuflesberg? No."
"Stormello?"
"That's it!" he cried. "Stormello! $50.00 on Stormello!"
We both laughed. "Scorpio?!" I'm glad I double checked.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
New Playset!
Grandpa came over Sunday to install the new playset in the backyard. It's huge! David and Charlie really like it; Mom said Charlie played on it non-stop yesterday.
David and I found a mini-game on Wii's Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz that we really like. It's called "Monkey Wars," and you battle against each other (and two computer-run monkeys) in a battlefield environment. We'll be able to play it on school nights when David receives a green card and all smileys at school.
TiVo did not record the latest episode of The Amazing Race: All-Stars Sunday night. Bad TiVo! Don't know what happened. I'll have to borrow it from Grandma or Dana.
Lovely but Deadly arrived in the mail last week. It's a movie co-written by Lawrence D. Foldes, who produced Malibu High. ("Lovely but Deadly" is the name of the song that plays during the opening credits of Mal.)
David and I found a mini-game on Wii's Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz that we really like. It's called "Monkey Wars," and you battle against each other (and two computer-run monkeys) in a battlefield environment. We'll be able to play it on school nights when David receives a green card and all smileys at school.
TiVo did not record the latest episode of The Amazing Race: All-Stars Sunday night. Bad TiVo! Don't know what happened. I'll have to borrow it from Grandma or Dana.
Lovely but Deadly arrived in the mail last week. It's a movie co-written by Lawrence D. Foldes, who produced Malibu High. ("Lovely but Deadly" is the name of the song that plays during the opening credits of Mal.)
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