A little bit of this and that ...

Laura and I went to Missouri earlier this month to visit family, but unfortunately we don't have any pictures from that trip yet. So for now, I'll just post some pics of our recent fun times.

Several weeks ago, our Sunday School class had an outdoor get-together with a candy hunt and lots of playing around for the kids. Here are a few of our favorites from that evening:

We have been spending a lot of our Sunday afternoons watching football (Go Steelers!!) and we snapped this pic of Laura chillin' one day...we thought it was too cute:)

One of my friends and I have started a babysitting swap, where I watch her daughter (Cora) on Mondays and she watches Laura on Thursdays while we each work. It is working out very well and Laura just loves Cora! She gives her lots of kisses and hugs. We are still working on sharing the toys, especially since Laura's new favorite word is "MINE!!"

We have gotten out several of Laura's old toys for Cora to play with and Laura has claimed these toys as "MINE", too. If she can't fit in them (as proven by the picture below) she uses them for her baby dolls. Fortunately, Cora is too little to mind right now, but as they get older they will get very good at sharing -- hopefully!

Fatherly thoughts: A weekend without my girls

I was recently able to "live the dream" ... a long weekend with the house all to myself.

Stephanie, her mother and Laura headed off to visit relatives out of town. I wasn't able to make the trip, so I had the weekend all planned out ... football, food, and well, not much else.

I had the guys over for one evening of playing RISK (a war game that most women ... at least the ones that I know ... just don’t get) and spent the rest of the time hanging out watching my teams mix it up on the gridiron.

It was fun and relaxing … except for the neighbor dog (a stupid Boxer with a bad attitude and an even worse owner who won’t keep him pinned up). On that Saturday the dog tried to attack me while I was minding my own business in my yard. Let’s just say he learned a valuable lesson that day – don’t mess with a man and his weed eater ... especially while it's running. Don't worry animal lovers, the dog survived ... unfortunately.

Anyway, other than that, it was a good weekend. I was able to sleep late, eat just about any combination of food I could find in the fridge ... and overall move at a leisurely pace. I even had a chance to hang out one afternoon with Steph's father, grill up some hotdogs … and watch more football, of course.

But it didn't take long for me to miss the two most important women in my life.

I was more than ready to pick them up at the airport. Of course, Laura looked like she had gotten a little taller, and was looking more and more like a little girl than a toddler. I also missed Stephanie and all of the special things she does every day to take care of Laura and I.

It was good to be reminded that I’m one lucky guy ... and especially thankful my wife likes football.