Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Some of This & Some of That

A little bit of randomness today folks.

Two days ago our youngest boy Matthew turned the ripe old age of eight years old. We celebrated his birthday by going to a place called The Family Fun Center (aka Bullwinkle's). This place is a kids dream come true. Inside the building there is every video game you could possibly think of, a huge three level jungle gym/play land deal, a very cool laser tag room and of course a pizza and snack bar with unbelievably over priced food. (We opted to eat elsewhere.) Outside there is a miniature golf course, bumper boats, a rock climbing tower, bungee jump and go-kart racing.

Now just imagine all of that with about a million kids running in every possible direction all at the same time. Throw in a significant amount of screams and yells and you have all the makings of an Excedrin headache! I took a couple before heading in and boy-o-boy was that ever a good idea. As I watched a variety of children go into melt down stage because their parents were ready to go when they weren't, I thanked the good Lord that our boys were well behaved and didn't push any of our buttons. . . this time. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause!

***

Two days from today, on the 13th, Lisa and I will celebrate our sixteenth wedding anniversary. I can not believe she has put up with my shenanigans for that many years. I think I'll get her a medal of valor for a gift this year.

We dated for five years before getting married, so now at the age of 42, that means we have been a couple for half of our lives. That's pretty cool in my book!

Ooh, this is Friday the thirteenth too. Better watch my step.

***

Our kittens better known as the eat, sleep and poop machines, are now learning about the great outdoors. Yeah-hoo, this means goodbye litter box. Damn I hate those things. So the little gray one, Bella, decided to test out her climbing skills on the maple tree in the back yard. She went up about 25-30 feet into it and then did her best impression of "I'm a poor helpless cat...rescue me". The boys were sure she was going to get stuck up there and never be seen or heard from again. I assured them that in all my years on the planet, not once have I seen a cat skeleton in a tree. Ten minutes later she was at the back door looking for the food bowl. Typical!

***

I thought by now I'd have the first part of my new story posted, but it just hasn't come together. I think there's a pretty decent story line to it, but I can't seem to get the flow of it the way I like. So, I'll keep plugging away and if it starts to take shape then I'll post it. If not, it'll be back to the old drawing board.

***

My segment called "What Is It?" seems to generate interest among many of you, but I never post it on a regular basis, so nobody knows when to look for it. I thought I'd try doing it on a weekly basis for a month or two or until the interest wears out on it. I'll post the pictures for you to guess at on Friday and then post the answers with the expanded pictures on Sunday.

Here's where I could use your input. I love reading the guesses in the comments so I don't know that I want to turn off the ability to comment on the post. I'm thinking I'll just leave it as is and let everybody play and guess on the honor system. First person to guess correctly gets the Cracker Jack Blogger award for the week. I also love the ones that crack me up, so I'll try to come up with something for the most creative guesses as well. Some of you may just think this is all a bunch of nonsense and could care less about the whole thing. That's ok too. Please tell me what you think.

***

Well, there you go. A bunch of stuff that doesn't go together, but somehow it just did anyway.

Ciao.

23 comments:

mrsnesbitt said...

We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on June 3rd. We went out for a special meal.....
it must be the worst meal I have had in ages!
I will be complaining!

I teach 8 year olds....my medal is on its way!
LOL!
Great to meet you, via Kai!

buffalodick said...

Congrats on the anniversary, and your son's birthday! We did the "Chucky Cheese" thing when our kids were small- what a rip! We started a tradition with our boys, that on their birthday, they could pick any restaurant in town to eat at. We still do with the one that lives here- and he's 27!

Mel said...

Awwwww......happy birthday to the kiddo..and congratulations on the anniversary!

Pretty darn cool to able to claim half of a lifetime together!

I'm thinkin' you both deserve medals for stepping foot into The Family Fun Center.
;-)

CrystalChick said...

Happy Birthday Matthew!
Happy Anniversary Lisa and Jeff!

Yes, the guessing photo posts are fun, however you want to work them.

Nicole P said...

Happy Birthday to your son and Happy Anniversary to you and your wife!!
Gotta love those kids places. To me they are like being in hell.
However you want to work the what is it posts is cool, I always get here late anyways.

nitebyrd said...

You're a brave man, Jeff going to a place filled with kids. Hope your son had a great birthday.

Early "Happy Anniversary" wishes to you and Lisa!

Thanks for letting us know what's going on with you!

katherine. said...

congrats on the sixteen years...and blessings for many more.

I am sure Matthew had a wonderful time....eight is such a great age.

The "What Is It?" game is fun....if you closed comments would we be guessing by email?

Real Live Lesbian said...

Happy Anniversary to you and your bride! And Happy Birthday to the boy. And happy day to you that you don't have to go to the hell hole for another year! LOL

Jeff B said...

Mrs Nesbitt- Congrats on your twentieth! Bummer about the meal though. Thanks for dropping in. Hope to see you again.

Buffalo- We've sort of unofficially adopted the "Pick your meal of choice" too. We ended up at Red Robin.

Mel- It can feel like a battlefield in those places sometimes. We learned that feeding the kids before we go in makes a huge difference in their attitudes. (ours too)

Crystalchick- Good times all around.

Nicole- It was actually tolerable this year. I think their ages have a lot to do with that. Hopefully by posting the game on a consistant basis you'll be able join in from time to time.

Nitebyrd- Sometimes there is a very fine line between brave and crazy. Matthew had a grin plastered on his face all day long, so it was all worth it.

Katherine- They have been really good years together too. A few little bumps along the way, but no big mountains. Thank you Lord!

I was thinking of guesses by email, but I think everyone enjoys reading the comments too, so I'm leaning toward just leaving it alone. It's not like I'm handing out big wads of cash for the winners. Although if I did that I'll bet my readership would skyrocket.

Real LL- Now there is a great perspective on it! 360+ days of bliss left.

Sandee said...

Chucky Cheese was the same kind of place with all the kids running amok. Oh what a headache I would get. I took sonny boy anyway. Good for you as it's important to them.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary. To be with the person you are supposed to be with is a wonderful thing. I know.

Standing by for the next excellent writing achievement. Have a great day. :)

Jay said...

Back in my day we didn't have those fancy places like Chucky Cheese and Bullwinkle's type places. We just had to make do with the Ms Pac-Man games at Pizza Hut. ;-)

Happy Birthday to your son.

And Happy Anniversary to you tow crazy kids!

Ron said...

WOW...ok, this Bullwinkle place that you talked about, sounds like a DREAM comet true for me too!

(and I'm 52)

I have a feeling I would have acted like 5 year old!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

And Happy Pre-Anniversary wish to you and Lisa too!!!

That's so funny about Bella, Jeff. And you're right...cats figure EVERYTHING out. That's why they have nine lives!

Hey, and your idea about how the photo guess is perfect.

Can't wait for the next one, buddy!

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

kids running wild, cats in trees, a wife with the patience of Job...

Yup...it flows.

Happy Anniversary

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Matthew (cool name)

Desert Songbird said...

Funny how you and I sorta share things in common - our son's born on the same day a year a part, and wedding anniversaries our a month and a year apart. We are, however, a few years OLDER than you and Lisa, but I'll let that pass. I still like you!

Akelamalu said...

Happy birthday to your son and Happy Anniversary to you and the missus.

The 'guess what' sounds good to me!

Utter Basketcase said...

Happy 16th anniversarry!!!

And heck! I Love the sound of that place you took your son! I want my birthday there!!! I'll just remember to bring some ear plugs!!!

I love the sound of your cracker jack game!

I am soooo reading back more to find out more about it! xx

Odat said...

You're a blessed man....Happy Almost anniversary and hope your son's birthday was fun for him.

I love the Guessing Game...don't stop it!!!!

Peace

Deb said...

Wow, happy anniversary! That's great that you two have been together for so long! I always think how my partner has kept up with my b/s for 15 yrs - she deserves a medal as well!

First come first serve on the guessing game sounds good to me!

Dianne said...

Happy Anniversary!!
I've always had great days on Friday the 13th - so enjoy!

and Happy Birthday to your son. We have Fun Time here - you could surely lose your mind in there but the kids love it.

I say leave the Guess What game as it is. I really enjoyed the comments, some were hilarious.

Rhea said...

Happy birthday to your Matthew! Sounds like fun. And, happy anniversary to you and your wife! That's awesome!

I love your "What it is" segement and eagerly await another. And, I love the kitten story that ended up stuck in the tree...for ten minutes. lol

Nice.

Jeff B said...

Sandee- Making sacrifices of our prefferences sometimes is a big part of being a parent. It's worth it though.

Jay- I remember those days too. Walking uphill through the snow just to look a birthday cake in the bakery window because we were too poor to afford one. Kids these days...they have it easy.

Ron- When you only have two of the kids there and they are acting like humans instead of chimps, it really is a pretty cool place.

Bond- I like how you connected the dots on all that. Our Matthew seems to follow the same mold that others with that name do too. I wonder if you Matt does as well.

Songbird- You're just trying to get back into my good graces after that last comment aren't you. You know Gene has labled you as his new favorite hero don't you? I of course have a different lable for you. (wink)

Akelamalu- Thanks, I'm working on a sitter for the boys so Lisa and I can go out on a date.

Gigle- OK, next year I'm taking you and Ron too. The kids won't stand a chance!

Odat- I do indeed feel blessed and the game shall carry on.

Deb- That's great that you've been together for so long too. Maybe we can find a two for one special on medals somewhere.

Dianne- That seems to be the general conclusion of all. Leave it as is, so I will listen to you all and do just that.

Jeff B said...

Rhea- Bella is the quisisential queen kitten (aka pain in the ass) She could care less that you're in the room with her unless of course it's feeding time. Then she can pour on the loves.

Travis Cody said...

Happy Anniversary to you both, and Happy Birthday to the little man!