Achey Breaky Heart....

So, they say that all kids go through that "stage". It is that stage between cute little baby and cute little toddler....where they just kind of look funny....



I will admit that although this never happened to me as I have been Adonis like since birth, it did happen with Katelyn...and is currently happening to Ashley. I want to stress that I believe Ashley will come out of this fine. In fact, her beauty will rival princesses across the land. Looking at Ashley will be like looking at a work of art, or a bountiful flower, or a sunset of a perfect day....but today, not so much. I have affectionately decided to nickname her BillyRay as she is currently sporting a mullet. In fact, if Hannah Montana had been touring two years ago with Billy Ray, I may have questions:

It is a little hard to tell in the above pictures, but she is rockin a mullet that BillyRay sported in the good old days. Separated at birth perhaps?





Oh well, I suppose it could have been worse:

Because they aren't old enough to type a blog and make fun of me.....I love my girls.

Weekends are to short.....

So, I sit here on Sunday night realizing that the weekend is coming to a close....and I feel as many others probably do....these things are just too short.

I always have high expectations of what I will get done during the course of the weekend, and tonight I can confidently tell you that I once again neglected to get most of that done....and when I say most of it...I mean all of it...

A couple of fun things though. Friday night we had a couple of neighbors who had bonfires. These guys both have pretty sweet setups in their backyard where you can sit around in comfy chairs, cook smores, catch up, etc.. When Kelly and I bought our house, we had big plans for this fancy backyard with a big fire pit, etc.. Well, we managed to buy one of those portable bonfire pits, and thus succumbing to the fact that none of our neighbors will be coming to our house for a bonfire...as in essence the flame is only slightly bigger then a candle.

So, we had a neighborhood social event on Friday, and Saturday we went to the Twins game. We were invited by friends to attend with their family. They have 3 little kids, we have two, it was in a suite so we figured why not. Needless to say, it was awesome to be able to sit in the suite...we didn't get to catch up much with our friends as we were all trying to make sure our kids had fun...By the 5th inning, kids were in meltdown mode. Even to the point that Katelyn said she didn't want any cotton candy. Can you tell me what other 3 year old in the world would pass on cotton candy? It was time to leave.

All in all though two pretty good nights when you keep in mind that typically the biggest event on a weekend for the Minnetrista Smith's on a weekend is the Pizza Ranch buffet and a trip to Target.

But then there was today. You see....today was Spencer's birthday. For those of you who do not know, Spencer is our cat. I hate him (as noted in original post) but my wife thinks of him as part of the family. So, we had to celebrate. So that you can understand my own personal hell this evening, I will give you a few brief details:

1) We had a cake
2) We had a candle in the cake
3) We sang happy birthday
4) We wore those pointy party hats
5) Spencer got his own special birthday fancy feast....and yes...it was Fancy Feast

There is a good chance my wife got him a gift too, but she knew better then to give it to him in front of me.

For clarification purposes, I am talking about our cat. Spencer....our cat. One time, a few years ago, my wife asked what I wanted for my birthday. I asked for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I was told that nobody liked that and it was too much chocolate so I would not be getting it.


Spencer got numbers one through five.

I could not get my cake....


Because I know that they will love me more than their pet....I love my girls.

Fiesta

So, I had mentioned that I would dedicate a post to Mexico. My wife and I had traveled there a month ago....although it feels like a million years.

I love being home, I love hanging out with the kids, heck....I love my job. But..... it was awesome to be in paradise.

The above is the view from the two pool chairs that Kelly and I sat at for the majority of our time in Cozumel. I know....it looks like a postcard...but I swear to you, I took this picture. This is what I had to look at for 5 days. Can you tell now why I miss being there?

The above is taken in the early morning from our balcony. That is right....this is what I woke up to every morning. Minnetrista is great....but seriously.....

On top of that, the stairs you see in this picture lead to our private rooftop deck.

My wife told me that I could not post about whether or not she sunbathed in the nude....so I won't tell you if she did. What I will tell you, is that from personal experience...until you have sunbathed in the nude on a rooftop in Cozumel....you should not consider all of your goals accomplished.

Side note to my neighbors...I do not plan on repeating the process on my deck.

So, paradise was unbelievable...the food, the people, the pool, the snorkeling, the everything. I am thankful to be back. But I am thankful we went.


Because they will understand that occasionally mom and dad need to get away....I love my girls...

Maybe not everyone does....but.....

....I love my girls......

My Dad

So, my littlest and I were running errands yesterday. Katelyn and Mom were at gymnastics, so Ashley and I spent a little father daughter time running some errands. The plan was to get my haircut, go to the grocery store, and run Ashley to the doctor for a quick checkup.



Their was a line at GreatClips, so we ran quickly over to the liquor store to get my bride some wine as it was the last day of their sale. We walked in the door and there was a seven foot tall statue of Captain Morgan:





I kid you not, this is the same statue that was on display. As soon as Ashley sees it she yells "Papa!"


"Papa" is how Ashley refers to grandpa....my dad.


Now, my has been a lot of things: mechanic, electrician, plumber, firefighter, father, husband, grandpa....but pirate???



On that note though....I have a slight bone to pick with my dad. He reads this blog, so I will share with all of you. My dad is amazing, and always has been. My sisters, and frankly anyone who knows him can attest to what I am going to share with you.


My dad has the strength of 20 men. It is inhuman. I have seen him lift things alone that most teams of men could not move. My dad is also a human GPS system. He not only knows every road ever built, but he can define for you the quickest way to get from point A to point B. I am pretty sure that when you push that "Onstar' button in your car for directions...they call my dad to make sure they give you the right info..Lastly, my dad is one of the smartest people I have ever known. Whether it was math problems in high school to helping me rewire a friends house while I asked him questions over the phone....he is brilliant.


For these reasons and many more, my dad is an idol of mine. I also have been hopeful that I would inherit some or all of these characteristics. I mean, being his only son, you'd figure I'd have a shot. I could handle possessing deceptive strength, knowing where I was at all times, or people referring to me as a genius.


Instead, the only thing I have inherited to date from my dad are savagely long eyebrow hairs. My dad was blessed with an occasional mutant like eyebrow hair appearing. One time I saw him pluck an eyebrow hair that I kid you not was eight and a half inches long.

I now get these about once a month.


So, whereas I am still holding out hope for any of the aforementioned traits...I am stuck plucking weird eyebrow hair.


Thanks dad.




I have already passed on my dashing good looks to them, but I hope to be able to give them so much more as they get older because...well,...I love my girls.