Happy #6

Last week was Brendan's Birthday and on Saturday was the insane Birthday Party. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our son tends to get along with everybody and by the time his Sunday School, neighbors and kindergarten pals had been invited, we had the 23 kid Birthday Party. Of course, Brendan wasn't complaining after landing all the swag, especially so soon after Christmas. If he isn't taken care of now, Mom and Dad give up. So, we have posted pictures from the party. As you can see, Brendan was more than full of himself.

As for the family update, everything is good. Brent's knee continues to bother, but is better than what it was. Shireen is doing well. Brendan has made the advanced reading class and continues to read at an amazing pace, but like his Dad, has terrible handwriting and seems to be his only downfall. He continues to enjoy his TV and DVD Player he got for Christmas and enjoys his bedtime at night now. Gordie is fine except for Jamie constantly chewing on him. Jamie is up to 63 lbs. in just a year and with the boxers moving back into the house behind us, has something to woof at all day long. Hope everybody is doing well and we will be adding some more posts soon.

I forgot how to type

Or at least you would think so from as much as I have been updating here. Whenever back to school and football season hit, I do get rather busy and forget to update the blog somewhat. So here goes on the Rice family update over the last few months. Summer was fun. We took in some Braves Games with just Dad and Brendan going to most of them without Mommy. While freaking out at swimming lessons and not wanting to go near the water for a month, Brendan finally got over it and started to not wanting to leave the pool at all. Soccer kicked in (a few pictures here) and Brendan scored 3 goals his first game,(only scored 1 last year) and 4 in another game, so it seems to be the one sport that he is into and is getting better at. Kindergarten started August 4th for Brendan and he goes from 7:45 to 2:45 every day and with him being a night owl, like his Dad, mornings have not been to kind to him. Also, being a total Southern Boy, he has complained all week about how chilly it is being in the 30's and 40's in the morning. We have tried to tell him what Mom and Dad went through growing up, but he looks at us like we are pulling his leg. His reading has just exploded and routinely gets 100 out of 100 on identifying and pronouncing words when 30 out of a 100 is acceptable. He is reading at a 2nd grade level already. He takes a perverse pride on being on green every day, not one yellow yet, but loves to tell us about all of his classmates being on yellow and red for the day. One day he is going to get his butt kicked for being such a brown nose.

Shireen's Dad came out a month or two ago and helped put in our new dishwasher and her Mom came out a few weeks ago and helped us paint our downstairs (a few pictures here of our green walls now). Love putting those grandparents to work. Both were wore out when Brendan decided he had new playmates and decided to have them play every game with him or have them take him out back to play soccer or hit golfballs (see pictures).

That's it for now. Brendan is already putting his Christmas list together, the only good thing, we can threaten him to get to bed and such by telling him that Santa is watching. Shireen cannot wait until the election is over and is beyond happy that I will be in Mississippi next week for the election. She will not miss me screaming at the TV, if the current trend continues. To say I tend to fall on the conservative side of the aisle is sort of like saying the media kind of likes Obama. The only good thing is that conservative economic theory will be shown to be right again like it always does, it just may take another 4-8 years to clean up the mess like we had to do after Carter. Other than that, not much going on. Shireen is doing great and enjoying her free time with Brendan in school and is getting the 2 hour workouts in every day. We are enjoying the mid to high 60's every day, although for us, a little chilly. Take care and I promise to post more often in the upcoming months.

A Midsummer's Update

Hello All, I know we are way overdue for an update. Summer has been going well. Mom, Dad and Brendan are going to another Braves game tonight which I'm sure will contribute to a shortage of cotton candy at the ballpark. We expect an extreme sugar high tonight.

So far Mommy has survived the summer, although two weeks of vacation Bible school has helped and a week of tennis lessons on the horizon will help her get through July. As we keep reminding Brendan, only one more month until big boy school. He starts extremely early, August 4, and we aren't sure he is totally prepared. As an offspring of his father, Brendan does not like to go to bed early and does not like to get up early. Not good things with school on the horizon, we expect one crabby child come the first week of August.

Shireen's Mom, Linda, just got done visiting with her step grandaughter, Hannah. As usual Mom was overworked by her daughter with a backyard project this time. At some point Shireen will realize that chopping through Georgia clay is no fun, but the lesson hasn't gotten through to this point. Hannah, being a couple of years older than Brendan, does a great imitation of a bossy big sister, which Brendan doesn't quite know how to handle. He likes the company, but somebody sharing his TV time and telling him it's time for bed doesn't go over so well. When inquired if he would ever like a baby brother or baby sister, his answer is "None" and when asked about having a big sister like Hannah, his reply is "No, they are silly".

So we are enjoying our last month of summer by going to the pool quite often. After the disastorous swimming lessons when Brendan decided he was going to freak out and not go near a pool again for a month, we have overcome where we are back to swimming with a noodle at least. Brent's golf game has taken a hit. After the last outing, I was unable to walk well with severe knee pain that has lasted about 6 weeks. After a visit to the orthopedic doctor, looks like at this point a torn meniscus with a probable surgery sometime in August. Shouldn't be major recovery time it looks like, but does seem to be the precursor for knee replacement down the road. Pity on Shireen when I have to go through that.

We have included pictures of Hannah's visit, with a trip to the fountains in downtown Atlanta, a trip to the mall where the have a bungy cord jumping device and a new picture of our not to puppy looking Jamie, who is now somewhere in the vicinity of 58 lbs. or so. She continues to chew on and torture poor Gordie, who just keeps trying to hide from her. Hope you all have a great 4th, we will post some pictures from the game and other pics soon.

Preschool Graduation Program

After 9 months of Preschool Brendan is off to the 'big boy' school next year. I am putting the video up from his graduation program so everyone can see his performance on stage. Needless to say, I think a career in singing is not going to happen. Enjoy!

An Unbelievable 14

I know the picture is the same heading as the last post, but I just really love the picture. Tomorrow (or officially today, since it is after midnight) rings in the 14th wedding anniversary. It seems like an absolute dream that it has been 14 years since we said I do in that small gathering in Las Vegas. We have moved 4 times since then, have had 5 golden retrievers and 1 mutt dog (we will never forget Barney) and after an unbelievable effort have ended up with the best little boy a set of parents could have ever hoped or dreamed for.

Through it all has been one constant, my beautiful wife. Many years ago, when I was 9 or 10, I can still remember staring at the ceiling late at night. I had just went through the parents divorce a few years prior and was in the middle of the multiyear fun of custody battles. I can remember swearing to myself that when older, I would find a wife that would be my partner for life, my equal and somebody that would fight through the tough times with me. Somebody who would be by my side for as long as we lived and who would help me provide the stable atmosphere for my children that didn't seem possible at that time for myself. Somewhat unfairly, I judged every girl I dated when I got older with that outlook. Could I see myself marrying this girl, could I live with her and have her be my best friend the rest of my life?
Many times, even when I thought I was dating somebody pretty incredible, there was always a voice in the back of my head saying that this isn't the one. In 1991 that voice stopped when I met Shireen. While we couldn't stand each other the first month or so after we met, it didn't take long to realize how attracted, how much fun I had with, and pretty soon, how in love I was with this girl.

While there have been ups and downs as there are in every marriage, I know I have married the perfect person for me. I feel so incredibly blessed that I get to grow old with the person who I consider my best friend and who to this day I have an incredible attraction to. I have done nothing in my life to deserve being so lucky, but I appreciate it beyond belief.

So, while being way to sappy, (of which I will catch grief for, I'm sure), I will spend the rest of today celebrating my 14 years of extraordinary luck being married to such a wonderul woman. And as wives go, does it get any better? She is letting me play golf in the morning and then I am taking Brendan to a Braves game tomorrow night, while she hangs out at home, all the while claiming that us clearing out of her house is the best Anniversary present we can give her. Many years ago, my friend Scott said he had to explain us to his new girlfriend, who just didn't get our relationship. I think if he reads this, he would still be explaining.

So, look for some video of Brendan's last baseball game (not shot very well by Dad, but that damn hitting the tee 12 times in a row was driving me nuts). Also, I will try and get some pictures tomorrow night at the game. Jamie is now not a true woman, but has passed the 50 lb. mark and is bigger than Gordie, although he refuses to lay her out, even thought she chews on him constantly. Brendan has a week and a half of pre-school and then on to summer vacation before kindergarten starts August 4th, which seems way to early. Shireen is looking to get a job at the gym opening near us and eventually becoming a personal trainer, (might as well since she works out 2 hours a day anyways). Anyways, that's our update for now, dreaded 43 is coming on Friday, (after 40 I think we should just quit keeping count, luckily Shireen has number 40 coming in October, so at least I lose the abuse of being in a different decade until I turn 50). Hope you all are doing well and hope to hear from many of you soon. Have a great Holiday weekend.

Brendan and Shireen's Excellent Adventure

Once again, terribly sorry for not updating for a while, it has been one of those weeks and one of those months. This week, my computer crashed and burned because it had 54 viruses on it that finally destroyed my main drive. Thank you Norton for taking my money and not doing a damn thing to stop the incoming viruses. So Shireen and I (OK mostly me) have been in panic mode because I can't work or function without my computer and while most of the files have been retrieved and saved, all e-mails, calendar and contact info that was in Outlook is lost in the netherworld at this point and I'm about to put my head through a wall. So between that and being nonstop on the road, with a full week pretty much in Tennessee next week, I think I've hit about all the stress level I need for a while.

So anyways, a week and a half ago, Brendan took his first plane ride (loved it by the way) to Wisconsin to visit Grandma Lynn and Great Grandma Adeline along with the other Grandparents. We mention them because that's who we have pictures of here. So he had a great time, although he now says every time Wisconsin is mentioned "it's cold there Daddy". Thus why we don't live anywhere near there we say to him. So here are the pictures with Shireen (by the way looking at the pictures as I was getting ready to post them, the age old question resurfaces, how the heck did I get this chick to marry me? Thank god that overmarrying is allowed in this country), his Grandma and Great Grandma and Grandma's doggy who was more than happy to see him go. Old dogs and young kids don't always mix the best.

Everything else is going well. T-Ball is continuing. Brendan's golf swing is getting better by the day, I think we are heading for golf lessons this summer, although the baseball coaches don't care for his golf swing in T-Ball to much, (Dad tends to be proud of it though). Jamie is almost bigger than Gordie, another month and she will weigh more. Shireen is mini-projecting the border of the patio downstairs, still planning the summer major project. Brendan this week tested for kindergarten and they are already suggesting a possible advanced class for him. He knew most of things he will need to know by the end of kindergarten, so that was nice to hear. Plus, he doesn't do well with boredom, so we are going to have to keep challenging him. After that all is well except for Brent's computer. If anybody is a computer genius and can figure out how to retrieve lost Outlook files, there's a beer in it for you. Take care.

March Update (aka Could be I any lamer in updating?)

I keep doing a good job thinking I will update more than I do, but as many of you can tell, I don't. Shouldn't 80 hour a week jobs be more of a thing when you are in your 20's and have the energy for it? Yesterday alone, I had to get up at 7 at the hotel, be at our show in Orlando, at 8:30, work the show until 5, tear down to almost 6:00, and then drive eight hours home and get home at just before 2:00 A.M., completing about a 18 hour day. I am getting way to old for this. Anyways, enough bitching for tonight, here is our last couple week update. As many of you might have heard, we had a nice spell of tornadoes a few weeks ago, of which the Friday night socked downtown Atlanta pretty well. While lucky enough to miss those, the next day on Saturday we had tornado warning after tornado warning with most of family in basement and Dad nervously watching the TV upstairs. While no tornado hit, we did get some of the biggest hail I have ever been through. We have attached pictures for proof, that was not fun watching that hit the house I can assure you.

Secondly, T-Ball has started again. While last year Brendan could hit the ball well, everything else was a complete disaster. Now, all of a sudden, he has become a pretty decent fielder, throws much better (although still some work to do) and is running the bases awesomely, he is probably just about the fastest kid on his team (lack of weight thing I guess), but all of a sudden he couldn't hit the ball again. After a couple of practices and the first game of watching him hit the tee and trying everything we could think of, Dad resorted to outright bribery. (I'm not beneath that by the way). So Dad promised Brendan a train from the Thomas collection if he could hit it by the pitcher. So the first practice he ripped it to the outfield. Just to be contrarian and to bug Brendan, since I was out of town, I told him he had to do it in the game. First at bat, he rips it to left field. Second at bat, knocks it 15 ft. in the air to the pitcher, (first time ever hitting it that high in the air), thus showing the power of train bribery. Needless to say while standing on 3rd base (see picture) Brenadan was confirming there would be a visit to Toys R Us after the game. He is definitely going to be a politician or lawyer with his negotiating skills already. We also put on some pictures from pre-school.

So at this point, Dad is home alone, Brendan and Mom are in Wisconsin and Brendan had his first plane ride, which he just loved. Grandma has been making him cookies and all kinds of home made foods, so Brendan is in heaven, (you can only take Mom's microwave cooking for so long you know). Also, Mom and Grandma took Brendan shopping for more trains today (why he needs more than a hundred is beyond me). So Dad is enjoying his messy house (that will change by Monday for fear of my life), and not having to get up until noon and eating when he wants (instead of OCD wife's time frame), but the house is way to quite and lonely and I am looking forward to getting them back Monday. That's all the updates for now, we will try and get some Wisconsin pictures on the next update if I can get off my backside before May and get an update on here more than once a month. Later.