Back to Work

After working only two days of the last 15 I am back to work tomorrow. The kids are back to school as well. The time off was great and now it's time to get back to business. I enjoyed the family time but I'm also looking forward to working again (...kind of). The kids are at the point where they are looking for arguments and fights with one another. Bryce seems to be in the middle of it all. Poor kid just doesn't know when to lay off.

Basketball Season Ends

The latest basketball season for Bryce has come to a close. Counting last season I have a coaching record of 4 and 10. Most important though I got to spend a lot of quality time with Bryce. Riding to and from practices was great. I got to hear all about what Bryce has going on in his mind. The time will come when Bryce doesn't want to talk much to me about what he thinks. Hopefully that is not for a long time but I feel blessed to have such an awesome kid who is not afraid to talk to his dad.

Who's the Idiot

Bryce was looking at our March Madness bracket that we are in from my work last night. There are 21 entries. He asked, "Who's the idiot who picked Purdue? What was he thinking?"

I would like to know the same thing. What was that guy thinking? Except my bracket is in 16th place so I don't have room to talk.

Bryce Feels Better Now

The other day Bryce was having trouble going to the bathroom. He kept going in to sit down and would come out later saying that his poop wasn't done cooking yet. By the end of the day he was feeling constipated and just not feeling good at all.

Finally right before he went to bed he was able to go to the bathroom and take care of business. When he came back to the front room he let everyone know that he was able to relieve himself in the toilet.

Jen said, "Good, do you fell better now?"

Bryce replied, "Yep! And my butt feels better too!"

All YOU Can Eat

We went to CiCi's pizza on Saturday. On the way home Mikayla groaned from the back seat.

"I ate all I could eat! And that's what CiCi's is. An ALL YOU CAN EAT Buffet."

Garage Sale

Jen asked Bryce and Mikayla to go into their rooms and find toys they don't play with anymore to sell in a garage sale next week. Bryce came out a little later with a box full of toys he's outgrown and doesn't play with anymore. A long time later Mikayla came out with her box. It contained a clothes hanger and two happy meal toys.

Way to get rid of your junk Mikayla!!!

3rd Grade Election 2008

Here are the results from the 3rd Grade Election at Mikayla's school:

Barack Obama - 50 Votes
John McCain - 49 Votes
Bob Barr - 4 Votes
Hello Kitty - 1 Vote

Mikayla did awesome on her speech. Too bad they didn't vote on who did the best on it because it wasn't even close. Mikayla was by far the best.

I like that Hello Kitty got a vote. Whoever did that should get a cookie.

Mikayla Runs For President - 2008

The 3rd grade at school this year is having a mock election on Tuesday to help the kids learn about our election process. Mikayla was telling us that she could choose to either vote for John McCain or Barack Obama. She said she was going to vote for John McCain because he seems like a nice man. Bryce was listening and he said he was going to vote for BOrack BObama because he likes his name.

I asked Mikayla if there were any other choices to choose from. She said that there weren't. Mikayla asked who I was going to vote for and I told her that I was voting for Bob Barr. I told her to let her teacher know that they left people off of the ballot. They forgot about Bob Barr. I said this jokingly but I guess Mikayla took me serious so she told her teacher about it the next day.

By the end of the day her teacher asked her if she would represent Bob Barr in the 3rd Grade election. She now has to give a speech in front of everyone along with two kids who get to pretend to be McCain and Obama. She's pretty nervous but we've been practicing on her speech and she is going to do just fine.

Here's the speech she will give tomorrow:

Bob Barr for President 2008 by Mikayla Dodge
Liberty for America

My fellow 3rd Graders. I am Bob Barr and I would like to present to you a better alternative for President of the United States. I am running for President as the Libertarian Party nominee.

Let me first start out by telling you briefly what the Libertarian Party believes in. The Libertarian Party believes in smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom. We want a system in which people can choose what they want from life and that will allow them to live, love, work, play, and dream in their own way. Each of you is unique. The Libertarian system will allow you to develop to your full potential.

As your President I would do several things to make this country great. First we need to reduce and limit federal spending. This will allow us to become more competitive in a global marketplace. I would also like to set a firm withdrawal plan for our troops in Iraq. Each day that we are in Iraq we loose American lives and it is costing us $400 million a day.

One of the biggest things that touch each of our lives is paying taxes. The United States is in great need of tax reform. I want to reduce this tax burden on each of you. We need to change our tax code to make it fairer and easier for everyone to understand. A flat tax will do this immediately. This will also start with cutting back our government spending.

I also am a big supporter of our 2nd Amendment. I have been a board member of the National Rifle Association since 1977. I am against any law that will restrict ownership of firearms to law abiding citizens.

All men are created equal. Our government should not make laws that discriminate based on race, religion, or other personal characteristics. We are individuals and should be treated equally. A vote for me would ensure that you each retain your individual rights to choose for your self.

Each of you faces a choice today. You can vote for the same old parties that will limit your freedoms and increase the role of government in your life or you can vote for Bob Barr. A vote for me is a vote for freedom.

Thank you.

Buffet Village

I forgot to mention that last week Jen and I were going through the Jack in the Box drive through to get a milk shake. They are right next door to Buffet Village. Parked in the parking lot was an animal control truck. I really hope he was just there to eat lunch.

3rd Semi-Annual Mt. Pleasant Ward Time Out For Men

The time has arrived for the 3rd Semi-Annual Mount Pleasant Ward Time Out For Men. Let it be known that this is the original Time Out For Men. Any other wards having an activity by the same name are impostors.

We are heading on a road trip for this TOFM because our current church does not have a satellite hook up to watch conference on. We are eating at BUFFET VILLAGE in Gilmer. It's a Chinese Buffet/Mongolian grill. It is rumored to be a money laundering operation since no one can figure out how the place can have so much food available at such a cheap price. My theory on the whole thing is that maybe when we think we're eating chicken we really aren't. Have you noticed that there a never any stray dogs and cats running around in Gilmer?

Oklahoma 911 Call

Trouble For Bryce

Bryce got in trouble five of the first six days of school. This includes the first day of school when he got in trouble before class even started.

He also got in trouble the day he went to register for school last year. What a great kid we have.

My Mom's 38!

Jen went to Bryce's Kindergarten class the other day to do a 'Get to know you' presentation for Bryce. Every kids mom or dad has to come in and tell about their child so the class can learn more about them. When Jen got there the teacher had Bryce introduce Jen. He said to the class, "This is my mom. And she's 38!" Everyone thought it was pretty funny and of course it embarrassed Jen but she thought it was funny too.

Living with Jesus

The other day Jen took Bryce to pick Mikayla up from school. Across the street there are some houses. Bryce told Jen that when he gets married he was going to buy one of those houses so his kids could walk to school. He said Mikayla would live there and her kids could walk to school too. Jen asked him, "Where will I live?" and in the most seriouse voice he replied, "Mom, you'll be living with Jesus."

The Vote

It's official. If you check out the results of the poll 12 people think I am awesome and 2 people think I am awesome. It is clear what the people think.

Bryce did Dallas

Bryce begged to go home all day long on Saturday. We spent almost the whole day there. On Sunday all he talked about was how much fun we had and that he wants to do it again. He doesn't get to eat Skittles all day long at home. He must have been going through withdrawals. We had fun and got to hang out with Grandpa, Unlce Buddy, and Jared.

www.lonestarduals.com

Bryce Does Dallas

Bryce and I go to Dallas today to see Grandpa Dodge. Tomorrow we will go to a wrestling tournament. Bryce is looking forward to sleeping in his sleeping bag tonight and eating candy.

Plenty to Spare

Mikayla was asking about grandparents today. She wanted to know who was still alive and who had passed on. She said she never got to meet her Great Grandpa Dodge. We were talking about the how cool it was that she still has grandparents on both sides of the family that love her very much. Then she asked me if my moms parents(Grandma and Grandpa Wiser) had died yet. I told her that they were still alive. She replied with a lot of excitement, "Good, I still have plenty of grandparents to spare!" I wasn't sure how to respond to that so I just laughed really hard.

Mikayla Makes Breakfast

Mikayla made breakfast for the family today. She made muffins from her new cookbook she got for Christmas. Jen helped her make them. Then while we ate she described how to make them. She wants to email everyone the recipe since they tasted so good. Usually when she makes breakfast she brings out a dry and cold piece of toast with a big glob of butter right in the middle. Then you have to smile while you eat it and tell her how good it tastes. This encourages her to do it over and over. We've had a lot of breakfasts with cold and dry pieces of toast. Muffins were a nice change for the day.

Madison Drinks Bottle Backwards

Madison is currently trying to drink her bottle backwards. She reaches underneath the bottle and grabs the bag and then trys to suck the milk out of it. After a few minutes she gets mad and turns it around correctly. I just look at her and tell her to do it right the first time and you won't get so mad. She looks back and says, "Bladifewjfiof."