Obviously

Full-sheet #Yahtzee games are the bomb. Single game hands are for wimps and children.

Designing Smiley's 1st Communion Candle

 

Smiley's new haircut

 

Rupert

Rupert from Survivor fame is now following my Twitter feed. I'm honored - and nervous.

Some Houses in the Neighborhood

On our walks home from school - which are more and more frequent - we pass many beautiful houses. Here's a few of our favorites. 

The first one here is the one Lisa wants me to buy her if I ever win the lottery. 

This next one is off the beaten track (for our walk) but it is GORGEOUS

Finally, my favorite. It has no backyard to speak of and I would miss a porch to read on, but my word is it exquisite. I love this house.

What an Honor!!

The epic Tweet the writers from Psych sent LuLu today as she had her tonsils out!

LuLu's Tonsillectomy

Smiley in a religious play

 Are you on Twitter? Follow me there @DanSlapczynski

Pat Summerall

 RIP Pat Summerall, age 82.

There's a "United We Stand" banner featuring both the Yankee and Sox logos on Yankee Stadium right now . . . "How 'bout them Yankees...Class act. They'll honor Boston tonight with a moment of silence & Fenway favorite "Sweet Caroline" at end of the 3rd." Ya done me proud boys.

GusGus O'ferrson

Follow the ( old, buried) brick road

One if the few childhood memories of the house I live in ( it belonged to my Great Uncle, whom we saw rarely) was a patch of brick road in the neighborhood. It was rare even thirty years ago, and the novelty stuck with me.
Long since paved over, a portion was uncovered during recent street work, and it was worth a quick picture.

Bitter Rain and the loss of a parent at the kid's school

 After I dropped the kids off at school I took the car in for some much needed repairs. Unable to find a ride home, I walked the mile and a half home. The walk wasn't the problem; that honor goes to the pouring rain, the wind and the bitter temperatures. I'm not saying it was the Frozen Chosin, but by the time I arrived home I was soaked to the core, and was so cold that when even as I type this my skin is 'burning' as it warms back up. Misery, sheer misery. What a gawdawful start to the daylight hours.

You know what, now that I've whined about a walk in the rain let me lend some perspective: on Monday the mother of a student at our kids school was murdered by her boyfriend, mere blocks from where her daughter sat in class. I can't imagine what that girl is going through, with an absent father and a mother cruelly taken from her in a mindless act of violence. Our prayers have been with her all week.

 So far in 2013: 21 books, 66 movies.

Dark Skies

Last night I watched "Dark Skies" a thriller/horror movie starring Keri Russell. I found it suspenseful and at times scary. It deserves better than this dull review, but I was up til four watching it and have been up and on the go since seven, so that'll have to do.

 I started the fantasy baseball season at 2-9-1, a RIDICULOUS result stemming from falling a single inning below the arbitrarily created 'minimum # of innings." Give my boys one more inning of work and we would have easily, *easily* taken 3 additional categories, and might have taken or tied a fourth - putting me at 5-5-2. Lesson learned: they're going to try and break The Danny by any means possible. From the ashes of your draconian, self-serving rules, The Slapjacks Shall Rise!

Stations of the Cross March 20th

The review of the Stations of the Cross? Hmm, not good I'm afraid.Smiley did well, carrying off the pivotal role of Simon with skill and emotional weight, but the rest of the cast was lackluster and divorced from the events they portrayed. Apparently Jesus falls only once, and then merely stumbles from that point on, and Mary didn't seem to care one bit about her son dying in front of her. The costumes were good, and Smiley's photo is on the cover of the program, but beyond that I'd grade the whole thing a D-. They ought to be grateful they are only 2nd graders, or it'd be a flat F. ;)

The Mustache Trio

Lord knows why, but a current fad for kids is to don fake mustaches. You can buy 'em just about anywhere now.
Here's three of my kids rocking the fad on February 10th.

 

A trip to the hardware store

With a painting chore at hand, Junie and I went to the hardware store in the old Sears on 14th and Forest Home to grab some supplies. 

 

Hero ( for a minute)

While we wait for the kids to complete their weekly dance lessons we often venture down the road to a thrift shop to pass the time.

On March 21st we took Junie with us before her class,and she fell in love with a rainbow colored stuffed bunny holding a basket containing two smaller animals.

Alas she put it down in the store and it for lost. Frantic searches for it failed to find it and she left in tears.
Something told me to go back inside and look again. A few minutes later I found it and received the biggest smile and hug a Daddy ever got.

I was her  hero, at least for the moment.

Some Easter Pics

YaYa gets her hair dyed

On March12th Lisa took YaYa to get her hair cut and dyed. The end result was funky but admittedly a little mature; dark dark brown with a streak of light blonde in front.
It was original enough that it generated a ten minute phone call from her Catholic school principal, but the hair remains :)

Winter's Beauty