Emmalee does the The-Blue-Slide-is-Totally-Awesome dance.

Just for Daddy

My daughter created this work of art and gave it to me for Father's day.

The picture goes into a "create-a-mug" which is a plastic mug that holds paper or other decorations to make a custom mug.

She pulled the kitchen stool out to the garage, and studied her mom's Magna. Mine was not available for modeling since I had ridden it to work. She carefully copied the myriad of tubes and wires that comprise the engine.



You can see the detail on the tank including the Honda Flying Wing logo.



She embellished the "A" in "HONDA" to give it wings as well.



And the wheels are stylized with an idea of her own ... holes instead of spokes.



The only trouble with this whole arrangement was that after she had created this masterpiece she could hardly contain herself. She could barely hold back giving it to me right away, and it was only Tuesday.

Her conversations drifted toward hints about my gift. She casually engaged me in conversation about my Harley mug at work. She knew that folks see the mug and ask me about my Harley, only to discover that I don't have (nor want, at present) a Harley.

This line of questioning and conversation let me know what she had done for me, but we waited until Sunday for the unveiling. She was so happy to present it to me.

I haven't taken it to work, wanting to post this blog entry about it first. She sees it on my desk at home and asks, "When are you going to take it to work? Are you still drinking from your Harley mug?"

Illustrations

John's project during church - a mini etch a sketch drawing of Calvary. He also built a Lego version of it too. It's the John version of staying engaged with the lesson.

Summer tradition?

A motorcycle ride, first to church, then to the park in Fortville

Emmalee finds the deepest part of the stream

John looks for crawdads In the creek

Mulberry Stained fingers

John picks mulberries at the park

Emmalee, John and Daddy play at the park on a sunny Sunday. The rain caught us later on the motorcycles on the way home. We only got a little damp though, and it only added to the adventure

Happy Father's Day

Another John illustration ... for Father's Day. The motorcycle is wonderfully detailed ... and yes, it is launching vertically. It hit the ramp and is now flying straight up.

I love the rider, tongue out, helmet flying off.



This picture has what seems to be a signature of John's illustrations, the bird flying overhead, surveying the scene, wondering what is going on.


And there's a wonderful expression on this dude's face. The thought balloon requires some explanation.



The story goes, I bought an after-market seat for my motorcycle, because the stock seat hurt my back. I was looking for something with low back support.

When I bought the new seat, Carolyn asked, "Does it give you the low back support that you were looking for?"

I said, "It does. Well, really, it's more 'upper butt support' than 'low back support'..."

The kids, hearing this conversation, laughed aloud. Whenever we talk about motorcycles, motorcycle seats, riding motorcycles with a passenger, riding motorcycles with luggage, riding motorcycles long distances .. whenever that stuff comes up ... we invariably get a laugh about "Upper Butt Support".

John worked that into his illustration.



He was drawing the motorcycle, and Carolyn noticed he was drawing a Harley-Davidson logo on the tank. She gently suggested, "You know, Daddy actually probably prefers Hondas to Harleys..."

John gave it some serious thought, and said, "No, I want to draw what I want to draw."

Carolyn said, "Okay."

Gotta love that independent spirit. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Space: 1888

I'm no cartoonist although I really enjoy the single-panel cartoon format of cartoons like "Far Side", "Speed Bump", "Bizarro", etc.

I've been enjoying watching that 70's era science fiction TV servies "Space: 1999" with the kids. Reliving my own childhood.

I dreamt up a goofy spinoff concept -- combining space and time travel. "Space: 1888".

I drew a space-faring donkey pulling a conestoga wagon.

I showed it to John. It won't win any awards, but watching John's face when I presented it to him was priceless.

I deadpanned it. A completely serious, expressionless look on my face as I showed it to him. His eyes fell on the picture, then went back to my face -- hoping my expression would give him a clue. He studied the picture some more, then back to my face again. 3 times.

He wasn't sure what to make of it.

Finally his face broke into a broad grin. He laughed uproariously.

"I like it!" he said.

Liberty County Courthouse

The old county courthouse at Liberty. On Liberty's town square was a Father's Day Car Show, which enticed us to stop as we returned from our camping trip.

Father's Day Car Show

The monster truck was popular with the kids, who liked being able to stand up underneath the body of the truck.

Car Show

John admires the motor on a shiny black Mustang.

Hueston Woods

The stately State Park lodge at Hueston Woods. We didn't stay at the lodge but the kids did enjoy touring it; it's an impressive building. John wanted to climb the beams inside and out of the massive A frame.

John and Emmalee pose by the lodge at Hueston Woods. We camped after this year's family reunion.

Happy day. Summer at Dairy Queen.

Dessert

Pickles and whipped cream for dessert. the fact that it grossed out the parents made it all the more appealling.

This was our "new" camper on its way home one cloudy day in April. We stopped by Aunt Carrie's because she'd been good enough to take Emmalee while I transacted business with the owner of the camper - who happened to live just a couple miles away. It's a new and exciting chapter in our lives - full of hope, possibilities and newfound freedom. It's a very happy day.

The camper has already seen its first trip with us to Turkey Run. It was just as much of an escape and as full of the thrill of a new frontier as we'd hoped. John's quote about Turkey Run was "I've been looking all my life for a place I'd like to stay all my life, and this is it."

And this is only the beginning...

Emmalee loves her Daddy.

John worked hard to create "Extreme Hopscotch". It's hopscotch, combined with a maze, combined with pools of lava and deep holes into the earth. The red you can see is the lava. The hopscotch maze extends far beyond this picture. He created it on the driveway at our friend's home. All the other kids thought it was the coolest!

Ice Cream

Chalk drawings by the kids, of themselves, buying ice cream from the ice cream truck. they can hear the music from a mile away.

Uncle Chris

Uncle Chris comes for a visit.

Guinnea pig damage

Emmalee's guinnea pig nibbled into the power cord of the kids' computer. luckily she was stopped before doing any harm to herself. and fortunately we had a spare power cord.

Back Yard

John helps Emmalee climb the shed.

Good friends.

Emmalee and her friend Rachel at a roller skating party.

Thrill of the climb

John and Emmalee enjoy the thrill of the climb.

John and Emmalee on the suspension bridge at Turkey Run.

Ready to hike

Sprinkles of rain don't dampen our spirits. we hit the muddy trails at Turkey Run State Park. within one hundred yards of our camp we found ravines and waterfalls and gorges. John said it was the awesomest thing he'd ever seen.

John is pretty excited.

Emmalee does a happy dance of her own.

Emmalee and John explore the chasms at Turkey Run.

John fixes s'mores after the 4 mile hike.

Maiden voyage of the 'Dancing Queen'

Here's the truck and trailer on their maiden voyage. the trailer swings and sways at highway speeds . . something we haven't fixed yet. in the mean time i suppose 'dancing queen' is a good name for the camper. at least til she stops shaking and shimmying.

John's class visited the landfill in Indianapolis, which has its own six acre greenhouse - heated through the winter by burning methane gas from the landfill. Great lessons in recycling!

John gives his speech on Nixon.

John's Big Speech

John's big presentation on Richard Nixon. He chose to profile Nixon because he gave NASA a billion dollars to start the space shuttle program.

There is no cure

Danger, motorcycle fever. there is no cure.

That's one way to say it

Conversation with John:

JR (subdued) - "I feel like fuzzy pickles and cheese flowers."

Mom - "What do you mean by that?"

JR - "I'm not in a very good mood. I don't feel good. I'm just cranky."

Fish face

At the doctor's office, Emmalee tries on a fish puppet as though it were a mask.