Horseshoes

Me and my buddies have started playing horseshoes over at a nearby park. Brian and I have been a team the last several times and Steve has had rotating team members. The last time Brian got 21 (what we need to win the game) and still had a horseshoe to throw, so he threw it about 3 feet in front of him. Well, Craig tossed his and landed on top of Brian and they won the game. Epic win (in our world).

Last night we went out to play and Brian's father-in-law joined Team Unwin. It was a hard fought battle all along. We had the lead for the first half and then they came back strong. Had us 16-11. Brian preceded to drop 2 ringers and put us up. There was also this 6 year old boy there that kept taunting Steve. Man did we laugh at that. Even when Steve got points and I didn't he told me I did a good job. It threw Steve quite a bit actually. We called the kid Allen. :)

We needed 2 points to win the game; it was my turn. I started to giggle and Steve couldn't figure out why until I threw my first shoe. I tossed it 3 feet infront of me. He said, "Is that really your throw?" I told him that I was quite confident in my abilities and went on. Well, with only 1 toss left, and it was getting very dark at the time too, I tossed it, hit the pole, sparks flew (literally) and it was a ringer to win the game!

I tweeted about it and told Steve I thought it was worthy of a blog to. So there you have it. A horseshoe moment we will tell our Grand kids about someday.

Who are the friendliest people you know?

I had an experience the other night that got me thinking about friendly people. I have come up with a list of 3.
1. Disc Golfers.
2. Geocachers.
3. People in a bar.

The other night I went out with a few friends and we had been talking about finding a good place to play horseshoes. Brian had seen that there was a horseshoe tournament at a looking watering hole. We were not able to do that, but they have $1 cheeseburger nights on Tuesdays. So we made a plan. We were going to get cheap burgers and play horseshoes.

 We showed up and there were a few people there and sure enough it was $1 cheeseburger Tuesday! We found a spot outside on a picnic table and made our order. We were still missing our fourth so we just waited for our food and would play after we ate. Then two guys come out and asked if we wanted to play. Steve and Brian started. These guys were super nice. It may have something to do with the liquid content of their glasses, I don't know. But we played. I subbed in half way through for Brian and we beat them pretty badly. Our food came, but they wanted a rematch after we ate.

Good food was consumed and we joined back to our game. We beat them again and Jeff quit. Rob still wanted to play. I said Brian could be his teammate but he had other plans. A ringer! The guy was pretty good. Steve played and Craig jumped in (about time he showed up) and it was back and forth. They had the lead on us 16-13 or something like that. I jumped in and hit a ringer and I think we were up at 19-18 (although in all three games there was a lot of adding one to their score and subtracting one from ours...haha) but then Billy, the new guy, hit a ringer to end it. All in all it was a really good time.

After the final game Brian, Steve, Craig and I sat down as Craig finished his dinner and just chatted. Billy sat at the table behind us with his wife. His wife asked us if this is what normal guys do. We wondered what she meant. She said, "Sit down, eat, play together and talk?" We said, "Yes." She couldn't figure it out. She asked us if we had girls or if we were together (not sure what she meant) and we laughed and told her we were happily married and all had kids. She couldn't understand. "So you aren't here to find a girl?" "NO! We are very, very happy with our wives!" She said, "You guys are the perfect guys! I can't believe you exist." That made me a bit sad, but was also thankful we could be "different" in an out of place spot for us and still not be a bad different.

It was a fun experience and these people were super nice. It made me wonder about church. Do those of us who go to church extend a friendly hand and start up conversations with people or are we too comfortable in our pew seats to say anything? Hmmmm. I think we may have something to learn from our friends at the bar. I think I will have to share my disc golfing experience here n the next few posts too. It's pretty good.

Oh, back to the game for a second. These guys who were so nice and friendly, had "an agenda." We laughed with them a lot, and Rob tried to get us to sign up for the Elks club! He said there are so many old guys that are dieing that they need young guys in there. I said, "What do you have to do to be an Elk, what does that mean?" He said, "Do you believe in God?", "Yes I do!", "Do you believe in the American flag?" "Yes I do." "That's pretty much it. You need a proposer (sponsor). I don't know you guys that well, but I will be your proposer." He had applications in his car for us!

Haha...I am not sure the "cheap drinks, food, great horse shoe pits and shuffle board" are enough to draw me in. Wait, great horse shoe pits?

Vaca Day 2

Day 2 is pretty much wrapped up. Another great day, with a little more sunscreen than yesterday. Haha. Today we visited some friends who were staying at Thousand Trails in Sun River about 25 minutes away. It was hotter today too. I love the heat. I love the sun! Some days I think I should be living in a bit more tropical part of the world, but I really love Oregon.

 Rodney and I played 18 holes. I was doing great until the "back 9." I totally blew it on hole 11. 8 shots to get the dumb ball to go to its home. "Are you too good for your home?"

 Then we played some horseshoes. I love horseshoes!

 The kids spent some time at the pool during the putt putt game.

 They have a cool little "village" that is in the style of an old cowboy/gunslinger town including a jail.

 Karston makes a perfect "classic" jailer who falls asleep on the job.

 On the way back we passed a cool "lava pit" where you could see this amazing lava rock everywhere.

We then hit the town. Bend has all the typical stores that any town would have (grocery store, book stores, Target, etc.) but it also has these awesome old towne style stores all over. We parked right next to a Lotus and came back to a BMW M3 in it's place.

 Karston petted the animals...

 I found money in this poor guys wallet.

 Good thing, because they have an AMAZING candy store here. I think we may have spent a little too much at this place (not my fult...they had black licorice!)

We concluded our visit to old towne with some yummy pizza. I wish every store had a sign like this. It is so annoying to watch people completely not engage with the people who are serving them when they go to buy something at a store. That should have been on my rant blog. haha.

We headed back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and hot tub and then for evening games. Another great day of vacation. I could do this more often.

Where do you vacation?

What do you love to do while on vacation?

Do you have a dream place to go on vacation that you have never been to yet?

Turn-Style Pain...Steve's birthday

This weekend we celebrated my friend Steve's birthday. He loves the outdoors and wanted to do something outside instead of going to dinner and a movie. So we played tennis, horseshoes and bocce ball. (yes, I know we sound old....haha) All fun to play with these guys. Brian, Steve, Boyd and I indulged in the wonderful day that hit 75 degrees!!! It's almost November people. I love Oregon! Anyhow, at the tennis courts is one of those turn-style things you can come in but can't go out of.

I told Steve he should try and lay on one of the bars and we could turn him and squeeze him through. He told me I should do it. So I did. Weird, usually I am the one who convinces others to do stuff like that. Well, then my "friend" Brian decided he would be the one to turn me, except when he got to the point where my butt didn't quite fit he pulled and pushed and pulled and pushed some more. Back and forth a bunch of times. It hurt, but I was laughing so hard because I wish it was me doing that. I would think it was really funny if I was on the other end of the pain.

Here is a little video of that fun moment. There are also some pics from the rest of the day too.

Top Things

I love the end of the year when they go through all the top 100 songs/videos/movies/etc. I am a total "Top Whatever" junkie. You could put "Top" in front of anything on TV and I would probably watch it. I love seeing what the top rated TV shows according to Nielsen is every week and looking at the top 10 grossing movies in the theaters every week. There is something about it. I guess I like to see when someone wins? I like it when someone does well in something.

Today I read an article about "top" things. I loved it.
 * Number one car color sold: white
* Number one most sold item at Wal-Mart: bananas
* Number one sold potato chip in the world: Lay's
* Number one sold cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios

Want to see the rest of the article? Check out these top things.

I have top things (although they fluctuate with my moods at times)
Favorite place to eat: Chipotle or Moe's
Favorite meal: Steak, crab legs and shrimp
Favorite Reality Shows: Amazing Race & Survivor
Favorite Gadget: iPhone
Favorite Band: Bon Jovi
Favorite TV shows: 24, Lost, The Mentalist, Community, The Office, Friday Night Lights
Favorite Books: Bible, Made to Stick , Just Walk Across the Room , Almost any Ted Dekker book, The Life You've Always Wanted
Favorite musical styles: Country, Pop, Hip-Hop, Old School rock,
Favorite free time activity: SURF
Favorite thing to do with friends: Horseshoes
Favorite thrill activity: Skydiving
Favorite  iPhone apps: Words with Friends, RunKeeper, HR Battle, Foursquare, Twitter, Angry Birds, Sportacular, 5-0 Radio, Flashlight, ohhhh, too many!
Favorite Family Activity: Board games and bike rides
Favorite Board Games: Moods, Quelf,
Favorite Card Games: 7 Down, Mao, Phase 10, Hand and Foot
 Favorite thing I don't have, but want: iPad

Do you have a list of favorites? Why don't you copy and paste this list and put your own answers in (feel free to add or subtract from the list)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has passed us by already, but I thought I would write a post on it anyhow. This is a holiday that has typically included out West Coast Orphan family (which has included Jennifer G this past year. She joined us from the ATL and we are so happy to have her in the family). As is usual, we get together in the afternoon and hang out until the bird is ready.

This year we hosted and that meant we ere cooking the turkey. I was pretty excited about that. Jeanne-Ann has always made an amazing turkey and I was excited to cut the turkey. As we sat down to feast on this incredible display of food I looked around the room and realized how good I have it.

Let me tell you what I see. I have an incredible wife who loves me dearly and who is an amazing mother. I see my four children and I am in awe of how well God has treated me. They are each so unique and gifted. We laugh. We cry. We argue (we are not perfect). We struggle. We work hard to find peace. We play a lot. We tickle. We eat together. This is a family I can not imagine being without.

I see friends who have become family. Friends who get me. Whom I get. They have kids that love my kids and my kids love theirs. I see memories. I see future. I see a knowing glance when someone needs help with something. I see the excitement of a first child after thinking none may ever come. I see a Coke shared. A wrestle through a transition. Learning the Cha Cha Slide at the Crab Shack for the first time. Being compared by former students. I hear the clang of horseshoes and the sound of trash talk in my ear. I smell the many meals shared. History.

I am thankful. It's not just on this day, but it's every day. I am not thankful enough. Often enough. But I am thankful in this moment. As I sit here and reflect on that day. I am thankful.

I am thankful for all the pie. It's become a bit of a crazy tradition. We are never sure who is showing up for pie, so we have plenty. I mean plenty! Wanna come over? Thankfully the Mann's have carried on the tradition to join us for this time.

Kynzi's Pie

What are you thankful for?

There is always some sort of entertainment worthy of the cover charge.
This year Karston and Noah did a cover of I Love Rock n' Roll.

Yes, my children have figured out how to use our iPhones!
Haak changed my ringtone, calls people regularly and knows how to open the train app.

Bedtime stories are perhaps my favorite part of the day. So thankful Mercy could join us.

This is not how you get 3 two+ year olds to sleep.