Other Stuff That Happened in February

What's up, readers.

Soooooo this month was creepy.  60-degree weather half the time, barely any snow, raining like April.  Definitely a far-cry from February of 2016 (or, as it was referred to back then, Hothtember.)  A lesser man might be so inclined as to blame this somehow on carbon emissions, ecological negligence, and mankind's over-dependency on unsustainable fossil fuels.

But hey, Donald Trump says Climate Change is a hoax, so I guess this is just one of those natural, Earth cycles we're experiencing.

. . . .

Anyway, here's February.

Starting off, here's a really clean picture of our family basement.  'Cause our kids clean up after themselves.

This was from a couple weeks ago, when Cindy took Abby shopping at the Midland Mall (while Dad and I were out questing for vinyl.)

This year, for St. Patrick's Day, BP and I once again decided to run in the Clare Irish Fest 5K.  I asked Kris if she wanted to run this year with us, and she hesitantly agreed to it.  The training for the 5k posed a problem, though: what with our work schedules being what they are, multiple girl scout meetings per week, and an ongoing house quest to top it all off, finding the time for the two of us to run every evening was next to impossible.  In order to make training easier - and more convenient for us - we decided to buy a well-rated treadmill online, so that we could run at home and not have to worry about someone watching the kids.  This way we could squeeze 30-minute runs in any time, and all while watching Netflix - which is awesome.  Plus, we could both stand to be in somewhat better shape, since 40 is on the horizon and all.

The weekend Kris and Alayna were away at Girl Scout Camp (or whatever it was called, I don't know - I'm not privy to that information), Abby constructed a fort in the living room to sleep in.  Surprisingly enough she made it both nights in the living room without getting scared.

Some 'valentines' Abby made for Kris and Alayna while they were away.  I don't think she has a future at Hallmark.

I took Abby out to Applebee's for dinner once Dad and Cindy had left for Clare, and while we waited for our food Abby played around on one of the restaurant's interactive tablets that's available at all of their tables now.  Since there was no pricing information located anywhere in the menus, I assumed it was free. . . 'cause I'm an idiot.  Once I got the bill, I saw that the restaurant had charged us for the use of the tablet.  It wasn't much, but it was still enough to piss me off.

Indulging in an ice cream sundae. . . of which she she only ate half.  Same with her entre, and her side.  At least I was good enough to finish my Bell's Two Hearted. . .

Another shot of Abby's weekend quarters.

Alayna and Kris returned Sunday, and that evening Alayna had to decorate a cereal box into a Valentine's Day box (the holiday fell on the Tuesday of the coming week, so we were short on time.)

She decorated the box herself, and her overall 'theme' (if a third-grader could be credited with having one) was 'emojis.'

(I didn't draw any of these.)

Back at the Roll Arena, for a Valentine's Day field trip.  I offered to chaperone Alayna's third grade class, because since 2007 - my first year of teaching - I have sworn off teaching on Valentine's Day (middle schoolers are hormonal enough on a regular school day, thank you very much.)  Anyway, while we were there, Alayna spent very little time actually skating (shocking, I know), and instead quested for tickets in the arcade section.  She tried her luck at this particular game, which players somehow inflate the balloon and try and get it to pop. These things are usually a scam, but Alayna actually won 335 tickets from it by popping the balloon.

From that point forward, Alayna couldn't walk far without some random 8- or 9-year-old approaching her and asking her 'how to play the game.'  I'd call her 'Ticketmaster,' but that'd be mean:  I haven't yet forgiven them for price gouging in the early 2000s.  I'll hold a grudge, folks.

Having a healthy snack at the snack bar.

Okay, she did get out there once.  Baby steps, folks.  Baby steps.

I have no idea where, when or why this picture was taken.  It's weird and I'm a little uncomfortable about so many things in this picture going unanswered.  All I do know is that the woman in the background there sure is enjoying the hell out of her food.

Checking out a 'care package' from grandparents.

Part Valentine's Day, Part St. Patrick's Day.  It's easier this way.

This may be the creepiest thing I've ever found in Alayna's backpack. . .

Nobody ever believes us when we tell them our dog is one of the laziest animals they'll ever meet.  Usually, when Watson's around company or other dogs, he's wound up and barking, or otherwise in people's business, trying to be pet.  This, more or less, is how my kids behave when they're in 'show off' mode around extended family, so maybe the dog's just behaving like the girls. . .  or the girls are just behaving like the dog.  Who knows.  Either way, it's annoying.

When you're married to Col. Brian J. Hough, ladies, every day is Valentine's Day.

One of Alayna's BFFs, Madi, invited a small, select group of kids over to her house for a sleepover for her birthday party.  Her mom was nice enough to send Kris pictures as the night progressed, which included a lot of games, crafts, and activities for the kids to do.

Kris has entertained the idea of having a few of Alayna's closest friends over for something similar when it comes time to celebrate Alayna's birthday.  The bar has definitely been raised, though.

Some dog, begging for popcorn.

Some other dog, begging for popcorn.

- Brian

Northern Lanes (feat. Smitty and Rita)

Hi gang.

It had been awhile since Kris and I had hung out with other adults (outside of work), so Kris and I decided it was time to not be lame today.  Or at least not as lame as we usually are (we do have kids, and that lame-ifies things considerably.)  We invited Smitty and Rita out to our neck of the woods in order to do some bowling, which is a solid activity of us because a.) it keeps the kids busy, and b.) provides enough downtime between frames for us adults to have a few drinks and catch up on what's been going on in other mid-30's people's equally lame lives.

. . . and just in case you were curious, no, Kris and I have not improved our bowling game.  Not in the slightest.  Despite the use of bumpers.

Behold:

The first joint we checked out was out on Bay Road in Midland - I forget the name of the joint, off the top of my head - but it was booked solid with League bowlers, so we were forced to backtrack all the way to Northern Lanes (near Sanford) in order to snag a lane.

Like last time, at first the girls demanded the use of a ramp to help them get the ball down the lane, but after a frame or two, they both opted to do it themselves. . . with mixed results.

Smitty's just about as shitty at this as we are.

Abby's hungry (and maybe a little racist.)

We ordered a few pitchers and a pizza upon arriving, so a half an hour in or so the grub came out (which we fell upon like a pack of wolves.)

I'm not sure if this is considered good form or not.  To me, it looks like I'm trying to shank a drifter in a hobo fight over a can of Spam.

As you can see by my epic three-pin take-down, I'm not much of a bowler.

Late in the game - and evening - as evident by Abby's body completely shutting down on us, as shown here. . .

. . . and here.

Probably a safe bet none of us are going to end up in a League any time soon. . .

- Brian

Kick Out the Jams, Motherf***ers!

Alright Internet, let's do this.

You guys should know by now that Yours Truly has a soft spot for Vinyl.

I've been collecting it for over a decade now and have amassed a pretty extensive collection (much to my wife's ever-growing dismay), even despite the many purges I've done along the way (I'm at about 600 now- titles, not individual LPs - which is down from the 800 I had when we moved.)

Well, it had been a long, long time since I had the opportunity to attend a local Record Convention (I think since December of 2006, if you can believe that), and my realtor had informed me last week of one that was taking place in Bay City this weekend.

Record Conventions, for those of you unfamiliar with them, are comprised of various vinyl collectors who band together, rent out a VFW hall (or the like), and sell off their wares to nerdy record collectors for their appraised value (according to sites like Discogs, which I use religiously these days.)

I myself am just such a nerdy record collector, so I was definitely gung-ho about this happening in my relative backyard (opposed to frickin' Detroit, where I attended my last one.)

I mentioned this Record Convention business to my Dad and he expressed interest in going, so early this morning he and Cindy swung by the house so that Cindy could watch Abby for the morning/afternoon while Dad and I went shopping.  Kris was out of town at a Girl Scouts camping trip with Alayna, somewhere downstate, so Cindy offered to take Abby shopping with her at the Midland Mall, get some lunch, and otherwise keep her occupied while Dad and I were away.

Definitely appreciated.  Have you ever tried shopping with little kids?  It's horrifying.

Anyway, at the end of the day, Dad and I both walked away with some impressive hauls, and are already counting down the days until next year's convention.

Check it out. . .

Supposedly the convention started at 10am, so Dad and I made sure we made it there about 10 - 15 minutes early in order to get to the front of the line.  When we pulled into the parking lot of the venue (some Masonic Hall), there was no line, so Dad and I walked in and saw that there were already people perusing the wares.  Not a ton of people, so we were relieved (we didn't want all the good stuff picked through before we got there.)

Radio Wasteland Records, my new favorite record shop, was one of the sponsors of the convention.

Admission cost a buck apiece, and you were automatically entered into a drawing.  In a grand stroke of luck, Yours Truly actually WON the first drawing. . . probably the first time I've won any drawing ever, come to think of it.  I got to choose a gift certificate from a list of local record vendors (from Bay City, Saginaw, Midland, Flint), so I chose Radio Wasteland, seeing how it's the closest.  It only ended up being for $5, but Dad and I planned on heading there anyway once we were finished with the Convention.  To the Victor got the Spoils.

I should mention that I took none of these pictures at this convention whatsoever:  I merely lifted them from the Convention's Facebook feed.  I was too busy questing for vinyl to bother with taking pictures, so I just used someone else's instead (consider that your legal disclaimer, photographers.)  If you look closely, you can see Dad over the left shoulder of the bearded dude, shown here.

And here we have Yours Truly, perusing through a seller's inventory (if memory serves correct this lady had a pretty solid collection, in great shape, and was practically giving it away - I ended up buying about a third of my day's score from her alone.)

Dad, again, in the blue shirt, at center.

. . . and directly to the left of this dude's thumb.  Dad ended up chatting it up with his old college buddy, Brian, for the last hour or so we were there while I continued hitting up different vendors, but by about 11:30am we were done.  I had spent over my allotted budget already, and we still had one stop left. . .

As I previously discussed with you guys, this place just opened up in Midland about a month ago, and it has some pretty decent prices.  Dad wanted to check it out, and I now had a $5 gift certificate to burn, so we stopped in on our way back to the house (fortunately I avoided being in front of a TV news crew this time around.)

Our timing was great, too:  they had a 3-for-1 sale going on in the $1 Bins.  Usually garbage, but if you have the patience to leaf through them you can often find some looked-over gems hidden away in there.  I ended up dropping an additional $14 or so on records, some from the dollar bins and some from the general shelves, but I walked away with a hefty stack thanks to the sale and the gift certificate.  I love this store.

My haul from today.  Once home, Dad and I took turns listening to some of our new acquisitions; cleaning them up, entering them in on Discogs (they have a database app that helps you maintain, price, and value your collection - it's incredibly handy), and otherwise nerding out over them.  I ended up scoring 33 LPs (some of them double- or triple-LPs, but those you still count as one, folks) for a mere $102.  And some of those were mint, still sealed - not too shabby, if you ask me.

About a half an hour or so into our record listening/cleaning/databasing, Cindy and Abby returned from the Mall.  She had taken her out shopping to various stores while she clothing shopped, and was nice enough to pick her up a few things, including that white, plush tiger you see there (and as you know, our girls are obsessed with those stupid things.) 

Dad and Cindy left shortly afterwards, and Abby and I eventually went out to eat for dinner (a treat for her, seeing how Kris and Alayna were away at Girl Scout Camp.)  Before we left, Abby wanted to take a picture of her day's score next to my day's score, so here you go:  a bug-eyed, plush tiger rocking out to The Kinks. 

- Brian