WHOA!

I’ve had this post ready to go for a while. I guess maybe I’ve been saving it for a special occasion – and now I have one. Hope some of these pics will make you go “WHOA”!


Taylor called and invited Ben, Dub and me to his house for dinner Saturday evening. He said he was going to grill petite filet mignons and steam king crab legs. He’s an excellent cook so we were excited about it. He said Caleb and Isaiah would be there and crab legs are Isaiah’s favorite food.
When we got there, we knew something was up because all three of them were absolutely beaming. Dinner was delicious and as we finished eating, Taylor said “Isiah. Would you like to tell them our news?” Isaiah was grinning from ear-to-ear and blurted out “Taylor asked Dad and me to marry him and we said ‘Yes'” There were smiles and hugs all around. To make a long story short, they asked me to perform the ceremony… Ben to be Caleb’s best man (Alex will be Taylor’s)… and Dub to be their wedding planner. We quickly agreed. There was some discussion about when (and where) the ceremony might take place. Dub was strangely quiet but we could just see the wheels turning in his head. After a while, he said “Everyone will be here for Father’s Day so maybe we could do it then. It could be outside at Hawks nest on Saturday evening and maybe Alex can make the fountains all the colors of the rainbow.” They loved the idea, so, that’s the plan.
The guys told us they’ve been spending almost all their time together since last November and just decided it was time to make it “official.” Isaiah is so excited he’s about to pee down his leg. There’s a lot to get done in the next couple of weeks (bow ties, suspenders, rings, decorations, flowers, music, food etc.) but we’re confident “Dub the wedding planner” will make sure everything is perfect. We’ll keep you posted. xoxo David and Ben

Happy birthday, dear Denny. Happy birthday to you!

Today is Denny’s birthday and we’re raising a toast to our dear friend. Denny. We hope this is your best birthday ever with good health, good food and drink, and cuddles with Dave. It can’t be an accident that your birthday kicks off “Pride Month,” because we know of no one who is a better example of what “Pride” is all about. Have a wonderful day, baby. We love you! Hugs, David and Ben

Putting together a birthday post for Denny is a bit of a problem (albeit a pleasant one) because we have folders and folders of “Denny’s birthday” pics. Then, our friend “Beto” sent us a BIG set of Denny pics. So…
the first 32 pics in this post are from Beto (#s 01 through 032.) The next 15 are from Ben and me (#s 33 through 47) and #48 is from our buddy “Jingle.” Dear one, we hope we’ve managed to gather some pics that will “ring your birthday bell.” 🙂

Dude. “Heads – or – Tails”?

I hadn’t thought about doing another “heads ‘n tails” post so soon, but I ran across two pics of Jingle’s “Allis-Chalmers” dude (pic #01 here) and couldn’t resist. Little shit really like showing off his junk 🙂

David, Dub and I had the quietest Holiday day ever on Monday. We just puttered around the house doing some light chores and relaxing. Rick, Keon and Tra came over Monday evening for dinner and some time in the hot tub but it was just totally laid-back. We’d been on such a frantic pace lately it was wonderful to have a day off with NOTHING that had to be done.
Last Friday was the last day of school so we held our annual awards ceremony. It takes lots of planning and work to get it done. We were delighted that every student had at least one parent or guardian there – and many brought other family members, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Family support is SO important for students.
Saturday, the kids were about to flip out because they were so excited about spending the day on the Lake. So that’s what we did. The WHOLE day… boating, skiing, boarding, tubing, swimming and eating tons of food. Dub, Bella and Chance made sure everyone’s flotation device was on (properly) and we must have gone through gallons of sunscreen.
Then, on Sunday, we had a HUGE Memorial Day get-together at Hawks nest. I’m pretty sure it was our largest holiday group ever. Everyone was there including the grands, all the extended family and our friends. Even Marco and Ms Evelyn (recently returned from Europe) were there. Of course, Nathan, Diana and the twins were there and we’ve never seen two little boys as busy. Jim laughed and said “Now I know what ‘everything everywhere all at once’ means.”
One of the days highlights was the little musical group Silas has put together. It had he, Sage and Brock on guitars, Bella on clarinet, Chad on trumpet and Travon on drums. For a relatively new group, they’re pretty darned good.
We ended the day after dark out by the fountains which Alex had programed to dance to John Philip Sousa’s “The stars and stripes forever.” It was a wonderful day spend with friends, family (and dogs). And, boy. Were we ready for a quiet, relaxing day on Monday. Hope you guys all had excellent holiday weekends. Love you. Ben and David