Happy (belated) birthday, Sandy!

As is typical, Evan's mom simply couldn't get a card and gift sent in time for Aunt Sandy's birthday. In an attempt to appease her, Evan and his mom created this rather unpolished, but heartfelt, birthday greeting.

It was good while it lasted

Now I understand why the instructions for the our new patio-gazebo-thingy cautioned that it should not be used during high winds or rain.

BEFORE:




AFTER:






Proof again that you get what you pay for. It wasn't a huge investment, but we hoped it would last through the summer. With this spring's repeated torrential downpours, that was too much to ask.

First fishing foray

To finish up the Memorial Day weekend, Evan and I decided to tackle fishing, spent a little time visiting with the pet snake, and enjoyed our first annual visit to Zesto's.

Click the pic for more photos:

Memorial Day weekend 2007

Red Slobster

It's Memorial Day weekend and we're sticking close to home. We've managed to partake in a good deal of entertainment already.



We started the holiday weekend with a Friday night baseball game between the Saltdogs and Ft. Worth Cats. Evan got some up close and personal attention from Homer, the Saltdogs' mascot who sat down in the seat next to Evan for some high fives and hugs. Mom caught an ice cream sandwich thrown to the upper deck. And as we were leaving the game in the sixth inning, Mom heard a weird thump as we made our way to our car -- a foul ball had landed in the parking lot. So it was an excellent ball game night.

Saturday morning, Evan attended a birthday party at the skating rink. He had a great time and his dad even got out on the rink and showed Evan how skating was done back in the day -- maybe a little roller disco?

Here in our landlocked state, fresh seafood isn't on most people's plates. We decided to try the local Red Slobster (as Evan called it) for a change of pace and thought Evan might like it. He stuck to Kraft macaroni and cheese instead of seafood, but I'll commend the chain for serving it with applesauce and steamed vegetables. The wait staff also treated Evan right by bringing him a Shirley Temple that was 50% maraschino cherries. The parental unit's dinners were fine, but I don't think we'll add RL to our list of favorite dining spots.



Sunday, Evan's mom spent a little time sorting through family photographs that were in Grandpa Rog's collection. The plan is to scan and document the photos so that our family members can have copies. Check out some samples on the Picasa web album site. It'll be a big project, but a nice way to share the photos that many of us have never seen before.

Tonight we grilled pork chops and Evan complained this his had "bristle," a.k.a 'gristle," which lead me to share with him the breaking news of an eleven year old boy that bagged an 1050 lb. wild boar. Now that's a piece of pork that might carry some bristle/gristle.

Blue Dome Arts Festival art cars

Friday evening we had dinner in Tulsa and then checked out the annual Mayfest event. Traffic is blocked off downtown and artisans, musicians and food vendors fill the streets.



The Blue Dome Art Festival was also going on, and we came across an exhibition of art cars. The Blue Dome District in Tulsa is named for a unique gas station located downtown on what was Route 66. Click below to check out some of these really amazing and amusing vehicles.

Catalina wildfires

Just last week, we made our reservations for a trip to Southern California at the end of July. Evan's Grandpa Rog requested that his ashes be scattered in Santa Monica Bay and his memorial has been scheduled for July 28. After gathering with our family and friends, we'll spend a few days in Venice and Santa Monica, followed by a day at Disneyland. And to wrap up our trip, we booked two nights on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of SoCal.

So it was disheartening to learn that wildfires have burned 4,000 acres on the small island and threatened the resort town of Avalon where we'll be staying.

Catalina Island: Avalon - Casino Webcam

Micro-soccer league game four

Evan scored the Gators' only goal yesterday. Unfortunately, they lost the match. But fun was had by all.

He likes it! Hey, Mikey!

Big news! Willie the Wiggler (aka "the Whizzer") enjoyed his first meal in captivity this weekend!

I told Evan that we'd have to let the garter snake go if he didn't eat. Last week, we left a defrosted pinkie (baby mouse) in his food bowl for a couple of days, but he didn't touch it. Then, it was suggested that we try to tempt the snake by moving the meal around as if it were live prey. Evan wiggled a second, freshly defrosted pinkie with a pair of tweezers -- and Willie ended up biting Evan's knuckle. But the second strike was successful and Willie scarfed down the tasty morsel.

Evan says, "I guess we can keep him!"

Madalyn, Evan's playmate from next door says, "Girls don't like snakes."

Evan's aunt Carla proves Madalyn wrong.

new bike, old bike

new bike, old bike

Yep, Evan was definitely outgrowing the old red bike.

Hardcore

Saturday afternoon, we attended the dedication ceremony for the new Jamaica Trail, south of town. The festivities included music by a local steel band group made up of high school students, mardi gras beads and lots of sunshine.

Afterwards, we took a little family ride on the trail and through a small stretch of Wilderness Park. Poor Evan was spinning his legs as fast as he could and it was apparent that he had definitely outgrown his first bike (as he proudly calls it, the "Gary Fisher Gamma Ray"). On the way home, we stopped by the very cool Recyle bike shop on South Street. Though they have a lot of neat vintage bikes, there wasn't anything exactly Evan's style. Well, he did make us check out a rockin' Stingray style with metallic flecked banana seat.

Scott ?) at Recycle did give us the name of an older gentleman who buys used bikes and repairs them, so we got a sweet deal on a 5-speed 20" with front shocks and hand brakes. Evan is also stoked on the kickstand and water bottle cage.

No doubt dad will start training him for the kids' class mountain bike series.

Evan and Emory

Evan and one of his friends, Emory, were tenacious in there attempt to win the musical walk game. It took about 10 rounds, but they both finally won.

Fun night

Friday evening the weather cleared just in time to enjoy the Holmes Elementary School Fun Night. At least, I think Evan and his dad had fun. Mom was a volunteer and had a little bit less fun.

Evan's first second cousin

We forgot to announce the newest addition to the Kelley clan:

Maggie Grace was born to Evan's cousin, Heather, on Friday, March 16, 2007. She's quite the cutie and we're anxious to go meet her in Tulsa.

All together now: "Aaaaahhhhh"

(Maggie's the one on the right).

Uncle DK's a punk rocker

Wednesday night's show at Duffy's wasn't an all ages event, so Evan had to stay home. And since we didn't have a babysitter, Dad had to stay home, too. But Mom did get to go out and she and Evan's Aunt Carla got to play like groupies and witness the reunion of the DK'd Willies. Three members of the original early 80's band: Uncle Daniel, Bill Bored, and Eric Peterson, kicked out the jams with buddy Brooke Taylor on vocals and the next generation -- DK Jr. (Daniel's son Damon)-- filling in on guitar. It was loud, it was punk, and the crowd was appreciative. The DKW even inspired a small contingent of able-bodied youngsters to mosh. I'm sure Evan would have loved to see his cousin on stage and his uncle drumming up a storm in his boxer shorts (you had to be there).

It was also great to see Heidi Ore and Jon Taylor's band, Domestica, play last night. Oh, to be 28 again.

For more video from the DKW show (don't expect much in the way of sound or video quality), go to YouTube.

meet the Willie the Wiggler

Snake #3

Evan's dad came home from his Saturday morning bike ride with a treasure for Evan. He found this nice-sized garter snake on the trail in Wilderness Park, secured him in a plastic bag recycled from a trash can, and peddled home with his catch in his jersey pocket. Oh boy.

He's a feisty fellow and we'll see if he eats any better than the last two snakes (#1 was let free, #2 died in captivity). We made a trip to PetCo last night after work to pick up some tasty frozen pinkies (baby mice).

Thanks a lot, Dad.

Soccer-to-me

Evan started playing YMCA micro-soccer this month and seems to really enjoy it. For a kid who is really into reptiles, it was a stroke of luck to be assigned to the Gators (although Evan said it would be better to be on a team named the Snakes). He's a speedy guy and has a natural talent for staying on the ball. He's played t-ball for the past two summers and is signed up again this year, but I think soccer's activity level is a better match for Evan.

And he scored his first goal on Sunday. Woohoo, Evan!

Easter

Easter was a little chilly this year, hence the corduroys and fleece. At least we didn't need to worry about Easter eggs going bad in the sun.

Dragon time

Dragon time
Originally uploaded by katkimchee.

More art from Evan. This was created in his kindergarten art class. Evan's really into Pokemon cards right now, so the 100,000 HP reference is something that appears on the cards (and shows up in a lot of Evan's artwork).

Spring is on the way? Really?

Spring is on the way? Really?
Originally uploaded by katkimchee.

We woke to a snowstorm this morning and are staying in our pjs -- school's cancelled!