Saturday, July 14, 2007

Good Gravy

Wow, a lot can happen in the space of two weeks. Especially when that two weeks involves a trip to Lincoln, and then Des Moines for a few days, then Lincoln again, then Omaha for a few more days, then back to the Twin Cities. It's been a crazy time, and thoroughly enjoyable as well. We got to see all manner of family and friends during the fortnight, some with whom we only manage to visit once or twice a year. Actually, this weekend is merely a breather to relax and regroup since we leave for Georgia on Tuesday to visit even more relatives. I'm a huge fan of staying close with family and friends, as is my wife, and it's awesome that we have jobs that allow us to do this sort of thing in the summer.

A few noteworthy events from the past two weeks, then, in no particular order:

- Family in Lincoln. Getting to spend time with my niece is always good. Of course it's nice to see everyone else too, but my other relatives aren't just starting to walk, nor do they get nearly as much enjoyment out of common household items like a cardboard box or empty wallet. My brother Phil took us to see his work (A fitness center! Free Mr. Pibb!) and my brother Tom took us out shooting (thanks for bringing earmuffs, man). Lots of cards and croquet were played. Good times.

- Family outside Lincoln. We went to the Farmer's Market while in Des Moines and I had some of the best kettle corn ever popped by mankind. We also saw our nephew who is a few months older than my niece, and far more mobile too. Man, kids sure are fun. :) We ate at a super tasty restaurant and I had about the best piece of steak in the world. In Omaha we relaxed a lot and went to some other delicious food places too, but mostly it was nice to just visit with the relatives. Excellent.

- Transformers. Yeah, we saw it. Yeah, it wath pretty thweet. Not the best movie ever, but for a Michael Bay film it wasn't bad at all. I want to see it again, even, which doesn't often happen with movies that bear Bay's infamous directorial stamp. The original animated movie was much better, but seeing Optimus Prime transform from truck (where's his trailer?) to 'Mech while doing 80 down a freeway is worth the price of admission. It should also be noted that a few days prior to this I saw the new Die Hard with my brother Tom. Fantastic movie, folks. An incredibly welcome change from the CGI-infested action films that have come out of Hollywood for the past several years. Lots of fights, lots of explosions, and lots of John McClane doing his thing when he could be cashing Social Security checks if he wanted to...wow. It's a great time, and Sarah, remember, I will be happy to go see it with your dad anytime he wants to.

- Scavenger Hunt. A bunch of my friends got together while we were in Lincoln to do a three-hour hunt with 60 items to find, and while my team came in third place (by only one point!) we still had a great time. My brother Andy drives a Jeep like the last copy of Star Trek is on the line, but it sure made getting around town much quicker. The items were weird, but we didn't have too much trouble finding them. Tom, if you read this, I'm sorry about taking your jar of pickles and your "House For Sale" sign, but there was no choice. It had to be done. :)

- Amigos. You know we went there, like, a billion times. Oh man that's good stuff. Best nachos in the world. :)

Sure we did a bunch of other stuff, but this blog post is quickly becoming too long for most people to read, so I'm gonna cut it off. Time to shower, then play with the video camera, and think about tomorrow's delicious Brass Rail chicken which will be had for lunch. Mmm...broasted chicken...

2 comments:

Tom said...

Its ok Simon, Somehow I have found the will in my heart to forgive you, even know.. you took our things, then beat my team by 1 point....
-Tom

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't you know it - on Monday Janessa thought it was time to start walking for good and pretty much gave up crawling. It was great to have you and Eve here for so long and l look forward to seeing you again.
Also, we had a GREAT time in Omaha!!!
Mom