The Soup

Grandma sent soup home to me. This is the best soup in the known universe. I can attest to the quality first hand. I was given a big bowl of the soup Sunday night at about 8 pm. I had consumed the entire bowl within 45 minutes and that was allowing time for it to cool down. I am a pig I know, but I struggle to control myself around good food. Thanks Grandma!

A Fresh New Look

What do you think? I think it is a natural look for Keri. I know she is a little self-conscious about this change but the glasses look good on her. Leave a comment and let her know what you think. I had fun getting lost with her in the hospital both times so maybe we can do it again sometime.

Christmas with the Smiths

I hoped to impress upon the girls that we don't need fancy electronics and video games to have a great Christmas. This is the first Christmas in a while where Abbriel did not get a Gameboy/DS game, and I think she was just as happy this year as in years past. I think that Adrienne had a great time. The Slinkys were very popular with the girls. And as you can see below Adrienne has Cooties. Abbriel was pretty excited about her Hannah Montana Magic 8 Ball. You will have to ask her about it.

Christmas Medley

This is the Kindergarten grand finale. It is a medley of popular Christmas songs and the kids really get into it.

Watch the boy two spaces to the left of Adrienne. He gets a little rowdy. Perhaps there is a reason for Ritalin. It must be pretty intense performance. I've been in mosh pits that did not knock down two people.

Light a Candle

Here is another selection from Abbriel and the 5th Grade at Paxton Keeley. This is one of the songs Abbie liked most. Abbie's friend Cecilia has a solo in this song. She is the girl in the red dress.

I have another video of the Concert Choir singing but I ran out of space on my card for the last 45 seconds I may post the incomplete video later.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

This is Adrienne singing Rudolph with the rest of Kindergarten at Paxton Keeley. She said this is one of her favorite songs.

I Got Rhythm

This is Abbie singing I Got Rhythm. She said that she did not like this song as much as the others. I really like it.

The SON Holiday Party

This is a photo of the my new peeps at the School of Nursing. We are celebrating the holidays in style at Stotler Lounge in Memorial Union. We don't have a band or a choir but we have good food from Hoss's Market and great company.

The sweet lady that sat next to me had a wonderful sweater that said, "Three Wise Men, Are You Serious?" And it was pointed out to me that I am in the minority at SON. There are only a handful of guys in the school and most of them are pictured above.

Special thanks to Pam Roe for providing the picture. See I forgot my camera and Pam was there to cover for me. She does great work...props to Pam!

And the Critics Agree..with Me

The L.A. Film Critics Association has named Wall-E the film of the year. I am in full agreement with this distinction. I have previously extolled the virtues of this film and to all of my loyal readers this is truly a must see film. I have the film on my Ipod if you want to watch it sometime. :)

The Magical Vestment

This a picture of Keri's Magical Vestment. I gave it to her today. She looks good in the vestment does she not? Its magical properties are its ability to keep the wearer's torso free from debris and it helps keep the top garments clean and free of stains.

The photo was taken with my cell phone thus the sub-par image quality. But please marvel at Keri's new gift, and ask her about it frequently.

Dalton's TD Pass

The video is a bit jumbled but this is soon to be Mizzou QB Blaine Dalton throwing a touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter of the 6A State Championship game.

MSHSAA Football Championships

So, I went to the Lou to see some football this weekend. I hoped it would lift my spirits after watching Missouri lose, but I was disappointed. Helias lost despite having a lead in the 4th quarter and Blue Springs South squandered too many chances to win the game.


Number 2 in blue is the star player from BSSHS and he is coming to Mizzou. He should be on campus in about a month. I'm looking forward to it.


Number 2 in white was a special player for HCHS. He was very small but quick and easily the best player on the team. He scored the winning touchdown on a long pass after motioning out of the backfield.

Spider Monkeys Basketball??

Well it is true, the Spider Monkeys have a basketball team. And having watched their last game they are pretty good too. They lost by one point and missed the shot at the buzzer to win, but they played well. Ultimately their inability to score in the first four minutes of the second half really hurt them. Brandon made a great shot falling down. The three pointer went in and the foul counted. It was a great play.

Holiday Parade

Adrienne took part in the Holiday Parade today. She missed out on a Thanksgiving dinner with family because she really wanted to do this first activity with her troop. She had a great time and gave out almost all of her candy. She seemed to really enjoy it. The parade was very long considering how cold it was, but she was a trooper and showed no signs of fatigue or cold. For those of you afraid of clowns don't scroll down. :)

More Cookies

So the girls baked more cookies. This time it was sugar cookies. My mother used to give me such a hard time as I was baking sugar cookies and so I have not made them in a long time. I thought I might as well show the girls how it is done. I know they are not as good as Grandma Anita's but we did our best and they came out ok. The girls were penalized for not sharing the chocolate chip cookies by having to wait until everyone at work had sugar cookies first and then they could get the leftovers. Guess what there were not any leftovers. The girls had great fun making these cookies and that is obvious by the mess. Look at the flour all over Adrienne. (Don't worry they each got to have a cookie.)

Baking Cookies

The girls and I settled in to bake some cookies. They really like baking cookies and chocolate chip cookies are their favorite. I think they like eating them more than baking but they had fun all the same. There was some conflict about eating the cookies. I wanted to take some to share with my friends at work and the girls did not want to share. We'll see how that pays off in the long run.

My Take

This article is a good place to start sharing my take on the election.

I like this article for many reasons and being that it is from a foreign paper it brings a different perspective than this blog's readers may normally read. I find the four points to be a narrow and simple set of reasons to justify the outcome (see Occam's Razor). While I don't find it to be completely accurate I find it to be a good place to start.

The Changing American People: I am not at all surprised to see early commentary of the election outcome to be racial commentary. It is a worthy milestone and barrier broken but I really don't think this was a major factor in the election. The more important consideration of this point is the changing demographics of American society. Simply stated, we are less white than we used to be and that trend is not going to reverse itself. Rove and Bush were right, the Republican party is not going to win future elections leaning on white southerners.

The World is Changing: This is the part of the argument that I have the most trouble accepting. Most Americans don't go to the polls thinking about how America looks in the eyes of foreigners. That is not America and that is quite often where European journalists go wrong. Sure the world is changing but Americans did not vote for Obama because he would be more palatable to Europeans. They voted democrat because their concerns were not met by the Republicans.

The Rising Middle Class: Again I like this point. Rather than point to the tired old have's vs. have not's argument we have a legitimate recognition that America is a case of the rising middle class. America is not like other nations where we constantly pit the wealthy vs. the poor. Here is more proof that Americans went to the polls with the economy on their minds. Middle class America has a great deal more at risk than either the wealthy or the poor. It is more concerned with how the economy affects other aspects of American life, like education and health care. It is the rise in American wealth that promotes transition from Republicans that failed to avert crisis to democrats that proclaim to have the necessary changes.

The Conventional Republican Agenda is not working: I have been telling my other Republican friends that the time for change has come and even if McCain had won it would have been a signal of the end of Republican politics as it was for the past several decades. I heard even last night in TV commentary (I know I watched TV) that Republicans need to get back to standing for something. Well, that isn't going to cut it if standing for something means standing for the same things you stood for thirty years ago. If you accept conservatism as being traditionalistic then conservatism is dying in American politics. Things have been changing in America and if you keep reaching to the past for the answers for the future then you are destined to continue to lose.

Republicans did what they claimed to do. They improved the military, they cut taxes, and crime has been reduced. It is pretty difficult to campaign on doing things that you have already done well. What Republicans did not do is the reason they lost. They were unable to prevent the housing collapse and the financial turmoil that ensued. They had lost the faith of the American people and because of that, failed to have the strength to overcome the financial crisis. The time has come for a coalition that can address the problems of today and the Republicans have proven that clinging to yesterday's answers is not the solution to today's problems. So fellow Republicans - cling to your bans on gay marriage and opposition to abortion at the expense of future elections or get with the changes in our country and find a new platform that can win the hearts and minds of the American people.

The Pig Has Been Passed

Evidently they have a tradition in my new office (the School of Nursing) of giving this pig-like creature to the newest employee in the office. This tradition is a little strange but it is all in good fun. The little thing isn't really disturbing but it is odd.

This is a nice place and the people are very kind. My office is roomy and has a huge desk. It will take some getting use to but I think I will like it here.

Power to the Pig!!

Halloween

It is Halloween again. Yes one of the many sugar filled holidays is once again upon us. Abbie is dressed up as Cleopatra and her friend Cecilia joined us for this year's festivities. Cecilia is a vampire and really got into her character. Adrienne pictured below is some type of bat girl. I think she said she was a sweetheart bat. She is a sweetheart for sure that is unless you get into her candy!

We stopped by Melissa's house and trick or treated. We then stayed in that neighborhood and visited houses on that side of town. We were meticulous to only stop at houses with these yard signs! :)

The Final Game of Fall Ball

The Spider Monkeys played their final game of fall ball and was it ever exciting. We dug ourselves into a deep hole to begin the game, but we managed a comeback. I managed a couple of infield hits when leading off and even drove in a run in the last inning. Everyone on our team hit well and managed several hits. Melissa made a great catch in left field charging toward foul territory. Despite having a big lead going into the last inning our opposition staged a fierce comeback only to fall short leaving the tying run on second and the winning run at the plate. We finished the fall season with two wins and I am happy to have been a part of this team. I had a lot of fun!

Signs

The girls have recently taken to the song Signs. They have not heard the Five Man Electrical Band original but they really like the Tesla remake.

Here you can listen to Adrienne sing the song. Adrienne did not want me to post this without the music in the background so I crudely spliced this together.

Here you can listen to Abbie sing the song. She was not nearly so picky and did not request the music.

Feel free to add comments to let the girls know what you think.

Where's Waldo...err John

Here is a photograph of John in his seats at the Homecoming game. I would be seated with them but the usher checked my ticket and rejected me. Anyway look at the picture and see if you can find John in the crowd. Double click on the picture to enlarge.

The Game

Colorado never got close in this game. Mizzou dominated the game from beginning to end. The defense was especially impressive in getting the shutout. Mizzou 58- Colorado 0. I tailgated with friends before the game and thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout. It is always good when Mizzou wins.

Homecoming

It is Mizzou's Homecoming. The birthplace of a tradition that spans this nation. It is a great parade but very long. Adrienne went with her friend Madison and I took Abbie. Abbie really loved the dog in the parade and I always look forward to seeing the Homecoming royalty. Of course the Oscar Mayer Wienner Mobile is a family favorite.

Double Header

The Spider Monkeys played a double header and it did not go well. We lost both games. I played third base for part of the first game and then finished the game in right center. I played right center throughout the second game. I managed a couple of hits but the competition was very stiff, and we were beat easily in both games. It was very cold and windy throughout the games. The strong winds made all of the balls carry deep into the outfield.

Mizzou Loses

I have always felt that close losses were harder to swallow than blowout losses. This week’s loss to Oklahoma State was particularly hard to swallow considering we had a half time lead and created several turnovers.

Two things stood out to me as keys to this game. Special teams play was a killer. We punted well but missed two field goals and either one of those would have changed the complexion of the game. Had we made both we would have won. The second thing that stood out was the poor game by Chase Daniel. It was an uncharacteristically poor game from the senior quarterback. He was behind receivers and looked very uneasy in the pocket. He threw two very bad interceptions the second of his three picks was inexcusable. He was rolling left and threw toward his right over the middle of the field, a freshman mistake.

We can make up some of this lost ground by pulling off the upset victory in Texas this week.

Spider Monkey's win

The Spider Monkey's won their first game of the fall season. We won 13-11 in come from behind fashion. Yours truly scored two runs reaching on a fielders choice and a walk. The girls were very excited.

Quiet Week

We had a quiet week in the Smith home. Things were mostly uneventful. We had pizza night and family movie night. The girls were ecstatic to go with their mother to the MU volleyball game. Friday night I went to the Rockbridge and Helias football game. That was a real snoozer. Rockbridge just does not appear to have a fighting spirit.

The Mizzou game last night was awesome. I know Nebraska thinks themselves better than what they are, but they were really bad last night. They lost by 35 at home the largest margin of defeat in Lincoln in over 50 years. Are they really better off under Pelini?

So when are people going to stop saying the Tigers cannot do something? We cannot win in Boulder, done that. We cannot win at k-state, done that. We cannot win a New Years bowl game, done that. Cannot win in Lincoln, done that. Now tell me what it is we cannot do!

No School

There was no school today and I took the day off from work and spent time with the girls. We like to go to TA Brady's and bowl and play games. I did not bowl this time and it was a good thing, Adrienne would have beaten me for sure. Adrienne had two strikes and two spares on her way to a 121 - 102 victory over Abbriel. She was great. The picture below is her celebrating her first strike.

The Last Fall Ball Game

Abbie's team played in a double header for the last games of the year. Abbie's team won fairly easily against the white team. The second game against the blue team was amazing. A fairly well played game that featured a late comeback by Abbie's team and both teams made great defensive plays. Abbie's team won by one run and the final out was with the blue team sending a runner home. A great play by the catcher saved the run and ended the game.

The Spider Monkey's double header the next day was rained out and we do not have a game this coming week.

Beating Buffalo

Went to the Tigers game this weekend with Ryan once again. This time the girls tailgated with us for a while before bailing to their mother's. I asked them if they wanted to go to the game but they said no and so my friend Ryan jumped on the opportunity. Much like Buffalo jumped on the inopportune Missouri fumbles.

This Missouri offense really is unstoppable. The only team that can stop this offense is Missouri. Three fumbles in three quarters really kept Buffalo in a game that they should not have been in. Special teams mistakes also benefited Buffalo but I will content that the call on Coulter was a bad call. Despite the less than perfect performance the Tigers still won by three touchdowns. They have a bye this week and travel to Nebraska the following weekend where Missouri has not won since 1978 (such a good year).