Thursday, May 21, 2009

Trykin it

Alexi gets on it at Liberty park.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

the big four oh ...surprise?

Who wants to party?

Careful planning, party hats and all, but alas, it was to no to be.

we blew up ballons....

We decorated the house.....
I thought I had cooked up the big surprise. You see, it was Christy's 40 birthday last weekend. And the surprise preparations had been going so well.

The incubus of the surprise party started a few weeks before. Christy was to be out of town at a conference until the day before her birthday. She then had a 100 mile Century bike ride that day, followed by a trip to the spa with a friend. After the spa, she was to head home, pick up Alexi and me, then we would all head off for "dinner".

It had been going so well. Christy's biking partners for the ride were her work buddies, I had arranged for them to chaperone her finish to a specific time in the afternoon. Then our friend Emily was to meet her at the spa for some massage therapy. The release time from the spa would then be nicely choreographed for her arrival at the house at a specific time. At the house would be a few dozen friends ready to great her with a big SURRISE!!!

It was going off so well. I had seen her leave to the spa apparently oblivious to her fate. You see, I had worked hard at at being indifferent. She had dropped hints about her birthday... I acted obtuse. I played up my distractions at work.... she took the bait. She thought I had pretty much forgotten her birthday. I only "acknowledged" her birthday with an agreement to go out to dinner that night. But that was only at her behest to do something that night.

We had her. She was unsuspecting. Then near disaster hit.

She was a little late getting home after the spa. We had a spotter looking for her car. This would alow us to coordinate the cake lighting with her entrance thru the front door. They spotted the car, the cake lighter Sam flamed the candles, and we took our appointed positions for the surprise. But, because she was late I had called her to find out what was up. That is were the trouble began.

She says my reaction on the phone was untypical. She expected me to be grungry. What is grungry you ask? Well its a term that was coined by my friends to refer to me (and I suppose others). It is a symphysis (i.e. merger) between Grumpy and Hungry.

A Grungry person does not casually ask when are you going to be home. A Grungry person does not act indifferent if someone is late. Instead, a Grungry person wants it NOW. "Where are you? Whats taking you so long?" That would have been the normal grungry response.

For the surprise I had assumed the position of the spotter at the door. I had seen her car pulling into a parking spot. It was going to work. We would get her the big surprise, but then it happened....

THE CAKE IS ON FIRE!

Let me ask you a question: How many candles is TOO MANY candles? For Alexi we have had one candle and very soon it will be two candles. No problem. But here, we had more. Much more.

40 to be exact. All spaced way to close together. To get them all light in a coordinated fashion, the cake lighter had to use a propane torch. And there was, a ball of flames, on the dinning room table. The blazing cake was shooting flames 10 to 12 inches above its now melting surface. I went over to the cake to inspect it, it actually seems somewhat under control. At least, it would make it through the next few seconds that were need to get the surprise out.

Back to the window for my look-out position, but I do not see Christy. I nervously glance at the flaming cake and then back out to the street gate. Were is she? A good minute passes by....Where is she?

I am looking out the window wondering where she is then I here her voice from the back door as she says to my backside.

"WHAT are you DOING?"

....Well, that caught me flat footed. She had sneaked around back when she saw that the curtains were drawn. She had become suspicious. Something was up. She probably slipped by unnoticed by anyone in the midst of the cake fire crisis.

Here we have her trying to blow out the flaming cake o' fire.

we all had ourselves a good laugh at the "surprise" outcome.

checking out the photos

yep. training em young. Alexi is learning how to post pics on the web.

Momma is showing him how its done.

"oh yea, cool" says the Boo.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Time to read

Alexi enjoys a good book. ESP books with flip outs.

Off to pool later to swim. He is in swim class now. Bit frightened when
he can't touch. Lost now is his fearlessness to water. A sense of self
preservation has taken it's place.