Uncle Harv

Today was Uncle Harv's funeral, and I learned so much about him! I've always liked him as long as I can remember, and I don't think I've never not known him. Harvey was my dad's uncle, and I don't know if that makes him my great uncle or super uncle or uncle once removed, but he was always part of the family. I'll always remember him at special family events like Christmas and Thanksgiving where he would be sitting somewhere happily engaged in a conversation with someone, his walking stick propped up to one side, and always laughing or telling an engaging story. For the longest time, and I don't know if he still had this when he passed away, he drove an old station wagon with the license plate "T SQ".
My most memorable experience with Uncle Harv was when his sister, my grandma, passed away. I was about 10 years old at the time, but I remember seeing him in tears as they were moving the casket away. He gently patted the coffin and in a low voice said "Take care sis". If anyone was first in line to see Harvey as he was welcomed to the other side it was his sister. Reflecting on some things that my dad said in his eulogy, we all need to remember to take the time to record our memories, our feelings and our history. I'm really bad at that, but I guess this blog is a good way to start.
For all the people that knew him, Harv was a great man to be around. He was loved, he will be missed, but he can still be our example. So good bye Uncle Harv, thank you for your love, your friendship, and your warm smiles.

Chip off the ol' block

I like video games. I have ever since we brought home the classic Atari 2600. Ah Space Invaders, the memories. Actually in hindsight those games were pretty lame, but it was fun playing them with your friends and family. I remember when my friend Brett got the old NES. I had a paper route at the time and did it in record time so I could go to his house and play this new game called Super Mario Bros. Shortly there after I got my own NES and played Zelda and Final Fantasy to no end. A few years later I got a Super Nintendo for Christmas (Thanks Mom and Dad!!!) and found a new source of addiction in fighting games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Steve and I played for hours and hours on Street Fighter until our thumbs were rubbed raw, but we always had a good time shooting fireballs or applying backbreakers to each other. Hadoken!! (Seriously, if you get this reference you're uber-cool). Anywho, after I got home from my mission I started playing on the PC more, with my younger bro John turning me on to a little game called Warcraft II. Then Diablo. Then Starcraft. Then Diablo II. Then Warcraft III. Then World of Warcraft. Soon to be Starcraft II. Then Diablo 3, Warcraft 18, Starcraft 890, etc, etc, ad nauseum ad infinitum...

Where was I? Oh yeah. So I've been playing games a long time, and when my oldest son Jesse was just a wee lad he would like to hold the PS2 controls and pretend to play along with me. I tried a few games out on him to see how he's respond, and at first I had very little success. Not a big race car driver (GT3), golfer (Tiger Woods '05), or martial artist (Mortal Kombat 5. Don't worry, he only played it once and I didn't show him any fatalities). Then a little game called Lego Star Wars came out, and the rest is history. I think I gave it to him for Christmas 2 years ago, and he was pretty excited since it had Darth Tato on the cover. We popped it in and played for a while and he started to ask how to play. For those not familar with a Playstation Controller it has two analog joysticks for your left and right thumbs, four buttons on the right side with an X, O, Square, and Triangle, then two shoulder buttons on each side. Jesse would get stuck in an area and ask what to do. I'd tell him to press the square button to jump or the circle button to use the force. Soon he was figuring out how to move boxes around, was able to switch between characters and finish levels solo. He loved buying new guys and was thrilled to finally be Darth Vader. We had a lot of fun playing that game, so we got the Lego Star Wars for the new trilogy. While I won't rant on that in this blog, I will say it was still a very fun game for us to play. Jesse immediately took to Jango Fett (who since then has taught him lots of stuff). Within a few hours we, and by that I mean mostly Jesse, was able to finish all the levels. It's truly fascinating to see him play. He can figure how to solve problems faster and faster and without asking for help more and more. He loves the cartoon Ben 10, so I decided to rent the PS2 game based on the characters. I played the first few minutes, gave Jesse the quick tutorial, and over the course of a couple days Jesse beat the game! I helped him on the last boss, but otherwise it was all Jesse. It's really been fun to play games with him.

I really had to laugh when my Dad saw Jesse come over to our laptop, grab the mouse and click on the start menu, hit the internet brower icon then show my Dad how he can type his name in the Google search bar. He then went to bookmarks and selected his favorite site, played for a few minutes, then played with some toys in the family room. After I helped my dad's jaw return to its rightful place he just marvelled that Jesse could do so much. The truth is for my kids, computers and technology will be a bigger part of their lives much more than it is for me and my generation, or previous generations. I think the sooner they start learning how to use it the better off they'll be. My biggest concerns are how to deal with them when they're older. I grew up with a Nintendo when I was a teenager and occasionally played very simple games on my Dad's PC. I didn't even see the internet or send off my first email until I was 21. Jesse's done all that by age 3. Wow.

By Popular Demand: Taco Soup!

Grandma Taylor's Taco Soup

1 pound ground meat

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 15oz can corn

1 15oz can kidney beans

1 can tomato sauce (8 or 16 oz)

1 15oz can mexican stewed tomatos

1 package of taco mix

1 dollop sour cream

1-2 cups shredded cheese

1 bag o' fritos

Directions: Brown meat. Drain. Add onions. In large pot add meat, onions, full can of corn, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes and taco mix. Rinse the kidney beans then add them to the mix. Cook on medium for about 10-15 minutes. Serve in bowl or other soup holding device. Add cheese, sour cream and fritos (I like to crush them before I add them to the mix) Enjoy!!!

Blog-a-palooza!!

Ok, so to answer Melissa's tag here I go:

1. What is her name? Melissa
2. How long have you been married? 7 down, forever to go!!!
3. How long did you date? We're still dating, it's just hard to find a babysitter sometimes.
4. Who eats more? Me, and I got the belly to prove it!!!
5. Who said I love you first? Me. I don't know when, I remember where, and I think Melissa fell asleep right after that.
6. Who sings better? Melissa on a bad day is about 23 times better than me on my best day. Jesse sings better than me. I think I still have Owen beat, but he can dance better.
7. Who is taller? If I sit down then Melissa is taller, otherwise everyone gets to bask in my 6'2" glory.
8. Whose temper is worse? Mine. Think Incredible Hulk only not green and as muscular.
9. Who does the laundry? The laundry machine.
10. Who does the dishes? The dishwasher. Geez, who wrote these questions?
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We both do. The right side is on top. The wrong side in inbetween the matress and the box thingies.
12. Who does the cooking? Wendy's, Cafe Rio, Little Caesar's and us on burrito night.
13. Who is more stubborn? Definitely her!!! No Question about it!!
14. Who proposed? I did. It was awesome.
15. Who is more likely to admit when they are wrong? Me, because I usually am, unless it deals with movies, comic books, video games or 80's music.
16. Whose parents do you see the most? My mother-in-law watches the kids once a week, then my parents, then my father-in-law and step-mother-in-law.
17. Who pays the bills? Melissa. Funny thing is I really don't even know anyone named Bill, but I guess there is more than one.
18. Who wears the pants in the family? We both do, though I usually wear jeans more often. Melissa enjoys her lounge-wear. During the summer I wear shorts more, but with legs as white as mine I should probably go spend some time in a tanning booth.
19. Why do you love your wife? She's the best! She has made me a much better person than I would be otherwise! She is a wonderful wife, an awesome mother, and her lasagna is second to none! I don't know what I'd do without her!!!

Mousekiller!!!

On Saturday we FINALLY killed our first mouse in our house after laying down a total of 30 traps or so. I had set the last trap and was walking down the hall to my room to get my gloves and hat so I could start shoveling the new snow outside when both Melissa and I heard a resounded SNAP! I went downstairs first because that's where I set most of the mechanical traps. Turning up nothing I then went upstairs to the one place I set that kind of a trap, under the oven, and found one of the biggest mice I've ever seen. Here's where it gets even better! The mouse only got grazed by the trap, but it did enough damage to stun the mouse and cause it to start bleeding. It also did not actually catch the mouse, it was still able to walk around. I poked it with a piece of cardboard and it took a few steps and angrily squeaked at me. I grabbed an empty 44 ounce cup and trapped him. Without too many more details he was then transferred to my large garbage can outside where his life force left him. Having felt victorious that we finally got one, and a big one at that, I happily shoveled my drive at 12:30 in morning. After I finished I celebrated the kill with a large bowl of peppermint ice cream. Yummy! My sweet wife was waiting for me in bed watching Gilmore Girls. I think she was towards the end of season 3. I fell asleep only to be woken up a few hours later to Melissa screaming!!! Appearantly another one of our furry friends made it up to our bed and ran onto Melissa's hair and hand. At first she thought it was me touching her, but then the horror of the situation settled upon her and freaked her out! I can't really blame her, and must apologize at this point since it took a few moments to wake me up. We looked all over but couldn't find it. We then grabbed our pillows, some blankets, and slept in the front room. Yet another reason why you should always think in the back of your head when buying couches that at one point you will be sleeping on it, so make it comfy. I hate mice. I hope to exterminate their kind from my house for many generations to come!!!