Ahhhh...Fresh Air, Open Road!

There isn’t much sweeter than the first time you get the road bike out for the year.  Not to mention, how often do you get 60 degrees in January in South Dakota??  I was hoping to get at least one road bike ride in for the month and I have now accomplished that.  It was a quick hop over to Hwy 12 in Nebraska and back at a decent pace, probably better than expected as I was sore from jogging yesterday and the quads did bark back here and there.  All in all a good ride and the data is below.

Garmin 301  Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)     1:12:42      3:18 pace
Distance (mi)              21.89  
Moving Speed (mph) 18.1 avg.   27.7 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)    +712 / -778
Avg. Heart Rate         148 bpm Zone 4.2
Temperature (°F)       60.8°F avg.      60.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)   W 12.1 avg.     W 12.7 max.

DADDY LOOK!!

2 ½ year old children are so full of amazement.  It is so much fun to see the world through their eyes.  Tonight Marissa had a program at the W.H. Over Museum where the PTA had sponsored a program for children entitled “I Wonder Why” and she had an entry into the contest.  She did a wonderful job with water colors on her project and got nice comments from the judges.  But without further ado, let’s get back to the child of amazement.

With all the people in the gallery, Carson was a little “crowded” and was constantly tugging Laura or I into the hallway.  Laura had to get to work, so that left me in charge of entertaining Carson while we waited for Austin and Marissa to finish up and be ready to go home.

We ended up in the main gallery of the Museum in the area with many animals.  Everywhere we turned Carson was amazed by the stuffed animals and was constantly screaming (not just saying) DADDY LOOK! (or Daddy Wook! if his binky was in).  I would look into his eyes and see the utter amazement at things that I have taken for granted for so long living in South Dakota and just life in general.  The big buffalo was definitely a hit and we had to walk all the way around it to the constant chorus of DADDY LOOK!  Then it was the bald eagle, the fox, the turtle, the coyote, the elephant bones…DADDY LOOK!!  DADDY LOOK!!  I wish I could tell you how many times I heard DADDY LOOK in the matter of ten minutes of time.

I could have been annoyed by the constant barrage of his amazement, but I chose to join his excitement and make his experience one that all of us talked about on the way home.  It is amazing watching them grow up, and although my ears will ring “DADDY LOOK!” all night long, the smile that it brings to my face is worth it.  Thank you Carson for such a wonderful memory.

Well Done Augie Doggie!

Although I help run the Daktronics Video Boards at sporting events at USD, and I enjoy a good game, the USD/SDSU rivalry was really the only “rivalry” USD has ever had.  Since SDSU went Division IAA, USD has basically been without a “real” rival in my opinion.  The Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper has seemingly “pushed” a rivalry between USD and Augustana College in efforts to make it into something that it just hasn’t been in recent years.  Let’s face it, we have dominated Augustana in recent years.

Well, now IT’S ON!  In what seems the best opportunity to turn this into a legitimate rivalry, Augie swept USD Men’s and Women’s Basketball in Sioux Falls last Saturday in an effort to make sports between our schools interesting once again.  

Probably most impressive to me are the pictures that follow.  When USD played SDSU, we would ALWAYS manage to get a dead Jackrabbit in and throw it onto the floor during the game (carrots always worked in a pinch too!).   I’d like to welcome the Augie Doggies into the fray of “dead animal tossing”.  Somehow, they did it…they ACTUALLY got a dead Coyote into the game Saturday and threw it on the floor.  My hat is off…well done Augie!  Word to the wise, USD’s fans are inevitably plotting their next step in this feud.  Be prepared!

an Augustana fan tossing a dead Coyote onto the court during the USD/Augie game Saturday Night 

...and the poor sorry dude who had removal duty... 

Betrothed at Birth

It’s been an ongoing joke since our son was born that he would someday marry Maria, our Goddaughter.  Austin and Maria, now 9 1/2 years old, are only 17 hours apart in birth and Austin’s Godparents are Maria’s Mom and Dad as well.  Got all that?  Good…

Austin and Maria are best of friends even though we live two hours away from her.  Do to family demands of more kids, we do not see them nearly as often as we like to.  They are some of our dearest friends and it is sad that it is so hard to find open time to get together, but most of that can be blamed by screwy work schedules.

Today I received an awesome light-up-your-day type email from Sina, Maria’s Mom.  It will speak for itself:

Maria had to write a tall tale in school and this is what she wrote (thought you'd find it funny)...


Austin Brady was the bravest man in the state of South Dakota. Everyone for miles around knew Austin Brady and loved to tell and retell of his amazing feats. Now one day Austin Brady went to visit Maria. Maria had been having big problems with her friends Darby and Maddy. Darby hated Maddy. Well since Darby hated Maddy they were always hurting each other.
Maria explained her problem. That was all it took. Right away, Austin called the Care Bears and they said a spell on them.
Maria's problem was solved, and the folks in South Dakota now had a new tale to tell about Austin Brady.

The Real Daddy Daycare

I’m pretty sure that my wife and all those who do daycare and not lose their temper or their minds qualify for sainthood automatically.  Daycare kids become like family after awhile, and quite often when I come home, my youngest along with a daycare child will scream “Daddy!” when I come in the door from work.  It’s a wonderful feeling for the short time I get to spend with them.

Then it happened.  My wife’s Grandmother needed to have a cardiac catheterization done in Sioux Falls and she, quite understandably, wanted to be there for her Grandmother and her Mother.  I asked for the time off from work and was given the time off on short notice.  Let Daddy Daycare begin…bring it on!

Luckily most of the daycare kids were off for the holidays so it was just my youngest and one other 11 month old little boy.  Easiest day of my life, or so I thought.  It is simply amazing how packed your day can be with a 2 ½ year old and an 11 month old baby.  If one wasn’t grabbing my leg pulling himself up, the other was raiding the fridge for cheese.  While putting one down for a nap, the other one is doing something WAY to quietly to be good news.  I do have to admit that the day went REALLY fast and I survived quite nicely and even managed to fold a couple loads of laundry (with ‘little’ help of course).  Every one survived and Dad now has a new appreciation for his wife.

Now for the gloating portion of being Daddy Daycare.  I recently asked my wife if she thought my son was ready to be potty trained.  She said that he shows a little interest because one of the girls from daycare is potty trained, but that he never goes for her.  So, being the brave soul I am, I decided to give it a go.  I took off the morning diaper and told him that he could be “free” as long as he told me when he had to go.  Well, I was a little more nervous than that so I was asking him constantly if he had to go or not.  Most of the time he would say yes, but then go in and not do anything at all.  Then, it happened!  He sat on the potty, pushed hard, and out came a little trickle!  Dad gave him a “YEAH!” while clapping, to which he bared down and got a little more to come out.  Another “YEAH!” and clapping and now he was smiling from ear to ear.  So, the rest of the day was spent going in small little portions so he could get the “YEAH!” and the clapping, to which he usually joined in.

Okay, so I didn’t exactly “train” him, but I was pretty proud of my Daddy Daycare accomplishment.  Mom isn’t quite so impressed as now she spends most of her time going “YEAH!” and clapping while he tinkles a few drops in over and over and over.  My job here is done!