Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween!

Here are are boys in their Haloween costumes. They had a big day today with a party at Mark and Val's house. Waylon actually liked wearing his costume this year. Waylon has had a big week - the first at his new school. Miss Susan says he is the youngest kid in the class but that he is "very advanced." She was impressed that he could spell his name and that he knows all of his colors. You can imagine her surprise when I told her he knew most of the fifty states cna could put them in the proper place in his State Puzzle!

Calvin is doing great, too. This kid has a motor that doe snot stop. We never even had to childproof the house with Waylon. Calvin is quite another story. He is only nine months, but we think he will be walking very soon. He has always been abnormally strong and extra motivated.

Suni and I truly feel lucky to have such wonderful kids.

More from Iowa

When we were back in the Hawkeye State, we went to Bloomsbury Farm near
Atkins, Iowa. The kids had a blast! Here are some pictures of Waylon jumping
on the jumping pillow.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Another one bites the dust...

Suni and I are both old souls. We like tradition. We are throwbacks. That is why this is a travesty. Gourmet was the only magazine to which Team Stinson subscribed. Goodbye, old friend. The question I have... if the magazine had survived a couple more years, would the NYT still have been around to report its demise?

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Back in Iowa


We arrived in Kansas City on time on Thursday, October 15. Suni’s mom and her boyfriend, Dan, picked us up at the airport. We went to stay at Dan’s house on Thunderhead Lake in Unionville, Missouri, just across the Iowa line. (It’s always been said that if you took the southern-most tier of Iowa counties and gave it to Missouri, it would double the IQ of both states). We had a great time! Dan took us on a tour of his hunting property in a Polaris Ranger. Waylon got to “drive,” and the glee is evident on his face.



Calvin, as always, has just been rollin' with the flow, trying to make sure he demolishes something every ten minutes or so.


Yesterday Suni and I left the boys in Missouri with Grandma and headed northeast. Last night we ate at Jake’s Steaks in Walker, Iowa. Jake’s is a typical slice of Iowa nirvana – a place where you can pick your steak from the cooler (where it just arrived from the meat locker across the street) and throw it on the grill yourself. The place was packed, so we sat around making each other laugh until there was enough
space around the grill to squeeze in.

As usual, my wife was aghast that I ordered the 24-ounce porterhouse. Actually, I think her amazement was feigned, as she has seen me unfailingly order the biggest steak available for at least eight years now. I’m being honest when I say I could have eaten at least 24 more ounces of that scrumptious dead bovine.

Tim and Jaime, Tad and Jeni, Brandon and Monica, and Suni and I went to Winn’s, across the street and heard the former mayor of Walker play some guitar. We also saw the current mayor nearly come to fisticuffs with some other bar patron! Now, that’s excitement in Linn County, baby!

Last night, Tim and I were discussing the merits of Camel Snus.

Talk soon turned to tobacco of all sorts, and I told them about Papaw chewing his Red Ox twist. When the fellas informed me that twist tobacco wasn’t available in Iowa, I promised to send some Red Ox. I researched it this morning and learned the reason for unavailability. The crap is made by R.C. Owen Co., some obscure manufacturer in Gallatin, Tennessee. That crap probably isn’t available anywhere outside of Tennessee. I definitely owe it to the wives to make sure the guys get their hands on some of that stuff.