Fun with my boys!

The week after Mothers' Day was an amazing week for me and my boys. It was that busy "last week of class" for the Spring Semester, so I was not planning on one of the events that we shared, and dreading the other.

The Brick Armory:

One of my students who is in both the clubs I advise has a membership to a local gun range. As a member of the armed forces, he also has several weapons of his own. He has regularly invited me to come with him and the other students, but they always went in the evening (which is family time for me.) He said the family could come, but I've never taken the initiative to plan it. Well, Wednesday (5/12) he reminded me yet again. I called my wife to see if the boys and I could go (somewhat hoping she would give me an excuse not to go.) Well, she didn't. In fact, it worked out perfectly for her evening plans - so off to the gun range we went!

When we got there, neither of the boys wanted to shoot. I took a couple of turned with the .22 pistol before my younger son decided he wanted a turn. He went right to it! He didn't miss his turn the rest of the night. My older son remained resistant (he even got teary when I suggested that he could have a turn if he wanted one) so I didn't push the idea. Eventually, he saw how much his brother liked it and decided it was OK to try. Once he got the pistol in his hand, though, he began to loosen his grip finger by finger (I was holding it too for the first attempt.) I finally convinced him to just try one shot before he gave up. He did. And then he took another...and another...and another! He quickly emptied the clip and told me how excited he was for his next turn. The rest of the night the two boys took turns with the .22 pistol. They even named the target ("Mr. Deadman") and did a fine job making the name fit. My older son was able to understand the concept of aiming and did the better job of recognizing some of the technique of shooting (two years does make a difference!)

I got to try a couple of other guns. My favorite was the 9mm rifle. Using it, I finished off whatever was left of Mr. Deadman. In the end, both the boys want to go back for another night at the gun range.

Fathers & Sons:

OK, this was the one I knew about but was dreading. I hate camping. The only things that makes camping fun are family (like the Weston reunions) or condos (like East Canyon - maybe a houseboat like Lake Powell.) In this case I didn't see either. My boys are family, of course, but not in my "camping fun" family. They don't sit around the campfire telling old family stories while smoking, drinking coffee and cussing - that's the family I remember as fun. And where can you really "camp" in New Jersey?

Well, we didn't go to a real campsite, but that turned out for the best. We stayed on a large grassy patch in the middle of a "forest-type" area. The boys and I got there with two adult sleeping bags and a 3-man tent. They had their pjs, but no other change of clothes. Ten minutes after we got the tent set-up and loaded, it started pouring rain. We had coordinated dinner with the other fathers/sons from our ward, so that went smoothly, but we were soaked. Fortunately, the rain stopped early enough that the bonfire could be built and we could dry ourselves while we roasted marshmallows for smores. After the fireside, we went to sleep. I had neglected to bring a pillow, but we all slept well. The boys enjoyed the big breakfast in the morning and we left by 8:30. Although my oldest was carsick on the way home, we are all looking forward to next year. We have a list of changes we need to make:

1. Bring an extra set of clothes for everyone.
2. Bring ponchos
3. Each boy gets his own adult sleeping bag (so daddy need a new one)
4. Bring a foam mattress, not air (I forgot to mention that the air mattress had a hole in it and was completely flat by midnight!)
5. Bring a pillow for daddy.

After that week I have come to appreciate my boys a lot more. They are really fun to be with. Any time they aren't, it is normally my fault. Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. I am trying to put more into my relationships with my family. They really are worth it.

I just hope that I am worth it too,
Brad

A bit of a rant...

I have commented on the free speech vs. "I'm offended" debate before. Simply by framing the issue with those words, you should know where I stand. I found this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer and completely agree with the author's conclusion:

'South Park' vs. the sword

Theo Van Gogh, whose antics occasionally resembled South Park's in their tastelessness, discovered that his pen was no match for a killer's sword. And yet, the pen - the keyboard, the comedian, and the editorial cartoon; Bart, Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny - actually holds enormous power. To win, however, it needs its backers to show backbone. Too bad South Park's have none.

If you prefer a picture (I'm not going to type 1000 words) here's one I used at my old blog.



End of rant.

Now I get to discuss Arizona's immigration law with my class (no controversy there!)
Brad

Well, it's about time!

Well, I'm back into biking to work on a regular basis. Three days last week - which is what I will normally be able to do until May. My Wednesday schedule keeps me on campus until 5pm, which is when I normally like to be arriving at home, not headed home, so I normally drive on Wednesdays. Plus, we normally schedule our family's chiropractor appointments then - so driving just works out for the best. Thursdays I teach a late-afternoon/early-evening course for the "Kean @ Ocean" program through Kean University. The class runs from 4:30 to 7:15. That is also pretty late to be biking. Now that the weather is better and it is still somewhat light at 8pm, I may try biking those days too. That leaves Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Since I have biked so little since last November, it's probably best to start out slow.

I'll try to post a little more regularly,
Brad

Home again...

Well, we're back to the Jersey Shore and I'm headed back to get ready for Spring semester on Tuesday. OCC classes start on Monday (1/25) but I have a lot of prep and I am also teaching one course for Kean University that starts on Thursday (1/21)

I am going to be extremely busy again this semester. I almost always change things from one semester to the next - I must be a perfectionist or a masochist - but I think this semester's "new" things are somewhat manageable...

1. Teaching "Women & American Politics" as a face-to-face course (I've only taught it online up till now)
2. Creating new quizzes for the first 7 chapters of my State & Local textbook
3. Using a new edition of my Federal Government textbook (there's not a lot of new material, but it may affect the quizzes I already have from last semester.)
4. Re-formatting the first 3 quizzes for my Federal Government, Intro to Pol Sci, and International Relations classes.
5. Teaching American Federal government as an online course (2 sections of 25 students each.)
6. Teaching my own course for Kean - up until now I've only taught the Political Science part (one class session) of the Praxis capstone course for their History department.

I am excited and know I will do just fine - if I can survive my own insecurities.

I also have to lose the 8 pounds I brought home from Utah (in addition to the 10-15 I had to lose before I left),
Brad

My first car accident (for real)...

One our way home from Walmart & Joann's on Saturday, we were rear-ended. We were stopped at a light and the guy behind us started moving more quickly than we did when the light turned green (he was smoking, so he may have been distracted as well.) Whatever the case - it was his fault. It felt a lot worse than it was. The three kids were all crying, but both cars were able to drive to the nearest parking lot and wait for the police. I'll get Gandalf in and see what kind of repair we are looking at. More importantly, we are all getting in to see our chiropractor tomorrow. I know my neck is feeling sore in a new way and my wife's back is not very happy either. The kids aren't complaining, but better safe than sorry.

In response to my sister's inquiry:
I got everything we wanted save 1 item (it wasn't for the kids so I'm OK.)

Is it poetic justice that I have a pain in the neck?
Brad

The annual quandry...

It has been a busy and tiring Thanksgiving Day. My wife and I did not get to sleep until 1am last night, and our daughter woke us at 6:45 this morning! We then hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for 16 people (we did the turkey - so it was an involved day.)

I have been reviewing Walmart's "Black Friday" deals (the early 5am-11am variety) and there are several items that we really do need at excellent prices. The really important stuff is the childrens clothing: winter boots, fleece coats, sleepwear, hoodies and jeans. Taking advantage of these deals would require my getting up by 4:30am - and therein lies the quandry. I am dead tired (so why am I still up at 10pm?) but for those prices I just can't in good conscience not go.

I should go to bed so I'll be ready to go shopping early tomorrow. I won't get to sleep after I get home because we have to clean and recover from Thanksgiving dinner.

And there's a Nor'easter blowing in overnight.

Why do I have to get out of my nice warm bed to get some stupid "Black Friday" deals? Why can't they come here where my nice warm bed is? And why....am I talking to myself?
Brad

People that should not be let out in public...

Nixon and Ford must have been really bad for this guy to ever get elected. Jimmy Carter's comment that "The 'overwhelming' portion of animosity towards Obama is racist" is ridiculous. The linked article with two embedded videos say it all.

As to the "nastiness" in American political discourse, as illustrated by Joe Wilson's "you lie!" comment - let's remember who did it first and worst:

First



Worst



I know the post is purely political. I'll get back to personal stuff when I calm down,
Brad