Aquabat Adoration!!

So what happens when your cool uncle and aunt come to visit and they say one of their favorite bands is called The Aquabats?  Further more, if you're an impressionable 6 yr old and the Aquabats happen to have funny videos on Youtube that you can watch, well, you become quite infatuated with The Aquabats.

Such was the case with Gavin.  Lil' G has been watching Aquabat videos every day since Thanksgiving and he walks around singing "Super Rad" all the time.  Well, yesterday he decided to dress up like the lead singer.  This was the costume he assembled all by himself, even the PERMANENT MARKER mustache.

Not bad for a first attempt by a six year old.

Well, this afternoon, Gavin and I worked on making a slightly better costume.  Here's what we came up with.

Notice the artwork on the belt?  Hand drawn by yours truly.  Not bad for somebody with a wrist brace (More on that in another post, maybe).

The next image is stolen from the Aquabats' website and illustrates the look Lil' G was trying to go for.  If he had had a green underarmour shirt, he woulda nailed the look!

So thanks Scott and Kimberly...thanks for making my kids crazy for the Aquabats!

Post Thanksgiving Ride

Kimberly came through with the pictures that I mentioned in the previous post.  Thanks Kimmies!   So, as promised, here are a few shots of the mayhem and madness that ensues when motorcycles, families, and a corn field are combined...sort of a Nitro Circus kinda atmosphere.  Yeah, thats it.      

This one needs a caption.

Cool, old-school vibe.

Even the ladies got in on the moto action.

My favorite.

So the last post was about 3 months ago or something to that effect. We've been busy okay?

Just as a quick recap...
September involved birthdays of both Izzy and Angela (as well as Scott, Mom and Dad). Izzy scored a pink electric scooter for her birthday.



October involved buying one crusty, old, neglected dirtbike (Honda XR200R) in Memphis. In fact the bike was in such a condition that she has been given the title of "Big Nasty".

But that's not all folks, October also included the repeated electrical failure of my trusty VFR right before a trackday. So what's a guy to do? Well, buy another motorcycle that is NOT scared of the race track. That's right, we added a 2009 Buell 1125R to the stable within in a couple of weeks of buying the XR200R.

The Buell is not afraid of the track. Four days after the purchase, I once again found myself at the beautiful grounds of Barber Motorsports Park for another trackday. The Buell is way more capable than my meager skills can display...but I did get my knee down in the corners! Woot!

But wait, there's more! Then we had Halloween. This involved costumes for the kids--Angela made a really good Yoda costume for Lil' G.--and making a pie and chili for the church's fall festival. I did not win in either contest. :( I think it was rigged.

On top of that, we've had the house of sickness beginning with Gavin getting sick (strep and staph) right before Halloween.

Moving into November...the sickness continued with a couple rounds of ear infections for Milla and both Izzy and Angela coming down with Strep. Luckily, my supreme fitness and ability to run from bad germs allowed me to stay healthy throughout the time our house was infiltrated by the unholy jihad of germy-germs.

Somewhere in all that, I spent a few late nights in the garage getting Big Nasty back to a ride-able condition. That involved tearing the thing completely apart, cleaning and cataloging every part, and repainting all metallic surfaces.









Then it was time for Thanksgiving and Tiling. Yes, we like to combine holidays with work. Crazy, I know. This project was long overdue. Trust me. The nasty linoleum in the kitchen was torn out and replaced with ceramic tile from [s]Lowes[/s] Italy. it looks nice and the actual laying of the tile wasn't as difficult as I thought. A big thanks goes out to Dad for coming over and helping to get us well on our way. Unfortunately, the fridge and the oven are still in the living room as we have yet to complete the grouting. How long can we get by with baking all our dinners in a toaster oven?

Aside from the tiling, we managed to have a quiet Thanksgiving dinner. I did not smoke a turkey this year. But I did smoke a ribeye roast (poor man's Prime Rib). It turned out really, really good.


Saturday after Tgiving, Scott and Kimberly came over and we all took turns riding Big Nasty out in the corn field. We had a large time. I'll post pictures as soon as Kimberly gets 'em too me (hint, hint).

Whew! I think that about gets us caught up.

Cuteness Overload!!

Not our puppies, but the kids are ours.

Twilight

'nough said.

















**Disclaimer: The above image does not express the views of the entire Reed household since Angela read the books and watched the movie.

Skipping stones is stepping stones

Today, I taught my son how to skip rocks down at the river. I hope he had as much fun as I did.

How Did We Celebrate the 4th of July?

Normally, on the 4th, we go hiking. In the past we've gone to the Dismals or the Sipsey Wilderness. This year, we did something, umm...less adventurous. We ate meat...and lots of it. Between the hours of 5pm Friday and 4pm Saturday, I cooked 2 pounds of beef chuck roast, a 9 lbs boston butt, a 14lb brisket and one lb of bacon (for BLT's) on my smoker/grill. The butt and the brisket were smoked for 12 and 18 hrs respectively. It was my first attempt at smoking a brisket and I think it turned out pretty well.

And then, we launched a few small fireworks into the inky blackness of the night sky. Well, not all of them left the ground. And the new joke in our house-hold is the "Rising Flrg" firework.



After about .137 seconds of puny sparks up pops the "Rising Flrg".

I also called my youngest sister, Becky, to wish her a happy birthday. When Becky was little, we'd take her to the city fireworks show and tell her that everybody was there to celebrate her birthday and that the fireworks were just for her.