Memorial Day with the Fam 2009

This post is mostly photos, and a lot of them speak for themselves. Most were taken by me, but obviously the ones I'm in were taken by somebody else...

This is the home my grandpa grew up in - it's in Altus, the town in Arkansas where they filmed the first season of the simple life. As you can see, the house has been vacant for so long, it's basically falling down around itself.

I didn't go on the drive to Altus. When we got back from the boat trip, I got a migraine, so I took some high-powered ibuprofen and took a three-hour nap. So, I think Carrie or Ann probably took the photo above.

The highlights of the trip for me were taking the boat out on the lake, and two nights spent playing dominoes with my cousins.

It was cloudy and a tad on the cool side on Sunday, but we decided to try the lake anyway.

Sara got to go tubing for the first time.

We did brave the cool waters. Once you got in the water, though, it wasn't so bad. Ann shot the above photo of us.


Malachi didn't seem to be a big fan of the lake. He got in, but got right back out.


Same thing with Kenzie. She got in, swam out to her mom, and swam back to the boat.


Even though he wasn't a big fan of swimming in the water, Malachi loved the boat ride.


Sara and her girls.


We picked up Matt from shore so Ann could drag him around the lake. He was quite the skilled tube-er. He was steering up and over the wake, and doing all kinds of cool stuff.

Even my dear old dad got in the lake. As you can see, he thought it was a little cold. I had stuck my foot in and said "It's not that bad!" just before I shot this photo of him getting in the water...

Dad even went tubing. I think he really enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure he's never done anything like that before, but I could be wrong...


That's me way back there on the tube. The water was a little cold when you first got in, but once in the water it wasn't so bad. Ann shot the photo of me. (Hey, zoom in next time!)

Other than being out in the boat, we hung out in the condo most of the weekend, since the weather was chilly and rainy. I think I'll definitely go back to Beaver Lake again. It wasn't really crowded, and the scenery was nice.

This was the view down the hill from our balcony.


Here's the little goober.


Saturday morning I went down to the shore with the kids so they could go "fishing." Mostly, they just played around in the mud and water, but the weather was really nice at that point, so it was okay hanging out down there.




I really like this photo of Kasie. If I was shooting this vacation for a photo assignment, I'd have edited a lot tighter (obviously) but I figured I'd show off as much of the fam as possible.

Dave's got questions, I've got answers - El Guapo's season preview

Reigning Kansas City Kickball champs El Guapo are making spring season preparations. Fans and players are confident going into spring's games, but some worry that the team's reputation as the dominators will put a target on their backs.

The chances for an El-Guapo tres-peat (or, three-peat for the uninitiated) have really inspired the league's lesser teams to bring out the big guns against the handsome juggernaut.

"We know they all want to beat us," Manager Mike said. "That just means we'll play our Mariachi music a little louder and wear our sombreros a little bigger. We're not afraid to use intimidation techniques."

Manager Dave worries that El Guapo's star closer, Jill Chittum, might not be able to live up to expectations set by her perfomance in last season's championship games.

"We worry a little bit about her mental toughness going into those clutch situations," Dave said. "We know she can do it, but she lets the nerves really get to her."

The team looks to capitalize on Catcher Travis's catlike reflexes from behind the plate to keep up the defensive performance.

"Defense wins when it comes to kickball," Dave said. "But, it's still pretty damn sweet to blast a three-run homer out to deep center field."

Other teams in the league have compared El Guapo to a junkyard dog.

"They might not be pretty, they're quite the ragtag bunch," one opponent said. "But they'll kick anybody's ass who tries to step on their turf. You gotta watch out for El Guapo."

You better recognize

Tonight we went to the girls basketball game at school. At halftime, the boys team members honored a teacher of their choosing. One of the newspaper photographers, Tom, chose me. It was very thoughtful, and fun to be there with the team and the other teachers. I can't remember exactly what was said about me because it's a little nerve-wracking being in front of people, but I do remember that it started with "She always pushes me to be my best" and that my classroom is a fun environment where everyone gets along and he enjoys being on newspaper. I wish I could have a copy of what he wrote. I should have had Betsy or Mitzi or Adam take notes! (But, they all did take photos. I had my own paparazzi going on.)

Above is one of the photos that Adam took. It's pretty funny, I think. I look TINY next to Tom (he's standing to my right). I don't think of myself as particularly short, but when you stand me up next to the tallest boy on the basketball team, I look damn short.

The game was a nice way to end a Monday night. Hopefully it will inspire me to do my best the rest of the week.

Wii Fit - Fun with Balance Boards

Since the weather has gotten colder, and we had Friday off from school, Betsy and Mitzi came over and we played Wii, just like it was a good ol' snow day. If you have a Wii, you need to get the Wii Fit, we love it!


Here's Betsy, demonstrating perfect ski jump form. She got the highest score on her first try on the game!

Mitzi tried a few games as well. My favorite games are the hula hoop, the yoga poses and strength training, and I like the aerobics too.

I'm not sure how much REAL exercise it is, but at least we're up moving around while playing, not sitting on our duffs!

The Upright Citizen's Brigade (or, El Guapo rocks WAKA KC)

I've been spending my Thursday nights lately down at Penn Valley Park playing kickball in the World Adult Kickball league. One of the teachers I work with mentioned one time that she plays, and the team is always looking for girl members (ah, the constant lament of any recreational adult sport), so I joined up.

If you're wondering about the Mexican regalia, it's because our team is called El Guapo. We listen to mariachi music during all of our games...It's a theme thing!

Right now, our team is rockin' the league. We're undefeated!

Even though it's a bit of a drive to PVP, I love playing up there. There's a great view of the downtown skyline from our kickball fields. We live out in the burbs, but I still get to play in the city!

Happy Hostess

If you've rolled on over to the Bets Week Ever, you've probably heard all about the dinner/GH party.

(That's Guitar Hero, not General Hospital, for the uninitiated among you.)

Unlike some people, whose houses still have messed up paint and unfinished bathroom beadboard, Betsy's house is all put together, so she was ready to host a party! We've still got a little work to do here at Casa de Chittum.

T-Pain and Amy check out the ol' Guitar Hero. Thankfully, Mitzi's guitar hero is almost like a traveling set, and she has two guitars!

We got to eat Egg Pie (Mitzi's quiche, renamed courtesy of TJ), orange Jell-O salad, an incredibly yummy bread and cheese concoction made by Amy, and some sort of ice cream sandwich Cool Whip dessert by Betsy. All of it was good - we need to do these dinner parties more often.

It's been a long time since we all just got together and chilled. Weird summer schedules, getting moved back into school rooms, school starting, etc., has pushed fun stuff to the back burner. Hopefully, we can get back in the routine!

Call Austin Powers, I think we've lost our mojo

The Finer Things Club didn't do so hot tonight at trivia. Oh yeah, we still came in third, but when you're as competitive as I am, third place doesn't cut it.

Must have been that fateful line from "Top Gun" oh so many years ago: "There's no points for second place."

We had a good mix of people - the usuals (sans Betsy), Amy and her friends from college, Amy's parents, and Mitzi's posse friend. Amy's dad came through with "Hogan's Heroes" as the answer to a Name the TV show sound clip.

Maybe deciding to give up "Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza" as our name was a rash decision. This was the first week I've been able to play during this 10-week session, and I'll miss the next two weeks (more journalism camps). I told the team I'll be available by text, if they need me...

Senior Citizen Sorority House

You know that feeling? The one you get when you first see your Mom or Dad or other adult you know and trust and love fall and get hurt, or have something horrible happen to them?

I've had that feeling a few times in my life. Once, I was rollerblading with my Dad - yes, my dad is that cool, he used to rollerblade with me - and we were going down this big hill. I think something got caught in one of his wheels and he fell. Hard. On his back. He didn't cry or anything like that, but it scared the crap out of me. Probably because I was worried about him, and also because I knew Mom would be pissed if he hurt his back, since he has to help lift Jayne around. I don't remember how old I was then.

Then, when my Grandpa Sax died, I was 16, and it was really hard to see how sad my mom was. You just think about your parents being indestructible, and when you finally realize they're not, there's a paradigm shift that is scary for a young person.

Well, right now, both of my grandmas (they're the only grandparents I have left - both of the pas have died) are living in a care home. The same one. One, most likely permanently, the other, just until she's rehabbed. No, not for drugs like Britney and Lindsey and all those crazy types. She really hurt her shoulder. I talked to her on the phone tonight, and I'm sure she's doped up with painkillers, and her speech was kind of slurred. That was weird. I don't mean she was weird, just that it was unsettling to hear her in that state.

When my Grandma Jarsulic first moved into her apartment (it was sorta like assisted living) we joked that it was the Senior Citizen Sorority House - activities all the time, floormates, meals served together. About the only thing they didn't have was a sleeping dorm. Bingo and arts and crafts whenever you want! Now it seems like it's a little more serious. I know it's tough, and it really makes me not look forward to being old.

Meanwhile, my poor mom is taking care of her 29-year-old daughter, and her own mom AND mother-in-law. Bet that's not what she signed up for when she took early retirement.

I guess one moral of this story might be: "Be careful how you treat your fam-damily, because they might be the ones taking care of you and making all the decisions someday."

Who knows. Enough of this, I've got a basketball game to watch. Go Cats - beat those damn Hawks!

By the way, played Cranium with Stacey and Eugene this weekend. Any game that requires the participants to mold clay, draw with their eyes closed and play charades is all right by me...Hint.Hint.Gift idea alert.

I'm getting too old...

Well, we've survived the "Adam Chittum 30th Birthday Extravaganza" that began earlier this week. Adam is now officially tucked in at 30 years old, the keg is empty, and the snacks have been put away. We had a great party Friday night, lots of friends from many different groups mixing and hanging out. It's always so gratifying when our divergent tribes can mix it up.

Other than that, it was a pretty lazy weekend. Nick, Denise, Carrie and Keri and I played some board games last night..."Can't Stop," "Wits and Wagers" and the DVD pop culture edition of Trivial Pursuit. I gotta tell ya, I freakin' love trivia, but we were playing with many shortcuts and that game still lasted three hours.

Today, we ran 3.6 miles. Pretty good considering it's flippin' cold outside. It reminds me of my marathon training, only today's high was 6 times that of some of those days!

Had to rip out most of the arm of a sweater I'm working on for Adam. The poor guy. It'll probably be done just in time for the weather to be 75.

Oh well, gotta go do some re-knitting, and some homework.

on the flip side