Friday Night

Hello all,

OK, it is Friday -- The start of the weekend. What does everyone want to do? Oh, go to Mercury Gymnastics for Gashland/Clardy night out. Not your first choice either? It is what Zac and Ali wanted to do, so that is what we did. I made some spaghetti for dinner and then drove them over to the event. I picked them up an hour and a half later and listened to all the excitement from the night's activities. Both kids still enjoy jumping into the foam pit the most.

Good night,

-Andy

Zac's Practice

Hello all,

It was a good night at the ball field for Zachary. He played both center field and 2nd base tonight. The team did not hit tonight. Zac was disappointing. After practice, we stopped at McDonalds for chicken nuggets and then headed home for a much needed shower and bed.

Good night,

-Andy

Yard MOWED!

Hello all,

I finally got the yard mowed last night! It took me over an hour and a half to cut and carry the grass to the compost pile. Oh my... it was a task. Good news is it is done and we can get back to a normal schedule!

-Andy

Royals Game

Hello all,

The one night where I could mow the yard, I couldn't due to a Royals game. I wish the Royals could have won... they should have won. They had the lead until the 8th inning when the bullpen gave up three runs.

-Andy

More Rain

Hello all,

It is raining again today. I may need to bail my yard if I don't get into it soon. Anyone in need of some good hay?

-Andy

Still Raining

Hello all,

It has been eight days since I mowed my yard. It is growing out of control. I am now looking at not getting into the yard until Monday.

-Andy

Happy Birthday Danna!

Hello all,

I want to take this opportunity to officially welcome my sister Danna to her 40's! You thought you were so cool being the first one to drive while growing up. Well, I'll be the last one to turn 40! It was great getting up to see you and the family tonight. The kids had a great time playing in the bounce house and seeing all of their cousins. I can't wait to see you again this Summer!

-Andy

Lunch With Bill Leon

Hello all,

I met up with a friend of mine from Embarq today, Bill Leon. We had lunch at McFadden's in the Power and Light district. He is doing well since leaving Embarq in December. Bill is taking the year off and working on his house and getting things in order before jumping back into the corporate world. It was great to see Bill again. I was happy to see that someone else has made it out of Sprint/IBM/Embarq without losing their sanity.

-Andy

I need to mow the yard....

Hello all,

I wish I could mow the yard tonight, but it has been raining all day long. It is getting very tall and I'm afraid I may lose the battle if I don't get in there and knock it down soon.

-Andy

Ready for the Rain

Hello all,

All day I have waiting for the rain to show up, but it never did. My grass could use a good drink. I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow.

-Andy

Simple Night at Home

Hello all,

Tonight we didn't do very much at all. The kids played outside before dinner. I took the recycling and yard refuse bags to the curb while dinner was cooking. Jennifer went through the stack of mail and sorted what was junk mail from what was worth reading. All in all, it was a productive night.

-Andy

Monday

Hello all,

I put a new rope on Ali's tether-ball pole today while grilling hamburgers. Zac was hitting baseballs off of the tee and running the bases. The backyard is a wonderful place when you are a kid.

-Andy

Sunday

Hello all,

The girls spend another night out of town last night so it was a quiet morning. Zac and I went to church and then came home for lunch. Ali and Jen arrived home after 2:00. It is great having them home.

-Andy

Baseball Practice

Hello all,

You know you are in for a long practice when the you volunteer to throw batting practice for the team. After 110 pitches, I was ready to call it a day. The guys are hitting better now. I think there are a few kids that really understand how to hit. I am glad that Zac is one of them!

-Andy

Boys Night

Hello all,

The girls are in St. Louis tonight for Ali's bowling tournament so the boys are all alone at home! Oh the trouble we COULD have gotten into tonight, but didn't. Instead we went to the driving range and hit some golf balls and took a few swings in the batting cage. Zac had a lot of fun just being guys. After the batting cage, we went to McDonalds for chocolate shakes and some time in the play area. At 9:00, I decided to pack it in and take the little guy home to get ready for bed. Since we didn't have anywhere we needed to go first thing in the morning, I let him stay up with me until 10:00 and watch some TV. He fought the good fight, but drifted off to sleep on the couch. I carried him up to his bed and turned on the attic fan to pull in the cool air from outside. He was out.

OK, it is time for me to head to bed, too. I hope the girls are having fun in St. Louis.

-Andy

Tax Day

Hello all,

Happy Tax Day... Yippee... Great... Woo Hoo... I just love sending my check into the Kansas City Treasurer for the 1% earning tax. I wish this tax was eliminated. I know that the city would get its money from me somehow, but I think I would enjoy it a lot more if I was not sending a lump sum check in on the 15th.

Good night,

-Andy

Batting Cage

Hello all,

It was another eventful night at the Scott household. Tonight after dinner and homework, the kids and I went downstairs for some soft toss batting practice. Ali hit first and after she worked out the kinks of her swing, she was driving the ball into the net. I think she will be in better position next year for softball if we keep working with her over the summer. Zac hit well from the right side of the plate tonight. He has developed a habit of releasing his right hand after contact. I think he has watched too many home run hitters on TV and thinks it is cool. I stressed to him that he needs to keep his hands on the bat all the way through his swing. It is more for his safety and the windows. I don't want to replace anything downstairs right now!

-Andy

Cleaning the Basement, Day 2

Hello all,

I shredded on box of old utility bills tonight. I had no idea that it would take as long as it did. I know know why other people use Cintas to dispose of confidential information. It is quick and simple to dump it into a locked dumpster and watch it get sucked up into a vacuum tube to be turned into confetti. Now I need to break down some old boxes and get them to the curb. I can almost see the floor at the back wall. I don't know if I want to keep the old training toilet. What do you think? I think it should be donated to Good Will and let someone else potty train their kids.

Good night,
-Andy

Cleaning the Basement

Hello all,

Have you ever just got sick and tired of stepping over stuff you should have thrown out YEARS ago? Well, that is where I am at right now. In my basement I have Christmas boxes that have been crushed by the kids and storage boxes that we used when we moved into the house leaning up against the basement walls. I want it all to be taken out with the trash on Wednesday. In order for it to make it to the curb, I got started tonight moving it to the garage. Next stop -- the curb. It will feel great to get the corner cleaned out tomorrow night. Hopefully the entire back wall will be clear by the end of the month.

-Andy

Watching the Masters

Hello all,

We went out to eat for David's birthday tonight at Texas Roadhouse. We went down south to 119th and I-35. It was good to see both David and Susie tonight. After dinner, we headed back to their house for birthday cake and watch the final few holes of the Masters. Phil Mickelson won with a winning score of -14 under par. What an impressive four days of golf. I can't wait to get out and play some this year.

-Andy

Happy Birthday David Thompson

Hello all,

This post goes out to my brother-in-law who turns another year older today. Happy Birthday David. I wish I could go golfing with you today. It would have been fun.

Zac had his first baseball scrimmage this morning. He went 2 for 2 at the plate off of machine pitch. His first at bat was from the right side of the plate. His second AB was from the left. Both hits were pulled through a gap. When he arrived at first base, he took off his batting gloves and handed them to his coach just like he has seen the professionals do. Zac's coach looked stunned. He had never had a player do that before until today. I didn't know if I was proud or embarrassed. I settled in on proud.

After the scrimmage we headed home. I mowed the yard while Zac rested. We had a busy night ahead of us as we are heading out the the Royals game to watch Zack Greinke pitch against Josh Becket. It should be a good game.

-Andy

More Training

Hello all,

Ah... The training finally ended at 1:00 this afternoon. I made it back to my desk to find over 100 emails that require my attention and 17 voicemail message. Why is it that training feels worse than taking a vacation day? Simple: People know you are in the office and will return shortly. Therefore, they pile requests upon you until you return. This is Friday, right?

-Andy

All Day Training

Hello all,

I've been in training since 7:45 this morning and it is almost 5:00. The speaker catered in lunch which equates to NOT getting a lunch. This was the longest nine hour day I've ever had.

-Andy

Raining Hard

Hello all,

It has been raining hard all day it seems. I don't think that Zac will have baseball practice tomorrow night. I should take this time to get the trimmer started or do something productive tonight, but I just don't feel like it.

-Andy

Picture from the last snow storm

Here is a picture that Jennifer took of the kids standing on the snowdrift by our house. Both Ali and Zac enjoyed being almost as tall as the street sign!

Back to work

Hello all,

I am very happy to be back in the saddle today. I have a few tickets to work on and get my bearing again. It has been a week since I was at work. I am surprised I remembered my password this morning.

-Andy

Opening Day

Hello all,

Today was the Royals home opener and the family was VERY excited to watch the boys in blue start off another year of baseball. Unfortunately, the game did not go as well as we had hoped. It was a disaster actually. The bullpen gave up six runs in the seventh inning. Ouch!

At least it is only one game. There are still 161 to go.

-Andy

Happy Easter

Hello all,

Easter service - Check.
Easter egg hunt at the house - Check
Easter egg hunt at Diane's house - Check
Lunch with Larry - Check
Easter egg hunt with Larry - Check
Dinner at David's house - Check
Called my mom to wish her a Happy Easter - Check
Exhausted - Check.

I am ready for bed - Check.

-Andy

Mowing

Hello all,

It was a long day for sure. I mowed the grass this morning. This afternoon I pulled the grass out of the flowerbeds. I am ready for a break. Tomorrow is Easter. Jen and I have a long day ahead of us for sure.

-Andy

Good Friday

Hello all,

I am home with both kids today since both DST and North Kansas City schools are closed for Good Friday. I was going to mow the yard today, but the rains came early. Now I am looking at a long Saturday of mowing and yard prep. At least I have the mower ready for tomorrow's first cutting of the grass.

-Andy

Zac is home with Me

Hello all,

Zachary is home with me today due to the policy that no child can return to school after becoming ill the previous day. We are having a good day. He is feeling great and is looking forward to getting outside later tonight for baseball practice.

-Andy