Fair Time

We surprised the kids with a trip to the State Fair this morning.  Jack kept guessing we were going to the Jelly Belly factory which was the last travel surprise.   We did a lot of stuff in our 3 hours at the fair.  Jack and Elle both scored bandanas for completing their Smokey Bear / Forest Fire prevention passport - which is more work than you'd think!  Jack also learned about the Bernoulli Principle.   We rode the monorail and even so a real Monster Truck!

Kite Flying with Jack

We had a gusty Saturday a few weeks back... so gusty in fact that Jack and I decided to fly our kite!

Shandy Paydirt in Cali!

We finally get to partake in the official beer of the 2012 Tangeman Family Blog out in California!

UFO Over Nebraska?

I saw this thing whizzing around the skies today over some of the most desolate country in the world. I snapped a few pictures with my phone and couldn't believe the images. What in the heck is this thing?

New Furby Coming

Fourteen years after the original Furby launch, a new one is on the way. There are several notable differences between the new version and the original. The new one has LED eyes that can display more emotion than the mechanical eyes of the original. There is an iPhone/iPad app that allows you to interact with new Furby in various ways. It also has more motors inside than the old one for a broader range of motion. Also new Furby is $60.00! One thing the new and old versions have in common; neither has an off switch. CNET ARTICLE LINK

Yogurt Drops...or Ravioli?

Elle is generally a good eater but she's learning to let us know what she wants in a multitude of ways.

 

Happy Fourth of July from Jack and Elle!

Elle made a card for everyone..

And Jack learned the Pledge of Allegiance!

Nothing says welcome to Summer better than Splash Dogs!

Lost Dog In Albert Lea

ASU to Big 12??? as ASU Dominates Sun Belt

Football season isn't far away.  Here's an article that appeared earlier in the year on ASU's prognosis for 2012 along with a very random projection that they will be joining the Big 12 eventually!

A Simple and Zesty Chicken Rub

We went to a bbq over Memorial Day week-end and the grilled chicken was extra good as a result of this spunky yet simple spice rub.   Here's how it's done.

1 tablespoon of garlic salt
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper

Mix and rub!

Lost Cats!

Help find George and Tinkerbell!

Breaking Dawn 2 - Trailer

The Twilight junkies who frequent this blog will appreciate this!

What McDonald's Actually Pays For Food

I saw this posted on the internet. Seems legit.

Will's Car Stereo Shop Gets Customer

Father's Day Lunch

Here's a pretty good snap they took of Jack and I at his Father's Day lunch at school last week. The company was better than the food with one Dad commenting, "how did they manage to burn it and then serve it cold!" We had fun though and even got to sneak Elle out of her class before her nap!

Cool Ad / Video

OK, here's a cool campaign run by TNT as they introduced a new channel in Belgium... bet you watch it twice!

Dinner Time!

With good weather and our shady back-yard in the evening we tend to eat outside quite a bit!

Summer Shandy

In honor of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy being named the official beer of the summer by this blog, I drank a couple of them at the horse races this past weekend.

Budweiser Lime-A-Rita

Tasty margarita flavor. It is carbonated which I wasn't expecting. I like it.









Also our friend Frauke enjoyed this product.




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Jack Graduates!

Here's live footage from Jack's pre-school graduation. Think he loves his teachers?

Jack's Pre-school Graduation

Jack graduates from pre-school today and begin kindergarten in his new class next week!

Part of our homework was to write a note for his secret bottle to help him remember who he is today.

Dear Jack, Here’s a short note to help capture your personality at age 4. Of course the first thing you’d point out is that you are almost 5! You are a very loving boy. You like “putting love in peoples’ hearts” and you proudly proclaim your sister is your best friend and that you love her very much. You’ll often get yourself in trouble when you think she needs help.

You have a wonderful imagination that we hope you’ll keep forever. You like to invent names for things like super-rissens (fancy rocks) and do-dos (berries) and then collect them for fun. You’ve asked Santa Claus for garbage trucks two years in a row and have about ten of them that you like to play with. You are just learning how to ride a bike without training wheels. You love to read and we are currently reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Another thing you like doing is dancing in the rain and walking through puddles.

You are both an independent and a sensitive boy. You proudly proclaim you want to go to Georgia Tech even though Mom tries to unsuccessfully convince you that you’d rather go to Michigan. As long as you continue to be happy in your life we’ll be happy, regardless of what you do.

We love you,

Mom, Dad and Elle

The Official Beer of the Summer! Summer Shandy by Leinenkugel

Among other things, on our recent trip to Nebraska we established what the official beer of the summer would be: Leinenkugel’s: Summer Shandy. Some would argue it is NOT a beer because it is really mixed with lemonaide...but those folks aren't our blog authors! I've struggled to find the shandy in California so far though there are coupons for it available...

Swimming, swimming, water here we come...

Today was water day out school so the kids donned their suits and were slathered in sunscreen.   Jack's pre-school graduation is only days away!

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Jack and I are currently reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Here's a real life 2 minute version! Let's go team mongoose!

Chillin' in DIA

With lots of time to burn in Denver International we became quite familiar with our terminal in Denver International Airport. Jack especially liked walking on the people movers "by himself". In doing so he provided lots of entertainment to onlookers while also gathering a number of puzzling looks - he was oblivious to it all.

Elle Descends the Stairs

Elle descends the stairs using the famous "Jack" technique.

Solar Eclipse Footage - Ring of Fire!

Tsunami Harley

Pretty cool story! A Harley traversed the Pacific!

Yuki!!!!

Yuki - a quality pooch....

Look Out Lab!

Lost Key!

We keep a house key in a discrete place in the house and this week it turned up missing. Did we leave it outside? Did someone take it?

Steph later found it among Jack's "garbage"!  Can you?

The eclipse was pretty cool in Northern Cali.  While we didn't quite get the "ring of fire" we were about 50 miles away from those who did so we were very close...

Here's a picture we drew for Jack to help teach him about it.

Post Vacation Excitement

We're all home from our Lincoln vacation...

Jack is still into collecting leaves to feed the bugs! Pictures from the vacation to be distributed shortly!

Follow Me!

Elle is enjoying her new found mobility. She often sends Jack scurrying to the tall table to avoid her!

Jack's Dino Art

Dino Art!

Jack's into multi-colored dinos these days. Early Toast features the dinosaur place-mats for kids which Jack obviously enjoys. Here is his T-Rex from a few weeks ago...

How Big is Too Big?

Samsung has announced their new Galaxy SIII phone touting it as bigger is better. With a 4.8" screen let me be the first to say that bigger is not better. You want a phone that can slip nicely into your pocket AND fit nicely into your hand. This phone is not that!

Cute Snap

Here's a cute picture of Elle I captured on my Blackberry. The great look on her face is unique and not one I've seen from her...

Vegas Getaway - 2012!

We had a needed and well-deserved Vegas get-away this elongated week-end.  Lots of highlights but the best was just Steph and I getting to spend some time together without the kids - who were in great hands with Mimi and Grandpa.

The trip featured some great music as we saw Elton John perform at Caesar's Palace on April 19... followed by the Eagles at MGM on April 21!   Both were pretty amazing considering they are all ~65 years old.

Here we are outside our hotel...Aria

By checking bags and flying Southwest we get to leverage all levels of the new terminal in the Sacramento airport.  The highlight, of course, is the ultra cool bounding red rabbit.

Our first attempt at a self portrait in our room didn't quite work out.  Sometimes those are the best though!

Worth Checking Out

There's a new restaurant in town making and interesting claim relating to their biscuits and gravy. I'll follow up on this and report back to the blog.

Think The Kids Had a Happy Easter???

Jack was skipping and happing and bouncing all over the place!

Elle had fun too!