Every year at this time we celebrate a couple of things. One is Valentine's day. The other is Leah's birthday (also on February 14). Yep, Leah is now 35 years young but she doesn't mind. She still looks just as beautiful as the day I met her. 

We made Leah a two layer heart-shaped cake. I wish I would have taken more pictures to show you the process. I learned that I'm much better at eating baked goods, than baking the goods. Although I only filled up the cake pans just over half-way, one of them overflowed during baking. At least I had it on a cookie sheet to contain the mess. Then after baking and icing first layer, I added the second layer and discovered that one icing tub wasn't enough for a double layer cake. Lynsy and I had to go out and buy more icing. Once the icing was all set, the kids both added a ton of sprinkles to the cake. Of course we then had to eat some of the masterpiece after singing Happy Birthday to Leah. The cake was good and just like Leah it was stacked, sweet, and sparkly.

Evan got in practice time on the Gulfstram 150 last night. Leah's dad is an instructor for Flight Safety International and let us visit his work and fly in one of the flight simulators. The simulation is fantastic. It's the next best thing to actually flying the plane plus when your in a simulator you can fly crazy scenarios that you would never do in real life.

Here's Evan in the co-pilot seat recreating Us Airways flight 1549 that ended up in the Hudson river.

Today, Lynsy ran in a local 5K race in our community called the Jingle Bell Run. Yes, they even handed out little bells for everyone to tie on somewhere on them to get the true jingle bell sound. Lynsy put one on each shoe. She didn't have lots of time to train for this race due to Thanksgiving and other recent events that booked up our schedule, but she still did really well. She placed first in the 14 and under group and was the third overall in the women's category.

Earlier today I was looking at an image of a strange land feature in Africa on google maps and I remember thinking "The detail in Africa has improved on Google Maps." Then of course I thought of Nairobi, Kenya. We used to live there when I was younger. (I think that was the Jurassic period if I'm not mistaken.) I looked at Nairobi last year some but found the resolution in all but downtown to be lacking. I was happily suprised to see that it had also improved greatly since I last checked it out.

So I can see the town well, and I remembered that we used to live on NGong road, but to my dismay the road was long and extensive. I could still see the flats in my mind and I know we used to walk to downtown Nairobi but still I wasn't sure exactly how far. I decided to punt and ask mom. She would of course remember better than me. I sent her a link to what I thought was the correct area and she gave me just enough advice to point out the location. Her reply:

Wow, that brings back memories! Good ones too. Obviously the build up along that road is majorly different from when we lived there. Lots of those roads didn’t even have official names. I will have to let dad look at this and see if he can pick out the approximate place. I found Uhuru Park, and we were not too far from it. When we walked to town we often walked down Ngong Rd and then cut across Uhuru Park to get to the main down town. It did not take us long to get from our apartment to the park so I’m thinking it was less than a mile but dad has a  lot better memory for that sort of thing. If we walked down the street that came up along side the apartments (and ran into NGong rd) then we walked a good ways, came to a fairly busy road then turned right to walk down town. Going that way , once we turned onto the main road and walked a little ways we went in front of the Pan Africa Hotel.  Then closer in to town, (I think) we went by the Anglican church. I don’t know if those are even still there.

From what I remembered The flats consisted of 3 buildings actual buildings but I always thought of them as 4 since there were 4 stairways. The back of the buildings away from NGong had covered parking. I remember discovering one car there that had an alarm  by accident and after we set it off once or twice, the owner came out and asked us if we were messing with his car. I think we blamed it on a cat. Yes, the cat (who just happend to be walking by) must have been climbing on the car.

Any way, the buildings were set back from the road a bit and had a nice grassy area  with several large trees on the front and side. It was practically a garden and the gardner would mock chase you if thought you were messing with the plants that he took such good care of. In the back of the complex to one side was a servants quarters of some sort. People actually lived in this square compound in one room houses. The rooms couldn't have been any larger than our living room. That's where our friend Joseph lived. He was about my age and me and my two brothers found him to be very entertaining. He asked his mother to teach him English so he could play with us. Little did I know that these poor people in the one room buildings were so much better off than the people in the Kibera slums just a mile south of us.

I shot off another email:

This is my best guess then. 3 buildings (Two gray, one brown roof), with covered parking in the rear only, and a small compound in the back left that the servants lived in. It has the large trees on the side and a grassy area in the front.

The "flats" are in the center of this photo  (Maybe)

So this was my guess. Click the image for the actual google map of the location

Success! That had to be it, and yes mom agrees with me that this had to be the place.

I think you are right! That looks like it. If so we lived in the apartment building that is closer to the front and closer to the corner. I followed that side road and can see that it does ‘t’ into a main road. Following that road there on the right is the roof of a large building set near the road exactly the way the Pan Africa Hotel was/is. It looks very much like you have located it!

Looking again, I think you can even see the bus stop! Also the road curves right after that on the way to town and that seems right.  We had the police compound across the road where we could go to buy a few things like milk etc… I don’t know if that was directly across where the empty looking area is or the place next to it. It did seem like we walked across a fairly open area to get back to the buildings where they had a  small shamba and sold some things. (not a store you could walk into but something set up more like a firecracker stand is. Where there is an attendant who can hand you something from his little store of items).

So that settles that question. Now I'll just have to wait for Google to get street view working for that road. That would be very cool. I'm sure it will be a while before that happens but it will some day I'm sure. I'll have to dredge up some old photos from Africa some time. I do happen to have one on hand. This was in front of a Library The McMillian Memorial Library if I'm not mistaken. I'm the one with #73 on the shirt.

This morning we went out to the big city of Weston TX so Lynsy could ride in their 4th of July parade. Weston is a very small town, but they have a very large parade on the 4th of each July. This year there had to be at least 100 horses in the parade. Honestly the largest group of horses I've seen in any parade anywhere. Organizing this was obviously too much for some people. The horses were all supposed to stage in a pasture just by a small church building. The gate to the pasture was locked, and the fire marshall who was directing traffic was being a grouchy bear telling everyone where to go and what to do. Things got pretty heated when Leah's dad started to unload Rio in an empty grass lot. The fire marshall seemed to be afraid that children would be trampled or the horses would poop where he would step in it. I finally told him he wasn't going to get anyone to listen to him if he kept acting all grouchy. I guess his mom never told him that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. 

The parade itself was great. Lynsy and Rio were awarded 3rd place in the horse entries. Funny note about Weston: The town is so small that they went down Main street twice during the parade. 

Later, back at Leah's parent's house we had some burgers and hot dogs. The kids also played badminton after we figured out how to set up the game that Luann bought. The kids were pretty good at the game, but I found out that I can't hit any shot that comes directly at me. I don't think there's any hope of me becoming a professional at the sport. 

In the evening we went out to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie to watch Flamefinder race. He did really well and finished 3rd in a group that set a new track record for that distance run. Personally I think he could have won if he would have had his regular jockey. The jockey that normally rides him opted to ride a different horse that finished 3 or 4 horses back from Flamefinder. Durh! That was a dumb decision wasn't it? O well, you never know about horses, but you'd think that 3 wins, and 1 second place finish in 4 starts would have the jockey begging to ride the same horse. Guess you can't please everyone.

After the race we watched the most spectacular fireworks show. The were shooting off fireworks from the backside of the middle of the track. Leah, Luann and the kids managed to get the track workers to produce a nice bench for us to sit on at the opposite side of the track from where the crowd of who knows how many thousand were packed in. So needless to say we had the best view and the best seats in the entire park. A nice end to a really nice day. 

Last night we went to see Superchick's Cross The Line tour concert at the Palladium Ballroom. Ballroom doesn't exactly describe the place. It's practically in downtown Dallas and has this industrial feel to it. Parking was $10. Blah! At least it was close. I will give the place one good positive comment. Despite the fact that it's just a stage and a hardwood floor, you do get to see the bands up close and personal. I did appreciate that. 

On to the show. To start off the night Starlit Platoon got on stage.  The lead singer is Superchick's drummer. I never heard one of their songs before, but found myself actually enjoying their music. It was above par for sure. Especially for a lead-off band. Very nice indeed. So go to their page and check out their music. It's worth a listen. Note the pictures of Leah and Toni below. They were the coolest moms chicks there but I have to give the edge to Leah. Her intensity level was unmatched. (Except for the long-haired woman just in front of us) Leah was jumping and moving around nearly as much as the guys on stage. The kids can't say their mom is boring. No sir.

Next, Britt Nicole came out. She was quite a bit different than Starlit Platoon. She's more of what you would expect to hear on a mainstream Christian radio station. That's not to say that she didn't have an edge, but that it was a softer edge. Her song, Set the World on Fire was exceptionally good. She sang a couple of other songs too. I must have been going deaf by then because I don't remember which exact songs she sang other than that one.

Next up we heard KJ-52. This guy is all about rap, and he was extremely entertaining. He did some new stuff with a bit of an old-school twist. He was the most interactive with the crowd. He had everyone getting into the songs. He made a video of the crowd from on-stage. There's no sound, but you can at least see the energy he puts out. We're somewhere on the right side in this video. By the way, I was extremely jealous of his super cool Transformer jacket. Now that was retro-tastic! So anyway, check out his MySpace account, and make sure you call him  "Tweeezaaay" cause he likes that.

Next up on the list, *Thunderous voice* DISCIPLE! O, I knew about Disciple before the show. Disciple is one hard-core Christian rock band. Don't expect to hear them in a Sunday morning service or on your local Christian radio station. I will say that their message is positive and they even stopped to read from the Bible and give a short message about God's love for everyone. Despite their hardcore image, they seem to really make an effort to let you know about Jesus. *Applause* Now if only I wasn't deaf after their segment. Two drum sets, guitarist doing front flips off of speakers while playing. It was intense and deafening. My ears are still ringing today. It didn't help Leah had decided to park everyone right next to a wall of speakers (although we were right up by the stage and it gave the kids a great view). A deaf guy, no a dead guy could have heard the music. Here's a tame version of one of the songs they sang (slowed down 50 times so you can hear the lyrics). Don't let the acustic guitars fool you. For a more realistic version of what we heard. See video below.

And finally, the moment everyone was waiting for. Superchick! She was super awesome of course and well worth the wait. The main reason we came to the show.  Lynsy and Leah love the positive girl power lyrics with the edgy sound. I think Evan liked KJ 52 and Disciple the best. He even got a Disciple t-shirt. Don't forget Superchick's new cd 'Rock What You Got' hits stores June 24th and from the new songs we got to preview, it's going to be an Awesome CD.

Today was Evan's 14th birthday. Wow, 14 years old. It doesn't seem like he should be that old now although he's taller than everyone at his birthday party but me. This fall he'll be in High School. (Scary) Oh, and we now have to issue a wind advisory when he blows out his candles. He blew the confetti right off of his cake. 

The party was, of course, great entertainment for all. Opening presents, eating cake and ice cream. Then things got really out of hand and we all ganged up on Aaron and wrestled him to the ground. I have to say he was doing pretty well. At one point he was taking on Lynsy, Leah, and Laurie. Then Evan jumped in and I finally joined in for full effect. It's a wonder we didn't break anything in the house. 

Earlier that day we participated in our communities first annual 5K race. Me and Lynsy spent the last 2 months running some on the weekend gradually working up to about 3 miles so we wouldn't fall over dead after the first mile. Then about 2 weeks ago I did something to injure my knee so I've been riding a bike while Lynsy jogged. The weather ended up being miserable. It was 48 degrees and windy. Not exactly what you want to run in. Leah's dad ran with Lynsy and my participation was limited to just watching. (I tried earlier in the week and found that I was still only good for about a mile before my knee would almost give out.) I was extremely proud of Lynsy. She finished in 28 min. and was the first in the 14 and under group. She even beat her grandpa although he was 2nd in his age group.  Come to find out, Lynsy would have clocked in a little earlier but her grandpa told us that when she first got ahead of him he saw her running back to him to check on him and he yelled at her to turn back around and run ahead.

Moving on to other races, Flamefinder (Leah's Parent's horse) had another race at Lone Star Park. We went out and watched it. I've never seen the race track so crowded, but then I've never been on Kentucky Derby day. (Later heard on the news that it was a record crowd at Lone Star today) To say they were packed in like cattle would be an understatement. We all forgot to bring cash for betting and had to wait forever at an ATM. Just when it was our turn, it ran out of cash. Aaaah! Wouldn't you know it. The race itself went off well. Flame was doing great until he got boxed in on the last turn behind 3 slower horses. He did eventually get out of the group and still ran a neck and neck race at the end and placed 2nd. 

Today Evan and I went to see the final round of the EDS Byron Nelson Golf Tournament. It was freezing cold out. At least for a end of April weekend in Texas it was cold. When we got there it was about 50 degrees, light rain, and about 30 mph wind. One of the officials on the course told us we must be hard-core golf fans to be out in this weather. Yeah, something like that. We quickly found a spot on the first green where we were sort of out of the wind and camped out there till the leader groups started playing.  

Slowly but surely, the weather got warmer and the wind died down a little. We followed group #1(Scott, Bryant, Southerland) and #2(Hoffman, Moore, Garcia) around most of the time. They were all fairly lousy at first. Everyone was picking up a couple of bogeys and we even saw Garcia throw his club once. He should have throw it in the water cause his play didn't get much better after that. By the time the got to the back 9 they came around and started making incredible shots. The sun even came out and it turned out to be a perfect day for golf. 

After walking 50 miles or so, we camped out on the 18th hole and watched the last few groups come in. Thanks to the folks from Direct Energy we had the V.I.P. treatment and got to hang out in their second floor room overlooking the 18th hole. Can't say I've ever had star treatment like this at a sporting event. All the food or drink you wanted, balcony seats overlooking the event, gift cards for the PGA pro shop(Evan and I got a nice cap), and yes they are the ones that we got the tickets from. You can thank them for me by signing up with their service. Personally I'm in an electric co-op and don't have the choice. 

Back in the game, Scott had been leading the entire round but on the last few holes Moore crept up to take the lead at -7. In the classic story-book finish, Scott tied the score with a birdie on the 18th and they went to sudden-death playoff rounds. The first PGA sudden death since 2004. They replayed the 18th and tied. Played the 17th and tied again. Then they went back to the 18th again and finally, Scott pulled out a victory with a 50ft. birdie putt for the win. Evan said he was just glad someone won because all the walking back and forth between holes was wearing him out. I agree completely and was so glad they finally finished.