OUR LIFE IN 3D

The Home of Daddy's Day Dare! ~ I am just trying to stay above water

Archive for the category “Archives”

TOYS IN THE ATTIC

Yes, most of you figured out that in my last post I was just talking about moving and not getting off of WordPress. So I have to assume that is why I got those ‘Liked’ acknowledgements! I was hoping to fool a few of you  but I certainly was not looking for ‘Liked’s for me leaving WordPress (sniff, sniff). I am glad you saw through this embellishment. 🙂

Yes, the truth is we have to move. Our oldest daughter starts school next year. She is so bright (she has to wear shades). As you may know, US schools rank far down the list in regards to the rest of the world in terms of education. And the state I live in is at the bottom of the US’s top states in education.

Add to that, the school district we live in as at the bottom of our state. This means its time for a move….if she is ever going to take care of us in our old age. Luckily the next school district is just a mile or so away, so we don’t have to move very far.

Over the next few posts you may hear about some of our moving ‘misadventures’. This week we are boxing up our living room. We are reducing clutter and figuring out what we want to throw give away. But I tell you, we have hit gold in lost or forgotten pictures and computer CD’s this week.

You see we found a small basket housing all the computer discs we used to load our computer. I was looking for our MS Word disc as that file was corrupted last year due to a virus. Or did we just fill the memory with too many pictures and videos of the kids?

We did not see the MS Word disc (can anyone spare theirs?) but, in searching, ran across all these old, forgotten, or lost files. The Pandora’s Box of our lowly computer.

Aerosmith_-_Toys_in_the_Attic

Now some of you may already think I have Toys in my Attic. But some of these pictures and ‘mix tape’ CDs we found are a joy to find, for me, most of which I had forgotten about or thought lost. Take a look. See if these people look familiar:

Before we got married my wife and I were actually real fun people! We used to go whitewater rafting once a year. It was such a thrill! We would talk about going over the class 4 and 5 rapids for days. Here is a pic of us going down a rapid called, “Seven Foot Falls” Yes that’s my wife up front with her eyes closed! The rest of us appear a bit more relaxed…

rafting

Back then we lived about 4 hours away from Orlando, FL. We would frequently take long weekends down to Universal Studios, where they had some more thrilling roller coasters, like the Hulk where you start off at the top upside down..

theHulk

Here I am just catching some rays in front of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaretville at Universal. Always a beach bum!

AndyBuffet

When we got married we lived on the coast at Beaufort, SC, home of the most beautiful and exotic beach I have ever seen, Hunting Island.

hunting island

It’s an unprotected beach and home to sand dollars, dolphins, fallen trees and even movie stars, as they filmed G.I. Jane there.

MV5BMTUxNDY0ODY5MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjM5MzkxMQ@@__V1__SY317_CR5,0,214,317_

We actually did some turtle walks there. We would get up at some ungodly hour to be on the beach just as the sun rose. We walked the beach looking for turtle tracks coming out of the ocean. Loggerhead turtles would crawl up to the unprotected dunes, make a nest, and lay their eggs. It was our job to spot some tracks and find the nest. Then we would relocate the nest of eggs to a protected environment, allowing the eggs to hatch. The tire tracks leading up from the ocean are the turtle tracks here…

turtling

I also found a coupla old copies of an entertainment newspaper from Myrtle Beach, Hot Times this week. I used to write a regular feature column in. I was a bar manager at the time. I wrote a fictitious story called “Another Saturday Night with JD McKay about a bar drunk that sat at the end of the bar, close to the cocktail waitress station.

Another Saturday Night with JD McKay

Another Saturday Night with JD McKay

He had a real abrasive mouth and was usually made fun of  avoided by the waitresses. I usually filled the story with funny stories that happened in my night club each week. Any other similarities between JD and myself are purely coincidental!

Jd McKay

Pandora’s box indeed!

I wonder if the reason these were shoved in a cabinent in the living room was that they were to be  used in the fireplace?

And then I found these on another lost disc…

Dylan_Videos_080

Our first nanny was an up and coming photographer. For our first born’s first Valentine’s Day she surprised us with a jaw dropping photo shoot of our little girl as a gift.

We emailed some of these photos to my mother. She ended up entering one in their local newspaper’s contest for the cutest kid Valentine. Guess who won?

Dylan_Videos_007-Edit

Dylan_Videos_015-Edit

   Dylan%20Videos%20081

I thought I lost these!

Here are some more pics I found on a 3 1/2 Floppy disc. Remember those? One of these discs had a picture of me on the ESPN Sportscenter desk…

andyespn

If only (sigh)

…and also great (old) picture from when my parents accompanied their sunburned nose kid to Cancun…

m&dncancun

Yes,  I was that young once.

This forgotten picture of me catching a good wave bodysurfing always made me smile…

Sabrina 002

Plus this old fun pic where my wife is trying to pawn me off at a New Year’s bowl game.

andyforsale

Amazingly, she didn’t get one offer, although she did get many laughs.

Yes, we used to be a fun couple. 🙂 Its a shame it took having to move to find this time capsule to remember some of these great times.

Howabout you? What Toys are hiding in your Attic?

…and remember, when sending the much overdue fan mail, please do not send it in a Word file.

HOME SWEET HOME

Its finally at that dreadful moment. The time has come.

The holidays are over. The resolutions ignored.

Well, there are still some leaves to rake.

But it has come time to pack up and say good bye! 

It seems like we have called this place home for a long time now. It’s hard to  leaf  leave!

100_1555 

We have had our share of fun here. We have made a lot of friends. 

made somefriends 

We have seen this point coming for awhile now. We tried to prepare ourselves the best we could, even with everything going on. We have post-poned, ignored, and then prepared a bit.

But, just like the tides, we have to leave this place behind.

out with the tides

There’s really no getting away from it, the girls are getting older. Dylan will be in school next year! So saying good-bye is our only choice.

FUTURES BRIGHT 

This place has been beyond riches and so has everyone we have met here. 

SAND DOLLAR

 So……..

 Good-bye!

Some of you may have seen this before but here is the wonderful story of an amazing pair of kids…ours, put in our lives by the grace of God and a pair of Angels; as retold on “Don’t We Look A Like.com…

Christmas in the rearview mirror

WARNING: The following post contains explicit family pictures and videos, some of which may not be appropriate for non-family members or other non-parent followers. Non-parental guidance is suggested.

We all have been busy here in 3D the past 10 days. But the family has gone home. The decorations are down and put away. The tree is by the curb. Which brings us to that special time, the customary Christmas summary.

Our Christmas holiday was a special one this year. My wife and I  both agreed it was a great memory: like taking a step out of time, and the hustle and bustle, for some pure joy, fun and relaxation. So I wanted to offer a picture post summarizing some of the joys that made our Christmas special for us.

Christmas this year started the weekend after Thanksgiving when we decked the halls and dressed the tree…

DSC_0228

By the following week we were practically ready to welcome Santa.

Christmas 2012 005The joy of the Holiday actually started the week before Christmas. I had a vacation from work that week. So we decided to make an impromptu trip to the zoo one day to see how the animals were going to celebrate Christmas.

IMAG0416We had a great time, as you may have seen, visiting the animals from around the world…

IMAG0381

By the end of the week, with Christmas only a few days away, the girls were getting pretty excited.

DSC_0224

Who does she get this need for attention from we frequently wonder?

DSC_0335

Mom says it isn’t much of a mystery.

The Friday, Saturday and even Monday before Christmas the girls received very generous and thoughtful boxes, if not crates, from their two very extra special grandmothers and families.The girls and I are very fortunate to have you in our lives. Really!

Also, the weekend before Christmas my family checked in to our Bed and Breakfast; the REAL Santas. The kids didn’t seem to mind too much.

DSC_0177

Christmas eve the girls each had a wee small part in our church’s youth Christmas message. Its OK girls, Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have any speaking lines in his first movies and he did OK for himself.

After church we came home, had some snacks, then sent the kids to bed. We told them Santa may visit here later that night. He may even leave them some presents. And that good little girls and boys would be asleep when he arrives…

DSC_0355

Christmas morning started calm enough. The girls actually stayed in bed until 7:00am.

That really was NOT me playing with a Winks Club doll!

But then Grandma and Grandpa woke up and the excess began!

DSC_0318

Dylan just got wiped out opening so many presents that morning from Santa, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents.

DSC_0322

The girls got some GREAT clothes, especially dresses this year.

DSC_0272

DSC_0239

Plus a very special ‘pretend’ dress…

ResizedImage_1356209420922

She just told me she looks all grown up in that picture. OMG! Slow down Dylan, slow down!

Two days after Christmas the girls got to wear some of their fantastic new outfits for my parent’s 53 anniversary dinner. They enjoy looking pretty!

Later that week we crammed everyone in a car and made it to our local Festival Of Lights displays at a county park…

1

The girls ‘ooo’ed and awe’ed’ even though it was a bit chilly…

HFOLSLIDE20123

So we got out of the car and stood by the fire and warmed some marshmallows..

DSC_0396

OK they might have had a hard time reaching their stick over the coals. But after a few s’mores and some marshmallows the girls were all sugar primed and ready to have some fun.

DSC_0409

So, all in all, the girls had a memorable time it seems. They were all smiles and never looked cuter…

DSC_0346        DSC_0418

The kids and Santas were all smiles and definitely not disappointed this year!

That is until today…when we had to finally put our tree by the curb.

Everyone here in 3D hopes you had a memorable Christmas too. We extend our best wishes for your best new year yet!

And now, for something completely different:

May I present the Angler Fish; the mysterious creature that lives at the depths of the sea.  Misunderstood?

Ladies, how many of you have found males just like the Male Angler Fish?

So lighten up. You really don’t  need that Kashmir shawl that you didn’t get.

The Holidays are almost over. Its almost 2013…

Happy New Year Everyone!

Post Navigation