Rebuttle

Heard this song on Folk Alley at work today and the lyrics totally cracked me up.
Couldn't help myself. Had to share.

Eddie From Ohio, "Old Dominion"

you think you'll find some mountains
in western colorado
fifty weeks of snowy peaks
is where you're gonna be
but babe the rocky mountains are gradually eroding
the hills of coors are nothing more
than blue ridge wannabes

a turkey on it's belly
a chicken on it's back
anyway you look at it
you'll find her on the map
she revels in the seasons
shakes hands with the north
hugs the land of dixie while dancing on the porch

you think that autumns in new england
are the greatest of them all
but give me sweet virginia for the fireworks of fall
the prettiest october in all the fifty states
just drive up to the skyline
park the car and wait

so grow up colorado
excuse me tennessee
if you don't mind, north caroline
here's where i want to be

(chorus)
when you're talking home
you mean the old dominion
just southeast of heaven to the surf and the hills
she's the best of thirteen sisters
and thirty seven more
sweet sweet virginia always keeps an open door

they're fiddlin' in galax
pickin' up in floyd
and in the land of patsy cline
they're songs you can't avoid
when you're walking back after midnight
i'll fall to pieces, too
i'm crazy back in baby's arms with sweet dreams of you

they're sailing down in norfolk
skiing up in bryce
climbing up the devil's stairs against the ranger's advice
they're harvesting in loudoun to shenandoah winds
and in the land near washington they're rooting for the 'skins
fight for old d.c.

so grow up colorado
excuse me tennesse
if you don't mind, north caroline
here's where i want to be

(chorus)

pack up your impala
and make your move out west
past the blue ridge mountains
you'll find you passed the best
and when your dreams have ended
where mountains are concerned
me and sweet virginia will await for your return

(chorus)

Summertime Blues

VID 00021-20100627-1633
Originally uploaded by reidpierce

One thing I've been looking forward to the most this summer is outdoor music festivals. June is here, temperatures are in the 70s with zero humidity and no bugs. That's right, Virginia. NO BUGS. ZERO humidity. This is our reward for two months of mud and 40 degree temperatures when everyone else in the world is watching daffodils bloom.

The family had VIP passes to Blues from the Top this weekend. Can you say FREE sushi? And, pizza, barbecue, Chinese noodles and bomber burritos. The kids think lush green grass is heaven sent. Running around barefoot and rolling around was the highlight of the festival for them.

From here on there will be about three outdoor concerts every week.

Funny things he says

I've been writing funny things the kids say in a column on the left, but then I realized that I'm not saving them anywhere and I don't want to forget. So now I'm going to randomly post them on the main page so I can keep them.

Daddy, I love you more than the whole earth and the whole sun.

Look behead of you. It's another tree. (Makes sense. Behind. Between. Behead.)

I'm just prekidding.

I can't see. I need to get the 'noculars.

When I grow up I want to spend a lot of money on a monster truck that drives through the mud. And I'm going to wear a black suit and a helmet that covers my face to keep me safe. And, Mommy, when I grow up, you can ride in my truck too, but you have to wear your helmet.

Happy Father's Day

Justin arrived Friday just in time to celebrate Father's Day weekend with us. I can hardly believe the boy turns 13 this summer. He plays guitar and even has a girlfriend. I was thinking about something having to do with Justin — thinking that it was last summer — and then I realized it was already three summers ago. Geeze.

We had a really busy weekend. On Saturday, while I worked a yard sale at the preschool, Scott biked into town with the kids AND the dog (about 5 miles round trip). After lunch, we headed to a summer festival and checked out some mud bogging in Kremmling. I've linked to a clip because words don't do it justice. Sawyer was simultaneously thrilled and terrified. After dinner, Scott took Justin to the rodeo across the street from our house. Another interesting culture.

This morning we made Scott a yummy breakfast of French toast with sugary strawberries on top and thick-sliced bacon from the butcher. The kids made a card and took Scott breakfast, tea and the newspaper in bed. (This, by the way, was Sawyer's favorite part of the day when we recapped over dinner). While I cleaned up and packed a picnic the kids biked around the neighborhood. Then, we hiked several miles round trip to a waterfall and had our picnic at the base and then — much to Scott's chagrin — went straight to the movie theater, dusty and sweaty and hiking-boot-clad, to see Toy Story 3. Um, I'm ashamed to admit this, but ... I cried at the end. It was only Sawyer's second movie in a theater (probably the first he remembers) and he sat gape-mouthed through the whole thing. Arden fell asleep about half-way through.

For dinner I cooked again (three meals, definitely a record). I marinated flank steak (ok Scott did the grilling-to-perfection, which is more than half the battle). With that we had asparagus, french fries and cooked carrots. My entire family stuck their noses up at my carrots, one of my all time favorite childhood dishes when coated with butter, salt and a sprinkle of dill. Again, I did the dishes, vacuumed, mopped, organized toys and started in on a mound of laundry. (In some ways I think EVERY day is Father's Day). We rinsed of the tired and filthy bunch off kids in the shower and ended the day with a video call to my dad — the kids read him the bedtime stories and sang songs.

And, because these types of photos are so rare ... here's one of us.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men in my life.

More gaper photos

I almost forgot about the wildlife drive through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Brian snapped this shot of Sawyer catching the wind in his hair.

Scott caught this shot of a moose in RMNP.

Just Cuz.

My brother and I grew up without any cousins, so I'm really excited for Sawyer and Arden to have the experience of growing up with five of them.

Last weekend, Scott's brother Brian and his wife Jami came to visit with their two kids, Gracie and Max.

The weather was glorious. We started the trip in Denver with lunch at "My Brother's Bar" (the city's oldest bar in existence) and a run through REI's flaship store in Denver, which is in the restored 1901 Denver Tramway power company building. We hiked to Adams Falls and had margaritas on the patio of Poncho's and Lefty's overlooking Grand Lake. We even crashed a wedding in the park, ate ice cream on the boardwalk in Grand Lake. And that was just the first 24 hours.

The following day, after a big breakfast, the boys headed across the street to the local ski hill where the summer "gravity" biking season was kicking off. Scott had a flashback to his professional motocross days and went big.

Brothers in arms.


While the boys risked life and limb, the kids ran around the base area while Aunt Jami and I drank Bloody Marys.

The seven cousins are all within five years. Jace is 5, Sawyer almost 4, Arden, Gracie and Kieran are all 2, Max is 9 months and Kingston is brand new.


Off all the cousins, these two are the closest in age, only 5 months apart. I hope someday we manage to get all the cousins together at once.

It was so great having family visit. I wished they could have stayed another week. I hope the rest of you come visit soon.

Ode to Uncle Ross

Okay kids ..... SMILE!

They clearly inherited these smiles from their Uncle Ross.