HB!

The boys love their Uncle Beanie, better known as Uncle Awesome.  He lets the boys play games on his iPhone and iPad and even hangs out with them on New Year's Eve.  He also gives the best presents (CHC - cold hard cash).

So that's Jake forming the letter "H" and CJ contorting his body to make the letter "B."  You would think they're making these letters cheerleader style in honor of their Uncle Awesome's birthday today.  The "HB" is actually for his Hairy Buttocks.  Obviously, Carol and I have failed miserably as parents.

Happy Birthday Beanie!  Btw, that's Flannigan in the background forming the letters "DN."

Flashback Friday - Boo to Boot Camp

As I'm writing today's flashback, Flannigan is nuzzling his wet nose under my elbow.  Even after a year of being with Flannigan, I still call him Fred by mistake.  I have to stop doing that.  

And then there's Boo.  Or Kookookashmoo.  But I should stop using those names too.  After all, the cute little boy in this picture isn't a little boy anymore.  Brandon is a grown man now and only a couple of days away from shipping off to Army boot camp.  We're all so proud that he's chosen to serve his country like his uncles and grandfather.

And Brandon, we all know you'll serve well.  You might have other things on your mind right now.  Who wouldn't?  But I know that you'll be focused, determined and strong at boot camp.  In other words, it's your turn to show that TCD - Total Cruz Domination.  Go get em Boo!  I mean, Brandon!

Random Thoughts #4

Random Football Thought:  Here's my first bold football prediction of the year --- Marc Bulger will lead the Miami Dolphins to a great season in 2011-2012.  I should point out that this prediction is extremely bold because 1) Will there even be an NFL season or will football players loot the streets and wreak social havoc if there's no NFL season as Ray Lewis predicts? 2) Marc Bulger is not even on the Miami Dolphins roster and isn't even a starting quarterback.  And 3)  He doesn't even use a "k" in his first name like normal people.

Just blaze on by this part for you non-football heads.  Yes, he hasn't had a good season in a couple of years.  I think a shoddy offensive line is the reason for that.  With a good line - like the Dolphins should have this year - he should be solid and gunning the ball all over the field like he did in St. Louis.  The Ravens would love to keep him but probably won't be able to due to starting opportunities elsewhere.  I'm thinking he could do what Chad Pennington did in his first year with Miami.  

I don't think good quarterbacks wake up one morning and realize they suck.  Like Kurt Warner, when his line wasn't strong with New York, he had mediocre seasons.  And then he lit it up again with Arizona.  Let's see what happens...

Random Food Thought (s): 

What kind of cuckoo leaves a plate of collard greens next to a gas pump at a BP station in Bessemer, Alabama?

This one gives new meaning to loving potato chips.  BTW, it's hard to lose weight when you scarf an entire bag of Ruffles potato chips in a single sitting - even if they're low fat chips.

One of my all time favorites - softshell crab.  It's awesome in sushi or just by itself.  Fat-free too.  Or not.  Side note:  Alan - I found a place here in TN that's got em.  Oh yes.

Random Jake Quotes:


"The Bible says we shouldn't call people fat lards."

"CJ, go stand in the corner and think about your life."

Pet Thought:

Doesn't Flannigan realize I'm Filipino?  He's tearing up his pillows without a care in the world. He's lucky we adore him.

Navy Thought:   Moving is hard.  Duh.  I just hit 20 years in the Navy and in those 20 years, we've done 9 moves.  And we're not finished yet.

I was reminded the other night of how tough the good-byes can be.  We said farewell to the Walker family last week.  That's Amy with the rabbit ears.  It was a fun night.  Got a bounce house for the kids and "juice boxes" for the grown ups.  Only a couple of bounce house injuries.  Nothing permanent.  Yes, like the picture suggests, military folks are used to seeing the backsides of people with all of the constant good-byes we endure.  It's a challenging thing to ask of any family.  But hey, at least we get that cool commissary privilege.

Seriously, with Memorial Day weekend upon us, I'm grateful for those brave souls that answered the call to serve - and their incredible families as well.  As evidenced by the many tears the other night at the neighborhood farewell, military families sacrifice a tremendous amount.  And I'm talking blood, sweat and tears - blood in loved ones lost, sweat from days spent in the 120 degree heat of an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, and tears over the long days, weeks and months of separation.  Please remember these things as you enjoy this special weekend.  Now go stand in the corner and think about your life... 

Twins?

Our dog Flannigan and the Chic Fil A cow - twins separated at birth?

Hmm...I never see the Chic Fil A cow and Flannigan together in the same room at the same time.

Maybe CJ is the Chic Fil A cow?

Snow Day!

We got a couple of inches of snow the other day so the schools shut down.  The entire Navy base was closed too except for essential personnel.  In other words, we had a SNOW DAY!  Woo hoo!

Jake saw plenty of snow when we were in Newport, Rhode Island but he was just a baby.  This was really the first time he was able to play in the snow.  He had as much fun as a Republican during the November elections.

This gives you an idea of the amount of snow we got.  I'd say it was about 4-5 inches, which everyone knows is huge.

 Since we have a decent incline on our driveway, our place was a popular with the neighborhood kids and their sleds.

Jake's first snowball

Later in the day, we went over to this sledding hill.  It was a popular place, especially after people found out that a man broke his leg last year while sledding down this hill.

CJ picked up some decent speed going down that slope.  It was a very successful outing - no broken legs and lots of laughs.

We returned home from sledding to find this cute little guy on our porch.

Flannigan and the neighborhood dogs enjoyed the snow as well.  Seeing them run to their hearts' content put a big smile on my face.

After a couple hours of being outside, we went back in for some hot chocolate and some chill out time. This seems like a simple picture of the family playing a board game but there are some things I feel obliged to point out.  Jake got way too overzealous with his nose-picking - I'm talking two knuckles deep - and caused a self-inflicted nosebleed.  Check out the bloody napkin he's holding.  Meanwhile, CJ kept straddling the "Sorry" board game with his crotch even after we repeatedly told him to back up his genitals.  It seemed like we were reaching for CJ's junk every time we had to move our board pieces through his corner of the board.

If you look closely, I'm losing badly in this game.  I have the blue pieces and I'm nowhere near getting any of my pieces to the final home spot.  I decide to be funny and sneak all four of my pieces to the home spot to see if anyone notices.  Well, CJ and Jake definitely notice and think that I'm cheating - which I wasn't.  I was just trying to be funny.  Honestly.

My little trick caused quite the reaction from the boys.  They demanded that I lose a turn.  Needless to say, I did not win the game.  The snow day was a win for all of us though.  Very fun hanging with the family.

Flannigan!

Losing Fred, our dog for 16 years, was a big blow for the Cruz family.  We'll never forget him.  We had plenty of conversation on whether we were ready for another addition to the family.  It almost felt like we were cheating on Fred just by having those talks.  But after a while, we felt it was the right thing to do.  CJ's strong opinion on the topic had a lot to do with the decision.  He was going dog crazy.

So we started visiting the various animal shelters in the area.  Flannigan immediately caught Carol's eye.  I think he gave her a funny look and head tilt.  He was very cautious and shy in his cage and we never heard a single peep out of him - not a single whimper or bark.  The Humane Society folks said he came to them in rough shape.  He was either abused or involved in a serious accident.  They think he was burned or drug by a car.  He had no fur on the left side of his body and he was extremely skinny.  The good folks at the Humane Society did a great job of getting him well though.

Some of you have heard my pitch before on rescuing animals from shelters and humane societies.  There are some really good animals there that need homes.  The alternative for these creatures is not good.  Don't plunk down hundreds of dollars for purebred pets from pet stores or breeders.  Save a doggie life instead!

So here's good old Flannigan.  He's a little over a year old now.  We're picking Labor Day as his birthday.  Close enough for government work.  Best guess is he's part boxer, part border collie.  We don't care.  He's all Cruz now.


What an awesome dog he is.  We should've known by those first couple of looks he gave Carol that he was really smart.  With just a little bit of training, he's already picked up several tricks.  He knows sit, shake hands, down, stay, roll over and will fetch the ball all day long.  He's also housebroken.  Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to grab me a beer yet but we're working on it.

That dog loves his momma.

His best doggie friend is Daisy, a beautiful lab who lives next door.  They roll around like there's no tomorrow.  It won't be long before Daisy will be bigger than Flannigan.

So here's a quick video that shows some of Flannigan's quirkiness.  I don't know what he was doing with that tennis ball.  Pretty glad to have a yard for Flannigan to romp around in.  Have a great weekend.