My kids have always loved telling jokes. Most of these jokes are not funny. But that has never stopped anyone from telling jokes, and I have to give credit for at least trying. We still quote my son Connor’s very first original joke, told when he was four:

Well, Darcy took this a step further with her latest “book,” The Joke Book, decked out in red construction paper, and stapled with lined notebook paper pages. Here are some examples:

What do you call a snail on a boat?
A snailor!

What animal likes corn?
A unicorn!

What is a butt’s favorite food?
Butter!

The last one’s my favorite, because it’s so bizarre.

Have you heard any good ones lately?

–Brian

One of the great things about my kids’ school is the belief that writing, or “journaling,” is important. Since kindergarten, both kids have been writing down whatever they want, whether they can spell it right or not. Connor, in particular, had some very unique spellings up until recently; but the point was to get used to writing, and to express yourself through writing.

My daughter has been especially keen on this idea. She loves putting together her own books, stapled together, above and beyond the class-required quarterly journals. One book in particular caught my eye: Darcy Has Some Bad Things To Tell You.

Here is a list of what my 6 year old thinks is pretty terrible stuff.

1. I have bad luck.
2. We can’t find my Easy Bake Oven
3. Hailey threw a snow ball at my face
4. I do not get to have any more candy
5. I only got to watch half of iCarly
6. I had a bad dessert
7. Connor got soap in my eyes
8. I missed some rainbows
9. I don’t have a placemat
10. Cindy is not my friend anymore
11. Dad plays Guitar Hero when we are leaving (editor’s note: guilty as charged…)
12. My hand hurts

But she ends it on a hopeful note:

13. “But it doesn’t happen now,” with a smiley face.

As a parent, I feel awfully good about this journal. Of course, things are bound to change when she hits 13; I imagine by then she’ll be able to think of a few more pages to add! But for now, Darcy’s bad things aren’t so bad at all.

And for that I am incredibly thankful.

–Brian

Halloween 2009 was a tremendous success. My kids loved their costumes this year – click for a slideshow. And man, what a haul of candy! So different than when I was a kid. My brothers and I used go out trick-or-treating for hours, and we’d come back with maybe half a bag full of candy. My kids, on the other hand, go out for half an hour, don’t even leave our street, and come back with more candy than they can carry. Good candy, too: Dove bars, Heath bars, Snickers, it’s unbelievable! Our neighbors are awesome.

Today, I can’t stop thinking about last night’s Mad Men. They say Matt Weiner tends to pack more into the the season’s penultimate episodes than the actual finales, and this year was no exception. From the Kennedy assassination and how it affected the country, to the secrets finally revealed in last week’s episode, there was a lot to take in. Each week, I rely on two resources that always help me to make sense of all the subtle detail. As much as I think I get all the nuance, reading Silkstone’s synopsis every week always proves me wrong:

http://www.open.salon.com/blog/silkstone

And it’s always a good idea to hear what the show’s creator has to say each week – here is the Inside Look Video from AMC.com:

–Brian

Click Pic For Video

Matt Wertz flew in on the redeye from Vancouver to play his first show in Niagara Falls. There were a lot of happy young ladies in attendance, especially when he played his latest hit “Everything’s Right.” We saw him at the Casino afterward, waiting to play roulette. I hope you hit it big, Matt.

Click Pic For Video

And Pittsburgh’s own Rusted Root closed the show with their big hit “Send Me On My Way.”

Click Pic For Video

As much as I like video, it doesn’t do these songs justice. You truly had to be there. If you weren’t, make sure to join us for our next concert!

And hold your kids hand while you still can. Autumn’s chill comes before you know it.

–Brian

8 years in now, it’s difficult to even imagine me not being a father. It’s not an easy job, especially as I watch my son and daughter leaving childhood behind far too quickly. To hear Darcy’s little girl voice slowly going away is so hard. To watch Connor fielding calls from girls after school amuses me, mostly, but it also speaks loudly and clearly to me they’re not going to be little kids much longer.

(Hopefully there won’t be boys calling Darcy at home for many many years…)

There are times in every Dad’s life, when we’re picking socks out of the kitty litter, or wiping orange juice off the ceiling, or scraping melted crayon off the inside of a dryer, that we question why we became parents. We say things like “THIS is why we can’t have anything NICE!”

And then, there are times when we find notes like this in our briefcase:

My daughter always makes sure to put pigtails on the smiling girls in her pictures. I love you too, Darcy.

–Brian

Connor showed me his November Journal for school. For the entry right after Barack Obama was elected, the question was asked, “What would you do if YOU were President?”

Connor said if he were President he would let everyone eat cake for breakfast. He didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t eat cake for breakfast, and his favorite cake was chocolate, with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

Now that is change we can believe in, my friends!

–Brian

This morning, Connor’s hair was crazy, so I wet it down. He asked if I could blow dry it, and as I was doing it, he closed his eyes and spread his arms out.

“What are you doing?” I asked
“I’m flying!” he said.

Just then, Darcy skipped by the door to the bathroom, riding her toy horse-on-a-stick. Yes, like the Monty Python skit. She had a huge smile on her face.

And that is why kids are great.

–Brian

As I sit tanned, relaxed, and still not quite in back-to-work mode, I’m happy to say our Florida vacation was the perfect remedy for the seemingly endless Western New York winters. Last year it snowed from October to April, and we couldn’t get away until June, when it was already pretty nice here! This year, we planned a nice mid-winter break to visit family in the Sarasota area, to break out of our hibernation; click on my happy son below for a slideshow.

Having lived in the city, in the mountains, and near the water, it is obvious to me that I am a water person. The sound, sight, and smell of the ocean calms my soul in a way nothing else does. As JFK said, the need to return to the sea is strong:

“We have salt in our blood, our sweat, and in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, we are going back from whence we came.”

Amen.

–Brian

Last December, after we set a record for donations at my first Radiothon, I thought “Man, it’s going to be tough to follow this next year!”

Now, after exceeding last year’s total by over $40,000, I’m thinking the same thing about Radiothon 2009! The generosity of Western New York never ceases to amaze me.

In case you missed it:

• Over $211,000 raised for the country’s best SPCA facility.
• Over 140 animals adopted.

Wow!

Many many thanks to all who made this event such a tremendous success! We saved a lot of animals this year.

For more pictures from SPCA Radiothon 2007, click here.

–Brian

Last year, Connor met Brooke in line at the “Caterpillar” roller coaster, and they rode a few rides together, before tearfully saying goodbye when we ran out of ride tickets. THIS year at the Fair, as we made our way to the “Caterpillar” again, Heather and I wondered, “whatever happened to cute little Brooke?”

Lo and behold, there she was – again – standing in line with her family. Brooke’s parents said before they got to the coaster, that they too were wondering “whatever happened to little Connor!” Heather and I decided that if these two little lovebirds should meet again next year, the third consecutive unplanned meeting between them, we’ll just arrange their marriage right then and there. Fate is obviously playing a part, here.

Click to see a slideshow of our Fair adventure!

–Brian

I don’t know how it happened, but my children – through some freak of genetics – are morning people. At sunrise, without fail, every single morning, they are UP and ready to face the day with huge smiles and boundless energy.

Now I love my children dearly, but Daddy is not like that in the morning. The snooze button and I are very well acquainted, as anyone who knows me will attest. But I haven’t needed an alarm for many moons, thanks to my pounding, knocking, jumping, giggling progeny.