New (to us) Vehicle

As I have talked some about already, Brittany and I are eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child in December (Drake Scott). Any of you that know us very well are aware that we have for the last four years owned 3 cars all with 2-doors each. Now, I'm not a seasoned parent yet, but I'm told that a 2-door car + an infant = a headache (literally and figuratively).

As such, we set out to sell my wife's Toyota Solara - a car she has been very happy with and was sad to drive away from - and replace it with something of the four-door variety.

We looked at 3 options seriously: a 3.5 Nissan Altima, a V8 Toyota 4-Runner, and a Honda Pilot. We were searching for a used one of any of the three.

What we found was that it's virtually (not completely, but nearly) impossible to find either the Altima (something like 1 in 12 were made with the 3.5 - V6 engine) or the 4-Runner equipped the way we wanted it. Throw in some expectations regarding miles and price and we were pretty much striking out on these two.

Additionally, we came to decide that while the Altima would have served our needs pretty well with the first child we felt like the odds of wanting something larger if and when a second child comes along were pretty strong. Given that we'd like for Britt to drive this vehicle longer than we're likely to wait before making another person (as John Luzadder likes to put it) it didn't seem prudent to go that route.

At the end of the day my wife loves the 4-Runner and would love to have the available V8 (please forward any green complaints directly to her), but it seems that almost no one that bought one fully-loaded is getting rid of it this soon (can't blame them).

Finally, we found that while not just growing on trees, the Pilot could be located with reasonable miles and pricing that was manageable. As a matter of fact, the one we bought is the only one we actually test drove - goodness knows we looked at several dozen on the internet.

Four weekends ago when we were baby furniture shopping we also hit a couple of car lots. Joe Marina Honda at 91st and Memorial in Tulsa had a silver Pilot that was of interest so we stopped in and drove it. At the time we hadn't really looked at anything else and though it was exactly what we were looking for we declined to talk dollars with them on it.

After searching for other Pilots (and finding little that we felt was as good of a value as the one at Joe Marina) and mostly failing to find anything of interest on the other two types of cars we were looking at we decided to at least see what kind of offer they would make us. Initially we were not terribly close on dollars, but a couple of rounds of straight-forward negotiations (and an eerily silent phone when it came to calls about Britt's Solara) later we were pretty close.

Finally, on Saturday, August 15th, Brittany and I agreed on an amount we were willing to spend so I called and offered that amount "in cash" (Seriously, Dave Ramsey, I mean it). Twenty minutes later I was scrambling out the door to Arvest before they closed at 1pm - again, it was a cash offer.

We hauled ourselves to Tulsa, inspected the Pilot closely (it's a Honda Certified used car, so I knew the inspection they did had to be pretty thorough and it came with 12 months/12,000 miles bumper-to-bumper), cleaned the last of Britt's stuff out of the Solara and then waited (for like 90 minutes) for our turn to sign the papers and pay for it.

The whole time I've got this wad of cash in my pocket. Somehow it just didn't make sense to have the pregnant lady carrying the money.

When we finally got to the part where the finance guy asked us to write a check was he ever shocked to see actual currency. As a matter of fact, we even had exact change - which included 4 quarters left over from washing the Solara on our way to the dealership. A quick double-count later and we were on or way out the door - and making a mad dash for the Martina McBride concert.

I've included a few pics of the Pilot. It doesn't have a name yet, I'm not even sure how we'll refer to it - car, truck, SUV?

One note to add. Britt drove it to school for the first day of teacher's meetings (2 days after we bought it) and of course it rained. By the time she got in it to come home the roads were dry and as a direct result of it being silver (instead of black like her Solara was) it was still clean in spite of the rain. Long-live the silver Hondas.

Week 1: WC v. Harrisonville

Finally! It seems like ages ago that WC captured their 8th class 4A state title in St. Louis last November, but finally tonight a new season began.

Love or hate the Cards, you have to give it to them, they don't ever play a cream-puff schedule. The Missouri Class 4A #1 Cardinals opened the season with class 4A #6 Harrisonville in a rematch of the 2008 season opener at Harrisonville.

The 2008 matchup was tight throughout and the Cards didn't seal it until the final play - a 27-21 road win that started a 15 game run to a title.

Tonight, Harrisonville received the opening kick, got a first down, stalled out and punted it to the WC 19 yard line. On WC's first play from scrimmage, Cardinal fans watched as Patrick Drake (my brother-in-law) turned the corner on an option and took it 81 yards to the house. (The pic below is about the time Pat turned the corner, it looks like a couple of those guys might have a shot at him, but no one really ever got close.)



Braxton Baker - yes, he's back - scored on a short run to cap a solid 2nd drive and make the score 14-0.

Baker went 49 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the next possession. 21-0 WC.

Then to cap the first half, Breckin Williams picked off a pass and hustled 65 yards into the end zone. A bad snap on the extra point sent the teams to the locker room at 27-0 WC.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Maddy Johnson went 95 yards untouched to make the score 33-0 WC (2-pt. attempt to get the clock going continuously failed).

The rest of the game honestly was dull by comparison. Harrisonville eventually scored using it's #1 offense versus something between WC's #2 and JV Defense.

Here's what I think we learned tonight:

- WC is fast. Maybe faster than I've seen them be compared to good competition in the years I've been around.
- WC is dangerous and deep at the skill positions. In case you have any questions about that, go back and read how they scored their 5 touchdowns - 4 of them came on big plays where a WC player got behind the D and checked out.
- WC has some work to do on the line - both ways. We knew coming in that the lines were question marks. Knowing that Hunter Luna is out gives me hope that they'll get some help at some point in the season. Outside of that, the boys up front are simply put going to have to continue to get better - and I have no doubt they will.

Here's how I see this going.

- Next week is going to be tough - and potentially rough - at Arkansas 7A Rogers. We'll see how it goes, but a win on the road in that one would likely be talked about for a long time (we all still feel pretty fortunate to have beaten Rogers in WC in 2008 - frankly I still don't know how we won that game).
- I believe the ultimate outcome of the season is going to be predicated on how the offensive and defensive lines improve as the season goes on. The horses are in place in the skill positions to have a great season. If the line can open holes on offense and close them on defense the way we're accustomed to seeing it may be a great year.

Stay tuned, we're just getting started.

Lame Mastercard commercial ripoff exit comments:
- Admission to a WC football game - $0 if you're married to a teacher.
- Spending a couple of hours with your preacher at the stadium just for fun when he's got a bad hammy and needs help claiming the family plot of seats - 50 yards at full speed with 3 blankets and a draw string bag.
- Cardinal Stadium atmosphere on opening night when the QB you're related to takes the first snap to the house - electric.
- Watching the Cards get a big win on your 30th birthday - priceless.

(Special thanks to Matt Foreman for the use of his photos in this post.)

When 3rd = A Good Day

This has been a long, rough NASCAR season for Dale Jr. fans. Let's face it, he hasn't done well for a variety of reasons. Personally, it doesn't matter to me why he has struggled, it just makes the races a little less interesting when he's not in the mix. But....

For about 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon we got to see flashes of the Jr. we'd like to see every week. Restarting 18th with 44 to go, Jr. blasted through the field with some combination of a better car (for once) and the good fortune of newer tires and a full tank of gas (while some others were trying to save fuel).

Dale had it wound up and running right along the wall - where he likes it - and pretty much no one was about to get in his way.

He didn't get the win, ended up 3rd, but I'd much rather see him charging through a field than trying to hold on for a top 10. It was good to see him finish a race going forward in the field instead of backing up or in the garage. He put himself in a position to drive aggressively and go for a great finish. This time it worked out pretty well.

While The Chase is out of the question for Jr. this year, it would be great to see him put together some good finishes this fall to provide some momentum toward 2010.

Pre-season

The 2009 edition of the Webb City Cardinals held their DVD-scrimmage this evening at Cardinal Stadium. I didn't get to attend. How could that be you ask? Well, it's simple, I was busy doing some pre-season training of my own. Still confused?

Here's the deal. As a Cards fan, it is critical to get in shape for the dash for seats at each home game. Scrimmages don't provide much training, because crowds are so small there's no pressure to perform. As such, I found a more effective way to train - buy general admission tickets to a sold-out Martina McBride concert.

Doors opened at 6, show at 8, and it was a free-for-all when they opened the doors. Preggo-wife in tow, we dashed for seats and managed front row center.

Let's just say, I'm definitely in mid-season form.

Okay, really, we didn't get there until 7:40 because we were busy buying a 4-door vehicle and there were no seats, so we stood for the first 20 minutes until we spotted some no-shows and grabbed theirs.

It was a good show. Very interesting crowd. Got called a really not-nice name because I wouldn't let a beer and nacho toting woman step between Brittany and I (we were standing about 3-inches apart). We missed the cover of Journey at the end of the show because we thought she was done and we were trying to avoid getting buried in the crowd.

I'm sure the car deal will get its own post soon, but suffice it to say I went "Jayson French" on the guy. He didn't open his Kingdom Worker card, but he took my offer and we now own 2 silver Hondas.

Traditions

Traditions are an interesting thing we humans do. We have them in virtually every aspect of our lives. We have holiday traditions, work traditions, religious traditions, sports traditions, and the list goes on. I'm not about to claim to understand all the psychology behind why we feel the need to establish and carry on traditions (sometimes well beyond their useful lifespan).

I do find it very interesting that we use what to others must seem like random acts as ways to commemorate important things in our lives. Sometimes traditions are intentionally established - several of the traditions we carry on in the Christian faith were specifically established and intended to be carried on. Other traditions just kind of get going without much forethought.

For instance, in my mom's family there is box that is given between family members each year - and this has been going on longer than I've been alive. At first it wasn't intentional, but then someone realized that that same box kept popping up each year. So they decided to keep giving it. The family is large enough now that we only exchange one gift at the big family party each Christmas - that one gift is given in what we call the "heirloom box".

I guess intentionality is part of a tradition. Until someone intentionally starts repeating the same acts it's not yet a tradition.

I realized Thursday that CIY has a new tradition - the dumping of icy water of the head of the MOVE intern coordinator at the lake party. Four years ago, the first year I served in that role, when it first happened it was a total surprise to me and I didn't think much about it. Then it happened the next year, then last year, and finally again yesterday.

Now there is one common denominator in those 4 cold showers I've received - his name is Tony Anderson. You see, back in 2006 Tony was an intern. Then in 2007 he was an intern again. In 2008 and 2009 Tony traveled with us an Emcee and we like him so well that we still invite him to the lake party. Coincidentally, Tony is a very talented composer and has scored several of the major films we have shown at CIY events over the last few years. Here is a link to his site.

Knowing that I was bound to get a cooler of ice over my head yesterday I decided to turn the tables a little. Rather than try to avoid my own celebratory dousing I decided it was time for Tony to receive the same honor. Tony is very persuasive when it comes to the interns, but he forgot one important thing - there are several of our staff members that (surprising to you or not) like me. So I asked them to help me out a little - by returning the victory shower to Tony when I got mine.










The interns this year were pretty sly, I'll give them that. Well, really they weren't. It was terribly obvious that they were plotting, but how they carried it out was good. They actually used a decoy. Two of the guys - Titus and Will - picked up a cooler and walked around behind me with it - in plain sight. I was thinking, wow, you guys are pretty confident that I'm not going to try to evade you or turn it back on you. What I didn't know was that Paul and Josh had gone around the house with a bucket and were coming from my blind side. It was a direct hit. Nicely done guys, no really, nicely done. In the words of our friend Tony, "Complete Success."

Shortly there after my retaliation plan was carried out by a couple of guys on staff (I think it was Chase and Ben, but I'm not 100% on that) while a couple of others kept Tony distracted - thanks, Jayson.



So it's a tradition. That's cool. I figure if the interns didn't like me they wouldn't do it so I might as well embrace it.

I guess I'll just add this to my list of things to thank Tony for. :)

6 Years Ago Today...

I was reminded on the morning news that it was 6 years ago today that a massive blackout hit the northeastern United States (and parts of Canada as I recall). I bring this up, because I'm not sure I've ever told my story about that day here on the blog.

During the week leading up to August 14, 2003 my parents, sister, and I had been on a baseball road-trip (sort of). We flew to Toronto (there's a story about that too), saw the Jays at SkyDome - the first modern retractable roof baseball stadium. Then drove to Niagara Falls and over to New York City to visit Yankees Stadium (Mariners were in town). From there we made a stop in Hershey, PA on our way to visit Pittsburgh's new park (they were hosting the Cards). Finally, we trekked it west to Chicago to visit Wrigley Field - where the Cubs were hosting the Astros in the middle of a late summer divisional race.

Wrigley is an awesome park and it was a nice day. We were enjoying the game when I noticed a couple of fighter jets flying along the coastline over Lake Michigan. I have always been fascinated by fighter jets so this caught my eye. They continued up the coastline and out of sight. During the next half inning we heard this thunderous noise behind us then suddenly the fighters buzzed right over the top of Wrigley at what seemed to be really low altitude. Over the next 2 or 3 innings this happened a couple of additional times, but we had no idea why.

Finally in the 8th inning we had to leave because we were catching a flight out of Chicago back to Tulsa. We made our way to O'Hare only to find news vans parked along the curb at the terminal. This seemed a little strange, but we didn't find out until we got inside that the northeast was now without power and most flights weren't coming or going at that point. Basically everywhere we had been for the last week was in the dark and parts of Chicago were too. Thankfully, the airport still had power and our direct flight to Tulsa was on schedule.

We boarded the plane and flew home mostly unaffected by the whole incident and then watched on TV as the blackout played out for the next few days.

When it happened, there were fears that it was terrorism related - hence the fighter jets. In reality it was a failure that set off a chain reaction and took down the whole grid.

Baby Furniture...Really Just Furniture

As many have heard by now we are having a boy! We plan to name him Drake Scott - both are family names - and can't wait for him to arrive.

The due date remains Christmas Day, we'll see if that plays out or not. I think we'd rather he came just before or just after (I mean just after, I'm pretty determined we're spending New Year's Eve at home).

The search has been on for a crib and furniture. Saturday was a frustrating day as we searched Tulsa with little success. The crib part was relatively easy, but what stores are charging arms and legs for as furniture was unacceptable. Why, you ask? Cheap materials and mediocre construction.

The big thing right now is for the crib to be convertible to a toddler bed and ultimately a full-size bed (you just have to buy the rails and the mattress/box spring to get you to the full-size). Great idea, that means I only have to buy 1 bed for this kid until he goes off to college and starts sleeping on a bed purchased by T. Boone Pickens.

The problem comes in when you start inspecting the construction of the dressers and changing tables they're selling with these cribs - particularly the drawers. If a very careful adult uses them, I'm sure they'd last for quite a long time. But if I'm letting the boy keep his bed, shouldn't he be able to keep his dresser? There's no chance that a growing child (boy or girl) isn't going to tear to pieces the light-weight, veneer finished pieces that are being sold along with most beds (unless you get into the really expensive stuff, found one set that met my approval). That's all before we get into the card stock being used as the bottom of the drawers. Yeah, that'll survive a 5 year-old boy!

Like I said, Saturday was frustrating. Sunday was worse as Brittany shopped endlessly and with no success online looking for something we liked, were willing to pay for, and that might survive.

Brilliant woman that she is, she decided to drop in on a place on Rangeline called "Wood You" Furniture. If you're not familiar with this business, it is basically a place that sells new, unfinished furniture. This gives the DIY-inclined a chance to finish it and feel like they did something. Or Wood You is happy to arrange to have it finished any way you want it.

So in we went...

This was my kind of place. Solid wood everywhere you looked. Now most of this wasn't quite as heavy as what I'd build, but it also didn't look like I'd built it (a plus). When I say heavy, we're talking a couple hundred pounds for the dresser. Brittany's first trip confirmed they had some really solid stuff that would serve our needs and the prices were reasonable (at least as good as what we were seeing elsewhere). Thirty minutes and a couple of trips to the catalog and we were in business.

Here's a picture of a piece similar to one that we bought (this one is slightly taller).

I'll have to do a follow-up to this when we actually get the finished product. Looking at everything in the store I'd be shocked if it turned out anything less than great.