GQ

I saw this picture of Shia LaBeouf a while back and thought it was pretty ridiculous. What is he trying to do? To me, it kinda looks as though he just farted really loudly right in front of the girl of his dreams, and feels like such a moron that his heart has sunk way down, into the deepest part of his stomach.

Our little guy, on the other hand, pulls off the GQ look as if he were born for it.

Who is the Bigger Idiot?

Once in a while in April we get some decent days. It seems like this year there has been a shortage of those decent days. However, yesterday wasn't just decent. It was nearly perfect.

We decided to go for a hike up Millcreek Canyon. The weather was nice, we have a killer new hiking backpack for JJ (thanks to my sister), and it was the 16th, an even-numbered day. What's the deal with the even-numbered day? Well, in Millcreek Canyon, odd-numbered days are designated for dogs to be allowed on the trails off-leash while even-numbered days are designated for mountain bikers to be on the trails, thus requiring dogs to be leashed. Since our dog is not great with other dogs, even-numbered days, when dogs should be leashed, are more ideal. Unfortunately, most of the people who bring their dogs to Millcreek don't follow the leash rules.

To be frank, the lack of obedience to this rule pisses me off. The people not following the rules get all put out when we ask them to leash their dogs as we pass. One guy acted particularly irritated while leashing his dog.

He wisely told us, "This probably isn't the best trail to hike if your dog doesn't get along well with other dogs."

We replied, "That's why we come on leash days so we don't have to worry about loose dogs."

"It's not a leash day."

"It's the 16th. In my book 16 is an even number."

[looking at his watch] "...uh, I guess you're right."

IDIOT.

Not only is it a pain for us to have to worry about a dog fight, but the mountain bikers that go specifically on even-numbered days have to dodge loose dogs. I have very little patience for this complete disregard to an established rule in a very public place.

We decided that we can't change the world full of idiots, so next time we'll just put a muzzle on our dog. Maybe we are the idiots for not thinking of that sooner... but then again, muzzling our dog isn't going to stop a mountain biker from being thrown over his handle bars after hitting a loose dog though. I guess that still makes them the bigger idiots, right?

Either way, we had a great time and have made a goal to do the hike at least once a week. Hopefully it will get us in better shape and teach our dog some social skills.

JJ was mimicking the dog - sticking his tongue out and trying to do whatever the dog was doing.

Can your kid show off his smile without taking out his pacifier? Didn't think so.

Mommy Blogs...

We started feeding our baby rice cereal a couple of times a day. He loves it. We got a lot of crap from pretty much everyone for not feeding him anything but breast milk for so long, but like my brother told me, "The nice thing about being a parent is that you get to decide what's right for your kid, the copious free and conflicting advice you'll receive notwithstanding."

That being said, this same brother and I don't see eye to eye on everything. For one, he hates blogs like the one you are currently reading. Actually, I'm not so sure that hate is the right word. Let's go back to October 18, 2009, when he used two of his strongest talents: writing and being a smart a%$, to humorously describe what he calls "mommy blogs" and the rampant creation of these blogs in the cyber world. Is hate the right word? Probably not, but my vocabulary is not extensive enough to come up with a better word right now. Read the post in that link. It's funny.

With all of my free time I have lately, I have been trying to develop a hobby. I have often thought about the fact that I don't have a hobby. I hate it. I used to love to snowboard, but I'm too poor to do it now. I think I could get into golf, but again, money is an issue there. I like to cook, but I have a wife who, for the most part, has the taste buds of a pre-teen. The only other real interest I have had has been photography. Taking pictures has always kind of interested me, but since I've been married, that job has always been up to Lori. She has a nice camera and used to work at a couple of different photography studios. We never really thought of photography being a hobby that we could do together, until now.

I guess it only makes sense that since I write on a "mommy blog" I may as well start taking pictures. However, once the weather starts warming up, I don't know how much portrait photography I will be doing. I'd like to photograph things. Nature, bridges, landscapes, power lines, sunsets, architecture...

I've started reading, watching tutorials, and practicing. I'm having fun. Maybe once I figure things out, I can stop writing on my "mommy blog" and write about things I learn, tricks I have discovered, and hopefully post some cool shots. In the meantime, here are some pictures I took a couple of days ago of the most photogenic kid in the world.