This picture of Gabriel and I was taken at a corn maze in Southern Minnesota a couple of weeks ago.  This place has had a corn maze for the past three years and we always try and go there because it's a fun thing to do with the kids.  It's on a farm in the middle of nowhere and we enjoy it because there never seem to be many people around.  Plus, the maze is actually pretty tough.  Lots of wrong paths you can go down.  For a guy who has trouble finding his way home from work--a place like this is dangerous.  Luckily, I had my wife and kids along.  Gabriel was able to lead us to safety.  I was only able to lead us in circles.

Just last week, we had a big birthday bash for these two youngsters.  Our little Gabriel turned one year old and his Great-Grandpa Peanuts turned 95 years old!!!  Yowsa!  Gabe's birthday was on a Saturday and Great-Grandpa's was two days prior--on a Thursday.  To avoid a fight, we had a party on Friday--right in between the two.  Both seemed all right with it.  Peanuts is Chantel's Grandpa and he is in excellent health.  He lives down in Apple Valley at an assisted living place.  For fun, he plays in pool tournaments, knits, plays bingo, and chases the women around.  That's the nice part about where he lives.  I think there are about five guys and over two hundred women--he has the rule of the roost.

I think Gabe got a kick out of his first birthday party.  His favorite part was eating his own little cake and walking around the house--for eleven hours--pulling his birthday balloon around.  For laughs, I would take Gabe's balloon and tie it onto the back of his bib overalls.  He could see the balloon floating overhead and would turn 'round and 'round like a puppy dog chasing its tail.  It was even more fun to watch him when I tied the thing to our ceiling fan.  Like all one year olds, Gabriel enjoyed opening the presents, but seemed to be much more interested in playing with the wrapping paper and boxes than anything that might happen to be inside of them.  If any of you happen to be looking for the perfect gift for Gabe, just wrap up some wrapping paper.

This is Chelsea, Alyssa, Chantel, Gabriel and I in the hustle and bustle of downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming.  My brother and his wife and one year old daughter all live there.   Chantel, the girls and Gabe and I decided to drop by because we were not too far away.  For a little summer vacation, we decided to head out to the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.  We did the usual touristy things out there--visited Mount Rushmore, hit Wall Drug, walked around in some caves, panned for gold, swam in some hot springs and learned about all sorts of dead people in Deadwood.  But, the girls weren't so impressed with our "summer" weather.  Most of the time, it was in the 40's and we even happened to have a mini-blizzard as we were out walking around Devil's Tower.  The day had been pretty warm earlier, so we were out there in short sleeves and no jackets while pushing our baby around in his stroller.  I guess we should have had a clue when we only ran into two other people on the trail.  By the end of our hike, the girls were hoping I was right that this trail went around in a circle and we would end up back where our van was--otherwise we were certain to die on that oddly shaped rock.  You see, my girls are all too aware of my sense of direction and were worried that I could even somehow manage to screw up a simple trail that went around in a circle.  I told them not to worry about us getting back to the van--I just had some sort of calling to come out to this place...  To reach the backside of Devil's Tower...  Some odd force was drawing me, I was obsessed with it...

Gabriel says it is for reasons like this that he thinks he shouldn't have to be in his stroller anymore.  We are free to roam about while he is trapped and subjected to torture and harassment from rogue hungry animals.  I sympathized with him somewhat, but soon got over it and would push him in front of yet another different animal.  It was a lot of fun to watch the two different species check each other out.  All the animals thought Gabe was OK and Gabriel thought the same of the creatures, until a couple of them started viciously licking his face.  Then that was the end of that.

  That's all for now, folks! Take care and check back soon!

Last updated on October 15, 2001 AD.