Announcement

With my presence on Facebook, I often forget to update our family blog with good news. Since this blog has been a great way of tracking Jack's life, I think I seriously need to change all that!

With that said, we have some great news to announce! We are expecting our second born on April 20. Amy is about 17 weeks along now and the baby is about the size of a turnip (I have no idea if the turnip is a smaller turnip, average size or enormous; I've seen all three...but you get the point.)

This time around, we want to be surprised and have something to announce, so we are NOT finding out what we're having and we're NOT sharing names with anyone. So don't even ask! :-)

I'll keep this thing updated better as we go forth into holiday season. That's a promise!

Expense-ities

Okay, so they're actually called 'Antiquities' and it's a great fundraiser for our local Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. I've tried and tried lately to take photos of Jack and he hides from the camera when I come 'round. Decided to give the Antiquities people a shot.

There was a fourth pose I paid exorbitant amounts of money for, but Granny Janny took that 8x10 already. I'll scan it later...

Adorkable.

Time to get this thing updated

Did you miss your little angel? I'm not even going to bother with excuses about why my blog is so painfully un-updated the past four months. I'm busy and when priorities shift, the blog gets the shaft. I'm on a mission to update you June through October though, so here we go!

My goodness, this kid is so adorable sometimes!

Rawr!

This was clear back in March, but I forgot to post it. Go fig.

Best kid ev.

 Above, Tori was a candidate for homecoming royalty, getting second attendant. Jack, Peyton and Sawyer were all very proud, as were all of us!

Tori had no idea she was about to be served a heaping platter of Jackaroni and Cheese. 

BTW, this photo will be in a frame...

Forgive the clutter behind him, but trust me on this one, this cowboy's not gonna let some ignored paint cans get in the way of some good, old-fashioned fun!

Stick 'em up, mister!

Don't worry, it's just Jackles!

We were invited to a hog roast at Brian and Heidi Wright's house on Sunday, and we all had great fun and outstanding food, as well as dang good company! Above, Jack picks out a peck of pumpkins. Okay, just one, but a peck just sounded better...

Jackers and a cracker.

Jack-o-saurus and Peytunia Elisa-bells.

Jack and his amazing, beautiful mommy.

I have no idea what was going on here, but I took it months ago. Which makes me question why the kid was wearing a Halloween shirt months ago. Probably better not to analyze this one too much...

Remembering Memorial Day Weekend

Just when I was feeling bad for not blogging enough, I went to do a massive Memorial Day post and Blogger informed me that I'm completely out of photo storage space. In order to keep blogging, I have to purchase more space. So, I'm going to post what I have uploaded and figure that all out later. I'll add to this post once I get the storage issue fixed.

The kid above is Jack. He's my son. He's cute.

We were traveling home from Lincoln and stopped to eat in K-Fed (that's what I call Kearney cuz I'm not that town's biggest fan). While eating, we bribed Jack to eat some Mac and Cheese by telling him we'd take him to ride on a race car like they have in the lobby of Wal-Mart. As we were driving north, we saw a carnival set up at the mall. YAY! Jack really enjoyed it.

Jack won this Scooby Doo at the duck pickup game thingy. He LUVZ it!

We don't know who this kid is, but Jack insisted on riding on the blue motorcycle. Didn't bother the other kid to have him there, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't overly impressed by the PAPA-razzi.

My lovely wife and Jack's wonderful mommy. She must really like Old Navy...

I recently started using picnik.com because it's awesome. You can do really fun things with photos without the complexity of Photoshop. I'm going to submit this photo, minus the extras to the Palisade Pioneer Days photo contest. Love it.

Jack and Joshua Hicks were having a good time one day. Joshua is my classmate and friend Crystal's little boy.

This is Auntie Em's pup, Leo. He really is an alcoholic and kinda borderline evil. When were enjoying adult bevs at Emily's, we had to keep them off the ground or he'd intentionally spill them to drink their contents. I think the next morning he definitely needed the 'hair of the dog'! Haha! I kill me!

I like this photo, but I have a better one to post later.

Coolest kid ever? Probz.

The Haags doing Derek Zoolander's world-famous model pose.

So sweet... 

I'll upload more later when I have more time and more space. So next time you're sitting there griping about my lack of updates, remember that I maxed out my space. THAT'S how awesome I am at blogging our lives. Keep that in mind, whiners...

Go fly a kite!

Okay... so, these photos are kinda old. Recently (okay, not really) Grampa Rick bought a kite for Jack to fly when he was at Granny Janny's. This might have actually been around Easter actually. Yes, I do indeed suck as a person.

Jack loved being in control of the string reel.

Xtreme concentration.

An ant's point of view.

Look at it go!

Stud nugget.

This might have been the tug that got it...

...stuck in the tree. Rick did save it though and there was a bunch more kite flying accomplished!

Amy's Weight Loss Blog

Amy's at it again. Check out her weight-loss blog...

amyvrbi.blogspot.com

A quick post before leaving for O-Town

We were getting ready yesterday, when we looked up and Jack was outside on his tractor in just his birthday suit. He had disrobed and headed out onto the step. There's more to the story, but we'll stop here... Ask if you'd like to hear the other part. It's cute.

I decided since I (finally) had the camera out, I'd snap some photos of this little handsome devil.

Doin' some showin' off.

We are all heading to Omaha for state track, a visit with Dan, Emily and Jake (who is back on leave from Iraq for two weeks), a trip to the zoo, and anything else we can squeeze in. More pictures next week of that and the kite-flying with Jack and Rick. (Those pictures have been waiting to be posted for weeks. Yes, I know, I suck.)

Proud Moment

I know this is totally braggadocious and all, but sometimes you've just gotta toot your own horn a bit.

Amy and I went to the Nebraska Press Association convention in Kearney last night where 'The Wauneta Breeze' (where I work) snagged a total of 28 individual Best of the Press 2008 awards (12 firsts, 8 seconds and 8 thirds).

Now before you go thinking I'm bragging about myself, please keep in mind that I was only at the paper for three weeks last year. My editor, Tina Kitt, received 16 individual awards, further proving that she is AMAZING! Susan Jones, our ad creator, got two awards, and our publisher, Russ Pankonin, also won an award. I got three awards: firsts for Sports Column and Web Site, and third for Editorial (I had no strong photos to submit). The overall staff received six awards.

Overall, we were second among all weekly newspapers in the state for points and received first in General Excellence for our class. I hope the paper that won this year enjoys the traveling trophy, because next year it's returning to Chase County.

Sorry. Just had to brag up my paper. I love my job and love the people I cover; recognition just makes it that much more enjoyable. Community journalism is what keeps our citizens informed and I believe so strongly in the newspaper industry. (In fact, I have this week's editorial brewing in my brain about this very topic!)

Now, roll your eyes and go about the rest of your day...

Dave

Another Eggs-cellent Easter

If this post doesn't annoy you as much as it is annoying me, I will consider it a win and count it on the books. Blogger is PO'ing me to absolutely no end. Why can't an internet program in 2009 figure out a better way to upload photos, for the love of Christ (who died for our sins on Good Friday and rose again on Easter, the point of this post). 

Of course, you wouldn't know this is the Easter Vrbi post because Peyton's photo posted first. 

Whatev. After the Palisade and Wauneta egg hunts, which the Vrbi attended, we promised Jack and Peyton that if they were good in Walgren's, we'd take them to the Wauneta park (which RAWKS, by the way). Fun ensued.

Peyton on the swinging planky things. She was having a ball.

There she goes. She had them mastered within 47 seconds or so. She's apparently been practicing.

Love this photo. It'll return later in this post. Forgive.

Up the windy ladder thingy.

Jack bein' a dude.

He is mos def not the same kinda daredevil that his BFF/Cuz Peyton is.

This contraption was so cool, it made me wish I was three years old again. Of course, pretty much everything makes me wish that...

Pleasin' with some cheesin' on Easter weeken'.

My fave little person in all the land.

Monkeys in a bubble.

Oh, look! An Easter basket! Like from out of nowhere it came! We were at the park and viewing photos of that and up popped this &*#$&% picture instead of more park pictures, which I tried to put toward the middle anyway! I'm really a stickler for organization, so this is miffing me pretty bad folks.

Jack's loot. A kite, a bubble mower, eggs galore, books, sidewalk chalk, Hot Wheels. He is completely and utterly spoiled. And do you think we could use the mower, kite or sidewalk chalk on that rainy Easter Sunday. (NO is the answer, FYI.) BTDubs, how do ya like the floor?

I got up at 5:30 to put a trail of Easter Eggs from our bedroom (where he slept because Emily and Mike had his bed) to his loot.

Not sure why it's necessary to publish two photos of his Easter Bunny booty, but whatev. Deal with it.

There he is with Aunt Emily. He was quite tired...

...but immediately warmed up to the idea of playing with the bubble mower!

Lovin' his mower, and we tried to limit his bubbling to 'That 70's Porch' of ours. We are using the same flooring from the dining room out there, but we had to give Richard a break. He spent numerous nights at our house in the past week-and-a-half and needed a break. Poor guy.

Jackles before Church on Sunday. I read the Scripture for Rev. Judy cuz she dressed up as Mary Magdalene and gave a GREAT and very poignant sermon.

Rock Band was the event of the day at our house. Here, Emily, Amy and Mike prepare to do some rawkin' on...

Dan was quite enteraining, as you can all imagine.

He rawked it out hardcore.

Mike and Emily crashed for a while before they left town for Lincoln. We had a blast with them, needless to say.

Tweeder is a Rawk Star.

Emily brought this scrump-diddly-umptious carrot cake. She made it herself, which turned out much better than the three batches of rolls she and her older sister tried to make... ahem... moving on now...

Dan will be very happy that this photo of him golfing on the Wii highlights his arms, which he might have mentioned are much bigger now maybe about seven or eight times that day...

Jack blowing some kisses to his peeps (that includes you).

Hey, look, it's Peyton again!

Jack was not at all shy about grabbin' eggs this year. He was out in front of everyone else just loading up his basket. He. Was. A. Stud.

Huntin' them down.

Well, looky there...an Easter egg!

Proud of his take for the day. Good work, Jackles.