Our Little Daredevil

Veronica is definitely our "no fear" girl.
Veronica loves to stand in the swing, in grocery carts, in high chairs and even in the car (just kidding!). She is walking up and down the stairs by holding onto the side of the wall or handrail. And she can climb ladders at playgrounds and on her sister's bunkbeds.

Grilling Out

Mom taught the girls the fine art of creating shish kabob
When Mom and Dad were first married, they used to grill out on their apartment porch quite a bit. But lately, that hasn't been the case.

So, seeking to revive the backyard tradition, Mom stocked up on vegetables at the grocery store and spent most of the morning getting them ready and marinating the meat (one of the secrets to delicious shish kabob).

The girls had fun putting the food on skewers and Dad did his usual fine job of grilling them up. But when it came time to eat their creations, most of the girls passed. ("Too many vegetables," was the most common complaint.)

Backyard Bike Races

Click on the video above to watch the inaugural YD Criterium
The girls took advantage of some freshly-poured dirt in the backyard to create a criterium course.

Mom helped them create bib numbers to wear, just like the kind the riders on Dad's Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team sport in their races. Their cousin, Steven, even got in on the race.

Emily asked Dad how many laps it would take to travel a mile. He did some quick figuring and estimated it would be 55. (Emily did at least 35.)

Be sure and watch for Lauren's crash, Steven's inability to initially get more than five feet past the start line and an altercation between riders that was nearly caught on camera.

Father's Day Fun

Water and a trampoline? How do you top that?
No, those aren't hailstones on the trampoline – they're ice cubes.

Who Is This Man Terrorizing Our Children?

"Mr. Terry" as Emily called him, goes after Lauren (above)
and Olivia (below).

Water Balloon Fun... And Not So Fun

Veronica's water balloon adventure bursts its bubble.
Mom captured Julia also getting a little wet.

Check Out Our New Pool

It's not exactly the size of Robin Hill Pool, but it will do.

The Time Dad Was On 'The Price Is Right'

'Twas the summer of 1981 and Dad was part of a rare YD family vacation that didn't include a drive to Osawatomie, Kan.

Actually, Dad's Aunt Jean accompanied them on trip to Anaheim to check out Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. One afternoon, we tracked down tickets to "The Price is Right" to see what the show was like behind the scenes. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa YD did not want to be contestants. And unbeknownst to us until we arrived, you had to be 18 just to watch the taping of an episode. So Dad (who was 13 at the time but as tall as he is now - 6-foot-1) stood up extra tall and tried to act older.

Outside the studio, dozens of people were grouped into rows of three to meet the show producer, who would select possible contestants. From talking to a former contestant (and winner) who was standing with us, the producer would make a signal or hand gesture (patting someone on the shoulder, shaking their hand a particular way) to signal one of the two women standing next to him (with clipboard in hand) that a potential contestant should be flagged.

The former contestant also told us that once you were on the show, you could not be on again. She had won a couple prizes (a refrigerator is what I remember) and that the airing of the show was about three months after the taping. She received her prizes nine months after the airing. She also said potential contestants were told that they might be called to "come on down" in order to further determine their eligibility and have them fill out the necessary waivers. So when you see someone acting crazy and running down the aisle, know that they've been informed that they might be called up to be a contestant.

It wasn't long before we were at the show that we figured out why you had to be 18 years old to watch the taping. Not only was the producer cracking inappropriate jokes to "warm up" the crowd before the taping, but also Johnny Olson (the late announcer) was also as foul-mouthed as they come. I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa YD were embarrassed as much as Dad was.

The taping was rather uneventful with one exception: After revealing the first showcase and having a contestant bid on it. Bob Barker says, "So-and-so, here's your showcase!" At that moment, they stop taping, turn off all the lights and take a 30-minute break while the second showcase is put into place. Then, they tell the contestant to "look happy" as they resume the taping with a closeup of that person's face. They still do that to this day because the studio is just too small to have two showcases "loaded" for broadcast.

The taping of our show was June 6. The air date was Sept. 21 - Dad's birthday. Of course, he would be in school at 10 a.m. when the show was going to air and in that time, few were priviledged enough to own VCRs (or, more commonly, BETA machines). But he lucked out. Sept. 21 was a Monday - the day after the Mt. Michael festival. So, after the festival and grounds were cleaned up in record time (45 minutes!), Dad ran off to the TV room. Unfortunately, some of the upper classmen were determined to watch a soap opera. But Dad (only a freshman at the time) assured them that he was in the studio audience and proceeded to wow everyone with his winning bids and prize winning predictions. (There was one shot of him and Grandma and Grandpa YD in the entire show - when a contestant sitting near them was called down.)

So there you have it. The story of the time Dad was on "The Price is Right." And to think it all comes to an end for Barker tonight - 35 years after the first show.

One Crappy Day

No, not every day at the YD house is about sunshine, rainbows and lolipops (to borrow a line from one of Dad's former co-workers).

Take, for instance, Thursday. You would have thought the girls would have been on their best behavior after Mom treated them to one of the free summer movies showing every Wednesday and Thursday at the theater off Crowne Pointe. But no, they were terribly naughty.

So when Aunt Dee-Dee came over to watch them while Mom and Dad went to a movie ("Oceans 13"), they became even bigger holy terrors. When Mom and Dad returned, Lauren was sent to her room, Emily was ordered to quit bothering Julia, Olivia was told to get ready for bed and Veronica just could not go to sleep. She cried and cried and cried.

The summer has barely begun and already the girls are forgetting how to behave. Fewer and fewer priviledges will be granted if this keeps up.

A Night At The Ballpark

Mom was back in her element: a summer night at the ballpark.
Wednesday was circled on our calendar for a long time. That's because it is the night Emily's classmate, Spencer, plays baseball. We sat with his parents, Mike and Jodi (pictured above) and their two daughters.

So we hopped in the Suburban and headed down to Bellevue to watch him play ball. Though we arrived a little bit late, we did get to see him pitch the three innings he threw. Unfortunately, he tired in the third and struggled with his control. A few wild pitches led to some walks - and ultimately, a few runs. Offensively, he was a little sharper, reaching on a walk and striking out. (We missed his first at-bat.)

For the girls, this was probably their first outing at a youth baseball game. Sure, we've been to the Omaha Royals and even a couple College World Series games (though it has been a few years). As Mom explained, she used to spend many a summer night at Baldwin Field watching one of her old boyfriends (Rick) play Legion baseball. Dad, too, has stories to share of watching summer baseball games when he was writing for the Grand Island Independent newspaper in the summer of 1988. (We won't revisit his ineptitude when it came to scoring whether it was a hit, an error, a wild pitch or a passed ball.)

One funny thing that Dad remembered from his days of covering baseball was where not to park. When we pulled into the lot, there was plenty of parking available right up front. As Mom was easing into a space just behind the backstop, Dad said, "You might not want to park here." Then Mom suddenly remembered how foul balls tend to fly over the backstop and gravitate toward windshields.

So how did the girls fare during the four-inning affair? Lauren had fun running around - and hiding from - one of her classmates. Julia was feeling a bit tired and was ready to go home after about two innings. Veronica (not pictured) was having a ball running around while Olivia (also not shown) made sure her younger sister stayed out of trouble.

At the end of the night, Spencer's parents suggested we go to Dairy Queen. That was fine since we hadn't eaten dinner yet. Then, we suggested that Spencer and his sisters join us at the 10 a.m. free movie showing of "Barnyard" Thursday morning. We'll see if Spencer makes it, though. He was planning to stay out late.

As for us on Thursday, we'll have to see if we can catch the fireworks at Rosenblatt Stadium for the opening ceremonies of the College World Series. It's the first in a series of fireworks shows between now and the Fourth of July.

Philadelphia Trip Recap

This is how Toyota-United's day ended after 156 miles.
Sunday was the most prestigious one-day race in North America, the International Cycling Championships. You wouldn't have known it by watching ESPN or picking up USA Today, though. That's because the only headlines pro cycling is garnering these days are for cyclists who admit to doping.

Anyway, Dad's Toyota-United squad was there - with two former champions on its roster. Unfortunately, a crash in the final 400 meters (pictured above) ruined the team's chances for a good finish. So here's a few pictures from the trip.

More than 450,000 spectators watched as the riders completed 10 laps of a 14.4-mile circuit.
Toyota-United set up an "expo" booth where girls in team jerseys and short skirts sign up people for the fan club.
Dad thought this inflatable live truck was pretty funny.
Reed, one of the team soigneurs, hands up water bottles in the feed zone.
Inside the team's 48-foot bus, which is a VERY nice.
Dad got his picture snapped just as the race was about to begin.
The team went on a training ride Saturday morning.
(No, Dad did not go with them.)
We rented an entire ballroom at the hotel just for a place to keep the bikes and for mechanic Shane Fedon to work on them.
The night before the race, we went out and bought this TV to mount in the car to watch the race. After the race, we took it back.
(The picture wasn't so good.)
The local ABC station provided live coverage of the race.
Chris Wherry, a former winner, was interviewed before the race.

Dad's First Night In Philly

Dad took a trip to Philadelphia for a bike race last week. Here are his entries to the girls:
The view outside my hotel room.
My cabe driver was Muhammad Ali - not the famous boxer.
The downtown skyline as we drove in from the airport.

My flights were good. I stayed on the same airplane for both of them. As Emily knows, I am in "Newfoundland" - 21B - in the back of the plane. The rides were a little bumpy, as we went around some storms.

On both flights, they baked us chocolate chip cookies. They were warm, yummy and kind of gooey.

My hotel makes you pay for the Internet, so I'm down the street at a pizza shop using the Internet. The only bad thing is that I can't plug in so my power is running out from the airplane trip.

The Toyota-United team didn't do so well at today's race. Their highest finisher was in 10th place. Well, you can't win them all - but it sure would have been nice to finish in the top five - or top three at least.

Friday In Sizzling Philadelphia

Images from Dad's walk around Downtown Philadelphia Friday:

This fountain was a popular spot. A wedding party even stopped by later in the evening to take a few pictures by this sign.
The Toyota-United team rides Fujis. But they look better than this one!
I thought the "Please Touch Museum" looked funny.
These little outdoor stands are everywhere and sell everything. The vendors even have their own (secured) WiFi network.
This guy was sleeping on an air duct to stay cool in the park.
These guys used a duct to imitate Marilyn Monroe's famous pose.
So we reached a record high today in Philadelphia - 95 degrees. The "feel like" temperature (or heat index) was 110. It was more of a "dry heat" though, because I wasn't dripping in sweat after walking a couple miles around town. I ran a few errands (to Fed-Ex Kinko's and to Staples) and made the following observations:

> There is a lot going on in the City Center section of Philadelphia: Preachers, people selling all kinds of stuff, beggars, TV crews shooting video of I-don't-know-what, lots of traffic, sirens and not as much horn honking as in New York or Chicago.

> Have you ever been in a Staples store with an upstairs to it? This one was in a converted high-rise so there were two levels. Interesting.

> Coming soon to a street near you - a truck with sidepanels that switch advertisers. You may have seen the ones that are moving billboards being pulled around Omaha. Well, these are actual trucks that are delivering things and they have advertising on the sides that switches. Very impressive (and likely expensive to manufacture).

You won't see it here, but there is a building that flashes all kinds of neon-like colors over about 25 of its floors. Very cool. But my camera phone couldn't quite capture it.

New Clothing From Toyota-United

Look what arrived in my closet: new clothing!
I'm slowly learning that when you take a trip to follow the team at a major race, don't pack too many clothes. That's because it is very hard to get the new clothing that you receive packed into an already full suitcase.

I got two new short-sleeved polo shirts to go along with the t-shirts, jackets, socks and podium cap I've received at previous races. It's good looking stuff.

Ode to Dana!

My friend, D and I have always done goofy things together. Now that she has her own blog, she accused me of never having any pictures of her on my blog. So today, "It's All About Dana Banana!" You Go, Girl!

Dana, Dana, Dana

My Two Best Friends; Mouse & D!!!
(Sorry, it is sideways!)
Vick, D and I at our 20 year high school reunion!

Dana, Paul, Dani and Sean together at last.

Looky what we have here... D at Texas Roadhouse! Yummy!

The D's in Seattle

Ya Gotta Love Her!

Work It, D!

D visiting with my new sister-in-law, Shirl's Mom. ;)

Dana?
No! That is my crazy brother, Karlie.

Is that French Onion Soup that she's eating?

I-Hop, You-Hop, We All Hop for I-Hop! Those hashbrowns are yummy!

Ain't nothin' like a Mall Foot Massage! Nice.

D just about drew blood from my left thigh on this flight to Denver. There was some turbulance and she grabbed my leg so hard, I thought I was gonna cry. OUCH!