Wii are Finished with the Contest

Congratulations to Crossview for winning first place in the “Who Wakes up the Earliest?” “Where’s the Wreath?” contest. Kellie and Kathleen tied for second place. Linda took third place. I hope everyone enjoyed playing. Prizes will be mailed this week!

I can now resume regular blogging, which happens to be a sports report.

I hung a curveball during last night’s Wii baseball game and General Mayhem, who cannot hit the broadside of a barn with a baseball bat, sent my pitch 483 miles into a stadium in Toledo for a home run, taking the game 1-0. Wii sports. I have to admit, the technology is really good.

I wasn’t pleased about the idea of bringing a Wii into our house. The kids pester too much as it is for a chance to play on our Game Cube. As I feared would happen, Major Havoc has started each morning since we purchased the new gaming system by asking me if he can play. And he asks. And he asks. And he asks. Major Havoc openly admits that pestering is a tactic he enjoys employing.

The Boss and I did play a few games of tennis two nights ago. We have a large basement, but it wasn’t designed for a tennis match. We stood next to one another, wildly swinging at each other’s virtual volleys. I was concerned that a backhand from me would end up on her left check. I can imagine her going to work with a shiner underneath her left eye. “Wii tennis” might be the lamest excuse for suspected spousal abuse ever invented.

“Honestly, it was match-point. He hit this wicked back-hand that spun over the net and bounced away from my player. I lunged a bit too quickly, and whammo!”

“Sure you did.”

The story of how we came to purchase the gaming system is interesting. As a family, we cleaned the Lakeside Speedway last weekend after the last race night of the season. All five of us worked. All five of us participated. The younger two were amazing. After we were finished, we had enough money to buy a Wii system, Wii sports, and a couple of extra gadgets for play. The children learned the value of working hard for something that they want. Our experience has been that when children work hard to earn something like a toy or a game, they tend to take better care of it.

One amusing feature on the Wii Sports system is the fitness age test. The player takes an endurance test involving their accuracy in bowling, tennis, and hitting home runs. After the test is complete the game tells the player their fitness “age.” The Boss has sworn us to secrecy concerning her virtual fitness age. I scored “three years dead.”

Say a prayer for Jack Henry today. Kellie and Big D’s little guy is having a hernia repaired. Mom is understandably nervous. And tired. Check out her blog today.

"Where's the Wreath?" - The Last Day

Going into the final day of Arby's "Where's the Wreath?" contest, Crossview is in the lead with a gazillion points. She could sleep in until December and not lose the competition.  But, Kathleen, in second place, and Kellie, in third place, are separated by 1 point.  One point!  Who will win the coveted first, second, and third place spots?  Who will play the spoiler? We will find when someone answers one important question, "Where's the Wreath?"

Our neighborhood is filled with Halloween decorations. Some of them are simple,

as simple as a jack-o-lantern head on a scarecrow body,

or a headless body hanging from a tree.

Others are far more complex, like this

and this,

or this

and this.

Either way, there is a lot of spirit in the neighborhood.

Where's the Wreath - The Legends Edition

We meandered down to Kansas City, Kansas, last night, to a large outdoor mall called…

The Legends. The place is filled with brass plaques commemorating famous Kansans. Hence the name…

If you follow the faux yellow brick road through the Legends, like this motley crew did…

…you will arrive at…

Inside, along with a heavenly assortment of chocolate, candies, and ice cream, you run across a few odd characters, such as…

…and…

And always remember, if you fly a plane into oblivion over the Pacific Ocean,

you too can have a really big, ugly billboard in your likeness hoisted on top of a string of retail stores.

So, Where is the wreath?

P.S.

That whole yellow brick road/Wizard of Oz thing?  Absolutely no one involved with the Wizard of Oz, from the author to the film director to the stars, had any connection with the state of Kansas, except for the third unit Key Grip.  His grandmother herded geese on the plains near Honkville, Kansas, during the great bronze buffalo shortage of aught six.  True story.

Where's the Wreath? - Tired, Lazy Scouter Edition

I spent four hours in a training session tonight. I learned how to be a den leader. I learned how to be a Webelos leader. I learned how to be a Cub Master and an Assistant Cub Master and a Pack Trainer. I learned how to change the oil on a Studebaker and there was something about shoeing horses, too. It was one massive, all-encompassing, “So, You want to be a Scout Leader?” training session.

And my head hurts.

So, I arrived at home and spent a few moments with the Boss, whom I missed dearly today and spent very little time with, before I realized, “Shoot, I have to write a contest blog.” Then I looked into the photo file and realized, “Shoot, I need to take a few pictures.”

And my head hurt some more.

Then I thought to myself, “Screw it. Give ‘em an easy one.”

I have two pictures. I took them at Cabelas on the same day that I took the picture of the wreath hanging on my rear end. You know the picture I’m talking about. It’s the one where Kathleen spent so much time looking at my bum that she realized the wreath that I wrote was on the left side was actually on the right. Or maybe it was the other way around. But, I couldn’t pick which picture to use because, well, the Captain is so darn cute in both of them that to pick one over the other would waste a great picture. So, I’m using both of them.

The kids are sitting in front of one of those signs that reads, “Do not climb or sit on the display.”

I’m a born rebel.

A tired, well trained, born rebel.

So, where are the wreaths?

Where's the Wreath? - Cemetery Edition

One reason why I enjoy living near Fort Leavenworth is because of the historic significance of the post.

The Santa Fe and Oregon Trails ran right through the fort. The large rut in this hillside was made from all of the horses and wagons heading west.

We are on post every Wednesday for our running club, which also affords the kids a little time to play.

One of the best kept secrets on Fort Leavenworth is the prisoner’s cemetery. The cemetery is located deep in the woods near the back of the post.

It holds the graves of soldiers who died while serving prison time. The graves go back a long time.

In the back of the cemetery is a row of 14 graves separated from the rest. Those graves hold the remains of 14 German POW’s from WWII who committed crimes while in captivity, were sentenced, and were either executed or died in prison. Their graves are tended to by a German national who lives in the area.

It’s just one of those little known historical facts you find when exploring the post.

So, where are the wreaths?

"Where's the Wreath?" - McDonald's Edition

My kids Love to eat at McDonald's. We don't do it very often, although Captain Chaos does have a fondness for French fries. We used them to teach her how to eat. So, they're not just food. They're nostalgic.

Where's the wreath?

Leader Board

We are half-way through the “Where’s the Wreath?” contest.


Today, Kellie took first place, Kathleen grabbed second, and Linda just won third place. Crossview’s rare miss this morning brought her stratospheric points total into reach for a determined wreath hunter.

Leader Board:

Crossview 17 points

Kellie 12 points

Kathleen 8 points

Nikowa 4 points

Linda 3 points

Toby 1 point

With at least 15 total points still left to win, it’s anybody’s game.

Where's the Wreath? Bob's Old House Edition

See the old guy sitting on the couch next to a very young Captain Chaos? That’s Bob. He’s my neighbor.

Bob lives in this house.

 He painted it a really ugly color. He painted it while a neighbor he isn’t too fond of was on vacation. He hoped that the guy wouldn’t recognize the neighborhood when he returned from vacation and would drive on by without stopping.

I thought he was looking for a color that would attract the attention of space aliens.

Bob has a beautiful garden. There is something blooming in his garden from early spring until late fall. You want to know his secret? Good soil. He composts. He adds gypsum to break up the clay. And manure. Nobody spreads manure like Bob. I tell him often. He tells me I’m a son of…he questions the legitimacy of my birth

But he sure does have a beautiful garden!

So, where's the wreath?

Where's the Wreath? - The Lakeside Speedway

In order to attend Camp Sweaty Scout each summer, the boys of F Troop need to earn $230. In order to earn money for camp, F Troop cleans the Lakeside Speedway.

Lakeside Speedway is a dirt race track in Kansas City, Kansas, just north of the Kansas Speedway and the Legends shopping center.

Lakeside has been in existence for decades. It hosts races every weekend from spring until fall. The boys clean the stands, empty trash cans, and complete odd jobs.

The clean up takes anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours, depending upon how well attended the races were the previous night. The boys split $350 between them, with all the money going into individual accounts that cover the cost of attending camp.

As much as all the boys enjoy earning money for camp (they average about $30 per boy per clean-up),

we are all looking forward to the end of the racing season next weekend.

A “Where’s the Wreath?” Special Edition: The Saturday Threesome

Today's entry is "Where's Waldo?" on steriods.  I thought these pictures may be too difficult to use, but rather than deleting the photos, I decided to give you multiple opportunities to win.  And in order to help you, did you know that if you click on the picture that you can view it in its full size?  You'll want that option today.

Remember Cody Park? Well, in front of the tennis courts there is a beautiful flower bed that is in full bloom all summer long. It is very pretty to look at.

Today I am posting three pictures of the flower bed. The wreath has been hidden in each of the three pictures. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to locate the wreath in each picture, and e-mail me at writearby@gmail.com to tell me where it is hidden. 
You can win any combination of points for submitting the correct first place, second place, or third place answer for each of the three pictures, up to a possible total of nine points. So, send in your best guesses.

Hey, it’s Saturday. You shouldn’t be teaching today. What else do have to do this early in the morning? Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and play along!

Ready?

Here you go…

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Congratulations to Crossview, Kellie, and  Kathleen, (say that three times fast) yesterday's first, second, and third place winners!

Where's the Wreath #2

Welcome to Buffalo Bill Cody Park in the middle of Leavenworth, Kansas.

It’s a nice little park.

There’s a running path for those of us who enjoy needlessly inflicting pain upon ourselves exercising to remain healthy.

This is where our running club meets on Fridays.

There is a nice playground for the kids.

There is a softball field for softball players.

There are two tennis courts for tennis players.

With all this stuff available for the children, do you know where all the children congregate?

Why, at the creek that runs through the middle of the park, of course!

So, “Where’s the wreath?”

E-mail your best guess to writearby@gmail.com. Please do not post your guess in the comments section.

Congratulations to Nikowa, Crossview, and Toby, our first, second, and third place winners yesterday. Nikowa sent in the correct answer in five minutes, Crossview in six. 

"Where's the Wreath?" #1

This is Dillons. It is the only grocery store near our house. Well, it was the only grocery store near our house. Wal*mart opened a supercenter a wee 1/4 mile west of Dillons.

In order to combat the potential loss of customers to the evil empire from Bentonville, Arkansas, Dillons opened a gas station. If you purchase about a bazillion dollars worth of groceries at Dillons they'll knock off a dime on each gallon of gas you purchase from their gas station.

I'm not buying any more groceries from them than I normally would, but if they want to save me a buck or two on a tank of gas, I'll take it.

The kids like Dillons because each year they display a large, painted, tin jack-o-lantern.

It’s a Halloween thing. It sits near the large pile of pumpkins that they sell.

Pumpkins are getting expensive.

Notice the sign over the pumpkins, the one that claims that the store has “2100 new everyday low prices?” They never claimed that before the evil empire from Bentonville, Arkansas, invaded Leavenworth, Kansas. In fact, Dillons' prices were so high that we drove 25 minutes south to Bonner Springs, Kansas, to buy less expensive groceries at, you guessed it, the evil empire from Bentonville.

Capitalism. Go figure.

Either way, since Dillons has race car shopping carts, the kids love shopping there.

So, where’s the wreath?

Send your best guess to writearby@gmail.com

P.S.  Please accept my apologies.  I inadvertently aggravated my contestants by finding a humorous way to answer the most frequently asked question, "What time will you post your daily picture?"   I thought 10 AM CST would be a fair time for a country with four major time zones, although we actually have nine!  I will set my blog to post at 3:00 AM CDT each day of the contest.    Set your alarms or stay up late accordingly.

Chutes & Ladders

Chutes & Ladders

It’s one of those venerable kid's games necessary to complete the childhood experience in America. And I hate it. At least, I did this morning. This morning, I realized that my patience for this potentially endless game is declining in direct proportion to my age.

It might be more accurate to say that I hate box #49.

Why box #49, you ask? Why not hate box #32 or #57 or #98? Well, because this morning I landed on box #49 five times. FIVE TIMES. And do you know what happens when you land on box #49?

You slide down to box #11.

From box #11 you must head to the left, where you inevitably land on box #16.

When you land on box #16,

you must slide down to box #6.

On the bottom row.

On the very. Last. Row.

Five times.

And that means that I have to spend an entire day listening to trash talk from the seven-year-old who managed to climb to #100.

It’s gonna be a long day.

While you are enjoying my pain, get ready to play “Where’s the Wreath?” The contest begins tomorrow. You can read about it HERE and HERE. Good luck!

"Where's the Wreath?" Prizes

The second annual “Where’s the Wreath?” contest will begin on Thursday, October 15th, and run through Monday, October 26th. As explained in yesterday’s blog, in order to participate you need to announce this contest on your blog, and send me a comment telling me that you’ve done so. You only have two days before the start of the contest, so get those posts written!

Starting on the 15th, I will post one picture each day that will have this wreath

hidden somewhere in the picture. Your task is to locate that wreath and be one of the first three people to send me an e-mail at writearby@gmail.com telling me where the wreath is located in the picture. I will award three points to the first person who correctly identifies the location of the wreath in each day's photo, two points to the second person who correctly identifies the location of the wreath, and one point to the third person who correctly identifies the location of the wreath. All other e-mails will be awarded mocking ridicule. I will use the time/date stamp on the e-mails to determine who answered first, second, third, etc.

The contest will run for ten days, except for Sundays. You will playing for prizes.  The first place winner receives his or her choice of either of these two necklace and earring sets.  The necklaces are approximately 13” long. The earrings are 2 ½” to 3” long.

The second place winner receives his or her choice of one of these bracelets:

The third place winner will receive a $5 gift card to a bookstore.

Get your posts written!  Get your spectrascopes perched on your nose!  Get ready to ask yourself one question, "Where's the Wreath?"