A few years ago my wife thought it was a great idea to go out and buy a 36" Sony WEGA TV. One of those very heavy CRT TVs with the big rear.

For me.

So I can watch the SA Spurs play in the NBA finals on a screen that I didn't have to squint to keep up with the plays. (Those full-court cameras make it hard to watch a game on a smaller TV.)

Excellent! How could I disappoint her? So we went to Circuit City and bought it.

The TV was HUGE in my eyes. After years with a small TV, this was heaven. It had different surround sound options with excellent speakers, a GREAT sharp picture, hook-ups for an external home theater speakers, as well as many other internal and external hookups. The X-Box 360 games looked so crisp and was more exciting to play on, and watching DVDs  were like being at a movie theater, but in a small scale of course. Overall, I LOVED the TV. And one of the best ones I have ever watched anything on.

That was a few years ago, though.

We have a brand new house now. One with a gas fireplace in the center of the rear wall of the great room. In the process of deciding what we will be doing with this room–how we wanted it to be used–we got this cool idea:

There is a fireplace with a mantle.
And what do many people do with these fireplaces now days?
Mount those flat screen TVs above them.

We wanted to keep up with the Joneses.

"That would be a great place for a brand new HD TV!"
"Right there! Above the fireplace!"

Okay. So before the walls were put up we had an audio installer install all the wiring for the TV to be mounted above the fireplace and for all the speakers to be used for a home theater, including an HDMI cable and an SVGA cable routed to a computer desk. All the speaker wiring and HDMI cable were routed into a closet where the receiver was going, as well as the wiring for the IR repeater that was mounted on the wall next to the fireplace for remote controls. We wanted all of the hardware to be completely hidden.

All that ONLY with the idea of buying an HD TV in the future. We hadn't bought one yet.

Then we couldn't wait. Right before the house was completed we went to Circuit City (again, we just kept getting better deals there) and came home with a brand new, first one out of Panasonic, 50 inch Panasonic HD Plasma TV with 1080p picture.

Note: while we were doing this we also splurged on getting DirectTV installed into our house. A HD TV just wouldn't make any sense without it.

The HD TV got mounted with all the components connected. We fired up the Yamaha audio receiver, turned on the DirectTV, and the first thing we did was go to a HD movie that was playing:

War of the Worlds.

There we were sitting down in our very own home theater for the first time. It sounded fantastic. Voices from the front, machines moving from left to right of the speakers and crashes coming from the rear. And the large clean, crisp, wide screen picture glowing from the 50 inch screen.

Then my son comments,
"Our other TV is bigger!"
"No, it isn't." I had to correct him and explained to him the size of each TV.

But he was almost right. The screen height from our 36 inch Sony TV (which is sitting in the "game room") is almost just as high as the HD TV screen. It just isn't as wide. I explained that to him, but he isn't convinced. It doesn't matter to him anyway.  This TV is larger, and it has a very nice picture.

But...

I am not convinced the picture is any better than the Sony CRT TV. I look at the picture of the Sony and then I look at the picture of the Panasonic and...
I can't detect any difference. In fact some of the programs I watch appears to have a better picture on the Sony.

I love the Panasonic HD TV, but I still love the Sony WEGA CRT TV we have. With no regards for picture size, I am sure if the Sony was connected to the home theater system, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I think the Sony would still have been a decent home theater TV.

Am I the only one? Or do any one of you have trouble seeing the comparable differences as I do? I still think CRTs have some life left in them. And they are much cheaper too.

Got a treat today. On our way back home from our visit to Pittsburgh we stopped to eat at Sonic. The Extra Long Chili Cheese Coney was delicious! And the cherry limeade was fantastic! It didn't matter that we had to go out of our way just to eat there. We were just craving it.

I know, I know!

So what.

Big deal.
Whatever...

Hey! It was a big deal. I haven't ate there in over a year. You see, it's been about that long since I have been to Texas. And every time we go to Texas we just HAVE to eat at Sonic. It's our only chance. Until now...

The state of Pennsylvania has finally got their very first Sonic Drive-in. For years we were...

Deprived.

Left out.

Not worthy!

But this one just happened to be near Pittsburgh. But not near enough on our usual route to and from home. So this was special. When we heard of the brand new Sonic moving in we just had to go there. And we did.

And it took us five hours to get home instead of the usual four hours. But those were happy hours. My "Route 44" cherry limeade almost outlasted Route 28 and Interstate 80.

More Sonic Drive-ins will be moving into Pittsburgh in the next few months. This is exciting. But then...what will I be looking forward to on our trips to Texas?

Oh yeah! Whataburger!

First off, I had a blog with the Advocate for a little while. Then I "retired." But then I wanted to blog again. And now everything is new and...improved?! But that's cool. I'll get used to it. So here I am again.

I had a picture on my old blog above my profile which I hated. It looked pretty bad on the website. Now I have no picture to put up. At least nothing new. Why? Well, I'm the designated photographer and videographer. Yup! I think most dad's are. Right, Cleric? (Are you still here?) I don't mind. Most of the time. But sometimes, well, a lot of times, I just want o see things through my own eyes. Enjoy events with two eyes open. And, my kids are going to look back at all these pictures and videos (if we ever get them off of the computers and onto paper) and wander if they even had a dad. "Oh! He's that guy behind that camera who's been following you around all your life. You know, the one paparazzi who just won't leave you alone!"

You see, while I have been behind the cameras I've been feeling kind of cold. It gets lonely looking through a glass lens most of the time. They are my kids. For crying out loud, can I be part of their scene too? Where are the pictures of me? Or me with the kids? Damnit, Lisa (my wife), YOU take the cameras now!  I've got some kids to enjoy!

Wow! I am back. I am up to giving this another try. All the reasons I left are out of my system. I hope this time around I can be a little more interesting. Ah, who cares! I just want to write. I like the interaction. The conversation.

I still HATE that picture on the side. Can I change that?

Remember when I first started this blog I took you on a trip around my neighborhood? With my dog. You know...the house I mentioned with the greenhouse? OK! So you don't remember. Well, http://blogs.victoriaadvoca... target='_blank'>just click here!

Yeah! That one! Well, that greenhouse turned out to be a pool house. On looking at that house while it was up for sale my kids LOVED the pool. But what can you expect? I am sure at that age I would have loved it too. But at this age, it didn't make up for the size of the house itself. Too small. Beautiful large yard, but too small of a house. I might have thought differently if it WAS a greenhouse. That would have been more enticing to me than a pool.

OK, so I also mentioned the brand new houses that were going up at the end of my street. http://blogs.victoriaadvoca... target='_blank'>Go back to that blog and you can see I have a picture of them. Pitiful, wasn't it?

We no longer have my neice and nephew with us. Thank God! It just didn't work out. A parent decided to call for them at Thanksgiving. And I was doing such a good job with my nephew! Well, it would have been too hard to buy another house with them. In fact, we decided to build.

And whadda y'know, we bought a lot smack dab in the middle of that new development! We couldn't help ourselves. We love the neighborhood. What better way to remain here than to do just that? In fact it is only three blocks away from our house now. And we start moving in in just a little over a week.

This is what our house looks like right now:

This is what our brand new house looks like right now:

Which one would you prefer? That's what I thought! We are losing a little yardage, but we are gaining a much more beautiful, and larger house. Here is the back of the house:

The final grading isn't done yet, so there are still mounds of dirt surrounding the house.

We are very busy getting things ready to move in. We are pretty much getting a lot of brand new furniture to go into our new house, so we will be selling a lot along with the old house.

We did take a nice little vacation for the 4th of July. We went to Niagara Falls. Our one son has been wanting to go back there again. So we just said "OK!" at the last minute and left for three days. We stayed on the Canadian side. It is much more exciting to the boys. The American side is more natural and beautiful to me.

Here are a few pictures of that trip:

This is the most famous of the Falls: Taken from on top of a tower on the Canadian side.

This is Isabel with mommy up on the tower:

View of the American Falls taken from the Canadian side: There is A nice walk across a bridge and a pathway on the American side that takes you above and next to beautiful water rapids while leading you to an island where you can stand right next to the cliff of the falls, as you can see in the distance in this picture of my son, Aaron.

Ryan is getting a waxed sculpture of his hand:

Here you can see the commercialization of the Canadian side of the Falls:

Niagara Falls was a cool place to go for the 4th, although our kids were having too much fun that we missed the fireworks display over the Falls. I was a little disappointed in that. The drive for us was only 4 hours one way (which we do often when we go to Pittsburgh) and we still didn't need passports to go across to Canada. That soon will change.

And now it is very late and I must get some sleep. "Hi!" to everyone again. And how do I get a better picture of me on the side?

Been thinking about going the way of Retired Bloggers. My mind has been so busy and have been having trouble deciding what to even write about or share. I had good intentions and thought it would be fun. But some things are not that fun when you have some folks (I won't say who) who are "watching" what you say or write about. So I don't write much here.

Not sure...

But...

that's a nice tune on the Fruit of the Loom commercial. (Good singing Apple dude.)

Ok, Amber. I am still breathing. (Thanks for worrying about me.) Oh boy...what's going on..? LOTS of things. Having 5 kids under our roof is not the easiest thing to endure. We manage, but at the expense of our own sanity. My youngest boy (Ryan) just turned 5 and we are so proud of how mature he is for his age. We enrolled him into a church-related school for kindergarten because the public schools wouldn't take him yet because of his birthday. And he LOVES it. He absolutely loves the learning thing. His only complaint is that he can't understand why the other kids just can't behave as well as he does. He loves to have fun too, but he feels the fun is more in the learning. Don't get me wrong, he is no nerd. He is quite active at home, and truly loves to play outside. He just likes to learn things. Ryan is in gymnastics class like his older brother, and he is playing soccer too. He has always been pretty athletic, but he is a little timid when it comes to playing a real game. My oldest son (Aaron) is doing so well in school, he almost never has any homework. He has gone from being a little behind in his reading skills at the beginning of first grade last year, to a kid who has sky-rocketed to being ahead in his reading skills. Once he was able to build up his self-confidence in reading he has never looked back. I am so amazed at what he is able to read now. He loves to read, and takes books with him to school everyday. He was always pretty good in math. So he never had any trouble in that. He is a very good student in class. Aaron is still in gymnastics and is developing well there, but he is still not sure if he likes to keep going anymore. I don't know why. He is doing soccer again. He is not on as good of a team this year as he was last year because now he is at the oldest age for his bracket, and he resents that a little. But he still likes to play knowing that at least his skills are above some of the other teammates' and he has a better chance of being the one to score. Baby Isabel is 7 months now. She has just learned to sit up by herself and is almost getting ready to to start crawling. She is a very happy baby and is very curious about everything and everyone. She is a little on the petite side, but she is sooo active. She sleeps throughout the night and she is easy going. She has never lost her hair. In fact it is getting long. Our two additions to the family are having a tough time adjusting to the schools here. They are much "harder" here, according to them. The 8-year-old boy says he likes the school, but he finds it a little hard. Not to make him look too bad here, he fell very far behind in reading while attending school in Victoria. He is in the second grade as my son is (he should be going to the third grade) but he is barely reading at first grade level. He is having more trouble with spelling. Once again, he is still not able to spell basic first grade level words. His reading has improved and he is able to read at a much faster pace than when he first started school here. But this is in part to the help he is getting from the school here that he never got in Victoria. He is very good in math, and can comprehind the concepts pretty well, but anytime there is a word problem he refuses to try to read them and just plays with the numbers involved alone to come up with merely a guess.

Every night I help him with his homework and his reading and spelling. I try to get him to understand HOW to read and spell and not just phonics. Phonics can only go so far. There are concepts to reading and spelling what he reads that phonics just can't cover. There are a lot of "whys" involved in reading and spelling. I force him to read the instructions on his math homework, as well as the word problems so he won't keep making careless mistakes and getting them wrong because of it. He too is in soccer and loves it. He just can't wait to play the Saturday games all the time. The oldest addition is not doing too bad, but she finds the school much tougher and more involved. I don't think she has ever had this much school work before. She is in the 5th grade and is having a little bit of trouble keeping up with her studies. She likes the school and has made many friends, but she has found out that she needs to learn better study habits. She is not used to having to think this much in class or in her homework. But she is surviving the change. Her grades are not all As and Bs like they were in Victoria, but she is not failing. She has been hanging tough. She is in soccer as well. Life at home with the two additions have been pretty tough. The kids don't all get along as great as we had hoped they would, but they are getting better with each other as time goes on. My wife and I have a few issues with some of the behavior and attitudes the two additions have brought with them that our family were not used to, but we are working through them. My wife and I are still together! We are hanging tough as well. We have been looking for a new house. We are crambed into the one we have now. (We have been looking even before the other two joined us.) We are with a realty, and we have even looked into building and adding on to our house. Every option is open to us. It has both been exciting and tedious. But we know what we want. My life in a nutshell right now. Busy. And that is why I have not written in so long.

What happened to all the donuts at Dunkin' Donuts? And where is the freshness?

You don't still go by the size of the clothes do you? Buy what fits you! Not all clothes are made the same way.

Those damn kids meal toys! The kids want the toy, NOT the meal! How many of those idiotic things end up around your house? And when did that all get started in the first place?

Men, have YOU tried shaving in the shower? Try it, it works pretty darn well! The women have been doing it for years. Just get a shower mirror.

Where does it say to keep ketchup refrigerated? Why would you want cold ketchup on your warm food?

You know, those guys who do South Park are quite clever. Watch it once in awhile. You might learn something.

If you were to put an ice cube in a glass of water, does the water rise when it melts?

As I am reading a diary of a person during the start of the Civil War, I find there were very many people who despised Lincoln, and did not trust him one bit.

Why not be able to scan your groceries as you put them in your cart? This way you could keep track on how much you are spending.

I hate that Christmas smell just around the holidays. You know, the one all you stores have when it is that time of the year. Especially gift stores. That odor is horrendous and makes me sick and keeps me away from your business.

Why is a baby's sense of hunger so much greater than everyone else's? One minute they can be giggling and playing and the next minute they are screaming bloody murder because their belly is empty.

What has Kellog's done to Pop Tarts? They are turning them into nothing but sugary coated snacks. My favorite has always been plain ol' blueberry.


That's it for now...

There is an exciting event going on just 20 miles from my home that some of you might or might not have noticed. People all over the world have been gathering here and around their TV sets for a chance to show some home-town pride. I have noticed. I have noticed at our local Wal-Mart, McDonald's, the local grocery store, and throughout all of those parking lots. Mexico, Venezuela, British Columbia, Japan, and even Lake Charles and Phoenix-all places of importance to these people. Well, actually, they are mostly kids. Kids with big dreams, and a chance to represent their home with great pride.

Just 20 miles north on an open country road called "route 15" lies between me and South Williamsport. If you have never heard of South Williamsport then you have never known a kid who has played in little league baseball. South Williamsport, PA has been home to the Little League World Series since its conception in 1947. And every August since then little leaguers from all over the world- along with their families, coaches, friends and other important officials as well as the media-come to a town just a little smaller than Victoria, to watch and play a game they all so dearly love, and to get a glimpse of American life-some for the very first time-as it is depicted in this part of the country.

I feel lucky. Many people don't get the chance to participate in a gathering of people from all over the world whose cause is in only having fun and in sharing dreams. All I have to do is gather my family up for a 15-20 minutes drive up to South Williamsport, park, and walk right into the stadium to be a part of an exciting tradition. I have never been a huge fan of baseball, but living this close to the home of an annual World Series gets me excited everytime I read about it in the papers, or see the players themselves around town.

I think I might just gather up the kids for a night of Little League World Series baseball. Why not! It's free, and how can I NOT live here and not go?

Been a good while, hasn't it? Yeah, Disney World was cool. Well, not cool, it was hot. I mean, it was cool to be there, but it was pretty darn hot! Meltingly hot! Can't believe how much energy gets wasted on trying to deal with such a hot and humid environment at the same time trying to enjoy yourself with a lot of kids.

The kids had a great time. But it was really busy and there wasn't enough time to really do as much as you should be able to do. "Soaring" was great! So was the Aerosmith Rockin and Rollin coaster.

I have lots of pictures, but I rarely have time to fiddle with any pictures to put up on a web site. I just don't have enough time to play around with computer-related software "gadgets" to master them enough to promptly display images or videos as I would like to. Heck, I hardly do anything on the computer these days anymore.

We now have only two "other" kids with us. The oldest nephew is now with my brother in Austin. My wife and I have decided to take the other two in. They will be ours now until however long is needed. We have enrolled them in school here and they will be starting very soon along with my oldest son. They seem quite excited about that.

My wife and I know this might be a little tough, but we both feel they truly need us and we couldn't send them back to a life full of uncertainties. (Their mother has allowed us to do this.) I just thank God for giving me the gift of patience. For without it, I probably would never be able to do this.

Daddy
Daddy
Uncle Moses
Uncle Moses
Uncle Moses...

That's who I have been for a week and a half so far. Daddy to my two boys (my 4 month old can only smile, laugh, and make noises with her tongue right now) and Uncle Moses to three other kids.

Yes, I have two nephews and a neice "vacationing" with us for a month and a half. Ages are: 13 (nephew), 10 (neice), and 8 (nephew). I can't beleive I have been surviving. It has not been the easiest thing to do taking care of six kids. (Remember? I am a stay at home dad.) But I think my wife and I have been doing well and I think it is worth it all just for these kids. Thank God for local swimming pools!

My neice and nephews all live in Victoria, but they are not as privileged as my kids are. So we are trying to let them experience things they might not otherwise get a chance to.

My neice has been taking tennis lessons and she has already made a new friend. There was a gymnastics camp for one day we sent our kids (they already take gymnastics classes) and our youngest nephew and neice to, and they all had a ball. I was so surprised on how quickly my nephew learned a couple of moves.
They had so much fun, they decided they wanted to take classes too. Just the other night I took all of the kids-minus the baby-to a drive-in movie theater to see "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Cars". (two movies for the price of one.) And they seemed to truly enjoy that. The movies ended pretty late and we didn't get home until 3:00 in the morning. Well, it WAS a 20-mile drive! Soon my neice and youngest nephew will be taking swimming lessons.

The biggest thing we are doing for them will be at the end of this month. We are taking them all with us to a Disney World vacation. I know, we were just there a year ago this past May, but this one will be more for the nephews and neice. They may never get a chance like this ever again. Like I have said before: "We have the money."

Besides, my wife and I love doing things like that. Especially for those kids.