Skapples to Skapples

This evening, we decided to play Apples to Apples. Since Jordan was using Skype to talk to Hillary out at Liberty University, we asked if she would like to play, too. So she did. And she won.

MonetJoy

MelodyJoy--er, MonetJoy--has become quite the little artist. The first picture is one she drew last month of Arthur from the PBS show. She gave me the ice cream cone picture this past weekend while I was at home.

Photo Shoot

Melody and I decided to take some pictures today near our house . . .

Unclear on the Concept of "Clearance"

Today, Jeannette and I spent quite a bit of time at our nearby Kohl's store because they were having a sale and I had an "additional 30% off" coupon. My kind of shopping. I spent most of my time working the clearance racks, where prices were marked 60% to 85% off. Even if you figure the original prices were never "real," by the time you mark them down 70% and then take another 30% off, you have some pretty good deals.

Let me contrast this with something Jameson and I noticed yesterday at Walmart (right next door to Kohl's). We checked out the clearance aisle there. On a shelf, we spotted one lonely Balderdash game. We were pretty tempted . . . it was clearance priced for just $23! How could we pass it up? This was a savings of--hmmm, according to the shelf tag--a whopping 50 cents. On second thought, we didn't have any trouble passing it by. It appears that Walmart doesn't really grasp the concept of "clearance" sales. Walk next door, guys, and take a lesson from your friends at Kohl's.

Magnificent Obsession II

Jordan asked me to go out with him today and take some more photos of him as he rode his longboard. We visited the clubhouse in our neighborhood and then hit a parking garage at IPFW. He's riding one of the boards he built himself over the last week or so.

(He's not falling . . . that's called sliding.)

Not All Ironic T-Shirts Are Humorous

Yesterday, I threw on this t-shirt and, for the first time, realized it was more than a little ironic. This was a t-shirt I ordered as a give-away for the Summer Honors College we hosted at Taylor University Fort Wayne in the summer of 2008. I bought the shirts from my friends at Church Art Works in Salem, Oregon.

I chose the theme “Start Strong to Finish Strong,” with the idea that getting an early start on college studies can help students be successful in college. Only yesterday, more than a year after Taylor University closed the doors of the Fort Wayne campus, did I realize that this shirt summed up the life cycle of TUFW.

From its very beginning, as Summit Christian College was “acquired by” or “merged into” Taylor or whatever, TU didn’t help the Fort Wayne campus start strong. At times, it seemed that the main campus was even hindering the efforts in Fort Wayne. And indeed, eventually, the campus did not finish strong. Sad and ironic.

Start strong to finish strong. Shoulda tried that, Taylor University.

Labor of Love

Two weekends ago, we had a new garage door installed, because our old one was no longer waterproof and so its insulation was soaked and the door weighed much more than normal, even breaking its springs. With a new brown door to replace the old blue one, Jeannette (and Jordan) had to go on a painting rampage.
I know it sounds silly but I think my favorite part of the whole thing is the way she repainted the sign by our door, which Guy Kampstra made for us back around 1986.

Surprises in the Dark

Last night, I drove back to Lincoln and when I got to campus, this is what greeted me at the door to Titus Hall . . . Kinda made me jump at first. Those two little frogs never moved as I went in and out of the building about six times. This morning they were gone.

Skypin' With Phillip

It may not be easy to send your kid off to college for four months or a year, but things have changed a lot due to technology. Tonight, we connected with Phil via Skype and got to talk with him and his roommate for about 40 minutes. We got a tour of their spartan dorm room and caught up a little on how things are going for him at Corban.

It's a Dad's Life

Painfully close to home. But I'm stickin' with my sweet goatee and rockin' my Dockers . . .