Owen Didn't Even Need The Edge

Last night was Monster Jam and Owen had a hugely good time (and so did Dad). We ordered good tickets, but when we got there, we realized how good they were. We were two rows back from front row. All of the trucks parked right in front of us while they were waiting for the other trucks to run the course. To sum it up, it was loud and rad.


This is the scene that greeted us. Incidentally, this is also the scene where I realized we were going to have a fantastic night.


We have a camera that can catch a hummingbird's wing mid-flap with perfect clarity, but it didn't stand a chance with Owen's mid-flap excitement about the show unfolding in front of him.


We were lucky to have Grave Digger at our event. He's pretty much the monster truck top-dog. I guess they have other shows around the country and some of the other popular guys were spread out, but Grave Digger was nice to have because he always puts on a great show.


During the racing (as opposed to the freestyle) portion of the show, we were privy to a serious Lightning McQueen style photo finish ending.


They had it on the Jumbo-tron and said it was a tie and just gave it to one of the trucks. They said (and I would like to fact check this before I go on record as saying) that this was the closest race finish in monster truck history, but the announcers were also shilling cotton candy and Matchbox toys, so I'd take that with a grain of salt. Fun nonetheless.


There were spills.


Huge air.


And huger air.


These trucks articulate like crazy.


To a point. Also, look at how hot the differentials get. You can see them glowing.


Owen even got a kick out of watching them set up for the freestyle course during intermission. It was a really fun night for all (in descending order of Owen, Ed, Carrie).

Time's Flyin' So We Must Be Havin' Fun

We set up this blog when we were getting ready to welcome Owen into the world so that all of the people who care about us near and far would be able to keep tabs on what was happening with the Wilhelmes in Arizona. We looked at the calendar and discovered that we've been at this thing for four years. That's a pretty decent chunk of time.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the here-and-now, but from time to time we will sit down and browse the blog. I am eternally grateful that we have it. For something that was set up to be inclusive of others, it sure turned out to mean a heck of a lot to us. So, in a sense, we owe a sincere thanks to all of you who follow along with us or we would have much less of an impetus to keep at it. In that spirit, happy blogiversary everyone!


4 years ago - baby cooking. Seems like a long time ago now.

Photo Fun

Baby Grae (Niah's brother) had his first birthday party last weekend. Wren (their mom) is a great party planner and had a photographer, props, and a make-shift photo booth where you could take fun photos.

Our mustachio family. Is that Owen's look of parental embarrassment?

Photographic proof that you can herd cats. (All the kids in photo are in, or have been through, Dawn's daycare.)

Shoes Make the Outfit

Owen has mastered the whole pants/shirt dichotomy. Old news for this young man. He's discovered a whole new realm of flair where there are seemingly no rules: shoes. The shoes make the man and he's dabbling in the look and feel that fit him to a tee.


He's got the fish-out-of-water urban-cowboy-hoodie look. Not bad, and it got a good laugh from quite a number of patrons at the restaurant he wore it to.


And we have the street-smart, dice-shootin', slipper wearin', loose canon. The daycare kids liked this one.

Fireside Friends

Ever since Owen was exposed to s'mores this summer on Blake Island, he's had a pension for campfires. This has only been exacerbated by our own newly purchased fire pit where we roast marshmallows as a family. Since it's not feasible to have campfires as often as Owen would like (read: every night), we got him his own campfire for Christmas, complete with sticks, hot-dogs, and marshmallows. It doesn't put out any heat, but it glows and blows a fan through the fabric flames. It's actually pretty cool and Owen thinks so too.


Owen has gathered all his friends around his campfire and is graciously cooking for them all. Notice Monkey's hot-dog.