This year there should be about 15-16 people up for Thanksgiving. One year I remember we had 22 people. That was probably our largest ever since I have been married. Actually that’s probably for my entire life. I can’t list all the food we will have but we usually do the normal stuff like turkey, squash, potato, beets, etc.

Desserts are always plenty. I can’t ever make it to dessert anyway. My dinner plate fills me up to the gills so dessert is usually at least an hour after. My wife makes an excellent apple cider.

Of course my job is the hardest. I have to test all the food first before serving to the kids. Hey someone has to do it…

-sillydad

It has been a nice addition to our house and has lots of added storage.

-sillydad

Alright folks. I know I have taken some time off from blogging here at Silly Dad. I would like to make time to start blogging again here for several reasons. First off, people are always asking me what’s going on with me and the family. I probably won’t post a lot of personal stuff attributed to the family, but I will continue to post about fatherhood, being a stay at home dad, etc.

Secondly, this blog is part of my Skinny Moose Blog Network. We would like to have more family oriented blogs so if you might be interested you can contact me. Right now there are 3 other blogs that have to do with family/parenting and they are:

• Dad on a Dime which is authored by Tony.
• Tales From a Stay at Home Mom which is authored by Stacie.
• Last but certainly not least, Mike blogs over at Trophy Husband.

I may even post some pictures of my new projects I have been working on.. Oh boy… the excitement.

But a lot of you know I work at home and still do… Here is a good image of me lately.

Last month the family was blessed with another daughter, making it our 6th child in 8 1/2 years.

A lot of people are asking if we will be having more. Honestly I don’t know. I am very happy with 6 kids and I am very content. To a lot of people 6 is a number, but I see them all as individuals who all have a wonderful personality. But for a good laugh.. we aren’t too far from becoming the folks in the following picture.

-sillydad

Check out the Floating Trampoline here

sillydad

I have decided to accept the responsibilities of an 8-year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald’s and think that it’s a 4-star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what you didn’t know and you didn’t care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simply again.

I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So….here’s my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And, if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to catch me first cuz’ “Tag!, You’re It!”

Author Unknown

Skinny Moose Media blogger, Jason Hendricks of The Adventurist blog is not only a dad but is an outdoor junky and reporter. With just a recent study proving that American kids are just not getting the outdoor activity they once got, Jason is already set up to become a great and active parent for his children.

For those who like to read my articles should also subscribe to Jason’s blog in attempt to follow what is going on in the outdoor world. Jason likes to cover expeditions to the top of Mt Everest. His interviews with some of the leaders in the industry make for an exciting read, and when people fall short of their goals the blog documents all those aspects as well.

If you want to plan a family adventure contact Jason for some helpful tips and ideas on how to find the best spot. I have chatted with Jason on the phone several times and his knowledge of the outdoor world is extensive and not only is a good reporter but can also give you great ideas on your next trip into the wild.

Do you remember the team who were stuck on Mt Hood not too long ago? Jason was following the events as they unfolded, and in fact was getting some inside information before Fox News reported. This essentially sent thousands of readers to Jason’s blog to get the news first. You can count on him to get to the news quickly and get a sneak peak of what’s happening on the inside.

There are also some exciting things that The Adventurist blog will be covering in the weeks and months ahead. So head over and subscribe to his blog and follow the madness. You will be glad you did.

-sillydad

This weekend, we spent the time with our kids. We drove about 45 minutes to a place called Birdsacre, also known as Stanwod Wildlife Sanctuary. They have birds on display. The owls were a great hit for the kids. But what was the most fun about the place were many trails to hike. All the trails were perfect for the kids and we were able to walk around about 200 acres of preserved land.

To get the mood of the place you can find this quote straight from their website:

“We bring back from the woods what we carry to it – give little and we get little in return…. Nature will have all of your attention or nothing of you. If you think of yourself, or your affronts, you forget to look for the color, you lose the Cecropia’s cocoon, you fail to see the bird or hear the song, and the flowers lose their fragrance…. Intimacy with Nature is acquired slowly.” -CJS

You can learn more about the Sanctuary and the purpose behind it here.

Let’s see what else did we do? Oh, on Sunday we were going to take the kids swimming in the afternoon but first we wanted to do some more walking trails. We are trying to get the kids back into shape for the Summer ahead. Regularly we take the kids up to the Orono Bog Walk, where there is a boardwalk about a mile long you can walk along. There are many things you can see from the boardwalk like wild flowers, animals, etc.

They also have walking/biking trails you can go on aside from the mile long boardwalk. Some people bring horses up onto the trails and some walk their dogs. It is a very popular area as parking is tough to find on the weekends. Lots of trails and plenty of nature to see. Our regular routine is to go to the boardwalk first and then whatever we have time for afterwards we go and do. This time we went straight out onto the trails and walked around the woods for a couple of hours.

It was nice to get out this weekend and into the woods. The smells of the trees and the sounds of birds chirping is always nice, especially when I am normally listening to kids arguing over toys and being fully indulged in the chaotic environment of having 5 kids….

-sillydad

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side
of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the
road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from
Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves
to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me…….

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must
first deal with the problem on ‘THIS’ side of the road before it goes after
the problem on the ‘OTHER SIDE’ of the road. What we need to do is
help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his ‘CURRENT’
problems before adding ‘NEW’ problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he
wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to
give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not
live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of
the chicken crossing the road…

ANDERSON COOPER – CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been
allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It
was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s
intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his
eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a
standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the
chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us he chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the
chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it
experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life
long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will
lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book.
Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new
platform is much more stable and will never cra…#@&&^(C% ………reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the
chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of
chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where’s my gun?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

- sillydad