Out with the old and in with the new!

Well it's out with the old and in with the new at The Schrock House. The old being the fact that Micheala has finally parted ways with her pacifier. It has been two weeks since she's had that thing in her mouth and she doesn't seem to miss it. We tried so hard to break her of her pacifier and funny enough, she lost her last pacifier outside while playing in the snow. Sometimes things just have a funny way of working themselves out. The new is that there is a new edition at The Schrock House..........it's Pinky the hamster. I've been unable to get a picture of Pinky because she spends most of her time hiding in her pink cage from Micheala. Believe me, you wouldn't blame Pinky if you witnessed the wrath of Micheala. Yes, another female in the house, so I believe I am out numbered 4 to 1 now. The idea of the hamster is to help teach the girls responsibility. We are teaching them to care for something other than themselves. Heather and i felt that a hamster was a good first step. Let's face it, a dead hamster is easier to deal with than a dead dog! Hopefully, in the years to come, we can think about getting a puppy.

Heather and the girls spent Sunday at Aunt Peb's house attending a baby shower for cousin Jamie and her little boy Ethan. Here they are, all smiles and jacked up on sugar thanks to my aunts. Moments after this picture was taken, both girls got naked and started running around the house pretending they were monsters (a trait I wished their mother would practice). It's pictures like this that make it hard for me to say "no" to these two. That's why they have me wrapped around their little fingers (a trait I wished their mother would NOT practice). From what I hear, Dylanne made friendly with my cousin Russ' daughter Morgan. Dylanne really looks up to older girls and Morgan was really good with her all day. Dylanne spent the entire night talking about Morgan and trying to get me to teach her how to knit like Morgan. Micheala is pretty easy going. The way I understand it is that she spent her time playing with Austin and his hamster, while Aaron fed her candy.

I spent my Sunday on the ice. I entered the 27th annual Cedar Rapids Bass Masters Ice Fisheree at Pleasant Creek Park in Palo. Basically, I fished in an ice fishing tournament. It was only one dollar to enter and they gave away numerous door prizes, none in which I won. However, the contest was to catch the biggest fish in one of the following species: Walleye, Bass, White Bass, Catfish, Crappie, Bluegill or Perch. The tournament was from 9am - 3pm. I got up at 5:45am and went out to the lake to secure my spot (I am dedicated or territorial, you take your pick). I fish mainly Crappie and Bluegill in the winter, so these were the categories I was trying to win. I started out good, catching 2 crappie and 6 bluegill in my first 45 minutes of the tournament. Then the fish stopped biting.........but not only for me, but for the other 500 plus fisherman out there. I spent the rest of the tournament looking at my ice hole and not catching fish. Finally, one of my crappies I thought was pretty big, but I was unsure it was big enough to consider getting weighed for "Biggest Crappie", so I asked one of the Bass Master members that was fishing near me if he thought I should have it weighed. Without hesitation, he told me "yes" and thought that I may have caught the winner. Long story short, I won the Crappie category of the tournament. My prize was $100, but did not compare to the amount of buzz the fish stirred up from the other fishermen while proudly being displayed on the leaderboard. The winning crappie is pictured above, moments before becoming just another meal. The fillet knife is 12 inches long and placed beside the fish for size reference (fellow fishermen know the importance of doing this in pictures. My first tournament of the ice and a victory!

That was our Sunday. No more pacifier! Now if we can just get her to drop a deuce in the toilet, we'll be set! From The Schrock House to yours, God Bless and GO HAWKS!