Category Archives: The Boys

Up All Night

15 Replies

Kevin Pumpkin Patch

Early Sunday morning, my youngest son Kevin suffered a febrile seizure; his third since 2011. The seizures are usually triggered by a high fever, and mostly affect children under six years old. Thankfully, the missus heard him coughing around 2am and brought him to our bedroom, so we were right there when the seizure came at around 3am.

It was a scary one, lasting about five or ten minutes from beginning to end. It was also complicated by the fact that he vomited as he was coming out of it.

The missus stayed up all night with him, and I got about 2-3 hours sleep total, so Sunday was zombie day at the Earp Ranch. Kevin got progressively better as the day wore on, and should – hopefully – be back to normal by tomorrow.

Please keep him in your prayers.

God Bless Erik

13 Replies

016Today my middle son will be making his First Holy Communion. It’s a giant step forward for him and his faith. Erik and his class has worked very hard throughout the school year, and today they will get their reward.

I’m proud of him.

Suffice to say, there will be a party for him afterward, and it will be chock full of his favorite snacks; kettle corn and M&M’s.

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

11 Replies

002Today is my youngest son’s 5th birthday. Kevin was the greatest Valentine’s Day present a person could ever receive.

Kevin is our most, um, rambunctious child. The boy is a white tornado, our own personal Tasmanian Devil. Some days I wonder if we should outfit him with a Hannibal Lecter mask; other days, I find him sitting quietly reading a book. Kevin is very smart – sometimes too smart – a fact illustrated by his reign as the family Angry Birds/Angry Piggies champion. He’ll be the one working for NASA in twenty years. Trust me.

Happy birthday, Kevin! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Erik!

9 Replies

Erik Fishtown

Today is my second son’s 9th birthday. Erik, seen here at one of his indoor soccer games, is an enigma. He is very introverted, but has many, many friends. He complains about homework, but scored in the 98th percentile in math during his Terranova tests last year. He’s small, but has has no problem competing against older, bigger soccer players.

In short, Erik is a lot like me – if I had brains and athletic ability.

Happy birthday, Erik! We love you very much.

Confession Time

Bill and Erik PenanceOh, not for me; for my son Erik, who made his First Penance last night.

Erik (seen here with his godfather, Bill) was a little worried at first, what with all of the memorization that goes into the practice of the sacrament, but he made it through with flying colors. (Although Bill noticed that his penance seemed awfully quick, as Erik knelt down and was back up in moments.)

It’s good to see him not only participate in the sacraments, but also enjoying them. Hopefully, he’ll look forward to his First Holy Communion, which he makes in April.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Kyle goalie pscToday is my oldest son’s 12th birthday. Here he is spending time in his happy place: the soccer field.

Like most kids, Kyle has his share of irritating moments, and he’s already showing some of that teenager attitude. That being said, his priorities are in order: he earns good grades in school, and is never a discipline problem there.

Kyle’s outlet is sports, and while he is ultra-competitive, he is always loyal to his team. He’s turning into a fine young man.

Happy birthday, Kyle! We love you.

A Family Affair

Kids 659NOTE: I’m not ignoring the Newtown, CT school shooting. I am posting this because of it.

Last week, Kevin and Julia’s preschool class has their best trip of the year: ice skating at the Flyers Skate Zone. It’s the best trip of the year because it means I can also break out my skates and hit the ice.

Kevin skated with the class last year, and took to it rather quickly. He used the support rails, but was moving around like a pro.

This year, he abandoned the rails and took off on his own. He fell. And fell again, but every time he did he started laughing. Good sign. since he took some hard spills. After a while, though, he lost his energy and decided to sit down. The player benches weren’t “cool” enough for him, though, so he decided to sit in the penalty box. Figures.

It was a wise choice, because he found a hockey puck on the floor their. Souvenir win!

Continue reading →

Where’s The Turkey, Chuck?

Last night was the Second Annual Earp Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The missus got the idea from a friend last year, and the kids really seemed to like it. Dinner (for the kids) was toast, pretzels, popcorn, and an ice cream sundae. They don’t like jelly beans, so we skipped them.

The official Thanksgiving dinner will be Thursday at my in-laws’ house. I’ll be late, of course, because I have to work. C’est la vie.

The Legion Of Doom

My sons have been playing at Philadelphia Soccer Club for years. We were always happy there until last year, when it seemed like the entire organization went from “kids having fun” to “win at all costs.” So, Kyle’s team bailed and started playing at Academy Sabres.

Best move we ever made.

Sabres is a small organization and there is little to no pressure to win. It’s exactly what both Kyle and Erik needed at this stage in their playing careers.

Continue reading →

Gimme Candy, Lady!

(Clockwise from bottom left: Kevin as Joey Logano, Kyle as a zombie, Erik as a Star Wars Jawa, and Julia as Sleeping Beauty.)

Well, we survived another Halloween. Yes, it was cold; yes, it was not busy – mostly because of Hurricane Sandy – and yes, Kevin changed his mind on costumes three times, but we made it.

Kyle and Erik usually conduct a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in a one-mile area. Surprisingly, Julia made it the entire way this year, even after Kevin called it quits and headed back with my sister. The haul was great, and consisted of KitKats, M&M’s, and my favorite; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Of course, it would not be a Halloween in my neighborhood if we didn’t get some bused-in trick-or-treaters. I guess they figure people with single homes are eeeeevil one-percenters, and thus we give out Hershey bars the size of bricks. I made short work of them – especially the ones who didn’t speak a word of English – by doling out Almond Joys. Hasta la vista, beyotches!