Whats going on at the Simpsons?

Been a little busy lately. We just got back from our trip which Jamey wrote about. It was a great trip to Disney to see family.

Jamey and the kids then went to Texas to be with her family. Her grandmother is doing better now, but we weren't sure how she would do. So I was a bachelor for a week.

During that week I went to football camp at Troy State University. It was a good camp and our team was exhausted.

Football has been meeting at 6:00 and getting over around 9:30 each day. Our team is slowly improving and hopefully the long hours will pay off this year.

Jamey is working our church's Vbs this week so Avery has really been enjoying going to Vbs.

Don't watch alot of baseball, but the Marlins have a chance this year if they can keep it together. Jamey and I are also very excited about the olympics.

Hope everyone else is having a good summer like the Simpsons.

Quick post

Just a quick post to say I do plan on posting as soon as we get back from Florida and the weeks vacation with my family to Disney and the beach. Been a little busy lately:

We finished up track season: girls were 5th at state, boys were 7th (best we've ever finished).

Turned right around and did spring football. We look improved from last season with several new players/coaches, but you really can't tell until you are playing someone else.

School is over now so I am gearing up for football. For those interested we have a jamboree August 22nd and open at home August 29th this season. We are picked to finish 7th in the region (out of 8). Hopefully we can prove some people wrong.

If you haven't check Jamey's blog she has some pictures of the kids. Braden is now over 20lbs and is growing by the minute. He can sit up and roll and grab everything. The best news...he is a daddy's boy as of now. Avery is 3 now. She is very smart and fun to be with.

Jamey and I will celebrate 7 years together on June 2nd. Fittingly we will both be working with our teams during the day.

Thanks to anyone still looking at this blog!

When I get little

Avery has had several milestones in the last couple of weeks. She is now potty-trained. She has given up her "paci". I have been the one to put her to bed, it is a good time to spend time with her and she is able to catch me up on what she did that day. The first night I put her to bed without her pacifier was a little rough. When she finally calmed down she said "when I get little again I can have my paci". I kind of brushed it off and moved on. The last few nights she had been saying that several times and I said "Avery, you will never get little again. You are going to keep on getting bigger".

She responded the other night by saying "that makes me sad". The more I think about her never getting little again it makes me kind of sad too.

Simpson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family tree software

What do you think?? I was surprised it was not by more.

Simpson update

A quick update on the stuff going on. Haven't been updating as regularly as I'd like, but with football over I may have more time...well if I'm not holding my boy or girl.

Braden is doing very well. He was born at 10 lbs even and 21 3/4 inches long. He is a big strong boy. Jamey says he is sleeping really well. Avery has been getting up during the night now. She is a proud big sister. Above are some pictures. Jamey has many other pictures.

Football ended last friday as we went 2-8. Highlight of the season was the Jodan Creel story. Read the last post for more on the story or this story picked up by Sports Illustrated. Now we start reloading for next season, with several new players and a few that played young we have a chance to be good.

Now Jamey and I turn our attention to track. The girls have a chance to be great and the boys have an outside shot at being a top team this season.

Also since I have time to blog (students studying for a US states and capitals test) thought I'd go over my preseason NFL picks at the halfway point.

Here's my link to the picks from preseason.
NFC East: Eagles at 10-6 is not a great pick, I did have Dallas at 9-7 and in the playoffs.

NFC South: Had New Orleans here at 10-6 which may happen, but did not see Tampa doing so well. Also had Carolina doing well, but without Delhomme they don't have a chance.

NFC North: Had Chicago here, did not pick Detroit or Green Bay (but who did?).

NFC West: Seattle was my pick here, and they may still be the team to make it, but no team here looks great. Arizona would be my new pick.


AFC East: I picked the NYJ to win, not looking so good now. Had New England at 11-5 and in the playoffs.

AFC South: Had Indy winning. But did not think much of Tennessee or Jacksonville.

AFC North: Picked Baltimore (bad) and Cinncy (also bad). Looking like Pittsburg wins the title.

AFC West: Had San Diego at 12-4, they still have a good shot at winning division, but not going 12-4.

Picked Carolina over San Diego in Super Bowl.

Pep Rally

Had a good "black out" pep rally last night. Not much fun for me, but Avery loved the glow in the dark necklace and sticks. She danced and had fun. She is growing up quickly.

Back...

I'm back. After 2 very full weeks at the Simpson's house I now have 2 more weeks to get ready for football to be going full speed (and school in 3 weeks). A quick recap:

The week of the 4th Jamey's parents came into town and we had a good time seeing them for the first time since Christmas. Her dad and I were able to get a lot done around the house (with some help from Dawn and Chris Howell who helped paint and were great to help with Avery as well). We now are almost completely moved in, only the guest room, laundry room and baby's room to go. Jamey is getting them done at a good pace, so I think by the end of this week we'll be all set.

The next week Jamey, Avery and I headed to Huntsville for the all-star sports week. We had a good time and were able to spend alot of time with Jon and Stacy, and some time with Jason and Sunny Bybee. It was good to visit Mayfair, but we are glad to be back in Montgomery.

I enjoyed my two "off" weeks, but feel like I need more rest...

NFL Preview: Playoff/Superbowl Picks, Random, College Football

Sorry for the long title, but I thoought I'd try to squeeze alot into this one post.



AFC Playoffs



Seeds
1) Indianapolis 13-3
2) San Diego 12-4
3) New York Jets 12-4
4) Baltimore 11-5
5) Bengals 11-5
6) New England 11-5



I see New England upsetting the Jets in the first round and Baltimore winning against the Bengals. The second round I have San Diego getting some revenge on New England and Indianapolis beating the Ravens.


My super bowl pick for the AFC....San Diego



NFC



Seeds
1) New Orleans 11-5
2) Eagles 10-6
3) Chicago 10-6
4) Seattle 10-6
5) Carolina 9-7
6) Dallas 9-7



In the wildcard I see Chicago getting knocked out by Dallas and Carolina beating Seattle. In the divisional round I have Dallas losing to New Orleans and the Eagles getting upset by Carolina.
My super bowl pick for the NFC... Carolina



In the big game I have Carolina winning the Superbowl.

In Random news I ran into one of the people that read my blog. JRB who teaches law at Faulkner and I met at a yard sale in Montgomery. It is neat to meet someone you feel like you already know.

You college fans keep checking, I will be posting my SEC and national picks soon.

My Girls.


Not everybody is this lucky. These are my two beatiful girls that I have been able to spend alot more time with.

Big Day...

Today was a huge day for the Simpsons. Not because Paris Hilton has decided to give up acting stupid, but for a few reasons.

Reason 1: We are having a baby boy. Due date is November 3rd, and he is already measuring big, so here's hoping he is as athletic as the little girl we already have. He looks healthy and we are excited about seeing him in about 20 more weeks.

No doubt here baby!!!!

Reason 2: We have agreed to buy our second house. It was Jamey's favorite and I think it will be a great house to raise our 2 kids. It is in a good area of town and is 2000 sq ft with 4 bdrms. It also has alot of character, being built in 1950. We just need a few rooms painted and it will a great house to move into.

Reason 3: I have been getting to spend much more time at home with Jamey and Avery and have been able to see Avery grow up. She now loves going to McDonalds or Burger King to play in the big kids playground. She is normally the smallest kid playing, but she loves to go up and come down the slides at these places. She is ready to be the "big sister" even though I am not sure she knows what that means. She is able to express herself very well now.

Vacation to Stone Mountain

I know Jamey will post a lot more on this later, but thought I'd let everyone know we are back from Stone Mountain, Ga. It was a great trip. I haven't been able to spend much time with Avery to watch all the new tricks she can do.

She can now sing (mimic whatever I am singing). She can open the fridge and get her own drink, and occasionally shut the door back. She can speak very well now in sentences (she has stopped using the 3rd person vocabulary she had for awhile). She can recongnize Applebees and other landmarks the Simpson's frequent. She can swim, with floaties, by herself and she doesn't want any help from Daddy.

Now to the trip. We started by going to a farmyard (plastic) which Avery had fun at, but was not a fan of the very loud noises. Next we ventured to the 4D movie theater, which did warn of animals coming off the screen. We went anyway and Avery was doing fine until a snake came at you and hissed. She now has a fear of snakes (even though we convinced her it was just "kissing" her). Next was lunch and then on to the train. Avery loves riding on trains and it was fun. Then we went to the sky lift. Jamey and Avery enjoyed this and I did once we were off the lift.

We saved the part where Avery could pet the animals to this point, as she was beginning to show signs of someone who had not had her nap. She loved petting the goats and sheep and we could have stayed there all day. But on to the Riverboat we went. Avery liked the paddle boats, was not too big a fan of the river boat, but loved feeding the ducks. For all the money we spent we could have saved it all and given her duck food and she would have been happy.

We did go back to watch the fireworks that night and after Avery was convinced no snake was going to come of the lazer show she enjoyed it.

I know I had a great time and I am sure Jamey will post some pictures later...

Avery growing up

Avery has grown so much this past year. Take a look and see.

Cool Slideshows

Tough Girl

nu=3235>5<2>33;>WSNRCG=32323:6362478nu0mrj.jpg">Avery is a lot like her mother. She often is a mini-Jamey. She also acts like her mother, often copying everything she does and says. She is also a very independent tough girl, just like her mom. She had a fever last night (hopefully it is going down as I am typing this at school) and it was obvious she did not feel good, but she continued to try to play and be a happy baby.

Growing up

I have recently started noticing Avery as a little girl. For awhile she was a baby, but not is clearly a girl. I noticed this first when she starting drawing me pictures. These of course are colorful scribbles. But are done with a purpose by her.


I then saw Avery play at the park. She would not accept help for things she could do. Including the slide, bridges, and any other area she could go to. She was becoming a little girl.

Yesterday we spent the day at the fair. She enjoyed the shows (which we expected). She loved the sealions. But I was curious to see how she would handle the rides. After easing her into it with the giant slide with mom and teacups. I took her on the Merry-go-round. She enjoyed it so we decided to let her on the bumper boats by herself. Despite the sign that said the child had to be over 1 and 1/2 and over 36 inches (although she is close to that height) we let her ride it. She loved it. She rode it 3 times and was upset everytime she had to get out of the boats. She was by far the youngest kid on the ride, but you wouldn't have known it by looking at her. So we became a little more bold and got her onto another "big kid" ride. Despite being put with other older kids that she did not know, she did very well. I am sure Jamey will blog on this later with pictures so I'll stop there.

Even though she is growing up I will always view her as my little girl.

Enjoying Life

Today has been a good day. Although I am sick (can't breath without using my mouth), my team is 0-2, and Avery woke up at 5:45, today is still a good day. Why?

Because I am a Christian. I am able to talk about, worship, and pray to a God who has been through much worse.



Because I am a husband. I have a wife that loves me, takes care of me, and has fun with me. And enjoys much of the same things that I do (nice catch baby).

Because I am a father. I have a little girl that, as of this moment, loves me, plays with me, and kisses me. As noted in the picture she also helps me gameplan for football.

Because I am an American. I have the freedoms to worship my God, to live without fear.

Because I am a teacher. I get paid to influence kids everyday.


Because I am a coach. I do something I love and call it a "job".

So, even though I can't breath, am tired, still am slightly depressed about losing, today is a good day...

Sorry Phins...

The Dolphins managed to do it again, get up on an opponent have the ball in their territory and lose. Oh well just 15 more I have to watch. At least I got the right score 28-17, just wrong teams. Credit to the Steelers, there is a reason they are super bowl champs.
On another note, Jamey's girls got off the hump, somewhat. I am sure she'll blog about this so I won't give too much detail. They did not win the match, but finally got a game won.
About Avery now. Her new favorite word is "no". This morning I was getting her ready for school (to come with me to see her mom, who is coaching in the morning), and I asked her about several different things she knows and she pointed and laughed. Then I asked if she wanted her diaper changed and she said "no,no,no" and clung to me with arms and legs not letting me put her on the table. The funniest is when people she doesn't want try to pick her up now. She puts her hand in their face and says "no,no". Not that we encourage this, but sometimes it is funny.

Growing up

I do not get sentimental much. Trust me you can ask my wife. But the other night we watched Cheaper By the Dozen II. Pretty good fun movie. One of the main story lines is about the youngest girl growing up. This for whatever reason got me a little sentimental about my little girl and how much she has already grown up. Tonight in church I watched for the first time how in class she can climb the little slide set they have and go down the slide all by herself. She did this several times and came running to me with a big smile as if to see if I was impressed. I will miss the days when she does not always run into my arms after every big acheivement...

Avery's New Tricks (proud of myself)/ Top Ten War Movies

New Tricks

Go Gators

Some of our friends had a dog called Riley. The dog was very good at doing all types of tricks. She could sit, speak, roll, lay and jump. Unfortunately, to get to one trick she would have to go through all 4 of the others. To get her to roll, she would sit and speak and follow it with a jump....

Avery is now learning several new words and tricks. She can point to her eyes, nose, and mouth. She can say hello, bye-bye, Avery (new this week), baby, mama, and daddy. To get her to do some of her pointing tricks though she goes through them all. She cannont simply point at her eyes, soon to follow will be the nose and mouth.

Jamey used to teach the 4 year olds at Mayfair. In class she would teach one of our favorite little girls who used to always say "I'm so proud of myself" after finishing puzzles, ect.... Avery now has a shape-sorter (probably the kind you had growing up with the star, square, circle, ect...). As she was learning to put the shapes in we would always clap for her. Now she puts the shapes in and claps for herself (without us even being in the room).

Now I have just finished watching "Saints and Soldiers" a good movie (I'd give it 4 stars). That led me to thinking of a new top ten. Sorry ladies this is a top ten war movies list. The criteria is movies that are entirely based on a war (no "Forrest Gump" that have a war in them, but are not based on war). I have to have seen the movie as well.

10. Enemy at the Gates: Very good movie. Based on to assassins with a good cast.

9. Tears of the Sun: Bruce Willis in one of his best movies. Worth going to rent.

8. Gettysburg: Great Civil War movie for anyone who doesn't study the Civil War and those of us who really enjoy studying it. It draws you in and tells of one of the most important battles in our nations history.

7. Gladiator: Russell Crowe gives a great performance. Worth watching to see the special effects, it feels as if you are in the coliseum.

6. Crimson Tide: Another with Denzel, but this time with Gene Hackman. Great drama in this fictional movie.

5. Glory: Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman give great performances. Everyone needs to see this movie at least one time. Also great with historical accuracy.

4. We were soldiers: Mel Gibson with several other great younger actors. Great movie for wives as well as half the movie is from their perspective. Based on real events in Vietnam.

3. Patriot: Mel Gibson again. Based on the Revolutionary war. Great story that is loosely based on facts. Another movie the wives will enjoy as well.

2. Braveheart: Mel Gibson's best movie. This is definitely a man's movie based in Scotland as they gained independence from England. Great war scenes.

1. Saving Private Ryan: The cast alone would make it great: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Paul Giamatti, but the action scenes were intense and realistic. The characters pulled you in. If you want a true experience watch this with surround sound.

Honorable mention: Black Hawk Down, Behind Enemy Lines, Gods and Generals,

Movies I have not seen that I have heard are good: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Band of Brothers series, Troy, Thin Red Line, ect...

Movies I have seen that I purposely left off: Pearl Harbor, Alexander the Great (heard he was portrayed as gay), Three Kings


Let me know what you think.

Avery's temper/ Another top ten list

Not a big fan of boys kissing my little girl.







I love my little girl. She is sweet and cute and fun to be around. I am able though to admit she has a little spunk in her. This will be good when all your sons are trying to put the moves on her, but right now it is something we're working with. Avery can now give some of the meanest looks. She is generally very pleasant and happy until something is taken from her. We have begun to spank her for throwing fits (don't call us in).
Anyway, the other night I was watching Avery while Jamey was out. We have a cord in the living room that Avery knows she is not to touch (she can do what she wants with everything else in the room). Every now and then she is playing and accidentally comes to it and pulls. We say no and move her and if she goes back she gets spanked. This happened the other night (nothing too bad yet).... Later on in the evening Avery was pulling something out of a book (also a non-rare occurrence) as I took the book away Avery started her normal fit and again got spanked (don't think I just beat my little girl, this is not as often as it sounds). I put her down and she proceeded to sprint to the cord and stare at me as she pulled it as hard as she could from the wall. After I spanked her I realized what she had done. She had become mad and ran to "get me back" the only way she knew how.
Again, Avery has been an almost perfect child to this point so do not think she is a temper tantrum monster. But she can throw one with the best of them already. I love females...

Now a top ten list sent to me from my mother who knows I love lists (call me Stacy Stacy).
This is the top ten worst URL's.

Attn: EntrepeneursEveryone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… iswww.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views atwww.expertsexchange.com

3. Deleted. Funny but not what I wanted on my family friendly blog

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder atwww.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s alwayswww.ipanywhere.com

8. Deleted. Same reason as number 3.

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website atwww.gotahoe.com

Hope you enjoyed,
Kenny

Action/ And my daughters obsession with phones

"Hew-wo"

Recently Avery has learned a new word. "Hello" or as she says it "Hew-wo". This has become her new thing. Today at football workouts she was given a stopwatch to keep her busy. As I heard laughter from the area she was I tuned to see her having a complete conversation (in whatever language she speaks. We think it is a mix of Russian and Chinese now.) on the stop watch. Then at lunch without any prompting she put her hand to her ear and started a conversation (something like: "Hew-wo, laksjflkjfa al;kfjlkjsdfl ;lasjflfkjafklj, bye-bye") with her hand.

Now onto action actors. Something I am much more comfortable in. Again my criteria is actors that I have seen. These guys are men's men. People we'd all like to be if trouble came around. Some may not have the most skills in speaking, but when you can bench press 450, no one is too concerned about the eloquence in which you speak.
Onto the list:

Top Ten Action

1. Bruce Willis: The man among men. Even with the receding hairline he is the man (so there is hope for me still). His Die Hard series is one of the best.

2. Jean-Claude Van Damm: "Bloodsports" were unreal. This guy is not a great actor, but man can he put on a fight scene. I cringe in some of the scenes, but his fight scenes make it worth watching his movies.

3. Clint Eastwood: Many great movies where he was the man.

4. John Wayne: The name or action stars. Would be higher if I'd seen more of his movies.

5. Will Smith: One of my personal favorites, because of his comedy in action movies. Could make a case for him with the comic actors as well.

6. Jackie Chan: The human stunt man.

7. Sylvester Stallone: Rambo, Rocky, need I say more.

8. Vin Deisel: The name alone is great, but in XXX and Fast an Furious did a great job.

9. Steven Segal: Great actor in many B-rated movies, with a few that were good.

10. Colin Farell: New actor that has done well so far. Much of this will depend on Miami Vice.

11. Arnold Schwartznegger: The Governator is a must for the list.

12. Sean Connery: Great in all the Bonds. Also has done well in movies like "The Rock".

Honorable Mention: Pierce Brosman, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Val Kilmer, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford.

Let the comments fly. Next up will be the Supporting actors (a top 15 list)...

Intro to blogging

Avery and Lawson giving my favorite sign

This is my first ever blog. At least on the internet. I hope to update somewhat often, depending on what sport season is going on. I have to acknowledge that I first felt blogging was for those of us still in puberty. However after reading several of my post-pubescent friends blogs I have decided to start my own. I figure my ramblings about all things unimportant are just as much fun to read as anyone elses so why not waste more of your time by having you read my blog.
Throughout the year I will be posting on some of the extremely intelligent things that 8th graders will say in my class (no names). As any of you know who work with (or are even remotely involved with) 14 year olds know, they tend to speak before thinking. I'll also be posting on the two loves of my life, my wife and little girl. And fear not sports fans I'll have a little time to put some thoughts on the upcoming year in football (high school, college, and pro). Yes all you who live in Alabama there is PRO FOOTBALL as well.
Well till later signing off,
Coach K