A Day Off

                  My day's off with Kimmy were a special thing.  It did not matter what we did.  We did it together.  Typically, we just had a lot of running to get done, before the bambini finished school, knowing that, bringing them along would just mean a longer day that was more costly, as well.
                 I had off today, and the kids had a half day....
                I dropped them off at Cottonwood at 7:30...ish.  Yes, we were tardy, which I turned into a something of a song for the Perrini's, who hailed us as we ran down the sidewalk, waving our arms and screaming 'We are TARDY!'...
               ...I brought a book with me.  "Mr. Peanut" by Adam Ross.  A dark comedy of sorts, where bad things happen to mediocre people.  I was on my way to get the Expedition (great white whale - made to order by middle eastern oil moguls) emissions tested...
               ...I arrived at 8:00 and the lines to the 4 bays snaked out into the street - I was glad I brought my book!  As I neared the cavernous entrance to bay # 3, I took notice of the young men working inside.  There is no hustle in this environment.  Most of them wear protective glasses, but nothing to protect them from fumes.  It does have high ceilings and exhaust fans, but still, the thick car fumes must be intoxicating and judging from the banter and antics, I was not very far off.  I estimated that during their 8 hour shift, some form of mutation had to be occurring as they drank in the toxicity...but, I passed and I immediately stopped caring as I drove off to Office Max to by card stock for Kimmy's Foundation Fall fundraiser (more on that later...not tonight though)...
                   Card stock in hand, I encountered my first dilemma...Jack in the Box for breakfast or Jamba Juice...I opted, at the last minute, for the healthy choice and I was pleasantly surprised that for less than 5 bucks, I enjoyed their awesome very berry oatmeal and a Mega Mango (Kimmy's favorite drink, that I got for her nearly every day that she was in the hospital)...I am now on a first named basis with the manager, Devin.  'How are the kids?' he asked as I entered...Clamoring for Jamba Juice I told him...
                   I gassed up and donated $70 to those very same middle easterners that I mentioned above.
                   Then, I went by the local Enteman's bread outlet, where I 'stole' two overflowing bags of bread products for $10 bucks.  Damn.  The cashier seemed to be spewing an endless litany of savings that I would enjoy.  Double punches Wednesday.  Free item cuz I spent more than $7 bucks.  Oh, Boboli?  Half price today...on and on.  God bless her.
                  As I was leaving, I got a text from my friend Karen, who happened to be at the beach in N.J. (not the 'shore', the beach dammit).  She had found Tastyklairs.  Which I had eaten daily in high school.  'You should receive them by Friday and eat each one as if it was your last!'  she told me.  I will.  I cannot say how many years it has been, but I look forward to Friday.  If you haven't ever had one and are east coast based (and have electricity - my Dad has been without since Saturday!!), get one.  If you are out here, look me up and I'll share a bite with you.  They are that good.
                 I headed west on Broadway to Toys R Us.  I had called ahead at 9:00 a.m. to see if they had a particular item in stock.  The lady who answered listened politely to my request and told me "you'll have to call back.  We don't open until 9:30.".  Fine.  Then next time don't answer the phone.  I did not drop my name to try to get early help.  I snuck in the Babies R Us side, got my item (which I cannot reveal Mary, because I won't see you until tomorrow!), and got back out, having a chance to visit with Nydia, who worked there way back when I managed that building over 8 years ago...
               On to Fry's at 22nd and Harrison.  I generally avoid shopping at the Rita Ranch location, if I can at all help it...I picked up all sorts of topping for the Boboli...so the bambini could make their own pizzas later!!
               Time was slipping away and it was time to get to Cottonwood!!  I literally got the last spot in the parking lot and damn near melted in the 108 degree heat with 80% humidity as I walked up to the front door and burst into the main office to wait for the bell...only, there is no bell on half days!  I scooped up the little ones, who, by the way, did have a great day!  We drove over to Desert Willow to pick up Andrea's girls, Lexy and Breanna, parking illegally on the loop to avoid the parking lot snarl.  After a quick stop at Andrea's so the girls could change, we ran over to Cienega H.S. to get Cody.  And, speaking of parking lots, you would think after a kajillion years of schools being open, that someone could design a parking lot that had decent traffic flow...
                Cody had a ton of homework to do, so we dropped him at our house and made our way to Viro's for lunch. 
                To say the kids were hungry, would be an understatement.  They ate great!!  TonioBreanna a nice turkey sandwich.  Incredibly, the best cappuccino maker at Viro's, Breanna (no relation to our Breanna) walked in with two of her sisters as we sat down.  She saw us, came over and offered to create one of her magical drinks for me!!  Rose and Vito also came out to be with us.

             After the kids devoured this feast..Breanna got them all gelato - the biggest gelato's I've ever seen!!  It is soooo good, but I didn't get any for me, just sat back and waited...sure enough, Lexy could not go on and offered me her tiramisu and mint chocolate chip gelato, which was delicious. 
            I asked them what they'd like to do when we finished up eating...they were torn between a movie or going to Target.  So, we swung by the theaters, found nothing playing at the moment and opted for Target - these guys are good shoppers!  Then to Redbox for a couple of videos...and back to our house.
            Here's the amazing thing.  We had just spent several hours eating, shopping, driving around and the kids were having so much fun together...but, when we got home, they agreed to knock out their homework for me and proceeded to do so...I was blown away...
            By 6:00, they were ready to build some Boboli pizza's!!! 

          

Breanna's is the one in the forefront - all pepperoni, a dab of black olives and mozz (of course I made the sauce!), Lexy's is back left, pepperoni and mozz and Aut's is back right, mozz, black olives and red bell peppers (Antonio decided on mozz and pineapple!)...they were fun to watch building these creations and ate them up!  Andrea arrived as they were finishing with some incredible chocolate chip cookies (my kryptonite)...

....Cody and I finished off the night with a little quality time, watching the latest Jason Statham movie to hit DVD 'Blitz'...it did not fail us.  Statham plays a tough cop dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers.  The bad guy reminded me of Gary Oldman's character in 'The Professional' (one of Kimmy's favorites!  She loved Natalie Portman in that one).  Best line? "If you are picking the wrong fight, at least pick the right weapon!". 

Well, it turned out to be a good day.  Even though it was a lot of running.  I'm used to it and enjoyed the days spent with Kimmy in this fashion!!

                     And here we have a shot of Jenny and Nick Rienstra's (Tonio's teacher) little blessing, Nathan!!  All 8lbs 9oz and 22 inches of him!!  We were all excited for them!!


"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalms 127:3

                         Love,
                                   Dave