Cruising on 4 wheels again

Tire fixed. Bank account not depleted. Vacation still possible. Thanks all who prayed. I took it to Marty's Garage (but thanks for the recommendation, Matt, I'll file it away if we need it later). He was quick, friendly, and cheap. I like all three, but especially the last :)

Cars, trucks and tires

Oh snap! (thanks Matt, for the handy phrase.) The Grahl family’s been having a wee bit of trouble with vehicles this week. First this nice van blocks our driveway for more than an hour (see pic). Then, my tire decides to go flat. Oh pooh, as they say. I am torn between taking it back to the place I bought the tires a year and a half ago, C&M, (overpriced, and always trying to get me to do more to my car) or Marty’s Garage, which we liked last time we had car woes. Please pray for honest repair guys and blessings on our vehicles.

Sizzling steak competition

Bring on the heat baby! The men of Trinity were sizzling Sunday during the first ever steak competition, the Grill Master Classic. Big hunks of meat. Manly vegetables. Searing grills. After Master Chef Joe Meuth taught, and the men cooked, the competitors faced off in a smokin’ grill off. Who was this year’s Grill Master Champion? Watch the video and see.

Brush with fame

I stopped at a Shell station in Bannockburn this afternoon for gas. I left with Scottie Pippen’s autograph.

It was surreal. I wasn’t even sure it was him at first when I saw him get out of his SUV and pump gas. But as I was giving the attendant my credit card in the small gas station office, with him towering over me from behind, I had to ask “are you Scottie Pippen, or do you just look like him.” He chuckled a little, and replied in a soft deep voice “uhh both.”

After rambling on like an idoit for a few seconds about how freaked out my son was going to be when I told him I met Scottie Pippen, I braved up enough to ask him to sign an autograph. As I started to hand him the receipt the attendant had just handed me, Pippen astutely noted “i think he wants YOU to sign that first.” I then gave him the customer copy of my receipt to autograph.

Thanks Scottie. PJ says thanks too.

Arnie's work blog

I have a work blog now. Lake Affect. News and views of Lake County. It's not been highly promoted yet but will be soon.

Christina's new words

Christina has been very vocal lately. She has been inventing new sounds, which has us all encouraged. The Ketogenic Diet Charlie Foundation, which she has been on since January, is definitely having an impact. She has had fewer seizures and we haven't altered her medication in months. Some of her new words include:

brrrrrrr
goooowaa
mmmmmmma
a motor sound
and rasberries.

Coneflowers in our backyard

Perty cone flowers, nice and purple.

Civil War Days @ Lakewood

Units including the 8th Illinois Cavalry, 13th Tennessee Infantry, 104th Illinois Infantry and Taylor's Battery stage a battle July 8 at the Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. PJ and I attended.

Weekend update (with your host Chevy Chase)

....or not.
But Chevy was the best SNL weekend update anchor.

Interesting news around Mundelein. Police shot Bambi near Barefoot Bay. Read all about it at http://www.mundelein-review.com/. (I agree with the woman quoted near the end of the story. If you take in a deer fawn from the wild and treat it like a pet, you're asking for trouble somewhere down the road. Let wildlife be wildlife.)

It's pizza night at the Grahl house. Every Friday. Takeout or frozen. Yum Yum.

PJ's fantasy BBall team on ESPN, the Mundelein Mustangs, spend their eighth day in first place, despite a pathetic performance by CC Sabathia yesterday.

Daily prayer request: for wisdom spending time wisely this weekend. For more time with God. For the weeds to die in my garden. (ha)

Trivia Answer: I almost forgot, the answer to the trivia question from two days ago is 5. Bonds is currently at 751 career, 17 for the year.

PJs dig (New and improved)

Peter and his friend Jusang were busy at work yesterday, uncovering a triceratops from the back yard.

Chisel and hammer in hand, the duo, with the help of site supervisor Dr. Molly Grahl, the renown paleontologist, worked diligently to unearth the prehistoric bones of the large quadrupedal plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period.

Christina's Fourth of July parade at SEDOL

Welcome

Welcome to the Grahl family blog.

This blog will contain news of the Grahl family, a thriving family of four, including Papa Arnie, Momma Molly (not to be confused with the musical Momma Mia), junior Peter, and the adorable youngest, Christina.

We will have lots of fun updates, family news, links to you tube videos, maybe sound slide shows and more. Molly even plans a prayer blog.

So stay tuned for all the Grahl fun.


Trivia quizz for the day (to be answered on the next post): How many home runs is Barry Bonds away from breaking Hank Aarons record (as of Wednesday July 4)? Extra credit, how many home runs does he have this year?