Summer is here

Finally, Summer....I love this time of year. I love the heat, and I love the smell of summer nights. I love the crickets. I love cooing doves. I love the smell of my yard after I have mowed it. I love the fact that at 8:30, it is still light out. I love the smell of a camp fire around a tent. I really do like the smell of OFF bug spray. I love the sound of a summer storm raining on my metal roof. I love summer mornings. I love waking up early when I don't have to. I love staying up late when I don't have to. I love the fact that summer vacation puts my kids in really good moods. I love the idea that my kids are one year closer to graduation and getting out of my house....well, maybe not that..well, sometimes..but, not most of the time..
I LOVE SUMMER

I have been away from the blogging world for awhile. To be honest, I forgot my password and had a hard time getting logged on...For whatever reason tonight, I found it in my summer time-relaxed brain.
We had another great year at CHS. Our TAKS scores came in and our kids and teachers did simply amazing. I am not a fan of standardized testing. I know we all need to be accountable as educators and this system is in place to assure that. It suffices in that area I reckon. Having said that, I am so pumped at our scores. Every area improved. Some dramatically. I would love nothing more than to get some much needed recognition to these kids and teachers through the state with an awesome accountability rating.

I am wrapping up my second year of my principalship. I work with some great folks. I sometimes find it hard to believe that I do what I do, principaln' and all.

I am looking forward to this summer. I am looking forward to relaxn' with my bride and kids. We got some trips planned over the break. Amanda has a big one coming up with her mission trip. I am excited to say that we raised the money and she is going to get to go. I am proud for her. The fam will be going to Florida this August for the Pickett-Egloff wedding. I think we will be driving it. INSERT: reference to Clark Griswald here.

Amanda's business is growing order by order. She appears to love what she is doing. She stepped down as teacher/coach. This is scary. We are nervous. We are scared. We are pumped. We are nervous. We are scared. We are excited. We are nervous that this is what we needed to do. But, in true Kirkpatrick formed we jumped in with both feet. Time will tell. and Business orders, and budgets, and....a lot of other stuff we are learning...

Now that I don't have so much on my mind, I will hopefully update this blog a little more than when the hectic days of school were going on. But, who knows.

Thanks for reading.

Funny....or at least I thought it was.

There was this one time that I talked my brother-in-law in helping me to try and push start my old riding lawn mower....I told him he just wasn't pushing fast enough.

Have you ever talked into the speaker at McDonald's the same time as the worker was talking...so funny.

Have you ever drove off from the window at McDonald's and said, "I love you"....very funny.

One time when Amanda and I were shopping for cars in Amarillo on car lots...she jumped in this Yukon in the driver seat and scared the heck out of this old lady who was sitting in the passenger seat. She thought it was one of the cars for sale. She jumped in and said, "look Erik, the keys are still in it...and someone's purse...what the..., Oh I am sorry, Is this your car?" Classic.

I liked running outside...but, people were always stopping me to ask if I was alright.

Believe it or not, I used to sing at folk's weddings...At one particular wedding, the sound guy played the wrong side of the tape and instead of stopping the wedding and having him fix it, I just lip-synched the whole song. And then at this other wedding, this old 150 year old organ player just stopped right in mid-stream. Everyone just stared at me and I had to put the mic down and just calmly walk off stage...terrible.

I was a pretty freakish first time parent. I still laugh in my head about this one. One time, (I can't believe I am writing this) I took one of Kristen Jill's dirty diapers to church to show Dr. Mike to see if what was in it was normal. Sorry, Dr. Mike. (Amanda was so mad!)

In an attempt to teach my kids chores, I was having them clean their rooms. Katy hates to clean. When she told me she didn't want to clean her room, I told her she had two choices, a spanking or clean her room. She asked me, "If I take the spanking do I have to still clean my room?" I said no..She took the spanking...cried for about 5 minutes, then went and played in her room as the other two kids cleaned theirs...lesson learned.

I hope you enjoyed these little FUNNY stories and such. Please feel free to leave a funny comment or two to this blog. Have a great day!

My favorites...

My favorite.....

Ice Cream flavor: Vanilla
Nascar driver: Karl Edwards
Wife: Amanda
Dog: Lab
Season: Summer
Time of day: Quittin' time
Music: The kind that makes me feel good
Shoes: Tennis shoes (but, I don't play tennis)
Meal: Steak
College: WTAMU
Cologne: Brut
Movie: Too many to list
Dancer: Me, when no one is watchin'
Computer: Apple
Smell: My kids
Sound: My kids laughter
Sight: My kids running to me laughing
Feel: My bride
Emotion: Completeness
Verse: John 8:32
Soap: Irish Spring
Hobby: Hunting
Hunting Shows: FATBOY Outdoors....baby!
Blog: I've been thinking...

Did you know?

Did you know.....
I sleep on the right side of the bed?
when Katy Baby was born she looked just like my d-line coach in college, Ray "Deacon" Dowdy?
my Granddad flew and taught other young pilots how to fly b-25 bombers in the second World War?
I have a fear of flying?
I remodeled my own kitchen 4 years ago?
that my kitchen is not completely done?
that I consider my bride to be one of the smartest people I know, but yet she found out only recently that you can't drink sea water?
that my kids are growing up too fast?
I have preacher that I truly, really, enjoy listening to?
that I think my wife is hotter now than when we got married?
that my wife was smoking hot when we got married?
that I used to love to watch movies, but now get real impatient watching them?
I have been to Australia?
that I have friends scattered all over whom I miss greatly?
I got in a fist fight at the sonic in Burkburnett when I was a Sophmore in high school with a guy that was 21?
that my cousin Rowdy made me fight a guy at the Sonic in Burkburnett when I was a Sophmore?
that my cousin Rowdy almost beat me up at the Sonic in Burkburnett cause I didn't want to fight this 21 year old?
I was and am afraid of my cousin Rowdy?
that I took shelter under a underpass on hwy 287 with other travelers while a tornardo went over us?
I feel out of a raft in a class 4 rapid?
I swam a class 4 rapid?
once I survived a class 4 rapid, the raft ran me over and the guide and 3 other guys couldn't get me out from under it and after surviving the swim of a big class 4 rapid, I almost drown in 4 inches of water on the edge of a river?
that I appreciate you reading my blog?

169

Went to the ole' Dr. the other day and my platelet count was 169,000...very normal..
No more meds, no more infusions! YES!
I will go back on January 27th. for him to tell me I am ACUTE and not chronic...Fingers crossed.
In a couple of blogs ago, I mentioned that I was in need of working out to help curb the side effects of the dreaded Predisons. Those stupid drugs have transformed my face and other parts of my body in a very unappealing way. I am on day 4 of no meds, and I am a little frustrated cause I can't see any change...Patience, I guess.
Cody has been meeting me up at the gym in a.m. and I am up to 1 1/2 miles every MWF..Resistance training to start this week.-I guess Rome wasn't built in a day...

In other news, my good dog Midnite was killed the other night. Very sad. I have had a heck of a time with dogs. I think I will take it easy for a while in the dog business.
I wasn't emotional at all with the loss of the family dog. What made me sad was telling the kids. It breaks my heart to see their hearts break. Kristen Jill was the most visibly upset. I sure hope she doesn't ask me for another one.-Cause, knowing myself like I do...I'll cave, and we will have another dog. Maybe I can talk her into a gold fish.
School is going good. Hard to believe we are moving along this fast. Basketball is in district play and both teams look to have a good year.
Amanda and I are looking into a little business venture. We are just scratching the surface in "looking". We want to really research all aspects of it first. Wish us luck. More news to follow on this deal.