Went to the horse races this past weekend. Had a fun time, though I lost $10 of my dollars and $12 of my Grandpa’s. Sorry Gramps! It was still fun trying to pick the horses, using different types of strategies such as: the jockey’s name is Kevin, my favorite number is three, my favorite color is blue, the last time this horse won was on this track, racing six furlongs, with the same jockey but on wet conditions.

Lukas enjoyed his time at the races and I enjoyed spending time with my son at the races. He walked up to the grandstands with my Dad and I, he stood next to me in line when I made my bets and we stood against the fence together watching the horses race around the track. My Grandma bought him two little horses to play with so it made it more fun for him (thanks Grams!) and by the end of the day he was talking all about the horse races.

On Sunday Lis and her friend Sarah had a date. It was Lis’ first date since we got married. I was so proud of her. They went and saw "The Nanny Diaries" and Lukas and I hung out with Graham (Sarah’s husband) and Hudson (their 3-year-old son). We watched some "TMNT", played outside, ate some MAN-wich’s and walked downtown Snohomish with the boys. Graham gave the boys apple juice in shot glasses since it was "Man Day" and we "men" drank wine and wondered why we were so concerned with their eating habits when their mom’s weren’t there.

We kept telling them, "eat your food if you want more fries" or "finish your meal if you want ice cream" when Graham said, "you know what? I don’t really care what you do, your Mom’s not here, have fun."

It was pretty fun hanging with the boys, and once again I realized how much I enjoy my son’s company. Which to me is a very good thing. I love talking to my son and asking him about his day, or sometimes before he falls asleep at night I tell him about my day. I like to sit in the living room and have him tackle me or use my body as a jungle gym, or even wrestle with him. I like that we can walk together and talk together as if he’s one of my best buddies, which he is. Some people think its not good to be buddies with your kid, and I sometimes get scolded for that when I cross the line, but I love it. I love the relationship that we’re building and I hope it continues throughout his life. When I mentioned that Lis was going on a date with her friend this gal from work said, "So you’re babysitting?" I replied by telling her that I don’t babysit my kid. We hang out. There is no babysitting, I’m not watching him while his mom’s away. We’re hanging out, like two good friends. Sure we can’t both sit and watch a ballgame together but we wrestle, we joke, we make each other laugh, we have fun. If you’re a dad and don’t have that relationship with your son, get one. It’s a blast.

Okay, I went off a bit there.

Monday night I had my first of two fantasy football drafts. I was so pleased with how I drafted. I stuck with my strategy and I think it paid off. I hadn’t been that pleased after a fantasy football draft in years. I got my favorite player Peyton Manning. I surrounded him with quality running backs. Grabbed some solid defensive players, after actually researching individual defensive players (having those types of players is a rarity in fantasy football), a couple solid wide receivers, I’m just pumped. Of course injuries can change things fast but going into the season-opener I’m feeling great. Now if I can feel as good in my next fantasy football draft this Saturday then I’ll be feeling even better. Oh, Lis wasn’t into talking to me Monday night. I was too giddy about my draft and she was just hoping that I actually won money this year instead of losing it.

We took in the local state fair on Tuesday. Same ol’, same ol’. At least we have Lukas so it makes the fair more exciting. Plus we went with my parents, Lukas’ grandparents, who spoil the dear boy. So he got to go on some kiddie rides with Uncle Erik and even dear ol’ Dad! Uncle Erik, who now has a lady friend in his life, was especially happy on Tuesday and was excited about spending some QT (quality time) with his nephew. Erik went on the roller coaster with Lukas and a giant slide with Lukas and Dad and Mom got to go on a ride with the lil’ man too. Then Lis and I really felt old when Lukas went on the motorcycle ride by himself. He gave the lady his three tickets, walked right up to the ride, allowed the Carney to buckle him in and then went around and around with no complaints. Seeing him do that makes me feel old, because he’s getting older. Then to have him tell me later that night that, "Dad, the guy put my seat belt on and Lukas went around and around on the orange motorcycle." Yikes! Sometimes I just look at what he’s doing and how independent he is and I want to tear up. I almost had that moment a couple nights ago when I walked down the hall and saw him washing his hands, by himself, before dinner. He had scooted the stool up to the sink, turned on the water and was scrubbing back and forth.

Finally, I don’t know if every kid does it or its just him but he loves his puzzles. And he gets them down fast. Help him put it together once or twice and he can do it all by himself the next time. These aren’t those wooden puzzles where you have to fit the number or circle in the right spot, these are the actually puzzles that you have to piece together. Granted, they are bigger puzzle pieces but he still gets them down after a couple of tries. I find it impressive, maybe its "normal".

He just loves figuring things out. The other night when Graham, Hudson and I went outside Lukas was busy playing with the Mr. Potato Head magnets on the Bashford’s fridge. He was putting the pieces together and when I asked him to go outside he gives me the ol’ "one second" line. Who’s going to stop a kid from using his mind?

Finally II, he has impressed some with his knack for remembering a song. Not just the lyrics but the actual tune. And we’re not talking about the "Mary had a Little Lamb" or "Old McDonald Had a Farm" songs. First he nailed the song that they play at sporting events throughout the country, then it was the Darth Vader march from Star Wars. He was completely in tune. Heck, even my Dad tried to copy the tune and couldn’t get it. Of course, my Dad is hardly ever in tune but still. More recently the songs have been "Sarah" from Journey or some other 80s band and now its "You Give Love a Bad Name" from Blake Lewis (the American Idol version). He imitates Blake’s sound effects and then pretends that he’s beat-boxing when its time to beat-box. And he doesn’t do this just when the show is on, he does it when the show isn’t on.

This one is cool too:

Thanks to Michelle (HarleyHugger) for letting me know that MSN is featuring me this week on their main MSN Spaces page. It’s probably been going on for a week now and I haven’t even updated my page. How frustrating!

I’ve gotten close to 1,000 views this week and have now pushed my total to over 195,000. That’s pretty neat, I think!

As I mentioned previously this summer has been busy for the Johnson clan. In fact, last weekend was the first time we had nothing to do on Saturday and Sunday. So what did we do with our time? Well I ended up spending most of Friday and Saturday hunched over the porcelain phone to God. That’s right I was sick – wicked sick. I hadn’t thrown up in years and couldn’t remember the last time I vomited without alcohol as the primary reason. If I wasn’t throwing up it was coming from the other … nevermind. Let’s just say I was sick – wicked sick.

What else is going on with us? Let’s break it down shall we?

 The family after softball (courtesy of Mike and Susan Brady)

Lis

For some of you first-time readers of the "Lisy’s Battle with Leukemia" blog, Lis is my wife who in April 2005 was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). The doctor told her she had 3-6 months to live if she didn’t receive immediate treatment. It hit our entire family like a ton of bricks. The worst part about it was that Lis and I were enjoying being first-time parents, our son was just 5-months old. A day after being diagnosed Lis was being pumped full of chemotherapy. She would go into remission later that month and in November finished six intense chemo treatments. This November I’m proud to say that she has been two years cancer-free, which for those of you that have or have been around the awful disease, know that the two-year mark is a huge mark in that it makes it less likely that the cancer will return. She’s surprised everyone from the doctor to us.

So, in short, she’s kicking arse!

Lukas

Our 5-month-old is now coming up on Year Three! He talks, he pees and poops where he’s supposed to, he’s a little boy. Yes, it happens so fast! It’s a ton of fun though because he wants to ask you questions, he wants to tell you things and the good part is that he does! Lis is Brazilian so she has been teaching him Portuguese. The majority of his words are English but occasionally he'll mix up the dialogue. "No want to take a banho" … ‘banho’ being bath. That’s just one of the many examples I’m not remembering at this time.

Lukas also loves sports, which makes me very happy. I’m putting together a videotape for college recruiters that I’ll have on YouTube hopefully by this weekend. Should be a fun watch. I’ll let you know when it posts.

Me (Kevin)

I continue to work and work. The high school football season begins next week, which means that I’ll be working more at the newspaper. They’ve kept me fairly busy during the off-season, working a few minor league baseball games (free baseball, free food and some work involved = Kevy Like!), a triathlon and the end of semi-pro basketball.

At the insurance office we’ve got new owners and management and I like it. They’ve got us pretty business cards with our pictures on it, I’ve been attending Chamber of Commerce luncheons, and I’ve been networking, getting our name out and around town.

Our softball ended in a disappointing and lame way and I won’t go into it because it ticks me off. In the words of my good friend Forrest Gump, "That’s all I got to say about that."

Other than that I’m getting prepared for a couple fantasy football leagues. ‘Tis the season that I love so much: Fantasy Football season! Got to get to my studying and chart making and injury report analyzing. I’ve been in a slump the past three years so it’s time to bounce back!

Kevy and Lisy

Lis and I keep on trucking through Year Four of our life together. It’s been fun. Many people have asked about if we plan on having another baby. Some people have even asked if we’re trying. I find this an amusing question. My answer: We’re married so we’re always trying.

Really isn’t that the whole point of getting married? To have lots and lots of sex? If not then I wouldn’t have signed up!

No seriously, the baby thing has been a decision weighing heavily on our minds. It’s a prime time to have another one. Lukas is almost three and is completely potty-trained and independent. He’s going to make a great big brother, just like his Pops. Plus the three year difference in ages would be prime. My brothers and I are all two years difference and it worked out great.

So that’s the update on us. I thank you all for stopping by and sorry that I haven’t updated my blog sooner!