Paintball Rocks! (by Rob)

My company had a work outing yesterday to play paintball. Playing paintball with the boss and secretary and everyone else doesn't sound fun - but it was! There's something very liberating about shooting at your boss.

We went to Salt Fork Paintball outside Sidney, IL (owned by a 19 year old, btw). It's a nice wooded area with plenty of obstacles. For example, there's a six-foot-long picket fence with one picket missing so you can shoot through it right in the middle of the woods.

We played three games. The first was "Defend the Fort." One team tries to plant the flag inside the other's fort. The second was "Over the Bridge." Two members of your team try to carry a container "of explosives" across a bridge while the other team defends it. The third was "Every Man For Himself."

I got hit pretty good three times... but this morning, after my shower, Mary found three additional welts on my body I can't account for. The welts look a little like a mix of a hickie and a bruise.

My boss says we're going to paintball as a group again late summer/early spring. I can't wait!

I'm a Nerd (by Rob)

I'm sure there are 1000s of reasons why I'm a nerd. Here are three:

1) I got the biggest kick the other day...literally... when I stuck a 9-Volt battery on my tongue to test it. It was scary. I used to do it all the time as a kid - but there I was, with a battery I was sure was 99% dead, taking deep breaths, getting the battery close to my tongue, then chickening out. Finally, I just did it. It wasn't painful at all. In fact, it kind of tickled.

2) This is my list of things to do:
- buy grass seed to fill bare spots in lawn
- clean and lay carpet in storage room
- pack for niece Bridget's baptism this weekend in Monroe
- go to the exercise store to buy insoles for my shoes

3) I'm getting my bike tuned-up today so I can start riding it to work. Exercise? Sure - it's two miles there, two miles back. But I'm doing it mostly to save money on gas. The one downfall is that I've been taking snacks to work in a bag. That's going to be more difficult on my bike. So maybe, just maybe, I'll install a basket.

It's a Boy! (by Mary)

We have our first nephew! My sister gave birth to Evan Patrick Lawn on April 10, 2008 at 1:14am. He was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. I'm posting some of first pictures, and we'll have more after we meet him this weekend. Oh, and in case you haven't heard, Rob is the Godfather!

Here it comes (by Rob)

Grass has started turning green, flowers have started to bloom. It means one thing -- lawn care season is about to begin. That means cutting the grass and water the plants. I'd like to apologize to the neighbors. For the next few months, on Mondays, I'll be mowing the lawn before work - at 7am.

Arnold and Wilma were in town this weekend. We did the usual: played Sequence, ate dinner at Miko, and walked. We spent a good 45 minutes at Meadowbrook Park on Saturday evening. The two mile walk justified the ice cream we ate afterward. While at Meadowbrook, we saw a total of 9 deer; one group of three and one group of six. The park was full of walkers, runners, bikers, and rollerbladers, but I think we were the only people appreciating seeing wildlife in the "city."

Mary and I are "Moon Walkers." It's a competition between C-U and Peoria to see which town can "walk to the moon" first. We enter our steps/mileage daily. Right now, C-U is kicking Peoria's butt, all thanks to our combined four miles yesterday.