Don and Johnny in shades

John March 2011

Don April 1995

John 2009

Don July 1995


Notice anything similar besides the fact that we are/were two bad dudes? That was back when I had hair right after I got out of the Army, wish I still had the hair.

John's Early Birthday Present

Bertha sent some money so that we could buy John a bicycle for his birthday from her so we went to Toys R Us to look at them. Johnny first saw a battery operated police car that he jumped in and didn't want to get out of. The only problem was that it cost $330 and we cannot afford that at all. He threw a screaming and crying fit which doesn't work on me at all. We went to the bicycle section while his tantrum continued and at first he didn't want to even look at them. After a bit when I found the right size bike for him(Toy Story 3 of course) he started riding but as usual after I started filming he stopped. He did resume riding and you can see that in the video below. The threw another fit when he found out that we the bike was a display model only and that we would have to wait a few days to get one assembled. Hopefully he'll forget about it and we can wait to give it to him on his birthday.

Johnito The Cameraman

Here's what happens when your 3 year old gets your phone and knows how to use it:

Johnny Driving

Watch the video and you will see a small part of what I go through every time I get into and out of my truck.



Today Johnny and I went to the bank and while in line he confided to me very loudly (as only the young can) "My pee-pee hurts." Afterwards we went for a walk and then stopped at a Mexican bodega where I bought 2 bottles of real Pepsi. I say real because they still use sugar instead of whatever they call the artificial sweetener they use here in the U.S. While there we played some old video games that didn't work very well but that was beside the point. We came home for a bit and then dropped off some anticuchos at the church for a young peoples event and I helped set things up a little bit. Johnny played with Priscilla and then Benjamin but after about 20 minutes we were on our way back home. Now we're going to try and cut his hair and give him a bath so he'll be ready for school tomorrow. Yesterday I went to the discount cinema and caught a movie with nobody else in the theater. It doesn't get better than that. Afterwards I wrote and wrote and wrote. Tomorrows another day.

Another Day Off With John

Today I continued my vacation by taking John to the mall so that I could get my glasses fixed (Novalee jumped on me and bent them a bit) and John could go to the playground area which he refers to as "going to see ninos." Earlier in the morning Connie took John to the doctor so that they could check his blood count which was high last week. It's come down and is almost at his normal level. We were at the mall for almost 2 hours and during that time I took some video and pictures of him playing. He was jumping off of the firetruck but of course when I started filming he changed and started "falling" off of it.

Towards the end of our time there a girl that was about 2 years older than him came up and told him that she liked playing with boys. When I asked him if he heard he he said yes so I told him to go and play some more. They had about fifteen minutes together before she had to leave and we decided to go as well. John had been dropping vague hints like "Daddy take me to McDonalds" over and over so I decided to accede to his wishes.

On our way out of the building we went past the area that has cars to ride in for a dollar but since I didn't have any change he just sat in one and used his imagination as you can see.

We spent an even longer time at McDonalds where John ran all over the place. Later it emptied out until he was the only child in there but after a few minutes it filled up and he found several kids to play with and they were chasing each other around. All in all he had almost five hours between the two places to have his fun. Tomorrow afternoon he goes to the babysitters and I get to concentrate on my script(s) for a bit.

Since I am off from work this week I decided to take Johnny to the park after he got out of school basically to make it easier for him as we adjust to life without Novalee and Mili. I think he really misses them, especially Novalee. He always tried to act as a protector for her but with mixed results since she is so much smaller than him. All this week I will be trying to spend extra time with him as life goes on. It was very windy at the park and there were no other children at the park but he enjoyed himself nonetheless as you can see in the pictures and videos. Tomorrow we go to get my glasses adjusted and Johnny gets to see ninos at the mall. Maybe I'll be able to write as well, my script is calling me to work on it.

Johnny and Novalee

Connie's cousin Mili and her daughter Novalee went back to Mississippi yesterday after spending the last 3 months or so with us. We'll miss them and now are adjusting back to what our patterns were before they came. Luckily I'm off of work this week so Johnny and I can spend some time together.

Here's a video of Novalee rocking out to Megadeth in my truck. John is enjoying it but not as much as she is.

Here's one of both of them playing with the missionaries, to children it doesn't seem to matter why people are in the house, they think they are all there for them.


On their last night in Tulsa we went for chifa (Chinese food) and Novalee attempted to eat with chopsticks. Connie's friend Edelmira and her daughter were with us as well. Afterwards at Johnny's urging we went to McDonalds so that the kids could play and Yovana joined us.

Just try getting Johnny to eat

Getting Johnny to eat new things is no easy matter. See for yourself in this video.

Then immediately after I stopped filming you can see in the picture below what happened. This guy changes his mind left and right. Thankfully Mili has gotten him to start eating things other than chicken nuggets although that is still his favorite.

Next we have two cute pictures of Novalee posing for me after eating.


Hopefully soon I can get our camera fixed so that there can be better quality pictures and video available. Until then we must make do with my cellphone.

John and Novalee at the park

A few days ago Mili had an appointment so I found a park close by and took John and Novalee to it since it was a pretty nice and warm day. Novalee loved it and showed no fear, she immediately started climbing up the ladder on her knees and only got more confidant the more time she was there. John enjoyed showing her everything and climbed all over the place. Please forgive my shaky camerawork, it's not easy going down a slide with Novalee on your lap. I even came down one and slid all the way off busting my butt on the ground but she loved it.

John And Novalee Dancing, Sort Of

John and Novalee were dancing and of course as soon as I grabbed my cellphone and started filming he saw me and stopped. Novalee went over to him and then decided to continue on her own. One of these days I will catch him, I promise.