Life + Carrots + Tony Gwynn = Tucanos

At the moment Austin is involved in five choirs. He is a busy man. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights he doesn't get home until after ten. Needless to say bedtime becomes our scheduled conversation time. Last week we were sitting in our bed and chatting. Austin felt I was trying to "one up" the events of his day with those of mine. "Nicole its like if I say that I'm going to eat carrots then you'll say that you're going to eat....BIGGER CARROTS." I couldn't resist I started to chuckle, "honey is that the only example of the "one upper" principle you could come up with?" He then tried to push me off the bed, but I one upped him by using my nuclear powered jet pack to FLY off the bed!!!

Austin has a good sized collection of baseball memorabilia. His favorite player of all time is Tony Gwynn. Once, while dating, we went grocery shopping together, and upon entering the cereal aisle Austin discovered Tony Gwynn on the Wheaties box. I had never seen him so excited. He made me read him the back of the box (information about Mr. Gwynn) and leave out the numbers, years, percentages etc. He wanted to try to fill them in. I was amazed when he didn't miss a single one. He bought three boxes of Wheaties that day. Austin use to be the proud owner of a Tony Gwynn autographed golf ball and baseball, but both were misplaced sometime between the years 2003-2005. He laments their loss often. Last week while I was typing at the computer he peered at his line of signed baseballs along the bookshelf and longingly exclaimed, "if only I could find that Tony Gwynn baseball my life would be happy." Still focusing on my computer screen I replied, "I'm sorry I'm unable to fill the happiness vacuum caused by Tony." He gave me a sideways look and began to retract his statement, "No honey, all I meant was that my life is this happy (spreading his arms as wide as he could), but if I had that ball it would be this much happier (spreading his arm half an inch more)." We both laughed for a bit and as silence again entered the room we both were pondering the extra half inch of happiness provided by Tony Gwynn...hey if every inch counts, so does every half inch!!

We went to lunch with some friends last week at Tucanos in Salt Lake (thanks uncle andy!). Austin loves that place. He has no qualms about eating himself sick when we go there. His favorite is the Mango Cod and when the "meat server" (that is their official title) brings it around he usually takes the whole bowl. Its the funniest thing!! Forget "a boy and his dog", at our house its "a boy and his cod."