Drew has taken up golf. Now, you don't just throw a second grader out on the course, so Drew has been taking lessons. Here is Drew's backswing.

This was Drew's fifth lesson and it was a beautiful day for me to get away from the office a little early to take some pictures of Drew's newest endeavor. Drew blasting away at the poor defenseless little golf ball. This must be a new grip and wrist position they teach now days.

Drew really likes golf. He said he likes it a much as baseball and couldn't pick which on he likes better.

The lessons driving range at Battle Creek Golf Club in Broken Arrow.

The Battle Creek Golf Club buildings.

Drew's golf swing using his favorite driver. He's working on a modified-Happy Gilmore technique.

A while back Landon the hatter declared himself King of the Dinner Table and ever since the Happy Meal royalty have intermittently appeared at the dinner table. Today, Will added a new twist, discovering the masking capabilities of the iconic Golden Arches.

Drew is in second grade which is the first year students can join his school's Chess Club. This morning was Drew's very first day of Chess Club and he played one game against a third-grader and won!

The picture is of our chess set that the boys play on. I had a couple of cheapo chess sets collected through the years and had always wanted a really nice set since I was a kid. Drew started playing about two years ago and so last year I finally splerged on a really nice set. There are an infinite combination of chess board and piece types, sizes and materials. After looking at all the options for a couple of months, I finally picked out a mahogany and maple board that is 17"x17"x.5" with 1.75" inch squares. The pieces are a classic Staunton design with a 3" king made of boxwood and ebonized boxwood, hand carved knights, all weighted with felt covered bottoms. The set came with two extra queens and a mahogany box for storage of the pieces. Having played with the set for over a year now, I believe it is the perfect definitive chess set.

This grasshopper greeted me today on my walk next door to pick up lunch.

Our three little stair step children at tonight's school open house.

Earlier this summer Aunt Donelda created a hilarious Cubs baseball animation with the assistance of the always talented people at JibJab.

Landon, Drew and Will absolutely love the video and have watched it a dozen times. The very first time, Landon immediately recognized himself and exclaimed, "Me catch," halfway through when his character caught the ball.

Just click the play button below to see Donelda's JibJab's creation:

Alternatively, here is the YouTube version:

We all voted this evening in the Tulsa City Councilor primary election. And, when I say we all voted, I mean we ALL voted. Despite voting at 6:40 p.m., 20 minutes before the polls closed, I was only the 104th voter. How sad. I took this photo at the poll where the very nice election judges helped our boys learn their civic duty.

As you can see, Drew, Will and Landon signed the election form or, at least, Drew and Will signed it and Landon squiggled. They were with Mama just a few minutes ahead of me so I'm not sure if they all got ballots or not. I know it was a disappointing election for me as I only got to vote once since they are now checking identification ... FINALLY!!!

[At the dinner table.]
Daddy: Drew, are we Democrats or Republicans?
Drew: I don't know what Democrats or Republicans are.
Daddy: Democrats want to raise taxes and Republicans want to lower taxes.
Drew: We're Republicans. Why would anyone want to raise taxes?
Daddy: So the government has more money to give away.
Drew: We're definitely Republicans!

I had in my mind an image of Drew playing the piano with his hands all a blur. So, I put the camera on a tripod and set the shutter to stay open for a couple of seconds.

The pictures came out pretty good and, in hindsight, exactly as one would suspect. But, I'm not sure its the best that can be done. I'll have to think about what I can do different next time.

Whipped out the camera after dinner tonight and took some pictures of the boys. Landon was still finishing his dinner.

Will was all smiles.

Drew was all smiles as well. After the jump, another set of the boys...a little less formal.

Landon was in a puckering up mood.

Will making his funny face.

Drew was more cooperative and actually struck a few poses for me including this profile shot.

The weather was absolutely perfect today and we took advantage of it by playing some baseball in the backyard. I caught Will just as he released the ball.

Drew had his game face on

The pictures I was taking were nice and all but nothing too exciting. So...I sat down right in front of Will and told him to, "Hit the camera!" Those of you thinking he might be hesitant to hit a line drive into his father looking through the lens of a camera would be completely wrong. Instead, Will had a smile he couldn't wipe from his face as he applied a new found level of concentration and enthusiasm to the task of beaning his father.

Will's best shot of the afternoon was a bouncer just over my left shoulder.

Not being the brightest father on the block, I let Drew take his shot at getting Daddy a new camera and/or trip to the emergency room. Fortunately, Drew was a little off his game. While he easily hit the fence on the opposite side of the yard, Drew was unable to get a good line drive and had to settle for a right down the center one-hopper that went well above my head.

Tonight the firm I work for sponsored an evening at the Tulsa Drillers baseball game on the Tiki Deck on the third base end of Oneok Field. This is the view of downtown Tulsa from Oneok Field.

Our view of the field. The park is just one year old and very well thought out, seating 7,833 (the Drillers are AA).

Pitching for the Drillers tonight was Christian Friedrich. Unfortunately, the Tulsa Drillers' nine-game win streak came to an end tonight with a 7-3 loss to the Springfield Cardinals.

This photo shows why first basemen are usually pretty tall.

I was lucky enough to catch the Drillers' Ben Paulsen exactly when he hit a home run (the full size is tack sharp). I wound up trading the photo for a ball. We happened to meet one of the owners, Jeff Hubbard, and he tracked down a ball for us. After the game, I emailed off this photo along with a link where all my photos of Paulsen hitting and rounding the bases could be downloaded.

The kids in our group were selected to go on the field between innings to play a bean bag toss game.

Will getting some camera time and getting ready to toss his bean bag.

Drew doing a one-hand over the shoulder toss.

Later in the evening, the son of a co-worker was chosen to be the victim of the Drillers' mascot Hornsby.

Mama and her boys enjoying an evening at the ball park.

Landon enjoying the game. I didn't get a good picture of it, but Landon spent a lot of time with his glove on, "ball catch." Fortunately, he was the one with me when we got a ball and was grinning from ear to ear with his prize.

Will at the ball park.

Drew at the ball park. We all had a great time at the ball game.