Terrible Short Stories for Children

I’ve always thought the idea of adult themes presented in a children’s book format was amusing. These are some awful little tidbits that I’ve written here and there over the years. Most are pretty bad, but there are some gems. I present to you Terrible Short Stories for Children

The Little Boy with too Much to Do.

Adam had too much to do! He couldn’t finish everything so he flung himself from a cliff.

The Little lost Girl

Gretchen was lost in the mall. She had wandered away from her mother. She cried and cried until a nice man said, “Come with me, I’ll drive you home to your house.” Gretchen went with the man and no one ever saw her again.

The Bad Little Dog

Pepper was a bad little dog. He would not sit, he would not roll over and he begged at the dinner table. “I will take Pepper on a trip, and when we come back he will be a good dog.” Later, Father came home but no one saw Pepper. The next night at dinner Father said, “Will someone please pass me Pepper?”

The Bird who Could Not Fly.

Little Bobbie Robin sat in his nest. He could not fly. He decided he must learn, so he hopped out of his nest and jumped. Little Bobbie Robin could not fly.

The Seed that could not Grow

Once there was a little seed. A bird ate it and pooped it out on some rocks. It could not grow.

The Fat Little Cow

There was a farmer who had a fat little cow. Each day he went to see the cow and told her how beautiful she was. He said, “You are the fattest most beautiful cow there ever was!” The cow felt very good and ate as much as she could so she would become even fatter for the farmer. Soon the little cow was so fat she could not walk. The Farmer said, “You are the most amazing cow I have ever seen!” The cow was very happy. Until the Farmer killed and ate her.

The Bad Teacher

Barney’s teacher was bad. She made Barney learn to add and subtract, divide and multiply. She made Barney learn the alphabet and she forced him to read and write. Barney grew up and became a successful business man. When he was rich enough he hired high powered lawyers to sue his bad teacher for ruining his life.

The Little Fish

There lived a little fish in a little pond. He had just learned to swim. One day he was caught by a hook. A boy-scout pulled him from his warm home and danced about gleefully. The boy-scouts ate the little fish.

The Race

Paul ran as hard as he could. He finished last. His father came over to him and said, “It is okay that you did not win. Your brothers are better than you and they will win.”

Three Wishes

Bob found a magic lamp while he was on vacation. The Genie inside said I will give you three wishes. Bob said, “I wish I knew what to wish for! And I wish I was home so I could show my friends. No, I wish I hadn’t wished that.” The Genie slapped Bob.

The Boy Who Cried Turtle

The Wade Family went to the Beach. “Turtle!” said little Timmy Wade. No one looked because Timmy saw Turtles everywhere. The Turtle climbed out of the sea and ate Timmy.

Healthy

Mr. Riggs worked out every day. He ran five miles, he lifted weights for hours and he swam and swam. He only ate healthy foods- never anything he liked. He never had time for anything fun. But he always said, “I’m taking care of myself now so I can enjoy my family when I’m old!” The doctor said Mr. Riggs was in perfect health. A truck hitMr.Riggs and he died.

Ice Cream

Mommy brought home ice cream for dessert. She said if we ate all our vegetables we could have some. Dad ate ice cream before he ate his vegetables. Dad said, “When you are a Dad you can eat what you want.” When I am a Dad I will eat kittens and  bunnies.

Baby Lewis Learns to Talk

Baby Lewis was learning to talk. “Come on! You can do it” said Mommy. “Come on! You can do it!” said Daddy. They practiced long and hard, every day for months. Baby Lewis learned how to talk! “Quiet!” said Mommy. “Shhhh!!” said Daddy.

The Bike Story

John had a brand new bike. He had worked hard and saved his money for two years to buy it. Each day he washed and waxed his new bike. He rode it around the neighborhood each afternoon. Every night John carefully put his bike under the porch and locked it to a post. John’s bike was his favorite thing in the whole world. One day John was hungry and he traded his bike for a cookie.

The Lonely Tree

Billy was an oak tree. He was all alone. One day a forest elf said he could have a wish. Billy clapped his branches together. “I wish for a friend!” The forest elf said he would grant the wish. The next day a man came into the woods and walked up to Billy. “I am your friend!” he said. He took out his ax and chopped Billy down.

Best Friends

Pete and Joe were best friends. Where Pete went Joe went. Where Joe went Pete went. They played tag, hide and seek, they ran and laughed. Later that day Pete found a new best friend named Dave.

The Lamp Lie

Lucy was scared. She had broken her mom’s favorite lamp. When mommy saw the lamp she was very sad. Mommy asked Lucy, “Do you know who broke my lamp?” Lucy shook her head. She felt bad inside. When Daddy came home he said, “Do you know who broke mommy’s lamp?” Lucy shook her head. She felt bad inside again. Lucy lied more and more and eventually the bad feeling went away

Mark’s Teeth

Mark would not brush his teeth. His mom told him they would rot and turn green. Mark would not brush his teeth. His Dad told him they would smell bad and turn yellow. Mark would not brush his teeth. His Brother told him they would get cavities and turn gray. . Mark would not brush his teeth. His sister said they would decay and turn brown.. Mark would not brush his teeth. And nothing anyone said came true. Mark’s teeth turned black and fell out.

The Newspaper

Mr. Fuller was not happy. Each day his newspaper was thrown into his grass. Mr. Fuller stopped the paper boy and yelled at him. He told the paperboy to stop throwing the newspaper in the grass. Mr. Fuller was not happy. Each day the newspaper was thrown through his window.

 Marvin’s TV

Marvin liked to watch TV. And the TV liked to watch Marvin. One day Marvin went to turn the TV off and the TV turned Marvin off.

To Blog or Not to Blog

I already have several blogs that I update on a regular basis. I love to blog. I wish I could blog for a living (I’d probably have to blog about interesting things though… how boring). But I’m trying to decide if I want to add another blog to my pile. I’m already the busiest guy in the world (especially when it’s convenient) but I feel like it’s important to create a record of what we do as a family.

This wouldn’t be a  “Hey look what we did!” kind of blog. Rather, I’m interested in making quick little posts when we do something as a family so my kids can look back and see that we cared. We spent time with them. We loved them. Sometimes we’re so busy living in the moment that we forget what we’re doing (which means there’s no way we can ever remember what we did).

Yeah, not sure what I’ll do (blog? no blog?) This is a big decision and I’m sure not going to make it tonight at two in the morning. “Oh man! I did what last night?” If I commit to it I’m in for the long haul.

Cam

Thanksgiving Point Family 5K & Fun Run

Sometimes it’s super hard to get into the blogging groove. Something cool happens, you’re stoked to blog about it and then time gets away from you. When you finally have a moment to blog you might not be “in the zone” and it’s tricky to write when you’re not really in the mood (brings back horrible memories from college- I was never in the mood to write).

Right before the end of April Fran and I ran the Thanksgiving Point 5K. I think it was the Sabins who suggested it and Fran made sure I actually went. Going in I had one goal: cross the finish line before Fran.  I prepared myself by eating  many donuts, burgers and chocolate. Probably not a smart move since Fran is such a tough cookie (oh, and cookies- I ate a lot of those too). I did manage to get in a couple good runs before the race so I knew that I could at least run the whole time. But could I run faster than Fran?

At first we both ran at an easy pace. Fran seemed like she was holding back so I told her she could go faster if she wanted. She sped up a bit and I did my best to keep up with her. When we got close to the finish line Fran was about a block ahead and so I put my fat body into high gear and sprinted the last leg. I managed to pass her right before the finish line and ended up one second ahead of her (literally). Pretty exciting. I think if Fran had pushed she would have won- we both ran the race in about 29 mins. Pretty leisurely.

After our 5K the kids ran a one mile “fun run”. Michael and Claire took off like little rockets and I ran with Gabe. He was a trooper and jogged the whole way (even after falling down a few times). He clocked in at about 12 mins. Claire ran the mile in 10 minutes. Michael finished in 8:31.

We stuck around for the awards since Jason had won third place in his age division (his race time for the 5K was a zippy 22:40). After the 5k winners they announced the fun run winners and Claire won second place in her age division!

The event was fairly well organized. No weird surprises. And the 5K course was actually pretty nice and took us through part of the gardens. The fun run went through farm country and was also very enjoyable. If you’re looking for a good 5K I’d recommend Thanksgiving Point. We’ll be headed back next year!

Eggs and Jesus. Easter 2012.

Easter rocks. No, Easter eggs. Some holidays I really love and Easter is somewhere near the top for me. Maybe it’s the rascally rabbit that lays multicolored eggs. Maybe it’s the Hershey milk chocolate eggs that you can only buy this time of year (which is good, because I eat so many I get sick). Or maybe it’s the mad dash to find hidden eggs and the delighted screams of my children. It probably also has something to do with the resurrection of Christ (yeah for resurrection!).

This year we used food coloring instead of a egg dying kit (those pellets suck). Water, 5-10 drops of food coloring, a tablespoon of vinegar and we were in business. I think the eggs turned out really nice this year- super bright and very consistent. Egg dying is one of those things that your kids “help” with and it makes it about one hundred times harder. But nothing makes those little munchkins smile like checking to see if the egg is actually changing color. And then when the eggs are done it’s critical to mix all the colors together to “see what happens” (Maybe it will make gold! Oh… no, no gold).

One the dying festivities were complete we headed off to church for some Easter goodness. We should think about our savior each day, but that’s really hard (especially for me). Easter is a great reminder of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. It’s a chance for us to focus on the real meaning of Easter and  feast on something that we won’t regret (like those dang eggs).  I believe in Christ, his sacrifice and in God’s plan for us and I publicly accept Christ as my savior. Oh, hey- sorry! Did I make you uncomfortable or offend you? You non-religious reading types who despise this kind of stuff can go to hell (that is funny on so many levels!).

After the spiritual nourishment we headed home for the hunt. I wish I could say that there was some profound meaning behind hiding eggs that related to the real meaning of Easter but I’m at a total loss. Still it’s a blast. We hid the colored eggs and about a million chocolate eggs too. Intoxicated by the hunt, the kids scrambled all over often missing what was right in front of them. Laughter, tears and a few fights later I was certain we had done Easter just about right.


Cam Hughes

2011: A Brief History of My Time

Well, here we are in April… So much has already happened this year that it almost feels silly to look back at 2011. Well, heck. It is silly. So the best thing I can think to do is just bury this post under another post. And come on- who really cares what I did in 2011? Still if your’e reading this (I expect my family to, but anyone else who has ventured in here gets my “You So Crazy Brave” salute) you need to know that I did write most of this last year. I just never got around to finishing it. So with much regret and embarrassment here are some 2011 highlights and… uh… stuff:

Family

I’d say that 2011 was  a banner year for the Hughes family. All the kids are doing well, Fran is doing great, I’m feeling good. Work and home life have stabilized and, for the most part, life is running smoothly.

Fran is my rock (a soft sexy rock). She runs our household with enthusiasm, unparallelled organization and a somewhat manic passion. She’s still working at BHQ part time as well (she likes it- don’t let her tell you otherwise). I don’t like to gush but I feel very blessed to have Fran as my wife. Last year we added a fourth child to the brood (yeah “added” – like buying another plant). Chole is like an angel. She wakes up smiling, she bubbles all day and her smile melts any heart. Gabe has become a moody, picky, life of the party four year old socialite. Claire is a mess-prone, sweet-natured, selfless six year old and she’s a ravenous reader. Michael is a manipulative, scheming, logic-loving  eight year old with an irrepressible passion to win. I know every Dad thinks it, but I have the best kids in the world (they do seem to be slightly skewed toward the evil side though… in a twisted way it almost makes me proud).

Work

Growth at BHQ has just been incredible. I’m floored by how well things have gone, how much progress we’ve made and how far we’ve come. I really feel like we’re hitting our stride now and our momentum is going to take us further than we ever dreamed.

I believe we owe a large portion of our success to the BHQ team. We have incredible people who are dedicated,  responsible, innovative and who have exceptional attitudes and directed focus. I wish I knew them all better- it’s gotten to the point where I simply don’t have the deeper one-on-one relationships I used to have with all of my employees. But I am grateful to all of them. Go Team!

In late 2011 we acquired the unit next to us giving us some much needed space for products and supplies.

We changed the upstairs layout to accommodate more people (Mr. Ping Pong table was replaced with additional desks). We added a sound stage as where we film videos for our YouTube channel (KnifeHQ).

The storefront is a thing of beauty. In store customer traffic increased a good deal in 2011. We have really high hopes for 2012 (read: we want our store to break even!).

The packing & customer service centers continue to grow as does the warehouse. They said we’d never fill it. They said we were crazy. Now they say “Can we work for you?”

Personal

On a personal level things are good. Sometimes I feel like there’s too much going on, but on the whole I think things are pretty balanced. I have fallen off the health bandwagon a bit, but I’m sure I’ll muster up the strength to climb back on. Having a new baby has made exercise very challenging. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I assume it’s because child rearing occupies an additional portion of my wife’s time and, in turn, my time.

At this point I really only have two hobbies  left. Blogging and my car (UtahCorvette.com). I could actually see myself as a full-time blogger one day. Cam’s blogging service. And speaking of cars… it’s almost time to go car shopping!

Fun Holiday Stuff

Halloween: The kids always love to go out on Halloween. I feel like our neighborhood is pretty safe and so we let the two oldest go out and about with their friends. Fran took out the littlest  two this year. I stay home, watch some TV and hand out candy (and eat some of it… a lot of it…).

Christmas is always a little stressful since I work in retail. But we always find time to get the tree ready, drink hot chocolate and make gingerbread houses. Well, this year we opted for graham cracker houses. They were easy to build, just the right size and each kid got their own house to decorate.

And I think there was a New Year’s Party in there somewhere. With a new baby I don’t remember a whole lot. I think we played ImagineIf and ate ice cream. It’s all a blur. If you were at the party (was there a party?) thank you for coming!

Home

One nice thing about staying in the same house for a long time is you can really settle in. Rooms get organized in just the right way (after much trial and error), you have time to paint accent walls, decorate and really figure out how to live in your house.

Our workout room got a much needed makeover. We rearranged the treadmill & rowing machine in a much more efficient layout. We also got a larger TV (built in wireless is an amazing feature which I’d recommend to anyone) – possibly justified since we spend so much time in this room.

Speaking of efficient layouts… We had a room in our basement that was kind of a disaster. In the center was a pool table and then there were two couches on either side of the room. Some bookcases in the corner rounded out the debacle. Stacy to the rescue again (she did our bedroom).

Sometimes it just takes a different perspective to figure out the best way to allocate space. With the pool table shifted over we were able to create a nice sitting area. We also added an electric piano for the kids to practice on.

The book shelves fit perfectly along the side wall and aren’t visible as you enter the room anymore.  Stacy painted the room with a very light grey color and hung a large world map & mirror (both from Ikea) for decoration.  We have dubbed our newly reorganized room “The Study” (where, oddly enough, Uncle Plum was murdered with a candlestick).

And there’s tons of other stuff that I simply don’t have time to blog about (robot revolution, my trip to Venus, the time the sun went nova and killed us, etc). Looking back 2011 was a pretty darn good year. No regrets. Hopefully 2012 will be even better.


Posted by Cam Hughes

My New Camaro SS

If you know me, then you know I’ve been in love with Camaros for a long long time. One of my fondest memories was taking a green ’95 Camaro for a test drive. The salesman had me put it in second gear going 60 MPH and I was so impressed that I nearly wrote my name on the purchase contract he pushed in my face.

When I was much younger I was certain that the future held an IROC-Z for me (3rd generation) but that never panned out. Later I became enamoured with the F-body models (4th generation) but they were discontinued in 2002. When I finally reached a point in my life where I could afford a sports car the Camaro had been out of production for nearly five years. In 2007 I decided to get a Corvette, a current production model and another car that I had admired for a long time.

Later that year (2007) I learned that the Camaro was headed back into production. The Transfomers movie featured Bumblebee as a 5th generaion Camaro and although I didn’t care for the yellow color I thought the design of the car was remarkable. The Camaro models went on sale in spring on 2009 and I went to my local dealership to gawk. Right around that time however I had upgraded from a coupe Corvette to a Z06 and there was no way to justify the purchase of a Camaro- it would have to wait.

For the next three years I modified my Corvette and had a blast, but the Camaro was always in the back of my mind. In March of 2012 I started car shopping (I swap cars about every 2-3 years) and the Camaro was at the top of my list. Initially I looked at used models but quickly discovered that that depreciation was minimal; there was not much price difference between a used 2010 model and a new 2012 model. On April 7, I purchased a brand new 2012 black Camaro SS.

I have waited a long time to own a Camaro and I am thrilled. In one of my next posts I’ll do a Camaro review and give some of my impressions of the car and talk about some of my plans for it. More to come soon!

And to answer the question everyone asks me – “Are you going to keep your Corvette?” –  for now, yes.


Cam Hughes, April 14, 2012

Alotta Regatta

On the evening of March 22nd (yes, my birthday) my son had a Regatta race for Scouts. When I was in Scouts we had one Pinewood Derby (and  lately I’ve had the overpowering desire to watch Down and Derby again). I did the work on my car mostly by myself and when my Dad and I showed up at the Derby it was clear that my car didn’t have a chance (my father recently lamented to me “As soon as we showed up I realized I was supposed to build your car, not you”). I did, however, win the “Most Massive” award- probably because my car was basically a black and yellow painted block with wheels. But I had fun and I wanted my son to have fun too.

The Regatta is a small boat kit that you have to sand, seal, paint, assemble and then decorate. Then, two by two, the boys then race the boats down a filled rain gutter. I suspect the overarching goal of the Regatta race is to determine which dads are deadbeats and which are actually involved in their son’s life. At any rate, Mike and I worked on the Regatta off and on the week prior to the race and I tried to let him so as much of it himself as possible (why do kids love spray paint so much?)

Overall I was pleased with our Regatta. When race time came the boat stayed perfectly upright, didn’t veer to port or starboard and was fairly swift. My son was as good as his boat- he never cheated (get your hands off the boat other kids!!), he tried his best and even though he didn’t win he was a good sport.  His regatta was awarded the “See You Later Alligator” certificate of participation. He had a good time and, more importantly, he knew he had a dad that cared about him. Personally I’m really looking forward to that Pinewood Derby…


Posted By Cam, April 2nd, 2012

Epic 34th Birthday

Well, it finally happened. I got another year older. I recall my 30th birthday really bothering me but the other 30’s have all been just fine. My family made me this delightful peanut butter cup cake tree and we opened presents together after I got home from work. Even though there’s not much I need, I really enjoyed the thoughtful gifts that my families and close friends gave me.

I would call this year’s celebrations “low key” and that’s fine by me (we had other activities that prevented us from doing additional partying). As I’ve gotten older I do a lot more reflecting and I think that I’m at a good point in my life. And I think my 34th year has some good things in store!


Cam Hughes, April 2, 2012