No, this is not a photograph of the late great Christopher Reeve…it’s a flippin’ statue! Yes, a painstaking recreation by Robert Causey and Robert Dullam. Funny, but I don’t remember “Superhero Sculptor” being on the career survey my counselor made me fill out in high school…I bet these guys wish they wouldn’t have wasted their time pursuing art and went into something safe and secure…like business school.

Check out more photos of the Man of Steel and Causey and Dullam’s other super creations.

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Well, this week I was back at Huegel Elementary meeting with the 4th and 5th graders. I was there for the first of a three-part cartooning workshop. By the time I’m through, each student will have created their own comic strip. (And I will have created 130 competitors for myself.) This week we focused on character development. Here are some notable highlights from the first week…

• Got some high fives from third graders who recognized me from last fall. (Good for the old ego and to bolster my fantasy that I am, in fact, a superhero.)

• Marveled at the creativity of some of the characters that were born, including a superhero whose super power is burping, a 9-year old U.S. Army ranger who has a camouflaged pet salamander that accompanies him into battle, and a cantankerous apple named “Bitten Apple” who is always in the dumps because he has been, well, bitten.

• Confirmed the fact that mentioning that I used to wear my underpants on the outside of my jeans when pretending to be Superman is still a great source for cheap laughs.

• Finally came to grips with the fact that drawing “lightly” is an instruction that is impossible for school children to implement, as I watched students press so hard with their pencils that lead was shattering in all directions as their desks were being indelibly marred like a state park picnic table on a class field trip.

• Added to my already high esteem for teachers, who don’t receive nearly enough credit, praise, or payment for the stuff they deal with on a daily basis.

Next week, we’ll be discussing the fine art of gag writing, in which I’m charged with the task of teaching ten-year-olds how to write funny. All I know for sure is that I’ll be up to my eyeballs in underwear and burp jokes.

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We always get lots of ideas on ways to improve Kim & Jason and suggestions on what new products to add. While it’s impossible to act on every idea that comes our way, we do keep a record of every idea we receive, because you just never know. One of the more recent ideas came to us from a woman named Robin, whose husband is currently serving our country in the National Guard. She shared her frustration in trying to find reasonably priced, well-designed greeting cards for wives to send to their husbands and for children to send to their parents stationed overseas.

I really liked her idea, and I feel strongly about supporting the troops who risk their lives to defend all that we take for granted here in the America. To be able to create another way for families and friends to express their love and support is an honor. So last week, I spent some time putting some sketches together for cards that support our troops with a Kim & Jason spin. I’m happy with what came out. They have already been sent to print and should be available at The Lemonade Stand in a few weeks. But for now, here is a preview of my favorite one – the inside reads: “You’re my hero.”

If you’re interested in knowing when the cards are officially available, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll make sure to keep you posted.

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Today I turned 29. I’ve just entered the last year of my twenties. Talk about a blur…most days I still feel like I’m twelve.

My dad called to wish me a happy birthday. He said that he still remembers the day I was born 29 years ago like it was yesterday. It was one of the best days of his whole life. That’s a good way to start a day; when someone tells you that the day you were born was one of the best days of their whole life. In all fairness, the reason that day in particular probably stands out so much is because I had colic when I was a baby, so most of the days that followed didn’t even stand a chance.

My dad also expressed that he knew a day like that would be coming soon for me and Kim. (I don’t know – is that a subtle attempt for Kim and I to ramp up production?)

I want to be a dad in the worst way. Right now this whole “Kim & Jason thing” takes up a lot of time, and until it reaches a certain level of stability, my patience (and my parent’s patience) in that area will be tested. Kim and I both want her to be a stay-at-home Mom, which means this “Kim & Jason thing” needs to consistently pay the bills.

Now, I know that my parents do fully support Kim and I, so I know his comment was not a veiled suggestion but rather an encouraging premonition. I know this because I feel it, too. I look ahead to next year, when I’ll be saying goodbye to my twenties and embracing my thirties, and I just KNOW that things will be a whole lot different. I can feel the momentum building. We’re about to really turn the corner on things, and it won’t be long before the years of all the hard work on this “Kim & Jason thing” will pay off. I’ll finally be able to prove the age-old credo that says, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

I am doing what I love. Entertaining people through the comic strip. Inspiring them through our products. And encouraging them through my speaking presentations. That love for what I’m doing has enabled me to wait patiently for God to deliver me a family on His timeline. There is a time for everything, and the time for me to be up to my eyeballs in dirty diapers and G-rated movies will come soon enough.

But for now, I am excited to make 29 the best year of my twenties (with an honorable mention going to 21) and imagining all of the cool things I’ll be writing about when I turn thirty…365 days from now.

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The NBC affiliate in Madison is going to be our media sponsor for our Make-A-Wish event in April. They have added our strip to their web site, and there is talk that they might even feature Kim & Jason strips in their newscasts. Any extra PR we can get to raise even more money than we did last year for such a good cause is good news in my book.

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Utterly fascinating.

When one thinks of the worst Adulthood has to offer, one may conjure up images made famous by the movie Office Space, or the comic strip Dilbert. Rows and rows of gray corporate cubicles, somewhat reminiscent of a laboratory experiment involving mice and cheese.

What delights me to no end is that no matter how PowerPoint driven, cell phone dependent, or memo burdened we become, the deep fire of childhood within each of us refuses to be extinguished. Sure, life in a corporate cube can do wonders to dull the senses, steal one’s individuality, and weaken one’s will to live, but take heart: it is actually impossible to keep the light of childhood from sneaking through.

When an office is devoid of fun, all is not lost. Not when you can turn the office itself into a toy.

Hooray for childhood.

P.S. If any of you are in a rush to buy these toys because they hit so close to home, please click here.

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