When will I ever learn

Last post I promised to work less and move slower. At least I am moving slower. This is mainly due to the fact that I have been working so hard, and that I am too tired to move quickly.

Going camping this weekend, will be good.

slow down, live long

We went to Krispy Kreme this weekend for our regular sugar fix. While we were there, I bought one of those Snapple drinks. Snapple does this cool thing where they put a fun fact in side the lid to entertain yourself while you drink. As I was reading...

Katie: "Daddy, what does it say inside the lid?"

Me: "It says, 'The longest living animal on the planet is the Tortoise, which has been recorded to live up to 125 years."

Katie: "125 Years? Wow! How much older is that than you?"

Me: "Alot."

Andy: "Maybe they live so longly because they move so slowly."

Me: (Impressed with my son's highly insightful comment.) "You know Andy, I am pretty sure you are right. Animals that move slowly, save their energy, and also take better care of their bodies."

Katie: "WELL, yeah daddy, that's why YOU should move slowly."


Now, you have to have seen the wonderfully sincere look in my daughters eyes as she made this comment, clearly concerned about her daddy sticking around for the long haul. I was perfectly touched, laughed, and promised to do as little work as possible! I told her I wasn't planning on going anywhere until I got to take HER kids to Krispy Kreme too. I promptly limited myself to just one doughnut that day, and only worked a little. ;)

Through the Eyes of a Child

One of the best part about having kids is watching how they creatively respond to new situations.

My kids have been doing some printing lately. We try to manage it, like all parents,(cause it's no secret that my employer squeezes us pretty hard when it comes to the cost of ink.) Anyways, sometimes the printer is low on ink, and you have to press a button on it in order for it to continue to print. Andy, who can't read the control panel warning, does not know that his print is not coming, and decides he needs to get a better view inside the printer (where the paper comes out) to see why things are taking so long. So he stands on his head and waits, and waits, and waits.

Now, this makes perfect sense to him, its the best view of where the paper comes from, but I just don't see too many adults standing on their heads, peering into the mouth of a printer, anxiously waiting for their print to arrive.

By the way, I sent this photo on to our customer experience team and told them we need a better experience for low on ink warnings...

Pinewood Derby: The Final Finish

Well, I have some good news to report from the races... 'Heart and Soul" Placed 3rd in the La Jolla Pinewood Derby!

It was quite an exciting series of races for us, to be certain. There were over 200 cars entered into competition. Each car races in 4 heats against 4 other cars, and the 16 fastest cars advance to the finals for a single-elimination series to determine the fastest ride.

Remember how I mentioned in the previous post the level of competition here? Well, to accentuate that story, imagine a track that uses lasers to measure time and finishes. Imagine guys with levels making sure the track is set just right. imagine roped off areas around the track to keep meddlers out of the pits. Imagine projection screens with finish times, and computers to track the whole shebang. I mean, it was crazy.

So our little car goes up in in first heat... and we win! We were surprised, delighted. Then the second heat, we win again, and the third and fourth heats... all 1st place finishes...

At this point I'm starting to think we might have a shot at this thing. So we wait it out in the hot sun to find out that we made it to the sweet sixteen! Katie is actually posted as the 3rd fastest car at this point.

So the finals go down... Single elimination 4 car heats with the top 2 advancing to the elite eight, and then top 2 from there advance to the finals. We win our first heat and advance to the elite eight. We come in second on the next heat and advance to the final four! Holey moley we are exited now. At this point, Katie realizes that no matter what happens, she gets a trophy (which was her fantasy.)

The finals go off and we come in 3rd place. What a rush. I am now properly motivated for next year... look out Pinewood, I caught the bug!

Pinewood Derby

Katie's Adventure Guide Program is running the "Pinewood Derby" this weekend. This is a long standing traditional event within the scouting and adventure guide groups that dates back to when I was a kid and before.

Basically, you are given a small block of wood and some wheels, are are expected to make a car that will race in the Derby. Now, for those of you who have never been exposed to this experience, I dare you to google 'pinewood derby' and see what you find out there. If you want me to save you some time, i'll tell you here -- this event is hardcore. I was shocked to see how much time and effort people put into these cars. Clearly it's the dads that are driving the enthusiasm here, and it reminds me of the days when modeling and hobbyshops used to dominate the spare time of kids/men (before the invention of video games I think).

Anyhow, Katie and I worked on our car, as you can see in the photo above. I did the building part, Katie picked the colors and design, and we painted it together. Katie named it, "Heart and Soul".

Back to the hardcore part, so we take the car down to the YMCA today to get it entered in the race, which is tomorrow. You have to weigh it to make sure it is regulation and appropriately sized. When we got there, there was a line of like 20 fathers and kids checking these things in. I was AMAZED to see some of the cars. I mean, here were dads with really professional looking cars, and full-on toolboxes that made me feel like I was in the pit of a NASCAR race. There were incredibly creative entries as well -- cars that looked like everything from sushi rolls to Spongebob Squarepants.

Needless to say, I was feeling quite intimidated and trying to anticipate excuses I would have to tell Katie for why we dont have a car that looks like it costs $500 and took a year to build. But Katie was awesome, and just said, "Dad, maybe next year we can make a car that looks like my Webkinz."

So we checked in our car, (they impound it overnight) and we go back tomorrow to race against the masses. I give us about a 1:50 chance of even winning our first heat. Ill post back soon with the outcome!

'Old' Friends

The Easter bunny gave us a very special treat this weekend. He dropped off the Wards!

We got to spend a couple fantastic days with Amy, Alex, Amanda, and Nicki. Amy has been such a long-time friend to Jennifer since the college days. I got to know her while Jen and I were dating and consider her a very dear friend as well. We missed Harry this time around but hoping we get to see him soon.

The kids were awesome, funny, wonderful. Sleep-overs and sleeping bags, and french toast for breakfast. As with everyone that gets to spend time with the Wards, we only wish we could have more of it.

Easter

Had a pretty typical Easter. Kids woke-up to find a pair of Easter bags with a note, and a trail of jelly beans leading-off downstairs. The note read:

"Dear Katie and Andy,

I left you some presents.

Please wake up your mommy and daddy before you start.

Love,

The Easter Bunny"

(Signed with a paw print)

And so Jen and I (and grandma and grandpa) were quickly woken as well to the sounds of excited kids frantic to start collecting sweets that were hidden around the house. The trail of jelly beans led downstairs to many hidden eggs, and a couple of 'jackpot' surprises.

Then there was the crazy sugar rush.

Now grandma and grandpa have gone home, and we already have new guests tonight -- old friends. Will update you on that soon.

Disneyland!

As you can see we went to the Magic Kingdom this week. Grandma Kari was able to join us for the trip. I think she was a little shell-shocked by how aggro we are at the park. Daddy morphs into a 5 year-old and drags everyone around at a rather break-neck pace. We got to try out the Nemo ride finally, and I must say, I was surprisingly impressed with it. Some notable moments:

Day 1 at California Adventure -- Decided to ride 'Grizzly River Run' at the end of the day. It's one of those round-rafted water rides. It was getting a bit cold and the sun was setting... well, after a gnarly spinning waterfall drop, daddy managed to get completely soaked on his back and well into his underwear. Made for a squishy, uncomfortable walk back to the hotel.

All of us having a blast on Big Thunder Mountain.

Andy getting rejected on Indianna Jones cause he was literally a hair too short. I mean, his hair was touching the pole. At one point I had his head in both my hands and I was moving it around and stretching him to try and make contact but there was like this 1mm invisible barrier... Those Disney facists wouldn't give us a break. So Andy and I went and ate some yummy pancakes while we waited for the girls, which turned out to be quite a great little dad/son time.

Watching Kari experience the park. She hadn't been in 25+ years. Many smiles.

Katie in the Pirate's Island caves. They have this maze network of cave tunnels too small for adults. She tore off in there and was gone for so long we were getting worried. When I finally found her, she was glowing with that intrinsic Katie look of mischief and joy: the wrinkled nose, the huge smile, and the wide eyes. Reminded me of how much I used to love caves and rock climbing as a kid.

Great fun.

Slurp-a-thon

Grandma has been making milkshakes for the kids. Andy goes through a LOT of effort to avoid missing a single drop. Click below for proof...

SLURP

...

1st Beach of '09

Good grief work has been nothing short of madness. I have been putting in some very long hours and I need a break!

Luckily, I got to take a small one this weekend with a trip to the beach, our first family beach outing of the year actually. As we were heading out the door for our outing, I glanced at my iPhone which shows weather for SD, Denver, and a few other choice locations for me... Denver was showing 30 degrees. Yikes! That information helped me really savor the afternoon and soak up as much sun as I could.

Grandma and Grandpa are also visiting right now and joined us. The weather was perfect. The tide was low, and we got to do some great sand castle-ing, boce-ball, tide-pooling, and of course general sun worshiping.

Best moment for me was when Katie and I went out far into the tide pools and managed to find an octopus! Lots and lots to see out there.