B.I.P.

This week Andrew was BIP (Berry Important Person) in his class.  Essentially, he gets to have a bunch of special  privileges throughout the week, like always being first in line, picked first, and stuff like that.  On the last day of the week (today) he gets to have a parent come to class and read a book.  I did the best "Sneeches" reading I could muster.  The kids were great and asked a ton of questions.  After the reading, mommy showed up with some McDonalds!  We pulled Katie from her class and had a family lunch in the cafeteria.   Good stuff.

Slideshow

Here are the pics from 2011...

(Tip:  you can view the slideshow in LARGE fullscreen by pressing:  in the bottom right corner of the YouTube window.)

Jab... Hook... Cross... HI-YAH!

More from MMA.  I'm hoping he becomes the next Chuck Norris.

Cookies

Today was a big day in America.  All across the country, homes were tuning-in to watch the Patriots battle the Ravens, and the Niners take-on the Giants.  The outcome would decide who would go to the Superbowl.  At the same time, millions of Girl Scouts were taking to the streets, knocking on the doors of these homes, and trying to sell the worlds most famous cookies.

Day one of Girl Scout cookies sales.

I gotta say, it ranks right up there with Black Friday, and the time I stood in line back in '80 for Empire Strikes Back.  Having only been on the buying end of Girl Scout cookies in the past, I was totally unprepared for how Hard-Core the Girl Scouts are about their cookie sales.  It starts with signing your life away for 50-or-so boxes of cookies.  After that, you basically sprint to the streets of your local neighborhood, trying to beat all the other girls who might be trying to move on your turf.  The true victims (or casualties) of this war are your poor unsuspecting neighbors who have to try to say 'no' these puppy-eyed saleswomen as they pile overpriced boxes of sugar on their doorsteps.  On top of it all, it was windy and in the 30s today here in Denver, so lets just say it wasn't the best weather for door-to-door sales.

That being said, Katie was awesome at it.  She was brave and confident as she knocked on doors until her hands were frozen.  Many thanks to our generous neighbors and family who said 'yes'.  Please eat-up and call us if you need any more... we still have a few boxes to sell.

LIFE!!!

Last night we played LIFE. We haven't played a board game together as a family in a while and it's funny to see how the kids personalities come out. We had a pretty good time making up names for all the kids we were having. I ended up with SIX boys! So many, that I had to start jamming them in between each other in the car...

26 Push-ups

Today in his Mixed Martial Arts class, Andrew's Master asked for a volunteer. Andy raised his hand, and the teacher asked him to come up and do Push-ups in front of the class...

After, the teacher told a story about how when he was once training under a Shaolin Monk. The Monk asked for a volunteer in a similar manner. The eager teacher (a student then) volunteered. The monk told him that he had volunteered to clean the bathroom. The lesson being: never volunteer until you know what you are getting into...

I have to admit, i was pretty impressed with Andy's ability to do 26 push-ups.

Dontcha just love APPS?

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

As I wade back into the depths of blogging, I have also been looking at applications on my phone that can help. As you all know, there sure are a LOT of apps out there. I have found a few really cool ones though.

JibJab (per the Star Wars vid above) is just so much fun. You can make all kinds of silly stuff really easily. If you like photos and if you like to create, you gotta check it out. Its not really an app, its a website, but it acts like an app.

Sincerely Inc is a company that makes apps focused on mobile photos (and printing them). The photobooth app (popbooth) in this post is from them. They have a cool postcard maker, card maker, and some other fun apps. I have some fun travel coming-up and I hope to make some good use of the postcard-maker.

Instagram is another very cool photo sharing platform. More akin to Twitter and Facebook, Instagram lets to share photos via mobile devices in a very mobile-relevant way. (The MMA photo and Text-A-Saurus were both edited/created through Instagram -- see below.)

Finally, the Blogger app is a must for anyone who uses Blogger. It is a huge time-saver.

Katie has been going NUTS with apps lately on her itouch. It seems like she has found every single free app in the universe. Since I have the download function pass-coded, that means a lot of "Daddy? Can I get this app?", and a lot of me entering in the password.

Skate City

Inspired by my sister's family, we decided to head over to Skate City in Littleton this weekend. I grabbed my sequined shirt and matching cowboy hat and we went looking for roller disco fun. I think Jen was having some wicked flashbacks since she grew up around there and used to go to Skate City as a kid. Not much seemed to have changed from Jen's descriptions. We had a blast both skating and people watching.

I was particularly impressed with my wife's skating ability. Now we can add Bowling AND Rollerskating to Jen's ninja list...

MMA

Andy has been taking Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) for about a half a year now. He really gets into it and is super intense about his training. Lots and lots of focus. Its great to see him take something so seriously.

Where are we?

From our trip in Dec to Copper, here's a clip of us on the ski lift. Not real exciting but im just trying to see if I can embed video...

Success!!!

Text-a-saurus!!!

So, I thought it would be a cool idea to give Katie texting capability on her itouch...

I cant really find good words to describe what has transpired since. The term, "Ive created a monster" feels like such an understatement.

Keep in mind that the only person she can text right now is me... so Im getting all of the activity.

This is forwarded from my iPhone today:

Jan 11, 2012 3:58pm

: What time will ur work be done?

: Dad!!!!!

: Yo Daddio!

:)

I'll be done at 530

: I need help with homework!

: Kk!

: I'm gonna hook up mom so we can text each other! But I'm doing it laterz. Love ya to my toes! -Katerz

Jan 11, 2012 4:02pm

: I want to be able to EDIT the blog. Like post pictures and ect.

: P.S. I would like to upload pictures to my iTouch :D

: Ya know, I'm texting ya in the basement! :o

: I'm upstairs now!

: Drew and mom r at KARATE! :D

: Now I'm at ur door!

: Peeking in!

Jan 11, 2012 4:05pm

: Now out!

: Done yet?

Super Socks

Here are Katie's socks...

Her Birthday

Took Jen to the Magnolia Hotel downtown for a night away to celebrate her birthday. We had a great corner room with a eye-opening view of the city. Being able to see so many people at once (by just looking from your window) is definitely a different kind of feeling from living in the burbs. We had a great time being alone together while surrounded by strangers. We drank copious amounts of wine while talking like James Lipton. We ate a lot of Garlic. We slept in. I can't overstate the value to having time alone together every once and a while. Happy Birthday Jennifer, I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Never leave your iPhone unguarded...

...or your wife might snap ya nappin'.