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.

Counting Cows

I really don't know what is motivating me to post this many pictures of cows. Ill try to rationalize it in a second.

So, there is this "Cow Parade" here in La Jolla. Its a travelling thing, so maybe it's been to your city, or coming. Anyhow, the kids and I toured them on foot this late-afternoon. There were really beautiful and highly creative. We found, and tagged 21 cows in total!

Thankfully I have some mercy and I spared you a few, but here are some of the better ones. I think I posted all these pictures to try and share the effort that we put into this odessy. And of course, to show all the silly expressions the kids came up with. But mostly, I think I wanted to try and relay the powerful oddity that is inescapable when one is confronted with massive amounts of artsy-painted cows.

Got a favorite?

Everything but the Dentist

Andy and Katie went to the dentist today. On returning home, Andy dashed into my office to let me know what happened...

Andy: "Daddy, we went to the Dentist and my teeth are all clean!"

Me: "That's great buddy!"

Andy: "Yeah, and the dentist gave us a free beer for you."

Me: *Perplexed and Amused* "A free BEER?"

Andy: "Yeah, a BEEEEEEER."

Me: "Like the kind you drink?"

Andy: *Sticking to his story* "Yes, a beer."

Me: "Well, cool, where is it?"

Andy: "Mommy drank it accidentally. I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen to me."

Me: "I see... Hey Andy, did you make this whole story up?"

*Pause*

Andy: "Yeah... Everything but the dentist."


You know, that's a pretty good idea... free beer at the dentist. I sure as heck would go to the dentist more often if the gave away free beer. Would make those annoying waiting room experiences a while lot more tolerable, not to mention the procedures.

Kite Running

I sure have had a rough patch of health the last 4 days. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say I have seen enough of the bathroom for a while.

So today I felt on the mend, and decided I needed to get out of the house. I noticed on the TV that San Diego had a high-wind advisory in effect, so I immeadiately thought "KITES!". I grabbed the kids and drove 3 minutes to a hill top park here called Kate Sessions.

We had a few kites, both of which have never been flown. One of them, we call the Turtle Kite, was a decoration my mom bought for Andy's room, and it has been collecting dust since our last move. Not sure it would even fly, I rigged it up quickly and let her rip. Turned out that the turtle kite was not only our best kite, but also the best kite at the park! We blew the other amateurs away and had our little kite higher than anyone else. Andy deserves most of the credit for having the unending patience/fascination to fly it for about 45 minutes. (Check out the middle picture closely, our kite is the one up HIGH.)

I must say, there's nothing quite like flying a kite. Maybe it's just the pure element of looking into the big blue sky for longer than we normally do. There is something about the experience that seems to capture both wonder and relaxation. I think what I love most about it, is the peaceful dedication to watching something that simply isn't going anywhere.

Leprechauns

This is the first year the kids really got 'into' St. Patty's Day. Chocolate coins were hidden around the house, and the kids were told that the Leprechauns had visited, making messes and playing shenanigans all over town. In school, the kid's arrived to find their classrooms all messed-up and coloring scribbles on random paper.

My favorite Leprechaun prank happened at our friends house, where the kids found the toilet filled with green 'pee' (a few drops of food coloring) -- showing that the Leprechauns can leave their mark in more than one way...

Classic.

Oh yeah, the green binoculars in the photo are "Leprechaun Goggles", that will help you find the little green men to get ahold of their pot 'o gold.

Slow Eater, Fast Treater

Andy is known with great infamy to be the "Slow Eater" of the family. So much to the point where tears are often spawned at the end of each meal as the rest of the family is ready to go play games while Andy is left facing a half-finished meal.

In trying to scientifically examine this behavior, I have concluded that the cause is psychological, and certainly not physical. In proof, I site every trip to to get either ice cream or doughnuts. On those cases, Andy is ALWAYS first to finish.

So, I think he just gets bored with eating things that don't tickle his sweet tooth. He just kinda sits there and talks or observes others instead of eating when faced with a regular meal.

Anyone know any tricks to speed things up at the dinner table?

Remembering the Eagle

This week marks the 1 year passing of my dad. I created this short video as a small dedication.

Galen 2005 Video

Thank you dad, for guiding me to dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops. I share in your freedom.

Double Celebration

My mom had a birthday today and also celebrated her official retirement this weekend! We went up to SB to help her celebrate the occasion -- there was a big party at the park and lots of friends and family.

As many of you know, my mom was raised on a farm. She never went to college. Coming from this background, I am both amazed and proud of all she has accomplished professionally over the course of her career. She started her own interior design business (Shar Decor) in 1974, which at the time was nothing more than a few carpet samples stored in the hallway closet. Over the last 35 years, she has grown that small idea into a very significant business and has employed dozens of other designers to work for her. I've been an entrepreneur and let me assure you, it's no picnic. Its all about stress and endless hours of work -- and I have a lot of respect for anyone who can stick it out.

So she has earned a well deserved break from the toils of employment and will be 'dropping the curtain' on Shar Decor this year.

In the spirit of celebrating her life and career, I wrote the following poem, enjoy:

"How was she supposed to know?"

There was a girl who use to live
On a farm with lots of snow
She worked real hard from dawn to dusk,
...How was she supposed to know?

The days were long and dad was tough,
As she pushed around that plow
She'd clean the barn and ask herself
'Must I also milk the cow?'

The girl grew up and thought inside
"I can't take this farmhand strife,
I've gota hit the bigtime,
And make a bit more of this life"

She dreamed of smartin' up a bit
And asked her pop for money
I want to go to college dad
But he said, "no way, honey"

It's 1962 my dear
your future is not to roam,
your meant for cookin' and cleanin',
staying barefoot in the home

This stinks, said she, I'm more than that
Ill show YOU what my plan is
I'm smart and strong and just as good
as any other man-is

So she packed her bags at eighteen
To the city... the big show
But jobs were scarce and also hard,
...How was she supposed to know?

She ironed shirts, and wore short skirts
for she had to scrimp and save
Getting by in the great big world
can mean living like a slave

When suddenly it dawned on her,
"Wisconsin is waaay to cold!
Ill head out to the golden state
Where it's warm and full of gold!"

She packed again and hopped a train
California had her smirkin'
She found this place call Santa B
Where she would start a workin'

She'd tried her hand at makin' perms
but it didnt seem to stick
But then she landed at a desk
Twas a little more her shtick

When suddenly she met this guy
And she was quickly smitten
Her career became a memory
The baby clock was ticken'

It now seemed that earning felt like
some-thing of a distant foe
"I better nab this golden boy"
...How was she supposed to know?

She cooked and cleaned and washed the clothes
the job just faintly hauntin'
cause nothing stops this little girl
from gettin what she's wantin'

Soon they wed, and not long after
little babies came around
she rocked and wiped for many years
'til she heard again that sound

the sound of calling destiny
of being something greater
I think Ill fix up peoples homes
and be a decorator!

Galen said "Cool, I'll work part-time!
What a great idea honey,
Ill shoot more ducks and fish too,
and YOU can make the money!"

And so she did for many years,
starting her very own store,
she made an empire of design,
in the name of Shar Decor

The years went by more quickly now
she was working high and low
the job was fun but had its costs
...How was she supposed to know?

They say you know when it is time
to quit while your still alive
if you forget, Retirement
will tell you at sixty-five

So she'll close up shop and rest now
for Shar Decor was certain
to make her nuts or kill her
unless she pulled the cutain

And now whats next, we'll have to wait
and see what fate will bring us
exotic trips and aged fine wine
and songs granchildren sing us

So great job mom, you've earned your keep
it's now time to take it slow
dont worry about what comes next
..How are you, supposed to know.

END

And if that's not enough, here is the "When I'm 64" Birthday Video I made for her a few years back...

When I'm 64 Birthday Video for Mom

We are proud of you mom, and we love you!

SB Weekend

Had a great weekend up in SB. We went up to see my mom and help her celebrate her birthday, and her retirement! (Yay!) Ill have a comprehensive post on those parts tomorrow.

For today, wanted to share some pics of a little nature walk we took with my sister and nieces. The walk was behind Tucker's Grove, a very very old stomping ground for TL and I. It was green, peaceful and beautiful.

We also got to enjoy a very nice treat down at the SB harbor, as there seems to be a whale that is hanging out there. Apparently the guy is taking a breather on his migration journey to Alaska. People were paddling right up to him and you could see him from like 100' away at some points. Very cool, as we watched from the wharf.

Yahtzee!

Played Yahtzee tonight.

Andy crushed us, as he was the only one to actually landed a Yahtzee. Oddly enough, he completed this coup-de-gras by shaking a wild roll which bounced the final die off Katie's head to complete the 5-of-a-kind. That's the thing about playing Yahtzee with Andy -- for him, most of the fun is seeing how FAR he can roll the dice. We spend most of the game chasing down his rolls.

Just a little off the top

Went to get haircuts today.

It's becoming something of a tradition that Andy and I go together to get our hair cut. We usually wait until they can serve us both at the same time. Andy is getting the routine down -- so much that he blurts out "I want a mohawk!" before he even fully gets into the chair. I of course have to explain to the stylist that he wants to get a regular haircut and then have it made to look like a mohawk once it's all done.

It's pretty good male bonding time and I value the conversations we have during this little trips. Today we talked about which super-heroes were the most awesome, and which ones were our favorites. We pitted them against each other in virtual battles and carefully hypothesized the probably outcomes. We also talked about our favorite flavors of lollipops, and weather or not our SUV could jump over another car if we really had to. I have to be honest with you, I really wish all my daily conversations were this interesting, and this important.