On the road again and again

The airport is a great place for reflection as there is absolutely nothing to do but sit and wait for a 40 minute flight from Dallas to Amarillo, TX. I've passed every restaurant in this terminal and they all have every Olympic sport except for the men's basketball game vs Argentina. Go Field Hockey...go Ping Pong...and some other obscure sport. As the Olympics wind down and the US medal count goes up I'm not looking forward to the post-Olympic depression. Gone will be the neverending stories of the Incredible Mr Phelps. Gone will be technical dialogue over what makes a good Floor routine. Beijing you will be missed...but hello London!!
Oh my gate just got changed..I gotta run.

Summer Days

Well I’ma gonna raise a fuss, I’ma going to raise a holla….cause this summer is almost over. The kids are getting ready to go back to school already. This has been quite the All-American Summer. Family Reunions, lemonade stands, water parks, Summer Blockbusters, and picnics. We didn’t quite get to all the things on our list of summer fun ideas but we made good strides and had a fabulous time.
Despite all that it’s nice the kids are actually excited about school and getting back to the books. Of course it helps when you have social butterflies like our kids (ok except for the fact that Lil C is afraid of girls his age).
Since the last blog when I missed my flight to San Francisco I’ve hit a couple of more cities. I’ve found wonders in cities I never expected, and the usual frustrations that come with trying to coordinate flights, car rentals, meetings, accommodations, and of course the occasional fun. Unfortunately the frustrations have far outweighed the fun.
I hope you were one of the billions of people who witnessed the awesome opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Of course being the rabid sports dude that I am I can’t help getting all worked up over a Water Polo match or even a two man rowing competition. Of course the obvious Olympic highlight to date was the men’s 4X100 relay race. Was that not amazing? If you weren’t jumping up and down about ready to rip your shirt off by the end of that race you just aren’t American…ok so maybe you are but you’re just not as insane as me. So maybe I see a swimming match a few times every 4 years but there is little doubt that was one of the greatest moments in American swimming in my time, if not one of the greatest moments in American Olympic history. Whew, I’m all pumped up now, gotta go watch another hundred hours of Olympic coverage.
This entry has gotten long and I haven’t even talked Dark Knight yet. That’ll have to wait till I catch it again, this time on the IMAX.

Missing flights and wrong turns

So what better time to blog then after missing a flight by 4 minutes. Note to world travelers, you must check in 40 minutes before on Alaska Airlines if you are checking luggage...not a second later. I'm here in Portland, OR which really is a cool city but has been quite the jinx for me. It doesn't help that almost every street is one way and hotel receptionists can't give good directions. It does help however to have a nice V-8 engine under the hood of an Impala to get you where you need to go a little faster (but not fast enough for Alaska Air).

I'm heading for stage 3 of my 5 stage trip. Eventually I will make it to San Francisco for another meeting with Young Living. I haven't had a chance to see much, as most of my time is spent in my room or an oversized ballroom. But hey..I can still say I've been there.

While I'm away the kids play. Here they are trying out our neighbors High School Musical game on the WII. Aren't they FABULOUS?

I sure miss all of them, but Deb has kept everyone relatively sane and has been very supportive as I try to find my way in this new job. Thanks Deb.

Fab Father's Day

Happy Dad's Day to all. What a lucky Dad I am and I've had a great day. Here are some of the ways my kids have helped me enjoy this joyous day.
- I got to lick the bowl with the other kids "just because it is Father's Day".
- I had a delicious Breakfast in bed with cereal, pineapple and sweet bread.
- Five extra minutes of sleep...mmmm sleep.
- Wonderful presents including Indiana Jones trading cards and a high powered flashlight.

Here are some notes from questions asked to the kids about me.
V's Interview
So, what do you think of your daddy? He’s nice! He’s funny.
What does he do for his job? Calls and types on the computer.
Does he remind you more of a tiger or a dinosaur? Dinosaur, ‘cause he wrestles us like a dinosaur!
How do you feel about Daddy? He helps me with my homework. He’s nice. I loooove him!
S's Interview
So, what do you think of your daddy? I’m glad that he wrestles with us. I like it when he plays with us. I like it when he eats with us.
If he could travel anywhere in the world, where would he go? Salt Lake.
What’s his favorite thing to do? Throw us on the beanbag.
C's Interview
What’s Daddy’s favorite color? Boo (Blue). Peek (Pink). Boo.
What’s his favorite thing to do? Peek.
Does he remind you more of a tiger or a dinosaur? Raaah! (Dinosaur noises)

DG's ramblings

As promised here is the other stuff.
- My first day of my new job kind of felt like a first day of school. Thankfully this time I didn't lose a contact, miss a train, or get lost on campus (all very true and very traumatic).
- Between Ironman, Indiana Jones and What Happens in Vegas I have to say Ironman was my favorite...go see it! (is anyone looking forward to Batman the way I am?) (anyone?)
- Like Dwight Schrute in the Christmas Party episode of The Office I am now a user of the handy Netti-Pot. My first experience was quite scary (hint...too much salt) and I nearly blew my ears out. But after I got the hang of it I enjoyed the experience thoroughly.
- Nothing better then seeing one kid round the bases in kickball on the same day the other goes 2 for 2 in her first softball game. Oh yeah!
- How did anyone stay motivated to run before the I-Pod? Oh yeah..the Walkman.
- If every week of summer is as crazy as the first I'm not going to make it.
- I should have waited to start watching LOST when it was all over and I could crank out
each season in a couple of weeks. Did that with ALIAS, watched five years worth in a few months..nice.
- Nursery can be frightening for a poor boy who has been couped up all winter.

Birthday Blog

The slideshow to my right is a quick glance through the first two years of our baby's life. What a crazy two years it's been. Over one hundred trips to the doctor, so many prescriptions, sleepless nights, and too many miracles to fathom. After all that, we have a great kid who loves life and has become one of the most courageous little guys I know.
We had a great celebration that began in Disneyland and ended with a great family party at Granddad and Nonna's house a week and a half later. Of course he was spoiled with a wonderful Elmo cake, books and new digs (clothes guys, clothes). We love watching him grow and learn new things. He continues to surprise us each day with his Word of the Day, and makes us laugh as he dances along with Kristy Yamaguchi and Jason Taylor on Dancing with the Stars.
We are so grateful to have this wonderful blessing in our lives. He has helped our entire family draw closer and rely on the Lord in all we do.

Disney Daze

Ok so check this out. It's been almost a week since we returned from Disneyland and I am just now getting to that point where I can sit down and collect my thoughts on the whole experience. Mostly it's because of the Mickey induced braincloud I have had for the past few days. It's the reward for hauling 3 kids down to Cali and spending $3 for an apple just to make it through the morning.

So what did I learn from our trip? I learned the Walmart umbrella strollers are cheap. Ours broke before we even hit the park. I learned that a Veggie burger can sustain you for about nine hours before the IHOP comes to the rescue. I learned that the cars of the future won't go very fast. Oh and I learned that if you really want to bond with your family, cram everyone into one hotel and make that your home for four days.

But the funnest thing I learned is that my kids have a brave streak in them. Yes, they may be afraid of the occasional dog or cat, or even those "Rolly-Polly" bugs, but when it comes to a fast ride in a dark room (a. la. Space Mountain) or a trip down raging rapids, they do not fear the unknown.

So, what was my favorite part? Easy. The best was sitting next to the kids as the ride is about to get good. We had so much fun getting prepared for the exciting unknown ahead of us. Maybe that's an analogy for life.....ok maybe that's just why people like roller coasters. Whatever it is, I like it.

Tips for those thinking of making the trek.

Favorite rides:

Mine- The rapids ride in California Adventure

D's- Space Mountain (a classic for her)

V's- Splash Mountain

S's- Buzz Light-Year Astroblaster ( I rocked this game!!)

The kids were able to earn Disney Dollars for the trip by doing extra jobs and such, which was really good for them. Disney Dollars can be purchased at Disney Stores or online.

A friend gave us a good idea of buying some Disney items before the trip and surprising the kids with them throughout the week. This was nice because they got souvenirs at half the cost.