I landed at DIA (Denver International Airport) around 9am and headed home. By 11:30 we were on the road to the mountains as a buddy of mine is giving us his old freezer as he bought a new one, yea!

By the way, I’m not going to tell you anymore about how crazy the World is and that you need to prepare and blah blah blah, as if you can’t see it by now with the recent event in Oklahoma, then that’s your problem. I’m just really disappointed at what is happening to our Country.

Now back to the day, the best part was the drive as the colors in the mountains are spectacular as the leaves are all at their peak of changing colors and will soon be falling to the ground before the first snow. To put it all in perspective, my birthday is 3 months from tomorrow, whoo hoo! Actually I don’t know what I’m getting so excited for as I should be getting to the point where I want to ignore birthdays!

Jag has a baseball game today at noon and I need to clean out the basement once and for all. I’m having our sprinklers shut off and need to shop the early bird sales for snow boots and other winter necessities for the boys.

So it’s good to be home, I hope you’re all well, especially Dixie Don and Bob and we’ll talk soon.

Take care and God Bless.

I’m currently sitting on a plane in seat 21D having just lifted off from Seattle. I woke up at 2:45 to make this early morning flight but I don’t mind as it gets me back in Denver by 9am. Pretty neat that we get internet access now on planes.

The past three days were much needed and went really well. We hold this annual company wide meeting once a year to get everyone together and on the same page. It takes lots of preparation and the end of September isn’t ideal but it’s always worth it. I might move it to early July next year.

Lori has been holding down the fort or house along with her job and the kids since Wednesday am. That’s another reason for me to get back early. Not sure what all we’re doing this weekend but glad it’s the weekend.

Hope everyone is well, time to run as I need to figure out how to get some tv here on my laptop at 33,000 feet! Take care and God Bless.

No time to write today, lots going on and all good. Funny stories about the team and pranks some of our guys take seriously, more to come later,

God Bless

Well my meeting so far is going well. Our four new people are a definite upgrade to our team. Meanwhile Lori went to Jagger’s parent teacher conferences and as expected, he’s doing fantastic. His teachers love him, and his energy and thirst for knowledge. These are the teachers words by the way. Junior High is really the first chance you have to see how your kid is doing compared to everyone else and well, he’s doing great. Ty too is doing great, it’s just not the same in 5th grade as it is in 7th but his teacher (he has one, Jag has like 5) says he too has lots of energy and is really a talker, which is mostly good!

Today I have a long day of meetings and then a dinner out with the entire company as we rented out the entire restaurant. These annual meetings where we get everyone together really are good for a bunch of different reasons. It’s a great opportunity to reinforce our mission and vision but also just a great bonding experience. I of course, being an owner, don’t go out drinking with the kids (most are like 30 to 40) plus they stay out way too late and it’s been about 6 weeks since I had a drink anyhow.

That’s it for me, Lori is working hard and holding down the fort. We’ll be happy when this week is over so we can get back to our normal routine, (as if anything is normal these days) and settle down.

Hope I didn’t lose you all with yesterdays post but the point is , we care about all of you and don’t want to see you caught without.

So, have a great day, take care, and God Bless.

 Model Shows How Ebola Will Spread: “It Only Takes One Infected Individual Making It Through An Airport Checkpoint”

Ah, that’ll never happen, I mean have you seen the crack security at the airports lately?

According to CDC director Tom Frieden, the ‘window of opportunity’ for stopping the spread of ebola is closing rapidly. “This is not just a problem for West Africa, it’s not just a problem for Africa,” Frieden said last week. “It’s a problem for the world, and the world needs to respond.”

Yup, that’s where I was all day long, stuck in the office, preparing for my upcoming meeting. I designed so many Power Point Presentations that I lost track of how many I finished. I have one more to do tomorrow and then I should be done. Next up will be a series of index cards with my notes to go along with each slide. This should be a fun week but I’ll be glad when it’s over.

Lori’s day wasn’t much better. It seems if she’s even gone one day, things go south. I won’t go into all the details but lots of drama at her work. At least in my job, everyone acts like an adult, ha ha.

The boys had a great day at school once again. They’re pretty well adjusted kids. My Mom is also doing well meaning her leg infection and her eye surgery. Today I have lots to do so time to run, hope all’s well, take care, Keep Your Powder Dry* and God Bless.

*This means to ensure that you are ready for action or for a crisis. In the age of muskets, soldiers kept little bags of gunpowder to use in loading their guns. If the powder got wet by falling into a river or being exposed to rain, then the soldier couldn’t fight because their gun wouldn’t work. When someone tells you to “keep your powder dry”, they mean to make sure that you’re not going to come up short in a crisis because you haven’t taken care of business ahead of time.

Words of wisdom people, now get it together!

First Green Bay, then the 49rs and last the Bronco’s, all lost today. At least the Bronco’s came back to send it to overtime but like I said last week, in January, a L is an L in the record books.

This morning the boys and I went to church and then stopped by the animal shelter just to look around. Then it was home to clean, do laundry and other chores slated for the day. I didn’t get it all done as I was planning on cleaning the garage which didn’t happen. Soon it was 3:15 and Jag was off to his game riding with Ethan and his Mom. Ty and I followed and arrived by the first pitch. We had to leave by 4:40 to head to the airport to get the misses whose plane was delayed. Once we picked her up, it was off to home, where we arrived a few minutes before 6pm. jag showed up 20 minutes later.

When we were driving to church, Ty said it was good to give the toys to the little girl yesterday and I said, yes it was. He then said reminiscing about his toys, “yup, there goes my childhood”. He’s pretty funny some days. He told me that before we gave her the toys, she was outside just playing with a bottle cap, so she literally had no toys!

Today Lori and I are back to work. I have two days to get it all together before leaving for my trip. Of course the kids have early release this week, super. Well that’s it, I guess Bob is chatting everyone up now that he has his hearing aid working again. Lori picked up her grandpa’s desk from Eleanor so now we’ll have to figure out how to get it to Denver.

Hope you all are well, take care and God Bless.

Well Bob’s spirits are up, so says the misses. She says he has his sense of humor back which is a good thing. The boys and I are really glad he’s doing better.

We had a fun day in the mountains. We went to the recycling place, hit the grocery store, and played outside for a while. Before heading out we cleaned out a closet and came upon two rubbermaid containers of old toys from when the boys were much younger. When loading the car up with all the stuff I suggested we find some little kids to give the toys to instead of just dumping them at the recycle bins. As soon as we pulled out onto the road, Ty, with his eagle eyes,  spotted our lucky recipient. I don’t know how he saw her from so far away as it had to be a mile or so. Anyhow he said “dad, over there, that little girl”. As we drove down the hill I could make her out standing outside these old dumpy temprorary apartments by the no longer used railroad tracks. She looked 3 or 4 years old outside in her pajama’s with her Mom in the same, standing close smoking a cigarette. We pulled up and I yelled out the window, “good morning ladies, were heading to the dump with a bunch of old toys and thought we’d check as see if the little girl would like them”. Before I could get all the words out of my month, the mother, looking quite disheveled, said “oh my God, are you kidding? “We just moved out here and had to leave everything behind, you you could put all her toys in a ziploc baggie”. We proceeded to unload the containers of toys and it was like Christmas for the little girl. She didn’t talk at all but the Mom went on and on. As I said, she said they just moved here and her brother works at the convenience store down the street and they had to stay in these apartments until they could find a little house or something. She then said, “you know, you gotta do what you gotta do to be safe”. I didn’t press her but asked if they wanted a few old coats that might also fit the little girl with winter coming soon. She said “oh yes oh yes”. So we went back up to the garbage dumpster where I threw a few away and pulled them out for her. When we pulled back in I told Jag to go give them to her. By now the little girl had toys strewn all over the dirt parking lot and was sorting through her newly acquired treasure. The Mom said “you guys are my guardian angels, from the bottom of my heart, I don’t know how to thank you”. She then asked if she could give Jagger a hug and of course, he reluctantly said yes. I felt bad for him as the Mom reeked of smoke from 15 feet away! The boys also had some licorice in the car and asked if the little girl wanted some and of course the answer, from her Mom, also was yes. So there you have it, our good deed for the day. We left watching in the rear view mirror, the little girl playing away and her Mom in tears helping her dig out all the different toys and books from the containers. It was a good moment in this messed up World.

When we were through with our errands I was watching some college football and fell asleep from about 1:30 until 3. When I woke up, with the boys jumping on me to wrestle, we decided to head down the hill to home so Mojo had his family with him. The drive was a breeze as no one is on the road on Saturdays so we were home by 5 or so.

Back in California, Lori went to Costco to buy her dad a tv as the one in his room I guess was too small. She also fixed his hearing aid so he’s now good to go.

Today we’re busy busy busy. We have baseball and Lori arriving at the same time this afternoon and before that, both boys need to clean their rooms and I have some more computer work to do. Then of course I’ll need to clean up the house and get something going for dinner.

That’s it people, Wisconsin (college football) rolled yesterday which makes me happy as it makes my Mom happy. Hope Green Bay and the 49rs both win today as well as the Bronco’s!

Take care and God Bless.

The misses arrived in California about 2 in the afternoon and made her way over to Bob’s place by about 3. Surprisingly, he seems to be doing pretty well. I guess she said he looks stronger and devoured some pie Lori brought, like he’d never had it before!

Meanwhile back at the ranch (our house) I was busy working preparing for my meeting next week after two trips to the airport and a quick stop for a haircut. Soon it was 3 and I needed to go get Jagger from school. Ty had rode his bike so he was riding home with a friend and would arrive a few minutes before us. By 3:10 or so we were all home working on homework and getting ready to head to the mountains. It took us until 5pm to get out of town and then we were stuck in a little bit of traffic. After a stop at Whole Foods in Frisco for some dinner and groceries, we made it up to Vail by about 7:30. The reds, yellows and gold that dots the mountains are unbelievable. If you can, and you live in Colorado, you have to take a drive up into the hills to see the fall colors. It’s really one of the wonders of the World.

Upon arrival, the boys quickly donned their helmets and with Jag on his Ripstick ( a two wheeled skate board type thing) and Ty on his inline hockey skates (that our neighbor Steve gave him) they were off skating up and down the hill. It became dark pretty quick so I called the boys in for some pizza while I ate a brown rice and chicken breast bowl. Before we knew it, it was 9:30 or 10. I fell asleep while I think the boys were up until 11 at least.

It’s now 5am and I first woke up around 4 with a slight headache due to dehydration as I didn’t drink enough water last night, and that’s what the altitude will do to you. Today we’ll mess around up here and probably drive back tonight to be with Mojo. Jagger also has a baseball game tomorrow plus Lori arrives home. The bed up here is just as uncomfortable as ours in Denver. I’ve got to figure out a way to get some new mattresses without it costing me much. You just spend too much of your life sleeping (in bed) to have a bad one! This morning my neck is freaking killing me.

The sun and all the colors should be waking up soon and the boys won’t be far behind. I’m making eggs, bacon and breakfast sausage for them this morning. Hope everyone is well and glad that Bob is doing better. The best thing about being up here is they don’t even think about video games! They love playing outside. Take care, stay strong and God Bless.

Today Lori is off again to California to see her dad. Before I drop her off though, I need to run Peggy, (our friend from Aspen) out to the airport at 5:30 this morning. She came down yesterday and is going to her house in Belize (where we went for Spring Break) to redecorate. She has 6 large duffle bags that each weigh about 50 pounds. She hopes they weigh no more than that as they’ll charge her $150 for each bad that does! From loading them into the car, I think she’d better have her credit card ready. So two trips to the airport for me today and then back there on Sunday to pick up Lori.

I went to Special Persons Day as Ty’s special person and we had lots of fun. There were lots of parents and some grandma’s and grandpa’s there. It lasted about 40 minutes and then I was back to work. Lori arrived home around 5:30 and we cooked up a quick dinner for us and Peggy.

I’ll try to give you all a break from the not so nice stuff going on in the World, but I fear that it’s only going to get worse. So just humor me and keep an eye out. The big worry now is that these crazies are going to try to bring the fight here, to America. It also helps to carry yourself like you know what you’re doing and know where you’re going. Criminals, no matter if they’re domestic or foreign, always look for the weak or easy targets. Don’t live in fear but also don’t live in denial.

That’s about it, we’ll talk tomorrow and hopefully we’ll have some good news regarding Bob. We know he’s not going to get better but if he’s comfortable and if they could find his hearing aid, that would be a step in the right direction.

Hope you all are well, take care, be strong and God Bless.

p.s. I think we’ll start a new series tomorrow called, “What did you do to prepare today?” So be thinking about what YOU can do to prepare for whatever, God Bless