A Year of Change

Yesterday was just what it should be, a day full of kids playing, family gathering and a few fireworks to boot. For me there were several highlights of the day. The first was watching the littlest one win (the top 5 kids won) the coveted donut eating contest. At the pool (where we were from 11:45 until 3:15) they had numerous games set up for the kids, one being a donut eating contest. They had donuts hanging by strings and the kids had to keep their hands behind their backs and eat the donuts off the string. Our little guy had chocolate all over his face as he tried to get a bite out of the donut. Finally he knocked it to the ground where he ate it with his hands still behind his back. Turns out the oldest also won his age group of this contest as well. Looks like all those donuts the kids ate growing up finally paid off! For the rest of the afternoon at the pool the boys swam, competed in sack races and played with their friends. A bit after 3pm we headed home to get ready for the bbq at 5. We rushed to clean up the house while fending off requests to shoot off some fireworks every other minute. Finally 5pm rolled around and Grandma, Uncle T and Aunt B, Aunt Shelly and my Mom’s friend Betty and James (who is helping take care of Betty) showed up. Everyone visited and had some drinks while Uncle T’s bbq brisket was warmed up in the oven. Our meal consisted of beef brisket, baked beans, potato salad and apple pie. You can’t get much more American than that! Grandma made the beans and the potato salad and the whole meal was really good but for me, the potato salad was the highlight. The problem is Grandma makes small batches when she cooks nowadays so there’s never any leftovers, what’s up with this Mom? As soon as everyone ate it was outside to watch the boys light some fireworks. The wind was blowing pretty hard so we nixed a bunch of the things that would blow hot ashes around but everyone still had a good time, especially the boys. Finally we all settled in for the night around 9pm with the dogs in too. We watched some fireworks on tv and then listened to the loud booms outside even though we couldn’t see anything. Overall it was a good 4th with family and friends and the kids had a blast.

Today it’s back to work. I think/hope my wine gets delivered today as I need to get it re-packaged and shipped around the country. It was supposed to arrive at the Denver Airport on Saturday but I have no information due to the holiday. My back is real close to going out, I think I worked out too hard yesterday morning at the gym. I sure hope it doesn’t as I have a lot of wine to move, about 160 boxes that weigh 40 pounds each. On my weekly conference call with my team of employees around the country, I’m going to try something different today. I’m going to move away from micro-managing (which I try not to do anyhow but am sometimes forced to) and let them have more freedom to achieve their and the company’s goals on their own. Sometimes you have to just step back and let people do what they need to do on their own. Remember yesterday?

Swim team starts again tomorrow which is good because Mom and the boys are still sleeping. Uncle T and Aunt B offered to have the boys sleep over this weekend so the misses and I might head up to Wyoming on Saturday to ride and look at some horses. The house is clean and the boys need to get back to their school workbooks this morning. Then I’m sure they’ll want to head right outside to get into all their fireworks they didn’t get to light yesterday. Thankfully this is mostly snakes and smoke bombs, nothing loud.

It’s now 7am and I need to loosen my back up on the elliptical and get ready for my 8am call. Everyone is still sleeping which must be needed. No politics today as I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, just sharing my thoughts. You all will do and believe what you want, I’m just trying to be a filter for all the mis-information that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis from the boob tube. It’s easy to see why we all have so many different views or opinions on what to do or in some cases, if we even need to do anything. On one hand you have politicians telling us everything’s ok and then the next day saying it’ll be armageddon if we don’t do this or that. Ok ok, I’ll stop as I guess I’m heading into politics which I said I wouldn’t do. Hey, I’m just like a politician! Tell you one thing and then do another. Sorry, I’ll stop now, promise.

Enjoy the day, it’ll be fall before you know it. 90 days from now it’ll be the first week of October and the cold weather will be fast approaching. Life moves fast, don’t waste a day as when it’s gone, it’s gone. Take care and have a great day.

235 years ago today our Country declared independence from the British Empire. What a journey since then. There’s much too much to cover in our nations history but it’s a testament to what man can do with freedom if you think about all we have accomplished and become. I think the biggest thing to take away from today is our freedom for this is what our forefathers fought and died for. For most of our 235 years we have had the most freedom of all societies in the World. Government was here to support the people and protect the freedom we all enjoy. Recently however it seems the tide has turned. It now seems that government wants to regulate or control more and more areas of our daily lives that were once our choice. We once had the freedom to decide on our own what to eat, where to live, and more. Now the government decides everything from how much sugar or salt can be in certain foods to how parents can discipline their children to what kind of dog you can own. The intrusions into our daily lives are so numerous that we hardly notice them anymore or worse just take it for granted that they’re good for us. My main gripe here is the freedom we’ve lost in our system of free enterprise or business. What made us a great Country was the innovation and freedom to create and build new products and businesses without government intervention. Today we have so may rules and regulations that we are stifling the creativity and growth that we now need more than ever. What needs to happen is for the government to just get out of the way and let Americans do what Americans do. This is the only way for us to dig our way out of the mess we’re all in. Unfortunately it seems our current government is trying to regulate us more and more each day rather than remove some of the restrictions and road blocks holding us back. Now I understand some laws need to be in place to protect us all but why is there a law is California saying ” you are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows”,  or another in New York saying “during a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks”. Now granted these are funny extreme examples of our legislature over reaching into peoples lives but you get the point. I could go on and on but until about 20 or 30 years ago we were free to do pretty much whatever we wanted as long as we didn’t harm someone else, then the government stepped in and decided to regulate every little thing that came to mind. In closing, everyone needs to understand that we need to reverse this trend and let people be people. Everything seemed to work out just fine for us for about 200 years, so why did we change it? Government should exist to serve the people, not the other way around. If we don’t stop this trend, those funny laws won’t be so funny anymore when the government comes up with a law that really changes your life. How about only driving or grocery shopping only on certain days depending on your last name, or only getting to shower on specific days, or the government deciding that if you’re above a certain age, you can no longer get the medications you need to live because your too old and there’s no enough to go around. Something to think about as the last example is almost here now. Wonder what my grandparents would think of all the intrusions and limits on their lives today. I’m sure they’d be shocked. In closing, I’m not anti-goverment, just anti big government.

Ok, I’ll stop now and get onto the day, yesterday we got in some exercise in the morning and then had a couple of party’s to hit in the afternoon. The kids had another lemonade stand and then went to the pool for 3 hours. The misses and I went up north to put in an appearance at one of my friends who had been bbq’ing ribs and chickens in a large smoker/bbq since 9am. He uses applewood for the fire and cooks totally with indirect heat. Although we couldn’t stay for more than an hour, he wrapped up a rack of ribs for us for the road. They sure were good. When we got home we walked across the street to make a quick stop in at the neighbors party. Now there were only about 8 people there and most of those were family. I’m not sure who they invited but I think they were expecting a lot more people. You see the woman isn’t the most likable, (we think she’s bipolar) so I’m sure between those in the neighborhood she has alienated and those who don’t like her is the reasons for the poor showing. Anyhow we left after about 20 minutes and headed home.

Today we need to be at the pool by noon for a donut eating contest along with lots of other games throughout the day. First we’re going up to Red Rocks for some outdoor exercise. We’re headed up to Grandma’s around 5pm and need to make a relish tray and apple pie before then. The boys are excited as they have a bunch of fireworks to shoot off. It’s going to be another hot day with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Mojo will probably spend the night inside again which is kind of a drag as he got me up at 3:15 this morning to let him out.

Well time to go because we need to get moving and it’s almost 9am. Hope you all have a great day and whatever you do, please don’t take your freedom for granted, because if you do, someday it will be gone!

God Bless America,

Well I did it, the garage is finally clean! The day started off with us heading out to the rodeo around 9am. After about an hour drive we arrived and we’re one of the first ones there. Now luckily it was dollar days at the rodeo meaning all rides (ferris wheel, fun house, bumper cars, etc.) were $1 each. The actual “rodeo” part didn’t start until the afternoon but to the boys rodeo meant carnival. Mom and I were nervous each time they jumped onto a ride as these traveling carnivals aren’t always the safest things in the world, not to mention the “carneys” or people that ravel with them not being (or at least appearing) to be the sharpest tools in the shed. Anyhow after a bunch of rides, some games and a funnel cake, we headed back to Denver.

We arrived home around 1:30 in the afternoon, changed clothes and headed out for some lunch at the mexican restaurant before heading to home depot. 2 hours later we were home with some new plants and other assorted needs from the store. I almost (and should have) bought a $39 microwave just to sit on the counter to use until we can get a new one installed over the stove. Uncle T and Aunt B stopped by on their way home from Flat Irons Mall with a gift for our “Western Family Room”….adorable cowhide coasters that are cut in the shape of mini cowhides.  Thank you!! Mom went to work on her garden while I started on the garage. She then jumped in to help me as some thunder was growling from a distance. By the time we finished it was almost 5:30pm and the boys had gone down to Uncle T and Aunt B’s to hang out for a bit and receive yet another treasured gift…Puffles. Puffles are a stuffed toy that seem to be all the rage with the kids. Thank you again Uncle T and Aunt B.

Our friends Mark and Carrie (who are kidless as their two children are in Minnesota with relatives) called and came over for an impromptu bbq. The rest of the night was spent grilling up some steaks and having a few beers and/or drinks. Before we knew it we were all sitting on the couch watching Comes a Horseman with Jane Fonda, James Cann and Jason Robards. Now this is a great western from the mid 70’s but it was approaching 11pm which is way past our bedtime. Finally we made it upstairs and the boys were still awake. Look out this morning as if there’s one thing they need, it’s sleep! We all slept in to about 7:30, which is late for this house, but so far everyone’s doing fine.

We’re supposed to go to a party this afternoon (the misses and I) at my friends up by Idaho Springs. Before then we might head up to Conifer to a saddlemaker we know to see if we can get one of our saddles restored for the kids. We’re also talking to him about building the misses and I some saddles. We figure we can lease, rent or borrow horses (much less expensive than buying!) whenever we want to ride but we do need some saddles. Our friend is about a year out so about $100 a month and we should have it paid off by the time he’s done. We’ll see how it goes but we’re all in as a family with riding. It’s something we can all do and everyone of us loves it. My thoughtful Mom sent over a magazine the other day where you can ride the trail where True Grit was filmed in southern Colorado. We’re thinking of making this a trip in early summer of 2012. We’re also supposed to go riding with some other friends (ranchers) in Wyoming in the next few weeks.

Mom and I need to workout and the boys are about to have some pancakes, sausage and apples for breakfast. Bunkie has already had his morning shot and it’s now 8:15. We hope everyone is having a great weekend, God Bless

Yesterday the littlest one lost one of his front teeth. It had been loose for awhile and he finally just yanked it right out. The boys and I headed out early to preview the location for the Children’s Hospital event and then filled up the car with gas and $96 later were off to the grocery store. They then went across the street to play on the slip n slide. The rest of the day was spent finishing up some work and then waiting for Mom to get home from work. We (the misses and I), kind of passed on dinner and cooked up some kielbasa and tortellini for the boys.

We did stop into Nordstrom Rack (their outlet store) and found some great deals. In fact it was so great, I took the misses back when she was off work to get in on some of the great deals. She bought 3 pairs of much needed shoes (brown boots, sandals and dress shoes) for less than half the price of 1 pair at the normal store! Meanwhile the boys went swimming with one of their favorite babysitters to get some more exercise.

We’re going to head up to the rodeo today and then come home and bbq up some chicken or beef. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon so we’ll need to get an early start. My Mom baked us up a rhubarb pie yesterday which after going up to her house a couple times to get it (she was always gone but we could smell it through the open window) we finally got it around 8pm. Even though it was late, I still had to have a piece, it sure was mm mm good!

Mom’s off to give Bunkie his shot and I’m going to jump in the shower so time to run as it’s a big weekend. So we hope everyone has a great time with good food and good friends. Take care and God Bless,

Do you all have big big plans? I hope so as this is a holiday not to be squandered. The birth of our nation is (as they say) as American as Mom, baseball and apple pie! Everyone should be celebrating in some good old patriotic American fashion. Go to a baseball game or better yet, play some baseball! I think we’re opting for the rodeo which is also 100% American. Give us a call to say hi and let us know what you’re doing.

Mom’s getting ready for work and the boys and I have to drive across town to see a venue where we’re hosting the Patron Party for this years Children’s Hospital fundraiser. The rest of the day will be consumed with some grocery shopping, cleaning up the garage (just found out my wine lands at 4pm tomorrow) and maybe a trip to the pool. My face looks like I was in a car accident as the dermatologist got happy with her nitrogen gun the other day on little bumps all over me. I must have 20 to 25 red spots where she froze these little imperfections (what me, imperfections? no way) to give me that youthful look again. Lots of people, including my neighbor yesterday, have asked if I had a bunch of carcinomas removed. Luckily it’s all cosmetic. Our family room makeover is looking good. The misses took an old moose antler she found in the garage and painted it a bronze color yesterday to cover up all the old dirt spots. It looks great and is now leaning up against the fireplace.

Both boys are now up and the oldest one’s already dressed. We skipped Water World yesterday (thankfully) and went to the fireworks stand instead. Normally I wouldn’t go for this but I remember how much fun it was as a kid to shoot off fireworks. We have limited the selection to the less dangerous types such as smoke bombs, poppers and the occasional small fountain. Nothing that flies or could catch anything on fire but it’s part of growing up. I’m not sure what we’re doing all weekend but for sure we will be grilling something.

We went to Costco yesterday and much to our surprise they were selling buckets of dehydrated food with a 20 year shelf life for $60. It looks like preparedness is going mainstream. The bucket holds 6 different meals, 200 in total, meaning each meal is .30 cents. We knew the company by reputation so we took a chance and bought a bucket. Now we’ll open it up and test it out on the boys to see if they like it, hope so. By the way, it was selling like hot cakes or cold lemonade in a desert and I’m sure they’re sold out by now.

We’re so sick of seeing this Casey Anthony trial everywhere you turn. The papers, the tv and the radio. Why does the media shove this crap down our throats? Right now they have some supposed former bodyguard guessing as to why she allegedly did what she supposedly did. It’s just such a waste of everyones time, more useless information that doesn’t do one damn thing to better anyones life, give me a break! (Ok, sorry, I’m all better now)

The boys are doing their homework and Mom just walked back in from giving Bunkie his shot. It went quicker than normal so she has about 15 minutes before she needs to leave. I think I’ll take this opportunity to jump in the shower while she’s still here. Have a great day and call to say hi this weekend. Oh yea, yesterday my friend down the street, (remember the guy who gave me the double barrel shotgun?) stopped by and bought a glass of lemonade from the boys stand and gave the oldest $5 telling him “don’t tell your dad”. He then returned later and dropped of a Savage model 24 which is a rifle that is chambered for a 22 long rifle and a .410 shotgun in the same gun. He said he has a few of these and he’s sure the boys will enjoy it, what a thoughtful thing to do. I think I’m one of the few people in the neighborhood he enjoys talking with and his wife is very ill with some kind of stomach cancer, we’re all praying for both of them. Enjoy each day as you never know…. right!

Oh well, take care and God Bless you all, hope you enjoy the holiday weekend.

As the misses pointed out yesterday, we’re now half way through the year, right Pa Don? (we’ll check with him for the exact time to the second as he always wins that contest when flying to Hawaii where you need to calculate the exact time when your half way there) Yesterday was another, yes another, day at a swim meet. This time it was a league wide 8 team relay meet from about 1 until 10pm. Swimming is quite the commitment but both boys seem to really like it, it’s good for their muscles and lungs, and they’re getting better and better everyday. Guess what today is, you won’t believe it but today is the day the whole swim team goes to Water World to play. I was going to nix the whole event because it costs about $30 a kid to go but the whole team is going and the oldest has even offered to pay with his own money. It looks like Mom and the boys will be going after all. First though they need to finish their daily workbooks and do their chores, then we’ll see. The oldest just said “dad, we don’t have to go, it’s up to you”. How sweet is that, he really really wants to go but does understand how expensive it is. He’s such a good kid.

With today being the last day of the month, I’m stuck at the phones and computer chasing the last few hundred thousand dollars of revenue I need for the month. Everything seems to be falling in line and I had $300,000 to $400,000 come in yesterday. As I said earlier in the week, there’s a bunch of markets so odds are I’ll lose one or two but this month it looks like I’ll get every state I projected, to order their containers of wine. Keep your fingers crossed as there’s a whole day left and still 5 states to go.

Close friends from Vail called last night begging us to come up saying all our friends are there for the 4th and everyone misses us. We’re not sure what we’re going to do but getting out of the city and the heat sure sounds nice. The Greeley Stampede rodeo is still an option as well. I need to get Grandma a pie crust today as we took her some rhubarb and she said she’d make a pie. She was also going to make her famous macaroni, tuna and green pea salad which is enough to keep me in town. Speaking of Grandma, I heard her high school reunion is coming up and I’m trying to get her to go! I told her that all of us would hop in the car and take a road trip to Wisconsin, this’ll make her want to go for sure, 18 hours in a car with us four! Maybe I should check into a first class airline ticket or see about chartering a private jet, I might have more luck. Oh well, I don’t think she’ll go but if she could blink her eyes or wiggle her nose (like Bewitched)  and be there, I think she’d go. They should have some kind of virtual way of participating on the internet.

On another note, Grandma said the other day that there’s some truth to my words the other day about stocking up on some extra food and supplies. Turns out my dad would always buy two of everything just to have a spare, ah ha! Vindication! You see he was a lot smarter than me and if he would do this, I’m on the right track. So at least when you go shopping, just buy 1 extra of everything and you’ll be ahead of the game.

We kind of slept in today with no swim team practice and it’s now almost 8am. The boys are now debating whether or not to go to Water World or go get some fireworks, hopefully they’ll choose fireworks as it’ll be a lot less expensive. I’ll leave it up to them, seems the little one is holding out for Water World but the oldest and Mom are wanting to pass on the crowds and lines.

Time to run and I need to hit the phones to see where I’m at regarding my remaining orders. I still need North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Illinois and South Carolina, time to get to work. Have a great day and Pa Don will hopefully tell us the exact moment of time when we are all half way through 2011.

God Bless,

Good morning…the day started off well until we turned  the television off. The boys stared fighting…imagine that…I started speaking loudly which soon turned to yelling and I have now locked myself in my room for a “Mommy Time Out”, so that I will not turn yelling into screaming…and we are halfway through our “Year of Change”.

The mister tells me that #182 is the halfway point for the year. Wow, I can’t believe that we are halfway through 2011.

Today is the Swim Team Relays…they start at 1:45p.m. which is a welcome change to 6:00 a.m. The boys are excited for the day. It seems that this is one of the most fun days of the season.  Gatorade…hot dogs…snacks…treats and team mates….good times.

The boys have picked the lock to my room (Seriously…I locked myself in) and have decided that a nerf gun war is the way to go to change my attitude.  I can only laugh because the morning has ultimately been a comedy. My beautifully made bed has now become a pillow bunker/fort with the youngest taking aim and shooting at me hitting me and the keyboard.  I’ll blame all typographical errors on flying nerf bullets.

The boys want to go tho the Fireworks stand today and ride their bikes while I take a run…I should really take a run.

The dogs need exercise and I have some sunflowers to plant at Grandma’s house…maybe we can kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

The cotton is falling in bushels from the tree in our backyard which is causing one heck of a headache for me, and an annoying mess every time we open the backdoor to let the dogs in and out. Not only do I need to vacuum dog hair and dust bunnies….now I have to track down fluffs of cotton as well.

Yesterday I cleaned out underneath the boys beds…ugg…I filled a hefty bag with candy wrappers (I have no idea where the candy wrappers come from) broken toys, broken pens, dirty clothes and forgotten items that I am sure they will never miss. It took most of the day….then we were off to a private swim lesson where both boys almost mastered the art of diving off of a platform. Good job boys!!

Just so you all know…the nerf war rages on while I am writing…little boy noise, bullets missing and hitting, a freaked out dog and of course the rip roaring headache…where is the Calgone when you need it. Does anyone remember the commercial…”Calgone take me away”? It was a bath oil or bath salt commercial from years ago…I could really use some right now…just got hit with a shot to the head…and a sincere apology.

Well I have to head to the store for ice and gatorade for the Relays…also I better take that run and get the critters to Grandma’s for a run.  I would run with the dogs, but they are too fast and tend to run in two different directions…it will be challenge enough to keep the boys on track. Dad is getting a haircut…I am sure he is sad to be missing out on all the fun here.

Until tomorrow….God Bless and please God grant me patience

Well it looks like my wine is stuck in Munich Germany and is now scheduled to arrive on July 3rd! I hope it gets out earlier because I need it now, not a week from now. With the holiday coming up, I probably won’t see it until the 5th. Both boys have swimming lessons today and Grandma graciously offered to pay for them, hooray! It’s supposed to be in the mid 90’s today and 100 tomorrow. Looks like we’ll have a high power bill this month with the air conditioner going a lot.

The boys and I went to the dermatologist yesterday where I had a little pre cancer spot frozen off on my leg and the youngest had a wart on his big toe shaved off and frozen again. He sure was brave. We also got to see our doctor friends 5 week old little girl, the misses sure was jealous when she heard. Our dermatologist is actually a close friend and luckily we never get charged a dime. They’re (she, her husband and her daughter are all dermatologists) really good to us. We were stuck in the exam room for a good 20 minutes where I had to sit through both boys hysterical laughter as they were making fart sounds with their arm pits. Once they started there was no stopping them. It was really kind of funny, not the fart sounds but their non stop laughter.

We made it home and Mom showed up about 15 minutes later. The rest of the day was spent with playing outside and then dinner. This morning I have a meeting at 10am across town and then another at 1. Since it’s going to be so hot, I’m going to bring in a bunch of water I have stored in the garage, because it’s not good to have water in plastic bottles get too hot. We’re saving up for a Country Living Grain Mill which is about $400. We need this to grind our own wheat (we have a few hundred pounds stored) to make our own bread. We figured it out and we can make bread for about .83 a loaf instead of the $5 to $6 a loaf it now costs in the store plus it’s a lot better for you. We’ve put this ahead of a microwave although cold leftovers sure aren’t as good as warmed up ones. We have also stored some beans in bulk and have some quinoa (a grain which we love that’s high in protein) on the way. It’s nice to have this food stored but the main reason for buying in bulk is that’s we save about 60 to 70 % when we buy this way. The problem right now is finding these grains and foods available in bulk. It seems there’s a lot of people buying this way and most places have a 3 month or more wait. We watched a National Geographic show last night on what they called “Preppers”. This is a term used to describe people that are preparing for some kind of hardship in the future. Sure you have some wackos that think the world is coming to an end but most of them (us included) are just looking out for interruptions in supply or huge price increases which we see almost daily. You don’t know it but from what they say, a lot of your neighbors are actually preparing in some fashion like this, it’s just nobody talks about it for fear of being labeled as crazy or wacko. Like I said before, you really can’t get hurt buying extra food as you’ll eventually use it. Anyhow we prefer to think of ourselves like a farm or ranch family from years ago that keeps a healthy reserve of life’s necessities on hand. I remember as a kid my grandparents had lots of canned food stored in their basement, a full garden always growing and could probably have gotten by for a while with little help. I’ll have to ask my Mom more about this. Anyhow like I said yesterday, if you don’t think this way now, you probably never will. Just hope that nothing happens that’ll shut the system down. It will only take 3 days of trucks not delivering food for all grocery stores to be totally empty, think about it, just 3 days! Could be a truckers strike, another terrorist act, a natural disaster or some political event. I don’t know how anyone can really think the government will be there for them. Just look at their response to Katrina or any of the recent tornados or floods, they were not prepared to help and people had to rely on themselves. Oh well, sorry for the sermon but we just think a lot of people are living in denial. Hope we’re wrong, it’s just we personally aren’t going to chance it. Even our mainstream church has taken up the cause telling everyone in the congregation to go out and get a minimum of 3 months worth of food and water for everyone in the family. Don’t know if you know but the Church of Later Day Saints (the mormons) require that every member keep a years worth of food on hand! In fact, the LDS centers (that are all over the country including here in Denver) are great places to get food in bulk. Ok ok I’ll stop now but please don’t think I have enough for you too although I wouldn’t let anyone in my family starve, wouldn’t be the good christian thing to do now would it. You’ll just have to sit through a lot of “I told you so’s” if I’m sharing with you. That alone should make you want to go out and get some supplies for yourself.

Time to go, it’s almost 7am. I didn’t intend to go off on a tangent and frankly we never share our views with friends but you all which are family, at least need to know what we think you should all be doing. This will be it as far as trying to tell you what to do, no more, zip, nada, that’s all folks, so at least think about it before you just dismiss the whole thing, better safe than sorry, right?

Take care and God Bless,

Wait, the wife says you all think I’m wacko anyhow, ok no food for you! and Grandma Dixie I’m told thinks I’m a survivalist, what, where do you all get this! How can this be? So I like guns and a simpler way of life although Grandma Dixie says we have no idea as it was not a simpler way at all! I’m sure she’s right and hope we never have to find out but if we do, at least we’ll be eating well!

Hard to believe that this Friday will be July 1st! In another 2 weeks we’ll be half way through summer. Yesterday was another swim meet however we ducked out after a couple of hours. We have another meet this Wednesday along with football and just couldn’t hang out for 3 hours or more between races. Both boys were not up for the long wait and we certainly were not. Uncle T and Aunt B watched the boys for a couple of hours while the misses and I ran an errand. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house and included the whole family watching, you guessed it, another John Wayne movie, McClintock. There sure have been a lot of his movies on lately and the boys, especially the youngest really enjoy all cowboy movies.

Both Mom and I are up at 5 as she works at 7:15. I need to clean the garage today because we have a bunch of wine being delivered tomorrow. A lot of the week will then be consumed with repackaging wine and shipping fed ex to various spots around the country. It’s a huge job that really gives the misses and I a workout. I also have a 1pm dermatologist appointment today and will need to take the boys with me. It’s a huge week at work with about $500,000 dollars worth of orders that still need to come in. I think I have most lined up but with so many markets, (about a dozen yet to order) the odds are something will fall out, hope not.

There’s no swim meets next weekend so we’re thinking of going to the Greeley Stampede which is a pretty good size rodeo that goes on for about 2 weeks each year in Colorado. It’s local and won’t cost us very much money so it’s looking good. We’re supposed to get a break from the heat today with about a 20 degree drop in temperature to the mid 70’s. That sure will be nice, if the weatherman is right. Mom’s off at 3pm so we’ll all arrive home about the same time. No time to dive into the economy or politics today. Plus if you don’t think you need to do a few things to prepare in case of the worst scenario, nothing I say is going to make you change your mind. Just have an open mind and please don’t assume the government is going to be there for you if things get bad.

Time to go hit the showers, Mom’s making breakfast and the oldest needs to get up for swim team in about 15 minutes. Have a great day and take care,

Yesterday we spent 6 1/2 hours at the swim meet which started about 6:30 and our last race was at 1pm. Man it was painful. Today we’re back at it headed up the hill at about 6am for another meet. Both boys did really well considering they have had virtually no experience swimming on a team at all. The oldest won his first ever race which was a 50 meter freestyle. The rest of the day brought him back to reality as he was usually 3rd or 4th. He still did great as he was going against kids who’ve been swimming competitively for a long time. The youngest would have won his backstroke race but he turned over on his stomach at the last minute and was disqualified. The oldest was also dq’d on his last race which was breaststroke because he only touched the wall at the end with one hand. Seems you have to touch with two hands at the same time or you’re out. Oh well, live and learn. A friend of ours kid (who used to babysit the boys and who they’ve looked up to for years) is now 13 years old and holds a number of state records. He’s such a good kid and went up to both boys often during the day to offer advice and console them when they didn’t do as well as they had hoped. The youngest was particularly broken up over being disqualified, tears and all until Jack told him that he too had dq’s about a billion times! That and a jamba juice quickly helped him get over it. Anyhow it was a fun day, lots of social interaction between races, at little drama not worth going into to, and lots of sun. I can’t believe we’re doing it all over again today, we sure are good parents!

I then ran to the grocery store while Mom showered the germs from the pool (which was really gross) off both boys. We then headed off to the Old West Show where we got to see the 2″ X 3″ tin photograph of Billy the Kid. 3 hours after we left this supposedly one and only photo of Billy the Kid sold at auction for $2.3 million dollars! It was so small and faded you had to get really close to even make it out. The rest of the show was fun with all kinds of relics from the old west. There’s something about historical items from the west that are timeless and conjure up dreams of being a cowboy, life on the range and a simpler time that bring out the kid in everyone. They really had some neat stuff, we were wishing our friend who has the $5o million dollar ranch in Saratoga was here or had hired us to buy some things for his ranch and lodge as we saw tons of stuff that would have looked really good at his place. We managed to do a pretty good deal with a guy from Steamboat for a couple of small pillows (Mom’s been looking for these for a long time) that will change the whole decor of our living room. She’s headed for the Ralph Lauren western theme, ever since we saw his ranch on Oprah, slowly but surely.

Time to go as we need to leave in about 15 or 20 minutes and I need to shower first. The little guy is up but the oldest is still fast asleep. Hope everyone has a great day and as John Wayne once said, we’re burning daylight. God Bless,