A Year of Change

Yesterday was the big game and it came down to the final play. The oldest didn’t see much action as we only had 12 offensive plays in the first half which ended 0-0. He had a great rush on the other quaterback that forced him out of the pocket but also missed a tackle when a smaller quicker kid from the other team cut inside on him. The game started with neither team moving the ball but then we intercepted the ball and ran for a touchdown, only to have the ref rule that our player stepped out of bounds. Now I understand it’s only kids football but the ref was on the other side of the field and couldn’t see at all. Plus all of us parents on our side where our player was running, clearly saw him stay in bounds for the whole run. Unbelievable! The other team scored first on a pass play where a player got behind our oldest and his friend Vinnie and neither could catch him. We then did score and then the other team did again leaving them up two touchdowns to one with 14 seconds to go. We had the length of the field to go and very little time. Two long runs later we scored to tie the game with just a few seconds left. It was all coming down to the the extra point. We snapped the ball and our player rolled out to the right and threw a pass into the end zone that somehow ended up in little Vinnie’s arms, and we had won the game! Karma! The ref then ran down to the end zone trying to guess where Vinnie had caught the ball to see if he was in bounds or not (just like last week) but too late, the game was over and we won. As I said earlier, the oldest didn’t get to run the ball yesterday but he had played plenty of offense all year long. The coach had a long pass play drawn up for him but the opportunity didn’t present itself. (there’s pass only zones) For most of the first half he played safety which if the other team doesn’t throw the ball, he’s pretty much just standing guarding the middle as the rules allow only 1 player to rush. Anyhow even though he would have liked the ball, he understood that sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way plus as I said he ran and caught the ball all year long in other games. So now we have a 3 week break until summer football starts up. The best thing was after the game our oldest was a gracious winner, as his friend (the son of M&C our close friends) played on the other team. In the first half his friend had 3 good tackles and our oldest went up to him after the game and told him he was the best player on his team and that he had a really good game. He also invited him to the pool after the game but his chest was hurting as on one of our touchdown runs, our player literally ran right over him. I’m sure he’ll be ok but we were proud of our guy for showing good sportsmanship.

The rest of the day was spent with an hour at the pool, some football in the front yard and then some bbq chicken on the grill. Both boys were tired and fell asleep early which is good as they have swim team at 6:45 this morning. Not sure if we’ll do this all summer but the boys want to check it out and it’s free. The oldest, being so tall and thin, is a really fast swimmer so hopefully he’ll like it. They really want him on the team.

It’ll be 94 today, even hotter than yesterday, and is supposed to continue for the whole week. We’re all looking forward to going to our friends ranch in Saratoga Wyoming this weekend to ride horses and hike and stuff. We’ll be gone Friday until Sunday and have to figure out how to do the blog as I don’t know about internet service way out there. Worst case I’ll hand write it and update Saturday (I can do Friday post that morning before we leave and Sunday’s that afternoon when we get home) after we get home Sunday around noon.

This week I’m pretty excited for a couple of things. First because True Grit (the remake with Jeff Bridges) comes out tomorrow! Second because I’m getting a couple of old, new to me, western guns that I’ve been searching for for a long time. I did a trade a few weeks ago and have been waiting for these to arrive from Texas and Montana. The first is an old model Browning 1885 single shot rifle in 45.70 caliber. This was known as a buffalo gun in the 1800’s as it was mainly the gun and caliber used in the old west to hunt buffalo. It’s used but in really good shape. I’ve been looking for one for years. The second which has also been on my wish list for just about as long, is an old Colt 45 revolver like the calvary and famous gunfighters carried in the old west. I traded a couple of newer model Smith and Wesson revolvers for these and ended up only having to pay the shipping. They’ll make good heirlooms for each boy someday. There’s quite a market for these old guns of the west and you really have to know what you’re looking for, be able to know what you’re looking at value wise, and act fast when you find the right one, or it’ll be gone. Funny how I found both at the same time. I had to ship my guns to Cabelas in Billings Montana and another shop in Texas first, and then wait to see what kind of value they would give me. Luckily I got more than I paid (and hoped for) on both of them. I’ve probably traded over 100 guns in my life and am pretty educated on the subject and good at it. Both are functional and will shoot well and we’ll probably throw them in the back of the truck when going to the ranch this weekend. The boys each have their own 22 caliber rifle that they want to take and shoot again. They’re both really good shots with neither missing the iron targets over 100 yards out, last time we went shooting. I think it’s important to get kids, especially boys, out there shooting when they’re young. I know there’s a lot of bad stories everyday about kids and guns but I think that’s because they are not taught at an early age how to safely handle and respect them. Both our boys, after years of training, now have a healthy respect for all firearms and do know the number 1 rule, you never point a gun, loaded or not, towards anyone! In fact, the oldest is fanatical about this, even with toy guns unless they squirt water or shoot nerf stryofoam bullets. You never hear about kids who grew up on a ranch shooting their classmates or robbing a store, it’s these city kids who have parents who don’t take the responsibility of raising kids seriously. I’m really excited as I don’t have money to go out and buy these, and everything in these two trades worked out perfectly! Karma again!

Mom’s up and getting the oldest up to go swimming. Not sure if he’ll make it today after all as he doesn’t seem to be moving. Oh well if not today, we can start tomorrow. The littlest one goes an hour later at 7:45. Thanks to Grandma, Uncle T and Aunt B for showing up at the game. It means a lot to our son. We need to get Grandma to make another batch of her famous tuna salad this week. You see she made just a tiny amount last week that was hardly enough for one person. Man is it good summertime food. Ms. Luisa, my unofficial little sister who works for me, is in Bogota Colombia as she found out last week that her Mom has colon cancer and needs surgery this morning. Everyone say a prayer for her. It’s already in the 60’s and time to get moving, as John Wayne says, “we’re burning daylight” so time to go.

Have a great day, pray Sarah Palin DOESN’T run for President, as she’ll really screw it up, and God Bless.

Today it’ll be in the 90’s, no doubt about it, even the weather man can’t screw this one up. The oldest has his final football game of the Spring season today and should they win they will have completed the season undefeated. Then in a couple of weeks, the Summer season begins.

Yesterday of course the day was consumed with the big birthday bash. It was a great party and I’m sure L.O.L. enjoyed it very much. The misses worked so hard and although I know she wasn’t doing it for any praise or credit, I don’t think she was recognized enough for her efforts. She doesn’t care but I do. Oh well, I guess it really doesn’t matter all that much. The food was great and yes there was enough. The next door neighbors to L.O.L. manned the bar complete with blender and booze and all the mixes to make Mojito’s and Chi Chi’s which were tropical type drinks. L.O.L. keep praising and thanking the woman who lives next door for doing everything while the neighbor kept saying she didn’t do anything and it was all the misses! You can’t really get mad at 90 year old L.O.L. as I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it but it was almost comical as she kept praising this woman over and over, at least a half a dozen times during the party and didn’t once mention my wife. Oh well, like I said, the misses didn’t do it for credit.

The youngest left 10 minutes after the party started and went to his friends and the oldest and I stayed for a couple hours. We then came home and Mom followed an hour later after cleaning up. Everyone was tired and after a quick bite of dinner it was 8pm and time for bed. The misses and I didn’t sleep very well until about 2am when we finally took the little one into his bed. Prior to that he was in our bed, sprawled out sideways as usual, kicking us both every five minutes. He and Mom are both still sleeping while the oldest and I are up.

Grandma showed up and sure looked nice. She sat with our neighbors across the street who we all grew up with and I think they had a good chat. Jimmy, who’s the boyfriend of the neighbor girl who’s my age across the street, got bit by Bunkie as he went over to tell L.O.L. happy birthday, man that little dog moves quick and his tiny teeth are sharp as nails.  Uncle T and Aunt B also showed up and stayed for a few hours too. Other than that, lots of old people we didn’t know but I’m sure L.O.L. had a great time.

We’re going to go to the pool, time permitting, after the game today. The boys wanted to go yesterday but we ran out of time. I have the sprinklers going right now and the dreaded cotton is starting to fall from our cottonwood trees. When in full bloom it looks like it’s snowing outside. We’re hoping it’s not a bad year.

Well it wouldn’t be a good post without a bit of political opinion, so here’s a couple quotes from history to ponder,

“A free people ought to be armed.”
(President George Washington, Jan 14 1790, Boston Independent Chronicle.)

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.”
(William Pitt, Nov. 18, 1783)

If you think about these two statements, they really are true and it seems today we need to pay attention more than ever. It seems that the government is trying to control every aspect of our lives. How funny that about 225 years earlier, a founder of our nation would predict that people would use the excuse of it being “necessary” to infringe on our rights. I’m sure they would roll over in their graves if they knew that our lawmakers were regulating things like what kind of food restaurants can serve or any of the other over reaching laws on the books. Don’t even get me started on gun control, we’ll save that for another day, BUT the day the government takes away the peoples guns is the day the country will die. Ok, enough, I know.

So back to the nice 90 degree day ahead of us. Time to make a little breakfast and then head to the gym. I’d better wake the misses soon so we can all get going. It’d be a good day to bbq, maybe I’ll grab a chicken out of the freezer and see if I can get it defrosted by this afternoon, remember we still have no microwave! It’s kind of changed our life, mostly when needing to heat up leftovers but otherwise, not so much. After this weeks report about cell phones and microwaves causing cancer, we’re probably better off. I’m sure the government will soon regulate these too is the name of necessity!

Enjoy your day and give us a call to say hi, God Bless

Today is L.O.L.’s 90th birthday party. Mom has been working feverishly for weeks preparing for the big day. Now for those of you out there that have a birthday coming up, I’d get your reservation in now. You see it doesn’t matter whose birthday it is (not to take anything away from L.O.L.) but the misses just loves putting together a party, especially one with a theme. Remember Harry Potter for the littlest one in January……

Yesterday I was up at 4:30 and on the phone by 5:20. I finally got off at 2:57 in the afternoon. The boys were really well behaved on their own upstairs, especially after Mom headed out to work at 11:45am. Once I was off we headed out for some chores. First stop was the barber for buzz cuts for both boys. They look so cute as Mom says. Next stop was Target for a couple of squirt guns as a reward for their good behavior. Then we dropped in on Mom at work and luckily we showed up right when she went on lunch. The four of us sat there and had a late lunch, (about 4:30) and then did a little shopping. Mom then went back to work and we headed home. The two boys then went across the street to play for a while until about 7:30 when they decided they were hungry again. The littlest one has been wanting to go to California Pizza Kitchen for weeks since we were supposed to go and couldn’t. Not wanting to spend much (any) money I had to give in as it was a promise unfulfilled. We sat at the counter and they split an order of macaroni and cheese and a small pizza while I had a cold beer. Man I haven’t had a beer in a long time and it sure tasted good!

After dinner it was about 8:15 and Mom was getting off work at 8:30. Since we were right across the street we decided to drive over and wait for her outside next to the truck. The boys planned to surprise her by hiding in the back of the truck and were going to jump up and scare her when she came out. Lucky for her she saw them from a distance. The oldest and I took one car home while the youngest rode with Mom. She went straight to L.O.L.’s house to give Bunkie his evening dose of insulin and then came home. We decided to open a bottle of 1999 french champagne we’d been saving, so we sat on the couch and relaxed with a little bubbly. Everyone ended up in our bed (of course) and we finally went to sleep.

This morning I was awoken by the misses saying my cell was ringing downstairs. Being self employed I usually answer whenever it rings. I did wonder who’d be calling on a Saturday at 5 in the morning when much to my surprise it was 7am! Now I never sleep that late but I guess all the early mornings last week finally caught up with me. Anyhow lots to do today, so now that I was up, I stayed up.

It’s pretty nice outside right now, Mom’s in party mode, and the boys are outside playing. Mom threw together some salmon (leftover in the fridge), poached eggs, english muffins and a kind of hollandaise sauce thing for breakfast while the boys had pancakes. She’s now down the street giving the dog his morning medicine, and it’s all quiet here except for the sound of the washing machine on spin cycle.

I’d better run as I think I need to run to some craft store for more napkin rings, thank God L.O.L.’s son is footing the bill for everything. I think the whole bash, food, cake, decorations, beverages, flowers, etc. came to just under $400. Not too bad for a 90th b-day bash, and you couldn’t do better spending 10 times the amount. I hope everyone appreciates the hard work the misses put in. Of course she didn’t do any of it for recognition but she sure deserves it.

So off to the day, I saw the boys both just walk by with ice cream. I’m sure they got this on their own but I just let them go. Sometimes you just have to let kids be kids. I’ll be paying for this act of kindness in a couple hours I’m sure.

Take care, stay safe and God Bless

p.s. Yes Aunt Robi, it was the famous fabulous cold tuna, elbow macaroni, green pea salad made by Mom just like when we were kids, and it was um um good!

Good morning to all. The temperature is supposed to drop a bit today…90’s yesterday…70’s today.  I am keeping my fingers crossed to have nice weather forL.O.L.’s party on Saturday and of course nice weather on Sunday for our oldest son’s Super Bowl game.

During our Memorial Day festivities at Uncle T’s the conversation turned to some of the favorite foods of my husbands childhood.  One of which was a chilled pasta salad with peas, tuna, mayo, and onion.  He asked Lulu (his mom..a.k.a. Grandma) if she could make that for him sometime…she replied..”Yes”.

Last night to my husbands surprise Grandma stopped by with this delicious dish…he ate half of it after dinner and told me… “It tastes just like I remember”, he was grinning from ear to ear. I had some and also thought it was delicious. Thank you Lulu…you are such a good mommy. We all already knew that, but what a thoughtful thing to do for your boys.

The boys had a fun time at the pool yesterday, reuniting with friends that they went to pre school with.  There are two boys that we used to have play dates with often when the boys were younger, but those change when the kids go to different schools.  The kids were so excited to see each other…they played, talked, shared snacks and swam non-stop for 2 1/2 hours.  We are going to plan an afternoon/early evening pot luck at the pool and arrange for some play dates that will be enjoyed by all.

The mister is already on calls this morning, he started at 5:30 and he hopefully will be finished by the time that I go to work at noon.

I am taking a quick run this morning, throwing the ball for the pure bread mutts…and doing a couple of loads of laundry…now that it is in writing it must be done.

The kiddos are still asleep and will hopefully stay that way until well after 8…they really need it after all the play they enjoyed yesterday…as I’ve said before…it’s good to be 7 and 9.

In closing this morning, I hope you all have a lovely day and a wonderful weekend….Grandma A…are you still reading?

Happy birthday Auntie T in Seattle!!

God Bless

LLF

Today’s the 2nd day of summer vacation, so far so good. We had a few rough moments yesterday, due to excessive sugar, but they soon passed after a quick piece of salmon or cheese or any protien. The boys played hard at their friends, had some fun in the hot tub and then watched the movie Tron. Earlier in the day we all made a Costco run to buy the supplies for L.O.L.’s birthday party on Saturday. (her daughter paid) She (L.O.L.) is worried there won’t be enough food but I think we have enough for 40 people even though only 20 are expected and half of those are old folks that don’t have much of an appetite. I guess Uncle T and I will have to make up for them or bring doggy bags!

This morning both boys are 110% into doing their chores. The littlest one woke up and came downstairs with a trash can in his hand to empty it. Both have already made their beds and the littlest one also cleaned the upstairs bathroom. Only one little issue with that, he used his older brothers toothbrush to clean the sink, at least it wasn’t the toilet! Regardless Mom and I are both impressed at them doing their chores without being asked.

We’re now all eating breakfast, eggs for Mom and I and pancakes for the boys. Mom’s getting a quick pedicure this morning at 10 (thanks to our free spa card from our friends), I have a haircut at 12:30, and Mom and the youngest have dermatologist appointments at 1:10 and 1:20. I’ll take the oldest with me while Mom takes the youngest, divide and conquer. The littlest one has a wart on his right foots big toe that needs to be taken off as he’s scraped it a few times and made it bleed.

Mom works tomorrow from noon until 8:30 so we’re trying to get both boys a play date as I’ll be working. It was somewhat warm yesterday, not 85 as forecast, but overcast. Today they say 93 degrees but I’ll believe it when I see it. Mom’s going to try to get the boys to the pool this afternoon when she’s back from the doctor. I’ve been working since 6am and am jumping in the shower and then headed back to the computer.

Did anyone see the tornado’s in Massachusetts yesterday? I’ve never heard of them that far north, lots of bad storms so far this year. Lucky we live where we live as we don’t see all that much bad weather, knock on wood!

Grandma stopped by yesterday to drop of something, I didn’t really catch what she had. Mom’s down giving Bunkie his morning shot of insulin and the boys are dressed watching some tv.

That’s about it, unless you want me to jump into politics. I think I’ll give you all a break today and save up for tomorrow, look out! I need to try to get the boys haircuts today, maybe I can get the oldest squeezed in while I’m getting my trim this afternoon. He wants to grow his hair out but the younger one wants a buzz cut. We’ll keep you posted.

Hope you all have a great joyful day! Remember today is great and tomorrow will be better! Keep a positive attitude, that’s half the battle right there,

God Bless

Today is the first official day of summer vacation….the kiddos don’t quiet get the fact that we still need to read, write and practice math.

For our summer makeover plan we are implementing the “Daily Five”.

1. 30-60 minutes of reading and fun math games.

2. Make their beds.

3. Empty the trash in their bathroom.

4.Feed the dogs.

5. Hunt and gather the dirty clothes and bring them down to the laundry.

When finished the boys collect their reward….a “High five” from us and one to their hand print on the wall. I borrowed this idea from a friend….it’s doable and hopefully the boys will learn just a little summer responsibility.

Have to hand off to my man…the youngest is hungry, cranky and feeling a bit sick…lack of sleep sometimes does that.

Just got back from the gym which I went to at about 5am. I couldn’t sleep much as I had a lot of work on my mind. Today and tomorrow I need to spend a lot of time developing Company wide procedures for measuring the progress of each market in the country year to date. This isn’t as easy as it sounds but I’ll get it done. It’s supposed to be in the 90’s today and continue for the next 4 or 5 days. I’m sure the kids will spend most of the time at the pool.

More sex scandals on tv this morning, one from a democratic married congressman named Anthony Weiner from NY who sent a college girl in Seattle a lewd photo (allegedly but the misses says he so did it, yea!) to Bunga Bunga in Italy where the Prime Minister is again “allegedly” accused of hiring a 17 year old for sex. Funny thing is in Italy, some consider him an idol and hero!

Put that together with accomplish nothing politics and assorted crime and you have just another lovely day in the news cycle. I think we’ll just start putting music on in the morning. One good thing is that the House of Representatives last night overwhelmingly voted against raising the debt ceiling by 2 trillion dollars. I think the vote was something like 97 for and 318 against with repubs and dems alike voting against it. Hopefully they’ll stand firm and not be swayed by bribes of entitlements for their districts from the White House. You see that’s how it usually works, you vote no until you get something for your home district that you can then use at re-election time saying “look at the new bridge or visitor center I got you” regardless if your town needs it or not. Great system huh!

Ok, I’ll stop now as I don’t think I’m going to change any minds here. If you currently support Obama, you’re probably not going to change now, and if you don’t, there’s no way you will! To each their own.

The big 90th birthday party is coming up this Friday and the oldest boys final football game for the championship is Sunday. Quite a weekend coming up. We might need to postpone our Durango trip as the cabins we hoped to stay in are all booked. I think we’ll call our friend who has the big ranch in Saratoga Wyoming (that we went to last May) to see if we can come for a visit. This is much nicer and best of all is free! Hope they have room.

The boys had a great last day of school yesterday as they pretty much just played games in class for the 4 hours they were there. After that they headed over to a neighbors who had a couple of water slides set up, a margarita machine, a snow cone machine, a dunk tank and lots of sugary treats. I drove by later but Mom and the boys were already gone, it looked like the whole school was there! After that Mom took the boys to the pool for an hour and then they came home for more playtime, what a day, good to be a kid.

As Mom said the youngest didn’t get enough sleep last night and is extremely whinny this morning. We’re trying not to over react as we know he’s acting this way due to lack of sleep. At the same time, he needs to understand, even if he’s tired, he can’t walk around and whine all day. It’s a negotiation on par with two countries haggling over disputed borders. You need to talk half adult, half 7 year old to get your point across. I’ll leave it to Mom, she’s pretty good at it.

Time to check email to see if there are any emergencies and if not I can then hit the shower. The oldest is still sleeping which is good as he needs his rest. We hope everyone is well and happy, stay safe and enjoy your day, God Bless

Today we’re back at it with lots going on. The boys have their last 4 hours of school from 8am until 1pm. I have a huge conference call with my team where I need to figure out how to bring in 1 million dollars in revenue in June. This is about 35% higher than forecasted but is necessary to make up for shortages in previous months. The misses has to start preparing for the L.O.L. 90th birthday party this coming Saturday and it’s going to be hot hot hot all week.

Yesterday after I returned home from the gym, we loaded up the kids and headed up to Red Rocks for a good hour of climbing steps and trails which was quite the workout. The boys of course wanted to venture off the beaten path (as they say) and climb the rocks even though the signs said “area closed”. This was hard for them to understand as they saw other people blatantly ignoring the signs. What’s up with people anyhow! At the base of one trail heading up the rocks, the oldest spotted a 5 foot snake cruising across the rocks. At first we thought it was a rattlesnake but it had no rattles so we determined it was a bull snake. Instead we stayed on the roads until we got to one trail that was open and cautiously climbed up that watching for more snakes. We then headed down into Golden for a sandwich at a small deli before heading home for showers. The oldest went down to Uncle T and Aunt B’s and ended up staying the whole afternoon until we all arrived for a bbq at 4pm. The youngest jumped on his bike and headed across the street to play with his little friend for most of the day. Mom and I then tackled the huge mess commonly known as our house. We all met up for the bbq at 4pm and Grandma soon showed up as well. We had hamburgers and hot dogs with baked beans, and potato and fruit salad. It was real sunny but real windy. The wind was also very cool, in fact, out to the east, 30 or 40 miles from Denver, they had a bunch of tornado’s and thunderstorms with large hail. You wouldn’t have know this being where we were.

Lots of snow melt headed down from the mountains this week. With 80 degrees and above all week, a bunch of that snow will melt. Water is such a precious resource and you either have too much or not enough. After all the rain we had a few weeks ago our lawn is now cracked like the Mojave desert. Personally I think water will be more valuable the gold in 10 or 20 years. We’re already seeing groundwater (one of the planet’s main sources of fresh water), face unsustainable demands (according to a new study just out) in places like the Sacramento-San Joajuin Valley in California to China, India and Africa. Point is we’re running out of fresh water. Grandpa Don (who’s a water expert) could tell you all about this. Anyhow I just started the sprinklers a few minutes ago so it made me think of this.

Well tomorrow is June 1st! Hard to believe we’re already almost half way through the year. I’m out until about 2pm today but we need to do some sort of celebration for the end of school. The neighbors are having some sort of water slide impromptu get together I’m sure the boys will go to. Mom will probably get a couple of cupcakes or something.

Today the government is voting to raise the debt ceiling by 2 trillion dollars! Thankfully it looks like this won’t pass with republicans and democrats alike, both voting against it! This is because it contains no spending cuts. Maybe if we’re lucky, they just might be starting to get the fact that they cannot continue to spend money they don’t have. Of course the White House will tell you the World will come to an end if we don’t raise the debt ceiling as we might default on payments to China. Personally I say stop paying them until we get our country in order, I mean what are they going to do, take back all their worthless stuff they export to us each month? If this happens, they’ll be forced to reorganize our debt and payments just like a bank and a customer that goes through bankruptcy. After all, as a country, we are bankrupt, yet we keep trying to just borrow and borrow more and put the problem off for future generations. How’s that for jumping back into politics!

Ok you’re lucky I have to get to my desk and prepare for my conference call as I could keep going for a while. Mark my words, it’s coming to a head, something will happen as our current course is not sustainable. Remember no one saw the housing crash coming either. Who thought banks like Lehman Brothers or Washington Mutual would go out of business? Not very many of us and those that did, refused to believe it.

Anyhow back to sunshine and summer, we hope it’s a nice week where you are and that you have a great day. Take care, give us a call to say hi, and God Bless

Today is a holiday when most of us think of beer, brats and bbq’s. It’s a time honored 3 day tradition that kicks off the summer. I think most of us have forgot or don’t think about the actual meaning of Memorial Day. In previous generations, soldiers or those that volunteered to serve our country, were respected and revered as great Americans. When my Mom was a kid, about the most honorable thing you could do was join the military, it was kind of a right of passage to adulthood. Nowadays it seems everyone kind of ignores or doesn’t pay any attention to the young men and women who put their lives on the line for our country. I think a lot of this is because decades ago it was clear if we went to war, why we went to war. Today it seems we are forced into conflicts that most Americans don’t really understand or support and thus, really don’t support the troops. I think that regardless of the situation, young men and women still putting themselves in harms way, deserve our support and respect. It’s so sad to read the obituaries and see that most of those who die are between 20 and 30 years old. Today no parent really wants their children to join the military when in the 40’s and 50’s, parents would boast about their kids signing up. What’s even worse is the way we treat or take care of those that come home, injured or not. I think this all started with Viet Nam as most of the country didn’t support that war and we really haven’t, as a country, supported one since. So just for today, say a prayer for those family’s that have lost loved ones or thank a vet for their service, as if it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t be enjoying your burgers, brats and beer.

Now onto the day. In honor of the holiday I’m going to give you all a break from politics. Today I want to focus on the older generation, meaning those of you out there older than me! First I think that the younger generation (any of us younger than you!) owe you a big thank you. You see sometime over the last century our society shifted from one that respected and look up to the eldest generation as leaders, to learn from their wisdom and experience, and instead decided to praise the younger more boisterous generation believing they were now the ones with all the answers. (technology has a lot to do with this) For a minute let’s think back throughout history and remember who was looked to for leadership and answers. It was the oldest most wise ones in any society that had the most life experience. Instead today it’s who’s the most charismatic or who talks the best game that sways the people. (ok watch it, I could be heading into politics) I don’t care who you are, if you take two people on this earth, of equal education, I’d usually (of course there’s always exceptions) rather put my stock into the older person who has lived through 30 more years of life that the younger one who talks a good game. It just seems that having lived more life, they’ll have a better shot at having better answers. It’s the old story of when your a kid you never listen to your parents but 30 years later you have this epiphany and it hits you, WOW, they were right! Anyhow specifically to our little clan, I do listen to, watch and hear what you say, even if at times it doesn’t seem that way. They say history repeats itself and if true, which I believe it is, what better thing to do than pay attention to those that have lived through it. (that’s how old you old people are!) So to all my elders out there, thanks for your patience, wisdom and unconditional love to all of us younger know it alls out here. I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on everything from raising our kids, how to spend and save money, and just how to live our lives in general, your words are not lost.

Ok to yesterday, the misses was pretty much worthless on the couch all day (she could have used some elderly advice on how many adult beverages to have the previous night!) and I wasn’t a whole lot better. She did “man up” and get the kids to the pool but the trip was cut short by the oldest boys ear aches from allergies. One thing about her, she’s always there for the boys! I waited for Comcast to come fix the phones but they magically turned themselves on about 15 minutes before she came home. Today we’re going to do much better! We’re planning on starting the day hiking around Red Rocks, the great natural amphitheater a bit up into the mountains, for some fun and much needed exercise. Then later in the day we’re headed down to Uncle T and Aunt B’s for a bbq with Grandma. The misses is off until Friday and the last day of school, officially, is tomorrow. It’s now 6:12 and I’m going to get to the gym before everyone wakes and the day begins. We’re expecting 90 degree temperatures this week and with snow packs in the 250% range for the year, everyone is bracing for a lot of runoff and flooding. Fortunately we don’t live near any rivers.

I need to squeeze in some work today for my weekly conference call tomorrow. While we’re doing good as a company, we need to do even better. These days you really need to plan and work extra hard as with the economy so volatile, things never go as planned. I still think the economy is in big trouble and implore everyone to get their house in order! Try to get out of debt, cut your spending and save a little bit of money for hard times. (boy have I changed huh?) Personally I think everyone should stock up on food a bit too. When I was a kid I remember my grandparents having their own garden and a well stocked pantry of canned food in the cellar. Today most households would be in dire straights if the grocery stores were shut down for 3 days! Oh well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Lacey is doing well and seems to be back to her old self, and Mojo is as frisky and playful as ever. The garden and lawn is green and it look like a great day. So have fun, stay out of trouble and have a great day, and until tomorrow, God Bless.

For those of you that read this early in the morning, our phones and internet have been out of service since last night. I just managed to get the internet going but the home phones are still out. Comcast is coming between 1 and 3 this afternoon meaning I need to clean the basement so the technician can get in.

Yesterday afternoon we went to our good friends house for a holiday bbq and too many adult beverages. The food was great! Miss C boils here ribs before putting them on the bbq. Also her homemade sauce is to die for. The boys decided to spend the night there and we’ll go pick them up in an hour or so.

We’re doing pretty good on the family makeover for being almost half way through the year. Our debt is down, mostly on schedule (we’re where we want to be for almost 6 months through the year) through a lot of hard work, a change in attitude (we now pay cash or don’t buy it), and some divine intervention. We’re playing with the kids more, especially me with Mom working now, and we’re pretty healthy.  The worst thing about alcohol for me is the calories. You just can’t lose weight and get in great shape when you’re drinking. I’m kind of an all in or not type of guy meaning I just have to draw a line in the sand and commit to not crossing it or it’ll never happen. So as of today, I’m pretty much through, except maybe a glass of wine on the holidays, I’ll keep you posted. In these trying times it’s easy to have a drink to relax but we need to just “cowboy up” and face things like stress, bills, etc., head on. My philosophy is you should be at the top of your game with no distractions (which alcohol is) to cloud your mind if you really want to accomplish your goals. Plus we’ll feel a whole lot better and look better to. Remember we’re kind of the George Clooney and Angelia Jolie of Colorado!

All of us are facing difficult times and I was of course sharing my worldly wisdom with everyone last night (you know me, not afraid to voice my opinion). I was trying to make the point that we all (maybe not you grandma’s and grandpa’s who’ve seen this before in a different decade like the 1930’s) were living beyond our means. We didn’t mean to or didn’t even know it in some cases, as we were conditioned by the government and society for many years to go out and buy things on our credit cards (which the banks literally threw at you!) like fancy cars, designer clothes (remember how we used to all buy Polo shirts at $90 or more apiece) and big houses. No one ever considered the fact that sooner or later the bill would come due and the good times would come to an end. I don’t think the government still realizes this. It’s just us people who can’t print money, (to get out of debt), that are really facing reality. It was bad timing for all of us but the correction we are now facing as an economy and society was long overdue, and we’re not out of the woods yet! In closing here, all we can do as individuals is start to pay as we go, try to pay down debt, try to save a little here and there and keep on going. Trust me, the government is not going to be there to help you, you must help yourself. Ok, enough economics 101.

The misses is out of the shower now and I’m jumping in. It’s cooler today and we have a bbq at Uncle T and Aunt B’s tomorrow. We’re going to try to take the boys to the pool today. I did get them there yesterday while Mom was working, but only for about 45 minutes. There were only 6 kids, including the boys, in the pool as it was cold. They didn’t seem to care and had a lot of fun. I also spent $$ on new shorts and shirts for them. They looked so nice and hip in their new Tony Hawk (he’s a pro skateboarder, not a designer) plaid collared short sleeve shirts and new shorts. They had a blast last night playing hard outside and we’re glad the little one got to stay the night too.

I have to run now as I need to pick them up soon but wish you all a great holiday weekend and hope everyone is doing well.

God Bless,

We picked Lacey up from her tooth extraction yesterday around 3pm. All went well but she was still pretty drugged up when we got her home. The misses caught a $40 error on our bill which brought the total down to just under $400. Not the kind of cash you want to spend without planning but necessary for a member of the family. She wandered around most of the evening but seems back to her old self this morning.

It’s 6:30 and I just got off the elliptical (exercise machine) and Mom’s getting ready to head out to give the dog a shot and make it to work by 7:15. She did go to the doctor yesterday (the only reason she went as I told her I’d call her mother if she didn’t!) and they cleaned up her wound and gave her some antibiotics. She felt bad asking L.O.L. to pay the $45 bill but I insisted. I mean come on, she’s doing her a favor and her dog bites the misses and we’re supposed to pay??? Am I right or am I right? Anyhow L.O.L. volunteered to pay (I’m told) before the misses even had to ask so all worked out. ($45 is half a bottle of french champagne!)

The boys and I are heading to Mom’s store for breakfast and then it’s off to Costco. If we get our work done around the house, I’ll take them to opening day of the pool for a couple hours until it’s time to go to the bbq. Yesterday was the last official day of school. The boys are officially 2nd and 4th graders, WOW! They do go on Tuesday for 3 hours for party’s and to clean out their desks, but they’re really all done for the year. Both boys brought home a years worth of artwork and you’d be surprised how amazing some of the stuff is. From Picasso look a likes to watercolors to oil paintings, they really did a great job. I don’t remember getting to work with so many different mediums when I was a kid.

Grandpa Bob sent us a dvd from his TV preacher, Dr Charles Stanley, on how to raise kids. We’ll have to find time to watch it as it can’t hurt and it’s the thought that counts. He’s headed up to Oregon to hook up with Scotty and his new girlfriend for a few weeks of fishing. This has been an annual event for as long as the misses can remember. She’s estimating over 40 years so far. The misses managed to get the weekend after next off so looks like we’re loading up the car and heading down to Durango for a mini summer vacation. We’re already looking all over the internet and calling customers of mine (who have wine shops and restaurants there) for advice and deals so we can do it on the cheap. One fella, who we just took to Spain 3 weeks ago (on the trip I bagged out of) has a wine shop there for the past 33 years and is a really good guy, so he’s hooking us up! We found some little cabins 9 miles out of town on a river that are pretty reasonable but we’re waiting to hear if they can squeeze us in. It’s Animas River Days and the Western Festival with a rodeo, bbq and Ute indian dancers with all kinds of free activities for the kids. More to come later on this but we’re all excited.

We’re also signed up on this web site called “Airfare Watchdog” and right now tickets to Maui are $447! You can travel anytime between now and March 2012 so I think we’ll look and see when the Marriott time shares are available as we’re swimming in miles, all we need is the plane tickets, maybe for Christmas??? hint hint.

We’re hoping the weather holds out today but of course our 80 degree forecast has now turned into the high 60’s with a chance of afternoon showers. What kind of job is a weatherman anyhow, where do they get their training? I mean they have a 50/50 chance right? Let’s see, if it’s spring time should I say rain or no rain? If it’s winter should I say snow or no snow? Now personally I prefer the weathermen in Russia that are all women and strip while they do the forecast on TV, at least this way you get some value from watching them, not that their any better at forecasting the weather, but if they’re stripping, who cares! (just kidding, who gets Russian TV anyhow?)

Time to jump in the shower and get the boys dressed for breakfast. With our discount, the three of us can eat for under $10 and it’s really healthy. Plus Mom got some Whole Foods bucks from the manager yesterday for volunteering for the girl whose dad had the kidney transplant, that was nice. Then we need to go to Kohl’s (didn’t make it yesterday) to get the boys some summer clothes, then Costco (I know I already told you), clean the house and then the pool!

In closing, today is post number 150! This means (I think) we’re 149 days into the year as we started on December 31st. Wow, the year is cruising on by. We hope all of you have a great weekend with good weather, stay out of trouble and enjoy the holiday, God Bless.