Christmas Day – 2008

_KRN7313-767418Christmas morning began with the girls opening presents and choosing what to wear for our family dinner.  Shortly after noon, our extended family and friends began to arrive.  It was nice to be able to spend time catching up on a years worth of news and the girls had a great time playing with their cousins. The following day, we kept an old family tradition alive by making “mochi”.  It’s a Japanese custom to eat mochi as the first meal on New Years Day in order to bring prosperity in the coming year.  All in all, it was a great 2 days of family, friends, and many laughs (most at my expense).

San Diego

_KRN7088-720273spontaneous

|spänˈtānēəs|
adjective

 

 

 

At 1pm Monday, we decided to catch a 5:10pm flight to San Diego to visit Sea World. After a flurry of reservations, we were on our way.
After checking in to our hotel Monday night, we celebrated our arrival in the usual way by ordering room service cheeseburgers.
Tuesday morning after breakfast, we arrived at Sea World an hour early just to be on the safe side… Our first scheduled show was Shamu and it was incredible! We sat in row 5 (the soak zone) and I began rehearsing my “keep the camera dry” procedure.
I’ve seen Shamu a number of times over the years but had forgotten just how impressive it really is to see a 10 ton killer whale perform. The soak zone turned out to be an understatement – we got completely drenched!
Following Shamu, the girls rode some of the rides in the Sesame Street area, then we headed off to make our 2:00 Dolphin Encounter appointment. This was really memorable in that we got to feed and interact with dolphins as part of a small group.
The girls didn’t seem to mind the fact that they were holding slimy squid.
Wednesday, we decided to head to Coronado Island and go to the beach. Our flight didn’t leave till later that evening so we had plenty of time to make designs in the sand, chase birds, and find sea shells. Although time seemed to pass quickly, we had a great time together that I’m sure will build great memories.

A Time for Planting…

55 blocks + 34 bags of soil = our new garden.
What use to be a rotted out sandbox in our new back yard is now our vegetable garden. The girls and I decided to try our hand at growing something that we could eat (and might actually be good for us) which is a notable departure from the Banquet meals and French Bread pizza we have lived on for a year! This evening, we planted peas, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, and a bunch of herbs for good measure.
Provided that our experiment actually works, I will post periodic updates as things begin to germinate (a new word for me).

Structured Wiring Project

Diagram-701286After nearly 2 months of research, drawing, crawling around in the attic, and cutting holes in the walls, we have finally centralized all of our home electronics. This all started as a concept to free up space in my home office and eventually grew to the consolidation and centralization of all of our digital services.
Initially, I wanted to outsource the whole thing to Jerry’s Audio/Video but after several un-returned phone calls, I decided to man-up and do it myself. I started with this drawing and began ordering the components online. We have a coat closet in the main hallway that I would convert to serve as the distribution point for telephony, digital music, digital photos, digital movies (via Apple TV), and HD cable TV. I also wanted to centralize our network and storage as well. To get power to the closet, I had to run a 20amp circuit from the panel outside to a new outlet in the closet to power everything and also learned how to patch and texture drywall. We no longer have 5 separate remote controls, it’s all done with one Logitech Harmony 890. If you know how to get Dual link DVI to span 45 feet without noticeable signal loss, leave a comment. I want to move the G5 server in to the closet as well, then feed the 30″ Cinema display remotely – that would be very cool!

Labor Day Weekend

_KRN6956-701169We spent Labor Day weekend at the Duhon’s cabin in the northern Arizona mountains. It was nice to be able to get out of the heat and enjoy the cool weather in the pines. After breakfast Saturday morning, we took a long quad ride through the forest and spotted several deer. Later that day, our friend Kerry drove up and helped build a fort in the woods and also joined us for another quad ride. Sunday, we had church in the woods and then visited the Tonto Natural Bridge where we hiked to the canyon floor and braved the slippery rocks.  We spent much quality time this weekend singing songs, praying together, playing board games, and performing various skits.  This was certainly one of those “I don’t want it to end” weekends.

Happy Birthday Katie!

_KRN6818-761639Today we celebrated Katie’s 10th birthday.  We were joined by friends and family to wish her well as she departed the land of single digits.  My attempt at cooking seasoned corn on the BBQ was a disaster but otherwise, we had a great meal, great fun, and a great time.  The planned water volleyball tournament was postponed indefinitely due to fear of defeat on the part of a few that will remain nameless.  Happy Birthday Katey!

Cool 4th of July!

_KRN6648-797317We are on the last day of a great 4th of July weekend in Greer. The girls and I decided to leave the heat and spend 4 days in the northern Arizona mountains. Shortly after arriving, the girls discovered a meadow, complete with a stream and beaver pond, right behind our cabin where they spent most of their time here. On Saturday, we all went horseback riding in the mountains and it was awesome! Lauren had her own horse (named Turkey Track) and did very well on her own. Katey rode a horse called Larry and it seemed that Larry had some gas issues. Katey commented that it made her go faster!
We then made the drive to Lakeside to catch the “Kit Kittredge” movie which made for a full day. On Sunday, we drove to Big Lake and rented a boat to get some fishing in. Almost immediately after getting to our favorite spot, all three of us caught one. It wasn’t long before the summer rain showers arrived and we were forced to retreat to the car until it died down.
We did a lot of things during our time here but of all the activities, the thing that I treasure most is the time spent in the meadow with them just exploring and talking together. The weather was perfect, the scenery was straight from Heaven, and the memories… Priceless!

A Great Birthday!

_KRN6630-704237This was one of my most memorable birthdays ever! Upon my return from the grocery store, I was greeted by Katey and her viola serenade of “happy birthday to you” along with a hand made poster that the girls had made taped to the wall. Aunt Jaimie and Tyler joined us for pizza and cake.

I attempted to make home-made ice cream as well and after 4 1/2 hours of watching the ice cream maker spin, we decided to eat whatever we found inside… I’ll remember the vanilla extract next time!
I’ve never seen so many candles on one cake and am not sure that I look forward to seeing more… After dinner, I opened the gifts that the girls had made for me. Lauren made a hand painted pottery vase with her name on it and Katey made a pottery cross that says “Dad”. I am grateful for their hearts and will cherish these memories.

Moving!

After 7 trips to the dump and unpacking an endless sea of boxes all containing stuff I haven’t touched in years, we’re officially settled in to our new home.
 
I will never move again!

Blue Angels Team Party

sball1-710275Today we celebrated the close of a great softball season. We made it to game 3 in a double elimination playoff and had a great time every step of the way!
I could not be more proud of each of these angels as they all showed great sportsmanship even during tough games. I won’t soon forget their smiles, or the ringing of Aaliyah’s voice…

We celebrated with a pool/pizza party and they all found it very funny pushing me in the pool at every opportunity (I owe you one Elle!) Thanks to all of you parents for your assistance this season!