The Adventures of WHAW

A day or three at the Lake...

2010-07-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

In this episode of the Adventures of WHAW we packed our bags with sun screen, towels, flip flops, and swim suits. We boarded our flight and headed north, landed and headed south and drove to Yuba Lake. We met up with the rest of the lake dwellers and pitched our tents and set up camp. We unloaded the boats and wave runners and hit the lake.

Alea got up the courage to put on the water skis. After 2 attempts at getting up, she decided that she had enough. It was fun to see her trying to water ski.

The flag responsibilites kept Weston tremendously busy. A couple of dudes didn't seem to know how to ride the wave runners and did more swimming then wave running!

The kids parked the boat and spent time playing at the sandy beach.

We had a great time and need to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped put together our fun time at the lake!

Cabin Fever...

2010-06-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

It hasn't even been three full weeks since school got out and the kids have a bad case of cabin fever! So we decided to go hiking in the forest and see what we could find. After a short 120 mile drive east we came across a mountain range that looked intriguing to hike up to. Alea and Weston got out of the car and hiked to the top.

Upon getting to the top they yelled down at us....Hey we see a cabin! Curious, they decided to wander over to it to see if anyone was home. They knocked on the door but nobody answered. They could smell the aroma of hot porridge sprinkled with powdered sugar lurching through the air. Weston decided to knock again and this time the door fell open a few inches. Alea pushed him aside and opened the door wide. Is anyone home? She yelled again. Nobody was home. So we went in and helped ourselves to four hot bowls of porridge sprinkled with sugar.

After eating all the food set out on the table, we looked out the window and realized there was a zip line hanging from one of the trees. Alea rushed over and climbed the ladder to the top of the zip line perch.

After riding the zip line a few hundred times, we heard voices coming from inside. Somebody has been eating my porridge. Somebody has been eating my porridge. Somebody has been eating my porridge and its all gone! You know how the rest of the story goes...

Aliens had landed their colorful space ship and out popped 12 more kids. They brought along with them their 6 parents and Grandma and Grandpa.

We were no longer alone in this cabin. When it came time to eat, the aliens pulled out their alien probes, and stood around a fire they built and roasted their long skinny alien steaks. I hope they washed the probes before cooking their food with them. You never know where these alien probes may have been before.

Alea didn't seem to mind the alien dinner even though we couldn't find the alien mustard.

Weston enjoyed the alien dessert the best. The only way to describe it.....STICKY!

These aliens were really fun to hang out with and spend 4 days observing their strange rituals even if they were a bit loud and obnoxious.

We had a great time and want to say THANK YOU to the aliens that invited us to stay with them in their cabin for the weekend. Hopefully they will invite us again since we have very fond memories from staying at the cabin with these aliens. We might even bring our own probes next time....after we wash them of course!

The Luckiest Dude on the Planet...

2010-05-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is me. The luckiest dude on the planet!

Why am I the luckiest dude on the planet? Well you see, just minutes earlier we had turned the car back in to the rental place, headed straight to the bathrooms, and then proceeded to pass through the security screening. Weston had packed his Gatorade bottle full of sand at the beach so he could bring some sand home. I told him to put it in the bin with my keys and phone so that they could see that it was sand and not a hazardous bottle of water they don't allow through. The TSA lady doing the screening flagged the sand and had to call for back up. The back up guy arrived fast since he was only standing 3 feet away observing the whole situation. He grabbed the bottle of sand, shoved it against the wall, handcuffed it ,and then escorted it over to the chemical analyzer machine and began to process it. Weston asked me what he was doing. I told him that the guy was testing the sand to make sure it was really from the beach and that it wasn't some kind of counterfeit sand made in China. The TSA backup guy got a laugh out of that one and eventually let it through once the machine told him it wasn't fake sand. We then headed to the gate where I sat down and came to the realization that I am the "LUCKIEST DUDE ON THE PLANET!"

Why am I the luckiest dude on the planet?

Well you see, we had just spent the day at the beach and here I was thinking back about how much fun we had just had.

Here is how the day went...

We woke up early and headed to the airport. It was 6:30 a.m. We were going to the beach for the day. We got there in plenty of time to get our seat assignments. Either Heidi has reserved seats or some other cosmo universal alignment is trying to tell her something cause this is the 3rd time she has been assigned 6C as her seat. If you remember from one of my prior posts, I was assigned 6C once and it turned out to be hilarious.

Once we boarded the plane we flew for about 45 minutes and then landed in Southern California. Upon getting off the plane, I peeked into the cockpit and was a bit surprised. The pilot looked pretty young but apparently knew how to fly the plane since he got us there safe and on time.

Upon arrival we proceeded to the rental car counter, picked up the car, and headed to the beach. The weather was nice with 78 degrees and sunny as the forecast. We got to the beach and within minutes the kids were out in the water. Pretty soon they realized the water was COLD! So they opted for playing in the sand and pretty soon the shovels were out and the digging began.

I asked them what they were building and Weston said in a matter of fact tone, "we are building a hot tub to warm up in." They kept digging, and digging, and digging until they were done.

Once they had their hot tub built to spec, they were determined to fill it with water.

Even though the hot tub was a brilliant idea, the logistics of the water supply prevented the tub from filling with actual hot water. But none the less, they had fun playing in it until tropical storm Alvin came along and created really big waves that wiped out the hot tub. After that, Alea came up with a great idea and decided to switch to geothermal conduction heating as her source of warmth. She hired a few local unemployed engineers to help build her geothermal plant.

Her idea really worked out until the local surfers came along. Apparently she had unknowingly built her geothermal warming apparatus right in the middle of their favorite local surfing hot spot. Fortunately she didn't prevent the local surfers from missing any waves.

After a few hours at the beach we were all pretty hungry and decided to venture out to find some local cuisine. On the way we found a great place to go climbing and spent a few minutes scaling the web of no fear or what ever it was called.

We finally found a great place to eat pizza by the slice and enjoy the fine art in the establishment.

With food in our bellies and more sights to see we ventured along to find the Balboa Bakery and get Balboa Bars! What are Balboa Bars you ask? Only the best ice cream bars dipped in hot melting chocolate and then dipped again in your favorite topping of choice. Heidi and Weston chose Oreo cookie as their topping.

Alea chose to go the healthy route and picked a chocolate covered banana dipped in sprinkles.

After experiencing the bliss of a Balboa Bar, we proceeded to walk along the board walk and see the sights.

We found the carousel and hopped on for a spin to catch the view from the top.

Pretty soon our time at the beach was about up and we headed back to the airport. Alea sat quietly in the back of the car reflecting on her day at the beach as she stared out the window. We were speechless that she was speechless. After all, she's probably going to be a talk show personality some day!

Upon arrival at the airport, we turned the car back in, headed straight to the bathrooms....

Not exactly the Sistine Chapel...

2010-05-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we decided it was time to paint. So we called around and got a few bids over the phone and a couple of quotes from contractors who insisted they come by for a personal bid. We were not really impressed with the work of the contractors after browsing their portfolios. However we did come across one particular contractor we knew well and claimed to have helped paint the Sistine Chapel. We were very impressed with his attention to detail and work ethic.

Concentration often brings the tongue out

A job well done!

Are you 6C?

2010-05-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

So last week we headed north to visit the family and upon getting our seat assignments, I was separated from Alea and Weston. They were assigned seats 6A and 6B. I was given 7D which is behind and across the isle from Alea and Weston.

After getting on the plane, the flight attendant suggested I sit next to them and ask the person if they mind moving back and over one seat. So there I am sitting there waiting and wondering each time someone walks by if this is their seat? Finally an older lady stops and looks at me like I was in her seat while her husband stands behind her.

So I politely ask, "Are you 6C?"

Remember her husband standing behind her? Well, apparently he thought I said "Are you sexy?" and just started to laugh as if I had said the funniest thing on earth. She smiled politely back, and said, no and moved along on her way to her assigned seat. Alea and Weston caught on to the humor of the situation and couldn't stop laughing each time someone would walk by. Finally a man walked up, said I was in his seat, saw the kids, and said he wouldn't mind moving.

No, I didn't ask him if he was 6C!

Airline travel complaints

2010-05-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

Air travel used to be a luxury where people would dress up to fly, be pampered by beautiful flight attendants who traveled the world with a sense of adventure and a huge smile. Now it seems a commodity brokered by the internet search engines with the lowest fares offset by baggage fees and ever tighter security screenings. Regardless of all the pat downs and x-ray scans, we love to fly the friendly skies, especially on days like this where the horizon fades from cloudy skies to clear deep blue brilliance.

There's nothing worse than a passenger bringing their own food on a plane that leaves the cabin smelling of food you don't want to eat let alone smell. But who could be mad at this passenger?

Who bought these kids Doritos?

And the last complaint...over loaded ground transportation. You know the kind where passengers are hanging off the sides of a moving vehicle. These vehicles are dangerous unless you have a skilled driver behind the wheel!

B is for Bowling...

2010-05-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

In this episode of the Adventures of WHAW...

We went bowling while up in Utah. After all, there's not much to do when the ski slopes are closed, the swimming pools aren't open, and the fact that we were only there for about 36 hours.

Alea preparing to throw her 2 finger split ball!

Weston keeping score!

Heidi in windup ready for take off!

Wynn with the double fingered 6 hole green ball!

Alea claimed she was the winner while Weston declared himself the winner. I just knew I had to be the winner after 10 strikes in a row, but Heidi was quick to explain the difference between a gutter ball and a strike. The final scores were tallied and a winner was declared, but before the winner was announced and the trophy presented, the guy in the lane next to us (see him above in the dark shirt) pontificated the meaning of life without bean-o and we all scattered before becoming engulfed in his toxic cloud of grief. Of course he blamed it on his 2 year old, but I think we all knew better!

Spring Snow Storm

2010-05-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Heidi spent the later half of the week in Utah on a woman's trip. The kids and I flew up Friday and met her at Grandma and Granddad's house. While there, mother nature decided spring needed to cool off a bit and dumped a drizzle of snow on the new flowers.

Desert Hike

2010-04-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

We decided to enjoy the nice weather and take a hike out in the desert by our house. The desert is in bloom this time of year so we grabbed the camera, put on our hiking gear, and hit the trail.

Say cheese!

Heidi has a great eye for taking upclose digital macro pictures. Here are a few from our hike.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-04-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

On the way back from St. Goerge we stopped in Las Vegas for 2 days to party like rock stars... with 2 kids.

We stayed at the best place in town for one reason and one reason only ....

OK so we didn't stay at the Wynn even though it was named after me.

We stayed at the Golden Nugget for one reason and one reason only....

To swim with the sharks! Awhile back Alea and I were watching one of those shows on the travel channel that counts down the top 25 hotels with the best pools. When I was looking for hotels to stay at Alea came in and said, "Dad... remember the hotel with the water slide that goes through the shark tank? Can we stay there?" Not remembering the name, I googled "shark tank water slide" and up popped the Golden Nugget.

The water slide takes you down 3 stories then through the shark tank. Alea went down the slide at least 23 times and figured out that if she took the elevator up, she didn't have to climb the stairs each time.

Notice the little girl sitting up as she slides through the shark tank below? That's Alea.

Since Weston was not tall enough to go down the slide, he opted to sun bathe in the chairs. Yeah we know his shirt stripes cause a little vertical line interuption. The fashion police ticketed him on the way out!

We didn't spend the whole time at the pool. We were able to walk down the strip and snap a few photos with some celebrities.

Next time we will ride the roller coaster assuming we grow a few more inches.

We decided we would like to put a pool and water fall in our back yard just like this one.

Weston wanted to know if he could put lights on his ceiling in his room.

At the end of the day, the kids were too tired to fight over the bed pillow and ended up sharing it.

60 Years Together...

2010-03-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we flew up to Las Vegas, rented a car, and made the drive to Saint Goerge Utah to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Heidi's grandma and grandpa.

To put that time into perspective, they have been married for:

60 years

21,900 days

525,600 hours

31,536,000 minutes

Nearly the whole family was there to celebrate including the 34 great grand kids.

As Grandpa often says...

"It all started with a back rub in the front room that led to a front rub in the back room!"

Spring is in the air, and the bunnies are out...

2010-03-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

The ski bunnies that is...

We flew up to SLC to visit family, friends, and loved ones both young and old.

While there we hired a part time tour guide to take us skiing at Sundance.

Jay Rod the snowboarder and part time tour guide...

took us to the top of the mountain and asked if we wanted to take the easiest way down

Heidi loved the black diamond runs the best. It really is like riding a bike she exclaimed as she rushed down the mountain.

Thanks Jay Rod for the double dose of skiing and endless conversation while riding the lift. Maybe you can talk Amy into turning the chair lift speed up a notch or two! Love ya man!

oh and before I forget to thank my sponsors...

the membership fee I paid to join the brotherhood of the traveling jacket really was a great investment...

Ninety Nine and Nine Years...

2010-03-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

We stopped in to visit great grandma who turns 100 years old in April. Alea (age 9) made her this card...

and here is the 4 generation picture with great grandma, dad, me, and the kids.

While visiting, grandma reminded us of the time she came to visit us in our old house about 6 years ago and she specifically remembered taking a picture with Alea and Weston when he was 3 months old. She has a pretty good memory...

Home in 40 seconds!

2010-03-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

On a good day it typically takes me 15 to 20 minutes to get home. The construction barriers often change just slightly from day to day, which often throws people off just enough to slow down in a cautious hesitant manner. This must of been the case today, as it looks like I'm Mario Andretti 3 inches from the wall passing everyone for the checkered flag. I promise I was not speeding...the photo radar vans can back me up! I smile and say cheese when I pass them but somehow they never send me a picture. Maybe I keep blinking, and they don't want to send me a picture with my eyes shut. On a side note, the sunset in my rear view mirror behind me was spectacular. Maybe next time, I'll take some video pointing that direction.

That was close!

2010-03-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

We had another pretty good storm come through tonight. This one hit just a little too close to home...

Watch as the storm clouds roll in and the lights go out...

Beware of the neighbors you don't know...

2010-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through some of the picture files on our computer and came across this picture of one of our neighbors. We have lived here for over 5 years and never knew this neighbor lived a few houses down the street. That is until he escaped one day and stopped in front of our house. By the way, it took him 30 minutes to get home...

Have you ever had that feeling...

2010-02-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had that feeling? You know the one where something just isn't right? I had that feeling all day today. I couldn't quite figure it out. It was a great day in all aspects. I was very productive at work despite all of the meetings with the auditors, the attorneys, and the status updates of endless projects, that seem to...never end. I even left work early, that is if you consider 5:04 to be early. Traffic was light not to mention it was still light outside. That's always a mental adjustment when you're use to driving home in the dark. I couldn't quite put my finger on that feeling... That is until I sat down and kicked up my feet...

Funny thing is...I don't remember that hole being there this morning when I put my socks on! I wonder if I can find another pair just like them? I like wearing socks where you can cross your eyes for a really long time and see fun things!

Where is the MAN soap?

2010-02-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

The other day we went to Costco to purchase the assortment of items we usually purchase at Costco, which among them is soap. The big package of Dove soap we've been buying for the last 9.2 years included a new promotional bar of Dove Men+Care a new product apparently designed for men. You've probably seen it in stores, it looks like this:

Well later that day, Weston was in the shower and all of a sudden he starts yelling... Mom, come here....

Heidi and I walked in to see what he was yelling for and without hesitation he yells...

WHERE IS THE MAN SOAP?

Apparently the little man needed his soap!

The masks we wear...

2010-02-05T22:25:00.001-08:00

Poetry is clearly not my forte'...

however I found this poem to go along with this picture...

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

Adventures of the Urban Kind: In Search of The Great Water Fall!

2010-01-31T21:02:00.000-08:00

In this episode of The Adventures of WHAW, we decided to venture out on an urban hike in search of The Great Water Fall. Instead of heading to the airport and taking our usual mode of transportation, we decided to mix things up a bit and hop a ride on the light rail. We watched them build this for many months and thought it would be fun to actually take it for a ride. So we did, and no they didn't let me drive...

We decided to bring our bikes along for the ride so that we could continue our journey away from the tracks in search of The Great Water Fall...

After reaching the trail head to The Great Water Fall, we rode a few minutes until we came to the river. After all, the part time tour guide on the train told us to head for the big river. Common sense would only suggest a great water fall be near...

When we got to the great river (I know I know, it looks more like a lake....)

The kids decided to climb the mountains to see if they could see The Great Water Fall at the top...Upon reaching the top of the mountain, they couldn't see The Great Water Fall so they decided to climb way up in to the top of the tree canopy to see if they could see anything from there....

Climbing to the top of the tree canopy proved to be a success. They spotted the water fall. But was this The Great Water Fall?

This was not The Great Water Fall, but sure looked like a lot of fun to slide down...Next time we are bringing the swim suits and towels! After all the mountain climbing, tree scaling, and water sliding, we needed to find food, and fast. Out of nowhere we heard the faint sound of an ice cream truck grow louder and louder until it pulled up beside us. The assortment of cold ice cream treats was plenty, just don't let Weston pick, if you know what I mean....

Watermelon bomber pops are the best source of energy if your ever on a search for The Great Water Fall!

Or Batman ice cream bars, they taste pretty good too...

Once we finished our ice cream, we hopped back on our bikes to continue our search for The Great Water Fall. We decided to follow the river to its end and past some sort of bridge. Possibly one the natives use to cross the river?

We rode on, past the local architecture and awed at its unusual lines and dazzling shapes.

When finally we found The Great Water Fall and stopped to take in its urban beauty...
We made it! We found The Great Water Fall and had a great urban adventure in the process!

The storm damage is in...

2010-01-24T10:33:00.001-08:00

We've been getting a lot of calls recently to see if we are ok after the big storm that passed through. The news reports are declaring it the worst storm in 17 years. Its taken us a day or two to dry out and assess the damage.

Here is a picture of our patio before the storm...

The storm reached its peak from 6-10pm Thursday, bringing high winds, heavy snow and rain that flooded parts of the state. There was a general Flood Warning for the Valley as rain water continued to move and work through the rivers, washes, and creeks of the Valley.

Here is a picture of the storm as it passed over Phoenix.

Two days later and its finally stopped raining and we are able to go outside and assess the damage.

Here is a picture of our patio after the storm.

Cloudy days aren't so bad...

2010-01-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

Somewhere over California...I think.

Anyone up for a game of water polo?

2010-01-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

So the neighborhood park just put in a new water polo field? Do you call it a field? That sounds better than a water polo court. The soccer players are a little mad. The fishermen are happy, although I haven't seen anyone catch a single fish yet. Now where can we rent some wave runners...

Weston baby knows karate...

2010-01-17T19:31:00.000-08:00

Weston wanted to make a movie about when he was a baby... So I told him the story about how he learned karate when he was a month old...

Press play at your own risk!

Back in the day...

2010-01-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

I came across an old disk of pictures and found this one that caught my attention. You know how the story always start...Back in the day...when things were simple, and the only thing you had to worry about was not letting the popsicle split down the middle...

Not only does this picture capture that moment, but it also shows just how fast time goes by...

Global Warming...

2010-01-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

December 29, 2009 - Shoveling the driveway at Grandma and Grandad's house...
December 30, 2009 - Mowing the lawn at our house...

The best part of coming home....Warm weather!

The most wonderful time of the year...

2010-01-04T21:06:00.001-08:00

Is December the most wonderful time of the year? Well it depends on who you ask? With 2 birthdays, holiday parties, a long vacation, numerous presents, and a ski vacation or two...it just might be the most wonderful time of year!

We kicked off December by celebrating Wynn's birthday with rib night...

Wynn went on a guys trip to go skiing....

Alea sang a few songs while Weston shook his maracas at Heidi's work holiday party...

Alea pretended to be an angel at the top of the christmas tree...

Weston learned to fly like buzz light year...

and Wynn and Heidi (patiently, ha ha) taught the kids to ski at Alta...

Then, Weston celebrated his birthday with 2 parties, one at Grandma's house in Utah...
and one at home with a helicopter cake made of ice cream sandwiches and a perfect landing...
Yep, it was the most wonderful time of the year...

May all the adventures continue in 2010!

The Adventures Continued (Oct - Nov)

2010-01-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

So it has been awhile since the last blog post....

Let's see...computer died, we got a new one, 3 months later and its 2010!

So to recap the last 3 months of the year (or as Wynn would say...4th quarter)

We ventured out on a few fun trips and did a lot of holiday things.

To start with, Heidi and the kids went camping up on the rim with her mom and dad during the fall break in early October.

We celebrated Halloween with the traditional costume and trick or treating along our annual route. 18 lbs of candy per kid really will last until January, trust me!

In November we went to Utah for Thanksgiving where Weston roto-tilled Grandad's garden.

Since we couldn't bring the turkey on the airplane we decided to go out and get one...

Unfortunately all we could find were clay pigeons so we went to Jena's house for turkey instead.

On the way home, we continued our "on the way home from the airport" tradition and stopped at In-N-Out. It was 11:00 at night, but Weston reassured me that it was never too late to eat!

Who knew an 11:00 pm hamburger and french fries would be the source of a sleepless night?

We are alive unlike our computer....

2009-09-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

The adventures have slowed to a crawl due to school, post labor day flight schedule cuts, and other various adventure stalling excuses. I guess it doesn't matter much though since blogging about them is extremely difficult now that our computer has switched to paper weight mode. HP if your reading this... Please send a replacement product of equal or greater value. Free of charge of course. I really love my new iPhone and would hate to see a mac take over your spot on my desk. Did I mention my new iPhone is great and provides endless entertainment with over 65,000 apps from the app store? I can even blog from this thing even though my one finger typing is slow. I can even order chipotle from this thing and it will be ready by the time I get there.

Anyway...the adventures will continue so stay tuned.

That picture hogging squirrel gets around!

2009-08-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Who knew squirrels liked to ride roller coasters?

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2009/08/squirrel-crashes-pictures.html

Birthdays, beaches, and balboa bars, oh my!

2009-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

So for Alea's birthday we decided to hop a plane to Orange County for the weekend. There's the beach, ferris wheel rides and balboa (ice cream) bars, and Disneyland too. So much to do, so little time! We started off by parking at our favorite off airport site, the Parking Spot! We were a little late getting to the airport so Jason the shuttle driver let me drive since I know the best shortcuts.

I can't understand why everyone was so scared after all Weston flew the plane last time we went to San Diego, and I wasn't scared....

I got us to the airport safely and on time.

After getting off the plane we were famished and found this great little place that promised to get you in and out since the kids were in a hurry to get to the beach. The food was really good too! After eating we drove to Huntington Beach where the local surfers hang out. We followed a couple of them to see where the great surfing spots are located and the best place to catch a wave or two. Once we got to the beach the waves were calling...
and so were the authorities...
apparently California law prohibits camouflage sun bathing...

Ask any kid where the happiest place on earth is and the answer... well that's debatable. Some kids I know may just have a different answer then most!

Jedi in training...

2009-08-04T21:23:00.001-07:00

Alea was picked from the audience to fight the dark side, partially because it was her birthday, but mostly because of her light saber skills and previous experience fighting the dark side. If you remember in the prequel to the prequel, episode 1/2, she previously defeated Darth Vador and saved the Empire, but i digress...

Darth Maul ran away like a screaming little girl....

I'll get you next time Jedi Alea!

That was awesome!

2009-08-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

In this episode of The Adventures of WHAW, we took a weekend trip to celebrate Alea's birthday at the happiest place on earth. Disneyland!

Car rental and hotel... an arm

Disneyland park tickets...a leg

The look on their faces.... priceless!

After stopping, Weston screamed "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Want to go again?

"NO WAY!"

I passed, I passed, I passed!

2009-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Heidi! After nearly 2 years of school in the Physical Therapy Assistant program at Gateway College and tons and tons of this:

... and a few weeks of practicals at the Maricopa County Medical Center Burn Unit:

...Heidi finally graduated and got to wear this (in May):

...But wait! It's not over yet. After another month of studying for the State Board Exam.....

She passed! Or as it should be properly stated....She passed with flying colors! Even though she couldn't remember 5%?

Tire Tracks in the Sand

2009-07-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

On the way to work the other day I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me that said, "The Lord is my Co-Pilot." So with tongue in cheek satire humor at its best, I thought of this poem to go along with a picture I took at the beach in Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

Tire tracks in the sand

One night I dreamed I was riding along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed tire tracks in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of tire tracks, other times there was only one.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of tire tracks, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would drive with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of tire tracks in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of tire tracks, my child, is when I drove you.”

Who said cleaning the house isn't any fun?

2009-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Unaccompanied Minors

2009-07-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

In this episode of the Adventures of WHAW the kids headed north to Grandma’s house alone.

Well, you know the song….

Over the freeway and through the airport, to Grandma’s house they go.
The kids know the dad who will carry their bags…
Thru the security checkpoint we go, oh!

Over the freeway and through the airport, to Grandma’s house they go.
Weston knows the deal, no need to swallow a pill
To sleep on the plane, as his energy begins to drain, oh!

Over the freeway and through the airport, to Grandma’s house they go.
Alea knows the way to put down her tray
And order a cold drink from the FA, oh!

Over the freeway and through the airport, to Grandma’s airport they land.
They have to wait for the flight attendant Kate,
To escort them to the gate, where Grandma waits, oh!

And some kids can’t even go to the bathroom by themselves…

A great 4th of July celebration to remember (Part II)

2009-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

After leaving the festivities behind, we all headed back to Aunt Dalene’s house for the night. As we realized that the house was pretty full of weary travelers, we decided to check a few hotels for availability and found a nice quaint place with a decent price tag. We figured it would be nice to have a quiet place to lay our heads and a bathroom we wouldn’t have to wait in line for. Plus if you notice in the picture below, it had all you can eat cereal from the General Mills silos. After checking in, we continued our way to Dalene’s house to participate in the fireworks show. Since Arizona is too hot and dry in the summer time, fireworks are illegal but in Idaho, anything goes. The kids lined up along the porch and were soon in harmony, “oooh, aaaaah, oooh, aaaah, as they watched the fireworks display. After all the good ones were lit and sent skywards, the kids enjoyed shooting roman candles and twirling sparklers. After the backyard fireworks display, we headed back to our room ready to hit the hay. After a good nights sleep, we journeyed our way down to 14th street to watch the Idaho Falls parade. The kids properly stretched and warmed up in order to gather as much candy as they possible could. In previous years, the candy would rain down from nearly every float. Not this year. You know the economy is bad when the candy count is down. However the parade still provided great entertainment. After the parade, we had lunch back at Dalene’s and enjoyed a great feast. At 2:00 the annual softball game started. As I stood there lined up waiting to bat, I had flashbacks of my youth baseball games, where I hit home run after home run, often winning the game! I remembered all of the diving catches in the out field, and the 90 mph fastballs I hurled over the plate. Strike one, strike two, steeeeriiiiiike three, as the umpire yelled, you’re out! The smell of hot dogs permeating the air and the sound of the crowd cheering, Wynn, Wynn, Wynn…..watch out…crack! Apparently while waiting to bat I had dozed off in my fantasy baseball dream and was hit in the head with a foul ball. Ok not really but it sure makes a better story than just getting up to bat and hitting a fly ball, making it to first, and then getting thrown out at second on the next play.

After the softball game ended, we jumped in the car and drove over to Aunt Linda and Uncle John. They happen to live about 2 miles away from Aunt Dalene’s house. Upon arriving, we found ourselves mingling with 2 giant pans of chocolate brownies and rice crispy treats. The kids ran outside and played on the airplane teeter totter with cousins they’re not quite familiar with. This didn’t stop them from playing together and they had a great time.
Around 8:30 we all decided it was time to go down to the river and wait around for the fireworks to begin. The fireworks display was terrific. We sat on the grass next to the hotel with surround sound blasting patriotic music and fireworks exploding over our heads showering down bright colors of spark. Fireworks are one of the few things in life that can be enjoyed no matter the time of year. After the fireworks ended we walked back to the cars and proceeded to wait in traffic before making our way back to Dalenes’ house. After the fireworks, Jena and Lance decided to put their kids in the car and make the 3 hour trip back home. Weston and I decided to drive back with them in an effort to catch a plane back to Arizona early in the morning. Lance’s lead foot got us to the airport a little earlier than even I like to be there. It was 3:00 am. Now if you have ever wondered what the airport looks like at 3:00 am let me tell you. It’s nearly empty with only the zamboni like machine driving around washing the floors with its built in squeegee. At 3:00 am, not even the security entrance was open. Weston was dead asleep and so I proceeded to find a comfortable place to lie down. Whoever designed the airport chairs apparently never intended to sleep in them, as the permanent arm rest prevents any such horizontal activity from occurring.

I layed Weston in my lap and propped my feet up on another chair and closed my eyes. I opened them again after what seemed like a couple of hours of sleep, only to find that the clock now read 3:07 am. I knew it was going to be a long wait. Around 4:15, people started to arrive at the airport and slowly a line began to form near one of the ticket counters. At 4:30, a mob of TSA agents began to come down the hall and quickly took their positions and opened the security entrance. I emptied my pockets of all items known to set off the metal detectors and proceeded to walk through security. I found gate A2 and picked a spot on the floor to lay Weston down on. Upon doing so, he opened his eyes, looked up at me and said, “this floor is hard as a rock….and it smells funny too!” So I picked him up and found some chairs without the arm rests and layed him down again. Finally after what seemed like forever, the sun came up, the gate agents came out, and the stand by list was called. Weston and I were getting on the plane and headed home.

A road trip, a baby, and fire works... A great 4th of July celebration to remember...(Part I)

2009-07-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

On this 4th of July, we decided to head to Idaho and celebrate the birth of our new neice as well as the Fourth of July!

So this episode of the Adventures of WHAW began with a stand by ticket, where we literally stood there and waved bye! The glamorous side of traveling the skies unfortunately comes with a lot of waiting, and waiting, and in some cases even more waiting. Heidi and the kids grabbed the last 3 seats on the plane, so I waved goodbye and hung around for the next flight.

The next flight came and left without any empty seats, so I waited around some more with the same results. So after nearly 9 hours in the airport (thanks to a delayed flight) I was able to grab the last seat on the last plane headed for SLC. You should have seen the look on the poor guy's face that was just after me on the stand by list. After all, he had waited nearly most of the day as well with no such luck. I thought he was going to empty my suitcase, jump in, and force me to lift him into the over head bin.

Since the flight was delayed and didn't leave until almost 9:15, we arrived in SLC fairly late. Our standard transportation when flying into SLC, is to have our limo driver, Wyatt, come pick us up. As always, he was right there when I stepped out of the terminal. Since it was late, I decided to forgo the extra hour drive it takes to get to Mom and Dad's house, so I crashed at Wyatt's house. Before heading there, we made a quick stop at the local Taco Bell. Anyone else remember when seven layer burritos were only 99 cents?

The next day, the traveling clan of clowns, otherwise known as my 2 kids accompanied by Jena's 3 kids, came to pick us up and start the caravan trip to Idaho. Jena had negotiated a pretty good deal with Grandma and Grandad, and placed the 5 kids and a first round draft pick to be named later in their van. This left our van kid free and an enjoyable ride as we drove to Idaho.

We arrived and headed over to the church to see Wade and Katie's creation. She is adorable! Who would have known Wade had enough genes in him to pass down and contribute to such a beautiful baby. Afterall, he is the youngest of 6 kids and I hear his oldest brother got nearly all of the good looking genes!

We enjoyed a great dinner with nearly 50 of our Idaho relatives and their families and commented on all of the memories of running around as a kid, while the adults sat by and chatted. Now we found ourselves on the chatty side while our kids ran around endlessly. The evening was really special as we got to participate in blessing Aubrey Marie and welcoming her into our lives. Alea was especially proud that she shares the same middle name and initials as her new cousin.

We have officially run away to join the circus!

2009-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

If anyone is looking for us, we have officially run away to join the circus. When we got to the circus, a few clowns asked us what we were doing there. We have come to join the circus, I said. They just laughed at us. I asked them to stop clowning around and show us to the ring masters office. They then escorted us to the center ring and asked us to wait there. Pretty soon, along came the ring master with 4 clip boards each with an application packet an inch thick. He asked us to read through the legal liability release forms and then fill out the other information. After we read and signed away our rights to any form of safety nets, the ring master told us we would have to be photographed. Afterwards, we were escorted beneath the arena seats to the make up and wardrobe room. The spandex uniforms were really comfortable.

Weston was dressed as a tight rope walker. Looks like all that practice standing on his head has paid off.

They assigned me to play with a few of the cats. When I realized it was the tiger cage, I asked for a couple of whips. I caught a few clowns trying to stuff a few steaks in my pocket which made me mad. This time I really yelled at them, "STOP CLOWNING AROUND!" After all, that seems a little dangerous for someone who just signed away there rights to all safety nets.

Since Heidi and Alea specialize in arial acrobatics, they were asked to do a few flips in the air. Now don't think for a second, that these were just any ordinary flips. They were going to be shot out of a cannon and do a few flips in the air, clear across the arena.
The cheers from the crowd were amazing!

9 hours and 45 minutes in San Diego...

2009-06-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

In this episode of The Adventures of WHAW, we found ourselves headed to the airport at 6:30 AM hoping to catch our 7:45 flight to San Diego. The weather according to Yahoo said 65 degrees and partly cloudy in the morning with sunshine in the afternoon. Pretty typical for San Diego in June. They don't call it June gloom for nothing. After arriving at the Parking Spot, we parked the car, hopped into the shuttle and headed to terminal 4. We arrived at the airport and proceeded through security with no wait at all. After all, it was 7:15 am on a Saturday morning.

We got to gate A7 and waited to board the plane. Once we got on the plane, the co pilot asked Weston and Alea to help fly the plane since he hadn't seen the pilot yet this morning. Now, since Weston or Alea don't even have a driver’s license let alone a pilot’s license, they had to have Heidi help them fly the plane. Meanwhile, I had to sit in the back of the plane next to the bathroom door, which if you have ever sat in the aisle seat of row 25, you know what I'm talking about. Every time someone opens the door to come out of the bathroom, there's a race to see what hits you in the face first. Will it be the smell or the door? Okay, so I didn't really have to sit in row 25, nor did Heidi and the kids really have to fly the plane. The pilot eventually showed up and asked Weston to give up the yoke. Weston complied, and we took our seats in row 6.

A quick 55 minutes later, we landed in beautiful sunny, I mean cloudy, San Diego! Now having checked the weather the night before, I knew that 65 degrees would seem a tad bit cold to us Phoenicians. Afterall, that is a 40 degree differential in June! So as you can see, the kids were well prepared and wearing their hoodies! We picked up our Alamo rental car which was a black HHR, which feels like driving a lunch box, you know the metal kind we all had as kids...without the Thermos though. At least the kids thought it was cool! We headed out to find the best breakfast in cloudy San Diego. Turns out it was here:

Now that our biological need for hot cocoa and pan cakes was fullfilled, I just new what was coming next. The beach! But wait, its still pretty gloomy and still only 65 degrees out side. So being the part time San Diego tour guide that I am, I opted to take everyone to see the Sea Lions in La Jolla. As we walked out on the sea wall closer to the Sea Lions, the smell became almost unbearable. At first everyone thought that Weston had farted or something. But we soon realized that the sea lions weren’t obeying the beach rules and using the public bathrooms next to the life guard station. What can you expect from sea lions? After all they don’t exactly have arms to wipe themselves, let alone the ability to use public bathrooms. But I digress… In all we counted 93 sea lions.

Once we had enough of the smell, we ventured out to the beach. As I alluded to earlier, I am somewhat of a San Diego tour guide, at least part time. So I found us this beautiful secluded sandy beach that I thought every one would love. Turns out it was too narrow…

We really wanted to rent sea kayaks and take a few hours to paddle around the beach but we were told they were all tied up and that we couldn’t rent any…

Since we couldn’t rent the sea kayaks, we opted to hit the beach with a blanket and relax while the kids played in the ocean. Since the temperature was still 65 degrees, Weston opted to build sand castles while Alea body surfed on her kick board the whole time. Weston, in deep thought asked, “Is there more sand particles on the beach or more water in the ocean?” I told him we would google that when we got back home. After watching Alea drift farther out and to the right, I was forced to head into the ocean to go get her and remind her of her position. She really had no fear and for the most part, the waves were fairly small and the depth pretty shallow. The water was considerably warm for a cloudy 65 degree June gloom afternoon.

After we convinced Alea to get out of the water we headed to Sea Port Village to get fudge. Traditions often start without any prior thought, and fortunately for Heidi’s sweet tooth, we stumbled upon a tradition of consuming Sea Port Village Fudge. I couldn’t even tell you the name of the shop, but I can get anyone there that asks for directions. After all, I am the part time San Diego tour guide. By this time, it was almost 5:00 pm which signaled it was time to head back to the airport to catch our 6:40 flight. We put 1.5 gallons of $3.09 a gallon of gas into the lunchbox thermos and returned the lunchbox back to Alamo, hopped into the shuttle and were dropped of at the terminal. After heading through security and before getting to the gate, we had to stop to use the bathrooms. Some of us really had to go!

On the way home, they didn’t ask any of us to fly the plane and sat us in row 7. Upon landing, we got off the plane and noticed right away that someone left the heat on in Phoenix while we were enjoying our cloudy 65 degree day in San Diego.

All 9 hours and 45 minutes of it…

Take me out to the ball game!

2009-06-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

The D-backs played the SF Giants Tuesday night. Section 211 was prime real estate for foul balls.
The hot dogs didn't last very long.and another motivational moment to encourage practicing the piano!

Mr. Cantski

2009-06-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Death of a Cactus

2009-06-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

If a cactus falls in the desert, does anybody hear it?

How often does a cactus die? Do the other cacti mourn the loss of their friends? Do they gather together to wish farewell? Probably so, but not much hugging going on. After all, they are prickly and pokey and nobody likes prickley and pokey hugs.

Maybe cacti do...

My favorite place

2009-06-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Ever have an epiphany? Well I did this past Saturday when Heidi and I were making a mad dash across the Charlotte, NC airport from terminal E to terminal B to catch our flight home to Phoenix. Don't let the airport maps in the back of the inflight magazine fool you, that is pretty far. That wasn't exactly my epiphany, as I rather had a small idea exactly just how far it was.

My epiphany came to me as we rounded the corner to terminal B and I glanced up at the gates and saw the destinations listed. Gate B-2 was headed to St. Thomas. Gate B-4 was headed to Jamaica. Gate B-8 was headed to Miami. Well you get the idea...

At that very moment, I realized that my favorite place is the airport! Now I know what your thinking, that wet damp feeling that soaks your socks when you take off your shoes just prior to getting that cavity search at the security check point isn't the greatest feeling on earth. Nor is the smell of the rotten feet from the guy in front of you that is invasively permeating your nostrils, the most enticing of odors. Or that knot that forms in your stomach when you walk through the metal detector wondering if your new belt will set it off. But if you get past that part of the journey, and realize that the airport provides an opportunity to go just about anywhere, well that is pretty liberating.

The airport is a portal to an adventure not to mention a pretty great place to people watch too!

To blog or not to blog - Is that the question?

2009-06-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

So it seems the best way to keep up with everyone is through reading their blogs. I just don't seem motivated enough for Facebook, sleazy enough for MySpace, and not technical enough for my own web site. So for now, it seems its the right time for a blog. Although I just might regret this later as last week I found myself perusing the various blogs of people we know and ended up doubled over on the floor laughing hysterically! Who could have guessed orthopedic boots could provide such gut wrenching entertainment, but I digress....

So your probably wondering... What is WHAW? Who is WHAW? Where is WHAW?

Well, keep reading and you'll get the idea...