Viva Las Vegas

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.

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60 Years Together...

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

     or

     21,900 days 

     or

     525,600 hours

     or

     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!"

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

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...

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Ninety Nine and Nine Years...

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...

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Home in 40 seconds!

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.

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That was close!

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...

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

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...

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Have you ever had that feeling...

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!

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Where is the MAN soap?

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!

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The masks we wear...

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)

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

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!

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The storm damage is in...

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.

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Cloudy days aren't so bad...

Somewhere over California...I think.

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Anyone up for a game of water polo?

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...

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Weston baby knows karate...

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!

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Back in the day...

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...

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Global Warming...

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!

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