Summer 2017 has been one for the ages. We embarked on an epic month long road trip that took us to Vegas, the top of volcanoes, approximately 13 Chic-Filets, and back in time to when Mindy was in high school. We pushed the limits of the mini-van and the patience of our children. We almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere in 110 degree heat and I pulled my hamstring at least twice. The van increasingly got a lean toward the north because of all of the commemorative magnets Mindy collected along the way. We emerged from the exhaust of the journey with a toughness forged by the road and longing to set out again. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me take you back to the beginning....
The first notable stop on the journey was Las Vegas. We made a point to stop here so Cam and I could partake of the glory that is summer league NBA basketball. This was a highlight of the trip for me and I'm hoping to make it an annual tradition. If you are an NBA fan and haven't done summer league, then your life is incomplete. But, Vegas with children is a totally "different" experience. If you have found yourself late at night, sitting by yourself at a black jack table in Circus Circus then you have also experienced the most depressing place on earth. For the most part, Vegas consisted of a lot of sweating and shielding of little eyes. And the only thing that was won was a stuffed crab from a carnival game. I will say though, that Carter seems to dig the vibe of Vegas. We arrived to the hotel pretty late in the evening and barely even walked through the Casino before heading up to our room. As we were getting ready for bed, Carter leaned back, put his arms behind his head and exclaimed, "so, who's ready to go downstairs?" It's times like these that I'm sure Carter is going to be a blast in college.
After Vegas, we worked our way up to the Sacramento area. The centerpiece there was Mindy's 20 year high school reunion. That night I mostly tried to separate from Mindy, so I could pretend that I had gone to school there and make people uncomfortably question their memories as much as possible. After the reunion, we spent our days exploring the factory infrastructure of greater Northern California. My main take away was that if Miss Grossman could have just gotten Ronald Regan to endorse her stickers instead, then most people wouldn't have even heard of Jelly Beans. For most of you what I just said is gibberish, but trust me when I say that it could be true. By night, we lived a squatters life; persistently taking advantage of the kindness of our friends and family. A genuine thank you to everyone who housed us and took time out to hang out while we were there. People be taking us sailing under golden gate bridges, to Giants games, to botanical gardens, to shooting ranges with handguns designed to kill bears. It was a blast.
After Northern California we made our way down the coast to my old stomping grounds. Everyone but Carter made an afternoon stop at Pizmo beach for a quick swim; Carter found his way to "Fizzmo" beach where he gleefully taunted the ocean until he was shivering too much to continue. We spent a super relaxing week at my families house, where Mindy and I got to sleep in every morning out in a trailer while somebody else cared for our children. During our time there, we swam every day, the Dodgers never lost, and we solved the mystery of the zodiac killer. But I know the highlight of the trip for the boys was getting to play the video game Road Blocks Jail Break with their older cousin. It takes a little while to get used to your children becoming criminalized, but after a bit it becomes quite cute. I mean, how could hearing your 4-year-old talking about stealing a "Lambo" and completing a "heist" at a jewelry store not make you smile? And honestly, I don't even know what a Bugatti looks like, but I do know that allegedly we saw about six on our way back to Texas. And because the apples don't fall too far from the proverbial tree, I will concede that a highlight for me was playing a bunch of NBA2K with my friend. And in reality "Playing" is more of a euphemism for what occurred while I was there; let's just say that I like to envision my friend having nightmares of John Wall relentlessly coming off a high screen and dicing up his defense like a hot knife through butter. That thought really makes me smile.
So, needless to say, it was hard to leave the PS4 behind and head out to Maui to celebrate 15 years of being married to my beautiful bride. Too many incredible moments to chronicle them all, but ones to remember definitely include the lecturing lifeguard, child masseuses, blow hole water parks, and secretly sipping the good stuff from our hydroflasks. Mindy, I always have fun with you and am so blessed to get to share life with you. Here's to the next 15 years and many more awesome vacations.
And then after Maui it was a return to reality. That looked like a 20 hour car ride home. And the next day back to work. But in my heart the vacation never stops. Plus, I learned you can always secretly sip whiskey out of a hydroflask.
Don't make me pull this car over,
Father
PS - Most special thank you to our parents for taking care of our dependents while we were off living the island life. You guys are the best!
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Life in the Fast Lane
I was reading the blog to Cam at bedtime last night and it's amazing how many fun things I have totally forgotten about. It inspired me to sit down today and chronicle some more minutia. It also made me realize that we may need to destroy the blog in short order before the boys are old enough to really process the content. So, let's just say that the blog is in a precarious point in its existence.
So much has happened. Carter is off to school twice a week, where he seems to bring delight and amusement to all. I know I am completely biased on the matter, but Carter may be the cutest living organism in the history of ever. And he fully realizes this. He has a way of turning on his charm that can get him pretty much anything he wants and leave you feeling good that you were able to supply it for him. I know I've written about this dynamic before, but it bears repeating because it only seems to be getting worse. I think the clearest example of his capacity for mind control exists in his relationship with Meals on Wheels. If you're not familiar with this organization, it's a program that supplies lunches for elderly or disabled people. So every Wednesday - Mindy, Mindy's parents, and Carter set out on their Cedar Park route to drop off lunches. Well, Carter has somehow found a way to transform this venture into year-round trick or treating. Every week he comes back with an assortment of candy. He's received stickers, books, DVDs, and snow globes. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the year he had organized a way for everybody to just contribute straight to his college fund. He doesn't ask people for things or carry around the things that people have given him to the next house. He just carries an aura of "I am special and you should bestow upon me gifts." Then he pretends to be ignorant of his powers and asks adorable questions like "why does everybody like to give me things." Carter is sweet and carter is smart. Carter is a major kiss ass. He watches his older brother's attempts at open rebellion and sees them as an opportunity to increase his standing in the familial hierarchy. He waits till the angry sibling has vacated the premises, then he'll cozy up next to you and let you know that he loves you so very much and you are the best parent in the world. It's so pathetically transparent, but it never fails to be effective. It's good to be the youngest. It's good to be Carter.
Cam is also sweet and smart; but they are different. Cam is determined. Cam is strategic. Cam is often serious. Here's a story that embodies Cameron. Shortly before the holidays I volunteered at Cam's school in the Watchdog program. As part of the day, I went to PE with Cam where they were doing the pacer run. The pacer run is a fitness activity where you have to cross the gymnasium in a timed interval. The time interval gets progressively shorter and you keep going until you can't make it across in the time limit. Let's just say that Cam is very serious about the Pacer run. Going into the day he held the individual record for the first graders. While waiting for his turn, a student from another class knocked him off his top spot. And you could just tell by the his facial expressions and nervous energy that this was not going to stand. The most amazing thing to watch about him running was that it was clear from the start that he had a clear game plan and he was going to execute it. While many of the other kids began by sprinting across the gym, he started barely jogging, conserving his energy for the long haul. When the intervals got quicker, he started anticipating the start signal and taking off a little early. By the time it was only him left running, he was basically sprinting across the gym. There was a real rhythm to it and he didn't even slow down or pay attention to the signals anymore; he was in a zone. The best part was he was running in a collared shirt and tie for his Christmas program later that day. And it seemed appropriate, because this boy was putting in work. It was truly inspiring watching him just flat out compete like that. He took back his pacer crown with a few extra laps tacked on. Then he ripped off his button-down shirt and did the Cam Newton Superman celebration. Ok, that last part didn't actually happen. But I like to believe it happened in his heart.
I'll leave you now with a quick story that illustrates the personalities of both boys. While on a road trip to New Mexico over the holidays we were playing the "Would You Rather" game. Mindy posed the question to Cameron that if he were sitting in his quiet classroom at school would he rather accidentally let out a loud burp or a loud fart. Cam laughed at the silliness of the question. He then thought about it for a few moments, carefully weighing which action would cause less embarrassment, before settling on the burp. When Cam had answered, Carter said "ask me" in a tone of voice that managed to both remind me of Don Corleon and make it clear that he was sure everyone was going to enjoy his answer. Then Carter waited for the question to be re-stated, paused poignantly to allow anticipation to grow, and said "both." And there you go... no shame in his game.
Now go to bed boys!
Father
So much has happened. Carter is off to school twice a week, where he seems to bring delight and amusement to all. I know I am completely biased on the matter, but Carter may be the cutest living organism in the history of ever. And he fully realizes this. He has a way of turning on his charm that can get him pretty much anything he wants and leave you feeling good that you were able to supply it for him. I know I've written about this dynamic before, but it bears repeating because it only seems to be getting worse. I think the clearest example of his capacity for mind control exists in his relationship with Meals on Wheels. If you're not familiar with this organization, it's a program that supplies lunches for elderly or disabled people. So every Wednesday - Mindy, Mindy's parents, and Carter set out on their Cedar Park route to drop off lunches. Well, Carter has somehow found a way to transform this venture into year-round trick or treating. Every week he comes back with an assortment of candy. He's received stickers, books, DVDs, and snow globes. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the year he had organized a way for everybody to just contribute straight to his college fund. He doesn't ask people for things or carry around the things that people have given him to the next house. He just carries an aura of "I am special and you should bestow upon me gifts." Then he pretends to be ignorant of his powers and asks adorable questions like "why does everybody like to give me things." Carter is sweet and carter is smart. Carter is a major kiss ass. He watches his older brother's attempts at open rebellion and sees them as an opportunity to increase his standing in the familial hierarchy. He waits till the angry sibling has vacated the premises, then he'll cozy up next to you and let you know that he loves you so very much and you are the best parent in the world. It's so pathetically transparent, but it never fails to be effective. It's good to be the youngest. It's good to be Carter.
Cam is also sweet and smart; but they are different. Cam is determined. Cam is strategic. Cam is often serious. Here's a story that embodies Cameron. Shortly before the holidays I volunteered at Cam's school in the Watchdog program. As part of the day, I went to PE with Cam where they were doing the pacer run. The pacer run is a fitness activity where you have to cross the gymnasium in a timed interval. The time interval gets progressively shorter and you keep going until you can't make it across in the time limit. Let's just say that Cam is very serious about the Pacer run. Going into the day he held the individual record for the first graders. While waiting for his turn, a student from another class knocked him off his top spot. And you could just tell by the his facial expressions and nervous energy that this was not going to stand. The most amazing thing to watch about him running was that it was clear from the start that he had a clear game plan and he was going to execute it. While many of the other kids began by sprinting across the gym, he started barely jogging, conserving his energy for the long haul. When the intervals got quicker, he started anticipating the start signal and taking off a little early. By the time it was only him left running, he was basically sprinting across the gym. There was a real rhythm to it and he didn't even slow down or pay attention to the signals anymore; he was in a zone. The best part was he was running in a collared shirt and tie for his Christmas program later that day. And it seemed appropriate, because this boy was putting in work. It was truly inspiring watching him just flat out compete like that. He took back his pacer crown with a few extra laps tacked on. Then he ripped off his button-down shirt and did the Cam Newton Superman celebration. Ok, that last part didn't actually happen. But I like to believe it happened in his heart.
I'll leave you now with a quick story that illustrates the personalities of both boys. While on a road trip to New Mexico over the holidays we were playing the "Would You Rather" game. Mindy posed the question to Cameron that if he were sitting in his quiet classroom at school would he rather accidentally let out a loud burp or a loud fart. Cam laughed at the silliness of the question. He then thought about it for a few moments, carefully weighing which action would cause less embarrassment, before settling on the burp. When Cam had answered, Carter said "ask me" in a tone of voice that managed to both remind me of Don Corleon and make it clear that he was sure everyone was going to enjoy his answer. Then Carter waited for the question to be re-stated, paused poignantly to allow anticipation to grow, and said "both." And there you go... no shame in his game.
Now go to bed boys!
Father
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