Starting to Get Cold...Texas-Style

So I went outside today and my first thought was...dang its cold. There was a slight breeze, and it was a little rainy, so I totally went in and got me a sweatshirt. The funny part is that it was 62° outside. I remember the days when I used to think that 62° was perfect weather to swim in...needless to say I don't think that any more.

In fact, I remember once, when living in New Hampshire, going outside in the sunshine and 10° temperatures and thinking: this is kinda nice (mind you, this was after a long period of -10° and even worse wind chill).

So in response to my new found revelation of wimpyness, I decided barbecue today because that will prove that I'm a man. Austin was there along with me. We were outside sweatshirts and flip-flops, and every time we opened the grill we used it like a campfire...in the 60° temperatures.

Don't know what I'll do if I ever live in a place with Winter again. Luckily for me, there's only one day in the next 10 day forecast where I'll feel a cold 68° temperature.

A Time and Season for Everything

I almost forgot that I had this blog. It wasn't until I saw it in my bookmarks that I remembered. Maybe my blogging career is just a phase. I go through lots of those.

For example: four or five months back

I all of the sudden wanted to be good at poker. So I read a lot of books, and played a lot online (almost every day). I am now really good. I understand position poker, can calculate pot odds quickly, and can consistently go really far in my neighborhood games. In fact, I haven't missed a final table since. I still like the game, but I

haven't really played in a couple of months...no desire.

There was one point where I wanted a motorcylce (which I still do, but I'm not obsessed with it). I would research different kinds, look on craigslist every day, etc. That went on for a few months...but reality must have set in that I have many more things to spend money on, and I don't necessarily want to fight that fight with Heidi.

I have more examples, but I hesitate to let the three people who read this blog know precisely how weird I really am. For those three: Do you have strange phases/obsessions?

Should this blog go by way of my other phases...?

Mini Road Trip (day 2)

-Getting my kicks on rt 66.

-Went to 'Pops'...it could be described as being similar to Flo's (from Cars). The food was good, but the reason you go there is because they have every kind of soda (in glass bottles) known to man. The whole front of the store was 20 ft walls of bottles...it looked cool. We spent $40 on 12 different kinds of soda...and didn't get a single Diet Coke.

-I tried to see if I can upload pics, but blogger won't let me.

-Now we're driving in the rain...and wishing we had Diet Coke.

***Update

-Davis OK is home of the 1995 state football champions...awesome.

-One more racoon and some mystery roadkill added to the list.

-I think Christie's toy store might be like a regular toy store...but Heidi wouldn't go find out.

-Scenic outlooks in OK aren't very scenic.

-German bakeries (inside truck stops) on the TX/OK border aren't very german.

-Fatties BBQ is home of the El Farto Grande.

-Home in 25 minutes and it feels good. Great weekend all around.

Liveblogging my road trip

Coming at ya from Bridgette on my roadtrip. We decided to go somewhere for the weekend and Oklahoma City was the closest place.

-We're taking the long route (because its close). So far we've had a good variety of road kill, e.g. Armadillo, raccoon, etc. And one rooster is dangerously close.

-We were excited to see the home of the national clogging champions, "the Durrant Stompers."

-Lake Texoma is much bigger than what it seems like on a map...probably because everything is bigger in TX. It's called Texoma because it is on the border of TX and OK, (creative huh, you'll never guess where Texarkana is).

-Two indian reservations down, and not a single slot pulled.

-The dual DVD players in our new car are a welcomed addition.


More to come...

***
-Went to Bricktown which was an intersting little area of OK city. They had some good BBQ and pizza.

-I'm sure this water taxi on the canal system in Bricktown would be fun...but its 104 degrees.

-Stopped at the hotel and waited for it to cool of and then we went to the OK city bombing memorial. You don't quite realize what happened here without seeing this place. The memorial has one large black wall that says 9:01 (one minute before the bombing), then the middle has a reflecting pond and a bronze chair for evey victim (with smaller chairs for the children...and there were a lot). The chairs were laid out symbolic as to where the people were in the building. Then when you pass there is a matching wall that says 9:03. It is really sad, but yet a great rememberance for the people, and it gives some perspective on life.

-Swimming is a pain, how is the pool cold when it's 100+ degrees in the day.

-The kids are in bed now, which is no small chore in a hotel room.

Tomorrow should be fun. Plans have specific reference to rt 66, soda, and cheese fries (with the soda and fries being in different places).

Yes or No?

So, everyone that I know is on facebook. Hence the question: is that a reason to get on facebook...or is it a reason to not get on facebook?

Vacation in Cabo

We all just got back from our vacation last week. It is crazy how you can go somewhere for a week and while you are there you can forget what normal life is like...and then going to the beach every day actually starts to seem normal. But yet, when you come back it takes approximately one day until it seems like the vacation is only a distant memory.

Our vacation started out a bit bumpy (with a cancelled flight and an overnight stay in a DFW-area hotel), but it didn't cost us too much vacation time. Also, it took us about a half-day to acclimate to having the language barrier, weird driving, and other issues that present themselves in a foreign country. Other than that, our vacation was great. The only things that I can think of that would have made it better would require an unlimited money supply--so it was perfect as it could be.

Here's are some highlights:

We went to the beach a lot...

The waves were huge at this beach and they broke right up on the edge...so no swimming at this one. It was kinda nice though because it made it less busy, and nobody was there to try and sell you stuff.

Logan had some hangup with burying Heidi's feet, and I figured out that I don't know how to handle sunsets in photography.

We dug a hole or two because apparently everyone does that at the beach.

We didn't quite make it to China, but the kids got in pretty deep.

And the kids definitely got a vacation from bedtime.

We did some sweet Mexican flea market shopping. Austin got his own chess set, and also lost his first game on his chess set. The set is actually really cool, it has a Mayan calender etched into the surface. I got a bigger version.

I really don't know why we bought this. We are bound to regret it.

We did a lot of swimming.

After a while, Logan got tired and decided to stop at the bar for a margarita.

Heidi usually has a much better eye for taking pictures than me, but she whiffed on this one (so I had to include it--see if you can see why, open it up if you can't).

To be fair, check out her handiwork here...

And here...

Went and saw a reef in the "yellow submarine."

This was our hotel. It turned out to be a really nice resort.

The view from our balcony was often blocked though.

This was at our last breakfast from our hotel before we left for home. Everywhere at this place had a good view of the ocean.

Heidi has more pics on facebook if you happen to be cool enough to be her "friend."

In the end, even though it now seems like all of the above didn't ever happen, I am well rested, better focused on my work, etc. And we didn't get swine flu...although I got an outer ear infection which really does suck--feel more sympathy for your kids when that happens.

Not a bad time at all.

So I lied...

Okay, so I guess it will be longer. There's lots of things I could blog about, but I'm just not that motivated. Maybe when I get back from Cabo.

Not much longer...

I know the cave has been boring for a bit.  I've been busy.  In fact, that is the big pain about having a blog.  If anyone is thinking of starting one, just think about a year down the road when you'll feel pressure to update it all the time.  Than again, if you are like some people I know (that live with me), you wont feel pressure because you wont mind if your blog stays boring and the same for a long long time.

A blog is kinda like having a pet that you really like at first.  But then you realize that you have to clean litter boxes forever...stupid cat.  And then, even though you like the pet and you couldn't really ask for a better one...you don't want to have it anymore (if only I knew people that bought pets, let their children fall in love with them, and then ripped them away--scarring their children for life.   Oh wait, I know tons of people who have done that.  I could use those types of people for my blog and pet issues).  

Anyway, there ya go.  Sorry about the rambling post.  Back to work for me.

The extent that I care about pandemic diseases...

Swine flu better not tank my vacation to Cabo coming up in June.

Capitalism is failing me...

So Heidi and I started potty training Logan today.  Needless to say, potty training totally sucks.  It is amazing that we don't have more 5 year olds in diapers because it is just flat out easier to change a diaper than it is to take your kid to the bathroom every 30 minutes (and cleaning up after accidents that still happen even though you took your kid 5 minutes ago).  Potty training is a pain for many other reasons that I wont go into because I should go to bed...as I am anticipating getting up at least twice tonight to change sheets/jammies/etc.

The point of this post though is that I was thinking today about how I would probably pay up to two-thousand dollars to not have to deal with this.  And I couldn't possibly be alone in that sentiment.  People even pay for these kinds of things for their dogs.  There must be a demand, and there must be some dollar amount people are willing to pay for high-end potty training.  So I ask you, why has capitalism not provided for a solution?  Why is there not a potty training academy that I can sign my kid up for...and expect results in as little as a week?  I am sure that there are quick and efficient methods.  I am also sure that these methods would be impossible to implement by people on the go.  Hence the need for pee-pee school.

It will take some time for me to get over this indiscretion of capitalism.  The invisible hand has cramped up.  Maybe it was distracted, but that is no excuse when profits are on the line.

--P.S.  I thought about the possibility that daycare fulfills this need for some...but it is not nearly focused enough to match my envisioned institutional learning facillity, and its high-end potty curriculum.

Falling in love more each day...with Bridgette

My love affair with Bridgette reached new heights recently as I found that she can also make my commute better.  Thereby leaving really only one thing in life that she can't do for me (no, she probably could get me that...she can't bear children)

It all started on Sunday while I was being an awesome husband, wherein I was doing the dishes and listening to Pandora.  

Side note: If you guys don't know what pandora.com is, I highly reccommend it.  It is a website that will customize an entire radio station for you based on one or more songs or bands that you choose.  So, say you really like the song that is playing in the Cave right now.  You can go to Pandora, type in this song, and it will make an entire station of music that has similar characteristics of the song.

Anyway, I looked at the Pandora window and it had a little "download Pandora for your Blackberry" advertisement.  I was curious as to whether Bridgette could adequately stream music, so I tried it.  I sometimes use Bridgette as an MP3 player at the gym (but now I usually use my Zune) so I was thinking that streaming Pandora would be perfect for times when I didn't have my Zune for some reason...because I always have Bridgette

The next day it happenned.

I was driving home from work (which usually takes me 45 minutes) and my Zune battery died.  I put the Zune away, but received an email at the same time.  Traffic was bad, so I checked the email.  I didn't need any canadian meds, so I put Bridgette down onto my seat...next to my lonely, Zuneless, FM modulator.  At that point I could hear Bridgette saying come on Nate, plug me in...you know you want it.  I can't beleive I never thought of trying to stream music in my car.  I guess it isn't all that straight-forward as cars don's have the internet, but still, I am usually on top of that kind of stuff.

It was awesome, sounded great, had way better songs than any radio stations, and never has commercials.  In short, it makes a long, crappy commute much better.  In fact, after listening for only 10 minutes I couldn't see myself being without Pandora in the car ever again.  

Thanks Bridgette, you're the best!

Fun with Logan...

So Logan is getting into his 3-year old bratty stride a little early.  His only problem is that he still has a cute little todler voice...so whenever he does or says bratty things it ends up being really funny.

For example, I called Heidi on the phone today and I could hear Logan in the background, and he was a little mad.  Apparently, he just got out of timeout and he still was not happy with his present situation.  Anyway, I heard Heidi give him a little 2-name warning (you know, the one where your mom calls you by your first and middle name)...And Logan walked up to her and in his combination sweet/mad voice he said: "mom, wanna piece of me?"  It was hilarious.  It took me five minutes to stop laughing about it (which was okay because he couldn't see me--but I don't think Heid was able to hold it in).  We try not to laugh so it doesn't get the wrong idea of what is funny.

These types of occurences come daily now.  Yesterday when I dropped him off at nursery in church, he started crying (which is a little wierd, but he was tired).  When the girl (someone that Logan really likes) came up to him and said "Hey Logan, wanna play with some toys?"  He gave her the crustiest look and said "I'm never talking to you!"  She laughed too.

So there you go.  Heid and I are on notice of what's to come.  It's nice that it is cute now...because we certainly know that it isn't cute coming from an 8-year-old.

Boo-ya, I'm saved...

Coming at you again from Bridgette (the name I settled on for my blackberry).  I'm sitting in the car outside of Hobby Lobby...which is way better than being inside of Hobby Lobby.

And who gets credit for my current situation?  Austin.

We pulled into the parking lot and he said "mommy, can I just wait in the car and...like, read or something?"

It was beatiful...like watching a receiver for your favorite football team pulling down a hail mary pass with no time left on the clock.

What mom can say no to that?  So I want to give a quick shout out to Austin for a job well done. And for having such good manly crappy-store avoidance instincts at such a young age...I'm proud you.  I defy anyone to find an 8-year old with similarly honed abilities.

Maybe I'll start teaching him to burp the alphabet --the next step to becoming a true master.

Turning 30 in the Cave

Remember the days when you thought 30 was old?  Well, now I'm 30...and I still think it is.

There will always one nice comforting factor though.  I am still at least 10 years younger than the other kid's parents in Austin's school classes.

One side note that makes me feel old and has taken some time to come to terms with:  my second favorite XM station now is "Lithium," which happens to be 90's alternative music.  Urgh, I listen to music from a particular decade...that is totally old man material (even if it is music like stone temple pilots, smashing pumpkins, etc.).

Maybe I should start writing in a bigger font.

Blackberry Blogging

I'm finding myself in a particularly bored state...so I decided to see if I can blog from my blackberry. I don't know if it will work. The font may get messed up, etc.

I am one of those that are addicted to my blackberry. I hate being without it. What other tool could allow me to check the newest motorcycle listings on Craigslist during church, or read Drudge during boring conferences? Even more, I'm now to a point in life that I could not take the thought of not always having google in my hands. (Seriously, how would one ever get information?)

However, there are many disadvantages to my blackberry use. Typos run rampant with this thing. Hopefully there aren't too many here. The worst thing is that this thing gives me the ability to respond, in instant fashion, to something that I should take a step back and think about.

That said, I couldn't live without my Blackberry. And apparently, I can blog with it (although, not necessarily well).

Because I love it so much, I think I need to give it a name. Feel free to suggest to name and let me know whether it should be considered a boy or girl.

What time is it?

So I sat down to make a new post, but Austin came in and said "nooooo, mariokart time."

How can I argue with that?

Yea Mommy it's...Groundhog Day?

There are many Pagan traditions that we observe, or have transformed for use, in western culture...most of which I like.  Let's face it, there is nothing better than dressing up like Jedi, animals, or fairy princesses, while giving our neighbors the supreme ultimatum --Trick or Treat!?  

But you have to admit that Groundhog Day is by far the dumbest thing on our calendar.  Let's examine the logic: 

cloudy day = no shadow = end of winter; 

sunny day = shadow = winter.  

So, if I'm understanding this right, if it is snowing, or will be snowing soon, there will be no shadow and...winter is over?  Alternatively, if it is sunny and 70 degrees, that clearly means...6 more weeks of winter?

What @*#%&$# made this up?  Seriously, at least with the other stupid Pagan traditions, there was some capatilist reasoning behind continuing our activities (e.g. candy hearts and flowers on Valentine's Day).

I have an alternate explaination to today's events in Punxsutawney:  A goundhog was pulled out of a cage and lifted 8 feet in the air with one hand (something that most animals really like...you should try it with my cat)--

Doesn't he look happy?

30,000+ people start screaming and cheering--and Phil goes and hides.  Call me crazy, but I'm thinking he wasn't afraid of his shadow.

If that isn't enough to convince you of the utter retardedness of the day's festivities, we'll look at side by side stats.  Punxsutawney Phil and Spanish Joe (the Canadian version) lead the league in most favorite groundhog status.  They live within 500 miles of each other.  In the past 10 years Phil has gone with 6 more weeks of winter 8/10 times, whereas Joe has gone with early spring 8/10 times.  Sounds to me like the American hog is a lot smarter because he figured out how to get more sleep.  U. S. A. U. S. A.!!

Does everyone agree that this is a tad bit dumb?  If not, I'd love to hear the reaons that you think any Groundhog Day event in this day and age is still noteworthy, newsworthy, or should be given any thought whatsoever.

Am I ranting again?  BTW: Feel free to rant in the cave (without whining of course)...rant = good.

New Year's Resolutions...one week later

So here we are, one week into the new year. I've gone to the gym once since the year started...and it was packed. I imagine that if I go again, it won't be so bad anymore. This aspect of Human behavior makes me laugh. It is amazing how people make "new year's resolutions" and lose track of them after a really short period of time. It is almost gotten to the point that turning a goal into a new year's resolution is the same as relegating that goal to joke status.

In fact, to me it is a joke. Every time someone talks about resolutions to me I instantly think of an experience from back in the day (I must have been around 8 years old or so). One time my mom and dad were setting the lofty goal of trying to curb our sibling infighting (I don't remember exactly what drove them to this...and it wasn't a 'new year' type of goal, but I am still reminded of it anyway). They made the following rule: "Anyone who says the word 'shut up' to their brother or sister has to do the dishes that night after dinner."

I think the rule was enforced once, but it wasn't long until we figured out that if we all told each other to shut up with every other word out of our mouth...the rule could not possibly be enforced. I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was Julie who was bold enough to start it all. I can vividly remember how it happened. We were all sitting around for a nice family dinner and we all started telling each other to shut up over and over again...while laughing hysterically.

It still makes me laugh to think about it. After having kids, one of which is somewhat unpunishable, I can only imagine my parents frustration with this incident. But that thought only makes it seem more funny to me now (sorry mom).  

This year I can gladly say that I will not break any of my new year's resolutions. This may either be because of my awesome willpower, or maybe it will be because I didn't make any...you can judge. One thing you can be sure about is that if you tell me about your "new year's resolutions" I will act interested, and be polite, but in the back of my head I am laughing and imagining telling everyone in the room to shut up.

2008 Year in Review

Looking back over the last year, it seems like nothing happened….i.e. just the same ole thing every day. But after conducting intense discovery efforts and subpoenaing the right documents (from H-bomb), I have reexamined my conclusion. Here is some of the evidence that was uncovered:

Travel:
We started the year in Salt lake with a late Christmas celebration.  

I got my skiing in, and we got to go to the standard places (restauraunts, shopping, etc.) that we always go to in Utah.

In the next couple months I found myself in:

Houston...then

Washington DC.  

These last two shouldn't count as travel per se, because I was getting beat up by my work.  The next ones count though...

DISNEYLAND!!  And then straight to...

San Diego, for some fun in the sun with Heidi's family.

Logan had his first real beach/ocean expirience.

Heidi got some kid-free time with some friends in chicago:

While she was gone, I got to play stay at home mom.  I had an awesome time.  I don't get a ton of time with the kids, so having this time was great.  We went to parks, swimming, a movie, etc.  But in the end, we were all REALLY happy when Mom came home.

  

Then I made my way back to Utah to lecture some kiddies in the colledge of Engineering at the

While in Utah I had this daydream that me and my brother-in-law went to Wendover and I won ~$200 playing craps.  It seemed so real...but I wouldn't do that, right?

To end the year we spent some time with friends in Austin for Thanksgiving, and then with some other friends in Houston just after Christmas.  We didn't take pictures though, because my friends are ugly (we should have just taken some of ours and their kids though).

Family fun:

We had us some good old fashion family fun around home.  We took the kids to a bunch of movies (Wall-E, Clone Wars, Bolt, etc.).  And we found many other ways to take advantage of the finer things in life.

We got 1 snow day in Dallas.

We visited museums.

And made it to the first MLB game for the boys.

Holiday Fun:

We found a 2-second period where the kids weren't bugging each other.

Went tree hunting, and bagged two of them.

Christmas was awesome.  Santa came through.  I was hoping for some coal as it may prove to be valuable in the near future.

Went to an awesome ICE exhibit (hopefully Heid blogs the holiday stuff...it was fun).

Kids—
Austin:

This little rat is getting so big, I can't beleive it.

Turned 7, and had a long period where his smile was a little goofy.

Started 2nd grade.

First year playing baseball, and he did great.

Awesome at soccer.

Had a long run with Karate, but has moved on to...

Gymnastics.

He didn't pick my favorite Halloween costume,

But in the end, he has straight A's and is a great kid.

Logan:

Logan turned 2.  He found his inner whineyness, but has become much more fun.

He has his own fun activities like gymboree, and now gymnastics.

You'll note that the first three pictures here are of Logan the double-bibbed drool monster.

But now, he has mostly kicked that habit.

He wore Austin's old Buzz costume for Halloween.  Austin was a year older than Logan when he wore it...and it was huge on him at the time.  Logan is a big kid, and tons of fun.

Me/Heid--

Heidi and I had a busy year.  We did many things that have been mentioned on this blog (e.g. I took the patent bar, we went on dates, and one man-date).  We settled in our house, extended our patio, and...

A man cave was born (aside from this awesome virtual man cave).  

I am sitting in this cave now watching Utah beat up on Alabama in 120 inches of HD signal.  Feels good.  Heid doesn't like this man cave much, although she spent countless hours painting it...which I really appreciate.

We had a close call...

A tornado came within 100 yards of our home, but we made it through with only a few bent trees.

We did one really nerdy thing:

Yeah, we are conservative whacko's and we went to Glenn Beck.  He was really funny.  We knew it was nerdy, so we took the above self portrait to capture the geekiness.

Also in 2008...29 years old!!!

2008 will be the last year that me and Heid are in our 20's.  We feel old, and feel like we look old...but I'm sure in 2018, we'll look back and feel differently.  I love Heidi more than ever, and it only seems to grow stronger every day.

At the end of 2008 I am greatful that we are all Alive, healthy, one year wiser, and if nothing else…we are a great family, unparalleled in its awesomeness.  

See what I mean?

There's more I could show, but I've proved my point.  I think I'll think twice the next time I say it seems like I am stuck in the rut of my daily grind.

Happy New Year!!!