Doggie Day Care: The Nightmare Continues

Marital counselors often concede that couples need to find things in common to enjoy together. My mother is living proof of this when, upon asking her the night before my wedding day what she and my father have in common, she replied in all seriousness to me, "Well....we both like RICE." Huh..a bit odd yes, and while that may explain the low divorce rate in Japan, Jennefer and I have always sort of revelled in the fact that in addition to our liking of short grain rice, we both have an utter disdain for dogs (total offence to all you dog lovers who provide better vacations for your mutts than your own children). In fact, there was a mutual pact between us that we would not only not ever get a dog, but that we would continue to make fun of dogs, mildly poke fun of people with dogs, ban all movies starring dogs (Old Yeller the exception), and contribute any tax refunds to local county Dog pounds. Yet, despite our sacred pact, our naturalist learner Gabriel has longed for a dog for nearly 2 years, rarely letting a day go by without mentioning how it is 'his dream'. SO, we bit the bullet...or at least Jennefer did on a spontaneous Craigslist purchase right before Christmas. 'Woffie' was his name (see picture on the right). He was indeed cute, for a dog...which is like being the tallest midget in a land of Oompa Loompas. However, the seller sold us one sick dog. Worms, partial broken limbs, parasites, lice, toxic something disease, etc. 18 painful days later he was donated to the county despite major protests from all 5 kids. Four months later we didn't learn our lesson and went with another Shitzu-Maltese breed. This one, like the last, goes diarrhea a little less--only 8-10 times a day vs. 16--and whines every morning at 5am. We have now completed a full month with 'Muffy', but the outlook isn't getting any better (at least from the kids perspective), especially now that we have two red foxes who stalk Muffy when she is outside and I'm getting less motivated to intervene with Darwinism (hey, only the strong survive).... Despite Gabe's increases in his grades which he fully gives 100% credit to Muffy (sorry Jenn, I know that hurts), I have to admit, proudly, we are simply dog owner retards. Some of us were born to sing, to dance, to play an instrument, to take care of animals, and some of us even to watch English Premier League Soccer. Unfortunately for Gabe, we are not animal naturalists and he'll likely have to enjoy his animal time when he moves out. The defining moment for such a decision occurred a couple of weeks ago when Jenn innocently rented the movie "Hachi" from Redbox (based on a true story in Japan from the 1930's). We now had hit a low point in life--a dog movie....playing on my television, in my own room, in the house that I preside in...a dog movie. Had we lost all standards of decency and uprightness? As the movie progressed, I absolutely refused to give in to Richard (Gere) and Hachi's emotional relationship--I would have even preferred to watch Richard in First Knight in Spanish (gasp!)...With about 45 minutes left I got up to go make popcorn and prayed the movie would be close to the end when I returned. When I returned 10 minutes later, well....any sense of normalcy had completely flown the coup--every single kid, including London, and Jennefer, were sobbing uncontrollably. This went on and on...the movie ended and still tears...the next day if anyone even mentioned the word 'Hachi' yep, you guessed it, tears! Over a dog movie! And that's when I knew, that if it was a tragic story about rice fields burning down in Japan then maybe yes, tears are justified (sorry to horrify you mother with such a thought). But a dog movie? C'mon....can't have it. I've drawn the line in the sand....

Latest Failures: Another Pinewood Derby Disaster

Because in life you rarely get a chance to demonstrate utter failure on a repeated basis, the Pinewood Derby was invented. On the bright side, I'm halfway through this lame competition of alleged 'half-man, half-boy project'.... 3 down and 3 to go. After finishing either dead last or near last place both years London competed (granted, the first year all I did was slap on the wheels to the existing naked block of wood on the way to the race), I thought this go around might be different with the Gabester. However, despite taking some tutoring from wonder boy Josh Lyon (whose family has won all 5 Pinewood Derby's they have participated) and dreaming of racing glory (er, at least touching that first place trophy for a couple of minutes and getting said moment captured with a picture and posted on this blog for all 5 readers to witness my everlasting achievement) with our iCar, I totally blew our chances when I cracked the axel slot when putting in the last wheel a full 38 minutes before race start. When you finish one of these bad boys and only 2 of the 4 wheels are touching as it 'rickshaws' its way forward, it's not a good omen. Another bad omen is when your kids car finishes a full 3 seconds behind the car in the next lane during the first race....needless to say, Gabericious was devastated and spent the rest of the evening quietly watching the races from the far corner of the gym doing his 'go to' introverted move--head pointed down, quietly picking his lip.... While I was still clinging still to the notion that we still might win on Design, this category was apparently scrapped this year in favor of 'everyone getting a certificate of accomplishment' (I'm sure it was just coincidence that this year's Pack is being run by 3 first time Pinewood Derby moms). Another lame finish to a dubiuosly lame cultural invention.

Boston Marathon 2010

As many of you know, Spencer and I have dreamed of running Boston together now for several years and last October we both were able to qualify for Boston at the St. George marathon (it was something like 12 years and 14 marathons in the making for Spencer)! So, after a tough and arduous winter of snows, winds, and dark mornings, we put together 16 weeks of training and finally made it! There is no other marathon like Boston, as 500,000+ very vocal and active supporters get out there and line the entire 26.2 miles of the race and scream and cheer you and the other 26,000 runners on all the way into downtown Boston--it's an amazing rush! In fact, I can't think of any other sporting event where the very best professionals in the world and any average person (amateur) can even line up at the same time on the same playing field and go at it! Having run in it last year, I figured this year I would put aside my personal ambitions of running a really fast race and just run a respectable race (3:30 goal) and really try to enjoy it more this year. However, I got sick 3 days before the race (after no sicknesses the last 3 years!) and wasn't sure, even the night before the race, if I would even be able to run at all. Eliminating all carbs from my diet for two full days and then taking a red eye flight the next night didn't help the immune system either....However, after 3 days of rain, it turned out to be a perfectly sunny Spring race day morning and I felt wonderfully better! Spence stayed really strong throughout, as usual, and while my lungs were fine, my legs and strength weren't quite there, making for a long final 12 miles, especially those 4 hills in Newton including the final one--Heartbreak Hill. Still, I felt reasonably good despite all the ups and downs of the course and felt even better when we met up with Jenn and Sarah at Mile 24! The final 3 miles of the race I felt simply carried through it by the insane supporters who screamed our names at deafening decibel levels and caused us to pump our fists and feel chills of inspiration as we slogged it out. As I rounded the final turn just before the final .2 miles of straightaway and looked up and saw the thousands of people cheering on Boylston Street, I realized that this was probably my last full marathon and I became overwhelmed with emotion. Spence and I finished it together (in 3:31) and the day has to go down as one of the great memories I've been afforded in this life. Really, really special. Special appreciation goes out to Jenn during these last 3 years who has supported this insanity (as marathons really do become highy involved family ordeals), my little brother for teaching me that talent & hard work usually win out over just hard work :), and to our ABQ training partner/fellow Boston Marathon finisher/ Kona IronMan triathlete Matt Napier, who we will always idolize and respect for his discipline and extraordinary feats of courage, endurance, and commitment to his family. I appreciate all those who texted, emailed, or called me to wish me the best of luck as well--Thank you..... Finally, a shout out to Jake the Big Dawg for Krunkly watching over our ballin' monkeys...

...and now it's 2 days post marathon and I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do next...and I'm really, really sore.

Spring Break in Utah, March 2009

In our efforts to log as many trips as possible to the Beehive State over the next few months, we thought we'd start it off with a Sundance/March Madness getaway for Spring Break. After surviving each other in rather unspectacular fashion on the drive out there, we were excited to see Julie and the human Gerbil Burger and their lovely fiances Seth and Amy. Both couples will be married in May, along with my brother Ken in early May, as (virgin) Love was quite palpable and, not surprisingly, quite difficult to ignore for much of our time...In moving on to more experienced lover(s), we were able to get together with Jenny and Graydon and their adorable son Anders on a couple of different occasions as well, as the younger kids really enjoyed hanging out with Anders. Emma and I flew out to ABQ for a day and half for work and to get her braces removed, of which we all celebrated as she took 7 trips in total to ABQ to get her teeth adjusted over the past year! Upon our return, London and Emma hit the Sundance slopes and London didn't shy away from a couple of advanced black runs despite logging a total of 3 previous ski trips in his entire life. We all skied over the next 3 days and the biggest surprise was Hayden--who after a morning introductory lesson, was skiing all by himself on his first day and was able to stop, turn, and go everywhere Gabe and Mom went! Admittedly, I did sneak away on Thursday and Saturday nights to SLC where Spencer, Ken, and I enjoyed some of the best college basketball games ever seen by the tournament. All 3 games came down to the wire and in the end, the Butler Bulldogs beat the power teams to advance to the Final Four! Dad also enjoyed a 21 mile run down the Provo River Trail on Monday and Jenn enjoyed her 'no hold barred' approach to skiing with London for an afternoon as they let loose their wildness (previously seen 3 weeks earlier on a festive Snowmobiling Trip to Yellowstone with Gary and Becky that, by the slightest of margins, did not end in death on several occasions). It was such an incredibly fun Spring Break that I broke all Asian traditions and likely landed a place for both me and all my ancestors in some Shrine of Eternal Burnings by failing to take a total of one picture the whole week (posted above).

Gabe's Baptism

For Gabe's big day we had a really fun and memorable weekend with family and friends. We had both sets of grandparents grace our home, the ALBQ dwellers of Spencer, Jake, Christian & Rebecca and family, and the surprise of all surprises=the Nelsons from Chicago (who spontaneously drove all night for 16 hours, entertained us all for the next 16 hours, and then drove home the next 16)!
It was a really memorable weekend to have everyone here and to honor Gabe, who was glowing with all the attention. The baptism was on Saturday, February 27th at 4pm and he was confirmed shortly thereafter. Afterwards, Jenn put together an enjoyable dinner. We thank all those who made such an effort to be here and support our family this special day. I know Gabe will always remember it! Sunday, Gary and Becky took London and Jennefer to Yellowstone to meet up with Julie and Beau for a fun snowmobiling adventure for 3 days....more on that in a future blog!

February Birthday Boys

This past weekend we had a chance to celebrate both Hayden (#5) and Gabe’s(#8) Birthdays! When we asked them a couple of weeks ago what they wanted to do, both turned down a chance for a big party with friends and instead said they wanted to go stay in a Hotel and go swimming! Jenn and I both quickly agreed that would be easy (and my desire to reach Gold status with Marriott Rewards had nothing to do with the decision). So, we spent Friday night going to their favorite restaurant Saltgrass where we were able to view lots of dead animal carcasses while downing our own versions of carnivorous platters. Afterwards we went to the Denver Marriott South and even though Gabe was worried upon our arrival that it would be crowded due to other cars in the parking lot, he was greatly relieved to have the swimming and hot tub completely empty.
We were all treated, literally, after 2 hours of swimming with enough sugar to make Uncle Spencer (the dentist) deeply disappointed, and unfortunately did not realize until it was too late that said sugar would keep Mr. Sugar himself (Hayden) up a good 2 hours past his bedtime. While the rest of us watched Spiderman on the hotel TV, Hayden actually was Spiderman jumping from chair to bed, to other pieces of furniture…etc.
The next morning we went swimming again for two hours from 6am-8am while Jenn slept in. Scary Blackberry experience occurred with Dad: I was intensely catching up on my emails as the boys swam and kept yelling at me to get in...apparently not thinking about anything other than the emails, I promptly disrobed my swimsuit (unknowingly) and got in the hot tub with the boys, buck naked. After laying my blackberry to the side of the hot tub, Gabe turned to me with his eyes as big as I've ever seen them and said, "Dad, why don't you have your swimsuit on!" I looked down and was completely mortified to find that I had absolutely nothing on and had strolled over from the lounging chair to the pool without any clothing. I looked up to see the 3 men on treadmills facing me and the pool through the glass wall and was praying they hadn't looked up from their treadmills. Gabe quickly jumped out and ran and grabbed my trunks for me, but definitely one of those unforgettable moments that proves the theory that with each child, you lose 25% of your remaining brain cells.
Later that morning at breakfast, Gabe ate 14 different items at the breakfast buffet that morning, Hayden just seven. Afterwards, we went home and enjoyed a more traditional party with the rest of the kids that included opening presents and enjoying a Rainbow Trout Birthday cake.

Recap: The Holiday Season

January 03,2010

This past Holiday Season was really wonderful. After a fun company party in Albuquerque with Jenn and all our employees at the Isleta Casino, we looked around at some real estate in the area just in case a move this summer is in the cards. I would put the chances of that happening somewhere around 10% due to the lost value in our Colorado home and the desire to raise our family in Denver over ABQ at the moment. Upon returning home, we had several quiet days to relax, prepare for Christmas, decorate the house, and enjoy time together. After relatively little snow in Parker for nearly a month, we were treated Christmas Eve day to 8 inches of snow and woke up on Christmas day to a beautiful morning. The kids were their usual over-excited selves, and we were our usual over indulging parents as we yet again vowed to make next Christmas season scaled down on the present front. It was a great day and one that I really tried to appreciate as the reality of our kids getting older has hit me of late. That night was a nice steak candelight dinner with our family, a quiet but celebratory-like night of just enjoying each other and in the Spirit of the Day.

The next day Miko and Dave surprised us by driving the entire way from California, all 16 hours, in one Day! They arrived Saturday night, and our kids were as excited about their arrival as any of the presents from Christmas Day. It was their first visit to our home here in Colorado and I was really excited they made the sacrifice to come all the way here. Sunday was spent at church and then a quick trip over to Castle Rock to enjoy a stroll down memory lane, as Miko and I reminisced our 7 years of growing up there. Monday morning Dave and I enjoyed a fun 7 miler down Democrat and back while the ladies hit the gym. The kids spent most of the day outside sledding and playing in the snow. Monday night Mom, dad, Ken, and his soon to be fiancé Ashley arrived. Tuesday we all headed to the gym for basketball, football, and racketball with Dad. That night Spencer and Sarah arrived from ABQ and SLC, respectively. Wednesday morning we all arose and went and did 280 baptisms for the dead and confirmations at the Denver Temple with all of the adults and the oldest boys. It was really neat to do that , and dad was able to get 4-6 family names that we were able to perform initiatories for as well. We went to Indochine Thai restaurant afterwards for a light lunch. That night Spencer and I took everyone to Flemings, an upscale steakhouse that we had purchased a $500 gift certificate for using our AMEX points. It was a fun and gluttonous evening and I really enjoyed the fact that everyone just ordered whatever and however much they wanted. It was fun to treat. Thursday was New Years Eve Day, and after a morning of getting a sectional sofa from down the road and exercising on a run down Democrat road with Miko, Dave, and Jenn, we all went to see Avatar, while Jenn took the little kids to 2 other movies. That night we all stayed up and rang in the New Year with a formal ham and potatoes dinner that Jenn cooked up. It was fabulous! New Years Day we headed to the church for a full fledged 5-on-5 basketball game with everyone. Other than a few flared tempers, it was a lot of fun to get everyone out on the floor together and it was pretty competitive. We headed back to the house to enjoy the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl games as the ladies went out for a little shopping spree. That night we all played games and enjoyed another fine asian meal cooked up by mom after she had been at it for more than 4 hours! Everyone, except Spencer and Sarah, left Saturday morning. The kids have all been bummed since, a major letdown for sure. Spencer and Sarah went down to the Springs to enjoy their 2^nd anniversary at the Broadmoor Hotel. In fact, we’ve all been in a little bit of a funk since everyone has left, as reality and the real world start up again tomorrow.

It was a great Holiday Season, and a great Year.