All is well

The boys are sleeping soundly in their new rooms. Cindy is asleep on the couch. I am about to rouse her to join me in bed upstairs. I forgot how much moving into a house takes out of you. Especially when it has stairs. Ahh, I curse you stairs...but you're still cool.

We are about halfway done, and I am ready to quit. Visions of selling what's left at the old house for pennies on the dollar are running through my head. I mean, I like that stuff, but...I really don't need it that bad do I? We have our beds, the couches, the TV, the tables, ohh..wait, we need clothes I guess. And somewhere to put them. Hmmm. Dang.

Oh, and a word to wise. Do you have dog's? Cats? Furry shedding creatures of some sort? We don't, but the previous owner did. We thought it wise to buy a Dyson-animal vacuum. Best money I ever spent. Turns out she left us the gift of over 20 canisters of dog fur and dander in the carpets. Now, she only lived here 2 years, and the carpet is only 2 years old. And, she had one medium-sized dog. The house was otherwise clean to the naked eye. Doing the math yet? Beg, borrow, or buy a Dyson. We had the carpets steam cleaned for the sake of our little allergic dudes, but Mr. Dyson has himself a wonderful product to be enjoyed by all.

Home Sweet Home...Finally

That's My Family walking in to Our House for the very first time. Today was a very good day.

It hasn't fully sunk in yet that we finally have our own house. That may take a while. The boys can bang stuff up and make it their own. They have what every little boy wants in a house; stairs. I think they must have run up and down a hundred times in two hours tonight. That's fine though. Those stairs belong to them now. Heck, the whole house is their domain anyway...who am I kidding?

I can't say how pleased as a man, as a husband, it makes me to be able to provide this for my family. I've never been in a position to do it before and it has always made me feel a little less than adequate. My wife has a home she can call her own. She can paint, decorate, go silly with fixtures, window treatments, whatever...it's hers. She has waited long enough and put up with more than her share. She deserves it.

My heart is full and my mind is at ease. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Cuddlin Up!

When the boys aren't plotting on eachother they're just the best of friends. Mornings are a good time to catch them in a state of brotherly love. I snapped the shot a few days ago when they first got up. The dudes wanted to cuddle up and watch a little Playhouse Disney before breakfast. That's quality stuff right there. It almost makes me forget about thirty minutes later when Jake was chasing Brady around the house, growling at him. Ahhh...selective memory.

Happy Birthday Jake!

I can't believe you're 4 dude. No way. Well, from the size of you, I would guess 6 or 7 but...anyway.

This year you wanted a Superman birthday and that's just what you got. Your Mom and I stayed up late the night before making your cake. Well, I actually just cut it out and told her where to put the frosting so she is mostly responsible. When you boys are older I am going to miss making these cakes for you. It's more fun for the both of us than you guys can imagine.

Your party was a blast. Your cousins came over and played in the big-bouncy-house thing. We ate a ton of pizza and wings. You got a ton of cool presents and even two Napoleon Dynamite birtday cards. Cracked you right up. You blew out the candle on your cake. Well, Brady blew it out the first time, so we had to re-light it so you could do it. He's a sneaky fella. Then you ate a HUGE piece of cake, cut right from the center...as you requested.

This was such a cool birthday my man. I hope you remember what a great time you had. I always will.

Welcome home G

He's back. He's in one piece...for the most part. I assume by now he's eaten a good meal, taken a long shower, enjoyed a fine American beverage, and slept in a clean soft American bed. He certainly earned it. Welcome home bro.

9-11-01

Five years ago I was in bed asleep. Your mom was getting ready for work. She turned on the television, not a normal part of her morning ritual. What she saw was anything but normal. Chaos was unfolding on live TV. A horrible, terrible, historic moment in our Nation's history, and I was sleeping. She came in and told me to wake up, that I had to see this. That's all she said. I sat up, turned on the TV in our bedroom and watched. She left to go to work and we didn't even say goodbye.

When the TV came on I just saw flames in a tall building. I wish I could've closed my eyes. Maybe a minute after I started watching, I called my friend Mark and told him to turn on his TV. We both watched as a plane flew into another building. We maybe said 5 or more words in the next hour. We couldn't stop watching and we couldn't hang up the phone. Our Country, our beautiful Country, was being attacked and there was nothing we could do, but watch.

In a few minutes, we would learn about two other planes and two other attacks. Still, no words could express our emotions. We didn't need to speak. Everyone knew what was happening, but we didn't want to admit it. Like maybe we were all just watching a movie that would end eventually. It just never ended.

On that day, heroes were made and lost by the thousands. Firefighters, policeman, soldiers, ordinary citizens. All heroes. I felt shame that I couldn't help. I drove down to the blood bank and was turned away...too many donors. When your mom got home, we just watched. I don't remember talking. I remember crying. I remember being angry. I wanted it all to just go away. I wanted vengeance.

Tonight, I am sitting footsteps away, from thousands of soldiers who stood up and volunteered to bring vengeance to the doorsteps of those who perpetrated these acts. Men and women, who have gone into the face of certain danger time and time again. Your Uncle G is one of those soldiers. He is on his way back home from Iraq. He has spent over two years of his life there.

In those two years I have celebrated your birthdays. Taken you to movies. Told you bedtime stories. Kissed you goodnight and told you I loved you. Everyday. It is my privilege. A privilege paid for by better men than me, who have given their tomorrow for my today. There are Fathers who will never get to see their children. Never know the joys of parenthood I know. I am eternally grateful.

Monsoon Sunset

No camera tricks, just good ol Ma Nature doing her thing. The boys just bust out laughing when they saw this. Not that it was so funny...but I think it just shocked them to see the sky so colorful. We see pretty sunsets like this all the time here. However, I need to take more time to see it reflected in Jake and Brady's eyes. Beautiful.

Steve Irwin

I first saw this guy probably back in 1996 or so. I was watching TV with my buddy and we flipped on to see this nutty Australian dude, playing with snakes and crocodiles. I was hooked. We would sit and watch him all night. The guy just loved animals.

Sadly, he passed away today and the world will miss him. He was a family man, and I feel terrible for his wife and kids. What a loss. Thankfully though, my boys will have his show to watch and be entertained and educated by for years to come. Say a prayer for him and his family.

Batman

Brady will wear his Batman mask for hours at a time if you let him. He loves it. He turns into a different little dude when he puts it on. A short, fast, masked avenger...that's our B.

"44"

I was given this book a while back by my buddy, GW's, Mom. She said it reminded her of me and my boys. I didn't know at that time what a huge compliment that was. After reading it, her words really touched me and I am forever grateful that she presented this book to me. I liked it so much, I wanted my Daddy to read it, and he did. He liked it as much as I did, maybe more. Quite possibly more, because as fate would have it, we are now in the process of getting this book turned into a movie.

Uhh..What?!?

Yeah, I said a movie. It's something I never thought I would be doing in my wildest dreams. I like movies. Watched my fair share. I've even had a desire to write a screenplay for a long time. But NEVER did I think I'd be sitting here talking about actually making a movie. Life has taken another turn for the surreal. But a really, really good turn...don't get me wrong.

Right now, I can't say too much about it because we're just getting started so...really there's not much to say. I'm talking to a few screenwriters, and a few other people who actually know how to get a movie made. Which helps. If that's what you're in to. Making movies and all. Which apparently I am.

If you want to read the book, by all means pick yourself up a copy at amazon. Or you can go here for more background and ordering information. Or...I might let you borrow it. The point is, read it. It'll do your heart good.

Funny

This video cracks the dudes up to no end. Yeah, it cracks me up too. Grown-ups are funny.

Give it up dude

On a typical day, the dudes will fight over a toy 2 or 3 times. Which often brings tears, anger, and frustrated screaming from them. We do a lot of time/toy management. That has shown to be the most effective way of dealing with these volatile situations. There is almost never a clearly defined "had it first" person. So, whomever has it at the present time, keeps it for 2 minutes and then has to give it up, nicely.

Now, "most effective" only works when we pay attention to them. Sadly once in a while we just don't give the precious little snowflakes 100% of our eyes and ears. Amazingly, there are more pressing matters to attend to than supervising a session of wholesale lunacy. When that happens, we often get what we had tonight;

The boys were playing picnic on the kitchen floor. Had the whole thing set up. Dishes out, food going, condiments...condimenting. Dessert. The works. After about 15 minutes, the food must've run out because they got fully bent at each other. Jake apparently had the pepper, Brady wanted it. Jake wasn't giving it up, so Brady snatched it. Jake swiped it back. Brady screamed, said, "SMACK", then hit Jake in the head and took off running for his room. Jake ran after him screaming that Brady was a bad boy and was trying to hit him back when we intervened. Oh, brother.

So.....yeah, they had to be separated for a while. Ten minutes of alone time in their rooms bought us the rest of the night with no fighting. What a wonder ten feet and two closed doors can do for a relationship.

Awesome

Way to go O.

Mr. Mockery and The Aquaholic

Jake's newest trick is mockery. Well, it's not that new I guess...but it's becoming a problem very quickly. I don't think he intentionally does it most of the time, but he does it nonetheless. Sometimes (read; always) he gets a laugh from Brady so he keeps going. Which is only slightly annoying unless we are in public.

Most of the time he'll just repeat what we say to him right back to us. Bad but not embarrassing. If we are out and he hears someone, especially a teenager say something weird or slightly funny, he immediately turns to Brady, busts up laughing and repeats what they said, or says,"The Guy!"

He's a character that one.

Oh and Brady is officially addicted to water. He cannot be trusted to contain himself around even the smallest amount of the stuff. Puddle on the ground? Both feet. Both hands. Parents not looking for one second? Sneak to the bathroom and pour water on his head. And on the counter, sink, toilet, floor, brother.

Maybe he will be an Olympic swimmer one day. Or, maybe he'll be a Crystal water dude. Who knows? He may even discover a cure for prune hands. One can only hope.

He's a soggy character, that one.

Awwww...

The Dudes. Eat it up.

Phew...

My brain is mushy. This past month has been so nutty I haven't had time to stop and take it all in. I wish I had a pause button I could hit. I'd hit it. Then I'd stop and reflect on each moment that has flown by.

I feel like I need to be taking more notice of everything. Especially the small things. I want to document every little moment I share with the boys. That's entirely ludicrous, but I still want to. I have a fear that I won't remember something that turns out to be important to one of them. I'm retarded like that.

I play the "what if" game way too much. My mind is prone to thoughts of extreme situations and circumstances. Tonight, I read where next year it will cost over 30K to send a kid to Harvard for one year. Sweet fancy Moses. Now, I don't expect the dudes to go to Harvard but again...What if? At this point, all things are possible, and that scares the living hell out of me. I thought I had things all laid out. That's what I get for making assumptions.

Boy's, it is my greatest wish that life be a little more simple for you when you grow up. I'm not saying I want everything laid out for you. Far from it. However, I would like it if you just had to concentrate on a few basic things;

1. Providing for your family.
2. Educating yourself to the world around you.
3. Helping people.
4. Having as much fun as possible.

That's it. That's all you gotta do. Heck that's all I have to do. I just manage to complicate things until they seem impossible. Don't do that. Take the road less traveled and enjoy the scenery. Don't get caught up in your pride because that is the most foolish thing you can do. Trust me, I've been there and got the t-shirt to prove it.

Most of all though boys, heed this advice; don't do everything I tell you to do and don't take all my advice. I expect you to make mistakes. Huge mistakes. Mistakes you don't want to tell me about. That's the only way you're ever really going to learn, and I'm cool with that. Well, not all the way but I can deal with it.

Oh, and never try and put together rational thoughts when you are sleep deprived. That's a big one.

The wise man

11:40PM - Lunch with Mommy in her classroom

11:55PM - March on down to pre-school with Daddy

12:00PM - Kiss Daddy. Say, " See you later". Freedom at last. My own man. No Daddy. No Mommy. No Brady. Woo HOO!

2:30PM - Daddy, Mommy, and Brady come to pick me up. Kisses, hugs, smiles.

3:00PM - Rack out for some much needed sleep. All this knowledge makes me tired.

That's at least how I think his head works. He's a stud. No tears. No whining. He loves it.

Brady and I caught up on some drawing and tickle time. This turned out to be a very, very good day after all.

Dadgummit

That wasn't so bad. Not at all. I kept moving. Tried to look busy. All in a vain attempt to keep my mind from understanding what it was seeing. Jake was fine. Of course he was. He always is.

I am not fine. Today was only a preview, an hour of meet and greet. Tomorrow he's there for two and a half hours. Without me. With some cool ladies and kids no doubt, but without me.

It's not the first time we've left him somewhere. That's not it. I guess parents can understand my insanity here. If not, I would imagine I truly have lost my marbles. I don't want to hold him back but I don't want to let him go just yet either. Such is responsibility. Responsibility is such crap.

Ugh...

Jake won't take a nap today. Probably because he's excited for his first day of preschool tomorrow. I can't take a nap today because I am dreading his first day of preschool. He's excited, even if he doesn't fully get it. But he will, we both will and I think I might fall right the hell apart when we do.

He is not this old yet right? He used to take naps on my belly. I could fly him in the air without a back brace. He'd used to jump on my belly and it would tickle. Now he breaks ribs. He used to roll everywhere before he could walk. Now, he flies and makes swooshing sounds.

Time is getting away from me at an alarming rate. Jake, if I happen to lose my composure tomorrow and run away screaming, crying, and cursing the universe...tough. It's hard watching you grow up. I love you and it's these little milestones that don't seem so little anymore. They are big giant mountains and I have neither the equipment or the training to be attempting such climbs.

Good luck little man. Good luck to us both.

The end is nigh...

The end of summer that is. Today the realization hit me that I haven't updated in quite some time. This summer has been our best on record and I have been busy enjoying it. All of it. So let me give you the hightlights of Summer '06.

Disneyland. It was all we thought it would be times a million.
-Awesomely-short flight over. Jake and Brady ate it up.
-Supercalifragilsticexpialidocious hotel. Location, location, location.
-The dudes had bunk beds. Fun for all. Nerve-racking dangerous fun.
-Way too much food. Somehow though we kept right on eating.
-Way too many things to do. Our legs were sore for a week.
-Rode the cool stuff mutliple times. P.S. the Buzz Light year ride... superb
-Breakfast/Dinner with the characters. Worth the outrageous price. Almost.
-Pictures pictures pictures. Memories fade. Digital pictures don't. Or do they? Hmm.

We haven't gone on anymore trips but in a few months that will change. Besides that, we have mostly been chillin to the max Jack. Eating out. Going to the mall. Watching movies. Swimming in the trusty inflato-pool. The usual stuff.

I don't want this to end but in 24 hours or so...it's done. Well, at least we made the most of it. Next year...Super Bowl or no, I'm going back to Disneyland.

So now a few pictures from our Summer of Summer's. Enjoy.