Hai-Yah!

Today our daughter broke this board with her bare foot and earned her yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.

The bad, the good, the bad, the good and the ugly.

Father's Day Dinner Adventure:

The bad: For diner tonight, we thought we would go to Buffalo Wild Wings and have a simple and affordable dinner. We were seated at a table with several layers of a cola and beer shellac. My menu had the associated stickiness. This was no problem as I could ignore the menu, and when the waitress stopped by, I would ask for the table to be wiped off. At least 2 waiters passed by several times without acknowledging us or responding to our signals. In their defense, I doubt they noticed. After 15 minutes we left...

The good: for Busters. Within 10 minutes we were seated at a clean table and were enjoying the bread and water/drink orders. I ordered the crab cakes with a spinach salad and fresh vegetables, and a Merlot. Patty and Kim split the shrimp. Patty had a salad, Kim had soup; both had veggies. Desert came. Kim had the chocolate mousse, Patty and I each had the creme brulee. It was awesome, but...

The bad: terribly unhealthy. But it was...

The good: damn good. Seriously damn tasty. No foolin'. It came with a strawberry garnish. Fresh fruit is healthy, therefore good. Then the check came.

The ugly: We spent 3X as much as we would have at Buffalo Wild Wings. Not to mention, it will take a whole bottle of Crestor and Niaspan to undo the damage to my arteries.

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY DOWN

Today we had my daughter's 12th birthday party. Among her presents were:
1) A small power sander
2) An air soft gun
3) A Racquetball Racquet

I am reminded of when a young Amy Carter wanted a chainsaw for Christmas.

Road Trip Recap

So after decompressing for a week I finally decided to recap our trip to visit my parents in Boulder. It was kind of nice being in a population center despite the lower air quality, crowds and traffic. This is partly due to having a 11 year old daughter who is very much into Titanic stuff. Given this fact, we took a trip to downtown Denver to tour the Molly Brown Home, which wound up to be interesting. Another day and another trip to Denver so our daughter could experience some of the worst Mexican food available, but in one of the weirdest restaurants on the planet. Yes, Casa Bonita. Waterfalls, cliff divers, slapstick "gun fights"/archaeologist / pirate shows. Black Bart's hideout and free (and actually good) sopapillas. Again, REALLY REALLY BAD food. I thought it might have improved in the past 30 some years, but no. We also took another trip to downtown Denver to see the Egypt/King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. This was way cool, awesome, impressive, neat, keen, amazing, inspiring, and exciting. In uncivilized company, I sum it up in two words that can not be repeated here. Even the kids at the museum were into the artifacts.
My brother came in from Reno and we took a hike up Shadow Canyon while my dad and the women folk toured the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. We also visited nearly every camping/bicycle shop in the area to find a "super visible" bicycle jacket for my bro'.
Overall a great trip even with the drive with an 11 year-old and two dogs. On the trip there we let the dogs determine the breaks and stops so it took over 14 hours. The trip back, the humans ruled - 12 hours 40 minutes. Both ways via Moab.
Did I mention the King Tut exhibit was COOL? Seriously - these artifacts were on display in Denver! Yes, Denver (FINALLY)

Dive Right In

Kim had her birthday party a couple of weeks ago, and I have been too lazy to post anything about it till now. We went bowling and all had a great time. This year she requested a "swimming pool" cake with her diving from a "3 meter" board. No, the board is not to scale.

Miracle on ice part II

In 2003 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
In 2004 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
In 2005 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
In 2006 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
In 2007 I said ,"Well, maybe next year."
In 2008 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
In 2009 I said, "Well, maybe next year."
It is FINALLY next year and THE COYOTES ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!

HOWL!!!!

So I was watching the tube in one room and shouted to my wife and daughter who were in the other room to turn on the game to check out the "New and improved" score. There was a lull in the action for a couple of moments when the silence was interrupted by a 10 year old girl screaming "Drop the puck!" I went to the room where they were and my daughter looked at me and said, "Well the ref was just standing there so I told him to drop the puck."

I don't know where she picks this behavior. At least she didn't curse Ala V.P. Biden.

A Very Good Day

It would seem that I have been stressing over clearing the roof of snow and the driveway of ice before the next storm hits given the ever shortening window of opportunity. The stress increased during the past couple of days because I knew our daughter wanted to spend today skiing, causing me to miss a day to accomplish the tasks. This was despite my knowing that if I went to the slopes, the remaining snow on the roof, and ice in the driveway would cease to matter. How a ten year-old came to be so smart is beyond me. When one is cruising down a snow covered slope with their child on a windless sunny day, the roof and driveway don't matter. Wait--it gets better! I decided the driveway is such a lost cause I should not stress over it, and Kim got tired early so I was able to get on the roof before sunset and spent 30 minutes to remove the remaining snow from the roof. It gets even better. While I was schussing away the Vikings (one of my 3 faves) killed/embarrassed/trounced/decimated, etc. the Cowbows (a team I refuse to acknowledge as more than slime mold) 43-3. This was icing on the cake - or better yet, the chocolate ruffles/shards on the "pain in the ass cake."

Where the Wild Things' Boogers Are

The family finally went to see Where the Wild Things Are today, and we all liked it. Our ten year old daughter absolutely loved it, and claims it is the best movie she has ever seen - after Titanic. She was able to immediately make the connection between the wild things and Max's feelings. Simply a well done adaptation of the book. Many critics have provided negative reviews of the adaptation due to the slight darkness of the film, the focus on Max's rage and childish expression of it. Ummm - Max is a child so his dealings with it will be childish. Duh! I think these folks were expecting a film suited for a three year old. I remind them that although the book is written at a level suited for early readers, the story is for a slightly older group.

In other news, my daughter has decided that she will refer to all biologists as "Boogeroligists." I wish there were some clue to where she gets it.

Saturday Night in Phoenix

A great way to spend a Saturday Night in the Valley. Even better was Coyotes 4, Bruins 1.

Coolness in Carlsbad

I usually avoid things that I think might be cheesy like the plague, thus it was with much trepidation that I allowed myself to enter the SEA LIFE AQUARIUM associated with LEGOLAND and located just outside the main gate to the monument to Danish building blocks. The anticipated curdled aged milk quality of the edifice waned as soon as I came across the tank of shark embryos. (expletive deleted) COOL!

The Little Young Lady From Carlsbad

One of our daughter's favorite things at LEGOLAND was the cars that kids get to drive. There is a course set up not unlike the courses we had during driver's ed classes in the seventies. The difference is that someone dumped money into this one so there are actual curbs and traffic lights. That and the kids cars are battery operated and go slow. Anyway here she is a few moments before getting her laminated driver's license.

You Could Complain, But That Would Be Piddly!

Yesterday I blogged about the detail of the displays at LEGOLAND. Today I continue this string. As many of you know, I played volunteer firefighter for a number of years, and although that chapter of my life is closed, I still am drawn to things firefighter. I am also drawn to juvenile and crude humor. This explains why I loved this particular lego construction of the quintessential dalmatian and hero firefighter.

Then I got another view and loved it even more.

Seeing is Believing

During our trip to LEGOLAND we we impressed with the displays made out of legos. I fund some of the attention to detail particularly fascinating; not only were the people in the stands good, but the side of the Capitol had an added element that many would overlook.

The Port-a-Potties! With people waiting to use them!

Thin air kills brain cells

We mountain dwellers tend to despise heat, so it is natural that we head off to Palm Desert with two other mountain dwelling families in late July for a week of vacation. Monday is supposed to be 114 degrees. Sounds like a good day to head off to legoland and cool off in the sub 80 degree weather.

A Man And His Dogs

Tuesday night we rented and watched Marley And Me, a movie I have been avoiding watching due to a fear that I might react to it in a most non-male manner. There is something about movies mixing end of life and canines that will stir deep emotions in boys and men. The reactions in such flicks are stronger than during Bang The Drum Slowly or Brian's Song. If one wants to test the sensitivity of a grown man, plop him down in front of a T.V. set (or movie screen) and show him Old Yeller, or similar. As Marley And Me ended, I thought of the pets my family or I have had and how they left this earth. Towzer, a wire hair terrier died as a result of a dog fight where he was on the receiving end of 3-4 other dogs punishment. He was the dog I knew as a child and died when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. During his final hour, I was busy playing a hockey game that my team lost. My brother's dog, Bear, an Old English Sheep Dog mix that he got when I was in the 4th grade succumbed to kidney failure when I was in college. When I was a Junior in college, my brother's next dog had a litter and I was given a pure white Shepherd/Malamute/Siberian mix with one blue eye and one brown eye. I named her Freyja and nicknamed her the "white wolf." She died suddenly some 7 years later while I was working for the forest service in South Dakota. Her litter mate, Marja died of old age a few years later. My wife had a poodle, Frisky, who suffered from old age/kidney failure was put down in the late '90s. Tungsten, a Siberian/Malamute/Whatever mix died after a seizure somewhere around 2001. Zmboni, a whatever mutt mix became ill, (some form of enteropothy) and was put down at the young age of 4. Narvik, another Husky mix died of old age 2 days before I was going to "do the deed." To this day, I believe she let herself go to save me the pain. I remember having lunch at a restaurant with friends when I felt a sudden "flash" and knew she had passed. Despite my daughter being alive for Tungsten and Zamboni, she was old enough to understand the finality of Narvik. For the next year, she blamed her grouchy moods on the loss of Narvik. This continued until we let her know that Narvik was no longer an excuse. We currently have a Yellow Lab named Star and a medium sized black "Rez Special" named Bear. I am not prepared for when what happens in movies happens to them. When the time comes, I will need to watch a movie about a sports hero who contracts a terminal disease and dies a long, painful agonizing death to cheer myself up.

Bowling For Birthdays

Our daughter had her birthday at the bowling alley Saturday. It was a blast as all the kids as well as adults had a great time. I have found these work out much better that the ones held at "Upchuck Cheese" and clones thereof. This is our daughter attempting to pick up the spare. Is she ready for the pro bowler tour?

Nanooks of the Northland

So what do my niece and bro' do on a snowy rain/snow mix Christmas day in Flag? They build an igloo of course. This was before settling in for a dinner of a salad of spinach, walnuts, apples and a yogurt-honey-lemon-dill dressing, ham, green beans with almonds toasted in chili oil, oven roasted spuds, cranberries, and croissants. There was also the FIRST dessert course of baked lutefisk - made nearly correctly - my daughter had a taste. THEN had a SECOND taste. She seemed to think it was less than vile, and may be open to having it next year. The second dessert course will consist of the normal Scandinavian cookies. YUM!

Morning Wake Up Call

So after our daughter had the last five days off from school, and I had 5 days off from work (my wife had to settle for a simple weekend), we headed off to work and school in the pre dawn darkness. We were toolin' along the road toward the interstate when our daughter suddenly exclaimed ELK! ELK! ELK! Sure 'nuff a HUGE bull elk sauntered across the road some 20 yards in front of us. It was too dark to count points, but it was a big ol' boy. It served as a reminder that we do share our environment with wildlife and we must always be alert while driving. During my days of playing firefighter I saw what these animals do to even full size pick-up trucks, and it is impressive. What happens to the passengers is even more impressive. Seeing one of these beautiful and powerful animals is a great way to start the week.

Food and T.V. sets

Last night's dinner was amazing. We went to a friends house a few blocks away and partook in a semi pot luck event. One of the highlights was the sausage and apple stuffing made with three different kinds of sausage, bread and apples. It was unique and fantastic. The bird was great, and the squash, potatoes and pies were also extra special yummy. The rolls also went quickly. After overeating and imbibing, we headed on home so my wife could get some sleep before helping open one of the local big box stores at 5:00. She pulled an extra long shift (05:00 - 16:00) and her register pulled in over $32,800 during that time. Folks, that is ONE register at ONE Walmart. She has often commented how chaotic the crowd can be on "black Friday" and how they RUN through the aisles to get the item they want before it is sold out. This level of chaos became all too apparent this morning at another Walmart some 2,000+ miles to the Northeast when one of the openers was trampled to death when he tried to open the doors. According to reports, the doors were destroyed by the crowd in the process. It is nice to know that we value television sets, vacuum cleaners and mass produced DVDs of last years movies over life. This reminds me of crowds at rock concerts as well as parents in third world countries who sell their children into prostitution so they can buy some idiotic brain numbing appliance. We can no longer judge them, now that we are willing to kill in order to save a few bucks on a T.V. We need to get a grip and realize this is all materialistic crap, and refocus on the important things - friends, family, and health, including whatever spiritual health one chooses. F'ing IDIOTS!

A Fusion Meal -- No Wait It Isn't After All

My daughter was off today for the Thanksgiving break, so I burnt a vacation day to stay home with her. My wife was off at work, and I decided to make use of some leftover grilled salmon, cream cheese, and some attachments for the Kitchen Aid. We wound up making some home made ravioli stuffed with a salmon and cream cheese mixture. She enjoyed being able to help feed the dough through the rollers, and use the stuffer attachment. She is getting old enough that her assistance is actually helpful, and is more than welcome. Our daughter decided to eat at the table, instead of on the TV trays, (this happens about 2X a month) and volunteered to set it. She also decided to use chopsticks for said ravioli. We allowed this, and I thought it strange until I remembered the origin of pasta. Still, the squares were a little slick for the dining implements since they were covered in a simple white sauce. Try it sometime