Wet and Wild

Ahhh....that break I took was just like the one that we had on Monday.  We woke up not so bright, but early on Monday morning to the sight of snow flurries.  Ughhh.....after the snow came the hard rain, and other than sneaking out for short trips to feed the animals, we were home bound for the day. 

Tuesday also had some snow flurries to start the morning, but it was nice enough to get out and about.  We ate a good breakfast, dressed warmly, and headed down to feed the animals.

If you have ever been lucky (or unlucky depending on their attitude at the time) enough to spend much time around 5 year old boys, you would know that each and every one of them suffer from an unquenchable urge.  They do not fight this urge, but welcome it with open arms (and flies).  What is this affliction I speak of........well.......

Why, peeing in the outdoors of course!  They think that is the coolest thing ever, and even if they can't squeeze out a drop.....well by God, the're going to drop those pants and try.  Christopher has mastered this art as Di Vinci mastered drawing.  He is a true prodigy.

After getting his business out of the way, Christopher joined Aidan and me as we watched Lori take her turn giving the young calf his daily bottle.

Aidan and Christopher lasted all of about 3 seconds before they got bored with that, and they went to the barn to see about investing in some mischief.  "Hey, wanna sit on these bales of Hay?" The oldest said innocently enough.  "Sure" responded the youngest as a wry grin spread across his red cheeks.   You could almost hear the clicking sounds emanating from their devious heads, as they both hatch their sinister plans. 

Hmmm.................so sweet and loving............just like good brothers should be..............dum de dum de dum..........................."HAY FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I believe if left to their own policing, they would have destroyed and thrown every bale of hay in that barn.  I of course stepped in before that could happen, and saved them from the terrifying consequences of such action.

I quickly diverted their attention to one of the tractors in the barn.  Before I could even ask them to jump up for a picture, they were already up there acting out the final scene from Thelma and Louis.

Now it was Christopher's turn..

It was tough getting them away from their barnyard playground, but we needed to head back up the the house.  On our way, I noticed that the water from the heavy rain the day before had started flowing over the road.  I thought it would make a pretty picture.

We stopped at the chicken coup so Christopher could get in his daily "petting" of a chicken.  He loves that, and he has now gotten where he can catch his own chicken to pet.  The youngest is all boy, and he may just be a farmer too.

While we were at the chicken house, I spotted a polar bear stalking us.

We got some loving from big ole bear, and headed back up to the house.

We spent the day playing around the house and on the playground, and looked forward to our trip to Jonesboro, TN we had planned for the following day.  As the evening came, I snapped a pick of a beautiful sunset.

Man, is that majestic.........


To be continued

William

Life's Grandeur

Last week was kind of a blur.  It went by so quickly, it seemed strange when we were heading to the airport to fly home.  "6 days....really...it's been 6 days already"?

Life in the country can do that to you.  You get lulled into such a sense of calm, where time just melts away.  You listen to the mountain streams gurgling in the crisp morning air, as the sun tries to peek over the mountain top.  You feel the warmth of the sun's rays as they finally crest over the poplar and chestnut trees still awash in the "smokey" mist.  You relish each breath as that clean, thin mountain air grasp and tickles your lungs.  Yep, it can certainly be intoxicating.

I'll try to share the experience as best I can.  It will be long, so I will have to break it up a bit.  You can click on each picture to get the full size version.  I hope you like it.  

We woke up early Saturday morning, and the whole family went to McKinney, Texas to participate in the Lucky Leprecan 1K and 5K race.

First up was Christopher and Lori running the 1k race along with approximately 50 other kids ranging from ages 4-10.  Christopher did fantastic as mom jogged along offering encouragement.  I believe he finished around 10th out of the group.  Pretty stinking good if you ask me.  It was certainly fun watching he and his mom sprinting for the finish.

Next up was Aidan and me running the 5K.  We started out pretty quickly.  In hindsight, it was probably too quickly, for Aidan started fading a bit just shy of the 1 mile mark.  We stopped and walked a bit to allow him to catch his breath.  This starting and stopping pattern continued for the rest of the run.  Our time was not the greatest, but you know what.........that did not matter one bit.  I got to run the race with my son, and I had a blast.  It was really fun and I can't wait to do it again.

After the races, we traveled home and started packing for our trip to Tennessee.  Everyone was really excited for our Spring Break family trip.

Our flight to Tennessee was uneventful, and we were met at the airport by Dianne about 8:30pm Saturday evening.    We were all pretty tired when we got to the farm, so bedtime came for all of us pretty quickly.

We woke up bright and early on Sunday........thanks Christopher....  While Aidan, Lori, Dianne and Christopher went to feed the horses and the Chickens, I went for a walk in the cool morning air.  It was beautiful, and I brought along the camera.

Lori, Dianne and the boys were through feeding the horses and chickens, so they headed for the cows.  Lori was nice enough to come pick me up.  We met the others at the implement barn, where cowboy Christopher was ready for action.

Just across from the barn, Dianne had separated a momma cow and her twin calves.

Because one of the new calves was getting more milk from momma that the other, Dianne and Lori had to bottle feed the other.  Christopher....well...he just wanted out!

The better fed sister looked on with fear and amazement.

After we left the momma and her calves, we headed over to another pasture to lay out hay for the herd.  Lori quickly got out and went to take a closeup of another new born calf.

We left the cows to their hay, and headed back to the house.  On the way up, I noticed the horses, and couldn't help but think "the grass is always greener.......".

We got back to the house and all got cleaned up.  Shortly after, Steve, Dianne and the rest of us headed to Hot Springs, NC for a late lunch.  We ate at a great little restaurant called The Iron Station.  While we were there, I got a great picture of Steve and Dianne with their grandchildren.

We shopped for a little while at some of the quaint little stores in town, and then headed home.  We spent the rest of the day and evening enjoying each others company, and playing some heated games of dominoes.  It was good fun, and a wonderful day. 

To be continued

William

Let's Roll

It's just after midnight and I'm looking forward to a wonderful day.  It should start at 7:45am with Lori and Christopher running a 1K race, to be immediately followed by me and Aidan running a 5K race.  Yep, you read that right.....I'm running a my first 5K and I'm STOKED about it.  It's going to especially memorable since I get to run it with my oldest Monkeyboy, and I get to be cheered on by my two other most favorite people in the world....Christopher and Lori. Wow!!

After the races, we will be going home to pack for our Spring Break family vacation to see Steve and Dianne at the farm in the Smokey Mountains.  Woo Hoo......doesn't that sound like fun!!!!!!

I will take tons of pictures, and of course blog about it when we get home.  See you soon

William

A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Have you ever woken up and just felt good about yourself?  I mean before coffee, before anything, just open your eyes and think "I feel great".  Well, I can assure you that it has been a very long time since that has happened to me, until this morning.

When I woke up this morning, I had a wonderful, positive outlook and felt better about myself than I have in as long as I can remember.  I had a good night's sleep, but that's not it.  The secret you ask?  Exercise......Yep, plain, simple, exercise.

I have been working my body harder in the last month, than I have in the last 10 years.  I am eating right, working out hard, and getting plenty of rest.  It's really starting to pay off.  I am wearing clothes that I have not fit into in 8 years, and I have more energy now than I did when I turned 40.  It's amazing what fitness can do for you.   

I used to have heart burn every night, and purchased Alka-Seltzer by the truckload.  I used to get out of breath just running up and down the stairs.  Believe me, that is no way to live.  It is unproductive, and dangerous. 

I am happy to say that I have not had heart burn in over a month, and I ran 1.5 miles this morning averaging 9:43 per mile.  Sub 10 minute miles are nothing for some, but for me, it's wonderful.  Lori signed up to run my first 5K on March 9th, and I can't wait.

I am getting excited to see what changes my body has in store in the near future.  It's fun to be excited and happy about how you look.  It's been a long time coming.

William

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
Aldous Huxley

Having A Ball

Last week, I told you about how disappointed I was about not being able to attend Christopher's first soccer game.  I'm still kicking (no pun intended) myself over that, but I made sure we would be there in full force for his second game.

Aidan once again had baseball practice from 1-3 on Saturday.  Since Christopher's game was not scheduled to start until 4:00pm, Aidan and I had plenty of time to get there.  Lori took Christopher to have his team pictures made, and then met us at the field about 15 minutes before game time.  How exciting!

I had a blast watching Christopher play.  I can assure you that there was no father more proud to be there than I was.  I love our children, and I get so excited to see them compete.  I'm sure my father felt the same way about me when I was a kid.  It's a magical feeling.

Christopher had a great game, and hustled the entire time he was out there.  He got to experience his first "side stitch" from all of the running, and it was almost funny watching him trying to figure out why his side hurt.  I was screaming and hollering so much I almost forgot to snap any pictures.  Here he is on the sideline about to throw in the ball.



Here he is at half time resting his "stitch" and replenishing some lost fluids.



Christopher seems to be picking up the rules pretty quickly, and really is really showing great effort.  I can't wait to see him playing again next weekend. 

Speaking of weekends, Sunday was also pretty special.  I told you last week about Christopher's bike riding skills.......well......this week I have video to prove it.  Without further adieu....I present....THE AMAZING CHRISTOPHER!!!!!!!!

What a great age.

I would like to say thanks to Lori and the boys for keeping me so young.

William

Who, being loved, is poor? ~Oscar Wilde

Sail On Down The Road

Milestone:

A significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc....

It seems that everyday around here we are experiencing some type of milestone.   One day it might be losing a first tooth, the next day it might be playing in a first game.   With time going by so quickly, and our beautiful children growing up so fast, you can't rest for a minute or you might miss out.  

Sunday's milestone was brought to us via Christopher.  Our youngest decided to break out the big boy pants and join the ranks of the "non training wheel" riders of the world.  Yep, he got on his new bike that Santa gave him for Christmas, and decided to give "adult" riding a try.  After a few early spills and one big handle bar bruise on his chest, he picked it up like a champ.  

Way to go Christopher!!!  You Rock!!!

I love every minute of being a dad.  Sure, there are times where I get really frustrated with the kids, and I have to do everything in my power to keep my cool, but it's times like Sunday that makes all those other problems seem trivial.  

I will never forget the feeling I had while watching Christopher glide along the pavement with an ear to ear smile on his face.  Simply priceless.  
 
I hope and pray that I am around to experience all of the wondrous milestones that this family has in store.  It's going to be a fun ride.

William

We take greater pains to persuade others we are happy than in trying to think so ourselves. -Confucius

Bittersweet

Yesterday was a difficult day for me.  I was both excited and terribly sad at the same time.  You see, yesterday marked the beginning of Christopher's sporting life.  Yep, his very first game in an organized sport.  As a father, there are very few things that get the pride and the tears flowing more than watching your sons' compete for the first time.  It was something that I had looked forward to from the day he was born.

When Christopher's soccer schedule was sent out last week, I was heartbroken.  His first game was scheduled for 1:00pm at one of the local soccer complexes.  Normally, that would be a perfect time.  A later start like that gives the day time to warm up.  That's important as a player and a spectator during early spring.  Yesterday however, a 1:00pm start time meant that his game would be starting at almost the exact same time as Aidan's baseball practice would start across town.  Uh...oh...

Baseball "practice" you say.  Usually, the first practice is not that important, so missing it for Christopher's game would be no problem.  Unfortunately, Aidan is playing with a brand new team this season, and we were scheduled to meet the coaches and the team for the first time yesterday.  So, that first "practice" suddenly became very important.

What this meant was Lori and I had to divide and conquer.  While she took Christopher to his soccer game, I took Aidan to his baseball practice.  What a terrible feeling that was.  I was heartbroken.  I was excited for Aidan to meet and practice with his new teammates, but there is only one "first" game.......and I missed it.  

From what I am told by Lori, Christopher had a great time playing his first game.  He is still very new to soccer, so much of the game was spent figuring out what exactly he was supposed to do.  He will get better as he becomes more familiar with the game, but he is having fun, and that is all that matters right now.



Aidan had a great time meeting his new teammates, and knocking the rust off his baseball skills.  Like always, I love watching Aidan play baseball, but it did not make up for missing Christopher's game.   I will have to live with that guilt for the remainder of my life.

William



“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” - Confucius

Time or Fate

At Last
by Elizabeth Akers Allen
At last, when all the summer shine That warmed life's early hours is past, Your loving fingers seek for mine And hold them close-at last-at last! Not oft the robin comes to build Its nest upon the leafless bough By autumn robbed, by winter chilled, But you, dear heart, you love me now. Though there are shadows on my brow And furrows on my cheek, in truth, The marks where Time's remorseless plough Broke up the blooming sward of Youth, Though fled is every girlish grace Might win or hold a lover's vow, Despite my sad and faded face, And darkened heart, you love me now! I count no more my wasted tears; They left no echo of their fall; I mourn no more my lonesome years; This blessed hour atones for all. I fear not all that Time or Fate May bring to burden heart or brow, Strong in the love that came so late, Our souls shall keep it always now!

I hope that love finds each and everyone one of you. Bask my friends.....Bask.

William

Out Of This World

Christopher is fascinated with all things outer space.  He has a nice star mini planetarium in his room, along with a really cool electronic lighted moon mounted to his wall.  He loves to turn them on when he goes to bed.  The starts shine and rotate on all the walls and ceiling, and the moon goes through it's phases.  Each are controlled by remote, and at night he puts them on the 15 minute timer, and he falls to sleep amongst the stars.

On Sunday, Christopher's ceiling fan quit working.  We went to Lowes in search of a new one that would be suitable for a kid's bedroom.  They had absolutely nothing in stock that I thought would look cool in his room, so we went to Home Depot to check out their stock.  The kids were being a bit restless, so I had them wait in the car with Lori, while I went in to shop.  I found an absolutely perfect addition to his room.

I brought it out to Lori's vehicle and put it in the back.  After we got home, Lori and the kids went to their running group class.  While they were out, I decided that I would surprise Christopher, and install his new ceiling fan while he was gone.

I took down the old one, and installed the new one in about and hour and a half.  I finished mounting the globe, just as rest of the family unit got home.  I called for Christopher to come upstairs, and this is what he saw as he entered........

and this is what he saw after we turned on his light.......

..

Needless to say, he was SUPER excited about the new really cool addition to his room.  

There is nothing better in the world than seeing your children with huge smiles on their faces.  Christopher's was ear to ear!

William 

I Get Such A Kick Out Of You

Today, Christopher finally reached the age that he could participate in organized sports.  Yep, our little baby started soccer today, and we had a blast watching him at practice.  Right now he lacks the knowledge of the game, but he certainly has the determination.  Let's hope he has as much fun playing, as Lori and I have watching.

You go little buddy!

 William

I Can Fly Like An Eagle

Sunday morning started out exactly like Saturday, with Lori having to get up way too early to be at the Full Marathon by 4:30. We of course, slept in a while. We eventually got up around 9:00am, and headed towards breakfast at Olivia's restaurant. We ate a big breakfast, and the boys and I headed for Disney's Hollywood Studio.

Normally, we always find a place on the course to wait on Lori, and cheer her as she runs by. Today would be different. First, she was running the marathon with a few of her friends, so they would be there for encouragement. Secondly, she was running through 4 different parks, and stopping to ride roller coasters and taking pictures with all of the Disney characters along the route, so we just decided to get in a couple of fun Disney hours before meeting mom back at the room.

The boys and I got to Hollywood Studios around 10:00am. Wow, this place was cool. I'm a bit embarrassed that I did not snap more pictures. Normally, I have help corralling the boys, so taking pictures is easier. Because I was a single point man, I only took one picture. Here are the boys showing their anticipation as we headed for the Star Wars Studio exhibit.

Speaking of the Star Wars exhibit and ride..........wow. This is a "ride" only to the senses. You enter into a briefing area, where it is explained to you that you will be part of the new recruits of the Galactic Alliance. You board a "shuttle", and once you are seated and strapped in to your seat, your view out of the shuttle window is enabled. The shuttle "takes off", and you are on your way to an adventure. Here is the thing, at no time are you ever in motion. The chairs you are sitting on are moving in rhythm with the shuttle view, and you feel like you are actually flying through space. It is a truly fantastic feeling. It amazes me that I can be "tricked" like this. The boys absolutely loved, loved, loved that ride. I did to. It was really cool, and I'm sorry Lori missed it. Technology is cool.

After checking out a little more of the park, and cheering on the runners who were making their way through Disney Hollywood, I got an alert on my phone letting me know that Lori had finished. A few minutes later, Lori called letting me know that she was doing OK. I am always really happy when I get that call. Whew.....she did another one, and finish safely.

Congratulations Lori, including the Mickey Mile, and the Half and Full marathons, you ran 40.3 miles and walked at least 15 additional miles at the parks, all in just two days. Incredible, we are so proud of you. What a gifted athlete you are.

The boys and I headed for the busses, and made our way back to our villa. About 20 minutes after we arrived, Lori stepped through the door. She looked great. Wow. She was a bit sore and tired, but after a long hot bath, and putting on her compression socks, she was ready for our last day at the parks.

Today was Epcot day! I had really been looking forward to this. From a learning, experiencing, and information's stand point, it can't be beat. You could spend days in this park alone.

We arrived at Epcot around 2:00pm, and made our way toward the entrance. At the entrance, you are immediately greeted by the iconic Spaceship Earth Sphere.

The geodesic dome is really a site to behold. Unfortunately for us, on this day, our last day to visit the parks, the 15 minute Spaceship Earth ride was down for maintenance. Oh man, I was disappointed. Oh well, next time.

I have to admit, when we go back the next time we will be much more organized. Epcot offers so much to explore, you really need a plan of attack. We just kind of went off the cuff, and we ran out of time before we could experience everything the park had to offer.

First order of business, get a picture of Lori wearing her Goofy Medal, along with a matching Hat.

Let me tell you, it's pretty special when you wear your Goofy finisher's medal at the parks. She spent the majority of the day being congratulated by not only park staff, but many of the patrons as well. If I had earned that medal and gotten all of the praise she received during the day, I do not believe that Goofy hat would have been big enough to contain my swelling head. Lori on the other hand, took it in stride, and being the humble person she is, acted like it was no big deal.

I guess I need to bite to bullet, and include one picture of the blog writer. Here's me, with my two favorite primates.

Next in line was The Land.

The Land is a huge pavilion that houses rides and is themed around human interaction with the land itself. It has a few different rides, the first of which is Living with the Land. Living with the Land is a boat themed ride that takes you through various exhibits, all while explaining the parks research into various approaches to living in different environments. Very relaxing and informative.

The second attraction at The Land is a ride call Soarin. It is the number one attraction at Disneyworld. When we got off the boat ride, we went to check out Soarin. The wait was almost an hour and a half to get on the ride, so we got our FAST PASSES for a return trip for 7:30 that evening. We were all very excited about this.

As we left The Land, Christopher spotted Nemo. Ok, next up.....Nemo's adventure.

Uhh, talk about indigestion....

The Nemo ride was pretty fascinating. While you ride along a track seated in giant Clam shells, they somehow project the character images from the movie Nemo into a live aquarium setting. Simply Cool. After the ride was over, we walked through the aquarium, as it surrounded you from all sides. We were all fascinated.

Twilight was starting, and it seemed like we had just gotten there. If you are not familiar with Epcot Park, it has areas devoted to the culture of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Each of these areas is built in the architecture of that particular country and the shops and restaurants are staffed by citizens of these countries.  It is all part of Disney's Cultural Representative Program.

When you visit each country within the park, you actually get a real feel of what it would be like to visit the actual location. I was super excited about this, so we headed to that part of the park. On our way, I took a picture of the park as the sun was setting. I was quite beautiful.

It was getting late and we were getting hungry, so we decided to eat in Mexico. There are a number of different restaurants to choose from, but we wanted a nice sit down dinner, so we picked La Hacienda de San Ángel. It was a beautiful restaurant, that overlooked the lake in the center of the park. The food was very good, and the custom made Margaritas were out of this world.

Dinner took a while, and after getting back outside, we realized that there was no way that we were going to be able to visit each country and take in the atmosphere properly.  Like i stated earlier, you really could spend at least a whole day just visiting the countries in the park.

After looking at my watch, I realized that the FAST PASSES that we got earlier for the ride Soarin were going to be available for use in about 45 minutes. That would give us just enough time to walk through each country on our way back to The Land. I would have loved to experience each country the correct way, but that will have to wait until next visit. Here is a few pictures that I took while we were making our way over to Soarin.

We made it back to The Land, and made our way to the ride. Keep in mind, this is the number one attraction at Disney, including all of the parks.

Soarin is a simulation that has you hang gliding over various terrains and scenery. None of us really knew what to expect, but with it being a simulation and not an actual "moving" ride, I thought "how scary could it be".

We used our FAST PASSES to jump to the front of the line, and waited for our turn. Now, I hope I don't bore you, but I am going to spend quite a bit of time describing the experience, for it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I was blown away by this ride.

After you walk into the giant room, the first thing you notice is the enormous 80 ft tall OMNIMAX screen. It looks like someone took a giant egg, and cracked it in half. You then make your way over to the seats. It was at this time that Aidan and I both realized, that this particular "simulation" was going to lift you off the ground about 30-40 ft or so, and insert you into the half egg screen.  Ummm......what?  I was able to control my dislike of heights, and tell myself that I would be strapped in, so there is nothing to worry about. Aidan however, was having a much more difficult time reaching this conclusion. He was not a happy camper, until one of the ladies that was working the ride came over and spoke to him. After that he did fine.

As the ride begins, like I said, the chairs that you are seated in, are lifted up by huge hydraulics, and you are literally inserted into this large concave screen. It is the only thing that you can see all around you. The simulation starts, and it is quite startling. Even though you are not "moving", you have absolutely no way of telling that. Your senses do not allow it. As far as your mind and body are concerned, you are actually hang gliding.

The screen fills with a 48 frame per second, IMAX HD film that starts with you gliding over the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh my God! Like I said, I have never been a huge fan of heights, and now I was hang gliding over San Francisco Bay. It was terrifying at first. In every direction you look....up, down, right, left, you see exactly what you would be seeing if you were flying. Not only that, each scene that you experience, you also experience what ever the scene depicts. You feel the breeze in your hair, each shift in direction is simulated by the chair you are sitting in, and the wind direction change. When you fly over the Ventura orange blossom fields, you smell orange blossoms. When you fly over the evergreen forest, you smell the evergreens. It was GLORIOUS!

When the ride ended, I had genuine remorse. I wanted it to go on, and on. Wow. That ride only lasted 5 minutes, but I will remember that experience for the rest of my life. It was that incredible and intense.

It was now closing time at the park. Each night at Epcot the day is ended with a fireworks, laser and water fountains show called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. It is timed to a musical score and done over the Lagoon in the middle of the park. It was a sight to behold. Like I said earlier, my phone does not take very good pictures at night, so please forgive the blurriness.

The crew looked on with amazement.

After the fireworks were finished, we made our way back to the bus, and headed home to villa for a good night's sleep. We were all pretty exhausted, and had not trouble sleeping.

We woke up Monday morning a little depressed. It was time to go back home. 3 days were simply not enough time to experience all of the wonders that the parks had to offer. Next time, we will stay longer.  I snapped one last picture before we left our villa.  Here is Lori, showing off all of the BLING she earned running her races.

We had a good breakfast and took the bus to the airport. After a short wait, we boarded our flight, and we were on our way home. Everything going well until an hour into the flight, Christopher woke up and said..."mommy, I do feel so.....RALPH!!" Yep, it happened that fast, with no time to find one of the wonderful bags that the carriers are so nice to supply.   It was all over Christopher. Lori, being the wonderful mom she is, handled it like a champ. She got him all cleaned up, and the rest of the now stinky flight was uneventful.

We landed, picked up our luggage, and got home around 3:30pm on Monday afternoon. It was a fun trip, but way too short. We will remedy that the next time.

William