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Another Fun Father's Day at The Great Sand Dunes

For this year's Father's Day Camping trip, my parents drove down from Montana and we headed to the Great Sand Dunes (like last year). My friend Jason and his Dad joined us, as well as my co-worker Noah and his family. The weather was beautiful, the sand was hot and we had a blast flying kites while admiring the Medano Fire.

On Saturday, we spent several hours on "the beach" watching the kids play, flying kites and sipping on cold ones. A good time was had by all.

To see all the pictures I took on this trip, see my Great Sand Dunes 2010 set on Flickr.

Abbie and Jack's Field Days

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending my kids' field days. For those who aren't familiar with field days, it's basically a sports day for elementary schools. The best part of this year's field days was seeing my kids have so much fun with their classmates. Of course, it didn't hurt that their teachers were also smitten with the thought of the school year coming to a close.

I took a few pictures and shot a bunch of video to remember how much fun they had. I know most readers won't enjoy these as much as I do, but I always like posting fond memories on this blog. Below are a couple videos I compiled and enhanced with appropriate music.

I especially like Jack's friend's dance moves at the end of the video below.

If you have trouble viewing either video here, check them out on my YouTube channel.

Celebrating My Mom's Retirement

A couple of weeks ago, after attending Abbie's Talent Show, the kids and I packed up and headed to Oregon for a weekend. This weekend marked a special weekend for my parents. When we arrived, my Mom had a week left of work before she retired from the Bureau of Land Management. You might've read about my Mom in the past. And you might know that my Dad retired last year.

My Mom has always enjoyed her career and I like to think I get a lot of enthusiasm for my own career from her. She taught me to love what you do for a living. When we lived at The Cabin, she had the drive and ambition to go back to school to get her degree in Forestry. Upon graduation, she got a job with the BLM and we moved to Oregon. My parents have lived there since 1990.

The weekend we spent in Oregon was somewhat magical. My parent's house sold in March after being on the market for only two weeks. They had a week left before they packed up and moved back to The Cabin. This meant the outside was pristine (because they fixed it up for the new buyers) and the inside was mostly packed. It was a sunny 3 days that weekend (which is rare in Oregon) and we had a blast at the Oregon Garden Brewfest, enjoyed a sunny BBQ with old friends and shared many memories derived from their 20 years in Oregon.

It was a somewhat bittersweet experience, meeting with all their friends and talking about their move to Montana. Many expressed sadness that they were leaving, but that didn't stop my parents from grinning ear-to-ear. You could see the excitement of moving back home sparkle in their eyes.

They have a huge challenge ahead of them and it seems they couldn't be happier. They'll be working on The New Cabin many long days and expect it to take a year or two.

I think my Mom said it best in an email she sent my sister and I a few days ago:

It's 9:30 and we are at Quinn's Hot Springs. Your father is snoring, he didn't last long when his head hit the pillow. We got here about 3, had a glass of wine and then soaked in the pools for an hour. Had a good dinner (I had buffalo short ribs -- mmm delicious) . They have a network, so I'm using my ipod for email.

I was crying when I drove across the state line because it felt so good to be home!

We are having a very nice drive home!! We love you!!!

Congratulations on Retiring Mom! You deserve it more than anyone else I know.

Enhanced Version » My Mothers Day Card

Jack's Skiing Like A Madman!

My kids have been skiing since they were pretty little. Abbie started when she turned 3 and Jack started when he was 2. I don't know that I'd recommend starting kids that early because it's taken a long time for them to get good. Abbie was good last year and it looks like Jack is coming on strong this year.

On Saturday, I took Abbie and Jack up to Copper Mountain's Tubing Hill. It was a balmy 45°F day and we had a blast flying down the mountain. I especially liked run #3 that had a double jump in its path.

After tubing, Jack proved he's a crazy 5-year old; then we grabbed our skis and hit the slopes for a couple runs. By the 2nd run, Jack was flying past both Abbie and I and giggling while doing it. It was a special moment for me considering he's been skiing since 2 and only recently let go of me.

Today, we headed to Winter Park for a few more runs. Since Jack has become bolder, I decided to skip the lift-walk-bus-walk pain-in-the-ass section at the bottom of Winter Park and park at Mary Jane (where you can easily walk-ski to the lift). We ended up skiing at the top of the mountain most of the time. I recall a couple times where Jack would go flying past Abbie and I and I'd think "I really hope he doesn't wipe out 'cause that's gonna hurt." By the end of the day, he was skiing down blues and even tried some bumps. Great job today Jack - you've made me proud.

With Spring Skiing right around the corner, I think there's gonna be some good races in the next couple months.

Upside Down Man Saves the Day

Yesterday, Abbie and Jack showed you how to be a superhero. Today they're back with an action-packed video titled Upside Down Man Saves the Day. Watch it if you'd like to see how to take out a tiger, wrestle an alligator and diffuse a bomb. This short film was written, directed and filmed by Abbie, the only thing I did was add the music. Enjoy!

If you have trouble viewing it here, check it out on YouTube.

How to be a Super Hero by Abbie and Jack

For some reason, my kids are very interested in Super Heros lately. In fact, they know so much about them that they've decided to start teaching others how to become one. Checkout the videos we shot earlier today with their step-by-step instructions.

I hope Abbie and Jack's tips help you become a super hero!

Labor Day Weekend at The Farm

This past weekend, the kids and I journeyed into the Colorado mountains for a weekend of camping, hiking and fishing. It was my good friend Matt Good's 50th Birthday Celebration at his place affectionately known as The Farm. We had beautiful weather, wide open spaces and lots of laughs with good friends. Jack even managed to land a girlfriend (Amanda), who somehow became his "ex" in the same hot tubbing session. They got back together the next morning.

On the way home, we took the long way and traveled from Ute Pass Road to Frasier, stopping at Lake Evelyn Trail for an hour hike and some fishing. I even let the kids drive a few times on the "bumpy road" and we managed to skip most of the traffic on the freeway.

More than anything, I was impressed with Abbie and Jack's ambition on this trip. They really seem to love hiking and fishing and don't drag their feet like they used to. They're also enthusiastic about camping and sleeping in a tent. I'm awful proud of my little munchkins. Below are some pictures from our weekend.

Thanks to Matt and Pam for hosting us and congrats to Matt on officially becoming an "old man". For more pictures, please see my Labor Day 2009 set on Flickr.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Five years ago today, Jack was born. I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it feels like it's been ages since he was a baby.

We were renting the house next door (while ours was being remodeled), I was just finishing up a contract with Open Logic (when it was just Rod and Eric) and Julie's contractions had begun. I finished my last hours with perfect timing (around 4:00). Julie was sitting at the kitchen table negotiating with a guy about some house-related stuff (our General Contractor had died and Julie took over 8 months pregnant). She told the guy she "had to go" because she was in labor and off to the hospital we went. The good news is it was only a few blocks away, so we made it there in short order. Our friend Tonya drove us.

Miraculously, Julie was able to "hold Jack in" until her sister flew in from San Diego. He was born just after midnight.

A few days later, my good friend Ryan called me out of the blue (hadn't talk to the guy in years). He asked me what I was up to and I told him I was a father for the 2nd time and just had a baby boy at Porter Hospital. He said, "No way - I just had a baby girl 2 days ago!" Turns out, his daughter Sophie was born 2 days after Jack, only a couple doors down. We'd left the hospital only a few hours before they arrived.

This weekend will be filled with multiple birthday parties, happy kids, and lots of good memories. I love this time of year.

Happy birthday Jack!

My Summer Vacation in Montana

As an adult, I've often reflected upon my childhood and one of my favorite times of the year: Summer Vacation. The feeling that fills your mind and body on that last hour of school before summer break is simply awesome. I don't know when I began longing for that feeling again, but I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it again this year. I took an entire month off from "working" and enjoyed a proper summer vacation at my family's cabin in Montana.

My plan to take a month off began formulating years ago when we'd drive to the cabin for the 4th and only spend a few days before driving back. The trip was never long enough.

I started talking about spending all of July at The Cabin a couple years ago, but never committed to it. My opportunity finally came last December when Julie asked me if she could take the kids to Florida for 3 weeks for Christmas. I quickly realized that, as a kid, 3 weeks in Florida was an awesome opportunity and agreed to give up my time with them. However, I also realized I could get some negotiating power from the agreement and said "only if I can take them to the cabin for 3 weeks next summer".

For regular readers, you know the rest of the story. My Dad flew to Denver for Father's Day Weekend, stayed the following week and then we embarked on our journey to Montana on Monday, June 29th. The first week was great and we had tons of fun during the rest of July. Here's a list of some highlights:

• Running a 5K while Abbie and Jack ran the 1 mile "fun run" with my Mom. It was Abbie's first race and she got 1st place with a time of 11:05.
  
• Hiking to Holland Falls.
  

  
• Picking Huckleberries.
• Greeting my sister after she rode her motorcycle for 13 hours in the rain.
• Spending my birthday at Big Sky Waterslides, something I used to do every year for my birthday.
• Golfing with my family in Columbia Falls.
  
• Building a set of bunkbeds for the kids.
  
• Rides on "Rocket" (4 wheeler) with the kids, especially when Jack would say "go as fast as Rocket can go".
• Golfing with my good friend Owen in Seeley Lake.
  
• Prepping and pouring the floor on the New Cabin.
  

  
• Fishing with my Dad in "Joe's Jungle" and installing a new window in the cabin afterward.
  
• Teaching Abbie and Jack how to shoot a gun (a .22 pistol) for the first time.
• Getting my next gig.
• Traveling to Idaho for Clint and Autumn's Wedding Reception (they got married last December in Costa Rica).
  
• Seeing Abbie get all googly-eyed over an older boy in Idaho.
  
• Staying up to watch the sunrise in Idaho.
• Milling D Logs for the kids' Treehouse.
  
• Making it from The Cabin to Denver in 13 hours with only one speeding ticket.

More than anything, it was great to spend so much time with my parents and children. The Cabin is a very special place to me and I'm proud I can take my city-slicker kids to let them experience the outdoors and live like I did growing up. In the city, they always have an adult nearby and are never left on their own for long. They wear helmets when they ride their bikes in the alley, even though they have training wheels on and couldn't fall over if they tried.

In Montana, the rules all change.

In Montana, the adults worked on the New Cabin and the kids were left to occupy themselves. Their imaginations ran wild and they played with each other for hours every day. They made me see and remember one of my favorite things about childhood - infinite possibilities. As I kid, I was a dreamer and used to think that anything was possible in the world (flying, teleporting, you name it). I'm happy to see that Abbie and Jack believe that anything is possible too.

A week ago, I returned to Denver after driving almost 4000 miles in 30 days. I feel refreshed after so much time off. I've got my goals and ambitions in line for the rest of the year and I'm looking forward to writing more, smiling more and doing great things for my new client. Over the next several months, I'll continue to work with GWT and even have plans to talk at The Rich Web Experience in December. When I travel for work, I'll be in Boston and Cupertino. Hopefully I'll see some of you along the way.

As usual, you can see all my pictures from the past few weeks in my Montana 2009: Weeks 2-4 set on Flickr.

A Fun Father's Day at Great Sand Dunes

Our Father's Day trip started out a bit rocky when my Dad's flight got delayed an entire day. Fortunately, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. As Doug commented, Friday night was wet and Saturday wasn't much better. Our friends, Jenny and Jeff, left early Saturday morning and arrived in time for a couple hours of rain. At 3:00 on Saturday afternoon, it cleared up and was beautiful for the rest of the weekend.

We showed up at 8:30 on Saturday night and stayed through Monday morning. If you asked Abbie and Jack, they'd say the best part was driving on the road past the Point of No Return. My favorite moment was when they climbed to the top of a dune with me. The mosquitoes were mean and plentiful, but the campground was well equipped and had excellent views.

If you ever get a chance to take your kids to Great Sand Dunes, you should jump at the opportunity. This place is simply awesome. For more pictures, see my Great Sand Dunes 2009 set on Flickr.