Hallows Eve 2012

Happy Halloween!  It was our first Halloween in Arizona and it was a good one.  Can anyone say 85 degrees and sunny? 

Grampa and Grandma came over for some good eats and to check out everyone's costumes.

It was so quiet until it got dark that we wondered if anyone was going to come trick or treating.  After it got dark the doorbell finally started to ring. Everyone had a great evening. Of course with Olivia's insistence the house was decked out with Halloweed gear. This picture only gives you a small taste of what was done. Try to notice all the webbing and spiders around the front of the house.

Chloe and Olivia both had parties so they suprised us and dressed up.  Everyone had costumes this year.  Even Miss G and I.  (Gale will here after be referred to as "Miss G" because it sounds like a Bond girl to me and Gale is more beautiful, smart, and a better mother than any Bond girl would ever be.  Of course I wonder if Bond girls ever really want to be a mother??)

I am sad that Halloween is over.  I love this Holiday and we have plenty of candy and treats so if you need some be sure and stop by!

What the Blog?

I have decided to pick up my blog again. Why? For numerous reasons. First, I have been travelling and working so much the last 6 months that I feel like a bad dad and I need to change some things. Second, my incredibly wonderful wife who I will call "Miss G" (because that sounds like a Bond girl and she way out ranks any Bond girl with her beauty, brains and mothering skills) does everything and I figure I can help out with documenting the family life (with my own skewed view).
I also know that if I am thinking about a post every couple of days I will be thinking of how I can be a better dad to my 5 incredible daughters. They have so much to offer the world and I need to make sure I am doing my part to help them get there. So selfishly I am doing this for me. 

So much has happened since I last posted that I will not be able to put in back posts, I will just pick up from today.  So here we go again!

One Of Those Moments

How in the world did I end up getting my dream job?  I think it kind of snuck up on me and then before I knew it I was actually doing what I always wanted to.  (This didn't happen without enduring through a horrible, terrifically terrible job, but that is for another post.)  I am 41 years old and have wanted my dream job for over 20 years, but it seemed to evade me (and most other individuals I have talked to for that matter)  It always seemed selfish to want my dream job,  because it would mean that my family would in some way suffer as I worked my dream job. (Is living off a $100 a month suffering?)
  
So today I am writing from the Canary Islands off of Spain.  Tomorrow I get to teach a workshop on Organizational Behavior and leadership development which is the next best thing to Disney World for me.  The only thing that isn't perfect in this scenario is that I don't have my wife and daughters with me.  To be honest it is great to be in the Canary Islands eating fresh seafood and drinking virgin pina coladas, but the travel is but a small part of my dream job.  Is it that I get to teach about Org Behavior and Leadership?--partly, because I am so passionate about the topic.  I figured out I had my dream job today when I had dinner with Alejandro from Italy (yes easy to remember thanks to Lady Gaga---and I wanted to sing it out really loud, but then he made reference to it and ruined my moment), Thomas (pronounced To' mas) from Sweden, Edwin from the Netherlands, Carlos from Portgual and Heike (pronounced Heika) from Germany. 

You would think that this would make for difficult conversation,  oh contrair!-- with the accents flying and the english abused every other sentence (who am I to judge I don't speak three to four languages like everyone else at the table!) we had a great discussion that covered topics about family, country politics, most funny moments and our favorite foods.  As I sat watching everyone at the table I realized I was incredibly lucky to be having experiences and meeting people that are changing me and making me a better person, father, husband and world citizen.  I left dinner a better person, because I now have 5 friends who are more similar to me than I would have ever expected.  It is difficult to think of a situation where you get to eat with 5 different people, from 5 different countries.  I am grateful for this job and the time I have it.  Will it last forever? Probably not--some heathen will cut my position or the economy will kill the need for our product.  But I am going to love it and enjoy it and take advantage of it every moment I have.  Because it makes me a better person and how many people can say that about their jobs?  (hopefully more than I think!)  

(P.S.  They had to choose a team name and the idea of flaming pirates came up---I convinced them it wasn't such a good idea.)  

          Sunrise from Tenerife, Spain

Colorado Rockies

I had some work to do for the week in Colorado and tonight the group I was with went to a Colorado Rockies Game. I thought it would be cold so I wore my long sleeve shirt, levi's and brought a jacket. It stayed in the low 70's high 60's all night! I should have worn shorts and a T-shirt. I do not confess to watch much pro baseball, or know of any players but a few, but the night was great. The Rockies were playing the Mets and the atmosphere was exciting and fun! So the best part of the whole evening?

1. Homeruns-Don't know why but homeruns are the best. You high five everyone around you even if you don't know them and you whoop and hollar at the top of your lungs.

2. Hot dogs-Nothing is better than hot dogs at an outdoor baseball game.

3. Nacho's-I don't like the jalapeno's, but they never give me enough fake cheese sauce.

4. Dippin Dots! Never had these at a ball game before, but I loved it.

As you can see food played a major role in my enjoyment for the evening.

The only thing that would have been better would have been to have my whole family there, (except maybe they would have eaten my hotdog, nacho's and dippin dots.) Okay--maybe not.

Mount Rushmore

I had some work to do in South Dakota so I decided to drive an hour from the cabin resort we were staying at to take a look. Who knows when I would be back?

Like my great Iphone picture? I must say it was incredible to see. To get the full story behind Mt. Rushmore was really cool. More amazing was how out in the middle of nowhere South Dakota Mt. Rushmore is. They had to build hotels and make it a destination resort. Glad I went, don't know when I will be back. One of those things you have to see.

I stayed at a little great resort retreat lodge. One of my favorite things was to run in the mountains in the morning. Next time I think I will remember to bring warmer clothing.

Now what?

It was such a high to finish school and graduate. I had worked so long and hard and our family had sacrificed so much it was really all encompassing for such a long time. Now that it has been about 2 months since graduation I have that "What next?" feeling. What is my next big goal to conquer, where is our family headed? So Gale and I started talking and we decided to define and refine our life goals. We have always had them, but it is time to reevaluate our family and what we want to be like in ten years and what we want to accomplish.

WARNING!!!!! READ ON AND YOU ARE SUBJECT TO SELF EVALUATE!!!

So the past two weeks have been filled with rewriting personal mission statements, setting new goals or redefining old ones and sitting back to evaluate who we are and who we want to be. At times it was depressing...you would think almost being forty I would be further along in so many areas. And at times I was satisfied...I have such an incredible wife and great girls, could I really ask for more?

Needless to say I finished this week and rediscovered one of the greatest virtues--HOPE! Hope is such an incredible thing. I have such hope for the future and what it will bring Gale, myself and the girls. I am excited for what is ahead for us and what experiences we will have. It is amazing how fast I get caught up in the ordinary, mundane and should I say "meaningless" aspects of life. When I started to take a moment to ponder, reflect on what was important, who I wanted to be and what I should be accomplishing it reset my course. Much needed! So what are the new goals? Sorry private post--it usually takes me longer to accomplish goals than everyone else. But how do I do it? My new saying for the rest of the year is, "I am moving mountains, one shovel of dirt a day." I plan on accomplishing little things everyday that have meaning and purpose in my life and before I know it I will look up and I will have moved some pretty big mountains and accomplished things I didn't think I could--all by moving one shovel of dirt a day.

Elle and Ava

Elle and Ava got in a fight yesterday and Ava was so mad that she came running up to Gale and I to tell us that Elle was an evil villain. You know it is bad when those words come out of your child's mouth.

On the flipside, Ava tells Gale her dreams every morning. Everytime she talks about me I am a superhero. Dreams have such meaning in our lives, and like the good book says, "out of the mouth of babes!"