Orange County

I had fun with Gabrielle flying to Orange County to visit Kyle and Ce and to have some fun on the beach before school started. It was a blast. It is fun to take the golf cart and just zip on down. We built some fun sand castles and body surfed every day. Good times. 

New Car

Hard to believe that my little girl is turning 16. Where has the time gone?  We have had quite the fun adventure up to this point. Whether it was researching cars, test driving, and shopping, it has been a fun journey. I will be sad (and relieved) for it to be coming to an end. Madison got her dream car. It's the nicest car in the family. I hope I did a good thing. She is my burnt toast. 

Kerplop

That's the sound of $500 sinking to the bottom of Lake Mead. We had our Go Pro camera attached to an extender pole. It could float as long as the pole was extended but would sink otherwise. I thought Madison knew that but she didn't. She threw my way asking me to photograph them jumping off some cliffs. Before I could get there, it started to sink. I dove for it, but couldn't find it. What a helpless feeling. Ah well. It's replaceable. Frustrating, but replaceable. Like the Calvin and Hobbs comic, after Calvin had broke something and was so distraught, his Dad says something to the effect of putting it in perspective of him expecting a wrecked car when Calvin grows up. Shouldn't even joke about that, especially since Madison is so close to getting her license. 

Fun at Lake Mead

I had a blast putting together some of the highlights over the last few years at Lake Mead.  I had a lot of random clips and snippets of various outings.  It brought back so many fun memories.  I have, among other things, the first water ski rides of Madison and Gabs (and Drake for that matter when he rode on my shoulders), our first camping adventure, lots of cliff jumping, etc.  For my birthday this year, Heather got me a Go Pro camera that takes high def pictures.  You can have it under water and it takes phenomenal shots.  It can be attached to different things to get different fun angles.  I can't wait to put together another video.  In the mean time, click on this link and enjoy fifteen minutes of fun.

FUN AT LAKE MEAD

Cherries and root beer

I gotta say, few things in my life have topped the fun I have had on Lake Mead. One of the simple pleasures that made it even better was bringing some Dads root beer with our lunch and some cherries from Costco. Nothing beats just spitting the pits right into the lake while you float lazily along. We also found a perfect little cove to hang out. That lake is a hidden gem of Las Vegas. 

High of the week

I made it to Drake's third basketball game yesterday. It's the first game I've been able to attend. Heather always told me about one kid on his team that is really good that scores all the points. Well, we had a little miracle this game. First, that kid wasn't there. Second, Drake somehow got the ball within shooting distance. Third, he wasn't mauled by the other team and was able to get a shot off. Fourth, it went in. And lastly, I was there to witness the whole thing. After he made it, the fists pumping in the air and jumping up and down in excitement made it all worth it. He probably won't score again for the rest of the season. He is just beginning and can't dribble well and doesn't get the game very well yet. He plays his little heart out, though. Some of the boys are seven and a lot bigger and better. It was just awesome to be there for that shot. It was one in a million. What I would do to have recorded that. Oh well. I've got a permanent memory. Later, when Heather and I were talking about it, we agreed that it wasn't just the high of the day, but of the week as well. Love that little man. 

Gabs Is Frozen

We enjoyed going to Gabrielle’s piano recital the other day.  Lindsay Futrell, her piano teacher, had the room done up in a movie theme, and every kid played songs from different Disney movies.  Gabrielle played the Mickey Mouse theme song and the song from frozen. She did a great job, and her piano playing just gets better and better. She asked me the other day that for her birthday she get a hymnbook. I just got doubled the return on my investment from those years of piano lessons.  There is a video of the performance on the bottom...