Marisol's Wedding....

Last weekend Marisol got married. I have no words so here's the pics.

Meghan's Second Birthday/Trip to Las Vegas

Meghand shares her birthday with our anniversary. She got a new tricycle as well as the horse "Tacky." That weekend we went to Las Vegas to get Sean and Rob fitted for Rob and Marisol's wedding.

One ongoing project... the hearth.

Here is the latest pics of my progress on tiling the hearth. First there were bricks. Then there was a hole. Now there is hardy back. Next is the hardy back to cover the front bricks and then tile. I am planning to use those big 16" sq. tiles. Something light and sandy...

Trip to the beach...

The family went to the beach on Sunday... I stayed home and did projects. I have three projects half finished.

Meghan too...

Here is Meghan at school during water day... They had a jumper with a bunch of 2 year olds in it. What you can't see is that it is nearly 90 degrees that day. The teachers were wilting...
Sean has soccer on Saturday mornings. But Meghan has really taken to the sport and is an excellent dribbler.

Fireplace project....

Sean and I are taking out the original brick work in fron of the fireplace. He is a good worker who listens to instructions and doesn't mind helping to clean.

Knotts Field Trip...

Sean and I went on a field trip with his pre-school troop this week. Sean successfully made it onto the school bus taking us the 3 miles to Knott's. There were a few moments of anxiety on various rides. The second picture is of us on the Log Jam ride. I carried him kicking and complaining the whole way. His fear was only matched by Ishika's. We had a lot of fun and hope to go to get to the circus in two weeks.

Sean's first day playing an organized sport....soccer (futbol)

So this was Sean's first day playing soccer. He did really well. He listened and paid attention to the coach. He was also able to successfully master all the drills like dribbling and passing. At the end Sean was a little upset that they didn't actually PLAY soccer. It seemed there was a lot of waiting in line. Oh, and it was HOT at 9am. As much fun as the kids were having, I think that the parents were more interesting to watch - Like helicopters at a freeway sig alert...Below are the pics...

What do "four and a zero's" do....

They join Rotary. I remember in high school, that many of our community leaders were members of Rotary. I am now able to position myself to start giving back to my community... Here are the pics of my being accepted as a Rotarian this week.

Gone fishin'...

Sean and I went fishin' for the first time. This is at Huckleberry Pond in the Santa Ana lakes. You just show up and they give you the pole, bait, bucket and stuff. They created a little pond and stock it with catfish. You can catch a fish almost immediately which is great b/c four year olds don't have much patience. The catch (pun) is that they charge $4.50/lb for the fish you catch. But at least they fillet them for you. We caught two fish in about an hour of fishing and it cost us (me) $21. At least we were able to cook them for dinner. Catfish is ok, I guess. I prefer trout. Here's the pics...

Jenn's Wedding...

I went to Florida for Jenn's wedding. It was very nice. Here is a picture of the kids and a picture of Jenn and her father.

Goofin' on a Saturday...

Here Wilson is taking one for the team....

A moment of time where these two are not at each others' throats. Even more amazing is that I photographed it.

Fun in the pool on Memorial Day...

Here are a couple pics of the kids in the first pool of the season...

Memorial Day - Finished Fence

Here are the pictures of the finished fence. I didn't get a shot of the gate....

Building the fence part 1

These are pictures of the old fence...
Before I started tearing down the old fence, I built the center sections...
This is a picture of the demo on the left side front...
Here is a picture of Meghan being devilish...
Here is the back side of the propped up temporary fence.

The deed is done...

I resigned today from Cedars.... I think that this picture about captures my feelings...

Nothing of interest..

This is a blog about nothing...

Today and two more....

Is the other foot about to drop? Hmm.

Sil is goind well at her job. Tix.com has a new advertising plan...

Meghan is balancing and climbing...I think that her inability to communicate effectively is causing her some anxiety. The school is good for her. She has a thousand faces.

Sean is growing up so fast. We played miniature golf on Sunday. He is doing much better.

I am wrapping up my pre-flight check. I have clearance, Clarence, and am taxiing to the runway.

1/2 Marathon...and stuff.

So I successfully completed the La Jolla half marathon as a 'four and a zero.' A day without suffering is a day not having lived. Eh, whatever... Some old man passed me at the 12 mile mark mumbling encouragement to me. Rub it in abuelo.

So now that is over with:

• Stucco around the windows.
  
• Seal fence with Thompson's.
  
• Finish landscaping along fence.
  
• Get new business cards
  
• Get key to the office.
  
• Setup notebook computer
  
• Setup desk area
  
• Develop marketing plan
  
• Execute marketing plan.....

Mortgage Broker goal...

Hi

Have I missed the boat! I will be working to transition to a scary commission only position in the highly competitive mortgage broker business. So check out my new industry blog...

http://mtmahoney.blogspot.com/

Later...

Mtn Men...

So the boy and I went up to Big Bear for the day on Saturday (Day=2.5 hrs.). We left at 10:45am and didn't arrive until after 1pm. By that time he wanted his mommy. So I mixed new with the old. We had Pizza and Nachos for lunch at a Taco Bell we'd never eaten at before. And visited with Jan at her office for a while. I was able to talk to Paul on the phone too.
We had taken Wilson who was running around like a maddog smelling everything. Neither had seen snow before. There were a few patches in the shade to play in. Unfortunately, there was more mud (chocolate milk) than snow as evidenced by the mud in the car transitioned from Sean's boots and Wilson's paws. I was not guiltless either.
The primary discovery this trip was that snow is cold. Snow balls are very nice; but you have to have your dad make them for you. And Wilson, who is afraid of water but doesn't know that snow is water, likes to eat snow.
After 3pm we headed home. We went the back-way through Redlands to avoid the traffic. The little artic circle though Boulder Bay was closed which meant that we'd have to take the 10 mile detour through Fawnskin. The ride into Big Bear from the Dam provided enough motivation to avoid the traffic causd by flat-landers slow driving.
We arrived home a little after 5pm. Sean was able to sleep once we had descended from the mountains. A successful trip.

Working in the yard....

Well, it was another typical winter day in SoCal - cloudless and 80's. The boy and I were cleaning up after the tree removal people. Here he is helping to lug some mulch in his wheelbarrow. He has that shovel and golf club tucked away nicely.

Shiny stuff....

Your Birthdate: March 14

You work well with others. That is, you're good at getting them to do work for you. It's true that you get by on your charm. But so what? You make people happy! You're dynamic, clever, and funny. And people like to have you around. But you're so restless, they better not expect you to stay around for long. Your strength: Your superstar charisma Your weakness: Commitment means nothing to you Your power color: Fuchsia Your power symbol: Diamond Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I am not sure that I am in agreement with the above. Fuchsia? I can't even spell that color. Isn't that fancy purple or something? Sheesh. And people like having me around? Wouldn't I like to be around other people for that to be effective? Sheesh^2

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Hmm, donuts. Is that dark chocolate?

Miniature Golf w/ a four year old

Sometimes I feel like my four year old's extended battery. Sean and I went to play miniature golf on Sunday. We initiated take-off from the house around lunch time. One quick errand later and we were on our way.

Music request was "Fix you" from Cold Play. So I did the math and the fiftee minute travel time corresponded to just over 3 repeats of that song. Suffering from 'parental love syndrome' it becomes tolerable.

Stars and fries are on the menu for lunch. Luckily their is a "Stars and Fries Place" on the way. Unfortunately, anticipation had spoiled his appetite. I tried the "Only boy who eat a good lunch get to go to the arcade." This opened an extended negotiation of what exactly constituted a "good lunch." This combined with the normal stream of behavioral corrections, was like a shot of emotional novacaine. And being kind of high strung myself, I needed to stay "big picture." The moment I lost my center, we'd best head back home.

Lack of fuel was the first domino in this slow emotional decline. To begin with Sean is "particular." He has to have the yellow putter AND the yellow ball... everytime. Hmm. If the ball goes into the water, then it has to be completely dry before it is again usable. Each instance being a domino lined up to get to the next. But as Sean becomes more tired, he becomes less tolerant. This tolerance factor seems to be the umbelical link upon which flow my energy to him.

We only played 21 holes. But time is relative. It seemed as if the sun had stopped in the sky. Didn't I just tell him not to pickup my ball? Or to wait until his ball had competely stopped before hitting it again? Or to wait until everyone had teed off before running down the hole to see where your ball went? Or to .... AAAARGH!

Ok. He was getting frustrated at my continuous corrections. I was getting frustrated also. The immense capacity for patience powered by love and strong desire for this to be fun for everyone or else was creating a kind of Catch 22.

Recognizing you have a problem is half the battle... yeah, the easy half. So I sat down and began to hack off the dysfuntional parental chains of behavioral expectations. Once freed myself, I was able to free my son. And we had a great time.

Until it was time to leave...

Comments added due to popular request...

Ok. So I have succumbed to the immense pressure of one person's comments on a blog 2 clicks removed to add my comments section back to my blog. Happy now, Red Monkey!? Sheesh.

New Year's Eve's Eve's Eve....

New Year's Eve's Eve's Eve.... My cunada, Marisol, hooked us up with the awesome Dinner and a Show. (Excellent Buffet with great seats to Mama Mia). Just admit it. You love ABBA. Best thing to come out of Sweden since the Electrolux vacuum. Good times were had by all.

New Year's Eve's Eve.... After driving back from LV, we all went to Teryaki Hut. Deluxe combo A please.


New Year's Eve... Silvia made Roast Beast to cap off a day at the arcade and a final lunch at The Hat.

Its a Festivus Miracle!

Festivus Miracle: Ok. So I was looking for Festivus information on the internet (using Google, duh.) And I get directed to the Wikipedia which had a great bit about it (Festivus not Google) including its origins. It turns out that the origins of Festivus come from this guy's father who was inspired by this play, Samuel Beckett's Krap's Last Tape. Beckett, who is some famous Irish poet guy, supposedly dated this chick for a while named Peggy Guggenheim. (apparently, the poorer Guggenheim). So this Peggy made her fortune the old fashioned way. She inherited it from her dad, Ben (who got his from his dad but makes bad investment decision to sail accross the Atlantic on the Titanic). Peggy develops a love for the arts and buys three Man Rays, among other art stuff, to show that she knows about the arts and has money. (I personally feel that she would have bought more but she was the poor Guggenheim) So here is where the miracle happens: Man Ray is the name of the Weimaraner dog made famous by photographer William Wegman. And I OWN a Weim named Wilson thus completing a Festivus Miracle!

Merry Christmas!

Well, we've weathered an outbreak of the chicken pox. Silvia had it the worst. Apparently, she'd never gotten it as a child or had such a mild case as to not develop an effective immune response. She came through it fine though. Just a little uncomfortable... and a hit on the pride.
The Yermacks are here and everyone is in good health! Hurray. That is a first! Pics to come post x-mass gift massacre.

Sean's Fourth Birthday!!

Here is the happy family on Sean's birtday!

Holloweenie!!!

Here of some pics of Holloween!