Hello....Goodbye

Hello Papa Skip...

Michaela's Dad Skip came in town to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend with us. It was great to see him and we did our best to fit as much quality time in as we could in the three days. We all piled into the car and headed down to Old Sacramento, to look around at the trains, boats, and cool old town. Landon's favorite part was the excessive amounts of candy stores that seem to pop up every 10 feet or so.

Hello Fishing...

Skip was also kind enough to bring out his fishing gear and we went out to Folsom Lake for Landon's first ever fishing trip. To make it extra exciting for Landon, Skip picked him up his very own Spider Man fishing pole which he thought was "the coolest". It was a very nice day when we were out there, and we all set up shop near the water (Michaela and I with beers, Landon and Skip with fishing rods)....We enjoyed watching the million or so boats that were on the water that day, but as far as the fishing was concerned, the only bites we had all day were from seaweed, not fish. Either way, Landon still had a total blast and can't wait to go out there again. Since his Dad isn't much of a fisherman, it's awful lucky that both Papa Skip and Grandpa Dennis are way into it, so he'll have someone to take him out and show him the ropes...I will be happy to take him out there, but I think the only thing I'll be catching is a buzz or some ZZZ's...

Hello Big Boy Bike...

As Landon has been growing like a weed, we assessed that it was finally time to get him his own "big boy bike". Let me tell you, Craigslist is the perfect place to land a bike of this size. Most kids outgrow this size bike extremely fast, so provided you can find one that hasn't crashed too many times, you can get a smokin' deal on one. We found a great deal on a Spider Man bike that was in tip top shape (notice the Spider Man theme?). Long story short, we pulled the trigger on it and now Landon has his very own big boy bike. We've taken him out on it a few times and thus far the results have been mixed. He can get going on it pretty good, but the kids bike don't have the hand brakes, they're the foot brakes, which really throws off his rhythm. But we're working on it and I'm sure he'll be jamming up and down the streets in no time!

Goodbye Sass...

It's been a VERY long time coming, but we have been extremely patient with him and all that waiting has seemed to pay off. As most of you know, Landon's "Sass" is his pacifier, which he's had since birth. As he's gotten older we changed the rules on him and he went from being able to have it whenever he wanted to only having it at naptime and bedtime. We initially said that when he turned three years old we were going to be done with it, but with one thing and another that date just kept getting pushed back. We said to ourselves "it's not hurting anybody, so it'll work itself out over time". This past week Landon was with Michaela and said "Mommy, I want to give my Sass to the babies at my old school", to which Michaela said "Landon, that's a great idea!". Then on Thursday, Michaela picked Landon up from school and somehow he had managed to smuggle his Sass into school. When she asked why he had it, he said "I want to take it to the babies at my old school"...and Michaela jumped on the chance. She immediately took him over there and he gave the Sass to the teacher in the babies class. It was a major big boy move! Since that went down, he will occasionally forget that he did that and will ask for his Sass during bedtime...but we remind him and tell him how proud we are that he did that...all things considered, the whole process went WAY better than expected.

Goodbye Harry Potter (sigh)....

Michaela and I caught the very last Harry Potter movie yesterday. It was a fantastic movie, and I highly recommend it to all. As a super Harry Potter nerd for a very long time, I will have to say that I'm very sad to see the series come to an end. Michaela and I saw every movie together in the theater, and it was always an exciting "date" for us to do that. I'm sure that there will be more books that I get into, and plenty of movies as well, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the Harry Potter series. I can honestly say that I read every single book in one day each, and every one of them made me feel like a little kid again...if only I could have gone to Hogwarts!!

Goodbye 20's....

Maybe it's only fitting that Harry Potter came to an end right as my 20's come to an end. It was a great ten year run for me, starting with a couple of fun (but tough) years at UofA (including the bringing Guinness into our family), followed by some really awesome years in Phoenix (with the addition of Jack). Then Michaela and I got engaged, we moved to Sacramento, got married, my career took off, and we brought Landon into this world, and now he's three!....Wow, I really got a lot done this past decade. And most importantly, I made it to thirty in one piece (there were a few moments where that was hit or miss)!

So what will the thirty's bring for me? I'm not sure, but I'm looking forward to finding out...