It is hard to believe Lucy's puppies are almost 7 weeks old. It has been such a special time for us. The kids watched her give birth, which was a lesson in itself. Later that day after Emma and I had left for a meeting, I called home to check on the little family. Amy said that Jack needed to talk to me because he was FREAKED out. "He is watching all the puppies nurse and needs to know how he ate when he was a baby," said Amy. "Put him on the phone." "Hello?" "Jack.."I paused trying hard to ... View the Post
flyposuction!
We were so blessed with an abundant garden. The down side was the crazy amount of fruit flies that decided living in the house was way more fun than living outside of the house. One day we had the shop vacuum out and John had a brilliant idea. He decided to suck them out of the air. FLYPOSUCTION! It totally gave a new twist to the saying time flys when you are having fun! From now on the kids will always remember their Dad, armed with a craftsman shop vac, taking care of business one bug at a ... View the Post
time together
Last weekend I went out to the middle of nowhere to cover a story about a church sponsored dirt bike ride called Desert Storm. As the event got closer I began trying to think of reasons, besides not liking dirt and motorcycles, why I should stay home. Then a pleasant surprise happened. Our nine year old, Jack, said he would go with me. With six kids ranging in ages from 23 to 9 , one-on-one time is a rare occurance. "Go ahead," I told Jack when we stopped for dinner. "Order anything off the ... View the Post
fresh air
John's birthday was last Thursday. My mom and dad took all three kiddos to the Reno airshow so we had the whole day to ourselves. What a rare moment! We borrowed an older red Mercedes convertable from some friends and spent the day driving around beautiful Lake Tahoe with a picnic lunch and the wind in our hair. Besides the fact that it was a super relaxing day we realized something else as well...after 24 plus years of marriage it is easy to take each other for granted. Sometimes life gets ... View the Post
never judge a book by it’s cover
I decided to write about something for the local paper I knew nothing about. Tattoos. For someone who threw up on a nurse drawing blood, the thought of going near needles was way out of my comfort zone. I walked into Old School Tattoo Parlor, pen and paper in hand along with a digital recorder and camera. The owner introduced himself as Crazy Alexander the ink pimp. His arms were covered in tattoos, his long grey hair hung in a braid down his leather vest. He showed me his latest addition, ... View the Post
tough stuff
It was in the middle of the night when I sensed a presence standing near the head of my bed. I awoke to Jack, our nine year old, sobbing. His wrist had taken the brunt of his fall off a skateboard. Now it throbbed in pain. I pushed back the covers and let him slide in next to me. As soon as Sierra Doctor’s opened the next morning we drove to Auburn. When we got to the office we filled out the paper work and soon we were called into the room where casting was done. Jack immediately decided on ... View the Post