Sleep over

Finally gave up on home remedies for the fleas and had a pro come spray the place. After three rounds of foggers and no improvement, it was time to pay somebody.
The benefit was that we got a chance to
Clear out some junk.

That thing that time

Just got back from Toy Story 3. We all enjoyed it a lot. We've been having a nice time in Colorado. It's good to know we can take vacations together without going nuts. Switching hotels was a great help. It's been nice to spend time with family.

Is this thing on?

It's been awhile since my last post. We're in Colorado for Kees and Stephanie's wedding. I ended up in a hotel that is far from the actual wedding site. Not a bad place to stay, but the drive during rush hour was a real killer yesterday. Today is the wedding, then we have an extra day to putz around in Denver. Kids are holding up pretty well.

Scramble

Where have all the tulips gone?

I'm guessing 'Tulip Time' is kind of barren this year.  All the tulips bloomed so early.
We went to Korbin's school program yesterday.  It was neat to see him and all his classmates up on stage singing patriotic American standards.  Asher was thrilled with the singing as well.
Tonight us haircut night.  Looking forward to a clean neck.  Simple pleasures.
Planning a trip to Chicago next weekend for Korbin's birthday and his cousin,  Ezra's first birthday as well. Should be a hoot.

Rooster

Cool, wet day. Dawn saw slugs on the sidewalk this morning.  I helped clean a very dirty house yesterday. I'm glad my own house is just cluttered rather than septic.
There is still much to clean and fix at the house,  but we got a chunk of it. Good friends are priceless.  

Guit'r done

It's hard learning to play a song from a cd.  I'm taking it real slow.  My ears just don't pick up the details fast enough.  I was impressed with my guitar teacher in college. Chris Tucker I think it was.  He'd tell me to bring in any cd I wanted to learn,  then he'd put it on and whip out the Money solo from Dark Side of the Moon in just a few listens.  I'm not nearly that good.  Gotta love Garage Band for helping me chop it up,  though.

Spectacle

My new glasses came in yesterday.  It's so hard to chose this vital accessory in the short time I have at the eye doctor.  I'll be carrying these on my face,  seeing the world through them for the next year or more. It makes sense to me that I should be able to trial them for thirty days or so,  just to see if they make me look the way I want.  The density and angle and color of these frames give my eyes a certain attitude.  If it's not an accurate portrayal,  I should find something else.  So far,  I like them fine.  Getting used to the new weight and tension.  Frameless sure were light.

Happy Easter to you

I don't recall any other birthdays that fell on Easter. Must be a significant year.  We all made our tie dye shirts and brought joy to the church.  Asher and Korbin ended up staying home with grandma G.  Oh well.  They still looked hip.

Well ill

Eye exam today. My eyes are super dilated and I can't focus on things that are close to me unless I take my glasses off.  I've been wearing the wrong prescription for two years or more.  Time to see clearly again.  Dawn has been waiting even longer than me.  New glasses are fun.

Sleepless

Asher had a bad night last night,  which means Dawn and I had a bad night too.  He woke up a lot,  probably has a fever,  and he threw up on himself.  Poor kid.  But,  we did have a wonderful time playing outside yesterday.  Sun was shining and the breeze wasn't too chilly until we went for a walk around the block.  We built a little fire from dried grass and dead sticks.  I smelled like smoke all night.  Glad spring is coming.  Outdoors is wonderful.

Fine times

It's been a good Saturday. Dawn and I went to visit a couple friends who just had their first child.  It's a boy! Very hairy little guy. Korbin and I watched a ninja movie while Dawn massaged her aunt.  Later we all went to the guitar store so I could get some strings and Dawn could visit her friend.  We stopped for some fried supper at the local Coney Island grease pit.  Plus it snowed about 4 inches last night,  letting me enjoy one last shovel run before spring has really sprung.  Good times.

I am a robot

Korbin and I went to the art center after church today for a robot building class.  It was more crafty than technological,  but that's probably for the better. They had a selection of screws and cans and busted toys available to fasten together into robots.  We were the last ones to finish.  It was fun to slap some stuff together with old screws and hot glue.  Made me realize how easy it is to be creative and entertaining with the kids.

Mr. Mom

Hands full today.  Mom is getting some continuing ed while I watch all the boys.  It is work. 

Proboscis

I have to thank my dad for introducing me to W. C. Fields and my brother for re-introducing years later.  The man was a genius.  Had a poor childhood as I recall.  Poor as in unhappy.  Seems like an appreciable percentage of prominent people have unhappy childhoods. Nothing to be envious of,  but it does make me wonder what lesson they learned as a child of unfortunate circumstance that most people don't.  I was watching s documentary last night called Big River Man.  The story of a Slovenian fellow who swam the entire length of the Amazon river.  He also swam the Danube, the Mississippi,  and the Yangtze. Crazy hard things to do,  but he did them without much of a torch.  He just had something in him that made him dauntless. He also had a bad childhood.  Maybe they learn at am early age that it is possible to overcome impossible situations.  I'm glad I don't know the answer.

Oops

Asher is playing with an old cell phone toy that belonged to Korbin when he was a baby. It is John Deere brand. Cool stuff.

I like to go to school

Asher

Denny's

I'm pretty short on sleep since last night's curfew was 1at the elevator am.  We got up before 7 so we could walk across the street for breakfast at Denny's instead of factory food at the hotel.  I gotta say,  however,  that this really is a nice hotel.  Aside from long waits at the elevators, and the absence of fans in the bathrooms,  it's classy.  Breakfast was good.  Getting ready for morning session now.  Good group of kids too.  No major mishaps so far.

Break

Leaving for KC tomorrow morning with the church youth group.  I'm a big shot chaperone! It should be fun and possibly exhausting. Only two days,  really.  But packed full.

V day

Korbin's school Valentine exchange is today.  He and Dawn did a bunch of origami envelopes and swans to give out.  Surely the best Valentine any of the kids will get this year.  I can just picture the whole class pulling their swan tails and flapping the wings.  I sure used to enjoy making my Valentine collection box.  All the kids would decorate a Shie box or something similar,  then cur a slot in the top for people to drop in their valentines. The good old days.  Dawn and I still haven't made any plans.  Next week is a big week for us and prevents an elaborate planning phase for V day.  I'm sure it will be fine. 

Morning folks

Sunday morning.  Dawn and I both work on the 'worship team' this morning.  That means we have to get all the kids ready quicker than usual.

Tooth fairy

Korbin lost his first tooth last night before bed.  He was so excited to tell his friends about it.  We decided to stick to the tooth fairy myth even though he already knows Santa Claus is fake.  Maybe now he will want to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his new masterpiece film.  We gave him a fiver for the first tooth.  He was pretty happy about it,  but he almost seemed like he'd rather have kept the tooth.  

Stern stuff

Lean on me when you're not strong.  I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on.
Propped up on all sides.  I imagine our wildly exuberant tomato plants last year.  So spread out and energetic they couldn't support their own weight.
Coffee does the trick sometimes.  Just enough of a nice thing to gloss over the rest.  A good book also helps.  Music, surely. 

Come into my office

Korbin is pretending that he's at his office. He's wearing his nice 'church' clothes,  pretending he's the big boss.  Sadly,  there is no bathroom in his office.  Therefore I'm not allowed in at the moment.  Ok,  he just added one.  I'm in!

happy anniversary

Second anniversary today.  Last year I was out of the country,  so I have some catch up to play.  I think we'll have a nice time no matter what as long as we get to be by ourselves.  The kids are always first.  Tiring,  that.
Speaking of... We had a really good time at Korbin's school last night.  It was literacy night, with a special guest and free books and pizza.  We all enjoyed ourselves.  Korbin picked a book about a Hispanic soccer star and chose a book about hannukah for Asher.

Financial imbalance

Remember Revolution #9 on the White album? Also my right eye seems heavy-lidded. Weird.

Cool runnings

Attitude is everything. everything is everything. Is it forgetfulness that makes me fail to apply all the wisdom I've heard over the years? I wish I could put a finger on something. Routine is everything.  Discipline is everything.  Persistence.
God,  being above all and in all and through all,  is everything.  Maybe this is the beauty of the fruit if the spirit. More of the source gives you more of the supplies.  Obedience is everything.

Long winter

Eventually you just get tired of it. people move to phoenix to get away from the inconvenience. I used to like snow.  Snow was fun at one time.  Korbin likes snow.  I don't see the fun potential anymore. I see the work potential.  That might have broader application.  The joy of the lord is my strength. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy...

Call out

Justified.
I'm not one of those people who likes to stand up in church. "stand with me if you believe the same thing as me!" I wouldn't be here if I didn't.  It feels like someone is trying to validate themselves as a 'moving' speaker. Save it!
Korbin and Dawn are going to have some time together this afternoon.  I hope it's fun for them both.

Noob

Getting used to the new touch screen is fun and tedious.

End of an era

This is quite possibly my last blog post from this phone. We signed up for another two years with Verizon and got some free phones coming in the mail today. I have to say that, as much as I've hated aspects of this BlackBerry over the past two years, it has given me my most robust cell phone experience to date. Not a surprise, really, but still I feel some attachment to this old thing because of it. I hope the new baby droid will live up to it's predecessor.

Shave and a haircut

Ten cents.

Tubular

"life is only worth living when you can face death without fear"
The TV is always on in the break room. Most of the time people are watching the popular morning shows or soap operas. Today, however, the TV was left on the classic old timey channel. A western was on, and the bad guy was telling the good guy how much he enjoyed his way of life.
Dawn's sister and family left again this morning. It's nice when they are around. They are so helpful.

Shoe axe

I understand waiting for the axe to fall as being a kind of execution. I don't understand waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I have a project being out to regular use finally. Actually two projects both started being used yesterday. I'm nervous that they will not perform as hoped and that I will be unable to make fixes in time.
I also don't like to give speeches. Tada!

Ok in there

We're enjoying some game time at the Vermeulen house. Korbin has been keeping himself entertained with a little help now and then. Asher is still snoozing and milo is doing what he normally does. It was nice to get away from home and come down here for food and fellowship.

Coal ran out

I look like I woke up under a bridge! Which would probably be a rare feat on a day like today. It's so cold the icicles have turned opaque. My car doesn't like it and neither do I. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest yet, so i'm glad it's the weekend and we can hunker down.

Wintry mix

It is very cold today. So cold that the critters are looking for warmer climes. Our cats were pretty feisty over night. I heard them tearing around downstairs while we were trying to sleep. Dawn found out this morning that the cats had caught a small mole and were playing with it. Last year we had a problem with mice. I am confident that the cats will be a great help.
I hope Korbin is enjoying the school structure again after his long break. Plus awana tonight. This will be a taxing day for him.