Heather is pregnant with our 5th child. “Number 5″ as I have taken to call him/her is due October 18, 2009.
Number 5
Heather had an ultrasound this morning and I am happy to tell you that it does seem to be a human baby and it has 2 arms, 2 legs, a head, and other parts that we would expect. We did not see the part that most people are concerned about with this type of test. They say we will get that information at the next ultrasound in 6 weeks.
D.J. wants a little brother and has told us that he will not be happy if it comes out a girl. We told him we would do what we can about that, but we will get what we get and we won’t have a fit.
Ashley, Alyssa, and Arianna all want a little sister. I think their American Girl dolls are a little to static and they want a real baby go poo-poo.
All of the kids are very excited and have volunteered to share a room with Number 5. Heather is REALLY excited. I am happy, mostly because Heather is REALLY excited and the kids are so positive about this new addition. I am sure when the time comes and this little guy is with us I will be just as excited and happy as everyone.
Heather and I are both undecided on any gender preference. I think we both just hope for a happy healthy baby. A low-maintenance baby would be great! So long as it has a gender we will be satisfied.
Here is a short clip of the ultrasound with more proof that Heather does indeed have a human living inside her and not some grotesque belly popper from a 1986 science fiction movie.
Rode Friday April 10, 2009 at Government Canyon State Natural Area near Helotes, Texas. Rode 4.95 miles then popped my rear tube, then walked 1 mile back to my car.
My overall impression of the park is mixed, I have never ridden through so much rock, the constant barrage of sharp rocks and a slow leak did my back tube in. Riding up-hill through the rocks is tough, not much fun at all. Bashing down hill through the rocks was fun, but caused me to lay sweetness down for the first time since starting to ride again. I have a strong instinct towards saving myself over my bike, so I escaped unscathed.
I will go back to Government Canyon because there is lots of beautiful country to see and I am a gluton for punishment. Plus 3 days removed from the ride, it doesn’t seem so bad. I just don’t enjoy riding in so much rock. Living in the Texas Hill Country that is pretty much going to be a common problem. The only other trails I have ridden in Texas are at McAllister Park in San Antonio, they have a number of rocky sections, but there is a lot of smoother dirt single track.
One of the smoother section of trail at Government Canyon
I started the ride heading north on Joe Johnston Route. This trail is rocky double-track with a steady gentle ascent. It was a good trail for warming up the legs. About 0.8 miles up I turned right onto Wildcat Canyon. I was ready for some single track and some good climbs. The first .2 miles of this trail was excellent, some fast smoother trails and a few woop-de-dos in the middle of one nice dip in the trail. Then the trail gets very rocky and the ascent becomes more intense with some 1-2 ft rock steps. If you pick the right line most intermediate riders could handle this trail. I was able to ride up more then 80% of the trail, then my age and general bad shape caught up to me and I had to walk my bike over some of the steeper sections.
Wildcat Canyon Trail
About 1.2 miles on this trail and I noticed my back tire was getting very low. I left my pump in a friends backpack so I was very concerned about making it back to my car. I decided to walk my bike the rest of the way up to avoid all the pressure on the tire caused by climbing. I figured I could ride it back down. I hit a fork in the trail and decided to take Sendero Balcones back to the parking area.
Sendero Balcones Trail
I figured I had climed so much that it would have to be mostly down-hill. I was having too much fun riding down many long sections of rock steps then I popped the rear tube completely. I made it 4.95 miles before the blowout, then I had to walk 1 mile back to my car.
GPS Track of ride at Government Canyon State Nature Area
DJ’s played his secod soccer game last Saturday, March 21. The kids are getting better, and at least 6 goals were scored but they don’t actually keep score. At this age we just want the kids to learn the basics and have a good time, they can get into the hard core competition part of it later.
After the game DJ ran up to me and said “the coach told us to be dirty”. I expect he was not asking them to kick, punch, or tackle the opposing players. I think he was encouraging DJ after he fell and got covered with dirt.
This video is a short mix of the game, played at double speed for my own entertainment.
I also put together a 10 minute video with clips from the entire game. It is long but parents and grandparents may enjoy it. Click a link below to view the movie. You can save this movie to your computer by right clicking on the link and choosing “save link as” or “save target as”.
Trip Log: Saturday March 7: Leave Boerne, Texas at 8:00am. Drive all day through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Arrived at the Creer’s in Montgomery, Alabama around 12:30am. They were nice enough to kick their daughter out of her room and give the bed to Heather and me.
Sunday March 8: Hanging out with the Creer’s. Lots of fun playing with the kids, building Lego, playing dodge ball, tossing footballs, shooting each other with dart guns. We were playing dodge ball with with about 20 tennis balls in the yard and their daughter decided it would be more efficient to just hit me with a bat. Luckily she only hit my sufficiently padded back side. We went downtown and saw some historical buildings and walked by the Alabama river. The kids had a great time playing in a massive water fountain, to bad no one planned ahead and wore their swimsuit.
DJ washes his own clothes. How Thoughtful...
Monday March 9: Left the Creer’s around 9am and drove to my brother Dale’s home in Kissimmee, Florida, arrived around 7pm. Dale, Jae, Tanner, Lane, and Wilson welcomed us to their home. Lane donated his bedroom to the cause, thanks again. Hung out and played Lego with my big brother.
Prototyping our interstellar cruisers.
Tuesday March 10: Went to Downtown Disney to check out some cool stores and such. THEY HAVE A LEGO STORE!!! WOWSERS!!! We spent lots of time at all the non Lego related stores, and not nearly enough time at The Lego Store. It was really cool. The girls bought some girly colored bricks and DJ bought set 6743 “Street Speeder”. I did not buy any Lego for myself and am still in shock over that. They do have some other cool shops and restaurants, one place called T-REX was decorated like caves and jungles and various prehistoric scenes. DJ got a Build-a-Dino stuffed animal, but maintained some boy cred by naming it “Thunder” and plus it is a dinosaur. We also went into many Disney merchandise mega stores and had some cool drinks at the Rainforest Cafe.
Don't freak out, but there is something big and green behind you.
2 Awesome things in one picture, and you lived to see it! (And no, those are not mouse ears on DJ
Wednesday March 11: Disney World Magic Kingdom Day! Arrived at the park around 9am, Tanner’s awesome friend Mike got us 3 free park hopper passes (thanks again Mike). Rode the monorail for the 1st time in my life and it was excellent. DJ requested that we ride Space Mountain first so we headed to Tomorrow Land first thing and rode it, as the coaster was stopping DJ was yelling “that was totally awesome!” he was dancing around generally freaking out. I wonder how many time a day the ride operators get to see that, must be a fun job. We rode or saw all kinds of fun things; Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Command Spin, Stitch’s Great Escape, Speedway, It’s A Small World, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, ate lunch, and then Peter Pan’s Flight. Around 1pm Heather suggested I use the park hoppers to take the older girls to Animal Kingdom while she took DJ and Anna to Toon Town. Ashley, Alyssa, and me rode the monorail and bus to Animal Kingdom, it is a gorgeous park. We walked through the park and got fast passes for the African Safari ride then went to the opposite side of the park to ride Expedition to Everest. (I lost my mobile phone on the Everest coaster but got it back from Lost and Found on Friday. Disney’s lost and found is amazing.) We rode the African Safari and saw loads to real live animals. Then we rejoined the rest of our family on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom around 3:30pm. The rest of the day we rode or saw the following: Swiss Family Treehouse, The Enchanted Tiki Room,Walt Disney World Railroad, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Country Bear Jamboree (that was creepy), Splash Mountain (very fun and me a DJ got soaked), Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor, dinner at the Starline Cafe, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and the Wishes Firework Spectacular.
I was sitting in the front row of the Splash Mountain “log” with DJ and we got blasted by a massive fountain of water splashed up by the log going down the big drop. DJ thought that was the best part of the whole day, I just thought it was rather wet. Then we got it again down a small drop, DJ got a face full of water and just laughed about how awesome that was. Then starting up the big hill he looks at me and says “this is gonna be bad”, not a bit scared but a little sarcastic like I may have said it. He would have ridden that one again and again but the line was long and it was getting dark.
How do you like our new place, the kitchen is a little small but the rest is fab.
Thursday March 12: Went to Melbourne Beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida. Jae let Wilson skip school and they both came along with us. Played on the beach and in the surf all for about 4 hours. The waves were the biggest I have swam in in normal weather, the biggest where probably about 5-6 feet high. Texas beaches only get 2-3 feet swells in normal conditions. Now our kids can all say they have been from sea to shining sea, we go to California nearly every year and spend a lot of time on the beaches around Santa Barbara, CA.
When we got back to Dale and Jae’s they had cooked up some excellent pork roast tacos. Dale and I spent some quality brother time blowing each other up on an online game called Territory War.
The whitest kids you know.
Friday March 13: We decided that we should not do anything on Friday the 13th, too risky. No actually we let the little kids hang around the house while the big girls went to an outlet mall. I went to Disney’s lost and found to pick up my cell phone. Did I say that Disney’s lost and found is amazing? We got some pizza for dinner and watched Kung Fu Panda on Dale’s big gigantic projector. Then DJ and I watched the Hulk.
Saturday March 14: Left Dale and Jae’s around 9am and headed for home. Did not make it all the way. Stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi for the night. It rained all day, and the driving got pretty scary for a stretch across Alabama. We passed 5 wrecks in about 20 miles just outside Mobile.
Sunday March 15: Left the hotel around 9am and headed for home. This time we made it all the way. Ran into major traffic problem just east of Houston. We asked Gigi for a detour and she told us to exit I-10 and take a road headed south. We ended up taking a ferry across a small portion of the bay and driving past the San Jacinto Monument which turns out to be the tallest monument tower in the world, 570ft. The Washington Monument which I would have guessed as the tallest is a measly 555ft. We also passed the Battleship Texas. We arrived home around 10pm, the cat and rabbits were all alive and the neighbor’s lights were on so apparently we did not miss the rapture or anything while away on vacation.
Click here to download a higher quality version of this video. 55mb
DJ started soccer in February, his first foray into organized sports. I wanted to start him off with something a little more intense like rugby or roller derby, but there are not leagues for either in Boerne, Texas, so we settle for soccer.
5 year old kids playing soccer is kind of like that football game we had when we were kids with the vibrating metal board and the little guys that just went randomly everywhere and occasionally the ball would make it in the goal. It was fun to watch and the kids got a lot of practice kicking the ball out of bounds.
The coach is very patient with the kids, he stays on the field helping them notice where the ball is and telling them when it is their turn for a kick-in.
On one of the kick-ins the coach lined up his players and told them “as soon as they kick the ball, get it!” The kids obeyed and promptly ran to the ball and grabbed for it with their hands. One of them triumphantly hoisted it into the air after he succeeded with his interpretation of the coaches instructions.
For the past 5 days I have been riding at McAllister Park during my lunch breaks. In 30-40 minutes I can get in a 3-5 mile ride on nice single track and double track dirt trails. The trails offer some moderate climbs and descents and lots of winding narrow paths through Live Oak forests.
Today I found a program for my HTC Mogul Windows Mobile phone, GPS Cycle Computer, which uses the phone internal GPS to track my position, speed, elevation, and ride time. This picture is from Google Earth with the KML file of todays ride; 4.13 miles in 35 minutes.
Over the past week I have ridden about 37 miles in the park. My favorite trail is the “Red” trail with all the unmarked trails that branch off it. Most are through the shade of the Oak Trees, and there is a large ravine with some short but steep descents. This is a good area to help me regain my old technical riding skills without the danger of tumbling down 400 feet of mountain if I crash.
Sweetness is this Nishiki FS3 mountain bike I bought back in 1993. I was in college at BYU and spent a lot of time on my bike. I was spoiled as a mountain biker to live 15 minutes from some of the best single track trails in the United States. My favorite trail was the Alpine Loop which ran across the Wasatch Mountains between Provo and American Fork Canyons.
When we moved to Texas I gave up mountain biking. I was very busy as a new young father and husband, plus I was in Texas, no mountains… I saw lots of road bikers here but figured the mb scene was non-existent.
Sweetness and I got together some in 1997. I lived just 1.5 miles from my work at USAA and would sometimes ride there. That brief reunion ended with a nasty wreck involving my chest and a concrete curb.
With my current efforts to lose some weight and improve my general health I started walking. Walking is slow and boring, and I don't run unless being chased. I decided to bring Sweetness back into my life. It had been sitting in our garage only occassionaly even glanced at for the past 11 years.
This morning I gave it a good tune up and took it to McAllister Park in San Antonio. The park is about 2 miles from my work, and has over 20 miles of dirt trails. I rode a 6 mile loop around the park that included some fast level trails, some rocky technical single track, and some minor up and down hill riding. For my first real ride in 13 years it was exhausting but excellent. No crashes, they say you never forget how to ride a bike, that seemed to be true. But hauling around my big fat backside is a little harder then the riding I did in college, all the more reason to lose the weight.
The riding ended when I blew out the sidewall on the back tire while bouncing over some rocks. The 15 year old tire could not take the pressure. I was sitting on the ground looking at the tire and contemplating the trip to the bike shop for a replacement. I was a little bummed cause I really like the tire set I have and I was worried I would not know what new tire to get. I went into the shop and found the exact same tire I had! I was shocked they still made it. The dude at the shop seemed a little bewildered at my excitement over finding that tire.
Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night. - Unknown
Beware the lollipop of mediocrity…take one lick and you suck forever. - Unknown
A word to the wise ain't necessary. It's the stupid ones who need the advice. - Bill Cosby
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. - Unknown
I am so excited I had to stop this video in the middle to go relieve myself, or maybe that was just the influence of all the flowing water. This is one of the coolest inventions since microwave popcorn. I do not want the personal water craft anymore, I want one of these personal water JET PACKS! It is very impractical, but you fly! kinda… Well he is tethered to his floating pump, but unlike other "jet packs" it can sustain flight for more then a minute.
The inventor, Raymond Li, was awarded a patent for this device 2007. You can order your own now at http://www.jetlev-flyer.com/
Here is a not so spectacular, but more entertaining attempt to fly with water power.
