Trick or Treat

Pics of the boys after trick or treating. Austin absolutey loved it and, unlike last year, and no fear whatsoever of the cobwebs and goblins everywhere (too much TV perhaps?). Wyatt, on the other hand, became very afraid of monsters, and wouldn't go to certain houses without accompaniment. They were so adorable; I loved being a parent last night.

Pumpkin Carving

We joined our friends the Andrews for a night of pumpkin carving. I didn't enjoy carving out the rotten pumpkin with rotten seeds, but aside from that, had a great time. Our pumpkins are the three that aren't as good (on the left). The Andrews took pumpkin carving to a whole new level for me.

Austin and Wyatt were quite excited to light up the pumkins after their carving.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween –

My boys are growing up too quickly. I haven’t posted since May, and look how they have changed. They are such good playmates now, spending so much of their waking hours together. Reminds me of my childhood, and I love it. Here’s a picture Gayle sent me from her phone of them coming from school after their Halloween party. There were few things greater for me when I was a kid than Halloween.

Mother's Day

( Mommy and Wyatt on Daddy's birthday)

Days pass so quickly during this phase of life and, while they are jammed with meaningful and memorable moments, I've had trouble finding time to capture them in a blog post.

I woke up early this morning to do some work, but I can't let the morning escape me without writing about Gayle and my Mom on Mother's Day.

So much of the meaningful moments in my life come from my kids, and those moments are so often created only because of the tender loving care that Gayle gives to them. Gayle is ruthless and tireless in loving on Austin and Wyatt. Sometimes that love comes in the form of a long embrace on the couch as the kids wake up from their night slumber. Sometimes it means picking Wyatt up after he falls on the driveway, because he got so excited that he was running more quickly than his legs and balance-center are ready for. Sometimes it means reading another story, even though she's read it 100 times. Sometimes it means disciplining Austin for crossing the line with Wyatt from big brother to big brother-bully. Sometimes it means letting Austin and Wyatt pick at each other, however annoying to Gayle, because that's how kids learn. Sometimes it means delaying her own lunch so that she can take care of the hungry boys. Sometimes it means changing the 5th poopy diaper of the day. Sometimes it means maintaining patience at disobedience, despite having provided correction for the same thing five times that day. Sometimes it means changing sheets that are soaked with pee. Sometimes it means letting the boys play in the sink, even though she knows she'll have to clean up their mess. Sometimes ...

Gayle takes on motherhood like a swan swims - she is beautiful to watch. "The boys" fail so often to say thanks to Mommy, in part because they have no idea how much she loves them. So today, for all the love that Gayle gives--seen and unseen--I'll say it for them. Thanks, Mommy, for teaching us how to live, to play, to laugh, to cry, to read, to pee in the potty, to run, to bike, to draw, to sing. Thanks Mommy for everything. You are our everything. Happy Mother's Day. Austin and Wyatt.

(Mommy with boys during spontaenous front lawn picnic.)

Gayle has been doing this tirelessly for over 4 years. My own mommy has been doing it for over 34 years! I've come to realize that Motherhood never stops, and that I take full advantage of my Mom's continuing love for me. So quick am I to turn to her for advice, for theological discussion and counseling, and yes, for love. So much of who I am comes from the tireless love my Mom gave to me. Yes Mom, in so many ways YOU are MY everything.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!

Learning to Read

For over a year, I have sensed that Austin was on the verge of reading. He's been putting letters together, and in some of his finer moments, has worked with me to sound out words. But more due to an apparent lack of interest than anything, he hasn't quite put everything together. Well, last week at school, he did. Austin learned how to read the words on the pictures above. Sister Rachael has been saying that all he needs is a vowel sound, and he'll start to put everything together. She was right. I don't know why "pit," "bit," and "hit" clicked in his mind more easily than the "hat," "bat," and "mat" that I was trying to teach him, but that's what happened. Gayle and I are of course so proud of our little guy, and have so much fun watching him grow. Now, we just need to figure out how to get him to stop peeing in the wooden stool in his room, which he did last night .... oh to be 4. Congratulations on learning to read Austin. We love you! Mom and Dad.

Winter Fun

Although Spring has shown signs of arrival by poking the sun through the clouds, and scattering some 50 degree days among freezing temperatures, it is still winter. The boys and I have manged some indoor winter fun, including playing baseball, football and soccer in the house, and venturing to an indoor pool. The pool includes our routine of swimming for an hour and a half, and then eating poptarts. I know, not the best fuel, but it's just what we do, and they would be so dissapointed to do anything but.

Winter has also brought us several snow storms, and Austin and Wyatt have ventured into the cold with me, armed with shovels, to help me attack the snow. I love shovelling snow. It reminds me of my own childhood, in which my dad, brothers and I performed the intimate and rewarding act of cleaning off a driveway together. Now, I am the dad, and realize that I bring the kids out with me more for the company they give me, than for the labor they perform. I'm sure it was the same for my dad, despite my childhood presumption that I was performing an indispensable service to my dad. Austin, though, has gotten the hang of the act of shoveling, and Wyatt is just happy to just carry a shovel around, and occasionally use it to flip snow onto my shoe. After our work is done, we go inside, the boys with red cheeks and pleading for cocoa to "warm my cheeks up." With great ceremony, we stir the chocolate into the milk, housed in real coffee mugs, and crown the cocoa with marshmallows. It's family time at its best, if you ask me. No organized sports. No coaching. No driving. Just us.

Let it snow just a few more times before Spring officially arrives with The Masters golf tournmanet. For, we've got some more shovelling to do.

A Breath of Fresh AIR

Don't you love people in life who are like a breath of fresh air? Brother Kevin is one of those for me, and graced me with a visit two weekends ago. Kevin arrived Friday night, and stayed up with me to go pick up Andrew-Thames-Kontak late Friday night, who crashed our house only to fly out at 7 am for Dallas the next morning. Despite only spending two car rides and change with him, Thames managed several good laughs with us. Always good to see him.

Kevin, Rachael and I headed up to Breckenridge early Saturday morning, and speaking of AIR, Kevin got enough to learn and perfect his new 360 move - see picture below. More incredible than watching Kevin actually do the 360 was watching him learn how to do it. You know those cartoons where the character runs off a cliff and his legs keep moving until he realizes he's off the cliff and he drops like a rock? That's what Kevin looked like on his first few jumps. He'd be spinning, when suddenly he'd get scared and come out of it, quickly crashing into the ground, landing on his head, ski tip, or side. Not to be deterred, Kevin overcame his mind telling him to stop spinning, and completed an entire 360, and stuck the landing. Incredible. Rachael, Kevin and I had good talks on the ski lifts, and just enjoyed each other's company.

Sunday, Kevin and I played in a pick-up football game, except that it was more of an invitation-only game. I had to talk the organizer into letting Kevin play, but it only took Kevin aboot one catch to establish himself as the best player on the field, including a diving catch that nobody knows how he caught the ball. Talk about air.

In addition to all that, Kevin was gracious with his time and energy with the kids, and just fun to be around. Thanks for the visit Kev, and congrats on the 360. What's your next trick?

The Many Austins

Ok, so talking about running went nowhere, because it turns out, I think about everything while run, and nothing at the same time. My brain jumps from topic to topic, none of them usually in depth enough that it would be interesting to write about. But I did finish the 30 runs in 30 days! I ran at all hours of the day, but usually in the dark, either at 5:15 am, and sometimes after putting the kids to bed. The runs were only 1/2 hour long, but life nearly got the better of me and my goal on many days. One thing I thought about while running is The Many Versions of Austin. Austin's imagination is so strong that he not only pretends to be something, he acts as if he really is the something he's imagining. If you tell him "You really look like a policeman," he'll immediately respond, with some level of frustration in his voice, "I am a policeman." Gayle and I take great joy watching him change chameleon-like from one persona to another. Below are pictures of him dressed as a pirate, a firefighter, an umpire, and his latest favorite, Spiderman (first picture above - shooting his web out at you. Notice the care he pays to his costume, down to the red socks). He's also been a doctor for awhile, but I didn't get a picture. In all of these pictures, Austin dressed himself, the best part of it. Keep imagining buddy. We love it. We love you.

Pirate, Version 1. He saw the belt/strap on the pirate in Puff the Magic Dragon.

Pirate, Version 2. Getting better.

Pirate, Version 3. He built the pirate ship, and begged Gayle to make him an eye patch, which he wore around ALL day, including to the grocery store. He had an indententation around his eye from the patch after the day was over.

Policeman. The best part about this costume is the ski pants he dug out of the closet, to match the navy blue of the pants that policemen wear.

On many winter nights, Austin and I play catch inside after dinner. Lately, though, his need to actually BE an umpire, or a catcher, or a pitcher, has impeded the actual time we spend playing catch. Here's Austin dressed as the catcher.

Any Given Weekend

One thing I love about kids is that they can make a good time out of anything. In any given weekend, we'll play ping pong in the living room, with a table as our net, have a spontaneous picnic on a bridge, eat Thai food with chopsticks, "work" on the garage door (for hours), and bake goods together. The pictures below tell the story.

30 Runs in 30 Days - What I Think About When I Run

I'm not done yet! I've got all sorts of pictures of the boys and ideas stored up that I'm going to get to. In the meantime, I've kicked off the new year with my friend Barry doing 30 runs in 30 days. Each run has to be at least 30 minutes. I'm right on pace, having done 6 runs so far. I've noticed how much thinking I do about all my friends, family, and life on these runs, and thought it'd be fun to write about it. After today, I'm going to start writing daily. So far, I'll encapsulate my experience of the runs to date. I started on January 1 with 1 hour, 8 miler in the snow. I ran early, and delighted in the crisp of air, and the silence of the world that was not yet awake. I felt good. January 2 was a run on tired legs. January 3 was a refreshing stroll down the "dirt road" as we call it, the farm road that meanders near our house. January 4 was quick lunchtime run downtown along the Platte River and back to the office. January 5 was a 52 minute lunchtime run with my boss. January 6 was a run in the dark early in the morning before the kids got up; I then had 20 minutes to hang with the boys before jetting off to work. And that brings me today. Today, I think I rest, and will therefore need to work in 2 runs tomorrow. Oh boy. Happy New Year.