i’m quite interested in seeing it, but its on vhs and i don’t have a player…

just left denny’s where i had a salmonella slam and their new pancake puppies.

will update progress tomorrow if denny’s doesn’t get the better of me…

but, i already feel like i’ve got more elbow room and i’d be lying if i didn’t admit i let out a little “whoop” when i crossed the border out of california…

even better, on the inside it reads “ps. you look too young to be in the 40s.”

nothing clever to say in place of the pictures == me working too much over the weekend

they were most impressed with our poster paper and colored markers and here is one of the pictures ethan drew…

don’t think anyone in the office hasn’t already pointed out that i’m loved only after my colleague carlos.

for a kid who has never believed in santa claus and knows where his easter basket comes from, he had a lot to say about the debt the tooth fairy was racking up to him…

not only was the pilot ridiculously funny but it offered sage family advice like the following:

“you’re his family now, and that means only one thing. you be the wind in his back not the spit in his face.”

ethan beside a large plant.

ethan and logan at swim team.

logan beside the same large plant.

my wife asked “are you trying to look like a skin head?”

sometimes it aint easy being bald…

after more than a week of grey skies and cold temperatures here in the bay area my chances of moving the family out of the hot and sticky southeast look pretty slim.

a friend told me he had never heard someone complain about the weather in california – if he had a weeks worth of free time my wife would be happy to change that for him.

so, if ever he is found to be involved in some heinous scandal, like so many other prominent personalities have been, please don’t tell me…

we took a short hike on the tahoe rim trail and returned to the car.

a few minutes later when we told the kids we crossed the border back to california, logan made the astute observation:

“nevada sure is a small state”

ethan and logan on the sweetest bike ramp i’ve ever seen.

logan celebrating her gambling proceeds.

i had to walk around til i found the plant in need of assistance.

yet, in spite of appreciating their help, the best part of this story was the ideas tossed about in our office for what a sign in our window could say in response…

the reason they can’t hear me is that their brains apparently have mastered talking and listening simultaneously and since they never stop talking, it prohibits them from hearing me…

“i didn’t hear what you just said, but i’m sure it was funny.”

someone, who obviously knows me well…

logan blowing bubbles.

they couldn’t see to their left what was clear in front of me, a police car waiting for someone to ignore the stop sign.

after i crossed i joked with the officer that i though i just saved that guy a ticket and he responded

“i won’t have long to wait for the next one”

before he even completed his sentence another car rolled through the intersection without coming to a complete stop. because the officer had been talking with me he mostly missed it but then made a gesture implying “see what i mean”.

i joked around with the officer a while longer and left the conversation feeling better than before.

i’ve had more than my share of interaction with police officers both on the positive, and less positive side of things. when i’ve called them out, or met with them at community events i’ve always enjoyed them and felt good about the services they provide.

on the other side of the table, say one of the many times i’ve been stopped by an officer to discuss some questionable aspect of my driving style i have never thought “what a great guy”.

i’ll admit to potentially being in error on a few of these occasions. but unfortunately my sample size has been large so i can tell you that i have tried every approach imaginable short of crying and i have on all but one instance encountered a total jerk (i got a citation on that one instance too so that is not what influenced me).

so i hope the officer who undoubtedly stopped the next car after i walked away from the intersection brought out his children’s tour of the police car attitude while he was passing out the ticket.

but i will indulge myself with one more…

logan climbing the cable pyramid at lithia park, ashland, oregon.

logan photographing vidae falls, crater lake.