We started the day at Elitches.

We did not have much time as I had clients in the afternoon that needed attention but Pattie and I both got some work done first thing in the morning so we thought we could get some RELAXATION in.  Relaxation is not exactly what happened.  After dealing with heavy traffic and a line of cars to get in to the parking lot, we made our way to the swimming area to find no room at the inn.  All of the chairs had been snatched up before we got there.  I agreed to go with Alex to ride one of the roller coasters – “The Mind Eraser” – not exactly a relaxing ride.  After standing in line (for ½ hr) to have our mind’s erased it was our turn to be swung around upside down and sideways all over the place.  Getting off of our mind erasing, body numbing ride I realized that I had lost my waterproof case that was tied on my neck.

The water proof case

To hold all of our valuable things so that they won’t get wet or lost or stolen, – or lost , or lost — I’ve lost it!!!! No big deal, it only had the season passes for the family. Oh , and my license and one of my charge cards. Oh, and Pattie had given me her driver’s license and her charge card and her cash. Oh and I had, for the first time, put my phone in it. Great now what?  Maybe we could call the phone. Of course my phone is not that loud and the park is loud!!! After getting in touch with a supervisor it was explained that part of the problem was that it could end up on a roof or in a tree or bush so this could take some time.  And no one is allowed to go into these areas while the roller coaster is moving – so it would have to be shut down.  Great I am going to be a rather unpopular person while they look for my lost pack.  Really this is not the norm for me.  Pattie was told they would shut down the coaster at 12:00 and start looking.  I kept looking through the fencing as much as I could trying to see anything that might resemble my stuff.  I seen a lot of hats and a few sunglasses but nothing of mine. Then there it was behind two fences, the yellow top of the water proof case.  Incredible.  I will not have to cancel the charge cards, we will not have to wait in line to get new drivers licenses. The supervisor was excited as well. They would still have to shut down the ride but, only long enough to retrieve my belongings – not for the lengthy amount of time to do a full out search of the area that they were expecting.

After retrieving my case

We decided to take at least a little time to calm down by floating down what is called the lazy river. Melinda enjoyed pushing us into the waterfalls. We also went up the steps to come down one of the water slides. Melinda has been doing well at trying new things.

Friday night was our family adventure race.

Our second year of participating in this fun event.  Alex teamed up with me and Melinda with Pattie.  A three legged race to get to the boats (canoes, or a paddle boat).  Alex had not tied our legs together very well so the knot came undone and the rubber tie snapped us.  We tried to re-tie it while running and not getting run over by the other teams.  We managed to get a canoe and get a good start in the water. With only a couple of boats in front of us we felt good with our placement as we got out for the transition to our bikes. Pattie and Melinda did not get to a boat so ended up running to the bike transitions area and got there just before us. I had to get my bike shoes on so it took just a minute longer to get on my bike than I would have liked. But once on the bikes Alex and I were on our way. Alex choose to take the Adult bike course instead of the shorter one for the kids. It was a couple of miles longer but it was fun. Once we made it back to the transition area, the bike shoes came off and running shoes took there place. I could make Alex work on his bike to keep up with me but my running was not up to his standards. He tried to be patient with me but my gut was in the way of my running and I slowed him down. Alex has decided to dump me as a partner for next year in favor of mom.  I told him I will get in shape and leave him in the dust next year – he is not worried and says he is looking forward to the challenge.  He is only 12 and already he is not afraid of me!!!! I must get in shape for next year.

Tags: family activities by Randall
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Letting the kids make decisions for themselves

 is a learning experience for us (the parents.)

Due to a rained out baseball game Alex “s team had a make up game Saturday. Saturday is when Alex and Melinda have their swim meets. Alex does not need to improve his times to qualify for the varsity swim meet but we thought he would want to beet some of his own time’s. Alex also knows and gets along with the kids on the swim teem better than the baseball team. We were hoping (kind of) that he would want to go tot the swim meet. But he decided to go to the base ball game, a little surprising. This was also a bit inconvenient for us as now we would have to split up and go to two different places. Selfish on our part but we actually get to talk to each other during the swim meets – a rare thing these days. We also like bragging about how well he does with his swimming. It was not easy but we resisted the temptation to tell him to go o his swim meet. Putting our selfishness aside we let him decide and baseball was the choice.

His teem is struggling to under stand tactics of the game and most of the kids need a lot more practice on the basics (including Alex) but this is one of the reasons he wanted to do baseball. I would like to see him be a little more assertive and less timed around his team mates so this is probably a good thing for him. As far as the game went – they lost. Alex made it to home plate twice but did not get the score. His first time didn’t count because the other teem got out the batter (third out) than he was tagged out on the last run. He thinks he made it but who could say for sure as the dust hid what happened. I told him to try to be happy with just getting on base and into the game as many of the players did not. I know it is difficult for him to play a game that takes time and is not always moving, but he is hanging in their.

More decisions for Alex during the game.  

 Do I swing or not?   The other teems pitcher was good but had trouble adjusting to Alex’s left hand swing so he walked Alex twice. Alex wanted desperately to swing but knew to let them go by. 

Do I steal or not?

Go for it and third was his.  

Off to home!!!   Should have been a run.  next game it will be. 

 some good out-fielding!!

I am happy that we let him go to the baseball game!!!

Melinda did well at the swim meet but hit her head on the wall during her backstroke. She said she counted the strokes during warm up but when she counted them during the race she was off by one. She did place (she thinks) even with the head bumping. Next Saturday I should be their to watch her race.  I feel a little guilty not being at her race but I make it to most and I have not yet figured out how to be in two places at one time.  

Tags: Kid's and animals, Uncategorized, family activities, parent guilt, parenting by Randall
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It started like any other lazy Sunday

 but last week Pattie noticed some standing water in the kitchen sink. Why do they call it STANDING water? Why not SITTING water? Or LAYING water? Or even KNEELING water? Or some such thing? no matter!!!! At any rate the water was not draining and it was a Sunday – not wanting to know what a plumber charges on a Sunday I decided I could take care of it myself. It cant be that big of a deal? Can it? Yea right!!! It was a great reminder as to why plumbers charge so much. It seemed so simple – just snake out the clog. Yea right!!! Five hours later, a completely redesigned drainage system under the sink, a rental unit to snake out the drain in the basement, a borrowed wet dry vac (this was the weekend we loaned out our own) And presto everything is great -yea right.

Still have a leak under the slink (the garbage disposal)- I will get to it. Yea.     After a long shower I did feel a sense of accomplishment but I cant wait until I have my millions so I can just hire some one else to take care of this kind of thing. Than I will really have a sense of accomplishment.

Tags: family activities, smart ass by Randall
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Joel Osteen had a familiar message but one that I take to heart. It is not enough to believe things our going to turn out great , we must say it out loud. Speak of victory out loud. Every day thank good for our super natural favor. Nothing happens unless you speak it. Avoid taking about our problems and spend our energy talking about victory.I compare this to the so familiar contest to have the worst life. Their seems to be a need in our social climate to be an under dog. So much so that people want to be victims. Your not special unless you have health problems or a rough childhood or some kind of handicap (mental or physical). And you must talk about all your problems. If you are doing well it must be because of genetics or just luck – it cant be from working at it. Wanting everyone to believe we worked for what success (at what ever) we may have we seem to spend our time taking about how difficult things are for us than how great things are. It is incredible how often it becomes a contest to see who has the worst life. Why would any one want to win that contest yet I catch myself doing that very thing. If people want to believe that I am just lucky when I tell them things are going well. They are correct – I am lucky that I know if I work at having a good life I will. I am Lucky that we chose to have our children spend time in the pool and their swimming keeps improving . I am lucky that I choose to workout and eat less junk so that I will have good health (and can almost keep up with my kids). Pattie is lucky that she has made the decision (and is following through) to work out in the mornings so that see feels good about herself and can almost keep up with the kids. I believe that this is what Joel and Tony Robins and “The secret” are trying to get us – Me – to do. Start taking more about the success than the challenges in our life’s even if it is to ourselves. Every day declare that it will be a good one and that thing are going well and to say it out loud. If someone wants to have a contest to have the hardest life – let them win!!!!!!!!

Tags: Joel Osteen (weekly), smart ass by Randall
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Last night we watched the movie “The day the Earth Stood Still” .

Not a bad movie, but it was another message that the human race is about to come to an end because of the way we treat the earth.. The reason is (of course) our destructive nature and the way we abuse the earth. I can only imagine that the Al Gore man-made global warming followers loved this movie. There seems to be a deep need to believe that the sky is falling. In the movie it was brought up that it is only the tipping point that we will do anything. Unfortunately that is frequently true. Perhaps that is why people that do not believe the end is coming still preach it. Mr. Gore wants the world to believe the sky is falling because of our energy use is causing global warming . Yet his house uses 12 times the national average. If he truly believed in his own message would he not spend what ever was necessary to have the most efficient house on the planet. It is not just Mr. Gore – How many people I know that say they truly believe that we need to take drastic actions to keep the sky from falling yet their own actions are anything but energy wise. Back to my point, we seem to want to believe the world is coming to an end but we really don’t believe it. Though it is sadly true that we (humans) have destroyed natural resources and killed off many species of animals, the earth had life on it before us and will have life after we are long gone.

Back to the sky is falling!!!

 Our carbon foot print is so bad that it must be stopped immediately!!!  But not if it means nuclear power. If it is a forgone conclusion that our carbon foot print is causing our demise – nuclear power would seem logical. But we are not talking about logic – we are talking about running in circles screaming that the sky is falling. So they have sit-ins and an assortment of anti-nuclear protests. My guess is that they drove to these protests in there SUV’s and upon arrival talked about how the sky is falling and no one is doing anything about it.  Recently a 14 year old boy was hit by a pea sized meteor – the sky did fall on him. It is true that it would only take one or two fools in charge of one of our (so called) super powers to get the world into a nuclear war and that indeed would be the end of the world – at least as we know it.  Is that a song? At any rate hordes of people want to run around declaring the end of the world and they get upset with anyone that does not run in circles with them.

Another reason I thought I would rant about our “imminent doom” is an invite I received on my door from another group that likes to declare the end of the world. This time it was the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In there defense they have been very nice and polite as they stop by my house every couple of weeks to try to save me. This time I was not home so they dropped off a paper with the heading “How can you survive the end of the world”. Now in my marketing classes that would be considered a great grabber – how could you not read it. I am trying to figure out a way to use it in my next marketing piece.   Now this paper did not state exactly how the world would end or give us the date of the end of the world. I think you have to go to the meeting to find out the answer to those questions, and what do you know? Times and location of the meeting were supplied. I must admit a certain curiosity as to how they believe we will fall – will it be a natural disaster, plague, (swine flue), floods, or will it be more self inflicted like war?

Maybe the end will be a combination of all of these things.Maybe man made global warming will flood most of the lands and the remaining land will be scorched to tinder. NOT TO WORRY because Now!! I hear of a possible ice age again. That’s right – scientists are not gathering evidence of the next ice age. Once again, this is of course all possible – It is just not new. I was told the world would come to an end if I graduated high school. Well I graduated and I can prove it. I seem to recall that all the planets lined up in 1980 and that was going to end of the world. In the eighties my best friend and I went four wheeling up in the mountains even though his concerned brother warned that that was the day the world was to end. My wife’s brother has told us that his religion has declared the end of the world on more than one occasion. The year 2000 was to be the end of the world because the computers would all blow up with the internet or some such thing(didn’t Al Gore claim to invent the inter net?). Once again the world did not end and for Melinda it just started. Although last week Melinda was sure the world had come to an end when I told her she could not have ice-cream right before bed. Many friends over the years have tried to save me by warning me of the end and I have been impolite and scoffed at them. Having said that I have no doubt that one day the world will end and if I am still here these people that keep predicting the end will look at me and a split second before oblivion, will say: told you so. Until then I will try to enjoy life with the family and that occasional movie about the end. I still find them entertaining.

Tags: Political rant by Randall
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