I don’t know whether to chalk this up to me being a good, attentive parent or my kids learning how to deal with me and how to train me to meet their needs and interests, but we’re on vacation in California for a late spring break and it’s going remarkably well, sufficiently well that my 17yo turned around this evening (our first full day) and surprised me by saying that “this is totally fun so…Read More
I was nerdy as a kid — no surprise there — but had no idea that there was a bigger picture than my family and my school. Still, I never entered the local science fair (if there even was one, I don’t recall ever hearing about it even though I was in the honors program for junior high and high school) and kinda wish one of my kids was growing up to be a science…Read More
My 17yo and her mom are in Europe for a few weeks so the younger two are with me for the duration, which is going well so far, though K-, my 10yo, has an occasional twinge of missing mommy. My son? I don’t know if he’d notice if they extended their trip for a few months or permanently relocated to Vietnam, as long as he can shoot hoops with his friends and play Clash of…Read More
It was supposed to be an easy evening, where my son G- (13) would be at his friend’s house for the night while the girls and their friends would have a sleepover at my place. Two 17yo girls and two 10yo girls. I had two movies teed up, My Fair Lady for everyone, then, when the younger two went upstairs to bed, Rush for the 17yo’s and myself. Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison for everyone…Read More
This afternoon has been a bonus one for kids coming over to visit, especially when considering that it’s a school night. A-, my 17yo, had a pal over for most of the afternoon — they hid up in her room and likely talked about boys and kept up to date on gossip — while my son G- went over to his friend’s place immediately after school and then around 4.30pm they both came over here…Read More
The floods came and went months ago, wreaking destruction on both the city of Lyons and Highway 36 from Lyons up to Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. While these floods impacted everyone in our community to a greater or lesser extent, my own experience was more about going stir crazy with the kids than the water itself (as I explain here: Home Life during the Boulder Flood). My ex had more issues,…Read More
I honestly have no idea what we were thinking when my youngest was born the second week of January. Every year I attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and just about every single time her birthday lands during the middle of the show. While I’m in Las Vegas at the most important trade event of the year. This year was no different, of course, and it was during the third day of this…Read More
All of my children enjoy art, but that’s no surprise because they come from an artistic family (well, at least on my side 🙂 and go to a school that has a strong emphasis on crafts and handwork. They knit, they crochet, they’re all very talented illustrators. So it’s a natural that they like painting ceramics. We’re lucky to have a local ceramics painting studio Color Me Mine Boulder that’s no more than two miles…Read More
Verizon’s sponsoring a “Play Like a Girl” competition, promoting its FIOS Internet package, and invited me to participate. So I am. This is a sponsored post and the main theme is supposed to be about how girls are just as competitive and play just as aggressively as boys do when it comes to sports. You know, so “play like a girl” is a compliment. 🙂 Except while I think the FIOS package – TV, Internet and phone…Read More
I’m that guy. I admit it. When people are taking photos of a group of people I’m the guy who slips two fingers behind someone’s head to give them bunny ears. It’s photobombing before, well, photobombing, and it’s astonishingly common in candid photographs. So when the PR team at Nesquik asked me about helping them promote their contest that could let one of you lucky readers win a free trip for four to the caribbean,…Read More
After five days of relatively non-stop adventures — catch up here: Orange County, San Diego Harbor , Legoland, San Diego Bus Tour and Disneyland & Disney’s California Adventure — we all needed some down time and that slower pace ended up characterizing the second half of our trip. We’ve done this sort of trip before and I thought I’d planned for sufficient relaxation, but apparently it was less than my kids really needed. If you’ve read the previous installments, you…Read More
We woke up early in our room at the Howard Johnson Anaheim Resort, rested and ready to jump into the madness that is a one-day park-hopper pass to both Disneyland (which takes at least a day) and Disney’s California Adventure (which takes another day). Before I start talking about Disney, I have to say that the HoJo (as they call it) is a really good place to stay, across the street from Disneyland — you…Read More
I lived in San Diego for four years when I studied at the University of California, San Diego, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Philosophy. Yeah, it all started then, my mix of tech and theory, and I have to say that I really enjoyed living in San Diego during the first great boom of development in the area. It’s a city that’s unrecognizably bigger, with so much growth…Read More
It’s been in Southern California since 1999, but until yesterday I’d never made it to Legoland California, nor had my children. Even though we’re all fans of Lego and the many amazing — and pricey — construction kits they offer. Heck, if you look very closely at my computer bag, you’ll see I have a Lego minifig Indiana Jones keychain helping ward off evil spirits (though one of his arms, the one with his signature…Read More
On the second day of our grand adventure (sans Pooh, of course) we liberated my Dad’s car and drove down to San Diego, my old stomping ground. En route we stopped at a ridiculously popular bagel shop called the Bagel Shack and got breakfast that consisted of a sun dried tomato bagel with butter (mine, quite good) and two bagels with bright pink strawberry cream cheese (for the little ones, not a huge hit. Turns…Read More
After much planning and packing of things, we’ve made it to Southern California for our regular journey to visit with my Dad in the Laguna Beach area. But this time I’ve planned ahead and lined up all sorts of fun and interesting things to do rather than just “take each day as it happens” which generally doesn’t go too well with a 16yo, 13yo and 9yo in my entourage. Or am I their entourage? It’s…Read More
My 13yo son G- is a big fan of lacrosse. In fact, he’s been playing on a local league for three years and is very close to deciding that it’s the only sport he wants to play, which is quite a surprise given his devotion to basketball for as many years as I can remember. This has caused me to learn all about lacrosse, which has been fun. It’s not my prime choice for sports,…Read More
I can only say that my daughter must be a great influence, because we just got back yesterday afternoon from our 9-day college road trip and this morning I stepped on the scale with more than a smidge of trepidation. I figured I’d probably have gained a pound or two with my Ghiradelli hot fudge sundae consumed in Monterey, California (and totally worth it!) and various snacky things including some late night cookies at my…Read More
We made it to UC Santa Cruz, and enjoyed our tour, but subsequent we had a day off on the agenda, a day to enjoy Monterey. In fact, we stayed two nights in Monterey, so that the day we hit the Monterey Bay Aquarium we wouldn’t have to worry about getting back in the car and driving anywhere. No worries. And have I mentioned how much we love Monterey Bay? We stayed a few miles…Read More
After discussing it for months and months, tomorrow my 16yo daughter A- and I are flying out to San Jose, CA and driving down the famed Pacific Coast Highway (aka “Highway 1”) from Santa Cruz to San Diego, visiting colleges along the way. She’s just finished up 10th grade, so my goal with the trip is a) to have fun and b) to have her step foot on a variety of different college campuses so…Read More
I’m not a huge sports fan outside of British Premiere League soccer (anyone who follows me on social media knows that I’m an enthusiastic Tottenham Hotspur supporter) but enjoy attending sporting events in person when I can. Even baseball, which has a habit of being boring at long stretches. What I’ve never had much interest in is curling. And cricket. And, oh yeah, hockey. I mean, my son G- plays lacrosse so I’ve learned to…Read More