Day 1

This weekend, Stacey and Samantha flew to Utah to visit Stacey's family. Hunter and Ryan stayed behind, so we decided to have a Guy's weekend. I wasn't quite sure how to do that so I solicited some advice from my Mom. She suggested something to the effect of "lie around the house, watch TV, and make bodily noises." Since that seems to be something we do every weekend, I decided to do something else.

Last night, I came home from work and made Taco Soup for dinner. Hunter and Ryan had their friends Ben and Tanner over until 8 pm. At that point, we took them home and went over to the gym to do our weekly Friday night activity - play basketball. We shot some baskets and the boys worked on their dribbling. After about an hour, Hunter and Ryan decided to race back and forth across the gym. They must have run 20 lengths - which I was fine with because then they would fall asleep faster when we got home. I joined in on a few races and then we moved to the indoor track for some races. Ryan is very competitive and wanted to win every time, but his older brother is just a little faster then he is. I had to explain to Ryan that someday they would be the same size (if Ryan is not bigger) and then Ryan would beat him at everything. He liked that. After basketball, we went home and the boys wanted to watch a movie. So, we pulled out a floor mat for Hunter, and Ryan and I each got a couch. We got ready for bed, and started watching the movie around 10:15 pm (Yes Mom, I was up past 10 pm). We probably weren't into the movie 10 minutes and I was out. I woke up a little while later and noticed Hunter and Ryan were asleep, but I was too tired to turn the movie off. I woke up again at some point and the movie was over and the DVD menu was repeating itself - so I dragged myself off the couch and turned the movie/tv off. I decided to remain sleeping on the couch so that the boys would not freak out in the night if I was not there. Probably a bad decision, as it seemed like every 30 minutes I woke up to change positions because one side or the other of my hip was hurting or my knee or my back....the couch is not the most comfortable place to sleep.

I guess in essence, we did lay around the house watching TV...however, no bodily noises were made, thought that is probably sure to come. Well, the boys and I have some things planned for Saturday and we are looking forward to what the day has to bring.

Top 100 things are on the board

So, I was going through documents on my computer, when I found 100 things about me that I wrote quite some time ago. Marci wrote 100 things about her once and it inspired me to do the same - I thought it was a great idea. I never did anything with that list, but I decided that I should just post it on my blog. It could probably use some updating or something, but I am just going to post it as it was originally written.

100 things about me
One of my favorite activities is tickling Ryan and hearing him laugh
I have the most beautiful wife
I have a beautiful family.
I secretly want a tattoo, but will never get one.
I have a huge desire to learn to play the guitar
I want to take voice lessons, but am too embarrassed to do it.
I want to try my hand at karaoke
I love to turn on dance music and dance with my children
I love to bake, but hate to cook
I love Jimmy John's sandwiches, Chipotle burritos, and Heidi's Hell's Kitchen sandwich
I love seeing my boys succeed
I love seeing my children speak in church, school, etc.
I love watching baseball on television and at the ball park
I love watching my boys play baseball
I love playing baseball with my boys
I am not a big fan of playing with legos.
I sometimes listen to Celine Dion and other music that Stacey likes because it reminds me of her
I really enjoyed seeing Celine Dion in concert in Las Vegas
I sometimes get jealous because my boys dress better and cooler than I do
I love that my wife is in style with her clothes
I wish I was as selfless as my father
I wish I spoke as fluently and felt as comfortable at speaking as my mother.
I want to be more spiritual
I sometimes want to be an Adult Sunday School teacher, but the thought of preparing a lesson and teaching every week steers me away from that thought.
I read MLB.com everyday, even in the off season.
I love riding roller coasters.
I focus on the fear of the unknown way too much.
I love to party and be in big groups, but I hate when I am the focus of the group or party.
I love getting together with others, but Stacey does not. I am social, Stacey is not.
Hearing people fart still makes me laugh
I love playing on toys at parks and swinging on swings with my children
I love being a Dad, and a husband.
I am grateful that I have good parents who are perfect examples of how parents should be.
I absolutely hate running, unless I have a basketball in my hand.
I can’t stop eating sweets.
I love movies with karate fights in them.
I absolutely love playing golf and hitting spectacular drives.
I think I my Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin are the greatest grandparents ever.
I love golfing with my Grandpa.
I don’t like going to McDonald’s with my Grandpa…
I love playing softball
I love seeing my children extremely excited about things.
I want to buy my children everything they possibly want, but then the spoiled factor kicks in and I refrain.
I want to own a rental unit.
I want my truck back.
I have to shower everyday or I feel extremely gross.
I can’t stand when pictures hanging on walls are crooked. I have a huge urge to straighten all the frames. If I am in someone else’s house then I can’t look at pictures on the wall or else I have to straighten them.
I think my wife is the most talented photographer on earth.
I think Hunter is the most creative (and smartest) kid I know. Especially when it comes to building things with legos and bionicles.
Hunter wants to be a rock star, but I want him to be an engineer, dentist, or doctor.
I want to learn how to scuba dive
Ryan is the most loving kid I know. He is such a hard worker at learning.
I do not want to ever go skydiving and I don’t think I will ever regret that decision.
I feel that I was not a very good brother and friend in life.
I am selfish and think about myself too much.
I love to drink Dr. Pepper in the mornings.
I want to write and complete a story for my family to read.
I really do not like spiders
Did I mention I have cool grandparents? My Grandma Baldwin is so talented, loving, and wonderful. My Grandpa Baldwin makes me laugh – I love talking to him and being around him. My grandparents make me miss Idaho Falls.
I love Grandma’s cookies!
I love coming home from work and my family is excited to see me.
I feel inadequate in so many ways and in so many things.
I love to draw and paint, but getting started is so hard.
I love birds.
I love seeing animals do funny things at the zoos.
America’s Funniest Home videos and Whose line is it Anyways crack me up! Especially when I watch with Hunter!
I love acting like a child – especially when trying to catch frogs. I don’t ever want to lose the desire to do kid things.
I like techno and dance music
I love to sing in the car when driving home from work and most of the time I don’t care who sees me wailing away in my car.
I may be the only guy in the world that does not lay around on the couch to watch sports on Saturday.
I absolutely hate eating anywhere where I have to pay a tip.
I hate getting my hair cut.
I would rather read a Self-help book than a fiction novel.
I love the gooey glue that you find in mailer advertisements. I pull the glue off and roll it into balls and play with it while I work.
I am not into technological gadgets and one of the few people without a cell phone.
I hate not having a CD player in my car when I drive to work.
I could spend hours upon hours testing out new golf clubs.
Stacey hates to shop with me because I am very picky and I comparison shop to find the best price – probably waaaayyyyy too much.
I wish Stacey would buy my clothes for me so I could look more modern and cool.
I want to wear a suit and tie to work everyday.
I would rather go to bed early and wake up early than staying up late.
I like to do things that are comfortable and familiar – sometimes trying new things or going outside of the norm scares me. How did we get to Denver then, you ask?
Purple is my favorite color but I hate to admit that to people.
I love to reminisce about old stories – especially when they make me laugh.
I love to lift weights and workout.
I love getting the giggles where you can’t stop laughing. People falling asleep in church do that to me all the time!
I am not real excited about going bald, but what do you do?
I wish I spoke Spanish – or had the time to devote to learning Spanish.
I have a hard time golfing, fishing, etc. on Saturday because I feel I am being selfish to my family and not spending enough time with them.
I wish I was as brave as Hunter.
I sometimes wish I was as skinny as Hunter and Ryan.
I hope that my boys will be taller than me.
I hope that Samantha will be as cute as her mother.
I love chocolate tootsie pops
I love dark chocolate
I absolutely LOVE the THE OFFICE (the television show).
I love spicy food. If it isn’t spicy then I try and make it spicy with hot sauce, salsa, Tabasco sauce, or even pepper.
I feel like I am okay in many things but not an expert in anything.
I love to go fishing – but not real good at it.
I want to go to Hawaii, or on a cruise, or to France, or to Italy, or Greece….

President's Day

Isn't President's Day supposed to be a day off? This is the first time I have had this day off from work EVER in my life. I don't think I like this holiday! Last night Ryan woke up 3 or 4 times puking. He was a good kid and made it to the toilet in time, on all but one occasion. He has been eating cake, cookies, candy, etc. all weekend long and we think it finally caught up with him. At least we hope that is the case...we don't need the flu floating around the family again. Then Stacey gets in the car to go get a pedicure that I got her for her B-day last year, and she found the tire was flat. So, I put on the spare tire and decided to vacuum out the car as well. I took the car in on Saturday because the tire would not stay fully inflated and was told there was a nail in the tire and that they would patch it. Apparently the patch did not hold! I am about to take the tire back in and hopefully they will fix it this time. It is about noon, and I wonder what else is going to happen today. I never should have taken this vacation day....I should have called in sick...

Be My Valentine

On Friday afternoon, I was sitting at work when I got a phone call from Hunter. I asked him how is day was and he told me all about his Valentine party that he had at school. Then, he said that he gave Aubrey Tenny (a girl that he has a little crush on) 14 valentine cards and that he was the talk of the class. Then, without pausing Hunter said, "Dad, I need you to pick up some flowers for me on your way home from work." I responded with a resounding "What?" Again, "I need you to pick up some flowers for me to give to Aubrey, maybe some daisies." I asked what he needed to give her flowers for "So, that she will be my valentine." I couldn't hold in my laugh, but then had a serious conversation about being friends with her and there is no need to have a girlfriend at his age. I then talked with Stacey and she said that she talked with Aubrey's mom (Jenny) about the whole situation. Jenny asked Aubrey what happened and Aubrey said that Hunter asked her to be his valentine. Jenny said "Then what did you say." Aubrey responded, "I said no." So, Stacey talked to Hunter about what Aubrey said and Hunter said, "Yeah, I got dumped!" Funny talk coming from a 3rd grader. But he is fine with that....and no, I did not get flowers for Aubrey...

Dad? Dad Who?

For those of you engrossed in reading my blog you may not realize that I used to collect Star Wars figures. When I say 'used to' I don't mean when I was a kid, but over the past several years I have been addicted to buying Star Wars figures. In fact, ever since Episode II came out I have bought these 'collector's items.' After blowing a large sum of money on all the figures I thought were cool, I decided to just stick to buying Stormtroopers and Clones. But over the years, more and more Clones have been coming out that I had to have. About six months ago, I decided to quit buying figures all together, but I have kept my Clones displayed on my dresser in my closet for quite a while. Every now and again, I get a call from Hunter or Ryan who asks me if they can have one of my figures. I keep telling them that I will give the figures to them when they are older and can appreciate them. Of course, they tell me they appreciate them now. Anyway, last night the boys wanted to see all my Clones so I gathered them up and we went through them. Again, they said they wanted the figures now. I thought this would be a good opportunity to lay some guilt on them and make them think and appreciate their Dad, so I told them that when I die then they can have my figures. Hunter said "Dad, don't say that!" and I thought "Oh yeah, my boys care about me." Then Ryan asked "When are you going to die?" Immediately Hunter says "I get the first pick because I am older." and the boys proceeded to pick out what figures they were going to choose when I died. I felt the love....for a few seconds...

Wimpy Kid

No - I am not writing about my sons. They are far from wimpy, well, not real far. But if you have a boy between the ages of 8 and 11 then you are probably familiar with the books Diary of a Wimpy kid. These books basically document a kid's life (Gregory) while he is going through middle school. The book is even equipped with simple drawings similar to what is on the cover of the book. Hunter absolutely loves these books. Every time he checks one out at the library he stays up late that night until he has finished the book. I am guessing the books have about 150 pages in them. But the stories are great and are similar experiences to what we have all gone through in our lives or are some of our biggest nightmares - for example, the kid is walking down the hallway and all of the sudden a pair of dirty under falls out of his pant legs. He tries to play it off like nothing happened and he goes to his next class. Then, on the loud speaker comes "Attention everyone - would the person who lost a pair of underwear please come to the office to pick it up. The waste band is labeled Gregory H." Of course, everyone knows it is his underwear now! Anyway, great books and perfect for the rambunctious little kid in your life. Last night, the author came to Highlands Ranch and Hunter wanted to get his book signed. So, as a family we waited in line for over two hours for Hunter to spend 10 seconds with the guy and get his book signed. You know what? It was totally worth it to see a smile on my boy's face...

NO TV

On January 1, 2008, Stacey and I decided to turn off our television. Of course, the boys were in an uproar because they wouldn't be able to watch "Zack and Cody" and cartoons. Well, a year and a month later, I do not miss television one bit. I remember as a kid reading about a family that went without television for a whole year and the parents took the kids to Disneyland when they reached that goal. I thought that was impossible!! How could anyone go without TV for a whole year? Well, we had it a little easier then that family from years ago, because we have still been able to watch shows over the internet. However, for me it is harder to sit down and watch a show on the internet then it is to flip on the TV and watch something. My shows have been limited to The Office, Heros, and Prison Break. Now, Stacey is talking about getting TV back, and I really don't want to - mainly, because I know that I will immediately fall back into the old habit of watching TV all the time and watching more shows - especially Baseball Tonight (which I must admit was hard not dealing with last year). I have been able to accomplish more without the TV and I have spent more time with my children. Of course, having a Wii makes it easier to not have TV....

Weekend

Saturday was a wonderful day. For the first time in many, many months I did not get dressed and ready for the day until noon. Since my mother-in-law is in town, she woke up early when Sami got up, so Stacey and I slept in and then laid in bed for quite some time talking. When we finally got up, Stacey made some eggs for everyone and then Ryan wanted to build a garbage truck out of legos. YESDAD kicked in and I played legos with Hunter and Ryan. Ryan supervised while Hunter built, and my job was to search for different Lego pieces. We built a great garbage truck!

Yesterday, I took the boys over to Ben Tenny's house and we watched the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Pittsburg Steelers. It was a great game!