Vacation

We left for vacation yesterday, heading out to Lake Michigan to stay at Will's Mom's cottage for the week. We had beautiful weather yesterday and an even better sunset, hanging at the beach all day and hanging by thw fire at night. The Niemis are with us, so all of the kids have someone their own age and gender to play with.

It started out drizzling this morning, so we hung out, played Yahtzee and made up dance routines (the girls at least) and went to see Evan Almighty. If the weather doesn't improve, Mark and I are going to come up with our own dance routine.

Pre-Season Workout

Nate starts Panthers Football at the end of July. Nate's played flag football for a few years, but this is now the real deal. Starting in July they begin with 2 1/2 hour practices each day, five days a week leading until after their first game. The practices are hot, long and in full pads. Nate's never done anything quite this intense, so Nate and I agreed that it'd be a good idea to make sure he's in good shape going into practice. He's about 70 pounds, so he needs every edge he can get. We started these workouts about 2 weeks ago and have ramped them up to about 30-40 minutes long. We started easy with jumping jacks, some push-ups, sit-ups and sprints for about 15 minutes. We've worked it up to a complete circuit tonight, similar to what I do with Kirk and the guys at Triad.

The first day of the workout was tough. Nate had a hard time getting the exercises and they were tough to do. We had a long talk about what it was going to take for him to play football at his best, and the next day, he rocked it out in his workout. I asked him why the difference, and he told me that he'd thought a lot about our conversation, and he'd decided that this was something he really wanted and was going to do his best at. He has not complained once about any of this, which is way more than I can say about my workouts with Kirk. If I ask Nate to do 30 push-ups, he finds a way to do 40. He does this in every exercise, pushing himself just a little farther each time. I'm amazed to see the spirit he's got in him. He's very proud of the fact that he's up to 100 push-ups and sit-ups now, where he could barely get 20 in the first time. It's a fun time with Nate watching him gain in confidence in what he's doing, as a Dad, just beaming as he does it so well.

Golf League

We golfed tonight and Chauncy and I didn't get the memo about wearing the same outfit. In addition to wearing matching shirts, Brad and Eli quit chewing last week, but Brad brought chew to the course and tempted Eli like Satan tempted Jesus in the desert. Brad's response: "That's just the way roll, baby."

New Blog Feed

As you probably know, Google just bought Feedburner. If you subscribe to my blog via an RSS reader like Google Reader or Bloglines, please click on this feed for now, as the one you're viewing this through will soon no longer work. If you're not using Google Reader to read blogs, start using it. It's easy and the way of the future.

How does a Google Search Work

Very interesting article on how a Google Search works, in laymen terms.

Family Reunion

Emily was wearing her family reunion shirt backwards, so that this picture was on the front. I asked her why and she explained,

"I like to look at the family picture. If they're on the back, i can't see them."

Can't argue with that logic.

Weird Al Concert

My Dad took myself and Dan and our kids to see Weird Al in concert tonight in Lansing. I came right from the airport and met up with Dan and the kids and we all drove down together. It was a beautiful night and a great time. It was a really diverse group of people, from young kids to old folks like my Dad, all singing along and having fun. The concert was like going to catholic church with a lot of standing and sitting as they'd play various Weird Al video clips (like this hilarious interview with eminem) in between songs as they'd change outfits. He did just about every song imaginable, including "Fat", complete with the big suit. His encore was the highlight of the show, the 12 minute song Albuquerque, which Nate and Maddie knew just about every word as the three of us sang together about our hatred of sauerkraut.

My Dad was kind enough to get their early and get us great seats close to the stage. I think he secretly enjoyed the loud music that was blaring out of the speakers that the DJ was playing before the concert. As we walked around the festival, I offered my nephew Matthew $5 to go up to two people of my choice and simply proclaim, "I AM the Cobra Commander", salute and walk away. He wouldn't. He'll never become the Cobra Commander if he keeps this attitude up.

Lansing people have odd concert etiqutte. First - EVERYONE had their Weird Al concert shirts on, which breaks about 12 of Shinn's concert rules and makes them "That Guy". Secondly - who brings an inflatable blow up doll as a beach ball for the audience at a family concert?

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Mileage Runners

Interesting article on the culture of Airline Mileage Runners, typically a group of white collar workers who are obsessive about their airline mileage status and how to beat the system for airline status and perks.

Scenic Portland

Instead of just sitting around my hotel room, I met up with two guys I'd gotten to know in my class last month for a beer. One of the guys then proceeded to take me on a tour of some of the scenic stuff around Portland. Simply flying into Portland, you see Mount Hood and some hills, but nothing too impressive. Rich and his girlfriend, who are both avid mountain climbers, took me to see some amazing scenery in the Columbia gorge. It was some of the most beautiful scenery, unlike anything I'd ever seen anywhere in the US. They took me to the Multnomah Falls, which was just amazing. The whole gorge area around the Columbia river was awesome to look at as the sun set, coloring the rock walls and the water. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera gear with me as these phone pictures pale in comparison to the real thing, but then really, so would any pictures.

Rich and Katie then took me to a chain of brewpubs called the McMenamins, which have so-so beer, but are all in these restored buildings with a great ambiance. I was really taken aback by the great hospitality that was offered to me. Rich and his girlfriend Kate gave up their evening to show me the highlights of the area and I will never look at Portland the same.

The downside to seeing these things without Cathie is that it's just not complete. With my wife as my soulmate, I feel like I don't fully experience these things until I do them with her. I was up this morning at about 4:30am, it's late, and I've to get up at 4:30 again to fly out. Just hoping for good weather.

Nike

I had a meetings today with Nike on their Beaverton campus outside of OR. The campus is amazing. It's a huge collection of beautiful, sports themed buildings and decor, all named after various athletes - like Michael Jordan. I was given a pass to the employee store afterwards, which is amazing. Everything is 50%+ off the retail prices. I bought a "couple" of things and "saved" a lot of money.

Fun fact about Oregon

It is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon. Seriously. If you're visiting, don't get out of your car to pump your gas. You'll look stupid. Or so I've heard.

Breakfast in Bed for Mom

Cathie was woken up by the Maddie and Em this morning bringing her breakfast in bed and a song. Maddie sung me the song today and it went something like this:

My mommy is the best, can't you see
I love my mommy and she loves me,
I love my mommy!

Breakfast consisted of a newspaper, juice and the following:

• Mini-Smore (Half of a marshmellow, a piece of choclate and ghrama cracker. Microwave)
• Waffle with butter and syrup
• A bagel with strawberry cream cheese

They were going to make her pancakes, but couldn't figure out the measurements on the box. Probably a good thing

Long Monday

My day started at 5am, going to Kirk's workout and after crossing three time-zones, I'm out in Portland, OR. On my way to the airport I was on a conference call, not paying attention and hit a Northville speed trap on the hill at Beck and 8 mile. The guy clocked me going 52 in a 35, but because I have a clean record, he let me off with a "Impeding Traffic" ticket, which carries a fine and no points and my insurance is none the wiser. I called Cathie today and told her about it as she explained that she got a ticket to day as well. He wrote her up for 5 over and claims there are not points for it, but I'm skeptical.

I fly back on Wednesday just in time to take Nate and Maddie to the Weird Al Yankovic concert at the Common Grounds festival in Lansing. I've been listening to Weird Al for 25 years and now all three of my kids think he's hilarious as well. My Dad is taking all of us to the concert, which should be a blast.

Last Request

One of my Mom's last requests was that we keep my Dad's wardrobe updated as he ages. He's a pretty good dresser for a guy his age for the most part, but I'm pretty sure she was afraid of my Dad turning into this guy that we saw at the air show. Note the argile socks pulled up to the knees, with sandals.

Willow Run Air Show

My brother Dan and his kids, my Dad, Nate and I went to the Willow Run Airshow today to see the Blue Angels. It was 106 out and there was no shade to be found anywhere. The show had all sorts of different kinds of planes you could look at and go inside of, along with other activities like the "Drive a Jeep on a ridiculous off-road course". While we were checking out the planes and other activities, there were all sorts of planes flying overhead doing different tricks, building up to the big finale with the Blue Angels.

The Blue Angels began by talking about how their gigantic crew and how they exemplify excellence, only to have one of their planes break down on the runway. Oops. They had a backup plane and got things going. the planes flew at an unbelievable speed, unbelievably close to us and to each other. Throughout the show, these guys were traveling 500mph at 18 inches apart from each other. The would do these head-on passes right next to each other. Dan tried to get the picture on the left with his digital camera and due to shutter-delay, he ended up with a nice picture that he calls "Where the planes used to be"

The show went on for a while, building into the final formations, shooting way low over us. The whole airshow was fun and darn hot. Before I die I want to fly in a jet-fighter plane beyond the sound barrier. They've got them in Russia right now for $10k, but I'm sure they're going to get cheaper over time.


You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Jeffery's Cottage

Yesterday afternoon we went over to Brad's cottage in nearby Pickney to hang out for the day. Brad had two great additions, the first being the Dave-size inner tube/beer-holder/chips and salsa holder. If this is what having a big 'ol belly is all about, then I'm growing one. I tried to serve Will some chip's and salsa with my innertube belly and end up dumping the whole bowl on his crotch. Good thing he wasn't wearing his speedo at the time.
The second piece of coolness is this anti-gravity water mat. It's about two inches thick and can hold a bazillion people without sinking. The kids played in this, jumping off, flipping off (not their finger, their bodies) and then the big boys decided to play a friendly game of king-of-the-hill.

If you look closely, you'll not the even Pastor Joe is in on the beat-down we delivered to Brad.

We capped the night off with grilling out, followed by fireworks. Brad and Joanne had this cool hot-air balloon thing that went off way, way up into the ether. We shot off all sorts of fireworks (many of them not the "kosher" kind for Michigan) and no one lost an eye. I should have taken pictures of them, because my sister Sooze loves nothing more than LOTS of fireworks pictures


You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Cathie's Grandparents

On Friday afternoon we headed over to Cathie's parents to see Cathie's Grandparents heading home to Texas. We always have a great time seeing them and the kids love to hang out with them too. Cathie's Mom was selected as part of a joint Lansing Community College/Michigan State University overseas teaching program in Otsu, Japan. Jeanne will be in Japan for three months teaching a couple of courses while working on becoming a ninja. We're going to set her up with a blog so she can keep us updated on what's going on, where she goes and any special ninja skills she learns.

Blood Diamonds

Cathie and I watched the movie Blood Diamond last night, about the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone and throughout Africa. It was one of the most disturbing movies I've seen in a long, long time. I'd read about the De Beers diamond cartel and heard about some of the wars caused by the diamond trade, but this movie made it painfully real. It showed the kids being used as soldiers and told the story from a Dad's perspective of one of the kids who'd been taken into one of the guerrilla armies. I couldn't stop thinking, "What if that was my son?" The guerrilla armies would come into the villages with their weapons and decimate the families, with the people helpless to stop it.

I feel safe in my community and my home and I couldn't imagine living like this, not knowing that I could protect my family. The movie was sad and depressing, but it made me want to do something to stop it. I just don't know what.

Eating the Bug

Video of Nate Eating the Mayfly.

The new and improved Mohawk

After a little clean-up by Michelle, Nate's good to go.