Month: July 2011
You know you’re getting older when…
Aside Posted on Updated on
You know you’re getting older when…
Your children are playing “Slug Bug” and you point this one out and your 3 year old says, “Dad, that’s not a slug bug!”
What? Not a slug bug? This is the ORIGINAL slug bug. I guess it was the rust that threw them off.
Beating the Heat!
On Wednesday, I took a vacation day and we all loaded up and took a trip over to Branson, MO.
Did we go see some fancy shows? No.
Did we go shopping at the plethora of outlet stores? No.
Did we find a way to beat the 105 degree heat? Absolutely!
We went to White Water! A nice little water park that was the perfect remedy for a hot hot day!
The park itself had a number of water slides and water attactions (e.g., wave pool, lazy river, kids play areas). There was definitely something for everyone here. The crowd wasn’t too bad either, which is why we chose to go on a Wednesday. One learning for us was that if we are going to be there all day, reserving and renting a private cabana is a good investment.
Ava was funny because it was the first time she went on a big water slide. Her and I shared a “double tube” on one of the rides and she would let out a little scream, then turn around to look to see if was okay to scream. I cheered her on and she kept screaming.
Tay is the only one that dared to take on the Free Fall Drop Slide. Em thought she was going to do it until we got close (while on another ride) and she said, “There is no way I am going on that!”
The Splashaway Cay play area was probably one of the most fun for the girls. Besides the number of junior level water slides, there was water flying around everywhere. Especially from a giant bucket at the top of the play area that would fill with hundreds of gallons of water and then once full, would tilt and dump over those below.
Tay was a little miffed over their Hawaiian decor and motif, mainly due to the inaccuracies. In fact they mispelled the name of his hometown. We explained, ‘It’s Missouri – what do you expect?’ I don’t think that comforted him too much, but it sure was funny.
We spent the majority of our day at the park, but then on the way home we had a bit of another adventure. April (our navigator) took us a different route home. We knew it wasn’t good when we went from 4 lane highways, to wide 2 lane roads, to narrow two lane roads, to passing over several one lane bridges. It was hysterical. We were expecting to see some guy with a banjo on the side of the road waiting for us. I told April that if he started chasing us, we’d have to sacrifice her for the group.
.
While April’s reliance on Google to navigate is questionable, the country it took us across was beautiful and we wouldn’t have seen it otherwise.
All in all – a great day! And a great way to beat the heat!
I’m Glad He’s Here!
There are just some things in life that make you extra joyous.
For me, this week is one of those weeks! My son, Taylor (16), is in town and we get to hang out with him for a short while.
A few things about him.
He’s quite the guy. He gets along with everyone really well and seems to know no strangers.
He’s quite the comedian. He is quick and witty. He cracks jokes all the time that are laced with sarcasm.
He’s quite the daredevil! He sampled some 1o+++ hot sauce at a local restaurant….and it didn’t kill him. (I only went for the 10++)
He’s quite the poet and storyteller. He enjoys writing both and is pretty good at it.
He’s quite the friend. He talks about his friends back home and you can tell he really cares about them.
He’s quite the brother. He is good to his sisters, even though they pester him (a lot).
And finally….
He’s quite the son. In listening to him I can hear who he is and I am proud of the young man he is becoming.
I am glad that he’s here.
This is a great week!
Got Melk?
April and I are dead-locked in an eternal debate.
The drink that comes from cows….
Is it pronounced MILK? Or MELK?
Personally, I guess I grew up saying “melk” without thinking anything about it, until my wife decided it was the funniest thing ever. She says “milk”. And we’ve been debating this for the better part of a decade now.
Over the Fourth of July holiday, I was called out again while at a family gathering. “Jason, what is this?” she prodded while holding up a glass of milk. And of course, I would say, “Melk”. The whole family laughs. And then they start to chime in. “There isn’t an “E” in it. Say it again!” I’d oblige and they’d all laugh again. Then they would take turns all saying “Milk” while I was the sole “Melk” defender.
I’m okay with all of this though. I am quite comfortable with my pronunciation. Besides, if you look it up on the internet, you’ll find that the debate rages on all over the net! In fact, there are some very clever You Tube videos that cover the topic.
To bring this story current, yesterday afternoon April decided to bring Taylor in to the great milk/melk debate. So she asks him, “Taylor, what is the white stuff in the refrigerator in a jug?”
Taylor responds – “Mayonnaise?”
April and I erupted in laughter! That put a whole new spin on it. April was crying from laughing so hard! And I think it may have almost made her tinkle! Serves her right.
So what do you call it?
Wow! A Sink by the Toilet!
Image Posted on
G’day Mate!
This morning, April and I were getting ready to go out and tour houses listed in the “Parade of Homes”.
We’re building our new home in the next few years and wanted to get out and look at some of the local builder’s craftmanship. We did this last year and found that the builders ask lots of questions.
So, this morning April said, “Let’s get our story together”.
Joking, I said, “Ok you’re Mary and I’m Bob. We are from Europe.” Then I told her she needed to come up with an accent.
She said, “I don’t do accents.”
I pleaded, “Come on, just try one. Do a Scottish accent.”
And she busts out, “G’day Mate!”
I said, “That only works if your an Australian exchange student visiting Scotland.”
When we got done laughing we agreed that April does not do accents.
….and then I ran off to the computer to blog.
Three Lessons from My Great Race
I shared a story this week on my leadership blog about a 5k race I ran as teenager. Writing the story brought back a flood of memories from that age.
Ultimately, I used the story to talk about three life lessons that I learned and how they apply to leadership and business, but thought I would share the link here.
It is my hope that as my children get older, they will have the benefit of learning from my and April’s life experiences and build upon them.
More importantly though, that they would have tons of opportunities to learn these lessons for themselves. Largely because of my own parents encouragement, I am a huge believer that children should participate in sports and extra-curricular activities. Even if they aren’t the best at those activities, the lessons learned are invaluable in life.
For those that knew me growing up, you know I definitely wasn’t a big athletic guy. I remember how horrible I was at football in 9th grade and basketball in 1oth grade, but stayed on the teams nonetheless. While I was better at some than others, I didn’t seem to start to become big and coordinated enough to hold my own until some time in college (and even then it’s questionable). Regardless, I learned a lot of great lessons from coaches, mentors, teammates, and the experiences. And it’s those things that I apply to my life today and teach my children.
I am thankful for the opportunities provided to me and hope that I can only return the same favor back to the lives I am able to touch.
A Pretty Lullaby
Almost every night I sing lullabies to my daughters that I wrote.
Ava’s is called “Little Butterfly”.
Changing things up, tonight I started out her lullaby with a bit of a hip hop beat. She quickly put her hand over my mouth and said, “No Daddy. Little Butterfly, but pretty.”
So, I started singing it in a high opera style voice – lots of vibrato. She put her hand back up to my mouth and said, “No Daddy.”
I said, “But that’s pretty.”
She replied, “Little Butterfly, pretty, but smaller.”
Peaceful Moments
Image Posted on
Jackson Family Life 