Merry Christmas Everyone!

Shopping is done. Food is ready to be prepared.  Gifts are wrapped.  For the most part, we are ready.  As the snow continues to fall outside, we gather inside and prepare for our Christmas celebration.  This evening we will gather as a family and read the centuries old story of our Savior’s birth.  Our thoughts turn heavenward as we consider the greatest gift ever given.  I often wonder how our Heavenly Father could love a sinner like me.  Although that answer is beyond my comprehension, I know he does and tonight I will bask in the light of His love.  What better place to do that than in a home surrounded by family!

May each of you out there have a Merry Christmas and join us in celebrating the birth of our Savior.  I am aware that not all will have the blessing to join with family or even be in a warm place this season.  However, our Savior’s love is available to all, regardless of status.  He invites all to come to Him and none will He turn away.  I know He lived and died for us.  Through Him we can all find joy!

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EMMA!!!!

This is a scream heard frequently around our house when Emma finds some way to torment her older brother.  She knows just which buttons to push.  Today was no different than any other day.

Yesterday, I went to the store and picked up a few blankets and some other supplies in preparation for the blizzard coming through.  Apparently, a similar storm raged through the area a couple years ago and knocked out power for five days.  We didn’t want to get caught with our pants down.

Just a few minutes ago, Emma took the blanket Josh picked out and had set on his bed.  She wrapped up in it and walked out to the living room and said, “Hey, Josh, look at my blanket.”  She proceeded to walk over to him and sit down.

Joshua grabbed the blanket and they started a wrestling match.  Emma somehow ended up on top of Josh and there was lots of yelling and screaming.  In the midst of this we hear, “EMMA …”, a short pause, “… knocked out my tooth!”

He had a loose tooth and it just took some sisterly love to get it out.  More fun at the Pulsipher’s!

For those wondering, the storm did come through.  In fact, it is still blowing and snowing outside.  We only had an hour of church, but most people showed up.  It was nice and now we are all hanging out around the fire enjoying a white Christmas.

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Uhhh…yes, the snow came

It was a day late, but the snow came.  Yesterday they canceled school due to the imminent snowstorm, and it didn’t snow.  This morning I woke up early to go and pick up Chrissy and Kim from the airport, and it was snowing … a lot.  Luckily, I made it to the auto parts store last night and secured a nice set of chains for the van.

After a half hour of putting on the “easy” to put on chains, Josh and I headed on our way.  The beginning wasn’t smooth.  We got on the freeway only to see cars driving the wrong way.  There weren’t too many cars and they were going very slow, but we couldn’t go the way we wanted too.  Thanks to technology (cell phone to call Genni who had Live Maps), we navigated our way to a less steep hill with fewer cars blocking the way.  After that it was slow, but we made it to the airport.

On the way home there was only one scary moment.  I had taken  off the chains closer to the airport because the roads were clearer, but it had come time to put them back on.  The van was parked at a slight incline and I was at the downhill tire when it started moving.  The van slid and I hopped up to see what was going on.  I opened the door and the emergency brake was on, but that didn’t matter.  The van slid, but thankfully stopped at the stop sign.  Actually, the stop sign stopped the van.  No damage done, but I had a nervous moment.

Our 1.5 hour trip turned into a 5 hour trip, but we made it.  The girls are here safe and we are getting ready to play in the snow.

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Could the snow be coming?

Although it snowed once while we were in Arizona, it has been a while since we lived anywhere where it gets cold for an extended period of time.  This weekend the snow might be coming, but the cold is definitely coming.  I feel unprepared.  We live on a plateau and, therefore, drive up a pretty steep hill to get to our neighborhood.  This could be a problem if it snows or even if it is wet and gets really cold.   It will be slippery and slidery roads out there.

That reminds me of a time I went snowboarding with my Uncle Jim, Aunt Sue and family while in college.  They were on skis and I chose a snowboard.  It was probably the 5th or 6th time snowboarding for me so my confidence was growing, but probably was higher than it should have been.  As I remember it, after you get off the lift on this particular run it was necessary to go around a few trees.

I tried to navigate my way around the far tree, but didn’t quite make it.  No, I didn’t run into the tree.  However, apparently the snow closer to the tree isn’t nearly as packed as the main trail.  Because it was so close to the end of the lift my speed was slow and I sunk right into the snow.  That sucked.  And, of course, being on a snowboard it was necessary to dig down and get my feet out of the bindings or whatever they are called before any movement was possible.  Everyone else went ahead while Jim waited for me to dig myself out.

My memories for the rest of the day were pretty positive, but that inauspicious beginning was a little embarrassing.  At least it makes for a good story.

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Basketball Jones

A few weeks ago Joshua began his second season of an organized sport. He tried out soccer in Sahuarita, but this time decided to try basketball. He knew that I like to play and he enjoyed playing NBA Live on the Wii. When we showed up to the first practice he could barely dribble the ball and all he really had to offer was desire. He ended up on a team with four or five kids that could play pretty well and another 5 or so that were just learning. In the beginning he really struggled and was discouraged because it was all so complicated. His coach really wanted to teach them plays, but Josh didn't even know the really basic fundamentals (passing, dribbling, shooting, etc.)

This post is really about the last game, played yesterday. In the second to last game Joshua finished up the game really bummed about basketball. His teammates didn't pass him the ball and he had trouble getting to it. We had a discussion about it and Genni and I encouraged him to keep working hard. He chose to play in his last game and it was his best all around effort. He didn't make any baskets, but he probably shot more this game than in all the others combined. He fought for some rebounds and even picked up some loose balls. In other games he would be oh-so-close, but the ball would slip away before he got it. Most important to me, he kept working hard, even when the ball wasn't coming his way. I was proud of him and his efforts. It was very satisfying to see his efforts pay off in a great all around game for him.

Who knows what my childrens' long term interests will be?  However, at this point, I don't see Joshua being too involved in athletics. He just doesn't seem interested enough. However, this has been a good experience where he had to work hard at something that didn't come easy to him.

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She’s at it again

This morning, immediately prior to my departure for work, Genni and I were standing by the front door talking.  Joshua inched up to us looking like he had something to say.  When he finally got there he said, “Ummm….the girls are in the kitchen throwing Trix all over the place.”

For a little background information, about a week ago we had slept in while we thought the kids were out watching TV.  When I finally walked out there were Lucky Charms all over the living room, including all over the new rug the kids were supposed to avoid eating on.  The girls did that one and I told Josh to let us know if it ever happens again, preferably before the whole box had been dispersed.

Today he did as he was asked and informed me of the issue.  After quickly hurrying to the kitchen, I was relieved to see only a few Trix on the floor.  We caught them in time, but Mary was pulling the denial thing again.  However, this time she was actually prancing around the kitchen with the Trix box in her arms, but still saying, “Not me.  Emma did it.”

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Thumbelina the Thanksgiving Turkey

After a few months getting used to a new job, settling into a new neighborhood, starting the kids at a new school, and figuring out why everything here starts and ends much later than Arizona, I was looking forward to a nice Thanksgiving break. With a nod of gratitude to my kids, the vacation started early for me with a couple sickdays home from work. It wasn't too bad; mostly a head cold featuring stuffed sinuses, a headache, dripping snot and a scratchy throat. After much consideration, I decided to stay home last Tuesday and Wednesday to try and recover.

A large part of the decision was out of concern for the guy with whom I share an office. My concern would be the same regardless of who shared my office. However, this situation required additional care because he is from India and I was afraid maybe the common American cold could completely take him out. And then, what if he took it home and it spread to others? Considering all these factors, staying at home seemed to be the best decision.

Thankfully, I was feeling better on Thursday. We all headed out to see Bolt. I thought it was much different than what the trailers lead one to expect. The previews focused mainly on the action parts of the movie, but in reality, it was another feel good Disney with some action mixed in. This worked out well for us due to the age of our children. My favorite character was the hamster, Rhino.

Thanksgiving dinner was great. In fact, having eaten it going on four days straight, I would have to say we did a good job. The kids don't eat our traditional Thanksgiving food, and it just kills me to see all that food go to waste. Therefore, my diet has been rice stuffing, yams, green beans and turkey. Yum...yet, time to move on.

In other news, after a quick stop at GameStop for some Christmas gifting, Josh and I headed to the library for some books. I would like to fill my evenings with some reading and decided to take on some heavier stuff. My current book is War and Peace. That is one thick book, and hopefully a good one. Anyone out there read it?

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Do you remember me?

Last night I was laying next to Emma in my bed while she got ready for sleep. She had decided to wear one of Genni's wool sweaters as part of her pajamas. I was laying there with my eyes closed and breathing through my mouth because my nose is all stuffed up. All the sudden I felt some hair or something in my mouth. Emma had found a wool fuzzball with lots of hairy tentacles and for some strange reason decided to stick it in my mouth. She just couldn't resist the open mouth.

Tonight the girls finished getting ready for bed and I was trying to get them in a bedroom for scripture time and prayer. I found Mary by following Joshua's yells. She was in the bathroom where Josh was showering turning the light off and on. Here is about how it went:

Mary turns off the light.

Josh yells, "TURN IT ON!"

Mary says, "Not me. Emma turned it off." (Emma is nowhere near the bathroom) She then turns it on and then turns it off again.

Josh yells, "TURN IT ON NOW!"

Mary says, "Emma, stop turning off the light." (Emma is still nowhere near the bathroom)

I walk in and Mary looks at me and says, "Not me. Emma turned off the light."

Isn't that fun?!

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Fun in church

This past Sunday we slept in a bit and ended up having some issues getting to church on time.  In fact, for whatever reason I took Emma and Mary with me in the van and Genni brought Josh a few minutes behind us.  The girls and I walked in after the meeting started and got the latecomers’ bench near the front of the chapel.  Things were ok for a while.  The girls were happily sharing my lap (which is unusual).  They were sitting quietly and coloring and all was good.

Then, just as sacrament was about finished, Mary decided she wanted to go into the aisle.  When Mary wants to get somewhere she has several techniques to get there.  She struggles and fights and then starts to loudly state what she wants.  So imagine a quiet chapel, people pondering, when all the sudden the little girl in the front starts yelling, “I want to shake my bootie!”  She had decided it was time to go in the aisle and start dancing, or “shake her bootie".  Of course, since I wouldn’t let her, she repeated her desire several times, getting progressively louder each time.  Genni wasn’t there yet so we couldn’t just escape, but a coloring book saved me.  She was distracted by the coloring book pictures, but not before the damage was done.  My hope is that everyone got a good laugh out of it.  I sure did.

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Windows Live Writer Test

Microsoft released new Windows Live Beta software recently (yesterday) and I wanted to try it out.  This post is being written on Windows Live Writer.  We had the company meeting today and they demonstrated lots of upcoming software.  A couple things we can talk about are this software and also Live Mesh.  We will get to Live Mesh in a minute.  First, let me post a picture from Windows Live Photo Gallery.

 

That is Emma and Mary on the first day of school.  This blogging editor allowed me to just insert the picture and put it to the size I wanted.  Cool.   I like it.  You can also do formatting of the picture.  As you can see, I made this picture have rounded corners and made it black and white.  Search for Windows Live beta to get the programs.  You should try it out.

Live Mesh allows someone to share files among different computers without having to copy them to a thumb drive or a network drive.  You have a folder on each computer or device that is part of the mesh.  Then, when you change something in that folder on one device, it will update all the other devices with the same change.  Check out Mesh to learn more about it.  It is pretty cool actually.

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Skype is cool

We have a video camera that can double as a webcam and we use it to talk to folks on Skype. This has especially come in handy with Genni's parents spending a few years in Australia. The other day I turned on the computer and there was a chat message from a person in Brazil asking if I was Elder Pulsipher a few years ago. I responded in the affirmative and learned the person on the other end was the daughter of the branch president in one of the areas I served in. We had a chat and she filled me in on the all the stuff going on there. It was very nice to get back in touch with someone from there.

We have also used skype to talk to my sister, Sara, as she starts school in Rexburg. Genni talks to her sister, Kim, and we had a chat with her brother, Nathan, the other day. It is really neat to not only talk, but see the people on the other end. We will probaby be using it more often since we moved to the far corner of the country.

Are there any other clients out there that do video chat? I think Windows Live Messenger does and even allows the user to leave a video voice mail for someone. Not sure though. Let us know if you ever want to talk and see my kids running around like wild maniacs.

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Beware of Costco

Costco is a dangerous place.

I stopped by there yesterday to pick up some surge protector power strips and decided to take a look around, "just to see." We have been in need of something for clothing storage and they had a nice dresser with a mirror attached. I don't really care about the mirror, but the dresser could be very useful. Our closets here are about 1/10th the size of the closets in our Sahuarita home. My clothes are falling off the shelves. It just so happens Costco was trying to clear out the furniture to bring in the Christmas stuff. The dresser was marked down almost 40% from its original price. I made a rather hasty decision and bought it.

The only issue was my Saturn parked in front of the store wasn't quite big enough to fit the dresser. In fact, I wasn't sure it could fit in the van. The Costco people suggested renting a truck from the Lowes close by. The not so friendly Lowes people informed me you actually had to buy something from their store to rent their truck. Dangit! I headed home, helped the kids to bed, and headed back to Costco with the van. Turns out the thing wouldn't fit in the van very well either. The Costco dude helped me out and we laid it on its back. It fit. I just hoped nothing was broken in the process.

At home there was a new challenge waiting. Getting it inside. I called a friend from the ward (hopefully still a friend after this). He came over with his wife and we hauled the thing into the house. It was heavy and much larger in the room than it looked in the big warehouse, but Genni likes it and that is important.

The moral of the story (and one you would think I would have learned before): Beware of checking things out in Costco "just to see."

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Life at Microsoft (so far)

Coming to Microsoft was an adventure for me. I never thought I would work for them, but now obviously things have changed. For whatever reason, many people like to hate on M$, and there are probably some good reasons for that. Just like there are good reasons to hate on Duke basketball (sorry Dave). The common myths about Microsoft usually are things like lack of innovation, arrogance, bad products, etc. Unlike Apple, Microsoft in many ways does not have brand capital. These things were on my mind when coming to interview here.

The interview process was as important for me as it was for them in making a decision. I wanted to know if there was still passion for putting out a good product. Are they taking on the hard challenges and trying to win? At least in my interview, I felt that there still is that passion. Maybe not the bubbling froth that is the Apple passion, but people here care about putting out a good product. I also connected well with the hiring manager and that can't hurt.

For a long time Microsoft dominated an industry that was small, but growing like crazy. Over time new companies have emerged and have been able to not only compete in the same space, but thrive. What I have found so far is that Microsoft is in the process of changing their culture and the way they do business. However, it is a huge company (over 92,000 employees worldwide) and change isn't easy. I like what they say about the new direction. We'll see over time how it impacts the end user products.

After a day and a half of orientation, I came to my new office. There are space constraints here so I am sharing an office, but having come from a cubicle farm, this is bliss. On my desk were a bunch of boxes and a note on the whiteboard "Task 1: Set up computer." That took me a while, but can't complain too much. In the boxes were a tower (Quad core Intel, 4 GB RAM), two monitors (22" Samsung widescreen), and a Motorola Q. Since my job is to make Windows Mobile better, the phone and a plan with unlimited data are included. Not a bad perk. The tower was loaded with Windows Vista (64 bit). There has been much said about this operating system, but I like it so far. I am sure it doesn't hurt to have a loaded box to run it on.

My experience so far has been positive. There seem to be a lot of cool technology things going on here beyond just the desktop. I have never used an iPhone or a Blackberry, but my first week using a Motorola Q with Windows Mobile has been fun. Genni has already threatened to take it away a few times. It does everything I need and does them pretty well. My use is mainly focused on the business aspect (e-mail, calendar, phone calls) with a little fun mixed in (facebook, espn, etc.)

To sum it up, so far the experience has been great. My coworkers and manager have been very helpful. I mostly used non-MS tools (Firefox, gmail, igoogle, google maps, Linux) before this, so I have been test driving lots of MS stuff (IE 8, Windows live, Windows Vista). My bias will probably lean more towards giving these products a chance due to my stock awards, but I really think MS has done a good job in catching up and creating some good products. The problem they (we?) face now is changing the public's opinion. It took being employed here for me to give them a chance. The jury is still out on my final opinion, but they will get a chance now. What would it take for you? What are your opinions of Microsoft products? Would you give them a spin and see if they have improved enough for you?

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Saying goodbye

I still haven't found time to continue the previous post and probably won't for a little while. The movers come tomorrow and we fly out of here this weekend. Who knows when we will have time to do anything? We are off into the unknown. This is one of those times where I am grateful for the organization of the church. We know that when we get there we will be meeting people pretty much right away.

Ate mais.

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Lacking motivation

For some odd reason, I am really lacking motivation to work today. There are so many things going on here, but my time is coming to an end. Others need to step up and take over most of the stuff I am working, but that isn't really my problem. My problem is getting the motivation to finish up my previous tasks.

This whole job switch has been interesting from the beginning. I originally started it with the intent to work for Apple. They are doing some cool things from an embedded technology standpoint (iPod and iPhone) and seem to be in a good position for growth. While in the process of submitting my resume to them, I figured it wouldn't hurt to submit it to Microsoft also. A friend of mine recommended me at Apple, but for Microsoft my resume was just submitted to a job listed on their careers website that matched my interests. It seemed likely that Apple would contact me, but with Microsoft it was probably one of many thousands of resumes submitted.

Apple got back to me and scheduled a phone interview. The surprise was that an email arrived from Microsoft requesting to set up a phone interview also. This all happened the week before we visited California. They both went well and requested that I fly out for on site interviews. As stated above, the first desire was to work for Apple, but I was open to both. The on sites were scheduled for the same week. My week went like this:

Sunday - Fly out to San Jose
Monday - Interviews at Apple (9:30 - 4:00 PM) Fly home in the evening
Tuesday - Work at Raytheon
Wednesday - work in the morning followed by a flight to Seattle in the evening
Thursday - Interviews at Microsoft (9:30 - 6:00 PM)
Friday - Fly back to Tucson in the morning

As you can imagine, it was a tiring week. The interviews seemed to go well. The companies take different approaches to their interviews, as one might expect.

Apple was not as focused on the technical questions. It seemed they are looking more for a fit. They don't let you see too much on the inside. All the interviews were conducted in an interview room that is accessed from the outside of their main building. The only real glimpse of the inside was lunch at the cafeteria. Even then, it is a walk through the lobby of the main building, out through the grassy quad area, and into the cafeteria. The job for which I interviewed was not in my main area of interest, embedded technology. They wanted me to work on the Towers and Servers team. Basically, this team is responsible for working hardware/software integration issues. If a problem comes up when they are trying to run their operating system on new hardware, this team comes in and tries to find the problem. I am sure there is much more to it, but that is the basic gist of the job.

To be honest, I didn't feel the vibe during the interviews. I have no doubt I could do the job, but it didn't feel like a fit for me. They ended up not making an offer, but to be honest, even if they did my answer was going to be no. That was a hard conclusion to arrive at because working for Apple was what I thought I wanted. They have interesting ways of doing things there. Very free thinking, lack of structure. They have built up a lot of brand capital at this point and are riding that momentum to huge growth. It will be interesting to see how they handle the changes that may be required as that growth continues.

Microsoft was different, but there isn't time for it now. I will continue this later for all those that might actually be interested.

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The color green

We spent the last five days exploring the beautiful scenery of the Northwest and looking for a place to live in Washington. Many people like to mention that we are going from one weather extreme (hot and dry) to another (cold and wet). I am sure we will adjust when we get to go outside and see grass in our yard and lots of trees and green. The kids can even run around barefoot in the yard without fear of stepping on a scorpion or running into the rattlesnakes that like to hang out in this area.

After a failed house tour in a smoke scented car with a leasing agent telling us all about her pub visits at 8 am for soccer games, we found a house on craigslist. It is in a nice subdivision and the kids will attend what appears to be a really good school. Moving to that area and trying to stay within a half hour commute to Microsoft required a decrease in square footage, but we really like the house and can definitely make it work. Here is the picture from the listing:


During our time there, we enjoyed the scenery and even went to enjoy a Blue Angels show on Saturday. It was a nice little vacation. Now we are back home and getting anxious to move and get settled again. The Northwest is beautiful. I love all the rainforest and hills. I think we will really like it there.

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HP depression (spoiler)

Josh went to bed crying last night because he found out that Sirius Black dies in the fifth Harry Potter book. (that was the spoiler. sorry for ruining it for the rest of you) He said, "How come the good guys always have to die?" Kind of a sad experience for him.

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A confirmation

This whole process of deciding to take the job at Microsoft has been a difficult one for us. We have made some good friends here and my job is pretty good. However, after much prayer and a fast we felt it was the right thing to do, whether it made complete sense to us or not.

We have really stressed about the house. Our realtor, Lara Abend, warned us to expect people to offer way less than the list price and/or ask us to pay closing costs. This was stressful trying to figure out where the cash would come from. We worried a lot. What will we do if we can't sell it? What will happen if we have to drop the price? Lots of difficult questions. Over time, we decided to just move forward and make plans, putting it in the Lord's hands.

Today, around 10:30 AM, a woman came and checked out the house with her realtor. Not too long after leaving, they called Genni and asked if they could come back during her husband's lunch hour and look at the house again. This was a good sign. We figured they must really like it if they came twice in one day. We didn't want to get our hopes up though.

A few hours later, Genni received a call from our realtor telling us they made an offer. This was exciting because it was our first offer. From what the realtor told us, however, we didn't want to get too excited because it might be really low. I drove home from work trying to get myself prepared for the offer. Unfortunately, that time did not prepare me for what would occur.

Mary Benavides, Lara's partner, stopped by to go through the offer with us. She started out saying, "We have a situation here that we just aren't seeing very often these days."

Turns out they didn't ask us to pay any of their closing costs. In fact, the only thing they asked for was a home warranty that will cost about $385. Well, since they offered almost $2,500 more than our asking price we weren't too concerned. Yes, you read that right. They offered more than the list price. Can you believe it!?

So that is the confirmation. We had faith and the Lord blessed us more than we could even imagine! They want to close August 19th, so we are on our way! After all that stress we had our house on the market 4 days and it sold for more than we asked for. We still took a loss, but now at least we can move without the stress of an unsold home wearing on us!

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We have a winner!!

Game. Set. Match. Ethan is the winner. I accepted a job offer from Microsoft this week as a developer for Windows Mobile. We will be moving to Seattle in, oh, about 6 weeks. Anyone want to buy a house in Arizona?

By the way, hint #3 is Bill Gates.

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Changes - Hint #4

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Changes - Hint #3

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Changes - Hint #2

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Hint #1

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Changes

Possible changes coming. Be advised. There may be changes on the horizon!

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Bendy crayons

I am glad we live in Tucson and not the Phoenix area. We dropped the kids off at some random church in Mesa and went to the temple on Saturday. It was about 10 AM when we got there and it was already HOT! Unfortunately, Mary left a pile of crayons sitting in her car seat when we dropped them off. I didn't notice this until we picked up the kids and tried to place Mary in the car seat. After picking up one crayon and witnessing the slight bend in the middle, I realized what had happened. The crayons had melted. They weren't even in direct sunlight. Mary now has a rainbow colored car seat. Tucson is hot, but not that stinking hot.

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Happy Happy Birthday Genni!!!

Genni reaches a milestone today! She turns 29 again. That is two years in a row. That only happens once in a lifetime for most people. There are scenarios where people can turn 29 twice twice. You can figure it out and add it to comments if you would like!

Of course this post isn't about puzzles, it is about the most amazing person I have ever met: my wife! Everyday I know my life is better because she is a part of it. She brings joy to my life and the life of my family. She sacrifices each and every day to teach and rear our children and overcome all the bad things I teach them. On this day I celebrate her birth and want to share with the world how absolutely positively radical she is!

Genni, Happy Birthday and I love you!

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A musica e bom rapaz

Just started listening to an internet radio thinger, slacker.com. Usually, I use Pandora, but decided to try this one out for a day. Each application has different approaches to how they present music. Pandora tries to make radio stations that match certain attributes of songs you use to build the station. Slacker uses a more traditional approach by offering stations based on different genres. At least, that is my impression from the first look. I don't really care which is better. I am just thankful for the opportunity to listen to something because my current employment situation doesn't allow me to use an MP3 player at work.

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A wild adventure

We always know when we visit Southern California we are in for an adventure. This past visit met our expectations and more. The reason we went was mainly for Rachel and Cory's wedding. We were lucky to arrive after most preparations were complete, but not late enough to miss the emotions that come along with a day that everyone wants to run perfectly.

I thought the wedding went very well. Rachel was beautiful and everyone seemed to have a really good time. They appear to love each other, and that seems a good enough start to a marriage if you ask me. It all starts with love.

The rest of the week was jam packed with adventure. Monday morning we all packed up and headed out to the old high school haunt, Zuma beach. Most of the group spent the day on the sand as the water was a chilly 59 degrees. Joshua, however, appears to be immune to the water temperature and spent most of the day playing in the surf. Mary and Emma spent a lot of time near the water and had a great time. As for me? It took a little while, but I couldn't help myself. After an hour or so, I ran and flipped into the waves. My body numbed after before too long and swimming was fun. The waves were pretty big sized, but not really good for body surfing. Too much turbulence from the current.

That evening we went up to Leo Carrillo for a dutch oven dinner at the campsite. They had warm showers for us to rinse off and then we just hung out until dinner was ready. All the kids loved roasting marshmallows and making S'mores.

Joshua and I accompanied my brother, David, his son, Christian, Brandon, and Grandpa to an Angels baseball game on Wednesday. It started out well as we were able to sit close to the field. We were about 5 rows back on the third base side. A little while into the game Joshua was telling me how hot he was. We went up and bought a milkshake. In a small amount of time, he drank about two thirds of it. Not too long after, I discovered water would have been a better option. He told me he didn't feel well. We got up to go into the shade and he started throwing up. I tried to deflect the flow to keep it from getting on people, while looking for something to catch it in. On our way up not one, but two, flights of stairs I found a Cracker Jack bag and that did the trick. We finally found a bathroom, got cleaned up, and spent most of the rest of the game in the shade.

After that incident he really enjoyed the game. We went all the way to the top of the stadium and got a pretty good view. We saw the Angels come back, with Josh cheering them along the way. It was a lot of fun!

Oh, and I can't forget the Tommy's adventure. David, Tanya, Brandon, and I loaded up into David's van to head to Tommy's late on Tuesday night. We went to the one in Simi and it was closed. That required a drive into the San Fernando Valley to the Topanga Canyon Tommy's. It took a little bit, but it was worth every grease dripping bite to get there. Mmmm...double chili cheeseburger with chili cheese fries.

In the other blog, Genni mentioned the Disneyland surprise. We didn't even really make a decision to go until we were already on the road home. I am not sure what got into us, but it was a blast! The kids loved it (of course) and Genni and I had a pretty good time also. Mary was so adorable when she met Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. She ran up to them and gave them hugs. She was SOOO excited! Joshua really liked Splash Mountain. Emma rode with me on Space Mountain and about 3/4 of the way through said, "Dad, maybe I shouldn't have gone on this one." I asked her afterward what she thought and she said "Scary, but I want to go again!"

Another highlight of the trip was Sara's graduation. I didn't make it because we were getting ready to go, but it was a huge event for her and I am proud of her for making it through.

We really enjoyed visiting family and spending time with them. The kids love being around their cousins. I hate California gas prices, but enjoyed the trip. Visiting California is always an adventure and always leaves us with great memories.

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