Flexibility is NICE

I don’t mean the bendy kinds. I wouldn’t know what those were if they walked up and punched me in the face.

No, I mean the sort which allow you to do what you need to when you need to do it.

You see, my kid, Mal, was the first kid born in AZ in 2013. I would say that is some sort of PII (personally identifiable information) which should never be shared, but there were news articles written about it. He’s never going to be able to use his birthday as a secure method of password retrieval, that’s for sure! But the other down side is that he’s never going to get very good birthday parties. He’s always going to be out of school and the like. And as a guy with a late December birthday, I feel his pain.

Meet Bessie. Two.

I have a new special someone in my life. She’s wonderful. Amazing. She’s just absolutely gorgeous.

I think I love her.

Deeply, though of course cautiously.

(I have been burned before, after all!)

But there is a passion here. A passion that only a photographer can feel for his ridiculously expensive new camera . . . that happened to arrive just in time for a trip to one of his favourite cities, no less.

Internet, I’d like you to meet Bessie II, or B2 for short.

Announcement!

Mean ol’ Kendra has made me hold back from telling everyone this for weeks at this point . . . blah blah, wait until it’s real . . . blah blah, you don’t want to jinx things . . . blah blah, stop making fun of me I don’t sound like that.

But today we got the final confirmation that we needed, in this whole crazy process and can announce that we have bought a house here in Mesa! 

3 Kids Stories

It’s not often that you get told you don’t talk enough about your kids, but unlike some people that I’m married to, I don’t post a whole ton on Facebook (and my dearth of FB posting is literally infinitely more than I used to, since I only recently re-opened my account).

However some family members recently asked me to share some photos and stories of the kids, and rather than devote a ton of space and time to one story, I thought I’d spend a bit of time telling a few. 🙂

Why? Because the little brats are small and it’s not like they can read.

A visit to Olympic Game Farm

I am fairly infamous amongst my family in my dislike for zoos. When I was younger I was like any other kid in loving them (so I’m told), but as I grew older I started being a bit snide and calling them “animal jail,” and as an adult I’ve basically refused to go.

But apparently I have a price.

That price is an adorable brown bear which will wave at you if you throw him bread.

No shit, my heart just melts every time I see that video. I can’t even stand it. I have had a thing for bears since just about forever, and when I found out that this guy’s home was “near” Seattle, I demanded we go.

Then I forgot about it.

Father’s Day Gifts

Father’s Day isn’t until tomorrow, but we’re not exactly one for patience in this family (see, for example, our smallest member who just couldn’t wait to be born). In this case, my wife, who frequently depairs at great volume of ever managing to find me presents that A) I genuinely want, B) do not cost a small fortune, and C) I haven’t already bought for myself; proudly proclaimed that she had found me the perfect gift about a month ago.

And then she tortured me about it for the intervening weeks.

She would gloat. She would say “Oh man, I wish that Father’s Day would hurry up so I could give you your present!” (as if SHE were the one suffering). She would quietly ruminate over whether or not I would really like it. Basically, she was being her usual evil self. Because she’s evil.

Staying cool in the desert.

It’s been at least a post since I subjected you folks to something about my kids, so here you go again!

Despite copious opportunities to move and live elsewhere, I have (perhaps foolishly) chosen to return to that jewel of the Sonoran Desert: Phoenix, Arizona, after each one of my adventures. You might say I’m a glutton for punishment (for any number of reasons).

Like anyone who was born and raised in this area, I more or less write off the time between March and October as being a no-go for outdoor activities. There are exceptions, of course; both in people who refuse to acknowledge the heat and in activities which are worth braving 100+ degree heat in March.

I can’t really speak to the former because that’s a sort of insanity which I have not been cursed with . . . I have plenty of my own problems, thanks! But I am definitely familiar with the events make the heat exhaustion and sunburn worth it, and the list gets far more substantial the more time you spend two kids in a small house let me tell you.