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| 12/30/2011 12:42 AM: | | A great end to 2011...
 As the 2011 year draws to a close I find myself a little speechless on the reflection of the past 12 months. As with many of you, there have been ups and downs, good times and bad...but as my mind wanders over the memorable moments, many of the good ones spring to mind! 
The past few weeks alone have shown me (again) how precious family time is and how quickly those fleeting moments to capture my kids lives disappear in the clouds of time...never to be seen again... I am grateful that my lessons learned from the past allowed me to remove myself from work and concentrate on those items that truly matter...
To ALL, I wish you a happy New Year and fantastic, wonderful, prosperous, joyous, well, you name it, 2012...
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| | 12/19/2011 8:55 PM: | | Riding a bike...
 So I have few memories of my learning to ride a bike- big grass fields and a concrete drive spring to mind...difficult to equate to my family today! More recent experiences with motors and major accidents don't help...LOL! 
I have to put out a big THANK YOU to "Chris" (she knows who she is )...she started the desire with my girls to ride their bikes a few weeks ago...and today it came to fruition...! 
We had a fantastic day at the local park- a few pushes here and there, a couple of coaching sessions on how to set the pedals but within the hour they were riding around as though it was natural...wow...what a buzz I had just watching...!
Another milestone down and yet somehow I feel they are closer to their independence...WTF??? 
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| | 11/24/2011 10:34 PM: | | Love the Kindle Fire...
 Although I bought a Kindle Fire for the missus, a friend of mine brought one in to work the other day...after playing with it for a couple of hours, I was sold...I needed one for myself! 
Well, I took the one that had already arrived at the house yesterday and I have to say, I haven't put it down (I'm using it to type this)...it's fantastic for the price...and after rooting and installing the Android Market it is 99.9% perfect! I can't understand why people are trying to compare it to the iPad (that is a COMPLETELY different market and the iPad should be compared to laptops etc for it's ridiculous price). The Fire is a GREAT device for WiFi access to the web, email, documents, videos, music, games, etc, etc...
All told, the nice thing is that when Santa brings the one for M., I'll be ready to set it up in a few minutes after nailing all the "wants" that I have on it...
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| | 11/13/2011 12:53 PM: | | It's called "Christmas"...!
I love this time of year- the build up to both Thanksgiving and then the inevitable countdown to Christmas (yes, I will still call it "Christmas" and deal with the PC police later)! The kids are already excited and have compiled their lists for Santa...with a little help from the all too numerous adverts on TV for the latest cr@p that has small parts that get lost, break easily, need thousands of batteries etc...
It is also a weekend to remember those who cannot be with their loved ones- deployed all over the world and from various countries helping to make it a better place to bring up our children. My family and I thank you all for your sacrifices and hope that you will soon be back home in the safety of your own families!!!
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| | 10/15/2011 6:52 PM: | | Great week away from it all...until...
Just had a fantastic week away from all the grind of daily life at Carlsbad SB, CA! The company and weather were beyond expectations!
The trailer held up well both going there and the week we were actually static (despite our neighbors physically backing a vehicle into the hitch and giving us all a jolt)!.
 Then came the journey back...what an adventure! We had a tire blow out (on the trailer) at Yuma (about half way home)- we suspect due to a 2 mile previous stop on a dirt area at a rest stop- we may have picked up some glass or something. Once we realized what had gone wrong and stopped, we found out that the lug nuts on the camper are NOT the same as the truck...WTF...not even crossed my mind!!! We were lucky enough to meet a great couple who helped us out with hardware (and had some ramps to put the trailer up on) and we replaced the shredded tire with the spare. All was good...until 40 miles from home and the last gas-up...looking at the tires, the spare was BALD and the previously "slightly" damaged trim over the wheels was now gone (as well as some minor bodywork damage to the side of the trailer). OK., so someone had bought a spare tire that was a re-mold...but how to get home? We eventually decided to "limp" the last 40 miles and I'd sort it out in the morning...
As it happens (there REALLY IS someone up "there"), we passed a Big-O-Tires that was just closing- but they were willing to help us out with 2 new tires...all said and done we were back on the road just 30 mins from pulling up to their door!!!
Now the moral of this little episode is that there were many lessons learned from this but it has cost a few $$$ to learn...ah well...the holiday with family and friends was worth more than $$$ can ever purchase!
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| | 9/24/2011 1:32 AM: | | What a week that was...
 It's been one hell of a week. First off the good...we have had a fantastic time over the past 2 weeks playing host to Doreen and Sue (Grandma and Aunty Sue). It's not often that tears come to my eyes these days but having to say goodbye to them this afternoon (as they prepare for the flight back to England) did exactly that...and yes, I'm big enough to admit it!
The downside of the week is all the politics and management initiatives going on at my place of employment...  I've had enough of the constant carrot and stick scenario- I'm too old...and I've swam in enough crap in my life to know when to get out...just one of the lessons learned from burned fingers (very long story)...
Up, down, turn it all around...some big changes coming our way I'm sure...but that is what makes life worth living...the CHALLENGE...bring it on...!!!
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| | 8/22/2011 2:18 PM: | | Great weekend and all done with the dentist
That was a great weekend- webcam with my brother (he's planning on joining us for a holiday next summer), a fantastic day with the kids, a great BBQ with friends and I'm all done with the dentist (after an 8 year absence)...even the prospect of work tomorrow can't put a dampener on this one!!!
The only observation that I have to make is that when you have great plans for the weekend, the days blur into seconds before you are back to the mundane of general life...ah, well...roll on Friday...
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| | 7/20/2011 3:55 PM: | | Another year gone...am I getting old?
We had an absolute blast with Leia's birthday party this past weekend- we had WAY more people turn up than we anticipated and I hope everyone (adults included) had a good time...but where are the years going...? Every year seems to get shorter and shorter and events whiz past at the speed of light...
I guess there is no getting around the fact that I am getting old...
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| | 6/11/2011 11:16 AM: | | Same old, same old...
Just got back from a great trip to the beach in California- the weather was good and the kids had a blast...once again, my little truck did us proud pulling the weight of the trailer and all the beer I packed!
Now it is back to the regular routines (at least until we plan another weekend trip or the kids fall break)... That said, I've been able to FINALLY update our website with some more up-to-date pictures:
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| | 5/2/2011 5:57 PM: | | Marriage, death and coupons...
What a weekend- the Royal family in the UK had Prince William marry Kate Middleton (I didn't watch it but heard it went OK), Osama bin Laden has been killed (finally) and my wife has really got into coupons! She has saved us over $300 since she started although now I have to re-organize our cupboards and put up some additional shelving to store the bargains that she is getting...! A small sacrifice for her new hobby...!
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