Fun in the Sun

We pulled into Halstead about 8pm last night, and Wade's parents had waited for us before eating dinner, so we sat down to a homemade meal as soon as we walked in.

We unpacked, settled in our rooms and caught up on some family time before turning in.  It's very low key here in Halstead (which covers about a square mile and has a population less than 2,000). Wade's dad was the Chief of Police here for almost a decade after retiring from the FBI, but he retired as Chief about a year ago and now him & Wade's mom like to travel a little more in their new minivan or cruise around on his motorcycle.  

Today after a simple breakfast of steel cut oats the kids put on their swimsuits and we went to a local water park.  They had a great time and want to go back every day now.  In fact, Lucas said when he grows up he's going to move to Kansas just so he can go to that water park whenever he wants.  

Davey was just tall enough to go down the big kid slides. He was EXTREMELY excited about that, and proceeded to go down as many times as he could.

Sometimes he would biff it, but that did not deter him.

When Mr. Hamilton started melting under his hat I gathered up the kids to head home. Of course, Davey was not happy about this.

But we promised them we would go back before we leave...

Road Trip: Day 3

We pulled into the Pueblo Marriott around 10:30 last night.

We were worn out, tired, and ready for a good night's sleep.  Yesterday's drive was a long one, close to 600 miles. Highly NOT recommended.  

But the kids have been great, even though the DVD player we had borrowed from a friend died all of a sudden. I was pretty bummed, probably more than the kids, just thinking of the long stretches of driving that lay ahead in our 2 week trip. But they seemed to entertain themselves with other things, like reading a book or doing a puzzle or folding an origami animal. We played Mad Libs and 20 questions (we call it the "guessing game") and listened to music and played with Bionicles and snacked on popcorn and slept and just wiled away the time without the videos. We stopped at a roadside picnic area to make our lunch and run around and stretch our legs. It was all good.

Today we reach Halstead, Kansas, home of Wade's parents.

Road Trip: Day 2

Today was a long one.

We drove out of Sedona after a quick stop at Starbucks, on our way to Four Corners monument.  

When we got there we paid $3/person just to drive up to a concrete circle in the middle of the desert where supposedly all four states meet.  (...grrrr...)  We unpacked our cooler and made some sandwiches as we all sweated under a small covered picnic table.  The kids were not impressed.  And though I almost lost my potato chips when I visited their restroom facilities, I did get the picture Wade wanted.

When Wade was a teenager his parents had taken him and his brothers there, but he was too cool at the time to smile for a picture, so he wanted to make it up to them with a new picture, one with an older, more mature, *smiling* Wade.

Here it is.

He didn't realize the circle was made of metal and he was actually in some pain in this picture as his fingertips burned on the scorching surface.  But it was all worth it.

The majority of the population in this region is Native American, and they in fact administer the Four Corners Monument, so there are several booths set up around the monument, which, by the way, is in the middle of the desert with literally nothing else around it, selling Indian jewelry and fry bread and such things.  But after we had coughed up the $3/person I wasn't enticed by any of it, and we left with just our pictures.

Next stop:  Pueblo, Colorado.

Road Trip: Day 1

Up with the sun, cream of wheat for breakfast and last minutes taken care of.  Off we go!

Crossing over into Arizona we see the progress of the Hoover Dam Bypass.


Very impressive!

Then we reached a milestone with our van...

We reach the Grand Canyon around 1:30, snap some shots, have a picnic lunch, walk through a forest, and enjoy this magnificent creation.  

Then we decide it's dang hot and time to find the hotel.

I used Priceline to book all the rooms on our trip, and we got the Sedona Ridge Golf Resort for our first night.  It's actually a timeshare, but because we checked in late and were leaving early, we ducked the hard sell to go to one of their presentations.  We stayed just long enough for a swim in the pool under the stars, a great night's sleep and bagels for breakfast.  Then we hit the road again.

(On a side note...most hotels only accommodate up to four people per room -- so what is a family of five to do?  Well, this family takes along a cot and a sleeping bag.  Works for us.)

More to come...

Getting ready

Bags are packed.

D80 & Mac loaded up.

House is clean.

Van is full.

Ready, set, go!

50mm / 1.8

The latest addition...

Father-less Day

In my 40th year I lost my father to cancer. This Father’s Day was my first without my dad. No card to buy, no phone call to make, no plans to talk about.

I thought about what we would have done if he was still here. Probably go to Joey’s Only for some fish or Lone Star for steak. My dad loved to eat. One of his favorite things to do was gather up his whole family and share a meal together, preferably one served by a waitress or pieced together at a buffet.

In the last few years of his life he made it a point to have a family meal once a week. It was usually a Tuesday, it was always dinner and he would always pay. He was always a generous man, with his time and his money. The meal wouldn’t last very long, because Dad was a fast eater -- he didn’t mess around. Sometimes we would talk about just the latest in life, or perhaps our plans for an upcoming vacation, and sometimes we wouldn’t say much at all. For my dad, it really wasn’t about the meal or the conversation, it was just about being together.

I loved that about him. His genuine desire just to be around his family. There is no doubt in my mind that, next to Jesus, we were the most important to him out of all people and all things. He made that clear -- not necessarily through his words, but always through his actions.

He loved being a grandpa and doing whatever he could to make his grandkids smile.

He loved family trips, and was always talking about where we could all go next.

He loved to watch reruns of MASH, listen to old Marty Robbins tunes, write short stories and tinker on his computer.

He knew how to build houses, fly big jets, and make people laugh.

He traveled around the world multiple times, but his favorite place was wherever his family was.

His favorite movie was Shane. That never changed.

He was always buying the latest gadget and giving the old ones to us.

He believed Jesus gave him the gift of giving. And a giver he was.

He never drank, never swore, and was a man of his word.

He was a great storyteller. And, boy, did he have some great stories.

He always loved a new adventure.

He was always making new friends and keeping in touch with old ones.

He loved much and was loved by many.

I miss you Dad.

Fix-It-Friday

Thought I'd get a little artsy with this week's I Heart Face's Fix-It-Friday edit.

Here is the original:

And this is what I did with it:

First I cropped, then I adjusted the exposure. I used Surface Blur to smooth his skin some, and ran PW's Boost. Then I added a layer mask and used a brush to add the "scribble" frame around his face.  Love his smiling eyes!