Supplemental pic post

OK, 1st of all I've decided that the K1 & K2 thing isn't working for me. From here on, it's Mr. K and the Bean. I'm sure you'll catch on quickly, whoever you are reading this.

So here are selected pics from the activities mentioned in the prior NYC post.

The morning Friday started with Toys R' Us. We had to take my parents along to ride the giant ferris wheel in the middle of the store. I wasn't able to get any decent pics of everybody while they were riding, but they got in a Nickelodeon car w/ Spongebob clinging to the outside, which was appreciated I think.
The we explored the store. This is my mom and the Bean leaving Jurassic Park.
Here's what the Bean was worried about. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it, showing some concern that it might break out of it's animatronically limited range of motion and try to get a bite of little girl meat. Luckily Mr. K was there to protect her.
From Toys R' Us we trekked home through Times Square with Tim & Erin.
And my lovely wife of course.
The it was off to Governor's Island. This is on the way to the ferry, after everybody had met my sister for the 1st time.
Governor's Island was fun, and photogenic.

And then there was the ferry back to Manhattan. It was photogenic as well.
So there you have it. The pics to go with the prior post. More to come! I'll finish blogging this trip eventually.

Light the Night

*I have to take a break from NYC stuff...pics are uploaded, but I have something else to talk about at the moment*

Tonight was the Light the Night walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. (At least this was the Boulder iteration. There are others coming up in the Denver area.) We went, because it would seem bad karma to not support a group that supports people just like you staying alive. K1 was with dad, so it was Steph, K2, and I walking with a few hundred other people around the CU campus.

I was surprised at how emotional it was for me. Most days it's easy to forget that 3 months ago Steph was fighting for her life. Tonight she had the special blue "SURVIVOR" shirt, with the special survivor-specific white balloon. K2 and I had the red everybody-else balloons, and scattered throughout the crowd were gold balloons, representing people who had died from leukemia or lymphoma. I got hit upside the head with the realization that, had things gone differently, I could have shown up there and been forced to pick up the gold balloon. Instead I had my wife, with her blue t-shirt and white balloon.

This salsa was made in New York City!

Last weekend my sister got married again. This is #2 for her. I only mention that because, growing up, it was always assumed that I would be 1st to get married. Instead, by the time I got engaged my little brother was on his 2nd engagement and my older sister had been married, divorced, and was engaged again. Fast forward a year and Tim & Erin have passed their 1st anniversary, Steph & I are almost to ours, and Meg & Matt are newlyweds. The end result though is that all 3 of us have found wonderful partners that suit us well. What more could you ask?

So Thursday we flew out. Delta was the airline chosen, due to flight times which they then modified to be not-as-convenient-as-hoped. We were set to arrive at 4:30, but our plane landed at 4:00 somehow. That was great, except that we spent about 45 min. sitting on the runway waiting to get to a gate. K2 had been somewhat fussy throughout the trip (really, really unusual for her...she's usually a much better traveler...) and sitting on the ground for an extra 45 minutes was not fun. After she finished her 3-year-old meltdown, we got off the plane, hopped in cabs, and headed to Manhattan to our hotel. We met up w/ Meg and my dad, then wandered down to Times Square for dinner on Mars.

The restaurant was Mars 2112, a theme place with pretty decent food and no traffic at all on a Thursday evening. There was no wait for our spaceship, a jiggly-simulation-type ride that took us through space and through a wormhole to land on mars, where we disembarked and ate in a very space-esque atmosphere. It was a perfect choice of place after the plane ride. The kids wandered around with my sister and explored, K2 talked to a woman dressed as an alien (as opposed to the ACTUAL alien who, the alien-costumed-woman confided in K2, was kind of scary...mostly he just danced and posed a lot) and there was even a DDR machine for post-dinner entertainment. Then it was off to the M&M store and a walk back to the hotel.

Friday started at Toys R' 'Spensive. K1 got his Nintendo DS for his bday and Steph got Halloween costume shopping done. Then it was subway time and we headed out to Governor's Island to explore, play very-mini golf, fly kites, and see civil war-era forts (a highlight for K1). The evening was spent at the "rehearsal dinner," which was drinks and finger foods in a swank place where they weren't used to small children or peanut allergies. K1 locked herself in the bathroom at one point and I got to talk her down through a door until she was able to unlock it. So that was fun. We left after the manager snapped at us.

More tomorrow. Bed now. I need to find my camera too...there are pics of some of this!

History successfully witnessed

This post has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, but life's been busy.

On August 28, I got to take my stepson along to witness history being made. What's odd is that we knew it. This wasn't a spontaneous event on the streets, it wasn't a tragedy out of our control like flipping on the news the morning of 9/11, it was a conscious decision that "Hey, we're going to go witness a piece of history that will be talked about for years. Let's go!" That doesn't happen often. But we were lucky, thanks to the Perlmutter office who gave me 2 "community credentials" to get in the door.

The first time I saw Obama in person, he flew out in 2006 to do an event for Perlmutter, when he was fighting in what looked like a close election. This was the scene then:

That's Ed Perlmutter, Barack Obama, Sen. Ken Salazar, now-governor Bill Ritter, and soon-to-be-Senator Mark Udall. I was a volunteer for that event, and still have the badge that says so. The turnout was large, for what it was, especially considering we had made the decision to open it to the public just the previous afternoon. This is the crowd (notice the snipers on the roof, even back then):

I only mention this to give perspective on the difference 2 years makes.

*****

I picked up K1 at school at 1:00. He had worn his Barack Obama shirt to school that day, and had been telling his classmates that he got to go see Obama that night. He says many were jealous. At 1:00 he practically bounced to the office and we headed to parking. According to the official parking guide, all parking at Mile High was closed, so shuttles were running from Coors Field (only from 11-2 to encourage/force early arrival) and returning folks conveniently to their cars afterward. (Can you sense foreboding?) We got there at 1:45ish, hopped on a repurposed school bus, and rode to the stadium. Rather, we rode to the line, taking a circuitous route around the actual stadium, since reports of extremely long lines made this seem wise to the bus operators. They were not wrong. This is K1 after about 30 min in line (looking back toward the line behind us):
Behind the picture, the line wrapped up a hill to the right and stretched for about 1/4 mile that we could see. In front of us at that point stood about a mile of line, 2 security checkpoints, x-ray machines, and metal detectors. And we were in the short line. The one coming in from the north was about twice as long when we finally saw it from the stadium ramps. This is about 45 minutes after the last picture, with the stadium actually in sight!

Notice...he's still smiling! A pretty incredible task really. We spent about 2 hours in that line and he didn't complain once. Well, there was once, when he was getting thirsty. Luckily the Coca-Cola corporation had thoughtfully set up stands w/ free Dasani water along the line so we didn't die. Considerate, since all water bottles were specifically prohibited, so nobody had brought any. Mostly though K1 was so excited to go see Obama that nothing else really mattered. He made a game of finding fallen political buttons on the ground and hung out better than many of the adults who kept sneaking past people in the line.

Around 4:30 we made it to our seats. Hooray! We had a great view of the stage from the nosebleed seats. (This is zoomed a bit. And that's Ed Perlmutter again speechifying!)
And here we are, enjoying the afternoon.

The afternoon was spent enjoying speeches and scouring the concession stands for food. We got stuck in 1 line when Gore was on, but saw pretty much everybody else the whole afternoon. K1 hung in like a champ, and only spent about 20 min total playing the Gameboy he'd brought along in case of boredom. Of course people-watching in a crowd of 84,000 is always fun.

Finally after 4 hours of listening to music and speeches it was time for the big event. Flags had been distributed, placards passed around, and the excitement was palpable.

The speech itself...well, you can see that in a million other places. Hopefully it will come to represent an actual turning point in our country's history and K1 will be able to tell his grandchildren someday that he was there for the speech they're talking about in school. It was historic, and I was just honored that I got to be there for it. (I did have to watch it again online...something about 84,000 cheering people kind of drowned out the actual content at times. That's a price I was more than willing to pay though.) K1 got really into it, jumping up on his seat when everybody stood to applaud, waving his flag when it seemed appropriate, and taking it all in about as much as he could have. This is the view he'll be remembering:



Eventually it all ended and it was time to go home. We grabbed all of our souvenirs and headed out with everybody else. Now, remember that thing about the shuttles? When we had left the bus I had asked where to meet the shuttle and had been told 5th & Walnut. "Leave the stadium, go under the overpass, then follow the massive crowd." Great! We left the stadium [check], flocked under the overpass [check], followed the massive crowd [check]. Except at some point it became clear that the massive crowd was being led by someone who also didn't know where they were going. Or had been redirected...the way I thought we should maybe go, based on a hasty glance at the map, was blocked by several security personnel saying "Nope, can't go this way, keep it moving people!" So we walked. And walked. And walked.

Eventually the crowd started to thin out, with groups breaking off to go different directions. When we finally got to a map on the bike path we'd been following it became quite clear that we were nowhere close to the shuttle pickup. We were actually about 2/3 of the way back to our car by then. So we hoofed it, with K1 dragging at this point and me carrying him about 1/2 the way. Google maps puts the distance somewhere between 2.5-3.5 miles, and we certainly didn't take the most direct route.

After leaving the stadium at 9:30, we got to our car at 11:00. We had passed/walked with many others who had also missed the shuttle stop. We certainly weren't alone in that. K1 was asleep before we left the parking lot. I can't blame him. 10 hours of logistics and politics is a long day! But we went, and he was insanely glad he got to go. I am too.

Corn blowin' in the Popo Agie

Last weekend was great. It was Death March 11...for some people. This group of 4 guys started doing an annual guys-only hiking/camping trip back in 1998 (when I was graduating high school). (John, John, Jeff, and were the original 4, I think). The group of people involved seems to vary from year to year (obviously. see also: I was invited.), but the nature of the weekend has not. It's just a group of guys, out in the woods. Pretty basic.

So Friday we headed out. Jarrod picked me up at 7:00 to head up to Wyoming. Jarrod, Curtis, Jeff, and I rode up together, planning to meet the rest of the bunch in Landers, WY at noon. After meeting up, eating, buying fishing licenses, etc. we headed up to the trailhead at about 2. That's when we met the Snot Road of Doom, a.k.a. the 6-mile road up to the trailhead. Apparently they're getting ready to pave the currently-dirt road, because the road was entirely stripped down to perfectly-flattened dirt. The parking lot full of heavy duty road-making equipment was a clue as well. See, it had rained the night before. A lot. For a long time. The old-timers we later met said it snowed in the higher elevations from 3 am to 3 pm. So the road was a muddy, slippery disaster. We aborted 1 climb after 1/4 mile, due to a Honda Odyssey not quite being up to the challenge. We returned to the base parking lot, consolidated into 2 4WDs, and headed back up. An hour later (for a 6-mile jaunt remember), after seeing several cars with panicked drivers heading down ("I don't know where the 4WD button is and I can't call my husband because it's a new car and he'll kill me!"), we made it to the trailhead. We saddled (strapped?) up and headed up the trail at 4:00.

By 9:15 we had hiked almost 6 miles with all of our gear. The trail was muddy and we were muddy and we were sore and we were tired and the sun was down and we were hiking by flashlight through marshes of questionable density-of-ground. At 9:30 we finally found a spot to camp. Tents were pitched, crackers eaten, bed achieved.

Saturday we awoke to frost and fog. We had a big breakfast (people really do use those half-dozen egg containers they sell at REI! Who knew?) and by the time we were done cleaning up (11:00 AM) the clouds had broken, the sun was out, and warmth was seeping in. We spent the day doing...whatever. Really. It's not often you get to just do...whatever without worrying about if you should be doing something or cleaning something or cooking something or saying something or being somewhere else. There were no expectations and it was great. I spent the day mostly hiking up a ridge on the opposite side of the valley from our camp with various groups of guys. The evening was cooking and hanging out, then sleep.

Sunday we basically got up and left. The sun was out, the day was great, and the downhill dry trek took 3.5 hours, compared to the 5.5 for the long slog in.

Of course this is the short version of the weekend. There are other stories, but I wanted to get something down before I let it slip too far out of my head. It was a really good time and I'm glad I got to go. Hopefully I'll be included next year too!

It's possible I'm a horrible person

but I made my 1st LOL image...

The tragic demise of moles

I currently have 4 dermatologist-inflicted holes in my body. I had some moles, went to the doctor, lost some moles. It's such a non-event, for a surgical procedure. "OK, I think I'll take off...that one...that one...hmmm...not that one...that one if you want..." It's a strange experience. She took the 2 I wanted her to, the ones that have actually noticeably changed in the last year, plus 2 more that looked at her funny. Terribly exciting, I know.

In other news, Fri-Sun is my 1st weekend out in the woods with a bunch of guys since Boy Scouts all those years ago. Jarrod invited me along with him and some of his friends for a camping trip in Wyoming. It should be a good time. The impending trip has already given me an excuse to buy new hiking boots and a new frame pack (which are SO MUCH CHEAPER than when I was 14!!) Now I just have to see if I can get out the door at 6 am Friday. Damn mornings.

Things on the tubes

I thought I'd update my links over there on the right to include some things on this series of tubes that make me laugh. Links over there---->
(graphjam and totallylookslike are new additions)

In other news, our carpet has taken a beating lately. First K2 decided to open a vial of unidentified red powder in the basement* and it got on the carpet. Using my crack cleaning skillz, I grabbed the #2 vacuum that lives in the basement and tried to vacuum the spot. High speed brushes + unidentified substance = more mess that K2 had made in the first place. So I pulled out the attachments and tried to use those to clean up the mess, forgetting that the brushes were still spinning, leaving another red stripe a foot away from the giant blotch created by the spreading of K2's initial 3" wide spill. In the end #2 vacuum is pretty much ruined and the carpet had 2 giant patches of stain.

Then last night K1 was sick. Some sort of stomach bug that caused the contents of his stomach to rush for the nearest exit repeatedly over the space of 10 hours or so. This was also not good for the carpet. So a Rug Doctor was rented today and lots of cleaning done by Steph, who stayed home w/ K1. Neither happening has been totally eradicated from the carpet of our home, so I guess they will become a permanent (until the carpet is replaced at least) record of mishaps. That's what makes a home a home though, right?

*note to self and other parents...if your child receives any presents which include learning activities with potential messes hidden inside, make sure you complete these ASAP!! Otherwise you're asking for trouble. At least I was.

TGIF- Bird Flu edition

Well the bird flu vaccine trial has been enrolled as planned. Good times. Busy times, but good. Up next is the insomnia trial that has been pending for awhile now. Late August is the new projected start (pushed back from next week, which was revised from mid-July, which was the declaration when late June didn't happen.) We'll see when that really happens. In the meantime I have a bit of breathing space to catch up on the big weight loss trial and close out 4 other studies in the next 2 weeks. Really breathing space is overrated.

In other news, Obi continues to assimilate. We've had a few issues...at some point he decided that his pooping places were either out in the backyard or in the basement, so the kid-gate the previous homeowner's left here went back up so he can't get to the basement unsupervised. I've lost a pair of shorts and a pair of PJ pants, and a Darth Vader mask was destroyed (don't tell K1. He doesn't know yet!). That's just stuff though. He's a really great doggy and wants to be loved...it's a constant PET ME PLEASE!!! sort of wanting to be loved. We've been out for walks or visits to the dog park almost daily since we got him and he loves to get out and see the world. He also started refusing to go in his crate after only a few days, so now he has the run of the house during the day and does really well with that. He hasn't destroyed a single thing while home alone during the day...that's only happened at night when we're sleeping. He's come a long way in the last month!

Funeral/Wisconsin

Last week Stephanie's Aunt Jackie passed away. This was her dad's (step-dad technically) twin brother's wife. The passing was somewhat expected...she's been sick for a long time...but nobody really knew it was coming so soon. So we took a quick family trip to Madison over the weekend for the funeral.

First the good stuff...I got to meet a lot of the family that I hadn't yet. I met Steph's other 2 brothers and their families, her grandma, and Charlotte & Bob. All were wonderful and friendly and such, and I'm glad I got to meet them all finally. They all thanked me for updating the cancer blog and it really sank in for me how important that had been to people I had never met. I also got to experience some important Madison stuff...we drove by Steph's childhood home and high school and went to a Friday Night Fish Fry (it's capitalized when Steph says it...). We (the kids & I at least) were only there 40 or so hours, but we got a LOT in during that time.

The funeral itself was quite surreal.
First, it was a Catholic service. Having been raised Catholic, and having been an altar boy for years (no, I was not molested), I have been to more than my share of Catholic funerals. That was always from a perspective of an insider participant. This was the first one I've been to since I left the Catholic church. Aside from 1 wedding, I have not been to a Catholic mass since 1998. The ritual of it has all changed for me. I know all of the appropriate audience answers, I know the sing-songy responses to all of the prayers, and I know almost all of the songs. But I can't participate. I don't believe it anymore, and I don't want to cheapen it for those that do, so I can't just act clueless and play along. I know what it means and I've chosen to allow my beliefs to go in a different direction. That makes for an awkward service.

The other thing that got me this weekend was the fact that Stephanie is alive. Jackie's husband had 45 years of marriage with her. Sitting at a funeral for someone who had that kind of love for that long, it really sank in for me how close I came to losing Stephanie prematurely. I cried at the funeral of a woman I had never met. Not out of sadness, but out of relief and the realization that I was going to get to live that kind of complete, loving life with my wife.

When it's our time to die, we will be judged by the love we gave and the love we received. I am overwhelmed with relief that I get to continue building that kind of bond with Stephanie.