Back From Cali

Greetings friends and family,

It was a long three days away from Kendra and twins.  I went for meetings and had the bonus benefit of spending an evening with Mom and Dad and one with Neill and Jenny.  Before I left there were two pictures I took with me on the trip that I looked at on my phone when I missed them.  This one of Layla from when we went for a hike.  As we walked by a neighbor's house she noticed these colorful flowers and put it in her hair.  As always, she has a very keen eye for beauty.

and this one of Easton because it makes me smile.  We were driving with the windows down enjoying the perfect weather.  Easton puts his chin on the car door, closes his eyes, and lets the wind blow through his hair.  Watching him smile so wide and enjoy something as simple as wind blowing on him is a special memory to me.  He continually asks questions about life, but he is also content enough to just be.

Sunday afternoon at the park was supposed to follow our normal patter of a few families gathering with their kids, but fortunately we ended up in the same location as the youth and parents picnic from our church.  Easton went off with a mob of church people.  I walked over to find Easton and his friend, Zander, playing volleyball with the big kids.  In many other environments Easton would have been relegated to play in the sand because the teenagers want to play a serious game.  However, these are no ordinary kids.  They are considerate of others, inclusive, and willing to sacrifice their competitive, macho glory so that everyone could enjoy the game.  At one point Easton was up on Kyle's shoulders so that he could throw the ball over the net.

My trip to Cali was useful, but as always I realize no one cares about the boring details of my career.  I don't even care about the boring details so I know you don't either.  Anyway, the good thing about flying home is that I had 2 hours of uninterrupted time to watch Todd White at a conference.  My dinner consisted of pretzels and cranberry juice, but missing dinner was a small price to pay to get home in time to put the twins into bed.

I arrived home to find two happy kids and a relieved wife.  I know these days alone are challenging, but she did great without me!  The welcome home sign on the mirror was very thoughtful and creative.  The stamps and colors were exactly what I would expect from those two.

Layla learned how to draw a puppy from a friend at school.  Kendra drew the purple one and Layla drew the pink one.  This is my next wall art for work.  She is proud of her skills and loves to learn.

The bed time routine is a welcomed return to normal for me.  We took time to read books as well as paint finger nails.  Layla chose two glittery colors.  Her index and middle fingers are one color and the other three are another color.  She asked and I said, "why not?"  Turned out rather well this time around.  I'm getting better at it every week.

We have several exciting events on the horizon such as date night with the Coyote's hockey game, Kendra's first trip to the shooting range, and maybe even a few hours of down time to do nothing for a change of pace.

See you soon!