Tag: Family

Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge is a lots of fun for kids. I can see why we’ve heard rave reviews. However, there’s a few things to know before your trip that are not covered in the brochure or web site.
1. the beds are great for jumping on, but not so great for sleeping.
2. the pillows are extra firm, perfect for delivering that knockout blow during a pillowfight. Bring your own for sleeping on. We saw other families hauling them in and now we know why.
3. Beware of the zombies. They look much like normal humans, but because of sleep deprivation and too much chlorine exposure, they merely resemble humans, their faces devoid of emotion, being towed around by kids.
4. If you have really little kids, plan to spend lots of time in the tadpole pond. The water in the big pools is cooler and the 4 and under kids get cold quickly.
5. The wifi coverage is pervasive and slow. I eventually turned off wifi because AT&T 3G was faster.
6. The TV has only paid programming. Bring along options. Their internet is way too slow for streaming NetFlix.

The lodge is designed to be a one stop resort, where you eat, sleep and play without ever leaving the building. It accomplishes this, but after a couple days, we had experienced everything that was age appropriate. The kids would have been happy to stay another day or two but we were looking forward to sleeping in our own bed.

Happy Valentines Day

We celebrated Valentines Day on a rock wall. Several other climbers were jealous of my personal cheering squad as I scooted up the rock walls.

But I wasn’t the only one getting cheers. Once we discovered the right technique for her, Kayla had a lot of fun climbing up, and down, up and down the wall.

Tomorrow, there’s a good chance I’ll be wearing my crampons at the top of Mt. Si. It’s been a long time since they’ve been buckled to the bottom of a pair of boots.

We made it to Seattle

Our migration to Seattle is nearly complete. We left Dallas on Monday afternoon and arrived in Seattle on Thursday evening, as scheduled. Our truck arrived in Kent, WA on Friday morning and was delivered this (Friday) evening. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be moved in with every box emptied and broken down by Sunday evening.

Texas Michigan driving stats

One way mileage: 1,290 (Garland to Cadillac)
Total miles driven: 3,294
Total gallons of gas: 129
Avg. price per gallon: $2.94
Total gasoline purchases: $380.40
Gas stops for Odyssey: 4 (one per state: AR, MO, IN, MI)

Travel Cost for 4 persons Cost Time (1 way)

NOTES:
Flight costs include auto rental ($300) and airport parking ($84).
Flight times include drive to airport (1 hr), checkin and security (2 hr), rental car pickup and drive from GRR to Cadillac (2 hr).

Flight, direct ($300 ea) $1,584 7 hrs
Flight, 1 hop ($200 ea) $1,184 9 hrs
Auto – Honda Odyssey (fuel) $300 16 hrs

On the drive to Michigan, we hit snow in Lansing and saw almost a dozen cars in the ditches on I-96. The GRR airport was already shut down so if we had flown, we’d have been diverted to another airport and stranded with many other holiday travelers.

During our stay, I made a day trip from Cadillac to Lansing, hitting snow near G.R. on the way down. The entire return trip was in near whiteout conditions. Cadillac gained 8 inches of snow during my half-day absence. Kayla now confidently asserts that if it is snowing, we’re in Michigan.

The return to Texas was similarly exciting. When we left Michigan at 8 PM, a winter storm was in progress and the temperature had plummeted. The traffic grooves within each lane of the freeway had iced over. For those daring enough to drive “in their lane,” the roads were treacherous. We saw two tractor trailers, an Indiana police cruiser, and an assortment of other vehicles inadvertently parked in the snow filled ditches along the highway. Progress was slow but once past Indianapolis, the ice was gone and the roads cleared up. We drove through the night while the kids slept, arriving around 2 PM.

It is easy to imagine that flying would have been better. But both flights would have been delayed, erasing the time benefits. And when flying, we are separated from our luggage, making it onerous to placate travel weary companions. Driving was definitely the right choice.

Are these books worth keeping?

The year 2007 brought about The Great Book Purge. Our personal library has been slowly growing and we have insufficient space for them. To inflict our books on someone else’s bookshelves, I set up accounts at half.com, Bookins, and Bookmooch.

To get started, I checked the value of each of my books on half.com. Any books worth more than a few bucks ($5+) I listed on half.com for a little less than the highest priced similar item. Most of those books sold within a week, clearing off almost an entire shelf.

I listed another batch of books on Bookins, a book swapping site. On Bookins, the buyer pays $4.95 for shipping. The seller (me) gets a USPS label printed with the persons address. I have only to wrap the book, tape on the label, and drop it in the mail. After a month, I’ve shipped off a half dozen books and have a bunch of points in my Bookins account. However, I’ve only received a couple books of my wishlist. Bookins only has a couple thousand members and most book trades are fiction, a genre I have little interest in.

The last site I’ve been using is BookMooch. As with Bookins, on Bookmooch I created a list of books I wanted and books to purge. When a book I want becomes available, I get an email alert and can request the book from the giver. The giver pays the postage to send the book to me. They gets points when I receive the book and those points are redeemable for books that they want. It’s a pretty good system and my biggest complaint is that with BookMooch, as a giver I must take the book to the Post Office due to new Media Mail regulations enacted in October. It would be most excellent if I could print online postage as Bookins does.

While going through our books, some stand out as truly excellent books that deserve a mention. Here are my three favorite books on child raising.

Why Gender Matters

Seasons of Life

Making Children Mind
Without Losing Yours

The difference a couple years make

Two years ago, the focal point of our lives was a fascinating and wonderful little creature named Kayla. We were pretty smitten by her upon arrival but it seems that was just the tip of a monumental iceberg of joy that she is. It doesn’t seem possible that she turns two today. She is such the little treasure and there isn’t a single day I’d give back.

Since that day two years ago, I enrolled at DTS and we moved to Texas. Jen transitioned from office worker to telecommuter as I adjusted to life as a graduate student. After two semesters, I learned all I had set out to. After the conclusion of the school year, we bought a minivan and departed for Seattle to be near Jen’s family. Bill had been diagnosed with Leukemia and it would likely be the last time we’d get to be with him.

We stayed two months and returned to Texas. Lucas arrived in October. I cannot overstate how much life changed with #2. With an infant and a toddler, there is always a need for one, and frequently two parents attention. Combined with family visits, from Lucas’ birth through the New Year, getting anything done, let alone caught up, was wildly optimistic. Things we normally kept on top of did not receive the attention they were due.

But little in life is permanent. When the 2007 tax season rolled around, I caught up on over a years worth of bookkeeping (corporate & personal). In mid-April I accepted a position with Layered Tech, a hosting company. After a number of other less than satisfying interviews, LT seemed like a good fit so I accepted. So far, they are quite pleased with me and vice versa.

As Lucas rapidly progresses from infant to toddler, we seem to be finding a sense of balance. Unlike the last, this year our trees are pruned and the flower beds are weeded, mulched, and planted. The Jetta even got a fresh coat of wax and Rain-X. On Friday we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Not only was it a night out at one of Dallas’ nicest restaurants, but it was the third weekend in a row that we had been out as a couple.

With all the changes in and around our lives, there are a few things that remain constant: I found the love of my life, and she said yes. On that foundation we have build something that exceeds all expectations. Last night I sat on the floor in the dark, looking out the back windows. Cuddled in my lap was Kayla, a most treasured possession, giddy and exuberant, every time a firefly pierced the darkness.

Oh poo!

It all started innocently enough. Kayla was standing at the gate to our room, watching mommy prepare Lucas’ lunch. It being the time of day that Kayla is productive, she stood at the gate and delivered a fine specimen into her diaper. Mommy witnessed the event.

Meanwhile, daddy was in the office tending Lucas and working on a clients web site. Due to past excitement, Kayla is not allowed to remove her diaper without permission. So she trotted out and announced she wanted to sit on her potty seat. Daddy granted permission to remove her diaper and she did.

As the diaper slid off, the delivery from two minutes prior fell out of the diaper onto the floor. Thankfully, daddy had the good sense to put the potty seat on the tile floor. “What’s that!” Kayla asked quizzically. As she attempted to step away she instead stepped into it. What had great potential to be humorous turned ugly fast. Instead of trying to get away from the steaming heap on the floor she was trying to get away from her own foot!

Being dangerously close to carpet, damage control daddy swept in and restored sanity and hygiene.

PS: Diaper wipes are truly wonderful things.