The above is a random video of Perrin in her Halloween costume. She is picking out what she wanted for Halloween - candy or money.
It seems to me that the New Year should actually start when the kids go back to school - not in the middle of the school year. I don't know - I find it easier to set goals and work towards them when the weather is warm. For example - one of my hopes for this year is to compete in a mountain bike race in April. I need to train for this as it's up a wicked steep hill and if I don't do some serious riding I'm going to die going up that hill. But....BUT! It's stinkin' cold outside in the morning, which is when the kids are in school, which is the easiest time for me to get out and get some seat time. Yes, there is an excuse for every thing but I think it's a pretty good excuse. So I've got to figure something out - I'll keep you posted.
The holidays went blessedly well. We had an uneventful (which is a good thing) trip to and from Medford, Oregon. The time with the in-laws was really fun and relaxing. (thank you Susie for making it happen) The kids had a wonderful time hanging out with Grandma/pa, uncles and aunts and cousins. Of course the presents were abundant, our luggage got charged for being too heavy and the excess presents arrived yesterday because they wouldn't fit in our already overly stuffed suitcases. We got home on Tuesday, had a day of "rest" and cleaning the house and took off for Spokane on Thursday. When we arrived in Spokane I got a chance to practice my "enjoying the moment" as it was snowing and cold. It was absolutely beautiful and much better than rain. I had a thought, just for a minute though, that I could have gone somewhere really nice and warm with all the money we spent on traveling this holiday season. But then I stop myself and say, "People are more important that places or things" and the people we were with in Oregon and Spokane were indeed worth the time, money and effort.
Balin and I stayed in a nice little boutique hotel in downtown Spokane. We walked to dinner the first night and had what hopefully will become a signature Strickler drink, the cilantro/jalepeno margarita. Yummy. Afterwards I dropped Balin off at a seriously red-neck bar on the north side of town for the guys "bachelor party". All I'm going to say is that boys are so different than girls. The next day we went out and spent a couple of hours with my Grandma, Aunt Do and Uncle Tommy. It was nice to sit and chat about all that is happening currently and things that have happened in the past. My Aunt is a wonderful collector of history, particularly our family history. She has momentos and documents all the way from when my grandma came over from Holland in a boat - pretty impressive and interesting. Afterwards was the rehearsal & dinner, which was quick and enjoyable.
The wedding went off without a hitch and the happy couple is off in St. Lucia enjoying a beautiful week together. Meanwhile Balin and I headed home and reentered Parenthood. What a joy it is to be away from the kids, but what a joy it is to come home. The kids weren't all that excited to see us as they had "just gotten to Grandma's house" but it was time for the Strickler's to be one at home. So we packed them up, headed home and....cleaned the house. No wonder the kids didn't want to come home. The house needed some serious cleaning after we'd been gone for almost 3 weeks. With Balin's help we got in done in a couple of hours and were able to have a nice dinner and just relax.
Between New Year's and now I've come down with a nasty cold and am not feeling my best, which makes me just want to lay around. We were thinking of going camping this weekend but it got too complicated so were just going to have a stay at home weekend. Sam said to Balin, "that means you're gonna lock up your office, right dad?". Thank you Sam. Balin agreed and so we're looking forward to a great weekend of playing, swimming, eating good food and doing a whole lot of nothing. And, it's supposed to be in the 60's! Yes, it's like summer in Seattle. I'll take it.
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