Tao Of Foo

Last weekend we had the honor of attending my cousin Seth’s wedding in Denton. Ben and I were actually in the wedding party (Ring Bearer and Groomsman respectively).

During the reception all the kids were running around dancing themselves silly when the Rascal Flatts cover of “Life is a Highway” came on. Keep in mind that “Cars” is probably Ben’s vaforite movie right now. When Ben heard the song he froze in his tracks, held his hands out and yelled, “I know this song!”. Once the lyrics started and I knew he was going to sing every word I ran tward the stage, told Ben to follow me and I grabbed the microphone. I turned him loose, stepped back and watched as every single person in the audience slowly turned to face him once they heard somebody singing.

He literally knows every single word to the song. Not only was he singing the words however, he was also singing the guitar solo and some of the drum beats. It was a blast. Every single person in the audience was laughing and some (including myself) were crying it was so funny. When the song ended he got a really loud round of applause and he thanked the croud. What an event.

Seth and Lora, congrats guys. I am so happy for the both of you. See you at the reunion.

Ben,

Today you turned 4. You are an incredibly funny, smart and independent kid. For every moment you try our patience, you give us tenfold moments of joy. I can only wonder what kind of child you are becoming and what kind of man you will one day become. Will you be determined like your mother or even-keeled like your father? Regardless, I look forward to every day with you on this journey.

Happy birthday Benjamin.

…begin movie guy voice…

In a world where tranquil gardens are a place of rest and relaxation, only one thing could ruin a Sunday morning. Snakes. Snakes on a wheelbarrow.

…end movie guy voice..

As I reached into the wheelbarrow to get a handful of mulch for the garden I felt something slither across my palm. I looked down in time to see a snake slithering back into the mulch and out of my hand. As I dropped the mulch and reeled my hand back I see it, the tiny diamond shaped head popping up with mouth open in a strike position and then the tail starts rattling. Good thing I was paying attention because young rattlesnakes can be much more dangerous than adults. I guess it’s time to get rid of the mulch pile by the back fence.

Update: I don’t know about you Helotes, but Amy took care of our mulch pile in less than a week. Unfortunately no burning was involved.

Since Amy had a conference in Austin for a few days, Ben and I decided to head to Ft. Worth for a few days to hang out with my parents.

We did a bunch of really cool kid stuff while there including a cattle drive and a train ride. I took a few pictures but my Dad took much better ones.

Today I worked from home so I could supervise the construction of my new workshop. A little bit of background first though. Amy’s business is growing like gangbusters but it’s getting a little old moving furniture out of the living room to turn it into her photography studio every time she needs to run an indoor photo shoot. Also our spare bedroom makes for quite a cramped office and storage is becoming an issue for all of the props she is acquiring. Earlier this year we started thinking about converting the garage into her studio and office. There are only 2 problems with that though, my workshop and storage. My workshop takes up about half of the garage with the workbench, radial arm saw, lumber and tools. I do a lot of woodworking and other projects so I desperately needed to keep that space. That reminds me, I need to finish the writeup of the playset I built for Ben. The other half of the garage is basically lawn and gardening equipment, all of our camping gear, bicycles, a little (currently) unused furniture and random storage.

I had originally wanted to build the workshop myself but came to the conclusion that it would take me about 3-4 months to do so. And that’s not necessarily factoring in the winter holidays, Amy’s work schedule or any spring vacations. So I contracted out the work. Three guys showed up at 9am and were gone by 4pm. Not too bad for a 20′x12′ workshop with lots of loft/storage space. Now I didn’t pay to have it completely finished. I’m going to deck in the storage loft, build a workbench and shelves, wire in AC for lights and power tools, finish the interior walls, paint the exterior and eventually build doors for the storage loft.

I’ll probably start building the workbench pretty soon that way I can at least move some of my tools out there. After I finish this project we’ll get started on the garage. First I’ll need to add a few AC circuits for the additional recepticles for her lighting equipment. Then I’ll build a wall to replace the garage door. That will give her a separate enterance for the business and a big bay window. Then it’s just painting and flooring.

It seems there is always another project or 10 when you are a home owner.

Seeing as how Amy had 3 photo shoots on Sunday, Ben and I decided to get out of the house and do a little hiking out at Lost Maples. We had planned on meeting some friends out there on Saturday but Amy wasn’t feeling too well and she wanted to rest up for her busy day on Sunday. Since she was going to be in and out all day working I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and get some exercise.

Ben and I left the house with Daisy around 9am with a packed lunch, water and plenty of snacks. We made it to the park, headed out on the West Trail (4.9 miles, our usual route) and made it up to the summit right around noon. We took our time with plenty of pit stops, “cave” exploring and lots of “boulder” excitement. Ben told precisely every hiker we passed to “watch out for boulders”. That got plenty of laughs and smiles along the way. All in all I think I carried Ben on my shoulders at most 1/3 of the total hike.

My little 3 year old is quite the trooper. I felt like an accomplished parent when he slept the entire way home.

Yesterday Ben went to his first day of Mothers Day Out. He had a great time and seems to really like his teacher and class. I hope that when he asks for the car keys next week he’s not expecting gas money to come along with them.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, my wife is an incredible photographer and an amazing artist. As a testament to this fact, last week the Boerne Star released their 2006 “Best of the Best” awards for Kendall County and right there as the #2 photographer in the entire county … Shutter-Happy Photography.

I have to say that I am so proud of her and the work she is doing. In the last few years she has turned a hobby into a thriving business that is keeping her very, very busy. I can’t wait to see how much this business will keep on growing, especially considering the extra attention it’s about to receive. Later this month Ben will start attending a Mothers Day Out program 2 days a week. That should give Amy a bit of extra time with her clients and he is very excited about “going to school”. We are planning a major home renovation project for later this year that will give the entire garage over to Amy for a studio and office. I am also planning out a new dedicated phone system for the business that will be able to tie in Amy’s assistant (my sister, Jennifer) to enhance the communication system of the business. Big changes, stay tuned.

Yes folks, it’s official. At 3 years old Benjamin is now officially aware of the Internet enough to recite web addresses. Here was the conversation last night at dinner:

Ben: “Daddy, PBS kids duck or.”

Me: ???

Ben: “PBS kids duck or.“

Me: ???

Amy (whispering to me): “PBS kids dot org.”

Me: “Ben, I think it’s PBS kids dot org.”

Ben: “Oh no Daddy, no, it’s PBS kids duck or.“

That’s my boy.

Yesterday afternoon we got back from a 4 day vacation at our family’s cabin in the Davis Mountains of west Texas. We finally got my in-laws out there with us this time and I think they really enjoyed it. Once Bobby got over his frustration at the bad washboard roads he had a great time. At one point in the drive up the mountain (in my Dad’s truck) he looked over at me and said (with wide eyes) “now I understand why you need 4 wheel drive out here”. If you haven’t been to our cabin before, the drive up Remington Ridge is pretty rough. The 4 wheel drive in my Blazer wouldn’t engage for some reason and I barely made it up the mountain, probably only because I have driven it before and I know the rough patches and how to navigate them. Loretta had the same reaction as Amy, not wanting to look over the edge. There are a couple of very rough and steep switchbacks and a couple of patches of badly washed-out road.

Our cabin has no electricity, telephone or traditional sewer/water. We haul our own drinking water and a rain collection system provides for cooking, and bathing water. A propane system powers a small RV sized fridge, stove, water heater and lights. There is a toilet and a nice big fireplace. Most cell phones work but the signal is pretty weak.

This trip marked the first time in almost 2 years that I had been out there, easily the longest stretch in my life. Before I went to college we made the trip at least twice a year. We couldn’t go last year because the water tank in the cabin was busted and we had to wait on a replacement (thank you Uncle Lenny).

I think Bobby’s interest in wildlife was satisfied with all the Whitetail and Desert Mule Deer. There were also a number of different types of birds to identify. He never saw the coyote or mountain lion he was hoping to and amazingly enough we encountered no snakes.

We celebrated both my birthday (big 31) and Easter while up there. We had an easter-egg hunt, went on a few hikes, gave the in-laws a tour of the area, ate quite a bit, repaired the wind damaged roof of a shed and relaxed a whole lot. I made it almost completely through the new 37signals book: Getting Real. Holy cow, if you develop, design or are in any way, shape or form involved in software development especially web application development, you need to read this book. More on that topic later.

If you are reading this and thinking that you might have a hard time dealing with no phone or internet for 4 days, you really need to try it. There is no better way to clear your head and really relax. Take lots of reading materials, turn off your cell phone, find a comfortable place to sit outside and take a deep breath.

I’m glad to be home but I really do love that place.  It’s a 6 hour drive from Boerne and 4 wheel drive is almost a requirement but it’s the one main place I can go to relax and unwind.