Seven Days ... One Week.

Tomorrow marks the one week point of our family nomadic experience. I would say homeless but that sounds very negative. I'm trying to be positive. The Chambers were very accommodating and now Ryan and Jen are being fantastic hosts ... Even if Ryan is out of town. We are enjoying so much time with our dear friends. Hopefully we'll see more of our family as the trip progresses. Everyone is feeling a little displaced and the displacement is manifesting itself in different ways. Brig and Kre swapped clothes the other day...including underwear. Ricki is not eating enough and getting headaches and I'm staring blankly at the computer screen. Ok, so not really but the boys did decide to swap clothes the other day. We are having a good time. Greater things have been done in one week but hey, what do you do?

Displaced

Today was our last day in the condo. We have been working for the last three weeks to get everything moved out and into the storage unit. We have a 5 week gap between moving out and then taking possession of the new place. Ricki has been an absolute champ, working around the clock to pack everything. As it usually happens I got real busy with work right about the same time we needed to get serious about packing so I was little to no help during the day then I would jump into action in the evenings and cart loads of stuff to the storage unit. Today, standing in an empty place I reflected for a moment. When we moved in it was only 3 of us and the place felt pretty big. Brig was 2 and I was in graduate school. During our stay we have brought home two new children, graduated, got a job, lost a job, became certified fitness instructors, consulted long distance, started new careers, made friends, made pizzas, BBQ'd in all weather, got snowed in and nearly blown away. For a moment today I was a bit sad. So many memories. But as I look forward to the future I am excited about making more memories and a new home. Because in reality, my home is where my family is, and in that I feel truly blessed.

Walk the Talk

For the last several weeks I've been telling everyone how calm and collected I have been feeling. Despite all the pressure that comes along with the house I've felt very comfortable with what is happening. Well, yesterday it all hit the fan. A whole collection of isolated instances converging on us in a synchronicity that would make even the most cunning and violent saboteur proud. Sure, it's all good and well to talk about it, now it is put up or shut up time. So to center myself I agreed to hit an early morning run with a friend this morning. I was in bed near midnight last night. Keelyn and Krevan took turns making sure Ricki and I didn't sleep too deeply and we were up at ridiculous hours like 1am, 2:30ish and I think about 4:am. Then I was up at 5 so I could be at the trail head on time. We ran on a series of hogback ridges which allowed us to enjoy the view of Fort Collins in the darkness of pre-dawn, twilight, then a beautiful sunrise. It was a perfect morning for a run, and we managed nearly 15 miles. Now, after a day of work, packing, and troubleshooting, I'm not sure I'll make it to sunset. Wow, what an experience. We are still moving forward, and it will all work itself out. But for now on I'm keeping my mouth shut and simply walk the talk.

Updates on Keelyn

Keelyn is 8 1/2 months now and is in to everything! She may only be 15lbs but she can hold her own around here She loves baths and is starting to be ok getting out of the bath as long as mom sings the bumble bee song. She loves exploring (aka. getting into everything) and playing with her brothers! There are few times that she isn't smiling at someone or making them smile!

Ok below I have put a few fun videos. ( please disregard the "mom" voice in the videos)

Keelyn does not like the chunky baby foods yet as you will clearly see!

Kre has had a sore throat the last couple of days, so he has only wanted soft foods. Today while I was in my room for a few minutes he put his food on the floor and well watch the video. (No worries everything came out of the carpet, Thankfully!)

Yes she had red hands and a red mouth for a while!

Life on the windshield

I'm currently sitting in the car watching it snow. Kiwi and Kre both fell asleep on the way to the library so Ric took Brig in to get a couple movies for the boys. So much is happening right now. The buyer we thought we had for the condo may fall through. The house we thought we would get we may not - the bank is being silly. (silly is my description after several days of meditation). Now i'm back at wanting houses that may be a stretch. I'm working with a couple of very dear friends to start some new business opportunities, I worked until after midnight last night, Ric held Kiwi most of the night cause she is sick. Blah, blah, blah. As I sit and meditate I watch the snow.... And it's like life. The snow comes fast and furious at times and drifting and gentle at others. Regardless of how it falls soon - SMACK! It hits the windshield. At first it blinds your vision and you can get frustrated. But if you let it sit for a moment the heat from the heater blowing on the windshield melts the snow, and it moves gently down leaving your vision unclouded. I see lots of metaphors here, trials, patience, knowledge of a greater existance. Hmmmmm. Too much?

Saturday Run

I'm trying to get my training in and luckily I have a wonderful family, especially my wife, who supports me. In order to get my run in and not take all day about it I left at 6:30AM on foot towards the mountains Saturday morning. There I was able to meet up with another local runner for a couple hours on trails. It was a bit icy/snowy in spots and muddy in others, but it was an awesome day to be on trails. Today I'm a bit sore because when Ricki came to pick me up we couldn't go home due to a showing. So I changed in the bathroom at the trailhead and missed my customary ice bath. Still, it was great and I love having a family who supports my efforts. Love you Ricki.

Tough being a Dad

It is tough being a Dad. Its a balance of tough/kind, realistic/optimistic, fun/disciplined..... you get the idea. One minute I'm trying to patiently teach my 7 yr old lessons of life and figure out how to answer his questions about why I have to work etc. The next moment I'm wishing for everything I've got that he could win the raffle at school that he so desperatly wants to win. Compounding this problem is my own childish desire to run and play.....or simply run. Working from home doesn't help because the boys' only reference to sitting at the computer is when they are playing game and looking at Lego toys, so Dad must obviously be playing all day long. "Why does Dad sit at the computer all day?" Sigh. I've got really good kids, they are all beautiful in their own ways and it is a day-to-day adventure.

Swimsuits

This last Friday we were all nearly at the end of our ropes. Ricki had been sick for nearly two weeks and was working hard to run the "Launch" of a new kickboxing routine at two different gyms which requires a ton of practice, organization, and coordination. Kiwi had also been sick and Krevan had decided he would jump back into one of his funky sleep routines...which generally means that whenever Keelyn would fall asleep, Krevan would wake up. Ricki needed to meet up with a few of her team members for some final practice time so we all headed over to they gym. This way the boys could swim, I could sit in the hot tub (thanks Ric) and Ricki could practice. It was cold outside but the boys figured they only needed the basics in order to make it safely to the gym. Ricki and I thought this was particularly funny as there is a childhood photo of Ricki in her swimsuit and snowboots in the dead of winter. I'll have to see if we can find that one.

Our Beautiful Keelyn

Christmas Warm Up