My Oh My, The Little Guy is 5

Well this is a day late, but my son Tyler turned 5 yesterday. Its hard to believe that its been that long. It just seems like yesterday he he was born. He's gone through quite a bit since those first days. Colic, Exema, dairy allergies and now dealing with asthma. Its a wonder he's made it this far =) But I wouldnt trade him for anything. Hes my little athlete and he's definately at this point momma's boy but so was I. I love you Tyler, Happy Birthday Buddy!

This was Tyler and I last August at cousin Ryans birthday party

And Then There Were None

We lost our last pet sometime today. I really hadnt been in the kitchen much when the kids and I got home so I didnt notice initialy. It wasnt until about 11 pm when I got a txt from Debbie that I noticed that Sarahs hamster Popcorn was dead in his cage. Weve only had him a little over a year. While we never did pick him up and play with him he was entertaining none the less. Im not sure if we will be getting any more pets anytime soon. Debbie keeps hinting about a dog but Im not sure. We shall see.

Two Months and Counting...

On January 25th I last drank a Coke. Two whole months ago. Hard to believe Ive gone that long without one. The first month was probably the hardest. This second month hasnt been so bad. I think one of my hardest challenges was when I would go to a fast food restauraunt and have to decide what to drink and stops at convenience stores. Initialy when I first stopped drinking soda I found myself paying the extra money for a bottle of water when I ate out. Now I just get unsweetened tea. 98% of the time I add nothing to it. When it comes to conveince stores I either get a bottle of water, Gatorade ( either a bottle or from the fountain ) or again tea. I found since I stopped drinking soda I stop far less frequently at stores to and from work. Now if I can just stop eating out so much =)

They say it takes 90 days to break a hbit, well Im 60 days into it. Im not sure what the time frame is for kicking an addiction but Im I think Im well into that time frame too. WIsh me luck as I continue down this road!

Hockey Night In Arizona

Around Christmas time I was poking around the Phoenix Coyotes website and found an adult hokcey clinic offered by the Coyotes. For 50 bucks you got a tour of the locker rooms, training facilities and a 90 minute session out on the Jobbing.Com arena with former NHL players. Plus on top of that you got a jersey and a lower level ticket to a future Coyotes game. Sign me up!

Fast foward to this past Friday the 20th. It was time to suit up, lace 'em up tight and hit the ice. I didnt have huge expectations as its been several years since I played ice hokcey. It was a blast. We did power skating drills, stick handling and passing drills and then 3 on 3 games. I was spent by the end of the time on the ice but it left me thirsting for more hockey playing. I had been thinking about signing up for an inline league at RollerPlex but this solidifies the deal. Nothing hurt out of the orindary after my skate and just a few days later im over the little bit of soreness I had.

A shot from Friday night...

That would be me right in the middle of the pic

Facebook

Ive been thinking about this for some time and while I had a few minutes I thought id jot some facts and figures down.

Ive been a memeber of Facebook for about 6 months or so. SInce I joined I have become friends with 107 people

Out of the 105 actual people ( two of my "friends" listed are groups I belong to )
Ive met 90 of these people in real life.
58 of my friends are from Kickrunners, 15 of which I have never met in person
5 of my Facebook friends are family
32 of my FB friends live in Arizona
Of my 105 FB friends I have only seen 24 of them in the last 6 months ( not counting my family members )
Its been more than 6 months but less than a year since Ive seen 7 of them
Its been more than a year but less than 5 since Ive seen 43 of them
Its been more than 5 but less than 10 since Ive seen 9 of them ( sadly my best friend and his wife are amongst those 9. Theyve never seen Tyler in real life )
And I actualy have 9 friends who I havent seen in more than 10 years ( 6 of them live here in Arizona )

Heres kind of an odd stat. Out of those FB friends who I have met in the last 3 years ( basicaly since joining Kickrunners ) I have only been around 22 of those people more than once.

Im not sure what it all means. I just had it in my mind and had some time today to sit down and run some numbers. I think I need to get out more and do something ( especialy with more of my friends lol ) Some of my friends are just so far away geograpicaly its hard to do anything with them. Others are here in the valley but we just never seem to be able to hook up.

Ill have something more exciting to talk about next time =)

RandomCam

Nope this isnt yet another pic from our new D60, but rather a pic from my new Blackberry Storm cellphone camera. Just some flowers in the front yards of Tyler's babysitter's house. And with this post im up to 140 =)

Not So Random Cam

Well after almost being down two weeks, our pc is back up and running. Therefore we were able to download the almost 500 pics on our new Nikon D60. After seeing the pics downloaded, im that much more impressed with the camera. The color and detial are just amzing. I know there are better ( read more expensive ) cameras out there but for what Debbie and I use it for, this is pretty darn good.

Just a few I have shot over the last few weeks. Hope you enjoy them!

A Return to Running?

I have been in an exercise/workout funk since I came home from Philly. Physicaly I feel fine, I just havent made it to the Y. I made a comment on the board the other day that I needed a kick in the ass, that I had no motivation. I got some support from the gang. Maya made a point to tell me I had till today to put up a return to running plan on the board. The plan wasnt in question, I just needed a little push in that direction. So I put it out there. I plan on starting the C25k plan next week and I have a 5k picked out to run on May 23rd. Maybe now that Debbie FINALLY went back to the podiatrist and got her new orthotics she can return to running and we can do the 5k together. We shall see.

In other news, Im still Coke/Pepsi free. Its been oever a month and a half since I had one. Everyday I go without one is a record for me as Ive never gone this long without one since my pre teen years. I have found that I am beginning to like unsweetened tea, who woulda thunk =)

Happy Birthday Sarah

Hard to believe that 8 years ago today my darling little daughter was born. Shes growing like a weed ( as is Tyler ) It just seems like yesterday that I could put her little head in my hand and her legs were down at my elbow. Now Im lucky to even get a hug out of her =) It wont be too long and she'll be a teenager and wanting the keys to the car. I dont want to her to grow up. I want her to be daddys little girl all the time. I know I cant stop or even slow down time but we can always wish right.

Happy Birthday Sarah, I love you!

Challenges

We face challenges sometimes on a daily basis. With my ongoing battle to not drink Coke or Pepsi, im challenged everyday. Last night and this morning were no different. Debbie's cousin Les and his friend James are staying with us for a week. Last night they came back from the grocery store with an armfull of snacks. One of those snacks was a 20 pack of Coke. It didnt bother me as much last night as we sat at the dining room table shooting the breeze as they sat and drank Coke. No, it was this morning. There sat the open 20 pack. With me being tired, the idea of poppin' open a can and having a Coke for the caffenine rush this morning was really tempting. But alas I stood my ground and stood up to temptation. I just walked away. JUst another one of the little battles I fight from time to time. 1 month and 6 days soda free, woo hoo!

One Year Ago...

One of my biggest heroes in life left this world. It was on this date one year ago that my maternal grandfather passed away. He and I were very close. I felt very fortunate to still have him in my life with me being 36 years old. Im also very glad that he lived long enough to see my two kids born and that he got to spend time with them. Sarah and Tyler were old enough and spent enough time around him that they will remember him.

I thought of him often when Debbie, my parents and I traveled to New Jersey for my aunts birthday a week or so ago. All the trips that I took with him back there in the summer when I was a kid. All the sights and people I wouldnt have experienced if it werent for him. It was hard at times while I was back there. It made me sad at times. Plus seeing some of my older family that I know what be with us much longer. Just reminds me the clock is ticking and I need to try to live life to its fullest while Im still here.

Love you Grandpa!