09 November 2008
16 July 2008
Man Week
As mentioned in my earlier blog, Laura and Amos are in Boise for the week. They left Sunday morning - I'll be joining them tomorrow afternoon for the weekend and we'll all fly home on Sunday. Last Sunday as I was driving home from the airport - speeding, windows down, sunroof open, music blaring (all of which I can't do with the family) - it occurred to me I have a week at home, alone. My wife is a stay-at-home Mom, my son is dependent on us, so I rarely get alone time. As I was speeding down rt. 215 a sense of excitement overcame me. Five whole days of alone time... and so I decided that the week of July 14th, 2008 would be hence known as Bachelor Week 2008.
Now Bachelor Week is a simple concept - I do single guy things. Most nights I came home, ordered out (buffalo wings, pizza, Carraba's steak, etc), then headed to our lower level to build. There's nothing that says Bachelor Week like compound miter saws, air compressors, nail guns, ramsets, callused hands and building walls. Following several hours of working in the basement I head upstairs for leftover takeout, then layout on the couch and watch guy flicks. Monday night was Beerfest - a frat boy classic involving 13 year old humor centered around frivolous drinking. Tuesday brought a Tom Green masterpiece - Roadtrip - consisting of a several frat members chasing a sex tape across the country... tasteful! Wednsday night was the Simpson's movie... an obvious choice and therefore no explanation is needed. Tonight... well... tonight I have a developers meeting with ClassVibe (an all male staff (not intentionally (Any female programmers out there? We'd love to have you))) . Following the dev meeting, I'll be putting Bachelor Week on hold for an hour to watch "So You Think You Can Dance", but following SYTYCD I'll cruise On-Demand for tonight's entertainment. Then following the movie, I usually take a shower or soak in our over-sized tub and finish the night spread out in our bed.
Looking back on Bachelor Week 2008, the theory behind it was great. A week of me... however... as I dug into my holiday I realized that it wasn't all that it was made out to be. Though I got a ton of work done in the basement, it isn't nearly as satisfying as when I get to share my progress with Laura. I work hard in the basement because I enjoy showing my work to Laura at the end of each night. My frat boy movies aren't nearly as entertaining without a bowl of popcorn and Laura's cynical comments. Baths and showers are lonely without my wife sitting on the edge of the tub, recapping her day's activities. And sleeping alone isn't fun... for obvious reasons. I also miss laying in bed with Laura, my hand on her stomach in hopes of catching a kick from little Kherington (name pending). Aside from missing my wife... walking into an empty house is not as satisfying as watching my son crawl as fast as he can towards me as I enter our front door. Or laying on the floor as Amos uses me as a jungle gym.
So though Bachelor Week 2008 had all the potential ... ... ... sorry, the delivery guy rang the doorbell, dinner's here... ... ... where was I? Oh, yeah... so though Bachelor Week 2008 had all the potential to renew life's earlier pleasures, I realized that what I need is a wife, family and to stop driving so fast.
Now Bachelor Week is a simple concept - I do single guy things. Most nights I came home, ordered out (buffalo wings, pizza, Carraba's steak, etc), then headed to our lower level to build. There's nothing that says Bachelor Week like compound miter saws, air compressors, nail guns, ramsets, callused hands and building walls. Following several hours of working in the basement I head upstairs for leftover takeout, then layout on the couch and watch guy flicks. Monday night was Beerfest - a frat boy classic involving 13 year old humor centered around frivolous drinking. Tuesday brought a Tom Green masterpiece - Roadtrip - consisting of a several frat members chasing a sex tape across the country... tasteful! Wednsday night was the Simpson's movie... an obvious choice and therefore no explanation is needed. Tonight... well... tonight I have a developers meeting with ClassVibe (an all male staff (not intentionally (Any female programmers out there? We'd love to have you))) . Following the dev meeting, I'll be putting Bachelor Week on hold for an hour to watch "So You Think You Can Dance", but following SYTYCD I'll cruise On-Demand for tonight's entertainment. Then following the movie, I usually take a shower or soak in our over-sized tub and finish the night spread out in our bed.
Looking back on Bachelor Week 2008, the theory behind it was great. A week of me... however... as I dug into my holiday I realized that it wasn't all that it was made out to be. Though I got a ton of work done in the basement, it isn't nearly as satisfying as when I get to share my progress with Laura. I work hard in the basement because I enjoy showing my work to Laura at the end of each night. My frat boy movies aren't nearly as entertaining without a bowl of popcorn and Laura's cynical comments. Baths and showers are lonely without my wife sitting on the edge of the tub, recapping her day's activities. And sleeping alone isn't fun... for obvious reasons. I also miss laying in bed with Laura, my hand on her stomach in hopes of catching a kick from little Kherington (name pending). Aside from missing my wife... walking into an empty house is not as satisfying as watching my son crawl as fast as he can towards me as I enter our front door. Or laying on the floor as Amos uses me as a jungle gym.
So though Bachelor Week 2008 had all the potential ... ... ... sorry, the delivery guy rang the doorbell, dinner's here... ... ... where was I? Oh, yeah... so though Bachelor Week 2008 had all the potential to renew life's earlier pleasures, I realized that what I need is a wife, family and to stop driving so fast.
13 July 2008
Philly to Springville
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to drive across the country - an activity that, in my opinion, is an American pilgrimage. There are few events, as meaningful as experiencing a cross section of the United States from Route 80. It was difficult to leave my family, especially since my wife and son were leaving for Boise on Sunday morning. I was lucky to get home on Saturday afternoon so I could spend a few hours with them before I dropped them off at the airport the following morning. Though I sacrificed time with my family, the experience was well worth it.A friend of mine purchased a vehicle in Washington D.C. for several thousand dollars cheaper then he could here in Utah. So on Wed. night we took a red-eye from SLC to Washington D.C.. The dealership was at the airport waiting to take us to our vehicle. After a few minutes of paperwork we were in Mark's new car heading to Philadelphia. We spent the night in Philly, loaded the van with some of my stuff remaining at my parents house, then at 4 am hit the road. We made it 1100 miles in the first day after 19 hours of driving. We spent our second night in Omaha, NE. The following morning we did the remaining 1100 miles in 13 hours. From start to finish, including sleeping time, we went from Philadelphia to Springville, UT in 38 hours. Not bad.
Another advantage of this trip was I was able to get my remaining possessions from my parents house to Utah. The rest of my book collection is now in Utah, old toys from my childhood are now here awaiting Amos imagination, my train set that we set up every Christmas is ready for the holidays and much more.
01 July 2008
To the hills...
Ever since Amos was born, I've looked forward to the day when we could head for the mountains to fish, hunt, camp and hike. The other day it occurred to me that if I sit around dreaming about being outdoors with my kids, they'll learn just that... sitting around. So it's time to put my plans into action. Thanks to my parents, we purchased a baby backpack and headed for the Strawberry Pinnacles.He did well in his carrier. He leaned to the one side so he could see around me and kept his hand outreached to grab all the passing leaves, branches and whatever else he could get his hands on. About an hour into the hike he got a big antsy, so we made a stop at a little stream and let him splash around. The day was uneventful, but represented a major step forward in Amos' outdoor education.
25 June 2008
It's a Girl
We just got back from our 20 week ultrasound.... it's a girl. More importantly, all of her measurements checked out - she has two arms, two legs and all the rest of her body parts. The doctor said she was a healthy baby.It's no secret that Laura and I had our hearts set on a boy, mostly due the convenience of having two boys so close together. However, we're extremely grateful for our little girl and look forward to a new set of challenges associated with raising a girl. Plus my wife can now justify an entirely new round of shopping - pink onsies, pink bedding, and we get to decorate another nursery!
My biggest fear is that I'm going to break her. Amos is a tough little guy. The rougher you are with him, the more fun he has. I'm not sure if I know how to hold and cuddle a little girl. I guess I'll learn. On the other hand, I can't wait to spoil and protect my little girl. I look forward to first time I can threaten one of her boyfriends. And I'm pretty sure in Utah you can deduct guns and ammo expenses from your income if you have a girl, so that's a nice tax benefit.
17 June 2008
FF 3.0
Firefox 3.0 launched today. I would recommend downloading it. Firefox is a superior product and will enrich your life!
09 June 2008
Update
Time is not a luxury I have enjoyed lately. The funny thing about blogs is the more that goes on in your life, the less time you have to write about it. My days have seemed to be stretching further and further... the alarm goes off at 5:15 and I usually get home around 8:30, just in time to play with my son before he goes to bed. Luckily there's a light at the end of the tunnel and my days should ease up a bit.
My last two blogs announced some big news - houses and babies.
Baby: The story of our most recent pregnancy is quite entertaining. Laura and I were planning on having our children fairly close together. After having Amos, we decided that conceiving in June would put our kids 18 months apart; our ideal scenario. We also knew that it took us 6 months to have Amos. Being the statistical geniuses that we are... June minus 6 months equals January. If we started casually trying in January, we'd be dead on our target month of June. Well... sometime at the end of January it occurred to us that Laura may be pregnant. A few pregnancy tests later, our suspicions were confirmed - what once took months, only took a few minutes (plus or minus a half hour). And so our little family has doubled in size and our children will be 13 months apart.
Obviously we are very excited. We both love being parents. Amos is a little angel and has enriched our lives beyond measure (either that or lulled us into a false sense of security). We also understand and calculated the difficulties of having a 13 month old and a newborn. The challenges shall be many, but the rewards will be greater.
In one week (June 25th) we'll find out our new baby's gender. We're bold to admit that we both want a boy, but some part of me wants a little girl. It's a win-win situation. If it's a boy, he'll be named Robert Oliver Horne (after Laura's grandfather); if it's a girl, she'll be named Margaret Claire Horne (after Laura's grandmother). Stay tuned for a June 25th post.
House: To elaborate on my house post: Laura and I purchased a second home. We started to crunch some numbers soon after buying our Provo home. We knew there had to be a way to have a rental property pay both of our mortgages. The paradox of money is that if you invest in one opportunity, you're missing another. In order to get the payments low enough to be covered by our rental income, we had to invest a portion of our savings into the down payment of the
second home. The uncertainty lie in that down-payment. The investment would increase our monthly cash flow while growing as equity, however, it would also lock up some liquid assets. The recent mortgage "crisis" (I'll explain why crisis is in quotes in a future blog) was enough to tip the scale in our favor. We began looking at rental properties and realized that it would cost us a lot more to purchase a rental property then it would to just rent out our Provo home. So we quickly changed directions and began looking for a house for us! It was kind of like going Christmas shopping, then only buying presents for yourself.
So our new house is in Springville, UT. It's only about 6 miles south of our Provo house, but it feels like an entirely different world. The property surrounding our home is farm land,
so it's a nice change to drive home amongst the cows instead of the suburban wastelands of Provo. The house was built in 2008, it has three bedrooms and three baths. This summer we'll be finishing the basement to add another three bedrooms, one bath and a theater room. This time last year as I was working on our Provo house, I swore that I would never get involved with another major house project... here I am again... starting another basement.
That's my small update on our lives. I would recommend going to Laura's blog for more details, though I'll try to post more in the future.
My last two blogs announced some big news - houses and babies.
Baby: The story of our most recent pregnancy is quite entertaining. Laura and I were planning on having our children fairly close together. After having Amos, we decided that conceiving in June would put our kids 18 months apart; our ideal scenario. We also knew that it took us 6 months to have Amos. Being the statistical geniuses that we are... June minus 6 months equals January. If we started casually trying in January, we'd be dead on our target month of June. Well... sometime at the end of January it occurred to us that Laura may be pregnant. A few pregnancy tests later, our suspicions were confirmed - what once took months, only took a few minutes (plus or minus a half hour). And so our little family has doubled in size and our children will be 13 months apart.
Obviously we are very excited. We both love being parents. Amos is a little angel and has enriched our lives beyond measure (either that or lulled us into a false sense of security). We also understand and calculated the difficulties of having a 13 month old and a newborn. The challenges shall be many, but the rewards will be greater.
In one week (June 25th) we'll find out our new baby's gender. We're bold to admit that we both want a boy, but some part of me wants a little girl. It's a win-win situation. If it's a boy, he'll be named Robert Oliver Horne (after Laura's grandfather); if it's a girl, she'll be named Margaret Claire Horne (after Laura's grandmother). Stay tuned for a June 25th post.
House: To elaborate on my house post: Laura and I purchased a second home. We started to crunch some numbers soon after buying our Provo home. We knew there had to be a way to have a rental property pay both of our mortgages. The paradox of money is that if you invest in one opportunity, you're missing another. In order to get the payments low enough to be covered by our rental income, we had to invest a portion of our savings into the down payment of the
second home. The uncertainty lie in that down-payment. The investment would increase our monthly cash flow while growing as equity, however, it would also lock up some liquid assets. The recent mortgage "crisis" (I'll explain why crisis is in quotes in a future blog) was enough to tip the scale in our favor. We began looking at rental properties and realized that it would cost us a lot more to purchase a rental property then it would to just rent out our Provo home. So we quickly changed directions and began looking for a house for us! It was kind of like going Christmas shopping, then only buying presents for yourself.So our new house is in Springville, UT. It's only about 6 miles south of our Provo house, but it feels like an entirely different world. The property surrounding our home is farm land,
so it's a nice change to drive home amongst the cows instead of the suburban wastelands of Provo. The house was built in 2008, it has three bedrooms and three baths. This summer we'll be finishing the basement to add another three bedrooms, one bath and a theater room. This time last year as I was working on our Provo house, I swore that I would never get involved with another major house project... here I am again... starting another basement.That's my small update on our lives. I would recommend going to Laura's blog for more details, though I'll try to post more in the future.
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