Greatest Vacation Ever (aka G.V.E)

When we left for Denver/Vail, I had a full agenda of activities planned out for the fam, but I learned one thing on our trip-agendas mean nothing to a 6 month old. :) The night before we left, MB and I began to pack for our trip. I knew that traveling would never be the same when I saw that MB had packed our largest suitcase full of Parker's clothes, toys, diapers, wipes, etc. Not only did we have a huge bag for him, but we also had to think about how to get the car seat on the plane. This is all new to us and this would be Parker's first flight and his first vacation. I couldn't think of a better spot to take him than Vail, CO. We were heading out there for our friends' (Tarah & Tristan) wedding, and we decided it would be a good opportunity to explore for a few extra days as well. The flight to Denver was text book-we checked our bags, made it through security and got to board the plane early (gotta love the early boarding for families with young children). Parker took a bottle on the way up and slept on the way down and didn't make a peep the whole flight. Mb and I walked off the plane with a little extra swagger, considering our 6 month old was such a well-behaved young lad. :) But I reminded Mary Beth that we still needed to drive two hours through the mountains and take a flight home before we get too proud. The drive went well and we arrived in Vail (elevation ~9000 ft.)on Friday afternoon. We had a plenty of time to take the free Gondola ride to the top of the mountain and get some potential "Christmas Card Pics." We ran into a nice family from Overland Park, KS and they were kind enough to take some good shots for us. (see below)

Great Family PicParker telling the Paparazzi, "No more pictures...please!"

Mom & Parker on the Gondola

Dad with Parker (looking happy) in the Baby Bjorn-Parker's main mode of transportation in Colorado

That night we went to bed early after strolling around downtown Vail for a bit. We woke up early on Saturday, had a nice continental breakfast and headed out the door. We made one of our best choices of the trip by renting a jogging stroller from one of the shops. It allowed Parker to take some naps while MB & I explored and it also gave our shoulders and backs a much needed break-the little booger is heavier than he looks. :) I thought we might be able to hike up some smoother trails with the stroller, but after a few hundred feet on Berry Picker Trail, we turned around. Parker was sleeping and the terrain just wasn't that stroller friendly. We checked out the Art Show, ate some lunch and walked around a little before going back to get dressed up for the wedding. The wedding was in the Betty Ford Alpine Garden; a sweet spot for a wedding, and the weather was perfect. The wedding & reception were both in walking distance of our hotel which made it really nice with Parker. He started acting a little fussy and couldn't seem to calm down before the wedding, so I sent MB ahead and tried to calm Parker down. I thought it would be better for me to miss the wedding if it came down to it. But he was able to pull it together and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. The reception was awesome, great food, great people, but it was late and an hour behind MO time. Parker was struggling to get to sleep with all the noise, so MB and I took turns walking the stroller around a side room and eventually outside. Little man finally went to sleep at about 9pm Co time. We were probably the first to leave the reception, but that's what happens with a 6 month old. :) The next day we had a great brunch, but Parker was showing more signs of altitude sickness and he just wouldn't take a nap. We tried about everything we could and spent the majority of the day in the hotel. It was a really tough day for Parker and for me (MB is a little more understanding). :) I was just frustrated that we couldn't calm him down and that we were sitting in Vail and couldn't leave our hotel room. Finally, MB dropped me off by the side of the road, so I could run back to the hotel. It was nice and peaceful running by the river, but when I got back, Parker was loosing it. At this point we started getting pretty worried because he had never acted like this before. We had planned to go to Breckenridge for a few days, but decided that we needed to get Parker out of the elevation. We eventually decided to drive about 2-3 hours to Boulder, where the elevation is closer to 5000 ft. Little did we know when we left that this would be a car ride for the ages. :) More details to come in the next post on how our time in CO became known as the GVE......

Heading to Colorado......

Mary Beth, Parker & I are heading to Colorado tomorrow morning.

YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

It will be Parker's first flight and his first time in the mountains. I hope he does okay and we are all able to enjoy our time away. I will take plenty of pictures and give a trip recap in a week or so. Until then, we will be living the HIGH (altitude) LIFE. :)

Ironman 70.3 Kansas

Yesterday was the big race. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

I woke up around 3:15am (didn't even need an alarm-Parker made sure that I didn't sleep in) and headed out with Ryan (a friend of mine from work with whom I have been training) around 4:15 for Lawrence. We arrived at Clinton Lake around 5:15, along with the rest of the 1900+ competitors. My blood was pumping and my heart was thumping as we started setting up our transitions. It was a little nerve wrecking when they announced that we only had 3 more minutes in the transition area and I hadn't even started pumping up my bike tires, but I was able to get my bike ready and still had plenty of time to calm the nerves before the swim start.

Ryan and I were in the largest start wave because they combined the 20-24 males and the 25-29 males, so it was basically chaos for the first 400 meters. I was getting hammered by other guys, but I also did some hammering myself. :) My swim was slower than I expected-coming in around 39 min, but I think it could've been due to the fact that I just couldn't find my rhythm in the midst of all the "traffic." Happy to be finished with the swim, I hustled to my bike and tried to down some chocolate covered espresso beans while I put on my helmet and shoes. My transition was mediocre, but not terrible, so I started the bike feeling pretty strong. Going in, I was most worried about the bike section because the furthest I had ridden in training was 40 miles. Now I had to go 56, so I was expecting a tough 3 hours. I was pleasantly surprised when my legs felt like they were getting stronger as I went on, but I thought surely I would fade at some point. I don't know if I just had too much adrenaline or if the 4 GUs, 2 Nuuns, 3 Gatorades and the Clif Bocks were kicking in, but I never faded. I ended up averaging just under 20 mph for the bike (much faster than I expected).

As I came in to the run transition, I dismounted the bike and my legs felt like jelly, so I thought-uh oh, I probably pushed it too hard on the bike and won't have anything left for the run. The first mile was really tough, but when I looked down at my Garmin, I noticed that I had run a 7:48 mile-not bad, but I knew that wasn't sustainable and decided to slow it down to around an 8 to 8:15 pace. I passed quite a few people on the first half of the run, but the quads started getting tight around mile 6. Not long after I started hurting I saw MB, Parker and MB's Mom cheering for "Daddy" and my quads suddenly became an afterthought. :) Seeing my family cheering for me was all that I needed to push through the second half of the run. I continued at the ~8 min mile pace for rest of the run and finished the half-marathon in 1 hr 47 min, with a total time of 5 hr 23 min. (7 minutes below my goal time of 5:30) I feel like all the hard work in training really paid off and I am definitely stoked to have had an almost picture perfect race. Below is a shot of me coming down the homestretch to the finish. I have to thank everyone who supported me at the race-MB, Mom, Dad, Marilyn and Little-P. I especially want to thank MB & Parker for allowing me to take those 2 hour training rides and hour long runs on Saturday mornings over the past few months. I had a great time training with Ryan and getting to know him better-so thanks Ryan-having a training partner really helped keep me on track. All in all-it was a great experience even though I am really sore today. It was worth it.

I am continually amazed at what the human body is capable of accomplishing, and I thank God that I have the ability to get out there and compete. I was really amazed with some of the other athletes-I saw one man who lost a leg in Iraq and he was out there "pounding the pavement" with his prosthetic leg. I saw another man who was blind and he completed the course with minimal assistance from an escort. I even saw a 77 year old woman, who was still running at a pretty good clip midway through the run. I think my race pales in comparison to these people. They are the ones who really inspire me to want to go harder the next time. I am not sure when I will do another, but I know I can't stay away for long. I am already setting my sites on a sub-5 hr race next time. We'll see about that....Thanks for reading.

For results, check out http://www.ironmankansas.com/ and click on the results link. Bib# 1177

A little bit a "Chicken Fried"

I have been listening to the radio waiting for this song to come on, so I just decided to search the web for it. Check it out. (song doesn't start until about 1 minute into the video) Songs with the blugrassy-country style always get this "Missouri Boy" fired up!

Zac Brown Band - Chicken Fried

Daily Shoe-In Winner!

Let me preface by saying, I still haven't received anything and I am hopeful that this isn't a hoax. I entered the Daily Shoe-In contest on Facebook by becoming a fan of the Montrail Facebook page. They are giving away a free pair of Montrail trail running shoes every day. I received an email today that I had won and just needed to respond in order to collect my free pair of shoes. I have been wanting some trail shoes for a while, but haven't wanted to pony up the cash to buy them. One of the pairs that I have been interested in trying is the Montrail Masochist, which won the Outside Magazine-Best Trail Shoe Award this year. They are very light, but also very stable for the uneven terrain, and they have received rave reviews on almost every website I have visited. I am so stoked to get a free pair of shoes, and not just any free pair, but one that I actually like. Check out the shoes below.

I am going to put these babies to the test when we head out to Colorado at the end of June for Tristan & Tarah's wedding. I am already planning Parker's first 14er-most likely Mt. Bross or Mt. Democrat-I'll keep you posted and surely take some sweet pics. (Don't worry Mom, we'll go with the easiest 14er we can find and we'll remember to put plenty of sunscreen on Parker. :)) If you have a Facebook account you should join the Montrail fan page and you could win a pair for yourself. Take it easy.

Race Goals

I have been running, riding and swimming quite a bit lately. I have really developed a passion for these outdoor endurance sports. These activities allow me to experience nature, stay fit and challenge myself mentally and physically. I tend to do these things for fun and don't plan on taking myself too seriously in the future either, however, I have decided to develop a list of goal times for the races I plan to complete in the next year or so. Some of the goals are more attainable than others, but I am going to see how I do and I will keep you posted on my progress. My first big test is less an a month away at the Kansas Half Ironman. Well folks, here they are:

1 mile: Sub-5 min. (Track 09')
5k: Sub-18 min. (Parkville Turkey Trot 09')
4 mile: Sub-24 min. (Trolley Run 10')
10k: Sub-40 min. (Groundhog Run/Liberty 10')
half-marathon: Sub 1:30 (?)
marathon: Sub 3 hr. 10 min.-Boston Qualifier (Kansas City 09')
half-ironman: Sub 5 hr. 30 min. (Kansas 70.3)

Feel free to come out to any of the races to compete or spectate. The atmosphere at these events is always exciting and motivating. Trust me, if you come try one, then you'll want to do another. It is a vicious cycle each year because you want to run a little bit faster, so you train harder and come back stronger. Where does it end?????? I don't know if I'll ever find out, but it's not about racing other people, it's about racing against your previous personal best. Ultimately, that means you are racing against the clock. Well.... I guess I am sticking my neck out by posting these; because now I have nowhere to hide. But hopefully, I can accomplish some, if not all of my goals and set some even tougher ones next year. After all, these sports are all about finding out how far you can push yourself. We will find out very soon. :)

Thanks for reading.

Mother's Day

We all figure it out some time around college or just after graduation that our Mother's deserve so much more credit than they ever receive for putting up with us for all those years, when we had all that attitude, didn't clean up after ourselves, missed curfew knowing they were lying awake waiting for us, and didn't seem to care about anyone but ourselves. Well, I am speaking for almost any 20 something when I say that once you are on the other side of the coin, you respect all that love, support, effort and care more than ever before. So I just want to say thanks to my Mom for everything she has done and continues to do for me. My goal is to someday figure out a way to repay you. Happy Mother's Day!Not only am I appreciative of my Mother on this special day, but for my wife, Mary Beth, who experienced her first Mother's Day as a Mother today. (try and say that 3-times fast, talk about a tongue twister) Anyway, or anyhoo as MB might say-I have to say that I don't know how she does it all. She works a full-time job, takes care of our new little man Parker, and probably the most daunting task of all-takes care of me. And she does all these things extremely well. (Did I mention that she is knocking off those baby lbs. faster than I can blink.) :) I don't know how I became so lucky to have such an wonderful Mom and now such an awesome Wife and Mother to my son. Needless to say, I have been blessed with some amazing women in my life and I am truly thankful. I know that it shouldn't take a made-up holiday like this for me to realize how much they mean to me, but most males, including me, tend to take things for granted and a made up holiday is just what we need to help us see the light. :) So on this Mother's Day I salute the ladies in my life and I hope that the rest of you out there will do the same. They deserve it. Here are some pics of Mother's Day brunch with the fam. Until next time......I promise I won't wait a month for my next post.....it has been a busy month.

Inspired by TOMS

I know I said that I would be talking about risk in my next post, but the story below spoke to me, so I had to share it. Enjoy.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

The above quote is one that copied and pasted from the TOMS SHOES website. I watched a portion of a documentary on CNBC last night entitled "The Entrepreneurs," and TOMS was one of the featured companies. I came away from the documentary inspired to pursue social entrepreneurship-a growing form of business where profit is not the only bottom line, and contributing to the betterment of society is also a major focus. I originally began watching the documentary because I am always interested in new styles of shoes, but when I realized the story behind the company, I became amazed at what they have been able to accomplish. TOMS was started by Blake Mycoskie- "Master entrepreneur, already has 4 companies under his belt when he gets his best idea yet: create a shoe company that gives a pair away for every pair sold. Using his great business sense to garner a celebrity following, Mycoskie has grown TOMS Shoes into a global brand. The company has given over 115,000 pairs of shoes to children in need."
Blake had a passion for shoes and for helping underprivileged children in Africa and Argentina. He noticed on a trip to Argentina that many children were so poor that they were unable to afford shoes, and the lack of shoes was causing many health problems for the children. He took his passions and developed a vision of how to meld the two. He was able to create a product that could be sold to people in wealthy countries and the profit margin on each pair sold could be used to buy materials to make one pair of shoes for the children in Argentina and South Africa. He not only began giving thousands of shoes to the people of those countries, but he also established the TOMS manufacturing plants in Argentina to stimulate the local economy and provide sustainable jobs.

In many ways, the TOMS model is exactly what I hope to be doing some day. I would love to be able to incorporate the challenges of running a successful business with, what I feel, is my duty to society. I believe that God has blessed me and I want to be able to pass that on to others. I don't plan to wait until I own a business to do so, but I just thought that the TOMS story is one that we can all learn from and be inspired by. I am not sure about the style of the shoes, they are a bit unique. :) However, I may consider buying a pair, knowing that a child in Africa will receive a pair as a result.

Back to the quote at the beginning of the post-I don't think Mark Twain could've said it better. I hope to incorporate his advice into my decisions in life going forward. Until next time....Enjoy the ride.

Dear A.I.G.

I think this is a great op-ed piece from the NY Times written by an A.I.G. employee (former employee). It shows that the A.I.G. mess is a paradox because the only way to fix the issues within the company is to hire or retain good people. With the persecution by the government and by the media, the company is actually handicapped-making it harder to repay the tax payer. I think we all need to step back and look at this logically. If we expect to get our (tax payers) money back, then we need to give A.I.G. some leeway to pay smart people to figure things out. I am planning to write more on risk and risk taking in my next post, but I thought this would be a good primer. Check it out. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html

Boulder Trip

Last week I was able to take a few days off work to head out to Boulder and check out the MBA program at the University of Colorado. It was a wonderful trip, although only two days, I felt like it made a huge impression on me and my thoughts toward business school. The only thing that could have made it better is if Mary Beth and Parker could have come too, but maybe next time. I flew in Wednesday morning and hopped in my Prius rental (left) and drove to Boulder. As I was pulling into town, I couldn't help but notice that there were more people riding bikes than driving cars. Boulder is one of the most bike friendly towns in America and it makes me very jealous because KC is not bike-friendly at all. As for the cars people were driving-all sweet wagons, with bike/ski racks-again I was jealous. :)

I ate a quick breakfast on Pearl Street and then I walked around downtown until lunch. I met with a second year student, David, for lunch on Pearl St. at Illegal Pete's (a great burrito joint). David is one of the student bloggers for the business school and he was kind enough to answer all my emails over the past few months, and he helped me get the inside scoop about the program. I would definitely recommend meeting with current students if anyone is thinking about going back to school because you can read about a school on the Internet, but its much more meaningful to hear it directly from the "horse's mouth." After lunch I checked out the Boulder trails at Chautauqua Park (below). Killer run. I actually had to stop and walk twice because my lungs were burning, but it felt great.

Wednesday evening was the formal information session on campus. I had a chance to walk around campus after lunch to get my bearings and find the brand new business building (below). It was a really nice facility. The information session was from 6-8 and it was, well, very informative. :) I learned a lot about the program and was able to ask some questions. I walked out of the meeting thinking that CU is the place for me.

David was also very kind to show me his "family housing-on campus apartment," a housing option for MB, Parker and I if we choose to go that route. The proximity to campus and Pearl St. would surely be nice.

On Thursday, I woke up and picked up some coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans at Pete's Coffee & Tea-I recommend the chocolate covered espresso beans (originally introduced to me by my brother). They are awesome! I went up to campus one more time to attend a class and have lunch with Laurence-a 1st year student ambassador. The class was really interesting, mostly focused on ethics and sustainability. Sustainable business practices is one of the key characteristics of the program at CU. Just attending a class and hanging out with some students made me think that I need to do more reducing, reusing, and recycling. All in all, the trip was a success and I came away from the experience realizing that the CU students all seemed to have one thing in common; they all realize that money isn't everything. They all want to make a difference and they all want to have a work-life balance. I told MB that Boulder is quickly becoming my top choice because of all the factors I have mentioned. MB agreed and has continued to say that Colorado would be her favorite place to live as well. It is a place that I would love to go-we'll see if I can make it happen. :)

God Opens Doors....

.....And He closes them just the same. Sometimes I wonder why I had to get into the investment business right before the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime. What terrible timing...or was it meant to be? I have never had trouble moving up the pecking order in the endeavors I have chosen to pursue, but my career as an investment professional has been a bit different, to say the least. I chose to try my hand in the investment world for a few reasons:
1-I thought that I could learn to properly evaluate companies in order to profit from investing in their stocks.
2-I knew that investment principles are something that would serve me well in life, regardless of my ultimate career path.
3-I thought I could gain access to "hard to find" information and research which would give me an edge in my personal investments.
4-I thought that I would move from the associate role to CEO in no time at all. (sarcasm-just to clarify) :)

Well, my assumptions have been both right and wrong. I have learned a great deal about the markets and what to look for when trying to make investment decisions, however, when the S&P 500 is down 40% for the year, it is hard to find any stocks that can make me a fortune. I have gained access to a lot of research and high level information that should be extremely helpful, but no one ever mentioned that those Wall St. analysts and equity research guys are just making guesses too. They are wrong just as often as they are right. Granted, their guesses are more educated than some, but they are still just guesses.....no one can predict where this market might go. I have learned a lot about how greed can lead to stupid decisions and excessive risk-taking. Lastly, my associate to CEO path has been derailed by a hiring/promotion freeze which has been extremely frustrating for me. I need an incentive in order to keep me hungry, and I no longer have that. I know no matter how hard I work or how well I do, there will still be no promotion any time soon. I guess I should be happy that I still have a job with a stable financial institution because there are plenty of people out there who have lost theirs.

I am grateful for my job and that I am able to help provide for my family, but I am beginning to realize that God works in mysterious ways. He doesn't always give us what we ask for because He knows what we really want in our heart. I began a career in investments for the money, plain and simple. I am sure that I would be a different person today if I doubled my money last year and if I had begun to work my way up the corporate ladder. I would be too enthralled with the success to realize that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. The luster of the money and the corner office would wear off and I would be 10 years down the road and stuck in a corporate culture that doesn't suit me one bit. I believe that God is using this opportunity to show me that I need to trust Him. I am realizing that He knows what I want better than I do sometimes.

I am excited because I will likely be heading back to school as a result of the slow economic times and the lack of promotion opportunities. An MBA will give me a chance to explore entrepreneurship and, hopefully, lead to me starting my own business someday. I am heading to Boulder next week to check out CU's MBA program. I think that MB & I would love to live in CO and raise Parker on the trails, slopes, and peaks. :) I can't wait to free myself from the corporate monotony and dive into the rest of my life. Its funny how God realized all along that I didn't want to to be a banker, I was just looking for a way to get rich. Getting rich is no longer my goal and I wouldn't have realized it if things had gone the way I planned. My goal now is to be happy, work in a job that is rewarding that allows me to help people, and to be able to have the flexibility to spend more time with my family. I want to have the freedom to take breaks on those 75 degree days in March to walk around the Park and enjoy the sunshine with MB & Parker (and the children to be named later). :) That is what I want now. We'll see if that is what God wants. Until next time.

Running=Life?

I enjoy distance running because there are so many parallels with life. Life has many ups and downs as does running. Running is something you can never master. You can't run a race in zero seconds, which essentially means that you can always improve, just like life. I have found that some of my most clear thoughts have come while running. I have achieved that "runners high," a euphoric state where I felt as though I was floating across the ground because I was in such a rhythm. I love those moments, and you need those types of moments to keep you coming back for more, but those "highs" are not the reason I run. I run because of the daily grind. Running every day gives me a sense of confidence because I know that I can grind through the tough times instead of shutting down and giving up. That is the ultimate lesson that I have learned, and continue to learn, from running. There are hills in running and in life; it is not how fast you make it up the hill, but your willingness to say, "I am not going to let a hill stop me, it may slow me down, but I will eventually make it to the top, and when I do, the downhill on the other side will be that much more rewarding." The key to success in a sport like running is work ethic. I love to watch these naturally gifted athletes on tv in the NFL, MLB and NBA, but I have never gotten emotional about a professional sports game. However, every time I watch the Ironman World Championships in Kona, I end up getting teary-eyed. First of all there are wonderful stories of perseverance like Dick and Rick Hoyt, but most of all, I think about how most of these people are "average joes" who decided to put all the effort they had into training for that event. That is inspiring to watch. I have always thought of myself as a slightly above average athlete, but I continue to feel like I perform well above my abilities. For me, it all comes down to drive, desire, will to succeed and work ethic. I refuse to believe that I can't do it better the next time, and I have never let someone tell me what I can and can't do. I hope I never lose that mentality in sports or in life. Until next time.

1/2 Ironman Training

I haven't signed up yet, but I plan to do so soon. I have been training for the past two weeks and it feels good to have a major goal to keep me going. I have deviated from the training log out of necessity, but I am able to run every day and I try to swim or bike at least once or twice a week too. It is a little tough to get to the pool with Parker around, but MB has been great to let me sneak away for an hour or so on the weekends. She has been very supportive of my goal and she even bought me a pair of Newton running shoes. They are a crazy new shoe that force you to run on your forefoot. They supposedly promote a more biomechancially efficient running motion and will help prevent injuries. I have put about 25 miles on them so far and I am really enjoying them. Initially, my calves were a bit sore, but I am getting used to them. I am a total shoe geek, so it is super cool to be the only one at the gym who has these shoes. Check em out.

These were worn by the Ironman World Champion-Craig Alexander, this year in Kona, so maybe I will have the same success. :) (You know what they say-"Its gotta be the shoes.")

In other news, Parker has a little reflux, so he has had a rough couple of days, but we have gotten some medicine and it has been helping. It is so tough to know that something is making your son unhappy and he can't communicate what it is or how to fix it. I guess that is where we have to trust the pediatrician. He is as cute as ever though. Check out this pic of him flexing his muscles. (Probably going to be a body-builder)

Ode to MB

Growing up I always thought that there was someone out there who would share my passion for life, Jesus, family, sports, the outdoors, etc. As I entered high school and college I began to think that maybe I had set my sites too high. I thought I might need to compromise and begin looking for someone who didn't quite share all those passions. So, I dated a few people, never really finding much common ground with them, and we ended up going our separate ways. Then, my junior year of college, I began to focus more on my relationship with Jesus, and less on my relationship with the numerous coeds @ WJC.

It was about midway through my junior year at Jewell when someone caught my eye. She was a beautiful blonde setter on the volleyball team and she was also someone who I had seen at Worship Jam (a fellow Christian athlete-2 for 2) :). Needless to say, her name was Mary Beth. She has taught me that you don't have to compromise, you have to trust in God and He will give you what you need. Mary Beth was exactly the girl I had dreamed of growing up and there she was right in front of me. I had to make my move, but I had no idea how. I got really lucky when she asked me to go to the Alpha Gam Date Dash at the Crown Center Ice Rink. However, even though she asked me to go on the date dash, it took around 6 months to get her to sit next to me on the couch. She was a tough one. :)

In that six month period I finally approached her for our first real date-54th Street in Liberty. She ordered a bowl of soup and took about 3 bites. Afterward, we drove around talking for about 2 hours and that was the night I knew, (and later found out that she knew as well), that she was the girl I was going to marry. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful wife and Parker is just as lucky to have such a wonderful Mom. WE LOVE YOU MB. HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY. Maybe we can hit up 54th Street in Liberty tonight if you're available.

I'm Back!

Sorry everyone. I have taken a hiatus from blogging for the past month. I am sure that you all understand I have had a few other things to focus on, but..... I am back. I have vowed to resume consistent blogging. After all, the whole point of this blog was to update friends and family on what is going on in our lives. The problem is that we have so much going on that it has been hard to sit down for 15 minutes to create a new post, but I won't be deterred. I am committed to getting back in the game.


FYI...Parker is 5 weeks old today. He is beginning to show some signs of a personality (sometimes too much personality if you know what I mean). We have seen quite a few smiles lately and he is holding his head up during tummy time and turning it side to to side. I guess he is a little advanced for his age, but I can't say I'm surprised. (I will really try not to be the prototypical bragging parent, but it is hard when you have such a great little boy)! :) We spent some time with the Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Wes, & Uncle Brett this weekend at The Cafe. Parker seemed pretty content as he slept through the entire meal. We also had a 70 degree day on Saturday, so we were able to make it to the park for a walk. The Bob stroller has been great and I am sure that we will continue to enjoy it as the weather improves.


On a personal note. I ran my first 10k of the year and put up a decent time of 41:04. I was hoping to break 40 minutes, but I was happy with the effort. I also decided that I am going to sign up for the Kansas Half Ironman this summer. For those of you who don't know-a half ironman is a triathlon in which the competitors swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles & run 13.1 miles. This will be my second, however the training will be a little more difficult with Parker around, but I have to learn to incorporate him into my exercise routine and this will be a good test.

Well, I have rambled enough. Here's what you really want...a one month picture of Parker....pictured with Grandma Marilyn. Definitely going to be a little troublemaker based on the expression. :) Until next time.


Oh, I want to give a shout out to my brother Brett. Today is his 25th Birthday. Happy Birthday Bro.

A Father's Love

It has been a while since I last blogged, however, I have a decent excuse. I have been spending time with my wife and newly born son, Parker Benjamin. He is such a beautiful and inspiring little guy. He weighed 6 lbs 7 1/2 oz and was 19 in tall at birth, and I have to say he is a "chip off the old block."

It is amazing how my outlook on life has already changed so drastically in the past week. Suddenly, I have this overwhelming sense of duty to my family and their well-being. I have so much pride in my son and he hasn't even spoken a word yet. I am willing to do anything to make him happy. I guess it is that unconditional "father's love" that I have heard people talk about, but never fully understood. I have decided that the only way to understand that "love" is to become a father. Mary Beth and I are so blessed to have such an amazing gift from God and we will strive to raise Parker (with all of your help) in a way that is pleasing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After all, the greatest display of love was God's love for us when he sent his son as a living sacrifice. Only now, can I fully understand the sacrifice that He made in doing such a thing. Becoming a father will undoubtedly strengthen my faith and my trust in God because ultimately God is in control of Parker's life-not me or Mary Beth. I just need to realize that. It doesn't matter to me whether Parker becomes a sports star or rich or famous. I just want him to be a good person who cares for other people and who trusts the Lord. It sounds simple, but I have no idea how to do it. But hey, I didn't call my blog "The Adventure Called Life" for nothing. :) Here's to new adventures with Parker. Cheers!