Thirty? For real?

Now I am thirty years old, yeah that's right thirty, the big 3-0. I have to admit though that I still feel like a kid. That same kid who had to muster the courage to ask my now wife out on a date and start my lifes track. The track that would bring me to the point where I am now, loving life and being more blessed than any man should be. I am going to run down a list of thirty things I am thankful for, cherish, make me happy, smile, etc.

30. Dec. 12, 1997
29. Garden City KS, it is here I discovered my passion for teaching
28. Creating things with my hands.
27. the feeling you get after a hard day of mindless, skilled work
26. The 7-11 ladies
25. Car trips with my family
24. A good law fiction book - Grisham
23. Any opportunity to be creative
22. Being a big tech geek, if it can be wired up I will try it
21. Being Mr. Barlow
20. Discovering the joys of being a Watch Dog
19. The awesomness of Mac
18. If you know me you know my love of iPods - we have 1.5 ipods per family member
17. Monday night hoops, it makes me feel like a kid and channels my competitive jerk
16. A good documentary film
15. Being an NPR geek, if it talk, I'll listen
14. the feeling you get after completing a tough run
13. Sunday mornings
12. The burn of a good Pepsi
11. "I wuv you Daddy"
10. Having lunch at school with my princess
9. Making our home a place filled with love
8. Just hanging out a playing at home or the farm
7. Family time at the kitchen table
6. The challenge of being the best man I can be for my kids
5. Running with my best friend
4. The fact that I have arrived at 30 and I feel like God has blessed me with so much, and looking into the future filled with many more blessings
3. Owen - my sweet tough little guy
2. Harper - The sunshine in my life
1. Melissa - She is my rock, my partner, my buddy, my Best Friend, the Love of my Life... You get the point!

Wow, thirty is a lot. Just a short list of the things that make my life so good, I am sure I have left some things off. For anyone who reads this, just know that I cherish the love of family and your friendships, laughter, and caring. These are all things that make my life awesome.



I love you guys!

She's 6? Already?

I can not believe that my little princess is six years old. It seems like yesterday I was standing over the warming bed at Thehospital while this tiny little girl held my finger. She has grown into an amazing little girl faster than I care to believe. I really enjoy riding in the car with her and just talking, most of the time she amazes me with all that she knows. Believe me this girl listens to everything, so she knows A LOT! In tribute to her six birthday I decided to name the six things I really love about my little princess:

1. If you have ever seen that freckel faced smile, you know why I love her.

2. She is very caring and always willing to help other people.

3. Always up to be my 7-11 buddy, she loves her some icy drink or fruit punch.

4. "I love you Daddy", no explination needed.

5. She is always excited when I come to her school for lunch or otherwise, I know this won't last so I take full advantage of those moments now.

6. She loves some good tunes as much as I do!

I have been truly blessed by being allowed to be her Daddy, I sincerely hope that in the end I will be everything for her that she needs me to be. I could not be more proud of her than I am right now.

I love you Harper.

He's 2

Owen recently turned two. In these two years we have already had some wonderful times. Before having Owen I wasn't sure I wanted to have a little boy, but I can say today that I would not trade a little boy for anything in the world. We have become very good buddies, we mow together, we get donuts on Saturday morning together, we play cars and trucks together, and we get dirty together. But there are two things in particular that I love a out my little boy:

1. Daddy, I wuv you Daddy." "I love you too Owen." "I wuv you too Daddy." I don't care who you are hearing your child say I love you never gets old.

2. He has this very sheepish grin he gives when he is being a little toot or super sweet.

I never knew little boys could be so sweet and loving, but I thank God everyday for my little guy!

Kiddos

The other day I got the unreal pleasure of seeing my kids playing together. Not just playing the same game together, but really interacting and helping each other and understanding each other. I don't know exactly what was magical about that moment, but there was something about it that made me feel like it was something truly magical. But this moment quickly passed and they began yelling at each other over a toy or something small like that. But for that one moment it was the coolest thing to see in the entire world. Being a parent is definitely a roller coaster ride and one I am thoroughly loving!

Daddy Daughter Dance II

I recently had the great honor of taking my little princess to the daddy daughter dance. As was the case last year she most looked forward to getting all dressed up and going to see her friends. She got to choose my suit and tie yet again this year, which isn't a tremendously tough chore because I only have two complete suits. She got all made up and Grandma came over and helped her do her hair because Mommy was away on a scrap retreat. This year we decided to get to the dance early in order to get our pictures done quickly and avoid waiting and missing valuable boogie time. I have to admit my heart was very happy at the fact that my little girl was so excited to go to this dance with me. When the dance began we wasted no time, they played all of the best dance songs, the twist, purple people eater, chicken dance, and we did a few slow dances. Of course a Daddy-Daughter dance would not be complete without some Hanna Montana and Harper stunned me with her knowledge of Justin Beiber. Thank goodness she isn't suffering from Beiber Fever, as she is too young. All said we had another amazing time and I am looking forward to next years dance already!
We finished up the evening by having dinner, I asked her where she wanted to eat. Her first response was Chili's, which on a saturday night is way too busy. But we drove by and checked anyway. I then asked her where else she wanted to go, hoping and pushing for Louie's, but my little princess that was all dolled up ultimately decided on Bad Brad's in all of its soked meat glory. To top it off she really wanted to eat Ribs, again in her very beautiful dress. We had a great time and created memories that I will carry with me forever.

Christmas Present

Santa visited Grandmas today and I think Harper was most intrigued by her new pottery wheel. Just last weekend we went to Silver Dollar City and she watched the potters make bowls and cups. So we quickly busted it all out and got our hands dirty. I say we, but the we is actually Mommy, Harper, and aunt Mel. Just watch them at work:

Home of the Cowboys

Today we loaded up with Grandma and Boppy and headed up to Stillwater for the OSU vs Baylor football game. This day was much neater though, it was Owen's first OSU football game. We got to Stillwater early enough to catch the walk around and some of the fan friendly booths outside Boone Pickens Stadium. When it comes to OSU games Harper is an old pro, but she was very excited to wear her cheerleader outfit again. She was also excited when she got to get her face air-brush painted. Like a good little cowboy she chose to have "I love my Cowboys" painted on her cheek. After these festivities we headed around to the south side of the stadium to go in, when we rounded the corner by Gallagher Iba arena Owen caught a glimpse of the stadium and squealed with excitement. Both kids did wonderfully at the game, and both loved seeing Bullet run out onto the field, fortunately the Cowboys scored a lot so the kids got to see lots of Bullet. It was a great day spent with the family in a town I truly love and have so many fond memories of. We are well on our way to growing to dedicated cowboys. Ps- I gave Harper the things not to do in college speech as we were walking by Animal House. I figure it's never too early to plant the seed.