Conversation in the car while dropping the two older boys off at school.

Mom: What's that teacher's name who's in the crosswalk right now, guys?
Calvin: I don't know, but I know she teaches second grade.
Thomas: And she's always smiling. It kind of creeps me out.

Sherise's 20th High School Reunion

As I was going through old photos, trying to find suitably embarrassing ones to send in for the reunion slide show, Paul's brother Joel looked at the computer monitor and said, "Who is that? Oh my gosh, is that YOU? No way!"

I have no idea what he's talking about.

I think I look exactly the same, don't you?

Paul and I had a great time in Sumter, SC.

Happy Diwali

Hima and Chandra are friends of ours. I've worked with both of them since late 2005/early 2006.


Paul with Chandra and Hima

Hima came to work Friday dressed in a sari, and reminded me that Diwali was that same day. Before that point, all I knew about Diwali was what I had learned on The Office. Of course, I knew there had to be more to it than that, so I invited myself (and the rest of the family) to the Hindu temple so we could observe the festivities first-hand.

We had a very difficult time finding the temple - turns out it's on Hindu Temple Lane (of course). And sitting literally in the shadow of a much larger (and less culturally interesting) temple.


View Larger Map

There were some fun things for kids to do - they had lots of fireworks that the kids could go and light (Diwali is also referred to as the festival of light), the children were allowed to go into the temple and ring the big bell, and there was food to eat.

There were also lights on something that looked suspiciously like a Christmas Tree. I did not think to ask Hima or Chandra what the names of the lights or tree are (I probably couldn't pronounce it anyway).


Max posing near the holiday tree/light thingy

Katie also enjoyed the festivities, as long as Mommy was holding her. She didn't know what to think of all the people in traditional Indian clothes, loud fireworks or other celebrations. She finally warmed up to Hima right as we were getting ready to leave.



Thomas somehow couldn't find anything fun or interesting to do.



We must be mean, awful parents to drag our kids off to a party where you can celebrate the triumph of good over evil, light fireworks and eat free food.

Happy Halloween!

Some assorted highlights of this Halloween season.


This is one of the second grade teachers at Thomas' school. This is a SWEET costume, IMHO. Some fine make-up work as well. And she likes Star Wars. No wonder Thomas likes her.

Sherise and I are whores for Chipotle. If you've had a burrito there, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you really must go and try one.

As it turns out, if you were willing to make a fool of yourself and dress up like a burrito for Halloween, they'd give you one for free, just so they could have a laugh at your expense. We were willing to sacrifice our dignity for a free burrito!

Notice the high-tech costumes. If you look closely at the full sized photo, you can see our favorite style of burrito hand-written on the foil -- just like a real Chipotle burrito!

Calvin and his buddies went trick-or-treating tonight. Pillaging or plundering might be a better description. Calvin counted 410 pieces of candy as his take this evening.

Katie Doesn't Care for Her Halloween Costume

Either that, or she just likes to strip in public.

I Am Not a True Sports Fan

Contrary to what you might think after seeing the pictures that follow, I am not a big sports fan - especially when it comes to baseball.

I have been a true bandwagon fan when it comes to the Colorado Rockies. Truth be told, I didn't even know that they were setting the post-season world aflame until I caught some mention that they would be playing the Arizona Snakes - I mean DiamondBacks - for all the National League marbles. Suddenly all the Rockies SWAG I accumulated over the 12 years I lived in Colorado came out of closets and boxes and went with me to work, prominently displayed in and around my office. At least I could try to "look" like a true fan.

Of course once someone came by to ask me about the team and started talking details, the gig was up. I couldn't name a single person on the team. Last time I could actually name a player on the team was 1997 when Larry Walker and Dante Bichette were the only two names I knew because I picked up mugs with their likenesses over the course of a few weeks whenever I went to Arby's for lunch. I found out last night that Dante Bichette was at the park - but I thought that was as a player, not as a spectator who, as it turns out, played for both the Rockies and the Sox.

So why, one might ask, did I go to Game 4 of the 2007 World Series? So I could say I did.

Sherise and I have really enjoyed watching the last 8 games of the Rockies' postseason. In fact we were staying up later than we would normally, just so we could take in every minute of it. We got caught up in the euphoria - it was an excuse to call old friends in Colorado, just so we had something to talk about.

Another friend of mine, Jack (who has been my boss, then my customer, then my boss again, and now I'm his customer) called me on Wednesday to let me know he probably had an extra ticket to the World Series on Sunday and would I like to go? Sure, I told him, but let me check with Sherise.

When I told Sherise, she said "You HAVE to go!" I wasn't sure at first, but she asked "When will you ever have another chance to go to the World Series?" This got me thinking about that list of "Things I'd like to do before I die" and I realized that with mid-life crisis looming, now was probably about as good a time as any to start on that list.

Honestly, I don't think "Go to a World Series baseball game" would have actually been an entry on that list, but since I haven't ever assembled that list, this seemed like a great opportunity to start the list and summarily scratch off the first item straight away. :)

So it was that I found myself taking a VERY familiar flight from the SLC to Denver to see my favorite baseball team play in the World Series. Now, I should mention that I had actually been to several Rockies games over the course of the years I lived in Denver, and one of my best memories is sitting behind home plate on the upper deck with my two boys while Sherise sang the National Anthem at Coors Field with 100 of her best friends.

So enough with the narrative, here are the pictures of the highlights:

No event/attraction is complete without mimes posing for money.

And inside the park:

The national anthem with a big-ass flag. The bald head you see here belongs to a very drunk Boston Red Sox fan:

And what about the game? Well, I had imagined it to be something like the Mecca of the baseball world, the Holy Grail. Once I was there, well, it felt exactly like any other Rockies game I had ever been to. I enjoyed being there, but it didn't feel particularly special. It was kinda like going to Church with a friend who belongs to a different church than the one you go to. You know it's really important, but it doesn't "feel" important. I almost feel guilty for having gone but not breathing in every second, feeling like I was part of baseball history.

Maybe that's because they didn't win.

Classic Calvin Stories, Part 3

(Calvin has the same teacher this year that he had last year. She's a fabulous teacher, and fortunately has a great sense of humor.)

CALVIN: Mom, Mrs. Walker is so cool. She's, like, EVERYTHING, except maybe a musician.

MOM (thinking, "Aww, isn't my boy sweet?"): Wow, honey, she sounds like she's pretty accomplished.

CALVIN: Yeah, she's a runner, an artist, a teacher, an athlete, and even a war veteran.

MOM: Really? What war?

CALVIN: Civil.