Tiya Hang'n with Dad

Tiya wanted to hang out with me last night so she was dropped off at the Ice Station during my hockey lesson. She watched my practice from 7:00pm to 8:15pm. She told me that there were a lot of good players in my lesson which left me to wonder where she placed me. (LOL) She said that there were players better than me but that I was better than a lot of them. Well, at least she was politically correct.

After hockey we went to Jamba Juice and got smoothies, went home, got our swim suits on and went to the pool. We got to the pool around 9:30pm and were the only ones there. The water was really warm- it felt great. We swam for a little bit and then hopped into the spa.

After we were sufficiently pruned we went back to the house and watched Mars Attacks on TV. We didn't last long before both passing out on the couch.

"Portrait of Devyn," by Mckenna

Lay a Couple Rules Down

Sunday Mckenna and I were going to go out to my Dad's house so we got all our stuff together. "Stuff" includes swim suits, golf clubs and of course chocolate chip cookies and fruit snacks- 2 (one for her and one for me.) Well, somewhere between the house and the garage we lost one fruit snack. Mckenna was very upset. "Daddy, I can't find the other fruit snack. Look outside for it." I looked all around the car and in the garage but no fruit snack. "I got that fruit snack for you Daddy." Funny that she lost mine. :)

"Daddy, this is going to be a problem," she said.

So we get into the car, put our belts on, roll down the windows and head out. As the wind starts coming in the window Mckenna's hair starts to blow around. I put her hair in a pony tail but apparently that wasn't going to work for her. "Daddy, when you put my hair up you have to keep the window up and when my hair is down you have to keep the widow down"- this all made sense to her. "We have to lay a couple rules down," she says to me.

Family Room Camping

Tiya and Devyn went camping with friends this last weekend so it was just Mckenna and I. She needed a little alone time with Daddy and we had a really good weekend together. Saturday morning we went to her gymnastics class and then we went to the movie theater to see Herbie. Herbie didn't start till 2:00pm and it was only noon so we went next door to Borders Book Store where I probably read 2 dozen books to her and yes we couldn't actually leave with out buying one. We got to the Theater early even after reading 2 dozen books, bought popcorn and a soda and sat and waited for the movie to start. The movie did a pretty good job of living up to all things Herbie although it was not quite the same without Don Knotts and Dean Jones. We managed to eat all the popcorn and still have room for ice cream. :)

Luckily Cold Stones was near by. I got "German Chocolate Cake" and Mckenna got "Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip." After stuffing ourselves and wandering into a couple of stores (toy stores) we finally made it home. We got our swim suits or as Mckenna likes to say "Babing Suits" on and went down to the pool. The water felt really good to say the least. After swimming we went back up to the house, got into our pj's and made a salad for dinner.

Mckenna and I then put together a tent made of sheets and blankets in the family room, got our pillows, turned on a movie and camped out in the family room. The movie on TV was "A League of Their Own." Mckenna wouldn't let me change it. Not really a movie I pictured her liking but what the heck. She rolled over to me, wrapped her arms around me, layed her head on my chest and fell asleep. Sleeping on the floor was pretty uncomfortable- no, painful... but, I wouldn't have given it up for the world.

"Rainbow" by Mckenna

Father's Day

My Father's Day card from Mckenna. Complete with picture of me. I never looked so good.

Another card from Mckenna- I got 3 in all.

I had a nice day with the kids today. It was a very nice Father's Day. Tiya took me to the movies last night for an early Father's Day present. She called me while I was at BJ's Brewing Co. eating dinner and surprised me. We tried to see Batman Begins but it was all sold out so we went to see Madagascar. She took me out with her own money. Mckenna was so anxious to give me her presents. She made me 3 cards- all very nice and she made me a pencil holder with 7 pencils in it that she picked out all by herself. She also made a little book with paintings that she did in daycare. Devyn plans on taking me out to lunch.

I slept in a little and then I picked up the kids and we went out to Grandpa's house. The kids got to see their Aunt Shell, Uncle and Aunt Leslie and their cousins. We barbequed and then went to the pool. It was a beautiful day and we were at the pool for a few hours.

"Frog" by Mckenna

It's Stuck in My Brain

I was putting Mckenna to bed last night and she was crying because she was scared. I asked her why she was scared. She had watched a childrens movie the other night called "Hocus Pocus," which is about 3 witches. First let me say that 2 of the witches were Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker- enough said. I told her that she should try to think about something else- something that she enjoys doing. I asked her what she liked to do. "I like to go to the mall and shop for Hello Kitty stuff," she said. I laughed and told her that she should close her eyes and think about that. "I can't Daddy, the witches are stuck in my brain," she said as she was crying.

Mckenna Gets to Graduate Too

Devyn, Mckenna and Tiya.


Mckenna and one of her little friends from preschool.


Mckenna and I playing Jurassic Park.

Yes, preschoolers have promotion ceremonies also. Today was quite a busy day for all of us. Devyn graduated from 6th grade this morning and this evening Mckenna had a little promotion ceremony for preschool. She starts kindergarten in the fall. Her ceremony was really cute. The children all sang their songs and then came out with their certificates. It really made Mckenna happy.

Afterwards we went to Chucky Cheese for dinner. Mckenna's choice you know. We had pizza and played games.

On to Jr. High

Devyn with his certificate.


Breakfast at Ihop.


Devyn with Mom and Dad.


Steven, Tiya, Devyn and Ceidra.

Devyn had a promotion (graduation) ceremony Today. He received a Silver Presidential Award for having above average grades all year. After his ceremony we went to Ihop for breakfast. Later he went to a graduation party at one of his friends house. We had quite a busy day. I ended up taking a nap around 2:00pm. We got Devyn a cell phone for his graduation. He was more excited about that cell phone than anything. Imagine that.

Immunizations and Candy Bars

Mckenna had a well check today to make sure she was all up to date on her shots for starting Kindergarten. Michele drove out to my house to take her to the doctors for me so that I could still go to work. After the Dr. appointment Michele called to give me an update. She said that Mckenna did really well and that she got 5 shots and had a blood sample taken from her finger. I could only imagine Mckenna screaming and crying and Michele trying to console her.

Michele put Mckenna on the phone so that I could say hi and see how she was doing. The first thing out of Mckenna's mouth was that she got a hundred grand bar. I could hardly get her to talk about anything else. I tried to ask her about her shots and all I got was hundred grand bar. Well, I know what to bring to the next Dr. appointment! Maybe I will take one to my next Dr. appointment.

Sixth Graders @ Six Flags

Devyn's 6th grade class went to 6 Flags Magic Mountain yesterday. This is a trip that 6th graders go on every year as the graduating class. I volunteered to chaparon and took the day off work. Devyn, 5 of his friends and I spent the day running from one ride to the next. The first ride we went on was "Scream." Roller-coasters sure have changed a lot since I was in High School. I didn't scream but I can tell you that my mouth and throat were dry by the end of the ride. Most of the kids got back in line for a second ride while I sat out with another one of the kids.

The next ride the kids went on was some sort of ride that spun around really fast and tilted up, pinning you to the back of your cage. I passed on this ride because I had just eaten a couple of egg and steak burritos. There were a few kids that should have passed on it also. One of Devyn's friends lost his breakfast and most of the others felt nauseous.

Roller-coasters just don't have the same appeal to me as when I was younger. Shhhhh...

It was a really nice day. It was not too hot and definitely not crowded. I had a good time with my son and his friends.

"Cat" by Mckenna

Mckenna drew this the other day. I guessed spider but she assures me that it is a cat.

Tiya Graduates from Jr. High

Tiya graduated yesterday from Jr. High School. The ceremony was held at College of the Canyons football stadium. We got really lucky with the weather. It was a great day for a graduation. It was overcast and cool. The sun started to show itself as the ceremony was finishing. After the graduation ceremony we all went to Ihop for an early lunch.


Tiya and her proud Daddy.


Tiya during her class procession.


On left; Tiya with her brother Steven and Step Sister Ceidra. On right; Tiya with Daddy and sister Mckenna.


On left; Grandpa, Tiya, Devyn, Aunt Shell, Mckenna and Dad. On right; Tiya and Grandpa.

Spread the Love

So, my family and I were at my daughter Tiya's Jr. High Graduation yesterday. After the ceremony my Dad, my daughter Mckenna (5 yrs old) and I were walking down the bleachers to go congratulate Tiya. Mckenna yells out, "Grandpa, spread the love!"

Later we were walking to the car. My Dad was walking with Devyn, joking around with him. He was trying to get Devyn to tell him something and Devyn wasn't giving in so my Dad told him that if he didn't start talking he was going to put his lights out. Mckenna says, "Grandpa you can't turn his lights out. There on all day. They don't go out till he goes to bed at night."