Memorial Day

We have enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend. I am thankful to live in a nation where my children can pursue their dreams. Whether those dreams are an advanced college degree or a life working to entertain, in the USA we are free to do what we dream and aspire to become what we want. We gather freely with family from anywhere in the country, without intrusion by the government. In hard economic times even, we are still free citizens.

This is possible in no small part to the fact that so many people have served in our nation's military forces to keep our nation free. Our holiday weekend of family, food, and drink is only possible because of the sacrifices of so many others. For these things I am truly thankful!

Spring Break at last

The month of March was extraordinarily busy for us. Dawn had several shows with her business, we adopted two rescued dogs, and I worked late more days than not. I helped for five nights at the sixth grade registration at Computech to start the month. Then I was working late many days dealing with fund raisers and planning events. I need to take Dawn's suggestions and begin keeping a written calendar of my schedule.
I ended up with a Jamba Juice fund raiser (advance ticket sales for two days first), sponsored the school Spring dance (advance ticket sales for a week), and our first ever all school pep rally in the same week! It seemed like I was spending all my waking time at school for over a week. I survived, and everything went well. But I never want to be in charge of that many events in one school week again, ever.

Thank you to the Leadership students. I could not have been successful in any of these activities without your work, effort, patience, and skills. Those kids made it possible to pull all those things off.

Dawn the Dog Rescuer

This weekend Dawn took the initiative to move on something we have only talked about up to now. She accepted offers from the parents of two of her students to take unwanted dogs from their homes.

First, on Saturday, we picked up Buddy. He is a 2 and one-half year old Peek a poo. That is a mixed breed pooch with one poodle parent and the other parent a Pekinese. He is black coated and tiny. He has a great personality, and is very active, yet docile. His former master said she felt bad that she did not and could not give the dog enough atttention. She has gotten to know Dawn over the past few years while Dawn worked in her home with her son. She wanted Buddy to go to a good home where he would be cared for and loved. Well we love him already!

Dog number two comes from a different family. His heritage is unknown as the family picked him up as a stray. Now they realize that they cannot care for the dog. So instead of releasing him onto the street, Dawn adopted this unnamed pooch. He too is adorable. Tan colored, we think he is part Chihuahua and part Dachshund, but who knows. A nice lady, Debbie, at the PetsMart in Clovis guessed his age at about 3 - 4 months based on his teeth. Unfortunately, dog two has fleas. Dawn followed the tips from Debbie and bathed both dogs. They smell better, are softer to the touch and unnamed #2 has fewer fleas.

So our family has grown again. We now own two adorable dogs. They are learning to get along. It was touch and go there for awhile this afternoon. Buddy did not like the strange dog in his new home.

They both need shots and to see a vet. If you have any suggestions in that area, we would appreciate sound advice. It was a good weekend!

Party Dawn

We celebrated Dawn's birthday on Saturday night. We had a fun time with many friends, old and new, sharing fun, drink, music, and laughs. We are both so blessed to have many wonderful people as friends and family. Thank you, Jessica, David, Eric, and Scott with all the pre-party preparations. I think everyone had a good time. We got to see friends from around town and out of town. I even met a childhood friend of Dawn for the first time. People came from San Francisco, Sacramento, and Merced to the north, and Tulare and even Las Vegas to our south.

You know it was a great party because red wine was spilled on the carpet (we cleaned it up, no problem), a bottle was broken in the kitchen (a beer bottle was knocked to the tile floor), a small fire was accidentally started in the kitchen, people danced and laughed. Saturday night was a reminder that our life is good because we have people we love in our lives. Thank you all for reminding Dawn that she and I are loved and cared for by so many wonderful people.

We hope to see more of you at future gatherings for any and all reasons.

My Wife & Me

To do yours: Copy and paste to your notes/new note. Highlight these answers and replace with your own.

♥ What are your middle names?
Wesley and Denise

♥ How long have you been together?
32 years, 30 Married

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About a month.

♥ Who asked who out?
I eventually worked up the courage to ask her.

♥ How old are each of you?
52 and 51

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
We see my sister and her family regularly and Dawn's brother regularly.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes, a matched set. 1 daughter with her husband, and 1 son.

♥ What about pets?
Two designer dogs my wife rescued.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Uhm, I do not know. Let's focus on the positive.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Not the same high school. But we both went to Fresno State together.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No. I grew up all over the world as an Air Force brat. Dawn grew up in Merced.

♥ Who is the smartest?
I think we compliment each other.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Probably Dawn.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We loved Fugazzi's, but they fled town. So now we frequent Chipotle.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
We cruised the Volga River in Russia for 11 days.

♥ Who has the Craziest ex's?
Neither of us have X’s

♥ Who has the worst temper?
That is probably me, Arrgh!

♥ Who does the cooking?
Dawn is our master chef!

♥ Who is more social?
We both know our way around a conversation. I probably interact with new people more easily while she is better at deeper friendships.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me, unless she is expecting guests.
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♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Me, " I want it my way." Although she wins more arguments.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Share and share alike, but she is the space taker.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Normally me.

♥ Where was your first date?
After an difficult time asking her out, we went to a scary movie in Merced. At the time conventional 19 year old wisdom said a girl will hold your hand at a scary movie.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
My family is larger.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
I like to get Costco flowers occasionally.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Her brother, our kids, and the two of us go to see my sister's family in Northern California.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us are…but probably me

♥ What is "your song"?
“Wild Thing” or " Hey, Good Lookin'"

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
I knew I wanted to marry her after two dates. It took awhile to bring her around.

♥ Who eats more?
Me. Cookie!

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
Usually me, but she feels free to assist or take over.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
I teach that stuff.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Me. I do not make a good passenger.

THINGS I HAVE DONE DURING MY LIFETIME:

By Larry (read the bottom, it is unique)
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X ) Skipped school
(X) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep-
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
(X ) Driven across the United States
(X) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lain down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland
(X)Been to Disneyworld
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( )Swam with whale sharks
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(X) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
(X) Taken a ballet class
(X) Visited Normandy
(X) Experienced love
(X) Been amazed by my children
(X) Hiked in a national park
(X) Cried while watching my kids accomplish something

Valentine's Day

Dawn started the day with a CAbi show in our home at 1. So we cleaned the house in preparation this morning. Then I went to the gym. Eric ran errands with me after he visited Dr. D. He has a sinus infection. So does Jessica. Both are now on meds. I think I will be visiting the good doctor on Monday. I think I have an infection also. They do run in our family.

Eric visited the hardware store with me. Then we had a nice lunch at Wendy's. I like their chili. Eric goes for the spicy chicken sandwich combo. Then we toured the grocery store. The nice man in the meat department at Vons cut a special portion of New York strip steak for me when I asked a question. I think I am beginning to like Vons more. Anyway, Valentine's Day was a reason for me to prepare a special meal for Dawn. I got a recipe from Men's Health.com It has a nice spinach salad with home made dressing and pistachios. Then the steak in a reduction sauce with broiled fingerling potatoes and french style green beans. It took about an hour to prepare. It was fun. I served dinner with a nice Cabernet wine. Dawn said she loved it. This was a nice way to express my love for my Valentine, Dawn. Later there will be a rum, banana, and ice cream dessert.

I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, too.

Larry

Jury Duty & Fly Away

I am sure the people behind the planning of jury duty have a system that works for the courts, but wow does that system seem wasteful from this side. I was summoned to Fresno County Superior Court today for said duty. I arrived on time, after ensuring that my substitute teacher was ready to go at school. I was seated in the Jury Assembly room for the clerk to go over instructions at 8:30. She said her piece, explaining the process and paper work. Next, she took roll. Then she said we could have a twenty minute break.

After a twenty minute break, I read a few chapter in Of Mice and Men, we were instructed to watch a video about jury duty. I read a few more chapters. Shortly after the movie ended, they announced that any one who had their name called is dismissed and has fulfilled their civic duty. Mine was the first name called. I was finished with Jury Duty by 9:35. I did meet some nice people inn the assembly room and walking to the Civil Court. Reyna and Ray were citizens trying to be responsible members of society, too. It was nice to meet them and visit a little. Other than that Jury Duty was a bust!

I did get to have a brief meeting with two administrators at my school when I got back. That was a nice benefit. I also had time to see my wife off at the airport as she left on her first great CAbi adventure in Nashville, Tennessee. I hope she has a good time and learns a great deal. Eric and I will put the house back together before she gets home.

Larry

The Weekend

It was a long week back to work. Meetings, planning, grading, assisting students, purchasing materials, supporting student efforts; it was all exhausting. Plus Dawn was busy with her social calendar every night. It was one of those crazy weeks. Friday night was finally time for a breather. We had time alone together for the evening. (Eric worked a late shift.) I enjoyed trying take out from a new Pizza Fusion restaurant in our neighborhood. We took a short walk; had an adult beverage; watched a television program; enjoyed conversation, and each others company. It was a stay at home romantic evening and get away. Life is good.

Tonight we get to join 5 other couples to play bunko. We always have a good time at couples bunko.

Are you planning anything fun this weekend?

Larry

First 2009 Day of School

Today was a good first day back to work day. My students were pleasant and easy going, though a little sleepy early in the day. We all need to get up very early to make it to school by 7:30. I feel tired from the day, especially since I talked more today than I did in a week during vacation. My throat is sore and I have a bit of a headache.

After school I went straight to the gym. After 20 minutes on the stationary bike, my trainer put me through his paces for 60 minutes. I will be sore. Then I got home, took a quick shower, and my wonderful wife had home made dinner ready. Jessica and David joined us for a nice meal. Dawn made some dishes from scratch that included a tasty coleslaw and pork chops. This was a real treat for a weeknight. Then David took the lead on doing the dishes. I only needed to help him. Wow, I have a great family. Life is good!

Did you have a good day?

Larry

A FInal Saturday of Freedom

Today is the final Saturday of our Winter Vacation. I started the day by going to GB 3 for a workout. I am trying to follow one of the poster workouts from Men's Health magazine. I have a goal to meet with my trainer two days per week, do two days of cardio, and one day of this twelve station workout. Mike, the trainer, tells me that if I achieve that goal and push myself a little, it will be body changing. One week down so far and I went to the gym 5 days. It will be a little tougher to manage when work starts back next week.

Today is my dad's 73rd birthday. I wish I could spend the day with him, but he live in Arizona. I called him this evening. He sounds like he is in good spirits. I told him to look for the UPS truck on Monday. Happy Birthday, Papa.

Eric and I went to see a matinee of the Clint Eastwood film, Gran Torino. It was a good flick. It seemed like typical Eastwood fare, until the surprise ending. It is a film worth paying the matinee price at the theater. Dawn used today as a school work day to see some of her students. Then she did a few hours of shopping.

Honor to a Navy Veteran

Larry and I had an afternoon full of emotion and admiration. Larry drove with me to Visalia to attend the Celebration of Life for Jerry Groh, the uncle of my best friend Sue and her sister, Lori, my quilting buddy.

I have had the pleasure of two occasions and Larry had one occasion to spend with "Uncle Jerry". He was immediately one of my favorite people in the world. After his service today, we feel honored to have spent even that short time with him. Larry and I both were moved to tears as his family unfolded the virtues that made Jerry Groh such a special husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. When they finished with the military volley of gun shots, playing of taps and the flag folding ceremony I was overwhelmed. I tried to imagine how my dear quilting friends, Jeannette and Amy (Jerry's wife and daughter), and the rest of the family must be feeling when the officer handed Jeanette the folded flag "On behalf of a grateful nation...".

Before I knew it, I was sobbing as I thought of my mother recieving the American flag at my father's funeral 50 years ago. I knew my mother was a brave woman to raise two children by herself, but for the first time I got a sense of what it must have been like for her back in Germany when she lost her husband in an airplane crash.

I was so impressed with the Groh family for their strength and love today. It is obvious this honorable man was greatly loved and admired by many.

Who do you greatly admire?

Family DInner

Today we went to church. After the service Dawn and I treated ourselves to lunch at the Elephant Bar Restaurant. Then it was home to more organizing and storing. I think we are almost finished.

Dawn went to paying the bills, so it was my turn to make the family dinner. I made pasta with meat sauce, spinach salad, Italian Wedding soup, garlic bread and cookies. I made chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. I made the cookies for David and Jessica in honor of their first wedding anniversary tomorrow. The idea that I would make peanut butter anything for my daughter was out of this world. It was so unexpected that David ran to the back door, pointed to the sky and shouted "Yep, there goes a flying pig!"

I wanted to surprise Jessica by doing something completely unexpected for her. She and David of course know that I despise, even fear peanut butter. But I am so happy for them on this eve of their first year as a married couple, it was worth the effort to surprise them. Happy Anniversary Jessica and David! They took all of the cookies home at our urging. Thank you.

It was a great way to start 2009. Plus we get to see Eric tomorrow. We look forward to hearing of his adventures with Darli, her family, and DisneyWorld.

Marley and Me

We spent the second day of 2009 cleaning and organizing. My amazing wife spent hours reorganizing and consolidating stuff we store in our closets and garage. I cleaned the house and helped her too. It was a real feeling of satisfaction to see our home a bit more tidy and organized at the end of the day. Then she made an amazing dinner of talapia, sweet potatoes and a spinach dish. I never liked sweet potatoes before. These were baked, nothing fancy. Just baked sweet potato. Like that guy on t.v. says, mmm its so good!

Last evening, after dinner I starting watching the Sugar Bowl. I was pulling for Utah, just because they get no respect from the media. Utah did it! They proved not only to be worthy, but also proved that the BCS is bull----!

I set the DVR to record the second half because we wanted to see a movie together. We used passes to buy tickets for the Brad Pitt flick. It was too full, so we went to see Marley and Me. I do not like Owen Wilson as an actor. I wish there were more scenes with Jennifer Anniston, and less of him. But darn it, that movie was good. I actually cried a little at the end. It made me regret the loss of every dog I ever owned. Rusty and Sinatra, you were good dogs. I miss you dearly. Putting them down was hard to do.

Have you ever lost a pet?

Larry

New Years Day 2009

We enjoyed a fun evening with our friends Marshall and Karen for New Year's Eve. They are great cooks, fabulous hosts, and dear friends. Visiting with long time friends is always a treat. And their food is always so tasty.

On New Years Day, Dawn & I watched the Rose Parade in High Definition together to start. Then, while I paid some attention to football games, we teamed up to put away our Christmas decorations. We even reorganized our storage systems and garage as we went along.

Next, while Dawn prepped some dishes, I walked down to the Save Mart to get a few items, including lobster for dinner. When I returned, I kept Eric up to date with the USC victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl game via text messages. Then Dawn and I sat down to a scrumptious lobster dinner to celebrate 2009.

What did you do on the first holiday of the new year?