Congratulations Carl

I would like to introduce Carl and Bronson Christensen. Last night in the garden adjacent to the Natural History Museum in Albuquerque, NM, my little brother married Bronson Elliot.

It was a beautiful ceremony in which Sarah and Ruthie performed flawlessly as flower girls.

Nathan handed out programs in a very professional and gentlemanly manner and I sat with my beautiful bride of thirteen years. Weddings have a way of reminding Kerri and I of just how lucky we are to have each other.

After the service, everyone sat down for a wonderful dinner with a live band and dancing. Of all of the people on the dance floor, one stood out above the rest. Here is a video of her dancing. She was on the dance floor most of the evening.

Bubbles, Bikes and Barriers

This morning we ventured up to Albuquerque and visited the Explora. The Explora is a hands on museum where kids (and adults) can explore how things like: light, sound and motion work. I have included some photos of the morning.

This evening we will trek back up to Albuquerque for my little brother's wedding. Sarah and Ruth are two of the three flower girls and Nathan has opted to be a program passer outer rather than a ring bearer (less embarrassing, I suppose). Carl is marrying his girlfriend of several years, Bronson Elliot, who we are very happy to welcome into the family.

Weddings are always a great excuse to get together with family and friends. It has been great to get reaquainted with folks who we haven't seen in as much as twenty years.

I will post some of the wedding photos tomorrow. For now here are a few of the events of the morning.

Kerri, Nathan and the girls milling around after the wedding rehearsal.

Nathan attempting to ride a bike across a tight rope twenty feet above the ground... without a net!

Uncle Mick attempting high-wire. It was great to see Uncle Mick and Aunt Sue after two decades. We will have to shorten the times between visits.

Mom and Aunt Sue hanging out in the elevator. The elevator at the Explora is the size of a small living room and is decorated with couches and chairs for the short one story assent.

Nathan posing for a shot. The kid is growing like a weed.

The giant bubble table. With practice, you can make a seven or eight foot long bubble.

Sarah and Ruth, building a dam. Kids use the the "dirt" to build waterways and dams and then let the water go and destroy it all. 

First Days and Birthdays

Things have ben a little hectic around here over the last few weeks. On the 14th of August, Ruthie began her first grade year. All three kids are now at the same school, which is great for mom. They now have an additional half hour to get hair combed, outfits selected (and reselected), backpacks checks and all of the sundry little things that go along with getting six little feet on their way to school. My first class at the college begins at 7:45 and so, Kerri is in charge of the mornings. So far, they have performed flawlessly. Sarah began life as a third grader and is thriving at it. Aside from a bout of the stomach bug, she enjoys her class. Nathan is king of the hill this year as a fifth grader. Unfortunately, being king doesn't mean that you can kick the little third graders off of the soccer field... and because they start recess first, there hasn't been a lot of soccer playing going on. He is enjoying the city league and is by far the best player on the team (no parental bias at all here).

Kerri began her "Blocks" a year earlier than expected. A last minute change in class schedules gave her the opportunity to get them out of the way. "Blocks" means that she has four graduate level classes that each meet one evening a week for an extended time. My evening class lets out at 4PM, so she drops the kids off at my class and I then become soccer dad and homework checker. Pray for Kerri, but more than that pray for the kids as they suffer through my cooking!

Below are three shots of the girls in their first day of school outfits. Nathan's pictures came out blurry, so we have included a video of his birthday party. His birthday is on the 8th, but we waited until the 16th so that he could gather friends from school. It was a great time of bowling and cake. It is hard to believe that I have been a dad for a decade! It seems like only yesterday that I was ten myself.

Ruthie posing just moments before heading out the door.

I think Sarah was the most excited of the five of us, to start school. Notice the similarity of the outfits

.

"So... it looks like we really going to go through with this. Goodbye summer vacation"

August 16th, singing happy birthday to the ten year old. He's tall isn't he?

Out for a spin on my XS1100.

Just a photo of me on my new bike. Unfortunately, Southeastern New Mexico is out of valve stems for my front tire and so until further notice, all uploaded scenery will be Photoshopped.

Double Digits

Nathan opening his newest Indiana Jones Lego set

Kerri writes.... It's my turn to try blogging! Today is Nathan's 10th birthday. He has been counting the days until he turns double digits. I can't believe it has been 10 years since we starting this amazing adventure called parenthood. We told him ten years ago he fit in one arm, made a lot of noise and was hungry all the time. Sam told him not much had changed (hee hee). Now he is almost eye level with me, can build complicated Lego sets in minutes, is a top-notch student and has given his heart to God.

"Thank you for the CARS™ present

The birthday boy is out with his dad having guy time. I am not sure what happens during guy time because the one rule of guy time is don't tell mom what happens!!!! I know it involves BB guns, driving lessons, bugs, dirt, exploding soda cans and great teachable moments.

We are having Nathan's birthday party next Saturday at the bowling alley but we had a small family party for him today. The girls are sitting at the kitchen table making birthday cards for their big brother. It is definitely a Hallmark moment. They have forgone their favorite drawings of flowers, princesses, and various other girlie things and are desperately trying to draw Darth Vador. Sarah has even made a pop-out Yoda on the inside of her card, although Ruth's Darth Vador is holding a pink teddy bear.

Ruthie drew Darth Vader... With a pink LightSaber and Teddybear

Sarah's card, with a menagerie of Star Wars well wishers

Inside Sarah's card was a popup Yoda

Happy Birthday Nathan

Easy Rider... on a trailer.

Not the actual bike, but the right model, year, etc.

After a summer of endlessly combing the internet, classified and local dealerships, I have finally found a bike! A gentleman who lives a mere three hour jaunt from us is selling me his 1981 Yamaha xs1100 Special (Not the standard or the Midnight Special, just the Special)

I am not sure if I am ready to ride three hours straight on a new bike, on the highway. (that... and I have now way of getting the car back if I ride the bike home. So we have rented a trailer and Kerri's parents are letting us take their Yukon to Clovis tomorrow to pick up the bike.

I figure that I will do better to get comfortable on the bike here in town, at speeds well under 140MPH. That will come later.

On Top of the World

I think that the best way to get a little perspective on priorities is to get away from all of you "priorities" for a little. Earlier this week I drove the family along with my mom, up to the top of the Sandia Mountains. Up where you can actually see the curvature of the earth, given a moment of silence, things tend to re-focus and you regain a grip on the hectic pace of things below.

It is not always a euphoric moment preceded by a bright light, more often, it is a simple "oh yeah" moment.