Life. Is. Good.

You know you chose the right profession when you head on a cruise and halfway through your trip you have a thought that you actually wish you were working more!  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every moment, but it is not every day that I get to interpret improv comedy shows, cirque du soleil performances, tours through the Kennedy Space Center, and excursions to fabulous water parks.

Before I headed off for the cruise I downloaded multiple books and podcasts to occupy my time and thoughts.  I was surprised, however, that I only listened/read during my morning workouts.  The rest of the time I filled my schedule with on board entertainment, stretching classes/workouts, dinner plans with my awesome team, a lot of time sitting with my own thoughts and watching the ocean, nightly midnight runs to the dessert bar to accompany the long philosophical discussions with my team, and climbing endless flights of stairs (I decided early on not to use the elevator and with 16 floors there was a lot of time spent on those stairs!). 

The main theme of the cruise was my freedom to enjoy my (nonworking) time how ever I wanted to.  With five kids that opportunity does not show itself very often, and it is important to seize the chance when it does.  I took full advantage.  A lot of that enjoyment came from the fact that I have a wonderful husband who was at home spoiling our kids, keeping the house lovely, and  was 100% supportive of my trip.  I enjoyed all of the pictures and polos (video text messages) from home that showcased all of the fun things they were up to.  They had multiple picnics, trips to the children's museum, a Kroc swimming night for family night, and much more.  Not to mention that I came home to a beautifully cleaned house, fresh flowers, and all of the laundry done and put away.  

Here are a few cruise pictures before I move on to my New York trip.

It was a cold blustery day as we left New York for warmer shores.

Yes. I took a picture of my food. I think some peole go on cruises for the food. This was pretty fantastic and I never would have put these ingredients together on my own. It was shrimp layered with watermelon and mozzarella cheese sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a light lemon oil.

On one of the excursions we went to the Atlantis Water park. The Atlantis is a mammoth casino with a water park that rivals the size of anything I have ever seen. The lazy river was complete with 5 sets of unique rapids and a full mile of river.

These are all scenic pictures of the Bahamas. The three mammoth buildings that are visible are all part of the Atlantis enterprise.

The most amazing part of the Kennedy Space Center was seeing the 1980's equipment that was used for the missions to space. Wow. 

Cirque du soleil is always amazing. For this performance the ship was rocking madly back and forth in 65 mph winds. I think the whole audience felt bad for the jugglers. They did pretty well until there were five items in the air and the ship was rocking so much that the juggler was moving and the trajectory of the items were staying the same. Not fun.

When I originally accepted the cruise and was talking to Logan about it he suggested I stay a few extra days in New York since I was going to be there anyway. What a great idea!  After I finished the cruise I had two days booked at an airbnb so that I could take three days to explore NY.  

First I want to begin with the flight into LGA airport.  The sky was crystal clear as we flew over the endless expanse of lights that represented the dense humanity below.  My eyes were glued unblinking as I drank in the image spreading before me. Then I was met with skyscrapers that never seemed to end. These monstrous buildings were dwarfed by the sheer number of them. I felt pretty small.

This feeling returned multiple times as I spent hours walking through New York's upper west side, mid town, and downtown.  My goal was to do as much as humanly possible while also taking time to enjoy the atmosphere of the places I visited.  I was able to achieve a balance I was happy with.  I probably walked about ten miles each day and thanks to Adalie's advice I enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise.  She advised me to take a listening walk and a visual walk to fully enjoy the experience.  Great advice!  

I feel that I have a better understanding of the speed of life in New York. Everything is faster!  Except maybe the cars who are trying to navigate the endless maze of one lane/one way streets.  They make up for the tediousness of the process by honking their horns as rapidly as possible.  Problem solved.

I spent some time watching traffic to figure out some rhyme or reason to the honking.  On my first ride I was certain that someone had honked to let another car merge in front.  I was wrong. I do not think there is any actual reason they honk, the number of times, or the length of the honk (I heard one that was probably 30 seconds long). I figured that most of the time they were just doing it to fit in. Cool. I can accept that. I also noticed that a one lane road meant that at an intersection there would be three people lined up side by side jockeying for position to actually merge into the lane.  Two lane streets were really three lanes and cars parked on the side were obstacles to overcome. Extra points were awarded when cars had one inch clearance in the front and on both sides when maneuvering perpendicular to the street to gain an edge in positioning.  It was actually a meaningless pursuit because it was, in fact, just faster to walk instead of drive.

One of the highlights of my trip to NY was my bike tour of Central Park. I have always wanted to visit and the park did not disappoint.  The sights were breathtaking and it was even better from the seat of a bike.  I must admit that I did send a Polo to Logan showing him and the kids John Lennon's house and the monument in Strawberry Fields dedicated to him in which I slipped and called him John Denver.  I think the tourists and locals probably wanted to murder me for that slip up.  I promise I knew who it was, just a slip!  

I was impressed at the size and depth of information at the 9/11 museum. I thought it would be a 30 minute venture, but it turned into a 2 1/2 hour experience.  I really enjoyed it and I was impressed with how the creators of the museum used the atmosphere to influence emotions. This was not manipulative in a negative way, but the feelings were intense and memorable. It was an amazing tribute.

An essential part of a New York trip is a Broadway play. I went to see In Transit which is a play about a variety of people who live in New York. Every musical sound in the play is made with human voices. Beat boxers are pretty amazing. The play was well done and had me laughing until the end.

I took a bus tour down Broadway avenue and I also took a fun tour of SOHO, Little Italy, and Chinatown.  I learned a lot about history, architecture, and food!  I am definitely a fan of tours... and food. There is so much information to learn and interesting stories to enjoy. 

On my last day I had just finished up my tour of Central park and I made a spontaneous decision to take an Uber to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I would only have an hour before I had to leave for the airport, but that was better than nothing.  I was shocked at the sheer size of the museum!  It is the largest museum in America and it did not disappoint.  There are so many treasures there, and I am looking forward to go to NY with Logan and revisit when we have more time.

During my NY vacation I spent a lot of time thinking about how big the world is and how small the space is that I occupy. I also spent a lot of time thinking about even though I am small and seemingly insignificant, there are many people in my life who would disagree.  There are also many people in my life that mean the world to me.  

I had an excellent time in NY and I am sure that I will return, but in the end it felt so nice to return to my busy, crazy life at home.  I recognize that even though life can be intense I definitely prefer the pace of life in this beautiful North Idaho town.

Life. Is. Good.

Time for pictures! 

Everywhere I looked I saw fun architecture. In good tourist fashion I had to take pictures.

Central Park is amazing.

I ejjoyed this artwork depicting the twin towers.

View from The Top of the Rock

Goodbye for now.

The last couple of weeks are Rachel's to tell about, and I imagine she will get on here soon to report on her trip. In brief, she went on a cruise from New York to Florida, and then on to the Bahamas. When she got back, she spent three days in New York City doing whatever she could to make me jealous. And it worked.

That's all I'll say though. Rachel can fill in the details. In the meantime, the kids and I have been having a pretty routine week- which is to say, we're having a great time. We go swimming a lot at the Kroc center. The kids had their play practice and have their parts all memorized. There was a mid-week church activity we attended, and we spent time at a few different parks, both indoor and out. Things are good.

I really don't have a whole lot else to say. With Rachel gone, my mind has seemingly, on it's own accord, developed an outline for a story about a truck driver (Oden, but goes by Odie) who picks up hitchhikers and has deep philosophical conversations with them as he makes his way from Albuquerque to New Orleans. These interactions takes up about half of the story. Come to find out though, there's this big reveal where we learn that these people are actually all in his head, as insightful as some of the thoughts may be. He has become senile over the years of solitary work, and is sent to an institution where they medicate him back into "himself." The treatment, however, leaves him an empty shell which, instead of being able to meditate on great unsolvable mysteries, simply looks forward to the next serving of processed strawberry shortcake (lunch on Wednesdays). In spite of this, our hero continues to have brief interactions with "Eve," who is an especially developed character who was first encountered as a hitchhiker, but who somehow ends up in the same institution. Eve is a somewhat eccentric skeptic, and is easily entertained with riddles. The last scene in the story is where the main character breaks down into thoughtless oblivion after learning of Eve's death.

The end.

Scary, isn't it, the thoughts I turn to without meaningful adult interaction?

Anyway, have a good week!

One of two picnics we went on. The weather has been great- bring on the Spring!

The guide book on the internet said to budget an hour and a half for the climb up, and another hour for the descent. "Not for the faint-hearted" it had said. "Extremely strenuous, and exposed...but worth it for the views."

At least they got one part right- the view was spectacular. I had just made the round trip in less than 35 minutes of exhilarating trail running, including the rest at the top to catch my breath and watch the sun rise up over the distant hills.

The desert really can be a beautiful place, I thought. Especially when you know you don't have to live there. 

I love sunrises. There is something about the breaking of dawn that has always seemed magical to me. Perhaps it's the boundless energy that is stored up in the moment, like the silky smooth face of a wave in the ocean in the moment just before it goes crashing into complete chaos. What events will transpire in the next twenty-four hours? How many human dramas will unfold- lives changed forever in the beating of a butterfly's wings? For all I know, history could be in the making.

Or not.

But that's the beauty- anything could be possible. And the sun, rising up over the horizon, is the shot that will signal the start of a new day.

Bang.

*****

After washing up at the trail-head, I changed shoes and tucked in the button-down shirt I had brought for the occasion. I then used the gel I had purchased that morning to smooth my hair, and applied lotion to hide my cracking skin (it wasn't appreciating the desert as much as I was). Walking out, I waved to people I had passed on the trail on my way down, smiling to myself at the self-indulgent idea that they might not recognize me as the reckless maniac they thought they had just seen a moment before. 

Finally, I pulled out my phone and called for a ride. The second day of my dental conference was about to begin. 

The ride though, I cannot let go without comment. Uber, the much-celebrated avant-garde mode of transportation, was quickly becoming a new habit of mine. It is strangely addicting, and I must admit that I have fantasized on more than one occasion of an entire vacation spent doing nothing but riding in the cars of strangers, asking them about their city, and learning about their lives in the process.

In this particular instance I got to meet Dennis, a man in his 70s  and a native of Phoenix. He once owned a thriving upholstery business before, according to him, the box-stores took over and killed off the people's expectations for fine home furnishings. He had failed to see the writing on the wall, he told me, and he lamented out loud that he didn't re-train for other work at the time. "The world was changing so fast, and that was something that took a lot of us off-guard." That's what he said, and it caused me to think about things a little bit differently. He soon found himself bankrupt and without a job, and moved in with his son's family. Uber, he said, gave him a chance to feel useful again. He liked it, and it allowed him to contribute financially to the household and regain a sense of independence.

Besides Dennis, I met Aasera (who goes by "Abby"), a refuge from Iraq who moved to the states one year ago and was trying to get her GED so she could go to college. I met Maria, who stayed at home during the day to take care of her grandchildren while her single daughter went to work. I met Cody, a college student who drove at night while his fiance' went to work. I met Scott, who did Uber on a full-time basis and was in the process of developing an App for his fellow drivers. 

I couldn't tell you why, but meeting all these people- complete strangers- and riding in their cars and talking with them for a few minutes- it all gave me a tremendous feeling of faith in humanity, as cliche' as the catch-phrase may be. It was cool. 

*****

As for the dental conference itself, it would be difficult to describe for most of the people who read this blog. The title of the seminar was "The Art of Case Presentation and Treatment Planning," and the presenter was Dr. Frank Spear. Now, for most dentists I don't need to say anything else- Spear has seen a great deal of success in branding his own name, owns a massive "campus" in Scottsdale, is something of a dental god to some people, and is an exceptionally good teacher. The weekend reinforced to me the idea I have always held that the first step to learning is the realization of things you didn't know you didn't know, and I came away with a large list of items to work on that will make me better at what I do.

That is probably as much as I could say to people who aren't already involved in dentistry without devolving into the shop-talk of my trade. Just know that I found the presentation to be engaging and worthwhile. It was one of those rare experiences that may be able, years later, to be seen as a milestone of my own professional development.

*****

Friday night, after changing my clothes yet again, I called for another Uber. The Sugar Thieves were a blues band who had started up in Arizona, but had recently enjoyed a bit of national success. They also just happened to be playing in Phoenix that night.

There is nothing like a good concert to cap off a wonderful stay in the desert.

*****

When I got back into town I drove straight from the airport to the theater in Spokane, where I saw the Broadway show "Kinky Boots" for the second time that week (we had also gone on opening night). It's a great show, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have its songs in my head for the next several weeks.

Rachel and me on opening night

*****

In a few days I drive to the airport yet again- this time to drop Rachel off for her cruise to the Bahamas and stay in New York. Leading up to this, she has gone out of her way to take each of our kids out on special one-on-one dates. She'll be gone for 10 days. We're definitely going to miss her, but we are all super proud of the degree to which her career has taken off. The other day she overheard Evelyn talking to her friends about how cool her mom was because of her job. I love  that! I also have to say that she is somewhat of an inspiration to me. There is nothing quite as fulfilling as watching someone you love very deeply when they are in their element doing something they are passionate about.

Love ya, Rach.

Have a good week!

I think there is a party starting in my tummy

      -Maren

Wow, am I getting behind or what!? I have exactly five minutes before I have to go back and see my next patient. I keep telling myself I'll get to this blog sometime, but it never seems to happen, so I guess I'll just write the five minute version of things.

Maren had a birthday and it was a lot of fun and she had a party with all her friends with a mermaid theme and games and everything and she also brought cupcakes into her preschool class. She is five years old now.

We went on a trip to Utah to visit family and that was a lot of fun too and we stayed at my brother's house in Logan and spent time playing games and eating good food and climbing the little hill by their house with the kids. Speaking of kids, they had a lot of good times in the unfinished basement except for the time when Lindsey fell and cut her lip so bad she had to go to the ER and get stitches, but she was in good spirits the whole time and pretty stoked about the stitches so I guess it all worked out okay. On the way home from our trip we ended up taking a 20 hour detour due to really bad weather, but Rachel and I had to work the next day so we drove through the night and made it happen and our kids were awesome travelers.

Evelyn also had a birthday where she turned 9 years old and she had a party with all the family in Utah and another one when her friends came for a sleepover at our house with a Harry Potter theme and another party with just our family at our house and tonight she is finally getting her birthday dinner in the most drawn-out birthday celebration ever.

Rachel has less than a week before she interprets her first Broadway play and she has been practicing a lot for it and she is going to do a great job and then right after that she is catching a plane for New York for her interpreting cruise and vacation and she is pretty excited about all of this. Meanwhile, I am leaving on Wednesday for a 3 day stay in Scottsdale for a dental thing that I am actually pretty excited for.

This weekend was sort of crazy with Evelyn's sleepover party and then another party at the Kroc center for Addy and Jackson's friend, and then another party/game night at our house with the people I work with. I also took the three oldest kids for a while while Rachel practiced for her play and we went out to a buffet lunch and then went rock climbing and then went to see the movie Moana at the discount theater. Good times.

Here's some pictures. Have a good week!

BFFs at Evelyn's sleepover

Cousin Time

We made it to the top and found lots of golf balls along the way

The kids were waiting in the car at the Kroc center and playing on my phone. I guess we have a budding photographer in our family because somebody took this picture but I have no idea who.

It's been a pretty laid-back week for us. Here are some quick-takes of what we've been up to:

*****

I have to say, I feel a little bit isolated up here in Northern Idaho from most of the political dialogue (if you can call it that) which seems so prevalent these days. For the most part, I like it that way. For now at least, it is much more practical for me to be an interested spectator in the political arena than an active participant.

At the same time, I have a shop in my backyard that is full of furniture, proving that we aren't totally off-the grid.

What does this have to do with national affairs? Quite a bit, it would turn out.

The furniture represents donations intended for a refugee family that was coming over. I'm pretty sure they aren't terrorists or rapists or baby-eaters or anything- just a normal family trying to get out of a pretty dangerous situation. They were supposed to be here soon, and I offered up my shop as a short-term storage facility. Well, it turns out that their arrival has been delayed. And then it wasn't. And then it was. And then it wasn't. I don't even know where things stand at the current time.

So...for all the political big-wigs in Washington who I'm sure are following my blog, please let this family come over before I get started on my Spring cleaning. If not, then I have two dressers, a bed, several bookshelves, and a large fake Christmas tree that you can help me store until further notice.*

Thank you.

*I'm not complaining here- just being deliberately facetious. I really do have plenty of space and am happy to store these items for as long as it takes. I also don't think I'm alone in hoping that this happens sooner rather than later.

*****

Next, I want to mention my back. As it turns out, I'm not a gimpy old man. Not yet, at least. I appreciate all the well-wishes from friends and family, but it's really not that big a deal. I'm doing well with my physical therapy, and I can still sort-of rock climb (but not lead). I also have some weird black tape on my back that they say is supposed to help, but I think they just needed something to do with their extra tape because it seems totally useless to me. Certain exercises help me to feel better, and I imagine it will only be a matter of weeks before I'm a hundred percent again. Best of all, surgery has been ruled out for now. So...yeah...that's good.

*****

On Saturday, we hit a milestone for our family. Lindsey and I worked together to disassemble her crib and unceremoniously drive it to the dump. A new dresser and twin bed took its place.

We have had a crib in our home for over nine years. And now we don't any more. We probably won't ever have one again. It's a big day. Our little family is growing up!

*****

Jackson and I made a birdhouse. He planned it, helped me pick out the wood, measured it, and did almost all the work himself. I was just there to hold boards while he cut them, and to make sure things didn't get too out of control with the power tools. He did a pretty good job.

*****

Evelyn went on a camp-out this weekend up in the mountains. Well- they called it camping. Actually, they stayed in cabins and played games most of the time. I think she had fun though.

*****

Other news: Rachel and I got a babysitter so we could go watch the Super Bowl. We both ate way more junk food than we should have, and it was fun to get out.

Evelyn put together a great presentation on JK Rowling and delivered it flawlessly to our family. Good job Ev!

While Ev was at her camp, we took the other kids to Home Depot for their monthly craft day. Everyone built boxes with picture-frame lids.

*****

Have a good week!

Last week I made mention of my back hurting. I finally went into the doctor for it because it kept getting worse, and he thinks I may have a slightly herniated disk. I'm in physical therapy two days a week now, and if progress isn't seen then we're looking at surgery. So....that's my exciting news.

Yesterday I got a call from Rachel saying she was at the doctor with Jack. Apparently he was playing a game with his friends at school called "tornado" and he ended up running smack into a metal pole. He hit it hard enough to make him lose any memory of the event, They thought at first that his nose might be broken, but it turns out it wasn't. It did look awfully swollen later that evening, and it was very tender. After the doctor's visit school was almost over and he could have just gone home, but he asked to go back so he didn't miss the after-school science program he is in. That guy is tougher than he seems sometimes.

Here's Rach and Jackson getting ice cream before going back to school. Jackson's nose swelled up quite a bit more as the day went on, but I guess it's going to be fine. FYI: Kids don't like it if you call them "Elmo" when their nose is swollen up.

On Saturday, we all went into Spokane. I took the older kids to the science museum, and Rach took the youngers to the children's museum. Everyone had a fun time. On the way out of town, we drove past a small playhouse that we didn't know about. Curious, we booked tickets for the show that night and were actually pretty impressed with the quality of the acting and the venue. The show was "Disgraced," which I guess won the Pulitzer when it came out on Broadway in 2013. The show was poignant and thought-provoking, and Rachel and I had fun. We'll probably be back to see most of the performances this place has to offer. It's always fun to discover something new around your area.

Speaking of Broadway, Rachel had her big audition this week. If you want to watch the video, I have embedded it below. She interpreted the main theme from Phantom of the Opera, and even as a guy that doesn't have a clue what she is doing, I think it looks cool. If you watch it, be aware that the first few seconds are silent as she introduces herself and the piece she will perform.

This is just a still-shot, because I can't put a movie in a book when I compile this thing into a hard-copy.

Anyway, Rach was super nervous after sending it in. She has been wanting to do this for a long time, and she finally felt qualified.

We weren't sure how long we'd have to wait for a verdict, but two days later she got an email asking if she could do a show in the future. She made it! I am so proud of her.

Have a good week!