Friends, Markets, and Dancing!

Greetings to the three people who actually read this on a regular basis. (Hi Mom!)

We have been very busy but in a good way the last two weeks. Our great friends Brian & Amy came for a visit. It is always good to see them. Owen is becoming quite the young man! With our boys farmed out to friends, Lauren babysat Owen while the adults had a real adult dinner conversation at Higgins.

Amy and Brian seemed to bring some sunny weather with them too. Since their arrival on the 16th it has been pretty much sunny ever since. We have enjoyed some nice walks, including a trip to the Hillsdale Farmers Market. The sun certainly brought out the crowds. Nothing like fresh produce in February.

Basketball is continuing to occupy our Saturdays. Both Lauren and Jack are continuing to improve their skills greatly.

Jack and some other boys from his school's "Boys Dance"group were asked to perform for a fund raiser this weekend. Watching Jack perform, I sometimes can't believe that he is my son. He really takes to the stage like nothing else. We are looking at middle schools right now and I think we need to consider some place with a performing arts program.

In the "Bob's gone off the deep-end" theme, I recently started worm composting. Yes, that's right, I am a worm farmer. I basically got tired of putting food scraps in the trash. Now the worms will eat the scraps and give us great dirt for a garden, where we'll grow more food that produces more food scraps for the worms which will give us more dirt to grow -- well you get the idea. More details on this later.

Hope all is well with you. Write if you can!

Spring! Oh wait, false alarm

Saturday was the perfect end to a great week.

Lauren's school put on their annual dance concert. 350 kids out of 450 are in the dance program. While I am a not a big fan of dance, the kids blew me away. Each class had a different style and personality. They did 4 public performances this week. While exhausted, they seemed to bond as a class, school, and community. Lauren was excellent in her tap routine. She is excited about doing more in the dance program. I am a very proud Dad. I tried to video Lauren's performance. I will post it on the YouTube sight later today.

Jack's basketball team didn't win, but played very well against a hardcore team. They are really maturing and finding their groove. His chorus group got to work with an esteemed choir director and professor on Saturday. All the kids were very attentive and were very engaged. Again, proud Dad here.

Holly is off selling her jewelry at a craft fair. I am proud of her too. I could never be as creative as she is. She does the most amazing things with beads and silver.

Well it seems I am full of pride today. Despite being sick this week, all seems right in the world for this one moment. Jack and I just got back from the Farmers Market. It could be a little warmer but still a good walk for some produce and other farm fresh goodness. Yesterday, was a teaser day. It was sunny and nearly 60 here. I certainly enjoyed all the time outside I could.

Now what to do with all these leeks I just bought.....

Home Sweet Home

There is snow outside! The kids (and, well, Holly and I too) were happy to see some white stuff on the ground this morning. Sadly it meant that the Saturday basketball games were canceled but that gave the kids plenty of snow play. I even managed a few trips down the hill myself. Snow or no snow it was good to wake up in my own bed.

In the last 19 days I have been on an airport runway 26 times, spent 9 nights in hotel rooms, and visited 11 facilities. Who ever says business travel is fun, hasn't done it. I am glad to be home with no trips booked (as of today).

This week, for all those who are are keeping track, I did a day trip to Boise on Monday then jetted to DC for the rest of the week. A very busy, very packed, very intense week. Of course I did manage to squeeze in some good food too. You will find my new dining guide at WhereToEat. I hope you will add to it as you enjoying dining out!

As I dashed for the airport this week, I grabbed a book from the shelf. I read most of it on the trip home yesterday, finishing this morning. If you haven't read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom- do it right now. You have waited to long as I did. Morrie is truly one of the most enlightened people of our age if you ask me. I will be re-reading this to focus more on the lessons and less on the emotional.