2017 Up to Now....

....it's been a very strange year up until now.  I don't want to say it's been a terrible year just yet, although the last week or so for me has been a strong indicator of that.  As usually the case, the year is flying by and it is still very early?!  Is it?!  Maybe not, but I will stop short in saying a terrible year, for now.

It's a weird thing, losing a best friend even though you weren't as close as you once were.  Big Sis said it best when I told her the news of one our best friend being killed, "Heartbreaking."  Yes indeed, it was very heartbreaking.  Heartbreaking in that he was full of life, funny, and just the "life of the party" in general.  We drifted apart many years ago, but were able to stay in touch, even more so recently, through the power of social media.  It's weird knowing that he isn't on the planet anymore.  That fact alone hurts.  We had a lot of history together, and he was always a part of my life.  I think about things, and he was always there with me.  The memories, as they say, are what someone can never really take away from you and that rings true.  Sports played a huge role in our growing up.  Every time I see a historic sporting event, chances are we saw it together.  Every time I see a Rockets Championship highlight, a Houston Oilers disappointing loss, or just an old Astros highlight, it will no doubt take me back to a certain point in time.  It may even bring a smile to my face.

Another thing that is strange is that it takes a tragic event such as a friend's passing to bring old friends back together again.  A positive in my mind, maybe not always the case though.  It makes you realize even more that time just flies by and simply waits for no one.  Too much time can pass, and there is nothing you can do about it.  It's a precious thing, that crazy time.  So you try to make plans and only hope that you follow through to actually see old friends more often.  You realize that you missed hanging out and too much time passed.  You try not to let that happen again.

So needless to say, there has been a lot of reflection lately.  Great memories revived after a tragic loss of life.  It's made me focus lately, and that could only be a good thing.  I've even followed up already and hung out with an old buddy and his family, with my family no less!  How about that?  Now, time to stay focused on things and get back on track.  The year is about to really get busy, but we have to remember to not let time get the best of us and make us miss things.  Ahhh, challenges...life is full of them.  I hope I am up to them.

A quiet night a home alone, and a new post!

A quiet night alone at home, and I do mean quiet.  No one here but Oscar, Skywalker, and Me.  All signs point to this being summer.  Ruby went to work out and kiddos are all at Big Grandma's house for a two night stay.  I was about to jump on the ol' company laptop to do some work related stuff, and decided to give the ol' blog a good once over.  (What's with the two uses of "ol"?)

It made me happy to see the very few posts on here.  The few posts about our Disney trip made me especially happy.  I'm actually glad that I did them.  I kind of wish that more people saw them.  No biggie though.

Before I got to my work related activities for the rest of the night, I figured I post something right quick, and probably search for some family type things to do in Houston this summer.  We typically haven't done much with the kids over Summer break, and this year I would hate for school to return only to find that we didn't do much of anything.  Time is a precious thing.  The kids are getting to be too big for my liking (kind of), trying to spend as much time as we can and enjoy them while we still can.

Hopefully with scouting out and finding things to do, means more posts on here.  One can only hope.  Check back periodically.  Ok....later...

n

Wheels up!!!

Going out of town, yet again!  Nashville this time for some fun without the kiddos!  Yes they will be missed!  

Wheelz up mutha fucka!!!!

Lack of updates.

Gas has really been low in the evenings after three straight days of park visits. Tonight is no exception. 

Day two was Epot Center. Really nice park, and the kids had a great time. A few beers from around the world and you have a great day. 

Dat three was Hollywood Studios and with that means Star Wars!  What a day, I loved it personally and the kids had more to do as well. I gotta say Star Tours was a fun time. I cannot even imagine what the Star Wars Themed amusement parks that Disney has planned for the future will be like. Amazing is a word I think of. 

Well, tomorrow is a park free day (so far), but a little adult time will be in order. Til then...

Getting day two started...

...the same way as yesterday, in the very back of a vehicle. Yesterday was a bit better than today. Riding in the back of a pick up truck > Riding in the back of a Honda CRV.  All day, e'eryday...

Day one of the parks

It finally happened!  We ventured to the parks today.  Disney Animal Kingdom was first up.  Nice park and we got there early enough that there wasn't much hassle.  Most of the rides we did weren't that long a wait, 50 minutes at one of these massively visited parks is virtually nothing.  Seriously.

There was crying, more than once and not much money thrown around by us.  Raymond rode his first real roller coaster....and it went well.  I skipped out on it as I am not the biggest roller coaster guy, but Ruby and Grandpa went with him and he was as happy as could be.  Of course I wasn't really sure how it was going to go.  I figured he was either going to love it, or he would never ride another one again.  Safe to say, he will be riding more in the next few days.  On the way out of the park for the day, we stopped in one of the gift shops and Raymond found the shirt that said "I conquered Everest," which was the ride he rode.  We skipped out on it, but I have a feeling we will either get it here, or online for a little cheaper.  I think we almost have to.

Of course there was crying, and on more than one occasion.  It certainly appears that the girls are not down with getting wet at all at amusement parks.  We rode a "Thunder River" type ride (for those that know the now defunct Astro World), which is like the big tube like ride that you sit in with about 10 other people.  Well the girls all got it good.  They were not happy, while Grandpa and I barely got touched.  They crying seeming lasted an hour or so.  Oh, they got over it, but rest assured they will not get on another ride that involves water.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  There is plenty more I could get too, but running short on gas at the moment.  I hope I got the jist of it out here.  (Below is the "Tree of Life"...it is massive and very cool looking, it is about 145 feet tall and about 50 feet wide)

Let the games begin!

Ok. Getting ready to go. It's 08:00 EST We wanted to be there by now. Oh well sure it will packed no matter what. Ok. A few pictures later, maybe a big update tonight.