Four months since the last update and much has occurred. The kids spent most of the summer at Landa Park taking advantage of many of the activities and lessons that Parks and Recreation has to offer. Bryce made it to regional and state track meets running the 800m. He was about half the size of his competitors. We went to Poulsbo, WA for a friend’s wedding while the kids got to spend some time with PaPaw and Grandma at the lake. We’ve also had a chance to visit with Uncles James and Jamie, and the Nakamura family. Bryce is in 3rd grade and Zoe is in a pre-K program at church and has started reading. Bryce lost a front tooth. I completed a triathlon, sold my Mazda, bought an Element, started training for a marathon and broke my hip. Lisa and the kids went to Ohio for a little vacation. Lisa is pretty much running Bryce’s Cub Scout den and remains our steady foundation that keeps the family functioning.
Bryce shaved 45 seconds off his personal record and finished with a 23:31 in the New Braunfels Texas Lion’s Camp 5K. He’s also in a track training camp this summer. Zoe’s still a bit young to join track but she did log four 400 meter runs over a 30 minute period to complete her first mile last week. These kids can run. Bryce also finished second grade with straight A’s and the highest score (231) in the second grade Advanced Reader program. A special thanks to Grandma Carter for giving Bryce the Harry Potter collection which really inspired him to read this year (he’s on book 5). I realize I’m an overly proud dad right now.
Amazing! Bryce completed the “Jon’s Run” 5K in 24 minutes 15 seconds. He shaved more than 10 minutes off his first 5K. He beat all the kids 14 and under by over a minute.
Bryce finished his first triathlon. He swam a 100m, biked a 3K and ran a 1K in 26:16 and got fourth place for his age group. Lisa’s stomach was in knots. Next year he’ll rock this triathlon.
We participated in two significant races in the past month. Bryce won third place in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and he placed 429th in the San Antonio Race for the Cure 5k run (there were 30,000 participants). We all participated this year. Lisa and Zoe did the 1 mile walk while Bryce and I did the 5K run. He did great. He only had to walk for about 2/10 of a mile while he worked out a cramp (due to improper hydration caused by lack of my parental guidance) but was still able to get the whole 3.1 miles done in 34 minutes… not bad for his first 5K. I can’t tell you how proud I am of him. He’ll also be competing in a kids triathlon at Schlitterbahn here in New Braunfels on 18 April.
We just returned from our week in Germany. We stayed in a little town called Oberammergu in the Bavarian Alps. I was there for work but we decided to stay an extra week to check the place out. The weather was great – half the time it snowed and half the time it was bright and sunny. We initially planned to drive to Switzerland and Italy but in the end we simply decided to stay in one area and get the most out of it without spending our whole vacation in a car and moving from hotel to hotel.
Oberammergau was a wonderful quiet little mountain village known for the “Passion Play” (about Christ), which they perform once every ten years. We really had a great time in this town and totally recommend it for others. The hotel was great and the old lady who cooks all the food took us in like she was our grandmother. We ventured out of town quite a bit. We went to the highest peak in Germany called Zugspitz. This would have been really awesome if the weather hadn’t rolled in and dropped visibility to about 100 feet – but it was cool to take a cogwheel train up the side of the mountain and the Cable car back down. After that we stopped into the 1936 Winter Olympic stadium in Garmisch where there happened to be a number of ski jumpers practicing – very cool to see up close.
We also took the kids to see Linderhof Palace and the Neuschwanstein Castle (the real castle they used as reference for the Disney castle). These were both built for King Ludwig II of Bavaria – he was eccentric, loony and gay – then he drowned. We also took the kids to this “hunormous” (a Zoe word) indoor swimming place called Wellenberg. This place was loads of fun. There were huge Schlitterbahn style slides and a hot pool where you could swim from inside to outside. We actually swam outside while it was snowing – crazy.
We took a train to Innsbruck Austria with no plan other than “Let’s take a train to Austria.” It was freakin’ cold and touristy. We walked around town for a bit but we couldn’t stay long because we made the mistake of mentioning the Innsbruck Alpenzoo. The kids were sold at the word zoo. We walked for many, many, many, kilometers and ascended to quite an elevation. Turns out the Alpenzoo is the highest zoo in all of Europe… YAAAAAAY. The kids were troopers. If I were a nicer dad we would’ve taken the bus, but I figured I would make them earn their day at the zoo. It was a pretty cool place and all the animals were native to the Alps.
We also spent a lot of time relaxing and eating – eating very well. Germans don’t serve small portions. The food was all excellent and natural (free of all the processing and hormones). I ate tons but actually lost a little weight. On our last couple of days we visited the Reptilienhaus (one of the coolest collections of reptiles I’ve seen) and then we milled around Munich for an afternoon.
Our return home was a bit of a challenge. There were some issues with the airlines. Our trip was 26.5 hrs, on four airplanes (five if you count the one we boarded and then de-boarded), three airline carriers, a van, a tram, a shuttle, a golf car and a car. The kids were miserable and we ended up carrying them a bit but they were tough.
Observations – Germans keep their country clean, they are precise and meticulous. They are very focused on their kids and family. They (and Europeans in general) take life slow and tend to enjoy the moment. They weren’t a bunch of zombies walking around on cell phones and playing Nintendo DS. We loved it.
P.S. Race for the Cure is next week. All of us will be participating. Visit the link on the main page if you want to contribute.
Not much to report. We spent Christmas in San Angelo with Grandma and the rest of my whacked out family. This was the first year we broke tradition and didn’t wait until Christmas eve to find a big free tree. We actually paid for a tree… $9.99. It was kind of a Charlie Brown tree. After a year in the new house I’ve finally decided to start working on it (finishing it) again. We now have a walkway to the front door. I also took the Ol’ Merc out after about 8 months in storage. Lisa and I took the Scouts on a field trip to Cabela’s.
Bryce has been keeping us quite busy with his Cub Scout activities. We just got back from a Cub Adventure camp where he shot BB guns, bow and arrow, slingshot, air cannon and a water balloon catapult from the side of a pirate ship. Lisa, Bryce and Zoe all had birthdays last month. We went to Ohio for Thanksgiving. Lisa and Zoe drove up there and Bryce and I flew in to meet them. We all drove back together… two days of driving. The kids got to play in the snow and I froze. This was the first time Zoe had ever seen snow. It was good to get back to Texas and mow my lawn in my shorts. On a sad note- just after the holidays Lisa lost her uncle H.C. Fields and her grandmother Pauline Muntan. Also, a very close friend of mine, Lang Charters, suffered a tragic fall while hiking in Red Rock Canyon and remains in serious condition. He’s a great man and in our prayers. Aside from all the bad stuff that’s happened to those we care about, things are going okay here. Bryce is doing well in second grade, Zoe is looking forward to starting school next year (but not as much as Lisa is looking forward to her going), and Lisa is retired and now works for Den 2 Pack 757.
Bryce is a Cub Scout – archery, bowling, BB guns, etc. He’s doing well in school and reading at a 6th grade level. Zoe is dramatic. You can see her here practicing her “dragon in distress.” They put on quite a show for Halloween. Zoe won second place for her costume. Bryce had his first choir event and sang a few Halloween songs. Lisa is officially retired from the Texas Air National Guard. I’m riding a motorcycle these days and love it (sorry Grandma). The hill country is beautiful right now.
We just returned from our best trip to Belize. It just never gets old. Unfortunately this was the hottest trip ever. Day temps were around 90c. The little town where we spend most of our time (San Ignacio) offered a wide cultural variety of cuisine (which we enjoyed to the fullest). Aside from the standard Belizian meals, we enjoyed French pastries, Sri Lankan, South Indian, Italian and Garifuna meals. We also picked up lots of fresh fruit, veggies and eggs at the market (no preservatives no hormones!!!). The kids enjoyed all of these places because most of them also served hot dogs or burgers (rotten American kids). They also made quite a few friends at the local playgrounds. We saw many sites this trip. First we hit the Belize Zoo. Honestly the best zoo I’ve ever seen. A humble little zoo on just 29 acres. It is just a few pathways cut into the jungle with native-only rescued animals. You get really close to the animals there. Did I mention the heat? Then we went to Xunantunich (shu-nan-tu-nich) – a Mayan ruins near the village of Succotz. This thing is 130ft high (turned my stomach). We temporarily adopted a little Belizian boy (Peyvon) on this excursion. He is the grandson of some friends of ours. After the ruins we went to Stonetree Records. This little studio in the village of Benque Viejo del Carmen is the hub of Belizian music. We drove through neighborhoods for a while and finally gave up and walked up to a little house to ask directions. Thank goodness I didn’t give up. When I got there this awesome little dude named Otto (general manager) GAVE us 11 CDs and a book on the history of Belize. I now have a library of some of the best musicians in the country… this was a highlight for me. Most of the people reading this post will be forced to hear some of this wonderful music. On the third day I couldn’t resist looking at more real estate… once you visit you will understand this little obsession of mine. We went to a cool little house that was right next to a waterfall (right on the property!). Sadly, this abandoned little house was occupied by stray dogs and FULL of fleas… which got all over all of us. We called this day “fleas and falls.” Later, some of our local friends invited us into their home for lunch and then we went to another friend’s house so the kids could do some swimming. After that we took the kids our to the country and let them ride a horse for a bit. The following day we drove into the mountains up to Big Rock Falls in the Mountain Pine Ridge (yes… a pine forest in Belize — I’ll tell you about the bark beetle later). These falls were incredible. We had to hike down the side of a pretty steep canyon to get there… then back out. The pictures almost speak for themselves. It was a beautiful spot to hike, sit, think and swim. Oh yeah… it was hot. After that we visited Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. I had NO interest in visiting this place… Lisa’s idea. I totally dug it! The kids actually learned a lot. There was a really nice Dutch lady running the place and she was great with the kids. On the second to last day, we drove through the mountains on the Hummingbird Highway to Hopkins in the Stann Creek district. On the way we stopped by the Inland Blue Hole. This is not the famous Blue Hole on the barrier reef, but instead, a deep swimming hole by and in a little cave. Awesome place to cool down. I went in the cave to take some pictures but while I was trying to figure out how to take pictures I was dive-bombed by a few bats which gave me the heebie-jeebies. So… I took some crappy pics in the cave and ran away like a little girl. By the way, I’m not kidding… they flew down and kicked or swatted or did whatever bats do to my camera and my head… FREAKY! In Hopkins we ate some local Garifuna food (Snapper) and went for a swim in the Caribbean. The water was crazy warm. I snapped a few pics on the way home. This upset Lisa as she thought I should devote my undivided attention to driving. Nothing better than amateur pics taken while driving mountains. Finally we went to our property where we each sweat more than the 5 gallons of water we brought and replenished at a strange Mennonite restaurant — a buffet known as the Golden Corral… funny. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the flat tire on the the way there. WHOOPIE! Did I mention the heat?! So that was this trip. I’ve left out so much because this post is already too long. I could write a book on this one visit. I totally love that little country. It’s unrefined, dirty, and hot… but beautiful and like a home to me. Hopefully you can all experience Belize soon.
