Not his Christmas Photo!

Aaahhh.....

the forehead bandit strikes again!!!

...and then it's Fall!

Well, Summer turns to fall eventually...or in Parker's case it seems like Fall as he has started football season. Yes, football is in full swing. After two weeks of two-hour sessions, 3 days the first week and 4 the next, it seems like the pigskin is going to be a serious endeavor!



Here's a picture in his jersey and pants after a scrimmage on 8/14 at the "big" field--the Simley Spartan's varsity field, where the 3-6 graders shared the field with the "blue/red" varsity scrimmage.



Everybody had a great time! More details can be as the season goes along on the website. Look for the 3rd and 4th grade red Cougars! at http://www.simleyyouthfootball.org/.

Summer Pastime!

Where has the time gone?

It's already August, and Summer's end is near. What's the summer pasttime around here? Baseball, of course. Parker, neighbors James and Ryan, and Steve were able to take in the Twins win against the White Sox on July 31. Exiting game--a comeback 10-6 win after trailing 4-0 most of the evening. Even took a small "riot" on the field to spark the home team along.

Parker's summer has been full of ball games, and it just finished with a two-win double-header a week ago. What's next, besides school? Keep tuning in for a view of Park in is fall "hard hat"!

Stuck in Toronto!

Well, it's been far too long since I've posted on this blog, so today seems as fitting as any to write something.



I find myself stuck in Toronto a bit longer than expected. For the third business trip in a row, my Friday flight home is cancelled. This time, no alternative can be found until Saturday morning.



Couple this with the fact that Joyce has a full weekend of photo shoots, and you begin to understand the meaning of the term stuck!

Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! For Parker this day was a big learning experience. Parker learned about Memorial Day at an all day celebration at his school this past Thursday. He chose to hang Grandpa G's army photo up on the memorial wall in the school as an honor for the time he served our country and the sacrifices he made to do so! He was so proud to bring it to school. He got to tell everyone all about his Grandpa and WWII-

For us this is usually just a day to relax and catch up, but Steve and I had the pleasure of photographing a family last weekend where this day may mean so much more...

As we honor our late/present service men and women today, we won't forget those that give up time with their loved ones and take on double duty here at home to keep their families going. This young mom of three is sending her beloved husband off to Irag for his third tour in 5 years! A dear friend of hers called to see if we could fit her family in before he left in early June, of course we did what we could. Still not being able to make it to the photo session, she is positive her husband will love to have a few pictures to bring with him. For Steve and I, we learned to honor those that are no longer here and those that are working so hard to continue to keep our country safe and all their loved ones at home for giving up their precious time for all of us!

Thank you Barb!

Happy May Day!

May Day! May Day!

Isn't it nice to hear those words in a nice context for a change?

After a long April, May is starting out just as busy, but before bedtime on the 1st, we find ourselves explaining May Day and the theory of the May Day Basket. Later in the evening, we make our way to the bedroom to find a basket full of momentos and other items with a very heart-felt note from Parker about why all of these little trinkets make for special memories of times with Mom and Dad.

Very touching....and take a good look at the bed...this was not made earlier in the evening--quite a good job for an 8-year-old boy! (Hopefully this means he can take the duty over permanently and let Mom & Dad off the hook!)

Passed!

So excited! Parker passed his 18's on timed tests in Math. He struggled for quite a while. We didn't understand why and neither did the teacher. We talked about it and he said it was just too much pressure in 2 minutes. He could finish far more than 25 flash cards in 2 minutes and has been adding/subtracting since he was two. Needless to say, a little pressure from his mean parents and 16s, 17s, 18s...boom done perfect on the first try!

Don't know what made it all of a sudden work (his mean parents or the relaxation technique we practiced), but none-the-less we aren't going to question it. Now he is up to the task of finishing 25 problems in ONE MINUTE!!!!

He thinks he did 5's perfect yesterday :)

Parker's Spring Concert

Today Parker enjoyed singing at his spring concert. The Pine Bend concert was centered around the school service project for the year, H2O for Life. The H2O for Life School to School project was created to provide funds to directly support water projects located at schools in developing countries that lack an adequate and sustainable water source. Our school is sponsoring a school in Mozambique, Africa. We were able to view pictures of the specific school and hear the kids talk about the necessity of water to our lives all around the world.

The concert was wonderful! Each of the classes dressed in their color Pine Bend Shirts (given to them from the PTSA) and it just looked so cool on stage. The awareness for the world that the children are being taught today is just such a refreshing outlook and a great way to "pay forward" the gifts and privileges that they have and sometimes take for granted in their own lives. The schools hope is that they learn at a young age to support and give back to the earth that which the earth has given to them. What a "bright piece of sunshine" in an otherwise rainy, gray day!

Catch Up on Us!

Two posts one day, wow (see more in "wanted, identity thief" after this post)...

OK, OK, OK, we promised not to lag behind on this! Here is our catch-up:

Scooter/Maggie first because they are the easiest...sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, bite- oops, yes! Their relationship is hit or miss, one might say Love/Hate! They are still getting used to each other and Scooter unfortunately has become a far less tolerable dog as she gets older, so Maggie has been bitten to prove dominance. Overall, they are great and we love having both of them around.

Parker: Parker now 8 caught a bit of "spring fever" after a week of staying home! Now back in school, he wants to know why the time has passed so quickly and when is the summer coming. All good questions to which the answers are unknown! Parker plans on playing baseball again this spring/summer. He doesn't have his coach/team yet, but we know practices will be on Wednesdays through July. Parker loves to play ball, it really keeps him active. He has friends over all the time and is finding more independence is a huge responsibility, but rewarding. He received a new bike for Easter and is waiting for the spring to actually stay so he can ride it regularly.

Parker is doing fine in school. He is looking forward to his spring concert this Friday. He really loves music or the music teacher :)! He thrives on the structure and his teacher's quick witted humor everyday. Next year he may be attending a new school (Mom and Dad have yet to decide). To that he is as unsure as we are, but hopefully the meetings and tour next week will help with our decision. The new school is part of the IGH school district and is contained in one of the three elementary schools. It is a school specifically created for children with learning gifts called the Atheneum School.

Every year the school district puts the 1st and 2nd grade students through a cognitive skills test that determines need and elegibility for the school. Parker passed the cogAt test with flying colors and then was tested one on one with a licensed psychologist on his IQ. (We are anxious to get the scores!) All this and a few more requirements, lead to an invitation to join the school.

Parker thinks differently than most 8 year olds and has a gift for knowledge. This we guess has been in the back of our minds for a while. He doesn't sometimes get the easiest of tasks, but put him on an assignment that seems overly difficult and the kid thrives. Does that mean he should be taken out of the regular curriculum school? This is were the uncertainty lies. Whatever the decision, we hope that it is the best for him and that he understands.

Parker is also looking forward to a whole week off with Mom/Dad in Warren this June.

Joyce: Well, we could just use the word "busy", but doesn't that describe every MOM! Work is going well for Joyce, but finding balance is the never ending battle. She has had the joy of photographing many clients and family/friends in the beginning of 2008. Despite raising prices, GPDS, Inc. has managed to basically fill the years schedule plus. Joyce and friends will be photographing a wedding in May and keeping up with invitations, business projects and more through the rest of the spring/summer.

Joyce's sister announced that she is expecting Twins early this fall to which we are so excited!!!! Hoping for one boy, one girl- but anything will be a blessing. Baby news abound and then her Friend Amy gave birth to a baby girl on the 20th of March. Already pictured and soon on the website, Miss Aislinn Marie will make her debut in May.

So just the usual for Joyce- work, family and friends keeping her busy....and more to come!

Steve: (intentionally left blank for additions straight from the source, hehehe--Challenge Accepted, Honey!) Work's been pretty busy as of late. Right now, I'm writing from Houston, in town for the weekend to attend the ICRM board meeting. Last week, it was a quick trip to NYC for business, and looking for time to work on a couple of things north of the boarder next month. Trying to settle into a new role and new boss at work. So far this has been going really well--I hope that remains his perception as well! At home, it's been great to see spring come, and go, and come, and go, and hopefully after this weekend's snow come again. The lawn mower is itching for a good run--hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Parker and I have played catch outside only once. I caught some, he caught some, both the van and Edge caught one each!

Overall, we are good and healthy! Looking forward to more family time this summer and definitely a break from the crazy lives we lead!

Wanted...Identity Thief!

Well, this is not a joke this time, but the good news is we believe the person(s) have been caught!!!!

After Parker's party weekend the next week began as usual for Joyce with supply orders and photo sessions...on the 4th of March Joyce received a call from a vendor in Washington State confirming her order and requesting a new credit card to process the order because the card on file didn't work. Oddly, she thought the credit card on file should certainly handle a $65 order, but none-the-less anything could be wrong, so she gave the vendor another card (her business debit card) quickly on the phone. This is a card she doesn't use often due to the tie to the bank account, but she hadn't had any trouble with the few vendors that currently use it.

One day later a mysterious charge for $602 shows up on the account. We immediately phoned the bank, they put a hold on the charge, but the charge dropped off by Friday. Agreeing with the bank that this might have been an error, we waited it out. In a rush to finish a project the next Monday and get it out overnight in DHL, Joyce reluctantly got the mail. She wishes she hadn't gotten the mail before finishing the project, because what unfolded was unbelievable.

In the mail were 25-30 backorder notice/postcards from FashionBug.com...hmmm...totalling $602? You bet, the charge dropped off because everything ordered was on backorder and due to ship the next day. Surprise, again we were victims of Identity Theft!

Coincidence? The police said "NO WAY!"...the order was placed the same day with Joyce's card, processed under the name "Grace Goldman" (how clever a mix of her name and her business name) and shipping to Renton, WA (just 12 miles from the vendor given the credit card information that day).

The fraud department at Fashion Bug was very nice and helpful, but would only give extended information to the IGH Police. Officer Billmeyer told us that Fashion Bug informed her that this was the 6th order to go to this address in Renton and all of them used different cards with different names/bill-to addresses. We spoke to the owner at the vendor as well and he was very diligent in getting information and hoping to erradicate what looked like a bad employee situation right away. The officer showed up the next day after reporting the crime and took all of the postcards, copies of Joyce's email, the packing slip from the vendor and the information from Fashion Bug to turn over to the Renton, WA Police Department. We were able to swiftly get a new credit card number and the charge never appeared again because it was cancelled that day.

Did we discover a ring? We like to think so! :) We know that the person Joyce dealt with on the phone from the vendor is no longer an employee!?! Coincidence? Again, probably not.

The IGH police officer was very excited about this case, because she said that they get phone calls every day for identity theft/fraud and it just gets to hard to chase. Usually the cases end up at the bottom of a pile under the obviously more pressing cases, but this time she felt like there was enough evidence to hopefully catch or atleast scare the person committing the fraud to stop. She said with the recession the cases of this are out of control and would feel good to know that atleast one person was going to pay.

As for us, just another lesson to learn, but thankfully it just cost us a bunch of time and not a bunch of money!

Happy 8th Birthday, Parker!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Parker just wanted to write a quick note about is birthday party and weekend with family at the beginning of the month.

He really appreciates the fun, games, and of course the presents!

At his party with friends on Friday night, we went to Ridemakerz at MOA. They all got to pick out and customize their own car or truck--stocked full with neon undermounts, chrome, specialty tires & rims, decals--the whole works. As a birthday bonus, Ridemakerz put together a metallic gold pick-up and gave each boy a permanent marker to sign the top of the truck and present to Parks as their thanks for spending his day with them. I'm sure he'll remember this trip for a long time to come!

Thanks again, from the birthday boy!

Relaxation in California

Wow! What a fun weekend!!! Joyce and Steve were able to soak in the rays (albeit only a few hours of them) along with CONSTANT ABOVE-FREEZING TEMPS in southern california the last weekend in February. All of this courtesy of the Orange County ARMA chapter, and their annual CRM prep course--where Steve was one of the facilitators. Most of these shots are from Joyce's day in Laguna Beack, walking along the beach and enjoying the shopping, art, and scenery. We put about 400 miles on the rental car, driving the coast highway and enjoying the view. Had a great mid-afternoon lunch on Saturday at a beachside restaurant and stared at the ocean. We also stumbled upon Torrey Pines golf course. Steve has now been to both Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach within the last year and hasn't shot a bogey yet!

Busy!

What can you say....this log is about life, and after 4 great days in California for Joyce & Steve; and Parker having a nice time staying with Janice and partying with the Irish clan at Marissa's 8th birthday...we are all home. Safe and sound.....and Busy. More later...

(as we left the conference, they made sure we'd be available next year around the same time, so I guess we'll have to see if there's another "busy" post during the last week of February 2009.)

President's Day

Finally, a day without too many deadlines! We are hanging out this morning watching TV and doing a little work. Go figure it is 11:24 am and the shower has yet to be turned on. Soon that won't be the case as the hours rush by and our to do list makes an appearance.

Joyce's Dad is in the hospital. We went to visit yesterday and he is doing much better than Friday night. We have been to the hospital so much lately as everyone in Joyce's family seems to be having a bad start to 2008. Hopefully that will be done very soon! Joyce inparticular despises the place whether it is a happy or sad time!

We are finishing some projects early in the week to head off to California on Thursday. Steve is giving a speech to colleagues on Friday/Saturday, while Joyce is hanging out on the beach :)
Parker will be staying home with Janice and attending school. We don't think it has quite hit him that it is this week we leave.

We are all set finally for Parker's parties...just waiting on some RSVPs from his friends. Ridemakerz should be a blast. We stopped by yesterday to confirm the appointment while at the mall. Wow, was the mall packed with people and "crafty people" at that. Seems there was some sort of crocheting/knitting party at the Mall of America and not to mention the obvious President's Day sales. We just stopped by Limited Too (or L2- the hippist clothing store for little girls ever!!! or so we've been told) to get Marissa a birthday gift. She will be 8 on the 23rd. Seems like just yesterday she and Parker were born just a week apart.

Taxes are done, refund is coming (YES!)

We hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!

Steve, Joyce, Park, Scooter & Maggie Moo

A unique perspective

Dateline, February 8, 2008. While Parker, Mom, Scooter & Maggie are home manning the fort, and training the newcomer, Dad's working in the Big Apple. I thought this was a unique view, taken from the 9th floor of the future home of 1,000 employees of RBC. Across the "pit" as it is referred to--the former site of the World Trade Center--on the right side is a larger black building that is where I spend a good chunk of my time in NYC.

Problem with the financial district, though, is the cost of hotels. A good rate starts at $350 per night. I can stay in mid-town/times square for that unique environment under $300 a night; and now I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable on the subway system as well...Here's a quick shot of what I termed to be a NYC police car, and one of the "cleanest subway car on earth".

No Joke--this thing had to be brand new..the rest don't exactly look like this!

All Parker wanted for Christmas...

Was to lose his last front tooth! Now it is gone and the new tooth can hopeful straighten out and makes its way down. As many of you heard at the holidays, Park informed us that he knew about Santa Claus. He continued on with the Easter Bunny, but to our surprise never mentioned the Tooth Fairy. Well, when we aked him to put the tooth away for the Tooth Fairy...he got that famous know-it-all grin and asked "isn't the tooth fairy the same as Santa, you know what I mean". To which we promptly responded, if you don't believe, she will not stop by and give you money. Now we both know that the mere mention of cash and the boy is up for that!

What we didn't expect to find was the bed rigged with surveilance from his spy kits. Missils, alarms and all. What we can tell you; however, is that the alarms did indeed go off and the missils released, but the Tooth Fairy was not harmed and the sleeping child never woke up! :)

Aha, see you can't even catch the Tooth Fairy!

Another What?

Announcing:

Maggie "Moo"

our 11 week old Westie puppy. Yes, we bit the bullet after much begging from Parker and got him another dog.

Parker loves it so far. Maggie is very rabunctious and fun. She reminds us so much of Scooter when she sits up. She played with Dad all night until he got dressed for the flight to NYC. So we are all asleep right now and peace and quiet is had.

Maggie can't wait to meet you all sometime soon!

WANTED! Have you seen this suspect? She is accused of robbery of one lock box from the home of a noted FBI Special Unit Agent.

She should be easy to find...
Height- 5'5" and wearing 4" heels!
Weight- hmmm...her double chin should say it all
Hair- Blonde (kind of)
Eyes- Blue
Wearing- an ipod on her eggplant/white shirt?
Fingers- all ten tipped with black ink that won't come off!!!!!

If you run across this suspect, beware she is armed and dangerous. Approach the suspect with caution, but get a good look at her right index finger. This finger is the only evidence the FBI has that the suspect ever touched the lock box. Contact agent Parker Golden to report any new information.

Please note: This is a joke, but the fact that Mom's fingers are covered in black ink is completely true!!!!

Godparents!

Today we became the Godparents to miss Zoey! It was a warmer sunny day and almost felt like March instead of January :) Zoey looked beautiful in her little white baptismal dress. She and a couple other little ones were baptized at the church. Zoe went first which kind of made the next little one a bit nervous. She was very calm during the water, but once all of us put our hands on her - she kind of said enough is enough!

We are very proud to be Godparents again and hope that we can continue to be role models that the girls will always enjoy being around and learning from...

It's Friday!

Happy Friday! Where does the time go? We have spent the week keeping warm (California does sound good right now, Tracy!). Working, sleeping and eating seems to keep the rest of our time occupied. Parker finished out his week and nothing really eventful other than his new project to define the word "cascade". He has to use his imagination and the internet to create a project that is sure to amaze his teacher (the grand ideas started flowing last night and just like the waterfall he wants to build...it might all be too big to bring on the bus!)

Steve and I both working this week trying to keep our heads above water. It has just been one of those weeks where anything can distract us from moving forward on the necessary projects. For me today has been one of those printer broke, ipod doesn't work, internet failed, tripped on the leg of the bed (dang that hurts)...kind of days! Once I got through all the accidents today, I was able to sit down and hammer out a newborn shoot (she was such a doll - ie picture) and place the order. Its easy to forget all the mishaps when you get to look at the face of a miracle all day long.

So we head into the weekend and hopefully we will get some warmer sun around here...have a great weekend!

Joyce

Parker learns to hit like a Mauer

What a day for the little twins fan! Parker and Steve went to a two-hour hitting clinic at Hamline on Sunday that was put on by Mauer's Quickswing. The whole Mauer family, plus some local college teams and coaches served as the instructors for the clinic. Jake and Bill Mauer, both former minor-leaguers and current baseball coaches were both there providing instruction, as was their little brother Joe from the Minnesota Twins---Can't go wrong learning how to swing the bat from a guy who's won an MLB batting title!
Take a look at the picture--can you tell which one makes $8 million a year playing ball? (yeah, that's today's going rate for an all-star, but Steve is hoping that will be up to $10 mil. by Parker's time in the spotlight!)

Conference- Good?

Whew! We made it through our second conference for 2nd grade. Parker does well in school and loves his teacher (he thinks she is funnier than Jeff Foxworthy!!!!). Pretty much the same conference we have had for three years...Parker is a smart kid, he just needs to think before he acts when dealing with his friends. He jumped up in his reading ability- we told him practice makes perfect and now we have PROOF that reading everyday makes a difference. He loves math, but doesn't like to be timed for his basic facts. He passed the 12s this week and we hope he gets through his 18s in two minutes really soon...go Parker!

So our goal is just to help him make the best of choices and do the "extra credit" that is offered.

You know the philosophy- if it is "extra" than that means it doesn't have to be done. Definitely his Dads kid here. :) Dad could pass all the tests with great grades and not have to study. Didn't work that way for mom's neurotic study habits!!!!! The best part mom and dad agree with the teacher that Parker is more than capable of taking on a bit extra and challenging himself with a few goals.

School is so much different than when we attended elementary, but Parker is probably a whole lot smarter than we were then too :)

Hope you all enjoy your day!

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Grum?

The story and fun behind Parker's picture from Sunday morning only continues with the conversations that ensued. It seems that pirates are known for not only sailing and fighting, but also for drinking. I know--who woulda thunk it?

Parker was happy to talk me through just such a sequence of events on his pirate movie, and then he grabbed his bottle of "grum". He took a swig, and explained to me that each pirate has his very own bottle of grum, and after they fight, they drink.

A bit later, I overheard him telling his mother a similar story, detailing how each bottle gets wrapped in a brown paper bag.

One thing rings true in this example of the innocence of a child...he has no idea what "grum" actually is--and for that matter, neither do I!

Power Rangers never take a Sunday Morning Off!

OK, sometimes he scares us too! Sunday mornings are famous dress-up/role play mornings for Parker. They usually start much earlier than we adults care to have them, but Parker has learned to adapt and let his extremely tired parents sleep while he plays. To entertain himself he usually dresses up as one of his many rough and tough heros. This morning no different. Steve got up briefly to check and found Parker dressed as Jack Sparrow sitting on his chair watching Pirates of the Caribbean on his little TV. Steve snuck back in bed to tell me of the "new member of the family", to which I said "grab the camera and take a picture". Sometimes we forget that our son is young with great hearing because as soon as Steve showed up with the camera the pirate cap was off and the swords/lasers were out. We still find it funny that in his shirt from yesterday, boxers and socks he is comfortable enough to pose for an action shot!
He may no longer believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny, but he truly believes he is a Power Ranger!

A Golden Family Tradition

Many people might not know, but Steve makes the best Rice Krispie Bars ever!!!! Just ask Zoey (our 21 month old niece). It is a tradition when Janice, Brianna and Zoey are visiting on the weekends, you will often see Steve in the kitchen whipping up a batch. His secret used to be to open the bag of "big" marshmallows and eat just one for the correct mix of marshmallow and Rice Krispies, but it has changed now that Parker knows the secret, the "golden family" recipe calls for 2 less marshmallows from the bag :)

This Friday night, the tradition continued...the difference...Janice and I like the bars warm right out of the pan. This is not the safest time for Zoey to enjoy them, so after being told to wait a few times she hung out right over the pan of bars with her arms folded and the look of longing on her face...smelling all the delicious bites that we were taking. The little "I got to have just one" grin on her face was too cute to resist a photo. Don't think that we were too mean to make her wait until they were too cool- she enjoyed her share as soon as the camera clicked three times!

Between the six of us, there is always a tiny bit leftover for the next day. But even then it is a race to who gets to them first. Steve has been known to hide them in his briefcase or me in the pantry for breakfast!!!! This usually prompts the mid day call to brag about our treat or to ask "where did the leftover Rice Krispie bars go?". The funny thing is we ask the question (not because we are unkowing of the anwer), but to see if the person who scored the treat is willing to admit to winning the "race"! Shameless guilt trips never hurt anyone, right?

Parker's Ridemakerz Car

Here is Parker's Ridemakerz car in action. We love the green lights under the car! He has decided to have his 8th birthday party at the Mall of America Ridemakerz on Friday, February 29th. He is only able to invite 7 friends (because as you can guess building a car for each child is not cheap), but we can't wait to see everyone's creations!!!

Stay tune for more birthday news as our baby turns eight this March...

The Results are in!

Yep, officially he did very well or "perfect" as he says! +10/10 and he even spelled picture right!

Pictures!

Bet it's easy to imagine us with a blog full of pictures. What gets me is how much fun it is to see them as we come across them and enjoy the memories.

Today's a special picture day for our family--Parker has the word "picture" on his spelling test in school. Stay tuned to see how well he can spell!

Happy New Year!

We are so excited to be in 2008. We made our resolutions and so far so good. Our biggest family resolution is to spend 10 minutes every day each of us organizing a part of the house. We really picked up on this and once one thing was done it was just so easy to head to the next. Our house has never been so organized and on it's way to being more organized by the day. :)

Parker is back at school and loves it! We have finally made his 2007 holiday photo shoot public. You can view it at Flickr.com by clicking the link "happy new year" on the top of this post.

We have enjoyed all the comments on our holiday card and hope that everyone has a great 2008!