Channeling Dorothy Gale

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

This summer we loaded the family up and went on an epic roadtrip.  We drove from the verdant forests of Virginia to the cornfields of Illinois and the Midwest, through the arid high plains of Wyoming to the majestic mountains of Utah (including a dip in the Great Salt Lake!), across the dry moonscape of eastern Oregon to the lush beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  Then, after about a month, we drove back through it all to get home.

Wherever we go, Mali and I have these conversations about how we could live there.  We have friends and family scattered all over, and there are wonderful things about every one of the places we’ve gone to visit, chief among those being our friends and family who mean so much to us.  When we say, “We would love to live here!” we genuinely mean it.

Great Salt Lake, Utah

In the almost eighteen years Mali and I have been married, we’ve lived in four states, criss-crossed the United States multiple times, and even gone overseas for a spell, and we have had been blessed and our lives have been immensely enriched by the experiences we’ve had and the people we’ve associated with.  I honestly believe that we could live anywhere and be happy, as long as we have each other.  And indoor plumbing.  As long as we have each other and indoor plumbing, we're good.

That said, the old adage, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” rings true for us every time we return from one of our adventures.  It was fantastic to spend a month away, going back to Utah and Washington and spending so much time with our families—and we musn’t forget how much we enjoyed being with our friends in Illinois as well.  Without detracting at all from the great times we had on vacation, there’s just something about coming home to my own abode, sleeping again in my own bed, returning to the regular rhythm of everyday life that is soothing to my soul.  May it ever be so, I earnestly hope and pray.

Wherever we go, we are a happy family

 

2013: A Year in Preview

I looked at my pathetic blog postings for the past year and realized that a recap of 2012 would probably be equally pathetic, so instead I thought it would be more fun to channel my inner Mayan and give dire predictions for what will happen in the coming year.  So, without further ado...

January: In defiance of my desire to have at least one winter where I can take my children sledding, there will again be no snow this month.  In fact, the temperatures will continue to gradually warm up so that on my 40th birthday I can actually take my wife to dinner, at night, comfortably wearing shorts and sandals.

February: A rainy Valentine's Day will be followed by a sudden cold snap, causing all of northern Virginia to be covered in a sheet of ice, cancelling school and forcing me to spend an entire weekday at home with my kids.  This will be the perfect opportunity to introduce them to the cinematic genius of the Indiana Jones trilogy.  And no, that horrifying last installment will not be included in our screenings.  Ever.

March: Mother Nature will delight the entire greater Washington DC metropolitan area with her delicious sense of irony by dumping over 18 inches of snow the night before the Rock n' Roll Marathon.  We will run it anyway, because the day after the snow, it will be 55 degrees.

April: The night before my team and I participate in the Tough Mudder, it will be inexplicably dry and warm.  In fact, the two weeks preceding the event will be unseasonably warm, leading all to expect amazing conditions for the Mudder.  Nobody will see the sleet storm coming the day of the event.  Needless to say, fun will be had by all.

May: Quiet month.  I will probably yell at my seminary class, just to break the monotony.

June: Starts off big as I complete my first ultramarathon, The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K, on June 1.  Only slightly less impressive will be the subsequent ultramarathon of consumption at Five Guys that same day.  The rest of the month sucks in comparison.

July: A long family vacation tests the limits of my sanity while simultaneously strengthening the undying love that I have for my wife.  My kids, on the other hand, survive the trip only by the grace of their mother.

August: Can school start early this year?  Please?

September: With all five kids in school, my dear wife will complain of boredom for one solid week until she realizes that this means she has the entire day to herself.  One day I will come home to find every other room has been painted a new color.

October: I will get food poisoning from taking my wife someplace nice for her birthday and spend three days only moving between the bed and the bathroom.  Next year I'll remember to let her choose the restaurant.

November: In a move that should not surprise me but somehow will come as a complete shock, my office will decide that I absolutely must spend the entire month in Southeast Asia.  Because the only thing that can possibly beat the fact that I missed two of my kids' birthdays in 2012 because I was overseas would be for me to miss both my anniversary and Thanksgiving this year.

December: After having spent all of November sweating my brains out, I will return to find northern Virginia under two feet of snow.  I could complain, but it means that I'll finally get to take my kids sledding, and have a fantastic excuse to cuddle with my wife.

I can't wait for 2014!

Helpful Road Sign

On our recent trip to Chiang Mai I noticed several of these signs.

Here it's blown up so you can see it a little better.

Apparently there is a problem in Thailand with trees falling on the train trestles.  It's very thoughtful of them to put up signs to let you know where such problems occur, because you know, you might go out on an afternoon drive, find a lovely tree near a train trestle and lay out your blanket and lunch, only to have your picnic cruelly ruined as that tree suddenly falls over in an attempt to crush the trestle.