Top 5 things I'll miss this week....

I'm off in a matter of hours for a week in Colorado at Bear Trap Ranch. Back Friday night. Here are the top 5 things I'll miss this week:

5 . wii golf.
4. wii bowling.
3. wii tennis.
2. wii Mario Kart.
1. wii...ah, my family.

And, yes, for the record, I woke up this morning with a sore right shoulder...

We did it. Or is it "wii did it?" The Dixons own a wii. And wii love it. A lot. As in "wii can't sleep because wii're so excited a lot." Wiierd. Action shots:

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm not sure what makes me feel older...the fact that I'm turning 36 today, or the fact that Joshua turns 6 on Saturday!

It's not every day...

...where you get to hear your new baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Almost halfway done!!!

Let's talk about links...

Not the golf kind. Or the sausage variety. Rather, let me walk you through my blogroll and introduce you to some great people!

Thought Bucket is our friend Adam. Aside from being a great person, Adam is known in our house as Lucy's first crush. He's a thinker and he's witty and if you want an example of both, read this post...

Satellites Collide is our friend Jeremy. Jeremy is a great writer and he's very insightful. Plus the dude reads up a storm and offers great book reviews, though that's about to change once Baby Robert(a) comes along shortly...

Serving Bread is my friend Eddy, on staff down in Northridge. Man, if you want to be challenged on a consistent basis in your thinking and faith practices, read Eddy. Always great stuff and he blogs often.

Spanglish Gringo is my friend Scott. Scott lives in LA and works for IV, but, more importantly, he's a Crescenta Valley Falcon, class of 1993? Is that right Scott? I love Scott's blog because I enjoy reading about his life downtown, and because he models for me a beautiful sense of daddy-love.

Stinky Like Beautiful is my friend Mike. Mike is a load of untapped blogging potential. I think he could be brilliant...IF HE ONLY BLOGGED EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE!!! In fact, Nalley, you have until the end of April to post, or no more blogroll for you!

Green Spots is our friend Tina, married to Adam. Tina knows how to incorporate pictures into her posts. Brilliant. And I appreciate her honesty on her blog. Need an example? Try this.

Trips on the River is our kids' pictures blog. We love it, but we're going to have to come up with a new name when #4 shows up in September!

I'll pick up the other half tomorrow.

A Daddy Adventure!

Leslie's baby shower over here this morning provided a great opportunity for a "Daddy Adventure." Convinced by Jeremy that I should take time to visit interesting places near my house, I packed up Josh and Grace and we set out to see the sights. Four stops and a crazy picture at each one. Here's what happened:

A quick stop at the Isch's to say hey to Jeremy and Josh.

Chandler airport in downtown Fresno.

Palm trees lining the road on the way to Kearney Park.

Grace in front of the mansion.

Finishing the day with lunch in beautiful Kerman, CA.

Up to the minute...

All is well in the world:

The Dodgers are up on San Diego in the 5th,
The Lakers are down to Dallas in the 2nd quarter, but no worries,
The house is clean 'cause of Leslie's shower in the morning,
The kids are quiet and watching Aladdin,

and, best of all, the inbox is down to 34...

Let's see Super Nanny top this...

To use my new favored vernacular, when it comes to sleeping, our precious Lucy is a hot, sloppy mess. Particularly in the area of staying in bed. And we've tried everything. Well, I guess not strictly everything. There's still duct tape, though that somehow feels like the ol' nuclear option...

Our latest idea, however, seems to be working. Start the night with a clear (plastic) goblet full of candy that represents the next day's dessert for both Josh and Lucy. Then, every time either one of them gets up, away goes a piece! Turns out the genius of the plan is that since Josh is penalized for Lucy's transgressions, he's become an ally in the fight to sleep sanity. We'll keep you posted, but here's a shot of our little brainchild...