The latest . . .

Haven't done anything here in a while.  Here is latest family photo from Easter.  I know, I squint but I live in a desert so what do you expect - sun is bright!  Boys now getting big.  PCO is 9 and very much into sports, especially football.  AMO is 5 and will be starting school in the Fall.  He also loves football but also likes to play with his cars.  Ang and I also doing very well and we keep extremely busy.  We have both been working quite a bit and our weekends have been very full of football and other activities.  We recently have been working on a recent overhaul of our backyard to make it more "livable space."  You can see the planter shelves we hung in the background of this picture.  Angie is starting to get her green thumb back from our days in WI. 

Next vacation will be heading to Chicago and Wisconsin to mix a little business w/ pleasure.  Will take the boys to see Lambeau field and the Packer hall of fame and we will hit all of the old hot spots plus a few new ones.  I started to miss music so I started playing guitar and singing again.  Nothing more than small groups of friends at the moment but and working myself up to that.  Perhaps a small open microphone venue this summer. 

Who knows if anyone will read this or when I will post again.  But may try to fit this in a little more often than once every 2.5 years.  We'll see . . .

Patiently Waiting for Football Season to Start Up Again

I haven't done anything here for a long time so I decided to post a new picture. This is from the last game of the season before the playoffs. I have always liked the picture. I am patiently waiting for football season to start again. I like going to baseball games but lets face it, its not the same. And for the FIFA soccer - I just can't bring myself to pay attention to that . . . and for good cause.

Trip To Disneyland 2009

This year we went to Disneyland for Fall Break. It was a fun trip. We even got the opportunity to meet Donald Duck at Goofy's Kitchen. This was huge because I understand that you almost never see Donald out and about in the park.



Shooting aliens for Buzz Lightyear . . . .

Meeting Mickey on the stage of Steamboat Willie . . .

The Jedi Training Grounds. Probably the coolest thing I have ever seen at a Disneyland Production. Unfortunately - Patrick didn't want to go up for the training because of the uncertainty. After it was over, he wanted to try it.

Disney was decked out for Halloween. Pretty cool stuff. I think I may try Christmas some year.

Here is the video of the boys getting to meet Mickey. As the weekend went on . . . Aaron's excitement grew. He was hitting Goofy at Goofy's kitchen by the end of the trip.

Fishing in the Rain

We went back to Payson and Woods Canyon Lake again for one last weekend camping trip before football starts. Auntie Mel joined. Tried fishing at the lake again. Left Payson - it was a perfect 85 degrees and we were wearing t-shirts and shorts. As we got to lake, a storm came in and it cooled to about 44 degrees. So, after buying sweatshirts and ponchos, we decided to try anyway as the trout like the cooler water. As we fished, the rain kicked in and out.

Patrick is getting pretty good at casting.

Video of Aaron fishing . . .

. . . we only caught one crawdad. When we got back to camp - the rain also drenched the stuff we put out on the line outside camper. But it was a good trip anyway - stayed warm around campfire.

Camping in Payson

We found a nice campground in Payson to get out of the Heat. Spent two weekends there. We went fishing the first weekend but didn't catch anything (too hot). The second weekend was rodeo weekend so we were able to take in the activities surrounding the rodeo including a farmers market, a parade and the rodeo itself.

Fishing . . .

Yes thats a camp fire in AZ. I also thought this was a good photo at the rodeo, catching the rope at full length.

Making s'mores.

Route 66 - Oklahoma City Vacation '09

Yeah we know we haven't added anything for a while. Facebook tends to suck up tremendous amounts of time. But we will start with this post:

This years vacation involved a road trip from Phoenix to Oklahoma City. Along the way we detoured parts of the old route 66 and saw sites. While in OK City - we met up with the Schuhmacher clan. The kids had a great time together. Why Oklahoma City you ask? Why not? But we did find things to do. The zoo, the route 66 park, the Harley Store (ok its a staple on every trip), a pizza fun parlor, a brew pub, a locked up ball park (that only I got to enter to retrieve a 6 year old's hat), the OK City Bombing Memorial, and more. It was a good trip but a lot of driving. On the way back, we visited a brewery outside of NM that had some really good beer. Here are some photos.





The boys at the Continental Divide in New Mexico.















No interesting sites in OK you say? How about a zoo with actual bears that don't hide. Like this one. (I can watch bears for hours.)

Angie and the boys at Cadillac Ranch. If you drive route 66 you have to stop - its the law.

All the Kids at the Marriott Residence in OK City.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, but especially to our Daddy, Papa, and Grandpa! We are so happy to celebrate you! Thanks for all you do for us. Have a fantastic day. We love you lots and lots!
Love and Hugs,
Patrick and Aaron