Weekend Update

1. Not a lot of feedback on my what Kids should know post. Don't be shy about comments, put 'em up there.

2. So Kim had Saturday off for once, so we took advantage by taking a trip to Denver, got in a nice little visit with my cousin and his family, and my aunt & uncle, whom I had not seen in several years. Then we went to the museum of Nature & Science, which was really pretty cool, I think the boys really enjoyed it. However, it was a little too much for my foot. Then we capped things off with a trip to Casa Bonita. Which unfortunately meant even more time on my foot until we finally got seated. But I think the boys really enjoyed themselves.

3. Sunday was a day for relaxing, got our taxes done. We appear to have survived the holidays financially intact, and with the help of the new tax exemption we will be better financially now. Which is good, although I must admit feeling a little down, knowing that we can't just spend that money on something fun and frivolous like a new TV or computer. But that's what comes with being old & responsible...

4. The foot is healing well, no long term ill effects from Saturday, I think I might be able to transition to regular shoes as soon as next week.

What my children should know

So, quite some time ago, after J was born, I sent an e-mail to all of the parents I knew, as a kind of round robin discussion, with the question:

What should my child know how to do before he/she turns 18 (roughly)?

It was geared to concrete things: how to change a tire, throw a spiral, cook an egg, etc. I received some interesting responses, not all of which I agreed with but good input none the less. Well at the urging of my Father I am submitting the post again. I will set up some general categories first then outline things that I want my children to know (all of them).

I really want some comments on this so feel free to comment on the post, and I will probably keep re posting the list with updates periodically to keep it available. But first some guidelines: only specific concrete things; not vague conceptual ideas like know how to love someone, or care about them, or think critically, those are all good, but that is not what this list is about.

And to start things off I will quote the pat Robert Heinlein answer (which I don't agree with certain parts of BTW)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Household

1. Plan, prepare, cook, present, and clean up after a 4 course meal

2. Do laundry (sort, clean, dry, put away properly)

3. Clean the house (sweep, mop, vacuum, dust, organize)

4. Replace a light bulb

5. Fix a backed up toilet

6. Hang, mud and texture dry wall

7. Mow the yard

8. Prune a tree/bush

9. Paint indoors/outdoors

Athletics (I'm not saying do these well, just know how to do them)

1. Punt, pass & kick a football

2. Throw, catch and hit a baseball or softball

3. Shoot a basketball

4. Serve, set, spike a volleyball

5. dribble, kick, pass a soccer ball

6. Throw punch without breaking your own fingers

7. Fire a firearm accurately

8. ride a bike

9. Swim in any kind of water (swimming pool, lake, ocean)

10. Serve, volley a tennis ball

Outdoors (not my strongest area)

1. Build a fire

2. Pitch a tent

3. Pick a campsite

4. Pack a backpack

Technology (probably the most fluid area)

1. How to take a picture

2. Perform a web search

3. Install a computer program

The 3 R's (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic)

1. Be fully literate in your native tongue (read, write, speak)

2. Write a sentence, coherent paragraph, argumentative essay, descriptive letter

3. Be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers

4. Give a speech, deliver a monologue

The stitches are out!

So went to the Dr. yesterday and he said everything looks good, I am progressing on schedule, and removed my stitches. He said I should continue to wear the boot during the day, then start wearing a shoe at night, gradually easing back into wearing a shoe. So I tried that last night with my Crocs, and may have pushed it a little too hard. But this morning the foot felt fine. I can handle a little pain with Tylenol right now, so I think I can continue easing it in.

So last week J returned to sleeping in the top bunk which is good. But it has meant we have been getting nightly visitations from DW. Which wouldn't be bad except he thrashes around even more than J did, so he really beats K up when he sleeps with us. I told K she needs to just take him back to bed when he comes in, but that's easier said than done when she is the only one getting up during the night to take care of the kids. But I have pretty much reached the point where I can start getting up again so I need to make it a point when DW comes in to just get up and take him back to his bed.

The boys & little Sissy

So here are some recent pictures of the boys with E, I know I have mentioned how good they are with her. Well she has gotten to the point where she really seems to notice the attention, and she really seems to like it. Often times she will be getting fussy and all it takes is for one of her brothers to go and sit with her, so she can see him and she calms down for a little bit. This especially is true with DW. And when J is gone DW likes nothing better than to lay down on the floor with her and play his game or watch TV.

Also she has begun to get more alert in general, and seems to enjoy her floor time even more. Even on her belly. In the second picture she demonstrates her neck strength and her alertness as she somehow realized that a picture was being taken and looked right at the camera.

Still recovering

So yesterday I woke up at around 4:00AM in excruciating pain. And my toes were discolored, a fine shade of black, blue and yellow. So, since all of these were warning signs I took a Vicodin, went back to sleep and called the Dr. at 8:00, and set up an appt. Dad took me to the Dr. and the Dr. said that it was good I came, but it was not any problems with the surgery, no infections or anything like that. I had just overdone it on Tuesday night, and the shoe they gave me was not giving enough protection for that level of activity. So he gave me a boot to wear that will protect the foot more. And I do need to try and take it easier, of course not so simple since I have 3 little kids at home to deal with every night and I feel guilty if Kim is doing everything.

So our web browsing at work was restricted so I won't be posting quite as much, certainly not the links, until I get more mobile. Because the computer at home is downstairs and it is not easy to navigate down the stairs in the boot. I will try to get little family & health updates up every day though.

Back at Work, more Friday Night Lights

So back to work today, after 4 days off for surgery. The foot is actually pretty sore today, probably due to my pushing it a little too much yesterday. I need to learn my limits and respect them in order to heal properly.

So I have started working my way through Season One of Friday Night Lights, at the same time that I am keeping up with Season 2. And I have a better understanding now of a lot of the players/characters ages. The majority of the main players ages last season were Juniors, except for Sweet. Smash and Riggins were Juniors in Season 1. Only Saracen is a Junior this season. Which makes things a little clearer. But it does lead to the most important question: if there is a third season, how will they handle the departure of so many crucial characters? They've kind of added a few new characters this year, but they are minor role players.

But I have nothing but praise for the show as a whole, and so long as they complete this season satisfactorily I will not be crushed if it ends, because the 2 seasons would be well worth it. Kyle Chandler and Tami Britton are both so excellent as the coach and coach's wife I could picture them carrying the show while a new group of characters emerge next year. I strongly encourage people to watch the show and to pick up the first season. I am willing to loan the first season to people if they want to borrow it.

Post surgery recovery going well

So the surgery was a success. I went in Friday morning at 6:30AM, Dad drove me there and hung out with me and waited until I was released then ran me home. The surgery was pretty painless. I just walked into the surgery center, laid down, they were joking with me, the next thing I felt some tugging on my foot, heard some bone saws, then I kind of woke up and I was being taken to recovery. I had a large bandage on my foot and a a kind of Velcro shoe thing. Dad drove me home, and Kim just happened to be on a delivery at that time so she met us there, helped set me up with the DVD player.

Dad left and came back to make me some lunch hung out until it was time to get James then he came back. J was good, just kind of hung out. And Friday night was very relaxed PicknRoll came over, so J had someone to play with. We watched a movie then we all went to bed.

Saturday morning Mom came over, then T showed up to pick up PicknRoll, but ended up just hanging out until around 1:30. Which was good because Mom was able to take J's glasses to the Eye Dr. to get the frames repaired. And also T was more willing to handle things like D. having an accident and cleaning out E's nose. But still may thanks to Mom for being here and keeping an eye on the kids. Of course Dad, DW the older and oldest Brother all showed up in time to watch the NFL playoff game so Mom could leave and take care of her dogs. Saturday was another calm night.

Sunday I stopped taking the pain killers and started moving around a little more. K still handled most of the Childcare, although with J off to Sunday school and Piano lesson there wasn't much to handle. We went over to Dad's for a big combined birthday party for the January birthday folks. I got to pretty much just sit on the couch and watch the end of the Giants Cowboys game.

Today C took the 2 younger kids while J was at school so I could get one more day of recovery and go to my Post-Op appt. The Dr. said everything looked excellent, I got a new dressing and they want to see me in another week. But everything looks good. The pain is manageable with the occasional ibuprofen and not stressing the foot too much.

So first of all a very big thanks to everyone who rallied around to help me and K out with the kids: Dad & Mom, T, C, DW the older, Oldest Brother. We might have managed without every one's help, but it would have been very tough. So thanks again. And hopefully it will make a difference for fitness soon.

Return of the Random links

Well I can't resist the politics

This article does an excellent job of illustrating why I and a lot of other folks move away from Libertarianism at a certain point. Yeah it sounds great when the candidates boldly announce an end to taxes or government controls etc. But when you look at the real world consequences... It doesn't seem so great anymore.

How Steve Jobs changed the world, again...

I am not a Macophile, although the first computer I bought was a Mac. And all things being equal when I finally get the money to buy the laptop I want, it would be a Powerbook. So I am not here to sing the praises of Steve Jobs. But this article points out one important thing: Jobs is an innovator. And his willingness to chase down and force innovation is a good thing, not just for the Mac crowd but for all consumers. The example of this article is: the wireless industry needed to change, and Jobs showed it the way, and everyone will benefit as a result. And this is what Jobs has always done.

Good News on the Save Friday Night Lights front

It appears that the writer's strike might actually end up boosting FNL, because they had more shows and therefore can get the boost that comes from original episodes when all the other shows are running repeats. And as far as this season goes, it has been good so far, I really like the way some characters have really stepped up and developed. Last week's episode was especially good, like Landry starting the cafeteria brawl with his trash talking, the least likely character to ever do so. One of the things I plan to do tomorrow and Saturday is re-watch the entire first season on DVD, which I got as a Christmas gift and have been saving for just this occasion.

An excellent explainer of the delegate picking process

Taking the boys swimming

So last night we took the boys swimming at the Y. We hadn't done that in quite a while and I was trying to do something that I won't be able to do for a while. Plus I wanted to gauge where they were at so we could consider lessons.

J did okay, he is slowly getting the hang of it. But he could use another set of lessons. I really want him to learn and develop his swimming skills because swimming is just such a fun thing to do. And since we belong to the Y it really opens up some opportunities socially.

D did great, back in the summer when we went to Cortez we had picked him up one of those floatation suits. Well he put that on last night and once he got in the water he was ready to go and very excited. He was just pumping his legs and his arms, trying to chase us around. Makes me wish we had kept up the lessons with James at that age and bought him a similar suit. Oh well lesson learned and we can pass it along to E. So he is definitely ready for some lessons too.

So all I have to do is insure that I have child care for E and I can get the boys rolling on swim lessons come February. I am very excited.

It's now a race for both parties.

It's now a race for both parties.

The delegate scorecard, which really tells the story

Again, everyone claims that Clinton 'won' New Hampshire, when all she really got was a tie in the Delegate count. Now counting the super delegates she has a sizable lead. So what the New Hampshire returns really meant was she held off Obama for another week, dulled his edge a little. But it's still a race.

The same story holds for the Republicans, although it is a little stranger. All people can talk about is how Romney has lost Iowa and New Hampshire, but he still has the delegate lead. And McCain is pretty far behind, Romney gets a decent win in Michigan and he's right back on top.

How Clinton did it & Some thoughts on why women supported her

Interesting analysis and break down. I think that the biggest factor is that voters were not ready to be told the race was over. No one was ready for an anointing for either party. The biggest thing that I find interesting is which 'historical' candidate will get the biggest turnout in their favor because of their unique characteristic. In the end will race or gender become the bigger attraction/turn off for voters? And when one of them gets picked, would the other be willing to be vice president in order to maximize that attraction?

McCain handling the news

The Republican race could end up being very interesting. If Romney starts to fall by the way side and it becomes a 2 man race between McCain and Huckabee. Because then it comes down to what is more important to the Republicans: Social Issues or Fiscal Conservatism? And if he is in it to the end and loses would Huckabee be willing to play the role of a Pat Buchanan and split off the Social conservative votes from the Republican Nominee?

Surgery Preparation, trepidation

So Friday is my surgery. The Dr. will be cutting open my right foot, shaving down the bone spur on my pinkie toe, then cutting the bone and realigning it with a pin and screws. This sounds a lot worse than it will be according to the Dr.

Then I will be laid up the whole weekend, under orders to only get up to go to the bathroom. Followed by ~ 2 weeks with the bandage and boot. Then restricted exercise for 4-6 weeks. Hopefully back to full exercise in 8 weeks.

The toughest part will be this weekend. I have gotten so used to do stuff for the kids, changing clothes, diapers etc. I will probably start to feel pretty useless by the end of the weekend. I have already spoken with YJ, kind of preparing him for Daddy who can't move or even wrestle a little. Of course his big question was can they do surgery on my neck too? Since we are limited sometimes in our wrestling because of the arthritic vertebrae. Unfortunately there is no surgery for my pain in the neck (no surgery could remove the in-laws ;-) ). But I think Daniel will have the hardest time dealing with it.

Fortunately C and Mom and Dad will be splitting the load on Friday. And them Mom, DV and possibly DN & MN will split the time on Saturday. And I am sure Kim will be a trooper in the evenings. But my lazy past not with standing, I really don't like having people do stuff for me that I normally would do so it will not be much fun.

Catching up on Sports

Catching up on sports links

Because tomorrow will see a return to politics as usual with the results of New Hampshire.

Or why doesn't my team get the same picture?

I think this will be the big thing that people will have to understand in Pro sports moving forward. And if there is one thing that this year's Lakers team is starting to understand it's that maybe, just maybe the whole can be greater than the sum of it's parts. There should always be room for role players. I think the Patriots and Spurs have proven that. And I think the Rockies proved that as well until they ran into the Red Sox. Now if only teams like the Rams, and Broncos would get this...

As good as it gets for NFL analysts

Dr. Z is one of the best, and I think he has things pretty much spot on. Here's my quick NFL playoff predictions:

Seahawks @ Green Bay: I just don't see the Seahawks going into Lambeau and winning, their defense is a little too gimmicky, and their offense too unbalanced to win a road playoff game.

Jaguars @ New England: I think Jacksonville would have to play their perfect game to have a chance, that is 35-40 minutes of time of possession, building a lead, wearing out the Pats Defense. But even then, I don't see them scoring enough points to offset a rested Brady & Co.

Chargers @ Indianapolis: I agree this could be a big blowout, barring Tomlinson returning to his 2006 form of being able to score from anywhere on the field. The Colts have this, been there done that aura about them this season that precludes most playoff upsets.

Giants @ Cowboys: Well the question here is health. Is the Cowboys offense: Romo, Owens, Glenn, healthy? If they are then we might see a replay of the opening game of the season, a real shootout. If not then it might get interesting if the Giants can remain patient. I smell an upset, but that's probably wishful thinking.

College football's Mythical National Champion crowned

So the College bowl season is over. And LSU is the 'Champion'. I waver on this issue every year. I think that it is actually better for College football to not have a playoff. Because this way everyone can feel like they have a piece of the pie. For example, last year fans of New England and New Orleans knew that they weren't champions of the NFL. But in college, fans of LSU, West Virginia, USC, and Georgia can all say they felt their team was the best, and who can really say they weren't? Since all of those teams lost 2 games, none of them can be denied to some extent. It is what makes it fun. And with so many more teams in college football than the NFL the greater the involvement the better.

Keeping warm while maintaining family harmony

Trying to keep warm after a fun little winter storm hit last night. Making for some slow driving to work, had to leave a little earlier than normal.

So last night I wanted to watch the BCS Championship game, but with K being home and wanting to keep her company, I surrendered the remote. Plus I wanted to stay in the living room where we had the nice hot fire going.

The boys survived the first day of school, J being at school and D stuck at home, where he does get a little bored without his big bubba around to play with. As far as I know there were no delays with the kids school today as the roads were all pretty much bladed this morning.

Well a day later and my wrist is definitely the worse for wear from the bowling on Sunday. I think one of my first priorities after the surgery is to get on a weight training program that will give me a chance to strengthen the wrist as well. Now that E is old enough to child watch I can go down there for an hour or so every night if I choose. So it is just a matter of dedicating the time.

More 2008 Campaign links & Thoughts

More 2008 Campaign links & Thoughts

This is what worries me about Obama

When I was in college, at the time a pretty radical Conservative Republican Reaganite, Jesse Jackson came to the CU campus to speak. I went to the speech, initially to just get an idea of what he was like, and maybe heckle him a little. By the end of the speech I was in the middle of the crowd, chanting along with everyone else. It was a pretty powerful moment. But not too long afterwards I realized that I had been chanting in support of ideas and concepts with which I did not agree. Ever since then I have made it a personal project to always watch out for the great speakers, because they can sway people into doing what they wouldn't in retrospect, ever do intentionally. And I worry that Obama might be just that kind of candidate, a lot of very persuasive ideals, but not much real substance.

Hillary's counter attack

Unfortunately, I think Hillary, seeing all that she has done and worked for, is starting to get a little desperate. And as a result is sounding a little like a spoiled child who is not getting what she feels like she deserves. Do I know which one would make the better President or campaign better against the Republican nominee? no. But I do think that the motivation on the part of the electorate to nominate, then elect someone completely out of left field is pretty strong.

General comments without any links.

Both sides are trying to sell change, especially the Democrats. And that sell is starting to get some buyers, how many will be determined tomorrow. But if Obama gets a big win in New Hampshire that would really signal that what Democrats want is 'something new', kind of a 'throw the rascals out' mentality. While this is not unusual, especially when the election involves the end of an 8 year term, I think what it really means is how little regard the voters have for the current administration. And when Huckabee and McCain are essentially selling the same thing for Republicans that means the administration of George the II (as I like to refer to him) is probably the least popular in this country since Nixon. And I am really kind of surprised that it ended up this way. While I don't think George the II is as clueless of an individual as some think, he had to be pretty clueless to allow things to get this bad.

Bowling and back to school

So, it's back to school today for YJ, and he's actually pretty excited. He is such a social kid that I think he gets kind of bored when he isn't involved with a big group of kids. I also think that some time without big brother or big cousins around will help DW, who has regressed a little in his potty training.

We had a very relaxing Saturday, not doing much of anything. We made up for it yesterday, going to the store, then Bowling. I figured I needed to do something fun with YJ that he wouldn't be able to do for a while because of the surgery. And while YJ wanted to go swimming we decided that wasn't feasible with no child watch available for E. It was a good time, YJ is gradually getting the hang of it. Of course it helps that you have theses bumpers nowadays. I will always remember one of my early birthdays when my mom thought it would be fun to have a bowling party, and I ended up with a zero, guttering the entire game. I haven't improved considerably since then. But I did manage to get over 100 in 2 of the 3 games yesterday, Wearing the wrist brace, while necessary for my tendinitis, does actually help my game.

Electoral Results

Electoral Results

Break down by candidate, both parties

So here's what I don't get, everyone says that Hillary lost, Hillary came in third etc. But the name of the game in the primaries at this point is delegates, not vote counts. So in Delegate counts she came in second, and only 1 behind Obama. It was big for Edwards and Obama to do well and keep the race close. But I don't exactly think this was a death knell for Hillary like some stories have painted it.

A good description of how the Caucus process really works

At a basic level the caucus system is a lot like teams picking sides in gym class. There's no secret ballot, everyone knows who everyone else is going for. It's really kind of cool, although it is pretty antiquated and susceptible to corruption and less political choices.

Well that's all the political links for today.

When it rains it pours

Just a rough couple of days. Late night on Wednesday, didn't get much sleep. Then yesterday T watched our kids at our house, which meant her crew was over as well. This was exacerbated by my Dr. appointment running 1 and a half hours late which meant I didn't get home until after 6.

First regarding the Dr. Appointment, this was a pre-op appointment for the surgery I'm having next week to have my Taylor's Bunion removed and some other corrections on my foot. I kind of knew what he was going to do, but I hadn't really thought about the impact this will have. Basically next weekend, I will be laid up in bed or on the couch the entire time. Which is going to be very tough because I won't be able to do my part with the kids, especially Emily. So, while I am looking forward to walking without pain, I am not looking forward to the surgery.

Second, regarding T and her kids. The problem is one of respect and laziness. T is lazy and doesn't have respect for anything, and this has been passed along to her kids. So when her kids spend the day at our house without myself or Kim around to keep an eagle eye, things get trashed, lost or broken. Last night I was almost physically sick with anger when K & I were reviewing the so-called clean up job and discovered that 2 of the boys Christmas presents had been broken by their cousins, and one of DW's other presents had been gotten into and took some work to recover. I get so angry when dealing with T, that when I pick up the kids from her house I can barely keep myself from lashing out at her. We've talked about having a big 'intervention' with her, but we realized it wouldn't work because C would not back up the threats we would have to use to try and get her to realize how serious things were. But I don't know how much longer I can just keep up with how things are.

The big problem is T is our de facto babysitter during the week since we can't afford day care while K is at work. So we can't afford to just totally cut our ties with her. It's a mess and I don't see any clear cut solution right now.

Politics, Politics, Politics

So today it's for real, the Iowa Caucus for both parties. We will finally have something substantive to talk about with the campaign. I am excited to see things finally get rolling.

Hillary finds a way to act human

Which is the hardest thing for her especially. It's one thing for a male politician to find the gray area between the 'aw shucks' populism and the respected authority. It's much much harder for Hillary, because of all the preconceived notions of how women should act in our culture.

What Iowa means

Although the article is focused on Democratic candidates. It still goes a long way to demonstrate the real effect of the Iowa results, which we unfortunately won't know until tomorrow.

How the Internet of YouTube etc. will affect the election

This will probably go a long way towards either showing that the Iowa Caucus is as bad as some critics say or it will be a great demonstration of participatory democracy in action. It should be interesting. But the campaign itself is only to get more interesting as the campaign process itself gets saturated with this type of coverage.

Well I'll be back tomorrow with a look at the results of the Caucus, and see if we might have a better idea who is really going to be running for President.

Wednesday links

More business tips from Mark Cuban

Although I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body these are very interesting. I would pass them along to anyone who is in the position of running their own business or thinking about doing so. Although I would like to expand the readership of my blog so it can generate a little income. But I am not exactly killing myself to try and do that.

Another argument for paying college athletes

I have always thought they should get paid. I understand the argument that they are getting paid by receiving scholarships and room & board. But Deford sums up the counter to that here:

Nobody cares if college kids who are actors or musicians or writers or dancers can make a buck using their talent. Why is an athlete any different?

And I think that is the point that everyone seems to miss when they point out the compensation the athletes already get. If I am going to a school on an academic scholarship, there is no rule whatsoever against my generating income, and if the school can get some of that income well more power to them. But apparently the same does not apply to athletics. And if there was some compensation, regulated and equal, then it might result in fewer kids using schools as a springboard in their dreams of going pro. Obviously the biggest question would be how to make certain everyone gets paid the same so some schools don't pay more and therefore gain a competitive advantage.

Blog as personal journal

My father has kept a personal journal for may years now. I have never been a big journal writer. But it has occurred to me that this blog is a journal, it reflects what I am feeling (mostly, I can't put everything down for privacy reason). It reflects my interests and what is going on in my life.

What got me thinking about this is that my Dad likes to mention from time to time that 'on such and such date 20 years ago you were doing X and this is what was happening in sports, etc.'. So yesterday when I put up the pictures of the kids I thought that these posts are, in effect, the exact same thing, only published on the web and therefore a little less private information. But, reflecting the power of the web, contain links that I can comment on, rather than just titles.

Also as an aside, there might be some changes made to the site in the next month or so, bigger than my tinkering with the basic template. I am actually trying to generate more readers and possible some income from the site. One of the things I want to encourage is for people to link to here, and post comments. The more comments on my posts the better right now, at least from the non-family members who read the posts out of a sense of obligation.

Our kids January 1, 2008

This is DW, DW is generally a very joyful child, full of fun and smiles. He loves to just run around, screaming, giggling and laughing.

He is 2,and his favorite 3 things right now are: his brother's Leapster, Cars and trucks, and all kinds of balls, either kicking or throwing.
This is EM, our little Princess. She is 9 weeks old now. She is just now starting to show some awareness of her surroundings.

Her favorite 3 things are: a full belly, a warm blanket, and her pacifier.
And this is Young Jedi, age 6. Our serious child, but still a bundle of energy and excitement. He is insatiably curious and always full of questions.

His favorite 3 things right now are: Lego's, Swords & guns and his video games (Leapster and Playstation 2).
His 3 favorite people to play with outside of the family: Jon Del, Miles and Zander
The one thing he wants: an Algae eater for his fish tank




I wanted to do a post like this as kind of a time capsule, so in the future we can go back and see what the kids looked like and what they enjoyed and had fun with each year. I decided not to include Kim & myself at this time. This is more of a look at what the family is doing type of thing than a look at us.