Almost Another Year Gone By

I can't believe that 2008 is just a couple of days away. Where has the time gone?

This year has definitely been tough, at least the last several months. I am glad that it has turned out to be better than what I had expected. I hope that 2008 brings many great joys to me, my family, and my friends.

Tonight, I found some balloons and Griffin wanted a toy. I didn't know how to make anything so I had to be creative with my explanation. Griffin had fun acting with his balloons. At first he used them as wings. Then he wore it as a hat. He pretended to be floating in a pool. In the pictures, he is using it as a shield to hide. At least I got some pictures out of it.

Holiday Time

Today is a very icy day outside. So we have decided to be safe and stay inside. Griffin and Trevor are very anxious to open their presents. They have been very naughty and we wonder why there are still so many presents under the tree.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for:

My son and the love I have for him
My son's mommy and the love she has for him
My Mom and My Dad for the love they have for me
My family and the love we have for each other
My health that I take for granted
My job that I complain sometimes too much about
My friends that always put up with me

People that are kind
People that are thoughtful
People that care when no one else does
People that love those who need it the most
People that believe in peace
People that are open-minded
People that have compassion
People that do what is right

Sunny days
Laughs
Happy Hours
Pets

That I live in the U.S.
That I have all that I have
That I remember to be thankful

And most of all, I am thankful for my life

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trip to see Family

Griffin and I went to visit my family in California last week. We had a great time. The weather was perfect the whole week...sunny and mid seventies.

It was really nice to see everyone again. My parents were very happy and anxious to see us, as they only get to see us every six months or so. It helps that they still have lots of grandkids living nearby. In fact, my parents now have 29 grandkids and one great grand daughter.

We also had lunch with my best friend, Kang and her boyfriend, Juan. It was nice to see Kang again and finally meet Juan. We ate at this Tacquieria which had great Mexican food. I was surprised that Griffin actually wanted to eat.

We ended the vacation with a big Hmong New Year celebration. The celebration was originally scheduled for that Saturday after we leave. However, my family decided to move it to the night before our departure. There were a lot of relatives and friends that came. I was very glad to catch up with some of my cousins.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. We are planning a family camping trip again for the summer. Both Griffin and I can't wait. It should be a lot of fun.

More Birthday Pictures.

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Here are more pictures from Griffin's birthday celebration.

Birthday Celebration

We had a small early birthday celebration for Griffin today. It was a few days early but was the most convenient for everyone. It was just Michele's family and us. Griffin had a lot of fun and got too many toys. I still can not believe that he will be four in a few days. I keep saying this, but time really does fly by fast.

Here comes trouble times two

Griffin and TT have become the trouble brothers. They will run around the house causing neverending ruckus. When each one is by himself, they are fine. However, when you add the two together, they are sure to be mischevious. They will go all day and all night if you don't break them apart. It is a task itself to separate them for bedtime.

Dreaming of vacation?

It's been a while since I have posted. Work has just been crazy. Every day there is something that changes. Actually it is more like every few hours something changes. I still remember when I first started in this industry eight years ago, they told me that change was a way of life. And now more than ever, I can really understand that.

So many companies have gone under. Many people have lost their jobs, including some of my friends. These are definitely trying times. I am very fortunate and thankful that I still have my job. I honestly have not decided what I would do next should my job not exist anymore.

One thing that I would like to do is take a whole month off as vacation. I would never have that chance if I was working. Somewhere tropical and warm would be nice. I am almost excited thinking about it. However, I really hope and pray that I won't be able to take this long vacation. A job is a nicer paradise right now.

Griffin is growing up fast. He will be four years old in a little over a month. How fast the times flies. I feel like the next time I make another blog entry, he will be going to kindergarten. It's still so odd to me to think that I am a parent of an almost four year old. I don't feel any wiser or more grown up. I am sure that I am wiser but I still feel like a kid myself sometimes. Maybe it is becuase I am single. Either way, I hope that I have been a good father to Griffin and will continue to be a better father. In the end, that's all that will matter to me.

Just some candids

Welcome Back Home Buddy!

This morning I got a phone call from my brother while I was at work. The City had one of our lost dogs. I was so happy. After 12 days, I just assumed they were gone forever. Especially since they all had tags with my number on them.

I went to pick up Buddy from Animal Control. Although I was happy to see Buddy, I was disappointed. The lady who turned him in claims that she called me and I told her that this was not my dog. That would not make any sense. Why would I report the lost dogs, leave their tags on, then claim that it was not my dog. The police said that it was kind of suspicous that she would not give her name but somehow knew mine. Then I found out that it would cost me $110 just to get my dog back. There were all these bogus fees. But what do you do? It's the police department.

Anyhow we are happy to have Buddy back. On a sad note, I did return Web to his previous owner. She was glad to have him back. She really wanted to keep him but only sold him to me becuase of my situation. It's okay becuase we haven't grown too attached to him yet. We will still miss him though.

Friday the 13th

It was a mixed day on Friday. At first I thought that I had beaten the Friday-the-13th curse. Instead I was having good luck. Work was going well. I had lunch with my friends at work. It was Friday and all was great.

When I got home, the bad luck began. I had picked up a new bag of dog food shortly before coming home. I had our dogs out in the backyard, like I normally do. So I went to say "Hi" to them. Normally they come running and are so excited to see me. Something was odd today. There was not a sound when I opened the sliding glass door. I looked around. All the dogs were gone. I looked everywhere. I thought maybe my brother put them back in the house. Still they were nowhere to be found. I called my brother and confirmed that the dogs had been in the yard when he left the house.

I drove and walked around the neighborhood. No sign. I was so sad. Then I thought of how sad Griffin would be when he finds out the dogs are gone. All the dogs have tags with my number. I prayed that maybe they somehow got out of the yard and someone would call me. I even checked with the city animal control center. It has been three days and no phonecalls. So at this point, I assume that someone stole our dogs, or that they found them and decided to keep them. It's disheartening.

This morning I called a breeder who I got one of our old dogs from. Luckily she had a chihuahua puppy for me. I have decided to call the new puppy, Web. Since Griffin thinks he is Spiderman, I thought it would be appropriate. So as we say goodbye to Buddy, Burrito, and Princess, we welcome Web.

More Camping Pix

Camping Trip

Griffin and I are back from our camping trip with my family. It was beautiful and we had a great time. I just wished that we had more time to spend with everyone. Also, it would have been nice to have a day or two to just relax before going back to work. Travelling alone with Griffin was pretty tough. I am sure he didn't like it all that much either. Nevertheless, we all had a great time.

Different Faces

I haven't posted much lately. Here are just some silly faces that Griffin was making. He really reminds me of my nephew, Michael, when he was a little boy.

Sunday morning Griffin and I took Burrito to a park. It's a different park than we normally go. There's a pond and lots of walking trails. The weather was perfect. We had lots of fun.

In the afternoon, I decided to give Griffin a haircut. Normally, Michele takes him to a barborshop. But since I cut my own hair, I thought I would give it a try. At first, griffin didn't want me to cut his hair. Then I told him that I would cut his hair just like mine, and he finally agreed.

There was one moment when I was checking his hair. I had trimmed his bangs and took a straight-on approach look. He looked so funny and I could not help but start laughing. Griffin started laughing too and it made it difficult to cut hair. I wish I had the camera. You would think it was pretty funny too. In the end, his haircut turned out pretty good. And Griffin was pretty happy about his haircut looking just like mine.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has been raining for several days. The forecast is rain for the rest of the week too. I thought about leaving my car outside in an open area and taking a nap inside. The sound of soft rain makes for a good nap. However, I didn't do it becuase we had thunderstorms and not light rain. With my luck, there would have been a hail storm or a tornado. I know we need the rain and I don't have to water the lawn, which is nice. But, it's a bit much for now. I do hope for some sunny days soon.

Michele had Griffin this weekend. It was nice to be able to do all my chores. Sometimes it's tough when you have a three year old. You feel relief when you don't hear them crying or fussing over something. But at the same time, when you don't hear the crying and fussing in a while, you do miss it. Yesterday aftenoon, I was at Target. I heard this little boy crying about a toy and he sounded just like Griffin. My first thought was how I've been there many times and I sympathized with the parent of that child. Then I missed Griffin. Even when they are in so much trouble, your heart will always know that they are your life, that they are the reason you get up every day, that they are your blessing.

Sponge Bob and Patrick

Griffin and I went to lunch today at a restaurant. Griffin loves fruit so I got him a bowl of fresh fruit. It had green grapes, purple grapes, strawberries, and chunks of pineapple. Anyhow Griffin ate all of it except for a cube of pineapple and a strawberry.

I asked Griffin if he was done. He said that he was. I asked why he wasn't going to eat the strawberry and pineapple. Did he not like them? Griffin said that we wasn't going to eat them becuase they were Sponge Bob and Patrick. I had to laugh. For those of you who know Sponge Bob and Patrick, you would laugh too. As I looked into the bowl, it really did look like Sponge Bob and Patrick.

Great day at Deanna Rose Farmstead

Griffin and I went to Deanna Rose today. Last night, I had debated whether to go here or to the zoo. I am glad we went to Deanna Rose. It would have been alot of work at the zoo.

We had a great time. Griffin enjoyed feeding the goats. Oddly enough his favorite attraction at the farmstead was the drinking fountain. There was a step stool so he could get a drink all by himself. He would have just stayed there if I didn't tell him we had to leave.

We came home and took the puppies to the park. It got warm and all the running around made all of us tired. We had fun though.