DJ Got His Permit

DJ got his permit yesterday.

Dustin Borklund

Riley Class Picture

Riley, 11, didn't dress up for her class picture either. Like the other two kids, she is happy and smart. Riley is extra smart, though, getting straight As and practicing Algebra on web sites just to pass the time. She asked me about Interest=Rate x Principal x Time and I told her about how people borrow and invest. She got it right away. Good girl, Riley! 

Holden in 2013

Holden didn't dress up for his class picture, but that's Holden. He is a handsome chap in whatever he is wearing that day. Holden will be starting football soon. In the mean time he keeps busy by entertaining his brother and sister (that's the nice way of putting it). Always smiling, Holden is doing well in school and enjoys puzzles, skateboarding, and basketball. 

Romeo and Juliet

DJ and his girlfriend made a video of Romeo and Juliet for school.

Grand Canyon Trip

DJ, Riley, Holden and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon for Spring Break 2013. 

On the way, we spent the night at a great little RV park in Needles. I spotted a poker game in the clubhouse and while the kids played pool, I tripled up my chips and walked away with $10 profit. It was a $5 buy in.

We stayed at the Mather Campground in Grand Canyon Village. A shuttle bus took us to the camp store and all the points on the rim. It was easy to spot elk and deer when travelling around the south rim because they are protected and not afraid of people at all. 

On the second day, we were listening to a talk about geology from a Ranger when dark clouds rolled in and it started to snow. It took about 5 minutes for it to start coming down really hard - fine hail and sleet blowing directly in your face. I didn't bring snow clothes for anyone, but Riley and I had good jackets. DJ and Holden were not so fortunate. We had to walk to the shuttle, take the shuttle to our campground and then walk a quarter mile uphill to our campground. That's where the picture from the last post came from.

We decided to leave a day early because it started to snow again and I didn't want to get snowed in at camp. We drove to Kingman, Arizona and spent the night in a parking lot. The next day we took Route  66 to Oatman AZ and then Laughlin NV. That stretch of Route 66 is pretty.

All in all, the kids had a great time. DJ got to play pyro with the campfire, Riley got to hike with me in the snow and Holden liked walking from point to point on the rim, climbing on everything.  

Storm Affects Grand Canyon Trip

We got one or two good looks at the Grand Canyon and then the dark clouds rolled in. We had walked to the rim so we had to walk back to camp in blizzard conditions. Holden was not happy but we are all fine playing games and watching movies while we wait out the storm.

Set

Holden and I started playing this card game that is really great. I love games that are easy to learn but a challenge to play. I also love games that I don't need to handicap myself to play fairly with the kids. This is one of those games. Holden has beaten me two times in three games once we started playing seriously. Check it out. It's called Set.

Happy Holi

I haven't written in a while, but lots has been going on. I need to sum it all up somehow and find some pics to go along with it, but there is no time! This is a great picture of DJ looking more like a man every day. My friend and coworker Rakesh gave me some color powder so that I could celebrate the Festival of Colors with my kids. When I got home that day, all the kids were at Fanning Elementary already. DJ had brought the kids, his girlfriend, his girlfriend's rabbit and Gunther there. I took the scooter up there and brought the colors with me. I only had two packets so I gave them to Riley and Holden. They had a good time throwing colors at each other. People were asking about it and I told them about the Indian holiday but they seemed skeptical. Unfortunately, there were no Indian students around to back me up.