Happy Halloween/Birthday!

We had a great Halloween and birthday celebration yesterday! Before we proceeded with our Halloween festivities, Bryan got to open up his presents. It was definitely a skateboard theme this year  - go figure. This skateboard Cam and I bought him was actually one Bryan rode back in '85 ...

These were a couple of skate books we got him - yes ... books - and were also a big hit. One was graffiti art and the other is full of skateboard decks from years past. He had a great time pointing out the ones he used to have to Cam ...  :)

On to Halloween ...Cam was an extremely large skeleton bobblehead that was a big hit.

This one was kind of creepy because of the transparent arms on his costume ... little eerie ...

He decided to forego the black gown that came with the "head" and opted for his SK8 ASYLUM t-shirt instead.

We didn't argue with him. In fact, it was great marketing if you ask me! With some of the other kids wearing our shirts too, along with this ...  we figured we were covered.  :)  (Is this there anything wrong with this?!!)

All in all it was a great night - lots of trick-or-treaters. The kids had fun hanging together, as did the parents, celebrating Bryan's birthday! The big 35 ... he's getting up there! Hope everyone had a great night as well!!

Catching up

Phew. I'm beat, and SO glad tomorrow is Friday! This has been one crazy busy week, and I honestly feel like I'm back in school with all the work I have to do after I'm done with my regular 8 hour workday!  :) We're all doing great, just trying to breathe in between all of the activities taking place! Cam was in California with his grandparents and cousins for the latter part of last week, and flew back into town on Saturday, just in time for the Ski Pro event. It was a great success. So exciting to hear SK8 Asylum announced over the PA, people asking about the park, handing out fliers, and the overall exciteiment and postiivie energy. Some great amateur and pro skateers were on hand to skate a ramp especially built by our builder, Arizona Skate Ramp Company, and it was a huge hit. A contest ended the day with about 6 or so competing ... Cam included. He had a blast! He was absolutely exhausted, but had such a great time. After the event we headed over to a friends hosue for a "ramp party" for and more skating. The mini-ramp was recently finished in their backyard, so it was ready for skating. Cam continued to skate and we continued with more netowrking! Got home very late so we were pooped on Sunday! All in all, great day.

 

 

Bryan's parents came over with his aunt/uncle/counsins from indiana on Sunday - Had a great time visiting with them - dinner, football and S'mores! When that thermometer gets betlow 90 people, it's time to use that firepit! After skating for approximately 10 hours on Saturday, Cam was a zombie for the better part of Sunday and even Monday. But come Tuesday when it's a "skate" night .... no sign of tiredness. We haven't been over to Cam's previous skate facility in quite a while, for obvious reasons, so we've changed venues. We've been hitting a skatepark in Tempe, with some other parents/kids from the old place, and have also made some new friends. It's been great for Cam to skate in a different environment and with different people. Nothing like changing it up once in a while. Here's one of the pics of him at that park:

So let's see ... mentioned in my last post ... yeah, I know ... a week ago ... that the route sold. It has certaily been a whirlwid isince then! We signed the liease on the building on Monday, finished the paperwork for our equipment vendor and insurance company, placed an order and already received some of the promotional t-shirts we plan to use at various skateparks, and made arrangements to sign all the closing paperwork for the route for next week. The new route owner has been working with Bryan, and is looking forward to taking over. So are we! Holsum requires two weeks after the actual route sale before Bryan can relinquish the route over, so he's taking a backseat (literally - he's been doing a lot of napping while the other guy does the driving and dirty work!) But it's been tough - after he's done with his day job, he starts in on the moonlighting. And so do I, I suppose ...  :)  My administrative duties do not end at 4:30 people!!! The tough part right now for Bryan is not being able to devote 110% to the park, so once this route is officially gone ... let the games begin!  Tomorrow we've got another skate session at the home of a "consultant" on our build and ... Cam is stoked because he and his friends skate for one of the local companies here. So ... fun times! Then Saturday is of course my Big Punkin's birthday ... the big 35! Of course we'll be celebrating .. headed out to do some Trunk or Treating at a Town Sponsored Event ... think Bryan sees a Marketing Goldmine here .. and then head back to our house for a bit of a birthday celebration.  :) I'll be sure and post pictures from our weekend - it's bound to be just as fun-filled as the rest!

    OUT OF THE MOUTH OF CAMERON

Cameron and I were working on one of his book reports this week ... I was reading the questions to him and he was answering out loud while from his book:

Me: Okay - the next one is asking about the physical characteristics of the main character ...
Cam: Well I know he had black hair ...
Me: Good - anything else?
Cam: And he also had black eyes ...
Me: Black eyes? Where does it say that?
Cam: Nowhere - there's a picture of him right here ...
Me: Cameron, the pciure is black and white ... of course his eyes are black ...

Yahoo! Happy Friday!!!

This ...

is now officially happening! Yee haw! Bryan's route sold today - the credit union approved the buyer's loan/application today, which means we can close next week and within the next couple of weeks ... he'll be done. Sayonara bread route! We are done! And moving on to the next venture ... we have the lease agreement for the building, the landlord agreed to our terms, so it's moving right along. And quite rapidly if I might add. SKI PRO has a Prorider Rail Jam tomorrow, 30 tons of snow included, and we will be there passing out "coming soon" cards ... very exciting. Ski Pro is also an outlet for skateboarding gear, so they asked us and our rampbuilders to participate. We'll have a 24' mini ramp set up there with some amateur, semi-pro, and professional skateboarders giving demos. Pretty great timing, as we weren't sure if we'd be able to begin advertising the park. Wanted to wait until the route "officially" sold, so it worked out great. Also wanted to let everyone know that our website is up and running:  www.SK8ASYLUM.com is now officially live! It is Very basic and simple for now, advertising what to look forward to. We'll be updating it periodically with pictures, location, etc. to keep people coming back! So ... take a peek and keep checking for updates!

The Way I See It #198

"You can shower a child with presents or money but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all - your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters."

--Tim Russert
Host of NBC's Meet the Press and author of Wisdom of Our Fathers.

A few odds and ends

Oh boy! It's been a while since there was a "real" post! We've been a tad busy this past week or so, and it just hasn't slowed down a bit! Had quite the bit of homework last week in getting paperwork squared away for the route sale. Not official yet, and moving along much slower than we had anticipated, but it is moving along. That's a bonus. Cam's been skating his little tail off - the weather has been absolutely gorgeous so we've been hitting the outdoor skate parks. And of course, he had to wrap up his last week before Fall Break started on Monday. So much to do! Our house guests this weekend were fantastic and we had so much fun! Mom and Dad, and Aunt Cathy and Uncle John rode down from Vegas on Friday. Well mom and dad rode here, Aunt Cathy and Uncle John got as far as Peoria before the bike broke down. Not a good way to start a weekend road trip. Thank God they broke down where they were, however, which was only about an hour or so away, and not in the middle of nowhere. So the bike stayed there, and they finished the trek in a rental car. Not fun, but I'm pretty sure the coronas helped pass along the sadness we all felt for having to leave the bike waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy out there. :) Great weekend for football - Beavers and Cards played awesome. Like I said, it's been a while since I've posted anything, including pictures, so there is a mish-mash of them below. Cam's officially on Fall Break now, so this week is all about relaxing, and catching up on my laundry. ;)

A game of hoops by the pool


Alex has the ball ... he's goin' in for the bucket!


On a mission to finish the entire Hidden Picture workbook ...

Cheeeeeeeeeese!


Hanging out in the hammock


Bryan working on some board racks for the shop


Bob Villa ... watch your back. The finished product! (1 of 4)


Kailee helping Uncle Bryan with the saw!

Just havin' some fun ...

Naptime with Hayden


And ... a couple of pics from Cam's birthday ... Yeah. You know the one from over a month ago? And apparently I had my settings all messed up on my camera, because these were the only ones that came through, all the others were way too dark. Nice. Anyway ...



Birthday cake! Notice the helmet - he wore it all night.
Even when they were done skating. It's a dangerous world.


Embarrassed by the singing! And the helmet ...


And of course, video games. And the helmet. :)

Ladies Night

Last night, my Red Hat friends and I went to a Ladies Night Club. One of the girls wanted to impress the rest of us, so she pulled out a $10 bill. When the male dancer came over to us, my friend licked the$10 bill and stuck it to his butt cheek!

Not to be outdone, another friend pulls out a $20 bill. She called the guy back, licks the $20 bill, and sticks it to his other butt cheek.

In another attempt to impress the rest of us, my third friend pulls out a $50 bill and calls the guy over, and licks the $50 bill. I'm worried about the way things are going, but fortunately, she just stuck it to one of his butt cheeks again.

Seeing the way things are going, the guy races over to me! Now everyone's attention is focused on me, and the guy is egging me on to try to top the $50. My brain was churning as I reached for my wallet. What could I do? The woman in me took over!

I got out my ATM card, swiped it down the crack of his butt, grabbed the eighty bucks, and left.

5 Reasons Why It's a Good Idea to Call in Sick

Okay people - cold and flu season is here. Do everyone you live/work/play with a favor and become acquainted with the following list posted in Glamour Magazine and the Yahoo Healthy Living webpage:




1. If you wake up feel pretty icky with a sore throat and the sniffles (which weren't there yesterday). Health experts say that the first few hours/days of a virus tend to be the most contagious, so spare your co-workers your germs and keep your sneezy self at home until the following day.


2. If you're taking medications that may (even slightly) impair your ability to do a good job. Whether it's a prescription medication or just over-the-counter cold meds that makes you feel like a space cadet, if the medicine you're taking is impairing you in any way, it's best to stay home.


3. If you have a bad sinus infection. Experts say that sinus infections can cause yellow or green nasal discharge, jaw pain, facial pain, and headaches--all of which are a major blow to concentration. Your best bet? Stay home, maybe venture out, but only to see your doctor.


4. If you have pink eye. The majority of "pink eye" is viral and clears up on its own in about 24 to 48 hours. Other cases are bacterial pink eye, and you need antibiotic eye drops from your doc. Both, however, are extremely contagious, so unless you want dirty looks from your office mates, better stay home!


5. Bad back pain. You may feel like a wimp calling in sick because your back hurts, but don't! Experts say sitting at a desk all day can actually aggravate your back and make the pain worse. Instead, after a mega back spasm, spend the day at home taking it easy.

Monday Quote

"I have a 'Carpe Diem' mug and, truthfully, at six in the morning the words do not make me want to seize the day. They make me want to slap a dead poet."

~Joanne Sherman

Monster Booty Crankypants

Isn't this a fantastic name? How adorable are these? Love them. I came across these somehow, probably lurking on some blog and this was a link, but I had forgotten that I had the page bookmarked and found it this morning. I had a mild heart attack when I saw the price ... maybe even a couple ... but I suppose that's what you get when you want your toddler wearing Peruvian wool? The following product description was taken from the website (as were the attached pics):

"Each pair is hand knit using 100% wool from the Peruvian Highlands that has been locally small batch died especially for Crankypants. They are perfect for everyday wear and can also be used as a natural cloth diaper cover (as wool will absorb and hold up to 30% of its own weight in liquid!) Every size features extra rows knit into the bum to make room for a cloth diaper and a drawstring waist for growing room. Hand wash. Care instructions included."

Must be some wool. Not very educated in this material. At any rate, let me just get one thing clear ... I would NEVER have spent this much on a piece of baby clothing, but I saw these and thought they were so freaking adorable. Who knows ... maybe you have an extra eighty bucks lying around that you want to spend on pants for your kid. The website is called MAHAR DRYGOODS - Vintage & Artisan Crafted. Setting all sarcasm aside, I really do love them. And the site has some adorable products listed.

October!

Where has the time gone? I swear ... it didn't seem like that long ago we were just beginning September. And now ... it is officially fall. Well it may be fall according to the calendar, but here, it is absolutely PERFECT! The temps are fantastic and it is just gorgeous outside. Started off the first day of October off right with a little homemade apple crisp. Use your resources people ... I had some apples that needed to be eaten (does it matter that they had been sitting on my counter all lonely because my apple caramel dip was gone?) We were able to have some nice warm apple crisp for dessert last night. Too bad I didn't have any vanilla ice-cream. It would have been perfect! Things are progressing quite rapidly around here in the business sense. We're waiting for the final word on the status of the route - we are saying our prayers that the credit union qualifies one of the applicants by the weekend! If all goes as planned the route could be sold and outta here within three weeks! We have already met some amazing people in the business that share the same vision of providing a safe and fun place for people to skate, while maintaining the level of culture and respect often neglected with skateboarding. I know .. I sound like I could've been a skater back in the day, right? When in Rome, I guess ... at any rate ... our connections and introductions seem to be doubling every day, and it is so exciting to hear how supportive and excited everyone is about the idea. It's hard for Bryan to focus on getting up for his "real job" every morning ... he's so ready to dive in with the skatepark and give it 150% right now. :) Soon!!! Cam brought home his Honor Roll certifcate, and he was thrilled. His teacher gave everyone that made Honor Roll "the HUGEST sugar cookies ever ... AND we got to eat them at recess!" Seriously ... does it get any better? We've got a great weekend planned to meet up with some friends, watch some football and truly enjoy the weather we have been waiting all summer for!