Cousins on Vacation

My sister, brother-in-law, and their kids went to the ozarks, in Mossouri. They had a chance to do some horseback riding.

April 1

"S" is up in the Mountains snowboarding, she will be up there for 1 week. She should be an expert by the time she gets back. http://www.mammothmountain.com/

"A" was in San Francisco for a Choir recital. She saw the Golden Gate Bridge, and China town. It was a 10hr. bus ride , one way.

"K" and I went to some friends in Chula Vista, they have a pool, so we sat around, had a drink, and relaxed, and ate steak.

Sad News

My dear friend, Mike Bolles died Yesterday morning. He died in his sleep, but it appears as though excessive medications, and his weak heart may have played a roll in his passing.
Mike and I met When I worked at Nortel, back in 1999. Mike and I both took jobs at Allegiance telecom. We worked together there for almost 3 years. Mike said we need to get dirt bikes, and we bought some dirtbikes and gear, and even got some for our kids. We spent a few weekends together riding, and I have stayed with it ever since. I am glad he got me back into dirtbikes. I have attached a picture of Mike after he crashed trying to overtake me on a big jump. (Pictured is his son Christopher, and my daughter Amber )
Mike was a very funny guy, We had many stressfull days at Allegiance, and he made them tolerable. His wife Phyllis had a heart attack in bed back in 1999, went into a coma, and suffered brain damage. When she came out of her coma, Mike cared for her and the kids the best he could, but he never got over loosing the wife he knew and loved. It may have reallly been the day he died. Mike was a hard worker, and was very smart, he was very good at problem solving. he often gave his personal phone number to customers who had problems, so they could reach him directly. Now that is dedication. He generously brought people onboard the company that he saw potential in. Mike D. , James M., and myself. We all watched the 9/11 tradjedy unfold at work that morning. And when we got bored, Mike and I would try to spice things up. We would pull pranks at work, or get into irrelevent arguements about politics, science, current events, or poke fun at each other. We had our ups and downs with everyone there, but we were a disfunctional family.
Mike had recently been job searching, and trying to make ends meet for his kids ages 19, and 11. but a recent Car accident set him back yet again.
I would like to pass on my love, and prayers to his kids, and all his friends. A part of me is missing, and the sun is shining a little less bright right now. I will think of him always.
If you knew mike, or only met him once, he probably made you laugh.
Godspeed Mike!
Please feel free to leave a comment.

last march weekend

What a busy weekend. Friday, "A" had a game, and got two hits, played catcher, but did not get a chance to pitch.
Saturday, "A" and "K" drove to Huntington Beach for a tournament for "A" travel team. They went 2 for 3.

"S"'s team lost to a Teara Canyon team. She hit the ball twice, but was thrown out at first. She pitched, and struck a girl out, and threw out two others. " Good defense Kid!"
"S" went over to a friends, and they had a sleepover. Dad went to a Surprise party for a friend.
Sunday, Dad Went Golfing! It has been about 8 months since I golfed. I shot a 90 at Easlake. Not bad! Most important was that I had a good time, and was smiling the whole time Brad, John, and Robert kept me laughing, the entire round. They are very good friends, and they have a positive out look. Thanks guys! For those keeping track, John didn't hit into the group ahead of us..
"A" 's team made it to the semi-finals on Sunday, and lost 1-0. They came home very tired. I picked up "S" and we cleaned the garage, and she did homework. The dog hurt her paw playing with another dog.

Spirit week

"A" had spirit week at her school. her and some friends dressed like super heros, one day, and her she is, as Wonderwomen.
















Sasha was unconcerned about how anyone looked last week, and she was in dog heaven with her mostly empty jar of peanut butter.

Mom is in town

My Mom is in town, and she brought along a good friend of hers. We picked them up from the airport, and went home, unpacked, and went to the beach. The weather is perfect, around 69 deg. "S" and I went to the airport While "K" and "A" were at their tournament.














The beach was Del Mar, it is also a dog beach, but we did not bring our pooch. Maybe next time.












Today they took my truck, and went to Horton plaza, which is downtown.

more softball

We had two tournaments since i have talked to you last. Amber is slowly making progress. Her fielding is looking good, and her base running is looking good (besides the only time she got on base this weekend, she was thrown out stealing second, after hesitating between bases, the coach was tryng to call her back)
Amber was having a tough time making contact with the ball. She tends to swing under it. She hit the ball 3 times this past weekend, but poped it up 2 times, and lined out the other.
The next step is to hit it straight in a line shot.
She also got a chance to play an infield position ( 2nd base) for two innings. That shows us that the coach has confidence in her fielding, and startagy playing.
The last two tournaments their team went 3-0, and 3-0. La Habra, and Mission Viejo.
Here is a picture of her playing 2nd.

Renegades debut

A had her first tournament with her new travel team. She had 3 at bats, and got on base once with a walk. She caught 3 fly balls, and 1 hot grounder she had to back hand. They will probably have her bunt a lot this year. She also stole two bases, and advanced home on a passed ball. She had a beautiful slide that i missed, but here is a shot of her batting, and standing on 2nd base.

two new desert vixens

We went out to Ocotillo wells with a new rider. "J" was wearing purple, and is riding the white bike. She did really well. She fell a few times, but all at low speed. She climbed a few hills, and rode in the sand. K got on the XR80, and rode around a little. She followed us out to a riding area with the truck, and enjoyed a day away from the house, and the laundry. I took S on a 6 mile ride across the desert to Poleline rd., and back. She did fantastic. She is really picking up the pace. "A" also had a very good day. She helped out our new rider, and is really learning about responsibility. She also rode my 450 again, and only tipped over once.
The temperature was about 72deg. with a very light breeze. We packed up, and made it back by 6:30.














look who came out to the desert "J" (family friend), and "K".

"J" in purple,
"K" in white t-shirt,
"A" white helmet,
"S" black helmet #27.

New dryer & Washer

Well, K took delivery of her new washer, and dryer. She loves them. They are whisper quiet, and can accomodate more clothes. We are selling the dryer, and they delivery service took the old worn out washer( not K) with them.
Saturday we did some shopping, and Went down to the Grandparents house. Grandpa is re-doing some gabinets. He got a new Rigid tablesaw that he really likes.
I am also still painting on some more softball helmets .
Sunday we went to a practice for A, she is the newest member of a travel team in softball, and is doing her best to hang tough with the girls on the team. The girls she is playiing with are very strong, fast, and efficiant. It will make Amber a better player, although she may see less playing time.
S had some practice time on Sunday as well with some friends. We all met up , after A 's practice, and went for a hike in the Canyon next to the ball fields. We took the dog, and walked for about 2 miles, and we saw deer tracks, some horses, a stream, and some other dogs.
"A" also started working on her toybox to setting-bench conversion project. She broke out the sand paper, and we bought some foam for a cushion.

appliances / Chargers

Boring Weekend, we bought a washing machine because ours was broke, we bought a dryer to match because I am a sucker.
Together that shit cost about $1500. let me say that again because I still can't believe my freakin ears! $1500. There goes any vacations, or re-doing the yard.
I also painted a couple of helmets over the weekend 3 softball, and 1 bicycle. They are not done, but I put a base coat on them. Now I add some artwork, and designs. Then a coat of blue, and then a clearcoat. Something to keep my hands busy, plus the fumes are fun.

It was a somewhat sad weekend, we had ourselves all built up and ready to cheer our San Diego Chargers on to victory considering they had a 14 - 2 record for the season. Sunday came, and the Patriots had better luck, and made fewer mistakes then the Chargers. In the first half, SD had out-ran, out-passed, and out defensed the Patriots, but the second half belonged to them. It was such a let down, when the whole city, was so high for this game.
Softball season starts in two weeks, so I need to enjoy these boring weekends.
Talk to you soon.

Weekend update

This weekend Amber tried out for a high caliber travel Softball team. We got the call last night that they had a slot available for her. She would really advance her game by playeing with these girls. That is the good news. The bad news is she wouldn't play with her regular Rec. league buddies. It also involves more travel, and more money.
We went to the swap meet on Sunday. It was very warm, close to 70 degrees. We like to walk around and look at all the Kitch stuff, and by a few hard to find items that will probable sit in a drawer somewhere. It is also fun to check out some of the freaky people there.

Uncle Passing

I just wanted to tell you about the passing of my uncle.
My Uncle Walt passed away on Christmas Day.
He was the Father of 6 Great kids. Mike and Mitch, Patty, Pam, Collette, and Erin ( my twin cousin).
My Dad and I would stop by and see Walt. Once or twice we had went ice fishing, and deer hunting. Mostly he was in his workshop. I always remember how tickled he got when talking about Garth, and Amber, and the other Grandkids. The littlest things tickled him and he just laughed and called them " little pistols". I never forgot that, and took that with me into my parenthood, and I call my youngest daughter "Pistol".
My Aunts and Uncles grew up in a very different era, and didn't have a lot of luxeries, you had to be tough. He had a tough exterior, but I know that many of them had a softer interior that they were afraid to show.
I miss my cousins, and If they are reading this, They should know that I missed out on a lot of the family events like kids, and grandkids, and I wish I could have experianced more of that. The same goes for My other cousins, and second cousins.
Mark, Denny, Antoinette. Eric, Mark, Renee,....
My German Cousins Udo, und Petra. ( Vas es los ).
Bye.

Dog Beach

The weather was good, probably 60 deg.
We took the dogs out to stretch thier legs, and noses. They had been cooped up for much of the Winter holidays.
The Dogs just love to run on the beach, and check out other dogs, and thier backsides.
I think we are on the same wavelength.













Amber is getting tall













The end to a good day. We have resolved to go to the beach at least once a month this year.

Desert trip

We made a day trip out to the Desert. It is about a two hour drive. We took some friends with us. He has experience in the Desert from helping pit crew for a top Trophy truck racing team. Tim and His daughter Alex had a good day of riding. Tim, Alex,and Syd tried out some new hills.


















After riding Tim took us by where the race team had set up for the weekend. We pulled up just in time to see the driver launch the number 27 trophy truck 100 ft long, and about 12ft high of air in an impressive jump.
We were intruduced to the team owner, and his family. They were very nice, and accomodating. The SMD race team had a 1600 class racer, an Excursion racer, the trophy truck (over 700 horsepower), and a few chase vehicles, and a couple support trucks.
The youngest of the boys had a mini truck that was racing that weeknd, and The girls found that to be just about there speed. The little truck cost $6,000. So hopefully my girls will stick to bikes.

Chrstmas Day

Here are some pictures from Christmas day, unfortunately we did not wake up completely before taking the pictures. The Dog even got a treat.
Sydney and I put together a model car she got from Santa.

Snowboarding at Mammoth Mtn

We left on Saturday the 16th. We drove 355 miles through the city, the Desert, and into the mountains. We were invited to stay with some very good friends, who had a condo in the village of Mammoth. We had some cold weather gear, but what we didn't have, we borrowed, and we were very comfortable. The first morning when we checked the temperature, it was 2 deg, by the time we got the the mountain, it was all the way up to 7. By the time we got our tickets, and Sydney's rental, it was 12. Amber, Sydney, and I (Eric) had a very abreviated lesson in snowboarding. The girls and I spent the rest of the day falling, and bruising our bodys all in the quest to learn how to snowboard. We were so sore from our first day of falling, that the second day, Sydney and I started the day off with skiing, and Amber stayed back at the condo.
Sydney showed me a very determined side of her. She went back to snowboarding for the last half of the day. She really wanted to learn.
The third day, we were all back on snowboards, and Sydney was in a lesson. Mammoth gets a lot of southern California traffic, as it is the only place that has snow, and it is a great facility. We saw a soup star named Rena Sofer, and Justin Timberlake was spotted on the mountain.
By the end of the day, we all had a pretty good grasp on snowboarding. I collected a few pictures for you, and a video clip. here you go:


Here is a picture of Amber doing her best not to pull a Sonny Bono:














Sydney:

Christmas party

Every year we have a Christmas party with the same group of people, and this year we added the Young family. The party was hosted at our house. There was a gift exchange, and a gag gift that shows up every year.
We had good food, and a few drinks, and some laughs. Thank you all who attended.

Engine maintenance on the dirtbike

I wanted aAmber to do the top end on her dirtbike. I wanted her to see how easy it is. I got things started by draining the coolant. She pulled the carburator off, removed the coolant hoses, took off the head. I helped remove the cylinder. We pulled out the piston, and gaskets, replaced them all with new parts, and put it back together. she learned a little, but I think every little bit helps, in life. I think it helps eliminate fear of the unknown. It builds confidence.

Out to the dunes

We put a paddle tire on A's bike, and a "whip" ( flag) on both our bikes. It was definately a learning experience. She rode some dunes, got some air, climbed some hills. Her bike ran out of gas, and while we waited for our team to bring us some gas, we played around, and I let her ride my 450. She did pretty well, and zipped around pretty good on it. see the links to the left, and click on the discription to view the videos.








The group we went with led us around the park, and we made our way to the canal which has fresh water in it. After the kids jumped in, we were told we could get a ticket for it. yikes. So we got out of there. There was a golf cart in the group. and the kids drove it around camp, endlessly. We made our first overnight camp of the year. it got a little cold so I lit off my propane heater, at 4:20am, and we were back in bussiness.