Parenting Vs. Sanity {Drop the kids with grandma & go on vacation together!}

Lots of good! That's the best way I can describe the last few weeks! Yeah, there are some bad, sad, & down right crap things mixed in there but the good far out weighs all! I mean really, life if like a box of chocolates; You never know what you're going to get! Unless you choose your own selection of chocolates and use the clear descriptions on the packaging along with helpful photographs of each individual type so you don't get confused.



In CO hiking in the RMNP

Anyway, I'm a firm believer in the age old solid parenting that my mom & dad subscribed to: "Every once in a while, drop those brats off & head out of town without them!" Okay, Okay, so that sounds a little harsh but you don't know what it's like here! The get up at 7AM, eat, fight with each other, ask me 374 questions (362 of those questions are asking for a snack or juice), play games/watch some TV, fight over previous mentioned games/TV, get so exhausted from fighting they need a snack, repeat, repeat, repeat!!! AAAHHHH! Has school started yet? We enroll on Monday... I can do this!

We try to do a lot with the kids that they are into. Swimming, games, museums, & movies are all summer filling awesomeness. BUUUTTT at least once a summer (probably less) mom & dad have to get away to save their sanity! Our 5 year wedding anniversary was just a few weeks ago so I decided to book us a trip to Estes Park, CO. A great condo right on Fall River & a trip into the Rock Mountain National Park for day hikes. Samantha was surprised, excited, & I think pretty happy with it all! She had never been west of Oklahoma & had never seen real mountains so I was super happy I could share my love of Colorado with her finally. It was amazing to say the least! I realized about half way up the mountain that I'm freakin' 31!! So, before we go again (I really want to take her to the top of Mt. Wheeler & Mt. Walter in NM) I MUST...how you say...not be so fat!


At Mills Lake in the Rock Mountain National Park

Stopped Off @ Sarah Sarah Cupcakes for a break

Since we have been back we managed to get all our back to school shopping done. I'm not near as crazy nervous about school starting this year because, though its super depressing he is going into the 5th grade, I know the school is looking out for us & I know the principal is really on our side! Next year I don't even want to think about because I'll probably be a puddle of dad stress! I'm not ready for the change to middle school so I'm just going to pretend like that's not on the horizon & enjoy this year of relatively low stress.

 

Mills Lake - Just amazing!

 

She attracts bears...BEARS!!

 

Why don't girls take Dilbert style selfies?

 

 

Moments like this put everything in perspective!

 

Sitting on a cliff, overlooking all this I decided to snap a pic with my iphone instead of the big camera. Somehow I had cell service!?! So odd! uh...yeah I called my mom...

 

Exploring the Asian Grocery Market! {A Full Day Of Fun On The Go!}

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary!  We never really celebrate it but seeing as this is 5 years we thought we would set out with the kids & just go, so we did. I got her a trip for next month to a nice B&B with a private hot tub & she got me probably the best gift I've ever been given! Are you ready to see it....I don't think you are.....it's so awesome!

Probably the best mug ever made....ever!

 Jayden loves anything to do with pretty much any kind of Asian culture.  His favorite gift, I think, he has ever received was a bamboo plant that is somehow still alive after 7 months in his room.  So, on our adventure today we decided to stop off in the Asian district of Oklahoma City & visit a grocery store called The Asian Market.  Right off the bat he was excited when he saw the large statues & fountains outside. As we walked through the doors it quickly became a different story!  Instead of the sweet smell of awesomeness he got the very real smell of fish, very fresh fish!  His face went from 'This is gonna be the best' to 'RUN AWAY!!' in 2.8 seconds.

Despite the fear & disgust we pushed forward.  All three boys were excited to find everything a kid could want (well, an odd ball kid like mine) bamboo plants, jade statues, & hats!  After looking around for a short bit we hurried out as to avoid the fish but all in all a great time! When we were getting ready for bed this evening he snuggled himself under his SensaCalm weighted blanket & talked about the experience.  I thought, after asking him, it would be cool to film our talk so I grabbed the camera.  He loves making videos &, as you can see from the video below, he was super animated this evening. I think that's a mix of being excited for being on video, still being a bit over stimulated from the busy day, & the fact that I rib him a bit. Check it out below after the photos documenting out day, he is priceless! Also, if you haven't already, you can subscribe to us on our YouTube Channel as well.

Dean(5 years old) says "Daddy, why are their eyes open!?!"

A happy camper, an overstimulated but happy none the less camper!

Zion shows off his tiny cat & Dean shows off his green vampire teeth. We have a....unique....crew.

Maybe the greatest tip jar EVER!!

As a reward for being great today, we stopped off at the TILT for some games

What does this have to do with the blog....nothing but its awesome!

Not sure why I need these but I'm pretty sure I need them!

Here is our video from before bed.  Our talks while driving in the car & the talks right before bed are always my favorite for some reason.  

My Very Own Super Hero! {Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary}

First off! What do you think!?! You like? Yeah! Yeah! I flippin' love it! Welcome to the new Adventures In Aspergers!  I am starting a new leaf & blogging regularly, wider subject ranges, & trying to be better all around.  Stuffs getting real! I interviewed Temple Grandin! Sooooooo, look for new awesomeness coming soon. Better blogs, easier navigation's, new subjects, more helpful articles, bigger giveaways, & way more content! Thanks to all of you who read my blog, I'm so happy you all get as much good out of it as I do putting into it.

On Friday Samantha & I will have been married for 5 years! I know that isn't really that long but it really is to me!  When we got together, as I'm sure I have or will blog about sometime,  she was a single 20 something year old chick with an awesome job, her own place, & living the life.  I was a divorced guy with full custody of my two sons, one of whom was only 7 or so months old.  Not really a dream guy, if you know what I mean!  She didn't hesitate a second, or at least she hid her hesitation really well, & when the time came she moved in with us when our house was.....disorganized! Yeah....that's the word I'll use! :)

It's hard to believe its been five years! I know I will probably post about how great she is when the day gets a bit closer but I wanted to post a few things I've learned & a few reasons I'm thankful for her.

1st things first: You Rock Our F*ing Socks Off!

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We are all thankful that you make us be safe(helmets) but let us be cool($20 eyeball helmet)

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We are thankful you gave us the 'MOM' blessing to get a dog!
{MOM blessing is kind of like the pope's blessing but the pope won't smack the crap out of you if you do what he said not to do}

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You've taught us to appreciate these small moments where maybe nothing is happening but it still means the world.

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I'm thankful you haven't left me for a taller, darker, more famous hair dude.

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You love us event when we're upset & maybe trying to kill you with 'The Force'

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I, myself, have learned that when I'm a smart ass or an idiot I can expect the Irish to come out (behind the kids back because you're a lady & a good mom) 

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I've learned to trust my wife when she says, "just do your hair like you want to...it will look great. Quit being a baby ya big freakin' baby!"

We have both learned & are thankful that we are a pretty awesome family! We would be way less put together & way more creepy/smelly with out you!

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This is the only picture that accurately conveys your awesomeness!

Oklahoma = OklaHOME {Tornados Suck}

    In case you haven't heard we have had what some might call...a touch of bad weather!  Tornados are a way of life in Oklahoma and most everyone who has lived here for any amount of time has been through one. Most have a plan, and most know what to do and are smart about their plan but nothing can prepare someone for an F5 tornado. Brick homes, wood homes, apartment complexes, none of that matters. You are trained and raised to take cover in the center of your house, a hallway, bathroom/bathtub, or an inner closet but none of that matters with an F5. The meteorologists here say it best "if you are not underground when it hits you are dead" it's scary!

    Weather is crazy in Oklahoma! It changes like the wind. It can be blazing hot and within a few hours or a days time it will be freezing cold! There is one thing that everyone around here knows; it's that a quiet, muggy, clear looking morning you know is going to drop tornados by afternoon. That was what it was like on Sunday. The first tornado dropped in Edmond, OK where I work at a Hospital. Since the storms were not headed for our little town of Shawnee (about 45 min away from Edmond) when the hospital called for help I went! I got all the way to the ER and was told "nevermind, we don't need you!" So I got back in the car and headed home. On my way I got calls asking where I was, the storm shifted and Shawnee was in the path. As I got closer I got the call from my wife that her and the boys were in the storm shelter underground but as I tried to keep the car on the road and talk to Samantha I looked out my window to see..... Well have a look:

   

Yeah, I know I shouldn't be trying to out run a tornado while hanging my arm over the seat to snap a photo with my phone! I'm a photographer! Sorry!

   

We were missed by less than a mile! So many others were not and as I'm sure you now know by now the next day had even worse in store for our friends & neighbors just about 30 or so miles down the road in Moore, Ok.  Moore was his by an F5 and is just gone in some areas. I mean that as literal as it sounds...it's gone! Below is a pic of right before the storm hit and then the same picture right after. People have trouble even knowing where their house was because nothing is recognizable. 

   Death and destruction through it all people are coming together. Money, clothes, water, diapers, anything! People are really showing out for one another through all of this! If you feel that you can please give to the Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org. They were amazing to my family after our fire and are being amazing to the entire state now. What is going on in Oklahoma is the one saddest things you have ever seen combined with the most hopeful, proudest, and awe inspiring things you've ever seen all at once!

Here are a few photos I snapped from down the road from our house yesterday;