Ahh…  Facebook’s “On This Day” daily post…  I love how it keeps bringing up my posts from last year to remind me of what I was thankful for 366 days ago (LOL – only I would start something like this on a leap year).  Today’s reminder was this:

Between learning to drive on the wrong side of the road to seeing kangaroos everywhere to learning how great a gin and tonic can be to seeing the ocean to touching an octopus to seeing incredible landscapes to everything in between it was an incredible experience that I’m very grateful for!  Every time I see the update from the same day last year it  makes me smile and brings back a wave of freshly remembered memories.

Thanks!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who’s helped to support me in raising money for Kid’s Cup!!!

It has been overwhelming to see such an incredible amount of support from so many people already, and that’s all from within the past week!  My heart is warmed when I think about how the lives of many children will be improved by the kindness and giving of so many of my friends and family.

If you would like to help blow the top off of this thermometer and help Kid’s Cup more please check out http://bit.ly/KidsCup2017

Thank you all again so much for your generous help, support and well wishes, they are greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

Sometimes I get this seed of an idea in my brain that just can’t quite grow roots.  Not only does it not blossom, but I can’t quite see it through a bit of a fog.  I know that it’s there, and I know that it needs to grow, but it’s not quite ready.  For seemingly no reason it will appear out of nowhere.  The fog lifts, it grows roots, and blossoms into the thing it is supposed to be.

While this is what a chunk of today has looked like in one way or another between an escape room, some great meals, and playing some cards, it was during a brief stint of alone time that an idea started to fill form.  While driving alone to move to our next location I had the random spark of insight that got the idea rolling.  It lit up the room, burned off the fog and helped reveal the idea to me.  During the drive home tomorrow morning I’ll focus on it and make sure it keeps growing.

How crazy is that?  Spending a weekend with the guys in which we usually avoid serious conversation I had a random spark of insight on a pretty deep idea, and for that I am thankful!

Thanks!!!

Let the awesomeness begin!!!

Happy Birthday Jesse & Rick!!!

Thought it would be prudent to take the pic and make the post before the drinks start 😉

Thanks again Becky for taking care of the boys this weekend!

Thanks!!!

I’m not much of a country fan, but as soon as I hear the opening line my shoulders relax and I smile…  This song is what we sing to each other when life gets chaotic and one of us gets a little too tightly wound (Becky usually sings to me).  

https://youtu.be/CICwZ01bT3w

If the life of our family ever became a sitcom I’d put that song in as the theme music in the opening.  The opening scene would be a split screen of Becky picking up the boys and running them around while I drive home from work.  As soon as I get home the split screens join, I tag in and Becky tags out.  The screen then splits again as I rush out to pick up the kids and run around while Becky is either studying or getting things done around the house.  Eventually I get home, the screens join up as I sit next to Becky on the couch and we both almost instantly fall asleep.  That pretty much sums it up.

Today I’m thankful for this song.  It helps me keep my sanity and reminds me to breathe and enjoy the craziness…

Thanks!!!

The weather is awesome, it was a great day, I knocked many things off of my task list, but the thing that is fresh in my brain comes from opening a letter from my 401(k) provider.  Sitting on the countertop was my quarterly earnings statement and it contained a lot of good news.

Over the years my investment in the 401 has been helpful in many ways.  Before Becky and I were married I wouldn’t have trusted myself to put cash away for the long term.  One of my business deals happened only because I was able to pull a loan from my own 401 to use to make the downpayment and I then paid it back over the next five years.  There’s a sense of long term stability I have when I see what my potential monthly income is when (if) I finally retire at 65-ish.  Everything in that statement makes me smile (at least this month!).

The part that makes me chuckle is thinking back to when my parents told me how much to put in as soon as I was able.  They said I wouldn’t notice it when I started contributing, and it was better to start early, so I did.  Had it not been for their advice I’d probably have used it for extra beer money or fantasy football wagering back in my early to mid twenties.

Needless to say, I’ll be focused on teaching my boys the same concept…  Put as much cash in your 401(k) as soon as you can.  Who knows what the future will hold, but for now I can sleep a little easier thinking of the future and all the life that Becky and I want to live when we’re old farts!

Thanks!!!

Each of us has a charity, a special cause, and organization that we love to help.  Just thinking about it and the impact that it has on others can move us to tears.  We’re passionate about it, will do anything to help it, and know that it makes our world a better place.  Kid’s Cup is one of those causes for me and I’d like to ask your help in supporting it this year.  Donations can be made at:  http://bit.ly/KidsCup2017

Every single dollar raised for Kid’s Cup goes straight to the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and Olmsted Medical Center supporting prenatal and new infant care.  It’s an incredible organization that some of my business partners have built over the past 20+ years.  Over the years it has helped to raise over $1,000,000 to help kids at those two wonderful health care facilities.

I’ve been incredibly blessed to have two very healthy sons and I pray that they continue to be that way.  That said, there are many others who haven’t been so fortunate, it is great to be able to help them through their difficult times.  If you check out the video below be sure to pay attention at the 3:45 mark…  You never know when you may be helping out someone very close to you through this event.

As I started with, I need your help.  I’ve committed to raising at least $1,000 for Kid’s Cup this year and I would greatly appreciate your donation of any amount.  All the dollars go straight to helping the kids, there’s ZERO dollars spend on administration, sponsoring the event, etc…  http://bit.ly/KidsCup2017

If you’d be interested in golfing in the event please let me know and I can get you more information.

Today I am incredibly thankful for Kid’s Cup.  It’s an amazing event with an awesome purpose.

Thanks!!!

Rick & Jesse’s Birthday Bash is coming up quickly and it’s not very hard to tell that everyone is more than just a little amped up and ready…

While sitting at Dominic’s orchestra concert my leg started to buzz and it seemed to never stop.  When the concert was over I looked at my phone and saw this…

All of these texts were from my friends, already planning and talking smack.  Today was cold and gray, but this crazy flurry of texts from friends getting pumped for a weekend of hanging out brightened my day in a big way!

Thanks!!!