Westmoreland Asays

My sweet boy Ian has aged another year on this planet. He continues to grow rapidly, especially when you look at where he was one year ago , and adds new elements to his new personality, like when he wipes off any kisses that you plant on his body. I wanted to film Ian's yearly interview at the Seattle Convention Center, since we were in such an exotic spot right on his birthday , but he melted down and refused to answer any questions. A week later he granted me access into his world and he spoke at ease and revealed much into his five-year old view of the world.

Since Aaron and Edward had already displayed their dominance of all things Pokemon in Oregon, the next logical step was to take their act on the road and see how they perform in Pokemon's own backyard: Seattle, Washington. Meg also positioned the trip as a gift for the April birthday boys, Edward and Ian. We drove up late Friday evening, hoping to avoid rush-hour traffic, and made good time to our hotel a few blocks away from the Washington State Convention Center. We retired to bed as soon as we could. The alarms went off just as early as a school morning so we could eat breakfast and so the family could watch how many push-ups I do with my studly body, but mostly because the boys needed to register for the card game tournament. All three boys wanted to play (and they didn't have to pay a cent to play--they charge only those 16 and older (I really hope we're not still doing this when Aaron is 16)). Aaron is pretty good and likes the game and puts lots of thoughts into ...

The man in the middle has added another notch in his belt. Edward didn't get the celebration of his dreams (that will never happen when his birthday falls during the week), but we still tried to make him feel special--I even baked him a cake, which he protected vehemently (I still snuck some pieces through my eating hole). Meg was on the wrong coast attending her sister's wedding for the boy's actual day of birth, but she made it up to him by spoiling him the rest of the week. I sat down with Edward a few days after his birthday to ask him a few questions and listen to his animated responses.

It's the middle of spring break and my bed-mate's alarm goes off. Daylight Savings time began a few weeks ago, but it's never light out at 4:30 a.m. I help Meg load her bags into the van and drive her to the airport for her day-long flight across the country. Final destination: Philadelphia, where her older sister would pick her up and eventually they would travel south to Virginia/Maryland for their oldest sister's wedding. As is tradition when Meg leaves me alone with the children, I stop at VooDoo Donuts on the Eastside for a sugary treat. I return to my bed by 6:00 a.m., but I fail to fall back asleep. And thus began my week as a single parent. It's never too early for pajamas! I honestly would have preferred to have had the kids while they were in school--especially since it rained every single day that Meg was gone (sometimes all day). We tried to play outside when we could, and I wanted to go on a hike but it never worked out. We watched lots of movie...

The fifth-grade students at Llewellyn Elementary perform a play every year in the spring. Aaron's teacher wrote the script many moons prior and has expanded on it over the years. It mashes together various historical events (surrounding the American Revolution) with some contemporary humor, told in a Christmas Carol fashion. Aaron drew the role of George Washington and was excited to perform. He memorized all of his lines and delivered them with gusto. He seemed to be on cloud 9 after performing and had trouble calming down--he was that excited. Most of the kids did a great job (Edward and I snagged front-row seats, so we had unobstructed views and could hear the kids better), and a few performed marvelously. I'm biased, but I think I would add Aaron to that latter category. Our kids have been attending this school for five school years now, but it never amazes me how much parent participation I see--the venue was packed 15 minutes before the curtain rose. I find this encou...

Returning home always comforts my soul I traveled to Chicago for a week of business meetings. Even though it was the week before St. Patrick's Day, there was still snow on the ground, and six more inches fell during my stay. I traveled with three other co-workers who were also attending the same meetings--and two of the guys have made several trips to the ADP office there--so having company experienced with the area made the traveling aspect easy. Although this was the second time in nine months I've had to travel, these are the only two trips I've made in the nearly ten years working for ADP. My hotel in Hoffman Estates Our office sits in the suburbs (Hoffman Estates) about an hour west of downtown Chicago, and our meetings were long and intense, so we didn't have an opportunity to get out much and explore--the snow and below-freezing temperatures failed to encourage as little outdoor activity as possible, too. The Hoffman building has been recently remodeled...

Aaron played his trombone at the Jesuit-Aloha varsity boys basketball game tonight; his honor band, comprised of elementary and middle school students, played together with the Jesuit pep band. Aaron had to arrive about 90 minutes before tip-off to eat and practice and bond with his band-mates, so after eating my to-go burrito (thanks Meg!) in the courtyard at sunset, I got to walk around the campus and the surrounding neighborhood (i.e., strip malls) and catch the second half of the JV boys game. Even though the kids are only one or two years apart, I was amazed at the separation of skills and athleticism between the two divisions. The varsity game was pretty boring and demonstrated why all other upper divisions have a shot clock: Jesuit held the ball and played keep-away for the last five minutes because they couldn't score and held a slim lead. The game did come down to the final play, but still . . . The video is perhaps kind of boring and might make you sick if you don't...