NSJ

Jul and I headed to Vegas last weekend to celebrate Mandy’s 31st…err…30th birthday so Grandma Pat came out to watch the little monkey while we were gone. They both survived each other, although the house took on some damage. As usual Mom took some great photos of the boy.

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we might need to cut his hair. Hopefully that day is not soon.

Continuing in my path backwards in time, in early February Jul and Niko headed back east for Molly’s second birthday. I sadly couldn’t make it because of work. Sumo and I were downgraded to bachelor status and left to fend for ourselves. It is amazing to me how quickly the house goes from “clean organized house of Jul” to “boy house of squaller.” Fourteen years of training gone 20 minutes after the plane took off.

In addition to a great birthday party and some good family time, Jul and Niko also got a chance to see Mary. While it was Molly’s birthday, Jul got the biggest present of all when the Giants won the Super Bowl. I don’t think Jul’s glow from the win will wear off anytime in the next 2-3 decades.

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We headed to Maui in February to celebrate Kim and Chris’ wedding. We didn’t do a great job with photos, but did catch some swimming action shots and video. He seems to have taken to the water like I have hoped/required. Many would argue I didn’t give him a choice, but if he can’t complain about how I screwed him up, what will he talk about with his therapist?

Niko got to go on his first snorkeling trip during the week before the wedding. Mandy sent orders from the mainland insisting that I staple a life jacket to the boy, but that didn’t go over so well. It seemed to “cramp his style” (although he expressed this with different words). Once we set him free, he seemed to have a blast. He hasn’t learned how to not kill himself yet and doesn’t seem to understand you can’t breath underwater. I’m working on getting him to keep his mouth closed when he goes under (as you will see in the video). He also got to see his first whale breach (if you don’t count Prudential TV commercials).

[flv]http://happyinwater.com/nicholas/videos/alofa.flv[/flv]

I’m playing with different video quality levels and encoding so let me know if this one takes too long to download.

[flv]http://happyinwater.com/nicholas/videos/maui-highlights.flv[/flv]

I’ve neglected this blog lately (as well as my family) due to trying to re-release my product at Google. We got the project out the door, so I’m back. The good news is Niko still recognizes me. The bad news is while I was absent, Jul taught him the full lyrics to Cat’s in the Cradle. He doesn’t even let me sing the “I don’t know when” response to “when you comin home dad.”

We have some catch up to do. Let’s start with a video Lynn caught of Niko and Neil dancing the jig.

[flv]http://happyinwater.com/nicholas/videos/dancing-with-neil.flv[/flv]

I think part of the problem we have had on the left is our lack of dedication. The right seems to have no problem with brainwashing their kids, where us here on the left are all like, “I want my kids to decide for themselves.” With Bush and his administration making me embarrassed to be an American, I think we need to rethink our dedication to the cause. Let the brainwashing begin.

[flv]http://happyinwater.com/nicholas/videos/super-wed.flv[/flv]

As I rarely credit the photos I post to the blog, it should be noted that anytime the photos are any good, it is usually because my Mom took them. Credit for all the holiday photos go to my mother.

I think Niko is starting to catch on to the fact that the steering wheel doesn’t actually steer the car.