Shooting practice leads to gun show browsing leads to this..!

This was the first handgun I had when we were first married.  I sold it around the time we had kids and have regretted it ever since.  They're rare these days, especially in stainless.  Julie and I had an understanding that if I ever saw one, I would snap it up!

Imagine my surprise when I was browsing the gun show aisles with Josh this weekend and THERE it was.  Even in a special commemorative box.  They made me a deal I couldn't refuse.  Julie was happy for me too (That's a good wife!).  

Now, Josh and I are off to the range tonight to try our new toys, and the cycle continues… hahahahaha!

Josh treated me to a trip to the range for Christmas.

Then I got to hang out with him while he took a class a week or so later.  It's been fun sharpening our skills together.

My first “on device” camera.

I was hiking in the San Jose area with my new Clie Palm Pilot.  It was one of the first devices that had an onboard camera to go along with the other smart features.  I snapped these pics with it while I was watching the sunrise along the way.  I grouped the four of them together because the resolution wasn't good enough yet for them to stand alone, haha.

These walks were a way for me to get away from work, and pass the time until I could get back to see Johnny, Julie, and Andy to come. I missed them a LOT while I was stuck out there!

RetroBlog 2002-11-16

This is one of my all time favorite photos…

I might be biased by the subject too, but I have always loved the way this turned out.  The smile, the colors, the season, and the subject. ;)

Johnny took his first steps this day too.  So this photo holds a special place in our memories and our hearts.

RetroBlog 2002-10-31

Speaking of walks…

…these are some of the views from the icy walk Zoe and I took over lunch on Friday.

It’s crazy to see the boys off on their careers around town each day!

I pray for their safety, wisdom, and personalization of their walk with God each day.

I just liked the view and colors of this trainer.

It's fun to share in our knife hobbies with the boys.

A day at work…

Zoe vacillates between begging for attention and bending content to lay under my chair with one of her toys (which is really her just hoping I'll play with her toy with her). Haha.

Never underestimate the importance of the right to keep and bear arms!

It ISN'T about hunting, it ISN'T even about self defense.  It's about the security of a free state.  Enemies foreign and domestic!

No matter which side of the current conflict you're on, you can see the results of armed citizenry standing up for what they believe.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Chipster loves to thrash his squirrel stuffy!

 

Ernie and Bert…

Before we knew the gender of our babies we referred to them generically as Ernie then Bert.  Here we're at Red Lobster announcing our newest news to Julie's mom and dad but giving them a Bert and Ernie toy, haha!

RetroBlog 2002-09-01

THIS is when Johnny found out his world was about to change!

There's another one coming!

RetroBlog 2002-09-01

Just a little loop of Zoe crazy…

 

Our front yard a couple weeks ago

And THIS is one of my favorite pictures of Marblehead Lighthouse.

RetroBlog 2002-08-21

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures I took of Johnny.

He sure loved people and smiling! Still does!

RetroBlog 2002-08-20

I always enjoy the sunset on the way home after a long day!

THIS is how you renovate a new office!

We are taking our game to the next level in Detroit.  We're making our competitors jealous.  I like it that we both make it look good, have great functionality, and have a pool table right in the middle of it all!

Now THIS is a place worth visiting!

I always love every chance I get to go to the Lakeside and Marblehead area! The crazy crush of California one week, and the calm serenity of Lake Erie the next. I'll take it! :)

RetroBlog 2002-08-12

I was jet-setting across the country back then.

I got a chance to see and capture the famous Hollywood sign… I don't know what all the fuss is about.  Hollywood is cool to visit, but that's about it! Haha.

RetroBlog 2002-08-04

Three inch circles, ten feet.

I am working on my NRA instructors certification.  First I have to pass the class I want to teach.  There was a quiz and a shooting test.  The instructor said most people use between 40 and 100 rounds to get five in each of the four circles.  I used 20 :) and I even managed to shoot half of them right handed and the other half left handed. It's interesting that I can tell a difference in which hand I used for which circles.  Do you have a guess?

Zoe and the scary button

 Julie got Zoe and me some “speak” buttons to try and learn.  So far, this is the first time we got Zoe to even hint at being interested or pressing it…

Back and forth to California…

At this point I had a lot of customers and projects on the west coast.  Here is another view of LA as I was exploring one night after work and watching the sun set.  I liked the work, but hated being away from my growing family.  If you have to be gone, at least take in the scenery. :)

RetroBlog 2002-08-04

Such a cute little face, and those eyes!

Johnny's having fun with his water toys. :)

RetroBlog 2002-08-03

Awwww, a dog and her rope.

I really like how clean I was able to make the install of my new desk and computer

I hung all the power, dock, and cables under desk on a shelf I made.  I just have one extension cord, one network, and the audio running out of it. :)

“I see the gate”…

…And you can also see John Street from there!

RetroBlog 2002-06015

Just hanging out on the front porch of our old Lakeside house.

It sure was fun to sit there on the glider and watch the world go by.

RetroBlog 2002–6-15

I am proud of this guy too with his career launched and going so well!

This in spite of the cat fit and the corduroy hat!

John and Savannah sure are cute together!

I like the look in her eyes, looking at him, while they were walking down the hall through the door to their future. :)

Johnny and my eyes met during the recession.

We both had happy, proud hearts.

Some proud parent moments this weekend for all of us!

John graduated with honors too!  He got to wear a special rope on his gown to denote the fact.

I’m not sure who is is the one doing the guarding here…?

Soooo, I got a new monitor for work…!

It makes my New York skyline picture look pretty epic!

And of course, Lakeside didn’t disappoint with the sunset!

RetroBlog 2002-06-14

Johnny’s first trip to Lakeside!

He's looking pretty cool in his shades at the end of the dock.  Crazy to think that he has his college graduation ceremony today.

RetroBlog 2002-06014

I got a chance to see Rocky the flying squirrel.

He came out for the night a little early and I managed to get a picture in the nearly dark.  I actually used a trick of taking a screenshot of the camera app on my phone.  It worked surprisingly well. Haha.  He was being so adorable hanging upside down and grabbing bits of suet with his hands then putting them in his mouth. 

Back in current day, Zoe just LOVES her new rope toy!

Johnny sporting some cool shades on the way to Lakeside for the first time

RetroBlog 2002-06-14

Tiger has a little Tigger bundle…

My dad always called me Tiger.  So it's appropriate that Johnny had this little pajama set. :)

RetroBlog 2002-06-03

The rope has been fully christened!

Zoe decided she didn't want the tag on the end of it any longer…!

I don’t know if this is a retro blog or modern day entry…?

For YEARS, Julie and I have been hiding this shark in places to surprise each other… Here I found him not only in, but EATING the cotton balls.  There are "rules"…. You can't put him in something where he could leave the house, or get thrown away by mistake.  Julie's fun!

I forgot where I was when I found this little fella.

But I thought he was a little to cool to pass up on my Retro Blog entries.

RetroBlog 2002-06-02

THAT’s a pretty adorable picture of Johnny!

I can tell he has his blankie too.  

2002-06-02

Bitty has taken to sitting on my lap every morning.

She comes and sits at the base of my chair.  If I don't pick her up, she eventually starts asking me to with a quick little meow.  She'd actually been that for a few weeks before I realized that's what she wanted.  It's funny that every once in a while she will jump up on her own, but most of the time she wants me to do it for her.  Once I do, she'll sit there as long as I'm willing/able to each day.  She's sitting here as I write this and vacillating between purring, sleeping, and washing.  Such a cute tiny cat.  I love the color of her eyes somewhere between green, blue and yellow.

On our recent trip, Zoe was given this new favorite toy…

Savannah watched Zoe while we were gone.  Savannah had a few toys that her dog didn't like or use.  So she gave them to Zoe.  Zoe LOVES this one!  She's already gutted it of course, but she constantly brings it to both Julie and me to play with!

This was called Friday nights with Dad❣️

I would sleep on the couch with the baby monitor and feed or change the boys as needed so Julie could get a full night's sleep.  Sometimes we fell asleep after… It wasn't my idea, I have to give Julie credit for that.  I thought maybe she was just trying to find a way to sleep, but it turned out that it let me enjoy a bond and closeness men don't normally get. 

I remember one Friday I was trying to hurry because we were both so sleepy and I managed to explode a whole bottle of Julie's stored milk all over both of us when I tried to "help" it along by pressing on the bladder… My only option at that point was for both Johnny and me to jump in the shower.  Afterwards, he had a look on his face like, "What in the world just happened…?!" 

I admit to being resistant mentally when Julie proposed it.  Who would "volunteer" to lose a night of sleep each week.  I was smart enough realize I didn't have a maritally sound reason to refuse.  It only took me a couple nights to realize I would look back on the fond memories and treasure them!  

Thanks Julie for your help and guidance in making me the man and dad I've become.

RetroBlog 2002-05-25

Just another Johnny one-a-day.

Here's a selfie before selfies were a thing…. My original digital cameras let you twist the camera in half to do so.  Nikon CoolPix was ahead of its time!

Funny to see Johnny and me both mugging for the camera.  I guess I know where he gets it…!

For the first year of his life, I got a picture of him every day.  It was fun for moments and memories like these.

RetroBlog 05-18-2002

THIS is a good compromise…!

This was a band I saw being worn by the guys at the B&B Knives booth.  He kindly sent me a link.  $25 and an Amazon wait later, I have my rugged sport watch look with minimal cost , but still the Apple Watch functionality without needing to wear or have two watches.  Julie thought it needed little something to help with it's molded lump of plastic look so she used a toothpick to carefully fill in the numbers with some fingernail polish that complimented the band and watch face color scheme.  Why be slim and svelte when you can be all chonky!?

A pretty shot of one of the many bridges we crossed in our travels.

I think this was somewhere between West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

I took notice of all the facility piping at our show last week.

It's impressive what it takes to keep a place the size of that complex running!

This is a shopping center in Hollywood…

It was a shot I took during my trip back in 2002.  It's quite the complex!  It's called Hollywood & Highland.  It's where the annual academy awards are helped.  This motif is a tribute to a DW Griffith movie from 1916.  The elephants are being removed as of the middle of last year in an effort modernize the center.  

RetroBlog 2002-05-01