Bird's Eye View of Colorado

... and the blanket of snow that awaits us. Home sweet home!

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Christmas Night at the Magic Kingdom

It's been magical spending the week in Disney World with family. Alas, all good things must end. And tomorrow we return to the real world, and Colorado temperatures.So long, House of Mouse!

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Right here. Right now.

Christmas with Walt Disney and a few thousand of my closest friends.

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Merry Xmas from Morocco Epcot

Merry Christmas. everyone! May you and your families all be in good health. good company, and good cheer. Much love! Mark, Pam, Berit, Rowan, and Griffin

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Animal Kingdom's Asia

Pam and Rowan in a teeming bazaar with "Expedition Everest" above. Good coffee is hard to find and a prized commodity in "Asia."

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Griffin at LEGO Sydney Opera House

Griffin and I just spent an hour filling a jar full of unique LEGO pieces at the LEGO store in Downtown Disney. Totally awesome :) Now pizza with my FL cousins. Later, Disney Hollywood Studios.

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Day Two: Magic Kingdom

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We're Goin' to Disney World!

The journey begins serendipitously when an angel (Pam says he was Eratrian or Ethiopian) at the enormous curbside check-in line pulls me aside. "Come here. I'll show you something." He leads me down the curb to a window that looks in on another Southwest check-in a floor beneath us, where the line is short. It's like an airport secret that this guy is laying on me; it's a Christmas miracle.

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"I don't care about getting treasure. All I care about is my family. It wouldn't matter if we were poor or had no house as long as we were together."

Griffin said this just now. He needs to be asleep, but his insistence upon staying awake is amply offset by sweetness.

Pam and the girls are at a concert at Fairview High School. Rowan wants to study for her map test when they get home, but I'm not sure I'll be awake.

Two days till Disney :)

Daddy Dementia

I was driving back from the park n ride last night when Pam called me to see when I would be getting home. When I asked why, she said because we had to leave shortly for the concert.

"Concert?"

"You knew about this. I told you earlier this week."

And while some dads may default to, "like hell you did," I have come to accept that my brain doesn't always contain the breadth of dates, activities, performances, and other errata that come with being the father of three kids. Sure you may have told me, but have you told me recently? Repetition is the key.

Rowan's 4th grade choir concert was wonderful. There's a Hanukkah song they sang that I really liked and that Griffin sang along to. When it was over, we went home to study math and maps, in both of which Rowan has tests today. I am getting better, but still need to be more patient when it comes to helping the kids with math. Probably not being so tired would be helpful.

While I worked with Rowan, Pam read with Griffin - something he's been calling "the mouse book" which is evidently a series. He reminded me that we need to get Animorphs 4, a series he and I have been reading about teenagers who morph into animals to battle the evil aliens. Pretty cool.

Berit, who was baby-sitting next door, came home around 9:30. She's like me, needs to go to bed earlier than she does.

Griffin reading.

We're at Barnes & Noble where Berit is singing with her choir. I wasn't close enough for that picture, so I give you Griffin, reading.

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Hoppy the kangaroo was hopping along the beach...

He hopped to the Great Barrier Reef where a shark jumped in his pouch. Hoppy didn't notice. Then he hopped to Sydney where a fish hopped into his pouch. "Why isn't the fish wiggling?" Hoppy said. He reached into his pouch and pulled out the shark and he screamed so loud that Pluto fell and hit The Outback (Steak House).

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Glue for Milk, Shoveling Snow

Did you know that for the pictures of cereal in milk that grace the cover of cereal boxes they use glue as the milk? Griffin told me that. He learned about it in school. They do that so that the cereal doesn’t look soggy (the milk looks very white too… Fuji white).

I roused Griffin up from Super Mario Brothers to throw on coats, hats, gloves and head outside with me to shovel snow yesterday morning. I’d gotten him a small snow shovel of his own. We did the driveway and walks, and then upon his suggestion we shoveled straight down the street walk to take care of the walk in front of Nancy’s house (our librarian neighbor who is in a wheelchair). Last night, when Pam asked everyone at dinner what their favorite part of the day was, Griffin said it was shoveling snow with me :)

Santa's Elf

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It's Saturday. Griffin beat me at chess this morning before I had to take Berit to the first of the performances of her Christmas play.

"Break a leg," I told her, as she and Peyton leapt from the car.

"I will," she said," tell Griffin to break a leg at basketball."

"No... actually that would be bad."

Pam said the play was hilarious, and Griffin didn't break a leg at basketball, so it was a success all around. Griffin and Grant are here capturing the cats with blankets and bringing them repeatedly into the basement. This despite my meek protests.

Rowan and Pam just got home from wherever they went after the play. They have a burrito for me. I have to go.