family

Date Night

A couple weeks ago me and one of my good friends were hanging out early in the morning during our weekly accountability session and we wanted an easy way to be able to date our wives.

Its so important that you continue to date your wife after you’re married but with kids and responsibilities it becomes almost impossible. So we committed to work it out. We got together with one more friend and formed a co-op of sorts to help each other out. Read More

written on December 5, 2008 · 2 Comments

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

We left on Tuesday and decided to drive all day to maximize our time out there. There were a few things that we were a little apprehensive about:

This was Jace’s first long car trip – he would be tested on his sleeping ability
Our portable dvd player quit working
We would be making stops every few hours so Jace could eat
Last time we took a winter trip to Colorado we got stuck in Nebraska for three days. That is a punishment no one should have to endure.

written on December 4, 2008 · no comments

Internets, say Hello to Jace Aaron

We have a boy!

Jace Aaron decided to crash this party a little early last night at 7:51pm.

The little champ weighed in at 5 pounds 10 ounces.

Mom and baby are doing well.

We are at Lutheran hospital room 517 for those who want to visit.

written on August 2, 2008 · 4 Comments

The End is Drawing Near…

Mickie’s water broke last night, we came into the hospital this morning and are a few hours into the process.

It’s been quite a surprise again since Mickie was not due for another 4 weeks.

I’m doing more frequent updates through Twitter, so if you want the latest information check there.

http://twitter.com/joshbyers

I’ll post here with major news.

written on August 1, 2008 · no comments

She Huffed and Puffed

Every night we put Mia to bed she has a list of items she needs to do to prolong the staying up and to put off the laying down. These things include: getting a drink, taking her vitamins, turning on the light, changing the hall light bulb, tucking her in, laying down with her, and telling her stories.

Its that last one that was quite funny tonight. She asked me to tell her the story of the 3 little pigs. So I did my best to recreate that timeless masterpiece and I think I could have won a voice over Academy Award (if there is such a thing) for my portrayal of the Big Bad Wolf. I might have gone a little over the top on the I’ll huff and puff bit but she didn’t care.

So after I’m done she wants to tell me a story. Here is Mia’s story.

“Once upon a time, upon a long time ago there was Scooby, Daphne, Fred….(big pause as she remembers the other sleuthing members) Velma, and Shaggy. And they were at the beach. And they saw a pirate ship. And Daphne was gone! She was stuck on the pirate ship! Help me! They flew to the ship and then they saw pirates! And Daphne kicked down the door and she huffed and puffed and blew the pirate ship away. The end.”

I love the thought of Daphne playing the part first of Chuck Norris and demolishing a door and then sucking in a huge breath to blow that ship away.

written on March 26, 2008 · no comments

Photo Day at the Park

We had some family pictures taken on Saturday by my good friend Jacob Heisterkamp. Here are a few previews.

written on September 24, 2007 · 6 Comments

A Road Not Often Traversed

There are a lot of hobbies I wish I had more time for: guitar, cooking (no, really), and photography. And since I have one of the world’s most beautiful daughters photography is something I would really like to be good at. As life goes however everybody gets lucky. And in my case if I take 1000 pictures one should end up being pretty good.

So I would like to share with you this summer’s favorite shot. It was taken in Winter Park, Colorado just behind the condo we were staying in. I don’t know a lot about composition, but I’m told this photo has it good…or something like that.

Enjoy the stylized versions and check back in a few months after my next 1000 or so to find another good one.

written on August 17, 2007 · 3 Comments

Summer Vacation

Sunshower This summer we went on our bi-annual excursion to Winter Park, Colorado. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been going up there for the past 26 years (with a couple missed here and there). Not much has changed except for a few stores. The town and the resort are nearly exactly like I remember them each there (except for the ridiculous prices that double each year). Read More

written on July 31, 2007 · no comments

What’s New in ’07?

Time for the requisite family and friends update.

I have been getting a lot of emails from family and friends with all the cute and cuddly details about their lives. And since my email habits are like my phone habits (I try and spend as little time on both as possible) I’ve been feeling a little guilty about not sharing the details that some of you love (Mom…)

First of all, it would be nice if the temperature would stay above 20 degrees for 2 straight days. I don’t think I’m asking a lot here. I honestly can’t remember a stretch this cold this long in my lifetime. I promise I will never make “Old People Living in Florida” jokes again. My Christmas lights are still half up…and I’m a person who can’t stand it when people leave their lights up past the 26th of December. If I were to try and go on our roof at this point I am pretty sure I would either slide off on to the driveway and break something vital or slide into the power lines and fry something vital. So the lights are staying up for now – at least they’re not on.

I traveled to San Francisco again in January for my job but was unable to bring Mickie along this time. It was too bad too because my second day of training was canceled. I ended up driving to Monterey Bay for the day. It is a really cool coastal town. I was going to go to the Aquarium but it was a wee bit pricey. Its always fun eating by yourself in a touristy place as well. I tried to make myself look like as little of a loser as possible by spreading out a couple folders and made it look like I was working or something. I actually just stared at the water and the sea gulls. I ended the day by driving back up the coast to SF which was really cool.

Probably the single biggest thing to happen in 2007 so far was my acquisition of a Nintendo Wii. If you don’t know the Nintendo Wii is revolutionary game system that gets most of its input based on motion. So if you are playing Tennis you swing the controller just like a racket and the system picks up your motion and translates it on the screen. Mickie and I played one at our friends the Criggers’ house and had a lot of fun. You know it’s a good gaming system when Mick gets into it – and let me tell she gets into it. Playing tennis one day I had to cower in fear against the wall to avoid her Venus Williams like arm swings… The youth group has had a blast with it as well. Bowling is the most popular among that group.

Mia has been going through, well how do I say it, an independent stage…

I probably say this every time I write about her but I love watching her figure out new things. Her conversation gets more mature all the time and I can’t believe the size of clothes Mickie bought for her the other day. She has been memorizing a lot of songs recently and the current hit is from the Little Mermaid. I have a video I’ll post soon or maybe in a year… Her favorite activity right now is to make “Jumpers”. Well, I actually make them she just jumps on them. For the uneducated a “jumper” is a combination of couch cushions, pillows, blankets and anything else that would break the fall of a 2 year old from about 4 feet.

This post is getting a little long so I’ll spare you all the rest and try and update a little more frequently and a lot shorter.