14 kids is ridiculous

Pardon me if I'm not jumping for joy at the "miracle" of the octuplets. A 33-year old woman who lives with her parents who have a history of finacial problems, and already has 6 children ages 2-7, gets fertility treatment and has 8 more children. Fourteen kids who are bound to end up on public support. And who paid for her fertility treatment? This is not a miracle of science to celebrate. This is insane.

The Holidome

Ah, the Holidome experience. I remember as a kid thinking that the Holiday Inn Holidome was probably as good as it gets. They have a pool, hot tub, video games and plenty of room to run around, all in a cavernous building right outside your hotel room door. Who cares where your parents are dragging you in the avodado green Gran Torino station wagon? It could be Swamp Flats, Arkansas, for all I cared. As long as we stayed at the Holidome, I was happy.

Oh how things have changed. I had the, uh, opportunity, to relive those childhood memories this weekend. Amy cashed in some credit card points to earn us a free Saturday night stay at the Holiday Inn in Frisco, so we could get 2 days of skiing with the kids without an extra round trip in I-70 traffic. Between my grown-up standards and the 20-some years of wear and tear the Holidome has suffered, the Holidome magic is gone for me. Forever, I'm afraid. Sob. Considering the abundance of tattooed, Budweiser-swilling hot tub soakers and folks lounging in the game area, I think it would be fair to call it the "Hooligan Dome" these days. Thank goodness we didn't get one of the room adjoining the Hooligan Dome, where we would have had to listen to the racket til 11 pm. Unfortunately, though, all the non-smoking rooms were booked, so we got stuck in a room permeated with the foul odor of stale cigarette smoke.

Nevertheless, the kids had a great time in the pool and playing air hockey the next morning while the hooligans slept off their hangovers. I'm sure from now on they'll ask if we can stay at the hotel with the pool when we go skiing.

Andrew's first black ski run

We went skiing over the weekend and Andrew bagged his first ever blue and black runs on the same day. On Friday at Vail, he skied the blue run Avanti, and just before lunch at mid-Vail, the whole family went down Look Ma - a black run! I held Elizabeth with her ski harness, and that fearless girl loved the bumps. Amy helped Andrew down part of the run, but then he insisted on skiing the bottom half by himself, slowly snowplowing between the bumps. Now "Look ma" isn't a tough black run, but it's a black run nevertheless.

Kauai trip recap

Here are some photos and a summary of our trip to Kauai with the kids and my parents, Dean and Linda.

I already wrote about our first 3 days in a previous post.

Friday Dec. 5

A few minute walk from our condo gets us to Poipu beach, where we do some snorkeling and the kids played in the sand. Some endangered monk seals spend their days sleeping on the beach here, and locals rope off an area of beach around them so they can rest without being bothered by people.

The sheltered swim area at Poipu beach (above) is great for kids.

Dean enjoys a crossword puzzle and the feral chickens while the rest of us play in on the beach.

A monk seal naps on the beach.

Saturday Dec. 6
I got in a coastline run before sunrise. Then we packed everyone into our 2 rental cars and headed to the north side. We spent the afternoon at Hanalei beach, shown below.

Sunday December 7 - a lazy day.

Monday December 8
I twisted my back at the tide pools at shipwreck beach in front of Hyatt. Waimea Canyon, which wreaked havoc with our scuba diving plans over the next 3 days. At any rate, we spent Monday at Waimea canyon, a 10 mile long, 3000 foot deep canyon. Quite impressive. The photos below don't really do it justice. My mom & dad went to Beach House for a fancy dinner while Amy and I entertained the kids at the condo.
Amy and Elizabeth at the top of Kalalau valley.
Tuesday December 9
Mom & dad took a helicopter tour and had the front seats. Amy and I did that last time we were here so we saved our $400 for other things, like the chiropractor I unfortunately had to visit while Amy & the kids played at shipwreck beach and made a sandcastle. Andrew collected shells and coral bits.

Shipwreck beach at sunrise

Andrew and Elizabeth in front of their sand castle.

Wednesday December 10
Amy, Linda and kids rode the train at Kilohana Plantation. Dean and I went to Poipu beach to snorkel, but dad couldn't get the hang of breathing through the snorkel and didn't like the choppy surf, so I went out briefly by myself. Amy and Linda went to botanical gardens and picked some amazing star fruit while dad and I played with the kids at the pool. Amy snorkeled at Lawai beach - best snorkelling yet, and I missed it. This was the end of the good weather - overnight and into Thursday morning we got a downpour of about 4 inches of rain.

Thursday December 11
Amy and I tried to snorkel at Lawai again after 4 inches of overnight rain and gale force winds. After 2 minutes in the water, Amy says "I can't see s**t". She was right. We gave up. Next we took the kids to Wailua falls (below) and Opaeka'a falls, not to mention their favorite spot on the island, Lydgate park, which has an amazing "play bridge"; an elaborate structure and maze with a big bridge. Mom & dad toured the coffee plantation while we were out with the kids, and we enjoyed a nice weather day in between storms. We decided to cook our own fresh fish dinner again tonight - this time grilled swordfish, wild rice and an excellent stir fry. Yummy.

My back got 90% better after diving into pool after dinner. No idea why that would fix it. Andrew is diving - head first - into the pool now, without goggles! To celebrate my ability to once again move without terrible pain, Amy and I went to the Stevenson's Library bar at the nearby swanky Grand Hyatt where I enjoyed a $16 organic margarita and $8 beer from a can. At least we got in 2 games of pool and enjoyed the live jazz band for no extra charge.

Wailua Falls (above)

Andrew dives!

Friday December 12
More rain fell overnight, but this morning we had a few hours of respite with just a few sprinkles, so we took the kids on a hike along the coastal cliffs (below). Andrew insisted on going back this afternoon to his favorite spot - the play bridge - despite the rain. Amy and I each bought $30 used wet suits, which I promptly used during my surf lesson in the rain. We had our hearts set on pizza for dinner, and checked reviews on the internet, our guide book, and by asking the locals before finally choosing Brick Oven Pizza in nearby Kalaheo town (a 15 minute drive). It was worth it. Great pizza, but pretty pricy, like most things on the island.

Hiking the south coast of Kauai

Saturday December 13

Our last day on Kauai was wet. I started the day with a run in pouring rain and wind, which was a refreshing change from the cold rain in Colorado. The rain slowed long enough for a brief walk in the tide pools again where Amy spotted a very cool sea snake slithering around in a little pool. I convinced Andrew that the rain didn't matter if you're in the pool, so enjoyed so more father-son bonding time while Elizabeth napped and I watched him repeatedly dive in to the pool. Hopefully our flight home will be on time - if so, we'll arrive at 6 am Denver time, just when the kids should be waking up.

Surfing in the rain

Since I last reported on our lazy Sunday in Kauai, things have been interesting. I arrived in Kauai last week fighting a cold, and since that means trouble clearing my ears, it meant waiting to arrange a scuba diving trip. That quickly cleared up thanks to the warm, humid climate but then on Monday morning, I threw out my back. I wish I had a great story to tell about how I did it, but I think I'm just getting old. What a drag it is getting old. I just leaned over a bit and something in lower back went completely haywire and I spent the next 3 and half days in pain, even visiting a chiropractor, until it miraculously healed itself upon diving into the pool on Thursday night.

The real bummer is that we had fantastic weather while I was in agony with back pain, but Wednesday night the island got 4 inches of rain and it hasn't really stopped raining since then. All the rivers blew out with mud and debris, and the wind tossed up huge waves. That nixed our dive plans. Amy was even more disappointed than I was.

So today I settled for a surfing lesson - in the pouring rain. I called a few people and no one was doing surf lessons in these conditions, so we packed the kids in the car to drive to the awesome playground at Lydgate beach/park (yes, also in the rain). Surfing must have been ordained, for this is apparently the one spot on the island today where the water wasn't dangerously murky and polluted. In another sign from the heavens, there was a truck parked at the beach with surf boards strapped to the top and the message "surf lessons 645-1029" painted on the door. I called and got my surf lesson, which renewed my respect for surfing. It's hard as hell to time the wave, paddle, and launch yourself up on the board while placing your feet precisely in the right spot to balance. I managed to ride 4 or 5 easy waves in my hour long lesson. Kudos to my instructor, a Hawaiian native named Lono, for showing me a great time.

Lazy Sunday on the Garden Isle

We spent a lazy day today on the Garden Isle, as Kauai is often called. After breakfast we lounged at the pool and hot tub with the kids. For our most ambitious part of the day, we hauled a couple of boogie boards down to the nearby Brennecke's beach and Amy and I enjoyed waves of up to 4 feet while my mom watched the kids play in the sand. My dad searched fruitlessly for a sports bar that would have the Bronco game on, and then we retired to our condo for lunch and the 49'ers - Jets game. With the 3 hour time difference, the early NFL games come on at 8 am. The kids and I had a nice siesta and then we took a short trip to the store for some supplies - and ice cream. Right now we're cooking our own dinner again - baked whole chicken, wild rice, and salad. Most people would probably eat out every day while on vacation, but I don't mind cooking - especially with the kids, who get restless sitting at a restaurant table.

I love staying at a condo with a fully equiped kitchen, but the one thing hate at every condo I've ever stayed in is dull knives. Drives me nuts. This place is no exception. This afternoon, though, I found a knife sharpener in the drawer and went to town. Now I can slice a tomato without smashing it.

Denver to Kauai

We woke up on Thursday at 3 am. That's right. 3 am. I took a 2 minute shower just to wake up, threw on some clothes, and tossed the luggage in the car. Check flight status: United says our flight at 6 am is on time. It's snowing outside. We grabbed the kids out of bed. Andrew was so excited about going to Hawaii that he was already awake. We strapped him and Liz into their car seats and backed out into the snow, heading to my parents house. Dean and Linda are joining us on our Kauai trip, and we don't want to pay to park 2 cars for 10 days. Yep, we're cheapskates.

We arrived at DIA a little before 5 am, and we're fumbling with the self-check-in kiosks, wondering why it keeps telling us to talk to an attendant. Finally, we give up and follow it's instructions, and learn that our plane has mechanical problems. The 6 am flight is canceled, so we'll be departing at 10:30 instead. 10:30? I got up at frickin' 3 am!!!

At least they gave us each $15 meal vouchers for our trouble I wanted to explain that my hourly rate is much higher than that, but I refrained. Of course the only place open that early is McD's, so we got some coffee and a burrito, hashbrows for the kids, all just appetizers for the big breakfast at Pour La France - whenever it finally opens. You gotta keep the kids entertained, and we figured if we stuffed ourselves now we wouldn't need to pay $10 for crappy airline food. If there was a silver lining to all this, on our new flight from LA to Kauai, Amy and I and the kids had a whole row of 6 seats to ourselves, so we could at least stretch out a bit.

At any rate, we arrived on the garden isle at 6 pm. 5 hours later than planned. Got to our condo in Poi Pu and crashed for the night. Good thing we went to bed early, because the kids woke up at 4 am. If you have kids, then you know that we also, therefore, got up at 4 am. The good thing about getting up at 4 am is you can have a lazy morning and still beat the crowds to the beach. Poi Pu beach state park is a short walk from our condo, and a great spot for the kids, with a breakwater creating a calm area for the kids. Pretty decent snorkelling, to. We spotted banner fish, unicorn fish, trumpet fish, and many others. Humuhumnukunukuapua'a - the Hawaii state fish - a type of trigger fish with pattern so geometric you can't believe it's natural. Oh yeah, and 3 monk seals were snoozing on beach, oblivious to the hordes of gawking tourists.

80 degrees and sunny, with a nice breeze. Perfect temp. Back in Denver we heard the overnight low temp was 5 below zero (F). Brrrrrr. Low temp here was about 75 (above zero). Nice.

Saturday. Up early again. About 5 am today. I went for a shoreline run in the dark while the kids watched TV. After a big breakfast, we headed to the north side. Stopped at some roadside stands to buy some freshly picked grapefruit, bananas, tangerines, and limes. Yummy. Next stop was Hanalei (inspiration for Puff the Magic Dragon, and still crawling with hippies). Bought some fresh fish at the Dolphin fish market. Took our chances with 2 pounds of Walu, which we've never tried before, and were richly rewarded with one of the best fish meals I've ever had, thanks to Dean's grilling skills.

Back to Hanalei. The north shore is famous for surf, especially in the winter, and today we saw why at the mile-long crescent shaped Hanalei beach bay. I'm not a surfer, but after watching dozens of people ride the great waves here today, I think I gotta spend a day and try it my self. At least I got in some body surfing in. I held Andrew's hand for about an hour as we both played in the edge of the surf. He absolutely loved the waves.

Next stop - the pools of Mokolea, some small tide pool and one lava tube perfectly situated so the waves come shooting up out of it. Pretty neat. No one else is around.

After an hour-long drive back around the island while Andrew slept, we enjoyed the grilled walu, along with a stir fry of bok choy, onion, and mushroom, plus Dean's specialty baked potato recipe. A fabulous meal that would have cost $40 per person at a restaurant.

I'm pooped. Time for bed!

Let the Big 3 fail

Detroit needs a shake up. The big 3 can't produce quality products at a profitable price. Part of the reason is their union contracts, and part of it is that they just can't figure out how to compete with Toyota. Giving them a taxpayer funded bailout now would be no better than offering free herion to a junkie to feed his bad habit. It's time we let a bad business fail, and give new, innovative companies the opportunity to fill the void.

Elizabeth's first ski trip

This past Sunday we took advantage of the Colorado passes we bought and hauled the kids up to Breckenridge for some early season skiing - and Elizabeth's first time on skis, at age 2 and a half! It was a great day to introduce her to the wonderful world of snow sports, with bright sunshine and temperatures in the 40's. Andrew's first skiing experience, on the other hand, was a frigid and windy day at Mary Jane. He didn't last long in those conditions. We got 4 runs in on Sunday, and Elizabeth really enjoyed it. It certainly helped that she had a big brother encouraging her.

The Halloween Owl

How often do you get to have a close encounter with a wild owl - on Halloween? The kids and I had just such an experience tonight! We left the house at dusk to go trick-or-treat, and as we were tromping up the sidewalk to the 2nd house of the evening, we heard an owl hooting. At first I figured one of the neighbors had a soundtrack of scary halloween noises playing, but then we heard it again. Not just me - the kids heard it too - and Andrew said "Owl!". I stopped and scanned the trees across the street, and sure enough, perched at the top of a nearly leafless tree across the street was the silhouette of an owl. I pointed it out to the kids - they saw it now too. As I was pointing, it launched itself from the tree and swooped right toward us, as if to make a meal out of little Elizabeth, paused directly overhead - just 15 feet above us, then turned slightly and flew away silently. Quite a halloween treat!

Here are me and the kids in our costumes, showing off the jack-o-lanterns that the kids carved (with help from mom) from pumpkins my dad grew in his garden. Thanks, dad!

Last harvest?

Raspberries in late October? Yep. I checked our backyard raspberry patch yesterday - October 20 - and found 3 very nice, ripe golden raspberries in our raspberry patch. There are a few more unripe berries on there, but with the colder weather moving in today, I suspect that was my last harvest this year from our garden.

Thailand and Laos (June 14, 2002)

This is another installment in the series: 'Round the World Revisited. I sent this email from Thailand on June 14, 2002 during our 6 month journey around the world.

Hello all!!

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away . . .

We previously gave you a lesson in Australian english
- I suppose we need to include some Thai versions of
the English language as well:
-"Please Waiting" - a sign at a theater

-"Smooth and Mellon" - on a Tiger whiskey bottle

-"Please don't feet up on sanitary" - in a bathroom
stall - translation Don't stand on the toilet

-"No ladey bar or gaydey bar in room" - in our Chiang
Mai hotel - translation No hookers or Drag queens in
your room

We've also seen some unusual English words, I hesitate
to call them expressions, on T-shirts:
-"Haworthia. The nature coming."

-"What your bathroom?" with a cartoon kitty

-"Indiana Ten Bigfoots" with a big 23 similar to a
jersey

Observations on Laos:
-This is real Asia unspoiled by too much tourism and
the fake front that goes with it

-The pace of life is slow and relaxing. Everybody is
very laid back.

-In general the people are more friendly than the
Thais. Probably because it is less touristed.

-Transportation is slow - it's a good thing nobody is
in a hurry

-The largest Lao bill is 5000 kip, equivalent to about
50 cents. This means when you change a hundred dollar
travelers check you are a millionaire with a 2 inch
tall stack of bills.


We've been busy since last we wrote. We headed north
from Bangkok and stopped in Ayuthaya, the former
capitol city, to see the 17th to 19th century ruins.
These are nothing compared with the ruins at Angkor,
but worth a stop none the less.

From here we took an overnight train to Chiang Mai.
The train was really nice compared to the bus. Our
seats converted into beds and there was a fold away
table, waiters to deliver food to your seat, the works
- and this is only second class. We really liked
Chiang Mai. It's much cleaner, quieter, cheaper and
more laid back than Bangkok. The people are also a
lot more friendly. From here we did a three day trek
to visit some Hill Tribe villages. The hill tribes
are minority groups, mostly having migrated south from
China and vicinity, that live in small rural mountain
villages practicing subsistence farming.

We also took a Thai cooking class which was really
good and went to "Monk Chat" where the monks get to
practice English and the tourists get to ask questions
one on one.

Also as part of the trek we rode a bamboo "raft" down
the river, with little bits of it continually falling
off. Finally we rode some elephants through the
jungle. This would have been cool except for the
horrible cruelty displayed by the trainers - hitting
them with big sticks and stabbing them with knives.

From Chiang Mai we headed into Laos via Huay Xai. We
took a "slow boat" down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.
It took 2 days to go just a couple hundred kilometers
in a cramped boat with wooden bench seats. The
temples in this World Heritage Area were amazing.
Just the sheer number of them is overwhelming. Also
the monks are really friendly since they all want to
practice their English on the tourists. We even
helped a few with their homework. We really enjoyed
the city and watching the local crafts people at work
(papermaking and silk weaving). This has been one of
our favorite spots of the trip.

It has been Brad's dream to accumulate enough scars to
scare little kids when he's old. He managed to scare
several Lao kids without even showing one scar. We
went on a trek to some Lao villages that had only been
visited by tourists once before. Some of the kids
that had never seen white people before burst into
tears at the sight of us. The rest of the kids and
not a few adults just stared at our every move. They
wanted to see how we walked, what we ate, everything.
It made me empathize with celebrities who are
constantly followed by the press. The only toy we had
to show off was the zoom lens on the camera. The kids
had fun looking through it as we zoomed in and out.
Our guide Mr. Nou (pronounced new) was awesome, the
best we've had. The village where we stayed overnight
was holding a ceremony the day we were there, no
outsiders allowed. Mr. Nou managed to get around this
with a bribe of 1 chicken and a bottle of whiskey
(total value $2.50). At night they fired up the
generator to watch a Lao dubbed version of the
original Planet of the Apes.

From Luang Prabang we took an 11 hour bus ride to the
capitol city, Vientiane (again only a couple hundred
kilometers). Along the way we stopped at some road
side "rest stops" - no facilities. The windshield on
the bus was held on with packing tape and the bus was
retrofitted with a wooden floor. We headed for a
little "eco-resort" outside of Vientiane for a little
peace and quiet. Since this place has no electricity
one of the workers invited us to his house to watch
the World Cup (soccer) game on that evening. This led
to an invitation to a wedding in his village the
following day. We didn't see the actual ceremony, but
the reception is pretty much like an American wedding,
food, drink and dancing. Just like back home, Amy
danced while Brad sat and drank whiskey. The kids had
a good laugh watching Amy dance and everyone made an
effort to make us feel welcome.

On the bus ride to the resort the bus would stop
anytime someone asked it to, wait for them to do their
shopping, and let them back on. On the bus ride back
to Vientiane about 1/3 of the bus was filled with
goods for market including live frogs and chickens.
Back in Vientiane we realized that our world view has
changed when we decided not to eat in a nice
restaurant because the $6 meals were outrageously
expensive.

We re-entered Thailand and headed to the country's
first national park, Khao Yai (translates to Big
Mountain). This was one of the highlights of our trip
to Thailand. We were able to see Macaque monkeys,
Gibbons (these are apes not monkeys as we were told),
several species of squirrel, Hornbill birds, Barking
Deer, Sambar Deer, porcupine, Elephant Scorpion,
Indian Civet (exotic looking feline) and our favorite,
leeches.

Next it was back to Bangkok to spend a couple days
before flying on to Turkey tonight. We decided to
take advantage of the air-con in the movie theater and
saw Star Wars II. After the previews there is a
message that says "Please pay tribute to the king".
At this point everybody stands while scenic images of
Thailand and the King doing good things are shown.
Everybody here really seems to respect and like the
king.

Until next time . . .

Brad and Amy

Employee no more

I officially became an independent contractor today. My former employer, IP Commerce, eliminated my position as part of a reorganization. They did offer me a contract, however, as a technical account manager, which I accepted, but the contract may last only a month or two. I'm a bit disappointed because I really enjoyed my job and my team. I'm also a bit excited because this unexpected change has provided me the motivation to pursue some of my own business ideas, and to venture into the world of contracting.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my professional life.

Snowy hike

Amy and I had an overnight getaway to Georgetown this weekend. After dropping the kids with Amy's parents on Friday evening, we spent the night at the charming Rose Street B & B in Georgetown. There was one other couple staying in the house that night, and we had some really engaging conversations with them Friday night and Saturday morning. We far prefer the B & B or hostel setting over the typical motel/hotel for this reason - you have the opportunity to meet great people that you just don't get at a hotel.

Saturday morning we were greeting by some unusually beautiful weather - bright sun shining through a light snowfall with golden aspen leaves and green conifers all around. After a relaxed morning and a fantastic breakfast, we drove up Guanella Pass for a hike to Silver Dollar Lake. Up at this high altitude, the snow was falling. Not the fluffy winter variety of snowflakes, but the autumn ice pellets, driven by the wind. I don't mind the cold and snow - in fact I really enjoy it - and it made for a great hike of a few miles to the lake. On the way down, we spotted a pair of ptarmigan with half summer and half winter plumage. They didn't mind us at all as they slowly hopped from rock to rock on a scree field just yards off the trail. Bring on the winter snows - I'm ready!

4:43 mile - for 26.2 miles???

Imagine running a single mile in 4 minutes 43 seconds. I can't because I've tried and can't even come close to 5 minutes. But Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia just set the world record marathon time of 2:03:59, which is 4:43 per mile for 26.2 miles! That's an all-out sprint for over 2 hours. It's absolutely unbelievable, and a little depressing to know that even with all my training, I'll never even come close to a feat like that. Well it's time to stop feeling sorry for myself and just keep running.

The kids visit cousin Trevyn

The family piled into the car for a trip to Laramie yesterday to see my sister's family and Andrew & Elizabeth's newborn cousin Trevyn.

Jeff (dad) and Trevyn

The Swansons and Trevyn

The cousins

Lynette (mom) and the baby

Andrew and Roscoe play fetch

For the drive back, we employed our favorite tactic of waiting til the kids bedtime so they'd sleep in the car. Ahh, sweet silence!

Tiny town

Yet another delay post due to my laziness! We finished our labor weekend a month ago with a visit to the famous Tiny Town Railroad just up the hill from our house. This is another great spot to take the kids for the day. Besides the train that loops around the pint-sized village, it also has a regular playground - great when they get tired of exploring the tiny buildings and riding the train.

Rifle Falls

I never got around to writing about our family trip to New Castle on Labor day weekend - almost a month ago. Besides the obligatory visit to the Glenwood hot springs pool - which the kids love - we spent a half day at Rifle Falls State Park, near Rifle. It's an impressive falls over a limestone formation that also has quite a few caves to explore. Unfortunately we didn't know about the caves, and didn't come prepared with flashlights. It's a worthwhile daytrip if you're in the area. One of my dad's neighbors in New Castle has a boy, Colin, who is Andrew's age and he joined us - including my dad - for our tour of the falls.

Dean (my dad), Colin, Andrew, Elizabeth, and me.

Dad and Elizabeth from behind the falls.

Nephew #2

I'm an Uncle times two today. My sister Lynette had a baby boy! Trevyn Jeffrey Morris was born at 1:10am on Sept 7. He weighed in at 6lbs, 10oz, 19 3/4 inches. Congrats, Lynette and Jeff!

Photo from Pikes Peak

I finally received my photo from the Pikes Peak Ascent. You can barely tell it's me, but it is. If you're thinking it looks like I'm not even running, you're right. The last few miles of the race are more like a fast hike - for most people, anyway.