A Day at the Zoo

In early June of last year we, Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Lexi and I, took a trip to the LA Zoo. Being that the trip was so far back I can’t recall a lot of the details. One thing I know was that Lexi had a really great time. She really enjoyed seeing all the different animals. Another thing I recall was that it was extremely hot that day, and that is coming from someone who lives in Vegas.


The zoo had a pretty good section which was specifically geared toward kids. Included in it was a petting zoo. So of course Lexi wanted to pet and touch any animal the staff would let her have her hands on.


After walking much of the morning it was time to take a lunch break. And what better to go with a hot summer day than an ice cold Icee.

A Day Out at the Track

This year was the big one, the year that I hit the big 30. I really wasn’t looking forward to my 30th birthday. Then again I really don’t look forward to any of my birthdays. I will say that this one was a little different.

For months, at least since October, Dawn had been teasing me that she was going to make this birthday special. To be honest it was not something that I was looking forward to. The last thing that I wanted was to have a big hoopla about my birthday.

To make matters worse Dawn made it clear that her surprise was time sensitive. She had been poking and prodding me about my schedule around the time of my birthday. Similar to last year, this spring I was scheduled to attend a week long training class in San Francisco around my birthday.

Finally, the day comes and Dawn hands me this envelope with a Richard Petty Driving Experience logo on it. I tear into it and discover that Dawn had purchased an eight lap package at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!! This was truly an awesome present!! There was one problem however; I would have to wait three weeks before I could go!! Ohhh the agony!! Thankfully the three weeks passed rather quickly and it was race time!!


Talk about an authentic NASCAR race day experience, we even had jets flying over as we were about to get started. The speedway is located right next door to Nellis AFB and they were running training exercises that day and this is one of maybe a dozen jets we had flying overhead before our laps started.

The weather that day was absolutely beautiful. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I mean it was only 100 something degrees instead of the 110’s of degrees. However, the Richard Petty folks did their absolute best to make sure that we were as comfortable as they could make it. They had the huge portable coolers and plenty of water to go around. Furthermore, they did their absolute best to make things comfortable for the family of those who there to do laps. As I was watching some safety videos and doing some laps in a van discussing safety, Dawn and Lexi were busy doing their own thing. I was told later that at no time did Dawn or Lexi feel like they were either unwanted or in the way. As a matter of fact they even let the little kiddo pose for some pictures with her favorite car.



Overall, the experience was absolutely amazing. It was so nice to hear that Dawn and Lexi had as an enjoyable time as I did. Considering they were only there as observers, I can only imagine how much of miserable time they could have had if the staff present were unaccommodating. However, it felt as if they were trying to make it enjoyable for everyone involved, the participants and the observers.

If anyone needs a great gift idea for that special someone for a special occasion I hands down recommend this to anyone, NASCAR fan or not. I think this picture sums it up well.


If I had a chance to do it again I would not hesitate to do so.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Not a lot to say today really. Sadly, I’ve been real busy with moving, work, and school. I’ve managed to get just a minute to put something up real fast. Back in May we went to Grandma’s house to celebrate her birthday. Here is a picture of Lexi enjoying some cake!!

At the Pool

In the evenings when I return home from either work or school Lexi and I normally walk over the office to check the mail. Along the way we pass the largest pool in the apartment complex. It is not uncommon to see it filled with kids that are playing, carrying on, and having a seemingly good. On several of these trips she expresses interest in going in the pool.


Now Dawn and I both know that Lexi is deathly afraid of water. She wants absolutely nothing to do with it in any way, shape, or form. I mean it is hard enough for us to get her to let us wash her hair in the bath. Also many times these walks back and forth to check the mail happen at almost nine o’clock at night, certainly no time for a quick dip in the pool for Lexi.


One Saturday we were walking home from our mail run and again Lexi said she wanted to go in the pool. I asked her a couple times if she was sure and she insisted that she wanted to. When we finally got back to the house Lexi and I got out swimsuits on and ventured out to the pool. Dawn joined us a short time later.


What you see here is a good representation of the extent that Lexi would go into the water. There was a couple times that she would sit her butt down on the second step, but those were few and far between. We had fun that day and it was early enough in the year that we didn’t burn up from the heat.

I Love to Tap, Tap, Tap

Nearly a year ago I came across a sign-up sheet for a free introductory dance class at Lexi’s school. Having always been interested in getting Lexi into a dance class I signed her up. Naturally this introductory class blossomed into a full fledged weekly event. Every week an instructor from the dance school provides on-site instruction at Lexi’s daycare. This is really convenient for Dawn and I as we aren’t required to transport Lexi to and from a dance class.


After having her enrolled for some time we were notified that the kids would be having a recital. We all got so excited to be watching our little kiddo perform with the rest of her classmates. The whole event was an absolute scream. I wish I had a couple more pictures unfortunately the stage was really dark and made taking pictures difficult. That and I think my battery died. Can’t remember exactly now. I do have some video of her doing her performances and it was so cute. I do have some video of the event I will see what I can do to get that posted for everyone.

And I Shall Call Her Mini-Me

In May I took the time to finally get a computer setup to connect to the television and other equipment in the living room. It is nice because I can use it to play movies, music, and surf the internet from the comfort of my couch. In the past I had wanted to setup a similar system yet there was always something holding me back. Typically it was the fact that I didn’t have a wireless keyboard and didn’t have a wireless connection for it. Thankfully with a Fry’s nearby I was able to get both.

After purchasing a wireless keyboard, Lexi was obsessed with it. She wanted to be like daddy and play with the new keyboard. So, I decided that I would cut the cord from an old keyboard I had lying around, and transform it to Lexi’s keyboard. After giving it to her, Lexi sat down on the couch, and started to be like daddy.

What makes this a little more amusing is the fact that I was rubbing in the fact that Lexi was acting like a computer geek and not a lawyer. Dawn and I have always joked and teased about what career Lexi is going to go into when she gets older. Of course with me being the techie I would like to see her go to MIT. On the other hand, Dawn wants her to go to some big Ivy League school and become some big wig attorney. So when Lexi started playing with this keyboard I had to rub it in a little.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!

It seems that some were confused by the recent Christmas photos that I sent out of Lexi. I must admit that I am really behind on my pictures of Lexi. I have new ones I just haven’t had the time to send them out to everyone. I am trying to fix that and thought that it would be best if I started from where I left off. Thus why the last pictures I sent were of Christmas even though they are six months old.

So a few months back was Grandpa’s birthday. Lexi was really excited to wish Grandpa a Happy Birthday. She would say in a normal voice “Happy Birthday”. Then switch to a low deep voice and say “Grandpa”. It was really cute.

Here we have a couple pictures of Lexi helping Grandpa with his birthday cake and ice cream. The first she is helping him blow out the candles. The second she was helping him eat all those sweets.



Of course all that excitement can wear you out.