Category: Rob

Colorado Trip

My uncle Tom, who lives in Colorado Springs, has not been doing well. His mental and physical health have been declining and I had the opportunity to go visit with him for a few days at the end of last week. Susan stayed home on kid duty and I spent my days visiting with Tom, making time for a hike each day.

Susan playing at the creek with the kids.
Lucia chasing after Elliot.
I camped in Colorado. It felt like our RV trip to pull into the campground after dark and have to find my spot.
The view from my office. I worked on Eastern Time, so I had a couple of hours each day to get some work done before heading in to visit with Tom. I was fortunate that the weather was still warm.
My first good view of the mountains.
Uncle Tom, resting
Tom liked to hold hands and one of my primary responsibilities when I was there was to make sure I was available for that.
Meanwhile, life went on at home and Susan had to get all of the kids to their activities. here, Andrew is running in a XC meet , maybe at Southeast Polk.
My first hike in Colorado Springs was to Garden of the Gods. I tried to stay pretty close to town.
Susan also had to get up early with Oreo, who insists on waking us just a little earlier than we would like.
During this time, Mari also submitted her application to work at Coldstone Creamery. With soccer and XC winding down she will have more free time, and she is saving up for a new phone.
Soccer fans.
Red Rock Open Space in the foreground, with Garden of the Gods in the background.
Susan and the kids enjoying a fire.

Graduation Party

I started working on my MBA back in the spring of 2017. I took some time off because of our trip and finished up a couple of weeks ago. There was a slight delay in officially celebrating my graduation because I was waiting on a final grade. We had the Reagens and Mimi and Papa over to celebrate and Susan and the girls put together a mini graduation ceremony for me. I probably spent about 3-5 hours each week working on my MBA work and it will be nice to have that time back.

I put this one in just for Ian.

Dean!

About 10 years ago I started playing guitar. I wasn’t ready to invest in a new guitar when I was just getting started, so I had to choose between my mom’s old guitar and Kathie’s old guitar. I took them both into a shop and they said that Kathie’s guitar was in better shape, so I went with that one. I have been playing that same guitar for the past 10 years.

This year for my birthday a few families chipped in to help me buy a new guitar and this weekend I came home with Dean. Dean is actually the company that made the guitar, but it says Dean right on top so that is what we are calling it. I actually wasn’t planning on getting something so fancy or flashy, but of all the guitars I looked at it just felt like the right choice.

Dean. I think I just couldn’t get past that bridge.

RUN Freedom 5k

This year I am signed up for a series of four 5k races based on Nevada, Iowa. The first race was postponed, but they held this race in a socially-distanced format, with contactless packet pickup and staggered starts to distance the runners. The race went OK for me, and I am glad to have something to train for.

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Categorized as Rob, Sports

Rob’s Birthday

We celebrated my birthday on Wednesday, with Mari’s. For dinner tonight we had we had sandwich bar, which I love, and then we had something for dessert. I think we made brownie sundaes, which is great.

For my gift this year several families chipped in to help my buy a new guitar. I started looking this afternoon and hope to make a purchase soon.

The Enneagram

I think this is pretty cool. The kids all took a simple Enneagram test today and when Susan and I took the test our highest areas came back opposite. I am not surprised and it is one of the reasons I think we work so well together.

  • Rob (Perfectionist, Achiever)
  • Susan (Enthusiast, Peaecmaker)

Red Flannel Run

I finished 6 seconds faster than last year. I’ll take it.

Thanks to Susan, Lucia, and Rose for getting up early and braving the cold to cheer for me.
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Categorized as Outdoor, Rob

So long, Beast!

This is our last photo of the beast. We were going to have it fixed, but decided not to, then it wouldn’t even make the drive back to our house.