"Tagged" Twice

So, I was tagged by Jenn last month and completely forgot about it until I was tagged by Andy yesterday. Now, I don't normally partake in these kinds of "chain" style activities. So, this chain will end with me and no one will lose a foot or a leg or a hug or anything. I don't promise enlightenment or even entertainment, but here goes:

Jenn's "Tagged" List:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Hmmm, ten years ago, June 1998. Joey was 6 and Sammy was 4, my guess is I was desperately trying to figure out what summer camps to enroll the kids in in order to maintain my sanity.

5 things on my to do list today:

-Get to work before noon

-Water the flower pots... its supposed to be near 100 degrees this weekend, yikes!

-Clean our home office

-Figure out a way to use all the leftovers from last night's dinner

-Plan some kind of summer getaway

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Set up trust funds for my kids, set up a charitable trust, pay off our bills, hire a personal trainer/chef (like Oprah) to make all my meals and follow me around making sure I exercise...

Bad habits:

Eating too much and exercising too little. Talking too much. Ordering people around. Yelling at Michael too much and making him get me food late at night. Going to bed too late and getting up too late in the morning. Watching too much TV (gee, I think I'll just stop here, this could go on forever).

Places I've lived:

Mesa & Tempe, Arizona; Kyoto, Japan; West Linn, Oregon; San Diego, California; Vancouver, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.

Jobs I've had (in chronological order):

Cashier/Donut Maker

Accounting Clerk

Administrative Assistant at a trucking company

Cashier/Yogurt Shop

Receptionist/Runner for Commercial Photograher

English Teacher in Japan

Sales Clerk/Book Store

Catering Associate at San Diego Marriott

Administrative Assistant to two Epidemiologists at UCSD

Sales Clerk/Assistant Manager at Imaginarium Toy Store

Self employed Bookkeeper

Fundraising Volunteer/Auction Coordinator

Operations/Human Resources Manager

Andy's "Tagged" List:

3 Joys

-my family & pets

-gardening

-digital video recording (DVR/Tivo used to

tape my favorite TV shows and then fast forward

through commercials, or pause a show at any

time, its the coolest!)

3 Fears

-heights

-water where I cannot see the bottom

-my kids driving

3 Goals

-be healthy

-be financially prepared for my kids college years (2 year count down starts now)

-travel more (very difficult considering 2nd goal)

3 Current Obsessions

-certain reality TV shows (like Hell's Kitchen & HGTV's Next Design Star)

-almost anything chocolate (is always an obsession, not just currently)

-blogging....

3 Surprises

-I have "special" voices for my animals

-I'm in love with David Duchovny (even before Californication)

-I quit my job every day, but my boss keeps making me go back :-(

Joey's Excursions

Recently Joey spent some time biking in the Redwoods and backpacking in Hell's Canyon. Here are some photos:

Biking in the Redwoods

June 12-15, 2008

Joey is the one bending over with his underwear showing

Northern California Coast

Joey in the middle with the white short shorts and

plaid shirt, beached whale to the far right

Joey in the middle, no helmet, pink shirt

Backpacking in Hell's Canyon

June 16-21, 2008

Jasmine, Irene & Joey

No tent required.... Joey on the left.

Joey on the left... desperately in need of a shower!

Game Night

So, Andy's request to come over and check out "Rockband" while he was in town turned into a really fun Game Night for everyone. I'll keep the words short and the pictures long, because the pictures really tell the story... and "some people" don't read anyway (and I'm not talking about Bridget and Logan, Andy!).

Michael and Logan having fun with the Brio Trains

I noticed it is very difficult to get a picture

of Logan and Bridget both looking at the camera

at the same time...

so, I took two pictures

Bridget and Logan skiing the Wii slaloms...

does two little people make one big person,

well, sort of.

The Wii was smart enough to comment that Jenn's

Mii weight was significantly different from when

she started, but it didn't say anything about her

having four feet.

Jenn and Bridget skiing together

Justin and Jenn rockin out to Rockband

That is one crazy looking band...

Helpful Uncle Andy--Bridget loves

holding the controller and I'm sure one

day very soon she'll figure out how

to use it.

Justin drumming... I can't believe I did not

get a picture of Tom singing--I hear he rocks it,

and he sure looks the part here, eh?

I didn't know drummers could be this cute!

Byron, Sammy & Shannon rockin out... or

are they? Can you do Rockband without

looking at the monitor, hmmm?

Drummer in training

Logan getting in one last exercise on the Wii...

Michael already on his cell phone, the party's over!

Until Next Time.....

Our New Obsession

So, last week for Father's Day I went looking for the Wii Fit game that Michael has been longing for... I just didn't realize the game is sold out all over the place. So, I was forced to go online and purchase the thing at a slight premium and not have it available for Michael on Father's Day :-(

In the meantime, we bought Michael "Guitar Hero" for the Wii which Michael and Sammy had to take back to the store because something was broken. When returning Guitar Hero, they decided they wanted "Rock Band" for XBox instead. Whatever! So, last week our new obsession was Rock Band... Michael was the drummer, Sammy was the guitar player and I was the singer (ha, ha, ha). It is quite fun (no pictures since we were all playing the game--you might notice Joey is missing from this story... he has been biking in the Redwoods and backpacking in Hell's Canyon for the past week and half).

So, the Wii Fit game arrived yesterday. Woo hoo! Its actually pretty fun.

You no longer have control over how skinny your Mii is....

once you stand on the board, it weighs you, takes down height,

age, etc... and then readjusts how chubby your Mii is... and

gives you a new age. This is actually not one of the fun parts

of the game. Michael is currently 66 (44), Sammy is 24 (14), and I am 52 (45)

Actual age in parentheses.

Michael is jogging... the jogging path is quite lovely

with waterfalls, rock formations, etc....

There are a couple of frustrating things though... for instance,

they make you follow behind someone and you cannot pass them.

While I was "jogging" along behind my leader, Andy's Mii character

passed me on his way up the trail and then passed me AGAIN on his

way back before I had even made it once! Even my Mom's gray haired

Mii character ran by me. Also, when I was doing the step up aerobics,

Danny's Mii character was on one side of me and Andy's on the other

(you have no control over this by the way) and I think they were

both laughing at me (do I sound paranoid? I am not really

fond of computer generated people that you don't have control over,

Sims immediately comes to mind).

Now, you don't really have control over what your Mii

people are doing when they are just standing around. I

think it is kind of eery how when I was taking this picture,

Michael's Mii was "pretending" like he is the master of Yoga

with great balance and I am yacking away at Sammy who

is just standing there listening--oddly realistic.

Anyway, I got my 30 minutes of exercise in today on the Wii and I

was sweating, like crazy, so I am counting it! Yes!

Happy Birthday Dad! Two? Too?

Well, another week, another birthday!

So, today is George's Birthday.... Happy Birthday Geo!

September 19, 1970

Chris, Sammy, Mom, Joey & Dad

We have so many happy memories from so many

great trips. This particular trip was a New Year's Cruise

to the Caribbean 2001-2

Geo's 60th Birthday Trip to the Mauna Kea

Grampy making the boys laugh in Berlin, Keeping people

entertained is Geo's specialty!

A rare picture, Kelsey & Riley not

fighting for Dad's attention.... although

I'm sure Riley believes he has the prime

spot, nobody goes anywhere without their feet

and he's got that covered.

When push comes to shove,

you will probably have to fight two very enthusiastic

dogs to get Geo's attention and you probably

won't win and he loves it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I Love My Pets

So, after I was done with my marathon Father's Day post last night, I turned around and there were all three of our pets just sitting there looking at me. No doubt they had been there the whole time. I just love animals....

Tinkerbell "Stinky" Lubitz in her little plaid house

(she loves sleeping in her carrying case)

Chloe prefers people furniture

And Kelsey, the big Golden Retriever prefers to

be right under your feet, just in case you might

want to go somewhere, you would have to step

on her first, thus alerting her you are going somewhere!

Father's Day

No, of course I wasn't going to let Father's Day go by without a blog post....

But, I am getting an early start because Father's Day is even bigger than Mother's Day. Why? you might be asking. Well, you'll see.

First, Michael's Father

Stuart Lubitz

Michael did some digging for me this time and found a couple pictures taken with his first camera. I included the pancake mix photo below, it's pretty cute. So, I have known Stuart for 24 years. That's a long time. Almost as long as some of my siblings have been alive. So, what to say about Stuart. First, I think my kids are pretty smart, I mean really smart, super smart (who doesn't right?) and I attribute that to Stuart. I believe Stuart has that smart gene and he has passed it down to my kids (Michael is now calling himself the conduit--of course we think Michael is pretty smart too!). Now, I know a lot of my family is smart in different ways, but I am talking a keen kind of intellect here. Another really cool thing about Stuart is that his sons idolize him... now, that must be an awesome feeling. Both sons have chosen career paths that follow in the footsteps of their Father. Both sons love their work and love to work--that's a great ethic to pass down. So, what more can I say. Stuart is an inspiration.

Stuart as a new Dad. Michael is the two month old baby.

Michael's first photo shoot. His new camera

did not have a flash and he wanted to acknowledge

the fact that his Dad made great pancakes (but

there wasn't enough light in the kitchen, too cute!)

David looks pretty confused, or probably just

wanting his pancakes!

I know Michael wanted this picture in here not

only because his Dad coached his team, but also because

Michael played center... yes, this is the year Michael was

the tallest kid on the team!

Michael's graduation from ASU, 1986.

Great picture of Michael and Stuart

at our wedding, although I think these

photos make them look like conjoined twins.

Michael, Stuart and David

(Joey in the backpack)

And on to my Dads.

George Peter Fleming.

Geo has been my Step Dad since I was 6. Its kind of hard to call him a "Step" Dad because Tiff and I lived with him since he and Mom got married in 1970. So, basically, he's another Dad. Not a replacement of the first, but an addition to the first--who says you can't have two Dads. We saw him when we got up in the morning and every day when he got home from work. We ate dinner with him and he was always there. He helped us with everything from homework to buying our first car. He is simply the greatest Step Dad a kid could ask for. He is kind, gentle, loving, funny, and adores kids, all kids. He loved us and has always been there for us and that is what really matters.

Well, I'm not sure what happened here, someone

seems to have lost his head. Before he and Mom were married,

George used to come over and bring old Charlie Chaplin movies and

a projector and we would watch them in the living room on White Lake Road.

Tiff was kinda shy and it took her a while to take to George,

but once she did, she did!

Our First Trip to Disneyland. I just had to

throw this one in (tee hee... its been a while

since Mom wore a two piece)

Paradise! George and Chris ocean kayaking

at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

Hawaii, Geo's 60th Birthday Trip

(people used to think Joey and Sammy were twins... )

Michael and Geo on Northern Europe Cruise

Me and Geo on a train to Berlin

Fun times!

Chris, Akiko, Judy and George Fleming

Now, Ichiban, Numero Uno, #1 Dad. The Dad that has been there since the beginning, well my beginning actually, not the beginning of time. The Dad that took me golfing when I was two and then loaned me his golf clubs when I was 14 so I could play on the high school team. The Dad that loved to play games and when Tiff and I would come to visit on our weekends, he would do something like pile all the pillows from the whole house on the living room floor and then let us jump off the kitchen counter into the middle of the pillow pile. Or, we would set up side by side hotwheel tracks down the length of the hallway and we would race all the cars to see which was the fastest (you realize Dad didn't get a boy until the 5th try... not that girls don't play with hotwheels, but I'm just saying). Anyway, Dad was always the coolest!

Loy Gene Godsey

So, here he is before all of it. Before marriage,

before 9 kids, and 12 grandkids... no wonder he looks so sad,

at 17 years old, he could not have known how great it would

all turn out.

I want Byron and Bridget to go to this same spot on the coast

and have their picture taken like this in September of this year

I think the photo would look awesomely similar

Interesting picture... so we are all crouched

down in order to get a better shot of the

bushes? and where am I supposed to go swimming?

Crater Lake Oregon Summer 1972

Dad's haircut is very cool

Dad, Kim and Jill

Okay, this is one of my all time favorite pictures ever.

I almost used this one on Jill's Happy Birthday blog

because she is so adorable in this picture, but I restrained

myself so I could use it 2 days later.... I have such

great willpower

Well, I'm not sure if this weekend brings

back such great memories for Dad (it seems the car towing

incident just got brought up again this past week), but it brings

back great memories for me and some pretty

good pictures for me to use on my blog

And Dads become Grandpas... I think Joey is

cursing me in this picture. I think he is thinking

"Sammy is crying his head off here and it is really

annoying to me and Papa Skip and our freaky

turtle creature that we made in the sand and you

are taking a stupid picture!"

Well, last, but certainly not least, not a Father of mine, but a Father to my children and a pretty darn good Father at that. Sometimes he may be quirky (okay, most times, okay, all the time), and sometimes he wears big glasses, but he is cool nonetheless and a great Father.

Michael Garden Lubitz

Joey says Michael's a great Dad at bathtime (or was,

now, of course, our kids bathe themselves :-)

Sammy says he is a cool Dad when just hangin' out

on the sofa (Sammy's actually a little bigger now, in

case anyone hadn't noticed)

and when I spit up all over him

and when he would get down on the floor and

read a book to my whole preschool class even though

he was wearing a suit.

The kids are almost grown now (I know, I know,

I'm not anxious for it to be over either), but I can say

to Michael, You Done Good!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads we know. Hope this

day brings lots of laughter and joy and pride!