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Bond, Mini Golf, and Mancations

What a fun year this has been so far.  I have really been enjoying the time with the kids while Sheryl is working in the mornings, and I have been slowly getting back into work. Work has generally been light as we are working on securing the next projects in the pipeline, it’s been really fun to actually play with some new technologies and prep them for future consulting engagements.

Probably the only thing that hasn’t been fun this year has been the weather.  It know it’s been cold everywhere, and I’m not about to complain about the Florida winter compared to what others have dealt with, however the only reason I can deal with the heat of the summer is for the mild winter.  I sure hope this summer is cooler then last year.

On to the fun…

We’ve been really picking up the party planning this year.  Probably the best one was our James Bond themed Valentine’s day party.  While we do have pictures, I can’t show them to you without a consent form, and even with that, I would have to kill you afterwords.  It’s tough to top the annual Christmas party, but I believe we have tallied the votes, and the Bond Party is definitely at the top of the short list.

The kids have been slowly adjusting to Sheryl working.  I think that it’s getting better, but every once in awhile I think that we start over again.  I’m really grateful that Chloe enjoys school, or we might have more of an issue.  Her recent progress report said that she is a ‘gentle spirit’.  For anyone that knows our Chloe, this is a perfect phrase to describe her.  Ade has also started school recently and seems to really enjoy it.  Somehow she always naps for them, but she doesn’t seem very interested in napping at home.  My guess is that the kids in her class last a little longer at the game ‘chase’ then I do.  The kids latest hobby is mini-golfing.  Most of the time they golf with Sheryl, but I’ve been a few times, and it’s so funny to watch them.  Adaline get’s a hole in one every time, it’s just an eventual hole in one.

My personal highlight of the first quarter of this year has to be the mancation that I took with a group of friends up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  While it was colder then Florida, the snow on the mountains was breath taking.  We had ton of fun, pitted our wits (and lives) against the side of an iced over mountain, and didn’t get into any lasting trouble with the law or our wives.  If you haven’t had a chance to get away with a few friends lately, I highly encourage you to put a little effort into it and make it happen.  With the right group of friends, and the right environment, your life will be impacted, and you’ll have memories that will last a lifetime.

We are looking forward to the summer, and I’m hoping that it will warm up soon, as I can’t wait to get my bike out of the shed.

Tudalu! — check out our photos from the last few months here.

By jason
March 20, 2010

2 comments

There is no sunshine without the rain

Well, the holidays are most definitely over, and they were good. It was great to have family in town and not have to travel this Christmas. We certainly have put in our hours (or is it days or weeks) on the road, or in the sky. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE, LOVE traveling. The season ahead of us seems to grant us a break, and it honestly seems refreshing. February and the cold ‘winter’ weeks in Florida have brought on a slew of sicknesses here at home: Chloe had a sinus infection, Ade- ear infection, Jason is still coughing and I have bronchitis. On a lighter note, we all seem to be on the road to recovery. I find myself sitting here in bed, laptop in place, wondering how familiar this seems (hmm- bedrest while pregnant with Adaline?).
Adaline is running about in her bathing ’soup’. It is pretty funny. You never get over the little English slub-bubs that 2 year olds come up with, until you realize that they don’t say them anymore. I’ve already forgotten most of Chloe’s funny words. She’s going to be 5 in a few months! Grampa used to always say, ‘Time waits for no one’.

I am summoned by her Majesty to play catch now, or is it to go potty?

By sheryl
February 10, 2010

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Leaving 2009 Behind


To start, Ade has a very special message for you.  It’s a little bit late, but it’s still cute.

2009 ended beautifully at our house.  It all started with our favorite party of the year, known as the Boyd Christmas party.  This year didn’t disappoint and there are quite a few stories to be told, but I’ll let those who own the story do the telling.  It was quite a way to introduce ourselves to our new neighbors, and I’m just glad that the police weren’t called for all the noise that we created.

For Christmas, we had quite a bit of family travel to Orlando to help us celebrate both Christmas and New Years and we loved having everyone close.  This allowed for Fluffer  (our bird) to become more comfortable with people, and I also learned how much counterpace there is in our main floor bathroom.  Probably the best part about the season was waving good-bye to 2009.  Not that we didn’t appreciate the time that we had, it’s just that there wasn’t a lot to smile about in 2009 so we have high expectations for 2010.   The pictures from Christmas have been posted here.

Some of my friends know that I had named 2009 – ‘Alive in 2009’.  The title seems a bit inappropriate now, but the point was to encourage myself to fully live in the moment and set-aside specific time to have adventures that I had never had before.  Although we did some planning, nothing really got off the ground.  At the risk of setting myself up for another year of failure, I’m officially naming 2010 – ‘Not Dead in Twenty Ten’.  So if you have ideas for how we (me and at least you) can shake things up in 2010, then send me a note.  Chances are, I’m all in and I’ll welcome your help in leaving 2009 behind.

2010 also brought two new things into our life.  I am now officially Mr. Mom and Sheryl started her new job.  Ask her about it, she would love to tell you all the details.  I’ve often felt that my job had really taken me away from my family too much over the last couple of years.  Often, even when I was home, I wasn’t really home.  So I’m really enjoying the time that I have now to make up for that at least a little bit.  I don’t know how long this opportunity will last, so I’m enjoying as much of it as I can.  I have to say that I’m not sure the kids enjoy my interpretation of cooking, but I’m doing the best that I can.

I’ve decided to set goals for 2010 in order to aid with making progress in the new year.  Although there are a lot of recommendations to make these public for accountability, I’m not sure that I have matured to that level.  If you are in a similar situation and would like to raise the game a bit with a little personal accountability then let me know and we can make it work.

Finally, in case you don’t follow me on twitter, I have launched Twitter accounts for the girls as well as photo blogs with their own domains.  I actually think that I like tweeting for them more then for me, so at a minimum I entertain myself.  If you are interested here are the details:

Chloe:
@ChloeAnnB
ChloeBoyd.com

Adaline:
@AdalineB
AdalineBoyd.com

Enjoy the winter months, I hope that if you don’t like the cold, then it warms up soon.  TTFN!

By jason
January 10, 2010

2 comments

Beginnings? Ends? Who Can Tell Them Apart?

Since the last post our life has experienced quite a few milestones as Sheryl alluded to in her Transitions post.  It’s really kind of crazy how this type of thing tends to come in such waves.

First off, and probably the biggest news,  is that we have finally moved out of Clermont after talking about it for probably about 2 years.  We didn’t sell our house and we are not certain how long we will stay in Orlando due to the economic climate so we have rented our house out in Clermont and are renting a wonderful historical home in downtown Orlando.  We’ve been in less then a month, but it’s starting to feel like home and we are all happy for the change of scenery.  If you haven’t been by yet, we would love to have you over so just let us know when you are coming!


I have to give a hearty thanks to Jeff, Rob, Cesar, and James  for giving up an entire Saturday to help me move all of our “stuff” and more then a little “crap”.  It doesn’t matter how many times you hear it, you really don’t know how many items you have accumulated until you have to move it all.  Sheryl and I did take the opportunity to edit some of our belongings so now the challenge will be to keep the inventory down for the next move.

Secondly, I now feel just a bit older.  Sheryl and I attended our first Christmas pageant where we had a child in the production.  I’ve been a part of Children’s productions since when many adults still considered me a child, it just feels a bit odd to be the one gawking and taking pictures instead of only watching all of the parents turn into paparazzi at the first site of their child on stage.  I had a good time, and I can say with no reserve and absolutely no partiality that Chloe was the cutest donkey that stage has ever seen.


Third, we are still whispering this, but I believe that our little Adaline is potty trained.  We had a few false starts, and it took us a bit to get the reward system down, but there has been a lot of success over the past couple weeks  so we are proclaiming victory, albeit softly.  Next up is getting her to keep her clothes on when we are at home.

Lastly on the job front, Sheryl has two interviews this weekend, one of which is a second interview.  Many of you know that she has been looking and praying for the right job for quite a long time now, and we are very hopeful for both of these opportunities.  With any luck our next post will have happy  details.  Also on the job front, my time at Pfizer has finally come to an end at the end of the year.  I’ve been on the Pfizer project through my consulting company for over 6 years now and it has been a great experience.   I don’t have the next thing lined up yet, but I’m also keeping a very open mind.  I starting consulting in LIMS while still in college so in many ways I’m just now finishing up my internship!


I can't believe it's a real Princess

Please have a very Merry Christmas and remember to cherish and love those that you are able to share it with.  Every year, and every holiday is a gift.  Be sure to open it slowly, be fully present for every moment, and leave nothing taken for granted.   To you and yours – Happy Christmas.

By jason
December 11, 2009

3 comments