Blends With Savanna Grasses

Labels: Anna, Experiences

Labels: Experiences

No one would be surprised if your little daughters wanted to dress up as princesses for Halloween.  Here are our two little "Her Royal Highnesses":



Honestly, I think Katie (above upper) and Ava (above lower) just wanted an excuse to put on tons of make-up and to do their hair.  Savannah kindly photo-bombed Ava in all of her glamours glory.  The older girls decided to go in the exact opposite direction of the glamour of pageant princess and settled on HOBOS.




Savannah (above top) is channeling more of the "unwashed hippy" vibe.  Kaylee and Rebecca (above middle) are making their panhandler signs.  Kaylee (above bottom) is bringin' the hobo-chic.  All she needs now is a little unwashed funk to perfect her image.  I doubt that she got a lot of takers on her "free hugs" offer.



Typical for Anna (above), she was barely getting started on her Hitalia costume with the little hair flip when everyone else was practically finished.

Labels: Anna, Ava, Experiences, Katie, Kaylee, Kids, Savannah

Here we are about to cross into the Leidseplein, the "Lights Square", of Amsterdam - one of the first parts of town to get electrified in the 19th century. We're on our way to see the Rijksmuseum, where all the great art of the Dutch Golden Age is housed.

Labels: Experiences, Rachel

My lovely Anna is singing on the front row on the far righthand side.

Labels: Experiences, Kids

I always enjoy getting to spend time with Ray. It's really rather ironic that although I work from home, it still sort'a feels like a job. We get to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. We have coffee in the morning together. But once the work starts, it feels like separation.

I wonder if the old farmers in the field with the farm wives in the kitchen felt that way about their work? When the ol' farm wives looked up from their sink of dishes, which they had to wash by hand, out to the north forty and see their husbands behind a horse drawn plow, did they smile? Did they feel reconnected and reinforced?

I hear lots of people talk about getting lost in their work and completely losing track of time. I've experienced that once or twice, but it's rare. And it's usually under stress. So that means that a sense of timelessness in work also carries a pretty big negative connotation for me.

Still, the fact that we're together a lot is wonderful. And then when we're able to be together and NOT have to worry about work means a really magical experience is at hand. :^)

Labels: Experiences

I've felt rather blessed in terms of not struggling too much with my weight. On the other hand, I want to hit a new level of physical fitness and so, as a consequence, I've decided to cut back on the carbs.

It's been two weeks now and, with a few minor lapses, I'm getting used to eating low carb. What's really amazing about low carb is how quickly the weight melts away. I'll allow myself the equivalent of four slices of bread (40g), in case I want a couple sandwiches for lunch, in a single day. But most days I actually consume a lot less carbs than that. The only hard part has been giving up ice cream at night before bed. I'm sure that Purity Dairies miss my business. But, otherwise, it's pretty easy. I don't even have a problem skipping the chips at Cinco De Mayo, my favorite Mexican restaurant.

We'll check back in a couple months to report how the weight loss program is going. Cheers!

-Kev

Labels: Experiences

 

Rachel and I both love certain kinds of fine quality, artisanal cheeses. One of our most favorite is 2-3 yr aged gouda. It's bizarre and probably not for everyone. But neither is crack and look how some people love that stuff.

Anyway, I was at a hoity-toity party given by a huge corporation with very deep pockets. So imagine my surprise when I saw them serving up all-you-can-eat fine cheeses that run $10-14/lb. Wow! I ate all I could stand and then, for good measure, had to send Rachel a picture. Tee hee.

The aged gouda is on the top tier of the serving tray.

Labels: Experiences, Travel

I never suspected that I could be a cat person. But this little guy, who was dragged in from the wild by Katie as a infant kitten, has changed my mind. It's no secret that cats are not simply small dogs. They're behavior is completely different. But he won me over. Maybe it's because he mostly just lays around and naps?

Labels: Experiences

I put up a bunch of family photos from the holiday season through the end of 2010. If you haven't seen the kids in a while, check it out.

Labels: Experiences, Kids

Yeah, I know. I've been terrible about keeping this up to date. So here are some pictures to catch you up on activities at Kline Manor. So here are some fun things to see, grandma and grandpa, that we've all been up to.

At left, speaking at the PASS cloud computing seminar in Seattle.

I did a huge amount of traveling and speaking at conferences in 2010. It was a good year and all indications point to 2011 being even better. But I'm also trying hard to keep my travel in check and spend lots of time with the kids and with Rachel.

At right, the Chihuly Art Exhibit at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens

We've been able to do a LOT of fun things with the kids. Cheekwood is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The Chihuly glass art exhibit was neat and we all enjoyed it. However, the park was really dark in some areas and we saw more than one person turn an ankle in the dark. We even were passed in a crowded stairwell by some EMTs trying to get to a injured woman who tripped in the dark. Can you say "LI-A-BILITY"?!? One of the things that most amazed us that night was, believe it or not, the flashlight application built in to my smartphone - a very awesome HTC EVO.

At left, Ava goes all Jack Sparrow on us.

Halloween was great fun. But because our neighborhood has too much space between the houses, the kids went elsewhere to trick or treat. The kids brought back bucket loads of candy. I think they'd have made themselves sick if they'd eaten even 10% of it in a single evening. Even better - there was so much candy that they didn't even notice I snitched a piece or two. =^)

At right, we celebrate Rachel "Twix" Ramsey's birthday. Yippee, she's 18! And look at that awesome cake my beloved baked for Twix!

Rachel, Dylan's girlfriend of over a year now, turned 18. We luz her very much and had a little cake and ice cream for her.

At left, the choir of Mount Juliet Middle School. Can you find Savannah, Kaylee, and Anna?

The girls did lots of singing and have truly grown in there vocal skills. It's great to see the three of them singing some really challenging songs. I have this "Von Trapp" dream that they'll some day sing as a trio for me ... and the world. Now, if only our school choir directors would get their act together, the shows would be nearly professional quality!

At right, Katie and Anna at the beautiful Radnor Lake park.

I've been carving out more special time with the girls and I think that it's making a difference. Even little things like trips to the heated pool at the YMCA become special when you're totally mindful of the experience and undistracted by all the cares of the world.

At left, I got my favorite "Diablo" character action figure from Dylan as a present. With the beard, I'm starting to channel a little more of the berserker bloodline. Now, where's my chain mail armor!

Emily and dad at lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant.

Emily had a tough fall in 2010, no doubt. But she pulled through and is doing better than ever. I think 2011 is going to be an awesome year for her.

Labels: Experiences, Kids

I had a lot of travel to contend with over the past couple weeks. While travel in and of itself isn't a horrible thing, long trips are very unpleasant. I miss the family to an almost debilitating degree.

A lot of my friends and acquaintances say "Yeah, but you're traveling to really cool places in Europe and all over the world". True indeed. But I'd be equally lonely if I had to drive 2 hours to Chattanooga or fly 9 hours to London. It's loneliness either way, only the accents change.

One of my friends asked why I'd grown out my beard. The picture at left is actually only 1/2 of the beard. I've since grown out a fuller beard.

I'd initially thought that I'd grown out my beard out of either laziness (so I didn't have to shave) or curiosity (to see what it'd look like). But I knew this wasn't completely honest.

But upon deeper reflection, I've grown my beard out to put distance between the Kevin of pre-1994 who was clean shaven, the Kevin of 1994-2005 who wore a goatee and the Kevin of today. Some women change their hair color after a major life transition. She grows up and heads off to college. When she comes home, everyone is surprised to see she's a blond, or a redhead, or whatever.

I can't say that I'll keep it forever. I really don't know. But I'm certain that, after a series of major transitions, the beard is part of my 21st century identity.

Labels: Experiences

Professionally, summer is one of the busiest times of year for me since there are multitudes of customers to visit and conferences to speak at.

Personally, summer is also very busy for me because it's a parade of birthdays and other significant dates. It's hard to keep up with all of it!

Dylan Turns 19

It's always a bit of a shock for me when I compare where Dylan is at his age to where I was at the same age.

At 19, I held two part time jobs (one was selling shoes on commission at the wonderful but now defunct Castner Knotts department store and the other was running my own computer pc-clone sales and services company, plus mowing lawns on weekends) and was constantly trying to put a buck in my pocket. Being dirt poor will do that to you.

Dylan, while he has a great job at a very good restaurant, is much more laissez-faire about money. Easy come, easy go. Money was such a big issue to me that I willingly stayed with my parents so I could save on rent and food. Here's a picture (at left) of us packing up his stuff to move into his new apartment - something I practically had to wrestle him to the ground to do.

Like Dylan, I also entered into a relationship at almost the exact same age that changed the entire course of my life. Dylan's girlfriend, Rachel, is a wonderful young woman who I simply can't speak highly enough of. She is good in so many ways. And she's also very good for Dylan. Her talents and characteristics compliment his in all the right ways. They both seem to have a good grip on what long-term commitment really means and understand, in many ways better than I did, what a positive and supportive relationship is all about.


Seventeen is the golden age of high school. I was a little older than Emily for the same grade levels, because I had one of those late birthdays that was right on the line where your parents could send you in early (and you'd be the youngest kid in all of your classes) or late (and you'd be the oldest kid in all of your classes).

My mom chose the latter. So, I turned 18 just a month into my senior year. Emily with her birthday in mid July, otoh, gets her entire senior year as a 17-year old.

Seventeen was an awesome year. The only worries were hangin' out with friends, keeping your grades up, and making decent scores on the big tests like the ACT and SAT. Of course, there was some time in there for part-time jobs. But that was on jobs where I got to hang out with friends to earn money to spend while hanging out with friends. And, in my case, there was some time in there for activities like theater, which was also all about hanging out with friends. It's all good. =^)

I hope, sometime during this year, that someone will invent a Nerf Car, so that you frequent fender-benders won't make a bit of difference to the body of the vehicle. Please - no more wrecks or tickets!





In my mind, Katie is still a tiny little tot. Whenever I pause to think about it, I'm always surprised how tall, articulate, and smart she is. She'll be taller than her mom by next year, I'd bet. She's going in to the 4th grade next week and she's doing great.

We've had to put a couple new rules in place to keep up with Katie. First, now critter caught in the yard or creek can spend the night in the house. We've had to many salamanders, frogs, toads, lizards, and turtles turn their toes up to the daisies while spending the night in a Glad-lock tub. She enjoys catching and studying these little critters so much that I wouldn't be surprised if she grew up to be a biologist.

Second, we've had to pull back on the frenetic activities inside the house. Your nerves fray pretty fast when someone is constantly bouncing on an indoor trampoline, pogo stick, couch, or basset hound. But, hey, if I had that kind of energy, I probably would too.

Katie also seems to be outgrowing a bit of her shyness. I've seen her talk to strangers without coaxing and play with kids she'd just met. She was so mature and responsible with the child of a visiting friend recently that I wondered if she was trying to impress someone. She assured me it was "just cause she wanted to". Wow! My little girl is growing up so fast!

Labels: Experiences, Kids, Parenting

It's always a joy to see your work validated. In this case, one of the products I work on at Quest Software called Toad for SQL Server won the award for "Best of Microsoft TechEd in the Database Development Category". This is sort'a like an Oscar or a Grammy, but in Microsoft software tools.

Labels: Experiences

Ever since I'd first seen pictures of it as a kid flipping through my parent's National Geographic, I'd always wanted to see the Grand Canyon in person.

Rachel and I were able to share that first brief glimpse together last month. It was a really magical moment and one that we both hope to enjoy again, with the kids and over the course of a couple days.

Although the pictures are marvelous and amazing, the truth is that they don't do justice to this amazing national treasure. It truly is an inspiring sight.

Labels: Experiences

We had a blessed Thanksgiving this year. Sam was able to drive down from Greencastle, Indiana, where he goes to Depauw University, to join us. And Rachel's mom, dad, and brother came over for the feast. Dylan's girlfriend, Rachel Ramsey (who I now call "Twix"), was also able to join us. It was a great time!

Labels: Experiences

Kaylee did really awesome in this year's spelling bee. Last year, Rachel wouldn't let Kaylee live down her first round elimination on a word that they told her would be on the spelling bee. This year she made it through three rounds and even had a word - "solemn" - come up that we'd studied together. Yeah Kaylee! On a related note, I was hoping to see Anna compete. But for reasons of her own, she opted out.


The Honor 58 situation, though, is a honor choir open to 5th through 8th grade students who qualify in a tough audition. Kaylee and Savannah both made it in and gave a great performance. Great job, girls!

Labels: Experiences

Dia de los Muertos is the Latin American tradition celebrating the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day. Emily's Spanish class entered the contest at the region-wide tapete contest. Tapete (pronounced "tap-et-ay") is a traditional Mexican chalk art expressing a variety of traditional "Day of the Dead" themes. Since the Day of the Dead is not traditionally a sad or scary day, the scenes are usually very festive and bright. Emily drew the image for her team and they put it on pavement and ... WON! Great job Emily!

The celebration was held at the very beautiful Cheekwood botanical gardens and, after Emily's competition, we got to traipse around the property. The beautiful garden and grounds were also decorated with a large variety of scarecrows put out by all of the area schools and several civic groups as well.

Check out the pictures below:

Labels: Experiences, Kids

Labels: Experiences

Ok, she's not a killer. But she can kill you with cuteness! I took this picture of Jelly Bean a couple months ago when it was still very warm. I don't remember exactly why but, as I was driving the entire family somewhere, I decided that we needed to take a bit of detour to spend at Old Hickory Lake. The weather was great and we all had a fun time splashing in the water. JB enjoyed teething on the driftwood, as you can see in the picture above.

Be careful, this one bites too!

Labels: Experiences