Evolution of a Bacholer...

Yesterday I had to opportunity to take a couple hours to myself and go out to play some board games with friends. In fact, I spent most of Saturday working with Sarah to get the garage cleaned out so I could take the time to play games without feeling guilty about not getting anything done on the weekend (again).

However, when it came down to it and it was getting to the point I had to decide if I wanted to go. Despite the fact I haven't been out to board game in a while, I was sitting in the play room with my daughter just playing with blocks, and I really didn't want to stop. I would create little structures out of the blocks and Delaney would take her new hairbrush and, with one or two swings, send the tower toppling. Generally, our daughter's attention span is limited to two-minutes tops and I kept expecting her to loose interest. After about ten minutes of destroying things she was still enjoying her self and giggling while reigning down destruction on Blockville.

Occasionally I do miss the ability to selfishly play a game or just watch TV for hours, but I have to admit... I'm enjoying what they are being replaced by.

Had a bad day today... but smiles and giggles along with spending time with my wife make it all worth it.

As you can see fall has come to Washington. The temperature has dropped a little bit, most notable in the early morning when the fog still covers the valley we live in. Some mornings you look outside and you have a hard time seeing our neighbor's house across the street. I have to say the perceptibility of the season change is a welcome difference from living in Las Vegas. The distinction of summer and fall actually feels really good. It gives me cause to cook things which are hearty and evoke memories of comfort. What more can you ask for?

Last weekend we took our nephew out to Hunter's Farm where they have a bunch of fall activities. Everything from a corn maze to a huge pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect host for your jack-o-lantern. We got four of them... One for each of us (including our nephew) and one for the baby. I know he or she doesn't really count yet, but we rationalized it with the fact Sarah's belly is close to the same size as the pumpkin.

I think the puritans wouldn't recognize our mocking imagery.

Hunter's Farm had a really impressive maze made from hay bales. The parents could go upstairs and stand on a walkway in the center of the maze and watch their littles go at it. Sarah and I took an immoral pleasure in telling our nephew incorrect directions when ever he asked for help. I know... we're evil!

I leave you with a picture of my amazingly beautiful wife. It still amazes me I got lucky enough to find someone who can't see through all my lies.

Well, we didn't go to Italian food or a movie... but we did go out to eat. There is a really good Mexican restaurant in Yelm where we had some fresh table-side guacamole and chips that were light and crisp. I was nice to get out of the house and spend some time together. We talked about how work was going, the baby, and lots more. It has been a while since we went out to dinner that wasn't fast food.

So now I am debating what to do with my weekend. There's some stuff around the house that needs done and lord knows I still need to unpack! But there is also the car which I need to work on. None of which really sounds appealing. We are currently planning on going up to the Puyallup County Fair tonight. Also I'd like to be able to sit down and enjoy watching the Seahawk's first game tomorrow. Which all adds up to me getting up and finishing all this work done today...

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

Can you guess from my quote that we have arrived in Washington? Actually we've been here for about a month now, but have really just been getting settled. Lots of stuff to do moving across two states. I've started my new job and am loving it - my emails have gone from 300+ a day down to around three. The change of pace is much appreciated and, I think, well earned. It is still in the gaming industry, but everyone I am working with is very nice and the company has some amazing benefits. Sarah started her new job this week as well. She is working up in the Bethel school district and despite the rough start with the teachers going on strike, everything seems to be falling into place.

I'm slowly running into people I knew before I left this area. I met a man who I went to elementary school with and actually remembered his name. I see various people on the street or at shops that I used to know, but don't remember their names so I haven't said hello.

In a stroke of luck we finally sold the house in Las Vegas. It was going on two months before we got an offer and the first was a total joke. We took a price much lower than we wanted, but looking back it was the right decision. There are even more houses in the same area now listing and for a much lower starting price than what we sold for. The buy was buying it for his girlfriend and he was paying cash. To make it even more fishy he setup a LLC holding company for the house so it isn't listed in his name. Sounds like a sugar daddy to me. Although he bought the house so I'm not going to complain... just judge him a little. And I don't even want to think about the ditz who is living in our old house.

I'm taking my amazing wife out for a date tonight. Going over to Yelm to do Italian food at Casa Mia and to see a movie out at the theater there.

(PS - if you didn't already know... Sarah is pregnant! Check it out: http://therieckens.com/baby/)

Oh... and it's official:

http://homes.realtor.com/prop/1082915044

2403 Radio City St.
Las Vegas, NV 89135

It is up for sale. Know anybody who needs a house in Vegas?

My Mom has a saying... The only thing constant in life is change. When your a kid you sort of understand, but with your daily routine it seems like a foreign concept. I'm thirty-two now and I'm much more capable of relating to this concept.

It is very apparent in my life right now with a majority of the change coming in big sweeping motions and many of them within a very short period of time. The house is cleaned, repainted, and ready to be bought. I'm flying up to Olympia next week to visit the gaming control board to get my license. I'm making preparations at work to hand all my responsibilities off to others. I'm meeting with a realtor next weekend to look at some possible houses for us to move into. Sarah and I are talking about starting a family...

Change isn't just constant, but a state of existence right now. Through it all I'm trying to keep a level head and make sure I am considering everything. With such large tasks on hand you have to make sure you don't let the small stuff become forgotten. And the stress levels are beginning to increase drastically. Apparent in the fact it is taking me longer and longer to relax enough to mediate.

But despite all the change, the stress, and the worry... It is times like today where I can actually take a step back and tell myself - This is what it is all about. This is why I am here and what all of this is for. Sarah and I went to the book store, we did a little grocery shopping, she made me a very tasty dinner, we relaxed on the couch and watched some TV, and now we are going to just relax and spend the rest of the evening in bed reading and cuddling. May not be others' perfect day... but it is mine. I'm a very lucky man in life and I can only hope I am giving back as good as I'm getting.

This time two months ago I was trying to wrap up all the last minute details before all our out-of-two guests arrived. It seems like everything related to the wedding was years ago… so much is happening it makes it seem like a significant amount of time has passed when in reality it has only been a week or two. Heck… just these last two weeks seemed to fly by, but looking back there was a sequence of events that had to have taken a month. It appears that the older I get the faster time moves… once again proving the theory of relativity. I’m not moving and everyone is!

So what has happened in two months:

- Mexico. I cannot say enough about our honeymoon. Playa del Carmen was amazing and the resort we stayed at made it the perfect stay. From sunset dinners, visiting Mayan ruins, snorkeling cenotes (underground rivers), a couples massage at the spa, all the way to lounging on the beach with fresh guacamole and Bahama Banana margaritas. I know I’m partial, but seeing Sarah in a two-piece every day was a highlight too. I’ll post some pictures later.

- Teacher appreciation – Sarah was nice enough to volunteer us for cookie duty. We made 400+ cookies in two days – Chocolate Chip, Gingersnaps with hazelnuts, Oatmeal with a bite (cloves!), and Chocolate covered cherry crunches. Was a lot of work but we had fun.

- Elementary School Carnival – Sarah’s school holds a fundraiser each year and we volunteered again this year. We had a good time running the racing game again and it was a chance for me to meet a lot of the kids I hear about every day. Additionally, I bought $20 worth of raffle tickets and we won a bunch of stuff, but most notable was a two night stay at the Palms Resort and Casino. I think we are going to save it for our anniversary next year!

- I turned 32 this year... sigh... I really am old now... :)

- Sarah and I are making plans to move back to Olympia, Washington by the end of summer. To that end we are preparing the house to sell, she and I are both looking for work up there, and we are talking with our realtor up there about possibilities.

As you can see seven weeks has been packed with stuff (and tons more I didn’t include).

This week I am going to fly up to Olympia for a day and do an interview with a strong candidate for a job. This will be my third interview with them and looks like it will be a good fit. Also my current company doesn’t want to lose me so they are hoping to have a position made for me up in Washington. We’ll see how it goes. Sarah is waiting for the end of the month to find out about her job possibilities, but they look promising as well. Now we just have to sell the house…

5 Days 3 Hours and 48 minutes...

Yep. I'm down to just a couple of days now until I get married. It is all very surreal and mostly it hasn't really "hit" me yet. Still a couple days left for it to really sink in. Now that's not saying I don't know what we are doing... I'm just surprised at how calm I am through this so far. No major freakouts... no cold feet... none of the stuff I expected.

Maybe I'm older and wiser? lol... yea sure.

Sarah and I had our "Last Single Date" Saturday night. It was actually pretty tame... we went to REI to get me some shorts for the honeymoon and went to dinner. Wow - we already act married. Actually, it was fun and we spent a lot of the time talking and just getting back in touch. We've both been so focused on getting all the wedding stuff completed and making sure we could take the next two weeks off from work that our time at home is almost always accounted for some task.

Today we finished up the last bits of wedding stuff and got out of the house to go get our marriage license. Yes - only in Nevada is there a State office open on Sunday! Right now... Sarah is in the living room trying to "five star" Freebird and actually doing a good job of it. We have been playing a lot of Guitar Hero II again. We justify it by making sure we trade off after two attempts and the person not playing has to be doing wedding stuff. :)

Tomorrow is our last day alone in the house for a long while. We are going to clean and work on the yard - real fun!

For those of you who can't be here... you will be in our thoughts.

New look - same great content... :)