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30 to 60 Days

Posted on: 11/22/11 5:56 PM | by Jonathan McKee

This last week has been very difficult. It started when we took our Bernese Mountain dog to the vet for what we thought would be a routine visit.

If only.

Jethro, our 105 pound Berner, became part of our family five years ago. He was an impulse buy, a perfect example of why you should never take your kids to “just look” at puppies. Ashley, who was 9 at the time, was obsessed with Bernese Mountain dogs. I had never even heard of the breed, but she had bought books about them, stuffed animals, calendars… name it. Being adventurous parents (or stupid parents—you decide), we decided it would be fun to visit a breeder and “just look.”

Yeah, right.

Next thing we knew, we had Jethro.

Jethro isn’t the most intelligent animal. He’s big, klutzy, and nervous when he gets in tight places. This isn’t a good combination when you happen to be walking through a doorway at the same time as Jethro. This dog is a knee-injury waiting to happen.

Walking Jethro has always been an experience as well. Lori’s first run with the dog resulted in him getting spooked, flanking her, knocking her to the ground and giving her a scar that she still has today. He’s much better now, but he still outweighs Ashley, which can make him difficult to control if he wants to go left when she is going right.

Our family has never owned a dog of great size before so we never fathomed how much food this dog would consume… and eventually discharge from his body! We’re talking serious dino-doo-doo! Add to this the fact that he always manages to stop and squat in the middle of an intersection when we’re walking him. It’s pretty embarrassing when your dog is building a miniature log cabin in the middle of a four way stop while you’re pulling out a 40 gallon ziplock for cleanup!

Despite these drawbacks, Jethro is always cheery with a tail wagging and a big goofy grin on his face. It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having, Jethro wants to be with you, snuggle up next to you, lay his monstrous head on your lap and just love you.

About six months ago on a particular day when Jethro was driving me crazy, Ashley said something that I’ll never forget. She said, “I find Jethro inspiring!”

Rather than arguing with her I simply asked, “What on earth is inspiring about this big doofus?”

“He’s always happy,” Ashley affirmed. “Even when life sucks, Jethro is content.”

Ashley went on. “There’s no drama with Jethro. He doesn’t hold grudges, he doesn’t play favorites. He just loves you and wants to be with you. Some friends come and go. Not Jethro. He’s always there with a stupid smile on his big furry face. He’s inspiring.”

I thought about these words from the mouth of a 14-year-old, and funny enough, I found that I could tolerate Jethro’s shenanigans a little better after that day.

Unfortunately, Ashley was wrong about one thing. Jethro isn’t going to always be here.

Last Monday, while the kids were at school, it only took the vet about 30 seconds checking his lymph nodes for her to determine why he’s been breathing so heavy the last couple of weeks. Five-year-old Jethro has lymphoma.

“What’s that mean?” We asked.

“It means that he probably only has about 30 to 60 days left with you.”

The rest of the visit was spent with her telling us about chemotherapy options that would cost as much as my car. Sadly, we went home to tell the kids the bad news.

Ashley took it the hardest, literally bawling. Jethro has kind of been “her dog” all along; she’s the whole reason we got him in the first place. But everyone was brokenhearted about the news.

“I hate knowing! I wish I didn’t even know!” Ashley pronounced, tears streaming down her cheeks.

We sat and cried together on the family couch.

It wasn’t long before Jethro wandered over, setting his big furry head on Ashley’s lap. I guess she was right—he is always there for you. He’s the one with cancer, yet he seems to be the happiest one in the room. Ashley was right. This big furball is actually inspiring.

Life the last week has been a little different. Jethro’s getting a lot more table scraps. Who cares if they’re bad for him! Live it up Jethro. We’re walking him more, petting him more, hugging him more. We’re cherishing every moment… thankful for the moments we get.

We’ll miss you Jethro!

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Setting the Bar

Posted on: 10/16/11 10:05 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Am I being too strict?

Am I being too lenient?

Both those questions came within minutes of each other after my Parenting the Texting Generation workshop this weekend in New York. Today’s parents seem to struggle finding a balance between being to hard and too soft on their kids. Most parents know that they need to “set the bar” somewhere, but the world’s bar is barely above sea level… and that’s making our job as parents very difficult today.

Let’s be honest. It’s hard to tell your 16-year-old girl she can’t go to the homecoming dance when every other girl from church (including the homeschooled kid) is going. On the other hand, how do you send your little girl to a dance where you know about 80% of the girls in the room aren’t even face-to-face with their dates… they’re “backing it up” to the guy groping them from behind while listening to the “clean version” of Sexy and I Know It.

How should parents go about setting biblical standards without pushing their kids over the edge?

In my conversations with parents tonight I found myself saying the same advice again and again, so I thought it might be good to put some of these broad principles in print.

Here’s a few principles parents should remember when setting guidelines:

Relationship first. All the rest of the principles below are assuming that you’re already hanging out with your kids, listening to your kids, and engaging in activities with your kids that catalyst conversation. If your daughter likes yogurt, do “fro-yo” runs once a week with her and just listen to her heart. If your son likes french fries and pancakes (at the same time), frequent your local greasy spoon and listen to him as you both load up with senseless carbs. The “where” isn’t important. Just connect with your kids regularly so they feel loved, noticed and heard. That being said…
Parents are in charge– teens aren’t (despite what the Disney Channel tells us). Yes, this generation seems to declare entitlement even more than past generations, but in most cases, parents still pay the cell phone bills, provide food and shelter (I listed those in order of priority for teenagers today)… so feel free to take away cell phones, cars, and revoke other privileges if your teenager doesn’t obey. Let me say it even more clear: a cell phone is a privilege, not a right. If your son or daughter is violating your trust, take away their cell phone. They’d prefer that you deny them water.
Always clearly communicate your standards and the resulting punishment that you’ll enforce if said standards aren’t met. Sound simple? It should be; but sadly, most parents don’t do this. Just lay it out. Tell Jordon, “If you download another song without permission, I’ll take away your iPod and computer privileges for a month.” Or, “If you text after bedtime, you lose your phone for a month.”
Take the time to follow up with the standards you set. If you say, “no cell phones after bedtime,” (a good standard) jump online to your cell phone provider’s web site randomly and check to see that no texts were sent during that time. If you tell your kids that you can read their Facebook account at any time (another good standard), then log on randomly and read through their posts, messages and various friends’ pages. You can learn a lot. Don’t set a standard if you don’t plan on following up with it.
Follow thru with your clearly communicated punishment “with love.” It’s actually possible to enforce punishment without yelling. This is the same kid that you spend time with regularly (see #1 above). Don’t let their violation of rules stifle your time together. They should clearly see that nothing they do could separate them from your love and desire to listen to them.

These are just a few broad strokes to consider. They’ve helped me; they might help you.

I spend an entire chapter of my book, Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent talking about discipline and follow-through.

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Just Dad and Me

Posted on: 09/16/11 9:57 PM | by Jonathan McKee

This morning I hopped on a plane and flew down to Southern California where I’ll be talking to teenage girls about self esteem and then teaching one of my parenting workshops. But this weekend has an added bonus… I get to hang with Alec, my 18-year-old who just moved down here in Southern California to go to college.

When I was booked to speak at a Riverside church and do my parenting workshop (quite a few of these parenting workshops around the country in the next couple months), I was pumped because I knew I’d get to visit Alec. The McKee house has felt a little empty lately without him. It’s been bizarre setting only four places at the dinner table and passing his empty room every day. (There’s been quite a few tears shed.) So Alec got a pretty big hug when I saw him this afternoon.

I took him to my hotel, we talked, ate some of the free food, and watched a movie. Then I took him to one of his favorite but simple vices– Round Table Pizza and the two of us laughed as we downed a large pizza together.

It’s interesting seeing Alec on his own, making 98% of his choices by himself… being the man. By God’s grace (certainly not by my parenting) Alec has turned out to be a great kid. We’ll get a few hours together tomorrow… then, once again, I’ll do the difficult task of driving away seeing him wave through the back window.

To those parents with your kids still in the house… cherish every moment! Overtime can wait. Go hang with your kids!

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When Sports Becomes God

Posted on: 09/14/11 7:50 PM | by Jonathan McKee

“… and then we have a tournament Thanksgiving weekend. We expect everyone to be there.”

I turned to my wife. “Did he really just say ‘Thanksgiving Weekend’?”

My daughter Ashley played ‘select soccer’ for a few years. We had heard the commitment was a little crazy at times… but had no idea the extent. Every girl on the team had accepted soccer as Lord and Savior at 5 years old… except Ashley. So when it came to the first few tournaments where we were expected to miss a Sunday, we were met with a little resistance when we said, “We’ll bring Ashley after church.”

I’m glad that Ashley loves her church and was a huge advocate of not missing (she loves her youth group and doesn’t want to ever miss), because she received a little flak from her teammates at times. Once she showed up late on a Sunday, having come straight from church, and one of the girls jested, “How was churrrrrrrch?” (as sarcastic as one could possibly say it).

Ashley quickly retorted. “It was great. How was… (she made a sarcastic “yippee” gesture) …warming up for the game?”

I tried to not laugh audibly.

The commitment only grew as the team won more games and became more successful. The following year the coach added tournaments, numerous Sundays, including a few holiday weekends. This forced us to stop and think. My extended family has come together on Thanksgiving weekend for the last 20 years. Was this weekend history now? Not to mention our church’s Labor Day weekend campout, a time our kids always loved hanging out with other Christian kids from the church. (and isn’t that what we want our kids doing?) Labor Day weekend was on the cutting blocks as well with the new soccer schedule.

Our family had to come to a decision. Was this really the direction Ashley was heading? Does she really have a shot at becoming Christiano freaking Ronaldo, and even if she does, at what expense?

This year both of my girls are in sports. Ashley runs cross country (does that give you a clue what we did with soccer?), and Alyssa plays water polo. This week alone Alyssa has two games and a water polo tournament this weekend. Both the girls’ sports have had games and practices that interfere with church regularly.

Forget church for a moment and let’s just talk about our kids overall well-being. Pretty much every report we read says that teenagers need about 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep per night. And most of you have heard me share research about the importance of eating 3 to 5 family dinners together per week—hard to do when water polo practice brings you home at 7:20 and games bring you home after that.

What are we to tell our kids? I know we need to teach them to keep their commitments. Perhaps we need to read the fine print before agreeing in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying sports are from the devil and you need to “choose this day who you will follow,” as if there is only one or the other. But maybe parents need to think ahead when it comes to signing up for sports and decide exactly how committed to a team or activity they are really ready to be.

Here are three lessons I learned that have helped me navigate sports and activities as a parent. These have helped me; you might find some benefit from these as well:

Keeping Sports in Balance:

1. Lay out clear boundaries… and then keep your commitment.

What happened to the good ol’ days when soccer practice was just 60 to 90 minutes, right after school?

Alyssa’s water polo is anywhere from 2 to 5 hours on any given day. Last year (this is her second year), I remember her coming home at 8 at night, showering, grabbing a quick dinner, then starting her homework. On these nights, not only were we all robbed of our family dinner with Alyssa, but she often was doing homework until 11, and then getting less than 7 hours of sleep (over 2 hours short of what’s recommended).

Is this all okay in the name of sports?

Tonight, as I type this, Alyssa had decided on her own that she was going to leave practice early for church. Her coach told her, “No,” flat out. I sense a confrontation coming between the two of them… and frankly, I’m struggling with exactly what to advise Alyssa.

Here’s what I do know. As believers and followers of Christ, we need to keep our commitments. If we commit to a team, we need to truly commit to a team. This means finding out exactly what the commitment entails before making the commitment.

We did this Ashley’s last year of select soccer. We met with the coach beforehand and asked, “How many Sundays do the girls play?” “How many holiday weekends?” “When are practices—and will they interfere with youth group on Wednesday night?”

The coach laid out exactly what the commitment would entail and we agreed.

Interestingly enough, the coach tried to spring a few more tournaments on us during the year, one on a holiday weekend where we were going to be gone visiting family. We simply told the coach, “Sorry, we’re not available that weekend.”

Decide how far is too far, make your commitment, and keep your commitment. (Which is basically what I need to advise, with grace, to Alyssa.)

2. It’s okay to say “Enough.”

Parents might consider asking themselves, “In 10 years, what’s really more important: that Michael was a really good baseball player, or that he grew closer to his family, his church and Jesus during his teenage years?”

If Michael can balance all of that… then more power to him.

If Michael can’t… then… well? Do I need to spell it out?

That’s too convicting. Let’s move on.

3. As you are running, swimming, tackling and scoring… make disciples.

Our kids have an opportunity to let the hope of Christ shine through their lives.

Today Ashley had a cross-country meet. She and the other freshman girls had a little huddle before their race where they pumped each other up. Then I heard Ashley ask, “Do you guys mind if I pray for our race?”

One of the other girls said, “Yeah, cool! We need it!” Another girl said, “Okay…what do we do?”

It was a really fun moment to be a fly on the wall.

Ashley said, “I’ll just pray.” Then she prayed for their race. I was so proud of her. (I clicked a little pic.)

I’m not saying that praying is always the magical thing to do. It really depends on the moment. Sometimes representing Christ is much more about having a good attitude and being an encourager. It’s a shame when the kid who misses practice for church is the same kid who is also gossiping, making fun of others and telling raunchy jokes. That’s what the media always portrays. Our kids have an opportunity to show what the love of Christ really looks like.

Times have really changed in the last few decades, especially in the United States. Sunday morning used to be reserved for church, now it’s for either sports or sleeping off Saturday night. America used to sing “How Great Thou Art,” now they sing, “How Great Thou Throws that Football!” (We really could make a whole modern sports worship CD, couldn’t we? I Could Sing of Your Dunk Forever, Shout to the Ref, Here I am to Handoff, Better is One Game…)

We need more Christian role models. We need more Tim Tebows.

When our kids participate in sports they have an awesome chance to represent Christ. As parents, let’s bring our kids up making Christ first… and sports somewhere down the list.

In 1981, the world flocked to movie theatres to see the true story of Eric Liddell, an amazing runner who refused to run on Sundays (he did a “Chick Fil-A”). Chariots of Fire won Best Picture that year. I leave you with Eric Liddell’s words:

“You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It’s hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape – especially if you’ve got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you’re dinner’s burnt. Maybe you haven’t got a job. So who am I to say, “Believe, have faith,” in the face of life’s realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way… If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.”

READ MORE FROM JONATHAN’S HEART ABOUT SHAPING OUR KIDS VALUES IN HIS NEW BOOK, CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPERFECT PARENT

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Saying Goodbye

Posted on: 08/19/11 2:15 PM | by Jonathan McKee

The day is finally here… in one hour, we leave to take my son Alec over 300 miles away to begin his freshman year in college.

Alec is my oldest and this will be our first experience with one of our kids moving out. I can’t believe 18 years has past so quickly. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. You’ve heard me mention it before, in this video, in my blog, etc. But today is the day!

We’ll drive down to Southern California tonight where we’ll stay with some amazing friends (my college room-mate Brian and his family), and then we’ll get up early tomorrow morning (Saturday) and drive the rest of the way, checking Alec into his dorm at 10AM. We’ll kiss him goodbye tomorrow night and head home.

I’m already preparing myself for the wealth of tears that are going to be flowing… in the seat next to me! Lori is going to be a wreck! I don’t know if I’ll actually cry. I’m so excited for Alec. The whole process is going to be pretty nice because Alec is actually excited about this new stage of life. He’s been looking forward to this for so long and he’s been talking about it all summer. Plus, the fact that he’s attending a nice Christian school where he’ll be studying Psychology, taking Bible classes… I’m just excited for him!

Enough said. I’m really proud of my little man!

Next time I write in this blog, I’ll have one away at college and I’ll be living in a house with three females! (Alec… help!!!!)

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Apes, WW2 Soldiers, Kids with Super 8 Cameras…

Posted on: 08/8/11 2:54 PM | by Jonathan McKee

This has been a pretty good summer for movies, with a large number of family-friendly-flicks available.

This is refreshing news for parents, because if we learned one thing on Fox’s Teen Choice Awards last night (here’s our recap of what you can learn about pop-youth-culture from the Teen Choice Awards), it’s that kids are watching more raunchy (and R-rated) movies than ever before.

It’s nice to know that we have a few decent picks in the smorgasbord of movie choices. Here’s a glimpse of some of the ones I think are worth it for families with links to my full reviews from our MOVIE REVIEWS & QUICK Q’s page:

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: For parents of teenagers, this film is a fun option. Those of you who follow me on Twitter received my tweets from the midnight premier of this film last Thursday night. I brought my own three teenagers to the opening and all of us enjoyed it immensely!

The film avoided any raunchy talk or sexual situations. Parents will just want to use discernment because of the PG-13 violence. I give my detailed thoughts about Rise of the Planet of the Apes as well as some discussion questions here.

2. Captain America: I’ve already blogged about how refreshing Captain America is compared to other films of late. Here’s a film with good ol’ fashion values, emphasizing the importance of internal character over external features. This film is probably one of my favorite films of the year for provoking discussion with kids. It’s an easy conversation piece because most kids love the film and it’s not preachy in any way.

We provide some good discussion questions you can use in our detailed review of the film.

3. Super 8: This film was probably my favorite film of the year. I would have no hesitation bringing teenagers to this film. The most objectionable thing is the swearing. Sadly, kids are so used to swearing these days that the PG-13 language in this film hardly will phase them.

J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Mission Impossible 3 & 4, TV’s Lost and Fringe…) brings this wonderful story to the screen, a nostalgic tale of a group of kids in 1979 (yes, I was a kid then) who are shooting a super 8 film when they witness a catastrophic train crash. Soon, inexplicable events begin occurring and this small group of friends start to uncover the truth.

This film reminded me of what E.T. was to me in 1980 (a little language in that one too), a really fun and suspenseful film.

Todd wrote up a full review and discussion questions for this film here.

NODS:
I think we would be remiss to not give a nod to a few other films like Cowboys & Aliens (this film has a great scene that provokes discussion), Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Thor.

VIDEO RELEASES:
I also have to mention some great family options for rent:

Soul Surfer (amazing film)
Rio
Arthur (yes, this film surprised me big time!)
True Grit

I’m sure I’ve missed some, but those are the films that I was compelled to tell you about… from one movie fan to another.

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Teenage Perspective on Parenting

Posted on: 08/5/11 11:46 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Have you ever asked your own kids for parenting advice?

It’s a sobering little exercise, and I’ve discovered two environments where we can try it: one-on-one, or in a program setting. (Both will yield two different types of results)

For those of you willing to try this, don’t underestimate the insight you can gain listening to a teenage perspective about parenting. I’m not saying that they know all the answers (some think they do), but it’s valuable to hear their point of view and have a good understanding of how our teenagers feel.

Here’s two opportunities to listen:

ONE-ON-ONE:
In my book, Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent, I share a story of a conversation I had with my daughter Alyssa at breakfast. (During the school year I take each of my teenage girls to breakfast once a week for Daddy-daughter time. Alec and I did lunch each week this year.) This particular week had been a rough one for Alyssa and she was mad at me for some of the boundaries I imposed on her. So I asked her to make a list. I proposed, “If you could communicate 5 things to me and you knew I would listen and take them to heart, what would you tell me?”

That little task yielded great results. Alyssa poured her heart out telling me some deep feelings that she felt I wasn’t hearing. Things like, “Why don’t you trust me?”

Our breakfast conversation that week was powerful. We were able to talk about how trust is earned. I didn’t just respond with, “You’re just a kid-what do you know!” Instead I listened, looking for her feelings. Then, on the quest for answers, I kept putting the ball in her court, asking questions like, “Well, what boundaries do you think I should give you?” (I go into greater detail in my book) That particular breakfast conversation was landmark in Alyssa and my relationship.

PROGRAM SETTING:
Youth workers and/or church leaders can create opportunities to hear the teenage perspective on parenting in a program setting. I’m doing that this Sunday at my own church.

My church has a parent fellowship group that meet together during the Sunday school hour every Sunday. About 50 to 75 parents of teens meet together each week for fellowship and some teaching time. I’m acting as a lay leader right now, bringing in speakers each week to teach God’s word, talking about real life issues like parenting, marriage, etc. This week, I’m bringing four teenagers from four different families into our class to sit on a panel where I will ask them questions about their perspective on parenting. Each teenager is being given the questions in advance (as a matter of fact, I’m using this blog to provide them the questions- I’m texting each of them and saying, “Get the questions from my blog today.” Today’s teenagers check text more than email.) I told them to answer honestly, but review the answers with their parents. This point of this exercise isn’t to surprise their parents or air dirty laundry (this isn’t Springer).

This will work well because of the kids I’ve chosen. Three of the four kids are in their first year or two in college (18 and 19 years old), and one is an upperclassman in high school. All these kids are solid. Not perfect… but it’s clear that they love Christ and their relationship with Him is foundational in their lives. The parents of these kids are doing a great job raising Godly kids. Granted, these parents don’t all use the same parenting style. I think the parents in our class can gain incredible insight from the kids different perspectives.

Here’s the questions I’m asking them:

1. What is one of the greatest memories that you have with your parents?

2. Describe a time when you got into big trouble and how your parents responded?

3. What is one rule or boundary that your parents enforced on you as a teenager that you didn’t like at the time, but now, in hindsight, you see the value of?

4. What is one parenting principle that your parents practiced that you will definitely use with your own kids someday.

5. Name one thing that your parents practiced with you that you probably won’t do with your own kid? (For the four of you young people reading this– talk to your parents honestly about this and make sure they’re comfortable with your answer since this is in front of all their friends.)

6. If you could give one piece of parenting advice to the parents in this room and you know they would listen and take the advice to heart– what would you tell them? (talk with your parents about this answer to)

Then I’m going to open it up for the parents in the room to ask questions to the panel.

Parents… are you asking questions?

Are you listening?

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The Day Off

Posted on: 08/4/11 12:27 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m taking the day off today for my best friend’s birthday.

This isn’t something I can do with just anyone, but hey… she’s my best friend, and I wanted to celebrate her day with her.

We’re gonna start the morning with a run. We always run together. This probably isn’t our top choice birthday activity, but we try to run together 4 days a week anyway, and this will help ease the guilt when we splurge on dinner later in the evening.

After the run we’re gonna go shoe shopping. I know, I know… a guy… shoe shopping? I don’t know why, but something about seeing her look as sexy as she does in a pair of heels makes the whole experience worth it. So I’ll go on the record. “I like shoe shopping!” Besides, I’ve saved up for this. I know this is what she wants.

Then we’ll probably grab some authentic Mexican food for lunch at this cheap little place by our house. Great chips and salsa!

After hanging out together all afternoon we’re off to dinner at a place she loves… I can’t wait.

20 years of marriage with this girl and I’m still madly in love! No better way to spend my day off then celebrating Lori’s birthday.

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During Shark Week!

Posted on: 08/2/11 4:26 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Has anyone else noticed the timely release of Soul Surfer this week… during Shark Week?

I don’t know about you, but Shark Week is always a fun time in my house each year. Maybe it’s because Alec and I both loved sharks as a kid, or maybe it’s because each of us has some deep dark fear of what’s beneath us in the ocean. Regardless, the TV in our house is tuned into The Discovery Channel this week to watch special after special about sharks, shark attacks, shark repellent… you name it. And what better week to release Soul Surfer, the incredible true story of shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton.

Some of you might remember me blogging about my experience bringing my family to see Soul Surfer in the theatre. We’re a bunch of film nerds in my family (seriously- if you bring up a good film to my 13-year-old daughter Ashley, she’ll probably tell you who directed it), so we’re not easy to please. Soul Surfer did the trick.

If you haven’t seen this film yet, definitely rent it this week, have a bunch of kids over and watch it. We even provided some fun discussion questions in our official review of the film on our Movie Reviews and Quick Q’s page.

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Hiking in the Sierras

Posted on: 07/30/11 2:58 PM | by Jonathan McKee

This week Lori, myself, my two girls and their friend Trevor went hiking in the Sierra mountains. (Anyone recognize that backpack on Trevor’s back?)

I live in a suburb of Sacramento. If you looked at Sacramento on a topographical map, you’d see that we are in the huge valley that runs in the middle of California. We sit right at the foot of the Sierra mountains. I can be at Lake Tahoe in about 90 minutes if I go East (and I can be in San Francisco if I go 90 minutes west).

One of great things about Sacramento is being so close to good skiing, hiking, fishing, etc. My family likes hiking, backpacking, etc., so Wednesday we decided to go on a little 6 or 7 mile hike.

My son Alec was working, so we took the girls and they invited their friend Trevor. (You’ve seen pictures of Trevor before. He’s a good family friend and the same young buck that took Alyssa to homecoming last year. Nice kid!) We drove about an hour to the base of the trail, and after the girls made fun of Lori and my hiking shoes (yes, they even had to take a picture of how goofy our legs looked), we set off on the trail.

I love hiking with the kids because there’s no distractions, no TV, no video games, no iPods (yes, they could bring some… but we don’t do electronics on hike days), just conversation.

We found a nice little lake and the three kids ended up swimming for a while, then drying out in the sun for the hike home. Pretty cool experience swimming in a lake that’s not accessible to anyone that’s no willing to hike at least three miles, climbing 1200 feet of elevation.

On the way home Lori suggested In and Out Burger… another great thing about California!

Good day!

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