This year Woodrow announced that he no longer believes in Santa Claus. He just turned nine, so the announcement didn’t come as a surprise, though I will miss warning “Santa Claus saw that!” Along with his announcement, he gave me his and Emily’s Christmas Wish List. I enjoyed this display of avarice so much, I decided to list it for posterity (Woodrow’s misspellings and all). [Read more →]
As season ticket holders, we make the trek down to Denver for every Broncos home game. We usually have a great time, though Emily thinks football is barbaric and pointless.
Friday morning my dad passed away after a bout with cancer. The thing about cancer is that it zaps you of your strength long before it kills you. My dad’s world shrank as his illness progressed, confined first to the city, then the hospital, a wheelchair, and finally his bed. What never shrank was his spirit. And what will never shrink was what he left with me. [Read more →]
This past week we drove to Denver to attend Denvention3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention. There were the usual mishaps involving registration, the dealers room, and the art show, but overall the convention was wonderful. The kids programming, in particular, was stellar. Emily and Woodrow had so much fun that they’re begging to go to next year’s worldcon in Canada. [Read more →]
Today was the kids’ dentist visit. We’ve been conjecturing for some time that Emily will need braces, and I’ve been swapping horror stories with other parents. “$5,000? And the insurance only covered $1,500?” But the verdict came down today, and the verdict is good. The dentist referred to Emily as a “non-orthodontic event.” We’re pretty sure that means she won’t need any braces…
The redesigned Gamboas.org is now publicly online! Transferring the system from my laptop to the real www.gamboas.org turned out to be more interesting than anticipated — but what isn’t? The good news is that it’s up and running. We’ll be updating with more posts from Mona’s bike ride and the family reunion soon.
Today was Disneyland day. I woke up the kids around seven, and we made it to Disneyland when the gates opened at eight. It was great! Emily and I visited it a couple of years ago, and she loved it. Now Woodrow is about that age when I figured Disney could work his magic. I was right about that. What I didn’t expect was that Disney’s magic can still cast a spell on Emily. With the two of them together, the spell was woven into a terrific family tapestry. The kids rode all the rides, and I do mean all. And they rode the rollercoasters together. That’s the magic of Disney. Thank you, Walt. May your resting place be as magical as Disneyland.
Emily won’t admit it, but she really wants to be a star. The kids and I had decided to have some fun on the way to San Diego for the family reunion. I let each of the kids pick something that they really wanted to do. Woodrow picked Disneyland, and Emily picked Hollywood. She loves the idea of Hollywood! [Read more →]
It took many hours of driving, a change of plans and hotels, and a bit of luck, but the kids and I got together with Mona Thursday night, and we spent all day Friday at El Capitan state beach. It was great! The highlight of day was when we got together, period. But some other memories we’ll never forget include a flock of pelicans flying overhead and a school of dolphins playing close to the beach. They were magnificent! I’m sure all of us will remember seeing those dolphin in the wild. And then there’s the not so happy memories. Three giant oil platforms are visible a little offshore from El Capitan. And washing up on the shore were little specks of oil, too small to notice at first, but increasingly obnoxious as they clung to our bathing suits, legs, backs, arms, and hair. Yuck! It’s time to figure out how to drive on something other than oil!
20 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes, 34 seconds ago, the kids and I left Mona and her friend Nadya in Astoria, Oregon, right at the border with Washington. Since then, the two of them have been riding their bicycles down the West Coast, having a great time, and experiencing many adventures—expect a photo album soon!
Today, the kids and I are driving back to California to meet with Mona. We can’t wait! We are currently holed up at a hotel in St. George, UT, a beatiful town that belies the notion that Utah is always cold. Tomorrow, we’ll be in Santa Barbara, CA, for our reunion with Mona! Yeay! It’ll be a short reunion. She’ll get back to cycling, and the kids and I will head to Disneyland. But it will be sweet, and we can’t wait.