As a first step, I took a sample test today and while I passed without any problems, there were far too many concepts that I was either unfamiliar with or had zero knowledge of. Granted, most PHP developers will never venture into these areas, it was a very humbling experience. I’m going to be devoting the next few weeks to the preparation of taking the exam so things over here will probably be light, but no worse than they’ve been over the last few weeks.

I do have a handful of funny quotes from Ethan that I am trying to compile in my mind and prep for posting. That kid is a riot.

Last weekend the family and I headed west to El Paso for my grandfathers 80th birthday party. My aunts and grandmother live there so it was a nice central place for all of us to meet. In all, about 34 people made the trip and it really was an awesome party. We followed that up with a Super Bowl party on Sunday before heading back to San Antonio.

On Saturday night wihle the party was in mid swing I was keeping an eye on the endering progress of a special slideshow/video we whipped up courtesy of Animoto (my new favorite website). The router at my aunt’s house is located in my cousin Louie’s room so I was in there checking my email with my mom, who was getting a little nervous that it wouldn’t be ready. As we were headed back to the party my son and his new friend, an 8 yr old boy named Liam, waltzed into Louie’s room.

Louie is 20 and let’s just say that he has lots of eye candy littering his walls including the newest Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar. When Liam noticed the calendar he pointed and turned Ethan’s attention to a picture of Brooklyn Decker, someone whose name I’d heard on the Dan Patrick show but never seen. Ethan’s reaction was priceless as he blurted out:

Whoa. I’m gonna marry that girl! And that one, and that one, and that one! (Spinning around Louie’s room)

We turned out the light and quickly ushered the boys out and back into the living room. Not to be detered Ethan made at least 2 more trips back in there to admire that calendar. My cousin Louie fueled his curiosity and apparently Ethan settled on his favorite, “the chinese one.”

Kids say the darndest things.

Lauren and the kids had just gotten through with a MOPS meeting and so Ethan just had a bible lesson. Ethan asked us “Can I ask God a question?” We both replied with “Of course you can.” His prayer went something like this:

Dear God,

I would like a little brother. Having a little brother would be really neat so I’d like to have one.

Thanks

Lauren and I just sat there kind of silent for a moment. When Ethan was done he just said “Okay, I’m done”, as if he’d literally only been talking to God and nobody else could hear him. It was kind of sweet. Not sure if I’m ready for God to answer that particular prayer of his though.

Given our propensity for disaster, I figured we’d get squished by a bouncing monster truck tire or perish in some other equally dramatic fashion. Somehow we made it out alive.

In preparation for the Saturday, I borrowed 3 sets of hearing protectors from my dad and ensured Ethan that it would be loud, but there would be nothing to worry about. We parked at Rivercenter Mall, a good mile walk from the dome and started walking with the hordes of people also headed that direction. It was cold and I ended up carrying Ethan the entire way. Partially because I didn’t want him to end up as someone’s hood ornament and also because I don’t really mind carrying him around. Pretty soon he’ll be too big for me to carry so I’ve gotta take advantage now.

Once we got up to the entrance, we stood in one of the ridiculous lines and finally made our way inside. Our section was just around the corner and we got seated in preparation for the madness. Armed with hearing protectors and a healthy fear, I could tell that Ethan wasn’t really eager to be there. The first truck zoomed out of the hallway and Ethan about jumped into my lap. I looked down at him and he mouthed the words “Alright Dad, I’m ready to go.”

He remained curled up in my lap for the first 15 or so minutes of the show as he quietly observed what was going on and kept telling me it was time for us to leave. On one hand I felt bad for “forcing” him to endure this, but on the other hand I knew he was going to come out of it with a big smile. I was right, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

The first part of the “Jam” was an actual racing bracket where the trucks did time trials around the outer circle of the course. This part was largely boring for him as the drivers were very conservative and were aiming for the fastest time and not the biggest air. In the end Predator was crowned the victor and it was time for intermission.

During intermission they cleaned up the course and brought out a ramp for some Motocross drivers to jump off. They spent a good 20-30 minutes doing various tricks (including the infamous backflip) off the ramp and Ethan was really jazzed about that one.

Last up was the Freestyle competition for the trucks. Each truck had 90 seconds to put together their best run. Excitement was in the air and Ethan was no longer curled up and cowering. Instead, he was standing on his chair screaming at the trucks.

Truck after truck made huge jumps with each subsequent run pushing the limit of what was sane. When the dust had settled, Grave Digger had emerged with the day’s top run. I could hear Ethan screaming in his best metal voice “GRAVE DIGGER”. It was hilarious and awesome all at the same time.

When the show was over, we stopped and bought a Grave Digger pennant and headed for the exit. It took us 45 minutes to make it out of the building and back to the car. Then it took another hour back out of the parking spot and another 20 or so minutes to get out of the garage. We didn’t arrive home until nearly 1 in the morning. He’d long been asleep in the back seat, but he’s still telling stories of the show so I know he had a blast. I’ve got tons of pictures and video from the event that I am going to post as soon as I get it all uploaded.

The day started out innocently enough, despite the 3 trips to get water for Ethan between 2 and 5 am because he couldn’t stop coughin, poor kid. Oh and Evie had to go to the bathroom at 5:45am. So I pulled myself out of bed today at 7:45am, feeling like I’d pulled an all-nighter and hopped in the shower.

For the next 45 minutes I tried to juggle getting the trash out, finding a juice cup, getting ready for work, making coffee, and cleaning up the dog excrement that my precious beagle decided to deposit in the kitchen as well as on the new living room rug. To top it off, she managed to pee all over her bed.

Molly is a great dog and rarely does things that I’d classify as stupid. She must have been having an off-night or a geriatric moment or something. *sigh*

I finally managed to get out of the house and make it to work, well after my scheduled arrival.

The day is not a total loss though, it’s Christmas Eve. I’m sure the day will improve as it goes on. Have a Merry Christmas everyone.

As kids, it seems to take forever for time to go by so we can hit that next milestone in our lives and move on. As a parent, time is flying by so fast that I feel like everything is passing me by. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were headed to the hospital to have Ethan and now he’s 4.5.

On a smaller scale, this year has just disappeared. I mean, we are a few weeks out from Christmas. Now that I’m past all those milestones that I strived for as a kid, when do things slow down so I can enjoy them? They don’t? I guess it’s time to hold on for the ride.