2019 highlights!

Life, as always, was very blessed in 2019.  Here are some highlights!!

January

Nothing really happened in January.  So, here's a picture of Owen with his Moses stick. 

February

Kimmy and I took kidless vacation.  A 10! day cruise of the Caribbean. I hope we can do it again sometime.  I love this woman!  

March

Desmond's 4th Grade Volleyball team finished the season UNDEFEATED! 

And, I got to finally see my Zags play in the NCAA tournament!  They won the first game but lost the second.  Oh, well...there's always THIS YEAR!

April

Owen befriended the neighborhood squirrels.

We visited the parental units and said goodbye to a Lake Havasu landmark.

May

I joined a Beach Volleyball team!  We got our asses kicked by 20somethings.  But, we had a great time!  And, I didn't die! 

Kimmy got to meet Laura, one of my 13 favorite cousins!!!

Lots of visitors this month as we had 3 grandparents here at once!

June

Desmond's school choir got to sing the National Anthem at a Mariners Game. 

Which meant Owen got to attend his very first pro ball game!

July

Desmond completed one of his biggest Lego sets...an award from Dad and Bonus Mom for finishing the year with Straight As

He also performed as one of the Sailors in a summer production of Mary Poppins. 

In the meantime, Owen found his own performance style. 

August

Kim and I split up to tackle 2 sets of Grandparents.  Kim and Owen went to visit G&G Romine. 

And Desmond and I went to went to Lake Havasu to visit G&G Pankow where I proceeded to take zero pictures of the Grandparents, apparently. 

AND...Desmond and I got to schmooz with Weird Al!

We wrapped up the month by taking the boys and Desmond's BFF to Great Wolf Lodge.

September

I left my job at Google and started a new role at Alaska Airlines.  But, we had to hit the Google arcade one last time. 

(Desmond is still unhappy with my decision)

The boys started the new school year!

Kim finally partook in my Seahawks season tickets!

We made a bunch of new friends while drinking and raising money for Providence Mt. Saint Vincent. 

(That guy waving...his name is Kevin!  Actually, it isn't.  But, that's what I called him all night.)

And...Desmond and I climbed the Space Needle for the 2nd time raising $1300 for Fred Hutch!

October

Check out our super cute family photos!

November

Kimmy took me to my favorite sushi place for my birthday (it's becoming a tradition)

And she ate squid. :-) 

Owen got promoted to "Big Boy Bed!"

Desmond and the 5th Graders at OLG got to host Grandma and many others at the Over 65 luncheon. 

And Desmond learned to do Improv!

December

Owen started soccer at Lil Kickers with his school buddy, Scarlett

We got this crazy dog! 

Desmond and I took a big boys trip to Disneyland. 

And Desmond FINALLY went down Splash Mountain!!!

(I told him there would be a camera so he had to make a great face.  After I saw the picture, I asked, "Was that face your fake pose or was that real terror?"  He said, "Maybe a little of both.")

And...we did Christmas in our matching jammies. 

All in all, a good year!  Sure, the Mariners are still terrible, the Game of Thrones finale was a huge letdown and Jennifer Lawrence has still not returned any of my phone calls.  But, damn...I love this little family of mine.  

Peace be with you!  Let's go nail 2020!!! 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!

So...I love Thanksgiving!  And, it's not just because of the food...even though I LOVE food.  Like, love it.  When I think of Thanksgiving, "Feed Me, Seymore" immediately pops into my head.

No...I love Thanksgiving because I am truly grateful for so much.  So, so much.

I am grateful for my parents.  A couple working folks who never made a ton of money but still managed to support me through 12 years of school, band, drama, and then help me go to a very expensive and life changing college.  My mom and dad are easily the biggest reason I am who and where I am, today. 

I am grateful for my wife.  She picked up a broken guy (more broken than I probably let on when we started dating) and made me her husband.  She lifts me up with her smiles, her encouragement and her daily love.  She fuels me every day and I don't thank her nearly as much as I should.

I am thankful for my boys.  Desmond and Owen...the reasons I do anything.  I have been blessed with boys who make me remarkably proud.  I hope I can be a worthy dad to both of them.

I am grateful for my friends.  Some of my very best friends have no reason for being in my life.  It just kinda happened.  And, I can't imagine life without you. 

I am grateful for OLG...our church/school community.  I know that if I ever found myself down and out, you would pick me up.  Just because we're part of the same community. 

I am grateful for my education...I called Gonzaga life changing.  For me, that is a true statement.  My path changed while I was there.  At the time, it might not have been obvious.  But, today...I still reflect on many of the things I learned there.  Mostly, things that, I believe, make me a better human and (hopefully) bring me closer to God. 

I am grateful for my career.  I love what I do.  Work isn't just a job for me.  I genuinely enjoy it.  I help change peoples' lives...hopefully for the better.  And, that makes me happy.

I am thankful for life.  Sometimes, it's hard.  Sometimes, it's lonely.  But, every single day, it is blessed.  And, I am grateful.

I am thankful for you...the person reading this.  Because, you care enough to read my blog!  I don't post nearly as much as I used to.  But, you're still here!  And, I appreciate that!  Thank you for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving!  God Bless you and your family!  If you receive even a fraction of the blessings I have, you will be living a wonderful life! 

Merry Christmas from the Pankows

Greetings!

The end of the year is approaching.  But, before we close, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  I hope you get to relax and I hope you find some peace during this time.

I will (hopefully) get my annual end of year post up next week.  But, in the meantime, please enjoy this Pankow Christmas Jammies picture and this video of Opie giving baby kisses.

Goodbye 2016

I think everyone mostly agrees.  2016 was pretty stupid.

It won't go down as my worst year ever.  That still belongs to 2012 and will be hard to top.  But, 2016 was up there with years I won't miss.

There were some bright spots!  Kim and I spent (another) week in Hawaii to kick it off.  I started work at one of my favorite companies on the planet.  Baby Owen popped in the oven. 

What else?  Hmmmm...can't really think of anything.  I'm sure there is something. 

Here are my lessons from the past year:

1. No matter how much you are sure something can't happen, it can definitely happen. 
2. Hatred for one individual can blind every day people to even greater faults and flaws.
3. I'm getting older.  Faster than I ever have before.
4. Co-parenting doesn't have to be as hard as many people make it out to be. 
5. The sound of 7 year olds talking in baby voices is worse than nails on a chalkboard for me. 
6. Star Wars is still amazing and I am still capable of being a complete geek over it.
7. The fish market up the street doesn't taste as good when they jack their prices up.
8. I can miss coworkers like I miss family. 
9. Nobody is perfect.  Even the people you think are perfect are not.  It just makes it harder to handle when they show their imperfections.  But, it also humanizes them more. 
10. I need to learn how and when to say No.

So, there you go.  I am optimistic that 2017 will be better for everyone.  That is, unless Trump kills us all. 

Peace be with you!

Merry Christmas!

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Merry Christmas, friends! 

Thank you moms!

I am blessed in many ways.  But, one of the ways I am most blessed, IMHO, is that I have some very strong women in my life. 

I have my mother.  Who raised me and always taught me to use my manners and treat others with respect.

I had my mom's mom who taught me to love God and to love His people.

I have my dad's mom who taught me to laugh and have fun.

I have Kim's mom who has accepted me into her family with mucho love.

I have my son's mom who blessed me with Desmond and is a great partner in his upbringing.

I have the mom's of my many cousins, women who have helped me to grow in innumerable ways.

And, I have my son's step-mom (almost official), a woman who has taken Desmond into her life with so much love that you would think she's been here since day 1!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  Without you, there is no us. 

Good Friday

Good Friday is an important day for Christians.  For obvious reasons.  Don't worry...I will not bore you with bible readings or religious hoopla.  But, I do want to share one reflection from Fr. James Martin.  A Jesuit priest and editor of America, a Jesuit magazine.

Fr. Martin is pretty active on social media.  If you have any interest, you can find him here on Facebook and here on Twitter.  I follow him regularly.  He has written many books that you can find on Amazon.

For Good Friday, I wanted to offer you this, from Father Martin, posted via his Instagram page:

"Remember that Jesus, while fully divine, suffered as a human being.  He felt physical pain on the cross; he felt loneliness after many of the disciples left him; he even felt a sense of abandonment by God the Father.  When you pray, then, you are praying to someone who understands physical, emotional and spiritual pain.  In other words, you are praying to someone who understands you."

With Fr. Martins words, he posted this picture of St. Ignatius Loyola Church in New York.

Happy Easter, friends!  He is risen!  

Your days are numbered, Leprechaun!!!

Des set a trap for the leprechaun.  Unfortunately, the leprechaun outsmarted him.  Took all the Corn Pops out and stuck Desmond's pet rock Bob in there instead (Bob deserves a blog post of his own).  Then, the leprechaun proceeded to pee in our toilet!  Bastard!