Author: Luke

The SPCA of Greensboro just got a puppy that was likely part of an unwanted litter. Her picture was just listed on their website, and if it was anything like the other pet adoption places I was looking at, she would be gone really quickly.

Rosie, Mercy I and headed over to their place: 20 minutes across town, to meet their limited hours: 1-4 a few days a week. We were excited, and one of the top items on our checklist for a new, furry friend is for the kids to meet and help choose this new dog.

Other things on our list:

• Low to medium energy
• Not a jumper
• not gigantic
• 1 year old
• potty trained
• not a pit bull (no shade, there are some pretty sweet pits, but our kennel doesnt take them)
• Not a barker
• likes the kids.
• Not tiny- 20-50 pounds or so.

Basically, we wanted Stormy; she set the bar pretty high. And as much as she did great, one thing she didn’t do well was bond with Rosie and Mercy. She mostly ignored that they existed, and every kid should have a childhood dog that they love and play with.

At the SPCA, it took a minute for them to go get the dog (Petunia was her name), but when they came back with her:

• She didn’t jump
• She didnt bark
• She liked the girls
• The girls liked her
• She wasnt a tiny dog
• She smelled terrible
• She didnt bite….

Her paws looked gigantic, and the girls really liked her. Her farts smelled terrible.

Ever since Stormy died, I was looking for a dog. We wanted to adopt- that part was certain. But we haven’t been through the process in a while, and way back when, Stormy was literally the only dog we looked at.

These days, the process seeemed a bit different. In order to visit a dog that is up for adoption, you have to fill out an application to adopt the dog. Then, you have to be approved. Then, you have to visit on the hours they are opened. Most are only open 15-20 hours a week, like 1-4 on Tuesdays-Thursdays, and Sunday afternoon 2-4.

Also, whenever you do finally get a chance to visit, there is a great chance the dog you want to see has already been adopted; it seems the dogs that fit my criteria above only last 2 days before getting adopted.

Add to all that, I wanted the girls to come visit the dog as well and help me make the decision. I went and saw a few by myself, but none were “the one” for our family.

Then we met Petunia. Or Hazy. The girls liked her. I liked her, and I knew she would be gone if we went home to think about it. Taylor saw the picture from the adoption site, and said “Oh Luke, she is so cute” (Taylor hardly ever sounds lovey dovey about a dog like that). Here was her picture from the adoption website:

So, we got her. Rosie was very concerned: would mommy be upset? Valid question. Maybe Rosie has more sense than I do in those kinds of situations.

We did ask the questions:

• “What kind of dog is she?” We dont know.
• “How big will she get?” We don’t know.
• “Is she potty trained?” We don’t have a house for her to visit to test if she is.

It wasn’t too helpful.

I have made lot’s of rash decisions that I have regretted; I was hoping that this wasn’t one of them.

She is pretty chill. Taylor likes her. She poops and pees everywhere; sorta. With confidence, I am trying to do all the potty training and proving that this is a decision WE will not regret.

She seems to be doing great. It has been 3 weeks, she is mostly potty trained, and I forgot how much work a puppy is. The last puppy I had was back when I was a kid- Stormy was a year old and potty trained when we got her.

It took 2 days as a family to mull over names; we picked “Hazy” because we wanted to stick with a weather theme, since our last one was “Stormy”. A close second to the selected name was “Misty”, but when put to a vote, Hazy was the winner.

She is pretty chill; doesnt chew much. She will take something like my shoe, carry it to another room, chew for 5 seconds, then move on to something else.

She isnt good at walking on a leash- she pulls. Its fine, but fast forward another 20-40 pounds, and we will have issues. She does run good though.

The first couple days, she slept on my feet while I was working- that was pretty cute.

She really likes the kids, and waits by the door for them to get home from school- she kinds knows their schedule.

The first day she came home, she took a big poo poo in Mercy’s room, and Mercy did not like that.

The family likes her- and we miss stormy.

Each morning for these last few days of school before summer break, I go into Rosie’s room and wake her up by throwing Hazy on her bed; Hazy licks Rosies face, and does a much better job getting Rosie out of bed than I ever could.

Potty training sucks; the first two weeks I watched her like a hawk- didn’t let her out of my site knowing she would immediately take a dump. We rolled up 3 rugs and put them away so she wouldnt soil them. She is learning pretty quick, and I think we can call her potty training a success.

But when she does go outside, she will take a dump on the deck instead of the yard. There is more work to be done, but hopefully it will last another 10-14 years.

After 3 days in Rome, we headed to Capri via Pompeii. Why Capri? We wanted to see the beach, and I looked at lots of places around Italy, and it seemed like Capri was a fun little spot; not because it has beach (the only beach is tiny, just like everything else on the island). But, the views and the beach vibe are second to none.

But first we visited Pompeii, and it just happened to be on the “free entry” day for the whole country- which meant the line was insane. As we got close, the first words that came to mind were, “this is like the Myrtle Beach of Italy.” Definitely touristy on the outside.

It was gigantic- way larger than we expected it to be. Lots of fun, the only drawback was that “there weren’t enough dead bodies.” Tay was on a mission to see the pictures as described in her high school history book on the subject. She was devastated to learn that her text was not 100% accurate.

Lets talk about Capri:

Its fancy.

Its an island right near the Amalfi Coast, a 45 minute ferry from Naples, and its pretty darn small. When planning this trip from home in North Carolina, it is kinda hard to know exactly what constitutes a “good idea.” But, it was important to have dinner reservations so we didn’t end up hungry at dinner time with no good options. Luckily, there was a great option that was a 20 minute walk from our room, and it was beautiful:

The walk to dinner was also more treacherous than we expected:

Capri is a tourist town; not only that, it is a seasonal town too; when we were there, it was early May and a few weeks before this hot-weather destination got busy.
This explains the three phone calls I got from an Italian phone number on our walk to dinner. Each time I answered the phone, I asked if the person spoke English, and they hung up. The phone call was from the restaurant we were heading to, and they wanted to confirm our reservation.

Was it odd to confirm the reservation? I thought so. But, the reason why they were confirming was because the restaurant was opening for the first time that season that night, and the only reservation was ours.

The meal was delightful:

Also worth pointing out: this was the fanciest little restroom I have ever used in my life:

After the meal, and some delicious wine we had a photo shoot with the chef/owner and his family. His two young, and exceptionally well behaved children were there too.

On the shuttle from the restaurant back to our hotel, I was fishing through my fanny pack to find the exact right number of Euros to hail a ride, and the person waiting noticed I was one euro short, and loaned me the difference. We got to chatting on the shuttle, and he said he was from Ecuador and travels the world, but never goes to the same place twice. The next day I got to wondering, the average income in Ecuador is about $6000 a year- so, who on earth were we sitting beside on that shuttle? What kind of person from Ecuador can afford to travel the world?

Our only plan for Capri was to see the Blue Grottoes. What are the blue grottoes? It is an underground cavern- it was used by Caesar Augustus for his bath house- they found marble statues of him on the seabed when the caverns were rediscovered.

The location was lost over time, but rediscovered about 100 years ago (we learned this on our treacherous walk to dinner, with signs explaining history of the island). Now, it is open only 1 out of every 3 days or so because even slightly choppy seas make it too challenging to enter. And when planning this trip from Greensboro, it was really hard to figure out what tour group to use, and whether the caverns would even be open the day we wanted to go. I made it a point to ask the people from our hotel, and they said that the decision for whether the caverns would be open is made at 9am.

As luck would have it, they were, and it was even more beautiful than we expected. Highly recommend:

Once you get there, you have to jump from the boat you rode in, to the tiny boats that are small enough to fit through the entrance to the cavern.

It was so, so spectacular. Somewhere it was listed as one of the 7 wonders of the ocean world, and we were not disappointed. I can’t imagine how crowded it would be during the high season.

What else is there to do? Each day so far, we went from “Oh, thats the prettiest thing I have ever seen in my life” to another, “No that is the prettiest thing I have ever seen in my life.” The art in Rome, the beautiful city alleys, to the natural things in Capri. I say this because just wondering around the “roads” of the island was a beautiful way to spend time. This clip is our walk through “The Garden of the Gods”:

There was a small hike near our hotel that we went and explored: just two miles or so. Again, planning this trip from North Carolina is a challenge for details like this, but we had enough gas in the tank to get in a few more steps for the day, and we werent disappointed:

What was the food like in Capri? While I was on a mission to eat as much pasta as possible in Rome, Taylor wanted to eat as many Caprese salads as she could during our time in Capri. We also took advantage of our free hotel breakfast, and tried to eat at the cheaper places we could in such a famous and beautiful location. They are known for their lemons in Capri, so two things really stood out: Lemon pizza, and Limoncello:

Finally, one thing that was really bizarre to me was life on the island: the cars. Some of the roads on the island are small, the rest of the roads are tiny. The road signs are handpainted porcelain, and the vehicles they use are smaller than golf carts.

Another caveat about Capri if you are mulling over a visit: its a lot of walking, and tons of hills! My legs were so tired, and I finally looked at my watch, and it said I was averaging 24k steps, and 34 flights of stairs each day.

I love church history, and in Rome, the history of the church spills out from the Vatican into many different places around the city, and my goal was to see as many of the Holy Relics around the city as possible. 

Was it worth it? It was even more special than I could have imagined, and these are things I will think about for the rest of my life, it was so, so spectacular for a nerd like me. 

This is where both Peter and Paul were in Prison, called Mamertine Prison. It is just a hole in the ground- with a stainless steel staircase that allows people down single file. From the outside you cannot tell what it is, but they built a church on top of it in the 1st or second centuries. That church started falling apart, so they build another church on top of that one. Taylor and I paid the 6 euros to go down, and it was just a silent, grim little 15 foot by 15 foot hole. 

St. Peter in Chains was the next stop (I planned the whole route from home, not knowing how many places it would be possible to see). These are the chains that the angel broke to set Peter free- just sitting out in the center of a church, like it isn’t a big deal. How come the Catholic Churches get all these cool relics? 

St. Mary Major Basilica was a few blocks away- and it was where the pope was recently buried, and also home to the holy manger of Jesus Christ; yes, the one from the Christmas carol, “Away in a manger.” They did recent studies to prove the claim, that the wood is from the time of Jesus, and made of the kinds of trees native to the area.

There was a line to get in. When I say line, I mean a line around the block. And the block is the size of the Greensboro Coliseum: The Italian army was there ensuring order and running the metal detectors; there were metal barricades, and dozens of tour buses were dropping off people to pay their last respects to the pope. Though we wanted to go, that was an easy “no”. Though sad, it was also uplifting to see the huge popularity of his tomb. 

St. John Lateran is the seat of the Pope: his home church in Rome, and was the home of the Pope before the Vatican was built, and it is simply massive- 110,000 square feet, and known for the 12 statues of the apostles, with something related to the way that they were each killed: speared, beheaded, clubbed, and skinned alive among others. Yet, not a single one of them recanted their faith. These statues are 15 feet high, and simply humbling to look at. Tucked in a corner in the front is a copper relief piece of art, with the wood from the table of last supper. 

Above the alter is a massive structure including the skulls of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. 

The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was our next stop- a 20 minute taxi ride south of the city. Again, tour bus after tour bus was dropping off pilgrims like me (luckily no line for us though). It was almost destroyed in the 1800s, but rebuilt with the most brilliant colors, and the most gigantic basilica yet: 127,400 square feet (just measuring length by width). 

A chorus was practicing, and the acoustics in this facility are amazing. The roof has 30 something frescos that tell the story of Paul; the front has the hole in the ground where his body was disposed of when he was beheaded. They thought they would dispose of the Christian movement when they disposed of him, but it had the exact opposite impact. 

Nearby is the Tre Fontane monastery: the site where Paul was beheaded. When the sword separated his head from his body, his head bounced off the ground three times, and opened three springs of water. Weird, yes I know. 
A monastery was built on these springs, and 200 years ago, they began making beer from this source of water: the newest of the 11 Trappist breweries in the world (Trappist breweries must be made by monks, and donate all their proceeds to charity). It was an unusual visit for sure- I didn’t know what to expect, but there were bus loads of groups and tours of children coming through Tre Fontane the whole time. 

Im not lying when I say this beer on tap was the best I ever had- but strange to enjoy a beer under pictures of a beheading everywhere; a little unsettling. 

Finally, the Vatican. If you have been, you know. Besides the countless works of art, I want to share about St. Peter’s Basilica. 

It took 200 years to build, and there is nothing on earth to compare its gargantuan size to: 352,800 square feet, TWICE THE SIZE of the Biltmore Estate. Also, TWICE the size of the Greensboro Coliseum. 

Because this is the year of Jubilee (no, I am not catholic), we got to pass through yet another set of holy doors- we also passed through them at the other two basilicas. 

Inside St. Peter’s, the main structure over the alter has 4 major relics: the skull of St. Andrew, the spear that pierced Jesus, a part of the true cross, and the veil of Veronica (the veil used on Jesus face when he carried the cross). 

Also, the Chair of St. Peter: a massive, massive display. Just look at the little man beside this thing- his job is to protect this thing, all day- only one of the most special and holy items of all time. 

These things were so, incredibly special to see. 

The other things to see. 

The Coliseum-it is huge, and since they cleaned the outside several years ago, it is bright white and a beautiful site in the middle of the city. 

It may be possible to see it without a tour guide, but definitely get a tour guide. 

Right beside the coliseum is Palpatine Hill- this is the true historical center of Rome, and our tour of the Coliseum included a tour of Palpatine Hill. It had amazing gardens and a great view of the city. 

Just strolling around town, we saw the Pantheon at night- bustling with kids and families and people eating Gelato. My god, how does everyone in that whole city eat Gelato each night?

Also the Trevi fountain. Yes, I rolled my eyes at Taylor’s innocent request to see it (everyone says there are too many crowds). Yes, I was wrong: it was beautiful, and worth seeing. There were tik-tockers everywhere.

The Vatican Museum is special. Buy tickets ahead of time.. The line for tickets was several hundred yards long, and you don’t want to waste limited time in Rome waiting in a line; most tours of the Vatican include a “skip the line” option. 

The Vatican museum is wild- the size and number of exhibits is hard to describe. If you have been there before, you know. They have 9 miles of exhibits; I think our tour guide said it was the second biggest museum in the world. There is so much beautiful art, but at a certain point it is hard to appreciate it all. 

No matter what you do, you are limited to 3-4 hours without needing to eat. 

The food. 

There are 4 types of traditional pasta in Rome: Caccio Pepe, Gricia, Carbonara, and Amatriana. Lots of places claim to have the best, but ultimately that comes down to preference. I ate pasta 5 times in 3 days, and don’t regret it for a second. 

Do yourself a favor and make dinner reservations in Rome. It is busy, and you don’t want to end up in a situation where you are hungry after touring (and walking) all day, without a place to sit and enjoy dinner. 

For breakfast, expect something like a pastry and a cappuccino. That too was special each morning. 

Though you can stake out some great lunch spots, I would steer clear of making lunch plans. There are so many places in the town to explore, it would be hard to be tied to a specific area for lunch. We just grabbed something on the go, and it worked out great. 

For dinner, we did some research, but found that many restaurants do not have a standard “reservation” process like we expected from back home. They are busy, they serve food, and if you are there, you can eat; if you want to know what they serve, you might be able to find it on their Facebook page. 

One of the highlights was Mr 100 Tiramisu. They had 100 flavors of Tiramisu- do I love it? Not in the USA. No. But in Rome? Oh my goodness it was delicious- we shared 3 pieces. 

Where to stay

There are lots of “right” answers to this question. We stayed on the Campo di Fiori square, near Trastevere, and it was great. It had a rooftop bar (we brought our own bottle), and we could see the Vatican and the rest of Rome from up there. 

If you want a busy, but not loud, area of town, that area won’t disappoint you. 

What stood out about Rome. 

It was the liveliest, safest city I have ever visited. We walked a ton- about 18000 steps a day, and saw a good part of the city. 

When planning a trip like this, it is hard to know exactly what it possible to fit in to just a few days: but Rome was more walkable, and safer than I expected, and after walking all of the miles, there was hardly a single storefront that was not occupied. 

Police and military people were found in most areas with people; we passed some every 1/4 mile or less. 

One thing neat about Rome is the water. They still use the viaducts that the ancient Romans built, and in most squares and hidden in many corners, there are water fountains just running water for anyone to take. There was one beside where we ate dinner, and we just watched: someone came and washed vegetables, several couples filled water bottles, some washed their faces, some dog came by and drank. 

Caution: This might be hard to read. I had to tell the story though. Proceed with caution, this is a tear jerker.

“You did a good job Stormy; you did a good job.”

I kept saying this over and over again. Taylor, Rose and Mercy had left the room. It was just the vet, me, and the vet’s technician. I held stormy’s paw, rubbed her head and her soft ears, and just kept saying “you did a good job.” For 13 years she did. She was shaking, and had blankets over her. She was on a stretcher for a dog, and I was on the floor of the vet’s office, right by her side. I don’t know if she was shaking from the pain, or the cold- and I don’t want to know.
She had an IV in her. And a catheter, under the blanket. She was a bit tired from the medicine, but alert. I was crying, and the vet explained what each of the shots in her hand were: one to numb her, one to send her home. Tears dripped down my nose and hit the tile floor. We already made the decision. The papers were signed. The vet tech had to turn her head to keep from crying herself, as I rubbed stormy’s neck, and the shaking calmed down. The vet pulled out her stethoscope, checked for vitals. The shaking stopped. The vet said some kind words, said I could take all the time I needed to say goodbye; Stormy’s eyes stopped moving. I hugged the vet; I hugged the vet’s technician, told them I couldn’t manage to be there as she grew cold, I had to leave.
For the first time in an hour, I went outside; it was a thick, heavy rain, and I sobbed. 

Earlier that Friday morning, when I let stormy out I noticed she was walking a little weird- almost as though she was trying to grip the wood floors with her paws. We got the kids ready, and stormy was just laying on the floor; she was healthy the day before and walked to school with Rosie and I- but Taylor and I both noticed she seemed a little lethargic. I called the vet before 8, and fortunately they could see Stormy at 9:30. It wasn’t an emergency: Stormy at dinner the night before, she wasn’t throwing up, didn’t have diarrhea, but I wanted to see what the Doc thought regardless. 

After Taylor got back from the gym and stormy hadn’t moved, we knew something was bad. 

“Wanna go for a walk?” She stood, and took a few steps, then stopped. I managed to prop the door open, already had the trunk open, carried her to the car, and drove stormy in to the vet.

She wasn’t an angel. But she did have an important job: when Taylor and I were first married, we were trying to figure things out. How to be nice to each other, how to live together, and do the chores. How to do finances. How to cook dinners, and how to clean up after dinners. 
We argued. I wouldn’t say a ton, but there were some challenges, and we had been entertaining the idea of getting a dog. I suppose God saw our situation, and said “They have enough issues to deal with, I’ll give them Stormy.” Stormy’s job was to help us stop being selfish, and be a little kinder to one another. And she did a great job. 

Not only did Taylor and I start getting along better, but Stormy went on to keep doing her job with the countless guests who have visited our house over the past 13 years. Even with the rowdy kids, Stormy knew how to win them over: she would come sit beside me, and allow the children to poke her, rub her, lean on her, and lightly abuse her in all sorts of ways, knowing I would protect her. If that wasn’t an option, Stormy would just politely leave the room and go be an introvert. 

But that was the exception instead of the rule. Stormy always wanted to be with the family, because Stormy was a part of the family. She didn’t want to be the center of attention, but she wanted us to know she was still around. 

She was my buddy. She was a bookend to my day: the first words of my morning were to stormy, along with a pat on the head. Often she would come downstairs right after me in the morning; even on the days when Taylor woke up first. 

At night, she was often the last one I spoke to, followed by another pat on the head and reassuring her how much she was loved. 

Her favorite thing to do was watch me do yard work: raking leaves, cutting off branches, mowing the lawn, playing with the kids, sharpening lawnmower blades, cleaning the grill. If I was outside, she was outside. If I had to go inside to get some scissors, she had to come inside too, even if it was for less than 90 seconds. 

A few times she stayed at Taylor’s parent’s house while we were out of town. Their dog, Jager, was stormy’s best friend. One of those trips, Taylor and I were in Mexico, and got a call from an unknown number; they got Taylor phone number from Stormy’s collar and said they found our dog. We didn’t learn until we got home that Stormy got out of the Register’s yard, and went into the neighbors car while they were unloading the groceries, and at the chicken wings out of the car. Uncooked chicken wings. 

During those visits she went and ate fertilizer, a leather boot, golf gloves, and rat poison. Other times she ate a bag of chocolate, on three separate occasions. 

She was mischievous, in every way. Just last month, the babysitter was over, and outside jumping on the trampoline with Rosie and Mercy while Taylor and I were on a date. Stormy ate 3/4 of a pizza off the counter, and had some of the worst gas you could imagine that night. I was kinda bummed there wasn’t any leftover pizza for lunch the next day. 

Food not only had to be on the counter, but moved all the way back to the wall to make sure the dog wouldn’t snatch it. I spanked her a few times. Then realized, she really doesn’t care: she would rather eat the food, or get in the garbage and get spanked, than not get in the food. 

She wasn’t the smartest either. She would listen-sometimes. For example, she would stay if she wanted to. Or until something else caught her attention. She didnt do a ton of tricks. She was ok when walking on the leash. But perfect or not, that’s what made her part of the family; I’m glad my family keeps me around, despite not being the smartest:)

Stormy was there when we had our first ultrasound with Rosie. She was there when Mercy came home from the hospital. She let Rosie dress her up in outfits a lot during the covid years. 

When I was down, stormy knew it and she sat close; she never licked, but would sit close; or just lean on my leg. Or, she would lay down and press the top of her head into me. 

She walked Rosie to school every single day; the highlight of my day. 

When Taylor arrived at the Vet, the doctor came in and explained things. Stormy had a tumor on her spleen that ruptured. Chances are, it was a cancer, and the tumor ruptured and healed in smaller ways several times by now; this would explain why stormy was crying for the past month every night around 8pm; I dismissed it though because Stormy was wagging her tail while she did so. 

Finally, this tumor ruptured. There was a chance that emergency surgery could “buy us some more time”, but there was also a chance that the surgery would reveal that the cancer had spread pretty far. Taylor cried. This was the kind of thing that cost the vet her own dog the year before. 

Should we get the girls from school to have a chance to say goodbye? Stormy was stable. Would that be traumatic? Would it be less traumatic than if Rosie came home from school, and never got a chance to say goodbye? Should Mercy have a chance to say goodbye as well, or is she too young?

We had to get both girls. They had to have a chance to say goodbye, and they did. Right there in the vet’s floor, while stormy was on the dog stretcher, under a blanket. We took turns sitting closest to her. When it was time, they left, and the Vet and I were alone with Stormy that last time. 

When we got home, Rosie wasn’t in her room. She wasn’t watching tv. She was in Stormy’s bed, with a blanket on top of her, and a pillow under her head, holding Stormy’s collar, crying. 

The next day, I asked Mercy: “Do you think Stormy is in heaven eating as much trash as she can (since Stormy LOVED getting in the trash can)?”
Mercy replied “What if Jesus says ‘no’”? 

Touché mercy. Touché. There isn’t enough theology in the world to answer that question. 

Now, it is three days later, and I can’t sleep. I keep thinking, “did I do the right thing? Did I miss something? Was there another way to get a year or two from an otherwise healthy dog?” I know the answer is no, but that last scene keeps playing in my mind. 

At the same time, this was the best way it could have possibly played out. It would have been even more challenging to watch her grow much older, and lose the strength to make it up the stairs. Also, we are glad this happened on a weekday, when the vet was opened. And while we were in town- there are a few trips coming up, and it would have been even worse if it happened while we were away. So I am glad she went out with a bang: healthy the day before, and over the rainbow bridge the day after. 

Stormy did a good job. She did a great job. She wasn’t perfect, but she was perfect for us. And now, I am ready to get another dog. Since stormy set the bar pretty high, I’m pretty confident our next dog will just be a jerk. Stay tuned. 

After a few weeks (months?) its hard to know where to start; there has been a lot going on. There has been a lot going on, but the reason I haven’t written anything is because I have been busy planning our next big trip, and it is a masterpiece.

Just last week, Mercy graduated off of her training wheels, and is up on a two wheeler.

It was a lot of fun- she is a quick learner, and it was the same park Rosie learned just a few years ago.

Rosie came to cheer on her sis as well.

We did a fun game night at the neighbors house, and learned a fun game; it wa really nice because Mercy was able to play as well, and she almost won.

Also, Mercy is a little older these days, and having a blast with some of “her friends”- meaning she gets to do something special, and not just hang out with the little brother/sister of Rosies friends. As a younger sibling myself, that feeling is real.

We also finally reached the age where Mercy and Rosie are annoying one another. But, for the most part they are amazing friends in between.

Mercy loves to watch Rosie dance, and is getting a bit bigger to sit through parts of Rosie’s performances:

We also had a crazy hailstorm- it was the strangest thing. Just a few moments of gigantic hail- only a few of these large hailstones covered our yard. However, it was enough to crack the windshield of our car. Then I learned that insurance covers that kinda thing- except these days, replacing a windshield is not just swapping out the glass- cars are fancy and the windshield has sensors, so it took hours to finish.

What trip?

Finally, the reason I have not done any morning posts on the blog is because I have been busy planning our big 15-year anniversary trip to Italy. It has been a lot of fun to watch youtube videos, learn about the country, read travel blogs, listen to podcasts, and have the freedom to create our own custom trip. It really helped a lot this year with the seemingly endless days of snow and ice when the kids were out of school to have something fun (and warm) to look forward to.

For the trip, we are going to Italy: Rome, Capri, and even further south to Tropea, a small beach town near the “Toe”.

Rome will be busy; Capri will be Fancy; and Tropea, hopefully, will be a calm couple of days on the beach. Then, at the end of the trip, hop a short plane ride back to Rome to catch our flight back home.

The tours are scheduled, dinner reservations are booked, the rental car is waiting- the countdown has begun!

People ask me “What does it feel like to turn 40?”. The answer is that I threw away all of my white socks, and went to Costco and bought 36 new pairs of identical white socks. That was a few weeks ago, and I cannot explain how helpful that decision has been. Also:

Taylor threw me a “surprise” family birthday dinner- I knew that some friends were invited to the party as well, but didn’t quite know who so it was a really, really fun surprise to see friends- new and old- show up.

Looking through things, I didnt get any pictures of some of our “new friends” (meaning, less than 10 years, hahaha), but Clint Swaringen, Mark and Margaret, and several others showed up too. Thank you all for coming- it was great to see you!

These people have been around for every important milestone since I was 16 years old- and that is something absolutely significant in my life (also, we missed you Cores, hope you get over the strep throat quickly, we will make it up some other time!).

My 18th birthday, 21st birthday, 30th birthday, 40th birthday- not to mention weddings, graduations, kids birthdays, Halloweens, Memorial Days, New Years Eve’s, etc. I digress.

Ok ok, the pictures from above aren’t EXACTLY from my 18th birthday, 21st birthday, or 30th birthday- but they are all AROUND those times. It turns out I don’t have many pics from those events because digital pictures weren’t exactly big, nor was there an awesome blog to record such moments in my life.

But the pictures from above are around those times- and the very last image with me and Charlie Hiser and Houston and Taylor Symons WAS from my 30th birthday- that was a wild night just over a month after Rosie was born, and we didn’t take many pictures that evening, and for good reason.

It really was an honor to have so many important people show up- life throws lots of curve balls, but I feel like a rich man to have the company of such good friends for all of the important moments.

Taylor gave a speech. Here is evidence, that I am still “fun” despite feeling like a boring old dad sometimes:

In the old days, Taylor would put her speech on a cake, in the form of a poem. We have come a long ways together since then 🙂

Somehow I got away without being roasted- over the years these people had plenty of ammunition for a moment like this. It was probably because children were around, but the Lynam’s gave a special speech as well:

Thank you Taylor for putting this together- it meant more than I thought it would. You make it look easy to put together such fun events.

Back in high school, it was widely believed that if you ran around the house the night before it was supposed to snow, screaming a special word, that it would summon more snow here in Greensboro. We did it many, many times and it worked about every time.

This is not that. This weekend it snowed. And Rosie had a dance recital.

On Friday evening, we went to see Lila do her dance, and she did great. It was clear to everyone- including the judges- that she was excellent, as she got 2nd place. The special part was how, due to some technical errors, the music stopped just 20 seconds in- and played a terrible, terrible noise due to some interference. What did Lila do? She just kept dancing her solo routine- full of grace, and unphased. It was really, really touching to see her strength in that.

Earlier that day, it snowed- and we did all the snowy things. Rosie and mercy were about to jump out of their skin with excitement- we havent had a good snow in a while.

Mercy was getting a bit restless watching the dancers, so we slipped outside for an excellent trespassing opportunity at the Greensboro Coliseum (300 yards away from the dance routines). At that point the snow was turning to sleet, but Mercy actually smiled for the camera without prompting: a solid win in my book.

Rosie did a trio to a song called “Girls”. It turned out great- she looked so grown up, and the song was beautiful. My allergies started acting up during her routine.

Mercy and I left early for more sledding, and Rosie and our neighbor Hunter. There is a sweet hill a few blocks away that neighborhood kids flock to when it snows. If your sled was headed the wrong direction at the bottom of the hill, there is a chance you might run into the parked El Camino- this is the ultimate sign of sledding in the south.

Now, the snow is almost all gone except for a few places in the shade. The local school system is doing a “remote learning” day, and Mercy’s daycare is closed, so the stay-at-home siblings trend continues.

Happy New Year!

Its gonna be a big year for us, and we started off in a big way so far- for some of us anyways.

New Year’s Eve was about as wild as it could be for the parents of a 10 year old and 4 year old. We were in deep sleep by 9:45.

However, we got to spend a few days at the beach with our small family, and then were joined by some friends for a few days. The weather was solid, and no matter how many times I tell these kids “only get your feet wet”, they always end up soaked. You know what? as long as a change of clothes is available (and it was), who cares?

There is a place that does an annual “dropping of the shark” for new year’s eve. It used to be pretty popular, but slowed down quite a bit during covid. They used to do a “shark drop” at 9pm for kids, and midnight for everyone else. Now, they only do the 9pm for kids, and this was the most crowded it has been in a while- it was great. Rosie loved being able to “stay up late” with some friends:

It was a great couple days to just hang out and relax. Almost all the kids are out of diapers (except for Millie, and we love Millie), and the kids are a lot easier now then they were just 2-3 years ago.

As soon as we got back from the beach, Taylor went to Miami. It was part of her turning 40 with some of her best friends since- forever.

So for three days with the kids, who were sick of each other after a never-ending Christmas break, the best I could come up with was to take them to an ACC basketball game, and watch Wake Forest play against NC State, in Winston Salem. I got some cheap tickets, but the fees are nuts.

The game was great, and the girls fell asleep HARD on the way home- maybe the first time Rosie fell asleep in the car in 5 years.

What else is there to do with two kids that have spent too much time together over a never-ending Christmas break?

Go to church. The service was great, over too early, and way, wayy before going home, at least one of the two girls asked, “What else are we doing today?”.
The answer to that question was, “A whole lot of nothing. It will be a very, very boring day.”

It snowed. We played. We painted pictures and got creative. My mom came over to visit and played a game of memory with Mercy. The day slowly moved by. And then there was a snow day after that so both Mercy and Rosie were out of school for yet another day…

On top of everything else, I have been working through some new year’s resolutions since Rosie pointed out how big my belly was in a picture during our trip to New York. She wasn’t wrong, so I have been working out a bit, and trying to eat no carbs, dairy, or sugar (basically, eat only meats, vegetables, and fruit). Not following a specific diet, but cutting out all carby/starchy foods and alcohol to see what happens:

I started doing intermittent fasting too, which is basically limiting eating to only 8 hours a day. For me that means after dinner, wait 16 hours to eat. So far, I lost 6 pounds in 8 days. I think I would rather be happy and full though…

Meanwhile Taylor was in Miami and it looked like they were having fun:

These four have been friends since the beginning, and they all have a big 4-0 birthday, and combined it all to do a short trip to Miami Beach together.

It looks like they had a blast-paddle boarding, pool, and…not children.

Im kidding of course- I am glad they got a chance to get away. Taylor does an endless amount around the house keeping us going, so it is great she got to get away with some of her besties- they are an awesome group, and it is good for the soul to reconnect.

Even though I pictured Miami Beach to be something wild, it sounded like there is a lot to do around the area.

Anyways, the year is off to a roaring start, and Taylor and I both have big birthdays and an anniversary to look forward to this year. Buckle up!

What the heck just happened?

We saw friends.

The Steinwedell’s hosted our annual “Happy Birthday Jesus Party”. The kids all blew out the candles together, since that can be theologically confusing.

Have you ever done a “dirty Santa” party? This particular night, the “dirty” part was interpreted quite loosely, but the night was a blast.

The other guys opted not to see the nutcracker- that ballet storyline still confuses me, even though I’ve seen it 10 times now. Why do all those little kids come out from under the lady’s giant dress?

We saw each other

I didn’t get a picture of us, but you can just use your imagination that Taylor and I looked great and had fun on a date night before the craziness of Christmas got started.

We Hosted

For a couple years now we have been hosting the York family for brunch on Christmas eve. Most of us are sober-ish during this hour of the day each year

We visited

This year for the first time we did Christmas with Evan and the cousins- and had a pretty good time doing charades and singing some Christmas Carols.

Honestly, I am not even sure when we were at the Register’s house: was it before or after Evan’s house? Either way, the meal wasn’t something to forget: Ted got an amazing cut of meat, some Christmas Carolers came by, and Rosie and Mercy had a blast with their other cousins in town.

We Stayed Home

We did some “Logan Family” time with our own traditions: making peanut butter balls, church on Christmas eve, and our tradition for the girls to have a “sleepover” upstairs with us on Christmas eve. Rumor is that I snore, so they had to see first hand.

Our peanut butter ball tradition- maybe our 13th year? – is pretty darn efficient at this point. We have learned tons of things not to do.

Rosie got a bike, and Santa was pretty excited it was the right size. Rosie and Mercy pretty much get along and had a blast for Christmas eve/morning.

I know I know, one of the pictures above doesnt look like the other, but Taylor got this shot of the mountain of leaves that were collected from our backyard. I finally snapped and hired some teenagers wearing camoflage and a 1991 green Silverado to come get our leaves. It was amazing how good of a job they did, and it made hosting the Register/York family a little less embarrassing.

We surprised Rosie for her big birthday with a trip to the big city.

Where did you stay?

We stayed at the Motto by Hilton on 23rd street. It was between two subway stops- the red line and the orange line, and worked out great. Taylor is really motivated to get a good deal, so she picked the spot, and it worked out great. 

We arrived super early- leaving Greensboro at 6:15, and making it to the Hotel by 9:15 or so- way too early to check in, but we were able to leave our bags there, and check in by 3pm. The room had a queen bed/bunk bed situation which Rosie really liked, and I thought the view was awesome from the 25th floor. 

What did you do?

A few things were planned- this was Rosies big trip, so I wanted to honor her and the things she enjoyed. As a travel tip, I would recommend getting dinner reservations at the bare minimum, if you don’t want to eat street food for dinner. 

We saw all the touristy things around Rockefeller plaza, like:

FAO Schwartz, 

the Christmas Tree, 

the Lego Store, 

After watching all the movies to get the NYC spirit before the trip, Rosie wanted to see Central Park, which was a really fun tangent. 

Rosie is a dancer, so we saw the Rockettes- and it was WAY better than I expected. And Yes, I did cry towards the end during the nativity scene: it just reminded me of how many prayers were answered over the past 10 years for us to get to go on a trip like this. 

Going up to the top of a building had to be a part of the trip- and there are several options, but The Edge at Hudson Yards was where we ended up going- and it did not disappoint. The views were amazing, all the way around, and it had a glass floor for a part of it. Rosie loves a thrill, but the glass floor from 1100 feet up was almost too much for her. We got the all-day ticket to go any time we wanted, and I highly recommend it. 

Strolling on the High Line, walking through Chelsea Market, and seeing a few malls like Hudson Yards, the Oculus, etc. They were great spots to get warm. 

Rosie really likes the Broadway play Hamilton, and Alexander Hamilton is buried at Trinity Church between the NYSE and Freedom Tower, right near the place we went skating- so we stopped by there as well to see some of the names from one of her favorite songs: “The Schuyler Sisters”, all buried in the same place. Surprisingly, Rosie really enjoyed that spot- and her and I are going to see Hamilton at the Tanger Center in Greensboro later this month. 

Finally, we did Ice Skating to finish things up. There are a few places in the city to skate, and I was hoping to avoid the huge crowds if skating in one of the popular places like Rockefeller Plaza, so the Rink at Brookfield Place was where we ended up, and it was great. Rosie was really looking forward to that part, and she did great. 

Where did you eat?

For breakfast, Bagels are the way to go. There are lots of lists of “the best bagels in NYC”, but out of the ones closest to our hotel, we ended up at Brooklyn Bagels and Ess-a-Bagel. The latter one- with Lox, Scallion cream cheese and red onions on an everything bagel made for some downright offensive breath, but a darn good bagel. Rosie struggled with her braces, but didn’t complain.

John’s Pizza on Bleecker Street is the best pie in town, hands down. The wait was about an hour, so Taylor and Rosie did some shopping around the area while I waited. At that point, I didn’t really even WANT a pizza after eating Bagels (like, GIANT bagels) for breakfast 2 days in a row. 

It was the best Pizza I ever had in my life, hands down. I think Taylor would say the same. What makes the pizza so good? We asked the waiter, and he said it was the 100 year old coal-fired oven that cooks at 1000 degrees. 

Taylor really wanted to include Ellens Stardust Diner on our list because she went as a kid and really enjoyed it. There are lots of things I did as a kid and really enjoyed and many of them did not hold up well- the Brave Little Toaster movie was one of them. However, in this case, it did hold up well. It’s a little diner on Broadway where the wait staff are almost all people trying out for Broadway shows- so they sing these amazing Broadway numbers while people are eating, and they are surprisingly good. Once again, it was a 1 hour wait or so, so I did my dad duties while the girls shopped, but it was worth it. I was cold down to my bones at this point. 

It is hard to get dinner reservations at some of the more popular, kid-friendly places, so we had dinner at La Grande Boucherie, a French place with great Christmas decorations. It was alright, and Rosie was falling asleep by the end of the meal. 

We also ate at Rosemary’s for dinner. It was really decked out for Christmas and had great music and decorations. The food was great. Sitting in one of those restaurant booths on the sidewalk, looking in through the windows at the restaurant while wearing our coats during the meal to stay warm, was not great. Once again, no one complained- except me, I complained to the manager that the seating was not cool- it was freezing out there. Because we complained, they gave us some more carbs on the house.

What else?

The subway worked great. I worked hard to read up on some of the routes before going- I was still trying to recover from getting two families lost on a hike in the woods two years ago and didn’t want to embarrass myself. 

Everything around Rockefeller Plaza was super crowded, but the second day seeing other parts of the city wasn’t too bad. 

There is something on Apple Maps called “Guides”, where you can save a bunch of spots on a map and look at all of them at the same time, instead of looking up things 1 by 1. This was super helpful to add a bunch of “ideas” of things to do at various places around the city, then just let Rosie pick what seemed best. 

It was really, really cold. We got a 6:15 am flight from Greensboro to Laguardia, and that may have been a bit too early. Rosie was a little slow all day, and I think we were too. A trip that early meant getting all your stuff out- including long johns and layers and layers of clothes- the night before. I am proud to say that no one complained. 

Hudson Yards is a really cool mall- they put out 2 million lights for Christmas- but the stores aren’t that cool for people that don’t have a million dollars like us. 

Having a few things planned, and a lot of room to be flexible, worked out really well. I took note of that from how Taylor has planned trips in the past. 

On the first day, we took our bagels to Times Square as one of our first stops and learned that Rosie was afraid of the pigeons. “They kept trying to eat my food” she said. She was right, they were trying to eat her food, but for the girl that is not afraid of a single roller coaster, I was kind of surprised to learn of this new phobia of hers.

What about Mercy?
She stayed at her grandma and grandpa’s house (thank you Zippy and Papa!). We missed her, but it would have been terrible to have her in the dirty, dirty subways around the city. Zippy sent us some pictures and it looks like Mercy had a great time. 

To summarize:

Where did we stay?
The Motto by Hilton. 

What did we do?

Hudson Yards

The Edge

FAO Schwartz

The Lego Store

Central Park

The Rockettes

M&M Store

Ice Skating at The Rink at Brookfield Place

Hamilton’s Grave

Where did we eat?

Ess-a-Bagel

Brooklyn Bagel

Johns Pizza on Bleecker Street

Ellens Stardust Diner

La Grande Boucherie

Rosemary’s