Nephews!

The past week or so, I have had the chance to spend lots of time on the phone with my nephew Parker (who can finally say "Heather" and loves to talk about how he goes swimming in the pool!), and looking at pictures and making a photo album of Spencer's nephews Kyle and Colin. I decided that we are VERY LUCKY to have such adorable little guys in our life! They bring us both lots of smiles! So I just wanted to share them with you! :)

Parker


Kyle


Colin

Spencer is home!

Of course I'm totally excited to say that after a one hour and 40 minute delay, I'm so happy my heart is home! Spencer's tour is over and here he is, home again! I am happy. Tank is happy. Noelle is happy. And best of all, HE is happy to be home! :) I have the next two days off and we plan to catch up and do absolutely nothing together! I can't wait!!!!! :)

Newness!

New jobs are always tough no matter how great they are. You have to learn the ropes, meet new people, and just kinda prove yourself and become part of the "family". You'll never find a job where EVERYONE gets along and likes each other, but you MIGHT be lucky enough that you find a job where you can put that aside at times for a common goal. I'm still getting to know a lot of the people at my new job, but so far, I really think I am lucky to work with the people that I do. And I am happy to say that we got to share an awesome moment together last night. Our oldest dolphin Duchess gave birth to an adorable little baby at just around 11:30PM. It was a really quick birth, so unfortunately, by the time the phone tree was complete, the baby was already out, but just being there for its first breaths and watching it learn how to be a dolphin was awesome. And sharing it with great people added to that experience. No one has been able to get close enough to see if it is a boy or a girl yet, and of course it doesn't have a name, but it is swimming away, nursing, and just being adorable. There is a video on my page and of course here are some pictures...because it wouldn't be a blog by me without those!

And here are some of my fabulous new co-workers:
Kaylynn, Kanani, and me:

Stef and Shelby:

Brittany is sleeeeepy!

A quick visit...:(

Spencer's tour took a break after they left the great state of Oregon and they actually drove to Las Vegas for a little break. So Spencer got to come home for a quick visit! He was here for 3 days and they flew by, but we tried to make the most of them. We saw another Las Vegas show "The Danny Gans Show", we had our very own Lost Season Finale party complete with a TON of food,

Makin' brownies:


Wathin' Lost:

Commercial break:

2 of my favorite things:


I took him to work with me to meet a dolphin,



...and of course we saw Pirates of The Carribean 3! :) It was a good weekend but now he's gone for about 2 more weeks! :( We both can't wait for the tour to be over! So the countdown is on until June 12!

"Smile though your heart is aching"...

Spencer posted this myspace bulletin called "Small things" last night...the night before he left for the rest of his tour. I didn't want to lose it in the shuffle, so I decided to post it as a blog...also so you can see how lucky I am to have him.

Small things are what make us concious of each other and what makes us happy, the world is filled with people who overlook the small things and sadly, it hurts sometimes. Now, i'm not writing that because im upset about something, quite the contrary, im writing it because i wish people to understand that sometimes I overlook those small things no matter how hard I try not to. Luckily for me, it is usually forgiven.
That aside, I want everyone to know that I am the most fortunate man around, I have a phenomenal girl, an absolute inspiration in my life who is tolerant, and patient, and forgiving (in most circumstances) and for that I am eternally grateful. I've been unfortunate to have to be on tour for a few weeks, and though to most of the world its a short time, for us who have just started our combined lives together, it is much more. I wanted to thank those of you who have been there to support us, and to offer conversation, and general happiness to both of us, and to ask that you continue to do so for the next couple weeks.
Heather is an amazing girl, and I hope everyone knows, and can understand that. I'm a lucky lucky guy, so please if you find time, say Hi to her, and send her something fun, to cheer her up, not platitudes to make her miss me more.
I miss her with all my heart,
-Dash

Happy 10th Birthday Sage!!!!

Love Makes Us Do Crazy Things!

CRAZY*STUPID*SILLY

The dictionary defines crazy as this: senseless, impractical, totally unsound, likely to break or fall to pieces, demented, deranged, insane, intensely enthusiastic, passionately excited, enamored or infatuated, unusual, bizarre, wonderful, excellent, perfect, weak, infirm, or sickly, having an unusual, unexpected, or random quality, foolish.

And when asked if I was stupid, a wise woman I know responded: "Stupid, no. Silly, yes." I asked her to tell me the difference. She said this: Stupid would be if you got into a fight and drove all that way just to prove a point and argue further. Silly is doing something you know you don't have to or shouldn't do but you do it anyway because it makes you feel good.

All what way you might ask? Las Vegas, Nevada to Portland Oregon. 1043 miles. 16 hours and 54 minutes. There and back in 3.5 days. Yes, I did this. All for Love. So, I'd say add silly and stupid to my dictionary definition of crazy.

I tried to talk myself out of it over and over again. I had the days off of work and Spencer was in Portland for the week for his tour. His sister and I joked about it...but little did she know...or maybe she did know...I wasn't joking that much! I knew it was a short amount of time and gas prices aren't exactly cheap...plus that's a long way to drive all alone...even if you bring the dog with you! But I knew that with my days off and nothing to do I would just sit around going crazy missing him and then probably just up and drive there anyway, so I might as well plan ahead. Plus, I LOVE surprises! And my wise friend summed it up just perfect to hit the decision home: "You love him and you miss him and even though you know he's only gone a month and if you don't go you'll still be fine, you are going anyway because you want to see him. Silly, not stupid." So off I went.

I left Wednesday afternoon right after a quick nap after work. I drove all night (just like Celine Dion sings!) I never got sleepy...I had way too much caffeine and I was way too excited. I drove through lots of mountains and saw about a billion deer and of course I had some great tunes. But the best part of my drive was watching the sun come up over the state of Oregon. I had never been to Oregon. This state meant nothing to me until the man of my dreams turned out to be from there...and very passionate about where he came from I might add. Now I know why. Its amazing. I will live there one day. Maybe even grow old there.

Anyway, when I got close to his sister's house (where he was babysitting his nephews and patiently awaiting her "friend" to come and drop something off...) I texted him to say: "one of the coolest things I have ever done is watch the sun rise over your home state...come to the front door...I drove all night to get to you." Aw.....wait for it..........................................................................................................................

Oh yeah, keep waiting................................................................................................................

He never came to the door. I waited about ten minutes. Then I heard the sound of little boys screaming in the backyard and realized they were probably out playing and he didn't hear his phone. So I called him. (He thought I was getting an oil change and I told him I'd call him when I was done, so he was expecting my call...really I called and told him that from a bathroom at a rest area, but i digress...) He answered. I asked him if he got a text message from me. He said yes. I told him to hang up, go check it, and call me back. He said ok. I waited..................................................................................................................

And FINALLY the front door opened!!!! He was a little surprised. I was so nervous and hopped up on caffeine and SO HAPPY to see him that I shakily collapsed in his arms. But it was perfect. Immediately he took me out to the backyard to introduce me to his adorable nephews and then I introduced them to Tank. Once everyone was happily aquainted, we all took a trip to the "Pirate Park." It was quite a hike, complete with rock throwing to make splashes in the water, Colin with his giant shovel and "cool vest", Kyle training Tank, and my sleepy self holding Spencer's hand the whole way (mostly because I love him, but partly because I was afraid of falling asleep.) See for yourself:

After all that fun we headed back home for lunch and....oh yeah baby...NAP TIME!!!! I only slept for about an hour (the boys for even less so Uncle Spencer didn't get much of a nap), but it was a VERY good hour of sleep...I woke up refreshed and ready to build forts and be buried under pillows!

Then Chelas and Gerd got home and we had a big pizza dinner and the boys headed to bed and the four of us chatted and then headed to bed ourselves. It was so great, not only because my head was resting on a pillow, but also because I was right next to Spencer!

The next morning, Spencer and Chelas went to work early together since they both had to go downtown. Gerd took the boys to their sitter and went to work himself. And I had the whole house to myself to sleep in. I woke up in time to head downtown to meet Spencer at the Rose Garden where his show was later that night. I got to watch him do what he does and we even had time to walk around a little bit and grab some lunch together. It was great.

Then it was time for the big show. I met Chelas, Kyle, Colin, and their friends so that we could together enjoy Clifford The Big Red Dog Live! Meanwhile, Spencer almost forgot to put microphones on all the actors...he went crazy and ran in the back 26 minutes late...4 minutes before the show. I guess I was a bit of a distraction...oops. But the show went great. The little boys loved it. At intermission they even got to push some buttons and eat cotton candy! And Spencer's girlfriend and sister were proud to see him hard at work.



Back home and off to bed, woke up and got some coffee...drive up coffee...my first time...dropped Spencer back off at the hotel, and headed back home 16 hours and 54 minutes! It was not as easy driving home as it was driving there, but the long drive both ways and little sleep was well worth the trip. I had more fun than I expected and I doubt that any of us will forget how crazy/silly/stupid I was to make the trip. I am just so thankful that I have someone I love who makes me want to be crazy and silly and stupid...Thank you Spencer! And speaking of thank you's...I have lots to add...because whether they know it or not..many people helped contribute to my craziness:

Credits:

Chelas~for helping me plot and plan and checking in on me on my drive there and back! Jordan~for coming to work early on Wednesday so that I could leave early for my trip! Shelby~for covering my shift on Saturday so I could drive back home! Stef~for being so encouraging about my trip when it was looking like it wasn't going to work out! Adam & Alan~for keeping my secret, Michael~for being my emergency 911 dialer at the Shell Station in Hawthorne, Nevada...just in case! Kim~for checking in on me on my way! Michelle~for being so wise, putting things in perspective and checking in on me at the crack of dawn to make sure I was awake at the wheel! Mom~for checking in on me and being excited about my big surprise! Anthony~for being there for me when I was sad on my way home and afterwards! Tank~for being the best little travel companion ever!