Category: Our Experiences

Tales of my life as told by me.

Office Space

Top to bottom:

  • Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (July, 2022 trip to golf with dad and Bill)
  • Tsinghua University (Beijing, China)
  • Chris pen (from Tim for my birthday)
  • Waldorf Astoria (Feb 2023 trip to Disney with L, H & C)
  • The Highlands (winter 2023 ski trip with L, H & C)
  • Walt Disney Resorts (April 2022 big family trip!)
  • Yellowstone (June 2023 big family trip!)
  • Bandon Dunes (June 2021 10th Anniversary Trip with Lindsey)
  • The Inn at Little Washington (July 2022 visit with dad and Bill – pen may be from a prior visit)
  • King Copper Motel, Copper Harbor (last trip to Isle Royale with dad, Dan, H & C)
  • The Steamboat Grand (Spring Break 2022 – great trip – warm and sunny!)
  • Hard Rock (dinner, night one of December 2022 trip with L, H & C)
  • Disney pen (“Chris Rogers 1995”) (family trip with mom and dad and Katy)
  • Streamsong (guys golf grip – one of two)
  • Randy’s Olde Towne Service Inc.
  • Monarch Beach (conference with Lindsey in Cali!)
  • Burgundy mechanical pencil from my grandpa, Cliff Rogers
  • Grand Hotel (celebrated dad’s 50 years of practicing law)
  • The pen I used to take the Michigan bar exam at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing
  • Pop!Tech 2004 (I took Bill’s spot, back in my Ruckus Network days)
  • French fountain pen, I think
  • Another Mickey pen!
  • Another fancy pen
  • Space pen (small silver one – writes in space! Not tested – ha)
  • Sketching pencil from childhood
  • Walt Disney Resorts (black)

Big Rock

This evening, we swam out to “big rock” as a family. Carson stepped on it for the first time, and the boys swam off of it, goggles on, spotting crayfish and minnows. It was pure joy for them, and fun for Lindsey and me to watch.

Big rock is, as it sounds, a large rock, approximately six feet by four feet, fifty yards out from shore. At the current water level, the water depth near big rock, when not standing on it, is approximately four feet, and when standing on it, the debt is approximately two feet.

I will bring goggles, a measuring tape, and camera for the next swim, so I can spot the fish, too! Pictures and exact measurements to follow. :o)

Health and Fitness

This can serve as a reminder that I feel good when active and reasonably fit. Having reduced my weight by 28 pounds, starting at 204 pounds following our ski trip to Utah and currently at 176 pounds, I am more comfortable (both physically and mentally, I suppose) and feel more energetic. My initial goal was to drop my weight from “overweight” to within the “optimum” BMI range for my height, which, for a 5’11” individual, is between 136 and 172 pounds. I am getting closer to the upper threshold and, recognizing the reported shortcomings of the use of BMI for measuring “healthy” weight, I am working to change my focus to healthy meals and drinks (I should probably quit the Diet Cokes!), daily exercise and activity, and taking the time to think and write (and plan family adventures, which, if I’m honest, is one of my favorite things to do). The desire to be fit is largely personal, but a big motivator for me is a desire to remain healthy to be 100% with Lindsey, Harvey, and Carson. (Although, I’m guessing that no matter how much I run / bike / practice golf, the boys will outpace me before too long!, and I will love to see that.)

Yellowstone 2023 – Initial Thought

I was just looking through pictures from our family trip to Yellowstone National Park (and Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, Wyoming, and, briefly, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort) this past June, 2023, to select some to add to a folder to rotate through for my computer desktop pictures, and am astonished by the grandeur that carries through. What incredible destinations! The pictures help, but I miss being there – and the moments with family in those transcendent settings.

Happy 8th Birthday, Carson

You are our beautiful, artistic, energetic, smart boy and we love you from head to toe. We look forward to all the adventures ahead for you this year, including travel soccer, skiing, 3rd grade (!), more travel memories (especially to somewhere warm, where you’d like to go), and everything else that will make this coming year fly by.

To celebrate your birthday this year, you had a few friends over and had fun in the yard. For your family birthday party, we met at The Filling Station and had pizza, mac n’ cheese, and, most impressively, Rainbow Cake from Carlo’s Bakery, which was a favorite of yours during our trip to NYC last December.

I’m making a note, because I want to remember, that you say, “Oh, my!” sometimes when you’re surprised or impressed. Maybe it will stick with you, but if not, now we’ll know. :o)

Clearwater Beach 2022

Love these two. It was fun to get away for a few days to play in the sand and see some sights – the aquarium, zoo, and some good meals. They were good travelers, too – helpful with their own bags, reaching to push the elevator button or open the hotel door – interested and talkative – polite.

More adventures to come!