What's making us happy? - Montana!

We decided to do something different for the 4th of July. We went to Montana! Cuz Angie invited us to spend the hoildays with them and it was a blast! The things that were great:

• Spending time with family and friends - Davis and Olivia got to spend lots of time with cousins Kyle and Lily. More than the couple hours when we visit California. Also, met David's family and friends, and connected with my college friend, Eunice. 
• Fishing - David took Davis and I out creek and river fly fishing. It's been years since I really fished and this was my first time fly fishing as well. Taught this old dog a new trick and I caught 4 trout. The 1st 3 were cut and release, but the last one we did keep. I also learned how to clean, gut, and cook trout. Thanks Mr. YouTube! Davis was there for all of them. I think Dad got some respect after that. I will take any street cred I can get. :)
• Great scenery - Didn't think that Montana as so beautiful. "Big Sky" was very cool, especially when rafting and fishing down a wide river. I also ran a 10K on the 4th around a lake. It was pretty scenic!
• AirBnB - Was a little concerned when renting out, in advance, someone's house, but it was a very pleasurable experience. We enjoyed the space and the ammenities than a typical hotel room. 

We will be back to Montana someday, and will definitely do something with the Crawfords again. Hopefully, we can reciprocate the hospitality. Hope you all had a great 4th.

What is making us happy? Our future athlete...Davis

This is a combination of the last two weeks. Both accomplishments for Davis. Proud dad saw him run his first race. It was a 1 mile run around Nike. He started a little too hot, but came around and made a solid finish. It was to promote Marathon Kids to get kids to start running. He wants to run with daddy. I told him it's a start. The distances that I run sometimes are 13 times to the frozen yogurt shop and back. He said he will work on it.

Secondly, he achieved a level of Junior warrior black belt. Truthfully, I think the qualifications are a little loose for this black belt, but he's been doing it and we are proud. He's taking a break from TKD for the summer and taking swimming for two months. Definitely doing more in his 7 years than we did as kids. Wong 2.0 is going strong!

Finally, a bonus. The cousins came up to visit so we took the opportunity to take a group picture. As they don't see each other much, we are doing our best to keep them connected for when they are older. :) Here's the picture. Hope you are enjoying the heat.

What's making us happy? Young Capitalists

Two weekends ago, it was our neighborhood Garage Sale. We didn't sell any of our worldly possessions, but what we did was teach the kids about making a product, selling a product, and reaping the rewards of the sale.

Davis helped mom make the cookies and rice crispy treats. They helped color the signs. We encouraged them to say hello to everyone who came by and wave at all the cars that drove by. The friendlier that we were and made a connection, more cookies and treats were sold. Cause and Effect, in full effect. It does remind me of a story from H White about what his mother told him... "You let that be the last time you ever walk by somebody and not open up your mouth to speak, because even a dog can wag its tail when it passes you on the street." This was a totally different  and positive situation. After that, they waved and said hello more.

They made $21. More than enough for yogurt with all the fixings! They did good!

What makes you happy... "Ready player One..." and the joys of summer

Week 3.

I wasn't sure if I was going to have something happy to think about, but working out today, I heard Matt Damon's MIT commencement speech. It was funny and inspiring to them and me. He was describing that we may be a be a cosmic simulation and his response is "you need to do really interesting things, important things, inventive things, because this world has some real problems that this world needs you to solve." and "turn towards the problem and face it head on...". Inspiring.. If you needed a pep talk, like I did, take a look. "Ready Player One, Your game begins now". I am going to search for other commencement speeches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9nU5oKtFyo

The weekend was hot. Very hot. And what did Davis do? He spent 3 hours in the pool at a birthday party. He had a great time while I met his classmate's parents. Isn't that what life is about? Enjoying the simple things and making connections? If that's what this summer is like? I'm all in.

Hope you all are finding your things that are making you happy.

What's Making Me Happy... New Cyclist on the street

What is making me happy this week? Davis has broken away from training wheels and is a true cyclist! He'd been working on the balance bike and said he was ready for his real bike. Within a couple minutes, and a cut on the leg, he was pedaling away. The next day, he and I rode around the block, not once, not twice, but three times! He's proud of himself and so are week. 

What also is making me happy is something called... Summer hours! A very nice perk for Nike employees, From Memorial Day to Labor Day, if you've finished your 40 hrs, you can leave at noon on Friday. Finishing 40 is not a tough ask for the majority, so we get to a little longer weekend. Something, that I am happy about!  Happy Summer hours!

What's Making Me happy.. Old Sega Test

It's been a little while since we blogged and about time to start this up again. I am plagiarizing with pride from a new podcast that I am listening to called "Pop Culture Happy Hour" and at the end of the podcast, they go around and tell what is making them happy. So, this week, what is making me happy is.. Sega Test Training Video. It's an old video of my days as a game tester. If you watch closely, near the middle, you see me testing. It's been 20 years and fun to think about the old days. This video has sparked a facebook stream from the testers. Those were the days when I would study and do job interviews by day, and then test at night. Fun times... Enjoy.     https://vimeo.com/166472288

Also, since I missed last week. What made me happy was seeing both kids be a part of Mook-lan's wedding. Davis the ring bearer, and Olivia the flower girl. They did the Wongs proud!