Christmas Traditions

When our now three year old was born, my wife started a great Christmas tradition. Each year, we go out and my son gets to pick an ornmanet for the Christmas Tree. We put the date on the back and then let him hang it on the tree. This year, we each picked an ornament, so that was different.

The great idea my wife has about this is that when our boy is old enough to be on his own, we will give him the ornaments, so he has some to start with. My wife got this idea from her mom that started this tradition. To this day, we have little ornaments that my wife had on her tree when she was a little girl.

Share any traditions you may have!

The Social Network

If you're on Facebook then you have to see The Social Network. The movie is about Mark Zuckerberg, the creater of Facebook. It is an amazing story about a genius programmer and how he created The Facebook. Go see if if you can, and if you don't have the time, put it on your Netflix queue!

Waiting for Superman

My wife and I went to the movies last weekend and we saw Waiting for Superman. If any of you have kids or are planning on having kids, then this is a MUST see movie. The movie talks about the reality of how bad the public school system is in the country. It follows five children that range from kindergarten through eighth grade and their struggle to get into a good school in their area. It is unbelievable to hear that all of these children had to register for a lottery with terrible odds to have their children attend a good school. The public school system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

What frightens me the most is that because of the teacher's union, teachers can get tenure after a few years. After that, it is next to impossible to fire them. The stats were something like only 1 in 2500 teachers get fired. Not that all teachers need to be fired at some point or another, but like any profession, you will have great teachers and people that shouldn't be teachers.

There is so much more to learn from this movie. Go see it and come back and post!

Bring the World Cup Back to the US

I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old and have been playing ever since. I have taken some time off over the years, but still love to play. I even broke my leg 10 years ago and have a titanium rod in my leg and am still playing. Watching the World Cup with my 3 year old this summer was awesome. We were both cheering for different teams and somehow my son picked Spain early on and he was right. Check the link below and sign the petition. It would be great to have the World Cup back in the US. If it does come, then I will take my son to some of the games!

Last Saturday my wife get me tickets to the LA Galaxy vs Real Madrid match at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. There were players like, Donovan, Christian Ronaldo, Higuain, and more. It was a great birthday gift! Real Madrid won 3-2.

Bring the World Cup back to the US - http://www.gousabid.com/

The site is devoted to bringing the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup to the United States. I just signed their petition and you should too! Here's the address: www.gousabid.com/petition Look, we've heard it before -- Americans don't care about the game of soccer, other countries have better players, better fans and are more deserving of the games. Well, this is our chance to prove the doubters and the world wrong, once again. This is our opportunity to show the world we have a deep passion for the game. Be part of the grassroots movement to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States. Thanks!

Does Your Playground Spark Creativity

I take my son Max to the playground almost every day between 5 and 7 to play and to burn off excess energy - his, of course - so that he'll rest peacefully - and hopefully, early - that night. Our interactions change each visit - sometimes we kick the ball, sometimes we go down the slide, sometimes we climb the ropes. In the end, my son knows pretty much what to expect - and that might be the problem. In this week's Time magazine, Harriet Barovik spotlights David Rockwell, designer of theater sets (Hairspray), restaurants (Nobu) and hotels (W), who "was so frustrated by the fixed nature of the playgrounds his kids frequented that he set out to reinvent them." Reinvent them, he did. Bringing in foam blocks, wheels, cogs and noodles, he put creativity back in the hands of kids, encouraging them to build and create their own playground and put simply, to get messy. Read for yourself....the story not only fascinated me, but challenged me to think more about the things I do each day with my child. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2007398,00.html . You can also learn more at Imagination Playground's web site.

Lemonade invented in August

To celebrate the first day of August, I thought I'd share this tidbit about half of my favorite drink - lemonade. (I'm an Arnold Palmer fan and appreciate a good lemonade in my lemonade and iced team combination). Lemonade was served for the very first time in August in Paris. In honor of lemonade's birthday, we're setting up our lemonade stand - (the little one in the photo) and probably going to drink all the profits. You should, too! You can find all kinds of unique (ginger, Italian, minty) and traditional lemonade recipes on the Food Network site or by clicking here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=lemonade&fnSearchType=site

Youth Olympic Games

Okay, so we're usually a little behind when we announce interesting events, but we read about this one and thought it'd be fun to keep an eye out for. Starting August 14th 14 to 18 year-old will participate in the inaugural Youth Olympics Games. Similar to the Olympics you've come to know and love, this event will be held in Singapore and will include 12 days, 3,600 competitors and 370,000 spectators. Although many think these games are not necessary - after all, skater Tara Lipinski took gold in the Olympics when she was only 15 years-old, Michael Phelps collected eight medals before the age of 20, the youngest gold medalist ever was American diver Marjorie Gestring who took a gold at the age of 13. No doubt the talent will be there and we'll be watching.