Layoff notice

Well, I'm back in Vegas. We left Minnesota on Monday a.m. and pulled into town Wednesday at 10 p.m., with stops in Kansas City and Frisco, Colo., along the way. I knew we were getting close to "home" when I saw a billboard featuring an AK-47, pimping a local establishment where you can go and fire said weapon. As we neared the Strip, the billboards flying past my face became even more symbolic of this den of iniquity -- beer, adult superstores, personal injury lawyers. Add it all up, and nothing says Vegas quite like deadly weapons, alcohol, sex, and frivolous lawsuits.

Which leads me to my next point. This blog might be in for a name change, because our future in Henderson is currently in doubt. Kris returned to Vegas in early August, two weeks ahead of the rest of the family, to get back to work. The next day, she was laid off.

I can't remember who I've told about this, either in person, over the phone, via e-mail or Facebook, etc., so I'm just putting it down in this blog post and asking you all to keep us in your thoughts. We've got a few months to work with thanks to severance and unused PTO, but in this job market, you never know how quickly things will move.

Actually, I'm far less concerned with my wife finding suitable employment than I am with selling our house in this foreclosure-saturated market. Talented people don't stay unemployed for long, and Kris is the most talented person I know, so I'm fully confident she'll find something even better soon enough.

But her job was the reason we came to Vegas, and even after four years, it's pretty much the only thing tying us here. Sure, we've made some good (great!) friends, gotten involved in our church, found a wonderful school for our kids, and enjoyed the mild winters. But when we look at what we truly value, it's pretty clear that we're ready for a return to Minnesota.

We're not in the position to be terribly picky right now, of course, so we're exploring opportunities in all major metropolitan areas (major-league sports is a must this time around, so I can jump-start my sports reporting career). Still, the Twin Cities offer all of the tangible benefits we're looking for (proximity to family and friends, pro and college sports, good schools, summers that don't reach 115 degrees for three months, lakes, biking trails, a vibrant arts/music scene) and the one intangible that Vegas never seemed to represent to us: Minnesota is home. It just is.

We're never going to regret moving here. It's been a wonderful four years in so many ways. Kris learned a lot and gained invaluable experience in her career. We've learned a lot about ourselves, our values, and what family means to us (both extended and nuclear). I wrote my first book here. I started my first blog here. Our beloved cat, Twilight, lived out the last of his 16 years in the warm, dry air here, prowling our fenced-in back yard with a freedom he'd never experienced before. I completed my first triathlon here. Fiona became a soccer star here. Nora lost her first tooth here. Kris started running half-marathons and also completed her first triathlon here.

No regrets. It's been a great run. But change is in the air. We'll keep you all posted.

30 years

Note: I posted this to all my cousins on Facebook today. I'm the second-oldest of 18 cousins on my dad's side, and I was 10 when my grandfather died on May 24, 1979. As such, most of my cousins didn't really get to know him all that well, if at all. So I felt compelled to write this and share it with them today. RIP, Grandpa.

My cousins -- today is the 30th anniversary of the death of our grandfather, Thomas Patrick Donnelly Sr. If you get a chance, give your parents a quick call because he will probably be on their minds today.

I know most of you don't remember him much if at all, but I was lucky enough to have had him around for the first 10 years of my life, and I kinda feel like I owe it to you all to let you get to know him a little bit better.

From my little-kid perspective, he was a HUGE man -- he might have been only like 6-foot-2 (not sure, ask your parents!) but his personality was massive. He had a deep, booming voice and a loud, roaring laugh, and with that thick shock of white hair and a perpetual twinkle in his eyes, he was the center of attention in any room he entered.

From what I remember, he loved kids and cats and crossword puzzles, not to mention trains and painting and of course Grandma. He had countless friends and seemed to make new ones every day. And when my dad got MS, Grandpa was the one who kept him from sinking too low, from completely giving up. It was Grandpa who told my dad he had to keep fighting, no matter how hard or painful it got, because he had a wife and two young sons who needed him. It was Grandpa who basically said, "You WILL recover, dammit, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." If you ever wonder where you got your stubborn streak, it was from Grandpa.

It certainly was a shock to lose him so young, just three weeks before his 64th birthday. I know he would have enjoyed spending time with you all -- buying you comic books, sneaking a cookie from the jar with you, pretending to pick you up by your ears just to get a rise out of Grandma, all the things he loved to do with my brother and me. And I know I would've loved to have gotten to know him as an adult too.

I never knew my other grandpa, and thus have always felt at most somewhat ambivalent toward him or his memory, so for those of you who didn't know TPD Sr., I wanted to share my memories today so that maybe you can feel a bit closer in some way to your grandfather. He was a great man and I still miss him, and today's the perfect time to ask your parents -- his children -- about him if you can.

Happy Memorial Day,

PD

"However, I AM in line to the throne ..."

Overheard this evening as Kris was trying to get Nora to bed:

"No, I'm NOT the Queen of Dawdling!"

I'll let you figure out which one said it.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Ah, the Grand Canyon!

What a ... grand ... ... canyon ...

I've always loved these WPA-era signs. They remind me that there once was a time in this country when people cared about something bigger than their own self-interest. How quaint.

Nice view from the South Rim.


Afternoon shadows.


Mesas and plateaus as far as the eye can see -- a geography teacher's dream.


The happy family pauses for their moment in the sun.


Kris and her parents.


Mom and Nora, hand-in-hand.


Dinner in Williams at a cool, Route 66-themed brewpub.


The day ended with ice cream, as usual.

Dance like no one's watching

That's Nora's philosophy. Actually, she does crave an audience, but has absolutely no qualms about breaking and popping, shucking and jiving, and shaking her booty anywhere, any time, in front of anyone. Some of our fondest memories are of sneaking up to Nora's doorway and peeking into her room while she's dancing, entirely oblivious to our presence. The pure joy in her face and in her movements is one of the highlights of parenting.

So, with that said, check out these videos of Nora's first school dance performance. They've met once a week for two months and came up with these two routines -- High School Musical and some hip-hop number. It was a gas. (She's the kid in the UNLV jersey, for those who haven't met her.)

#1 High School Musical

#2 Some hip-hop thing

I have the cat from 'Memento'

Actually, I don't know if there even was a cat in 'Memento' -- probably not, because the Guy Pearce character would have forgotten to feed it, so it eventually would have run away. But if they're looking to make a sequel -- 'Memento 2: Feline Boogaloo' -- I've got the runaway leader for the starring role living under my roof.

In January, we adopted two black cats, a brother and sister who we named Nokomis and Minnehaha (obviously a nod to our Minnesota roots). Minnie is a pretty sane cat -- laid-back, a bit reserved, but when she decides to cuddle with you, she'll make your lap her home for the night.

Nokomis, on the other hand, has issues. He spent the first week at our house under our bed. You'd think maybe he was scared of little kids, because the friends we got them from have two kids, age 6 and 3. But Nokomis loved Nora from the start and will allow her to pick him up and lug him around from room to room like a duffel bag. He's a little less giving with the lovey-dovey where I'm concerned. Once he emerged from under the bed, Nokomis employed a strategy of staying at least two rooms away from me at all times. Whenever I'd enter a room, I'd hear a little jingle from the bell on his collar (his is green, Minnie's is pink, the only way we can quickly tell them apart) and see a black tail exiting the other side of the room.

He's warmed up to me a bit, but that's where the 'Memento' connection comes in. It's like Nokomis has no short term memory. He'll hop up on my lap, nuzzle his head against my leg or beg me for food, and everything's kosher between us. But the next morning, the first time he sees me, his eyes get huge and he sprints out of the room. The next time I see him, he'll be a bit calmer but he'll look at me like, "Who are you again?" Eventually, he's letting me pet him, I'm scratching his back, he's purring, and we're buddies.

And the next morning, he sprints out of the room and the whole process starts over again.

It might be time for me to get a Polaroid camera. Come to think of it, that could be a black cat in the photo, couldn't it?

A 'Wonderful' night

Just got back from Fiona's school performance of "Wonderful" -- a retelling of the whole Dorothy/Wizard/witches story using the music of "The Wizard of Oz," "The Wiz" and "Wicked." Fiona -- age 11 -- played Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and speaking as the most biased observer in the audience, she was magnificent.

For an elementary school play, she had an extremely challenging role, donning green makeup and singing "Defying Gravity," a song that honestly most high school kids would have trouble pulling off. She and her friend Skyler (who played Glinda) practiced together for hours on end over the last month, and it paid off in spades. Here are a couple of clips from their performance:

Part 1:

Part 2:

As a parent, it's incredibly rewarding to see your child succeed at something she loves doing and worked hard to perfect. And it's a bit humbling to see an 11-year-old surpass your own limited theatrical accomplishments, which of course happened at age 18, not 11. Suffice it to say, I couldn't be prouder of her.

Here's a few more photos from the evening.

Fiona and Skyler (Elphaba and Glinda)

Elphaba and Glinda candid

Fiona and Nora (honorary munchkin)

Positively wicked ... a preview

Fiona is making her off-off-off-off-off-Broadway debut tonight, playing the role of the Wicked Witch in her school's version of the Wizard of Oz, a pretty cool play that mixes the music and story lines of the original movie, "The Wiz" and "Wicked."

I'll give it the full Rex Reed treatment after the show, but here's how she looked when she left for school today.

Scary witch.

Happy witch. It looks cooler with the hat, trust me. You'll see what I mean in my next post.

One step from the nursing home

Friday delivered a double-barrel reminder that I'm old and getting older (although it beats the alternative, no doubt about it). My eldest daughter, who recently turned 11, attended her first school dance.

And it was an 80's dance.

I mean, it's not bad enough that I have to begin pricing out shotguns, lest any of her prepubescent classmates start getting funny ideas. But to denigrate the very decade in which I began sowing my wild oats ... the irony was thicker than Oscar Goodman's liver.

The girls (her best friend flew in from Minnesota for the weekend, with her mother, the godmother of Kid No. 2) had a great time getting ready for the dance. My own mother sent a package of 80s skinny ties that I actually used to wear, and she chose my favorite one to accent her getup. The moms helped with the hair, the kid sister looked on in amazement, and here's what they came up with:

The front view

Reverse angle

We found an 80s stream on Pandora before dinner, so we prepared for the bash with a steady diet of Madonna, the Cutting Crew, Journey and Belinda Carlisle. Oh, girls just wanna have fun! And they sure did.

Finally, I can post this

Awwwww

I try to keep the "my kid is so cute" stories to a minimum here, because everybody's kids are cute and I could waste a lot of space here chronicling the cute things they do and say, but I couldn't resist passing this one along.

The Littlest Gopher is 4 years old and has begun joining us inside the main church on Sunday mornings, rather than spending an hour in the nursery. She's noticed that the other three members of her family receive Holy Communion each week, a gift that she's thus far been denied because of her age.

So out of the blue the other day, the Littlest Gopher says to Mrs. G, "Mommy, you know those little turkey circles that you get to eat at halftime in church? I think I'm ready to have them, too."

I'm not sure if it was her notion of the wafer as turkey or her concept of "halftime" at church, but regardless, that killed me.

And on a related note, the Bigger Little Gopher scored her first goal of the season in Game No. 3 for the U11 Fusion of the Henderson United Youth Soccer League on Saturday. And it was a thing of beauty.

BLG (that's her, far right, with her friend Taylor) isn't a big scorer -- she's outstanding at setting up her teammates, but doesn't look to shoot that much. But on Saturday, she put a Pele-esque move on a defender to get open, then ripped a shot through the goalie's fingers and into the net from about 20 feet out. It tied the game at 2 early in the second half, and a late tally lifted the undefeated Fusion to their third straight win.

Afterwards, we had juice boxes and mini Oreos and wished we'd bought that damn video camera.

Easter romance?

So, what happened in Henderson today? Well, it was Easter Sunday, and on the way back from Mass, Nora and I looked up at the brilliant blue sky to see this:

By the time I'd retrieved the camera, the characters had faded a bit, but you should still be able to tell that it said "H (heart) J" at one time. Then another image appeared:

I actually held the camera upside-down (rather than taking the time to invert the image) so you could clearly see the smiley face added to the composition.

So ... skywriting? Seriously? I thought that went out with penny candy and the Charleston. Still, it was a nice sentiment, and it went well with our Easter egg hunt.

Valentine's Day second chance

Fellas, did you blow it on Valentine's Day this year? Did your wife have to settle for a Whitman Sampler and a Snoopy card from Walgreens? Or a single rose from a hastily constructed roadside stand (which tells your woman not "I'm a classy romantic" but rather "I'm a cheap-ass procrastinator")? Or a bowling ball with your name on it?

Fear not. Those of you who are of the married persuasion, take this tip: sign up for a Marriage Encounter weekend. Allow me to be serious for a moment here. Mrs. Gopher and I made a weekend two years ago and it changed our marriage. We always thought we had a good marriage, and we did -- but as they say at ME, why settle for a good marriage when you can have a great marriage?

We enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we joined the local community and became a presenting couple. We just gave our first weekend, and it was another amazing experience.

As you'll note from the cross in the logo above, it's a Christian organization, although couples from all faiths (or even no faith) are welcome. It's not about indoctrination or evangelization -- it's all about you and your spouse rediscovering that spark that brought you together in the first place.

The link above takes you to the WWME web site, where you can find information on local chapters in your area. If there isn't a group close to where you're living, come on out to Vegas and join us for one of our upcoming weekends. Trust me, your wife will love you for it, and you'll find something worthwhile in the experience.

Plus, it beats the heck out of a bowling ball every time.

Back on my feet

Regular readers of WHIH (both of you) might have noticed that I've been missing in action for awhile. I'm glad to say that I am back on my feet after a fight to the death with a particularly nasty virus.

After three days of chills, fever, aches, exhaustion, a hacking cough, a tight chest and a sore throat (I think that's all), I was finally able to get up and check my e-mail, do a little writing and update the blog. I'm not back to full speed yet -- my energy comes and goes, and I still get frequent unwelcome visits from the disgusting little guy on the right.

(By the way, I still say if Mucinex is going to gross us out with their ads, they owe us a spot that ends with the green Archie Bunker phlegm guy lying in the gutter, where he usually ends up in real life. Just sayin' ...)

So, no Monday Morning Meltdown this week, but I'll make it up to you with double the usual posts the rest of the week. So you've got that going for you ... which is nice.

Yup, she's four

It was kind of a makeshift birthday party yesterday when the Littlest Gopher turned four. Mama Gopher was away on a business trip, so that left the family shorthanded when it came time to celebrate.

Nora picked her favorite restaurant -- The Claim Jumper -- for dinner, then we were going to get cupcakes from our favorite local bakery, The Cupcakery. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we got there, so we settled for delicious chocolate chip muffins and vanilla ice cream from Von's. Not a bad substitute. Nora was convinced that her mother was going to bake her a cake and bring it back home with her on the plane, but she's going to have to wait until this weekend for that.

I think you can tell by the photo that the Littlest Gopher didn't mind at all.

Halloweeen in Vegas v3.0

This is our third Halloween in Vegas. Here's what the girls looked like tonight as they went about shaking down the neighbors for candy.

Fiona as the Half-Devil/Half-Angel:



Nora as Velma (from Scooby-Doo):


The girls together:

I got to trick-or-treat with Nora while Fiona was at a Halloween party, and the reaction to her costume was universally positive. We thought about trying to darken her hair a bit, but out on the streets nobody knew the difference. And yes, that is her normal haircut -- who knew that Velma would be such a trendsetter? The highlight of my evening was when Nora dropped her specs, and in true Velma fashion said, "My glasses!" If only she could have stumbled upon a monster's foot while groping for them, life truly would have imitated art.

As for Fiona, we'd been discussing ways to make this costume from scratch since about a month ago when she came up with the idea. Fortunately for all of us, we found this version at one of the ubiquitous Halloween superstores that spring up in the strip malls here around September 15. I told her it's a perfect match for her personality and she couldn't argue with that. It's also the first non-Vegas costume she's worn since we came out here -- two years ago she was a die, and last year she was the queen of hearts. Then again, you could argue that this costume is extremely reflective of life in Las Vegas.

Happy Halloween!