When Did We Grow Up?

The greater Las Vegas metropolitan area will be visited by some 37 million people this year -- likely an all-time record.

Of course, this also means that if you are lucky enough to live in this most quirky of places, be prepared to have folks dropping in all the time.

Last Wednesday, John Gilman was in town and dropped by the Nevada Community Foundation to say hello and see how things were going. John is a retired senior executive from the JC Penneys organization -- and someone with whom I did extensive community work not too many years ago in Green Bay. He is also a founder of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and introduced me to the wonderful possibilities of this work. Quite frankly, we have the opportunity to live in this community and to work for the Nevada Community Foundation today because of John Gilman.

Well, after John, we also have my wife's parents visiting us for the coming week. Here they are with some of our family overlooking Lake Mead...



The most surprising visit of the week, though, came from David Jacang. David's mom has been a close friend of my mom's for nearly 35 years and they live next to each other in Aiea to this day. In other words, David was one of the guys I grew up with as a little boy. It's amazing how things of your childhood stick with you through the years.

For instance, David reminded me today that he was never a football fan but still holds a fondness in his heart for the Pittsburgh Steelers because I was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Ah, boys will be boys.

Well, David has four kids himself (he's still an amateur by our standards, though), and brought his oldest with him while he was in Las Vegas on business.

Here is his son Kawika with my son Bret Jr., both of whom are six years old...



These two little boys hit it off immediately -- it's amazing how kids of the same age just seem to find each other among the gaggle of kids in our house. These boys started climbing the steps in our house and jumping down, trying to see who could jump from the highest stair.

It's like when David and I were kids and jumped off the wall into my parent's pool -- seeing who could jump the furtherest.

My son playing with David's son. When did we grow up and start having kids of our own?

A Fishy Story

This morning my wife and her friend Kim decided that our families were going to Lake Mead to feed the fish. Cari organizes the Henderson Stay at Home Moms Club and often goes to the park with Kim -- so our kids love playing with each other.



It is a bizarrely fascinating experience as you throw popcorn in the water and the carp literally climb over one another to get a bite to eat...



It's almost as if the carp are fighting for position to get a good look at the people on the surface.

Or maybe it's the people fighting for position to get a good look at the carp under the water...



Most of the kids had a grand old time...



Although others thought the fish were just a bit too fishy to get close to...



Our littlest, Malia, was fascinated, but reluctant to let go of mommy...



But Cari being the wonderful mommy that she is made sure that Malia got a good look up close...



As usual, Bretty was the most daring, trying to coax the fish to jump like our dog...



Kekoa and Nalani, however, never quite got the concept of using the popcorn to feed the fish...



Why waste perfectly good popcorn on some slimy fish?

An Easter Egg Mess

As like so many other families, we spend the night before Easter coloring eggs. Unlike most other families, however, our six children require the coloring of five or six dozen eggs.

That makes for one heck of an Easter egg hunt.

The story in our home is that we color the eggs then leave them out for the Easter Bunny who hides them overnight for everyone to search for on Easter morning. I think he got the idea from Santa or something.

It can be a mad dash in the house as all of the kids scramble to get as many eggs as they can, refusing to put them down until their arms are literally overflowing with eggs...



Of course, the baby, Malia, just loves walking around in circles and carrying her basket, no matter how many eggs she can find...



Nalani, in true Bicoy fashion, found an egg or two, then realized that the chocolate bunny in her basket required her immediate attention...



Actually, it was pretty smart of her. Let the boys finds the eggs while she sits and eats!

Ultimately, though, these still are eggs. Which means dropping them is a messy business.

Nobody told Malia that...



...as she poured them out and her brother Kekoa just watched, of course. Why interrupt what is sure to be a big mess!

Congratulations! You have been admitted...

You'll have to forgive me for not being my normal sarcasm filled self (which may prove to be a relief, actually), but earlier today we found out that our eldest daughter Alyssa was admitted to both the International Baccalaureate Program and the Advanced Technologies Academy! These are magnet high schools within the Clark County Public School District in which students must meet rigorous academic standards in order to be accepted.



The International Baccalaureate program is described as a "a rigorous international academic curriculum preparing students for scholarship level entrance to any college or university in the world. The International Baccalaureate Program is structured specifically as a four-year college preparatory program. It encourages students to extend themselves beyond the minimum requirements, offers students a wide spectrum of advanced courses in all major subject areas, and provides students with varied opportunities to become involved in their school and community."

The Advanced Technologies Academy provides "a learning experience designed to prepare them for the 21st century through the use of computers and related technologies in each classroom. A-Tech offers a full eight-period day with block scheduling. Regular, Honors, and Advanced Placement courses are available. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit through the Tech Prep Program. All majors are based on a four-year program created to provide skills and knowledge necessary for a student to continue their studies at the university level or begin their career."

Okay, forgive me for being the overly excited parent today, but really, I am so proud of her. At the start of the school year she learned about the programs and set a very aggressive goal for herself -- which was realized today!

Seriously folks, this is a REALLY BIG DEAL for her to be admitted to not only one, but two magnet schools. She worked so hard this school year to ensure that she'd qualify. The International Baccalaureate program is one of the most challenging programs in the Clark County Public School District and you must be an exceptional student to get accepted. Here's a video on the program. The Advanced Technologies Academy is one of the highest testing schools in the State of Nevada. Here's a video on that program.

This is a big school district. There are 311 schools in the District, filled with 22,601 employees -- 14,614 of which are teachers. Alyssa is one of 280,606 students in the Clark County Public School District -- which is the 5th largest district in the nation. In other words, there are a lot of kids who could compete to be a part of these programs.

Pretty cool, huh? Send your note of congratulations via email to Alyssa! She's a terrific young lady all the time, but we are a pair of particularly proud parents today!

You know you're getting old when...

So last week marked my latest bithday.

Some say I may not be very old, but I remind them that this is the oldest I've ever been.

Well, my family wanted to celebrate my birthday by baking my favorite cake. And in typical fashion in my household, it ain't angelfood.

Thus my lovely wife dug up a recipe from my old friend from Tufts, Jen Bevins, and together my children made my very favorite coffee cake.

It was a wonderful gesture, but my children also insisted on putting on one candle for every year of life -- just like they get on their cakes.

Of course, as I grow older, the number of candles continues to grow...



And that can have disasterous consequences.

How does that old joke go?

You know you're getting old when your birthday cake becomes a fire hazard.

Well...