Danville Glynns

Parker Working the Booths at Macworld

2012-01-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

Cub Scouts Visit the Danville a police Station!

2012-01-27T16:11:00.001-08:00

Parker and the Pinewood Derby Competition

2012-01-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Parker scored big tonight in his first ever pinewood derby competition. He's loving the cub scouts, especially the uniform! In his first year he even won a trophy!

Conner, Ben and Grandma Start a Fair Trade Business at the Church

2012-01-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Danville Winter - car says its hot out!

2012-01-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Bass Pro Shop Visit

2012-01-02T11:27:00.001-08:00

Conner has become quite the fisherman sneaking into the neighboring
Blackhawk development and raiding their well stocked ponds throughout
the golf course. He has been waiting patiently for the past 6 months
for the hour long drive out to Manteca and what appears to be the
worlds largest outdoorsman store. Bass Pro Shops has a massive
aquarium, shooting range, massive rows of fishing gear and everything
else you can (and cannot!) imagine. Great family fun!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:03:00.001-08:00

Well, most of the family made it! Wishing everyone the best in the
upcoming year!

Hanging with Ed & Judy English

2011-12-29T15:00:00.001-08:00

Spending the day with great friends and former neighbors exploring
Livermore. Wineries, ale houses and other places of ill repute!

The Ultimate Foodie Road Trip with Grandma

2011-12-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Conner got the coolest gift ever. A trip with Grandma to the world
famous Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley. Fine dining, great
conversation and a kitchen tour on the menu!

Lego Building Begins!

2011-12-27T14:19:00.001-08:00

The first of many Lego Christmas presents gets built. The Harry Potter
triple decker bus is ready for a trip :)

Prepping for a Visit

2011-12-24T20:31:00.001-08:00

For Santa, a diet Coke, small slice of fudge and a running magazine.
For the reindeer, carrots. It's going to be a good year :)

Santa Stalking

2011-12-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

We have the computer tracker up and running! T minus 7 hours!!

Baking with Grandma!

2011-12-24T14:11:00.001-08:00

Parker Can Bike - Finally!

2011-12-18T18:00:00.001-08:00

Kona 2011

2011-10-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Kona 2011 - Underpants Run

2011-10-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

Kona 2011 - Underpants Run

2011-10-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube: Tom, Conner & Parker seen running through Kona!

2011-09-29T23:39:00.001-07:00

Cub Scouts

2011-09-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

First day of Cub Scouts! Going to be a good year :)

It's Out!

2011-09-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Conner noticed a slight wiggle in a tooth. 30 minutes later he had yanked it completely out. A little messy but it was worth it in the end, or so he says!

Dianne's 5K!

2011-09-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Dianne powers through a local 5K without stopping once. 37:08 was the official time. What's next - a triathlon??

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

And so it begins again! Conner is off to grade four and is in Mr. Hourigan's class. Parker begins grade one in good hands with Mrs. Tkatch.

Kitchen Sink

2011-08-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

We headed over to the San Francisco Creamery in Walnut Creek, CA for a small dish called the Kitchen Sink that was featured on Man vs. Food.

It includes three sliced bananas, scoops of your choice of up to 8 flavors of ice creams, 8 servings of toppings, mounds and mounds of whipped cream, chopped toasted almonds and cherries. Serves one (if you dare) to six people. Perfect for that post-workout carbo reload.

7 kids and we almost finished the whole thing :)

Good stuff!

Soccer Camp - Day Two

2011-08-16T17:48:00.001-07:00

Parker and Conner are having a blast at the local half day soccer camp hosted by a former pro soccer player, John Doyle. About 90 kids at camp and 24 instructors. Working hard!

Night Out in Danville

2011-08-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

After an amazing night of wine pared with cheese and salami the night ends with cheese burger pared with shake!

5 Boy Sleepover

2011-08-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Friday night with the Archers! Nothing but tech :)

Conner Wants One :)

2011-08-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

I think we have been in Danville a little too long!

A Santa Barbara Weekend Away

2011-07-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

Just had a fabulous weekend in Santa Barbara. Conner, Parker and cousin Ben all got to hang with the students Kira and Oscar while Dianne and I snuck away to the wonderful Bacara Resort a couple of miles a way.

I could get used to this place!

We did a wine tour, went out for a nice dinner but mostly just hung around and relaxed. Can't beat that :)

The boys were hard at play all weekend too!

Nice Guns!

2011-07-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

Conner Makes Breakfast

2011-07-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Conner goes all out to feed himself, Parker and Ben!

San Francisco Giants 0, LA Dodgers 1

2011-07-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Conner, Parker, Kenny and I were the lucky recipients of some Giants baseball tickets and we put them to good use!

Free tickets,

1 hour 45 minutes to get there

$30 to park

$75 for hot dogs and drinks

3 hours to get home

Priceless!

A great time was had by all. For the Danville Glynns, this was our first visit to the new baseball stadium. Great seats equal great views.

Next time we take BART, or visit the Oakland As!

Trainer Monday!

2011-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Maui 2011 - Pictures

2011-06-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic family vacation in Maui this year. Lots of rest and relaxation - hanging at the beach and lots of low key things. A few of the memorable trips included a snorkeling and snuba trip to Molekini, a Luau, a wonderful dinner at Mama's Fish House (without the kids!). We met new friends at the pool and spent plenty of time at the beach. Sad to come home!

Maui 2011 - At the Luau

2011-06-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Parker, having a great time in Hawaii and looking very sharp at the Luau!

Maui 2011 - Cracking Coconuts

2011-06-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

So we are in Hawaii, land of the tropical foods and have brought home a couple of coconuts from the store. We have no idea how to get the juice out or crack the shells to eat the insides. Thank goodness for YouTube! Within a minute or two we have a couple of "how to" videos loaded and ready to go. Who knew it was so easy to get to the liquid center? No hammer or hacksaw required! As to cracking the shell, you'll just have to watch our video!

Conner Wraps Grade 3!

2011-06-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Parker Wraps the Year

2011-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Not sure how Parker managed a very good year in kindergarten with Mrs. Kerr, but he did. Off for the summer and then grade one, here we come!

Tom's IM Texas Race Report - "On Your Left!"

2011-05-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

As someone said, things never really go as planned or quite as you imagined.

It's incredibly hard to believe that I was in a hospital 10 months ago recovering from a destroyed hip socket after a bad bike accident. I wasn't cleared by the doctor to start long runs until February. Wow!

Who qualifies for Kona with a 1:39:xx swim, a leisurely bike ride of 0.67 IF and running 9:30+ minute miles? Me . I'm still expecting a call telling me they got the paperwork wrong and I didn't really qualify.

I came out of the water and looked at the clock. Could I really be that bad - again. Yup! 1750th place, nowhere to go but up Got on the bike and started passing everyone. I was really tired from hollering "on your left" all day long. 5:01:xx bike split riding a 0.67 IF; that's one fast course. The run course was a flat 3 loop course and very fun to run. But, hot and humid. Lots of walking all around me.

They need to fix the finish line too. I came around the final corner with about 20 yards to go. I looked at the clock. 10:59:50. I finished in 11:00:08. Had that final corner been 50 yards longer I surely would have broken 11 hours. 8 or 9 seconds faster would have sounded so much better

I'm still laughing at all the newbie things I did.

First, the swim. It was actually a great venue, just too warm for wetsuits. (Who wears a speed suit and swims a 1:39:xx - me!) Looking at the map it looked like just over a mile up and then back in a made made lake and then a short distance in a canal to the transition area. Well the canal went on forever and I just gave up mentally and physically. I was just really tired of swimming. I should have walked the canal distance on Friday. Should have swam more in training too.
Next time!

Second was nutrition. For the past 5 or so IMs I've used Cytomax and gels on the bike, 2 bottles to start and then 2 in special needs. I then fill in the extra calories with on the course materials. Well this year Gatorade is gone and Powerbar is in. The stuff tastes like crap and I just couldn't tolerate the bars, gels or drink. I can handle most things, but this was quite unbelievably bad. Who eats power bars when its a 100 percent humidity? Beyond awful doesn't begin to describe Powerbar products to me. On the run course I carried one Cyto bottle to start and a couple of gels. When they ran out I tried the course stuff again. No go. I tried coke, but it was still carbonated. One swallow and out that went. I ended up running from mile 15 to the end on water in the stomach and ice in the hat.

Third was my watch. Before the race I did as I always do, power up the Garmin to connect to the satellites to make the connection faster in T2 and then power it down and throw in in the transition bag. Well this time I somehow forgot to power it down, so as I strapped on the watch in T2 and turned it on it said battery gone and powers off. I ended up running the entire marathon without a watch. Still chuckling at that one. Of course I ran the marathon completely against all of my training principles, running way too fast to start and holding on for dear life at the end.

Well, I'm thinking about Hawaii and as Coach P says, "don't get fat!". Hopefully a couple of good glasses of beer are still OK.

Got to thank my Iron Sherpas who sat in the awful humidity all day long catching short glimpses of me here and there. My daughter Kira was there with her boyfriend Oscar as well as our Houston host, Patrick. Neither Oscar nor Patrick had ever seen a triathlon before, let alone an ironman. Quite the subculture shock for both of them! They were all awesome picking up all my gear at the end, getting my bike to TriBike Transport to be driven home, and mostly putting up with me. As to my wife who graciously allows me to train for one ironman a year, I'm going home to see how many family credits I have left in the bank

As a side note I also wanted to mention a guy a met when I was in Texas last month on the EN Rally. Big, strong, intimidating biker dude with a bald head and scraggly beard. He came out riding and running with us wearing a muscle shirt saying "Future Ironman". He probably ran 15 minute miles. Well, I'm in the Expo area the day after the race and there he is, hobbling around with his finisher medal around his neck beaming ear to ear. That to me is what Ironman is about. Very cool indeed.

Also had a friend email me some statistics about my day:

"A bit of data from IM TX last weekend where Tom Glynn went from 1750 overall out of the water to the end of his day where he got a Kona slot . . . During his 5:01:49 ride, Tom passed, on average, a person every 14 seconds. . . . . Here are the number of positions he gained in each section: 141 in T1, 1315 on the Bike, 10 in T2 and 97 on the run." WOW! Can anyone say Patience and Discipline?"

See you in Kona!

Well Just got the coolest update! The guy I mentioned in my race report above sent in a thank you video to Endurance Nation for helping to get him through his Ironman in 16:55:xx. 5 Minutes to spare!

Endurance Nation Podcast with me

Parker Plays Ball!

2011-05-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today we wrapped up Parker's first season in the major leagues. Year one of t-ball is in the books and it ended pretty well. He wants to play next year, he had fun, and he learned a few rules along the way. All is good!

Parker Turns Six and Grows in the Night!

2011-05-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Indy does Puppy Training 101

2011-04-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ever seen the movie Marley and Me? Remember the scene when they take Marley to puppy training - all the others puppies are sitting there calmly awaiting the next command and Marley, on the other hand, is happily trying to play with everyone while not listening to a single command.....so began our puppy training with Indy!

Dianne and Conner arrived early as this was the first week and we still had some paperwork to fill in - no one there but the dog whisperer, AKA Shane Gerrehy from Diablo K9, and us - almost forgot - also a very large poster of a Golden Retriever - Indy promptly began to growl and bark at the picture - just redirect him suggests Shane - easy for you to say - this guy is over 45 lbs already!! OK - We get situated, dog poster is now not in our view, and in walks a very sweet, although rather large (also in the neighborhood of 45 lbs), 4 month old Labradoodle. She sits quietly on her mat (Indy and his "handlers" can't even seem to locate a mat) and pays attention to her mom. Indy is dying to meet her - yes, almost killing himself trying to lunge over and introduce himself - in the meantime more and more puppies calmly walk in, take their mats and wait for instructions - all the owners are looking at us with that look of - can you not keep your dog under control? - at this point we are thinking individualized classes may be best!

As the class progresses we reinforce sit, down, touch (a new one for me), and begin to learn "let's go" - for those of you dog owners out there, let's go is a favorite of a dog (but maybe not an owner as it is being learned) - picture 6 puppies calmly walking around with their handlers and focused on the handler (and the treats) and Indy - desparately trying to make new friends and seeking better treats from all the neighbors - after I am dripping with sweat trying to "refocus" the dog and thinking this is a better work out than the gym, I asked Shane if there were any "tricks" that would help refocus him - Shane calmly takes the lead, presents his treat, and Indy walks beside him - I guess I am not a dog whisperer!!!

When it came time for "puppy play" we are all reminded that if there is an accident simply hold your dog and the mess will be cleaned up by an available adult. Off to play - (this is Indy's favorite part) - he is a great sport, finds the Labradoodle who also likes to play, and promptly takes center stage. Some of the puppies hover from the outside looking in and others look to their owners with the quissical "really?" look. Of course, play and Indy mean only one thing - poop is coming....unfortunately for us poop came while we were still in the play session - love cleaning that up with paper towel!

While we made it through day 1 with only 5 more to go - we did practice this morning with our extra special treats and that was more of a success - wish us luck for week 2 (PS - I am wearing work out clothes next week!)

Indiana Bones Glynn

2011-04-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Indiana Bones, call name, Indy. Born 11/7/2010 he was very well socialized in his litter. His family took him home at 8 weeks old and did a great job of continuing his socializing, training, & grooming. He was taken to training classes, slept in their bedroom, and had lessons every day. He loves kids, other dogs, cats, fetching & cuddling. He has had positive contact with horses, goats, chickens, sheep, cows, and the outdoor world. He walks well on a leash, is crate trained, mostly potty trained, knows sit, down, off, leave it, lets go, heel, wait, OK, kennel, and more.

Unfortunately one of the family owners developed a very bad allergic reaction to the puppy fur and Indie had to be returned to the breeder. We saw the note on Facebook along with the very cute pictures and began the family discussions.

We headed up to see Nacina this weekend, with Tundra in tow. I think we were all a little surprised that Indy wasn't really a puppy anymore. Maybe in age, but, those paws, wow! I think we are looking at a 80-90 pound dog a year or two from now. At 45 pounds, he is well on his way already. We had a great visit and I think even Tundra decided she could deal with a new friend, so after a couple of hours of hanging out, we loaded up everyone, including our newest family member and headed home.

He is everything a golden puppy should be - a face that is so beautiful you just want to kiss him, an inquisitive nature that incents him to be involved in every family activity, a highly social nature meaning that Tundra now has a perpetual playmate (even if she was not asking for one), and smart such that he understands what you are asking him to do (but may not choose to do it)! Parker fondly remembers him as the blue collar puppy that he fed when we went to help socialize the puppies in November. Conner has taken to helping with the training including introducing a clicker to him, which if we follow this religiously may even allow us to do further tricks like jumping through hoops!

He sleeps through the night, wakes up with enthusiasm to start his new day, loves to eat his food and treats, and wants to play play play. All in all we are thrilled to have such a great new family member and we are savoring every moment as he grows!

Now the real fun (or is that work!) begins.

Conner Skydiving!

2011-03-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

How cool is that! Conner gets indoor skydiving lessons. Looks like he is ready to jump from a plane. Thanks for the invite Ben!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2011-03-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

Can't seem to get the audio to work, so you'll have to provide your own music as you listen!

Danville Express : Area schools advance to state Odyssey competition

2011-03-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Danville Express : Area schools advance to state Odyssey competition

Conner's Class Project on John Williams

2011-02-18T22:01:00.001-08:00

Mrs. Kerr's Dog Show

2011-02-17T19:59:00.001-08:00

Parker's Valentine's Day Celebration

2011-02-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

Parker Speaks His Mind and the Teacher Listens In

2011-02-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

Parker told me the cutest thing a couple weeks ago and I keep forgetting to tell you! One of the kids said “My dad is the boss at our house” and another kid said “Not at my house, my mom is the boss at my house” and Parker said, “My parents are partners, and partners decide everything together.” Such a nice comment on your marriage! The things they come up with are so funny. A five or six year old’s take on the things around them is always so interesting. Often not accurate and sometimes right on the mark. Anyway I thought you guys would be interested in his take on how it is at home.

Parke and Arthur Out for Dinner!

2011-01-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas At the Glynns

2010-12-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

Danville Glynns - 2010 in Pictures

2010-12-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

Parker Makes the Santa "Nice" List!

2010-12-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

Parker jumped for joy when he found out from Santa that all was good with the current year behavior. Never seen anyone so happy with a B+! This is probably the last year to "believe" and it's been very fun to watch.

Parker Writes Santa and Gets a Response!

2010-12-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

Mrs Kerr Holiday Celebration

2010-12-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

The Baking Has Begun

2010-12-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Kira must be home for the holidays! The baking is looking pretty good!

The Human Body

2010-12-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ever seen a real body? Well we came pretty close today. From the brochure:

BODY WORLDS Vital World Premiere!

Now Open for a Limited Engagement

BODY WORLDS Vital, in its first-ever showing, celebrates the potential of the human body and the body in motion. Featuring authentic human bodies, the exhibition shows the body in health, distress and disease. These detailed anatomical studies, compositions, and representations allow visitors a penetrating gaze at what lies beneath the skin.

Physician and anatomist Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS exhibitions are the original, precedent-setting public anatomical exhibitions of real human bodies, and the only anatomical exhibits that use donated bodies, willed by donors, for the express purpose of serving BODY WORLDS' mission to educate the public about health and anatomy. The bodies are preserved through a remarkable process called Plastination enabling visitors to learn what lies beneath the skin.

Puppy Cuddling

2010-11-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

We have known Nacina for about 10 years. She was the breeder that brought us both Kailah and Tundra.

As a breeder, with each new litter of puppies, comes the need for some puppy cuddlers to help socialize them. We love to volunteer on such occasions, and when we heard more puppies were on the way, we booked our calendar.

We all had fun, including Tundra, who was super happy to meet old friends. Luckily all the puppies were spoken for, or we may have ended up with a bunch of brothers and sisters for Tundra!

Hopefully we can make it up one more time before they all head off to their permanent homes. If it was up to Conner and Parker, we'd make the two hour drive everyday!

Parker in Prayer

2010-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

For some reason Parker has taken up prayer. He prays to Jesus, the guy who made California and this such a nice place.

First up was a prayer for new parents. Second prayer was for a better brother who would play nicer with him.

Think it's time for some time with Parker to get back on the nice list!

Kira's Car Accident

2010-11-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

Kira was involved in her fist, and hopefully last car accident today. Luckily no one was hurt and all ended well.

She was heading back to Danville from UCSB for the Thanksgiving holiday along Highway 101 near Atascadero, which is close to San Luis Obisbo when cars in front of her all stopped suddenly. Kira managed to stop in time, but the car beside her was attempting to merge at the time and ended up hitting the side of Kira's car. The car behind the other driver then slammed gently into that car.

The three cars all pulled over and the police were called. The driver that hit Kira admitted fault to everyone, including the police and insurance company. Everyone traded information. Kira's car had damage to both wheel areas and had to be towed. The police arranged for the service and Kira and the car were sent to a local, insurance approved, repair shop. The shop was very friendly and after filling out paperwork, they drove Kira to the local Starbucks and bought her a drink and cookie.

We headed out for drive to get her. The boys were super excited to see her again, so they watched a couple of movies to pass the time. By the time we got there, she was half way through a term paper due the following week.

Just as we were pulling in, the lady who hit her called and asked if we had arrived yet, and if we were still not close, she offered to take Kira out for dinner. A very nice offer indeed!

We stopped at McDonalds for a quick bite and then headed back home. We arrived just passed 11:00 and everyone but Kira headed to bed.

The next morning the other drivers insurance company called to let us know that they would be taking care of everything and that repairs would be started immediately. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the total bill will be around $7,500 for a new front bumper, two new doors, a couple of side panels and a whole bunch of labor. It will probably take a few weeks, but so far, so good.

To get back to school, Kira booked an airline flight and Oscar agreed to pick her up and get her back to Santa Barbara.

After all is said and done, it ended very well and now, it's just a great story.

Mrs Kerr's Thanksgiving Celebration

2010-11-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

Pack 689 Skyscraper Project

2010-11-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Boys Go Fishing!

2010-11-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Parker Visits the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

As always, kindergarten is full of fun and surprises. Mrs. Kerr's class took a field trip to the local pumpkin patch and had a great time. Parker even managed to drag home three rather large pumpkins to add to our doorstep collection.

Tom's Hip Fracture Update

2010-10-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

I went back to the doctor today for my second follow up visit.

The first visit confirmed that the surgery went well, all the screws were in place and that I was all set to start healing.

The second visit was to determine how the healing was progressing about three months after the bike accident. I was definitely a little nervous, wondering if I had pushed a little too hard at times, and was hoping the swimming and biking I was doing was not interfering with my healing progress.

I over did it twice for sure, once attempting some upper body workout and doing 20 some pushups. There are core and hip muscles used for sure as I now know. I hurt for hours and hours after that. Episode two of over doing it, was the Kira move back to Santa Barbara for the fall term. How is it possible to rent an apartment on the third floor and not have elevators? Also, where were all the strong college guys? Dianne and I carried a whole lot of heavy stuff up all those floors. Hopefully she signs a three year lease! Yes, I hurt for days after that. I'm too old :)

With these thoughts in mind, I waited for the doctor after my x-rays were done.

Luckily, no issues with healing and I sighed a huge sigh of relief. Hips looked good and I was now free to start planning to run again. Not yet, mind you, I need to work up to it. The doctor's advice; if it hurts, stop, if it hurts hours later, tone it down next time. I can live with that advice!

Back to School 2010

2010-08-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that Conner is now on to grade 3, but even harder to believe that Parker has finally made kindergarten. Last week Parker said goodbye to his preschool with a big basket of home made cookies (thanks Kira!). Just another day for Parker.

We will see what the new year brings, but so far, things are looking good!

Proud moment for Maverick Mailing in the Santa Cruz Sentinel

2010-08-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz man takes finding lost pets to heart and the bank

By JORY JOHN

Posted: 08/06/2010 01:30:57 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Peter Glynn's son Max helps him cut the pet cards after printing. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel)

SANTA CRUZ -- A Santa Cruz man is working to help owners find their lost pets, both locally and across the country.

Whether it's a dog who escaped a pet-sitter in Las Vegas, a cat roaming the countryside somewhere in North Carolina or a missing animal here in Santa Cruz County, Peter Glynn has carved out a specialized niche in the direct-mail industry.

Glynn founded www.LostPetCards.com in 2007, after working for two decades in the direct mailing business for another local company. Too often, Glynn said, a distraught customer would phone his then-manager and express disappointment that missing-pet announcements took at least a week to design, produce and mail. A week, when it comes to tracking down a pet, Glynn said, is too long. So Glynn set up his home business, based on a one-day turnaround.

"I knew there was a better way to do this," Glynn said. "I thought I would try it in my own time and my own way."

While it's a labor of love for Glynn -- he said he makes just enough money with Lost Pet Cards to pay for printing, equipment and work expenses -- he takes satisfaction in his business's ability to move quickly and, often, produce tangible results in days, if not hours.

"When the customer is on the phone, we'll pull up a digital map, and we take a look at their neighborhood, together," he said. "Within the hour, customers have received a digital map of the mailing. In two hours, we've gotten

the postcards designed, which the customer approves. Ninety percent of the time, the postcards arrive in mailboxes the following day."

To date, LostPetCards.com has sent more than 350 lost pet orders to more than 30 states and 300 cities, according to Glynn, taking the form of about a half-million postcards.

Shawna Glynn, who helps with the bookkeeping in addition to home-schooling their two sons, ages 10 and 13, said that when a lost-pet announcement arrives, the entire family gathers around the computer. The boys are invested in the business too, often helping with production, which has taught them job responsibility, she said.

"Throughout the process, we all feel like we get to know the lost animal and it's so fantastic when it's a success story," she said. "And we've had situations where it wasn't a happy ending, but at least the owner has had some closure. We do everything we can to get that mailing out immediately. Time is crucial when you're looking for your pet."

Peter Glynn still remembers his first customers, a Las Vegas family who'd gone on vacation only to find out that the pet-sitter had lost their dog. After the mailing, the dog was discovered, safe, by neighbors within a day, he said.

Last week, Glynn's postcards helped find a missing San Francisco pup. And Glynn's latest pet-card order, produced Thursday, was 1,000 postcards sent to Littleton, Colo.

"It's an old beagle that got out in a pretty rural area," Glynn said. "There are lots of places to get lost there."

While Glynn's aware that direct marketing companies get flak for their use of paper goods, Glynn has tried to make his company as "green" as possible, using 100 percent post-consumer waste recycled card stock, purchased from a local family business. He then walks the mailers to the post office himself.

"We often combine walking our dog with delivering a lost-pet mailing or two," he said.

Lost Pet Cards is now under the umbrella of Glynn's Maverick Mailing, founded in 2008, a data, design, print and direct mailing business.

LOST PET CARDS

WHAT: Help finding lost pets
OWNER: Peter Glynn
FOUNDED: 2007
EMPLOYEES: 1 (with family help)
INFORMATION: www.LostPetCards.com,www.maverickmailing.com or call 234-4663

Vacation Home Rental In Healdsburg

2010-08-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

We just spend a great 3 night, 4 day mini vacation in Healdsburg CA, part of the Sonoma wine region area. We rented a house, brought the boys and their sitter, Chris, and just hung out for most of the time. The place had a pool and we used it everyday.

We had one major outing and spent the day rafting down the Russian River. It was a blast as the river went from inches deep to maybe 10 feet deep, usually in the 3 foot range. The current plodded along at a mile or two an hour. Great fun.

Dianne and I were very intrigued by the location, the good value of homes / land and started pondering a possible retirement location. Just thinking...........

Death Ride - Tom's Bike Crash

2010-07-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I have another life adventure to add to my list. This year was my first year to participate in a great biking event aptly named “Death Ride”. 129 miles, five mountain passes and 15,000 feet of climbing. After climbing all the passes I got to sign the official poster (then it's picture time - point to your signature so you can sign again in the same spot next year), celebrate with 5 or 6 ice cream bars and then coast the last 20 miles back into town. 10 miles down the hill my bike started wobbling badly and 10 seconds later I was laying in the middle of the road stunned that I had just crashed at 40 miles per hour and appeared to be alive. With 8:20:41 into the ride, my day had come to an end!

I’ve strung together a bunch of the emails we sent out to friends and family, trying to keep everyone updated throughout the process.

Update I

So this is just a brief update - I know that we have spoken with many of you so likely this will sound repetitive to some....

Just to recap - Tom had a crash on the last descent of the Death Ride on late Saturday afternoon - after examining him for cranial, bone, and other issues at Tahoe Hospital it was identified that he has an acetabular fracture (effectively a fracture of the socket in his hip) - He will need surgery to fix the damage and given the nature of the injury he was transferred via helicopter (cool) to a trauma unit in Reno - (Found out later the ride cost $18K and 100% covered by insurance!)

He has been seen by one of the very very few specialists in the field of Acetabular Fractures - an orthopedic surgeon - Dr. Shonnard - who specializes in this kind of reparation surgery.

After much discussion, and a preliminary determination to transfer him to Stanford, the insurance company indicated that given there was no difference in the level of care at the Renown Regional Center in Tahoe versus Stanford and the expertise of the related orthopedic surgeons, insurance would not cover the $10,000 transfer costs to get Tom to Stanford....so while my husband is absolutely PRICELESS as many of you know, we have established that transportation that will likely permanently limit our children's future college funds was not the best and highest use of limited resources...so...

Tom is scheduled for surgery here in Reno on Tuesday at 5 pm - we believe that the recovery will be roughly 3 more days of hospitalization allowing him to be discharged at some point Friday - We are highly confident that the surgeon is well qualified for this particular surgery and appreciate everyone's help in this process - you guys have been AWESOME!

I will return to the Bay Area Monday evening, work to ensure final arrangements are made for Parker (thanks for EVERYONE who is helping out here - it really does take a village to raise a child and for Parker that is likely going to be many villagers....) - then Kira and I will drive back to Reno Tuesday morning to ensure that we are here for emotional support prior to surgery - we are hopeful that we will then be able to transport him back to the Bay Area - I will have to be mindful of my speed and tendancy to like to change lanes when other drivers are going S L O W....might not feel so good even with morphine!

Will keep you posted as things progress - looking forward to all those offers of help to come pouring in after he arrives home.. HA HA - no really - this is one time that I likely will accept help (and for those of you who know me well this is not an easy thing for me to admit - come to think of it not sure I ever have in my 39 years to date on this planet....HA HA again?)

Will send out an update tomorrow - you should all know that he is in amazingly good spirits, his sarcasm has extended to several nurses who have missed a multitude of jokes today (but I think I got them all) - Thanks again

Good night (I hope!)

Dianne

Update II

Just met with the doctor that is going to operate on me tomorrow afternoon. The bad news is that my right butt cheek still reminds the nurse of a baboon in heat. I hope the red inflammation disappears before I head out in my speedo again. Surgery Tuesday at 4:45 and it should go for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The accident slammed my pelvic bone very hard into the socket on top of the leg. The ball part of the joint is badly damaged and the socket has cracked and separated up to and into the pelvic bone. Surgery should clean out the ball area, push the socket back together and pin it in place. I will have pins in me forever.

After surgery it's back to my room where I should wake up, albeit a little groggy, in an hour or so. Healing in the hospital is a couple day process and if all goes well, Dianne can drive me home on Friday. Lots of PT work before jumping in the car.

Once home I need to find a family doctor, a hip joint specialist and a PT. The surgeon has given me the name of a hip guy to help, but I need a PT and a family doctor. Recommendations gladly accepted!!

I should be on crutches and ready to get mobile by the time I leave this place. I'll need to start PT as soon as I get back. Carrie, set up you're shop and I'll make you rich. Need to check with Patrick to see if he would recommend you first though :)

Lots of pills and shots for a while. Blood thinners, pain pills and other such delights.

I'll need to check in with the local specialists. Return doctor visits in 10 days, 6 weeks and 3 months.

Possible risk factors include death during surgery, strokes, nerve damage and other fun stuff! Can't drive for about 5-6 weeks.

Thanks for all the good vibes coming my way!

Feeling good about the process. Bring it on!

Tom

Update III

Hello everyone -

Thanks for all your kind thoughts, offers of help etc as we were preparing for Tom's surgery -

We have just received GREAT NEWS from the doctor - the surgery went very well - the doctor was able to reconstruct his hip joint and was able to smooth out the top of the femur that had also been impacted - additionally he was able to move the hip socket back into the proper position - My guess is that there is a lot of hardware in Tom now!!!

Tom will be in recovery for another hour or so and then back into the hospital room where his lovely wife and favorite daughter await the king's return!!! (King of the mountain that is - for those of you Tour de France fanatics - I am in the market for a polka dot jersey if anyone knows where I can find one....)

The doctor has indicated that given Tom's overall strong health and physique (he does have an amazing physique....) he should recover relatively quickly allowing us to return to the Bay Area by Friday - which is really great news -

The path to recovery will include a lot of pain meds, some blood thinners (shots in the belly from what I hear), PT, lots of delicious food donated by our good friends, family, and neighbors (hint hint) and follow up with either his surgeon or another equally trained surgeon in the Bay Area (for which we understand there is one....good speciality to be in so long as there is a high risk of accidents that involve trauma in your area....) -

He will likely come home with just crutches - no hospital bed - and a smile on his face because, while Reno might be a good spot for those who like the world of gambling, Tom's gambling days are over and while he has taken his chances on the hills those are over for a while as well.....Danville is home sweet home (another plug for great desserts made by our friends, family, and neighbors)

We will keep you posted as we learn more and are prepping for "a tough night" according to the doc...hopefully Kira can handle it while I rest comfortably in the hotel room....

Hugs, kisses, and loads of love to everyone

Dianne, Kira (and in their absence because they are having more fun than us - Conner, Parker, and Tundra)

Update IV

Hello all

Just thought it would be good to share with you some of the lighter parts of Tom's surgery/recovery -

The day of surgery Tom was not allowed to have anything other than a clear breakfast - YUM - so the "nutritionist" arrives with a full breakfast of bacon, eggs, etc - Tom indicates that he believes he can't have this so she then leaves - returns 30 minutes later with a breakfast labelled "Tom Glynn special order breakfast" - voila - pancakes and bacon! - so Tom politely indicates that he can't have this either and that it does not look like a clear breakfast - she leaves (in a huff) and returns 30 minutes later with a clear breakfast - YUM YUM YUM

Quotes while coming out of high doses of morphine during surgery:

(1) Upon arriving back in the hospital room, the first thing Tom says to Kira and myself is - "OMG - they did the wrong surgery - they turned me into a dog" - and then he prompty starts to bark loudly and pant.....

(2) While falling asleep after being returned to the room Tom began having hand gestures that included giving the finger to someone while his eyes were shut and he was snoring - not sure whom but guessing it was therapeudic and have convinced myself that it was neither Kira nor I....

(3) After the nurse showed Tom how to use the Patient Assissted Medication (ie morphine on demand) she then went on to explain that neither Kira, myself, nor her could push the button for Tom - for which he promptly then said "You want to push my button - I know you do - come on try it!"- morphine is great!

(4) Tom decides he is going to rest for the night - we begin to leave and then he turns his head to me and opens and shuts his eyes like a 2 year old pretending to be asleep - Parker at 49....

Review of the operating report indicated " a need to be extremely careful around the rather tender buttocks area when performing the incision" - Tom's baboon but must have also frightened the attending surgeons!

Our motto for the day - Enjoy the other side! (mostly because Tom's right side is so painful - ha ha)

Love to all

Dianne

Update V – July 27th

I'm currently sitting around waiting for bones to heal!

I'm up and around, feel great and I'm pretty good on the crutches. No weight bearing for 8 weeks; the hardest part being no driving during this time.

I look and feel normal, have good range of motion and lots of strength in my legs. Dianne and Kira are not happy, but I've picked off all my scabs as I sit around healing :)

I am very, very lucky not to have broken bones, injured my neck, spine, banged my head etc. I've got an unbelievable support staff of friends and family helping out and should be back to normal at some point; hopefully sooner rather than later!

On with life's adventures.

Time to Get Moving

2010-07-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ultraman

2010-07-09T00:21:00.000-07:00

Parker has become an Ultraman fanatic.

We purchased the 4 CD box set of the 1960's Japanese series and I think Parker has seen every episode 200 times.

All the details can be found here

Of course, Parker can offer free demonstrations of Ultraman flying through the air for anyone with a few minutes to spare.

Kailah

2010-07-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Kailah passed away earlier today. We are all still in a state of shock and disbelief.

Several weeks ago she suffered a couple of grand mal seizures. She spent several days in the emergency room and we left with her seizures under control. We came home with a bunch of medication and a prognosis of a life span from days to years.

Until this weekend she had been seizure free since leaving the hospital. On Saturday she had a couple of major seizures and many, many smaller ones. We rushed her back to the vet but they were unable to control her with any medications.

Last night we took her home so we could all say our final goodbyes. It was a very sad night at the Glynn house. By this morning she was failing badly and we returned to the vet.

The final diagnosis was some sort of brain tumor. We'll never know for sure without an autopsy, but, at nine and a half years, she was still a young dog.

We will miss her dearly.

Parker the Swimmer - No, Ham, Yes!

2010-06-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Parker's swimming form has gone straight downhill lately. We signed him up for his first two swim meets and he had a blast. His 90 second times across the pool were about 45 seconds slower than the next person, but he sure had fun. He stopped along the way occasionally to smile and grin a goofy grin. Halfway down the pool 100 people were cheering him on, most of whom surely thought he was going to drown.

When I finally pulled him out of the pool at the end, we "high fived" and talked about the great race.

First question to me was how did everyone know his name. Just told him that everyone knew he was a star.

Conner Powers Through His Second Triathlon

2010-06-20T12:25:00.001-07:00

Great day for Conner at the local triathlon. It was his longest race to date. The race consisted of a 150 yard swim, a 4 mile bike and then a 1 mile run. We had practiced a bit in the weeks leading up to the race so Conner was confident he could swim, bike and run the distances, but had never done them all together.

There were 125 kids in the sold out event and I think most kids had a blast, including Conner.

For the swim, Conner decided that he was going to do backstroke the whole way so he would be fresh for the bike and run. The swim went well as planned and he took off to the transition area to bike.

Four loops of the bike course at a very consistent pace left him with energy to spare.

A quick drop of the bike, a gulp of drink and he was off to run. His plan was to run / walk the course depending on how he felt. He ended up running the entire way and included a great 100 yard sprint at the end. He told me later that he had run the entire distance in practice and so about 1/2 way through the run he just decided to tough it up and keep up the pace.

He was definitely tired at the end, but very happy with his 12th place finish. 33 minutes is the time to beat for the next race in July!

Parker was really impressed with Conner's race medal, but

decided that he didn't want to compete in a triathlon just quite yet. Maybe next year!

Kira Posts a 20 Minute PR in latest Tri!

2010-06-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Today was Kira's 6th triathlon and her third Tri for Fun Triathlon. The course was in Pleasanton CA at Shadow Cliffs and consisted of a 600 yard open water swim, 12 mile bike and 5K run. Two years ago Kira and I did the event in just over two hours. Last year we knocked it down to 1 hour 50 minutes and this year Kira's training paid off big with her 1 hour 30 minute time.

Mom and Conner were off to a swim meet so Parker and I were Kira's sherpas and cheering section.

There were close to 1,000 athletes and probably half were doing their first tri. Kira looked like a pro from beginning to end.

It was unusually cold this morning so biking and running required a little more layers to keep warm.

The swim appeared to be non eventful with Kira finishing about 2 thirds of the way back in her wave. Lots of breast stroke, but got it done!

The bike portion surprised me a bit as Kira came in quite a bit earlier than I expected. Bike training at UCSB has paid off!

The run course was fairly hilly. Wearing the Forward Motion gear helped a lot as her cheering section increased dramatically, especially on the run.

At the end, she finished with a huge smile on her face and ready for the next tri in July. I will be joining her, so I'd better start training!

Conner has an Awesome Swim Meet

2010-06-19T22:10:00.001-07:00

Conner is off to a great start this swim season. At the opening event, the Marlins held their own time trials to test all swimmers. Conner improved times on freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke and medley.

At today's first swim meet, Conner swam in five events and scored his first ever win, placing first in the 25 meter breast stroke event.

Mom thinks his strength improvements are key, dad thinks his technique improvements are key, either way, Conner is off to a great start to his swim season!

Donuts With Dad

2010-06-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Father's Day, we were invited to Parker's school for the "Donuts with Dad" celebration.

A good time was had by all. First up was hanging around the class room, taking in the sites and activities. Next up we participated in a treasure hunt, looking for stuff to fill the treasure chest Parker had built and decorated earlier in the week.

After collecting all our booty, we headed back in for donuts and OJ. Hard to beat a sugar donut!

Filling our faces with donuts was great for a minute or two. After that, it was play time and then I had to leave.

Can't wait for Sunday.

Parker's Preschool Graduation

2010-06-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

Graduation ceremonies, even in preschool! Parker was very proud of his accomplishments and performed well at the Tassajara Learning Center graduation ceremony and celebration. Good fun was had by all.

We will miss the preschool dearly. Parker had a wonderful time over the last few years.

American Somoa - Its Been a Tough Week

2010-05-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

An Update from Valerie:

I thought I'd send a quick schooling and injury report regarding the kids. Mainly for grandmas, who like detail.

Last night, the dog pushed Jack Jack and he fell on his face on the tile floor in our living room. He was really crying, and I thought he'd cut his lip (which I think he did), but when I looked in his mouth there was a lot of blood around the top teeth and right eye tooth. When I touched his teeth they totally wiggled out of place. I was SO upset. We pushed them back tightly into place and hoped for the best. They were in the proper place this morning, so we've got our fingers crossed that they will re-implant themselves tightly.

We've registerd Jescie in a new school for August. It's called Pacific Horizons and has a bigger cultural/ethnic mix of kids than did her last school. It's about 1/5 the size. All the kids from the swim class she takes all seem to go there, so I think she'll have an easier time making friends (i.e. even at swim class, she has been a total outsider because everyone knows each other from Pacific Horizons). Anyway, Pacific Horizons is offering four morning intro classes for new students who'll be starting in the fall. So, this morning, Jescie went to her first morning (7:45 to 11:00) intro visit, and sat in on the existing K-3/K-4 class (the two grades are together, and will be in the fall).

At first, she thought that Jack Jack and I would be staying, then when I told her we weren't allowed, she thought we'd be standing on the other side of the door outside, but I told her I'd run a few errands and come back and get her. (We drove home and returned to pick her up). She was not happy to see us leave. The teacher didn't introduce herself or any of the kids, or ask our names or anything; I was the one who said, "this is JESCIE" and the teacher said, "hi Jescie." That was pretty much it. Very island-like, which still kind of bothered me though, since it's a private school with 2/3 international kids, and since a small effort could have gone a long way in making her feel less lonely and shy. Just sitting there with no introductions or anything... I just knew that she wouldn't interact with any of the kids, and as it turned out, she didn't. Anyway...

Jack Jack and I returned to get her, and played in the little park (swingset and slide) behind her class for about 10 minutes, waiting for Jescie to get out. Then we got Jescie and we headed back to the little park and played there with a bunch of kids who had just been let out of class for a break, and had a great time. They were mainly bigger kids from grade 2, but they came up, said, "HI JESCIE - I KNOW YOU FROM THE POOL!!!" and they pushed her on the swing, and she was in 7th heaven. Jack even brought a book with him when we went back to school, and was loving playing in the park. But then, BASH!!! he was hit by a swing, right in the face, and it sent him flying backwards onto his back onto the gravel. He was nearly hysterical, screaming that he wanted to go home. I couldn't tell right away where he had been hit, as I didn't see the bash, but it became evident that he had been hit around the mouth, on the other side from his injuries from last night. (Jescie, by the way, wasn't willing to get down off the swing because she didn't want to leave). Jack's napping now.

When we were back in the car on our way home, I asked Bella how it went and she said she cried twice, right when we left, and then later. I asked her if the teacher gave her cuddles and she said no, she gave her a kleenex. I said, "that's right - you didn't want cuddles, you probably wanted to see your mom." And she said, "yeah, and Papa, and Jack Jack, and Samson, and Sophie." I asked her if she was able to pull herself together though, and enjoy the rest of the morning, and she said yes. So, it looks like it went OK. Except for Jack Jack. Poor guy.

We leave again in a couple of hours, back to the pool.

Hope everyone's well. We are still planning on a last-week-of-July trip. Valerie.

Kailah - It's Been a Tough Week

2010-05-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Kailah came home from the hospital Friday night, so she spent Wednesday and Thursday evenings and most of the day Friday in the emergency care recuperating from several grand mal seizures.

The doctors have run a bunch of tests and we have been told the most probable cause of the seizures is a brain tumor. She has been filled with anti seizure medication and anti inflammatory steroids to minimize swelling of the brain. Tests also showed some thyroid issues, so she is on medications for that now too.

She will be on these drugs for the rest of her days. Unfortunately for the first week or so there are some fairly serious side effects. She has been staggering around in a kind of daze for the first 3 or 4 days. As she gets used to the meds, she will regain her sense of balance and mental focus, but this may take a week or so. The steroids leave her always thirsty and hungry all the time (may be worse than Tundra!).

We have no real answer for life expectancy. Brain scans or operations may give a better answer, but we opted to not go that route, as having the information in most cases, won't change the result. We have been told she may live a few months or many more years, so we hope for the best.

We know she had two grand mal seizures and we suspect she may a have had one more, but since the hospital stay, she has not had another, so the meds appear to be working. The first one we witnessed occurred while we were having dinner Wednesday evening. We rushed her to the vet and about 30 minutes after the first, she had a second at the vet's office. Both were very frightening to watch.

The next couple of weeks will be for close monitoring and getting the medication levels to the right levels, so we will most likely be back and forth to the vet for the near future. She is still very groggy, especially after we give her the pills.

We are all obviously very concerned and are worried sick about her.

We will keep the updates coming.

Parker Turns 5!

2010-05-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that the youngest one around here is now five years old! Parker has been waiting for this day for a very long time. He picked out his own cake - can you tell :)

We also went to the local kid party place, Pump it Up and invited all of his school buddies. Boys only, no girls allowed.

He had a great time. Didn't even open the presents for a day or so.

Tom’s Ironman St. George Adventure

2010-05-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Race Day

Short Version:

The St. George Ironman is the hardest course in North America

The swim was very cold

The bike had some monster climbs and long, fast descents

The run was incredibly hilly with over 3200 feet of elevation gain.

My times and placement in my age group(AG) (45-49) and overall (OA):

Swim 1:21:02 199 AG and 995 OA

Bike 6:06:54 23 AG and 217 OA

Run 4:01:21 18 AG and 187 OA

Add in a couple of transitions and my total time was11:41:06 (19 AG and 211 OA). Not my fastest time, but my best place finish so far. (50 minutes slower than last year’s CdA)

Happy to be done, but glad I did it and would definitey consider doing the race again.

Long Version:

Ironman number six has come to a close and it was quite an adventure.

Dianne and I rolled into town on Thursday around noon after flying in from San Jose to Las Vegas and renting a car for the 90 minute drive through Nevada, Arizona and finally Utah. We left the boys with Grandparents and hoped for the best! The drive was filled with pretty amazing scenery with mountains, cliffs and lots of spectacular rock formations.

I had never been to St. George before and didn’t really know what to expect. The only thing I had really heard about was a resort called the Red Mountain Spa that my wife had thought very briefly about going to several years ago. I guessed that St. George would be a very high-end place with lots of expensive shops and restaurants. I also assumed it would be a very small town, completely overwhelmed by the Ironman event, similar to Lake Placid. I was wrong on both counts. I’m sure the town can accommodate 20,000+ visitors at anyone time with hundreds of hotels / motels all over town. Most restaurants were mid-priced family style or fast food places.

Thursday was the last day to check in for the race, so when we made it into town around lunchtime, we headed over to the convention center and got registered. The process took no more than 20 minutes with the very friendly volunteers and then we were told to stand in line for body marking. Seemed rather odd to get race tattooed a couple of days in advance, but we did as we were told. That line took almost an hour. For the next four days, the whole town knew me as 48 year-old 1858. After exiting the Expo, we grabbed my bike from Tri Bike Transport and loaded it into the rental car.

We checked into the Green Valley Resort, which was terrific. We had our own condo, which was spacious, new and very clean. Small talk with the front desk quickly evolved into a discussion about the large amounts of wind I was currently experiencing, and frankly, a little nervous about. She looked up from the computer and stated, “Windy? It’s not windy. Yesterday was windy, today, it’s

not windy.” “Really?” I was thinking to myself.

The area is also dry, dry dry. A “Dry Heat” as we would say on the left coast. What that means is that as we arrived my nose started to dry up and was near bleeding all weekend, my lips were completely chapped and swollen for days and my skin was snake-like all weekend. Every time I drank a glass of water I peed three. If I had stayed a month, I believe I would have run out of water in my body.

Anyway, we settled in, went grocery shopping and then joined some of the Endurance Nation team for a low key dinner. It was nice to put faces to Internet forum names. After, we headed back to the condo and had a rather low key evening.

Friday morning I went for a 20 minute ride on the bike to confirm everything was in good working order and then returned to pack up all the transition bags for the Saturday race. Dianne spent most of the weekend on conference calls and reviewing rather large legal documents. After the morning barrage of work activity had died down for her, we headed downtown to drop off all the stuff. Most triathlons have one big area where everything starts and ends. The IM SG course has the swim and bike/run areas separated by quite a distance. After dropping off the run stuff downtown, we headed out to the lake to drop the bike and bike gear. According to the “not to scale” map, the lake seemed to be a few miles away. It took almost 45 minutes to get there. I took a quick look at the lake. It looked calm, peaceful and very cold.

As I checked in the bike, I noticed the high winds blowing other bikes over. Not a good sign! I thought about previewing the bike and run course, but decided against it. No sense scaring myself anymore than necessary J

We headed back into town, checked out the Expo for the first time and bought some souveniers for the kids. By this time the afternoon was shot and it was time to jump in the car and head back to Las Vegas. My daughter Kira was coming in from UC Santa Barbara to be my head sherpa once again. After meeting her, we grabbed dinner at the airport and drove back to St. George. I got to sit in the back with my feet up. Back at the condo by 9:00 and it was time to settle down for a couple hours of sleep.

Race day came early. I slept very well, but the alarm still went off at 3:45. A quick breakfast of coffee, instant oatmeal and a banana and then it was off to the downtown transition. Dianne and Kira dropped me off. I handed in my special needs bag for extra goodies when I was half done the bike course. Then it was time to jump the next available bus and head out of town to the swim start. I arrived early, added bottles and my computer to the bike, had the tires pumped and then headed into the change tents to keep warm with several hundred other people. I meet some friends and we chatted for 30 minutes or so and then suited up. For me it was a full body wetsuit, neoprene hat and booties. I knew the water was going to be cold and dressed appropriately. About 15 minutes before race time we all started making our way to the water. I didn’t want to get in until the last possible minute.

It was supposed to be a deep-water start but almost everyone was apprehensive about getting in and kept crowding the shore. The course was a one-loop rectangle swum counter clockwise and I had planned to start away from the buoys, closer to shore so as not to get run over. I quickly realized that if I kept to the shore, I’d be in big trouble because of everyone still standing there, so I moved out to the middle and a bit further back. I hate mass starts and today was no exception. When the gun went off it was open water almost instantly. Every couple hundred yards swimmers would crowd together for a bit, but it wouldn’t last long. Around the first turn buoy and the sun was completely in my eyes and I could hardly see a thing. I just followed the thrashing ahead of me and managed to make it to the next turn pretty quickly and in a fairly straight line.

It wasn’t until after an hour or so in the water that I became aware that I was getting cold. It wasn’t a huge deal, but my body was definitely getting chills and I could start to feel the cold on my face and hands. I was a little nervous, but kept moving. After making the last turn to home, I felt much better mentally as I could see the ramp in the distance. I came out of the water almost 6 ½ minutes ahead of last year’s time at CdA. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was also 995^th out of the water, compared to almost 1500^th last year. I was thrilled to have the volunteer support to help with the wetsuit and get me my change of clothes. With all my stuff in hand, I headed to the change room and found a seat between a couple of other guys. It was then that I realized we were all shaking uncontrollably. We all kind of laughed as we struggled to get shoes and socks on with trembling hands and feet. It wasn’t easy and I was very, very cold by this time. I grabbed my helmet and headed out to the bike. I saw Dianne and Kira near the fence yelled hello and told them I was freezing. Ever the supportive wife and coach, Dianne screamed at me to get on the bike and start riding, it was the best way to warm up. I did as I was told.

It took close to an hour to warm up and I was pretty

sluggish up to that point. Watts on the bike were off by close to 15 from where I thought I would be. Nutrition was good though as I consumed calories on plan all day long. For the bike I carried two bottles of Cytomax and about six gels. Every hour I knocked back a bottle of Cyto and a gel. When gone, I switched to water and gels. At special needs I grabbed two more bottles of Cyto and repeated the drill.

The bike course had a couple of very big climbs. I just popped it into an easy gear and spun up the hills. Watts were right around goal watts and I didn’t push it at all. Once we hit Veyo, it was downhill most of the way home. For loop one I averaged over 30mph for the 10 miles back, topping out near 45 mph. For loop two, my neck started to get very sore about mile 80 for some reason. No problems in my race rehearsals. Maybe it was all the ups and downs of the course, possibly the swim first. Regardless, I sat up in my aero a little more on the last 20 miles because, with my head down, I could only see about 10 feet in front of me and if I was flying downhill, I think I would have crashed. As a result, my second loop descent was closer to 25 mph, but I lived to talk about it. All in all, I felt great coming off the bike, but was a little bummed I was out for just over 6 hours and my watts ended up about 15 less than I had planned.

The data:

Watts:

Goal: 196 Actual: 181 Hour one: 177 First Half: 184 Second Half: 177

IF: 0.624 VI: 1.1 TSS 237.4 Time: 6:06:54

The run:

Quick summary: Up, then down. Repeat forever.

I felt great starting the run. I hadn’t seen the course but knew it was hilly. In general it turned out to be about 3+ miles up and then down the backside of the hill until mile 6 1/2; turn around and do it again. This got you back to the start and then it was an exact repeat for loop two to finish off the 26 miles. All in all, about 3200 feet of elevation gain.

With this type of course, pacing with a watch went out the window and it became all about perceived exertion. My stand-alone long runs on a hilly course averaged around 7:30 miles. Here I kept to 8:30 miles for the first half and felt good. As I looked up the hill for the last loop my pace just started to slow and I couldn’t seem to go much faster up hill. On the downhills I began to shuffle too, not picking up any speed. I didn’t feel bad or sore, I was just going slower. I ended up averaging just under 10:00 min/miles on the last half.

When I crossed the finish line I felt really good. I stopped, met Dianne and Kira and just started to get a little light headed so I laid down and put my feet up. In a few minutes I felt a lot better, but was getting sore. I bumped into Steve Chavez and he suggested I head over for a free massage. I didn’t want to wait around forever, but shuffled over to see what was available. A 5 minute wait was required so I just laid down again and waited my turn. I was sure glad I did. 15 minutes later, I was on my way. Met up with Dianne and Kira and suggested we pick up my bags and head out. Already taken care of and they had the bags loaded in the car. OK, just get the bike and drop it at Tri Bike Tansport. All ready taken care of. Wow, My Sherpas’ were awesome! We headed home, I had a bath, laid down for an hour and then was up for a couple of very cold beer, and some left over take out Chinese food. The end of a great day!

The data:

Goal: somewhere around an 8:00 to 8:15 mile average. Actual: 9:16 mile

Time: 4:01:21

Sunday:

Almost nothing going on in Utah on Sunday so Kira and I took a tour of the Mormon Temple. We learned a ton with a personalized one-on-one tour for almost an hour.

They would have kept us there all day if we didn’t make a break for it after a while. They even encouraged my daughter to get married in the Mormon temple; marriages in their faith are “for all of eternity”. I thought to myself that for most people, “till death do us part” is probably long enough.

After lunch we scoped out the Red Mountain Spa. I think my wife may be returning to Utah!

Of course, we waited until the end for the trip highlight and drove out to Veyo. When we arrived at the Veyo Pie Shop it looked all closed up.

I insisted on jumping out of the car to test the door. Sure enough it was locked. As I was heading back to the car, someone else pulled up and I told them the bad news. Luckily, the store owner seemed to sense I was near tears, opened the door and offered all of us the opporunity to purchase pie. I left a happy guy!

Monday: Zion National Park was on the list for the day.

We drove over and took the shuttle through the park. The scenery was spectacular, unlike anything else I had seen. Majestic mountains with sheer cliffs, brightly colored stones. It was pretty incredible.

After dinner we jumped back in the car and headed back to Las Vegas. Kira had a Tuesday flight at 6:00 a.m. so we booked a hotel near the airport. We headed back closer to noon.

Utah was a wonderful visit, but it sure was nice to get back to Northern California. There is lush green vegetation everywhere, rolling hills, blue sky. Sure it all dries out in August and half the State burns down, and we’re all going to die in an earthquake, but it is home, and I like it here J.

Parker Learns the Racing Dive / Conner Remembers From Last Year!

2010-04-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Parker has now joined the Marlins Swim Team and both boys spent the morning diving off the blocks. This was Parker's first time, and within a couple of tries, he seemed to have mostly figured it out. Conner, on the other hand was ready to go, right out of the chute. Just like riding a bike I guess.

Grandpa's 75th Birthday Party

2010-04-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

This week was Grandpa's 75 birthday celebration(s).

The party got off to a good start when Brian and Carm paid a surprise visit to California to join in the festivities.

Thursday night, the true birthday, we headed over to one of our favorite italian restaurants, "Incontro". As always, good food for all.

Saturday was the party day at the house. We invited some of good friends and family over to help enjoy. Mom & Julian, The San Ramon Hecks, The Archers, Brian & Carm, Adam and his latest beau all enjoyed a catered event with lots and lots of good food. Kids had a jumpy house to entertain themselves.

At the cake cutting ceremony we toasted champagne and dug in to the many deserts. Grandpa enjoyed the cutting, Chris enjoyed the eating!

Gerry's Running Status Update

2010-04-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

Just got a note from Gerry. We all know that he is between jobs, but did you know that he has had a stealth plan to become a running mega star? With all this new free time, nothing but good things expected. From Gerry's e-mail update:

With all this free time I thought I'd finally get in all the running I could handle. That's sort of true. Unfortunately "all I could handle" has been disappointingly little. I've been trying to tame a sore hamstring that won't get better. Just when I was deciding if I should take some time off - around 3 weeks ago - I went for an easy run and did something to my left foot that made it hard to walk on. I got x-rays to make sure nothing was broken/fractured, but I'm still hobbling around 3 weeks later (a bone scan is next on the agenda if the pain isn't gone post-CA). Yesterday, while doing my physio to help my hamstring, I overdid the weights and hurt my lower back. Youch! So, while fixing myself I'm slowing falling apart. Cursed age! My hamstring makes it hard to sit for long. My foot makes it hard to stand. And my back now makes it hard to lie down. Hmmm. Thank goodness for beer.

Jac Update

2010-04-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

Just got finished talking to Linda. Linda asked that I give everyone
an update on Jac's situation.

As everyone probably already knows, Jac and the Heck family have had a
pretty rough week. Last week Jac started having heavy seizures and had
to be admitted to the hospital to try to get relief. Jac came home
from the hospital after a short visit, but then had to be rushed back
when the seizures started up again. She is still in the hospital.
Seizure activity seems to come and go. The doctors and staff at Kaiser
have been great, and are working hard for a fix. Drug cocktails have
been administered both through an IV and orally, trying to find the
right levels and combinations that would do the trick. Still not
there yet.

A couple of days ago they did a brain scan to try and help pin point
problem areas of the brain and help determine treatment options.
Several have been done in the past years and have shown very chaotic
brain activity from her seizure disorder and the same was expected
this go around. Surprisingly the brain activity was very much
improved over last tests and Kent/Linda were told by the neurologist
that this was highly unusual, didn't match her outward appearance, and
if he wasn't involved in the process, would have suspected a file mix
up. Seizures continue.

While at the hospital, Kent reached out to Doctor Kane, the other
doctor they have been working with over the past six months or so.
This doctor is doing a lot of leading edge stuff and her work involves
working with kids on the autistic spectrum and those with seizure
issues. Jac has been going up to Napa weekly for treatment. The
doctor's research has led her to believe that many of these types of
issues are caused by an imbalance of fatty acids in the body. The
ratio of short chain fat to long chain fat is out of whack and
treatment is to increase the long chain fats and normalize the ratio.
A couple of findings have come out of the discussions. First, the
doctor said she would expect the brain scans to show greatly improved
areas with treatment that Jac has been receiving in Napa. More
importantly there are a couple of huge warnings to be aware of.
First, Jac's seizure disorder is very rare, on top of that, being a
soon to be teenager and female with this disorder is even more rare.
Doctor Kane told Linda and Kent that if Jac is on certain drugs, there
is a very specific supplement she should also be taking, which she is
not. Failure to do so, will cause seizures from the seizure
medication. Also, one of the medications in the cocktail is made up
of a fatty acid, and it is a short chain fat, which is counter acting
the treatment that Dr. Kane is using. After using this medicine, Kent
and Linda noticed that Jac was having seizures. The Kaiser Hospital
doctors had put it off to coincidence, but now Linda and Kent have
asked them to investigate further.

Linda and Kent are very excited that there may finally be a solution
to Jac's seizures. There appears to be evidence that the Napa
treatment regime is paying off with much improved brain activity
results. They have begun to get the doctors working together to get
results.

Ben has spent the week hanging with the Danville Glynns and this
afternoon is very excited to be heading up to Sacramento to spend the
weekend with the other cousins. Linda, Kent and Jac will probably be
at the hospital for the next little while, but things appear to be
looking up.

Dressed For School

2010-04-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Parker dressed himself for school today.

Red Star Wars shirt. Check.

Red Thai kick boxing shorts (Thanks Bew!). Check.

Red rain boots. Check.

Red Cars underwear - not shown :)

Red lunchbox. Check!

Conner's New Hair

2010-04-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

The latest rage to sweep through the school? Yo-yo's? Nope. Buzz cuts! Didn't get a picture of all the hair on the ground at the barber shop, but there was plenty.

Just in time for summer. Not sure who's hair is shorter, Conner's or mine.

We asked Parker what he thought. Looks like we are off to the barber shop again tomorrow!

Parker Fred Glynn, Student of the Week

2010-03-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

This was the week Parker had been waiting for. Student of the week, officially known as "Super Sapphire". We arrived Monday morning with a giant poster board telling the entire class about Parker. By the way, Parker had decided that he needed a middle name, and "Fred" it is. Not sure what prompted the need, put it looks like its going to stick.

Lots of special activities for the week. Kira was home, so cupcakes were made for everyone in the class.

I came to class on Friday so that he and I could read a few of our favorite books. Parker read "Are You My Mother" and I finished "The Grufflo's Child" and "The Bear Snores on"

Not sure Parker can wait for next year. We had a great week!

Valerie and The Family in Town

2010-03-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

This past week was a great time to catch up with family. Valerie, Jescie and Jack flew in town from American Samoa for a short visit. Dad flew in from Kelowna to hang with the kids. The cousins all had fun getting acquainted again. Conner even helped Jescie with make-up and other necessities one day. Everyone is growing up fast. We did manage to spend time getting caught up again. We even managed a family walk from our place over to the Starbucks at Blackhawk. It's hard to stay connected when we all live thousands of miles apart!

Since Val's return to American Samoa, Conner has been pretty vigilant about watching who is signed on to Skype. I think we've managed 3 or 4 conversations with Jescie and Jack in the last few weeks thanks to Conner's paying attention.

Parker Swims A Length of the Pool - Almost

2010-03-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

Parker now has the ability to swim the length of the pool. Unfortunately when the camera comes on, the jokster comes out. Here he floats around forever, and then as he approaches the end, he swerves to the edge. All in good fun. Next time it's a hidden camera!

Tundra, It's Official

2010-03-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

We headed out to Petaluma and beyond today to meet our new potential family member. We had a chance to catch up with Nacina, Kailah's breeder, which was great. It was a long time since the last visit. Conner grilled her on everything there was to know about Tundra. The toughest question? "Could we change her name?" was answered with, yes, but it's really hard to do without confusing the dog. We then left Kailah to enjoy a spa day with Nacina and we took Tundra to the nearby beach so that we could get a chance to meet her. For Conner, I think it was a pretty quick decision, Tundra was going to be his new dog. We played on the beach for a while, fed the dog 10 pounds of treats and headed back to Nacina to let her know we would love to adopt Tundra.

New Family Member?

2010-03-03T16:58:00.001-08:00

Conner has been asking for a new dog for the past several months. He has been walking Kailah with me at 6:00 a.m. most mornings to show his commitment to taking care of the potential new dog. I have been very reluctant to add to our family. After getting Kailah as a one year old and fully trained, the thought of a new puppy has not been very appealing.

Several days ago this message appeared in our inbox:

"Tundra is a really wonderful, healthy, affectionate, spayed 3 1/2 year old purebred chocolate lab. Her family got her as a baby and gave her a good life and lots of love as they raised her with their baby boy.

Unfortunalty, they lost their house and their marriage at the same time and realized that Tundra was suffering from the tension and the lack of exercise. I of course said yes to keeping her while a new home was found. So please send this email to everyone you can because they might know someone who needs a great companion like Tundra.

She is very affectionate and loves to be petted, scratched, tickled, and hugged. She is very athletic and can run for miles and still be ready to fetch the ball. She loves to ride in the car and is very well behaved. She is a house dog and will lay on her cushion as long as you say, and has good indoor manners. She is well trained, walk good onleash, has amazing recall, gets along and plays with any other dogs. She loves cats, little kids, and toys.

Overall, Tundra is a well trained, young, healthy, easy to care for chocolate girl. Please call me if you want to meet this super little girl. Nacina"

Nacina was the breeder we got Kailah from, so we know the dog is currently in good hands.

We talked as a family and Conner thought this would be a good idea. We are off on Saturday to meet and greet. More details to follow!

Conner's Grade Two Performance

2010-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight all the grade two students at Tassajara Hills Elementary performed their annual musical for the parents. Tonight's production was an Aesop's fable collection of stories put to music. The stories included the Hare and the Tortoise, The Lion and the Mouse, as well as The Country Mouse and the City Mouse. Conner had a long speaking part in the starring role of the country mouse. All went well! Everyone knew their lines, the songs were all sung, and everyone took a grand bow at the end.

A good time was had by all.

Dianne Sleeps!

2010-02-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

It may seem odd to most people, but Dianne rarely sleeps through the night. In fact, it happens about once every three years or so. That makes it about as common as Haley's comet.

Yesterday we celebrated! Dianne headed to bed at her regular time of 9:30 or so. At 5:15 a.m. she bolted upright. "Hey, I think I slept through the night!!" After a quick mental analysis, she again confirmed that the night had been good to her. No checking the alarm clock at 2:00 am and every 15 minutes thereafter, no work nightmares, no waking up. Wow!

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!

2010-02-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

I've been branching out from triathlons and 5K's this year and have attempted some bicycle racing. This weekend was my first team time trial race. Teams consisting of two riders each, leave every 30 seconds and race in the Berkeley / Orinda hills for 16 miles at top speed, up and down a couple of very big hills.

I'm learning that bike racing is a cult unto itself, with lots of unwritten rules. Next time I need to bring the aero helmet, areo wheels, aero water bottle, sunglasses, and then when I drop another 20 pounds, I bring on the skin tight skin suit! Lots of very fast people on the course. I heard that Levi Leipheimer set the course record here at the Berkeley Time Trials a couple of years ago. He didn't need a team mate.

My local club, Forward Motion had 10 of us riding on 5 teams. Carrie and I learned a lot, had fun and enjoyed the day. We finished 4th out of 17 in our category, about 10 seconds out of 3rd and 90 seconds out of first. We were the first Forward Motion team too.

I'm sure there will be more bike racing on the calendar!

Cub Scout Father and Son Baking Contest

2010-02-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Kira is an awesome baker. Conner and I, sadly, are not. Every year the boy scout troop puts on a cake baking contest. Dads and sons only. No help from other, more talented, members of the family.

We had a great idea. We really did! The thought was to recreate the annual pine wood derby car racing contest. Bake a cake, cut it with a downward slope, cover in icing, apply fondant, place cars and trophies on top. How hard can that be? Well, actually it can be really hard :).

The fondant was the first disaster. It seemed really hard out of the package and we couldn't roll it, so we added water to make it more malleable. Bad idea we tried to fix by adding flour. Another bad idea. We decided to scrap the fondant and just use white icing for the main cake and chocolate icing for the piping of lanes and other decorative twists.

The cakes baked up really well. I was surprised! Unfortunately, taking them out of their pans didn't go as well. Big chunks broke off. We figured we would "glue" them back on with the icing.

Stacking and shaping the cakes went fairly well. We tried to ice between the cakes, but quickly realized it was a dumb idea. The icing just broke the cake apart. Conner made some comment about my skills. I handed him the knife to spread the icing, waited 10 seconds and then we both laughed. His skills were equal to mine. Not good!

With the icing between the cake going badly, we pondered icing the outside of the cake. We decided to go big, use plenty of icing and see what may come. Well, a disaster came. The icing wouldn't stick and pulled the cake apart no matter how we tried to patch it.

2 minutes in, the end was near. Conner embedded the cars in the icing, pushed the trophies into the cake and we both agreed this was not to be our year.

Next year we will invite Kira home, ask her for some sage advice, spend a weekend practice baking, and come out stronger and wiser.

Maybe it's time to pay more attention when watching the "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network :)

Toothless Parker

2010-02-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

I think Parker is doomed to lose all his teeth sooner, rather than later. He lost a tooth last year and badly loosened anther one. Today the second one fell out. Parker was thrilled as the extraction was painless. Also, his desperate attempt to find a cool share today for Tuesday pre-kindergarten came to an end. This was the best! The only four year old to lose not one, but two teeth.

I see hockey in his future!

Parker Starts Reading

2010-01-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend Parker decided it was time to read. He wanted to read all by himself. Not wanting to lose the enthusiasm, I grabbed Kira's old reading program from the Challenger School and gave Parker a few lessons. Wow! He's a fast learner. Within a couple of hours or so he had read me 10 of the basic books, gone through a bunch of flash cards for letters and their sounds, and had watched the accompanying DVDs.

At night he decided to read me a couple of stories. Here is one:

Harlem Globetrotters

2010-01-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

We loved them so much last time they were in town we decided to invite our friends, the Starks; John and Nolan, to this year's event. As always, a great time was had by all.