Yes, It Was Planned...

So I've taken a good chunk of the last year off from posting anything but it's time to start up again. For those of you who don't know, Heather is pregnant with baby number two. We're very excited and for any of you with the inkling to ask "Was it planned?" please allow me to offer the following advice. Don't.

"Was it planned?" is something you ask the guy who takes that last shot in a basketball game. You don't ask an adult married couple with a child that question. It implies that you feel like I don't understand the basic principles of human reproduction. "Oh man, is that how that happens? Now it's all making sense."

Here are a few questions that I'm happy to answer though. Yes, we're excited. Yes we will be finding out if she's a girl or a girl. And, for those of you still wondering, yes it was planned.

Rob, Team-Heather and Braeden

Sad Sad Shape...

Our local Wal-Mart had a little action today. Apparently a man entered the store and became upset when they wouldn't cash his check. So he left, then called the store and threatened to start shooting people. Local law enforcement acted admirably and the Wal-Mart employees apparently even gave shoppers who were stuck in the store chips, drinks and chairs. Everyone remained calm until the situation was eventually resolved. It turns out the man was calling from his home, not from the parking lot. Read about it here.

I think the most shocking part of this story for me, is that there is someone out there who is in such bad shape that Wal-Mart won't cash his checks. Wal-Mart has an open policy to take back products purchased at another store. I can buy Target brand bread, and take it back to Wal-Mart and they will give me store credit for it. They don't plan on re-selling it but since Wal-Mart has more money than God and China put together, they can afford to take a hit on bread to keep me happy and mindlessly purchasing things from their aisles.

The only answer I can fathom is, maybe he was trying to cash one of those promotional car dealership checks. "Bring this in for $5,000 off of your purchase".

Rob -

In Braeden's Lifetime...

Heather and I got into a discussion this weekend about how quickly things change now. Here is a small list of amazing things that are totally new to us but have been known facts for Braeden's entire life.

1. The solar system only has 8 planets, not 9.
2. Brett Favre has not been a Green Bay Packer.
3. There has always been an iPhone.
4. Insulating foam is the most dangerous part of space travel.
5. Gasoline has always cost around $2.25 a gallon
6. High School kids receive laptops for class
7. We've always been at war on multiple fronts
8. Home ownership is a crappy investment
9. S.U.V's are taboo to own instead of the preferred suburban transportation

Feel free to add any other observations about the last year.

Rob -

Vacation Picture...

You can take your time, frame your shot, wait for the perfect lighting, and practice practice practice until you get it just right. But you'll never get a better vacation picture than when a squirrel decides to crash you photo at the last second...



Rob -

Super Heroes Have to Start Somewhere...

I'm convinced Braeden is going to be a world altering Super Hero. You just have to know how to recognize the signs. Super Heroes think:

"Why walk when I can fly?"
"Why open the door when I can punch through the wall?"
"Why use the microwave when I can heat it with my eyeballs?"

Or my favorite: "Why go UP the stairs and DOWN the slide when I can go UP the slide and DOWN the stairs?"













By the way, in reference to my previous post on picture taking, these were taken before I decided not to take as many photos.

Rob, Heather and Braeden Carlton

GET THE THIN MIIIINNNNTTTSSSS!!!

Nothing to say. I'm in advertising and this is awesome. I'm going to buy a blizzard to reward Dairy Queen for a job well done.



Rob -

Don't take a picture, it'll last longer...

There's an interesting article in the New York Times today about how viewing art has become a "lost art" in today's instant gratification society. People take the time to go to the museum, but then they breeze through so fast snapping photos as they go. Somehow, taking a picture of the artwork means you never have to go back and see it again.

I'm just as guilty of this as the next person. Take our honeymoon to Rome for example. Heather can testify that we've got 300 pictures of art, architecture, society etc... and a total of 3 pictures of her and I "in Rome". If you're not careful, you can spend so much time capturing a moment that you forget to live it to begin with. I think next time we take Braeden to the park, I'm going to leave the camera behind.

Rob -