Niko turned double-digits last month, and with that came independence for himself. By that, I mean, he enjoys relaxing in his bedroom during the day with his iPad and/or Switch 2 and most times he has a few drinks on his night-table! Every hour, Nina and I either text him, FaceTime him, or just yell…
Author: Mark
Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life – by Dusty Baker
I didn’t know anything about Dusty Baker, except that he was the Manager of the San Francisco Giants. He was a teammate of Hank Aaron on the Atlanta Braves and there was a lot of verbiage on there relationship, and a lot of extra insight when Hank hit home run number 715. How awesome is that? …
OUR Summer Vacation
Last Tuesday, we went home to San Antonio to visit my parents (and to eat at some food places that we have missed). We arrived back to our Minnesota house yesterday. We had originally thought of visiting in April, as Niko had a few days off from school, and we would take him out for…
Not Impressed
On Wednesday and Friday, I watched the Spurs play the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals. Before Niko was born in 2016, I was a huge fan of the NBA, and especially the San Antonio Spurs. I also worked for the franchise from 1999 to 2002 in Marketing and Guest Services. My tenure…
Washing Machine
As a dad, with a 9-year-old and a wife, we are constantly running our washing machine. If a day goes by where we don’t use the washing machine, we are behind! I find dirty clothes (thanks Niko) in very awkward places! How many times have I told him to throw his socks in the laundry?…
FIRST MN Winter Survived
Well, we survived our first Minnesota winter. I enjoyed our fireplace and I enjoyed our heat, but mostly, I enjoyed watching the snow fall (light and hard) and seeing it shine brightly on the grass, driveway, and walking path behind our house. The weather predictions for snow was pretty accurate for when it would happen,…
One Year Ago…
Last year around this time, Nina got on an airplane, and for first time in her life, flew to Minnesota. It wasn’t a business or a pleasure trip, it was actually to look at houses and buy one! We were planning on buying a house near Cincinnati, OH, but we scratched those plans as her…
The Non-Immune Dad
Well, I am sick as whatever Niko and Nina had, I got it. Friday was the worst for me as I just wanted to go sleep in my bed full of tissues. I had a few works calls, but told my boss after the last one at Noon, I am logging out and going home!…
One Car Family
A month before we moved from Texas to Minnesota, I sold my little Honda Civic. Me and her had a really good run and I enjoyed riding her, but we didn’t want to tow it behind the big Honda Pilot. It was weird going to Carmax knowing that I would never see her again and…
It Snowed (Twice) – Finally
Niko was off from school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and on Tuesday night it snowed and when we woke up on Wednesday morning, it was a winter wonderland. It’s been below freezing ever since and, according to my weather app, for the next 9 days, that won’t happen (on that 10th day, it says…