Man up Blake!

When I picked Blake up yesterday morning, I noticed something in his hair. When I asked him what it was, Dalisa said "Hair Gel" and then Blake said, "Ya, it's Cute!"...While I couldn't disagree that my kid is hugely adorable, I think he's spending way too much time around girls and not enough time around Desert Storm Veterans. He's also gotten in the habit of crying about every little thing that hurts him...Some may argue, "well Ben, he is only 2 1/2 years old, that's what they do", but I seem to remember having a full time job by the time I was 3, so he's got 6 months to toughen up. Lack of toughness notwithstanding, He still is a freaking cute kid. He gets into a LOT of trouble and pushes his boundaries as far as he can, but at the end of the day, he cuddles up to me, and all the grief he put me through that day seems to drift away. His time outs have been coming more frequently lately, and being that he hangs out with older kids at the babysitter, he has picked up some new words that aren't exactly pleasant to hear. However, every time I discipline him, I visualize him turning to me, and saying "Daddy, now that you have reproved me with sharpness, don't you think now would be a good time to show an increase of love?" And then I just think, 'wow, for someone who can't use the potty yet, he has an incredible understanding of the Doctrine and Covenants!"
Anyway, we've got a long way to go before he listens to every word I say, but I'm sure we'll get there....after all, I was a perfect kid right, so why wouldn't I expect the same from him?? ;)

Tourism at its best!

With the BCS National Championship now over, you would think life around the Valley of the Sun would die down a bit. But alas, the 70 degree weather this time of year continues to bring visitors from far and wide. And while we continue to be busy at the Inn, our celebrity sightings have dropped significantly- which I'm ok with actually. It's always fun to talk with people that you recognize from TV or various websites. But I always get a little nervous they are going to write something less than perfect about our resort. I scoured espn.com the few days after Auburn beat Oregon (still think Oregon would have been smarter to let Auburn score a TD when there was still 1:59 on the clock, but that's another story) to make sure none of the analysts staying with us had anything negative to say about their accommodations. Thankfully, no such publications have been found thus far...rest can come easily now...until the next star-studded event at least.
I still think a future project could include making an "Office" type spin off of the Hotel Lifestyle. We have such a collection of great characters here at my resort. And when I have a weekend of celebrity check ins, I sometimes wish I could act like Michael Scott while checking them in-without fear that my actions would result in termination. For instance, a few former stars from both the Collegiate and NFL level checked in, and I had the brief notion to hand them their room keys and then spear them to the ground- random thought of violence aside, I think it would have been hilarious! We also had a few former coaches check in, and I would have loved to pass them a play written on a cocktail napkin (with the title "The Annexation of Puerto Rico") and ask them to give it to a current coach to implement into their playbook.
While I lack the stones to actually say any of these things, in the event I win Publishers Clearing-House, I already have an exit strategy in mind for my last day-similar to the Airline attendant who went crazy on the passenger and then pulled the emergency exit lever and dove down the slide onto the tarmac. It's going to be epic. You should all be crossing your fingers for that PCH fortune to come to me, just so you can then read about how it goes down!

Stay Tuned!