iamspartacus.net

I'll do my best to add photos to this later (but then, you've heard that before). Okay, here's what's happened since the last time I updated our web site:

• The girls returned from their cruise, reportedly having had a great time.
• Kaysia and I successfully completed "Mission Emancipation", which I won't go into in great detail. Suffice it to say she is now here at home in Lawrence. It's a big family under this roof, but we're thrilled she's here. Since that time she's gotten her drivers license and been able to reconnect with a bunch of old friends.
• Thirteen of us took a road trip to Colorado -- Jeannie, Kaysia, Logann, Andrew, Jessica, Martin and me; Grandma and Grandpa; plus Craig, Tucker, Mason and Addy. We packed into a 12-passenger van plus my CR-V with a bunch of luggage and two kayaks strapped to the top and headed west. Four days and nights in the Colorado Springs area hiking, climbing, swimming and kayaking (well, sort of). It was a blast.
• Up a Creek has had to cancel the last four floats this season due to either rain or extremely high water due to all the rain. Eventually, we're going to get back on the water!
• General Summer stuff - basically, Jeannie and the kids are asleep when I leave for work in the morning nowadays. And while I am happy for them to have the break, I'm more than a little jealous as I sit in meetings for hours on end.

Okay, there's more to say but this is all I have the attention span for right now. I'll add to this in the next couple of days or months.

So the girls are away on a cruise this week while the guys are here at home eating junk food, belching and making girl jokes (according to Martin). Occasionally, I receive a text message from Jeannie with a photo of what they're doing at the moment.  In the gallery you'll see everything I've received so far.  Just click on the photo below. Enjoy.

Just thought I'd share this recent episode of taunting I received from my son Andrew after his last day of school. I came home on Thursday of last week to find this on my computer screen:

As soon as I find a reason, he's grounded.

Okay, so the last month has been a little more than busy. I'd love to say I've just been lazy and that's why I haven't taken more time to chronicle the ever-fascinating lives of the Merritts, but that's not been the case. Here's a sample of what's occupied our time as of late:

Okay, so lately I've been posting updates to the site without any photos because I really haven't had the time or the energy to be that creative. This time I'm going to try to add some color as well. Disclaimer: I didn't cover everything or everybody. For those of you who are children of mine and do not see yourselves represented below, I have not forgotten you exist. I promise I'll cover everyone in due time. Bear with me. So, here's what's been keeping all of us busy lately.

So, Kaysia finally came to visit us in Lawrence last weekend. The little ones were thrilled to meet her -- especially Martin -- and we spent the day touring parts of Lawrence and, as the photo above suggest, the river. (I mean really, did you think she'd come all the way out here and I wouldn't get her near the water?) Had a great day Saturday and were sorry to see it end.

Above is what happened in Lawrence for an entire week. I think we've all heard enough about the NCAA Championship for the time being, so I'm just going to leave the photo alone and not write anymore about it. Let's move on, everyone.

Okay, I know it's been almost a month since this happened, but it's noteworthy all the same. Jeannie and I had a date. No, seriously. Not just an hour out for a cup of coffee or an exhausted Wednesday evening while the kids are at my folks home (thanks Mom and Dad, by the way), but an actual planned weekend away. Pretty sweet, huh? Jeannie took me out for a belated Valentines Day while her parents watched the little ones (thanks Joe and Nan, by the way). Spent the weekend shooting photos around the downtown / Plaza area and stayed in a swank hotel -- without children! Go figure.

Jess is having her birthday week this week. That's right, not just a birthday, but an entire week. Basically, it's been hard to coordinate having everyone here at the same time this year so we're pretty much doing birthday stuff throughout the week. Sunday was the first of this series, complete with birthday cake. Though she hasn't gotten that birthday spanking yet. Hmmm.

One of the fiascos of the past month has been the challenge Craig and I faced in getting our new kayaks delivered here from Fort Collins, Colorado. My last post was about a trip we planned overnight to drive out there and collect them. We bailed on that idea when we found someone online who was willing to deliver them for about what we would have paid in gas money. Well, after delaying his pickup and delivery dates about a half dozen times, the guy finally showed up last night shortly before midnight with our three creekers. Jeannie finally put her foot down, however, and said that they had to sleep outdoors as we already had three whitewater kayaks taking up residence in my office (see photo above). Next plan is to get these rigs on the water -- hopefully this weekend. UAC is ramping up to a busy season.

Okay, that's all for now. I'll try to cover other recent events in a day or so. (Read: sometime over the next 30 to 40 days)

So recently Craig and I purchased three more kayaks. They're located near Fort Collins, Colorado. We found these boats on a swap-and-shop web site called MountainBuzz.com. Anyway, we got a really good deal on the boats and were pretty excited about this purchase because we would be adding to our fleet the first set of "creek boats" -- kayaks intended for punching through harsher waters and taking vertical drops; something for which we probably don't have much of a need on the Kaw, but bear with me.

Anyway, through Craig we located someone who was planning on making the trek from Kansas City to Fort Collins and back and was willing to pick up our new kayaks and deliver them to us for a portion of the gas money. Sweet! So we pooled our money, paid the people selling the creekers, and made arrangements for our driver to pick them up. Problem is, the pickup-and-delivery trip has been scheduled and canceled twice already.

You can see where this is going, right? Craig and I are growing restless and as such, are planning a weekend marathon road trip to Fort Collins to collect our boats. We'll see how it goes, but currently the plan is to leave at 1pm Saturday (Craig has to work that morning) and drive to Fort Collins, arriving around 10pm, pick up the boats, turn around and head back to Lawrence, which should put us back home by 8am -- give or take.

I understand some people might call this an addiction. And to those people I say yes, you're right. We're currenlty seeking help by way of a support group. This support group meets weekly on the river. Wish us luck.

We're in that part of the year where we're counting down to Memorial Day and the eventual end of the school year and the beginning of summer. Once again, it's been too long since I last wrote. Been busy, to say the least. But rather than make excuses, I'll instead try to bring everyone (yeah, both of the people who actually visit this site) up to speed on the recent events. I'll try to break this down by individual. Here goes:

Martin - okay, Martin has spent a good deal of the last month ill. Nothing serious, just a fever now and then and a sore throat. Enough to requrire either Jeannie or I take a day off work or (more often than not) a several-day visit with Grandma. And despite the fever, fatigue and sore throat, it never seemed to impact his speech. That boy's tongue is hinged in the middle, I swear.

Jessica - ready for Spring, Jessica has taken to playing outdoors more than the other kids. She has such a tolerance for the cold weather we often have to call her back inside and remind her to put on socks and shoes when it's in the mid-forties outside. She had a music concert at her school in mid March, of which she was proud. Lately, she has been reading more and more. And she's really looking forward to the cruise ship she and the other girls will be on in June.

Andrew - Big news here. Yesterday Andrew came to Jeannie and I and handed us a paper that was sent home from school -- the kind that parents have to sign and return. Apprehensive at first, we read down the page and discovered it was a note from one of his teachers nominating Andrew for the West Junior High School student of the month. I guess I'll have to find something else to ground him for. Ugh. (Seriously, we are both very proud of him.)

Logann - Our family actor is in rehearsals currently for a production of the Wizard of Oz with several performances in May. Logann and Andrew both joined us for Up a Creek's first trial river run down the Delaware this year. Logann held his own in an 11-foot touring kayak. Next step is to get this guy in the play boats and teach him to roll!

Jeannie - Wrapping up this semester of grad school (with a professor whom I have never met, yet for whom I still harbor great resentment), Jeannie has been uber-busy. She did, however, make time to take me out last weekend. On Valentine's Day she surprised me with a late March reservation at Le Fou Frog followed by a night in a suite at the Sheraton Suites on the Country Club Plaza. For those less informed, the Frog has some of the best food I've ever enjoyed. We spent the remainder of the weekend touring various spots in Kansas City for photographs.

Me - Last week I spent 29 hours in meetings. But it wasn't all bad. I did manage to squeeze in many kayak sessions over the last month, including our first two floats with Up a Creek. My photography has slowed somewhat in the last month with many things occupying my time, but I'm working on that. The plan is that I'll get some sleep in July and just re-purpose those midnight hours until then.

Keep in touch w/ the site as I expect there to be some other noteworthy changes this summer. Oh, and we've also begun a new photography project -- a joint effort by Jeannie and me. The koala has begun joining us for a number of family activities and photos will be posted to chronicle these events. Just something new.

Okay, so the last month has been so full of things worth writing about that i have not yet had time to write about any of them. In fact, I should be trying to sleep right now instead of writing anything at all but I feel like I've neglected this site for the past 4 or 5 weeks. I'll add photos later, but here's a summary of some of the major events:

• Up a Creek had it's Cancun in Topeka celebration. This was the second annual event that allows some of us river-loving canoers / kayakers to pretend it's summer for an evening and hang out at a hotel pool. Enough said.
• I went to Las Vegas for a conference. Jeannie had to back out due to grad school conflicts and wasn't able to go with me, which was too bad. Stayed at the Venetian Hotel, which was enormous and expensive and decadent. Too bad I spent the whole time in meeting rooms and couldn't enjoy the amenities or the 70-degree weather.
• While I was in Las Vegas, our sewer lines at home collapsed in the back yard, resulting in rapid scheduling of several thousands of dollars in repairs. Now that it's over, our back yard is pretty much bare of grass and consists of nothing but dirt/mud. On the up side, we can now flush a toilet. Also, if any of you know of a group that's looking for a place to host a mud volleyball tournament, let me know. Our back yard is available and could be booked for a nominal fee.
• Craig and I have been hitting the pool sessions with our kayaks at least once a week, trying to get more prepared for the Spring season and some serious whitewater kayaking we want to explore. Our first scheduled Up a Creek float is set for April 5. Can hardly wait to get back on the water.

I guess that's it for now. I'll try to get back here in the next day or two and add some photos to this.

Once a year, Lawrence hosts a Daddy-Daughter Date Night for dads and their girls ages 6-12. This year's theme was Camelot. As such, last night one hundred princesses and their proud fathers stormed the castle (read: Douglas County Fairgrounds) and enjoyed an evening of dancing.

With several of her close friends there, Jessica spent most of the evening spinning and learning some new dance steps with her friend Laurel, and part of the evening dancing with Dad. She and Laurel together were adorable as they spun in circles, hand-in-hand until they almost fell down.

The video below is just a short glimpse of the evening, which has quickly become one of my favorite days of the year.

There are also photos from this event available in the Photo Gallery.

For those less informed, in kayaking terms the "C to C" roll is a basic self-rescue maneuver that is used by whitewater kayakers to right their kayak after capsizing. While initially difficult to learn (for most), it is essential to be able to perform a self-rescue and right the boat if you're in rough water and find yourself upside down underwater.

Despite the fact that Craig and I have been working tirelessly on the "C to C" kayak roll for the past few weeks, Jeannie joined us for a practice session at the local indoor pool on Sunday, and after only five minutes in the water, she nailed it. And while I'd like to call it beginner's luck, she managed to repeat it time after time. Watch the video below for proof: