I usually blog with good news, and this one will end that way too. It's been a tough season for me. A company that I had worked so hard to help build closed it's doors last month. It's never pleasant to see a company close, and it's hard when I had to talk to so many employees about the end of the road. These aren't the friendliest of job searching environments and I wish I could find jobs for each of the amazing people that worked with me. Additionally there is also the financial wake that is left behind to clean up when a company closes. My Father knows how hard its been on me and emailed me this today.
It's painful, but with the help from the Almighty and caring family and friends the race can still be finished.
We're looking forward to a lot more hikes and camp outs like this one.
As a boy my Father took me camping and hiking as often as he could. Because of my frequent exposure to the great outdoors I grew a deep connection with being on 'the mountain' as we tend to call it. Sometime around the age of14 or 15 my school activities and friends started consuming most of my weekends and the frequency of trips with my Father dropped of considerably. This morning we had a reunion of sorts as we hiked Mt. Baden-Powell just outside of Wrightwood. We hit the trail as early as I could muster the strength to arise, around 5:30am and caught a fantastic sunrise over Mt. San Antonio. The trail was a nice 4 mile ascent and I seem to be paying for my youthful strides. It was great to chat with my Dad as we climbed. I've missed hiking with my Pops.
A while back my wife entered a drawing for a free photo shoot by Lydia Tolman of LOYA Photography and won. Today was the day of the shoot and like most Men I was not overly excited. Lydia Tolman was a true professional. She never once got flustered by our rambunctious kids and truly seemed to enjoy her job. Here are a few of her shots, but check out her blog for more.
6 years ago my wife said yes to being my eternal bride. We were looking through old pictures from our dating days and I found this one that, to me, captures the essence of our love. I am a lucky man.
Today is a special day in my house. My wife of nearly 6 years turned 31. We celebrated it with a little trip to Disneyland with my oldest daughter. Overall it was pretty fun.
I love how gleeful (haven't used that word in a while) Taylor looks on the swings next to her Mom.
And at 31 my cute wife can still throw her hands up and have some fun.
See!
I love you Tanya. Thank you for all of your support and dedication. I hope your birthday was great, but it isn't over...
Oh, and we hung out with this guy (he walked past us) today at Disneyland. I was going to crop the picture but I love the face the scooter lady is making. Later on the same lady complemented me on my T-Shirt. True story. See you next time Kobe Bryant, maybe we can share a tea cup.
This may be too many pics in one post, but hey I was inspired by Kobe.
Space Ranger 1 actually had 1200 points, but I guess that's not enough to register.
We had a great day up in the mountains. I had to check on a couple of things for WrightwoodCabins.com and the kids love playing with their Grandma and Grandpa J so we piled into the truck and headed up the hill.
Tanya is always wanting to get a good family pic and the kids were in good spirits. While we were posing with the little red house behind us snow from the tree fell down on us.
I love spending time with the wife and kids. Especially when my Mom and Dad provide pizza and hot cocoa. Thanks!
Just before sitting down to dinner with my wife's family I got a call from my Aunt and Uncle informing me that my Father's Father had passed away. This was not entirely unexpected but still caught me a bit off guard. My Grandfather was 94 years old and had been very strong well into his 80's. A while back he was diagnosed with Leukemia and in the end had at least 3 types of cancer. I am confident that it was his "time to go", as they say. No amount of preparation can truly prepare one for the moment when death visits a family member. I find myself reflecting on memories of my Grandfather and also on the legacy that I am currently establishing for my posterity. That legacy is what remains when it's our time to pass on, and I don't plan on leaving anything behind that isn't phenomenal.
A few months ago we went to visit my Grandfather and introduce him to his only Great Grandson that shares his last name.
So, in addition to the US Flag Code Section 4 I am also grateful for a loving God that has a plan for us. Hug the ones you love.
I usually leave the posting of photos of my fantastic family to the ubertalented and beautiful Mrs. Jorgenson but after editing this weekends bounty I could not resist. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful life. Take a look at these kids, they're amazing!
I love the colors in this one as my little man reaches in for the pumpkin
Just strolling through the pumpkin patch
Hunting
That's a bountiful harvest if I've ever seen one
This past weekend my parents (the good Padres) took my wife and me down to San Diego for a belated birthday present. We went to see the Padres game at Petco Park and we treated to a full tour of the stadium before the game. While we were waiting for the tour Mr. Padres himself walked by and shook a few hands. I didn't think he'd remember me from our meeting in 1995 so I didn't mention anything, but we go way back. The Padres (the baseball team... aka the 'bad' ones) didn't have too great of a game. The couldn't hit the pitches the 12 year old was throwing I guess. The pitcher for the Giants was a 23 year old kid with a rocket for an arm. He shut out the Padres but it was still a great night of baseball.
The family and I are staying at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas for a few days. This is an amazing part of the world, truly breathtaking views and spectacular beaches. We've stayed here before but somehow this time it's different. It's in my blood now... this is where we'll end up. It's just a matter of time, well and a lot of cash. Driving around here is like going to a fancy car convention. I hope they don't mind my cool guy minivan. The doors are automatic... is that cool enough to fit in?
The 8 million dollar homes and $450,000 cars are nothing compared to these assets.
We discovered Crystal Cove State Beach for the first time and fell deeply in love.
We were very happy to be invited by some friends for an evening at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. We don't get out to do couple's things nearly enough. Dinner was good, dessert was great and the company was fantastic. There were some good magicians and shows as well but the best part was just spending time with my wife and friends, telling stories and laughing.
Tanya and I came to the Magic Castle a few years ago for a company party and had a good time. Somehow coming with friends made it a little more enjoyable.
Thanks for the invite Jeff & Laura! You guys rock.Ever since the birth of my oldest daughter 3 1/2 years ago I have had to really focus on the balance I maintain between work and family. It certainly is not an easy thing to do. This week I traveled up North with my wife, kids and parents to visit my Grandfather. My Dad's Father is 93 years old and is battling 3 types of cancer. My Granny couple of years back so my youngest two were never lucky enough to meet her. To add to the importance of taking this trip, my son is the only Male Jorgenson of his generation from my Grandfather's line, none of my Jorgenson cousins had boys. We felt it was very important to make sure they met at least once and take a 4 generation picture.
We're staying at my Aunt and Uncle's beach house in Capitola, which is like living in a dream because it is so beautiful. The challenge is that I had to travel and be here during the week, so I am still fielding work calls and emails. I don't mind being accesible for my clients because I understand that we are dealing with time sensitive matters and financial issues that can be very stressful. Other than the fact that my cell phone doesn't work in the house I have been responding to emails and calls promptly. But then I see this sight, taken yesterday evening, and put the phone away and remember what is most important.
I love my clients, and count many of them as friends, but nothing trumps my wife and kids.
Gone skydiving? Traveled to Hong Kong? Been on Safari? Helped a stranger for the better?
My beautiful wife rented The Bucket List for us to watch. I'm not much for writing movie reviews, but all in all it was a good flick. It made me think a little bit about my life's goals and aspirations. In the movie Morgan Freeman's character has a nice family life (but a stale marriage), a modest job and a traditional home. Somehow he ends up sharing a hospital room with Jack Nicholson's character (sorry about the Lakers in Game 4 Jack) who is an extremely wealthy man, but with no family ties to speak of. Both characters get to impart a bit of their views to the other through the movie and end up better people in the end.
The first thing I thought of was my amazing family. I have three ridiculously amazing children and a super star wife. If I were left desolate in a shack in Tulsa (the Paris of Oklahoma) but I had my family then life would be alright. The next thing I thought about is that I want to see some stuff while I'm on this earth. I've been lucky to chase giraffe in Africa and I am very grateful for my time there... but I want to see Machu Picchu, sing to my wife in Italy, tour the Holy Land and climb Kilimanjaro.
While I was in South Africa I read some words in Afrikaans that have stuck with me.
Time flies on wings of lightning;
We cannot call it back;
It comes, then passes forward
Along its onward track;
And if we are not mindful,
The chance will fade away;
For life is quick in passing.
'Tis as a single day.
I had an awesome day today. I spent most of the day down in Orange County negotiating contracts on a few big real estate deals. I have some great clients that I am working with to put together a commercial venture and we wrote up a couple offers on residential properties today. Then I had lunch with a good friend and business partner (thanks for lunch Phil, the cucumber wrapped spicy tuna rocked). Just when I thought the day was approaching it's apex I landed a new client that has a lot of property in coastal Orange County. One of his properties leases for $19,000 a month and I'm hoping to have it sold this week!
To top it all off I met my wife and kids at Disneyland for dinner and check out my score on Buzz Lightyear... I don't know why, but I was really proud of this.
I heard about this company about 4 months ago but I was pretty skeptical. I mean who would really give you $25 just for signing up by creating an account on their site?
I love California. I count myself very lucky to live in such a diverse part of the world. Within an hour or so from our house we can find just about anything. We can shoot up to our cabin in 45 minutes, head to the beach in under an hour, cruise to San Diego in a short jaunt, etc. Last night my wife was trying to figure out something to do today and we somehow 
ended up planning on a trip to UCLA for a book fair. The fair was huge and was spread out across the entire, large, UCLA campus. Unfortunately there wasn't a ton to do there for kids, other than watch their parents buy them books, so we didn't stay too long. We decided to head towards to beach, 4 miles away and ended up at Dukes in Malibu for an early dinner. Dinner at any restaurant with two 15 month olds and a 3 year old is a challenge, but our waitress was great and just smiled the whole time as she watched us deal with our masticating maelstrom. After our great dinner we went looking for a place for the kids to play and ended up having a great time on the beach. Not only do I live in a great place, but I get to do so with this great family! Lucky? Oh yes!
I caught part of the movie Spanglish on the tele last night and the main family in the movie moves to Malibu for the summer... I don't think that's such a bad idea. Maybe I can house swap my cabin for somebodies ocean front property for a few months!
