Day at the Park...(well 10 minutes anyways).

This weekend was a typical fall adventure with sub freezing temperatures and massive leaf clean up. Wendy and I had her sister’s kids on Saturday so we had to plan carefully. The yard needed to be cleaned up since the oak leaves have been plaguing the neighbor’s property for weeks. So, I bought a leaf blower and hit the ground running during Mayas nap. We promised the kids that we would take them to the park after lunch so I had to put the leave bags to rest until Sunday. We had hoped that the sun would come out and warm us up but that was not the case. We wrapped up the kids with some winter gear and pulled the bike out of the shed. I attached the trailer, loaded up the kids and we headed out to the park down the road. Sedona ran around and the kids played on the slide. Maya wanted to check things out so I decided to play along as well. Normally, I am the type of guy who sits on the bench and watches…yeah right. This is one of the greatest things about being a dad. I get to play all the time and I dig it. Anyways, my hands were freezing and none of us had gloves (except Maya since hers were built in) so I imagine the kids were ready to go too. We loaded up, scurried home and put in a movie while we all got cozy. The fireplace was lit, the coco was warm and the kids were happy.

Need More Cowbell!

This one is dedicated to my good friend and teammate: Mick


Last night Maya and I decided it was time to check out some household items and wreak havoc while mommy was out running errands. We started with a pot and spoon. She loved it. I put the pot between her legs and banged it 3 times. She looked at me...looked at the spoon and her eyes lit up. After she banged away for 5-10 minutes, it was time to find some more stuff to beat on. I looked around the house and found Wendy's favorite instrument...the cowbell.

Grandma and Grandpops weekend visit

It was a beautiful weekend in DC and we were able to spend it with family. My father was ramping up for a work trip and was able to fly in for 2 days. Since my mother couldn’t stand the thought of missing all the fun…she decided to drive up! So on Friday night, Pops flew in around 4:00pm. We stopped by the Capitals practice rink and grabbed a new hat since we were going to the game. Pops and I braved DC rush hour traffic and finally found parking at about 6:15. We hurried to will call and I unloaded my 2 extra tickets (I scored box seats from Marco as a surprise for dad). Little did Pops know, I had another surprise for us but we needed to be at section 111 by 6:30pm. We entered through the gates at 6:25 and grabbed our Bruce Boudreau coach of the year bobble heads but nature called and we both ran to the water closet. We washed up and ran out the door toward 111. Once we got there I saw my old pal Marco in the penalty box with a group of boy scouts. He waved us down and Pops and I found ourselves sitting in the SIN BIN! After warm ups were over Marco walked us to the elevator and we headed up to the Caps box. As we walked through the door, the smell of hotdogs and fried chicken hit the air. We shook a few hands and we were told to treat the box like it was our own living room. So, we did. I opened the fridge and grabbed 2 Heineken lights. We filled our plates with veggies and hotdogs and went to our seats. The caps won the game and we had a blast. Mom made it home after a long day of driving but everyone was asleep when we got in. The next day, mom and pops got to play with Maya all day. We went to Lost Dog for lunch, we all took naps when Maya went down and of course, there was plenty of playing, reading and even bath time. It was a quick 48 hour trip but we made the best of it and we all had a blast!

Goodbye Gummies

*Stewie’s first tooth comes out*

Incisor: Aha! I am free! I hereby claim this mouth in the name of Incisor!

*Second tooth pops out*

Bicuspid: Not so fast!

Incisor: Ah Bicuspid, so we meet again!

Bicuspid: Have at you!

Incisor: En Guarde!

*both wriggle trying to move*

*they can't*

Bicuspid: Shall we bite the tongue then?

Incisor: On three... one.. two.. three!

Stewie: Ah!

For over a month now, Wendy and I have chuckled at the thought of Maya’s first tooth popping out thanks to Stewie. The scene laid out above is a classic moment in Family Guy history and now a memory for Team Dutton. The time has finally come! Maya has sprouted her first long awaited tooth. After many nights of fussing, orajel and shots of Whisky (for Wendy and I of course), Maya’s front lower tooth is starting to show. We imagine the rest are soon to follow and just like Stewie, Maya has a second tooth ready to fight! As this moment is exciting for the family, let’s have a moment of silence for the ol’ gummies. Maya displayed the gummy smile like a true champion. The masses always cracked a return smile when confronted with Maya’s gumbos. From Target to Reagan National Airport, no one could resist. Although a tragic loss, we look forward to the new and improved mouth. Look out cheerio’s…here we come!

Until the next great Dutton moment, as the great roman Hardgrave would say, NASTRAVIA!

Night out with Ted and the Washington Capitals

Theodore "Ted" J. Leonsis is a long-time AOL executive and owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals.





About 2 years ago I started working for DS3 DataVaulting. I was able to talk Stacy Hayes, COO, into giving me a gateway job as a telemarketer. After 3 months of banging out 100-150 calls a day, Stacy decided to give me a shot. Instead of handing off my leads to qualified sales guys, I was able to pursue them on my own. With a little luck and a lot of determination, I cold called the Washington Capitals and set a meeting with their IT director. A long story short, I made the sale and began a marketing relationship as well. Marco Gentile, the Assistant Marketing Director for the Caps, became a great connection and a good friend. So, one day, I asked Marco to introduce me to Ted. About a year later, Stacy received an email:

Dear Mr. Hayes,

As majority owner of the Washington Capitals, Ted Leonsis would like to invite you and a guest to join him in the Owners Suite for an upcoming Caps game.

Attached is the Caps home game schedule. Except for those highlighted in red, please let me know your top 3 preferences and I'll FedEx you tickets to one of the games. Please include an address with phone number to where you'd like the tickets sent.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

GO CAPS ! ! !

Kind regards,

Wendy Hogan Personal Assistant, Leonsis Family

SCORE!!



So, last night was the game we decided to meet Ted. We got to Suite 103 about an hour early. We were met by security, they checked our tickets, I took a deep breath and they opened the doorway to hockey heaven. Upon entering the Owners box we were greeted by Joe Dupriest, Caps Marketing Director, and waiter with a tasty Jack and Coke. As I slurped down the familiar burning sensation and pieces of ice kissed my upper lip, Ted stepped out of his elevator. We talked business for a bit and he seemed very interested in what we had to say. (I got to tell you, it fells pretty good being able to talk business with a legend like Ted Leonsis). He asked about our technology, how we got our financing and then we chatted about my sled hockey team. As soon as the light dimmed in the rink Ted was in his seat ready to watch the game. We sat down and he mentioned that he changed things up and to expect an all Russian line (Alex Ovechkin, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin). Seriously, I was in Hockey Heaven! As the game went on the drinks went down and life was great.







We met the Washington Mystics General Manager Angela Taylor, Julie Plank the team’s Head Coach, and COO Greg Bibb. Bibb asked Stacy and me if we had kids. He told me to bring Maya to a game next season and he would get us all tickets. We also got to talk with Donald Graham, the owner of the Washington Post. He had a brace on his foot and walked with a cane due to a recent tennis injury. This whole thing was starting to get a little weird. Stacy was loving it. He told me it was our new mission to make enough dough to get our own box. We were mingling with people that have excelled in life and it was contagious. Anyways, earlier in the evening Ted mentioned that if the Caps won, he would take us to the locker room. Unfortunately, the Caps went down early and were losing in the 3rd. Things looked pretty grim until the final minutes of the game. There was another group of three dads and their young sons. They were all flipping out when Semin scored the game tying goal with less than two minutes left. Then from out of nowhere…BAM! With 10 second left Semin cracks another one and the place went nuts. I was high fiving Ted and Donald. I turned around and hit Stacy and Angela. Ted grabbed a few security guys and some black markers for the kids and we all hopped in the elevator. The reporters were rushing by the doors as they opened. Ted let the kids off first as DS3 and the dads trailed. When we got to the locker room all the players were already out of their gear and talking to reporters. The kids were running around getting their jerseys signed by the Caps and the adults felt like kids again too!

I made a joke about how excited I was that I wanted to get my suit signed…Mike Green laughed. I wanted to get my picture taken with him and Ovechkin but the damn reporters wouldn’t leave them alone and Ted told us it was time to go. We went out in the hallway and got our picture with him and he wished us well. Thanks Ted, it was a great night.

Maya's first Halloween

It was October 31, 2008 at 3:30pm and I had to rush home to make the Arlington Forest family Halloween parade by 4:30pm. Unfortunately for me, every other working parent that commutes 30 miles outside the beltway decided to do the same thing! After dodging a few mini vans and similar Forrester's (not Gold like mine :0) I made it just in time. I ran in the house and asked Virginia (our wonderful nanny) where she put the costumes. As usual, she had put them aside perfectly folded and ready to rock. I plugged Maya into her pink butterfly suit and started calling for Sedona. Her tail immediately tucked between her legs as she recognized the ol' shark costume from the previous nights dress rehearsal! We got her dressed, packed up the kiddo in the BOB and headed down the street. We meet the Claffey's along the way and rallied together to the meeting site. I had no idea how many freaking kids lived in our neighborhood. As Wendy spit out the same words I was thinking a friendly neighbor responded with "they are all eating supper when you guys usually take your walk". That was kind-of weird but nice to know neighbors are paying attention to what's going on in the hood. As the time slowly passed it was decided that Wendy take Virginia to the metro and I would stay with Maya, Sedona and the BOB. Lucky for me, Maya was cozy in her stroller and Sedona was so embarrassed she stayed close by my side.