Twin Tidbits

• This morning I was driving the kids to their Mom's house. A was yelling at T about something (long experience has taught me that he was probably pestering her), suddenly T said, "It sounds like someone wants a different brother!!" Not only did he say that but he said it on a sliding musical scale. A responded, "No, I don't want a new brother, I just want the one I have to BEHAVE!!!"


• When we got to their Mom's house T was getting out of the car and lost his footing. He fell to the ground and scraped up his knee. Speaking through his screaming and his tears, he said, "OOOOOOHH (not OWWWW), now I am going to have to wear TWO band aids" (the day before he had scraped his leg when he fell on his bike, poor kid!). I thought it was funny that of all the things that could come out of his mouth, he was most concerned that he might have to wear two band aids.

Truck and Trunks

Today we took the big yellow truck up to the Anderson's to help them move a bunch of stuff to D.I. before they move to Ohio. It was a lot of fun for the kids to hang out and for the adults to hang out as well. Later tonight, after we had our family home evening lesson, we went swimming again. This time my brother, his wife, and kids came as well. Everyone had a great time, only this time I could barely keep the kids off the slide, we didn't spend much time actually swimming. They both love to float now and like to be on their own as long as they have their life jackets on.

• T crashed on his bike today and just got a little scrape that bled a little. He kept asking me if more skin would "hatch" in its place. Apparently he thinks there are some sort of skin eggs that hatch all the time or something.
• A was yelling at T today. I asked her what was the matter and why she was yelling. She told me that T was trying to tell her what to do. She then said, "I was just trying to mind my own business, but T is trying to mind my business for me!, I just want to mind my own!!"
• Tonight T was really giggly as I was lying by him for a second at bedtime. I sort of pretended he was a pillow and laid on his belly and said how comfortable, but wiggly this pillow was. T said in a laughing voice, "if you do not get up right now, I am going to throw you in the back of the truck and drop you off at D.I."

Abundantly Blessed

Today, we tested the faith of the members of the EQ by having me lead the lesson/discussion. The topic was President Monson's talk in the last General Conference about being abundantly blessed. As I was preparing, a few things came to my mind. In all the things he mentioned, he never once talked about the worldly blessings, although I do not doubt he appreciates those as well. His entire talk was about his family, the Gospel, and impact of people, etc. It definitely puts it in perspective. The other thing I thought of was, that someone viewing themselves as blessed has as much to do with attitude as someone who chooses to be happy. What I mean by that is you could have two people live almost identical lives and one could feel very blessed his whole life and the other could be complaining their whole life. There were a lot of great comments and it was interesting to think of all the ways we could easily feel like we are NOT blessed, or how little it takes to steer us away. There were also a lot of great comments on how we could constantly realize our blessings. That is one of the biggest reasons I have done a blog and keep a personal journal. It is one of the best ways for me to see all that I have been blessed with as I sit and ponder each day. It is a great time for me for personal reflection and while I may or may not write EVERYTHING I am thinking, it does allow me to see my many blessings. In Sunday School the lesson talked a lot about humility (good thing I didn't have to teach that one!). It was a great lesson on how we can choose, or be compelled to be humble. We talked a lot about what it is to choose and seek to be humble. It was a great day at church and I once again did not have to take the kids out of Sacrament, I only had to shush them a million times and remind them to whisper. As long as we are making progress! I am hopeful for a bright future of perfect children at age 6 who sit and listen with their arms folded. During dinner they can comment on all of the things they learned from the speaker. Later they will write a college level paper in their journal. Does that seem at all unreasonable? I mean they have a whole year and half to get there. I am not asking for them to be that way tomorrow. LOL.

Pins and Pizza

So, tonight we went with some friends to Fat Cats bowling alley and The Pizza Factory. I know the family, because the guy was a really good friend of mine in high school. He is a great guy and his wife and kids are also great. We had a lot of fun with them. We lost touch for a while (my fault not his), and he and his family have been more than forgiving in welcoming me back into the "fold." We went to Fat Cats, it is great because you can get Pizza Factory pizza right at the lanes. We ordered the pizza and then went to get some bowling lanes. The people informed us that we couldn't because they were closing the whole 36 lane bowling alley down for a party. I can only imagine how much that would cost on a Saturday night! So, we ate at the pizza factory and then went another place to bowl. I bowled six straight gutter balls my first three times, but still ended the night with a 94. The kids did pretty well too, T bowled a 65 and A bowled a 59 and the bumpers were not working. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them and catching up with each other. The kids loved playing with their two boys as well and instantly became friends. It is good to have lasting friendships with good people, and luckily I have been very fortunate in finding great friends.

Friday Night Exotic Camping Trip

This is what it looks like on the kitchen table anytime the kids think they need to make something. They go to the drawers and find all of this themselves, and they end up using ALL of it. T said that he wanted to make something for A because he loves her and wants her to know it. I thought that was really nice. He can be the most rough and tumble kid in the world, and honestly quite ornery when he wants to be, but more often than not he is really sweet.
A fell down and (barely) scraped her knee, T went over to all the flowers and picked A one before I even knew what was going on. Apparently she didn't get all her dinner off of her face before she came outside though. That is probably what threw off her equilibrium therefore causing the fall.

About a month of so ago I found this tent on sale really, really cheap. I had previously talked to the kids about taking them camping. We have never really done it and the tent has just sat in the garage for a month. Last night after I mowed the lawns I asked them if they wanted to sleep in the tent in the backyard. They were so excited, so we set up the tent. The kids wanted to help with everything, which can be a little nerve racking when they are holding poles and do not really understand the dangers of the lengths of the poles. We got the tent all set up and got the sleeping bags and pillows. They were so excited I thought they would be up for hours. We went in the tent at about 8:45 and they were actually asleep at about 9:40 after they felt they needed bathroom trips, something to drink, a cheese stick, etc. I was actually surprised that they went to sleep that early. I was preparing for the long haul of them being up til midnight. This was also a good test to see how they were before we "really" go camping. The kids kept wanting to light a fire, it took a lot to explain to them that it is not really a cool thing to do in the backyard. I am thinking we will try to camp at Jordanelle and take the boat up there one Friday, also there should be an upcoming "Fathers and kids" camp out in the ward in August so hopefully we will camp a few more times before the season is over.

There they are all snug in their sleeping bags. I hadn't put mine in yet.
The morning after outside the tent.
T loved to sit on the sleeping bag when it was put away in its stuff sack. A of course took Milky into the tent to sleep with her.

• My sister loves to joke around with the kids. On the phone one night she asked what they were doing. A said nothing. So, she said, "oh, you're just kickin' it?" A said, "what?" So, my sister said, "you know, just chillin', you know what I am saying?" A said, "No, I have no idea what you are saying, you are not even making sense!" It went on like this for a while, the conversation was really funny and my sister and A were laughing the whole time as well.
• T was jumping on the bed and fell against the wall. I don't know about all of you, but often when my kids are doing something and they get hurt, it is automatically my fault. So, when he started with "Dad!" I knew I was in trouble. I was surprised when the rest of the sentence contained the following: "why don't you move the wall, it is not even in a good place!" That caused me to laugh which caused T and A to laugh pretty hard too.
• We saw some friends we haven't hung out with for a while the other day. I told the kids we would have to figure out a time in the next few weeks and see if they can do something. T said, "I would be so excited to hang out (with his friend) that I might just have to pee my undies." He then laughed. He says some of the funniest and weirdest things. I don't know where he gets that from.

Movie Review and Daily Reflection

So, last night after work (at 10:45PM) I went with a friend to the new Batman movie, "Dark Knight." I just wanted to let you all know that it was indeed awesome. If any of you have seen "Batman Begins," this is the sequel. What I like WAY more about these movies than the original Batman movies was they are pretty real. A regular person could be Batman, it is not the science fiction type movies that the originals seems to be. The others were not bad, but these ones were way better in my opinion. They may not be for everyone, but I highly recommend you view "Batman Begins," and see if you like it, or if you have seen it, watch it again before you go to "Dark Knight." Anyway, I really, really liked the movie and thought I would give my opinion. I am working on opening up and sharing my feelings more because I have realized what an introvert I am (yeah, I know sarcasm does not translate well in typing).

Today, I feel like I did almost nothing. I ran a few errands, did some things around the house, and took care of a bunch of stuff I have not had a chance to do. I had the day off work for Pioneer Day and the kids have this day with their Mom. This is probably the first day in well over a year that I have not had either work, school, or had the chance to play with the kids. It was a little weird quite honestly. After I did some of the other stuff, I went on a pretty significant bike ride with my brother and sister. That was fun. However, most of the day I just found myself missing the kids. While it was nice to get some stuff done, it is more fun to spend time with my kids. I have realized more and more that holidays are all about kids. As I have had different experiences and grown older in life, I realize the happiest times are not just having everything your own way and doing everything you want to do. If anything happiness comes from the complete opposite. I could have done anything today, but really all I wanted was to play with my kids. I know that to many that would make my life seem really pathetic, but my experiences and age have changed many of my definitions and perspectives.

Floaty Feeling

Today after we did our normal Monday chores, we decided to have some fun. While we were heading to the 24th of July parade float preview show at the South Towne Expo Center (this is where you can see all of the floats that are going to be in the upcoming Pioneer Day Parade), the Andersons called. It ended up that they were going to the same place and were calling to invite us to come along. When we first walked in to the expo center we saw the Jones just leaving. We haven't seen them in a while and the kids were really excited. T in particular was excited to see his friend as he was jumping around in front of him like a monkey while his friend just looked at him (probably wondering if he was okay). We talked to them for a minute and then let them leave and headed in to meet up with the Andersons. All I can say is, I think that this should be some sort of model for future parades. I mean all parades should be like this! Why do we relegate ourselves to some smelly nasty street corner, squished in like sardines with a billion other people, only to end up leaving with gum on the bottom of our shoe and feeling the need for a shower? The solution has now become so simple. We do the walking in the parade in a nice air conditioned building and get a close up view of each float in the parade! Alright I am not a parade hate monger, but it was sort of fun and different to just see it this way (other than having to tell my kids 1000 times not to touch all the floats). The kids also got balloon shaped items made by clowns (I think most of those clowns wear the same size shoes as me). All the boys chose swords, but they also got holsters (a touch I have not seen many clowns do, I guess I will forgive the fact that they stole my shoes), while A decided she wanted a pink wiener dog. They also all had a chance to have their faces painted. One of the two Anderson boys decided to have a Spider-Man web painted on his face, while T went for Lightning McQueen and A just simply wanted a flower. The kids loved all the floats, so it was definitely hard for them to keep their hands off of them. T's favorite float was a pirate ship and A's was a huge caterpillar float. When T saw some guys dressed as pirates by the pirate float, he was really insistent that he needed to get his picture with "real" pirates. A also saw some royalty girls on some float (sorry I don't remember what kind of royalty they were, all that is important is that A probably thought it was Sleeping Beauty and Belle) and asked if she could get her picture with the "real" princesses. I think it is cool that they are still so innocent in many ways. I don't think they need to figure out all of life's realities any time soon. Sadly our time with the Andersons is coming to a close. They will be moving on August 8th to Ohio. I am sure they have become so desperate that they feel it is the only way I will leave them alone. We are going to miss them a lot and have really enjoyed hanging out with them over the last 4-5 years. We have especially enjoyed the huge amount of time we have spent with them the last couple of months. You all may not know it, but you are going to miss them too. How you may ask? Well, let me just say that while I am with them I am not bothering anyone else to hang out. I think you get the picture.The three painted faces.

A with her pink wiener dog.

All the boys sword fighting.

All the boys hanging by the pirate float.

A's favorite float.
After we had fun with the Andersons, we came home and had dinner. We then went to our local recreation center and went swimming for family home evening. Like most of the recreation centers I have been in or heard of this one had a huge slide and a huge kid area. The kids had a great time and did not want to leave. They wore life jackets the whole time and T instantly fell in love with the feeling of floating. He somewhat liked the feeling when we went swimming at the lake, but I think the choppy water freaked him out a tiny bit. He was completely happy to just float totally unassisted around the entire pool. When he saw some girl kicking her legs as she swam by he realized that might work for him too. So, he sort of rolled to his back and kicked his legs, but mostly he just floated around. I would play with him and check up on him here and there, but a lot of the time he just wanted to be left alone. When he would get a good distance away I would want to yell out, "WILSONNN!!!!" like Tom Hanks did in "Castaway." A screamed like crazy (that girl needs to be in some soul choir when she grows up with the lungs she has going on) for the longest time any time she thought I MIGHT let go of her. She would sort of relax for a little while and then catch herself being too relaxed. Just before we were going to head home she realized the whole floating thing (as long as I wasn't too far away) was pretty awesome. They had a great time and I am sure we will go back more in the future. It was fun to play with the kids at the pool. I love doing all of these little activities and just playing with them while they are this age. I already feel like so much time is slipping away, and time only seems to go faster (case in point: could someone tell me what happened to the first half of this year?). It was a fun day, but as I look back I am just left with a floaty sort of feeling.

Happy Anniversary!

Today my amazing parents celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary. They are such great people and I cannot tell you how much I respect and look up to them. As I think of all the things that are seen as well as not seen to make it to 44 years I am in awe. I know of some sacrifices, but I am sure there were many that I will never know of. I am sure they both sacrificed sufficiently in their own wants. Both to make each other happier and more comfortable, and certainly for their children. Yet, I do not think that either of them would view anything they have done as a monumental sacrifice. They have both supported and stood by each other in different circumstances and in every arena of life. They raised seven children with each other. They were always there for each of us. I do not know how on earth they could accomplish such a feat. I feel like I am not there enough for my two kids, I cannot imagine how you make 7 children feel loved, cared about, and important all at the same time. It takes special people to do that. We never went without the necessities of life and we also enjoyed some luxuries. Their home has always been a safe haven and refuge from the world. What great people they are and how I admire and look up to them. I hope that I am lucky enough to find such an amazing eternal companion ONE DAY and build an everlasting life and legacy with her. How lucky I am for the example my parents have always been to me. They have given everything within them to each other and to their family. I am grateful for their love for each other and the patterns they have laid for each one of us. For their gentleness and kindness with their 7 children. For their great love for their daughter-in-laws, and finally for their love and excitement towards their 17 grandchildren. Below are pictures of the posterity they have created. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad.

The following pictures were taken in the summer of 2006. 3 of the 17 grandchildren (all girls) were not yet alive. In fact, they were all born within about 3 or 4 months of each other. I also did not include a picture of my sister or the kids and I. She has never married, so there is only a siblings picture. She would be pictured third from the bottom. I did not post a picture of the kids and I either because you all know what we look like. We fit at the very bottom as I am the youngest of the seven. Unfortunately, blogger only allows you to post 5 pictures on each post.

This is my oldest brother and his wife. They have this little guy and a cute little girl that was born I think in November of 2007.

This is my second oldest brother and his wife and kids. They now have five children with a little girl added in January 2008.

This is my third oldest brother and his wife and kids. They now have 4 children. A little girl was also added to their family in January.

This is my fourth oldest brother (I guess the middle child) and his wife and kids. My sister would follow them. She is third youngest.

This is the brother immediately above me and his wife and kids.

• I told A that my parents were going on a vacation for their anniversary this week. She asked what an anniversary was and I explained it is a celebration of their marriage. I did not get to finish explaining. Her eyes became as big as saucers as she incredulously asked, "you mean they had you and your brothers and sister and they were never even married?!!" Once I stopped laughing, I explained that they were of course married before any of us were born.

Weekend in Review

This weekend was fun, but did not contain too many activities outside the house. We did go to the rodeo on Friday night as I mentioned. Friday during the day we of course received another infamous haircut story, but mostly played around the house. Saturday we went shopping for groceries most of the day and played outside as well. We washed and waxed the truck and car (T loves to wipe the wax off and make the cars them "so shiny")and then moved the truck to a different location that is not so accessible to dumb teenage impulses. Other than that, there is not too much new to report. I did not have to take either kid out of Sacrament Meeting today, which was awesome! T freaked out quite a bit about his breakfast waffle in Primary. His sweet teacher actually ran to her house and got him one rather than just having me take care of him. She is so sweet and really amazing with the kids! I think I do need to get him tested for either hypoglycemia or diabetes. While he can be just like any normal kid, most of the time he is really sweet and innocent (possibly quite a bit more than most kids). The only time he really throws huge fits is when he is hungry. Maybe it is just a boy thing, but a few people mentioned that I might want to get him tested. The other morning A came into my room in the wee hours of the morning. She had a bad dream and wanted to lay by me. She tossed and turned and finally asked for chapstick at about 5AM, so I told her where it was. Not wanting to get out of bed, she said, "never mind, I will just get it later." All of the sudden T came into the room (I am sure he was woken up earlier by her crying) and gave A the chapstick and said, "here A." He is a sweet, innocent little boy who loves to help people. He then went immediately back to his bed and back to sleep. That is about all that happened this weekend. While most people would find this mundane life to be completely boring, I love the fun normal times I get to spend with the kids. It is fun to just BE. I love that time with the kids and playing with them, talking to them, and just spending time with them. If you were looking for the "Fabulous Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," you have clearly come to the wrong blog. Although that might explain why I only have like 1 1/2 readers.

• We were at the store and I allowed the kids to get a huge tub of Winnie the Pooh animal crackers. The kids both said, "thank you." A carried the tub over to the cart. In a very honest voice she said, "no one needs to thank me for carrying them to the cart." It was really funny because that is something most people would say sarcastically. She said it really honestly.

The Rodeo

A smiling as she takes a sip of the drink she ripped out of my mouth mid drink moments before.

Look out ladies, there's a new Sheriff in town. T won that badge at a booth before the rodeo.
That's me down on top of that horse, it wasn't my best run, but there is always next year!!!
These tractors were parked out front. Of course the kids had to sit on them and pretend to drive them. At least they are cooler than the ones the kids sit on and pretend to drive at Lowe's and The Home Depot.
While T liked the bigger one, A decided that the littlest one was better and cuter.

So, I have the greatest Dad in the world. If you think that sounds boastful, it is. Anyway, he is a very good businessman, very religious, etc. What almost no one knows about him outside of our family is, he is an in the closet cowboy. He doesn't have the hat or the boots. You will never catch him wearing a 50 inch shiny belt buckle, or wrestling steers on the weekends, but he loves cowboy stuff. He loves old westerners, like John Wayne. He loves rodeos, he loves to ride horses, etc. Because of all of this we have gone to the Days of '47 Rodeo every year since I was five (I am sure we would have gone sooner, but we didn't move here until I was five). He purchases tickets for everyone and we all go and have a great time. In fact, I don't think any of my family living in Utah could say no. I think this is one of the things he most enjoys doing all together. No one would want to miss going to the rodeo with Grandpa and Grandma around the 24th of July because that is what we always do and we always have a good time. So, tonight we went to the annual family rodeo. They hold it at the Nuclear Waste Arena in case anyone is wondering. The kids had a great time eating skittles and kettle corn, playing with their cousins and watching all the action. There is calf roping, steer wrestling, bronco bustin', barrel racing, and finally bull riding as well as bull fighting. A said that her favorite part was when the guy would go into the barrel and the bull would hit the barrel really hard with his horns. She thought it was hilarious. T loved the bull riding and the clowns that steer the bulls away from the rider. We all had a great time.

Another Haircut!!!!

So, I have been way over due for a haircut. Today, I finally got one, and guess who was there! The girl that I am so in love with (not really, and really if she doesn't like me back I think it is called lust anyway). We went in to the haircut place, and there she was at the counter. I didn't even have to tell her my name, she remembered it. Isn't that great!!! She probably remembers all the guys she so cruelly shot down. She winked at me as she said, "Hi, Kent." I think I not only winked, but BLINKED back, okay it wasn't really at her, I think something was in my eye. Unfortunately, she was not the one who cut my hair today. DARN the bad luck!!!!!! However, it did not stop her from talking to me and the lady who was cutting my hair! "So, what you been up to?... How are the kids doing?... Are you dating anyone?" The last question was particularly hard for me. She was mocking me and I knew it. It was as if she was driving a knife into my back where my superman cape would not protect me. After the way that she had shot me down, how could she be so cruel as to ask that question! I began to silently and tearlessly weep as I asked my stylist if she could use the texture scissors on my hair. If only she would give me a chance. It was so hard seeing her so happy as she was performing some Edward Scissorhands routine on the girl strapped into her chair. Knowing I would never have her companionship. I wonder if she was telling that girl why things wouldn't work between them! Anyway, I paid, and we left the store. I even left feeling a little light headed. That might just be because they took two pounds of hair off my head though. If some of you are reading this and have no idea what I am talking about, AND you care (both things would be important) then you need to read my previous posting in June entitled "interesting and informative."

This is my new look after the haircut. What do you think?

Shallow Brain, Deep Thoughts Part 7

Today I was listening to a talk. It is amazing all the directions my (apparently ADD) mind goes as I think about the little things people say. The person was not talking really about examples, but mentioned a few things that he had been taught throughout life. As I thought about what he said, I thought to myself, "most of those things could only have been taught by example." I then came to the conclusion that most good things (and sadly the bad things too) are not taught by words, but by example. It made me think of all the examples that I have had, as well as the examples that many of you have been. So, lately I have been better at composing my thoughts through poems, so I wrote another one tonight.

Examples
All that I’ve been taught
most of what I now know
people told in more than mere thought
but also took time to show

I think of all the good I‘ve learned
from good examples all around
much of my admiration earned
by sight and not by sound

Many examples from my great folks
in the way they live each day
oh what amazing thought it provokes
as you see them walk the way

Lest I forget other family or friends
who constantly help me along
their example easily transcends
and guides me away from wrong

Like a candle lighting the night
showing me how I should act
seeing them live with my sight
could they know their impact?

I am so grateful for all of the great
and simple things that they display
the way to be they demonstrate

what I someday hope to portray

Weekend Update

This weekend we did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We did not do much during the day Friday. We went to the park, hung around the house, etc. In the evening we went to their cousins house because my brother was taking his wife away overnight for her birthday. We ate pizza, played, and watched a movie. It was a lot of fun; it is always great to have cousin time.

On Saturday we went to the "This is the Place Heritage Park." We had never been there and it was free last Saturday, so we figured, okay. We had a great time touring some of the historic homes as well as the shops. The kids loved the train rides, the little village (where everything was there size), the wagon ride (and petting the horses after, as well as the kids thanking them for working so hard), and especially the huge blow-up slides and little bounce houses (not really sure if that is what you call them, but it works for me). I don't think the last thing is normally a feature of the park. The kids and I had a great time, we did everything we could in four or so hours, and we still did not do everything. They even had free Domino's Pizza, bottles of water, and ice cream. It was a great time.

This morning I was getting something out of my car before church, I noticed remnants of a broken glass jar and some jalapeno peppers on the ground near the truck. It appears some awesome kids decided it would be cool to launch the full jar of peppers from their moving vehicle right at my truck's windshield. They broke my windshield wiper arm as well as completely destroying the windshield, making it so you couldn't even see out to drive it (luckily it is not my daily driver). I called the police as soon as I saw it and luckily he was able to come and take a look before church. He basically told me that my truck is an easy target because if I look up and down the street it is the ONLY vehicle parked on the street. Looks like I will be parking the truck on the side of the house behind the boat from now on. Oh, well, I guess I am lucky enough to buy another new windshield (this one was only 8 months old and probably only had 2000 miles on it). The day started to go better from there though. We were on time to Primary, so they got a sticker! In Sacrament Meeting the kids were pretty good, until, T got really upset about something. I tried to settle him down, which only seemed to make him more angry. I think he was talking more loudly than the speaker by the time we left the meeting. He kept yelling, "I'LL BE GOOD, I'LL BE GOOD!" I don't know why my kids can't just cry when I take them out. Whenever I take them out everyone knows exactly whose kid it is, why they are upset, and the exact length of time it takes for me to hurry from our row to the foyer. It is awesome! Overall, they really are sweet kids though. I can't simply judge the five minutes they are naughty, if they are good for 12 hours. When you look at the overall picture, kids are, for the most part very good, although, that five minutes CAN seem like 12 hours sometimes. Anyway, that is about all that happened this weekend.

T & A at the kid village sticking their head out the train windows. I don't believe it is possible to have both of your children's eyes looking at the camera at the same time. Just a theory!
This was one of the cool slides. In this one you had to go through all kinds of obstacles before you ever made it to the slide.
This slide was called the "wave of fire," although I never saw any fire. The kids loved this one, it really is pretty amazingly tall, even though the picture does not show it very well.
We of course had to get a picture in front of the statue. There the kids are, all loaded up with wagon and cooler of cold drinks.
This is the picture at the end of the day through the trucks (not broken yet!) windshield. I think this pose was maintained for the next 5 miles after we left the park. The kids insisted on driving the truck, and since we hadn't driven it for a while, I decided it needed to be driven. Little did I know that it may be a week or two until we get a new windshield and drive it again.

• T asked me to look for things that were his favorite color. I have noticed that favorite colors can change with a child's mood. Therefore, I asked T, "what is your favorite color?" He responded, "green..........and blue, and red, and orange, and purple, and black, and brown, and light blue, and dark blue, and regular blue, and yellow." I am not kidding, that was almost his exact response.
• One morning we were wrestling. I had T pinned and was tickling him. Out of no where he said through laughter, "stop tickling me, your killing me smalls." I have said this phrase a couple of times to them when we were joking around, but I thought it was interesting that he would think of me as "smalls." I could easily see him calling me "tubby," but I am still trying to wrap my arms around the idea that I could be considered "smalls."
• A found some Christmas stickers somewhere and showed them to T and I. I asked her where she got them because Christmas was clear in the winter time and it was now the middle of summer. She told me. T then said, "oh my goodness, A you have Christmas stickers and it is the 4th of July, that just makes me just want to fall out of my chair." Although he was off a week or so on his dates, his comment was still funny. Don't ask me where he came up with that on his own.
• When we got our free slice of pizza at the park, there were not really any remaining seats. I told the kids to just stand up and eat it. T said, "can't we just sit on the grass FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" I replied "sure."

More Things you should know about me.

These blog quizzes seem to be deadly accurate in some areas (a little less accurate in others). It is pretty amazing.

What superpower should I posses? Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged. If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second. But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to. And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of. Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

What is my theme song? Your Theme Song is Beautiful Day by U2

"Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away" You see the beauty in life, especially in ordinary everyday moments. And if you're feeling down, even that seems a little beautiful too.

What's" Your Theme Song?

Am I disturbingly profound or profoundly disturbing? You Are Disturbingly Profound

You're contemplative, thoughtful, and very intense. Taking time to figure out the meaning of life is a priority for you. Because you're so introspective, you often react in ways that surprise people. No one can really understand how you are on the inside... and that disturbs them.

Are You Disturbingly Profound or Profoundly Disturbing?

Deep Thoughts, Shallow Brain Part 6

Today I went up to Evanston, Wyoming for work. I set up what they call a "sleep safe bed." For those of you who do not know what those are (I never did) I will explain. It is a special bed that we order in for crippled children. It has padding all around for kids who have seizures quite often, and to prevent fingers from getting pinched. It actually has many different uses in the needs of handicapped children, and they make diferrent variations of them. In some ways it is like a huge specialized crib, but infinitely more complicated and WAY more expensive. It was a neat experience sitting and saying a few words to this little boy before and after we set up his bed. It was neat to see the excitement on his face (as well as his Mom's) after we got it all set up.

What's inside matters most

Many times I see the people, who seem to have it all figured out,
many people want to be them, their fabulous without a doubt.

They have the greatest style; their looks are something great,
they seem the life of the party, they've never been without a date.

Some are envious of their life; they think they’ve surely been blessed,
they always see the things in them, which set them above the rest.

They seem to stand out in a crowd, to be the best ones of the bunch,
their amazing talents and abilities seem to give the knockout punch.

In defining greatness, these things could heavily weigh,
if asked of the people of the world, on any given day.

Maybe I’ve grown older, or maybe my perceptions have changed,
it’s likely I lack the qualities above, but my priorities have rearranged.

I’ve come across some people, who easily had all that and more,
and yet when I looked deep within, I never could see them soar.

The outer greatness can accentuate, if someone is great inside,
but if ugliness lurks deep within, a passing mask is all it can provide.

Today I met a little crippled boy, who did not have all the above,
but when I took a moment to talk to him, I could only feel his love.

I thought I did all the talking, he cannot even say one word,
but, he said so much more to me, than he could have ever heard.

Because he’s not healthy and strong, some may say he’s not great,
but when it comes right down to it, what’s inside carries more weight.

So as I left this little one’s home and journeyed along my way,
I started to think of all the things, I wanted my heart to convey.

I want to be like this little child and talk to more than just ear,
when I look into someone’s eyes, I want their heart to hear.

I want to have his greatness, to do something more than just talk,
to stand at the door of each human heart, and quietly, gently knock.

So once again I’m reminded of how I must strive to live,

to take the love that I’ve been shown, and use it each day to give.

It's a Small World After All

To quote quite possibly one of the most annoying songs, "it's a small world." Because of some late nights surrounding some fun activities this weekend, we were a little late to church this morning. We made it and the kids talked all about families in their primary class today. Extended and immediate family. After our classes we headed in to Sacrament Meeting. After about five steps into the chapel I was thinking my glasses were defective, or I already need a different prescription. I looked up and there were the Andersons walking in the other side of the chapel. She had a cousin who's baby was being blessed in our ward today. It was so funny. I feel so bad for them that they had to see me 3 days in a row. Now they are definitely ready to move to Ohio! What are the chances that they would walk into our Sacrament Meeting after hanging out with us the last two days. They live about 25 minutes away from us. The close geographical locations of wards in Utah makes it especially funny that they would walk into our church of all places. The kids kept asking if they were going to go to our church now. All I could think was "I wish," but I am thinking driving for a day or two to go to church is not going to work for them. We will definitely miss them.

Later in the day the cousins came over to visit. My poor little five year old nephew was stung by one or two wasps twice within a matter of seconds. We soon realized that they had built a pretty big nest in the upright tubes of the swing set. They were swarming all over the place. I felt so bad for him. The kids have been expelled from the backyard until after tomorrow when I can get some wasp spray. I did not have to work to convince them this was the right decision as I have in many other instances. The bright red marks and crying evident in their cousin seemed to be plenty of motivation. It did not stop them from wanting to play in the front yard though!

I laid by each one of the kids tonight to rub their back as they were going to sleep. I could not help but think how much I love them. I thought about the holidays that I have celebrated with them from the 4th of July to Christmas. Really, most of what makes holidays fun are the kids. I love having them with me and watching them see some things for the first time. I love the excitement that they have and the good times that we have together. None of this stuff would be nearly as fun without them.

• T is so funny, because if he is saying something naughty and he starts to get in trouble, he says, "I'm just TEEAASING!" He also does that when he says something funny, and you sort of call him on it. Today at dinner he was saying something weird and I said, "what?" in a laughing voice. He once again said, "I'm only teeaasing!" A then said, "T you are the biggest teaser ever!" I smiled and sort of laughed at how she said this. She then looked at me and said, "Well, it's true!" I said "I know," and was really laughing at this point. If only I could convey how the kids say things, not just what they say, it would be so much more funny.

Fun around the 4th

The last couple of days, we have had a ton of fun. We went up to Brighton on the 4th for breakfast and for a little make shift parade that they do. Really, anyone can be in it and it just goes around the little loop at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The kids cousins even talked Grandpa into driving them in my sisters Mini Cooper Convertible so that they could throw out candy to everyone. Most cars make it a couple of times around the loop. They made it once before their HUGE bag of candy was empty.

The kids with two of their cousins waiting for breakfast. (above)

Grandpa driving their cousins in the "parade." (below)

We came home and rested for a little bit before we went with the Andersons to another demolition derby. This one was in Ogden. It was supposed to be really amazing, so that is why we went. It was huge. The track was easily three times as big as the Bluffdale one. There were drivers from all over the country, and the crowd was huge (and really a lot more rough of a crowd than the last one). It was a lot more fun to watch though. There were cars that actually drove completely on top of other cars. There were quite a few times cars were knocked on their sides as well. These were professional car crashers, not just the amateurs that we all drive on the streets with each day! There was a fireworks show after, that was fun as well. I was carrying the kids to the car after the event. I knew they were exhausted, so I did not make them walk the whole way back. We were almost to our car, parked on a very dimly lit street. Suddenly there was an explosion six inches from my left foot. It stung my foot and leg and hurt quite a bit. I thought some aimless firework had hit me. Nope! Some complete idiots sitting on their porch had made a dry ice bomb and just watched and waited for it to explode next to the sidewalk. I guess this was their idea of a prank. Had I not been carrying the kids, one of them would have been walking right on top of where the bomb exploded. I am SOOOOO glad that they consider that funny. The kids asked what happened. I told the kids very loudly (so that there was no way that the people who did the bomb could not hear me) that some people do really stupid things and unfortunately we have to be around those kind of people some times. I feel very blessed and watched over that I happened to be carrying the kids, or else it could have been disastrous.

One car underneath another, with a third car basically welded to the wreckage after some crazy impacts.

It is probably hard to tell from this picture, but they had to bring this tractor in to get one car off of the other car. Instead of merely colliding, one car just drove right on top of the other.

Today, we went boating for the majority of the day. The Andersons came with us this time as well. T and A loved riding in the tube. T figures he no longer needs some adult, he just wants to ride with friends or cousins. He always screams "faster, go faster." Anytime they hit a huge "bump" in the water, they would grin ear to ear. A rode on the tube and was more than willing to let me get her completely wet by splashing her with my hand, but would not sit in the tube because the water was just too cold. We did some wakeboarding, waterskiing, and a whole lot of tubing. Everyone even celebrated my birthday with me. We had pizza and then cookies and ice cream after the boating was over. They didn't need to do all that, it is just another day, but it sure was nice of them. The kids were so cute as we were driving home and kept singing me "Happy Birthday!" They asked if I had a good birthday and were so excited to give me presents and to watch me open them. They wanted to be involved with everything. It was so sweet and cute of them to make sure I had a good birthday. Really, it is hard to have a bad birthday when you spend it boating all day.

Four friends posing for a picture on the back of the boat in front of the huge tube. The Andersons also have a one year old cute little girl. She gets missed on most pictures because of her age (yes, apparently 4 year old kids do practice age discrimination). A usually plays with the younger of the two here and T plays with the older. A in particular is always concerned if their little girl is going to be there though.

God Bless America

Tonight at the fireworks show we attended they only played two patriotic songs in the 30 minutes of fireworks. I thought to myself, "this is unbelievable, what does this other music have to do with our nation's birthday?" I recently learned the history of the song "God Bless America." It is amazing and I invite everyone to learn about it. On the birthday of our country, I found myself thinking how blessed we are. We certainly have so many challenges, political and otherwise, right now. There are so many problems to fix, and I feel that now more than ever before we have drifted far from the vision of our founding fathers. However, we still live in the greatest country on Earth. I believe that God has preserved this country time and time again and kept it a "land of liberty." We are all so blessed to have the freedoms, necessities, and luxuries that this great land through our Eternal Father has afforded us. We must be grateful and show our gratitude for the great blessing it is to be an American. I think if we remember what we are blessed with we and have gratitude in our hearts we are more likely to choose the right. I believe that it is only through wickedness that we would lose the many blessings this land gives unto us. So today on our countries birthday I have great hopes and dreams for our country. Certainly we have a long road, but I think we MUST stand up and be grateful and proud to be Americans. There is no reason to be ashamed of that blessing. I am grateful to say that I am an American. So many (even within) would cast shame and awfulness on this great country of ours. I stand next to the flag with pride and with gratitude. I am grateful for all the generations of time that have fought and continue to fight to make and keep us free. I proudly proclaim that God has blessed this nation and continues to do so. May we not take for granted this land, our rights, our liberties, our freedom, our religion, our families, or anything else that comes from the freedoms we as Americans enjoy. So, I humbly and proudly say, "God Bless America!"

Funniest Voicemail EVER!

So, I found this voicemail clip. It is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. I am going to try to track this guy down and hook him up with the girl who cut my hair last time. I hope you all find it half as funny as I did. Maybe you guys could listen for some techniques that I should use when trying to pick up a girl.

To Goatee or not to Goatee, that is the question

So, normally I would not post pictures of myself. I can only imagine all the dry heaving that must take place as soon as anyone sees my face. However, I am looking for some advice from all of you in bloggerdom. I don't really care if you are some blog stalker I don't know, or a close friend. Really if I even remotely know you, I probably would love to know that you read my blog. In fact, I am thinking that only 2 people read it, so if you could prove me wrong that would be fantastic. You can post your opinion as yourself or make it completely anonymous. I am sure you can tell by the title of this post what the question might be. So I am asking for your opinions. I included two pictures one with the new glasses that I picked up Saturday and one without. Comment yes for the goatee and no against the goatee. Also, let's all refrain from stating the blatantly obvious that I am ugly no matter what. You can compare these pictures to the normal one that is at the top left of the blog with the kids.

So, yes I finally got glasses. I have needed them for literally five years. I am sure that I am going to get contact lenses soon. It is not terrible to have glasses, but I do not want to buy prescription sunglasses, deal with the whole swapping glasses, clip-ons, etc. It seems to me at this point that contacts would be much less of a hassle. I do have to let my eyes adjust before I do that though. I have yet to go an entire day wearing them because my brain gets tired from focusing so hard all day. Today was close, but I will just have to keep working at it.

• Last Friday when we were wiping down the boat and getting it all cleaned up the kids asked why we needed to do all of that. I explained that we need to take really good care of other people's things especially when they are so nice and let us borrow them. I also told them that it was really nice of Grandpa to let us use his boat because it cost a lot of money, so we especially want to treat it nice. Being the curious kids that they are, they asked how much money. I told them how much only because I knew they would not comprehend the number. They would only know that it was a huge number. T said, "Whoa! I bet the price tag was huge, did they have to get some really huge scissors to cut it off with?" Apparently he thinks that the size of a price tag rises in proportion to price. If that is true, I am thinking he has only seen really little price tags for the majority of his life.
• A was really cute the other day. T was really sad and so A offered to let T cuddle with Milky. If you don't know how special Milky is to A then you can read about it. It was a big deal! You could tell what a sacrifice it was and how much she loves T to be willing to make that sacrifice. I was so proud of her and told her many times that day.
• T keeps calling me a shepherd now that I have a goatee. I don't know where he thought up that, but he is hilarious. He especially loves to call me that when we are wrestling. He says, "all right you shepherd, now you're going to get it!" I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but I am thinking he has a career as a stand up comedian one day.