Clothes Shopping

Today the kids mostly just played around the house. This afternoon and evening we ran some errands including shopping for more winter clothing for the kids. I think it is hilarious to watch people out of the corner of my eye, as they watch me shop with the kids for their clothes. Everyone is constantly looking around for a wife or something. I think they also wonder what guy in their right mind would dare to pick clothes for their little boy and girl.......maybe they just feel sorry for the kids. Someone could say I am imagining all of this, however I have had quite a few people say things that make it clear I am not. Whatever they are thinking, it is hilarious to watch their faces.

• We were driving in the car today and T was explaining something. I told him he was right. He then said, "I am very smart!" I agreed with him and told him that indeed he is smart. A said, "what about me, I mean I am even a bug expert, doesn't that matter?" I told her that she is "very smart as well, and that everyone needs a bug expert!" I don't know what made her a bug expert, or what made her think of that. However, if she wants to claim to be a bug expert, then she is a bug expert in my mind!
• T was playing their learning games on the computer today. I bought the program at Target. It is called "Jump Start Advanced, Kindergarten." I have been really impressed with it so far and amazed at how easy it is to use and how much it teaches. There are four CD's, 1. fundamentals, 2. animal field trip, 3. arts and crafts, 4. pet playground. Today T was playing the animal field trip. He suddenly was playing as a deer bucking antlers with another deer to defend his territory. The best part is after you win, the deer says, "thanks for helping me defend my territory. Don't worry about my broken antlers, it will grow back, it is called regeneration." T said, "oh you're welcome Bambi!" He was cracking me up, because he also kept cheering the deer on. I thought that this particular part of the game was a little weird quite honestly. I mean what happens when they learn about polar bears? Do they get to help them kill and eat a baby seal? Despite this one part, I would highly recommend the software to anyone.
• Today the kids were excited to do something and so we were all hurrying to do it. A was suddenly behind me holding on/pushing me in the rear end. I told her, "how about if we never touch anyone else's bum please." She responded, "okay Daddy, but it is like handles and it is right there in front of me." Oh, I guess that makes it all okay then! Maybe I will go up to some girl and grab her rear end. Just before she slaps me across the face, I will explain what A just did to me. That ought to keep me from having a black eye.......for a half a second at least.

Thankful Day 2

I AM THANKFUL FOR T & A

I am so thankful for my two sweet little kids. They are my world, and they are my friends. As I have said before, I think being a friend and being a parent do not contradict each other. A true friend helps their friends to choose the right. A true friend helps us to be better, to learn, and to grow. A true friend can tell us when they think we need to improve. I love the kids so much and miss them every moment I am not with them. Life truly does not begin until you get to share your life with a child. They are so caring to each other and to those around them. I love their thoughtfulness, their creativity, and everything about their little personalities. I am amazed at the things they are constantly learning. I love their thirst for life, their laughter, and their optimistic attitudes. I am so lucky I get to be their Daddy!

Thankful Day 1

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST

He is by far my best friend. He understands and knows each of us. He is there for each of us. He has bought us with a price. He has made it possible for us to overcome our sins. Along with that great gift, he also felt all of our pain. He knows how we feel, because He has felt it. He is a constant, unchanging, companion from here to eternity. Lately, I have felt somewhat alone. I then thought to myself, "I wonder if the Savior is up in Heaven asking, 'How much deeper do the prints in my hands, and feet and side need to go for you to know I am here? How much more blood did I need to spill in the Garden of Gethsemane to show you I'm your friend?' " It was quite the powerful impression, and made me realize how stupid I had been. He is there for me always, and He is there for you always. He has proven that in a way that no one can, and He continues to prove that each day. I am so very thankful for Him.

Thankful 'til Thanksgiving

I have decided that since I am making a concentrated effort to follow November as blog post month, it might as well be really useful as well. Much like writing in a journal, I use this blog to see my blessings each day and to record daily life. I have decided that I am going to write one thing each day from now until Thanksgiving for which I am thankful, and why.

• Last Monday we all helped A cut out a bunch of hearts. She taped these all around the edges of the dinner table. She then crawled under the table and called it her rainbow castle (since she had used an assortment of construction paper for the hearts). Today she came back home and noticed it was all taken down. She told Grandpa and Grandma that they needed to have a contest. They said, "what kind of contest?" A said, "A contest to see who took all the hearts off the table." Grandpa said, he did. A said, "you couldn't have Grandpa, you helped to make it." Grandma said, "okay, I did it." A then said, "okay, contest over, Grandpa you win, Grandma you lose!"

Kickboxing Revisited...

One of my classes was cancelled, so I headed to the rec center for a few hours again today. As I was checking in, the teacher from the kickboxing class was about to begin another class. She looked at me somewhat expectantly. I quickly turned away, not catching her eye, and ran to the gym. You're not going to get me again, lady! When I got to the gym I realized this particular time must be geriatric hour. I swear I was the only one in there who was under 60 for quite a while. I got on the elliptical next to a cute, sweet old lady walking on a treadmill. I said, hello and we talked. During the conversation, she told me several times that I am a "nice, good looking, tall young gentleman." In my head I was thinking, "glad you think so, do me a favor and convince girls in my own age group!" She said that normally people my age would never have a conversation with her. I actually really enjoyed talking to her, it was a lot of fun. She then noticed my hands (okay, anyone who has noticed my size 15 feet has obviously noticed that my hands aren't dainty). She said, "My, what BIG, strong hands you have!" The smart alec in me wanted to pull a Little Red Riding Hood and say, "and what big eyes and teeth you have, Grandma." Don't worry I restrained myself. As I finished warming up on the elliptical she told me once again that I was a handsome young man and that she enjoyed our conversation. It is really sad to see someone's eyes and hearing deteriorate to a point that they would think that about me. As I was lifting weights, an older guy and I were talking. He asked, "so, is it worth it?" I said, "what, you mean working out?" He said, "yeah." I said, "yeah, I think so, for me it is probably even better for my head then it is for my body." He replied, "well I wish I could agree, but my head is telling my body to get my "butt" the "heck" (G-rated) out of here, I don't even feel like working out today." I could only laugh. I have to say that I loved having these conversations. I also did quite a bit of people watching too. It is one of my favorite pastimes. I think people are so interesting. One of the things that caught my eye was a 70 year old guy wearing his polo shirt and dockers, doing a workout that probably puts many younger people to shame.

I really have enjoyed working out, both at home, and especially at the gym. It has really become somewhat addictive. I am now thinking I should just break down and buy a pass to some gym. One of the things that is great about working out is that I feel as though a bunch of frat boys must be descending on my belly. My keg is slowly turning into a six pack and I am even starting to see the little plastic thing that holds it all together! It has been my life long desire to have a six pack. I am going to do it. If I keep up with all my work out routines, maybe one day I will have to change my e-mail address from fatfattyfatso@me.com to phatphattyphatso@me.com. I wonder if all the old ladies will still think I am handsome then.


On a more ADD serious note. The sun was shining and it quit snowing about 4:30PM today. As we were walking out, one of my co-workers said, "Don't you love it, the sun decides to come out, 5 seconds before it is going to set!" Just when I was about to agree, I thought about it. I then replied, "yeah, isn't it great that we get sunny clear skies today, even if only for a few brief minutes?" I think he thought I was retarded.......oh well.

Winterish Rain

Cool: I have decided that I am not a big winter person. I like to look at the four seasons, and I like some of the scenery they bring, but mostly enjoy summer, spring, and fall (in that order) more than Winter. After a few times of sledding with the kids I am ready for June to come again. I start to have visions of taking the boat out again, going on walks, riding bikes, playing at the park, etc. There is one thing I do love about that first hard rain/snow fall. For some reason I think the fresh white snow blanketing the mountains is beautiful. I had to take this picture (with my camera phone) while I was in the Logan area today.

Not Cool: Driving only 50 MPH on the freeway in heavy rain early this morning. Even at that speed most cars (mine included) were suddenly doing some major hydroplaning. This instantly sent the traction control system on my car into a conniption fit to keep the car safely on the road. (Although I titled this not cool, I have to admit I do think it is cool how this system actually works, and that it does help to keep things in control).

Just so no one thinks I am a bad citizen, yes I voted today. I want to thank all of you early voters who may or may not have stood in line to vote. I left school a little early and voted before work today. I was there at 11AM and did not have to wait even one second!

My First Kickboxing class...and more!

My sister has invited me the last couple of Mondays to work out with her at the gym after I drop the kids off. Last week, we worked hard, but I think neither of us wanted to be the first to wimp out. We ended up working out for about 2 hours until we were both exhausted. This week she worked hard at talking me into going to a kickboxing class. All the participants except me were girls, and they were all quite a bit shorter than me. Did I mention that they have full length mirrors everywhere? Needless to say, I stuck out like Godzilla. This class was not hard because I am too wimpy, it was hard because of my disease. For those who didn't know I have an acute case of "lack o' coordination." When everyone else was swinging their arms down, the tops of my hands gracefully reached, easily 8 feet in the air. That was probably the least embarrassing part of the workout! Good thing that I really like to laugh at myself. Fortunately those full length body mirrors come in handy for that. After the hour long class, my sister went to dinner with her workout friends, and I hit the gym for about an hour and a half. I needed something that made sense. I needed to feel normal again. So, I used the elliptical and then quickly moved on to the weights. What a nice, relaxing feeling it was when the bar would go down, and then back up... down, and then back up. It took away the feeling that I should have been in more fights growing up, or that I should have studied Latin or break dancing harder when I had the chance. :)

We were in the area, so we decided to stop at one of our favorite really high end, gourmet restaurants. That's right, pizza at Costco! I love whenever A eats pizza, because her mouth always looks like this. She does not eat right from the pointy end, she has such a little mouth, and she takes good size bites, thus you have the picture above. It is so cute.

Here is T eating his gourmet meal. It may be expensive, but my kids are worth it. From the look on his face, he was checking out some girl holding her Mom's hand on the way out of the store.

As a parent I think there are times when you are not as good as you could be. I am not talking of any sort of neglect or abuse, just lacking where you could be better. Lately, I have felt that I was not living up to all I should be. I reevaluated, rededicated, and took this day to set things right. I did my best to have a focus on A and T day (at least as much as I could). We rode bikes all morning. Sadly, we then had to run some errands out of necessity. However, while we were out, we had Costco pizza, and then tonight we headed to Boondock's before I took them to their Mom's. One of the things we did was use a whole bunch of tokens we had left over from a previous time. What would you think most 4 year olds would spend most of their tokens on? What, you didn't guess "Deal or No Deal!?!!" It was so awesome. I had them play it just for fun the first time. I let them pick ALL the cases and didn't even touch the game. They had so much fun the first round, and they scored the 5th highest amount of tickets. The second game they scored the 2nd highest amount of tickets. It goes without saying, that they ended up walking out with quite a few prizes from the ticket counter.

• Yesterday, T was not feeling well, so A and I just had some Daddy/Daughter time. We took out our umbrella and went for a walk. As we were walking, A told me all about a new song that she learned in Primary. She began to sing it, but needed some help. It was the song that says, "Pioneer children sang as they walked...." We were singing it together when I finally noticed that she was singing, "PRIMARY children sang as they walked...." Once again, it was too cute (especially under the circumstances) for me to correct her.
• T and I were wrestling a little bit this morning. He never seems to be able to get enough. As I have said before he loves to laughingly trash talk when we wrestle. Today he said, "oh, you are pretty tough for a big bag of M&M's" (referring to my Halloween costume).
• After they ate their lunch the kids wanted to look at the toys at Costco. We wandered up and down the isles. T was looking at the South side of the isle. A was looking at the North side of the isle. All of the sudden she found a "Speed Racer" car track. She said, "T look over here, I guarantee you will NOT be disappointed!"

Struggling

People sometimes ask how I can be so happy all the time. Well today I am going to burst their bubble. I am here to tell you that I have plenty of struggles and inner turmoil. Lately I have just felt like I am getting knocked down a lot. I feel as though I am being assaulted on several fronts. Life has seemed to hit hard, and I have found it harder and harder to stand back up. The worst part is that with each passing day, it seems more and more challenges seem to come. I often feel as though it will never get better. I know you are probably thinking, "who on earth would ever put this on a blog?!!!" Why, you ask, am I choosing to share all of this for anyone with an internet connection to read? It is a sincere effort to share hope to anyone facing similar struggles (as we all do). I don't consider anything that I have felt lately to be insignificant, however, I know others face so much more. At the beginning of each day we get to start over. As the old saying goes, "the sun will come out tomorrow." That does not mean that circumstances are different from the night before. One thing can be changed though, our outlook and our attitude. Sometimes I have taken advantage of that fresh start, other times it has been harder. I have had to work to shift my focus from the things that cause me pain and anguish to the things that create feelings of hope, sunlight, and peace. I HAVE BEEN BLESSED! There are certainly things that anyone could find lacking in my life, but there is no doubt in my mind that I have been blessed. Just to name a few: I have two amazing kids, an amazing family, food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over my head, a knowledge of the gospel, a working body, employment, vast opportunities, and certainly not least, I have been associated with all of you in one way or another. Whether we are closer friends, who hang out occasionally, or whether your only contact with me is to read my blog occasionally, I just want to thank you. You have all in some way or another touched my life for the better. I am a better person because I have known you and I am grateful for every association whether long or brief, small or big. Your example only makes me want to shine for others and light the night when they are experiencing dark times. Finally, I have a friend who is my constant companion. He is there for me through anything, and He has actually felt all that I am feeling. There is no miracle cure for the pain that we sometimes feel. However, there is someone who can work miracles in our lives if we allow Him to. How can I get my head so buried in the sand? I have been given endless blessings. I know that no matter what I face today, it is not permanent. The sun WILL come out tomorrow, I just need to shift myself into a place where I am able to feel its warmth.

Nablopomo

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED!! (in a whole new way)

A friend's blog has informed me of the "nablopomo (national blog posting month) challenge" (nablopomo.com). The challenge? Do 30 blog posts in 30 days in November. This same person has since challenged me. I am now challenging anyone reading this blog to follow suit. Think of it as being tagged! If you didn't post the last couple of days, just do more than one post to make up the difference.

Zoo

A few friends told me that the only reason they ever even look at my blog is to see pictures of the kids. So, we went to the zoo today, here are the pictures.