Hilarious

I don't know why, but I think these Sonic commercials are hilarious. My very favorite one is not on YouTube yet, but rest assured, when it is I will post it on here as well.

This one is a great one too.

Maybe this explains what REALLY happened on my last blind date!

Stake Conference

Today we had Stake Conference and got a new Stake Presidency. It was a really good meeting. The kids were VERY well behaved the whole time, especially considering that it is like two Sacrament Meetings right in a row. One of the speakers shared a really cool quote, I am totally going to mess it up, but it goes something like this:

"Everything you possess when you die will then belong to someone else, everything that you are will stay with you forever."

I thought that was a great quote, and a great reminder for me to work at what I would like to become. I guess it just puts so many things in to perspective. In my mind it is like everyone either chooses to be a slave, or chooses to be a master. If you focus on acquiring as many things as possible, you become a slave to working and paying for those things. If you focus on your beliefs, your family, friends, people, and worthwhile goals, you really become the master of your own destiny.

The other thing they talked about was praying not for what we want, but praying to understand and follow the will of the Lord. It is not like I have never heard that before. Sometimes in life, however, I think we just think we know what is best, and what we need. I learn over and over again (through the school of hard knocks) that what is best does not ever come by telling the Lord what we need, but by listening to him tell us what we need.

• Usually part of our Sunday dinner includes some sort of meat. It could be roast beef, steak, chicken, fish, ham, etc. We usually rotate through them again and again. Today it was just time for steak to come up again. At dinner A asked if we were having steak just because it was "Stake Conference." It is so funny how kids perceive things. They have finally understood the whole ward thing, and now they are slowly learning what a Stake is.
• Tonight T was saying the bedtime prayer. He always offers very thoughtful, sincere prayers. One of the things he was thankful for was that "all of the numbers come in the right order, like 1..2..3..4........10." I thought it was really cute. It just shows just how sincere a child's prayer really is.
• A was saying the dinner prayer today. She also has started to offer some sincere prayers. One of the things she said was, "we are so thankful that Jesus is going to come in eight years." I just wanted to let everyone know so they could prepare and mark their calendars!

The Chocolate Show

The kids were absolutely mesmerized by this little hive of bees working to make honey. They stared at it like this forever. They kept asking me questions. The only answers I had for them I think I learned in "The BEE Movie."
This was A's favorite cake on display. Yep! Still working with her to look at me when I take her picture.

This was T's favorite cake.

This is a picture of all the free samples that the kids tried to consume while we were there.

Today I took the kids to the Utah Chocolate Show. I have to be honest, it was way more disappointing than I thought it would be. I was expecting some really cool stuff, but at least all the samples were pretty amazing. Overall, it was very inexpensive to go, and the kids and I had a great time. They even had a booth set up with these really cool learning books for kids. I was pretty impressed. I am going to have to mention the book website to Santa because the kids really seemed to be impressed by the books as well.

An "Alright!" Update

So, maybe everyone is wondering if I have made contact after the infamous "Alright!" post complete with numerous comments. In fact, a couple people have asked me about it. I first have to say that traffic to my blog more than tripled the three days immediately surrounding that post. Normally I maybe have 15-20 people check out my blog in a day (assuming no one is looking twice in the same day, and I really have no way of knowing "who" is looking at it). There were a couple of days where it went well above 60 people (again assuming no one is looking twice in the same day). I still laugh about the whole experience quite often. The whole thing just cracks me up all the time. Anyway, so you want an update? Here goes. As you know I don't typically talk about any of my dating life on the blog. So.............I find this to be no exception to the rule. So with all the maturity I can muster, I must say, "I'm not tellinggg!" :) I will just give you one little tiny piece of information. After probably making her feel like Pinnochio by making her explain over and over that she was indeed a "real" girl, let me at least say this. Her Facebook profile picture looks NOTHING like "Bubba" from Forrest Gump. By the way, if you might be interested in dating me, (seriously, lightning never strikes the same blog twice) please feel free to leave a comment. I am sure everyone has a bunch of left over popcorn they wouldn't mind using up. :)

So I went to the gym the other night. I normally just use the machines and stay away from the free weights. For one part of my workout I use the hand held weights. I was waiting and waiting as these 3 girls were talking right in front of them. I really did not want to disturb them. Finally I figured they were going to be there a while. I came over to them and politely said, "excuse me." Before I could finish, one of the girls said, "no,no,no.....that is not why we come to the gym. We are not here to be hit on, we really just come to work out. I know that no guys think that any girls ever do that, but its true, so please do not hit on us." I responded, "okay, well I wasn't going to hit on you, and I promise I still won't if I could just get a couple of the weights there that are right behind you." She sort of pulled an attitude as she walked away, but still looked pretty red faced to me. I was laughing as I thought to myself, "I don't think I have ever walked up to anyone I don't know and started hitting on them. Secondly, my first time of doing that would not be when I am sweating like a pig, look like crap, and feeling good about myself because I just bench pressed 4 pounds." Obviously God must realize how important laughter is in my life. He constantly blesses me with these experiences.

• T was playing with this UNO attack game we have. Anyone who has played it knows you push a button and this machine shoots out some cards. It was jammed and was not shooting out the cards. When T was expressing his dismay, A politely said, "well, just keep practicing."
• I asked A what she wanted for lunch. She at first said, "I don't know." I then asked her if she wanted a bunch of food which I knew she didn't like. In her laughing voice she said, "No, Daddy I think I want a peanut butter and 'jell-o' sandwich." She then started laughing really hard and said, "I just said jell-o!"
• T had some M&Ms that I really didn't want any of. I just teasingly pretended that I did. I said, "hey, let me have some of those M&Ms." He said, "no thank you." I pretended to have a sad face because he wouldn't share. He all the sudden yelled to the other room and said, "HEY A, DADDY NEEDS YOU TO COME IN HERE AND CHEER HIM UP, HE IS PRETENDING TO BE SAD!"
• Any one who has read much of my blog knows that the kids love to wrestle with me. I often am lying on my back as they attack and jump on me. Let's just say I have to make sure they don't hit sensitive areas. When there was a close call, I only told A to, "please be careful." T said, "yeah A you can't jump right there, boys have a penis don't you know!" A responded, "oops, sorry Daddy." A little more blunt then I was looking for, but I guess he made things pretty crystal clear.

Deep Thoughts, Shallow Brain, Part 17

They’ve Given All

Today I went to the home of two patients
whom I’ve visited so often before
I had been wondering how they were doing
when I was asked to go there once more

Two teen ladies claimed this home
they’ve been crippled and disabled from birth
I have been able to spend a lot of time there
and have seen their incredible worth

I would bring them medicine and supplies
to their make-shift hospital room
I would spend a few minutes with this family
my work would then always resume

I watched through the years as their parents
tenderly gave them such care
no matter what challenges they faced
Mom and Dad were always there

The room was not filled with all the latest toys
in fact I could never find one
but the home was filled with cheer and laughter
you know these girls had fun

I have often thought of this labor of love
they never uttered a word of complaint
through never ending days, all through the years
I am sure they must have felt faint

The great examples of dedicated parents
can clearly be observed
they show their children a pure, true love
when within their family they have served

So, in a somber mood I went back
to the home I’ve visited so oft
I gathered up all the unneeded equipment
and worked to keep my voice soft

This great set of parents have always done right
their Father’s will to accept
I sadly expressed my condolences at their loss
and they thanked me as we wept

We spoke quietly for a few minutes
they gently shared all that transpired
they now have one daughter in the hospital
for the other, time has expired

I thought of my great kids
the heartache of that situation
I then thought of selfless sacrifice
of devotion and dedication

People of the world tells us
we need to buy our kids this and that
this does not show love to our kids
but instead spoils them into a brat

In this selfish world it seems
a person is judged by all they possess
I must have been taught differently
because that has never defined a success

I feel I have been blessed to watch them
to witness all I was able to see
to see where I could be better as a parent
to be what I know I should be

Today I realized once again for myself
how much I do not give my two
I need to watch for all the little things
and show them all I‘m willing to do

Fun Videos of the Kids

I have an external hard drive with a ton of movies of the kids. Unfortunately none of them were labeled, and it was difficult to know what they were without watching each one. So, over a few weeks, I went through and watched each of them and gave them a title. I found some fun short ones that still did not mention the kids' names. They were pretty cute, so I thought I would share them.

BLOWN AWAY

We wanted to see Air Force One when it was here a couple of years ago. While we were waiting, T decided to pull up some grass. There are actually two videos that show him doing this. The one that uses his name is the one that shows a slight pronunciation problem he had at that age....He would often leave the first couple of letters off of words. I am sure you can imagine how funny it was to hear him pulling up ---!

PRETEND SNORING

T is doing most of the pretend snoring. A just thinks he is hilarious. I don't know who taught them how to do that......

Alright!

Alright, somebody is messing with me! I don't ever joke around or tease anyone, so I can't believe anyone would want to pick on poor, little, old defenseless me. :) I came home and read my e-mail late tonight. In the "smart remarks" section of my Blind Date post, I got an anonymous comment at 2:28PM today that said:

"I am wondering how a girl that thinks you are great CAN get a date with you? I am not fond of blind dates as well, so I can give you my Facebook profile before you decide."

All I have to say is, confess that it was you now, and I will fore go all revenge. Otherwise, you had better prepare yourself my friend! I know this is a fake because, I am not naive enough to think that anyone reading my blog is going to think I am great! Also, I have never been approached by a girl in my whole life, why am I to believe that my luck is suddenly changing? In the past girls haven't been able to get their track shoes on fast enough if you know what I mean. Why do I feel like if I bite I am going to be met with a Facebook profile with a picture of "Bubba" from Forrest Gump?

If you are not playing with me, but just feel sorry for me and want to give my ego a boost or something, that is really nice! However, I do have one question, HOW ON EARTH COULD YOU KEEP THE CHARADE GOING FROM HERE? I mean what are you going to do for an encore pay some poor girl to go out with me? By the way.......to ALL my past dates, I know it was horrific to go out with me, but I really think my parents paid you well.........

Finally, if this is a real girl, then please contact whom ever it is you know, that would have linked you to my blog. They should be able to contact me in some way, OR at least they could leave a comment so that I know it is from a credible source.

An Alternative to Going Private

First of all, let me say that the blogging world needs to come up with some new terminologoy. "Going private" just sounds............naughty. Okay, it seems every time I open Google Reader to see everyone's happenings I read this phrase more and more often: "we are going private." One could argue that the reason everyone is going private is so that I won't read their blog.....hmmmm......come to think of it, I have only been invited to ONE blocked blog so far....hmmmm.....but, I digress. I just wanted to present an alternative to going private. Many who read my blog have noticed that I only use initials for the kids' names. I do not include too many details or specifics. Someone might be able to determine what state or even what county I live in, but it would be pretty hard to determine much else from reading what I have written. I do not forecast a lot of events that we may be doing in the future. People may understand some aspects of my job, but I don't share where I work. I show pictures from around my home, but do not give a broad picture of either the inside or outside. I certainly don't post pictures of my license plate or other really identifying information. I consider all of these to be only tiny little countermeasures however.

You want to know my real secret? I am going to give you such a good piece of advice, you should pay me for it! The reason people don't read my blog is because I am sooooo boring!!!! Yes, it's true, if only you all could make your blogs as boring as mine, no bad people (well, maybe just no people period) would ever WANT to read it! I mean if you combine my bad writing, poor grammar, lame poems, stupid thoughts, and ADD moments, it is amazing I even take the time to proofread back through it! The only interesting thing I have going for me are my kids. Now, I know this talent does not come naturally to any of you. What can I say? It is a gift. You all will just have to work to try to be more like me. You know, be less than you naturally are. In the end, maybe, just maybe it would be a better alternative than going private. What do you think? :)

Happy 80th Birthday Mickey!

Just wanted to wish the greatest mouse a happy birthday! Above is the clip that started it all for him. It is really easy to see how much he has matured over the years if you watch the clip. He seems a much kinder, gentler mouse now.

Lots to say...Lots of people wishing I wouldn't talk..

My Mom made and sent the kids and I another card. This one is for Fall/Thanksgiving. I am constantly amazed at her artistic ability (as I have none) and the time she takes for each one of us.

Tonight I went to the new James Bond movie. I give it two thumbs up. It was probably more intense than any 007 movie I remember, but it was very well done. The acting was great and the story was excellent. Just like the last James Bond movie, it was really minimalist and relied more on a good plot and heavy acting then heavy wizardry. I highly recommend it to anyone (as if most everyone is not going to see it anyway). I am not going to give anything away, but I really liked it when the character "Jaws" comes back. I also really liked the cameos of all the past James Bond actors. The death of Q was pretty sad though. NAH! I am just kidding, none of that stuff was in there!

BLIND DATE UPDATE...

Anyone who read about my awesome blind date experience (not so awesome date herself) may want an update. The person who set me up finally returned my phone calls. He said that "she is currently dating someone, but he would love to set me up with this other girl." I finally got him to admit that she really did not have fun at all. He finally told me that she said she "did not think I was what she was looking for".....GEE you think! As far as my friend's offer to set me up again, I was half tempted just so I would have another great story to tell. I finally declined though and told him that maybe he should not set anymore people up.....Just a thought, since we're being honest.

WORKING OUT = WEIGHT LOSS

I have been religiously working out for the last month at the gym, usually for at least 2 hours/6 days a week. I weighed myself four weeks ago because I was curious. I did not get on the scale again until today. So, how much weight did I lose? None! I weigh 4 pounds HEAVIER! That's just the way it is with me. I never really lose "weight" and I am never going to be a super tiny person. Sure, everyone always says that bologna line, "well muscle weighs more than fat!" Yeah, apparently 4 pounds more than fat! Sounds suspiciously like me getting told I was "husky" or "big boned" as a child because everyone was too polite to call me fat (well, except the MEAN kids)! With me, surprisingly enough, fat and muscle seem to weigh about the same! My actual weight does not really change that much. There is just a definite difference in my Crisco to muscle content. The bottom line is, relatively speaking, the scale means almost nothing (hence the reason I haven't used it for 4 weeks). I have loved watching the physical results and watching the tone slowly coming out in my muscles. I really love how good it feels both physically and mentally. By the way, you can still call me husky or big boned, if it makes you feel good.....