My Church Basketball team is 4-0!

Game #1, I had 30 points and we won 100-38.

Every game since then I have had fewer points and we have won by a lesser margain. The teams are getting better, but we won tonight by almost 20 (after losing for most of the 1st half)

Tonight I only had 10 or 12 points. The refs took my defensive game away from me giving me 3 fouls in the first half OF THE FIRST HALF! I ended up with 4 on the night, I quit trying to plead my case in the 2nd half so he wasn't as willing to give me the cheap calls. I can HONESTLY say that I only deserved ONE of those fouls. I was 0 -5 on three's today, which is frustrating because my shot has been on when I practice at my office (Yes I have a basketball court at work! The picture left is Tori, one of my students shooting on the 10 ft. hoop, we also have an 8 ft hoop). The strength of my game is the drive. I hate to talk like this, but the people out here don't play very good defense. It's different from Provo where you get all the college kids who play all the time. The people here only play church ball for 8 games a year. There really isn't much of a pick-up ball thing going on here.

Oh yeah, because I was frustrated by the refs calls and my bad shooting (and losing 20 pounds in the last 3 months) I dunked the ball after the game. The first time in THREE YEARS. This is a picture of it.

For me, this is the big leagues so I have to talk about it. Back to my ailing BACK, LEGS and the POUNDING HEADACHE I have from being out of shape... :(

Ready for toddlerhood???

Ryanna has been big into hugs and kisses for a few months. About a month ago she started hugging objects, holding them to her shoulder, leaning her head onto them, and using her hand to pat them...as if on the back. It was pretty hilarious because she would only do this with her shoe and a certain calculator at Brian's work. Over the last week, however, she has shifted her affections to more typical items like stuffed animals and her dolly. I will admit though that she was much gentler with the shoe and calculator than she is with her dolly. It's amazing how the mothering instint can be alive in a girl less than a year old!

I don't know if I have posted a sad picture of Ryanna on the blog before....except for the snowsuit ones of course cause they were too funny! But I thought it was about time to show the world that it isn't all smiles and giggles(though 97% of the time it really is). Ryanna is recently obsessed with #1 our cellphones, #2 the remotes, and #3 watching videos of herself on the laptop. When we stop her from playing with said obsessions an angry toddler emerges, though it is usually quickly resolved by hiding the temptation.

This night was so a-typical that I had to record it. The last three weeks I have been forced to realize that my baby is not really a baby anymore!! Ryanna is certainly blossoming into an energetic toddler. Hard for us to believe!

Yes, I can put clips in Ryanna's hair! She has a lot more than the pictures show.
Care for a sample?

The CAN DO CREW!

On Nov 14th I interviewed for a job with Uintah School District to become the director of the CEP Program.  Basically I would run a business within the the school district.  This business employes the disabled students who need to get out of the mainstream school for one reason or another and I would put them to work.  Anyway, I got the job.  I can honestly say that I wasn't 100% thrilled, mostly because I didn't know everything about it.  Now that I have been here almost 2 1/2 months I can say that it is overwhelming, but enjoyable.  In any given day I will scrub a toilet, shovel a sidewalk, mop a theater, and print out invoices or receiving payments.  I get to attend all of the Vernal Chamber of Commerce meetings, I am on the Conservation Issues committee and I am a teacher.  It is a unique position, mostly because I am not the usual teacher you would think of, I do on the job training and life skills training.  

The requirements for this job include:

 1. A teachers certificate (which I have) and a Special Ed endorsement (which I don't have, I have a History endorsement, and now I have to go back to school!  

2. I have to be able to get a CDL (with bus endorsement) since I am not only a teacher, director but also backup bus driver.

3. I also have to go to a week long Employment Specialist seminar in Salt Lake... my first OFFICIAL business trip.  Even though its in SLC where I have spent a lot of time working and traveling through, I am excited to stay in a hotel and explore downtown at night and maybe even see a Jazz game... if the season is still going in April. 

4. I have to all of a sudden pretend I know the first thing about running a business.  Not only a business, but I juggle the state and income funding I get.  I have to spend wisely.

5. I have to make sure that my employees have everything they need to meet the standards that the DSPD (Department of services for people with disabilities) has set forth for half of my crew and I also have to meet requirements of the school district for the other half of my crew.  There are a lot of laws when it comes to the disabled and I am learning them very quickly.  I have to fill out progress reports for both sides and I have to keep immaculate records.  This on top of recruiting the outgoing seniors from the high school.  When a student with disabilities reaches the age of a senior (18) they have the choice to stay at the school until they are 22, or anytime they can transfer to me.  After the age of 22 the state agencies fund them so they can stay with me in what they call 'vocational training.'  

WHEEEW!  I am writing this while taking a break from being overwhelmed.  I would post pictures, but I haven't taken any recent ones of my crew or them at work.  Besides, even though they sign wavers that allow us to use their pictures, I am sensitive to publishing their faces on a private blog.  

Thats my job, and so far so good.

It's been just over two hours...

...since President Hinckley passed away and about one hour since I found out.

I stopped by the radio station to upload the hundred or so network commercials into the system that I download on a weekly basis. I download mp2's, convert them to wav's and then change their titles to adapt to our system of doing things. It was during my 1 hour of breaking the sabbath to get ahead this week that I found out about President Hinckley's fate. Kristin called me, knowing that I usually get bugged when I want to do something quick, to say "Brian, sorry to bug you but I just wanted to let you know that President Hinckley passed away." I can't say I was surprised, he was 97, but my mind was overwhelmed with memories that I really should write down.

When I was a lost soul, 20 years old and NOT on a mission I was looking for something to turn to. I had made mistakes and I just wanted to feel at peace. I never doubted the story of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel, if anything I just didn't know much about it.

At this time I was attending Weber State and I was doing radio there on 88.1 FM. My interests included everything communications, so I got a jobs in C.A.T.S. (Communications, Arts and Technologies). Part of that job entitled me to be a camera man at various campus events. It was a boring job, but one event wasn't so boring. Gordon B. Hinckley was to be the speaker at Commencement, 1999. For 25 mintes or so President Hinckley spoke on America. He spoke about not giving up on America. Read the article by clicking here. My camera work was broadcast on Channel 7, KUED later that week.

I was hoping for an earth shattering prophecy, but it didn't happen. I remember how excited some people were to see him and how protestant others were of his visit. It never hit me that there was so much oppostition out there. I must have been completely ignorant!

After the commencement I hung around (because I was on the TV crew) and tried to 'bump' into him. I thought that if this man met me, and if he was truly a prophet of God he would speak up and tell me that I should be on a mission. As dumb as this sounds, I was hoping that would happen. I thought that that would be what it took to give me the desire to serve. It didn't happen, they were pretty efficient at sneaking him out of the arena.

A few months later I decided that Weber State wasn't for me. I wasn't able to sign up for classes because I flunked out the previous year and I was wasting my time with piddly little jobs. In October of 1999 I got a job in SLC at 107.5 "THE END" and so I decided I could commute to Salt Lake just as easily from Orem as I could Ogden. It was time to move home. On the final trip from Ogden to Orem, I had the last of my stuff in my car and since 107.5 was a parttime job, I thought I would look for another job on the way down. Where did I stop? Well... KSL, KUTV, the DELTA CENTER and FOX 13. Every Sports or TV station on the way home. I filled out job applications and awaited a call.

KSL didn't waste any time, they called me for an interview a few days later. I got a job at a TV STATION! Cool stuff. What was I doing?? I now worked in the mail room.

KSL is a church owned station and it was pretty weird to sort copies of TIME magazine with Gordon B. Hinckley's name on it. In fact, I fantasized of the day when the church would be on the cover and I would just take President Hinckley's copy of TIME magazine for a personal momento. It never happened, the church was on the cover a few months after I quit.

Anyway, KSL opened up a few more opportunities. If you remember, when President Hinckley turned 90 they had a big event for him in the brand new conference center. As an employee of KSL I had the opportunity to attend the dress rehersal the night before the actual broadcast. I scooped up some tickets and took Ginger (The girl I was obsessed with at that time) and my sister and her husband. The show was great, it had Gladys Knight and others.

That day also included my car blowing a tire on I-15, driving back to SLC with Ginger on a spare, trying sushi for the first time, and sleeping in my sisters new house (the first one to do so!) while it was still being built. I slept at Karina's house because her husband John could drive me to SLC in time for my shift the next day. The next day I was expected to go back to work without a change of clothes and I am not sure if I showered either. YUCK

So, I arrive at work early enough to take my car to a tire shop and get back to KSL to start my shift. What is my first assignment that day?? To take KSL's official 90th birthday cake to Church Headquarters. I smelled and looked like I slept in my clothes, but I took on the challenge. With the help of Chad, BIC Corporate's secretary, we picked up the cake and began to transport it to the headquarters.

On the drive to headquarters I fantasized of walking into the room with the cake, singing President Hinckley happy birthday and having him rebuke me for not being on a mission. When we arrived there, we were met by security who said "leave the cake on the table, thanks and have a great day." Grrrrr...

I look back and think that if I was better dressed I would have asked to meet him, but I also know that it wouldn't have happened. I later saw that cake on KSL TV with some of the anchors lighting the candles. The celebrities get all the fun!!!

I never got the rebuking from President Hinckly that I wanted, but he did it in other ways through his various talks and comments. His was a voice that would instantly calm me down, or make me listen up. It was a voice that would almost make me cry just to listen to, I felt like I was hearing the voice of God. And what I do know, and always seemed to know, was that he spoke for God. He was his prophet here on earth.

We are unique in that we do not believe this to be a tragedy, instead it is a moment in which we can be happy for President Hinckley because he is with Marjorie. I am only sad because I will never hear him speak live again. At tomorrow's news conference the new president of the Church, Thomas S. Monson will be announced. Welcome President Monson.

-Brian

Flashback time!

I am super atheltic... no not necessarily talented... no I don't necessarily look athletic... and no I wasn't the last one picked on the playground, but not the first either. I am just average, but I can't live without sports.

Growing up in Cincinnati I was obsessed with baseball. BUT I really had no exposure to sports until 1st grade when T-Ball started. I always heard my friend John Robinson talking about how good he was and about his coach, dad. So, I played for their T-Ball team. Shortly after John moved to Kenwood, the city that shared the school district with us rich boys in Indian Hill so I wasn't able to play with him or for his dad anymore in the early goings. I had to settle for the white uniforms with red trim and John wore the blue unforms with red trim. The one Kenwood team was always so good. Indian Hill had two or three teams and none of us were any good.

While with Indian Hill, I must have been the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter but still lose the game. I walked too many guys!! I was known as 'Fireball Baldwin,' and I am not sure if that was because I threw fast or if it was because I was a red-head. I was also the kid who cried when I struck out (or didn't even get to bat!) Needless to say more, I will sum it up with IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE I WAS ALL THAT GOOD!

When I was 11 I was traded to Kenwood (I moved to Kenwood, and in the picture right I am the far right player on the back row. John's dad is over my shoulder). I finally got to play for the invinsible Kenwood Reds. Even though the jerseys were blue, everyone who played little league in Cincinnati played for the Reds... Just put your city team name in front of the name Reds, i.e... Indian Hill Reds, Kenwood Reds, Milford Reds... etc. Anyway, I finally got to play for John Robinson's Dad again! Well, I didn't get to play that much. 18 players is not enough for two teams, there are always one or two not able to make games, but 18 players is a lot for one team. I must have been the 15th or 16th player on the bench. I got my ONE at-bat a game and two innings in the field. Was I ever allowed to pitch?? NO! I kept my stats that year and hit over .500 and scored every time I was on base. I was bitter that I didn't get more playing time, but it couldn't last long because I moved to Utah.

Utah and baseball never really worked for me. It took me two years just to figure out when and where to sign up. I first played my 8th grade year, and I was good, I swear I was, but I was batting 8th and playing center field only because I had an arm that could throw from the homerun fence to the pitchers mound. Did I get to pitch?? NO! I played for the Yankees that year, which was weird because every team chose a real team and wore their exact uniforms.

The teams weren't the Orem Yankees playing the Provo Diamondbacks or the American Fork Orioles, it was the New York Yankess of Orem playing the Colorado Rockies of Orem... How boring, the same field every game. The thing I loved about little league in Cincinnati was the traveling city to city visiting the kids from Maderia, Kenwood or Indian Hill, Milford, ... etc.

I suffered through my first year with the Yankees and hit two doubles to the fence and found my power, unfortunately I swung and missed a lot too (AND STILL CRIED WHEN I STRUCK OUT). I just loved the game, but the move to Utah took all hope out of me to become something. I didn't get to pitch. I didn't get to play a significant part. Still, no coach had faith in me. I was good, I swear!

The next year, I was signed as a free agent to the Cubs, the Chicago Cubs of Orem. We played on the big field, the high school field (which is now 4 seperate little league fields). I had high hopes again, and with many of the same teammates I felt that I had no chance of pitching. Well, I tried out and before I knew it I was one of the two rotating starters on the Cubs. I also came in relief when I had innings left (they would cap how much you could pitch!).

A month before hooking up with the Cubs I went to the batting cages regularly. It was the time of freshmen baseball try-outs. At try-outs I hit farther and better than anyone. I really did, the only one that may have beat me out was Jared Harper who is just a mass of muscle! Did I make the team? No, or first cuts?? NO! I was honestly devistated. When I went to the Junior high to check the cuts, I didn't see my name. It was as if I was living a narrated story (like in the TV show, "The Wonder Years") and I heard a voice in my head say, "It was at this moment that I knew my dream of playing major league baseball was over," and then the theme music... I kid you not. I had a mutual church activity that night and all I could think about was my crushed dream. It was the night we learned manners for dating at a joint activity... Marinda Judd was my date...

Flash-forward to the Cubs... I hit well, and hard. In a game against the Orioles, two men on base (this was May 19, 1994), I stepped into the batters box. I believe it was the first pitch, I felt a gust of wind and here came the ball. One teammate decribed my leg lifting much like Mark Maguire, and I swung. I barely felt the ball hit the bat, but there it went... toward left field, deep left... the fence was about 350 ft (I measured it at some later date, believe me). As I trotted to first I saw the ball clear the fence with about 15 feet to spare. My first and ONLY little league home run. One of only two that entire year in that league. I felt so weird, I didn't know what to do. I jogged right past first base and had to go back to touch it (much like Maguire's 62...) and I was met at home plate by my teammates. IT was awesome. After the game coach Walker tracked down the exact ball I hit that day and presented it to me in our teams huddle after the game. Awesome.

Another thing that sticks out in my mind though, was the mixed reaction from my peers. Jimmy England wrote in my yearbook "Baldwin, keep hitting those dingers," and a chick wrote, "I saw your home run---awesome." But for some people, like Schuyler Judd, all he could say was, "Baldwin, I heard you forgot to touch first!," or Brandon Jones who said, "I saw that, it was all the wind, you didn't really hit it that far." Its a shame that those comments have to scar the memory, but I won't forget any of it.

The next year, I played for the Indians. I pitched and hit hard. Didn't hit a homerun, but I played lots of night games and I loved it. Nothing of real significance happened that season except a KILLER diving catch against Provo High's Freshman team.

My Junior year I tried out for the Orem team again. I was coach Miner's first choice for the outfield as they chose teams for a scrimmage. In the outfield I disappointed. Gary Brown hit two monster shots between me and the left field fence that I misjudged. That was it. On my only at-bat I walked and I guess On Base Percentage isn't important to the OREM HIGH TIGERS. No hard feelings, really.

On what I thought was my last chance to play baseball in 1999 I tried out for Weber State's club team. I tried out for pitcher and 1st base. I showed up all three days and made FIRST CUTS! My arm was so sore! During second cuts I had spent the first day at 1st base and hitting practice, where I did impress. But 1st base was hard competition. I wanted to ride my pitching abilities to the team.

On the second day I was warming up with my catcher and the pitching coach was spending time with each of us. After a few adjustments to my wind up, he asked me to throw a curve. WOW, a curve... I hadn't thrown one for years. So I tried. And then there went my elbow. I felt a tug that was so painful I let out a loud grunt. The coach looked at me and I said, "I'm fine, I just slipped on the rubber."

Then came the live action against the batters. I knew I was in trouble, I knew all I could do was throw strikes. The pain was just barely bearable. I threw strikes, my control was on, but I lost about 10 MPH on my throws. The other pitching coach then asked for a curve, and I couldn't throw one. I just basically lobbed the ball right over the plate. Against the 6 or 7 batters I faced, all of them hit the ball hard. I was meat. And I was cut!... with a bum elbow. This injury still bothers me today, but ironically only on the basketball court.

The very last chance I had to try to make it in baseball was the college wooden bat summer league (2004) in SLC. I signed up, payed $300 and was put on the BYU team. There was one team for each of the colleges: UofU, UVSC, BYU and SLCC as well as 4 high school all-star teams. Not all of the BYU players played, but many did.

So, there I was watching the majority of the 20 game season on the bench. Over the course of the season I batted 5 times, 4 K's and I played a total of 4 innings in the field. I will admit I was out of shape and my baseball pants were too tight, but I was better than that,... besides I paid $300!

The coach had me throw in the bullpen every game, but would NOT put me in until the third to last game of the season. I warmed up and was told I got one inning. Under the lights and on the artificial turf at SLCC I began to warm up. I remembered Randy Myers of the Cincinnati Reds (one of the 1990 World Champion 'Nasty Boys,' pictured right, the middle one) pacing around the mound after every pitch, so I did that just to get my mind together. My wife and her brother were in the stands. I was nervous.

Against this high school all-star team, most of the pitchers that day had struggled. We were ahead, but not by much. This was the 6th inning of a 7 inning game. My first pitch was released and was right down the middle, ... and fouled back. Wow, that was easy, just 8 more I said to myself. Again, the catcher called for a fastball... for me about 75-80 MPH. My fastball did have movement and perhaps that is what caused that first batter to swing and miss at the second and third pitches, YER OUT! The next batter swung and missed at my 4th, 5th and 6th pitch of the night. The next batter let two strikes go by before he took a ball. On my 10th pitch of the inning, A SWING AND A MISS! Three up, three down. Now, thats what I am talking about!

The next inning, the top of the 7th, I led off and nailed a SHOT to the Short stop and his throw beat me out by a step a first, OUT! But it was a rip and did I earn my coaches respect, finally? "Brian, you got some lucky calls on some of your pitches, nice hit, you should have beat it out."

What!?! Dang it, 10 pitches, 3 k's and a darn near double (if the ball got through) and I get the bench again.

I did get to pitch another inning the next game and I gave up one hit, there were two errors in the field by the Short stop (scoring one run) and then I got a pop-up, fly out and another K (against UVSC's team).

And so goes my baseball careers. Just Softball for me now. Last summer I played on the Hansen Brother's Team in Provo and hit well, I've lost all my power but I thrived by making diving/running/sliding catches and throwing people out at home.

I started this post wanting to talk about all sports, but you can tell by how much I have written that I still LOVE BASEBALL!

A morning in the life of Ryanna Baldwin

This picture pretty much sums up what our mornings are like. I know members of our family miss Ryanna A LOT so these people will especially appreciate this blog. These videos take you through the stages of our morning.


1. BREAKFAST OF COURSE!


2. EXPLORATION TIME (while Mom cleans up)


3. PLAY TIME (while Mom does a few chores around the house)


4. MOMMY TIME!!!!!!!!

In this video Ryanna was excited that she could slither off me until she found her feet on the floor. This was a very exciting time that brought out a new laugh! LOVE IT!

5. GET DRESSED

I am cherishing those chubby legs because as she is getting more active her chub is melting away. She's practically a toddler!

The Tournament of Champions

For two days I have been watching/reporting the 'Tournament of Champions' at the Western Park here in Vernal. 35 teams sent 600+ wrestlers to compete to see who is the best of the Wyoming/Colorado/Utah tri-state area. Being in radio on the "cool" station in town, we get asked to be the arena announcers. Now, as cool as that sounds, this event was a two ENTIRE day event. See the picture below? See the #848? That means that that match was #848, as in 1, 2, 3, ....666, ...and 848 (848 wasn't even the last one, its when I finally left). That is a long time to watch wrestling and that doesn't even count all of the JV duals happening simultaneously.
In the picture to the left you will see that all of the attention is focused on this championship match. During the elimination rounds that lasted from Friday at 3 until Saturday at 4:30, there were 8 mats all with unstoppable action. A new computer system helped to get the matches in and out at record pace, so those poor refs were working non-stop for 8-10 hours a day. The computer program and all of the brackets made me think of Kent Hansen who is a master programmer and bracketman. Imagine 15 different weight classes with 32 wrestlers each and double elimination (except 1st and 2nd place, one loss and the best you could do is 3rd). It was a mess, but the computer system that some wrestler nerd came up with was almost perfect.
The picture below is of my radio station boss and me. He was the real arena announcer, I would call in and do updates on the radio station itself. I was there for support and back-up announcing when his voice went hoarse. In the picture below you can see that it was a fairly big arena with a lot of people in attendance. We had the 600+ wrestlers like I said earlier, but they also had parents, coaches and cheerleaders. A big draw.
The school that I was there to cheer for was Uintah High School, I am wearing their official wrestling jacket. But 'the Basin' had 5 teams represented: Uintah, Union, Duchesne, Altamont, and Rangley CO. As far as team efforts, Uintah took second but none of their wrestlers took a personal championship. That had to have been the most disappointing part of the tournament they hosted. None of the other 'Basin' schools took a personal championship either. Delta UT won it all.
Uintah also had something unique, but not unheard of. A female wrestler from Uintah High school took 7th place out of the 32 wrestler braket in the 103 lbs. weight class. It had to have taken a lot of courage to be the lone woman among boys.
There, that is my life as of today.

Our church schedule changed from 1pm-4pm to 9am-12pm. I thought this would be better for Ryanna but last Sunday was certainly not easier. Sacrament meeting is the last hour and at that point Ryanna was tired, angry, and not feeling very inspired. This week, however, she has been refusing her normal morning nap so we are adjusting to one longer afternoon nap. So Sundays should be easier as she adjusts to this new nap schedule.

Obviously, Ryanna is wearing an adorable new dress. Walmart is already selling their spring line of clothing and so all of the "winter" stuff was on clearance. I'll have to remember that the beginning of the year is a good time to buy cute Sunday dresses! Well after our WWF wrestling match in sacrament meeting Ryanna was tuckered out and fell asleep of course. When she woke up from her nap she was all smiles so I had to get the camara out.

The bookshelf behind her is normally full of her books. Apparantly she was in the mood for a little reading...so she browsed her growing library. My favorite part of this video is when she looks into the camara and gives her innocent sweet smile. As if to say, "who me?"

What is Ryanna doing????? DANCING OF COURSE!!!! Neither Brian nor I have much rhythm...our children may have to accept a similar fate. BUT you have to admit this is pretty hilarious dancing. I love it when she stops suddenly and slowly looks up. "What d'ya think Mommy? Was I good?"

I've been easing back into writing for the paper. I took a break while we went to Montana and I got used to what my life was like before I had "deadlines." I do really love to write for the Express though so I need to get back into it. I definately don't want to ruin my opportunity. So the past week I have been working on a Progress Report for 2008. I know, I know a progress report usually reports on something that has already happened but the way the editor is looking at it is that the public wants to know what they can expect in the coming year...more like a progressive report. Anyway, I am responsible for the report on the library, regional history center, health department, and transporation department. The beauty is that I am not actually the author of the reports. Instead I am working with the head honcho of each organization as they write the report. This has been a good project to ease me back into it all.

I have also been assigned to write a series(to be run in Feb/March) on the drug Meth. This drug is considered a serious state-wide/nation-wide threat to our society and communities. The research I have done has really scared me. Unlike most other illegal drugs, meth can be "cooked" or produced in any location with the right equipment and ingredients(nearly all of which can be purchased at your local walmart). The contamination that results to the surrounding environment puts innocent neighbors or bystanders in serious risk to their health(not to mention children of meth cooks - don't get me started on that one). Hotel rooms, apartment buildings, and homes where the previous tenant cooked meth are full of toxins that are VERY expensive to clean(most of the time the contamination cannot be reversed). These toxins soak into the walls, carpets, almost anything...then when the meth lab is discovered and shut down or the people move out of the location, the unassuming new tenants suffer serious health problems: migrains and seizers among the known affects. So what am I saying? Last month when you stayed with your family at the Holiday Inn, the previous traveler may have "cooked" meth on the coffee table your kids played cards on. When Brian and I moved into our apartment it was obvious that the landlord takes impecible care of his units. But who knows, our next door neighbor could be "cooking" meth in her spare time... Or if 5 years ago the renters of our apartment had a meth lab and we are now sucking down the poisons. Either way what needs to be done? I have about 5,000 other things to say about this epidemic. If you read all that, please BEWARE!!! Meth is not your ordinary drug. It is said to be psychologically addictive in a way your average alcohol or drug addict wouldn't understand. It actually rewires the brain to prioritize survival instincts to include meth among the need for air to breath. Most meth addicts became addicted after the very first try. It only took 1 time for the brain to say "I want that more than I want anything." Mothers and fathers who were once responsible and loving parents give up everything for the drug that "takes your soul." That was a quote I found from a woman who literally lost everything because she tried meth once to lose some weight. She had never done any kind of drug before. She had 3 children, a home in a rich neighborhood, and a successful MD husband. Within a year she lost it all. It is obvious to me that this series needs to be in the paper. Parents need to tell their kids not to even try it once! Mothers need to hear what they could lose just for the hope of staying thin. Families need to be warned that the home they want to buy could have housed a meth lab. There is currently no registry of condemned homes that were once meth labs. They can be sold without revealing the fact to the buyer. I could go on but this is not the point of this post! Ha.

Please note that the following could happen to any newspaper: So I wasn't even going to pick up the paper that came out yesterday except I decided I wanted to cut out a copy of the archive article I write every week. Well, I was mortified to pull out the "Expressions" section of the paper to see a 60 pt size headline that read "Cold temperatures don't the stop feeding process." The article was about local farmers who, despite the terrible cold the past month, continue to feed their livestock daily. I would be embarrassed by the article content if it wasn't so relavant to the people in this area. I was horrified though by the headline's typo. Don't get me wrong - I am not one of "those people" who lecture perfect strangers on bad grammar or pitfalls. In fact, I have plenty of my own in the emails I write or even on this blog. But come on! The paper supposedly goes through a rigorous editing process and somehow that headline was looked over?? I guess this is my vent session because there is nothing I can do about it but my name is associated with the paper....but nothing is perfect and whoever was in charge of editing that page was probably in need of a sugar rush. Who really likes editing....

The blog that wasn't so baby....

It has been our goal to include more about ourselves in these blogs. More about Brian and Kristin, and the same if not more about Ryanna. Yeah, yeah, Ryanna is the cute one, but Kristin and Brian have more interesting lives at the moment.

Where to start? My friend Kent says that he loves to just pick a subject or question and then expound on it. No real questions come to mind, so I will introduce our home and our lives, starting with the kitchen.
This is our kitchen. Every night between 6 and 7 Ryanna gets her final meal before bed. Kristin wasn't thrilled about posing for this picture. I figure that I should get her in action in the kitchen. What you can't see is the fridge, washer and dryer. The kitchen is also the laundry room. Since it has been below 0 degrees most of the last month, we only use the kitchen door so this is the main traffic point of the house. The plants in the background are our neighbors. We are plant-sitting because her house has a boo-boo. Mary, our neighbor, went out of town for the holidays and the New Year. On Mary's birthday, New Years Eve, Kristin went to go check on her apartment. With the heat entirely turned off, the pipes got so cold on this -8 degree night that they decided to burst and break. Kristin did wonderful coordinating the emergency clean-up and now we get to watch the soaked/drywall covered plants.

Asleep yet?

That same night I was at our radio station concert to bring in the new year. The two headlining bands were 'Feel Never Real' and 'Advent.' Just like the big concert in August featuring 'Crossfade,' 'Drowning Pool,' and 'Advent,' I got to interview the bands live on the air. If you read closely you will realize that I interviewed Advent twice, once for each concert. Well, even though Advent was the opening act in the summer concert, the people of the Basin wanted them back, so four months later we brought them back. Advent is on the verge of big things... they have since played Denver and hit some more radio stations. They are all nice guys and I hope they stay that way... but, it is only the reality that once stardom comes, the egos pick up and take over.

They put on a good show. With just over 700 people buying tickets and partying with us New Years Eve, Advent delivered and showed why they are soon to be big. Feel Never Real was good as well, it was their first trip to Vernal as a band and they were much anticipated because their album ROCKS. Did I mention that Feel Never Real released their second album that night in Vernal??

Check out those bands websites, both myspaces... www.myspace.com/advent , and www.myspace.com/feelneverrealmusic

I wish I got pictures of this performance... or even some of me with the band, but I am notoriously bad for forgetting my camera. I had the best seats in the house, standing right in front of the stage, between the barrier and the stage off to the stage left side. Incredible place to watch a show.

As soon as pictures are up, I will give a link on here... most likely to the radio station website: www.channelx94.com ...we will be streaming soon as well :)

I got home about 2:30 in the morning, this after cleaning up about 1000 beer cans and stacking about 200 chairs.

Then came New Years Day and all the low key time with my awesome family. I am so glad that I can be back at work without the concern of all the holidays anymore. During the days I work with the Can Do crew... What is that you ask??????? Maybe the title of my next LIFE update.

Baby Genius.....we think so!

At some point babies understand the game of imitation. Some babies even imitate within hours after birth, sticking out their tongue after watching Mom or Dad. So it's no surprise that Ryanna plays the imitation game and has since she was brand new in her own little ways. In the last few weeks, however, we have noticed that she tries to copy the sounds and physical actions we make, especially with our mouths.
It is so fun to watch her learn from us!


Okay, we'll say it - Ryanna is a genius! I was getting her ready for bed and singing songs. Sometimes I sing the "I love Daddy he loves me.....we are a HAPPY family" song. Well, I thought I heard her say happy....and it made me pause for a minute and clean out my ears. So I sat her up and said directly to her "Happy" - slow and clear. Well she said it back! I brought her downstairs to show Brian and we recorded this. Go ahead and tell us if we are crazy but I'll say it one more time, I have my very own baby genius! (We realize as first time parents we may be a bit overenthusiastic....hehe)


I just wanted to note that I do not always dress like a hobo and have yucky hair. Yesterday I found my neighbor's apartment flooded from a broken pipe (she was out of town when I called her...she thought I was calling to tell her happy birthday - not quite). So that event and the cleanup that followed mostly accounts for my disheveled appearance. Mostly....

Delicious Pink Marshmallow!

I can't help but laugh every time I put Rya into her snow suit. It has been VERY cold here and so we haven't left the house much but it was unusually sunny on Monday so I got her geared up for some playtime outside. She did not smile once. She mostly just had a pained look on her face and would kind of grunt at me as if saying, "what am I wearing and why are we here?"

We live on a dead end. She is sitting on the area that was a sidewalk that has been mostly dug out. We have about a foot and a half of snow on our lawn and a huge mountain at the dead end. While she sat on the sidewalk she began to tip over. It was like slow motion and when her head finally rested on the snow she began to freak out - no control over her body and now lying in the horrifying white stuff.

It's okay to laugh...I know I did. No, I do not enjoy it when Ryanna cries but there was something about her lying there like an immobile pink marshmallow....I couldnt' help it! She has such pleading in her eyes - why Mommy! WHY!

This gives you an idea of how much snow we've had this winter and it hasn't melted since our first big storm the end of November.