Our girl

4 years ago Brian and I gave each other the sweetest Valentine's Day present, one that we cherish every day. We love you sweet Ryanna.

There were cupcakes....

And a bikethat she LOVES and that she is already pretty
much outgrown...that's what happens
when a bike comes in a box. :)



Tricky kid!!!!!!!!!!!!

The kids both love variations of spaghetti. Ryanna generally likes them without sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Quinten likes it with any kind of sauce but doesn't mind the naked variation that Ryanna prefers. When I'm feeling lazy I skip the sauce like tonight. Of course I added some nutrition by steaming some broculli and cauliflour with a little melted cheese on top. We like cheese in this house. Anyway, they will eat the veggies but aren't always crazy about it. When they ask for more noodles which they always do I say they can have a few more once the veggies are gone. I guess Quinten figured I wouldn't be too hard to trick. He asked for more noodles, or in his words "PEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSS" while pointing at his plate. I pointed out his broculli and said he needed to finish it. I came back a few minutes later and that plate was licked clean!! As I was giving him a few more noodles I noticed his plate looked a little lopsided. Yup, his plate was resting on a pile of brocculi. The little tricky stinker.....

February Already??

Oh brother this weather is killing me. I'm still doing well with the Fit Challenge but my enthusiasm varies from week to week. The last I posted I was super excited about exercise and I still feel that but feel completely sabatoged by my poor children and the weather(running outside became too miserable for me last week and I was seriously bummed, should be able to get back on that soon). Both kids have been sick and just generally under the weather. Ryanna is back to herself but poor Quinten has had chronic ear infections and will be getting tubes in tomorrow. I know this is the right thing to do. We've done all the antibiotics, tried natural remedies, and homeopathic options and the kid is still miserable. I'm eager for he and I to be getting more sleep, hopefully.

Well those two kids are becoming best buddies at home. They play and run and laugh until someone is crying at which point they generally just get up and get going again. It's sweet and gives me a little room to get things done, in theory. Brian has been busy as usual with work, coaching girl's b-ball, and with radio but we've enjoyed the time we have had with him.

While she was sick :(

This video makes me smile one of those gooey mommy smiles. Just wants to be like his Dad in every way. :)

beauty of a poem and "where [our] sight fails"

God Speaks

Death is ugly?

Oh, my children,

No.

If you knew

The beauty

That begins where

Your sight fails

You would run

Run, run

And leap

With open arms

Into eternity.

But sad

Is a harvest

of green wheat.

And

So you would

Feverishly

Cling to earth

And finish

Your mortal task

I merely gave

Death

An ugly mask.

-Carol Lynn Pearson

B.o. B. 'Airplanes'

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now.



I always want to write about my memories in relation to music and specific songs. When possible I will attach the song via youtube.com or another way and tell a story.

Right now I am listening to 'Airplanes.' Immediately I remember last spring when I was traveling with the Uintah High School Softball team. On the way to St. George, only about a 7 hour drive, the girls had a stereo with a few home made cd's. Most of the music I hadn't heard before, but as I look back now I realize that the girls were breaking through new music that hadn't quite caught on nationwide or on the charts. 'Airplanes' was one of those. When first hearing the line "I could really use a wish right now..." I tried to remember the times in my youth when there were a few things that I wished or hoped for.

I remember once when I was 11 or 12 and I had a crush on a girl named Andrea. I can't even remember her last name... Anyway, I remember sitting outside my house on Winnetka Ln in Cincinnati begging for my wish to come true that she would like me. At the time I was thinking, 'if I get this wish, then I won't ask for anything again...' Yet today I can't even remember her last name or what she looked like.

I have been accused, properly, of living in the past. I like to reflect on the good things about the past. I forget the pains that I had, I forget the stresses that I had, I forget the sicknesses, instead I remember what was good.

While on my mission I was in an area for 9 months just north of Boston. My area included the coast of NH and we were based in the town of Exeter. The 9 months I was there were October - June, the coldest 9 months of the year there. I don't remember how cold I was, or the frustrations I had from appointments with investigators that fell through, or the drama with other missionaries, but I remember the walks that my companions and I would have around the pond near downtown Exeter, usually after dark. I remember the time I threw a rock at a duck and broke its neck (I really am not that cruel, it was just an unlucky throw), I also remember the many many times I lobbed rocks at the ducks and missed. I remember the benches along the walkway where we would sit and watch the airplanes across the sky. Being near Logan Airport in Boston, we had many international flights come in and domestic flights from all over including Portland Maine that we were able to watch across the sky. I watched those planes with many different thoughts including the realization that the next time I will be in a plane is when I am going home after this 2 year adventure. Then, I thought, life will begin. What dreams and wishes of mine will come true? The airplanes weren't my shooting stars, but instead a thought provoking streak across the sky representing my future.

My priorities have changed over the years. I went from wanting to be on top of the world to being a quiet family man that tries to get the job done with as little attention as possible. I still enjoy doing things like talking on the radio or calling a basketball game on TV, but if I could I would wear a mask or hide in a closet (like a radio studio!!). I love to have fun in the moment, but I also love to leave the excitement and thrill of radio/tv at work.

Being married to an incredible woman (my sister Stef always reminds me that I married up) who has given birth to the two most adorable children has changed my priorities. While I keep busy with many different jobs and hobbies, I look forward to seeing my daughter smile at me when seeing me walk in. I love to see my son run circles in excitement for me when I arrive home. My wife, who constantly wants to spend what little time is left for her, is always ready to forgive me for anything that I have done that day and cuddle and watch a movie.

While watching those planes across the sky, could I have imagined how much I would have changed, and how lucky I am to not have my wishes granted? My true desires took some time to find, but I am lucky enough to have every single one of them come true.