Winter is Coming

It has been a while. But that is obvious. The biggest things that have happened in the last couple of months are as follows:

1 - We found out that we're having another boy.

2 - Leeroy, Spock, and Raptor have relocated to an apartment since their house will not be completed before Angel and Spock have their babies.

3 - School has started for Kanga and Tigger.

4 - My last sibling, Babe, went into the Missionary Training Center

5 - Winter is coming



Kanga isn't sure what to think about this third little brother in her life. She was really hoping for a little sister. I think a big part of that is looking for some solidarity and looking for a playmate. However, I don't think she realizes that by the time this child will be old enough "to play" with, Kanga will be a pre-teen and many not be interested in the same things. I'm also pretty sure that she doesn't realize the position she will be in with her brothers. She is the oldest and will be the non-parent authority in the house. She's also a lot like her father and likes to be an expert on things. Based on the the temperaments of her brothers, I think she will be looked up to in many ways. She has the opportunity to become her brothers' best friend or greatest advocate. As much as my younger self would remain silent on the issue, I looked up to my older sister a lot. She was intelligent, friendly, and a lot of fun to spend time with. She still is - Thanks, Muscles! Anyway, Kanga is getting used to the idea and I know that the relationship that she will have with her mother will always be special. Angel and her mother share some special things and Lydia, while attached to her father, is very much a mamma's girl. It will be a fun adventure to watch her and do my best not to screw it up.


The house is a lot quieter without an extra three people around. The kids have done well at making it a mess as if we had three other people in the house with us, but there is a decided difference to the evenings and the space. It is good to have our house back to ourselves. Leeroy, Spock, and Raptor were good guests. They payed rent, they helped with chores, they did their best to respect our space and family boundaries. They were fun to play games with, watch movies with, talk with, and hang out. They were better house guests than Angel and I have been. It wasn't always easy but I don't regret our helping them.

It's interesting how different it is being the host instead of the house guest. We've lived with my in-laws twice during our marriage and my wife has lived with my parents two additional times for a couple of months. That was one of the my reasons for inviting Leeroy and Spock to live with us. Others have been so helpful to us that I felt obligated to also help others. I know that such a reason would not be enough to open their home to family or friends the way we did. My grandmother was always concerned about us - not because of who we had living with us - because of the situation it causes. As the saying goes "Familiarity breeds contempt." I won't say that there weren't some arguments and such. We got them sorted out and we all survived the experience with our (good) relationships intact.


Kanga and Tigger are both in full time school, which Angel has been enjoying. Kanga has enjoyed connecting with old friends that we didn't see much this summer, while Tigger is busy making new friends. They are both in the Chinese immersion program and are still enjoying both school and the language. Tigger still struggles with keeping himself dry and we're looking into some new ways to help him. At back to school night his teacher expressed some concerns about him but we've been working with the new principal on some school resources. Tigger's reading has improved and he's even taking his own verses when we read scriptures after dinner. They are always the shortest verses, but they are still his. As far as I can tell, Zilla is enjoying his time with Angel while the kids are at school. He's good at helping with small chores and plays well. As Leeroy and Spock moved in about a year ago, this is the first year that Angel has been home while the kids have been in school and she's enjoying the quiet at home.


So, maybe it's finally time to give my youngest sister a new nickname. She's the baby of the family so when she was young we all just called her "Babe", but I don't know if any of us have called her that in a while. I haven't at least. She's as tall as my mother (5'9"), is still good at Akido karate, has completed her EMT training and has seen some pretty grisly things as a part of it, and is the same age that my wife was when Angel got married. I just don't see her as a "Babe" anymore. That and even though I don't call Angel that, it sounds weird for a married man to call someone, anyone, other than his wife "Babe." So, I think I'll call her Bones. How's that for another Star Trek reference? She is considering Physician's Assistant schooling after completing her Paramedic training, so she may work in a doctor's office and that's good enough for me. Plus, she'll break your bones if you try anything with her. And then, probably, patch you up. Probably. Anyway... She left for the mission field this last week and we are all very excited for her. This makes two relatives that are out currently and Bones should get back a little after Angel's younger brother, Elder Chuuk. Bones is serving in Farming, New Mexico, which I understand is the pretty part of the state, unlike the other part where we have relatives. She already knows one of the missionaries there as he was a good friend of hers in high school. She might even end up in southeast Utah. She's excited to be able to serve on reservations. We wish her the best and I'll need to step up my letter writing game.


Yesterday was the first day of fall and we've had sever storms for the last 36 hours or so with the next 24 being not much different. My weather app said that my work is due for some snow, but it looks like a more recent update of that says to just expect rain. As I drive through a pretty formidable canyon every day to get to and from work I try to pay attention to the weather. I'm kind of excited because at the end of spring I got a new warm jacket to wear with my ski jacket and I haven't really been able to wear it comfortably. Winter also means Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and then a new baby in February, most likely right before Kanga's birthday. Oh, and tax season. I'm glad we're a family that enjoys snuggling in blankets with hot chocolate and a good movie/game.

All in all, life is very good. It's not perfect and it's not easy. BUT it is good.

Family update

Well, It's been a while since I gave an update and I due. First, it's important to know that Angel is expecting our fourth. She is referring to it as "Poppet," so that's how I'll refer to him/her. We suspect it's a her based on how sick she's been. For both of the boys she was fine, very little morning sickness and a relatively comfortable pregnancy. With Kanga Angel lost weight she was so sick. This one is looking along those lines. So we figure she's a girl. We're excited to add one more to our family. We always kind of felt that there would be four kids in our family but weren't too sure how that would work out. After Tigger's close call and extended stay in the NICU we were very nervous about if Angel's body could handle more. We were resigned to two when Zilla came along.

Oh, yes. Roo has got a new nic-name: Zilla. Short for Godzilla. This is because he likes to knock down block towers and will emit loud shrieks. One of his favorite noises is a loud "ACH" that he'll repeat for a while. It makes me think of an air raid warning, another thing commonly associated with Godzilla. Anyway, for these reasons I occasionally call him Zilla and so I figure I'd make it official here.

Anyway. We're excited about Poppet. We're hoping that she'll be born in February as will give us three months with two birthdays in each one. Easy to keep track of. Granted we were also hoping for all of our birthdays to land on multiples of 9 but Tigger missed it by one day and Zilla missed it by five days. We're worried that with four kids our house may not be able to take the strain, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I really like our house and I really hate moving, so I'm going to try to make it work for as long as I can.

Birthdays

As I'm reviewing my blog I realized that I haven't posted anything about my birthday last week. It was a very enjoyable day. Work was good and I met Angel and the kids afterwards to go to dinner. At dinner they let me open one gift (the one small enough to bring into the restaurant) which was season 4 of M*A*S*H. I was excited because that's the first season with BJ Honeycut and Col. Potter, two of my favorite characters. I've been able to watch episodes with Angel and while folding laundry. I love how the episodes are a mix of humor, satire, and serious topics. I later opened two other gifts, one was a new wall clock for my office that I think is really awesome the other was a Darth Vader apron. My enjoyment in these gifts just goes to show how much I'm getting older. I appreciate very practical things.

Interestingly enough, as I write this it is Tigger's birthday today. He made it to six and is doing alright. There are some words that come to mind when I think about Tigger. Passion and childlike joy are the two at the forefront. Volatile (not violent) and trying are two others, but they only come up when he and I are both in bad moods. I've never seen a child so spontaneous in his love and affection. Whenever he sees somebody he likes, it's the best day EVER!!! Whenever he has the chance to do something he enjoys, it's the best day EVER!!! He loves to be close to those he loves and is a world class snuggler. Every night when I put him to bed he asks if I'll tell him a story from when I was little. He is getting better at reading, although he really doesn't like practicing. I know it's not advised to compare your kids as they are all very different. I do it anyway. He is not the academic his sister is, but he is very curious and he will remember things that surprise me at times. He can still be a bit of an omniphobe but I'm learning how to help him get over some fears. He and I have a father/son camp out coming up soon and I'm looking forward to spending time with him and his grandfather. All in all, I'm very happy to have him as a son and feel blessed to be his father.

Spring may finally be here

It seems that my update schedule has moved to every two weeks. I'm going to try to get back to a weekly update.

The snow has finally all melted from our last snow storm on the 14th. I was reminded that It snowed pretty hard (about 3") on April 14th, 2002. I remember complaining about it on an online forum and an acquaintance who had just returned from Brazil was complaining more bitterly than the cold. The trees are budding, leaves are leafing, and we've had a series of rain storms move through. My grass has been cut once and I'm planning on getting to it this weekend again for a second. The Spring semester has one week left before graduation and our department is geared up for the summer. I've had a lot of fun in the mornings watching the clouds roll through Cache Valley, sometimes bringing rain, but I don't need to turn on my lights very often, my window lets in a lot of light when when it's mostly cloudy, like now.

The kids are excited about the change in weather because it means they can play outside more and longer. Our neighbors, who have six kids, do a lot outdoors, often riding their bikes around the cul-de-sac (French for bottom of the bag). Kanga is a lot more interested in learning how to ride her bike while Tigger is still unsure about it. He likes the idea of a bike, but his perpetual hesitance gets in the way of trying it. We took Kanga's pedals off so she could practice balancing and she's gotten pretty good at it now. She may be ready for pedals soon. Last night when I came home I had to pull through the whole herd as turned into the street. It did my heart good to see them all playing. Everybody in the cul-de-sac is careful about the kids and the kids do a good job of steering clear of cars. Reminds me of my own childhood.

Leeroy, Spock, and Raptor are still living with us as they have had difficulty finding land and a house. It is not for lack of trying and they are currently under contract on a plot ten minutes away from us. They have moved out to their trailer, which has freed up the TV room. It has been good to have them with us. They help out with expenses, meals, cleaning, and watching the kids. It will be good to have our house back to ourselves and it will also be bittersweet when they move out.

Angel and I are looking forward to summer and working on a few projects around the house and yard. With the new job we have some funds for these projects. Unfortunately, the first one is replacing the roof. I'm also in the process of pricing out the cost of a new shed and greenhouse. We've had less than mediocre luck with gardening. Mostly because we've had difficulty keeping up on it. I did have a chance to prune three of my trees a couple of weeks back and I'm hoping we get some good fruit. The pear and peach are looking good. The apples - well, it could be an off year for them, we'll just have to see. The magnolia is blooming beautifully and we'll probably start having Monday dinners on deck soon.

All in all, life, like the seasons, is looking up. 

Time passes

It's amazing how time passes without noticing it. It's been over three weeks since I posted here and don't even get me started on my other blog. The sign on Brigham City Implement (our local marque that shares words of wisdom) currently says something along the lines of "Anyone who things a minute goes by quickly hasn't been on a treadmill." This reminds me of the comparison, often contributed to Einstein - Put you hand on a hot stove for a minute and it feels like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it feels like a minute. That's relativity. I've noticed that when I'm busy and content time passes slowly in the moment but upon hindsight seem to have flown by. I don't know if it's a function of memory that I can't remember the time that has gone by, but I suspect it is. We tend to remember negative emotions more than positive, so when things are happy or content it tends to make time go faster.

Understanding that, it's no wonder that time seems to be moving pretty quick. While things are far from perfect, they are still very nice. Kanga and I finished The Hobbit and started reading the Adventures Wanted series by M.L. Foreman. Tigger is doing better at staying dry and is improving in his reading. And Roo has become become predominately bipedal. Angel still loves being at home and my responsibilities at work haven't changed much. Money is tight, but it always has been, and we have Leeroy Jenkins, Spock, and their little girl (hereafter called Raptor - for her cute dinosaur noises) have moved in with us while looking for property to build on. It's made things a little cozier but it's worked well for the time being. I've enjoyed Leeroy picking me up from work as it means I get home a lot faster than when I take the bus.

All in all, I can't complain about life. It is good and treats us well. We are warm, fed, clothed, and I have a job. Yes, there is more that we would like (like to reactivate our Audible account) but opportunities are being explored and developed so I can't complain.

Great Grandfathers and Great Grandmothers

Three posts in two days. I know I'm not being consistent with my postings, but the new year tends to get me introspective so that's why the increase in posts.

We were with my family on Christmas Eve and I found myself watching my dad closely. I watched the way he played with the grandkids and interacted with them. I thought about what he meant to my kids. He's not the favorite relative they have, but he is a favored relative. I watched his reaction to them and how they are all his favorites (favorite Kanga, favorite Tigger, favorite Roo, etc). I noted the smiles, the laughs, the kind words and encouragement. I sidled up to him in a brief lull of people and told him that he was a good grandfather. And how that made me miss his father.

I've already mourned my grandfather, who was the inspiration for this blog. And while I've missed him at times I've not felt a need to mourn again. Until I made that comment to my father. I could see that Dad felt the same thing as me, but I could also see that I had paid him a great complement. He deserves that comparison. I have been very blessed by the patriarchs in my family.

I have also been blessed by the matriarchs. My two oldest childrens' middle names are tied directly to their grandmothers for good reason. My own grandmothers are and were caring individuals. My paternal grandmother, who died three months after my grandfather, was caring, witty, educated, and musical. She would play games with us - she loved games - and was not the sort of person to "let" you win. You had to earn it. My maternal grandmother, who was not always the most liked is a selfless individual who cares about and helps all those around her. We did not always understand grandmother, but my siblings and I came to know what an amazing women she is. As an example, I carried an extra dinner across the street every Sunday while I was in college to the couple across the street who had constant medical problems. Without being asked Grandmother sent me with a baking sheet covered in warm dishes to the Simmons which was always received with much appreciation. I remember meeting a man whose first words out of his month upon learning of my relation to her told me how appreciative he was for her visits to his aged mother. She visited her, not for hours, or days, or weeks, or months, but for years. It's no wonder that my mother has always been very selfless as well.

All in all, I'm grateful for my grandmothers and grandfathers.

A white and fine Christmas

Christmas this year was very white, as I'm sure the rest of you living in Utah noticed. It was very beautiful and was perfect for my work's Christmas bunch where I was asked to head up a vocal quartet that performed. It was fun to sing with Andy (Young), Warren (Loveless), and Aaron (Garza).




The family parties were a lot of fun. The three pictures below were all from Angel's grandmother's get together. I'm glad that I get a long with so many of her relatives. As a young man you are inundated with stories of horrific get togethers with the in-laws, but I haven't had one yet. Kanga, Roo, and Tigger enjoyed themselves. I love these pictures of them as they do a good job of showing off parts of their personalities. Kanga loves to dress up (that's her trying on a new dress she just received). Roo, when unsure what to do, is quite and watches, very much like his mother (he's also starting to get tired at this point). And Tigger is a happy kid who just can't keep still (you can see his had is blurry because he's pulling it out of his pocket.

 We all got things we enjoyed for Christmas and have LOVED being close to family and visiting with them. With that said, we're planning on taking New Years a little easier, but it still includes a family dinner with Angel's aunt (the one sitting next to her in the picture). The kids have all been very good with Christmas being a little thinner due to Angel quitting her job. While finances are always stressful the blessing of her being at home with the kids is far greater than anything money could buy. With that said, I'm currently waiting to hear about a job I interviewed for (on the same day I sang at work). I've got high hopes that I'll be looked on favorably and have a better than average shot at it. Regardless, it's uncertain what the future holds and while I always have a little anxiety about the unknown I'm glad that I have my family by my side for the journey.

Losing tempers

This last week Tigger decided to play in the bathroom sink. He knows he shouldn't but he tends to anyway when he goes to the bathroom. However this time he left a towel in the sink and the water running. I have no idea how long it was like that before I went in to grab some tissue to wipe Roo's nose (he and I have colds) and discovered Tigger's new water park.

I'll be honest, I lost my temper and wanted to throttle him. Angel was also upset and let him know it in no uncertain terms. He was promptly told that he was expected to clean up the mess immediately and that if he was lucky he would be allowed to see the light of day before he died. It was a fair amount of water and I knew that towels were not going to get the job done by themselves. So I ran down to get the wet/dry vacuum. That's when i realized that it was raining in the basement. That should have really made me even more upset but it didn't. In fact I wasn't even mad. I think this was because I had dropped my phone that morning.

For the last two weeks I've been dealing with the complications of dropping my phone. I won't bore you with the details, but that very morning I dropped my replacement phone and broke the screen. I was so mad at myself for doing something so stupid that I almost threw the phone against the wall. The whole situation had been such an emotional ride already that I was just done. I hopped in the car and used the drive to "talk myself back from the ledge." I had to tell myself that life would go on, that it wan't as bad as my emotions were making me think it was, and that I needed to calm down. I finally succeeded in calming down and everything really was fine.

I think because I had to deal with my own little emergency that morning that I didn't totally flip out even worse when I saw the waterfall. In fact, I might have laughed. I worked with Tigger and he did a great job getting everything cleaned up. Really, he didn't complain or shirk, even though he doesn't normally like vacuums. I was really impressed and while he couldn't play with friends for three days, it was only for three days.

In the end, I think it was a great experience for him despite the difficulty he caused.

Photo update

I use this blog as much as a scrapbook or journal as a family letter. So some posts are specifically for my own records. I recently went through my phone to swap out SD cards and I came across these pictures and decided I should post them. They are in no particular order and many are completely unrelated to the other, but here they are so that Kanga, Tigger, and Roo can enjoy them later.

Angel pulled the tent out a couple times this summer and the kids had a blast playing in it. The hard part was always making sure to clean it up before the next day so the sprinklers wouldn't douse it and everything inside it. The kids did spend a couple of nights outside in the tent over a Friday night. They got about as much sleep as if they'd had a slumber party (one of the greatest oxymorons ever created).

This was the picture that Angel sent me of the kids on their first day of school. Tigger started kindergarten and Kanga entered 2nd grade. As of now they are still enjoying school although Tigger can only tell me what he did at break. However, I was reading to him last night and quizzing him on his letters sounds and names and he did a lot better than he has in the past, so I guess we'll let him keep going. :) Kanga loves doing homework with friends and is glad that we had a new family move in that has kids her age that she can play with.She's still studying Chinese and doing a pretty good job of speaking it. I'll have to see what movies we have that have Chinese subtitles/language tracks. Their school was recently featured for it's "super readers" and we attended a celebration at the high school a could of weeks ago. They had superhero and princess look-a-likes. I thought it was funny how they use characters from predominately video based formats to advocate reading. I'm sure it has something to do with visibility.

I took this picture because it was just such a beautify image. I love the look of the clouds and flag. I was feeling very patriotic. This picture is from several weeks ago. The weather has been turning colder since then and it even snowed yesterday and today. There is snow on the caps of the mountain and we're going to buy Angel some new snow boots. I don't mind taking the bus when the weather is questionable because then I don't have to drive in it and can enjoy reading a book. Regardless, I love this was a good day and the Picture turned out pretty decent.

This is the last of my canning for the year. Last year we didn't get any apples (or at least not enough to do anything with). This year we didn't get as many as two years ago, but it was enough to make 11 quarts of applesauce. As with other canning projects, I managed the majority of the project, but I don't mind. I really enjoy being able to see the fruit-based-results of my labor. The kids helped me process one of the batches, using the plunger to push the boiled apples down the food processor. Two years ago I used my mom's old hand crank strainer, but this year I used one we got with our Kitchen Aid mixer. It was nice not to have to turn the handle, and it performed really well. It was a busy day because Angel went to a girl's night with her mother and sister and I had the kids and their friends for the afternoon. I'm glad that I can handle the kids while Angel gets away.

This was Halloween this year. It was a year of reused costumes. Kanga's was one she wore shortly after Tigger was born (Tigger her brother, not the brother dressed as Tigger). The didn't have her size when we bought it, so we got a size bigger. Turns out that 7 year-old Kanga can fit in 3 year-old Kanga's clothes. Tigger did get the armour and helmet this year, but the cape and the sword were from other occasions. He's also wearing camo pants. Roo is wearing his cousin's costume, or was it Tigger's costume? I can't remember, but we didn't buy it. As for myself, I'm just wearing my airsoft stuff with a nerf gun. Angel stayed at home and passed out candy. This was the best picture that we had form my phone. I don't look like much, but the kids are better here than in the other one. Either way, we had fun and got a lot of candy.

This is what I came home to the other day. I had my usual early morning Sunday meeting and as I come up the stairs I see Roo sitting on the table eating butter off the butter knife. He's started climbing more, despite not walking yet. Heights do not appear to worry him, although he doesn't like it when he can't reach the floor but can't pull himself up either. His feet swing like a pendulum and then he starts to worry. We're hoping he starts walking soon because he is getting heavy!

That catches us up on some more current pictures. I need to get some for my office because Roo doesn't even have a picture in my office. I'll work on that next.

Cornbellys and Missionary updates

This last weekend my family went to visit some friends that live by Thanksgiving Point. It's been a while since we've seen them and it was the first time we were able to get the kids together in a while. They've got three boys all between the ages of Tigger and Roo. Yes, they are very close in age. No, that was not intentional. All three boys are energetic and are pretty decent kids. I was glad that Kanga was able to enjoy herself being the oldest and the only girl. Our friends invited us down to Cornbelly's, which is basically a huge fair for kids and families. They had playgrounds everywhere, fair games, two mazes and a giant pit of corn kernels. We spent the majority of the day there and then went back to their house for dinner. It was a lot of gun to catch up with them and we've already planned our next activity up by us in a couple of months.

The day itself was long but very good. It's along drive from Brigham to Lehi, the kids enjoyed playing in the back and listening to music. I debated bringing the DVD player, but I don't like using it for trips under a couple of hours. We visited for a while before heading over, getting caught up on our respective goings on. Once there, I was impressed with how big Cornbelly's was. There where lots of little kids running around and there was playground stuff everywhere. Everything was made of wood, hay, and corn. We enjoyed some games, a long time at one of the larger playgrounds, and the smaller of the two mazes. We decided to stop for lunch at that point and so I went out to the car to grab ours. Due to our early arrival they weren't able to put together a lunch, so they bought some at the various food trucks. We all ended up sharing our lunches in what resulted in a demonstration of young children with particular tastes and a lack of fine motor control. After lunch the mothers took the three youngest children home for naps and Coach and I took the three oldest to  Corn Cob Beach, the giant corn pit. It wasn't too crowded and we enjoyed a good chat while the kids played. After a bit it started to rain so we joined them under the big tent that covered the corn pit. We continued chatting and playing with the kids for quite a while before deciding to try the big corn maze. We didn't make it our the front of the maze, but that was because it started raining a bit harder and we didn't have jackets with us (they were in the car) so we sneaked out the back. Before heading back to our friends Coach took us to a new drink place called The Fiz. We grabbed specialty drinks for a very decent price and then headed back for dinner. We left not long after dinner so we could drive back up in time for the kids to go to bed on time. All in all it was a lot of fun.

This weekend we also saw my in-laws and got to hear some news from Elder Chuuk, my brother-in-law. He is currently servicing a religions service missions in the Micronesia Guam mission and has been assigned to the islands of Chuuk.

Just for reference, his mission headquarters is in Guam,

which is over 600 miles away. Once a month he travels to Guam to receive mail and to send E-mail to all of us. Needless to say, we are always excited when we get letters from Elder Chuuk. He is doing well and realizing some things about himself and his life before mission that make us glad. It sounds like he is enjoying his experiences but does seem to miss sweets. Madre says that every letter has a request for something sweet. He sleeps on the floor, doesn't have any electricity, and the bathroom is a closet with a hole in the floor. I should point out that this is the new island he is on, his last area had electricity and a bucket for a shower. But he tells us that he is enjoying himself. He certainly have some challenges that I didn't have. It brought back memories and I hope I was able to share my thoughts accurately in my letters to him. I need to be more faithful in writing and sending letters. He's been out for about three months now and we miss him a lot.

Happenings of this last week

This last week had some highlights. Monday the Fire Department had an open house with demonstrations and exhibits of various tools and safety measures. While Kanga and Angel stood in line for the crash simulator Tigger, Roo, and I went and watched the heavy rescue workers turn a pick up truck into a door-less convertible (jaws of life demonstration). Tigger wasn't sure if he wanted to watch the demonstration and kept his ears covered for the majority of it. Whenever he is scared, he covers his ears. His grandmother things that he may be sensitive to loud noises. However, despite having his ears firmly covered he watched with rapped attention and, in the end, told me that he thought it was pretty cool. They also got a tour of an ambulance and a medical lift helicopter. The 'copter was smaller than the one that Tigger rode in when he was born, but it was still pretty neat. They also had some folks from the power company there showing why you don't touch power lines.

Wednesday found Angel, Tigger, and me at Primary Children's Hospital. For various reasons, including his being born early, Tigger was not circumcised when he was born. We've been able to trace some of his potty training difficulties to this and so we decided that it would help him if we did it now. He was a great patient and even woke up form the general anesthetic if a good mood, contrary to what was expected. We spent most of the day there checking him in, waiting for the doctor, waiting for the procedure, and then waiting for his meds. I think we were there for about eight hours when all was said and done. We had dinner at Angel's parent's house and Tigger was back to running around before too long. No, I don't have any pictures from Wednesday.

Saturday I got the lawn mowed - I would like to think for the last time this season. The apples are looking better and I'm thinking I may get some applesauce canned next weekend during General Conference. Angel went over to her mom's for the Women's General Broadcast while I watched the kids. I was just getting ready to start working on dinner when I got a text from some friends inviting the kids and I over for dinner and games. They had a bunch of left overs from a couple of birthday parties and I brought chips. Their kids line up pretty well with ours and so we dads (there were three of us fathers there) didn't have to do much. The kids were well behaved and everyone had fun. Dee came home just after we did and said she enjoyed the broadcast quite a bit.

Yesterday, we saw Angel's grandparents and chatted with them for a while. Her grandfather had a pretty sever stroke a little while ago and while he's recovering well he's starting to show his age a lot more. It was good to see them and Malcom was good for them. He was very content to sit on his great-grandfather's lap and be held. He's a pretty decent kid who goes really quiet when he's not sure what's going on.

Catching up

It's been a while since I posted. School has started and Kanga and Tigger are going to the same school know. For Peach Days they had a float with the school kids for the kid parade and Kanga hadn't had a chance to do it in previous years. I drove in to work so I could be home sooner and we got them loaded on the tractor trailer and they had fun. We gave Kanga a two-way radio so we could keep track of her and she had a little too much fun with it. They're behind the American flag.

We also celebrated Roo's and Angel's birthdays. He hasn't started walking yet, but he's getting bolder.  He is a delight most of the time, but he has gotten particular about how he sleeps. People talk about having a routine with your kids and he is so insistent on his that he won't go to bed any other way. He can be very funny when he is tired though.

 As per the tradition, I handed out the Lion House Cakes and Cupcakes book and Angel choose what I was going to make. Roo couldn't communicate what he wanted (and he might have shredded the book) so when Angel couldn't make up her mind between a couple, I just made one of her options into cupcakes. A co-worker asked if the the recipes in the Lion House book were difficult or complex. Not really. A lot of them call for a cake mix - Seriously. So Roo got devil's food cake cup cakes with whipped cream topping (I was also supposed to put toffee pieces on it, but figured he wouldn't notice if they weren't there). Angel, on the other hand got a chocolate cheesecake with Oreo cookie crust. That wasn't a mix and I was right proud of it. No picture of the cheese cake, I was too busy eating it every time it came out.

This Saturday, I was very domestic. I made pear honey - an equal mix of pear, pineapple, and sugar cooked until golden (in color) and bottled. The pears were from our own tree. I'm pretty bad at getting them when they are all ripe but the process softens up any of the harder ones. I worked on them all day, listening to an audio version of Pride and Prejudice, It was a good production and made the time go by a little quicker. After I ran the first batch I realized that I didn't have enough pint jars to process it all. I called a few people who we've swapped jars with in the past and even had Angel, while she was running errands pick up an extra dozen. In the end I had more jars then I needed, but I had it all done. I went through twelve pounds of sugar and about about about the same number of cans of pineapple in order to process my box of pairs. But we ended up with over 42 pints of pear honey.

This is just when when I had started and realized that I was going to need more bottles. My own mother used to bottle green beans, pears, peaches, cherries, salsa, and applesauce. A lot of times she would do it while we were at school, so I don't remember helping out very much. There is one year when she made it abundantly clear that we were going to help her bottle pears, no arguing. I wasn't prone to argue about helping her, but was surprised at her insistence. That's because pears are a lot of work. you have to peal and core them before you can do anything with them and they are a funny shape with makes things interesting. This year I felt like I got into a groove and think I found the best way to go about it. Wash the outside and cut it in half. using a vegetable peeler work right to left (I'm right handed) pulling the peeler towards you. Using the pear corer, which you can find in your local art/craft supply store under the tile of "clay molding tool" (shown below), remove the stem, core, and any pits or blemishes. Repeat on the other half. And repeat for the next pear, and the next, and the next, and the next..... You get the idea.

Amazingly my hand and back didn't ache like they have in past years. I made an effort to alternate sitting and standing at the sink and I was moving between the sink, stove and bath canner, which was on the deck on the propane stove. As I was in the the middle of it I told Angel that I thought that canning is one of the most rewarding work efforts you can do. It's also really cool when what your canning is your own produce. I gave away a total of nine pints to those that I borrowed jars from and still came out with over thirty-three pints. My dad, who introduced us to pear honey and gave us the recipe, said that it looked just like the way his mother's and grandmother's did which made me happy.

Reflections on parenting and childhood

This weekend I was reflecting on my family and my children. I love them very much even though they often do things that drive me crazy sometimes. As I was thinking about those particular things that drive me nuts I realized that I remember doing many of them when I was their age.

For instance, one thing that my father always got after me for was dragging my feet when I walked. I'll be honest, when I was a kid, I never noticed that I dragged my feet and I had no idea what he was talking about when he told me to stop. As an adult, I am acutely aware of when my children drag their feet, particularly when they are outside.

Angel and I am constantly frustrated by Tigger's predisposition to push buttons and take thinks apart. He does it to see how things work - he's experimenting - and it drives us crazy because it tend to break things. We're down our blu-ray player because he was messing with the drawer. He will also ignore us when we tell him not to touch things. But it wasn't until I saw him walk up to something and push a button just to see what it would do that it occurred to me that I still have a tendency to do that. I'm incurably curious and love to see how things work. In short, he is just like me. What's hard with him now that I've realized what and why he's doing it is not to squash his curiosity but also to keep him from accidentally breaking anything.

There are a few others, but, of course, I can't remember any as I write this. I also try to keep these revelations to myself. This is in the interest of self preservation as Angel tends to look at me rather severely when I confess to doing things my kids do. Luckily for me, she will sometimes confess to seeing herself in our kids as well. In those confessionals we invariably smile and say, "So, it's your fault."

Daddy/Daughter camp out, Aug 6-7 / 2015

Dad learned that the Elder's Quorum in his ward was having a Daddy/Daughter camp out and asked if he could bring his granddaughters. Considering that he's not even in the Elder's quorum anymore (hasn't been for over 10 years) he figured he needed permission. They basically said, "you're going to anyway, so why are you asking?" What can I say, they know my father. He was kind enough to invite his granddaughters' fathers, so Darpa (my brother-in-law) and I found ourselves enjoying a very nice weekend with our girls.

We stayed in the Weber Memorial Campground not far from Causey Dam. Angel dropped Kanga off as I got off work and she and I drove up from Ogden. It took us a little over 30 minutes and was nice weather. The campground had a lot of thistle bushes. Darpa said that it seemed like the perfect place for Eeyore to live. Most of them were in bloom and I can't resist a blooming thistle. Despite leaving at 5:00 pm our party as one of the first ones at the site. Dad was there with the elder's quorum president and his two daughters. Kanga immediately began playing with them and her cousin. I don't have pictures of the mud pies and other creations they made, but they had a lot of fun.

That night we had hot dogs over the fire and started in on some s'mores before it started to rain. It was particularly nostalgic for me because we had forgotten to bring roasting sticks so we had to cut our own. When the rain started to come down hard, but we had a nice tent, games, Oreos, and lights. I was impressed by Kanga and her cousin's logic abilities as we played mastermind. I read Secret Garden to Kanga as we passed out to the rain. We all slept well, although I did wake up when a drop of water hit my nose. Luckily I was lying on my side so I just scooted over and it didn't happen again. My clothes did get a little damp, but that was because I had a water bottle that didn't have its lid tightened all the way.

The next morning revealed that a lot of people had arrived in the night and we had a big crew for breakfast. While we were cooking the girls had a rousing game of "who can be the bigger pyro." they used over 450 matches in a little over ten minutes. Kanga had fun and surprisingly no one was hurt. That's a difference I noticed between camping with girls verse boys - potentially dangerous activities generally have less injuries. With that said, my oldest niece did seem a little too anxious to use her knife. I was a little worried. Kanga was not so interested in using my knife to trim her stick, so I didn't have to worry too much. 

After breakfast we went to Causey Reasevor and the girls were able to pile into a canoe. I took them out for a quick tip and then Darpa took them on a longer tour. Kanga really liked it, citing it as the highlight of the trip.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and very enjoyable, despite the rain. We got home in time for lunch and had a quiet afternoon with Angel and the boys.

City of Rocks Trip, Pioneer Day 2015

Over Pioneer Day (July 24th for non-Utans) we packed the family up for the weekend and headed for Idaho. City of Rocks to be precise. The pictures below are shown as small for reading purposes. Click on them to blow them up enlarge them.

We've learned that with three kids we need more stuff and have less room to pack it. We ended up dropping one of the "captain's chairs" and then packing everything around the kids in order to get it to fit. We're already considering a top mounted cargo pod although Angel wants a trailer. Our van doesn't have a hitch but that hasn't stopped Angel from researching how to attach one.

We arrived at the visitor's Center in Almo in time to eat lunch before heading in. We also watched the 15 minute video about the park and I learned a few things. For instance, the cause of the granite formations in the City was a huge uplifting of magma from which the surrounding dirt was eroded away over many, many years. Interestingly enough, a similar event caused the San Rafael Swell in Emery County, Utah. After getting Camp set up near Practice Rock (one of my family's favorite climbing spots) Kanga, Tigger and I when exploring and had some fun while Angel put Roo down for a nap. We got back to a happy boy and some storm clouds building. We were going to do hobo dinners (tinfoil dinners) but the chicken was still frozen solid, so we did a potato and sausage cook up we had planned for Saturday. We were able to cook dinner between smatterings of rain and it everybody loved it. We got cleaned up and into the tent before the real storm hit. The rain was coming down so hard it sounded like hail and the wind was blowing most of the night. It rained off and on throughout the night, but we all stayed dry. We've been considering getting a Springbar Tent but weren't sure what size to get. We asked Mom and Dad if we could borrow their 10'x10' for this trip and were were glad we did. Our regular tent would have let the rain in and would have been chilly and unpleasant. The Springbar was awesome and kept us dry and warm.

The next day we enjoyed a long hike through the City. The weather was perfect in the morning and the kids did great. Even Roo was a good sport. Granted, I was carrying him. Everyone had water and snacks and despite there being a fair amount of up and down everyone did a good job with very little complaining.

Mom, Dad and Babe (my youngest sister) came up that afternoon and we enjoyed chatting with them before roasting hot dogs and making cobbler before the weather started to turn on us. Tigger had been splashing in puddles earlier in the day and so his feet pruned up nicely. Again our borrowed tent kept us dry and warm. The kids were mighty tired after all the running around thy did.

The City has over 600 climbing routes, not to mention bouldering and hiking opportunities. It's not uncommon to look up at a rock and see climber skylined against it as they ascend or rappel down. If you blow up enlarge the pictures below you will be able to see the climbers on the back side of Elephant Rock and Morning Glory Spire (you can read the labels on the sign to identify Morning Glory Spire - the climber is on "Skyline"). Have I ever mentioned how amazed I am by my phone's camera?

Saturday morning we had our chance at climbing. We got Kanga all suited up and she gave it a valiant effort, but in the end decided she wasn't ready to trust the rope. Before anyone can climb they first must trust the rope. I respect her hesitancy (I backed out of my first rappelling opportunity myself) and Angel, Mom, and I made the ascent. Babe belayed Angel and Mom, but didn't want to belay me, so Dad did. The kids ran around and had fun. There were others climbing on the same rock and so lots of good community.

We climbed until lunch at which point Mom, Dad, and Babe headed home and the kids and I went exploring again. We hit Breadloaves and Bath Rock and ended at Window Arch. Angel met up with us there. We coordinated the meet up with radios. Those have come in rather handy since we picked them up. The kids had a lot of fun (as you can tell from the picture at Bath Rock). That night Angel and actually stayed outside playing games until the stars came out. There was still some cloud cover, but no rain. 

Sunday Morning we packed up and headed home. We had a nice Day of Rest, but missed going to church. All in all a very good trip. The kids had a blast playing on the rocks around camp. Tigger had a fine collection of bruises from his hip to his knee from taking various tumbles. He also got bit by an ant which caused him to freak out. I must confess that I was impressed by how willing he was to climb about and on the rocks. Here he is below with his walking stick. While I can't remember what game he was playing I'm calling this picture:

I HAVE THE POWER