{last weeks} weekend get away

Well last week, since I couldn't use the computer, Nate and I decided to go on a little weekend adventure. This adventure led us to Palmyra, NY to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant and then to Niagara Falls. We had a great time minus the lovely 7 hour car ride. We left Friday morning and got back home Sunday evening. We camped at, of all places, Cheerful Valley Campground. Needless to say, we weren't always cheerful. Isn't that false advertising?
The only mishaps were;

• Our 80 mile detour, which we just considered it to be taking the "scenic route" home
• Macie's exploding diarrhea on the car ride home not once, not twice, but 3 times
• Macie and Kaleb breaking out in hives on the ride home and no Benadryl
• Sitting in traffic for about an hour after being in the car for 5 hours with Macie's lovely diarrhea car seat and hives. That hour of bliss was accompanied with Macie's ear piercing scream/cry
• And to top it all off I came down with some sort of stomach flu during the whole duration of the ride home

All went pretty well if you consider that most of the bad things that happened were just on our car ride home.

It was a great trip and we made a lot of great memories with our little family.

A wild ride through God's word

So some of you might be wondering what I did during my computer free week and some of you are thinking that you really don't care. Well, this one is for the ones that care.

A friend of mine told me that her church was doing a bible camp for one whole week from 9:00-12:00 in the morning and it was FREE! My first response was, "FREE...really?" followed by, "where do I sign up!". This is another moment where I have to say yes, the church is still true but seriously...a 3 hour sanity break. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of that and what better way for the kids to spend their time learning about stories out of the bible....right?

So off to bible camp Abrie and Kaleb went. I gave the kids a kiss goodbye and I was on my was for a little bit of "me time". The time flew by fast, but I was anxious to hear how their first day of bible camp went. So I asked Abrie, "how was bible camp today?" and in a very loud and enthusiastic voice she yells while waving her hand above her head, "Jesus is REAL, WOOO, HOOO!" and I couldn't help myself, I (equally enthusiastically) yell, "....AMEN"

Each day I picked them up I got to hear something new that they had learned. I must say, I have never heard them talk and be so excited about the bible. Another particular day I picked the kids up a little early so I could watch the two kiddo's. I got there just in time for the prayer. As all the kids bowed their heads and held their hands together Abrie and Kaleb looked around slightly confused and then they folded their arms. Then it was time for the "amen" and the youth pastor that was leading the prayer, who was actually quite funny, said, " now I don't want to hear just any old amen. I want you to get down low and touch the ground and I want you to yell amen as loud as you possibly can!" Abrie and Kaleb quickly looked at each other with the most excited faces and then they touched down low and jumped up high yelling, "AAAMEN!". They were in heaven. The whole ride home was followed by their rehearsal of the "amen" that they had learned. All I could do was smile. It was great that they were so enthusiastic about it, I had to join in with them in their enthusiastic "amens".

All in all it was a great experience. It was something I probably never would have done living in Utah. That's whats great about living here, there is so much diversity and so much opportunity to reach outside myself and do things that I wouldn't normally do if I still lived in Utah. As for the kids... they have a new found excitement for Jesus and the bible......can I get an AAAMEN?!

How bad am I?

I got done about an hour ago feeding the kids lunch, no worries, all went well this time. After all, who could go wrong with grilled cheese sandwiches and strawberries? The only catch was in order to get the strawberries they had to eat all of the grilled cheese sandwich. Abrie and Macie finished with no problems, Kaleb on the other hand decided he didn't want to finish his sandwich so he threw it in the garbage. Well after an hour or so he decided he really wanted some strawberries. I kindly reminded him, "no strawberries until your sandwich is gone, remember?". So what did he do? He walked over to the garbage, pulled out his sandwich, brushed it off a bit and ate it all gone. And what did I do? Just sat there and watched debating which is worse, letting him eat out of the garbage or telling him no. Well lets just say it was a win, win situation. He got his plate of strawberries and I got him to eat his sandwich (even if was pulled out of the garbage).

Kaleb, his strawberries, and his super hero cape

Food fight

I'm not talking about your typical lunch room food fight (not that I've ever seen that happen in real life). I'm talking about the constant battle of parent vs child on trying to get the kids to actually eat. Why do I waste my time making a good dinner that the kids don't eat when I could pop some chicken nuggets into the microwave for 45 sec. and call it good.

So what was the struggle over tonight?....zucchini and potatoes. And how long did it take Kaleb to eat one bite of each?... 2 1/2 hours. About an hour into it I was ready to wave the white flag, but Nate on the other hand had his boxing gloves on and was ready to go. Nate's persistence paid off and Nate won that seemingly loosing battle.

But the question is, was all of that fighting really worth it? and what are all your tricks to get your kids to actually eat? I'm thinking the option of just not cooking any more sounds good to me.

The new spiritually edified me

Not really, but it sounds good in theory. So I am back from my week long "blogging break" and let me tell you...it was pretty tough. Here are some things I discovered about myself during my own personal sacrifice;

• I'm addicted to blogging
• I lack tremendously in the area of self control
• I can't live with out the computer, therefore I am pathetic
• It was super hard to try to replace the computer with something spiritual (that doesn't sound quite right, but it's the truth)
• I will never give up the computer again

Now let's just hope my girls I teach had a better experience then I did. It's like I always say, "do as I say, not as I do"

Other matters of business to discuss:

OK who were the 3 people that want me to live in Vernal Utah...not funny! That was there as a joke, not as a real option. What if that poll was to really determine where we would live...wouldn't you've felt bad seeing that you had a hand in our fate moving to vernal. All I know about vernal is that they have some way cheesy old dinosaur statues on the side of the road. Do they have a Target and a Walmart with in 50 miles...I don't think so. (to those of you who are reading this and live in Vernal I just want you to know I think Vernal rocks!)

One more thing I must say in regards to a comment that was left on Nate's "two cents",

"sarcasm is scar-casm...at least that's what my mamma always says" (...you know what I'm talking about Kristin)

...my two cents.

Well, Hello... fellow friends. It is two great acts of selfless sacrifice that brings me to this blog. The first is my wife’s. I whole heartedly support her in her endevours of doing uplifting activities and second, I could be utilizing my time much more effectively by taking a nap of course. Yes... this is what I look like with my eyes open.

It is this subject that I would like to address today... sleep. I have to say that my wife totally wears me out! No... just kidding! (okay maybe in just a micro way...) Anyway, I'm sure you all can attest to her energy and liveliness. That being said, I would like to share a couple thoughts on sleep that each of us may consider. I could probably share some priceless pearls of wisdom on sleep but, I have discovered some perfect little nuggets (by others, more well spoken than I) that in every way describe this subject and back up every picture posted previously.

So about sleep...

William Shakespeare said in Macbeth:

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.

(Balm? Chief Nourisher? Labour's bath? Absolutely!)

JoJo Jensen in "Dirt Farmer Wisdom" said:

Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.

Author Unknown:

Consciousness= that annoying time between naps.

Wilson Mizener:

The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.

(I'm not sure how accurate this one is though. I support the principle, but I think 10-15 more minutes might be more appropriate.)


The truth behind the Zzzzzzzzz's is much better explained by the Famous football coach named "Coach of the Century" by ESPN. This coach, as we all know, is Vince Lombardi. He said:


"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."


"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious."


This is the true meaning behind those "incriminating" photos. School, professors over my shoulder, crazy patients, then three kids and wife after school, all contribute to the Lead Lids, but I’d like to view it another way.
You have all seen pics of the fam. I have to admit, that is one good looking family if I do say so myself.

Now... I see our lives as a work in progress toward success and by the looks of my beautiful hard working wife a handsome kids; I see those incriminating photos as me after "working my heart out in a good cause and lying exhausted on the field of battle-victorious." I am the luckiest Dad and Husband alive. I am so blessed with a great wife and kids I can hardly "stay awake" over it. And that is what I have to say about that. Until next time...

Blogging break

I teach the young women in church and today we had a lesson on the law of sacrifice. I gave the Young Women a challenge to sacrifice something in their lives for one week. Since I was the one offering the challenge I couldn't very well not take it myself. So after much thought I have decided to give up the computer for one week...ONE WEEK!... I'm not sure I will know what to do with my newly found time and odds are if you're reading this your probably somewhat of a computer junky as well (I know far too well how blogging can be addicting). The goal is to {hopefully} replace the computer with something that will uplift me spiritually. So I must bid adieu to the blogging world for one whole week. I know the 3 fans I have out there will miss me dearly, but be strong.....for both of us.

This is out of the norm for me, but here is my spiritual thought of the day since it is the Sabbath and all;

"When we overcome our own selfish desires and put God first in our lives and
covenant to serve Him regardless of the cost, we are then living the law of
sacrifice."

Elder Russell M. Ballard

P.S. Nate thinks he will be taking over the blog for me during my "computer free week". This should be interesting

My husband.... the narcoleptic

As promised, here are some pictures of my hubby and his uncontrollable desire to sleep...all the time.

This is the most recent picture taken today.

Don't ask me how he managed to fall asleep like this...

or this.

I'm not sure who was putting who to bed...?

This one should be framed and put on the wall.

It's a classic I tell ya!

And last but not least, sleeping like a baby in the fetal position.

Dear, I love you despite the fact you've slept through most of our marriage.

Headboard with mirror...up for grabs!

As part of my daily Internet routine I check craigslist to see if there are any free goodies being given away. Upon checking it, I recently found this steal of a deal "free headboard with mirror". The only draw back is, is it has a broken leg......hhmmmm, I wonder how that could have happened. Any way, being the kind, thoughtful person that I am, I thought I would give you the opportunity to purchase this beauty of a piece. I think it would especially come in handy for those of you who want to add a little spice to your love life.... On second thought, don't be surprised if my next blog is titled, "I got a super cool new head board from craislist!" (mom & dad, if you are reading this, I just want you to know that I love you very much and you did the best you could to raise me and it's not your fault that I have such a "creative mind", it's one of those things that just comes natural to me...kind of like sarcasm.)

What's this...no more Livin' on Love?

No worries, we are still livin' on love (and not much else unfortunately) but I have decided that "Beautiful Mess" was a little bit more fitting. Writing this blog spawned my "beautiful mess" idea because my life is NOT perfect by any means, in fact a lot of times it feels like a mess... but at least it's a beautiful mess.

A day in the life of me

Nothing too exciting going on here today just hangin' out at the pool and that's about it. I did manage to cook dinner for my family though, so I guess I accomplished at least one thing today.

Now this is what I like to see, Abrie and Kaleb loving each other.

I thought it was kind of funny the difference in their skin color. I swear I put the same amount of sunblock on both of them and Kaleb stays as white as can be and Abrie gets dark brown.

Getting ready for bed time and reading books to the kiddo's.

Macie's my biggest fan. She always comes up to me with books in her hands and says, "boo, boo". And don't worry, I'm still active in the church, I'm in my swim suit. Hence the scantily clad me.

Today's happy spots

Despite the fact that I spent most of the day on the phone with dell trying to fix our computer, I did manage to find some happy spots through out the day. Here are some things that made me smile today. (no fears, there will be more blogs to come. The computer issue has been resolved...for now any way)

Abrie's Rockin' hair-do!

Kaleb being nice to Macie, and feeding her for me. He only spilled once...it could have been worse.Freshly picked flowers from my charmer, Kaleb. Actually, I think they were weeds, but who cares. Flowers are flowers.
And I am a mother was something I read last week, it made me feel rejuvenated as a mom. Kind of a "go moms" pep talk if you will. My sister-in law was obviously feeling more inspired then me. I don't think I could ever come up with something that positive, but I will try.

Today's random thoughts

Today I was hanging up my clothes. The funny thing about hanging up my clothes is that I don't just put clothes wherever there's a spot, no it's more complicated than that. This is a secret I've been keeping in the closet for some time now. My closet is color coordinated all the same colors go together (it can get a little tricky sometimes when I have a shirt that has two colors on it) not only are my clothes color coordinated but they are also organized in length and style.

Who seriously wastes their time color coordinating the clothes in their closets? (at least something is organized in my house).

Here is some more random-ness from yours truly...

What is with kids and their obsession with the garbage?...seriously, it's garbage! I don't know how many times a day I'm pulling cracked egg shells out of Macie's mouth and wiping off a combination of soggy Cheerios and yogurt off her hands.

Why does Kaleb ALWAYS need me to watch him go to the bathroom? Apparently he thinks my life needs some more excitement...that's just not the type of excitement I'm looking for.

What's the point of having an A/C unit if it doesn't even work? I'm about ready to open up the freezer and put a fan by it. But then again, my freezer doesn't work to great either...gotta love apartment living. Yep, this beautiful piece of equipment is suppose to keep my house cold during 95 degree temperature plus 90 percent humidity.

(don't mind the rolled up paper towel sticking out of the A/C. That's what keeps brown water from dripping on my couch)

What's the point of making your bed when you're just going to be sleeping in it at the end of the day?

Why is it when my kids sleep in I wake up early and when I want to sleep in, my kids wake up early? We really need to get on the same schedule. This morning, for example, Macie slept in until 11:15...now if I could get the other two to sleep in till 11:00 life would be good.

and last...

Why do they only have fry sauce in Utah? For all you non-Utahners, it is mayo mixed with ketchup, it's a little taste O' heaven if you ask me. I once asked for it when I first moved here and they looked at me like I was crazy...I quickly learned that it's only a Utah thing.

No more accident free discount

The day started out as usual with the kids waking me up bright and early wanting breakfast, then a little brawl over who got to sit in the "heart chair", followed by about an hour of trying to get the kids ready for the day. I was determined to get out of the house today, so I made plans to hit the gym and then after take the kiddo's swimming. We managed to get out the door by 11:00 and we were on our way. Needless to say, it was all down hill from there. I was getting off of the freeway and turning right where my lane merges with traffic. There was one car in front of me and I thought I saw her merge into traffic. So I turn my head so I could see if I was clear to merge as well...yep I was clear (or so I thought), so with my head still turned looking at oncoming traffic I hit the gas to go foreword. By the time I turned my head straight it was too late....Crash! I couldn't believe it, I hit the car in front of me. You know those moments where you wish you could just rewind just a little bit and redo...this was definitely one of them. No worries there were no injuries. The only damage that was done was to the car and my ego. It's nothing another loan and a $500 deductible won't fix (seriously, what was I thinking getting a $500 deductible) I'm not sure yet what to do about the ego. Well, after we took care of exchanging info. it was off to the gym and guess who was there...yep, the lady who I hit. All I can say is, it was very awkward every time our paths crossed. I wasn't quite sure how to react. Do say hi and smile, do you keep saying sorry I ruined your car, or do you just look down and pretend you don't see her? Well, I thought I'd mix it up by doing a little of each. Sad thing is, is that every time she saw me she probably smiled but underneath her breath whispered death threats.

Despite all this, I'm actually still in a decent mood, I could cry but what's the use.

The car is not in too bad shape, but bad enough where people are probably scared to drive in front of me for fear that I might hit them too.

The coveted "heart chair"

As if life was not chaotic enough, the kids have found something new to fight over....it is the coveted "heart chair". "What is a heart chair?", you ask yourself, well let me tell you, perhaps you will want it too.

About a month or so ago Kaleb was sitting on a chair eating breakfast when low and behold he made an amazing discovery. He found, in his chair, what appeared to be a heart in the grain of the wood. Wow, I know...I was quite amazed myself. How could this heart go undiscovered for so long, I don't know, but one thing is for sure, I wish he never found it.

Now at breakfast, lunch, and dinner I come prepared with my referee shirt and whistle. What use to be a just a some what chaotic meal time has now become a WWF wrestling match tournament every time complete with body slams and everything. The kids are constantly fighting to sit in the "heart chair". We have now come to the point where we are taking turns on the chair. We rotate who sits in the "heart chair" with every meal. This chair has become so important to the kids that all I have to say if they're being naughty is, "Do you want me to take the heart chair away?"...works like a charm every time.

The question is, how long can this go on? I'm afraid, a very long time. Any ideas to help solve this problem?....hhmmm, I'm thinking Ebay.

Curse you "heart chair"

Sure, they're smiling now, but just wait until it's time to eat...that's when the claws come out.

A day in the life of our family...(just pretend like you care)

Well, I would say that we've had a enjoyable weekend. Yesterday we woke up early and I ran to the gym for a little "me" time. The gym was followed be an afternoon of swimming with our little family. Abrie is so excited now that she can swim (with floaties on). Kaleb is content to sit on the edge and just watch. Macie gets mad at you if you hold her in the water because somehow she's

under the impression that she knows how to swim with out assistance. That is not the case. She is turning into quite the strong willed child...great, that's the last thing I need, is another strong willed child. It will be good for her when she is older but bad for me right now. Any how, after our afternoon of swimming Nate was DYING to go see Transformers, for the second time might I add. So it was off to the movies for me and Nate. I really enjoyed the movie, but then again I'm pretty easy to please. All in all it was a pretty good and eventful Saturday...better then the 4th of July any way.

And today, well it's been a pretty lazy Sunday and I have the pictures to prove it. Nate can some how manage to fall asleep in any position and at any time. It's a gift I tell you. You don't know how many times I wished I could be able to fall asleep like at school, church on the airplane. Nope, not me, I have to be in a bed or on a couch to be able to fall asleep, it's a curse I tell ya.

*More incriminating pictures of Nate to come...

Blogging...the ultimate Christmas card (random thought of the day)

Believe it or not I finally got out of the house today (thank you, thank you). I went to the pool to let the kids play and get a little sanity break (if you can call tyring to watch 3 small kids running in every different direction among hundred of other kids a sanity break). I met up with a few friends and we were actually able to have some adult conversation. I brought up the subject of blogging and confessed that yes, I too have been sucked into the world of blogging. One of my friends then said to me that she would have a hard time being a "blogger" because it's so easy to compare yourself with everyone, which I think can be a true statement if you let it get to you. I was telling them how I compare some blogs to Christmas cards... You know those Christmas cards you get from people you haven't seen in years and they send you a 5 page letter telling you how amazing and perfect their life is. Christmas letters are now known as brag letters...not all of them (watch me not get any Christmas cards this year). Any way, the more blogs I read, the more I find people trying to portray these perfect lives which is kind of funny to me (not ha,ha, funny...more interesting, funny). Of course I'm not referring to any of my fellow blogging buddies...if your associating with me then you must really be perfect. All I'm saying is, I think the more honest a person is, the more relate-able they are. It's nice to know that not every one's perfect...well except for maybe me.

Let's get technical

So my family is having a "family reunion" this week, which I will not be apart of (yay for them, sad for me). The question is why are they calling it a family reunion if the WHOLE family isn't going to be there. So technically, it shouldn't be called a "family reunion" it would be more appropriate to call it a "partial family get together". Actually, I would prefer it to be called "a partial family, so sad the favorite, most fun (sister, aunt, daughter) will not be here and we will not have any fun with out her, get together"...ya, I like the sound of that much better. So I hope they manage to have some fun with out me after all,... A PARTY'S NOT A PARTY UNLESS I'M THERE... at least that's what I like to tell myself.

Our soggy 4th of July

Well, there's not much to say about our 4th of July except for Shady Maple, rain, rain, and yep, more rain. I don't think I can remember the last time it rained on the 4th of July. The morning started off OK. We went to the big breakfast smorgasbord called Shady Maple, with a few other families, which was enjoyable but then it just went down hill from there. The rest of the day was filled with sitting around the house while it rained outside. We did attempt to try to have some fun, so we drove around looking for an indoor play place at some sort of fast food place to let the kids run around and play. To our disappointment, and the kids, we didn't find one. So we grabbed a movie and got McDonald's drive through and called it good. We didn't get to go see fireworks, which was a HUGE disappointment. A 4th of July with out fireworks is like Christmas with out gifts. Any way, so our 4th of July ended with a late night family movie and fattening burgers. Not too exciting but I guess some days are like that.

The kids wishing it would stop raining so they could see fireworks...(never happened)

Our family and our anti-climatic evening.

Happy 4th of July!

Bathtime

Bathtime fun with little miss Macie...

she makes me smile!

Just ignore the lovely blue bathtub in the background...

just in case you were wondering, it comes with a

matching blue toilet as well.
The joys of apartment living!

Missing home

Today I took the downstairs neighbors, Jenna & Greg, to the airport. As I was dropping them off I was almost tempted to run in and by us all tickets home and then call Nate to let him know I wouldn't be around for a week or two. Unfortunately, we don't have enough money to pay $500 a ticket or else I would be getting to Utah at about 10:30 tonight. This week has been a mass exodus of sorts. Out of 13 dental students I am 1 of 3 that will not be migrating home for the summer this year. So I'm starting to miss home a little. These are the things I miss the most;

-family, of course
-my 100 nieces and nephews, actually it's around 30, but after 10 you kind of start to losecount
it's really sad not being able to see them grow up. But one bonus is you automatically become
the favorite aunt.
-I miss the summers there along with fall, winter, and spring
-Cafe Rio
-the mountains
-summer vacations with the fam. in bearlake
-hanging out with my sisters
-my friends
-the kids grandma's an grandpa's
-have I mentioned Cafe' Rio?
-the kids riding on the lawn mower with grandpa
-(I hate to admit this) a little sanity break from the kids because they get so much attention
from family.
-last but not least, a burrito, enchilada style, with mild sauce and black beans. Hold the pico, but
add diced tomatoes and a diet coke from cafe rio.

I'm sure I could think of more reason's of why I miss home, but I could also think of a lot of reasons why I would miss my home here too...it's a lose, lose situation....lets be optimistic...it's a win, win situation.

Special delivery

Oh the joys of having great grandparents!

The mail man has officially become one of

my kids favorite people,

next to the ice cream man that is.

The kids got an unexpected package today from

Grandma & Grandpa J complete with glowsticks,

a phlat ball, new clothes,

raisins (thank you), and pop-its. Every thing that

would be needed to have

4th of July fun!

They are always so good to send packages

for every little holiday and they always manage to

find the funnest things for my kids to play with.

HURRAY for Grandma's & Grandpa's!

Letting myself get the better of me

*Disclaimer: This was written clearly past my bed time and as we all know I can't even think straight during the day, let alone at 12:00 am. I cannot be held accountable for anything that does not make sense, not spelled right, or properly punctuated.

You know those types of people who seem to have it all put together...never a bad hair day, perfectly dressed, kids never scream or make threats during family night to go shoot people ;), they find time to scrapbook, knit a blanket, teach their kids the theory of relativity, and cook dinner all in one day... I am not one of those people...nor do I plan on being one any time soon (sorry Nate, especially about the dinner part). I actually wonder if there are really those types of people out there or if it's just a front. I find myself usually advertising my flaws, maybe that's not such a good thing. I find that if I'm insecure about something I will just come out and say it so that the person who I'm associating with doesn't need to keep thinking it in their mind...make sense?...no...well example (lame example might I add), if I have a zit I will just go ahead and point it out to every one before they have a chance to say anything... doesn't make a whole lotta sense does it? but after all, as I have said before, that's some times how my life is. So if I were some how able to find time to try to be "perfect" this is what I would do, lame as it may be.

• Start writing in my journal
• Make journals for my children
• Scrapbook 3 years worth of pictures
• Work out, with out feeling guilty about leaving my kids
• Make one on one time for my kiddo's, I swear their not totally neglected
• Learn more about photography
• Enjoy cooking dinner, better yet hire someone to cook for me
• And while I'm at it I should add a clean house to the list and sense this list hypothetical, it would even be better to have a live in maid

There are of course more things I could add to the list, like things I would change about my body, but that's nothing money can't buy...right?..........I'm just kidding...kind of...any way, really if I look at the list I have I'm not too bad off, I would just say I'm human. We all have things out there that we wish we could do or change. Even those seemingly "perfect" people have things they would change about themselves. I guess I can just call myself perfectly imperfect and that's OK with me..