妹妹

Today I am watching, well listening more, to Firefly first episode entitled Serenity. It's the part where Kaylee gets shot and Inara says to her, 妹妹, which is mei4mei, which means little sister. See I told you that taking Chinese would pay off eventually. Hehe ;)

中文是好玩

The title to today's blog is Chinese is fun in simplified characters, that is if you have the language installed. I started taking Chinese at the beginning of this semester and am having a great time. I haven't put a lot of time into it, but I am still learning a lot. It's a lot of fun and I hope that I can stick with it. Just wanted to play with some of the new tools that Danny found and gave to me to help me put characters on the screen.

再见 （that is goodbye, zai4jian4)

Today is a Special Day

So I added the comment on my Facebook account that Chels and I have been married now for 11 years. And today is one of those special anniversaries because we were married on a Friday and as you know today is Friday.

It has been a great 11 years and I am so grateful that I married a woman that puts up with my crap. My wife is my best friend who is willing to sacrifice a lot for me to make sure that I can do the things that I need to do. Whether it is being patient while I am away with the young men fulfilling my calling. Or getting up to head to work early and stay a little later. She is always cleaning and I haven't been pulling as much weight around the house as I have in the past and she truly has picked up my slack. My wife is wonderful and though I can't say it's been all roses during the past 11 years, we are still happy and totally in love. We stress together, we laugh together, we spend money together, we stress about not having money together, we play with the kids together, we get mad at the kids together, there are a lot of things we do together that aren't listed.

I'm glad that on that 24th of July in 1997, she said yes. I'm glad that when we knelt together in the temple, she said yes again. I'm glad that I get to have her for time and all eternity!

To my dear wife, I want to say I love you 4 ∞!!

Blog When you Have the Idea...

...or at least write it down. Last night after I had turned off my computer I thought of a great thing to blog about. Now I can't remember what it was that I was going to blog about. It was pretty clever and I was laughing as I walked to bed. Well I guess when I feel asleep it reset the funny thoughts in my brain.

So right now Chels and I are watching Ghost Hunters 'Live' and I have to say I'm a skeptic. We just watched one of the guys get pulled by the back of the coat, and you can see the coat move, but I'm thinking that it is something that is setup in his coat and he pushes a button in his pocket. I'm just not a believer in this stuff, to many ways to make these things happen on TV. I don't know I'm just a skeptic.

Well if I remember my clever blog topic I will write it.

Goodbye Old Friend...At Least for A While

I need to say goodbye to an old friend for a little while. I have come to the sad conclusion that this friend is dragging me down and making me sick. I've put on a lot of weight hanging out with this friend of mine. I know it's not his fault he's so fun to be around and that I like spending a lot more time with him than I should. If could keep the time spent with this friend to a 12 oz. can then I would probably be ok. But if he's around, I tend to have more and generally pick up a 20 oz more often than not. So for now, I want to say goodbye to my friend Dr. Pepper. I'm just not going to let him hang around anymore. He's trouble. I'm sure I'll have a weak moment here and there and hang with him again, but for the most part I'm going to hang with my new friend water. This is going to be a hard cut so when you see me show me some support so that I can make this transition easier. Thanks!

Giving up a Man Card

Ok, so I've been debating on if I was going to write this blog or not. It's been decided and I may have to give up one or two, maybe more, man cards for this blog. Let's get it over with and we can go from there...

I am a fan of musicals, one man card. I have been for a very long time. Which some men would have a hard time admitting. There are some good ones out there including the High School Musicals that are so popular right now. This Friday HSM 3 comes out on the big screen and I think Chels bought tickets for her and the 3 older kids for this Saturday, I'm staying home with Keighlee. Well yesterday the soundtrack for HSM 3 came out. Yes I did purchase it, just like the 2 before it. So today I'm going to give you my 10 favorite songs from these 3 albums. Now, I haven't been forced to listen the HSM 3 soundtrack over and over again like I was with the first two, however, I did listen to it yesterday and can say that I'm a little disappointed. Out of the 10 new songs that are on it, there are only two, in my mind, that hold up to the other two soundtracks.

So here are my top 10 songs from HSM:
1. Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - HSM 2
2. Fabulous - HSM 2
3. I Don't Dance - HSM 2
4. Get'cha Head in the Game - HSM 1
5a. Work This Out - HSM 2
5b. Stick to the Status Quo - HSM 1
6. What I've Been Looking For (Reprise) - HSM 1
7. Now or Never - HSM 3
8. What Time is it - HSM 2
9. We're All In This Together - HSM 1
10. Start of Something New - HSM 1

Here are the bottom 5:
1. Gotta Go My Own Way - HSM 2
2. We're All In This Together (Graduation Mix) - HSM 3
3. When There Was Me and You - HSM 1
4. Bop to the Top - HSM 1
5. I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - HSM

Well there you go. Take the man cards, but I know that there are some of you that secretly are making your own HSM songs top 10 list.

Where Does the Time Go

Well life has really gotten in the way of my blogging activities. I'm sure you've all missed me. Looks like B has kept it going just a little. There really isn't a whole heck of a lot going on in my world these days. Right now I'm sitting on the couch with Jarik while the girls are watching the Haunted Mansion on Disney channel in my room. I wanted to play on my computer a little and they are all hogging my bed. ;) It's cute that they are watching a show together. They should go downstairs and watch it on the big screen. I just heard Chels call Tiaree a wuss butt. Maybe it is Bree, nope it's Tiaree.

Funny thing that happened yesterday. Chels and the kids came up to work and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. All the kids got helium balloons there and they brought them home. Of course, Red Robin isn't going to put that stuff in them so they stay "floaty" for very long. So by the time I got home a couple of them had already started to be less "floaty". So I was once again sitting on the couch playing on my computer and watching KK play with her balloon, one of the ones that had lost it's "floating ability". She sat here and kept hitting it up in the air and saying stay as it went in the air and came back down. It was just funny because she just couldn't grasp the concept of why it wasn't floating anymore. It was cute. Silly little girl.

Well that is all for me for now. I'm going to go figure out something to do. Have a good evening.

New Project

You should be careful who you hang out with. I have decided to work on a new project building a mini potato gun. They are not difficult and actually use many things that you have around the house. To do this, I will need:

• Pen
• Medicine Bottle (long, skinny type)
• Electrical tape
• Used electric match

I have found a do-it-yourself video on YouTube. If you go to YouTube and type in mini potato gun, you will probably find the video. I will let you know how it goes.

Addictions

The first step to getting rid of any addiction is to admit that you have a problem. So, I am here to admit to 2 addictions that I have that I need to get rid of.

The first is my addiction to Pepsi. While I really like Pepsi, I have officially decided that all soda is harmful to the waistline and energy level. While caffeine helps the energy level, it does so artificially and then you crash. So, I am limiting my Pepsi intake to 12oz a day or less.

The other is TV. I really like stories, as you all may be aware of but I spend way too much time in front of the television. I need to get out more and do more. My yard is lacking and my project list is growing and I spend that valuable time in front of the television. So, I am also limiting my television time to 1 hour a day.

We will see how long these last. I have no problem with conviction, its will power that I lack. So, I will do my best and work hard to be a better person by following through with my convictions.

The Office - Season Premiere

So The Office premiered the other day. I didn't watch it until just now on Hulu. It was great to see the whole gang again. Michael is as much a moron as he usually is. Just doesn't get it sometimes. I think its funny how some of the things have changed but are still so much the same when you really look at it.

Anyway, not to give anything away but I would give a two big thumbs up and cannot wait to see the repercussions of this episode as is plays out through the rest of the season. Great beginning and I hope it keeps up through the season.

Goodbye Summer

I'm in a bad mood today for some reason. Maybe because it is the first day of fall and a summer that was a lot of fun is over. I can't believe how fast the summer goes. I can't believe how fast everything goes these days. Anyway, I should be happy, fall has a few good things to look forward to. We are going to Lagoon on the 10th of October to go to the haunted things they have there. It should be fun. Plus the weather is nice to head out and do some caching. It will be nice. Plus all the good shows are back on TV. Chels and I are going to start a pretty big undertaking with remodeling the kitchen/dining room/family room area of our house. New paint and flooring. It should be a lot of fun. I will try and do some before, during, and after shots. Well that's all I have to say so enjoy.

Where Have I Been

That is an excellent question. Let just say last week was an interesting week and we all made it alive and Chelsea got home safely from Forks, WA. She had a good trip. And I am still working on going live with a helpdesk product at work. It's pretty busy. I wanted to take a minute and share my thoughts on the new show called Fringe on Fox. Chels I don't know if we are DVR'ing these, but we need too. This is a very interesting show that is very good. The actors they got, especially the one that is playing Dr. Bishop is an awesome actor. He played Denethor in the Lord of the Rings triology. Anyway, if you haven't see it check it out on HULU.

Have a great day.

Another day in the life....

Today is Thursday. Nothing particular about Thursdays. I think they exist only to separate Wednesday from Friday because they really don't seem to have any other use. I'm not particularly fond of Thursdays but try to plan them to make them a bit more exciting. Thursdays tend to be very boring unless you try to make them more interesting.

Like last Thursday. We went to the fair last Thursday. Now there's a Thursday to remember. It was also Patriot's Day (9/11). Of all the Thursdays in my life, I think that one may be a bit more memorable, not because if was Patriot's Day as much as because of a unique experience. In fact, I will probably forget that it happened on a Thursday all together but I will probably remember the experience.

It was not one that you would think would be a memorable experience, but for some reason this one will probably stand out as one of those moments you are glad that you experienced. It wasn't life changing by any stretch but it was definitely unique.

During the fair, there was a stand there that sold Deep Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. What a completely off-the-wall concept. It sounds gross, but you would actually be surprised. In fact, before going to the fair, I had heard that these were there and laughed because I thought it was a joke at first.

Here's what they do. They take one of those pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the kind in the frozen food section (if you haven't seen them, I bet you will go look.) Then, they stick a popcicle stick in it, dip it in scone batter, and put it in the deep fryer until golden brown. Then, they put it in a serving dish, top with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar, and serve.

It was actually very good. I would highly recommend trying one if you are curious and you can find someone to make one for you. The stand also served deep-fried Twinkies and deep-fried Snicker's bars. The Twinkies were made the same way and I assume that the Snicker's bars were also but am not certain.

While Thursdays aren't usually very memorable, good food is. While I wouldn't recommend this on a regular basis, it is definitely one of those treats that you should try at least once. I will guarantee though, once you are done, you will want more but your thoughts will turn to how many meals of carrots and celery that you will need to eat to compensate.

In for an Interesting Week

Well here we are, Monday again. It's amazing how fast it seems that Monday comes about. Crazy more so than amazing. The weekend went fast with Saturday geocaching, hanging at Nic's and playing Rock Band and then the usual Fast Sunday meetings and what not. The weekend tends to fly by pretty quick.

This week will be an interesting one at that. Chels is leaving Wednesday afternoon for four and a half days. This will be my first extended stay with my little ones without my wife. I think it will be ok though, we are planning a trip to St. George if we can get someone to watch the kid we normally babysit. I asked his mom to see if the grandmother could pick the kid up, but haven't heard. Hopefully I will find out tonight when she picks him up. That currently is the only thing holding me back from heading out of town this weekend. I will have to be back in time to get my wife from the airport, but that shouldn't be too hard since she comes home at 11:30pm Sunday night.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes and you can wish me luck with the kiddies this week.

Funny Stuff

Oh the hatred...

I've been stewing on this issue because of the serious nature of it. As has been mentioned before, I hate having serious issues brought up on my blog. But I've decided that this gross display of hatred just couldn't be ignored.

Yesterday morning, that would be Wednesday, September 3rd, my wife and I were awoken when it sounded like our dog was trying to climb up our sliding glass door. This startled me because I thought what could startle the dog that he needed to try and climb glass. So I jumped up out of bed to find out what it was and as I look between the cracks of the blinds, as not to be seen by this thing that has caused this noise, I see sitting on the deck a cat. WHAT!!!, a cat in my back yard, doesn't it know we have a big yellow lab. Dumb cat. Anyway, this cat is staring down my dog who is on the grass near the corner of my house. The cat is spitting and hissing, claws drawn at the dog though it seems the dog is just having a little fun. Spitting and hissing, I think, isn't that a little much. I decide that I should save this cat's life and let it out the front door. However I have to let it in the house. Did you know that cats are very quick and can squiggle out of almost and grasp you can put them in. So the cat books it into the house and gets into our kitchen. I approach this cat with some hesitation because I don't want to end up like shredded cheese. I notice that this cat is looking for an escape and looks like it is about to jump on my counter so I reach down and grab it by the scruff of the neck, you know that part you can pick them up with and it doesn't hurt them. I walked to the front door and put the cat outside and it darted away from the house as fast as it could.

It was amazing how much that cat hated my dog, I'm sure he was just trying to play. It's just sad that they just can't get along.

Sorry for such a serious blog, I'll get back to the more lighthearted stuff soon.

Bones Review

**Warning if you haven't seen last season's finale, stop reading...oh and there are spoilers for the premiere in this review as well.

Tonight was the Bones Season Premiere and I have to say it was not disappointing. Sure it was different without Dr. Zack Addy, but he's a sicko now and got what he deserved.

This premiere starts of with Booth and Bones in England visiting Oxford. Of course, while they are there, a murder happens, and yes it is an American citizen so of course Booth gets to help out, and therefore Bones is on the case as well. They solve the case in Booth and Bones fashion and impress their English counterparts whom they are there visiting with. A hottie from Scotland Yard and a guy from Oxford, basically it is set up so you think that Bones is hooking up with this professor from Oxford and Booth is going to hook up with this Scotland Yard woman. No hooking up on English soil however (notice I said on English soil, wink, wink). As they are packing up to leave the great land of England, there just happens to be another murder, this time it is the English professor whom they were there to visit with in the first place. By the way, there is a lot of the story that I'm leaving out. Of course, because Bones is the best she is asked to help with the investigation and of course Booth is invited to stay. His invitation is a 007 gun, just FYI. They again solve this one, once again in true Booth and Bones fashion and get the bad guy.

Now back to the good 'ol US of A. While of course the squints are in the game helping with the murder of the US girl in England via phone and gadgets, a surprise visitor comes into the Smithsonian. A visit from Angela's husband from Fiji or wherever he's from. Now if you watched last season Angela and Hodgins (yes Hodgins Chilly, not Hodges) are trying to get married, they find out that Angela, after a wild night in Fiji, was married to a guy named Grayson. They hire a PI to find the guy so that he can sign the divorce papers. Anyway, he's there and is this hunk stud of a islander and Cam is smitten. Once he, Angela's husband, decides to sign the papers Cam offers to drive him to the airport. Let's just say his flight was cancelled and he wasn't to be left alone in the big city. Cam was there to make sure of that. Cam decides to come clean with Angela, and let's just say things break up a little.

So my overall grade or whatever I'd give it would be a A-. The guy that they got to take Zack's place in the premiere wasn't as good as they could have gotten. Lucky for us it looks like he'll only be on one show.

Memory Flash - "Every Breath You Take"

So, apparently from reading this site, you are familiar with the fact that music is an important part of our family. Most of us associate music with the good and bad times in our lives. On occasion, a song comes on the radio and I just rock to the song. Sometimes though, it sparks a memory.

Today was one such day where listening to a song, a flashback happened and I thought I would share.

The song "Every Breath You Take" by the Police was playing on Jack FM. All of a sudden I had a flash back to when I was 10 years old. We had a step-father that was an avid bowler. He played in winter leagues all the time. This particular memory happened at a bowling alley, Delton Lanes to be exact.

Anyway, while Stan would bowl, us kids pretty much had the run of the place. We wouldn't sit and watch bowling (boooooriiinngggg) so we would run around, play video games, and munch on whatever we could buy with the money we begged off mom (usually fries or candy.)

At Delton, they had a room with a bunch of pool tables. This was our playground for the most part. If people were playing pool, we generally stayed away but if no one was over there, fun times were to be had. Sometimes the lights were off which made it even more fun to play a game of hide-and-seek or something similar. Mostly it was Tracy and I but occasionally, there were other kids who suffered from the same lack of wanting to watch as their parents bowled.

So, just wanted to share. Those times were always fun. As kids, we could find ways to entertain ourselves. Especially when there were other kids our age to hang out with.

Its funny how different things will spark a memory.

Quick Blog - Song of the Day - August 26, 2008

I started a Chinese class today. It is going to be tough, but what foreign language isn't tough to learn. It was fun and the instructor is a little Chinese woman and she is pretty dang funny. I'll let you know how it is going here and there.

So for the Song of the Day today I'm going to pick a good one from Garth Brooks. The song, Friends in Low Places. If you haven't heard this song, you are either completely against country music, and I know there are a few out there like that, or you have been on a distant planet. If it is the latter, let me know, I have questions. That is one of his best songs. If you don't like country music, this one is worth a listening to because it is pretty good. It's not available on iTunes, but if you go to Walmart they have all sorts of Garth music in a box set.

Song of the Day - August 25 2008

Today has been a Monday for sure. I'm usually a pretty big fan of this first work day in the week, but today has been a bust. The reason I say that is that I usually use music to get me out of the crap of these types of days. Today that has been difficult, why you ask, because all I'm getting on the shuffle is the slow songs in the library. Like right now One More Night by Phil Collins is playing, not the SotD by the way, and that's how it's been all day. Slow song after slow song, hard to get in a rhythm that isn't going to put me to sleep with this slow stuff playing all day, so here goes, the random SotD selection by hitting next until something hits that...ohhh string. BTW, the song on now is Arthur's Theme by Christopher Cross, see what I mean.

Here is the next few songs that play in order:
Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson: great song, could be a song of the day, but again slow
Orinoco Flow - Enya: wow, this song is actually the most upbeat song I think I've heard all day. Good song, not SotD quality for today.
Walking After Midnight - Garth Brooks: This is some of his old stuff and that isn't always the most exciting song. This song is too twangy to ever be the SotD.
Adagio sostenuto from "Moonlight Sonata" - Dubravka Tomsic: Snoozer, it is getting rid of the headache a little.
Eensie Weensie Spider - Inside Out: Good song, fun beat, we may have a winner. If you haven't heard of Inside Out, they are a local acapella group similar to Voice Male. They do a lot of LDS music that is a lot of fun to listen to. This song is just a hip-hop version of the childrens favorite. Let's try one more.
The Dance - Garth Brooks: This is one of Garth's best songs. Older but not twangy. It has a great meaning behind it too.

I could go on all day but I'll spare you all the details and give you a SotD, after about 10 or so clicks through the library I've landed on a good one. Today's song of the Day is a classic. Yellow Submarine by none other than The Beatles. You can't this actual song off iTunes but there are a lot of covers for there. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Just so you know the song that is playing now, is Questions by Jack Johnson. I'm going to need to restart the cycle and hope for more upbeat songs.

Serious topic... Sorry T.

So, Tracy tries to keep this blog on the lighter side and limit the serious topics but I just can't resist. There is a topic that I think needs to be addressed. It has been something that has been going on since the 80's but may have been sparked from previous times. I'm talking about the Cola Wars.

Now, I know there are many differing opinions on which is better, Pepsi or Coke. Unfortunately, many people are under the impression that they are on equal footing in quality. While they both technically qualify as colas, Pepsi by far is much better than Coke.

I know that previous statement may create a bunch of arguments, and that is fine. Those that like Coke are entitled to their own opinion. Me, I like to stick with the facts and the fact is that Pepsi is better in quality and taste far above that of Coke. So, those of you still under the delusion that Coke is better than Pepsi, should really think about seeking professional help.

While the facts may be painful, they can be consoled by an ice cold Pepsi from your local convenience store.

The New Season Approaches

Good morning reader...I've decided to compile a list of my favorite shows and give you the heads up on when the new season starts for each so here it goes.

• NBC
  
  
  
  • Chuck - Monday, September 29th @ 7
  
  
  • Life - Monday, September 29th @ 9
  
  
  • The Office - Thursday, September 25th @ 8 (hour long episode)
  
  
  • A new show called Cursoe that looks pretty good, October 17 (I don't know what time it's at but it's a 2 hour premire)
  
  
  
  


• Fox
  
  
  
  • Bones - Wednesday, September 3rd @ 7
  
  
  • House - Tuesday, September 16 @ 7
  
  
  
  

So there you have it. Those are the shows that I like and will either watch or DVR them so I can stay up to date. Have a great day.

Song of the Day - August 22, 2008

So I've decided to keep track of the Song of the Day in my iTunes library so that I will maybe have a reminder to do it. Ok...on to why you, Chels, are reading, to see what the song of the day is. Today's is a short song in that it is only 2 minutes and 15 seconds long. It took a while for me to buy this song because I didn't want to pay a buck for a 2 minute song. Well this one is pretty good so I finally did it.

Today's Song of the Day is The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson. It's a pretty catchy tune. She did a little remix for this song it's pretty cool as well. Here is the video from the remix on the Bob and Tom Show...

Song of the Day - August 21, 2008

I decided that it was time to bring back one of my favorite things in blogging and that is the Song of the Day. While I know that this will be sporadic and more like song of the every other day or song of the week/month/year, bear with me. Work is really hectic right now and I stay busy all day for the most part and when I'm not totally busy on work, I'm thinking about what I need to do next because of the size of the task in front of me. That is a story for another day, the story for now is the Song of the Day.

So for the Song of the Day today, I'm going to have to go with one that I just bought off iTunes that was finally made available, well iTunes say it was available since Feb. of this year, but I didn't find it until last week. The song is Step by Step by Eddie Rabbitt. I made mention of it in my I Love Music entry from last Thursday. I'm still trying to put my finger on why I like this song so much, but it's a good old song. So if you have an extra dollar lying around in your iTunes account, dl it and enjoy.

Deciding to Blog

So I am sitting here late on a Thursday night watching my wife's computer run through a virus scan and so I decided it was a good time to blog. She's been having all these pop ups happen here and there through out the day. I found a weird looking entry in the processes of the computer and found where they were in the Windows directory structure. I thought I had it all cleaned and then today it happened all over again, so I'm sitting here trying something different. Computers can be touchy things.

There are a few things that I started to do, but seemed to get interrupted or just decided not to do those and finally blogging won out.

The full scan on the computer is almost done and so I will be heading to bed soon. But until then, I will sit and write in this blog. Actually, I think I'm done for now. I think that my readership has gone way, way down, from like 4 people to 1 which is a pretty significant cut in readership. If I was a newspaper I'd be shut down, lucky for all 1 of you, I get to keep writing. One of these days I may even say something worthwhile. And I should emphasize the one of these days a little more...basically don't hold your breath.

I Love Music

So I really love to listen to music and I get in moods for certain songs. That's why I love iTunes as well. So when I get in the mood for a certain song that I want to hear I head to iTunes to see if it is available to buy if I don't already own it. I own a good selection of music. Some of the songs aren't always there. For example, I like the Beach Boys album Still Crusin'. It is a cool album and I had it on cassette tape a long time ago. I started searching for it quite a while ago and then found it on iTunes when they made it available. That was a while ago. I also love songs that remind me of the good times of my past. One of those songs is called Step by Step by Eddie Rabbitt.

Let me give you some background...when I was younger my mom bought this killer stereo system. It had these nice speakers that had a reset button on the back so you could crank it up pretty loud and if it got to be too much, before the speaker would blow it would flick this reset switch and would turn off the speaker. You would simply have to hit the reset button, turn the stereo down just a notch and then you were back to jammin' to your favorite tunes. It was awesome. I guess not completely awesome because my mom would take advantage of this with Whitney Houston early Saturday mornings, like when we were all trying to sleep in. Whitney Houston is not fun to wake up to, horrible nightmares. Anyway, we'd get playin' in the front yard with this radio turned way up so that the neighbors could jam a little too and we'd just have a good time. We'd go in to change tapes and then keep going with our good ol time. A couple of the groups we would listen too were Air Supply, Whitney, Eddie Rabbitt, Alan Parsons Project, and Pablo Cruise once in a while. And there were a couple other ones that I can't remember. But all in all it was a good time. I think that is the reason that I love music so much because of what I can remember from my past, a lot of it had to do with good music and fun. B and Nic, if you can remember any of the groups we used to listen to, let me know.

Getting old....er.

So things are starting to hit that I'm getting older. When we got home from vacation, we received paperwork to enroll Aurora into high school. It is a definite milestone in my life as well as my wife and daughter's. It does make you realize that time is going to move forward whether we like it or not.

It would be easier to keep the kids all young at the fun age. Its not as much fun when they are teenagers although it is more challenging. Hopefully we can get out of the teenage years without killing each other.

Well, school starts again soon. For some of my nieces and nephews they have already started because they are on year round school. Guess summer is coming to a close soon. One more month, and we begin the descent into fall.

Great Camping Trip

I would have to sum up this last weekends camping trip to East Canyon with the words 'A Blast'. Minus the light, annoying sunburn I got on Thursday, the weekend was a lot of fun. I love hanging out with my family and the time spent with grandma and grandpa is awesome. We did some fishing and some caching and some swimming. Before we went, Chels and I got ourselves some bikes and we were able to take them up there, well Rick and Nic took them up for us. We also got a trailer thing for the two youngest to ride in. It was a great purchase and hopefully it won't go to waste now that we are home.

The one downfall to going up to East Canyon this weekend is it broke us away from Chels' family and our annual campout with them. It sounds like that was a lot of fun too. We missed the whole Bingham crew this weekend. It was fun teasing them with pictures of the swimming pool though, hehe.

I took some pictures that I'll post on the photos blog. It was fun taking pictures up there.

Tough times ahead?

I'm getting sick of the "doom-and-gloom" of most people through the media. The media likes to sensationalize anything bad and there are several things that have caused some concern in the economy. Instead of "Oh, no... We can't survive...." we need to start looking at different ways to adapt. This, like every trouble this country has suffered is a phase. We can get out of it but the biggest thing is to NOT PANIC!!!!

Panic makes something mildly bad into a catastrophe. Why? People like to have a knee-jerk reaction to any bad news and then it compounds it. BTW, if you heard of the IndyMac bank failure, this is why it failed... Knee-jerk reaction to an idiot politician.

So, what can we do to not panic? Well, while our lifestyles may change a bit, it only takes a clear head to find direction in uncertain times.

First, pay off bills. Get out of debt as much as possible. The less you owe, the less they take away if you can't make payments. Pay off the credit cards (tear 'em up, destroy them... They are evil.)

Next, make a few changes to your lifestyle. There are certain things you can live without. Decide what those are and make those changes. For example, if you eat out a lot, DON'T. Make dinner at home. Learning to cook can also help fill time while you learn a new skill.

Other things that most people can cut back on is cable television or satellite TV. Prices continue to go up because people pay it. To some, they act as though its a necessity. I usually get movies from Redbox (which is $1 per movie per night) or from the local library. You already pay for library services in your taxes, you may as well use them. It doesn't cost you any more as long as you get the stuff in on time.

Clipping coupons, watching the ads for sales, shopping at discount or "previously owned item" stores, yard sales, etc. Also check into Yahoo Groups for a group called "Freecycle" which is people who have things they don't want/use that are willing to give away for free.

Anyway, I've watched as people panic thinking that the end of the world is here but it isn't. Just some tough times and if we keep our wits, we can survive and come out better on the other side.

Why do they go so fast?

So I am sitting here at 10:50pm, tired as can be waiting to go to bed. I'm making a desert that takes approx. 3 hours to make and I started at 10 to 10 so about one hour down, two to go. I decided that I was going to take the pictures off my camera from our trip up to Storm Mountain picnic area on Friday (the 4th of July). These pictures are just funny.




The story... Tiaree was walking around with her hands on her hips and we noticed that Keighlee was copying her. It was cute. So we told Tiaree to walk back to the little playground they were playing on with her hands on her hips to see if KK would follow. Sure enough, she did. Keighlee is such a copycat it is just funny and so cute.

The title of this blog is two-fold. One is why do these fun weekends go by sooo fast and two, why do our kids grow up so fast. It's crazy. Two years ago we were bringing this little child into our home and now she is walking, talking, and being the best copycat the world has ever seen. Sometimes it would be nice to have a little slowdown.

I went golfing today with my brother and we did nine holes at the Jordan Parkway 3-par course. It took us just about an hour and a half and it felt like less than half of that. It was nice to hang out with my brother talking about our families, life, and old times around Rose Park and on the golf course. Thanks again for the invite B. Well that is all for me tonight.

Its almost the 4th

I really like the 4th of July. While I think that the fireworks are cool, I think I'm more excited about the display of patriotism. I love my country. It is truly the greatest nation on the earth today.

There are those that don't like us and that's OK because, I figure, they are just jealous. While our country isn't perfect, it is awesome to be here.

I hope all of you have a safe and joyous 4th of July. Enjoy the festivities but remember what its about.

Superman

I figured something out today. The Superman theme song inspires inner strength. I was sitting here a little down about some things about this week. I was going through some songs on my computer and found the Superman theme (from the Christopher Reeve Superman era.) It was amazing how much it lifted my spirits.

Anyway, I thought I would share. I've always loved what Superman stood for. I never got into the comics much to find out the darker stuff but have always loved the idea of Superman from the portrayal by Christopher Reeve.

I have other thoughts on Superman. There have been some discussions I've had in my past as to whether he is really courageous. I won't get into that now, but maybe another time.

Hulu Rocks!!

So I was introduced to this website, http://www.hulu.com. hulu is where you can go and watch TV online. It is basically a waste of a day if you get snagged into it, but it has some good shows on it. They have both TV and Movies on there. Well they are doing the hulu Days of Summer and adding something new everyday. Like the other day they added Season 1 of Angel. Today they added one of my favorites from childhood... A.L.F. I watched the first episode. It was great. Anyway if you have some time check it out, it's pretty cool.

Funny Things That Happen

Well life is always full of funny things that happen. These little things are always making people laugh. Sometimes more laughter happens than others. Laughing is always a good thing. The most important thing is to remember them and have a good laugh when times are going a little tough.

Last night Chels and I bought drinks from Walmart to have while we watched a movie with the kids. I opened one and took a couple drinks of it. As we were cleaning up Chels asked where her drink was. I told her that I opened hers and took a few drinks and that mine was still in the bag. I thought I was pretty funny, she was a little confused as to what I was saying, but I got a laugh out of it. Chels says it wasn't funny and that it must have been the sickness that I have talking. I don't care what she says, it was funny.

Anyway, the point I am trying to get across is that we need to commit to memory those funny little things that happen.

Great Times...

We had a nice little get together for Harold tonight. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there that I haven't seen for a long time. There was music, food, and friends. We got to watch Jerry do his version of Ice, Ice Baby, and then one of Jerry's friends sang a song he wrote. It was an awesome song, when it's recorded I'll pick it up. There was some hackey and just some great socializing. It was a great night.

Again, welcome home Hess. And thanks again!!

Hail the Conquering Hero

Hess got home today! YAY!! I know that we are all excited to have him home. I know my kids are way excited. I know Tiaree was pretty happy about him coming home. She was in school today and was doing some work. She said that normally she can do the work in her head but today she had to use her sets. I think it has to do with math. Anyway, she was saying that she had to user her sets to do the work because all she could think about was "Uncle Harold coming home". When I walked into the school to pick her up, she saw me and got really excited.

When we got to the airport we had to wait about 20 minutes for his plane to land. As we were waiting B and I walked over to watch for the plane to land. I got really excited as I saw the plane touch down. I walked over and mentioned that the plane had landed and we waited for it to taxi up. As the plane doors opened, and they started to walk down the stairs, it was real. Hess is home!

I personally want to thank him, and all those that are serving in the military to keep my freedoms where and what they are. I am grateful for the thought that some families are losing sons and daughters to keep our country free. There isn't a day when life goes by where we don't get to see the freedoms that they are helping to secure. To all those military men and women that have been sent abroad and those that are stationed in the US, I want to say THANKS!!!

Easily Distracted

I think I must have A.D.D. or something. I was sitting here, you know working on this beautiful Friday afternoon. As I was sitting here, I looked at a clip that is magnetized hanging on my shelf. I pulled it off the shelf and started to wonder how the had put the magnet on the little plastic clip. There is a space molded into the back of the clip where it is obvious the magnet goes. I tried to see what was holding it but it's hard to tell if it's glue or something like double stick tape. Anyway, those are the little thing that make me think that A.D.D. is part of my system. It's sort of crazy.

Howard the Duck

The other day, I was thinking about this movie. It came out when I was about 12 years old and I've seen it a couple times in my youth. I always thought it was a cool show and, after reading some of the reviews, found out it was an actual flop. I don't know why people didn't like it. It was corny and all but I'm not certain how it couldn't be.

They haven't released it on DVD and there are currently no plans to do so which really bums me out a bit. I may have to buy VHS and transfer because this is one I really liked and wouldn't mind adding to my collection. I'm trying to stay away from VHS because you cannot buy a new VHS player. You can get a DVD/VHS but in time, those will disappear also.

The 80's produced quite a few corny movies. We did find one the other day that we got at K-Mart for $5 that was a double DVD. It has Elvira on one side and "Transylvania 6-5000" on the other. That is a hilarious movie.

My daughter (Aurora) got a chance to see "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" in school and thought it was stupid. That's another that I would like to add to the DVD arsenal. Stupid movies are fun and if you accept that they are going to be stupid, have poor acting and props, then its just good fun.

Anyway, thought I'd share my love of corny movies.

Who's killin' the cat?!?

Since we got our stimulus check, we decided to stimulate the economy. We purchased Rockstar for the PS2. This is a lot of fun for the whole family. We played it on Saturday and had a lot of fun.

Basically, you get a guitar, microphone, and drum set. If you add another guitar, you can have up to 4 people play; one on guitar, one on bass, one on drums and a lead singer. Now, I do pretty good at the guitar and bass thanks to my experience with the Guitar Hero series. Drums are a little tough but I can see some improvement as I learn to use them. Singing however, is another story completely.

I can sing along with songs and usually turn up the radio so that you can't hear my voice. I don't do too bad if I have a very limited range to sing and I don't have to do it very loud. On Rockstar or Singstar (which I played at my sisters), I realize that I suck at singing.

So, needless to say, I won't be joining any choirs anytime soon.

Time Warp

I have to complain for a bit. I'm a little on the depressed side today. I'm taking a half day to do something that makes me realize that time passes quickly.

Today, I get to register Jayna for kindergarten. How upsetting is that? Well, since she is the baby, it means that I am getting old and the kids aren't going to be kids forever. I get this way with some milestones in their lives. For example, Aurora will register for High School next year. She will go to the high school that her mother and I went to (along with all of our siblings.) I guess I know how my mom feels now when we registered for high school.... at her old high school.

That will be 3 generations in the same high school, 4 if you consider my grandmother worked there as the secretary. Anyway, just a bunch of trivia to make you feel old.

Pain in the Butt

So I think of my niece, Aurora, on a daily basis. Why you ask, because she is literally a pain in my butt. When I say literally, I mean she caused the pain that I'm still having in my hind end.

A couple weeks ago her dad and I were playing keep away from her with her scrunchy and it was tossed my way and it hit the floor. I hurried and jumped in front of it and bent over to pick it up. At that moment in time he was hurrying to get to it as well and hit me square in the butt and bruised a recently healed bruised tail bone. Well last night, I was running around at Mutual playing kick ball and ball tag and the pain decided to come back with a vengeance. The pain hasn't gone away, and yesterday it just got worse. Stupid pain in my butt. Anyway, thanks Aurora for the pain I'm feeling.

Stupid Videos

Occasionally, when I want to feel smarter, I watch Stupid Videos. It doesn't take long for you to realize that there are a lot of stupid people out there.

I think the worst ones are the people who try to do stunts that they have no business doing. I'm sure that the people that upload to Stupid Videos are aware of the other videos on there. How many people think, "Hey, that guy crashed trying to ride down the busy street on a skateboard without pads. I bet I could do it without crashing." IDIOTS!!!!

After watching that, you will understand why insurance rates are up.

Snot Funny!

So I was thinking of something today as I was walking to the bus stop. Like most things, my mind is just weird so no comments about that because we already know.

As I was walking down the street, I like most people do at one time or another spit up mucus that originated in the nose. Now, I know this sounds gross and most people in polite society don't talk about such things, but I'm not polite and am pretty much a reject of society. It wasn't copious amounts of it, just a little bit, enough to start this internal mind dialog about the habits of humans.

Anyway, most people find it disgusting that someone, anyone, would pick their nose and eat it. I find this habit disgusting as well but started to think about what was the disgusting part. In a certain light, it is all disgusting. I've come up with a couple of possibilities why it is gross. They are:

1. Visually seeing someone eat their own snot
2. The taste of snot
3. The ingestion of snot
4. The conscious effort to eat snot

There may be other issues, but no more came up. Anyway, here is what I thought and I'm not taking these in order. Had I been smarter, I would have put the list in order but I didn't and instead of correcting it, I offer this explanation which took longer than if I just would have changed it but I digress....

First, lets deal with the taste of snot. All of us have tasted it at one point or another and no one has really gagged. Do you doubt that you have tasted it? Anyone who has spit out mucus during a cold has tasted it. Anyone who snorts inwardly to clear the sinus cavity and spit it out has tasted it. Quite honestly, I can think of many other things less desirable tasting than snot.

If its ingestion that it gross, we have all ingested it before as well. Think about the example above where you snort in to clear the sinus cavity but instead of spitting, you swallow it. Anyone who has ever had a cold has ingested mucus from the nose and throat area. So that can't be it.

It could be the conscious effort of removing something from an orifice and eating it. When you consider that you ingest/taste it without it ever leaving your body, this isn't necessarily an issue as air does not change its properties instantaneously making it something very gross. I guess actually seeing it before it goes back in could be it which leads us to the next issue.

Seeing someone pick their nose and eat it is really gross. Why? Not sure. Maybe it has to do with our need to have what other people have. Think about a restaurant. You go in, see food on other tables and say to yourself, "that looks good. Maybe I'll have that." When you think that someone is eating buggers, that thought really never enters your head.

Anyway, I bring this to light because there are certain conversations we don't have and I honestly think its because no one pushes that line. I, for one, think we need to not only cross the line, we should do so at a sprint hurling ourselves beyond that line. The grass is actually greener on the other side of that line mostly because crap exists beyond that line and crap makes a good fertilizer.

Happy Earth Day

So today is Earth day. What that means exactly, I don't know. I think we are supposed to be nice to the earth. Not litter, ride mass transit, don't use hairspray in aerosol cans, you know stuff like that. I think that we should get the day off and that we should all be as still as possible. Think about it, when we walk around, doesn't that hurt the earth. I know if I was walked on all day, I'd be in a lot of pain. I think if we are going to have Earth day, we should do our best not to walk on it, dig holes in it. I don't know maybe I'm being way to sensitive, but hey it's earth and it's the only one we've got.

For my part, I rode the train into work, yeah, I drove to the train station, but at least I didn't drive the extra 19 or so miles into work from where the train station is. Except then I made the train that much heavier and put that much strain on the earth. Ugh...we'll never win.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

New Rug

So the other day I was frustrated that my new rug was taking so long to get here. Well it arrived, or I should say we picked it up yesterday. We laid it down and while Chels is still getting used to it, I really like it. The rug is two shades of green and the couch is a third and when you first look at it, it's kind of weird, but I think it looks good.

The only thing with having the new rug in the house is that it has caused the house to smell like new rug. The kids were complaining about it and as I got up this morning to come to work, I could smell it in my room, upstairs. I'll have to get some pictures.

One frustration has been laid out...hahaha

New Phrase

So, before I tell you my new phrase, I have to tell you the story behind it.

Last night, me and the wife were laying in bed talking. Now she has a cat that I don't really get a long with, in fact, I usually think about kicking him every time I see him. He doesn't think highly of me either so it works out really well.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this cat has a few mental issues, more than normal for a cat anyway. So last night, as the wife and I were discussing plans for the weekend, he's running around the front room. Aly thought that her cat and my cat were playing around except my cat happened to be laying at my feet.

So, I told her that her cat was chasing his own shadow. Then I realized that the lights were off. So the new phrase, as attributed to my wife's demented, moronic cat is:

Chasing his shadow in the dark.

Anyway, when you think about it, its pretty funny and can explain a lot of people that you know.

Frustration...in general

I'm doing this "in general" because there isn't any one person or thing that I can really blame but I am frustrated. It's really hard to have things so up in the air and unknown sometimes that I just want to pull my hair out.

My frustration stems from not knowing. As well as wanting to be kept up to date. We ordered a rug from Lowe's that we were told would be in around the 10th or 11th. We figured it would come in while we were gone and we could pick it up on Monday. When we got home and there wasn't a message, I called Lowe's and they said that it would be either today, being Monday, or tomorrow, being Tuesday, that we'd have the rug. Now it's Wednesday and no rug. I called and the guy did some checking for me on the phone and said he would have to call me back. I told him I was off to a meeting and that he could call my wife and let her know. He agreed. No call, as of 2 minutes ago. I could be over stressing, but I'm big into good customer service. I work with a team at work that customer service is very important and I'm a big advocate. All I ask is that you keep me posted. If you say today or tomorrow and the next day happens, then at least be a little willing to do what you say you are going to do and call me back.

The rug isn't the only frustrating thing. But right now it's a big one. Our home refi is another. I'm just stressing over that, unneeded stress. Anyway, just wanted to complain and vent a little. I try not to whine but once in a while it does some good, this didn't help much but maybe I'll feel better later.

Worried about Global Warming

So I was just wondering yesterday, as I was standing at the bus stop, on April 15th, in the SNOW where all of our global warming went to? I could have used a bit to stop shivering.

Anyway, just a thought.

Spring is springing

I know I have a one-track mind these days, but I am just so excited about my trees. The cherry tree now has some blossoms on it and the nectarine tree has several pink and white buds ready to bloom. I will get the pictures posted later today.

We got the old washer out. It wasn't fun but we got it out. I wasn't able to pick up a new washer yesterday because they didn't have any in stock but they are getting a shipment in today. So, I will go to Lowe's at lunch and buy a new washer.

Tonight we plan on discussing our Square Foot Garden. I am planning on 2 to start. I will get the wood cut today at work and then take it home with my new washer. I finally found a store that sells vermiculite and will be buying some of that soon also. I am really excited to start working on my garden.

I am planning on starting to compost here soon. There are a few things I need to get but that shouldn't take much. I am going to try a test case and make sure it will be agreeable with the neighbors (basically make sure it doesn't stink so the neighbors complain) and then we can go into bigger production.

Anyway, I'm excited. I will get the pictures posted on MySpace. If you are interested in joining MySpace to see the pictures, do so and send me a friend request. My page is www.myspace.com/bigbmcgee. Enjoy.

Another Weekend Recap

What a great weekend to head to St. George. I got to leave a lot of stresses behind for a few days. Chels, the kids, and I all headed down to St. George early Friday morning. By early, I mean we left our house at 4:30am. We were going to leave Thursday night, but with the puppy being sick and Chels' mom's graduation, we decided to get up early and leave Friday.

The trip was a lot of fun. On Friday, we got down there only making one stop, to get breakfast at McDonald's. The kids didn't like the Egg McMuffins that we got them. Tiaree ate it all, but she ate it in shifts, first the egg, then the ham, then the McMuffin. Which brings up a question, what is the difference between and McMuffin and a regular muffin. Another thing that pops into mind, speaking of the way McDonald's is taking over the fast food thought process. On Saturday, we went to KFC after a semi-long day at Zion National Park. I tried to order a 16 piece chicken mcnugget bucket with mashed taters, coleslaw, and baked beans. Whoops. Anyway, back to the first day of the trip. We got to St. George and unloaded and decided to head out to Snow Canyon to do a couple hikes. They were fun, the kids had a blast. We were going to hit the sand dunes there, but we decided to hit them last and the wind had picked up so we decided not to hit the sand dunes. That night was dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was good, I would have only given my steak a C, it wasn't very good.

Saturday, we got up and headed out to Zions. It was pretty fun. The shuttles are running and it took forever to find a spot to park, but we finally got one and we ate and headed up the canyon. We did the Lower Emerald pool hike, starting at Zion Lodge and ending at the Grotto Picnic area. It was a long hike and I ended up carrying Bree the last little bit on my shoulders. The kids were getting really whiney so we decided to finish the day off with the river walk hike, which takes you back to the Narrows. We only got up that trail about 10 minutes before I'd had enough of the whining and we headed back. We were going to get ice cream at the lodge, but the line was long, so we just decided to head back to St. George. It was mid 70's in Zion and it was beautiful. KFC for dinner, like I mentioned earlier, a trip out to Iceberg for shakes and then home to crash.

Sunday we got up and headed out to Gunlock to do some caching. It was a lot of fun, didn't find a whole lot of caches but the area was cool to see. I had some serious sinus issues going on and hiking around finding those caches wasn't much fun. We headed back to IHOP for lunch and then it was about time to hit the road. We stopped in Cedar City to visit Chels' sister and then drove the rest of the way home without stopping. We put a bunch of movies on the iPod and bought the AV cables and the kids had their headphones on and watched like 3 movies on the way home.

All in all it was a great trip. I'll post pictures later.

Weekend Recap

Well, the weekend is over and all it can all be summed up with "Ouch." I'm a bit on the sore side today. It was a pretty good weekend because I got a lot of things done. Mason helped a lot and he has been a real champ through all of the stuff we did. I know he wants to do more but he's still on the smallish size.

I decided to tear out our back fence. There was about a 1 foot gap between our chain link fence and the townhouses behind us. We would get a lot of weed growth and trash behind there and, after tearing it out, I was able to get a bunch of crap out of there. I still have a lot left, but its starting to look really good.

I started placing stakes for my temporary fence for the garden I'm creating. Its a 30' x 30' area and it is really starting to look good. I have it plotted out on graph paper and its nice to see it coming along. There is still a bunch of work to do and I don't think it will be 100% this year, but I do hope to get a few things done and at least a square garden or 2.

Other happenings, my washer died. It was a dramatic death. I went downstairs to get some vegetables for dinner and my basement had a nice layer of smoke throughout. Boy, I scrambled to make sure nothing was on fire and, come to find out, the motor in the washer died. So, its off to finding a new washer today.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. Tonight is a bit of a relaxation night so I can download some pictures and get some stuff cleaned up in the house.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Gardening

I have been reading my "Square Foot Garden" book and have really enjoyed it. I haven't read too far into it yet but my knowledge is progressing. Since spring is upon us, I feel it is time to expedite my garden making process. That basically is my plan for the weekend. I'm going to start by cleaning up the back yard and start plotting out the areas to do gardens as well as where to put the trampoline.

Also, I'm starting a "survival" group. I've been learning all kinds of things about survivalists and, while that term has negative connotations, the idea is that emergencies happen and it is easier to learn when you can screw up than when you can't.

Gardening and composting are the first subjects I'm learning and as I increase in knowledge, I will share my thoughts, ideas and knowledge with everyone. I will create a different blog for that but wanted to let you all know that you are invited to learn these things. Sometimes survival just means learning to survive the extremely high prices for strawberries (which I am really excited to grow.)

Also, I will post some additional pictures of my trees. They have growth on them that would indicate that they are taking to the soil and yard which is AWESOME!!!! My raspberries still look like sticks but I make sure they get their daily dose of water and hopefully see some indication that they aren't just sticks.

Happy Friday to all and hope your weekend plans go well.

Peeps

I usually don't post 2 times in the same day but I just had to talk about Peeps. Peeps are those little marshmallow bunnies and chicks that you get around easter. I like the bunnies but they have to be "aged." By this, I mean that as soon as I get the packet, I cut a slit down each side to let the air in and then let them harden.

After a month or more, they are nice and crispy and oh so nummy... I just wanted to share because a batch just is dried out enough to eat and I'm just a crunchin' away.

Just wanted to share my happiness with you.

Something to discuss

I know this is supposed to be a fun blog, but I have something very serious to discuss. It is something that is weighing heavily on my mind and I just need to get it off my chest.

Most know that we get season tickets to Lagoon. When I was a kid, it was an awesome and wondrous place. I remember when my dad worked at Serta Mattress and it was the company Lagoon day. Most of the time, we were at our babysitter's house who's husband happened to work for my dad. All of the kids got excited about Lagoon day. It was a historical event that should have been considered a national holiday by our standards.

I remember that we would go out back and play on the swing set the day of and pretend we were on a certain ride. We all did it and it was a lot of fun. When it was finally time to leave, which always seemed to take forever, we would ride in the cars and there were the tell-tale signs that we were getting close, the most significant was the green fence (not exactly sure how to describe it) that lined the left side of the street just before you got there.

It was always a magical time and we loved going. The kids got the run of the park mostly, food and drinks were provided by Serta and it was just childhood fun. We only went that once a year so the fascination was always there.

Lagoon has changed over the years and we have gotten older. This leads me into my dilemma.

I'm not the kid I once was and as such, I'm finding that my tolerance for some of the things that I was able to do when I was younger dwindling. Basically, and in total confidence, I want to tell you something VERY serious....... I can't ride all the rides I used to. It is totally upsetting. I also can't ride as many rides in a row as I used to also. I never used to need Dramamine, but now.....

Its awful. You know you are getting old when your level of excitement for the rides is exchanged for the excitement to see the shows.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a total loser who can't ride any of the rides, I just can't ride the spinning rides. Turn of the Century (or swings as we lovingly referred to it in our youth) is one ride that if I ride it, I'm done for the day. Centennial Screamer, no way. Lets not even discuss the rock-o-planes (or is it roll-o-planes?) Paratroopers, out as well.

I never, in my youth, ever watched a show. I think I saw my first show when I was 18 or 19 and was forced to go because my girlfriend at the time (and her parents) made me. I guess "made" is such a strong word as I just wanted to insure a bit of snuggle time (with the girlfriend, not the parents... Jeez, your sick!!!) Now, we look forward to the shows. The kids like them too (which is odd) but maybe that's because they are still a bit young and don't have the run of the place we did. The older kids do but mostly if they have someone to go with, but I digress....

It is just sad. I want to warn you all. It will happen to you too. Ride the rides before it becomes too late. See the shows but before you get to "old" to put your body through that type of abuse, get out and ride the rides.....

(BTW, day passes are up to $40 so better get the season passes. They are $80 when you buy 4 or more.)

If you read this and aren't in a reasonable distance from Lagoon, find the nearest amusement park and GO. Your continued childhood is at risk.

Song of the Day - April 9, 2008

On Monday we were driving home and there was this song on the radio. It was one of those songs for me that was a buy it when you get home. Well we were listening to 101.9 The End and they it was squished between a couple of songs so they didn't come on and say what the name of the song was. I looked for it a little bit yesterday and then did a little more searching today. It was worth the search.

Today's song is I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. I haven't really heard of this artist but he has a few cd's for sale in iTunes. The song of the day, I'm Yours, is just a catchy up beat song and has some fun melodies in it. If you haven't heard it, go check it out. The only way I found online to hear it is just a partial, so you'll have to buy it or listen to the radio to hear it. Like I said, it's worth buying. There is also an acoustic version of the song, which is really good as well.

Eating Habits

To start, most of this applies to me as anyone else. I just want to premise that I am not above what I am about to say. It is because of this, and the similarities in other people's eating habits that I am writing this.

I just wanted to comment on our lack of nutrition these days. Some people do eat somewhat nutritiously but most do not. We are caught in a world of fast food and sodas and we reach for those when we should reach for something a bit more healthy.

I just think we should all challenge ourselves in our diets. Most of us think this but we keep it just below the level with which it becomes a priority. Anyway, I hope you think about what you eat and realize why our nation has become the glutenous nation it has.

Anyway, I'm off to drink a bottle of Pepto and I would suggest you stay away from Mexican food in large quantities. You think its good at first, but after a while, you realize your mistake.

Monday...Living up to it's Reputation

So today is that day that everyone hates. I've been pretty good about liking Monday, because it's never really done me wrong. Today, however, has been a Monday full of all the wonderful Monday glory. First off, I woke up to snow on the ground again. AGAIN...ugh. Stupid snow.

Then I took my cute little puppy, which is now becoming my cash hog, to the vet. They shot him up with a bunch of stuff and then gave me some medication to get him better. 311 dollars later he was back in the back yard running around, still not his normal self, but lots better. I get to take him back Wednesday morning and we'll see how that turns out. I was pretty upset by it and thought about ditching him at the vet for another family to find, but I took him home. When I got home he was hanging out in the house and walked by Kelighlee and she like leaned on him as he walked by and I realized that if anything that little girl would be lost without her "Washy".

There has been a couple other things, but I'm need to stop complaining. I know I'm going to just have to bend over and take it, and that may be literally since I have a physical this afternoon. So to this Monday, I'd like to flip it the bird and end this day. Hopefully your day is going better.

Fun weekend

Now that its Monday and I'm sitting at my desk doing everything I can to avoid work, I figured one of the best ways is to blog. It gives me an opportunity to not only avoid work but to share my thoughts. This time, its about reminiscing about my weekend.

This weekend happened to be Lagoon opening weekend. This is a tradition with our family that we have had for the last 3 years. Unfortunately Alythea had to work but we will go on her first available Saturday. It was a lot of fun. My sister-in-law and her family went as well so all of the kids got to scatter for the most part. Aurora and Samantha went off to ride rides and Mason went with Danielle. Sometimes they were together, sometimes they weren't.

Nicki D was finally tall enough to go on the Rocket and Wicked. These rides are a lot of fun for those with strong constitutions and do not fear heights. Nicki D isn't really one of those but she went on the Blast Off portion of Rocket (and hated it) but she loved Wicked.

Anyway, we did get a few pictures and they are posted on my MySpace account.

We also went and did some clean up at my mother-in-law's. We got a couple of hours in around the yard. Most of the kids helped so it worked out well.

Other than that, not much else happened. Rumor has it that this weekend will be considerably warmer so I think we may end up at Lagoon again. Its always a fun place to go.

New Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a new blog. I'm trying to get into a pictures and video hobby. I'd like to learn how to do things with my cameras and so as I learn I'm going to post things on this new site. It's called Whadda Photos and Videos. Take a look.

Again...Again...

Those are my 2 year olds favorite word. I start playing with Keighlee and once we start we can't stop. She is so cute and her little laugh is contagious. One of the words that she knows and knows well is it's very cute. Just thought I'd share that. Here is a cute picture of the little monkey...thanks B for the picture.

Out of the Ordinary

So today and yesterday has been the General Conference for the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which, if you didn't know, am a member of. On this blog I usually don't do a lot of posts regarding politics or religion, because this blog was meant for fun and those two topics are ones that stir a lot of emotion either for the good or the bad. But I wanted to take a moment and let you all know that I am so grateful for my membership in this church.

For those of you who don't know, conference is a total of 5 sessions, 4 general and 1 priesthood session. The priesthood session is Saturday night and is for the members of the church that are male and hold the priesthood. This meeting isn't much different than the normal sessions, they just talk more to the priesthood holders.

I went down to Rose Park to attend this special meeting with my grandfather. What a great experience. One of the talks that was given was by a member of the Young Men General Presidency, Brother Burgess, I can't remember his first name. Brother Burgess told a story of when he was a deacon, his Bishop asked him if he knew who he was. As he thought about this question, this Bishop answered it form him. He told him that he was his father's son. As I sat there in that meeting next to my grandfather, I thought about the fatherly figures in my life. There have been good times with those figures as well as bad. I've learned a great deal.

During this moment of pondering, I thought about my dad. For those of you who don't know him, he is a great man. He passed away a few years ago and when he passed away we were asked to write down our feelings and thoughts about my dad. I couldn't write this because of the pain I was feeling. Pain of loosing my dad. The other night I was at my sisters and she had the book of these things that were written for my dad. I would read some and have to put it down because I would start crying.

So I want to write a couple of things here now. I can put this on a separate piece of paper for the book, but I wanted to share it with the world.

When I was preparing for my mission, I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay for the month to month things and decided to ask my dad. The conversation went something like this...and I'm paraphrasing "Hi dad. I'm getting ready to go on my mission. It is a big expense and I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out?" This is what his reply was, "You don't agree with what I do and I don't agree with what you do." This hurt me and I have always remembered that. As I got out on my mission, I wrote a couple letters back to him and he was having a hard time with life here at home. In a letter he wrote something that I will always remember. He told me he was proud of me, for having the ability to go and do what I was doing. He didn't agree, but he knew that I was sure I wanted to do it and he was proud of me that I went and did it. That was one of the best moments of my life. There are many already there, but that is one that will always stick with me.

One of the greatest things I love about my knowledge in the church is that I will get to see him again. I will get to talk to him again. I will get to hug him. I don't think that I go through one day in this life not thinking about him. I'm glad that I still have my mom, my brother, my sister, and my wife and kids. Family is so important to me and though we may not all agree on everything, we still love one another and we can still be proud of each other. Thanks for letting me get that out. I'm also grateful for the testimony that I have and knowledge that I will once again get to see him.

Myspace Pictures

I have added more pictures to my MySpace account. If you don't have a MySpace, I think it is a really good place to share pictures, blogs, and just all around communications. You can sign up at www.myspace.com.

If you do have a myspace, or would just like to take a look, go to

http://www.myspace.com/bigbmcgee

Bookmark it because I usually keep up on stuff there. Send me a friend invite if you sign up and would like to be added to my friends list.

Complaint Department... This way...

So I want to lodge a formal complaint. Whomever designed the solitaire game for the computer, more to the point, the Axim, needs to be taken out and shot. Why you ask? Well, I am a pretty good solitaire player and have played the game with cards more times than I care to count. But my odds with real cards are so much better than those assigned by the computer.

Whoever you are, I think you need to redesign the odds to be more consistent with a regular deck of cards.

Jerk.

OK, I feel better.

Video of the Day - April 1st, 2008

I decided last night actually that I wanted to do another Video of the Day. Today's video is Nickelback - Savin' Me.



This is probably one of the coolest videos that I have seen. I really can't put my finger on what exactly it is that I like so much, but it's just cool. The song behind it is pretty cool too. I really like the part in the video when the guy stands behind the pregnant woman and you see her numbers and the numbers of her baby. This video shows how quick life really can come to an end when you least expect it. Life is short and we don't really know when you will be taken, so remember to always live life to the fullest. Oh, and make sure you always tell your loved ones that you love them.

500th Post

So I just noticed that we were up to 499 on the blogging thing. So this is the 500th post. I think that is pretty cool, it's only taken just over 3 years to get here, but hey, we made it.

For the 500th post I want to make an observation. One that I've been looking at for quite some time now. It just amazes me how some of the most memorable moments in life are made in the shortest time periods. I just went to a wedding. The actual ceremony took all of 5 minutes, but that created lasting memories for those involved. Anyway something to think about.

Gardening for the Lazy

One of the things that I have always wanted to do is to grow a garden. Because I'm generally lazy, I don't bother with finding a place in the yard or tilling the soil or anything that really requires work. Because of the price of everything, I've decided that gardening would be a wonderful and useful habit to get into. So, I've been doing some research (which, apparently I'm good at.)

Anyway, a friend of mine forwarded a link (this link to be exact) that took me to a concept called "Square Foot Gardening." I was intrigued and started reading into the details and have decided that this is the coolest thing since the invention of the plow.

So I have now decided that I will be working on this in the near future. It is a simple concept and requires very little investment, if you can find the building material cheap which, if you know anyone that can get a hold of some used pallets or wood products for little cost or free, which, I happen to be one of those individuals.

I will probably document my attempt at this so that everyone can see how wonderful this concept is or how much of an utter failure I can be. Either way, it'll be entertaining.

My next conquest, if this work is composting. Doesn't seem hard so we will have to see. There is a concept called "Humanure" which I'm not totally sold on yet. Not sure I would want to try this unless our entire infrastructure dies and we have to resort to outhouse-living again, in which case I may give it a go. But if the infrastructure is toast, composting human feces would be the least of our worries, I'm sure.

I Love Having Fun...

All 3 of you that read this blog know me pretty well. I'm a pretty good person to be around, I think anyway. (No smart ass comments please) Yesterday my wife let me know that I'm a ham and stuff like that when we get around people. I don't like to be the center of attention, but can get to that point pretty quick. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but if I annoy you...deal with it. HAHA. Just kidding, just ignore me like you have up until this point.

Anyway, one of the funnest things I like doing is messing with my wife's head. You know playing jokes on her, getting her all worked up. She gets frustrated with me because she has a hard time getting me to fall for her antics when she is always falling for mine. Well hunnee, I just wanted to tell you that I have plans set in motion for your 30th birthday present already. I'm so excited for it and it will be a good one. The nice part about telling you this now, is that it will eat at you until the end of July when you get to that big 30.

Again, having fun can go multiple ways, either being a ham in groups of people or messing with peoples heads, having fun is the way to go.

Catching up a little...

I just wanted to touch base and fill you all in on the past few things have happened that I had talked about that I would blog on. The first is my poor puppy. This is Wash the day of or the day after his surgery. We had him wear this for about 7 days where we didn't take it off. One night it rained and I went out to get him out of the rain and he had found a way to get into the dog house. It was kind of funny. He's a good dog. This coming Wednesday, he is graduating from his beginning dog training.

There are some other things that I was going to blog about, but I'm tired and I have a huge headache, so I am going to go to bed. Keighlee is being mean to everyone so I'm going to go put her to sleep and fall asleep myself.

Helpin' Mother Nature

So we have started to improve our home by planting some trees. I planted 2 trees in the yard last night. I have some raspberry bushes to plant as well but have to finish getting the area cleaned up and fenced off so the kids and dogs will stay out. Haven't fully figured everything out but will probably have the bushes planted in the next few days with any luck.

The two trees are fruit trees. One is nectarines, which I really like a lot, and the other is cherry. The one thing about cherry trees is that you need another cherry tree to pollinate but this tree is different. It has 4 different trees grafted together and is therefore self-pollinating. If it weren't a tree, I'd be worried. Anyway, I'll get some pictures up to show you but I got them planted and then moved on to other things.

Last night was Nicki D's b-day so we had some pizza and watched a movie. It was a lot of fun. Other than that, not a whole lot going on.

Movie Review - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

So I've decided that I'm not going to take the advice of the 101.9 The End movie critic guy. I've seen a couple shows now that he gave bad review and I can tell you they are pretty cool. I was hesitant to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium because of this guys review. As a matter of fact, we went and saw Enchanted in the theaters instead of this movie because of that review. I think that if he gives it a bad review, I'll go see it because he's been wrong for me a couple of times. Of course it is all according to yourself.

Anyway, Mr. Magorium's is a magical movie. I think I smiled through most of it because of how cool it was. I was really tired and expected to fall asleep through it, but stayed awake because I was just drawn in. The hardest part of watching this movie was seeing Natalie Portman with short hair. Some girls can pull of short hair, but this was too much. Her hair was shorter than Jason Bateman, who played a great part. They called him mutant. Dustin Hoffman did a great job as Mr. Magorium. He was mysterious and strange, kind of reminded me of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Just that off the wall kind of character that seems to be everywhere and thinking everything at once. It was a good show. I'm going to grade it a B+, based on Natalie Portman's haircut and her conducting, that was annoying to watch. It was a very entertaining show.

War

War is never a fun subject. Especially when it is accompanied by video. The effects of war have been felt here. Check out this video to see.

Stick with what you know....

I know that there are some people or organizations out there that think they can improve on a good thing or that can combine two different ideas to create a bigger and better idea but I'm here to tell you, not always is that the case.

For those of you that don't know, I like candy. Maybe not as much as Fez but close. I like chocolate the most usually when it encompasses some nuts, nugget, or cookie of some sort. I also like other things that are not chocolate like Mike and Ike's or Skittles. These do not necessarily go together well.

I purchased a "NEW!" Chocolate Mix of Skittles. I just have to say that I'm not impressed. I like Skittles a lot but I don' think I would buy these ever again. Anyway, just wanted to offer a candy review and to tell the MARS company, let's not screw up a good thing by trying to improve what doesn't need to be improved, OK?

Movie Review - I Am Legend

This movie is based off a novel by Richard Matheson. This is the 3rd remake of this story line. The first was "The Last Man on Earth (1964)" starring Vincent Price and the second was "The Omega Man (1971)" starring Charlton Heston. Each takes a different spin off the original story but each holds true to certain aspects of the story.

I really liked "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville. It is an interesting take on one man's struggle with being what he feels is the last healthy person in the entire world. The other living creatures have been modified by a virus of some sort that creates something different but humanoid in some aspects.

There are actually two versions of this movie. There is the original theater ending and, if you get the deluxe DVD set, they also have the alternative ending. I won't give away any secrets, but the alternative ending is more enjoyable. BTW, the daughter of Robert Neville is the real-life daughter of Will Smith (just a bit of trivia.)

Anyway, as this movie circulates more and more people become familiar with the alternative ending, I may post more of my thoughts on this show comparing it with the other movies and the original book as well.

I do recommend Richard Matheson as a writer as he has written several novels that most may be familiar with but are unaware as to the origins. The link to his name takes you to his IMDB profile of which you can see a list of his other works that have been turned into movies as well.

Movie Review - Bee Movie

Last night we watched "Bee Movie". I was kind of excited to watch this show because it looked like it was done well. We wanted to take the kids while the movie was in theaters, but we just never did. So we put it on the Netflix list as soon as we could and got it earlier this week.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I'm looking at it from the standpoint of would the kids like it and was it entertaining. Yes, it covered those well. There were some things that had me laughing out loud, including one line that made Chels and I chuckle but the kids were like...huh? A little bit of adult humor. Overall the animation was pretty good, there were a couple of times the female cartoon lead in the movie looked cross-eyed and a lot of the vehicles were square for the most part. But the overall entertainment value of the movie was good.

Now the story line was very unclear in the beginning, but progressed fairly well. There were a couple of parts that were kind of draggy, but they moved well through different aspects of the story. Like what happens when a bee stings someone and such. The story also show the importance of a bee's work. They are hear to make things more beautiful and though I don't think that it would be as drastic as it shows in the movie if bees weren't on the earth things could be a lot less colorful.

Anyway, overall the movie was good and I would give it a B grade, no pun intended.

Things that make you go "hmmmm."

So, recently, I had a few moments that I really didn't know how to respond to my own questions. They are very philosophical in nature and, because of recent events, have decided to put them out to you, the Whadda Blog fans.

1. I was thinking about restaurants the other day. I remember some ads for restaurants stating that it was "like home". I understand the concept of the cooking being like homemade, but I got to thinking a little bit more about this. If these restaurants are "like home", does the waitress come and make you stay at the table until you have finished everything on your plate? Do they not offer you desert if you don't eat all your vegetables? What about if you have your elbows on the table? Do you have to bus your own table and load them in the dishwasher? Anyway....


2. The other thing I was thinking about is swearing. I think I posted on that subject before but not quite like this. I know I don't have the cleanest speech but my daughter has picked up quite the potty mouth. I blame school or at least the other kids at school because I know that some of the word she uses, I don't. Anyway, I was thinking about swearing and punishments for such. When we were kids, and I've used this on my kids, when you swore you got your mouth washed out with soap. It made me wonder about two categories that are not discussed with this type of punishment. What about deaf children and swearing in blogs, IM, etc. Do you make them wash their hands with soap?

I'm sure there are a lot more "hmmmm" moments and as I approach them, I will try and share. There are a lot out there that I have seen in e-mail or have been told by others. Some of them are fun and make you laugh. Others make you take a step back and actually think about them.

Video of the Day - March 20th

So the winner for the first video of the day is Brad Paisley - Letter To Me



The reason I picked this video is because with the changes of seasons happening today, it always takes me back to times in my life. Whenever I hear this song I think if I could really do this, what would the letter say. I know that would be messing with the time space continuum but, it could be worth it. I think that I'd write this letter and never send it because I'd get done and realize that though I've had some things in my past that I'd like to remove, I think I've gone through all of them for a purpose...to make me, me.

So as spring starts today and you start all the major cleaning with the windows open, think of the times that you've had and think of the times that are still to come.

New Feature...

So I've been thinking of ways to make Whadda Blog more fun. One way is to introduce new features every once in a while. So, I was thinking about that the other day and came to the conclusion that I'll try to do something new on a regular basis. The question for the new feature is does it become regular or a returning favorite, like the McRib at McDonald's. So today, I'm going to introduce a new feature but I'm still working on finding something that will be great. The new feature is going to be a cousin to the Song of the Day, Video of the ...(don't know yet).

I listen to music throughout the day and since I work on computers, I like to take a break here and there and watch a music video on Launch. So I'm currently looking for a video that will be a good fit for the day and will introduce this new segment with a bang. So until I find the video that I am looking for, enjoy reading B's post Giving Away America which can be found on Whadda Blog as well as Thoughts from the Clan, which is where the link goes, on WordPress.

Giving Away America - Edited

I have decided to remove the context of this post as it isn't in the fun spirit of this blog. It is available on Thoughts from the Clan. I continue to update that sight with more thought-provoking, argument-provoking posts so bookmark it and visit.

I know I have been MIA for a little while and for that, I am truly sorry. It has been an interesting couple of days and so I'm not entirely sure what to blog about. I could tell you all of the fun and excitement over the past little bit but I don't think you all want to hear about the crappy time I've been having so I will focus on the most difficult bit over the last little bit.

I guess in the broader category, I am indecisive. I like having options available to me and by making a choice, you eliminate the other possibility. Therefore, if you don't make a choice, both options are available but time goes on and the indecisiveness creates havoc and makes me look like a wishy-washy type person. I have several decisions that I have had to make over the last little bit and each has pros and cons. I like the no-brainer type decisions (all pros, no cons) that make decision making easy.

Anyway, here are a few of the decisions I am currently faced with:

• Buying my house - Right now we are renting from my mother-in-law. If we buy, the $$ go up every month because we don't have all the other additional costs associated with a house. On the other hand, it is ours. It is definitely a "fixer-upper" but I haven't let that discourage me as anything in our price range would be just that, a "fixer-upper". I like the idea of staying in the house because the yard is big enough but I need to fix the deck, some of the electrical, and finish the basement. The yard needs some work but because of the neighborhood we live in, as long as its not full of trash no one really cares.

• Fix my car vs. UTA - My car is having problems but I really can't be upset. It lasted 2 years longer than I originally planned so I am pretty happy with it. Right now, it has over 190k miles on it and the gears are struggling a bit. The biggest problem I have is that the radiator needs to be replaced and that, with all of the parts and chemicals will cost about $250ish and that's if I do the labor myself. The labor wouldn't be too hard but I would hate to spend the $$ and then have the gears go out. I don't want to replace it yet as Alythea's van registration is due this month so I would like to wait a few months. This way we can spread out the costs associated with cars. I have checked bus routes and it looks like they made a few changes that would make it a lot easier for me to get to and from work so I'm thinking this might be an excellent option.

Anyway, I think the indecision comes when I start to look at the long term or the other possibilities. I guess I would hate to make the wrong decision and have things go completely wrong. I'm not one that likes surprises so I like to know what is going to happen but a lot of these problems you really can't "know" for certain. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do whether it be right or wrong but I think it needs to be a family decision. So, I will consult the wife and get back to you.