Sad, sad day

Today was one of those days that you wish you could go to sleep and wake up to the same music like Bill Murray did in Groundhog day. Take the hours of this day and just rewind them to early this morning when a few of us woke up thinking today was going to be a good day. I am usually not too serious on this blog, but today I just need to say how great family is, especially in times of tragedy.

Today my nephew Karsen unfortunately lost part of his left leg, from mid-calf down, in a horrible accident. Being the kid that he is, he asked for a band-aid when the accident happened and though his mom and dad were in shambles, he was a calm, cool little man.

The part of the day that gives me hope that this world is still an awesome place is the support that Rick, Nic, and their family received on this horrible day. Karsen's great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors, were all there willing to do what it took to take the pain of today away as best they could. To step up and go outside of their normal routine to show great love to them. And while the events of today will long live in the memories of those involved, Karsen will continue to grow up with what we now see, more clearly than ever, one of the greatest support groups this world has to offer...his entire family. He will have that same family to encourage him as he does things that all growing boys want to do. Knowing Karsen, we will see him excel in sports and other activities just as much as the next kid with great will and determination.

The other day one of the thoughts that I posted, 'What will tomorrow bring?', is ringing loudly in my head right now. The hard part is that we can never answer that question without living tomorrow and take the things that we are "handed" each day. The nice part is that our Heavenly Father knows us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses and, though we can't understand sometimes, He gives us roadblocks that we need to get over. He has promised us though, that He will never give us more than we can handle. Our families are an important support group in this world to help each of us through those trials. I hope we can all stand back and see that, without having to go through horrible experiences, that we can and need to be close and depend on one another.

Karsen will bounce back. He will learn to adjust accordingly to the prosthetic and will be running and jumping with his cousins in no time. I can just imagine, the short story about a great football player who lost his foot when he was 3 years old.

Please don't forget them in your prayers.

On a lighter note, Jaxon, Karsen's older brother, just informed me that "Karsen is going to have a transformer leg". We sure love the little ones.

Photo of the Day - Mental Image

So for the PotD today I would like to do a mental image. Just because I didn't actually get a picture of what it was. Today Jarik had soccer practice and he rode his bike. Tiaree came and she rode her razor scooter. I just walked because look at me, I could use the exercise.

Well after practice Tiaree jumped on her scooter and Jarik jumped on his bike and they started heading home. Tiaree was nice enough to go slow and talk my ear off as we headed home. I decided maybe I could get there faster if I was on the scooter but didn't want to be a mean dad and take the scooter from Tiaree. So I had her get on my back and then I rode the scooter home. There were a couple people laughing at us on the way up the street. Just as we were getting to our house, Tiaree said that she wished mom could see us. Well the garage was open and Chels just happened to see us as we came up the street and started laughing. So needless to say, though we didn't get a picture of it, I figured that we could give you the mental image of me giving Tiaree a piggy back while riding a razor scooter. When you say it that way you could say we belong in a circus, which I would probably have to agree with you on.

Photo of the Day - Sticky Mouse

Today's picture wasn't taken today. Tuesdays are a bad day to try and get out and take pictures. It is a pretty busy day. This picture was taken in Zion National Park on the Emerald Pools hike between the pools and the Grotto picnic area. I think that Bree or Tiaree saw it and said that it was Toodles from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and that he had crashed. If you don't know who Toodles is, get the Disney Channel and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If you are older than about 5 it might be a good idea to find a son/daughter or niece /nephew that is about that age. That or you can take my word for it that is what Toodles looks like.

Random Thoughts...

I'm sitting here at work waiting for things to open or copy and was just letting my mind wander and here are some of the things I thought about:

What is witty that I can put as my FB status?
What's for dinner? -Spaghetti, homemade bread, and something else yummy. Chels told me earlier.
What will tomorrow bring? -This is my favorite random thought because tomorrow is always a mystery.

Well there are just a few as I sit here waiting. Watch for the PotD later tonight.

Photo of the Day - Soccer Boy

Soccer is one of Jarik's favorite sports. He is pretty good at it as well. He's got a pretty good kick and he's pretty fast. On the team he is on this year, he is one of the tallest kids. He has a lot of friends on the team and loves to just go out there and run. This was a good shot of him and hopefully I can get more. The kids on his team are pretty good and they will come together as a team, after all they are only 7-8 years old.

Photo of the Day - Last Days of Summer

So today was one of those blah Sundays. It was hard to get out of bed. It was hard to do the church thing. It was hard to get in the mood to do much of anything. We had a family dinner planned at Erik and Ali's new apartment downtown. It was pretty cool apartment and our bar-b-que was on the roof of the apartment building. It was tough to want to go but it was a lot of fun. I love hanging out with the Bingham's but sometimes it is just tough to do the hang out thing. But I'm glad we went. After dinner, we, Chels and I, Erik and Ali, and Grammy and Papa, went to the park on South Temple and 1300 East and had a great time. I took my camera and was taking picture. Today's picture of the day is KK on the swing at the park while the sun was going down. I figured that this was one of the better shots that I got.

Photo of the Day - Creepy

So this summer I had a couple of firsts out in the wilderness. During my Wood Badge course I a skunk walked through my camp. That just happened to be the first time I've ever seen a skunk in the wilderness. Well over the Labor Day weekend we went to Zion National Park and went on the Emerald Pools hike. As we were crossing the bridge, I noticed this family sitting on a fallen tree. Just as I started to look away, I noticed that this family jumped out and ran from the tree. I then noticed this snake slithering across the ground. Yep first time I have seen a rattlesnake in the wilderness. I grabbed my 'long' lens and put it on. I know that you aren't supposed to get too close but I wanted some cool pictures of this snake. I did get yelled at to get away from the snake by my mom. It made me feel like a kid again which was awesome. Of course I ignored her, what is a kid supposed to do when their parents are warning them of danger. Well enjoy. (P.S. This picture is on my facebook page.)

Yesterday's POTD

Well I knew this was a bad week. After 4.5 hours of sleep I went to work then came home and worked on the yard, which btw is coming along great, and decided when I was done that sleep was more important that finding a picture and all that stuff. I will have a POTD posted this evening for today so stay tuned.

Picture of the Day - Sept. 15, 2009

So I was thinking about it and this was a bad week to start the POTD. I'm putting in a new front yard and have been skipping lunch at work so that I can get out of there a little earlier and haven't had time to go take some pictures that I want to take. Next week I will hopefully have time to go out and get some picture taken.

Today I was reading in a book that I have that talks about my camera and some of the features. I read the part that they talk about depth of field and the setting on the camera that you can use to set your f-stop or aperture on the camera and the camera will choose the best shutter speed for the shot. So I tried shooting our racquetball activity in Av mode on the camera.



Enjoy...

Photo of the Day - Friends Are Awesome

Sam Gowans and I after putting in the sprinklers. Kerry Hyland was there helping as well just wasn't in the picture.

I just want you to know that I will rarely be in the 'Photo of the Day' but I needed to have this as the photo of the day and comment on how awesome of friends I have. I am a very lucky person when it comes to friends. I have many friends that I have had since I was young. I have friends that I have just become more acquainted in the last few years since we moved into our house. A couple of friends, Sam Gowans (pictured) and Kerry Hyland (not pictured), helped me dig some trenches and redo my sprinklers so that I can put some sod down this weekend. Which I wouldn't have without another friend. Then there are a bunch of friends coming over on Wednesday to help move some dirt around. I can't list everyone by name but I want to just send a shout out to all those people that I can consider my friend and that consider me a friend. Thanks.

New Feature...Photo of the Day

So I've decided to start doing a photo of the day on this blog. There is sort of two-fold reason and I'm pretty sure it won't last too long, but I'm going to try. The two-fold reasons are, I want to blog more and I want to get better at taking and 'developing' pictures. It may not be a lot of text, but I'm hoping to always have a picture.

For today's picture I want to start off with my beautiful daughter Bree.



She was the 'Star' in her class at school so I had her stand against the wall and shot a few pictures. She is just so dang cute.

Another day has come...

Well it is Thursday today and tomorrow we are headed to St. George. The kids are all excited and giddy for the trip down to Utah's Dixie. I'm excited too, I love going down there and seeing my mom. It's always fun filled and way too busy when we go down, but I'm not complaining.

Last night/this morning, sometime when I was dreaming, I had this dream that made me feel like the only safe place today was in my bed. Maybe that is why I slept in today. I had one of those dreams that you dread what is going to happen all day and nothing usually happens. When I finally got up realizing that I couldn't hide from the day everything went well. Everyone was in a good mood. Jarik and I had a fun little boxing/fighting/slapping/kicking fight. He was trying to get some $$ Chels had on her dresser and we basically boxed it out. It was fun. Then the drive to work was smooth, even with the crash on 6200 S. Now I'm at work and should focus on the things that need to be done, but I wanted to take a moment to blog again and see if I can't get this to be regular again. Not that I have any readers. Well have a great Thursday.

Pictures...

So I've been thinking about it since the other night that I want to get out and take more pictures. Pictures are so fun to take. I wish I had the time to take classes and what not. It would be fun to learn all the ins and outs and such. I know with digital there are so many things that you can do with pictures these days. I will get some more taken soon and post them. :) Laters!!