NataZumba

With soccer coming to a close for Natty I wanted to get her doing something else that would keep her active.  Dani opened up the Zumba Power House last week and last night Amy came by to pick her up for her first Zumba experience.  She got excited about it and though a little nervous she went.  She absolutely loved it.  She wants to go a few times a week now.  We will see what we can manage with that.  She actually has gone again tonight and is there now.  Amy wasn't going but Dani is there and I took her over. I am glad that she likes it and wants to do it.  We had her in ballet when she was younger but she got a little bored with it.  I don't think there is time to be bored with Zumba.  Not speaking from experience here as I have never been but I often see the phrase "shake it" associated with it and figure that has something to do with moving lots.  Maybe a daddy daughter Zumba extravaganza is in my future.... or not. 

Wait Time...Click

I had some personal matter to attend to and it lead me to an online chat that only had a 10 minute wait time.  I was pretty excited about that as I usually find wait times twice that long.  I got started and waited out the 10 minutes.  I actually didn't time the wait but it was somewhere close to that.  I don't know about you but it seems like 10 short minutes is a lifetime when I am waiting to chat with someone. 

The moment did arrive and after doing some review and chatting back and forth the person asked if they could call me.  I said sure and provided my cell number.  Wouldn't you know it, I have endured the wait, worked through a series of items via chat and now, hoping to wrap it up I am getting on the phone with this guy only to discover my phone is not working.  Sensational.  Looks like Egg has stopped paying their phone bill.  The only means whereby I have received any of the compensation that they owe me and it is now gone. 

So I got this guy trying to call me and a phone that doesn't work.  I got Natty's cell and took care of business.  After a lovely conversation I ended up getting transferred to another division.  "Your wait time is 18 minutes"...  Oh gee that is fantastic.  I was committed though so I stuck it out.  I could feel the end drawing near.  Yes, I was through and after a time the individual helping me asked if she could transfer me to her supervisor.  Absolutely, I am ready to go and anxiously awaiting my chit chat with the supervisor when: click.... silence. 

You know, one of my swearing posts would be good about now.

So there I am, disconnected and even if the supervisor picks up their phone to call me the only number they have on file is my cell which, once again, isn't functioning right these days.   Sweet.  I am out all that time with nothing to show for it. 

That is a real bummer but alas, we'll make it through.  Tomorrow morning we shall try again.      

Pink Tutus

There was a time when Natty was into dance.  She had the goods - you know ballet shoes, the tutus.  She was a duck in a performance and something else that I cannot for the life of me remember right now.  Wow, great job dad.  Way to remember the details of the ballet performance. I do know that one of those costumes included a blue tutu and that completely throws me off title here.  Regardless, she went through the tutu stage.  Does every girl do that?  I am guessing that many do but only having one daughter I really can't say for sure. 

So Jack brings home his take home library book from the school and it is this book all about Pink Tutus. I am really not sure what it is they are trying to accomplish at this school of his.  Before you jump to conclusions know that Jack has no control over the books that come home.  It is all about reading level and practicing at home.  So anyway, we dive into this book - we meaning Jack, Andy and myself. Yes the three manly men hanging out on the couch reading a book about a little girl and her pink tutu.  So we get to this part in the book when the little girl is talking about being a professional dancer and being able to wear a pink tutu when she gets older.  Jack says rather proudly - when I grow up I am going to be... at this point I am just waiting for him to say something about a dancing tutu wearing who knows what but he did not.  So , when I grow up I am going to be a professional train engineer.  I asked if he would be wearing a pink tutu.  No.  Ahhhh, a sigh of relief.  If he was the conductor on the train then perhaps a pink tutu would be fitting but an engineer has no business on one of those things.  I mean, that would just be silly. 

Seriously, Jack wanting to be a professional train engineer is not at all surprising.  The boy has always loved trains and he can give you some serious details on a wide variety of trains in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  He knows his stuff and don't think for a minute that you can pull one over on him.  He will set you straight in a hurry.  He is also getting very proficient at track building.  I just noticed a track he has been working on in the basement.  It's a double decker and pretty tricked out.  I use to have to help him build all the tracks and it is neat to see him handling it on his own and designing them more advanced - in a pink tutu of course.

Oh, with Andy I kept everything balanced with a follow up reading of The Gas We Pass, the Story of Farts.  Look, I am a responsible father and will not leave my sons with thoughts of pink tutus in their heads.  No, we talk trains and little gas.  Fantastic.     

The Old Routine

For years now I have closed the day by sitting down and recording some thoughts in a journal.  In roughly one months I will have completed my first year of blog journaling.  It is pretty hard to believe that it has been that long.  Perhaps I should call it at one year and be done.  Leave it as a year in the life of John Fontano and go back to the old way, the old routine.  At least with the old way allowed me to sleep peacefully while writing.  I didn't have to fight to stay awake to make sure my post made sense or whatever.  Falling asleep was perfectly acceptable.  Obviously I can fall asleep here at the keyboard as well so no big difference there... actually people may see the blog and so each post needs to be finished.  That adds quite a bit of post pressure.  There have been a few times when I have simply had to stop for the night and pick it up again in the morning and I am actually fine with that. 

So the big question is what to do?  Give up on the electronic dream and go back to a completely illegible written format?  No.  I think I will press forward in this endeavor.  Crazy as that sounds i think it will be the much more effective approach. 

Something that just doesn't seem to change much is the fact that I am fighting sleep big time at the moment.  I really haven't even recorded much here. I think I will press forward with my new "old routine".    

An Uncomfortable Loner

Starting without a title tonight.  We'll see where we get.

When you open yourself up to this kind of exposure it can be somewhat intimidating.  Let me sit here and show my weaknesses to the world.  Not that the world is reading but the sense of privacy that I once enjoyed in journaling is non existent.  Oh well, what can one do?  I guess I could simply go back to a private journal and forget this venture. 

I will say that life if somewhat cyclical in nature.  I go through days of feeling completely fine and then I have a day where I just don't feel quite so fine.  Life is extremely busy and that doesn't necessarily leave much of any time for a social life.  My social life consists of customer interaction which in itself can be fairly interesting.  I have my church associations and that is great but in regards to any sort of personal thing - ummm, nothing.  Oh I had a crazy lady stalking me for a bit and that was rather uncomfortable.  I think she got the message that I was in no way shape or form interested in her.  It makes going outside a little easier.  So the short of all this is that there are some days when I could care less about the lack of companionship.  Other days I long to have that friendship.  I know that it is going to require me geting out of my comfort zone - not that I am all hunkered down in it.  Fun times.  So I guess that is all i have to say tonight.  Sometimes I tire of being a loner.     

The Cook Denied... Again!

I actually just went to publish this post and blogger freaked out on me.  My post ended up dissappearing.  That is a most unfortunate occurance.  I am past my bed time as it is and now I am having to rewrite this.  So now not only does my cooking get denied but my blog post about my cooking getting denied gets denied.  I am feeling a lot of rejection at the moment. It is a real bummer too because I think I had a pretty good post there and am not so sure I can recreate it.  We will give it our best but first I will mix things up some and start with a readers digest version:  Made dinner, kids hated it, lots of left overs, too bad so sad. 

And now my attempt to recreate the post that once was:

Do you ever struggle to put together a meal that all of your kids like and something that you enjoy as well?   Those meals are few and far between for me but when the stars align just right and I actually put something on the table theat everyone loves, there is sweet rejoicing.

Tonight the stars didn't align and sadly, there was no sweet rejoicing.  Nope, I had two disgusted little boys and one girl who did her best to be ever so polite but barely touched anything on her plate.  It's okay, I've been rejected before. 

If you previously read this post this is where I called it for the evening.  Now I am trying to remember the original post so I can wrap this up.  Ahh yes - the menu.

I should have fully expected the rejection as we gathered around the table.  I have to say that usually when I put anything with meat on the table Jack is quick to eat it.  Not so tonight.  On the menu - pulled chicken breast in a mojo marinade with rice and a corn/black bean salad thing.  The corn stuff was a mix out of a bag and though it was tastey it was the one thing I figured going in that wouldn't go so well.  Perhaps it was its presence on the plate that distracted the kids from the other - hmmmm, never can tell.  The mojo marinade is a Florida thing - as best I can tell it is a Florida thing.  I have never seen it anywhere else.  It is a citrus based marinade and is actually quite delicious.  We use to grab rotiseree chicken at the local Publix that was mojo flavored.  It was delicous.  I found the shredded mojo chicken to be rather delicous myself but the goal here is not to serve up something that only I like but something that my kids will actually eat.  Sigh - so dissappointing. 

Now what to do with the left overs?  I only have two containers full of it.  I am hoping to recycle it with a little barbeque sauce and see if we can't pull of some sort of miracle the second time around.  Either that or my kids will know exactly what it is and I will be left to face rejection in the kitchen yet again. 

A Good Note

Our soccer season ended today for team Smurf It.  It has been a fun month and a half and I am quite glad to have it over.  Perhaps I need to put together a little reminder somewhere about the amount of time it takes to do this soccer coaching thing and consult it each time I see something about sign ups.  Anywho, our final game was this morning and the ladies played well.  The game ended in a 1 to 1 tie and that was great for us.  We did a better job all over the field and that was great.  Alas, it is over.  Natty asked if I would coach again next year.  I guess I'll have to debate that and come to a decision at some point but not today. 

In other news we came up with a new sandwich today.  It is in honor of SUU and called the Thunderbird.  I have been toying with the idea of adding a chicken philly with bacon to the menu.   That is what we will use as the t-bird.    It was pretty tastey and I hope people will love it. 

Tea Cups

The last time I went to Disneyland was way back in like 97.  I did go to Disneyworld once in 2005 - shame that I didn't take advantage of living so close to it for 5 years.  Of course I am not a packed crowd kind of guy and that first visit to Disneyworld just happened to be during Spring Break and that place was jammed packed.  It was fun for a day but not something I would like to do repeatedly.  Anyhow, going back to Disneyland.  On that visit we decided to ride the tea cups.  I forget who exactly was in the tea cup with me though I believe Pete and Mike were there, possible Dave as well.  Anywho, we were determined to spin that sucker as fast as we possibly could.  When it was all over we had spun it, fast.  I'm fairly certain I came off of that thing with a slight green color in my face.  Man it sucked.  I was down and out.  Pretty sure I crashed right there on a bench in front of the castle.  I am also fairly certain that I was down for nearly an hour.  It was bad news.  Motion sickness big time.  No more tea cups for me... ever.  Oh yes, then there was Star Tours and that put me down and out in the exit tunnel for a few.  Not a big fan of those. 

Well whats the point?  The point is tonight I had a softball game and the kids went and played on the playground.  After the game I went over and we all hung out at the playground.  My job was spinner of the merry go round thing.  It was a good job.  Pretty exciting.  Jack liked to be perched up at the top and Andy tried to hang on to the tall bar once and ended up kind of flapping in the wind.  It scared him pretty good.  So anyway there is a lot of fun to be had on these devices.  I, however, did not go on this fine ride.  No way.  I simply didn't feel like taking an hour nap at the park tonight.   

Lots to Learn

Some days I have this crazy realization that I don't know a thing about the restaraunt business.  I really don't.  It is a bit challenging trying to figure out what to do when you don't have any sort of model to base decisions on.  I do know that I need to know the numbers and then we have to manage by those numbers.  On the positive, we have had a good start in many respects.  People that try our food love it and come back.  That is fantastic.  People love the atmosphere and enjoy the shop quite a bit.  It is all very positive.  We are still working on getting the word out that we are here.  Everyday I talk to customers who didn't know we were here and heard from a friend, heard us on the radio, saw us at the SUU game or found us in the paper and decided to come in.  We have a lot of word of mouth going on and customers bringing in their friends.  That is excellent stuff.  We are happy with the progress, I am happy with the progress but I know that I have a long way to go and a lot of things that I need to see.  I guess I am like those customers that don't know that we are here.  Right now I don't know what to even look at in many respects.  Each day holds a new lesson and the opportunity to progress.  I just have to make sure that I don't stop moving forward.   

I've been talking about The Little Brick House but the reality is that life is very much the same.  It is very important for us to constatly press forward.  If we think we know it all we should remember that repetition is a principle of learning.  Well, I guess that is all I have to say about that right now. 

Facial

Looks as if Jack's soccer career came to a screeching halt today.  I am not so sure it was going to go beyond this year anyway but he was out on the field in the game today running around all happy like and took a ball to the face. That pretty much ended the happy go lucky performance he was putting on and he was a bit upset.  The wind kind of went out of his sails and I just held him for a bit on the sidelines and let him air out his great displeasure with the sport.  You might be thinking that I forced him to play.  Not so.  I helped Jay coach his team last year and he was such a mystery then that I really didn't think he was that interested.  I was surprised at sign ups that he was as passionate as he was about playing again.  He has been very clear over the last week or so that he does not want to play soccer again and would much rather play golf.  The kick to the face only increased his determination. 

I remember being a youngster at practice in the Brighton area in Salt Lake and taking a ball straight to the face.  That was a real bummer and I never faced a ball again.  I would always turn and try to protect my beautiful mug every time I was on a collision course with a soccer ball.  You know, I don't have any clue what the name of my coach was back then.  All I can remember is that in my mind he looks like the Police Chief in the movie Jaws.  The kick to the face was a real bummer though. 

So I felt bad for Jack and tried to help him get over it as best I could.  He was quite angry at the ball and ended up going on a bit of a walk.  Andy and I followed after him and we all ended up on a little walkway bridge there.  It was a cool bridge and the boys liked it as well.  It did get Jacks mind off of soccer right up until the time I told him the game was nearly over and it would be treat time.  He ran on back to the team, helped with the cheer, shook hands and then got his Swiss roll.  He was a happy boy once again.  Not so sure how he is going to feel the next time we have a game but if you think Jack won't remember his facial and everything he said tonight, you don't know Jack. 

Quotables

This post will likely mean nothing to many of you.  If you are not in the mood for reading a bunch of quotes from Jack Burton then you may just want to stop reading now.  I saw a picture from the movie Big Trouble in Little China a moment ago and thought I would just have a little fun. 

It's like I told my last wife, I said; Honey I never drive faster then I can see and besides that, it's all in the reflexes.

Now I'm not saying that I've been everywhere and I've done everything but it is a pretty amazing planet we live on.  A man would have to be some sort of fool to think we're all alone in this universe.

Is this going to get ugly because I thought what we were here, racial differences notwithstanding, was just a couple of friends, you know both of us Californians...

Can I ask you a serious question?
Absolutely not.
Well in that case would you ever consider jumping...
Yes but never with someone in your condition.
Let's talk about my condition, just what's wrong with it?
You ought to try standing down wind where I am.  It's Miller time.
You know what I say when it's Miller time?...

This is Jack Burton of the Pork Chop Express and I'm talking to anyone whose listenin out there on a dark and stormy night when the winds blowin the rains coming down and she's thick as lead. 

When some six foot tall wide eyed maniac comes and taps the back of your favorite head up against the bar room wall and asks you if you've paid your dues.  Just look that bick sucker straight back in the eyes and tell him what old Jack Burton would say at a time like that.  Have you paid your dues Jack?  Yes sir the check is in the mail.

Take your tie off please.
I know what you mean, my wife gave it to me for Christmas.

Too many people have been dropping like flies around here allready and where's that getting us?  Nowhere, fast. 

Henry Swansons my name and excitements my game.

I wish these pictures were in color because what I'm really in the mood for is a girl with green eyes and price is no object. 

I really wish you'd stop rubbing your body up against mine, I can't concentrate when you do that.

Any of them stab the English?

I know, there's a problem with you face.

Hey you, why don't you come over here and fight like a man.

Don't worry I took something.  I can see things no one else can see... Why are you dressed like that?

Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?

Everybody relax, I'm here. 

What are we standing around talking Chinese history for? 

Sounds pretty great but you know, pretty soon I rub everyone the wrong way and, well, let me think about it. 

I'm a rich man now, give up the open road, sell my truck.

There's my truck... MY TRUCK!

Family Time

Andy is completely stuck on Mario Brothers.  It is his favorite Wii game at the moment and as soon as he gets up in the morning he makes it known that Mario Brothers is all he wants to do.  I have to put the skids on his enthusiasm and promise him a game together after school.  He is usually agreealbe.  So that is how it works though I use it for all the leverage I can like homework first.  Keep him moving right?  When we finally are in position to take in a little Mario Brothers we do so as a family.  Admittidly that gets a little crazy.  Oh well, everyone seems to be having a good time.  Tonight it was our activity portion of Family Home Evening and worked out well.  I set an alarm for 20 minutes and told the kids that when the alarm goes off we are done and it is time for bed.  No arguments as they knew what was expected and it worked out well. 

In regards to family time, I mentioned yesterday that we had taken a few pictures.  I uploaded those on FaceBook but here are a couple of shots.  

These are my favorite boys.  They are a lot of fun.  Both quite funny in completely different ways.  I was actually trying to get them to look up at me for the picture and told them to pretend Scooby Doo was racing around the top of my head (based on something he does in their Scooby Doo movie that makes them both laugh hysterically)  and that is how we captured Jack's arm in motion.  He was putting it on top of his head to imitate Scooby.  I like the shot. 

Andy was hamming it up a bit and somehow was getting sucked into the room for this pic.  I thought it turned out pretty good.  I had Jack and Natty try to duplicate this one but they didn't turn out near as good.  Andy's was off the cuff and all natural. 

After trying to get the kids lined up together on the couch Andy had a minor melt down and was refusing to uncover his eyes for the picture.  I decided we would just shoot a pick with everyone covering their eyes.  I never quite got what I was hoping for with all three kids becuase of a certain little boys foul mood but that's okay.  We'll get em again sometime.

So we did get one family pic that I actually quite like.  I only took one pic of the family and it turned out okay.  I love how Jack has a bit of a grip on Natty's arm.  It just reminds me of tender moments, quieter moments when the kids simply love each other and are not worried about anything else.  I like those times.  I like these kids, love them as a matter of fact.  I am grateful for our little family and the times we have together. 

I Lost My Tooth

This morning Jack informed me that he had a loose tooth after he bit into his whip cream topped waffle.  I watched him continually play with that tooth for the rest of the morning.  He was constantly working it with his tongue and with his upper lip.  I took some pics of the kids that I will upload at some point and he was playing with the tooth throughout them.  Since he only mentioned the loose tooth this morning I figured it to be just starting and that it would be a little bit before it actually came out.  So there we were singing the Sacrament hymn and Natty taps me and says "Jack just lost his tooth can I take him to the bathroom".  I looked over and there was Jack staring at me with a bloody tooth and fingers and eyes wide open.  I gave her the go ahead.  We were sitting on the front row and they were making there way to the aisle when the verse ended and there was that slight lull in the music.  At that point Jack proudly declared "I lost my tooth!" and the next verse kicked in.  Fantastic.  Glad Natty was there and excited to take him out.  I really shouldn't be surprised that the tooth came out so quickly.  That is one of Jacks things,  He has to pick at it and cannot leave it alone whatever it is.  In this case, when he realized it was loose there was no stopping him.  He was going to play with it. 

In other news I popped a couple of my home storage for dinner tonight.  I decided we needed to see how good the canned meat was and so I cooked rice and then opened up the Kalua Pig recipe that I did.  It actually turned out quite good.  The jars of meat that I opened had been on the shelf nearly a year and they were perfect.  That can make food storage a bit more exciting.  Store stuff that you like and will eat... that is probably some fairly good advice.  President Hartman was a big believer in that as am I.  Gotta get more of that good stuff going. 

What Competitive Nature?

We had soccer today starting with Andy at 8 and then Jack at noon.  Andy does a great job during his practice time and then when the game starts he has one or two good kicks.  The rest of the time he likes to stand and look around and then get a little lost for a bit in thought.  After a bit of that he ends up turning and running towards the ball with his arms sticking up behind his back.  It is his Super Mario Brothers fast run.  He'll do that for a bit, get a little touch of the ball and then repeat the process.  He is coming a long.  There are still a few weeks left to go.  Actually, this is very good practice as he is planning to be Mario for Halloween all of this running around is helping him with his character. 

Jack of course had a game.  He is a riot.  I don't think it matters a bit to him what is going on in the game.  He is out there and if the ball is lucky enough to hit him while he is either walking or running around then count it.  He will hang out in the net of the goal, or wander to the sideline for a few sunflower seeds from me.  He runs around the field not really focused on the ball at all but he has this big grin on his face.  Well, I don't think that Jack will be doing soccer again. He told me today he would like to learn about golf next year in stead.  I think we could work that out.  There is definitely more wide open space that he could go and run around in. 

Not sure where their competitive spirit is.  That is okay though.  We have a good time no matter what.  Well, most times. 

There's a Storm Comin'

It was storming pretty good outside while we were getting through our bedtime routines tonight.  The kids were all a little nervous though Andy was out in no time, Natty was praying for the storm to pass and Jack simply told me he was scared.  We decided to share a prayers.  This was for Jack's personal prayer,  He doesn't like saying the prayer so I have little private prayers with him and right now we are alternating days by two's.  (It is now Saturday - I couldn't stay awake last night so I gave up and went to bed figuring I would finish this today.  We have done our rounds of soccer and now we are home and I am about to go do yard work.  I figure I better finish this up before the day is over and I have a new day to blog about.)

So Jack and I alternate his personal prayers every two days.  It is what works at the moment so that is how we are doing it.  Anyway it was his turn to say his prayer and he did and prayed that the storm would stop so he could sleep.  It wasn't long after that the storm had calmed and both Natty and Jack joined Andy in slumber.  Obviously I was not able to stay awake either. 

As I sat down to write the blog I was thinking about that storm and remembered being in our pool in Florida and any time we saw clouds gathering in the distance or a lightning flash so far away that we didn't hear the thunder Jack would calmly declaim "There's a storm comin' John".  That was always one of my favorite lines from him..  He didn't have many lines in those days so this was a big deal to get him saying something.  I think he like our reaction to it because it became one of his staples.  Perhaps that is why he could spot a storm comin from many miles away.  "There's a storm comin' John, there's a storm comin'". 

Incidentally the first thing Jack discussed with me when we got up this morning was that storm passing so quickly.  He has a pretty keen mind.   

Overwhelming

There are sometimes when I start to feel a little overwhelmed.  Sometimes things get a little heavy when I am juggling the kids with their variety of needs and that can make life a little crazy.  It is easy to forget to breathe - meaning that it is easy to get so caught up in everything that is going on that I don't manage to make time for myself.  I do take a little time in the morning - about 30 minutes between the time Natty leaves for school and I get Jack and Andy up for school.  That is my elliptical 5K per day time.  I take in 30 minutes of a movie while I run and it is working out fairly well.  A little easier on me then running at 1 or 2 in the morning. 

In any case, life is busy.  There seems be something that needs to be done at just about all times.  I really just do my best not to miss things especially not the vitals.  I have not been on a date in over a month and a half - just before the kids got home.  It's not that I don't like to date but that the very thought of dating is overwhelming to me right now.  Perhaps when soccer lets up but then again, you never can tell.

     

Growing

The kids are growing up.  I think that it makes for some fun times.  Apparently mom was discussing Jacks growth with him today and showed him how tall he was compared to her.  He was just a couple inches shy of her bosoms and said to her something like when he grows a little more he will be as tall as her boobs.  I love the wild Jacksonisms that come out of his mouth. 

Life is filled with lessons.  Some are easy and some are a bit harder to learn.  Whatever the lesson is it leads to development and growth. I gues the trick is keeping that perspective.  No matter how hard it gets or how dark life may seem the Lord does not leave us alone.  At times we may feel that we are alone and those times can be extremely difficult.  The reality is that we are not, it may take a little time to realize it but that realization will come.  The trick is to remain faithful and true no matter what. 

Goalie

Our soccer team is young and somewhat inexperienced.  We do not possess girls with a lot of speed, physicality, and raw talent.  We just don't.  For most of them this is just a fun gig and I don't think they have a problem losing.  They are just happy to go out there and run around.  We have a few that are hungry and want to get after it but the majority don't quite grasp that in soccer you have to move.  You have to go after that ball like your life depends on it and you have to know when to pass.  I don't know how the balance of power works in this league.  I thought there was supposed to be some sort of system used so that teams did not get stacked with all of the experienced players while other teams suffered with a sophomore class of players.  Our team seems to be made up by a majority of sophomores.  It is okay in that they are having fun but it is also tough.  I don't like to lose. 

So Natty jumped in the goal for the second half of tonights game.  She was tough as nails in there.  She stopped a ball and up-ended a girl in the process.  The girl just went right over her.  It was pretty cool.  No one got hurt but I had told Natty that as the goalie she needed to be fearless and she had to know that there would be times when she got kicked or whatever else.  This didn't stop her in the least and tonight she played a very good game.  They managed to get a few by her but heck, this team was stacked with some extremely good players.  They got 6 or more passed our best player in the first half so Natty held her own.  She actually plays pretty tough and with a little more experience I think she could be very good.  I just read this and it sounds like she only stopped one ball.  Actually she stopped quite a few, some that surprised me a bit. 

I think she likes to play goalie.  I know that I always enjoyed being in the goal.  At that same time I quite enjoyed playing anywhere on the field and I think she likes being in the field as well.  She still has a lot to learn and skills to develop but we are only in her second season.  She'll get there and hopefully continue to have a lot of fun along the way. 

  

Bumper Boats and Other Projects



I am using this new blogger platform and it is quite a bit different than the original one that I started with.  I use to not see the pictures as I uploaded them, only text.  In order to see what picture was what I had to look at the file name in the text or preview the blog and see what order the pictures were in so I could manipulate their positioning with the text for that file.  This seems a bit easier but now I have to figure out how to move the pictures.  At least I know what it is fairly easily.  A picture is worth a thousand words right?  So true when it comes to this. 

Okay, so I just moved the first picture and it was a piece of cake.  I think I like this platform.  So on to the actual blog.  I got home from work and the kids were very excited about the back to school bash that was happening at South Elementary.  I was not so excited.  Crowds are not necessarily my favorite thing.  I was hoping that they would simply not be all that interested and I would be able to enjoy an evening at home.  This was not the case.  We went.  They loved it and I was just fine. 

The big attractions seemed to be the inflatable pools that had bumper boats and big inflatable balls that you go inside of and run across the water.  That is what the kids wanted to do and I guess that is what made things easy for me.  There were rather large lines for both events.  Natty ended up standing in the ball line all night and was one of the last to go on it.  Andy stood with her for a time but lost patience after a while.  Jack on the other hand was all about the bumper boats.  Here is a picture of Captain Jack's maiden voyage. 



Captain Jack



He loved it and actually got a pretty good run out of it.  They have these little timers on them and I am not sure if he figured out how to adjust his for more time in this original run or not.  I finally had the ladies pull him because other boats were cycling much faster than his and there were a lot of people waiting to get in.  Jack came out without a problem. 

Andy decided he was done waiting for the balls and that he wanted to get in the bumper boats so we got back in that line and slowly progressed to the front.  Jack rejoined us in line after having disappeared for a bit.  I guess he found the food as he came back with cotton candy that was pretty well ravaged.  Andy decided he was hungry so we left Jack in line and found the pizza. 

Andy finally made it in and was a terror on the water.  He got bumped up in line because he was small and there was a boat with little juice left but it could handle a little one.  It is good to be small sometimes.  The boat seemed to do just fine for him and then they changed the battery on him mid turn.  Wow, he really started motoring around at that point. 



Andy Bumper Boating



Jack managed to get into the pool before Andy's time expired and they did their best to knock each other around.  They both had a great time tooling around in their little boats. 



Jack and Andy on a Collision Course

Well as you might imagine, bumper boats are now the coolest things in the world.  Captain Jack has laid plans for a pool to be installed in the back yard and for me to build him a bumper boat.  In order for me to meet all of Jacks project needs I am going to have to surround that pool with a train track that will carry the train we are supposed to build.  Maybe I should show him some video footage of airplanes so we can add a runway and custom fighter jet to the project list or better yet a float plane.  Then I wont have to worry about waisting space on a runway.  He can simply land and take off in the pool.  Then there is the roller coaster and the...





Talk: Blessing Lives of Others Through the Priesthood

Talk:  Blessing Lives of Others Through the Priesthood

Cedar City 8^th Ward,  September 11, 2011

D&C 84 33 – 40  Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

 35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;

 36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

 37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

 38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

 39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

 40 Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

These promised blessings in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood are great.  In order to obtain them we must first be faithful in obtaining the Priesthood and secondly magnify our calling. 

The Church Handbook of Instruction Book 2 provides the following direction relative to exercising the Priesthood and also Magnifying Priesthood Callings.

2.4.3 Exercising Priesthood Authority Righteously

The priesthood should be used to bless the lives of others

2.4.5 Magnifying Priesthood Callings

Priesthood holders magnify their callings as they minister in their own homes and to other Saints and as they conscientiously fulfill assigned responsibilities. The Lord counseled, “Let every man learn his duty, and to act in the

office in which he is appointed, in all diligence” (D&C 107:99). Priesthood holders magnify their callings as they serve with diligence, teach with faith and testimony, and lift, strengthen, and nurture convictions of righteousness in the lives of those for whom they have responsibility.

Today I will touch on these three areas: serve with diligence, teach with faith, and lift, strengthen, and nurture others. 

Serve with Diligence

The Savior lived a life of service and we are to be as he is.  His ministry is filled with examples and in Mark 6 we learn how to serve with 5 loaves and two fishes.

Mark 6:34-44 Five Loaves and Two Fishes

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

 39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

 42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

Nearly 20 years ago President James E. Faust, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, gave a conference address in which he discussed the Five Loaves and Two Fishes.  He spoke specifically about couple missions and missionaries and how sometimes all they have to offer to the work is 5 loaves and 2 fishes.  President Faust declared that when we gave the Lord all we had, even if it was just five loaves and two fishes,  the Lord makes up the difference .  I know that this is true

In the 2004 hurricane season Florida was hit by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.  Out of those 4 storms Charley, Frances and Jeanne followed a variety of courses each of which passed through the middle of the State and the Lakeland Florida Stake.  In November 2004 I was offered and accepted a job in Lakeland Florida and relocated my family to area in February of 2005.  When you live in Florida you pay close attention to the hurricane season.  I lived in Carson City Nevada during the 2004 season and had no idea that I was moving to this town that seemed to be a magnet for Hurricanes.  I quickly learned what had happened as the area was pretty well ravaged.  There were signs of destruction all around including the blue tarp covered roofs that were quite common throughout the area.  I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. 

Not long after arriving in the area I discovered that there was a recurring theme in Elders Quorum.  Every week there was an invitation to gather as priesthood brethren and put a new roof on another member’s home.  I soon found myself learning how to roof from some amazing men.  I began to see how assignments had been made and responsibilities delegated as brethren served in coordinating materials, equipment and installation.  There were roofs to clean off, roofs to repair, and roofs to put on.   There were few that had prior experience in the trade but there were many willing to learn and to help.  The priesthood had gathered in force and over several months provided over 100 new roofs to members and others living within the boundaries of the Lakeland Florida Stake. 

As the 2005 hurricane season approached there were still roofs in need of repair.  In August we began work on Sister Pat Holley’s roof.  With summer vacations we were at times short on brethren.  Sister Holley had large trees that needed to be cleared from the roof, the old roof needed to be stripped off,  there were trusses that needed replacing and much of the sheeting needed to be replaced as well.  This turned out to be a rather large project and we were there every Saturday in August as well as some evenings during the week.  On Sunday August 28^th I recorded the following in my journal:

Last night I dreamed about Sister Holly’s roof.  This morning I awoke to my cell phone ringing and the call to gather the brethren over to Sister Holly’s so we could finish what needs to be done with her roof.  Even if it meant missing church we were going to be there.  Well, we missed church.  We ended up having the Sacrament there as a Priesthood body in Sister Holley’s front yard.  It was a neat experience.  It was humbling to stand with these men and to have done something great.  I am grateful for that brotherhood and for the strength of the priesthood. 

Though not recorded in my journal I recall wondering what the neighbors thought as they watched this group of men labor on this roof.  I chuckled as I thought about them wondering what roofing company it was that sang hymns and prayed together in the yard after they completed a roof.  No roofing company, just the priesthood of God out tending to one of the sheep of His fold. 

The following day on August 29^th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf Coast destroying towns in Mississippi and Louisiana.  We had just finished the last roof and the call came to assist in the cleanup of Katrina.  We didn’t know when we would need to go, only that we would go.  It was a month later that we were to report to Pascagoula, Mississippi to assist in the efforts.  On the 30^th of September 2005 I recorded the following: 

I have been up and going today for nearly 24 hours.  We just arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  Here for a work project with the Priesthood.  In a few short hours we will get up and get going…  It is hot and muggy at the moment and everyone is a bit tired.  Should be a fun weekend…  I am grateful to be here.  The service rendered since arriving in Florida has been constant and is a blessing.

This was a humbling experience.  It was my first time on a Hurricane Cleanup crew and the extent of the damage was depressing.  We would get work orders from the Church and then would go out to complete them.  We ripped out carpets and tore out walls.  We hauled furniture and other belongings to huge piles in the street.  Everything these people had was lost.  We also stood with and mourned with those that mourned, we comforted those that stood in need of comfort.  We offered prayers and shared our love with these good people who lost everything. 

I will ever remember Travis Cook whose home we gathered at and cleaned out on Sunday morning.  Travis was an 81 year old man.  His home was built in 1904. He rode out the storm in his home only to find himself standing on top of a chair that was sitting on top of his kitchen counter.  He had done what he could to save his home but in the end the water surge was too much and all he had was lost There was a large group of us there and we all gathered in the yard  when the work was done.  Travis stood there with us and wept.  We wept as well and shared a few thoughts and offered prayer. 

As we left this humble man’s home I was moved by the strength that exists in the Priesthood.   These were good men who readily answered the call to serve.  That service wasn’t always the most glamorous but it was what they were asked to do and they did it.  There were lives blessed.  Not only those that we served but our own lives as well.

Teach With Faith and Testimony

Doctrine and Covenants 88:77-78

 77 And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.

 78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

One of the primary responsibilities of a Priesthood Holder is that of a Home Teacher.  Lives are blessed and strengthened through this great work.  I would submit that in those times when I faithfully perform my duty as a home teacher I am also blessed.  Often times I leave the homes of my families being lifted in spirit and strengthened by the faith and the testimonies of those I am called to serve.  It helps me to be a little better.   

Some may feel inadequate or lacking and thus the need to teach with faith – faith that the Lord will be on your right hand and on your left and his spirit round about you to bear you up.  I testify that this is so.

Lift, Strengthen and Nurture

Alma 15:16,18  Alma administers to Amulek

16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;

 18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.

I love this passage as it beautifully portrays a Priesthood bearer lifting his brother.  There are times in our lives when we find ourselves walking through mists of darkness in a dark and dreary place.  Elder Holland pointed out in a conference address that the Lord provides Angels in our lives just as he did for Lehi when he found himself in a dark and dreary place. 

While in Florida I had the blessing of serving with the Stake Presidency.  President Karl Sweeney was a most remarkable man.  I scheduled many appointments for him with members of the Stake many of whom needed to be lifted.  He traveled the Stake every Sunday and would find those in the various wards that were in need and he administered to them. 

A time ago I was in a dark and dreary place.  My life was filled with great sadness and times were very difficult.  I will never forget when President Sweeney poked his head in our gospel doctrine class and gestured for me to come.  In that private setting this great man adminsterred to me in my tribulations, and strengthened me in the Lord.   I am grateful for a Priesthood bearer who knew how to lift, strengthen and nurture.  

Conclusion:

Each of us has the ability to serve, teach and lift.  We have the opportunity to be instruments in the Lords hands in blessing the lives of others.  In closing I share this final thought from President Monson from a talk called Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul:

 My dear brothers and sisters, ours is the responsibility, even the solemn duty, to reach out to all of those whose lives we have been called to touch. Our duty is to guide them to the celestial kingdom of God. May we ever remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort but rather the robe of responsibility. May we reach out to rescue those who need our help and our love.

As we succeed, as we bring a woman or man, a girl or boy back into activity, we will be answering a wife’s or sister’s or mother’s fervent prayer, helping fulfill a husband’s or brother’s or father’s greatest desire. We will be honoring a loving Father’s direction and following an obedient Son’s example (see John 12:26; D&C 59:5). And our names will forever be honored by those whom we reach.

Contributing

Alas, I am able to upload posts today.  Crazy stuff.  Everything has now been posted and that is nice to not have to think about all these posts that are not getting posted.  I am sure this news comes as great relief to many of you faithful readers who may have thought I dissappeared for good.  No, just not enough strength in my wireless connection to get it done. 

Had the opportunity to speak in church today as I noted in my blog post from yesterday.  I think it went okay.  Certainly felt better about it then I did for my last talk.  I was much more comfortable and though I had written out my talk in it's entirety I did not read it.  There were scriptures, quotes and passages from my journal that I read but the stories and other thoughts I pretty well just told or shared.  I feel a lot more that way and not so robotic.  Anyhow a lot of people seemed to enjoy it though I think there are some that might take their like for your talk to the exttreme.  A simply thanks is great, those that say general authority material seem a bit out there.  I don't know that this necessarily ranks up there with my double phone call and phone answering in the middle of my talk talk.  That was pretty sweet.  I certainly do my best to ensure the cell is on vibrate or silent now. 

So anyhow, I will post the talk on the blog in it's entirety.  This will be what I actually wrote and not what I gave as I had to shorten some things and did not discuss every detail.  It will be the next blog post. 
I am grateful to have spoken in Church.  I love the gospel and love to feel like I am contributing in some way.  Speaking in Church can be one of those ways.

A Time to Cook

Saturday, September 10, 2011

I am obviously back to having some connectivity challenges with the internet.  It is a real pain in the toooooosh.  That was written that way so you would read it how I said it in my mind – a nice, drawn out ooooosh.  Anyhow, hoping to have a remedy to the problem soon and then I will be posting these live once again.  Blogger updated their stuff and since doing so I have had a heck of a time just getting signed on.  I am not sure why but the comp typically freezes up whenever I try to sign on.  I have tried nightly to get on and finally get tired of trying so I resort to typing out the post in word.  I’ll get them all updated eventually. 

We had a morning of soccer, an afternoon of working on some talk ideas and a variety of other little things,   and in closing an evening of partying with the Cedar City 8^th Ward.  The elder’s were assigned to bring tables and chairs and some name tags.  This was done and then we discovered that the cooking duties were updated and assigned the elders.  We were all lost but managed to jump in and get it going.    It was actually right up my alley.  I enjoy working a grill.  President Fawson, Todd Allen and I worked the meat cooking.  It went quite well and we even threw on some extras at the end like grilled onions.  I kno sooner had grilled onions ready to go then some dude I’ve never seen before, just a young boy, was right there requesting them.  Kind of funny.

I guess the grills were a little dirty when things got started because I gave them a good cleaning afterwards and Ben was amazed at how good they looked.  Said they were much better than how we found em.  That’s the way I like to leave it. 

It was a good get together and the kids all seemed to enjoy themselves.  Cullen moved gear in a UHaul and the kids got to ride home in that.  They were all kinds of excited.  Pretty funny.  I like the Ward. 

I have to speak tomorrow and have a pretty good idea of what I am going to say but now I have to get it all down.  I think I am just about there.  I am not going to get much further tonight as I have already dozed a couple of times in this.  I will hit it in the morning.  Hopefully it is good and I am more comfortable speaking then I was last time.

Homer

Friday, September 10, 2011

This is not a tribute post to the great Homer Simpson.  I am sure that comes as a disappointment to many of my faithful followers.  Actually I have never really been in to the Simpson’s and don’t necessarily consider Home as being great.  At the same time this is also not a tribute to Homer Hickam of October Sky fame.  If I could think of any other Homer’s right now I would continue on but I can’t so I won’t. 

This evening I left soccer practice a little early so we could run up to the ward softball game.  I happen to be a fan of softball and enjoyed playing last year.  I had not yet had the opportunity to go this year because of practice but I think it is okay to take off a little early from Friday practice.  It provides me with an opportunity to hang out with friends and adults my age and to enjoy something that I like doing. 

Back in younger days I use to kit homeruns pretty regularly in Church Softball.  That was back in the University Ward in the Paradise Stake in Vegas.  I am not so sure how I did it as I was never much of a ball player.  I have begun to think that I was just lucky back then because hitting homers has long been a thing of the past.   That fence must have been closer back then. 

On my second appearance at home plate I managed to rip one right up the middle of the field.  It went out a good distance and I had already crossed second base by the time they were retrieving the ball.  At third base the ball was just going in to the infield and I has the wheels so I went for home.   I managed to make it and officially hit a homer.      DOH!!