Snow

The snow came back to Cedar last night and we got more today.  It is wonderful and very much needed.  It is snowing still.  I am beat tonight.  Can barely keep the.eyes open.  The day started early for me with snow.  Wonderful.  It was snow removal time, early. 
So.worn out.  must .  I am dead and must sleep.

Saying Goodbye

Sometimes in our lives we say goodbye and it is easy to do and then there are times when we say goodbye and tears are shed, it is a hard thing.  Sometimes we may secretly be rejoicing at the departure of someone and other times we my be deeply saddened at the loss of a dear friend or family member  Tonight we said goodbye to Jay and Sara and fam.  This was not an easy goodbye and we are not secretly rejoicing.  For me it is a tough thing to see Jay and Sara go.  It is a bit scary as they have been such a tremendous help to me and the kids.  At 11 O'clock at night I had all the cousins but Tommy over to say goodbye.  Tommy had fallen asleep already.  Anyway, it was great.  Jack called for a group hug and so we had a fine group hug.

On the topic of saying goodbye, it looks like we might finally be saying goodbye to some pretty fantastic weather.  After sunny and warm for most of January we welcomed some snow in this evening.  We are very much in need of some snow right now so this is a wonderful thing.  We need to get some snow pack up in the mountains.  Very grateful for the moisture.  

Soon we will be saying goodbye to this home.  It has been a good home for our family for nearly three years and we have had a great time here.  It will be much nicer not to have to worry about the house being sold out from under us.  Saying goodbye to that does not hurt my feelings at all. 

Truck Load

After getting home from work and scouts I helped Jay load up the Uhaul truck.  Jay had posted something about how this big truck in the driveway made everything very real.  Yep, and loading said truck only adds to that real feeling.  The truck was pretty close to full when I got home, well, 2/3rds anyway.  Scouts ran through their start time.  So I missed the boxes and got to have some fun with a few of the heavy items and yes, the piano is on the truck.  Anyways, the truck is loaded and I am in need of sleep so I close. 

Raise Your Employee's Wages

Let me start off by saying I did not watch the State of the Union speech.  I had other more important things going on.  It was pack meeting tonight for the Cub Scouts and I had a home teaching visit with the Taylor family.  No disrespect to the office of the President of the United States but I really don't care to listen to what our current President has to say. 

I did see a quote that he said something about employers raising their employee's wages.  Did he really say we need to increase minimum wage?  Let's just say that if the minimum wage is increased it will only mean that I would now make that much more less than minimum wage.  When people ask how things are going with the business I usually throw in a comment at some point in the conversation that if I can get to where I am at least making minimum wage it will be a good thing.  That usually gets a laugh and I think most people think that I am kidding.  No, not kidding.  If there was a need for an extreme poverty poster child I could throw my hat into that ring. 

Increase minimum wage, everybody deserves more.  I understand that and it all sounds great but there is a problem.  Most people think that those of us who create jobs for other people are loaded.  It simply is not the case.  We are not sitting on a cash cow and we did not come into it with a ton of start up capital.  We started it by a shoe string and have worked very hard with little to show for it.  The cost of being in business is up there and I often feel like we are in business to simply make money for other people.  Costs go up constantly from food to the utility bills to marketing expenses. We have never really been in front of that. 

Not looking for a pity party here.  I am simply pointing out the fact that if we had to increase minimum wage we would likely be forced to close our doors.  Our prices would go up such that people would no longer pay.  When we have to take all the risk and then we open the doors and have to maintain the insurances and have to pay the taxes and have to do everything else so that we can have an employee, an employee who just starting out at the current minimum wage makes more then what I make.  It doesn't make sense to continue.  I am certain we are not the only ones who are in this type of a position when it comes to operating a small business. 

When it comes to minimum wage, truly there are companies who can afford to pay there people more then what they do.  There are companies out there with very deep pockets and wonderful opportunities.  I had the pleasure of working for a company a number of years ago who paid extremely well.  They could have chosen to go at minimum wage but they didn't.  They were in a position to afford to pay more and they did.  They also provided 100% insurance for both the employee and their families.  Well, I am at a rambling stage.  I am tired. I think people, that there are entry level jobs and there should be an entry level wage.  Increasing that entry level wage to $10 per hour sounds great but it is a death nail for many of us little guys just trying to make it.   

Tuesday Morning

It is Tuesday morning.  I have a moment or two and thought I would make a note or two here before the night comes and I pass out before I can write something of value.  Suffice to say I have been a little tired as of late and I have been battling a bit of a cold.  When I sit down to try and write something I am asleep before I can gather any thoughts and then I wake up and try and write something yet continue to drift in and out of sleep.  I may need to make an adjustment on how I handle this here blog.  Maybe a morning report is in order.  Tough call as I have been a nightly journal writer for 20 years.  Not sure how changing my well developed habit would go.  Could be disastrous. 

I thought I would say a little something about our Family Home Evening last night.  On Sunday when we were having our family scripture reading my pocket size Patriarchal Blessing fell on the floor.  Jack told me how it fell through the chair and onto the floor.  I thanked him for letting me know and then I told the kids what it was.  I also shared with them that I had this pocket sized copy made when I was at the MTC and I have carried it in my scriptures for the last 21 years.  I also shared with them some news I had learned the other day from Jay and Sara that our neighbor Cal on the corner was very good friends with Max L. Jones who was the Patriarch for the Carson City Stake when I received my Patriarchal Blessing 21 years ago.  They wanted to know what it said and so I told them we would talk about it in Family Home Evening.  And so last night I shared that blessing with them.  Though that is a personal blessing and not something we broadcast to the world I thought it was appropriate to share with my children.  It was interesting to share that with them and to see them realize parts of that blessing that have come to pass and to see them recognize things that I do today that I am instructed to do in my blessing.  For me it was a choice experience to share that with them.  It was fun to read to them the portion of the blessing that talks about them.  I hope they felt something there and that they have planted in their hearts a desire to receive their own Patriarchal Blessings.  I testify that these blessings come from our Heavenly Father and they are a special gift, a sacred gift to us as his children.  I would encourage all to receive their Patriarchal Blessing. 

So Tuesday morning, I am grateful for it.  Grateful to be awake and to have an opportunity to record something of meaning in my life.  My apologies for my seeming lack of effort in my daily record.  I will do better even if it means Wednesday morning I repeat this process.

Worn Out

Tonight we are all a bit on the worn out side of the line.  Everyone was ready to go to bed and  that was great.  I came up to type this and fell asleep in the chair.  Just woke up to get it done.  It has been and hour and a half since I first came up and started this.  Pretty crazy.  I would love to stay awake and talk some nonsense but I am going to bed.  I don't quite know why but I have been so sleepy as of late.  I have been a bit sick but I am talking serious tired issues.  Maybe it is lack of sleep has left me wanting?  Okay, I am done, I have rambled enough.  Suffice to say, we are worn out.   

Moving Party

Tonight we went to a gathering, a party of sorts for Jay and Sara at their house.  It was a moving party to come over and say goodbye as they are leaving for Springville on Friday morning.  Pretty exciting for them and pretty sad all at the same time.  Just under 4 years as I was going through divorce I knew I was moving to Cedar City.  I didn't know where to live and Sara went to work finding a place for us.  It was just around the corner from them.  We lived there for a year and then we moved next door to them when our current home became available.  It has been a great blessing for my family to be neighbors with Jay and Sara and their children.  It hit me tongiht just how much we are going to miss them, how much I am going to miss them.  Being a single father is not the easiest thing to do in this world.  There are a few things that I simply miss and there are times when I struggle.  I have been increadibly blessed to have great neighbors who love my children and who are there for them when I may not be able to be home.  It is going to be hard to see them go, very hard. 

It's Coming...

Having one of those days when I am doing my best to thwart the incoming attack on my body.  I don't know that I am going to have success with that.  I am feeling it big time in my throat right now and I am not excited to have an illness coming.  I think I will load up on vitamin C tonight and take other precautionary measures.  I don't have time to be sick...  really truly, I don't have time to be sick right now so I am going to have to beat it quickly.  Wonderful times to be sure. 

Great Morning

Had a great morning.  Jack came and climbed into my bed as he's done every morning for the last few weeks.  I don't know why, he just does.  Anyhow, we had our family morning prayer and Natty went off to school.  Got the boys dressed and ready to go and then got them some breakfast while they got started on videos.  Nothing unusual about the morning but we had a bunch of laughs going for some reason.  When I dropped Andy off at the school I remember smiling as I walked home.  I thought about joy and my heart was full.  The day continued to be a wonderful day even if I got all the way to the check out counter before realizing that I left my wallet at home.  No big deal, I can handle it.  I am grateful for the blessings of my life and a loving Heavenly Father who helps me to feel and enjoy his love. 

Busy Life

Is there ever a time when life isn't busy?  It seems as if there is always something going on, always.  The busy life is something that can be hard to keep up with.  I know that lately the time I put into the blog/journal has been pretty sad.  I am trying to write a history and then other entries but find myself completely wiped out and unable to make sense of evertyhing.  I fall asleep in the middle of the post, wake up and attempt to catch up on where I am at, fall asleep again and repeat.  Oh my goodness, I need to get a bit more sleep.  There is a lot going on, lots to be grateful for and lots of fun things out there.  I am a bit on the wiped out side of things and don't think I am going to get extra rest any time soon so I will likely continue to blog by way of power naps. 

Lots to do

So, looks like I need to be out of the house by the 15th.  At least that is what I spoke to Fred about in the aisle at the Walmart today.  The chip aisle I believe.  Anyway, he was cool with everything and I think he has a few things he plans on doing here to try and get the house to sell at the price he is asking.  I don't imagine that is going to be very easy but we'll see.  There is a ton to do.  I think I feel like there is a ton to do because I don't want to just pack everything and sort it out later.  I would rather throw things out that I can right now, donate things that we can right now and keep things simple,  My goodness.  I am falling asleep at the keyboard once again.  So dang tired lately.  I am going to call it a day and hit the sack. 

The Sandy Years

Continuing on with my life history for not only mom but for my posterity as well.  I am going to focus on the years that we lived in Sandy, Utah.  I don't know that I will get through everything from those years but we will do our best. 

When we moved to Sandy it was the summer before I entered the 2nd grade.  One of the first things I remember during that time was having Phillip Kimball come over to play with Pete and I.  Down in the basement he told us that our house was haunted by a green rat.  Well that pretty much scared the crap out of me.  I lived in fear of this green rat for years.  When ever I was in the basement by myself and needed to go upstairs I would turn on some super human speed and fly up those stairs.  It was crazy.  Eventually Jim, Pete and I had a room down there.  It was a rather large area and we each had our own section of room.  It was great.  The only problem was that outside our door was the furnace and when that furnace would light up I could see the green ghost lining up outside the door.  I was terrified.  I even knew what it really was but was still terrified. 

I didn't get very far.  I am asleep and will carry on with more in coming posts. 

Salad Bar

Today was going to be the first day we had the salad bar opened at the Brick House.  We sold one salad bar.  It was to our employee.  We had things set up but we didn't have everything in it and we didn't have serving spoons and tongs when everything started for lunch.  We didn't really get to offer it and then when the folks made it to town with the serving spoons we were not in a position to get it all up because we were thin on our staff today and we were busy all day.  Anyhow, we did have a few salads end up getting made.  There was the one from our employee and then mom made one, I made one and Dani came in and got one.  So there we are, test subjects.  I would report that my salad was fantastic.  There were a few things slated to be in the line up that we didn't have and those would have been included on my plate normally.  Next time perhaps.  I think the salad bar will be a great addition to the Brick House.  We will have a lot to learn here pretty quickly about operating a successful salad bar.  Should be fun times. 

Bless Natty to not Pass Out

I asked Jack to say our family prayer this morning before church.  I reminded him that Natty was speaking today and asked him to remember her in the prayer.  He did and asked Heavenly Father to bless Natty to not pass out.  It was a great prayer and it was a great talk and no, Natty did not pass out.  She was nervous but she kept it together and really did good for her first time speaking in Sacrament Meeting. 

I thought I would post her talk here but figure I should talk to her about it first.  So, maybe we will have that on the blog in the next few days.

The rest of the day was great.  Andy and I had a little wrestling match on the trampoline.  I had to help motivate Andy to go to Primary and used a little wrestling time to do just that.  We had a good time.  Oh, I guess I should mention that Andy gave a talk in Primary as well.  It was about our Heavenly Father having a plan for us to return to him.  I wrote it out for him but we probably should have practiced a few more times.  He read it himself and didn't so much struggle for the words as he simply replaced words with other words that started with the same letter.  It was pretty funny. 

Well, I will leave it at that for now.  Sure do love the kids.  Each one of them is a wonderful gift and bring so much joy into my life. 

Funiture to Finish

I am looking to move sometime during the month of February.  As part of that move we will be able to once again use our dining room table.  It has been 2 and a half years of storing this thing in the garage though it hasn't all been just storage.  We took it to the Brick House a couple years ago to use for our guests.   That was only for a little while and then it has been back at the house.  We don't have a dining room large enough in this house for it.  There was a time when I was thinking to sell it but we don't need to do that now.  I do however need to finish it.  I have the top stripped and sanded and need to get it re-stained/varnished.  The trick will be getting the color right. 

In addition to the table I've got an antique dresser, an old secretary, a rocking chair and a little three drawer, um, thing.  Each are in different stages of work but it shouldn't take too much to get things up to speed.  I forgot about an old work bench unit thing that I am thinking of using for an entertainment center, I've got a dresser to refinish and repair for the boys.  While I am at it I might refinish their beds.  So much to do, so little time especially with trying to pack the house.  Once we get into the house I've also got flooring to put in, some painting to do, blinds to install and a few other things here and there.  It is wonderful though.  I am excited to be doing something I find quite enjoyable. 

Packers

I sat down a few hours ago after getting the boys to bed and I was going to write something.  I was pondering what to write about and the next thing I knew I was waking up and it was almost 2 AM.  Not the most comfortable sleeping position sitting in the office chair but certainly provided a place to take a load off.  Somedays it is like that, as soon as I have an opportunity to slow down and to relax I am out.  I could have been out a few hours before that but instead I went downstairs and got to work packing the closet.  Well, really it was going through the toys and seperating out those that have been out grown.  Somewhere along the lines Andy came and joined me and he was a great help.  We are a couple of wild and crazy packers.  

Return of the Dance Off!

When I got home tonight Natty was all about throwing down a challenge on Just Dance.  Actually, it was the first time I had played the original Just Dance and we had a good time.  I pulled out a quick victory and then we went back and forth for a while.  We scrolled through the songs and then we decided to put in Just Dance 3.  I think they definitely improve the game every year or with each release.  We had a good time with that and I was happy to go head to head with Natty and not only beat her on one of her record songs but to also beat her high score.  She didn't let it get her down though and the very next song she beat me soundly and took the high score away from me as well.  We win some and we lose some but ultimately spending quality time with my daughter in the return of the dance off is a big win.   

A Special Thank You

A few weeks back I shared some thoughts regarding Christmas and a gift we had decided to do as a family.  I didn't really get into specifics and intended to get back to it.  I never did though I mentioned a few of the things we had done.  I will simply re-post a post from the Arizona Scottsdale Mission blog where my dear friends the Sweeneys are serving as Mission President.  I will add before doing so that I shared the picture that President Sweeney sent with the kids and they were excited.  It is an impressive group of missionaries and we are grateful that we were able to do a little something for them this Christmas.  As a parent I am thankful for moments of inspiration that come and direct me to do things that will be meaningful to my children and help to develop their testimonies and their love for the Lord and his work.  President Monson often says "when we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to the Lord's help".  As parents we are on the Lord's errand, quite an important one at that and I know that his help is there when we seek it.

THANK YOU FONTANO FAMILY! (John, Natalie, Jack and Andy)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by sweeneykarl

The Fontanos of Cedar City, John (Dad) and his 3 terrific children, Natalie, Jack and Andy sent us “5 loaves and 2 fishes” for Christmas. It was not loaves of bread, but loaves of missionary catnip – FUDGE! At our recent all-mission meeting, we served the fudge as dessert to raves from the missionaries!

John and his family run The Little Brick House restaurant and gift house in downtown Cedar. Fudge is their gift shop specialty and they make many different flavors. It’s not an easy thing to be a single parent (which John does with great dedication) and get through a busy day at the restaurant with any extra time. So, we marvelled that he and his children would have time to make this gift. Let me quote from the letter that accompanied the present:

“I was pondering one morning and worried that I would not have anything to give to my children this year. I stopped thinking about material things I could give to them and started thinking about what we as a family could give to someone else. Well, I thought about you and I thought about your missionaries and I thought about fudge. Fudge at Christmas is a Fontano family tradition. I called the family around the table last week and shared with them my thoughts. I talked to them about giving and making that our gift to the Savior. All were on board and were excited expecially when I shared the thought of doing something for you and your missionaries. You will be happy to know that Andy helped supervise the fudge making process, Natalie helped with the vital role of stirring and Jack took very serious his role of sampling the left over fudge in the bowl after we poured each loaf. It has been a great reminder and a lot of fun. I hope it is something you can enjoy and share.”

We did. Thank you. “And he who feeds you…shall in no wise lose his reward.”  D&C 84:90 

Here is a link to the Arizona Scottsdale Mission blog. 

 http://scottsdalemission.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/thank-you-fontano-family-john-natalie-jack-and-andy/   

Optimism

So one of my dear friends came in to lunch today, Viv Boyle of Dan and Viv Boyle fame.  She is quite a lady.  I saw her come in and didn't see Dan.  I thought he was parking the car so I went over and said hello and that turned in to a bit of a conversation.  Turns out she was meeting someone else there for lunch and Dan was at a Lions Club meeting.  Then it turned out that this friend she was meeting was someone she thought I should meet.  They had lunch there together once before but she wanted to introduce me again or more formally or whatever.  Anyway, this gal is pretty cute and I was happy to meet her again.  It was nice to visit with them for a few minutes.  I didn't want to intrude on their lunch date and had other things to do but had a chance to visit with Viv again afterwards and then Dan came in to pick her up and I got to visit with him a bit as well.  They are fun people.

In our conversation I shared with them a Jack story and I realized that I had not shared that story on the blog - which by the way is my journal.  Both Dan and Viv said it was a story they would record in their journal and I thought that I should do the same.  So anyway the story.  As my faithful readers know Jack has Autism and this year Mrs. Coonan at the school decided we should tell Jack what Autism is and we did and she did a masterful job helping all of us better understand what makes Jack a little different. 

In his travels to Alaska for the holidays he decided he needed to share what he had learned about having autism with his mom.  What was shared with me was that Jack went to his mom and said " Mom, my brain works a little different than others cause I have OPTIMISM".  I love that little story because Jack is right, he has optimism.  He truly has a good heart as do Natty and Andy.  Well, there, now it is recorded and I can go about my business.  That business is sometimes known as sleep.  Anyways, it was a great visit with Dan and Viv, they loved Jack's Optimism and shared their love for Jack. 

Speaking of optimism.  Viv did not let me off the hook.  She asked what I thought of her friend and then she suggested a double date.  I said I would be up for that.  We'll see how that goes.   

Moving

Sometime in September my landlord put our house up for sale.  It is still for sale.  I am in the middle of cleaning it right now for a showing tomorrow evening.  That is always fun.  Anyway, it has created an unsettled atmosphere and has created some unnecessary worry amongst the kids.  To make things even better my landlord and I have talked on more then one occasion and on his own he has brought up that he doesn't want to sell the house and asked if I would pay a little extra and he would take it off the market.  I agreed and he said he would talk to the realtor and then he never got back to me.  Weeks later we saw each other and he would say the same thing and then say he never talked to the realtor... needless to say it has been a real pain in the arse.  Well, that no longer matters.  My brother, who also happens to be my neighbor, is moving up north with his family.  They are going to let us rent their house here.  So, February could be quite the month of moving.  I hope to be in there by the end of February so I can be done here.  Fortunately I am on a month to month so that won't be a big deal.  It will be a good move for our family and for my brother and his family.  The kids are excited and I get to do some projects in the new place which I am quite excited about.  I love that kind of stuff so it is a good time waiting to happen.  For now pack.  I don't know how much love I have for that.  We're still trying to decide if we should rent a Uhaul.  One driveway over is quite the distance and that might help out quite a bit.  Oh, decisions, decisions.  And for any who actually took me seriously on the Uhaul debate let me put your mind at ease, we will definitely be getting a truck.  Okay, for real this time, I think we can manage with out it you see, I have a perfectly good trailer that will do just fine.  And if you still believe me, I am sorry.   

Work Enough to Do

I was blessed with the opportunity to teach Elders Quorum today.  The lesson was on the Life and Ministry of Joseph Fielding Smith.  I printed out the lesson to make it easier to manage and there were 22 pages of material.  That is a lot of material to fit into a 30 minute lesson and there was so much that was wonderful in the material from Joseph Fielding Smiths life.  I had a few ideas and so we went for it.  Worked a little lesson development into it and focused on being true and faithful.  These were words used to describe Joseph Fielding Smith by Gordon B. Hinkley and Thomas S. Monson.  I should think that if my piers were to use those words in describing my character and the things that were important to me then I would have succeeded in this life.  I don't know that I am at that level and have work enough to do in order to get there.  Speaking of work that was topic of discussion in the lesson and ended up generating a pretty healthy discussion.  I didn't intend for us to get stuck there as there was a lot of other material available but we discussed it and I tried to follow the Spirit.  I tried to make the point towards the end of our time that it is our responsibility as parents, as fathers, as priesthood leaders in our homes to teach our children how to work and the value of hard work.  That is our work.  We cannot rely on the world to do it because the world tells us differently.  Instead of instant gratification or immediate pleasure we need to teach our children and better live ourselves the principle of work.  It is after we work that we get the reward.  Well, we didn't get very far in the material but that is okay.  I think we learned something and I hope that I helped to set the table for the rest of the year as we review the teachings of President Joseph Fielding Smith. 

It is a great joy to have the opportunity to teach.  I am grateful to have learned more about Joseph Fielding Smith and look forward to learning more from his life and teachings.   

Yesterdays Post that Didn't

Okay, so I found earlier today that my post from last night didn't quite happen.  I did it on my phone and apparently I am still having an issue with that working.  Seems to be a problem with posting pictures that locks it into publishing status on the phone but never gets over the hump.  Here is a quick recap less the picture.

Jack came and worked with me for a while today.  We made a run to the store for a few needed items at the shop and we also picked up a pack of rubberbands so we could secure the wing on his slow stick and get it up in the air.  It was after 5 when we got home and the sun was heading down fast but we managed to get over to the school for the flight.  Jack got the slow stick up for his best ever flight.  He gunned it, got it up in the air, gained a little altitude and got caught in a gust of wind.  It carried his plane backwards and up over the school.  For his first sustained flight he handled it very well.  With the gust carrying the plane over the school we lost sight of it and Jack was fliying blind.  We did see it go down past the peak of the roof and we were not sure if he cleared it or not.  We ran to the side of the building whereupon we heard the prop going strong.  We spotted the plane and discovered it had crashed into a handrail at the bottom of the stairs.  The prop was fully intact and still firing away, the wing was in a bit of a mess.  It wasn't too bad and we will repair it with some packing tape as the experts suggest.  We'll have her back up in the air soon I'm sure.  It was a great little voyage.  Jack found a tremendous amount of joy over the flight.  I am grateful for that. 

Early Years Part um, Soccer

My goodness.  I don't know to what age I was supposed to go with this.  I guess I should look up moms instructions and dial things in.  I do know that I am supposed to have another set of years to her on Sunday night and I am not yet done with this assignment from last week.  Perhaps I am overkilling it.  Oh well, it is my own history too so we'll make it work. 

Soccer.  Love this sport.  I started playing when we lived in Carson and then continued to play when we moved to Sandy.  Actually there was a season in there when I played on a team over in the Cottonwood area.  I was on Jims team and was one of the younger players.  I was stuck in defense which was all I can remember playing in Carson City.  All was good in my soccer career until that fateful day in practice when I stood my ground as a defender only to take the ball right to the face.  I was seeing stars and my face hurt quite a bit.  I remember the rest of my soccer career I would not look straight on at a ball being kicked.  I would turn my head at the sign of a big kick coming at me.  Not my favorite part of the game.  I did love the rest of it though.  Eventually I moved up from defense and enjoyed a little more offensive action though I played just about any position on the field including goalie - though I didn't turn my head as the goalie.  Soccer was my favorite sport. I could play just about anything and most things I could play well.  Basketball is not one of those things and is definitely not one of my favorite sports.  I was pretty good at Soccer. 

For a few years while living in Sandy I played in two different leagues at the same time.  One was AYSO and the other was a competition league.  I loved them both.  Somedays we had games  that overlapped a bit. Dad and I would leave the competition game and drive across town to the AYSO game.  I would change clothes in the car and he would do everything he could to embarrass me.  He would honk the horn, yell out the window "We got a naked kid back here".  I was so embarrassed.  It was brutal.  Then we would get to the game and I would run on to the field with cheers from my team roaring, well, at least in my mind it was roaring.  All was well.      

Early Years Part 2

Continuing on.  Life was good and something strange is happening with Blogger.  I'm getting some pop up every few seconds that I have to close and it is getting annoying.  We will do our best to push through the nonsense.  

I should mention a few random memories from my childhood.  Two year first grade.  Let's continue.  I had to take the bus to a different school then the one my older brother went to which was right by our house.  I also took the bus home except for the day that I didn't make it on the bus after school.  I don't recall why I missed it but I did so I walked home.  I must have been 7 because it was at John C. Fremont school so it would have been during my second year of first grade.  Anyhow, that was a bit of a hike.  I think about my 7 year old son Andy making that trek alone today and it is a bit of a scary thought.  Life was a little different back in 1979.  Obviously I made it home, unscathed.  I also walked myself to the K-Mart once.  I was in love with Olivia Newton John and the movie Xanadu.  Not so much a classic but Olivier was hot and as a little boy I had a huge crush on her.  So much so that I took some money that did not belong to me and I walked to the K-Mart and bought the Motion Picture Soundtrack of Xanadu. I actually think it was the vinyl, could have been the 8 track I guess.  Well no matter.  I proudly took it home and then was questioned about how I purchased said album.  Needless to say it went back to the store.  It was okay though, we had the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack on the 8 track and I would listen to it repeatedly.

I remember going on a Father's and Sons camp out with pops.  We took a yellow Toyota pick up truck that had a camper shell on the back.  Well, in my memory it had a camper shell on the back and that is where we slept.  It was at a lake south of Carson City and Gardnerville.  I don't recall what lake it was but I do remember listening to Willie Nelson sing On the Road Again.  I also remember stopping on the side of the road on the way home, getting out of the car and watching people take off in a hot air balloon.  Good times for sure. 

I was really good a cutting open my head when I was a kid.  Always lead with the head right?  Okay, maybe I got that wrong.  Anyhow, it was right around my 5th birthday and I was hanging out with my best pal Matt Callister back in those days.  We were engaged in a hardcore pillow fight with his older brother Scott and his friend.  Things were going great and then I took a solid hit that sent me flying through the air.  I went head first into the corner of a dresser or cabinet of some sort.  It split my head open.  No big deal, it was only a flesh wound.  I still have the scar in the top of my head.  Perhaps the Lord decided I could keep my hair so I wouldn't have to walk around flashing a big scar in the top of my head.  It is there anyway.  I took another cut to the head when I got in a lava rock fight with Jim and one of his friends.  All was good until someone connected with the back of my favorite head.  By that time I was an old pro at this bleeding head thing.  Skipping ahead a few years and in another state, I was in a relay during PE at Silver Mesa Elementary in Sandy, Utah when I ran my leg, went to the end of the line, jumped up in the air to cheer on my team and rammed my head into some fixture on the wall that was there to tie up the rope, yep the rope that we used to have to climb in gym class.  Whatever.  That was a bleeder.  it got me the rest of the day off of school though. 

Back to the Carson City years.  I liked to hang out with my dad.  I liked to hear his jokes.  He always has some sort of comedic comment coming out of his mouth.  I also didn't mind repeating his jokes and fortunately he kept them clean for his young sons.  I was out on the town with my buddy Matt Callister and his dad.  We drove by the cemetery in Carson and so I piped up with a classic "People are just dying to get in there".  Couldn't leave it at just that so I followed it up with "You know how many dead people are buried in there?  All of them".  Matt's dad John thought I was a pretty funny kid.  As long as I could properly remember my dads sweet lines then I probably was pretty funny. 

I could continue here with sports and then dive into live after we moved to Utah but I think I will save that for round part 3.  It's nearly 1 AM and I have to go move some laundry then get to bed. Til next time.      

Early Years Part 1

Mother has given us all an assignment to write down our life histories or something like that.  I am not 100% certain of what exactly I am supposed to do but I think we are supposed to write down memories we have from our early years first.  This was actually due to her on Sunday, I think.  I completely forgot about it.  Sorry mom.

So anyway, the early years.  This could take a while. 

I have memories not of my own but of stories that I was told about myself.  I also have my own memories but will start with the others first.  I always thought it was funny when dad would talk about how I urinated on the doctor when I was born.  He would always say that when I came out I said "Air!" and immediately peed.  It was a proud moment for me.  I felt special like I had done something no one else had ever done.  Then I had children of my own and was urinated on more than once whilst changing a diaper and I realized that I was not alone, there are many who feel a little bit of a breeze down low and suddenly must pee.  Anyhow, that is perhaps a memory of the earliest thing that I did. 

Following my skills as a urinator came my destructive skills.  I somehow managed to break my crib as wee little one.  Apparently I would stand up and hold the side of the crib and jump up and down so ferociously that the crib couldn't take it.  Where was OSHA back in those days?  Along those lines I was also a climber and liked to get around. 

I am the second of eight children.  My older brother Jim must have really loved having a younger brother.  I am sure to have assisted in some small way to his artistic talents.  When I was but a child he painted me black.  Clearly any who have seen my farmers tan or my white legs after winter know that it didn't stick.  Oh I guess there is also the haircut.  Today I have not problem with a buzz cut.  It is my worst case scenario hair cut and I have no problem with it which is why of often cut my own hair.  I don't know that it was my first hair cut as a child or what but I have been told several times about getting a hair cut, being furious and wearing a beanie for quite some time afterwards. 

That's pretty much all I can remember from the stories I was told about myself.  My earliest memory all on my own came the day I broke my leg at the family cabin at Tahoe.  I was hanging out with Jim on the back deck and jumping off to the ground.  It wasn't a high jump by any means, just a small one from what I can remember.  Anyhow, I jumped and something went wrong.  My leg didn't want to work any longer.  Jim must have run and got dad and when he came he told me to get up and walk.  I think he put me on my feet and tried to get me going.  I couldn't.  After I had a nap they took me to the hospital and sure enough, it was broken.  I was three years old. 

Also at three years old I taught myself how to ride a bike - no training wheels.  I must have seen Jim ride a bike or other kids in the neighborhood.  I'm pretty sure we lived on Woodcrest Lane in Carson City.  The bike was yellow and I would get on it in the garage and would practice and practice until I had it down.  I would ride in tight circles in the garage.  After that biking was something I loved doing.  I don't know how old I was but I remember riding around the block from Woodcrest Lane, past a house on the corner that had a decorative wood bridge in the front yard.  Anyway, I got to where I could do that with no hands.  I also liked to take the bike to the field behind Seeliger Elementary School and ride on the bike track that had been built there.  I was all about jumping tires like the bigger boys.  I also remember quite clearly the day I was with my cousin Carrie, who was visiting, and we were on the path that cut through the field and to the back of the school.  Just off that path was a big jump that I had to go off.  The bike I was on at the time was green and had a broken pedal.  There was just a medal rod sticking out and the rest of the pedal was gone.  I went off the jump, my foot slipped off the rod and I landed the jump awkwardly.  Awkwardly, that is a good word for it as the medal rod went into my leg.  I left the bike and Carrie and ran all the way home. That was all before I was 7 as we moved during my second year of first grade.

Yes, that is right, two years of first grade.  What happened was I went through Kindergarten and didn't say a word the entire year.  I was a skosh on the shy side.  So they put me in a special two year first grade class.  It was great I guess.  I had Mrs. May for my teacher.  Interestingly when we moved back to Carson City in my Junior year of High School I met three of my friends from that class.  Good times. 

Life was good.  I had much to be grateful for.  I will continue with another segment of these early years but I am worn out tonight and need to sleep.  There are some good things to come like cutting my head open, buying my first album, taking the long walk home, baptism and my first pocket knife - there is a lot to remember and record.   I'm sure to have more memories come to my mind that must be shared...

Ghost of Silverlode

I am attempting to blog on the phone again.  In the Great Brain we are in our last chapter.  It is about a ghost town that is haunted by a.ghost.  I am sitting in the boys room writing be side their beds because they are a bit scared.  We love reading the great brain.  Hopefully we continue to love it after tonight.  The Ghost of Silverlode can't scare us away from the books we love. 

Not These Balls

Having kids is a wonderful thing.  Having little boys can be quite amusing.  I got home from work and there was no doubt that the kids were home from Alaska.  My neat and tidy house has strayed a bit from that description.  When I walked in the house I was surprised at the chaos that existed.  What I had cleaned up this morning before leaving for work was no longer clean.  Jack had Andy by the foot and was dragging him across the floor.  I was informed that they were playing cops and robbers.  Apparently Andy was the robber.  It was fun to watch them having fun.  It wasn't fun seeing the house a mess but we will survive, it's only stuff. 

I need to note here in the middle of this post that someone dropped off a surprise at our doorstep tonight.  It was a big gift basket thing filled with games, goodies and a fun jar.  We don't know who the gifter is though Natalie was doing a full and complete analysis of the handwriting on the tag.  She mentioned it being the same as a girls at school... perhaps she is on to something, or not.  Anyway, a heartfelt thank you from us to you, whoever you are. 

A second note for the middle of this post has to do with our Family Home Evening lesson on putting on the whole armor of God.  Andy came home from church yesterday weilding a sword and a shield and loved the Armor of God so I told him we would watch a talk from Elder Hales.  We started to watch it and then it quit playing the video so I read it.  It was good.  We talked about why there is a need for the armor of God.  I don't know how much was retained but I think we had a good conversation. 

Okay, so following all that Andy had taken a bath.  He was last on the list tonight so didn't have a lot of hot water.  Anyhow, he took care of business and after getting out of the bath I had given him some underwear.  While he was attempting to put on the underwear I was asking him about some things that had been left on my bed.  "Is that your bouncy ball?"  I asked about a ball that was sitting on my bed.  Excitedly he started telling me how he got to pick some things out of some prize pile in his class and said as he was putting on his underwear "I grabbed the ball, (pause) not these balls, (pointing at his testies) and this skateboard out of the prize pile...".  All boy that Andy, and proud of it.  When a boy discovers his testies, his nutties, his balls if you will, he takes a certain amount of pride in those things.  They aren't just something you randomly pick up in some 2nd grade class prize pile.  No, not these balls. 

Boys Don't Sleep

35 minutes ago I came upstairs to start the blog after finishing the nightly routine with the boys.  We read some Great Brain to finish things off and they were all set.  I came up, sent a message to my sister, looked at a few things online and was ready to start on this when Jack walked into the office.  He told me he needed to talk.  So he talked.  Funny enough he told me that a boy needs a dog.  I had to laugh because that was a line that we had read in The Great Brain tonight about a dog that had died named Old Butch.  He was a community dog that loved kids and the kids loved him, especially those who weren't allowed to have dogs.  Anyway, I knew I would hear that line again.  It didn't take long. 

A few minutes later I had Andy up here also.  He was wondering what was going on and why Jack wasn't in bed.  What is the deal with boys that don't sleep?  They are back in bed and hopefully drifting off now.  School is going to come quite early tomorrow morning, especially for me.  I have not minded that break at all.  I need to go set me three alarms so we can appropriately manage the morning and keep ourselves on schedule.  I guess I am going to be back to being one of those boys that don't sleep.
 

Pool Time

Sara had promised the kids that she would take them swimming for watching Nacho on one of their getaways.  Today was the day she delivered that promise.  Jay, Sara and fam excluding Mack along with Natty, Jack, Andy and myself all went to the pool.  Everyone seems to have had a good time.  I hung out with Andy for a while and then I went over to the lap pool and swam a few laps with Natty.  It was nice to be in the pool.  It was good to swim a few laps.  I wanted to see how my shoulders would do with that type of exercise.  Fortunately they were great.  Well, I am pretty much asleep here.  I will simply say that we had a good time at the pool. 

They're Back!

We are home.  Wonderful to have the kids back.  We had a fine return trip home, had lots of laughing and fun times.  I am grateful to have the kids home again.   I am also quite tired after a full day, lots of driving and other fun things.  We have had a fine afternoon and evening.  Now, I will close and go to bed before I find myself awake at this keyboard.

Two Weeks Over

Tomorrow I will drive to Vegas to pick up the kids.  Two weeks is over already.  Hard to believe just how fast the time goes.  It will be wonderful to have them back home.  I tend to get a little lonely without them.  Sure it means life will be crazy again with school starting up on Monday.  There will be lots of work to be done and I will be exhausted as I try to keep up with everything but I will be with my children and that makes everything worth it. 

Post Fail

I installed the blogger app on the phone I just switched to.  It is a new phone to me and was my dads phone quite some time ago.  He switched companies and it just so happened that my phone was having some major issues with charging so anyway, long story short - he gave his phone to Laura and Nigel, they switched providers and never used the phone, at Christmas they gave it to me, I have not switched providers, had service transferred to the new phone, it works great, downloaded the blogger app, wrote a fine post about the day on the smart phone, included a few pics, published the post.  Phone and blogger not working so hot together.  Post is stuck in publishing mode - for a few hours now.  It is showing up in the published file yet says it is publishing still.  Nothing is happening on the phone and when I looked at the actual blog page there is nothing there.  Post Fail!  Smart phone is apparently not that smart.  So, that is my new post.  No exciting news to share or pictures, just this sad report.  And now I can officially call it a night. 

New Years Evening

Well, a night I thought I would be spending alone turned into a night of fun and games.  I got home from work around 8 and Jay came by and invited me to go hang out with them and Jed and Stephanie's house.  Obviously I did that as noted above.  We played a rather fun game called Werewolf and had quite the time.  I should probably like to play that one again.

Eventually the clock struck twelve and the new year is upon us.  I should probably have something inspirational to say.  I don't.  I called Natty on the way home and we had fun talking in two separate years.  Being in Alaska she still has 40 minutes from right now until they ring in the new year.  It's not everyday that you can carry on a conversation in two different years.  Yep, pretty exciting stuff right there.  That's right, I live on the edge.