My "Type"

I must tell you, I have decided that I just may be one of the luckiest men in the world. How is that possible you might wonder, well I will enlighten you. I have been blessed with someone who has to be one of the most amazing women in the world. Last night as we were laying on the trampoline she asked me what my "type" of woman is. I told her she already knew and left it at that.

Here is my "type" if anyone cares to know.

Someone who lets me sleep in while she get up with the kids, even when she went to bed way later than me.

Someone who takes care of two perfect, but at times out of control, children all day and still finds time to do her vinyl business, piano lessons, and primary calling, and housework, and then tells me multiple times how thankful she is that I work so hard. (she runs circles around my hard work)

Someone who doesn't mind jumping on the trampoline while the kids and I throw water balloons in her general direction.

Someone who lets me go out and run at night so I don't gross anyone in town out, while she puts the kids to bed.

Someone who makes us eat at the table "like a real family" instead of watching Sponge Bob which was my preference.

Someone who doesn't care that I drink obscene amounts of soda, and always seems to know when I need one.

Someone who loves almost everyone without needed it in return. I have a long ways to go there.

Someone who can eat chocolate ice cream thing ( her creation) everyday and still look amazing, and doesn't seem to mind that I get fat just smelling that stuff.

Someone who doesn't care that I still haven't learned how to put the toilet paper roll on the holder instead of on top of it, or the way I only use a towel once and throw it on the floor most of the time, or that I tend to dry her shirts even when she reminds me not to.

Someone that entertains all of my weird and crazy ideas (minds out of the gutter people) like wanting to play guitar even though I am not musically inclined whatsoever.

Someone who takes the kids to the Wednesday free movie, giving me quite time to work on homework. I usually surf the internet instead, but she never gets mad.

Someone who continues to look better to me everyday of the twelve years I have known her. Seriously, have you seen her, ridiculously hot!

Someone that makes our family who they are, cause we all know that's been all her, without her I wouldn't be anywhere near the person I am today.

Someone who saved my life (literally) by bringing me back from a path I was on that would have led somewhere I didn't want to go. (Thank You, I absolutely love you for it)

So there you have the family safe version of my "type" of woman. If you see this "type" of woman around town make sure to tell her thanks for me, I don't do it nearly enough.

Victory Is Mine!

Imagine my surprise when out of the blue, my biggest McDonald's critic called us up and suggested we accompany his family to none other than the golden arches! He may as well have been calling to admit defeat in the war of words concerning the type of heavenly cuisine we will be enjoying later in life. I even persuaded him to pose with this food item with the stipulation that his identity would be concealed from the public. Although he enjoyed the Bic Mac instead of the better choice of cheeseburger, I was just happy to see him enjoying life while eating the food of heaven. And I have to say, I forgive your previous negative comments concerning this issue and consider the matter resolved. I knew I was right!

Beer And Fireworks!

I couldn't help but write about the amazing sales promotion going on at the red store tonight. Right inside the front door is a huge display of fireworks and right next to that are multiple displays of beer. I mean who brings the product out and decides hmmm..... these two items could possibly work together, what could possibly go wrong here? After all what is a pioneer celebration, or any celebration for that matter without a lot of beer and lots of dangerous explosives? Bring on the fun!

Three Foods In Heaven?

So we finally made it home from Vacation last week and I felt I should share just a few more of our wonderful memories from that amazing car ride home. We had previously decided that the
awesome ten hour drive down there just wasn't what we had been hoping for so our plan was to try and increase the amount of time spent locked in a small car in the middle of the desert by at least a few hours. Mission accomplished! Twelve and a half hours later we rolled into Hurricane, just as hot as our vacation spot. There are two things that kept us sane through this drive and here they are in no particular order of importance.The first is completely self explanatory.


The second thing is we finally found the elusive Hostess Raspberry Filled Donuts.


Now this was no small task, we had gone a whole week without spotting one anywhere. I honestly think California has some sick ban on this delicacy. We looked in every store from Wal-Mart to Albertsons to the lowly gas stations, nobody carried these donuts. How can a state such as California not carry something like that? Because they are crazy that's how. They don't have these or fry sauce, no wonder we see so many driving towards our state from there. Those two food items are second and third possibly to the most important food ever invented.

I am thoroughly convinced that the food in heaven will consist of McDonald's Cheeseburgers. My wife and others are not so convinced but you will see when you get there, and you'll thank me for the suggestion. That would have to be what they eat up there, how could it not. Just go try one again and you will be convinced as well, just wash it down with a box of donuts and a diet coke. Enjoy!

Where's Kendal?

So this is our last day of a week in sunny Palm Springs, and we cant wait to get back to temperatures that are just barely into the hundreds. While we loved the vacation, next time we might just look for a spot a little cooler than where we currently reside. We took lots of pictures that I'm sure Melissa will post within the next few days, but I wanted to leave you with a favorite of ours.

Our time at the pool was awesome, and one of the reasons why was our five year old. This picture reminded me of the childhood favorite book series "Where's Waldo". Every day at the pool, Kendal seemed to get brighter and whiter while everyone else seemed to get darker. Even Melissa came away with a slight suntan, but poor Kendal just seemed immune to the tanning effects of the sun here.


Well, we have to go checkout, see you all soon.

Is This Our Vacation?

That's what our little five year old, the same unnamed one who we threatened to leave on the side of the road five times, asked every five minutes on the way here. Apparently to her, by hour nine of what should have been a six hour drive, this drive must be what we had planned for her to do on vacation. At the exact same time this was going on our seven year old decided that he would inform us of his dislike for the sun on his face, as it was making him hot. I decided not to inform him that we had left our desert home for an even hotter desert vacation because one child melting down in the car was enough at this moment, and I figured he would appreciate the surprise gift/sunny vacation we had decided to give him once we actually got there.

So after a little more than ten hours into our six hour drive, we arrived, and I must say we have had a blast in spite of the sun on our faces. We spent yesterday at the Angels/Yankees baseball game and before any of you remind me what day it was, let me tell you I already know it was Sunday. My mother informed me of that fact yesterday during the game, and didn't seem to care that technically the team is called the Angels so there is at least some religion going on there right? Before the game the kids got to go down and get a couple of autographs from some players and that was the highlight of the game for them, that and the food. After the game we got to go down on the field, my highlight, and watch the kids run the bases. AWESOME!

We decided after the first day in the massive pool/water slide area, that we are the whitest people here. Everyone either has tons of tattoos, or looks like George Hamilton. I think I've seen a few extremely tan ten year old's with more tattoos than normal this week. My son and I can blend in OK because we tan like normal people, my wife and daughter have not been blessed very well in that department, I think I may have to schedule a tattoo session for the both of them this afternoon so they can blend in, I wonder if they charge full price for five year old's?

DON'T TOUCH ME!!!

We just barely passed Mesquite, Nevada. We just wanted to give you a running total of the excitement of our trip so far. It's off to a fantastic start.

Ten+ "Don't touch me's!!"

Seven "I'm going to spank your bum's!"

Four "I'm going to leave you on the side of the road's!"

Two emotional breakdowns by a certain 5 year old. (We won't name names.)

One seven year old with his shorts around his ankles peeing on the side of the road while the highway patrol drives by.

Nevermind, make that 5 "I'm going to leave you on the side of the road's!!"

Squirrel Sense

On the back dock of my kitchen we leave a five gallon bucket that we toss scrap food into so the kids can feed the pigs we have. We also have a family of squirrels that have taken up residence on the small hill behind the kitchen.

These squirrels have a pretty sweet set up, they have free food almost anytime of the day, and have to do absolutely nothing to get it. But regardless of how lazy they have become, or maybe more appropriately, because of that laziness, I have learned two lessons from them.

The first one is pretty obvious to anyone who watches these squirrels. They don't have to work for anything. They live 20 feet from unlimited food. In our lives we can become lazy like these animals if we don't work towards some type of goal. If we have no opposition, we grow soft and helpless to do what really matters.

The second lesson has to do with that pig bucket we have. Every day the same thing happens without fail. A squirrel climbs up on the edge to get something out and falls in. The real problem starts when the squirrel falls in, because it then gets stuck in the leftover food and becomes so weighed down by it that it can't jump back out. We have to go out and tip the bucket so it can climb out and run away.

Like the squirrel, we sometimes find ourselves in situations that seem really easy to jump into and they entice us with the ease with which we can get what we want. The squirrels don't have to put much energy into jumping up on the bucket and then jumping into it to get the food, but the energy it takes to get back out is overwhelming. We can very easily slip into sin or wrong doing and only then find out we are too weighed down to get out. Like the animal in the bucket we then must rely on someone else to help us get out. How often do you feel like the squirrel in this picture?

Let Your Light So Shine

In the book of Mathew is one of my favorite verses in all the scriptures. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

More often than not as we hurry to keep up with this ever increasingly fast paced life in which we live, we tend to forget this simple yet so profound piece of advice. We struggle to put in the hours at work, or become overwhelmed because no matter how hard we try the house just doesn't seem to get or stay looking how we envision it should. Our kids, spouse, or both, won't listen and seem to purposely be driving us out of our minds. And through all of it we let the light we have been commanded to share fizzle a little and sometimes just outright fade away completely.

Fortunately we are blessed at times throughout our busy lives to be reminded of the power and influence our one little light, properly allowed to shine, can have on a multitude of people. Today, for those attending Sister Campbells funeral, was one of those days. While I didn't know her very well, I have had the privilege of working with her children for a brief time.

I am blown away and humbled at the influence she had on not only her family but the many, and there were many, who came out to celebrate her life. Two things came to mind today as I sat there. First, if I could have only half of the people she had there when I die, I would consider myself a very fortunate person. And second, and most important, if my children and spouse have the testimonies as hers do, and can attribute even a small part of that to anything I may have done, like hers did, I will be a success.

We can travel through this life and pick up lots of sweet toys along the way, but everything we gain comes with a cost. Where we excel in one area we most certainly fall short in another. As we go along, my wish is that we can realize that its what we leave behind that matters most. Not toys and material things, but a testimony in a child, a spouse, certain of our love and devotion, and a family full of knowledge and faith.