Last day of April....Still raining

I found this great poem it goes..."when you want to climb the walls and stand right up and shout, here's a little dammit rabbit that you cannot live without. Just grasp it firmly by the legs and find a place to slam it...as you whack the stuffing out yell dammit, dammit, dammit! If dammit's not a word you say then twist its skinny little neck, and grumbe out repeatedly oh heck, oh heck, oh heck!" The poem came with a stuffed rabbit. Well the only thing that I need to vent on is that the wonderful rabbit that we got for Easter is now DEAD! Why? Don't know...but it's definately dead. I was hoping to go online today and find a replacement before the kids found out....well that didn't go according to plan because my sister came down to watch the kids for 3 hours while I was at work and the kids wanted waffles for breakfast. we were out of waffles in the freezer inside so she went to our outside freezer in the garage (where the rabbit was kept) to get some more....well the kids followed her out and Madison saw and asked if it was dead. Lindsay didn't know well Madison being the 5-year old that she is wouldn't let it go and made Lindsay touch the rabbit to see if it was dead. (Lindsay want's me to put in that she is now traumatized from having to touch a dead bunny...She'll have do deal with a lot worse once she's married and has kids...but oh the life of a single girl should not have to touch a dead bunny) She then can't get a hold of me at work (cell battery was dying) so she called Daniel who was in a meeting and left because why on earth is Lindsay calling him? She let him know that the bunny was dead and he responded that we already knew...not the thing you tell her after she's had to touch it to make sure it was dead. So I get home to an upset Lindsay saying "You could have warned me!) Crap...did the kids find out?....yes well there goes the plan of switching it before the kids find out. Then Madison walks up to me and promptly announces to me that the bunny is dead! As for a new bunny well...with this "late" bunny we got lumber and hardware cloth and started building a rabbit hutch for the backyard...so when we found out the rabbit was dead I asked Daniel this is number four should we call it quits on the slaughter of bunnies at this household with which he responded...NO! I have $50 of lumber and a half built rabbit cage...We are getting another bunny! So it looks like I'll be looking for a new bunny (hopefully this one will last longer than 3 weeks)

Whoa...whoa oh oh...For the longest time

It's been a while...for which I must apologize. Part of it was beacuse I promised on an earlier blog that I would not complain/vent for a while. And as you can read from Jenn's posting...there has been a lot to complain about. But I think I'm over that now...maybe not...

Okay can I just say that Cars have now become the bane of my existence. From cars my greatest comes my greatest financial burden...not only in car payments but lately in maintenance. It is the greatest source of stress.

In spite of all my complaining about Carter, he can still give me a grin, a hug or a look that bleeds away stress...I tried getting a look like this from the trailblazer...and all it looks like is an evil smile...It sucks all the life and money out of me.

It is the source of my greatest worry. Right now there is nothing I can do with it. Trade in value is nothing (we bought it at the end of 2006 right before SUV prices and values dropped. So right now nobody will even take it as a trade in. So I am in a constant state of worry about how long it will last and how much longer before I have to do mre repairs on it.

It is the source of my greatest frustration. I thought that the reason for buying a newer vehicle was that it would cost less for repairs. Well in reality I have spent more on this car in 2 1/2 years in repairs than 8 years on our 1991 Explorer. So my frustration extends to GM for making a lousy vehicle for me to buy and on the sales group...For now I won't mention names but if you want to know who not to go to let me know and I will gladly tell you...because the sales group convinced me to the POC car!

Anyway...so I guess that the no complaining/venting thing is now out of the question. I guess I will just say what I'm feeling and you guys will just have to deal with it.

On a lighter side. We did have a good Easter holiday, the kids are happy with what the Easter bunny brought. Madison scored a goal on Saturday...she broke away from the group and ran it all the way all by herself. She looked great doing it and gave us the opportunity to celebrate her wonderful goal. By contrast Madison also had her kindergarten shots on Tuesday. This is much harder than when she was little. When kids are babies it's easier to detach...mostly because I don't think they understand why they hurt...they just know they hurt. But with Madiosn it was very hard to detach myself. When she looked into my eyes pleading for the shots to stop...I just about lost it. Of course I had to be the one to hold her down...Jennifer does not handle that kind of thing well.

Madison is excited for school and I think she is just waiting to learn. She loves doing the pre-K workbooks we have bought for her and interestingly enough she loves the math...I am excited for her to go to school and to watch her mind develop. I hope that she is more receptive to the importance of focusing in school...Anyway...till next time

Crazy April...

I'm sorry to all those blog stalkers (Katie) out there who are upset that its been 2 weeks since we updates our blog. It has been a crazy couple of weeks where sheer chaos has run amok in our household.

Well right after we posted our last blog, the Friday before Easter we went up to Wellsville (Logan area) and went to the American West Heritage Center for their baby animal days. The kids loved it they could pet ducks, turtles, chicks, rabbits, goats, cows, ponies, etc. And experience life in the old west. It was a lot of fun, the kids had a blast.

life in the good ol' days

Well we get ready to leave and our lovely bleep, bleep, bleep car decides it's going to break down. Well we've had trouble with it. the boys had to replace the accelerator sensor, and we knew the throttle body sensor was going to have to be replaced. Well that Friday it decided it wasn't going to work anymore. So here we are in the middle of farm country off to the side of the highway with 3 tired kids. Yeah! So Daniel's on the phone trying to find where the nearest dealership/service place is, while (like a girl) I'm calling my daddy seeing if he could come get us and tow us home. Well the nearest service station was back in Logan so

we would have to turn around on the highway only being able to go about 10-15 mph...not an option and they weren't open on Saturday. So our next option was to slowly to the side of the road with hazards on get to this rinky-dink service station about 10 miles ahead of us at the mouth of the canyon as you head south into sardine canyon. That was a white knuckle stress filled 10 miles. (and road kill is not pleasant to drive over going 5 mph...ewww (gag)) We get to the station and he isn't able to help us but he does reset the codes...whatever that means to the automobile savvy people out there and we are able to get home after a prayer and not pushing it over 2500 rpms. Well Saturday after a soccer game Easter egg hunts and such Daniel finally gets around to it and calls on the part we can't get a hold of the guy until Monday....which means i get to drive a tank(parents suburban) around on my first day back to work since having the baby, which is also a complete upset to our routine.

Well the boys get it fixed and it runs on Tuesday. All is well.....well not for long. Wednesday I'm taking the kids up to my mother-in-laws house for her to watch for the 3 hours I'm at work. It does it again...stuck on 193 with 3 children...bleepity bleep car...calling Daniel....calling work....calling mom for ride...no one is answering so I call Marla and she sends Brian in the van to get us. Meanwhile in the car my divinely inspired 5-yr old tells us we need to pray like last time and that Jesus will fix our car....(there's an attitude change for you I mean me) Well I have Brian take us home and he will keep Madison for preschool...on the way home Carter starts puking all over the van....can I please just die? can my day get any worse? and it's not even 9AM. Brian gets us home and I help clean the car as Brian carries Carter in (still puking) and I get McKinley in and send Brian off on his merry way (merrier than my way). I get carter undressed and in the tub and pick up McKinley because she's fussing...well no wonder she's fussing she's blown out everywhere...up the back...up the front...out the legs...getting her clothes off was a joke...there is poop everywhere! so she gets to get in the tub too. Finally after all that I get both of them to sleep and there is peace for a moment....Ahhhh. Then Daniel comes home and takes the car gingerly to Young Chevrolet to do a diagnostic and a 27 point inspection. The problem...all they had to do was reset the codes! However with the 27 point inspection they find that the differential is leaking, the transmission is leaking, we need a new fan clutch, a new brake booster and we need new tires. LOVELY! anyone want a 2005 (p.o.s.) trailblazer with only 50,000 miles on it?

That same Wednesday night I call a member of the bishopric to find out the theme for Sunday so I can choose the hymns and get them turned in for the program. Well somehow in the conversation he asks us to speak on Sunday. What? This Sunday? that only gives me 3 days to prepare...and I love to speak(hint of sarcasm)...I get so nervous that I speak really, really fast and a 15 min talk gets done in 5 min. Also Madison has to give a talk in primary on Sunday. No pressure or stress at all, we just have to prepare 3 talks and continue on with life? because there is now no routine because I've gone back to work and everything left of our routine has been totally screwed up with car and talk troubles. Not only that but I'm in charge of choir so I needed to prepare new numbers to practice since Easter was now over, and we were singing the next Sunday in sacrament. (Picture me running and screaming from my house pulling my hair out...that's how I felt).

Then on Friday my brother joined the air force reserves. Then on Saturday when we were having a dinner in his honor per say my mom's cousin called and informed us that their other cousin had died in an atv accident. (Bill Orton is cousins with my mom). So then the next Friday we had the funeral. All through this trying to keep up with 3 kids, laundry, dishes, work and book club :) (reading the Ruby Key by Holly Lisle...interesting) Also on Friday as I'm taking the kids to the neighbors to be watched while I'm at work the trailblazer gets a flat so call mom again and I get to drive the tank around for the next day and a half. Well glass half full there's one out of three tires that needs replacing taken care of...

Well enough of my boo-hoo sob story called my life. the sunny weather has been great. The kids and I have gone on walks and worked in the flower beds and have been in the process of building a rabbit cage...yes we got a bunny for Easter. Hopefully this one won't die. This one is number 4 for us. The first one died...don't know why ...got 2 more (1 was free) and Daniel had some oil spill on the drive way so he had kitty litter on it soaking it up...see where this is heading ...well carter picked it up and fed it to the bunnies....kitty litter absorbs...well those two bunnies were no longer....so now we have number 4 hopefully there will be no need for a fourth funeral. Hopefully things will start going better....April showers bring May flowers...

Carter

Okay...so Carter is an interesting charecter. I started on him the other day and kind of showed that he is a bit of a menace. There are some other things I must add. The kid is just cursed. Even when he is trying to be helpful and loving and caring, things go wrong. The other day he decided that he is going to take on the responsibility of feeding the dog...

Great! One less thing I have to do...but Carter needs boundaries...otherwise he emptied 2-3 buckets full of dog food all over the ground...

He is very much against sleeping...getting him to take a nap is like getting him to leave his sister alone...he thinks it's a game...Well all this really leads to is him falling asleep in wierd positions and/or wierd places....here he fell asleep standing up with his head on his bed and his arm jammed into the ladder to get up to Madison's bed...fun!

In the next picture...Carter can be found asleep in a shopping cart. Not the most comfortable place to sleep. But the kid just falls asleep in places when he becomes to tired to fight it anymore.

There are also pictures of him asleep on the our front porch but I don't have it with me.

This next picture I am embarassed to share...but Carter likes to play dress up with his sister...Well Jenn and I have spent some money on dress up clothes for Madison, but the thought never really occurred to us that Carter would want to try dressing up as well. Bottom line is...the boy is going to play dress up...regardless of what is available for him to dress up in. And for those that are wondering...YES THIS IS CARTER in Madison's Leotard with the little tutu around his waist!

Needless to say, we have bought him a couple of more masculine things for him to play dress up in.

All in all... the kid is a trial...he's been quite the adventure and I can't imagine my life without him. In spite of his cross dressing tendencies and his desire to never sleep...he is a very happy, sweet kid who is very sensitive and loving. He is also a boy...and I will never forget it...his favorite toy is a ball and he loves to through baseballs, footballs basketballs and soccerballs as hard and as far as he can...he loves to play catch and to he loves to snuggle...I guess you can't ask for much more...

In my defense

Okay...so after reading the post below, it would be easy to believe that I am some half-wit who didn't think things through...well I want you to know that...okay it's true. But I can't help it.

In my defense I don't think the kids have even looked at the thing in like months (partially due to snow) and in reality it was cold enough yesterday that they shouldn't have even been outside playing...but I honestly thought it would be fine to just leave the thing there and not worry about the kids finding it.

All in all I think it was an excuse to get the kids something else for Easter. Jenn has been bothering me about getting a new rabbit (Carter fed the other bunnies kitty litter...see post below regarding him). Since Easter is a great time to do it, she has been kind of asking...I've been kind of saying no...Well since the kids discovered the Jeep, we have to get something else for them. And of course yesterday afternoon I began to receive a bunch of e-mails from KSL Classifieds from Jenn...what were they? WABBITS...lots of them...some as cheap as $10 and some as much as $75. Well I figured if we could find the exact rabbit that I wanted, and it was under $25 it would be okay.

(I was secretly hoping that by setting these kinds of limitations there would be no possible way that we would find a rabbit)

Of course the very first place we call has the exact kind of rabbit we want for only $20 bucks...Okay so fine...Jenn starts getting the kids ready (we are going to the temple) so we can drop them off. We figure we can just stick the Rabbit in the back of the car in a cage while we are at the temple.

So as Jenn is working on the kids, I am working on getting the Rabbit cage set up...I ease it into the back of the Trailblazer and announce to my wife that we need to get going. Madison runs out to the car and looks in the back..."Are we getting a new rabbit?" she asks...

Crap...I've done it again...

Easter Blooper

Daniel is such a complete nut. I wanted to KILL him today. So here's what happened. For Easter we decided to get the kids batteries...woo-hoo (isn't it what every kid wants?) No batteries for the 4x4 Jeep that Tate's gave us about 2 years ago. Daniel's little brothers had it and they were obviously too big (10 at the time) so they gave it to us. Well it didn't have any batteries so the kids have just played on it. And washed it in the summer when we wash our car. They've had fun with it. The reason we haven't ever got batteries is because the batteries cost 29.95 a piece and it needs two! So we decided for Easter that's what they'll get they'll hunt for eggs that will lead them to the backyard to the jeep and WA-LA the jeep will magically run. Well when you buy the batteries you have to charge them first. So they've been charging in the garage. Last night after the kids were down for the night, Daniel goes out to put the batteries in to see if it will even work. The jeep is old. And it's been outside for two winters and summers and rain and basically it's been through the extremes...so we weren't sure if the cords hooking it up would be corroded or if the thing would even run at all. well it ran...he comes back in and says it works so we go to bed.

He has now gone to work this morning and were up and dressed and they want to play outside...so I bundle them up because of the wind and let them go outside to play on their scooters and I sit down at the table to read the newspaper while the baby's sleeping. The next thing I know is that the kids are bursting through the door screaming...THE TRUCK WORKS!!! THE TRUCK WORKS!!! My mind is reeling what? what truck what is all the excitement about...so I ask Madison what are you talking about? And her reply....the truck in the back it works we were playing in it and it moved and I couldn't get it through the gate so we drove it around and up front and IT WORKS! (all said in a very excited tone) Things are now clicking in my brain...truck...working...oh *!@* the jeep! Easter! CRAP! The kids proceed to drag me outside to show me the total awesomeness of their discovery. All the while I'm thinking crap now what are we going to do for Easter and I'm going to kill that man! So I go back inside and tell the kids to have fun while I start dialing Daniels work #. he picks up to a barrage of you idiot! what were you thinking? I'll tell you what you were thinking you weren't! how could you do this? now what are we going to do? And all he could do was stammer wh-wh-Jennifer what is the matter and what is going on that's got you all in a huff?! So I proceed to tell him the kids magical discover and how thrilled they are and that they are driving everywhere and think it's totally awesome ....he laughs! Well I knew it would be an awesome Easter who knew the Easter bunny came early on the Wednesday before? All I can do is look back and smile and enjoy the kids excitement over their early discover of Easter and magic :)

Good long weekend.

Wow, I had a great weekend. Okay so nothing too special happened, we just sat around and did nothing, but boy it's amazing how much more relaxing the weekend is when I am not getting the kids up and fed and dressed for church...now...I wouldn't change that for the world and I know the blessing far outweigh the struggles, but I never really realized how much energy it takes out of me when I have to get them ready, plus with Jenn's calling she sits up on the stand (ward chorister) and so I get to wrestle with the boy by myself. Madison does a great job at church and the organ music from the opening and sacrament hymn put the baby right to sleep...it's Carter who is the problem.

He is a menace...his favorite thing now is to use the back of the pew in front to catapult himself over the back and into the people in front of us. Of course when he acts up I can't very well stand up and leave with him (leaving the 5 year old and 2 month old to fend for themselves, so I sit there and hold him...I swear if someone in the ward doesn't call social services on me, I'll be shocked.

Overall though, it's nice to send him to nursery.

Fine...I decided...I am going to share my son with those readers who actuall follow this blog (Marly is the only one who ever makes comments so I am going to assume you are the only one who reads this). This is my son...

Carter - With Jenn's calling as ward choir director (yes and chorister) we get to do choir practice every week. Last week when we did choir practice we decided not to send Carter away...he spent his time in the chapel with us...we asked him to 'be good' and he responded by turning on the satellite link (for some reason it was turned on to a rock station) so in the middle of the choir practice, Guns and Roses startes blaring throughout the chapel. Well of course everybody reacted and Jenn turned around and turned the dang thing off...what does Carter do? He turns it back on of course. During the same session of choir practice, he decides he is going to ride the wall at the end of the stage (you know the one that seperates the stage from the congregation, and the pulpit is in the middle) like a horse...well it's like a 6 foot drop on the congregation side of it, and of course...he starts to fall...Against my better judgement (it said let him fall then he'll learn) I run down and grab him...of course he thinks this is absolutley hilarious.

This same son likes to 'push' McKinley in her swing...well he like to go high when he swings, so of course...I don't think our swing will ever be the same. This same son has given my 15 year old brother stitches...my mom a broken toe, knocked himself out 3 times (twice he head dived onto the pavement and once he ran head long into a 4X4 post), mom and dad (Jenn and me) have daily headaches to the point that we are personally ensuring that Tylenol, Advil and Excedrin will never require bailout money.

He has a car (toy little porsche that you can ride) at Grandma's house. The seat lifts up...well he keeps all kinds of lovely treasures in there. We have found week old bananas, cookies and all manner of food in that lovely seat.

If you couldn't tell by the picture that graces our Blog, we love Disneyland and we are saving for a trip there soon. We bought a big 3 gallon jug (for water) and told the kids that when it's full we will go to Disneyland. They get money for doing chores and for sleeping in their beds (we have a problem with children joining our bed in the middle of the night), and when Mom and Dad have extra change in their pockets they get to take that as well.

This is a great concept that we are trying to teach our children. Save for important things and forget about the little things. We allow them to keep their birthday money and stuff in anticipation of spending it on what they want (But they can save it for disneyland money), this way they have some sense of self saving as well. Well my lovely son...has taken the saving and scavenging for money to the extreme. He has resorted 'stealing'...now I don't put this on the same level as a 10 or 12 year old taking money and buying things they want...but he has raided my wallet of 50 dollars...my daughters purse of 15 dollars (from birthday money)...anytime he rides in anyones car...yep he empties their change thing...We have had to warn aunts, uncles and Grandparents that they need to clean up the cash if they don't want Carter to have it. He puts all of it in the jug, but we can't seem to explain it well enough that he can only do money we give him...I guess it's not too bad...we just need to watch him a bit closer when we go to the bank.

All in all, I am told that he is just a boy and that we better get used to it. But generally speaking he obeys less...he listens rarely and his favorite thing to do is to suplex Madison to the ground...it's at the point where we have had to teach basic self defense to our 5 year old daughter...

Walking past our house you frequently hear things like...PUT YOUR ELBOW IN HIS CHEST AND THEN PUSH OFF AND HE SHOULD LET YOU GO.

Conference

Well what a great weekend to have jammie sunday and listen to the prophet and apostles speak to us. I thought it was a great conference to have hope in these troubling times and to visit the temple often. I don't know who said it but they said what if the temple ordinances were taken away from us on the earth. and that the people who have passed on were able to do the work for us. Wouldn't you want them to be going to the temple as aoften as they could so you could have your work done? Or picture them in a great chapel sitting and waiting for their name to be called that their work is finally being done. How long will you let them sit there, what if it was you sitting waiting for your work to be done? It kind of makes you a little more motivated to go to the temple. Which reminds me we were able to go to the Draper Temple open house, Madison loved it, she wants the big chandelier in the celestial room to be in her room. She loves anything that glitters! what a girl :)

Please read through the whole thing

Okay first of all let me start by stating that this is in no way a knock on the content of my experience, in fact, I think that what was discussed was important and relevant...but...

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a "fireside" run by my local Stake. For those that aren't LDS you may not understand for those that are...you know what I'm talking about.

It was presented as a financial fireside in which we would be discussing how to get out of debt, save for retirement etc...Because of what I do part time, I wanted to go and see what principles were being taught.

As I arrived at the church I found that the 'fireside' was being held inside the gym...not the chapel plus it was being held inside one of the other building and not the stake center. This surprised me as in the particular building that we were going was signficantly smaller and the gym did not hold more than 200 people (in hard chairs I might add). After being seated, things started very normally. The stake presidency was in attendance and former Bishop got up to get things started. He talked about how about 1 year ago he was and his family were struggling to make ends meet and were having a hard time following the councils of the prophet in which we are all encouraged to save money and be prepared for difficult times. This all rang true for me as I lost my job just over a year ago and had wished that we had money saved for such times. He then talked about how he had asked for help, when he heard an advertisement on the radio for a very specific person's plan for getting out of debt and wealth building (if you are really interested in knowing which program let me know and I will let you know individually, but I don't want to specifically mention who because I don't want this to be about that person). This immediatley caused my eyebrows to raise...surely this was not...He talked about how much it had helped him in his life and that he had won a free membership to the program. Okay. The man conducting the meeting brought up the agenda for the meeting and discussed how this could be a resource (of many) that can be used to eliminate debt and begin building wealth...fine...let's get on with it...For only 99 bucks we could join up...HOLD ON....WHAT?

Okay like I said this has absolutley nothing to do with the program that was introduced, but I was shocked to hear what was going on. I can't believe that under the guise of a "fireside" we were now being asked to buy into a program...This actually explained why the activity did not take place within the chapel...we actually watched the first seminar from this person. For the record I think that the debt reduction ideas and plans are fantastic. The concept of eliminating the paying of interest to banks...fabulous. It is actually very close to what we do...but the fact that I was at a church "Fireside" blew me away.

The man conducting the meeting followed up with this comment, "...in order for this to fit within the guidelines the church has, I can't accept a check here tonight..." That sounds suspicsiously like..."we are already getting really close to the line...so we have to be careful and make sure we don't cross it..."

I hope that this doesn't offend anybody, and like I said, I am in no way knocking the material that was presented, just the false pretenses under which the meeting was set up. If I had known what this would be, I may not have gone. If everyone can take a step back and look at this...would you attend a fireside if you knew that you would be asked to pay 99 dollars?

I would be fine if they said we are going to have a financial workshop on a saturday come casual...but I don't think that they should have pushed this as a fireside.

New look

Well...it's happened. My wife started actively participating in the blog...can you tell?

I don't want anyone to think that Daniel is the only one who posts anything on our blog....so here I am blogging for the first time woo-hoo what a thrill! :) The robbery was awful and the following night/morning I also heard the car alarm going off and jumped out of bed raced down the stairs and flew open the door to catch the scumbags in the act.... well to my surprise and probably that of the neighbors it was the kids across the street honking their horn for their mom to come out and take them to school. Then logic caught up with me. What was I going to do here I am in my pj's half blind because I didn't grab my glasses, what was I going to do to the robbers? They weren't going to hit the same house again the very next night and at 8:00 in the morning. I hate this feeling of being out of control in a situation. That I don't know whats going to happen and to always have this sense of paranoia.

Not only to add to this situation. Daniel went out of town on monday for the night and got back late tuesday. My mother went to Denver with my grandma to visit my aunt. So there I was a week after being robbed home alone, by myself with 3 kids. Daniel has never left me before, I've left him (girls camp, youth conference, girls weekend, etc.) He can handle himself and the kids. It was scary but I managed. Now i know there are moms who do this all the time, single moms, military moms, etc. But I had never done it. At first I was afraid....I survived hey hey I will survive! Most of the lights were on that night but hey what can I say?

Good things did come of it though. Carter (who will be 3 in June) has decided to start potty training. YAY! Hip Hip HOORAY! It may be driven by his love for candy and treats but who cares if it works I won't have to spend money on diapers (I will probably have to spend money at the dentist since his teeth will be rotting out of his head) but I won't have to change stinky diapers any more! (Well until McKinley stops nursing) How is it going? Well when he is done eating his treat a few minutes later he some how needs to go potty again. I feel like I spend most of my day in the bathroom encouraging him but hopefully he's getting the hang of it. In the two days since we started, we've only had two accidents. So things are going.... :) well I guess that's all from me for now...I need to give McKinley her medicine we get to go get shots today...we aren't going to be happy tonight.

I know, I know

I know, I said I was going to get off the venting but something happened last week that is so totally worth venting about.

So Tuesday, March 17th, I wake up and get ready for work. It was normal morning and nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, I even got up and got ready on time...I walk out to my car, and open the door to find utter chaos. It looks like a tornado has been through. My first thought was to Carter. He's almost three and has the uncanny ability to make really big messes in a very short time. But the more I look, the more it seems something else is afoot. I immediatley find my car owner's manual to search for the $100 in emergency money I keep stashed there (you never know where you will be when you blow a tire)...it's gone...I've been robbed. I jump out of the car like it's got an electric current. And my CSI watching mind kicks in...oh no...I've disturbed the crime scene.

I check the wife's car...broken into as well...the $100 bucks we keep in her car...gone. I was careful with her door, and used my jacket to open the door and a pen to look through things. I couldn't believe that our cars had been broken into...I am almost positive that the doors were locked. We lock everything up at night...even the dog...(okay not really the dog, but everything else is locked up).

I head back in to the house, call the police and let them know what has happened. I also decide that I better call work and let them know that I may be late, or I will be working from home. A police officer shows up after a short while (since it's morning he was at the elementary school near my house to deter speed demons), he looks at things and informs me that he can tell where they pried the top corner of the door open, which allowed them to get in and unlock the doors. My jaw dropped as he told me how they do this. He said the unfortunate thing is that it usually causes a little bit of damage to the doors as it tweaks them enough that they don't align as nicely and so the doors are harder to close.

He notices that some of the stuff has been put away and asks if I disturbed the 'crime scene' wincing, I confirm that it happened. He takes an official statement about what was stolen and what time I noticed it. He asks what time we went to bed and if we were startled out of our sleep at any point...I tell him what I know, he thanks me and adds a comment, "You are probably lucky, if they hadn't found the cash, they would have taken the cd's and cd players right out of your car...and they aren't careful when they do it." He also mentions that it's a pattern, groups from out of town come in to Layton, and hit neighborhoods. He said you can almost block out areas that have been hit, and in a few months they will be back to hit that same area again.

I asked him if there was anything we could do to avoid getting hit again...and he said...the good news is, the best thing to avoid getting your car broken into just happened. "They probably won't hit you again because they already got something from you."

Okay so here comes the venting. For those who have been to my house or know about where I live, I don't live in a bad part of town (although I am beginning to wonder). It's a quiet neighborhood where not much happens, the worst we really have ever had is simply speeding. This little stint has thrown us into the wraps of paranoia. How late do we let our kids go out and play? Should we buy alarm systems for the vehicles? I woke up a few nights ago...because I was sure I had heard the security system in the Trailblazer (which you have to hit the lock button on the remote twice to set the system) going off...turns out...it was my imagination. I walk in the door and lock it...immediatley...when I'm in the house...shouldn't I be safe to leave the door unlocked?

Plus...what is up with the police? My car was broken into and money was stolen...where was the Crime Scene Investigators? Isn't that part of a step to catching the jerks that did this? I got no assurance that they would have an officer drive through the neighborhood and intervals for the next 6 months...I got no assurances that they would do anything...I haven't even gotten a follow-up phone call...

Okay I admit that some of this is sarcasm...I don't expect them to do anything unless they fell it is warranted. Plus I understand that to them, this is nothing extraordinary...but that doesn't change the fact that to us, it is! Is any neighborhood safe out there. I also get this depressing feeling that as the economy worsens, crime will follow. I am not worried too much about my money, it hurts a bit (heck I could have used that cash to buy stuff), but it's not like it pushed under the poverty level, or wiped out our entire savings (although it did a huge number on our emergency money). What worries me the most is the peace of mind that I may never get back.

When we first moved to this area, we had a $300 mountain bike get stolen, I didn't attribute this to the neighborhood or anything, there was a lot of construction going on with a lot of private contractors whose employees probably didn't make too much money, so I blamed it on them. For 3 years I have felt comfortable with letting my kids play outside without too much supervision, I felt comfortable leaving windows open so if I got locked out, I could break in...for three years things have been good...now I want to move, and I hate that some petty criminals can have that kind of effect on me.

Okay...off the venting

Okay, so I am off the venting thing. I guess thing had been worse than I was used to for the past few months, but things have definatley gotten better.

I'll get to the better things later, this past week I had to do one of the harder things I have had to do in a while. For most of those reading this (I don't think there are many) but for most of the people who actually read this, what I went through was not a big deal. I didn't think it would be a big deal either, but for some reason it's having an affect on me.

On Saturday, I said goodbye to my little sister. There have been milestones in the past and it's not like we spend a whole lot of time together, but she moved out of state and it's been tough adjusting. Like many, we had to adjust when I went on a mission, and just over year after being home, I got married, so like I said we hadn't spent too much time together. She got married a little over a year ago and has been living and going to school in Provo for a few years as well.

I had the same problem when she got married. She was growing up and facing the world without the protection and security that her big brother provided. It was hard for me, I cried like a baby in after the fact, and although I WAS proud of her like I said. It was about saying goodbye then as well. Don't get me wrong, she married a great guy who is going to treat her like a queen. So it has nothing to do with the guy, but that doesn't change the fact.

Okay so then I was very proud of her when she had her first child, her and Jenn were pregnant at the same time, and Macy was born in October and McKinley was born in January. I am happy that my most recent child will have cousins that are close in age, eventhough they won't be close in any other way.

So I put this question out there. Am I just being a baby, is this some form of immaturity that I have a hard time dealing with a sister that lives out of state? (she is in TX by the way) Do I just need to grow up and accept the fact that not everybody can continue to live in the same city or state in which they were born?

I know that there is a part of me that is even more worried about the overseas posts that will have to take place...(sorry I didn't mention that my brother-in-law is an officer in the Air Force that's why they are moving away). I am worried because then in addition to the the fact that she is far away, she is days away and news can sometimes travel slow (especially when I don't check my e-mail every day).



Okay so here's the good stuff. I am doing new things and helping a lot of people. It's amazing to see the change in people when they come to a realization (some of which with my assistance) that they don't have to worry about the future. I have helped quite a few families who will go from nothing saved for retirement, future expenses etc. to having money saved up and in the pocket within 5 years. With those savings growing and putting them in a position to enjoy retirement and not just be retired. I have found that the exhilirating feeling sometimes makes me wish that I could tell them again and again...It's changed my entire feeling on life. I am a victim of my father's upbringing who is often heard saying things like...'I will be working until I'm 80', I always that my job was a part of my life. Now I am doing things that have life being a part of the job. It's a liberating feeling and hopefully you will see a difference in the blog as a result.

thanks all...

Age...revealed.

So 10 days ago I hit a milestone with my age, nobody made a huge deal about which is nice, but for some reason, hitting that number (30 for those who don't know) has made me reflect alot.

I hate reflecting...I usually stay really busy during the week and even weekends. With three kids, a full time and part time job, it's not really all that hard...but for some reason I have had some extra time on my hands just the past week. So what do I do? I could spend the time working on my business...nah...that's just more work...I could spend time with the family...wait they aren't here (hence the time to reflect)...I know...catch up on sports...let's do that?!?! eh...my teams aren't doing so well...I could play video games...I never get to...and it just so happens...okay that was boring...Well...I guess I can sit and think.

It's amazing what you can think about when your mind is free to think about what it wants to think about. I thought about friends that I've been too busy too make time for...I thought about family that I have been too busy to make time for...I've thought about what has happened in the past year, 5 years and 10 years...hmmm...I can't say this is a mid-life crisis (it better not be...I don't want to die so soon) and I wouldn't say that I am dissapointed with the decisions I have made in life. I got married fairly young (22), but I have a wonderful wife to show for that...We started kids pretty early (3 years) but I have three beautiful children who are growing up to be smarter than their dad (not hard...but it makes me happy), I have had fairly stable job positions, even including being laid off a year ago.

Sure there are decisions that I would like to go back and change. I think they are pretty basic, but they would make a huge difference...I wish I could go back and be more disciplined with my money. I think about all the money I have spent on stupid things and it kind of makes me sick. I look at lost opportunities and I think that this might be the biggest area of concern. We had the chance to purchase a manufactured home for $5000 with about 2000 sq feet (3 bedrooms and an office, dining, living) but we were talked out of it. Boy that would have made a difference (it's bigger than the little 1600 sq feet we have now). We could still live there quite comfortably with 3 kids.

I don't know I think sometimes we can get way too caught up in reflection. Who cares about the opportunities missed, about accomplishments we made yesterday...isn't life all about reaching new heights each and every day? Well...here's to each day then...hopefully I get there!

Mondays....Eghhh

Okay so I know that hating Mondays is the working class' favorite thing to do, but can I just vent.

So after a long stormy weekend in which I had to try and replace the starter motor on my car in the middle of a snow storm, Monday came way to soon. It was my birthday yesterday and I am at work today. So I wake up this morning with no major events. I roll out of bed and stand there for a while (some would say I fell asleep standing up but I don't think that's really possible). Luckily my phone alarm was very persistent and I drag myself to the shower. I shower and get myself all cleaned up...and decided to stand there and let the warm water relax me and set me up for a great week. After standing there for a while, (some would say I fell asleep in the shower, but water wakes you from sleep right?), the water all of a sudden got really cold, something must be wrong with water heater (because I didn't stand there long enough for ALL of the hot water to be gone).

I head downstairs, eat breakfast and head out the door. To my ultimate surprise I find my dog, shivering on the front porch. Unable to figure out why she was out (I usually put her in the garage during the winter nights) I head back to the backyard (through the snow) and find that the door to the garage is open and her kennel door is wide open. She spent all night out in the frigid temperatures. (She probably is going to get some horrid disease and it will end up costing me a fortune). So now, because of the dog, and the extend time standing, not sleeping, in the shower and in my room I am late for work. I get in the car that I spent all weekend fixing and I start...I START....I START the *&%^* Car. Finally, the new starter gets the old engine cranking (I hope it's the cold weather).

I get the car rolling and go to turn on the CD player...it's no longer working. I think when replacing stuff over the weekend (I had to disconnect the battery) it shut everything down...Wonderful, the CD player in my car is broken...oh and on top of that all of my radio stations are all reset instead of preset. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be too annoying, but it's Monday and everything is annoying.

I get on the freeway heading in to work for my 45 minute commute. I hear on the radio that the freeway is backed up due to an accident caused by the ice. Unfortunatley I am already on the freeway in stopped traffic, if I didn't have to reset my preset stations I could have heard that before I got on the freeway (see the annoyance is now compounding). I find out that the accident recently occurred so if I had been on time I would have missed it.

No bother, this gives me time to fix all my preset radio stations. Okay...that's done...I've gone how far now? 10 feet? WONDERFUL. Oh might I just add that I do know that today is a holiday recognized by every other living being in the United States of America, but I had to take Friday off to work on my car that wouldn't start, otherwise I would actually be sleeping in my bed, rather than waiting in my car. My regular commute takes 45 minutes. 1 hour and 30 minutes later I am rolling in to work. Finally, at least I can lose myself in work and not have to worry about the fact that it's Monday.

I walk in, dock my laptop and begin reviewing the 105 e-mails that I have waiting for me (because I missed Friday). The day is just getting better. As I begin reviewing my e-mails I receive a notice from the network that I missed a critical patch that must be installed. This patch was missed because my car wouldn't start on Friday, so now I get to postpone my 105 e-mails to sit for an hour while the patch installs and my computer reboots. Yes you can try and continue working while the patch installs, but this just leads to slower speeds and even more frustration.

So here I am sitting in the "learning center" where PC's are available, while my laptop installs the much needed patch, and writing in this blog.


Now things are going to get interesting. Have you ever wondered why Mondays are so bad? I do. Is it something about the name of the day. Do those who start work on Tuesdays, hate Tuesdays? Does the hatred of Monday stem from the fact that we are going back to work after a weekend? If so, the there should be Tuesday haters right? Hmmm...I don't remember hating Mondays right out of High School. I worked Tuesday - Saturday...I don't remember hating Tuesdays though either. Could it be that the reason we hate Mondays, is because we are supposed to hate Mondays? We are taught and groomed from the time we start school that we are supposed to love Friday, Saturday and even Sunday. What if...what if we taught our children that they need to love Mondays, could we change the perspective of an entire generation of students and workers? Unfortuantley that would require parents, teachers and workers to change their entire perspective and love Mondays as we can only teach by example.

Forget it...I hate Mondays way too much.

New Addition

Sorry folks...although I don't think anybody is following this blog...but it's been a while. Things have been really busy which is why I haven't had time to write anything, but the truth of the matter is...we just had a baby. McKinley Ada Tate was born on Sunday January 25th at 3:49 PM. She was born smaller than the other two at 8lbs 6oz (the other two were 8lbs 8oz) and she was 20 inches long.

Everyone is really excited about the baby, Madison is being a young mother and has to be involved with everything. When the baby cries, she jumps up and thinks she needs to hold her and calm her down. She wants to be there for feedings and for every diaper change. It was cute at first, but to be honest, I wish she would stop. It just means that everything takes more time.

Carter wants to hold her all the time...but's it's never for more than a few minutes at a time. He gets bored sitting there and doing nothing. Although Carter has the cutest reaction so far. He loves to wait until the baby is sleeping and snuggle up to her. I think he likes this because it allows him to come and go as he pleases. I have tried several times to get pictures of this, but unlike Madison, he is quite camera shy.

Jenn is doing just fine, it was a difficult delivery but she managed a natural birth again. She is becoming an expert. I have to say things were a bit scary at first. Normally Jenn progresses slowly, her water breaks at about a 5 and then she progress rapidly (20 minutes) and the baby is born. We have always associated the water breaking as the benchmark for delivery. With Carter we called people once her water broke to let them know we were close. Well Jenn's water broke at home...I was scared...no...I was MORTIFIED that the baby was going to be born within 30 minutes of the water breaking. Now there are some Dad's who can handle this...Ryan...my hat is off to you...I am not one of those Dad's. I was NOT about to deliver my baby at home. I was rushing around trying to get us out the door. We had planned for almost every contingency...labor in the middle of the day was what we thought was worse because I work 45 minutes away from home so we were worried. What he hadn't prepared for was a Sunday morning emergency. So when Jenn's water broke at 8:30 AM on Sunday...we were far from prepared. The kids weren't dressed for church and both Jenn's mom and dad and my mom and dad have church at 9:00. Since we don't go to church until 11:00 the kids were getting ready to get in the tub. I called the inlaws in a rush saying they needed to hurry down here so we could get to the hospital (remember I am thinking a 30 minute timeline so I was very insistent). We got to the hospital at about 9:15...well past my comfort zone...and the nurses said they would have to check to see if her water had actually broken. When the nurse came to check it was very obvious.

After a fairly short labor and delivery, out came McKinley. She was a bit swollen and beat up when she was born, but the effects wore off quickly. Now we have this beautiful and healthy little girl who we love to death (seriously sometimes Carter worries me).

Thanks to all those who helped with the labor, delivery and recovery. You are very much appreciated.

Christmas is over!

Wow...what a week. The last time that I wrote I was pretty bah humbug, but the more I think about it, and especially after experiencing it, the more I think that Christmas needs to be simplified. Listen, I live within 3 miles of my parents, my in-laws, my wife's grandmother, and within 10 miles of my grandmother. Now some people out there might be saying, "oh how nice, they all live close by, it must be great". I will admit that in a pinch it's nice to have family so close, they help with babysitting and with just about everything we need, but the downside is the holidays.

Let me lay it all out there for you.
5:30 AM - Wake up with kids to do our Christmas morning. This is great. I love seeing the excitement and the magic on the face of my two young children (Madison 5 and Carter 2) they can't open presents fast enough...Good thing considering what's coming up.

7:30 AM - Start getting the kids ready to head to one Grandma and Grandpa's house. Wea all agreed to meet at 8:00 we get there early because they are always waiting on us. In the end we don't get started until almost 8:30. Grandma and Grandpa's is always tough, because I was the oldest so the kids are still there and they get cool gifts. I get a camp stove, my brothers get a ping pong table. Madison and Carter get all the candy and junkfood they want. Buy maybe they will eventually crash after the sugar high.

9:30 AM - Another Grandma and Grandpa's house...More junk food, even more gifts (this Gma and Gpa spend more money and buy all kinds of stuff). Christmas at this house is more like chaos then Christmas, there is stuff everywhere and the kids end up with just as much if not more then we got for them. I get mixed emotions here, it's great that my kids get spoiled, but when they are older, the kids are gonna like Christmas at this Gma and Gpa better than home. Oh and the kids are starting to show how tired they are from getting up so early.

11:30 AM - Off to my grandmother's house for breakfast and opening gifts exchanged with the extended family. This one is tough to swallow, when I was younger it was great, more presents more fun. That was before I had to actually buy the presents. I am not kidding when I say that we spend more money on Christmas for all of the parents, grandparents, cousins and crap then I do my own kids? What is up with that? Plus everyone is getting to the point that the excitement is gone. All we usually end up getting is a gift card. What's so special about exchanging a gift card. Basically it says...you were my last gift and I was shopped out and didn't care anymore. Here you go! Of course I can't complain...I got my cousin...a giftcard.

1:30 PM - Home...finally. Both kids are exhausted and ornery, but won't go to sleep because they finally get a chance to look over all the things they have. Wife and I don't get to rest because we have had a bomb go off in the house and need to get things organized.

3:30 PM - Time to get the kids ready for the second extended family visit of the day. Kids are really ornery, I am really ornery and the wife looks like she is asleep on her feet...wait a second...

This family is probably the most difficult to deal with. Grandma is great, but it's really only two members of the family, my in-laws and the sister. The problem is...the sister and her family don't meet together seperatley, they all come and exchange their gifts at the same time we exchange our gifts. So while my kids each get two presents (one from great grandma B and one from a cousin) all the other little kids get 4-5 presents. How do you explain this to a 5 year old. Especially when she is the last one to get a gift. I know it's better to give than to receive...but not when you are 5.

5:30 PM - Leave extended family to go and have dinner with the parents. Of course as soon as we get there, the in-laws are asking us if we are going to come over and spend some time with them tonight...Yeah right...we have had enough family to last us the whole year.

9:30 PM - Head home and crash after walking in the front door. Man...it's a good thing Christmas only comes once a year. I don't think I could tolerate this twice.

Last year we tried to tell everyone that we were going to spend time as a family and avoid the extended family get togethers. We received several phone calls stating that Christmas is time for everyone to get together. If Christmas is about extend family...and adhering to the schedule above...BAH HUMBUG!

I want time to spend with my kids, to teach them the true spirit of Christmas. Let them experience what others are lacking. I made a suggestion that was met with much criticism. Next year instead of the extended family exchanging gifts...let's pool our money together and give it to a needy family. The dollar amount would be in excess of $500.00. I know of several families that live nearby who have lost the primary source of income due to layoffs. They didn't get a Christmas, I couldn't help because I have to buy gift cards!

New to blogging

Okay, so this is actually the first time that I have ever written in a blog, so if it seems awkward there's a reason.

This holiday season marks my 5th as a parent, and the Christmas season seems to have changed so much for me. Christmas excitement is now all about the kids. I have found that I really don't want anything for Christmas, when asked I had a hard time coming up with new things that were fun and exciting. I found myself asking for clothing. How boring is that? But this year especially, with the economic times, I found myself telling those around me to just give me money, so I can add to savings and prepare for tough times.

With only 3 days left until Christmas morning, we have completed all of our holiday shopping, (thank goodness) and now I find myself waiting for the day to come and go. I am trying hard not to bah humbug the whole season, but with things that have happened in the last year, I am just a little less gung-ho about spending all of our money on gifts that we may not use or need. I love the Christmas season and the joy that it brings to my children, but this year, it seems more excessive than years past, even though we are spending less money.

Well enough about the holidays. Friday December 19th I was able to attend a commissioning ceremony for my brother-in-law who is taking my sister far away from with the Air Force. I had the awesome opportunity to hear from several people who are so impassioned with our country and the defense of this country that it made me feel guilty that I never served the country that has served me so much. There were an amazing amount of statistics that were given regarding the percentage of the population that have volunteered to defend this country. Does this mean we are an ungrateful nation? I think that sometimes we forget to show our gratitude. I for one find that I put my flag out on certain holidays (okay I pay the Boy Scouts to put a flag out on certain holidays). But what do I do to show my patriotism? I think that's one of my New Years Resolutions for next year. It's gonna take some thinking as to how I can do that, but when I figure it out, I'll let ya'll know.