December 31
Battle of the Sisters
We had Kelly, Ruth, Ashley, Brandon and Becca down for dinner on the day after Christmas. After a nice dinner of French Dip, we played a Cranium game called "Family Fun"-- which it was... ;)
After dinner, we broke out the Wii. Looks like Brandon has had some practice playing Tennis since he actually beat 8 year-old Austin, who usually doesnt lose. Then came the highlight of the night-- seeing my two sisters, Kelly- 39 and Ashley - 30, duke it out in Wii boxing. They were getting so aggressive, I was worried about the health of the Plasma TV. It seemed each punch that they threw, they were getting closer and closer to the screen. YIKES!. They were hilarious to watch as they even got a couple of karate kicks in there. (hmm, maybe Nintendo needs to create a wiimote for the foot). They were all over the place. The funny conclusion was that we saw Kelly a couple of days later at Becca's shower in Puyallup-- Ashley told us that Kelly had taken 'a leave' because of playing on the Wii so viciously. I asked if she really had taken a leave from work because she was sore from playing the game. Then Ashley told me, "No, not 'a leave', but "Aleve". So, the moral of the story is, sometimes:
is equal to: 
After dinner, we broke out the Wii. Looks like Brandon has had some practice playing Tennis since he actually beat 8 year-old Austin, who usually doesnt lose. Then came the highlight of the night-- seeing my two sisters, Kelly- 39 and Ashley - 30, duke it out in Wii boxing. They were getting so aggressive, I was worried about the health of the Plasma TV. It seemed each punch that they threw, they were getting closer and closer to the screen. YIKES!. They were hilarious to watch as they even got a couple of karate kicks in there. (hmm, maybe Nintendo needs to create a wiimote for the foot). They were all over the place. The funny conclusion was that we saw Kelly a couple of days later at Becca's shower in Puyallup-- Ashley told us that Kelly had taken 'a leave' because of playing on the Wii so viciously. I asked if she really had taken a leave from work because she was sore from playing the game. Then Ashley told me, "No, not 'a leave', but "Aleve". So, the moral of the story is, sometimes:
Jersey Boys
LeAnn's major Christmas present this year was tickets to see the broadway show, The Jersey Boys. This was the main thing that she wanted, and I only had a couple of other ideas, so I needed to see this one through. I ended up going online to look for tickets at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. Bad news. No seats were showing up as available. :( After that, I ended up calling the box office. The service rep told me he had tickets available, but it was contingent on buying 'Season tickets" ( I could tell that they were going to try to squeeze me dry...) I found out that the package of 'reserved' seats would also include "Cabaret" and "Mame". I decided to go for it. It was quite pricey, but LeAnn loves going to the Theatre, so I did it 'for the one that I love.' The seats arent the greatest- (we are up in the left balcony) because of the combined cost. The best part was that we have the aisle seat and the one next to it. Worked great for me as I can really stretch out into the aisle as there is no seat directly in front of the aisle seat.
We went and saw the Saturday matinee show and it was awesome! I didnt really know what to expect going in-- I wasnt even sure who the 'Jersey Boys' were. I found out after we got there that it is the "Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons'. I have heard them before on the oldies station a number of times, but had no idea all of the famous songs that they had sung, nor the fact that they were big around the same time as the Beatles. I had figured that they were big in the 50's, but not in the 60's. Here is a list of some of their top hits:
We went and saw the Saturday matinee show and it was awesome! I didnt really know what to expect going in-- I wasnt even sure who the 'Jersey Boys' were. I found out after we got there that it is the "Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons'. I have heard them before on the oldies station a number of times, but had no idea all of the famous songs that they had sung, nor the fact that they were big around the same time as the Beatles. I had figured that they were big in the 50's, but not in the 60's. Here is a list of some of their top hits:
- 1962: "Sherry", peaked at #1 on Billboard Hot 100
- 1962: "Big Girls Don't Cry", #1
- 1963: "Walk Like a Man, #1
- 1963: "Ain't That a Shame", #22
- 1963: "Candy Girl"/"Marlena" #3 (Marlena #36)
- 1964: "Dawn (Go Away)", #3
- 1964: "Stay", #16
- 1964: "Ronnie", #6
- 1964: "Alone", #28
- 1964: "Rag Doll, #1
- 1964: "Save It For Me", #10
- 1964: "Big Man in Town", #20
- 1965: "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)", #12 ("Bye Bye Baby" on initial release)
- 1965: "Girl Come Running", #30
- 1965: "Let's Hang On!", #3
- 1965: "Don't Think Twice", #20
- 1966: "Working My Way Back to You", #9
- 1966: "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)", #13
- 1966: "I've Got You Under My Skin", #9
- 1966: "Tell It to the Rain", #10
- 1967: "Beggin'", #16
- 1967: "C'mon Marianne", #9
- 1967: "Watch the Flowers Grow", #30
- 1968: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", #24
- 1975: "Who Loves You", #3
- 1975: "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", #1
- 1994: "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", #14 (remixed dance version)
December 28
Done with the D&C
I finished reading the Doctrine and Covenants online today. I began reading this back in September of 2007 and have been reading 2 sections each day at work before I start my day. I listed the schedule out in Microsoft OneNote, and this helped me to stick to my goal. Having a tangible reminder each day helped me to complete it. I also have an Outlook reminder pop up each day at 6:45 so that I dont forget. I did miss a few days here and there, but I would always catch up. Today, I even read 4 sections since after completing section 137 and 138, I realized that the Official Declarations 1 & 2 are also considered part of the Doctrine and Covenants. This has been a great experience for me as it helps me to keep more spiritually in tune than I would be otherwise. The D&C is one of those "Best Books" that we are exhorted to read: “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118)
December 27
Snowflake Lane
Last Thursday we went and met Ashley and Kelly in Bellevue to watch the Snowflake Lane festival. This has been another cool Christmas tradition that we started a few years back. Downtown, by Bellevue Square they have a bunch of life size toy soldiers standing up on these pedestals along the street. At 7:00 p.m. each night, music starts and then 'real' toy soldiers come marching out in the same costumes playing drums. They climb up on the pedestals and then begin to play a number of Christmas songs on their drums, while dancing and moving along in time. It is a very cool presentation.
Then 'snow' begins to fall from the rooftops and colored lights begin flashing on the walls of the buildings. It is quite a sight. We enjoyed going to that together and then afterward we went to another place in Bellevue which has Christmas lights. It is called 'Garden d'lights' and will become a new location in our Christmastime destinations. It was very spectacular. I had heard about this place from someone at work and figured we should check it out before we headed home as it was only about 10 blocks away from Belle Square. I had to park about a half mile away from the garden because it was so crowded. The place is called the Bellevue Botanical Garden. It was quite cold outside, so we kind of wanted to rush through it initially, but were very impressed with the displays.
The lights were set up in a way that they actually looked like flowers and ponds and such. It was very intricate, and so colorful. We will definitely go back to this one next year.
Then 'snow' begins to fall from the rooftops and colored lights begin flashing on the walls of the buildings. It is quite a sight. We enjoyed going to that together and then afterward we went to another place in Bellevue which has Christmas lights. It is called 'Garden d'lights' and will become a new location in our Christmastime destinations. It was very spectacular. I had heard about this place from someone at work and figured we should check it out before we headed home as it was only about 10 blocks away from Belle Square. I had to park about a half mile away from the garden because it was so crowded. The place is called the Bellevue Botanical Garden. It was quite cold outside, so we kind of wanted to rush through it initially, but were very impressed with the displays.
The lights were set up in a way that they actually looked like flowers and ponds and such. It was very intricate, and so colorful. We will definitely go back to this one next year.
December 21
Miller Family Christmas Letter 2007
Warm wishes from our family to yours this holiday season,
One more year passes us by and we often can’t remember where it all went and what we did as it passed one good reason to write a Christmas letter. I know that people always say time will go by faster as your children get older but until now I didn’t realize it would happen at warp speed. Here is a recap of our year for those of you that we don’t enjoy seeing often.
Autumn (10 yrs – 5th grade), hit double digits this year and is in her last year of grade school. She has joined the crossing guard team, the yearbook committee and the track team at school. Last spring she had a great part in the school play and after taking the fall off she will be trying out for next years spring play. Autumn also finished her art class last spring and will start up again in January. She has taken an interest in cooking, well mostly baking and has perfected many great cookie/brownie recipes. Autumn is also very tech savvy and loves getting new gadgets to play with, you should see one of her many Power Point presentations! She has recently started ice-skating lessons and also continues piano lessons.
Austin (8yrs – 2nd grade), has had a big year! He turned 8 in October and enjoyed a wonderful baptism, thank you to all that came to make his day special. In November, after having a rough couple of years with colds and his snoring getting worse, Austin had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He has done remarkably well and I am so happy to report that he has had quiet nights of sleep ever since! Austin played another great season of soccer this fall (the scoring continues) and can’t wait to start up again in the spring. He enjoys writing and illustrating his own stories, writing reports (I know) on all sorts of topics, playing his DS and crafting one of a kind creations out of almost anything. Austin also joined Cub Scouts and track this year; he takes piano lessons and enjoys toying around with his violin.
Jaylin (5yrs – Kindergarten), is loving school. She was placed in a multi-age (K-1-2) classroom this year, which means that she is at school all day! She has been able to keep up with the 1st and 2nd grade work that they give her and loves being at “the Big School” with her brother and sister. Jaylin played her first season of soccer this fall and really enjoyed herself; we had forgotten how fun it is to watch the cluster of kids move to where ever the ball goes! She also is enjoying track at school. Jaylin is quite the artist; she loves to draw mom and dad pictures and leaves them on their pillows. She still enjoys helping in the kitchen and will do just about any job mom asks her to do.
LeAnn, life is going steady and strong for me. Not to much has changed from last year except I now have one more class to volunteer in and I took on the Spring and Fall – Book Fairs for our Star Lake Elementary School, wow that is a lot of work. It was a little hard to have all my children go off to “all-day” school this year, but I am trying to enjoy the fact that this will be the only year they all attend the same school together. I am the Young Women’s youth leader at our church which keeps me very busy. And I also have continued with my jewelry making business, my goal over the next
month is to help Todd create my new website (www.leanns-design.com), yeah!!
Todd, after completing three certificates in various programming areas, he has also achieved his Information Systems Degree this year. He changed jobs again in April! He is now working for Volt and contracts out to Microsoft, he is an International Test Lead, over test teams in Asia. The product he is working on is Windows Live Writer, which is a blogging tool (http://get.live.com/writer). Since he has been working with this tool his blogging obsession has increased immensely, check out his blog at http://h0tt0ddy.spaces.live.com/ (note that the 0 are zeros not capital O’s). He also continues to do consulting work for Photo Works as a Web Developer. Todd coached Austin’s soccer team this fall, one of his favorite things to do is watch his kids at their sporting events, he is each of their biggest fans. Todd also serves at the 1st counselor in the Elder’s Quorum at our church.
We had one great trip this year to Estes Park in Colorado for our Thorne Family Reunion. It was a week filled with fun hiking thru the national park, there are some beautiful lakes and waterfalls to enjoy. The kids had a fabulous time playing with all of their cousins. From there we went to Utah and had a nice visit with the Miller’s, the highlight was being able to stay at the Jacobsen cabin in Lamb’s canyon (owned by Linda’s side of the family). While in Utah we were also able to go to extended Thorne and Allen reunion for both sides of LeAnn’s family.
As this year comes to a close we wish each of you love and happiness for the New Year,
Todd, LeAnn, Autumn, Austin and Jaylin Miller
One more year passes us by and we often can’t remember where it all went and what we did as it passed one good reason to write a Christmas letter. I know that people always say time will go by faster as your children get older but until now I didn’t realize it would happen at warp speed. Here is a recap of our year for those of you that we don’t enjoy seeing often.
Autumn (10 yrs – 5th grade), hit double digits this year and is in her last year of grade school. She has joined the crossing guard team, the yearbook committee and the track team at school. Last spring she had a great part in the school play and after taking the fall off she will be trying out for next years spring play. Autumn also finished her art class last spring and will start up again in January. She has taken an interest in cooking, well mostly baking and has perfected many great cookie/brownie recipes. Autumn is also very tech savvy and loves getting new gadgets to play with, you should see one of her many Power Point presentations! She has recently started ice-skating lessons and also continues piano lessons.
Austin (8yrs – 2nd grade), has had a big year! He turned 8 in October and enjoyed a wonderful baptism, thank you to all that came to make his day special. In November, after having a rough couple of years with colds and his snoring getting worse, Austin had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He has done remarkably well and I am so happy to report that he has had quiet nights of sleep ever since! Austin played another great season of soccer this fall (the scoring continues) and can’t wait to start up again in the spring. He enjoys writing and illustrating his own stories, writing reports (I know) on all sorts of topics, playing his DS and crafting one of a kind creations out of almost anything. Austin also joined Cub Scouts and track this year; he takes piano lessons and enjoys toying around with his violin.
Jaylin (5yrs – Kindergarten), is loving school. She was placed in a multi-age (K-1-2) classroom this year, which means that she is at school all day! She has been able to keep up with the 1st and 2nd grade work that they give her and loves being at “the Big School” with her brother and sister. Jaylin played her first season of soccer this fall and really enjoyed herself; we had forgotten how fun it is to watch the cluster of kids move to where ever the ball goes! She also is enjoying track at school. Jaylin is quite the artist; she loves to draw mom and dad pictures and leaves them on their pillows. She still enjoys helping in the kitchen and will do just about any job mom asks her to do.
LeAnn, life is going steady and strong for me. Not to much has changed from last year except I now have one more class to volunteer in and I took on the Spring and Fall – Book Fairs for our Star Lake Elementary School, wow that is a lot of work. It was a little hard to have all my children go off to “all-day” school this year, but I am trying to enjoy the fact that this will be the only year they all attend the same school together. I am the Young Women’s youth leader at our church which keeps me very busy. And I also have continued with my jewelry making business, my goal over the next
month is to help Todd create my new website (www.leanns-design.com), yeah!!
Todd, after completing three certificates in various programming areas, he has also achieved his Information Systems Degree this year. He changed jobs again in April! He is now working for Volt and contracts out to Microsoft, he is an International Test Lead, over test teams in Asia. The product he is working on is Windows Live Writer, which is a blogging tool (http://get.live.com/writer). Since he has been working with this tool his blogging obsession has increased immensely, check out his blog at http://h0tt0ddy.spaces.live.com/ (note that the 0 are zeros not capital O’s). He also continues to do consulting work for Photo Works as a Web Developer. Todd coached Austin’s soccer team this fall, one of his favorite things to do is watch his kids at their sporting events, he is each of their biggest fans. Todd also serves at the 1st counselor in the Elder’s Quorum at our church.
We had one great trip this year to Estes Park in Colorado for our Thorne Family Reunion. It was a week filled with fun hiking thru the national park, there are some beautiful lakes and waterfalls to enjoy. The kids had a fabulous time playing with all of their cousins. From there we went to Utah and had a nice visit with the Miller’s, the highlight was being able to stay at the Jacobsen cabin in Lamb’s canyon (owned by Linda’s side of the family). While in Utah we were also able to go to extended Thorne and Allen reunion for both sides of LeAnn’s family.
As this year comes to a close we wish each of you love and happiness for the New Year,
Todd, LeAnn, Autumn, Austin and Jaylin Miller
December 20
Reminiscence - Big Rock
[1981] There was a cool place called "Big Rock" that we used to ride our bikes to when I was a boy. It was down by Darren Mansell's house near aspen way. It was maybe a mile or two up the road, and then down a dirt road for a ways along a creek. The rock was HUGE. It must have been at least 30 feet tall, if not taller. It was cool to get there and then climb up the rock and just hang out there in the woods. One time I rode up there with Darrin Fletcher. We had taken our lunch boxes. Mine was the "6 million dollar man"-- so cool!
We made it up there without incident. On the way back, we were coming down a bit of a slight hill on Tracy Drive. (The street on the left). Darrin and I were racing a bit, and he had taken the lead. I was adjusting for maximum speed, when all of a sudden,my lunch box got tangled up in my handlebars.
The front wheel twisted, and I took a superman dive off of the bike and did a faceplant in the asphalt! OUCH! I got up and felt my face. It must have looked like hamburger. One guy saw the whole thing happen and came over to check me out. Looking at his expression, I knew I must have looked pretty bad. He told me that I was missing my two front teeth. I felt up there with my fingers and touched the two fang-like left overs. I was mortified! I started looking around for my teeth, but couldnt see them anywhere. He asked me if I needed help, but I told him I would go to my friends house, the Mansell's. (Darrin was long-gone now and had left me in the dust.) I decided to ride right over to the Mansell's home (The street on the right, second house from the the top on the right) since it was much closer than riding back to my house and having to go up the big hill on Bridger Blvd. It took me about 60 seconds to get there and I started banging on the door like a maniac. I must have been screaming too, as it appeared Sister Mansell had rushed out of the shower with wet hair and her bathrobe on. She took one horrified look at my grisly appearance and brought me inside. I explained what happened, and she called my parents to come get me. I remember staying home from school for a few days after that because I looked so freaky. My lips had swollen, and I looked like a vampire. There was no way I was going to school looking like that! We got a dentist appointment setup, and they put partitions in. Those worked pretty well for a while, but then the next year when I was chewing on a 'Now and Later" and pulled the piece of candy out of my mouth, the fake part of my tooth came right out with it! It was a pain to have those things as after a while, they started to become stained and looked goofy.
We made it up there without incident. On the way back, we were coming down a bit of a slight hill on Tracy Drive. (The street on the left). Darrin and I were racing a bit, and he had taken the lead. I was adjusting for maximum speed, when all of a sudden,my lunch box got tangled up in my handlebars.
December 18
Reminiscence - Fish in a Fish
[1980] When I was about 10 years old I remember going on a few fishing trips with my dad. At that time, he had given me one of his pairs of waders to use. They were quite big for me and came almost up to my armpits. As I would usually only focus on fishing about half of the time we were out, the other half I was messing around. I remember getting bored after not catching anything for a while, so I ended up experimenting with the waders. I found that they were quite buoyant, so I went into water about three feet deep in the river we were fishing. I would then see how far I could sit back on my haunches and let the buoyancy float me down the river a bit. Dad was watching me closely by this time and was about 20 feet away. He tells me that he saw the back of my waders dipping closer and closer to the water line as I was experimenting, and started coming over to get me to stop it. At that point, I felt the water begin to come in down my waders and was starting to get pulled under a bit. I was also then getting dragged along by the current some. By this time dad had gotten close enough where he grabbed me and towed me to shore. It was a lesson learned, and a water rescue for my dad.
On many of these trips I remember not catching much myself. Brian, Brad and I were usually responsible for losing about 10 spinners per trip. I was amazed that dad never got too frustrated with us as those things were probably about $3 a pop. He was constantly helping us to untangle our lines, tie on our spinners, swivels, bubbles, etc. He was so patient with us. Then when we werent catching anything, which was usually the case, he would let us help reel in his catches. He never cared much if he brought it all the way in by himself, but always wanted to share the fun with us. Kind of like in Lehi's Dream, where he wants to share the fruit with his family. ;) It was during one of these trips that I remember helping him haul in a nice, big one. We were all amazed to see when we pulled this one from the water, that this fish had partially swallowed another fish-- there were a few inches of the smaller fish still sticking out of its mouth. So, it had its mouth full and still went after our lure! What a glutton!
December 17
Reminiscence - Flipping the Kayak
[1981] This was the approximate location where I almost drowned myself in the summer of 1981.
At that time, at Mack's Inn, we rented out kayaks, paddleboats, row boats, canoes and flat bottom boats. I decided one day to take one of the kayaks for a spin. I had watched plenty of guys on TV flip their kayaks over and do the rolls under the water that I thought it would be a simple process. I got out in the boat and tooled around by the doc for a little bit. Then I pumped myself up for the big move. I shifted all of my weight to the left to roll the kayak over. It worked! I was upside down! Now all I had to do was twist my way back up to get the kayak right side up again. I shifted my body around to try to roll back on top of the river. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated! I shimmied around for about 20 more seconds until I started running out of air. Then I realized I had better get out of the kayak since it wasnt turning over. It was then I had quite a bit of a struggle trying to get out of the boat. I really had to push myself around to get out of there again. That was the first and last time I tried to roll a kayak.
At that time, at Mack's Inn, we rented out kayaks, paddleboats, row boats, canoes and flat bottom boats. I decided one day to take one of the kayaks for a spin. I had watched plenty of guys on TV flip their kayaks over and do the rolls under the water that I thought it would be a simple process. I got out in the boat and tooled around by the doc for a little bit. Then I pumped myself up for the big move. I shifted all of my weight to the left to roll the kayak over. It worked! I was upside down! Now all I had to do was twist my way back up to get the kayak right side up again. I shifted my body around to try to roll back on top of the river. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated! I shimmied around for about 20 more seconds until I started running out of air. Then I realized I had better get out of the kayak since it wasnt turning over. It was then I had quite a bit of a struggle trying to get out of the boat. I really had to push myself around to get out of there again. That was the first and last time I tried to roll a kayak.
Reminiscence - Friday the thirteenth
[1986] Yet another instance of some teenage shenanigans. You would think a bunch of teenagers could come up with something a bit more constructive to do on a Friday night. Not us. I went out with Bryan Lampropoulos and Jeff Briggs on this fateful Friday the Thirteenth in the fall of 1996. We walked down to the 7-11 and grabbed some water balloons. We decided to try a new concoction for filling these water balloons up and filled them half way with water and the other half with shaving cream. We found that these bombs had quite a splatter effect when we practiced launching them in the parking lot. Yes, we were quite pleased with ourselves. Then we worked our way up toward Olympus High School.
We then made the decision that defined this as one of those frightening "Friday the 13th" type of nights-- we figured we would go launch these patented SCB's (Shaving Cream Balloons) at cars driving down past the school. You can see from the diagram where we started. We waited for a couple of cars to drive by going eastbound where we could launch and then run back along the fenceline if anyone stopped. We figured if they drove past the church, they wouldnt have as good of a chance of seeing where we were hiding. Im not sure if it was the first car we nailed or not, but we saw a Suzuki Samurai zipping by and all three of us winged out our balloons. A couple of them connected and we heard the car slam on his brakes and skid. That was our cue! We took of like sprinters and ran back behind the school and went through the gate to hide in a yard behind the church. We were all shaking and nervous as we hid there for about 10 minutes. When we figured the coast was clear, we walked casually out across the street to head back to my house. We made it through the church grassy lot when we heard a car come screeching around the corner in front of the church. Jeff, who was the smallest of the three of us panicked and ran and hid in the bushes across the street. Bryan told me to play it cool and keep walking. So we did. The driver of the car jumped out and started running toward us. (Yikes, he was big!) He ran over and tried to grab Bryan. Bryan ducked and the guy basically fell right over him. (It was pretty funny actually) The guy jumped back up and grabbed Bryan and then me by the shirt in each of his hands. He started screaming at us asking if we were the ones who were throwing balloons! I was shaking a bit. (The guy looked to have about 50 pounds on both of us.) Bryan started coming up with this elaborate impromptu story that we were just walking back to my house, and told the guy that he could even go over with us and talk to my parents to confirm that that had been our plan. (Yes, he was quite the smooth talker) It was at this point that I realized I still had a can of shaving cream in my right hand. This could have quite near been the death of us if the guy saw me holding that! I quickly, without showing too much motion, flipped the can into the nearby bushes to discard any evidence. Luckily, our attacker was totally focused on Bryan at the time and didnt see this occur. (Divine intervention, perhaps? ;)) The guy then asked why one of us had gone and jumped over in the bushes across the street. Bryan went on with his fabrication saying that our friend was just a little guy and he was very jumpy-- when he saw a car come ripping around the street, he freaked out and hid. It was amazing that the guy was buying this story. He seemed quite skeptical, but he didnt have any proof. Thank goodness my white knuckled grip had finally released that can which could have been our undoing! The guy then reluctantly released us and jumped back into his samurai. After the guy drove off Jeff came back out of his hiding place. Then we talked about how we probably "Could have taken him-- among the three of us" Phew-- yet another crisis averted!
We then made the decision that defined this as one of those frightening "Friday the 13th" type of nights-- we figured we would go launch these patented SCB's (Shaving Cream Balloons) at cars driving down past the school. You can see from the diagram where we started. We waited for a couple of cars to drive by going eastbound where we could launch and then run back along the fenceline if anyone stopped. We figured if they drove past the church, they wouldnt have as good of a chance of seeing where we were hiding. Im not sure if it was the first car we nailed or not, but we saw a Suzuki Samurai zipping by and all three of us winged out our balloons. A couple of them connected and we heard the car slam on his brakes and skid. That was our cue! We took of like sprinters and ran back behind the school and went through the gate to hide in a yard behind the church. We were all shaking and nervous as we hid there for about 10 minutes. When we figured the coast was clear, we walked casually out across the street to head back to my house. We made it through the church grassy lot when we heard a car come screeching around the corner in front of the church. Jeff, who was the smallest of the three of us panicked and ran and hid in the bushes across the street. Bryan told me to play it cool and keep walking. So we did. The driver of the car jumped out and started running toward us. (Yikes, he was big!) He ran over and tried to grab Bryan. Bryan ducked and the guy basically fell right over him. (It was pretty funny actually) The guy jumped back up and grabbed Bryan and then me by the shirt in each of his hands. He started screaming at us asking if we were the ones who were throwing balloons! I was shaking a bit. (The guy looked to have about 50 pounds on both of us.) Bryan started coming up with this elaborate impromptu story that we were just walking back to my house, and told the guy that he could even go over with us and talk to my parents to confirm that that had been our plan. (Yes, he was quite the smooth talker) It was at this point that I realized I still had a can of shaving cream in my right hand. This could have quite near been the death of us if the guy saw me holding that! I quickly, without showing too much motion, flipped the can into the nearby bushes to discard any evidence. Luckily, our attacker was totally focused on Bryan at the time and didnt see this occur. (Divine intervention, perhaps? ;)) The guy then asked why one of us had gone and jumped over in the bushes across the street. Bryan went on with his fabrication saying that our friend was just a little guy and he was very jumpy-- when he saw a car come ripping around the street, he freaked out and hid. It was amazing that the guy was buying this story. He seemed quite skeptical, but he didnt have any proof. Thank goodness my white knuckled grip had finally released that can which could have been our undoing! The guy then reluctantly released us and jumped back into his samurai. After the guy drove off Jeff came back out of his hiding place. Then we talked about how we probably "Could have taken him-- among the three of us" Phew-- yet another crisis averted!
Mini Missionary
Yesterday, during Elders Quorum, I had been asked to bring Austin in during our lesson on missionary work. Todd Dole, our instructor, had called me and asked if we could help with a 'role-play' scenario where I would be discussing with my son about becoming a missionary. Austin was fine with coming in after I described what we would be doing. I went in and pulled him out of primary right when our lesson started. I didnt know exactly when we would be called up, but it turned out to be toward the end of the lesson. Austin was getting a bit antsy after sitting there listening to the old men yap for about a half an hour. (The High Priests had combined with us since they didnt have an instructor that day.) He started to squirm and kept asking if he could go back to primary. (I almost wanted to go back with him. :)) Finally, we were called up. I sat him up on a table so everyone could see him and went through our discussion. The first thing I asked him was why it is important to be a missionary. He replied that it is good to talk to other people about Jesus Christ. Then I asked what things we can learn to be good missionaries. He told me that we should learn the Articles of Faith. (Note that each of his answers were from the heart as we had not practiced anything beforehand.) Then I asked him if he could sing a solo of the primary song about missionaries. He smiled and shook his head. :) I then asked if he wanted to sing a duet with me-- still no. Then I said we would sing it will all of the bretheren in the room. So we all sang "I hope they call me on a mission" It was quite fun. Then I took him and had him stand up next to Elder Aebischer who was serving in our ward. It looked like he did need to "grow a foot or two". I winked as I told him he would need to grow that much taller to be a missionary. From there, we discussed a few other items that he could do to be a missionary now: Invite friends to church, and he talked about how mom had given a Book of Mormon to one of her friends and what a good example that was. We talked about the article of faith that says "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Then we talked for a minute about how the Articles of Faith in particular really define our LDS religion. He did such a great job and many people commented as much. I told him thanks and said he could go back to primary. (He seemed quite relieved. :))
December 14
Graduate - Information Systems Degree
Its official. I am done with my IS degree!!!
But first, I need to get this off my chest. 2 points. That was the difference that kept me from getting an 'A' in my Business Intelligence (Multi-Dimensional Analysis) class. My total points in the course were 689/720. Two more points would have given me an 'A' instead of the 'A-' I ended up with. Big bummer. Also to add to my ire was the fact that only this course of the three I took, required a 96% to get an 'A', as opposed to the 94% that was required for an 'A' in my other classes. :(
I am very excited to have finished my Information Systems degree this week. What started out as an effort to keep my programming skills up-to-date by taking an occasional class at the local college, turned into a full-out assault on getting another degree. Going in, I did not have that intention, but as I progressed, my train of thought began to adjust. Beginning in 2005, I started by taking one night class on "Object Oriented Programming". Then I figured I would take one more during winter quarter of 2006 and took "Windows Programming I". After that, I realized that I wasn't too far away from getting a .Net programming certificate. So I figured I would just complete that. Then, in working toward that, I saw that I only needed a few more classes to get a Relational Database Developer certificate. So, during the process of just trying to get one more certificate- (I was so close, I might as well just do it, I figured) I was only about 4 classes away from getting the Information Systems degree. I had a few classes from the UW that I was able to transfer the credits over to Bellevue College as well. It was a long ride-- going back to school again, but it turned out that 17 out of the 19 classes that I took were online courses. This simplified the process for me very much. I was able to 'watch' the lectures in my own time at home, and do the class work (homework) from the comfort of my office at home. I felt that the process was just as educational for me at home (online) as it would have been at the college. I have fun telling people I just got my 'Masters' -- since I completed 2 years of post-graduate work. :) For now, I plan on taking a bit of a sabbatical, but will likely find another school to get a 'Web Development' certificate in the future. Initially, I had planned to get one at Bellevue College, but I found out after the fact that they were no longer offering that certificate (even though I had already taken 2 courses that were to be applied to the program). So I now have three web development courses under my belt that I should be able to transfer the credits somewhere else to apply to a Web Design certificate. I think all of these new certificates and my degree should be very beneficial for my career prospects going forward.
But first, I need to get this off my chest. 2 points. That was the difference that kept me from getting an 'A' in my Business Intelligence (Multi-Dimensional Analysis) class. My total points in the course were 689/720. Two more points would have given me an 'A' instead of the 'A-' I ended up with. Big bummer. Also to add to my ire was the fact that only this course of the three I took, required a 96% to get an 'A', as opposed to the 94% that was required for an 'A' in my other classes. :(
I am very excited to have finished my Information Systems degree this week. What started out as an effort to keep my programming skills up-to-date by taking an occasional class at the local college, turned into a full-out assault on getting another degree. Going in, I did not have that intention, but as I progressed, my train of thought began to adjust. Beginning in 2005, I started by taking one night class on "Object Oriented Programming". Then I figured I would take one more during winter quarter of 2006 and took "Windows Programming I". After that, I realized that I wasn't too far away from getting a .Net programming certificate. So I figured I would just complete that. Then, in working toward that, I saw that I only needed a few more classes to get a Relational Database Developer certificate. So, during the process of just trying to get one more certificate- (I was so close, I might as well just do it, I figured) I was only about 4 classes away from getting the Information Systems degree. I had a few classes from the UW that I was able to transfer the credits over to Bellevue College as well. It was a long ride-- going back to school again, but it turned out that 17 out of the 19 classes that I took were online courses. This simplified the process for me very much. I was able to 'watch' the lectures in my own time at home, and do the class work (homework) from the comfort of my office at home. I felt that the process was just as educational for me at home (online) as it would have been at the college. I have fun telling people I just got my 'Masters' -- since I completed 2 years of post-graduate work. :) For now, I plan on taking a bit of a sabbatical, but will likely find another school to get a 'Web Development' certificate in the future. Initially, I had planned to get one at Bellevue College, but I found out after the fact that they were no longer offering that certificate (even though I had already taken 2 courses that were to be applied to the program). So I now have three web development courses under my belt that I should be able to transfer the credits somewhere else to apply to a Web Design certificate. I think all of these new certificates and my degree should be very beneficial for my career prospects going forward.
December 13
Reminiscence - Almost Deported
[1992 continued] About three months in, the school had to send me to Korea so that I could leave the country, then come back in to get my visa renewed. Apparently, they wanted to save some money and not get me a work-sponsored visa. It was cheaper for them to send me on a trip out of the country after my 3 month 'tourist' visa expired. So, I got a cool, all expenses paid trip to Seoul, Korea. It was interesting to go to another country in Asia and find how different things were there. The first thing that surprised me was that there were Hyundais EVERYWHERE. I didnt understand how a country could run if they were all using such unreliable automobiles. (Yes, I had some experience with a Hyundai in Utah, and it was not a pleasant one!) I was there for a couple of days and toured around a bit. It was strange to go around and not understand the language-- I felt like a green bean again! The first day I was walking up a hill to get to the Seoul Tower. I walked past a bunch of elementary school aged students.
There I was minding my own business when I felt something poke me right in the bum! I turned around, and the kids are laughing hysterically. A couple of them had their fingers pointed like a gun and were trying to poke me again. This 'fun' activity I had been exposed to numerous times in Japan, by kids there, so I was familiar with the past time. I had learned to guard myself in Japan when I saw the gleam in some of the kids eyes, but I had never expected for this phenomenon to hit me in Korea too! It must be universal over there. From there, I jumped on a train and tried to work my way to a place called 'Itaewon', which is literally a 'shopping paradise' -- I would think it was somewhat similar to shopping in Hong Kong, where you can find great deals on a variety of items. On the train, I got a bit confused as to where I was supposed to get off and tried to find someone who could speak English. I had no luck at all. I figured that since nobody understood English, that it was worth a shot to try Japanese. To my utter surprise, there were a few young ladies that understood what I was saying when I spoke in Japanese! They nicely told me where to get off the train, and I thanked them. I hadnt quite made it to the shopping district yet, and had to try and stop some other people for directions. One guy didnt understand me, but could tell that I was lost as I had a map. He took me over to a nearby police station. Once there, I tried to show some of the police where I wanted to go, and one of them told me to hop on the back of his scooter with him. It was quite a site as this guy probably was 5'5" and 130 pounds on his tiny scooter and had this big 6'3" 200 pounder on the back. I didnt think it would hold me! We cruised for a couple of miles and he dropped me off in the right place. I found a couple of cheap leather jackets, and some other souvenirs, then started working my way back to the hotel. On the way back, one guy tried to talk me into going into his dirty magazine shop. I told him I wasnt interested, of course he didnt understand me, but then he physically grabbed me and tried to pull me in. I wasnt having any of that, so I shook him off and pushed him away. So that was a bit strange. Then I went past this public square, where there was this guy who was a snake charmer. I thought I was in India for a moment- pretty weird. So I went over to watch as a crowd gathered around. Then another guy sees me and comes over to me and starts pushing me and yelling at me-- waving at me to go away. I had no idea what was going on, but didnt want to cause some commotion, so I just left. It is rough being a stranger in a strange land. Oh, and the whole place smelled like kimchi. The smell of the country was foreign to me as well!
The next day, I got to the airport and flew back to Japan. When I was going through customs the agent there looked through my passport and asked me why I was coming back to Japan. (It showed I had left two days earlier) Then he looked me in the eyes and accusingly said; "You arent working in Japan are you?" . I stuttered a bit and said, "uh, no, of course not" YIKES. Then he basically told me to go wait in the corner until everyone else had been processed. I was very nervous. I had to wait for about 20 minutes until everyone else had gone through, then he waved me over. He then told me that if they caught me coming through Japan again with that Visa that I would be shipped out-- then he let me pass through. Woah. I was shaking in my boots. (OK, I wasnt wearing any boots, but I was still shaking) From then on, I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to finish my contract there in Japan. I discussed it with the school principal and told her that I was nervous about going through that process again at the 6 month and 9 month mark. They didnt seem to think it would be a big deal, but told me that if I wasnt comfortable doing it again, that I could just finish out the six months. It ended up being a short stint, but it was a great experience.
The funny thing was that I figured I could really surprise the family by not telling them that my contract had been cut short. So when the time came for me to head home, I didnt tell them I was coming home. I just flew back into SLC and was planning on grabbing a taxi back home. However, I met a friend I knew from high school at the airport, and he told me they could take me home since they lived in Holladay too. The trick here was that since I left to Japan, my family had moved into a new house. All I had was the address-- but they knew where it was. So we drove up to this house that I had never seen before and it looked like everyone was gone. It was a Sunday, so I figured everyone was still at church. I made sure the address was correct, and commenced operation 'break-in'. I checked the front door first, just in case, and found it was unlocked! Ahh, those trusting Mormons! ;) I cautiously let myself in, and scoped around to make sure some of the things were familiar-- pictures, furniture, etc. before I made myself comfortable. I figured out about what time they would get home and devised my surprise plan. I found an old mask of Brian's that looked like a scary boars head. I waited until I heard a car pull up in the driveway and jumped in the front coat closet with the mask on. Mom came through the front door and opened the closet to put her coat away (this was November of 1992). That was when I jumped out with my mask on and growled at her. After her initial fright, she kept asking: "Who is that!?" Is that you, Joel?!" Thinking it was one of Brad's friends. After teasing her for a couple of minutes, I took off the mask. She was shocked beyond belief. "TODD!! What are you doing here???" It was priceless. :)
There I was minding my own business when I felt something poke me right in the bum! I turned around, and the kids are laughing hysterically. A couple of them had their fingers pointed like a gun and were trying to poke me again. This 'fun' activity I had been exposed to numerous times in Japan, by kids there, so I was familiar with the past time. I had learned to guard myself in Japan when I saw the gleam in some of the kids eyes, but I had never expected for this phenomenon to hit me in Korea too! It must be universal over there. From there, I jumped on a train and tried to work my way to a place called 'Itaewon', which is literally a 'shopping paradise' -- I would think it was somewhat similar to shopping in Hong Kong, where you can find great deals on a variety of items. On the train, I got a bit confused as to where I was supposed to get off and tried to find someone who could speak English. I had no luck at all. I figured that since nobody understood English, that it was worth a shot to try Japanese. To my utter surprise, there were a few young ladies that understood what I was saying when I spoke in Japanese! They nicely told me where to get off the train, and I thanked them. I hadnt quite made it to the shopping district yet, and had to try and stop some other people for directions. One guy didnt understand me, but could tell that I was lost as I had a map. He took me over to a nearby police station. Once there, I tried to show some of the police where I wanted to go, and one of them told me to hop on the back of his scooter with him. It was quite a site as this guy probably was 5'5" and 130 pounds on his tiny scooter and had this big 6'3" 200 pounder on the back. I didnt think it would hold me! We cruised for a couple of miles and he dropped me off in the right place. I found a couple of cheap leather jackets, and some other souvenirs, then started working my way back to the hotel. On the way back, one guy tried to talk me into going into his dirty magazine shop. I told him I wasnt interested, of course he didnt understand me, but then he physically grabbed me and tried to pull me in. I wasnt having any of that, so I shook him off and pushed him away. So that was a bit strange. Then I went past this public square, where there was this guy who was a snake charmer. I thought I was in India for a moment- pretty weird. So I went over to watch as a crowd gathered around. Then another guy sees me and comes over to me and starts pushing me and yelling at me-- waving at me to go away. I had no idea what was going on, but didnt want to cause some commotion, so I just left. It is rough being a stranger in a strange land. Oh, and the whole place smelled like kimchi. The smell of the country was foreign to me as well!
The next day, I got to the airport and flew back to Japan. When I was going through customs the agent there looked through my passport and asked me why I was coming back to Japan. (It showed I had left two days earlier) Then he looked me in the eyes and accusingly said; "You arent working in Japan are you?" . I stuttered a bit and said, "uh, no, of course not" YIKES. Then he basically told me to go wait in the corner until everyone else had been processed. I was very nervous. I had to wait for about 20 minutes until everyone else had gone through, then he waved me over. He then told me that if they caught me coming through Japan again with that Visa that I would be shipped out-- then he let me pass through. Woah. I was shaking in my boots. (OK, I wasnt wearing any boots, but I was still shaking) From then on, I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to finish my contract there in Japan. I discussed it with the school principal and told her that I was nervous about going through that process again at the 6 month and 9 month mark. They didnt seem to think it would be a big deal, but told me that if I wasnt comfortable doing it again, that I could just finish out the six months. It ended up being a short stint, but it was a great experience.
The funny thing was that I figured I could really surprise the family by not telling them that my contract had been cut short. So when the time came for me to head home, I didnt tell them I was coming home. I just flew back into SLC and was planning on grabbing a taxi back home. However, I met a friend I knew from high school at the airport, and he told me they could take me home since they lived in Holladay too. The trick here was that since I left to Japan, my family had moved into a new house. All I had was the address-- but they knew where it was. So we drove up to this house that I had never seen before and it looked like everyone was gone. It was a Sunday, so I figured everyone was still at church. I made sure the address was correct, and commenced operation 'break-in'. I checked the front door first, just in case, and found it was unlocked! Ahh, those trusting Mormons! ;) I cautiously let myself in, and scoped around to make sure some of the things were familiar-- pictures, furniture, etc. before I made myself comfortable. I figured out about what time they would get home and devised my surprise plan. I found an old mask of Brian's that looked like a scary boars head. I waited until I heard a car pull up in the driveway and jumped in the front coat closet with the mask on. Mom came through the front door and opened the closet to put her coat away (this was November of 1992). That was when I jumped out with my mask on and growled at her. After her initial fright, she kept asking: "Who is that!?" Is that you, Joel?!" Thinking it was one of Brad's friends. After teasing her for a couple of minutes, I took off the mask. She was shocked beyond belief. "TODD!! What are you doing here???" It was priceless. :)
Reminiscence - Seimei Gakkushu Juku
[1992] I was teaching English in Japan after my mission. I was working at a place called Seimei Gakkushu Juku, which was a private school for kids to study for their College Entrance Exams. I taught English conversation classes to mostly high school students and housewives. I also helped out with pronunciation during the students regularly scheduled classes. This opportunity presented itself when I was looking around for work after my mission in Japan. I found that I was getting 'homesick' for Japan, and started looking for jobs over there. I then found through a family relation that there would be an opening at this school in May of 1992. I jumped at the chance and initially was planning on staying there for a full year to teach English. That brought me to Okazaki, Aichi Ken, Japan. I had a great time teaching my classes, where I usually taught my classes from about 2 in the afternoon until 10 at night. One night, during my first week, I was walking back to my apartment and went past a place called "Woodpecker Autosports", which was right across the street from my school. As I was walking by, a crazy drunk guy about my age saw me through their window, and after his initial surprise of seeing an American, came out to greet me with a big hello. I always liked to mess around with the folks that started trying to speak English to me. Sometimes I would answer in nonsensical blathering just to mix them up. Other times I would speak so fast that they would turn and run. :) After having a little fun with them, I would tell them I could speak Japanese, and they would become quite relieved. So, after we chatted for a bit, he invited me in. I figured the place would be like a goodyear tire store you would see in the U.S., but it turned out they had a cafe-like place attached where there was a bar and tables and such where the customers could wait while their cars were fixed. There were about 5 guys and a couple of girls just hanging out in there. That was where I met one of my favorite people of all time--Keiko Tominaga. She was the wife of the owner of the shop, and took care of feeding the folks that were waiting around. She took me under her wing and ended up feeding me twice a day- once before I went to work and then I would get something there afterwards as well. She never would allow me to pay for anything, and was pretty much my Mom in Japan (Okaasan gawari). I had a great time hanging out with that gang each night. We would go to Karaoke and went to the beach, and had a bunch of fun together.
I also enjoyed working with the other teachers at the school. Many of them were my age, and we would go dancing and bowling and such. It was a very cool experience to work over there. My stay there was cut short by about 6 months though, as you will see in my next post.
I also enjoyed working with the other teachers at the school. Many of them were my age, and we would go dancing and bowling and such. It was a very cool experience to work over there. My stay there was cut short by about 6 months though, as you will see in my next post.
December 12
Wedgie karma
At dinner on Monday night LeAnn was giving me a hard time about a posting I had made earlier about having given Brad wedgies when we were kids. She mentioned that she couldnt believe I used to do that. I told her that in order to prove my wedgie giving skills that I would demonstrate on Austin. We both jumped up from the table, and the chase began. I faked Austin out as he ran around through the kitchen, and I caught him in the dining room. I took him over to the living room and was about to administer one of my specialties, when I felt a tugging from behind! I turn around, and there is Jaylin reaching down to give my shorts a yank! I turned my attention to her, and then Austin used that opportunity to start giving me one. I was getting it from all sides. Then as I grabbed them both, Autumn rushed in to help gang up on me. Throughout this ordeal, I think I was 'hit' about 3-4 times. They were pretty effective when they attacked me like a pack of wolves. :)
December 10
Autumn went to the doctor, and the doctor said...
Autumn has had some consistent tummy aches over the past year or so. We initially thought it was lactose intolerance, as she loves dairy so much. Her pain has been bad enough the past week that LeAnn took her to the doctor today. She was really grilled on her dietary habits by the doctor. She found out what we already know- that Autumn is quite the finicky eater. She will hardly eat anything that is prepared for our family meal unless it is on her "like" list. Its like pulling teeth to even get her to eat something like lasagna. The doctor found out that the things Autumn likes can contribute to constipation or even Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She asked which vegetables Autumn is eating. "Um, none, really" she replies. There was a list of many other things they talked about-- eating just white bread, no meat except for chicken nuggets ("faux chicken" is what the Dr. called it) and on and on. As we have known for a while, Autumn's diet is quite suspect. It sounded like it has been uncomfortable enough that Autumn is ready to make an adjustment and "choke down" some vegetables. She even told LeAnn that she kind of likes spinach. This might be just the transitioning point that we have been looking for to get some more variety in her diet. I guess it makes a lot more sense coming from the doctor than it does when your parents tell you these things.
Reminiscence - Beat up by my little sister
[1986-1988] Usually the younger siblings were on the receiving end of any mishaps involving me. Not so with Brooke. Brooke is 5 years younger than me, but she took me out of commission a couple of times. When I was 16, we were at the Sperry's house across the street jumping on their trampoline.
I think both Brian and Brad were there as well. We were playing "crack the egg". In this game, you sit on the tramp with your legs crossed and grab onto the end of your feet with your hands. Then everyone else tries to 'pop' you up into the air and bounce you so high that you let go of your feet. Once you are cracked like this, then your turn is over. So us boys were relishing bouncing our little sister way up into the sky. She was a tenacious little girl and would hold on fiercely even when being 'popped' above our heads- 7 feet or so into the sky. She had quite a streak going, and I recall her laughing maniacally while bouncing all over the place. (You just had to make sure you didnt bounce someone right off the tramp.) After being popped about 5 times, and when she was coming down above our heads, I failed to get out of the way as she was coming earthbound again. In the midst of her laughter she had her mouth wide open and her two front teeth came down right into the back of my head. Then it was a whole different kind of 'pop' that happened. My scalp popped right open! I could feel something was wrong, and my hand came away all bloody. Needed about 5 stitches for that one. Brooke was fine, of course. :)
The next incidence happened a year or so later. In the house we lived in at the time, there was only one functioning bathroom, so often there was quite a queue to get in with our 7 kids. The bathroom was located upstairs, and the family room was downstairs, so we had to plan our bathroom breaks accordingly. We were sitting downstairs watching TV one day when for some reason I mentioned out loud that I needed to go to the bathroom. At that point, Brooke called out that she did too. So the race was on! Of course I wasnt going to let my little sister beat me up the stairs, so I ended up getting in front of her going up the stairs. I made the turn at the top of the stairs and whipped around the corner to head down the hall toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. I beat her to the bathroom pretty handily, but could hear her coming behind me still. I wanted to make sure that she didnt try to push her way in, so as I got in I turned around to slam and lock the door. As I did this, my bare feet slipped on a nice puddle of water that was left on the tile from someone's earlier bath. I had no chance to react. My feet went right out from under me as I made the quick turn around. My chin went straight to the floor and hit with amazing impact. BAM!! it splits open. Another bloody mess. Another six stitches. My little sister; what a bully! :)
The next incidence happened a year or so later. In the house we lived in at the time, there was only one functioning bathroom, so often there was quite a queue to get in with our 7 kids. The bathroom was located upstairs, and the family room was downstairs, so we had to plan our bathroom breaks accordingly. We were sitting downstairs watching TV one day when for some reason I mentioned out loud that I needed to go to the bathroom. At that point, Brooke called out that she did too. So the race was on! Of course I wasnt going to let my little sister beat me up the stairs, so I ended up getting in front of her going up the stairs. I made the turn at the top of the stairs and whipped around the corner to head down the hall toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. I beat her to the bathroom pretty handily, but could hear her coming behind me still. I wanted to make sure that she didnt try to push her way in, so as I got in I turned around to slam and lock the door. As I did this, my bare feet slipped on a nice puddle of water that was left on the tile from someone's earlier bath. I had no chance to react. My feet went right out from under me as I made the quick turn around. My chin went straight to the floor and hit with amazing impact. BAM!! it splits open. Another bloody mess. Another six stitches. My little sister; what a bully! :)
December 06
Reminiscence - "Can you see my brain?"
[1989] Often people ask me how I got my "Harry Potter" scar. (Yep, its right there on my forehead, dished out by Voldemort - I am another "Boy who lived") This is where it happened:
I was playing for the Olympus High School soccer team my senior year. We practiced at this elementary school down the street from the high school since baseball was going on at the same time. We were playing a scrimmage at the end of practice against the junior varsity team. We were beating them pretty bad, so Connie (Constantine Martin, our coach from Italy) let me go play forward. This was always a rush for me since the fullbacks never got a whole lot of glory- but oh what an important role we played. (The best offense starts with a great defense) So, when I got up on the frontline, the adrenaline was pumping like crazy. I was running around, attacking like a madman each time the ball came my way. Then a long, high ball came up to my area, just outside the penalty box. The JV guy who was defending me was about my size, maybe a bit bigger than me (6'3", 190 lbs). He went after the header just as I did (of course Im not going to back down to an underclassman ;)) We pretty much timed it at exactly the same time and the ball squirted out and we cracked heads majorly hard! We both went down groggily. I tried to shake the cobwebs out, but one of the other guys came over and told me to sit down. I did, and felt my hand to my head, which came away with a big swath of blood. They told me to lay down as I argued against it. As everyone gathered around to check out the gore, I jokingly asked, "Can you see my brain?" I now have a proud trophy that I carry around on my forehead with me each day.
Reminiscence - Water Rescue
[1983] When we were living on Tameron drive in Sandy, our scout troop went to a campout at Bear Lake.
I had a group of guys that I hung out with, and we went down to the dock one afternoon for a swim. The dock we went to was about 50 yards away from the shore. We swam out and were jumping off, doing flips and dives into the lake. Then we kicked back to relax for a bit. I was looking back at the shore, when one guy from our ward that hadnt come with us got into the water. (unfortunately, I cant remember his name) This guy wasnt much of an athlete, but it looked like he was going to try to swim out to join us. He got about 30 feet in, and started to thrash around a bit. Everyone was watching him curiously at first, a couple of the guys were even laughing. I then saw him go under a couple of times. I realized then that he wasnt joking around, and I immediately dove in and swam out as fast as I could. I grabbed him from behind just like we were taught for our Swimming merit badge. He kept trying to grab me as I began to pull him in. I dragged him back to the shore, and he sat there sputtering and gasping. It was pretty scary. When we got back to shore he thanked me as I made sure he was OK. I sure was glad I was prompted to jump in a rescue him. I recall some of the other guys still thinking it was a big joke, and saying this kid was just messing around, but I saw in his eyes that it was the real deal, and felt it as he tried to drag me under.
December 05
Im so glad when daddy comes home
When I got home from work on Monday, the only one there to greet me was Flash. He is always soooooo excited, and "climbs up on my knee". After driving an hour in the car, the thing I most look forward to is seeing my family each day. So, after Flash calmed down, I went to look for my kids. They were in the living room reading books. I go in there waiting for them to get all excited that dad was home, but got no such reaction. (I expect this to happen when they are teenagers, but it is too early now for their complacency ;)) I had to get right up in Jaylin's face and say HELLOOOOOO!!!. She says begrudgingly, "oh, Hi Dad". Sheesh. I was bummed out. Same thing from Autumn and Austin was nowhere to be seen. I mentioned this to LeAnn and grumbled to her a bit.
So, last night when I come home. I open the door to the family room from the garage where Flash is always waiting. I see him sitting in the family room wagging his tail and sitting, his whole body shaking he is so excited. The weird thing was, he did not come jump up on me as usual. I walk through the laundry room to see why he is acting so weird and I get 'dog-piled' by the kids. All three of them started yelling and latching onto my legs. They were all yelling; "WE LOVE YOU DAD!!" WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE HOME!" and on and on. I didnt quite know what to do with myself. They wouldnt let go and this went on for about 2 minutes. I thought I would have to pry them off with a crowbar! It was the most fun after work greeting I had ever had. I looked over at LeAnn, who was standing there smiling and laughing. I told her she would need to call off the dogs. I told them all that I would never forget this welcome home. :)
So, last night when I come home. I open the door to the family room from the garage where Flash is always waiting. I see him sitting in the family room wagging his tail and sitting, his whole body shaking he is so excited. The weird thing was, he did not come jump up on me as usual. I walk through the laundry room to see why he is acting so weird and I get 'dog-piled' by the kids. All three of them started yelling and latching onto my legs. They were all yelling; "WE LOVE YOU DAD!!" WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE HOME!" and on and on. I didnt quite know what to do with myself. They wouldnt let go and this went on for about 2 minutes. I thought I would have to pry them off with a crowbar! It was the most fun after work greeting I had ever had. I looked over at LeAnn, who was standing there smiling and laughing. I told her she would need to call off the dogs. I told them all that I would never forget this welcome home. :)
December 04
