Runcation

Everyone loves a good vacation. Most people I know live half their lives looking forward to the next place they are going to take off and enjoy. This year I've heard a lot of reference to the Staycation. This is where you take off work and focus on activities near your residence. Well, I've coined a new term: Runcation. What is a runcation? Vacation + Running = Runcation. In other words, it's the maximization of a vacation.

Several years ago when we were a one car family, I was stuck at one point with no ride home from work. Instead of wait for Nellie to pick me up, I instead decided to walk home. At this point I had driven the same route for over a year, but as I walked home I noticed all sorts of things that I had previously zipped by. In a car you really miss a lot of the sights and smells around you, the small simple beauties.

For me, part of traveling is about the adventure of discovering new things for myself, and as I discovered, there is no better way to capture this, than by being on foot. Walking is too slow and inefficient, but if you run for a while, you manage to see quite a bit. In fact, almost everywhere I've gone this year I've been able to get out and do at least one good run. It has been a great way to understand the area I'm in, as well as see the beauty around me. In New York, I darted through traffic on the way to Central Park, where I got to run with all kinds of runners and see all the places you see on movies. In North Carolina I realized that air can be so thick it needs to be swallowed. In Arizona I've been able to run in a desert landscape avoiding cacti. In Utah, I've been up and down the side of mountains and really felt a part of nature.

Runcations can be done really anywhere, but if you are travelling here are a couple of tips:

• Find a good route to follow. No one wants to get lost, make sure you know where you are going. A good way to find routes created by locals is to visit America's Running Routes at the USATF website. Here you can either create your own route, or look up others routes.
• Ask for local advice. Once you know where you're running, consult a local if possible to make sure you're not running into the middle of a bad area.
• Take a cell phone and water. I have a great hydration belt made by Amphipod that allows me to carry both.
• Take a 10 or 20 dollar bill, or bring your debit/credit card with an ID. If you find a place you want to stop, or need a quick snack, it's great to have it with you.

Take my advice, go out and get some runs in. You don't have to be crazy like my friend Matt Ward, you can run a mile and see more of the place you're in, than driving all around. Let me know how your runcation goes!

Year in Review...Entry #5

Loss

This year has also been accompanied by some sad events as well. In February I lost my Grandma, Connie Perkins. In October, Janelle's grandfather Bob George left us 2 weeks prior to his surprise 80th birthday celebration.

Grandma Connie was a major influence in my life, she was the one who taught me to love baseball, One of my fond childhood memories was the 1989 world series between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, Grandma and I were huge Jose Canseco fans (at the time) and she made sure I got to her house for every game possible. When I got the news from my dad that she had suffered a major stroke, I rapidly gathered my family and got up to Salt Lake. At the hospital we were told that the woman we loved was gone, and though the machines could keep her alive, she would likely never recover. The next day, my Grandpa, Dad, Uncle, my brother Davin and myself gave her a blessing letting her know it was okay for her to go. One of the sweet moments of my life was watching my Grandpa (who had kept to the edge of the room until this point) approach my Grandma and take her hand. As he approached the monitors surged and I saw her heartrate jump, then a moment later I watched everything go down to zero. Interestingly, the loss of my dear grandma reinforced my testimony of the ressurection. I physically saw the difference when her spirit left her body.

Nellie's Grandpa George was approaching his 80th birthday, as I've mentioned, and our whole family was planning on flying up to be there for his party. I got a phone call at work from Nellie telling me he had passed away. I was surprised, but until she told me, I don't think it had really hit her. Although She and I have only been married for 5 and a half years, I had a deep love for Bob George. He was someone I liked almost immediately, he had a great sense of humor and treated me like a grandson right away. My first trip to Camp George, the fall after our wedding, he gave me my nickname: Trevador, and I always felt like I belonged from that moment on. After a drive through the night, we attended his funeral in Kennewick Washington. I learned a lot about my grandfather-in-law that I didn't know, and it made me sad to know I would have to wait longer to get to know him better. We were just happy to know he got to meet both of our children before he passed.

Loss is an interesting thing, I personally love funerals. I can't remember leaving a funeral without having a profound sense of urgency to accomplish more and to love better. Death is not a scary thing, just a sad thing. Death is a temporary farewell that rarely comes when you are prepared for it. I'm grateful that the grandparents we have lost this year were in a good position in their lives and I'm sure they are happy on the other side of the veil.

Year in Review...Entry #4

BYU is still freakin' awesome! That is what I have to say about that. Of course everyone knows that I'm a huge BYU football/basketball/overall fan. BYU sports have become something more special to me in the last couple of years. When we first adopted J Scott, I took him to every basketball game. When I say every, I mean every. Some of my fond memories of the early days are of carrying my sleeping boy out of another home victory. In fact, in all the time Scott and I have been going to games...he's witnessed 2 losses at home. (One loss in basketball against Loyola Marymount, and one loss in football to the Utes. He must be pretty good luck, but I digress.) Anyway to me BYU sporting events have become chances to hang out with my son. Many times just the two of us. As my friend Cody once remarked, he is my "built in BYU buddy."

This year my father, brother (Ben), Scott and I had season tickets to football. Saturdays were really fun. For home games we baked in the sun and cheered. Scott is a very enthusiastic singer of the cougar fight sone...it's pretty cute. Most away games we watched at home with a group of usuals. Un(fortunately really) some of my feelings about Ute fans have been soaked up by my boy. The other day Scott told Nellie "I'm never going to like the Utes." Good for him. Since Scott now owns many things BYU, he told me he's sad they don't make BYU shoes....I've maybe got him in too deep. Anyway, the cougars are important in the Perkins household. Even if Daddy's degree isn't from that awesome institution. At least Mom's is.

Year in Review...Entry #3

Having covered our major trip of the year and our major visitor of the year, I think this review should be about the people who make up my awesome every-day life- my wife and kids. This year has been a good year, but really not many unusual things have happened. I manage to feel like I have a relatively boring life when people ask me what I'm doing. Have you ever found a good way to answer that question? I haven't. In fact, I'm still guilty of asking others this...but I digress.

Eva has experienced many changes in her life this year. As you might expect she's figured out the walking thing, figured out some talking things, and (if you read the lyrics to her song you'll realize) the bossy thing. Probably the most notable thing that has happened to Eva this year that doesn't happen to every baby is her helmet-head days. Eva was born with torticollis which means when she was in the womb, her head was almost always in the same position, which resulted in the neck muscles on one side developing short and squatty while the muscles on the other side were longer. Since her neck was off, she slept in the same position and ended up with a large flat spot. To fix her neck we had to take her to physical therapy for 5 months and Nellie stretched her neck at home several times a day. After her neck was fixed, we got a helmet that Eva had to wear 23 hours a day. The helmet was on from February until the beginning of June. We definately got stared at a lot, which didn't bother us like I might have thought. We'd often hear other children asking their parents about the helmet, and were surprised to hear parents responses. I figure, if you don't know, ask! Eva ended up with a nice round head in the end.

Scott experienced a few changes this year also. In the spring he wrapped up his Kindergarten year at school, which he loved (as do all kindergarteners it seems). One of his major changes was the transition from Jaden to Scott. For those of you who might not know, his full name is Jaden Scott Perkins. His grandpa goes by his middle name of Scott, and he had several friends who went by middle names, so one day he decided he wanted to go by Scott. As parents, it was very difficult to call him by another name. I never realized how many times in the day you say your child's name. I was sluggish in my transition until one day, apparently frustrated he said "you just called me Jaden, that is not my name! My name is Scott!" I think after that day, I got a lot better a lot faster.

Scott has been doing very well in school, and he loves first grade and his teacher Mrs. Glass. He was student of the month in February, and again for September. He seems to really get into the recognition, and he is pretty proud of it. Scott also played soccer for the second year. I don't know that there is a future in soccer for him, but he seems to like it anyway.

As for Nellie and I, I had a very good year at work this year. I seem to get the hang of it slowly but surely. This year I hit my 5-year mark in May, which isn't really a long time, but with the turnover rate at my company I'm only 5 years away from getting a Rolex for my time there (woohoo!) Nellie seems to have really figured out what the mom thing is all about this year, how she juggles everything I will never get. She volunteers for Scott's class, deals with Eva, ends up doing a lot of free photography for people who don't really appreciate what they are getting, keeps the house running efficiently, and manages to hammer out one craft project after another. Her craft room is really getting to be a thing of beauty. She manages to keep it pretty organized, I am always surprised at how many projects could come from her "room of requirements" as she calls it.

Nellie has been an all-star resolution keeper. Instead of having a huge list of new-years resolutions she focused on doing one thing for several weeks to a month and then moved on to perfect the next thing. I've really seen a lot of improvement from her. One of her major accomplishments was taking off the baby weight and more this year. Last year about November she really started to watch what she ate and her caloric intake. By June you could really tell she was losing weight, but from June until now she's really shrunk to where everyone seems to be telling her how great she looks. It really took a lot of work and a lot of will power and I'm proud of her.

Eva's Song

For Christmas I wrote/am writing, songs for Scott and Eva. While Scott's song is currently leaving me with writers block (yes, it's a real problem), Eva's song is finished. At Aunt Laura's suggestion, here it is:

Eva's Song (I'm the Boss)

Morning comes too early in my house,
Brother's tromping is much louder than a mouse.
Bleary eyed, ripped from beauty's dreams,
they're going to hear it in a moment when I scream.
Toss my soggy diaper, get my breakfast make it fast,
Unless I'm wrong (which I'm not), it's not too much to ask.

(CHORUS)
Cuz I'm the boss I don't worry 'bout the cost.
Since I'm the queen I don't care if I sound mean,
Yes I'm in charge, even though I'm not very large,
You're gonna know it when I scream.

Clock straight up, and Dad walks in the door,
I've been busy throwing my lunch on the floor.
He gets in my face and asks me for a kiss,
Sometimes I wonder who he thinks he is.
Though I'm not tired he puts me into bed,
(doesn't he know that) baby princesses should be given treat instead.

(CHORUS)

It gets tiring keeping Mom in line all day,
It seems she's always getting in the way.
Like when it's time to reorganize the drawers,
or when I feel like drawing on the floor.
Good thing I know how to stomp my foot just right,
flash my toothy grin and you know I've won the fight...

(CHORUS)

So this is the song, I really have a lot of fun playing it for Eva, it remains to be seen if she really likes it.

Christmas! Part I and II

Christmas Part I

On Friday night, almost a full week before the real Christmas, we had our Perkins Family Christmas. Since we didn't want to haul presents down to Arizona, we chose to open most of our presents on Friday night. It was fun to watch Scott open his presents, he was really good at acting excited, even when some of the gifts were un-fun, like shirts. He is such a sweet little boy! Eva doesn't get this Christmas thing yet, but she is starting to enjoy ripping apart the wrapping paper, so she did a good job. My favorite presents were the little BYU cheerleader outfit for Eva, and the BYU jersey that we got for Scott. That's going to make a cute family picture. Although Scott felt a little ripped off that he couldn't take his gifts with him, I'm sure he'll be happy to return to them when we're done in Arizona.

Christmas Part II

We've been in Arizona for almost a week now, and it's been fun to spend time with Nellie's family, the Grows. Christmas at the Grows has been jam-packed this year, and it's been tiring to be in the middle of it all, but also very fun. In addition to a house full of Grows, we've seen Katie and her fiancee, Jared and his family, and Grandma Grow is staying here. On Christmas-eve day we hung out and Nellie and I got a good make-up nap. Nellie's Uncle Bob came into town and Eva instantly liked him, it was cute to see her warm up to someone so fast. She tends to be pretty easy-going, but she definitely has her favorites. I guess she doesn't mind his famous zerbits (if that's how you spell it). Scott got to go with Nellie and Papa and some others to visit Uncle Jared at his fire station. Scott loved being able to ride in a fire engine and had a great time. For Christmas Eve dinner we had some mexican food, Sarah made some fantastic however-many-layers dip, and I made smothered burritoes.

After dinner, we had Advent. Advent is something the Grow's have been doing for the better part of two decades, four Sundays before Christmas they start to read scriptures about the coming of the Savior and sing songs. They say it gets them into the spirit of the season, and it was really nice to take some time to think about the Savior, especially reading Luke chapter 2. What really made the night fun was Sarah's friend Whitney who is amazing on the piano. She accompanied all of the singing, and it felt like something out of the movies. I would give the night an A grade.

Later (this is turning into a LONG post...), I attended midnight mass with the Bruce family. Arlene Bruce, or Grandma Arlene as she is better known, is a good family friend who we all love. She has a really fun family also, and I really enjoyed attending mass with them. They are just as sarcastic and funny as I am (okay, I'm giving myself too much credit), but it was great to sing more songs about the savior and to get a different perspective. Attending midnight mass was something that I did on my mission at the urging of my mission president, and I've enjoyed attending with the Bruce's for the last couple of years.

Christmas morning started early for me, and not for the reason you may think. It started early because Eva decided around 4 am that she wasn't going to sleep anymore. After losing the battle to her, I watched the Christmas Story on tv and waited for an appropriate time to let Scott get up. This has been Scott's "Santa Year," as Nellie labels it, and it's been really fun as a parent to see him get all excited about Santa. He is extremely worried about upsetting, or lying to Santa. Just before Christmas break, Scott's class was writing letters to Santa. His teacher had provided them a template that said, Dear Santa, I have been really good this year...I would like..., Scott approached his teacher and expressed concern that sometimes he was naughty. His teacher said that was the first time any kid had even considered their behavior in the process of Santa letters. Funny kid. Anyway, around 7:30 we started the presents, Scott got the requested firetruck from Santa while Eva got a little people amusement park.

After all the present opening was done, we had a great breakfast provided by Mom Grow. She is a fantabulous cook and makes this amazing cinnamon rolls, breakfast was delicious. Later in the day we had another fantastic meal, again prepared by Mom. Grandpa Grow and JoRae visited for dinner at this point and I had a really good time. Spending time with the in-laws is definately a lot better for me, than for everyone else. After dinner Aunt Laura joined us and we had pie and just talked. I think the highlight of Christmas night was hearing Bob, Laura and Dad Grow talk about their mishaps they had as youths, maybe better than the stories was the reaction from Grandma Grow who was hearing many of these stories for the first time.

All in all, Christmas as the Grows was great! I'm sorry for such a long entry, but I'm not really that great at knowing what to leave out.

Utah to Las Vegas....

So everyone, we're moving to Las Vegas.

Alright...that's not true. This is actually a short account of our trip to the Las Vegas bowl on our way to AZ for Christmas. Saturday December 20, about 4 am, we packed our kids into the Xterra and headed south. Because the snow had been falling, we wanted to allow ourselves plenty of time to get down to LV. It wasn't a bad drive overall, though we did have a few times that the use of 4-wheel was necessary. We stopped by the cougar tailgate at an auto dealership in Mesquite where we picked up a couple of footballs for Scott and Eva, and other necessary cougar supplies. When we got to Vegas, we were there several hours before check-in. Our hotel was nice enough to allow us in early. We stayed at the Trump International Tower and Hotel which was amazing. I have never stayed at a hotel that had only valet parking, and felt a little embarassed handing over the keys to our filthy Xterra, but I got over it. Back to the hotel though, it was fantastic! The room we were in was just like the pictures on the website...the bed was ultra-comfortable, and it just felt luxurious. Too bad Eva wouldn't cooperate.

After checking in and cleaning up, we went and did some awesome stuff. There is a place called the Boneyard in Las Vegas where all the old neon signs that have been put out to pasture are stacked on 3 acres of land. They are raising the funds to build a museum that is going to be amazing. It was a lot of fun to go on a tour, Nellie was in paradise. Think rust, broken glass, old stuff...and you get the picture. I wasn't expecting much, but I was very very impressed. I suggest anyone reading this take an opportunity to do the tour next time they are in Vegas. Google the boneyard and you can find out how. After the tour was over, the local CBS affiliate who was there doing a story on the boneyard interviewed me. Eva was in my arms and kep reaching for the reporter's microphone, poor reporter had no idea what he was getting himself into.

That night, Scott and I went to the Las Vegas Bowl which was fun, but very dissapointing. To make matters worse, we ended up getting lost and missed David Hasselhoff singing the national anthem. Scott was all dressed up in his cougar gear, and he was a great fan. He is starting to understand the game better all of the time. I think that was one of the highlights of the year for me, going to all the cougar games with Scott this year. I have to keep him stocked in treats, but it's a special father-son time. BYU lost to Arizona, never really playing like themselves in the process. They managed to miss 3 field goals, and two receivers dropped could-have-been touchdown passes. When they lose by 10, those types of things eat at you.

The next morning, we sauntered out of town on our way to Peoria AZ...

Year in Review...Entry #2

Okay, So I covered our NYC/NC trip, what to talk about next? Oh, how about our 17-year old visitor from Arizona...

In January, My sister-in-law Leslie moved in with us. She needed a change of scenery and we were all to happy to have someone to help out with the babysitting. She lived with us for the second half of the school year and was more than happy to head back to Arizona. It was a really good experience in a lot of ways. For one, it got us really into the habit of morning scripture study and regular family prayers. It gave me some insights into what I was probably like when I was younger, and probably prepared me more for when Scott gets a bit older. It was a little tough (on us and Les), having to fill the parent role occasionally (especially for Nell), I guess I'm better at stern...

Leslie was a great helper and was a nice presence in our home. There were certainly some tough times, but a lot of good times too. All in all, I think the whole thing turned out well, and she seems to be doing fantastic at home in the AZ.

BONUS:
If you ever get to have a teenager live with you, I recommend going to every parent-teacher conference possible. If you want someone to take you seriously, this might not be the place for you. I can't remember ever getting such odd looks, EVER.

Writing about something...

When you have nothing to write about....

I like to follow some of my friends blogs, it's fun to see what they are up to, the adventures that they've had. What I've noticed about their blogs vs. mine? Most of my friends are constantly updating their blogs, while mine waits. So, in lieu of writing about current events...I'm going to write a year in review, prior to Christmas, that is neither chronological, nor necessarily interesting.
(drum roll please.....)

New York City (and don't forget North Carolina) Trip- July

In the fair month of July, our family went to visit some good friends in North Carolina. We were there over the Fourth of July and it was a lot of fun to get to the east coast again. Some highlights: Eva's first plane ride, and oh what fun that was for Nell, a jaunt to Beaufort, NC - former home of Blackbeard the pirate (right next to Morehead City), and some private time for Nellie and I. You see, our friends are awesome and allowed us to leave Scott and Eva with them so we could go to New York City for a few days.

New York was great, if I had it to do again, I wouldn't have gone inside the Guggenheim. Love the building, not really a fan of the exhibit. Nor, would I have gone to the top of the Empire States Building.... can you say line up, line down, line all around? I also would have worn better shoes, I did more walking than expected.
Top 5 New York:
1 Museums (again, minus the Guggenheim): The Met was amazing...I think it could be classified as a whole city of art. I need to go back just to spend more time looking at their exhibits. MOMA was also great, even though "Starry Night" was out on tour.
2 Running in Central Park. Man, that place was like a runners oasis! I have never had so much fun on a run by myself...I was never really alone. Seven miles didn't seem like enough, but for my stupid injured (at-the-time) knee, it was more than enough.
3 Broadway. We only got to see one musical, because we weren't there long enough, but The Little Mermaid was far more entertaining than it should have been for this guy.
4 Circle line boat tour. We took the Circle Line all around the island, it was really a lot of fun to do those incredibly touristy things...
5 Food: Man, there is so much to eat...and it all tastes good (I do exaggerate occasionally).

Our trip was great, we loved getting to spend time with friends and doing some exploring. I think Nellie mostly liked the shopping....I enjoyed the time we got stuck coming back from New York to N.C. and had to shell out a few hundred extra dollars to get back to our kids (who we actually really missed.)

Overall Grade: A

Crossing the bridge to Emerald Isle, N.C.

Stereotypical/artsy picture of Times Square

Nellie and I atop the world's most boring line (The Empire States Building)

Thanksgiving....

Thanksgiving is such a great time of the year. It means the holiday season is officially upon us, but it gives us time to reflect on what we are grateful for. I think it reminds me of a lot that I take for granted. This year, here are some of the things I am thankful for.

• My beautiful wife Janelle who spends so much time nourishing our monsters and documenting their every move with her deft photographic skills. She has been amazing and I am often reminded (by myself--not her) of how lucky I was to have found her.
• My Tutty Tut (Scott) and La Diabla (Eva), it amazes me how much love I can have for such little stinkers. Scott is getting great at reading and can read books like Green Eggs and Ham without help. Eva is just starting to talk, last night we found she can say: Mama, Dada, Scott, Jesus (which is so cute to hear), ball, kiki (that's her blanket), yes, eyes, and some other semi-clear "words"
• My employment. I remember a time just after my mission when I dreaded going in to work every day, in my five and-a-half at PMI, I've not had that feeling at all. On top of that, I work with great people, and my wife can be a stay at home mom.
• The gospel of Jesus Christ. Without this one, I don't see how the rest really matters.
• My heritage. So much of what I'm blessed with is really the result of those who came before me and made the way better.
• The good ol' U.S.A. Again, what more need I say?
• My diversions: Being a daddy, BYU Football and Basketball, Utah Jazz, Running, Guitar-ing, also...how could I forget The Office? That's one funny show...

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner and gets to spend time with those they love. That's what she said.

Halloween

Halloween was really pretty tiring/fun this year. I remember in the years before children that Nell and I would sometimes do nothing for Halloween, but it is no longer a non-event. I got up a little earlier than usual to put together the final components for my Dwight Schrute costume. Although it wasn't a costume that wins awards, it was pretty fun. (For those of you who aren't blessed to have The Office in your life....go to nbc.com and check it out....) Mostly the costume was all about the extras. I went to the Wal Mart and bought a calculator watch, and went to the DI and bought a lime greenish shirt and awful tie. Nellie bought a recorder for me, which I learned to play the theme from The Office on, as well as the Star Wars Theme (you can learn to do so much on YouTube). I also put a stapler in Jello, brought a squash that I put in an apron to act like I was pregnant, and had my D.S. bobblehead. It was fun.

At lunch, we went to Scott's school to see his parade. I love being a dad for moments like those, Nellie made a broadway-worthy costume for him, he was a bird, and Eva was a bee. How cute are they?

After the parade, I went back to work while Nell helped out with Scott's class party. After she shuttled Scott to a neighborhood party while Eva napped.

Where Did All That Time Go?

Well, I guess it's been over two years since my last post. Since this blog doesn't get any readers at the moment, I guess I'm just talking to myself. Life has been pretty good in the last two years. Let's see. Oh Yeah, we had a little baby girl named Eva Jean. She is beautiful and is now almost 16 months old (two months from nursery...YEAH) and she is walking and saying a few words. I think her cutest trick is probably when she says "eye" and points to her own eye. I guess it's cute because more often than not she pokes herself in her eye and can't seem to figure out why it hurts. Scott (as Jaden now goes by his middle name), is still amazing as well. He was recently awarded the Student of the Month award at school, where he is in the first grade. He has really made remarkable progress and is reading pretty well right now. He can read books like The Cat in the Hat with limited help. Nellie and I are doing well. After having the baby, Nellie has worked like a mad person to lose the baby weight and she is now back to pre-wedding weight. I have not fared as well, but I am back to running more often than I was. Right now Nellie is in the basement (something else that has happened in the last two years...we finished it), working on the most elaborate bird costume ever for Scott. She is so meticulous and cute, I am amazed at her skills. That's about it...Hopefully this is the start of something good.

Nellie's Birthday

Happy Birthday Janelle! Can you believe it? Nell is 25! That means that together we now add up to 50 years of total wisdom. I hope it is a good birthday for Janelle, we are happy that she has made it this far.

This has been another fun and demanding couple of weeks. Most of the last couple of weeks has found Nellie frantically at work getting her Photography Show finished up. It is now up at the HFAC, or Harris Fine Arts Center, at BYU and will be up until the 14th of this month. If you are around, I strongly encourage you to go see it because it is simply amazing! (of course, there is some bias in my statement)

Jaden has been excited helping to get ready for mom's birthday. Last week I was discussing with him what we should get mommy for her birthday. First came "birthday cake," then "thomas birthday cake," but when he realized that might not be mom's style, he finished with "basketball cake!" (which sounded more like baks-et-ball) So, yesterday as they were walking to the library, Jaden spilled our secret to Nellie: "mom, your birthday, basketball cake!" No word on what kind of cake Nellie will be enjoying, but I don't know if I can carry on with our plans now that Jaden has spilled our secret.

The other night I had one of the best moments in my life. Of course, Nellie is Jaden's favorite parent by FAR which is what makes this moment so special. Nellie and I were watching a movie, when Jaden got out of bed to go to the bathroom. He came in and sat on my lap for a few minutes before going back to bed. I had to move him off my lap in order to do something else for a moment. When I got back to the couch, Jaden left his mommies lap to lay in my arms. There was something that hit me about the way he wanted his dad that really threw me for a loop. Looking back, even trying to write about it, it seems silly and unremarkable, but for that moment it was one of the best of my life.

It's Official

Good News! It finally came, Nellie's diploma arrived in the mail on Friday afternoon. We both reflected on how expensive that piece of paper was, but I think we're excited for it to be done. I'm proud of Nell, that is quite an accomplishment. Speaking of the artist herself, I've decided to no longer refer to her as a "photographer."
My Reasons?:

• Anyone who enjoys photography automatically considers themselves a photographer
• In Utah county if you mention photography, everyone automatically asks if she'll do a wedding
  
• In Utah county If you do a wedding for someone you "know," you automatically must discount your rates and deal with ornery mothers

So now when people ask me what she does I reply "she's a PFAP," to which the reply comes: "What's a PFAP?" "Well, it's a professional fine-art photographer." To which I have not yet had the reply "Can she do pictures for my cousins wedding?" Thus, making it successful.

Nell is busy, busy, busy completing her show that runs for two weeks beginning October 2. If anyone reading this is interested the reception will be October 6 from 7-9 in the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC) at BYU. Her show is really neat (yeah, I'm biased) and is entitled "Missing," come and see what it's all about.

This week I decided to dye my hair a darkish brown, it's always fun to have a change and both Nell and I really like it. Although it was not the pure motive, it is pretty fun to tell people that it is to prevent people from asking where Jaden got his dark hair from. My website is also growing day to day with new products being added. I'm working on my marketing, but there is still a long way to go. I'm going to add a link on the right side of the page for anyone who wants to help someone get a quality ring! (15% Discount for Utah residents!)


Jaden is still the cutest kid in the ward to us, and we think it's cool to watch him. We have noticed a few kids in the ward have tried the "faux hawk"(his hair-do) with varying degrees of success. Fortunately, as the originator of the trend, credit is always given to Jaden, hence we hear "you did your hair like Jaden." I don't know how 17 year olds feel about having their hairstyle compared to a 4 year olds, but that's alright. Speaking of hair, last week after a quick run out the door, Jaden realized that instead of creating his usual hair-do, Nell and I had kept it down with a quick part. As we approached the glass doors to the church, he began to grab at his hair and pull it up "Mommy, my hair is broken," he said, we just laughed.

Nellie and I both have new callings since last I updated anything to do with that. Nellie is an advisor in the Beehives (the 12 and 13 girls in church) and loves it. She takes multiple hours getting her ornate lessons ready, and I know the girls love it. I on the other hand am serving as a counselor in the Elder's Quorum. I enjoy it, and the President is really on the ball, so it makes it fun to do our job. Nell has been supportive which is good because it means a bit more time away from the house.

The house should soon be moving along a lot better, I leveled a mound in our front yard on Saturday, but didn't get much else done. We're going to have some guys cut some holes in our basement and that should get us off to a good pace again.

That's about life for now, in parting I will mention that Jaden's new favorite phrases right now are "oh, DANGIT!"(and he really isn't mad when he uses this), "Honey..." and "oh my gosh!" (ditto on anger not being present at its use).

Another Try

If anyone still checks this blog, they will realize that I struggle trying to keep everything up to date. Instead of lamenting that fact, I am trying to resolve to do better. Lately our family has been busy, which is the usual.

Nellie just graduated from BYU in August! That was really exciting, that means she is an official stay-at-home mom, and Jaden keeps her busy. In addition to graduating, we finally got her a nice, new computer! She spent the first day with it out of the box working on her upcoming show. It is an awesome computer, a 20 inch apple imac with intel duo-core processor. Mostly, it just looks awesome.

I finally launched my businesses website: IDoTitaniumRings.com where I sell titanium wedding rings, tungsten wedding rings, even celtic rings and wedding ring sets. Feel free to check it out and pass it on to anyone you know in need of a ring. For the first six months I figure I will give a great deal to anyone in need of a ring, so tell them to e-mail me at my site to ask for details. As you can tell, I am working on my marketing and advertising. It will be interesting to see what comes of this work.

Jaden is as awesome as ever. We just got back from visiting Nana and Papa in Arizona, where he was spoiled and coddled. Imagine our surprise when he has been a little on the bratty side the last couple of days. I guess it is hard to go from being waited on, to be required to do things like pick up a toy! Last night Daddy and Jaden were horsing around and J-man smacked his head into the wall and got a bump. Naughty daddy!

Sealing--Belated

Well life has been somewhat busy, or I have been somewhat lazy! It's been nearly a month since we had our sealing in the Salt Lake Temple and I have not taken the time to write anything about it. May 27 was an AMAZING day for our family. Nellie and I took Jaden and picked up our friend Liz and drove up to Salt Lake. It was a rainy day, and the drive that usually takes us forty minutes ended up taking us an hour, making us about fifteen minutes late. After getting to the temple, we were ushered around filling out paperwork, verifying paperwork, and waiting. The Lord's house is definately a place of order. Nellie and I had the chance to sit in the Celestial room together and wait for everyone to get ready. It is always nice to sit there and meditate upon higher and holier things. After a half-hour of waiting, we finally were ushered into the sealing room where some of our family and close friends were waiting. Once we were seated, they brought Jaden into the room. The image of Jaden all dressed in white, lightly padding into the room looking around for someone he recognized is something I don't think I will ever forget. He finally found his Grandma Grow, and from there found Liz. Nellie and I knelt at the altar, and Jaden knelt on the side and put his little hand on ours. It was a short moment, but an amazing one. Knowing that an eternal seal now holds our family in place is something I am so grateful for. Now it's just up to us to do what we should.
After the sealing, we went home and had a little get-together at our house. It was a lot of fun seeing our friends and getting a chance to speak with them. Hopefully we will post some pictures of Jaden in his white blessing/sealing outfit soon. He is adorable!

Fathers and Sons

As you can see, fathers and sons was the funnest event EVER in Jaden's life! Alright, it was pretty fun, but I bet fifteen minutes with a Thomas train beats the event for him. On Friday night I had the opportunity to take my boy camping for the very first time! It was a lot of fun, but I won't say it was the most comfortable night of sleep in my life. We went to a campground that is up the canyon, only about twenty minutes to get there, it is very beautiful up there. Our camping area was by a small stream, and after a quick bite to eat and an adventure putting our tent up, we went exploring. Actually, we only made it as far as the stream where Jaden had a lot of fun crossing the stream. After he accidentally stepped in it and got six inches of his pants wet he didn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much, so we found some rocks for him to throw into the deeper areas of the stream. The campfire scene was fun, but a little dry so Jaden soon volunteered to go to bed. I went to check on him after he had been in bed for fifteen minutes and he convinced me to stay for a while. He has such a sweet persuasive manner of doing things. Instead of whining, he just gave me a hug and wouldn't let go, then proceeded to offer me a pillow to lay by him.
In the middle of the night, Jaden woke up and was freezing, so I let him slide into my sleeping bag...BIG mistake in terms of sleep. The rest of the night I had his cute head cutting off circulation in my arm, and his sharp heels digging in to my thighs. Needless to say, we were the first ones up in the camp.
This week we probably did some other exciting things, but I can't really remember at this point. We are excited to see all of you for the sealing this Saturday, that is going to be the greatest thing ever!

Two Weeks Notice?

Has anyone noticed it has been two full weeks since I last posted on the blog? Does anyone read this thing anyway? I don't know, and I guess it doesn't matter too much anyway. This past week, well two weeks has been more of the usual mixed with a little of some other things.

The most exciting thing that has happened would be the blessing of Jaden in church last Sunday, the 7th. Jaden's Nana Grow in Arizona sent up the outfit she had slaved over for our temple sealing. She did a great job on it, he was dressed all in white including white trousers, a bowtie and a vest. He looked so cute. Unlike a traditional blessing in which the baby is held by those participating in the blessing, Jaden set on a chair for the blessing. The blessing talked about him developing a deep and abiding faith in the Savior, also about him choosing to be obedient to the truths he understood. He was blessed that he would have an opportunity to serve a mission, and to bring joy to others lives.

At the end of the blessing, for a kick I lifted Jaden up for the congregation to see him. This is a common practice among people blessing their infants, but it got a pretty good reaction and a lot of people laughed. Afterward we had a little gathering of friends and family at our house. It was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of cheesecake left over! YES!

Nellie started her internship at the museum and has been adjusting to working outside of the home a lot more than in recent months. I think she really likes a lot of what she is doing and learning about, but a few of the first days involved data processing which she didn't seem to enjoy too much.

Jaden has been spending a lot of time at our friends, the Nielsens house. He ends up there right before nine most days of the week and I pick him up at noonish. It has been good for him to interact with their three girls. Almost every day Jaden informs me that "Play nice with Jackie," which means he didn't fight with the girl just younger than him. Liz and John have actually helped out on the potty training front, and just this past week a major breakthrough was made. After refusing to go "cu-cah in the potty" (translation....well you'll figure it out) for a long time, Jaden finally decided he could do it, and since first figuring it out on Thursday has lived free of accidents until today! This is more exciting than it should be, but I never knew how frustrating potty training could be!

I had a great week at work this week, and am feeling better about where things are headed. My business is going forward at a steady creep (although that might be too fast a word for it) perhaps it will pick up if I ever find more time for it. With full time work, school, and trying to keep our family doing fun stuff, it gets pretty hectic. Hats off to all of you who do more than I (and that's pretty much everyone!)
Today being Mother's Day, Jaden and I decided to cook mommy breakfast in bed. This turned out to be more fun than I could have anticipated. We made omelets, bacon, sausage, and hash browns with orange juice. Jaden was there for the whole episode, he helped lay the bacon in the pan, slice the sausage, and even tried including a healthy dose of egg shell in the omelets. Jaden also made a card with a picture of he and Nellie on it. Inside the card I recorded what he wanted to tell mommy which included: I love you, I like you, Skarloie (a train he likes) needs station, beep beep, and some weird MMMMnnnn grunt noises.

Tonight we went down to my Mom and Dad's house to have a family barbeque and to talk to my brother Davin who is on a mission in Bolivia right now. It was a lot of fun, but I must admit I feel bad for my mother. Her birthday was today, and quite often she has to deal with Mother's day and her birthday on the same day, which is never much fun. I don't think I do enough for her after all she has done for me.

We did some other fun stuff along the way these past two weeks, like go to a Cinco de Mayo birthday party, as well as a professional soccer game. Life is fun and good, and we are excited to be a part of it.

A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Jaden and Daddy April 29, 2006- We were at
temple square because Nellie was shooting
some engagement pictures. We were both
soaking due to our previous romp in the Gateway fountain.

Rather than writing about the week in chronological order, I will instead talk about the most important thing, and then continue talking about other unimportant things. (HINT- If you want to avoid boredom, just read the first section)

Friday, the 28th was exactly sixth months to the day that our beautiful baby (or not so baby) boy came to live with us. We got up early and headed down to the Utah County courthouse. We arrived at 9:20ish and as we walked in, we noticed three or four signs stating no cameras were allowed in the building. Figuring it was worth a try, we opened our mouths and the security personnel simply said "Adoption?" "Go right on through." This was good, but it did make me wonder how safe a policy it really is, considering they let us walk through, and set off the metal detectors without even emptying our pockets. Oh well, we got there safe. The court episode lasted all of ten or fifteen minutes. The judge came in, we got sworn in, Nell gave some testimony, I gave a teeny tiny bit of testimony, and that was it. The judge even let us get some good pictures of us in the court. It was really exciting, but honestly more comforting than anything. He is now ours, and we can even get him on our medical insurance.

I thought the finalization would be an exciting day, but after our tender short moment in court, we went to Mimi's Cafe. At Mimi's Jaden went back to his normal behavior and life was back to normal. Things feel the same way they always have, but it is nice to know everything is done. I think Nellie and I are most excited for our temple sealing. We are going to be sealed in the Salt Lake temple on May 27th, and I think that will be the day I breathe a true sigh of relief.

This week Jaden has morphed into a puppy. What started as a game between he and Mom has become an almost full time character. He does typical puppy things, including the puppy kisses he gives his mommy nonstop in the morning. Our puppy is special also, in addition to the whimpering and barking that he has down, he also has the ability to become Super Puppy, and Gorilla Pup. Super Puppy came about when Nellie was working on his quilt, and Jaden found a chunk of train fabric. Drawing from a Thomas episode, he convinced Nellie to tie the 'cape' around him. Super Puppy is very photogenic, but most images are too high res for my computer. I have to get Nell to e-mail me a bunch of pics so I can post them. Gorilla pup is just Jaden playing a puppy with a gorilla mask on. It is pretty funny to watch.

In molding Jaden to become a cougar ultimately, I have taught him how to tackle. We play a game where I tell him I have the football, and he runs after me, wraps his arms, and I fall. I then reciprocate, and he gets tackled, albeit very gently. It is cute when he initiates the game and runs up to me and says "I got foo ball," and runs away. For the BYU fans out there, I am teaching him how to wrap up.

This week has been pretty good, but I don't really have much more to say. We love all of you, and hope you are all feeling well and doing better.

Family Home Evening

Tonight we sat down for family home evening, always an ordeal in our house. Family home evening is where we try to spend some time learning about the gospel and how our family can be better and closer. It seems like Nell and I must be paying for how we behaved as children during family home evening. Jaden bounces off the walls and has a hard time concentrating on anything for longer than half a second. The highlight was when we sang "I Hope they Call me on a Mission," Jaden knows about half the words, and he catches up on some when they have already been sung. It is cute, and sometimes he tells me "Daddy, I go mission!" For instance I asked if he wanted to go to bed the other day and he said, "no, I go mission." One day he'll realize what he is actually asking for.

We went to the grocery store to do some shopping and get ice cream for family home evening treat. Unfortunately we listened to Jaden when he told us he wanted chocolate, and by the end of our store round he was pretty well marked. I wonder why vanilla ends up so much cleaner.

Jaden turns into a monster when its time to go to sleep. Tonight he screamed and screamed, but the trend is that when he gets overly upset, it is when he falls asleep the fastest. I think he is at his cutest in his sleep.