A Much Delayed Update

As most have noticed the boys and I have been out and about having some little adventures while James stayed home and worked. It is amazing how much more time one has when they don't have their children to take care of. But he did get our indoor garden started and kept the house clean. My hero! And the indoor garden is flourishing which is always exciting!

So, what have we been up to? Well, we went to Utah, of course. Now to be honest, I have never made the drive to Utah alone before but wasn't worried. So, we stayed for the boys basketball game and headed out right after. Amazingly we only had to go home for two quick items after the game, then drive over to the college to say good bye to James who was hosting a piano competition and head out. We made it to our hotel in Cheyenne around 10 PM MDT and crashed pretty quickly after I did a quick e-mail check. The boys were really tired and a little crabby, but I came up with a brilliant idea. I told Joshua to count how many times Michael touched him, breathed on him, or whatever it was that was bothering him so much. So, instead of whining and squirming and complaining he counted, and that was the last I heard of him. Score! The next day we arrived and spent time with my family and then headed to Justin and Jodi's where we were staying. Of course, I-15 was closed that evening for construction (has anyone ever seen I-15 not under construction), so that was a pain but we made it!

The week was full of family events and, of course, my sister's wedding. The wedding was one of the highlights of the week. It was just beautiful, though, I must admit it is still hard for me to think of my baby sister as a grown up. :) I guess I'll have to work on that. It was fun to see siblings and let the boys play with cousins. They even got to stop in and see their great grandparents which is always neat. This time Jacob didn't even head butt (for lack of a better term) his great grandpa. Though, he did jump on his back. We'll work on that.

It was interesting to see my siblings and their new families that they have formed. And fun to see cousins play. I do feel bad for Michael that he only has one cousin as old as him, but she lives in Florida, but he found games to play with and other things to do to entertain himself. We decided to stay an extra day to see Michelle and her family, who had to go to Colorado for the rest of the time we were there. But to make up for that extra day I decided to try and drive home in one day. I realized that if I left early and stopped around 10 (my usual stopping time) that I would be 3 hours from home. Hmmm. . . so driving til 1 would let me sleep in my own bed. So, we got up and were out by 4:30 AM, yes, I know I am crazy. We got out of Salt Lake before rush hour started-thank goodness! But then we found some lovely snow in the Wyoming mountains. They even lowered the speed limit for me, very kind of them-argh. Other than that we just drove, ate, went to the bathroom and drove some more. It was a long drive, but we made it! So, now at least I know it can be done, but I must admit that I will not be volunteering to do it again anytime soon.

After returning home it took a few days to settle back in but we are now back in the groove and loving this amazing weather! The boys have been playing outside and have even started soccer, which they LOVE!

Between our trip and other things I have had a few observations that I thought I would share.

1. Michael is very difficult to punish. He does something wrong, so I take something away and he says, ok, I'll just wait until tomorrow. Hmmm. . . We'll have to work on that.

2. Jacob hates going off the diving board. The first time he did it he went under and wouldn't go again. But what I really learned was that he is a worrier. He didn't want to go to swimming lessons because he was so worried about it. Fortunately, I listened today and told his teacher that he doesn't want to go off the diving board. The moment I told her Jacob perked up and had the best lesson he has had yet. He was happier, more active and had more fun jumping off the side. Now I know that if there is something bugging him we need to deal with it, so it doesn't affect everything else in his life.

3. Joshua just needs a hug. Joshua has been getting more extreme in his emotions and starting hitting things, so I talked to him about just giving me a hug when he gets upset. It is amazing what difference a hug can make to him. He just calms back down and then we can talk about it.

4. Good friends are great! While in Utah we were able to visit with some of my high school/college friends and it was really neat that after so many years we were able to get together and talk for hours while our kids play. I've learned that good friends become family and I love that!

5. I am not very good at taking photos while traveling. So, here are a few that I took on my ipod. The quality isn't great but they were taken at my friend Bryce's house and at Cabella's (I love free fun places).

A little Spring

A colleague of mine brought these over yesterday and I thought I would share them. Ah, Forsythia!


-- Post From My iPhone

Conference Memories

As I'm enjoying conference (yes, I'm multitasking) I feel inclined to share on here why I love conference so much. It's a pain to set aside an entire weekend, and boy, I tell you, I had some great plans for this gorgeous 70˚+ spring weekend, but I've never regretted it, not once in my entire life. As I've listened, enjoyed, and pondered the messages of the prophets this weekend, I remembered the moment that converted me from a conference attender to a conference partaker.

While serving in Toronto, I enjoyed the November 1999 conference from the Toronto Stake Center. At the time I was serving in the mission office, making the transition from mission secretary to some other responsibilities in there. It was a nontraditional mission assignment, and we spent a great deal of time attending to little mission "fires" that erupted all too frequently with cars, apartments, and companionships. That cool Saturday afternoon, however, I must have been ready to be taught, because I have never forgotten that conference session, even more than a decade later.

The last two talks of that session were by the then junior members of the Quorum of the 12, Elders Eyring and Holland. It was during these power house moments that I was taught the truths of the plan of salvation, and received the witness of the Holy Ghost of their verity. Elder Eyring talked about repentance, its cleansing power, and its inability to wipe away consequences, and Elder Holland followed immediately with the promise of eternity that is given to the righteous followers of Christ. It was a near all-encompassing encounter with the Great Plan of Happiness. I often reflect on those talks and the experiences I treasure in relation to them.

After conference yesterday, the following message came on as our stream continued after the conclusion of the session. It is an autobiographical story from Elder Holland's talk from that day so many years ago, and it is one that continues to inspire and impress me. The last few years have been pivotal in our family in so many ways, and as I reflect on my life and the message of His Apostle, I know the promises of a loving Saviour are real and can and should shape every moment of my life.

Indeed, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

Last day!

I'm so excited because my family is coming home tonight!!

They have a lot of adventures without me, but 'm okay with that as long as they come back home when they're finished. I think I'll celebrate by doing the laundry and making sure the kitchen is clean. If it's warm this afternoon, I might even pick up the yard a little.

THEY'RE COMING HOME!!

I'm All Alone . . .

I, like most men I know, have mixed feelings about spending time alone. We like to have a little quiet time without having to be a Dad, husband, provider, calling fulfiller, bedroom pickerupper, yard maintainer, or dish doer.

A few days, though, is plenty for me, and I'm gearing up for next week's big hugs. Until I can get them, I have this, my computer desktop. Thanks again, Jodi, for the beautiful photos.

I kind of feel like Joshua's questioning my every keystroke, but I'll let him stay. I think he and I share a mischievous gene, and I need a partner in crime.

A few more

Because I can't really bring myself to come home from vacation, and because I rediscovered photobucket, here's a few more good shots from Paris.

The Journey Home

All good things must come to an end, and so did our trip to Paris. We awoke at 5:30 AM to get ready and clean the apartment. That is the only disadvantage to renting an apartment, but it only took about 30 minutes and was worth not being in a hotel. We then headed out and took the train to the airport. I must admit that a train ride is much nicer than driving to the airport. The only drawback was the drunk man running around trying to keep his pants on. It is in times like these that I appreciate even more having a big strong husband to take care of me. :)

Everything at the airport went smoothly and before we knew it we were on our way. The first flight was quite pleasant, but what 45 minute flight isn't? We even got a little nap which is impressive for such a short flight. We then enjoyed a little time in Zurich, Switzerland and well, it is just awesome that we have now been to Switzerland as well, even if we didn't ever leave the airport. And the best part about Switzerland is that they served Swiss chocolate on the flights . . . mmmm . . . yummy! Security was a bit of a pain as we had to go through several checkpoints and even take our shoes off again. Ugh! But by the time you got through the final checkpoint, which was right in front of our gate, we were able to just board which was nice.

The flight to Chicago is about 10 hours which is definitely not something one looks forward to but is all apart of the experience. As we boarded, a couple was being helped out of wheel chairs and onto the plane. They were an older, eastern European couple that seemed to be the couple that no one would want to sit next to. So, of course when they were asked where they were sitting our ears perked up to make sure they were no where near us. To our dismay they were going to be sitting right next to us--to be more specific right next to ME! I'm a pretty tolerant person, but they (mostly she) pushed just about every button I had. I'm pretty sure if James had been sitting next to her the next 10 hours would have passed very differently. It is good that I was the buffer. She began by asking the flight attendants for cooling gel and something to drink. It only took those first few minutes for the flight attendants to learn to avoid our row. She finally sat down and settled in and it seemed that she would sleep through the flight. If only I were that lucky. I'm not sure if she was claustrophobic but she seemed to be having a hard time with the amount of room afforded her in her seat (and about 1/3 of the room in my seat as well). Then, the worst thing imaginable happened . . . the lady in front of her put her seat all the way back. Now we all know that this is something we hope doesn't happen to us but it pushed her (I will now refer to her as crazy lady) over the edge and she started hitting the seat in front of her telling the lady to put her seat back up. And I thought sitting next to her was bad! So, the lady actually put her seat back up. I was a little surprised but very grateful. I was not surprised, however, when the lady put her seat back again while the crazy lady was in the bathroom. At this point I wanted to laugh but used every ounce of control I had to focus on my movie. When crazy lady returned she managed to get back in her seat but began hitting the seat in front of her again. The lady in front, however, had decided to ignore her. The joy of head phones . . . you can pretend not to hear. But then when crazy lady's husband got up and went around she had no choice but to acknowledge them. She was not happy about it all but moved her seat up a little. I know you can't imagine this being a true story but I promise it is! Shortly after this one of the flight attendants became involved--thankfully! Crazy lady wanted her remote turned off (the one in the seats that controls the TV) which he, of course, couldn't do. Then, she wanted to complain that the lady in front of her because she keeps putting her seat back. He then tried to explain that she could put her seat back to compensate. Unfortunately, her legs were too short for her to feel comfortable this way, so she kept her seat up and the flight attendant told the lady in front of her that she could put her seat however she wanted. And she did. It was pretty fun to hear the flight attendant tell the lady that she was in coach on an airplane and that this is how it is. If she doesn't like it, she shouldn't fly. Sadly, I fell asleep shortly thereafter and by the time I awoke crazy lady had moved to a different seat as did her husband. There were not many empty seats, so they were no longer able to sit together, but I now had an empty seat next to me. I felt that was my reward for not telling her what I really thought. You should all be proud. It was crazy but with a few movies, a couple of short naps and a little Sudoku and even a little Tetris (technology on planes is amazing) we made it home!!!

We had decided to check luggage, so we could bring fun things home, so we then went to wait for our luggage. After a few bags had come through an airline employee called out for a few passengers. It is times like these that you do not want to hear your name, but alas, as the day has shown it was not my day and I was called. My suitcase was still in Switzerland. :( It took about an hour to get James' suitcase and then file the paperwork to have my suitcase mailed to me-hopefully Monday? By this point we were ready to be home. Unfortunately, we still had a 3 hour drive home. The drive wasn't bad but by the end we were very tired as we had now been up for about 21 hours. Then, about 10 miles before the Galesburg exit a car full of young people decided to play tag with us making inappropriate gestures every time we passed them. Did we do something wrong? If we did we did not know what it was. But I was just too tired, so I left my cruise on and ignored them. By the time we got home we were so happy to be there!

Michael and Joshua were still up, so we got to enjoy a few minutes with them. We were glad to hear that all had gone well. It is not easy leaving your children for a week, but I was glad to see that we could do it and all was well. Even though it was a long, crazy trip home we survived and are glad to be home with our boys. It was a successful trip and one I would be willing to take again-maybe even with the boys. But for now I plan to enjoy a normal week and then head out to Utah on Saturday!