Dec 22 - Bonus Post - All Star Dad

Mariah and Micah had too much times on their hands.

This is the follow up hit to "Micah Freaks Out" (Sept 3 Post).  This video features me and several other pictures from the family (and I am not sure why I am putting this up). Click on the All Star link below.


All Star

Dec 22 - Ticket To Ride

This morning Wendy, Micah, Tyler and I played my favorite game - Ticket To Ride.

I love this game.  It is simple but always different each time I play.  We thought Tyler was going to win (we was leading the whole way), but there was a come from behind victory!  Dad was losing the whole game, however the final scores where:

Micah & Wendy - 110
Tyler - 112
Dad - 113

Dec 21 - Bread and Darth Vader

Tonight we delivered our annual Christmas treats to our neighbors.  This year we have done brownies, bread and jam, and cheese balls.  Usually we just give the bread, but this is a lot of work for Wendy.  This year she did different things for different people.

Also, I opened a gift from someone at work.  It is a Darth Vader mug and Star Wars hot Cocoa mix.  Way cool!

Dec 20 - Temple Time

Today during lunch I went to the temple to do some work.  It is a great way to spend an hour.  In front of the temple they have a nativity display.

This also helps keep in the true meaning of Christmas in my heart.

Dec 19 - Night at the Museum

Tonight we went to the Idaho Falls Museum.  They had a gingerbread house, Santa Clauses, and nativity displays from all over the world.  It was a great night.  The best part is that it was free.

It was a good way to spend a half hour.

The last picture is of a nativity set made from Elk horns.

Dec 18 - Christmas Message

With one week to go before Christmas, I always read Mosiah 3.  This is my favorite chapter in all scripture.  I think it sums up the life and mission of Christ and the great Plan of Salvation as well as anything I have read.

I hope each of you take time this Christmas season to remember why we celebrate Christmas.


Mosiah 3:5-11

 5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the ^aLord ^bOmnipotent who ^creigneth, who was, and is from all ^deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a ^etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty ^fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the ^gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

 6 And he shall cast out ^adevils, or the ^bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

 7 And lo, he shall ^asuffer ^btemptations, and pain of body, ^chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can ^dsuffer, except it be unto death; for behold, ^eblood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his ^fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

 8 And he shall be called ^aJesus ^bChrist, the ^cSon of God, the^dFather of heaven and earth, the ^eCreator of all things from the beginning; and his ^fmother shall be called Mary.

 9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that ^asalvation might come unto the children of men even through ^bfaith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a ^cdevil, and shall ^dscourge him, and shall ^ecrucify him.

 10 And he shall ^arise the ^bthird day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to ^cjudge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

 11 For behold, and also his ^ablood ^batoneth for the sins of those who have ^cfallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the ^dwill of God concerning them, or who have^eignorantly sinned.

Dec 17 - Night With Wendy

Last night I took Wendy on our annual dinner and an movie date.  It is something that we have done every year one week before Christmas.  Tonight we went to Jonny Carino's and the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  We had a great night.

Dec 16 - Shopping is Never Done

Here is Micah in our local Walmart!  When is the shopping going to end?

We must remember the true meaning of Christmas!  It is not to get and give presents.  It is to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Dec 14 - Picture from iPhone Home Screen

Love this picture from my iPhone.  It is the first thing I see when my iPhone turns on.  It is of lower falls from Yellowstone.  It was taken this summer.  When I look at my home screen it brings back great memories.

Pictures are wonderful things to have.  I know I enjoy looking at our family blogs.  Technology is a great thing!

Dec 15 - Box from Denver!

Kids always look forward to getting their Christmas gifts from Denver.  It is like a mini-Christmas, except they don't get to open up their gifts.  We got the boxes over several days (love the way the mail works in Idaho Falls).  My parents mail four boxes and we get them over three days!

Anyway, the mail system is really amazing.  You put a stamp on a box and it gets to your destination within a few days.  They would have to pay me more then $0.45 to drive across the country to deliver a letter.

Dec 13 - Game Night with the Scouts

Tonight we had a game night with the scouts.  Played a game called Quelf.  It was a fun game.

Becky - maybe you should look into this one.  It was a fun party game.

Dec 12 - Comfort Food

Nothing like coming home from a hard day's work and having some great comfort food.  Tonight we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner.  One of my favorite meals of all time!  You add a little crackers to the soup and you have a meal fit for a king!

Dec 11 - Tebow does it again. UNBELIEVABLE!

Ok - this is just nuts.  The Broncos came back from 10 points down with less than three minutes on the clock.  They won in overtime.  Three overtime wins for Tebow.  This is not good for the blood pressure.

This is the craziest thing I have seen in football in a long time.  How long can this keep happening?

Picture is from Rick Wilking/Reuters

Dec 10 - We Now Have a Chick-fil-a in Idaho Falls

Jody - you can come up and visit us now.  We have a Chick-fil-a.

Wendy and I ate lunch here today as we where out shopping.  We did not have the kids with us and they will not be happy that we ate here.  It just opened up two days ago and it is a very popular place.

Here is a picture of my bag!  Cool huh?

Dec 9 - PJ for Mariah?

Wendy is thinking about buying these PJs for Mariah.  I really like the feet.

Dec 8 - First College Acceptance

Mariah got her first college acceptance from Weber State today.  Hope the good news keeps coming in!  We should hear from BYU and BYU-ID within the next month.

Dec 7 - Never Forget

Dec 7 is a day that we should never forget.  The events that happened in 1941 changed history.  Many lives were given to support our freedoms and the freedoms of other nations.

Dec 7, 1998 is also the day that I was told I was no longer needed at Boise Cascade.  I was also hit out of the blue with this news and it changed my life.

I am not comparing the two events, it is just "funny" that they happened on the same day.

Can't wait to see Pearl Harbor next summer!  It is one thing that I remember from both my trips to Hawaii.  Very powerful experience for me.

Dec 6 - Smoke Alarm Problems

We have been having issues with our smoke alarm.  It has been going off and beeping for the past few days.  We changed all the batteries and that worked for a few days.  Then they started to go off again.  They don't go off at 8:00 in the morning, they go off at 2:00 AM.

So we determined that we needed to replace the old ones (they are 10+ years old and when we called they said they only last about 10 years).  It is also very cold, which could be causing them to go off.

Anyway, we hope to have the issue solved in the next few days!

Dec 5 - Wendy Primary Skating Party

Wendy and her companion primary teacher had a party for their primary class.  They went to the roller skating rink (it helps when her companion owns the place).  We had dinner, treats, and a good time skating.

Dec 4 - Tebow Time Again

Another Bronco come from behind win. This Tebow guy is crazy. How long can we keep this up? This time he did it looking like a NFL QB.

Dec 3 - Bogey and Gum

I don't know what is with our dog but he loves gum. Every time Wendy leaves gum in her church bag and Bogey gets time alone he will go eat her gum. What is funny is that he gently takes out items that are in the way. He does not damage anything but the gum package.

Crazy dog.

Dec 2 - A Night in Bethlehem

We had our ward party tonight. It was a night in Bethlehem. We had to pay taxes (canned food item), record our name (signed cards for missionaries in our ward), eat dinner, and watched the Savior be born. It was a great night. The only problem was the ward laughed when the three wise men walked out. I know it wasn't cause I was one of them.

I was cutting all the cheese in the kitchen (see below for proof).

Dec 1 - Christmas Tree

We got our tree up. It looks good.