Memorial Day

My friend, Kara and I decided to plan a little BBQ for Memorial Day and since they are house sitting at a gorgeous home, we had it there. When we got there, Kara's husband, Garrick was boiling water to put in a kiddie pool they had set up outside (it was a windy day, maybe the in the 80's, so it was a little too cold for the kids). We tried to get Oliver to go in a few times, but he didn't seem too interested, so we let it go and all went inside to chat while the kids played. About 10 minutes later, Oliver comes tromping inside, completely soaked, but only on the front side of his body. He let out a little wail when he saw us, calling us to his rescue. We tried to figure out how he got that way but we were stumped. It did get him in the pool, though. Here are a few pics of the kids playing.

Still not liking the idea...

Warming up...

Loving it...

These next few are a few random pictures of one day when Oliver discovered the colander and literally, would not take it off his head for hours.

Another day in the Land of Enchantment

I was at the airport recently, sitting on a bench at the baggage claim. I was sitting near the conveyor for special sized baggage, and noticed a big dog kennel come out and stop. A woman and her two kids walked up to it. The lady seemed a bit flustered and hurried. I saw her trying to cut something that was holding the kennel shut, but she wasn't getting anywhere so I approached them and asked it I could maybe help with my keys. My keys wouldn't cut the plastic ties so she went off to find scissors and I went back to sitting on my bench. She returned, cut the ties and freed the beautiful Australian Shepard. She still looked troubled, like she was in a hurry but couldn't figure out how to get all their baggage, dog, and kennel out to the curb, so I offered to help and carried the kennel. We talked about her dog for a second (It really was an exceptionally gorgeous dog). Upon reaching the curb, she thanked me a hundred times. Very nice lady. We still had so much to talk about, but she had to go, and I had to let her.

The place: Fancy New Mexico
The dude: Sharkman
The Woman:

Kids Korner

I stole that post title from Davis' blog. I just think it's such a funny name, especially when followed by gruesome pictures of animals that died by violent means. If you haven't showed your kids Davis' Kids Korner posts, you really should. I think you'd well there.

Also, go to my friend Layne and Jamie's blog, scroll to the bottom, hit "older posts" and watch the "New boot goofin" video on that page. Funny stuff.

Also, I know Jolynn and I are the only ones who enjoy a little classic Hip Hop, but just listen to this song and tell me it doesn't take you back to your hot summer days in Harlem, cooling off in fire hydrant spray, watching your sisters jumping double dutch, playing the fool for your buddies and watching the older boys ballin on the blacktop.
Go to
http://sharkmanbell.googlepages.com/home
and click on the Cool Song to download.

Finally, if you want to read a very funny post, go visit the Hass at http://hasselboff.blogspot.com/ and read "I can die a happy man." I love it because it combines a few of my favorite things into one post: fuzzy little David Archuletta, hilarious self-aware storytelling, creative initiative, and gay dudes. And by gay, I mean only happy.

Wow, wasn't planning on giving you all that awesome stuff when I started this post, but I'm feeling particularly generous tonight. Might have something to do with me seeing Iron Man and being fairly confident that his suit will be invented in the real world someday and find its way to me. I was born to use it.

Okay, onto my short Kids Korner question:

I'm looking for ideas from all of you on little games/activities/crafts I can do with Oliver. He's 21 months, so share stuff for that age, but also include some of your favorite things for older ages as well.

Mother's Day

Let me tell you something about me that might surprise you. Ever since I was a young lad I gave a good deal of thought to and had strong opinions about how I wanted to raise my kids when the time came. Weird for a little ADD boy to concern his simple, shark-haunted mind with such weighty future matters, right? Well, this concern for how my kids were raised continued throughout my dating years and I always considered what type of mom the girl would be. Probably went a a bit overboard. Was kind of a freak. Anyway, when I fell for Reba, one of the many attractions was that I knew she would be an exceptional mom to my many little river princelings. I knew I wouldn't have to worry while at work about the kids being loved enough, taught enough, watching things that might not be the best for them, being active and engaged, etc. It's a big relief to me to know that Ollie (as well as future Rudger, Shrewsbry, Hawk Eye, Cheetah Speed, and Lion Strength) is at home getting the best love and education a lad can get.

So here's to Reba for being a devoted, conscientous, loving, affectionate, fun, hot mom. Make no mistake, hot mom's are a rarity these days. There were only a couple when I was in Elementary school. So Oliver will someday have the misfortune, and his friends the fortune, of him having a pretty, fancy mom bring his puppy to school for show and tell.


Now onto the lady who gave me such high motherly standards. Me very own mum. I think my mom is the best person in the entire world. Not just the best mom, but the best person. The kindest, lovingest, selflessest, funnest, self-improvinest, rootinest tootenest person I know. Honestly. She's the flesh and blood person I think of when I wonder what Jesus would do. What Would Jolynn Do?
And she was and still is such a wonderful mother. She found a difficult balance between affectionately loving us, while holding us to high account and preparing us for an adult world. She's my example of hard work, venturing out of comfort zones, not gossiping or judging, being pure-hearted, having no ego, being devoted to people and causes. I used to think she was just boring old mom, but now she's one of my favorite people to be around.
And she was also kind enough to spare me the humiliation of my friends making hot mom jokes when I was a youngster by selflessly wearing parachute pants, sandals, and "I love chocolate" t-shirts whenever she came to school. Thanks mom. You're the best. Happy Mother's Day.

Now onto my goodly Mother-in-law. I have so much respect for Becky. If you look "Pioneer woman" up in Encyclopedia Mormanica, you'll find her picture. She raised 11 kids, much of the time by herself, as her husband had to frequently travel for work. She dealt with the teenage Reba, and both lived to tell. She lives for her family and the gospel. She has the patience of a saint, and the inner strength of a saint bernard. She's one of the best conversationalists I know. Always has engaging things to ask and would much rather listen than talk. She typifies the scripture that encourages us to "forget ourselves". She lives completely for others. I hope my kids inherit her horse riding genes and not Davis's. So cheers to Becky for being the mother and mother-in-law that she is!

Happy mother's day to all you devoted moms out there!

Quick Visit

Greg and JoLynn, Christian's parents came for a quick visit this last weekend. They arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday morning. It was so nice to have them in town- they are so easy to be around and talk with. We had a great time just hanging out. We spent one afternoon touring some beautiful neighborhoods in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque (a small community in Albuquerque), then went to a park, ate dinner overlooking the city, and finally caught a flick. We also took them to a BBQ at some friends and then had another group of friends over on Sunday for homemade oreos and raspberry bars. We loved having them and hope they come back soon!

This was a the most beautiful little ranch and inn. I was dropping some serious "weekend getaway" hints.

We ate dinner at the famous tram at a little Mexican place that has the best view of the city.

Trip To Dallas Part I

My brother-in-law, Brian, is like a professional photographer and he took like 200 pictures while I was in Dallas, so this first part of my trip is going to be underwhelming to say the least. Watch for the sequel to this, though, as it promises to be picturesque. Oliver and I left last Wednesday to visit his cousins, Kate and Taylor and my twin sister, Rachel. It was sooooo much fun. Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing with the cart and strollers that they loved pushing all around the house and yard.

Kate, Taylor, and Oliver.

He was the leader of the pack.

A visit to Sprinkles... (taken by Brian)

On the trolley in Dallas (taken by Brian).

So, here comes the travelogue- brace yourselves. We came in to Dallas Wednesday and stopped on the way home at Potbelly's- the best sandwich and cookie place in Texas, possibly on this side of the Mississippi. That night, we just relaxed and planned out the week. The next day, we went to her gym where we burned 650 calories in an hour-long class- need I say more? That day we went to Old Town McKinney and ate a yummy lunch at Spoons with the yummiest chocolate cake I've about ever had. This whole town is filled with cute little antique shops and kids boutiques. It was really fun to pop in and out of the cute stores.

We burned another 600 calories in our class at the gym on Friday and then it was an all-out shopping day. For those of you who don't know Dallas- it's one of the best shopping places in the U.S.. Rachel let me know that I really have no style and since she has impeccable taste, I let her show me the way at the malls. By the way, I really do think that serving a mission kind of permanently put me about 2 years behind in the fashion world- more on that another time. Anyway, so we walked away with some crazy stuff and it was very enlightening...:). That night, we rented some good flicks and just relaxed. We probably went out to eat, too, but for all the eating-out we did, I really can't remember.
Anyway, so Saturday, Brian got home from his business trip and after a run that morning, we hung out for a bit at a really cool park for the kids with some friends of theirs. It was Rachel and Brian's anniversary, so I babysat the kids that night and watched the food network while they celebrated.
Sunday, I helped Rachel out in the nursery because she had tweaked her back while stretching that morning. Then, Rachel made one of the yummiest dinners of all time and we just hung out the rest of the night. Oh, Brian "camped out" with Kate and Taylor in their backyard so Rachel and I were on our own.
Monday, we drove into Dallas and rode a trolley around a cute little part of town. The trolley conductor was an 80-something-year old man that was soooo cute! It was really fun to see part of the city that way. We stopped again at Potbelly's for sandwiches while on the trolley, and of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without a stop at Sprinkles cupcakes in North Dallas. After dark chocolate and banana with chocolate frosting perfection, we headed home. Rachel and I had a girls night out at California Pizza Kitchen, topped off with The Bachelor before calling it a day. Oh, wait, I almost forgot one of the highlights of my trip! Rachel's indoor soccer team let me play with them in their game that night at 10:45 (Kind of an unreasonable hour, right? Don't worry, we drank lots of Coke beforehand.) . It was soooooooooo, soooooooooo, sooooooooooo fun to play again. It's been about 5 years for me, so you can understand my excitement. And, we won! Oliver and I flew home the next day and we were equally as excited to see Christian/Daddy. I love, love, love spending time with Rachel and we always have the best time. Until next time!:)

Halfsies

Reba ran her second half marathon yesterday (the first was the storied one ten years ago in which--the way Jim Tasker tells it-- Jim heard a stagnant Reba wailing in pain a few hundred yards from the finish line so he stopped to get her going and run alongside her. Then right before the finish line, when he turned to wave wave to his dad on the sideline, she took off, beat him, and has bragged about it for the last 10 years. Mind you, Reba vehemently disagrees with this version, but Jim's is better). Anyway, She decided to to start training for the run only 3 1/2 weeks ago, after hearing about it for the first time at a baby shower. And while the whole thing was nuts, she actually did very well, coming in at an 8:30/mile pace at 1 hr, 49 minutes. When Oliver and I got there at the time she told us, I saw a bunch of flabby 50 yr old ladies crossing the line and was sure I had must have missed Reba's finish. Turns out there was also a 5 and 10 k, and these ladies were just finishing their 5 k with a respectable 2 days, 20 minutes/kilometer time.

So good job Reba!

From this...to this

I was reminiscing today about how our life has changed over the past year- from apartment to house and from baby to little boy. It all happens so fast and while it is so exciting, it's also so sad that my little guy will never be a baby again.

Can you believe what a little chubba he was??? (This was one year ago, exactly.)

I used to love when he would fall asleep so peacefully in his car seat. Why is it that once they reach a certain age they fight sleep?

Yes, I actually found Oliver "reading" the other day- this is not staged.

Like father, like son, right?

Doggie Days

Christian and Jake went over to the park in our neighborhood to practice punting (apparently Christian doesn't want to look stupid in front of his brothers at the next family reunion, so he's been practicing). Well, about 30 minutes later, the front door opens and in leaps this little brown dog. I knew the moment I saw that dog in our house that Christian was behind it. So, I waited by the door until Christian finally came sneaking in. Apparently they found the dog at the park and Christian "felt responsible for him until he could find the dog's owners." Well, after about 30 more minutes of play time in the back yard with beef jerky, the owners showed up and collected their little mutt. These pictures might appear as if Oliver is an avid dog-lover like his dad, but I'm telling you, he wouldn't even get near that thing without some serious coercing.

Yes, Oliver was in full anti-dog mode- wouldn't even get on it's back.

The Dog Whisperer...

Still not loving it...

Look at those tears! You would have thought he really liked that dog! (This is right after the owners came.)

Let Him Eat Cake!

Jacob brought his birthday cake home from his office last week. It took Oliver about 3 minutes to notice it the next morning. It had a plastic covering over it and as soon as he did notice it, he panted until I let him touch it, on the counter. Then, I thought, "this might be kind of fun, let's put it on the ground, with the cover." He studied that thing, poked and prodded it for about 20 minutes, not moving from his spot. Then, I thought again, "this could REALLY be fun, let's see what happens when I take the cover off." Now, if you will refer to his b-day post from August last year, you'll see that we practically had to force-feed him his cake, so I wasn't expecting much action. I was wrong. Well, actually, at first, he just gingerly reached down and got a little touch of icing on his finger and stuck it in his mouth. Then, every bite following was a little bigger until he got a handful of cake and icing in his mouth. That's when I decided the show was over. I grabbed the cake and put it in the trash. And he screamed for 10 minutes, banging on the garage door where we keep the garbage. It was good times while it lasted, though. Right, Ollie??