Need a First Class Ticket to the USA?

If you are ever stuck in a foreign country and don't have a way back to the USA, here is a sure-fire way to get back to the USA - and first class even. Just claim you murdered someone. You will be treated like royalty and brought back to the USA with cameras on you the whole way. Eventually they will do some DNA sample and find out that you aren't in fact the killer and let you go. Everyone will apologize and you will laugh and say, "ha, ha, I'm just kidding!"

With the DNA samples of Mr Karr not matching those of the infamous Jon-Benet Ramsey, it seems as though he will get a slap on the wrist and go on with life. My idea? Put him in jail anyway. Who cares if he really didn't kill her? If he claims he did, then he should be in jail. Obviously if he didn't kill her he is crazy. Why would anybody claim to kill a young girl and not have done it. He needs help and from what I hear our penal system is the perfect place to take men with issues and rehabilitate them to become normal citizens.

On a more personal note, Tevia still has not had the baby (a literal translation from Portuguese would be "given light"). She is uncomfortable and really wishes little Enok would come out (no, not Ewok). I am trying to be a good husband.

Today we had a potluck lunch with our team and we invited people from the cost tracking department to join us. It was fun. Tevia made some great chicken stuff which I loved. Work has been fun lately. I think my new boss has brought about some good changes and it is nice to go to work and think that I may learn something from my boss that day - and that they might actually do a better job at their job than I would. :-)

The degradation of society...

That's quite the title to this blog post. But this week I have been frustrated by a few things that I think society is condoning that I think will have detrimental impact on the future. So listen to my gripes:

1 - "stress leave" The USAToday had an article this week citing how mental disabilities are costing US companies Billions in productivity as more and more people are taking time off of work for things like depression or stress. As these items are currently considered part of the disabilities act, employers unfortunately have little power to deal with these issues as they are not even allowed to ask what the problem is. If an employee gets a signature from a doctor then they can leave work for an indefinite period of time. At Prudential I had never heard of this until about a year or two ago. Now it is all the rage. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with it personally on my team, but I am affected by others. One of our managers recently had two of her employees leave on "stress leave" and since we can not hire someone to take their place (as they have the right to come back) other teams have to absorb their work.

I want to note that I understand people really do suffer from depression and stress - and it is not easy to work and deal with it. But there has to be a standard as people can't just leave for any reason by saying they are stressed. It isn't fair to other workers and it makes it extremely difficult to mitigate risk. Most of the people I know who have taken these leaves seem like they have other issues they need to deal with (child care or retaliation to their managers/team). I don't want to seem unfeeling, but come on, suck it up. The rest of us do. I am not against giving a week or so off, but if you need a month or two to feel better, than you probably should consider another career.

2 - Everybody wins! We are killing our kids by convincing them that competition is not good and that nobody is better than anybody else. It is a lie! People are better than other people at things. For example, I could smoke anyone in our family in basketball (lol). But seriously, people have talents and people work hard to improve in areas. By perpetuating this lie we tell our children to stop trying at all. Why even try to get good grades, since it shouldn't matter? Why try to lose weight? Why should I stop playing video games all day? Life is not fair, but that is what makes life what it is: a time for us to prepare to return to our Father in Heaven. God does not want the world to be fair - or equal - or easy. We need competition to be better and improve. Wanting to be better than others makes me a better person. It doesn't mean I am conceited or hate others, but it does make me try hard and succeed. I know that most people use this lie as an excuse to say we can't harm our kids' precious little egos, but what is wrong with that? It is good to be humble. Self confidence does not come from never experiencing failure - it comes from succeeding. If you have never succeeded at anything in life, you will never be confident enough to be a leader (a good dad, a good bishop, a good citizen, a good MAN). We have taken this too far where we can't have contests in school and can't award trophies anymore. Let's wake up and make a contest out of everything. I can write better blogs than you all. That means you should all go home and cry. :-)

I sound kinda (sound of cat fight) tonight. But I haven't given up on the world. Pain is okay to feel. Jarek called me at work yesterday in tears as he was sad that he couldn't keep up with the kids at school. He felt left out and slow. It hurt him. It hurt me. But that's okay. I don't need to call the school and tell them to change for my son. He can handle it. He knows I love him and will love him no matter what. Will there be hard and sad times in life? Yes. But there are also wonderful times in life. Jarek may not be the fastest, but he may be the smartest, or kindest. We each have our talents. We are all different. Today he came home from school with a smile and loved his day. And I loved seeing him happy.

few pics from cleveland

I should have taken pics of my old houses... shoot...

Joy

Okay, I am posting again. Just wanted to share my happiness and joy with everyone. I was reading the new September Ensign yesterday and there was a really good article about living in the shadow of death and how she views things differently in her life now that she has only a little while to live. One of the things that struck me was the joy she felt in a beautiful sunrise in her flower garden and felt the Lords love and kindness towards her.

I have felt that the last few hours or so. Last night a nice big thunder storm rolled in with lightening and rain and the works. We all sat outside together as a family and watched it together. I felt so happy and grateful for the rain. Then, as an added blessing, this morning it has rained too. I woke up to a nice cloudy day and then around 8:00 the rain just came down sounding beautiful and refreshing. I couldn't help but think of that article because I was just telling Bret how much I would love an overcast cloudy day. The Lord is kind and generous. I am so thankful for the beautiful rain today and have said numerous prayers in my heart because of this rain. I know it seems like such a silly thing to get very happy and emotional about, but there it is. I am very happy.

Happy Birthday Tommy

Tommy, Happy Happy Birthday!!!!! I hope you have a really great day today!! Jarek had a lot of fun talking with you the other night. Thank you for taking the time to talk Nintendo with him!! Be happy and enjoy being 17 for a whole year!!!

Love,
Tevia

Tom turns 17, finally

dad and I swear Tom has been 16 forever! he seems so old and has been driving so long and we just could hardly believe he is only turning 17 tomorrow. no big plans, just lemon chicken for dinner and the new Nintendo for a combo birthday, Christmas gift. Tom, we sure love having you as the youngest member of this way cool fun family!

hear the sweet voice

Because of stressful situations this summer, I am having some trouble sleeping. I went through one of my medition books at 3 am one night, and found this nice idea. after doing some deep breathing and muscle relaxing, close your eyes and think of someone's voice that you just love to hear on the phone when they call. think deeper, no matter what time of day, when, or where, if that person calls, it just makes you smile- right away! it was a fun exercise, and can be done on a plane , in a traffic jam, at work, or anywhere to just ease your mind for awhile.
Me- why, I just have to share. Jarek came to mind my very first!!!! I would not have expected that, but that is who came first. I just love hearing his voice and talking to him. I wonder if it is that he never has been the bearer of stress or bad news when he calls.... :)
all of the rest of you made the list. I am glad that I have all of you. I love when Tevia takes the time to call. I love to talk to Cari. and I absolutely love it when Bret and Jacob call. Kathy, I hope all your first week away calls aren't tearful and are full of fun and exciting news.
a note- besides family, Olivia was the only one that made the first cut. I had to think too hard for others on the friend list. interesting.

Cedar Point - 2006

Last week I abandoned my wife and kids and flew to Cleveland, Ohio to spend a few days with my parents and siblings. This was actually the first time in years that I think we did something sans Tevia - as she feels such a part of the family (to me). I was a little worried about flying as a couple days before they had allegedly thwarted a terrorist plot to blow up some planes. Due to this there were new rules put into place so that you could no longer bring liquids on board the plane. Tevia and the boys drove me to the airport and I prayed Tevia would not give birth. The security wasn't so bad and I got on my flight with a good book (Star Wars: Dark Lord - The Rise of Darth Vader) and landed a few hours later in Cleveland.

It was great to see my family and we went immediately to my grandmother Bernice's home. Other family members like my uncle Mike and his wife Marsha (sp?). My grandmother's sister and her husband (Dorris and Sam) also came. They provided some good entertainment as we munched on some pizza and played cards. Jacob, Tommy, and I went to Michael's to spend the night. We tried to observe a meteorite shower, but except for one huge shooting star, we didn't see much. We stayed up late talking and went to bed.

Sunday we woke up and headed to church. This was the same ward I had lived in with my mother as a young boy when she was baptized. Afterwards we went to lunch with my grandpa Jack. Also there was his wife, Carol, and my cousin Jessie and her daughter. I had a good time talking with my grandpa as he told a few stories about my mother as a child that I hadn't heard before. After lunch we drove through Cleveland and looked at some of the homes my mother grew up in and the apartment she and I lived in (which was no longer there). It was really cool to see the homes and neighborhoods she lived in. They seemed like wonderful homes and neighborhoods; a great place to grow up as a child. I had always envisioned her living in the ghetto (not sure why), but certaily that was not the case. I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely. We even drove by her high school (Rhodes) which seemed way cooler than my high school, even today.

That night we met over at Michael's and talked. The boys and I stayed up late again talking with Michael. We woke up early and drove over to pick up the parents and Kathy. We then drove to Cedar Point. Since we were staying in the hotel at the park (the Breakers), we were able to enter the park early and take advantage of a few rides that open early. Due to this great advantage we were actually on the first roller coaster of the day on the Millenium Force. It was awesome. We then went on the MaXair (a swing-like rotating thingee) and then got on the Top Thrill Dragster (my favorite) all in less than an hour and a half. Having hit three of the main rides so early in the day opened our day up a lot and the rest of the day was very enjoyable. Mom couldn't ride any rides due to her back, but it was fine as we weren't all frenzied to be riding a ride at each moment. The park wasn't too packed and we were able to go on all of the rides I wanted to except the log ride which they had taken out to build a new ride for next year. Lunch was fantastic at Johnny Rockets. We also enjoyed a fun diving show and even the lazer show at the end of the evening.

The hotel room was exceptional as we got the corner suite. It gave a great view of the Lake and beach. It would be awesome to get that room in the future.

Tuesday we woke up and packed it up. We ate lunch at a Bob Evans which was not too bad. All these years I thought it was a chicken joint - and how wrong I was! Then the fam drove me to the airport and I flew back to PHX. The only thing on the way home was that after we took off about 40 minutes later they mentioned we were landing. I knew Phoenix was not that close so I was worried I had gotten on the wrong plane as I only had one boarding pass. But it was just a stop in St. Louis (I waved through the window to the Knudsons out there somewhere). They didn't even let us off the plane as the same plane then took off to PHX.

Getting back to work was crazy. Sometimes just taking a day or two off of work is worse than taking two weeks. Things at work are still odd. Not bad, just different. Thursday night I went to dinner with the CEO of our division/company. He is a nice guy and asked that I sit next to him. During our conversation I got the impression that Jimmie (my new boss) had to be convinced to come here as really he is used to managing much bigger departments (his last department had over 700 employees that he led). It was hinted that he probably will just be here a couple of years to take care of some things and then move on. Is he here solely to mentor me? Jimmie has already mentioned a couple of times he wants to play a mentor role in my progress (something I have never had). Maybe he is here to prepare me for a future leadership role. Maybe I see the positive in everything and am so cocky I delude myself. Either way, life is good.

Test of Picasa Web Albums

August 16, 2006

Aug 10, 2006 - 17 Photos

Jarek's Birthday - 2006

7 years ago my life changed dramatically. If I were to pick a few moments that really were life-altering, it certainly would be one of them. It was the day I became a father. It is right up there with the day I become a husband, and the day I went on my mission. It was a scary day, yet wonderful. It was so hard to believe I was a father. I felt so young, so irresponsible. Seeing Tevia go through the delivery felt so weird and foreign. It was one of those days/experiences where you think "is this really happening?"

But it was a wonderful day. Jarek Kaleb brought something to my life that I needed - and that we all need: responsibility and someone to look up to me. I believe we need these two things in order to progress in life. God knows this and, like marriage, he has suggested ways to get these things which mostly consist of the family unit. Starting August 10, 1999 I had one more soul, in addition to my wife and family, who had expectations of me; someone I could disappoint; someone I didn't want to fail. You see, we need people around us who love us to make us be better people. Left to our own most of us will be able to rationalize things and be tempted under the premise that nobody else will know - or care. But when we get married, and even more so when we have children, we do have people who will (should) know; and certainly people who do (should) care. Jarek made me want to be an even better person. Tevia had done the same, but after a few years of marriage we had gotten to know each other well and felt comfortable. I needed something new. Not that I was planning on going on a killing spree or anything, but a child was something to get me to make those extra steps we all need to take each year.

And besides all of this, Jarek brought me a new meaning of love. Not a love like I have for my wife, or my parents, or my friends. But a love of a father. I feel that this is more of a God-like love; the love God has for us. Because He created us. And I, in a way, created Jarek (with some help!). That bond of love was so strong, I feared when we had Malik that I wouldn't be able to love Malik quite the same (I was wrong). It is so strong that I can sympathize with parents who don't discipline their children and never want them to feel pain. Srong enough that I find myself praying for him more than for me. He helped me, like Tevia, become less selfish.

But beyond even that - as he grew and developed/showed his personality I came to love him as a friend. I like being with him. He makes me laugh; he makes me cry. He teaches me with his profound thinking and amazes me with his intelligence. He has perhaps the softest and biggest heart of any person I have ever met. Perhaps this is why his heart needed an extra flap. I am eternally grateful for having Jarek in my family. I am eternally humble thinking that I was his friend in the premortal existence, and that he would choose to spend his life on earth with me. I am grateful for these 7 years I have been able to know him. On those sad nights when I wondered whether he would have a full life with his heart condition and whether he would live long enough even to become a young man - I was still grateful for that time I had with him.

Thank you Jarek for choosing to be with us here on earth.

Jacob in NY

Well, we got in about 2am. he was the first one up, ( after me), which surprised me. he has already figured out what was wrong with our tv, helped dad fix the lawnmower, and played lots of games with Tom. tonight we are doing Settlers and Puerto Rico. Bret, should we bring a game to Cleveland and Cedar Point? which one do you want? we had steak with mushrooms, baked potatoes with brocolli and cheese sauce, corn on the cob, and grapes and cherries. but I can't make anything to impress him anymore, cause he cooks so often and so well. Cari, thank you for sharing him with us. have fun with Nicole.

Update

Hi, Just thought this would be the fastest way to update everyone on me for now. I just had a doctor's appointment today and here are the orders I received. It looks like things are fine. The contractions I have been having over the last week have not done too much in the way of progression. I have thinned a little, but no further dilation was detected, and she says I am still high and tight. (for those who don't know what that means, get a book) But, just to be on the safe side, since the contractions haven't totally ceased, I have to stay on moderate bedrest for the next two weeks. That means, I can still do things, but at a much slower, much easier pace. I can't lift anything heavy, I can go grocery shopping, but preferably with someone who can lift things for me, I should just be smart and not try and over do it basically. If I have more than five contractions in an hour, then I have to call in. She said that if I get three an hour to put myself back on bedrest for a few hours to let them subside. Two good news things. The baby is still in head down position, so that is good, and they said that if I make it to 36 weeks, then go into labor, they will just let it happen and not stop it. So if I can get through the next two weeks without having the kid then I am good to go.

This also means that Bret will be able to go to Cedar Point. I feel like I will not have this baby by then, although I threatened to have it and not tell him while he was gone just because I was being a brat. :) So looks like things are good for now.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and calls and emails in my behalf. I am so sad that we had to miss the funeral and seeing everyone. I will make sure and let this kid know how much trouble he has been so far!!! LOL. Guess I'll go do some laundry.

Esther Wall - In Memorium

My grandmother Esther Wall passed away last weekend. She left behind a legacy of 9 kids and dozens of grandchildren, and even a few great grandkids like Jarek and Malik. We were expecting to drive up to Idaho tomorrow to attend her funeral, but our soon-to-be-born son changed plans as he started trying to come out a few weeks early. So Tevia is on bedrest and we won't be able to go up.

Since I can't go to the funeral, I thought I'd list some memories of her. I'll be honest, I don't have too many. She wasn't super outgoing and didn't seem to draw a lot of attention to herself. I have many more memories of her spouse - Grandpa Wall. It would seem that similar to her small physical presence being overshadowed by her husband's tall presence, so was her personality. It is too bad I didn't get to know her better. Here are my memories, though few they may be.

- She was a short and stout woman with a unique laugh
- I recall one day I was rubbing my eyebrows and she said she couldn't stand seeing people rub their eyebrows against the grain (I found this odd, so it stuck in my memory)
- She was a great cook, especially her bread. Her fresh bread with butter is one of the greatest tasting memories I have
- She seemed to enjoy camping. My memories of her in Southern Utah on the "desert trip" seem to have her much happier in those circumstances.
- When I became an adult, she seemed to enjoy seeing me. She always commented on how good I looked and how little I changed in appearance (a compliment in my mind).
- The last few times I hugged her (years ago) she seemed to have tears in her eyes - not sad tears, but tears of joy or pride.

We will miss her.

Tentative update on Nicole and I love my job

I talked to Nicole for just a minute this morning, but everything seems to be clear with her back problems. The doctor did not think the lump was anything serious and it is defiantly not her bar out of place which means no surgery! She's headed back to Utah on Wednesday to await the results of her blood tests to make sure that she's clear of any strange infections, etc. I'm just happy that she's coming back at all, but especially because her coming back probably means that the doctors think she's good to go. So thank you all for prayers and thoughts of her, looks like we managed to pray her out of anything serious for now. :-)
Also, my company rocks. I went into the bosses today to discuss with them how I was going to pull off taking off Friday and most of Thursday by working 30 hours in the next three days. After I informed them the reason though, they told me to not worry about working extra and just to take Thursday and Friday off and they'd work out a bereavement policy so I don't even have to use any of my vacation days. I'm just so grateful for this job and the people that I work with and for and that they are so understanding that life happens. I'm happy to be seeing everyone this weekend, sad circumstances aside. Hope everyone is well and just so you know, Kathy, I have been praying for Bunny. :-)

Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco), Mexico - July 2006

Surprise! For the second time this year we headed for the border and crossed it. This time we went down to Puerto Peñasco which is more commonly known as Rocky Point. It is about a 4-5 hour drive from Phoenix and is situated in the Baja Gulf. We drove down with Tevia's parents, her brother Brandt, her aunt Tammy, uncle Jimmy, and some of their kids (Aubrey, Amanda, Donny, Hannah).

We headed down Tuesday morning with a quick stop in Gila Bend for some quick McDonald's and another stop in Ajo, AZ to get some Mexican car insurance. The border crossing down was uneventful and they seemed more than happy to receive some American cash in their country. It was Jarek and Malik's first time in Mexico (which confused them a little since a few weeks ago we went to New Mexico) and the first thing Jarek noted was that it was a little dirtier than he expected.

We were able to get a house that is owned by Tevia's uncle's good friend. It was a four bedroom house a few miles from Rocky Point (so we really weren't in Rocky Point). It was part of a resort that is being built and was located about a mile from the beach. It was very windy and the roads were covered by drifting sand. It looked almost like winter except instead of snow drifts they were sand drifts. Upon arrival we were hungry for some Mexican food, but after about an hour of driving without any luck (I was following) we headed back for sandwiches. I would say this was sort of a hint of what was to come, but we enjoyed the trip. A few of us then headed up to the beach and were met by big waves. The waves were powerful at high tide and it was a workout just to stand out in them. They were too big to really body surf without eating sand. But I enjoyed them. The kids avoided them as they would quickly be scooped off of their feet. The beach was nice and fairly empty as this part of the town is just starting to be built and the hotels aren't finished yet. Another year or two and they will probably be packed with people.

Wednesday morning I woke up early and walked by myself to beach. It was then low tide and there were a few small tide pools. I explored these and found hundreds of hermit crabs to play with and some other fun little things. At low tide the waves were much less powerful and smaller. I returned for breakfast and then we set out to the town. We parked and visited a few shops for a few minutes and then for some reason we packed up and looked for some other phantom shops that led us on a voyage through most of town and we ended up on the strip joint hungry and hot. Tevia finallly suggested we take the kids back to the house/beach and the adults could continue shopping, etc. So we fed the kids and set off to the beach where we were notified we could not "park" there. We could only park at our house. In my best Spanish I tried to relay that we lived nearly a mile away and with a car full of kids and a pregnant wife, that didn't seem like a reasonable expectation. But I was just a guest here so we went back to the house and swam in the community pool. When the rest of the crew returned we loaded back up in a different car and parked in front of someone's home, which apparently is satisfactory.

Originally we were going to do a boat ride during sunset that evening, but decided to do it on Thursday. Most people were in bed by 9 except Tevia and I and Jim and Tammy. We talked for hours and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thursday morning Tevia and the boys accompanied me to the beach early in the morning to see the tide pools. They were not impressed, but it was fun nonetheless. We returned for breakfast and then decided to hit the beach earlier in the day to take advantage of the low tide. It was a lot of fun as I body surfed and Tevia and the boys were continually being pushed back by the incoming tide. We brought a kite but were disappointed when we found it was missing a part. The metal rod I found to replace the part was much too heavy to fix the problem.

After lunch we went back into town and went to an aquarium, which was really an old schoolhouse with vats of water in it. It was awesome though. They also had two sea lions that you could feed and touch (which Malik loved!) and some giant sea turtles you could feed and touch. You could also reach into the vats and tease or touch the fish. I was able to touch some of the moray eels and teased a dog fish that seemed to hate me (and everyone else). He tried to bite me and after a few minutes of teasing splashed me pretty good. I loved it. Watching Malik bark at the sea lions and have them come right up to him face to face (through holes in the "fence") was a lot of fun. We also did a little shopping and I told the boys they could each pick something out. Jarek picked a red and white necklace from some cute little Mexican girl. Malik picked a bobble-head dog - crazy kid.

We then found a place to eat which was outdoors for some pollo asado (BBQ'd chicken). Served fresh with hot tortillas and beans and rice, the meal was spectacular. Unfortunately this was our only real Mexican meal as we had brought food to eat. But I could have eaten here every night. As we left they started some carnitas (my favorite) and they also had a seafood place next door. I would go back just for that meal again. It was a lot of fun eating and sipping on my strawberry fanta and watching my family enjoy Mexico.

That evening we set out on a sunset cruise. The boat was big enough so that none of us got sick (though one woman did). It was still fairly windy and choppy so we did not get to see the dolphins that normally follow the ship when the waves are calm. But it was fun. Malik won the attention of many as he danced to the reggaeton and Mexican music. Jarek ate his weight in free nachos. Tevia enjoyed the soothing sensation of being on water and the little baby was calm. This was our last night there as we had to leave early in the morning as Tevia's dad had promised a couple from Connecticut to help guide them back to Phoenix. We left early Friday and had a stop in Gila Bend for some Mexican food as we celebrated Tevia's mom's birthday. We made it back to Phoenix safely with a van covered in sand and salt.

The trip was wonderful but if we go back I would do a few things different. I would eat out more! That is the true beautfy of Mexico - it's food! I would also spend more time on the beach and less time in town. Face it, I'm a beach bum. I'd also stay longer the last day. But it was great and Tevia looks more Mexican than ever as she is super dark. So that was an added plus! :-)

bunny is missing

okay so i have lost the most important thing to me. i have lost my bunny. im sure all of you know who this is. jacob webb and carri you might not but it is a stuffed animal that i have had since i was 4 and i have slept with her every night since i got her and she has been my comfort item for every sickness, sadness, and heartbreak in my life. I do not know where she is. it has been extremely hard for me. all of you might think this is some sort of joke. IT IS NOT AT ALL!! now obviously you can not look for her because she is not out west... at least i hope she is not but i was wondering if maybe in your prayers you could ask that i might have an idea where she is. It would mean so much to me. I remember seeing her in my car last and now shes not there. I am really upset because i really dont want to go out to college with out her. Im 18 and i still need my bunny, yes its true. k well hopefully she comes up and if you decide to, thanks for your help.

new family tradition

I have been thinking about this for a while. I thought maybe one Sunday a month, we could all go on line together, including the little ones, and have an extended family home evening. short, sweet, maybe even a song or prayer, short scripture, and little discussion about it type of thing. we can put both computers on and have Jacob and Cari and Jacob on one of ours, and the Bret household on the other. would that work for any of you? is it doable and is it something any of you may want? I am thinking fast sunday, pm E time. 1/2 hour tops. Kathy could be at Jacobs when she is there. or, she may have a computer in her room. input requested. and Bret, now that you have DSL, can you put the camera back on? please? I miss seeing my grandkids.

no es suficiente

I started crying in RS today, during a wonderful lesson on being in the world but not of the world. and the thoughts started coming to me again as they did when both my other children left the home nest; Did I tell them enough?, did I teach them everything they need to know? How many more things can I cram into them before they leave? I had counted on my calendar during sacrament meeting that Kathy has only 3 more sundays here in this ward. and then I knew the answer, from Toni Sikora as she hugged me tight; "you did all you can do, let her go", and I cried more. I know all she hears from me now is the voice of the teacher on Snoopy and Peanuts, "blah blah blah....." I will miss here dearly. it is harder to let her go than the boys. I don't want her to marry the first guy she meets, I want her to wait longer, and then I remember it is her life and I can not change what she will do. Will she be a teacher, go on a mission, or marry too quickly? who knows. I hope I have done enough to guide her through. motherhood is a heavy burden. we are not taught how, we make so many mistakes, we love too much and give in so easily. and we are so hard on ourselves. we get little praise, (except from Bret, thank goodness), and our teenagers think we do everything wrong. and maybe we do. I did my best on her. Jacob, you're up to bat. keep her safe as you can from those marry hungry returned missionaries. I am glad I did not have to send her to the Babylon part of the world. at least she'll be in a bubble for awhile. hee hee

Just 5 more minutes mom!

So, this has never happened to me before, and honestly, I didn't think it was possible... yet, here I sit. I'm in the Atlanta, GA airport... why?... well... I feel asleep on the floor at my gate and slept through the boarding calls to catch my connecting flight. I woke up just in time to see my plane take off. First thought... aw crap. Second thought... gotta get on the next plane to Olando. Only thought since... HA!! I have to admit, I'm actually glad I can laugh about this... and why not? I just hope this isn't a foreshadowing of things yet to come for this trip! :)

You're Fired

It has been an interesting week. Tuesday at around 10 AM I receive an email for a mandatory meeting for all directors in international at noon. Ten minutes later I get an email for a mandatory meeting for the international department at 1:00 PM. Rumors fly.

In our meeting at noon I am informed that my boss and my boss' boss have been "let go" and I now report to a guy named Jimmie Gonzalez who has recently come in from New Jersey to take over the international department. He has no international experience or relocation experience. In the meantime my boss was notified while she was on vacation in Connecticut.

So in less than 15 minutes I find out I have a new boss, my boss was fired while on vacation, and her boss (the man who hired me) was fired as well. His boss - who is the president of the division - is still there, but we no longer report into her. My new boss is a senior VP who reports into a different part of the company. Then I am told that my boss' admin now reports to me.

Needless to say it was a shocking day. It will be an interesting next few weeks. Good news: I'm still employed!

kudos to tom

sorry Kathy, I have to brag a little about tom. 3 - 5's on his 4 AP tests! wow! 2 on his history, but he never did open the book. he blames the 2 on his teacher. Mr. Phillips retired last year, and the new guy doesn't know how to teach to the test yet.... whatever. Kathy, you are still prettier, and we are glad you took an AP class both years. we are proud of all of our kids!

Toilet Tales

About 5 or 6 days ago Mom decided to toss a hair pick into my favorite toilet and then flush it. Now she will no doubt correct that statement by modifying the timing just a bit and clarifying that the flushing and the tossing were simultaneous motions, still it has little baring on the story as it now exists in history.

She closed the lid and placed a large bottle of bathroom cleaner on the thrown to mark the spot. She even left a rather spooky note on the mirror, in lipstick I am guessing, that still reads "pic in toilet". Finally she related her sad tale to me when I returned home from a very hard day at work.

As it turns out, I have been most pre-occupied of late with various other concerns and I have not been able to address the toilet issue. Besides I also wanted to consult with Jacob about my various options. So the cleaner and the note remained in place and became a common feature in our upstairs master washing room.

Upon consultation with Jacob he recommended the "toilet tissue test". In this test a large wad of tissue is admitted to the thrown and flushed. If it goes down then the pick has likely passed the toilet itself, if on the other hand it backs up, then you know where the pick is and you can go after it with confidence.

Well it is Saturday and at last I have some time to consider fixing this inconvenience. So I go into the bathroom and find the cleaner (still appropriately occupying its relegated spot on the thrown) and the sign on the mirror still quietly belaying its appropriate message. I remove the cleaner, open the lid, and peek in only to discover that some unknown person has already secretly administered the "augmented toilet tissue test". I think they could have at least left an additional message on the mirror! You can work out the appropriate lyrics yourselves.

Needless to say, we failed the "augmented toilet tissue test". This was good news (in a perverted sense) because now the whereabouts of the hair pick is well known. After some shuffling things around the job is done, the pick is retrieved (yes and discarded), and the thrown is back in business. However, the secret administrator of the "augmented toilet tissue test" remains at large.

Our Trip to New Mexico (July 4)

The weekend of July 4th we had a very enjoyable trip to New Mexico. We left Sunday from Tevia's parents' home and drove about 3 hours to Glenwood, New Mexico. Tevia had found some "cabins" on the internet and they ended up being really cute. We had two cabins amongst us. Along with our family was Tevia's parents, Brandt, Quentin and his wife, Tevia's aunt and uncle and a few of their kids (Jim and Tammy).

We had planned for some hotdogs and chicken but when we arrived there was a local gathering across the street. Tevia's family went over and decided we should eat with them. So we brought our food over there and headed over. What we didn't understand was that all of the food was on sale for donations for the fireworks show. So in essence we ended up having to pay for our own food. This didn't sit well with Tevia and I, so we decided to go back and just cook up some free hot dogs. After a few minutes everyone else returned, too. It was funny.

That night they put on a fireworks show right across the road from our cabins. It was fun.

The next morning we set out for the Catwalk park which is a hike up a small canyon that has a creek in it. The creek floods up to 20 feet or so when it rains, so the trail follows some "catwalks" that are built into the side of the canyons. It was cool. We took our boys. Jarek did really well. He hiked all the way in (over a mile plus) and even Malik did pretty well. I was proud of them. The water was freezing, but refreshing. Having been to Havasupai the week before, it was neat going to another hike and enjoy the beauty of the southwest. The tourist brochure mentioned this canyon used to be a hideout of Butch Cassidy back in the day. Who knew Paul Newman ever visited New Mexico?

After the Catwalks we went to a ghost town called Mogollan. It really isn't a ghost town as 15 people live there, but it was a cool town. Before the town right off the road (the road is about 10 miles of single lane pavement with cliffs on one side - Tevia was very nervous) was a "trail" that we turned onto. I was a little nervous to drive our new van on this trail, but it was worth it. At the end was a mine. It was called the Last Chance mine. Mogollan was a mining town back when it wasn't ghost. That day was well over 100 degrees. But if you stood in front of the opening there was a perpetual breeze of around 60 degrees or even less. It was cold enough we had to wear hoodies. In fact, after entering the "cave" our boys were freezing and didn't want to go in. It was awesome. Afterwards we went into the town. It was so quiet and tranquil. I loved it. I actually could live there for a few months. My favorite part was all of the hummingbirds. There were dozens and there feeders everywhere. I would just sit on a bench and watch the many kinds come within a few feet and see how beautiful they were. I loved it.

That was our trip. It was short, but fun. I'm sorry we missed the Jakes and Cari. Maybe next year.

ramen recipe

Tom made this for me on saturday, and we really liked it. he spiced it up some, but here is the basic recipe:
1 lb boneless sirloin steak, cut up, ( or chicken)
2 cups water
a package ramen noodels, (beef or chicken) (tom used 2 packages)
a bag of frozen vegies, any kind or mix
soy sauce
ligthtly spray pan and cook beef or chicken. he used beef, 3-5 minutes.
remove meat from pan. add water to pan, heat to boiling, stir in noodles and vegies
heat to boiling, stirring occasionally unitl vegies are tender crisp. add contents of seasoning packet from ramen noodles, meat, and soy sauce, (or a stir fry sauce), cook a few more minutes. very good. he added some other spices that made it a bit hotter. yum.

vacation 2006

Hi. I figured I would post a new post rather than replying to the old post since I don't know how often people recheck the posts for posts. If that makes any sense.

Okay, San Diego sounds like a good plan. I love San Diego and it is a place with plenty of things for people to do with diverse interests. The only thing I would say is that I would request it not be on the 4th of July. I feel like it will be much busier at that time of year, and more expensive (hotels, flights etc...) If we could do it later in July, or the very end of June (depending on when Tommy gets out of school) that would be better. I don't know if you have his school calendar yet. We could shoot for a first week in August thing, later than that would be into when my kids start school and I don't want to miss their first days since Malik will be starting kindergarten next year.

My other suggestion would be to do it in the fall, since CA is nice then too. The only thing that might be a problem is school for everyone. I wouldn't mind taking my kids out (or if we did October they have a week for fall break). It would be very nice weather and less expensive than a summer trip.

So, those are my suggestions and requests. We will try and be flexible if everyone else is stuck to a more strict schedule. Sorry if I sound curt, but I just talked to my family and we are trying to plan something with them, which is quite annoying since nobody can make a decision without it coming right down to the day before. Arrrggghhhhh!!!!!

Anyhow, I am not sure what Jake and Cari's schedule is like and having to plan things with her family too. I think Kathy will be pretty open, unless of course she decides to get married!!! LOL

Well, that is all I have to say.... For now! :)

Mexico Pix

This was in the old Spanish ruins on the hill over looking the city.



This is San Blas as seen from the Spanish fort (ruins).



In San Blas.



Sippin on a coconut in Playa Los Cocos. This is basically where I sat for two days straight.



This is the sunset view from our room in our last hotel in Puerto Vallarta... it is also my current wallpaper on my laptop. :)

Mexico, the summary (blog # 300!!!!)

I don't want to end up posting a blog as long as Bret's to report about my Mexico trip. I could sum it up by saying it was just right. It was just what I needed. But for those of you who would like me to expound on just why it was so nice, here you go:


Wednesday: We flew out from UT at 6am. Arrived in Puerto Vallarta at about 2pm. Hopped on a bus to San Blas at 3pm. Arrived in San Blas at about 6:30... from this point on, time has no meaning. Neither of us (Tyson or myself) carried a watch or alarm clock or had any means of checking the time. We ate when we felt hungry, and slept when we got tired. That night we walked the town and happened across the LDS church house where they were having a ward "Noche de Hogar" (FHE). We joined them. It was pretty good. The missionaries put it on; they spoke about the importance of family and membership in the church.

Thursday: We went to the Spanish fort overlooking the city. A tour guide there told the history of San Blas and about the "Loca de San Blas". She was a lady (back in 1984) who went crazy waiting on the dock for her fiancé to return from fishing, but he was killed in a storm. The Spanish music group Mana wrote a song about her (as have many other artists including the tour guide there). Today the crazy lady lives in Tijuana. It was cool to hear about San Blas and he even sang a couple of songs. After we got our fill of the fort we hopped on a boat and took the jungle tour called "La Tovara". It's a boat tour (small boat) through mangrove trees that weave through the jungle. At the end is wildlife preserves with crocodiles and turtles everywhere and then they take you to the source of the river which is a fresh water spring where you can swim. It was really cool! They even had a rope swing set up to swing into the water. We spent the rest of the day on the beach.

Friday: Went to go see the Muelle (dock) which was made famous by the song by Mana. Then we shopped for a couple of souvenirs, mostly just Tyson, I didn't really by anything the entire trip except food. Then we spent the rest of the day sleeping and playing on the beach.

Saturday: We woke up and headed south. We asked which bus to take, but since we didn't know (or care) where it was we ended up, the locals just told us it really didn't matter which bus we took... touché! Well, we knew we wanted to go south so we got on a bus that was headed south. It went south for a while then started to go east (away from the ocean). We knew there was a town somewhere further south that we had passed on the way in, but wasn't sure how much further... we definitely didn't want to go east, so we decided to get off... in the middle of nowhere. We started to walk south, and we walked and walked and walked... with our backpacks on. I was fine, but Tyson is, well... in less than good shape. We probably only walked about 5 or 6 miles, but we came a "town" of about 10 houses and two hotels right one the beach. We got room in the cheaper of the hotels and decided to cool off in the ocean. After a light swim, we ate. The rest of that day and all of the next we just sat and watched the waves come in and go out and we talked of life. It was really just perfect... but that is a whole blog of its own.

Monday: we got up and went to Puerto Vallarta. We didn't know where we were going to stay, but we just wanted to find someplace cheap... and we did just that. We walked about 2 or 3 miles through town looking for a place until we found one within the price we wanted to pay. It was SUCH a dive! k, not really, but the bathroom was DISGUSTING!!!! Yes Tevs, even worse than our mom and dads upstairs bathroom. ew.
Anyway, we stayed there that night then first thing in the morning (must have been about 5am) we got up and went to a hotel we passed and liked closer to downtown. It was $80 a night (which was more than we had paid for hotels for the entire trip up to that point) but figured since it was out last night, it'd be worth it, plus we'd be getting a good full two days out of it too! We spent our time in Puerto looking through shops, eating food, and watching street shows... and not to mention, sleeping!!!

Wednesday: We woke up at 11:30 just in time to shower and check out. Took the bus to the airport and flew home. We had the emergency exit row on our flight to San Francisco, it was the best flight I've ever had. I slept (comfortably) the entire flight. We got home (after a 3.5 hour layover in San Fran) at about midnight. Went to bed.

The trip was perfect. I got back feeling I didn't need a vacation from my vacation, I guess you can't ask for more than that eh?

I recommend going. Don't sped too much time in Puerto, it's just a tourist city. We flew United and they were great!! Helpful, courteous, and very accommodating the entire flight to and from.

So, although this was just the skeleton outline of the trip itself, I want to reiterate it was really a great trip!

Havasupai Fall 2006?

OK, for all interested in a Havasupai trip, now is the time to plan. I was thinking the weekend of either Sept 2 (advantage is Monday is a holiday for those of us who work/school) or the week prior or after. The week after for me gets a little scary as Tevia may have the baby, but she is adamant she will not be early.

My plan would be to do the following, depending on weekend (i.e. days change if we go Labor Day weekend to include Monday).

Stay 3 nights (i.e. if we hike down Wed night/Thurs morn we sleep there Thurs, Fri, Sat and hike out Sun morning. You will need at least 2 nights, but 3 is recommended.

Drive from PHX/UT and meet in either Flagstaff or at top of trail to begin early hike around 4 AM. The trail is about 2 hours from Flag. Not sure if driving in from UT if Flag is out of way or on the way. Have to look at map.

If we can come up with a date, that would be great. Then we can make reservations. I was thinking of a guys trip, but understand if girls want to go (i.e. Cari, Kathy? (might be in UT) and would be accomodating. I was thinking of Jake Webb and Wall, pops, Tommy?, Papa Webb, Quentin (said he probably couldn't go), and maybe a friend or two (i.e. Kipp). I would guess cost would be close to $100 for camping fees, etc. It is a 5 hour drive from PHX. Once we get people confirmed, we will make reservations and then I will give advice on what to bring, etc.

vacation 2006

Hi all, I was wondering if we still all wanted to try to go to San Diego next year together. we can rent a house on the beach, and there are things for everyone, the pacific ocean, which neither me nor Kathy or Tom have seen, a temple, legoland, seaworld, and whatever else is there. I was also wondering if we should pick the week of 4th of July. it works for us. I am already excited to see 2 new places next year. san diego, and dad and I already decided for our trip away to go to Quebec and see the Wongs and the temple there. cool. and, if Jarek is getting baptized, I will be there.

the curse continues

so as my camry lay quietly in the service center at toyota, the van died on Tom at pye lane. great. my vacuum broke, again, and we still don't have a tv or a weed wacker. dad could not leave work, so Tom got a ride from a stranger home. the van is still at pye lane, and dad just went over there with Tom to check it out. poor dad.

My drunk driving experience

Alright, I guess now that I have a little time, I will blog about my "drunk driving story" as mom likes to call it.
After graduation, there were many parties going on. I probably had about 9 or 10 that I was invited to. People are crazy I think for making their party the same day as graduation if they expect their friends to come but thats beside the point. Anyways after I stopped at 2 parties I went to my friend Kaitlins for hers. This one had a lot of people and was alot of fun. Well naturally, due to the ways of nonmembers, alot of people were drinking, including some of my friends. Which I have to say isnt that big of a deal to me anymore since basically every highschool student does it. Again, anyways it was around 2 in the morning when I left to go home but I first had to drive Craig and Sean home, being that they had acouple drinks and needed a ride. Well I am on my way home when suddenly I saw lights flashing behind me. Of course it was a cop and of course I was pretty nervous. I didnt know why he was pulling me over either because I wasnt speeding.
Well I pulled over and he walked to the car and asked me for my license and stuff and then asked if I was drinking. I immediately said no, probably too fast because it sounded as if a mother had asked her 2 year old if they took the cookies from the cookie jar and they respond in a hundredth of a second with a no. He looked at me with unsure eyes and then asked why he smelt alcohol. I stared at him not knowing what to say because I wasnt sure if he would get my friends in trouble or not. But it was only a couple seconds before Sean, who was sitting in the front seat, told the cop that he had been drinking and thats where the smell came from. The cop then asked if I knew why I was being pulled over. I said no and he told me I was going over the white line. I knew this wasnt true but I just told him I didnt notice and I was sorry. He wasnt mean but still asked me to step out of the car to test if I really hadnt been drinking. I was kind of excited to what they would make me do especially since I knew that I would prove to them that I wasnt lying so fast.

We walked behind my car and he pulled out a pen. He held the pen out and then asked me to put my index finger on top of it. Well I thought that your index finger was what I now know as the ring finger, so I confidently put my ring finger on the pen, with the attitude of, you have got to be kidding, I wasnt drinking, what a stupid thing to have me do. Well my miss know it all attitude was immediately shot down when he looked at me and said, Lady, that is not your index finger. I looked at him as if he was crazy and began to argue. "Yes it is I," said but he shook his head. I was so confused and then asked him which one the index finger was then. He pointed to his "pointer" finger and being the moron that I am, kind of raised my voice and said NO, thats your pointer finger. He then said it was both and I figured I was probably wrong like usual and i wanted to go home since it was late so I said that I was sorry and I really had no idea.

Then he said okay, Im going to move the pen back and forth or up and down, follow it with your eyes and your eyes only. So again, inside Im like this is going to be cake. Well I was proved wrong again. As soon as he moved the pen to the left, my entire head turned left to watch the pen. And immediately out loud I said, "Shoot!, I didnt mean to do that!" He laughed and I swear he must of thought I was insane. Well eventually he let me try again and I passed his test and he told me I could go home and that it was nice of me to drive my friends home.

And I have to say I felt pretty lame after that until we later asked Jacob if he knew which finger his index finger was. He immeditely said it was the "ring" finger as well =). Anyways it was some experience and made me remember how much of a loser I really am.

Americans have no friends

I found this article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060626/od_nm/life_friends_dc_1) the other day and found it intriguing. This is something that Tevia and I have talked about a lot over the past few years, and I would unfortunately have to admit that we fall into these sad stats. In the article it talks about how Americans have very few "close" friends, especially compared to just 20 years ago. It talks about how nearly 25% of people admitted they have no close friends, and over 50% said they had less than two and their close friends were mainly comprised of spouses and family members.

After I read this article I happened to speak to a couple of people (Jacob Wall and Risa) and was surprised to hear that they found this to be true as well. It seems we as a society have lost the ability to make/keep close friends. I look at my own life and see that I rarely over the past few years have had a close friend. I could probably name one or two, but for the most part my close friends would be family members (wife, parents, sibling, in-laws). I don't think this is because I am a loser (though I'm sure some might argue this point), but certainly between work, church, and moving around this makes finding close friends much more difficult. We are constantly on the go and don't even get a chance to know our neighbors unless we are in a neighborhood for years. People at work are friends, but you typically don't hang out a lot with coworkers, especially if you are in management as this tends to give bad signals (I recently experienced this as we invited a few people from my team over for a get-together and other members of my team felt ostracized even though the reason we invited them was because they had invited us over in the first place).

The article talks about the dangers of not having close friends. If we don't have them, to whom do we turn? During events like Hurricane Katrina, who do you turn to ask if you can live with them? People are isolated and are fragile when stressful situations arise.

I am not sure how to resolve this issue which I certainly agree is happening in our society, but I am grateful for the strength of our family. I consider each of you a close friend and know I could depend on you if necessary. I hope you know the same is true of you. Thank you for being my friend. With all of the Church's emphasis on the family, it seems most appropriate given the trend signaled with the findings of this article. I guess a virtual friend will never be quite the same as a real one.

drunk driving

Kathy, why haven't you blogged your cute story yet?

Havasupai June 2006

The scoutmaster had told all of us to be at the church by 9 PM on Tuesday June 20. I arrived 10 minutes early as I usually do and most of the scouts arrived shortly thereafter. We were supposed to leave the church parking lot by 9:30 but the scoutmaster didn't arrive until 9:45.

I had spent the last few days packing for the trip. My last trip I packed about 35 pounds down and was pretty sore, so I was going for 25 this trip. I switched from a standard tent to a "hammock tent" which really is just a hammock with some netting on it and a rainfly if you need it. It weighs about 1 pound (I borrowed this from one of my coworkers). I stuck with all basic and light food (freeze-dried, etc.). I only brought one change of clothes (we would be there for 4 or 5 days). In the end I was a little scared of being too cold, which sounds funny, so I added a blanket and pillow at the last minute which probably added a couple of pounds. In the end I think the pack (which I borrowed from Tevia's dad) along with my camelback weighed around 25 pounds. Right on target.

We had 12 boys and 6 adults. We drove up in 4 cars and left about 10 PM. I rode up with our ex-bishop and some boys and we listened to some church talk on the way up (I don't think the kids were too happy with this selection - nor was I as I thought some music might keep us awake). We arrived in Flagstaff a couple of hours later and stopped for bathroom breaks and snacks. We finally arrived at the top of Havasupai trail at just before 4 AM on Wednesday June 21. We put on our bags and began the 10 mile descent to the campground. I had a headlamp to hike in the dark as did most of the boys. This was a last minute decision that I was extremely happy about as holding a flashlight for hours while hiking can get tiring (according to those with flashlights).

Like most troops we were not very organized. A few of the boys started running down the switchbacks (make up the first mile or so of the hike) and I tried to stay close to keep an adult around. We ended up being so quick that by the time I got to the bottom I was out of range of the adults/scouts behind us. But it all worked out fine. The sun began to show its light around 5 and showed the beauty of the canyon. This was definitely a disadvantage of hiking in the dark as many missed the beauty of the top of the canyon. But in the end I think it was a good idea.

My last trip I believe it took us over 4 hours to get to the village (Supai) where you register. The campground is an additional 2 miles from there. I was able to get to the village in under 3 hours on the way down and was the first adult down. I was amazed at this and attribute it to the fact that by not being in the heat of the day (when the sun is up) made a huge difference in energy levels. The village was out of electricity as their transformer had broke the week before so their restaurant and hotel were closed. But the local store had a backup generator so I bought a "cool" cherry limeade soda I had never seen before. We then registered our group and I went down with a few to get the campsite while the others filtered in. By 9 AM I was in camp and set up. The last group of boys/adults strolled in around 11 or so - meaning it took them 7 hours to get down. Not counting the hour I waited in the village, it took me four. I wasn't nearly as sore as my last trip. Moslty my calves hurt, but my shoulders and feet were in great shape. And considering I hadn't slept since 6 AM the previous day, I was quite happy with myself.

Most of the scouts and adults were pretty sore - but some of us went up to the Havasupai Falls which you pass on the way down. These falls are spectacular. I remember seeing them the first time down with Tevia and seeing them was literally breathtaking. They did not disappoint this time, either. The clear, blue-tinged water was refreshingly cool and did wonders to sore muscles and sweat-stained skin. I took a few boys to swim behind the waterfall and jump in through the waterfall. The rest of the day we spent relaxing and by 6 PM most of the boys and adults were asleep. I finally went to bed around 9 in my hammock tent. It was great.

The beauty of the area is hard to explain. Imagine a desert surrounding with blue, blue water running in the middle of it. The water gives way to lush greenery in a canyon with walls hundreds of feet high. It is unlike anything you can imagine. If it were not so difficult to get to, I think it would be one of the most-visited campgrounds in the USA. The temperature during the day can get up to 105, but near the river (where all of the campsites are) it probably stays near 85 with a cool breeze and some nice humidity.

It was packed with people. They say they only allow 100 people down at a time, but there were well over 200 people there this week. At least 3 times as many as last time I went down. This was a little disappointing, but it actually isn't that bad since the sound of the waterfalls and stream and wind drown out a lot of the sound. At night you wouldn't even know people were around.

Thursday we woke up and headed down to Mooney Falls. These falls are higher (maybe 300 feet?) and the trail to get to them is fun - dotted with caves to crawl through and some areas that were scarey to people not accustomed to rock climbing or "scrambling." For someone like me it is fun and I love it. I was wearing my Teva sandals (which I wore last time I was there) which are good because they fit tight and can be used in the water. The bottom of the river is filled with jagged rocks, so going barefoot can be hard. Half way down the caves and rock walls I realized the soles to my sandals were falling off. By the time I got to the bottom both soles were gone and all that was left was the insole strapped to my feet. At the bottom the mist from the waterfall just sprays out and the falls are beautiful against the red rock. By this time I felt almost 100% we spent a lot of time swimming in the cold water. At these falls I took some boys out and, though you couldn't go behind, you could get close and then climb up about 15 feet and jump off. To get close to the falls you have to really fight the current. It is pretty amazing as you are being pushed back by the current and above you are being pushed back by wind and spray that literally hurts it is coming so fast. It was a lot of fun.

We hiked back for lunch and after lunch went back to Havasupai Falls. Since my sandals were really not much good any more, I went in bare feet. I figured I would just walk around and sit in the pools, etc. But when I saw some guys climbing up a section of the cliff near/behind the falls, I was tempted to join them. When I saw one guy doing it with no shoes, I couldn't resist. I swam out and attempted the climb up about 20 feet to jump in off the cliff. The climb was tough without shoes. In fact, I fell twice (not from very high) when my feet just didn't have the grip on the moss-covered rock. One of the scouts also fell from a little higher and hit his face on the way down. But he was okay and so was I. Nothing more than bruises and cuts. I eventually made it up and jumped in. My feet now hurt quite a bit, so I was worried about climbing back out of the canyon, but I knew I didn't have to worry about that for some time.

My food was all great. Each meal was basic and delicious. Most of the boys lived off of ramen or easy mac. We had a devotional that night and talked about what we would have done different now that we were down in the canyon. Most boys said they would have brought hammocks and different food.

There was also something new this time in the canyon. Some of the native americans sold some basic food down by the camp. I don't know if this is common now, but it was tempting to buy a hot dog or some fry bread or navajo tacos (though they called them "Indian Tacos" as they are not of the Navajo tribe). I didn't buy anything since I am cheap - but many of the others did and they said it was great.

Friday morning we decided to hike down to Beaver Falls. Our YM president said it was only a couple of miles from camp. Unfortunately it was more like 5 miles each way through some pretty tough climbing and trails. There were large sections which were amazing like going through a mile field of grape vines. Seeing a valley full of lush grape vines in a desert canyon was amazing. The trail was continually getting grown over so your legs would get torn up by the vines. We eventually made it and the boys did some cliff jumping (which I avoided at Tevia's request). Because it was further than expected, not all of us were prepared. On the hike out the boys I was with ran out of water and most were hiking in water socks. By the time I got back to camp I was sore again. I felt even more sore knowing that we were now going to leave that night back to the car. That would mean I hiked 10 miles that day and by the next morning I would have hiked another 10 miles. I admit I wasn't looking forward to it.

We decided to split into three groups for the hike out. A few had to leave at 6 PM on Friday night as one boy had to be back in town Saturday morning. We then had a slow group which was to leave at midnight and the fast group would leave at 2 AM. I didn't sleep much that night so I decided to go with the slow group as I was worried about them. I'm glad I did as I think without my motivation they would have taken over 10 hours to get out. By 6 AM we arrived at the switchbacks. So it took us 6 hours to go about 8 or 9 miles. A few of the boys with me were out of water (so I gave them mine) and the adult with me looked about dead. By this time the fast group caught up to us. Having gone with the slow group I realized how going slow is much worse. Sure, going fast might give you muscle aches or something, but you are only having a pack on for a few hours. Hiking in sand and rock for 6 hours with a pack is merciless. So though I am glad I went with the slow group for motivation, I definitely would rather have gone with the fast group.

With just over a mile left and two thousand feet to ascend and having the other group caught up to us, I abandoned the slow group and dashed to the top. I had promised any boy that could beat me to the top that I would take them to Dairy Queen. This was meant to motivate the slow boys, but it motivated the wrong group. At this point my knee was killing me. I have never had knee problems in my life, but each step felt painful. Hopefully it isn't bad. But I didn't care and began the ascent without looking up to avoid that awful feeling of "impossible." I made it up in less than 30 minutes and was the first to the top of our two groups. The sun, though having been providing light for hours now, was still not "up" over the canyon. This was a great thing as you do not want to have to ascend the switchbacks in sun. It was now just before 7 AM, so it had taken me almost 7 hours to get out (compared to 4 in). I was exhausted and in pain, but very happy. A few boys filtered in and those of us at the top clapped and congratulated each boy. A few lagged behind and some had to go down and get their packs and come back up. There were some great acts of service. But by 8 AM all of us had made it out - the last ones taking over 8 hours to get out. I found out later that the group that left at 6 PM the previous day took over 10 hours to get out. We were only a few hours behind them even though they left so much earlier.

It was a wonderful trip with great memories and fantastic scenery. I love it down there. As I now decide whether to plan a trip down in August with family and friends, I hope this gives them a good idea on what to be expecting. It was probably the most dirty I have been in years; the most sore I have been in years; and some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen. Saturday night I was feeling good. All that hurts now is my knee, and it has improved dramatically. Definitely I wasn't as sore as last time. I attribute this to training (more hikes to get ready this time), a lighter pack and hiking at night.

Tomorrow I go back to reality - but in fact reality was Havasupai. We are so blessed with technology and money that life has evolved away from the simplicity which it once was. Trips like this help me to remember that there is so much more to life than work and money. Indeed, they matter so little.

nature's blessings

I don't believe in luck, but the way I see it, nature has been good to us this year. I have already seen 2 hummingbirds in my front garden, and my lily is not even open yet. we have a new bunny that comes every day now in the back, so the new houses must have scared the foxes away. I saw a double rainbow last week. our bluebirds nested twice this year! I had a robin feeding its baby incident. I had lots of stawberries, and will have tons of raspberries. The tiny daisy plant Kathy gave me as a beehive 4 years ago in a little cup is now 2 ft high and in full bloom. I have a lavendar plant and as I walk by, oh, the smell is breathtaking! it has rained and rained, but on the day of Kathy's party, it was the only day in weeks with no chance of rain at all! It was supposed to pour all night during the Mets game, and again in the city last nigth when we went to the temple, 90% chance of severe thunderstorms all evening. we had a tiny sprinkling both evenings. so, although all kinds of man-made things have broken in the last few weeks, nature certainly has been on my side!

Noses and Noodles

So, we were eating dinner tonight, spaghetti, and all of a sudden Jarek's eyes start watering and he says his nose itches. So I tell him to go and get a tissue and blow it. He does, but still complains about it feeling funny. He keeps trying to blow it and I keep asking him what happened. Well, the next thing we know, he closes up one nostril and blows really hard and out comes a long strand of spaghetti. We were all laughing so hard. I guess he must have somehow sucked it up through his mouth on accident. Jarek promptly put the offending noodle in the garbage and said he couldn't wait to tell dad about the cool spaghetti incident.

so proud!

Tom made All League in tennis, and has his pic on the wall in Ketcham. cool! Kathy rec'd an award last night at the awards banquet from the Congress of Teachers for leadership and citizenship. cool! they gave her $250.!

Hiking

So, yesterday I took the boys hiking to a place called Tonto Natural Bridge. It is about ten miles outside of Payson. My sister went with us, which I was very glad for, for many reasons. We were supposed to meet up with my aunt Tammy and her two children, my mom and her friend. Well we were about ten miles outside of Payson and they called and said they were still 15 miles outside of Payson, in a long, long line. There had been a massive accident and they would have to be waiting in that line possibly for two to three hours. Risa and I decided that we would just hang out at the McDonald's play land for a little while (since my kids never get to go there) then head up to the state park. We figured that by the time we got there, made our sandwiches, got things all ready and started hiking down, they would catch up with us.

Well, we had a fantastic time. There were a lot of different trails to choose from, and so we first went down this one trail called the Waterfall trail. It was a steep descent with a lot of stairs. Jarek did such a fantastic job and went ahead with Risa while I struggled to help Malik down. It was ultimately worth it since at the end there was a small trickling waterfall that was surrounded by lush greenery. So we hiked back up, both boys doing a good job, Malik needing far more help than Jarek, and still they hadn't come. So we decided to go to the main trail to start the hike to the Natural Bridge. Well, we started down, and it was tough going for Malik. We took breaks every few minutes so he could rest. About a quarter of the way down both boys wanted to turn back and go out of the canyon. We told them no and that we were going to keep on going. So we went down another few yards and both boys wanted to eat. So we found a shady bench and ate our lunch while people passed us going up and down.

While we were eating, this squirrel kept trying to get our food. It was a very brave squirrel and probably used to people. I had to keep shooing it away because it kept trying to get into the backpack. The boys were laughing so much at it.

So we finished our lunch and kept heading down the canyon. We rested a few more times and then made it to the almost end of the trail where the creek was. The boys took off their shoes and waded in. As we were wading, my mom and Hannah and Donny and my mom's friend came down the trail. My aunt Tammy had to go back up because she had hurt her knee really bad. (actually they ended up having to take her to the hospital on their way home. Still haven't heard if she blew it out or not) Well, since my mom was there, I left the boys with her, and Risa and I finished the rest of the hike up under the bridge. It was so beautiful!!! I wish we could have swam in some of the pools under there, but it was FORBIDDEN!!! So we just hiked around the rocks and took some pictures.

We stayed down there and let the boys get wet and dirty for about 45 min. Then we had to make the journey back up. Jarek was such a trooper and did a fantastic job all by himself. Malik had a little more trouble and Risa and I ended up "swinging" him up, as he would call it, past all the stairs. Risa was on one side of him, I on the other, and we would basically lift him up a bunch of stairs, rest, then do it again. He loved it.

All in all I was so proud of both kids that they didn't give up. It was slow going, and hard for Malik at times, but they did so good. I was proud of myself for not getting irritated and stressed about how slow they had to go. I wanted them to have an enjoyable time and not have to hear me complain about their slow little legs. I think they loved it and I think they will do fine at the Catwalks over the 4th of July weekend. It will also be a little easier for me since my dad and brothers will be there to help!

Again, I am glad Risa went with me, and I am so glad we went. It was a fun experience that we will all remember for a long, long time.

the village

what color is Lucius? Kathy says red. I don't think he would be red.

the curse?

ok, so we had a wonderful party, and I was able to stay happy and calm all day and evening, despite what we figure, the curse someone put on us: the oven didn't seem to be working again, and the brownies with reese cups in them that usually take 15 minutes tops took an hour to make 2 batches, but they came out good. as Kathy vacuumed the stairs, the belt broke, leaving the basement with that lovely smell of burnt rubber, after I just had fabreezed the whole basement. then she went out to vacuum the pool and the triangle head piece broke off the pole, and we noticed it was being held together by green wire, meaning dad had already fixed it. so she had to finish vacuuming the pool with her foot holding down the vacuum head, literally vacuuming by foot! and the water was freezing, I may add. then Tom went to cut the lawn and he came in and said it wasn't picking up well and grass was coming out the back. He and Don wanted the yard to look specially nice for the party. well, I told him just do his best. He came back in soon and said now the lawnmore wouldn't turn at all to one side. great. so he had to leave the lawn half cut, leaving us open to lots of fun jokes as people came. ie: Br. DeMoura, "now this is a job that looks like Dinyo did it, half done." etc. hmmm. Then he bravely tried to weed-wack, but it ran out of string half way thru, and he didn't know how to replace it. so I went to buy the 2 helium balloons at the dollar store to put on the mailbox, and after all the years of telling my kids to hold on to them tightly, I somehow managed to let them go up to the beautiful clouds..... I went humbly back in and bought 2 more. lucky it was only $2. :) after that, and dad being grouchy when he got home and saw the front yard looking crumby and he tried to get Tom to finish weed-wacking as guests were arriving, the rest of the party was fun. I never sat down, never got to eat more than snacking on m&ms and twizzlers, but it was worth it. everyone loved the food. oh, and the cops came at 11 saying we were too loud! what a day.
if anyone is keeping track, we have quite a long list of broken things here at the Wall house. poor poor daddy. it should keep him busy till the fall.

Four small boys and Cars

Okay, so I was up to the neck in boys yesterday. I had Kipp's two kids for the day as I had volunteered to have them sleep over Wednesday night so Kipp could go play bball with Bret. (longer story involved here, but I will leave it at that).

So I planned a busy day for Thursday and we really had an enjoyable time. I decided to brave the theater with the four kids (which was in a way like having two sets of twins since the two older kids are the same age and the two younger kids are the same age) and take them to see Cars, since they seemed to already know all the characters in the movie thanks to the movie advertising experts. Well, one might think I am a little touched in the head to attempt such a feat, but in all honesty, these kids were so well behaved. Jarek was so helpful and responsible. He made sure that everybody had a hand held while walking in the parking lots, and sat on the opposite end from me to help corral the other kids in. He is such a fantastic helper and seems to be so mature for his age.

The movie was very good and I enjoyed it much more than Over the Hedge. Even Jarek, on the way out of the theater grabbed my hand and told me that the movie made him cry a little because it was so touching. He said he liked it better than Over the Hedge too. I had to laugh a little inside and appreciate him that much more because I myself was wiping tears from my eyes close to the end of the film due to a very touching scene. Could it be the pregnancy hormones? Perhaps, but I have to say that if my 6 year old son could sense and understand the significance of kindness, compassion and selflessness of one car, I can not just chalk up my emotions to the hormones.

All in all, it was a good day. The boys played nice together and made me grateful once again that we are adding another boy to our family.

World Cup and the Diamondbacks

This week has been somewhat of a crazy week. I am very glad tomorrow is Friday - and look forward to going to Havasupai next week for 4 days. Wednesday of this week, however, was filled with some wonderful highlights.

Wednesday was the debut of Brazil during World Cup 2006 and I was looking forward to trying to catch the game as the USA debut was AWFUL! My idea was to go to the Brazilian restaurant down the street and watch it there. It is a bit pricey due to the fact that it is a rodizio-style place, but it sounded fun. AND IT WAS! I went with two of my employees (David Kennedy who served with me in Brazil and Carlos Aragon who grew up in Mozambique and hence also speaks Portuguese). The place was full (lotado they would say in Brazil) of Brazilians. They had some big screen TVs with a feed from Brazil so the game was in Portuguese. Yellow and Green were everywhere and there was rarely an English word to be heard. The local Univision was there filming the spectacle. So I was able to watch Brazil win their first game while enjoying a truly Brazilian atmosphere and eating Brazilian food. It was great. It was during lunch - so I was able to get away from work. ;-)

Upon returning from work we got ready to head downtown to Chase Field to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the San Francisco Giants. A family in our ward had given us the tickets which turned out to be awesome tickets. We were in the lower section along the left side of the field only 9 rows from the field. This was close enough where literally Barry Bonds could hear me booing him. Tevia was apalled as many of the fans were booing Barry. I was able to get her to understand as I asked her if she wouldn't boo Kobe if we were at a Lakers game. She conceded she would. The Diamondbacks even won. We didn't get to catch any foul balls, but if the boys were more agressive they could have easilly gotten some balls from the players. It was a great family evening.

lovely menopause, let's party

OK, that sounds boring and dumb, but I am celebrating today because I am officially in menopause and can go off birth control! on the down size, for information for Bret and those of you who work with women my age, I cried after my meeting last night. Crying is a normal sign of it, and there is nothing anyone can do. well, I can try hormone treatment, but I would rather cry often than get cancer. I want to try it the natural way. So be patient with us old ladies, cause someday it will be your wife crying at the drop of a hat, hot all the time, and having nightmares. yes, my doc today said this is also a sign. He said that menopause is like PMS, but it is ongoing, off and on with no timing, rather than monthly. Just GREAT! I always had a nightmare my PMS week, and thus....

for the good news, tomorrow is the BIG party for Kathy- she invited tons of people! Tom already cut the back lawn really nice. we will have the pool ready and volleyball and badminton and a new net for ping-pong and 2 -6'long subs, 2 cakes, brownies, ziti, and all the snacks and soda you can eat. wish you could all come and join us. hopefully her friends won't drink like Bret's did at his party!

A very short story

Okay, so I am writing a little again. I got a prompt from the literary group I am in (and have been neglecting) and thought I would share with you what I wrote. I wrote this this morning while Bret was on a conference call. Please remember that I am a little rusty as my creative side of the brain has not been used in quite sometime. It felt good to write again and I hope you enjoy this little piece. Oh, we were given random words we had to use in our writing. They are: crepe, jump, sage, next-door, subspecies and force.

Nature's Remedy


She awoke every morning just before the sun peeked over the edge of the horizon. Rubbing the night's sleep from her eyes she pushed back the cobweb of dreams that lingered just within her memory. Another restless night like that and she would be forced to make an appointment with her doctor.

She tied her robe around her waist, deciding to jump in the shower later in the morning. Outside in the back, bird song beckoned her with every chirp and twitter. She grabbed a cup of coffee, loaded it up with sugar and inhaled the rich, deep aroma. Oh how she longed for David's culinary expertise in the mornings. He always made the best strawberry-peach crepes. She never could eat just one. They would have been perfect with her steaming coffee and just the right start to a new day. There was no point in wishing for either now. David was gone. She brushed the memory and a small tear quickly away.

The creaking hinges on the screen door silenced the birds momentarily. She shuffled quietly to her white wicker rocking chair and mentally reminded herself to oil the hinges later that evening. Next door, a light turned on in the kitchen and she could hear Mrs. Jaemson hollering for her teenagers to get up. She remembered the days when her mother had to force her out of bed early in the morning. She chuckled to herself thinking how most of her friend's parens felt their teenagers were little more than subspecies of themselves. She was quite a bear in the morning back then, but now, every hour counted and she loved the peace and joy of an early start.

A warm splash of sun had crept over the horizon and rested gently on her cheek. She rocked quietly back and forth resting her soft, wrinkled hand in the pool of warmth. A slight breeze stirred the air, perfumed with mint, sage and lilac. She needed to trim and feed her herb garden again soon. David would be so proud of how well she was keeping it up in his absence. She sighed. The deep ache in her heart still lingered, but as she did each morning, she let the bird song wash over her and through her to carry a small fraction of her sorrow away. Each day would be easier; each day would bring her closer to him.

nightmares vs happy dreams

I don't know why, but I am having a lot of nightmares, like 2 a week. weird. bees and gorillas and armies bombing my city and all kinds of stuff. my mom, on the other hand, told me that she hasn't had a nightmare in years. she only has happy dreams. and she dreams all the time. why am I having so many nightmares? any ideas? am I stressed? I don't feel stressed anymore. maybe I am way deep inside. oh well, tis interesting. the dreams are really real and cool and fun to remember and figure out. Jacob, one was I was using that can of bee spray that you and dad always tell me not to bother buying. I was spraying a nest( like a bird nest, but it had 3 black big bumble bees in it) and the mother came chasing me and it was as big as a robin, and as it came closer I kept right on spraying at it in the air, but the spray was doing no good and I woke up screaming at my mom's house and she and Milan heard me. weird.

week with Grandma

I was glad to be able to serve my mother for the week. It is a very special and endearing experience. I was busy from morning to night, wheeling her around in her wheel chair. she made great progress during the week. When I first got there on Sunday, she barely got out of bed. by Friday, she was wheeling herself all around the house. we had great talks, laughs, and cries. she told me lots more about herself, my dad, and Johnny. I hope I can write these down sometime. she will be stuck at home for 4 more weeks, then she sees the orthopedic surgeon again. she is totally non-weight bearing till then. it is much harder for a 78 year old lady to lift herself up with one leg and stand. she can not use crutches at all. please keep her in your prayers, call her, and write her. she is bored and lonely. 440-845-1349. also, she would love a picture from Jarek. thanks so much.

HAPPPPPY BIRTHDAY!!

heyyy this blog is for the birthday boy =). Bret im not sure of your email, i know tev's, maybe theyre the same but i didnt want to take a chance. So i figure if i blog, im safe. I just want to wish you a happy happy birthday and let you know that i love you. You are such an example to me and are everything that i want in someone i marry. Thank you for being such an amazing older brother. I am so glad that i am your sister. Have an awesome day!!

love your lil sis, kathy

I love Google

It is not often that I attach myself so much to a brand. In fact, in most cases I can't stand the concept of "brand" and try to avoid any appearance of brand. I do not wear clothes with brand symbols on them (i.e. I will NEVER wear a Polo shirt with a horse on it or a Tommy Hilfiger shirt with the symbol, etc.). But once in a while a brand comes around that I just relate to. One was Mossimo back in high school that I thought was a great brand that I related to (not so much now, but once in a while I buy a Mossimo article of clothing).

But the last few years Google has proven to be such a brand. I love it - and love almost everything Google. In fact, it seems everything they come out with makes in impact on my life. This blog, for example, was only started since I found it in Google Labs. It has had a huge impact on my life and, presumably, my family. Google Talk has gotten me back into IMing. Googles corportate policies and philosophy have made me drool and it has become the number one place I would like to work as they focus more on flexibility and the understanding that free time is necessary in order to invent and be creative. Sitting at email all day does the opposite. Their semi-sponsored music player (Rhapsody) fits my needs as it plays all media types: mp3, apple, and .wmv. Their calendar tool has helped organize my own life - something that I use at work that I never was able to take advantage at home. Now I can have reminders sent to me and have events listed at home. Plus I can create a Young Men's Calendar that we as a presidency can use to list all events for the next 12 months with reminders, invites, etc.

Today they released a spreadsheet website that enables users to create/import/manipulate spreadsheets online. No need to purchase MS Office or MS Excel (which costs hundreds of dollars by the way!). Now we can have the basics for free. Does the first counselor not have Excel but you track everything in Excel? No problem now. Upload it into your Google Spreadsheet and you can then share it with other users and even allow them to edit it if you like. No software to buy or even download. And no need to back it up in case your brother crashes your harddrive, Google will store it for you and you can access it from any computer in the world. And at the same time, they are sticking it to Microsoft and Bill Gates. I love Google.

Another Friday Night Alone

Well...not exactly. Tevia is out with Risa seeing X3 (yes, I'm jealous). I hope she has fun. I just put the boys to bed. Jarek lost his second tooth tonight. He was excited to have the tooth fairy come again tonight. Last night she brought a dollar for his first tooth. She must be doing well these days.

So I 'm listening to Shakira (Hips Don't Lie) which I think is what I was listening to last week when I blogged. I am a big fan of hers. This was a busy week. I've had two new clients starting the last two weeks. It is a lot of work to transition a new account. I was supposed to have to travel to Grand Rapids again next week. Luckilly the meeting got delayed so I don't have to go. I didn't feel like travelling again.

I think Tevia and Risa are home. Not much going on besides work. Tomorrow we are planning on going kayaking on the lake with some people from my team. Should be fun in the 110 degree heat! I'm going to go spend time with my sweetheart. I really like her.

fledglings

We had baby blue birds, and we watched every single day, and one day, they were just gone. we didn't get to see them 'fledge'. but, today, I was just sitting on the couch trying not to be upset about the $400. car problem on my Camry, and talking to dad about it, when low and behold a baby robin just flies over and sits on my back upper deck railing. it was smaller than a robin, but bigger than I exppected. it had no tail feathers, and just sat there with its mouth open. and... right while I was watching, it's mother flew over and put something in its mouth! just right in front of me. it happened twice, and then I went to get my camera, snapped a pic of the baby, and waited to see the mom come again, but the baby flew off into the nearest tree. there again, the mother fed it. so I did after all get to see a baby bird fledge. oh, how the Lord loves me. it was adorable, and so what about the car. all cars cost money. some censor on the ABS brakes went out. but it is getting all fixed up with an oil change and inspection so I can drive it to Cleveland and feel safe about it.

work space pics

Bret, dad and I were curious as to whose pics you have in your office or cube? and is it an office or cube? I have to admit, I don't even know what it looks like. describe please. sorry you are so busy lately.

What's this kid missing???

Can you find what is missing on this child????

Today was a fun milestone for Jarek and I am sure we will celebrate accordingly. :) 

almost new favorite book

Not the whole book, but parts of this book, The Great Divorce by CS Lewis, are incredible. the only reason the rest isn't incredible to me is that I don't really understand some of the chapters. It is really deep, and I am amazed after reading these two books together and seeing Narnia what an amazing thinker he was. and how much he understood about God and religion. I am going to look up more about him for our book club tonight. there are some chapters in the Great Divorce that can almost be scripture! He sends beautiful thoughts to my mind about Heaven, and a whole new outlook on what a person's real hell may be. a tough read, but interesting. well, probably not to Jacob Wall. hee hee