Hazel's Christmas Gift From Santa

This was Hazel's first fun game on her Crayola Computer Santa gave her for Christmas. We were amazed at how fast she learned to use the mouse.

New Year stuff, predictions, goals, and favs

A year or 2 ago, we made some pretty cool predictions; like where Tom would go on his mission, if Jake or Bret would move, etc.
Let's try some for this year.  Any predictions out there?
I know people are guessing when Tommy will get married, and who.  I personally think he will take plenty of time and have fun dating for awhile and not hurray things along.  I don't think he will be married till at least the very end of 2011 or later.
Will we move to AZ?
Any other babies coming?
Will the world end?
Any other big events to look forward to?  Jarek gets the priesthood.
Will Cari or Jacob quit their job?

Next:
I miss doing favorites- 
Let's all do favorite books and movies they saw and read this year.
Tev & Bret, ask Jarek his too.

If anyone wants to share any good goal ideas, feel free.  I still have to figure them out, so it will be a week before I formulate them into a plan.

A Great Day!

I had a great day on Monday. First I had a great and restful sleep. I knew it would be our last sleep in Kathy and Jimmy's home on Carol Ann Way. Thanks to them for the nice stay we had there. It was so restful and accommodating. Very much appreciated. Then I went right over to Jake's and up on the roof. I skipped breakfast. Did not want it! I had been so concerned because I had estimated the project poorly, and I felt bad that things were askew with essentially no time remaining. But we did have another day. Then I had a great day working with Tom. What a treat and a pleasure that was for me. Thanks Tom for the great day and also all the other days on the roof. But this day was especially great because, we knew it was the last but more importantly, we made so much progress and saw all our plans coming together. It was a perfect day on the roof. So much fun, we just skipped lunch. How often do workers do that? Only on a great day. Thanks again to everyone that gave time during the important Christmas season to help. Jacob, Jimmy, Bret, Tom, and even Cari worked on the house lights, and Karen made some trips to the store. Sorry for the pain it caused. I really did not think it would be that big of a job. Then I had a great evening. I felt physically good! Better everyday. I think our bodies are amazing to respond to our needs so quickly and well. Except for my tooth ache (unrelated to the roof) I was feeling good. We had some good food brought by Karen and Cari. Thanks so much, my taco's were great. Finally, we got a great lift to the Air Port by Bret and Tev and a warm good bye. Oh yea, and a great ride home through the peaceful night of the great day. It was a great day. Thanks to all for making it happen for me. Strange that such would be great, when it was so full of work and responsibility. But I would not change it for a thousand movies, or naps, or meals. It was great all by itself.

Too much travel

The past few weeks have been crazy, frustrating, and emotional. After asking my company to halt all travel for the rest of the year after more than 8 weeks of travel this year in early November I was told “no problem”, especially when I shared the health issues we have had with our kids. But not one week later I was asked to travel again – and ended up spending a few day in Houston for three of the past four weeks.

I donned my Superman cape and went to work, though admittedly with a chip on my shoulder and frustration at my company. I had been to Houston one time in the past for a business trip and was unimpressed. This time I was down in a town called Sugar Land (southwest of Houston) and got a very different impression. The area was gorgeous and the office and homes around it were very nice. Here are the highlights of my time in Houston:


Renting cars. I found that after driving a Chevy Impala, Chevy Tahoe and a Ford Fusion that I was most impressed with the Fusion. Apparently Chevy sucks.

The office I worked at has mostly employees from Saudi Arabia. Upon my first trip to the restroom I noticed it didn’t have any urinals. I thought this a little odd but thought perhaps it was a cultural thing. Upon entering the stall I noticed a tampon dispenser and all of the sudden wondered if in fact I had gone into the wrong bathroom. I hurriedly finished my business and then left to verify hoping no women entered while I was there. Upon exiting I found that it was the men’s room. I was relieved – apparently they just changed up the bathrooms at some point and never bothered to take out the old women’s paraphernalia.

The food. I found my possibly favorite restaurant while there. The first day there (my first week) I looked on Google Maps and Foursquare to see if I could find any fun, good places to eat. I was intrigued by the name of one called Japaneiro’s (which looked like a combination of Japan and habeneiros). I read more details and found that indeed it was a fusion restaurant of sushi and Mexican (latin American), which are two of my favorites. I ate there every single day I was in Houston from that day forth. My favorite thing on their menu? An avocado soup with crab in it. It is heaven. Another favorite was the Hawaiian roll which had spicy tuna, avocado, and a coconut sauce on it. I also fell in love with Chick-Fil-A’s Spicy Chicken sandwich. It is awesome. Those two restaurants took up 90% of my eating time while in Houston.

The temple. I also had the privilege to attend the temple once while there. It was a beautiful temple in a very upscale neighborhood. The session was very small and it was of great comfort following the news of my boys’ heart conditions.

Atop the Rock

Dad & I braved the cold yesterday to take the train to the city to celebrate our 29 anniversary, which is next week, but dad will be on a roof all day.
I wasn't sure how far I could walk, but my back is improving daily, and we decided to try it and not do too much.
We love taking the train and watching the sites along the river.
We wanted to see the Rockefeller tree, and maybe go to the top. Dad thought it was $30 ea, so he has not wanted to try it before.  It was a clear, sunny day, and we figured it wouldn't be too crowded yet being cold and in early December.
We found out it was only $21., and the line was very short.
It was an amazing view of the whole area!  Wow!
We bundled up and walked to Time Square, stopped in the M&M store, then looked for a place to eat.  The Prettymans had just gone to Bubba Gump Shrimp, and they liked it, so we thought we would take  a chance just for the fun of it.  It was fun!  We thought we would be paying extremely high prices just for the name, but it was pretty reasonable for the city, and the food was delicious, and our table was right at the window in Times Square. Dad loves doing that!
We walked back to Grand Central, and I made it just about when my back was getting sore and my leg heavy. Dad had agreed beforehand that we could take a cab if I needed to, which gave me just that extra piece of mind.
It was fun being just us and having dad's attention and seeing all the sites.  The spirit of the holiday season was everywhere!  People singing, even the employees in the stores!  We both rested on the train all the way home.
We found out we can go to the Met Art Museum for free, so that will be our next stop as we try to hit some landmarks here before we move.

More Christmas fun!

I wonder if Speed will have this light blond hair Jacob had.
The girls, Tevia & Kathy, busy decorating gingerbread houses.
Tommy & Santa
One of our many Christmas eve plays.

Need a little Christmas

I baked Christmas cookies yesterday, and missed having someone to decorate them with. It brought back so many fond memories of the holiday season.  Dad will be gone all day from morning to maybe 7 or 8pm today.
I am hoping to write out Christmas cards, but I am not in the mood.
So I thought I'd bring out some good old Christmas memories.
For those who have never seen a Christmas sage brush:  in this picture Bret is in front of the flocked sage brush that we nabbed out in the country somewhere in Utah.  Dad's family had done it several times, maybe to save money, who knows, but we were also on a pretty tight budget, and I think we did a sage tree twice, maybe 3 times.  I think it was pretty!  This is also the brand new bike santa brought Bret.  Bret can maybe relate that story to his kids- the good old 'treasures of the earth, where moth doth eat and thieves corrupt....", something like that.  Bret, you were always so cute and handsome! Still are!
The second pic it Kathy & Tommy, all bundled up so cute and warm.
I will try to find one of Jacob later.

Enjoy!

4 kids in 1 room w/5

I want to let you all know that seeing you all together last night in one place for Thanksgiving was amazing!  I feel we have been so blessed to have that actually happen.  I am grateful for each one of you, and the time and effort you put in to making our family celestial.
I may not have been there this year, but it brought joy and comfort  to me knowing you were all together, and with all my grandchildren!
It just warmed my heart.
As we start planning next year, dad & I just figured out that will be hard to do, as he is seriously looking for a job down there right after the holidays.  If he finds one, we will pray about it, and who knows?
I guess I better not buy tickets yet for a desert trip from NY.... but, we do need to decide when that will be when we are together during the holidays.
See you all soon!

HP 7

I know all of us have not seen this, so I won't add any spoilers.
Dad and I just got back from seeing it.  I liked it more than I usually do HP< probably cause I hadn't read the book
The interesting thing worth a blog note was what dad said after the movie:
" Wearing a _______ (forgot the word and dad already went out running, but you know, the necklace thingy) - well, wearing one of those is like going low"  ha ha
I thought that was funny.

The Hunger Games

This is a warning for those who have not finished this series, some of the ending will be spoiled, I will mention little details though.

My Review :

As I read through the first book of the series, The Hunger Games, I found a very interesting storyline, that was written well enough to grab the readers attention, and I must say I was impressed with the author's ability to create curiosity and captivate the reader's mind, forcing him to keep reading. A page turner, with some depth, but not as well written as I would've liked.

When I read the second book, Catching Fire, my opinion changed. I felt that the author created a fun story and ended the book in a very good spot. I enjoyed this book greatly and was looking forward to the third. I was excited and hopeful for the thrilling finish of such a well created story and good idea. When I read the third, Mockingjay, I was greatly disappointed, let me explain why.


To explain why I think I must explain a little about hope.

Hope is a powerful thing. It is literally the anchor of our souls. It is the belief that through obedience to our Heavenly Father, and through doing good, we can and will in the end find eternal joy. True happiness that fills the soul and never leaves. This hope gives us purpose, gives us determination and diligence. I am grateful for hope in my life, which can be centered on my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that we can achieve this eternal joy.

In book 1 and 2, the author constantly builds our hope as a reader that if our hero(?), Katniss succeeds at something that everything will be better. But as things continue to work out as the reader and Katniss would have hoped, joy never enters the series. By the end of book 2 the author has built up a great hope that if Katniss and the rebel forces can take down the Capital and Snow, that everything will be right again, that true happiness will enter their lives.

Well in book 3 we find that things continue to pan out perfectly for our little hero(?). Things turn out perfectly, exactly as the reader would have hoped, but even after everything goes right, the author brings no peace into the story. Katniss finds no joy in her life, in her family, in her offspring, in anything. I believe the author alludes to Katniss living out the rest of her life in fear and despair as do all the others.

The last 20 pages of this book cause great sadness and why, because the author, I believe, destroys the reader's hope. Everything one would have wanted to happen does, but nothing seems right at the end. Sadness prevails and one feels greatly depressed as if their own lives were unfulfilling as well. Despair replaces hope as the reader's conscience begins to feel that no matter what, we are doomed to an unhappy finite ending, where we can never truly be happy, because even after all went well in the story, we are still miserable with the outcome.

The ploy that after all that Katniss and others have gained at the end that they cannot throw off their fear and old injuries and be truly happy with their highly priced freedom they have purchased with so much blood is a total falsity. It could never happen. Life brings happiness, it is ridiculous to try to write a book to say otherwise.

I hated the ending. The last 20 pages toyed so much with my emotions I actually became angry about it. I do not like when an author tries to create sadness and despair in a world that so desperately needs hope, and this author not only does a good job at destroying the reader's hope, but actually excels at it.

Removing the fact that the book causes one to wallow in sorrow after finishing it, the series is still degrading. If we carefully examine this series we find horrible themes rampant through out the entire thing. It is based on an idea that children, yes, children will fight to the death, brutally. The idea itself is sickening, and I stick with Jacob that it is completely unrealistic, a society could never decay to that point. A parent could never demand that another parent's child be sent to the Hunger Games. Apparently humans are cold animals in the author's eye. The series also constantly makes, drug use, alcohol, body mutilation and prostitution all seem acceptable as people try to escape reality to find happiness. It seems it is also acceptable to describe horrible deaths and graphic scenes. In fact the series takes our sacred bodies, temples given to us by God, and puts them at 0 value. People are constantly changing themselves, are constantly immodest (usually naked), and sleeping together under the age of 18. Sex is portrayed as only a necessary way to keep the species alive with nothing sacred about it. Lies and deceit, blackmail, fame and power, the idea of mistrust (no one is ever trustworthy in the books...they are apparently all two-faced). This book depicts a society that has no God and no morals, no happiness and zero charity. No true heroes exist, even Peeta is apparently hijacked and turned into a menace at the end, unable to recover.

Overall, I believe that Mormon made it very clear for us how we can judge what comes from God and what comes from Satan. Unlike most series or shows or stories, I found no inspiration in this book. It did not make me want to be a better person, or even try to be. I do not want to aspire to be like any of these characters. I judge this series to be inspired by the adversary. The Spirit had no role in inspiring any part of this story.

What do I think of The Hunger Games series?

In the words of Max Hall, "I don't like it, in fact I hate it, I hate everything about it... its classless." I add, its dangerous. Its dangerous to have this view on life, that we are only cold animals with no divine potential, and its sad that someone can truly look at the world this way.

What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We all have much to be thankful for this year!

People Make a Big Difference

I spent several hours at the same hospital over the past few days. After two days doing exactly the same thing I have come to realize how much of a difference a person - or people - can make in the lives of others. Friday was a wonderful day at the hospital. Everyone was kind, fun, and nice as we made our way through a scary and stressful situation. In fact, the one doctor made me jealous as I thought how wonderful it must be to be able to impact people's lives in such a great way. Monday was the opposite. From the moment we checked in people were rude, mean and annoying. They did nothing to make our time their comfortable and we left frustrated and exhausted. The difference? The people. Same hospital, same tests, same check-in procedure, etc. Completely different experience. It made me want to be the type of person that has a positive effect on people's lives, and not the opposite - like the Monday crew at the hospital.

Spiritual trek

I am on my 3rd day of a 2 week spiritual trek.   I am  combining it with a physical journey as well.
It has been awesome!  I am focusing on the spiritual more, and it makes such a difference in life.
I felt the desire this morning to share this quote by Richard G Scott:
"The essential things must be accomplished during your testing period on earth.  They must have first priority.
They must not be sacrificed for lesser things, even though they are good and worthwhile accomplishments.
After this life, you will be restored to that which you have HERE allowed yourself to become.  OH, if I but had the capacity to communicate the peace and serenity that  come from knowing that you and your family have worthily received all of the saving ordinances and the corresponding covenants are being righteously kept."
"We knew that we would be tested here. Part of that testing here is to have so many seemingly interesting things to do that we can forget the main purposed for being here.  Satan works very hard so that the essential things won't happen."
I love that you are all baptized and attending the temple.  It does bring me great peace.  Thank you for keeping your covenants, and blessing your children and each other with your great examples.
"In this there is safety, in this, there is peace."

Best and Worst of Times

I always thought this opening was dumb, but at this point I can see that these two things can actually coexist. It has been the worst of times ever since we learned about our sons’ cardiomyopathy. It is difficult to go through all of the emotions, scenarios, and possibilities when you hear something like that. Being an optimist I have tried very hard to keep positive thoughts and have faith that things will work out fine. But there definitely are times you imagine the worst. And when Malik was shown to have the same thing as Jarek, it was hard not to imagine a future with only one son. Visions of the future without my two oldest sons are nightmares. Feelings from anger to thoughts on “fairness” and then pity for my boys have been rotating with faith and hope and gratitude for the time I have with them.

At first we didn’t tell anybody as we wanted to get all of the details before sharing our burden, but I did take some time to share with one of my employees who has had cancer. She talked about how hard it was to tell her husband and son, and how she realized they had to live one day at a time. “Tomorrow might be terrible,” she would tell them, “but today is good.” And though we still have to find out the details on the severity of their condition, I can’t help but think of things more in the “now” than in the future. I have never been one to live very far in the future, but this has brought me back even more. Even things like planning vacations and meals turn to “where would Jarek want to go?” or “what dinner does Malik want to eat?” Prayers change to focusing on shorter-term things like “please let them live to experience love and go on a mission” as opposed to worrying about their careers. Your perspective changes and suddenly some things just don’t seem that important.

It is a blessing to have Tevia by my side. And if there was a year that it would have been nice to have family by my side, this is the year. I am so grateful to have my siblings near during this time and to feel their love; not only for me, but for my children. What greater gift could we want for our children?

And that is how it has also been the best of times. As we recently returned from a wonderful trip to Utah, I couldn’t help but think back on the time we had up there. It was a blessing. The baptism we attended was one of the best I have ever been to. The game was amazing. As I sat in the sun looking at my sons, my wife and many of those I love most, it was awesome to enjoy a great game and smile, laugh, and cheer. An intimate evening with close friends was needed as we exchanged heartbreaks and hopes about our children and lives. Even the car ride home was exceptional as the last two legs I drove with Kathy, Jimmy, and Tommy and we discussed life, gospel principles and shared our ideas and lives. I was reminded of the great support team I have to be there for me in times like this. To remind me why we are here and what is important. A wife to hold me as I try to be strong as she sheds tears on my shoulder. Two sons who have shown more bravery than any men I have ever met. And this is when I realize it is the best of times.

I have lived a charmed life. But I know we need trials and pain in our lives to improve. It sucks, but I understand it. Let’s just hope I still have some of that charm left.

feeling lonely

Released from the temple, then YW, counted down 730 days till Tom got home, and now he is already gone, people keep moving away....
Watched Jayne Eyre last night.
What do we do on a Saturday  night besides tv?
I guess we are so used to the church keeping us busy.  This weekend, we had no Saturday church activity.  You would think we would be thrilled.  Well, we are. It feels good to not have to go anywhere.
Maybe it is a Bourne kind of night.

Halloween and Other Happenings

Apparently I messed up some setting on our camera, so most of the pictures I've taken lately have been really blurry. Here's an assortment of the better ones.

Hazel at the pumpkin farm

Our pumpkin - I carved and Hazel drew

Hazel as Baby Princess Peach - I went for simple and easy this year.
Speed as Baby Mario. He was apparently too tired to give us a proper smile.

The chocolate covered Oreos I made on Halloween with this cool mold my mother-in-law sent me. The spiders were pretty fail but I think the skulls turned out pretty good.

Would it be weird to say I'm glad Halloween is over? I'm just looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas so much that Halloween was really just a stepping stone this year. On to more holidays!!!

Dad's 5 K win

Dad has had an 8 year goal to beat a certain time in his IBM 5 K.  He did it this year!  I am so proud of him!  He did it in 24:35!  He was happy and he was glad he had continued to run.  Good job honey!!!!

Visit to Cleveland

It had been a long time since I saw my family, almost a year. 

We did 22 hours of driving. 

It was worth it, sore back and all.

We started out doing sealings in the DC temple. 

We hit tons of DC traffic, but made it to Sarah's in time, just after we stopped for dinner at Applebees.  

Sarah's kids were waiting for us at the door in their pjs, and this time Trevor was not one bit shy, nor Alexa.

They were truly excited to have visitors.  They proceeded to show us their many treasures and toys, till they had to go to bed.  Alexa was saddened by this news, but, as all good children do, she went up to bed crying and fell asleep holding her blanket and bear.  Trevor was allowed to say up 15 min later, and snuck down the stairs a few times to peak at us playing a game. He eventually gave up and also fell asleep.

We played a new game I am buying for Christmas.  I am thinking that since we played it once, we have a better chance of beating the rest of you during the holidays.  It was fun, and dad won, followed by Tom.  They were surprised to see how good we play strategy games.  (I use the pronoun 'we' loosely)

We slept well in their spare room, and Eric made us healthy whole wheat pancakes with homemade maple syrup like dad's family used to make .  

We left at 8:15 am, as they had a birthday party for Trevor at 9 am at Chuck E Cheese, and we had a long drive ahead of us.

Mom looked older, and more frail. She now has a perm.  My sister and Fred had come in to town the day before to set everything up, prepare dinner, and keep mom calm.  She was so excited to see us all!  The 4 of us children were all together for the first time since the reunion we had that one August.

The extra guy in the pic is Jesse's fiance, Dan.  

All enjoyed being together and talking.  My sister planned a spiritual program to honor Tom, and asked him questions about his mission.  He did an excellent job bearing his testimony and answering her questions, like; did you feel God protecting you?  Did you see any miracles?  She is just awesome!  It went very well and I am glad she did it with Frank and Jesse there.

We slept at Michaels, went to church, and headed over to my dad's.  Carol made a delicious turkey and dressing meal, which dad especially loved.  

She surprised us all by bringing out pictures.  It was the first time ever I saw pics of her as a little girl.  She brought out a few old ones of great great grandpa Pylick and his brothers that I had never seen. Dad answered a few genealogy questions for me.  It was great!

We left at 3:13 for the long ride home.... 

Some Recent Pictures of Hazel & Speed - Enjoy!

And since the slideshow is being dumb (stupid Picasa!), here's a link if it doesn't work for you:

Speed's Latest

Just one of the guys

For years I have planned this coup to get my family to move to Arizona. There were several reasons I wanted it to happen (surprisingly I really like them), but there was one reason that has become fulfilled that reminds me of something I have been missing for the past couple of years: cool guys.

For the past couple of years –and really beyond that if you include while I was in Hong Kong – I just haven’t had a guy or group of guys to do “guy things” with. What are guy things? I’d list things like: having someone come over to watch a football game, go play a game of basketball or tennis at a moment’s notice, or even just work in the yard. A few of these things you can do by yourself, but it is much better with somebody else there.

For example, a little over a week ago when Max Hall was starting his first NFL game with the Cardinals, I was so excited. In the past I would have sat down and watched most of the game alone with many distractions and little interest from Tevia or even the boys. But when Jimmy (and Kathy, who I’ll admit is not a guy) came over to watch the game with me, it was a lot of fun. The fun factor went up significantly. And this was something I had been missing for some time. The fact that I can get Jake and Jimmy to come play ball in the morning – or tennis in the evening – adds to that extra fun in life.

I’m not sure why it seems I don’t run into a lot of “guys” these days. Certainly there are plenty of “males” around. But for whatever reason, it seems guys are a dying breed. They are out there. I see them on TV at the football and basketball games (though maybe most of these can’t actually play sports anymore). But for whatever reason it seems guys just start disappearing after the age of about 23 or 24. Maybe it is an indication of the Mormon culture, as certainly I interact with quite a few Mormons. Are they too busy with church and family to fit in “guy” time? Or have these things slowly become “evil”? I think there is some truth to the last statement (not that it is evil! But rather that people think this way). Morning basketball is a great example of where for years anytime something goes missing in the church it is always the fault of the morning basketball guys. It was only a few years ago when I was playing at a church on Tuesday evenings with quite a few non-members that eventually a local leader came in and said we could no longer play there – ever. This was after I had been playing there for nearly a year with some of the nicest guys I have ever played basketball with. Or have men slowly lost touch with their masculine side as they tend to get heavier? Or are women just keeping their men on shorter chains these days?

Maybe it is a combination of these things, but it isn’t just Mormons. I certainly could find plenty of guys out there to come watch a game (especially if I supplied the beer), but to get them to actually play a sport like football, basketball or tennis? That’s a whole other level. They just aren’t out there after a certain age.

But with the arrival and Jacob and Kathy and their respective “better halves” I have instant guys to do things with. They’ll play basketball, tennis, work in the yard, get tickets to a football game, watch sports, cook BBQ and just do guy things – which may even include some Madden (which we have yet to play). And once Tommy gets here we’ll have nearly a clan of guys – at least temporarily. If pops would ever wake up and realize the advantages of the “bros in the desert” he could add to this masculine mess and enjoy the fruits of guyhood (careful –t hat says GUYhood).

So a big bro hug to Little Brother Wall and James. Thanks for listening to the siren song of Phoenix. Thanks for being in good enough shape to actually do things (can’t wait to start up football!). And thank your wives for knowing that you are guys and need to get out and do things. Once we get that hottub set up we can get a TV out there, put in a rootbeer tap and create the ultimate man cave.