Sealing Day, November 24th 2007

Cheese, Pumpkins, Hot Mitts

Is this picture not hilarious? Look at the expressions. . . I would pay money to see this again!

It's true. Cheese is an all powerful, dominating force in our home. The more it strings off, the more deeply it captivates. I'm referring to me, of course. The girls like it too.

This is Janna's job. Gut the pumpkin. She is a good sport about it, she does it every year. I hate it because it's squash. We don't exactly see eye to eye on squash, but I can carve a great face on the Jack-O-lantern.

Janna took Lauren & Rylee to a pumpkin farm and apparently they had a great time. They dug for candy in the corn pile, hunted for pumpkins in the patch, rode the train, etc. I missed out.
These pumpkins were hunted and handpicked, then declared to be the best pumpkins in the patch. I don't know what happened to them though, I don't ever recall seeing them. Better check the car. Didn't Janna do a knock out job on these costumes. I wanted one too, but Janna wouldn't make me one. Probably because she knew that I would wear it all the time. . . to work, the store, etc.
If the tongue is out, it indicates epic amounts of fun. If you are as creative as Rylee & Lauren, you would know that Hot Mitts are not just for "taking stuff out of the oven." They also can stand up on end. You can zing them off your hand, give huge fives, stack them on the legs of an upside down chair, sit and slide on them, make a path across the living room and you can catch stuff and pick stuff up.

I had nothing to do with this. I heard laughing and when I came to see what destruction was upon me I found this scene. They sat down and strapped in all on their own. They thought it was funny, at least for a little while. Then when they couldn't get out, it wasn't funny anymore.



These goggles come out every now & then. Lauren bought them with her own birthday money this summer. She sleeps with them, wears them in the tub, at dinner, to the store, to bed, etc. Don't you touch 'em, they were "fifty bucks."

My Girls

I can't really explain it. . . Some of the best wrestling matches occur right before bedtime as we are winding down and getting ready for sleep.

This is Rylee's new tricycle, Lauren was determined to help her learn how to work the pedals. What a great picture.

Rylee telling the story of "Chubby." Lauren & Rylee are pretty good at relating this story.

End of August 2007

We went to Cinnamon Creek to camp on Friday night. Janna took this great picture of us as we were roasting marshmallows. We had a "Megabed" in the tent, locked the keys (both sets) in the car at 11:30pm, and went fishing on the river, got spooked by racoons, saw amazing spider webs near the road, had hot chocolate to drink, and rode in a pioneer handcart. Adam was the brains behind rescuing the keys from the locked car. We ended up using a hot dog roasting rod to break in, it was actually some good challenging fun.
Me & Rylee were standing in the middle of the river fishing. The water was very cold, but clean and refreshing. It was a beautiful area. I actually look like I know what I'm doing. Adam teaching Sam to fish for trout in shallow water. We used Salmon eggs. Lauren was patient, but her bladder finally overpowered her desire to fish and she

was done. But she refused to go in the "Wilderness" so she held it a bit longer and just danced around a bit. Janna & Rylee had a great time just throwing pebbles into the water. Rylee was in a great, laughing mood and wore those nutty red glasses all morning long. Lauren & Annie sat on this rock and fished - somewhat. Adam caught the only fish, a trout about 7 inches long. We all touched it then let it go. This river empties into a reservior called Porcupine Dam, owned entirely by the church. This area is absolutely beautiful.
I set the record for carrying the most camping stuff at once. Two bags of supplies, two sleeping bags, two egg foam pads, one blanket, four pillows, Rylee's red jacket, and a flashlight. Let's see you beat it. It was a late night after I locked the keys in the car. We finally got to bed at about 11:30pm and the girls didn't make a sound but went straight to sleep. We slept good and woke up the next morning around 8am and had a great breakfast before we cleaned up, then went fishing. The ride home was nice and quiet.

Jordanelle Triathlon, August 25th, 2007. The Jordanelle Reservoir was perfect - about 70°. I got there late and got into the water about 15 seconds before the starting signal. Just long enough to wet my hair, seal my cap and temper my goggles. I completed the 800m (1/2 mile) swim in 19 minutes which is my best time so far, but my goal is 17 minutes.

What a lame picture, I saw the photographer and I couldn't help but lose my concentration and laugh a bit. Honestly, I really did have a great time doing this race and I think my lack of "Game face" here shows that. My average speed was 19.7 mph, my top speed was a stunning 46mph coming down the hill out of the nearby town - Francis. What a rush!!
My traditional "Jump" across the Finish. The clock actually reads 2:36. My wave started an hour after the first wave, so my actual finish time was 1:36. I finished 19th of 70 guys in my age group, there were over 1000 athletes there that day. What a great feeling to finish so strong in the race, I should have left more of my sweat on the trail - but I sure did enjoy it. On my left ankle there is a timing chip that tells the announcer who I am and he announces it over the loudspeaker and everyone cheers. There are few things that compare to that feeling at the finish line.

This little girl is so curious, observant, and creative. She found this swim cap in my bag and put it on. When you see the toungue sticking out, you know she is enjoying herself. The other side of the cap reads "Poco Loco." Fitting.

Clean Teeth

Nothing like clean teeth. Even if you're only 1.

Cache Valley Triathlon - August 4, 2007

Pretzels and Capes

Rylee flies for free right now. She did really well flying on the airplane. she kept herself busy pushing buttons, raising the window sleeve, and eating snacks.


Today was a Cape Day. We flew around the house for a while and saved the world. Rylee wanted to wear my cape, but when it was too big for her Janna made her a small cape and clipped it together with a hair clip - Rylee loves it.

Louisiana Vacation

Rylee & Uncle Craig wrestle a bit.

Baton Rouge city center is barren on the weekends. From left to right: Laurie & Calyn, Dad, Mom, Aaron, Craig, Jeni, and Brian. Laurie was smart, she held baby Calyn the whole time and avoided getting dragged into the water. Mom on the other hand, had no protection.

Look at the smile on that face. This kid loves water, no question about it.

Louisiana Laughs

Protective Eyewear. . . bowling can be very dangerous if not executed with proper technique and a good colored ball.

Janna and the girls had their own lane and had a great time. Lauren actually got a strike.

I suppose I should have stopped her instead of taking a picture. At the age of 1 there is plenty of time for manners later. Note the "Warning" label on the chair pad. . . nice touch.

This was Uncle Brent's idea. We had some great laughs at these fountains in the city center of Baton Rouge. These fountains burst at random intervals and ascended to random heights.

Janna, Lauren & Rylee took a nice cool dip in Toledo Bend reservoir. It was a hot day.

Fathers Day, Waffles, & "The Tunnel"

Fathers day was a lot of fun, I don't remember why but all three of us were wearing bandana's at one point. Rylee wasn't too sure of the idea, although she thought it was pretty funny at first.

Rylee's favorite meal: Waffles and syrup. This is a kings meal to her and she demands to sit in the "Big Chair" and eat with a "Big Fork."

Not sure how she does it, but without help Rylee can get yogurt and ravioli anywhere.
"The Tunnel." The girls have this 6 foot fabric tunnel that is the source of more fun than almost anything else. Dad doesn't fit in it very well but, it's fun to try and hide in it during hide & seek. It also works supremely well as a secret entrance into the fort that we sometimes build in the living room corner.
The slip & slide comes out about every other day. Rylee just can't understand why it's not "her turn" every time. Sharing is still a very difficult concept, but she's learning.

Lauren absolutely loves the water. She would wear her bathing suit morning, noon, and night if it were clean that long. Last year she wasn't so sure about the slip n slide, but this year she can't get enough of it.

Lauren just completed her second year of swimming lessons. As you can see she is more distracted by the other opportunities that are outside of class than she is in the class itself. She is a regular fish and prefers swimming over any other activity at all.