Groundhog Day

I'm still trying to figure out why the people of Punxsutawney use a groundhog to determine weather patterns.   It's not just tradition, people actually believe in this.  What's worse, why is he normally right????  

This is our home made version of Punxsutawney Phil.  It's an Almond Joy with M&M eyeballs and a gummy worm nose.  I'm going to do what the people of Punxsutawney should have done a long time ago - PUT THAT FAT SUCKER AWAY!    

The girls told me that if I gave them a cookie, they'd pay me a million bucks.  They owe me.  

If you don't have glass slippers, use the next best thing...  Mardi Gras beads and goggles.

Where've I been?

I haven't been blogging lately because of the downturn in the economy, gas prices, solar energy is down, and I pulled my calf muscle.  

What would you do for a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream?

Not sure how this one started, wrong place at the right time perhaps???  Either way, Rylee has given me permission to grow my hair really long.  Wait until I tell the Stake President.

Rylee had a water spray bottle back there somewhere within reach.  With a little encouragement from me, she was glad to apply water generously.

It's true, Lauren's fish died.  I took her blinds down from her window one day, and the next day while we were at church the sunshine heated up the water tank a little too much.  Well, this ended the story of "Princess Frostine" the fish.  So we got a rat.  I will let Janna tell you how we decided upon a rat.  The truth is, I'm very impressed with how good of a pet it makes.  Her name is Bianca.  She is surprisingly clean, very intelligent, extremely tame and gentle, never bites, and loves Lauren.  She can learn her name and come when called, can be potty trained, and can learn a variety of tricks.   Better than a cat.

I have a Darth Vader mug. . . Be jealous.  I also have a cool new Superman hat to go with my Superman lunch box that I take to work everyday.   Nutty?  Maybe, but I'm the envy at work everyday when Superman comes out.  I owe thanks to Jordan Knudsen Mangum for these great Christmas gifts.  Her creativity and thoughtfulness seem endless.  

Two Letter Words

So I come home from work everyday and see the alphabet explosion on my refrigerator.   Finally, I have discovered a subtle way to put this message board to good use.  Here's hoping.

Worth $10 ????

I don't know where she found the recipe for this evil stuff - but it's not vanilla Duncan Hines. Imagine mixing alum with toothpaste, crack in an eggwhite, a touch of baking soda, and a pinch of pure poison.  We used this stuff as a glue to build our gingerbread houses and bond candy to the walls.  It dries fast and you can't pry the stuff off without a crowbar.  They say it's edible. . . but my gag reflex proved otherwise.  

Janna however. . . . 

Next time, $40 to chew it for 5 seconds. 

Oh, what do you do in the winter time?

Lauren's taught Rylee speed is a good thing and there is no such thing as being cold.

The mountain of every blanket the girls own makes it's way to the living room at least twice a week.

Momma Mangum sent me comfy, new PJ's for Christmas, they came with an eye sleep shield.  Lauren begged to try it out.  It apparently works well.

Mark still has his amazing, creative, romantic side.  He planned a snowshoeing date a couple of weeks ago with our good friends the Schaellings.  The fire starting in the snow was a challenge for the two eagle scout husbands and I forgot the smores.  Mark loves to watch me try to be coordinated on regular feet, snowshoeing was a hilarious thing.  We had a blast!

Christmas fun

The nativity starring Lauren as Mary, cousin Bentley as Joseph and the donkey

Christmas morning music filled the air.  Cousin Annie on piano, Lauren on violin and Rylee on electric guitar.     

Thank goodness for volume and off buttons.

Rylee's make-up kit, what a masterpiece!

Gingerbread houses

Lauren and Mark's house.  Complete with melted jolly rancher windows and gum shutters.

Rylee and Janna's house, I think we ate more than actually ended up on the house.

The bandaid conceals no actual wound, just promotes Rylee's love of bandaids.

More Christmas stuff

Thank you grandma Pat for the PJ's and Princess blankets!

One of the many attempts at a family Christmas photo.

A brief visit to Temple Squares lights- most of our time was spent finding parking. 

 

Setting up the Christmas Tree

Of course!

Happy Birthday 2 days late Jeni!    One of the things I admire most about you is your incredible ability to make things become beautiful.  I stand in awe at the amazing things you create.  

You're wonderful and we love you.

What's In St. George?

That is the St. George Temple.  Lauren & Rylee were very excited to see the temple in St. George, what an honor.  Too bad it's almost a 5 hour drive from Ogden.

We also stopped to sink our feet into the red sands that dominate the landscape in this part of the country.  

The temperature was about 70° F, sunny skies.  But I didn't have my bike. . .

These sand dunes are perfect for digging. . . 

For rolling. . .  (and filling your shoes & pockets with sand to dump into the car)

Some believe this dirt is very good for eating . . .  (Owen)

We also went for a brief hike on a trail to "Jenny's Canyon."   Janna reunited with one of her old college roommates as we took to the trail.  Ironically enough, her moms name is Jenny, and her maiden name is Mangum.  Not sure what else to do. . . so we took a picture.

Of course, the rooms were the 2nd best part of the whole trip.  This closets doors are made of mirrors, so its visually deceptive when you first look at it.  This is Lauren, Rylee, and Bentley, and I believe little Owen is somewhere inside the closet.  The number one place to be is the pool.

It was very exciting.

Sorry Adrian, I couldn't resist.

Automated Soldering Machine

There are several reasons why I am so far behind on my blog, but one of the two major factors is this machine.  It's a machine that automates a soldering process currently done by hand at a solar company in California. It has two lasers, a robotic arm, and a vision system so the robot can "see." It also has two solder paste dispensers that extrude solder paste onto the target then the lasers heat the solder and it metalizes.  The good news. . . this machine shipped on Monday morning this week.  

Believe it or not, this little "bowtie" as we call it, is the finished product.  It's two strips of tin plated copper, .003" thick, soldered together with a tiny diode in the middle.  

  

This is "Thumper" the robot, made by Epson. He costs a cool $20K.  He earned his name because one day one of our team was working near him and tripped a sensor that set the robot into motion knocking his arm with austacious force.  Robots are extremely strong, in fact, bones will break before they stop in their path, so they demand safety and caution.

Here is a view of the "Dial Table." It's 30 inches in diameter, 3/4" thick aluminum plate that rotates 30° at a time.  Each time it rotates, it places one of the little white blocks underneath a work station where some function is performed to help solder the bowtie.  

Each of these little white blocks has a blue tube running into it that creates vacuum to hold the parts in place during soldering.  The white block is a ceramic, the brown part is made of a plastic material called Ultem.  I spent significant time designing, testing, and redesigning these two blocks until they worked just right.  There are six pins sticking up that hold the bowtie in place, the third pin back is actually spring loaded - a very cool feature that allows the bowtie to be removed from the ceramic after it's soldered.

These black trays are loaded with bowties and then fed into the system.  There are two different tracks, one is where the machine offloads finished bowties, the other is for onloading new parts that need to be soldered.  You can see the finished bowties being placed into the pins in the black trays. 

Guilty Pleasure in full carbon

It's true, I bought a new bike.  I can't allow myself to feel guilty because I have worked hard for it and saved up my money.  I had to wait until the end of the year when they were clearing out the 2008 models to get a good price break.  So far, I have put about 60 miles on it. I'm still trying to get used to the different gear configurations, but this bike begs me to go faster. The frame is full carbon fiber, the whole bike weighs in at just under 15 lb.  It's unbelievable. 

And No,  you can't ride it.

A Princess, A Pipe, and a Hot Dog

I attempted to convince Lauren that Batman, or a T-Rex are excellent ideas for costumes. However, the girls wouldn't hear of it.  Princess or bust.

This is a pipe we found at the park.  I don't fit as well as I did 20 years ago.

No need to roll up her sleeves or move cautiously when gutting a pumpkin.  This stuff is better than Play-Dough.  Personally, I have no desire to gut a pumpkin.  Call it what you want, it's sick and wrong.

I have wished to be an Oscar Meyer Weiner all my life.  This year, I made it so.