Pioneers, Parades and Peril

Last weekend we celebrated the hard work and sacrifices of the pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley by taking a day off work and stuffing our faces. As usual I took the kids to the parade on the morning of the 24th. It was plenty hot, and the nice lady in front of us put up a giant umbrella that gave her and her kids some great shade, and completely blocked our view of the floats and horse poop. She got a little irritated when my kids began to crowd around her, trying to see, but as you might imagine, I did nothin about it. Last year the parade started with an F-16 flyover. So many people complained about the afterburner that rattled windows and made little kids cry that they changed things up. Instead we were treated to a flyover from a KC-135 refueling tanker. It was somewhat of a letdown.

As you can see, Bean didn't really get into the parade...

Whitney was the only smart one, finding a shady area to watch the parade.

You may recall this picture from last year of Samantha enjoying the fireworks.


Contrast that picture with this one from this year, in which Patrick had to hunker down while Jeff tried to make the neighborhood look like a war zone...

As usual, Paul came to the barbecue at Alley's house loaded with glow in the dark toys for all of the kids. It was a great time, and no limbs or eyeballs were lost...this year...

A Short Trip

Yesterday I completed my class on Public Policy and AIDS. After sitting in the library for 8 hours and finishing with a final exam I took my kids up to Tanner's Flat campground to see the family. Chas is heading back to Hawaii next week, so this weekend was the only time they had to get a camp trip in. By the time I got up there we only had a couple of daylight hours left. While the girls made s'mores Patrick and I went on a short hike. He did really well for a short little guy. I was happy to see how much he enjoys hiking. A chip off the old block...

We didn't stay overnight, because I had to teach in church today. But it was a nice relaxing evening.

Uh, Whit, your marshmallows are on fire...

I would like to commission a study about how many marshmallows are actually eaten as opposed to those that just end up in the fire.

Patrick was kind enough to stop every once in a while to wait up for me.

This just really pisses me off.

In case you're wondering, yes, he is hiking with flip flops on...

11 Years and Counting

Last night Kate and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary. We kind of made a big deal about it. The first half of this year has been a major challenge, with my school schedule, our work schedules, Kate's health, the girls, Froggy getting smashed, and everything else. We both feel that we have handled everything pretty well. So we decided to have a special evening. Plus, it was a milestone anniversary, being 10 years since our temple sealing. Kate bought a beautiful new dress. Being the bonehead that I am, I didn't bring a camera along to get pictures of her in her dress. But I will post pictures as soon as I can get them. We spent the evening at Franck's Restaurant in Holladay. It is a beautiful place with excellent food. I will be sure to go there again. But not before I can save up some money. It was a very relaxing evening, and I was able to dwell on how lucky I am that Kate said 'yes' so many years ago. When I think about it, it doesn't seem like 11 years. It has gone by fast. And yet I can't remember what life was like before she and I were together. I know I am getting mushy, so I will stop now. But if you go to Franck's, get the halibut.

Check out the whole menu:

Independence Day 2009

In honor of Froggy, and in an attempt to get rid of the stain in the street, we decided to light all of this year's fireworks on the spot where she was killed. We didn't get rid of the stain, but the firework display was impressive.

Bean was glad that uncle Chas came to watch fireworks with us because he decided to wear his Yankees cap, instead of that awful BYU hat he wears...


When asked about the fireworks package that Kate bought, Whitney answered, "You picked a winner, mom!"


Samantha was "blown away" by her dad's great firework display




Literally...

Usually a picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks to Pat and Whit, this one is worth two.

The newlyweds (Shared and Kat) graced us with their presence.

Can you guess what happened about 10 seconds after this picture was taken (I'll give you a hint: Scott was glad Patrick decided to wear undies)

When you don't have pockets, improvise...

Next time you think about shaking hands with Kate, think twice. Firday as she was in the bathroom getting cleaned up, Bean came running in, stark naked. Seeing Bean naked is not a big deal, as she frequently sheds her burdensome clothing. As she entered the bathroom she proudly held up Kate's emerald ring. Taking the ring from Lauren, Kate asked "Where's my wedding ring?" She knew that Bean would have swiped both of them, since they had been on the dresser together. Bean answered "He he he! It's in my bum!" She then unclenched her butt cheeks, reached around, and produced the ring. When I heard this story I couldn't help but think of this classic movie moment...

The Graduate

Samantha was presented with her diploma from preschool. I can't believe that she will be in kindergarten next year. The kids are just getting too big to cuddle...

The Big Dog in the Ballpark

We brought home our new dog this week. Her name is Yankee. I'll bet you can't guess who named her. She is a purebred German Shepherd. She was born on Patrick's birthday, May 1st. Even though she is only eight weeks old she already dwarfs Blossom. And Blossom doesn't like the hyper little puppy. But then again, Eddie and Al don't like either dog.

Rain on my Parade

Last night was our ward's annual campout. We had a lot of fun and ate like kings. I was the first to arrive at the campground, and was able to snag the prime tent site. Shortly after dinner and just before the campfire program our friend Megan got a call from her husband, Scott, who was working in Taylorsville. He informed her that a half inch of hail had just dumped on Taylorsville and that the storm was headed our way. Moments later we were soaked by a cloud burst. There were about 80 people in the campsite at the time. All of those who were not planning to stay the night jumped in their cars and went home, leaving the cleanup of dinner to the handful of us who were planning on camping. It was a very neighborly gesture. I threw the Shirley kids in the tent and told them to wait until the storm was over.

The lighning was close and the thunder loud. The kids were getting scared so each time the light flashed I would yell 'Wow! That was awesome!' It seemed to work, because soon they began doing the same. Because I had picked such a great tent site, we were completely dry. We were the only ones. Soon I realized that my tent was the last one standing. So I helped Rex pack up all of his dutch ovens and cooking gear and load it into his trailer. I was still planning on staying, but I realized that Rex was leaving with the breakfast materials. I figured it was best to break camp while I still had some daylight, because if I waiting two hours and the rain hadn't abated, or if we got water in the tent, I would be breaking camp in the dark and alone. So we packed up and came home. By the time we got home (20 minutes) it was clear and beautiful. Figures. Oh well, better luck next time.

Get Your Head in the Game

This afternoon Francie called to inform me that Kyle Korver was at Harmon's signing autographs. My first thought was to wake Kate so we could run down there. But since she was working tonight I decided to let her sleep. I took the kids over (Whitney refused) and stood in line with them. He was very personable, joking with Patrick about his shirt that reads "Voted Most Likely to Squish Stuff". He even signed Lauren's autograph to 'Bean'. Now we'll see if he will even be back this year...

The Importance of Articulation

For the past several months Bean has responded to the question "What's your name?" with the response "Lauren Webster". We had no idea who Lauren Webster was. I assumed that she was a character from one of the many TV shows the kids watch. On the last day of school Lauren came home with a packet full of papers. Kate was going through the papers when Bean began to yell "Look! Look! Lauren Webster!" She was pointing to her name placard, which had the name "Lauren" on it. It also had a drawing of a lobster. As it turns out the teacher placed a drawing of an animal that started with the same letter as each child's name. It wasn't Lauren Webster after all. It was Lauren Lobster...

All Grown Up

It's been a week since Kate's 30th birthday party, and I am just now posting about it. I am ashamed. I created a video tribute to celebrate Kate, just as I did for Stretch's 60th birthday. However, because of the sheer size of the file I had trouble uploading it. So I had to break it up into three parts, compromising my artistic creativity. I also had some issues with YouTube and copyright issues, so I had to change the music a little, which should make Pat happy, since she complained about the awesome tunes I had attached. So enjoy.

Kate made some heavenly apple dumplings. Ingredients: sugar, butter, apples, dough, Mt. Dew and guilt.

The Air Force sent a KC-135 and a quartet of F-16s for a flyby to mark Kate's birthday. I thought that was very nice of them...

'Blossom' made her debut with the family that day. She is what Bean refers to as a 'chick-a-wah-wah' and she is our new canine.

Do you think Patrick and Josh coordinated their outfits? I really hope not...

And Beckie was her usual pleasant self...

I worried that the inclement weather would ruin the party, since my house is not big enough to hold 50 guests. But after a short shower things turned pretty nice. (And don't think I don't see that finger again Beckie!)

Of course that snooty, annoying little Omnibot had to come in to try to steal the show...

Hey robot! See that ring on Kate's left hand? That's right. Back away jerk.

Froggy
~2000-2009

This morning when I left the house I stepped over Lauren, who had her arms wrapped around her best friend Froggy, carrying on a one-sided conversation with the pug. It was the last image I had of Froggy alive. About 2:30 this afternoon I got a call from Kate. She told me that we had a situation. I wondered if one of the kids had flooded the bathroom again or something of that nature. I wish. All of the kids had been playing in the front yard, Froggy included. A man who had been landscaping a yard in our neighborhood drove by in his dump truck, and Frog gave chase. Kate was in the house when she heard all the kids burst in screaming that Froggy was dead. They had witnessed Froggy getting crushed under the tires of the truck.

I won’t sicken you with the gory details, but it was a sight that I wish the kids hadn’t seen. By the time I got home a couple of my neighbors had carefully cleared up the remains of the dog and placed them in a box, which I took to the animal control office.

As you might imagine, Whitney and Bean took it the hardest. Whit was hysterical. Bean was more subdued, but has been walking around the house all evening asking “Where’s my doggy?” and repeatedly declaring that “Froggy got hurt by the truck” and “Froggy is with Jesus.” It wasn’t until I heard Bean talking like this that I lost it.

Kate has also taken it pretty hard. She feels responsible for letting Froggy be out front in the first place. As the dog’s eyesight worsened, we tried to be more diligent about not letting her go out front. She became more agitated about diesel trucks, and still chased them. We had done a pretty good job of keeping her inside, but with the nice weather, and the kids going in and out of the house and the back yard, it was inevitable that she would get out.

We had tickets to go see ‘UP’ tonight, and I felt as though it was wrong to go to a movie on the day that the kids’ dog was killed. But I also thought that maybe it would help get the kids’ minds off of what they had seen. What I didn’t know is that dogs play a major part in ‘UP’. Kate cried throughout, Patrick broke down, and after the show Whitney lost it.

I was wondering what we were going to do about Bean. I wasn’t sure how we were going to get her to bed without her ‘pillow’. After the movie we came home and started to get the kids ready for bed. Bean had disappeared, and I found her asleep in the corner of the couch, the same spot where Froggy always slept while waiting for the kids to go to bed.

Froggy was about as good of a dog as anyone could ask for. She never had accidents and was always well behaved. The only thing she ever wanted was to be loved, and the best thing that ever happened to her was when Bean took an interest in her. Bean would sit for hours at a time, just petting and talking to Froggy. She will be sorely missed.

To give you an idea of how great she was, I have to be a little graphic and I apologize. A few weeks ago Bean got sick. One morning during the illness I walked into Bean and Whitney’s room to discover that Bean’s pull-ups had failed during the night, and the bed was covered with diarrhea. I bathed Lauren while Kate stripped the bed. A few minutes later I noticed that Frog had also been pooped on. She just sat in the corner, unconcerned about her soiled state. So while Kate dressed Bean I gave Froggy a bath of her own. That night I put the kids in bed and went down to gather Froggy from her spot on the couch. She looked up at me and drooped her ears, as if to ask “Are you serious?” But she dutifully got up and walked upstairs and into the bedroom. I figured that she might opt not to sleep in Bean’s bed that night. But when I checked on everyone before retiring, I found her snuggled up next to the Bean.

Changing Headgear

A couple of weeks ago I reported that Bean was obsessed with her High School Musical helmet. She has since changed her choice of headwear from the helmet to something more socially appropriate. Just in time to celebrate the boys of summer. Kate was so proud...