More pictures....

Over the last few weeks I've shot some more pictures of stuff....

Here's the link to some of the cooler looking ones:
http://graydonsphotos.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-pictures.html

This one's my favorite from this round...


Enjoy!
-Graydon

The Mac Rocks!

About 4-5 months ago I picked up a Mac Book Pro as a "back up" laptop to my Dell (because the Dell kept crapping out on me) and I'd also heard lots of good stuff about Macs & figured I'd give it a try.

Here's what my MacBook looks like:



So far, it's been an awesome 4-5 months with this thing.

It definitely took a little getting used to (where's the right mouse button and where did my Page Up key go?) but once you're hands figure out how to get around those problems (two fingers tapping on the mouse-pad acts like a right-mouse click), your hands just do it automatically.

I'm totally hooked!

We have 4 computers at our place: A big honkin' Dell--it even glows, no really, I'm serious, it really does glow..., a Dell Laptop (Piece of Junk!), a Prime Systems generic PC (the local school district always buys their PC's from this place, and, the mighty MacBook.

For daytime use when I'm doing business stuff I live on the big honkin' Dell (I mean, it's got a 24" flat panel monitor and all the stuff I need to run the business, wouldn't you?), and when I'm in my "free time" not doing business stuff but still want to browse the web, it's the MacBook all the way!!!

I know a lot of people say, "Well, what's the big deal? It's just a computer!"....well, yeah, but it's such a BETTER computer!!!!

So far the thing has been rock-solid! It did crash once on me (I had VM Ware up running Windows & Windows was actually what crashed, OS X was still running just fine).

And, it just does what it does so well!

Someone really had their head on straight when they designed these things too. They just "Feel" solid! You can't really describe it until you mess with one for a while (more than just an hour), but after a while, it just has such a great tactile feel to it that it's a joy to work on.

I absolutely love all the cool stuff it can do out of the box too.
iMovie just plain rocks! It's what finally got me into editing movies (yeah, some say iMovie08 is kind of basic, but hey, it got me going! Adobe Premiere Elements 3 & 4 never did that!)

If I had to say I wanted something more of it, it'd probably be just adding more RAM to it (it has 2 GB, but for video's I think it'd edit faster with 4.)

That said though, the fact that it doesn't crash when you're editing your videos (which Premiere Elements does ALL THE TIME! Even on the big, honkin Dell), and, when it does crash (iMovie has crashed on me once the other night..still not sure why), when I brought it back up it didn't "lose everything I'd been doing" for the last 3 hours (you know, like any Windows program would've done), nope. It brought everything back up where I was before complete with the very last edit I made. Now that's smart software!

Anyway, I just have enjoyed having it around so much that I figured I'd spew a few comments about it here.

Point being...
If you're looking to upgrade to a new PC or Laptop, give a Mac a try.
Go & hit the local Apple store & play around with them. You just might find yourself as enamored as I've become over them.

I'll always have to have Windows around as I have lots of programs that'll only run on Windoze (yes, I spelled that purposely that way), but with VM Ware I can run them both with no problem.

So before you plunk down that hard earned cash on a Dell (JUNK!) or that cheap lookin' HP or Toshiba (which probably IS just as cheap as it looks), go try an Apple. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Side note on Dell's.
While everyone uses them, it's because they're cheap.
I always buy the 3 year extended warranty on all my Dells BECAUSE I END UP USING THE DARN THING! I've yet to make it a single year on a Dell w/o having something go wrong. Even the big, honkin, expensive, top of the line Dell lost it's hard drive within 2 months of it being here. The laptop was just a nightmare...and it's barely over a year old (well, ok, it's gone now because DELL HAD TO REPLACE THE DARN THING WITH ANOTHER ONE!!!)

Yeah, I've kind of lost my faith in Dell. After owning 3 BRAND NEW Dells in the last 3 years, and every one of them having problems, I'm done with em! I also don't care much for Vista (after 1 day of having the replacement laptop--that they'd only send with Vista on it--apparently XP isn't shipping anymore--it completely crashed & had to be rebuilt--because it tried to update the Dell software on it..go figure).

Anyway, moral of the story, go try a Mac, iMac, or MacBook. You just might find them to be as great as I have.

-Graydon
Total Mac Fan!

FHE

Tonight for Family Home Evening we decided to make Christmas Tree Ornaments out of cinnamon. I made one full recipe and when I saw the ball of dough, I thought, "This isn't going to make very many." So I made the full recipe again. Now you see what we ended up with. If my count is correct we have 56 ornaments. (Okay, I'll admit I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I increased the amounts a little.) We have decided to give some away. The best part is...our house smells so yummy.

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10692

The Kids

Alright...you get more pictures of my kids since this is my life right now. I just think they are so cute and fun.

We just got Emily's school pictures back. I couldn't believe how grown-up she looks. I once made the comment that the more you sleep, the more you grow. Now when she wakes up she shows me her legs and says, "Look how long I am."

Emily and Josh really get along well...most of the time. They had been fighting over the chair in front of the computer, trying to decide who would sit in it. A short while later I found them like this.



One of Laurie's favorite things to do is pull all the books off the shelf. It is so funny that all the kids have done this at least once.

Laurie looked so cute in her sunday dress I had to take a picture. No, she is not walking in the picture. She is great at standing, but can only walk three steps before sitting down. I love how she crosses her ankles...so lady-like.

Tree's At Night are incredible!

Tonight I shot some more pictures....


Click here to see the rest from tonight....

Needless to say, I'm just amazed at what tree's can look like at night when you let the shutter take over.

Enjoy the pictures!
-Graydon

A New Hobby! (Taking Pictures!) (And new blog)

A few weeks ago I made the decision to finally get a new digital camera and picked up a Nikon D40 DSLR. I'd worn my old Olympus C5050 completely out (10,000+ pictures) and it was time to upgrade to something better...

Well, in doing some research on cameras I ran across a website by a photographer in California that publishes a site on how to take pictures.

Here's the link:
The guy's name is Ken Rockwell and he's a brilliant photographer!

After reading for several nights on his site, I took the plunge & bought one of the cameras he'd recommended (the Nikon D40). I couldn't be happier!

Not only does it take really clear shots (we've posted a couple of the kids), but, it has a lot of controls you can mess with to get some really cool shots that you otherwise couldn't do on a compact.

For instance....
This shot was taken in nearly complete darkness:


This shot was taken in dusk:


This shot was taken without a flash in really low light:


The secret? Let the camera do the work for you!

I absolutely love the vivid colors it takes and am amazed at what you can do when you really use a camera how it was meant to be used.

Ken Rockwell, the guy on the site I mentioned earlier, says that to properly use a camera, you need to DRIVE it! (Just like a car).

The nicest car in the world won't stay in the lanes if you don't hold the wheel & point it where you want it to go.

Likewise, a camera won't take the kind of pictures you want unless you help it out a little.

Things like messing with exposure, white balance, and automatic ISO.....
Getting the light right and a whole lot of other cool stuff.

So, what's the new hobby? TAKING PICTURES!!!

It's like someone showed me a whole new world! I was snapping pictures like crazy tonight, messing with the settings & retaking the pictures.

Here's his link to "driving the camera"
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/drive-your-camera.htm

If you'd like to see how many cool things you can do with your camera, just stop by his site & start reading....

So, with this new "hobby" firmly started, I've started a new blog to share some of the cool photos I'm hoping to take.

Here's the link:
http://graydonsphotos.blogspot.com

Enjoy the pictures!
(And if you read up on the site on how to take better ones, maybe we can swap pictures)

-Graydon

Daddy's Girl

So since having kids, I've never experienced the whole "Daddy's Girl" thing...until now...


Both Josh & Emily never really "clung" to their Daddy as babies. Instead, they preferred "mommy". Josh still does...

But Laurie is different....and Daddy is loving it!

When Laurie was born I knew things were going to be different. No longer could we play "Man on Man" defense and no longer could I get away with letting Val deal with the majority of the fits & stuff the kids always were bound to throw.

So, from very early on, I took a much more active part in "helping out with the kids" when Laurie arrived. I spent a lot more time holding Laurie at bedtime while "mommy" put Emily & Josh to bed (they have this whole routine that Daddy just doesn't do justice too...and the kids know it).

With all those night-time routines, Daddy & Laurie got to spend a lot of "quality time" together (ok, mostly daddy holding Laurie while Laurie made "baby sounds").

I didn't think anything of it until a couple weeks ago when Val & I both noticed that Laurie really likes hanging out with her Daddy.....even more so than hangin' with Mommy (something Daddy really is getting a kick out of).



One night we were doing the normal routine and I had been holding her but when mom came to pick her up to take her to bed (Mom still does the "putting to bed" routine with her, Daddy just ain't got the touch), we noticed that she wanted to stay with Dad.

After that, we noticed if given the preference, she preferred to go to Daddy. In fact, in the last week or so, we've noticed this coming on even stronger.

During the day, she'll crawl back to where my office is and look at my office door longingly. If I should come out & see her, the universal flailing arms kick in (short for "Yo, Dad, pick me up down here!") and if I don't pick her up immediately the tears kick in.

We've noticed that she can literally spend hours "just hanging with Daddy". She loves being with her dad & Dad absolutely loves it and is soaking it in!

Neither Josh nor Emily ever exhibited this behavior (given the choice they always wanted to go to "momma". Josh STILL prefers mom & Emily just wants to be on her own--the independent child that she is).

The past few days I've spent "hogging Laurie" as much as possible, because, well, she likes to hang with Dad & Dad loves this fact.

So, I now understand that whole "has Daddy wrapped around her finger" thing....


Laurie & Daddy have been having a great time ever since we discovered this!

If she's crying, pouting, or just not feeling well, all I have to do is pick her up & everything is all better.

Tonight she was crying & couldn't be consoled....even when Mommy picked her up. I said, "Come to Daddy!".....and, 10 seconds later while in my arms she was happy as could be!

Yep! Lauries a "Daddy's Girl!"

-Graydon

Just having fun!

Josh and Emily found some hats Wednesday. These are hats that Grandma Blair brought back from a Cruise to Mexico.







Laurie is a "Daddy's girl". She doesn't show it in the picture, but she really loves her daddy. She is always crawling back to his office looking for him and cries whenever he doesn't hold her upon entering the room. Even though she is sick she gave him a big smile. This little girl has stolen her daddy's heart.

Disney On Ice

We took Emily and Josh to see Disney on Ice 100 Years Extraviganza. We decided not to tell them where we were going. As we entered the Energy Solutions Arena they got really excited seeing all the disney merchandise, but they still didn't know. Even when we found our seats, Emily said, "Is this Ice Skating?" I had to tell her what it was and she got so excited that she could barely stay seated. The kids wore their PJs because we would be getting home late.

I really enjoyed listening to the kids' excitement as each new character came out. Josh was so cute as he clapped to the beat of some of the music.

On the way back to the car Josh pointed out that they had every princess except Aurora. (I hadn't even noticed.)

Then Emily kept saying how much she liked the show and that she couldn't wait to tell her friends about it. This is what I heard on the drive home:

Emily: "Disney on Ice is in my head"
"I will raise my hand and tell them about disney on ice."
"Disney on Ice will be in my dreams."

Laurie had spent the evening with Grandma Blair, so the kids got to share their excitement with Grandma and Grandpa before heading home. It was a lot of fun and I am glad we were able to go.

The Cause Of Much Consternation

As the title implies, below are pictures of what was a rather maddening experience





It all started when the clock on our water softener bit the dust. It started making these really nasty noises.

And, well, one thing led to another, and the next thing you know I was now Graydon The Amateur Plumbing Expert!




I absolutely LOVE these cool fittings! Just cut the pipe & snap em in! They're called Shark Bites and man do they make doing emergency plumbing at really bad hours of the night so that you can have water in the morning a lot easier!

...and I didn't have to burn the crap out of the wall either! BONUS!

So, here's what it all looked like when the guy FINALLY got it all fixed.
He had to reinstall the head on this thing 3 times AND fix the leaks AND get it working right AND fix the gallon counter.




The guy didn't get to leave until I was thoroughly satisfied that it was working.

He had to take it apart 3 times before it was working "right".....I bet he never wants to step foot in my house again (and, frankly, if I see another "repair-break-everything-I-own-while-telling-me-I'm-getting-a-better-deal-even-though-the-new-thing-broke-man" again, it'll be WAYYYY too soon!

-Graydon

Aah, Maintenance!!!

Our water softening system hasn't been working right lately. We had it tuned-up a year ago and we were pleased with the company that performed the work, so we called them again to come and check for problems.

This was a completely different story.

He showed up and after checking it didn't find anything really wrong. Graydon had to really argue with the guy to get him to admit that there was something wrong with the timer, but he still thought the problem was that the system was old and suggested that we should replace entire system. We settled on replacing just the head unit. It was a little pricey, but something had to be done to make it work.

For the next three hours or so he worked to replace the part. He neglected to check the water pressure before turning on the new unit and water went everywhere, a filter and pipe were broken and resin went into all the water in the house. Cold and hot water had to be flushed and we still don't have it all out of our heater. So now we have to fix another part, clean up a flood in the laundry room and drain out the heater. Plus Graydon is having to replace our water pressure valve. Apparently our old system could handle a higher water pressure than the new.

A simple maintenance call turned into a nightmare and to top it all off, while at Home Depot, Graydon discovered that we could have purchased a whole new system for half the cost of what we paid this guy.

While Graydon dealt with one problem after another instead of working I had to make dinner and do dishes with no running water. Luckily I had bottled water in storage.

Tagged, I'm It!

The kids are all in bed so let's see if I can do this before I fall asleep.

8 Places I like to eat:
1-The Olive Garden (Anyone who knows me knows I love this place. Because of pricing we only eat here on special occasions.)
2-Chuck-a-Rama ( Don't laugh, it's a great place, and it can't be Hometown Buffet. This is a great place to take a bunch of kids who are hard to please.)
3-Denny's (because it reminds me of my college days. I had a roommate who had a goal to eat in every Denny's in Utah. We had some interesting experiences.)
4-Subway
5-Carl's Jr. ( I love their Chili Cheeseburgers.)
6- Spaghetti Factory
7- IHOP
8- Imperial Dragon ( I love Chinese!)

8 TV Shows I like to Watch:
1- Dancing with the Stars
2- Samantha Who?
3- Boston Legal
4- The Biggest Loser
5- The Cosby Show
6- Perry Mason
7- Little House on the Prairie
8- Game Shows (I hardly watch them from beginning to end, but I enjoy seeing how well I can answer the questions.)

8 things that happened yesterday
1-Drove down to Julie's to borrow something.
2- Organized Laurie's Clothes, mated all her socks.
3- Watched a James Bond Movie that made me jittery (This was Friday, but technically it was after midnight before it ended. The movie was "License to Kill")
4- Glued fake leaves on a tree poster for Sunday's Singing time.
5- Organized our Laundry room...a little.
6- Took care of my sick daughter and Husband.
7- Read stories to my children.
8- Exercised to a new routine and got very sore.

8 Things I Love about Fall:
1- The colors.
2-The cool air.
3- Kids go to School
4- Big Piles of Leaves
5- don't have to mow the lawn...as often.
6- Lower power bill.
7- Making Soup...even though my kids won't eat it.
8- Sweaters.

8 Things on my Wish List:
1- Having a Pantry in the Kitchen.
2- Windows that are easy to clean.
3- Go on a Church History Road Trip.
4- A Trip to Europe...mainly Italy, France, and Grt. Brtn.
5- A Larger Home with More Storage Space.
6- That my Kids would listen to me and obey.
7- That Laundry would do itself.
8- A whole new wardrobe. ( I don't normally enjoy shopping for Clothes, but I could put forth the effort in this case.)

8 People I am Tagging:
1- Kris
2-Kathleen
3-Michelle
4-Cindy
5- Rachel
6- Sharon
7- Anna
8- Jennifer

"Bat Girl"

Emily has been watching my Batman movies again. I was fixing dinner when she came up dressed like this. Her necklace was around her face for a mask and she had a cape. She said she was Batgirl. It was so cute!

Good lookin' Kids

I just have to show off my kids! Graydon bought a new camera because our old one was having problems and the new camera is very nice and takes great pictures. Graydon tested it by snapping pictures of the kids during dinner. I cut out the background so as not to show my messy kitchen. I just think these are great shots. (Laurie is not pictured. She has a bad head cold and is not the happiest or best looking baby right now.)

Be Grateful! We live in a wonderful paradise most would die to have!

I had an email come across my desk today that I particularly liked by David Letterman.

It talked about that too many people in the United States are just a bunch of spoiled, whining brats....and you know what? I agree whole-heartedly!

Anyway, enjoy the read & be grateful! We live in a blessed country!
========================
*David Letterman*
*wrote this; it's the David we don't often see...

As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss .

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?


Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a 'dishonorable discharge' after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they
specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when
criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on
Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at le ast be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mudslides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

David Letterman

=================
Hope you enjoyed!
-Graydon

Treehouse

I took the kids to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden today. Emily and Josh had been asking to go for a few weeks now and I finally gave in. Before we went all Emily could talk about was the large chess board. Once there they played with it for about three minutes before moving onto something else.

Emily really liked the castle with the nights and noble ladies. She found two boys who would play with her because her brother wouldn't. She also enjoyed the tunnel slide and fire truck.

Josh planted himself at the Thomas Train tables. I tried to get him to leave them for something else, but he always ended up back there.

Laurie just crawled from one thing to the next leaving a mess everywhere she went.

They had a great time and it was difficult to get them to leave.

Right on Schedule

I attend a Stake Aerobics Class three days a week from 9-10 am. However, they rarely start on time and never end right at 10. This usually hasn't been a problem for me...unless it's friday and I have to pick Emily up from school at 10:40.

Each morning I load Josh and Laurie into the van to get my exercise. They do very well, playing with their toys and the other kids that are there. But lately Laurie has been my little 10:00 alarm. It doesn't matter what we are doing or how happy she has been the entire time when 10:00 rolls around she starts to cry and nothing I do can make her stop. The only cure is to go home.

Today at 9:45 she was so happy I thought that she may not cry, but she did. The women all think it is so funny. When she starts crying they all laugh and say, "It must be 10:00." It would help a lot if they would start the class on time, that way I could get a full work-out.