Graydon And Val

1 year old

2012-01-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

Little Ben is now 1 year old and he has changed so much. I love his personality and his sense of humor. He is so lovable.

He is 30.9 inches tall.
He weighs 23.5 pounds, putting him at 60%.
He loves to play with his siblings, trucks,
balls, pans, lids, bags,...anything he can get to.
He enjoys his freedom as he walks everywhere, but
is still hesitant to try the stairs...I guess he fell too many times (3)

We love you Ben!!

Create a free photo slideshow

Birthday Girl!

2012-01-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

This is a belated tribute to Laurie. She is now a big girl at the age of 4. She was very excited to be four until she had to get five shots at the doctor and now she wants to be three again because she doesn't like shots.

Her favorite color is pink.
Her favorite outfit is dresses.
She has to have her hair up half-way in two ponytails so she can twist her hair.
She is almost 40 inches tall and weighs 36.5 pounds.
She likes to play on the "compluter" and is learning her numbers and letters.
She loves to sing, dance, play with dolls and dress up.

A Fun Saturday Afternoon With The Camera

2011-12-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

Graydon bought a new "business" computer for his birthday and so we've been having some fun with it today.

Here's a slideshow video of some pictures we took of Laurie.

Here's a video Emily took & we put up on YouTube

And a video Josh took that we put up on YouTube.

Nothing fancy yet. Just playing around....

Fire Station

2011-11-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

I forgot to share this. Last month was the annual Fire Station Open House and they had a great surprise for everyone. They were giving rides in the fire truck. We waited in line for at least a half hour, but soon it was our turn.

Josh was given the honor of riding in the front. He and Emily were both wanting to ride in front, but "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" solved the problem. The rest of us sat in the back. We were given headsets so that we could talk to Josh and each other. It was a lot of fun. The kids also got to spray the fire hose, escape a smoke-filled room and see fire fighter propel down a wall. They also got to ride on a machine that imitates a head on car crash; they called it the bumper cars.

We Love Fall

2011-11-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

We have had some fun this fall. We drove up Weber Canyon to see the changing leaves, but I think we may have to go earlier in the season because the color I saw the most was brown. I really wish we lived closer to Big Cottonwood Canyon, it is so beautiful.

The kids also had a lot of fun on Halloween. Their Grandma's Annual Halloween party was great and topped off with a limo ride to an ice cream party.

The kids were disappointed that they couldn't wear their costumes to school.
Emily- Wonder Woman
Josh - Superman
Laurie - Ariel
Ben - Leopard

Little Big Boy

2011-09-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I am still amazed at how quickly kids grow, especially in the first year. Ben, you keep me busy, but I love you anyway.

Fun Surprises

2011-07-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

I always love the pictures that I find on the camera when I go to off load the pictures. I'll give you one guess as to who gets it the most lately.

Tornado Party

2011-07-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

For Josh's 6th birthday he had a tornado party.

The cake (which took me a whole day to make) was a big hit. To add to our party theme, it was really windy and everything kept blowing away.

When the boys arrived they each made a tornado tube. These kept their attention much longer than I thought it would.

I was able to pull them away from the tubes long enough to play one
fun game of twister.

The boys then had running races until I was ready with the next game;they had to build a house out of boxes and then pretend to be a twister and knock it down. They had a lot of fun with that.

Next it was presents and cake and ice cream. The wind made it difficult. Josh pretended to blow out the candle and the plates and cups kept leaving.

In the end I pulled out some water guns and they had a water fight. We had a lot
of fun.

Baby update

2011-03-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ben is now two months old. He is growing so fast.
Weight: 12 lbs. (75%)
Height: 23 1/2 inches (80%)
Head: 15.2 inches (25%)

He smiles a little and coos occasionally, but he definitely watches everyone. I wanted to get pictures of him in his blessing outfit...just in case it doesn't fit him so well when the blessing day finally comes.

One month old already

2011-02-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

Our little Ben is a month old today. He is growing so well.
He now weighs over 10 pounds, which is easy to believe because
he eats all the time. He probably eats frequently because he spits
it all up afterward.

He is happy as long as he is being held. He is very alert and loves
to watch the world around him.

Ten Great Years!

2011-02-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

These have been the best years of my life. I love sharing every day with you. I love that after ten years there is still more to learn about you; that we continue to discover more things we have in common. We have four wonderful kids and have been very blessed. You are a great father and a wonderful husband. I love you, Graydon.

Ben Update

2011-02-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

I thought it was time to do a post about Ben. He is a very good baby who spends most of his days sleeping. I have to wake him up periodically to feed him and change his diaper, then usually he will go back to sleep. The only time he doesn't want to sleep is when I do.

After looking at him I have concluded that he looks a lot like Emily when she was a baby. He loves to be held, be around the family and suck on his hands. He hates being undressed (Which made the Billi light difficult) and getting his diaper changed. When on his tummy he can hold his head up pretty well and the doctor said that he had very strong legs.

His siblings love him and are able to be around him more now that their illnesses are going away. Hopefully we have kept him from getting anything.

emily as a baby

Ready and waiting.

2011-01-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Here is my first official belly shot for this pregnancy. What you can't see is that my hands are swollen so much that I can't hold onto anything. My ankles have disappeared, and I have little feeling in most of my finger tips beyond tingles.

I am going to be induced on Thursday the 27th, but I really wouldn't mind it if he decided to come before that. I think I am going to start exercising and see if it helps.

ZZZzzzzzz

2010-12-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

I walked into Laurie's room late last night and this is what I found. I laughed and wondered at the way that some kids are able to sleep.

She is in there somewhere.

New Glasses

2010-11-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

Josh got his new glasses today. He is very excited.

A Day of Discovery

2010-11-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't be right not to post on an activity that was literally an all-day event. We left the house at 9:30 this morning and got back just in time to make dinner and eat at 6 pm. I took the kids to the Discovery Gateway and they had a blast. I will have to get the house clean tomorrow.

Thank you Janay for sending me the wonderful deal on admission.

What We've Been Doing

2010-10-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

I finally off loaded my camera and thought I would share what we have been doing lately.

We have been struggling with the kids being reverent, listening, and yelling at mom. For two weeks in September we had them earn stickers for specific behaviors. With the stickers they would earn a trip to Boondocks. The kids did very well and now we know what they are capable of doing. We know that it will always be a challenge, but at least for two weeks they were great and they earned the prize.

Our city fire station had an openhouse. The building is very nice and they had a great turnout. The kids really enjoyed themselves. They even got to spray a fire hose outside in the rain.

For another Family Night we decided to drive up Trapper's Loop to try to see the fall leaves. We were late in leaving so we didn't have much light but it was still beautiful and we had fun together.

First Soccer Game

2010-09-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today Josh played soccer for the first time ever. He had a lot of fun and did very well. His coach is so good with the boys, making sure each boy got a turn to do certain things, and game was very relaxed with no pressure. They didn't even keep score. We look forward to the next game.

This was his turn at the second half starting kick

Father and Son Trip/ Girls day out

2010-09-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of August Graydon took Josh on a trip...just the two of them. Josh was so excited. They left for Wyoming early Friday morning. Josh got pretty bored on the long drive to Cheyenne, arriving there around lunchtime. There they had an appointment to see two large, working steam engines with a personal tour given by the conductor. The tour included the turn table and roundhouse along with a very fancy coach and the machines used to make replacement parts for the engines.

They were able to visit a park see Cheyenne's Big Boy Steam Engine and chase ducks and squirrels and stay in a very nice hotel room with a fully-equipped kitchen.

After the boys left on Friday the girls went to the Boondocks to have fun. We spent time crawling around in the Kiddie Cove, playing mini golf, bowling, and playing in the arcade. We finished the day with dinner at Olive Garden and going home and painting our nails.

Saturday, Graydon and Josh left early to head to North Platte, Nebraska. Here they were able to go to the Golden Spike Tower and observe the largest train yard in the world, Bailey Yard. It is 13 miles long and two miles wide and moves around 10,000 cars a day. Josh was able to sit and watch the freight cars roll down the hump as they were sorted. He also got a new toy train and enjoyed picking gifts for his sisters.

Sunday was the wonderful day that they had to drive all the way home. However they made good time and arrived just in time for a family party.

The funniest part about this trip is that Josh and Emily wanted to constantly call each other. They probably called each other 3 or 4 times a day. Then as soon as they arrived home, after the party, they started to fight.

Still Waiting

2010-09-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment today and I was hoping to find out the gender of our baby. Last month he was guessing it was a boy (60%)and all my cravings have said boy, they are similar to what I had with josh.

This morning he said it was a girl (90%). I am not completely convinced yet, the baby was not in a very good position and I could barely see what he was looking at. To me, it looked like the baby was keeping its knees together. Not very helpful.

Anyway, I am going to have to wait until my 3-D ultrasound in four weeks to be absolutely sure of the its gender.

I can't wait to see which of my two names I will get to use.

Mission Memories

2010-08-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago we had the chance to have a FHE with a family that Graydon had taught and baptized while on his mission. He had a great time reminiscing and seeing how they had changed and what they were doing now.

Dinosaur Park

2010-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Monday, Aug 16, we went to the dinosaur park with Cindy and her girls. It was so nice to spend time with them and the kids had a great time. Thanks Cindy for inviting us.

County Fair

2010-08-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the county fair. It was opening day and they offered ride wristbands for a lower price. The kids had a lot of fun. Emily was excited to be able to ride the larger rides by herself. Laurie only liked one ride...the boats (and she only rode those after a lot of convincing). She refused to ride the others. we did get her on the motorcycles, but she soon decided that she didn't like it. Graydon was a good sport to accompany Josh on the larger rides. Then they all had fun on the bouncy toys.

We also went to the petting zoo, rode the ponies, and watched a tiger show. It was a fun day.

I want them back in school!

2010-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the kids' first day off track until the first week of september. At first I was excited because then I would get to sleep in a little, but the excitement wore off when I had to grocery shopping with all of them. While at Macey's I found whole chickens on sale and purchased three of them. This was when the fun began.

I arrived home and fed the kids lunch and told them to go play while I cut up all the chicken. They decided to go ride bikes, but to do this I had to replace Emily's front innertube. Then Laurie insisted on riding her bike, which I have to help or she can't go anywhere (we are working on this problem). This activity took 45 minutes.

Just as I got into the house Emily and Josh come in and want to play with friends, but all their friends are on different tracks and had school. They found some kids who attend the charter school and won't start until monday, so soon my house was full of six kids instead of three.

I finally started to prep the kitchen to cut chicken and got one wing off when Josh and Friend needed help setting up a car track which also required finding new batteries. I get that done and cut up one chicken.

Starting on the next chicken I am inundated with requests for help with a computer game, drinks, snacks, and wanting to go swimming. I tell them that I can't fill up any pool until I am done with the chicken, and I keep working. I then get asked if they can go to their friend's house and run in the sprinkler. This idea sparks a search for their swimsuits. I keep telling them they are going to have to wait because I was all messy.

Long story short. I finally get the chicken cut, sorted, bagged, marinated and in the freezer. While keeping track of where the kids are and what they are doing. I also fill up the pool in the back yard and find all swimsuits.

I never thought that cutting up three chickens would be so hard. I do have three pounds of legs, two pounds of breasts, and a quart of chicken broth. Is it time for school yet?

Testimonies

2010-08-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Emily and Josh love to share their testimonies in Sacrament meeting every month. They go up together, Emily goes first then waits for Josh. Most of the time they end up saying the same things every time.

Today was no exception. The funny part is that Josh will get up and say he wants to bear his testimony and then procede to say something identical to his personal prayers. Today he got up and literally said his prayer. I felt my face flush and Emily was on the stand telling him he was doing it wrong. I am sure nobody really cared.

I am proud of him for getting up there every month, but I think we are going to have a talk about testimonies again.

Great Advertising....

2010-07-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Being a business major and having taken marketing classes in college and doing marketing for my business, I'm always impressed with great ads.

The recent Old Spice guy ads are phenomenal! I've been totally mesmerized by them. Now BYU (Brigham Young University) pulled off an amazing ad similar to the Old Spice guy ones.

Here's the original:

And here's the one from BYU:

Awesome marketing! Way to go BYU!!!

Things you forget

2010-07-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that there are things that you forget about being pregnant:

-How often you have to eat...things of substance,even when the thought of eating makes you sick.
-the heightened sense of smell.
-extreme emotions
-forgetfulness/absentmindedness and
-how in the first trimester you look chubby not pregnant.

I am sure as this pregnancy progresses that I will have even more little reminders, but I am not going to complain. This has been the easiest one of the four and sometimes I feel so good that I start hoping for a little reminder that I am still pregnant...beside the fact that my clothes don't fit anymore.

Our Year So Far

2010-07-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Every year I love to put together a photo book of what we did and how the kids have grown and then order the book through Winkflash. Last year I learned that I could put collages together for these books. I have just put the first half of collages together and thought I would share what we have done so far this year.

Mamma Mia!

2010-07-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

So I finally saw the movie Mamma Mia! last night. I really like ABBA and with this cast I had always had a curiosity about it. It was so different that I laughed through most of the movie. Graydon watched it with me, but felt it was one of the worst movies he had ever seen.

It was weird for me to see Colin Firth in this role since the main movie I know him from is Pride and Prejudice. I didn't know he or Pierce Brosnan could sing. That really surprised me.

I found myself wanting to watch it again today and it is really growing on me. I haven't listened to ABBA for over 12 years and now I am looking up their songs on youtube. I do have to be careful because the content is not appropriate for kids...especially my kids that pick up on everything and will start asking questions.

I really enjoyed it.

Member Missionaries

2010-05-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

We had the a very fun primary activity on Friday. The presidency really put a lot of effort into this.

Two weeks before each of the children received an official-looking mission call in the mail. Emily was going to the Russia Vladivostok Mission and Josh was going to the Argentina Salta Mission. They were told to report to the MTC where they would catch the FUTURE MISSIONARY AIRLINES, FLIGHTS 2910 AND 722.

When they arrived they each had their picture taken and received a name tag. In the MTC they had to dress up like missionaries and make a peanut butter sandwich in a relay race.

Our chapel has a small upstairs with two classrooms. The kids were then told to go upstairs to board an airplane. They all croweded into a small room where they received snacks and watched a film of an airplane taking off, missionaries, and then the plane landing.

Afterward they all got off the plane and headed for their missions. There were four missions: Brazil, Argentina, Russia, and Oregon, and the kids were divided into four groups and spent 15 minutes in each mission. Graydon had a blast telling the kids all about the Oregon mission. Our friend Aaron told about his experiences in Brazil and then two sisters shared their experiences in Russia and Argentina. It was really neat. They then got a "Welcome Home" and almost listened to the actual missionaries in our stake, before devouring all the cookies and going home.
Russia
Oregon
Argentina
Brazil (He didn't have props, but his laptop presentation was great.)

These are the four groups as they reported to the Oregon Mission.

Sewer Problems, City Ordinances, and REALLY deep holes! Part 1

2010-05-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago someone from the city stopped by our house to inform us that they thought our sewer was connected to the storm drain in the area. Turns out they were right....

(that's the sewer in the middle of the road....our house somehow isn't hooked up to it.)

Now, when your home is built over 18 years ago, it's kind of hard to find the blue prints (Hint: They don't exist) and when your house gets connected to the wrong pipe, it's even harder to figure out where the sewer on the house meets the pipe that goes out to the road because the line it's hooked up to doesn't have a "clean out" on it. Go figure!

So, seeing as the city didn't want our "poop" going down the storm drain (and turns out neither did the county), we had to figure out where it was all connected and then figure out who gets to fix it!

How do you do this if you don't have blue prints? Why you get to hire some nice folks to come out with a really cool camera hooked to a long, long piece of wire/pipe like thing and they put it through your pipes and spray paint your lawn and street with where the pipes are!

(we had to take our toilet out in the bathroom and they stuck their camera down the hole...yes..eww, gross--But the camera was wayy cool!)

This is what the camera saw...

That would be the end of our "sewer" line out in our front yard dumping into the storm drain...not exactly where it's supposed to go.

So, they stuck the camera down the sewer lateral clean-out in our front yard (fancy word for "sewer pipe") that had never been hooked up to the sewer (stupid builders!) and lo and behold, out in the street look what it found?

The camera went through the pipe just fine until it got out in the street by our mail box and found a big, gaping hole. Turns out the "real" sewer line wasn't even hooked up! There was a piece of pipe missing (and a big cavern where the pipe should be). You can see the other piece of pipe in the shot above. This is the shot coming out of the pipe in the lawn.

So, out came the spray paint....

See that mark by the curb? That would be where the pipe is missing!

Here's a diagram of it... See the missing pipe?

Next came the fight with the city on who would fix the broken pipe. Thanks to my savvy brother-in-law lawyer who specializes in this sort of stuff, we got the city to fix the problem in the road.

Enter lots of big city trucks and big holes!

This is the truck that came to dig the hole

And that's the hole they started to dig.

They dug it with a high pressure water thingy and a big vacuum. Quite impressive!

It got really deep! That pipe you see is our water main. The missing pipe was another 3-4 feet down!

So, they dug down to it, muttered a few "What in the world? I've never seen this before!", and fixed the pipe and filled in the hole.

This is the finished hole. All fixed and ready to be re-paved.

The next day this showed up!

And, along with fixing our mess, they went about fixing potholes in the road as well.

I'd say they did a pretty good job!

So, now we have a sewer line all the way from the house to the road that's actually complete...but not hooked up to the house yet! That'll be part 2! You see, we get to dig an even DEEPER hole in our front lawn (7 feet to be exact) and unhook the pipe from the storm drain and hook it over to the newly fixed sewer line!

Have you ever heard the phrase..."A house is nothing more than a big hole in the ground that you throw money into!"?...well, we're living it! And it won't get us a single benefit! (well, except that now our poop ends up in the sewer instead of the storm drain...but hey, the storm drain worked perfectly well for 18 years. For some reason the city & the county didn't like it that way though....I sure wish the inspector for the city that "supposedly" inspected the sewer & land drain lines when the house was built & said it was hooked up right was still around though! I'd love to give him a word or two!

Stay tuned for more big holes! They're coming soon to our front lawn!

Putting Things In Perspective

2010-05-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

These images came from my dad in an email he received.
Kind of cool to see as it helps put our "monstrous" problems into a little perspective.

Earth in relation to some of the smaller planets

Now here's Earth in relation to some of the bigger planets

Earth in relation to our sun

Our sun in relation to other stars

Arcturus in relation to some other stars

Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky. It's more than 1000 light years away but it's still in the same galaxy as earth.

Now, wrap your mind around this one....
This picture is a Hubble Telescope Ultra Deep Field Infrared View of countless 'Entire' Galaxies billions of light-years away.

Here's a close up of one of the darkest regions in the photo above. Each one of these galaxies contains millions of stars like our Sun, or larger stars like Antares.

Humbling, isn't it? Kind of puts things into perspective.

New Toys To Work On [Play With] at the Blairs

2010-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

For the past few months I've been itching for a project to work on. In the past I've always had cars I could work on because they usually were so old that something always needed fixing.

However, in the past few years we've been blessed to be able to purchase vehicles that are new enough that they don't have anything wrong with them. I've also really wanted to start teaching Josh about cars so that as he gets older he'll know how to work on them.

With a project in mind to work on and play with, I started looking for older diesels so that I could tie the diesel part of it in with my business somehow as well (plus, I really like diesels!)

So, after a few months of looking at older Isuzu's, trucks, cars, and other diesels, I settled on getting an older Mercedes. The things are practically bullet proof and run forever.

Well, yesterday my dad went with me and I picked up my new "project" (toy). Josh is thrilled with it and already donned gloves yesterday when my dad & I started tearing into it. Now it just needs a name.

The toy has a 3 pointed star on it's hood....

Looks great from the front....

Has a fairly straight body (couple ding's & dents here & there)...

Has some lightly tinted windows....

Looks great from the rear....

Has a beautiful creme color interior complete with leather seats....

Back seat is in good shape too....

It comes with a very prestigious pedigree (S Class Mercedes were the flagship model)...

And best of all, it runs on diesel!

Josh & I are pretty excited to have it. Now it just needs some cleaning up, lots of elbow grease, and an inspection & emissions & we'll have a fun project car to drive around & slowly start restoring.

The car has very little rust on it, but does have 217,000 miles on it (that we can tell anyway, I tend to think it has even more than that from the Carfax, but hey, it's 25 years old & runs!). It has power seats, automatic climate control, rides really firm & smooth, and runs really well!

Let the work (fun) begin!

Potty Training Time

2010-04-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Laurie is definitely a girl who knows what she wants (as much as a two year old can) and it seems that once she decides to do something there is little we can do to stop her. Like when she decided to stop nursing, cold turkey, two and a half months too early.

So it is with potty training. She decided last sunday that she wanted to use the toilet. No training potties for this child! We had accidents most of the day on Monday, but by tuesday she was doing everything in the toilet. She does really well when we stay home and I am constantly available to help her when she tells me, but when I get busy or distracted we have accidents.

I am just so happy with how well she is doing and am looking forward to being through this phase with her.

All Aboard!

2010-04-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

We decided last week that it was high time we got out of the house as a family and did something fun. What could be more fun on a lovely spring day than a train ride and a walk through beautiful flower gardens?

We surprised the kids with a Front Runner Train ride to Salt Lake City. (The last time we had ridden this train was when it had first opened and they were offering free rides. Then it was so crowded that we couldn't really enjoy it.) While we waited for our train I learned that empty railroad tracks can be stared at for a long time and not bring on boredom.

After a nice relaxing ride into town we boarded a trax train to take us to Temple Square. As we watched marathon runners along the street we reveled in the fact that we didn't have to worry about road closures or parking.

We headed toward the Lion House for lunch and were surprised to learn the Observation Deck in the Church Office Building was open on a Saturday. As we rode up those very fast elevators all the memories of my time working there came back. It was fun to see what changes had been made and to reminisce.

Afterward we had lunch at the Lion House, which the kids wouldn't eat much of. They each received a balloon as we left. We then went and toured the Beehive House where Josh looked at the sitting room and asked where the TV was. We enjoyed a walk around Temple Square looking at all the weddings (we were told that last saturday they had 62 weddings) and flowers and fountains.

By 3 pm we were all tired so we headed for the trains and went home. What a great day!

Lets Go Fly A Kite

2010-04-10T16:25:00.001-07:00

Today we took the kids out to fly kites.
They had a great time watching the kites fly up in the air.

Lauries kite was Buzz Lightyear

Emily's Kite was The Amazing Spiderman

And Josh?...Well, Josh was having a really hard time today. The sun was in the sky right where the wind was coming from and it kept getting in his eyes.

After donning dad's sunglasses he could finally fly his kite.

Once all the kites were up in the air, everyone had a great time.

The wind was absolutely perfect and the kids loved it!
I'm sure we'll probably be doing this again.

April Fools! (Mother Nature Style)

2010-04-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we got a slight taste of winter again here in Northern Utah.
That was nothin! Check out the April Fools joke Mother Nature dropped in our laps last night!

Yep! It's winter again in Utah! At least where we live...

Ok Mother Nature. Ha Ha. Jokes over. Can I have Spring back?

Little Miss Homemaker

2010-04-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

I posted this on facebook already, but I wanted it here too. Sorry for the repetition.

I really think that Laurie is going to know how to cook by the time she's three. Every time I am making something in the kitchen she has to help. This afternoon I had started heating some water to make Mac and Cheese, then I went to play piano until the water boiled. The box of pasta was sitting on the stove next to the pan, UNOPENED.

I heard a loud sound and before I could see what was happening Laurie came in and gave me a damp cheese packet. She had opened the box, and poured all contents into the water in the pan. I almost got mad.

She then insisted on helping to make lunch.

Spring In Utah (March 31, 2010). Yep! It's Snowing!

2010-03-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today is March 31, 2010. As I looked out my back door today, this is what graced me falling from the sky. Yep! Lots & lots of snow.

And this is what it's looking like out front. The white specs falling from the sky is indeed snow.

I don't know about the rest of you, but if this is Spring, I'm ready for Summer.

Laurie Sleeps Everywhere

2010-03-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Laurie is probably going to hate me when she gets older. Since she refuses to nap she ends up falling asleep at random times. I have a new hobby of getting a picture of her every time she falls alseep somewhere. I think it is so funny.

Guess What It Is 2? (More Macro Shots)

2010-03-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here's the results of the first macro shots:

A watchband

A drinking glass

Here's this weeks shots....

Enjoy!
-Graydon

Guess What It Is? (Macro Shots)

2010-03-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, since I have this fancy new lens, it's time for a game....

Let's see if you can guess what these two pictures are of...

Picture 1

Picture 2

I'll post the answer this weekend.

-Graydon

I Love Macro Lenses!

2010-03-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I rented a macro lens for my camera to shoot some product photography with for my business. I fell in love with the results!

Macro lenses tend to produce incredibly "crisp, sharp" pictures and give beautiful "blur" behind the object being shot (the stuff behind what you're taking a picture of is nice & out of focus). The blur is called Bokeh. It helps to really bring out the object that you're taking a picture of.

(I shot this example with the lens today)

The one I rented is called a Canon Macro 60 mm lens. And the images it produced were so nice that I decided to buy one!

Well, the new toy showed up today and below is a sampling of some of the things I shot today.

This is a shot of Josh doing what he does quite often...running around with a camera in hand (see the blur behind him? Sweet, eh?)

Here's another shot of our budding photographer

Fun shot of Laurie (see the grass out of focus?)

I loved how this shot turned out.

Laurie having a great time in a swing.

Not only do Macro lenses make for great "blur" and close up shots, but they also do really nice for general shots as well. I shot the one below with no flash in natural light. I loved how the colors turned out!

I think I'm really going to enjoy this lens! Not only will it be exceptional for shooting my products for my business with, but looks like I'll be able to get some great shots of the kids too!

-Graydon

Family Night Fun With Maps...

2010-03-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

We had a really great family night this week.

Val bought a map of the United States and we used smiley face stickers to show where all the temples have been built. The kids had a blast putting all the stickers on the map and learned about all the different states too.

After we were done, Josh & Emily pulled out some cars and drove all over the map playing like they were on a road trip.

It's now up on the wall in the kitchen and we're using it to teach the kids all about the states.
We also had some great no-bake cookies! Yum!

Night 's Out With Josh & Emily At Olive Garden

2010-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Emily earned two free kid meals at Olive Garden at school for great attendance and we recently used them.

Both Emily & Josh chose to go with Daddy for a night out alone on two different nights (sorry Val).

They both had a great time!

Here's the pictures from Josh's night out which was last Saturday.

1- Arrive at Olive Garden and after waiting a 1/2 hour to be seated we got to color.

The menu's come with two crayons and a really cool set of puzzles, mazes, and coloring pages. He had a great time.

2- Breadsticks & salad arrive & we order our food

Josh really loved serving out his own salad and enjoyed the great tasting bread sticks. The Rasberry Lemonade in his own cup rocked too!

3- Next came the main course. Grilled chicken, broccoli, and pasta.

He loved the chicken & broccoli! The salt shaker got well used on the breadsticks too

4- The nice waiter took a picture of both of us

I can highly recommend the mixed grill entree. Mmmm Mmmm...man that thing was good!

5- After a great meal, good times, and fun away from everyone else, what does a 4 year old do?

Yep! You guessed it! He crashed on the way home! (and promptly woke up when we got home just in time to tell mom about all the fun)

Emily's night out wasn't as well documented as it was a week earlier and all I had was my cell phone. So, you all get to look at my really crappy cell phone pictures.

It started out just like Josh's, except we spent a lot more time walking through Tuesday Morning with Emily than Josh waiting out our 1/2 hour wait. I guess girls like to shop more than boys do, eh? Josh lasted all of about 10 minutes in the store before it was "Dad....Let's go back!" "But we're going to have to wait for a long, long time...." "So, I want to go back...."

Emily took much more time looking at all the dolls, the toys, the furniture, you know, shopping....

Once back in the restaurant, we were seated and the meal began.

Here's a shot of the coloring & salad eating (more of coloring and less of salad eating)

Emily got Chocolate Milk in her cup and loved the coloring and games on her menu.

I didn't get any pictures of her food (that she honestly didn't eat a bite of), but we had a great time none-the-less.

Something that was interesting going out to eat was how observant both of them were of their surroundings.
We got to talk about wine (because of the wine glasses and the waiter bringing a bottle of wine that we got to turn down), then Emily asked about alcohol (because the waiter was serving beer to people across from us), and then we even had a chance to talk about coffee (because someone was having coffee).

Funny quote from the night from Emily. "So why do people like to drink stuff that's not good for them?" Made for some interesting conversation and a great Word of Wisdom teaching moment.

With Josh, while we were standing in the lobby, he saw someone with a big glass of beer at the bar. "Dad, look! That's alcohol!" "Yep, sure is" "Alcohol is bad for you" (mind you, this was in his really loud 4 year old voice too). "Yep. You're right! We don't drink that do we." "Nope! Cause that's gross!" "That's right Josh, it's gross."

It was also interesting to see the difference between the two on the ride to the restaurant. While Emily talked quite a bit more than Josh did (both on the way there and on the way home), the conversation was very different. Emily's was about dolls, events, and...well...girl stuff. Josh talked about cool tractors we saw along the way, trucks, freeways, and well...boy stuff. Guess they come that way, eh?

It was a lot of fun and both of them went on & on about it once we got home. Guess we'll have to do that more often! Oh yeah, and mom got to eat some great left-over's from the meal the next day. Half the fun of going to Olive Garden is lunch the next day! Double the meals for one price!

Big Tractors At Grandma Blairs

2010-03-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

Grandma & Grandpa Blair invited us to come & visit them this week to check out the really cool tractors that were parked near their house.

One was a huge excavator and the other was a monstrous front end loader.

Check out how massive the excavator is! Josh & Emily were dwarfed by it's massive size!

The bucket could swallow both of them right up!

This is a picture of them on the front end loader.
They had a great time playing on the tractors, seeing how big they were and Josh especially liked seeing their "smokers" (a.k.a. Exhaust Pipes).

2-year-old Strikes Again

2010-02-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I had decided to keep her in her big bed and I paid the price. This morning at 10 am I thought that she was just sleeping long. I peeked in and found a big mess. She had found some A&D ointment that I had no idea was even in her room. She had it all over clothes, hair, face, hands, and other random things like the window sill.

Immediately I prepared a bath and found out that cornstarch was good for removing vaseline so I tried it. Her hair is reasonably clean after two cornstarch applications and six shampoos.

I just might put her back in the crib

2010-02-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Laurie was seriously not happy at all today. She would follow me around the house screaming and crying for me to pick her up. My back was very sore, plus I didn't have time to hold her all day. She had room time about 10 times today. I tried leaving her in there long enough to fall asleep for a badly needed nap, but I found this instead.

Accomplice caught on camera

Afterward I tried a nap again and found that she had spread hydrocortizone cream on the crib. I am really rethinking the crib.

Night time issues

2010-02-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here a quote from our pediatrician about 2-year-old bedtime.
"Certain sleep problems are common during this time, including refusing to go to bed, getting out of bed and wandering around the house at night, and nightmares."

Laurie is no longer in a crib so to keep her in her room we have put a guard on the doorknob. Last night Graydon was awoken by a loud thump. He entered the room to find Laurie standing in a sleepy daze having just fallen off the bed. Now before you start feeling sorry for her you need to know what the room looked like.

Her toys are kept in bins on a small bookshelf. He saw that ALL of her toys were scattered randomly all over her bed and the bins were all on the bookshelf...empty. Because her bed was completely covered in toys she had fallen asleep on a tiny sliver on the edge of the bed. It seems that the slightest move had made her fall. Graydon found the whole situation funny, and quickly removed all the toys and put her back to bed.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

We had a very relaxing day. The kids were surprised by balloons, lollipops, and paints. I knew I might regret giving them the lollipops. Laurie got so sticky and spread it onto everything she touched. Emily loved painting one picture after another, but Laurie had more fun painting her hands and face. I regret that I didn't get pictures of that.

We then had a family candle-lit dinner with heart-shaped hamburgers and jello. This will probably become a tradition.

Nine Wonderful Years

2010-02-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it has been nine years. These have been the most amazing years of my life and I am so grateful for such a wonderful man with which to share them. Now I look forward to many more fun times.

Happy Anniversary Graydon!

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, LAURIE!!!

2010-01-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

It seems like it was only yesterday that we brought her home.

Quite a lot has changed and we have loved every minute.

New Wireless Printer!

2010-01-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how the simple things, like being able to send a fax, make a copy, or print something in color, can really cramp your style when you all of a sudden can't do it.

The other day my trusty Canon printer finally bit the dust (I wore the poor thing out). So, I just picked up a really cool Wireless replacement for it and life is great again!

This thing is cool! Once it's installed, any computer on my wireless network can print, scan, or fax to it over wireless! I don't even have a USB cable or network cable plugged into it! Talk about cool!

It also can fax, scan, copy, & print in duplex (both sides)! Plus it can print out these cool "template" sheets of lined paper, graph paper, music staff paper, etc. My heavens! What will they think of next! Pretty darn cool!

And the best part of it all was that it was really cheap! $129.00 on Amazon.com! Man I love that website! I ordered it on Monday and it was here on Thurs and shipping was FREE!!! Gotta love it!

Laundry

2010-01-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

I hate Laundry!!! I am terrible at removing stains and even worse at getting it folded and put away. Graydon knows that sometimes I need a little push.

He went to the store the other day and brought me home a card. (I would show it to you, but our scanner is broken.) The front shows a Fifties-style housewife holding a nicely folded pile of towels. She says, "Kids...I have fresh towels for you to leave rotting on the floor...come and get 'em!"

Inside it says, "Don't you just love that 12 seconds when all the laundry is done?"

I laughed. I have a book called The Queen Cleans Everything. In this book the Queen of Clean says that the Laundry is NEVER done...unless everyone runs around nude and doesn't use anything. (Okay, those may have not been her exact words, but it's the general idea.) I think that it is just aweful that the job that can never be completely done is the one I hate the most.

Thank you, Honey for the wonderful card.

Look Mom!!

2009-12-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

I was in the kitchen today trying to figure out what to make for dinner. The kids were quietly entertaining themselves. This should have alerted me, but I didn't notice anything until Laurie came up to me with the sleeves of her dress soaked.

On investigation this is what I found. Her new christmas baby dolls were taking a bath in the toilet. Luckily she had flushed it earlier.

Was this supposed to be a joke??

2009-12-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

I just have to share what happened to a friend of Emily and Josh. His name is Phillip and he is six.

His First Grade Teacher had all her students write letters to Santa. She then took these letters and had them distributed among some Junior High students who were to write an answer as Santa Claus. When the letters came back she opened them one at a time and read them in front of the class.

The student who had answered Phillip's letter basically said that he was a naughty boy this year and was put on the Naughty List, and that Santa would not come to his house. The teacher realized too late what the letter said and Phillip was crushed. His mom felt so bad for him and has done everything she can think of to fix the problem; telling him that a bad little elf got into Santa's office and wrote that letter and for Phillip to expect something special from Santa to make up for it.

I am just wondering...what kind of person decides to do something like this during a time of giving and good deeds? I hope that we can all strive to keep up the wonderful fantasies of Christmas and keep Christ close to our hearts.

A Busy Day

2009-12-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

Emily had a very exciting day loaded with two birthday parties. I dropped her off at the theater at 10:45 am for the first, where she was able to see the movie "The Princess and the Frog." The second Party was at 1:30 pm at Chuck E. Cheese's. The first didn't let out until 1:45 so she was a half hour late for the second. It all ended with a Limo ride home. (One of the girls' father owns a limo service and offered to take them all home.)

While she was gone I took the other two kids to McDonald's. When we got home we got ready to see the lights at Temple Square. It was a great evening of lights, crowds, and only a half hour of whining about the cold.

My Favorite YouTuber....

2009-12-10T20:18:00.001-08:00

I'm a YouTube nut. I've always been fascinated with it. However, I do have my favorite video producers. One group in particular called WhatYouOughtToKnow is particularly entertaining while educational at the same time.

They just posted a great new video.

Enjoy.

The New Family Search website...talk about cool!!!

2009-11-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

We went in for tithing settlement today & one of the things they mentioned was that they wanted everyone in our ward to check out the new Family Search website from the church.

After we got home I pulled it up & was amazed to see how much information was in there on my family lines.

Here's the link:
http://new.familysearch.org

You'll need your membership number (check your temple recommend or ask your ward clerk) and your confirmation date to create a login, but once you're in, the site is amazing!

It lets you see all the temple work that's been done for your relatives, shows you any that hasn't been done, and shows you any work that's in progress.

It also shows you everyone's contribution to the Church's massive family history file on your family lines.

Here's a few of the cool things I ran across:

1) My great grandma day (Myrl Rowley) was 14 years younger than her husband.
Wow! And I thought my 6 year gap between my wife & I was big.
To give you some perspective, her husband died when he was 76....she was 54.
She then lived clear into her 90's. Yep. That's a mightly long time to live without a spouse! Maybe that's why she was so grumpy sometimes, eh?

2) My Blair line goes clear back to 1135 A.D.
22 people back from me.
His name was William de Blair
Born either in 1135 or 1159 AD
In Blair, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died in 1214
So I got's a wee bit of Scottish in me laddy!

3) Lot's of James Blair & David Blair in the family line.
So my brother David and my cousin James have very "Blair" names.

4) Lot's & lot's of HUGE families on both sides.
Alonzo Brinkerhoff was one of 9 kids.
He himself had 12 kids.
And each of those kids had lots of kids (My great grandpa Brinkerhoff had quite a few himself)
My Great Grandpa Blair (James Blair) was one of 10

5) My Brinkerhoff line went clear back to 1547
(Back then they spelled it Brinckerhoff)
His name was Abraham Brinckerhoff & was born in The Netherlands

6) On the Day line (my mothers father), I don't have to go back very far to hit England.
My Great Great Grandpa Day, Francis Day, was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England in 1846
Died at 92 in Eager, Arizona. Nice, long life

7) The Newell line has a TON of ancestors in Massachusetts, long before the US was a nation

And on and on and on....

If you have a chance, log in & check your relatives. It's amazing how much history is in there. Kind of makes my PAF file look like a speck of dirt compared to how well maintained the church's online file is.

It's also pretty cool because if the work hasn't been done yet, you can print out a paper & take it with you to the temple & perform the work right off of the form.

The temple updates the master file online and soon the Family Search file will show that the work has been done. All in all, a really, really cool resource!

Check it out!
-Graydon

Finally!!

2009-11-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

For Emily's 4th birthday we got her a bike, and for the past two years we have been trying to get her to ride it. We finally hung it up out of the way because it wasn't being used.

On Wednesday she went over to a friend's house and when she came home she said that her friend had taught her to ride a bike with no training wheels. She begged to have her bike pulled down and the training wheels removed. Then she rode away on it. I was amazed! It looked so easy for her. I guess things are just better when they come from a friend instead of parents.

I'm Going to Disneyland!!

2009-11-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

We just had a wonderful week in the world of wonder.

Our trip started at 4:30 AM on Monday and ended at 11:00 PM yesterday. The kids were very good travelers and we only had to really stop once en route. That stop was in St. George were we walked around the temple and had a late breakfast.

Tuesday we headed to Disneyland. Upon entering we got to meet Goofy and rode the carousel. We rode several rides and waited in line to meet princesses, until about 2 pm when we went back to the hotel to take naps. That night we went back to ride more rides like the Monorail and Finding Nemo Subs.

Wednesday was Veterans day and California kids were out of school, so we decided to spend the day in San Diego with family visiting the beach.

Thursday started with a Character Breakfast at Minnie's Kitchen. The kids loved seeing all the characters. Then we went on more rides then had another nap.

Friday we went to California Adventure where Emily and I rode on the Tower of Terror, which she had been talking about all week. That night we came back in time for the Christmas Fantasy Parade, Fantazmick, It's a Small World opened, and we saw the fireworks.

Driving home took 14 hours because the kids were not as cooperative and we hit snow. We had a great time, but we are so glad to be back home.

A Lego Dollhouse For Emily

2009-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

I'm married to one of the most creative people in the world....lucky for my kids!

Emily wanted a doll house the other day for her little "polly pockets". She wanted it built out of blocks or lincoln logs or lego's.

So, Val pulled out her Lego's & went to work.

Check out the new doll house!
Emily loved it!

Daddy's Little Helpers

2009-11-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

We've noticed that Josh is quite the camera-holic (get's it from his dad). He absolutely LOVES to take pictures!

So, last Saturday I was shooting product pictures for my website & decided he'd have a lot of fun seeing how it was done.

He was in sheer bliss...and his sister Laurie was too...

Here's some pictures from the fun.

Here's Josh taking the picture....

Here's the result. Not bad!

Laurie helped too!

Grandma Blairs Haunted Halloween Basement

2009-10-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our annual Blair Halloween Party at my moms place.

The last two years she's done a spook alley down in their basement & this year was amazing! It scared the grand kids pretty good, including Josh. After it was all over he got to see that "the scary monster" was really just a real person, but it had him pretty scared for a while.

Here's a video of the fun....

Here's a link to a photo gallery I made of the spook alley.
http://graydonblair.com/family/halloween2009/

She also goes all out decorating outside and in the house too...

Can't Keep a Good Leaf Down

2009-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Graydon decided that it was time to start raking leaves, a task that is never ending in our yard. This time the kids helped.

We Love Grandma Blair!

2009-10-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

Today was our primary program and Grandma Blair came.

Laurie jumped right up on her lap & stayed there for most of the program. Both we & Grandma were impressed since she doesn't normally do that.

After church today the kids made her thank you cards for coming.

Emily's Card

Josh's Card

Laurie's Card

They had a lot of fun making them! We took them over & delivered them to her & the kids got a treat too!

Thought we'd share them with you....

Thanks Grandma!

Making REAL popcorn...(not that foofy Microwave stuff)

2009-09-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to show my son, Josh, what REAL popcorn tastes like!

Being that he's grown up in the "microwave age", he's never seen how real popcorn was made back when I was a kid.

So, we turned on the grill...

Got out a pan....

Put some oil in it and heated it up on the BBQ....
And then popped some popcorn kernels from an old bag of microwave popcorn in the pan on the BBQ.

He got to listen to it pop the old fashioned way...hitting the top of a pan!

We poured it into a small plastic container complete w/ the left over oil (which promptly melted the bottom of the plastic tub)...

Added some salt & shook it all up....
And then enjoyed popcorn the way it was meant to be enjoyed....

Nice & greasy & covered with salt!

Josh said it tasted just like the way popcorn at a carnival tastes. I agree! It tasted great! Delicious!

...more uses of the grill will be forth-coming...you know, like lighting the left-over oil from "old fashioned popcorn" on fire by pouring it on the hot flame....

Yep! We had fun!

A 7 Mile Spontaneous Hike Up Adams Canyon

2009-09-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we woke up & Val leaned over & said, "I want to go on a hike today!".
"OK, where do you want to go?"
"I don't really care, I just want to go on a hike".

I'd remembered a place called Adams Canyon east of Layton that I'd hiked a lot as a kid & thought that'd be a cool place to go.

So, we looked it up on the web and next thing we knew we'd loaded up the kids and headed up toward Adams Canyon. We didn't quite catch the fact that it was a full 7 mile hike though until we were well on our way.

The kids loved it & did really well hiking. We almost made it to the top (where there's a great waterfall), but it got really, really steep, so we stopped at a smaller water fall, ate our treats & headed back.

Here's some pictures of the fun.

This was shot about half-way up the canyon. Laurie was trying to get down to come to Daddy. She didn't want anything to do with mom so Dad got to carry her....all the way up.

This is where we stopped near the top. It was a mini waterfall. Josh LOVED throwing rocks into the river.

The hike in was about 3 1/2 miles in and another 3 1/2 out. So, our kids pulled off a 7 mile hike in under 3 hours. Not bad!

....now if I could do something about my aching hips & legs...

I love Picasa!

2009-09-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy making collages with Picasa. I could play with the special affects forever. Once they are made I never really know what I want to do with them, but they are sure fun to look at. These are the ones I have recently completed. I may play around with black and white sometime.

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Josh started school last wednesday. He did very well and was very excited. He told me that next time I had to go with him so that I could set up the train tracks. Then he said that he didn't want to take anything for Show and Tell because they already had toys there.

I think that this will be very good for him socially, it may help him to play better with others and share toys. I hope.

Desitin

2009-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Laurie has always been a good sleeper. She sleeps throught the night and takes long naps. Her regular nap time is at 1 pm and then she wakes between 3:30 and 4:30. This particular day I thought that she was napping extra long. At 5:30 I finally opened the door to check on her and I found that she was entertaining herself. All this time I thought she had been sleeping, but somehow she had pulled several items into her crib and had been quietly playing.

Desitin all over Laurie

The pillow and other clothes

My first reaction was of shock, but I got control enough to take pictures.

Graydon bathed her with Biodiesel Glycerin Soap and it worked wonders.

Family Pictures

2009-09-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

So we finally got family pictures done thanks to a wonderful friend in our ward, Justin Lofley. He did it free of charge and said that he just appreciated the experience. He did a great job.

Time to Vent

2009-09-01T21:03:00.001-07:00

Okay I hope I don't bore you with my rantings, but I need to release some frustration. AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH! Josh is driving me crazy!!! This kid is so stubborn and relentless. You are probably wondering what he did, and to give him credit he did very well all day. He played at the park, shared maybe one toy, and watched a monster truck movie three times in a row. We also read stories and played.

Then 8 pm rolls around and it is time for a bath and pajamas. First he didn't want to take a bath and I ended up carrying him upstairs. When we got in the bathroom he willingly got into the tub (and I thanked him for it). Then he complained the whole time I was washing his hair and dumped a large bowl of water on me and the floor. I pulled him out immediately and started preparing to get him ready for bed. He starts whining that he wants to wear his clothes that he had been wearing. I said that he had to get ready for bed. He insisted on wearing the clothes. I told him he could wear the clothes if he wore a diaper under them (because he is not night trained yet). He didn't want to do that. So I end up wrestling him to get a diaper and pajamas on him, while he is fighting to remove them. I get them on and hold him down until he calms and agrees not to remove his clothes, but he continues to whine about wearing underwear to bed.

I took the time to explain to him that he had two choices, (I was really trying to keep my temper under control), either he could wear a diaper and sleep on the top bunk without a plastic sheet, or he could wear underwear and sleep on the bottom bunk which had a plastic sheet. He didn't want either option. He wanted to sleep in underwear on the top bunk. (As it is Emily is sleeping on bottom and Josh is on top.)

I dealt with a little whining shadow until 9 pm when it was time to put them to bed. He was very good during story time, but started up again afterward. Finally I decided to let him wear underwear (thinking I would put a diaper on him when he was asleep. Not that simple! As soon as I gave him underwear he was no longer happy with the pants he was wearing and started complaining about them. AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I had had enough. Graydon had to take over, and made him go to bed with a diaper in the pants he was wearing. Now he is asleep.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with him wanting to were underwear to bed, but for a boy is going to be wetting the bed, I need him on the bottom bunk and with a plastic sheet so the mattress won't get ruined and so it's easier to get to the bathroom.

Oh! (Sigh) I feel much better. Thanks. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but knowing him we may have this fight again tomorrow.

This sums up my view on illegal immigration...

2009-08-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Let's see what it'd be like if the tables were turned...

I got this and liked it so much I thought I'd post it here:

===============================
Dear Mr. President Obama, U. S. Senate and Congress:

I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for our health, and I would like to ask you to assist me. We are planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico , and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements..

We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that we are on our way over? Please let him know that We will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for the entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services we might need, whether we use them or not.

3. All Mexico government forms, printed in Spanish, need to also be printed in English.

4. I want our kids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.

5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school.

7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. My husband and I will need a local Mexican driver's license so we can get easy access to government services.

9. We do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico , but, we don't plan to purchase car insurance, and we probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave us alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put U S. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. We would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business we may start.

13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say a critical thing about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Sincerely, U.S. Citizen & Taxpayer
====================================

Are outings worth it?

2009-08-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

Emily had only one week left off track so I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Treehouse Museum. We spent about three hours there. That was a tough three hours!

Upon arriving Josh and Emily immediately ran to play while I paid admission. Josh went straight for the train tables. There were some new exhibits and fun things to try, Emily and Laurie really had fun doing everything. Josh would not leave the train tables. If I tried to force him he would scream. I decided that I would go around the museum with the girls and check on him every now and then. To my surprise he did leave the tables…but he left because he had peed his pants. I didn’t have anything else for him to wear and out of desperation I put one of Laurie’s diapers on him and left him in the bathroom while I tried to get help. The workers were very helpful and found me some overalls from the farm exhibit that he could wear while they put his pants in a dryer they had. He again went back to the tables after about 15 minutes in the bathroom. I kept an eye on him, and found out that he was having trouble sharing the trains. I took him screaming from the area and ended up having to put him in time out. I couldn’t believe that I paid money so that he could play with trains for three hours.

Emily and Laurie had a great time. Laurie loved the chalk and slates in the little school room. Emily loved the Art Garden, where we made sea serpents out of clay, and the western exhibit where she could sit on a horse and dress up like a cowgirl.

Destroyed In Under 10 Minutes

2009-08-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

What happens when you put a letter/alphabet foam pad in the same room as an 18 month old toddler?

Well, curiosity gets the best of the toddler (our Laurie), and, well, take a look & see how it went...

Here's the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk267Z1Rq9c

Needless to say, she had the time of her life..
-Graydon

My Local Town Hall Meeting

2009-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go to a town hall meeting with my local congressman Rob Bishop.

I was really curious how it would turn out because there are so many issues currently going on in Congress. Health care reform being the biggest.

The event was held at the Layton City Council chambers in Layton, UT.
The room's maximum capacity is 190.
There were easily double that number of people that showed up.
Can you say Standing Room Only?

I was really curious to see how this one would turn out because of how others in the nation have gone. Ours was very civil, very well run, and actually ended on time. You'd think our Congressman was a school teacher in his past life, or something (he's a retired educator from Utah).

Before he started, he said, "Now, I promise not to answer my cell phone while you're asking a question." And then he said, "If you don't call me a Nazi, I won't call you a dining room table" referring to how other Congressmen had been handling some of their town hall meetings.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with how he handled the meeting. Most of the questions obviously were around health care. His stand is that he opposes the current bill being brought for (he said there's actually 4 of them being brought forward), but did say that there's also an alternative bill by a congressman from Arizona that is slightly different. It basically gives people several more options for health care, but doesn't mandate government control over it.

One issue that he brought up that was almost chilling is the level to which the Obama administration is scrapping the US Military. He said that at current only 187 F-22 fighters are going to be approved to be built. To maintain the current needs, 254 should have been allotted and to maintain US Air Supremacy, well over 500 should have been built. At 254, that only gives our military the ability to fight a war front on a single front. Every war we've had (Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc) has included multiple war fronts. So basically, if we go to war with another nation (Iran, Korea, etc) and had to fight in the air, we'll only have enough planes to fight on a single front.

Another scary thing he brought up was that the Obama administration is trying to cut back on our missile defense system. Instead of having over 100 warheads ready to help protect our nation in the event of an attack, the number has been whittled down to 44. However, the current administration wants to knock those back even further.

If we were to have an attack on the US from hostile countries, we only have 44 chances to stop incoming missiles.

Several individuals who own small businesses also spoke up and asked about the Stimulus package and how it's not actually helping them get loans or keep their businesses functioning.

One highlight of the night was when one gentleman made a comment about how the government felt a need to intervene in the housing market over the last few years by mandating that banks must issue sub-prime loans, to which the commenter replied "and we can all see how well THAT went!" His basic jist was, "Don't mess with health care right now, we saw how well the housing market turned out".

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing a town hall first hand. There were no rowdy participants nor was there any yelling or heated emotions. His biggest overriding comment was that if you have something to say, by all means contact your congressman. Write them! Email them! Call them! Just participate! If you don't like what's going on, write! It's your freedom and right to do so.

If you have a chance to participate in a meeting near you, I'd encourage you to do so. It will give you the ability to see democracy in action. I really enjoyed it.

Laurie's Antics

2009-08-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Laurie loves to play in my silverware. She makes such a mess, that sometimes I have to re-wash everything. Most of the time everything ends up on the counter, but she also carries them everywhere in the house. This day, if you'll excuse the clutter, I was preserving tomatoes and was able to grab this video clip. It is a little long, but cute.

New Glasses

2009-08-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Monday we received a notice from the school that Emily had failed the eye exam and needed to see an eye doctor. She went to the eye doctor that afternoon and now has a new pair of glasses.

She was very excited. Her prescription was a -2, we had no idea that her eyes were that bad. She now carries the case with her everywhere in case she needs/wants to take them off (which she has done a lot today).

More details on health care...(Fortune Magazine)

2009-07-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

This was from Fortune magazine on 7/27/2009
===========
5 Freedoms You'd Lose in Health Care Reform

by Shawn Tully
Monday, July 27, 2009provided byFortuneonCNNMoney.com

If you read the fine print in the Congressional plans, you'll find that a lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.

In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.

A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.

If you prize choosing your own cardiologist or urologist under your company's Preferred Provider Organization plan (PPO), if your employer rewards your non-smoking, healthy lifestyle with reduced premiums, if you love the bargain Health Savings Account (HSA) that insures you just for the essentials, or if you simply take comfort in the freedom to spend your own money for a policy that covers the newest drugs and diagnostic tests -- you may be shocked to learn that you could lose all of those good things under the rules proposed in the two bills that herald a health-care revolution.

In short, the Obama platform would mandate extremely full, expensive, and highly subsidized coverage -- including a lot of benefits people would never pay for with their own money -- but deliver it through a highly restrictive, HMO-style plan that will determine what care and tests you can and can't have. It's a revolution, all right, but in the wrong direction.

Let's explore the five freedoms that Americans would lose under Obamacare:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan
The bills in both houses require that Americans purchase insurance through "qualified" plans offered by health-care "exchanges" that would be set up in each state. The rub is that the plans can't really compete based on what they offer. The reason: The federal government will impose a minimum list of benefits that each plan is required to offer.

Today, many states require these "standard benefits packages" -- and they're a major cause for the rise in health-care costs. Every group, from chiropractors to alcohol-abuse counselors, do lobbying to get included. Connecticut, for example, requires reimbursement for hair transplants, hearing aids, and in vitro fertilization.

The Senate bill would require coverage for prescription drugs, mental-health benefits, and substance-abuse services. It also requires policies to insure "children" until the age of 26. That's just the starting list. The bills would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to add to the list of required benefits, based on recommendations from a committee of experts. Americans, therefore, wouldn't even know what's in their plans and what they're required to pay for, directly or indirectly, until after the bills become law.

2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs
As with the previous example, the Obama plan enshrines into federal law one of the worst features of state legislation: community rating. Eleven states, ranging from New York to Oregon, have some form of community rating. In its purest form, community rating requires that all patients pay the same rates for their level of coverage regardless of their age or medical condition.

Americans with pre-existing conditions need subsidies under any plan, but community rating is a dubious way to bring fairness to health care. The reason is twofold: First, it forces young people, who typically have lower incomes than older workers, to pay far more than their actual cost, and gives older workers, who can afford to pay more, a big discount. The state laws gouging the young are a major reason so many of them have joined the ranks of uninsured.

Under the Senate plan, insurers would be barred from charging any more than twice as much for one patient vs. any other patient with the same coverage. So if a 20-year-old who costs just $800 a year to insure is forced to pay $2,500, a 62-year-old who costs $7,500 would pay no more than $5,000.

Second, the bills would ban insurers from charging differing premiums based on the health of their customers. Again, that's understandable for folks with diabetes or cancer. But the bills would bar rewarding people who pursue a healthy lifestyle of exercise or a cholesterol-conscious diet. That's hardly a formula for lower costs. It's as if car insurers had to charge the same rates to safe drivers as to chronic speeders with a history of accidents.

3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage
The bills threaten to eliminate the one part of the market truly driven by consumers spending their own money. That's what makes a market, and health care needs more of it, not less.

Hundreds of companies now offer Health Savings Accounts to about 5 million employees. Those workers deposit tax-free money in the accounts and get a matching contribution from their employer. They can use the funds to buy a high-deductible plan -- say for major medical costs over $12,000. Preventive care is reimbursed, but patients pay all other routine doctor visits and tests with their own money from the HSA account. As a result, HSA users are far more cost-conscious than customers who are reimbursed for the majority of their care.

The bills seriously endanger the trend toward consumer-driven care in general. By requiring minimum packages, they would prevent patients from choosing stripped-down plans that cover only major medical expenses. "The government could set extremely low deductibles that would eliminate HSAs," says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a free-market research group. "And they could do it after the bills are passed."

4. Freedom to keep your existing plan
This is the freedom that the President keeps emphasizing. Yet the bills appear to say otherwise. It's worth diving into the weeds -- the territory where most pundits and politicians don't seem to have ventured.

The legislation divides the insured into two main groups, and those two groups are treated differently with respect to their current plans. The first are employees covered by the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974. ERISA regulates companies that are self-insured, meaning they pay claims out of their cash flow, and don't have real insurance. Those are the GEs and Time Warners and most other big companies.

The House bill states that employees covered by ERISA plans are "grandfathered." Under ERISA, the plans can do pretty much what they want -- they're exempt from standard packages and community rating and can reward employees for healthy lifestyles even in restrictive states.

But read on.

The bill gives ERISA employers a five-year grace period when they can keep offering plans free from the restrictions of the "qualified" policies offered on the exchanges. But after five years, they would have to offer only approved plans, with the myriad rules we've already discussed. So for Americans in large corporations, "keeping your own plan" has a strict deadline. In five years, like it or not, you'll get dumped into the exchange. As we'll see, it could happen a lot earlier.

The outlook is worse for the second group. It encompasses employees who aren't under ERISA but get actual insurance either on their own or through small businesses. After the legislation passes, all insurers that offer a wide range of plans to these employees will be forced to offer only "qualified" plans to new customers, via the exchanges.

The employees who got their coverage before the law goes into effect can keep their plans, but once again, there's a catch. If the plan changes in any way -- by altering co-pays, deductibles, or even switching coverage for this or that drug -- the employee must drop out and shop through the exchange. Since these plans generally change their policies every year, it's likely that millions of employees will lose their plans in 12 months.

5. Freedom to choose your doctors
The Senate bill requires that Americans buying through the exchanges -- and as we've seen, that will soon be most Americans -- must get their care through something called "medical home." Medical home is similar to an HMO. You're assigned a primary care doctor, and the doctor controls your access to specialists. The primary care physicians will decide which services, like MRIs and other diagnostic scans, are best for you, and will decide when you really need to see a cardiologists or orthopedists.

Under the proposals, the gatekeepers would theoretically guide patients to tests and treatments that have proved most cost-effective. The danger is that doctors will be financially rewarded for denying care, as were HMO physicians more than a decade ago. It was consumer outrage over despotic gatekeepers that made the HMOs so unpopular, and killed what was billed as the solution to America's health-care cost explosion.

The bills do not specifically rule out fee-for-service plans as options to be offered through the exchanges. But remember, those plans -- if they exist -- would be barred from charging sick or elderly patients more than young and healthy ones. So patients would be inclined to game the system, staying in the HMO while they're healthy and switching to fee-for-service when they become seriously ill. "That would kill fee-for-service in a hurry," says Goodman.

In reality, the flexible, employer-based plans that now dominate the landscape, and that Americans so cherish, could disappear far faster than the 5 year "grace period" that's barely being discussed.

Companies would have the option of paying an 8% payroll tax into a fund that pays for coverage for Americans who aren't covered by their employers. It won't happen right away -- large companies must wait a couple of years before they opt out. But it will happen, since it's likely that the tax will rise a lot more slowly than corporate health-care costs, especially since they'll be lobbying Washington to keep the tax under control in the righteous name of job creation.

The best solution is to move to a let-freedom-ring regime of high deductibles, no community rating, no standard benefits, and cross-state shopping for bargains (another market-based reform that's strictly taboo in the bills). I'll propose my own solution in another piece soon on Fortune.com. For now, we suffer with a flawed health-care system, but we still have our Five Freedoms. Call them the Five Endangered Freedoms.

========================
My thoughts, if you value the current health care system, write your congressman today!

Time to talk healthcare....ObamaCare that is...

2009-07-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

I've been following the details of the possible passage of H.R. 3200 fairly closely lately.

Essentially, the bill (a 1,000 page plus monster) will socialize health care in America.

Here's some of what I DO know...
1) If you're a small business and you gross over $350K, you'll receive an 8% tax on that gross amount (not net, but your gross reciepts).
2) Part of the bill will allow federal tax dollars to fund abortions through the new Government Health Care.
3) On page 425 in the bill, there's verbiage that indicates that anyone on social security will be required to undergo counseling every 5 years to discuss their quality of life and possible termination there-of...seriously! Go read it! I dare you!
4) Age-Based health care. The older you are, the less you get. Basically, if you're nearing the "end of your life" (as defined by the federal government), they're not going to grant you the same "insurance privileges" as say those who are younger (hip & knee replacements, stuff like that). They figure that "you're old, you're going to die anyway, get used to it".

I'm absolutely appalled by this bill. I'm even more appalled by how the white house administration is trying to ram rod it down the throat of Congress to vote on it without giving adequate time for them to understand what they're even voting on.

The bill is over 1,000 pages long! Much of what's in there has not been discussed or debated on the senate or house floors yet. I firmly believe that socializing health care is a huge step toward socializing the nation as a whole.

Don't believe me? Go listen to this!
Ronal Reagan on Socializing Medicine

If socialized health care is passed, we'll basically be forced to go to whoever the government wants us to go to. Our medical needs will be dictated to us. And small businesses everywhere will have to raise prices just to deal with the high tax that ObamaCare will impose on a small business.

Let's do the math:
Let's say you own a business that brings in $500K/year.
8% x 500K = $40,000.00

Don't know about you, but I haven't met many small businesses that can take a hit like that to an already strapped budget.

This bill is just flat out wrong! It's complete & utter socialism. It will cost the taxpayers untold billions (yes, B-I-L-L-I-O-N-S!!!)

Don't believe me? Go watch this:
Example of Health Care Reform Costs

This isn't about a political view, this is about a bill that has the potential to bankrupt the nation. It's about changing the way health care in the United States can even be administered. And, don't kid yourself, it's a tax on health care. A mighty huge one too!

I spoke personally today to Rob Bishop on the phone (he's my local congressman). I'd asked him about this bill and he said that it's a mess. He's not sure what's going to happen on it, but hopes that the people in the US stand up and let their voice be heard.

If you disagree with this bill, then I encourage you to contact your congressman and let them know! Don't just sit there! Do something about it!

We all saw how well the stimulus plan has been playing out....boy, it really saved a lot of jobs, eh?
Check this out:
Obama Stimulus: Prediction vs. Reality

So...if you're as ticked as I am about this bill, let your congressman know! Don't just sit there fuming, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

Here's the link to how to contact your congressmen.
Link To Congress Contact Information

I did! And you know what? He listened! He personally called me today to discuss it.

Look, you can whine & cry & throw a fit about how the nation is going or you can contact your congressman & tell he or she how you feel! You may not think it makes a difference, but I'm hear to tell you that it can.

If you like H.R. 3200, I'd challenge you to read the bill. Something about publicly funded abortions just doesn't sit well with me. Neither does counseling old people on the benefits of ending their life early. It's in there folks! That and much, much more! And I for one am doing something about it! That way when someone asks what I did when I didn't like what was going on at least I can say I voiced my opinion to the powers that be (the folks that make our laws) and let my opinion be heard.

In my mind, a bill like H.R. 3200 is something that's going to lead us down a very slippery slope towards socialization of the United States of America. Last time I checked, socialism isn't the panacea that people think it is.

Try getting great medical care up in Canada. There's a REASON they cross the border & come down to the US to get medical care! It's because they prefer to live, not wait for an eternity just to be seen.

And, check out this little experiment...

ok...venting session over...yes, I'm extremely passionate about this one.

-Graydon

Gotta Love Brothers

2009-07-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Emily was laying on the floor coloring. Josh was playing with his helicopter. When I found them Josh had Emily's hair around the propeller of his helicopter and was spinning it. It took a while to untangle it.

Oh, Where Oh, where hast it gone?

2009-07-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Laurie, like any other toddler, empties out two of our cabinets about five times daily. I have gotten to the point where I don't even pick everything up because she will just take them out again. Plus I have stopped storing a lot of stuff in it.

She has recently become attached to a stuffed Beaver. I walked in the kitchen to find this.

The cups are on the floor...what is in the cabinet?

The Beaver!!

She really likes the beaver.

Birthday Boy

2009-07-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since Josh's friend had a dinosaur party he has wanted one. He wasn't having a friends' party so I didn't do too much by way of a theme. We had fun with family and he even helped me decorate his cake, by putting all the spots on.

We played one game of Pin the Horn on the Dinosaur and then just relaxed. He shared the party with his cousin who's birthday is the same week.

Thank you everyone for all you did.

No more tonsils

2009-07-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Emily went to Primary Children's to have her tonsils removed today. We were told that her tonsils were quite large and that it may be affecting her sleep and breathing. I felt so bad because she was so excited about it, with a slight hint of nerves, she didn't know how much it would hurt.

We got there a little early so she had about an hour to play a Dora Playstation game. Then we sent her off with the anesthesiologist. Twenty minutes later a nurse came in calling for "Mom of Emily and blanket." I smiled and grabbed her blanket and princess pillow and went to see her.

When I got there she was crying in pain and grabbed her blanket very quickly. She didn't know that the surgery would hurt so bad, but you can't tell them that beforehand or they won't cooperate. She asked when they were going to be done. (She didn't realize that they had already removed them.) When I told her that they were done she asked when it had happened. I told her they had done it while she was asleep.

She did very well and the nurse said that she was actually looking really good for the short amount of time she had been done. That was encouraging. We left the hospital an hour and a half after her surgery was complete.

Lucky Winner

2009-07-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Emily went to SpareTime Bowling and Arcade with a friend and her mom yesterday. The Mom said that they had five dollars between them to use at the arcade. I gave them three more dollars out of her allowance and sent them on their way.

Later that afternoon I received a phone call from Emily telling me that she had won the jackpot. Her friend's mom went on to explain that Emily had played a near impossible game and landed her token on a one inch 1000 ticket slot. Emily won a thousand tickets. She was so excited! She used 800 to get the princess pillow and gave the rest to her friend. She has been carrying that pillow around ever since.

Past Due

2009-07-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

So I have been neglecting the blogs lately. But I have been wanting to post about the Syracuse Heritage Days. The celebration last a whole week but we only take part in the last day.

It starts with a parade where the kids get a lot of candy.

Then a little carnival followed by fireworks that evening. Sorry, no pictures of the fireworks.

Deciphering Bar Codes For Country Of Origin

2009-06-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is kind of cool. You can tell which country a product is made in by looking at the first few numbers of a bar code.

Here's how to interpret them:
00 - 09 - USA & CANADA
30 - 37 - FRANCE
40 - 44 - GERMANY
47 - TAIWAN
49 - JAPAN
50 - UK
690 - 692 - CHINA

And there's your useful piece of trivia for today...

Tumbling Recital

2009-06-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Emily's tumbling recital was Tuesday. It was a lot less stressful for me this year. She did very well and really enjoyed it. They performed to the music from Tigger, bounced balls (which Emily was the one who had to count so they would bounce them all at the same time.)

As we were leaving the dress rehearsal she heard the music from Batman, and said, "I have too many songs stuck in my head, so there's no room for batman."

I had to laugh. After the recital the two of us went out for ice cream.

More Mess

2009-06-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Laurie can be such a fun girl.

Until you turn your back for five minutes.

She was on the chair to eat lunch, but decided to stick her hands in a jar of jam instead.

Mmmmm....Chocolate!

2009-06-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

Driving home from a Father's Day Picnic Laurie starts complaining and wanting something. I had no idea what she really wanted so I guessed and handed her a Hershey Kiss. I looked back a few minutes later and this is what I saw. I just started to laugh.

Paper Mache

2009-06-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I got the brilliant idea to do a paper mache craft with the kids. It ended up that they were interested for only 10 minutes. I guess it was too hard and too messy. I ended up covering the balloons while they held them still. I only did two layers and then hung them to dry for two days.

As soon as I deflated the balloons I realized that two layers was not enough. We did try to make masks and the kids loved painting them, but then they curled up like a taco.

I am going to have to get better at this craft thing.

How To Spend $1 Billion Of YOUR Money!

2009-06-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Congress has just approved another way that they'll be spending taxpayer money.

It's called the Cash For Clunkers Bill....and it just plain pisses me off.

Here's the link to details:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_J2CDMBIZhobnHhGIYFCzqvR52wD98TBJK00

Here's the basic jist...

Buy a new car that gets at least 22 MPG (yes, only 22, not 35, not 30, not even a measly 25 MPG, but only 22) and trade in your old "clunker" that gets 18 MPG or less (hmmm...I can think of just about every SUV under the sun that qualifies for that...) and guess what? The government will contribute up to $4500 toward the price of your car!

My gosh! How completely & utterly stupid!

"Hmmmmm...now that we own a 60% stake in General Motors, how we gonna sell these gas guzzling heaps of junk? Let's see....how bout we give people some of their money back to buy cars from our new car company that's in bankruptcy! Yeah! That's the ticket!"

Granted, I can see where this is probably coming from.....22 is better than 18, but is it really ALL that better? Especially given the wide breadth of vehicle choices out there today? 22 is all they could muster? I mean, how in the world is that even going to make a difference?

Case in point....my minivan that can seat 7 (as in S-E-V-E-N PEOPLE) gets better gas mileage than 22!!!! (I can pull a solid 27-28 MPG on a road trip & it gets 23-24 in town) Why 22? Why not 30 and actually MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

Sorry, this is just plain stupid. For the love of Pete! If they actually wanted to do something GREEN, RAISE THE DANG MPG REQUIREMENT!!!! 22 is just stupid!

A full size pickup with a diesel engine can pull 22 if it works hard at it! And they think that's GREEN? HELLO!!!!

I'm sorry, but spending our tax payer money just so you & I can go out & buy a new gas guzzler that gets crappy mileage (and trust me, 22 is crappy for a car....P.S. It's only 18 MPG if you get a truck!) is no way to "improve the environment".

This is all about spending tax payer money to help out the car business in the US...you know, because the government HAS ALREADY spent billions on Chrysler & GM!

I just don't understand where these morons get off thinking that it's ok to spend taxpayer money that way when the economy is so far in shambles as it is! I also call them on the carpet for thinking this is "environmentally responsible". It's not! A car that gets 30 MPG or higher? Now THAT's a little better! But setting the limit so low is like saying, "Oh, we have no confidence that GM can actually make a car that'll get higher than 22 MPG...so...uhm...so that we can actually sell cars now that we own the place, here's some money to go spend on another piece of junk that'll fall apart on you the moment you drive it off the lot....enjoy!"

I just wish someone at the top of this behemoth we call the government would GET A GRIP ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE!!!! It's called Capitalism People! LET GENERAL MOTORS FAIL!!!! It's already in bankruptcy!!! Just let it die already!!!!

Sorry, but this just really hit a raw nerve. How they get off calling this a "clunker bill" "environmentally friendly" and "green" and then only set the limit at 22 MPG is absolutely in sain, idiotic, irresponsible, and uncalled for. Next thing we know they'll be buying up all those foreclosures that people are walking away from....oh wait...they're already doing that!

Stupid, stupid, stupid....but, as they say, "Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work!"

Give me a break!

I Hate Taxes!!!

2009-06-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I know that they go to pave the roads, run the government, etc, but that doesn't mean I have to like them.

I just cut a check to the Federal Government for my business quarterlies and man that hurt!

I'd feel better about sending them my hard-earned money if I believed they were actually trying to be somewhat fiscally responsible with it.

As it is, it'll probably buy a tire for some car made by Government Motors or fund some AIG executives bonus.

Ah...socialism, ain't it great? They own a big stake now in the financial system, own over 50% stake in a car manufacturer (that last I checked just declared bankruptcy), gave some money to another auto maker that also declared bankruptcy, and yet, somehow they think we should still be spending money like crazy.

Balance the damn budget people!!!!

If you don't believe me, just wait until inflation catches up to the rate at which they're printing the money. Then we'll all be SOOOOO happy that they stepped in. Yep. I'm really excited to see inflation in action.

I don't think the government has a role in making sure an auto company that's been losing money now FOR YEARS because they couldn't figure out how to make cars that people ACTUALLY WANT TO DRIVE and instead made gas hogs that they lost money on for every one made.

In a way, I can understand the whole AIG thing, but man, this is just getting out of hand!

For every dollar the government now spends, 0.60 cents of it is borrowed. Yes! Over 50% of the money they're spending is borrowed!!

The government needs to go on a SERIOUS spending diet before they crash the whole damn economy!

Sorry, just venting, when you write the government tax checks as big as I do each quarter you'd probably want to vent too....

-Graydon

A Few Of My Favorite Things.....

2009-06-14T20:20:00.001-07:00

This is just a random post about some of the cool products out there that I really like. No reason. Just because.

1) Toyota's
We own a 2004 Toyota Sienna Minivan and a 2005 Toyota Tundra Pickup Truck....and I love them! After driving just about every make & model of car out there, I can definitely say that I absolutely LOVE my Toyota's. They're incredibly reliable, well built, and drive really really well!

I can drive the Tundra clear across the United States (and I did it too...from Virginia to Utah) and not feel worn out at the end of the day. The thing drives like a dream!

The minivan also rocks. It just drives so confidently & smoothly that it's been great to own. Like their old slogan, "Oh what a feeling, Toyota!" I'm sold...

2) Apple Computers
After being a long time PC guy and pretty much an Apple hater, I broke down & bought my first Apple. A MacBook Pro. I absolutely LOVE the thing! It powers up fast, it powers down fast, it recognizes my video camera quickly, I can edit video on it without any problem, I can travel with it without worrying that it's not going to work, and it just has a robust feel to it. I can't really put it well into words, but when you use it, it just has a really tactile feel that, well, feels like something made of high quality.

If I'm "vegging" around the house & just want to browse the web away from my office, this is the one I take. It's the one that goes to my folks house with me, and the one I travel with. I love the thing! Go Apple!

3) Canon Printers
I've used HP, Lexmark, Oki-Data, and other Ink Jet printers but I have to say I love the Canon printers best. I own an MP380 Fax/Copy/Scan/Print right now & for doing all the aforementioned tasks, the thing rocks. I owned an MP390 prior to that and the only reason I upgraded was because I needed a faster printer. They also don't break down.

Even the BJC-210 that I bought over 15 years ago and finally gave to the DI still worked. Good stuff!

4) Canon Digital Cameras
I own a Canon Rebel XSi DSLR and a Canon PowerShot SD880IS.
Both of them rock! Previous to the Canon Rebel I had a Nikon D40. The thing couldn't focus to save it's own life. It was a little nicer to hold in the hands, but at the end of the day if it can't take a good picture, then looks & feel don't matter.

The Rebel does an amazing job! You can micro focus it with it tethered to a computer and the images come out incredible! I love the thing & use it often.

The PowerShot takes amazing pictures for a small camera. In fact, when we did our own little photo shoot of the kids, some of the pictures on the PowerShot turned out better than the Rebel! It always seems to get the color right and the pictures turn out great...even if they turn out to be a 100 shots of Josh's curious looking face (he loves taking picutres)

5) HP Commercial Class Laser Printers
I have an HP 4200 DTN (Duplex, Tray, Network). The thing can spit out invoices & packing slips really, really fast...and at over 12,000 pages per cartridge, the thing can run forever before needing a toner refill. Being able to Duplex (print on both sides) also is a lot of fun. I can print out book-like results really fast and because it attaches directly to my router I can access it from any computer in the house.

6) Logitech Wireless Laser Mouse
These are cool! Pretty cheap too. If you travel at all, having a wireless mouse is awesome! Especially a laser wireless mouse! They're extremely accurate, can be used nearly 100 feet away (mine works on the 2.4 gHz frequency) and the batteries last a long, long time! Cool stuff.

7) Dymo LabelWriter
When I worked for IHC, I used to install these little puppies in all our clinics. Usually the next day I'd get a call from the manager or from someone at the clinic calling to tell me how much they constantly use it and how much they love it.

The uses are endless and the labels are really cool (they're thermo labels meaning it doesn't use ink). I use it all the time for all sorts of things and love not having to feed it ink! Great stuff!

8) Panasonic Cordless Phones
One of my first cordless phones was a Panasonic. I loved that thing! I've since tried several other brands (V-Tech, Sony, AT&T, etc...) and none of them seem to quite get how a cordless phone should work as well as Panasonic does.

I also like how durable they are. I've kicked mine, dropped it a million times, sent it flying across the room, and pretty much abused the poor thing (it sits on my hip during the day with a wired headset plugged into it. If I walk by something that grabs the cord, yep, it goes sailing) and still works great!

I recently upgraded to a DECT 6.0 set and am flat out amazed at how well it works! I can walk all over the house, all over outside (out to the mail-box, the shed, half-way down the block) and the thing still has crystal clear voice reception

9) Verizon Wireless
I think they just "get it". I've now had Verizon for over 7 years and don't have any plans to change. When you call them with a problem, you can get right through, they fix it, don't give you the run-around, and they deal with things fast.

They also have the most reliable network in Utah that I'm aware of. I was introduced to them when I started at IHC because the hospitals needed cell phones that could work everywhere. I've taken mine on trips with folks with other cell carriers and mine always works...while theirs may cut out in the middle of conversations.

Gotta love Verizon!
10) Canon Service
I recently damaged my Canon Camcorder (Canon HV30 HD Camcorder) and had to send it in for service. I have NEVER had better service on a product. The process to get it started could be done on line (it was painless. Filled out a few fields, hit send, they sent me back a form w/ instructions on where to send it) and was quick!

I mailed it off & when it got there I got an email and details on how quick I'd be getting it back.

It made it back to me within a week and was in tip top shape (I broke the LCD on it).

Man, if only all companies ran their service departments like Canon! The world would be a much nicer place!

So, that's just a few of my thoughts on cool products I like. Oh yeah, add Toro Lawn Mowers! I love mine! I swear that thing cuts the grass so evenly it looks like carpet!

Anyway, just a random post on random stuff...

Enjoy!
-Graydon

Fuel Prices Are Going Back Up...and I'm thrilled!

2009-06-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Looks like diesel prices are headed back up.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/wohdp/diesel.asp#graph_buttons

[deep sarcasm]Just breaks my heart....[/sarcasm]

My business does really well when fuel prices shoot through the roof & I don't drive much anymore either (I can go a month w/ a tank of gas in my Toyota Tundra).

So, I say, let the price soar like an eagle! I'm ready for it!

-Graydon

"No More Pencils, No More Books..."

2009-06-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Emily is done with Kindergarten. I can't believe how fast the school year has gone and how much she has matured. A great example is when we would walk to school. I had to walk her to her classroom, then over a month's time I would progressively back out of the school until I was leaving her at the crosswalk. Now she just goes and I am left far behind.

They had a Spring Fling Presentation where all the classes did a special dance number. Emily's was to "Splish, Splash". We took a video, but it didn't turn out.

She really enjoyed Kindergarten, learned a lot, and made a lot of friends. She is looking forward to 1st Grade with much excitement.

The Gardens Growing....

2009-05-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Our garden is slowly growing....

We'll be thinning out the zucchini, lettuce, and cucumbers soon.
The tomatoes will be a while before I thin them down.

Here's what we have planted...
Lettuce....

Zucchini...

Watermelon...

Carrots...

Radishes....

Tomatoes...

Peas....

Cucumbers....

Cauliflower...

We're probably going to bag the Square Foot Garden next year & just widen the whole plot to a much bigger traditional garden.

We don't seem to have a problem growing big things....
2005 Tomato Plants

Fathers' and Sons' Outing

2009-05-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend Max, Graydon, and Josh went to a Fathers' and Sons' Campout. They had a lot of fun and it didn't rain on them. Josh loved the fire and roasting Marshmallows.

When they were driving over a very bumpy road Josh said, "Grandpa, I think the road has an owie."

You never know what you'll get

2009-05-09T22:53:00.000-07:00

Josh loves to use the camera and when he gets it, you never know what you'll see. Presenting some Self Portraits by Josh.