From the mouths of babes...

Yesterday the kids revealed a bit too much information about our family. At Church Kennedy's class was talking about what each child's parent did. Each 3 year old took their turn sharing about daddies who sell things or fix things. Kennedy then declared, "My daddy gets mad at everyone and then he spanks us." Great moment for me, especially considering I can count the number of times I've spanked anyone in our house on one hand.

Alex joined in the mix as I sat down on the couch yesterday afternoon. He immediately ran up to me and shouted, "NO FOOTBALL!" I guess he knew how I wanted to relax.

Sometimes I just can't win around here.

Tree Time

For Family Home Evening tonight, we finally got our Christmas tree finished. The kids helped us put the ornaments and final touches on the tree while we listened to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Kennedy and Alex had fun decorating the tree (we made sure Alex didn't handle any glass ornaments) and Kennedy decided that the tree looks much better with lights and decorations.



I think we are officially ready for the holidays. The lights are on, the tree is up, the boxes are away. Now, let's hope the tree doesn't break.

When it rains....

This weekend has already been an interesting one. We started out yesterday with our oven kicking the bucket. Now, we have known for awhile that our oven was on it's last leg and it has already been repaired several times. So we had already decided that when something else went wrong, it was time for a new one. But seriously, did it have to happen three weeks before Christmas? So now, we need to find an oven, quick. I'm looking at a double oven! Kind of fun, but a little pricey. Anyway, that was Friday.

Today started out nice. We had our ward Christmas party at 10 am. Something different, but it was good to have a breakfast and get things over with. The party was nice and the kids had fun. Jared had to work, so I took the kids alone. Luckily, the ward members are always there to help out.

After the party, we headed out to Walmart to pick up some Christmas lights. For some reason this year, 70% of our Christmas lights went out. The quick trip to Walmart ended up being a lot longer. After purchasing our cheap lights (which one set didn't work from the get go), we headed out to the car to go home and finally finish decorating the Christmas tree. Not so fast. The Xterra was dead. It would start, but just sputtered for a minute and then would die. It was obvious it wasn't getting any gas. After a few tries, I knew we were in trouble. Jared was at work and not available. So I called a tow truck. Luckily our insurance covered this. This was my first experience with a tow truck. I didn't realize it took them an hour to drive the few miles to our car. You can see some very interesting people in the Walmart parking lot if you hang out long enough.


Once the tow truck got there, I had them take it to a local mechanic who happened to be open on Saturday and was near our house. I had to call Jessica to come and pick us up. Apparently, tow trucks don't accommodate moms with two kids and two car seats. We finally got the Xterra to the mechanic. They said they would call with an estimate. Sure enough a few minutes later, the call came. $750.00. Your fuel pump is out and they are really expensive. Uh, that seems a bit too expensive. Don't do anything, I said.

So I called around, family members, the Nissan dealership-they would do it for $625.00, Checker Auto parts. Yes, it was very expensive they all said. I called the mechanic back. All of the sudden, they were down to $650.00. Still too expensive. I asked them to itemize how they came up with $650.00. After hashing it out, we are now paying $500.00 to get it fixed. Probably still too expensive, but I would have to have the Xterra towed again and pay the mechanic $50.00 for finding the problem just to get it out of there. I guess the mechanic thought I was desperate and would just say, "okay, fix it" with his first price. Can't trust these guys!


So now, new oven - $800.00 new fuel pump - $500.00. Merry Christmas kids.

Blow Out

So, yesterday was a day not unlike any other. I spent the morning preparing for a presentation I was giving for a lunch meeting. Nothing formal, just a look at tech gifts for the holidays for the people in our building. In fact it was so casual that I wore jeans instead of my usual khakis. Big Mistake.

As I was getting up from my seat I heard a strange sound. Not grumbling, not shrieking, more like tearing. I realized quickly that I tore a hole in my pants. With the presentation looming, I had no choice but to sit down the entire time and hope no one noticed. I alerted co workers to my situation and had them handle anything that required standing or bending. Needless to say, this is one of the worst things that can happen to someone who's about to be in front of 50 people.

When I got back to the office I grabbed some duct tape and headed off to the restroom to solve my problem. What do you think?

Family Time

It's been a fun weekend down in New Harmony. After all the running around on Thursday and Friday, Saturday and Sunday turned into some quality time at home. Kennedy and Alex love to play with their cousins, so Saturday afternoon was spent with little people playing with Little People (sorry I couldn't resist). It's fun to watch the kids play with many of the same toys I had growing up. Mom has them all available for use down here. Hard to believe, but one of Kennedy's favorite toys is a sand art toy, where you shake the sand to create different works of art. Why do I spend money on all the latest toys when the ones from the 70's get all their attention?

While the younger kids played with the toys, Coleton and I took advantage of the open TV and had some serious battles on the Wii. Madden was the game of choice and we discovered a new game called 5 on 5. It's basically just a game of tackle football, where you keep track of touchdowns and it's the first team to 5 scores. Coleton and I had a great time, even if the games were one-sided.

I think one of the best parts of our lazy Saturday was the chance for the mommies to get some rest. Both Tara and Alicia were able to take naps during the afternoon. With my parents and me available to watch kids, I think it's great when Tara can have a break - even if it's only temporary.

Last night we wrapped up our trip with a cookout. One of the best things about life in the desert is that you're basically camping out - all the time. My dad built a fire pit in his backyard last year and this was our first time to use it. Kennedy and Alex came out back with us and helped us roast some hot dogs for dinner. I'm not sure if any of Dede's dogs actually made it to the table, but she had a good time burning them anyway. Alex wasn't really sure what to make of the open fire (he's only seen fire in fireplaces) but he certainly wanted to part of the action.

Now it's time to head back to hustle and bustle of Salt Lake, but we always look forward to our time in the hills of New Harmony.