Looking on back on 2007

Two thousand and seven is almost over, so it's time for one last post this year. Here a few photo reminders of the first few minutes of this year.




Lisette is rapidly becoming a young woman with her own interests and views. Miles has become a good skateboarder and a very good skier (even though I can't see his ears anymore.) Ian is growing up so much, but is still very sweet and he will loyally do things with me even if they're boring. Saffron is turning out to have a very strong personality, but a very loving one. My children have grown so much this year. They are such a joy to me; I can't imagine ever not having them.

So here are my goals in respect to my children for the new year:

1. Be more patient
2. Read more with them
3. Play more with them
   
4. Remember what it was like to be their age
   

Here are my goals to become a better person for them:

1. Read the scriptures more often
2. Find more purpose in prayer
3. Take better care of myself (sleep, exercise, healthy diet)

Happy New Years everyone.

White Christmas

Last night we had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. Melinda made saffron rice, roasted potatoes, and we ate shrimp with cocktail sauce. We drank sparkling cider and ate pecan pie (compliments of Carrie) for dessert as the snow gently fell outside. We read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke and all the kids opened one of their presents. Lisette and Miles had a hard time going to sleep, they were so excited.

Today we woke up with everything covered with white and the sun shining. We opened up presents and had a very nice day. Lisette got some really nice books, some games and the boys loved the Lego Star Wars. Saffron got some fun tub toys and we had a very nice day.

We hope everyone had a nice holiday with their loved ones. Merry Christmas.

Evolution of the Christmas Monkey

About six years ago we had a Christmas party at Annette's house. After the dinner we all participated in a little nativity play. Lisette was Mary and wore a blue towel around her head and held a little doll. Matthew was Joseph wearing a little bath robe. Miles was supposed to be a wise man, but he insisted on being a monkey instead. So we experienced the first nativity with a monkey; the Christmas Monkey.

I've always been pretty down on the whole Santa business. Once in college Amy and I had this big debate about the merits of the concept of Santa Claus. I can't remember much of our arguments, but I was definitely anti-Santa. My parents never really put much emphasis on Mr. Kringle when I was a kid anyway. So our kids have always known that Santa is false doctrine. I know, I know, I'm a Grinch, but I guess I'm their dad and so I guess their stuck with me.

Every year the legend of the Christmas Monkey expands at our house. First he was just a supporting character, but he has now effectively replaced Mr. Claus. Now he fills the stockings and leaves leaves monkey poop (usually Milk Duds or Whoppers) all over the floor.


Anyway, St. Nick has been replaced with St. Primate. Instead of leaving out a plate of cookies and milk, the kids leave out a dish of oranges and bananas. Instead of of reindeer and a sleigh, the Christmas Monkey comes in his silent helicopter and then swings down between the trees on his invisible vine wearing toe-socks and flip-flops.

So is the Christmas Monkey any better than Santa Claus? I don't know, but we sure have fun with it. The kids feel sad for all the kids who don't know about the Christmas Monkey and have to settle for Santa. We love our own unique family holiday tradition and jungle Christmas mythos.

Christmas choir and Lorraine's birthday

I sang in the choir for our church Christmas program. I don't have a great voice, but I have learned to sing better, and I've really enjoyed participating in choir. It was nice sitting up on the stand with the other choir members (and ever-faithful Ian) and listening to the words of Christ and singing about his birth during the Christmas season. It was a very peaceful and joyful experience. We sang the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah and the very end. I love the power, praise, and joy in that song.

The Christmas hymns never fail to move me. The whole congregation met together again for the third hour and we sang all the Christmas songs in the hymn book, from page 201-214. Jesus came into the world and lived so simple and humbly. It kind of makes the Santa materialistic thing look pretty shabby in comparison.

Later in the afternoon I took Lisette, Miles, and Ian to the nursing home which is near our neighborhood. The primary children sang Christmas songs to the residents. It was really beautiful to hear the innocent children sing of Christ. I'm sure those are the voices He loves to hear best.

The kids also came with me and we gave out some yummy chocolate mint cookies that Melinda had baked. They seemed to have so much fun. I don't know if it was just entertaining to them, but just maybe they felt joy in serving others.

In the evening we went to Annette's house to celebrate Lorraine's birthday. Scott felt very loved because everyone went out of their way to make non-dairy dishes that he could eat (Scott has milk allergies.) Everyone had fun catching up and the boys loved playing with all of Matthew's Nerf weapons. He has quite the arsenal.

Here are some photos of the festivities. Notice that Ian so helpfully blew out most of the candles for his grandma.

Muchos tamales ricos

Tonight was our second annual Christmas tamale part with some of our homeschooling family friends.

Earlier, Wendy had 4 ski tickets for Park City that had to be used up, so James, Carrie, Bobby, and Clair went. We watched Clair's little girl, Makenna, so he could go. I didn't feel up to skiing and a big party all in the same day. So instead I cleaned up around the house a little, helped the kids with their homework, played with Saffron and Makenna, and then a took a nice long nap.

Makenna was very cute, and a cinch to babysit. She just wandered around and played with all the toys and read books. Here's a picture of James reading to her.

We took James with us to the tamale party. We got an assembly line going; someone to spread the masa on the corn husk, someone to put the filling in, and someone to tie them up. We had lots of yummy fillings too:

• Spicy pork
• Chicken with red mole
• Chicken with green mole
• Chicken with sun-dried tomatoes
• Southwest beans
• Cherry with chocolate chips
• Pumpkin pecan
• Cinnamon raisin

That's not to mention the tortilla soup, or the 4 different kind of salsas we had with chips. It was quite the fiesta of flavors! Tamales are a lot of work, so doing it together as a big group is ideal.

The kids had lots of fun, too. They ran around like creatures from "Where The Wild Things Are" for a while and then they played Lego Star Wars for a while. We were there quite late, so they kids were ready to sleep when we got home, exhausted from so much fun.

My mental jukebox

This morning while shoveling the driveway, an old Spike Jones song started playing in my mind:

My driveway is covered in snow
I'm so tired of shoveling it
But at least snow is pure, white, and beautiful
And it's better than shoveling...

(Chorus)
Shaving cream, be nice and clean
Shave every day and you'll always look keen

Does anyone else have this problem? You're going along in your day and something triggers a song and you have to step back and figure out what you did and how it relates to this song. I can't tell you how often this happens to me. It's kind of bizarre.

This week Lisette's birthday flowers were looking a little sad and so I pulled out the dead ones. So a stupid song from the 80's (which I didn't even like) pops into my brain:

The flowers you gave me
Are just about to die
When I think about
What could've been
It makes me want to cry
(Could've been - Tiffany)

Maybe I've listened to way too much pop music in my life. When Melinda and I would first married we would have conversations and I would slip lyrics into the conversation. Boy, she hated that! It took me a while to break that habit, but every once and and while I'll do it.

We still have this ongoing joke concerning a particular Smiths lyric. Actually, I could quote a Smiths lyric for almost every situation (well at least every depressing situation.) We'll ask each other "do you still love me?" and then finish with the lyric:

I still love you, oh, I still love you
...Only slightly, only slightly less than I used to, my love

Snowy night

Today was a very nice day, notwithstanding a little wind. It was a pretty day with some sunshine that melted all the snow; so much that it almost seemed liked spring. Tonight was quite the contrast.

It started snowing on my way home from work, but it wasn't too bad. We went up to Melinda's folk's place because Richard and Jan were in town, but it took us 30 minutes to make a 3 mile trip. Cars were backed up, it was very slushy and very slick and we were down to one lane because of road construction. We would have turned around, but that would have been just as bad.

We made it without injuring anyone and then had a nice dinner with everyone. Afterwards Kevin helped Miles and Ian make a giant snow fort on the back porch. We left around 9:30 and the roads had at least been plowed so the journey home was only mildly treacherous.


James was arriving from China and I was supposed to pick him up at the airport, but thankfully Carrie was able to get him for me. She lives near Bangerter Highway, so she's closer to the airport. (Thanks, Carrie, I owe you one.)


I walked outside tonight because I left something out in the car. I'm always amazed at how light it is outside when there is white covering everything. Everything seems so peaceful and lovely covered with a blanket of snow. And of course the snow always seems so much more cozy when you are home in your warm jammies.

Solitude skiing

Miles and I went skiing today. I took the day off from work because Brighton had Quad Wednesday which gets you a pass for $14 if you bring a sack of food for the Utah Food Bank. Unfortunately, I slept in and we didn't get to the resort until after 11:00. By that time the lot was full and people were parking on the road more than a mile away from the resort. I don't like skiing when it's packed, and I didn't want to lug all of our gear uphill so far. So we headed down the road to Solitude.

Solitude is a great little resort. They're not kidding by calling it solitude; there were no crowds. It was great to have so much room to ski and we never had to wait in line. Last year when I went to Park City it was mobbed. A few years ago they started building up the base of Solitude so it is more of a ski destination instead of just a lodge with lifts. They have a very nice little European style village with restaurants, lodgings and other après-ski activities.

Of course, since I'm a local (and not a big spender) I don't really care about the amenities. But this is a resort has a really classy vibe without all the pretentiousness. You don't see any fashionistas on the slopes, but you see hordes of rowdy post -adolescent snowboarders, either.

Their are a few things a didn't like, though. They have older lifts and only one high-speed quad. I have to admit that I am spoiled by the detachable lifts and the old fixed-grip lifts seem painful for me now. That wouldn't be so bad, but Solitude has two bases and the transition between the two is kind of awkward. There north base is really flat and you have to huff it a lot to get between the lifts. I'd have to say the layout problem was the biggest drawback. Also, the mountain is really nice but I on the lift you can hear the highway down below, which kind of spoils the remote mountain feel.

But the snow was good; really good. Since I'm not the greatest skier I usually liked the groomed trails but today there was lots of powdery stuff on top. Miles and I did pretty well, and we're learning to appreciate the finer points of powder. It was a very good ski day, but of course a bad ski day is better than a good day at work.

Nightschool

The kids spent most of their day having a Christmas party with some of their homeschool friends. So tonight I did the dishes while they did homework. Lisette wrote some poems, Miles did his online math, Ian practiced typing, and Saffron watched Winnie the Pooh to sharpen her hearing skills and color recognition.

Work has been pretty busy lately. We have been upgrading a lot of our systems, which is very good, but it keeps you hopping. This is what we have upgraded in the last 6 weeks:

1. Accounting software (Microsoft Dynamics GP)
2. Time keeping system (Stromberg Enterprise)
   
3. E-mail (Microsoft Exchange 2007)
4. Web server (Dell Server with MS IIS 6.0)
   
5. Internet service (an additional T1 line from First Digital)
6. Backup hardware and software (Symantec BackupExec and Quantum LTO2's)
   

And next month we will be finalizing the e-mail and getting a new phone system and fax server. I've had to do a lot of updates and reboots at night from home, so I'm very glad my work provides DSL for me. Now if only they could give me a couple of extra hours in the day...

Counting down the days

Here are some of the highlights of this week:

• Saffy is doing very well using her little potty
• Some of Melinda's cousins came over and sang us carols
• Ruth and Darius got married December 11th on Smathers Beach in Key West
  
• We found out Ruth is having twins (Yeeaahh!)
  

• The kids went to the Planetarium and the Children's Museum
• Miles read 2 Star Wars books
• Ian wrote a story about a time-traveling penguin
• Lisette can now play "Beauty and the Beast" on the piano
• Melinda had Brian and Dejah (who are very happily engaged) over for cooking club; they made jambalaya and pinwheel biscuits

• Melinda and I went to my company party and were entertained by a hypnotist while Connie babysat
  
• I took Lisette, Miles, and Ian for a quick visit their cousins in Roy
• The car windshield cracked (just before safety and registration is due)
• The kids are counting down the days until Christmas
  

Phew! Just one more week before Christmas; I hope you all have your shopping done!

Homework and cookies

Today Lisette spent the day with me at work. She needed a change of scenery to help get her groove back. I'm not sure which one of us had more fun, but the day sure went by fast for me.

She sat by me at my desk while I was on the phone and did her grammar workbook. She even came in with me to a meeting with my boss, who, was glad to have her there; she beautified the room appreciably.

After some typing instruction and some word games it was time for lunch. We went out to Paradise Bakery and Cafe and got a couple of sandwiches and cookies. I had a curry chicken salad with walnuts and cranberries on molasses bread. The sandwich was very good, but not spectacular. The cookies, however, were something to write home about. They tasted like courses of angels rejoicing hallelujah! Such charming chocolate chips and such snappy snickerdoodles! Those are truly cookies of excellence.

After lunch Lisette did lots on online math, and more word games while I made more phone calls and did various server tasks. Five o'clock rolled around and home we went. We should do this more often.

Boxed trees and snow

Last Monday we popped Vince Guaraldi's' "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in the CD player and put up our Christmas tree. I'd like to say we made a trek to the woods in a one horse open sleigh and cut it down, but we didn't. We went down to the storage room an pulled it out of a cardboard box.


Friday night we got a load of snow, and more on Saturday. If my hip keeps getting better, maybe I'll take Miles to Brighton to go skiing. They got 30" new white fluffy in the last 48 hours to a grand total of 65". Wahoo!

Lisette's Day

Eleven years ago Melinda and I went to our first ward Christmas party as a married couple. It was a brunch party; we ate breakfast burritos. It was a Saturday and the last day of the work week for me; I worked swing shift doing technical support from 2:00 to 11:00. After the party we went for a walk and Melinda had a couple of small contractions. She thought maybe I should go to work, but I felt it was a good excuse to stay home.


At 11:01 that night, little Lisette was born. I remember holding her and telling Melinda, "she's perfect!" It was so exciting having a little baby! We loved her so much! It's hard to believe that she's already eleven years old.

Hanukkah with The Shins

Happy Hanukkah everyone (actually tonight is day two of Hanukkah this year)! We broke out the menorah and Melinda, Miles, and Lisette made latkes and homemade applesauce. Tasty! Very tasty indeed!

Today I actually took the morning off so Melinda and the kids could go to Kingsbury Hall (they don't allow babies or toddlers) to see A Mariachi Christmas. The actually took the bus because there isn't any good parking at the University campus. It was quite the eclectic cultural day: Christmas in latinoamerica and Hanukkah.

It was a nice morning with Saffron. She's so cute in the morning! She loves to cuddle and she likes to play cute little silly games. We slept in, read books, and ate breakfast. Saffron played monkey, hanging on my back as I walked around the house, then later played fish and frog in the tub.

Melinda arrived home with the kids around noon. They were pretty cute walking down the street after getting off the bus. I went into work around one, much to the relief of my coworker. I think he's getting the idea that I have a third sense to know when to stay away from work.

Melinda called me on my way home from work because she was stuck at church. The van battery died again after Cub Scouts. I think Melinda would renounce the whole thing if Miles wasn't in it. Everything was fine after a good jump start. That reminds me, I better go out and put the charger on it now.

Right now I'm listening to The Shins (Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing The Night Away) on my Zune. Wow. They're a great little indie pop group that are very listen-able. It's great to listen to an album without having to skip or fast forward half of the songs. Very catchy.

Kids update

Lisette had an un-sleepover party with a friend in Bountiful, Friday night. Melinda picked her up even though it was snowy, and she they got home at about 1:30 AM. She had fun with her other friends staying up playing and watching movies.

Miles has been baking for us. This week he has made:

1. Peanut butter cookies
2. Blueberry muffins
3. Puff pancakes
4. Blueberry shake

Ian has washed the dishes 4 times this week. The other kids are horrified by washing the dishes, but Ian isn't. He says, "it's easy you just have to wipe, wipe, wipe." We got tons of snow this weekend and today Ian started shoveling. If you're in the market, I highly recommend buying a home with the driveway facing south. Most of the times we ignore the driveway and the snow will just melt. It's great!

Saffron loves playing out in the snow. She thinks Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas tree is a toy tree. She been having fun playing with all the ornaments.