Good Times.

Even though some of these pictures are a bit old, they still tell our story that we would like to share with you. It's been an adventure that last couple of years and I think that it is only getting better everyday. And with a face like that, who could argue!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Breaking the law = Making the law

There is a bill being considered currently in the Utah state legislature that deals with traffic laws. Some of the proposals are to raise the speed limit on the interstates by 5 mph, allow police officers to speed without using their lights, require slow moving vehicles to get out of the left lane, and shorten the required amount of time that drivers must signal before changing lanes.

It is not so much the proposed changes that bother me, it is the reasoning that was given in the article for the changes.

"Jenkins says people are already speeding and police officers are already breaking the law by not using their lights. Jenkins says his bill, which has already passed a Senate committee and is expected to be voted on by the full Senate tomorrow, would make state law more in accordance with what drivers are already doing."

It just doesn't make sense to me. Changing the law because people are not obeying it already. To me this would be like,(Brace yourself for the over the top comparison), legalizing prostitution because, hey people are already doing it all over town, so why not give them a clear conscience. I understand that at times laws become outdated and need to be changed, but give me a real reason. Not just the popular teenage excuse, "everyone is doing it". Sometimes I wonder what kind of people we put in office.

Why change the law to fit the people, aren't the laws supposed to help the people change?

Link to KSL Article

Truly Wicked.

Last week Crystal, Beepers and myself were in the big Apple. We were taking a cruise with Crystal's family from NY to the Bahamas and back. That is a story that I will have to tell when I have more time. While we were in NY, Crystal wanted to go see a Broadway show and obtained tickets to see Wicked. I was intrigued at the brief synopsis that she gave me, but I was not prepared for what I was to behold.

The stage and the props were magnificent, I was really impressed with the quality and the detail. I am not completely without culture and I was expecting to enjoy the show, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. In fact, even now over a week later I am still humming some of the tunes to myself. For those of you who don't know what the play is about here is a brief summary.

"Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years."

The plot was good, it has some funny bits, and the music was great. If you ever get the chance to see this show, I would recommend that you do.

Oh Tannenbaum!!!!

Christmas is here along with all the good smells, grumpy people, extremely happy people and over priced products. I actually enjoy the Christmas season along with most things that go with it. This last Sunday we decided to put up our Christmas tree and decorate it with all the trimmings. As we were doing so I wondered what the effect would be on our almost two year old son, Beepers. At first he was in awe and stared and pointed. Then awe gave way to curiosity and now, he believes that the funnest game in the world is to pull an ornament off the tree and run away from mommy or daddy as they chase him around the house yelling. He laughs and laughs. It's really hard to punish a child and make it stick when they are being so silly, but then that feeling quickly passes as I get angry because I am trying to punish him and he laughs in my face. This usually ends in a time out session for him and a cool down session for me. Not that I get that angry, it's just frustrating to tell him the same thing over and over, knowing he understands he just chooses not to obey. ( I guess this is the point that most people with children would say, "Welcome to the next thirty years of your life.")

On the bright side, it is fun to see his reaction to all the lights and sounds. Tonight we took him downtown to temple square to see the lights. He enjoyed every minute of it. He kept shouting, "light, light" and "twinkle". (Twinkle is what he chooses to call stars, most of the time. I guess we sang twinkle, twinkle, little star, too much. I think it's cute though.) Last year he was too small to express himself, so this year was much better. I can't wait until Christmas.

I am also hoping to see lots of friends when they come back home to visit. hint hint!

Pumkin Pyrotechnics!

So, Halloween is over and now you are left with a surplus of mangled pumpkin carcasses. What to do.... Some take the traditional approach and make pies or cakes, and others just throw them in the trash. This year however turned out a bit different. We were invited to witness the result of pumpkins + rednecks + dynamite + a rifle = fun! And here it is for you to behold..



The story begins in the small town of Weston, Idaho. The people were looking for a way to discourage the teens in this small country town from going out and smashing the pumpkins all over the roads. After some discussion, and a pyrotechnicians license later, the annual pumpkin blowup was born. Everyone is invited to bring their pumpkins and then a short time later, a rifle is used to detonate the small amount of dynamite placed at the bottom of the pile. Some of those that we talked to commented that this year it was a little harder to get the dynamite, so there are several large pieces of pumpkin left. Normally all that one would witness is an orange mist billowing towards the sky.

Even though it was short lived, I really enjoyed it and I think that this might become an annual trip. Who says Rednecks don't know how to have fun. ( I think that I might have a little more redneck in me that I would like to admit.)

From the mouths of babes..

One of the most amazing things about being a parent is having the oppourunity to watch a human mind develop. It absolutly fascinates me. Everything that my 19 month old son does, he is learning. His speech is getting much clearer and now he is hitting what I would call the parrot stage. Everything he hears he trys to repeat. For example whenever he gets dressed he runs all around the house yelling, "Cute!" and waiting for us to dote on him.

Given this situation it is really interesting to find out the words that his mother and I must use often without even realizing it. "Whoa!" (one of his favorites) "Cool", "Neat", "No!"(that one is a given) and so on. None of those are really remarkable, but it fascinates me, by how quickly he learns them and is able to use them in the correct context.

Everyday is a new surprise and I only wish that I could learn as fast and as well as he does. (Let's just hope that he won't pick up on some of the rarely used "undesireables" that are muttered every so often, espically when one plays Halo.)