Trying to get back into the swing of posting

I have been bad yet again about keeping this up to date. Going to give it another go here. The kids keep reminding me so that should help.

Pinewood derby season

We had a good time last night at what will be T's last Pinewood derby. He got to carry the American Flag for the Flag ceremony and was also awarded his Bear Badge.



We got somewhat late notice that it was time for the Pinewood derby but his car turned out pretty darn cool. He wanted a somewhat simple design so we cut it down low. He added a light up "rocket booster" and a Lego Darth Vader to complete the car after the cool paint job was applied. I will post a picture of his car later once I remember to get a good shot of it.



We got the car dialed in right at 5oz but when race time came it did not perform well. He was a bit bummed out. I could see that the back was not moving well but the rules are once the car is weighed in and entered you can not touch or fix anything.

After the races were over we figured out the problem. One of his back wheels was basically stuck and would not move at all. In between races, in order to prevent the cars from rolling around they are placed on their tops. Due to the design of his car this caused his to lean on one side and caused one of his back wheels axles to bend and the wheel to become stuck to the car. We quickly fixed that and he raced some of his friends for fun. This time his car came in 1st or 2nd every time. We have high hopes for the Stake Pinewood derby on Saturday. Going to add a dab of super glue to the axle to hold it in position and avoid this issue again.

Soccer is here again

It is that time of the year again. We are at the opening day for both of the girls. T does not really like soccer so he is a spectator this year.  Here is a pic of C getting ready for her first game.   I will try to get one of P as well.

Impromptu trip to the Temple

It has been hot here the past few days. Really hot. On Sunday we got to 109. We got home from Church on Sunday and were setteling in for a quiet day inside with the air conditioner running when at about 5pm all the lights and that super important AC turned off. Went outside, checked the breakers and Dolly noticed that she could not hear any of the neighbor's AC units going either. Called SMUD and yup power out to us and 145 other houses. Estimated time to restore was 2 hours.

We started thinking of what we could do away from the house and decided on a little trip to see the Temple. Enjoyed the AC in the truck and the family time. We did not spend much time actually at the Temple since it was just so hot. We did get to enjoy the ride and the special sprit of the grounds.

P thinking of Boppi

Tonight at Twilight Camp I took this picture of P.  Made us think of Boppi.  Hope he is doing ok in Saudi.

Fahter's Day picture frames

My girls made these cool picture frames and I just hung them up in my office.  P made sure to use my favorite colors and C got creative with some hearts,

Mobile blogging?

Ok, I know it has been forever since I posted. I am going to try something new here. For Father's Day I got a new Google G1 phone. It has all kinds of access and toys. So I am going to try and use it for these quick posts and updates. I first posted this with the phone and I am now adding a few details. The picture below is my current phone wallpaper. It was the only photo on the phone and wanted to see how it would handle pictures. Let's see if I can keep it more upto date now for you all.

Testing

One hurdle down one to go

I am currently preparing for my 2nd Degree Black Belt test. The test itself is April 24th but the other weekend I made it past the first hurdle. I had my pass/fail test on all the 1st Degree curiculum. Now I just need to keep working on my 2nd Degree stuff and be ready for that test.

I am not "officially" old but getting close

Well, over the weekend the puppies decided to eat my glasses. :( I was due for a new exam anyway but was not planning on it now. So today I went in for my exam and my perscription did not change too much. I do not have to wear bi-focals so I am not "officially" old but he did suggest reading glasses of +1 if I find it is hard to read the computer or books. So I am only kinda old.

Side trip to the Sundial Bridge

Stephanie had posted about a trip her family made to the Sundial Bridge in Redding. When I remembered that when we picked up Alice and Jasper I had to call them and check where the bridge was at. It was about 10 minutes from where we got the puppies so we made the side trip. It was a really cool bridge. Too bad it was not sunny to be able to use it as a sundial. There is a neat museum and nature center that we are planning to come back to another day.

Dolly's Merry Happy Christmas Birthday

This year for Dolly's Birthday and Christmas she got some money to use on either a new computer or a pug puppy. After much thought she decided she wanted the puppy so the search began. She called and emailed on many ad's and only one had replied but they wanted too much for the puppy. Then this morning we got a call back from someone in Redding that had an ad. The price was half what others were asking. When she talked to him he said it was the last two of the litter and asked if we would like both for $50 more. We jumped in the truck and took the almost 3 hour drive to Redding. As you can see she fell in love with them so they both came home with us. She has named them Alice and Jasper. The kids loved holding them on the way home.

The Christmas Elves deliver

Our long standing Family tradition continues through the generations. Santa's Elves made an early delivery today. Everyone got some new PJ's. Even Mom and Dad got some this year! No modeling of those but the kids were very eager to get the new PJ's on and model them. As soon as T had his on he said "I am getting sleepy". This was at 6:30 PM :).



Merry Christmas Eve to everyone.

It burns us!

Today is Dolly's Birthday! December is an expensive month with three birthdays and Christmas.

I appreciate all the Dolly does and am a lucky guy. The kids were waiting all day long to be able to sing Happy Birthday to Mom. I kept asking what she wanted for her Birthday dinner and she just wanted hamburgers and hot dogs so we had a very casual dinner at home tonight.

Birthday lunch for the twins

On Monday we went out to Red Robbin for lunch for the twins Birthday. We stopped at Stephanie's on the way to pick up the cards my Mom had left with her and Stephanie had some extra coupons for a free kids meal so they got a free meal and a free sundae!

Happy Birthday to the Twins

After much waiting P and T finally got to open the birthday presents under the tree. They were both very excited but also very patient to let Dad sleep in some this morning.

T got a Star Wars ATTE lego set that he really wanted.

P got an American Girl doll named Mia.

Is this thing still on?

Yes, we are still alive. I have just not taken the time to update the blog in awhile. I know I have been bad. Will try to do better.

Leslie watched our kids for a couple of days this past weekend so we could go out and spend some time together for Dolly's birthday. When we picked them up on Sunday I spent some time trying to resurect Leslie's computer. It is slowly coming back from the grave. Had a few viruses on it and was basicly just stuck.

T came up to me in this outfit and I just had to share it.

New Calling

Well, it was not a total surprise to me. I had a meeting with the Stake President the other day and as of Sunday I am now the Elders Quorum President in our ward. I knew the Bishop was looking to make a change there and had a feeling it was coming my way. This should be a new challenge but exciting. Never have served in the EQ Presidency so lots to learn. The Home Teaching has really been down of late so that is a major area to work on but I have some ideas for fiun activities next year as well. Still serving as the Ward Clerk until the paper work is in for a replacement.

C the "Lunch Lady"

Last night I gave C some extra money to make a lunch for me for work. She jumped at the chance to earn some extra spending money and she loves to help out. She really got into coming up with things to put in for me. Her lunch for me included, 1/2 a ham & cheese sandwich, 1/2 a PB&J, a bag of chips, an apple and some vanilla pudding she made. She put it all in bags she labeled for me. I just had to share these with you.

Work picnic

Back in August there was a company picnic that the family attended. They just posted the pictures from this today so thought I would share. The theme was the 60s and we each got a tie-dyed shirt for the event. It was lots of fun. Had lunch, cotton candy, ice cream, snow cones, music, bounce houses, water slides and crafts for the kids. I spent an hour at the First Aid booth to volunteer some time while the kids played.

P looks like a normal girl......

The other day P walks into our room and out of the blue says the funniest thing. I had her repeat it on video for you all to enjoy. She has a wicked fast sense of humor. Always comes up with some great ones for us to enjoy.