We finally got a swing set. YEAH!!! The kids don't have to go over to the neighbors house anymore. It sure has been fun.

Our little girl has graduated from Preschool. She sure has grown up fast. We are so proud of her.

This is Kelly's new toy. Although J.J. thinks that it is his also. We all enjoy riding in the Shelby Cobra. It has been a fun new addition to our lives.

Visiting Nana and Papa Strong. They are sure loved. (both ways.)

This all came from our backyard. There was even more up on the street behind our house. No one has cleaned the ground cover in I don't know how long. we found old beer bottles and hub caps along with many other disgusting things. The backyard looks a lot better.

Easter was fun this year. The kids are getting old enough to understand it. Coloring eggs was really messy.

Our little man is two!!! He is growing up so fast. As you can see his most favorite things in the world are cars. He plays non-stop with them.

Livi decided that J.J. needed to dress up as a princess. Cute, but dad wasn't very happy.

JJ Gets Tubes

After countless earaches (and finally having a good health insurance plan) we visited a ENT doctor last week who recommended that we get tubes in JJ's ears ASAP. He already had one eardrum rupture and the other was close. We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they were able to schedule his surgery.

We left the house early this morning to get to the hospital by 6:30 a.m. We got JJ all checked in and then changed in his little outfit. They let him pick a stuffed animal (a giraffe--I'm sure it makes Carol proud) and we waited for his doctor to arrive. They whisked him away (with some tears shed) and took him back to the operating room. Lisa got a little teary-eyed knowing her little boy was going through something that she couldn't help him with.

We grabbed a bagel for Lisa at the cafeteria and the doctor was in the waiting room briefing us not fifteen minutes later. I think the whole procedure was under 30 minutes. The doctor said his ears were worse than he thought. He was happy we got the procedure done.

We went to recovery and there was little JJ...crying in the nurses' arms. He was happy to see his mom and snuggled right into her. He ate almost an entire cup of ice chips and then a popsicle. (That's my boy.) They gave him some liquid Loritab and which made him a little tired. After about an hour in recovery they sent us home. He fell asleep on the way and then we put him to bed. He slept from 9:30 until 1 p.m., ate lunch and played a little, then went back down for another nap from 3:30 until I got home at 6 p.m. We hope all the sleep was from his medication and he will sleep tonight.

He's our little trooper. I think we underestimated the amount of pain he was really in. We're grateful that we were able to get it taken care of. Lisa and I look forward to seeing if his speech picks up a little more and his balance improves. He's only ran into the wall once this evening--but no bruises yet. He's now back to eating anything and everything. He's eaten four dark chocolate candies while I've typed this post. I think he's already made a full recovery.

Gingerbread House

Sorry the picture didn't turn out any better. I didn't have a tripod nor the patience to keep trying so this will have to do. In the week between jobs I didn't have an excuse not to put on Christmas lights. Fred taught me if you're going to do something, don't do it half-heartedly. So this is what happened. When you have a house with wood siding, it makes it really easy to hang the lights. It made the misses happy that our house looked festive for once. I'm now known as "Clark Griswold" to my next door neighbor.

Work That Body

With the events that transpired this last year (Dad's knees, Dad's heart attack) I decided that I'm going to get into shape. Though my doctor told me last April that I wasn't overweight, (I'm big boned you know) I decided that it's time to start exercising. The options as I saw it were to buy a pair of running shoes and start running around the neighborhood or get a gym membership. I know gym memberships are ridiculous but my problem is that I foresee myself coming home, plopping in my lazy boy, and justifying my way out of getting up and exercising.

So I called Gold's Gym on Friday (my compressed day) and asked them their specials. He had us come down and tour the gym. The gym (formally Xcel) was one of my first projects in 2003 when I started working for Legacy. It was nice to see it complete and full of equipment and people. He went over with us the costs etc. and tried to talk us into signing up right then and there (the special is going to expire today you know). We walked away without signing and I went home to see if there was anything else around. There really isn't much and what there it's for women or is really, really expensive.

I returned to Gold's and ran into a guy from our ward and asked him to give me the dirt on the club. He said he's been working out there for a while even though he has a full weight set at home (the whole motivation thing). He said I should ask about paying in full upfront because of the discounts. So I took his advice and asked the membership "dude" to tell me about it. As we were discussing the manager came up and asked, "What will it take for me to get you to pay in full right now?" I told him I hadn't given it much thought and then he took $200 off the price plus added 15 months to my contract. I figured once you sign even a 24 month contract, you're sucked into it whether you want to or not. So in the end we got about a 50% discount and 15 months on top. Not too shabby.

I went yesterday afternoon and jumped on the elliptical trainer. I spent about 30 minutes on it and decided that I had just about enough. I hobbled down the stairs and out to the car. Today I'm feeling every tiny muscle in my leg. It'll be worth it right? Keep saying it...

Christmas 2007

I had to work Christmas eve day but got off of work around 4 p.m. and raced home. Lisa had already started dinner (a turkey we got from work) and was in the process of making the mashed potatoes. The temperature of the turkey said it was gong to be done in any minute. It was just perfect timing. I removed the turkey form the inferno and let it rest for the obligatory ten minutes. I proceeded to carve away and was shocked that it was completely raw on the inside. Back in the oven it went. (The thermometer must have not been in deep enough)

By now the gravy was boiling over, the kids were screaming, and I just wasn't the happiest of campers. Lisa was taking it all in stride. I suggested McDonalds but she said no..were going to have a xmas dinner at home. So I went outside and shoveled the driveway while the turkey finished cooking. In the end it actually turned out to be pretty good.

It continued snowing while we ate dinner but we saw enough snow plows had hit the roads that it would be safe to drive around and look at lights. I'm thankful we didn't have the mobster mobile this year because we would have never made it around town. The kids stayed awake for the most part. We came home, read scriptures and put the kids to bed. We got everything arranged and went to bed around 11 p.m. or so.

Christmas morning was actually pretty nice. JJ woke up around 6 a.m. but laid in bed with us and fell back asleep. Olivia woke at 8:45 and then JJ wanted his bottle. While JJ drank his warm milk I showered and then got the camera ready.

JJ was the first down the hall. We went through the stockings that Santa had left and then started on the presents. When we finished (about 1.5 hours) Olivia said, "Is that it?" I was a bit peeved. $1000 later, you got all the presents you asked for, and you wanted more? It was time for breakfast.

(Busted)

My Two Front Teeth

Olivia lost her second of her "two front teeth" today when I got home from work. Rumor has it though she doesn't want to waste her wishes for Christmas on some lousy teeth she'll have to brush later on.

Frosty

The snow fell this morning and was really, really sticky. It didn't take long for Olivia to start asking if she could go play in it. When Lisa and I were done shoveling (she'd rather shovel with me than do dishes...saving me the dishes to do later) we assisted with the making of our own little frosty. Frosty sported (yes...he did melt) rock eyes, nose, and pine-tree needle mouth and rock-star hair.

Gingerbread Houses

I went to pack meeting last night and for the activity we had the cubs make gingerbread houses (really not gingerbread -- but graham crackers). It was actually a pretty big hit. As we cleaned up, Sister Evans prodded me to take the extra stuff home for Olivia and JJ to make. At first I declined but then thought that eventually Lisa and her would talk and then I'd be in trouble. The next night we sat down and helped the kids make them. They spent the next few days eating them but eventually they made it in the trash. JJ really enjoyed it.

Neighborhood Xmas Party

Our neighborhood decided years ago that instead of giving anybody neighbor gifts (who really likes them anyways -- tacky plates, dry cookies, etc.) that we would gather in a circle, share a pot-luck dessert with hot chocolate and give canned-food to the local shelter instead of neighbor gifts. I think this is a great idea and is one of the reasons I don't think we'll ever move from here. Santa (aka. Kevin Cowan) came and sat patiently with every kid in the neighborhood. It was a bit chilly but the five or six fires they had going kept us warm.

1st Snowman of the Season

This was the first snowman of the season. Olivia and our neighbors (Isaac & Jonah) helped her make it. JJ had gone inside so his snow suit was taken and used for Frosty. I came home from work and pulled in the circle to find him sitting there. I ran inside and grabbed the camera before somebody could use him for karate practice.

First Day at Work

So it was my first day at work. It really wasn't too exciting but free of drama. I got there at 6:30 a.m. (to make sure I wasn't late) and at 7 a.m. got my shiny new badge with a spectacular picture of yours truly on it. I was there with about nine other new employees and sat through new employee orientation for about two hours.

My manager and lead picked me up from the orientation and showed me my new digs (a small cubie --without granite counters :( ) and then walked me around introducing me to the other project managers. I then worked on starting to setup my office computer, desk, etc.

The manager and lead then took me out to lunch at the Gateway. That was a pleasant surprise and gave us time to talk about expectations, the job, etc. I then spent the afternoon working through a bunch of HR modules that teach and test you on things such as Diversity, Drugs, Security, etc. I'm about half way through them. I also went to an hour long meeting to see what it will be like once I'm a full-blown project manager and reporting to senior management.

All in all it was a really good day and it seemed to fly right by. All the people I met were really nice and willing to help me learn my position. There wasn't an ounce of "drama" which made me feel so good not to have to deal with all the bologna that seemed to occur at Legacy. I'm happy with the decision we made to stay here in Utah and I'm confident I've finally found a good home for me. It was pretty common to hear people reply to your question of tenure with 22 years, 30 years, etc. That speaks volumes about the company alone.

Olivia's Losses First Tooth

Olivia lost her first tooth. The two lower teeth were starting to feel a little loose but were far from being ready. Lisa picked Olivia up from preschool and Livi proudly showed mom her tooth was gone and was now in her pocket. Lisa and I were very shocked. It turns our Livi was playing "doggie" and was eating dinner (a plastic toy of sorts) and another girl came and yanked the toy out of her mouth and plop came the tooth. I asked Olivia if she cried and she said no. "It wasn't that bad," she said.

New Career

Today I closed and chapter in my career at Legacy Granite by accepting employment at L-3 Communications.

L-3 is a government contractor that specializes in communications links between ship to shore, aircraft to ground, etc. I will be an operations project manager. I officially start November 26th. I will miss everyone at Legacy Granite but really can't say that I will really miss the job all that much. I will give you more updates and details as we get closer.