Josh's Christmas Car

All Josh wanted for Christmas was an R/C Car. He got a remote control instead. But when he started pushing the buttons he found another surprise.

Merry Christmas

Juliana the Sunday before Christmas (Thanks for the beautiful dress Grandma)

I just wanted to post a quick note with a few Christmas pics.
Our Christmas went pretty well, other than the fact that Jules was sick all week before Christmas and still wasn't feeling great on Christmas day. So that made things hard and not nearly as fun as they could have been, but we still had a great day.
I hope everyone else had a great holiday and was able to remember the reason for the season. Love to you all.



I think we had a few presents

Juliana is One

Today Juliana turned one year old. It is so hard to believe, this year has gone by so quickly. We had a great day, she went to baby school this morning and we made treat bags with goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and shakers for her to share with her friends. She also had a special Birthday Girl ribbon and a party I'm one year old birthday hat. I was able to come home from work early as today was a training day so that worked out great. I came home and baked her cake and then went and picked her.
It was fun to spend some one on one time with just us for once. Although we did decorate the cake and clean house, but we had fun just the same.



Once I got the cake all done I went and picked up Blake from school. Joel got home not too far behind that and we finished up dinner and started on the presents. Juliana received some amazing animals (Blake thinks they belong to him), clothes, a really soft build a bear bunny, a figurine, a fisher price grand piano, and some money. She was really thrilled with everything. Once we finished presents we did the cake thing. She really enjoyed the icing, although once she realized there was cake too she ate on that really well.

All in all it was a great day and we were all glad to have sister here to celebrate with.

Halloween Fun

So we had a great Halloween, I got home from work and Aaron and DaraDee and their family arrived shortly after. We quickly showed them around our house and then took the younger children to go to trunk or treat at the church.

While we were at the church the older kids stayed at home and treated the kids who came around the house. When we got home we cooked the take and bake pizzas that we had picked up the night before. We all had really full tummys after that.
We then visited for a while and then found places for everyone to crash. Yep we fit 14 people and 1 dog in our house last night. Crazy.

This morning we all got to eat french toast and then unfortunatly it was time for them to get on the road again. We were so glad to have them here though and can't wait to see them again. So far we have only found 1 pillow that didn't go with them so that's pretty good.

Baby So BooBoo-tiful

Not to outdo our beautiful new baby niece and nephew, but...

Juliana is "so boo-tiful" with her gorgeous new boo boo.

[Before]

Last Sunday, sporting pig tails!

[After] Saturday morning after taking a fall in the tub

...still smiling even when it hurts!

[Now] Wednesday, face looking boo-tiful as ever!

"Don't go changing to please me. I'll tumble for ya!"

(Blake's future dive off the couch will someday find it's very own blog treatment.)

okay my turn

Well I don't know why Joel thinks I should post about something that happened so long ago when we are anxiously waiting for baby news from Texas and Florida.
But here is a quick summary of my Idaho trip. Well Joel suggested that I might like to go to Idaho to see my Grandma, well it started that we would all go but when that idea turned too expensive it was decided that only myself and Juliana would go. Then I invited my sister who was so anxious to go check out BYU- I do

So it was off to Boise by way of Salt lake city by plane, in Salt Lake we met up with Shalene who saved the front row of the plane for us. We then found my baby brother in Boise and stayed at his house the first night. Then we got up got gas and travel food and jumped into his car to go to Rexburg Idaho (306 miles)to go have a campus tour of the school. Shalene fell in love with it and says that is where she is going. Then we met up with some old friend and family and visited with them for the rest of the evening and the next morning. On Friday morning we jumped back in the car and drove to Salmon Idaho (156 miles)to see my Grandma. She hadn't seen Jules yet so that was really fun. We spent the night there and then left Saturday afternooon to go back to Boise (248 miles). We drove through some really pretty country. We stopped and saw an old ghost town (Gilmore) http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/id/gilmore.html
and also stopped at craters of the moon.
http://www.nps.gov/crmo/

We got in pretty late on Sat night to my oldest Brothers house. Where we visited and played Wii all night. I then drove to my baby brothers house and Juliana and I went to church with them then we went back to Middleton to hang out with the older bros family and celebrate Shalene's birthday. She turned 17.

Monday we just got to hang out and relax and the girls all went to have pedi's done. That was fun. On Tuesday we headed back home, although Monday we realized my tickes were booked for Wed not Tuesday so we had to make phone calls and rearrange things which ment that I spent the whole day in the airport with juliana. Not fun. by the way I hate the Vegas airport. yuck. But all in all we got to see a ton of people and had a great time with just the girls in the car.

So now I'm on another excursion at my mom's with Blake and Juliana, we came up to celebrate my sister Kim's B-day yesterday and have to head back home today sometime. I really miss being closer to my family.

Also today marks the start of the Biggest Loser that I am taking part of both at work and with some of my family so wish me luck I haVE A LOT TO LOSE,

the next 12 weeks should be fun.....

Baby steps

Well, here we are in October. After boycotting a September blog -- Andrea can blog about her trip taking Juliana to see her Grandma and we're gonna skip Josh's hospital adventure -- it is time for another update. Besides, what else do I gotta say about September besides I celebrated getting a year older? As we look forward, the days seem to crawl by too slow when we're only counting in baby steps. But when we look back at our achievements over time, our steps were big in every way.

Let's start with the "babiest"... (yes, that's one of her names). Juliana is growing and getting stronger day after day. She will be 10 months on Oct 11th. She quickly took to crawling around 6 months and by 8 months was already reaching for the table. By 9 months, she can scoot around and grab what she can reach. Jules is almost ready to walk, as we can see how she props herself on tables and couches to get around. She has a new hairstyle, too. Instead of a poof, her mommy has her wearing a cute little ponytail-on the side/bob/weave/curl whatchamacallit hairdo. She likes her new high chair because she likes to eat in style. Mysteriously, she still doesn't have any teeth breaking through. We will enjoy her toothless grins for now and we can laugh at her 'got milk' smiles.

Blakers is almost 40 inches tall, because he almost measured up enough for the kiddie batting cages at the stadium. He's already in to throwing balls - not very straight, yet - and making a fast break for the cookie jar when he comes home from day care. A nice lady from church has been watching the kids since school started, but she will go back to teaching soon. Luckily, we got word that our local La Petite is taking infants and toddlers now, so we will start them there in a week or so.

Blake is 2 1/2 and is almost done potty training! We started him on Pull-ups 6 weeks ago. Andrea took him to the store last Saturday to pick out Big Boy Pants, which he proudly wore the whole day. He went potty the whole day and he he's been dry every morning for 2 whole weeks! He's racking up stickers and sweets for doing such a good job. The next step is to get him to tell us when he needs to go. At La Petite, the teachers will have him go every 2 hours, so he'll pick up good habits there. We've heard there are kids who can potty train in a week (don't know who they are), but we still feel like Blake has learned fast enough.

Josh's school soccer team finished it's season with only 3 wins. Josh, wearing #7, was co-captain and played mostly defense and midfield this year. (add photos).

Josh is 13 1/2 and well on his way to earning Eagle at 14. That's because he is set to earn his Life rank at the next Court of Honor this month. He had a productive summer in Scout Camp and is enjoying 8th grade and a brand spankin' new school. Josh is scheduled to get his braces taken off in early November, so he can't wait (and neither can our wallets).

Andrea still is the smartest person at her pharmacy and is training the military pharmacists how to do their job responsibly. It's kind of like she's the babysitter. Those of you who go to the base pharmacy know what I mean. She took Juliana to visit her Grandma in Salmon, Idaho and saw her brothers and their families, the new Twin Falls Idaho Temple and BYU-Idaho along the way. I'll let her tell the story in another blog.

Then there's boring me... My social life is at home entirely. I remember the days when I had my brother living here and friends who would call me and hang out, but now I enjoy the slower pace of life. It's nice to know modern technology can keep us connected across the miles. You know what I enjoy? Seeing my kids learn new things and wonder how they're going to turn out in 2 or 5 years.

Andrea and I got some BlackBerry smart phones to try to feel smarter. Well, I am still testing it out, but the more I play with it, I guess I can get used to the "electonic leash". See, it grabs all your messages, from text to e-mails, so there's no hiding from, say, your boss or the hospital. But for us, these phones are for personal use, not business, and we got a way sweet deal to replace my broken phone. It's got an internal GPS so I'll never lose myself or my car, I can FaceMySpaceBook, I can read the scriptures in church like a nerd... I can do almost anything except bailout the national debt. Hey, I figured out how to spy on you as you read this very blog! Looking gooood!

I had another birthday recently and, hey look... I'm turning into my father. Now I know who I'm gonna be for Halloween! If you're bored like me, then go Yearbook Yourself. Just make sure you show me some of your pictures. Have a Happy Halloween. Until next time...

The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on Fire!

Not quite, but catchy nonetheless. And luckily our story wasn't that serious.

Labor Day is a SUPPOSED to be a day for parades, telethons, and barbecues. Well, we had none of that planned. Making up for our lack of initiative, Josh decided to have an open-flame BBQ of his own, but instead of steaks he cued up some pop tarts. I was trying to catch up on some sleep when I heard my name called. Yes, Josh thinks calling me by my first name is supposed to get my attention quicker than plain ol' "Daddy". Well, it sure got me up in a fit, but for good reason. This was no "Cry Wolf". The toaster was on fire and inside were these two charcoaled pop tarts. I grabbed the pot holders and yanked the toaster out of the wall and rushed outside, where I doused it with the water hose. Sorry, folks, I didn't have time to get the camera and capture the memory for you all. But it looked something like this...(see above)

Thankfully, the damage was minimal. Who cares about the toaster, but the unfinished wood from the cabinet underneath was slightly singed. I tried cleaning it with Murphy's oil soap and I'm going to try again with bleach. This accident prompted me to 1) unbury the fire extinguisher to now be in plain sight, 2) make sure the fire alarm works and to remember that ADT will not call in case of a fire because we didn't "upgrade our subscription" and 3) to COUNT MY BLESSINGS. We are more than lucky that this wasn't a) Hurricane Gustav or Hanna, b) Tropical Storm Fay, or c) Central Florida brush fire. You are/were/will be in our prayers for any of you faced with these obstacles. I hope all of you are doing well.

P.S.

Umm... the rest of the day or weekend was spent doing minor house repairs and taking the boys to McDonald's and to the movies to see Star Wars: Clone Wars. What was so funny was Blake got excited every time he saw Yoda. He probably thought it was another Mickey Mouse character, you know, with the funny ears.

Yes, there is a Happy Meal movie toy tie-in and I swiped 4 different bobbleheads from our visit to McD's. Too bad there's like 18 altogether. We got Han Solo, Luke, Anakin and some weirdo named Ventress. It's a pretty good movie, and it makes more sense than anything Oscar-nominated. Plus, the movie precedes the Clone Wars cartoon series on The Cartoon Network (naturally). Well, it was a fun weekend even though many Americans were in worse shape than us.

Hotter than July

July is almost over and we're long overdue for another update. The majority of the month either all or part of our family was on vacation. From July 2nd to July 26th we were on the move.

We departed on our road trip to Arizona for the Wells Family Reunion on July 2nd. We drove through the night in order to make good time for our first stop to see Justin and Betony in their new home in Texas. They used to live near us until the military moved them last October. We hadn't seen each other since. They hadn't seen Juliana yet, either. Alex and Ryan were grown and so were Josh and Blake. I think this was the first time all four of our boys were able to romp around in the yard together. Plus, my dad and step-mom dropped by for a visit, so it was like a mini-family reunion.

We continued our trip a day later just long enough to almost make it out of Texas (it seemed this state could go on forever). We took the high road out in order to meet some of Andrea's family at the Grand Canyon. That is where we had our next highlight.

Andrea and her sister Shalene bravely scaled the mountain cliff and posed for pictures on the edge of insanity while I was slowly losing my breath and broke out in a cold sweat. Luckily I was on a more solid plane and didn't lose my footing while I was dizzy. We all lived to tell the tale of the Grand Canyon. Hopefully we can see more of it another time.

After the Grand Canyon, we finally arrived at the Marriott Canyon Villas Resort at Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona for a week of relaxation and reunion. For a desert, this place had plenty of pools and the accomodations were top notch. We got to do some shopping at Desert Ridge, swimming in the many pools, playing games like Don't Forget the Lyrics or Rock Band, winning the guys' Wii golf tournament, sightseeing the Phoenix downtown, taking in the quietude of the Mesa Temple grounds, more swimming in the many pools (or floating in the lazy river, if you prefer), ladies getting a day at the spa, eating real Mexican food, and sharing a good time with our extended family who are extended out West.

Josh got to ride up to Idaho to stay with one of his cousins for 2 weeks. Shalene rode home with us to help with the kiddos. She has been our nanny for the summer and has been a super help to us. We got a new wooden fence installed and the landscape was spruced up just in time for Josh and Delilah to come home on July 26th.

So it was a long, lonely month if you missed us and a short, fun month if you were with us!

Ohio is for Baseball Lovers!

On Saturday, we went to Cincinnati to watch the Reds play the Boston Red Sox. The Sox won the World Series last year, but this is the first time they played each other since the Big Red Machine beat them in the historic 1975 World Series. This was Juliana's first baseball game. Look at her cute outfit, how she's dressed up for Flag Day (June 14th). We got Reds flags for the stadium give-away and we sat in the right field corner Family Section, next to the visiting bullpen.

The opposing pitcher was Tim Wakefield, who went to my high school long before I did. I hollered out "Let's Go Commodores!" to try and rattle his cage a little bit. The Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez is the NL strikeouts and ERA leader and part of the puzzle to turning the Reds into a contender next year.

The seats in the Family Section were alcohol-free and near concessions, bathrooms and the play area (good), but out in the sun and partially behind the right-field foul pole (bad). Juliana and Blake stayed under their ball caps. Juliana tried catching her afternoon nap but kept waking up to home runs, fireworks, and fans shouting back-and-forth, Let's Go Redlegs vs. Let's Go Red Sox. Blake understands what baseball is, it's where you get to hit the ball with a stick in the grass and not in mommy's living room. I'm just trying to teach him the vocabulary, like "bat", "ball", and "Go Reds".

There were plenty of home runs on both sides, but Edwin Encarnacion's 9th-inning homer off Boston's closer Papelbon got the stadium rocking and tied it 4-4, before a Cincinnati-native Kevin Youkilis killed us with a Red Sox home run. It was a good game, although we came up short in the end. It was almost like the last game we came to Cincinnati for in 2006, when the Reds' Adam Dunn hit a grand slam in the 9th inning to beat the Indians.

Best of all, we got to enjoy a baseball game in the friendly Great American Ball Park, tasted that famous Graeter's ice cream (Juliana loved her first taste of ice cream), Skyline chili, Penn Station subs and saw Hall of Fame-bound and 600 HR club member, Ken Griffey, Jr. and future stars like Volquez, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce (Bruuuuuce!!!).

P.S. - For those of you wondering why Josh wasn't in the picture, he was at Scout Camp in nearby Indiana. We picked him up after the game. He spent the week at camp with 2 of his uncles and 3 cousins. He had a fun and productive week and proudly came home with 6 out of 7 merit badges earned. Way to go, Josh!

Ohio is for UFO Lovers?

As we were driving home from Ohio on Saturday night, we saw the strangest black ring floating still in the sky. A lot of people pulled their cars over on I-74 to look at the phenomenon. According to some of the reader comments, the black ring was not a UFO but rather the result of a gas mine explosion. (Perhaps my meteorologist brother can explain this phenomemon)

Strangely enough, I could not get any signal on my cell phone as we passed under the ring. And I don't remember leaving my body just to come back to earth to tell the tale.

Story (with photos)

Reader Comments

Blake's A Champ!

Blake was a brave little boy today. He underwent surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids and to have ear tubes implanted. He didn't understand why he couldn't eat or drink this morning or why his mommy and daddy were taking him to the hospital. But he showed how brave he was when he playfully took us both by the hand and marched to the outpatient surgery room. He didn't know why he was having this done, but he will as soon as he can hear and speak better. He didn't know why his mommy and daddy were laughing and taking pictures of him when he wore fancy green hospital socks and a funny Looney Tunes smock. He didn't know why that 'magic juice' made him drowsy and why there were purple Heffalumps and Woozles circling the room. He didn't know what was so funny when he couldn't stand or lift his arms and legs and why the blue smurf people wearing mushroom hats smurfed him away on the bed with wheels. He didn't realize Mommy and Daddy were not with him for couple seconds, but when he awoke there they were to hold and comfort him and to make sure that ouchy thing in his arm wouldn't come out.

Blake did super today, considering there are people such as myself have never experienced any surgery at any age. The surgery lasted about 30 minutes. The doctor said the fluid in his ears was thick and promptly drained. The tonsils, which previously blocked his breathing space and should have won the grand prize at the county fair, are no longer.

[BEFORE]

In a few days he should be back to normal, but for now he's learning to like popsicles, yogurt and sippy-cups. We expect to see improvement in Blake's hearing and speech development. We thank you all for you thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

Blake update

Okay, so we took Blake to the ENT on Thursday and he wants to do surgery, remove the tonsils and put in tubes in his ears. This should help him to be able to hear better and thus be able to speak better. So looks like that will be our anniversary present, we are planning on May 21st. So I guess short story of it is keep him in your prayers that all will go well.

On another note, I just completed my first week at the new job, I'm not really sure what I think yet, I guess so far so good, it is just really different. But I don't hate it so that is good right?

too long ago

So, it has been way too long since we wrote, and now that Justin AND Betony have both written i guess we should do an update too. April was a crazy busy time. We had visits from Grandma and Grandpa Millis the first week, from Kris and Christina the second weekend, and from Grandpa and Grandma Conte two weeks after that. We also made a trip up to my parents' house so we could see my brother Dustin in a city wide choir performance. It was really good, and we have all been saved now. (it had tons of religious songs in it) The visits were all really good too, although I wish the weather would have been better, I just don't understand why Justin can't do something about that for us. :)

Also, my last day of work at St. Elizabeth's was last Thursday, May 1st. So I was trying really hard to get things all in order for whoever will be taking over there, it was really bitter sweet to leave. I will mostly miss some of the people I worked with and got to know over there, but the stress level was just too high, they were expecting way too much of me and it just was not worth it. So I found another job, I guess I should say a different job out at the Air force Base. Weird huh, but I think I am really going to like it. I started yesterday and so far so good. Today I spent the whole day in class trying to figure out all the acronyms they were throwing out there. I get to do more of that tomorrow. Yes!!! Like I haven't had enough school in my life.

On another note, we are taking Blake to the ENT on Thursday to have his hearing checked, his primary doc thinks he is not hearing well and that is why his speech is not coming along like we would like. I don't know what to think of it yet but am glad I will be able to go to the appointment this time.

Okay, well I have had enough for this day and will let you know what is going on with him once we know something. I'm not so sure May will be any less busy with my birthday, Mother's Day, and our Anniversary, but hey I am hopeful for a little peace and quiet. Love to you all...

Happy Birthday, Blake

Today Blake turned 2. This is the age where he gets into things. What if he's already done that? I wonder what (trouble) we're in for - tee hee hee.

Blake had a fun birthday. He woke up and there were 2 presents to greet him. He got a Mega Blocks car track set and a toy cash register. He probably thought this was as good as it gets today because he spent most of the morning toting around the cash register. He got to take treats to his baby school friends. His teachers surprised him with 2 bags of goodies.

When we got home, we made his favorite -- hot dogs and mac & cheese (and, yes, we had to eat it, too). Andrea made his cake in the shape of Toodles from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a Playhouse Disney TV show he watches everyday before he goes to daycare. Our favorite part is when Mickey & Friends shout "Oh, Toodles!" and we all shout with them. It's funny to hear Blake try to say it, usually chiming in a split-second late with "Oh, WooWoo!"

Blake had to hop in the bath because, although he was a lot cleaner with the food than last year, he still managed to get cake in his face and hair. Blake is the only kid I know who needs to take a break from opening Christmas or Birthday presents. So after the bath break, Blake got to open the rest of his presents. He got some Disney movies and a fridge magnet ABC toy and some cool big boy clothes from Grandma & Grandpa Conte. I hope these photos do it justice.

Thanks to you who sent presents to make our little boy's day so special. He really had fun trying to open them for the first time on his own. The look on Blake's face everytime was like "Oh, wow!"

Green Eggs & Ham

Our funny boy Blake is always prime for a photo opp. On Saturday, I had a hankering for Green Eggs & Ham. In fact, we almost went to IHOP and ordered from the Dr. Seuss-themed menu. I suddenly found Blake and I wanting lunch and decided I could make it myself. Blake had no idea where I got the green eggs & ham idea from or who Dr. Seuss is, but that didn't stop him from enjoying every bite of this otherwise "disgusting looking" concoction, as Andrea put it. Blake was having too much fun to know what we're laughing at. He was so cute with his Tigger ears and this gob of green goop he was devouring.


I DO, I DO! I DO like Green Eggs and Ham, Blake I am!

Juliana is 3 months today

Hard to believe that our sweet baby girl Juliana is 3 months old today. She still smells brand new. Kind of like that new car smell ... thankfully, babies last longer.

Last week, Juliana rolled over for the first time from her belly to back. Andrea and I had stepped out of the room after she was placed on a blanket. We both came back a few seconds later and found her completely upside-down. Andrea thought I moved her. Just to make sure it wasn't a supernatural force, we put her back on her stomach. She promptly rolled over again. We clapped and by her grin I think she got the notion that she did something good. She cooperated with us by rolling over again and again - probably 10 times altogether. While we were calling and sending videos from our phones, she was the star of the show. Here's the video that we took on her 3rd roll. What a cutie!

Time for a New Season

We've been in the winter doldrums lately. There is no greenery and the sun is still in hibernation. There's talk of baseball coming back, but my fingertips are still frozen from the last time I threw a snowball. There's endless talk on the news of rising prices of _________ (insert any life dependency here). With the constant bickering going on with the elections and since our candidate has gracefully bowed out, America is ripe for a new day... A New Season. I submit to you that it's time for Spring. Time to come together and be happy. Time to wake up and smell the flowers. Time to arise early and enjoy life. Yes, after a long Winter, Spring is here.

We've been blaming our dour mood swings lately on Punxsutawnee Phil, because these 6 more weeks of winter seem like endless torment. It doesn't help that I spent a week in Florida and thawed out before coming back to icy Illinois. Once we feel like the weather's turning for the better, we get snowed on. Josh has already had like 4 or 5 snow days (I lost track). Too bad we don't get snow days from work. People get sick at the hospital on snow days (Andrea) and the mailman never fails to deliver even on snow days Joel).

Well, last Sunday the weather creeped up in the high 60s (funny because the Sunday before we had light fluffy snowball-throwing snow). After church, Juliana got in the stroller for a Sunday walk and I somehow pulled the dog and Blake along as well. This was her first ride in the big, comfy stroller. It was still a little chilly out, so she probably doesn't remember much besides the wind and the hat over her eyes. Would you believe that after having almost 70 degrees on Sunday that it snowed the next 2 days straight? Yeah, we got 7 inches and Josh got 2 days off from school, which combined with the school holiday from the Friday before, this kid was lucky to remember what grade he was in when he finally went back to class.

We've been quite busy lately with our new dual lives as full-time working parents. We rarely get free time and when that is, it's the kids go first - but it's that time with them we cherish. This week brought the Daylight Savings Time and coincidentally today came Spring weather. To celebrate, we went back to the YMCA to exercise. We say "back" because since Andrea was progressing in the pregnancy, we all stopped going to the gym to show our moral support (ahem...laziness). We welcome the new season and the times we get to spend together doing something outdoors that doesn't involve a shovel and an icepick.

sad for good reason

So tonight after work I came home fed Juliana then got everyone into the car. We then went and dropped Josh off at scouts, and headed for the airport. Once there I got Blake into the stroller, helped bring in bags and Blake while Joel was checking things in. Blake was all happy and singing in his stroller until I kissed him and told him good-bye. He then started to cry. I just had to walk away. I went back to the car and watched as Joel and Blake headed for the security check in. I just wanted to cry watching them go. Joel said Blake calmed down pretty quickly but it still just broke my heart to have him go. But maybe its just that I'm jealous that I don't get to go too. Anyway I hope they have fun at the wedding and that Blake behaves well for Joel. I'm going to miss them both though...

Gordon B. Hinckley Tribute

I echo the sentiments of my brother, "Goodbye to a Great Man."

I second that emotion. I wish I could elaborate more on your words regarding our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. I think the articles and tributes are still trickling in just as I'm still gathering my thoughts. Knowing what we know, it's not a sad thing to pass on into the sweet presence of our Lord after honoring Him with a life of service. When we got the news, we were reading The Book of Mormon as a family - "Standing a little taller", if you will. We were doing just what the Prophet would have us do. A warm feeling of love and appreciation came over me as I paused to think of the news.

Gordon B. Hinckley was called as a prophet during my mission. He was the only prophet my children have ever known, (Josh was born a few days after he was called). The closest I ever got to see him was at the October 2004 session of General Conference in Salt Lake City with Justin and Betony. What an awesome feeling to stand up and sing "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet." These memories and many more are everlasting.

back to work

So yesterday I completed my first week back to work since Juliana was born.
Boy oh boy is my life going to be fun now. It's funny, because I was sort of looking foward to going back because I was getting a little stir crazy being at home all the time, and now I'm like hey could I have another month off?
Anyway it went pretty well all things considered, I have a ton of paperwork to do now and they are wanting all manner of reports that I'm not sure how I'm going to do yet, but I have good help as long as they let me have the hours for my techs, which they are trying to make me cut back on as well. Why did I agree to be the manager anyway? It only took me like all week to remember how to do everything to fill prescriptions too, okay actually I was doing pretty well with it by Monday afternoon. The other stresser is that at lunch, do I get one of those?, I run across the street to where the babies are and feed Juliana, well I only had one day that I just couldn't leave the pharmacy so I guess that was good and starting next week we will be closing for lunch so it should be easier.
This up coming week is going to be really interesting too because we are starting our shortened hours, and I'm not sure how it will all work out, I think it will be the same amount of work in a shorter amount of time, so more stress and what not, but I guess we will see what happens.
My body didn't like going back either, it was like hey what is all this standing and running around about. But by Friday that was starting to ease up a little too.

Moral of the story I guess we will see if it is all worth it when I get my check next week, I'm still not sure how much they are paying me for all this.

The babies both did great at baby school though, they said it was like Blake didn't even miss a beat. He loved going before and seems like he really missed it and is happy to be back. As for Juliana, everyone over there just thinks she is wonderful and they fight over who gets to hold her. She seems to be adjusting very well, of course both kids just love people. and as long as someone is snuggling her she is happy. So just wish us luck as we continue to adjust to our new rutine.

Reds Caravan

Greetings from the 2008 Reds Winter Caravan, where the Cincinnati Reds hit the road to meet and greet their fans from around Reds Country.

I got a wonderful opportunity to meet a few members of the Cincinnati Reds last weekend in Indianapolis. We left from St. Louis Friday night to visit my bro-in-law, who lives in north Indy. The caravan venue was at Champps Americana, only 10 miles away. Andrea and I packed up the 2 little kids, but when we saw the long line she dropped me off and picked me up when I was done. I also took my nephew, Jarvis, with me too and introduced him to Reds Country. He is a high school freshman and is into sports, especially the Colts. I think he had a blast, too.

I didn't know what to expect, but yes, the line seriously was like Disney World and it moved just as fast. We were standing outside in line in the freezing cold when all of a sudden we heard someone behind us shouting "excuse me, coming through!". Reds star second baseman Brandon Phillips (BP) came running from around the corner and hopped inside through the crowd. It was so funny because we least expected it. Then came walking Reds radio announcer Marty Brenneman, General Manager Wayne Krivsky, former Reds pitching hero Tom Browning and the rest of the production crew. Then the line began to move and we were inside shortly. I was surprised to see how much free stuff I scored, like an Arroyo hat (with the hair), some signs and stickers and free sharpies. Gapper, the Reds mascot, even stopped to take a picture with me.

I heard comments from people eating at the restaurant like 'I didn't know there were that many Reds fans in Indiana'. Well, I'm glad I could join ya all the way from Cardinal Country! It took me over an hour to get through the line, but I got to talking to some guys behind me about how far they came. They said Kokomo. I resisted breaking out into song. I told them I came from St. Louis and they were like, 'Hey, you're the guy that wrote on the ESPN Reds message board about coming here.' Yep, that's me, GP coming to see BP. I got autographs from Browning, BP, Kriv, and Marty. They thanked me for coming all that way from St. Louis.

I thanked Browning for throwing the perfect game on my 14th b-day and for winning the 1990 World Series. You know he was happy to do that. I was telling BP how I called in to an Albert Pujols radio show in STL and told him to apologize to BP for nearly taking him out at 2B and Kriv interrupted and said how that was a terrible play. So I don't remember what BP said to me except I thanked him for the autograph and told him he's still a Gold Glover in my book. I told Marty how I enjoy listening to the games on WLW 700 AM and XM, but I forgot to play him my ringtone with his famous words "And this one belongs to the Reds!". Marty was nice enough to stop and pose for a photo opp with me and 'wow!' what a nice guy and a class act. All of them were well worth the trip. When Andrea picked us up and she could tell that I had just been to heaven. Thanks, Uncle Bob, for the Reds Caravan.