Ada+Kidney=3CRAZIES

Disneyland 2011

2011-11-20T06:27:00.001-08:00

Well I signed onto the blog after a little break and I noticed Kindi had wrote a post she never published so I hit the publish button for her. Hopefully it doesn't say anything she was reluctant to reveal and she didn't want it published, more likely she was trying to figure out how to position the pictures and couldn't get it right. I call Kindi "my old lady" because she reminds me of my grandma when she displays her techno savvy. I remember my grandma used to call me over to show her "how to work the web internet thing". So I would go over and say to her "click twice on this little picture, when the internet comes up you just type in this little box thing here what you want to look at. If you have a specific web address already, type it in this other box here." I probably did that a dozen times and either she just wanted me to come over or it really blew her mind. Probably both. I did catch her once typing in an actual street address instead of a web address...so perhaps she didn't understand that lingo. Kindi may not be that bad but lets just say she doesn't put forth the effort at times to learn anything past typing what she wants from the internet web thing in the boxy thing. Anything past that, she comes and gets me. I don't mind this because I don't have much use around the house anyways. So long story short...hope it's o.k I published it sweetie pie.

We went to disneyland. I know, yes again. It was spectacular again. I was a little worried about the annual Disneyland trip with Tylerann and their kids because this year we have two new babies between the two families and we are quickly getting outnumbered. There isn't a worse feeling than holding a baby, grasping onto the hand of one child trying to make a break for it and seeing the third one just out of kicking range looking at you and there is a clear message in their eyes "You are powerless to stop what I'm about to do." Surprisingly though, they all did very well. Jack and Harry are best buds especially and they seemed very happy to spend a few days with each other. I'll just hit some highlights.

1. The best part of the trip for me was Jedi Training. They do a little Star Wars show for kids where they can go up and learn how to be Jedi's. As they are learning, Darth Vader shows up and challenges them(gasp!). I'm sure most of the kids realized this was all pretend but Jacks face went completely white. The kid was terrified. They then had each kid challenge either Darth Maul or Darth Vader with the moves they learned, and since Jack was the youngest in the group he went last. I was worried he would be too scared to go but he went right up to him and fought a light saber battle. If you ask him, he is the one that definitely killed Darth Vader that day. I'll put the video on here, and while I know all of you don't want to watch the entire thing, you HAVE to go to the end of the second video where Jack comes up. He is literally speechless with excitement.

2. It's a Small World Christmas Style is fantastic. I hate this ride, but at christmas I feel that the way they re-decorate it is fantastic. Colt is just breathless with amazement the entire time we are on this ride. We did it at least 3 times I think.

3. Snow on Main Street/World of Color. The nice part of going with Tylerann is the babysitter swap we do so I can go for a night with just Kindi and I. It's nice to spend time just the two of us. If you haven't been to Disneyland at christmas, they make it snow right after the fireworks show on mainstreet and it really is pretty magical. Right after this the World of Color show is put on at California Adventures. I was hesitant to go at first because I have bad memories of crowds and being exhausted while my parents had us sit and wait for Fantasia to start. To this day I have no idea what fantasia is like because I fell asleep on the street curb before it ever started. Luckily, when you go to Disneyland at off-peak times the park closes early which means shows are also early and nothing is crowded. This show was spectacular and I ended up going twice. Kudos Disney.

There are a million other things to put down, but Kindi is out of town and I'm on my own with the boys so I have to go. It was a great time. I have to hand it to Disney, they bleed me dry but everytime I smile happily and fork it out and say "thank you sir, may I have another frozen bananna?"

2011-11-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Oh crap, I'm soooooo behind in blogging world, shocker right??!! We have had so much happen in the last few months, Jack turning 4, Nash growing like a weed and Colt maybe growing out of the terrible two's??!!(Please let this be true) I don't want to leave that all out, so I've decided I'm just going to talk about Halloween festivities in this post and then the next couple of days, each little guy is going to get his own post. So here we go with Halloween:

I feel like Halloween has been going on for a solid month. Adam came home on Sept 30 and pulled out the decor. He is a Halloween freak, however, I must admit that he has converted me. Any holiday is more fun when you have kids, and when it comes to Halloween, I have 4 crazy boys! :) We started out our festivities on Wednesday with a Halloween themed play group. Jack had school that day so it was just Colt, Nash and I. Colt went through 4 costumes that morning, Batman, Spiderman, a Dr. and a Jedi. Do you know what he finally decided on...Nothing!!! He just wanted to wear his Lego Star Wars shirt. So off we went in just that, fine by me. I didn't have to worry about him getting his other costumes dirty. We had a great time playing at the park and eating lots of yummy treats. On Thursday Jack had his preschool Halloween program. His teacher Ms. Lori is AMAZING!! Jack freaks out if it's not a preschool day, he just loves it! My sister watched the 2 little guys so that both Adam and I could go. They sang some songs, introduced themselves, wrapped each other up as mummy's and then we had some really great Halloween treats that Lori made. I'm telling you, that Lori is worth ten times what we pay her! After the program we went and picked up the little ones and ventured off to the pumpkin patch. Once there I was wondering why I had this awesome idea to go the the pumpkin patch, it was called McDonald's ranch so needless to say it was full of farm animals and farm animal smells and hay. I've decided I hate farm animals and hay and everything to do with farm animals. When the boys wanted to go into the petting zoo it took every ounce of "wanting to be a good mother" to let them go in with their dad while I waited outside with Nash. When it was finally time to pick out our pumpkin, we took a "hay ride" (a trailer covered in random hay that stuck to EVERYTHING) over the the patch and picked out 2 pretty awesome pumpkins. Truthfully though, the pumpkin patch kind of loses it's magic when it's still 90 degrees outside. Anyway, on Friday we had our ward trunk or treat. It's always a lot of fun even though it's crazy!! They told us to bring enough candy for 150 kids and we went through that and more! They boys loved being in their costumes and the Batman and Captain America poses were happening like you wouldn't believe. Both Jack and Colt get in major "cool mode" when they are in their costumes. When one of the kids showed up dressed as Darth Vader there was a serious showdown between he and Batman. At one point in the night I even heard Jack yell out "Nice shot Bucky!" to no one in particular. I didn't even know what this phrase meant until one night when I picked up our captain America action figure and he yelled that phrase at me. It made a lot more sense after that.

Sunday we decorated our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. The boys chose to paint theirs while Adam and I decided to carve ours. In an effort to try and win the coolest mom in the world prize, I decided I would carve and Angry Bird pumpkin. Not to brag but... I feel like it is my best work. I show everyone who comes over. It is hard to carve pumpkins when your husband is the free hand craving pumpkin master. Adam did 2 pumpkins in the time I did one. Then the actual anticipated Halloween day came. About a month ago I decided that I was going to have a party on Halloween. It started out in my head as all of my parties do, it will just be a small event for just the kids. We'll cut some ghost and pumpkin shapes out of peanut butter sandwiches, maybe decorate some cookies and paint some pumpkins. Just a small affair, nothing big, I don't want to do anything big. I expressed my idea to Adam...big mistake. Before I knew it there was over 30 people in my backyard and severed heads hanging from my trees. One of the awesome things about Halloween in Arizona is you can do a party outside and night. It was really fun to eat scary fall food by the light of tiki torches and candles, even thought it was a chili 75 degrees. :) The truth is, there is no way I could have pulled it off without my friends. I have some of the best friends in the whole world! Everyone brought something really really yummy. Brooke watched my kids while I cleaned up for the party, Jillian helped me all day with Nash and setting up and costumes(because Adam refused to go another Halloween without a costume) and Amanda offered several different times on two different days to come over and help clean up. After the party we went trick-or treating around the neighborhood with all of the kids. Our neighborhood is super lame and full of old people who turn off their lights and don't give out candy. The upside to this though is that the people who do give out candy give out either full size candy bars, or hand fulls of the little ones. It is so fun to go trick or treating when you have kids. Colt would go up to people's doors and yell "Trigger treat! Hey come get the door, we want candy!" Jack couldn't get enough. He literally cried this morning when I told him Halloween was over. Colt threw up from candy overload, he literally let it fly all over my nicely cleaned carpets. My fault I guess for letting him have candy for breakfast, mother of the year, I know. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

2011-10-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

So we haven't done a post in a long time and that isn't going to change for a couple of weeks. I'm just a little too busy and Kindi refuses to do it herself. She actually hasn't told me to write one for a while which is odd because usually I get that command every once in a while. But, despite the time constraints, I wanted to post some videos for those of you that haven't really met little Nash yet, and also one video of my other two little wierdos. The other day I had the idea to do a "Dance Party" with them and now every night they insist on doing one to Halloween music. Pretty funny little dudes. Just click on the links. Anyways, enjoy.

Dance Party, Nash Smiles, Nash and Momma

It's been warm

2011-09-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been doing my job of updating this blog and I’m sorry for that. I think it's because Norm got me on Twitter and perhaps that is making my brain feel like it's been blogging when it hasn't. I don't have anyone besides Norm following me on Twitter anyway so I don't know why I would feel that way. What's worse, tweeting to no one or blogging to no one? At least I blog because Kindi wants me to and my sisters read it...Maybe if my sisters follow me on Twitter I'd stop this? Look up wallywahlstrom on twitter girls. I'll take it as a sign to stop the blog if you do...but then who would I show pictures of my kids to? I think the most impressive feat of blogs/facebook is that it made showing off your kids a good thing. If anyone ever walked up and said "Hey, here's my three year old going potty! Oh, and this is our trip to the Grand Canyon!" you would totally be wierded out. But I'll go to wager that many of you reading this right now spend your own time searching around others blogs/facebooks for that very thing....right? Whatever, off topic...So here’s a look into our lives.

So we’re on some ridiculous heat streak in Phoenix of most consecutive days with people’s faces melting off. I’m serious, people are literally walking around with no faces right now. In fact, I’m pretty sure mine just slipped off onto the keyboard, I can’t be positive though because my eyes burst into flames two weeks ago. But one positive is how many really great comments I hear about the heat. Hey everyone, you want to find someone from Phoenix and tell them a really original and funny joke? How bout saying the devil came here and said “whew, I’m outa here it’s hotter than Hell!” Ha! Get it? You see, he’s the devil right? So he’s used to the whole fire and brimstone thing and so when he comes here and he’s like “Dude, it’s hot!” it’s like saying “man Arizona must be SUPER hot” and then you have the whole play on words like he’s saying a swear but not really because it’s a place. Get it? I know, funny, right? While you’re at it, find someone from Kentucky and say “Like the Fried Chicken!” I’ll bet that’ll be a riot!

Whew….sorry, need to catch my breath. Anyways, we escaped for a few days and went to Flagstaff to cool off. Nothing special but it was fun to do a little hiking with the boys and we got Kindi out of the house which she needed. The new baby thing can get you feeling a little cooped up. I really enjoy these types of vacations because they aren’t anything fancy but I can just be with Kindi and the boys. Plus, we stayed at the fancy La Quinta and if you know me I’m all about the La Quinta experience. It was about twenty degrees cooler up there and well worth the trip. We also went and stopped by Meteor Crater, one of those random tourist/historical type attractions that I tend to really love, another weird thing about me. Jack was pretty ticked when we got there and we didn’t get to actually see a meteor crash into the earth and disintegrate everything for hundreds of miles. I tried to tell him that you can’t really plan that sort of thing, to which he countered “What are you talking about dad? There’s a crater right there and we found it! Just do it again or you don’t get to watch anymore t.v. and you have to go to bed!” Geezo, sorry buddy…I’ll try harder. I showed him the video from Armageddon on my phone and that seemed to abate him a little bit. “Where’s that dad?” “Oh, that’s just France, no one likes it anyways so don’t worry.” “Yea, who likes France. I don’t dad.” Sorry to throw you under the bus France but I wasn’t the one who blew you up in the movie. Jack doesn’t seem to understand the difference between a crater and a meteor though because he keeps telling me that a crater is going to crash into our house…and that Darth Vader is the one who is going to do it apparently. I wish I wasn’t so thick skulled and could just understand.

Nash has been the perfect little baby so far. I know it’s early, but he’s been great. Unlike his brothers, he eats really well and is actually becoming quite the little tub. He has an amazing talent for leaking poop on the couch and has developed his own sort of grunting language. I guess it should go hand in hand that an overweight person that poops a lot should also grunt a lot. Kindi thinks that I favor the little guy the most and that just isn’t true. He’s just the only one that isn’t trying to cut my head off with a light saber or shoot me with a crater at the moment. He also can’t run away when I smash his face with kisses, all he can do is give a grunt of disapproval. I’ll give him another week or two before he figures out someway to harm his dad. My parents always cursed me for beating up my own dad and now it seems that I’ve got three little me’s waiting to pound me. I hope I can take it as they get bigger.

Jack is loving school and I think that Colt likes to have some alone time with his momma. He does miss his older brother though and I feel bad when I come home from lunch and he’s asking about when he can go pick up Jack. It’s fun to watch how much Jack enjoys going to school every day and doing his projects. He thinks his teacher is the absolute best person and he really likes to socialize with his classmates. I think before I became a classic case of being a hermit I was like that too. It’s hard to watch them grow up but it’s really fun at the same time.

That should be all for a little while. See ya later.

Anything but Nashty

2011-07-31T14:08:00.001-07:00

I was standing around the disection table this past year after a typical weekend and chatted about what was going on in my life with some of the other students. My weekend was full of studying as usual, but there was also youth soccer games, late nights with sick children, walks to the park and lively water balloon fights with the boys. No one at my table was married let alone had kids so I was kind of standing on an island when I finished relating my activities. The student next to me then started on her weekend which went something like a bad Katy Perry song. She concluded her story by lifting up her hat to show the rug burn from where she passed out onto the carpet in her boyfriends apartment after an apparently raging party. Needless to say, her story garnished more reaction than my story about Jacks first soccer goal. As I pondered this latest story one of the other students, who apparently felt bad for me, said aloud "Dude, you need that release though, right? Wahlstrom, I don't know how you do it with the kids and everything." I must of looked shock(probably because I was) because he slowly became enamored with the mitral valve on the heart and changed the subject. Truthfully, I was thinking the exact same thing about them. My kids and my wonderful wife have been, and will continue to be the core of my life. Do people really see that lifestyle as some sort of hindrance? To what exactly? I don't think you ever can put a price on hearing your baby's first words, having them tell you that you are their best friend, or holding them when they're in need of comfort. Jack and Colt, despite being two of the most stubborn little butts ever to grace the planet, are one of my biggest inspirations in life. I probably would have followed through with my original plan as a 16 year old....which was to buy a van and move to Aspen...pretty much live out the plot of the movie Aspen Extreme. I still think I could have done it. But back on topic, it is the very fact that these two boys are so great that we decided to make another one.

Little Nash Wahlstrom was born on the 26th of July this past week. It never gets old to watch your kids be born. First you think to yourself "Man, I don't think a human head is supposed to look like it's being squeezed out of a tube of tooth paste..." then as the husband you think "Holy Mother of Good Fortune I'm glad I'm not a women...." then POOF there the little thing is. I've done this three times now and I've failed everytime to be attentive to Kindi for at least five minutes after the birth because I'm so amazed at what just happened. I wouldn't be joking if I said I've thought about turning to Kindi during the birth and saying "Holy S*#@! Are you seeing this!" The best I've done is with Jack, when I turned around for about 10 seconds to see how she was doing and it looked like the Incredible Hulk version of the Lucky Charms Leprachaun had just caught her with his breakfast and went to town on her. Again, one of those moments I loved my Y chromosome. But, with all that aside, he was our healthiest and heartiest boy so far. He does everything you could want a baby to do, eat/sleep and not cry. He also looks like a carbon copy of his little brothers when they were born, but with a much thicker mane. Colt and Jack have been handling it in their own ways. Colt has decided to keep telling us that he's the baby and he'll stop talking for large amounts of time. Jack has reacted by making sure that everyone knows I'm his territory and he won't leave my side. I even had to take him to my sunday classes because he doesn't want to risk me taking off in a sprint in the other direction. I think they are both adjusting well though and it's getting better. So please give Kindi your applause, this was her biggest baby by over a pound(he was 8lbs, 21 inches) and it took a toll on her. Judging by her reaction we might not make it to number four so just give her some encouragement.
Misc.....

We took a family camping trip to Sedona a couple of weeks ago. Kindi has consigned to the fact that she will now be surrounded by boys and is taking herself further into our world. This included not only football and guns but camping as well. This was the boys first time out and they seemed to really enjoy it. Sedona pretty much rocks by the way, I think next year we'll make it a longer trip and explore a little bit.

That big dust storm looked awesome. That's all.

Finally Home

2011-07-05T20:19:00.001-07:00

Kindi keeps telling me that I need to update and I keep hoping that she will just go ahead and do it but alas, she won't do it and at the same time she wants to blog to go on. I've been busy and haven't had time, but now that it is unofficially "The Summer Of Adam" I have time so I'm going to do a blitz of topics and get you caught up on our lives.

First Year of Med School is in the books. Was it hard? Not necessarily. I thought it was actually very different than expected. What I forsaw was information to go down with great difficulty, like swallowing the flouride "swish" in elementary...which I honestly thought you were supposed to swallow for about a week until teacher told me not to. What I found was that it was actually refreshing how interesting and easily recieved the curriculum was...like a cold glass of mineral water...Kruger brand, Voss, or Fiji or whatever brand you think is good. The problem was that it wasn't just a glass, it was like they hooked a river the size of the grand mississip' of this nice cold water to a hose and funneled it in to your face and at times you just swallowed what you could hoping it stayed long enough for a test before it came out your nose. Is this visual being followed by anyone? No? Short Answer: Liked it, lots of info, I survived.

I spent a few weeks in the Philippine Islands doing some more humanitarian work. Great trip. Truthfully, it may speak to my stubborness that I didn't just do research this summer like most of my classmates for a resume builder...or it could just be that I figured this is what I wanted to do instead. The Philippines holds a very special place for me, I owe those people a lot for helping me discover a lot about myself. We spent the majority of the time building a school and finishing up a birthing clinic for one of the more rural areas. Word got around that I was a med student that spoke the language so of course I did a lot of impromptu check-ups. Who knows what percentage of what I told them was right, I'd bet very low. Including myself there were only a few in the group that spoke the language but for the most part we had a good group. You will always have a few people that are there to "pet a peasant" as I call it, but it went well. We were doing it a little more on the rough side this time since we were on such a remote island. We slept on the beach in little mosquito nets and just used the ocean to bathe in....which didn't do much to abate the smell we cultivated from laboring in that heat.... but when everyone stinks like butt cheese, no one seems to notice. Highlights of the trip were:

1. The community we built a school for held a cock fight in our honor. Wierd way to show appreciation but it was pretty awesome. A couple of people in the group didn't like it but I got news for you people, we kill animals and eat them. It happens. And these people have to kill and gut everything they eat themselve. It doesn't come pre-done, so what if one day someone thought "Hey, this kinda sucks, let's do something to make it at least a little entertaining!" And then the cockfight was created...or something like that. They tried to cook all of the roosters that lost for us but we made sure they kept the meat...and between you and me...I've had rooster meat and it isn't that good

2. We had a special presentation on the first day of school where we gave all of the elementary aged kids school supplies. Nothing fancy, paper and pencils mostly. It was just great to see the face of someone who is truly excited over a gift.

3. Also as a thanks, the mayor of the province treated us to a zip line and a free fall over this huge canyon and it was by far the freakiest thing I've every done. Kills sky diving, bungy jumping, making a bad joke about your wife's weight, hanging out one on one with your mother in law...nothing compares.

4. We had a projector brought onto the island as kind of a last second thing and put on a makeshift movie theater on the side of the local church for a few nights. For these kids who had never been to a movie theater, it was a dream come true. We walked some of them home at night and it was fun to talk to them about how much they loved it.

5, We had to be escorted by the Philippine Special Opperations Unit the entire time we were there. Cool guys. They let us shoot their M-16's, which was fun, but they also challenged us to a basketball game. We owned them...kinda. We won at least but it was just cool that these guys spent the time to follow us around for three weeks.

I could put more down but if you really want to know just ask me.

Family Reunions. When I got back we loaded up the family SUV and headed to St. George for some reunion time with both my family and Kindi's family...not at the same time but we kind of convinced the Wendler's to go down once my family decided to have the reunion in St. George so we could just see everyone while we were there. So we had the Wahlstroms for three days followed by the Wendlers for three days. Lot's of hiking, lots of swimming, tennis, some b-ball games, some golf and of course a lot of good food. And I can neither confirm or deny that we spent hours trying to get a hole in one on the third mini golf hole by bouncing the ball off one wall, over another wall, bounce it again off another wall and into the hole. That activity may only have ceased due to darkness...and maybe it still drives me crazy how close I got. I really like getting the boys together with their cousins their age because they have so much fun with each other. It's wierd how little boys get together and just want to either find an uncle to beat up or just run around shooting each other with toy guns. Jack is also especially fond of the baby's in the family. He was constantly concerned with how baby Marty and baby Olivia were doing. He just didn't want to have anything go wrong with their sleeping schedules for some reason. Colt also really hammed it up for Kindi's family by holding the new baby Reese and showing every bit of compassion he could muster. He knows his audience because they ate it up. I always like watching the boys with Kindi's sisters/mom because I can see them working their magic as the only grandkids...but their monopoly is falling in that area as we speak. I think the most lasting impression goes to my Dad and brother Nate though. Up until this trip, the concept of snakes living in the wild never really occured to Jack. When we were on a hike and one showed up they did what any male would do and they tried to catch it. Actually, scratch that, if I was anywhere near it I would have smashed it's head with a rock. Anyways, Nate grabbed it by the tail for a minute, causing a hailstorm of screams from the rocks above originating from both sisters and wife alike. The whole situation has made Jack increadibly jumpy and he eyes every bush as if it were a death trap ready to spring. Good times and Good fun. I miss the fam and I always love the reunion time.

Fourth of July. Far and away one of the better times of the year. This was the first year we are allowed fireworks in Arizona and it may be the last. This place during the summer is a box of dry kindling just waiting for a spark to burst into flame. We learned first hand as Jack lit our back yard on fire and burned up a large portion before I noticed and put it out. Of course neighbors do what they do and the fire department was summoned immediately. I had to do the idiots walk of shame as I walked them into the back yard to show them that the fire actually was out. "See that huge black spot...yea, that's where I sprayed water...cause water kills fire right? No, I don't usually wear a helmet...Paint Chips? Why do you ask?" The funny thing is, I was videoing them with the sparklers and I say to myself as Jack is lighting the lawn on fire that he was going to do just that and yet I still didn't catch it. You can actually see the flames on the camera and I just sit there oblivious. Unbelievable. It was a great fourth though, we had a breakfast with friends, did a swimming fight, and performed the famous cul-de-sac of fire that night. Great times.

The Couple

2011-03-17T16:22:00.001-07:00

On the average weekend the couple would approach their evening plans without haste, and more than often let them fall in place rather than worry about maximizing their free time. The weekend always began as early as possible for these two. They were both prone to excusing themselves from work or studies early in order to enjoy the company of each other. Dinner plans were never taken inside the home, and the discussions on where to dine were rarely resolved quickly. No matter, it was in fact a part of the game that had become the Friday night ritual. The Ritual in itself seemed to be untouchable. Walking around the shops at the local mall, seeing the evening’s new release at the movie theater, having ice cream while people watching…it was just what they did. Occasionally friends were involved, perhaps a weekend away to spice things up. All in all, things were in their own way…perfect. Then one member of the couple became enamored with an idea, why not share this ritual with a child of our own? “What a wonderful thought!” the other replied. So they brought a little boy into the world and were so thrilled to see his adorable little face glowing back at them. So small, so fragile and new…yet he already seemed to be their own. Driving home from the hospital the proud new father leaned over to his wife to remind her that they needed to set the alarm in order to wake up on the baby’s feeding schedule. They agreed that they couldn’t possibly let the little one go more than a couple of hours without nourishment and were so happy that they were already such competent parents. But the baby never slept. The baby wouldn’t eat. Baby no sleep = Happy Couple no sleep = Happy go bye bye. The first morning after the blessed homecoming of the child the proud new father called the hospital to ask about the return policy. Months passed by and the baby still didn’t sleep. They tried going out but the disapproving eyes of fellow diners at the screaming child were too heavy. They tried long walks but the baby thought the stroller was meant for screaming. The ritual had been not only interrupted, but it had been taken to a dark alley where it was beat to death with a frozen marlin and then repeatedly dipped between vats of sulfuric acid and flaming cow dung. It was gone. Despite this loss, the couple was happier than ever. A new ritual was developed. Their little boy was the highlight of their lives and they loved him dearly. Then one morning as tired, sickly, but still proud new father was taking a shower in a zombie trance while wondering if sleep deprivation killed brain cells, a hand shot over the glass door of the shower. It was tired, proud momma’s hand. The hand was clutching an object so tightly that the knuckles were white and a slight tremble was detectable. The object looked like a thermometer…this was no thermometer. Bouncing bumbling baby 2 was on it’s way and soon to be mother of two was sobbing on the porcelain throne while soon to be father of two was thinking of pro’s and con’s to rupturing his own ear drums for peace and quiet for once. Months later, Thing 2 came. Father of two stared at his new creation the first night. He gazed deeply into the eyes of thing 2 and promised his undying love for him and asked for one thing in return…sleep. Wish granted.
It has been two years since that day. Colt has been a bigger rascal than you could imagine. He’s fearless of death and thinks less of those that try to hold him back. His signature move is to run up to his dad with fists blazing while chanting a chorus of “Punch! Punch! Punch!” The boy is just, in a word, insane. It isn’t abnormal to be asked by strangers if there is something wrong with him and our response is usually “No, he’s just crazy.” Crazy, but also the sweetest little boy in the world. He may beat me down but he always gives hugs and kisses to bring me back to life(but he might just do this so he can punch me some more.) He loves his momma more than a little thing like him should have the capacity to do. He’s so different from his brother in many ways, but he follows him with perfect allegiance and mimics every move. Colt may love his mom most, but he still lets his dad read to him and never turns down a game of monster. I asked of him one thing that night, and he gave it to me. He has always slept well, and not only that but when he wakes up he waits quietly for someone to get him. No screaming. And there is always a smiling face and a jumping hug when you walk into the room. He also has taken the liberty to be as naughty as possible in every other way…but I don’t care. Sleep is the best, and it’s cute to watch him get into trouble. I can’t believe he’s two years old but it’s true. Kindi and I may have given up the freedom of The Weekend Ritual, we may not get much peace and quiet, but I wouldn’t trade either of those boys for anything. Happy Birthday Colt.

Ifffffggggg333333333333333

2011-03-17T02:35:00.001-07:00

Blog Slob...

2011-02-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

I have been a blog slob, plain and simple. Do you ever get so far behind in something you just don't feel like you can ever start again? That is where I am with blogging. I didn't write anything about all the fun holiday activities, Adam's birthday, or even our 6 year anniversary. I am NOT a good blogger. Well for right now, I'm not going to write about any of those things. Just know that they were all really great. I do have to give a shout-out to the hottie husband of mine for turning 28, and renewing his contract of marriage with me for at least another 4 years. WAHOO! Anyway, here are a few pics of what we have been up to in Jan and Feb. Not to rub it in...again...but I will NEVER leave Arizona!!! I LOVE it here!!!! Okay, so I guess I've been a picture taking slob too...these swimming pics aren't even mine. Here's to turning over a new leaf!!

Jolly Ranchers

2011-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

Up until a few days ago, I hadn't had a Jolly Rancher in probably 10 years. I'm more of a chocolate fan, so I tend to pass over the hard candy. For example, in Jack's Halloween bag, there were a few of the fruity hard candies, but I didn't even think twice about them. In fact once all of the chocolate was gone, they didn't even get eaten as a "I really need something sweet," nope, we just threw them away. All of the good candy was gone. Up until a few days ago, I found them completely annoying. If I want something sweet, I want to devour the thing now. I don't want to have to suck on it for 5+ minutes only to have it dissolve in my mouth, so anti-climactic. I didn't get that sigh of satisfaction, the thoughts "That was soooooo good!" or "That was totally worth the calories!" never once popped into my head when I stuck a Jolly Rancher in my mouth. However, two Sundays ago,(I can even pinpoint the moment that it happened) I started really wanting a Jolly Rancher...BAD. I really can't tell you what triggered it. Well I put off buying a bag for almost two weeks. No way was I going to add yet another treat to my already LONG list of treats that I MUST have. One fateful late night Wal-Mart trip changed that all. I happened to pass by the aisle they were in, not on purpose, and before I knew it, I was paying for them at the checkout. After my friendly Wal-Mart checker Jerry told me to "be terrific!" I walked to the car and literally was eating one before the door of the drivers seat was even shut. I can't get enough of the stupid things! Not only do I HAVE to bite them as soon as they are in my mouth, but when I do try and suck them they leave sores on my tongue. I only have one guess as to why I have this new found love for this ridiculous candy...

Joining these 3 crazy boys and I August 1!

The Amazing Kindi

2011-01-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

I feel incredibly embarrassed that this much time has passed without me writing about the most important event of the year at our home. It seems that the hectic schedule of traveling so much over this past holiday season has really thrown me off my game. I can only hope that the repercussions won’t be too severe. You see, there are plenty of things to look forward to in one’s life but there is only one event that matters to us here on Tonopah drive in Phoenix. That is the birthday of the one and only Kindi. Yes, it’s true, that glorious time of year has come once again. You may be wondering why this is such a big deal and I’m wondering why you don’t know why it’s a big deal. Because it’s KINDI’S BIRTHDAY duuuuh! Nothing else compares. In fact I feel bad for Christmas because it totally get overshadowed every year for us. It’s just simply too big a deal for myself and these two boys to celebrate how lucky we are to have her. If it wasn’t for her I’m sure the three of us would be wondering around aimlessly, completely miss-matched with plaid shorts and striped shirts…and probably wearing every color imaginable and definitely clashing. There would never be any food in the house and if I did ever go shopping I wouldn’t know what to get besides wheat thins, oreos, and mt. dew. I would never know when other peoples birthdays were, I would never know what was going on in Hollywood and I most certainly wouldn’t be able to tell you who was America’s Top Chef. I mean really, how can I even go out in public without knowing who the reigning Top Chef was?!? And who’s going to make me laugh? And who’s going to be so pleased with themselves that the grin from ear to ear when they do make me laugh? Who’s going to search for other people’s birthday presents for weeks? Who’s going to watch Monday Night Football with me? Who’s going to love living with three farty, messy, little boys and like it? Kindi is why we’re alive really. You, along with me, should all be counting your blessings with blessing one through 5 gagillion being “I know Kindi Wahlstrom”. Let me tell you just one story in the Kindi Lore…that happened just last week actually.

The Scene: The Glimmering Las Vegas Strip. The Players: Myself, Kindi, A dipper, Throngs of people, One very reckless cabby. We had just left the Jerry Seinfeld stand up show at Caesars Palace. Spirits were high as we recounted to one another Jerry’s little antidotes. As we approached the intersection from Caesars to The Venetian a “dipper” decided to appear and slow our progression. A “dipper”, for those of you who don’t know, is an individual in a crowd who acts as if they were just transported from their bed in deep REM sleep into the current crowd, shot up with pcp, and then hit over the head with a baseball bat. They walk aimlessly. These people walk at such a slow pace that they appear to be going backward. They also look around from side to side as if they expect a runaway bull to appear out of no-where and they need to keep an eye out. When you try to walk around a dipper they sway, ever so slightly to the side you were about to pass on. When you begin to walk around the other way, the dipper suddenly sways the other way. The dipper is oblivious to their dipping. The worse kind of dipper will actually stop and turn their body the other way, never turning their head, and they will walk right into you while looking behind them for the ravenous bull about to gore them. I hate dippers. Anyways, we had encountered our dipper. We looked ahead at the intersection to see the blue walking sign give away to the blinking hand. Frustrated by our slowed progress, and in an attempt to make the intersection, Kindi and I split up around the dipper and ran for the other side of the street. Half way across the street, the blinking hand gave up it’s blink and became a solid red hand. Knowing in the back of my mind how bad 90% of drivers are I slowed up and looked to make sure no one was anticipating the green light. Sure enough, a taxi had blown through the intersection and was bearing down on us. I stopped just short. Kindi, on the other hand, did not. To the untrained eye it may appear as if she just didn’t see the car or perhaps slipped and couldn’t stop running. But in reality, she has no fear of paltry little things like speeding cars. She’s KINDI. That car should be looking out for her, not the other way. As the taxi speed into the cross-walk, I tried to stop her but my little arms couldn’t stop her. She ran courageously in front of the taxi. Again, to the untrained eye, it may have appeared that she fell to the ground. But that isn’t so. She must have actually LAYED down to tempt the car to even DARE touch her. The taxi’s wheels screeched in horror as they feared coming into contact with the perfection that is Kindi. The taxi, in humble submission gently kissed the unabashed Kindi. She then stood up, said “It’s o.k. Let’s go” and grabbed her dumbfounded husband by the hand and dragged him across the street. It only looked like a stupid couple ran across a street, almost got hit by a car, and in fact did get hit by a car. It was in fact just proof of how revered this person is. Amazing.

I wish that I could make a bigger deal of her birthday. I tried to make it special by taking her away for a few days but it wasn’t enough. She really is the motor of this little family and my biggest motivation. Anyone who knows her can attest to her giving heart and wonderfully loving disposition. She’s simply everything someone like me needs. Huzzah for Kindi! I hope you all take some time to thank the heavens that you know her.

Road Trip

2010-11-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things that I remember about road trips as a kid. I remember that when we were kids, my parents had no problem taking the seats out of the big 16 passenger van and laying a matress in the back for us to sleep on. Something they would surely be tazed for doing had a policeman today seen them. I can remember it smelled like feet in that ugly behemoth with the seven of us kids laying around without shoes...feet and farts really. My mom would usually take a hose and just spray down the inside of the van when we got home like she was decontaminating a giant animal cage. I can remember a cooler with treats that my older brothers guarded and rationed out like the leaders of a post apocolyptic colony of which they had become lords over...they rationed little to the plebians like me but indulged like kings themselves. If I made an objection to the parents in the front I knew I would have recompense coming that I would never be able to handle so I kept quiet. They would remind me of the folly of being a tattle tale with quick slicing motions made by the thumb across their throats. And by my brothers...this was mainly Andy. The same kid that made freddy kruger shadows on the wall when I was a kid that still haunt my dreams. Awwww......older brothers. I can remember my dad didn't like to stop and with the tank on that van he didn't need to stop often...you took your bathroom breaks with gratefullness and hoped you could make the next rest stop without wetting yourself. It retrospect, herding seven kids in and out of a gas station had to take like 10 hours or something. It sounds like a game that you would see on Japanese Gameshows. My parents also plugged a tv/vcr combo into the power outlet in the front and we watched Willow at least 80 times, Star Wars another 80, and Adventures in Babysitting 10,000 times. But, with all that I can remember, what I remember most is that as a kid I couldn't understand why my parents always seemed to be stressed out while we were on long road trips. In fact, I can specifically remember one time when my mom announced that the vacation would be prematurely cut short and we were going home the next day and I just recall thinking in my head that she was being a tad dramatic. I understand them better now. Much, MUCH better. Taking the boys on the road isn’t easy. They are in fact better than most kids I’d wager but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. There are plenty of things that must contribute to parents going crazy, but Jack and Colt have a few that I am specifically worried about rocking my sanity over the edge one of these days.
1. Requesting/demanding something that I don’t have. Jack: “Daddy, I want Cheetos.” Me: “Oh, sorry bud but I don’t have any. Maybe when we stop for gas I’ll get you some.” Jack: (Silence for 1.27 seconds…) “eeeeeehhhhh I WANT Cheetos!” Me: “Buddy, I just don’t have any. I’ll buy you some when we stop.” Jack: “aaaaaaaaahhhhhh CHEETOOS!..AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH CHEEEEEEETOOOOOOOOOOS! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” This happens at least once an hour. I’m about 99% sure he does it on purpose. Why? I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t have any effing Cheetos.
2. Screaming battles. My children have the most powerfully supersonic screams known to mankind. And just my luck, instead of hitting each other when they fight they just sit in front of one another and blast away with their supersonic screaming powers. Guaranteed to drive you insane within the time it takes your brain to register that the sound currently rearranging your neurons is coming from two small children. By then it’s too late because you are legally handicapped. Put that in a car for a few hours and it only intensifies.
3. The Backyardigans. This isn’t technically something that they do, but the fact that they insist on watching it constantly is just as bad. What a pile of crap. I couldn’t even attempt to make a worse show than this. What kind of a name is uniqua anyways? Even in my mentally incapacitated state after listening to the screaming wars I am still able to register how offensive to my brain that show is. Even worse is that after listening to the show going in the back seat during the whole road trip, I haven’t been able to stop the constant loop of “Super –Spy!” going on in my head. Make it stop…please…
4. Chips/crackers/snacks in the car. It’s such a hard thing to get around. You feel like you have to give them something to keep them happy but before I even give it to them I can visualize the piles of chewed up, regurgitated cheesy blobs staining the seats. I know that at least one or two crackers will be thrown at the back of my head and that at least one bag of something will just simply be dumped all over the car for no reason at all. Did this happen this trip? Check, check, check, and…..check.
But with all of the hazards of a road trip there is always the reward of the destination. Where would we be headed you ask? Well, where we always go of course. Disneyland. We had to go while the Nightmare Before Christmas decorations were up and it had been a whole six months since our last visit so naturally we went. It was great to go at such a slow time, we literally had no crowds and things went smoothly. Our biggest goal was to get Jack onto Splash Mountain and we succeeded. Jack wasn’t too happy about it. He was already mad at me for tricking him earlier. He wanted to go on the ferris wheel and I only agreed to go because I knew that there were sliding cars on it. Needless to say, when our car started to rock and slide as we were going around he flipped out. So when I asked him to go on Splash Mountain with me later on, he thought he was playing it safe by saying that he just wanted to go with mom. Little did he know that Kindi was just as willing to subject the little guy to the waterfall freefall. The best part is when we walked in front of the ride and he saw the people falling off the drop off, he started asking question about just where we were going. He was mad of course afterwords, but he really enjoyed it. The look of pure terror on his face on the ride photo is priceless. Should have bought it.

We also took the boys to the beach for a little while to play in the sand. We figured that it wasn’t warm enough to really go swimming so we didn’t even get out swim suits. So of course they spent the whole time playing in the waves. It’s weird how different the two kids are, Jack is pretty much afraid of his own shadow and Colt has no common sense whatsoever. Colt will literally start walking into a wave, be close to being sucked into the ocean if it weren’t for me leaping to his rescue and he’ll just do it again within a few seconds. No fear. We could have spent hours upon hours there, but I don’t have the stamina to be constantly saving Colt from his ultimate demise.
It was a great trip. I want to write a little about the Rivalry Game…but I need to think it over a little longer. Maybe later this week. With that said, Happy Thanksgiving….GO COUGS!

Pilot, not Pirate!

2010-11-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

This week Adam had finals so I decided that I would probably get more help with the boys (and lets face it more attention) if I went to my Mom and Dad's. So I bravely booked 2 tickets and one lap child on a plane to Utah. I mentally prepared myself for a solid month. When the moment finally came that I had to leave Adam at security and venture off with one screaming 20 month old, and one extremely ornery 3 year old, I cried. I really did. Judge me, I don't care. I was so afraid of the next hour and 16 minutes I couldn't hold it in. To make a long story and little shorter, I'll just say the plane ride was a disaster. Many, many things happened that I don't care to re-live. One thing I think I can actually muster up the courage to share is when in the middle of the plane ride, Jack stopped in the middle of his joke that he was telling me and asked "Who's flying the plane?" I told him that the pilot was. He gets this terrified look on his face and starts yelling that we were going to crash because pirates were flying the plane. Awesome. This continued for the rest of the flight. After about 50 times of trying to explain that I had said piLot not piRate and him just not getting it, I finally gave up and told him to whisper or the pirates were going to hear him and then we really were going to crash. Great parenting, I know. I did what I had to do, and I don't regret it. I just hope I can get him on a plane again. In all honesty though, the ride was bad, but looking back a lot of the things that happened were actually really funny, the pirate story for example. I guess that's just how life works!
Once we got there the boys were spoiled rotten! They are lucky enough to have both sets of Grandparents and all of their cousins within a 3 mile radius. Among other things, they went to the Kangaroo Zoo, Tree house museum and Disney on ice. They even got to play in the snow! Jack has been asking to see snow forever! Once they got out there though, they were pretty weak! They were only out there about 5 minutes and then they both had to come in and have one of those hot rice bags on their hands to warm them up. Weak boys, weak. Not to mention the G-ma's got them everything their hearts desired. By the time the week was over we were all exhausted. Jack is a little homebody, just like his dad and was ready to come home on the last day. I'm happy to report that the ride home wasn't quite as bad, I'm not going to be getting on a plane again anytime soon or anything, but still not as bad as the ride there. Luckily there are a lot more nice comments then rude ones. I almost pounded this one lady, but that's a story for another time. Until next time Utah...by car!

Adam's Christmas....

2010-11-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

We had a "low key" Halloween this year...my house has only been decorated since mid-September, we only had 2 Halloween events to attend this year, Adam only had one costume, and we only went trick-or-treating 3 nights in a row. For anybody who knows Adam, knows this is low key. In all honesty it was nice not having to worry about doing a party this year, but we did HATE not being at the Wahlstrom Halloween party. Halloween was a little darker this year (but not in the good darker Halloween type way. Did that even make sense?!) We really missed everyone!

Midwestern puts on a Halloween festival type thing every year, so we were able to go to that this year. My sister and mom happened to be here this weekend so Jenna was able to come with us. They had games and crafts for the kids. Then the kids could run from room to room and trick or treat. They also had a couple of moon bounces that the boys were obsessed with. I'm not sure who loved the festivities more, the boys or Adam.

On Saturday we went to our ward trunk or treat. They had some cute games and a costume parade. Then everyone went outside and did the trunk or treat. Colt happened to have a fever of 103 that night, (we later found out he had strep) so he was not that into it, but Jack just ate it up...literally! Jack is really into his "friends" lately, so he thought it was pretty cool that he got to stay up late and see all of his buddies and eat endless amounts of candy!

Adam and I then took Jack around the neighborhood to go trick or treating on Sunday night. Judge if you must, but Jack's name is derived from a Halloween movie and Adam is the Halloween King. We just didn't feel it would be right to keep the Halloween prince in. He loved that. One strange thing though, is not all of the houses give out candy. 3 houses we went to people came to the door, looked out the window and walked away!! SERIOUSLY?! It's a little Spiderman! You are going to turn away little Spiderman?? You Jerk!!! The problem is people these days are not following through with the promise of a trick if there is no treat! One lady came to the door with some excuse that she just got back from a trip and wasn't able to get candy and blah blah blah. What lady, there was no candy in this exotic location you went to?! You don't have a mint or something lying around? Well then what about a dollar? Nobody said the treat's had to be edible. All you have is excuses?! You know what lady, you're saying a lot of words, but all I'm really hearing is that you would like my 3 year old to come back and pee on your doorstep later. He is VERY good at peeing in public places! When all was said and done though, I think we all had a pretty good Halloween. Everyone except for Colt, don't worry little buddy, as long as your dad is around, I'm sure there will a lot more "low key" Halloweens in your future!

October already

2010-10-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

So time fly's by pretty quick eh? Kindi didn't want to update, so she's waiting for me to do it. Here's some stuff.

While sitting in my room, looking over metabolic pathways for a test, I heard a large object hit my window. Thinking it was a bird that had mistakenly flew into what it percieved to be an opening, I ignored it. Birds constantly commit suicide by running into my window for some reason. I've actually considered it a sign that we live on an ancient indian burial ground...the birds and that voice that talks to me through the tv at night have me convinced. Anyways, disproving my bird theory, the first noise was followed by another loud bang, and then another. For a split second I thought my previously cold war with my neighbor had erupted into a dreaded spat. Was she actually throwing stones at my house? Was I going to have to pull a diamond page and take this lady out with a diamond cutter move? Picturing a small, retired lady with a handbasket full of rocks I rushed to the window as the occasional loud sound became an onslaught of epic proportions. It had been raining for the past hour, but what I saw out the window was a tad more extreme. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it. It was a complete white out, but it wasn't snow. Hail the size of large eggs was falling from the sky and just completely destroying everything in sight. My trees in the front yard were being shredded to pieces and the car across the street looked like someone had taken a small hammer and went to town on it. Jack and Colt just started screaming and running around in circles like animals before a volcano eruption. Pretty impressive display. It only lasted for a minute, but I learned one thing...don't mess with Mother Nature in Arizona. She'll melt you, set you on fire, drown you, and beat you to death within a 24 hour period. No lyin'. Check this out.

The boys have been doing good. Jack got some sort of wierd infection in his foot for a while...which of course sent kindi into a MERSA alert. She was making plans for the day that we would have to amputate Jacks foot. I think I saw her measuring for a wheelchair ramp outside. Colt is starting to say No...so that's cool. It's everyone's favorite thing. Right next to stubbing your toe and accidentally biting your tounge.

Jack started soccer. Freakin Soccer. I wish I was still in AYSO. Those were some good times. I remember all I wanted to do was be goalie but that was only because I wanted to pick up the ball. The coach didn't think it was too cool when I ran down the field with it the first game. My mom always said that I just liked the orange slices at half time...but it was really the squeez-its. I think Jack is really taking a liking to it, he always talks about "playin' games at socca". I'm sure that a bunch of three year olds can only understand so much, but I'm glad he can get out and do it. It makes me feel so wierd to have him starting something like this. I almost don't want to have any more kids because I don't know if I can handle them growing up on me. I start getting all teared up like a chick at the end of Notting Hill.

We had family come down and I was happy to see everyone. Dad parks his huge RV out in front of the house and people start to wonder if things are going to start getting wierd like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. As long as he doesn't empty the septic tank in the gutter, I think we're good. I wasn't able to see them much because of classes and what not but I think we all had fun. They were all in town for the White Coat ceremony, which was nice of them. I wish it was my graduation instead, still a ways off. Medicine is frustrating in some ways. You go to school until your 80 and then everyone wants to sue you and the government wants to control you and take what money you make. Raw deal.

One of the best things ever are yard sales. It’s just a pile of junk…but sometimes junk is pretty awesome. For some reason Arizona is big on these community yard sales where everyone sets up these big weekend long sales and you can just go house to house all day digging through people’s crap. For those of you who don’t know this about me, I love that sort of thing. If I didn’t have so much school work I could spend all day looking through little jimmy’s record collection and bobby sue’s old furniture set. I’m kinda like an old spinster lady in this way. But believe me, there are gems. I bought a signed Jim Brown Football card, signed Joe Montana football card, and a rookie Steve Young card for ten bucks. Freakin Ten bucks. I’m going to turn around and sell that shee-at better believe it. The guy threw in an exercise bike for good measure for only twenty more bones. He bought it for his wife two years ago, she never sat on it once. I think he gave up on the dream and realized she never would so he might as well cut his losses. Love that stuff.

Speaking of excercise equipment, is there a more purchased/less used thing on earth? How many people buy these things, use them the first day and then never look at them again? And it's always some wierd thing like the "shake-weight"(best infomercial ever btw) or the ab-roller. Who is believing these things anyway? You're telling me that the dude on the commercial bought the shake weight, lost 100 pounds and then got ripped like Barry Bonds circa 2001? That guys abs look like I could grate cheese on them and yet the product is only meant for arms. So someone was actually sitting on the couch and they actually thought: "Hey, I want to look good..and this is only 3 easy payment of $19.99!" Who am I to make fun of, they are the ones making a billion dollars on a pile of horse dung. Sidenote: I never laughed harder than when I saw Sammy Allen as the model for Abinator or whatever it was. Never saw that coming. The ways you run into high school memories...

Anyways, there's your update.

I HATE change!

2010-09-13T19:52:00.001-07:00

(Kindi) I hate change. I always have and I'm pretty sure that I always will. Why would I want to change things when they are going so well? To me, it is not worth the risk of being disappointed. It's just not. Don't try and tell me that change can be good. Many people have over the 27 years of my life and nobody, NOBODY has succeeded. The hardest change I have had to make thus far in my life is when my kids have a birthday. Jack turned three this week and when we sang happy birthday to him, I cried. There I was holding the cake in front of him with pathetic tears rolling down my face. Luckily, he was too ecstatic about the cake and candles on it to even notice. This is obviously a change that I'm going to have to learn to deal with, I know that. The key words in that sentence are DEAL WITH, I don't have to like it!

Jack had a great birthday. He came and woke me up at 6 and told me that I needed to wake up now, it was his birthday and it was time to open presents. He was spoiled rotten and loved every second of it. He got a pair of cowboy boots among other things, and hasn't taken them off since. For any of you who are regular readers of this blog, you have probably noticed that my

children rarely wear pants or clothes at all really, (don't judge until you live in 110+ weather and have to keep your air conditioning at 85 because even at 85 your AC bills are upwards of $400!) his lack of clothing made for some really great pictures!

We went to the children's museum with his good buddies Jackson and Brooke (okay Brooke is more of my buddy, but Jack still really likes her!) and did just about everything you could do. It was nearly impossible to get a good picture of all three boys, but we at least got some of them together. For dinner we went to Jack's favorite place to eat...McDongalds (McDonald's) and let him play Spiderman on the indoor playground and eat chicken nuggets to his hearts content. Then it was cake and ice cream. Jack was so exhausted that after getting out of the shower (his favorite) he got as far as putting his underwear on before he just zonked out on my bed. It was great.

Jack had 13 of Jack's friends over on Sat. to have a superhero themed party. It was mostly Spiderman, but he kept changing his mind so often that we just went with superhero. We had a superhero boot camp in the backyard where all of the kids had to go through an obstacle course to complete their boot camp. Once they finished they got their official superhero cape. My amazing mother spent many hours making 15 personalized super capes for everyone at Jack's party. When they came in the mail, Jack couldn't even wait to wear it. I have to beg him to take it off for bed and to go to the bathroom. Since the party I have seen a lot of the kids wearing them. Thanks to my awesome mother! You really did make 15 little children very happy!!

The best part of the party had to be the visit from Spiderman. I had not anticipated Spiderman being scary, oh boy was I wrong!!! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Adam and I have probably watched the video 10 times and we laugh hysterically every time. When Spiderman comes in there is about 5 seconds of silence and then 4 or 5 kids start screaming at the top of their lungs! One little boy just ran circles around my table while screaming and crying! You couldn't have gotten a better reaction if Freddy Kruger would have walked in. Awesome! I'm so gald Adam videoed it! Luckily for us Jack loved Spiderman, and since it was his birthday party that was all that really mattered. All in all I think he had a great birthweek. Today he asked for something for his birthday and I had to tell him his birthday was over and wouldn't come again for a long time, he probably cried for 15 minutes straight. He is definitely my child! Happy birthday little man, we couldn't love you more!

Just FYI

2010-09-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

It was brought to my attention that my posts can be misinterpreted. I'm just joking for the most part when I make my observations. That's how I handle most things, by making fun of them. So don't think anything is directed personally. If I wanted to insult you I would probably just call you up and do it. I don't do the whole misdirected insult thing through a blog. Really, I usually don't bother with people I don't like so insulting isn't even my cup of tea in the first place. So to anyone that takes offense to something I write, you really shouldn't but I'm sorry if you do. Sorry to those who like Twilight. Sorry to people who like Pride and Prejudice. Sorry to guys who don't like sports. Sorry to people that like I-phones. Really, thinking of my posts... this could go on for a long time so you get my point. So I hope those I've offended are cool now. We cool? Cool.

Random Thoughts

2010-09-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

So I’m sort of signing off as the main blog editor for this page. I’m sure I’ll want to write some things down every once in a while but I think it’s time for Kindi to take charge of her own little page here. I’m sure that’s a relief for anyone that actually reads this. Sadly enough that probably isn’t many, either because my posts are so inane and incoherent that people can’t stand to read them or in the world of twitter and facebook any thought longer than five sentences is too much to bother with. Most likely a combination of both. In any case, I’ve got a little too much on my plate to sit down on a consistent basis so Kindi will be more prevalent on this blog than she has hither to been. Really, any post by me from here on out will be a collection of things that I write down on occasion when I’m pondering something. I’ve always done this but usually I throw away or delete the page later…I guess I just enjoy writing down things and you poor souls get to read it now. The smart thing would be a journal but…nah.

I’ve said before that I hate the LOL’s and OMG’s in texting but I love the WTF phrase. It’s been incorporated into my daily thoughts now. I literally think “WTF dude?” when someone butts in front of me in line or cuts me off in traffic. Some that always pop up:

1. When I was a kid I ALWAYS got a toy in my cereal. I never do anymore. Now I have to send in some sort of proof of purchase or some crap. WTF cereal companies? I want to dig my hand into my cereal and pull out a kazoo! Um.... or maybe I should stop eating cocoa puffs and grow up.

2. Sitting in an elevator, airplane or enclosed space of any kind and someone breaks wind. WTF crop-duster? I know it’s you Mr. “my shoes are suddenly so incredible I can’t stop staring at them” The charade is up.

3. Seeing the hot girl/awesome guy from high school and they put on 50 pounds and have stopped caring. WTF hot girl? WTF awesome guy? Entire industries of magazines have been made out of taking pictures of pretty people after they lost it. It’s because of the WTF factor. It’s like seeing a Shelby cobra set on fire or a Caravaggio original used as a floor mat. Just sad, a waste really. At least for the girl…I think we could all do with less awesome guys. Looking at you Zac Efron.

Side note: another version of this is when you see an unattractive person from high school and they're super good looking now. Like me. Also, what about the good looking people that marry guys that look like Sloth from goonies. WTF.

4. I hate it when I’m in a situation where I have to go to a social scene with Kindi. Mingling isn’t my thing. What makes it worse is when I’m standing in the corner with the other husbands and I try to talk sports and they DON’T FOLLOW THEM. WTF loner husband? Wimbledon? NBA Finals? Masters? I’ll even take U.S soccer…ANYTHING. You don’t deserve a man card non-sports guy. If you are that guy, sit in front of a box score and memorize it before you go to a party and at least let me talk AT you and you can pretend.

Side Note: There are certain things that take away your man card and I think there needs to be a list: 1. Going to watch Twilight in the theater. 2. Listing Pride and Prejudice as your favorite book. 3. Spending more than a three second pause on the Oxygen channel when you’re channel surfing. 4. Using OMG in a text and 5. Being a vegetarian who doesn’t watch Stallone movies. That’s just off the top of my head.

5. I run or work out just about every day but I’ve noticed over the past year that my body keeps breaking or hurting and getting fatter. WTF body? I swear I’m not even remotely old.

So I was trimming my bushes and hedges the other day, which is a simple but great pleasure in life. I think it has something to do with the male mindset to enjoy yard work. Something about taming the wild or enacting my dominion over that which I am master. I don’t know exactly, perhaps I just like the smell of freshly snipped branches…which would be a great yankee doodle candle by the way. Anyhoo, I was trimming thus mentioned plants when a large drop landed on my head. It was a rather warm day, bloody hot to tell the truth and in fact I recalled a picture in my mind of the temperature read out of 111 degrees on my laptop before I went outside to do yard work. I switched off my ipod; which was in the middle of Stephen Kings short story ‘Rainy Season’ and I half expected to look up and see toads with razor sharp teeth about to descend on me like they did on the couple in the story. (Side Note: Is it weird that I never listen to music anymore? Usually only audiobooks and Bill Simmons podcasts. I think that is weird. Truthfully, I think music has really been tanking for years. Anyways…) But instead of toads, a massive cloud was starting to engulf the sun like Jared would a 5 dollar foot long. Having lived in Arizona a little while, I knew that rain didn’t come often but when it did you could expect something fierce. I put away a few tools and went to stand in front of our house and watch the approaching storm. It was as if a portal had opened up in the valley over phoenix and something incredibly sinister had been released. Then it happened. A crack of lightning blinded me for a minute and roar of thunder followed that made my stomach lurch and my man orbs retreat to higher ground. The rain fell as if mother nature had taken to a drinking binge the night before and was now regurgitating it all at once on my melon. I took refuge in the house as quickly as I could but was not successful in maintaining any semblance of being dry. As I stood in the garage I knew that there was only one thing to do as the responsible adult that I am, I needed to find a swimming suit as fast as possible. By the time I returned outside the road had turned into a river and the darkness had enveloped our home completely. I ran to the street just in time for my sweet wife to round the corner in our trusty Rendezvous crossover and witness just how mature her husband is. Needless to say, with dad in the street Jack didn’t hesitate to join me. We had a blast and I don’t think any water park could provide the sort of entertainment a monsoon storm can offer. Really, I challenge you to tell me that this sort of thing isn’t fun. My neighbors may have wondered what was wrong with the Mormon guy next door, my little one year old Colt may have had more sense than me since he was yelling at me to come in, and perhaps my wife may have stood in the garage wondering what she had gotten herself into but Jack and I ran through that raging river and had a blast. I love the rain. I especially love it when it pours. I’ve been in plenty of rain storms in the Philippines but Arizona held its own. I think that you could add these storms to the list of reasons why I really like it here.

So we’re sitting on a plane right on our way to a wedding for my sister Mallory. There are a couple of things that I think need to be said. First of all, my opinion on people with kids on a plane has changed. I used to be super annoyed and even a little mad when someone would bring their kid on a plane because there is nothing worse than to listen to someone’s kid cry for two hours. Oh wait, yes there is something worse – being the poor moron that has to be the one with a kid on a plane. It’s not like I want to do it. No one would think to themselves “Hey, you know what would be fun? Sitting in a cramped tube with dozens of people while holding a crying kid! Cool beans!” Believe me, if I didn’t absolutely have to fly with these two I wouldn’t. I have to listen to it just as much as the rest of you but you know what? I have to be scratched, bitten, spit upon and mutually hated by everyone around me while I listen to the screaming. I think that being mad at someone for their kid crying on a plane is like being mad that someone got blood on your shoes when they got hit by a car as they were crossing the street in front of you. Or maybe you should get mad at someone for smelling bad after a runaway flying elephant drops a duce on them and breaks their neck. Really, I do equate this as the same thing now. If it weren’t for those blasted Backyardagans and their stupid song on that portable DVD player I’d be writing nothing but obscenities right now. Secondly – I hate when people push their egg suckin' seat back. Seriously don’t do it when someone has a child in their lap. Not to mention the two inches of reclining that you get isn’t exactly putting you on cloud nine anyways. If the person in front of me would turn around at the beginning of the flight and say “Hey, you have two options: Either I push my seat back or….I can have free crop dusting rights the whole flight.” I would take the funky flight any day. ANY day. I promise you I’m not joking. Truthfully, flying has become the worst thing ever. If an airline came around that offered me just the basic stuff I used to get in the year 2000 (ie free checked bags, a drink, food on a long flight, and a little tv) I would be ecstatic. I’m not asking for first class, I just want to be treated like a customer. I swear that every employee in the flying industry hates me the moment I walk into the airport. You pay outrageous prices to have someone rip your stuff apart after you nicely packed it in your bag, make you undress in public, sit in a seat that hasn’t been cleaned since 1975 and probably has bed bugs, wait to take a pee until the turn of that light with a beep sound that makes me feel like a pavlonian dog, and to be called “sir” with disdain at least 15 times. What a deal. You’re telling me that after charging me an extra 50 bones to bring clothing with me on my trip that you can’t leave the can of ginger ale? D-bags.

There is something about being married to Kindi that I never would have anticipated. She unabashedly hacks into my email, facebook, text messaging or any other sort of electronic medium. She complains that I never tell her anything but the reason I don’t is because she usually knows before I do. Conversations routinely go like this: Kindi - “Why didn’t you tell me you were going golfing on Saturday?” Me - “I’m going golfing on Saturday?” Kindi - “Your brother emailed you about it.” Me - “Oh. Um… Can I go golfing on Saturday?” Kindi - (eye roll)”I guess…”(exasperated sigh) Me – (small fist pump) So just as a warning to some of you out there, it may not be me sending you messages. As a rule of thumb, be wary of anything sent to you because it’s probably not me.

GO COUGS! Nice first game fellas. I was excited about the two quarterback system and it didn't disappoint and I think it can only get better. I have some good vibes about this season, it will still be decided if Bronco can Re-load again instead of having to Re-build. Love. Freaking. College. Football. Or as Jack would say, "Daddy, I love those be-by-u cougars football. I love it so much!" Well said little man, well said.

We're really going to miss him

2010-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Bad news everyone, Adam is taking a blog break for at least the next 4 years, probably longer. Before you swear off our blog forever, what if I could promise maybe a few guest posts by him every now and then...huh...anybody? Sure there won't be anymore long thought provoking posts, or any great analogies, but I can at least post some pics of my cute kids. Don't worry, the 4 years will go by fast (at least that's what everyone keeps telling me...sure...). Anyway, here are a few things we've been up to this month.

I became a single mother.

Not really, but it feels like it sometimes. We probably see Adam a total of 4 hours a day, not counting sleeping time. So far it's not as bad as everyone has said it was going to be, but definitely not fun either. Every morning he leaves to sobs and tears from the boys and guess who gets to fix it all...awesome. I'm hoping they'll get use to it just in time for Thanksgiving break. Then we will get to have him home again for 3 weeks and the whole vicious cycle will start all over again when the break is over, again, awesome. I promise, I'm not that bad boys...I don't think I am anyway.

Jack's first ER visit.

To be honest, I was just impressed it took him almost 3 years to make it there. He was just being his crazy self and tripped. He split his chin open and had to get 5 stitches. He was awesome when the Dr put them in and didn't even flinch. Taking them out on the other hand, took 2 days and 4 of us to hold him down.

Family Reunion in Estes Park, Colorado.
If anyone is looking for a great little mountain getaway, this is the place to go. Not only is it beautiful and filled with animals, it also has an awesome little town with lots of shops and the hotel that inspired Stephen King's book the Shining. I'm not sure, but I think they used the hotel in the movie as well. We had a mystery dinner there one night, and honestly, it was pretty creepy! My sister Jillian and I braved the airplane with the two boys,(Adam and her husband Ryan are in the same class at Midwestern and couldn't go to the reunion) and for the most part they did great. It was so fun to get to be outside and see all of the animals, the boys were in heaven. It was good to see the family that I only get to see every 3 years. They are all a really good time and we can't wait for the next reunion.

Mal got married.

Adam's youngest sister got married. It was straight out of Father of the Bride. It pays to be the baby I guess. Honestly though, it was a beautiful wedding and the boys loved playing with their cousins. It was a really short trip and we wish we could have stayed longer. The plane ride home for Colty was great, if you happen to be Helen Keller. If you are not Helen Keller, then it sucked big time. He SCREAMED the ENTIRE time. We got off the plane in Phoenix and I had FIVE people come up and tell me how sorry they felt for me, and how not to worry about it, it was probably just his ears. Luckily none of the ones who were annoyed with us came up and said anything. I think if they would have said something, I would have pulled a Mike Tyson and torn their ears off!
It's been a great summer and we are sad to see Adam leave. It was the best 6 months of our whole lives and I am glad that we got to spend so much time together. For now, I'll just keep playing the power ball and hope that I win more than $3.00 so he can stay home forever!

Don't Judge Me

2010-08-04T19:58:00.001-07:00

I did something that I NEVER thought I would do. Something I've railed against for years...something disgusting. I started a facebook page. I was feeling out of the loop at school and felt I needed one. Don't expect me to embrace it...but sometimes you have to take the lesser of two evils. Let your stinging comments fly...I'm prepared for them.

Scorpion Hunter

2010-07-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Over the summer Jack, Colt and I have collected golf balls every night or so walking through the neighborhoods surrounding us. We can usually find one or two on the lawns of the unfortunate people who's homes are about 270 yards away from the tee box. But lately, we discovered a more interesting hobby...scorpion hunting. It is probably the best thing that has ever happened to Jack because 1. He stays up a little later, 2. he gets to hunt for creatures and 3. we use a cool flashlight to do it. Every night for the past week we have gone around our back yard to look for the little suckers, kind of a pre-emptive attack before they can get into our house. We scan the yard with a black light and when we see one Jack has a dandelion pick that we use to dispose of them. It's much more fun than it sounds...I promise. Last night I decided to go to the foothills next to our house to see how many I could find in a more wild setting...let's just say I found a scorpion big enough that I don't think I'll be doing that again. Anyways, for those of you that have seen Double Rainbow...which is the funniest youtube video ever...here is my homage called double scorpion.

School starts in a week and Kindi isn't handling the upcoming transition well. I haven't had much to do for the past little while other than hang out with her and the boys and I'm going to miss it. It would be nice if all I had to do was hang out with those three and hunt scorpions every night. The boys are my best little buddies and we have endless fun building forts, playing monster and shooting the bad guys that attack our forts. Jack and I have even done a little yoga together, I've been trying to stretch myself out to improve my running...I'm still slow. Colt and Jack are such typical little boys and they will run around outside in their underwear in the most hellish heat without a second thought. I just have to make sure I spray them down with a hose every few minutes. I've never had a better couple of guy buddies. Alas, school awaits. Med school is time consuming but I think Kindi will see me at least 5 or 10 minutes a day, which I'm sure will be enough. Actually, this may play into my favor because I keep asking her if we can get a dog and maybe she'll get one as my replacement...a dog could do everything I contribute to the house. Plus, maybe Colt will figure out what a dog is and stop calling every bird that lands in our yard a dog.

I like to analyze things…and by ‘things’ I mean people. Some of my favorite things people do:

Place and Name dropping. One of the more interesting things people seem to think is that their value as a carbon based individual increases with the more places they’ve been and the famous people they’ve seen. Facebook has made the act of Place and Name Dropping(Let’s just call it PANDing) a literal art form. Status updates such as “Man, I wish I didn’t have to wait so long to get my gelato but I guess I am by the Spanish Steps in Rome for the eighth time this year…maybe I’m just tired from my long plane ride from the Caribbean or perhaps I overdid my spa treatments in Barcelona…it’s almost as bad when I was waiting for my dry cleaning and Bono came in and we totally pow-wow’d about saving Africa.” All they have to do is whip out their i-awesome, type, send and everyone knows how cool they are. Simple. PANDing is even better in picture form. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words right? “Ooohhh, look at this! Billy has a picture with the Obamanator. Impressive.” I’ve actually considered Photoshopping myself with various people to put up around my house. Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Michael Jordan, and Lance Armstrong to name a few. I could even fake sign them and write fake messages on the pictures…who would know right? “Adam – thanks for the idea for the wrist bands. Livestrong Brother….Lance” Seriously people, I’m going to do this and I promise no one will be the wiser. Now if I only had a Facebook page…I could have my profile picture in between Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Somebody has to have done this already.

Elevator Talk: You have three major types of elevator situations. The first is when you get into an elevator with a few random people and no one says a word. The doors close and it’s like you were just sealed inside of an Egyptian tomb and it’s dead silent. You look at the numbers above the door as they slowly move and you feel as if time has stopped and you pull out your phone to pretend you’re texting or something. This is called the Awkward Ascent. 60% of all elevator rides are in this category. The second situation is the Loud PANDing Ride of Obnoxiousness. You’re standing in an elevator when someone gets in talking at a volume you would expect at a vevuzela convention. It’s clear they want you to know what’s going on. “YEA DUDE! I’M TOTALLY UP FOR SHOTS AT 12 BUT I’VE GOT THIS DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADER JUST WAITIN’ FOR ME SO I’M GONNA PICK HER UP IN MY BENZ AND…bla, bla, bla. This is a small percentage, maybe only 5% except when in Las Vegas than the number jumps to 85%. The Third situation is the ride on the dying joke of mediocrity. This happens when you get into an elevator and someone, in an attempt to avoid the Awkward Assent says a joke or comment that they hope will jump start the conversation but only succeeds in creating a situation in which everyone prolongs their forced laughter and then tries to bridge the ending of that laughter to their departure with a slow “oohh…mmmm…yea…funny.” This makes up about 25% of rides. The remaining percentage of rides are either ones you take solo or when you manage to get a small conversation going with the person next to you in whispers. Really, if you wanted to create a great social experiment you would ride a busy hotel elevator all day and record reactions. Priceless.

The Laughing Insult: Have you ever had someone say something to you that is an obvious put down or insult but they laugh while they do it so they can pretend it’s all a joke? It’s the same idea as when someone says, “In all due respect…” or “Not to be rude or anything, but…” I don’t get it.

As always…I’m going to stop because I feel like I’m rambling way to much now.

Twitards

2010-07-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Attention Twi-Tards:
You have now passed Star Trek fans, or Trekies, for most dismal group of people on the planet. Congratulations.

Robert Pattinson is probably the worst actor ever. It’s unprecedented, unparalleled and unrivaled in the history of bad performances…until you look at the other knob that stars beside him. Kindi tried to make me watch the first one and I couldn’t make it past 20 minutes.

I used to say that this whole thing was alright because I love action movies and most of those are dumb and pretty much empty of anything of worth. But when I see how much money these films are making and think about the fact that only a certain portion of the market watches these movies and in order to make this much money those people would have to go to the movie multiple times...that’s just wrong. Defend yourselves Twi-tards. I want to hear a why. Why are there girls holding signs that want Edward to suck on their necks? Why do you feel alright about watching some housewives fantasy brought to life? Why don’t you laugh when Edward sparkles? Why? WHY?!? Why does Bella have no voice inflection and hunch over like she has scoliosis? Why can’t she stop brushing back her hair? Did Edward get his hair caught in a blender full of hair gel? Why isn’t it gross to you? You are treating it like this is a major milestone in your lives. If a Twi-tard were to map their life when all was said and done, it would go like this: First you were born, then came your first steps and words, the first time you won a blue ribbon in the science fair, your first date, your senior prom, your high school and college graduation, your wedding, the birth of your kids, then the Twilight series came, then the Twilight Blu-Ray was released, then you died. That’s it. Why do these ladies exist?

I just want an answer…please, I’m begging you. This isn’t just a movie, it’s a movement that terrifies me. I can see why people were so freaked out by the Reds from the 50’s through the 80’s. You can just feel an unknown evil. I have seen the future and it scares me. Just kidding…I know I just angered a group more deadly than the Yakuza…one member of which is my wife. Talk about sleeping with the enemy.

A lot has gone on the past few weeks. We’ve had visits from my brother Andy and cousin Devin, as well as Kindi’s mom and sister Jenna. My mother-in-law is probably the best one I’ve ever had, top three at least. And she can take that to the bank. No, but seriously she spoils us to no end. We had a lot of fun with all of them and hopefully they did too. Andy and Dev came down to watch the Yankees with me, so Jack and Colt got to go to their first MLB games. The Yankees don’t play the D-backs in Arizona often and we had to take advantage of the opportunity. The park here is super-neato and they have a section that the kids can play in while we watch the game. I love being a Yankees fan because I never have to worry about my team pulling out all the stops to be the best. Hate them if you want, but I would give anything to have the Jazz throw money around to win championships.

Meredith had her baby this past weekend and it’s weird to think that my little sister has a daughter. Having children is probably the weirdest experience in the world. You walk into the hospital one day and all of a sudden your whole life is changed over the matter of a weekend. I can still remember the weird feeling of walking out after Kindi and Jack were released. The nurse that helped us out said goodbye and all I could think was, “Hey lady, you seriously gonna let me take this thing out of here? Really? You’re just gonna click that seat thing into the back of my car and leave huh?” I felt like I was stealing something. For days I had to keep reminding myself that I had something in the backseat that I had to bring in the store with me. Every once in a while Jack or Colt will walk in the room and I have a brief moment of panic that I am responsible for that little person’s life. I’m way too immature to possibly be in charge of a child. It’s like they’re just giving the things away to anyone. Anyhoo – Congrats to Mere. Kids are so amazingly tough but you can’t help but love the opportunity to have them. You and Taylor will be very good parents, maybe a tad weird, but good none-the-less.

I buzzed the boys heads this past week and I had Kindi in tears. It was an unpopular decision but when it's as hot as it is here, things have to be done. I think him and his brother look good.

We’re starting swim lessons for the boys and have been going for a week. The boys are loving them for the most part and I think it has been helpful for them. Jack can finally put his head under the water and he will at least try to make swimming strokes. I don’t think they are enjoying them nearly as much as Kindi though, she likes the fact that the lifeguard teacher is flirting it up with her. I can’t blame the guy though, she’s a freaking bombshell. This post isn’t winning me any points so I’m gonna stop now.

Home again, home again.

2010-06-20T21:48:00.001-07:00

We’re back home in Arizona and happy to be so. After spending a couple weeks in the schizo weather of Utah/Idaho we love having the predictable sunny and hot weather of Phoenix. I was thinking that since it was the middle of June that I wouldn’t have to put up with 40-50 degree weather when we visited but I was sorely mistaken. Freezing. The trip was pretty amazing though, we packed two family reunions into one week and they both happened within 15 minutes of each other. Kudos to Nate for finding that cabin in Island Park. It was awesome. And as always, I love the cabin that Kindi’s family has and we enjoyed time over in Yellowstone. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to do any hiking but I couldn’t bring myself to drive anymore with the kids in the car and Yellowstone takes forever to navigate through if you want to go far. I still kinda regret it because those hikes are so gorgeous this time of year. But overall, I think my favorite part of the trip was doing the Murder Mystery game. There's nothing like a group of adults pretending to be characters in a Western. We all got pretty decked out...well...Kindi didn't but we'll give her a pass this year. She had a hat at least.

Fathers Day. I love Fathers Day. Kindi always makes me breakfast in bed and outdoes herself with dinner. Fabulous spread I must say. If you've ever had Chicken Bryan, Kindi made it and my mouth is still a tad numb from the ecstasy of the taste. This year the kids gave me new work out clothes and I'm pretty awesome in them. You could say I've been selling a few tickets to the gun show. I look so good that I think I'm going to add "cut-off work out T" to my awesome kits. A gay guy even said I looked delicious. Paris Hilton said it was hot. No lyin'. P.H.A.T central. But, back to Fathers Day, Kindi really does treat me too well. How I ever tricked her into marrying me I’ll never know. Being a father is a ton of fun…much more fun than being a mom as far as I can tell. I just throw the boys around and play games with them until Kindi tells me to stop. I’m really just another kid for her to take care of when you think about it. Both of the boys are in a “Monster” stage right now. They love to have me chase them around and tickle them until they can barely breathe, and my job isn’t complete until I throw them on the bed. Hopefully that is as hard as being a father gets...I'm sure it is. Cute kids. They are enjoying each other more and more lately and it is fun to watch them when they really get laughing at each other.

Kindi and I found a couple of boxes of things I had saved in my room since I was just a young tot. My parents had taken the liberty over the past few years to box these belongings up and put them in the garage to await the day when I would collect them. So, as we were enjoying those joyously relaxing hours after the boys went to sleep, Kindi and I looked through these boxes. It’s amazing how embarrassing my younger me is to today me. It’s not that I was anything other than what other younger kids are, but I like to pretend that I skipped ages 12 through 19 because kids these ages have brain damage. True, some have less brain damage than others but they all have brain damage to some degree. I have always hoped I was the first to have been unaffected and I almost convinced myself I was until I looked through this box. Weird notes that had been passed during class, pictures that provide visual proof of my misadventures, and trinkets I had saved as momentos. Right now, I hope that anyone with a yearbook that I had signed in their possession will just burn it. I was reading some of the notes that some of you left me and if I am at all as bad as the rest of you I am ashamed. Brain damage…that is the only way to explain it. Not to mention how goofy looking pubescent teenagers are. I’m nothing to write home about now but man almighty…what a gangly looking kid I was in the 90’s. So I just want to apologize to everyone for jokes I played on you, or for any awkward moment we may have shared, or…heaven help me…any love note I may have passed you during algebra. My shame is a heavy burden but I feel that it is getting lighter. But with that said, my days with brain damage produced some very funny memories that I’m not ashamed of. Such as:

The time I went to prom driving a 12 passenger van painted baby blue. What a nightmare for our dates but how funny is that? The highlight of the night you ask? Getting to close to a lady’s bumper on State Street and having her scream at us while point to the “Baby On Board” sticker. Oh my. Brain Damage.

The time I snuck on my girlfriends roof at two in the morning because of a dare from my friends gave me to give her a flower. I broke the gutter and I’m pretty sure the basketball hoop I climbed up. She happened to be sleeping downstairs for some reason and the only person I woke up was her dad. When he walked out the front door to yell “Who the hell is banging on my roof?!” my accomplices ran and left me alone on the roof. Brain Damage.

The time we filled tennis balls with gasoline and lit them on fire to play soccer with. With a stroke of genius only a teenager with brain damage could have, I stomped on the ball, causing a stream of flaming gasoline to squirt out, and promptly lit my pants on fire. I had to strip down in the parking lot. Brain Damage.

The time we broke into the school at night and had chair races down the hall and I fell down the top flight of stairs on the chair. I was o.k because the chair took the fall for me. The next Monday in class, the teacher whose chair I had been racing on sat down in thus mentioned chair and was surprised when it collapsed in a heap on the floor. Brain Damage.

I’m sure you can all find your own examples…just stay away from those boxes you may have tucked away because you may be suppressing the memories.

musings of a guy in a kiddie pool

2010-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting in my pool the other day thinking…

I’ve always been fascinated by the “cool guy”. Maybe it’s because I’m me and just not very cool but I have never really understood it. I don’t think there is a more self-conscious person on the planet. He tries so hard, so very hard. So while I am no good at playing the part, I’m going to make some money off my observations. I’ve decided to make a “cool guy” kit and sell it. This is what I’m going to put in it.

1. Hair Gel. As long as there have ever been guys being cool, there has been hair gel. It’s gone through different versions, i.e. the frosted tips era, but it has always been present. Spike it straight up in rows like you have Arlington cemetery on your head, or make it all long skewed and crazy like you just woke up from a nap on a pillow of hair gel…as long as it’s gelled you’re good.

2. Fedora’s. Who wouldn’t be cool wearing a fedora. Nuff said.

3. iphone. Hey, if you’re in need of something…cool guy has an app for that. Somewhere along the line, apple and that metro-sexual guy from those commercials convinced cool guy that a cell phone isn’t cool unless you can make your phone look like it’s a cup you drink out of or something that makes fart noises. It doesn’t matter…he’s got an app for what ails you.

4. Sandals. These in themselves aren’t a tell tale sign but it is the situations that a cool guys wears them that define him. It runs like a Dr. Seuss book. I can wear them at the beach, on a train, with my jeans or with my man-prees. I can wear them in winter, I can wear them with ease! Please oh Please, sandals go with everything!

5. The 5 o’clock shadow shaving tool. If you’re going to be cool, you have to have a constant scruff going. When you’re cool guy, it’s always 5 o’clock. Really, I don’t know how they keep it that way…I assume there is some shaving extension I can put in the kit.

6. tight pink shirts. It’s tight so his muscles show, but it’s pink because his manliness is so perceptible it doesn’t matter what color he wears. And don’t worry, it couldn’t be tighter because he looked and there were no smaller sizes.

7. An array of designer jeans and cargo shorts. Cool guy has no need for anything else. If he needs to dress up he’ll just put a sport coat on, jeans and sandals will do just fine because he’s got an app for that.

8. Gym pass with different colored wife beaters. Cool guy needs a platform to show off his muscles and use his lines on girls who, in his opinion, like to be approached as they are grunting, sweaty, and straining during their workout. Their avoidance of him and the i-pod blaring in their ears is just a decoy for regular joe’s who aren’t cool guys. They want you cool guy…they’re just playing hard to get.

Cool guy kits will also come with a book of tips, including chapters on how to name drop, pose as a surfer/skier/kayaker or some other extreme sport lover without actually ever participating in the activities and of course a chapter on how to wear sunglasses inside of a building and at night while driving without hurting yourself. I think if you pay a little more I’ll even add in an i-pad, or as I call it, the geriatric i-touch. What do you think?

I don’t watch commercials anymore. DVR is worth every penny I spend on it. But on the rare occasion that I do watch commercials I can’t help but wonder why some of these companies spend money on these things at all. What about those commercials where they “interview” people on the street about their product. Does anyone really think “Hey, that lady thought Tide with color guard really took out the stains in her kids jeans while keeping them looking new. In fact they are showing me a comparison as we speak with the ‘Leading Brand’ on a split screen and Tide is clearly kicking its butt!” Really? No, Really!? Haven’t we advanced to something better yet? To answer your question, yes we have. This commercial proves it. If you can’t catch my eye as I fast forward you, don’t waste your money.

I went to the Suns vs. Lakers game six(screw you Kobe) and I sat next to a guy that loved to give me hi-fives. Every big play he would turn to me and give me a hi-five. It even got more frequent and less coordinated as he pumped a few beers into him but I couldn’t help but think about how something as small as a shared enthusiasm for a team could make total strangers think it’s alright to give hi-fives to each other. You could say that people are brought together by a common interest, but I think it’s more that people are brought together against a common evil. In this case it is the hideous monstrosity that is Pau Gasol and Kobe… or as I call them Gass-hole and “the guy who developed this weird lower jaw deformity that only shows up when he makes a big shot.” What a tool. Why can’t someone Nancy Karigan someone like him…That may be heartless of me to say but it doesn’t mean I’m not thinking it.

This Arizona Immigration thing is too weird for me. I honestly can’t believe the attention it is getting. You mean we can now ask people for I.D to be in this country? DIABOLICAL! Wasn’t it always against the law to be here illegally? I don’t even really care about the debate, I just can’t figure out why we had to make this a law again. Did people forget? We must have. I mean, we have thousands of illegal immigrants protesting for their American Rights(what?) in the streets. LOOK, THEY’RE RIGHT THERE! So, do people think that until this point police were driving by workers sitting outside Home Depot thinking “Damn! I wish I could somehow approach them…if only there was a law about this…” And what is this about Racial Profiling? Really?! That’s what this is about? Let me tell you something, when I was in the Philippines I was constantly called “Joe” because everyone knew I was American. I was even asked for my paperwork once. You know why? Because something about me didn’t look right….maybe it was because I was a foot taller than everyone and pasty white. Are we really worried about admitting that we look at the color of people sometimes and think “Hey, that dude ain’t from here.” Unless people really believe(which can’t be true, I hope not) that police are going to start beating the crap out of random Americans under the blanket coverage of this law everyone needs to settle down. Arizona is the gateway for illegal immigration and they just wanted to put up a big sign that said “Please stay away.” Other states don’t have to deal with the huge crime this brings in so I don’t know why they feel the right to criticize. I personally don’t care about the law because I doubt ANYTHING will change…maybe because it’s always been a law anyways. Honestly, unless I’m wrong and please tell me if I am, this is the same as making it against the law(again) to steal and if there is reasonable suspicion that you stole something…maybe a pair of cargo shorts brimming with cardigan sweaters when you leave The Gap…police can stop you and ask to see if you did in actuality steal those items. You show a receipt you’re free. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Anyways…As far as the family goes we are doing great. I have had a lot of free time lately as my schedule at work has become more sparse and I'm loving it. I figure that when school starts I'll be gone all day so I should take advantage. I am happy to have the time to be with my boys and Kindi. We spend most of our time sitting in the kiddie pool, building forts, building blocks and exploring Phoenix when we can. The Childrens Museum here is amazing and with the city of Glendale giving out free passes at the library we've already been a couple of times. Colt has become Jack's shadow and I'm slowly getting him to come over to my side. He's still a momma's boy but I'm gaining ground. His favorite thing to say is dadda so that has to mean something. Truthfully, having these two around is the funnest thing ever. They tire me out but I love the little guys.

Also, I'm trying to get Kindi to let me have a dog...so bug her about it for me.

Marriage

2010-05-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

I heard someone say once that every time a couple gets married two single people die. It’s true. The individual ceases to exist and from that moment on you have a hybrid. That is probably why most couples I am familiar with usually have a hybrid name. For example Norm and Amber are Namber. Maryann and Tyler are Marty. If they don’t have this sort of hybrid name it is most likely because the semantics won’t allow a combination of the names but I still refer to the couple as one by always joining their names with an “and”. It goes even further than the name for most couples as well. They develop each others mannerisms to a degree, absorb one another’s linguistics and catch phrases, and you can usually see a change in their dress and appearance. The change may not be total, but it’s present. I think that this may be a large reason why some people don’t get married or have a hard time with the idea. Many people don’t want to make any adjustments, in fact they simply refuse to. Usually these people are alone for a long time or they end up getting married but they constantly have problems because they don’t want their life to change and it inevitably does. Like I said, the single person dies when it joins another so your expectations shouldn’t be any different. Well, we went to witness the wedding of Jill and Ryan this past week, or I guess you could say the end of Jill and Ryan as we have known them. If I was forced to write a quick obituary for Jillian, it would be something like this:

Jillian Wendler passed away on April 29, 2010 of a long illness referred to by doctors as a longing desire to be married. Jillian was known to all as a spirited individual who liked to call people ‘dopes’. Her reputation as a harsh individual was only cemented further when, on the last night she was seen, she started a speech with the words ‘Everybody thinks I’m mean, but I’m not’ then she continued on to make fun of random people in the room. Jillian was most known for the nickname ‘chip’ for the chip in her front tooth. She is survived by her parents, two sisters and brother. Her favorite person in the world was Adam Wahlstrom, in fact she was known to cite him as ‘The most amazing, generous, good looking and intelligent human being I’ve ever known. If you have spent five minutes in the presence of Adam Wahlstrom, you are a better person for it.’ Jillian will be missed…sort of…she did always eat my mint oreo’s.

I don’t know about Ryan’s, truthfully I don’t pretend to know him that intimately…it would probably be something like this.

Ryan Neeley… This is why I’m hot, This is why I’m hot, This is why, This is why, This is why I’m hot. I’m hot cause I’m fly, you ain’t cause you not. This is why, This is why, this is why I’m hot. BYU, speedo picture…BYU…Smiles. The End.

So anyhoo…Congrats to the newlyweds. I don’t have a combo name for you…Jeeley?...Rillian?...you may just need to be Jill and Ryan.

Advice is something I like to dish out. I’m not too good at digesting it, but I can certainly dish it out. It may be that I have an over inflated sense of my personal opinion but more likely is that I’m really just that impressive. Mal was here this past week talking to me about her recent engagement. I’m excited for her and with all this wedding stuff going around I feel I should be giving her something to chew on. So here are my tips to anyone getting married.

I think every husband and wife should pick something that they want to be free from reproach. I, for instance, want to be left to enjoy my sports. I want time to enjoy my games. Kindi wants to sleep in the morning. As long as neither gets out of hand, let it go.

If you ever have an argument, you haven’t crossed a line as long as dialogue is still happening. If your wife ever says ‘whatever, do what you want’ and walks away then you know you’re in trouble. And you definitely don’t want to do what you want because you might not live to regret it. This is something akin to the kiss of death from the mob boss. It is a bit weird and it appears to be harmless on the surface to someone unfamiliar with it. You may be asking yourself, ‘what just happened?’ Then BOOM your car explodes when you get in to go over to the fellas for a game of basketball.

Both of you will think you are, in the words of Kindi and I, ‘The boss of your own self and the boss of everyone else.’ Neither of you are. When you have kids you’ll find this out.

When it’s time to go out for dinner and you ask ‘Hey sweetie, where do you want to go?’ and she says she doesn’t know she’s lying. She knows perfectly well. It’s the husbands job to somehow figure out what they want and if you don’t guess right you are in danger of a put out wife that makes you get back into the car after you have already put your name in and received your light up vibration thing so that you can try again. Think of this like the scene in Indiana Jones where they are choosing the Holy Grail because your face will surely melt off eventually if you don’t master this.

Anything said, mentioned, agreed to or discussed during a basketball/football game is void because we weren’t really listening.

There will be a day that you notice your wife is wearing something new that you never saw before and that looks expensive. Don’t be surprised when it happens.

Your husband will have gas. Don’t be surprised when it happens.

Pick and choose your battles wisely. It’s a fool that tries to win them all and usually this will only make your marriage painful…so very, very painful. Like rushing the banks of Normandy and paying the ultimate price every time to just win an argument.

Live the Rule of the Brownie Point. Build up good will with small acts of kindness and sacrifice so that you can cash-in at the Bank-O-Spouse at a later date. You want this sort of bank account to be healthy at all times for sudden opportunities like going on a Harley trip. Remember there is a shelf life to these points. If you, for instance, surprised your spouse with a night at a bed in breakfast you will have earned a large sum. But after six months, these points will start to diminish dramatically and after another six months you will be hard pressed to redeem anything from your Brownie Point heist. The only time you are free from a time limit on these points is if you earn them from doing something everyday, like always doing the dishes, and in these cases the points add up but at a far lower rate. I can send a brochure if you want.

You just decided that you want to be with that person FOREVER. Yea, you heard me…FOREVER! So don’t put anyone else as a priority over that person because no one else is going to be with you, by your side, for that long. NO ONE. I’m always surprised with people that still act as if their sibling/mom/postman/dad/BFF or whoever is their go to person. It’s just asking for a problem. If you have a problem with this person being priority one then you need to think things over again.

And last but not least, don’t ever take your wedding ring off around a hole, or a lake, or a canyon of some sort. I think you can figure it out.

Off To Disney We Go

2010-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

So we decided to go to Disneyland last week. Ironic that I just wrote about their brain washing techniques. (Side Note: You want to know the most ironic thing ever? The fact that the song “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette has no actual examples of Irony. Storm cloud on your wedding day? Ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife? That’s called bad luck and a weird obsession with knives lady. That song really pissed me off for some odd reason and I need to get over it. It’s been over ten years Adam come on now.) Actually, this is the genius part of the Disney plan. I was programmed as a kid to not only love Disney but to indoctrinate my kids as well with the loveable mouse. Brilliant really. It’s almost like they have installed a virus into our social atmosphere which we perpetuate happily onto our offspring. And to tell you the truth, I truly am happy to do it. I absolutely love Disneyland and Jack had the time of his life. Ever since we got back, Jack goes into five minute long blabberings complete with hand actions that go something like this: “Daddy amaidssdf pirates lasdfaosif ha ha ha boom boom! Aoidhfsdf wawa waterfall gun spash spash boom adsfijasdf pirates funny!” It’s great. We had a great time with the boys, especially since we surprised Tyler/Maryann and Andy by meeting them there. Harry and Jack are the best of buds so it was much more fun for them to be together. Going to Disneyland is just one of those simple things that make life enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy being a kid every once in a while then I pity you. Kindi and I were actually discussing all those small things that you have to enjoy the other day. Not all of them were present delights, in fact most of them are from when I was a kid but some of the better ones I thought of were these.

1. Disney. I just explained it so you should have expected it. You need to forget the fact that Donald has no pants and Mickey has no shirt, and the fact that goofy can walk and talk but Pluto can’t. If you ignore the truth that Disney produced Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Justin Timberlake, and many other gross pop stars like they were producing Model T’s off the assembly line…there is nothing but love for Disney. They give you a chance to enjoy simple pleasures.

2. Getting the Nintendo game to work. I remember spitting and blowing into the cartridge, chanting incantations and pleading with those games when they wouldn’t work. When they finally did, I was in heaven. Gotta love the original Nintendo. Wasn’t Contra the absolute coolest thing ever? Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, C, A, C, A, Unlimited lives here I come!

3. Wearing your “New School Clothes” the first day of school as a kid. I always laid out my school clothes the night before in elementary. My 4th grade year I had an entire Michael Jordan ensemble. It was so sweet. Getting a new shirt now is nice, but nothing was better than school clothes.

4. Hot dogs at a baseball game. Chase it with a coke and an ambien so you can sleep until the 7th inning and you’re set.

5. Going to bed. I have no idea why I stayed up in high school until the early morning hours. We weren’t doing anything, I look forward to going to bed every freakin’ night. Maybe I’m acting like an old man…or maybe it’s those kids.

6. Walking into an air conditioned house/store on a hot day or walking into a warm house on a cold day.

7. Getting into an argument about a movie/song/event and going to the internet with your opponent and looking up the answer in doubt and winning the conflict.

8. Movie previews. I love going to movies for A) Those small butterfingers B) two hours of uninterrupted sitting C) Previews. You would think I would say the movie as well…but many times I would have to say that isn’t the case. Especially if Kindi has dragged me to the latest Hugh Grant romantic comedy and I’m going to be subjected to his witty rambling for two hours.

9.Being done with a work-out. Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to do it and I’m done, perhaps it’s the endorphins released after you work out….all I know is it feels good.

10. Calling in sick to work. Being someone who never misses work, on those few days that I haven’t gone it feels like I stole a day from father time or something. It’s the same feeling I got when we would ditch a full day of school to drive up to Park City or Evanston or whatever.

There’s more, but I’m tired. Kindi said I had to report on our Disney adventure and this is what you got. Informative?…No. But perhaps you can think of your own list and somehow milk a little more enjoyment out of your day.

I was thinking...

2010-04-02T08:19:00.001-07:00

I’ve been left alone for a few days with the boys while Kindi visits her fam for a few days. Lil’ Jilly bean is gettin’ hitched and wants her big sis there for some festivities. So I’m on my own and when I’m on my own I tend to mull over random things. I’d like to write them down.

The other morning I arose to another day of my usual routine. Colt was jumping up and down in his crib and wanted someone to give him some attention. I had to sneak off of my current sleeping situation(the top bunk of a very old and creaky bunk bed) because Jack had woken me up around 4 a.m. to remind me to sleep in his top bunk because that is “daddy’s bed” and he doesn’t know why I try to sneak into “mommy bed” every night. He’s always thoroughly annoyed when he wakes to find that I’ve abandoned the top bunk. So anyhoo – I was able to accomplish my escape from Jacks room and rescue Colt. I changed his diaper, got some milk, and put him down in front of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…which by the way is slowly hypnotizing children and one day, I swear it, there will be some signal sent out from the magic kingdom and Disney will start its takeover. Anyways, back to the routine. I went to place the diaper in the outside trash can when I realized that I hadn’t pulled the cans in from the street yet so I slothfully put the dirty diaper at the back door and told myself I would pick it up later. An hour passed and Jack arose from his slumber and shuffled into the play room where I was with Colt. He rose his eyes to me, made eye contact long enough to say “Hi daddy, Micka Mouse peas” and laid down on his buzz seat. Again, I changed his diaper and let his brain begin to be programmed by Disney as I went to the back door. Looking at the previous dirty diaper, I was still too lazy to do anything more than lay the fresh one next to they already fragrant tenant of the back porch. The day went on, and with me having no prospects for this day besides hanging out with the boys I wasn’t really into pulling the trash cans in. We went to the park, ran some errands, did naps and the usual things you do with kids this age. Around 3 I went to the back porch to lay yet another dirty diaper on a growing pile when I finally stood back to take a count of my collection. 13 diapers. Seriously? Yep, that’s right. 13. From 6:30 a.m to 3 p.m. the two had managed to use 13 diapers to expunge various liquids and solids of diverse viscosity. That is an average of 1.52 diapers per hour, so I’ve decided my kids are nothing but poop/pee-pee factories. If the stuff were worth anything, I’d be a wealthy man. Perhaps one of you tree-huggers out there can make a car that runs on baby refuse. I’m looking at you Hollywood. Anyways, what I was really thinking about was the fact that everytime I change one of those diapers, I’m the one that has to fight the kid to change it. “Hey Jack, I smell something…did you poop?”…silence….”Jaaaaack?”….”um, no daddy, brubble pooped.” Inevitably Jack has crap running down his leg. Amazing. Simply amazing. He doesn’t care at all. “Poop down my leg? Whatever. It’s on your carpet now dad so how do you like dem apples?” Now to make this more interesting, what Jack does hate is when the pee gets out of his diaper, but only out of it. He’ll pee that thing until it drags at his ankles but if it overflows he freezes. He just stands there immobilized with a look of absolute horror on his face and says through clenched teeth “DADDDY….PEE-PEEE!” Weird. In fact the other day we were swimming in the kiddie pool in the back yard and he decided to take off his clothes and run around, the only problem was that he had to pee and it came out while he was in the middle of the yard. He just stood there with his legs spread and wouldn’t move for like ten minutes. I may be a mean dad, but I sat and laughed for all ten of those minutes and took pictures. Soooooo…..if you’re wondering, yes…I just spent ten minutes writing about my kids peepee and poop.

Vampires. I just finished Salems Lot for the second time and I still love that book. I have always loved Vampires when they aren’t made into some sort of weird female erotic fantasy(cough cough screw you Stephanie Meyers) but something has always bothered me. If you were alive for eternity and had to live off of blood, wouldn’t you get tired of it? Is there anything that you could eat everyday for, say, the next 200 years until someone staked you in your coffin? I’d bet not. Maybe Oreo’s or chocolate chip cookies, but I don’t think so. Not to mention, you have to hunt down your meal every night and there is constantly people trying to kill you…I mean, what if you’re tired and you just don’t feel like hunting someone down. I think I would stake myself or jump out of my coffin at high noon to just end it all. Talk about a lame existence. Barlow, the main vampire in that book, was alive for THOUSANDS of years….I don’t believe you could go that long eating one thing all the time. That’s the only reason I don’t believe in Vampires, too monotonous for it to actually be true.

Your voice on a recording. Why is it that you always sound so weird when you hear your voice on a recording? In my case, I hate to hear my voice on a recording. It sounds lower and just gross, I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m embarrassed to think that everyone hears it that way. Like someone is talking while they’re snoring or something. I’ve never heard my voice recorded when I’m singing but I’m sure it isn’t pretty…but what about people like Michael Buble’? When we hear his voice it’s awesome…so does that mean it’s twice as awesome when he hears it? I figure my voice is average when I hear it but pretty horrid on a recording so that should mean someone with a great voice on a recording is downright astounding when they hear themselves. He probably sings to himself all day long. And what about accents and impressions…is this why people with no apparent ability to make a decent fake accent or impression still act as if they are pulling it off? I’m going to say yes.

Does anyone enjoy their job as much as an NBA ref calling a foul? I mean, I used to like to calculate my commission but they REALLY get into it. I bet you, that they have the most job satisfaction of anyone in the world. Just watch them when they call a foul on someone, especially someone like Ron Artest in a crucial moment. They pretty much dance across the floor with that whistles going full tilt. It’s awesome.

If the government can just pull 900 billion dollars out of nowhere for healthcare, why not just 900 trillion? It’s like “Hey, screw you China…take our debt and shove it up your rice paddy!” Then everyone can have free health care and a boat, and a new car. While we’re at it, let’s make all of that part of our constitutional right. Oh, and I want season tickets to an NFL team…and not a crappy one like Detroit, something good!

Anyways….go Jazz.

Home Invasion

2010-03-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

It was funny to think about after the fact. I had actually woken up during the night to the sound of the guest bathroom toilet flushing and I didn't even register that kindi was still in bed next to me. I was just simply too tired to think long about the smell of corned beef and cabbage, or the sound of the tv blaring from the next room. Now that I have time to mull over the facts in my head, I'm ashamed and abashed by the ineptitude I displayed in protecting our family territory. Not only did this little green freak break into our home but he made himself comfortable for what looks like more than a few hours. He slept in our guest room, he played a little Xbox and he even had a snack before he left. When Jack came to get me in the morning in hesterics, something about green feet...I instantly connected the jumbled crumbs left trailed in the wooded fogginess of my lingering sleepiness...we had a break-in the night before. It was nothing other than one of those fanciful mythical creatures...but this was no Santa or Tooth Fairy. It was a Leprechaun. See for yourself, Jack was nervous at first to investigate the crime scene but he soon warmed up to the task. I wish I would have video'd latter when he realized no one was actually going to jump out and get him, he really loved it.

Really, this sort of video is probably only entertaining to a small few, but for those people here it is. To tell the truth, it seems that one's kids are never as interesting to other people as you think they are. I personally know that, but I still like to show them to everyone none the less. It's like the first time in art class that I mastered the whole "vanishing point" thing. We made a chalk drawing of railroad tracks going off into the distance with phone lines alongside. I thought it was just pure genius and I couldn't have been prouder. After I was done I spent hours adding little things to the landscape and just admiring how effectively I made it seem like the tracks were ACTUALLY going into the page! I showed my creation to everyone and I couldn't understand why they didn't care. I brought it home to my mom and it blew me away that she didn't frame it. To this day, I don't think anyone has made a piece of art quite as good. This is a little bit how children are. I don't know why people don't stop me more often to tell me how amazing they are. I thought this blog would become the most famous piece of written gold in all of blogosphere because they are in it. Well, I still think they are pretty special.

Anyways, we had a great St. Patty's day full of swimming and games. Kindi ended the day off with an amazing meal of corned beef and cabbage. It was one of those meals that made me feel bad for vegetarians. I really do feel bad for you when you can't enjoy something like that. Oh well. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Colt's B-day and Visitors

2010-03-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

We had our first house guests this past week as grandpa Wahlstrom, Aunt Maryann and little Harry Pot Pot came to see us. It was fun to watch Jack and Harry enjoy each others company and it makes me a little sad to think that Jack is so far away from his cousins. But for a few days at least he had one of his cousins and he had a blast. Even after they left, Jack still laughs out of no where and just sighs and mumbles "oh Harry." We were sorry to see them go after only a couple of days but all good thing come to an end.

But, besides the visit, our big event of the week was Colt's birthday. It's true, he has now been here for a full year. It's hard to remember when we didn't have the tiny little buddy around. There is one thing for sure though, his first year has been completely different from Jack's first year. I love Jack with all my heart, but his first year was like counting down days in a POW camp. He never slept, he screamed incessently the second he was strapped into a car seat and made any car ride like something you would see on a Saw movie, we never knew what was going on, and I was trying to juggle work, school, and sanity like someone on a unicycle juggling pirhana's that were set on fire and had lazer beams attached to their heads. Colt has been a lot easier. He sleeps, he eats, and he is content to just be around us. He adores his older brother with a devotion and awe I can't quite understand. For those of you that don't know Colt very well, let me tell you a little more about him.

Colt has a supersonic scream. I'm serious. It rattles fillings. It cracks windows. I wish I could describe it to you all more clearly. It's not a scream he does when he's sad or mad...he just does it. Maybe because he can and Jack gets in trouble when he retaliates...maybe he just likes seeing me bleed from my ears. I don't know, but it's a unique talent I've never seen before.

Colt LOVES his momma. It's hard for me to admit it, but he would prefer her so much more to me. After having Jack being my best little buddy, it's wierd to not be the favorite. Colt is a garbage disposal. It's nice to have him around because Jack never eats a full meal so you just put the unfinished meal in front of Colt and let him go. It's like watching the Tasmanian Devil.

The first birthday is always kinda funny because the kid doesn't even understand what is going on but Jack really loved opening all the presents for Colt. To celebrate we went to the Phoenix Zoo and had a good time there. All in all, I think it was a great day. We've just been having a good time altogether in Arizona and we love it down here. If any of you ever want to come enjoy some great weather you can always give us a call.

Glendale

2010-02-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever stopped in mid-thought and wondered "How the freak did I get to the topic of flying monkeys in the Wizard of OZ?" Then you retrace your steps and find that you were watching the Office with Steve Carrel and thought about how stupid the sequel to Bruce Almighty was then you were thinking how Jim Carrey wasn't as funny in that as he was in Liar Liar but his best movie in a long time was Eternal Sunshine which was wierd but in a good way, not really like a Tim Burton movie but still pretty thought invoking. What is with the whole Tim Burton Revival anyways? I mean I loved Pee Wee Hermans big adventure as a kid and nothing can beat Beetlejuice or Nightmare Before Christmas but the last few years everyone is all 'dude, Burton is the Best!' and Hot Topic has suddenly become Burton Apparel Central and who goes into that store anyways? Well, I've ventured in but not really seriously or anything. Really they just have funny t-shirts sometimes but mostly it is a pretty gay store. Gay in the not good at sports way, I mean...I hate that I can't say that in public anymore because someone has to act gay about it every once in a while and I'm like 'dude, stop being gay.' but I can't say it because he'll be even gayer than before. It's like this dude I was playing ball with the other day and I said 'that was such a retarded foul' and he was like 'Bro, my brother is handicapped' and I said 'well he probably would have made that foul then.' Then they guy flipped out at me and looked oddly like...those monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. That's how I got there. Anyways, our move to Glendale is pretty much the same way but in real life. One day we had no plans to do anything big and we were just looking forward to our tickets to Brian Reagan. Suddenly we're living in Arizona and we sold our tickets. Wierd, but when I retrace my steps I see there was some sort of method to our madness.
Let me just start off by saying, we love it here. In fact, after a few days I turned to Kindi and said, "Man, Utah sucks." And I meant it. Well, alright...I'll never say I don't love Utah but I'm just emphasizing how much we like it here so far. Let me list a few things.

1. We live in an amazing neighborhood. Our house is on a golf course, which is something I thought you could never top. But if you go to the houses in the subdivision next to us I think they have us topped. Somehow they've built the houses around man made lakes that are eerily reminiscent of something you'd see in Las Vegas. "Lakeside property for everyone!" Everyone has a dock out their back yards with paddle boats. So the neighborhood is really nice and I think it will be perfect trick or treating territory. It may sound wierd to you, but that was a major part in my decision on where to live. Let's just say, I'm glad the economy tanked for one reason, we got this house for 1/3 it's worth. 2. The Help. This may sound odd, but I've broken into laughter more than a couple times during my visits to Home Depot this week. Inevitibly there will be some lady hauling around a helpless Mexican man through the gardening department and having him pick out what he will landscape her house with. Seriously, everyone here has a personal groundskeeping crew. It's wierd. Even my plumber had one. It's great comedy to watch the 50 something white lady speak really loud slow english about geraniums or whatever while gesturing with a watering can in the middle of the "Flowering Annuals" section...because that makes it easy to understand. I will say this one thing, I've always kind of been uncommitted on the immigration issues but I understand something better now. If I was born in one country and could sneak across into another to better my life I'd do it. Even if that meant I'd have to be Ms. Daisy's bitch boy. Does that solve the issue or sway me to one side? No, but I at least see one argument better because it is sooooo prevalent here. Quick Sidethought: One of the best Office episodes is diversity day. The best part is when Michael asks Oscar if there is a less offensive term to refer to him besides Mexican. Funny because I know many people like that.

3. The Weather. Amazing weather right now. Can't be beat. Low 70's and sunny.

3b. People making a rebuttal about my weather comment. "Well(forced mocking laugh) just wait till summer. You're going to DIE!" Really? Die? I'm going to walk out my front door and burst into flames and have just enough time to scream "WHY!? WHHHHHYYYYYYY!!!!??" I don't think so. Sure, it gets hot...REALLY hot. But you know what? It's 2010. Not 1910. AC exists and so do pools. And I moved down here BECAUSE of the heat. People don't slide off the freeway because of the sun. I don't have to shovel sunshine. My pants and shoes don't get wet because of heat. Then everyone says "Well, I don't have to go outside much in the winter because I'm either at work or at home." Really? Because in Arizona you have to sign a contract that says you are outside for at least three hours a day. Oh wait...no there isn't. I can stay inside too, but I'll tell you this. I've dealt with the heat before and I like it.

4. Accessability. Glendale is a store mecca. We don't have to travel more than a few miles from our house for anything, and most stores are within a mile. And I mean anything. Any store, restaurant, or facility. All right here. I've already discovered 3 malls within 5 minutes of our house. We have a AMC 30 right next door. It's amazing. Yes, we are far from our families but there is one benefit from that. In Provo we lived 66.3 miles away from our parents. Not far enough to get out of smaller engagements but long enough to be the drive from hell. Seriously, I've done that drive maybe 3 billion times and I felt as if I would rather be making the trip across the river styx. I hate that drive. HATE it. People don't realize what it's like to do it over and over for years. They think "It's only an hour. Not a big deal drama queen." And to those people I say shove it. Think of it like a Chinese water torture. Sure, you sit under the faucet for 1 minute and it isn't a big deal. But if you do it until the drops of water penetrate your frontal lobe it becomes slightly a larger issue. To compound the problem, no one factors in your one hour drive with two very ornery kids and events go a little longer than you would want. Let's just say I'm glad I never have to look forward to that drive again.

5. Our Yard. We have a GREAT yard. We have over a quarter acre and plenty of room for the boys to run around. The best thing in the world for Jack is that the former owners left their tramp back there. Every morning he wakes up and says "Tampine peas" and leads me out for a quick jump. We are currently changing some things around but after having lived in an apartment for so long I can't explain how big of a deal it is to have space.

I'm in danger of being long winded yet again. So I'm going to stop. I'll end this with this is just an initial impression and things may change but from my experience it is usually the raw initial opinion of people that catch things many don't see. Take it as it is. In closing, we're doing good and they boys are loving it.

One last cousin hurrah!

2010-02-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law had the great idea to have one last cousin play date before we moved. We went to Kangaroo Zoo and it was SO fun! I'm not sure who had more fun, me or the boys. It's nice because they have a weight limit on it so there are not all these big kids jumping around everywhere. We were even able to put Colt on some things! He was frozen stiff at first, but after a few minutes he was loving it and bouncing all over the place. I would HIGHLY recommend Kangaroo Zoo! Not only is it way fun, but it is also pretty cheap! Thanks again to all of the cousins for spending the afternoon with us!! We will miss you dearly!

So many MORE things...

2010-01-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

I know that I am not nearly as clever or funny when it comes to wring post's as Adam is, so I am not going to even try. If you want to know the happening's of our family, you are going to have to grin and bear it through my boring post. (Maryann) The "Holiday Season" for us has always extended through January, with Adam's birthday and our Anniversary it has always seemed really busy. This January has been NUTS!!! So many things have happened this month, that it seems to have just flown by. Grab a snack, this is going to be a long one! In no particular order:
Adam's birthday.This year Adam's birthday brought me to a realization, I am not only a birthday Nazi for my own birthday, but for Adam's as well. Throughout the day, I kept asking what his birthday wish tally was, and who had not wished him a happy birthday yet. I guess this is how I know what love REALLY is, the fact that I now care about someone else's birthday as much as I care about my own! Here are a few great things about Adam.

A- Amazing daddy. Jack and Colt love Adam more than they love me. People who know us well will not deny this fact. They are always crying for Adam. Adam has gone to work 5 days a week since they have been alive and they STILL have a melt down every morning that he leaves. He comes home from work and instead of saying he is tired, he gets down on the floor and plays with them. He never takes a "break" until after they are asleep.

D- Dedicated. Adam is dedicated in everything he does. Not just being a husband and a father, but also to work, the church, and school among many other things. Once he sets his mind to something he will not give up or quit until it is done and finished. It is a quality I really admire in him because it is not one I have. I have such big plans that always go "unfinished for now", and he will work and work on something even if it takes him weeks!

A- Always forgiving. This is a big one. I can't think of one time that Adam has ever gotten mad at me for something I have done. He has NEVER yelled at me, EVER! He always just calmly asks me, "Kindi, what is this charge on the debit card?" I give him some lame excuse as to what it is and he calmly just tells me that next time we should talk about it before I buy Jack and Colt their 50th pair of shoes.

M- Most loving husband on the planet. Adam is my number one fan. He will always stand behind me no matter what!! Even if he thinks it is really stupid. He has gone along with me to the Dr's office many times when I was just sure that the boys had some kind of infection. (Which they didn't) He stood behind me when I decided that I wanted to go back to school, and then still stood behind me when after half a semester I decided that I really didn't want to go back to school. He would truly do anything for me. I know that without a doubt. Nobody loves me as much as Adam does.

We have a house.

Adam and I were able to take a trip to Arizona this month with his parents. It was AMAZING! We staying in a resort and spa hotel in Scottsdale. Adam's mom and I went to the spa all five days that we were there!! While we were there we went looking at houses and found one that was in great shape and a great deal. Well, after 19 offers they chose ours! We are so excited! I have wanted a house for so long! The yard is amazing! We have an extra bedroom so anyone who wants to come over feel free! We need pretty much any kind of furniture, so if anyone knows of any great deals let me know, the only thing is...we are moving in about 2 weeks!!!

Max left.
Max left on his mission to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. I'll be honest, it really was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I don't know if it's because I am too caught up in my own busy life, or if this is what we wanted him to do, so why be sad about it, or what it was. I really didn't even cry when we dropped him off. I guess I am hard hearted. Anyway, I really will miss him dearly, I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since he left. I am so excited for the people of the DR who get to have him for 2 years! Lucky people!!

Jillian got engaged.

Congrats to Jillian and Ryan who got engaged on New Year's Eve. They will be getting married the end of April.

Now I will give you all a break from Wahlstrom overload, hope you enjoyed this novel.

So many things....

2010-01-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

I really can’t believe that the year has come to an end. We were sitting at my work’s Christmas party a couple weeks ago and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt like we were just there a few days ago. Sometimes I think I must have missed a few months or something. Let’s bring you all up to date:

Kindi turns 27…
Seriously, doesn’t that sound wrong? I can still remember waiting to turn thirteen because I wanted so badly to be a TEEN. Then an eternity passed as I waited anxiously to turn 16 so I could drive. By the time 18 rolled around and I was feeling as if I had lived a long and fruitful life. There wasn’t much left to do…I’d seen it all. Now here Kindi and I sit, with two kids and the ripe old age of 27 looking at us straight in the face. Anyways, the event is a week long affair as

always and if you didn’t give her happy birthday wishes you might

want to find out where bin laden is hiding and ask if he wants a roommate. You won’t live long once she finds you. In honor of Kindi,

here are 27 reasons why she is probably the best person you know.
1. She is humble about anything you compliment her on…except being funny. She full-heartedly agrees.
2. She would wear anything that sparkles. I call it the Raccoon affect.
3. If it was acceptable she would wear a tiara every day.
4. She claims not to be able to sing, but no one loves to sing more.
5. She likes Hanna Montana….wait…LOVES Hanna Montana.
6. I think she watches the Disney channel more than Jack…especially Jonas.
7. She loves being a mom, and her kids adore her.
8. She loves to cook but hates to clean.
9. Peanut Butter and Chocolate are the culinary mixture of the gods to her.
10. A people pleaser to the tenth degree.
11. Secretly wishes I was Justin Timberlake
12. Big Talker. According to her, if you mess with her or her three boys she will take you out. Your mother will cry when she sees what Kindi did to you. I have had to hide my face a few times. Let’s just hope nobody calls her on it because I’m sure I’ll be doing the walkin’ part.
13. Loves Las Vegas…I think this goes back to the Raccoon Affect with the whole “shiney things attract me” scenario.
14. Kindi is unable to maintain body heat, like a reptile she must be next to an exterior source of heat at all times.
15. Most thoughtful person on the planet. Unlike many people, she truly does things with other peoples happiness in mind and doesn’t seek credit…but giving her thanks is a good idea if you want it to happen again.
16. Craves Mexican food constantly.
17. Loves three things about football: The Tomahawk Chop, The Stiff Arm, and The Victory Dance.
18. Sappy to the bitter end.
19. Would occasionally wear a muumuu if it didn’t have such a bad stigma.
20. Nosey... In a good way. If you have a facebook, blog, or youface she’s most likely got tabs on you…if not than you must be really boring.
21. She watches her wedding video at least once a week.
22. When at a restaurant, she spends the entire time watching when other people sit down and who gets their food first. I’m routinely interrupted in the middle of a sentence with updates on tables that were served before us but were sat down after us.
23. She makes it her passion to know everything that I like/want/need in life.
24. Going out to dinner is a constant guessing game of ultimate proportions. Even if she knows exactly where she wants to go, what she wants to order, and when she wants to do it she won’t say. The key is to start with types of foods (Mexican, Italian, American, etc...) and work your way down to specific restaurants. I suspect this is a female thing.
25. Begins listening to Christmas music in September but if you play it at 12:01a.m on December 26th she will blast your radio with a bazooka.
26. She amazingly puts up living with 3 boys and actually likes it. Farts and all.
27. She has been the most wonderful wife/friend/companion anyone could ask for. Colt, Jack and I depend on her for everything and all three of us love her without reservation. Happy Birthday to best gal on the block!

Christmas…
We had a great little time with just us on Christmas Eve. We took the boys sledding and built a gingerbread house and just kinda hungout as our little family. It's fun to be with those two boys for a few days without work. As far as Christmas day, there was lots of fun family visits and such, I’m sure you all have an idea how it goes. All I’ve got to say is that Jack and Colt are the most spoiled two kids on the planet

due to their four grandparents. We can’t even fit the amount of toys they have in our condo. It’s ridiculous.
Best Things We Received For Christmas….
1. Magic Bullet. I got this for Kindi but don’t tell her…it was also a little bit for me. I love this thing and it is what it claims….the ultimate party machine. It makes my nachos and salsa flawlessly and that’s all I need in life. Plus, for anyone who likes smoothies and milk shakes it is a necessity.
2. Buzz Bed. I got tired of Jack spilling chocolate milk on my chair so I suggested to my mom to get him one of those foam kid chairs that folds out into a bed with Buzz Lightyear. Best thing that’s happened to him. Brubble is not allowed to touch it and if you try to take the cover off to wash it just prepare yourself to be viciously attacked by Jack.
3. Nook. I’m addicted to this E-reader. I thought I wanted a Kindle but I love this thing. I can download any book, magazine, newspaper I want. For someone who likes to read, it’s the best thing to happen to books since the dust cover.
There is plenty more but I can’t list them all, but to those that gave us gifts and well wishes - thanks for making Christmas great

New Years…
You know how I know it’s a new year? When I get to the gym the parking lot it is overflowing with cars. When I walk inside there are hundreds of new faces working their flabby butts off on the elliptical machines. You can see the resolution in their faces, “I’m going to do this, I’m going to lose 20 pounds, if they can do it on the biggest loser I CAN TOO!!” They have their water bottle instead of a Coke, they’ve dumped the cookies in the trash and are now eating energy bars. Things are looking good. You know how I know it’s February? The gym’s empty again with the exception of the same faces that I always see anyways. It’s a vicious cycle.

Was the enough for one post? Hope so. Stay classy San Diego.

To be Thankful or not to be Thankful...

2009-11-30T15:44:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is great. If someone says to you “Hey, let’s spend a day eating good food, watching football, going to the movies and hanging out with good company” you never say no. This is what Thanksgiving is for me…I know for others it is “Hey, let’s travel a long distance to eat suspect food, sit in a distant relative’s house for two days and struggle not to fight with people you can’t wait to leave behind for another year”. I’m sorry for you people, but I love this holiday. It gives me a chance to reflect on exactly what I have to be thankful for, for instance:

In no particualr order:

Kindi – Everyone loves to take token statements and apply them to their spouse. You’ve heard them all “I couldn’t do it without them….Their amazing…and so forth.” But if life were a giant pinewood derby and everyone’s spouse was a hand crafted car, I would kick all you’s ace’s. I would be the kid that everyone suspects had greased his wheels and bought his car from a hobby shop. The body design would be sleek and intimidating. The wheels would defy physics with their achievement of zero friction. I would be smokin’ fools on every race. I’d be making children weep with the impotence of their attempts to compete with my car. When all was said and done, I would own every trophy except for the made up ones the scout leader created so you wouldn’t feel bad like “Best model design that looks like a potato” and “Best attitude after being dump trucked by Adam.” I own you all. She shames me with how much she tries to make me happy and content. I don’t deserve the love and adoration she gives me and I couldn’t be more thankful for her. Plus she’s smoking hot.

BYU Football – Magic Happens Pukes! I love wins like this, because despite the constant whining by Ute fans I can just sit back and smile with the knowledge that they can complain all they want BUT WE GOT ANOTHER W! Now I won’t be that ridiculous fan that has no rational or intelligent comments except to shout scoreboard over and over so I’ll just…. SCOREBOARD! SCOREBOARD! Crap, I couldn’t help it. In reality though, the more you whimper about refs the sweeter the win gets. Your fury makes me happy. The rage with which you despise BYU makes wins like this euphoric. So thanks. Ute fan, just take it like you’ve been taking it for decades. “Bohica” for those of you who listen to Jim Rome. Really, in all fairness it was a great game. It wouldn’t be a rivalry if you weren’t a worthy opponent. You played well and you will have a great QB for the next few years as long as he doesn’t need to complete a pass over 20 yards. Sorry, I shouldn’t give back handed compliments. Really though, I get tired of the extremes some fans take it and I’ll be happy to observe from afar. GO COUGS!

My little boys – It’s hard to explain why having kids is a good thing to some people. They’re hard, they stink most of the time and they will ultimately resent you for your hard work. But they are also the greatest little things in the world and they are the ultimate entertainment. For instance, Jack has developed the habit lately of telling everyone they have “boobies”. It’s comedic genius. He comes up to his mom in the morning and to wake her up he gives her a little slap on the chest and yells “boobies!” We’re in trouble. Colt on the other hand is in a phase where he laughs at just about anything we do, especially Jack. Nothing heals the soul like the laugh of a little baby.

Pumpkins. What underrated produce this is. You show me something more delicious than pumpkin pie or pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I’ll show you a LIAR! Not to mention all the things you can do with pumpkins: Jack-O-Lanterns, throwing them off buildings, racing them down hills….endless.

Well, to be consistent with my personality I think I must add things I’m less thankful for and quite frankly things that must go. People who wear thick rimmed black glasses that have no prescription. What is your deal? Do you honestly think you look good? Do you think it makes you look smarter, or maybe more well-read or something? This just in…you look like a tool. Being slightly nerdy isn’t the new cool. In all reality, all you’ve done is ruin life for those that wear glasses because now they look like they’re trying too hard. Here’s some advice, if the fashion statement you are making causes people to think you have a disability don’t do it. What’s next? Fake hearing aids? Fake wheelchairs? Just stop.

The Snuggy. Some dude was wearing his bathrobe on backwards one day and his neighbor said “Hey, where’d you get that?” Long pause. “Um, I invented it. I’ll give you one for $25.” “Sold!” Then he quietly went to the patent office and the rest is history. Ridiculous.

Email forwards that tell me wonderful things will happen to me if I continue to forward the email to ten people and that if I refuse to do so I’ll have bad luck for a billion years. What’s your problem? You either want me to look like a nob by forwarding this thing to my friends or you want me to have bad luck. Not cool. I hope those of you that send these hang your heads in shame.

Michael Jackson Mania. He’s more popular now than he was in the early 90’s. This is equivalent to the Johnny Cash Revival a couple of years ago when his movie came out. Just stop already. If I have to see another tribute I’m going to moon walk into traffic. He was good and I liked some of his stuff, but this may be a bit much. Why do people pretend to have such emotional ties to someone they cared nothing about a week earlier? I don’t get it.
Chopsticks. I was sitting at a restaurant the other day and grabbed the chopsticks next to my plate for about five minutes before I broke them in disgust and picked up my fork. What a completely ridiculous utensil. Why do these still exist? We don’t use any other outdated instrument for nostalgia do we? Aren’t these the same people that invented gun powder? If the ancient Chinese were so smart why couldn’t they figure out a better way to eat than with two sticks. They’re barely worthy of being called a tool. It’s one step away from Gorillas using a stick to dig out termites and ants. I honestly could not think of a worse utensil to use in order to eat. In fact I think they tried to find the most useless tool to use as just a challenge or a joke. You know what, that's it. It’s some massive practical joke that every Chinese person is in on and they laugh about daily. But what makes them more ridiculous is the fact that WE HAVE THE FORK NOW AND PEOPLE STILL USE CHOPSTICKS. IT’S RIGHT THERE, JUST GRAB IT!

I could go on, but I bid you good day now.

IT'S OFFICIAL...

2009-11-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Adam got into Midwestern University in Phoenix Arizona, where there is no such thing as winter or snow!!! NICE. Anyone who would like to come spend Winter in Arizona, you are more than welcome, as long as you let us come spend Summer's with you.

And now, some pictures.

Adam's Thought for the month...

First grade was the year I had my first pencil box. It was blue. I can remember my mom handing it to me on the first day of school with my name freshly printed on the lid. What was this enchanting item? What wonders does it hold for me? Tentatively I took what my mother offered and put it into my black Jansport backpack. It could have contained a magic genie or an incendiary device…I had no idea. Once Mrs. Clemmer gave us our assigned seats with our paper nameplates set at the front of our desks I took the mysterious item from my bag and placed it at the corner of my desk. Should I open it? Not now, maybe later. For now I wanted to check out my Garfield Trapper Keeper. Before long, I noticed other pencil boxes making their way onto the individual desks. Some had designs, some were plastic, others were cardboard. The possibilities were endless. Most of the kids had index card holders as well…I didn’t. You really dropped the ball on that mom. No matter, we didn’t need our “vocab” boxes until later in the year. As the bell rang Mrs. Clemmer came to the front of the room and began to introduce the wonderful world of first grade. My eyes kept drifting towards the other kids in the room. A kid I’m pretty sure was Jared Burke was picking his nose. As I was wondering whether or not I was old enough to ask Candice to “go” with me, teacher asked us to open our pencil boxes. With sudden rapt attention, I pulled the item towards me and flipped the plastic latch. Apparently we were all supposed to have the same items and she listed them as we were asked to pull them out. A pink eraser, a compos, number 2 pencils, one of those half circle rulers, index cards, a wooden 12 inch ruler, elmer’s glue(which the kid next to me ate on a regular basis) and a pair of scissors. When we pulled the scissors out she cautioned us all to be very careful when we handled them and even went as far as to confiscate any that had sharp points. Only rounded off ones. Don’t run with them, don’t use them unless instructed and don’t use them outside of their intended purpose. Whatever Teacher! “This is stupid.” I thought indignantly. Mine weren’t even metal, they were plastic. What trouble could I possibly get into? Well, 20 years later…I stand corrected Mrs. Clemmer. Touché’….Touché’. Kindi no longer lets me play with sharp objects.

This is Halloween

2009-10-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

We had our annual Halloween party last Saturday, and it was scarier than ever!! We do a huge scavenger hunt all around Kaysville and Farmington. We had to take LIVE bugs from a witch in an old underground cellar, retrieve a lock of hair from one of Ted Bundy's victims in a dark ravine, and grab a gun from a lady in an old abandon house that had a REAL tombstone in the floor!! That's right, someone is really buried in the floor boards! Those were just a few of the things that we had to do. There are too many to mention, but they are all just as terrifying!! Honestly, it is one of my favorite activities of the whole year. I look forward to it almost as much as I look forward to the tea party! After the party we went and had a really yummy dinner of Chili, bread sticks and cookies. Thanks so much to my Aunts and grandparent's for putting it on for us!! It really is a SCREAM!!!

Called to Serve!!

2009-10-20T12:51:00.001-07:00

Last week my little brother suprised us all , (not even my dad knew) by telling us that he had decided to go on a mission. Not only had he decided to go, but he already had his call, and we had all been tricked into going to my Grandma's house so he could open it. It was one of the best suprises ever!! He was called to serve in the Dominican Republic and he will leave the end of January. I know 2 little boys who are going to miss him terribly, but I know it will all be worth it. We are so proud of our little Max!!! We love you buddy!!!

Wet Spots

2009-09-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

I started potty training this week, and boy has it been a roller coaster of emotions! (for Jack too) I know this sounds crazy and people probably don't believe me when I say it, but Jack really has been "ready" since he was 18 months old. He would take off his diaper and want to go pee in the toilet. The problem was, I was not ready. I was about to have Colt and honestly I was just not up for it. I kept finding reasons to put it off, we are going on a trip, or he is sick and I'm not going to try and train him when he has diarrhea, or Adam is going out of town this week, any excuse I could find I would use it. Well, finally at the beginning of the week I decided to just get it over with and do it. I read this book called the Potty Boot Camp. It said things like "Have your child clean up the accidents, he will think he is doing a chore and won't like it." and "Make sure you don't use pull-ups or training underwear because your child won't like the feeling of being wet in normal underwear." I thought those all sounded like pretty good ideas, so I went to wal-mart, stocked up on everything the book said I would need, and we got going. Immediately, I encountered problem number one, Jack is not your text book child. The little buddy has been OBSESSED with the garbage truck ever since he was old enough to look out the window and see what it was doing, one of his favorite activities is sweeping, when I clean, I have to get a spray bottle full of water and he follows me around with his little bottle and rag, "helping" me clean. When it was time to clean up his "accident" this was not a chore, this was probably one of the best things that has ever happened to him! I would have to pull the spray bottle away when we were done "cleaning" and that would lead to a tantrum! Problem number 2: The book was right, Jack did not like the feeling of wet pants, so he decided he would just take his off and pee on the floor. I have been stepping in random wet spots all over my house. It's a really awesome feeling to walk into his room and feel something wet beneath my feet, and think oh just please don't let there be poop somewhere. Even though, he has had a few problems, for the most part, I felt like he was doing pretty good. On day 2 we only went through 3 pairs of underwear the whole day. Then day 3 came, and in 3 hours, 9 pairs of underwear...that's right NINE!! What the freak??!! Why are we going backwards!! As I am cleaning yet another pair of underwear full of poop the words of the book ring through my head, "remember to be calm, but firm, you don't want to make potty training a negative thing." Listen, YOU come change 9 pair of underwear in 3 hours and try and remain "calm but firm"! And then don't even get me started on pooping in the toilet, he won't even try! He will stand right in front of me and poop right in his pants! He will then look at me with a smile and say "Mama dirty." I feel like I really have remained pretty calm in all of the situations, because I really don't want to traumatize the poor kid, but I might be starting to loose it. Poor Colt has had to be put down in some pretty random places and he is starting to get impatient as well. Today has been a better day though, as I was putting Colt down for his nap, I hear frantic yelling of "Mama pee pee" instead of taking off his own pants and peeing on the floor, he did pee in his toilet. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, I would LOVE to hear them! Otherwise, I will just look forward to finding another random wet spot.

Dear Little Brother On The Hill....

2009-09-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of your behavior. Your recent success has made you blind to who is the real ruler of the Mountain West. But, in all honesty, I understand why you must act out all of the time. You’ve been overlooked for decades, you received little if any attention year after year and now that you’ve finally got what you wanted so badly it has gone to your head. But why lash out at the alpha male? We’ve brought you along, given you something the fight for…and against for that matter. Yes, there were many years that we took you out behind the shed and whooped your backside until that crimson red you cherish so much shined through your jock. Beck to Harline, 4th and 18…these are all recent memories that may sour our relationship a little bit. But let’s just put this behind us. We’ve had our battles and they’ve been good ones. You’ve had some great success over the past 10 years. Not every season has been perfect, but you did have two! Good for you little buddy! I just ask that you stop telling me about how those years have made you the king of the roost, the head honcho, the big banana, and head of the class. We’ve been making headlines for DECADES…and not just 84. With the exception of the Crowton Years…which was a bad investment on our part, we have consistently been the class of the conference. Hey, even as of today, right now, this second we have been ranked for more consecutive weeks than you despite your recent success. We’ve beaten you two of the past three years. A “down” year for us was “only” 10 wins…and when you’re the best it’s hard not to expect perfection…there’s a quest for it you may say. I want to say congrats for your wins last year, an older brother is always proud when the little one does well. It has made us look good…we’re connected in a way. So good job little brother…but your cockiness has bought you the consequence of what needs to be a harsh reprimand. I’m sorry, but you need to report to big brothers house this November, and I’m sorry but you’re going to have to receive another beat down. It’s what we have to do to maintain order…For my house will be a house of order. We come first, you come second. Just call it reality...It’s coming. But despite this unpleasant, inevitable beat down that awaits you…thanks for your victory last season. It paves the way nicely for us to reach the title game again just in time for our 25th year anniversary. I’ll see you there.

Love,
The team that owns you.

I just had to put that in there...I love college football just too much. But seriously Ute fan, tell your team not to embarrass us with performances like that at San Jose. Sheesh. We need you to be ranked in November. And for that random fan that is just foaming at the mouth right now, I'm just playing around. Anyways Kindi wants me to let you know what's happening.

Jack's Birthday
That little dude is two years old. Are you kidding. What am I, 90 years old now? Seriously. If I was sitting at a gambling table in Vegas in February of 2004 and someone said "Hey I'll bet you $10,000,000 that you will be married with two kids within 5 years. And those kids will have survived past the age of 6 months" I would have taken that bet in a heartbeat. I would have sold half my liver, my cataracts, a kidney, my plasma, bone marrow and maybe even an extra marble to raise the money. I would have seriously lost. Jack continues to prove that he is so much more awesome than I am; I just hope that he lets me tag along when he grows up. You know the Disney shows where the son is always trying to get his dad’s attention but dad is too busy with his job? It always ends in some climactic scene where the dad yells “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? I’VE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING!” Then the kid/mom/relative yells back “I WANT YOU!....(in a softer voice) I want you….” (run, run, run…door slams. Dad stands alone in his office with a reflective expression.) Well, I feel I will have the opposite relationship with Jack. I’m going to be the dad that is always trying to hang out with his son and his friends will always give this look as they ditch me that just exudes “What’s the matter with your dad.” I don’t care though, he’s my best buddy and I won’t share. I’m going to be one of those dads in the stands the freaks out over every play he makes in his football games…I’m just going to tell you now that there will be a fist fight one of these days with the other parents. I’ll go ape poop all over that. Anyways…where was I…oh yes, Jack’s birthday. Once again, he was showered with gifts and must have brought in a haul that equals the gross domestic product of most South American nations. Oddly enough, out of all his presents he likes a $1.50 buzz lightyear figure the most. Everything else is just something to add to the catastrophe that is his room. FEMA came by the other day thinking his room was part of the Katrina clean-up. Jack is the happiest little boy on the planet and he just wants to play with anyone that will give him time. Most parents think their kids are the greatest, but they’re wrong. My kids are.

Speaking of my kids..

Colt has passed his six month mark. He is still the tiniest little dude in the world and by far the cutest. We took him in to his check-up this week and he’s getting bigger but he’s still tiny which is why we call him The Teeny. His head was in the .29 percentile, his height was in the 12 percentile and his weight was in the 9 percentile. All improvements. Despite his teeniness, his is so healthy and so happy. He is just starting to eat solids and so far so good. I can honestly say that he has been so easy to take care of compared to Jack. He sleeps better, he has no health problems, he will keep the binki in his mouth, and I think we are much more relaxed ourselves. I really enjoy the six month mark because this is where you can tell they know who you are and the respond to things that you do. Getting a little baby laughing has got to be the best thing in the world to listen to and it isn’t hard with Colt. He’ll be looking around the room and if he makes eye contact with me he’ll give a little chuckle just to let you know he sees me. Love that kid.

Oh, and Kindi is pregnant again! Seriously! Just kidding, could you imagine? I thought I would throw that in because Kindi tells me this everyday and she thinks it’s funny everytime.

That will do for now.

Disneyworld etc..

2009-08-17T15:59:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened over the past month or so but I seem to have failed in my responsibilities to keep this blog updated. Kindi lets me know on a daily basis, be sure of that. So let me give you a few things to chew on.

Most people have a list of things they want to do in life. This list usually consists of something like “1. I want to kiss someone on the Eifel Tower…ummmm 2. I want to ride a bull for 3.2 seconds called fu-manchu….ummmm 3. I want to lay on the floor of the Sistine Chapel and stare at the ceiling” and so on and so forth… you know what I’m talking about, it reads like a bad country song usually. But, there is something that no one does and that is to have a list of things you never want to experience in your lifetime. My list would go something like this “1. Never to watch a full Twilight movie because I would start to bleed out of my eyes, 2. Never get Montezuma’s revenge on an airplane, 3. Never stand between a mother bear and her cub or between Oprah and a danish” and so on. Well, one of the things that I believe would be on anyone’s list would be to sink a boat. Unfortunately we did that. The whole Wahlstrom clan went to Bear Lake for a few days and we sunk our boat. A storm came up while we were out there and the boat went down. It really put a damper on the weekend. We did recover it but I don’t know to what cost. Other than that mishap it was a good weekend. We rented out a huge cabin and just hung out, went four wheeling and at least for a day went boating. I like to get together with the siblings because I feel like I never get to see them…probably because I rarely do. It’s always fun for me to be around my best friends though. Jack and the boys pretty much had a battle royal over the rights to play with the various balls in the back yard but I think he also really likes to be around other people his general height. We also stumbled on a pioneer day parade in Lake Town, which was awesome because there is only like 30 people that live there so we dominated the candy collecting. Good times.

After the trek to Bear Lake we decided to go to Florida. If I were to bring up my list again of things “I never want to do” there would be a slot for taking 2 kids under 2 on a 5 hour flight in coach with only one seat. I lost feeling in my butt for two hours on the first flight holding jack in my lap and trying to fit in the smallest seat ever but luckily our flight back had an extra seat next to us and it went smoothly. Truthfully, it could have been much worse but I gave Jack twice the recommended dosage of Dramamine for his age on the flight and if you want to judge me go ahead but you forgot to ask me if I care and just so you know I don’t. The kid acted like he was on quite the trip for most the flight over and with the extra seat on the way back he went to sleep and didn’t move…he might have stopped breathing but I’m not sure. Anyhoo…Florida was great. I love everything Disney and if I am being perfectly honest I like to go to the parks for my benefit more than the kids. I’ll just give you quick highlights:

1. Jack saw Buzz Lightyear on our first day there and his face went completely frozen with delight. If you were to walk up to me and say D-Wade, Tiger Woods, and Peyton Manning wanted me to play in their foursome at Augusta this week it wouldn’t be nearly as cool to me as seeing Buzz was to Jack. I’m sure he wizzed his pants but then again, that’s all he does.

2. The Rockin’ Rollercoaster at MGM and the Everest Coaster in the Animal Kingdom have made it into my top 5 favorite coasters. Great rides.

3. While taking babies to Disneyworld proved to be quite a bit harder because of all the distance you have to cover, it was great to have the “parent passes” for the rides. I think if I ever go to a Disney park without kids I’m just going to rent a stroller and put a bag of oranges in the seat with a blanket over it. Then I can just get those passes for every ride.

4. Chocolate covered bananas are awesome. Best Disney treat ever.

5. I think the coolest thing I did there was the snorkeling at Typhoon Lagoon. I thought it might be lame but I stood corrected. That was pretty awesome and if I would have had the time I would have done the scuba at epcot.

Anyways, I’m sure you can fill in the gaps of what someone would do in Florida..Beach, Disneyworld etc. We had a lot of fun and it’s great to have family like we do because the company is always exceptional.

Lastly, I want to mention to all those who don't know, Andy and Mal are doing great after the operation and Andy's new kidney works great. Both of them have pretty nasty scars but at least they have a conversation piece. The moral of the story is that it's good to have siblings in case you need an organ. Mal also won Ms. Kaysville last week so you could say that Andy is also a little bit of Ms. Kaysville too. Congrats.

Giveaway!!!

2009-08-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Shannon is doing a really awesome giveaway on her blog. Check is out here: http://www.shanzphotoblog.blogspot.com/

Mark of a Champion

2009-07-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve never really seen a pro athlete up close before a match, game, or race. I’m not familiar with the intensity in the eyes of a real champion. I don’t know what it’s like to sit in the dugout trying to avoid contact with the pitcher close to a no-hitter or to see the raw intensity of the on-court presence of Jordan as he closes out the NBA Finals. What’s it like to stare into Peyton Manning’s aura during a playoff game? Would I be able to keep my bladder from emptying all over the 18^th green if I was paired with Tiger and had to have him stare me down with those laser eyes as I putt? Well, I can say one thing…I’ve come close to all of these things. This past 4^th of July, I witnessed true athleticism and anguished sweat, blood and tears shed in the heat of athletic competition.
I was told that she was going to make her racing debut at the Kaysville 5k. A humble enough event, one that wouldn't even shift the needle on ESPN's list of "What to Watch For". I was given an inside tip that something great was going to happen, something amazing and inspiring. It is like being given the chance to see Lebron James during one of his early high school games, or to witness the emergence of Tiger Woods at the Amateur Championship. You know you are experiencing greatness before the rest of the world catches on.

I arrived at the race with butterfly's turning my stomach into a parade of emotions. Would I really get to see this? Maybe the tip was wrong...maybe she won't show... Then I spotted her getting ready to take on the field. Determination was defined for the first time in my life as I saw this incredible athlete peer at the starting line, her every movement reminiscent of what the Greek sculpture emulated in every marble statue. I moved silently behind her, hoping not to distract the intense focus that made me feel as if I would evaporate like an ant under an magnifying glass in the hot midday sun. I had taken my two little boys with me and planned on trying to give them the opportunity to gaze at perfection. I situated them in the running stroller, waiting for a struggle to ensue but the look of awe on their faces told me they had caught glimpse of the moment and even to these small boys they knew they were present for an epic moment.

I couldn't describe to you what it was like to run beside this amazing athlete throughout the race, my heart and legs pounding just trying to keep up...but I pushed beyond my physical limit as long as I could just to keep the moment alive. This must have been what it was like to hear Lou Gehrig declare he was the luckiest man on earth, or to watch the Miracle On Ice. Could the pronouncement of "Down Goes Frazier" compare? Does the bloody sock or Jordan's shot heard round the world hold a candle? To me, they don't. On July 4th, 2009, Kindi Wahlstrom ran the Kaysville City 5k in a way that I will never forget. Please give her your adulation, she more than deserves it. Congratulations Kindi, it won't make Sportscenter...but it is definitely one of the greatest sports moments in history.

DADDY AHH

2009-06-20T02:50:00.000-07:00

Jack calls Adam daddy ahh, I really believe it is because Jack is in complete awe of how great his dad is! Daddy was Jack's first real word, and with my luck it will probably be Colt's too. Jack ADORES Adam! I always have to tell Adam that I'm glad that Colt came because at least for the next couple of months I have someone on my team. For Adam's first "real" Father's Day, (I was out of town last year, so he kind of got ignored being that Jack wasn't even a year old yet)I wanted to list some of the many reason's why Adam is the best dad ever!

1. His amazing amount of patience. Adam will let Jack push him over so that he "falls" to the ground in a rather dramatic fashion a hundred times just because it makes Jack laugh. Also there is the ball game that Jack has loved since he was 6 months old. He makes Adam lay on the ground and Jack lies on top of him facing up and Adam throws and catches the ball over and over again. I'm not kidding when I say that I have seen Adam do this for a solid hour before!

2.His story telling ability. Every night Adam will read a book to the boys. He lets Jack pick out the book, and being that Jack is almost 2 he usually picks out the same books every night. Well to keep things "interesting" Adam never reads the actual story. He makes up different ones every time. For those of you who know Adam, I'm sure you can imagine how the stories go...some dragon comes along and eats the furry woodland creature right before she is able to tell her little son how much she loves him, or Superman comes and takes over the room in Goodnight Moon and throws the "bad old lady bunny" out the window. As the mom, I have to pretend like I don't approve of his story's, but secretly...I think I like to listen to them more than Jack and Colt do sometimes.

3.His desire for nothing more than to spend time with his little boys. Adam is the one who gets up early with the boys...not me! He has told me that since he has to go to work all day, he wants to be up with them in the morning so that he can have his time with them. They sit and watch cartoons and make mom breakfast pretty much every morning! Adam has given up one of his favorite morning activities of working out to be with his boys. When he comes home at night, he will sit and play monster with Jack, put them both in the tub, read them their story's and put them in bed...I don't even ask him to! he does it because he wants to! Needless to say, I have it pretty good!

4.Adam can make Colt smile on command. All Adam has to do it look at him and start talking to him and Colt will get the biggest smile on his face! Of course, Adam was the first one that Colt ever smiled at. In the morning, I can often hear Adam and Colt "talking" to each other and it is one of my most favorite things in the whole world. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason Colt hasn't joined the "dark side" yet is because I am his source of food right now!

5.My favorite one is that that Adam really is just a big kid! The other day he asked me if I liked a certain Disney cartoon and then went on to tell me the reason's why it was one of his favorites. He loves to wrestle with Jack, play with cars with him, throw the ball with him, teach him karate moves and which are the best to really hurt the bad guys and many many other little boy things.

Jack and Adam really are best buddies. As soon and Colt is old enough to really know what is really going on, I'm sure he will join their "team" as well and I will just be the obnoxious mom who is always ruining all of the fun...I wouldn't want it any other way!!!! Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy Ahh in the world! We love you!!!!

The Sound Of Music

2009-05-28T14:53:00.001-07:00

I was sitting in line the other day at 7-11 with a Dew in hand, wondering whether or not the cashier was a man, women, or somewhere in between with their surgical procedures when a song came over the radio. “Two trailer park girls go round….” Suddenly I was daydreaming of being back in the Philippines. For two freakin’ years I was doomed to hear that song everyday as I walked down those dusty dirt roads. Those people didn’t have walls but they always had stereo systems for whatever reason and they played that song incessantly. The only thing worse than that song was it was usually followed up with “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes…” What the…how do these guys make money. I hated those songs and they still bring bad thoughts of harming small panda bears when I hear them. Before long I realized I had been daydreaming for a while and it was my turn in line, IT was looking at me with an awkward smile and I quickly swiped my card, mumbled thanks, and avoided eye contact with IT as I walked out. This experience got the wheels in my mind turning….A dangerous past-time I know….What songs are there in my life that have the power to instantly bring back memories, and I’m talking vivid memories…here are some.

Lady in Red…

The scene: A darkened Jr. High auditorium. I am a bit on the sweaty side because of a rousing session of Boot Scootin’ Boogey. It’s o.k though, I’m wearing enough Calvin Klein cologne to suffocate a raccoon. Suddenly the disco ball lights up the center court circle and the first slow song comes on…Lady in Red. I scan the crowd, I have been planning on asking Mindy to dance all week. It’s easy to spot her as the masses have inevitably split like the Red Sea between boys and girls. I ask, I dance, I mumble a few funny phrases…I’m the man.

Who Let the Dogs Out…

The scene: I’m driving down the road in my mint condition 1991 S-10 yellow truck. I’ve got yellow sunglasses on from Tijuana…Oakley’s to the non-observant fool. I’m wearing a yellow towel shirt. I like yellow. I’m heading to Clint’s house and I turn the volume up. Neat Song. Good day. Fast forward to a couple weeks later, I have my lips wrapped around a pistol as I frantically flip through radio stations looking for anything but this song. I’m convinced it is a mind razing signal created by aliens to destroy mankind. My family finds me running naked through Salt Lake’s sewers mumbling “I can’t find the dogs! Where are they!” I’ve killed 10 homeless men for what I thought was letting the dogs out. O.k that last part isn’t true but could there have been a worse song created?

Insane in the Membrane…

The scene: A Jr. High hallway, Chewy Thompson and I had just stolen tootsie rolls from Mr. Roundy’s room as we were coming back from what we said was “going to the bathroom”…when in actuality we just walked past classrooms and made HILARIOUS faces at friends. Ms. Sane is standing in front of the room with her hands on her hips. “I didn’t say both of you could go together!” she exclaims in a shrill tone with obvious disdain. It’s true, I just didn’t want to be in class and I walked out instead of waiting for him to get back. Chewy and I look at each other and for some reason we both start singing “Insane in the membrane…Ms. Sane, got not brain!” She didn’t like me. I don’t know why.

Livin’ La Vida Loca and the cup of life…

The scene: Spanish class, Sophmore Year. Because of unforeseen circumstances our original teacher has been replaced with a very green rookie teacher. She is thrown into the class halfway into the semester and as an attempt to make class fun she comes up with Ricky Martin. Every morning for weeks we stand and march around the room to Livin’ La Vida Loca or the OLE OLE OLE song… Mary Swain is laughing in the corner, Troy is doing the conga line with me and chaos rules…there is that weird girl with glasses with the maraca in the corner. I never knew her name but she lent me a dollar once for a Dew.

Since You’ve Been Gone…

The scene: I’m at Lavell Edwards Stadium. BYU is putting up some good offensive numbers with John Beck and I am talking with Andy about our wide receivers. A song comes on and I can’t help but notice that every freakin’ girl stands up and this eerily high pitch’d “Since U been gooooone, I can breathe for the first time.” All I could say was “Eeeaww.” This is only slightly worse than the popcorn popping thing the band does. 90 percent of those girls were VL, I promise. I hate American Idol because of that….shallow of me?...maybe, but eh.

Barbie Girl...

The scene: My first 7th grade party. I walk in, I’m wearing a silky shirt that’s bound to get the lady’s attention. I had to sneak it from Andy’s closet without him seeing. Doritos, Sprite, M&M’s and pizza are on the table to my left. Be cool, don’t eat the Doritos, use your Bianca breathe spray and you’ll be good. A red head whose name I can’t remember walks up to me. I do remember that she was notorious for “stuffing”. “Have you heard of Aqua?” I turn to her voice and shrug my shoulders, “What do they sing?” Then came the Barbie Girl song. I feel like this song was the beginning of bands with female lead singers and guys as the other members. It’s weird how a stupid song like that can be the dominant song for any memory I have from that year.

Well, I could do more. I just think it’s funny that I have specific memories for so many songs. Usually, as you can see, those very lame songs that would never go away and maybe that’s why I remember them so well. Anyways, I’m done.

Mere gets hitched

2009-05-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Mere was married this past week. I’m not known to be a huge fan of wedding fanfare. I don’t necessarily dislike wedding activities but they just aren’t my cup of tea…I don’t look forward to them I should say. It seems to me there is destined to be a scene much like that in Home Alone when they wake up late and everyone is running around the house like a 5 year old on Mt. Dew and pixie stix’szzss…err…multiple helpings of that candy. Either someone lost their tux, or the hair preparation goes over, or Fuller drinks too much Pepsi and wets the bed. All I know is that at best case scenario Kevin is going to be left home alone. But, besides the hoopla surrounding the event, the bride and groom are usually in the eye of the storm where it is calm and everything to them looks like pure bliss. And who wouldn’t? There is the spiritual high from the ceremony, the fulfillment of being united as one with the love of your life, and everyone throws you the biggest party ever...and they did have a great party. But watching the couple is always fun for me. Why? Well, I guess it's because it’s like watching someone about to put salt on their fries when someone has loosened the top of the shaker and in a second their plan of eating what they see as a soon to be slightly garnished pile of fried food is completely changed and they just weren't expecting that. Don’t get me wrong, marriage is the best thing I’ve ever been a part of but it is the equivalent of a true life version of The Sixth Sense. You have this idea of what’s going on but holy crap you’re a ghost!...Well, maybe not but you get my drift. Life tends to have a way of changing your preconceptions. Let me explain, I could argue that Kindi and I had one of the easiest transitions into marriage. It wasn’t hard for either of us and we mesh perfectly, I really don’t think you could do any better. We are simply great for each other. BUT, despite this fact there have still been disagreements and points of conflict that I never would have foreseen because you are simply different people and you run on different systems as men and women. One’s a Mac and one’s a PC. She’s an intricate Ferrari and I’m a utility Jeep. You can’t get around that. I’m not talking about those couples that are always breaking-up/arguing, they have their own issues. Every couple has necessary adjustments because you don’t know each other like you thought you did. Which cards have your fiancé been holding behind their back? Does your husband have more of an obsession with sports that you thought? Does he watch them incessantly?(me) Is your husband really a five year old that eats cookies and loves Disneyland and cartoons?(me) Does your wife have fetish for ridiculous jeans and little concept of what she should pay for them even when your dirt poor students?(Kindi) It’s like waiting for Bob Barker to tell you what you’re competing for on the Price is Right…while it's always a prize, sometimes it’s a crappy dinette set and sometimes it’s a bitchin’ new car! Like I found out that Kindi was an amazing cook… alright new Prius! But she found out I don’t hang up my clothes after I wear them and just make calculated piles of attire…crappy dining table with matching chairs. These are all things unique to each relationship, but the Male vs. Female part of a marriage seems to be a bit universal. For instance: Climate control. It’s a constant battle. When I’m warm she’s freezing, when I’m cold she’s burning up. I can honestly say I thought there was something drastically wrong with her body’s ability to maintain a temperature for about a year. Then I heard similar complaints from my male counterparts. Women are never comfortable with whatever temperature you have the room/car/carriage/yacht/spaceship. The car is like a strategic chess match to see who can change the thermostat the slowest without the other knowing. You’re playing an eternal game of Jenga…you slowly push your luck until you go too far and the blocks crash., which is when the other one starts to notice an unpleasantly hot/cold breeze emitting from their vent.

I could go on, but I think you get my point. What I thought I was getting into five years ago was all wrong at first. When I was engaged, I thought it would be just like our relationship was then but we would sleep in the same bed. I can see now that was a really foolish way to see things. Back then we were enjoying two different lives in which we let each other be a part of. Now we live the same life, we experience the same things and grow together. There is no spot where one ends and they other begins, it’s just one. From my limited experience, it seems the sooner couples make this connection the sooner they are happier. I make jokes but it’s truly a much more wonderful relationship than I could have ever imagined it to be before. So with this said, I give Mere and Tay-Tay my best wishes. I hope that everything works out for the best, which I think it will. Love you guys, and if you want my advice…get a car with dual climate control.

Sue...it can't be true.

2009-04-28T15:53:00.001-07:00

I can still remember the day. I was standing in our living room when we received a phone call that she was about to arrive. With anxiety I walked to the porch and gazed down the empty street. Would it be awkward? Would she respond well to a new home? Soon my thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Sue. She was graceful and sleek, albeit a bit on the hefty side. She wore a red coat that reflected her conservative yet youthful spirit. It took a few days to truly convert myself but I was soon smitten with her charm. She was powerful, yet reserved. Comfortable to be with, but not a push over by any means. When we rolled together down Main, she was turning heads and I could almost hear the whispers “What’s she doing with a guy like him?” The years have rolled on and the memories have stacked upon another like an interwoven Jenga tower. There were the trips to Lake Tahoe, Denver, Vegas and Idaho. There was the night I suddenly fell ill with vertigo and she carried me home. The time spent together has been unforgettable to say the least, but we are now going to have to say goodbye. A new model has crept into my life and as they say, “Out with the old, in with the new.” Sue is now up for sale…we got a new car. His name is Lue, he’s a big black dude. Kindi isn’t as broken up about this as I am, but I think she enjoys having a bigger car now. Of course, if you couldn’t tell, I loved my Buick and I went with a Buick on this new car as well and so far it has proven to be a good move. So move over world, Kindi has now made the transition to full blown momma, complete with SUV and childrens cd’s blaring out the windows. No, but seriously, I’m pretty sad about losing Sue. She has served us well but when we realized how cramped it was with the four of us in that car, we had to upgrade. So that left us with the two cars and my motorcycle, I thought for a split second to keep all three but there’s no reason to. And I’m obviously not giving up the last shred of awesomeness left in me with my bike so it’s goodbye Sue. Please pay your last respects if you happen to be around. And if you know anyone that needs a car and can be trusted, let me know and I’ll interview them. It may be a while before I can let go of her.

Kites, Bubbles, and a few other things

2009-04-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

One of the most fun things about having kids is seeing their reaction to things for the first time and their continuing infatuation with the most simple of pleasures. The average adult proves to be boring mostly because they seem to believe the mentality of “been there done that” is impressive but I beg to differ…it makes you dull. Being excited is much more fun. We took Jack and Colt to the park this past weekend to fly a kite and blow bubbles and I don’t think we could have done something any more spectacular from Jack’s point of view. He’s loved bubbles, like most kids, since he first saw them last summer. Its hilarious how completely exhausted he gets from chasing them around the field yet he can’t seem to help himself from doing it. He loves them so much that he has even given bubbles the honor of being one of his favorite words. Jack doesn’t have a ton of words yet but bubble is one of them and he loves to say it. Then came the kite. And not just any kite, this was a dragon, double tail kite. Our little kite discovery happened one Saturday morning as Jack and I were perusing through the aisles at Smiths Market. I happened to notice a rack of $1.99 kites and I understandably took a second glance. There she was, painted with a dragon face so ferocious and terrifying that very marrow of my bones began to quake. This was even a $7.99 kite that was on sale…I had to have it…for Jack of course. So I took it out on the field but was a little disheartened when Jack seemed a bit indifferent about his new toy…that is until he saw me running across the grass like a graceful gazelle trying to make it fly. It wasn’t long before I noticed a miniature person trying to run behind me to catch up with his little legs going as fast as he could will them to go. It took a few tries, and after that first try it only became harder because I had to run while holding Jack but it eventually happened. She flew beautifully and Jack was mystified…at least until he saw the parking lot of school buses nearby and took off for a closer look. This is just one of the many things I say I do for Jacks benefit but it’s clearly me that enjoys it more.

All-in-all the two little boys are doing great and adjusting well to each other. Jack has learned to torment little Colt whenever he can but he also loves his little brother and likes to hold him. It’s funny because Jack will do to Colt what I’ve always done to him, such as smashing his face with kisses, tickling his tummy, making a growling noise at him, and throwing the ball at him. Unfortunately Colt isn’t really coordinated enough to handle a ball yet so usually it ends up that Jack is just hitting him in the face with a ball. I think Kindi is fine-tuning her mother skills to handle them very well, which is beyond me because I get tired just thinking about it. Their differences are already coming out, but their similarities are clearly present as well.

So there’s that update. I wanted to say a couple more things though, I said I was going to do another post on things that ‘must go’ last time but never did it so here is a couple and I’ll talk about the others later.

Voice Automated Services

When I first encountered these I thought to myself, “Wow, the wonders of technology” but now every time I get one of these I think “I would rather be held captive in a Vietnamese war camp with Jane Fonda holding the keys to my cuffs than do this right now.” I’m not talking about the “Press 1 for…” services I’m talking about the ones that want you to say what you want. Usually it goes like this. “Hello, welcome to Telephone Corp. If you are calling about your recent phone bill please say yes.” You respond “Yes”. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. If you are calling about your recent phone bill, please say yes.” A bit annoyed this time you say more loudly and crisply “Yes”. “You have selected, Upgrade my Internet package. Is this correct?” “No you freaking stupid machine, NOOOOO!” “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Did you want to upgrade your Internet Package?” “NO.” “Your new Internet Package will be activated shortly” Anyone can relate to this who uses these stupid things. Most of the time you get transferred to a person anyways so why even bother with these systems. They must go.

Facebook, twitter etc…

I have already said a little on these, but let me get one thing straight. I know that a lot of people love these things and that’s fine, I just think some people feel their very identity has become their facebook page and like an aborigine fears his soul will be stolen with a picture, thus a facebooker feels they will cease to exist if their page was ever deleated. I’ve got this blog. I use it mainly for family to see pictures of Jack and Colt and to let them know what I’m doing because otherwise they will have no idea. I’m not great at keeping people updated. I also think it’s nice that others have found the page because I don’t really keep my friends updated and they can find stuff out as well. In fact, I’m surprised sometimes at how much some people know what’s going on, but it’s a good thing I think. With that said, I’m not one to take this to ANY type of extreme level. I don’t obsess over the page, I don’t look at it hourly, daily or even weekly really. It is simply a blog, when I have something to put down I do it and then I leave. You know the big parts of our lives without knowing about the minutia of every facet of our lives. I get the feeling that Facebook is different. Again, I’m not saying it’s stupid to have a Facebook page, a lot of people find them very valuable in keeping in touch with others. But I do think people take them too seriously. The very idea of the site is to take things to a more intense level. I told you that I looked at Facebook for the first time a few weeks ago. I thought it was funny but have since forgot about it, until I read an article in The Week. I thought it was hilarious and had to pass it on. It reads:

‘Facebook is a straitjacket for people of all ages – a time waster that changes even the most likable people into “teenage girls,” with nothing better to do than talk about themselves. All of a sudden, my grown-up friends have all joined; refusing to have a Facebook page has become an anti-social act. To hell with that. I despise Facebook for its “steady, Chinese-water-torture drip of status updates,” as tedious people inundate their virtual “friends” with tedious details from tedious lives. Do you really want to know when your true love from grade school is cleaning up her cat’s hairballs, or that the balding guy you idolized in college is “glad it’s the weekend”? Down with Facebook, say I. It’s like the world’s worst high school reunion – a reunion you can never leave.’

Now come on, that’s funny! And So TRUE! I mean honestly, doesn’t it bother you when people are digging that far into your lives? For example, a girl just got canned in my office because she posted on her page her flight plans this next week and it just so happens she had lied to us about being able to work. Her plan was to call in sick but HUH-OH! Why post your flight plans anyways? Who the flip cares that you’re flying Delta flight 23212? Then there’s the whole gossip thing behind people’s “status”. Are they dating, are they not, what about ZuZu….I thought they were engaged…and what about her petal’s!(I’m sure most of you don’t get that. It’s o.k.) Like I said, I don’t even look at the stupid things and I have to hear about them ALL DAY LONG. Stop already. I don’t necessarily say down with Facebook, but people need to definitely tone it down. I DO think Twitter needs to be destroyed though. I see Twitter as being the final frontier of people being completely unable to communicate face to face. It will come to the point that people have entire relationships without ever seeing each other…oh wait…that already happens. I honestly do not know why anyone cares what random people are doing during every second of every day. Are you honestly that devoid of things to do? It’s not that entertaining to read someone’s twitter about picking their nose hairs.

Whew…..I went a little far on that. Maybe I’ll stop there for the day. The NBA playoffs are coming up, I hope you’re all syke’d out of your minds. I might do a post on that soon. Not that anyone reads those but I like to write things down. Also the Masters is this weekend…Tiger fist pumps anyone? This has got to be my second favorite season besides fall. Until then, make sure you keep up to date on my twitters, I wouldn’t want you to miss any part of my day.

One week old!

2009-03-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my little buddies. Jack has had a REALLY hard time adjusting. Who would have thought that he would be harder than Colt!?! Colt so far, is an angel baby. He hardly ever cries and so far, is a pretty good sleeper. He only wakes up at night about every 4 hours or so to eat. I know that he is only a week old, so I'm not counting on this to continue, but for right now, I'll take it!

Thanks again to everyone for all of the calls and text's! I love all of you!!!

Our Lucky Charm

2009-03-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Pot Pot,

Dude, what up playaaaaa! I just wanted to respond to the letter you posted on your mom's blog and let you know I got your present. It was a pretty trippy experience to be sure. I wasn't going to come until St. Patricks Day but I could tell mom was getting fed up with me being in her tummy...she kept taking long walks and doing jumping jacks....it was pretty obnoxious. So I started to push my way out about two weeks early. When the doctor told mom and dad to head over to the hospital at our last check-up I was pretty geek'd out. The only problem was mom wasn't really contracting even though she was walking around at a 5 for over a week. When we checked in the nurse seemed ready to turn us away but luckily the doctor called and told them to admit us and he would come over to drain my jacuzzi. I didn't know what that meant at first.... Jerk. Well, we sat around for a couple of hours waiting for the doctor and I could tell dad was getting ready for the long haul. He had a few gallons of dew and he kept referring to my brothers long ordeal...not to mention your marathon journey into the world. But seriously, once my fortress of solitude was drained of it's warmth I was getting squished and I was not staying around for long. Within and hour I was down and ready to come out. Mom kept telling everyone she felt ready to push but no one believed her. Fools. But here I am! Anyway duder, text me, post on my facebook or whatever when you want to hang out. Jack and I are just kinda doin' our thing so we need to get together. Maybe we can catch the Jazz's Florida road swing this weekend. Peace Bro'.

-Colt Patrick Wahlstrom-

Good post critter. Anyways, as Colt referred to, it was an incredibly quick delivery. We're talking a few hours of labor with only 2 minutes of pushing. Kindi performed beautifully and I was happy that she didn't have to kill herself like last time. I must tell you, I don't know if I would ever even consider for a millisecond to have a baby if I was a girl. I mean seriously, I would rather bash my face in with a tack hammer than do that. All props to the females willing to do it once... and I don't even know what to say to those that do it more than once. As a husband watching though, there is nothing more amazing. It is definitely the most "What the..." moment of your life. Amazing. I'll try to go into more detail another time but just so you know, mom and baby are doing great. I have such a wonderful wife, and she really did such a good job. Jack is doing fine as well...a little jealous but he is taking on the roll as big brother brilliantly. Thanks for the support those of you who called, texted and came by. And in the words of Colt...Peace.

something to talk about

2009-02-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

This blog was created for the simple purpose of keeping my family up to date on what was going on in our lives, as well as keeping the sports banter going with my brothers. I really don’t know if my family even checks this blog is the funny thing, at least not often. But I keep on blogging because Kindi likes me to do it and sometimes I need something to do while I’m at work…besides of course my work. So I give little tid-bits here and there of what we’re doing and hopefully that has been somewhat entertaining or enlightening for a lot of you. While blogs have turned into basically a travel log/party update/photo gallery/grocery store itinerary etc I think I would like to get back to the basics of what they were created for… me and my dumb opinions. So here are some things I want to say, I don’t expect many of you to be interested but sometimes I like to write down nonsense. This is a two part entry, this first part being things I love.

Touchless Bathrooms
I don’t know how many of you have a fear of germs, I’m not one of them. But I do hate touching things where I know there is a small chance that the liquid on the surface that I am currently in contact with may be urine. This may come from growing up sharing a bathroom with my three brothers…and it always seemed that no one had any aim control…let’s just say I always covered the toilet with TP before I sat on it. That is why any men’s restroom is now suspect in my mind…we, meaning the male gender, simply have not grown up enough to be trusted. So now we have touchless bathrooms. Brilliant, simply, brilliant. The toilet flushes itself, the sink turns on by itself, the soap dispenser squirts by itself and the paper towels distribute by themselves. I haven’t had to touch a single thing in the whole room…I love that.

Cowboy Shirts
Snap it on, pull it off. Love the shoulder decorations, love the style. Love it.

Mint Oreo’s
I defy anyone reading this to open a new package of these delectable circles of heavenly black and green sandwich cookies and not devour the entire package while trying to tell yourself you probably shouldn’t eat like this but oh yes….you should. And isn’t the re-sealable package design brilliant? For so many years my oreos were going needlessly stale and unsavory in a matter days…when they lasted that long. No longer must you suffer this indignation.

DVR
Why did this take so long to develop? For so long I had to torture myself by watching my sports with commercials….those mind numbing and ridiculous commercials. When someone was hurt during a football game I was reduced to yelling “Get your FAT *** off the field!!!!!!” after watching the trainers help him for 15 minutes. My friends stopped coming over to watch with me. I mean seriously, after about ten minutes of John Madden trying to cover dead air time you start bleeding out of the ears. Now? Well I watch a basketball game every night in less then an hour. Sunday NFL is no longer a hard decision because I can watch anything I want. Also, when the Jazz or the Heat decide they suck I can put the game on fast-forward and just sit and watch the score. If they start to make a comeback I’ll stop, if they keep losing I finish the game in 5 minutes and no obscenities were dropped. LOVE IT. I mean seriously, I watch every episode of the Office but if you asked me when it was on I would stare at you like Forrest Gump stare’s at a math problem. No idea. I just know that when I turn on my DVR there are episodes to watch. If there isn’t anything then I turn off the t.v. Boom…done. How do you like dem apples advertising industry?

Walgreens
This place is the Anti-Walmart. If you need that random roll of tape, wrapping paper, holiday decoration, bike pump or whatever go here. Small, easy to navigate. Otherwise you can lose your soul in the black hole of Walmart aisles. I only really discovered this place because of their photo department, love that place.

Peoples Facebook/Blog/Whateverspace profiles
I’m not really “hip” to these things, I do have this blog but it is mainly Kindi’s and as you can kinda see I just write posts sometimes and leave the rest alone. I had never looked at facebook until this past week or two, simply because I am not the kind of person that really thinks about what other people are doing...or usually cares. But Kindi kept telling me things that she saw on others facebook pages and I thought I would take a glance and what ensued was hilarity. I don't want to go into detail because I wouldn't want to hurt feelings but let's just say people try too hard to look awesome. Let me just say one thing, if I look at your profile and your favorite movies are from ballywood or your favorite music is indie rock you're lieing. Batman was the best movie of the year and bands like U2 and Coldplay sell a bagillion records for a reason. End of story. I mean, just because I really like cheese ice cream when I go to the Philippines it doesn't mean it's my favorite and it's now better than double chocolate fudge. Honestly. U2's new albumn came out today by the way.

Being a Dad
Have you ever sat down at a restaurant and had a strict vegetarian at the table? Then you order a huge sirloin steak done medium rare with a side of broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes without realizing it and when they sit and nibble on lettuce you notice they look at you with this look of “I can’t believe you’re eating that”? How do you explain to this person that they have no idea what they are missing? They think they have done something good for themselves but they have no idea that you are having every salivary gland in overtime production as your taste buds explode like a match dropped into a Chinese firework stand. The whole time their mouth is yelling “Could you at least put some freakin’ ranch on that thing before you bring it in here!” If you don’t like steak, then think of when you’re eating chocolate fudge brownie ice cream next to your friend that lives on 20 calories a day. Same thing. I could think of a thousand situations but my point is this is how I feel about being a dad. If you haven’t done it, you don’t know what you’re missing. Jack is so fun and so sweet. I love the way he helps me do chores around the house, I love the way he tries to make us laugh, I love the way he sees me as his best buddy. It seems to be a common thing for people to not want to give up their lifestyles for kids, but I’m here to tell you that you’re the one missing out if you are in that category. I can’t wait for Colt to arrive.

Shout out to Kindi, of course the #1 thing I love!

Well, as usual I get tired of writing and I think I'll stop there. Tune in next time for my "things I hate" post, because we all know I have plenty of things that bug me.

Birthmonth!!!

2009-02-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

I wish that I was as good of a writer as Adam is. I wish I had some brilliant and amazing idea on how I could honor him on his birthday like he does for me. I am not though, and because of that I almost feel bad doing this post because I know that I will not be able to give Adam the credit he deserves for being the most amazing person I have ever met. So I will not even try to be as entertaining and as eloquent as he is. Instead I just want to let him know how much he means to me and how much I love him. He is my bestest buddy in the whole world and without him, I don't know what I would do!! I love you and hope that you had a great birthmonth!!! Okay, enough of the gush, and now for the fun stuff!

Adam's birthday actually lasted 3 weeks. He got to have 3 different birthday parties, and loved every single one as much as a 6 year old loves his birthday party. Adam is probably the funnest person to celebrate his birthday with because he is genuinely happy about it. He really does appreciate every moment!

Every year, Adam likes to have a themed birthday party. This year the theme was Ironman and Batman. (The party store didn't have enough of just Ironman or Batman, so we just went for both.) We sent out invitations a couple weeks in advance and told everyone to come ready to bowl. I am not a great bowler, and to be honest, I don't really love it either, but this was by far the best time I have ever had bowling. Everyone came, and all were given "gift bags" complete with some of Adam's favorite things. The bags had Twinkies, Dove Chocolates, fruit snacks, and a lot of other random items. It is always so fun to be with family, especially because there are so many of us. We were really excited that Jenna and Max came too. After bowling, we all went back to our houses to get all of the little ones ready for bed. We were able to find one babysitter for all 5 babies! (Thanks a million Alli!) Then, just the "adults" went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. When it is your birthday there they have you sit on a saddle and everyone screams "YEE HA!" Our waiter told us we were the only table he has ever had to tell to quiet down. On the video, I didn't get the saddle, so all you can see is Adam rocking back and forth, but I promise, he doesn't have a mental disorder, he really was just riding the saddle.

I really do hope that you had an amazing birthmonth! I love you tons and can't wait until next year!!

4 years and still going strong!

2009-01-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

It was a normal Sunday morning, we had slept over at Adam's parent's house the night before, and he had told me that we had to get up and leave early because he had a bishop's interview at 9:30. I thought that after being in the ward for 3 1/2 years, he might finally be getting a calling. Adam let me sleep in that morning (let's be honest, I get to sleep in every morning. BEST HUSBAND EVER!!) I finally heard a little creature tapping on my door around 8:00 and went running upstairs to tell Adam that we better get going or he was going to miss his interview. He looked at me with a little smirk on his face and told me that we "had a problem." "What?" Surely it couldn't be that bad, he seemed calm enough. "Well," he said. "You know those tickets that I got you for your birthday to Phantom of the Opera at the Hale Center theater?" "Yea, so?" I replied. "Well this morning I was looking at the conformation page, and it turns out they are actually on Tuesday." Which just happened to be our anniversary. "Well that's okay." I responded, "We'll just use them for our anniversary too." "Well that's not the only thing...they happen to be in Las Vegas at the Venetian, not the Hale center theater. Is that going to be okay? We have to leave now." Then, a huge smile broke across his face. I can absolutely guarantee that it was not even half as big as the one that did not leave my face the entire trip! He had even packed all of Jack's things so that we could just leave him with the grandma's and not worry about a thing. He had actually done it, planned a surprise trip all by himself just for me. Not only did he just plan it, he researched it to make sure that we would have the best time possible. He read up on restaurant, show and activity reviews to make sure we would get the most out of what is probably going to be one of our last "Kindi and Adam" trips for a long time.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, we went to our hotel first, another surprise...THE WYNN!!! It was the most amazing, expensive hotel I have ever stayed it. There were multiple flat screen TV's including in the bathroom. One whole wall was nothing but a huge window overlooking the strip. The curtain's were controlled by automatic controls on the wall that would open and close them as we pleased. The bed was by far the most comfortable bed I have even slept in, with the exception of my own.

The first day we were there, Adam told me it was my day and we could do whatever I wanted. He went with me into every store that I wanted without even making one single complaint about it. He also told me that anything I wanted I could have...lucky for the the both of us, I'm like 100 lbs overweight right now, and wasn't really in the buying mood. I did find out an interesting thing about Adam though... he has really expensive taste! He found a pair of $2000.00 cowboy boots that he liked and also a $250.00 golfing hat. We joked about how if we won that much money gambling, then Adam could go back and get all of that stuff. That day we also went to the Bellagio gardens which is one of our favorite things to do because they are always so beautiful and they are free! Then the m&m factory, a movie and finished it off with dinner at Adam's favorite place to eat ESPN Zone where we had the most amazing nachos ever!

The next day was our actual anniversary. We started the day off by going to the Las Vegas temple. It is amazing how different it is just a couple of miles north of the strip. We had an amazing experience there and I am so glad that we were able to do a session. We then headed back to our hotel so that we could get ready for dinner and the Phantom of the Opera. Adam found an amazing place for dinner called Casa Di Amore. It is an Italian restaurant that is off of the strip. Because it is off of the strip, they send a FREE red limo to come and pick you up at your hotel and take you to the restaurant. It was the best Italian food that I have ever had. Our driver "Johnny Limo" was really nice and knew a bunch of "fun facts" about all of the hotels. Once you get to the "House of Love" you are greeted by a live singer who sounds just like Frank Sinatra. The place itself is a very old school Vegas feel, with red leather booths and old pictures all over the wall. It even has an old wooden dance floor. We ended the dinner with something called the "mother load"...Chocolate, peanut butter gelato, whip cream...enough said. We then headed off to the Phantom of the Opera. We found ourselves wondering if they were playing the soundtrack because the singers were amazing. Honestly, a lot of them were even better than the one's I've see on Broadway. Adam got our tickets in a section called the "Golden Circle". When the part in the play comes where the chandelier falls down, it really looks like it is falling on top of you. It comes down really fast, and then right before it looks like it's going to hit your head, they turn out all of the lights. I literally braced for the feeling of glass shattering all over my head!

The next day was time to go home. We were so sad to leave! I think that is why you have kids, at least then, you feel like you have something to come home too. Otherwise, I think we might have stayed there for another month!

I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband!! I am so happy that we both let our guards down and just went on that "one date" almost five years ago. He truly is my most favorite person in the whole entire world and I love him more than anything. I won't get all sappy right now because his birthday post will be coming up soon, and I will save all my "sappiness" for that. I just wanted everyone too know that I got the best one out there! Sorry ladies! I love you Adam!!!