Cha Cha Chia

Jill and I are pretty much in accord when it comes to child rearing. We're very much on the same page in most aspects of our children's lives. But rather than blog about all of the many things that we agree on, it's much more interesting to blog about the small thing (singular) that we happen to differ about.

When you think about the phrase "Saturday Morning", it means different things for different people. As a young girl, Jill was finally able to sleep in on Saturday mornings. When she woke up, her mother had a hot breakfast ready, and then she would go back to bed to dive into a favorite book (can you say Babysitters Club?).

To me Saturday meant something entirely different. My mother wouldn't let me get up any earlier than 6:00 a.m. So I would wake up and watch the clock move until it finally read 6:00 a.m. It was then that I could leave my bedroom and dash to the front room where I could sit mesmerized by Saturday morning cartoons (Smurf's were Smurferific) Sometimes I would watch beyond the animated shows to Land of the Lost, those sleestack were so scary.



Here is the crux of our disagreement. Jill feels that there are so many worthwhile things for children to do that they shouldn't waste time in front of the television. My thoughts are, all week long children engage in worthwhile activities, Saturday morning should be a time for them to veg for a while and soak up their father's tradition.

For the time being, Jill has agreed to let the boys watch a little t.v. Saturday morning. We have a very giving relationship. I keep walking her way, and she keeps walking mine. We meet in the middle.... to raise some pretty great boys.

Sunday morning came a very proud moment in my life. As our family got into the van, Logan began singing "Cha Cha Chia" (you all know how the song goes, now please re-read the last sentence and sing when you read it). I couldn't believe my ears. "How do you know that song?" I asked. "It was on the commercial," was his reply.

It was a beautiful moment for me. I'm so glad that he and I have even one more thing in common. By the way, who would have thought Chia Pets would still be for sale 30 years after I saw their commercials? I have never met anyone who actually owns one.

As this Saturday morning tradition evolves, soon Logan will move away from cartoons and together we will be able to watch This Old House together. If Chia Pets can be on my t.v. for 30 years, I certainly expect Bob Villa can make it that long.

I know everyone watched Bob Ross. May he rest in peace.

The Reason For The Season

To truly understand how Christmas affected my son Logan last year you would have to know that EVERYDAY for 9 months he would say, "I want that for Christmas". It was one of the most impressionable events of his life. And for a youngster of 3 years old, it makes perfect sense. In fact if it didn't have that impression on him, I would be worried.

So this year as we began to decorate for Christmas, thoughts of presents immediately leaped into Logan's thoughts.... and words. He loves Christmas for the presets. Of course he loves to see his cousins especially the the boys from Omaha who he doesn't get to see very often. And we see the grandparents more often than usual through the holidays, and both boys love to see their grandparents.

A week ago I went home teaching to a family who has a daughter only a few months younger than Logan. She was just young enough last year that she didn't so much remember all the cool loot you get from Santa. This family has been focusing on the birth of Christ this season. They have taught their daughter about the nativity, the humble beginnings of our Savior, and the importance of giving this time of year. This young girl never so much as asked for a single thing, because she didn't understand that Santa was going to bring her fun toys.

A few days prior to my home teaching visit Logan and his girl friend played together. Wouldn't you know that when this young girl went home, the first thing she told her mother was, "I want Diego Safari Rescue for Christmas", "I want a Lightning McQueen Racetrack for Christmas" and I want a "big, big, big, dinosaur." Leave it to my child to corrupt the purity of the Christmas holiday for this young girl.

This story got me to think about the true meaning of Christmas. Of course the true meaning of Christmas is all about the birth of the Savior of the World, the Prince of Peace. His birth is a way for the world to celebrate His gift to all the world. It is because of Him that we are all able to be forgiven of our sins and shortcomings, to return to His presence and live with our Father in Heaven.

The time in my life that I was able to reflect on this true meaning of Christmas the most, was when I was in the Missionary Training Center. This is a place where the world is closed off to young missionaries. Missionaries go there to study the gospel and language before they go out to preach the gospel to all the world. Inside the Missionary Training Center there was zero outside influence to secular Christmas. I never once saw Santa the Christmas of 1992. We were able to sing Christmas songs, but only the ones in the Hymn Book. The mall was off limits.

If I counter the Christmas of 1992 to the Christmas of today, there are many stark differences. This year I have two young boys who LOVE Santa. They can't get enough of what the holiday offers. They love to see the Christmas lights decorating the homes in our neighborhood. The Christmas Tree is something they fight over to be the one to light the tree. They have seen Santa twice now and LOVE him. Logan even cried when we left from seeing Santa because "We didn't say goodbye and Santa will miss me."

Commercialism plays a major role in this holiday, and I would like to go on public record to say that's not an entirely bad thing. Seeing the happiness of a child at Christmas is one of the highlights of being a father. Taking children to the mall and letting them sit on Santa's lap is priceless. Watching the excitement children have in anticipation of opening presents, is something I enjoy at Christmas.

Certainly Christmas is a wonderful holiday. It's the happiest time of the year. I suggest that it is such a happy time because of a combination of Christ's birth and the Spirit of Santa. Certainly our non Christian brothers and sisters love Christmas for what Santa brings on December 25th. And Christian zealots are justified in saying, "without Christ there would be no Christmas." Our family feels doubly blessed because as for me and my house, we celebrate both.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



It's taken me a while to finally be able to blog about the tragedy in my life from November 22nd. The above picture of course comes from Rice-Eccles stadium where as a loyal Cougar fan, life took a tragic turn. This was turning out to be a very good year for Cougar Football. The best start since 2001, with a high power offense that should have taken BYU football to a new level. A Quest for perfection. As it turns out the bigger they are the harder they fall.... Cougar Fans dreams that is.

As I have been coping with the loss of such a highly charged game, I've relied on quotes like the aforementioned to get me through this tough time. Also it's a great time for a reality check. "It's just a game" and "At least I still have my health" have been popular fallbacks as I cope with this loss.

But the truth is, as a fan I subscribe more to the Vince Lombardi philosophy of sports when he said, "Winning isn't everything, ITS THE ONLY THING." It's always easy to be a gracious winner. I remind myself of how gracious I was for the last two years when BYU beat Utah. I held my head high at my in-laws family dinner on Sundays and didn't rub it in.....too much, to my wife's family of Ute fans/alum. I'm sure I didn't mention the game more than 3 times every Sunday for the entire year.

Now the shoe is on the other foot and the Y lost to a "lucky" Utah team, who didn't beat us, rather "we beat ourself" with the quarterback committing 6 turnovers. At least that's what I try to tell myself.

The reality check for me this week has been to accept that BYU football isn't "the only thing" that matters in life, the University of Utah clearly has a better football team this year, and Sunday dinners with a family of Ute fans has a greater emphasis on "family" than on "Ute fans."

With football as well as with life, there is always next year and it's not so much if you win or loose rather how you play the game.

To my blog reading Ute fans, I congratulate you for a terrific season. You finished strong and stepped up when the games mattered most. You get bragging rights for an entire year and we'll be back next year to try and take that honor away.

Da Plane Da Plane!

As many of the more seasoned readers of my blog may recognize, this is a phrase used by a little person on the classic 1980's T.V. show Fantasy Island. Those famous words were shouted by Tattoo.

This segues into my newest blog entry. I pride myself in blogging about "Everything Manly". What is more manly than a tattoo? Well the short answer would probably be cars, football, and guns, but tattoo's still fit into the manly category.

Never one to shy aware from the tough manly issues, I will tackle this issue head on.


This is Logan Flexing his muscles

Would you want a tattoo? My thoughts all growing up have been that I don't believe in them because my parents didn't like them and in TV and Movies the really scary people were the ones that had been inked.

Later through my teenage years I guess I just hung around with the good kids in high school because the thought of a tattoo had never crossed my mind.

Flash forward to today and it seems like those who don't have tattoo's are the ones on the outside looking in. Sure the bad guys in TV and Movies still have them, but now everybody who's anybody has a tattoo. Some very lady like girls have the famous "stamp tramp", or at the least a little flower down by the ankle. This is most notable when it's a hot summer day and you go to Lagoon or even worse..... the county fair. As a side note Jill and I like to count mullets at the county fair, where one time we got all the way up to 23! We've never counted tattoo's because the number would probably get too high I think.

Teenagers, professionals, athletes, and I'm sure I could include hockey mom's all seem to have ink on their body. As I have grown older I have a much more adult attitude toward tattoos. WHAT IN THE HECK ARE PEOPLE THINKING WHEN THEY GET THESE THINGS?

Sure sometimes they might look kind of cool if the boy or girl you liked in college had one, but they are so ......permanent.

Haven't you seen the old man who served in WWI who has a blotchy green mark on his forearm that at one time resembled a hula girl? These things look horrible over time, and whatever message you would have to share with the world could very well change with the passing of time i.e. "Dave and Julie Always and Forever". Then Julie cheats on Dave while he's out driving truck and leaves him for his one time best friend. Dave understands, but now he has a permanent reminder that at one time he eloped to Las Vegas with Julie and married her under the neon lights by an Elvis Preacher. This makes it much more difficult for Dave to pick up chicks at the bowling alley with his tattoo for all to see.

Truth be told there is one one circumstance where I would actually think about getting a tattoo. Follow me here, once a Marine always a Marine right? Had I served in the armed forces I can see getting a tattoo of a an eagle with a flag, or maybe a bulldog. My uncle has a tattoo from the armed forces and it's pretty cool.

I did serve a mission for my church. What about a Mission Tattoo? It could say "Yo Soy Mormon" or "Viva la Vida Mormon" or what about "Ser Mormon es Ser Feliz?" The mission was a big step in my life, and as David O. McKay would counsel "Every Member a Missionary". I'm actually thinking this tattoo thing could be pretty cool. Where would I put my new tattoo? Along the back? Ankle? Shoulder?

Rather than a tattoo to remember things that are important I think I'll stick with something a little easier to remind me. Maybe a picture in a scrapbook?

Okay as I write this post I've been inspired by what would be a really cool tattoo! I'm thinking a really small tattoo of 26.2 written on my foot! Does anyone know a good tattoo artist who practices safe tattoo-ing?

CHANGE

It's a disappointing day for me today as I sit and view each election result roll in and is contrary to what I believe in. Do I credit the Democrats for and amazing win? Absolutely not. I can only blame Republicans for all of the things they have done the last few years, or should I say things they have not done. Here's my short list of issues important to me.

War: Is always a horrible thing. Why do the Republicans insist on fighting a war that nobody wants? It was a mistake, our leaders should have lead us out of the mistake that was made. Rather than doing the right thing they demand to stay in a very unpopular war, spending my great grandchildren's money for a cause that nobody believes in. By the way isn't Iraq making money hand over fist with their oil resources? Now they are liberated they should pay for their own damn defense! Our sons and daughters continue to pay for our leaders stubbornness with their lives.

Bailout: This isn't entirely on the Republicans but $700 BILLION! You have got to be kidding me. Lets just give everyone who has a mortgage $30,000 and let them pay their own bills and bail themselves out. There has never been a decision made with so much money at stake in such a rash fashion. Shame on every leader who voted for this.

Health Insurance: People are going bankrupt spending money on medical bills. is this money going to the doctors or hospitals? No it's going to lawyers who defend frivolous lawsuits. Leaders of the last 8 years, where have you been?

Same Sex Marriage: We continue to appoint judges who make decisions against the will of the people. Governed by the minority? When does that happen? Judicial Activism is so wrong, but here in America we embrace it. We continue to elect judges who rule against the will of the people.

Tax Increases: I swear I live in the only state in the union that loves tax increases. We vote for them every time they come around. Leaders are not so naive that they call it what it is, they like to flower it up and "do it for the children." Do you love children? Then pay an extra $4 to give to the Zoo and the same to the Aviary. If kids want to go to the zoo they should do what our kids do, and make their grandparents take them! We are an overtaxed nation and state but if we want to raise money for the zoo we can't take it from the existing taxes that are already too high, a new tax has to be levied and if it's in the name of the children we'll vote for it to the tune of 72%.

Energy prices: Sure the price of gas is only around $2.37 here in Utah right now, but it should be 1/2 of that. A barrel of oil is selling for $70. Two months ago it was twice that. This is not a problem that will be going away anytime soon. It will be back to $4 by the time I finish this post. Our leaders can only argue and bicker and they succeed in accomplishing nothing. There needs to be incentives for creative people out there to think of alternatives. And don't make me mention my friend who knows a guy, who knows another guy who has a cousin who's friend invented a carburetor that get 250 miles per gallon of gas. Don't worry it won't be coming to market anytime soon as the "big oil" companies have bought the patent for thousands of millions of dollars to suppress us into continuing to buy their oil. Okay back to reality, I know it's a big deal that a hybrid car can coast up to 50 miles per gallon, but when I was in high school I knew people who had cars that could go that far without "hybrid technology". Come on leaders lets make some progress in this area. Ween us from foreign oil and then we won't care what goes on overseas.

Soccer Stadiums: In our state leaders wanted us to have a soccer stadium despite the fact that nobody gives a damn about soccer..... Oh wait our children sometimes play soccer. Let's build them a $40 million soccer stadium. By the way I understand that 10 of the games our soccer team played this year ended in a tie! A Tie? In our country we have winners and we have loosers. Nothing would upset me more than having $40 million pulled from my pocket against my will to pay for a stadium, paying for a ticket to go to the game, pay for overpriced food at the stadium, and buying a uniform for the team, only to watch the game end with a 0-0 tie! I feel so taken advantage of.

This was an easy election for me. If someone was in office I voted against them. If a proposition wanted to increase taxes I voted against it. Unfortunately I stand alone. Today the people of our country have voted for change to increase government and increase taxes. What candidate doesn't promise change? This much I will promise you will happen in the coming years. Our taxes will increase. Spending will increase. Other countries will continue to hate us for our prosperity all the while taking our money through "foreign aid".

Did the Democrats win? No the Republicans lost it. They had all the power and did nothing with it except spend spend spend. Don't conservatives stand for less government? Where was that the last 8 years? Elephants deserved to loose.

The best Republicans can give us to replace an unpopular President Bush is a washed up old man who has zero appeal. McCain almost lost in his own state! If the candidate's own state doesn't like him how can anyone expect the Nation to vote for him?

The more a candidate promises change, the more things will stay the same. I'll finish this post the same way Oboma did. God bless us, and God bless America.

Shirts and Skins

Just after dinner tonight we played football in our front room. it's really more of a game of "tackle" as Logan loves to play. I'm not exactly sure how it became a shirts and skins game, but boys will be boys.



Logan is turning into quite the athlete. We played baseball when I got home from work today and he's actually hitting the ball when someone pitches it to him.

Man Camp (Warning material in this post may contain offensive material to women)

Friday marked an annual event celebrated by thousands of families throughout Utah. Friday was the eve of the Deer Hunt! Saturday morning with the rising sun, marked the time trigger happy hunters can unleash a furry of hot lead through the air to "bag their deer." This annual event has been celebrated for over a century now (unofficially dating back to 1847) in our state.

As for me and my house we come from a more refined family. When we need meat we prefer to go to Peterson's grocery store, or when there is a particularly good deal we have been known to go to Costco. While Costco sell a mighty tasty cut of meat, it's not as adventurous nor is there much of a story to be told. "Hey Brother Smith, last week I went to Costco and got me a rump roast," would get me laughed out of Elders Quorum.

In the spirit of the Deer Hunt opening weekend, each year I take my boys to MAN CAMP. This is an amazing bonding time for me and the boys, and it gives a much needed break to Jill who is pretty much with the boys 100% of her life.

Friday morning we began our journey to Man Camp when my dad and mom came by to pick us up in their truck. Why is your mother coming to Man Camp you might ask? When the boys heard Grandpa was coming with us to man camp they insisted on Grandma coming as well. Mom's help at Man Camp was terrific and the boys loved having her with us.

So were driving south and we find ourselves just North of Beaver and Logan cries out, "I need to go to the bathroom!". There isn't a town in sight, so we pull over to the side of the road and let Logan do his thing. Now peeing outside is just one of the many benefits of Man Camp. The one small problem is I hadn't taught Logan yet about peeing into the wind. So there we were on the side of the road and pee all over his pants. No problem. At man camp, I just grabbed his pajama bottoms and let him wear them until his pants could dry out.

We finally pulled into our mountain property in the mountains of Cedar City.




The boys couldn't wait to get out on the ATV's! So with Logan's newly dried pants we got on the 4 wheelers and went for a 3 hour ride!



Landon LOVES the ATV! Each day I take him and his brother out on an ATV ride down our canal road, but this ATV riding is at an entirely new level for him. We saw the beautiful fall colors, some sheep, and even some deer, that provided they took refuge on our property, might live to see next years deer hunt.



At night we had a fire to keep warm, and despite our efforts to tell the children not to touch the stove, we might as well have been telling them not to touch the "candy". They were both burned that night.



After the burns were taken care of we went to bed. Another great perk from Man Camp is when it's time to sleep we get to sleep in sleeping bags.


Man Camp is also a time that we drop the fence that surrounds the property to protect it from the heavy snow that falls each winter. Mom watched the boys while Dad and I dropped the fence.

The entire trip was so much fun. The boys were able to do so many things that are built into their DNA, but are bridled by societies social norms. They ate candy without limits, stayed up late at night, and last but not least their favorite part of Man Camp was: