AAAAAAAAAAGGHH!!!!!!!!!

A couple of months ago I, against my better judgement, tried to download a MP3 to WMV converter, which didn't work, and ended up getting a virus called 'Antivirus XP 2008', which kills your hard drive if you don't purchase and download their fake antivirus software within a certain period of time. Long story short, due to the skills of my brother-in-law, Kevin, we ere able to save all of our poto's (every picture ever taken of my boys was on that HD!), as well as almost all of my files... I think. One of the wonderful little sides to this experience is that all of my programs (Word, Excel, Corel Draw & Photopaint, etc, etc) are packed away in some nondescript box way back in a huge storage unit somewhere. It has been quite the experience. We immediately bought a DVD burner to back-up all of our photos on and I will be backing-up our data onto an external hard drive on a frequent basis, once I actually get my computer back to normal.

All of this has made it pretty much impossible to update our little site here. I am, however, going to add a few pictures that we just had done of Joseph, and will follow-up with family pictures in a few weeks when those are done.

Thanks for checking in from time to time!

Summer Time!

We've had a fun summer so far, in spite of the extreme temperatures! I am made of sugar you know, I will melt! And, I burn easily. However, we have braved the UV’s to catch some fun in the sun!

The 4th of July was a hot day, but we went to a carnival put on by a small town in our area. There was a lot of family from the Norman side around, and everyone is really great with our boys. We went early to beat the (worst of the) heat and the crowds.

Jacob had a blast at the carnival. He ran an obstacle course on a huge blow-up toy, and he had some "good clean" fun in a big bubble-pit with two of his most favorite people on Earth, his cousins Zach and Jaxon.

We spent midday at Lisa's house for a bbq. Lisa and Jenny had planned games and had little toy prizes for everyone (including the adults). It was a lot of fun. Jacob is such a character. Everyone was getting tired and things were winding down when Jacob decided he'd be the entertainment. I was going to post a video clip of him, but I couldn't get it to load. If I can figure out the problem I will add it later.

Then, due to circumstances beyond our control, we did not get to go see the fireworks as planned. We did a few sparklers, and promised the boys that we would go to the 24th of July fireworks. You can tell how impressed Jacob is w/sparklers in these photos. Joseph was taken by them though.

For the 24th, we went to see my Grandpa Ken's grave (see previous entry), and then went to see the fireworks in Bountiful that evening. We found the perfect spot to watch the fireworks, Jacob was very excited, and we were all set up and ready to go when it got dark. There wasn't any grass, or any other area to sit really, so Jacob and I climbed on top of the SUV. Jacob was smiling and excited, telling everyone' HI!". He was so cute.

This is what we saw from our perfect spot!

Turns out Bountiful City does their fireworks on the 23rd... that makes sense, doesn't it??? Jacob took it in stride though, and Joseph was, as always, just happy to be... well, just happy to be!

There was a great view of the Temple from our spot though... couldn't get a really good picture of it, but you can get the idea.

We'll post more from our summer later!!!

Family Ties

On July 24th we took a trip out to Manilla, Utah, which is about 3 hours away from where we live, to visit the grave of my Grandpa Ken. He married my Grandma Erla when I was about 10 or 11. Though he was technically my step-grandpa I knew him better and loved him more than my biological grandpas.

Grandpa was among the last of a dying breed, in my opinion. It’s rare to find honor and integrity like that these days. He had enough love to "adopt" all of my Grandmothers kids and their kids, and make us all feel like we belonged to him all along. There is a lot I could say about him, among them that he was a well respected businessman and the sheriff of Daget County, Utah for many years, but suffice to say that he was a great man, loved and respected by many.

He died in 2004. Jacob was born in 2006, and when he was about 10 months old he and Allison happened across grandpa’s obituary. Jacob saw that small picture on the obituary, got very excited and said, “Pa!” over and over, before Allison told him who it was. Every time Allison tried to put it away, Jacob protested and insisted on having it out. He had the same reaction every time we showed him a picture of Grandpa Ken. We believe that he and Grandpa had a strong friendship before Jacob came to us. Proof to us that the special bonds we make in pre/post mortal existence carry on forever. Joseph’s middle name is Kenneth, and we hope that both our boys can look to him as a great example of what a man should be.

How grateful we are for our wonderful families, full of examples of Christ-like attributes. We are grateful for the legacies our progenitors have left us, and we hope to be able to be worthy of our heritage.

Is This Thing On???

I really have to admit that, in spite of my young age, I am fairly computer illiterate. This is my first attempt at establishing my family blog, and I’m feeling out this process on my own. So, long story short, there will probably never be an electric light show, magic trick button, or other silly things on my blog. I say they are silly because, really it would be cool to have an electric light show, magic trick button, and a ton of silly things, but if I say they are silly then I don't feel so bad when I can't figure out how to do them. It gives the appearance that I don’t want them.

This blog is mostly for family... lets be honest, I have no friends, therefore, this site is entirely for family. And the majority of what will be posted here is pictures and stories about my sons. My life is far to uninteresting to post stories of it, but my boys are another story.

Take my 2 year old son Jacob, for example. He now has body piercings! I asked him not to do it, and I even told him, in very strong language, that I would give him a time out if he did it, but that didn't stop him. Last Saturday, he "fell" (jumped, I say) off of the bleachers at a community play and split his scalp open. Boy, head wounds bleed a lot, don't they? Long story short, he got two staples in the back of his head. He was very brave (like Nephi), and was happy and smiling by the time we walked out of the ER.

Anyway, welcome to our blog!