Through My Eyes

Field to feast!

2008-11-17T17:58:00.009-07:00

I took up hunting this year and have actually had some pretty good luck. I shot my first dove, quail, and pheasant all this year within the last 3 months. It has been a great overall experience being out in the wilderness and trying to shoot some of God's creation. Each one presents a different challenge which has made trying to get the hang of it a little more difficult than I had thought.

I didn't take any pictures of my first pheasant because I shot it and it landed in a bunch of water and so it wasn't so pretty. But I did take some of my next pheasant. Pheasant display such a wide variety of color and patterns and it is quite magnificent. With all the birds I have been able to

take from the field I have started to stock pile them in my freezer. I have been quite eager to eat them but at the same time somewhat reluctant. Here I am with about a dozen birds in my freezer just waiting to be cooked and eaten and I haven't even tasted them. Will I like it or not. I have hear quite a few times that they do in fact taste pretty close to chicken. After my last pheasant kill pictured within this blog I decided I was going to do it. I was going to take the bird immediately into the house and prepare it to be eaten. I had no clue what I was doing. I have heard from many to cook them just like chicken. So that is what I attempted to do. I figured I would marinate them overnight and then BBQ them the next day. I went into the house to find things I could use to marinate. I checked the fridge and the first thing I grabbed was lemon juice. Poured some of that in. Then proceed to add soy sauce, honey, onion salt, meat tenderizer/seasoning/ garlic chips, and finally some BBQ sauce. I mixed it all up and stabbed the meat a few times. I smelled my concoction and was not really looking forward to it. Saturday afternoon rolled around and as I committed to myself to do I placed them on the BBQ and hoped for the best. Not more than 15-20 minutes later I took them off and inside for the final test. Without anything else I took my first bite. Not bad! After a few more I thought where is my dipping sauce this is good grub. It was about all I could do to keep from eating it all but I wanted Jen to try it. Reluctantly she did and wasn't going to right home about it but didn't mind it, or at least that is what she said. I am looking forward to cooking the rest of the pheasant and also giving the quail and dove a whirl. As the title states this blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't put a picture of the after look at the pheasant after a few bits had been thoroughly enjoyed.

R.E.A.L. Man!

2008-10-11T12:28:00.006-06:00

This last year a group of men at church went through the first book on Quest For Authentic Manhood. It was an amazing study where we learned a lot about who we are as men and how our past has shaped. The biggest thing I learned was that our world hasn't the slightest idea of what makes a man "A Man" which was very apparent during some of the interviews they had with guys in the valley.

R. eject passivity

E. xpect God's great reward

A. ccept responsibility

L. ead courageously

Through the study we learned what it truly means to be a man and not just a man but a God's man. We learned the four faces which include King, Warrior, Love, and Friend. Along with that we learned that part of the reason we don't really know what a man is, is a result of the fact that we don't know when the journey to manhood starts or when we can really say I am now a man. I think that most of the men in the room could totally relate. One of the things we learned is that with men, and our sons, we needed to ceremonialize the events that a boy goes through as he journeys toward becoming a man. Last night I got that opportunity with my oldest Austin. He turns 13 on Monday and I wanted to share with him some of the concepts I had learned in the study and let him know that his quest towards manhood has started.

The ceremony I put together had a lot more to it but with the cold weather and snow this early in October did force us to cut back a little but God was totally in it and the day was awesome. We started out bring and early Friday morning heading to the Fort Boise WMA for some pheasant hunting. We did see 4, 2 hens and 2 roosters, but Austin only got one shot and was just a little behind. Although it was great to see them and be out in the fields with him. We then headed home and packed up the truck with the dirt bikes and camping stuff to head to the mountains.

Once we were there we unloaded everything, canopy first, and put everything underneath it to keep it half way dry. It was really raining just rather spitting pretty good and just enough to make things a little damp. I shared with him the first 2 faces of a Godly man and then went for a drive to get some more firewood. I had brought quite a bit but the temp mid afternoon was only in the 40's and it was wet and I knew we would need a fire for a good portion of our stay. We got back and unloaded it and proceeded to make some kindling and such so that we could easily start the fire when we were ready. We went through the last 2 faces and had some great conversation. Austin then wanted to go for a ride. I wasn't too happy that I brought the bikes since it was wet and cold because I knew my son and he would definitely want to ride. We got all dressed up and headed out. It wasn't too bad at first but then we got up on the plateau and the wind was quite a bit stiffer. We ended up going about 8 or 9 miles and then headed back once we really couldn't feel our hands any longer. That's right the fire got started right when we got back and it was really nice once it was up and going. Austin proceeded to go on another couple rides while I get the fire going. I wasn't about to leave its warmth again.

It got to be about 6:15 and the meat of the day was about to start. Richie and dad were the first two to arrive for the night festivities. Richie passed where we were and had to turn around. Once Austin and I heard them driving up, he looked at me with a grin. I tried to play dumb only to find out he knew what was going on. He said I know Steph and Rich are right behind me. I said no they aren't and he turned and Granddad was walking up. He was surprised that it ended up only being a guy thing and not a big family deal. We had dinner which consisted of fire roasted hot dogs, potato and macaroni salad, chips, cookies, dip and yes for all the guys that came no mustard or ketchup. What could I say it was a guy trip. We all ate and sat and stoop around the fire talking. The next part was the icing on the cake. I told Austin why all the guys were here as his support structure for life and for his journey into manhood.

Each one of the guys there, Richie, Dad, Pop, Kelly, Jimbo, and TJ, said something about an experience they went through or a bit of encouragement to him. It was awesome. Thank you guys for investing last night and in the future of my son. I gave Austin his very first gun. A 20 gauge single shot shotgun. He was totally surprised because he has actually been using it for about a month or so but thought I had borrowed it from someone at work. We prayed over him for God's protection and guidance for his life. He then got a couple other gifts that night from some of the guys. We all talked for another 30 minutes or so and then everyone departed. Austin and I planned on staying but it was getting colder by the minute and in my eyes the night was a huge success and complete. We kept the fire going for another half hour or so hanging out and talking while we loaded up the truck to head home.

Remember how I mentioned God was totally in this. I found out from a couple of the guys that came up as well as for myself that the weather surrounding the spot we were at that night got hit with a major storm. In some places driving out there was 1-2 inches of snow or fog to where you could only see about 15 feet in front of your car. The place we were at got a drizzle off and on but nothing for the 3 hours the guys were there, no snow or fog. Isn't God amazing. Matt and Ben I wish you guys could have been here for this and I know you wish you could have also.

I will close with this. I told Austin that I hoped this was something he would not soon forget and he responded with this, "This wasn't something that you could easily forget".

Jealous? A Little!

2008-10-04T20:24:00.004-06:00

It is a father's dream to watch their sons do something for the first time, especially when it is something we can remember, as if it were yesterday, that we did ourselves growing up. These last few years my boys have shown interest in activities that I have thought about and never really pursued. Motorcycle riding abotu 3 years ago and this past summer hunting. Austin and Taylor both conveyed their interest last summer which prompted the purchase of a German Shorthair pointer. After taking her out last fall with Richie on some hunts I wanted to shoot a Pheasant so bad, but I had to wait a year until I had my license. This is that year. I have been out a couple different times already this year hunting and have 4 Dove and 2 Quail breasts in my freezer, but I am chomping at the bit to get my first Pheasant. Two more weeks. We went out again for Quail this morning and came up empty handed. Today Pheasant opened up for youth. A friend at work told me about a WMA that they just stocked with a bunch of roosters. I was so excited to take Austin out there and let him have a chance to get one, but a little part of me hoped that we either would not see any or that he would miss. We did see one and as any dead eye would he downed it. He got one shot off at Pheasants today and he brought one dead Pheasant home. Despite wanting to get one first I was so proud that he was able to shoot and kill it. It was a beautiful bird. He made a great shot. I noticed it towards the end of the field we were in and Kya tracked it while we crept upon it. I thought we had lost it and Kya was on hard point but I could tell she could smell something. All of a sudden the ground beneath us felt like it exploded. We were standing about 2 feet from each other and Austin swung around, cocked his gun, and fired bringing the bird to the ground. As I watched I was extremely impressed. Despite facing the wrong direction the bird went he spun a 180 without endangering anyone around him, slightly miss handle trying to pull the firing pin back, getting it set, and still hitting the bird before it darted beyond hitting distance. It was a great experience and I am so glad that he got it. I think he will admit it was pretty cool getting a Pheasant before his old man.

Nice JOB son! You made me proud.

Did someone say Pheasant?

2008-09-29T19:54:00.002-06:00

Hunting thus far has been a blast. I have shot both types of birds I have hunted thus far Dove and Quail. I have yet to go Grouse hunting but plan to do so soon. I have had both boys out with me already. Taylor along for the ride and Austin for his first hunt and kill. The dog has done well despite being young and still pretty green. But... I am really looking forward to the hunt and kill of the beauty below. Austin may get a chance this weekend as pheasant season opens 2 weeks early for youth, but marked on my calendar is Oct 18th when I get the chance. I do have one dilemma and that is I wil be traveling for work on the 15th back to Boston and will be returning either the 17th or the 18th. The team right now is tentatively planning to go to a Celtics vs. Knicks game on the 17th which require me to stay until Saturday morning and I don't know if I could get a flight back to hit the opening of Pheasant season. I have seen an NBA exhibition game many moons ago but it was at the BSU Taco Bell Arena and not at the Garden in Boston. What to do????

Two Moments Every Man Can Be Proud Of! Maybe three.

2008-09-22T20:02:00.008-06:00

First off I have to say thanks to my older bro. He got my oldest son Austin interested in hunting that produced interest in me, followed by the purchase of a dog, followed by hunter's education for Austin and I and our very first hunts.

The first moment that I am extremely excited about is Austin shooting. I took him a couple months ago and he was using a barrowed 20 gauge shotgun that he proceeded to shoot about 4-6 times. It went well but it made him extremely nervous to shoot anymore after that and it left a reminder on his arm. Yep sore and bruised. The next several chances he had to shoot left me frustrated and him upset because he wouldn't do it. Being the patient person I am some of my frustration I let him know about. Finally on Sunday afternoon I finally got him to shoot. After he did it the first time he wanted to do it again and again. After shooting a half box of shells he fell in love and I was so proud I coudl hardly stand it. On the way home we talked about it and discussed the possibility of hunting tonight.

This picture is Austin putting each shell into the appropriate sleeve right before we head out to see what we could kill. He is so particular. I was a little nervous about him carrying around a loaded gun as we walked to locate birds but he was extremely cautious and respected the power and potential that the gun he had carried.

This next picture make s me so proud and possibly thinking I have a dead eye on my hands. Right out of the truck a couple Dove were sitting in a tree. Three of the all perched right next to each other. I said shoot away. His response "seriously!" He shot and feathers flew everywhere. We checked excitedly under the tree for his first kill and found nothing. I found it hard to believe that with all the feathers that fell there was no bird. I saw some birds out in the field and as we moved a little closer I noticed that they were Quail. I thought sweet. We proceed after them and to my surprise in flight going from Austin's right to left he nailed one. It was such a beautiful sight. The bird in mid-flight folded up and fell to the ground. I rushed over to him to congratulate and high five him. He has no shot a gun like maybe 20 times and during his first hunt he downed a bird. I honestly thought we would go home empty handed tonight and all that we would have come away is more practice for him. We walked up to the bird and it fluttered into the air about 2 feet above the ground into a bush and was gone. Are you kidding me! I was ticked. Austin didn't care much and was ready to prey on another flying object. Below is him joyously displaying arm in one hand and his first kill in the other. It made me so proud to take his picture. I think I got more joy taking him out and seeing him successfully shooting a bird than I got two days prior getting my first bird.

This last picture is of my first hunting trip where I got to carry a gun and could actually shoot. It was also the first time Kya went out after a year of training. She did awesome, didn't go on point but did track a bird that was running that she led Jake to and was eventually shot by Jake. She did a really good job locating the downed birds and fetching and brought them back. I had spent quite a bit of time in this area but most times she brought them back I had to coerce her to drop them. Out in the field, it was second nature, she knew to bring them back and literally dropped them in my hand. I was extremely excited to see her do so well and see the work I had invested prior pay off. She isn't done learning and is far from being a finished dog, but in my eyes well on her way. I was extremely excited to come home with a successful hunt for Kya, but also for me. I got 2 Quail and 1 Dove along with being drenched from head to toe. Although it was a bit cold I enjoyed every minute and look forward to my next chance. I also had Taylor in toe and he was such a trooper. When we were walking to each of the spots he reminded me how wet and cold he was. When it was time to locate the birds and shoot and retrieve them he acted as if he was as dry as could be. Can't wait for him to get a little older and take him out for his first hunt and kill! Look at him so excited to display our kill.

So Much In So Little Time

2008-09-12T19:47:00.011-06:00

So much has happened since my last blog that I will have to share individually. First was a backpack trip with the guys. Not much more you can ask for. I spent 48 hours hiking the grand beauty of the Sawtooth mountains and enjoyed almost every minute of it. It was about 20 miles all in all. We started by leaving town Friday August 29th at about 5:30. A little later than I had planned but still pretty close to schedule. Jim, my boss, and I headed up for the 3 hour drive from Boise to the Toxaway/Petite loop trailhead. Arriving, as it seems I always do, just as the sun is setting and the darkness is taking over. Not more than about a half mile into the first days hike off the trail a bit we could see a group of eyes gazing at us. I took my camera out hoping to get a good picture. It ended up being only eyes in the darkest of night, but we actually did see some spikes on the top of one of the heads. We moved on and completed the first nights hike 4 miles in with an elevation gain of ~700 feet.

The night was rather mild only dropping into the low 50's. The next morning and day were rather uneventful. We were up, ate breakfast, and did some brief fishing before determining we wanted to get onto Toxaway lake before it warmed up much more. This trek I thought would take much longer but quickly we arrived at the lake. It is a mile long, which is amazing to me since we were setting basically on the top of the mountains. A mile long lake at 8300 feet, and who said God isn't creative. Oh yeah, this lake must have just happened with a big explosion. The pictures below will completely throw that idea right out the window. Not knowing exactly where we wanted to camp other than knowing we had a big hike the next day to over the pass we did decide that we want to be at the one end and get as much walking out of the way today as possible. Without knowing how many sites were suitable for the three of us we walked until we found a good site that would be fairly easy on our backs for sleeping. We drop our backs, made a quick bit to eat and proceeded to fish as we hiked the balance of the mile long lake until we found a better spot or an equivalent one to where we were. We did in a little meadow and the very end of the lake right at the foot of our next days hike. The fishing was scarce at best until I hit one little hole that landed me 6 fish all that hit the line as lunkers but ended up only being little pints that we tossed back. Our home for that night was perfect. We had an amazing view of the mountain peaks, lake, and the fishing was fabulous. Jim and I must have had 20-25 fish each that evening. None of which made it to our frying pan unfortunately but it made for a very enjoyable and relaxing time.

The next morning was more of the same. This night was slightly cooler dropped down into the low 40's but a far cry from the high teens I have tolerated in nights before up in the Sawtooths. Breakfast, fishing, and then on the trail by 9 was our plan and what we stuck too and we were glad we did. This portion of the hike started at Toxaway at ~8300 feet and went up the mountain eventually hitting 9390 at just 1.5 miles. Yep your right that is pretty much straight up. We came across what we are calling a mountain goat. The reason we are not sure is something got to it and left a few bones and a pile a fur just off the trail. Rather amazing but at the same time a little nerve racking knowing that at some point within the last several months something had been through here that did it. We finally reached the top and the view was absolutely gorgeous. The jagged peaked bowl on the other side with 3 beautiful lakes below was ...... Speechless is what I am. Hard to put into words. The wind was howling through this little saddle and after sweating the whole way up we took out pictures and quickly began to descend down. The picture of the two guys. Neither one of them are my boss nor Jim. A couple guys came up and we crossed paths at the top. They came from the direction we were headed. Funny story, but I'm not laughing. Their camera broke and they asked if they took a picture of the three of us would we take a picture of them and email it. What a deal. I was half way in the process of trying to set the timer and get it just right to get the beautiful scenery and the three of us also. We posed first and then they did and boom we were done right. Well when the trip was over and I got home and began looking through the pictures to see how good they were I noticed the picture of the two clowns as I will now call them and nope no picture of me with my two fellow hikers. The clown didn't hold the button down long enough for it to take. What are you an amateur. Onto my trip. The wind continued to blow. We hiked down to another lake that we wanted to fish and the wind kept increasing and the temp get dropping. Lunch was served and we started noticing clouds rolling across overhead and each one that went by was bigger and darker than the last. At this point we made the decision to hike as far as we could with the hope that meant the car. We all decided with as nasty as each cloud looked as it came in none of us wanted to spend our last night up at elevation weathering a storm that only meant the next day was a hike out. Not much to look forward to. The reason we struggled with this decision is we were still 7.5 miles away from the car and we had already hiked 2.5 miles up to this point. Two things convinced us to give it a go. The first was the storms rolling in but second this was all down hill. We made great time making it in 2.5 hours. We were flying but the last mile was along Petitt lake and it took forever. In my first few sentences of this blog I mentioned I enjoyed almost every minute of it. This last mile I did not enjoy one bit. I was tired, my feet were tired and had hot spots all over them and I was plain worn completely out. I would absolutely make the trip again just may not hike all the way on the last day. I will leave you with a few photos to visually display my story.

First Day of School

2008-09-01T14:23:00.003-06:00

First Day of School.

As tradition would have it, I get to sleep in, wake up with the kids, and go with Jen to take them to school. This year hit me a little harder than those in the past. Austin is about two months away from being 13 and he is right in the throws of middle school. The Taylor that used to be my little guy is growing up like a weed right before my eyes. Then there is my little princess. WHAT she is going to school this year and it ain't something called preschool. I can't believe daddy's girl is grown up enough to be out on her own at school. I don't care that it is only half days. She was supposed to wait until she was at least 18 or somewhere close. Take a real close look at the picture. I can't be old enough to have 3 kids and have them all in school also. Where did the time go. I am so proud of them and look forward to the challenges they will over come and the things they will do, but for this second right now I am saddened that they are growing up so fast...

The Great Outdoors

2008-08-18T09:18:00.012-06:00

Jen was out of town this weekend so I thought what better way to spend it than taking the boys up to see some of God's finest creation. I feel so at ease and such a peace when I am outdoors and love to share the experience watching my boys see something for the first time or accomplish some task they did think they could. Backpacking pushing you to limits you never thought you could do. The boys are growing up so quickly but these are memories made that I will not soon forget and I hope they don't either.

The picture on the left is Middle Rainbow lake which we stayed at the second night. The fishing was okay we didn't catch a lot of fish but Jim caught a fatty and I caught one that was pretty decent for a high mountain lake. Yes they were both kept and fried up and were so tasty.

This picture is Austin hanging from a tree. He had a fetish at a very young age with ropes and tying stuff up and making really long ropes tying several together. This has not changed and now rather than pulling stuff on the ground he is rapelling himself from trees and rocks as he did on this trip.

The picture at left is Taylor and Lowman digging rocks out of the ground to build a fire ring. They have started this new tradition helping Jim and I get our fire (or what they like to call the adult fire) going and then they proceed to build and start there own fire. It is pretty cool because they go through all the precautions. Making sure that the ground is dug up a little so that only dirt is exposed and then forming a ring with rocks. And they very best part it kept them very busy.

The below is of Jim and Lowman (our backpacking partners) Austin, Taylor and I right before throwing our packs on our shoulders and making the trek from the backwoods back to the vehicle and down the mountain for home. It was a great trip.

I wore some cheap Keen type water shoes most of Friday evening and then all day while fishing on Saturday and I paid for it. Sorry for somewhat nasty picture.

God is GOOOOD!

2007-03-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have been taking some heat from a few members of the family about my ability to consistently post. Two reasons come to mind as to why. The first is our dog. Now that she sleeps upstairs my daily ritual of being on the computer before going to work is gone. The second and biggest reason my lack of creativity. How can I come up with things to say everyday. Well to keep with the theme of Church tomorrow I thought I would share a few things about why God is good in my life right now.

1. I have gotten back into a daily routine of reading God's word before I go to work, it was with His help that this has happened because it is difficult to get up and spend time in His word when I have to be at work by 7

2. I am married to an amazing woman, the love of my life, my best friend, who some how always finds it in her heart to forgive me when I do or say stupid stuff, 11 and half years baby and going strong

3. God has given me three amazing kids, they are so fun and I love to be with them, He gave us quite the spectrum of personalities which can make it difficult to raise some times, but just shows how creative our God is

4. He has called us to an amazing Church that has a visionof love for His people and provided us with a ministry opportunity to help high school kids grow as well as ourselves

5. He has blessed us with an amazing home and allowed us to get in during an exploding market that has allowed us to use the home as an investment vehicle also

6. I am back in the gym.

7. He has provided in ways I never thought possible which has put us in a position to be debt free in the next year

God is good.

Opportunity

2007-02-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

I love working in the Youth Group at Church. I have 2 reasons. The less important of the two is my own selfish reasons. Youth group helps me stay active and young. The more important reason is to be used by God in ways I never thought possible and to be possibly the only positive influence in these students lives. God is truly remarkable in how he can use what we think is the littlest most insignificant thing we have to offer to change or reach someone. Our youth group is so blessed that we have a church that fully supports it in anything and everything we do. One thing we have the ability to do is take a ski trip every year. It is pretty cool because we get to go to some pretty cool places. This year we are going to Snow Basin. See picture below of a view from the top. This trip allows kids in the youth group to invite any and all of their friends to join us. This is huge because it gives the adults and church a way to bridge the gap between the world and what they think of church. Who thought Christians could have fun. Well news flash for you we do have a blast. It is an amazing life as you live for the Lord. I am so excited about this trip. Not only because we get to do some amazing skiing but we are going to have an opportunity to meet kids we have never met and be able to show them the love that Jesus has for them. Please be praying for us. First for a safe trip, second that those God desires to be there will be, and finally that they will see Jesus through the friend that brought them and everyone else they meet.

Blue Man Group here we come!!!!

2007-02-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the Blue Man Group show at the Idaho Center. Jen and I saw them in Vegas a couple years back and they were amazing. I got an email about 3 months ago that they were coming to town and had to go. The tickets were cheaper here than what we paid in Vegas. We just had to go and will be taking both the boys with us as well. We have great seats in the 8th row. Should be a blast. The only down fall is that it starts at 7:30 and probably won't end until 10 or so, but it will definitely be worth it. If you ever get a chance to see them pay the money it is well worth it.

Look MOM no training wheels!!!!

2007-01-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get the bikes out of the garage and started for several weeks now. The boys bikes took a little trying but started up the first day I tried. Mine on the other hand was quite a bit more difficult. I have had it out on several different occasions trying to get it started with no luck. I tried the electric start, kicking, jumping it off my truck. Nothing would do the trick. I thought today might be the day and so I got it out and used jumper cables to hopefully charge it enough to get it started. That didn't work. Finally after messing with some things I jumped back on it to give it one more kick to see if that would work. The sun was shinning on me today. It started and stayed running. I didn't know what to do nor did I have a clue what I did to get it going. While I was doing this Austin came out and wanted to start his also and with starting it of course comes riding. Not soon thereafter Taylor comes tearing into the drive way on his bicycle from a friends house. He said he was hungry and actually did eat something but my hunch is that he heard the roar of the bikes and didn't want to get left out.

My plan all winter was to get his training wheels off so he could start practicing without them before the heart of the riding season hit. Sounded like a pretty good time to do it. Since he hadn't been riding for awhile I told him and Austin to go to the backyard to ride for a little bit. When I finally got out there my lawn where the turned around was well let's just say it was aerated. This is what it looked like. It doesn't nearly do it justice.

I figured I better get Taylor's training wheels off quickly before my lawn was gone since I knew it was him that was doing it. I thought once they were off he might be a little reluctant to ride and may need a little help. Boy was I wrong. He is a little slower now than he was, but once he gets comfortable I know it won't be long before I am eating his dust.

Finally!

2007-01-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

The last 2 weeks have been extremely long. We had a development team from Malaysia that came in on the 13th for 2 weeks of training on a new system we are implementing in May. That in itself was enough. The first week they were here the earliest I got home from work was 6 at that ws only once. The kids got sick that week also. Between the kids being sick and myself being run down from the week before I got sick on Wednesday and have been ever since. I missed 2 and half days of training. Not looking forward to trying to figure out how to make that up. Not looking forward to the hundreds of emails in my inbox either.

I want so bad to enjoy the weekend and I keep getting off the couch to try and do something and then go sit back down somewhere to rest. Being sick SUCKS! I am completely movie watched out. I think I have watched like 4 or 5 a day so 15 total yeah that is more tha enough. The weather outside is so inviting but yet I am still confined to the house for now. I am hoping tomorrow I am doing much better so I can go to church and enjoy the last part of the weekend before going back to work.

To have pets or not?

2007-01-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have always liked others peoples pets and thought it was good for them. It was nice to see them but not have to clean up and take care of them. While growing up I did have a few pets like fish a hamster or two stuff like that. I could say I had a pet but did not have a daily mess to clean up after. My brother on the other hand had 2 yellow labs while he was growing up. I can remember how much he hated to feed, water, and clean up the piles of poop. I think those memories are what kept me from even considering the idea of having larger furry pets like cats or dogs.

I fought this idea long and hard even after we had moved into a house where we actually could have one of them. The reason is that Jen wanted whatever animal we did have to be an inside animal and I didn't like the idea of that at ALL! So for a few years that worked. It wasn't until my daughter at the age of 3 captured my heart and said she wanted a kittie. How could I resist. With her mom's guidance and help Emily knew exactly how to get what she wanted from dear old dad. The pictures below say it all. I don't think I made a mistake!

It quickly became her very best friend. She treated it just like part of the family and despite our little girl the kittie was quite at ease around her. Sister the Calico above was Emily's kittie. She named her Emily, after herself, and gave her the nickname sister, again after herself. Due to a tragic accident and yes it was an accident JEN, she is no longer with us. It didn't phase Emily though. She just quickly adopted Taylor's cat Socks as her own. And she was not going to let Socks be just any old cat. He was going to be an educated cat. My words don't do it justice. See below.

That's our Emily. After giving in and yes of course the cats being indoor cats I began to soften to the idea of having a dog. Austin had talked about it for quite some time and I finally made good on my promise that he could have one. We surprised him with a yellow lab for Christmas. Taylor and I had picked her out when she was 4 weeks old and we couldn't pick her up until Christmas Eve which worked out perfect. Again my words don't do it justice to how happy he was.And I guess I have gotten use to the idea of having a dog around. Just see below. I am really looking forward to the warm weather so me and the gang can take her camping, hiking, and anything else we can find this summer.

I couldn't get her to sit still and look at the camera. She wanted to eat my ear.....
lick my face....
and finally with a little restraint!

Where did Christmas Go?

2007-01-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas time! It seems like you look forward too it for months and if you aren't careful you blink and it is already over. We had some great times with all the family in town and had just enough snow in the mountains to enjoy also. I love the decorating of the house with lights going through all the ornaments from years past and then the final touches of decorating the Christmas tree. Growing up our grandma gave us all a pair of knitted skates and every year they were the last ornament to be put on the tree. Each of us would take our turn to try and see who could get their skates the highest and stay. I have carried this tradition on with my kids as well and it is funny to see how each one of them reacts to it. Austin and Emily enjoy it but don't care much if theirs was the highest or not. Taylor on the other hand being the competitor he is will pout for an hour if his are not the highest. Just like his daddy!

Happy New Year to everyone. SO what if I am 6 days late. Better late than never is a good motto to live by. It has been a hectic first week back in the swing of things. I think our whole family spent most of the week back to there usual duties but dragging while doing them. Despite it being a short week because of New Year's Day being on Monday, it still felt like a long week. I did sleep much Monday night. Not sure if it was the Broncos winning an amazing Fiesta Bowl game or the fact that I knew I had 1000 emails sitting patiently in my inbox at work for me to get back. I typically love surprises but when I got to work I was surprised to find a meeting invite for all day training Wednesday through Friday. Just what I needed, only Tuesday to catch up on the previous 4 days I had taken off for vacation while also trying to get anything done I would normally have to do for the balance of the week. It is going to be a rough couple weeks coming up with some of the meetings and training I have to do....

Christmas Vacation

2006-12-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas Vacation. This year I decided to take the whole week between Christmas and New Year's because Christmas is on Monday and I knew I couldn't go to work on Tuesday. It is now Christmas eve and I am 3 days into that break. On Friday Austin, Jen, and I met up with some friends and skied Bogus. It started out kind of cloudy, foggy, and windy. The clouds and fog lifted leaving just the wind but the sun came out and it made for a nice day.

Saturday we had most of Jen's family over for breakfast and then we went past Idaho City for some sledding. Before we left the news said there was a winter snow warning for the Boise mountains right where we were heading. That didn't stop us. We headed up and at 3 just like they said it started snowing. We left about an hour later after everyone was plum tuckered out. As always I got a vehicle stuck but after spending some time digging I got right out. Everyone had a blast! I love spending time outdoors with the fam.

The rest of the day holds more family time and going to the airport t see Megan and Ben fly in from Florida. Can't wait to see them and see what we end up doing the rest of the week. Hope I can keep up.

My first post! (Penang Trip)

2006-12-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is my first time posting or setting up a blog site for that matter. I had to attach a couple pictures one to brag about and the other because it was hilarous. The first picture is just plain funny. This was a sign that was just down the street from my hotel. I think the people in Malaysia are serious about trespassing. The picture below is me sitting in my first class seat where I was waited on hand and foot. I had so much room I could sit back in my seat and stretch my legs out in front on me and still have another foot to spare. Ahh the life of luxury.