Welcome King

Yes. That's the answer to the question, "are you crazy?" Maybe quitting my job for next year has loosened a few things, 'cause all of a sudden I assume I can handle a very busy toddler, a second baby boy (this July), and above all things, a lab puppy. I add the "lab" part because they are eternal puppies. So this is King. He is now 10 weeks old and thinks he has us figured out. Sorry about the barking coming from the garage... we are teaching him who is really the boss. Who knows, that might even be Josh eventually.

This was Josh and King's introduction. I couldn't get a face shot ever since Josh was always on the run.

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Josh and King have many similar interests: putting everything in their mouths, sharing each other's food, and peeing wherever whenever.

Wouldn't you love to see how this goes down!

When asked for his opinion on what life has been like with King so far, Josh had no comment due to being much too busy seeing how many pieces of banana he could fit in to his mouth.

Number 1

Happy Birthday Josh!!

"Why is that fire so close to my face, mom?"

"Dad, you know that I hate gooey stuff on my fingers. What do I do now?"

"Get ready everyone... I am on a huge sugar high!"

"Thanks for all the great gifts. I guess I'll see you about the same time next year."

Dumbing Down

My dad was/is addicted to the philosophies of Bill Cosby, so we listened to his stand-up on road trips and stuff. He, Bill, would always say that he and his wife were intellectuals before having kids. Then they started to lose that. Now I am starting to understand.

We recently Josh-proofed the house: you know, those 1/2 locks on all cabinets and drawers. Josh isn't the only one stopped short. I can't seem to get anything open on the first try. It's like physical stuttering all over the house, and I feel dumber every time I attempt to do simple things like get a mixing bowl or mouthwash out their respective places.

If you are without restraints, enjoy it.

Reality

Why do we get addicted to reality shows? (really dumb ones) Let me tell you how it happens in my house. When I am left alone because Dan is with a buddy playing video games, working on the computer, or at meetings, I end up settling on whatever grabs my attention. It doesn't take much these days.

My latest addiction: The Girls Next Door.

Now, I know the shows that some of you have mentioned so there is no judging allowed. This show is sad on so many levels. This is basically what you get:

- an 80 yr old man with 3 live-in girlfriends ranging from 20 to 26 yrs old (has a polygamy feel to it)
- so much drama ranging from forgetting dog's birthday cards to ill-fitting bunny costumes
- the blury-nudity special effect isn't all that effective
- Hugh Hefner wears pajams ALL THE TIME, and his nickname is "Puffin" (makes me gag)

I have seen so many episodes that I know the words to the theme song. No, I won't sing it for you. You know you all sang with Nick when you were watching the newlyweds.

I'm hooked.

The Return

Okay, so it's been a while since I have surfaced. I can't control a crashing computer. So now I am sitting in my freezing, unfinished basement wrapped in a huge quilt blogging just so Rob has something to read! (that's Rob Wells, my famous-author cousin)

I will just make a list of the few things that have been going on around here to catch everyone up. (yeah, like there's an "everyone")

* laptop crashes
* Dan bought a 7 1/2 ft Christmas tree for our 7 ft high living room
* We finally have our 4-runner back! It has a new engine and purrs happily.
* I am now singing with the Salt Lake Symphonic Choir, which means that I got to mouth most of the first performance we had. (long story)
* I decided to take next year off from teaching. I did this so I can put off the bigger decision of continuing teaching in the public schools until next year.
*Baby Josh is going to be 1 year old in 3 weeks!
*Baby Josh is also going to be a big brother next July! (can't call him Baby Josh much longer)

Well, that's about it. Nothing too huge...

Waving with Coconuts

I meet regularly with a woman in our neighborhood who says the most brainless things. She cracks me up now that I know her better, but if you didn't you wouldn't know how to react.

Tonight we were meeting with the stake young men's presidency, and one of the counselors mentioned that he grew up in Hawaii. Dan and I just returned from there over the weekend, so I expressed how we loved the laid back attitude, among everything else. So this woman, who doesn't think her thoughts all the way through, then said, "Yeah, I loved how mellow everyone is. It's like everyone just sitting in their palm trees, waving with their coconuts."

Big pause.

"Um, yeah. I guess you could say that." says the guy from Hawaii.

You really have to be proud of me for not laughing out loud at that moment. She means well.

When You Know it's Time to Stay Inside

Dan has a friend, Steve, who has quite the history of injuries... especially as of late. A few years ago he rolled his jeep multiple times and broke his neck. He only survived because of a birth defect with his spine that he didn't even know about. (sorry, not a doctor so I don't know those details)

Earlier this year, Steve was driving home from Idaho when he rolled his jeep (a different one) again. This time, he was Life-Flighted to the Univ. Hospital. He had a bunch of bolts put in, since who knows what was left from before, and was in a brace for quite a while. As soon as he healed, he was back to his regular playin'.

Just a few weeks ago, Steve had his pelvis crushed by some drywall he was unloading at work. LifeFlight was called again, and as Steve was being loaded, recognized the crew from his 2nd crash. He even said, "Hey, aren't you the guys who picked me up in Idaho?" The reply was, "Oh yeah, aren't you Steve?"

Steve, why are you still alive?