Cabin Fever

CHEESE!

Do you remember when I used to look like this?

The boys

I was faking it.

PJ time

A few months back we held a dinner/auction for baby Ian. See www.ianfund.com for more information. Our friends purchased a weekend at a cabin near Grayson Highlands State Park (or in other words BFE Virginia). Four couples, some with kids, went in on the cost and we spent last weekend together. We didn't know how long the drive would actually take so I left work early on Friday and we headed out. After a good 2 hours of driving (and some majorly windy roads) we finally arrived. We were the first to get there and so we had the place to ourselves for a few hours. We made dinner and played some games and watched Shrek (which is G's new favorite movie). The next group finally arrived after 10 pm. Shortly thereafter, Jaime and I headed to bed. The boys had nestled in a few hours before. We%

O Christmas Tree!

Last Monday we had decided that we were going to get a tree and decorate it. Each year we seem to delay the tree purchase and we don't get to enjoy the tree for as long as we would like. So we got an early start and we were thinking that we would buy a live tree. After doing some research, we found out that a live tree needs to be planted after 10 days. So...we ended up buying a cut tree instead. We straightened up the house and then headed to a tree lot to support the local Lion's Club. It turns out the Lion's Club did not need our support because they were closed at 6:50 even though the sign said closed at 7:00. The boys were dead set on getting a tree that night so we forged on. Another tree lot was closed and then we checked Lowe's. They of course were still open so we decided to support our locally operated nationally owned Lowe's. I guess that is the benefit of staying open after hours. We hurried home and decorated the tree and then put the boys to bed.

some junk

I actually had forgotten to remove this post. I put th epictures here so that I could copy and paste into some ebay listings. If you are interested I still have the following for sale: Alphabet/number punch set and the Mystical Ninja for Super Nintendo. Name your price!

Pick a costume already...

G has been into halloween costumes this year. We have acquired many costumes through the years. G has chnaged his mind every day regarding what he is going to be for Halloween. The other night we had a trunk or treat at church. He dressed up as a Frog. Last Friday he had a party at preschool and decided to go as an elephant. I guess we will wait and see what he finally ends up being for Halloween.

Big League Soccer

F's soccer coach is a professor at Radford University. As a celebration for the end of season, he lined up an awesome opportunity for them. The other Saturday night, F's team was able to play a scrimmage against another Rec League team during half time of teh Radford University's womens soccer game. F has loved soccer over the years. As he gets older, it looks like his speed and agility may be improving. He has been able to make some great friends on his teams through the years. Maybe one day, he will actualy play at the college level.

Playing as the goalie! The Rec League goals are much bigger by the way:)

Baby SoySoy

S just keeps growing bigger and bigger everyday. I have given him the nickname of baby SoySoy. This drives Jaime and F totaly crazy. I probably keep calling him that just to drive them crazy. He has finally cut 4 teeth. The 2nd top front tooth has finally come through. He has been having trouble sleeping at night and seems often cranky. Now that he has cut his first four teeth, we were excited that he would not be in pain any more. However, today we ave noticed that he is still drooling like crazy. Looks like more teeth are on the way!

The big day!

My baby has grown up and was baptized. He is such an amazing boy. He truly understands what it is like to live a Christlike life. What an honor it is to have a son that teaches me how to be a better person. F's baptism day was absolutely amazing. It was great to have mom and dad here in town for the event. Our great friends, Jon and Stephanie Dubyk surprised us with a visit from North Carolina. I performed the baptism and dad confirmed F. The water in the font was icy cold! F literally gasped when he came up out of the water. When F was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, I had an overwhelming sense of his impending greatness. He will definitely go on to be such a great man and bring to pass a life of righteousness. After the baptism, we all headed back to our house and had an awesome brunch.
We bought G a new suit at TJ Maxx. It was on clearance after Easter, We picked it up for 18 bucks. He got to debut it for the baptism. He wanted some action shots taken in his new suit.
Our family before the big event.
All the men who stood in the confirmation circle (with the exception of G, not yet old enough to hold the Priesthood): Ben Turner, Jon Dubyk, Grandpa Bob McKinley, Uncle John Carpenter, Jack McKinley, Granpda Jamie Evans.

It's Hard to Believe

So, ten years of married life is fast approaching. My oldest, F, has turned 8 and will be baptized tomorrow. My folks are in town for the big event and John and Brittany came in from Ohio as well. I am so proud of F. Sometimes I feel so blessed to be his dad. I feel that I have more to learn from him than he ever would need to learn from me. He is definitely an old soul. Lately I have been thinking that I have been so greatly blessed with such a wonderful family. It's hard to believe my life without them.

Thirty Reasons

So Jaime turned 30 today. F had a socce rgame and then her sister babysat while we out for Thai food. We splurged and got 3 entrees so that we could try something new on the menu. It was so good. I first met Jaime when she was 17. Hard to believe that I have known her for 13 years and have been married to her for 10. Here are my reasons for loving her.

1. She is my best friend (and at times my only friend)
2. She is a great wife
3. She is an amazing mother
4. She is smarter than me even though she makes me think I am smarter
5. Her biting sarcasm, even though she hates my sarcasm
6. Her sharp and stinging wit
7. Her organizational skills
8. Her curt and practical nature (which she technically gets from her mom)
9. Her ability to fundraise for a worthy cause
10. Her sense of humor
11. Her commitment to living the Gospel
12. She wraps presents better than anyone I know
13. She knows how to put on a great party
14. She "tells it like it is"
15. Without her vision we would not have lived in two great houses so far
16. She reads faster than I do
17. Her ability to get new playground equipment for the city of Radford
18. She makes great handmade cards
19. Se makes great scrapbook pages without being totally "lame or cheesy"
20. She raises our boys better than anyone ever could
21. She is beautiful and has curly hair
22. She does what she says she will do
23. She is a great teacher
24. She requires a plunger just about wherever she goes (no I won't be more specific)
25. She loves ice cream
26. She is a great cook and she comes from a long line of masterbakers
27. She also had a Grandma Doris
28. She keeps a tidy office/craft room
29. She tells great stories
30. I can't ever imagine my life without her...definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAIME!!!!

Thirty Reasons

So Jaime turned 30 today. F had a socce rgame and then her sister babysat while we out for Thai food. We splurged and got 3 entrees so that we could try something new on the menu. It was so good. I first met Jaime when she was 17. Hard to believe that I have known her for 13 years and have been married to her for 10. Here are my reasons for loving her.

1. She is my best friend (and at times my only friend)
2. She is a great wife
3. She is an amazing mother
4. She is smarter than me even though she makes me think I am smarter
5. Her biting sarcasm, even though she hates my sarcasm
6. Her sharp and stinging wit
7. Her organizational skills
8. Her curt and practical nature (which she technically gets from her mom)
9. Her ability to fundraise for a worthy cause
10. Her sense of humor
11. Her commitment to living the Gospel
12. She wraps presents better than anyone I know
13. She knows how to put on a great party
14. She "tells it like it is"
15. Without her vision we would not have lived in two great houses so far
16. She reads faster than I do
17. Her ability to get new playground equipment for the city of Radford
18. She makes great handmade cards
19. Se makes great scrapbook pages without being totally "lame or cheesy"
20. She raises our boys better than anyone ever could
21. She is beautiful and has curly hair
22. She does what she says she will do
23. She is a great teacher
24. She requires a plunger just about wherever she goes (no I won't be more specific)
25. She loves ice cream
26. She is a great cook and she comes from a long line of masterbakers
27. She also had a Grandma Doris
28. She keeps a tidy office/craft room
29. She tells great stories
30. I can't ever imagine my life without her...definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAIME!!!!

Off to Preschool

G started preschool a couple of days ago. He goes for a few hours every MWF. It is about a mile from the house and at a great preschool, so we are excited for that. Anyway, this is a picture of him all "ready to go". He definitely knows how to ham it up.

The night before his first day, I was talking to him at bedtime. I told him that I hoped that he had a great day at preschool and that maybe he could call me when he got done. He said, "I will call you from my preschool Dad. They have a phone there. I'm the principal."

Another funny thing is that he asks me everyday when I get home if I played on the playset with kids at my school. I have decided to just tell him yes, because when I tell him otherwise he gets frustrated.

My new favorite video

You have probably seen it...but maybe not

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQjcUrepo5o

Do you think you could do it?

Sunday Best

This morning Jaime took some pictures of the boys before church. They looked especially cute today. S is getting so big and is getting comfortable rolling around with his brothers.

Thanks Grandma Meacham. S loves the blanket.

Say hello to Mr. Personality, our flirtiest baby yet.

Say hello to "MY-A" niece

Congrats to John and Brittany Carpenter on the birth of their first child and daughter Maya Elizabeth Carpenter. We are so excited for them. They have spent the last year living in the big city of Columbus, Ohio. Looks like city life is rubbing off on little Maya as she throws her first gang sign. All kidding aside, best of luck to them.



Is that east side or west side?

It's BIrthday Season

During this past month we have had birthday parties for both F and G. G's party had an underwater/fish theme and F's party had a dinosaur theme.

Hot dog octopus on a bed of seaweed ramen. G freaked out and would not eat the "octopus".

Splashing in the fishy friends sprinkler.

Like the fence? Yes, I did build that:)

Apparently dinosaurs love chicken nuggets.

Sometimes I feel like this is how my car looks...or at least runs sometimes

I got my car back last week after a minor $780 repair. It seemed to run great for about a day. Then it would not start every now and then. The best part is when it did not start when I was trying to drive the boys back from the pool. Luckily our neighbor was able to come get us because Jaime's van battery died earlier that same day and that was still stranded at the park. So our neighbor dropped off the boys and then took me to get Jaime's van. Later that night our friend took me back to my car which started and then I dropped it off at the shop. I then went to Walmart and bought a battery and changed it for Jaime. The next day I learned that my starter was going out and needed to be replaced. I had already deduced that I needed a starter and had priced it online at $149. The shop quoted me the same price...with labor adding another $50. I guess I am grown up because I know how to change a starter, but I opted to have someone else do it. "My time is worth more than $50 an hour, right?" That's debatable, but I at least have my car back now. It appears to be running at the moment. I have high expectations for the car and hope that all these repairs will serve beneficial. My hope is that I can get at least 1 year life out of the car and then I will be satisfied.

Hey! Hey! We're the Monkees!

Finnegan has always loved dressing up nice for church. He is our little Alex P. Keaton. Grayson does not prefer to dress up as much but obliges at times. Anyway, when we were out in Utah over Christmas, we hit the outlet stores in St. George. We were able to find matching blazers in their sizes. They were extremely cheap and we thought that it was fate that they were in both of their sizes.

This picture was taken after Sawyer's baby blessing. WHen I saw it it made me think of an album cover from the 60s.

Maybe I can use this as a portfolio to get my children into the entertainment industry. Finn has expressed that he wants to become an actor and go to Hollywood. We asked him to develop a fall back plan just in case things don't work out. He has decided that he will become a lawyer if things don't work out.

Improving Home Improvement

So it seems that I have become quite the handyman lately. I have been working on a number of different projects. This year with some tax return money we decided to buy a swing set for the kids. The booklet said that it would take 10 hours to put together. When all was said and done it probably took more like 15 hours and I had a variety of people helping me along the way.



The funniest part was when I started the base of the swing and the wind blew it down that night. I had cut and replace to pieces rather than have the manufacturer ship them to me. With that said, I only incurred an extra cost of 15 dollars. Definitely small potatoes when compared to the original price.



Needless to say, the boys absolutely love the swing set. We then decided that we would build a privacy fence to keep the boys off the street. I am happy to report that the fence is complete (after weeks and weeks of hard labor). That however, will have to wait for another post.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I hope that you have a great birthday. It is an honor to have you as my dad. As I see my sons grow, I find it surreal to think that the feeling and emotions that flow through my heart are the same that flowed through your heart as you watched me grow. I almost feel that I come to love and appreciate you more as a father the more that I myself experience as a father. Happy Birthday, with many more to come.

Does the car go on living?

So at church today I asked all the guys in the High Priest Group regarding the status of my car. They all seemed to think that it would be worth looking at what it would take to fix it. The more I got to thinking about it, the more I am cautious about going into debt in order to buy a new/used car. We have been working so hard for so long to continue to work our way out of debt. I just feel that if I were to take out a hefty loan for another car that it would contradict all the things that we have been working towards lately. I am not sure how much life I can squeezed out of this car at this point. My hope is that by putting out a small chunk of money that I can get the car up and running again.

Stay tuned for further updates..

BLOWN HEAD GASKET!!!

So the diagnosis is definitely a blown head gasket. Off to the junkyard. At least it only cost 20 bucks to see what was wrong with it. Problem is, I don't even feel like going back for it. Now I just need to find the spot (it's a secret) where I hide my money and see if I happen to have 15 thousand dollars.

My Car Has Died...or at least I think it has

So I have basically been on vacation for the last week. I have not driven my car the whole time. Yesterday however, I drove to Blacksburg and back. No problems at all. This morning when I am heading to work I start my car and the engine starts to shake and then this giant billow of puffy white smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe. I am not kidding by saying that it was literally as tall and half the size of my house. I ended up driving the 1986 Dodge Ram Pickup to work instead. This thing is a beast. It has no AC, no radio, and I think it takes about 7-8 dollars to make one round trip to work.

This is kind of like the car I had except mine doesn't have fashionable tinted windows.

I did a little bit of research and the odds are looking that the engine may have blown the head gasket. Seeing that my car was already ten years old, I feel that it is probably going to be not worth the cost to fix it. The only problem is that I don't have a hidden savings account where I was stashing money away for a new car.

This is like the beast that I am now driving except that mine is blue.

Around 11:00 tonight I drove my car to a shop so that they can look at it in the morning. Gratefully, I was able to get my car there without it blowing up or something. I long for the day when I live in a world without car trouble. Perhaps it is my destiny to always have car trouble surrounding me, but maybe I can break the cycle.

Williamsburg and Virginia Beach

So, Friday was the last full day of our vacation in Williamsburg. Jaime and the boys and I drove out to Virginia Beach to spend part of the day at the beach. After some traffic issues as well as some extra stops on the way back, it actually turned into a full day event. It was great to be at the beach. The waves were much smaller and slower than what I remember from the West Coast. Finn and Gray loved jumping over the waves. At one point Grayson took a tumble in the surf and Jaime (fully clothed by the way) had to run in and get him while holding the baby all at the same time. On the way back to Williamsburg, we got majorly delayed while entering the Hampton bridge/tunnel. It is very cool and very claustrophobic tunnel that goes under the bay. We made a stop in Newport News to pick up a few things at Trader Joe's (we do not have one anywhere near our house). After picking up some groceries, we ate dinner at Moe's Southwest Grille. Jaime and I ate giant burritos and the boys ate tacos and quesadillas. The day very much reminded me of life in California. Lots of traffic, the ocean, good mexican food, and Trader Joe's. I miss all of these things greatly...except for the traffic. In fact, Jaime and I have concluded that we are once again glad to live in the sleepy little town of Radford where we don't have to deal with traffic and congestion.

Finn frolicking in the surf.

Gray playing with the only "beach toy" we could find in the car...a blue cup.

Sawyer was very mad because it was over 100 degrees and the only shade was in his carseat.

Finn was eating Gogurt and completely missed his mouth.

So I actually created this blog over a month ago, but I never took the initiative to write anything. I have been inspired by my sister Liz (with her awesome blog) and by yet another Priesthood lesson on how we should write journals. I have decided that this will be my journal. That way my family can have something to read about, as well as to look at.

This week, Jaime and the boys and I have been vacationing in Williamsburg. So far we have visited Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and the Jamestown Settlement. It has been a little crazy traveling with so many little kids, but it is great to be able to spend time together as a family.