The True Adventures of Ironman

Funny things she says

2009-01-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

I miss a lot of the funny things she says but I am going to try to remember a few and note a few she said while I was gone. Not all of these may seem funny to someone who reads this but they are funny to me because I can picture everything surrounding the comment.

1) She states ,"Daddy has a red motorcycle." Then asked mommy if motorcycles are for boys. Mommy replies that some girls have motorcycles like her auntie. Miss E then responds, "I want a pink motorcycle"

2) Miss E is sick and so we gave her some 7up. She takes a sip and we ask if she likes it. She makes a horrible face but then says , "yeah". It starts to bubble out of the top of her sippy cup and she takes a drink and says, "it's kind of popping." A minute later she says, "I don't know if it's good" and puts her finger up by her nose and goes, "hmmmm" with a thoughtful look on her face.

3) She has been trying to categorize things lately. At Christmas she got a small apron that she she said was a kite. We told her it was not a kite but she said, "It's like a kite".

Our napkin holder has a wierd design on it and she says, "it's like a daddy spider"

We were playing with some toys and there was a design that was close to a triangle but not quite and she said, "it's a triangle". I told her it wasn't and she responds, "it's like a triangle".

Octagon

2009-01-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

This morning after I got home from a church meeting wifey asks me to show an advertisement from a security company to miss E to see what she says. I showed it to miss E the picture and she said Octagon. Sure enough, the security sign was an octagon. Wifey says she learned it on Sesame Street. I didn't have the heart to tell her that when she is gone, miss E and I watch Ultimate Fighting Championship fights that take place in the Octagon. ha ha.

Christmas Breakfast

2008-12-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

The winner

2008-12-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

I decided that I needed to get a lighter gun because I had a baby Glock that just wasn't cutting it for a concealed weapon. I sold it and went to the store and purchased the revolver showing in this picture. As I was leaving the store, I saw a drawing for a gun and decided to fill it out not expecting to win because I never do. I left town for a couple days and when I came back there were a couple messages from the store owner. I wondered what they wanted. I called and they told me that they almost gave away my gun which really confused me because I had it with me. "No" they said, "You won the drawing". It's a $500 gun. Pretty cool.

Play time

2008-12-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas vacation week

2008-12-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Proud moment

2008-12-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa passed away a couple weeks ago and I got to be one of the pall bearers. It was sad to see him go but I am proud to have had a truly great man as my Grandpa.

Having fun in the snow

2008-12-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

We got a couple inches of snow last night and decided to play in the snow. Miss E was very excited and was impatient while I was looking for my well hidden snow gear. I finally found it and we were off. I built a snowman which she promptly knocked over and destroyed. :) We were really lucky that someone gave us this hand me down snowsuit that we just happened to dig through our closet and find. I didn't think we had snowgear for her.

Goofing around

2008-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Obstructions

2008-11-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

So while driving up there, I saw some hunters and they mentioned there was snow up top but I figured there wouldn't be much as it was still pretty early in the season. It was only a few inches deep but did actually get a little hairy in a few spots. I wasn't too worried though becuase I was following someone else's tracks. Unfortunately the tracks ended in a narrow dangerout area but I checked the snow and decided it wasn't took deep and decided to keep going. I am glad wifey was not with me becuase she would have sensed how nervous I was about getting stuck and stranded. Miss E had no idea and was just enjoying the ride. I came across this tree in the road and had to curse myself for not bringing the axe that my dad just barely gave me. I was able to push it partially to the side and drove over the rest. Big boulders were all over the road but fortunately none of them blocked the road so that I could not pass but it still made me nervous. This is the same road I got stuck on a few years ago with my brother so it brought back bad memories. We ended up getting through with few problems but I figure that is it for this year.

The Views

2008-11-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

The first pic is of the Three sisters and the second picture is Mt. Jefferson. The peak in the third pic is barely visible unless you know what you are looking for but it is Three Fingered Jack.

More falls and the snow

2008-11-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

As we continued the drive, we came upon more waterfalls and then finally hit some snow. She loved the snow and probably could have spend all day playing in it.

The falls and back

2008-11-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

On the way back, Miss E decided to take leaves and clean and dust the trees.

Arrival at the falls

2008-11-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

She loved sitting down on logs and even found one that she pretended was a motorcycle and then decided it was a train and that I needed to sit down with her so we could go "choo choo". Upon arrival at the waterfall she had her classic OOOOh reaction which is always so fun to watch. She didn't want to get too close though but that was probably because it was a bit steep wiht a drop off near trail.

Trip to the falls

2008-11-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

So I told wifey that once gas prices got down to $2.50, I was going on a drive in the mountains. That time came faster than I thought and I was able to return and take a drive in the mountains which used to be one of my favorite things to do but it has been a long time because I couldn't afford the gas. Miss E has only taken one drive in the mountains on the back roads and has never been for a hike before. She did better than I expected and wouldn't let me carry her except when she got scared because it was too steep. I decided to take her on a short hike to some waterfalls. The hike was just over a mile and she did most of that herself0-even the uphill part which was fun to watch. What really made me laugh is that when there was an obstacle in the path, she did not go around. She went over it. She climbed over rocks and fallen trees that she did not have to climb over.

growing up fast

2008-11-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

I love these kids

2008-11-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

First Fish

2008-10-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Miss E caught her first fish ever on Saturday when my dad came into town and we decided to hit the lake. If you will note in the bottom right of the top picture, I brought a barney cushion seat for Miss E. She sat in this for a few minutes when we got started and then she told me she was scared and I held her in my lap for several minutes while she worked out her fears. She has been in the boat a couple times but it is nerve racking for her every time because there has been a large gap in between each trip. I finally was able to put her back in her Barney seat and she sat there expressionless while Dad and I set up for fishing. My dad immediately caught three fish and I was gettning frustrated because I was at zero and last time I went fishing my friend caught around 15 and I caught four. Fortunately after a few minutes I started catching them and it was on. I never caught up with him but in my defense I was captaining the boat and dealing with Miss E but my dad doesn't take that as an excuse and I suppose I wouldn't if I was him:)

Miss E has never seen me catch a fish before so I was not sure how she would react. At first she seemed intrigued but did not want to touch the fish. After a few fish she asked to touch it and responded, "It's cold". I can't quite adequately explain how cute it is when she talks though because it sounds more like "Iss cold". Anyway, she touched them for a while and got comfortable and moved to the side of the boat and watched me for a while then she wanted to help and started grabbing my pole. I had to explain that we had to wait for the fish to bite which of course meant nothing to her. We finally got a bite and she helped me bring it in for her first fish. I was so happy for her and had my dad take this picture. She then spent the remainder of the time getting in my way, dipping her hands in the water, grabbing my line, splashing me with water, and laughing as I brought in a fish that splashed water all over her.

When it was over my dad had caught 21 and I had 17. Not too shabby. It was one of the best days I have ever had fishing. Not because the fish were big but we were catching them nonstop and it was fun to spend time with my dad and Miss E on a beautiful Oct day. This one will be in my memory forever.

I forgot to add that Miss E is getting very bossy and on the way back my dad got out of his seat and leaned back to talk to us and she turned to him and said, "sit back down" I had to explain that he did not have to sit down if he did not want to but it was pretty funny.

Getting Miss E to smile

2008-10-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

She didn't really want to smile so I told her to show her teeth and...there it is.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

She did like the pumpkin patch. She likes little pumpkins much better and has some trouble with the bigger ones.

Farm Animals

2008-10-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So we decided to take Miss E and Bonesteele to the pumpkin patch/animal petting. It did not go well. We thought Miss E would be excited to see some of the animals from her books but when the calf started mooooing, she freaked out, "Wanna go home. Wanna go home now". She can be seen smiling in the first picture which I can't really explain but what you see in the second picture is more representative of how she felt about the animals. In the third pic you can see Bonesteele not really caring about anything.

peek a boo

2008-09-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

2008-09-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Playin in the water

2008-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Going to the Ocean

2008-09-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

Fun times with Uncle T-Bone

2008-09-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

Rafting

2008-08-17T23:17:00.000-07:00

The other week I went rafting with a group a youth from church. We went on the Deschutes and had a blast. I decided to go fishing also after reading that it was supposed to be an awesome river for fishing and that there are more fish in this river than any other in Oregon. Well, maybe on paper but it didn't translate into catching fish. I caught two and it was more than anyone else I talked to. One was a 14 inch redside trout which was one of the most beautiful fish I have ever caught because it was native and was two or three times as fat as a stocked lake trout. The other fish I caught was a suckerfish.

I did get one of my wishes though and that was to get thrown from the boat when going over some of the big rapids.

I swallowed a lot of water and I had some stomach discomfort last week that may have been lingering effects from drinking 10 gallons of riverwater. I guess I didn't respect the river enough:)

Olympics

2008-08-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

I never watch swimming but boy do I love it during the Olympics. Lochte, Lezac, Phelps, and Torres were amongst my favorites.

Who can of course not love what Phelps did. I didn't think the first relay could be topped with the excitement of having Lezac make the amazing come from behind and win by .08 seconds(a fingertip) until Phelps won the 100 butterfly(I think) by .01 seconds(a fingernail). I was resigned to him getting a silver going into the last moments of the race and bammmmm-he miraculously gets the gold.

Lochte won my heart because I love cheering for the underdog though he isn't much of an underdog, he had never won an individual gold medal but was still breaking world records but couldn't beat Phelps and Piersol who were also breaking world records. He finally won his gold and I was so happy for him. I also can't help but be amazed that he somehow ate all you can eat McDonalds during the Olympics and still raced as well as he did. I guess it wasn't too many years ago that I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't seem to faze me too much but this is the Olympics where apparantly .01 seconds decides your place in history. How many cheeseburgers does it take to lose .01 seconds?

Lezac goes without saying but I'll say it again anyway-talk about one of the coolest come from behind wins and against the trash talking French. I love it. I also love that Ian what's his name from Australia ate his words against Phelps. I think he is just jealous.

Torres-41 and she's the second fastest swimming sprinter in the world? WOW. She also seemed to be really nice which weighs heavily for me when I decide whether or not I like an athlete.

I am glad that the IOC strips medals from people for poor sportsmanship and representing themselves and their countries, athletes, and the sports poorly. How embarrassing that the wrestler threw down his Bronze medal because he was upset about a call in the semifinals. You know, I have always been taught in sports that if you really want to make a statement to prove how good you are, be so good that a bad call won't make a difference. You could have made a dozen bad calls against the original Dream Team and it wouldn't have mattered.

While I have fun watching the Olympics, it is also hard for me to watch. I actually don't watch too many sports(particularly football) because it makes me want to play. To be anywhere near the level I would need to be at to be in the Olympics or play football at the level I wanted, I would have had to give up everything else. I lost my opportunity for greatness when I gave up football in Cali and decided to move on with my life. I don't regret it in the least but I do think about those kinds of things all the time. Now I have two kids and I'm not in very good shape anymore(though I can still kick your butt-ha). My point in all this seemingly nonsensical blubbering is that I hope that I can work as hard at helping my children and my family grow as the Olympians work at perfecting their sport. I hope that one day I can smile and know that I have done everything that I could do and it all worked out. That I will be able to bow before God and that he will give me what I desire more than anything else...and that as a family we will enjoy that time forever.

Bonesteele is sick

2008-08-17T22:46:00.000-07:00

Bonesteele and wifey are in the hospital.

He has not been sleeping well for the last couple weeks and wifey, after reviewing the literature, decided that it was time to have him cry it out. He did not sleep well and sounded like he was hoarse but we let him cry it out anyway. In the morning, he sounded like he had asthma but we thought that it would go away. He was in a good mood and smiled at us and didn't seem in pain so we figured it wasn't a huge deal. Later, it started to get worse and we became concerned enough to call the Kaiser advice nurse who suggested we take him to the ER immediately.

Wifey took him as Miss E was sleeping peacefully. Wifey called a short time later to let me know that he was being admitted and had what is known as "Crout" or something like that.

I skipped church and thankfully I was able to have some friends take Miss E off our hands and take her to church with them as my truck does not have seating suitable for Miss E and the hospital really is no place for a 2 year old.

Upon arrival, Bonesteele was still not doing very well and made wimpering noises and seemed miserable. They continued to treat him and he appears to be improving but they decided to keep him another night so I am calling in sick tommorow and I will take care of Miss E.

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Thumb sucka

2008-07-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

little frog

2008-06-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

I found this in the backyard and we had a good time playing with it for a little bit.

socks and bubbles

2008-06-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Miss E is such a wonderful little girl. She just grabbed my socks and decided that she wanted to wear them.

In the close up of Bonesteele, take a look at those mouth bubbles. Wifey says that perhaps he is teething but it sure looks funny.

Editing pictures

2008-06-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have got a new camera some time ago and have not really taken the time to learn how to take pictures and edit them. These pics were okay when I took them but I changed some things and made them turn out a little better though for someone with a trained eye they are probably all messed up.

Bubbles

2008-06-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

She could literally play with bubbles all day long

Play time

2008-06-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

One nice thing about being on paternity leave is that I get to hang out with the family more and take more pictures. On the flipside, it is also a disadvantage since wifey and I sometimes drive each other crazy from spending too much time together combined with the stress of taking care of two children. Miss E likes to eat her grapes and also enjoys playing peek-a-boo with Bonesteele even though he has no idea what is going on.

2008-06-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Gun Cabinet

2008-06-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my younger brother came to visit and somehow it came up that I was looking into getting a gun safe and he volunteered to make me a gun cabinet. Since most gun safes are ugly and need to go in a closet or the garage, I was pretty excited since a gun cabinet is something you can proudly display. As you can see by the pictures, he did an excellent job of building the cabinet. I ended up staining it myself and while I was working on it in my garage, my 70 or 80 year old neighbor walked by and asked what I was doing. I told her I was staining a gun cabinet and she responded, "Oh, you are one of those." I responded "Well, I am a police officer." to which she said, "Well that is part of your job but I didn't think you would have all kinds of extra guns. I never allowed guns in my house." So here is my question-How do you respond to that:)

I didn't respond at all. I do find it interesting that somehow people feel it appropriate to comment negatively and give their opinion about my gun ownership, which is of course a Constitutional right. I don't go up to people of different religions or people exercising freedom of speech, assembly, or any other constitutional rights and say, "Oh, you are one of those". It seems a little wierd to me that people feel they can say whatever they want and treat gun owners as though they are some sort of right wing nutjob.

Finally

2008-06-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

Wifey has been getting smiles for some time but now I am finally getting some also

Family Fun

2008-06-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

At the Beach

2008-06-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

surgery

2008-05-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever post pics of myself because I am a little bothered by the double chin I have recently perfected but I couldn't pass putting up this horrible pic.

Yesterday I had a septoplasmy(nose surgery to shave away at my nasal passage and hopefully making me snore less).

The blue pad I am wearing is filled with gauze and is called a mustache pad. I think it is aptly named because I think it looks ridiculous and that is how I feel about mustaches:)

It has been more than one year now since I moved into the extra bedroom of our house because I snore so loudly that Wifey can't sleep. I went in to be tested for sleep apnea and found that I don't have it or any other sleep disorder. I have had a crooked nose for as long as I can remember and figured maybe that might be making me snore so I went to see the ear, nose, throat doc and he suggested I get a septoplasmy.

I was a little nervous about it cuz he said he was going to cut the inside of my nose and chip out some bone and cartlidge. I came out of surgery feeling pretty good so I thought I would be fine. Unfortunately as soon as I started taking the Vicadin they gave me, all hell broke loose. It makes you naseated and constipated so I didn't want to take 2 so I tried one which left me feeling in pain-pretty bad pain. Now I am taking two.

I scheduled Bonesteele's baby blessing for this Sunday thinking that I would be feeling better and invited family to come over. What was I thinking. I have had a couple surgeries in the past and I didn't even take pain meds afterward so I thought I was pretty tough. Wrong.

I just hope this surgery works and that I don't snore as much. I also need to get started on a better excersize program but I don't know how people with kids, jobs, and grad school get anything done.

What fun...

2008-05-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Bonesteele looking tough in his pink bouncy seat. Miss E apparantly loves eating rocks and has also found a new hobby-lego star wars.

Montage

2008-05-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

So much going on and I haven't been making time to take pics and blog about much of it. I have kind of slowed down recently because Bonesteele has a bad case of baby acne so I haven't been taking many pics of him. Miss E is as cute as ever. She loves playing in water-even though the water is freezing it doesn't seem to bother her. Wifey is looking hot as ever and got some nice complements yesterday from a woman who said she was jealous about how thin Wifey looked.

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More pics

2008-04-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

For those who don't get tired of me showing off my baby...

Miss E's famous foot

2008-04-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I guess it's not really famous:) I should have added this to the earlier foot blog but I forgot and didn't feel like adding it to that blog. This is her foot now-the tough little toddler foot

Adorable

2008-04-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

In the bottom pic, Miss E asked if she could hold Bonesteele. Miss E is really handling having a little brother much better than I thought.

Hobbit Feet Part 2

2008-04-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Match the foot to the baby

Siblings

2008-04-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

Miss E seems to be adjusting very well to having a younger brother. She has not done anything really mean yet and seems to understand that he isn't just visiting(but who knows). It's nice having a toddler to add to the baby pics cuz as my brother put it not long ago "You can only take so many pics of a baby cuz they just sit there". Miss E helps mix it up cuz I never know what she'll do.

Day 2

2008-04-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

These pics include the first bath and teaching Miss E to be nice to Bonesteele.

Tiny feet

2008-04-19T21:36:00.001-07:00

My Birthday

2008-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. Bonesteele was gracious enough to be born the day before as I wanted to keep today for myself. I can't really think of a better present though then to have a healthy little(sort of) boy.

For those that are interested, I am going to recount the days events(or some of the highlights). Reader beware.

On the 17th, wifey took Miss E for a walk in an effort to get the contractions started. They started but were 5 minutes apart and not too strong. Wifey's friend K came over and we both told wifey that she needed to wait until morning as we needed a good nights rest. Did she listen...No. About 2:45 am wifey comes and wakes me to give me an opportunity to get ready. K came over to take care of Miss E and we headed down to the hospital and found out wifey was dialated to 5. They put us in a room and the wait started. Wifey said she didn't want en epidural but I asked her again to make sure and she changed her mind saying something like "of course I want an epidural, I don't know what I was thinking." Thanksfully her pain subsided substancially afterward.

After waiting for some time without too much progression, we decided to have the Dr. break wifey's water. A short time after that, it was go time. Wifey bore down and started pushing. At first she was having a rough time and was pushing more in her face but the nurse helped her and brought a mirror so she could see the baby's head. Once wifey actually saw the head, it was like she got a sudden burst of energy and things started happening fast. Bonesteele's head started to come out quicker than the nurse anticipated and the nurse said, "stop pushing I need to get the doctor". Wifey's reply, "I can't stop. I am going to push" to which I pleaded "Please don't push the baby will come out". Wifey then said, "you can catch him"

About that time the dr. enters but still has to glove up and prepare so he said to think about something else and someone mentioned being on a beach. Wifey starts monlouging(spelling?) aobut being on a beach and then starts talking about having waffles for breakfast. Now the dr is ready and the baby's head came out on the next big push. Wifey relaxed after that and the baby got stuck for a few seconds so they called lots of help into the room. Wifey got her bearings and then pushed the baby the rest of the way out.

I saw the head come out and it looked huge and purple. The rest of Bonesteele came out and then the doc put him on wifey's belly. I got to cut the cord and we heard him make his first cry and saw him take his first breaths. It was amazing. When baby E was born, there were some complications so they took the baby away before we could properly greet her. It was so wonderful to be with Bonesteele. Wifey cried and so did I. In fact, I am tearing up just writing about this.

The Arrival of Bonesteele

2008-04-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Born April 18, 2008 at 11:54 am. Weighing 9 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches long.

Spring is here

2008-04-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

I read in the paper that they haven't turned on the fountain at this park for a couple years because people go swimming in it when it is warm. Too bad cuz it was pretty cool and would be a nice place to relax and have a picnic if it was warmer. Miss E had a good time with all the flowers.

Fishing

2008-03-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

So while figuring out what to do this weekend, my brother asks if I have any manly activities planned. "How about fishing. I can guarantee that we will catch some fish up at Detroit" I shouldn't have said that.

Now might be a good time to explain the foot. I like showing pics for my blogs but it's hard to show a picture of a fish if you didn't catch any.

It was a nice day at the lake though a bit cold. I was extremely excited to get my boat out on the water and show someone what I learned last year and how good I was at fishing at Detroit. So much for that.

That being said, it was fun to get out on the lake. A saying that is probably overquoted but true "A bad day fishing is better than a good day working".

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

We decided to do the hunt Saturday after my brother and I got back from fishing and it was a good thing we did cuz it rained pretty hard Sunday.

A few days ago Miss E went with Wifey to an activity at church with a bunch of other kids and they did a little Easter egg hunt. Miss E caught on quickly and then started stealing Easter eggs from unsuspecting and innocent children. Naughty Miss E.

When we did our hunt Miss E took a second to catch on to what we were doing but then she was off and running(or waddling). As you can see, she is a two fisted egg hunter. Obviously though, her favorite part is the payoff "Candy"

Easter Weekend

2008-03-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

My brother, Sister-in-Law, and their daughter came to visit for Easter weekend this year. It was fun to have them visit and sobering to remember how hard it is to take care of a newborn baby. Baby J was cute while she was awake and I even got her to smile at me a couple times. Miss E was really warming up to people and it was fun seeing her interact with Baby J. Wifey was holding Baby J and Miss E didn't even seem to mind so we shouldn't have any problems when Bonesteele arrives.

Michele cooked a wonderful Easter Meal with a delicious honey baked ham. My parents called last night and they were also able to come over for Easter dinner. Michele and I agreed that it was one of the best Easters we can remember having. It's nice to have family for the holidays.

I also really enjoyed seeing Miss E warming up to everyone else. It has been wierd going home for holidays and not being able to show off how cute she really is. She was showing off for my mom and dad this afternoon.

M-F

2008-03-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

"Hop on back soon"

cousins

2008-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

What a couple of cuties. What else can I say. It's cute to see them together even though Baby E didn't exactly know how to treat Baby J, she was pretty friendly except when she was pushing her away. She finally learned how to gently pat her on the head.

Little friend

2008-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

On the way to M-F, I stopped off at some old friends house and met one of my high school friends kid. It was funny watching the different personalities that the two kids have. They didn't really play together but it was still pretty cute to watch them both.

Wedding

2008-03-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

My little bro got married over the weekend. Baby E and I went to visit for a few days while wifey stayed home as she was not feeling very well. This was the first time that baby E has been away from momma overnight. I was a little nervous but overall it went pretty well. Baby E missed mommy but she still had a good time. She seems to be warming up more and more to my family and even let some of them hold her when I was around. I learned a few things about taking care of a kid while there. The first was that I would not make it as a single parent. I have a great deal of respect for mothers (particularly the stay at home variety). I have told wifey in the past that I would be the stay at home and she could go to work cuz she could make more money but the truth is, I could not stick it out. According to wifey, I don't have a nurturing bone in my body. I just don't have as much patience. I love to play with Baby E but I get tired and can only play a little bit at a time. It is easier for me when we go out and do something. While in M-F, I felt like I didn't do anything other than take care of her. I do love to take care of her though. When I come home, she almost always comes to greet me at the door and I can often hear her saying "daddy" before I even open the door. You can't really beat that. Anyway, I also learned that it is very difficult to take a toddler to an all you can eat buffet. I got her food ready and helped get her started and then got her some seconds while trying to get a bite or two for myself. When she was finished she demanded that I pick her up and when I refused, she became agitated. Fortunately my sister stepped up and helped clean Baby E off and held her while I ate. Otherwise it would have been a sad state of affairs and I would not have been able to eat more food than I really needed to eat. I also learned that I need to give Baby E more rest breaks on trips. I stopped a couple times on the way home but I really tried to push through and made pretty good time. When I was less than five minutes from the house I heard a noise and looked in the rear view and saw vomit gushing out of her mouth once, twice, three times-all over her. She started crying and kind of held her hands to her side in a helpless manner as though she didn't know what to do. It was so sad. I wanted to stop right then but I would have been able to help her so I grabbed the cell and told wifey to get water and lots of towels ready. I started to clean it up but Baby E also needed to get out of her clothes and into the bathtub so I stripped her down and took her in the bathroom. I took off all my clothes and put her in the tub. While I was getting ready to get in, I looked over and saw her standing in the water peeing. The tub was already nearly full and she had puke all over her and was still crying and upset. She doesn't like bathing and it is nearly impossible to do unless you are in there with her. I decided that I would just have to take a puke and pee bath with her. I jumped in and cleaned her up, rinsed off, cleaned the car and seat, and then finally took a shower. Ahhh, the fun of being a parent.

Isn't she cute

2008-03-04T18:53:00.001-08:00

Earning Baby E's trust

2008-03-04T18:47:00.001-08:00

Baby E has always been shy and doesn't really like other people to hold her especially when mom or dad are in sight. My older brother spent a fair amount of time at the temple trying to play with her and get her to let him hold her. As you can see, he did a pretty good job of earning her trust

Growing so fast

2008-03-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

Baby E has really started to love being outside. If I go outside she starts saying "side, side, side, side" until I take her out. She is also starting to be able to move up and down stairs and practiced this a lot over the weekend at my parents house and when we went to the temple. In the pics where she is in the purple coat, she is bouncing on her first trampoline and she seemed to really like it. In the other pic, I brought her under this tree with me and then she later went back to it and tried to get underneath but wasn't able to do it all by herself. I got to see my brother's baby for the first time and it was wierd seeing how small she was compared to Baby E. I guess I have forgotten how tiny they are. It felt a little awkward holding her. I guess I better get used to it again though.

She loves eating-messy like me too

2008-02-17T20:44:00.001-08:00

Such a big girl

2008-02-17T20:38:00.001-08:00

She wants to be just like her mother. I'm in big trouble.

More peek a boo

2008-02-17T20:30:00.001-08:00

She loves to play this. I think it is soooo cute that she covers her face with her hand and still keeps her eye open to see. Wifey will start looking for her and saying "is baby E behind the couch, and baby E will actually answer her and say no" It's adorable.

Cute wife and child

2008-02-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

Firepit

2008-02-17T20:23:00.001-08:00

I bought one of those little firepits and baby E really liked it-A lot!

Peek a boo

2008-02-17T20:18:00.001-08:00

She is so much fun now

Reading and Drinking water

2008-02-17T20:12:00.001-08:00

The first thing she wants now everytime she wakes up is her sippy cup. She reads a lot. She has no idea what she is reading but she makes up the words as she goes and there is an aweful lot of cute jibberish going on.

New Camera

2008-02-17T20:00:00.001-08:00

I got a new camera and therefore I have become camera happy. This camera is awesome and I have gotten some really fun pics that my other camera would not have been able to take.

Wrestling Team

2008-02-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

We start with about 30 and this is what is left after everyone quits or gets kicked off because of bad grades. It's pretty frustrating to coach at this school but at least it makes a difference to the few that stick it out.

What Year Do You Belong In?

2008-02-03T23:58:00.001-08:00

You Belong in 1985

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Time off

2008-02-03T23:37:00.001-08:00

I got a new camera which makes it a lot easier to get good pictures because it actually takes the pictures when I want it to. Baby E wasn't feeling very good today so I took her for a drive to a park up the road and she tried to get in the river. I think this summer should be fun because she might actually be interested in playing in the water. Last year, I tried to get her in the water and she became very upset. She and I will also be spending a lot more time together this summer as we will have our baby boy by them and I will be on Baby E duty while I am on paternity leave. I wish Baby E was old enough to go in my boat but I don't think she is yet. Hopefully, the new camera will inspire me to post more regularly but I promise nothing(for the 2 people that even look at my page:)

2007-11-25T18:37:00.001-08:00

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2007-11-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

14 Months

2007-07-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

My little baby is not really a baby anymore-she is now a toddler. She has so much energy I can't get anything done when she is awake and she demands my attention or else she gets upset. She loves to have me on the floor so she can stand up against me and read or just crawl all over me. She likes to put her hand in my mouth for some reason and really likes to be held and is finally starting to sit still when I hold her. She comes up when I am on my computer and just starts bangin on it but I can't always stop her becuase she is pretty sly. She loves blueberries and sometimes won't eat anything else and if she doesn't like it, she throws it off the tray. I can't believe she is growing up so fast.

Lake Billy Chinook

2007-07-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I went on a camping trip with a youth group from my church and here are some of the pics from the trip. We went to Lake Billy Chinook which is supposed to be a great lake for fishing. I thought it was okay but got really frustrated at first because when I go fishing on Detroit lake I catch fish all day long but at Lake Billy Chinook I really only had luck early in the morning. In addition to fishing we hiked to the top of Smith Rock and went boating/tubing/wakeboarding. The fish above are perch which we caught during the day but that was more of a joke becuase as you can see, they are like 3 inches long. The other fish are kokanee which is a landlocked salmon.

Tuna Fishing

2007-07-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I paid $70 to go out on a charter boat salmon fishing thinking that I would at least catch one keeper. I was really excited to get out there but as the day wore on I got more and more frustrated as I wasn't even getting a bite and the guy right next to me reeled in two keepers and was done for the day. The weather turned for the worst and started raining hard. Most of the 16 people that came on the boat to fish went inside the cabin but I was not about to abandon my pole and it finally paid off. I had a bite! I started reeling in and within a few seconds it came off. Dang! The time for the trip to end was quickly approaching and I feared that had been my only chance. I then got another hit and yelled "fish on". I started reeling it in while chanting out loud "please let it be a keeper". We got it on the deck and it was a nice Coho Salmon but alas it was a native fish which meant I could not keep it. The day continued on without any more hits on my pole. The trip ended with very few of the people on the boat actually catching keepers. I ended up driving to town and buying some smoked salmon and some tuna with the idea that if wifey liked the tuna she would let me go on a tuna charter which costs $175. She liked it and said I could go but as I was talking to my friend D he said that wifey's old boss had a boat and had invited him to go fishing. I went to the office and told E that I wanted to go fishing with him.

I didn't expect he would get back to me so quickly but within a few days he called and asked if I wanted to go fishing. We headed out monday at 3:45 am with his boat and 175 pounds of ice. We put in at Tillamook bay and headed out to the ocean. The ocean has been warming due to recent winds and storms and the tuna have come extremely close to land(as close as three miles). They are normally out 20 miles or further. We headed out a few miles and started trolling. Within about at hour we had a hit. I grabbed the pole and started reeling it in. I have never had a fish fight so hard and toward the end I was wondering if I would have the energy to get it in the boat. We got it in and E showed me how to stab it through the brain and then cut it's gills. Man they sure bleed a lot. We got blood everywhere in that boat. We started trolling again but as we headed out to sea the water started cooling so we turned around and within a half hour we got another fish on. D reeled in this fish but he had been getting sick and had a hard time and had to stop to feed the fish. From then on we had quite a bit of luck and by the end of the day we had 12 fish. I brought in most of them becuase D was sick almost the whole time and E didn't really care to bring them in. We could have caught more but D was not feeling good so we headed back in. It was an awesome day and I hope to be able to go again sometime but I doubt E will take me again. Not becuase I did anything wrong but just becuase he has a bunch of other people to take and I don't think he really even goes that often.

Anyway, we drove back and E showed us how to fillet the fish. I was quite suprised to find that most of the fish is actually meat. Their guts take up very little of the fish. E didn't want much of the fish so D and I got a lot of fish. I am in the process of canning some of it right now which is actually pretty cool. I have never canned fish before and it is working quite well. I am going to smoke some of it up here in a few minutes and see how that turns out.

For anyone who does read this and likes to fish, I highly recommend going fishing for tuna. You are almost guaranteed to catch something and they are a great fighting fish.

The Journey Begins

2007-07-07T00:47:00.000-07:00

Some time back wifey approached me about going to Utah to visit her family. Due to work related issues I was not able to go with her but she went anyway so I was left with an incredibly tough decision-What will I do with 4 days off? As you can see the answer was go on a motorcycle trip. I debated the various locations I could go but in the end opted for the unorginal yet action packed highway 101 trip. For those that aren't familiar(which for those that read this blog-yes all two of you-you likely are familiar but just in case someone else should trip on my blog...)that route closely follows the coastline in Washington all the way down to California. As I was preparing for my trip I found myself debating whether or not I should go at all as I had(and still have) a great deal of homework to finish for my graduate school class. In the end I took one day off my trip to work on homework.

The trip started at 12:30 pm on Tuesday the 3rd of July. I ride a Honda Sabre and this is my story(yes that's cheesy but so am I). I bought a new pair of saddle bags for this trip hopeing that I would be able to fit enough for three days into the bags which might not be difficult for some but my wife has dubbed me "the great overpacker". I decided I would try to save money and sleep in campgrounds along the way so I had to find room for a tarp and some blankets. In the end I fit everything I needed. Or did I?

I went to Lincoln City and from there headed south on 101. Traveling down 101 up until Newport was something I have done quite often and was nothing new. When I got to the coast I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the weather was. The sun was shining with very few clouds in the sky but just to make sure it wasn't too perfect, the wind was blowing. I stopped in Lincoln City and Depot to rest for a few minutes and then continued South to Waldport where I made my first stop for gas. I then continued South stopping periodically at information points, lookouts, and state parks when I felt the need for a break(which is much more often than in a car as riding a motorcycle can be quite tiring).

At one of the stops I obtained a copy of a map with the location of all the Oregon State Park campgrounds and decided that I was going to go to Shore Acres which is located SouthWest of Coos Bay near Charleston. I arrived at the campground hopeing that they would have vacancies which they did. I pulled my motorcycle in to park and no sooner had I gotten off my bike then Doug came over and said, "is that the 1300 or the 1800" referring to the size of my motorcycle. I explained to him that it was the 11oo Sabre and he rambled on for a few minutes about motorcycles. He ended up being an incredibly friendly man who was staying at the park with his wfie Jan. They are retired and live in Redmond during the summer and Arizona in the winter.

I talked to him for a bit and then went to grab a bite to eat in Charleston. I went to the local market and asked about restaurants in town and she mentioned a few names including Captian Johns(I think). It turns out that I had stayed there my junior and senior year during the state wrestling tournament. It made me laugh becuase that was 12 or 13 years ago.

Day one comes to an end

2007-07-07T00:45:00.000-07:00

In my opinion you couldn't ask for much more than this. The tide was low and going out so I was able to make my way out to the tidepools where I saw more marine life than I have seen in any other tide pools I have been to. From the spot in this picture I was able to see this shot as well as the cliffs and a lighthouse. It was a great way to end the waking part of day one. I will count sleeping as part of day two so I can say at least this day was perfect.

The journey continutes-sleepily

2007-07-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

I can't remember sleeping so bad in my whole life. I have been winter camping on several occasions but this was the worst I can ever remember feeling at night while camping. I put my tarp down and used two thin blankets thinking that would be enough. I put on my sweatshirt and even a pair of gloves. While the fire was going it was toasty but after that went out I was done and I had no more wood and no way of getting more in the middle of the night. I put on pretty much all the clothing I had and nothing helped. I tried to pull the tarp around me and that made little differece. At 5:30 I was up and went and took a nice hot shower for probably 30-45 minutes. I came back and was finally able to sleep for a couple hours. I woke up and Doug invited me over for coffee. I told him I didn't drink coffee but would join him and I ended up getting a boiled egg, pastry, and a cup of applesauce out of it. Not too shabby since I had nothing. After that I packed up and headed out of camp around 10 or 10:30 am.

Shore Acres Gardens

2007-07-07T00:40:00.000-07:00

I tink the pictures speak for themselves but I will just mention that there is an amazing botanical garden at this park. While I was at the lookout point this guy starts talking about seeing the whale off in the distance and describes to me where it was. Apparantly my day vision isn't as good as my excellent night vision(inside family joke). I finally found the whales but they were far enough off that all I could see was water shooting up every couple minutes. I continued on to the next lookout which was just up the road and found the lookout to be packed with asian tourists and they were all checking out the whales. This lookout was only about 2-300 yards from the whales and you could see them coming up and I saw the tail of one of them come out of the water. It was pretty cool.

From there I headed out on the road again and stopped for lunch in Bandon. It turns out that they have a pretty cool little set up there and I helped myself to a bread chowder bowl(yummy). Well, I had spent plently of time dilly dallying around so I needed to hurry on down the road.

Bathroom Break

2007-07-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

I stopped here Hopeing to find a bathroom that I could use but ended up just using nature as they didn't have one that was close. I didn't stay here long becuase the wind was blowing as hard as I have ever seen it blow on the Oregon Coast. You see those white crested waves in the picture. Those aren't from the tide-they are from the wind blowing. Okay that's a lie but it was a strong wind.

Dino Park

2007-07-07T00:35:00.000-07:00

While driving South I just happened to pass a place with a huge T-rex in the front of the store. I love a good goofy pic so I though I would take one and found it was a self-guided dinosaur tour through a mini tropical forested area. I took the tour and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was to look at the life-sized dinosaurs. I didn't stay for too long becuase I was starting to get wierd looks from other people-like they have never slid down the tail of a dinosaur and yelled yabba dabba dooo.

I headed back out on the road and made it to Cresent City where I stopped for gas and met Tiny(who was not Tiny) and his wife/gf. They were extremely friendly and had ridden their bike from Colorado. We talked for a few minutes and they mentioned a ride through the redwoods that I had never heard of even through I had once lived in the area. I took the ride and found it to be enjoyable but not as cool as the Avenue of the Giants.

I made my way to Arcata CA where I tried to contact an old friend with no luck so I ended up staying in a Ho Jo's and spent a lot more than I wanted to so I at Carl's Jr for dinner instead of having a nice steak like I wanted. Being that it was the 4th of July I was going to go to the fireworks show but in the end I was too tired from not sleeping the day before and had a bath and a quite night in my hotel room.

The end with reflections

2007-07-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

Day 3-I woke up after getting a great nights sleep and filled up on my complimentary continental breakfast while reviewing a "101 things to do in Humboldt county magazine". Having lived in the area I already pretty much knew what I wanted to do in the area but I was trying to decide the best route home as I had decided that I wanted to see my family. I ended up deciding that I would take hwy 299 over to hwy 96(Bigfoot highway) then up to I-5 and home.

I again tried to call my friend in the area but he must have left town for the 4th. I headed into Arcata to check out some of the old places I knew. I drove by my old house and the university and drove by my old church building. I then headed to the town center and drove down the main streets to see what had changed. Their weren't too many major changes but I was disappointed to see a little pizza place I used to really like had closed down. I was planning on eating lunch there but that obviously didn't happen. I parked my bike and sat in the plaza for a little while just to relax and people watch. I had kind of forgotten what the town was like. It is a really small college town full of hippies and the entire city council is in the Green Party and it shows in the town. The square was a mix of younger college age people and some older scruffy looking hippy types sitting on benches sleeping or relaxing. A guy on his bike randomly came up to me and asked me if I wanted to trade my motorcycle for his bicycle and then told me how he wished he could have a motorcycle and that he used to own one.

From there I drove to Eureka over the Samoa bridge to the place where I used to work hoping that some of my old friends were still there. Turns out that Cho still worked there and was excited to see me. She had lost my email address and contact info I we had lost contact. Other than that there weren't too many people left at that job that were my friends. I guess that is what happens after 8 years. I decided to end my Eureka visits by going down old town and then heading over to the jetty. I parked my bike and took a stroll to the end of the jetty where I relaxed for a few minutes watching the waves slam against the jetty and watching a porpoise surface through the high waves. I called wifey and told her that I would be coming home that night as I really wanted to see her and baby E.

I started my trip around 1pm thinking that I would stop somewhere along hwy 96 and get a bigfoot burger. Turns out that the map was kind of decieving as far as showing any development along the route. There were a few towns but none of them were really tourist towns of any sort and didn't have much too offer for food. The entire route was along a river(2 different ones I think) but that didn't do much to help cool the ride down. It was cold on the coast and the fog had rolled in to Eureka making my leather jacket a necessity but a few miles outside town I had to ditch the jacket as it was over 100 and I was sweating like crazy. As I turned onto 96 I saw a bigfoot highway sign and thought "I should take a picture" but then decided I would just take another down the road. Turns out they trick you with that sign making you think the path was developed and fun in some way. The route was longer than I could make it on one tank of gas but I figured someone had to have gas. I picked the name of a town and decided it was a good halfway point and I would get gas there. Unfortunately small towns don't often carry premium gas which is what is required in my bike. I had to backtrack 15 miles to the last town to get premium. On my way back I rode my bike down to the Klamath River to take a small break and decided I need to figure out some way to cool down for my ride. I took off my shirt and soaked it in the water and returned to my riding-much cooler but it didn't take long to dry out.

I hit I-5 low on gas hoping that a station would come up soon. Fortunately I found one and was on my way North along "The 5". I sped north and hit Jack in the box for dinner and then was on the road again. It was getting dark and hard to see so I pushed onward going between 75-85 mph. Turns out your gas mileage isn't as good at those speeds. As I was heading up a mountainside in-between cities the bike started to sputter. I realized I was in trouble but wasn't sure I would have any better luck going back then I would pressing foreward hoping I made it to the next station. A couple miles later my main tank ran out of gas and I switched to the reserve tank praying that I would make it to the next gas station. I crested the mountain and began the 8 mile descent to the bottom. I am not sure how much gas fits into a reserve tank but I knew it wasn't much and doubted I would make it much further than to the bottom of the mountain. I got to the bottom and there just happened to be 2 24 hour stations right there. I was really lucky. I arrived home at 1am-A long day on a motorcycle and I was trashed.

Reflections-The trip was totally worth it. I worked out a few bugs for the next trip like packing warmer sleeping gear or plan on staying at a hotel. I think the state park option is more fun as you get a chance to meet more people and stay closer to the ocean without the high cost of beachfront hotels. I liked riding by myself but I am not sure I would want to take a trip much longer than I did by myself. I probably would have watched the fireworks had I not been by myself. Of course it also could have been only getting a couple hours of sleep the night before and riding all day that made me too tired to go.

The thing that I think I liked most about the trip was that I learned there are two types of men. Those that have bikes and those that want them. I can hardly think of anyplace I stopped where I wasn't approached about my bike or saw people looking at it and commenting. I remember driving down the street in Bandon and this kid waved at me as though I were his hero or part of a parade. Another kid was along the side of the road on the highway with his dad and when he saw me he started waving. A guy at a gas station along hwy 96 came and sat down in front of my bike and started asking me about it and then requested that I burn rubber when I left. I stopped at a rest stop and a guy came up to me asking me where I was heading and started talking about his bike. After I finished eating at Jack in the box I went out to start my motorcycle and just as I was starting it, an older lady got out of her car and jumped when I started my bike. An employee that was outside chuckled with delight as I apologized for startling the elderly lady. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw a young mother with her toddler in a stroller smile, point, and say something to her toddler about the motorcycle.

Overall I would say the trip was a huge success-now I have to go back to the real world. Bummer!