Autumn Time

One of the great things about our front yard is our big beautiful maple tree that shades our house in the summer and provides loads of leaves for hours of entertainment. Seth loved hiding his blanket in the pile of leaves and then jumping into it (maybe it made the pile softer?) I wonder how jumping into a pile of prickly, dry leaves full of bugs (and who knows what else) ever became fun...but it certainly is to my children.


And one of my personal favorites shows Seth practicing his leaf levitation skills. I never knew he had it in him. What a kid.

Love

Tucking my sweet little boy into bed, I tell him softly, "I love you Seth!" He smiles, strokes my cheek with his little hand and says "I love you too......but, I love David the most!"
Stinker.

Big Changes

Part of me wants to start this blog by singing the song from Toy Story "Strange things are happening to me....straaaange thangs." While our blog has been silent many changes have been happening to our family. The biggest one:

Yes, you are reading the name correctly. That is our very own Devin, or as our girls affectionately call him, "Bishop Daddy." He is stepping into the calling with grace and appropriate humbleness. Many ward friends mentioned "they saw this coming" other responses have been "congratulations" (not sure what for) and "condolences". My personal favorite, directed to me, was "welcome to single life." It actually hasn't been too bad. As a High Councilor he was gone all day on Sundays as he counseled the Denver 4th Ward (a Spanish speaking unit in our stake). Not much has changed as far as a time commitment there. Although, if I needed him home, he always had the option to not attend the 4th Ward. It hit me one Sunday as we celebrated Sarah's Birthday with family, without Devin--but expecting him late--that this really was going to be different. Then there are the couple of days a week where he might not get home until after 11 pm. I love watching him speak, teach, and lead. There is just a glow about him that is different than before. He has many wonderful gifts that have enabled him to begin this position quite impressively.

Each week he has a new "favorite thing about being the bishop". One week it was presiding at a baptism, another week it was speaking at the YW Night of Excellence. Today he said the best thing about being bishop today was awarding a young woman her "Young Woman in Excellence Award." I'm sure there will be many more favorites, especially as our children "come of age" in various capacities: baptism for Hannah and Seth, priesthood advancements for David and maybe even a mission farewell, primary graduation to Young Womens for Sarah (is that really next year???).....strange things are happening to me (er...us).

Changes for David
High School.
So much emotion, expectation, stress, and fun is packed into those two words. All of which David has experienced. I am happy to say that it is MUCH better than Middle School ever was. The biggest experience we wanted him to try was Marching Band. He wasn't too thrilled about it and as we got into the practice season we weren't too thrilled about the schedule. Now, we all agree it was a good experience and he might even go as far as saying it was....fun. His marching band even made it to state competition! It was the first time in 10 years the band was able to make it that far. And this year, most of the band was Freshman.

Seth and I met Devin's mom (aka: Grammy) in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy Stadium to watch part of the competition.
It was very cold! Grammy even treated us to some hot cocoa at Burger King. It was a...mix-it-yourself...type of hot cocoa.

David declares that seminary is "the best part of the day." And he shows it by getting himself up in the morning at 5 am. This is quite an accomplishment for him since he never before has been able to wake up to an alarm. I have been amazed. He also has been able to stay on top of his heavy academic load which consists of mostly honor classes and an AP class (I still wonder why college classes offered to freshmen in High School?). His latest accomplishment in scouts after achieving the rank of "Life Scout" was to qualify for the "Shot Gun Shooting" merit badge. He had never used a shot gun before and yet he was able to hit 29 out of 50 clay pigeons.

My little boy is growing up. Time really has gone faster than I ever imagined. How can I slow down the clock?

Stating the obvious

I ain't bloggin'.

My Ten Favorite Movies

Some movies are so enjoyable that I can watch them again and again without ever getting tired of them. The following is a list of my Top Ten favorite movies to watch. If they’re on, I’m watching. I am not saying that they’re the ‘best’ movies ever created or the best stories, etc. (certainly not by the Academy’s standards), and there are no R-Rated movies on this list. If I wouldn’t feel comfortable watching a movie with my teenage son or my parents (not to mention my wife), then to me it’s not a good movie. What follows is simply one man’s list of his ten favorite movies to watch:

The Great Escape—when asked about my favorite movie, this is generally my answer. The fact that it’s a true story is all the more remarkable, but watching the movie is just a fantastic way to spend a few hours. For me, it has the perfect mix of story, drama, excitement, character idiosyncracy, great actors and comic relief.

The Fugitive (1993)—If The Great Escape is #1 for me, then The Fugitive is 1A. What makes this movie great for me is that paying attention is rewarding for the viewer. There are enough twists and turns, with Dr. Richard Kimble just barely staying one step ahead of the U.S. Marshalls, to keep it exciting from the word ‘go’. The bonus, of course, is the acting of Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, the latter giving one of my favorite acting performances ever.

The Sting—I love clever plots, small substories and resolutions that make me laugh out loud in surprise, and The Sting does not disappoint in this area. I’m also a big fan of a good con, so this one’s a natural fit. Besides, how can you go wrong with Newman and Redford in their heyday?

Men in Black—This movie is laugh-out-loud funny and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones make for a great ‘partner’ movie; I totally get Smith’s sense of humor and Jones plays one heck of a grumpy old straight man. The aliens also allow for a lot of creativity in the story: “Do you have any idea how much that hurts?!” It doesn’t hurt that Vincent D’Onofrio gets to show a little versatility as Edgar, either.

Get Smart—This is the most recent addition to my list, but I couldn’t leave it off after recently watching it again and laughing out loud a LOT. It’s meant to be silly, and it delivers from beginning to end. The Minsk bathroom scene is even funnier with the subtitles on. Now that I mention it, the other bathroom scene is also hilarious, and I’m not generally one for toilet humor. Kudos to casting for putting Alan Arkin in the role as ‘Chief’. He makes the movie. “Sand Trap! Tractor! Swordfish!”

Babe—The next two movies are on this list largely because the end of the movie always produces a huge smile of satisfaction, with maybe even just a hint of mist in my eyes. Babe is a great story on hidden potential and on the virtues of innocence and benevolence.

Driving Miss Daisy—With apologies to Woody and Buzz, this is probably the best buddy flick out there. Both Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy give All-Star performances, and it’s a great story of an unorthodox friendship that develops over the second half of the 20th century.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—This is on my list for the nostalgia factor. This was my favorite movie of the 80’s, I can still basically quote the whole thing and, along with the rest of Chicago, I’m pulling for Ferris. Mr. Rooney is the perfect foil.

The Sandlot—Also on my list for nostalgic reasons, this movie reminds me of being a kid; I wasn’t a kid in the 60’s, but I did grow up playing baseball from sunup to sundown, and I can attach a real name of someone with whom I grew up to most of the kids in this movie. I like this movie so much that I’m a member of the Squints Palledorous Fan Club on Facebook.

Toy Story (I, II or III)—I’m a sucker for the Pixar films. They haven’t laid an egg yet (Wall-E is the closest they’ve come), and most of their movies have been bang-up fantastic. In my home we own all the movies, and the whole family can identify 99.8% of the quotes from them. Toy Story, simply put, is the gold standard of computer animated films. Frankly, the whole trilogy knocked my socks off, but if I have to pick only one I’ll give the nod to the first movie because the story is great, it introduced us to a lot of fun characters, and because it forever changed the movie industry.
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Honorable mention:

Another movie I’ll always stop and watch when it’s on TV: The Dirty Dozen. Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas...? Posey, Franko, Jimenez…? Come on.

Favorite R-rated comedy that I’ve only ever seen in an edited version: Trading Places. Were I to consider only the edited version, it would displace either of the comedies in my top ten. I love this movie. Ask me about a funny story regarding an edited version of this movie sometime.
Edited runner-up: Plains, Trains and Automobiles.

Favorite R-rated drama that I’ve only ever seen in an edited version: The Shawshank Redemption. Redemption, indeed.

Favorite Soundtracks: Happy Feet, Muppets from Space. The movies are okay, but both have lots of good funky tunes that will get me to watch; Happy Feet wins here for its great mashups.

Favorite overall DVD experience: Apollo 13. The bonus features alone make it worth owning.

Favorite cult classic: I’ll give this one to The Princess Bride, though So I Married an Axe Murderer deserves mention as well.

Best big-screen movie for which a small screen wouldn’t work: Avatar. I enjoyed seeing this in the theater so much that I went twice and paid for the 3-D both times. However, the story is not especially strong, and I just don’t think I’d enjoy it that much on my 27-inch screen.

Another reason to love summer

One of many, many reasons for loving summer

Diary of a burn--update

This evening will mark one week since "The Burn" happened. The pain is still present and accounted for, though Stacey would prefer that it not be so. This photo is a couple of days old, but gives a fair sense of the burned area. Since this was taken, the dead skin on the thumb as well as down toward the palm have receded more, leaving a nice, big, raw area. The last visit to the Dr. yielded a prescription that would have cost about $350 for a week's worth of ointment (the wonderful insurance, of course, no longer covers that medicine--SCAM!), so Stacey pleaded broke with the Dr. and they prescribed a different ointment that's much more affordable, covered by insurance, and stings slightly. As you can imagine, her use of the hand is still rather limited, and she faces the daily dilemma of being lucid and very uncomfortable or being loopy/asleep and pain-free.

Diary of a burn Day 1 and 2

Day 1
It will be a long time before I try to cook sopapillas again. Or at least I will get a fry daddy first. Moving pots of hot oil around on the stove top is a very dangerous thing. Especially when the oil sloshes up onto your hand. Of course my knee-jerk reaction was to pull back and wipe the oil off on my pants. Do you know what happens when you do that? Oil all over the floor and stove and torn skin on your hand. (Day 1) I can't even begin to describe the burning, stinging, raw pain...but, stupid me, I'd rather tough it out under cold water than make a trip to the doctor. Thankfully at the insistence of my husband and sister I went to the ER at University Hospital (it was a slow night for them, thank goodness, and I got right in) I was asked about 10 times if I was up to day on my Tetanus shot--which I can't remember. How do people keep track of those things anyway? After the doctor and a student had a "teaching moment" about my hand (which seemed to last forever as they poked and prodded my hand and using terms I couldn't understand) I finally was hooked up to some Morphine and sweet bliss took over. The nurse cleaned and bandaged me up and I was even visited by doctors from the "burn unit" with instructions to come and visit them in a few days. With a prescription of Oxicodone in my hand off I went with instructions to keep the medicine going and I will be a happy person....well, at least a pain free person. I'm not sure why people enjoy this foggy, eye-swimming feeling but I'll take the pain free part.

I am so grateful that our home teacher could come over with a yummy plate of cookies and the priesthood to help Devin give me a blessing. I know that will make a difference in my healing. We also had an amazing dinner brought over by the McIntosh's. It was so good! And we are devouring the cookies that my visiting teacher brought! Thanks Kristin! I am feeling very loved.

Day 2
The nurse had this amazing gauze soaked in vaseline which made up the first layer covering my skin. I was so afraid it had stuck to the wound, but it didn't! The outer layer is a loosely knitted gauze lightly wrapped around my hand. I was very curious to see what the wound would look like the second day. After taking it all off, I was amazed to see the big blister that had formed. We were told not to pop any blisters since that would encourage infection to enter; but as skin gets loose we were to cut it off. Thankfully, Devin is helping me with this whole process. As soon as the air hit the raw, opened burn, the stinging began. So we took a quick picture, cleaned it up and wrapped my hand trying to repeat what the nurse had done. Not as good as she did, but it works.

Mad Skillz

All of our children were recently caught demonstrating their talents on video. Here's a sampling:

David had the opening solo at the Jazz concert.


Sarah taught a very important lesson at the school variety show.


Hannah was a shining star at her choir concert.


Seth decided to bust a move at the Children's Museum.


Because I've never posted a video on the bloggg before, I thought I had to upload to YouTube then link from the Bloggg. As a serendipitous result, bigger versions can be seen on our YouTube Channel (devin8r).

While the cat's away...

With Mom being out of town, Seth and I decided to take a trip to the Children's Museum yesterday, and we had a great time. After a short romp through the playground, we made our way inside (running in front of the buses full of field trippers) and frolicked away.


Seth didn't bother to erase the board before he wrote our names on here, and the D's didn't come out too clearly, but each of the three words is a different color for easier deciphering.


He even managed to squeeze in a short nap.


This kid is cute!


We spent quite a bit of time in the puzzle area.


After the museum, we made a stop at Wendy's to better acquaint ourselves with the Value Menu. Seth gave the whole trip a big Thumbs Up.

Favorite Shoes

I believe most people have had the experience of not being able to get rid of their favorite pair of shoes. I mean really, how can you get rid of something that has become so form fitting that they are just an extension of your body? Hannah feels that way about her "sparkly shoes" which were given to her by her best friend Brenna. Unfortunately, they have seen the end of their days but not in Hannah's eyes.

Earth Day Paper

I realize I might be the only one who thinks my daughter's writing is hilarious, I'm OK with that. I just love the way her personality shines through in the things that she writes. You can almost hear the inflection in her voice as you read some words and the way she thinks about things can be very unique. The mispelled words will correct themselves in time, I just hope she never loses the desire to write exactly what her sweet little heart is feeling. I just need to record Hannah's paper and maybe share a smile or laugh with anyone else out there:

"Happy Earth day. It's Earth day so that meaaaaaaans that we plant trees or flawers or plants or enething and thes ar some things you do evry day but most on Earth day and it is. Turn of lights when you leav the room. turn off water and take out trash and pick up garbeg and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and a millen times a millen a lots. You see ther are a lot of things to do on Earth day we have this day to clean up the Earth and mace the trees healthy and to mace the world helthy and stay that way so evrything will be helthy even people. Go Green!!!"

Birthday memories

What does a birthday boy think about? It was a very busy day going to preschool in the morning and getting to bring the snack for the first time. Then he got to help make his birthday cake which he had designed several weeks before his birthday by printing out the picture (all on his own) of Woody the Cowboy and telling me the cake had to be "blue with yellow polk-a-dots". Thankfully, he forgot about the polk-a-dots. He helped mix the batter, pour and bake it. Then sat with me for two hours while I made Woody telling me what should be fixed and what we should work on next including giving me specific instructions on the colors of the words in the bubble. I was surprised he sat with me for so long...I guess he wanted to make sure I did it right!

Or maybe a birthday boy thinks about how much he loves his Grandpa?



I'm sure his presents came to mind...how he planned the whole thing, picking out the wrapping paper and how his mom is so wrapped around his little finger that he got exactly what he wanted: Toy Story Mania for the Wii!

He also had his heart set on the Lego versions of Buzz and Woody--a little advanced for a 4 year old unless you have a big brother to help you! (It was so sweet to watch David help him build Zurg, so patient and helpful. These two are best buddies!)


It was a fun, busy day with lots of excitement! Seth has grown so much this past year in many ways. We are so grateful for the help of his Preschool team who have worked with Seth's communication delays, sensory sensitivity, and flexibility issues (all symptoms of Autism). He has progressed so quickly with the help of many people. Seth is such a joy in our lives with his constant enthusiasm for life! He loves to move his body, sing (current favorite song: "Real Gone" by Sheryl Crow), and JUMP, JUMP, JUMP! Every little thing is a BIG deal to him (that includes the good with the bad); it all helps us appreciate the details in the world around us. He actually does take the time to smell the flowers on the side of the road, admire every rock, pay attention to every sound and the wind on his face. We love you SETH! Happy Birthday!

Blogger has a potty mouth

I just posted a comment on somebody else's blog, and here's the 'word' that I had to type in for security purposes. Now my challenge for the day is to use it in a sentence.

It's a piece-of-cake

Cake, cake, cake...it's coming out our ears! Thankfully, my family loves to eat all the scraps, mistakes, and experiments. I've been trying to take better pictures of my cakes, trying different angles, close up shots, different spacing in the picture, etc. I would love any feedback or tips from all of you photographers out there. I also want to know what is appealing when you look at pictures of my cakes so I know what is best to put on my website. SO, here is the first test: I'm putting several shots of a wedding cake I just did. What do you think should go on the website?
A. Conservative

B. Landscape

C. From the Top

D. At an angle

Awesome Kids!

I'm so proud of my kids. They are so smart, talented, cute, and fun. This month has been busy with parent teacher conferences, band concerts, scout court of honor (David received his Star rank in scouts), activity days recognition (Sarah made a cake to display what she learned from an "awesome" cake decorating class...what can I say, she's a chip off the 'ol block), school district art show (only a handful of students from the whole school get chosen to display a piece of artwork at the school district's admin building and Sarah was one of them!) What great kids!

100th day of school

Last week the kids celebrated their 100th day in school this year. For the younger kids there is a lot of practice counting and writing to 100, playing games involving 100 items, etc. Hannah brought home a booklet that she had to write in answers regarding 100; it was so cute I just had to share it with you:

What would you choose if you could have 100 of anything? "100 cats. I love cats because they snugle up with you."
If you had 100 dollars, what would you buy? ">Lany the amaricen girl and stuf for Kirsten the amaricen girl."
Would you rather live with 100 ants or 100 butterflies? >"Buttrflis. Ants are for boys"
Would you rather have 100 pet snakes or 100 pet dinosaurs? "Snacs. Dinosrs wood eat me"
What could you do 100 times that would make you tired or sore? "Wii Sports Resort."
If you had to eat 100 of one sort of food, what would you choose to eat? "Macoroni and chees pezza from seeses." (Cici's)
If it was your 100th birthday, how would you spend your day? "Sa goodby befor I dyie."

Olympics!

OK, call us crazy, but we LOVE the Olympics! We even marked it ahead of time on our calendar so we wouldn't plan anything for tonight. Why tonight? Opening ceremonies, of course. The kids love to make the Olympic Rings in pizza form and we all watch the opening ceremonies together while eating our Olympic Pizza. We still talk about when we went to Salt Lake to see the ski jumping competition (tickets from E-Bay) at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Go team USA!

Sick day

I think all of Seven Hills is fighting the same nasty respiratory bug: sinus congestion, mild fever, fatigue, relentless cough. We aren't excluded. After a long night of coughing her lungs out I thought it appropriate for Hannah to take a sick day and try to get some rest. After the kids left for school she cuddled up on the couch, not to watch TV but to get some spiritual strength as well. (Now I'll feel guilty when I'm in bed sick wanting to read the latest novel)

Nuggets 127 Mavericks 91

Most lopsided win of the year, and Carmelo's first night back after eight games off. Fun times!

AGH!

"Okay, I'm officially freaked out now" (can anyone identify this quote?)
Seriously, I am freaked out...my son is now taller than me and here is the evidence.

My current attitude toward updating the bloggg:

Bah.

Breckenridge Snow Sculpture Contest

We (Stacey, the girls, and Seth) spent a fun Saturday up in Breckenridge with Grandma and Grandpa viewing the amazing snow and ice sculptures. Wow! Who knew you could make snow look so incredible? Teams started sculpting on Tuesday and pulled an all-nighter last night (Friday) to put finishing touches on the masterpieces. There were tons of people and their dogs! (What's with the dogs?--no offense to pet owners, of course.)