Happy New Year

Well, here's the update. About an hour ago they checked Andi again and we are now at 7cm! So we are probably having these babies in the next 24 hours. They are letting her go as long as she can. She still isn't feeling any pain and the contractions aren't really strong. We're going to try to get some sleep before a big day tomorrow! Amazing how things change so quickly. We celebrated midnight with a sprite. Now it's time for some sleep.

Happy New Year! 2010 is here (an Cooper and Kennedy are not far behind!)

UPDATE!

Everyone can relax! The doctored just informed us that the nurses are measuring the wrong thing, so at one part if seems like she is further along than others. She is really only at the same 4+cm/5cm she was at in Cedar City. We are back to BORING! This is good news because that means that if she stays the same then we can still go back home to have them. 6 days to go!

We thought it would be fund to have a 01/01/10 baby, but are sure that would probably consign them to be computer programmers with such a binary birthday, but we will take another day if that means bigger and more developed babies.

We'll keep you all updated!

33 weeks and counting....

So, some of you might have heard, but yesterday Andi "won" a fun little trip to St. George, Utah for a most-expesnes paid (by insurance) ? night/? day stay at the beautiful Dixie Regional hopspital! It included an Iron county ambulance ride down the snowy I-15 corridor. The in-hospital dining includes gourmet cuisine and even some free ice chips!!! Is anyone jealous yet?

Here's the low down on how you too can be a winner! First, you must be pregnant with twins. At 33 weeks pregnant you will need your physician to examine you and you will need to be about 3cm dialated. You will get a quick stay at the Valley View hospital where they will poke and prod and monitor you for a few hours before telling you that you have progressed in labor to almost 5cm! At which time the physician will see to it that you are on your way to Utah's breathtaking Dixie!

Okay, all joking aside. When we went to Andi's routine appointment yesterday the doctor said it was time for bed rest a some monitoring at the hospital, which actually turned into some pre-term labor. Trying to slow things down they sent us to St. George just in case the babies do have to come early (Cedar won't deliver the babies if they are before 34 weeks).

So here we are. They have slowed things down and are holding out for 24-48 more hours before the babies come. The best thing would be to hold out for a week more and then we can go home and have them in Cedar, but that's still looking unlikely at this point. Everyone is fine though. The babies are still kicking, heartrates are great, positioning is great and Andi is doing fine except for dealing with the uncomfortable hospital beds. Last night we got some sleep and there were no major changes. At 11am this morning she can get the second of two steriod shots that will help with the babies lung function if they do come early.

We are joking about having one of them at 11:59 on 12/31 and the other at 12:01 1/1 so we would get a tax deduction for one in 2009 and have the New Year's baby in 2010. They could have completely different birthdays - day, month, and year! We'd probably just prefer that they wait, but there are mixed feelings about staying in the hospital for two more weeks! We will see what happens today. Watch for more updates.

All pictures are Andi-approved.

And the Nativy Goes To....

Just a quick post tonight to share a wonderful experience (pictures coming later). We got to play a part tonight in the live Nativity at Tuachan ampitheater in St. George (Santa Clara). This was the third year that we were able to be a part of it and as always it was an amazing experience. Our good friends the Stuart family actually started the live Nativity and it grew to be so big that Tuachan invited them a few years back to use their stage. It has grown and changed over the years and many people in the area volunteer on different nights to be part of the cast. Families take part as either towns-people, shepherds, angels, wisemen, and of course Mary and Joseph. It is completed with recorded narration by Dick Norse, a wonderful soundtrack of moving music, and even live animals including a horse, a donkey, a camel, and a few goats and sheep. Three years ago we took part an I (Curtis) got to be the shepherd that carried the baby Jesus over to show the rest of the shepherds. Andi was there supervising some of her treatment center girls who were angels. Last year it was rained out so we actually had a little party at the Stuarts and watched one of the first years videos when their children were young and did it for their neighborhood. This year Andi and I were towns-people and I was the third innkeeper that turns Joseph away, but then feels bad and shows them to the manger where they can sleep. Because it is a volunteer cast we show up early to get our costumes, run through our part, do a practice run thru, and then do two performances back to back (it's about 20 minutes long). My friend Adam kept joking about getting a "Nativy" award for Best Performance (hence the title of this post--no such awards exist however.)

It really is an interesting feeling to play part in the story. I think no matter what part you get you begin to see the story unfold from a different perspective than just an onlooker. It makes you wonder how the people in the story really felt and what they really experienced. It has become a favorite new tradition of mine and we hope we can keep participating each year. We are grateful to the Stuart's and the Endsley's for inviting us to be a part of it.

On the way home we were listening to the radio and I heard an AMAZING new Christmas song. It is probably one of the best original pieces I have heard in a long time. I am always looking for good new music and this fits the bill. Here is the song on YouTube. The artist is Brandon Heath, a christian artist. If you like the song it is available until Friday on Amazon for free! (part of a 25 days of free Christmas songs) Or it is $.99 at iTunes. http://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Before-Christmas/dp/B002X33IRO/

Enjoy! I think that this song summed up some of my feelings about our experience tonight. Very well written and performed:

It's hard being pregnant. First, I should say that everything is going very well. If I were only having one baby, I would be big enough to have it now. As it is, I have an estimated 6 weeks left. The babies and I are growing rapidly. We're all slightly ahead of schedule:) Anyways, the hard part of being pregnant comes in the not sleeping well at night, the swollen feet, the weird dreams, and especially the things that people say. Following, is an exchange I had with my boss' 5 year old son earlier today. It's probably what most people are thinking, but they're not five so they can't get away with saying it.
Boy (pointing to my belly): What's that?
Me: My tummy with two babies in it.
Boy: I want to see.
I lift up one of my shirts (I dress in layers these days).
Boy: THAT'S GROSE!
-Pause-
Boy: I know someone who's REALLY REALLY REALLY fat...like you. She has five babies in her belly.
As far as I know he doesn't know someone who's pregnant with quintuplets. I think he's finally come up with a logical explanation for why some people are so big.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been meaning to write a “thankful” post for a while. I guess better late than never. First. I'm thankful that Thanksgiving turned out so well. Curtis' parents and aunt came to our house this year It was the first time I made a turkey all by myself. Thanks to roasting bags, frozen Rhode's rolls, and successful delegation...dinner turned out great.

My biggest thankful is a wonderful husband. I knew hew as a good guy when I married him, but I had no clue how great he would be. He does the laundry and the dishes (especially since I've been pregnant), he can live off of minimal hours of sleep and never gets grumpy because of it (hopefully that continues after the babies come), he works VERY hard at his job and does it very well, he's super smart, he dreams REALLY big, he's super friendly and likes most of my friends even more than I do—just kidding guys. Those are just a few of the reasons I love him so much. I'm grateful for people: sisters, family, a great ward, wonderful coworkers, and awesome friends. I'm grateful for my babies. I'm grateful for the perspective that Addison has given us as a family and I'm grateful for these two little miracles growing inside of me. I'm grateful that Curtis has a good job that will allow me to stay home with them. I'm grateful for our cute little house...especially our baby room:) Finally, I'm grateful for the restoration of the gospel and for our Savior. Where would I be without His strength and an eternal perspective.

Thanks

I'm quite tired and going to bed shortly, but wanted to say thanks to everyone who came to our baby showers up North. You were all so generous. We came home with a car full of all sorts of baby necessities. Thank you a million times. We've been working on the big stuff, but didn't have any clothes at all. Looking at all of the blanket and the tiny little clothes makes it a whole lot more real. In the next 2-3 months, we really will be bringing two little babies home. Ahhh! I can hardly wait. It's hard to believe how much these two little babies will change our lives.

Fall Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we ventured to the Griggs' cabin to celebrate some family birthdays.  Since most of us were all in one place we took a few family pictures .  We got the CD of pictures today from Andi's sister so I thought I would share a few of them. 

Pictures of the Kids

So, here are some of the first picutres of the kids. The photographer was great, especially given she didn't have any light to help her out. It's amazing how far technology has come. The first is Baby A (Cooper) at 18 weeks and the second is Baby B (Kennedy) at 22 weeks. They say they are measuring about a week further along. So that is hopefully a good sign that they are healthy.

Do I look that big?

Yesterday, I went to get Curtis' Jeep registered and this is a little conversation I had.

DMV lady: Oh, when are you due?
Me: The beginning of February.
DMV: REALLY! I thought you were going to say next month.

I work in a doctor's office and this is an encounter I had with one of our patients.

Patient: When are you going to have your baby?
Me: Beginning of February sometime.
Patient (with bulging eyes): But you're so big!!!

It's at that point that I insist on justifying my huge belly by explaining that I'm having twins:)

21 Weeks

Here's another belly picture with approximately 3 ½ months to go! I'm getting so excited. Okay, I've been excited for a long time. The nursery has been painted since before I was even pregnant. We've cleared out Robert's Craft of all the brown vinyl and are trying to patiently wait for the next shipment. I've been finding all sorts of deals on KSL and Craigslist. I got a double BOB stroller for $300! That's about half off with the extras she gave me. Thanks to my wonderful friends and family for picking things up for me. Cedar City doesn't have very many great deals so I end up asking people for favors. I'm trying to be ready by Christmas even though I probably won't have these babies until the beginning of February. I think it will be nice to know that I'm ready and I'm a little bit worried that I'll be on bed rest at the end (I hear it happens to a lot of mothers with twins). I figure I should prepare for it just in case.

Addresses

Yes, I am posting a blog asking for people's addresses. I've realized that a lot of the people I keep in contact with now is through the blog world. In the coming weeks, we will be having baby showers and in the coming months, we will be sending out some very cute baby announcments. This is a call for any addresses. Thanks so much.

Baby Belly Pictures

Andi had me take a picture a few weeks ago and then again tonight. She hopes to be able to get up a weekly picture so you can see how the pregnancy is progressing (as well as generate some empathetical support from all of you mommies). Here they are. The first one is at about 18 weeks and the second is from tonight. The 20 week mark. Halfway for a regular pregnancy. Doc says that he won't let her go longer than 37 so we're over the hill for sure at this point.

18 Weeks

20 Weeks

We are having.....

TWINS!!! oh yeah, you already knew that....

they are................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL!!!!

Pink or Blue

So we just got the news. It looks like we are going to have one of each. "Baby A" is a little boy. He was really calm the whole time. He had his hands in front of his face for most of the ultrasound. We have a 3D picture of his face (we might post it). He has a little button nose and full lips. "Baby B" is a little girl. She was anything but calm. Every face shot we got she was opening and closing her mouth. We think she might be a talker. She was also moving all over the place and tugging on the cord. The picture we have of her is with her mouth wide open. Maybe she'll be a singer.

LAST CALL FOR VOTES!

So, the big day is tomorrow (Tuesday). We are going in to see what "Baby A" and "Baby B" are. This is the last day to cast your votes. We're both betting that it's two boys. I guess we'll see...or not. I'm only 18 1/2 weeks along. My doctor told me on Thursday that he thought it was too early, but we are going to try our luck. I don't really care one way or the other. I just want to be able to think about names and know what color of clothes to buy. I guess it all just seems more real when you know what gender they are.

OH SO BIG!!!

I guess it's time to start posting belly pictures, but not today. I went in for my 18 week apt. yesterday. My doctor measured my belly and said I was at 27 cm. Twenty-seven!!! That's what I should be nine weeks from now with a single baby. Problem being, we hope I don't deliver 9 weeks earlier than someone would with a single baby. That means I will be VERY VERY LARGE! The honest truth is that I hope I get huge, but only so I can have two very healthy babies. It still doesn't make the anticipation of a huge belly any more sweet. The comparison has me a bit nervous. For example, I was reading in one of my pregnancy books about where I should be at this point. It says my uterus should be the size of a cantaloupe...try a watermelon!

Quick Trip

Well, we had a whirlwind of a quick long weekend beginning last Thursday. Kelli and Darren got to Cedar shortly after we got home from work and we loaded up the car and headed to California. We stayed in Las Vegas that night after eating at Hash House a go go! As you can see from the pictures [coming soon] the meals were HUGE! I don't think we even have a serving platter in our house as big as the plates.

We were off Friday morning and made a pit stop at In & Out in Lancaster (a must a least once on a CA trip). We made it to Ventura where we stayed by the harbor. The skies were grey, but the temperature was perfect. After we wandered around the harbor we decided to go to Camarillo to do some shopping at the outlets to see if they had any baby clothes on sale for the babies-on-board. Even though we don't know what they are yet we figured that we will just save them. It turns out there weren't too many good deals though, but we did get some really cool argyle sweaters (just in case it's two boys as our poll indicates is the most popular answer--we'll see on the 29th!). We returned to Ventura and attempted to go to Andria's--a seafood restaurant where they litterally back the boat up to unload the fresh stuff, but to our dismay the power was out on that side of the harbor---so we had to go somewhere else. It was pretty late and we were all starving, but we finally got to sit down after a 45 minute wait.

On Saturday we headed up to Zuma Beach in Malibu to just take it easy. A few miles from Zuma we began seeing lots of cyclers and the far lanes were blocked off--it happened to be the Nautica Malibu Triathlon--lucky us! That meant parking a few blocks away and hiking in to the beach with all our stuff. It was a hazy morning so the beach was almost literally all ours. We hung out, tested the cold water (some of us only put our toes in and that was enough), and did a little California Dreamin' (We love naps!) The haze burned off in the late afternoon and the beach started to fill up as the tide came in and the waves got higher. We headed back to Ventura for showers and to go to dinner at Andria's--the power was on this time!

Sunday morning we went to a local sacrament meeting and then loaded the car up to head back for what seemed like a very LONG drive. Darren was a champ and made great time. We sat in the back and read and napped.

It was a fun trip and we wish it would have lasted a little longer. Maybe next year.

Thinking in Two's

It's been a while since we posted so we thought we would give everyone a glimpse of what has been on our minds lately (and is probably on the minds of anyone expecting twins).

Though we are very excited about having twins both Andi and I keep wondering "what are we going to do when we have two of those (e.g. babies). We understand that people have been dealing with two children (or more) at once for years--but for a couple of novices we are going through some interesting mental exercises. For example:

We went to Wal-Mart the other night and there was a cute little boy who got mad at his mother and he let her know it. He was screaming so loud you could hear it on the other side of the store. The mother was very flustered and did what she could to calm him down but he was having none of it. She obviously had to get some shopping done because she kept shopping. My thought out loud was, "Wife, what are you going to do when you have two children that are screaming like that and you need groceries?"

Whenever Andi sees a mother lugging around a car seat or even just trying to entertain her single child she pictures herself doing double. One has to wonder whether anyone has figured out how to change two diapers at once?

And then there are the horror stories of new mothers who haven't showered for a couple of days because of all the new things to learn, along with being completely exausted. Then multiplying the work by two...

Though it might seem that we are nervous that is not really the case. I think we have almost made a game out of trying to figure out how we will accomplish new tasks (x2). It will be an adventure for sure!

By the way September 29th is the day we find out if they are boys/girls or one of each.

Happy Birthday Addison!

It is hard to believe that one year ago yesterday we spent all day at the hospital and at 12:15am on August 7th our little Addison was born. It is even harder to believe that today we would have a one year old! The last year has been a whirlwind and we have missed having Addison around, but we know that the Lord's plan for us is much bigger than we imagine (especially having just found out that we have twins on the way!). Today we got some flowers and decorated Addie's grave along with a gift from our friend Megan, and some flowers from family and friends. We took some pink balloons with us and let them go and plan on making that our tradition. Andi also asked a sister in are ward to decorate a birthday cake for Addison and it was AMAZING! We had some friends over and sang to our Addison. Thinking of what a difficult time we had letting her go and of all the love our family, friends, and neighbors showed we know we are very blessed. We know that there are many others thinking of Addison today. We know she is looking down and preparing her twin siblings to come to our home!

Twenty Toes!!!

Yes, you read the title correctly. This is our official announcement in the blog world that come February we will have two new sets of toes, twenty in all, in our house! That's right, we went to the doctor on Friday for the first appointment and after joking with the him (as we have everyone else for the last year) about having twins it was confirmed that there are TWO buns in the oven!

We are both excited and nervous, but above all we are feeling very blessed. I'm sure that their older sister is getting them ready to come and live with us.

Over the weekend we visited our families and made the announcement. It was so fun to see their reaction. We made our parents t-shirts that said "Proud Grandparents of..." and then put the number of grandchilderen they would have with two more included. They all got a puzzled look, quickly counted their grandkids in their heads and then, wondering if we had counted wrong, asked if we were having twins?

We will keep everyone updated on the progress as we get further along. It will be about 8-10 more weeks before we find out if they are boys or girls or one of each. We'll take bets at a later date!

THE FOURTH OF JULY!

So, it has been a while since we posted. Not a whole lot new to report. We had a great trip up to the Happy Valley area over the weekend of the fourth of July. We came up on Thursday night and Friday went to see the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple.


On Saturday night we had a barbeque at the Hatch's house and I took a few pictures of the nieces with their new cousin Damon. Grandma JoJo got the girls matching 4th of July dresses and Damon got dressed up for the festivities too.


I got a kick out of Aedyn following her twin "sissies" around. She's a crackup.

On Sunday Baby Damon was blessed and we celebrated Aedyn's and Uncle Trevor's birthdays.

Aedyn was so facinated by her cousin Damon that she has taken to carrying her doll around patting it on the back saying "Good Baby Damon" over and over and over. She loves her cousin.

Write/Call/E-mail/Text your Congressman Today!!!

Just an FYI. Congress will be voting on Cap-and-Trade energy bills this week with VERY LITTLE debate. This is a big issue and has the potential to raise your energy bills by HUNDREDS of dollars next year! Congressmen Chaffetz (Utah 3rd District) one of the few people who does anything good on Capital Hill has said that for every public school in Utah this bill will raise energy costs by $10,000 or more. That means our struggling schools with underpaid teachers and over crowded classrooms will now have to pay higher energy bills. All for the sake of cooling the planet by less than 1 degree. No matter where you stand on the Global Warming issue this bill is UNDER-DEBATED and UNDER-READ by the congressmen that will vote on it. Call/E-mail/Fax/Text your Conressmen today and tell them to vote against it!!! No matter what state you are in. Get the word out. They are supposed to vote on Friday June 26th.

Here is a link to Utah's congressional districts so you can see where you are at and who your congressman is. Southern Utah is Jim Matheson. You can google them and there is usually a link on their website to contact them. It will take you all of 10 minutes to write a short message and tell them NO! Remind them who they work for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Congressional_Districts

Look up your state on Wikipedia.

Girls Camp

When I got back from my 6th year of girl's camp, I thought it was my last. WRONG! I just got back from camping for 4 wonderful days with the Young Women in my ward.

I felt like a kid again:)

Until it started raining and we had to put tarps up over our tents to avoid and further puddles on our pillows.

Curtis got to come up as one of our priesthood leaders for one of the nights. I think he quite liked being at girl's camp. Our camp director is quite a prankster. After it got dark, she gave him a scary mask and told him to jump out at me when I was coming down the hill. He did and I fell to the ground. Only problem is he about fell to the ground too. He ended up with a paper towel and ice on his head because he ran into a small tree on the way to me. (I think the eye holes in the mask were pretty small).

And the best part of camp...camp fire. We had some good ones.

Gardening

Before

After I'm going to try and see how green my thumb is. I've started a garden. Here are some before and after pictures of the plot I picked out in my back yard. There weren't too many tiny spaces to choose from. I went ahead and cleared away as many of the itty bitty rocks as I could and then did my best to mix potting soil with the existing clay. Now, about three weeks later...most everything is growing. I have corn, tomatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, summer squash, & kohlrabi. I'm still waiting on cucumbers and the cantaloupe already died. Still, if I get one tomato, it will be worth trying again next year.

DC

Right after the cruise, we took a trip to DC for my brother's wedding. It was a quick trip, but quite fun.
The church they got married in was so beautiful. It was a classic wedding with a rehearsal dinner and everything. I really did feel like I was in the movies.

I got so see some of the DC sights that I don't know if I've ever seen (I think I went to DC when I was 4, but don't remember it). It was a first for Curtis as well. We went to Arlington on Memorial Day and got to see President Obama drive past. That was really a cool experience! I almost wish we would have gone and heard him speak just a couple hours earlier. That's not something Curtis would have allowed me to set and alarm for, so we slept in and walked through the cemetary in peace.

More Cruise

We already posted our underwater camera pictures, now here are some others. First off, Curtis started the cruise like any normal person would...on his computer, trying to send some last e-mails for work before internet cost $9.99 a minute. Eventually, the internet connection got slow. Result: Curtis allowed himself to crash.
The whole cruse experience was perfect! We were able to relax, get tan (I think I read four large books), and see some of the most incredable things ever. We spent the first two days at sea. Each night, we got these cute little animals on our beds. I loved them. The food was good, the desserts were even better, and we had some really fun people at our dinner table.

Our first stop was Jamaica. That's where we hiked up Dunn's River Falls. It was really incredible. I got this picture of the coast and my camera died while we were at Dolphin's Cove...so that's all we have of our Jamaican experience.

This is a picture I took in Grand Cayman. It really is that beautiful. We also went to the Turtle Farm. It was surprising how hard those turtles can flap. They calmed down when you rubbed their heads.

Our Escape!

Yes, after a very long year of Curtis going through the Master's of Accounting program we were ready to get away. A week after graduation we packed our bags and flew to Galveston where we left on a 7 day cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman, (our Cozumel stop got canceled due to the "swine" flu). It was perfect! The ship was fun, and Curtis didn't even get sea sick (the patch worked great....no, not a nicotein patch!). We met some great people that we ate dinner with every night and enjoyed the ports a lot. It was nice and relaxing. Curtis didn't have to worry about cell phones, e-mail at work, or homework for school, and I had a great time having my husband all to myself for 7 days! At one point he turned on the news in our cabin and after about 2 minutes he was getting fired up about the Pelosi/CIA fiasco. I asked him if he would turn it off so I could have my husband back! He did and we went back to not caring about what was going on in the world. It was nice to have a break!!! We just got our pictures back from Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica and Stingray City in Grand Cayman. Yes, the water is that beautiful, just like in the magazines.

We did it!!!

Wouldn't it be nice if I could take credit for any of it. Last weekend, Curtis graduated with his Masters of Accountancy (I think that's how your write it). It's been a tough road. He's still been working full time and his job isn't exactly stress free. Add a few masters level accounting classes and what do you have...a very busy boy. It's been many months of very early mornings and very late nights to get through. I'm so proud of him! Right before he graduated I asked him if he wanted me to remind him how much he doesn't like school should he ever think about going back again. His answer was “YES!” I guess we'll see what the future brings.

2 YEARS!!!

It's been two incredible years! It really is hard for me to believe that two years have already passed since Curtis and I got married. It the same breath, I can't imagine life any other way. It just seems like it's always been like this. He is almost always absolutely wonderful and is patient with me when I'm not (most of the time). We've been through a lot together. He's the only one who I'd want to take this journey with.

Here's a story to illustrate the dynamic of our relationship. On the morning of our anniversary, this is a conversation that took place
Curtis: I hope your present comes today. It should have been here by now.
Andi: Oh, I thought we didn't get Anniversary presents.
Curtis: Why do I feel like the woman in this relationship? You can just give me what I ordered for myself.

What I good husband I have. He even got me flowers and got home from work before I did!

Amazing Arrangement (even if you don't like these songs)

Okay, so I found this through a friend of a friend of a friend's blog. If you like Jon Schmidt you will love this. Even if you don't like one or either of these songs (the people I'm talking to will know who they are). Give it a chance though. Mr. Schmidt is truly talented. And this will give you shivers at some point.

ENJOY!

After I posted this originally I realized that because my wife has made our blog "cutsie" that this video doesn't "fit" into the blog. If you want to see it on youtube go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys

I know I've been a slacker about this blog thing and I feel like it's because a lot has happened since our last post. Come to find out, I only have one picture, so my life might not be as exciting as I think it is. Here are some of the updates none the less.

First off, Curtis turned the big 26! We, of course, did the whole cake and ice cream thing and put all 26 candles on one cake. It was awesome! So awesome that when he blew them out, the fire alarm went off. I guess that's when you know you're old. Things have been really busy for him with work and school etc. On his birthday, he decided he was going to take the day off work and take his road bike to St. George. It was a great birthday present.

We also ran another half marathon. Again, we must be getting old because both of us had problems with our knees, but we finished. I love training for races because when I know they are coming up, I'm much more likely to get out of my warm and cozy bed to go for a jog. We actually talked our dads into running it with us. They take our excuse of age away from us. They are both in their mid fifties and beat us! It was a chip race so my dad and I started behing the croud. After he took off from me, he spent the rest of the race trying to catch up to Curtis and Curtis' dad. He passed them without even knowing it and came in first out of all of us. It was a really good experience thought and somehting we'll probably repeat.

And, the la test may or may not come with pictures at some point in the future. I competed in a triathlon yesterday. I really shouldn't say competed...I participated in a triathlon yesterday. It really was a whole bunch of fun. When it was all over, I wondered why I was so darn nervous for it. The honest truth is that for most of the race, I forgot it was a race. For example, I was riding my cute pink bike along and I heard this lady coming up behind me. She couldn't be missed because she was breathing really hard. It reminded me that I maybe should ride a bit harder, but I didn't. Or on the run...I saw a few people who looked absolutely miserable! My first thought was "it's only a three mile run, why do they look so aweful?" Then I thought "maybe if I were running a little bit faster, I'd look like that too." The conclusion I came to was that it's not worth it.

Don't worry, we haven't turned into these crazy athletes. We've met our quota of races for the year and now that summer is almost here, we've planned some awesome vacations. It might be a month or two after the fact, but we'll let you know all about them.

A Birthday Present!

So, I see that my last posting was either not too popular or too political to comment on (my intention wasn't to make anyone uncomfortable, i just wanted to share)...that's okay though.

But, if you thought the political stuff was over for me, you were wrong. PLEASE DON'T STOP READING NOW---I PROMISE NOT TO GET ON MY SOAP BOX. I was at work during the Glenn Beck thing (plus we don't have cable). But I heard some excerpts on http://www.youtube.com/ and saw some of the video on http://www.foxnews.com/ and I think everyone should here this.

The main message is that, "If we can change ourselves, then changing the world is the easy part." I hope you will all agree that if we all become better people then our families, our communities and our country become better.

This is NOT a political rant, and it is not a boisterous listing of political failings. Glenn Beck presented 9 Values and 12 Principles that I believe will help us all to make this country a better nation. It is nothing that we haven't heard before from our parents, our church leaders, or our kindergarden teachers. Honesty, Courage, Humility, just to name a few....all good things.

So, if anyone wants to give me a birthday present (Tuesday is the big 2-6...okay it's really not that "big" of a birthday). Please take a few minutes and just here what Glenn has to say. I've posted the video links so you can just click, turn up the volume, and listen.

I think these principles are a great reminder to all of us of who we really do all want to be. The story in the last video link will make you tear up...okay...some of you will tear up...

Glenn has invited everyone to try out these principles for the next 6 months and on September 12th (Saturday) there will be a special show again to see what others around the country are doing.

Sept 12th is signigant because, as Glenn Beck points out, we have all forgotten what it felt like on Sept 12, 2001, the day after the terrorist attacks, when we all became a little more loving, a little more charitable and a little more patriotic...

9 Principles

12 Values, Part 1

12 Values, Part 2

Fox News Video Link - A Great Story!

We Surround Them!

Some of you may have received an e-mail from me about the We Surround Them special that Glenn Beck is doing on his cable show on March 13th. Here is the link again, and if you haven't been to the link yet or I missed you in my address book follow the link here: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/21018/ .

Many of my close friends know that since the elections last year I have been very politically outspoken. Andi tries not to get me going and would probably rather that I stop following the headlines on http://www.blogger.com/www.drudgereport.com in the monrings. She probably wonders why I even need to go to the gym if my blood is already moving.

Here is my honest opinion. America is a blessed nation. Many people have given up so much to make our country what it is, and many people are still making sacrifices to make this a great place to live. Unfortunately as a society we have also made some rather big mistakes, especially in what we allow our elected leaders to do. It's time to take a positive step forward, to stand up and find our voice and not allow our great nation to be burdened with political agendas that will damage this land for generations to come. Whatever the solution is it has got to be a positive one.

I thought the Glenn Beck thing was a positive thing and just wanted to share it as well as warn you that there is probably more political commentary to come.

I do hope though that everyone will pass this along to their friends if they think it is worthwhile. There are already hundreds of people planning to meet together and watch the program on March 13th to see what this is all about. I think there are meetings planned all along the Wasatch Front here in Utah as well as every state. There are dozens of meetings posted on craigslist and the internet.

My hope is that the Silent Majority will in some way find their voice amid all the confusion being created by our leaders in Washington.