Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is my daddy's birthday which I'm told is a special day for him. Since I've never had my own birthday I don't really get the whole birthday thing. Mommy keeps asking daddy when it gets to be her birthday. I hear her tell daddy a lot that she wants him to pick a day and plan a party but I don't think daddy likes that idea. I wonder why, a party sounds like fun to me. Anyway in honor of it being daddy's birthday mommy and I made a list of reasons why he "totally rocks"

• he makes silly faces and used funny voices


• he is willing to change my stinky pants


• he plays on the floor with me


• he quit the job he loved and moved back to the city to spend time with us


• he cooks diner a lot


• he loves spaghetti just like me


• he made everyone learn and perform Thriller at Carl's wedding


• he tells lame jokes that make me laugh


• he gave into mommy when she wanted to keep the old VERY HEAVY TV instead of buying a new flat screen 'because the old one still works most of the time" and even moved it and the huge entertainment center to the basement


• without daddy's "creation techniques" I wouldn't be alive


• daddy wakes up early every morning to drive me across town to play with Grandpa & Grandma or Diana, Ken & William while mommy sleeps in before heading to work


• he tells both of us that he loves us all the time


• he thinks mommy comes home with cool things from garage sales


• he agreed with mommy and me about buying our house


• he has unpacked almost all the boxes


• daddy loves baseball and takes us both to games all the time


• he is willing to find creative ways to fund his DeLorean Fund


• he makes everyday an adventure


• he has taken me to Disneyland twice and is making us go to Disney World in December


• he gave me great hair and blue eyes

As you can see my daddy is really great. I wanted to make the list longer but mommy said we better stop before daddy gets a big head. I don't really know what that means since daddy's head is already way bigger than mine.

We love you Daddy!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!

Believe in the Power of Dreams

Well now that our stupid vacation is over…

Ever have a dream? Martin Luther King, Michael Phelps, Pinocchio, Aerosmith- they all had dreams. Well I have a dream too. Like most people (this is Leigh Anna by the way) I have a dream car. Now some people like fast cars like a Corvette or a Mustang. Some like Vintage cars like a Charger or El Camino. Some even like ugly cars like a Gremlin. I want a DeLorean. You know the Back to the Future car, I want one always have always will.

What would you do if your dream was within reach? Well mine is. On eBay right now there is an auction for a 1981 DMC-12 DeLorean. The auction is at $5,600 right now. Here’s the best part- the car is here in Denver. Take a look at the auction. That’s a pittance- others in California are going for 29, 30,000$! And I’d have to fly out there. This one is here right here. What do you think, do you think I should buy it? I say yes! Jared is totally ok with it, in fact he seems to be more excited than me- however, Joseph is holding the deal up and even has trouble believing that I’m serious about buying it. Every time I try to broach the subject with him he rolls his eyes and I explain my perfectly legitimate plans to acquire the car, he then refutes them one by one. I have thought of buying it anyway and asking forgiveness later. It’s right under my nose. Plus it would be cool to get it in time for Jared’s birthday and for the anniversary we didn’t have this year.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160272551490&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:MOTORS:1123

Leave your comments and help convince Joseph to let me live my dream!! I’ll let you drive it!

World tour Part IV

By now you are probably sick of reading about our trip to NY and really could careless about it. Well the good news for you is the following story does not take place in NY…mostly.

Ah so we arrive at the Rochester airport in time. We go through security and lounge around waiting for 4:50 or so when our flight was supposed to leave. We get near 4:40 and something is suspicious- there is no announcement of boarding and there seems to be something afoot. We get word that there is no crew. Ok fine, so we wait. Well eventually the crew comes strolling in and we’re like ok good- we can still make our layover in Detroit. We only had a half hour gap to make our connecting flight. Well as they’re doing the pre-flight check they find some sort of minor mechanical problem. The flight is delayed- so now we are faced with a conundrum- will they be able to get us to Detroit in time for us to make our connecting flight? They say there’s a 50% chance we make it but cannot guarantee anything.

Well Annie and Diana being the eternal schemers, decide to see if we can stay in NY an extra night rather than risk going to Detroit. William and I just practiced Thriller, which we are very rusty at apparently. Finally the word came down, they booked us a hotel right by the airport in Rochester so we were staying 1 more night. Which means Pageant, Part II.

So we went down to rent a car (everybody claimed they were out of cars) except for National who quoted us 40$ for a car but then ooops it looks like were out of the 40$ cars and all they had was 60$. Fortunately (sic) the guy upgraded us to a SUV (with gas at 4.25$ this was not an upgrade) but we weren’t going that far. So we’re back in the car, back at Palmyra, back at Pageant. I gotta say I was too thrilled with seeing the Pageant again because it was a “good 1 time thing.” Everyone got excited when the rotary club potatoes went BOGO, but it was odd to me because here were these people who’s ancestors threw out the Saints in the first place making a ton of money off of us and yet, as Nephi would say, “we suffereth it.”

I took Joseph during a calm down walk during the Pageant but he never went to sleep. Annie had to miss part of the last Pageant because of Joseph so it was my turn. So the Pageant was good but there was a bunch of Antis yelling at us. Whatever.

So then we went back to our NWA paid for hotel- a Marriott. Far and away the best hotel we stayed in, including Niagara falls. The pillows….yum…the beds soft. The problem- by the time we got back from the Pageant it was 12:30 and our flight left at 5:30. That’s only about 5 hours for you keeping score at home. So we “slept” an dragged our beds out of bed at like 4:30 or something awful like that.

So we get through security (flagged again for additional screening by the airline!) and get to our gate. Seems like this plane works, has a crew and is not over booked. So we fly to MN without further delay.
We had like an hour or so in MN before our connecting flight to Denver. By now everyone is exhausted and we all want to get home. I wanted to go badly. Very badly. William had tickets to see the Rockies in a luxury box so he had to get home. Within 20 minutes of our flight an eerie foreboding swept across the terminal- an all too familiar feeling. “Attention NWA passengers to Denver…we have overbooked this flight. Would anybody be willing to take a later flight for $300 in credits?” Would we? Annie was all over it and so was Diana, but then I got torn, do I want to stay or go home? I raced and checked the paper Minnesota Twins v. Texas Rangers 1:10 Metrodome. Yikes! We gotta stay I’m giving up my seat! Diana was none too pleased as she wanted the credits (which I would gladly give up if I could) but I wanted to see the Twins. I was beating myself up for potentially missing the Tigers I sure wasn’t missing the Twins. So I 180d and decided to give up our seats to the later flight. Originally they had us on a flight at 2:00, and as compensation they had us in First Class. Ah but the game starts at 1:10 theres no point staying if not going to the game. So I convinced annie to take the 4:50 flight so we could watch the twins. She agreed, and gave up her dream of first class.

So Diana, William and Joseph took off for home while we stayed, just the two of us. I had a backpack full of books which everyone asked if I wanted to send home. I declined. Big mistake. So then we decided hey since were in Minneapolis why not go to their famous landmark- the Mall of America!

Quick fact-did you know the Mall of America doesn’t open until 11 am? Yeah me neither. We got to the Mall via train (a thrifty 3.00$ roundtrip for 2!) at 9:30 thinking the mall would open at 10. It didn’t. By the time the mall did open it was almost time to get back on the train and head for the world famous Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

The Mall of America was underwhelming although maybe it was because a) we were so tired b)I had those books and c) it wasn’t open yet (we went inside the mall but all the shops were closed) Frankly the Mall wasn’t that big. I imagined miles and miles of retail but really it wasn’t that much bigger than our Colorado Mills. We ended up buying some clothes for Joseph (whom we truly missed as I do now) and a couple of ties and an ornament.

Then it was onto the main event- Twins- Rangers-Metrodome.

Now I don’t know about you out there but watching baseball inside is just not Christian. We descended the train and got our tickets in the “cheap seats.” One good thing about the Metrodome is the cheap seats are general admission so we could sit pretty much anywhere on the top- I liked this idea. So we bought our tiny tickets with a huge receipt/stub and went into the Metrodome. Now having been spoiled by the best baseball park in the world, we both thought the same thing upon arriving on the concourse- Weird! Weird. It’s almost as if a different game started with baseball and evolved on a different path and arrived at something that closely resembled baseball but not quite. Weird. Astroturf. Designated Hitter. White ceiling (difficult to follow the ball on a pop up) fake dirt. Weird. The game was enjoyable but not the same. The Twins actually ended up losing 1-0 but the twins pitcher pitched a 1 hitter- the 1 hit being a home run, and he got the loss.

It was weird being inside and watching baseball but it really made the trip for me. Now I have seen the Twins- just as I was worried I wasn’t going to make it to a road game this year.

So then it was back to the airport for the last time (?) a bad omen- on the train to the concourse the power shut off and the train stopped moving and the doors sealed. Well we finally got there, had us a California Pizza and got on board the aircraft. Then an announcement… “We have overbooked this plane would anyone be willing to give up their seat for a $300 voucher?” Well my hand shot up right away, but Annie gave me a scathing look. The Flight attendant came by and asked if I wanted to give up my seat, I hesitated then finally relented- “No. I want to go home.” So we did.

Live From New York

Part III- Got a Barrel?

So after all the church history we could handle- it was time to head into another country. I told you it was a world tour, not just the US. So we headed off to Niagara Falls, Canada. We had a large Hotel Suite right up against the water (well as close as you could get anyway) Upon arrival we straight to the Hotel which was easy to see but hard to get to. Immediately upon crossing the border, it became apparent to me that Niagara Falls Canada resembled Las Vegas. Hotels, Casino, just the overall tourist vibe, it just seemed like Vegas. And for the record, I hate Vegas.

But our Hotel was nice. We paid extra money to get a room with a view of the falls which I guess some people enjoyed- I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room because I was indifferent to the falls view. Joseph and William joined me as well. So after unpacking our stuff we headed up to the Manager’s reception (lame) and William played a hunting game. Later I got confused by the French signs and ended up in the girl’s bathroom. No one saw me fortunately, but it was still embarrassing.

Then we headed down toward the falls, which we thought would be a quick walk down the hill from our hotel- only the hill was really steep and there was no pathway. The only easy way to get down was to take the little tram that was 2$ each. So we thought ok we’ll walk down. Well you have to walk down the entire freaking strip! It was a good 30 minute walk before there was a place down.

We finally made it down and saw the falls. Again because of the Vegas vibe I really wasn’t that impressed with them. They were cool but you’re just as well google imaging Niagara Falls. But it was time with my family and a truly scenic place so it was alright. We took a bunch of fotos. Joseph would never look at the camera. We eventually made it down to the horseshoe falls and faced a conundrum- walk all the way back or take the shuttle which lets off right at our hotel. The Waffler on our trip didn’t know what she wanted to do but in the end we decided to take the tram- about 30 seconds long…

We got back and we were going to eat but first I had to charge the camera. So in the data center I went and charged, deciding what to do for the fireworks. They informed me that the fireworks were over the American falls and thus, would not be visible from our hotel room. I shared this news with the ladies and they were none too pleased. Finally we decided to walk back down(!) which honestly this time didn’t seem as bad.

Roles of the Trip
The Bad Driver
The Requested yet Denied Driver
The Waffler
The Baby
The 10$ Sandwhich Man
The Leader
The Navigator
The Brains
The Money
So we got down the hill and onto a grassy spot in front of the Falls. The falls were cooler at night and down here. The Fireworks went off- just as Joseph was drifting off. So he woke up and we watched the fireworks- pretty cool, yet pretty Vegas. It all seemed so…Bellagio. We decided to walk down to the horseshoe falls to see those at night too. By the time we got there, much like our trip to Vegas and Caesar’s Palace, we were exhausted and the tram wasn’t running so it was time to walk back.

Well William “$10 Sandwhich Man” was hungry and so as we got back up the hill he stopped into his second favorite restaurant ever- Subway. Similar to Vegas, the sub prices were touristy, but William was undaunted. He went in and ordered his classic Ham footlong. The guy told him the price and said that you’re in Canada pal, the dollar is worth less (not worthless) here and so the sandwhich was more. A footlong that costs 5$ just a few hundred feet away cost him $10. The Canada guy totally screwed him and tricked him on the conversion because US money is worth more than Canadian- the sandwhich should have been LESS! The Brains and The Money were toot tired to prevent this, so from this day forward, William is $10 Sandwhich Man.

Finally bed time. As we arrived back at the hotel, The Driver was coming out of the shower all clean- rather than put Pjs on, he put going out clothes on. Are you really going out? We all asked, and he was dead serious. While I couldn’t take 1 more step, I guess he was going out for a night on the town.

And he wasn’t the only one-$10SM ($10 Sandwhich Man’s Rap Name) decided he wanted to explore the hotel. This was all going on whilst I and Joseph slept soundly- him in his cute crib and me on both stacks of couch pillows because I was not going to “sleep” on the hide-a-bed. So $10SM went out and got a free game of golf at the arcade, sent some emails in the business center, and hung out. This alarmed his Mom and Her Mom who went out looking for $10SM. He was fine and by the time I woke up he was back in his bed. Perhaps he was out pimping his street cred as a major playa in the Sandwhich Market.

Then we had Breakfast at the little nook which again, had falls views. I kept looking for Superman to show up and in fact, I even pushed a kid into the falls just to provoke Superman to come. Maybe he was busy fighting himself in a Junkyard, but he never came. The food at breakfast was pretty good and I got pretty stuffed. Even Joseph got full. Sadly there was no $10 Subs on the menu…

Then we had to book it to the U.S. side as this was (supposed to be) our last day of the trip. There was controversy of whether we should ride the Maid of the Mist, and in the end The Brain/The Leader (guess who that one is) decided to sacrifice trying to get a Canada passport stamp and go on the boat ride.

By the way the US side was infinitely better. You can get like 5 feet away from the falls- everything was cleaner, more natural and cheaper- they weren’t just pimping out the natural resource and it looked well cared for. We went on Maid of the Mist and got us all ponchos. They even had a cute Joseph sized one which would be even cuter if he was looking at the camera. We got pretty wet and Joseph went from John McCain hair to newborn hair he got so wet- which we didn’t like too much. But he did enjoy holding the rail and trying to squeeze through it.

After Maid of the Mist (the highlight of Niagara by far) we had to book it for the airports. We dropped the first half of our party off no problem. Then for some reason The Requested Yet Denied Driver freaks out on us and practically yells at us- “GET IN THE CAR WE HAVE TO MOVE NOW WE’LL NEVER MAKE IT” (We had like 3 hours or something) Weird.

Famous quotes from the trip
“25, 25, 25 ,25 25”
“Why isn’t Annie driving again?”
“I want some Subway”
“Da-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaaaa”
“Man this trip is going to be expensive”
“FOR-EV-ER”
“Do you guys know what a Taco is?”

So we finally clam this mystery person who’s name rhymes with Bannie down and convince her we have time to make our flight. But first we have to stop by the airport and get gas. So I gas up the Van whilst TRYDD goes in to go pee- Lo and Behold they have, what else, a Subway at this gas station. We were all hungry- especially $10SM (guess what he ordered) so we ordered a sandwhich each.

I think actually riding a subway to a NY Deli, then riding another Subway to a meat plant and so on to acquire the ingredients to make the sandwhiches would have been faster. $10SM tried to use his Sandwhich cred to speed the guy along but seriously this dude took like 30 minutes to make 2 Subs. I thought about kicking him an extra $4 to make thing go along faster but I didn’t think I could live with the burden of being $10SM2.

Finally we made it to the airport. You’d think our trip ends there, or that there is a paragraph that says and then we flew home without incident- but you’d be wrong…