Playing at the Zoo Playground

While it has long been debated where these kids come from and how they manage to have so much energy, well part of that question has finally been answered! Still not sure about the energy thing. Michael enjoys playing on the playground toys, but pauses to take it all in.

Michael and Anna discovered that they could do things together quite well.

Cousin Anna made it up the ladder and pauses to reflect on her accomplishments.

David is ever the monkey swing and climbing on everything.

The slides seemed to be the biggest attraction in the park.

Donovan decided that walking all the way around to the ladder was just too far to go.

Why spend time in line when there is a quicker way?

David doesn't believe in the common route and decides to scale the untamed country on the other side of the slide.

But who couldn't use just a little help from his cousin, Katie.

Don't think for a moment that fun escaped the mommies! Aunt Janeil plays on the teeter-totter.

Michelle goes for a slower approach to enjoy the day.


In the end, the kids had a fabulous time at the Zoo playground!

Aleky Causes Meiheim and Disaster!

It has finally started! Aleky has learned how to crawl and now he has unlimited opportunity to get to know the house he's lived in all his life. Aleky is such a sweet kid and almost never cries or complains. So sometimes we almost forget about him. On one such moment we realized that we hadn't seen Aleky in a while so we started to search the house for him. When we found him, this is what we discovered!

Watching TV Can Be Healthy!

While there has been an alarming increase in the rate of exposure to digital media (TV, computer, video games, etc.) that the average american is exposed to on a daily basis there has been evidence that links increased health benefits to watching TV. This new evidence was released earlier today and is sending shockwaves around the world! The following reports show how these 3 boys are actually showing signs of increased health and vitality because of their TV viewing tendancies.

Ancient Ritual - The Heater Dance

With the change in the seasons and the dropping temperatures, we've been force to look to alternative means of staying warm. As is tradition in our family, we have turned to the older, more spiritual ways. Donovan and Michael demonstrate the ancient ritual for maintaining warmth...the heater dance.

Provo City Services Fair

Our family had the opportunity to attend the Provo City Services Fair. We bumped into Provo's Mayer (Billings) who was their with (?) his daughter. But we didn't hang out and chat...we wanted to get to the fun stuff. I really wanted to let the boys get a ride in the "bucket" of the power trucks. They had 3 of them just lifting kids in the air and bringing them back down but we just barely missed the line before they "closed" and wouldn't let anyone else get in line.

We did the next best thing and went to check out the Highway Patrol helicopter. David and Donovan were pretty excited and jumped in (cutting in line and everything). After waiting for our turn we got a quick picture. Michael just wasn't in the mood for these cool power toys so he didn't really get excited about anything except the popcorn at the end of the night.

After the helicoper we stopped to view the UTA buses. We didn't get a ride but those buses look pretty comfortable.


Then we got to the good stuff. The boys were really excited about the firetrucks and watching the firemen in action. Michael didn't like the robotic firedog and ran to mommy for cover.

Once we had let David and Donovan sit in a real firetruck we found the free fireman hats and got one for each boy. With the firehats one we were ready to watch the fireman put our a real simulated fire! Apparently the fireman get to practice make a "wall of water" as the combat the blaze. My idea of a "wall of water" has always been something you use to protect tomato plants!


After the fire fighting display we found ourselves a nice bag of popcorn and waiting until the boys were done eating it before getting back in the car. The boys sat on the burm and waved to all the cars passing by say "goodnight" to everyone! A few people even waved back.

It was a fun night out as a family. It may not have been the most spiritual family home evening but we were able to do it together as a family.

Computer Class is So Much Fun

Our boys are so excited to go to computer class. David and Donovan started last year and Michael was able to start this year. It is really a highlight of the day for them. David and Donovan ride their scooter to class, Michael and Aleky tend to be content in the stroller. The older boys race to each street corner and then wait patiently for the other two boys to catch up.


The computer class in a self-paced learning program. The programs goes over and idea until it is learned, repeated the next session those things that were not learned in the previous session. They learn all about their numbers, letters, basic science, reading and math. The sessions were reduced from 40 minutes last year to 30 minutes this year but that seems to be long enough to keep the boys attention completely.


It is fun to watch the boys come home and practice the things they learned on the computer. Each boy identifies numbers, letters and sometimes they even try to read to different words that they come across in the house, on the street signs, wherever.

Happy Birthday Aleky

Today Aleky celebrates his 1st birthday! It is hard to believe that he has already been with us a full year. He is fully mobile (when he wants to be) and is beginning to crawl around the house. It is time to secure the stairs to avoid any extraordinary mobility discovery opportunities! He pulled an empty flour bucket down this afternoon; it didn't hit him but he lost his balance and fell over which sent him to tears and he received a needed hug from mom. Then moments later he pulled the garbage can down; there was no hug this time! I had to fortunate opportunity of cleaning up the mess as it had descended part way down the stairs. Aleky was invited to spend some time in a different room.

We decided to hold a small family party this evening for Aleky. While his 1st birthday is very special he didn't really know who he wanted to invite and he was very particular about leaving anyone out on accident; so we compromised and settled on the immediate family in or around Provo. That kept the preparation to a minimum but still allowed us sufficient celebration.

Those in attendance for the celebration included his uncle Kyle, aunt Janeil, cousins Katie, Anna & Troy, Grandma Jones, aunt Trista, aunt Cheyenne, and aunt Larissa. Also in attendance was Neil, Kelley and Zach Johnson. We sang Happy Birthday to Aleky but I don't think he really understood the significance of the occasion nor did he appreciate the amount of attention that was focused on him.

Aleky really enjoyed his birthday cake. He finished every last crumb; at least his tray was clear, but I do recall seeing some crumbs on the floor...

We didn't really plan on presents but Grandma Jones had one anyway. It took Aleky a few gestures and hints before he realized that there was a present that needed unveiling. It became quite obvious that his brothers were much more interested in the new gift than Aleky was.

But not to worry, Aleky had plenty of fun with the best part of the present.

After the party was over the boys got ready for bed. Before heading home the Johnsons wanted to get Zach ready for bed so that the trip home would go more smoothly. That was a fatal mistake. Once the boys were in their pjs they attached without warning. Neil fought valiantly but the odds seemed insurmountable. But as fate would have it, he barely managed to survive.

We were surprised to learn that Janeil had come to Utah with her kids and wanted to stop by and visit. We didn't know she would be in the area. Our children had a fabulous time playing with their cousins. David, Donovan and Michael took Katie and Anna out to the backyard and played for nearly an hour. They had a grand ole time. Meanwhile, Aleky and Troy we're trading secrets on crawling and getting around the house.

Conference is an Inspiration

It was a beautiful day for watching conference. The boys were excited to listen to a prophets voice. The got their pillows and blankets and settled down for an inspirational conference.

Well the effect didn't last quite as long as I would have liked but you've got to give those boys credit for trying...just as long as little boys can try sitting through general conference.

I was exceptionally impressed by this general conference. Maybe I was sufficiently humble this time to hear the spirit whisper to me but this conference seemed like one of the most inspirational conferences I've ever attended. I'm grateful for the internet and the radio which made it possible for us to hear conference from our own home (we don't have any tv). I'm excited to get the next Ensign magazine so that I can read all the talks that I heard these past 2 days.

Ideas At Work

It's 6:00 am, and I can't sleep. It has been raining almost non-stop since early Saturday morning. We stayed up until midnight on Friday trying to set up a little greenhouse to protect Michelle's green beans from the imminent dropping temperature. As we neared the completion of the project, and noticed the impending rainstorm approaching, we realized that our greenhouse design has some inherent flaws (mostly relating to the capture of rain on top of the plastic). How do we keep the rain from pooling on the short side of the plastic and eventually ripping, tearing or damaging the greenhouse. We have come up with several brilliant ideas so far:

1) Design evolution. As we built the greenhouse we suspected the rain pooling to be a problem so we shortened the distance between the apex (peak) of the roof and it's short side. This would limit the surface area potentially at risk.

2) Support. We used twine to attach from the fence to the ridge pole. This would then provide a measure of support to the plastic and would limit the areas of pooling by maintaining high spots every few feet. In addition, we extended the twine to the ground on the opposite side to provide an added measure of stability to the structure.

3) Tension. We concluded that if we keep the plastic tight enough that the rain would simply drain and no puddling would ever occur.

4) Tension support. We suspected there may have been some inaccuracy in our measurements, plastic measurements, fitting of our frame, etc., which caused slight dips in our otherwise perfect design. We were able to correct a measure of the error by pulling some of the excess plastic and taping it with duct tape. This helped, in a measure, to restore the tension. (This was done after it was already raining and puddling has started to occur. Michelle had me hold the umbrella over the work area while she dried the plastic with a rag enough to attach the duct tape.)

5. Mid-structure support. When the tape failed to eliminate the pooling Michelle added additional supports in the middle of the plastic, at regular intervals, to create a steeper run-off which would help eliminate low spots and would allow the rain to drain. She used some left-over gardening sticks (from a previous garden) to push the plastic up. The concern with these poles was that they are thinner and since they are essentially just sticks we were concerned that if enough water managed to pool, these poles may just poke through the plastic.

6. More Mid-structure support. If one pole doesn't work try more. The pooling continued so Michelle added additional poles. It seemed to work but we now realize that it was a slow down in the rain that gave us that false sense of accomplishment.

Now it is 6:00 am and raining again and it is raining pretty constantly. I woke up to the sound of the rain and then I realized another solution to the dilemma of the pooling water. Add drains. We've been able to determine where the water is most likely to pool. Since those spots are the obvious low spots, we can just add drain spouts in those spots which would allow the water to drain instead of just collecting and pooling. The idea is simple, the design a little more complicated but my current thought is that we can poke a hole at the bottom of the pooled water area (after draining the water), insert a straw, extend the straw through the plastic side wall, and "seal" the 2 holes with duct tape. The straw will allow the water to drain below the side support and would be positioned to drain the greatest amount of water without creating a place for the heat to escape the greenhouse. I'll have to try it when it gets light outside.

General Conference Highlights (Priesthood Session)

What an amazing day of general conference! I was very impressed by just about every speaker. I don't know if that means I'm getting more "in-tune" with the Spirit or I'm getting more out-of-tune with the Spirit (and need a lot more help). I tried to take notes of the important things that were said but I didn't do a very good job. Saturday is still a work day and there were chores that needed to be done so I couldn't devote an entire 6 hours just to listening to conference.

There were some highlights from the Priesthood session that we're especially noteworthy for me:

Richard G. Scott - He spoke of the value of women, how they are every bit equal to man and any institution which teaches any form of superiority of men is of satan (he was quite bold in his statements). While Elder Scott remarks were about the value of holding the Priesthood, I felt that the talk was more on the value and importance of woman. In fact, the woman was the crowning event of the creation...saving the best for last. Elder Scott asked a series of worthiness questions, one of which was "do you help your wife with the chores?" Having spent the day doing chores I felt somewhat validated in the sight of God.

James Hamula - He spoke of the war that started in Heaven has continued here on earth. In Heaven, Satan was defeated by faith, testimony and consecration of ones-self to the cause of righteousness. On earth Satan will be defeated in the same way. Elder Hamula also spoke of the "voice of the Lord" being still, small, and whisper-like; that the Spirit "speaks" through feelings, thoughts, and impressions. As we follow the promptings of the Spirit we rediscover our faith, testimony and level of consecration that we had developed prior to this mortal existence.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf - (quite possibly my current favorite apostle) He discussed the idea of "lift where you stand." This is the idea of serving (and magnifying) in the calling that you have been given without seeking a position or hiding from the opportunity to serve. Elder Uchtdorf also explained that the Lord judges differently than we do and our current excuses won't matter when we're standing in front of the Him; does the Lord care about...what job or position we hold, what meetings we're attending, what callings we've held, or any other excuse why we couldn't serve in His kingdom? The Lord has a calling for everyone; every calling is an opportunity to serve and to grow. And Elder Uchtdorf explained that we may be worthy to serve in any number of callings or positions but that the Lord chooses whom He will for any specific calling and any specific time and that when we receive (or don't receive) a calling it may have nothing to do with our worthiness or abilities; the Lord may need you somewhere else.

Henry B. Eyring - Elder Eyring explained and discussed how the Lord gives us calling to stretch us and strengthen our abilities (like a muscle that needs to be broken down before it can be built back up). So anytime we feel overwhelmed in a calling we need to realize 2 things; 1) this is a time for growth, and 2) you can't do it by yourself...you need God's help. Many of us feel that life will be better when...I get home from my mission, graduate from college, get a real job, etc. Elder Eyring pointed out that the more faithfully you serve the more responsibility you are given (and the more blessings you receive), so don't plan on things getting easier in your life! We need to recognize those people that the Lord sends into our lives to help us and we need to be prepared to be sent into other's lives. When we are sent to others we need to help them feel confident in their ability to go to the Lord (that is where the true help comes from).

President Thomas S. Monson - While I love our prophet I sometimes struggle to identify the message in his talks. I always feel good listening to him and his stories but I guess my personality doesn't quite identify with him like I can with his 2 councilors. President Monson did say that there are 3 things that all of us can do to be better: 1) Learn what we should learn, 2) Do what we should do, and 3) Be what we should be. When we are on the Lord's errand we are entitled to the Lord's help.

I know there was much more said but these are a few thoughts that were the most impressionable to me tonight. I'm excited to listen to the 2 remaining sessions of conference tomorrow.