The Yack Attack

Well..this morning Lisa started throwing up. Then when I took the three kids to church, Tanner started joining the fun. Natalie had it a week ago - I guess Sydney and I are the lucky ones.

Quote the Sydney

Daddy: Sydney - if I were an animal, what would I be?

Sydney: a cow.

Daddy: Sydney - if Mommy were an animal, what would she be?

Sydney: a pretty cow.

RC Willey: part 2

Thursday, December 27:

11:15AM: Corporate called back - said the couches have been found and delivery is scheduled for Monday morning. Secretly I wonder if they're just buying two more days to find them :)

If they don't come Monday, would you:
1. Cancel the order. Get your money back and never go back.
2. Wait another day. You've already waited two weeks.
3. Demand more than the piddling $50 off the couches and Get Gephart or report to the Better Business Bureau (thanks Dave for the suggestion).
4. Hide under a rock and die, knowing that your life will never be complete with these couches.

RC Willey - what are you doing?

Wow. I don't know what else to say? If you want the short version, we ordered custom couches, they setup a few delivery times after they came in, I missed half of a family party, and we still don't have couches, and they don't know where one of them are. Here's the sad long version:

Monday, December 17:

8PM: R.C. Willey leaves a message on our home phone that they received our custom couches from the manufacturer, and that we can come pick them up whenever we want.

Tuesday, December 18:

10AM We call R.C. Willey back to say we picked up the free dvd player but that the couches were to be delivered, as it said on their records. They realized they read their own ticket wrong, and setup delivery for Friday (21st).

Friday, December 21:

8AM: I called to see what time they were going to deliver, they said 7:30 - 10:30.

11AM: I asked why the driver hadn't called, they gave me his number and told me to call him (what's up with that?). I call the number they gave and left a message on the driver's phone. He never calls back (first promised callback that never happened)

2PM: I call R.C. Willey again, they think it's dumb the previous time I got the driver's number, say they'll look into and call me back within an hour. (second promised callback that never happened).

9PM: I call R.C. Willey again, they said the loaders didn't put the couches on the truck, as they read the ticket wrong (again), and that they'd scheduled delivery for tomorrow (Saturday the 22nd). She said they'd also have a manager call to apologize (third promised callback that never happened). I called back and left a message on the store manager's phone about my "unpleasantness".

Saturday, December 22:

8AM: I call to see what time they'll be delivered. They say delivery between 10-1. My family Christmas party is at 11:30, but I figure if the drivers call and say 10 or 10:30, we'll leave right after.

10AM: The drivers call and say they will deliver between 11 and 12.

12:45PM: I send Lisa and the kids, as I feel this might be a while.

12:45PM: I call R.C. Willey, asking what happened. They said they'll call the driver and call me back within 30 minutes (fourth promised callback that never happened).

1:45PM: I call R.C. Willey again, she said they were just looking for my phone number to call back, that the driver said they were in the middle of a delivery and would call them back but didn't for half an hour, then just finally did (note it's an hour later). R.C. Willey said that the driver didn't think he had my couches on the truck. I asked them where the couches were, they said they were in the process of looking, but think they're either on another truck, or still in the warehouse, and that they'd call me within two hours when they found them.

1:45PM: I call the store manager to leave another message, as I'm driving to make the last half of the family party.

4:00PM: Since we drove up separately, Lisa called me on my cell to say the store manager called to apologize, that they still couldn't find our couches and said we'd get a fair price on new couches if we came into the store to pick out new ones. Fair price?

Monday, December 24:

10:00AM: I called to see if they found my couches yet. Nope. They transferred me to the main warehouse to have them track them down. They said they didn't have them and they're transfer me to customer service, who could help me track them down. I interrupted that to say I just talked with them, but they said it'd be the warehouse customer service. I waited 25 minutes on hold to find out it was the same people. They said they'd call within two hours. (fifth promised callback that never happened).

Wednesday, December 26th:

10AM: I called to hope the warehouse had made progress. They said they found the love seat but couldn't find the other one. They said they'd have my original salesman drive the issue. They transferred me to him, I told him the story, he commiserated, and said he'd drive the issue, be the pointman, and call back within the hour to tell me what happened.

1PM: (three hours later) I called the salesman back, said he was just looking for my number (this seems to be a common line) and that he talked to the manager of the warehouse, not just the one over inventory, and they said they needed a day to look for it. I called back the manager of the Murray store and left another message.

Thursday, December 27th:

8:15-9:31AM: Called to check the status this morning. I was on hold for an hour and eighteen minutes. I talked to corporate customer service, who said they'd look into it and call me back in a few minutes.

I'll edit the post when new changes occur. Not that you want to read more...

Leisure time

What do you do on your leisure time? According the the U.S. Department of Labor's American Time Use Survey (ATUS), if you're 15 and over, this is the national average of leisure time on an average day (note that this includes all days of the week):

Watching TV: 2.6 hours
Socializing and communicating: 46 minutes
Reading: 22 minutes
Participating in sports, exercise, recreation: 17 minutes
Relaxing and thinking: 19 minutes
Playing games; using computer for leisure: 19 minutes
Other leisure activities: 29 minutes
Total leisure and sports time per day: 5.1 hours

More findings:
Employed adults ages 25 to 54 who live in households without children (under age 18) engaged in leisure and sports activities for 4.3 hours, about 53 more minutes per day than employed adults living with a child under age 6.

Yet using the same survey, most fathers with children under 18 at home said they spent 3-4 hours a day with the children.

On average...do you have 5.1 hours of leisure time?

Full article

Use New Media

Earlier this week at BYU-Hawaii, Elder M. Russell Ballard encouraged the students there to use "new media", more specifically blogs and responding to online news reports.

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches".

Read the full article

Just a reminder about my LDS Quotes blog.

There's an RSS feed for the LDS Newsroom from the first link, including articles about how measles has dropped 91% from Africa, helped partially from funds donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Well...as most of you know, when asked how old I am, I respond with how many years I've been married. This makes it easier than remind myself I'm starting to get old (27) and that it's fun to think about being 5.

Sure '5' isn't a big number, but it feels great. As many of you know from my past posts about acquiring telescopes and my astronomy blog, I'm really getting into astronomy. Well, this morning I unwrapped my anniversary present.

This is what the sky looked like in Salt Lake City the night we were married. It's really pretty. You can see the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Pleiades, etc. The fun thing is Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon are all aligned ;)

Thanks Bean - love you big time.

Sunday Fun

Today was quite busy but a great day. Normally our Sundays are really laid back after church, but I scheduled four home teaching appointments today. I've had little luck getting my companions to go with me, so two of the Elders Quorum Presidency helped and went to two each. Each of the four families are really nice and we always have fun catching up and talking about the gospel. Church was 11-2, and I had appointments at 2:45, 3:30, 4:15, and 5:00. When I got home, Sydney gave me a big hug and said "Daddy - I need some daddy-daughter time." It was really cute. So Tanner is in bed, and Sydney, Natalie, and I just finished watching the old-school Rudolph movie...twice. A good hour of chocolate popcorn and snuggles.

10 sentences of background

Last Thursday Lisa and I went to the Mandarin in Bountiful while Grandpa and Grandma Moore watched the kids. We are so grateful. It felt weird to have so much time where we weren't going anywhere, we didn't have the kids with us, and no electronic devices kept our attention. Something brought up the subject of one of my crazy, zany, or otherwise roll-your-eyes ideas. Don't get me wrong - it's not 1) good, 2) appealing, or definitely 3) intentionally funny. I don't know if it's tactlessness, short-term memory loss...hopefully in kind words you'll have an answer. It's hilarious to everyone but Lisa, except afterwards when she rolls her eyes and laughs because it's in the past and she can't do anything to prevent it again. One of them is that I always give ten sentences of background when no one really cares how we got there (like I've just done) and could have just skipped to the next paragraph. Let me give an example she likes to use:

So since I don't listen well or notice the needs or wants of my wife very well (there's a clue), when Christmas time, her birthday, our anniversary, etc. comes along, I ask her what she wants. She'll get that look like "here we go again", and then proceeds to remind me what is about to happen (or sometimes she plays along, like we haven't done this before). She reminds me that every time I ask, she gives me several good ideas, I decide it wasn't my idea and/or now it wouldn't be a surprise, and decide to get something else altogether (like is happening for Christmas).

I think Alzheimers is right around the corner...or was that last week? Anyway, we were talking about this over dinner, and I (mistakenly) asked her what other crazy things I do. She had so many available (not that she doesn't love me), but we left that restaurant laughing so hard we probably couldn't spell 'sober'. The sad thing is, this is the only one I remember.

What is the goal? Like I told Lisa to do over dinner - she needs to blog about the crazy things I do. I swear Lisa's mom has the best time listening on the other end of the phone as Lisa 'tells her a new one' or 'it happened again' (I just guessing...these aren't actual quotes). Send Lisa an email and request more. She's being kind not doing it, but if everyone gets a good laugh and it helps me remember not to be...ooo...I hope the word isn't "ditsy"..that we'll all have a good laugh.

The importance of examples

Yes. I know. Hero week has come and gone and we're at least 40+ weeks away. However...

Several things have led up to this blog entry. Lisa and I, on recommendation from a good friend, watched "The Ultimate Gift". I highly recommend it. Okay...maybe it doesn't directly apply (it's late...I'm already rambling).

Lately I've been learning a lot about telescopes, and more recently binoculars. I want a quick way for Sydney to enjoy the stars without having to wait 30 minutes for me to get all the scope stuff ready, eyepieces, etc. I go to a cool site called Cloudy Nights (www.cloudynights.com) to learn about all sorts of stuff. The realization comes later that the only time you're reading it is when there are cloudy nights, otherwise you'd be out under the telescope! Anyway there's a guy who knows all there is to know about binoculars, what there is to know, and why it's important. I learned a ton after doing a few posts on the message board and he was very helpful. At the bottom of each of his posts (the signature) it says "Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards."

One of my greatest rewards is being able to help my dad, on rare occasion. He has been through a lot with me, much less the "minor things" like installing sinks, calls about sprinklers, and such. It's such an honor to be able to help with computer problems, or anything I might know more about...yes...that does limit it to computers :)

There is something great to be said for those who always give. I'm sadly one who always looks for praise (like a dog, or a 3 year old) for doing something nice. Why I need verification it was good, or the pat-on-the-back, I hope I figure out soon so I stop. Anyway - here's my long entry for a short topic from EdZ: "Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards."

Doing telephone interviews about telephone interviews

Whether you're following the 2008 Presidential campaigns closely or not, you've got to love this article. Not only does the article say most people hung up on automated phone calls about the election, they were only slightly nicer to actual people on the other line doing the same thing.

How did they get this data: doing telephone interviews about telephone interviews.

Now if you want something really funny - read a great article about how one reporter does his polling. Let me just point out a few key phrases you'll see: nuns, those wearing hats, punks on skateboards.

Family Home Evening

It's on, it's off, it's postponed, it's missed. Family home evening is never what it was in my parent's home: consistent. We're working on it. Lisa is quite amazing. Scroll back to hero week and read the entry about her and we'll assume you think she better than sliced bread too and add to it with this entry. On Monday, Lisa brought home a gingerbread house kit, and we were all excited for FHE. Okay...so some of us (especially Tanner) couldn't keep our eyes off the treats, but as you can see - the candies made it on the house. But that's not the best part of Monday. It was Lisa's turn for the lesson. We sang songs like "when the family gets together" and "listen, listen", and had a wonderful lesson on baptism. Sydney's favorite cousin (on Lisa's side) is Mary. Mary is getting baptized on Saturday, and is anxious to see it. Sydney has seen a few, but I'm never sure how much of the explanation of why makes it through. Lisa used pictures from the Gospel Art Kit (the wonder pack of 600 photos (something like $15 at the distribution center), and we had a great time. This morning on the way to school Sydney said "Dad..when I turn eight, I'm going to be baptized." It was really cute. Okay...what you've been waiting for: pictures. Sorry - our camera stinks indoors. I turned on and off the flash, but they were all sorts of blurry.

Journaling

Since October 8th I've been writing in a personal journal. I have an Outlook reminder each morning to remind me (it's been two months and I still need it). I added it up, I'm 34/53 days, but considering before this, I wrote 8 days in my life, it's definitely an increase. I'm up to 14 pages. I was surprised how much I had forgotten things that happened just a week ago, much less a month and a half ago.

Here are a few highlights from the past two months (in order of occurance):

1. Sharing the Book of Mormon with a good friend.

2. My new telescope. (brrrrr...it's cold outside)

3. Hero week on this blog.

4. Getting donuts from Macey's with Sydney, who loves the car carts.

5. Thanksgiving Point with Mo, and standing in line for 45 minutes for a pretty weak train.

6. TV and cable modem go POOF.

7. Personal revelation.

8. Halloween excitement.

9. Friends lunches.

10. Microsoft interviews.

11. Star gazing with Sydney.

12. Macaroni Grill and Bourne Ultimatum with Lisa.

13. Rachel's pregnant!

14. My parents came home from their mission!

15. Jazz game with Matt.How many things can you remember from the past two months?

Crayon Physics

Here's the download

Jazz Game

On Friday afternoon, I got a call from my brother-in-law Matt Fankhauser. He said they had an extra ticket to the Jazz game that night and wondered if I wanted to go. I haven't been to a Jazz game in ten years, but that's definitely not from the lack of wanting. I was thrilled and Lisa was kind enough to take the kids for the evening. She took the kids out to her parents' house and had pie. The game was awesome. We were on the 11th row ($130 tickets)! Despite being down by five most of the first half, the end of the first half gave them a lot of confidence and pulled within one. They opened the second half with a 16-1 run and ended up winning by thirty.

Since we only get the very basic cable package, we don't get FSN-Utah, Versus, or anything other than KJZZ to watch the games. It was a great time at the game, and fun to spend a little time with Matt - we rarely get together other than family activities.

Thanks again Matt!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was great! We had a few times of the kids getting up throughout the night because their shots were hurting (vaccines yesterday), but they seem to be adapting well. We went up to Matt and Ann’s around 11:30, had some appetizers watched a little football, and spent some quality time catching up and having a lot of laughs. Mom and Dad were so great. They each would trade off with each of the grandchildren. When Sydney first saw Grandma Moore, she gave her a big hug and wrapped her feet around Grandma’s waist, and just snuggled for a few minutes. She had that “I’ve really missed you” look on her face – it was so sweet. It was so great seeing Sydney with Grandpa Moore, always his little shadow. Whenever she was more than five feet away, she would come up to me and whisper “I want Grandpa Moore”. Tanner was just cooing while being held by Grandma Moore. He only snuggles Lisa and grandmas that way. Our family has been so blessed by their mission, and it continues with their presence in our family. The meal was wonderful (we forgot to bring the veggie tray, just the other stuff), but we all enjoyed time together as a family. Dad and Mom, Rich’s family, Matt’s family, and our family were there for most of the day, with Nate’s family coming up for pie later (spent Thanksgiving with her family).

It's hard to say what was best, as the food was awesome! It was neat to see Ally getting in on the cooking, but Wende made stuffed mushrooms (Jenny's recipe) and man, those are delicious. Despite the attempts to continue stuffing ourselves, we couldn't help but pause to keep saying how great the food was. Hopefully Wende will post pictures of the stuffed mushrooms and our fun day.

Hope your Thanksgiving went as well.

They're home!!!

After a long seventeen years (okay, a year and a half), my parents have arrived home safely from the Uganda Kampala Mission. Sydney has been so excited for their return, carrying their picture around the house with her. When my parents left, Sydney was in an extremely shy stage, so they weren't expecting Sydney to run up and give them big hugs. We had a fun night catching up with my family, and are excited to spend Thanksgiving with them. It was so hard to leave their home last night, despite it being an hour past the kids bedtime, but after my parents 8 hour flight from Kampala to Entebbe, then yesterday's flight from Entebbe to Salt Lake City (via Chicago), I can't believe they were still awake.

What a blessing to have them home safe. Hopefully they'll have a few days to adjust before we overwhelm them with stuff to do together.

Acmed the dead terrorist

I apologize in advance for a few expletives...and for your tears of laughter. Thanks to Kevin Carter

OPML

No. It's not a drug. If you frequently read any blogs, hopefully you're using an RSS feed reader to notify you of new content. Your local list of RSS feeds are stored as a group in an OPML file (or at least can be imported or exported that way).

What does your OPML contain? Me? Here are my main groups:

Astronomy

Church

Comics (Dilbert!)

Family (Lisa, sister in laws)

Friends (Kevin Carter, Chris Okelberry, Trent Himes)

Politics (USA Today, Washington Post)

Sports (Jazz, Avalanche)

Sure, most of what I see I skim through quickly, but a few I always read straight through. How could you miss entries like this?

What does your OPML say about you?

Taking a hobby to an extreme?

How cool would this be? Sure, the images are free from NASA and the hubble telescope, but $30 for the frame as well as printing costs. Still...it'd be pretty sweet assuming you chose a sweet image, etc.

Yard work

Is anyone excited by yard work (except when it's done)? :) A few weeks ago, we borrowed the neighbor's chainsaw and sawed down most of the crazy apple tree (odd, misshapen). This morning, it was nice weather so Sydney and I went out to go cleanup all the leftover apples, and (I) cut up the branches. It was a lot of fun singing the alphabet song, the theme song to "Super Why", counting to 15, counting backwards from 10, and just having a ball with Sydney. We're really been growing closer together and getting stuff done at the same time. I feel bad lately that to get work done on Saturday, Sydney and I spend time together while we do projects, and Lisa and the twins don't get as much time. However Saturday afternoons I've been spending with the twins, where the football game is on, but it's like it's just the radio, as we're playing, tickling, putting binkies back in, etc.

Astronomy excitement

On Monday for family home evening we took two blankets, two pillows, and an astronomy guide called Night Watch out on the front lawn to get more acquainted with constellations. Sydney was so thrilled that the book showed on one page an image of the night sky and on the other, connect-the-dot-ish constellations. She was even more thrilled when she realized that they "matched" the actual night sky. It was a lot of fun to spend quality time with Sydney, and Lisa read a little bit with us once we came back inside.

So tonight after dinner, Sydney looked over at me on her way to the front door informing me she was going out front to look at the moon. She is such a cutie! She knows daddy too well. Sadly it's a new moon, so it wasn't visible. We went out to look at the stars again like Monday, then got out "huge telescope" and looked at some really sweet stuff (galaxies, star clusters, etc). To keep a log of what I view astronomically, and soon to add images, I created my third blog. It has been so much fun to share a common hobby with Sydney other than the love of tickling, reading books, and good flicks like "Cars", "Toy Story 2", and "Curious George".

Microsoft

About three weeks ago, I was browsing LinkedIn to check for any new contacts I knew. I noticed one of advertisements included a job opportunity at Microsoft for an SDET. It really peaked my interest, so I submitted my resume, traded a few emails with the hiring manager, and before I knew it, I had an email setting up my interviews at Microsoft. Being really comfortable with my current job, co-workers, pay, etc. I was comforted that if it wasn't what I was looking for or if they were looking for someone else, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Thursday, I flew up to Washington, catching up on some reading I've been slowing been doing. I frequently try to get time in to read my dev and testing books (Lisa calls them my 'geek books'), but normally other things come first. Anyway, the flight was nice to get some reading in, as well as after dinner.

Friday morning, I worked out, showered, and did a bit more reading before heading up for my interviews. I first met with the recruiter, who was kind and helpful in understanding the position, who I would interview with, etc. I was really excited to see what team and project I would be working on, but obviously won't be discussing it (NDA). She sent me to my first interview, and I sat waiting, getting more nervous as the seconds went by. My first interview went horrible, as my knees were knocking, the worst part being either I looked like an idiot and apologized for my nerves, or the fact that I thought I wouldn't be nervous and was mad at myself.

I felt the second interview went pretty well, as we ate some hot clam chowder that really calmed my nerves before getting into the actual interview. The test and dev scenarios I felt I demonstrated good answers for, and was passed to the third interviewer. He was very kind as we discussed my past positions, etc. During my meeting with the recruiter, she mentioned if I made it past my third interview, it was a really good sign. So after the third interview seemed to be iffy, I asked how I could improve by what he had seen and heard, and we discussed a few items (including my frequent apologies), after which he asked me to wait while he went to speak with his boss (my fourth interview).

That interview I felt went well. After that concluded, I went back to speak with the recruiter, and was on my way back to the hotel. The flight back was nice and calm, minus the fact by this point my voice was almost gone. We'll see if they want me and are willing to make it worth my while to relocate me to Washington. If I would have been less nervous and ready to go on the first interview, I'd feel it was more likely, but we'll see. There are other issues to deal with like selling the house, finding new residence, etc., but that's for thinking about after I hear back.

Oddities of life

I've set myself up for this one. April 6, 2007 I started my LDS Quotes blog, with a few goals in mind:

1. Have a repository of my favorites quotes from LDS talks, general conference, etc.

2. When I ran out of posting my favorite quotes, it'd mean I'd have to keep reading conference talks, BYU speeches, etc., which means I'd be learning more, etc.

3. Hopefully other people found them useful for talks, lessons, personal use, etc.

The two months before conference, I averaged between 100-120 hits per week. After conference, I'm averaging 10-60 hits per week.

By now you should be asking why I care or why I'd spend my free time looking each week (or perhaps you didn't make it this far). I've been wondering whether to keep it as a blog or not. I guess it doesn't hurt, just takes time to add one daily, formatting, links, etc.

Shocking events

Lisa and I were watching the new Transformers movie at home when at 11:30pm Saturday, a huge boom was heard and a blinding flash. The power tripped, the tv started to smell like smoke, and we are now out a big screen and a cable modem, both which were on surge suppressors :( State Farm is working on our claim right now, but the hardest part was not having the internet Sunday. I never realized how nice it is to check the forecast, email, blogs, and let Sydney play games on pbskids.org. The good news is we're all safe (the kids slept through it all), and after our deductible, a new tv should be coming in a week (once we figure out how much we're getting reimbursed).

Changes, changes, changes

There were several great things that happened in the past little while that I thought of during hero week, but was spending my 'blogging time' on hero week. Anyway, here are a few highlights:

Twins sleeping through the night. I'm not sure when this changed - I'm still waiting for brain cells to return, but it seems like it's been two weeks. It's so great to put them to bed at 8:30/9 and get up around 6:30/7.

More work hours, no sleeping in. It's been a big change not to sleep from when the twins were getting up (6:30/7), to about 8:30, and then working later. Now, I'm starting work between 6:30 and 7, and being finished around 3. What about the extra time, you ask? Some days it's overtime, some days it watching the kids while Lisa goes to the gym, scrapbooking class, store, etc. The only issue was last night I was so exhausted I went to bed before two of the three kids :) It's the first time that's happened in quite some time. The next item might also explain why I'm up late and need to go to bed earlier on occasion, although the weather's been quite bad for viewing lately.

My new telescope. About two weeks ago, I bought a new Orion XT10 Intelliscope with the object locater. It's so sweet! Sydney, whenever she comes downstairs to tell me about dinner, etc. says "that a HUUUUUGE telescope, daddy!" It's such a sweet scope. The finder scope is more powerful than the binoculars I was going to get to help find objects, and the tube itself is 4 feet long! The scope is 55 lbs, but it's easy to take off the OTA and carry separately, then reattach (two screws) once you've reached your destination. It's amazing how much more light this gathers than my 5", but the 5" is still fun to do planetary viewing and have the motorized GOTO. I'm excited to get a very inexpensive camera and just take simple solar system photos. Here's the difference between the two (650mm vs. 1200mm):

Hero Week: Part VII: Lisa

Lisa. Bean. Evil Bean. So many thing describe my hero it's hard to pick and choose. It's like asking you what your favorite movie, song, and thing to eat, and just describe it in a few paragraphs. Bean is my hero. She brings such stability to our family. She's the one who works the hardest and asks for the least. She takes hard things in stride, and tries to make the best of me. I was trying to find a picture of just Lisa in our archive of pictures, but almost all of them include me, Sydney, or the twins (or a mix). She's always taking care of someone or something.

When we were first married, I was struggling with self-esteem (I'm not sure why - I was married to Lisa!). She was patient and kind, but didn't just sit back and let me drift. I remember the day we sat on the edge of the bed discussing things I liked and things I could do that would make me happy for a longer period of time. We started working out at the gym together, going on walks, and slowly, but surely, she made me see the good in me. It still amazes me the transition of our marriage. She is so smart, funny, and really hot. It reminds me of the Monk episode where he's talking about why his late wife married him. Speaking to his wife (invisible, like a memory) "Thank you for marrying me. What were you thinking?" I'm still not sure what she was thinking :)

Bean is the ideal mom. She's patient with the kids, always encouraging them in the smallest things. She has removed herself and put her family in the forefront. It's always fun to see Tanner bouncing on Lisa's knees playing "pop goes the weasel", or find her and Sydney chatting away while they clean the bathrooms. Bean works miracles, like many moms, taking care of the kids, making excellent meals, cleaning the house, etc. When we were first married, I took pictures of all the dinners I liked. The problem was, I was taking pictures every night...so I stopped. She's so supportive of my goals and aspirations, and loves to spend quality time with the family. She's the best wife and mom. No one would be luckier than to have a mom that lived their life for their children like she does.

Thanks Bean - love you!

Hero Week: Part VI: My Parents

Wayne and Eileen Moore. After becoming a father of three, I can't begin to imagine being parents of seven. It's been quite interesting to realize just what torture I must have been to my parents, as I learn daily the blessings and struggles of having children. The good news is that my children show the struggles within me, not that they're any real troublemakers. Sadly, I don't think that applied to me as a kid. My parents showed their true colors by working on graying hairs instead of pulling it out. Just like my earlier entry about Paul and Mo, they are examples of what we all wish we had the character, integrity, discipline, and drive to be like.

I can't imagine having six eagle scouts as sons. I can't imagine sending so many sons on missions, help with homework, teaching to fish, providing for, feeding, keeping reverent in church, etc. You'd think at one point they'd realize they had no time for themselves, and take a step back. But I am as impressed today as I ever have been, giving up times with grandchildren, comfort (that's an understatement serving a mission in Uganda), and many other luxuries most grandparents I'm sure take for granted. I'm so excited to have them return in just over a month from their third mission.

For their love for me, for the Lord, for the countless times they've made the best impression on me, for their diligence in what they must have wondered about me been a toss up whether I would turn out alright or not, and for their constant vigilance in doing what's right.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part V: Dan/Jeff/Pete

Dan Aird. Jeff Eschler. Peter Tew. It's a funny feeling when you take people for granted for so long, and never realize what they have done for you. But I guess when you're as selfish as I was (and to a great extent still now), it was easy to overlook how much other people do for you. For me, these three great guys have always been my friends, from the day I met them.

I'm amazed sometimes how willing friends are to put up with a sulking, low self-esteem person who seems to focus on nothing but themselves. If nothing else, this should their highest praise. The three amigos (what they called themselves), were the best friends I could ever have asked for. All the rides to school, keeping me in the loop, and cheering me up in rough times. It doesn't just take a community to raise a child, it takes fierce friends who won't let go. We've had some really fun times since high school, getting together for great dinner and activities. I'm so grateful we still keep in touch.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to do as much in return.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part IV: Justin McMurray

Justin McMurray. This guy is golden. After returning home from my mission and moving into an apartment, I was incredible blessed to find a funny, cool, yet crazy guy in the young adult ward. He was integral in keeping my workaholic nature under control, and to help me just get out and play. There were many rough mornings (after a long Saturday work day) where Justin would come over to make sure I was coherent enough to get ready for church. He was such a great example of what I wanted to be. Never forcing, always encouraging.

We spent countless hours talking "geek", playing "Chicken Invaders", and other stuff. Hiking to waterfall canyon in Ogden, hot chocolate and caroling, to single adult activities. I was never left to wonder his perspective on the gospel, friendship, or integrity. I wish I had started writing in a journal, or at least had my blog back then, as we had so many great times, that just writing this entry has sparked more memories. He has always been a great friend - a one man support structure.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part III: Henry B. Eyring

Henry B. Eyring. Growing up in the same ward as President Eyring, I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary around him. He was kind and friendly, but I never really interacted with him. It all started when I was interested in my dad's audio tape collection of church talks. As a young boy of ten, I asked my father which talks he would recommend, and he let me take a few upstairs to listen to. I remember distinctly, sitting at my desk in the southwest corner of the upstairs. I had taken out paper to take notes, realizing I was making my Heavenly Father happy in learning about his gospel through his servants. When I picked up the pen after starting the audio tape, the pen went back on the table, and all I could do was listen in awe of hearing what I wanted to become.

That's when everything changed. When I heard other General Authorities speak, I felt the truthfulness of their words, but I never connected with anyone like President Eyring. It was a talk given at BYU called "Come Unto Christ". The talk starts out this way:

You have moments when you want to be better than you have ever been. Those feelings may be triggered by seeing a person or a family living in a way that lifts your heart with a yearning to live that way, too. The longing to be better may come from reading the words of a book or even from hearing a few bars of music. For me, it has come in all those ways, and more.

I had never listened to anyone who could convey the feelings of my heart. I had grown up in a family with parents I felt were perfect, and wanted to have the same drive, the same ability to sacrifice self and give more than I had. As the talk continued, I could feel the same desire he had, when his voice slightly cracked, from love and remembrance of how he felt when reading the same. From the tenth chapter of Moroni:

O, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. [Moroni 10:32­-33]

That urge to rise above yourself is a recognition of your need for the Atonement to work in your life, and your need to be sure that it is working. After all you can do, after all your effort, you need confidence that the Atonement is working for you and on you.

I knew that day that I would ever be linked to this talk. Despite my failures and shortcomings, even to the obsession of perfectionism, I knew if I kept trying, the Lord would make changes in me. President Eyring then listed goals, not directly for us, but as a witness of how someone knew they were doing what was right.

This talk brought me to listen to more talks, whatever I could get my hands on, to listen how he obviously had accomplished the goals I was just starting. I learned to love the process of asking "how can I know" and "how will I feel". I thank him for always being willing to share how we can become like Christ, not just learn about Him.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part II: Paul and Mo

Paul and Mo. I'll never met a couple like Paul and Mo. Things that are hard, things that are complicated, are made to look easy. I remember the first time I met Paul and Mo, Lisa's parents, over five years ago. Mo was kind and fun, with a very warm and welcoming personality. Paul, with his quick wit and fun humor, quickly became someone I respected for his abilities to make rough times seem easy, because "[enter your issue] is nothing compared to [something horrible], so we can handle it", followed by a chuckle. Paul and Mo make doing the right thing (and rightly so) fun and exciting. I saw so much of Lisa in both of her parents, that I knew it was going to be a great relationship.

From the wedding plans to Sunday dinners, the early years of being married to Lisa went very smooth, as Paul and Mo were always there, not just to be helpful, but to be involved in the fun and work involving our young family. I remember the days them helping us move through our year of apartment-hopping trying to get away from the smoke smell at Carrington to the cruise around Mexico. It's great to be around such examples of the hard working and service-oriented people they are, as it just exudes confidence in their capabilities and your own hopes to be like them. Paul's knowledge of the scriptures and humble attitude complimented by Mo's amazing capability to take on and handle gracefully much more than I could ever imagine. Paul has frequently come over to help teach me how to do electrical/lighting, help with software development, etc.

But hero week is not just about great people helping out. Sydney's favorite two people (outside Lisa and I, and even then, sometimes) are "gramma and papa". I can't count the number of times they've taken Sydney to the park or the pool, on a walk, to get ice cream, to treat her as such an integral part of their lives. Now, with the recent addition of the twins, they just love taking one of the kids and giving them one-on-one special time. They have taken us into their home (literally), from recent weeks of Lisa's ACL surgery, to helping with the twins, Sydney for sleepovers, the list just goes on. Every time I feel we've pushed too far, that we've asked too much (or they just call and ask if they can come take her for the day), they step up and ask what more they can do to help.

It's not as though Paul (in the Stake Presidency and owner of Ruben Engineering) and Mo (Young Women's president), aren't very busy people. The phone is frequently ringing of people they've offered to help, or those who know they'll do anything they can, from neighbors and ward members...just anyone. They've blessed our home and family immensely. What examples!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hero Week: Part I: Frank and Jenny

I am notorious for thinking about how grateful am I for people and the things they do, a ways after they've been so helpful. You would imagine that after so many people have done so many things, I would become more grateful and more service-oriented myself. So today starts the beginning of Hero Week: the week where each day I'll pick people who have made a momentous change in my life and the lives of my family. My fear for having to leave people who have done a lot out is overwhelmed by my gratitude for the extent to which these individuals have gone further. Without further adu:

Frank and Jenny. Frank is my third oldest brother and self-proclaimed most handsome, strongest, etc. brother. There are several things I distinctly remember from my childhood, in between times I've lost a lot of my memories due to "rough times" and trying to forget, that I'm grateful to Frank for. Frank loves basketball, and loved to play more back when the knees weren't such a pain, literally. I remember several times when I was < 10, I would spend hours each day shooting hoops in front of our house. When Frank's friends would come over to play ball, or go over to the church and play, he frequently would invite me (not just let me) play. I thought it was because I was so good. The things you learn later in life.

When Frank came home from his mission to have work done on his knee(and return shortly thereafter), we stsyed in the same room for about a month. I remember it wasn't a painful thing for him (staying in the same room, not knee surgery). He'd have me push hard on his leg, and tease me about how hard I *wasn't* pushing, and spending time with me a lot.

When he was married and was living in Cedar City, and I was having self-esteem issues, Frank and Jenny invited me down for a week during summer break. I remember crying on their couch, with them patiently listening to what I was struggling with, and trying to help. I remember a few walks at night around Cedar City where we'd talk about anything on my mind, and how great I felt having such great friends.

When I lived with Frank and Jenny while mom and dad were on their mission, I remember many times of stuffed pork chops, watching Toy Story 2 so many times with James and Ben, going out to Jenny's parents for dinner on Sundays.

Since I've been married, Frank and Jenny have always brought meals when we needed help (baby births, Lisa's knee surgery, etc). I remember spending a night automating my sprinkling system, putting the big swing together, and many other times where Frank would bring the kids to help Jenny have a break and to teach the kids about service and helping others. After the twins were born, Jenny brought all four kids out to help us around the house, bring lunch, and play Wii, while Jenny and the boys took turns holding the kids.

This is a relationship I never want to lose. Calls to just chat, see how things are going, discuss the slow demise of the Atlanta Braves, just whatever.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

No RSS today

Obviously I have no sense of time, as it's 12:42AM, and I just finished doing a collage I didn't need to. If you view this over RSS, open up my main page and you'll see it up top. 7 Moore has a new image!

Candidate match game

In my RSS feeds, I include the politics/election content from USA Today and the Washington Post. Today, as part of the USA Today content, there is a "Candidate Match Game", where you answer 11 questions from Iraq to health care, and see who you match best with. Oddly enough, my top three are:

1. Mitt Romney (follow his blog - my choice)

2. Duncan Hunter (who?)

3. Mike Huckabee

Click here to play

Utah Jazz

The new season is upon us. What better to bring a smile to the face is my favorite Utah Jazz moment: "John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals!". It begs the question: where were you when it happened?

7 Moore

Wow...has our family grown. Despite your early disposition to say "they're looking to have seven more kids!?!", let me put your faint heart to rest and say, only one more. "7 Moore" is our current status, being 2 parents, 3 kids, 2 cats. My hope is this evening to get a 'latest' picture of each member and put the images as a collage in the title bar, obviously showing my curiosities are taking over useful things I could be doing. I'd claim lack of sleep, but the twins are doing much better recently (minus Natalie's cold). Normally I get so obsessed by whatever I'm doing, I finish quickly and spend time looking for other things to do. I think this has finally caught up to me, as I have a lot of time on the telescope yet needed before it gets really cold out. I haven't used my solar filter yet, and have had a hard time stepping away from work and the kids to view early morning or late afternoon. I'm in the middle of Zelda on the Wii, "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer (started reading during Lisa's ACL surgery and then never finished), etc.

130 SLT

130 SLT
from Josh Moore by Josh
For my birthday, and after several years of calling it 'too expensive of a hobby' ($500 = telescope, solar filter, eye pieces, ac adapter)...I finally bought a telescope for my birthday. It's a NexStar 130 SLT. When it arrived, and the next day extra eye pieces, then the AC adapter - 2 extra long days of waiting for power - it was time to view. Obviously around lamp posts I'm normally grateful for around the house, and so many other lights around, many DSO's (deep space objects) aren't as bright, but I had fun anyway. I'm learning leaps and bounds about each eyepiece, how the GOTO works (automatically moves the scope to the selected target), and many other things. But after a few days of really cloudy weather, a nice birthday gift was a clear sky. The moon was just gorgeous tonight, as was Jupiter and the 3 visible moons (for my telescope anyway). So many more stars were visible by the naked eye, and the texture on the moon was just amazing.

I think my next purchases will be an attachment ($12) to allow your digital SLR take pictures. My telescope isn't meant for longer than 30 second exposure pictures (telescope is constantly moving to keep the object in focus), but I'm sure in the next few years, after I buy another small telescope that doesn't require power to move the gears (or have GOTO), and a small camera/attachments, I'll eventually get a bigger telescope. It's sad I just bought one and I'm talking about another, but the small one should be <>

They say going to a location of no (at least much less) light pollution, you can see many more DSO's, brighter, and more clear. I didn't want to buy an external power tank or waste batteries, but I think I'll get two sets of rechargables. Our family lives on AA batteries anyway, and it'd be fun to take the scope to the big park, or every once in a long time, to a place where there are large locations of low light pollution. No picture can describe what you see through a telescope.

Surgery complete

After an hour of prep, and about three and a half hours of surgery and recovery, Lisa's knee surgery was complete. We're now at Lisa's parent's house being spoiled with lots of help with the kids and Lisa. I'll be working out here for the rest of the week, and am guessing we'll return home Sunday or Monday, depending how things go. Sydney is enjoying spending even more time with grandma and grandpa. I bought the book "Twilight" for Lisa for her recovery, and didn't have anything to read while waiting for her in the waiting room. So I picked it up, and am 130 pages into it. It's definitely a girl book, but it's very interesting. She has a very great writing style that fits the genre and the plot. Anyway, Lisa's upstairs watching "The Office" season 3, and I'm getting ready for bed. She's excited for her books, but was too excited for the new season of "The Office". Sydney goes back to school tomorrow and is very excited.

First day of school

What a fun day. For two months we've been talking to Sydney about school, what she'll learn, being able to play with friends, etc. It seemed like the day would never come, so I never realized how hard it would be to see her gone when I go up for a snack, etc. True, she'll only be gone while I'm at work, but who can pass up the fun opportunities to talk about what she learned at school, etc. This week they're supposed to wear red (learning the color), talking about 'A', alligators, apples, etc.

Here are a few pictures Lisa took before taking her to school.

Brighton

For Labor Day, we went for a walk around the lake up at Brighton with Lisa's mom. It was a lot of fun, and the kids were really good. Sydney (with the strap tightly around her wrist) was taking pictures throughout from atop my shoulders. The bottom picture is one of Sydney's. She's still learning not to put her finger over the lens, so we had to delete quite a few, but she's learning and having a lot of fun. We're looking into get her a very cheap but digital camera for Christmas. Hopefully she'll continue to love taking pictures like Aunt Wende.

Reminders to set reminders

One of the most true statements that directly apply to me is that major problem in the new century is not getting information, it's sorting through it. I've had some major struggles lately thinking of the word I want to use (I couldn't think of the word 'treadmill' tonight), but am hopeful it will return when sleep does. The funny thing is (there I go again with that phrase), I get so intent on making sure I write things down so I don't forget them, I'm going crazy.

If you'll note on my Outlook tasks, I have two reminders to set reminders. Enough said about that. I have reminders to take out the garbage, clean the furnace filter, clean the kitty litter (which has been 'snooze'd for a few extra days now. Some people say if you make lists, you look at all the things you want to get done but haven't, and get depressed. I'm of the opinion anything that gets put on a list and gets accomplished is a goal accomplished, and should be rewarded.

Ok...it's 12:21 AM and I'm in my second wind. My last thing to mention is my monthly reminders. I'm sure if you've read this far you probably can't sleep either, but I once heard a talk where you should take your temperature, give yourself a report card, (follow the analogy you prefer) every so often. I created the task in May 2006 and I hadn't done it yet, until now.

I recently heard a radio spot that compared what you were interested in and what your children were interested in (i.e. who was the latest pick for your sports team vs. what school books are in your child's backpack), showing how you're doing balancing between you and the time you spend with your kids. I think I've always avoided the report card, not so much that I'm doing horrible, but unlike not feeling like I'm doing well or near perfection.

Tonight I went home teaching, and talked with the Elder's quorum president (he subbed for my companion who's sick) about validation from God, yourself, spouse, etc. He said he wondered how many men take their twins home teaching to give their wives a break. I think I'm finally starting to see potential in the possibility I might plug the selfish holes that make me feel so unkind and selfish.
Ok...I'm tired.

Our little helper

Sydney has been such a huge help lately...getting garbage bags and putting the previous night's diapers in, etc. However, Lisa paged me downstairs asking "are you cleaning out the fridge?" I brought the camera upstairs.

Everything within reach was out, lined up on the kitchen counter, taken out of bags, etc. Just no comments about passing on my obsessive-compulsive nature, ok? :)

Reinvested

"It's the funniest thing" must be the most common thing out of my mouth, followed by something new, which begs the question, is the funniest thing changing 10-12 times a day? :) Ok..so it's the funniest thing, I have been trying really hard to spend less time on myself and more time on Lisa. So Saturday I went to play ultimate frisbee while Lisa took care of the kids, then Rich came out that night to play games and hang out. Despite letting Lisa take an hour and a half nap, I think my 4 hours playing didn't make the grade.

I replaced the faucet/drain in the hall bathroom, helped with dishes, laundry (forgot to include Sydney's), etc., but minus the drain, Lisa does these weekly anyway, so why should I feel I'm making a difference? Because this past week, I've been trying much harder. We cut down a tree in the backyard, and spent time out there cleaning it up (well...as much as will fit in the garbage cans each week). Because this month, for the first time in three months, I will have done my home teaching to all four of our assigned families. Because, despite frequent failures, I'm remembering to put the dishes in the dishwasher, not on the counter/in the sink. I'm tired of getting down on myself for the small failures I've had and focus on my desires to do better and where they'll take me.

We had a lesson yesterday in elder's quorum where we discussed the sacrifice of Christ in our behalf. The lesson included a statement explaining how and why if Christ felt our lives were so important to spend his whole life sacrificing in our behalf, shouldn't we have greater self-esteem and confidence in his power? Should we not also sacrifice for our friends and neighbors as well?

Soap box? Where? Ok...just had a great week, and wanted to share.

Chlorophyll

This morning as Sydney(3) and I were eating breakfast, she looks over at me, smiles big, then says "Daddy...chlorophyll makes plants green". We bought a set of 20 or so books for the kids to get them interested in plants, animals, etc. It's been fun to hear her soaking content in. She likes to point out all sorts of bugs now. "Daddy...is that a beetle?" or "Daddy...butterflies make cocoons". I'm glad we've pulled them out...she used to call ants "lizards". :)

Quality time

Lisa and the twins are down for a nice Sunday nap while Sydney and I are watching season 1 of Fraggle Rock. Sydney's been telling me "dance, daddy", "bounce, daddy", and "shake it, daddy". She loves to dance, and any time there's anything resembling dancing music, she's up and showing her moves. After dancing to a Fraggle Rock song, she looked over at me and said "Daddy...you are nuts". We then proceeded to play my favorite game (as of late), which followed "no YOU are nuts", back and forth several times. It's so great to spend some time in the afternoons on the weekends, during meals (working from home), reading books at night before bed. Lately she's taken great interest in getting the paper and mail.

Down to two in diapers!

In preparation for preschool, Sydney has been putting sticker after sticker on her potty prize chart and doing really well. We had heard mixed ideas on having a little kid potty and the transition to the full-size toilet, but after struggling with it, Lisa bought it, and Sydney loves it. It plays her a little tune, she gets a lot of praise, a sticker on her chart, and keeps her thinking about (every 5 times she goes) potty prizes.

Lisa took Sydney to the dollar store and let her pick out a few toys so she'd be motivated. It's nice to just have the twins in diapers, and hope that with an older sibling for an example, the twins will learn quickly when their time comes.

Surgery news

Lisa is scheduled to have her knee surgery September 5th. We decided to do it sooner rather than later, as it'll be much harder to chase three kids rather than one. Sydney and I are on the mend from a cold, but it seems Lisa and possibly the twins are just getting it.

Want to pay more for your health insurance?

In a blog I read of the Minority House Leader John Boehner, this article describes the nastiness we're starting to expect from the House Majority democrats. Here's the idea (quoting from Newt Gingrich's article):

“Beginning in 2011, every American who owns health insurance, including every senior in Medicare, would get a tax increase. This tax hike would raise billions of dollars by charging federal premium taxes on all insurance policies to fund a comparative effectiveness research trust fund. This new federal agency would assess the clinical value of prescription drugs, devices, and medical treatments. This is certainly a worthy and necessary initiative, but expanding the federal government and raising taxes on virtually every American with insurance is not the answer.”

“It is easy to foresee a time when today’s hidden tax increase will be the primary driver of moving Americans from private insurance to Washington-controlled bureaucratic health care. Benevolent bureaucrats will say, ‘If you don't want to pay the 20 percent premium tax on your private insurance, you can enroll in this government program that doesn't have any tax.’”

Quoting Boehner:
The Democrats’ bill includes $193 billion in Medicare cuts, new tax hikes on working families, new benefits for illegal immigrants, and a new ‘Hillary-Care’ plan for government-run health care. While Republicans support renewing SCHIP to provide health care to children in low-income families, they oppose the Democrats’ poorly-crafted, partisan proposal that works against seniors, working families, and taxpayers.

Surgery

On the 4th of July, Lisa slipped going down the steps in the garage and hyper-extended her leg. She has been doing this once or twice a year since her surgery in 1999 when she tore her ACL. She went to a doctor, who said it was just sprained and she'd be fine. She had made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, and was about to cancel it, but decided to get a second opinion from a more qualified doctor. Thank goodness. Lisa has torn her ACL again, and we're trying to figure out timing for surgery. Is it more important to finish breastfeeding, do the surgery before the twins are crawl/walk, etc?

See yourself in your children

Lately Sydney has been prone to show more of what she sees from her parents. Hopefully this is a good thing. However, I over heard this whispered conversation between Sydney, our three year old, and two month old, Tanner. Note, Tanner doesn't say anything, just stare back with big eyes.

"Tanner...no push Nanny (Natalie, Tanner's twin sister). Tanner...no squeeze Nanny's so hard. Tanner...look at my eyes. Look at my eyes, Tanner. Tanner, no kick Nanny..."

The next part she'll get down is "Say 'OK Sydney'".

A great weekend

Well...this week has been quite great. We had the twins blessed yesterday in sacrament meeting. Despite my trepidation, it went very well. It was great to have so much family together both for the blessings and to spend time together afterwards. Later that evening, we went up to my brother's in-laws, where my brother Rob blessed his son Zachary. They're up from Texas for a week and it's great to see them again.

This morning, Sydney came in to snuggle, as always, then went, got a plastic bag, and put all the diapers from the previous night in it, and hung it up for the rest of today's diapers. I keep telling Lisa, if she weren't so helpful, we would be in quite a different predicament. All three kids went to see the doctor today, and despite shots, were all happy and/or sleeping a few minutes following. All three are growing well, Sydney more height than weight, but still quite healthy.

Harry Potter envy

Well...it's a sad few days. I still haven't received my pre-ordered copy of Harry Potter 7. Read Lisa's blog to see why.

Progressive Story

For those of you unaware, there is an awesome progressive story going on over at Okie's blog. It's an intense novel with twists and turns, keeping you waiting for more.

Enjoy!

The big 3

Wednesday night Sydney wanted to go to bed around 7:00pm, with all the talk of what was planned for Sydney's birthday the following day. However, after realizing it's hard to fall asleep too early, we played a few games and she went to bed at her normal time around 9:00pm.

Thursday morning came early, as the twins ate around 7:00am on their every-three-hours (definitely fluctuates). Sydney, the deep sleeper she is, slept in until around 7:30, and was all smiles as she saw presents on the table. I *encouraged* her that mom should be around for pictures, etc. so she woke Lisa up a little earlier than hoped for.

After opening presents, playing with her toys, and lunch, we went to visit grandma and grandpa. Sydney was ecstatic about her new art easel and supplies. We then left the twins with their grandparents to take Sydney to Gardner Village for a pony ride, followed by McDonalds. By the time we made it to Gardner Village, Sydney was asleep in the back, after an exhausting day. However, she was quite thrilled to ride C. J. We then went back for cake and ice cream.

Wii believe

Okay. I was tempted to pull off my last post, but hey...it shows how blessed/spoiled I am. Lisa just called a different Walmart, they said they had two, and she got one :)

Hooray!

Meat

Kids are the greatest. This morning, Sydney was helping me find a binky for Tanner. I didn't realize it, but I'll always say 'here it is, bud', or things to that effect. So Sydney found a binky and said 'this is for Bud'. I asked Sydney if we call Tanner 'Bud', what her name was, and she replied 'I'm princess' (which I frequently call her). Then I asked her what we should call Natalie (I've used 'pumpkin', 'peanut', etc) but she said 'Daddy, let's call her 'Meat'.

If you can figure out what she's trying to say instead of 'Meat', let me know :)

Here's a picture that my sister-in-law Wende took of the twins. She's amazing.

Searching for a Wii

Well, after a few years of not owning one of the latest consoles, I'm ready to get back in. We borrowed my brother-in-law's Wii and now, like too many others, I'm in search of one. Here's the major dilemma: I've called stores around the state and almost all say they get them in for purchase on Sunday :( So this morning I called all the stores, with frustrated employees trying to understand why, if I really wanted one, I didn't try to get one first thing Sunday morning. Kmart said they receive one yesterday for sale...one.

Let me know if you see one available for $250 :(

Natalie's home!!!

After a few days of ups and downs, Natalie gained two ounces yesterday and was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. We're working hard to keep her warm so she can continue gaining weight. We appreciate all your faith and prayers in our behalf.

The twins have arrived

It's a miracle. It's just a miracle. Here's the story:

On Wednesday, Lisa was scheduled for an amniocentesis, which went very well. After which an ultrasound followed to check the size of the twins for the c-section scheduled for the following day. As with past measurements, the boy was almost two pounds bigger than his sister.

On Thursday, Lisa and I arrived at Cottonwood Hospital in the morning (around 7:00am) and she was prepped for surgery. Around 9:30am, Lisa was given a spinal block and the c-section proceeded. It was amazing! It's as if they lift up a pillow cover and pull the pillow out. Tanner Paul Moore was born at 10:04am at 6 pounds 4 ounces, with Natalie Eileen Moore at 10:05am at 4 pounds 7 ounces.

Saturday. We were given the possibility Natalie might not make it home with Lisa on Monday morning, as she was struggling to hold her temperature as she's so small. On Sunday, we found out Tanner wasn't holding his temperature either. Finally, this morning (Monday) came, and Tanner was eating like a pig (he squeals like one too :)), and is happily sleeping upstairs. Natalie's barely into the jaundice levels, and will be under the blue lights today. We're hoping she'll be coming home Wednesday or Thursday, but are more concerned with her health than her home arrival date.

We're ecstatic the twins are doing so well, as at least one of the sets of twins the hospital has seen in the past few weeks have stayed 7-10 days. Happy, healthy, eating, and sleeping, we're grateful for two little miracles following the example of their older sister, Sydney.

Graduation Day

Well...it's come and gone. It was fun to see friends from school, hopefully not for the last time. This is a pic with my buddy Matt Fraley at graduation. It's been a long ride, and it's weird for several reasons.

* I haven't registered for another semester

* I haven't bought books for another semester

* I feel I'm still on the break between semesters

* I don't remember what it felt like not to be in school

C-section scheduled

Lisa went to the doctor today, and she's up to a 2+ and about 80% effaced. We're hoping we make it to the scheduled c-section, May 17th @ 7:00am. Anyone excited yet!!! I can't imagine one coming out, holding it, then repeating the process. WOHOO!!!

It's all over!!!

I just left school for the last time. It still hasn't hit me. I'm thinking in a year (after the twins are old enough and we're getting sleep again) I'll go back for my MBA, but I'm so excited to be done. I've been feeling weird lately, not having registered for more classes. I'll walk a week from tomorrow, and graduate with honors. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOORAY!

No joke...the iGrill

I preferred the MadTV's iRack (Iraq humor) being funny over serious for-sale items. I found two different versions just checking quickly:

Small version

BBQ version

I mean seriously...

Quotes blog

I just realized I never posted something on this blog about my new LDS Quotes Blog. I'm trying really hard to get a new quote each day from LDS speakers (normally prophets and apostles).

Lisa's birthday

What a fun day..well after sod removal.So the day started early for me - my neighbor needed help removing all the sod in his backyard. The old owners, before they moved, trashed the yard, and he was paying for it. So for several hours in the morning, we used a sod-cutter and got it out. We went to lunch while it poured outside, and proceeded hopefully to Thanksgiving Point for the tulip festival. This is our second year in a row, and, just like last year, it was gorgeous. The beautiful colors and beautiful day was perfect. Sydney had fun spraying us, blocking the water fountain spouts, and we got a lot of cute pictures like these:

After this, we all went home for a nap, which was quite good, as I had taken two Benadryl-D to get my allergies to calm down from the weeds during the sod-cutting. We went out to Lisa's parent's house to drop off Sydney. I had told Lisa's mom I was talking Lisa to the symphony, and that it was a secret. Evidently this wasn't passed on when Lisa's mom told her dad, and he mentioned how excited he was that we were going to the symphony. Oh well, she would have found out soon enough.

The symphony was awesome. It was "The Best of Sondheim", who did a lot of musicals such as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, and Merrily We Roll Along. I didn't recognize a lot, other than several they did of Into the Woods, but it was such a great night. The vocalists were hilarious and the music was outstanding.

Techno...are you sure you hate it?

It used to be big a big pet peeve of mine that people would knock techno, with ideas of dance music, 80's electronica, etc. in their head. What they don't know, is that techno is a very broad term. What is 'alternative' or 'alternative rock'? Now we're both on the same page. Note, that techno is only a choice out of trance, house, breakbeat, jungle, tribal, all the way from progressive to ibiza to pop. Well, if you're willing to spend five minutes, go to Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music.

You can tell a lot about a person by their electronic music. What fits you best?

Baby Name Wizard

Lately, Lisa and I have been *discussing* baby names. We've been thinking Tanner Paul Moore and Natalie Eileen Moore (Tanner after my great uncle N. Eldon Tanner, Paul after my father in law, Eileen after my mother). I've been frequently going back to Jeffrey Tanner Moore, but Lisa dated a Jeff in high school and I've been told it's about a 0% chance, roughly. Anyway, for those of you who care, or are having a kid soon, there's a funky java wizard that someone built to show you graphs based on name/year of how often the names are used.

Check it out

We're in

Ready for some fun? Well...here's what happened. A few years ago, the old owners of our home bought the land behind our house where the stream is. A little time thereafter, they almost lost the house to foreclosure, but the stream property didn't go with it. When we bought it, we didn't know it was two separate properties. So, when the previous owners called us to sell us the property, we bought it, and they signed the quik claim. All seemed well....until we took it to the county recorder and found out he signed his name wrong and they wouldn't take it. So we sent them a copy of the claim and were waiting for him to sign his name right.

Now comes the sale of our home. When we took the claim in to get the land in our name, they had to have a location to send the tax statements to, so the two properties were linked. When we sold our home, we intended to give the new owners the stream property, but figured we'd do it once the claim came through. Well, once they tried to sell our home, it couldn't record as the two parcels were tied together. So after that disaster was averted Friday, the last disaster came up (think of a scary old movie with the 'dun-dun-dun')...

Well...after all the push our realtor (Dane Newland - I recommend him for anyone and everyone, and he even has a huge enclosed trailer that you get to use to move) and the title company did to make it happen (for us to get keys), the sellers of our new home didn't get the info to our title company in time :( But, since the State's computers were down, and once they came up, all the info was processed, we sucessfully moved in the kitchen and electronics on Friday, and the rest Saturday.

If we hadn't received keys Friday, the new owners of our old home were able to move in Saturday @ 5 regardless of whether we could move in to the new place, so that would have been a huge disaster. Imagine storage, encroaching on others to sleep for two days, then getting people to help move on a Monday....ugh!!!

We've been truly blessed. We really appreciate all the help moving into our new place. The move only took 3 hours to move everything, and am hoping we can park in the garage soon (move all the boxes into storage downstairs, etc) :)

Latest Update

Things are finally slowing down a little before the big move, and this next week is Spring Break, so I thought I’d write a little something before we move Saturday. The plan for this week is to sign papers to sell our house and buy the new one on Thursday @ 11:30. We’ll move the kitchen and other fragile things on Friday, then do the big move Saturday. Frank, Nate, Rich, and Matt have all offered to come help move, and we’ll have several friends and neighbors, so it should go quick.

Lisa’s feeling really good, except struggling with being out of breath a lot, especially when sitting or laying down. She still gets to the gym at least twice a week, and has started doing water aerobics on Saturdays. She’s having her final piano recital in April, and is looking forward to be spending more time as mom, but will miss teaching.

Sydney…what a funny duck. Lately she sings and hums as she runs around the house, finding new things to do. However, if Lisa’s singing she says “stop singing”, then continues her renditions. Lately she’s taken to doing 48 piece jigsaw puzzles by herself, so we ordered a few more and are excited to see her learn and grow. She is also in the middle of potty training, and although several attempts have failed, she’s making progress. She took Lisa upstairs to show Lisa that her new Tinkerbell underwear was clean, and that the poops were in the ‘darbage’ (garbage). She’s getting it…mostly. She get “Scooby snacks” (fruit rollups) when she goes, so it’s a helpful treat. She is so helpful around the house and is excited to tell everyone about “two babies” (showing two fingers).

Inspection complete

So here's the latest. The appraisal went well, and the inspection found a few things (that we fixed in a few hours). There a patch job that needs to be done on the roof, so we gave them a little cash to cover it. Now we get to go do the inspection on the other house tomorrow morning. Assuming that goes well, we'll close on both houses March 15 (no Okie...no blood will be shed on the Ides of March).

Things just keep going well (find some wood to knock on). We've been extremely blessed. School has been manageable and one of my teachers has even cancelled the midterm and the final is optional (if you need it to bump up your grade).

Ok...that's it :)

What's in a name?

Since we found out we were having twins, we've been pretty certain the girl would be named Natalie (I hope Natalie Eileen, after my mom, but Lisa likes Nataline Jane). Anyway, knowing this, and that we can't agree on any boy names, I'm up for taking suggestions, voting (even though I know your minds and no I won't commit to the winner), or other means of finding out his name. There are a few family names, Paul, Wayne, Tanner, but this is about all we have to go on. The other issue is we're limited to choosing names not already used by cousins. Here's the list of those not available: Henry, Ryan, Luke, James, Benjamin, Andrew, Joey, Taylor, Spencer, Ethan, Max, Sam, and Daniel.

Names NOT on the list (although I like some of them, but using "Moore" as the last name, I think you'll see why): Michael (Michael Moore), Thomas (Sir Thomas More).

Maybe we'll do lunch for the winner :)

The light goes on

I was waiting for some code to build, looking at my old Microsoft mug. I turned it around, trying to remember what was on the other side. Now look at the view:

"Where do you want to go today?" pointing to the pass-along cards of Jesus Christ and the temple. And the light comes on...

Packing

Oh, the joys of packing. When the work day is over, and homework is pushed to the next day (as it's not due today...), more packing ensues. It always amazed me why everyone helping moving always agrees that several things should not be done when packing (i.e. putting all the books in one box, etc), yet I find myself taping the box of books anyway.

My dry sense of humor leaves me with nothing but "So I married a pack rat", which is what Lisa should be (but gratefully isn't.........to my face) saying. The nice thing is most of those things are already boxed and ready. Also, only 10 minute drive to the new place, so how bad could it be?

We're hoping to have several family and friends over to help, and with two huge trailers we should be ready and roaring come the 15th. Let's just be grateful I don't own a regular piano (digital is so light and easy to move) that the only hard things to move will be the LoveSac and the big screen (which is lighter than my old 35" by far).

Ok, ok, I've put it off long enough...back to packing.

Sold...again

Well...after our previous buyer rescinded their offer after two days, then being back on the market for five more days, we received two offers, countered, and are again under contract. Well...back to watching The Office - season 2.

Sold!!!

Talk about changes. After less than two days on the market, we just signed all the papers to sell our house, and put another offer on the house we'd like to be in. It all seems so amazing how fast things are changing. Sure, there are two inspections, appraisals, and loans for our current house to sell and future home to buy, but wow. We hope to be moving around the first week of March. Once all the above things are taken care of (maybe just when we give keys and get keys) we'll post a picture of the new place.

We've truly been blessed, and credit things going so well to a loving heavenly Father and two wonderful parents currently serving a mission in Uganda.

Here's the latest dates to go off of:

March 5: should close on our new house or around and get keys to the new place (assuming they like our offer, but are pretty sure they'll take it)

May 4: Graduation

June 13th: Lisa's official due date(although they won't let her go past May 31st, and expect around May 17th)

Changes changes changes

It has been quite an eventful month. From my motherboard dying (see previous blog) to having twins. The realization now is that we don't want to have three kids in one room (the alternative being putting Sydney downstairs before she turns 3 - which is definitely not happening). This means moving. Tomorrow we're going to look for houses with our real estate agent and will probably put our house up for sale a week from Friday (Feb 2). The other realization is that three kids means we need a bigger car. We've been saving up, but weren't planning on either of these (house/car) too soon, but we'll survive.

It always amazes me how blessed we are to have the friends and family we do. Not only have old clothes, car seats, cribs, etc been offered to use, just the support alone of getting through the next few months before the twins are born is the biggest help. We're really excited for graduation in May, and hope that I make it through finals before the twins are born.

It all stems from thinking our Christmas letter was pretty bland and boring. We didn't want to gloat about vacations, etc. and we were thinking not much happened to us in 2006. Well...here's what we get :)

Lisa's ultrasound

I was sure it was twins, but alas the first ultrasound Lisa had (just the doctor checking the heartbeat and that it was moving), only one heartbeat. Well, for those who can remember, I was sure Sydney was a girl even before the ultrasound. I was just sure it was twins, but figured I'd loss the prowess :)

Then again... :) We arrived at the hospital, and sure enough, there was a head on this side of the ultrasound and a head on the other side. Lisa's due with twins (a boy and a girl), to deliver at 38 weeks (if she lasts that long) around the third or fourth week of May.

Despite the fact I still can't stop shaking being so excited and nervous, though I'm not the one who gets to breastfeed. Lisa will probably stop teaching piano around March or April, and is unsure whether she will continue or not afterwards.

Top ten signs you're dating a tester

Top 10 Signs That You're Dating A Tester

10. Your love letters get returned to you marked up with red ink, highlighting your grammar and spelling mistakes.

9. When you complain about him spending too much time with you, he replies that he's in the middle of a soak test.

8. He keeps asking for a "spec" so he'll know how his "harness" should "interface" with you.

7. He'll always do something wrong twice so he can provide accurate repro steps.

6. When you tell him that you won't change something, he'll offer to allow you two other flaws in exchange for changing this one.

5. When you ask him how you look in an outfit, he'll actually tell you.

4. When you give him the "It's not you, it's me" breakup line, he'll agree with you and give specifics.

3. He won't help change a burned out lightbulb because his job is simply to report that it's burned out.

2. He'll keep bringing up old problems that you've since worked out just to make sure that they're still gone....and the number one way to tell you're dating a tester...

1. In the bedroom, he keeps "probing" the incorrect "input."

(Thanks to Rom)

Dell Excitement

Well...for the second time in six months, my Dell's motherboard's capacitors were bulging and needed to be replaced. Well, that's the short story. Here's the real *excitement*:

Thursday morning I was just rebuilding my code for a new delivery to clients when my computer just shuts off. Mysteriously, none of the monitors or other powered devices went out. Slowly it dawns on me the pain I'm about to be in. It's happened again. The Optiplex GX270 with an infamous motherboard problem has indeed striked my house again. Well, after I called Dell and they confirmed the issue, a motherboard was sent and delivered Friday morning, not to be installed until Monday afternoon. So I spent half the day Thursday and all day Friday trying to do work while installing the software I need in the background. You never realize the software you use, installation settings, etc. until you have to start fresh. Anyway, painfully Monday comes around. The tech comes, installs the motherboard, but it doesn't even post. He says it's probably the power supply and leaves. (Only the motherboard was under warranty as they had just replaced it six months ago.

So I needed a power supply. I looked up a few power supplies and who had them locally and found a sweet deal on a 350-watt power supply from Antec on Circuit City who had it for $50, with the SATA power adapters and everything. The website verified they had one and the store wasn't answering my repeated calls to check, so I just went over. After 10 minutes looking, they couldn't find it even though it showed they had one. Then when he looked again, they didn't have one :( So after 15 more minutes on the phone with the Fort Union store, they found that they had one. I paid for it at the Jordan Landing store so I just had to pick it up at customer service in Fort Union. Or so I thought (you'll see this is a theme "so I thought").

So I drive 15 minutes to Fort Union, wait in line 10 minutes, give them my receipt, and she goes looking for it. She returns saying they don't have one, asked who I spoke with, etc. After calling the Jordan Landing store and the person they talked to at the Fort Union store, they find out he put it 'somewhere that they'd see it, so it'd be quicker for me since I've already waited so long'. After this, they found it quickly (once he told them where to find it), and I left to install the power supply.

So after driving another 15 minutes home (I don't want to think how long this whole process took), I opened up my case and swapped the power supply. The computer wouldn't boot. So I removed all the devices, put my old power supply back in (just power, processor, and nothing else (ram, etc) and it posted. Evidently Dell had sent the motherboard in "Manufacturer mode" and, after 5 to 10 seconds of letting it do its diagnostics, I slowly added each component until I found out a stick of ram had been fried.

When I put my PCI sound card back in, I needed to reinstall the drivers (evidently it was in a different slot). I got online with Dell and couldn't find the drivers, so I found the model # and talked to "Elvis" (not kidding), who pointed me to Intel Chipset Utility, modem drivers, and even asked me at one point if I already had the drivers and needed help installing them. So after another wasted 20 minutes, I called Dell support, and after five minutes had the answers and the drivers downloaded and installed.

Can you imagine putting your own computer together and not having the online and phone support you need when you need it?

January 22, May 4, June 13

Well...for those of you like me, these three days (January 22, May 4, June 13) mean three important things:

1/22: We (hope to) find out the gender of the baby

5/4: Graduation(it's about time) from Weber State - BS in Computer Science

6/13: Lisa's due date

It's funny, even though Lisa is pregnant and showing, I forget I'm going to be a dad (again). With trying to get some homework done, ward clerking (spent 12 hours at the church Sunday), working, and dieing to spend more time with the family, it's almost too surreal to believe I'll graduate in under four months. For those who think I'll have just as little free time, I beg to differ. Summer semester was so rough, that with a just a little break before fall semester, fall was really hard on me. Somehow I made the honor roll. Now, that it's my last semester, I am enjoying being at class and the learning atmosphere. The only sad thing is missing out on dedicated time to learning new things (although that won't stop...just formally) and realizing I won't see the friends in the major as often.

Colorado Avalanche 2001 Stanley Cup Final Game 7

Movies 2007

Well well well. What's great about a new year? Resolutions? Who needs a new year for that? New movies! Well, here are a few movies I'm looking forward to this year:

Harry Potter 5 (7/13/07): Looks like they took out his orneryness and looks like another winner http://imdb.com/title/tt0373889/trailers-screenplay-E30458-10-2

Spiderman 3 (5/4/07): If you haven't seen the trailers (there have been a few AND they've been out for quite a while. You still have to wait until May to be satisfied. What great storyline and plot.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007): If there was ever a cliffhanger, Pirates 2 fit the bill. Still in production but slated for 2007, this should fill a few holes (like the Kraken!)

What is the movie you're most looking forward to in 2007? Simpsons? Transformers?