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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Oh, Brian



A few days ago I posted a blog on birthdays. It was mostly in fun but there was a serious note in regards to my parents.


Yesterday was Brian's birthday so Teresa and I went out to wish him well. He is, after all, nearing the big three-oh and we don't want him to suffer alone.


When it came time for presents, we started to give his out and he said:


"Dad, you have to go first." 


I had no idea what he meant until he reminded me of my blog from the previous week. As a good son, he went out and got a present for me, giving thanks that I had not eliminated him from the earth during his teens.

Wireless Headphones

Teresa will love these because I won't have to turn the TV on so loud

To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly. Now I guess I need to get something for my own parents.


Thanks mucho Brian!!!


And Happy Birthday for the 29th Time.


BTW, Paula surprised Brian with the following:


He was pretty dang excited.  Now we have another reason to go visit.!!??!!&&##

Friday, February 24, 2012

Politics Again

The other day I was invited to write a personal review of the Republican debate that took place on Wednesday, February 22.  The idea was to get some ‘everyman’ thoughts on each candidate and their views.  Since my time was limited right then, I decided to decline the offer but here is what I might have said had I accepted.


Teresa and I watched the debate together and our common take was that Mitt Romney was the pretty clear winner.  While there were a few moments where he was attacked very strenuously, he was able to answer quite effectively and put the others on the defensive.  He seemed well prepared and I particularly liked his response to John King (the moderator for CNN) when an answer was challenged.  Without missing a beat, Mitt said “you get to ask the questions any way you want so I will answer them how I want.”  
Nice to see him stand up for himself.


Rick Santorum was the frontrunner so he got most of the abuse from the others.  It was interesting that he admitted he had made some poor judgments in his voting while serving as senator and congressman.  His dodging, by suggesting that politics is a ‘team sport’, really backfired on him – as it should.  Probably the most concerning thing with him was his voting for “Planned Parenthood” when his personal ideals are so against it.  He had a rationale for the vote but it seemed lame and really made me wonder how committed he is.  I am unabashedly a Mitt Romney backer but if it turns out that Santorum gets the nod, I will still feel like we are in pretty good shape.  But dumb votes like the one mentioned above make it harder for me to be totally happy.  (Personally, I don’t think he can do well against Obama but I hope I’m wrong).


For the first time in all the debates we have watched, Newt Gingrich was solely an afterthought and jester amongst the others.  He had a couple of good lines (calling himself Cheerful) but my impression was that he was relegated to the back of the pack by most folks.  Sitting here, two days later, I can’t remember one idea he presented that was new or interesting so I guess that might be the biggest statement of his current standing.


My wife asked me why Ron Paul is still running in this contest and it took me a moment to find the right answer.  There is no chance he is going to win this nomination so my only guess is that he is jockeying for power at the convention.  He has yet to win any primary or caucus and most of his constituents are the Libertarian crowd – the ‘nut jobs’ of the party.  I think his whole purpose is to get enough delegates to force one of the others to come to him for support and then he can get some of his own agenda on the platform.  If that ISN’T the reason, then he must have a lot of money he wants to get rid of in a campaign. 


Just a funny side note.  Our son Joel and his friend Gabe were watching the debate with us.  Both are young men, recently returned from missions, so they were trying to learn a little about the political process.  During one of the breaks, Gabe and Joel went into the kitchen and Gabe whispered to Joel, “Do you understand anything that is being said?”  To which Joel replied, “Not a thing!” 



Here’s hoping things become clearer to them and others in a very short time so more effort can be spent defeating that guy who lives in the White House.  We don’t need four more years of his silliness.  

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Another One

For years, I have held that we celebrate birthdays incorrectly in our world.  What, exactly, did the "birthday person" do that is so worth celebrating?

Really, the one honored only had to live!!

It was the parents who provided all the amenities of life and helped the celebrant continue to exist.

What we should do is send a present to our parents every birthday to show them how much we appreciate them not killing us as teenagers!


You might have guessed -- I had another birthday yesterday.  It was grand and I am now that much closer to the dirt bath that is coming.

The family was really nice and even the kids at school got in on the act.  Thanks to you all.


And maybe I will get a present for my folks to thank them for the things they made possible when they decided not to terminate my existence during those horrible years.  :-)

Thanks Mom and Dad.  I love you both.

Friday, February 10, 2012

He's Back


Well, he finally made it home.  On Wednesday, February 8th, we went to the airport and picked Joel up from his two year mission to California.  He looks good and acts pretty normal (or at least as normal as a newly returned missionary acts) so we decided to keep him.




When he got home, the whole family gathered round and let him regale us with stories and experiences of his travels.  There was a lot of noise so I'm not really sure what he said.  Maybe we can go over it later, when I don't have so many distractions.



These little folks were most excited to see "Uncle Joel" because he is their favorite uncle.


I took some pictures at the airport but when we got home I discovered they were really videos (too big to put here).  For some more good shots, chug on over to Missy's blog and take a gander.  I will have more on the whole experience in a few days.

BTW, those of you waiting for more pics of Mom and Dad's anniversary, hang in there.  I haven't gotten any from the dudes who were doing the picture taking.  I WILL get some and put them up as soon as I can.  

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Big 50

In December my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary.  Sure doesn’t seem that long to me but I guess since the calendar says it is so I will have to agree.

Better picture coming soon.  





Catherine at 22
As dutiful, loving children, we all decided it would be nice to get together and see if we could encourage them to extend their union for another fifty years.  Only seems reasonable that since it has been so productive for so long that it should continue on.

Rex at 27


Seriously, we wanted to have a party but with 9 living children and many, many grandkids, friends and celebrators, it was difficult to get things done before the year ended.  Last weekend (January 28-29) was the chosen date for the little soiree.  Some of those closer to home made the arrangements and we slackers who have moved from Arizona did our part by simply attending.  It was a great festival and I think Mom and Dad were pleased with all the things that happened.


Dec. 23, 1961
Same couple -- NOW

When the pictures of the event are available I will post them.  Until then, these will just have to do.  But aren’t they sweet!!!