Some Holiday cheer...

We made it out to see Santa and got this good video of Zoe telling him everything she wants and then some. Here are some photos of the same and other recent things. Enjoy!

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home

So, after reading Megan's blog post about my dad, whose birthday it is today, I thought of all the stories that I have about my dad that need to be told. The struggle I'm having, though, is that I have been saving some of these stories for his funeral. Since there's a good chance that I will forget them, however, I guess I might share a few here.

I, like Megan, still have a letter that Dad wrote when I was around 11 years old for a scouting activity. Some of those things he wrote always echoed in my ear. Foremost among those, he states that he has always appreciated my love for animals and how I have never wanted to hurt even the smallest creature (I used to catch cockroaches and take them outside rather than kill them). Because of that comment, I was able to resist the peer pressure that plagued so many to become a professional bowhunter later in life. To this day, I still won't watch hunting shows or eat at restaurants where the meat has been hunted rather than mass-processed. All kidding aside, though, that comment personally defined part of my character and is still something I am proud of.

Another instance took place while we were on vacation in Salt Lake City. While walking outside of temple square, a homeless man approached and asked for some money to satisfy his hunger, claiming he had been trapped in a mine for almost 3 days. My dad didn't buy his story, but he gave money to the man anyway. Ever since then, I have determined that I will not let my cynical side win out and have tried to give whenever asked. Note, per the Church requests, please do not give money to those requesting it outside of temple square--they have established more appropriate areas to assist the needy. also note, I have found old pioneer mines in the hills just north of temple square and now believe that guy could have been telling the truth.

Many have commented how much I look like my dad. I should point out, however, that there are key differences. In fact, when I was about 16 and feeling proud of my weightlifting progress, I recall my dad clarifying the matter for me when he stated "I was much bigger than you are when I was your age". I didn't see his strategy then, but my dad was looking out for me. He was well aware how difficult it would be for me to stay humble, given my seemingly super-human attributes. So, thanks, Dad. I am humble, thanks to you pointing out that I am not very big.

When I was a teenager, I helped keep score for the mens church basketball games. We had a nickname for every man that played on the team from the Kingwood wards (Pepto, Shoes, Bleeder, etc). Dad's name was Ref-boy. Originally, all games were self-offciated. Dad bought the official NBA officiating guide and studied it into the wee hours of the night. Sadly, Dad would call himself for the most obscure fouls and the other men got tired of the constant stops in the action, so they moved to having designated referees for each game. What did Dad do then? He bought his own referee shirt and whistle and was the best ref they'd ever had! I loved those games and watching my dad LAY DOWN THE LAW!!! On a side note, this may have some connection to Dad's well-documented requirement to read the entire set of instructions before beginning play with any board game, Christmas toy or puzzle.

Again, there are so many things to say and no pictures to make them exciting. In short, I am so grateful for all the time we spent together: the hundreds of hours collecting bugs, the cycling class we took at the Alkek velodrome, that when the Houston Rockets playoff games were only available on pay-per-view, we got them (my friends still talk about those nights cheering on the 1994 World Champs) and many, many others.

Above all, and not adequately mentioned, I am so glad that Dad married Mom! She is the perfect counterbalance to Dad's idiosyncracies. I am proud to be an ARNTSEN!


I love you so much, padre. I could go on and on. But I have a life to live. Thanks for everything you have given me (and hopefully will continue to give me).

SOLD

We had our house on the market three days and sold it! The way things have fallen into place for us regarding Spencer going back to school, more than confirms that this is what the Lord would have us do. We feel so blessed and although we are sad to leave our friends, family and home here we are excited about the new adventures that await us in Utah.

It has been an eventful month

Grandma Ryan came out to help after the baby was born. We are so grateful for her, she is an awesome Grandma and Mom. I don't know what we would have done with out her, not only was I super hormonal, I had also just had a c-section, was on drugs and we had to get our house ready for pictures so we could put it on the market.

We love you Grandma!




Adeline wore her first dress and went to church.




At three weeks Adeline saw the Cure.
Don't call CPS just yet, we were in a suite so it wasn't quite as crazy as it could have been.




Zoe is doing great at potty training-we are so excited to only have one kid in diapers.




I have had many people ask how Zoe is doing now that we have a new baby. I have been really surprised as she seems to be adjusting really well, she is just a little agressive at times. This is a picture of her being a loving big sister.

More baby!

Showing off

So, here's a short recap. We had everything nicely planned out for a Tuesday delivery, with the intention of finishing all of our projects around the house this weekend before having the baby. Of course, that plan is shot and I am now accepting applications for any volunteering. Anyway, Kari and baby are doing great and may even come home tonight.

Adeline is such a sweet baby and we are so glad to have her. She has totally different features from Zoe and definitely has a lot in common with Bella as a baby (super long toes and fingers and even facial expressions). Thanks to everyone for their support and thanks most of all to Kari for being so amazing. She is the best woman in the world and I love her more than anything.

Here are a few photos from the hospital.



Baby loves her mommy.



Bella is going to be such a great helper and is very excited to be the older, wiser sister.




She isn't nearly as hyper as Zoe (who is and thank goodness), though she came out without any fear of making noise.



Both times we had ultrasounds, Adeline looked like she was sucking her fingers, and when she came out, there was no doubt that she was already a pro. After barely two hours, the nurse interrupted her normal transition process so that baby could eat.



Isn't she incredible?!

Welcome to the world!

Adeline Mae Arntsen. 7lbs 1 oz. born at 10:58 am this morning. Kari and baby doing great. More to follow soon...

True blue, through and through

We have been working very hard, so we are way behind on the blog. We will play a little catch up. There have been so many projects going on around here, and we are all pitching in to get things ready for the baby to come (9 days) and to enter the next phase of our lives... Zoe is really pretty helpful when building a fence.



We have spent a lot of money and energy getting our house up to date. We are finally free of being the shame of the neighborhood as far as landscaping goes. I swear, some of our neighbors have nothing else to do, so we finally got some professional help. We will have to post before and after pictures of all the improvements we have made.

I turned 32 on cinco de mayo. That is the same age my dad was when I was born, so it is a little weird to think about that as we are getting ready for our baby girl. Kari is doing well, by the way, and has been awesome. Working way too hard and deserving of the rest she will get (temporarily) soon. My brother wasn't helping me blow out the candles because I have asthma - his birthday is May 7th and he turned 39. Happy B-day, Jeremy!

The girls are awesome and ready for summer. They are going to be the best older sisters ever!

Zoe had a first last week - her first ponytail. She loved it and wouldn't let us take it out before bed. Actually, Kari had to get up at 4:45 am because Zoe was crying. When she checked on her, Zoe was upset about her ponytail falling out in her sleep, and Kari had to put it back in to get her to go to sleep.

Here she is "brushing the bugs" out of her mouth. The only way to get her to participate is to ask what kind of bugs we are brushing--the most popular of which are worms, tinkybugs (stinkbugs), deedybugs (ladybugs) and frogs. So much fun.

So, the other reason we are working so hard.....

I have officially been accepted into the Marriott School MBA program for this fall. We really didn't anticipate doing this and only made our decision around Christmas. So I had to scramble to study for the GMAT and then get my application in (barely) before the May 1st deadline. Anyway, I made it and the reality of me returning and becoming a bonafide Zubie is starting to hit me. I NEVER would have guessed that I would go back - not to mention that I would be getting an MBA.

So, we have a lot to take care of. Anyone know someone that wants to buy a house? Anyone know someone that wants to sell a house in Provo (it has to be big, stylish, up-to-date and supercheap)? And if you know a couple that is leaving to go on a mission and wants us to just watch their house while they are gone, we might be willing to oblige. Spread the word.

Spencer



PS--Josh, Melissa and Amelia came down from Austin this weekend and we went and saw Radiohead last night. It was so good. Almost made me feel cool again. Almost.

Go 'Stros!!!

Friday night we had tickets to the company suite for an Astros game. Bella came along, even though we were expecting her to be gone on a trip that fell through. Someone happened to snap a photo of us just as Bella was catching a foul ball hit our way. Pretty cool, heh? Anyway, the home team lost and 'twas indeed a shame. The fireworks after the game were pretty awesome though. Made me remember all the good old days lying in the streets for Stadium of Fire. Anyone up for a reunion in '09? Same spot as always...

Spring time fun in Texas

Oh Baby!

Thought I would try out this blogging thing. Forgive me, although I am quite the voyeur, I have never posted anything myself. I am warning you there are some pretty hot pictures of me on this post. Like the one below!

We have less than eight weeks before the baby will be born. The girls are super excited. Zoe is beginning to understand that she is going to be a big sister. She is in for a very rude awakening, as she will no longer be the center of attention.

We need help narrowing down names.
These are the three we like. 1. Ava 2. Adeline 3. Aven (pronounced Avin).
It was not intentional that they all start with an A, just so happened, these are our favorites.

Boating in Austin



We went to Austin on the 14th, for part of Spring Break. For the past three years every time we visit Austin we talk about how great it would be to live there. For some reason it is not our time. Oh well, maybe one day.

We stayed with our friends Matt and Shayla, they live right on Lake Austin and have a boat. The weather could not have been more perfect (89 degrees).
We had the best time.

We love you Matt and Shayla!!

This is Bella on one of Matt and Shayla's custom designed surfboards. They have a side business where they design and shape boards. How cool is that?! For those of you who have never seen "Fresh water surfing" it is pretty amazing. You are pulled behind the boat like you're water skiing and then when you feel the current move beneath the board you let go of the rope and like magic you stay right behind the boat and surf the wake.

The Limo

Last year on Bella's sixth birthday, she informed us she was not making a wish when she blew out her candles. I asked her why, and she said that she had been wishing for a limo for the past three years and that wishes just don't come true. Although, we did not buy her a limo, we rented one and surprised her for her seventh birthday. The limo picked up each of her cousins who were also surprised. It was so much fun to see their faces. We blasted Hannah Montana and had juice in fancy glasses all the way to the cheesecake factory 45 minutes away. I have to admit that by the time we got there I was a little insane.



Bella at the Cheesecake factory

After the limo ride the whole family met at the cheesecake factory. It was no easy task trying to get a table for 23 people. Thank you, Weston and Nicole.

Bella totally scored on gifts this year, including the all-time classic game Operation. We can finally have Family Home Evening again. Thank you Knorrps.

Easter

Easter was a lot of fun this year - we all got together at Kevin and Chelsea's house and ate tons. We were grateful to have Weston, Nicole (Weston's girlfriend) and Bella in town. Bella was supposed to be in California this year, but we got to have her with us, which is always such a blessing.

Here are some pictures of the girls gathering eggs. I know they aren't that great, but it turns out they are the best we had.

Cheeeeese!!!

Kid(ney) Rock

So, Tuesday night, as I was working to get the girls in bed (so I could hang with Josh McKinney who had casually dropped by from Austin), I started to get this sharp pain in my abdomen. Me no likey, but I thought it would go away soon enough. Well, it didn't, so we left Josh with the girls and went to the ER. I ended up getting sick of waiting, but the next day I succeeded in finding a stand-alone ER where I got a CT scan. The doc came out after taking a look at that and said, "You have one of the largest kidney stones I have ever seen". So, I made an emergency appointment with a urologist and procured the following x-ray:




If you look just left of center, you can see the stone--that white spot left of the darker area.

The urologist informed me that I actually had an 11 millimeter (1/2 inch for non-metric users) stone trying to make its way into my life. As that is much larger than you want to pass, I was scheduled for a procedure wherein they shock you in hopes of breaking up the stone. You still have to pass the remaining fragments, but at least they are smaller.

So, the night before the procedure, I asked my brother and the EQP for a blessing. The next day, as they were doing a final x-ray to determine the exact location of the monster before putting me under, the doctor and x-ray tech looked up and said, "It's gone".

They said I must have passed it, but I never felt anything remotely like that and really hadn't felt very much pain since getting the x-ray. So, this blessing is right near the top of my blessing list, sandwiched between having my beautiful children and getting the GI Joe Aircraft Carrier for Christmas in 1986, in no certain order.

Thanks for those who knew about this and offered prayers in my behalf. Drink lots of water and take care of yourselves.

Cutie pie.

We didn't pony up the money for the 4D stuff, but we think the ultrasound shows that our girl is going to be another beautiful baby. What do you think?

Take a seat

She is so cute, that you almost forget that she isn't doing the potty training thing at all. She is actually pretty afraid of the toilet for some reason (insert joke here). Don't worry, she has been promised gummy worms and a party with a cake if she will use her potty. I think she's holding out for a pinata.

Rodney Dangerfield

I never thought things would sink to this level, but I have been tagged by my sister and feel some sort of ego-challenge to respond (against my moral fiber). Per the rules, here are the rules:

The rules:
1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin...

1) Well, right off the bat, I have a problem. I am still using OS X 10.2.8. If you know anything, you will know that this is the OS that came with my computer when I purchased it on June of 2003. So, technically, I can't link to the person that tagged me. So, I will use fulfill my obligation to list 6 non-important things/habits/quirks as I respond to each rule.

Megan might say that as her older brother, I had a big influence on her. However, I tend to believe that my link to Megan relates more to the simultaneous amplification of our brain waves which has led to our both being somewhat off-kilter. Without her, I would have had no audience and consequently would never have reached the levels of dumbness that I have. For example, Megan will recall how I used to chase her around our house, growling on all fours like a dog, and biting her leg if I caught her. If she hadn't been there, however, I don't think I would have acted like a dog and snapped at thin air. So, it is kind of her fault too...(www.newbigidea.blogspot.com).

2) I hate forwards and things like this. I typically make it a point TO break the chain. I even had to block my mom's emails for a time because I was tired of all the forwards she would send.

3) I share non-important things/habits/quirks far too often with total strangers. Initially, I believe it will endear me to new people-make me more human and less superhero. Ultimately, I end up being the quirky guy they habitually expect to do something stupid and they will say "You always do that", but that is non-important. In fact, one quirk that drives my wife a little crazy is my tendency to always want a fresh start. I love clean slates and blank canvases and new years because I am free of the tendencies and stereotypes that hinder me. Like this blog--since I have so poorly contributed to the blogosphere, part of me thinks it might be better to kill this one and start a new one altogether, and that somehow I would be absolutely consistent in posting daily, etc. That won't happen (unless I update my OS), but I do have an announcement:

I am going back to school. I took the GMAT on Friday and scored well enough to justify completing applications to get an MBA. Though I could fill a book with thoughts on this, I need to move on.


4) Here is the sad truth on tagging 3 other people: I have a bookmark to Cindy's blog, and pretty much access every other blog of everybody else I know through her links. That includes my sister and actually--my own blog as well. So, I am going to ask Cindy to tag 3 people for me, since I really can't link to theirs directly--and I hate imposing on people. This is a quirk worthy of mentioning. I can't stand bugging people directly. I have no problem being a nuisance indirectly, of course. Typically you might think this is a good quality to have, but when your job is to bug people until they like you (sales), it is not good. Being a missionary felt that way at times too. I remember a particular day in San Diego when my comp and I walked into an apartment courtyard teeming with Mexikids and their moms. I am not exaggerating when I say there were some thirty people outside. I further am not guilty of hyperbole when I say that within 20 seconds, every last human being was safely inside behind closed door. Chupacabras! In the end, of course, they were all baptized and have a branch in their own complex. Not really, we dusted our feet and left and the buildings collapsed. Not really, it just sucked.

5) Again, Cindy, if you could help out with this, I would appreciate it. Kelly left me a comment, so she may be a good one. I will let you choose 2 others. By the way, I do read the blogs more often than I post, though nothing like daily. Leaving comments, however, is too much of a commitment. Then people check your blog to see if you posted something (which is why people normally leave comments, right?) and see that you haven't and think you are lame. Kelly doesn't fall under this category. Really, though, I think it makes me more 2Legit2Quit that D don't comment. Please Hammer, don't hurt'em.

6) So, Kari is due with a girl at the end of May. The fun really has begun. Also, the future holds change, which means a blank slate, which is also fun for me. However, in the Spirit of fun, I am committing myself to trying to join a softball team in the near future. In the meantime, let the good times roll and comment away, if you are so lame...

Resolutionaries

So, a little late of course, but here are some pics from our time in The Promised Valley.

Who let the dawgs out?!



Grandma, thanks so much for taking care of us while were in Utah. We miss you so much already.



Zoe, Maya and Cambria totally rocked out in this coin-operated party-wagon. I don't think there was any crying or hitting at all, either.



We got to express our congratulations for Marilyn at her reception. Wouldn't you know it though--Marilyn totally had to one-up us by being selfless and thoughtful on the one night where that isn't even expected of you. She was so cute with Zoe.




We really enjoyed seeing everyone in Utah and look forward to partying together more in the future...

Finally, something worthy of a post...

When the girls you make are so pretty, you just don't go tampering with the formula...

We will welcome our newest family member sometime in the latter part of May. We are super excited and can't believe how quickly we get old!

By the way, it was so great to see everyone that we did over Christmas. We really ought to build a commune for all of us to live in. Maybe even some kind of militia compound in the mountains or something. Who's game?

Anyway, love you all.

Spencer, Kari, Bella, Zoe and ???????