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 ???????