Classes done.

David finished his classes for the Master's degree. Only comprehensive exams left in Feburary!

Trauma

Tim is enjoying his Christmas break in California with a temperature. It got up to 103, but mostly has hung around 101. Interestingly enough, he is doing fine other than that. Ami is also not feeling too well. Thanks to those who spoiled our children with love this holiday. We also are thankful for the thoughtful gifts we received. David is particularly happy about the pasta roller for homemade pasta.

Ten months later...

Melissa did get her braces off, for those of you who were wondering. She threatened the ortho the day before Christmas break. Yea!

We photo shopped David's hair

Thanks for the comments on the photos!

P.S. David just finished his last master's class! Yippie!

Family photos have arrived

Enjoy!

Holiday Recovery round 1

Turkey-day came, along with the family, combining like the gravy and potatoes on the plate in a wonderful mixture of enjoyment. Thanks to those who came and made it awesomeness. Fortunately, all have recovered from the illnesses and physical breakdowns following the a traditional vacation break. We are looking forward to Christmas, almost as much as David is looking forward to finishing his classes.

Falling into the abyss

As the holidays approach, and the end of current graduate school endeavors arrive, the effort level into the classes are slipping to an abyss of procrastination. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. We finished Christmas shopping this week and are prepared for the adventure of family with Turkey.

At Grandma's Funeral

In Memorandum

This last Friday the 19th, Lucille - David's grandmother on his father's side passed from mortality to the world of Spirits to await a resurrection. The funeral will be this week, we now are preparing for the family to come and pay their respects.

Something's wrong here...

... we did it right. Halfway through the next stage of the next room in the basement and we went ten hours without a problem. Is this odd to anyone else? Is there something wrong with this situation? Maybe Murphy was asleep, or maybe he's just planning something brutal.

Back! Back to the dungeon!

Ahhh, fall break, three days off to sit back, relax, and... oh wait, never mind. Reports took up the entire day Thursday, and Friday and Saturday are the beginning of Dungeon worship - er, I mean workshop. We'll see if we can't get the play room framed and wired. Yippie, or not.

Dinosaur

The creativity of #2 is increasing. This morning as he ate the breakfast of champions, poptarts, he looked at his food and then began to take calculated bites. Eventually he held up the tart and said, "Look! Dinosaur!" He had bitten the tart until it had legs, a back, and a head. Adventurous. Also this week, Melissa made the unfortunate decision that she wanted another room in the basement finished instead of the 50 inch plasma tv for her birthday, much to the disappointment of husband and friends everywhere. Oh well, back to the basement.

Everything's funnier at 2 am

This last weekend was the whirlwind 40 hour "vacation" to Arizona for a wedding in Mesa. 26 total hours on the road, David taking 22 of those thankfully, allowing Melissa and the children to be rested enough to attend all three hours of church on Sunday and not just Sacrament meeting. He had help though. Melissa's sister joined the fun for the ride home and conversed with the drivers through the night. Miraclously there were no near accidents or anything, and the car got sufficient gas milage that we did not have to fill up on Sunday. We're blessed. On the way home, at about 2 am, #1 decided she really needed to go. Unfortunely, there were no bathroom options. After trying the side of the road adventure, her bladder froze, and did not thaw until later. This provided multiple jokes and laughs, and we can't even remember why!

Oh come on!

The television show Melissa likes had it's season finale this last week. After just six episodes. Lame. The show is "Psyc" on USA, it is a comedy that cracks her up. Oh well, anyone know any decent TV shows?

*Sigh* ness

We've been a little under the weather lately, a sinus infection and quite a few things on the plate with business, work, school, and such. Nothing exciting to report, which we consider a good thing!

Blessed

# 3 got blessed at church this weekend. Family from Idaho, California, Utah, and Colorado came to join in the fun. In addition to that, David provided a passover experience for some friends and family which went very well. Melissa and Heather made lip balm and lip wax for fun. Gary won a game of seafarers of caton. On Monday, David and his bro went golfing. David drove the ball incredibly well, with four drives in excess of 350 yards (laser measured!) Overall a very enjoyable weekend.

Sit... good... roll over...

#3 has begun to roll over from her stomach to her back, which is not helpful, since she does not like sleeping on her back. A great scholar named murphy once wrote a law...

Shark Week

I think Discovery Channel's shark week left an impression on #1. Yesterday she prayed over the food, adding a plea to "make sure our house does not flood, and no sharks or bears attack us". All I can say to that is "amen".

Fiddler on the roof reprise

submission... SUBMISSION...
If I wrote a master's, idle-edle-eldel-idle-edle-idle-o, all day long I'd sit there with research, and I'd go slightly in-SAANNNEEE... I wouldn't get to sleep - no...
Okay, enough of that. The first draft has been submitted. Usually these things get rejected a few (hundred) times, and then one is allowed to pass. I only know two individuals who ever got it right on the first submission, one of which is my current professor. In the mean time, I have four days to "relax" until the next semester begins. "Hi kids, I'm your father."

Like an orange on a toothpick!

#3's head is like sputnik, round and pointy in parts. She crys herself to sleep on her uge pillow. Look at the size of that thing - it's like an orange on a toothipick. So she is up to the 75% in weight, and yet the only large part of her body is her head. Like a watermelon...

Dementors

The first draft of the Master's is complete. Let the shredding and restarting begin. Bring on the editing dementors to suck the life out of my writing...

Chuck

Went to Chuck E Cheese after dinner last night for some good family time. Dad enjoyed some pinball while #1 and 2 rode the cars and won some stickers. Good quality time.

The Hoffa Awards

Well, I think it is time for the summer movie awards. The First Hoffa goes to...

For "Best way to relive your childhood": Transformers - 4 stars out of 4

For "Best cardiovascular workout": Bourne Ultimatum - 3.7529643 stars

For "Biggest letdown": Shrek III - 2 stars

For "Best hunger pains / family film": Ratitioui - 3.6 stars

For "Creative battle sequences": - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 3.5 stars

Tunnel Vision

There is a high probability, that just maybe, perhaps, perchance, is is conceivable, that I might have finished my research for my master's project. Let the writing cramps begin...

Random learnings

Did you know that, in Arabic, Amirrah means princess? Neither did we. Did you know that Mirrah Belle, in French, means wonderful? Neither did we.

Retreat

Reinforcements have left the state, and much like a soon-to-be-democratic-presidential-withdraw-from-Iraq-fallout, the home has already entered into a police state of gorilla warfare. The gorilla would be #2, the warfare would include #1's books and dolls, and all remaining forces are busy with the #3 front. Ahh, it's good to be at work... Maybe I'll have to stay a couple hours extra today... :)

Reinforcements

Nannie arrived to take the night shifts for a week with # 3 and the day shifts with #1 & 2 so David can get caught up on his schooling and work, and Melissa and get caught up on sleep. Yip-zzz

Labor Day

#3 should be getting blessed around Labor Day. We understand this could be a strain on some to make it, so we do not expect people to go out of their way to make trips for this. We still know we are cared for and do not need visits to prove it. :) Of course, those who would like to attend are welcome to do so.

Harry Potter - No Spoilers

Just finished the last Harry Potter book. It was my least favorite of the series. 600 pages of build-up and then it finished super quick. It seemed like all the character development and personality just faded away to finish the story. Bummer.

Job Perks

It's always an adventure to get back to work and be informed via that you have a meeting with a member of the 5th Quorum of the Seventy. Good thing I didn't take the day off. Three hours with an Area Seventy (no, they are no longer called area authroity seventies) can make coming back to work a happy experience.

Shopping

This weekend #3 was checked and is back to "within normal range" on all of her health readings, so things are good. #1 and #2 went clothes shopping this morning and ran errands. David heads back to school and the grind this evening. Things are good!

Spotlight

In order to maintain attention and cuteness, #1 opted for a haircut this morning.

Running with scissors

Good Morning!

Homeward bound

#3 had her stomach pumped last night, taking care of all of the doctor's concerns, and has been eating well since then. Mom and baby are doing well and cleared to leave the hospital a day before expected, so we'll be back at the casa soon. Since there is continual questions about pronouncing the name, I'll try to clarify via phone. Why we are still on the name thing, F.Y.I. many people still are calling David, "Dave". He has not gone by that nickname since high school. Thanks for reading.

The Umbrella

Numbers 1 and 2 met 3. The first comment #1 made was: "Look! It has the umbrella -ka cord! That means the baby popped out! Baby ate after the birth, but has been calm and sleepy since. Naps all around leave everyone happy. Melissa's cell phone is off, if you need to contact her, call David and he can give you the number.

#3

The name is pronounced #3 as opposed to the some of the alternate creations we have heard. It means "beautiful reflection of heaven" when combined with her middle name.

Delivery at 10:42 A.M.

8 Pounds, 2 ounces, 18.5 inches, strawberryish (?) blond hair. She likes being held, got her shots, and (comparing previous newborn pictures) looks a lot more like Tim than Maggie. Mom gave birth without any problems, no taring, no stitching. Dad did not hurl. Three for three. Thanks to all for the prayers and support.

What does it take to get a pizza in here?

Oatmeal and granola just are not holding down the growling stomachs in labor and delivery. Fortunately, one can pass time between contractions by updating a blog and doing homework. Current stats? 100mg of Fen. to help with the pain and a lot of ice chips. Dilated to 5+, Melissa's feeling drugged. I ask her if it would be alright if I traded in the van for a BMW and she said yes, so she is kind of out of it. Does papa johns deliver?

ITS A...

contraction. and another. and another... and they are finally consistent. After four days of random contractions, trampoline jumping, lots of spicy food, hot tub, hot shower, cold shower, massage, 18 holes of golf, walked curbs, ran yesterday, put in about 10 miles of walking, and none of those stinking wife's tales work. But now the moment is finally here. We're in the hospital, dilated to a four. Left the house somewhere between four and five this morning. The stakes in Vegas are currently 12:1 for bets on girl:boy. Details will be posted, and if we are lucky a picture also, a little bit later. Also, Melissa would prefer to have a day or so to recover before visits or lengthy phone calls, seeing that she only was able to sleep two hours last night. Thanks!

Transformers

So David went to Transformers on the first day, at the first showing. He loved it. Apparently, it totally took him back to his childhood in a massive nostalgic regression. I can guess what he's getting himself for Christmas if it is on DVD. Now, if I can just make sure he resists purchasing the die cast $100-500 models to play with...

mmm... tastes good

Maggie got her mouth washed out with soap (ten licks) for the first time. When we ask her what she thought of it, she responded, "Tastes great" and smiled. Note to self - switch to yucky soaps...

You may feel an itsy-bitsy pinch

David has started summer semester, 9 graduate credits, 8 weeks. Out of a 7 day week, he now is completely busy on 6, during that time our family will increase to 5 . In the meantime the 4 of us spend our 3 meals together and 2 of us will probably suffer 1 massive stress induced brakedown.

Recovery

On Monday, we left the children at some friend's houses and went off on our yearly escape. This year stayed at a four star spa and resort in park city (www.wgparkcity.com), which was awesome. We relaxed, read, went golfing, played games, hung out in the spa, and enjoyed getting treated like royality by the staff. I started reading a book called "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyers. David already finished it and its sequel.

Goals

About three months ago, our little lady set a couple goals: first to stop sucking her fingers and second, to learn to read (Which we considered a third grade level to count). She also choose rewards for meeting those goals. Though she has only earned two suckers out of 90 days, she did accomplish her goal of learning to read. On Saturday she went to pick out her reward of a book. Somewhere she inherited good taste, so the book she picked out was a blue, leather bound triple combination and bible set with her name engraved upon the front in silver lettering. If you give a mouse a cookie... so she also received a powder blue carrying case and scripture markers. Fortunately she does not know about the scripture mastery stickers yet so we did not need to drop fifty bucks on that yet. And here David thought he was going to get away with buying her a little Dr. Seuss book for ten bucks. hehehe. She has been reading about three verses a day since then, without needing help except on words like Zedekiah. Not bad for just turning four a few months ago.

Alfred Hitchcock Movie Idea

If Alfred Hitchcock really wanted to scare parents, he would have made a movie starring our boy. His ability to find random sharp objects in the house and wield them is frightening beyond compare.

Let my people go.

Three hundred ninth grade students. Yearbooks galore. Let the cramping hand cease. To relax, David went golfing, which was relaxing until his bag fell over, rolled down the hill, and fell into the sewage lake. Unhappyness ensued.

Weak end

Friday's celebrations for the man included a trip to Thanksgiving Point Flower gardens, dinner at a burger joint, two hours at a park, and then present time. Aside from David developing a mirgrain that also came back on Saturday and Sunday, things went pretty well. We went to Shrek 3 on Saturday, and enjoyed it, though it was not even close to # 1 and #2 in its' gut wrenching humor. Still some good parts.

Melissa is Hot!

The summer heat has begun, and despite central air, a pregnant woman is always warm. The barrage of Popsicles, smoothies, and lemonade will now take 2% of the family budget. Eight weeks to go.

Happy Something

For David's birthday, he went on a bike ride on the alpine loop, did the whole thing in one gear! For Mother's day, the family cooked Melissa breakfast, and she got a massage before Church, afterwords, they cooked Lunch and Dinner, and got her a new watch and a book. Spent a bunch of time relaxing as a family.

Got bugs?

The kids are running. Unfortunately, it is not their legs, its their noses. Oh well. Earlier to this week we went to the local pet store to examine fish, the kids laughed at everything that moved. Exciting as it is...

Soccer

Family Home Evening? Real Salt Lake Professional Soccer, unfortunately the team lost. Oh well. The kids loved the nachos and snocones.

Weekend War

This weekend we battled illness. Our little lady had the flu or food poisoning, so everything was just peaches and cream - all over the place. On our anniversary we still found the opportunity to get out again for some dinner. David was ask to do a fireside for a Stake out by Thanksgiving Point for youth on morality. It seems like the weekend just got here, where did it go?

Gardening

The garden is up and growing. 36 Tomato plants have sprouted, along with a punch of peas. There is a slight possibility that we'll get some raspberries this year. Our tulips are up and growing, along with the rhododendrons. A few more supplies with the great Walmart gift card we received for our anniversary, and things should be moving on. We'll see how the melons, peppers and cucumbers come along.

Expending Spring Break

Ah, Spring Break, or Brake, depending on your perspective. On Thrusday, the dryer died. Then tuition raised. Then Melissa dropped her cell phone on the golf course and it's gone. What an expensive vacation, for not going anywhere. Oh well, health is good.

Converting

It may finally be happening. We might be becoming Utahites. We don't know what to say, other than "oh my heck"! We now root for the Jazz instead of the Kings. We like Real Salt Lake as much as Manchester United (oh wait, no we don't - but we are going to their game tonight). We expect to see mountains when we look outside. Someone gives us an address and we don't ask directions. What is happening??? Are we sinking into the abyss or rising to new heights?

The Prestige vs. The Illusionist

Though the acting in the Prestige was quite good, the dark, revengeful premise and sci-fi nature of the film ultimately brought it down. Entertaining? Yes. Overall score: 5 out of 10. On the other hand, the Illusionist proved to be a great film, decent acting, but a phenomenal story. 8.5 out of 10.

Tulip Festival

Aside from the traditional weekend bikeride, date, and Church stuff, David took the family to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip festival. It was pretty. Unfortunately the storyteller did not show up for the kids to see, but we did get to listen to Stephanie Smith preform a concert. She is a soloist, very nice voice, good songs. She's got a song on the new "Pride and Prejudice" remake (not the one with Keira Knightly, the Utah-made one). Not that we've seen that.

Countdowns

248 days until David finishes his Master's coursework... Then comes the pain.

88 days until the birth of baby 3... what will it be?

75 days until Melissa's braces should come off... Yea for carmel!

1410 hours 54 minutes until vacation... even more golf!

36 days until The little guy is two... at least in number, he can be terrible now.

14 days until our 5th anniversary... bagels anyone?

What's with the title?

The statements, "I'm feeling just a little bit waxy" and "You're feeling just a little bit waxy" come from our little ladies infatuation with head cavities. It beats what she says about what's in noses.

She also announces the former if she is not feeling well.

If she ever discovers wax while examining someone, they will get the latter diagnosis and her concern.

Sometimes in life, things do not go your way; you just feel a little bit waxy!