What's funny is Brant is the easiest one we've had to take care of so far! They all love him so much and all want to hold him. I guess when he just sits there it is easy to relax and go to sleep.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Babysitting is hard work!
It's always good to know that we aren't the only ones who get tired from the kids. Here are some funny pictures that happened weeks apart. It's funny that it happened to both!
What's funny is Brant is the easiest one we've had to take care of so far! They all love him so much and all want to hold him. I guess when he just sits there it is easy to relax and go to sleep.
What's funny is Brant is the easiest one we've had to take care of so far! They all love him so much and all want to hold him. I guess when he just sits there it is easy to relax and go to sleep.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Brant
Brock is just worn out from taking care of his little brother. He actually fell asleep holding him.
After his blessing.
Brant and his favorite past time.Saturday, March 28, 2009
Blake's Pinewood Derby
Blake recently had his Pinewood Derby for cub scouts. We began on the car early, but didn't really know what day the race would be. That happens when the only communication on the event date goes to the cub scouts! Anywho, he came up with the design, color and even name of the car. He wanted to stain it rather than paint it and called it the Wilcox Furniture car. (I'm going to have to talk to him about his free advertisements.)
We finished adding weights on the last day, not even know how heavy it really was. We guessed well! He weighed in right at 5 ounces. The races were fun, and even more so because he was undefeated! Congratulations Blake!
It's hard to see in this one, but if you look closely you'll see Blake's car has already finished. The car he beat here ended up winning 3rd place.
Monday, March 23, 2009
It Appears I'm a Potential Terrorist
Let me start off by first saying this, to clear up any possible confusion. I AM NOT A TERRORIST! Got that? Good. It seems that some DHS officials don't agree. I've followed international politics and situations loosely since I served my mission in Argentina. The differences in freedoms and political thought have totally amazed me.
I'm also amazed and forever in debt to our founding fathers, for all that they gave so I could be free. Did you catch that? Not for their own benefit, but for your's and mine too. I think that's a major part of our problem today. We're only worried about how our actions affect us, and not others. But that's fodder for another rant at another time.
It would seem that our increasingly changing government and political views of the times has pushed us more and more to those types of leaderships that I've either seen or read about in other countries. We gasp when we hear about Hugo Chavez changing laws so that he can stay in power for as long as he lives and is re-elected. We cringe at the censorship some countries impose on their people to "maintain peace", when in reality it is a thinly covered excuse to protect their own hides and repress their opponents. (President Mugabe anyone? If you don't know who he is, look him up! We could also go down the list of Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Chavez, etc...)
I've often laughed at the conspiracy notions that float around warning us that our nation is being taken over. How could we POSSIBLY ever let anything like total gun control or censorship happen? It's not possible, right? Right? Uh....hello, right? Hehe...kind of quiet out there.
The things that I have seen in the last 4 months (coupled with all the "security" laws passed since 9/11) have really , well...let's say piqued my interest. For example: get this latest news posting from FoxNews (yes, I've become a FoxNews junkie.)
"If you're an anti-abortion activist, or if you display political paraphernalia supporting a third-party candidate or a certain Republican member of Congress, if you possess subversive literature, you very well might be a member of a domestic paramilitary group. " You can read more on the FoxNews site here or one posted by Glenn Beck here.
The more I hear about stronger gun control laws, (i.e. H.R. 45) I shiver to see the direction we are headed. I don't think we have gone too far, and I believe in following the system given to us as laid out by the laws of the land to make changes where we feel it necessary. I am astounded though by the lack of involvement by us to make changes where we see the need though.
So, before I go too far, (oh wait, I play Airsoft so apparently the case is mounting) and say something that might be TOTALLY misconstrued (is being an Eagle Scout still ok?) please know that I am against abortion, like to shoot guns, believe that WE the people still have the choice on who we vote for REGARDLESS of political party, and I respect the right of others to their thoughts, beliefs and opinion so long as it doesn't intrude on those of others within the laws as set forth by the people. (In other words, to the last part, I don't think marrying your dog is ok, and I don't care if you do, it's still morally wrong AND against the law.)
I'm also amazed and forever in debt to our founding fathers, for all that they gave so I could be free. Did you catch that? Not for their own benefit, but for your's and mine too. I think that's a major part of our problem today. We're only worried about how our actions affect us, and not others. But that's fodder for another rant at another time.
It would seem that our increasingly changing government and political views of the times has pushed us more and more to those types of leaderships that I've either seen or read about in other countries. We gasp when we hear about Hugo Chavez changing laws so that he can stay in power for as long as he lives and is re-elected. We cringe at the censorship some countries impose on their people to "maintain peace", when in reality it is a thinly covered excuse to protect their own hides and repress their opponents. (President Mugabe anyone? If you don't know who he is, look him up! We could also go down the list of Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Chavez, etc...)
I've often laughed at the conspiracy notions that float around warning us that our nation is being taken over. How could we POSSIBLY ever let anything like total gun control or censorship happen? It's not possible, right? Right? Uh....hello, right? Hehe...kind of quiet out there.
The things that I have seen in the last 4 months (coupled with all the "security" laws passed since 9/11) have really , well...let's say piqued my interest. For example: get this latest news posting from FoxNews (yes, I've become a FoxNews junkie.)
"If you're an anti-abortion activist, or if you display political paraphernalia supporting a third-party candidate or a certain Republican member of Congress, if you possess subversive literature, you very well might be a member of a domestic paramilitary group. " You can read more on the FoxNews site here or one posted by Glenn Beck here.
The more I hear about stronger gun control laws, (i.e. H.R. 45) I shiver to see the direction we are headed. I don't think we have gone too far, and I believe in following the system given to us as laid out by the laws of the land to make changes where we feel it necessary. I am astounded though by the lack of involvement by us to make changes where we see the need though.
So, before I go too far, (oh wait, I play Airsoft so apparently the case is mounting) and say something that might be TOTALLY misconstrued (is being an Eagle Scout still ok?) please know that I am against abortion, like to shoot guns, believe that WE the people still have the choice on who we vote for REGARDLESS of political party, and I respect the right of others to their thoughts, beliefs and opinion so long as it doesn't intrude on those of others within the laws as set forth by the people. (In other words, to the last part, I don't think marrying your dog is ok, and I don't care if you do, it's still morally wrong AND against the law.)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Brant
With Big Brother Brock 
Sleeping in Mommy's Arms
The Whole Crew (Dr. Noriega delivered us all!)
With Mom and Dad
My first minutes in this world.Monday, January 05, 2009
Reflections
I've recently finished reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It has caused me to reflect upon the many things I'd like my children to know and remember as they grow. I also reflect upon my life and how quickly I seem to have gotten to this point. Sometimes I really wonder if life between 19 and 36 have really existed or was it simply a fitfull dream of tasks. I fear I've been too focused on the future of things to come and have forgotten to enjoy the now.
We have had a wonderful holiday season between Christmas and New Years. My job with a public school doesn't pay near what I could be making elsewhere, but having two weeks to spend with my family is truly priceless. Brock is my mini-me and I enjoy watching the others growing and loving life. Bryce is now a deacon and I cannot believe that this last part of his "youth" is at its inception. I am enjoying life immensely and feel blessed to be in my current state.
I truly believe that my family is my greatest possesion on this earth...and will be as we continue on after this life. I find more joy in the day by day and hope that I can remember to let them know that. We recently bought a video camera to capture those beautiful moments. I hope we fill up every possible media that we have with those wonderful memories so that they may enjoy them as well as they get older and move on with life.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Galveston Cleanup
Yesterday members of the Corpus Christi Texas Stake were asked to go volunteer to work in Galveston with the Church in an effort to help people clean up from the recent hurricane Ike. I believe we had around 100 people attend from our stake. There were many other stakes that also attended, and the cleanup effort is ongoing.
I drove up with my dad and Bishop Nelson. Josh and Jeremy went up also and we stayed at Kenny and Karen and Kelley's house, which we were EXTREMLY grateful to do. Otherwise we would have been leaving around 3:30 in the morning to get there for the beginning assignments.
As we made our way from Santa Fe to Galveston you could see the progression of destruction from wind to water. It is amazing to imagine the amount of time it will take to restore most of what once was. The first thing that hits you is the cars in the ditches or the boats up against the road and all the debris and trash piled up on the embankments of the highway. The second is the smell. If only I could make scratch and sniff pictures, you'd have a much better understanding of what it is like. Although most people tend to think that the wind is the most dangerous part of a hurricane, (what category is it?), the worst destruction comes from the water. The tidal surge reached at least 15-20 feet in my estimation in the places we went.
Imagine losing everything that you have except the frame of your house. Now imagine everyone, block by block, doing the same. All the trees, shrubs, grass and plants are either dead or dying. Every appliance, book, picture, piece of furniture, clothing... it is now ruined. Food in the freezer or refrigerator is spoiled and oozing toxic waste if you mistakenly open the door. Water, mixed with any foul substance and smell you can imagine, is pooled into any conainer will to hold it. After three weeks of sitting, it is now once big cespool.
As we gathered at the chapel in Galveston, spared any damage whatsoever, we formed our team out with Brother James Torres joining us. We received our Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts, our orders and orientation, and after a hymn, prayer, and LONG speech by those in charge, went off to our first of two assignments.
We were only a few blocks from the chapel. Our first task was to gut out the garage of a home that sat at least 10 feet above the road and everyone else around them. They were two weeks from closing the sale on their home. Now...who knows.
We removed boxes of clothes, books and pictures. The garage door. A car that was molding and now worthless, and several other pieces of furniture and personal belongings. The water damage was low on the walls due to the height of the house. We took out the lower four foot section of the walls so that it could dry and be repaired. After meeting the home owners, finishing up and taking a quick break, we were on our way to our next task after about two hours of work.
The next project was to remove everything from the home, including sheetrock and flooring. I feared this would be an overwhelming task. However, to our great fortune all furniture and other items were already removed from the home. We removed all the sheetrock and wooden flooring from the entire house. We had started at about 11:00 am, and including a lunch break and several water breaks, we finished our task around 4:00 pm that afternoon. We were extremely grateful for the cool weather. Even at that, with several drinks ingested, many of us were still depleted of any liquids internally.
We said our many goodbyes, and with requests to join the homeowner for a bar-b-que in six months (he feels that is when they will be able to return to a finished house) we left back for the chapel. After turning in our paperwork, and stretching out the soreness, we returned to Kenny's house for much needed showers. We were pleased that Uncle Kenny joined us for our second house, and then was gracious enough to provide pizza.
Dad and I left for Corpus around 7:45 that night, and, even though we had slept on cots the night before and worked all day, somehow, I just wasn't tired enough to sleep on the way home.
Note: I am having problems with the camera...but will be posting pictures soon.
I drove up with my dad and Bishop Nelson. Josh and Jeremy went up also and we stayed at Kenny and Karen and Kelley's house, which we were EXTREMLY grateful to do. Otherwise we would have been leaving around 3:30 in the morning to get there for the beginning assignments.
As we made our way from Santa Fe to Galveston you could see the progression of destruction from wind to water. It is amazing to imagine the amount of time it will take to restore most of what once was. The first thing that hits you is the cars in the ditches or the boats up against the road and all the debris and trash piled up on the embankments of the highway. The second is the smell. If only I could make scratch and sniff pictures, you'd have a much better understanding of what it is like. Although most people tend to think that the wind is the most dangerous part of a hurricane, (what category is it?), the worst destruction comes from the water. The tidal surge reached at least 15-20 feet in my estimation in the places we went.
Imagine losing everything that you have except the frame of your house. Now imagine everyone, block by block, doing the same. All the trees, shrubs, grass and plants are either dead or dying. Every appliance, book, picture, piece of furniture, clothing... it is now ruined. Food in the freezer or refrigerator is spoiled and oozing toxic waste if you mistakenly open the door. Water, mixed with any foul substance and smell you can imagine, is pooled into any conainer will to hold it. After three weeks of sitting, it is now once big cespool.
As we gathered at the chapel in Galveston, spared any damage whatsoever, we formed our team out with Brother James Torres joining us. We received our Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts, our orders and orientation, and after a hymn, prayer, and LONG speech by those in charge, went off to our first of two assignments.
We were only a few blocks from the chapel. Our first task was to gut out the garage of a home that sat at least 10 feet above the road and everyone else around them. They were two weeks from closing the sale on their home. Now...who knows.
We removed boxes of clothes, books and pictures. The garage door. A car that was molding and now worthless, and several other pieces of furniture and personal belongings. The water damage was low on the walls due to the height of the house. We took out the lower four foot section of the walls so that it could dry and be repaired. After meeting the home owners, finishing up and taking a quick break, we were on our way to our next task after about two hours of work.
The next project was to remove everything from the home, including sheetrock and flooring. I feared this would be an overwhelming task. However, to our great fortune all furniture and other items were already removed from the home. We removed all the sheetrock and wooden flooring from the entire house. We had started at about 11:00 am, and including a lunch break and several water breaks, we finished our task around 4:00 pm that afternoon. We were extremely grateful for the cool weather. Even at that, with several drinks ingested, many of us were still depleted of any liquids internally.
We said our many goodbyes, and with requests to join the homeowner for a bar-b-que in six months (he feels that is when they will be able to return to a finished house) we left back for the chapel. After turning in our paperwork, and stretching out the soreness, we returned to Kenny's house for much needed showers. We were pleased that Uncle Kenny joined us for our second house, and then was gracious enough to provide pizza.
Dad and I left for Corpus around 7:45 that night, and, even though we had slept on cots the night before and worked all day, somehow, I just wasn't tired enough to sleep on the way home.
Note: I am having problems with the camera...but will be posting pictures soon.
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