McDermott Clan

2011-12-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to see the Dancing McDermot Family! (click the title)

I just found Thomas watching this silly video of our family dancing (or rather, someone else's body dancing with an oversized version of our heads pasted over their heads).

This has inspired the entire family to start taking dancing lessons so that we can film our OWN selves actually doing these groovy moves next year.

Mermac Caves With the Elmore Cousins

2011-12-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

Scott and Evan Panning for 'Gold'

Avery shows her treasures from panning


Kayla Gives Panning a Shot

Eureka! Evan Found Something!

Parker and Thomas Sense the Soul of Jesse James (Spirit Energy Photographed!)

Rich is deeply impressed with the pillar formation

Spencer feels, scared? While Evan spots a mini-Ghost next to him.

Thomas Breaks the "Don't Touch" Rule


Nieces Kayla and Avery Rest from the Cave Exploration

Kayla and Uncle Spencer ponder their experience.

Evan Smiles, then gets Distracted at the last second.

Parker Fakes breaking the rules, while wearing an Awesome Cape.

Memorial Day 2010

2011-11-30T18:49:00.001-08:00

Scott Goes to Washington DC

2011-11-27T16:12:00.001-08:00

This year Scott received a scholarship from his mom and Dad to go to Washington DC.

Remember Thomas the Titan

2011-11-27T10:21:00.001-08:00

Thomas had stuck to soccer the longest of any of our boys thus far. He is enthusiastic, thrilled, responsible, and occasionally full of Tasmanian rage. They finished the season without a loss, which he made sure I knew. I will miss going to his games, multitasking (multisocializing) as I always was.

Boy Scout Food Drive

2011-11-27T10:02:00.001-08:00

Good job boys! Lisa was gone to Joplin for 3 days to care for her ailing Mother. I was given, therefore, to make sure my boys did their duty. I wasn't planning for Thomas to go, neither was I certain that I would be part of the project. After a great and very social breakfast as my dear frind, Dave Keetch's home, I was assigned to take My boys in my Honda Accord to pick up food from 38 homes. They LOVED riding in the trunk while I drove slowly down the roads. They were SI excited to pick up the bags full of cans. Scott made a little video while I was repacking the trunk that I will try to post.

The Creative Genius of Scott

2011-11-27T09:32:00.001-08:00

As you may know, Scott, my second born, is a creator. Specifically, he takes great joy in building THINGS out of ordinary objects. I was, therefore, not at all surprised, though very impressed, to find Scott in the Hallway
putting the finishing touches on his latest art piece.

Apple Butter Festival

2011-10-29T09:38:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day! The Cards won

World Series last night, weather is perfect, and we are hanging with my sister's family at the Apple Butter Festival in Kimswick! Loving' it!

Happy July 14th

2011-07-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

I had a great morning today. I start work late (11:00) on some Thursdays, like today. After deciding that I would use the extra time to catch up on work projects and exercise, I put on my jogging clothes and went downstairs. There, in the living room, my two younger boys, Thomas and Scott, were caught up in a Wii game.

I reached out to Thomas first, and said "Hey, I'm here! I'm way more fun than a video game!" Thomas objected at first. I said "Hey, I've missed you guys this whole week long, and I'm finally here with you guys. Why don't we play? You can actually PLAY hide and seek with me!" I had Scott from "Hey". He climbed up into my arms, his skinny 9 year old body easy to lift and cuddle. He didn't say a word, but just stayed wrapped around me for a long time.

Thomas, I have learned, responds very well to a form of 'energy medicine' which helps him get his negative feelings processing. i don't know, or even care exactly how it works, but I know how to do it to him, and it works very, VERY well. EFT - you can look it up. Point here is that I pushed gently right into the sore areas on both sides of his chest while I spoke to him. The sore areas release, or stimulate something that helps you process emotion. Meridians? No clue, but he knows because his behavior changes so quickly. In less than a minute he had completely given himself to letting me tap gently on the EFT spots on his head hands and feet. He left the games quickly and easily, also giving me hugs.

It was SOOOO nice to play with them. I challenged them to do 7 minutes of running around the house 'loop', which they took on (Parker in roller skates). That got us warmed up to a better mood. Next, we started playing hide and seek, with our usual spot (which had a mattress from the Ellmores and my mom sleeping here a few nights ago on their final trip back to Ohio. It was a BLAST. Even though they would have had me play even longer, I could tell that they had really had fun. I was so glad that I could feel the work addiction-ish thing falling away that I've been stuck with for such a long time. It's been much better the last month - maybe because it's such a hard time that I have no choice but to make it work.

We giggled and laughed out loud the whole time. Lisa had to remind me that I was really going to be late if I didn't get a move on.

Work was...very productive, until about 5pm. The last hour wasn't my best, although we had only a few patients. It was still good work though. I was excited to tell another patient that she was getting her braces off next time (after working her wires with the final touches). She will be gorgeous. I took off a so many gorgeous people's braces this week! I just found a few older ones that I'll post. Goodnight!

Best be sleeping! Goodnight and God bless!

Blast to the Past - September 2005 -

2011-04-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, i just saw this awesome photo on my flikr account and had to post it! What ever happened to these little people?

Parker had JUST turned 6 years old, now he's 11.5!
Scott was 4 and Thomas 2. Add 6.5 years to THAT!
I love you boys!

Braces Are Never Forever

2011-03-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

Braces Off

2011-01-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've placed braces, straightened teeth, and then removed the braces for almost 10 years now. I thought it was time to make a video that showed off one of my favorite parts of being an orthodontist. I made the video using iMovie. iMovie has a few bonus features, such as a bunch of templates for making movie trailers. I had to try it out again - so here is another movie trailer - BRACES OFF! Enjoy! Thanks Tess - you look great!

Working with the Wife! (and a few other things)

2011-01-14T13:44:00.001-08:00

So I’m having a great day. Why? Because I get to work with my totally sweet wife Lisa – my latest member of our orthodontic practice(s). We went up to Florissant today to visit a few offices of Doctors that we haven’t met with Karen. It was SO FUN having LISA with me!!!

So I’m trying out Posterous.com, which lets me do blog, facebook, tweet, etc, ALL at the SAME TIME! WOW, now we CAN be 10 places at ONCE!

Tonight I get to go watch Parker in his Sperry Middle School Production of Aladdin. It should be hilarious from what he and my kids tell me.

I made this video the other day. It’s not perfect, but enjoy it as it is. It is a small piece of my day in the middle of November.

2011-01-09T15:32:00.001-08:00

MY BROKEN FALL 2010 (Official Trailer #1)

2010-11-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for SOOOOO long, since my BLOG was a little messed up. Hopefully this will get me back on track again. I wasn't going to post the video on YouTube and such, but after doing the Movie Trailer effects, I couldn't resist, as stupid as my 'jump' actually was.

I think that the biggest mistake was looking through the camera lens instead of looking with my eyes at the leaves. Maybe you can tell from the video, but I can't really SEE in two dimensions that I "totally missed" the leaf pile, as my friends and children told me.

When I hit the ground, it felt like I had been kicked by an angry Ninja right in the ribs. It was beyond words. My instinct was to turn the camera off immediately, but something in my head said "keep rolling". I'm glad I did, even though I still cut it off after I squeaked out a few phrases like "THAT REALLY HURT!" and "DON'T DO THIS AT HOME".

For a full version of this video, please insert comments below. :)

BTW - This was 2 weeks ago - it only hurts now if I push on it. The first week was LAME because I had to lay directly on my back or I was in serious pain. OH, and over the Thanksgiving Holiday, when my mom attempted to 'pop' my back at my request, she 'adjusted' my chest as well. It hurt REALLY, REALLY BAD (AGAIN). I yelled like a man about to die for a bit. Funny thing, the next day it felt better than ever. Maybe she did a chiropractic move on my ribs??? Couldn't tell you.

Now ask me something about teeth so I can feel smart. :)

Amy and Missy

2010-07-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Conquering the Fear of Heights

2010-03-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

On Day 4 of our incredible vacation at the McDermott Hotel (our home) in St. Louis, we decided to go to the top of the St. Louis Arch. We were delighted with the Disney-like feeling created by the museum located underneadth the arch, from which you climb into a train of round capsules that trasports you up to abou 600 ft. Next, you ascend the final 30 ft by foot, and suddenly you realize (as you peer out the airplane-like windows), that you are WAY the heck up there! This lesser known national memorial is actually more than twice the height of the statue of liberty! I wasn't bothered at all by the height, but the tiny capsule elevator brought back memories of my brother closing the folding seats of our station wagon over me back in 1975. In the museum we bought old-fashion candy at the 'General Store', which felt pretty authentic. We made it through a few exhibits IN the museum before Thomas's legs gave out, and I became the Daddy-transport machine. It was time to eat - so we headed back to the McDermott Hotel for Lisa's super-sandwhiches (a hot deli sandwhich with Muenster cheese, brown sugar ham, lettus, avacados, mayo, spicy mustard, and rasberry vinagarette. Can you tell that I LOVE those sandwhiches? I never understood why toothpicks were important in eating deli sandwhiches, sincc they usually stick together from all the grease and condiment goop, but not Lisa's Super Sandwhiches!

We put the finishing touches of paint on Scott's bedroom in the afternoon - and that was our day 4!

Ted Drew's Night on Thomas's Birthday

2010-03-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

To top off Thomas's incredbile birthday (also known as St. Patrick's Day), we headed down to the best tasting custard 'CONCRETE' stand in the world - TED DREWS! It was a little chilly for such a treat, but it didn't stop us from devouring 4000+ calories worth of custard, fudge, nuts, and so forth. We usually bring Padme along, as Ted Drew's is a place to show the town your car, pet, costume, Cardinal fan gear, etc. Since it was 40 degrees, and rather late when we left, we were content to grab the Custard, eat it in the van, drive home & go to sleep. That is, after our night time routine of course. It was rather abbreviated that night, however, with Parker falling asleep on Thomas's bed with his head hanging off the right side, and his long legs dangling off the other. I have all but completely stopped trying to move him in his sleep, for fear of ripping a tendon. What's he been eating, CONCRETE? He did on St. Patty's anyway.

Happy 6th Birthday Thomas!

2010-03-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Thomas had a delightfully simple 6th Birthday party. He invited 5 friends, all of whom were much lower key than our 3 children. It was a Hawaiian themed party, and though we didn't go all out by making Pina Colada with tiny umbrellas, or fill the house with little Tiki Men, we DID make a "Pin the Lava on the Volcano" game, which was enhanced with two large black lights and florescent orange lava cut-outs. Parker did most of the work - great job Parker. Funny thing, I was bored to death by the "Lava Joe Says" game, but as soon as we turned out the lights and lit up the lava, I was a 6-year-old again at a party. It was 'totally cool!' I took the picture of myself with the kids in the background soon after that game. Can you see how happy I was feeling? Maybe even a little too happy? Can you see Parker trying to give me the bunny ears? I DID take video of the kids at the party, but I doubt I will take the time to upload any of them - so take a look at the background of the picture that I'm in if you want to see any of them. They are there! You just can't tell who the heck they are! You can also tell that I don't have much Irish spirit for a McDermott, as I seem to be the only one not wearing green!

Snowy in St. Louie

2010-01-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

The kids got their wish of having a snow day this week. Mom was game to take them sledding at the park at the end of our cul-de-sac, in spite of FREEZE YOUR FACE OFF temperatures.

On Friday, I had the day off, so we shoveled the driveway as a 'service' to our family.

Padme, our wonder-pet, had a great time romping in the snow as well. Saturday night Lisa and I faced the cold again while trying to go to a sold-out Avatar movie. We had more fun just roaming bookstores, eating chocolate, and window shopping. Today I did more 'service' while on the home while the kids were at SUZUKI Piano.This evening was lovely at the Panera - what would we do without the Bread Company? Time for me to practice my Hymns!!! Goodnight and Happy New Year!!

O Holy Tooth!

2009-12-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

Thomas lost his first tooth on Saturday. He asked me to pull it out, so I did.

He woke me up at 2:00 am to tell me the tooth fairy hadn't come.

I assured him that the tooth fairy doesn't come that early, and i was RIGHT!

He awoke to 5 quarters on his bed.

I guess she had no bills on her!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

2009-12-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

It was my dearest friend's birthday this week - my wife Lisa was born 37 years ago to a family of seven girls. Though I know it was a terrible surprise to her mother at the time, as most of her sisters were born in the 50's, she blessed their lives throughout her childhood and teenage years beyond imagination, and has filled my life with bliss for nearly 14 years. Although it was understandably a different experience for her, it was not only love at first sight for me, it was utter amazement that such a creature existed! I had no idea that good fortune would smile upon me enough to get a date with the darling woman, but the unbreakable spell that inspired every ounce of courage, creativity, and hope wasn't cast until she sang for me. It was our first date, and part of the date requirement. My good friend Earl Gage, who was in the first Vocal Point group at BYU, and I sang to our dates, and then we said "It's your turn". She didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a moment! She hopped up on the fountain in the Tanner Building and broke into song. Although she was far from interested in me at the time, she still looked me in the eyes while she sang. I fell so deeply into that spell that I will never recover from it's effects, neither do I want to.

Yesterday she gave me some vocal lessons, as we were singing a rather difficult piece (for me) at a church function, and I hadn't seen the piece before that day. She was patient, persistent, and to my surprise, successful! At least considering the amount of time invested in the voice lesson, she had me sounding SO much better that I ran over to the bookshelf and pulled out Les Miserables. I felt like Marius! I know I didn't sound like HIM, but it was reMARKably more Marius sounding than I had ever sounded. A pity it didn't last until the church function, but there was a new hope.

On Friday night she sang, upon my volunteering her in a way not unsimilar to our first date, for our entire company team and their spouses. She sang like a lark in front of more than 60 of our employees and their spouses. She sang 'What Child is This?' acapella in such a sweet tones that it's been requested that she do that every year as part of the practice Christmas party tradition.

And so you know that from the beginning, when I first learned that her voice is intoxicating, until just yesterday night, music has played an important part of our relationship. And even if she were to lose her voice and her beautiful looks, and even her ability to walk and talk, she would still have me wrapped around her finger forever. This life is too short to not fully appreciate how I've been so blessed by God through one individual. It's all Lisa. I'd do it again a million times. She hears from me at least once a week the phrase that I can't stop saying: "Thank you for marrying me!" It's just that it all turned out SO much better than I expected.

Happy Birthday Lisa! (And I was only getting started)

I love you more than my life - or better said, you ARE my life!

Thomas Sings His Version of a Primary Favorite

2009-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

The Tooth Fairy Lives!!!

2009-11-08T05:10:00.001-08:00

Lisa was HILARIOUS as the tooth fairy. It wouldn't be fair to take credit for the idea, as everyone assumed it was. In California we first saw this done by Sister Darlene Robinson in the La Canada II ward. Although our version lacked the magic wand and happy, twilkle-twinkle music/sound effects (not to mention the free toothpaste), Lisa gave toothbrushes with each treat. The BEST part was the Lisa was SO sweet to the children that some of them actually seemed to believe that she WAS the toothfairy. She had ME half-way there as the hour got later.

SEE! SEE what I mean? She was twinkly! She made this outfit in no less than 20 minutes, and yet she BECAME the tooth fairy! She had me decorate the trunk with a red fleece (for the inside of the mouth) and red pillow for the tongue. The teeth were made without much thought, so please don't look too closely. Lisa's outfit came from an earlier Wilma (Flintstones) outfit, and some wings made from two hangers wrapped in white trash bags. I thought they would look like, well, trash bags, but they were GREAT! Leave it to my sweetheart to be the life of the party by totally getting into her part for the kids. I was boring, and played the part of the dad who was content to show up as the photojournalist.

My boys traded their Star Wars outfits in, and went as a robot (Scott), Pikachu (Thomas), and an Alien without it's mask (Parker). I haven't confiscated all the dum-dums, Tootsie-pops, and other terrible candy this year like I usually do. They've been brushing for up to 4 minutes with the new toothbrush they have now: it shows their progress on a wireless digital screen on the mirror that turns happy when they are done, then SUPER happy when they brush even longer. It's losing it's effect, but was going strong last week when their teeth got the most candy. Ok, so I'm part tooth fairy too. I do the undercover work.

Paintball Pleasures and Pain

2009-10-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

Seriously, this was awesome! I came back with big bruises on my torso and arms from getting pelted, but it was WAY better than any other sport I've attempted. This was in August, so we were sweating it in the Missouri humidity still. Scott Sampson, the man who lived true to his name, won most of the games, coming out without a bit of paint or pain. My courageous rampages occasionally resulted in severe pain to the hands and waist. Next time I'll wear something to protect my gut. OUCH!

All 3 boys on ONE bus! Look out!

2009-10-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Easton with the Ellmores

2009-10-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Lego Paradise

2009-10-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

OK, so my dear friends in Columbus, Ohio will kill me when they know I was there without them knowing, but we were only there for 2 days with my sister!!! Ok, guilt, guilt, guilt, but there just wasn't time enough to bond with them.

That said, we had a blast with Spencer, Amy, and the cousins. Here are some shots from Legoland in Easton. We finally have enough large legos to make a house! We own zillions of spaceship legos, nothing to build UPWARD, only OUTWARD, so the kid in me was let loose in the store that let you buy them by the bucket!

2009-10-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Labor Day in Pacific, Missouri

2009-09-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hike Through Botanical Gardens

2009-09-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Thomas the Ham

2009-08-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

I was walking through Watson Park with Scott and Thomas this weekend before Parker's 5th grade PEGS picnic got underway. Parker is fortunate enough to have been in a 'Program for the Exceptionally Gifted' in 2nd grade. We were thankful to have found the program, as we didn't have any other option but to have him skip a few grades, which seemed a little crazy. Anyway, as we walked past some boys playing frisbee golf, I took this video clip with our new camera. (I'm so excited that the little camera takes HD video! And in a format that my computer recognizes on an SD card) I'm especially glad, because I am enabled to pick up the camera and get funny clips like this one. It shows what a ham my little Thomas is. He came up with this weird voice and crazy story about the tree throwing the disc when he saw that he was on video. Such a ham. Enjoy! :)

Cardinal Night with the Boys!!!!

2009-07-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

I took my boys to a Cardinals vs. Diamonbacks on Friday with tickets from my work partner, Brent. It was the first game this year that we've been to, and probably the second time that all 3 boys have been to a game together. Thomas couldn't remember the last one very well, so I think it was back in 2007. Anyway, it was a very nice game. In the 3rd inning Pujols hit his first homerun of the night. I started to cheer with my boys, then leaned over to Thomas and yelled "Wow, Thomas! That was the first homerun you'll remember, and it was Albert Pujols!" He looked at me really funny, like I was a little crazy. Later, he told me that I was yelling in his ear too loud, and that I was spitting food on him. Unfortunately, instead of the homerun, he will remember me looking like someone with too many nachos in his mouth to be cheering and yelling.

Of course, I will remember him as spilling most of the condiments of his over-sized hotdog and he devoured most of it in two minutes. The kid is a serious carnivore! We haven't had an eater like this kid. Our grocery bill is about to double compared to 3 years ago, thanks Tommy's devouring skills.

Scott was very enthusiastic until the 7th inning. Unfortunately, he also dropped ice down the back of the man in front of us while I was on the phone about an emergency patient. When I apologized, he said "That's fine, but could you tell him to stop kicking my chair?" He loved the game, but may have loved going up and down on his seat more!

I have the homerun hit on film!

Last Day of Utah Vacation

2009-06-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is my Darth Thomas. He licked his lips too many times, and so his fearsome look lost a little of it's bite, but you get the idea. Very scary and intimidating!

Love this little clown! Can you tell he's trying not to smile?

Parker has spotted an unknown object yonder the lake. I think he actually wanted me to try to take pictures of the insects above the lake.

He is supposed to be 'fire boy'. BTW, the kids had their faces painted at the Hogan Family reunion while I was in San Diego. I missed the reunion, but loved being greeted by these fearsome creatures.

And here the swamp thing has crawled out of it's dark, watery home to steal some chips and a hot dog. Scotty posed more than the other boys. He loves playing pretend, in fact, I think he is in the pretend world more than the real world, so maybe I should say, he sometimes plays 'real world' for us long enough accomplish certain tasks, before going back to his own. Love it!

Yes, I married up. That's why my kids are so cute. My wife is wonder-woman. If you have met her, you already know this. If not, call us up. We'll do a latte! That is, a hot-chocolatte milk. Lisa IS a Cho-Co-Holic, and is going to start the 12 step program for cutting back on dark chocolate.

The boys loved being with their cousins, the Whites (Missy's kids) and Joey's kids (McDermotts) who have been in England for some years now. Although you can't tell what they look like here, this is Wesley, Scott, Jackson, Parker, and Thomas, all with light sticks UP their nose or near their noses. So hygienic!

Green glowing Scott. They always love these kinds of pictures.

Techno - Parker, tweaked w. Photoshop.

We thought they'd never start - but there WERE fireworks! The last thing we saw before going to sleep, then flying back home to St. Louis!

Bountiful Folk Concert In The Park

2009-06-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I sang in Bountiful at a small Folk Music Concert put on by Michael Murphy, my previous guitar instructor and owner of Murphy's Guitars in Bountiful. He has been singing my original version of 'Gus' for 18 years now, and I am amazed that his most requested song at his various gigs remains that silly little song about a poor little chipmunk that got 'run over by the bus'. SO, long story short, we have similar versions of the song, but they are different enough that we had fun demonstrating how the song had changed. In the picture above (that I obviously toyed a bit with on Photoshop), we are singing the song that I proposed to Lisa with, or my spoof of "Kissed By a Rose on the Grey". Good thing Lisa was there to sing with me, otherwise it would have been moderately bad. Since I tend to write songs that are at or above my vocal range, Lisa kicks in her incredible voice even louder when my goes to a whisper (or soft screach).

So I was thankful Mike put this concert together. This is the 3 of us doing Gus.

Now let me tell you about my idol from Timpview High, Holly Anderson Robbins. She was one of the best in a very competitive drama program, and definately the funniest. We reconnected through Facebook some time ago, and I saw her playing guitar in one of her pictures. I was intrigued immediately, because I could only imagine how far Holly potentially would go with music, if she was half as serious about her songs as she was about her drama competitions. She was INCREDIBLE. If you are reading this Holly, you WERE the star of the show! Man, I can't wait for your CD to come out! Lisa agreed full heartedly, and we both can't wait to go to her concert someday (when we are in Utah). :) Her concert information can be found at: http://hollyrobbins.blogspot.com

So does reconnecting with friends go on my top 10 favorite things to do list? You better believe it!

I hadn't seen Holly for 18 years. I was the little freshman that was amazed by her when she was a Senior back at Timpview. At the concert she mezmorized the crowd completely, just like she used to do back in '89. Incredible performance! And we only got to do a handful of songs. More songs next time Holly! :)

That night I reconnected with SO many dear friends, I'm only sorry that we only got pictures of a few! I saw Amy Hoagland, The Crandalls (Linda, Lance, and Shane(my previous neighbors in Provo for years)), Tiffanie Knetch (?), Jen Zaugg Jensen, Matt and Jenny Asay (Orem friends) with two beautiful daughters, Kam and Tami Fillmore with Nena, Max, and probably the rest, half of MY family, including my kids, Missy with her kids, Chrissy with hers, my parents, Lisa's Mom and sister LeAnn, and niece on her side, Robyn Halter, Amy Stout DeLaMare, Reid Holbrooks nieces who i hadn't seen for 8 years, Scott and Kory Wakefield from Logan, Thayne and Kristel Wheeler from Woodscross (both the above couples were best friends in California during my USC Orthodontics residency. Scott is the illustrator of Woodchuck Chuck, a book that I published, and sold for the first time after the concert (below).

Michael Murphy sold me my first and second set of 6-strings, then told me as I purchased it that I could take lessons from him at Viewmont High as one of my classes. I'm SO glad that I wasn't the work-aholic that I am today, or I would have thought "I already have Show Choir and Senior Choir, and Drama, how can I possibly add another fun class?" My Senior year was FUN, and I still took my AP Biology and AP English classes very seriously. As for Math with John Wadsworth, that was a different story (poor Mr. Wright).

So the link to buy the books is here (click!)
You can order it at the same site: http://www.scottjwakefield.com/

Here is my brother-in-law Thomas, with one of my nieces. He is next to the painting Scott whipped up overnight before the Art Festival in Logan a week or two earlier. Not bad for something he began at 11pm after playing basketball for 2 hours! I can promise you that I can't write that late, even if I COULD play basketball.

This is my 'little brother'. Lance Crandall, and his family (below) were our neighbors in Provo from 1977-1989! I was buddies with all of them. Lance and I had a special bond since he was the oldest, therefore we had the most in common, and he also plays some very mean guitar himself. i was SO charmed that his beautiful daughter was batting eyes at me and giving me hugs, telling me that she loved my songs and my book. :) I almost took her home.

Father and Sons Campout

2009-05-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

Thomas is as silly as ever! He had so much fun with all the activity, he was asleep by 9 p.m.!

Parker was the first to get soaked! All three were soaked by the time we packed up the next morning, as we got rained out! :) Parker was asleep in second place, by 9:45pm. My boys wake up REALLY early.

Here Scott demonstrated his skill with glowing warrior paint. The crazy kid! He broke his light stick by bending it a million times, and them DUMPED the contents onto himself!!! That's my buddie. He was awake until after 11pm. :) I stayed up and played guitar until 12:30pm, took a nap today, and now it's 12:40! I better get to sleep. GOODNIGHT!

Two Skinks in One Day!

2009-05-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends from Orthodontic School

2009-05-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

It was SO nice to meet up with my old classmates and their spouses in Boston at the recent American Assoc. of Ortho (AAO) Conference early this month. Jerry and Julie Johnson on the left are out in the Seattle area. He is business partners with the classmate (Sigfreid Naumann) of my current business partner(Brent Bankhead). What's more, he was the main competition for my other business partner (Darren Rodabough), who used to live in the same town! There's more connections, but I'll save them for another blog. Jerry and Julie have 5 kids (which includes two sets of twins). In the middle is Monty Richard Curtis, who we all know as Richard, and his wife Allyson. They ALSO have twins! Crazy? He's buying out an orthodontist in Southern California. If you go back to January, you'll see one of my other 5 classmates by the name of Paul Upatham, and his sweet wife An. We missed Paul, Dan, and our token female resident Cheryl Berkmann, who just had her second child.
We always make it a point to get together at the conference every year.

Some More Pictures of Boston

2009-05-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Boston by 'Duck'

2009-05-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have a hilarious tour guide for our "duck tour". In this shot Parker is taking the wheel in Boston Harbor. I wasn't able to sit next to Lisa and Parker, but had a fun time making friends with another LDS family that was at the convention from Ceader Hills - The Arnolds. Parker was not enthusiastic about the tour until it started, from that moment on he had a blast. The tour guide was the 'guru' of the duck experience. I don't plan to see the Mike Meyers movie "Love Guru", but that was the idea. AS was the case in New York this year for the Orthodontist as CEO meeting, there were Orthodontic tourists everywhere. There are quite a few of us when we all get together.

This is right outside the Ocean Aire restaurant. Behind Parker is one of the major tourist sites along the 'Freedom Trail' in Boston - the British Govenors Mansion, best known as the site of the Boston Massacre, which took place on the other side of the buidling.

I LOVE Samuel Adams! This is the church that was PACKED the night of the Boston Tea Party. At his signal, 100 or so men dressed in blankets and black 'indian' paint let the British know what we really thought of the taxation without representation. On my last evening in Boston I was alone, as Lisa and Parker went home ahead of me, and the flight I was SUPPOSED to take was 'having engine problems' (or more likely just not full enough for AMERICAN AIRLINES). I must say, I didn't mind. In fact, I went back for round TWO at the Ocean Aire, where I made MORE orthodontic friends, and then wandered along the Freedom Trail in the misty rain. I made it all the way to the beginning of the 'Trail' which includes the gravesite of Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera, although it was nice to have the evening to myself with nothing to distract me from the expereince.

I did Boston 5 years ago when the Graduate Orthodontic Resident Program (Party) was held at Harvard. At that time I skipped many of the classes to drink in Bostons history. Loved it both times.

USS Constitution - 'Old Ironsides'

2009-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Parker's Cullinary Adventures in Boston

2009-05-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

The American Assoc. of Orthodontics has an annual convention in May every year. Two years ago Lisa came with me for the first time, to Seattle. Last year, when it was in Denver, she stayed home. THIS year I was delighted that Lisa AND Parker came along! Lisa and Parker toured the town while I was in conference during the day, but in the evening we introduced Parker to fine dining.

Though I didn't take pictures of his first meal, I'm proud to tell you that Parker ate REAL Sushi - as in, full sushi slices of raw tuna and salmon! Way to go Parker! I knew I would have another Sushi fan in the family. Lisa, she really doesn't find too much interest in raw fish. Go figure.

As in San Diego, we visited the Ocean Aire restaurant the first evening after the conference. It is THE best seafood restaurant we know of YET...but if we find a better one, we'll let you know. Parker tried everything. He's going to end up hooked on seafood for life like his parents.

Now this was a rather overpriced French restaurant. Parker has a mixture of frog legs and escargo (snail) on his plate. He tried really hard, but in the end, I ended up clearing his plate, as well as my own. I don't recommend French food to anyone, but it was an EXPERIENCE, and that is something that we're all game for. Notice the proud look on Lisa's face; that her son is willing to try Escargo and Frog legs! (when he's the pickiest of our children at home). What can we say? He was hoping that the Ocean Aire experience would be repeated - but alas, he ate french dessert, to which he gave a hearty two thumbs up.

Doesn't Parker look delighted now? This is what happens when you go for a full immersion in one evening, rather than by degrees, such as we've done with Sushi. It may LOOK gross, but I think it was the THOUGHT that he was eating snails that did him in. See the little frog legs? They taste like tender chicken bites. It was a first for me as well. The escargo was GREAT! I know, you are probably grossed out. Nontheless, you have to love the look on Parker's face when he isn't posing for the camera, but contemplating his exquisite plate of pond critters. I was tempted to ask if they had a kids menu, perhaps with snail nuggests and french fried frog legs. Ok, enough of this subject. Moving on! :)

Easter Surprise - Bunnies!!!!

2009-04-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Easter Dinner like the Last Supper

2009-04-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Scott's Latest

2009-04-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is me, Scott! My Mom took a picture of these...THEN my Dad blogged it right here! Do you see the Tiki-like one of them? Well, I made THAT in sacrament meeting in church. The other one I made at my piano teacher's house. The shield I'm holding in the third picture is the one I made in art class at school. I like to invent, build, and play with crafts!

Thomas the...Hot Tub...uh....Diver?

2009-04-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Update by Lisa ('cut and pasted' by Rich from Lisa's family site)

2009-03-29T20:56:00.001-07:00

Me fiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrst! This is actually the kind of thing I hear a lot of:)

So, Spring has sprung in Missouri but Winter is not going to leave too easily. We had some snowfall last night--that melted quickly once the sun came up. Everyone says if you don't like the weather here...just wait 24 hours.

Rich is cubmaster and shares the ward organist calling. This week he had a big scout thing to present two boys their arrow of light awards and have a crossing over ceremony for them to begin boy scouts. It was great! There were pyrotechnics, costumes and drama. The boys--and all involved just loved it. Work is very busy for Rich too. He works long days Mon-Thurs then this weekend he had 3 other work events. Friday, 4 hours of training for their fandangled new ICAT (3D imaging) machine. Friday night dinner and a show with his partners and two of their referring doctors and spouses. We took Parker with us also. It was his first time to go to the Fabulous Fox Theater here, so it was fun to have him along. We saw a Cirque du Soleil show and it was a great one to take Parker to. I have been busy with the kids stuff and RS, helping Rich, and handling the bills and financial stuff for our family. Plus now I have to prepare a talk for the Saturday evening session of Stake Conference! On missionary work! I guess I am supposed to be a much better missionary. The stake just focused on this in our ward conference, our ward theme this year is missionary focused, the elders identified our family as 1 of 4 families they are focusing on to encourage and follow up on, and now I have to give a talk in Stake conference on the same topic! Rich can laugh about it, but he's not the one speaking--aargh.

Parker had his first adjudication for piano and got a superior rating. He did a cool science project investigating whether spices inhibit the growth of bacteria and it has been chosen to go on to the Greater St. Louis Science Fair in May. He is playing cello through the school program and goes to Advanced Strings once a week after school at the Middle School. He still talks about science stuff that I have to get him to explain to me, and makes other people wonder why he is 9 and knows this stuff. His Triad project (student directed) he has been working on at school is about DNA. He had to do an interview with someone so we called Michael last Sunday. Michael you were awesome! Thank you so much for dropping everything to do the interview. You did a great job answering his questions and it was fun to talk with you. Despite all this brainiac business, he seems very much like a normal 9 year old boy. He whines about chores, loves to play on the computer or video games, is a picky eater, and likes to wear his hair short and spiky. He talks a lot, makes random noises or tells jokes and riddles to entertain himslef and others, loves to draw and memorizes facts about fictitious things he has interest in like Pokemon and Bakugan. I had fun taking inventory of our food storage last week with Parker's help. He is a sweet and handsome boy and becomes more insightful about those around him as he matures.

Scott is our little engineer. It's actually kind of funny how many other people have recognized that about him lately. I took him to Trader Joe's with me and a guy gave him a balloon. Scott looked at the ribbon, held up the empty end and said, "can you put another balloon on this end?" I never would have thought of that! The guy smiled and said, " so you're an engineer huh?" He built some cool creation with gears out of Bionicles that was quite complex and his babysitter on Friday night made the same kind of comment about him as an engineer. He also makes awesome art! During Sacrament meeting today he made a terrific mask. This guys has to keep his hands busy. He cut a paper towel tube and inserted the pieces into the eye holes, Fringed the top of the construction paper to resemble spiky hair, and drew a complex design on the face with crayons. It kept him occupied from after the sacrament until the meeting ended. We'll have to get a picture of him with the mask. His art teacher said he "exceeds expectations in understanding art concepts." He is compelled to create. We had a spike in poor behavior from Scott before Rich and went to San Diego at the end of February, but he is doing much better now. I don't think he even had a clear understanding of what was bothering him, but I feel quite sure that it was anxiety over both of us being gone. However, we did just start seeing a psychologist to help us with behavioral interventions too. He really is a sweet boy--particularly sweet to me since we have been back from our trip and I have been able to reassure him how much I love him and always want to help him.

Thomas is a firecracker. Adorable, but downright rude at times. He wants to be the center of attention and does great one-on-one, but if there is someone to compete with for attention look out! He is a great reader, and has excellent verbal skills. He is trying out new phrases. He asked Rich, "what time do you think Parker will get up--in your opinion?" And he also loves to tell jokes. He makes up riddles that sometimes don't make sense, but we love it anyway. He adores Parker and tries to be like his big brother. Thomas just turned 5 on St. Patrick's Day. It was during our Spring Break so we drove down to Branson that day and stayed for a couple of nights at a great resort on Table Rock Lake. Thanks to Leslie's friend for recommending Big Cedar Lodge. It was beautiful weather so we swam and took out a paddle boat and canoe on the lake. We had a little log cabin that was decorated nicely and the kids loved it all! We saw two shows in Branson; The Haygoods and New Shanghai Circus. (See our blog for more info.) Thomas was excited to take a treat in to preschool for his birthday. We took some cute shots of him holding his cookie cake. After school he told me, "Eeeeeveryone loooooved my cookie cake. Eeeevryone!" This was all said with his eyelids and hand movements giving added emphasis. He is a saavy little boy. And typically lots of fun.

Well, that's probably enough for now. Can't wait to hear from all of you! Love ya!

Lisa

I'm the Guy With the Big Scissors

2009-03-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Arrow of Light Ceremony and Blue and Gold Banquet

2009-03-29T19:43:00.001-07:00

I've been the Cub Scoutmaster for about 4 months now, and the past 10 days were more fun and satisfying for me than the other 110 combined. We had a Blue and Gold Banquet at our home that went better than expected, but the Arrow of Light Ceremony that I planned with the Boy Scout master was just GREAT! Unfortunately we ran out of battery on the camera as the ceremony was just getting started. I was Cheif Takashin, with my brother indians, Wechsowagum, the Medicine Man, and Witschindin, the Cheif, conducted the Arrow of Light presentation from an excellent script I was able to find online.

Next, the Scoutmaster appeared in Civil War attire to present an incredible crossing over ceremony. I was very pleased to see the faces of my boys during the ceremony. They were enchanted and entranced. As a Life Scout, only 6 merit badges away from Eagle, I am determined, unless God has other plans, that all three become Eagle scouts.

Here are the closing lines for the Arrow of Light presentation: Chief: Once again, I congratulate you on your achievements. Having finished the work for which we were called to do, we now depart this gathering of your pack. Before we go, I would remind you to keep Akela's spirit alive. Let it ignite a spark within each of you that will fan into a fire as you grow. (Pause) We challenge all the younger braves present to continue on your trails and strive to reach the summit and the Arrow of Light. May the great master of all Scouts be with you until we meet again. (Principles silently depart)

Preschool Birthday Cookie for Thomas

2009-03-29T18:35:00.001-07:00

Does Thomas look like the cat that got the cream in these pictures or WHAT? He was SO excited to bring this cookie to his little preschool class. When he got home he said "EVERYONE loved the cookie that I brought to school! I mean EVERYBODY! They LOOOOVED it!"

The Haygood Family ROCKS!!!!!

2009-03-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

We had an excellent experience in Branson, Missouri thanks to the Haygoods! This incredible family of 8 children (7 boys, 1 girl) had our entire family dancing in our seats for over two hours! I have NEVER been to a better family concert. It was nice for Lisa and I to bring our boys to a good musical performance by 'cool' guys (and a gal). They all said that they would like to see them again, next time. :)

Oh Blessed Spring! Vacation to Cedar Lodge, near Branson, Missouri

2009-03-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Thomas Harris McDermott turns 5!!!!

2009-03-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Parker's Prestigious Math Pi(3.14)rate Uniform

2009-03-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Scott Da Vincci

2009-03-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

"I'm an inventor Mom!", Scott says to Lisa. Not I'm going to be, but "I am". It's part of his identity. We just came back from Big Cedar Lodge on Table Top Lake near Branson, Missouri. He wasn't interested in a fishing pole, he had a much better idea, and was just dying to get started on the project. You will notice that most of our collages of Scott include things that he is wearing on his body, built from things he finds around the home.

Scott Da Vincci, originally uploaded by rich_e_mcd.

Study Habits - Making the Grad. School (A letter I wrote a year ago to a struggling BYU Student)

2009-03-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

I almost dropped two classes while at BYU, and learned a lot from keeping them both. The first class was Honors Calculus. When I called home to tell my Dad how frustrated I was with my poor test results he taught me lesson #1.

1 – "You cannot afford the luxury of negative thinking"

This is Dad with Scott back in '

I quickly learned that feeling bummed out beyond a few hours over something is a CHOICE, and making the decision to let negative chatter run on in your head burns out precious energy. I was thinking everything from "The other classmates are so much smarter" to "Maybe I just don't have what it takes". Don't give in to these temptations. Do NOT compare yourself to others. If you could see how much energy that uses up, you would never do it. Instead, you would start making a plan to kick the BUTT of your next exam.

Here is a fascinating study of the effect of negative thinking vs. hopeful thinking: A group of students were timed with increasingly more difficult math problems. The one with the highest score was going to win a large amount of money. After the exam, the students were surveyed on what types of thoughts motivated them during the exam. It turned out that those who were thinking "I hope I get the money! I can do it! I can stay calm – I'm doing well" performed significantly better than those motivated by fear of not doing well, thinking "I just don't have enough time", or "I messed up on at least three problems" etc.

If you start feeling pessimistic, you may start to give in to hopelessness, which REALLY saps your energy. That's one reason you can't compare yourself to others – because in reality, you MAY really stink at SOMETHING they are good at, IF you do things the way they do to get the desired results. By changing your perspective you can ofen easily put yourself ahead of everyone. There are many tools for getting there, but the first one is doing your best at STOPPING ALLLLLLLL negative thoughts! Once you know what you want and see that it's feasible, you can figure out the steps you have to take. Then it's just persistence that gets you there. It is NOT your intelligence, in case you wondered. At least, it's not your I.Q., whatever that may be. It's your emotional reaction, or emotional intelligence (E.Q.) that gets you there. It's proven to be 5X more important than I.Q. .

Persisting and Bouncing BACK: What does it take? The key is OPTIMISM, which hinges on how we interpret our setbacks. A pessismist sees setbacks as confirming some fatal flaw in himself that cannot be changed. The net result of such a defeatist attitude is, of course, hopelessness and helplessness. If you're doomed to fail, why try?

Optimists, by contrast, see a setback as a natural result of factors they have the power to do something about, not some flaw or deficiency in themselves. Optimists can deal with a setback by finding a positive response. What are the benefits of being an optimist? THEY ARE TREMENDOUS!!! It's worth keeping the class just to learn this one thing, to perform this one experiment.

1) Optimists bounce back FASTER

2) Optimists see mistakes as "treasures", or "a chance to improve"

3) Optimists are able to re-adapt their approach on what to do right with more ease

4) Optimists figure out what went wrong, and what to do about it.

If your mind naturally wants to think negative thoughts, you have to bombard it with positive. In becoming an optimist, it is especially useful to examine some of your core beliefs about yourself, determine which ones are not USEFUL to believe, then CHANGE all of the beliefs that are NOT USEFUL into something that gives you POWER in the same area.

I can give you more on this subject, such as the technique that Anthony Robbins, a famous motivational speaker (like Steven Covey) uses to change beliefs, if you would like, let me know. I can send you some useful MP3s. I've caught myself coddling some very destructive beliefs about myself. One in particular almost destroyed everything I've worked for until I could get a handle on it. Once I learned how destructive that belief would be to me if I hung on to it, (by imagining myself 5 years, 10 years, then 25 years down the road after holding tightly to that belief, and felt the PAIN in my heart that it was going to cause me) I was ready to replace the belief. At that moment my heart and mind were like a vacuum, ready to accept whatever I gave it. The empowering catchphrase I created at that moment was "I have a turbo-charged mind. I can blast past any obstacle placed in my way". If you've spent enough time around me, you know I am very TURBO charged – it's great! It gets me giddy at times, but it's SO worth having, because I wouldn't be where I am today WITHOUT it! Seriously, it's the biggest blessing because it gives me the ability to hyper-focus on what needs to be done in ways that others could never touch. It also allows me to see the world through totally different lenses than other folks. It's my ADDvantage. Now can you feel the positive power of those statements? Can you tell I'm sincere? It was simply a matter of choice to feel this way; to CHANGE one of my core beliefs. If I feel fear coming up on me when things start to fall apart I tell myself positive things. At first it was "I can handle this. I'm just getting started!" If I ever feel my hands shaking I say "I'm ready to kick some butt! Look at me! I'm so excited that I'm shaking!!!!" Instantly I feel better, and happy, and most importantly, I remain calm. Excited, but in control.

So what is the flip side of rule #1:

2 - Constantly feed your mind positive images of the desired result"

I can't tell you how important it is for you to write out a vision of what you are going to do. Write it out in as much detail, using as many senses as possible to create the picture of what it is that you want to achieve. In my Physics 121 class I received a 55% on my first exam. Dude!!! I was thinking "I am totally out of my mind to be taking such a hard class! " I didn't feel confident in the Calculus required, and didn't even NEED that hard of a physics class for Dental school. It was a well intentioned friend that told me it was a fascinating class, and much better than boring physics 105. I was in shock, and proceeded to have the professor sign my drop note. I told my parents about my decision, and turned the note in, thinking "well, this way I will save my GPA, and get into the proper class next semester". I could have done this, but for some reason I decided to pray more about the decision. I think it was a counselor in the MARB that said "have you considered praying for help?"

The answer for me was "don't drop it". I then started to have all those things happen for me that I said happen to optimists. I started to see that I hadn't given the effort I needed to. I saw that I had an awesome group of student tutors in a lab from early in the morning until late at night. I imagined what it would feel like if I really turned it around, and walked out of the class with a descent grade after such an abysmal start. Then I went even further, I pictured myself walking out of the class with an A+, to the amazement of my friends. "Wow!" I pictured myself saying "I really REALLY DID IT!" Then I saw myself running across campus yelling at the top of my lungs, calling home to tell my parents, being congratulated by my friends and instructor.

Once that picture was in place, I went to work. I wrote on the first page of the pad the following "To whom it may concern: this document is proof to anyone who ever doubted that Rich McDermott did everything in his power to smash Physics 121 into the ground. In these pages you will see problems I was never assigned, problems worked several times through, and problems that were not even found in the textbooks, but ones that I created on my own to prove that I had the subject so COMPLETEY licked inside and out, that there was no WAY that I wouldn't be given an excellent grade".

It was, by the way, to my advantage that we were allowed to drop one exam. I knew I had 3 weeks before our next exam. Now it was time to break up the time I had. I opened my planner and started making circles on every hour that I could spare for study in the Physics lab.

I found that by focusing on the end result, that ideas came to me naturally about what specifically I was going to do to get there. I started making lunches to take with me so I wouldn't be distracted at the Wilk. I took snacks. I read up on study tips. I made friends with kids who were doing well in the lab, as well as with the lab instructors (tutors? T.A.s?) and worked on the basics first. I found that after a week of solid work, balanced with a little diversion on the weekends, I was able to get on top of the new chapters, while working over the problems I had missed on the old exam. This got me excited, but I didn't feel satisfied. In my vision I said I was going to smash Physics 121. I went over the old problems again. I tried variations of the problems. I tried other examples of the same types of problems, and then I noticed that my notepad was starting to fill up. "I'm just getting started!" I told myself, and wrote another note, this one was from my future self, congratulating me from the future for doing so well, and for sticking to it in the heat of the battle. I empathized, and talked reasonably about all of the worries that I still had (after all, I still had a 55% that wanted to suck up all of my mental energy if I let it). I congratulated myself for not worrying about the first exam, and for learning that it was a great wake-up call for me to do more than I otherwise ever would have, if I had earned an 83%, which might have lulled me into feeling secure.

I didn't date much that semester, but I made very close friends in that lab. I not only knew all of their names and where they were from, I knew what types of questions they had seen on old exams, and worked through multiple variations of each question.

I had conversations that went much further and deeper into the various principles than an average, or even good student would have ever done. Had I imagined all of this in my vision, I would have been too tired to start. That's why you focus on the END and not the MEANS first. Focus on what you want, then the rest will come to you.

#3 - Attend you F.H.E. groups.

#4 – Buy earplugs. You need them sometimes to really get down to business

#5 – Exercise. Take time to run, or you will pay for it over and over again. When you are running, and feeling really good, recite powerful affirmations such as "Every day in every way I get better and better" (insert stronger, smarter, closer to God, better at Physics, etc.) Your brain is a computer linked to your soul, and to the rest of your body. By getting your body in a positive state - a state of feeling STRONG, and then programming your 'shoulder mounted computer' while you are feeling positively, you create a state that the mind remembers, and believes (or continues to run without doubting) Although the mind, or soul is the REAL you, or the you that has always existed, it is currently inextricably bound to your mortal, human body. Remember that your brain is INCREDIBLE, but it IS a computer. There are so many ways that we can affect how the our brain processes information, but since it is doing calculations based on what is put IN to the brain, we have to be SO careful about what we put in. As programmers often say "Garbage In, Garbage Out". It's just a fact. The opposite is also true to the -nth degree. Wow, was I going to talk about exercise? Your body and mind must be kept in the best condition, or you will be limited by them.

Running, Working out, Doing Yoga, Martial Arts - they all strengthen the body and mind. If you aren't exercising, you can't afford to NOT start. Start little. Take baby steps by making little goals at first, but make sure you incrementally push yourself to the edge of your ability. This is a wonderful way to practice pushing yourself in other ways (such as studying harder, longer, in more creative ways, etc.), which will apply to so many other areas of your life as well.

#6 – Avoid studying on Sunday. Just trust God on this one. Wake up at 5 AM on Monday morning if need be, but usually you can avoid it by being aggressive with your school work. I didn't buy into this one until one lesson at BYU where I read that not long after the saints arrived in the desert valley of Salt Lake City, with TONS of work ahead of them, Brigham Young told them they would be much better off if they avoided work on Sunday. It hit me like a brick that day, that there were actually blessings that I was MISSING by studying on Sunday. Did I trust God? It's an excellent way to build your faith.

#7 – Find people to model yourself after. This is different than finding people to compare yourself to. Find people who are already getting great results, and pick their brains. See what they are doing differently. Ideally, you make these people into your study partners. See the next big pointer.

#8 – Get yourself ahead of the pack, even if it kills you for two or three weeks, because then you will be able to teach other people the subject. Ideally, you become the one that everyone is asking for help. The whole point is that if YOU teach someone ELSE how to do a problem, YOU will learn it MUCH, MUCH better than if you simply learn it well enough to get a passing grade on the exam.

#9 – Use all the resources that are available at least once. Keep the ones that work well, discard the rest. For me it was useful my first year to talk to counselors in the MARB office – what was that, the ZOOlOGY dept lab. You know – Dr. Bloxham and friends. You may find something odd that works only for you, such as purchasing a second book, cutting it up, and posting it all over your walls, or photocopying pages to cut up into flash cards. Whatever works, use it, and find out what other people are using as you fine tune. Then AGAIN, teach OTHER people all the new things you've learned. Then teach a few more. As you do this, you will have all kinds of insights hit you while you are teaching. The Spirit enlightens your mind when you are teaching someone else. Yes, even if the subject matter isn't related to 'Religion'. BTW - it's all from one source, and that's Christ, so whether the class is categorized as religion or not, it is all religion. It's all from the creator.

#10 – Pray before you study. Go to the Tuesday Devotionals. Keep the Spirit as an instructor.

#11 – Don't be surprised by setbacks. ..just be sure you take time to frame them positively each time.

#12 - Learn how sweet it is to be over-prepared for an exam. Learn to study so far in advance that you burn out a week before the exam, then get your second wind a few days later after going to a movie, a few dates, and some good running. Hit it hard again by teaching 5 other people who are at THAT point starting to really study hard for the exam. There will always be people who are in a panic who you can teach the material to, thus helping them and yourself. (BTW - God gives you extra help for helping others. It's how he answers their prayers sometimes too).

# 13 – Don't study where you can see something distracting. Learn that 1 hour of excellent study is better than 3-4 hours of doing small spurts of study mixed with thoughts about girls, your email, etc. The more you can eliminate distractions, the more time you will ultimately have to enjoy all those other things.

#14 – Find ways to study that are creative. You will eventually burn out of sitting on a chair with a book in front of you, although that is a necessary evil, you can make it work better for you by personalizing it. Make flash cards with lots of COLORS, record audio to listen to while you run, laminate pages for you to glue into the shower, put flashcards in your pocket for lunch, make a study date with a girl that is fun, but that is focused on getting a good grade, you know – diversify, then discard what doesn't work and develop what DOES. I liked studying to classical music – Vivaldi, or some Mozart. BTW – there is a room upstairs in the testing center that plays music. Otherwise, I always put in my earplugs. Every person has their optimal environment and method. The key is monitoring. If you don't monitor, you won't know what is giving you the results. Watch your time – did you get more done? If yes, reward yourself.

#15 – Always include in your studies at least 5 minutes of imagining yourself in the testing center doing well on the exam. See yourself coming to a problem that is difficult, but you work through it successfully. I would even see yourself hitting an impossible problem, and deciding to skip it, come back to it, and then after smashing the rest of the exam, relaxing for a bit, then going back calmly to the "no-win" problem, and giving it such a good effort that you smile, breath out relief knowing that you did fine on the exam, and leaving.

#16 - Find a jogging partner. I know I already put this in there, but you MUST exercise.

#17 - Along the same lines, you can't rely on a bowl of cereal to get you through. Make sure you get protein for every meal, and avoid too much simple sugar. Whatever protein bar or snack floats your boat, load up. It's an educational expense. Don't get 30 minutes into study and realize you have no snack to help you keep going. Forget the library rules. Ok, don't make a mess, but you have to snack.

Now go to work! Enjoy it too, it's life 101, and it IS fun to kick it in the butt!

Here are your quotes for the day:

You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door…

Robert Collier

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of a man can achieve.

Napoleon Hill

I found that I could find the energy…that I could find the determination to keep on going. I learned that your mind can amaze your body, if you just keep telling yourself "I can do it…I can do it…I can do it!"

Jon Erickson

The world is so constructed, that if you wish to enjoy its pleasures, you must also endure its pains. Whether you like it or not, you cannot have one without the other

Swami Brahmananda

An obvious fact about negative feelings is often overlooked. They are caused by us, not by exterior happenings. An outside event presents the challenge, but we react to it. So we must attend to the way we take things, not to the things themselves.

Vernon Howard

To begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment….

James Allen

The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind

Williams James

In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat there is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time

Robert Collier

An Optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity: a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity

Winston Churchill

A stumble may prevent a fall.

Thomas Fuller

What a great discrepancy there is between men and the results they achieve! It is due to the difference in their power of calling together all the rays of their ability, and concentrating them upon one point.

Orison Sweet Marden

Ward Talent Show

2009-03-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, some description is needed for these ward talent show pictures. First of all, there were two things going on that night; a clue game and the talent show. Rich was Professor Prune (adamant corrector of English grammar) and I (Lisa) was Sister Pheasant (aspiring musician). The first [picture is our family skit. It was very short and involved an invisible bench--the kids loved doing this!

This shot includes everyone who played a role in the Clue Game.

This picture is from the Relilef Society Skit. I was Ruth Goodheart and Rich was my husband who showed up on stage only long enough to smile and then die, leaving me a widow for the remainder of the skit. The skit was a light hearted look at Visiting Teaching for the right reasons. VT's were Alma Younger and Paula Tarsus. After meditating on what Charity Never Faileth must really mean, they visited with sincerity and found ways to connect with the sisters they served. They introduced me (Ruth) to a younger sister, Bubbles Brightly (who they also visited) who needed mentoring with homemaking skills. I taught her everything I knew and the skit ended happily:) It was a very busy but very fun evening.

Pizza Making with Thomas

2009-03-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

This was a field trip with Thomas preschool class. His teacher, Mrs. Kenkel is so awesome! Amazing. Really. She organized this field trip because the kids voted for their pretend area in the classroom to be a pizza parlor. They each got to top their own pizza, then it was baked while they got to go on a tour of the kitchen, prep & serving areas. They even got to go into the freezer! As they left the kitchen, each child was given a soft drink. Then we sat down and they served the kids their pizzas. They baked each one with a popsicle stick that had the child's name on it so they would get the same one back that they topped. And they did all of this for only $2.50 per child. The kids absolutely loved it and they got great ideas for their pretend pizza parlor!

Visiting the Upatham's in San Diego

2009-03-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

My Nightstand and My Bookshelf

2009-03-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

When I wake up from mid-day naps
You're always there beside me
You hold my clock, and books, and watch,
Laptop, phone, ipod, and whatever else I give you
Ready to give any of them back whenever I need them
Without a complaint, or even a squeak
Well, sometimes, you DO squeak, but that is okay, because
If ever I need a distraction from life,
Or directions to find my way back into my life
You always have the right book for me
If I ever need a place to unload all my pockets
Your drawers and your compartment beneath your drawers
Or your smooth wooden top
Always seem to have room for more
And on those rare occasions
When my alarm clock falls off and crashes on the floor
Or your drawer doesn't shut
Or everything stuffed behind your door
explodes onto the rug
I still love you
Don't worry about those times
They are mostly my fault
Not yours

San Diego with the Bankheads

2009-02-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

We visited the Hotel Coranado across the bay. Incredible Hotel. Our say at the Sharaton was nice, but not THIS nice! Wow, what a place! It was built in 1888 - right after the railway system hooked the rest of the U.S. up with California. Touring the hotel was akin to eating dark chocolate. It felt like we were visiting the set to Somewhere in Time, a favorite of mine. Especially when she yells "Richard! Richaaaaaaaaaaaaard!"

This was the view from our hotel. It was a bonus that California time is earlier than ours. We woke up 'early' every morning, enjoyed the sunrise, did yoga, went for a jog, or whatever we felt like for 4 days. I had an orthodontic conference in the middle of the day, which was awesome, but I was always ready for a diversion, also known as real life, when we finished the seminar each day. Lisa actually went to a real yoga studio and worked out REALLY hard after going running the same morning. The next day she treated herself to a massage back at the hotel. She deserved it for more than just working out. She's overworked - like so many moms, and I was SO glad that I was able to talk her into coming along. So, by the way, was she.

So we went to an AMAZING, apparently famous restaurant called OceanAire. It was beyond good. Brent and Laurice kept posing for smooching pictures as an excuse to show public affection.? It inspired me and Lisa to do the same.

And this was BEFORE we tried the food!

This was one of the desserts that our waitress set on fire. Lovely!

Brent votes for Key Lime - but we ate: Key Lime Pie, N.Y.Cheesecake, Creme Brule, and the thing she lit on fire. Still don't know what that was called!

Scotty's Nest - And Other Sleeping Habits

2009-02-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning I usually hear Scott calling out from his room. He wants to be picked up and carried downstairs, or into our room. Often, he is in a Scotty Nest, also known as a wadded up blanket. Usually he is in his P.J.s, but occasionally we find him just like this (in his tighty whiteys). However we find him, he is always in the mood for a good cuddle and a hug. Scott, like my Lisa, both wake up slowly in the morning. They need a period of time that they call "wake up time". As for the other three of us, we usually go directly from being asleep to being awake. Indeed, we can usually jump out of our bed AS we stretch, usually within a minute of opening our eyes. The opposite at night time is also true between these two groups: Parker, Thomas and I can fall asleep close to instantly, while Scott and Lisa have a 'get ready to sleep' time, that is about the same length of time as their wake up time.

A Night in the Life

2009-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

We were having an old favorite called Yakiniku (Japanese sauce on meat and vegetables cut paper thin, and cooked on a fry pan on the dinner table). The sauce is amazing! Tangy, spicy, and rare. We treat it like gold, as it's difficult to come by. The kids do OK with chopsticks, and LOVE rice as much as bread in this home. It helps that Lisa is an amazing cook, and served a mission in Hong Kong. She makes more Japanese food than Chinese food. Thanks Lisa! They say you tend to give to others in your 'language of love'. For Lisa, 'Acts of Service' are at the top of her list. Fortunately, she doesn't expect me to cook anything more than corndogs for the kids. I served a mission in Japan, so I am de-LIGHTED to eat anything Asian that she makes!

Parker likes his octopus cheater-chopsticks, but will usually take the real thing if given a chance. This evening, his brothers took the real thing. I am slowly bringing Parker along in the ways of SUSHI, starting him out with California Rolls, which I always call SUSHI. He eats them now any chance he gets. He has already had a few rolls with fresh (and uncooked) Maguro (fatty tuna), which he liked. Soon I'll have a buddie to eat all sorts of SUSHI with, since Lisa takes no interest in the REAL stuff. By the way, Lisa doesn't eat s either unless the preparation is perfect. She doesn't like the 'slimey' texture, and she deTESTs Enoki s. It's so sad. Enoki s make a boiling pot of NABE just right. Oh well. Otherwise, she is open to a VERY diverse variety of foods. Indeed, on our first date she boldy declared "I just love good food, and I love to eat!" I didn't know what she meant, since I was raised on Hamburger Helper (bless you mom), but Lisa can really spend a LOT of time cooking something delicious, even if she knows the kids won't eat it. We are perfectly content to eat the good stuff, and throw a corn dog or chicken nugget in the microwave for a disaffected child. Their loss, not ours.

Oh, regarding the pictures on this blog that are often taken in our too brightly decorated kitchen - please excuse the interesting paint job we inherited when we moved in a year or so ago. At least it's bright!

We ARE planning on redoing the kitchen, after a few more major projects are finished! :)

You may noticed that Scott LOVES to dress up. This is his latest design in paintball gear. He has on my ski helmet, and a neck pillow with a communication device fashioned from a pencil, a broken toy, and some tape. His goggles are from his recent birthday, and the chopsticks...well, this was SUPPOSED to be dinner time. Those goggles are his 'night vision' goggles. He loves them, even though they are nothing more than cheap glasses with a flashlight installed between the eyes. Cute kid! You have to give it to him, he's ultra-creative.

Mr Thomas loves to get on the table. They were hungry and ready to eat when I took these pics. Such a silly, cute little boy. Tonight, while shopping at Trader Joe's, he stopped a man he didn't know, and said "If you see me again, you can say 'Hi!'" You should have seen all three of them, with little shopping carts, following us around the store. For those who don't know Trader Joe's, a California favorite, it is as important to California dwellers as In-N-Out. We are very, VERY lucky to have one here, as the next closest Trader Joe's is in Chicago, Nashville, and Indianapolis.

Parker at Piano in P.J.s

2009-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

Scott's First Written Score

2009-02-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I had to grab the camera today when I realized what was happening here.
Scott was dictating to Lisa a song that he wanted written. We're not talking
lyrics - Scott was singing a song he made up note by note, and Lisa was transcribing
the simple melody into music. The song was simple, but it was so historic, and cute
at the same time. Scott is SO happy when he is creating anything. Now he is applying
what he has learned from 2 years of Suzuki to his creation pallete. (spell check that one)
Look how satisfied he is in the picture. Notice that he has to climb on the counter when
he is in a deeply creative state as well. Very Scott. Very cute.
Note also my sweet wife, who takes his creative splurges in stride. Sometimes they are
impractical, messy, or just not a safe idea. We like music composition, as it is non-of-the above.

Parker's Amazing Valentine's Day Party

2009-02-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Parker had an incredible Valentines party, which consisted of playing Bingo, xchanging books, and eating lots of good food. Oh, Parker just corrected me on that last point, he said it was "pretty much just ice cream and pretzels".

Parker is in a class of 11 in a program for bright kids. In the picture, Parker is sitting with some of his friends in the program. PEGS - Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students.

Happy Valentines Day!!! From Scott

2009-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

My Valentine

2009-02-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Lisa is wearing the jewlery we got when we were in at Put-In Bay on a cool island on Lake Eire. I loved that day. When she came downstairs wearing that jewlery I was like "Wait, I have to get my camera!" She doesn't have very many outfits that the jewlery goes with, so if you have our address, please send her anything that would go well with the jewlery, because she harldy ever wears it!

Ok, this was going to be a tribute to my sweetheart. Here it goes for real. Lisa is AMAZING! If you know her at ALL, you already know THIS FACT: LISA IS AMAZING. To me she IS my life. "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" is a fact of life for me, but helps me to realize how much I love being with her. When I am in a bad mood, she will help me get through it, or ignore it, depending on what she thinks will help me out the most. She doesn't complain a lot, but makes her preferences clear in the few instances when she wants things a certain way. She makes me laugh about the little things that happen in our lives, especially regarding our children. Together we have developed mutual tastes for certain things that I'm sure nobody can possibly enjoy as much as we do: 1) Good Theater, 2) Good Chocolate (Dark, or Very Dark in all its varieties), 3) Travel - this last year we did Utah (which doesn't count) & NYC, the year before we did Florida and Seattle. In 2005 we did Hawaii (where she went to school). Next year we will go to the Carribean near Belize. 5) HGTV 6) Pride & Prejudice 7) Music - When I asked her on our first date, and told her it was going to be a musical date, she said "Well, I'm Musical!" So cute! We love that our boys are all taking Suzuki, which Lisa is the driving force behind. I love it whenever she is singing - it makes my soul rejoice. She is THE vocalist, and I'm the INSTRUMENTALIST in our musical relationship 8) Bungalows and Craftsmen homes, 9) The Gospel (Ok, I should have put it first - gee!) But seriously, we SO love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and love to empower eachother in taking our part in the PLAN seriously. We love the Temple, and are SO lucky to have a Temple in St. Louis! We love going! We love ward temple night 10) We love people. We love the same people. It is hard for one of us to like someone without the other person falling in love with that same person. 11) Good food - I kind of said that already, but have to say it again. We love to eat good Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, etc. Oh, and chocolate! I love you Bert!

P.S. - Bert is her nickname - it came from "Lambert", her maiden name.

Pinewood Derby Madness!

2009-02-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so those are my dental loops. I don't use them much anymore in Orthodontics, but they came in really handy for going OCD over my son's Pinewood Derby car this year. I finally had to accept the fact that the car pulls a few degrees to the right, in spite of all my hours and hours (oh I don't even want to tell you how many hours). It was a blast, I must say, or else I wouldn't have been so sucked in! Scott loves it too, can you tell?

So, what are you guys trying to say?

2009-02-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

This was a spontaneous surprise. Tommy jumped up on my chair and started pulling my hair back to see "how I look bald". It was funny. Lisa grabbed a camera, and the rest is history.

Late Night Movie Watching

2009-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Lambert's Cafe

2009-02-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

So first of all, this is RICH posting, not Lisa, although she is the star of this, and many of my blogs, I just don't want to misrepresent her. She'll start blogging when she gets a different calling. Moving on, this is Lambert's Cafe - the place where they throw yummy, hot rolls across the room to you, serve hot chocolate in a GARGANTUAN soda mug (a.k.a. - Super Sized/Big Gulp/Bed Wetter), serve dinner FROM the dinner pan. Never knew red necks could make it all so fun! This is the ANTI-fancy eating establishment that serves GREAT everything, and just when you think you are going to BURST, they bring out fried okra for everyone! What a place! Dad is the photographer - that's why you don't see me. Somebody has to take the pictures while everyone else is talking and eating.

Lisa is the BABY of the family by many, many years. While we won't do ages, let's just say that her mom lived through the depression, and her sisters watched The Sound of Music in the movie theater. Ok, her eldest sisters are my mom's age. When I married Lisa, I went from having 1 nephew (Ashton), to 21 Nieces and Nephews!!! Now we can't count them all. Lots of them. They are THE Lambert family of California, eating here at Lambert Cafe in Missouri.

See them pans! See the mugs! See the boys in red suspenders pushing carts of yummy food?

Lydia, our youngest Missouri Niece, just couldn't get her drink down fast enough. She is lots of fun for the boys, especially Parker, who is just 6 months younger.

Lisa, you ain't never looked better! Why was we in California for all them years when we cou'da been out here? Can you tell my wife loves hot chocolate. Wait, scratch the word hot, she loves anything chocolate.

The boys had "lots of fun with Lydia", Thomas says. Notice they didn't eat the food we ordered b/c their tummies were full of hot rolls. Notice also that we put them at a table of their own? Big THANK YOU to Lydia, who made this moment possible!

Scotty Collage II

2009-01-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

Happy 7th Birthday to Scotty!

2009-01-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

Parker the Pathologist

2009-01-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Parker is working on his yearly science project. This year he found an idea on the web to study the anti-bacterial effect of various spices on E. coli. I emailed my brother, who is a pathologist, and got a little advice. It was so fun to read his letter. I will post it below.

Hi Richard!

That sounds like a fun experiment. I think the easiest way to get E coli would be to swab stool and streak it on MacConkey Agar. E coli will grow as pink colonies. A few other types of bacteria will also grow pink, like Salmonella, Shigella and Yersina. To prove it is E coli, you could pick a pink colony from the MaConkey agar and swab it on Levine EMB agar, where it will grow out as black colonies with a greenish sheen. If you already ordered a nonselective media and don't want anything more complex, you could still do the experiment without knowing exactly which species you are working with. Just streak a single colony from the first plate onto a second one to get a single type of bacteria. The bacteria should be grown at room temperature away from direct light. The main thing is to not get bacteria outside of the Petri dish, wash really well, and not get sick. The Petri dishes will generally stay fresh for about a month if stored in the fridge, but I would never put them in the fridge after growing anything on them.

I love you, Richard. Thanks for telling me about your cool experiment. Let me know how it goes.

Love,

Joseph

Lego Life

2009-01-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

We love legos! Can you tell why Lisa says that she has 4 boys, instead of 3?

Thomas at 5 years, 10 months & 7 days

2009-01-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure what to call this collage of Thomas. You can see that at 4 years and 10 months, he is quite a charachter. At his best, he is the sweetest, cuddliest, best little buddie that a parent could dream of. At his worst, we feel at a loss...we feel DONE! As the current (and possibly permanent) baby of the family, he has acquired many of the attributes commonly ascribed to the youngest. He screams at the first sign of something unfair, asserts himself into your face when he wants to be the center of attention, throws tantrums, etc.. It's a good thing that Thomas likes to give hugs and kisses! Yes, he is THOMAS, and he won't let ANYONE call him 'Tommy' - EVER. I play the piano for primary, so I have a front row seat to everything that he, and my other sons do in primary. The Tommy thing really is quite funny, since everyone can't seem to help calling him Tommy, only to be told very emphatically "THO-MAS!". Last week he moved up from Sunbeams, and there is a new row of little people in the front. They are SO little, and say such off the wall things, it reminds me how much he has grown in the last year. Thomas's birthday is March 17th - he will be 5.

Lisa helped me put this collage together. It was rather obvious that we had a common theme among his recent pictures. Something about Ben-10 and Kung-Fu Panda has apparently affected his poses for pictures. He is an adorable little boy. Thank you Thomas for kissing your parents goodnight (the other two wouldn't dream of a kiss on the lips, but will allow us to kiss them on the cheek).

Scotty Sampler

2009-01-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures during a classroom Christmas Party in Scott's 1st grade class. It was a blast! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED being in his little classroom, remembering all the great memories I had in my first grade class back at Provost in Provo, 1979-1980. I could feel how much Scott loves being in school, and how much he loves his best buddies. The photo on the lower right was my favorite. He was sitting with his markers arranged neatly on his desk just before creating a work of art. Scott IS the artist of the family. He is in his own little heaven when he is putting things together in any form. I couldn't help taking a picture of his teeth, as I am about to put braces on him for a short time to align his front teeth, and make room for the rest. He is a perfect "Phase I" patient.

Scott loves to sing. He sings while he is in his happy place. We love hearing him hum and sing away while he is working on one of his projects. He has the best musical memory of our children, singing parts of songs that he heard in movies and so forth. Talented little buddie. We've spent at least 5 hours in the past week, and 15 hours in the past month playing legos together. I have yet to post our grand creation - it's coming.

Night Time Routine

2009-01-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Lisa runs the show when it comes to getting ready for bed. It works as close to clock-work as typical children will allow. We head upstairs after "Last Chance Snack", which you can see Scotty finishing off in the first picture.

We are NOT usually so cuddly as these pictures show, but hugs are given out freely most of the time by our children.

Scott and Thomas both like for us to climb in bed with them for a few minutes. Scott will say "Com'mon Dad! Spoon with me!"

Two nights ago I went in to cuddle Scott, and he said "Oh Dad, I wanted to cuddle with mom." I thought it was so sweet that he keeps track, and sometimes wants one of us specifically. Thomas will take anyone, anytime. Parker needs little more than a peck on the cheek, a quick hug, and he is out like a light.

Here is a rare moment of brotherly love. Scott looks like he might be recovering from a blow or bite to the face, however, painting a slightly more realistic picture. Although there isn't much actual violence with fists or scratches, bedtime routine isn't always as pretty as I'd like to paint it. Lisa and I are working on being 'at peace' with our little warriors while trying to keep the mood light and 'happy'. You know, it's always great when you are yelling at the top of your lungs that everyone had better stop yelling.

Many evenings actually ARE calm, for the most part, but even so, the average night has at least one mishap of someone not being very nice to someone else. We DO have many 'nice' moments in the evening when reading from the Book of Mormon every night before prayers, and then a chapter or two from a book. Reading is our family past-time. Currently we're back on the Magic Tree House series. I preferred 'The Candy Shop Wars' and 'Fablehaven'. Thomas didn't always like the intensity, but Scott thrived on both series.

I'm the hygiene Nazi - so my kids don't really brush their teeth. I brush them. I floss them. I'm currently out of my favorite floss: the kind that has toothpaste on it by Reach. The toothbrush is Oral-B, but I could talk toothbrush talk for hours with you. It's what happens to be working at the moment. I use the Sonicare. Clean and slick!

The Snow Day Dance?

2009-01-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

You may wonder why my children are dancing outside with their
pajamas backwards and inside out,
or why they put an orange in the freezer,
and a spoon under their pillow,
and an ice cube in the toilet...

Well folks, in these parts it is a common belief among children that this will result in the next day being a snow day. I am sad to report that they were disappointed in their results, but we got some good laughs while Parker and Scott they gave it their best shot!

Deer Valley Heaven

2009-01-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

Last week I spent 3 days in Deer Valley skiing with my friends and colleges from St. Louis, and a dear friend from Utah. This video was taken on day two with my old digital camera going down Mt. Baldy. I still apparently don't know that it is actually 2009! In the video you first see Christian Bankhead, then in white, Justin Firth, then Christian tries to cover Brent Bankhead (his dad) with snow, then at the end you see John Firth ahead in brown.

It was absolutely beautiful!

I recently read about a man who planned for years to see the pyramids in Egypt. When finally was standning in front of the pyramids, he was thinking about dinner plans with friends that night, and 'missed' the pyramids. With that in mind, I took a lot of time to make sure I was fully there to experience the incredible beauty of the mountains, and to stay fully present while I was with my friend. It was unusually wonderful, as if someone had added color to a previously black and white monitor. It felt so REAL - I can't tell you how badly I needed both experiences.

Video Blasts from the past

2009-01-02T02:32:00.001-08:00

I'm so glad my camera had video options while my boys were young. I will post a few more when it isn't 4am.

The first one is my sweet little Scotty at nearly age 3 at Hoagle Zoo. He is so excited that we just bought a strawberry snapple from a vending machine.."I just get the strawberry drink out of the square!" and he wants money to buy more, or in his words "The last money ever!"

This one is Parker at age 3 in California. He wanted me to tell him a story on the 'story wall'. His pouty face, coupled with his 3-year-old punch at the camera are priceless.

Here's Scotty and Parker's reactions after riding the tiny rollercoaster in Toontown at Disneyland (2002).

This was a trip to Santa Barbara in October 14th, 2004. I worked 3 days a month (doing orthodontics) for a local Pedodontist. Lisa would bring the boys up every now and then, spending the day in the beautiful city with the boys while I worked. On this day, they took me to see the Whale Bones outside the natural history museum. Since the boys were dancing around before I took the photo, I asked them if they'd do it for the video. SOOOOOO cute! Scotty was at the age where he would just follow Parker around. Parker had just turned 4 years old, and Scotty was turning two in 3 more months.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2008-12-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

It is so fun to see all of your pictures and how all the kids are growing up! Thank you to everyone for posting them. I don't know if we really took pictures when we were at Gramdma D and the Tuckers. I will have to check. Well, Tahsa and Emily had their cameras out a lot. And we did have a great time. We played Harry Potter Clue a bunch of times--it's really fun! We ate, and ate again, opened gifts, chatted, enjoyed having LeeAnn here from Hawaii, and had an all around good time. The kids played lots of Wii games, Rich played on his computer a lot, and read (which he can never get enough of). Leslie also took us to a great place called Kangaroo Gyms. It was fun to climb around with the kids on huge inflatable jumps and slides. Les and I hammed it up for our mom just like when we were kids. I have to say we adults didn't last as long as the young'uns. But it was fun for all ages:) I hope someone got some pictures of that! Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, Lisa

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

For Christmas we traveled down to Joplin, Missouri to stay with the Tuckers (Lisa's Sister's Family). We made it from our home to theirs in record time, thanks to our new friend 'Gabbie' the GARMIN GPS. We named her 'Gabbie' because she sometimes gets a little to talkative. Since 'she' showed us exactly when we would arrive if we didn't stop, we just kept driving until we got there. Wow - took off a half-hour! Thank you Santa!

We found a TON of Legos on craigslist.com, which we gave the boys as their main present this year. We strategically bought very little in the video game department, and at that, nothing that would be permanently interesting, like Star Wars Legos has been for Tommy. Instead we bought some board games, and REAL Legos! Imagine that! You can actually touch these Legos with you real hands!

Actually, Scott doesn't care much for video games relative to the other two, and continues to build things out of anything he can get his hands on. On the drive down to Joplin, while Tommy and Parker played DS games, Scott played with Legos.

Well, I'm going to go eat breakfast.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T07:35:00.000-08:00

Family Photo of the year - March 2008 at BYU

2008-12-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

2008-12-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Well, things just got a LITTLE colder around here!!! I had to JUMP into my car while gassing up. Bonus on the gas prices, but keep the frigid air! Keeps St. Louis from getting too large I suppose.

This weekend was WARD PARTY weekend - it seemed. Heather Brimhall did a great job coordinating the Christmas in Nauvoo theme. Lisa (the RSP) put together a nice Red Brick Store room. I helped with whatever I was told, but got totally derailed when I ran into someone from Missy's class at Timpview: Jim Calwell. His wife is Heather's Sister. We swapped stories for hours while we slowly put chairs up. There was WAY too much to catch up on. He knew so much about WHAT happened in the Theater circle at Timpview, and was empathetic to my trial of leaving Timpview drama, then coming back to see the musicals and bawling my eyes out; especially at the Man of La Mancha. I've NEVER seen a show put together like that at a high school level! The last time I saw Jim, we were all in Mr Brower's Volvo headed up to Utah State to watch his older brother perform. (Mr. Brower was the drama coach - I mean THE drama coach. He also directed Fiddler on the Roof, which was THE best experience of my teenage years). Ah, memories. I woke up the next morning at 4:30 am from a dream that I was a Freshman in college again, only I was confused, because I was talking to the girl I USED to be after, but she was talking to me with Lisa's voice. I didn't notice how strange it was until I woke up.

This week was short since I had Monday off. Sweet like that.

Scotty has been into trying to build things again. He worked really hard to make my harmonica case extra fancy. He duct taped part, put shiney tape over the top and bottom, painted the inside purple, added gold thread on both sides, and asked me to write my name in the top. Very cute. He wanted to use a circular blade for cutting paper SOOOOO badly, but we couldn't find the old paper cutter. He was excited about finding a gallon of water, until he found out it was just water. He was hoping it was 'the stuff that Elder Bratt used to burn his tie up with'. Scott wants gasoline. He doesn't know what to call it, and the longer we keep it that way, the better! He was entertained for over an hour by two pieces of polarized plastic from some 3D glasses, looking through one at the other, turning them to make the opacity change.

I told Thomas at least 3 mittens stories this week. He is in a new habit of taking my hand, pulling me into the bathroom with him, then after closing the door and sitting down on the potty, he puts his face in his hands and asks "So what did Mittens do today?" They've all had Christmas themes lately. In most regards, Thomas has been like the little girl who had a little curl in the middle of her forehead. He can be sooooo sweet for so much of the time, but get the kid upset about a perceived injustice, and he turns into a red-faced, wide-eyed monster! It would be funny if it wasn't so scary looking. Wait, I might have reversed that last statement - although it can be said either way. I don't know what I'll do when I can't pull out a new Mittens story to calm things down.

Parker wants more time with Dad. He came along with me after our BBQ on Sat...I think I wrote about that already. I may not have told you that he was hilarious at Lowes. He had me laughing like crazy. Well, I'm out of battery gas. Signing off. Better sleep anyway. Goodnight!

Christmas Memories (By Lisa)

2008-12-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

So, for me, I always love to think about Christmas morning in the Petaluma house. As odd as it may seem, waiting at the top of the stairs until Dad said we could go downstairs on Christmas morning is one of my favorite memories. That house was magical at Christmas, thanks to Mom's decorating. It was so fun to anticipate going down and see Dad's eyes twinkle as he went down to light the trees and keep us at bay as long as he dared.

I also loved to play Christmas music really loud and dance around with only the tree lights on, or sit by the blazing fireplace and stare and squint at the Christmas tree lights in Petaluma.

I have to say one of my favorite Christmas memories from years later, in Ukiah, was the year we had puppets for the nativity--Rebecca, Tracey, Jenni weren't you all puppetiers? Also, the video recording of the Sisters song with stand-ins for the missing sisters. And of course, the remake of the song to the general as "We'll follow Grandma wherever she wants to go..." I loved the Stocking Stuffer story by the Terribles too. I guess Mom was right, "you make your own fun." I think we're pretty good at that. I loved singing the Christmas carols together and playing the chimes. And laughing too. Remember when Andrea sat on her present? Well, Angela, Giovana and Robin were there for that at least. How old were you then An? Maybe 9? I think most of us laughed and cried our way through the special Christmas videos that were made and shared by the Halters and the Morrisons in different years.

I've been thinking I might have my kids help make a Christmas chain this year. I enjoyed the ones we made and sent to each other, but I think that is more challenging now that the number of households in the family has grown much higher. Anyhow, I think we will make one that has link with each person's name on it and the kids can be thinking about how many relations they have--people who we love and who love them.

Last year a friend gave us a book with stories and poems for 25 days leading up to Christmas. We started reading it on December 1st. The book began with The Gift of the Magi. I always love that story and it was new to my kids. So I look forward to reading more with them as Christmas approaches.

It's really our interactions and the love we show to one another that makes life fulfilling and joyful. Thank you to all of you for being you and for loving me. I have had a very blessed life because of you, my family. I love you.

Pie Night? What a great concept!

2008-12-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

We were asked the Sunday before Thanksgiving if we could have a ward activity at our home. Lisa and I agreed, especially when we learned that it would involve eating freshly baked pies, and playing board games into the late Thanksgiving Eve. It was a riot! I loved it! In preparation, Lisa turned on her turbo charged engines, and had two Christmas trees up and decorated beautifully in less than 30 hours. The larger one in our family room is lit in front of me as I type. I love it. It's the only light on in this room, other than my laptop. Good job Lisa. We had many families over, I didn't count, but maybe a total of 50 people came over. However many, I got to play the expanded version of Settlers of Catan as I sampled Pecan, Lemon-marange, Pumkin, Apple, Rubarb, and so forth, not to mention the fudge and egg nog. Oh dear, that was a lot of calories! Good thing I run in my sleep. Whatever.

Thomas split his little noggin, again, while playing with the kids in the basement. Lisa ran over to Walgreens and came back with some butterfly bandaids. Wow, you would have thought he had stiches by how well it healed. I gave him two swipes of Hydrogen peroxide, and then put that cool bandaid on. He looks great, other than his black eye. Today I was off as well, and got to spend some time with him. When I dropped him off at his cute preschool class, his teacher said "Now Thomas, did you get that black eye at Pie Night?" She is a darling little lady, which is half of why he loves, loves, loves to be at preschool. Thomas has been asking me to accompany him to as many activities as possible lately. So has Scott. I went along to their Suzuki Lessons with Lisa this weekend at their beggin request. It was good to be there. It kept me from being a stick in the mud work-aholic dad, for a few hours anyway. In fact, we didn't go straigh home afterwards either! We headed out to Super Smoker's BBQ in Eureka for some pulled pork and other fixins, and then spent time at an antique shop.

At the antique shop, Parker fell in love with a little brass pig, which we let him get. Don't ask me why, but Thomas decided that HE needed to hold the little pig as soon as it was Parker's. you know, the typical 4 year old vs. 9 year old relationship. Thomas wants to be like Parker - and Scott.

A week ago Friday I had to take Scott for his Dental work under general anesthesia. I was glad it was me and not Lisa. She would have died toward the end. It was hard on me, and I'm used to dentistry, and even blood. Sure, I pop teeth out every day and hand the kids cotton rolls to bite on, but when a very disoriented, recovering Scotty pulled his I.V. pick-line out of his hand, screaming, and bleeding all over the couch, continuting on and on for no less than 30 minutes, I was very glad it was me and not Lisa. Dr. Autry did such an excellent job, as did the Anesthesiologist. I was impressed with how litte trauma there was to his gums and mouth, considering he had to be intubated. Scott has needle phobia, so there was no other choice. He also apparently has our bad teeth genes, as he had a cavity in a permanent tooth as it was just erupting, and on the cusp tip! It was a defect - what a bummer. At least it's taken care of, and the sealants are on the other teeth. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I felt so close to my little buddie that day. I just held him and talked to him as he screamed his way back into reality. Once he was all the way back, and we were moving outside, he was fine - very quiet, but fine. I let him choose a small toy and popsicle across the street at Toys R Us.

Lately he's been beggin for more pushes on the swing in the backyard. The moment I come home he'll say "Dad! Can we go swing?" What a sweet kid.

I got Parker reading Ender's game by Orson Scott Card. I'm reading along, but Parker keeps gettin ahead of me. I've read it before, but not the whole series. It's fun to watch him devour a good book.

I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I am logging off. Good talking to you! Whoever you are! :) I'll post pics later - when i get them uploaded. :)

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

New York - Central Park

2008-11-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we took a taxi over to the Manhattan Temple, which is also partly a meetinghouse. After being surprised that it was closed for renovation, we were joined by two other couples that were there for business like us. The six of us took a van cab to the Upper East Side Chapel that was HUGE! As in, it was 3 stories tall, and beautiful! We enjoyed meeting many of the members, and then to my surprise, I saw a former T-Bird from Provo: Amber Daltzen! I hadn't seen her for years, so I was surprised that I even remembered her name - but it was fun just the same.

After church we took a stroll through Central Park, which was within walking distance. It was lovely. We picked out many areas that we had seen in T.V. shows or movies, most notably "Enchanted".

Our Trip to New York

2008-11-22T04:09:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Lisa and I flew out to New York for an Orthodontist as CEO conference. The meeting was brilliant, but experiencing New York City together was the real treat. The first day Lisa toured the city with my Partner in business's wife, Laurice Bankhead. I'll start by posting some of the pics she took while on the town

Union Station (connected to the Hyatt where we were staying)

Chrysler Building

Carnegie Hall

That evening we went to our first, and hopefully not last concert at Carnegie Hall. The New York Met. Philharmonic Symphony was beyond belief! I was certainly glad that Doug Fox, an orthodontist friend, insisted that we purchase tickets. The music was all in honor of Leonard Berstein, which was so appropo, considering that West Side Story was set in New York. As is becoming the norm, I had tears streaming down my face during one of the numbers. I don't know if that sounds rather pathetic, but my tear ducts seem to have minds of their own.
My account wouldn't be complete if I didn't admit that I played a game on my ipod when the concert became a little boring for 20 minutes or so. At least I didn't get up and leave like the people in front of us. In short, I experienced a full range of emotions. The guys who sang the part of 'Tony' during the West Side segment was perfect. We were pleased that although he was from the Opera, that he sang without sounding like he came directly from the Opera House. Maria, on the other hand, was all Opera. Shame.
I got a kick out of the young man that played the lead 'Jet' during the chorus numbers. After the show we walked around New York by night. It was my first chance to see a bit of the city - Macy's, the Christmas Tree and Ice Skating Rink, the Chrysler Building, people sleeping on the steps of a church. Again, so no camera for that part, so let's skip to the next day when we went to Times Square after my meeting. Lisa had already been around town again that day, and toured part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was really cute because she was having so much fun. She is always cute, but I did take a mental note once again of how important it is to take Lisa away from the world of our wild boys, her calling as relief society president, the demands that my work schedule puts on the family, ME, and everything can cause stress in her life, and help her escape for a few days. I am SO glad that she suggested that we come home on Sunday instead of Saturday. We would have missed SO much!!!

My Cute Wife at the top of the steps on Broadway and 47th

Lisa and Rich - The place where the big apple drops on New Year's

A doctored version of Times Square (with a building removed, and so forth). I didn't take pictures when we came back later to see Mary Poppins, but it felt like we had walked into the Celestial, or perhaps Terrestrial Kindgom. I really enjoyed talking to people on the streets there, tourist or local resident, and reveling in the ambiance of 20+ High Def screens that made up the walls of most of the buildings. It was NOT Vegas, which I detest. The people were having fun, but didn't have glazed over eyes like they do in Vegas. Nothing against the residents of Vegas, but it is a white trash magnet on the strip. This was more of a cultural magnet with more like minded people. Soon after our first visit to Times Square

Here is our tour bus. The couple in front of us are from Colorado Springs, where my brother-in-law Spencer Elmore works. He is an LDS orthodontist who we happened to sit behind on the tour bus. Name?...I'll tell you later.

We were very sad for this part of our trip. We spent time in the memorial building reading about the individuals that died that day. Seeing parts of the airplanes, parts of the building, items recovered, and notes posted by those left behind stirred a deep reverence - we were on holy ground.

Primary Program is Over...Let's go to New York!

2008-11-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

Today we had the big primary program. I was on piano. I found out it was going to be me last week. It was tolerable, but not anywhere near perfect. I suppose songs like "Holding Hands Around the World" can only get SO good, even if they are played to perfection. I had fun watching Lisa crack up watching the Sunbeams. One little Sunbeam said that after we are baptized, we get the 'holy goat'. Got love the Sunbeams. I asked if it was our boys that were making her laugh. She said they weren't super animated - just focused on getting through the songs I guess.

There was a ward meal afterwards. Thomas sat down next to me with his plate full of nutritious foods: brownies, cookies, jello, and so forth. He didn't mind my taking on of the 4 large brownies he had stacked. Now you are probably wondering "Why didn't he go get his son some real food?" Well, he DID have some meat on his plate, and it WAS his second round. He had already eaten...something. I'm not sure what...But in case you didn't know, Thomas has the ability to consume large quantities of food for such a little guy. Parker is the ultra-fussy eater, and Scott is somewhere in between. I don't have to play Sports Announcer with Tommy, but he'll always play along if I have to do if for Scott and Parker. It's like this: "And here we are at the annual eat-athon, and the eaters are taking their places at the table. Oh, Bob, this isn't good, it looks like Scott is distracted by a lego on the counter! Meanwhile Parker takes a large bite! He's taking another! He's going to need a gulp of milk pretty soon here Bob, or he's going to choke! Speaking of milk, this moment was sponsored by Cream of Weber milk!" and so forth. You wouldn't believe how quickly they can finish their food when this technique works! It also provides me and Lisa some entertainment while we get through it, since the announcements are sometimes the funniest when the kids start to leave the table: "Oh, this doesn't look good at ALL Bob! It looks like Scott must have hit his head; he is walking off the field in the MIDDLE OF THE GAME!! The crowd is going nuts? I've never heard boos like this!"

Oh, here's a funny quote - I was driving the kids back from their Suzuki Lessons yesterday, and took a wrong turn. Scott and Thomas don't generally know, or care where we are, but when I took another turn into a neighborhood (because I was lost), my 4-year-old yelled out "Oh great, we're lost!" I had to laugh, and marvel. Was it that obvious? He already knows me too well.

We're reading Candy Shop War - it's a great cross-over kids/adults book. Very well written. We didn't realize that the author, Brandon Mull, was a member of our church until we were halfway through the first Fablehaven, and the way things were presented sounded very similar to the way that we explain the ideas of men being mixed with truth, then we read the cover in the back that says the author lives on a mountain next to a prison. It's like, 'Oh, Draper. Yes, he's a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints".

Lisa and I fly to New York this coming weekend with my business partner, Brent Bankhead, and his wife. Darren Rodabough would come, but his wife, Aaron, just gave birth to their fourth child. We'll be going to Carnegie Hall, Mary Poppins, and something else - we just haven't decided what yet. We'll be staying at the Hyatt that is on 42nd street - right in the heart of everything. I'm having a hard time believing it, since I've always thought it would be interesting to go, but never had a chance. Hope the kids are OK. A younger couple will be staying at our home with the kids. Students. Wow, we are getting older.

I didn't finish my last post, as both computer's power, and my power were running low. I will try to get pics up from Halloween.

Oh, Lisa and I raked up leaves yesterday. It is the first time we had a tree big enough in our yard to bother. Lisa had the awesome idea of using a tarp to move the leaves from the backyard to the curb, where the city is sucking up leaves tomorrow. For some reason, I'm imagining that vacuum with eyes from Teletubbies, which means I must be getting a little tired. Back on track, it dropped from the mid 70's down to the flipping 50's this week. Could we take the transition from nice weather to bad weather a little slower? Maybe we're being blanched. Lisa wondered why I needed that word. She's the cook, I'm the sou-chef...in traing. Ok, ok, I'm the clean up guy that comes in after the Head Chef has gone home for the night.

Right now: Lisa is reading the Friend magazine, probably for FHE ideas with Padme on her lap, Thomas setting the Risk board up in hopes that someone will 'play', Scott is cutting a box with kid scissors, and Parker is trying to practice his Cello. Oh, now a fight is breaking out, gotta go.

Nice Way to Start November

2008-11-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

We're loving the current weather here in St. Louie. It was a balmy 75 degrees for most of the Halloween weekend! Here are some pics of my cute little buddies on the Halloween weekend. Parker was a ninja, Scott was a Power Ranger (his perennial favorite

That sure beat the freezing cold we woke up to at the beginning of the week. Ah, the mid-west! If the weather was perfect, it would be perfect, and then everyone would move here, and then it wouldn't be perfect anymore. God bless the weather in the mid-west!

OK, so I was surprised when my local buddy, Jayson Christensen, told me that he went to High School Musical 3 with his wife and really liked it. Needless to say, Lisa and I went to see it last night, and it WAS very good! I never watched 2, as I heard it was lame, but thought the first show was tolerable, and even alright, but this was downright COOL, and I'm 35! And I'm not a big Disney Movie star fan, in fact, I can't name a song that Hannah sings. We got rid of t.v. long ago. Anyway, you get the picture. Go see it!

The first half of October, 2008

2008-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have been having so much fun reading other's blogs, and posting photographs in my own, that I've hardly taken any time to WRITE. So, here we go.

The past week has been absolutely beautiful here in St. Louis. We've had sunshine with the temperature in the mid-70's. Lisa was completely wrapped up this week helping with a funeral - it was lovely today to have her HOME in the morning this Sunday. Her calling as RSP has underlined her devoted and responisible nature. I can't say that I'm always patient with it all, but understand that it is very small compared to what she endures as my wife, and all the things that draw my attention elsewhere. On Tuesday night this week, Lisa needed me to bring a few items to a funeral home that is just a bit south of I-70 on 270. A babysitter was already at our home, as she had to leave before I came home, so I decided to take Scott along with me, and leave the other two at home (who weren't interested in coming). After stopping by the funeral home breifly, Scott and I headed over to White Castle, which is only special because not everyone in our family likes it, so it feels special to those of us who do. Scott and I are the true fans of the funny little restaurant. Scott's eyes were sparkling with his smile as we ate. It was so refreshing to have him all alone to myself. He was his usual socail self, telling an older couple next to us various observations, turning back to me afterwards and carrying on, as if people are meant to interact as if we are all close family. I loved being with my best buddie, and knew I needed to write a short paragraph to preserve that moment.

A week earlier I took Thomas with me to a White Castle near our home. He was also happy to be there, so long as I ordered a chocolate shake for him to dip his chicken patty in. Hopefully I will get the little video of him acting silly off my phone and onto this blog. I soaked that time up as well, and had to hold Thomas's face in my hands a few times and stare at him to drink in how he looks right now. He is beautiful, but is growing and changing so fast, that I find the moment of 'now' a very refreshing place to be, every now and then. He smiled with chocolate shake across his lip, and would only let me do it for a few moments at a time. I remember the first time I learned to breath deeply to get into the 'moment of now'. It was so startling to me how beautful my world is when I am fully awake. We were in Valencia, planning to move out to St. Louis. Tommy, as I only call him to others anymore, not to him, as he prefers Thomas, was playing at the top of the stairs in his Robin Hood outfit. I had been listening to a CD book called 'The Art of Wakefulness'. That CD has changed my life. I mentioned the book at the beginning of this blog. There is more here, but I will have to say it later, as I'm still catching up.

Lisa posted our experience with the new musical "Emma". It was absolutely amazing. I wasn't the only guy in the room that was thoroughly entertained by the show either. I wrote on facebook that I was going, and had an old acquaintance offer his consolances. On the contrary, I think, it is only a sad thing that I can't go to a show that excellent every week. We SERIOUSLY may go again before the show closes. It is THE original cast for this new musical, featuring a cast that have been in the leading roles of Phantom, Les Miserables, and such. They were stunning. I never did get through the movie with Lisa as far as I recall, although she told me I had, I am sure I was sleeping by the end (or I have Alzheimers) because only the beginning of the story was familiar to me. As I write, Lisa is watching a movie about Jane Austen. This one came with the DVD "Sense and Sensibility" that BBC created. She is catching up on the feeling that her life is her own, as am I.

Brent Bankhead, my business partner, turned 40 on the 10th of October. I didn't know about his surprise party until a few days before, but decided to get photos from Laurice, and put together a slideshow of his life. I used Pinnacle, and put in about 12 hours. It was a mistake, as I lost sleep to the project and therefore was useless when Friday came, but the product was nice enough that I had to post it on YouTube.

The party took place at our staff meeting, with the arrival of our spouses, his parents, and others all part of the surprise. His sister, Michelle, who is married to previous partner John Firth, was also there. I was blessed enough to have 20 minutes of time to talk to her. I don't know how long she will be with us, and neither does she, as she has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, but she is touching many lives, including my own, with her attitude toward the cancer and her life in general. She had me in tears as she recounted how much she is valuing every day, and that she told her family that although she is sure that God could heal her, that her gift may be that she get's to know when she is going to die, and therefore has time to record her testimony. Her blog, is at firthfacts.blogspot.com

Parker the Playful

2008-10-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Thomas the Tame? (at least on the swing)

2008-10-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Scott's Little Paradise

2008-10-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Woodchuck Chuck

2008-10-12T17:18:00.001-07:00