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EIGHT IS GREAT!

Eight years old is a pretty great age. Why? Because it's the age you get baptized. In July, Mr. Kaden turned 8, and on August 8th he was baptized. Kaden was already such a sweet boy--and now he's even sweeter!

The newest member of our family

No, we didn't have a baby (although Kristen would really like one). And no, we didn't get a new pet either (although everyone but dad would really like one). We actually became the proud parents of a beautiful teenage girl.

Karin van der Velde, 17 years old, from the Netherlands, is our new foreign exchange student. She will be staying with us for 10 months, while she completes her senior year at Lone Peak High School. The kids are very excited to have a new"big sister", and all of us are excited to have her as a member of our family.

A small lesson in female anatomy

Tonight while putting the boys to bed they were telling us about their new teachers at school. Kaden mentioned one of his teachers that he really likes, Mrs. Overy (with the accent over the "e"). The conversation then went something like this:

"Mrs. Ovary", I said.

"No," Kaden said, "Mrs. O-vEry!".

"Good thing it wasn't ovary" (trying to be funny, while Kristen grinned at me).

"What's so funny about that?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on, tell us please."

"Really, it's nothing."

"Pleeeeeeeease."

"OK. It has to do with female parts."

(chuckle chuckle) "Oh no!" (giggle giggle)

"See. Now you don't want to know, do you?"

"Well, OK. Tell us anyway."

"Ok. The ovary is part of a woman's body, on the inside, that has little eggs that can become babies."

"What! Mom has eggs in her?"

"Yes, all women do."

"Oh no, mom's not a mammal!"



The sweetness of innocent boys.

Fishy Irony

Many years ago Caleb and Kaden each got a gold fish. They were warned at the time of purchase that gold fish don't live very long (at least in our family they never have), and so they needed to be prepared for when they died. Well wouldn't you know it, those blasted things just wouldn't die. I tried to convince Kristen to just stop feeding them, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. And when the boys heard me say that, they weren't too happy about it. So, like good owners, we kept feeding them.
Well, about a month ago, one of them finally died. The boys tried to accuse me of killing him because I didn't clean the fish bowl soon enough. I promise--I'm an innocent man! It was just his time to go. And if it was because of the dirty water, then why didn't they both die? "Good point", you say. And, unlike the movies, where they just flush the fish down the toilet, we had to have an official burial. After the ceremony was over, and we were walking back to the house, Katelyn asked me if he would have happy family members waiting for him on the other side. I assured her he would.
So, now my thinking was maybe the other fish will die soon also. It was only wishful thinking, however, because I definitely wasn't going to do anything about it. I'd already been accused of murder once.
Well, last week, while I was in Alaska, and Kristen and the kids were in California, we left the fish at the neighbor's house to be watched until we returned. And as fate would have it, the other fish died. But no, the story doesn't end there. Our neighbors, feeling horribly guilty for having killed our last gold fish, went and bought us another one to replace it. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Fortunately, Kristen was able to convince them that we weren't upset, and that they could keep the new goldfish for themselves. And I'm sure there were more happy family members on the other side (because I know there were some on this side)!

SUPER MOM

My wife is a super mom!

Usually when I come home from a trip to Alaska I like to talk about how crazy and adventurous my trip was. However, this time I decided to summarize how crazy things were back home. Remember, this all happened in only 12 days, and while Kristen was being a single parent.



--Katelyn gymnastics 3 times a week (and since she got picked to be on a new team, a couple of those days were twice a day practices).

--Katelyn dance lessons twice a week

--Kaden started tryouts for a soccer club (every day, Monday thru Friday, the entire 2 weeks)

--Piano lessons for the boys (2 times each)

--Babysit a few different times for a friend of ours that just had a baby

--Young women weekly activity night (twice)

--Caleb's talent show at school

--Run a half marathon race in Ogden (not to mention all the training that is involved)

--Work at Tres Jolie as much as possible to fill in while I'm gone (4 different days)

--Get Katelyn to school (twice a week)

--Katelyn's dance recital

--Play futsall at stake center with other women in the stake

--Visit teach

--Babysit and clean a couple times for a different neighbor who is packing up to move

--Coming home to find the police at our house (since one of our children and a friend were sure they saw someone in the house, and called 911) and not be able to get in until it was OK'd by the police.

--Meet 2 different times with a lady from International Student Exchange, and fill out all the paper work to try and get accepted as a host family

--Have car towed because tire is completely flat (and couldn't find anyone to help her fix it)

--Get emergency call from friend who needs Kristen to run to her house for something (while the tow truck is waiting in our driveway. She asked the man to wait. He was a nice man)

--Pinewood derby (not only go to the race, but help both boys make their cars also)

--Young women 3 hour presidency meeting

--Up all night one night with a sick child (Caleb got sick and threw-up over the side of his bed. Kaden, wanting to keep his brother company, was sleeping at the side of Caleb's bed. You can imagine how that ended)

--Katelyn's end of year program at preschool

--Parent/teacher conferences

etc., etc, etc.



Honestly, I can't imagine any more major events that could possibly happen in a 12 day time period--and they all happened to be while I was gone. Seriously, imagine fitting all of that into just 12 days. It's wearing me out just thinking about it. Now I know that all moms are busy, but this took things to the extreme. My wife is amazing. She definitely earns the award of "Super Mom of the Week". I don't know what I would ever do without her.

BACKWARDS DAY

Kaden's class at school was having a "backwards day" day. He couldn't miss the chance to participate.

Clothes and backpack on backwards.

Face painted on back of head.

Final product.

Silly kid!

Alaska Trip--April 09

This trip was as is every other trip--an adventure! It started with my being delayed by 3 days because of an active volcano just outside of Anchorage, that was spewing ash. Flights were not going into Anchorage. Fortunately, I was still in Salt lake when they started cancelling flights (and not in some other city), so I was able to go home and wait. Once I finally got there, it was business as usual. This trip took me to 5 villages (4 of which I have been to before). They were Togiak, Manakotak, New Stuyahok, Dillingham, and Naknek. Here are a few of the highlights:




My first flight from Anchorage to Togiak took us directly pass the volcano--Redoubt. We had to go around it the long way, so as to avoid the ash. Here's a shot from out my window. We were pretty close.









In New Stuyahok I had the opportunity to watch a village Elder skin an otter. He brought it into the local school so the students could watch him. He just flopped it on the ground on a piece of cardboard, and went to work.
I asked the teacher how they got the otter, and she said, "Oh, we chased it down this morning on our way in to work, and ran it over with the snow machine." Not quite what I had imagined the answer would be. But I guess they have road-kill here too!




In Manakotak, a patient said she was going ice fishing that afternoon, and that they would bring us some back if they were successful. Well, they were. They charged us $40.00 for 3 beautiful rainbow trout. Unfortunately, they weren't delivered cleaned and cooked, with a side of vegetables, and a loaf of home-made bread. It was all up to us to clean and cook them. On a funnier note, Sach and I were right in the middle of cleaning the fish (hands covered with blood and a bloody butcher knife in our hands), when a patient from earlier in the day came back to ask us something. They took a look at us and their eyes got as big as saucers. I guess we did look a little like crazed maniacs.




Here I am waiting at the "airport", standing on the side of the run-way, waiting for our plane to come and get us. Global warming is pretty obvious, isn't it?










Flying to one of the villages I noticed a herd of moose down below us. I tried to get my camera out to take some pictures before we passed them. The pilot noticed what I was doing (since I was sitting next to him in the co-pilot's seat) and asked if I wanted a better angle. So he circled the plane around and got a little lower to the ground, so I could get this picture. They're still pretty small, but there were at least 16 moose just laying down there in the snow. I also saw a bear about 5 minutes later along the river, but I didn't get my camera out soon enough, I didn't dare ask the pilot to turn around again.

Signs that Spring is in the air--the ice over the rivers is starting to crack. This trip was a little warmer than the last--upper 20s to low 30s. Beats 20 to 30 below zero from the last trip.

AN EASTER MESSAGE

I was sitting at my desk working on my computer when Katelyn, Caleb, & a friend walked in. The friend pointed to a picture of my brother that I have on my bookshelf and asked Caleb who it was. "That's my uncle," Caleb said, "But he's not here anymore. He's dead." To which Katelyn emphatically replied, "He's not dead, he's in Heaven!"
An Easter message from a 4 year old.

The Perfect Belly Button

The other day we took Grandpa Green to the Alpine Arts Museum (where our Tres Jolie office is) because he wanted to take some pictures of the foundry. Grandpa and Katelyn went into the studio where Deon Duncan, one of the sculptors, was just finishing up a sculpture of a little girl. She was literally taking the statue apart to take it to be bronzed, when she felt something just wasn’t right with the little girl’s belly button. Noticing Katelyn standing across the room, she asked, “Do you have an innie or an outie belly button.” Well, Katelyn wasn’t about to show her,

but when Grandpa told us about it we took her back into the studio and convinced her to show Deon her belly button. Deon was ecstatic--it was perfect. So Katelyn had to stand still for several minutes and model her belly button, while Deon put the finishing touches on her sculpture. It was adorable!

Lunchroom Duty

Once every few months, a couple students in Caleb’s class get picked to do lunchroom duty. Caleb got picked this time. He was actually really excited to do it. Not only do they get out of class a little early to go set up, but they get to stay a little later (which means more class is missed), have lunch for free, and get extra desserts. What more could a boy ask for! Mom and Katelyn even went to have lunch with him, but he was working so hard that he didn’t have a chance to eat with them while they were there. I wish we could get him to work that hard at home! :)

Draper Temple

We had the opportunity to attend the Draper Temple open house. It was a great opportunity for us to go into the temple with our children, and talk about why they are so important to us. It was a sweet experience to stand together as a family in one of the sealing rooms, look into the large mirrors on both sides of the room, and see our reflections go on and on and on. A lot of great questions were asked, and simple answers given. It was a great learning experience for all of us. And the icing on the cake came when on the way home Kaden said, “Mom and Dad, thanks for taking us to the temple.” Now, every time we drive by the temple and sing “I love to see the temple, I’m going there some day…”, I hope it will have a little greater meaning.

Katelyn's Birthday

I’m a little late on this, but Katelyn had a birthday. My baby girl turned four. I guess she’s not much of a baby any more, and that’s getting harder and harder for me to deal with. That’s especially apparent when I call her my “baby girl” and she says, “I’m not a baby, daddy.”


I love what a sweet girl she is becoming. She is my serious, pensive, and observant child. She likes to have contests with me to see how long she can go without breaking into a smile. And she’s pretty good at it, too! But, dad always knows how to make her smile. I’m amazed at her intelligence, and awed at her abilities. She's my rough and tough, precious little angel. She is sugar and spice, and everything nice; and frogs and snails, and puppy dog tails--all wrapped up in the same beautiful little being! She is definitely the product of two older brothers and an amazing mom. And I love her more than words can say!

VIVA MEXICO!

We love going to Mexico. If it was up to Kristen, we would live there.

Now, going to Mexico with friends--that's an even better treat.

The trip started with an interesting turn of events--when we got to the hotel we were told it was full, and that they would be sending us to another hotel--40 minutes away. That didn't sound too appealing considering we had just been on a shuttle ride for 2.5 hrs just getting to the hotel from the aiport. But they promised to upgrade us to a suite if we would stay there for 2 nights, and then come back. We just told ourselves that "we are in Mexico", and that you have to be ready for anything. Everything worked out just fine, and we eventually made it back to our original hotel with all our friends.

6 days in paradise makes it hard to return to cold Utah. Between the beautiful resort, trips into town, jungle adventures, amazing Mayan ruins, laying at the beach/pool, lots and lots of food, and great friends to share it all with, we had an amazing time. We can't wait to go back!












kayaking and wearing our sombreros

Enjoying the view from the terrace





















We went into Playa del Carmen to do a little shopping one night













Kristen & Val getting into the
Mexican spirit















Kristen ready to go into town












Kristen relaxing in the hammock






It seems like we ate ALOT!
Because we did.

My favorite place to eat was the

creperie. YUM YUM YUM

Valentine's dinner






















We went on a jungle excursion and rode on the sky bikes.
They took us from above the trees down in the caves. Pretty cool!













We snorkeled in the cenotes


Kristen ready to repel
down into the cenote (cave)






Raise your hands if you think this
guy looks kind of goofy!








the chicas hangin' out on the beach
(Kristen, Tawnya, Misty, Valarie, Alison)















Val & Kelly taking a break


Alison & Steve after a nice
stroll in the kayak















The girls after dinner on Valentines. Man,
what good husbands to take their wives to
Mexico for Valentines! :)













A fun bike ride down to the marina












A trip to the ruins at Tulum. The ruins are perched high on a cliff above the blue, carribean water.
If I was a Mayan, this is the tribe I would have joined.














Looks like a postcard













Tawnya & Dave enjoying their
margaritas "sin alcohol"












Ryan & Misty eating dessert at
the Japonese restaurant












The girls "trying" to show us
their yoga moves












Oh how we love Mexico!