No, I'm not done, what's his name again?

Sydney was saying her pray tonight and paused for a long time. I wasn't sure why she had paused, so after a long silence, I decided to prompt her by saying "In the name of....." to see if she would finish her prayer. She then said, "No, I'm not done, what's his name again?" Not knowing which name she was talking about, I asked her who she was talking about. She then said "I remember President Monson, and Elder Eyring, but what's the other guys name." She of course was referring to the Prophet (President Monson) and First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I told her it was "Elder Uchtdorf" and she promptly continued on with her prayer.

Happy 31st Birhday Deni

Today was Deni's 31st birthday. Very anticlimactic for her, I'm sure. Why, you ask?

1. Deni bought her own birthday present
2. Deni opened it a few weeks ago

See her early birthday post

Today was extremely busy today with church, meetings, etc however I did find time to make Deni dinner (even though it was only a spaghetti dinner).

After dinner, we went out on a walk as a family. Actually only Deni and I walked. Ryan was on his roller blades and Sydney on her scooter. As we walked, it gave us time to walk hand in hand without the kids being so close. I sure enjoy walking hand in hand with Deni.

Happy Birthday Deni. I love you.

Back from Wood Badge

I had a great opportunity to attend Wood Badge at Camp Maple Dell this last week. Even better, Deni was able to attend with me. Although we didn't see much of each other, here is a picture that was taken towards the end of the week.



I've been functioning as the Boy Scouts of America Varsity Coach for the boys that are 14 and 15 in my ward for the last couple of years and Deni was recently called as the Primary President in our Ward, which means she has the responsibility over the 11 year old Boy Scouts. We've both had leader specific training in our own areas, however a co-worker of mine had been "bugging" me to sign up for Wood Badge for sometime and I finally broke down and signed up for it and shortly thereafter, Deni signed up for the same training.

Camp Maple Dell is a Boy Scout Camp up Payson Canyon and it was beautiful this time of year. Here is a picture of the lake at Camp Maple Dell.



Wood Badge is an Adult Scout leadership training. The training aims to make better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement. The Training was a combination of classroom and practical outdoors-based trainings.

Going to Wood Badge was a huge sacrifice for us. Not only was it 5 days off of work + all day Saturday, but it was also the cost of the training ($160.00 per person) plus getting a full uniform (including belt, socks, activity shirts, etc. - And that ain't cheap.) Deni and I already had Shirts, however we didn't have a full uniform. We do now.

As for the training itself, they asked us to not talk much about the actual materials/lessons so that those that go will get the full experience. Wood Badge was a unique training that helped me learn new skills that I am applying to Scouting, work, and home life. We were divided into patrols where we played, lived and worked together. Deni and I were in different patrols, so we didn't see each other much, matter of fact I had to steal a kiss from her about 5 days into the training when our paths briefly crossed.

Deni getting an award during lunch.




We were also able to experience the fun and adventure of Scouting first hand (it was pretty amazing to see Bishops and Stake Leaders acting like 14 yr old boys and having fun in competitions). Throughout the whole experience, the staff set a perfect example of how a perfect pack, troop, team and crew should be run.

All in all, it was a great week and well worth the time spent.

Here are some pictures of my Patrol

Salsa day

The tomato plants. Actually these tall tomato plants aren't the actual tomatoes we used. The Roma tomato is a much smaller plant (barely in the picture to the left) with a longer beefier tomato. These tall plants are Beefmaster and Early Girls.



Deni and Sydney blanching the tomatoes to get the skin off.



Cooking the peppers on the grill



Cooking the Salsa. You boil the salsa for about 30 minutes.



Finished Product - Today we bottled 14 quarts of fresh Salsa.

Ryan's Baptism

I can't believe that I have a child that is old enough to be baptized. Ryan turned 8 earlier this month, however we had to wait until Stake baptism today to actually baptize him. Ryan has been very excited since his birthday.

We had a great showing from our families. Both my sisters and families were in attendance, as were my parents. Deni's parents flew in to participate in Ryan's baptism as well. We also had a few cousins (on either side) and good friends (Ben & Emily Williams & family).

As always things were very hectic this morning. Deni not only had the stress of her own son's baptism, but as the Primary President, also had to conduct part of the meeting and welcome Ryan and the little girl that was baptized with him into the Church and Primary.

Ryan and I changed into our white clothes and Dad took a few pictures of us.



I then went to help Deni finish up the photocopying of the program.

Ryan, Deni and I all sat in the front of the chapel. I felt the spirit very strong in the chapel. As it was Ryan's turn to be baptized, Ryan and I walked hand in hand down the hallway to the Baptismal font. Garrin Ellis and Keith Bigler were the witnesses of the baptism. The water was warm as we entered the font. I took Ryan by the right hand and as I raised my hand to the square, I was overcome with the spirit. I paused for a few seconds to gain my composure and then said the baptismal prayer. Ryan went completely under the water and came back up. After looking to the two witnesses to confirm I had said the prayer correctly and that Ryan had gone completely under the water, we exited the font.

Ryan and I quickly changed back into our Sunday clothes and we went back to the chapel. We heard a talk on the Holy Ghost from Grandpa Keith Bigler and then Grandpa Terry Berger confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and gave him the Holy Ghost.



Here's a picture with Grandpa Berger



After the special events, we invited all our friends and family back to our house for a luncheon where we had Navajo Tacos (or as my family calls them - Scones). We had a great rest of the day visiting with family.

Lawnmower vs Eye Glasses

Deni went to an all day Scout Training today, so I had the kids all to myself today. I tried to sleep in, however couldn't, so I got up around 7:30am.

I went outside and it was nice and cool, with the normal Spanish Fork wind. The lawn needed to be mowed, so I decided I'd get out and do it while the weather was nice. Ryan woke up before I got out the door, so I sent him to watch cartoons while I worked on the lawn.

I finished the Front lawn and then came into the house to get the kids some breakfast. After breakfast, I started on the back lawn. I was 95% complete and finishing up around the swingset, when a sound from under the lawnmower came that sounded like I had hit a toy with the lawnmower. I pulled the lawnmower back in anticipation of seeing a some Happy Meal Toy obliterated. To my dismay, I saw pieces of Ryan's glasses everywhere.

Here is what I could find.



Frames and lenses are gone. I'm not sure running over glasses with a Lawnmower is a covered by our insurance.

Luckily, Ryan has an older backup pair of glasses, that he may just be wearing until the magic date comes that our insurance will pay for another pair.

Garden Growth Timelapse

I invested alot of money into my garden this year. I automated the watering and built new tomato cages. The little tomato cages sold at stores just don't cut it. So I bought a 150 x 5 foot roll of remesh and built new cages. They are 5 feet tall and anywhere from 19 to 22 inches across. Here are a few pictures from this summer that show the growth of my garden.

6/28/08



8/8/08



8/23/08



As you can see from the picture, the tomatoes are over 5 feet tall and growing out the top of my new cages.

Ryan the bobcat

Tonight was Ryan's first Cub Scout Pack Meeting. He attending a Cub Scout day camp a few weeks ago (right before his 8th bday) where he earned some awards (belt loops). Also for the last few weeks Ryan and I have worked on passing off his Bobcat badge and he was able to complete it.

The kids started out Pack meeting by starting a fire (for their smoares a little bit later.) Ryan watching and listening patiently, while the fire is started.



I never thought I'd see Deni in a Scouting uniform. However she was called as the Primary President about a month ago and was instructed to get her full Scout Uniform as well as to get trained and involved in Scouting. It was great timing, as Ryan is just starting Cub Scouts.



As is customary, the Mom's get a pin when a Cub Scout/Scout gets a rank advancement. Here is Ryan attempting to pin it onto Deni's shirt. I would/should have been up there with them, but who would have taken the pictures then?





Ryan was able to accomplish getting the pin in with any bloodshed, which is great.

After the awards, we played some games. One was with a huge parachute.

First day of 3rd Grade

I had Deni snap this picture right before I left for work. Ryan's first day of 3rd grade. Ryan's teacher is Mrs. Penrod



I didn't notice this originally when I posted the picture, but look at the "ghost" in the window behind us. Sydney had just gotten out of the bath and still had her robe on.

How about those Onions?

It's harvest time. We picked some Onions from the garden tonight. How about those Onions?



This is the first year I've been successful at growing onions. I'm going to plant more onions next year.

We also picked almost a full 5 gallon bucket full of tomatoes and peppers. You know what that means? It's Salsa time.

Deni made up a batch of salsa today. 11 quarts, not a big batch, but will do for our first harvest from our garden.