Fab Five!

Toby-glish

2010-04-28T22:54:00.005-06:00

Sometimes it's cute when a little kid is learning new words and they get the word slightly wrong but that's ok they'll get it sooner or later. Well that's what we thought with Toby...except he's now 2-1/2 and the words are not slightly off they are off. They are spoken clearly and plainly. These are his words and he's sticking with em...Below is a sampling of some of the words you will need to know when conversing with the Tobster:

Hi = Yes
Tag = Blanket
Beep = Pacifier
Nanny = Candy
Dude = Graeme
Boom = Cars or Trucks
Boom Boom = Motorcycle
Guys = Fisher Price Little People
Bob = Any Drink ie Milk, Juice, Pop etc.
Chocolate Bob = Chocolate Milk
Toby's Bed = Mom and Dads Bed

Korea Visit

2010-03-16T00:49:00.003-06:00

So after 16 years of my parents living over seas in Asia we decided to finally pay them a visit to see what all of the hubbub is about. With my parents mission winding itself down in the next few month's (July 1st) we figured this may be our last chance to get to see them where what we've only heard so much about. It was a ten day whirlwind of site seeing, flavors and activities which has left us with some wonderful memories. These pictures are of our visit to a Buddhist temple site where we saw over 100,000 Buddah statues. Many of which were golden. I felt a little like Kung Fu Panda when Graeme challenged me to a race up the stairs to the top of one of the temples (large granite stone stairs...probably about 1000) which left me slightly winded. Couldn't let the little stinker beat me...Fortunatly I beat him by just enough to let him know that I've still got it!

Snow Day

2010-02-03T11:13:00.005-07:00

Any day is a good day to take a snow day. Next year we hope to do it as a whole Family. Toby will be 3...what do you think. Since the Dad's spent most of the time helping the girls get their legs under them the Mom's traded days watching the little ones so they could get out too. Dad (me) as usual was the best skiier on the Mtn. Mom (jen) looks the part so that counts. Graeme's starting to tear it up and likes to get in as many runs as daylight will allow and Annie looking pretty good for only her second trip out. Toby looks like a marshmallow man in his snow suit...

HoHoHo

2009-12-24T13:13:00.004-07:00

Santa paid a special visit to our home and Annies school this year. Toby thinks that HoHo is the greatest. My favorite is of Annie sitting on Santa's lap in her classroom looking him straight in the eyes while she asked for an ipod. It was apparent that the room Moms were quite smitten with Santa and his whitty nature...Santa did seem to fill out the suit rather nicely so it may have been that.

We did however catch Mommy giving Santa a little sugar beneath the mistletoe!

Merry Christmas!

You're making me angry!

2009-12-15T22:26:00.005-07:00

The HULK...not Shrek...pounds a valcano taco at the drive up window

This one of the HULK running into Target is the cause of great concern to me. It casts a shadow of doubt on my unwaivering belief in that Big Foot photo.

Excellent Halloween Party / Scavenger Hunt Hills! Great food and even better friends!!

Bock Bock

2009-11-01T00:36:00.007-06:00

Happy Halloween...Some fun costumes Jen whipped up for this years trick or treating extravaganza. Gangster "G" Money and the two chicks (sorry Toby). This year we were ready for the masses with 250 pieces of candy...we ran out by 8:00.

It didn't take Toby but one house to figure out this chicken suit was allright...you mean I get candy for wearing this thing!!!

Annies Beach Cruiser

2009-10-30T08:21:00.004-06:00

Ever since we gave away her trainer...over a year ago...she's been begging us for a new bike and with good cause. What kind of parents take away their kids bike and don't replace it with another. The expression was worth the wait...She can be found from sun up to just past sundown out cruisin the neighborhood of course.

Happy 9th Birthday Annie!

Summer's over!

2009-08-20T19:01:00.002-06:00

Even though we have about 4 more months of actual summer here the break's over. Annie's had her big brother to be her friend and watch out for her since she started school. Graeme is on to 6th grade this year which is Intermediate school. The way the school's grade levels work out here it looks like they won't be going together again either. :( Here's a picture of them leaving for their first day of school. Graeme wearing t-shirt and shorts, the only thing he will wear and Annie striking a pose as usual...

I Wanna Rock!

2009-03-30T16:10:00.004-06:00

Graeme tore it up at his first rock concert this past weekend. We are pretty excited with how far he has progressed in only 3 months of playing his electric guitar he got for Christmas. Jen and I are waiting by the phone for Richard Branson to sign him to a deal with Virgin Records...Otherwise unless Nana and Papa kick in some $$$ for the lessons it was fun while it lasted!! Way to go bud, you were Awesome!

I wanna ride!

2009-03-17T17:41:00.003-06:00

How cool is this kid! He gets this move from his Dad. Not the Knack Knack but the riding in diapers one. Braaap!

Camera Fun

2008-12-14T11:14:00.006-07:00

We spent some of the day yesterday with a local photographer friend of ours to help put together our Christmas card this year. Here is a sampling of what you won't find on this year's card. Thanks Mike--they turned out great! I'd list your buisness info on here for you but this space is reserved for paid advertising spots only.

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays fast approaching, one can only look back at the past year which started with me breaking my leg and ends with St George homes' values plummeting to approx 50% of last years. It might cause one to ask, can I get a do over?

Thankfully our family is doing great. We are happy, healthy and extremely attractive and we are excited to welcome in the New Year. This past year serves as a great reminder of how important you, our friends and family, are to us. Here's wishing you the best ever in 2009!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Christmas wishlist

2008-12-11T16:29:00.003-07:00

So unfortunatly the kids are getting a little older which means they want nicer stuff now. Any good suggestions out there. I do have Jen's all picked out already though.

Toby's 1st Birthday

2008-11-23T22:29:00.003-07:00

Toby enjoying himself some cake and ice cream. Who is it that began the tradition of letting the birthday boy try and feed it to Himself?

Toby thought it would be pretty cool if he started walking on his birthday too. Here's a little video of some of his 1st steps!

Annie's Baptism

2008-11-09T15:28:00.005-07:00

Our baby girl is growing up. Were so proud of her decision to be baptised and become a member of the Church. Lots of her family were able to attend the event. We Love You Annie!

Vote 4 Max

2008-10-15T23:00:00.002-06:00

Another excellent football season is underway! Come on BCS. Go to the following website and place your vote to better Max's odds at his Heisman run. While it's a long shot this year being still a Junior he should be a shoe in for next years selection. Tell everyone about this link and vote everyday!
http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/

Play Time

2008-09-28T11:56:00.003-06:00

Toby having a litlle fun giving his big sis Annie a ride on his walker.

The Spider

2008-08-29T17:27:00.003-06:00

So Toby has abandoned the 'Worm' and graduated to the much more agile 'Spider'. Toby aka Tobey Maguire aka Spiderman.

The Worm

2008-08-17T11:25:00.007-06:00

Why crawl when you can do the worm. Toby gets extra points for style 'old school'.

Most Wanted List

2008-07-17T21:52:00.005-06:00

So today I recieved a nice birthday package from my Mom, thank you! Inside I found the tasty treat of dried squid jerky which I like so much, even though I have to eat it outside because Jen says that the smell of it makes her gag. Along with that was a nice grip of greenbacks stuffed inside an envelope for my enjoyment. I wonder what it was that raised a red flag when this package passed through customs. What warranted enlisting my name on the Homeland Security's suspicious persons list?

Proof that men have better friends than women...

2008-07-09T21:26:00.005-06:00

Jen often gushes over how great of friends she thinks she has. I do agree with her that she has some pretty awesome friends however I have some pretty good ones too. Which brings up an interesting question - which of us has better friends?
I can only assume the following case study to be true as I have not taken the time to confirm it on the fact or fiction website.
Friendship among Women: A woman didn't come home one night. The next morning she told her husband that she had sleptover at a friend'shouse. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew anything about it.
Friendship among Men: A man didn't come home one night. The next morning he told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends. Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said that he was still there.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-06-28T23:22:00.003-06:00

and a Happy Birthday to me!
I am registered at Country Wide Home Loans, Zions Bank and The Pizza Factory.

"#1" Fan

2008-06-13T14:24:00.008-06:00

I have alot of friends who claim to be true Jazz fans but have often wondered who the real fanzz are and whom of them are just riding the band wagon. Recently I have determined who the #1 Jazz fan is and he lives in my very neighborhood.

I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with this friend the other day where he recounted a recent dream he had regarding his love of the Jazz. Many of you may know that the Jazz missed the Western Conf Finals by 1 shot this current season. It was this very evening after the game that my 34ish year old friend had this dream... So here he was at half time playing for the Jazz along side Carlos, AK and the rest of the team getting pumped for the second half of the game with an invigorating speach from Sloan. After the speach he stands up and makes a few comments of his own to Boozer and the restof the team that "we can do this guys, I'll get open, get me the ball and I'll take care of it from there. I hate these guys now lets do this"! Right after his speach the warning signal came in that the second half was about to start. He turns to Boozer and says he'd be right out but needed to relieve him self before the start of the game. He runs over to the urinals to take care of buisness and recalls thinking to himself how nicely kept the restrooms were in the home court locker room and how fortunate he was to be a key member of the team.

Then he recounted the insuing argument he got into with his wife as he gently tapped on her shoulder at 2:00 AM suggesting that she might want to get up and help him remove the sheets from the bed. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that discusion. Nice job "#1" fan!!!

Quandry??

2008-06-03T12:31:00.007-06:00

So in a couple of weeks the family plans to head south to sunny California for some much deserved r&r. One of the events we're excited about is going to an Angles game with my Brother-in-laws sweet behind the plate, front row, get on t.v. seats. At least I was until I was doing some reading out of one of my favorite books the other night when I came upon a passage that left me as perplexed as the author Ted L. Nancy. Below I'm copying a page from his writtings in hopes of gathering suggestions or thoughts that you may have to prepare me for my upcomming visit to Angel Stadium.

"Mr. Albert Meyer, President

American Seating Company

Dear Mr. Mayer: I was refered to you because I understand you manufacture stadium and arena seating. My question:

When entering or exiting a seat in a stadium which is the proper side to face the person sitting down? Rear to them or croth to them?

I am always at a quandry when this problem comes up. To hence: last week at a sporting event I had to leave my seat. There were a row of people - ALL FROM THE SAME FAMILY - that were sitting down the row. I exited my seat, stood up and faced away from this family. Then I moved down the row realizing my buttocks were not 2" from this whole guy's family. I had shown an entire family my rear end! But then again if I had turned around and moved down the isle THAT WAY, wouldn't that be worse?

Stadium seating is the only situation in life where you can show whole rows of people your butt or crotch. And it's acceptable!

Can something be done about this seating? Should the rows be changed? I suggest a single row straight up to the top. You walk into the stadium and simply find your seat number and go up until you get it.

Question: Is there a gracious way to exit?

Thank you sir for your response.

Ted L. Nancy"

BFF's

2008-05-18T22:02:00.005-06:00

So today Graeme and Annie had their hearts torn out as their best friends, Will and Grace, were abruptly taken away from them with their family's relocation to "Wood Berry Farm Estates". Over 4 hours away. Who knew that this change would have been so emotional for the both of them. We couldn't have asked for better friends for our kids to have spent the past 4 years growing up with. We will miss you tons and wish you guys the best.

CNG or Not?

2008-05-08T19:31:00.003-06:00

So who's got an opinion on this? I've been looking into converting our new truck so that it will run on compressed natural gas as well as gasoline when you're in a pickle or need the power. The conversion costs are close to 8K. There is however a $2500 tax incentive Utah offers. The initial investment would be brutal but for the rest of the life of the car the driving costs would be almost free. Todays local gasoline $3.599 Regular, $0.639 CNG.

Tagged

2008-04-06T21:18:00.009-06:00

I look at these a little like when people forward on lame e-mails just because someone forwarded it to them, it shouldn't be done however I get very few visitors to this page I think and since one of them asked me to do this I figured I'd better.

5 things on my To Do List:

1. See Doctor Greg Taylor! 2. Get my leg better, stop being a baby at PT 3. Get my pilots license. 4. Stop the leak in my water pots at the front entry. 5. Get home by 5 everyday for better family time

5 jobs I have had:

1. Hauled and stacked hay bails (60,000 of ‘em) for a summer job in high school, hence the guns of steel.2. Cadillac dealership, new car clean-up detail. High School.3. Landscape and sprinkler installation with my cousin Cory. We should have stuck with this and we could have retired by now. College 4. Perry Homes, clean-up guy. If any of you know Adam that works for me now. Lets just say it was thankless and brutal, especially the dookie detail. College 5. Ski instructor at The Canyons, did this until they figured out I was doing it for the free pass.

5 places I've lived:

1. Born in New Jersey. 2. Seoul Korea for 5 years. 3. Michigan 5 times. 4. California a bunch of places. 5. Tennessee.

5 favorite snacks:

1. Latest favorite is the new Strawberry Milkshake Oreos. You got to try you some. 2. Squid jerky. Send me some Mom. 3. Rockstars. I’m off soda lately but I still crave the golden drops of happiness. 4. Peanut Butter and Honey sandwiches at midnight. Jen hates it when I fire up the micro that late to melt the honey but it's got to be done. 5.Not really that much of a desert guy I’d rather go for 2nds of the main dish.

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. I would stay right here on Cynthia Lane because it rules here! 2. I would buy this and let you all visit as often as you like. 3. Buy one of these to go with my answer on my things to do list. That way you could get to #2 with ease and comfort. 4. Open up one of these, right here in St George. This of course would enable me to by more stuff like the previously mentioned items as it would surely be a gold mine! 5. Work as much as the rest of the guys on my street do, which is never, these guys are always sitting out on the porch with a cool glass of lemonade waving to me as I drive home after a hard days work.

5 things you may not know about me:

1. I've cut my own hair since I was 12. 2. I secretly like the made for t.v. movies on Lifetime and watch one with Jen every Sunday morning. 3. I have never lived in a house longer than 3 years. 4. I have crappy long term memory. I would guess it comes from all the moving I did growing up. I always had to drop everything I was doing and start up again. Apparently that included my memory. 5. I collect pennies just for the mear fact that I started it when I was pretty young. One of my most depressing moments came when our home was broken into and they took a whole shoe box full of my rolled pennies. Probably like 5 years worth of change. Thanks Mom and Dad for never getting me hooked on collecting quaters.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T23:35:00.004-06:00

Someone's kids are the cutest in the world! We hope you had a Very Happy Easter. Now hand over the peeps.

No Binky Required

2008-03-16T19:25:00.007-06:00

Here's what some of you have been missing. This kid is awesome. He's always like this! Except at 2 in the morning Jen says it's a whole different story. I'm not so sure I believe her as I've never seen him acting up then.

How You Doin...

2008-03-10T21:42:00.001-06:00

So earlier today I was visiting with some new home owners I just moved in last week going over some of the usual punchlist items, providing a little training on the inns and outs of their new place and what not. When all of a sudden the mother and daughter just started giggeling and cooing over me. Now this sort of thing I've grown accustom to throughout my life so no big deal there but here's the twist. I was then informed of my striking resemblence to a Mr Matt Leblanc. It's uncanny they say, your hair, eyes, smile even physique and that could I please put my hat and glasses back on as it was too difficult for them to concentrate. They just couldnt let it go for the longest time. A little odd and uncomfortable there for a while. They ask me if anyone has ever told me this before. Oddly enough I say there was this time about 8 or so years ago when I was out to dinner with Jen and a few of the in-laws at the worlds greatest pizza shop, The Brick Oven, when this girl histerically approached our booth and with stars in her eyes yells out to me, "Joey is it really you?" Anyways I don't see it, I just thought I'd throw out a piece of my day there for ya. Plus it's cool to get those periodic moments to let you think that you still got it even though you know you don't, well ok I do. The real reason I wanted to post though is I was hoping to get a near celebrity encounter in one of Brian's blogs.

Noogie

2008-02-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

How many of you can say that the prophet put you in a choke hold. Graeme and his cousin Ethen can. This cool pic was taken at my parents setting apart for their mission presidency this past summer. President Monson told the boys one story after another until finally Elder Eyring had enough and sent us packing.

Bad Karma

2008-02-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Knowing that I should have been at work I was convinced by a good friend of mine that I deserved some much needed R & R by spending the day out on the dirtbikes. "The parade of homes will be just fine without you for the day" he says. This is the aftermath of that decision. 12 weeks on crutches to heal a shatered tibia plateau and a reattached ACL. Hence the creation of this site as day time telivision really blows. Updates from me, Nate, will more than likley involve reports, if any, on my leg's progress. Today marks the 4 week mark from my surgery. I'm up and around on the crutch's which is turning out to be more torture than the broken leg. Crutch's are the devil! My legs are becoming oddly tiny from lack of use and my back, arms and shoulders are getting crazy huge from over use. I think I might look pretty good again with my shirt off if only I could stop the crying while being curled up in a ball on the couch because of all the cramping in muscles that haven't been used for more than 15 years.