I have the day off today..no i have a 4 day week end and I am going to enjoy it. I also have my camera fixed so I should be able to blog a bit more.

Kaylee will come home today and we are going to see Avatar then out to dinner then to the Los Angeles Temple to see the Christmas lights. Maybe tomorrow we might take a trek to the beach as it will be in the mid 70's. Not to swim but just being at the beach should be fun.

Spent a late night helping Linder get get ready for the last day off school before her 2 week vacation. They are having a pot luck today so she has been busy.

I am enclosing a picture of me with my sisters. They have always been good to me.

I was going to chastize some people for not keeping up with there blogs until I saw how long it has been since I posted anything here. I was using the excuse that my memory stick broke in my camera, which is true, but I have had pictures taken of me that I could use. This picture appears to already be so out of date. I haven't tried to fotoshop John into any of the pictures.

I am looking forward to the Christmas. My mom is coming to California for a visit and I believe my brother George will be out this year as well. It will be great to see them both.

We have been getting the house decorated and the lights are up along with the tree and other room decorations. I need to get something that has a pine scent but things are really looking good.

I hope that with the new memory stick I will be able get some picture to post and share.

Sea World

We went to Sea World and had a great time. The shows were great and everyone had a great time.

They had alot to do and we did most of it. We had alot of fun even if we didn't use sun block.

Here are a few vidoes. If you listen close you can here the tiger roar!

Kyle and a rogue wave!

More pictures!

Needless to say we have been busy. I am sorry that I haven't posted more as promised. Here are a bunch of pictures from zoo and beach and happenings. We are leaving in a few for Sea World.

Enjoy and wish you were all here.

The invasion of the family has begun. Tamar arrived with her family late on Saturday night. Karina and Kelsi come in today and Kaylee will arrive on the 8Th of August.

Today is Kaylee's birthday and we are all sad that she isn't with us to celebrate. She will be home soon and we will celebrate then!

Yesterday we made a trek to the beach. Kyle took to the sand and water like a pro. If you didn't know his story you would never know he had such a tough start. He is really a site to behold.

We are so much enjoying the visit. More to come later!

Many many years ago when I moved into the house in La Puente I went one day to a meeting. I was expecting to hear the usual messages and talks. What I heard instead changed my life forever and for the better. I along with those others in attendance were told that we should have a date night each an every week. Seems like a small thing. We were told to keep Friday nights clear for date night with our wife.

I remember changing schedules and conflicts to make this a reality. We didn't have a lot of money to spend. Many times we could just afford the sitter. We have made this apart of our lives that now it is like breathing we don't think much about it we just know that every Friday night is our date night.

I have enjoyed this time. Having time for just me and my sweet heart has been great. Sometimes when money was really tight and we would get a "Thrifty" ice cream cone, or people watch at the mall. Linda once said how much she looked forward to Friday's and date night. I thought to myself 'I must be a great date' when she followed it up with " I can't wait to get out of the house and not have children wanting you undivided attention".

Last night was just one of those nights. Linda asked what I wanted to do for "date night" and we headed to the beach to watch the sun set. We went to Seal Beach, got burritos for dinner that we ate on a bench . We walked the beach watching the sun set. It was great and reminded me of how much I love my wife and these times together.

Date night remains a tradition if our house. I know all of my girls expect it from there spouses.

It is amazing to me how small counsel can when followed change lives. I hope all of you stay in love and if you don't have a date night it not to late to start!

What I have learned in a year

A lot has happened in this last year and if I don't express my thoughts I would be most ungrateful.
For those that don't remember it was a year ago that we were told that out daughter was having a problem with here pregnancy. For those who might not know this was how Tamar posted last year.
Friday, June 27, 2008
I am not sure how to write this post but I think that in some ways it will be therapeutic. As most of you know we are expecting our third child. I am 21 weeks today and due November 7th. This past Monday we went in for a routine anatomy ultrasound. (I should say here that this pregnancy has been anything but routine, I have had some bleeding at 13 weeks and lots of back cramps though out) Right away I could tell that this ultrasound was different than the ones that I had with the girls. I thought that maybe I had just lost some of my skill at being able to read them but when the doctor was finished and said that he wanted to see us in his office I knew that nothing good ever comes from meetings with doctors in their offices. The first thing he told us was that the fluid level around the baby was very low and because of that the ultrasound was very difficult to read. Low fluid is bad for a lot of different reasons. It could mean that there is something wrong with the baby's urinary system since at this point in the pregnancy the baby makes the amniotic fluid. It could mean that my membranes were ruptured and that I was leaking fluid and did not know it. This is bad because if the membranes are ruptured then the barrier between the baby and the outside world is broken making infection more of a possibility. The amniotic fluid is important for a lot of reasons. It provides a cushion of protection from the outside world and gives the baby room to move around. It is also responsible for the maturation of the lungs and the digestive system since the baby continually swallows it. Well if that news was not enough the doctor also told us that the scan showed a possible heart defect as well as some other things that led him to believe that our baby has some kind of chromosome abnormality. Needless to say this was all very hard to digest. We left his office that day with a referral to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a second opinion. We have felt very blessed to live in a part of the country where top hospitals are everywhere.We went for our second opinion yesterday. I was amazed by the kindness of the people and the advances in technology. They were able to perform a very extensive ultrasound as well as a echo cardiogram (a study of the heart) on the baby. When the tests were done we met with the OB at CHOP. The news was not good. The fluid level was still low and the doctor said that it was due to a hematoma that I had earlier in the pregnancy that was now being broken down by my body. The same things that break down the hematoma are also very hard on the fluid membrane which in time will most likely cause my membranes to rupture and put me into preterm labor. The doctor said in all his years he has never seen a membrane reseal itself and so he did not expect our baby to make it. The good news is that the heart and the other abnormalities that they saw initially seemed fine on the scan done at CHOP. The doctor talked about our options which were few. I could choose to say that this pregnancy was not meant to be and deliver then which to me was out of the question. I have felt this baby move inside of me constantly for the last 5 weeks and his heart is strong. I do not think that I get to decide when his chances for survival are over. The other option is to just wait. Anyone who knows me knows I do not wait well especially when I do not know the outcome of my waiting. I would do anything to give my son the opportunity to live on this earth and to be able to hold him even just once. The thing is that I could go into labor at any time or my body could develop an infection if the membranes are already broken. As for now I am praying that we can make it a few more weeks to give him a real chance at survival but if that is not Heavenly Fathers will then I am praying that our son will be taken home quickly. I would like to ask for your prayers. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and that he has always taken care of me and my family. I am praying for understanding and peace. This experience has given me a whole new understanding on what it means to really be able to submit our will to our Father. There is nothing that I want more than to have another child bless our home and that has been my desire for what seems to me a long time, but if the time is not now then I will have to pray for the understanding and the courage to keep going forward. I do believe that miracles happen. I do know that Heavenly Father can heal my body and allow my son to come to the earth and I pray that that will be the case but if not I pray for understanding and comfort. Thank you to everyone who has already been praying for us. I know that without your faith and prayers we would never have made it this far. I love you all.
I can't tell yo how this made me feel. My daughter was far away and I felt helpless. I knew we would just lay this on the altar and let God's will be done. I know everyone was concerned and over the next several weeks and months many added their faith and prayers in behalf of Tamar and her family.
One year has gone by since that day. Kyle is doing wonderful. He has a sleep test tomorrow and hopefully will lose his need for oxygen that he is hooked up to at night.
I know people say this often and it may sound a bit prideful. I know that God lives and loves us. I am not sure why he takes a personal interest in us but he does. I know that he has blessed our lives with this miracle child who just keeps beating the odds.
He was born into a great family. Trevor and his family seems like they are a perfect fit for our family. Steve is like a long lost twin in so many ways. I am glad that he and his wife have form day one been nothing but special to me and my family.
It is because of them that Karina has such a great husband that has been a blessing in her and our life.
I want to put a slide show together to help explain better how I feel about my wonderful and patent children.
Linda is the reason for everything good in our life. After more than 31 years I am amazed at how blessed I am that she is who she is.
I am truely blessed. I know familes can be hard for some peopel and I want to stay so much more in touch with mine. I can't wait until my little family unit is all together this August.

In a year we have gone from this

To this.........................

Life is really good.

Another Wedding

^ Suzanne ^

^Kevin, Andrew and Robert^

I couldn't get the pictures where I wanted so you will just get so figure it out


OK , I know that I am not the father of the bride but Katherine Fox got married yesterday. She feels like a daughter since Linda babysat her for about the first six years of her life. They have always been a family near and dear to us.So I don't have a lot to say but we had a great day at the LA Temple and also at the reception in Apple Valley that evening. It was great to see other old friends and I am sure Kaylee and Shayla enjoyed renewing old friendships.

These pictures are for those who couldn't be there (Tamar and Karina)

^KATE & JUSTIN^

Last Friday I did something different for me. I went and played golf. Those that know me have know that I am not a huge fan. I decided that I should give it a try. The last time I golfed was with Trevor five years ago. I did have fun not knowing everything that one needs to do to play.
I did learn a few things.

1.You get some unexpected quests.

2.You need to learn how to drive.

3. Putting is about the same without the windmills and clowns. No matter how far your ball goes you must always look like you meant to make that shot!

Learn that walking is way over rated as a form of exercise.

Learn that those you play with is as important as how you do.

Golf takes a long time to play. I am not sure at this point of my life I have that much time. It was nice to be out of the office and get paid but I am not sure that I have that much time to do it on a regular basis.

MOTHERS DAY

I know that Linder isn't my Mom but she is a wonderfull mother and wife .

I love her for all that she is and how great she has done with the girls.

Today I enter the world of golf. I will blog more on this latter. After years of being asked to play I have consented to play in the Steel Fabricators Tourney. It should be interesting as the last time i picked up a club was five years ago. It will not be a pretty site. It is a shotgun or scramble so I will have help. This may be the last time anyone at works asks. I think they think that I have played before.
I wish I could sneak Steve or Trevor in to play for me.
I don't think there will be pictures unless they are crime scene photos. I promise to post results here in the very near future.

Not a slaker

Just so you don't think that I am taking this home ownership lightly I thought I would send you a picture of what I have been doing.
The decks in the back were faded and had no zip. It has been on the to do list for awhile now that the weather is nice. I decided to do it right I should sand them down before staining and protecting the wood.
I have fished that and if everything goes well I will will stain them this weekend. I know this isn't impressive or even very interesting but I didn't want my tax rant to a post that was up long.
So here are the sanding pictures as I haven't took any other pictures for awhile.

Rant on taxes

As most everyone who has been near a radio or TV has heard of the hard economics that this country is experiencing. TEA parties (taxed enough already) has sprung up and many are saying enough. In the wonderful state of California on state leaders after kicking us in the teeth with additional taxes and fees, have decided that the need to pile on to it.

They are holding a special election on the 19Th of May to try to raise more taxes. I have said before and hope that everyone understands that we must not feed the beast anymore. Government in California knows no bounds and seem to think that we can still fund every program and desire that the legislators want.

Those that know me know I am a registered Democrat. I believe that government should serve the people not business. That I have believed that both parties in the country have served their own interests above the people who have elected them. I am not an Obama hater nor do I think Bush was evil incarnate. I just wish that people would unite in opposition to things that are just not in the best interest of our country.

I understand the need for taxes. without them the greater good of community and nation would suffer. I am just tired that officials that seem to think that they have an unlimited supply.
As in the famous words of one elected official "it only paper". They seem to miss the point completely.
For those with short memories the LA time had a good article that deserves a second look. here is what the state has done in just the last 5 years. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-matsusaka17-2008jul17,0,7957570.story This was last summer when the state was trying to find a budget. Arnold who was voted in to stop the taxing madness, has himself become so in entangled in this mess that he is spending millions of republican money to raise taxes!
If one more person tells me it for the schools or the children I my just upchuck. This state will get almost 31 Billion in bailout monies yet will still be in the hole. 27 of that billion will go to social programs. It won't build schools we have borrowed (bonds) for that.
PLEASE if you live in California vote "NO" on all these measures. Enough is enough. Stop sending jobs to other states (sorry Steve no Idaho exceptions) Cut the state spending before raising taxes.
Teachers scream they are being cut. Not even close to true. When you continue getting increases even when revenues decrease and your job performance falls, why should you be rewarded. It is almost next to impossible to fire a bad teacher. In five years less then 40 teachers have been fired state wide.
Instead of trying to work out something that may help the children The union is spending millions of dollars to convince the voting public that raising taxes another 16billion dollars is in our best interest, setting a "rainy day fund" that would give their union 9.3 billion dollars .
Every Californian needs to just say "NO" to this. Vote NO on every measure this election. Tell those in power that they can't have any more money find another way to make do.
It feels good to rant. at least it doesn't ask for any more money.

Ok ,its late but I promised that I would post what we did today. After doing yard work, I went with Linda and Shayla to the beach. It wasn't quite a typical beach day but 74 degrees isn't that bad.

Here is Linda and ShaylaWatching the Kites was tiring

I small nap always helps

I do need to get some sun as I am getting very white. The sun was warn enough to give us a bit of color and we then bought some chicken at a local dive called "The Chicken Box" it wasn't bad but we will call ahead next time. I think they had to pluck the chickens it took so long.

I know it sounds late but late but we are trying during these times to follow counsel. I know that our church has living apostles and prophets. here is something from more than 10 years ago by Presindent Hinckley.
Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.
I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent.
My father was then president of the largest stake in the Church in this valley. It was before our present welfare program was established. He walked the floor worrying about his people. He and his associates established a great wood-chopping project designed to keep the home furnaces and stoves going and the people warm in the winter. They had no money with which to buy coal. Men who had been affluent were among those who chopped wood.
I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year.
In December of 1997, 55 to 60 million households in the United States carried credit card balances. These balances averaged more than $7,000 and cost $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.
Everyone knows that every dollar borrowed carries with it the penalty of paying interest. When money cannot be repaid, then bankruptcy follows. There were 1,350,118 bankruptcies in the United States last year. This represented a 50 percent increase from 1992. In the second quarter of this year, nearly 362,000 persons filed for bankruptcy, a record number for a three-month period.
We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.
President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).
I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.
No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.
Since the beginnings of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).
President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).
We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.
In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.
I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.
One of the happiest days in the life of President Joseph F. Smith was the day the Church paid off its long-standing indebtedness.
What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.
President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.
I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.
This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.
As we work through tough times I hope that we all look to see how richly blessed we have been and will be in the comming years.

I am not sure how well it will work but I put a link to a site I use for Family history. It is in the upper right. Its One great family. I think it nice that they named it after us.
It takes you to the dash board of the site and there are some fun things you can do.
I am still trying to put a link that just goes to pedigree but I haven't had time yet.
let me know if it works for you. It does take a bit of time to fully load.

I have been thinking a lot how things have change. Mostly for the better but not always. I am glad for Ipods and cell phones but I also realize how I miss some things and as hard in my mind eye that I try to recall them they just aren't the same. Some things such as fashion I am glad does change. (watched a TV show and I am glad that shoulder pads have left from fashion and have remained on the football field where they belong).
I told some one the other day that I love my wife and she is my "E" ticket. I quickly realized that they had no Idea what an "E" ticket was. They were for the best ride at Disneyland. I happen to have some of these old booklets that would get you into the rides at Disneyland. It is funny to see how things change.
Adult admission was once $4.50, $4.00 for 12-17 and just $3.50 for those 3-11.
People at the end of the day when they new they weren't returning to the park would give there remaining tickets away. Those from the area collected them for there next visit. It was hard to ever find "e" tickets in these books as they were the more popular rides and attractions.
Here what I remember to be the order or value of tickets.
"A" ride on Main Street vehicles or on the King Arthur carrousel
"B" Main St. Cinema Fanatsyland's Alice in Wonderland ride or Casey Jr. Circus Train or the Swiss Family Tree House ( now Tarzan)
"C" tickets got you on Tomorrowland's Adventure through Inner Space or Autopia, Fantasyland's Dumbo' Flying Elephants, Mad Tea Party, Mr Toad wild ride, Peter Pan's Flight, And Snow White's Adventures(which they told you was Scary) or Frontierland's Shooting Gallery.
"D" was Main St. SF & D RR Trains through Grand Canyon and Primeval world ( Now Big Thunder Mountain) Tomorrowland's Flight to the Moon, Skyway to Tomorrowland, Storybook land canal boats and Frontierland's Sailing Ship Columbia, Mark Twains Steamboat, Tom Sawyer Island rafts which closed at dusk. Mine train thru Nature's Wonderland
"E" ticket got you rides on Tomorrowland's America sings, Monorail to to the Hotel and return,
Submarine Voyage(now Finding Nemo) Fantasyland's It's a Small World, Matterhorn Bobsleds,
Bear Country Jamboree, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise.
These also dollar values as well A & B were worth $.25 C was $.35 D was $.60 and E was $.95. They changed this I think in the Mid 70's were you had to buy full packs tickets.
Many of the rides are gone and good riddance some have evolved and many are new.
So you all know we don't live far from Disney or Knotts. If you are coming and want to drop by let us know if you don't mind the couches or floor. Since we only have one open room at present.
Enjoy the days that you live in as these are the days we are all given. Life happens so enjoy all of it.

I think I might have found where Kyle's pout came from but I might be wrong!

Well It not about Karina any more as the lead in sorry kiddo!