My Life

Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World, Universal Studios, and San Diego Zoo (Feb 6th - Feb 13th, 2011)

2011-03-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

Updated Christmas pics

2011-01-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished uploading all the Christmas vacation pics. They are in 7 posts that are all in order below. Thanks to everyone who sent presents for Christmas. Hope you enjoy the pics! We had a great trip.

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 1)

2011-01-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

I stopped posting on the blog for a long time because I didn't think anybody was looking at it anymore and thought that anybody that wanted to see pics could look on my Facebook. I recently found out that some people still check the blog and not everyone has or looks at Facebook. So I apologize (particularly to Alexis and Carter's great grandparents). Here are some recent pics and I will be posting more up throughout the next week. It surprisingly takes a decent little chunk of time to post a bunch of pics on here.

On the Bay Bridge looking at San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

Carter and Alexis on the Golden Gate Bridge

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 2)

2011-01-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge

Rain Forest Cafe near Pier 39, San Francisco

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 3)

2011-01-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

From Berkeley Hills looking over Oakland and San Francisco in the back

A seagull that Carter and I chased around for about 20 minutes

Carter chasing the seagull

I love the colors and how picturesque this looks!

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 4)

2011-01-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 5)

2011-01-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 6)

2011-01-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

Alexis loves these pajamas

Alexis with her cousin Lilly

Just about to board the train into San Francisco. I remember riding this when I was about Alexis' age

Coming up the escalator above ground after getting off the train

I love big cities and I'm a pretty big fan of San Francisco

Carter being goofy

Tired after a full day in the city

Christmas Vacation 12/21/10 - 12/29/10 (part 7)

2011-01-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

Captain Carter

Lilly, Alexis, and Carter

At the Jelly Belly Factory

No cameras beyond this point

Took a picture of a picture and the flash kinda ruined it

Saying goodbye to Grandma Marie

Carter, Alexis, Lilly, and me

Truth

2010-04-18T23:41:00.001-06:00

The last couple of weeks

2010-04-18T22:48:00.001-06:00

This was last weekend after church

Alexis was anxious to wash her dishes and Carter wanted to follow her. I definitely didn't have any complaints about that!!

I snagged these next two pics of Alexis before going to school. I thought she looked pretty dang cute.

The next several pics were yesterday. Every year here in St. George they have this thing called a kite festival. I guess people fly kites during the day. Anyways, we went in the evening with some friends to listen to some live A Capella music and watch fireworks afterwards. There were a bunch of people so we had to park and take a bus that shuttled us over to it.

The girl on the left is a friend of the kids from daycare. They found each other at the place and hung out. This was during the fireworks.

These last two pics were tonight. We went for a little walk and I snagged a couple pics overlooking St. George.

Easter!

2010-04-04T22:15:00.007-06:00

The first two pictures were on Friday. They did an Easter egg hunt at the daycare and I showed up just in time to take some pics of Carter (Alexis had hers in the morning). This morning I woke up early and hid the eggs and then went back to sleep. Well, Carter woke up before everyone and went downstairs and wanted to watch a movie. While he was down there he moved a couple of the eggs (not fully realizing the concept of the Easter egg hunt). So after finding most of the eggs it put all of us on a hunt because even Carter couldn't remember what he did with them! It was fun and we found them all. Ha ha ha!

It was a relaxing day and we went on a walk a little before dinner. We had a lot of fun!

Alexis' 5th Birthday

2010-04-04T21:35:00.006-06:00

Friday was Alexis' birthday. I can't believe she is 5 ALREADY! It blows me away how big she is getting! It was a fun day but much more laid back than Carter's birthday. Up until the day of her birthday she said she wanted to go to the same place we went for Carter's bday. I got off work a few hours early and picked them up and asked Alexis where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do. She said she wanted to go to the pet store and see all the puppies. I asked if she was sure and let her know that we could do whatever she wanted and she confirmed that she wanted to go to the pet store. That's the one thing that I don't have pictures of but we had a lot of fun.

Alexis enjoyed all of her presents and was thankful for all she got. I would like to say thank you to the grandparents and great grandparents that sent gifts.

2010-03-13T20:50:00.007-07:00

Carter's 3rd Birthday!

2010-03-07T17:15:00.004-07:00

Last Tuesday was Carter's birthday. It was one of the best days that I have had in a while, and I know that it was for Carter also. I got off work early to go celebrate his birthday with his class at daycare. Carter really wanted some cupcakes so I brought some in and his class got to scarf them down. Then I took Carter and Alexis to a place called Jumpin Jacks. Its a place with a bunch of inflatable bounce houses and slides. They loved all 3 hours of it!

After dinner we had cake and ice cream and then Carter opened up his presents. He really enjoyed each one of his presents... a big thanks to everyone that sent him something. It was great watching him throughout the day with all his excitement and happiness. The pinnacle moment was when Carter told me toward the end of the day, "Dad, this is the best birthday ever!!!"

2010-03-07T16:43:00.007-07:00

HILARIOUS!!!!

2010-02-28T22:23:00.001-07:00

The above picture is Dwight on "The Office" wearing a "3 wolf moon" shirt. About a year ago somebody sent me a link to amazon.com for this shirt and told me to read the reviews. They are hilarious! The other day a friend of mine had been browsing through the reviews and came across the following review:

It is almost blasphemic to use mortal words to describe this garment. A product that carries within it the power of not one, but three times the wolf intensity. I purchased this shirt (legally must be called so, although it more closely resembles armor) after months of debating how to survive taking tank rounds to the chest. Once equipped with this modern day chain-mail, I slammed a Rockstar and was well on my way to becoming more creature than man. I bolted out the door leaving a trail of fire and wolf fibers behind me as I was ready to take on any challenge the world threw my way.

Cars and buildings disintegrated when the shirt waved in the wind as I ran by, winds that even Tom Schilling could not predict. That is when I met my destruction. I approached a trailer park where a small lad about 7 years young stood with a shirt portraying 4 wolves. HOW COULD THIS BE??? I Remember yelling... HOW????? No punch or kick was needed to defeat me. I had been out-wolved. I returned to my nest to regather myself and await in the darkness for a 5 wolf shirt that will bring about the end of man.

Til then.. $17 dollars of magnificence. Use at own risk.

New pics!

2010-02-06T18:18:00.009-07:00

This frog was totally random. I was about to go out to the back patio and this frog was sitting on the sliding glass door. It didn't move at all so I got a couple close-up pics. Pretty cool.

This is our fabulous finance team. I get the privilege of working with these guys everyday!

Alexis posing

Carter just recently started holding pens and crayons correctly with his fingers and has become very attentive to details when coloring. I loved that he wanted to wear gloves while coloring!

A recent business trip to Salt Lake City (last weekend)

The kids in the car while we were at a stoplight

The Key Bank tower is where our (Intermountain Healthcare) Corporate

Office is located in downtown SLC

This is the Capitol building just a couple blocks up the hill from downtown SLC

I'm a big fan of sunsets. This is just north of Salt Lake City looking west over the valley.

From the same spot as the pic above, zoomed in on downtown Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City LDS Temple

One nice thing about a business trip is being able to eat for free. This is at the

Gateway Mall in downtown Salt Lake City

Another pic at the Gateway Mall

This is Carter last night at bedtime

2010-02-01T21:45:00.001-07:00

New pics coming soon!

At the park today

2010-01-09T22:28:00.007-07:00

The Wonderful Coeur d' Alene!!

2009-12-23T13:48:00.003-07:00

2009-11-19T01:57:00.002-07:00

Carter: "Dad, buy some bananas"

Me: "No, you buy some bananas!"

Carter: "I can't buy bananas, I'm too little!"

There is never a dull moment with these kids! I love it!!!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T23:14:00.004-06:00

It was another successful Halloween tonight. This year has been the best in many ways. Every other year Alexis has been terrified of all the Halloween decorations and Carter was too young to really understand what was going on. This year, Alexis enjoyed all the decorations and Carter enjoyed it almost as much. Its priceless to see their joy and excitement in such simple things. Just about everyday this week, Carter kept asking me if it was Halloween and if he could wear his costume. He was thrilled to be a transformer. Alexis asked me months ago if she could be Tinkerbell this year.

This first pic was a couple nights ago at a Halloween carnival that their daycare put on. Here are the kids playing a modified version of musical chairs. Carter actually won the first round and got a cupcake that he scarfed down. Each of the rooms had a different activity. There was a big turnout and it was a lot of fun.

Here is another of Carter at their Halloween carnival just sitting and eating candy

Carter, the Transformer

Alexis as Tinkerbell

Thanks Mike and Kaye for the Halloween package! The kids loved it! They can't get enough of that card. When Alexis first saw it with the music playing she laughed and said, "Silly skeleton!" It was classic.

Trip to Provo last weekend

2009-10-31T23:00:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we made a quick trip up to Provo. We left Friday after I got off work and came home Sunday morning. ESPN's College Gameday came to Provo for the first time to highlight the game between BYU and TCU. Saturday morning, Mike Ratelle and I got up at 5:30am and went down to where they were set up to air the show. We waited in line for over an hour and then we were got in pretty close to everything. The show went from 8am-10am. It was a lot of fun.

As for the BYU game, it was very sad. It was fun going though. I sat next to one of the guys I work with and another that I used to work with just a few months ago. It was a fun trip and it was good to spend time with friends.

For all you Boise State fans :)

A fabulous Friday night

2009-10-16T21:44:00.010-06:00

I took the kids to the park and for a little walk around town this evening. It couldn't have been more perfect. It was a wonderful 78 degrees outside and the kids had a blast. We were laughing and smiling all evening. I absolutely love these kids! Here are some pics...

With poses like this I think I need to start getting worried...

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Carter was so happy!

I found a little spot where I could set the camera and have the self timer take a pic

As we got in the car to head home Alexis said, "Dad....this was a fun, fun day!" Just a couple minutes before we got home, Alexis's favorite song came on the radio (Alicia Keys- No One) and she got all excited and said, "I knew this song would come on!"

We got home and had some ice cream and then the kids headed off to bed. As I said goodnight to Alexis she said, "Dad, you are handsome and cute. I am cute and gorgeous and fun. You are fun too!"

A bunch of pics

2009-10-03T22:58:00.005-06:00

Alexis, on a walk in August and Carter trying to lift something

I love this pic of Alexis!

Carter running around. I can see a football player in him!

Look at this kid!

Kids playing at a friend's house while we watched the BYU vs. Tulane football game

Alexis working on her first ever homework assignment

She is such a poser!

Last weekend I had to go into the office for a few minutes to do a couple things. Here are the kids at my desk drawing pictures. Carter loves wearing sunglasses!

A view inside my office

Alexis at the park today holding some leaves she collected

Carter today at the park

100th Blog Post- It's a great one!!!

2009-09-05T23:39:00.002-06:00

#20 BYU beat #3 Oklahoma!!!

What else did you think I would write about? :)

After watching a couple of games on the opening night of the college football season on Thursday, I went to work on Friday and told the guys that I have hope for BYU to beat this outstanding team. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I hoped BYU wouldn't get blown out. Sure enough, BYU made a huge impression! They were close the whole game but BYU outplayed Oklahoma. A few key mistakes by BYU prevented themselves from putting up more points, and led to Oklahoma scoring a touchdown. But when it all came down to it, BYU came up with the win.

I was particularly impressed with the defense who was able to prevent Oklahoma from getting a first down on their first two possessions and made huge stops when it was most necessary...including stopping Oklahoma from getting a TD when they had a first down on the 2 yard line!

BYU's defensive backs, I would say, are the most improved from prior years. They always seemed to be the defense's weakness. They had excellent coverage and didn't allow any big passes down field.

As for the Mountain West Conference, things are looking better and better. The conference had a great season last year, including Utah's big win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. This year, it's off to a great start with BYU's win tonight over Oklahoma. #17 TCU and #19 Utah are also ranked in the top 25 and are sure to do big things this season to help the conference look even better.

GO BYU!!

Bailouts and "Cash for Clunkers"

2009-07-31T23:47:00.004-06:00

Does this look like a clunker??!!!

One bailout after another... Why not bail out people who chose to buy a car that doesn't get great gas mileage and doesn't have a great resale value?! The government has its hand in everything else and has spent billions and billions over the last few months, so what's another billion or two? I'm pretty sure i'm not the only one that thinks I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing people who freely chose to buy a vehicle that isn't very fuel efficient. The last time I bought a car I made sure to get one that had good gas mileage. If I had chosen to buy one that didn't, why should anyone other than myself pay to get me another car?

A few years ago I bought a 1995 Honda Civic for $2,000. That thing got between 35-40 mpg. Why do these people with "clunkers" have the cars they do? Because they chose to! Many of the cars eligible for the "cash for clunkers" have a resale value higher than $2,000 and chances are, when they bought it they probably spent a whole lot more than its current resale value. The option was clearly there to get a better vehicle.

So once again, the government bails out people who made poor choices. If money is being given out, why not give it to the people who buy quality cars with good gas mileage and higher resale value? Give them a couple grand for making wise decisions and maybe it will influence others to do the same in the future. If you had the money to buy a new car, isn't it already that much more appealing to buy a hybrid when you know that you can get a tax credit?

The government always has its incentives backwards. For several years banks made mortgage loans to people who could not afford them. They packaged them up in very appealing ways with ARM's, Option ARM's, and interest only loans. Lending standards were loosened tremendously. After the 3 or 5 years of just paying interest on an ARM and all of a sudden the consumer has to pay a much larger mortgage payment, what happened? They couldn't afford it and they go into foreclosure. You do that a couple million times and you all of a sudden have an economic crisis because banks have lost billions of dollars, the consumers have no money and no credit, spending comes to a screeching halt. So what does the government do? Bailout the banks that caused the whole mess (I blame the consumer also for not doing their homework and knowing what they were getting into, or if they knew and just made a risky investment)! Instead of the market naturally forcing those banks that did this the most to suffer and go out of business, the government rewarded it and gave them more funds. There is obviously a lot more to it than this, but my point is that there were banks like U.S. Bank who was largely unaffected by the mortgage meltdown because they didn't make such ridiculous loans as other banks did. So why not give a bank like that, which is well managed and makes smart business decisions, a large bailout? Make a company like that even larger because they will know how to properly manage their assets and not create such turmoil!

One last example which ties in perfectly to the whole "cash for clunkers"... the auto bailout! Why spend billions of dollars to bailout the auto companies that have been for years producing vehicles that don't retain their value and have low gas mileage? Out of the hundreds of vehicles on the "clunkers" list you don't see too many Hondas or Toyotas. Why? Because their cars are some of the highest rated for retaining their resale value and for their fuel efficiency. Last time I checked, they also had some of the highest safety ratings among some of the least expensive vehicles. So again, where is the incentive? If you give billions of dollars to a company that makes poor business decisions and makes a "clunker", do they have incentive to make a better vehicle? Maybe. But if I was being told that I was "too big to let fail", I'm pretty sure I could pretty much do whatever I want and know that I would be ok. Instead, give billions of dollars to automakers like Honda and Toyota and have them ramp up their production scale and keep producing excellent cars like they have been. If that were the case, the other automakers might get the idea that they need to make a better, more fuel efficient, and reliable vehicle in order to compete.

I'm all about the free market and letting the decisions of society work itself out with as little government intervention as possible. If, however, the government is going to be involved (especially like it has been for the last year) then it needs to intervene by placing the incentives in the right place. Otherwise, it continues to promote mediocrity and more people gain a dependency on the government. As this happens, accountability is reduced from the individual and suddenly the government is responsible for everything and will be controlling our lives more than we want it to. This government snowball is rapidly picking up momentum as it is rolling down the mountain.....

Time is flying by...

2009-07-26T22:18:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since I last posted anything on here. A TON has happened, but its mostly personal so I won't get into any details.

The kids have been great! Carter has started potty training! He willingly uses the toilet at least once a day without having to be told to. Its really exciting to see my little guy growing up and doing more and more on his own. Its also kinda sad. Alexis is a genius. I have intelligent conversations with her all the time. She jokes with me all the time and is always trying to trick me. And we have fun just randomly hiding from each other and popping out and scaring the other half to death. It's a blast!

On a side note, Danielle moved back to Coeur d' Alene just the other day. There are definitely pros and cons to this for everybody by her decision. I think this will be a good thing. Hopefully we will get along better with some major distance between us.

Otherwise, work is going great. I am constantly busy and always doing new things and growing tremendously. I thoroughly enjoy my job and all the opportunities that I have to learn and grow and be a significant contributor to the funcionality of the hospital. I don't care who you are, analyzing projects and managing millions of dollars is just plain fun!!

One other thing.....football season is just around the corner!!!!!! Only 41 more days until BYU has their season opener against Oklahoma in the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium. You will definitely be reading more from me about this as Sept. 5th comes closer!! I love college football!!!!!

Some pictures over the last few weeks

2009-06-28T19:05:00.003-06:00

Hilarious!!

2009-06-13T14:42:00.000-06:00

Check out this link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBko_3wT44Q

Cuddling up with the kids at bedtime, watching lightning.....priceless!

2009-06-01T21:28:00.003-06:00

Today was a really good day. The last couple of days weren't so great because I have been feeling exhausted and sick and Carter has also been kinda sick. Today was really busy at work as we were trying to hit one deadline after another, but it all turned out great.

Tonight while Carter was in the bath I was trying to get Alexis ready to take a shower. She was kinda startled when I interrupted her dancing around. She asked, "Where did you come from?" Then I asked her back, "Where did YOU come from?" Her reply was, "I came from dad......from dad's store! From dad's living room store!" It was totally random but made me laugh the way she was saying it, and I have no idea what store she is talking about!

Later, just before bed, I was in Alexis's room down on my hands and knees helping her pick up a few things and then Carter climbed on my back. I said, "Hey you little monkey!" In Carter's great little voice he said, "Hi horse!"

Then, at bed time there was a bunch of lightning outside. I opened up the window, the kids sat on my lap and cuddled up under blankets. While listening to sporadic rainfall we saw lightning and listened to the following thunder. The kids really enjoyed it and I got to teach them about lightning and thunder, and I told them stories about the huge storms I experienced in Argentina. Spending that time with the kids was definitely the highlight of my day!! Those are priceless memories.

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T19:45:00.003-06:00

I'm still a little under the weather but managed to take the kids out for a little while today. Unfortunately, Carter is feeling a little sick also so he got tired pretty quickly. Either way, it turned out to be a pretty nice day and the kids had a blast!

Notice Alexis creeping under the splashes of water. She's so funny!

Nothing new

2009-05-23T22:34:00.002-06:00

Not much new going on around here. I haven't gotten much sleep lately so I got sick and I have a terrible headache. I'm really glad I have a three day weekend!

The best little video of Alexis

2009-05-17T23:25:00.003-06:00

A few pics from the last couple of weeks

2009-05-16T22:53:00.002-06:00

A video

2009-05-10T09:42:00.003-06:00

Alexis

2009-05-03T22:43:00.003-06:00

Tonight at dinner I asked Alexis if she loves her brother Carter and she said, "Yes". I then followed up by asking, "Why?" She responded, "Because I like it when he holds my hand, and I like it when he smiles at me."

Random pics from the trip to Provo

2009-04-27T22:22:00.002-06:00

Graduation!

2009-04-27T22:09:00.001-06:00

Easter!

2009-04-19T15:38:00.003-06:00

Random pics

2009-04-19T15:27:00.003-06:00

A little walk at dusk

2009-04-19T15:18:00.000-06:00

Fail Blog

2009-04-19T14:31:00.003-06:00

Last night I was up until 5am because I was wired on caffeine. While I was up so late I was checking out a site at www.failblog.org. It is full of funny pictures of stupid mistakes and videos of things going terribly wrong. Anyways, it was hilarious and very entertaining. One of the pics that I thought was really funny is posted below. Enjoy!

Not much new

2009-04-19T01:32:00.004-06:00

It has been a couple weeks since I last posted anything on here. I need to be more on top of things. Today we went to a really cool park with the kids and took a bunch of pics with Danielle's phone but I don't have them on my computer yet.

The kids are doing well and are healthy. They are always a lot of fun and they amaze me with how much they learn on a daily basis.

Work is going well. Our finance team had a meeting with all the senior management at the hospital on Tuesday. I got to present a report that we had prepared upon the CEO's request. During the presentation of this report the CEO kept saying how good it was and after I was all done she said that her "hair has been blown back" from it. That was pretty significant for me because I had created the majority of the report and my boss said that she doesn't always get so excited about things. On Thursday we each received a card from her stating what a great job we had done with everything we prepared for the meeting. She also gave my boss a certificate to take our finance team to a nice restaurant for lunch sometime. I love it!

I must also say that right now finals are going on at BYU and this is the first semester that has passed since I graduated. It is so nice to be done with school and not have to worry about all the stress of studying and taking tests (especially finals)! After I get off work I don't have to worry about anything and I can just do what I want and spend as much time as I want with the kids without feeling the pressure of having to do anything for school or work!

A couple weeks ago in Provo

2009-04-04T13:40:00.002-06:00

I went up to Provo while Chris Goodwin was in town for his spring break. He bought a .40 Caliber Glock and we went out to a shooting range. These are pretty much the only pics I have of the whole weekend I was up there.

Catching Up

2009-04-02T21:51:00.010-06:00

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted up anything on here. So, here are a ton of pictures from things that have been going on over the last month. Lots of hanging out and playing with the kids, the kids being sick, and today is Alexis's birthday!

Alexis is 4 years old today but we didn't have much of a party because she and Carter got up this morning and while I was in the shower they opened all of her presents and dug their hands into her cake. We still had fun tonight and took the kids for a ride on a little 4 wheeler. We also had cake but it was pretty low key since they pretty much ruined the celebration this morning. I guess that's what makes life interesting!

Quick update

2009-03-07T22:42:00.004-07:00

Danielle is back living in St. George.

Carter Turns 2!

2009-03-02T19:50:00.006-07:00

Two years ago today, Carter DeMotte was born...

6 months later...

1 year later...

18 months later...

Today he is 2 years old!!!

We love you Carter and are very proud of the little person that you are. Thank you for all the great memories and laughs. We are all blessed each day that we have with you.

Alive and Kicking

2009-02-11T21:21:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I really feel like writing something on here and other days I really don't care to. Sometimes I'm really busy doing nothing and at other times I am doing a lot of things and being super productive. It seems like it's been a while since I put up any pictures but I haven't taken a whole lot lately.

There has actually been a lot going on in all aspects of my life. Sometimes the trials of life can be so terribly overwhelming but somehow I always manage to overcome and become stronger. Yet it is all so crazy because it seems like as I become stronger I then get hit with something even bigger. Each trial seems to knock me down even harder. I try to stay optimistic and keep pushing through and hoping that it is all because I can't know the sweet without knowing the bitter. Hopefully it is all setting me up to experience the most joyous, sweetest things in life. I'm obviously being very vague and I prefer it to be that way..........I guess, all in all, I'm realizing that somethings are just out of our hands, no matter how much we try. Sometimes, what may seem like reality really isn't.

No matter what gets thrown at me I am always thankful that I always have the kids. No matter how much life can be upside down, there is nothing more important than being able to look into their eyes and tell them how much I love them.

One small step for the DeMotte's, one giant leap for Carter

2009-02-02T20:19:00.002-07:00

My son is one step closer to being a man! Carter pooped in the toilet for the first time today! I'm sure nobody wants any of the details but basically he told me he needed to go poop and I went and sat him on the toilet. A couple of minutes later he did his business and was done.

On a side note, Carter is exactly 23 months old today. Alexis was exactly 23 months old when Carter was born. It's hard to imagine that she was so young when Carter came into our life. It's even harder to imagine the idea of having another one with them so young (not that it is even possible considering the circumstances, but you know what I'm saying).

Low Gas Usage

2009-01-30T22:09:00.002-07:00

One thing that I really love about being in St. George is that since it is a small town I don't have to drive a ton to get from one place to another. When I was in Provo I drove almost 15 miles to get to the kids' daycare and then about another 5-7 miles to get to school. Here, I drive about 4 miles to the kids daycare and then about a mile to get to work.

So what does this translate to? It means that in Provo, I had to fill up my car with gas about once a week after driving almost 400 miles per week. Here in St. George I have only filled up once so far and that was four weeks ago!!! My gas light just came on today. At this rate I will only have to fill up about once a month! I love it!!

The kids!

2009-01-30T21:36:00.003-07:00

Anticoagulation

2009-01-27T20:50:00.002-07:00

I love my job! I have been working on an analysis that has to do with blood tests and managing risks of blood clots. So yesterday a coworker and I went and met with the lab manager to find out about the whole process and the costs that are involved. We were then introduced to the lady that specializes in the tests that measure the ratio and time for your blood to coagulate.

We learned a ton from the whole thing and even got our blood tested for free. It's just a simple little finger prick and within a couple minutes we had the results. So, it takes my blood 12.2 seconds to coagulate which is within the normal range. Anyway, after that visit to the lab I was able to put together a bunch of the pieces needed for the financial analysis and I also learned a lot in the process!

Diploma!

2009-01-24T12:47:00.002-07:00

I got my diploma in the mail today!!

What a Week!

2009-01-23T23:01:00.003-07:00

No new pictures this week. The batteries died in the camera and I've just been too lazy to put new batteries in it.

Other than that, this week has been super stressful. On Monday I got a call from the kids' daycare and Carter had a fever so I had to go pick him up and take him home. So then of course on Tuesday I had to try to find someone to watch him so that I could go to work. He seemed to be getting better but by Wednesday morning his fever was over 102. So I took him to the doctor and it turned out that he has an ear infection (of which he showed no signs). He got some antibiotics and has been doing better but is still really cranky.

So then, of course, on Wednesday night Alexis started coughing a lot and was really congested. She woke up sounding terrible but quickly appeared more normal. Then last night after Carter finally went to sleep around 1:30am Alexis woke up just before 5am with a fever, heavily congested, and a headache. She was up until about 6am and then I got up shortly after to get ready for work. When the kids woke up they were just good enough to take to daycare.
As of tonight, the sickness continues.......

On a positive note, I had a great day at work today. I was able to take a spreadsheet that we use to generate the biggest variances from the budget throughout the hospital and automate the process. I had to run through this thing the other day and it took almost two hours to generate the data we needed. So I fixed it. It is now generated by the click of one button. That's it. A two hour process cut down to clicking one button. I love it. I had a ton of fun improving the process also!

Pics of the kids and walking around near our house today

2009-01-11T00:20:00.004-07:00

Pics around town

2009-01-11T00:04:00.004-07:00

How many of you have palm trees outside of your local Walmart?

Here is a pic looking west out to the heart of St. George

This is looking southeast over St. George

This is looking northeast over St. George

Right in the middle of this picture you can see a small white steeple of a church. I live just to the left of it. Also, at the bottom right of this picture is an apartment complex. That is where we lived during the summer while I was down here for my internship.

My Office

2009-01-10T23:56:00.003-07:00

This first pic was taken on a big hill that I drive over everyday to get to work. The big buildings on the right half of the picture are part of the hospital (which I work for). I work in the building in the center (seen just above the road).

Here is the building where I work

And here is my office

My Kitchen

2009-01-10T23:46:00.002-07:00

Here are some pics of my kitchen after I finally finished unpacking everything and getting it cleaned. After all the other places I lived in and especially as I have become the one to do all the cooking I am thrilled to have a large, nice kitchen. It is the exact opposite of the kitchen I had in my last place (tiny, old appliances, nasty colored counters).

Settling In

2009-01-10T23:36:00.002-07:00

I can't believe I've been down here almost two weeks already! I just completed my first full week of work which is going great. I love my job! The kids are doing great. Carter really enjoys daycare and Alexis loves going to preschool. I think I will now get a chance to relax a little. Everything has been really busy as I have been trying to finish unpacking and I have had plenty of other things to do.

It has been great being able to spend more time with the kids and not having to worry about an upcoming test or other assignments that will keep me up late at night! The weather has been great. It was really nice getting out of the snow and the extreme cold. Except for a couple days where it was around 30 degrees, it has been warm and sunny. It feels like Spring! I love it!!

A few more pics

2009-01-01T00:04:00.003-07:00

Here are the kids in front of our place

Here is a look directly out my front door

This is looking left (looking south) as you pull out of the townhome complex area

This is sort of a southeast look from across the street from the church parking lot (the townhomes start at the far left)

A look at the townhomes from across the street at the church. My place is in the center of the picture.

Here is what a couple thousand miles of driving through all sorts of crazy weather will do to your car.

And this is what it looks like after taking it to Fabulous Freddy's Car Wash

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I would have to say that this year has been the most eventful year of my life. The first third of the year was packed full of the "finance core" of classes at BYU which was the most intense semester I had. It was loaded with classes like investments, economics, corporate finance, and corporate accounting. In the middle of all that I was in search of an internship for the summer, which as many of you know, I was able to get the one that I most wanted as a financial analyst for a hospital.

So the middle third of the year was filled with moving to St. George, UT for the summer and doing the analysis of multimillion dollar projects for the hospital. Before moving we sold both of our cars and bought a minivan. During the summer I also took a motorcycle safety course and bought my first motorcycle. By the end of summer I had to sell my motorcycle as I had become a single dad of our two children. I also got rid of the minivan (with great joy), and got a newer Honda Civic. Also, before I finished my internship I accepted an offer to work at the hospital full time after graduation. My first "real" job!

The last four months have been challenging but wonderful. I finished my last semester of school (I was taking 18 credits!) and I have grown a lot as I have been the sole provider for two kids. I finished school on December 17th (with great grades for the semester by the way) and made it up to Coeur d' Alene for a week to enjoy Christmas at "home" and then got back down to Springville and packed everything up and took off two days later to get back down here to St. George.

So here I am at the close of 2008, thankful for all that I have been able to accomplish and thankful for the many challenges I have faced. I know that I have achieved many things and have grown immensely because of the adversity that I have faced. I am also very thankful for how things have turned out. The timing of just about everything this year has been beyond amazing (the timing of how I got accepted for my internship, the timing of my divorce, the timing of having such a great job in such a bad economy, and finding a wonderful place to live that is very inexpensive because of the bad economy).

I look forward to what 2009 will bring but I highly doubt there will be nearly as much happening as what happened this year. I mean, seriously, how can you compare anything to a year of intense semesters, an internship, first motorcycle, divorce, becoming a single parent, graduation, and starting your first job out of college?

My new place!

2008-12-31T22:38:00.002-07:00

So here are some pics of my new place down here in St. George. It's a great townhome in an awesome location!

Here is the living room with the stairs off to the right and the closet door right in the middle of the picture

Here is the dining room and going into the kitchen

Here is my awesome large kitchen!

This is right when you get upstairs. A bathroom on the left, Carter's room straight ahead, Alexis's room off to the right, and the master bedroom behind to the left.

Graduated!

2008-12-23T17:42:00.003-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted on here. The end of my semester got extremely busy as I had a bunch of big projects and presentations in the last few days of classes. Then I had finals which of course is very time consuming. Needless to say, everything went well and I am now BYU alumni!

I will be adding a ton of pictures and more stuff on here soon. For now I will say that I am in Coeur d' Alene, ID with the kids and hanging out with the Griffitts. It's been very relaxing and fun. It's nice to know that I have no homework, no assignments, and no tests to study for.....ever.

I drove up to Boise, ID on Friday and then made the rest of the trip up to CDA on Saturday. I mostly had good road conditions but it got pretty ugly at times. A few interesting things I found as I made the trip........

1. I passed through a city called "Farr West". I guess it was even further than far, so they had to put an extra "r" on "far". Just then, a tumble weed blew by.

2. I stopped to use the bathroom in a little city called "Snowville". It was established in 1871 and the only thing I saw in the city was the gas station.

3. I was driving on a two lane highway and came across a sign on each side of the road, placed directly across from the other. The one on the left was a sign showing that the left lane was merging into the right lane. The sign on the left showed the right lane was merging into the lane on the left. It turned out that neither lane merged into the other.

4. Throughout Utah and southern Idaho the signs that say "Slower traffic keep right" are all on the far right side of the road. Wouldn't it make sense to put it next to the left lane where the dumb drivers that only drive in the left lane can see it and learn to move over? Once I got to Oregon it was finally next to the left lane, then I saw it that way throughout Washington and North Idaho.

Busy days....

2008-12-04T21:33:00.003-07:00

I don't know if any of you have looked at my countdown over there to the right, but I only have two weeks until I graduate!!! That's crazy! So exciting. Along with it comes a jam packed end of the semester. This week has been the most chaotic of the whole semester. I had two huge presentations this week. Today alone I had three 75 minute classes, I also took a test between classes, finished up a big project and got it turned in, gave a presentation, and took a quiz. I didn't even eat anything until dinner time. I rushing all over the place today.

Tomorrow morning I am heading down to St. George with the kids to find a place to live. I have a few places lined up to look at. If everything goes well and the kids aren't too hyper then we might come back tomorrow night, otherwise we will stay at a hotel and come back on Saturday sometime.

Next week I have two big projects that are due and then the next week is finals. Then I am done!!! I will graduate and finally be done!!!!!!!!!!

The Dark Knight

2008-11-16T16:25:00.004-07:00

Continuing on with a stellar weekend, Saturday night I went and saw the new Batman movie: The Dark Knight. It was my first time and I actually missed the first 20-30 minutes of it but it was amazing! I love that movie! Since it is now in the dollar theater, I can afford to go see it again, and hopefully see the whole thing!

Game #11: BYU 38 Air Force 24

2008-11-16T16:18:00.002-07:00

After playing flag football for a couple hours in the morning, a bunch of us got together and watched the BYU game and had pizza. It was one of the better games that I think BYU has played this year. It was really good because Air Force is a quality opponent and not only did BYU win but it wasn't a super close game after they got rolling in the second half. It was a big win for being on the road against a good team and to get ramped up for the huge rivalry game next Saturday against the Utah Utes.

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-16T16:09:00.002-07:00

On Friday night I went and saw the new James Bond movie. It was awesome! It was packed full of action and great special effects. It was a great movie to kick off a fantastic weekend!

Game #10: BYU 41 SDSU 12

2008-11-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

BYU pulled off a decent win against the terrible San Diego State last week. I imagine it would have been a larger margin if the starters were in during the whole game. It was the last home game of the season and so some of the seniors that normally don't see much playing time got to play. That was also my last home game as a college student. It's sad that it had to be against a terrible team like SDSU but it was still really fun!

Hangin with the kids

2008-11-08T00:04:00.002-07:00

Tonight I had the privilege of paying back a part of the eternal debt I have to the Zastrows by watching their kids while they went out for a little bit. The kids loved it and it was really easy because they just wanted to watch the Little Mermaid. So here they are being thoroughly entertained!

Car Accident

2008-11-07T23:45:00.002-07:00

Monday morning as I just left the house to take the kids to daycare and head to school, I was stopped at a stoplight and some guy rear ended me and pushed me into the car in front of me. The kids were startled and I had some whiplash but we ended up ok. We went to the hospital to be sure that we were ok. And, it turns out that the guy didn't have insurance.

So I get the joy of the whole mess of now having to take the guy to small claims court to get my money back. Luckily, I don't have to pay for everything, just my deductible and the cost of the rental car since I don't have that coverage on my insurance. So if anybody doesn't have car rental coverage, I would suggest getting it because uninsured/underinsured coverage only covers medical.

So I will go after this guy to get my money back and my insurance will go after him to get back everything that they have to pay out. I'm sure that the little bit of money that they guy saved by not paying for insurance was not worth the mess that he has now. When will those without insurance ever learn that it isn't worth the risk?

Game #9: BYU 45 Colorado State 42

2008-11-07T23:38:00.001-07:00

A game that should not have been very close came down to the last minute for the second week in a row and BYU pulled off the win. It was pretty exciting but it was disappointing to see how much the team has been falling short. Only three more games of the regular season. Tomorrow is the last home game against San Diego State University. This game should legitimately be a blowout considering they are one of the worst teams in the country and have only won one game this season. If it isn't a huge blowout, the last two games will be very difficult for BYU.

Halloween!

2008-11-07T23:33:00.004-07:00

Alright, I know its a week late but I have been really busy over this last week. Anyway, here are the pics. We went trick or treating with the Zastrows and the kids had a blast.

Busy Life

2008-11-04T23:23:00.002-07:00

Things have been really busy lately. I will probably spend a few minutes tomorrow or on Thursday to update my blog. I have pics of the kids from Halloween and all that good stuff to come.....

Game #8: BYU 42 UNLV 35

2008-10-28T23:42:00.003-06:00

So BYU pulled through with another win and improve to 7-1 on the season. It was kind of exciting as it came down to the last minute. All in all, it was sad to see such poor pass coverage by our defensive backs. They gave up something like 350 yards passing. It was sick. So I don't doubt that we will have wins the next two games but then the last two will be very questionable if our defense keeps going the way they are.

#21 BYU vs. UNLV

2008-10-24T22:55:00.000-06:00

I don't really have much to say about this game. I think it will really determine how the last part of this season will end up for BYU. If they absolutely destroy UNLV then I think there is hope for them to win the rest of their games. If they just do ok then I think they will probably struggle the rest of their games. I hate to say it but, if they lose, well, then I guess there is always next year. It's hard to have any prediction of what will happen after last week's most embarassing loss.

Luncheon with scholarship donors

2008-10-24T22:49:00.000-06:00

On Thursday I was able to attend a luncheon with the donors of one of my scholarships. I wasn't too thrilled about going but afterward I was really glad that I did. The donor is Hyrum W. Smith, the founder of Franklin Covey.

One of the things he stated that I really liked was, "You cannot think deeper than your vocabulary will allow you to." He then followed this up talking about the importance of expanding your vocabulary and continuing to learn in all aspects of life. A very valuable part of this happens from reading.

I really liked this because I have never been much of a reader apart from studying for school. It seems as though the most intelligent and most successful people are those that are always reading. I'll be searching for some good books after I graduate soon....especially because football season will be over.

Ward Halloween Party

2008-10-24T22:30:00.006-06:00

This is Cinderella. She has been saying for a month that she wants to be Cinderella for Halloween!

Here is Winnie the Pooh. He was going to be a turtle as per Alexis' request, but I could not find a turtle outfit in his size.

And here is clan: Carter, Coen, Alexis, and Atlas

Here we were at the church eating dinner.

And this is the infamous "Trunk or Treat" where the kids go trick or treating in the church parking lot out of the trunks of cars.

Getting ready for Halloween?

2008-10-24T22:16:00.003-06:00

After cleaning up after dinner I found the kids playing in Alexis' room as she was playing dress up

Alexis tried put on several different princess dresses within about 15 minutes!

Don't ask me what Carter was doing here. He really likes this mask though.

Alexis took a great picture of me and Carter

And here is the three of us

Last Saturday

2008-10-24T22:08:00.004-06:00

Alexis wanted "the baby" to sit on her lap so she could read to him. ha ha ha!!

We went to the park and they had a blast climbing up everything

And they really like the slides.....

and the swings....

and more of the slides!

I love this pic!

2008-10-17T23:06:00.002-06:00

I snagged this yesterday while the kids were outside playing

Game #7 BYU 7 TCU 32

2008-10-16T23:55:00.002-06:00

Let me quickly get this over with because a part of me died tonight as BYU lost. In fact, it wasn't just a loss, it was a very embarrassing slaughter. BYU looked pathetic. I couldn't believe it. TCU played an exceptionally great game and BYU played (in my opinion) the worst game I have seen while I have been in college. I am very disappointed. Goodbye BCS bowl game. Goodbye to Max Hall being a Heisman candidate. I'll just leave it at that for now.

#9 BYU at TCU

2008-10-15T22:01:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is a big game at 6pm MST on Versus! It will be BYU's toughest game so far this season. TCU has only lost one game which was to the Oklahoma Sooners (who were ranked #2 at the time). TCU has the best defense in the country and BYU has one of the best offenses in the country. So it will be interesting to see what BYU can do against a high caliber defense and to see what BYU's defense can do against a good opponent. TCU definitely has the home field advantage.

I think it will be a hard fought game and will probably be a nail biter down to the end. Hopefully, though, BYU will destroy TCU. I don't think it is likely, but it is definitely possible if BYU plays a complete game like they were a few weeks ago. Max Hall will shine like the Heisman candidate he is, the receivers will have a great game, and the linebackers will tear it up.

My prediction: BYU 31 TCU 21

Game #6 BYU 21 New Mexico 3

2008-10-15T21:37:00.003-06:00

My little post analysis of the last game is coming a little late, but hey, better late than never. Right? It was actually kind of a boring game. Again BYU didn't play that great, in my opinion. They should have done a lot better. They just seem to be going through the motions with a lot of things instead of going out and playing ball and having fun. It was a great finish though! As New Mexico was trying to work their way down field to score at the last minute, the last two plays the New Mexico QB was sacked (see the picture above). That's my BYU!

#9 BYU vs. New Mexico (BYU's Homecoming game)

2008-10-11T12:21:00.003-06:00

After letting Utah State score two touchdowns last week I'm sure BYU is fired up and ready to execute at a higher level. New Mexico doesn't have a passing game which is where BYU's weakness is on defense. So defense should do a great job containing New Mexico and keeping the points low or even scoreless. On the other hand, BYU's offense is strongest with the passing game. With today's weather in the 30's and a predicted 4-6 inches about the time of the game, BYU will surely be tested with their rushing strength. Cold weather is pretty tough but then add a bunch of snow to it and it should be a very interesting game.

My prediction: BYU 38 New Mexico 7

Also, just let me throw in here that I am way pumped to be going to the game today in the freezing cold weather, and hopefully it will snow a lot! I've been wanting to go to a game like that for a long time!

The stuffed animal that taunts me!

2008-10-11T11:49:00.002-06:00

Ok, so here is the story with this. Danielle and I got this stuffed elephant for Alexis for Christmas a couple years ago (I'm pretty sure it was for her first Christmas). It has a little wind-up music box thing inside of it and not too long after getting it, the music wouldn't play anymore. It was so broke it wouldn't even wind up. The other day, Carter found it buried with a bunch of other stuffed animals and all of a sudden it was playing music as he was holding it. I took it from him and for some reason I was able to wind it up, but it still wouldn't play. As soon as I gave it back to Carter, it started playing again. I did this a few times until I gave up trying to get it to play music while I was holding it. So this morning I tried to get video of the weirdness of this event. Notice at first it will play for me but then it won't.

Especially take note that it completely stops playing music when I have it look at me (and the camera) and then it starts again as soon as Carter is holding it!

Middle of the Week

2008-10-11T01:06:00.004-06:00

During the week, I had two midterms, both on the same day, in class, one right after the other. All through college I haven't had tests in class, they have always been in the testing center and we have to find our own time to do it. So what are the odds that I have two on the same day in class with practically no time between classes? Well it happened.

And of course, as has happened every other time that I have had tests: the night before when I most need a good night's rest, the kids wake up at least once in the middle of the night. It never fails. They always sleep peacefully throughout the night every single night. But, when I have a test the next day, they just happen to wake up and don't want to go back to sleep. Every time!! So like always, I only got about 5-6 hours of sleep Tuesday night and actually did pretty good on my tests. I wonder if it is just meant to happen because maybe I would do bad on tests if I actually got a good night's rest the night before. I guess I will never find out because it has never happened!

So here are a couple pics of the kids I took in the morning a couple days ago. While I was getting ready in the morning I found the kids helping each other out and I was lucky enough to get a couple pics.

Here is Carter helping Alexis put her shoes on

And then Alexis was helping Carter to get his socks and shoes on

General Conference at Brad and Jessie's

2008-10-11T00:58:00.006-06:00

Here are some pics from last Sunday up at Brad and Jessie's apartment.

The kids hanging out on the balcony

Brad looks so enthusiastic

Here is a look down at the Utah Valley from their balcony. Right in the middle is BYU's campus

This was after I left their place, I drove just a little bit higher up and got a picture of the snow on Mt. Timpanogos

Trip to Logan

2008-10-05T20:58:00.004-06:00

I wish I would have had more pictures but the batteries in the camera died. On Friday, Brad, Jessie, and I went up to Logan for the BYU game against Utah State. The kids and I stayed with an old mission companion. Brad and Jessie stayed with his sister, Tawni. It was a quick trip, we went up Friday afternoon and came back Saturday afternoon.

This picture is my old mission comp. Justin Teuscher and his awesome wife Kristali playing with the kids

Alexis doesn't look very happy here but she was having a blast playing guitar hero (even though she couldn't quite coordinate the buttons at the right time). She looks like a natural the way she is holding the guitar!

Another of Alexis playing guitar hero

Brad snagged this picture of me while I was driving on the way back to Provo

Game #5 BYU 34 Utah State 14

2008-10-05T20:41:00.005-06:00

So, BYU pulled off another win. At the end of the first quarter the score was 24-0. They seemed to be really content with that and then started to let up on them for a final score of 34-14. So my predictions for this game were off and came up short on all points. It was fun and now BYU is 5-0 on the season and extends the nation's longest winning streak with 15 consecutive wins.

Here is me with the kids at the beginning of the game. Next to me in the black shirt is Justin Teuscher, a mission companion that I served with down in Argentina

Here is the scoreboard at the beginning of the second quarter

Brad and Jessie with the kids

BYU (in white) on defense doing what they do best: destroying the offense

#8 BYU vs. Utah State tomorrow

2008-10-02T22:32:00.002-06:00

So tomorrow, BYU plays against Utah State for game #5. Byu is now ranked #8! Utah State is pretty much one of the worst teams in the country. So it should be a walk in the park for BYU. It should be another shutout with BYU scoring at least 49 points, but it is possible that they might give up one touchdown. I should also add that QB Max Hall is one of the top candidates for the Heisman award. I predict four TD passes and at least 350 passing yards.

Watching the kids tonight

2008-10-02T22:13:00.003-06:00

Tonight I got home from school and watched Coen and Atlas for about two hours while Meagan was out and Brent is out of town. The kids had a blast!

Alexis and Coen playing with building blocks

Here's Atlas always with the yellow boots and Alexis' Elmo purse. Classic example of why Brent calls him a diva....ha ha ha

Carter always puts these little toy boxes on his head like a hat. He loves it! So I guess this picture of them watching football makes up for the pic of Atlas above.

And then they both found some books

In the meanwhile, Alexis and Coen were having fun playing in her room.

Carter video clip

2008-10-02T22:08:00.002-06:00

Carter and I play this little game all the time where we look off to the side with just our eyes. He copies me and thinks it is the funniest thing. I would post more videos of Alexis but she always starts acting weird or really lame whenever the camera is on her.

Last weekend

2008-10-02T21:56:00.003-06:00

Updates coming soon

2008-10-01T21:12:00.002-06:00

I have a big test on Friday and two more next week, along with other assignments and projects to work on. That leaves me with little time to post stuff up but I will squeeze in some time in the next day or two to do so. This last weekend was a blast with the Griffitts in town. I have a bunch of pictures to put up from it.

I never get sick of this

2008-09-24T23:10:00.002-06:00

I love this little guy's voice!

A few videos

2008-09-24T22:27:00.005-06:00

BYU and what bowl game?

2008-09-22T22:20:00.001-06:00

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
1. BYU is the non-BCS' best hope: No, not for a BCS bid, there are a still five other teams with undefeated records, but the Cougars might be the non-BCS' best hope for a national championship bid. I know, I know, it's only the fifth weekend of the season. Trust me, I've said the same thing a gazillion times to BYU fans. But you can't deny that there's something special in this team. After its controversial win against Washington, the Cougars have gone on to outscore their opponents 103-0. That's dominant no matter whom the Cougars are playing. The Cougars have their highest national ranking since 2001, and if things continue to go the way they're going, they'll be in the Top 8 by the time they meet Utah in November.

Game #4 BYU 44 Wyoming 0

2008-09-22T22:10:00.002-06:00

#11 BYU (4-0)

Well, if you look back to my post a couple days ago you will see that I predicted a win of at least 42 points and a possible shut out. Maybe ESPN should hire me to be a sports analyst...lol. BYU had another dominant game. After the game, on espn.com I read, "The game was over when Max Hall and the confident cougars took the field at Lavell Edwards Stadium." I found it kind of funny when I read in the school newspaper today that the game winning touchdown was the first one that was scored (which was by BYU's defense)! Go cougs!