House Boat Vacation in Sausalito, CA

Barbara treated our family and Wendy's brother John and his family from Portland OR to a come stay a week on a floating house boat. The changing tides lead the floating boat to go up and down as much as 11 feet! The four corners of the boat have sleaves wrapped around posts which allow the floating house to adjust to the tide. On low tide we were sitting on mud watching birds eat stranded fish and ocean creatures. High tide we took the canoe around the bay exploring! It was so much fun. I have some amazing pictures of this floating boat community that I will post later. We drove to Aunt Paula and Uncle Jim for Fireworks in Healdberg. It was a real special and memorable family vacation.

Princess Halle and King Daddy go to the Princess Festival, Lindon UT

Halle absolutely loves anything to do with princesses. The Princess festival is a magical kingdom charity that all raises money for poverty stricken children in Africa. The day started with Halle getting a hair updo. We were invited to center stage with the flags for a special announcement of the adventure we were about to undergo. The adventure was perfect for Halle's imagination. We visited Snow White and warned her to not eat the poison apple. We rescued Rupunzel from a locked tower. Halle was chosen out of our group of 20 princesses to carry the key. We watched Bell's kiss turn the beast into a prince and met Jasmine and Alladin. We found Aurora in a deep sleep, so we called on her prince to kiss her, which he did, and she awakened. Before entering the grand ballroom with all the princes and princesses, we had a stand-off with a wicked witch. We cast a spell and paralyzed her and made it to the ball. We danced together and then did some crafts and ate together. I did Halle's nails with glitter and made her a sparkly wand. It was four hours packed with all things Halle! It was so fun to see Halle totally captivated by this magical place.

June's Highlights

June is a special month for the kids. They get to say goodbye to school and enjoy summer. Some schools in Utah are so full they do on track and off track which is a pain for families trying to plan vacations. Taylor and I had a father son outing on the 12th and 13th. This will be our last outing to Walsburg Church property. This has been a strong tradition for Taylor and I for nearly 10 years. The property sits at the end of the Wallsberg valley. My great great grandfather William Madison Wall settled this community which was named after him. The property is at the mouth of the canyon. It features two pavilions, bathrooms, a tree swing, a river runs through the property. We usually do capture the flag or look at star consellations through a telescope on Fri evening. Saturday we do games or a hiking adventure. The beautiful and relaxing setting combined with good food and friends has made this a special time.

I also had a another special outing in the woods this month. I attended a Wild at Heart Christian Men's retreat in the Eden Valley at the top of Ogden canyon. Wow. I had some great experiences with men, enjoyed lots of adventure oriented activities and had some very personal spiritual experiences through lectures, prayer, meditation and journaling. I loved it. It helped ground me, orient me, and be prepared for the upcoming months. If anyone is interested in this search humblewarriorheart.org or .com. I recommend it to any man who is struggling to find purpose in his life. You really come to understand your masculine journey in a powerful

Favorite shots of Noel

 

More fun family pics

 This black and white of our family walking has become a family favorite.   Wendy found Halle a sleep by me and she happened to have an "I love daddy" shirt on.  Halle and her friend, Brooklyn Bentley.   Taylor received five merit badges at the last court of honor.  He is about one year away from his Eagle.  He only needs to render service and leadership for another year and complete three more merit badges.  He may beat me.  I got my eagle just before turning 14.  He will likely get his eagle at 13 and half.  We both love scouting.  Taylor and I this past weekend hiked to Mt Grandeur and spent a night on the summit this past weekend.  We will save that for another blog.  Bottom right: Wendy's high school friend, Seth Davis, stopped in to visit as he was passing through SLC.   

family pictures

 This is variety of family shots.  Taylor doing Karate in the kitchen.  Halle pretending to be a young ninja.   Noel is performing for the half time show of the Utah Flash Basketball at Utah Valley Community College.  

Peace Love and Lip Gloss

 

Halle lives life with passion.   She drinks in every hour of every day.  When her head hits the pillow she is usually out with in minutes.  Sadly, getting her to go to sleep is a monumental task!  See that band aid on Halle's index finger.  She was bit by the undomesticated hamster Pippen.  While we were attending to Taylor's appedix crisis, a nasty bacteria was growing under the band aid.  When we removed it--Shocking scareyness!  Her finger was black and seriously infected.  We rushed her to Dr Vierra her pediatrician.  Dr Vierra cleaned the wound and prescribed an anti-biotic.  Two weeks later it looks like we caught it in time.  Halle will not handle Pippen.  Halle loves to help.  She brushes my hair, makes pancakes with me, dresses up for all occastions, and wears a Tigger costume in April.   Oh yea and she bounces and bounces and bounces her way through life!!!

Noel news

 

Noel and her friend Tiffany Bentley made a snow man in February.  Noel's birthday gift was a hamster she named peaches.  Peaches is very domesticated and can take lots of handling.   It has only been lost once.  Noel reports "she came back to me after being lost."  Middle picture is crazy hair day.   Noel loves to participate in school "spirit" type activities.  Far right, Noel has a great big smile that she shines when not in a bad mood.   Noel did excellent in her last report card getting all A's and B's with a 3.6 GPA

Taylor highs and lows

 

Taylor had some serious highs and lows this month.  First, all members of the student body who bought a year book were entered in a drawing for eyepod touch.  Taylor won.  I love how this picture even has a natural star light to emphasize the shiny new tech toy!  Second, Taylor organized his own Duty to God service project.  He called the West Valley City Manager and arranged a meeting to learn how to paint the faded fire hydrants in our neighborhood.  He was given a map and paint.  He recruited Spencer and Colton in picture top left as well as other kids who saw us painting and joined in.   Notice the before and after picture! Third, we got paid for caretaking a puppy for Gloria the owner of the SL Marathon.   Now for the bad news.  After the fire hydrant painting, Taylor started to have sharp pains in his side.  Halle was with us for the first 5 hours.  She lightened the mood and made things worse at times.  She told doctors she knew what is wrong, "He swallowed a pin"   When Taylor was crying, she made things worse by telling doctors, "he is afraid you are going to cut him open."   Fortunately, Diana King took Halle and Noel for the night.   Taylor was tranfered from Murray Intermountain hospital to Primary Childrens.  He was third in line for the surgery.  He had his appendectimy at 1:00am Sunday.   Wendy and I took turns staying at the hospital until he was released on Tuesday am.  

Snow and Sun in February!

The top picture is Wendy and her good friend Barbie Mazza donning 50's attire.  Todd and Barbie treated us to a trip to San Jose to attend the sock hop 50's themed party for Barbie's big 40th birthday.  It was so nice to enjoy some sun in the normally very cold Utah winter months.

My sister Kobi and her husband Cam and fam came to Utah for a week visit. Their kids are not used to snow living in the New Mexico dessert.  They loved making a snowman.  Another fun snow activity this month was a father son outing with church friends at Gaylen Atkinson's cabin.  We ate a chili for dinner; Fathers told stories about growing up around the fire; and we played games, and told funny jokes past midnight.  The next day we went snow mobiling, 4 wheeling, and sledding.  A could be crisis turned into a miracle.  I lost my wallet and car keys in a wide open field that had to be 3 football fields long.  I prayed desperately knowing how mad Wendy would be if she had to drive two hours with a set of keys.  Within 5 minutes and four search teams, we found both my wallat and car keys!  Thank you God!  

The next weekend we hosted an Adamson Adult dinner at Rib City.  It was really nice to have my father and Sandi in town.  With my Dad and Sandi's visit combined with Kobi and Cam's visit we had family from New Mexico twice this month!

Wendy and I taught a Dave Ramsay "Get Out of Debt" seminar to couples in our church.  We put a lot of time into this.  We are close to clearing all our debts.  It is an exciting time. 

January is Family Birthday Month!

Flower Picture represents my goal to get Wendy flowers every month this year as we are celebrating 15 years of marriage.  This is flowers for January.  

In January, our immediate family has three birthdays Noel(11) Wendy (39) and I turned (41) Next year I am planning a big big 40 bash for Wendy.  In my extended family my mother, Brother in law Cam, and my sister Roxann all have birthdays.  We typically have a big Sunday Birthday for everyone!  

Another BIG highlight of the month was watching the U of U football team & BCS underdog punch BCS favorite Alabama in the chops with a convincing WIN!  I suggest the BCS change its name to the BS system.  Law suites about fairness issues will be coming.  

Taylor went to the LDS temple for the first time.  We enjoyed shakes after the temple service.  The boys all seemed to love the night.   We rented our basement and are in progress of saving money for a down payment on our next home.  We plan to move late this year or early 2010.  We will keep you posted.  

Dazzling December

December 2008 we are spending Christmas at home!   The past several years we have been with Wendy's family on Christmas Vacations.  While these have been very fun, being at home was a real treat.  Wendy's mom, Barbara (aka Grammie B) came the day after Christmas and stayed through New Years holiday.  It was a perfect holiday season with lots of rest and relaxation while spending time with family.  

Some other December events included my learning I-movie 08 in order to create a DVD for my family and Wendy's family.   I spent over 30 hours scanning photos that I found in our china hutch.  It was fun, but a little overwhelming at the end.   I have the program 75% learned.  The music threw me because the music tracks float around-- when I don't want them to--mind cramp! Taylor performed a Karate routine and is advancing from white to yellow belt.  He loves Karate.  He lost his computer time due to grade issues.  Tonights Family Night was save Taylor's grades.  Wendy and I helped him with Science fair projects, art projects, and make-up or extra credit homework.  

Noel did art with heart dance program to raise money for Shriners Hospital.    Halle attends Challenger three days a week.  She loves her home days more than preschool, but once she is there she responds to the program.   Challenger is outstanding in getting kids a jump start on school while having fun too. 

New Years:  Barbara taught her Winning formula to our family.   Each of us set New Years Resolutions for 2009 in the areas of physical, mental, social and spiritual health.  I liked Barbara's object lesson for developing discipline.  She taught it is like creating a rope one strand at a time.  Each day we do our goals it is similar to adding a strand to rope.  Just as many strands creates a strong rope our daily habits creates discipline in our character.  After the lesson, we enjoyed AppleBee's thanks to Grammie B. 

Pics from top to bottom: Sister Kari, Jason and his son Haden, Halle with Grandma Sandi, Grandma Darryl, Shane and Halle on a walk, family shot in a hotel Cortez, CO.

November Musings  

Wendy is the chorister in the primary program at church.  This month she was in charge of the kids singing in the Sacrament program.  I was impressed that she could get over 30 kids to sing together.  Wow!  Wendy acted as the general contractor supervising different people who came to get our home remodeled in order to rent our basement.   We already have a kitchen downstairs.  We wanted a laundry room upstairs and a door to divide the upstairs from downstairs.  Building a laundry room in the hallway required that we down size a bathroom.  We changed the whole layout-- vanity, toilette and tub all in new locations.   We found renters in December. 

Family did a road trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit my father, sisters, and brother for Thanksgiving.  Halle calls this town Albacookie.   Wendy loved the green chili that came with everything.  We even had green chili on a hamburger and french fries. Our Thanksgiving even had green chili--it was in the appetizer chip dip.  We saw the movie Bolt in 3-d.   We hung out with my family and ate and ate.     

October Happenings

My goal is to not wait longer than a month without posting. I slipped on this goal with last entry being late September. October was a busy month! I helped organize an AMCAP (Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists) convention. I copresented with Kenneth Cope and Kristen Douglas on the healing power of music. Later that weekend, Taylor, Noel and I got tickets to go to Sunday afternoon session of LDS conference. We barely got seats as our assigned parking was several blocks from the conference center. The spirit was very strong and I was proud of Taylor and Noel for staying attentive for 2 hours. My counseling practice is about 80% full; consequently, I have had more time at home which has been nice. However, I need to get my hours up for holiday vacations and shopping.

Taylor Update: At a court of honor in October, Taylor recieved 6 merit badges: Horsemanship, small boat sailing, riflery, wood carving, fishing, and personal fitness. Most of these badges he completed at summer camp. Taylor and I did personal fitness together at West Valley Fitness center over a three month period. Taylor is showing great promise as a runner. In his final mile run, he completed it 7:04! Taylor is a white belt in karate. He is close to playing his first Hymn Sweet Hour of Prayer. Taylor had two costumes for Halloween. At school, he had to be a core knowledge character. He had the self confidenct to dress up as Helen Keller. He was a hit getting lots of attention. In the neighborhood, he dressed up as a bottle of catchup.

Noel Update: Noel has made a significant turn around in her commitment to school. She announced to Wendy and I that she has decided to get all A's and B's. Her first quarter grades showed just that. We observe that the winner school has had some influence on Noel's overall improvements. Her dance school regularly teaches great life morals such as, importance of positive attitude, hard work, doing your best, and believing in yourself. Noel dressed up as a fashion witch. She loves Hanna Montanna TV show series. She is in a really pleasant stage right now. Home and school are great. Socially, she tends to get lonely, she expressed a desire to make more friends.

Halle Update: Halle spoke in chuch today as the primary program did the Sacrament meeting. She blurted her memorized line in the microphone "Everyone has a divine destiny." She loved this experience. Later in the parking lot with outstretched arms, she yelled to everyone in the parking lot, "everyone has a divine destiny!" She has little fear of people and a very outgoing personality. Wendy and I observe that one of her destinies is to have a very strong will. If you say "NO" to something she really wants. She puts her hands on her hips, leans her face inward, puckers her lips, and announces "I AM THE BOSS!"

Wendy has given me her old Mac computer. She has been experimenting with lots of different healthy cooking ideas this past month. Most are veggie dishes with a variety of seasonings. She signed us both up to take Mac classes together. This has been our date night twice this month. The MAC operating system is faster and more user friendly. I love how all the programs seem to work interactively without major issues. I am using my new mac to create a christmas DVD gift for my family. I have scanned almost 300 pictures from early childhood to the present. I hope to create a slide show with music and neat transitions in imovie.

Wendy Update: (I will get her to add to this later...)

Natural Noel

Noel is an early riser and is the energizer of our family. She requests board games, outings, and ensures the family has fun as often as possible. She mastered a few too many drama skills from theater camp as she can perform sudden sickness precisely as we start Saturday chores, she can put on her neglected, needy child face to beg for a hamster, and she masters the "I'm innocent or she started it posture" when Halle comes a crying for one of us parents. Despite the drama, Noel is a darling daughter and good sister when she is in the mood.

Memories and Vistas of Mexico

Rental House Cuernavaka, Mexico

Terrific and Testy Taylor

Taylor is funny, witty, in a quite kind of way. Most of his outgoing personality is reserved forclose family and friends. At school, he
reports feeling like "Robin" a side kick to many of his "bat man" socially outgoing friends. Once you get in close with Taylor he has a lot to share. We are still trying to come to an agreement of the definition of computer "addiction." Wendy decided 10 hours a week is plenty, if all homework is completed. Taylor tests our limits always bargaining for more hours. Overall, Taylor is an outstanding kid. Thanks Taylor for being a great old brother and super son!

Wicked

Noel participated in University of Utah's Theater Camp with her friend Emily King. The camp participants got special tickets to meet some of the cast of next year's broadway rave "Wicked." The girls got lots of wicked stuff (pun intended) and they performed a couple songs for the group. Wendy fell in love with this play because the prior year she sang and performed the song, Popular, with Megan McMannama, in last years stake talent night. Wendy is pushing me hard to get tickets for next year.

Hilarious Halle