The Model of Reverence

Now I know that most of you parents out there will think that this is a child that fell asleep at the kitchen table and, through the negligence of his parents, stayed in that position for far too long while his head bobbed up and down ... desperately wanting a nap... But, you would be wrong!

At about one year of age, our children become the model of reverence. Here is an excellent example. Just one minute before this shot was taken, McKay was involved in everything around the kitchen, making messes everywhere. He sits down, Dad says "It's time for prayer" - and immediately, our obedient and reverent child, following the example of all of his older brothers, which examples of reverence began also, quite miraculously, at the age of one, bows his head, closes his eyes and focuses on the mysteries of eternity.

Family prayer is a pure pleasure and a spiritual experience for the whole family every night ... Really! Not to mention scripture study, where our children happily get out of bed at 5:00 am (Hyrum Smith refers to these hours, 5:00 am to 8:00 am, as the "Magic Hours" - and they certainly are in our case). They pull out their scriptures without murmuring, read and mark canon diligently. The only complaint heard is when we have to stop reading.

This is a typical Sunday afternoon scene. Paul and the boys studying the scriptures in the afternoon shade. Even Bubba "feels" it and joins in. (This is actually a backyard picnic and Garrett reading his 1st grade books to the boys).

Angela and I have been asked ... again ... to teach at Education Week this next year, we are also on the circuit for teaching Enrichment Nights throughout the rest of the year. If you are interested in the model of parenting, please call, because our calendar is filling up quickly. Frankly, given the obedience and the reverence of our children in every situation, you all need to be worrying ... because we are the people sitting behind you in church judging you because your children aren't like ours.

(Anyone that knows us will get a good laugh at this one, knowing that we have been known to charge the people behind us after Sacrament Meeting because of the entertainment value of watching our "Celestial Chaos").

Whiskey Springs & BYU Football Dances

We had a Kentucky Fried Chicken picnic at Whiskey Springs last weekend with Grandma and our friend's, the Chappell's (in preparation for BYU Football: 7 days, 14 hours, and 12 minutes from the time this shot was taken). After we ate, we began to work ourselves up in a lather as we realized that only one short week and our late summer days would be replaced by cool fall nights and college football. The mere thought of returning to Happy Valley to watch the season opener against Boston College instilled in the boys their desire to do the little known Native American Cougar dance as good luck.

Angela and Grandma also broke into the Cougar dance, but, when they saw the camera on them, for fear of making blogging hit records, they gained enough composure to take this one rare shot. McKay refused to be restrained, only his mother's iron clamp made it possible for him to restrain his Cougar dance (this gets in to all of the boys about this time of year ... and no, it is not school ... it is BYU Football).
This image was taken during Bryson's Maori Haaka War Dance, in preparation for the Bronco Mendenhall warrior mentality preparations. Bryson actually picked this up while Grandma and Grandpa were on their mission, two missions ago, in New Zealand.

RISE AND SHOUT! I CAN'T WAIT!

McKay Walking

Some of you grandparents out there have specifically requested photos of little "Mak", as he is affectionately referred to here at home, walking. Well, here he is! The man, the myth, the legend ... McKay will likely be a sprinter or maybe even a gymnast - take a look at the balance in the photo above. The child is a prodigy. He is several weeks ahead of other kids his age.
You try walking with a load in your pants as heavy as yourself and see if you can keep your balance as well as this little guy does. Some might try to minimize the accomplishment, but don't knock it until you have tried it. You just might find that your 1 year old is, in reality, more coordinated than you.
Bryson and McKay's form of "pickle"

First Day of School!

Bryson and Garrett started school on Monday! Bryson is in 3rd grade and Garrett is in 1st. They were both so excited about starting school this year. We set their alarm clock early and picked out just the right outfit, then I fed them pancakes. Of course, they had a few butterflies in their tummies (not to mention Mommy did too). I was especially nervous for Garrett to go to first grade, it is so much longer than kindergarten! But he did great! He loves his teacher and is excited that he gets 3 recesses every day and gets to eat hot lunch!

Bryson has really been looking out for his little brother. He has prepped him all summer with tips about first grade and what you really need to know. Its so nice to have an older sibling pave the way for you (yes, bros, thats what I did for all of you too). Bryson is loving third grade and is so excited about this year. His best friends are in his class and he was accepted in to the gifted and talented program that they start in third grade. So, he will be doing that two days a week too.

I am actually excited to get back into a routine again. Tanner is missing his brothers terribly and thinks school is way too long. The day gets especially boring when McKay takes his nap. But, I am enjoying having a little more one on one time with Tanner. He is keeping me busy with all of his "projects" he wants to make. Tanner will be extremely excited to start preschool in a couple weeks.

There is something about this season...a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils that makes me smile...(anyone who knows what movie this is from? . . . it is one of my all-time favorites!) Stay tuned to fine out the answer!

Four Wheelin' in the Arizona Desert

Last weekend we took the kids to St. George with all the Ritchie's for one last summer trip before school started. The highlight of the trip (for the boys especially) was riding the little four wheelers and motorcycles Uncle Rob had brought down.

Tanner is our little dare devil and is always excited to try something new! We should have been a little more cautious knowing his driving record (2 winters ago he hopped on a snowmobile all by himself and took off...heading right for the rental office). Anyway, as soon as we got the riding equipment off the trailer, Tanner got himself right up on a four wheeler (helmet on luckily) and with a quick one minute lesson from Paul on how to make it go, he was off (before his Daddy could hop on with him). However, we hadn't taught him exactly how to use the brakes. Luckily, Uncle Rob's running paid off and he caught him just before Tanner hit into the back of our car.

Tanner got his pride hurt a little, but that was all. Within minutes, he was begging for a turn again. Needless to say, all his rides after this incident were done with an adult! I'm glad he has 12 more years until he gets his drivers licence! Tanner is even crazy on his "four wheeler" at home (thats what he calls his bike with training wheels).

Dinosaur Musuem

Wendy and I took our kids and went to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Musuem on Thursday. We had fun going to the IMAX theater and watching a movie on BUGS! We had bugs dropping on top of us and butterflies flying all around us. The musuem was really neat. The kids got to do a lot of hands-on activities from playing in the mud and with their dinosaurs to dig in sand to find fossils.

Garrett rides a bike...almost!

Paul and I feel like we have conquered many milestones with our children. Getting them to take a bottle, taking away the bottle, sleeping through the night, potty training, going to nursery or school, etc. One of these milestones we have recently been working on is riding a bike "a two-wheeler" (as Garrett calls it). We want so badly for him to figure this out, he actually has little interest in this activity, but we keep telling him he will love riding his two wheeler once he's caught one. So we have promised him a big deck (not just a pack) of pokemon cards once this milestone has been accomplished. If any of you have been around Garrett for too long, you know he is very motivated by Pokemon, so we are now in business! Gaarrett is getting so close. But we need so help, does anyone have any pointers on how to help someone catch on to riding a bike?

The Family Dog - Bubba

For those of you that know the boys very well, you are likely saying one of two things, either 1) this is "one of them there trick pictures done in Photoshop", or 2) Child and Protective Services should get involved because Paul and Angela should be put away for drugging Garrett.

Most of you know, that there mere mention of a dog would quite literally send Garrett in to a paranoid frenzy, and when you would come within 100+ yards of one, you had better hope that your head is protected because Garrett would climb and perch right on top of your head while in that all too well known frenzied state.

So, given that well known fact, and given the fact that on Boy Scout's Honor I promise that I neither "fixed" the picture or "drugged" the boy, how is it possible that Garrett is not only in the same space, but is petting and playing, and smiling at the same time? It all started at Scout Camp - Garrett came to camp with me during July and, while there, was forced to spend one week around a well trained lab named Mack. By the end of the week, while he wasn't hugging Mack, he was, at the very least, no longer petrified - and could tolerate a dog's presence, albeit in fear.

Since that time he has become quite chummy with our neighbor, the McQuarrie's dog, Bubba. Now, you can regularly see Garrett playing in the back yard with Bubba, throwing tennis balls, and feeding him his left overs (don't tell the McQuarrie's).

Cousins Cousins Everywhere

We had so much fun last weekend with Kristen and Natalie and their kids! Yes, it was a little crazy with 8 kids under 8 staying at our house, but they actually entertained each other and had fun playing together. From Blake talking about trains non-stop, to Madison doing her "stink-bug crawl", to Tanner doing his super-de-duper tricks (ask if you want further exclamation) we were laughing non-stop!

The kids (and Moms) were lucky to get a little sleep in once in a while, inbetween our activities. We went swimming and had a picnic in Kamas, shopping at the outlets at night(while Paul stayed home and watched the kids), cheered on McKay at his baby contest, and stayed up late talking with Ryan who came to hang out with his sisters.

Fair Days Parade

Wasatch County Fair Days just wouldn't be Fair Days without sitting on Main Street during the parade and eating ... or, better said, melting a popsicle from Day's Market.

McKay (and Paul's) Day on the Stage

A friend of Angela's in the ward called her to ask if Angela would "enter" McKay in the County Fair Days Baby Contest (talent, daddy look alike, daddy diaper change, fastest crawl (or walk), etc.

I was just fine with Angela entering McKay in those contests, but little did I know that I would be expected to be an active participant in the affair (I was even required to put on my "matching" shirt).

You can assume, given the belt buckles behind my head, that participating in a pageant of any kind, especially in this crowd, is likely not perceived to be a terribly masculine event. But, as I looked around and saw that the Wave's photographer was not present, I realized that there was a decent liklihood that I would not be found on the front page page of the County newspaper in a beauty pageant with several thousand potential readers (instead I would be on the internet with several billion potential readers).

Thank heavens for the lifelong preparation of being forced to watch every Miss USA pageant for the past 30+ years (except of course the swimsuit competition which both my mother and, now wife, still refuse to allow me to watch.) Even without the "full" training, the limited Miss USA exposure was "sufficient for my needs", father and son proudly took stage, flaunted our wares, raced and came home better for it!