Klondike and snow caves...

Well, this morning I am going up to the top of the largest "flat topped" mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa. It is right next to Grand junction. That is where we are having our scout klondike. We are going up this morning to build the snow caves we are going to sleep in. I will have pics up in a few days. It should be very fun and the weather is calling for snow!!! hehe. See you soon.
-Dan

Pre-B-Day party for the twins

Last Saturday (Feb. 16th) we had a Pre-Birthday party for the twins. As you know, they will be turning "4" on March Fourth. This year they wanted to have a friend party so badly. We have never really had a party for them before, just lil family stuff and this year we are taking them to Disneyland!!! (BTW- they are so excited they can't stand it.) Anyhow, we will be gone on their actual birthdays so we decided to throw them a friend party a lil early.

Katie made fabulous "Cupcake" cakes for the both of them...

Princess theme for Marlee...

Transformer theme for Samuel...All the kids got to hit "pinatas"...

We played fun games and opened presents.....

...the twins were spoiled with presents and had tons of fun. The best part is, all we bought was cake mix and pinatas. All my money is going towards Disneyland. See you there Grandma Debi, Grandpa Greg and Millie.

My Valentine

TO: My Valentine

Katie,
Sometimes I think about
the first time I realized
that I love you...

It was as if my eyes
took a picture at that moment
and shared it with my heart...

Sometimes I think about
how much my life has changed
because of your love.

I think about you,
I think about your happiness,
I think about us,
and I think of our life together.

Then I realize you are..
as much a part of me
as the air I breathe...
and the dreams we share...

But, from time to time,
I still like to remember
the first time I looked into..
those big brown eyes.

I look into them deeply,
and realize I see my future...
within them.
Happy Valentines Day,

I love you.

-Dan

Dallas, Texas

A more accurate title might be: The inside of a hotel in Dallas. So last week I made my way, for the first time, to the LoneStar state. Very flat- my first impression. In truth, I did want to go spend some time seeing some of the cool things in Dallas, but I was there for a business meeting.

One of the coolest things to me, was seeing the place where JFK was assasinated. I sat at "the grassy knoll" and near the "book depository" and I couldn't help but feel the history of the place. Everyone knows the scene I am refferring to. JFK riding next to his wife Jaquelyn in the back of the convertible. It was very strange, as I said, I could "feel" the history of the place. It was a simple street, a simple piece of grass and a simple building. History.

Besides the JFK impression, we did many other fun things. (I won't bore you with the work portion) We had Scott Bloom (a comedian from VH1) come perform and entertain us. He was hillarious! He did a polyglot bit and also a pyschic act. Very very funny. Scott, "I feel connected with you, tell me, what is the name of the 15th century Japanese poet I am thinking of?" The lady's reply, "I don't know!" Scott, "Did you just say Yamagishi Idohknow? That's exactly who I was thinking of, amazing." It was so funny, it was very spur of the moment.

We also had a juggling act come and perform for us. "The passing act" They have won several TV competitions and are known worldwide. They were also very funny and very talented. The most amazing thing they did was, now picture this in your mind: One guy standing on the other guy's shoulders, balancing, then that guy standing on a board, that was balancing on a ball, and then they juggled swords to eachother. It was absolutely crazy. They only did that one for like 15 seconds, but still, insane. The funniest part was, they did that whilst wearing blindfolds, now they didn't have the blindfolds over their eyes, but they were wearing them...LOL around their necks. LOL. It was really cool.

Another cool thing was a "team building" event that we had. We were all (1150) brought into a room and told that we were going to build bikes. We were like okay... So then we broke into groups of five and starting building our bikes from these lil kits. When we finished, they said, everyone close their eyes and they brought in 225 eight year old orphans. At this point, we all figured out what was going on. Then the kids came to each group and gave us all a thank you card and picked up the bikes. People were crying and so happy and it was really cool. It was all about serving others. For some ppl, (out of our church) this was their first time serving anyone, maybe ever. My company paid for all of it. I work for a great company. We also went to "The House of Blues" and had Jim Bilushi perform live for us. He was really good. Quite the entertainer. Anyhow, I thought I'd just share some of the fun things that I did, while in the Republic of Texas.
-Dan

A few thoughts.

First of all, I can't believe that it is already February. Time is going by so fast it seems. Stalee, on her blog noted that her lil girl Kamree is growing up so fast, she is five now! My little Lizzie is a little jitterbug of acitvity. She, also, is growing up too fast. I can't believe my baby is walking and talking. The twins are almost 4!!! I thought they would never come and now they are almost 4.

Speaking on this topic, I am 30 years old. I am a young man. Last Sunday I was put into my second Bishopric. I am again the second counselor, (which I love). I was only in the previous Bishopric for 5 months, then we got a new Bishop and therefore Bishopric. While I am grateful not to be the Bishop. I am also very grateful to be called as one of his counselors. I love to serve the members of our ward and I am greateful for the trust that I have been given. I try to use each one of my talents in a way that would make the Lord pleased with me.

Today, I watched President Hinckley's Funeral. He died a week ago tomorrow. He was 97. I know that I have already posted some info regarding this, but I wanted to add just a few tidbits of information that I gleaned from the speakers today.

• Temples grew from 47 to 135 -working or under construction. Amazing!!!
• The church donated over $600 Million dollars in humanitarian aid Worldwide
• The Perpetual Education Fund was started and continues
• We received the "Proclamation to the Family"
• 1/3 of the current 13 Million members became such while he was President
• Over 600,000 missionaries have served during his tenure
• He was married for over 62 years.
• He gave us the state of the art, 21,000 seat Church Convention Center
• He received the "Medal of Freedom" our nations highest civic award
• All of this, while Gordon B. Hinckley as President of the Church

But most importantly, he gave us vision, enthusiasm, strength, service, compassion and his testimony that the Savior lives! I am greatful for his example and life. He was a humble man. Thank you President Hinckley for your 97 years of service and dedication. You have inspired us all.

Dan

Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai

Here is some video that Katie took of me and the twins practicing jiu jitsu and muay thai at home. We are using our grappling dummy named "big red." This guy "big red" is 75 pounds and is hard like a punching bag. He is ideal for practicing takedowns, kicks, punches, throws, ground and pound and jiu jitsu. He is pretty hard and very durable. Kyle, you wanted to see Big Red, here ya go. Hahaha.

As you can see from the twins videos, they know exactly how to perform a little ground and pound to soften up the opponent and then apply a tight "armbar" to force them into submission. "Tap or Snap" is how the saying goes. LoL. Anybody want to get froggy in pre-school?

Very good exercise, really toughens up your shins, self defense and lots of fun. What more could you ask for? Anybody want to spar?

Dan

Beloved Church President, Gordon B.Hinckley, dies at 97.

Passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley
Beloved Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through 12 years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since March 12, 1995. President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 97, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders. For more information, visit the Newsroom @ lds.org.

His testimony: "I hope that all of you will remember that on this Sabbath day you heard me bear my witness that this is God's holy work. The vision given the Prophet Joseph in the grove of Palmyra was not an imaginary thing. It was real. It occurred in the broad light of day. Both the Father and the Son spoke to the boy. He saw Them standing in the air above him. He heard Their voices. He gave heed to Their instruction.
"It was the resurrected Lord who was introduced by His Father, the great God of the universe. For the first time in recorded history, both the Father and the Son appeared together to part the curtains and open this, the last and final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.
"The Book of Mormon is all that it purports to be—a work recorded by prophets who lived anciently and whose words have come forth "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon title page).
"The priesthood has been restored under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John. All the keys and authority pertaining to eternal life are exercised in this Church.
"Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the great Prophet of this dispensation. This Church, which carries the name of the Redeemer, is true.
"I leave you my testimony, my witness, and my love for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
-President Gordon B. HinckleyApril 1, 2006, Sunday morning session of the 176th Annual World General Conference

Shooting in St. George

As you know from a previous post, we went to St. George Utah about a week ago. While there, Kyle, James, Jeff and Myself (Dan) went out to the desert to do a little shooting. I took my small arsenal and Kyle brought his Dad's .22. We had a great time showing the boys how to shoot, be safe and in general, blow the tar outta clay pigeons! Is that "redneck" enough for ya? Here are some pics of our "boys afternoon-out."

Running inspired

On the drive home from St. George and the "halfy" Katie and I were both really excited and decided together that we wanted to start running. With our schedule and our 3 kids we don't know how we can do it together, but we are going to do it.

So, first thing Monday morning, I went and ran 2 miles and then Katie went and ran 2 miles. We both felt great and continued to feel inspired. I was especially feeling good bc I have battled serious shin splints for a few yrs now. So, ahhhhh, this morning I wake up and my right leg is "killing" me. Right above my achilles and right below my calf in the back. Now I am so scared bc I REALLY want to run so badly. Maybe I just started too fast, too far, I dunno. I have been icing it like crazy, trying to heal quick. Sunee, remember when I said that some ppl just arent runners? I am hoping its not me. UGGG! In the meantime, go Katie!!!

Half Marathon!

So this weekend, katie said that Stalee and Sunee (and kyle) were running the St. George Half Marathon and that she really wanted to go but knew that we couldn't. It made her really sad because I know that whe wanted to be there to support them, so I said, I'll take off Friday and we will just go!!! Well, thats exactly what we did. We had the funnest time. We played video games, (as you could see by the prior post) we talked and played and had the funnest time just hanging out. But there was this little thing called the half marathon, lol. I took some amateur video of Sunee and Stae crossing the finish line in 2hrs and 4 minutes (below). They did awesome. Kyle was so fast that we did not get to see him cross. Sorry speedster, I mean Kyle. One of my fave things was while they were running the race, Stalee said, "I'm so tired, I really need to walk a little" and Sunee's reply, "You don't run half a marathon and NOT get tired, cmon!"

Great job guys, thanks for being gracious hosts and inspiring us to be the best we can!!!

Dan

**Caution Hot** 3 hot chicks dancing

Well, for those of you who think that video games are just for men, watch this clip and see that is not true. These 3 hot moms were playing their little hearts out. (Katie, Sunee, Stalee)

This was all done down in St. George Utah, at Sunee and Kyle's house. Notice all the kids watching and the adults playing the games..lol.

(By the way, if you want to see it on the public internet, go to Youtube.com and type in katie video game.) Hehehe...

Dan

Daddy family work day

Well, we woke up Monday morning and Katie looked at me and said, "Daddy, today is daddy-family work day, and we are coming with you!" What is a Daddy supposed to do when he hears that? I'll tell you- Plan a really fun day!!!! So we did. We drove to Glenwood Springs, (about an hour 15 min drive into the mts) got pizza at my fave lil mom-n-pop pizza shop and then I dropped them all of at Target so they could walk around and look at toys (and buy Marlee some underwear, which is a different post) so that I could hurry up and hit my accounts. A lil while later I came back and picked them all up and we were off to play.

If you know my kids at all, you know that they LOVE to swim, (Lizzie included) and so we went swimming in an outdoor pool in 20 degree weather in the mountains of Colorado. You might say that were crazy, but the pool is an ancient hot springs pool, that is 104 temp year round! Actually, there are two pools, 104 and 90 degrees. In the summer there is a waterslide running. It was absolutely beautiful, lots and lots of steam, blue skies, snowy mountians and my family. It was a very fun Daddy-family work day. :) Here are some pics.

Apostle urges students to use new media

LAIE, Hawaii 15 December 2007 Two hundred graduating students at Brigham Young University-Hawaii were urged today to use the Internet — including blogs and other forms of “new media” — to contribute to a national conversation about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder M. Russell Ballard, an apostle in the Church, told the mostly Mormon student body that conversations about the Church would take place whether or not Church members decided to participate in them.

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches,” he said.
“While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time.”
Church leaders have publicly expressed concern that while much of the recent extensive news reporting on the Church has been balanced and accurate, some has been trivial, distorted or without context.
Elder Ballard said there were too many conversations going on about the Church for Church representatives to respond to each individually, and that Church leaders “can’t answer every question, satisfy every inquiry and respond to every inaccuracy that exists.”
He said students should consider sharing their views on blogs, responding to online news reports and using the “new media” in other ways.
But he cautioned against arguing with others about their beliefs. “There is no need to become defensive or belligerent,” he said. Please go to LDS.org for more information.

Peyton Manning Priceless Pep Talk - Rock Hard Abs

Dang, I'm not under the age of 23. Hahahah..

Lizzie trying to walk

Lizzie is almost 9 months old and is very daring. She is trying to walk so hard. She knows its a fun game with her daddy.