Happy 101st!

It was my grandma's birthday yesterday. She would have been 101. The picture above is of her and my grandpa. 

My mom was her youngest child and we grew up only a few miles from grandma's house. It was always fun to go visit her and on special occasions my mom would  let us spend the night at grandma's. 

Grandma had her share of adversity in life, but she successfully overcame it. She never had a lot in terms of material possessions, but she was generous with us anyway.  

She had to work hard her entire life. For a while she worked as a cool at a restaurant. I'm sure the patrons loved her dishes because I know I always did. My two favorites were her homemade chicken noodle soup (with hand rolled noodles) and her chili which she always served at her New Year's Day parties. 

She had a small garden that she loved and would send us home with oranges, tomatoes, figs, and pineapple guavas. I never did care for the figs  (#idontgiveafig), but the pineapple guavas  have become the stuff of legends in our home. 

Grandma loved to tell the story of how one year an apple tree in her yard bore a prize apple. I think she planned to enter this apple in the County Fair. That is until a certain 3 or 4 year old boy took a bite out of it as it was sitting on her kitchen table!  I like to think she forgave me for that so quickly because I was such a cute little kid. ;-)

There are so many things I love about my grandma and so many happy memories, like the Avon soaps she would give us as kids since she was the Avon lady in her neighborhood or sitting next to her on the pew at church. 

But I think most importantly, I saw her kindness and compassion for others. She was constantly worrying about us--in a good way. I learned how to be kind and compassionate and tender, in part, by watching her. 

Grandma, we love you and miss you!  Happy 101st birthday!

The Parable of the Bicycle

The Bike

Some of you may have heard of the Parable of the Bicycle.  It is contained within the book "Believing Christ" by Stephen E. Robinson.  In that story, a little girl wants a bike but only has 61 cents.  She despairs that she will never have enough money to buy a new bike.  The father, however, takes her 61 cents and makes up the difference so that she can get the bike that she had longed for.  The lesson of the parable is that as long as we put in our best efforts, the grace of Jesus Christ will make up for our deficiencies to help us receive the blessing of the Atonement.  This is not that parable.

My parable of the bicycle lacks an inspiring, uplifting theme.  It's the story of a father who tries to put in his best efforts to be a good dad, but realizes that his son is about to turn 9 years old and still doesn't know how to ride a bike.  In fact, that son might be the only kid on the street who doesn't know how to ride a bike.  The reason is that the son's bike was the right size for a four year old (and may have been lost the last time we moved).

The father worries that there are certain things that dads need to teach their sons and he worries that if his son doesn't even know how to ride a bike, he may be missing out on teaching his son other important life lessons as well.  The father resolves correct that mistake, get his son a bike, and teach him how to ride it.  It's never too late to do the right thing.  So maybe there is some hope at the end of my parable after all.  :-)

S.'s Little League Pic

Does this parable sound a little too autobiographical? Well, obviously it's not about me...  *cough* *cough*

Anyway, I figured that it was time to get S. a new bike.  I put a lot of time and effort into trying to pick out the right bicycle.  As a kid, I had a Huffy BMX bike.  It was blue with yellow mag wheels.

The really "cool" bikes when I was a kid were the Diamondback bikes.  I remember being envious of my friends that had those bikes.

I found both types on Amazon.  Then I went to my local bike shop and found a Haro bike that looked really cool but was the most expensive by far.  It has a hand brake and has a freehub, which means that you can pedal backward without actually braking.

I struggled with which bike to buy.  Did I want to spend all night or all weekend putting a bike together?  Or do I want to shell out the extra bucks and get the more expensive bike that is already put together?

Well, if you've seen the picture above, you know which one I chose.  Convenience won out over frugality.

I picked up the bike this morning and I was excited to give it to S.  I stashed it into the closet and hoped that S. wouldn't see it when he got home from school.  He didn't and I wheeled it out at after we did cake and ice cream tonight.  Judging by S.'s reaction, I think we have a winner.  I'm excited to teach him how to ride it.  I have a sneaking suspicion that he's going to figure it out really quickly and take to it like a fish to water.  S. is a really good athlete and he seems excited to start riding.

S. Prepares to Blow Out His Candles

As much as I enjoy riding, I hope that S. can learn to enjoy it as much (if not more than I do).  And maybe it's not too late to learn from my own parable of the bicycle.  :-)

My Dad, My Hero

My Dad and My Sister at Her Wedding

My dad celebrated a birthday recently.  He is a great man--truly a gentleman and a scholar.  He is also a giant of a man, both physically and spiritually, so I have always looked up to him.  I consider myself a really good gifter, but he's always really hard to shop for.  What do you get for the man that has everything and is so generous with others?

Here are the Top 10 Things that I love about my dad:

#10 - He is incredibly smart.  He majored in chemistry and then went to law school where he graduated #1 in his class.  What's the connection between law school and chemistry?  There is none really.  It's just that he loves learning and was so smart that he was able to master both subjects.

#9 - He is generous.  My dad is always asking what he can do to help us.  I know he does that a lot for other people too.  And I'm sure that there are many people that my dad has helped that no one knows about.  As a kid, I remember my dad helping people with legal problems or issues without asking for any money.

#8 - He is a patriarch.  Literally, figuratively, and spiritually, my dad is a patriarch of our family.  I am grateful for the blessing of comfort, of health, and of guidance that he has given me and others in our family.

#7 - He is a lawyer.  As a kid, I saw my dad preparing for trial by spreading documents out across the dining room table.  I knew that he loved the intellectual challenge of learning about his clients and preparing for trial.  It made me want to be a lawyer as well.  I always imagined being able to practice law with my dad.  One of the highlights of my legal career was being able to try a case with him several years ago.  It was a wrongful death case and the jury came back with a $2.1 million verdict in favor of our client.  I will always remember doing that case with my dad.

Post-Trial Celebration Pic

#6 - He is a missionary.  My dad served a mission as a young man in South America.  He learned Spanish and was blessed immensely for his service.  Then he and my family went on another mission while I was in college.  He had to shut down his entire law practice to go--knowing that he would have to come back and start over from scratch.  He didn't care, he did it any way.  My mom and he were recently called to serve another mission--to a country in South America.  He will do a great job and the missionaries he works with are lucky to be able to serve with him and my mom.

#5 - He can fix anything.  As a kid, my dad's dad fixed everything.  My dad has the same attitude.  I have helped him change the oil in our cars, fix washing machines, do brake jobs, fix chainsaws, cut firewood, fix broken water pipes, prune trees, and install sprinkler systems.  Please note that I've never watched my dad paint or helped him paint.  He hates painting!  Nevertheless, I firmly believe that given the right tools, my dad could fix anything!

#4 - He is an athlete.  He loves and plays pretty much any sport and he has always supported his kids in playing soccer, baseball, volleyball, football, basketball, and swimming.  When he was in the military, he won trophies in diving competitions and went spear fishing in the Panama Canal.  He loves bodysurfing the waves at the beach.  When he turned 50, he decided to do a "Tin Man" Triathlon (Olympic Distance).  But he wanted to do it on his birthday, so he went to the YMCA, swam a mile in the pool, then figured out a route that would be 25 miles and end at our house, where he finished by running a 10k.  He did it by himself all on his own, and he did it for himself.  I didn't really even know about it until he finished.  I don't think he trained for it.  I think that I decided that someday I was going to do a triathlon myself the day he finished his Tin Man at age 50.

#3 - He is a basketball player.  He tried out for the BYU basketball team as a freshman at BYU (back in the day when freshman couldn't play varsity).   In high school, his church team went to Salt Lake City from Washington D.C. to play in the finals of the All-Church Tournament (this was back when Church Basketball was a big deal--not a joke).  In college, he was named MVP of the All-Church Tournament.  His trophy that he won for that has always amazed me.  I'd like to think that I was as good of a player as he was, but that may well be doubtful.  ;-)

#2 - He is tall.  At 6'5", he towers over most people.  I probably owe my height to him, even though I'll always be looking up to him--both figuratively and literally

#1 - He is humble.  He is probably going to ask me to take this down as soon as he sees it!  Enjoy it while you can!

Happy Birthday Dad!  I love you!

Happy B-day R.!

You were not quite 3 on this trip to Sea World

Dear R.--

Happy Birthday!  I can't believe that you are 11 years old--to the minute!  I still remember going to the hospital and the second that you were born.  We were so happy to welcome you to our family and you have brought us much happiness since then.  I still remember holding your little hand as the nurses worked on you to get you breathing seconds after you were born.

As a brand new dad, I was trying to calm you to stop you from crying, but the nurses (who were a lot smarter than me) told me that it was great that you were crying so that you could exercise your little lungs.  

You before you left the hospital

I really do appreciate your love of learning.  It has been so fun to spend some extra time with you these past couple of weeks.  You blow me away with your thirst for knowledge and the way that your little brain has an almost unlimited ability to absorb information.  Like last Saturday, how we had that in depth conversation about black holes.

You are so talented and you have such a good heart.  I love that you also love music.  A talent that you must have gotten from your mom, since we don't have to remind you to practice the piano or the saxophone.  My mom would always have to remind me to go practice and I never did.  I love that you are so excited to play that you will do it on your own.

I also love your enthusiasm for new things and for life in general.  I hope that you never lose that.  It will serve you well in life.  That enthusiasm will lift the spirits of those around you and help them to feel happy as well.  I love that picture at the top because I can see the enthusiasm and happiness in your face as you reach out to pet that dolphin.  I had that picture on my desk in my office every day for years until I began to worry that it was fading to much, so now I keep it in my desk drawer.

I love that you love basketball

I also love that you love basketball.  I remember hearing you tell someone that basketball was your "natural sport."  It was so cute and I have had a lot of fun being able to coach you in different seasons and shoot hoops with you.  I look forward to being able to do that with you for many years to come!

Thanks as well for being such a good big brother and example to your younger brothers and your sister.  You are so gentle and tender with them.  That is because you have a good heart and a capacity to love others. That is a wonderful blessing that you have been given from Heavenly Father, so I hope that you always appreciate.

I know you are excited for today.  But even more important than your birthday is always trying to be the best person that you can be and to be kind to other people.  And always remember that we love you every day--not just on your birthday!

Love,

Dad

Spring Has Sprung!

I love it when the dogwoods blossom in the spring!

Spring is officially here!  Although you wouldn't know it necessarily by the weather.  I went for a run the other night.  Granted it was at about 11 p.m., but the temp, even down here, was about 44 degrees!  I was so bundled up, I'm not even sure how I managed to run.  The days have been beautiful though.  Today might have hit 80 degrees!

More on S.'s Birthday Party

I love the California Poppies that grow wild at my parents' house

We went to my parents' house on Sunday to have a little family bday affair for S.  The weather was gorgeous.  I think everyone had a great time.  Special thanks to my dad for grilling some really, really tasty hamburgers for dinner!

Our newest Cub Scout

and thanks to my mom for making sure that S. has all the proper equipment for Cubs.  He is so excited to be able to start going "officially" to his den meetings and to the pack meetings.

Homework Night
I got a call today at the office from J.  She wanted to know what time I was getting home.  That is unusual in and of itself, because she usually doesn't care when I get home, so I knew something was up.  Turns out the kids were stressing about homework.  S., in particular, had some big book review project he had to do.  Since his book is in Espanol, J. couldn't really give him much help.

S. hard at work on a typical night en la casa...

So this is the scene tonight.  I came home and read S.'s book with him and helped him to understand it.  Like many things in life, the task as a whole seemed overwhelming to him.  But we were patient and broke it down word by word.  Then he got started on his little book report and just took off on his own.

Now I'm just eating dinner (that's my bowl of cereal on the counter) and blogging so as to properly document these moments for posterity.

He just announced that he finished and I couldn't be prouder of him for working his way through the project.  Hopefully the next time he has an assignment like this, it will not seem as overwhelming to him.

It has been a lot of fun to be able to help him through this.  I wish that I could say that every night in our household had this sort of Norman Rockwell-quality to it.  Truthfully, I can't.  But I can say that I wished it happened more often!  =o)

Other Odds n Ends
Thanks to Facebook, I realized that one of my very good friends had a birthday today.  Turns out its actually his 40th.  It kind of presented a little bit of a dilemma for me...Other than saying: "Happy Bday" on FB and maybe calling, what do you do as a guy for another guy friend?

I'm certainly not going to bake him a plate of cookies and take it over there!  First of all, it would take me forever to do that and second of all, I'm not even sure that they would taste all that good!  Especially because his wife is pretty much a professional chef.  (I still haven't forgotten the birthday goodies or the dinner that she made for me and my family in honor of my last birthday!--Thanks Nic!)

May the odds be ever  in your favor...

I told my friend that if he was up for it, I'd treat him to a midnight showing of "The Hunger Games" (which opens tonight at midnight).  I'm not even sure if I'd stay awake through the whole movie (neither was he...).  I guess we're both getting pretty old!  ;)  And so, I'm pretty sure that we're not going to be going.  (His other "excuse" was that he had to check with his wife.  I'm willing to bet that she is going to veto the idea!)

I ended up stopping at Walmart to buy him a card.  Yes, I felt kind of girly doing it.  But hopefully, he will appreciate the sentiment.  At any rate, I've always been told that it's the thought that counts, right?

I hope everyone is enjoying the new spring season!  And to my friend (R.), if you're reading this....Happy 40th!  (and remember, always be "Loyal to the Royal Within!")

PS--I would have put a pic of you up here, but I don't seem to have any of us together at any of our races.  I think that's because you always finish so far ahead of me!

On This Day You Were Born...

8 Years Ago Today...

S., eight years ago today, your mom and I went to the hospital to wait for you to be born.  The doctors put Mom on some special medicine to help you come faster since you didn't seem to be in much of a hurry on your own!

At first there wasn't much for us to do but wait.  I think we caught up on some reading and I do remember watching the NCAA basketball tournament on the tv in the room.  Maybe that's why you love sports so much!  

We were so excited once you were born.  After spending some time with you and mom, I went home to get your brother R. and bring him to visit.  I love the picture above because R. was so excited to meet you and he was so gentle with you.  To this day, I love seeing you guys play together and I hope you'll always be as close as I am with my "little" brother.

You and your older brother have always been close!

Look at those baby blues...

As a baby, you were very alert.  You always wanted to be able to look around at what was going on around you.  Your smile and laughter have brought a lot of joy to our house over the past eight years.  We feel so blessed that Heavenly Father sent you to our home!

I love this picture of the "boys" of the family...

S., we love you and are excited for you as you turn 8 and prepare to get baptized.  Thanks for being such a great example to us!

Even as a baby, you had such a cute smile!

Happy Birthday, Little Bro!

Pumpkinman 2011 - Crossing the Finish Line

My younger brother celebrated a birthday this past week.  My sister gave him an awesome tribute on her blog.  I agree with everything she said, but wanted to add a couple of thoughts in tribute to one of the greatest men that I know.

The title of this post is actually a bit of a joke, because he hasn't actually been my "little" brother since the day I got home from my mission.  I remember getting off the plane and seeing this huge behemoth standing there that I barely recognized.  

My younger brother was no longer my "little" brother.  He had grown many inches while I was away and had obviously been putting in a lot of time in the weight room!

That first night back from my mission, my brother and I went down to the Stake Center to play a little basketball.  We played a game of one-on-one.  He gave me the ball to start the game.  I took two dribbles and pulled up for my patented mid-range jumper.  Then something happened that had never happened before...my "little" brother promptly blocked my shot!  

It was a nice slice of humble pie to receive and deep down I was really proud of him for having grown (literally) and developed so much.  (And not just as a basketball player either...)

As I recall, however, I went on to win that one-on-one game, but I've always looked up to him ever since.  And not just because he's now taller than I am.

He introduced me to triathlons

I'll always be grateful to him for getting on my case about getting regular exercise.  He is the reason I started doing triathlons.  And someday, I hope we get to finish a full Ironman together.  I'll need to really up my game to keep up with him though!

One anecdote about my brother.  He has always been really smart.  I remember as a kid we had a brain teaser game where you had to align this puzzle up in a certain way so that everything matched a series of numbers and shapes.  I was probably 8-10 at the time.  My brother would have been 5-7 years old.  I remember solving the puzzle and being so proud of myself because it was difficult and took some time to analyze and put together properly.

I remember giving it to my brother and he solved it in just a few minutes.  I remember being silently impressed and I've never forgotten that experience.

One of my brother's most impressive qualities, however, is that he has always had a heart of gold.  I remember talking with my mom about that one time when I was a young boy.  I've always wanted to be able to naturally care about people and be as generous as he always has been.  It's a wonderful gift to have a brother like him.  I'm blessed to have him not only as my brother but also as one of my best friends.

Happy Birthday, Little Bro!  I look forward to celebrating many more with you!