Dish Washing Blues

As I stand at the sink washing dishes, I can't help but engage in some old-fashioned self-loathing and yet, at the same time, marvel at the genius of Pampered Chef. You see, I'm a not so proud owner of a cutting board cover. 'What on earth is that?' you ask? Well I'll tell you. It's a decorative plastic cover to put over your cutting board so as to protect the cutting board from being...well...cut upon. I used to mock my neighbors for possessing such an obviously unnecessary accessory. Now all I can do is resurrect this blog and absolve myself of the shame I feel each time I look at the thing by admitting to the world that I have been duped.

It's a phenomenal business innovation concept though. My goal now is to find other such seemingly ridiculous inventions and exploit the naive public. My list is short for now, but if you have other ideas I would be happy to put together some kind of joint venture (60/40 of course):

1. Teeth covers - the mouth guard already exists but this is much different. It's like a synthetic cover over your teeth such that they don't get worn down by that pesky twice daily brushing. I will sell in bulk for those that brush more frequently.

2. Grass covers - this one may take more science than others in that I would have to develop more a spray that covers the grass and protects it from being cut when the mower goes over it.

3. Sock covers - how many socks have you gone through in the past year? With my new sock covers, you can double the expected life of your favorite socks!

4. Pillow Case covers - save your nice bed-in-a-bag pillow cases from the wear and tear of your oily or flaky head by investing in the peace of mind that comes from a pillow case cover.

Let's keep these ideas between you and me for now, okay?

Brooklyn On The Mend

It's been nearly 4 weeks since Brooklyn's bicycle accident, and I'm happy to announce that she is healing very nicely and that she's 'gotten back on that horse' several times since then. Below are pictures of progress. Thank you to all who prayed for her quick recovery. It truly helped!

Exorcism That Didn't Take

I had gone more than 9 days with 1 fewer demon than I had known for the past 24 years. Evidently, demon vacation days accrue at a rate of .001 (do the math – it works), because on Monday night the ghost of Jack Clark, which had just stopped haunting my dreams 9 days earlier, was replaced by the harrowing gap between the front teeth of Jimmy Rollins.

The difference, this time, is that I only cried on the inside. The difference, this time, is that something broke inside me. The difference, this time, is that my eternal optimism took a hit from which I don’t believe it will ever recover.

I’ve taken that first step towards the Dark Side of the Force, you know where hatred and anger consume you to the point where no number of victories and thrilling moments can offset a loss as devastating as last night. My father crossed that line long ago, but like Luke Skywalker I always envisioned myself cutting off my dad’s hand and then converting him back to the Good Guys’ side. Instead, and sadly, the Emperor’s mission is complete.

Brooklyn Takes a Tumble

Just this Friday (9/25) Brooklyn suffered a bicycle accident. She had graduated from training wheels at the beginning of the month (while I was in India!), and is becoming more confident on two wheels with each passing day ever since. However, she got going pretty fast down the slope from where we live and momentarily forgot how to control her brakes. I wasn't there to witness the accident (thank goodness!) but Rachelle says when she got to the bottom of the incline she was going too fast to make the turn and ended up tumbling over her bike and flipping 2-3 times before skidding on the left side of her face to a stop on the asphalt. Blood curdling screams ensued, and Brooklyn quickly learned her foot was obstructed by her bike so that she couldn't get up. Rachelle raced to her, picked her up, and took her home to attend to her wounds.

She's handled the whole experience relatively well. She's been very subdued, though, which is just not right coming from Brooklyn. She opted not to play in her soccer game yesterday not because she was worried about getting injured further, but because she was concerned that people would stare and that kids would make fun of her. She did not want to go to church this morning, but we negotiated a deal whereby she could wear a hoodie sweatshirt over her dress so that if she wanted to wear the hood that was okay.

It is SO difficult to watch your child in that kind of pain. Both Rachelle and I wish that we could bear it for her. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers that her skin will heal quickly and properly.

Addison Turns Two

No, I'm not talking about th 6-4-3 variety, but I am talking about my baby not being a baby anymore on September 15, 2009 (although I think having only 8 teeth still qualifies her for baby status). We went as a family to Red Robin and had some neighbors over that night to celebrate her 2nd birthday.

We took her to Target and let her roam the toy aisles to have her select her birthday present (within reason, of course!) She landed on a toy piano that has kept her attention very well ever since.

Gotta Get That Boom Boom Pow!

Both of our daughters have taken a liking to the Black Eyed Peas recently. You can see their recent remixes below

Summer Update #1

In May, we kicked off the summer a tad early by taking a family trip to Washington, D.C. to visit with my sister's family before they would move to the other side of the world in August. I had never been anywhere on the East Coast, so I was very much looking forward to the experience. Part of the plan for this trip was to leave the girls with their Aunt, Uncle, and cousins for a few days while Rachelle and I would sneak up to Philadelphia and New York City. Our extremely enjoyable and memorable Washington D.C. experience can be summarized by the following events:

D.C. Temple - Just 20-25 minutes from where my sister's family lived we were able to attend the LDS temple in Washington D.C. It is a gorgeous edifice and we enjoyed being able to go with Mandi and Justin while Grandma and Papa watched the kids.

National Zoo with Family - The cool thing is that Zoo admission is free. The uncool thing is that parking at the Zoo cost $20. Another cool thing is that I was able to meet up with my cousin Leah whom I hadn't seen in several years. The weather was pretty humid, but not too hot. We finished the day at the Cheesecake Factory where Grandma and Papa treated us all to dinner.

Holocaust Museum - Even if you tell yourself you're not going to get emotional, even though you are already educated on the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust, it is physically impossible not to be impressed and emotionally impacted by the personalization of this Museum. I was ill-prepared for how much this experience would affect me. I have the hardest time understanding how not just a couple of individuals, but an entire organized culture could have been so devoid of human decency to comply with the mandates of nazism.

Arlington Cemetery - Another more spiritual experience than I anticipated. The view from atop the Arlington House is stunning. The story behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was something of which I was not entirely aware. I am certainly grateful for all those who have laid down their lives in defense of the freedoms, conveniences, and luxuries my family enjoys today.

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial - A fitting tribute to those whose lives were taken at the Pentagon on 9/11/01. Often the attack on the Pentagon gets overshadowed by the tradgedy at the WTC. It was kind of a surreal feeling being on the site of the disaster that day.

Music Recital - My nephew Ethan and niece Emma participated in a church musical recital. Both performed very well and appeared very at ease in their elements. Another child played 'The Imperial March' on the piano. Brooklyn, who had been obsessed with Star Wars at the time, got very excited when she heard the music, but quickly became confused. She leaned in and whispered, "I didn't know you could play bad guy music at church!"

Monuments and War Memorials - It was a sunny but crisp morning when we ventured onto Capitol Mall and visited the Monuments and Memorials. It was exciting for me to be amidst all the history associated with these structures. The girls did amazingly well, and Brooklyn even humored her dad by listening to the high level history lessons he provided along the way. In fact, it was Brooklyn's idea to pose for a photo in front of the Lincoln Memorial holding a penny between her fingers. There were times, however, when Addison was just spent. She wouldn't throw a tantrum or meltdown in anyway, but she would simply stop dead in her tracks and just lay down, as if to say 'stick a fork in me'. We have several photos of her doing this at different locales on different days.

Smithsonian - The Natural History Museum was a big hit with Brooklyn. I was nervous she would be bored within a couple of minutes, but she really enjoyed it, as did I. Animals (dead or alive) and Dinosaurs (preferably dead) - a fail safe recipe for child entertainment. We have yet to see the 2nd Night at the Museum movie, but Brooklyn is chomping at the bit for us to take her.

Capitol Building - The building was under some construction and being prepped for Memorial Day coming up I suppose, so we weren't able to get too close. It was towards the end of our site seeing day anyway, so the girls had had just about enough at this point. They were troopers, though, allowing us to take some fun photos with the historical building in the background.

Dinner with Cousins - We were able to meet up with Rachelle's cousins Brad and Dustin Hinton who live in D.C. When Brad suggested the place to eat he said, "I'm not sure if you'd be interested, but there's a steakhouse/sports bar that has half price burgers on Monday nights." Not sure if I'd be interested? It's apparent that Brad and I have some catching up to do. The dinner was very enjoyable as we ate outside on the restaurant's balcony and caught up on each other's lives.

Hanging out with family - A huge thanks to Mandi and Justin for hosting our family for 9 days and for dealing with our children on their own for 3 of those 9. We enjoyed playing Ticket to Ride, competing on the Wii, eating chocolate chip cookies (that weren't for eating), riding the Metro, and swimming with the kids. The cousins had a great time together too! It's weird knowing that they are some 18+ time zones away now, especially when you consider Dodger home games START at 1pm the NEXT day in Fiji. Thanks, guys!