He was looking forward to this birthday because he thought it would enable him to legally purchase dry ice. Then Kira had to ruin his dream by telling him that he could have bought dry ice when he turned 16. Oh well, at least there's Heath cake.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I am America, and so can you!
What could be better for your birthday than Stephen Colbert's latest book? Nation, if you're a Colbert Report fan like Mark, there is nothing better.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Day 31/365: Little J tries to dive
I remember how hard it was to learn to dive when I was a kid. For awhile, no matter what I did, I still ended up feet first, head last into the water. Little J seems to have the same problem.
Narration of photo: Little J's teacher demonstrates how to dive. Then she has Little J kneel and put her hands over her head. It doesn't help--Little J still ends up with her head going under last.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Day 30/365: Mark the lifeguard
Here's Mark at work. I need to get more pictures of him when he's lifeguarding. His future wife will be grateful.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 28/365: Ken and Konnie get hitched!
Ken and Konnie finally tied the knot. We're so glad, because we are tired of being caught in the middle of the romance. Ken is our neighbor to the west and Konnie is our neighbor to the east. They are always holding hands and walking back and forth in front of our house. Whenever my kids call out to them as they pass by, they stop and smooch in front of us.
More photos will gradually be made available through this blog and my flickr photostream.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Day 27/365: J-girl has a birthday
J-girl turned a year older today, and it's just not fair, because she still looks like she's in her 20s. What a beautiful woman!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day 25/365: New batch of chicks
My sister Kris has taken to raising chickens lately. She hatched some chickens a couple of months ago using an incubator. Today, she came home with a box full of more baby chicks. She was quick to explain that only 7 of them are hers; she's raising the rest for a friend. Here are four of the bravest. They were the first ones to leave the corner and begin to explore the chicken coop. Too bad they grow up to be stupid adult chickens. They're very cute when they're this little. For more pictures of the other babies, see my flickr photostream.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Day 24/365: End of English language class
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Day 23/365: Father's Day dinner
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Highlights from Orem Parade
(Yes, folks, she really was singing.)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Death Turtles at Summer Days
Day 21/365: Orem Summer Days
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Day 20/365: Dashboard Turtle
Lately, Little J has become much more creative in where she hides the turtle. She's placed it down inside the dashboard and in the armrest on the door. Today, however, she went too far. As I was driving down the road and squinting into the sun, I reached up to pull down the visor, and there was the freakin' turtle. I gave out a loud, startled yelp, which was immediately followed by gleeful giggles in seat behind me. Even J-girl started laughing. I grimaced and once again moved the diabolical turtle to the middle of the dash.
I have started thinking that I need to hatch a plot to do the little guy in. After all, it's very believable that he might accidentally fall out of a window or get smashed by a careless teenager. Or perhaps he might start missing his family and feel the need to search them out, sort of like the animals in the movie Incredible Journey, except that this time the mountain lion wins. Hee hee, I chuckle just thinking of the little guy becoming a crunchy mountain lion snack. The only problem is, I don't know where he came from and to whom he belongs. I don't want to break anyone's heart by getting rid of him.
So for now, the twerp is safe. But look out, little shell dude, 'cause your days might be numbered!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Day 18/365: Dragon Boat Festival
You may be wondering what this particular form of food has to do with dragon boat festival. Let me take a moment to explain.
During the Warring States period in Chinese history (something B.C.), the many different people that comprise the country of China had yet to be united under one ruler. Instead, the country was divided into many fiefdoms, each with it's ruling warlord or king. Each ruler sought to extend his influence and the boundaries of his kingdom. Consequently, the country was riddled with intrigue and constantly changing alliances.
During this time, Qu Yuan, the main character of this story, was the adviser to the king of Chu, one of the warring states. When the king died, his son went against the advise of Qu Yuan and formed an alliance with the king of Chin. This wasn't such a great idea, because the king of Chin was a slimeball and was willing to use any method to extend his kingdom. Qu Yuan attempted many times to advise the new king to break the alliance, but to no avail. Finally, the new king got tired of listening to Qu Yuan and banished him from his court. Qu Yuan went to the countryside and proceeded to write some of the best poetry in all of Chinese history.
Eventually, the Kingdom of Chin took over Chu, just as Qu Yuan had foretold. Instead of reveling in self-righteousness, Qu Yuan became overwrought and threw himself into the river, committing suicide. The people were so upset at the loss of Qu Yuan that they jumped in their boats and raced up and down the river in search of his body. When it could not be found, they took clumps of cooked rice and threw it to the fish so that the fish would be too full to eat Qu Yuan's body. The dragon boat races held during this holiday symbolize the people's efforts to find Qu Yuan's body, and the jundgz represent the rice clumps that were fed to the fish. Cheery little holiday, no? At least the food's good.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Day 15/365: Utah Lake Festival and Fishing
J-girl and I also got our faces painted, but just not to the same degree as Little J. Mine didn't look very manly, so I decided not to post a picture.
Seeing all the booths on fishing got Josh in the mood to fish, so we went down to Lindon Harbor and fished for a couple of hours. Can you tell that the fish weren't biting?