Day 32/365: Mark turns 18!

Mark and the Heath cake, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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.

I am America, and so can you!

Mark and Colbert, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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.

Day 31/365: Little J tries to dive

Little J tries to dive, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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.

Day 30/365: Mark the lifeguard

Mark on duty at the pool, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

Here's Mark at work. I need to get more pictures of him when he's lifeguarding. His future wife will be grateful.

Day 29/365: Ken and Matt

Ken and Matt, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

These guys are just way too cool!

Day 28/365: Ken and Konnie get hitched!

Ken and Konnie, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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.

Day 27/365: J-girl has a birthday

J-girl and her Cake, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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!

Day 25/365: New batch of chicks

Chick foursome, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

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.

Day 24/365: End of English language class

I attended my last class of the Introduction to English Language Course. Now that I know about interdental fricatives and Gricean Maxims, language use will never be the same for me. Now it's on to learning about discourse analysis.

Day 23/365: Father's Day dinner

My wife and kids made the most amazing Father's Day dinner for me. Mark and Matt made clam sauce, J-girl made a marinara sauce with sausage in it, Josh made an alfredo sauce with chicken in a romano cheese sauce, and Little J made a fruit salad. I had seconds on everything, and had to lie on the couch for an hour before I could safely move.

Highlights from Orem Parade

Utah parade culture was once again thriving on Saturday evening. Here is just a sample, call it the best of the best.

Yes, if you own a freaky vehicle, you too can be in the parade.

The first martial arts to mix kicks with karaoke. Twice as deadly.
(Yes, folks, she really was singing.)

An old college flame. She hasn't aged a bit.

The theme of this "float" was so subtle I almost missed it. I told my kids that it should have read, "Drink down, throw up." That made the lady behind us snort.

"Some...bank?" Just a step above having the float be sponsored by Honeybaked with the slogan, "Some Ham!" Why didn't Charlotte think of that one?

My personal favorite, the rock bagpipe band.

Day 22/365: Fireworks

fireworks, originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt.

Death Turtles at Summer Days

I thought that Summer Days was supposed to be a family friendly event. But guess what they had at one of the booths! Yes, you guessed it—a whole nation of death turtles. Little J was thrilled and started begging for one. Good thing that J-girl stepped in and said no. One death turtle per little girl is enough terror to deal with. If there were two, they might invade the house, and then no place would be safe.

Day 21/365: Orem Summer Days

Little J loved the swings.

It was a lot more comfortable after the sun went down.

Mmm, cotton candy and caramel apples!

Carnival booths.

Day 20/365: Dashboard Turtle

dashboard turtle
Originally uploaded by splingermoosebutt

Little J has invented a little game that she likes to play with me. It's called, Stick the bobble-head turtle somewhere in the car where Dad doesn't expect it and watch him freak out. She used to put it on top of the dash, right over the speedometer. The first time she did it, I tried to tolerate its bobbing, beady eyes staring up at me. But after awhile, I could feel the eyes start to bore a hole in my head. I swear it started reading, and then manipulating, my mind. I was totally creeped out. After several chills when down my spine, I finally grabbed the turtle and moved it over to the middle of the dashboard where it was no longer looking at me. I felt immediate relief, as if someone had suddenly removed a pin from a voodoo doll of me.

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!

Day 18/365: Dragon Boat Festival

We celebrated Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday. For us, the celebration is mostly about making and eating jungdz, pictured to the right. Jungdz consist of rice, stewed meat, eggs, and mushrooms wrapped in bamboo leaves, boiled, and then steamed. They are a pain to make, but they are very tasty and only have to be made once a year, so they're worth it.

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.

Day 15/365: Utah Lake Festival and Fishing

We took Uncle Michael to the Utah Lake Festival this afternoon. There were lots of different booths, but the one that attracted us most was the face painting booth. Little J decided she wanted to be a blue bunny. The person who painted Julia did a fantastic job.


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?

Bored bunny.

The Norman Rockwell version of Josh fishing.

Day 10/365: Mark gets a tattoo

To prove just how Asian he is, Mark used tape to create a sunblocked tattoo of his Chinese surname on his arm. A double shift lifeguarding at the Scera pool guaranteed tattoo success.

Day 9/365: Spring on Y Mountain

The recent rains have finally brought a little green to the mountains. I thought I'd take a picture quickly before it turns brown again.