I am a Jedi Knight, like my father before me...

Well, the boys are making some good progress, so I'll show you how it is going. First off, Matthew began training Joshua in how to really 'feel' the force, and Joshua was able to catch on in no time:



Joshua made such incredible progress that Melissa and I decided that the time had come for his first real lightsaber, so we stayed up late last night constructing one. Needless to say, Joshua has been playing around with it all day. He says it has a lot of the force in it:



Ever the little Anakin, Joshua couldn't let his father show him up:



I just hope he doesn't burn himself doing those kind of stunts.

Hyrum finally began to show some interest and has started off alright:



Not quite as aggressive as the other boys, he has already started to use the force to help him in giving Seth some stroller rides. This is what I really like to see:



You'll notice Matthew trying to get in the shot with some more Jedi tricks.

I've always felt like the force was strong with little Seth, and I caught him doing this the other day when nobody else was around:



Well, it has been an exciting couple of weeks around here, and I'm really proud of my little Padawans. Still, even the force doesn't stop a quarrel now and again:



Other than that, Joshua and Mom have been working on his constellations project which is pretty amazing. We're watching the CU - Florida State game intermittent with Wii Star Wars. Seems like kids always prefer video games to real life! Anyway, may the force be with you!

May the Force be with you!

Now that we've mastered the use of the light saber, we've been focusing more on harnessing the power of the force. Math is probably the best at using it so far. I'm OK at it. We'll keep you posted as we gain more skills.

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica....

Tonight is the night...every child will be in bed by 8:00 pm...
But until then, a few to enjoy....(the video is long but so funny)

Pam Beesly: There is a master key and a spare key for the office. Dwight has them both. When I asked, "what if you die, Dwight? How will we get into the office?" He said, "if I'm dead, you guys have been dead for weeks."

Dwight Schrute:	Second Life is not a game. It is a multi-user, virtual environment. It doesn't have points, or scores, it doesn't have winners or losers.
Jim Halpert:	Oh it has losers.

Jim Halpert:	Question. What kind of bear is best?
Dwight Schrute:	That's a ridiculous question.
Jim Halpert:	False. Black bear.
Dwight Schrute:	That's debatable. There are basically two schools of thought--
Jim Halpert:	Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Dwight Schrute:	Bears do not... What is going on?! What are you doing?!

Sickness takes it's toll...

I had been doing good with my exercise. I was swimming a 1600 about 2-3 times a week. I know...that still isn't very much but it was pretty good. Then everyone got sick and we went through two different colds with each person getting it right after the next. So it was about 2 1/2 weeks before I could take Seth and Math back to the gym. We finally went back and I busted out a 200 IM without any problem but then by 600M I was feeling the pain. I know...so sad (don't laugh Brian ;) Do you really think it is fair that 2-3 weeks off should cause such a fall...Maybe my body is just getting too old ;)

11th really!!!

So I guess now that at least our 11th ranking is deserved...(as we are still BYU, there is a good chance to blow it and lose to some one like Utah St.) If we beat Utah and TCU then I think it would be a travesty if the BCS keeps us out. Also...Utah St...think we have a good chance to keep them scoreless again!! DE-FENSE!

Busy...

So, I thought (erroneously) when I moved that life would slow down for a little bit because no one we knew could get to where we were and no one where we were knew us. I didn't expect it to last forever but I thought 5-6 months maybe?? I was wrong. The junk mail found out. Our mailbox is already full of misc offers and junk. The government and various charities have found us. The ward also found us. This isn't a bad thing but it is a busy thing. This weekend included a primary activity, babysitting, a BYU football party, Math's birthday, the baptism of our neighbor who we reintroduced to the church, John spoke in sacrament, John had to teach his Sunday school, I taught young women's, Josh gave a talk in primary, BYC mtg and a dessert potluck. Whew...this has actually become somewhat typical of our life with weeks full of young women's, scouts, soccer, discussions, birthdays, etc. It is nice to be busy and to be surrounded by so many kind and friendly families but the apartment is suffering from serious neglect ;)

Really...11th??

So everyone knows that I am HUGE BYU fan. It was started very young in my family ;) The game yesterday was amazing!! It was awesome (a Utah awesome ;) ;) ;). So I can say this with the most devout love and adoration of BYU....ranked 11th...really? They are 14th in the AP poll which seems a little better to me. Not doubt we are a fabulous team but are we better than Ohio State? Granted Ohio State didn't put up the best showing against USC but it was USC. I do want to make it to the BCS but....Eldon, Tyson, Blake, Dad...and everyone else who follows the game, what do you think?
(rolling hands) GO COUGARS!!

Dancing is Dangerous in confined spaces...

Another round of famous Prince dancing (and I mean Prince, not Snow dancing...you'll understand when you see the video). Unfortunately, we are not used to such tight quarters for our dancing and accidents do happen...Seth was the first casualty of the night.

Freshman BYU Ward

This is just a little shout out to all y'all from our freshman ward at BYU. Don't know if you remember but Dawn Andrus (from the Spanish Fork apt) is getting married on Sept 20th. I don't know if she wants me to tell everyone this but oh well...
Dawn looks amazing!! You can check out her blog at downpainelane.blogspot.com

Boulder is expensive...

Why is Boulder so expensive...I am starting to think it is because everything is organic and I am not talking just produce. In Austin you usually had choices but here every cracker, ice cream, chips, soups, cereal, etc are all organic. This is not a bad thing...I am not against organic items but research has shown that they don't really have any more nutrient value so...right now I am kind of leaning towards the less expensive things. However, I do like saving the earth. I still can't afford 7th Gen. diapers and feminine products but other than that we are doing good. It's a hard call between cost and environment. It is so much easier here, even our church activities are completely recycled. Puts Austin to shame but the people in Austin are a lot less crazy!!!!

On the plus side it is also much easier to find stuff without high fructose corn syrup and trans fat. Our new favorite that might be near you...Costco has a new green line that includes dish soap, laundry soap and cleaners. I am still using the Clorox green line for cleaners until I run out but the soaps are really good. Also at Costco, Stretch Island Fruit Leather has mostly replaced our more sugary snacks. It is really cheap at Costco compared to other places. Finally, also at Costco, our Healthy Handful snacks which are completely organic so again no HFCS and trans fats. They are a good substitute for goldfish and other kid crackers.

What do you think the neighbors think when they look out their windows and see this...

Hopefully they think the same thing I do...so cute!