Home Depot Project Days

Okay, I promised that I would get the Home Depot pictures posted today, so here goes.

We got down to the Home Depot just off of Sunset on Marks Road and the folks there were a little confused as to what time the whole shindig was supposed to start. They got things off the ground about 9:45 and we got there just after 10:00. This month the project was a little pencil box with flowers, and Ian was excited that there were so many pieces.

The first step we had to do was to actually get back to where they were doing the project. In Provo, there are so many kids that all of the legitimate customers avoid the area in order to keep from being trodden by toddlers or having the meat stripped from their bones by piranha parents worn thin by trying to manage eight kids with hammers, screwdrivers and glue all at the same time.

In Vegas, however, cute kids must be at a premium, because there were only about ten kids who showed up the whole time we were there. We got stopped at every turn by people commenting on how adorable Ian is and how cute his apron, hat and tools were. (We don't mind the attention. We're doting parents and we know it!)



Here is Ian with his project kit, ready to go!


First we laid out all of the parts and got them ready to assemble. The instructions on this one were not exactly rocket science (I mean, that flower box we had to assemble last month was brutal!!)
Next, we pounded the nails into the sides of the box. We discovered that the nails go in a lot better if you are actually pounding on a hard surface (like the floor) rather than one that rebounds and absorbs a lot of the blow (like the plastic folding tables). Ian got his thumb whacked with the first project that we did a few months ago and has been a little skittish around the hammer ever since, but he got over it a little bit and was doing a good job by the time we got into it on Saturday.

Then it was time to put the base of the box on.

Then we stuck the tops on the flowers and just had to put all of the stickers on for the petals and the centers of the flowers. Ian was the Executive Engineer for Adhesive Aesthetic Homologation (or EEAAH, which is, incidentally, the same sound daddy makes when struck by the hammer)

It took longer than I thought to put all of the stickers on- each of the flowers had a center plus five petals front and back. Ian put me in charge of those while he applied leaves, flowers, "peas" (they were little green dots... go figure), ladybugs, butterflies and a "Happy Mother's Day" sticker to the box. I thought that Ian would have wanted to spread them all out, but he was adamant that all of the stickers go on the same side of the box. Funny kid!


Here we are with the completed pencil box! Ian was so proud and was excited to give it to Mommy when we got home. She loved it, and though he hasn't said anything, I can tell that Cooper is trying to figure out how he can get it down off of the counter to drool all over it. He was very impressed with his big brother's work.

New Poll

Sorry it has taken me so long to get a new poll posted-- that other one was up for an embarrassing 7 weeks. Eeek. Anydangway, we would like to see at least one of the shows while we are here in Las Vegas, and we would love some input on what it is that you think we should go and see. Zumanity is out because it is too fleshy, and we have already seen "O" at the Bellagio three years ago courtesy of my Dad (he won some tickets that we, Robyn and Caleb ended up with). I only listed a couple on the poll; if you have other suggestions or justifications for your choices, please leave them as comments to this post. Thanks!

An Old Adventure in a New Place

It is getting late and I need to get to bed-- strange that I have a job (you know, like a real job) that I have to be to in the morning-- one more picture before I go to bed, though. Saturday was the first Saturday of the month, and that means that it was time for Project Days at Home Depot! We called up the local Home Depot and Ian and I wandered down there-- I'll post the pictures of that tomorrow, but on the way out the door we snapped this picture of Ian in his Project Days gear in our new apartment complex. I thought everyone might want to see both Ian and a little bit of our new home.


You can see that the area is beautiful, and Ian loves that we are close enough to the airport that he gets to see lots of planes and helicopters (I like that we are just far enough away that we can't really hear them with the windows closed). The balcony/porch you can see on the bottom floor to the left of Ian is ours; it opens off of the little dining area next to our kitchen. We will get some more pictures of our new place taken and get them up so that you can all have an idea of what it is like here. Spring in Vegas is beautiful, and all the flowers in our complex are already in full bloom. We have doves and some sort of little finch or sparrow living in the trees and bushes all around, so we wake up to the sound of birds and get to hear the doves cooing during the cooler hours in the evening. It is a fun place to be.

Dinner at the Infangers'

Mark called me up just as I was finishing my finals (has that really been less than two weeks!?) and invited Jenny, the boys and I over for dinner at his house with he and Xiomara before we left. We managed to wrangle some time with them last Tuesday night and we are really glad that we were invited-- it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them.

Xiomy fixed some wonderful stuff which I cannot remember or pronounce correctly, but it means "chicken with rice." It was the first time that either Jenny or I can ever remember Ian asking for seconds... and thirds... and fourths... and he asked Xiomy if we could take some home. It was good stuff. We loved going down just to hang out with Mark and Xiomara and will be glad when we get to spend some more time with them. They are gracious and kind and our boys just love them! Here are a couple of pictures from when we were there. Mark got a couple with Xiomy's camera of us throwing the blanket at Ian (at his repeated request) that I need to get and post because they are priceless!

Okay, so techically this is not a picture that has anything to do with Mark and Xiomy other than that is happened at their house, but it is one of my favorites of me and Cooper-- he is chubbing out and is so much fun to play with!
Xiomy with the boys-- she is so cute with them and they just adore her. Cooper has taken to her really well and it is fun to hear Ian talk about Xiomara and to hear him pronounce her name. We had baked chicken with rice for dinner last night and when we told Ian what we were having he was excited; "Rice like Xiomara? In the rice cooker?" He thinks she is pretty cool and we agree.

Update on the Updated Update

Okay, so here is the deal-- I went to work at Jones Vargas for the first time today and had a ball-- it was a really, really cool place to be and everyone treated me very well. We'll see how tomorrow goes now that they have some idea of what they are in for, but today was a neat experience. It was strange how things there just kind of seemed to fit much better than I could have expected or anticipated. I am glad that we are here.

Anydangway, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do about the lappy with the broken power jack and all, and I ended up talking to our hardware IT guy, Eric Weller, who told me to bring it in for him to just check on it (I was asking him for an opinion as to where I should take it to be repaired). He applied his tech wizardry skills and did some black-belt diagnostics with a screwdriver, a flashlight and his fingertips and determined that the DC jack on the lappy was fine, but that I had managed to break yet another power cord. He loaned me a universal that he had in a drawer until the one I ordered off of eBay can get here and we are back up and running (and for much less than it would have otherwise cost!) Thanks, Eric!

Updated Update

Okay- we got a couple of atrocious bids for repairing the lappy (like 300 bucks and two weeks or more) and finally found a place just down the street from us that says they can re-solder the charging port in a couple of days for about forty dollars. Bad news is that until then we have no real internet-just my smartphone- so we will be a little out of the loop. If you need to get a hold of us, just give us a call or email us at my byulaw.net address (or text either of us). We'll get back up and running asap.

update

So, I may have spoken too soon when I promised lots of pictures and updates. The lappy is refusing to charge right now, and I think that the charging port is actually broken. We're not sure what we are going to do about that, so stay tuned and we will let you know as soon as we are back up and running.

We've Arrived

It's frickin' pathetic that it is not even ten local time and we are already bushed-- we are ready for bed-- but we wanted to share the bigger news that we are actually spending our first night in our home for the next three months here in sunny Las Vegas! We arrived about 5:00 tonight and are ready for a rest after all the packing, traveling, unpacking and trying to tame a two-year-old who has had no naps and six hours in a car over the last two days. Oh, and having some El Pollo Loco for dinner-- that is great stuff. I have to say that the chickens who end up on the grill at El Pollo Loco have sacrificed themselves for a noble cause.

We love our new place down here. It is at least twice the size of our apartment back in Provo-- two bedrooms, two baths, granite countertops, an oversize tub in the master bathroom... it's even better than we were expecting. It is also nice that I am sleeping in my summer PJs with the air conditioning turned on when it was snowing on us all the way to Beaver, UT.

Two things before I rack out for the night-- thanks to everyone who helped us get down here-- Jenny's mom came over yesterday and helped clean our apartment so that we could be ready to leave; my mom packed us goodie bags that provided most of our sustenance while traveling; Jenny's dad came over this morning and helped pack up the cars and got us on the road at least half an hour faster than we otherwise would have been. My dad just happened to be in Las Vegas today working with Anderson Dairy, so he came over and helped us get the cars unloaded. Thanks very much to all of you-- and to all of you who sincerely offered to help. I am sorry that we could not find enough work for everyone to do!

Second, I just had to share a quick picture with you before I go. The bed in Ian's room down here is one of those flippy-foldy-bed-slash-couch futon thingies, and he was really excited when I folded it down into a "big bed" for him. After calming him down enough that it seemed like he would actually go to sleep, I turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving him sprawled all over the middle of the "big bed." Fifteen minutes later when we went in to check on him, this is what we found:
I like that he is all curled up in the top-left quadrant of the bed. It's nice to know for sure that he is just fine in his little toddler bed back home!


P.S. I know that we have been terrible about updating the blog lately. We have a ton of pictures that we need to upload and describe-- we're hoping that now that we have finals and the move behind us that we will be able to get caught up soon. Stay tuned!

The Right to be Bold

I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Japan from 1999 to 2001. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how this works, let me explain just a little bit. You must be worthy to serve as an official representative of the church, which means that you live up to standards of faith, personal purity, a very stringent code of conduct and an agreement that you will dedicate the entire time for which you are a missionary (in my case, two years) to the service of Jesus Christ, teaching everybody and anybody who will listen about the atonement of Jesus Christ, our relationship to God, the identity and nature of God and about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our day.

As you might imagine, there are some intensely fulfilling days in the service of the Lord, and the experiences that are incident to that service become an indelible part of any person who serves faithfully and to the very best of their ability. Many experiences are sweet; watching people learn who they are, especially that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them, cares for them and wants to comfort, instruct and guide them is a superlative experience for which adequate descriptive words simply do not exist.

Some other experiences are more difficult. I do not wish to destroy or belittle the sincere faith of anyone; indeed I admire all those who live in accordance with their beliefs and do much good in this world. However, I do not apologize for declaring that I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God, the only one on the earth in which the authority to act in the name of Christ is vested. This boldness in declaring the truth is difficult for some people of sincere faith to accept.

I served with a Japanese man by the name of Elder Morishige on my mission, and he said something once that has stuck with me. The best translation which I can give is this: "I have the truth; I have the right to be bold." Boldness, sometimes, is the only course which allows us to be consistent and faithful to the truths that we have received through the Gospel. It is difficult sometimes for our friends and acquaintances of other faiths to deal with the unwillingness of the LDS Church and its members to compromise on doctrines or positions. I sincerely regret any strife or difficulty which may arise from these situations, as I believe that we, of all people, have the greatest responsibility to approach others in kindness, humility and Christlike love. I do not, however, apologize for our doctrines.

I have a cousin, Brigg Olsen, who is currently serving a mission in Canada. His last letter home contained the following excerpt describing an experience in which he had the opportunity to express to someone else his conviction of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I was inspired by his boldness and his forthrightness in declaring the truth of what he knows, what I know.

So we met with our "good friends" yesterday- the Alliance minister/pastor and his wife. They invited us to come back and visit with them. We didn't want to go but did anyway. It was quite the brutal experience. I feel pretty justified in saying that they are "wolves in sheep's clothing." Initially they treated us like we were their best friends. They kind of held us hostage for two and a half hours. We did not go to fight, argue, or bash with them. We went with the intention of building upon what our beliefs have in common but, that was the last thing they wanted to do. We gave them a card with the Articles of Faith. He looked over it and then started to try to “prove” to us why each Article of Faith is false. They mercilessly attacked us, preaching to us from an anti-mormon literature book. He said to us, "I am deeply concerned for your souls. You are going to Hell and you are leading many people there with you." All I said was, "Thanks for your concern but I know. . ." and I bore my testimony to them. He continued to preach to us from their anti book. I asked them both individually if they had ever read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it was true. They both said “no.” So then I leaned forward and said, "Then you CAN NOT tell us that it isn't true." Elder Toth and I bore our testimonies to them of the truth of this church- the Book of Mormon, the Godhead (they believe in the trinity), Joseph Smith, our living Prophet of God President Monson, and the Savior Jesus Christ. We closed in the name of Jesus Christ and then left their home. When we bore testimony in the Savior's name it was like they were struck dumb because they could not battle with that- they had nothing else to say at that point. We also told them to throw away the anti-mormon literature. We don't have any plans of going there ever again but we'll see what happens.

I want ya'll to know that I do not doubt my testimony. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. This is the same Church that He established when He lived on the earth over 2,000 years ago. It was foretold by many prophets in the Bible that it would be taken away but that eventually it would be restored in its fullness. I know that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the Priesthood of God has been restored to us and that no other church has that authority. I know that the Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ, that it does contain the fullness of His Gospel, and the Doctrine of His Kingdom. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that He conquered death- physically and spiritually- through the Atonement. I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves each of us. I know that He has given us a living Prophet to speak for Him today. President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. I know this is the Truth

I am very proud of Brigg; he has a testimony of the truth, and he is willing to share it with boldness and sincerity. To all of you who have the truth, I urge you to share it in a spirit of love, but without shame or apology. To those of you who are not members of the LDS Church, I urge you, with all the love that I possess, to come and let us show you what we have; perhaps then you will be better able to understand why it is that we feel so strongly about it.

My life in a nutshell