The OmaHecks

The Endorsement

2012-01-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Dane has decided to make it official. While weighing the virtues of political neutrality up to this point, he's taken the gloves off now.

He's throwing his full support behind the man he thinks can really change the country: Stephen Colbert!

Here's the ringing endorsement:

"I think he'd make a nice president... He's got a wife, he's got kids... even though he cusses a lot."

In a statement, Mr. Colbert thanked Dane for his willingness to take a stand and for his unfailing patriotism. "Personally, I think that's the best endorsement any candidate could hope for: a full disclosure of my warts, with an acknowledgement that they aren't the entirety of what I have to offer, that there are virtues deeper than the surface."

D.A.R.E. To Say It Like It Is

2012-01-14T09:08:00.001-08:00

Dane recently completed the D.A.R.E program at school. It's a national substance abuse prevention program. As part of the requirements, Dane had to write a report about resisting drug use.

Something you may not know about Dane, he watches the Today Show on NBC every day while getting ready for school. He's become kind of a news junkie. He knows a ton about what's going on in the world. He also watches Stossel and The Colbert Report.

You may remember that Dane (then age 7) posited that Barack Obama became President because he stopped smoking, which it turns out is not the case, incidentally. With all the GOP primaries on the news Dane reminded us that President Obama was elected by the people (Dane's leaning toward an endorsement of Stephen Colbert as the South Carolina Primary approaches) and Michelle Obama says PBO didn't stop smoking until early 2010.

With that background, I give you Dane's D.A.R.E. Report (unedited):

Some people think drugs, alcohol and smoking is fun, like Obama did. But, he eventually quit smoking. Drugs are not playthings, but people still use them illegaly. Did you know that in thirty days twenty percent of eighth-grade students drink alcohol? To much drinking can cause death. Smoking can turn your lungs black. Don't be a fool, smoking isn't cool. So don't get involved i alcohol, drugs, violence and crime. Dare to resist. Don't smoke, drink, or take drugs. All of these will do this --> (hand drawn)I, Dane Anderson swear to stay drug free.

Thanks, Dane. We have no further comment.

Great Quotes!

2011-11-27T15:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple choice samples from our house recently.

Tate was at school and had pushed the boundaries with his Special Ed. Teacher. The established response was that the Teacher would call Cyndie to discuss the situation.

Teacher: Hi, Cyndie. Teacher here. We've got a small problem at the ice cream social here at the school.
Cyndie: OK. What's going on?

Tate (in the background): Abort the call! Abort! Abort! Abort the call!

Teacher and Cyndie: (Trying not to laugh!)
***************************

Have you been to McDonald's recently? Hope not. But if you have, you'll identify with this next one.

With mounting pressure from government and other entities about the obesity level in the US, Happy Meals now come with obligatory apple slices and a severly reduced fry serving. Cyndie explained this to Dane when he earned a recent Happy Meal.

Despite the pre-emptive planning, Dane was not thrilled with the small box of fries. (Aside: I was going to keep the container and post a picture here, but the Dog got it and chewed it up before I could take the pic). Dane wailed "Why, why do they do this to me?"

Cyndie explained that it was due to government pressure and health requirements. Dane began shaking his fist in the air and cried, "Curse you Government!" No word on whether he's forming a militia.
***************************

Finally, here's a look into the power of media:

Tate informed us that our good friend Greg Hefley has assured him that while school wrestling is totally fake, the stuff on TV with masks and chairs, etc. is 100% totally the Real Deal.

OK, Tate, whatever you say.

Zero Hour! Hawaiian Vacation

2011-10-25T18:52:00.001-07:00

On the way home from Rock Climbing club tonight, I was treated to the following:

And you're Zero whistling Aloha Oe while you discover that it's hard to do the Hula with no arms or legs, so you just put fresh fruit on your head and continue dancing.

Because apparently while the Hula requires limbs, they are optional for putting fresh fruit on your head.

Too Many Daves

2011-10-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 1990, I was a freshman in college. I lived on the 3100 floor of Hinckley Hall on the north end of the BYU campus. Freshman year in college is a unique experience for lots of reasons.

Freshman year in a dorm at a Mormon university named for the Prophet who lead said Mormons from the banks of the Missouri River to the Salt Lake Valley in the Rocky Mountains takes that to a whole different level.

You have a bunch of guys from all over who are preparing to go serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not exclusively (some had already returned from service, and some opted not to go), but we're talking about 90% or more, so you're dealing with a super majority by any definition.

If I sat down to count, I could probably still name 80% of the guys on that floor. I think the nicknames were the best. There were a bunch of Daves. You know, like Dr. Seuss's Too Many Daves! But instead of renaming them Hoos-Foos, and Zanzibar, and Oliver Boliver Butt, we just gave each a qualifier. And we were 18, so there's some context for you.

Four-Letter Dave swore. All the time. He also look remarkably like Robin Williams.

Dave Who Plays the Guitar was a budding musician. He also roomed with Four-Letter Dave.

The Other Dave was a friend of Four Letter and Guitar. His sister or cousin (can't recall) was in our sister dorm, Merrill Hall. Not sure where he lived, but he was in our dorm all the time.

Dave From Kaysville really wanted us to name him Dave From Hawaii because he'd worked there picking pineapples the summer before college. But you don't get to pick your own nickname. Ask George Costanza.

There was another Dave. I can't remember either his last name or his nickname. It may have been something as lame as "Gorshe's Roommate". He camped all the time and had a ton of gear. He and his Scott Gorshe were from Enid, OK.

Perhaps the most unfortunate qualifier was given to Mousey Dave. He didn't look like a mouse, but he was really timid and quiet as the proverbial church mouse.

Finally, there was Second Floor Dave who, as you might have suspected, did reside one floor below us in dear old Hinckley Hall. SFD's room mate, Bill, was feeling mighty left out until he went shopping and came back with a bunch of flannel shirts and work boots. He immediately became Lumberjack Bill. But I digress.

I think about those dorm days every so often. I run into a guy here or there. I'm Facebook friends with some. I've even tried to hire a couple of their brothers. There were lots of lessons learned. Lots of growth. And by the end of the year, lots of missionaries. Across the world and in our backyard. Some of the 2000 Stripling Warriors.

If you are bored, here's a shot at remembering who lived on that floor:

Charles "Chuck" was the RA. He got married and left at the semester break and Rand Kerr moved in. We gave both of them a run for their $$. Kepi Heimuli was the RA on the second floor. He kept the peace.

Matt Busselburg - played guitar too & Tom Nay - skied. Both from MD.

Sean and his roommate who were swimmers and got up way to early for practice.

Don van Tassle - wrestled

Dan Nabrotzky & Jeremie McKee - ballers to the max. from Corona, CA

Tom Cannon - an artist & ?? Campbell who served his mission with my BIL in Germany.

Jared Jenkins - studied architecture and served with me in Argentina.

Jason Christensen - to this day, probably the smartest guy I know. Successful entrepreneur today.

Justin McHood - my roommate. Cool guy that was a natural at sports.

Chad Garring & Steve Jones - from SoCal. Great athletes. Chad played HS hoops with the NBA's Tracy Murray

Jared Cowley(?) played baseball & Paul ? played the Tuba

The Bretts: Rawlins and Dew. Dew played football; Rawlins, the ladies. Dew moved out at semester and guess who moved in, yep, a Dave. He was either the New Dew or Snake owing to a tatoo.

The aforementioned Scott Gorshe

Keith Haraguchi & Kenji Toda - quiet guys. Kenji was from Japan.

"Big" Brian Marshall - a "Guardian of Morality" from Shelly ID. When I saw Napoleon Dynamite, it all made sense. Incredibly smart. & Chris Powell - a math and computer wiz before the rest of us knew how important that would be.

Wyatt ? & Sean Foster (?) - perhaps the oddest pairing, They were just so different

Jeremy ? & Eric Davis - from Dallas (PESH) and LOVED bass from big speakers.

Derek Todd - mountain man, driest sense of humor ever. & Scott "Surfer Bob" Yurchison. Yurchison: it's not just a name, it's a way of life.

So apologies to those I've forgotten. If you know, comment and remind me.

Zero Hour! and My Social Media Fast

2011-08-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

This one came while we were sitting together at Cold Stone Creamery for a little family outing to use a coupon before it expired!

"And you're Zero, watching a science video about good and bad bacteria while enjoying your yogurt."

And in a poorly-segued change of topic, many of you readers are aware that I embarked on a social media fast during the month of July. Why would you do such a thing, you ask? I'll give you a little insight and some learning points.

Rationale:

I probably "browse" too much. Between Facebook and my favorite BYU Sports sites, and various blogs, I could spend too much time perusing information that, while interesting, informative, and/or smile-inducing, isn't critical to my existence.
I chose July (and I chose it during the last week of June) because I felt that August wouldn't be a good month for 2 reasons: 1) I was gone without internet access while at scout camp for a full week, and 2) Football started and I wanted to read camp updates (which Cyndie picked up on before I even explained it to her, so point made).
It's summer, there's a lot of other stuff to do when I am not a work.
My wife is pretty anti-social media. She plans to be the last person on earth without a Facebook account. I have a few friends that want to do the same. They've talked of forming a group, just as long as they don't have to do too much to sustain it (quarterly dinner for example, but I'm not sure they'd get it coordinated). I wanted to see the world from their viewpoint.

Rules:

No social media for the month of July
My initial plan was to check personal email weekly (work email isn't social media, yo), but I figured out that people were trying to get a hold of me and I needed to respond, so I checked my personal email daily (but usually only once at lunch and once at night) and responded to texts (which were mostly for my church responsibilities).
News sites were OK, but only to further investigate news I had become aware of.
I'm the boss, so I can mutate rules if needed

Learning points:

While I am goal oriented, I am better at denial goals (I swore off pop in 2009 and now rarely drink it) than proactive goals (I have a hard time getting in serious exercise every day).
Social media is all around us. There's really no escaping it. We all engage in it to some degree every day.
I can live without it, but I may feel disconnected. I missed some updates... and some events (was there a Swim Herschel Swim reunion?) Please forgive me.
I read more, spent time with the family, did lots of yard work, and watched some old TV on Netflix with Cyndie, but not a ton (see proactive goal difficulty above).

All in all, it was a worthwhile experiment and experience. I do less "browsing" now. But here's the thing: I have friends (both the real kind like Joel, Ryan, and Rick and the Facebook kind like Cougar Tracks and Cougar Corner) who compile great information that I want, but save me the time of searching it out myself.

I will likely realize insights, or come up with learning points and post them later. In the mean time, see you in the ether.

T-Shirts and Stickers and Buttons and Such...

2011-08-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Cyndie was looking for some diabetes awareness material the other such merchandise and came across www.cafepress.com, a site with all kinds of schwag for diabetes, autism and other conditions.

Some choice excerpts from the site:

WARNING! Tendency to be brutally honest. Strong Opinions and Passion may Offend.
Keep Staring! It may cure my autism. Then we can work on YOUR social skills.
Eye Contact Is Overrated.
Cure Neurotypicals Now!
Fingertips of Steel.
Type 1: The Real Diabetes
Unless Your Pancreas Doesn't Work, Stop Whining!
Yes, I am diabetic. Yes, I have tested. Yes, I know this is candy. Yes, I can eat it. Yes, I even took a shot. BACK OFF!

I read an article a year or so ago stating that women's groups were choosing more crass names as monikers for their Susan G. Komen and other Breast Cancer Awareness/Cure fundraising teams. As a general rule, I see more and more advocacy groups doing the same.

The rationale, as I understand it, is that the crassness creates a "tougher than the disease" mentality. Not sure if the tougher than you persona actually does anything, but it does make for some funny shirts. And some laughs when you might otherwise cry.

Hunk-cules and Turning over new leaves

2011-08-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the Desert Star Playhouse today. It's a place we take the kids a couple-three times each year to get them exposed to some culture (and comedy) in a place they can't do too much damage. Although we did send a glass of Sprite and ice sailing over a bannister today...

Anywho, today's feature was "Hunk-cules (I'm Too Sexy For My Toga)".

At one point the princess, betrothed to a man that was not her true love, ran into the audience to find the Amazon Queen (apparently she could not be found on amazon.com). She came right up to our table and Dane was able to help her find the fugitive!

After the ordeal, Dane looked at his mom and said, "I finally spoke to a princess. A real princess!" And then he whispered, "Everything is so clear now!"

As we were reminiscing about the hilarity of it all tonight, Dane dropped this gem: "I'm turning over a new leaf, getting a clean slate, living my life on the lam." And we thought he was looking forward to starting school on Monday! Oye!

Zero Hour! Conjoined Ghost Puppies

2011-08-14T16:45:00.001-07:00

... and you're Zero, conjoined with another ghost puppy (at this point Tate and Dane touch their heads together, followed by a puppy "yip" from Dane). But don't worry, you're dead, so you're easily separated!

Zero Hour!

2011-08-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've been on a social media fast. I decided the last week of June that July would be a cold-turkey, go-off-it-all month. I'll post more on that later.

Interestingly enough, Tate took a bit of a hiatus in his Zero game that you didn't miss much while I abstained from blogging. He's conveniently re-started the game, with an intensified complexity!

...and you're Zero in 1937 in the third pilot seat with Fred Noonan and Amelia Erhart, not paying attention to the coming storm.

...and I'm holding the just-been-born puppy Zero and all of the adult ghost dogs are amazed because he's the first baby ghost puppy ever.

...Zero, the ghost puppy, presents "Ghost Puppy Tunes 2"! Including Zero, singing "Smoke On The Water".

Zero Hour! The Initiation

2011-06-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Remember Zero? The cute little ghost-dog from The Nightmare Before Christmas? Sure ya do!

Let's face it. Tim Burton has a way of ingraining his visions on us... permanently. When the OmaHecks hit Disneyland in 2009, our favorite ride was definitely The Haunted Mansion. And because we went in the fall, said mansion was decked out in all it's Nightmare Before Christmas glory. A huge hit!

Tate took an exceptional liking to "puppy Zero." One of his new "things" is to do is say to his brother: "And you're Zero..." then suggest an activity. Dane will make some reasonable attempt to pantomime the activity, sometimes with sound. (Yes, I know that's not pantomime, gimme a break, it's been a long day). Cyndie and I can't believe we haven't been writing them down. They are so weird and random and funny.

So I've decided to introduce a new feature here at the blog "Zero Hour!"

We'll post these as we hear them, or remember them, or maybe as we make them up ('cuz participating is fun too!)

... And you're Zero, panting to the rhythm "Funkytown"

... And you're Zero, dressing us a Guinea Pig as Elvis

Of Father's Day and My Sons

2011-06-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I was asked to speak in Church today, Father's Day. Having congregants deliver sermons is routine in the Mormon Church. But this was no routine assignment: I was to deliver a message on the blessings and joys of being the Father of a child with a disability. God sent His Spirit to lift and comfort me and I was blessed to deliver it (mostly) in control of my emotions. I thought I'd share what I said. Here's the text of my talk:

I know that for many of you, being in my place today would be nerve wracking. But, I am really not bothered by speaking in Church. It's a place of love and acceptance. Plus, I've been asked to teach true principles, and I have a testimony of the restored Gospel, which makes my assignment easier. I frequently speak at work, and the environment‟s not so nurturing. Poor performance can even damage my career. I figure the worst that can happen today is that my message will be so off track that Bishop Rowley will decide to release me from my calling… but none of you get any ideas…

Actually, when Brother Hill called me and invited me to speak today, my biggest concern was that he only gave me 10-12 minutes! I have been the third speaker on a three speaker program when I prepared 15 minutes and had 30 minutes left; and prepared 20 minutes and had 5. I’ll do my best to stick to the 10 minute goal.

The topic I've been assigned is the challenges and blessings of being the Father of a child with disabilities. After accepting this opportunity, Cyndie's first question was “Are you going to get through that?” My first comment to Cyndie was “How do I make this a positive talk?” Allow me to make an analogy with a mission: Dealing with a disability can be monotonous, with very challenging routines. Knowing the challenges you will face, you often look for ways to circumvent them. When stacked next to each other by quantity, the positive seem to be outweighed almost infinitely. However, when compared in magnitude, each positive experience can nearly eliminate the feelings of hardship endured to get there. I was inspired in preparing this talk as I researched the topic and have found a great and humbling message to share with you.

For those who don't know, my sons both have developmental disorders on the autism spectrum. Tate is considered high-functioning and Dane has Asperger's, a milder form. The Church's new website on Disabilities, disabilities.lds.org, summarizes as follows: “While persons with autism can't be identified by their physical appearance, they have similar attributes that can be observed. They usually have difficulties with language or communication, social skills, and behavior.” Sound familiar?

Because there is no defining outward marker for autism, until told, it can be interesting to see how people react to the boys. Dane upped the ante last year when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

The Church's website has lots of great information along with fantastic explanations. I encourage you to take a look.

My goal today is to share some insights, include some personal experiences, and teach doctrine. I am going to sample liberally from a 1991 talk by President Boyd K. Packer entitled “The Moving of the Water”, a talk I highly recommend.

DISABILITIES: WHAT AND WHY
Some teach that all suffering is somehow the direct result of sin. President Packer reinforced that this is a false doctrine. Recall what the Savior taught during his ministry. In the Gospel of John 9:1-3, we read:

“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents,
that he was born blind?
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

And then Christ healed the man.

It isn't always clear why disabilities occur. Elder Russell M. Nelson referenced the prophet Alma when he taught:

“For reasons usually unknown, some people are born with physical limitations. Specific parts of the body may be abnormal. Regulatory systems may be out of balance. And all of our bodies are subject to disease and death. Nevertheless,
the gift of a physical body is priceless. Without it, we cannot attain a fullness of joy. “Eventually the time will come when each 'spirit and … body shall be reunited again in … perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame' (Alma 11:43). Then, thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become perfected in Him.”

(We Are Children of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 86–87)

FOCUS ON THE ETERNAL
Note that Elder Nelson ultimately focused on the eternal, the restored, the perfected. Living daily with a challenge of this nature forces a parent to look to the future, an eternal future free from the bondage of an imperfect physical body. President Packer cited President Joseph Fielding Smith as he explained that

“all spirits while in the pre-existence were perfect in form, having all their faculties and mental powers unimpaired. … Deformities in body and mind are …
physical.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., 5 vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, 3:19.) President Packer continues, “Physical means “temporal”; temporal means “temporary.” Spirits which are beautiful and innocent may be temporally restrained by physical impediments. If healing does not come in mortal life, it will come thereafter. Just as the gorgeous monarch butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, so will spirits emerge.”

DEALING WITH TODAY
Despite our best efforts, we all lose focus of our eternal goal from time to time. It is normal to spotlight the “need to do” items. Dealing with a disability—especially one that can be publicly distracting—forces us to address issues differently than most.

In a 2009 article in the Salt Lake Tribune titled “Trial of Faith: Parents, Children with Autism, and Church” we found many kindred spirits, who shared insights into how families with autistic children try to adapt, and how we struggle at Church.

The mother of an autistic son said:

"We spend our lives trying to be invisible, the family nobody notices."

The article goes on:

Indeed, many parents of children with autism give up on public worship,
weary of the frustration and embarrassment, angry with the real or perceived judgment of others.

Showing up in public places (especially where there is an expectation of reverence or decorum) can be difficult; none of us wants to be embarrassed, but most of us have sufficient pride that shame comes anyway. It is not easy to worship, or to watch the discomfort of those around you (real or perceived), when your child is consistently (and perhaps incorrectably)inappropriate.

Brent Petersen, a psychiatrist and clinical director at the Pingree Center for Children with Autism and Stake President of the Salt Lake Butler West Stake says,

"I can't tell you how many parents have come to me and said, 'We stopped coming to church. People look at us, and it's just not worth it.”

President Petersen opines "That just should not be,"

Carol Ruddell, a member of the Roman Catholic Church's Salt Lake City Diocesan Commission for People with Disabilities, agrees. "[Church] should be the most inclusive, the most accommodating, the most accessible. That's what faith is about."

Cyndie and I are extremely grateful for the encouragement, acceptance and friendship we find in our ward. Those of you here in March of 2010 may recall what we dubbed The Longest Two Minutes in Church. As Tate was presented to the Ward to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and be ordained a deacon, things got interesting… among other antics, he decided to dismount the stand over the bulkhead rather than use the stairs, and landed on his backside. Neither parent was in a position to do anything about it, and we were mortified!

Some of the feedback we got included:

“Joseph Smith exited the stand like that all the time” from Jeremy Lowry.

Sandra Hill said, “I wanted to tell Alex (who was being presented to advance to the office of Teacher the same day) to do the same thing! Take the pressure off!”

Sam Ford told his mother: Mom, I really thought he was going to stick the landing.

And when Tate ran away from the Bishop waiving his Tithing envelope and yelling “It‟s my money! He can‟t have it!” Monica Ford put her arm around Cyndie and simply said, “I think we all feel like that sometimes.”

PROGNOSIS
One of the most powerful passages in all of scripture is found in Acts Chapter 3 when a crippled man asks alms of Peter and John, Apostles focused on their mission to testify of Christ. Peter asked the man to exercise faith by looking at them, it is recorded that the man did look:

“And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
“And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
“And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
“And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
“And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

I'd be lying if I told you I didn't wish every day that this happened in my home. However, President Packer taught:

“The very purpose for which the world was created, and man introduced to
live upon it, requires that the laws of nature operate in cold disregard for human feelings. We must work out our salvation without expecting the laws of nature to be exempted for us. Natural law is, on rare occasions, suspended in a miracle. But mostly our handicapped, like the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, wait endlessly for the moving of the water."

When we come to this earth, the Lord makes us two outcome promises. Our faith can
give us peace in this life and our righteousness will allow us to live with him in the world to come.

President Packer reminds us that remedy will occur. He said, “That day of healing will come. Bodies which are deformed and minds that are warped will be made prefect.”

I know that the Resurrection is real. I look forward to that day when bodies, minds, and souls are healed and perfected.

In the meantime, it is my role to look after those in my stewardship who wait by the pool of Bethesda.

Tate's Take

2011-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to our latest installment of Tate's Take.

This episode brought to you by the good folks at the Cattlemen's Beef Board and the Beef Council. Beef: It's What's for Dinner!

The following in an unabridged and unedited persuasive essay written by Tate.

Did you know? Meat is heathyer than plants. Acorrding to me and meat eaters. I get heathy muscles. I eat a lot of meat, because meat is good.

Meet me please (ha ha). Help us with more meat. Please meet me is a joke. Plant eater have more fate.

Meat gives you protein. Put meat on the grill. Tell smart people.

Ask the butcher he knows. Tell him meat is heathy. Some veggies and other plants are heathy too.

That's my advice. Tell that to people who like barbecues. So if you want to be strong eat meat.

So if you are wondering what Tate wants to eat, your are pretty safe if you offer something that stated as a cow.

OmaHeck: Dane Can Say It!

2011-01-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

Since I just posted a long list of Tate quotes, here are some Dane-isms from recent days.

When he wants to know about something, he goes in head first. He kind of immerses himself in the issue and becomes something of an expert. This excerpt came when D was highly focused on Tokyo's most famous monster, and at the same time asked Music Momma a classic rock question.

"Wow, you sure remember a lot of things for a person who doesn't remember very much about Godzilla movies."

---

Those of you who have spent time around Dane won't really believe this, but it is 100% authentic:

"Boy, I sure am getting tired from talking so much!"

---

Here's a combo from the boys together talking to their mom.

Tate: Did I spy on you as a spirit? Did I spy on you watching your favorite shows?
Dane: Yeah, me too! And we came down from Heaven when you didn't even suspect it!

OmaHecks: Awesome Tate Quotes (warning: very LONG)

2011-01-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while. Some good stuff is saved up. No promises, but I'll try and do better.

These are all from Tate. He's been on a roll lately. They date back a while, but like NBC TV, if you haven't seen it, it's new to you!

We'll start with two from today (I'm partial to FIFO inventory systems , but I'm going LIFO on this one).

While he and I were passing the Sacrament in Church today, T looks at me and semi-whispers: "Bellatrix pretends to be an innocent woman."

Now tell me, does this look like an innocent woman?I don't think so. It was just so random. Classic Tate.

Then, just a few minutes later, this gem: "I like the presents at Christmas... and also the feasts!"

Recall the the point of the Sacrament ordinance (Communion, The Lord's Supper, most Christian religions have something similar) is to remember Christ. Gentle reader (not Gentile reader, I'm not going there) how on earth am I supposed to be Christ-focused with this kind of hilarity being whispered into my ear?

---

Shortly before Christmas, Cyndie and Tate were wrapping Tate's gift to Dane. They are quietly whispering to be covert. Tate is giggling, chirping and bouncing around. Apparently he could take it no longer when his arm start flapping above his head (no quite as though they are disconnected at the shoulders, but almost). Cyndie asks what's going on, and it that same loud whisper he tells her, "I'm acting casual!"

---

My parents came up to take the boys on an adventure. Open skate wasn't until 8 pm, so we decided to go bowling. JetBlue had reserved all the lanes until 9 (thanks JB, appreciate that you are taking care of your employees) so we had to find an alternative. Fortunately, the local Fat Cats bowling alley also has an arcade. The kind with tickets and over-priced prized you can use the tickets to redeem. We played games with Grandpa and Grandma for a while, ordered some pizza, and headed to the car.

As we left the building, we saw some girls standing outside the entrance (no word on whether their parents work for JetBlue). They offered salutations: Hi Tate! Hey Tate! Merry Christmas Tate!

To get the full effect of his response, allow me to paint a mental picture for you:
He looked away, pointed both arms toward the gaggle (one away from his body and the other across his chest) and said simply, "Hey chicks, nice jackets!"

Dane followed that with "'S'up?" and a slight shrug. Oi!

I thought I was going to die! I had never heard him say something like that... especially with the Joe Cool attitude. It was hilarious. Being the diligent patent I am, I asked Tate if he thought that was maybe just a little rude. (He didn't.) Or whether he might have something a bit more conversational to say. (Again, no.) The girls were unphased. They giggled and said it was OK, that he was in their classes at school.

---

Over the summer, we had a family reunion. The whole famdamily. All 62 of us. Patriarch, Matriach, 10 kids, 10 spouses, 40 grandkids. It was an exercise in togetherness :P Really Together.

Actually, it was lots of fun. Others have done better in their blogging, journaling, and general reminiscing about it. My kids haven't really stopped talking about it, and list it among the best trips ever (right up there with Disney Land, Great Wolf Lodge, and finding a cotton candy vendor... just so you have perspective).

Among the "together" things we did was take a family picture. No small accomplishment. This post is already long, but I'm going to let you in on some family picture taking history.

Once, when the colors had been pre-determined, a sibling called for a pre-picture discussion of what everyone was wearing. At least half of those with children at the time listed a color other than those that had been pre-authorized. And none of them matched each other.

Another time, it was determined that we would wear "jeans and solid pastel shirts." Pretty hard to screw that one up. And we didn't. Picture still hangs in several houses. Looks like a skittles factory exploded.
So in our patriotic best, (red, white, and blue, not Tea Party duds) we stood, sat, stacked and squished, and rearranged and swapped, squished some more, then we tried to get kids to look and smile and... I bet you can picture it, can't you! It's a nice picture. We are standing against the brick wall of a church that is 100+ years old.

Finally it went off. Woo Hoo! Until someone suggested another picture, this one on the stairs leading up to the former main entrance of the church. Cyndie and I, being among the tallers were put in the back. All the kids were put up front. We had no access to them. After one picture, Tate decides he's done. He takes off.

Several looks at Cyndie and I. What would you like us to do, our looks reply. We're here 20' off the ground and you are all in our way! Perhaps one of you would like to go get him? Ha Ha!

Sweet niece Maren gently goes after him to coax, invite, cajole, (unfortunately she hasn't really learned bribing yet), and get him back in the fold for more picture taking. Of course she was unsuccessful. He ran off with the arms flailing above his head (think ET) and yelled at his cousin: "You are so FIRED!"

OmaHeck: Tate's Take

2010-12-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

Our columnist has been on hiatus and so we were thrilled to receive this entry for publications.

Before our esteemed philosopher's latest, some background:
Tate love to make bonfires with his Bompa, or "Bomps" as he's recently been dubbed. Recent weather (wind, low temps, inversions), and the political climate (a recent wild fire near Bomps' house) have prevented him from enjoying fire time.

In an effort to get his fix in, he swiped some matches and started a small leaf fire in the garage. Needless to say, we weren't thrilled and let him know so. The burnables he'd collected (he's got a box that he uses to to stash materials in hold until the next trip to Bompa's) were therefore subject to confiscation, much to his dismay.

A few days after the confiscation, the following appeared on our bed (no spelling or punctuation changes have been made):

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Anderson

Did you know it is agenst the law #600 no throwing away your son's burny box
stuff? Your under arrest.

Signed,The Police, Dan Snare, The garbageman and Mr. Obama

P.S. Your in really big trouble.

Dan Snarr is the Mayor of our city and a staple at school events. In Tate's mind, he's quite the celebrity. The other signatories should be familiar to you.

If harboring resentment is an olympic sport, Tate is training for the Nationals presently. We're pretty sure he'll get over it, but for now we're anxious for the next fire episode so he can get it out of his system.

OmaHeck: Tis the Season...

2010-11-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of Christmas websites that our family really enjoys.

The first is Caroling Chins. Type in your favorite Christmas Carol and let the Chins carol to you and yours. There repertoire is broad, but not exhaustive, so it your favorite isn't there, try another! And Enjoy!

Second is one of the funniest Christmas stories you'll ever hear. It comes in 3 parts, each about 6 minutes long. From this link to YouTube, you'll be directed to each part in succession. Be sure to listen to them all for the whole effect. Don't let the title put you off. It is totally a Christmas story, the set-up in about 3:30, so don't get discouraged, just sit back and laugh (and remember, Santa didn't "used to do" anything")!

OmaHeck: Learning from Your Kids

2010-10-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, as we were winding down from the Halloween events, Tate told us that he never wanted 2010 to end.
He likes being 12, October is great, December is coming, it's his favortite time of the year.
Then he throws out that he likes numbers divisible by 3.

"Um, Tate," I say, "2010 is NOT divisible by 3." I'm so sure I'm right because in my trick-or-treated out head, 201 is not divisible by 3 and so neither is 2010. He starts to argue with me. But he's tired too, so he just goes to bed.

Cyndie was thinking, we probably shouldn't argue with Tate on this issue... it's proven to be frutiless--and embarrasing--in the past.

So today after church, Tate grabs the calculator and types in 2010, shows it to me, hits divide by and then 3... equals 670! He's right. OK, so maybe I'll be smarter next time. But probably not.

OmaHeck: Heroes, Cyborgs and Dad

2010-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Cyndie was watching the news tonight when I got home tonight. As we served up dinner, but just before turning off the TV, Minute To Win It! came on. The contestants were disabled veterans who had both been shot in the leg by a missile. Each had a prosthetic leg. Dane was admiring their stories, fascinated.

He looked for a while, then said, "They are cyborgs!"

"Really?" responded his parents.

"Well they are part human... and part machine."

"Oh" from the parents.

"Dad's actually a cyborg, too. He's got that metal machine in his knee."

Cyndie's thinking this could hold braggin' rights at the local elementary milk cooler, so she asks him, "Have you told people about this?"

Dane retorted incredulously, "No, that would blow his cover!"

Maybe it's time for my secret identity to become my only identity.

OmaHeck: Been a While

2010-09-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

So you haven't heard from us recently, and that's not by design. Let's just say that antibiotics have become a family favorite recently.

Here are a couple of choice Dane-isms from recent weeks.

Cyndie stopped by the bank to deposit a check the other day. She put the check and deposit slip in the tube and Dane was mesmerized. "Oh!! Looks like some kind of DNA containment chamber--or a pod!"

A few days ago, while we were planning a pool trip, Dane got his idioms combined and let us know that "waiting for an hour to swim after you eat is Old Mothers' Folk!" When he realized that he'd combined Old Wives' Tale, Folk Tale, and Mothers' Tale, he roared with laughter. We all did.

I love having kids for the fun things they say...

OmaHeck: How Did You Find Me?

2010-08-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Tate is officially in Jr High. For all the frantic worrying (by his mom, not so much by me, and especially not by Tate), day 1 went off without a hitch... mostly.

Day 1 is for 7th graders only. Get 'em in the school and herd 'em from class to class without the 8th and 9th graders owning the halls. Makes sense. We did a dry run at back to school night on Wednesday. Did you know that Jr High has a distinctive smell? It is a smell that says,"I haven't showered recently, but I used deodorant 2 days ago and it since I haven't showered, it should still be on." But I digress.

Tate spent 5th grade brooding about moving and spent 6th grade being done with elementary school. This summer he told me that he was looking forward to "a whole new life at Jr High." Music. Music to my ears!

We met with the teachers and the special ed coordinators. Everything was lined up. Schedule, locker (which did get changed once we realized where his classes were relative to his original locker), paper filing system, plan for the alphasmart, etc. etc. After lunch, the plan was for him to hit the media center and read. Grrreat! He doesn't really like sports or playground, so that's a fantastic solution. Until we execute...

After lunch, Tate headed straight to the media center for some reading time. He camped out behind the book fair display and got down to business. Shortly after opening Eyewitness books on snakes, skeletons, and sharks, the Librarian came by and said sweetly, "Well hello! What are you doing here?" Technically the media center wasn't open at lunch. Trouble brewing? Nope, Tate took it in stride and responded,, "How did you find me?"

Librarian called Special Ed instructor and said, "I think you have a lost soul down here." He offered Tate lunch access to his room and bookshelves and Tate was cool with the swap. Disaster averted. Thank goodness for small miracles.

While getting ready for bed, Tate offered up that he was thankful for a great 1st day of school. We're on our way!

OmaHeck: Anybody Want a Peanut?

2010-07-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

First off, if you recongized the title from its source in "The Princess Bride", +2 for you and a gold star to boot.

[pause for self congratulation... now on to the meat of the post]

If you buy salted-in-the-shell peanuts in bulk, you may want to stop, or at least reconsider your current venue.

In a fit of randomness, we learned the following recently:

Sitting at breakfast, Dane asked Cyndie, "Mom, are you supposed to eat the shells?"

"What shells, honey?"

"On the peanuts, are you supposed to eat them?"

"Well, no, but they do have lots of salt on them, don't they?"

"When there are peanuts out in a box at the store, I used to just grab some, suck the salt off, then put the peanuts back in the box."

Now, I can't prove this actually happened, nor can the alleged location be pegged. All we have is the mad ramblings of a diabetic 9-year-old.

But I did think you should know.

OmaHeck: The Devil and College

2010-07-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of great kid-isms that occured recently:

We have neighbors who are big PAC-10 fans (or is that PAC-12?)... mostly USC, but conference affiliated in any case. Dane was at their house playing and the kids went to the computer to get on Webkinz. As the screensaver went off, he saw Sparky, the ASU mascot on the desktop. His question to his hosts: "Why is Satan on your computer?"

...

Our family was in the car talking about all sorts of things (driving, too, not just sitting in the garage to enhance "tegetherness", but it's something we may consider). Somehow the subject of college came up. Dane was adamant that he isn't going to college. Just not interested in that much schooling. Too bad since he's a sharp kid and wants to be a paleontologist. Cracker-Jack box diploma anyone?

So Tate started asking more questions about college... why people go there, what it's like, and so forth. Cyndie and I explained that some jobs require people to get specific education. We also talked about different kinds of jobs and that today -- in their generation -- it is harder to get a job without a college education.

At this point Tate deadpans, "So Dane will never get a job" with just a hint of question.

OmaHeck: Tate's Take

2010-07-03T10:24:00.001-07:00

Today's topic on Tate's Take: Trampolines...

1. We do a lot of tricks. Boing.
2. Dane tells me his dreams on the trampoline.
3. We play a lot of crazy things.
4. We play when each other isn't around.
5. We play on it after our homework.
6. We play on it after our big sized dinner.
7. We get hurt a lot on the trampoline.
8. We never fall off the trampoline.
9. We act like the nets are webs.
10. We are exersizeing on the trampoline.
11. We are monsters for each other.
12. We act like killers on the trampoline.
13. We are so big fans of the trampoline.
14. We act like fool like on AFV.
15. We play with water on hot days.

OmaHeck: The Incident (of Dane, Deductibles, and DKA)

2010-06-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

In his extremely odd song "Pancreas", Weird Al favors us with the following:
My pancreas is always there for me
Secreting those enzymes
Secreting those hormones too
Metabolizing carbohydrates just for me

OK, so what if it doesn't? Metabolize carbohydrates, I mean. Well, then you are Dane and you have Type 1 Diabetes. This news may come as a shock to some of you... we've told some as it has come up, but haven't reached out en mass, and we know that others are learning here for the first time. Hope the Weird Al reference softens the blow for you.

It was just a few days after my last blog post (which of course was intended to kick off some more frequent blogging) that we had our "incident." Here's how it went down:

Dane had been a little sick for a while. A cold. Some sniffles. Nothing too crazy. Maybe a virus we thought after a few days, because there was a bit of vomiting. But really, this family has seen kid sickness before.

The weekend got a little more intense, he was pretty lethargic and a little more of the "fun stuff."
By the time I got home from work Monday night (rather late, because I had an event with some customers that evening) Dane was in bad shape. While the vomiting had subsided, he was breathing very heavily. This is normal for D when he has a fever, but he didn't have a fever, so we were getting really concerned. After another trip to the bathroom where Dane was just too tired to walk out, so he just lay down on the floor. Well, he lay down if you call falling over and saying, "I'm just too tired to stand up" laying down. OK, now we knew something was up.

All along we hadn't seen evidence of Swine Flu (H1N1) or any other pandemic or such... we were at a loss.

Cyndie just looked at me and said, "You have to take him to the ER." So I did.

They did a History a quick once over and started in on their stuff. I didn't know what was going on.

Every once in a while they asked me a question.

Eventually, about 2 am they said "Diabetic Ketoacidosis." And I was totally confused. Dane doesn't have diabetes, I told myself. And good thing, because if there are 2 things this kid hates, it is shots and food. At that point the Doctor in charge told me that Dane needed to be transported to Primary Children's hospital because that is where they treat juveniles. And transport would be by ambulence. At this point I am pretty sure we have reached our insurance deductible for Dane. Turns out that Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) is pretty serious stuff. You can read more about it here.

I followed the ambulance up to PCH. At this point I am really confused. Partially because I am bleary-eyed, and partly because I am still relatively sure that Dane does not have diabetes (this is what psychologists call "denial".)

About 2 more hours in the ER at PCH, then maybe 8 or so in Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU). After which Dane was transferred to the "floor" or the regular hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes where he stayed for the next 3 days. This kind of stay is totally normal with a new diagnosis of Diabetes.

This is already long, but I'll shorten the rest up a bit...

You spend 3 days at the hospital so the endocrinologist can monitor how you respond to insulin (and in Dane's case so we could get his blood sugar levels down from 500 to closer to 100 in a slow and controlled manner). Also, there is a substantial (read: overwhelming) amount of information you need and about every 90 minutes someone is coming in to teach you something: diet, exercise, pharmaceuticals, injections, insurance, support groups, clinics, supplies, etc. We didn't know quite how to respond to it all... compare this to when Tate was diagnosed with Autism and we were essentially told "Your son exhibits behaviors consistent with the Autistic spectrum. Good luck with that."

I'm sparing the emotional detail. Frankly, it's almost too exhausting to relive, even in pixels.

So where are we now?

Dane is testing blood glucose himself (sparingly) and doing his own injections (always) after Cyndie or I calculate the dosage and draw the insulin.
We generate much more garbage that we did before (mostly little plastic caps from the syringes, alcohol wipes, alcohol wipe packaging, blood glucose strips and packaged food (which lists the exact number of carbs included).
We live a more regimented life (Dane needs to eat regularly, and he's still in the honeymoon phase, where his pancreas regains some-though inconsistent-functionality before finally giving up for good).
We are extremely grateful to Heavenly Father who sustains us in all things, and for those locally who have helped us through to this point.
Cyndie and I don't go out as much... still need to get him comfortable with dosing himself before we inflict him on a babysitter...

There's more, of course, but I'm getting too deep and that's not what I wanted for this post. It is a life changing event. That's an understatement of course. The change is more pronounced for us because just 72 hours before the "Incident" and diagnosis, Cyndie and I spent a couple hours with several old friends at a wedding reception. All those conversations would have been radically different if they'd have happened a week later.

OmaHeck: The Longest 2 Minutes in Church

2010-03-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm quite confident that this was a first. Jeremy said there is a long and established (even distinguished1) precedent, but I am similarly confident that his offering was intended to provide perspective, not fact.

Tate was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. And that part went quite well. He wore a white shirt. And a tie. A really nice tie2. We had discussed that Deacons are reverent and that Deacons tuck their shirts in. Also, they should probably keep their collars turned down. Bishop (kind, grandfatherly and easygoing) pointed this collar thing out in the interview3, referencing the picture of the First Presidency on the wall. Tate deftly pointed out that Joseph Smith wore his collar up. Bishop pulled the 6" bust of the Prophet Joseph from his credenza and was forced to admit Tate had him there4.

So for the rest of the week, and many, many times today, Tate was reminded that there were some keys to performance today: overt reverence, shirt tails tucked in, collar down. Especially while he was on the stand, next to the Bishop, being sustained by the members of the Ward.

Well, we almost got there. Here's a play by play of the day that will be remembered as long as neurons continue to fire in the Homestead Ward:

Bishop called Tate up to the stand. I absentmindedly closed the book Tate was looking at, so he had to open to the right page and mark it before he could leave the pew. Elapsed time: 7 seconds. (Whew!)

He hopped/bounced5 the 15 yards or so up to the stand. The last 5 yards also served to flip up his collar (several snickers-the vocal kind, not the candy kind). Elapsed time: 17 seconds.

After his flight up the stairs (3 of them) he paused, looked at the Bishop and untucked his shirt tails to many more audible laughs. Elapsed time: 20 seconds.

He stood quietly by the Bishop (on the Bishop's left, this will come to play in just a bit) while he was presented to be sustained. He did lean his head on the pulpit. Elapsed time: 40 seconds.

When he was asked to raise his hand to sustain himself, our sweet Bishop lifts Tate's right hand into the air. Right in front of the microphone. You see where I am going? Tate proceeded to tap his fingers on the microphone. So Bishop set Tate's hand down. Asks if any are opposed, gets no response and lets go of Tate's hand. At which point Tate raps his knuckles on the pulpit. Guess what? Our chapel has good acoustics! Tra La! Elapsed time: 1.25 minutes.

Cyndie and I look at each other and breathe a sigh that we've made it through this performance.

And then came the Encore! Really, there was an encore.

Tate walked about 3 steps away from the pulpit (still about 3 steps from the stairs), puts his hands on the banister, and proceeds to launch himself over the bulkhead and onto his backside on the floor. Elapsed time: 1.75 minutes.

Cyndie and I are mortified. At some point in Tate's effort, Bishop said, "No!" Then laughed and said, "Tate's a good kid.". There were more laughs. Fortunately, there were no horrified gasps, or judgmental ones either. Cyndie and I are mortified regardless.

And that was how our Sacrament meeting started.

So, thanks to Jeremy for his perspective. And thanks to Sandra, who wanted so much to tell Alex6 to take the pressure off Tate by doing exactly the same thing. If only she wasn't on the other side of the chapel at the time.

If the Kentucky Derby is "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports", this was "The Longest Two Minutes in Church" and perhaps in my life.

____________________

1 "Joseph Smith exited the stand like that all the time."

2 One that Cyndie got at DI for $2. Not the one Gwimi bought retail, presented to him on his birthday and for her efforts was told, "Thank you... but you don't give clothes for a birthday, you give toys!" Gwimi and Grandpa have subsequently been offered shopping privileges in Cyndie's closet.

3 In the interview, Tate also pointed out that the statue of the Christus looked like Plato. Bishop concurred. He's learning not to argue facts with Tate.

4

5 If you've seen him walk, you know.

6 RS Prez Sandra's son Alex was presented to be advanced to the office Teacher today. He was on the right side of the chapel preparing to pass the Sacrament. She was on the far left with her Husband. She told Cyndie, "It was great to see him up there today." Cyndie rolls eyes. Sandra empathetically says, "No, it really was great." Cyndie confesses that she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sandra says to laugh. "I wanted to tell Alex, 'Go do the exact same thing. Do it just like he did. Take the pressure off!'"

OmaHeck: More Kid Quotes

2010-02-21T15:54:00.001-08:00

This has been a day of great quotes. Dane has really been on one.

This morning I let both boys know that their cousin is in the hospital due to a kidney infection. Dane got a very concerned look on his face, then, it brightened as he asked, "Will they have to replace it with a weasel kidney? I've heard people can be healed by weasel kidneys."

Cyndie and I ended up at the Urgent Care. (Long story; she's fine, though. Thanks for asking.) When I got home, Dane says, "Looks like we won't make it to church today." I responded that he was correct. With a fist in the air, he goes, "Yesss!" I gave him a shocked look and said (sternly), "Dane!?!" To which he instently replied, "I mean 'What a shame!'"

One of my baseball caps is in the sink soaking (camped with the 12 year old scouts this weekend and it smells like smoke, so Cyndie was soaking it in some soap... Tate was cleaning his place at the table after dinner (tacos, yummm!) and decided to put his plate in the side of the sink with the hat, rather than in the side with a few other dishes. I asked him why he did that when my hat was in there trying to get clean from the smoke smell. He told me "Now it will smell like meat and guacamole!"

OmaHeck: Classic Kid Quotes

2010-02-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some gems from recent days:

Dane likes pitas. Except that Cyndie got a different brand (organic or something) and they weren't perfect circles, and they weren't uniformly beige. Dane was livid, except he was livid with me, because Cyndie had never made a pita for him from the new batch. He finally relented, tasted them, made a face and decided that despite their imperfections, while they were worth complaining about, they weren't worth fighting about. Cyndie got the other brand the next time. When Dane saw them, he said "Yea! Mommy pitas!" To which Cyndie asked, "Well, really what's wrong the the pitas that Daddy makes?" Dane responded, "They're like my worst kind of kryptonite!"

Each night we take turns telling each other something we're thankful for. The other night Tate said the following, "Brownies, and a few stuff that I don't even know about."

Tonight we were at dinner at Cyndie's parents' home. It is Bompa's 71st birthday. The neighbor dog, Roscoe, likes to come over and play with the boys when they visit. As we were leaving, Roscoe made his way over to say good-bye. Dane picked him up and got wet on by Roscoe the puppy. Dane's reaction? "Roscoe saw my and got so excited... he got excitement all on my sock!"

OmaHeck: Sled Your Pants Off!

2010-01-22T16:18:00.001-08:00

Thirty degrees and sunny with 6" of fluffy, white powder. What are 3 red-blooded American men to do? Hit the city park, dang-it!

By the time we took care of chores and got our gear together, the sun was casting some sideways shadows, but the clear skies helped keep the hillside warm.

Adventurer (and complusive water finder) that he is, Tate found some really great views of the creek, a bridge and trees freshly adorned.

At some point, he took a walk on the "frozen" part of the creek. Oh, so that's how he got so wet. Don't tell Mom!

What goes up...

must inevitably come down, and that's the really fun part of sledding!

"Hey, Dad, that looks like ice. I bet we could slide down without a sled, right on our snow pants."

"Hey guys, if you slide on your snow pants, you might wear them out too fast, and bump your bum in the process."

OmaHeck: Hoops and Heights

2010-01-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

We're fortunate to get to see some good hoops here in Utah. BYU's team has been especially good so far (we'll see what happens come March, but for now there are no eyes on this horse's mouth). My company has season tickets to the Utah Jazz as well. These come with a few bonus events, like an autograph night where you can bring an item and stand in line for your favorite Jazz players, coaches and mascots to sign. We thought Dane would be all over it, but he went chicken and wouldn't have anything to do with the players. Tate, on the other hand, was all over it after he saw the Dippin' Dots stand (unfortunately idled for the evening).

Tate can't believe his eyes (is that why they are closed?) He's about to get an autograph from Bear (and Andrei Kirilenko, who pales in comparison).

My favorite Jazz Fans:

If you ask Tate, the best autographs were from the Jazz Dancers :-). They were signing posters with all of the dancers in action. In his most polite manner, Tate approached their table, offered his Jazz calendar, told them "No thank you" when they offered him a poster, and said, "Sign this, and have a good day." The gal misunderstood, so she winked at Tate and said, "How 'bout I sign it 'Have a GREAT day?'" Tate blushed...

Recently, we all hit the Marriott Center for a BYU vs Colorado State basketball game. It was family day, so there were about 15,000 kids there (no joke, it was overly kid-ish, even for Utah County). We only decided to go the game that same morning, and didn't want to pay a service fee for tickets online. So by the time we arrived, pickings were slim. We ended up on the top row (but in chairs). It was a great view, and we had a good time. Adding to the fun was an old-fashioned romp! BYU won 91-47.

I kind of forgot that I had the camera until the game was over, but since we let the crowd clear out before we left, I was able to snap some pics... but there was no one left to take a shot of all of us together.

My favorite Cougar fans:

OmaHeck: Tate's Take

2010-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

Here's another edition of our new column: Tate's Take. Today's entry comes from an email he sent home during school:

Mrs. Brown said I was goofy because I did things that changed the subject. I
learned that Pez were first used for adults and after their creation they were
used by children.

I found out that barracudas and sharks love shiny
things. Mrs. Brown once got chased by barracudas because she wore shiny
earrings.

I went ice skating today and didn’t get hurt at all. Mrs.
Brown was my partner for a while, but I didn’t need her help at all after a
while. I love ice skating!

... and that's Tate's Take

OmaHeck: Who Are You (and How Old)?

2010-01-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

That's right, Who are you?
C'mon, sing with me:

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
...
I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

70's supergroup The Who will be playing halftime at the Buperbowl February 7, and this is cool if you are a fan of their music (count me in).

Since the advent of approximately one version of CSI for every dollar of US National Debt (currently surging past $13 Trillion, but I digress), songs by The Who appeal to a larger, and increasingly more diverse audience. Case in point: my MIL, who likes both Country and Western music genres, but little else, was excited to learn that you could find the CSI theme songs on iTunes, and was impressed that they were already on wife's iPod.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Les Moonves and company along with the Superbowl production team has chosen Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, etc. to entertain us during breaks in watching the halftime commercials.

But let's be honest with ourselves at the same time. Since Janet Jackson's *ahem* incident, folks have been leery about what happens on live TV. And that means The Who has entered a special class: groups our parents wouldn't let us listen to on an album in our rooms, that their peers will now expose your children to on Live TV. Translation: they are SAFE.

No one wants an FCC fine, no one wants bad publicity. Nothing's gonna happen.

So here's a most compelling consideration: what if the Cincinnati Bengals make the Superbowl? I think having The Who play a Cincinnati festival would be just too much... at least it isn't in Cincinnati. So here's to the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets.

OmaHeck: Disney Vacation

2010-01-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Would you believe years of planning? Even years of saving? With the deals Walt and Co. were offering, it was clear our time had come. Kids are 11 and 8, so we couldn't ask for a sweeter spot to hit.

What follows is a sampling of our trip, with a little commentary. The pics loaded in reverse order, something I knew, but didn't think aobut until htey were all loaded, and I don't have the patience to move them around. So forgive the stream of consciousness, William Faulkner would be proud.

The weather presented a couple of interesting opportunities. The first few days were overcast, and then rainy... we are the proud owners of 4 Magic Kingdom ponchos (screaming deals notwithstanding, those were a bit pricey!)

We didn't really need the ponchos more than a bit, and the drizzle we were willing to endure kept both the crowds and temperatures down. By our last day, the clouds cleared and we saw Sunny California and 82 degrees. Fortunately, we can really carry off the "I'm sweaty" look while eating frozen lemonade:

Indiana Jones was one of the first rides we hit (and we hit it several times). The first go-round was a little nerve-wracking for our spawn, but they rose to the challenge, and were mighty archeological adventurers.

Long about the end of September The Haunted Mansion and a few other rides get decked out for the season. Jack Skellington and friends from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" come to town.

Never shying away from a fight (or a Star Wars opportunity), we hit the Jedi Training School. Neither of our Padowan were chosen for the academy, and parents got nervous as we saw one small friends get a bit angry. However, the anger passed as a flock of Jedi and Sith hit the stage.

We got some close-up with the Sith in the Lego shop.

It took us until Day 4 to find our way to the "Small World". Ironically (or maybe not), after we left the Small World ride, we ran into someone we knew for the first time! It is a small world, after all!

And speaking of Small World, our fellow BYU fans really represented. My sampling wasn't random, I only saw you if you were where I was while I was there. That said, after local fans (Angels, USC, and maybe the Dodgers), the biggest fandom was probaby the BYU Cougar Nation. The Y fans were easily on par with USC, Arizona schools and teams, and maybe even the Dodgers.

We saw an entire family in various forms of Cougar gear. Cyndie says to me, "Is something going on? Why are they all dressed like that?" We have very different views of fandom, she and I.

Our Disney package included a couple of Character Breakfasts. We were able to eat with both Chip & Dale, and Lilo & Stich. What a blast!

Look, Ma! No hands!!!

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

On the set at California Adventure.

Look, if we don't help Buzz Lightyear save the universe, who will?

Emporer Zurg, you better watch out!

The Dumbo ride was a surprising success. Tate and I learned a bit about centrifugal forces work: SQUISH!

Here's breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. They taught us to dance, and hung out with us for a while...

... celebrating our 15th Anniversary!

Pluto also stopped by to congratulate Cyndie on putting up with me for 15 years :^P

Stich was jealous. He likes Cyndie! Notice the duck doll in the photo. Wingnut is the mascot of Tate's 6th grade class. He goes on trips with class members, and they make a book of his wild and crazy adventures.

626 hitting on my 10.

Look Dad, Dumbo the Elephant made from a bush!

Boys playing with Teacups... this is as close as this crowd gets to a tea party!Getting ready for the Matterhorn. Will we see the Yeti?

Wingnut and Tate at the Magic Kingdom!

OK and here are the last photos of the trip. Work with me here. Take a look at Cyndie and tell me what fictional chocolatier she reminds you of?

Put a top hat on her, and maybe you'll get the picture... if not simply scroll down.

OmaHeck: Christmas Miracles

2009-12-27T12:28:00.001-08:00

Both the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon teach readers that miracles will only cease when faith no longer exists. I am here to tell you that faith, if it endures long enough, can see miracles never expected.

Just last night, Cyndie and I were talking about Dane's increasing unwillingness to eat food, even cruddy, preservative- and sugar-laden offerings. His pallet includes a very few foods, or foods so altered from their normal presentation that they are rendered nearly unrecognizable (think Jennifer Grey after the nose job).

Our great fear is that we haven't planned our food storage to sufficiently accomodate his finickiness. That generations hence, readers of history will come upon the story of parents who watched their child starve to death not for lack of available food, rather for lack of available acceptable food. This must be what the loved ones of those with eating disorders feel. We both laughed and cried as we imagined his pleasant, but wholly unsubstantiated "Um, no thanks" in tandem with a hand wave and turned head as he withered away-an unnecessary tragedy.

Today after church, he bit into a piece of pecan brittle. That was miracle #1. Then he said he liked it. He was mostly eating the candy coating, but he'd taken in some nut as well. I offered him $1 to eat the nutty piece sitting in front of him. (I make this offer frequently, and if he had taken me up on it over the last 3 years, he'd probably have about $500--or I might have decided he was eating enough good foods and stopped, either way he'd be better off).

After the pay-for-performance incident, he grabbed another piece. Then I offered him some cashew brittle: "Have some cashew brittle, Dane" I said. "Geshuntiet!" he responded.

He wasn't as big a fan, win some, lose some, just glad to get one in the W column.

However, that wasn't the end of the miracles. Just a few minutes later, Dane tried 2 different kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches: one with colby jack cheese (not a true fan) and one with Kraft Singles (he was in Nirvana). Even asked for a second sandwich.

We're not completely celebrating yet, we're not sure he hasn't cashed in one of his other limited food choices for this newest outreach. But we have faith!

OmaHeck: Of Giving and Gifts and Orange Juice

2009-12-25T16:26:00.001-08:00

I took a bunch of pictures, but I'll post them later. Right now I want to share some thoughts.

After the Christmas Eve celebration at Cyndie's parents' home, Dane was so very excited. I think it may have been the most excited he's been for Christmas. Ever.

Pulling in to the garage, he told us, "I am so excited! I don't think I can wait any longer... my stomach has that crazy feeling and I think it might just burst!"

Fortunately, there was no projectile excitement at any point in the last 24 hours.

As we got the boys in bed, it was evident we were prepping for an early morning today. We told the boys that they couldn't get up before 6 am. Believing that to be reasonable, both agreed. Tate had unplugged his clock a few days ago to use the outlet for a charger of some kind... so I asked him if he wanted me to reset his clock, or just wait for Dane to come wake him up. He thought a brotherly wake up call was sufficient.

Dane told us that he knew he needed to stay in bed until 6:00 (a substantial challenge since he's been known to come in to our room, or pay his brother a visit at any and all times of darkness) and then go nudge Tate gently.

As some point I heard him hop out of bed and open his door. I called to him, and reminded him that he needed to stay in bed until 6:00. He replied, "It is 6:00. I watched the clock and it said five-five-eight, then five-five-nine, and now six-zero-zero!" Who knows how long he'd been awake, but now it is five-three-six and he's still going strong.

Both boys were sweet and thoughtful as we opened presents. They were humble and grateful and offered sincere thanks for the gifts they received.

About 10:30 Cyndie's parent's arrived with more presents. Me-Mah wanted a bigger box than the Wii game game in, so she packaged it in a shoe box. As Tate unwrapped it, he saw the shoe logo and a look of disbelief enveloped his face. With disdain dripping from every vowel and consonant, he looked a Me-Mah and said matter of factly, "I didn't want shoes!" It was such a change from where he'd been just an hour before, it caught us off guard. Fortunately, we got him to keep peeling, and excitement returned as he saw that the shoebox housed Scooby Doo First Frights. (Straight from his wish list) Whew!

It was rewarding for me (as a Dad trying to teach these boys) to see them be grateful and thoughtful as they opened gifts.

Shortly thereafter, Cyndie's sister Lori arrived with husband Rod and we prepped brunch.

Apparently, there was some discussion about the brunch ingredients prior to my involvement. Lori and Rod were in charge of juice (in some corners of the universe, newlyweds are given very limited, simple, and straightforward assignments as they are often otherwise focused). As I understand it, the only guidance they were given initially was "orange juice", and "for everyone." Well, in these course of subsequent conversation (again, I was not involved), it came up that I am somewhat of a diva/snob/persnikety Pete/virtuoso when it comes to OJ.

In my defense, I was raised in a house that valued prime OJ. Both my parents cut their teeth in California, and we didn't drink bad OJ. Often, there were fresh oranges (really good ones) hand squeezed into the best concentrate on the market. It was sweet. It was pulpy. It made all breakfast food that much better.

Further, I have travelled and been to enough "free breakfasts" in hotels to tell you definitively that there are drastic differences between really good orange juice and what often comes out of a dispencer labeled "Orange Juice" (and as a result, I am developing a really good pallet for the subtleties of apple juice).

So Rod had grabbed some OJ at Costco, and when he got back to the cart, Lori told him that wouldn't do. It had no pulp, and was the bargain brand. Lori filled him in.

As I heard this story today while making eggs, I was a little embarrased. I don't want to be a diva. When others are required to adjust their plans for me, I often feel a little uncomfortable. I had barely begun to share these feelings when all involved said it was their pleasure to make my day by ensuring the best OJ possible (Odwalla, lots of pulp). It was really humbling to see how my family was looking to take care of me. Makes me want to find ways to serve them. Always.

The day is drawing to an end... my guess is the boys don't have an hour left in them. I want to reinforce some of the gratitude they've expressed today. Think we'll bust out the Thanksgiving crossword we didn't get to last month.

OmaHeck out!

OmaHeck: Tate's Take

2009-12-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

In a new feature, we're calling Tate's Take, our very own philosopher will opine on anything that catches his fancy.

While Tate has never been a fan of the written word, at least not if he's required to write it, he loves reading, and relating those facts and stories he gathers. Our problem is that the process of having him put that information on paper is like pulling teeth... from a rabid pirana... that weighs 120 lb.

Working with his teachers and counselors at school, we've discovered that he likes to type, and type, and type... Well, let's not get carried away. But at least he is willing to do more than resist the assignment.

The school has outfitted him with a tool called the Alphasmart. It's like a keybord with a battery and memory chip. Using a USB connection, he can hook it up to a monitor to see what's being typed, or directly in to a printer to print his work.

If you have a topic you'd like Tate's Take on, he's currently taking suggestions.

Here's a recent sample:

12/16/09
1. The music from the bagpipes sound is so beautiful you can’t resist.
2. They are from the island known as Scotland with the drums.
3. Bagpipes are one of only the two instruments of Scotland.
4. They played Scotland the brave with a bunch of people.
5. The regamentel march also has a bunch of bagpipes and drums.
6. Bagpipes act a lot like your lungs and you blow in them.
7. Bagpipes are also used in Scotland games for the effects.
8. Bagpipes are for festivals as well as other stuff.
9. People have used bagpipes for centuries as well as men.
10. A lot of people say Nessie is attracted to bagpipe music.
11. They use bagpipes to wait when haggis is cooking for them.
12. Bagpipes are also used after you win in golf ,yay.
13. You cant tell a bagpipe from a turtle unless you see moving.
14. It is illegal to hurt bagpipes without asking other people.
15. The future of bagpipes will never ever change its sound.

12/17/09
1. Dimeter is Persephane’s mother and goddess of the romance.
2. Heistia is the goddess of the harth and the warmth.
3. Hera is the goddess of love, marrage, and kids.
4. Zeus is the god of lightning, thunder, and even storms.
5. Posidon is the god of the sea, ocean and salt water.
6. Hades is the god of the death and the underworld.
7. Aphrodite is the goddess of birth and is so naked.
8. Ares is the god of war and feud and fight.
9. Hephastis is the god of blacksmiths and building and constucters.
10. Athena is the goddess of protection and shield and defence.
11. Hermes is the god of flight and the sky and air.
12. Aros is the god of archers and arrows and bows.
13. Apallo is the god of music and songs and singing.
14. Artimis is the goddess of the hunt and the hunters.
15. Persephine is Dimeter’s daughter and the youngest goddess on Ollympus.

OmaHeck: We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2009-12-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

So here's my lame attempt at a technological Christmas offering. Due to the lateness of the date, this blogged Christmas Letter and Card will be posted to Facebook, where I'll tag you if I haven't sent you the tactile version.

Maybe next year I'll be more on top of things

I haven't figured out how to attach a PDF here or to FB, so I'll just reproduce the text of the letter.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a wonderful 2010!
____________________________
We’ve had a memorable year with lots of learning and laughs—and lots of blessings. This Christmas season brings us joy and peace, and we pray it does the same for each of you.

Overheard
“What freak? Where?!?!”
-Tate, when Mom (exasperated) told the boys to “Get the freak away from the TV!”

“A cannibal?!? I’m not gonna eat people!”
-Dane’s response when the Bishop reminded him that after baptism, he'd be “accountable.”

Dad: What do we call money we give to help the Church?
Tate: Tithing.
Dad: Right. And what's a slightly lesser amount we contribute?
Tate: Taxes!
Dad: Uh, no. Taxes are more than Tithing, I promise.
Tate: Um…Bailout!

“Stopped smoking?”
-Dane’s answer when asked how someone becomes President of the United States

“You wouldn’t want to pour water on KISS because it would reveal their true human form.”
-Tate, on the legendary rock band and their equally legendary make-up

“Mom, sometimes do you want to sell me to a Mexican circus?”
-Tate, sitting in Church, apparently trying to make Cyndie laugh (‘cuz it worked!)

“It’s my first day on the job!”
-Dane, ready for his first cub scout den meeting

“It’s like crack for me!”
-Cyndie, describing her relationship with iTunes

Comings and Goings
Dane’s Baptism – Lots of friends and family joined us for Dane’s special event.

Spring Break – we hit the red rock cliffs and Arches National Park in Moab this March. A return summer trip included a few more stops, like Dead Horse Point – a singular place with astounding views.

Mid-Summer Classic – Dad was fortunate to meld work and fun by attending the MLB Home Run Derby and All-Star Game in St Louis. Busch Stadium is a great venue and even a 2 hour security line (the President was in attendance) just added to the experience.

Getting Belted – Tate has advanced through four belts in Karate this year.

Big D – Dad and friends got to head to the Jerry Jones Dome (aka Dallas Cowboys Stadium) to see BYU take on Oklahoma in September. A great start to the season (though we hit a few bumps later).

15th Anniversary – We planned far in advance for our celebratory trip. Our family vacation to Disneyland in October included an anniversary dinner beside the Pirates of the Caribbean. Mickey’s crew didn’t disappoint! And we enjoyed a pit stop in Las Vegas en route (thanks, Young family).

OmaHeck: More MLB

2009-12-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

Snipers on the roof. They are gun-toting and pretty cool looking.

The flag brought out by a local Missouri National Guard Unit recently back from service in Afganistan (I think, can't remember that well nearly 6 months later).

This is the game-night flyover. There were 4 fighters the night of the HRD, but I didn't get them in the pic.

For the sensitive who may be reading, we'll just call these next 2 the Clydesdale pictures.

Big horses and the "big dog."

Cyndie can attest that I get way more excited than I should about "grass art." I think being the head groundskeeper at an MLB ballpark would be a highly rewarding job.

Coast Guard on duty. This gentleman was just behind our seats along the first base line about halfway to the right field wall (and second deck).

It may not show up on this blog (or your computer), but this shot showed just how green the grass looked on the big screen. Much more green than the actual field.

I haven't spent a lot of time in St Louis, but the city has a great skyline with the arch, the court house, the varied architechture, etc.

OmaHeck: Bagels and Schmear

2009-12-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

Tate just informed us that no bagel is complete without cream cheese and "stallions"

I really wasn't sure where he was going with that, then Cyndie looked at me at said (with that look, you know, the wife look you get when you really aren't thinking), "Scallions, dear."

OmaHeck: Midsummer Classic

2009-12-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

In July, I was really fortunate to go to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was in St Louis at the new Busch Stadium. What a great venue with fantastic views of the city! We hit the Home Run Derby, and then the Game the next evening.

President Obama attended the Game, and created a bit of a security issue as every attendee had to go through these airport-like security lines. It took us 2 hours. Inside there were snipers on the roof, Coast Guard at the portals and a general buzz about being in a venue with the President.

Hitting. Big Bombs... That's what the Home Run Derby is all about, friends. Here's home-town favorite Albert Pujols (Prince Fielder eventually won.) I was cheering for Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer.

There was a lot of celebration. Fireworks, dancing, honoring volunteers, extremely cool Air Force flyovers, and a fair amount of eating great ballpark food!

Here's a shot of yours truly with the game in the background.

Here are things I learned at this event:

1) The grass is always greener on the Jumbo-Tron. Really, it's unnatural. I'll see if I can get some more pics shortly.

2) While the President has a gift for oratory, his delivery to the plate could use some work. He almost one-hopped the opening pitch, and would have if Pujols hadn't reached across the plate to scoop it up.

3) My 2x zoom camera is really outdated.

OmaHeck: Secret Stuff

2009-12-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

This morning I was lying in bed trying to decide whether it was time to get up and get ready for church or not.

There was a rustling in the hallway and I was pretty sure Tate had made his way down the hall. He never made it to our room, but I heard him open Dane's door. With paternal discresion, I called out "Don't wake up your Brother!" To which an already awake Dane responded with a "chirp."

Shortly thereafter (I still haven't decided at this point that it's time to get up) I hear Dane belting out Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll": It's been a long time since I rock and rolled. It's been a long time since I did the stroll. Oh baby, let me get back, Let me get back, Let me get back...

When I asked him later to sing some more, he looked at me cock-eyed and informed me in no uncertain terms, "That, my friend, is classified."

OmaHeck: The Blogpology

2009-11-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

It has been *several* months since I last updated the OmaHeck blog.

By several, I mean that I have made roughly 3 entries since June. Dane will tell you that "several" means 5-7, but more like 7. Because he needs to know how long until we arrive.

Recently, I have come under serious fire for my blogging, or lack thereof. Both Sister and MIL have noted on numerous occasions that there isn't any update when they check the site. Before I go missing, or have some strange accident befall me, blog updates must occur.

I really have no excuse. I come from a writing lineage. There are several published authors in my family, even in my generation. Writing is fun. And it isn't like nothing is happening in our little neck of the world... it's just that I have been busy. Yep, you heard right. When forced to prioritize, the blog got my vote for something I could live without updating. For a list of other things that were prioritized below the "gotta get done" line, see my lack of exercise, lack of yard work and son who still refuses to ride without training wheels.

Here's the real skinny (not talking about my wife here, this is a metphor, because the rest of you don't understand when I say "here's the bag of food" - love ya baby!): In July I took on a new job. Same company, same title, same office, same contact info, etc. I just inherited all my partner's accounts as he took a new role in our organization. It has also been recruiting season. I am the head recruiter for Union Pacific at BYU, and that takes some time. Opportunities abound. I am excited as the first 6 months of this one close out. However, I get emails about once a week from someone in another time zone that says something like "Dude, go to bed!" Usually, I'm way ahead of them: wireless and blackberry let me do email in bed!

So today I am working, but now I am taking a break. The reality is I probably do too much of the former and inefficiently manage how I do the latter. My guess is that I could find a week long course in how to do both with better yield. Fact is, I took a day off yesterday so I could go to the office, shut my door and turn off my phone and get to some things that needed to be complete before Thanksgiving. I did go to the Temple before I went in to work, so that worked well for me!

Not complaining! Just stating facts. I like my job more than I have liked any before it. And right now, I am feeling really blessed to be there.

In the interest of keeping you interested, here's a list of things you can expect to see in short order on this blog (and for those who would rather follow on Facebook, these entries will be automatically posted to my FB account, which you can access at www.facebook.com/Anderprise):

Disneyland Vacation
Franny K
Dallas
Halloween
MLB All Star Game
Instant Replay in Baseball

See you on the blog side

OmaHeck: Truly International

2009-08-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Best Kid Quote!

Today with about 15 minutes left in church, Tate looks at Cyndie and, with as straight a face as ever, says, "Mom, sometimes do you want to sell me to a Mexican circus?"

Neither of us laughed out loud, and that was evidence of a modern day miracle.

OmaHeck: Father's Day

2009-07-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty much the luckiest guy around. I have a father, am a father, have the wonderful opportunity to raise 2 future fathers.

My sweet wife is the vehicle to my fatherhood, and the boys make the system complete.

I feel so much love from all of them, and they made this Father's Day a wonderful event. Here's the evidence

Dane made a great Father's Day Tie using some yarn and a bag of M&M's. I LOVED smelling like chocolate all during church!

Here's my sweetheart, looking fine... and proud of herself for the celebration she orchestrated (and kept secret!)

The boys wanted me to open presents as soon as I was out of the shower, so I didn't get a chance to do my hair. The boys tried nearly half a dozen pics of me, Cyndie and the iHome she got me, but every one was blurry, so I snapped this gem.

Dane was in super-tie mode... this one contains multiple coupons for great gifts. I think he's still asleep in this pic.

Me with both boys. Tate in his Sunday regulars, Dane deciding whether to shed his blanket. I am opening a gift.

Tate holding the picture he gave me. I love it! The picture is hanging above the table by my bed.

Being a Dad is a very cool blessing. I love taking on the challenge... and pray daily I succeed.

4th "O" July

2009-07-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a video from some friends' front yard in Omaha. They live down the hill from our old place, so this is only about 60% of the view we had.

Mind you, this is not a municipality or public show of some kind they are peering at. This is a bunch of citizens, a few adult beverages, and several thousand dollars of pyrotechnics. The show slows down about 3 am.

You'll have to visit when we get back.

Whaddaya Think of That?

2009-06-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am generally of the opinion that most mass entertainment is purely for enjoyment (or tolerance, as the case may be), but I have to say our recent viewing of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian may have changed my mind-at least a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for being entertained. Escapism is a practice I can really hide behind.

The best review we'd heard of the movie went something like this: "If you liked the first one, you'll like the second one, too... 'cause they are essentially the same!"

From the first trailer, the boys had a plan to see v2.0. They loved the original(history and facts are tops!), and were thrilled to see a movie set in a place they'd been.

When Tate was turning 7, he told us definitively that he'd like to go to "a dinosaur museum and an art museum." Our best bet was to take a trip to see Grandma & Grandpa in Washington, DC. Once on the Smithsonian Mall, we hit Natural History, National Art Gallery, Air and Space, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument (or "giant pencil", as it was dubbed).

The movie was fun. As expected, the shortest among us couldn't have had a better time. And when we got home, we saw art breeding art. Dane stated emphatically that "The Thinker" was his favorite character (spoiler alert: when Larry and Amelia ask him for some information, he just keeps saying "I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking...") and Dane does a pretty good impression of the voice. After we all laughed at Dane for a while (a relatively frequent passtime here) he told us that he was going to build his own "Thinker" with clay.

Here's his finished product:

Not bad for a little monkey!

Tate watches the news (apparently)

2009-06-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

I was teaching Tate's Primary Class (Sunday School for those under 12) a couple of weeks ago. The concept we were talking about was Fast Offerings: an offering made in lieu of $$ spent on food.

Tate wasn't really focused as this verbatim account will show:

Me: What do we call money we give to help the Church?
Tate: Tithing! (Correct and fully acceptable at this point)
Me: Correct. What's a slighly lesser amount we contribute?
Tate: Taxes!
Me: Uh, no. Taxes are more than Tithing, I promise.
Tate: Bailout!

At this point it was all I could do to stop laughing. I explained that Bailout comes from the Government.

Ultimtately, we refocused and he went on to contribute to the discussion.

Tate: Fast Offerings, Fast Sunday. Then why does it go so slow???

10 Things I learned at the Scottish Festival

2009-06-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Omahecks ventured south to Thanksgiving Point and the Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Not knowing completely what to expect, I have to say that we learned quite a bit: primarily that we need to be better about carrying a camera with us. Sorry, no photos.

Learning Points:
1) Haggis (at least what they serve at the Heritage Foods trailer) isn't too bad. In fact, Tate is a real fan.

2) Pipe and Drum bands are very cool.

3) The concept of belonging to a "clan" is really appealing. Maybe that's why I flaunt my Batesville roots. Being from Batesville is like being in a clan.

4) Traditions for the sake of tradition has its place (it's generally called kitch).

5) Traditions that bonds those otherwise unconnected is powerful.

6) Traditions that can generate a profit: wicked awesome!

7) 6'9" is freakishly tall. We saw Cyndie's HS classmate and our college friend Kenneth Roberts at the show and even from a distance he's just still really long.

8) The origin of the word "tattoo" comes from a Dutch phrase for "shut off the tap." When the English military bands played the "tattoo", the bar tenders would stop serving drinks and send the soldiers back to barracks. Any guesses where the other usage of "tattoo" comes from?

9) The more swords and weapons, the cooler the tent.

10) There is a special place in Heaven for a guy who dresses in medeival armor and spends an entire evening fighting an incessant line of children. Accosted by pygmys armed with shields and foam swords, he also puts on a good show and lets the children win. Every time.

Oh, My Kids!

2009-05-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

For Family Night, we talked about why families are so important. We read The Family: A Proclamation to the World, and told the boys how each member of the family is important and has critical responsibilities.

At one point, things got a little wierd, here are some choice quotes:

Tate: "Does torture rhyme with nurture?" Then in a singing/chanting voice: "To nurture and to torture..." as Dad read some more.

Dad (to boys): Where will you get married?
Dane: "I don't want to get married. I just want to be myself and live with you and Mom forever."
Tate: "I think I'm going to get married in Juvenile Hall!"
Dad: "I was going for 'In the Temple...'"

Somehow, I thing the whole teaching and nurtuing thing could be going better.

Great Dane!

2009-01-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

I have been gone for a couple of days and came home to a couple of classic quotes today.

First, Dane had been outside. When he came in Cyndie was making no-bake cookies and flatbread. Dane said, "Mmmm... something smells good in the steak of Denmark!"

Second, I was on the road last week during the Innauguration and grabbed a Tuesday and Wednesday copy of USA Today (each with President Obama on the cover.) I thought they'd make good visual aides for talking with the kids about how government works, how blessed we are to live in a country where we get to elect our leaders and such. I asked Dane who was in the picture. He matter-of-factly said, "Obama, our President." So I followed up with a question about how he got to be President. Dane shrugged and asked, "Stopped smoking?"

Did you know?

2009-01-25T16:27:00.001-08:00

This week we witnessed a historic event. President Obama was innagurated as the first African American President of the United States.

WARNING: The following entry is pretty political, the fun family stuff is below.

I haven't waxed political on this blog, but here are a few observations under the Heading "You have to dig to figure this out":

1) The Constitution works. We had a peaceful transition from the end of the Bush Administration to the beginning of the Obama Administration. Ask yourself how many people dream that political transitions in their countries occur in relative peace.

2) Government is not designed to act quickly. Even with clear and decisive majorities in both Houses of Congress, there is not unanimity on how policies will go forward (or even which policies will go forward). President Obama wanted a stimulus package on his desk Jan 21. Didn't happen. I have read lots of reports on the stimulus bill, and I am not convinced it is all bad.

First let me say that I don't really consider myself a Keynesian. I think JMK's principles work in the short-term (building roads and bridges will employ people, and require lots of freight rail!!), but can hide fundamental problems with the economic and fiscal policies that will impede long-term growth. For example, high tax rates needed to support (or partially offset) significant deficit spending can impair firms' ability to earn an adequate return on capital invested. This means that further deficit spending is necessary, ultimately crating a system that only works by offering returns based on new tax revenues, not profits at or above the cost of capital. If you haven't been watching the news lately, you might not see a clear parallel between the Keynsian Model and one Mr. Bernard Madoff.

There are good results from a short-term stimulus that likely cannot come from tax breaks alone. However, there are aspects of... OK, I am getting too in depth for a family blog. If you want to talk economics and poly sci, give me a call.

3) Seemingly insignificant omissions and inclusions are used to sway opinion. Let me preface this by disclosing that I am currently reading "The Irregulars", a historical documentary about how the British Intelligence Service used their connections in government, the press, Hollywood, and the US Intelligence community to sway US popular opinion and get Roosevelt to join Churchill in the war in Europe.

One of President Obama's first acts was to reverse several of President Bush's Executive Orders. One that has recieved lots of press is that the US will now fund International Aid Agencies that perform abortions or counsel regardign abortions (President Reagan stopped the practice, Bush 41 continued it and Clinton reversed the policy. Bush 43 re-instituted it, and I suspect this will continue to see-saw for as long as there are two parties.) Other Executive Orders included closing Gitmo (Guantanamo, Cuba. I wonder if Félix Cortez from Clancy's Clear and Present Danger is still there--book version, in the movie he died), ending certain coerced interregation practices deemed torture, and another reversal of policy regarding stem cell research.

Having listened to President Obama during the campaign and in the months since the election, I can understand why he made these decisions. They are in line with his party's platform, and were part of the agenda he promised to carry out.

In the past few days I have read literally scores of articles that laud President Obama's decision to "end the Bush Administration's ban on stem cell research." Here's the rub. There was no ban on stem cell research. Never has been. Acknowledging that some Americans consider the destruction of an embryo a murderous act, Bush 43 enacted a policy that federal tax funds would not be used to fund further research on stem cells with the exception of existing strains. Given that this is such an emotionally heated subject, and fearing that expanded funding by the government would lead to more embryos being created explicitly for research (hence explicitly to be destroyed), I think he struck a fair compromise. Enter President Obama's executive order. Federal funding is the ban he has lifted (along with the expansion of strains to include all newly discovered strains), however, only in remote corners is there clarity of what was banned. It is diffucult to concede that this isn't a planned attack on President Bush as a small minded religious bigot/zealot who doesn't care about others. Wow. In a time when we all need to tighten our belts, is it really the best time to introduce new avenues for federal funds to flow from Washington?

Sometimes you gotta fight to be a man!

2009-01-25T16:03:00.001-08:00

Kenny Rogers' "Coward of the County" introduced us to a boy called "Yellow". That color takes on a whole new meaning when it's wrapped around your midsection by a Sensei in your local dojo.

For a few months now, Tate has been taking Karate. He really loves it and looks forward to his twice-a-week classes. This month he was invited to test for his 10 kyu (one step above white belt).

The day started off with warm-ups. Students of every skill level were preparing for their tests.

Here's a pic of the class, students with the Sensai (Marius, back row left) and Senpai (Scott, back row right).

There were lots of cameras going off, so here's one I caught of Tate in "Classic Form." That's classic for Tate, not for Martial Arts!

After performing his routines, techniques and combinations, and showing an indomitable spirit, the review board called Tate (and Wade, left of Tate) to the table. Sensai Marius told the boys they were going to ask a few questions, to which Tate immediately replied. "Will it blend? That is the question!" The Sensai and the Senpai asked questions about his goals and why he wants to study karate. He told them that karate was something he always wanted to do, and that it is getting easier the more he practices. He wants to be a black belt, so he can be "graduated" from karate.

Here is Sensai Marius giving Tate his 10 kyu belt. We are all quite proud!

Great to be Eight!

2009-01-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

Dane's Brithday was a huge event in the history of the cosmos. He's come a long way from the hospital in Coon Rapids, MN and a frosty -17 degree trip to the house. A singer, songwriter, performer, athlete and champion competitor, Dane makes our lives unique and wonderful.

We took a friend to see "Hotel for Dogs" for a special treat.

He is so proud to turn eight. Can't wait for Cub Scouts, but truth be told, the most excitement is that this is his Baptism Birthday. He went to the store and picked out his own Bible and Book of Mormon. When his name was embossed on each cover, he beamed!

Dane had an interview with the Bishop in preparation for his baptism. Dane was glad to share all the information he could muster. At the end of the interview, the Bishop reminded Dane that once he was baptised, he' be accountable.

Those huge D-Max eyes bugged right out of his head and he said "A cannibal!?!? I'm not going to eat people!" Needless to say, that was a big laugher.

Baptism is scheduled for January 31 (my birthday) and we are excited to gather family and friends for the event.

Here are some pics from the birthday events:

"Brother" (not sure the last time I heard Dane use Tate's actual name) assisted with the candle lighting on the official "Day of Eight"

Dane huffed, and puffed, and then realized that the sparking candles also relight themselves. It was our trick to get him to hyperventilate and pass out! (just kidding DCFS)

Dane asked for a "Pizza Cake" and the fact is, you can't stop Cyndie in the kitchen. She plotted and planned, experimented with various toppings and viola! Here's the finished product:

Here's a quick break-down of the cast and crew:

Starring vanilla frosting as "Mozzarella"

Fruit roll-up playing double duty as "Pepperoni" and "Green Peppers",

Tootsie-Roll in the supporting role of "Sausages"

Red Sugar as "Sauce"

Black Icing Gel as "Olives"

And Chocolate Icing as "The Upper Crust"

Holiday Cheer

2009-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a post I started and never finished.... couldn't get the verbage right. Still not my best work, but if I don't publish now, I probably wont! :P

We have enjoyed being in Utah for the Holidays. Thanksgiving with Cyndie's family was lots of fun. We also had a great "adults only" dinner with my cousins Cyndi and Rick and their respective spouses Ron and Laura. They introduced us to our new favorite Greek restaurant in SLC: Aristo's. The lamb shank was absolutely succulent!

We also had a great opportunity to hit a uniquely Utah event: The Heber Creeper Polar Express. Ok, so I don't actually know that it is uniquely Utah, but I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Each Christmas season, the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber City, UT transforms into the Polar Express, hauling its payload around the scenic Heber Valley.

It is a great event. There is a Host/Reader and several Elven Helpers. Riders are treated to steaming hot chocolate and fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies. Delicious! Aunt Becca is a reader and cousins Jana and Kate are elves. Jana and Kate were elving in our car. Becca was off that night, so she and cousins Ellie and Matt rode with us. It was great having Becca with us off so she got to fill us in on all the cool behinds the scenes 411. It was like a backstage pass at the Cirque du Soliel!

Here are some cool pics from the event:

The Christmas Man himself made the evening a total success with his cameo after we reached the north pole. That's Matt (left profile) in the foreground.
Cousin Jana (codename Sprinkles the Elf) escorted the Jolly One through our car.

Kris Kringle brought each child a Christmas bell. Upon receiving his, Dane looked at Father Christmas, and with all the sincerity he could muster, promised to always hear the ringing.

Among his proudest possessions, Dane wanted a pic of just his bell.

Cousin Kate, also an Elf, made sure Dane was in the know for bell care and such. Cousins Matt and Ellie stop for a snuggle with Papa Noel. The Elves look on in admiration.

Some Other Christmas Joy

2009-01-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

I was really bad at posting over the Holiday, and too bad becasue we had a lot of fun together. However, I didn't take tons of pics, so too bad for you, gentle reader (as Miss Manners would have me write).

Dane watched Ratatouille about 15 times over the Holidays. This is his best impersonation of Gusteau, Remy's muse.

Here's our tree. It was probably the best looking tree we ever had. The pine smell spread throughout the house and made the holiday feeling just right.

We ventured to Salt Lake City tourist destination, Temple Square, to see the lights. The night rocked! We rode the train into downtown, a really good call since it started sowing pretty hard on the way. The train was crowded, but fun, we didn't have an original idea, plus Neil Diamond was in concert as well as a Christmas concert at Abravanel Hall.

The flakes were falling fast and furious (though big and "flakey" for lack of a better description). Cyndie was a trooper (she gets cold some times).

I have never seen Dane be so stoic in a photo as this one.

The fountains were running full bore, and with the snow and the lights, there were dazzling glints of reflection all night long.

Wind earlier in the day had created a bit of ice on one walkway. Well, a little ice and a little inclination, and you have a free carnival ride for the masses. Dane, Tate and I were whipping down the slide. I did feet only, but the boys and the inevitable friends they made on this cool Christmas ice slide were sliding on bums, and doing belly slides (alternatively called "penguin" and "seal" mode).

When I took this pic, I thought Dane had fallen, but when I asked if he was OK, he looked at me and said indignantly, "Dad, that was my Ninja stop!"

I looked at the pic again, and sure enough, he's a ninja!

This is about when the batteries in my camera died, so no more pics from our journey to Temple Square.

We did see the Nativity display, the statues of the Prophets (Brigham Young's hair was a bit ske-wampus, and Tate told us several times that he needed to have his hair combed), and the Christus. There is audio accompanying the Nativity scene. Part of the dialogue is President Gordon B. Hinckley's testimony of the birth of the Savior. It was a very touching testimony. When Dane realized who's voice he was hearing, he looked up at me and said, "Dad, that's President Hinckley!" and then got a little emotional. We loved President Hinckley, and though the Lord in His mercy has provided us a new Prophet, we still miss President Hinckley's familiar style.

One last cool thing from the Holidays was that my sister, Becca (Aunt Bec, or One-Hecka-Becca to the boys) published her second book. We are very proud of her. The audience is teen girls, but I read it and truth be told, enjoyed it tremendously.

The title is "Bright Blue Miracle" by Becca Wilhite. Get your copy today!

I'll post some more stuff from the holidays later, but for now I have to get the garage a bit more clean.

Best Question Ever!

2009-01-10T11:18:00.001-08:00

We got a new TV this year (not for Christmas, we waited for the real sales and still overspent). It's bigger than the old one (and has a much better picture! Hooray, we can watch Heroes and not have to guess what's going on in the dark scenes.

Anyway, the boys think they need to sit really close to the screen,

so we have been encouraging them to slide back so they can touch the couch with their hands...

This morning, they were watching and were way too close, so I reminded them that they should scoot back. Cyndie said, "Geez, get the freak away from the TV!!"

Tate and Dane jumped back, and, while frantically looking around the family room Tate asked, "Mom, what freak?" We all laughed when we realized he was trying to get the freak away from the TV, if only he could find the freak. Maybe we'll have to let him watch Napoleon Dynamite's dance moves.

Legally John-d

2008-12-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

My brother John was just selected for a clerkship with the Indiana Supreme Court. Cudos to John. He and Abbi and their kids will love Indianapolis. Plus it is "the clerkship" he wanted.

Merry Christmas, John and family. Don't get flojo in your last semester, you still have to pass the bar.

We're thrilled that Father in Heaven has blessed you with this opportunity.

Twilight!

2008-12-14T18:25:00.001-08:00

OK, this movie is HUGE! I haven't seen this many chicks all lathered up since Danny, Donnie, Joey, John and Jordan were "Hanging Tough" by showing that they had "The Right Stuff", even if they had to take it "Step-by-Step!"

As you may have heard, the movie is raking in all kinds of dough, and not just in this hotbed of Mormondom. DISCLAIMER: I haven't seen the movie or read the book. Cyndie would rather take me to see "Quantum of Solace" than "Twilight". I WIN!

Cyndie has read the first 3 books (Breaking Wind, er, Breaking Dawn is in the stack of stuff by her bed).

Twenty years ago she was in love with the vampires from Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, "The Lost Boys", and Ursula Le Guin. Everyone thought she was a freak. In fact, there was an English teacher who commented more than once on her "affinity for dark things".

She swears that if she'd had such valiant vampires to lust after in her teens, she'd have saved us all some grief, but she's "pretty much past that now". She does confess, however to being more interested in the Volturi than the other covens.

I know we'll see the Cullens on Netflix, but in the mean time, my theater dollars will go to the likes of "Ironman", James Bond, Star Trek, and Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories".

Skynard?

2008-11-15T10:35:00.000-08:00

Dateline Murray UT - 11/15/08 - 7:12 am

Cyndie had the news on yesterday morning while Dane was eating breakfast. She went upstairs for a minute. When she came back in the kitchen, she noticed that Dane was really excited.

"Guess what, Mom? I just saw the new President: Rock Alabama! He was on TV!"

The Littlest Snowman in the World

2008-11-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

We got about 5" of snow last Wednesday. My boss was in town from LA, so he was questioning his timing and scheduling skills. He had hoped to golf with us. No such luck, but I did schedule a nice lunch meeting with a customer. The views turned out to be picturesque in the snow. Wish my camera had been there!

When I came home, I was greated by the worlds smallest snowman:

Tate was very proud!

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

2008-11-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

We LOVE Halloween at our place! Dressing up, running around the neighborhood, carving jack-o-lanterns, it is all part of the fun.

This year, Tate is protesting Halloween. No moral objection, just "too homesick for Omaha to dress up..." For the autism-initiated, any change is difficult for children with Autism. Tate has done a yeoman's job of adapting, but some things are just too much for him. We pick our battles (yes he goes to Church, no he doesn't have to go to trick-or-treating).

I tried to convince him that he should go out as a protester. I told him that I would make him a sign with an anti-Halloween message, he could wear a robe and sandles, maybe hold a megaphone or something. Then he could just stand back with me and let Dane go to the doors... unfortunately, no such luck.

Here are some action shots from this year's festivities...

Tate's favorite Halloween treat is Candy popcorn balls. He has little use for caramel popcorn (though the rest of us can live on it) so we tried a new recipe. Apparently there are nuances to being a protester!

We also made mini caramel and candy apples. Cyndie used a melon-baller to get small round apple pieces, then dipped them in caramel and liquid candy. Unfortunately, the skinless apples don't hold their cover too well. Bite-sized treats are good in any case!

The aforementioned boycott did apply to jack-o-lantern carving... this the first year in several that we haven't used pumpkins grown in our own garden. We sold our pumpkin patch with the house (ok, we really didn't have another plan, so buy a pumpkin patch for $200,000 and we'll make you such a deal on the house!) We were thrilled when Bompa's neighbor, Bryant "The Farmer" Miller dropped by a few gourd offerings for us to transform into major hauntings.

After watching a Food Network Halloween special with Tate (another area which transcends the boycott), we decided that we needed to try some "advanced" techniques in carving.

This one ended up somewhere between Zack Efron ("High School Musical") and Max ("Where the Wild Things Are"). Dane suggested that we should put a "cute little BunnyWabbit" on the side.

In the interest of protesting all things diabolical, here's our wholly holy offering: Bob and Larry from VeggieTales.

On the big night, Dane and I went through the neighborhood, saw friends and had a great time at a post trick-or-treat party (we tried to convince Tate that it wasn't Halloween related, but he's way too smart for that!).

Pedro Lacks Relevant Political Experience

2008-10-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

For the last 3 years, the BYU MBA Marketing Association (MBAMA) has sponsored an end of August retreat in Moab, UT for the first years to get acclimated and associated with the returning students. I have been invited to attend as an alumnus and was asked to present on Marketing, my career, B2B vs B2C and such...

This year I had been in Moab for about 3 days with a customer working on a project in that area. The last morning, I was looking for a clean shirt and came up with my "Vote for Pedro" shirt. I showed up for the Hummer Safari with the students and some of the students were chuckling at my shirt, but they weren't laughing at me. It turns out that Jeremy Coon, one of the producers of the film "Napoleon Dynamite", source of the Pedro shirt, was among the students. We chatted briefly and ended up together on the Hummer Safari at the point where we all got out and snapped some pics, including this one overlooking the Colorado River:

Here are a few other pics from the event.

Clone Wars

2008-09-28T18:23:00.001-07:00

While I am writing the last post, I noticed that the multi-sheet copy feed on the priter is kaddy-wampus.

"Who broke the printer?" I asked.

"You mean the cloner?" Dane replied.

Yeah, we don't get too in to Star Wars Here.

Utah in 6 Weeks

2008-09-28T17:52:00.001-07:00

We've been in the house about six weeks now. (When we have all the boxes unpacked, we'll post a few pics, Diana).

Here are a few fun highlights of our time thus far in our new home.

___________________________________

We hit the Utah State Fair this fall. It was really cool. We saw lots of great animals: Horses, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, white tigers and fish (some of which the boys caught themselves!)

The boys wanted to ride a roller coaster, so we put them on it. I tried to get a picture of their faces as it raced by, sadly my camera speed and the coaster speed were not compatible. Suffice it to say that Tate was thrilled, and Dane literally kissed the ground when he got off the ride. Wish I'd had the camera ready for that one.

Dane got his first trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium this fall. Here's a picture of us at the home opener versus Northern Iowa. It was a fantastic time, and we have enjoyed watching our beloved Cougars defeat (NIU) Panthers, Bears (UCLA Bruins) and (Wyoming) Cowboys as he'll tell us frequently. Dane has witnessed two consecutive shutouts and some potent offense. I'll catch him whistling or singing the Cougar Fight Song while walking around the house. He was "Star of the Week" at school last week and each of his classmates made a poster of "Dane is special because..." We have picked out some good friends for him since some of his classmates listed "He likes BYU" as a reason. Good kids!

Dane has graduated from his SpongeBob SquarePants hat to a Cougar hat in recent weeks... He's all CougarFan...

with a strong affinity for the Cougar Marching Band (he got to play the drums after the game in week 1):

But if you ask him what's the best part of the game, I am not sure he wouldn't say cotton candy (which he has to pay for, making it all the sweeter), but if Cotton Candy's his answer, the close second will definitely be Cosmo!

He loves (and I mean LOVES) the video sequences of Cosmo's Quest (the dastardly minions of the BCS have stolen the Spirit of the Y and want to use it for evil purposes! Ahhh!)

Tate has a ticket as well, but regularly exercised his first right of refusal, so we've enjoyed games with Uncle Brody, Grandpa Brent, and our great friend Lanny.

Summer Things

2008-09-28T17:06:00.001-07:00

We didn't post for most of the Summer, so here's a couple of highlights...

This spring, Cyndie's flowers showed their stuff. Blooming like champions, they were beautiful and fun to look at--kind of like Cyndie!

Dane enrolled in a music, movement, and drama class. They did lots of songs and dances... even put on a play of "Where the Wild Things Are" with the chief wild thing played by our wild thing.

He learned the Charleston, and the booty shake.

That may be a light saber, not sure exactly. But we are into Star Wars, so I'll bet Dane thought it was a Yoda, Quigon-Jinn, and Anakin (Episode II) model.

Spinning green light... power stance!

We learned that Dane will one day be a rock star. He's got it going on (look at that stance!)

(incidentally, we also learned that Bono is a "Fully Invested" Cougar fan, thanks SnarrWars for the image, you are a hero to my boys).

On the Tate front, we had our own one-man play entitled "Chin Chuckler". He spent a fair amount of the summer protesting the move, but has been doing well this fall and is integrating well into school.

You know that Visa commercial where the family goes on vacation in search of the lost smile from their teenage daughter? We have our own quest: Tate wearing his glasses... here's a shot we're not entirely sure hasn't been Photoshopped.

When the grass grows in O-Town (Omaha, not Oakland), it really grows. Sumner loved to run around in the fresh cut. It smelled so wonderful, and there were bugs jumping around... ahh, nirvana! The stained feed only lasted a couple of days (then it was time to cut the grass again!)

Our love of Star Wars carried over to the kitchen, and way beyond the obvious Princess Leia Cinnamon Buns and included such recipes as Bosq Brownies, Pit Droid Pizza, and these Galactic breadsticks:

Here's a shot of Cyndie's Guys shortly before leaving Omaha:

Back In Business: Who Wears the Pants???

2008-09-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well, these OmaHecks have been in the analog world for quite some time now. The hate mail and death threats have increased to a level that makes me think that a few token posts would be appropriate and a sort of insurance policy.

here's a sample of today's Sacrament Meeting conversations:

Tate: Mom, was Joseph Smith the first person to wear pants?
Cyndie (chuckling): No.
Tate: Was Joseph Smith, Sr. the first person to wear pants?
Cyndie: No, honey. Think about George Washington. He wore pants. And the Pilgrims, they wore pants...
Tate (interrupting): Except their wives. (Big brown-eyed blinks)

Yeah, that's how it goes... a fair amount of randomness supplemented with Vulcan Logic.

For those of you who have spent time with Tate or any other Autistic children, you know the can fixate on a topic for extended periods of time.(its called perseveration). With Tate, its all about Star Wars right now. He has so many facts in his little bean, and he wants to affirm them with us ("Dad, who was the second person to die by a lightsaber in episode three?" OK, because I know that, RIGHT!!! I don't even know whether he's talking about Return of the Jedi (third movie released) or Revenge of the Sith (third episode chronologically). We have been forced to declare the Chapel "StarWars free zone". No Star Wars questions allowed. It has been difficult, especially when the Stake Presidency makes references to Jedi Mind Tricks...

In Transit

2008-08-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

This move has put us waaaay behind in blogging.

There is a lot to do: managing a couple of households, learning a new job, acclimating to altitude and lack of humitidy.

We have received some messages expressing displeasure with our posting frequency.

I promise we'll be back and better than ever once we get a little settled. We'll even post pics of the house.

Quote of the Day - 6/16/08

2008-06-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

There we are eating dinner when Tate looks up and asks us, "Do you want to pray to my pasta?"

Now, you might expect that we'd be used to this line of questioning, Tate being Tate and all. But it still threw us for a loop. Cyndie and I looked at each other and in unison, answered "What?!?"

Tate just looked at us and matter-of-factly said "Pray to my pasta. That's what Paganism means. "

Fortunately, parts of my Cincinnati-area upbringing have rubbed off on Tate and he prefers his pasta with chili. So when we laughed at the idea of praying to pasta, Tate offered up his beans, complete with an example: "Oh, mighty beans, ye are powerful and beany!"

Our New Addition

2008-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that arriving this August in the Anderson home will be a little packet of joy. This is something we've waited a long time for, talked about and mulled significantly. It just hasn't been in the cards until now. No specific name yet, but under general guidelines, we'll call them "BYU football tickets" (yeah, I know, I'm awful).

Why, you might ask (and rightfully so), would a family of Omahecks be getting tickets to games played in Utah?

Is it because the home opener is against Northern Iowa and my friend and co-worker is an alum and former wide-out from NIU? No, that isn't the reason.

Is it because we are so "fully invested" that we are willing to buy tickets to support the team even though we live 1000 miles away? Nope.

OK, are we planning Friday Night Drives to Provo six times this fall? Certainly plausible, but wrong again.

We're pioneering the "Scalping Plan" to put the boys through missions and college? Uh-uh.

Scrapbooking afficianados? So not us!

We will be charging admission to our basement when we get Direct TV and can access the Cougar games, and needed a template for the tickets? Great idea... but no.

Then why, you ask.

Let us tell you...

Union Pacific has offered me a very attractive position in our SLC office. I'll still be in the Marketing & Sales group, but with a group of Utah, Idaho and Nevada customers. We are moving this summer.

It is with mixed emotions that we leave Omaha, even though the intention is to return to Omaha in a few years after gaining this valuable experience. We have come to consider this place our home, and are glad to know that, in my department at least, all roads lead back to Omaha. And that's why this blog address will remain the same.

There's more to the story (some pretty good, some pretty hard). Which we'll be glad to share at a later date.

Right now, all the energy is focused on selling the house and finding the right school for Tate in Salt Lake.

Be good,

-Omahecks

Quote of the Day

2008-06-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today Dane was singing around the house and Cyndie told him that she loved to hear him sing. He smiled proudly and replied, "Thank you... I just had a little music in my throat."

Yeah, that's it!

2008-04-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I needed to reassert my prowess in the kitchen. Cyndie rocks the kitchen, and loves it so much, and with our schedules, responsibilities, Church Callings, Work requirements, I cook rarely, if ever. In fact, Cyndie is reminding me that the word I am looking for may in fact be spelled P-O-W-E-R-L-E-S-S-N-E-S-S.

The idea was that I could do something with the boys, teach them a skill, spend time together, and make sure they know that food doesn't just magically appear. Not to mention that since I don't cook too much, I don't want them to get any crazy stereotypes about dads not being in the kitchen.

When Sunday arrived, I committed that this was going to be the day. To use a good Argentine phrase, we were going to make bread "sí ó sí"(literally "yes or yes" meaning no other options, roughly equivalent to American English's "come he## or high-water", edited-this being a family blog). After being in meetings all morning, having Church from 1-4, ending up on the stand during Sacrament Meeting (the Bishop and Second Counselor were away, and the First Counselor asked me to join him, making me "the substitute Bishop" according to Tate"), eating dinner, and cleaning up, I was ready.

The boys and I got the ingredients, some mixing and measuring tools, and got to work. The yeast performed remarkably. The flour mixed perfectly. The sugar and eggs blended exquisitely. It was everything I had hoped for. We were all excited until we realized it was about 7 pm and read that the directions called for letting the dough raise for 3 hours, pounding it (Tate and Dane's favorite part), splitting it, putting it in pans, and letting it raise for another 90 minutes. I did the quick math and realized that we'd be up until midnight if we followed those plans. Time to call in the reinforcements!

"Mom, we need your heelllp! Dad really screwed up this time!" the boys called out. Laughing, Cyndie sauntered in to the kitchen and proceeded to save the day. We let the dough raise until we went to bed, then let it continue to raise in the fridge overnight. Next day, she and the boys cooked it up. It baked wonderfully!

Prologue

It would seem that Cyndie was right at the beginning at this post: she can spell and and has a better vocabulary than me. But I have to tell you that last night, while Cyndie and I were out on the town, I said that I wanted to make more bread with the boys, and she confessed that when we ate the last of the bread, she was disappointed. So maybe I didn't screw up too badly.

What Happens If That Runs Out?

2008-04-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Tate is an avid reader and loves to learn new things. He has discovered the world of minerals, plants and resources.

Whether through lessons in school, or his own reading regimen (we truly aren't sure), he has become concerned about depleted resources and species of plants--and animals, for that matter--becoming extinct.

The "perseveration" aspect of Autism comes in to play here as Cyndie and I get to answer the same questions about non-renewable resources running out, so we can't have gas, electricity or other items he considers critical.

Daily, he includes in his prayers a plea to Father in Heaven that "non-renewable resources won't run out, and that endangered species will not become extinct." It is quite a show of faith. Recently, we were talking and I could tell he was in a bit of a funk. It's often hard to get him to open up about emotions, but I probed a little and he told me how concerned he was about non-renewable resources going away (he had asked me not to stop for gas only a few days earlier when we were out together for some one-on-one time).

I wasn't sure what more I could tell him, so I went to a higher source. I shared with him what a college professor used in a class as "The Lord's view of economics" (remember, I was an Econ major at BYU). The message comes from Doctrine & Covenants 104:13-18 and teaches us that the responsibility of those with resources have a responsibility to take care of those without. The Lord also teaches us in verse 17 that "the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" for he "prepared all things". We talked about how we could waste and mis-use the things God has given us, but that if we take care of them, God will take care of us, and we should take care of each other. He chippered up, and though still concerned, he's pretty conviced that God will see us through. Good kid.

Great Wolf Break

2008-04-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post, our boys have been on spring break for the last week. I was able to arrange my schedule and we took off for a couple of days. We drove to Kansas City and hit the Great Wolf Lodge http://www.greatwolflodge.com/. One of the greatest inventions of all time.

The wind and snow whipped outside, then there was a thunderstorm. Meanwhile, we were carelessly playing in a wonderful waterworld (and I'm not talking Kevin Costner).

What could be better than having 1000 gallons of water pound you on the head every 5 minutes? Maybe riding a river through a pitch black tube while rocketing around corners and hitting sharp drop-offs that make your heart skip a beat? For the more timid, riding on a floating donut around a lazy river. Or playing in the treehouse where every corner has a tool to splash, dump or spray someone, but beware, standing still long enough to use the tools makes you a target as well!

We had a great time together and a load of fun. We are both water logged and a bit dehydrated, but anxious for our next trip.

Opinions are like... well, everyone has one!

2008-04-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

The other day Cyndie left me a voice mail at work, concerned over a scheduling conflict between the two elementary schools represented in our home. I can hear noise in the back ground reminding me that it is spring break and the boys are home. Cyndie tells me about the conflict and says she wants my opinion. Just then I hear the voice of a cartoon character respond with glee-and a bit of incredulity, "You want my opinion?!?!"

If I didn't live in the house, I'd have been curious at how Cyndie timed the question on a voice mail with something from Cartoon Network. But, since I do live in the house, I knew it was actually Dane. He of the cartoon voice.

Cyndie responded to Dane that she sure did want his opinion, but that right now she was leaving a message for Dad. I don't know what the rest of the message said, I was too busy laughing becasue I could hear Dane hopping away, chirping in his little animated voice, "Yipee, I have an opinion!"

We knew that, D-Max, but we are thrilled you've realized it.

God's Killer Whales

2008-03-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

In a lame attempt to get the boys to sit still during Family Home Evening tonight, I made the threat that the next person to get off the couch was going to really "get it" and then go straight to their room.

Cyndie in her wisdom and patience with the boys, made a game of the situation. She told us the floor was dangerous, that we needed to stay on the couch or we'd be at risk from Satan's Sharks.

Dane got a little scared. Tate looked at her and said, "Well, God's Killer Whales can come and eat Satan's Sharks!"

OK, you got us there, Tate. They stayed in their places on the couch anyway. Good work Cyndie, Sharks and Killer Whales.

Cyndie and the MoTabs

2008-03-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Among the many great blessings of being the Primary Chorister, Cyndie has become a folk hero of sorts. All the children notice when she is gone, and the skills she employs to keep 100 pairs of eyes on her (50 at a time) for 30 minutes have achieved Legendary Status.

As she left the church yesterday, little Elizabeth's parents related that earlier that morning, they were watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's rendition of Handel's Messiah. Elizabeth's dad pointed out conductor Mack Wilberg's prowess at leading such a large group. Elizabeth responded that "he's not as good as... as good as... hey, wasser name?" Sister Anderson, they asked. "Yeah," Elizabeth replied, "he's not as good as her!"

Cyndie was grateful for the complement.

Family Events

2008-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Brother. The loyal fans await Tate's triumphant return from school.

And a great Family Puzzle Night. This Transformers puzzle has been framed and hangs on a D-Max wall.
I have no idea what is going on here, but it was a fun picture of Dane and me, so I included it.

Rudge Grundy Ninja

2008-03-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

What is it about kids and making cool costumes by putting underwear on their heads? Oh, come on! Admit it, you did it too!

Easter

2008-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

The boys know that Easter is really about Christ's death and resurrection, and they tell us that even though they like the candy and eggs, they are pretty sure those are "extra parts" of Easter.

Cyndie had fun making eggs with them last week. We didn't hide the eggs, but the baskets were for Saturday while Sunday brought the lesson on why Jesus' sacrifice and triumph over death are so vitally important to all of us.

I think, therefore iCar

2008-03-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tate and I had a blast putting our third Pinewood Derby car together, It was a tossup between a SpongeBob SquarePants car and the iCar. In the end the iCar won out when we couldn't find the right SpongeBob parts to accessorize the car.

Special thanks to Drew and Kelli for letting us use the ShopSmith to make the required cuts, drill the new axels, and plan the widening project. (Glad the garage got cleaned out so we could get to the ShopSmith).

The iCar ran admirably and we were proud of our work. The whole family had fun and there were great treats! Depending on when next year's Derby gets scheduled, I may be making 2 cars (Dane will be in Cubs by January, and Tate won't graduate from Webelos until March). The CubMaster asked me how many I want to do so she knows when to schedule the race. I say let's go for 2!

Here are some shots of the car in all its glory:

Here's a great shot of Dave and Jackson's SpongeBob Car that inspired us. One theory of creativity states that if your source lives more than 4 hours away, it isn't really plagiarism to copy their stuff.

And finally, here is a shot that Tate took of himself on Derby day. The fact that T had the camera will also explain why there aren't any pictures posted from the actual race.

Birthday Greetings brought to you by the "Field of 64"

2008-03-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

On March 14, Tate turned 10 years old. Can't believe that he's 10! I always have fond memories of his birth... well at least the hours afterwards. Apparently there are very good reasons that I am not a Doctor! I remember sitting in the rocking chair next to Cyndie and holding Tate while we watched the first round of the NCAAs. If you can plan it, that Wednesday is a great time to have a baby.

Cyndie made another great cake. This one was comparatively simple, but hit the spot as Tate wanted to use marshmallows and gummies. She made that combination appetizing to all. "Gator in the Garden" was critically acclaimed, earning the maximum rating: 4 stars (we don't let Sumner vote, especially on those things chocolate as they will kill him.)

Among the hits were a "Martian Matter" Kit that allows the kids to make their own alien design casts and then fill them with some goo that hardens up and makes little "gummi-like" alien figures, but "don't eat that stuff, it's toxic!" Dane reminds us. The much coveted EyeClops hooks up to the TV or a monitor and magnifies anything in its field of vision. Dog hair, people hair, salt, sugar, pasta, bread, boogers, scabs, whatever a 10-year-old and his seven year old brother can come up with.

Punk Music Is A Joke, It's Really Just Baroque...

2008-02-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

A friend put us on to this the other day and we laughed hysterically. I am always up for a good rant, some parody and a bit of insight into the lives of others. Take a look:

I found a few more videos by Rob Paravonian on You Tube. I'd classify them as TV-clean if you'd like to check them out.

Here are a couple other videos that we found and laughed about. One by Rob, about the difficulty of being a mom, the other by a mom who has apparenly developed, kicked and re-acquired a dependency on zoloft, paxcill and/or Quaaludes (and the likely inspiration for Rob's "Children's Song"):

Same or Different?

2008-01-20T18:33:00.001-08:00

Dane thought it was pretty cool to dress like Dad for Church today.

The best part of Church from 1-4 in the afternoon is watching the children who used to nap after the 11-2 Church. They fall asleep in Primary singing time. They don't want to, but they can't help it! Those chairs aren't really comfy, but they'll do in a pinch!

Dane Seven, Ben 10

2008-01-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago, Dane joined us on a blustery -17 day in Minnesota. It wasn't quite that cold this week in Omaha (between -4 and +10), but Dane still Rocked the house!

Tuesday we had his family party, with a small cake and a few presents. The hit was the Vilgax Battle Ship. Ben 10 is as cool as it gets.

Saturday, 6 friends from school came over for pizza, presents, and play. Dane had the best pok-e-ball cake in the history of mankind. His friends know him well and many brought excellent Ben 10 gifts. Wildvine, Heatblast (flashlight version), Heatblast (firebird version), Four Arms (Triceratops version) and a Wildmutt (Door hanger motion sensor version).

If the previous paragraph doesn't make sense to you, don't worry. Have you ever met a child learning a foreign language and heard them rattle off sounds they know without any understanding of the context or meaning? That's what I felt while writing it. Wednesday I took Dane to the pool for some one-on-one time and he wanted to play Ben 10. I had no idea what to do... even when he told me what character I was (apparently there is a Kevin 11).

Game Boys

2008-01-20T17:36:00.001-08:00

It was a very successful Christmas gift. Another Gameboy has increased both the harmony and the competition in our home. Mom and Dad don't know how to play any of the games.

Grin and "Bear" it!

2008-01-20T17:20:00.001-08:00

What an accomplishment! Tate is a hard worker and has some serious Stick-to-it-ive-ness (and so does his mother!). Since entering Bear Cubs last March, he has been diligently working toward his rank advancement. This week he received the award at Pack Meeting. His leaders were quite proud of him, as were so many of his friends in attendance.

After receiving his award, he got to pin his mom.

Here are some other gems from the meeting:

Flag Ceremony
The Bear Den was in charge of the flag ceremony. The Cub who was MCing the event was a bit timid. when the boys brought the flag in, no one heard him ask the audience to stand, so Tate hollered out "Everybody stand up! Put your hands over your hearts... unless you are wearing a uniform. Then you do this (did the Cub Scout Salute.)"

Recycling And Death
The theme for the evening was "Litter to Glitter" with an emphasis on cleaning up and recycling. The Cubmaster told a story about Walt Disney's early days at Disney Land. He wanted a wonderful and clean place for people to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. One of his rules for employees was to pick up any piece of trash they came upon. "But he's dead! Walt Disney is dead!" yelled Tate. The Cubmaster acknowledged this fact and continued with the story. "But he's dead!" Tate repeated. That went on for a while. Everyone got a kick out of Tate's focus on the temporal nature of our stay on Earth.

Pillar Of Death!!!!

2008-01-20T16:59:00.001-08:00

Those who have been to our home know about the support pillar at the bottom of the stairs in the living room. A structural imperfection, to our untrained eyes... it's nickname comes from the specter of severe bodily harm that will occur at some time during the time we live here.

The pillar's been a challenge in laying out the living room, in designing our space, and in keeping it intact. After a few mis-fires in addressing both cleanliness and structure, we came up with a strategy and a color. Dane was my super helper and we got phase 1 complete on New Year's Day.

A Capella

2008-01-12T15:06:00.000-08:00

When I was in college at BYU, I was a fan of an a capella group Extempo. I had a tape they made "The Live Album" and we thought it was a hoot. I was thinking about them today when I was adding some music to my iPod. I took a shot at finding some songs online... I didn't have any luck downloading, but here's a video of one of their cooler songs, "Pray." It a southern spiritual/gospel homage to the Joseph Smith First Vision story.

"Sumo" cum laude/A girl and her dog

2007-12-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Dane was so excited this afternoon. He pulled out his brand new Christmas crayons, with their myriad colors and neatly manufactured tips, and started to draw a sumo wrestler. This was the end result. He just kept saying, "I am doing it! I am doing it without looking at anything!" He has this gift for art. Sumos are pretty important right now also. Dane got some Ben 10 Sumo Slammers for Christmas. I have to admit, they are pretty cool. It is a fun game to play. We have some shots of him with his hair in a topnot, wearing only his underwear (hiked up in the back, for sure, to look authentic). I have spared him the potential embarrassment (and potential liability) of posting them online, but rest assured the I have them available to use as leverage once he becomes a little more modest (or at least self aware).

A quick shot of the most beautiful member of our family... Cyndie is pretty cute, too :P
Sumner loves Cyndie and goes to her when the rest of us get too rowdy or make him uncomfortable. They are good pals.

How Brave are You?

2007-12-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Cyndie came upon a broadcast of "Lord of the Rings" the other day while she was straightening up the kitchen (reminding her that we need to have a Ring Trilogy marathon over this break!)
Dane came in and asked what she was watching. She replied that this show was probably too intense for him.

Dane retorted indignantly, "It won't intense me! I am precisely chicken already!" Gotta love that little man's way with words.

Christmas Morning

2007-12-25T15:59:00.001-08:00

Here are a bunch of shots of the boys as they opened presents this morning:

BYU-UCLA Las Vegas Bowl

2007-12-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

I know I already have a football-focused entry today, but I just found these and wanted to post them.

Here's a little background: a brother and sister (she does photoshop for a living) challenged each other to a little photoshop duel depicting the end of the BYU-UCLA Las Vegas Poinsettia Bowl . They posted the pics on cougarblue.com, a BYU fan site. The offerings:

Once the CougarBlue community began voting, they also came up with offerings of their own...
The first, a decidedly LDS bent. The second, going for the nostalgia vote. How many games can John Beck actually win?

The Light is Green, The Scan is Clean...

2007-12-25T13:56:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I stole the line... Remember in "Ghostbusters" when Ray is explaining to Winston how the ecto containment unit works? He explains that "when the light is green, the trap is clean."

Cyndie had her thyroid cancer scan in December (thankfully we got all the insurance issues resolved, see the November post). We finally got the results just last week. No sign of any thyroid cells and no sign of any cancer. We are so thrilled. We know we have been blessed through the faith and prayers offered on her behalf. It gives us pause to think of the many, many souls who have petitioned our Heavenly Father countless times. We are humbled.

Some may have heard that after 2 clean scans (now completed) we'd be looking at a scan every 5 years. Well, medical protocol has changed and now the doctors can monitor any thyroid cell presence with a simple blood test. That means no more painful and expensive injections and no more scans. Heavenly Father certainly blesses us with great technology and knowledge to improve our lives. We are grateful.

December is so "nICE"

2007-12-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

December brought the real beginning of winter in the form of Freezing Rain!

For the uninitiated, freezing rain is precipitation that likely starts out as snow, then falls through warmer air and melts, but when it hits anything that is colder than 32 degrees F, it freezes solid. It's a Midwestern thing. I was used to it, but Cyndie was pretty freaked out the first time it hit us (she's an old--but not too old--pro now!) We were prepared, though. Newscasters and community groups were warning about the impending ice storm. Fortunately, it was a Saturday and we had nowhere to go.

It truly was beautiful. Dane, Sumner and I went out to play a bit and got these cool pictures.

Chicken wire from the garden

Chicken wire, pumpkin vines and bean supports

Pumpkins that didn't get carved were in the compost... some decomposing faster than others. Tate keeps track.

Ice on the leaves and branches of our trees. It was 1/4" to 1/2" thick all over the city. In 1997 Omaha got hit with an ice storm in October... most of the trees still had most of their leaves and the extra weight caused a lot of damage. Members of the Church mobilized quickly and set about clearing fallen trees and sheds, garages, etc. so the Utility companies could get access to power and gas lines to restore electricity and heat. The effort earned plenty of goodwill and the end of the story is that goodwill helped the Church to procure the land where the Winter Quarters Temple now stands.

November Challenges and Celebrations

2007-12-25T12:11:00.001-08:00

Insurance Schmin-surance!
Have you ever had the joy of dealing with your insurance company when you don't agree, and each of you is convinced that you are correct, each with data to prove out your case? Let me tell you, it is pure joy (can you read the sarcasm in my prose?)!

Due to the nature and cost of her treatments for thyroid cancer, Cyndie maxed out her deductible in January. Subsequent treatments were billed as such. Then, mysteriously, in about May or June, her deductible was reset, unbeknown to us. Prepping for the end-of-the-year treatments became a delight as we were fortunate to spend hours on the phone with service reps who simply did not know why the deductible had been reset. Promises of both time lines for resolution and supervisory call-backs to explain exactly what had happened were repeatedly unfulfilled. Then, miraculously, one day it was all better. No calls, no explanation. Had we not been looking at files, we wouldn't have been any the wiser. Fortunately, it did get taken care of in time to release the pre-scan drugs required for Cyndie's treatment (whew!) and though delayed, our hard-stop of December 2007 was once again in the cards.

With help like this from insurance companies, it is no wonder that so many are talking about a centralized, government-controlled health insurance program. Despite the problems we had, I can't imagine what the challenges would have been like with a government bureaucracy in addition to the insurance company's. Yikes!

The Rest of November...
Mostly brought fun times. Aunt Buggy came to visit and meet Sumner.

Divine Intervention?
BYU beat the UofU in Football... on a last second play... again! Here's a shot from the winning TD. MWC Freshman of the Year Harvey Unga (pronounced OON-guh) just ran over the Ute defense and into the endzone. Note the cool B&W/Color contrast in the pic... also note that 2 guys are MWC smocks are clearly elated that BYU has scored.

You'll recall that last year John Beck completed a 11 yard pass to a wide-open Jonny Harline with no time remaining. Signs popped up all over Cougardom stating "Harline is still open!" This year, Utah took their first lead with just about 1:30 left in the game. They had the Cougars backed up facing a 4th and 18 from inside their own 20. The Ute defense once again broke down and Max Hall completed a 65 yard pass to Austin Collie. That pass kept the game-winning drive alive, culminating with Unga's TD. Quick flash forward: Some enterprising Cougar fan rented a plane to fly over the Utah-Navy Poinsettia Bowl pulling a banner that read "Harline is still open... and so is Austin Collie!" I am not a bitter person or a bad winner, but it warms my heart to know that someone spent $$$ to rub salt in those wounds... Also, my dad told me that you can buy shirts in Orem/Provo that read "Enter to Learn, Go 4th and 18." Rivalries are beautiful... especially when you are victorious!

Give Thanks!
We got to spend Thanksgiving with our dear friends (and technically, fellow OmaHecks), the Robinsons. We are so glad to have good friends here in Omaha.

You Say its Your Birthday...
We'll its Cyndie's birthday too! We had a rockin' party, the four of us. Ended up at HuHot, our favorite local Mongolian Grill. Mmmmmm Delicious! Cyndie is 29 and holding firm. And boy do we mean firm. Her regular workout schedule and nutritious/delicious cooking have turned her into a lean, mean grammar machine (she still enjoys freelance writing and editing).

Halloween!

2007-12-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Always a fan favorite in the OmaHeck household, Halloween is the annual introduction to fall. We love to decorate our house and ourselves... This year's celebration began way back in May when Cyndie and I plopped some pumpkin seeds in a corner of the garden. Mother Nature and Nebraska soil rewarded our efforts (apparently not much is required) and we got some pretty decent pumpkins.

We lost a few along the way. They boys know that if you knock the pumpkin off its vine in August or September, no matter how big it is, it will get mushy. Tate loved to tell me that "another pumpkin is rotting" and to ask when it will be completely decomposed. But our harvest ended well and we had some pretty good sized ones.

Now looking at this picture, you might think that Dane has had some kind of unfortunate accident and lost his leg. Let me assure you that he is completely intact, and the missing leg may have been his way of channeling his 2007 costume (see below).

Carving the pumpkins with Dad is an annual tradition. We got it in under the wire, and were pretty excited to let our friends know that from seed to harvest to design to carving (and pulling out the guts first!) these bad boys were 100% home-grown.

The take this year was as bountiful as ever, and we had lots of fun running the neighborhood with friends and seeing the decorated houses that seem to get better each year.

Here are a few more shots of the boys' costumes... These hams can really play it up!

Catching Up...

2007-12-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Clearly, I haven't been as good at updating this blog as I had hoped. I won't go into all the gory details... but what follows is an attempt to catch up on significant events this fall.

Summer's Gone, Sumner's Here

2007-10-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

As the warm and humid evenings of September gave way to the cool crisp days of October, Sumner arrived at our house.

He's a beautiful Chocolate Beagle. He was born in a litter of 4 pups, 3 male and 1 female. The breeder told us that 3:1 is a normal ratio of the sexes in beagle pups, but having all 3 males come chocolate is some crazy genetic odds.

We got a sneak peak of Sumner in our home when the breeder had to leave unexpectedly for a funeral in New York. She asked us to take the mother and 4 pups until she returned. Wow! Baptism by fire.

After about day 2, the pups could hop out of their pool/pen, but of course, they couldn't hop back in. so, our entire kitchen became the domain of the dogs. It really was interesting and fun. By the time the breeder got home, we were sad to see the pups go (although their mom was a different story, she's a piece of work!) so we were glad to know that Sumner would return shortly.

We have had some great adventures in the last few days. Sumner is a part of our family now. But is he an OmaHeck? He didn't come from Utah, we'll have to make a ruling on that in a future entry.

Here are some pictures from Sumner's first days in our home.

With Cyndie while reading to the boys. Thirteen years ago today, Cyndie and I were married. Did she have any idea then that 13 years later she'd be reading to two boys and a dog in Omaha? I think not!

With Tate...Lick that face, Sumner!

Dane and Sumner are good friends. About the same size and about the same level of obedience! (TIC)

CougarTron

2007-09-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Good question...

2007-09-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Dane and I were sitting in church and he was looking at an album that Me-mah had made for him and Tate. It has pictures of the prophets, families, the Savior, etc. He began looking rather intently at the Christus from Temple Square:

Suddenly he looked up at me and asked, "Dad, if heaven is in space, do we become astronauts when we die?"

I'll admit that I didn't have a great answer for him in the moment, but I am glad he is thinking and that he is willing to ask me questions.