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.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Twilight!
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".
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".
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Skynard?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Littlest Snowman in the World
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!
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!
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.
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!).
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!).
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Pedro Lacks Relevant Political Experience
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...
Here are a few other pics from the event.
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.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Clone Wars
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.
"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
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.
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
We didn't post for most of the Summer, so here's a couple of highlights...
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!)
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.
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???
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...
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...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
