New Zealand- what fun!

So, when we got home from New Zealand one of the first things Matt said was, "I'll make you a deal- I will blog about New Zealand, if you put the photos on." So here they are. Sorry, no explanation yet... Matt, it's your turn.

Matt: OK, OK. I know it has been several months, but here it is: my commentary.

Here are Tina's parents at Hot Water Beach - the best beach in the world (more on that later).

Deacon loves Grandpa - especially when he gives him food.

Grandpa was so proud of his little red-head daughter Lily. Lily started to crawl in New Zealand and Grandpa told the whole world about it.

So Tina's brother Verne brought his daughter Elizabeth along for a surprise visit to New Zealand at the same time we were there. Verne wanted to show Elizabeth a few of the things that he remebered from growing up here. One of those things was milking cows. This is about as close as I get to milking a cow - watching Verne hold McKinnon as he (Verne - not McKinnon) milks a cow.

Verne also wanted to go horseback riding so we went along. There is a riding school not too far from Tina's parents. Tina and McKinnon rode around the long trail for about an hour while I walked along Deacon's horse on a half-hour trail. I think Deacon really liked the ride. After we were done and waiting for the others, Deacon kept running around in circles, reliving the ride. He would go fast and slow and crouch down and then stand straight - just like the ride. (As a side note, we noticed that Deacon does tend to relive some of his experiences. I think we do too, when we think about things or tell stories, but since Deacon doesn't talk, he acts things out again. One time on this trip he climbed onto Lily's crib and then fell off it and hit his head. After the shock wore off, he climbed back up the crib, carefully climbed down, then gently bonked his head on the floor).

McKinnon had a great time riding his horse. That is until he fell in the mud. (He will tell you all about it). The guides had McKinnon's horse jump over a mud puddle and McKinnon liked it so much that they did it again - only the second time, the horse hesitated and McKinnon fell off into the muddy water and got soaked. He was fine after we got home, but there go any hopes of an equestrian gold medal.

We took a half-day cruise in the Bay of Islands. Here we are docking at an island which I think is partly owned by the Department of Conservation and partly owned by the boat company.

The cruise was a fun way to see all of the islands including going through a hole-in-the-rock. We also got to see dolphins. We could have paid extra to swim with the dolphins, but it was windy and cold. Maybe next time. If you listen closely you can hear the dolphins saying "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

McKinnon turned 5 this trip. I think he is wishing for a 65 inch HDTV with a Blu-ray player and 7.1 surround sound.

McKinnon really liked playing with his cousin Elizabeth.

It was nice to spend a couple of days with Tina's brother Dean and his wife Khali and there kids Moronae, Te Wairua and Carlos.

We stayed one night in Auckland and watched the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team beat Australia. Walking to the stadium, I'm sure people thought we were crazy to take three kids to an All Blacks game, but it worked out.

The boys would get so tired after a day of relaxing at the beach.

We took a quick trip to Hamilton to visit our friends Ryan and Eliza and their son Peter and to go to the Temple. This part of the trip was the least stressful and we had a lot of fun just hanging out and not worry about anything. Oh, and this was the first trip that I didn't get entirely lost in Hamilton.

OK, the next few photos are of Hot Water Beach. Tina's parents have a small rental property at Hot Water Beach and it has been a favorite get-away for us for a long time. Hot Water Beach is a unique beach in that it has hot springs under certain parts of the beach. So, when the tide is low, you can dig a hole in the sand and it will fill up with hot water from the springs and you then have your own hot tub on the beach. Digging the pool is an art that Matt has refined over the years and he's pretty proud that he can get a pool with just the right temperature.

Tina's mum took us out fishing on their Dingy. I quickly learned that I can't row a boat, but I can catch fish. When you fish in the sea, you don't need to use a pole, you just drop a line with two big hooks and some bait off the boat. When the sinker hits bottom, the bait floats at the right point for the fish to nibble. When you feel a nibble, you give a quick, strong tug to hook the fish. Tina caught a few fish and Matt caught 13 including one without bait!

New Zealand here we come...

So the count down is on- quick trip to New Zealand soon! We are trying so hard not to get too excited... it's not working!

I'm already dreaming of chocolate, seafood and pastries.

Here is Hot Water Beach, where we will spend one week doing nothing but relaxing on the beach.

And here are the hot pools that you dig in the sand- hot water springs under heat the water.

The view from our beach cottage.

and Matt just bought rugby tickets for a match down there.

Should be great!

Disneyland!

Between Matt's business trips we took a much needed trip to Disneyland. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Deacon has love at first sight! Our little Toys Story boy finds Woody.

A true pirate at heart.

The speed demons, on the slowest bumper car ride of all time!

All worn out... what a cute thing!

Another great trip to Disneyland!!!

Life at home with the kiddos...

So, I decided that this video is a very good look at what life feels like without daddy. Upside down!

We spent the time a lot of time running back and forth to Deacon's school, McKinnon's preschool, and doctors appointments as we approached Deacon's 3rd birthday. Deacon graduated

from Early Intervention in May and moved up into the Special Needs Preschool run by the school district. Let me tell you- putting your 3 year old on the bus the first time... a bit nerve racking. Here are some pictures of Deacon's last day in his E.I. class:

Here he is at music time- his favorites? 5 Little Monkeys Swing in a Tree, and Baby Fish.

And here is Deacon and his favorite teacher: Mickel

We decided to celebrate Deacon's 3rd birthday a few days early so that daddy would be there, so we went to the place that we thought Deacon would enjoy the most (in Utah, at least)- Chuck E Cheese. All the games, and lights, and music- plus fries! Needless to say, he had a good time, despite the pained look on his face:

McKinnon has had a busy few months too. Not only have his reading skills grown in leaps and bounds, he has also discovered drawing and writing is not so bad. He is getting so excited about going to Kindergarten, and graduated from pre-school at the end of May (although now he is missing it so badly he keeps telling us he doesn't want to graduate any more!) True to form, McKinnon was a character during pre-school graduation- what a goon!

And Lily? She has been growing, and growing, and growing. Not long before I had her I was telling someone that I don't have really chubby babies. I should have added a ... "yet" in there. One of my neighbors swears Lily puts on another pound every time she sees her. What can I say? I must be feeding her straight cream! She is as cute as a button! And what a smile!

Matt and I can hardly believe that we are going to celebrate 8 years of marriage next week. Where did the time go? I guess it is true- time flies when you're having fun!

It's been a while...

It seems lately that we have had everybody telling us how long it has been since we updated our blog. We know... we're sorry. It has been a busy 4 months. Matt spent these months running back and forth to Baltimore for work every two weeks for 2 weeks at a time, so as you can imagine life got a little out of sorts. But now his big project is done, so we will post and try to catch up.

First, Baltimore:

Matt had very little time to sight-see, but when he did he totally enjoyed himself. Here he is at Fort McHenry. Most of the time they had to fit a quick trip in a few hours on the weekend, and so he and a

group of the guys he worked with tired to get some of the places they really wanted to see visited. Matt really enjoyed seeing Fort McHenry- full of history and lots of things to learn. He also enjoyed that his cousin's husband, Vince, was along on this trip.

Of course, being so close to DC Matt tried to get into the city when he could and spend time with my brother, Jay, and his family as well as my sister, Crystal. He was lucky enough to get to see the Japanese Cherry Blossoms in bloom- it was crowded, but amazing.

And then of course he had to see the DC sites

As for me and the kids?

You'll have to check out my next post to see what we've been up to !

25 Random Things About Me

I did this for Facebook, but I thought I would post it here, too:


1. I think “random” stopped being cool or funny around 1996 but I'll give this a go anyway.
2. I once took a trip to Disneyland in 40 hours without a hotel room (10 hours to drive down, 3 hours trying to sleep in a minivan, 16 hours in the park and 12 hours back home (you drive slower when you are tired)).
3. I got second place in the 6th grade Spelling Bee, the Pinewood Derby, the Academic Games and the Physics Bridge Building contest.
4. Of the gang I regularly hang out with, I met two of them in Elementary School and most of the rest of them in Junior High.
5. I have a scar on my hand from when I tripped and went to break my fall and landed on a knife in the dishwasher. Now I put all utensils in handles up.
6. My favorite chore is the dishes. I try to do them every night. I have a system and I think that it is the chore that you get the biggest impact out of least amount of work.
7. I asked Tina (my wife) out three times before she said yes.
8. I haven't been to the doctor in 6 years.
9. Six years ago, I had a herniated disc. I've thrown my back out a few times since and I've had mild to moderate back pain for the last few months. So, don't ask me to lift anything heavy.
10. I've never broken a bone.
11. I've lost 15 pounds so far this year.
12. I'm not supposed to tell people what I do at work. You're probably thinking I'm a Jack Bauer-type secret agent, but I mostly sit at a desk and write boring software.
13. I own 2 Kias and I'm proud of it.
14. I was the Mission Secretary for 13 months of my mission.
15. I don't really request friends on Facebook (especially women), but I'll accept any invites I get. Except for that girl that went to my High School who I have no idea who she is (sorry if we were best friends and I just forgot about you) and two teenage girls.
16. I miss Steve and Barrys. A month before the Salt Lake store closed, I bought 20 items of clothing for $160.
17. I don't have cable or satellite TV. I don't own a gaming system. I don't have an iPhone. My iPod is a shuffle. My cell phone is pay-as-you-go. I don't have an HDTV.
18. I think Psych is by far the best show on TV right now.
19. I'm a big fan of Weezer and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
20. I used to like pro-wrestling. I was a big fan in the Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior/Andre the Giant days and the Stone Cold/Rock/Mick Foley days. Not so much nowadays.
21. I realized a while ago that unbuttoning your top two buttons is now in style, but it's not going to work for me.
22. I'm addicted to Saturday NPR. It just doesn't feel like Saturday without a little Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, American Routes or This American Life.
23. I will not talk to anyone before breakfast. I'm very grumpy in the morning and it takes a bowl of cereal to get me normal.
24. Tina is originally from New Zealand and her parents live there. We have been back three times and are going again this summer. I think its the best place to take a 3-week vacation.
25. I have 3 beautiful kids. McKinnon (4) who is a comedian, musician and scholar; Deacon(2), who is a little Tigger who doesn't talk yet, but sure lets you know what he wants; and Lily(2 months), our happy little princess.

Matt's New Year's Resolutions

1. Lose 20 pounds. OK. So, I'm sure this is on most people's New Year's list, but I'm really going to do it. I probably ought to lose 30 or 40, but I'm going to be realistic. I was 20 pounds lighter not so long ago, so I know I can do it. Here's how: I got a treadmill for Christmas (Thanks, Santa!) so I can run in the winter (I had a not-so-fun slip on the ice last winter). I'm going to run at least 10 miles a week. I can run 2 miles a day and have Saturdays off or make up whatever I've missed on Saturday. I'm also going to start the South Beach Diet. I've been on it before and it's not so tough (at least after the first two weeks) and it's very effective, but I just need to stick with it until I've lost the 20 pounds. We also got a digital scale for Christmas, so I will record my weight at the end of each day hopefully getting me motivated to keep working.

2. Run a half-marathon. 2 years ago, I ran my first 5k. Last year, I ran my first 10k. This year I will run the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 18th. I'll train using a running schedule for the 9 weeks prior to the run. The only problem with this is it is going to be twice as hard to go from a 10k to a half marathon as it was to go from a 5k to a 10k.

Aaron, Katy, Dan, Me and McKinnon after the 2006 SLC 5k.

3. Read more. So, outside of church reading, I read 2 comic books and 2 chapters out of The Physics of Superheroes in 2008. How pathetic! So I'm going to finish The Physics of Superheroes (and give it back to Curt) and read "Ender's Game" because people have recommended it to me. I'll try to do this earlier on in the year so I can find another good book (Sorry, Tina, I won't read Twilight).

So, those are the big three this year. I've got a few other things I want to do, but if I can do these three, I'll be happy.