Vicarious Pain

I arrived on the scene seconds after it happened. Maggie was in tears. I did a quick sweep of the surroundings and discovered a rubber band laying at her feet. Like a CSI agent I came to a reasonable and cleaver story for her current state. Aha! While playing with the rubber band she snapped herself. I figured she wasn't in any real pain but had just made a painful discovery. So I picked up the rubber band and snapped my finger to show her some pain is just a part of life. To my surprise greater tears weld up in her eyes. I guess this was vicarious pain she was feeling. A few hours later I repeated the experiment for my sister and sure enough it produced an immediate and powerful tearful response. I thought that was pretty amazing and cruel on my part but I just couldn't believe it. Wow! It was a marvelous reminder of the trust God gives parents. I really hope I use it wisely.

the day after the experiment

She still loves her cruel Dad.

Grandpa's cowboy hat

Maggie's big blue tears

three of the worst days...

Oops, did I say that out loud... I meant best days. Maggie and I were subject to three days of shopping and one baby shower. It was more fun than the pictures make it look.

lots of baby girl clothes.

the group

Angie's girl

Mom's life long friends, Sylvia, Charlene

nose picker fun

baby quilters Wendy & Rosalin

Ingrid, Claudia, Catrina

Easter

I asked Sara if I was suppose to get her something for Easter and she said, "No?" But this weekend when I asked my Mom and Sister the same question and they said, "YES!" Of course I knew that. I guess next Easter I will be a good husband and get Sara something. This year she spent her See's Candy gift card on me and put together a cute little Easter basket for Maggie and for us. It was a pleasant day, not much to say about it. We fell asleep watching General Conference. It didn't really feel like Easter without the family around, but it was nice to have a simple, ham, potatoes and asparagus dinner! Maggie dispense with the Pez and went right in for the candy.

Easter Morning

Tenaja Falls - Cleveland National Forest

So I strapped Maggie on my back and we were off... our longest hike yet, 7.5 miles. I thought it would all be downhill but the last few miles were excruciating uphill. I wanted to take Maggie through the Zion Narrows (16-miles) this summer, but now I think she will be staying behind.

The group minus photographer

Trailhead karate

vegetation (Chaparral Yucca)

wild flowers (blue dicks)

Alcove

blue-bellied lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

Tenaja Falls

Maggie relaxing at the top

Taylor carries Maggie down:)

Relaxing at the pool with a little barbie

PS. Here is a great website to find native plants http://www.calflora.org. The Observation Library is an amazing tool. Our hike was in Deluz Creek water shed.

Michelle & Tod are having...

Michelle had her doctor write the sex of their baby in an envelope and then she patiently waited a month for us to arrive. We all placed our bets... boy or girl. She had a cake made for the event. We all gathered around... while they opened the box... wallah!!

PAIGE AND SEVENTY-THREE OTHER P WORDS

If you want to demolish Paige in Boggle, here are some three letter words you should commit to memory:

PAC PAD PAH PAL PAM PAN PAP PAR PAS PAT PAV PAW PAX PAY PEA PEC PED PEE PEG PEH PEN PEP PER PES PET PEW PHI PHO PHT PIA PIC PIE PIG PIN PIP PIR PIS PIT PIU PIX PLU PLY POA POD POH POI POL POM POO POP POS POT POW POX POZ PRE PRO PRY PSI PUB PUG PUH PUL PUN PUP PUR PUS PUT PUY PYA PYE PYX

We are a few weeks behind... but better late than never! So here is the celebration with Paige and Dad. We had a fun visit. We actually played games... which we never do... but Paige's skills in Boggle proved fatal. I just want her to know I am practicing my boggle skills.

bow = 1 point

phone peh pho poh hone one hep hen hoe hon hop hope nope = 14 points

stare are tare tar rate sat sae sea tae tas tes ras rat rate = 15 points

hand and dan dah nah = 5 Points

green gee nee ree ern = 5 points

paper pap rae par per pep rap rape rep= 10 points

wild lid = 2 points

burn urn bun run nub rub urb = 7 points

cake kae ake ace = 4 points

red = 1 point

the human drama

Doctor Vu

Sara and I went hiking after Maggie's one year check-up and vaccination. She weighed in at 25lbs 8ounces and measured 38" long. It was a gorgeous day. Maggie and I showed Sara all the cool places we have been exploring.

Security Breach

Life will never be the same. Today I woke up to my ordinary life being followed by Maggie. Shortly after walking out of her room she accidentally shut the door. I waited for her to start crying... but instead there was silence... then suddenly I heard an unfamiliar sound... I saw the knob wiggling and within a few seconds the door swings open. Maggie walks out. There is no turning back and life has changed without even a warning label or anything. My little girl is now super mobile.

Shout-Out

Taya just celebrated her 17th Birthday! She loves to tease me about my age but with every passing year we grow closer in age. Yes, I calculated it out and in three years Taya will be half my age. Every passing year means we are growing closer in age. When I turn a hundred she will be eighty years old... ya, think about that!

Anyway, we love it when she visits. Taya is super optimistic. Since she was young, she has been cooking and helping around the house. She is genuinely kind to others and makes friends quickly. I can't believe some of the things we did when she was young. Most of them relate to camping. It seems like she was always hiking long distances with me, camping under the stars without a tent, sometimes hiking through the night. Once we swam across a glacier lake in Glacier National Park, that was her idea! Anyway, I have a million fabulous memories with her.

Taya didn't start growing hair until she was almost four... Maggie seems to have the same peach fuss cut. Hopefully when Maggie's hair comes in, it will be curly also, and I will never learn how to do girls hair. Anyway, we just wanted to send her a shout-out and happy birthday wishes!

Bibliophile

Did I tell you how much Maggie loves to thumb through books. It doesn't matter if they are picture books, magazines or dictionaries, she just loves to turn pages. She doesn't have the patience to be read the words either, she just wants to get to the next page. When she gets to the back cover she thumbs backwards to the beginning again and again, back and forth. Sometimes she will pretend like she is reading the words as she flips the pages. The sight of it brings laughter tears!

Sara thinks I am crazy but every morning I put Maggie on her potty for a few minutes and hand her a book to flip through. She will sit there contently with her book in hand for five to ten minutes. It works to because every morning since we have been doing this she has been tinkling in the potty. It is a funny thing, the things you get excited about as a parent.