24th of July Parade

Malachi hiding from the fire trucks coming - not sure if this is a good thing.

Julianna wanted to join her mom in the parade.

Isaiah showing us that he was all out of candy - he loved the celebrity.

Waiting in anticipation.

You may not know this but just about every town in Utah has either a 4th of July celebration or a 24th of July celebration (or one on the anniversary of when the town was founded). Logan does the 24th. It takes me back to my youth in Tustin when we would have Tustin Tiller's Day. Only the most important holiday of the year for a Tustinite, wherein we recognize the ways of a Tiller by having a three day celebration complete with a parade and a carnival with fun rides and teriyaki beef on a stick for an unreasonable price.

Now don't get me wrong the beef on the stick was good, but the hi-light for us kids was the parade, particularly the candy thrown out at the parade. This was my favorite part risking my life to get some cheap taffy, but unfortunately this practice ended with the California Reversal of Fun and Freedom in the Name of Safety Act of '97.

Fortunately for us, Logan is not nearly so progressive. So, let the candy gathering commence. Shelly is the Cub Scout master in our ward over Isaiah, and they were both in the parade. Isaiah in particular enjoyed throwing out candy and was out before the half way point. Malachi and Julianna weren't sure what to expect, but fortunately for them their daddy's loud mouth was able to get the attention of every candy thrower and coupon giver that came by. They soon decided a parade was a good thing. Now where's those beef sticks?

A Star is Born

Did you feel it? Surely you noticed a slight change to your life. That's right, you are now related (or at the very least friends with) someone who is currently a star. It wasn't enough to be related to someone who has been on Family Feud, no it needed to be more. The story goes like this.

A friend of ours in our ward is the head of marketing for the Utah Festival Opera Company. Right away, she could see talent. She asked to us to be in the audience for some opera commercials they were making and in return we would get discount tickets for a production. When the kids' dad failed to show she chose me to play that role (the fact that I was the only male there under 60 helped cinch the deal).

So I willingly stood in. Perhaps on first glance you might say I am just sitting there with very little acting present. But as the great Gloria Swanson said, "We didn't need words, we had faces." Yes in my face you can see the years I have put in as a dedicated father, drying my children's tears, exulting in their joys and ignoring their comments when I'm trying to watch something. This link will take you to the first video and here is the other:

Video #2

Initially it was just going to be my arm in the shot, but I guess they couldn't resist putting the rest of me in or at least my chin. The commercial is playing locally - though they say it is channel 8, which is Telemundo for us. Oh well it was fun to do and got us from free tickets out of the enterprise. Enjoy!

Church On Time

"Look mom I can get myself ready"

Shelly and I have a history of - brace yourselves - not being the most on time people. But in our defense, over the years we've gotten better, with a great deal of effort (we start earlier than we think we should, if that makes sense). I don't know about any of you, but for some unique reason known only to Satan, church in particular has always been a struggle. Fortunately for us our ward has found a unique cure for getting us there on time. They start on time! Not five minutes after, not three but on the dot. Secondly, if you don't get there early you don't get a seat. I'm talking front row is full, you'll just have to come in after sacrament to take the deacons spot full. So we've been motivated.

In addition to Shelly and I's own tardiness issues, we have three other excuses (two really) for being late. Ah, so here it was everything was coming together, I was in the zone - all the kids were ready ten minutes before we had to leave - clean faces, church clothes on, lunch eaten, my pants were on - all the essentials. We send the kids ahead to get in the car while we grabbed the last items for the church bag, we walk out knowing what a great LDS family we are and.... where's Malachi?

After looking around a bit, we find our precious boy 25 feet up the pine tree in our backyard. The same tree he has the ability to go up on his own, but cannot come down from. Now I am not a tree climber - but fortunately for me I'm married to one. At this point Shelly has to change out of her church clothes, climb up that insipid tree and slowly bring him down, just in time ... to ... be ... late. Ahh! This never seems to happen before going to the park.

Now it would be nice if this was the only time, but alas it is not to be. There was the time when Julianna walked out to the car with both shoes on, only to encounter a shoe eating portal invisible to the human eye. Then there was the time when Malachi all dressed in his church clothes on his way to the car, should stop by for a quick dip in the kiddy pool. Not to mention when the two joined forces to wander off down the street.

Nevertheless at times we do make it, with time to spare, shoes and pants on and smiles on our faces. However, I understand there's always the Spanish branch.

Happy Fourth

If there's a river, my kids want to go in it.

I think she thinks she's hiding here.

Isaiah helping us cook.

This gives you a small idea of what it looks like.

Wow what a fourth. To start off, it was only in the 80's - which is interesting since it was hi 90's up until then. We were going to go my Aunt Laura's, but we had already gone to Salt Lake earlier in the week and I didn't feel like going up again. As my family continues to develop its own identity there seems to be less of a need to do things with extended family.

We set out to have a great day, and we did everything on our list (except the house cleaning). In the morning we went up Blacksmith Fork Canyon and had scones by the river, followed by a little hike. Last summer we would go up Logan Canyon, but since discovering this canyon this spring, we've decided we like it much better. It is much more picturesque, and has better picnic spots. We look forward to taking other friends and family there as they come up.

On Isaiah's suggestion, we later had a water fight with water balloons and squirt guns. Then we went to see "How to Train Your Dragon" - an excellent movie that I would recommend to anyone. And then of course finished the day with fireworks. Oh and I washed the car.

Sunset on Logan River

Logan River is a favorite spot of ours. Particularly during the summer, where the river and the canopy of trees keep things cooler. We did this walk with Grandpa and Grandma King, and my 22 yr old nephew, Christian. The golden sunlight contributed to some nice photos.