Ward Halloween Party

On 10/24, we had a Ward Halloween Party that was a lot of fun. It was also a chili cook off and I love chili. Our favorite part of the Halloween party is the Trunk or Treat portion of the activity. The kids have a lot of fun in a very safe candy-grabbing environment. However, it also begins the great candy pile up in our house.

We had a fantastic time and this year there were crafts and pumpkin bowling. Those were new this year and I think they were great additions.

Enjoy some pictures from before and during the event.

Just Some Good Ole Boys

It does not happen very often...but when it does - it is always something to be remembered. A few weeks ago the "guys" got together for a traditional "guy night". Good old fashioned BBQ'd tri-tip and lots of video games. I am not a big gamer myself but we like to get together and play Rockband once and a while. Thanks, Chris, for putting your house up for this rockin' party and all those who cooked something nice.

Things I learned:

1. Trent's dislike for Transformers 2 (on most points I am right there with him).
2. I thought I knew the words to Van Halen's "Panama" and I really didn't. But, as I was singing them I think I was realizing they are not good at all.
3. Matt has a great recipe for baked beans.
4. Matt really likes the song White Wedding.
5. Chris BBQ's a nice tri tip.
6. Tim likes to avoid having to sing on all the games.

All in all, it was a great night. Enjoy some pictures and maybe a video (I will have to add the video later - April has saved it somewhere I can't find it anymore).

For April

I hope you enjoy this. I have been meaning to make it for awhile. The song is Say by John Mayer.

My Little Lauren is 2!

Two years ago our biggest baby was born. She weighed in at 10 pounds and 5 ounces! She looked like her shoulders had pads on them and her head was huge. I was very scared that those features may stay with her. However, it was not long before she shrunk down to an appropriate size. She is a cute little dainty girl.

She has taught us so much. Most of our children have been pretty quiet and obedient. Lauren has so much spirit it is hard to contain her sometimes. She knows what she wants and I think she has inherited my stubborness.

She is also hilarious. She loves to tease her older brothers and sisters. Last night the kids were all putting on some new pajamas. Logan was the last one to get dressed and he couldn't find his bottoms. We looked at Lauren and she was trying to put them on over her pajama dress. When she saw Logan was interested in getting them back. She ran away from him behind a table and Logan was really having a hard time catching her. She is sneaky.

She still loves to rummage through the garbage to see if there is anything she wants to play with or eat. She is definitely one of those kids that when you don't hear them - they are up to no good.

She still loves to cuddle and definitely makes it known that mommy and daddy's laps our reserved for her if she decides she wants to sit on them.

Happy birthday my little girl! Here are some recent pics:

Jackson Ralph

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think that is why I have not posted in a million years. So much has happened in the time since I posted last but I would definitely say the highlight was throwing up and being glued to the toilet all Christmas Eve day and night. Memories. Just kidding, of course. On January 8th my second son was born. It was a fun-filled day of waiting in the hospital, watching my wife in extreme pain, and not have the epidural work as it should. Again, just kidding. Those things did happen and it was a fun-filled day but the main shining moment was meeting Jackson Ralph. He weighed 9 pounds and 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. That may seem pretty big but my wife was happy that he didn't come close to our last daughter was almost 10 and 1/2 pounds.

All of our kids names have personal meanings (as most kids around the world) to April and I. It has always been a way of keeping our family always in our hearts. Most of te name are after family in one way or another.

So, why Jackson? Jackson is a name we had in our minds from the time we knew we were having twins. Then, we found out we were having girl twins and the name went on hold for awhile. We all rejoiced when we found out we were having a boy. April had a Grandpa Jack that she remembers well and was very fond of. She especially remembers his kindness towards her. Jackson was an easy extension of Jack and we liked it, We do plan on calling him Jackson instead of Jack though. The kids have thought of some good nicknames already. Haylie calls him Jacksie. It sounds very cute coming from her.

Well, why Ralph? The name may seem extremely outdated and old fashioned. It may seem another name for throwing up, but Ralph was my Grandpa Baird. Growing up without a father in the home, my Grandpa was the one who I would help in the yard. He was the one that helped me build my pinewood derby cars for cub scouts (I did win first place once!!). He conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on me as a 12 year old. I remember that has hands always shook. It was hard for him to do things like write and give blessings, but always appreciated that he still made that ordination.

I vividly remember my Grandpa bearing his testimony around his birthday every year. He would say how much he loved his family and that they were active in the gospel. He would also bear a strong testimony of the latter-day prophets. I didn't doubt that he knew the church was true.

When I was 14 years old I was assigned to be his home teaching companion. He was extremely faithful in that calling and I enjoyed getting to know the people we home taught. I gained an even greater appreciation for the elderly and how they enrich the world we live in. I am sad to see so many pass on. The next generation of elderly sees the world in a different light. Anyway, I learned the importance of every one in the church watching out for each other.




I could go on and on with memories of my Grandpa and stories he has told me. I am so happy that my oldest two children remember him well. He passed away on December 20, 2007. I feel he has left a rich legacy of faithful service in the church and I feel a desire to be like him and have my children know what a great man he was.

So, that is where Ralph comes from. Watch out world! We're bringing Ralph back!!

One of My Favorites

I thought I would share one of my favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon. I have been thinking about it a lot recently. This scripture is spoken by Jesus Christ when he visited the American continent shortly after his resurrection. He taught the people of the Americas many of the same teachings He taught in Jerusalem. In 3 Nephi 13:33, He says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things shall be added unto you."

I think we usually have this backwards in our lives. Many times, we want to get the things we feel will give us happiness and pleasure in life before we seek after the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We feel we will be much better people of faith after we are not worrying about earning enough money or the fun things we could do instead. So, we tend to put those things first. It needs to be the other way around.

We should seek God first. That should be every day. Then, we don't have to rely on ourselves to try and do everything. God will add it unto us if we have chosen to put him first. This is the question I always ask myself. If I believe this scripture to be true (which I do), why would I not put the seeking of the kingdom of God first in my life? Am I afraid? Is it just easier to put whatever I feel like doing first instead of what God may want me to? I think that may be it.

I believe that as I do what this scripture says, I will have everything else added unto me. I may not know exactly what that everything else is, but I know that God has a better understanding of what I truly need in life than I do and he will bless me with it as I put him first.

Twilight Sickness

If you are reading this you may have the same problem I do. I will keep this brief because I don't want to get started too bad. My lovely wife LOVES the Twilight series. I don't think love is even close enough to describe the passionate feelings she has towards the series. Before the fourth book came out, she read all of the books twice in about a week. I have told her she can tell me about them if she wants because I have stacks books I want to read before I would ever crack the cover of the love story between Edward and Bella. So, I know a little about the story.

I like to see my wife just be sucked into these books. I would get a good chuckle every now and then when I could tell she was picking up the book to read as quick as possible as soon as I left the room. This happened a lot. She would also try her hardest to try and listen to my day while she has the book clutched in her hand. I knew how bad she wanyed to just tell me to go to the store so she could finish the next chapter. I found all of this amusing. I had never seen my wife so goo goo over a book before.

I still had a Twilight free Oasis - my work. No matter how Twilight intense home was, I could always plan on escaping it a little at work where overhearing make up conversations seemed like a blessing as long as the words vampire, werewolf, or Volteri were not mentioned or the names Bella, Edward, or Jacob. It was a good balance.

Then, I made a HUGE mistake. My wife had just finished the last book and I was looking forward to a little reprieve from the series. I started recommending the book to some of the girls at work. A few of them read and I thought they would enjoy it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It spread faster than a wildfire in the seventh year of drought. I started hearing the names and the words. I started seeing the books on everyone's desk. I could tell who was reading the books by the dark circles under their eyes. Mainly, they would stare at the computer screen and dream about Edward all day. There was no escape. Home or work - I was trapped.

We have about 26 employees. 2 males and 24 females. 11 of the 24 female employees are reading the books. All of them. I think I may sue Stephanie Meyer for lack of productivity at my workplace due to her books (I am, of course, kidding). I would be lying if I said the books do not have an addictive quality among all who read them. Women seem to forget all other responsibilities and the world around them while they read these books. As an outsider watching all of these people read the books, I don't know whether to laugh because it is quite comical to watch or call for help for these people because their brains seem to fall out of their heads when they start reading the words.

I had to write about this because my therapist said so. Just kidding. I just think it is entertaining more than anything. Before you respond with hate mail (all two people who read my blog - avid Twilight readers), I have no problem with it. I do find it quite amusing though. Maybe some day I will read them.......or, not.

Disclaimer: I purposefully left out many funny events that have taken place in relation to Twilight reading consuming life from home and work. I would not want to point anyone out particularly and possibly embarass someone. Also, my wife approved this blog posting. I love you, Honey.