Getting Ready for the Iditarod

We have officially renamed Kam to Balto. He was born to pull a sled. We put the pull harness we got for Kam for Christmas on him tonight for a trial run. He did pretty good. It will take some training and maybe a half dozen more dogs before we have full team. Enjoy the clip below.

Kam wearing his new pull harness he got for Christmas.

Davenport Christmas 2010

The Davenport Christmas was awesome this year. We spent Christmas Eve with the Millers. We did the usual re-enactment of the nativity starting in Ezekiel and then we played a few games, and the kids opened their new pajamas. We went back home that night so Santa could come to our house. Christmas morning is always great! This year the girls slept in so we started after 7am, unlike the 5:30am in years past. Of note, Ashley got a sewing machine, Megan got a bike and AMG stuff, Kaitlyn got a bike and AMG stuff, and Britney got a Mickey Mouse set and a baby doll, and two husky stuffed animals (which she calls her boys). Tara got boots, clothes, Kindle, and two sausages. Dave got Call of Duty-Black Ops (he's excited to serve his country in the game) and an iPad which stopped the girls from playing with their toys and they lined up to play the iPad instantly. We also found out that Dave's Mom and Dad aren't going on a mission yet, and instead are sending us to a night at Outback Steakhouse. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Ice Skating on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we spend the afternoon with Tara's family ice skating in Provo at the Olympic rink down there. We were going to leave Britney with Grandma, but decided to put on her some tiny blades of glory. They had these old lady walkers for the ice. Britney could barely do it, but Kaitlyn flew around the rink like an insane senior citizen midget. We had a fun time and tons of bruises. I didn't fall (I've got some skills), but the kids ate ice all afternoon (no blood fortunately).

Poo Yoos

Rosabelle Jo loves the Poo Yoos game on the Wii. So now Britney and Kaitlyn love it. It's crack for kids under 4 years old and it only costs five bucks. Here's a video:

Duet Piano Recital 2010

Our AZ Thanksgiving

We drove down to Phoenix this year for Thanksgiving. It was fun. I left the house twice. Drew's house is like a resort, big back yard, nice pool and hot tub, half a dozen huge palm trees, outdoor sound system, a gas firepit, and a desert tortoise. Really he has all that anyone could ever need in a home and yard. Mom and Dad met us there as well as Di and Gordon, and of course Denton and Krystee live there as well. We were nervous about the drive down, just after a storm, but it wasn't bad. Coming home on the other hand was BAD. Huge, icy storm slowed us down. We were going 3 miles an hour through Cedar City. Tara said as we drove through Cedar City and I quote, "At three miles an hour that will take us like 10 hours to get home!" At three miles an hour it would take ten hours to get to the next exit. We were being passed on the freeway by Mormom pioneers in handcarts. Needless to say it took a long time to get home.

* * *

Did I mention that we took Kam with us? Yes, Kam came with us and he did awesome. I would take 15 huskies in a car with me over the wife and kids. Way less complaining, less bathroom stops, less movie requests, he didn't make a peep. We had to leash him in Drew's yard so he would eat the tortoise or his furniture. Kam did eat a pair a Sam's socks which he pooped out the next day. It's Kam's way of flushing out his system. Most of the pics are of us swimming at Drew's house, which we did at a minimum of twice a day. We had fun. The first pic is of Britney falling asleep at Thanksgiving dinner. We have a short clip of her chewing and sleeping at the same time.

Ashley Reaches Double Digits

Happy Birthday Ashley! Like all of our kids, Ashley had multiple birthday parties. Ashley celebrated her real birthday on the boring drive back from Phoenix after Thanksgiving. Ashley is 10 years old. She is a great student, sister, daughter, soccer player, piano player, and the list goes on. She doesn't need glasses, but wanted some for her birthday. Now Ashley and her American Girl doll match.

Before and After

This is Bryan BEFORE.

This is Bryan AFTER I told him a few legitimate stats:

- Utah will never win a National Championship! (Maybe gymnastics)

- 64% of Ute fans shart themselves. 85% of the players do too.

- 42% of Ute fans smell like boiled cabbage.

- The other 58% of Ute fans are nearly as smart as cabbages.

- 92% of Ute fans consider themselves classy.

- 100% of Utah students that are part of the MUSS applied to BYU first!

Another Davenport FHE

We require reverence at FHE for the lesson. As a reward for being reverent, we let them be somewhat irreverent. Enjoy!

Trying to Sleep While Tara is Away

I let Ashley and Megan go to sleep in my bed while Tara was on her girls' trip. I intended to sleep in my bed with them, until I went upstairs and found no available space to lay. I think that those are all of Ashley and Megan's stuffed animals combined.

Kaitlyn Discovers Other Things That Suck About Dog Ownership

The Miraculous Return of the Sock, Twice

This week has been an interesting week for us as dog owners. We've tried to teach the girls that they shouldn't leave anything in the back yard that is not a chew toy. Kam chews and pretty much eats anything. Earlier in the week Tara saw something in Kam's mouth that looked like a white, tube sock. She went over to get it out of his mouth and he hurried and swallowed it. Two days ago, Megan was outside and picked up a similar tube sock that was no longer white, more of a chocolaty, earthy tone.

She held it up and said, "Look guys, I found a sock." I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I realized that Megan was holding the steaming sock that Kam just unloaded. Kam also saw the sock she was holding and ran up behind Megan, jumped and pulled the once digested sock from her hand. I tried to run and grab it, but Kam sucked that thing down like it was a meaty bratwurst. Maybe his digestion track would finally breakdown the sock this time.

This morning Megan looked on the back porch and said, "Hey guys, there's that sock I found." The poop sock has once again magically appeared on the porch in the form of a large tootsie roll. We told Megan not to use her bare hand to pick it up this time. She's still trying to figure out how a dog poops out a sock in such a neatly rolled loaf. Tara is still trying to figure out if bleach and stain remover will save the sock. I told her to give the Kam the other sock to eat so at least the colors match. (Side Note: we now use the "poop sock" picture as our background on the computer. Mostly to remind us of the miraculous power of the intestinal tract.)

Another Halloween

We had a lot of Halloween ("Dia de los Muertos" for you illegals that follow my blog) activities this year as usual. Multiple school Halloween parties, the Witches at Gardner Village, the Pumpkin Patch, YM activity, Halloween in the neighborhood, and the Miller Halloween party. We had a fun time.

The Pumpkin Patch

The Witches at Gardner Village

Grandma Shirley and the girls

Minnie Mouse, but she said Mickey Mouse most of the evening

Yoda was very popular at the Miller family party

Maize Maze

Fall Soccer

The fall soccer season is over. No more practice or games until spring. Megan played on her first all girl soccer team this year. Her accomplishments: She almost scored a goal. She was also more agressive than she was last year, so she may be more motivated to get the ball. I was her coach this season which was fun.

Ashley played on her same team again. She scored a goal this year which she was excited about. She did much better than past years. Her goal is the spring is for a "hat trick."

Ashley steals the ball from opponent!