The last six months...

It's official...I wish the last 6 months were officially stricken from my memory. I remain in a complete and total funk. Even Mel said "you're not the same guy I married". Not exactly what you want to hear from your wife. And Abby said "maybe when we move into the yellow house Dad will feel better". I try to put on a good face, but the stress of my job, the uncertainty of the move, the shear feeling of being displaced has taken it's toll. But it's not just that, it's everything. From day 1 of this move I've really struggled and feel like forces have conspired against me. It's been one tired event after another. Which is pretty much where I left my last entry - undecided about whether this was a great move or a terrible disaster.

By the way, I think part of it is the weather. Even that has been more disappointing than I would expect. Even the fact that we went to Scottsdale in Feb to escape the dreary weather and ended up with...dreary weather. Cold, wet, hailing weather. Sound familiar? Yeah, I travelled all the way to Arizona, blew some vacation days for what...nada.

Mel and the girls are back in Utah, hopefully enjoying some of the time with Gigi and enjoying home for one of the last times for a while. Like most things, I know we glamorize K-ville. At the time it wasn't the most amazing place in the world. But like most things, I think we took the peace, comfort, and happiness for granted. And now we're here.

So like I said, I wish the last six months were a distant memory. Not that they hadn't happened, but more like I had perspective of a couple years from now so the disfficulty weren't so fresh.

And the last thing...I know my life is actually perfect and splendid and that many people would trade me in a blink. I get that. But sometimes I want to complain, sometimes I want to vent, and sometimes I feel slighted. It's probably not true, but it is what it is.

Half empty, half full...

Half empty
The move to WA has been a terrible mistake, and has been frought with challenges along the way:

1. The job challenges
2. The car
3. The cough
4. The boss
5. The house
6. The rental
7. The weather

Half full
The move is one of the best things that has ever happend to us for the following reasons:

1. The job opportunties
2. Stability
3. The house
4. The neighborhood

It's sort of funny, but...

The kids have their own personalities that they were absolutely born with. It's more readily apparent because 1) they are so different, and 2) we have basically raised them the same. Case in point.

Maddie burps, farts, talks about poop...in general, she's kind of gross. She will burp in your face and try to make herself burp. She seems to think it's funny - which it is to a point. But she's not seen any of us in any way do that kind of stuff. Meanwhile, Abby is more gentle and less gross. Not only does she always say excuse me, but she's never really done that in general.

Just kind of funny that's all.

Maddie

Mel shared with me a cute little story about Maddie today. She asked her if she wanted to go to the library. She said, "Eat my breakfast, check. Fix my hair, check. Go to the library, check" while counting on her fingers.

So cute and so like Maddie. Little doll.

One more...

On a roll tonight...I love Robots, and found an artist who does custom Robot art for charity. You give him three words, he creates an original work. I said "Retro, red, B-Movie" and this is what he did for me. Awesome!

Stories for the girls...

The girls really love when I tell them stories...they ask for a new story every night which becomes a challenge for the following reasons:

1. I'm not creative enough to come up with a new story every night.

2. I don't have a good enough memory to remember stories from when I was a kid.

But I have created two interesting characters that they love.

The first is Archibald, the Littlest Knight. The idea here is that Archibald is a knight in a kingdom of a really righteous, kind King. The King loves Archibald and when problems arise - such as an Ogre attacking a village, rescuing his daughter from pirates, stopping a cyclops who is causing havok cause he lost his contact - the King sends Archibald. He has an entire army of other Knights - bigger, stronger, more egotistic. But he always send Archibald when it matters because he has a "Heart of Gold". Archibald rides his faithful steed Bill (with acknowledgements to Tolkien) and solves problems not by might, but by being creative, by listening, and through kindness. He never attacks or fights his way out of a problem. And inevitabley by doing this he makes a new friend that comes to his rescue in another story. So it's fun like that.

The second story is about JuJu the Dragon. I told the girls about JuJu a couple of weeks ago and they couldn't stop laughing. They liked it so much, and it was so fun to tell it to them that I'm hiring an artist to help draw a series of pictures of JuJu and I think I might try and print it for the girls (maybe self-publish?). The artist that I liked the most sent me a couple of samples which I really liked (see above). If it turns out nicely, I'd like to maybe give out copies to my nieces and nephews, friends and family, to see if others like it.

What I miss about Utah...

In about a month we're returning to Utah to move our stuff and close on the selling of our home. While that is good news in some ways, it's sad to think that Utah will not be home for us. I love it there, really. Over the last 12 years we built a good, stable, easy life that has been absolutely perfect. Our home was just right for us...not too big, not too small. Just right. When I think about walking in the door from work, it's like how I think Heaven will be. A sweet, loving place that has all of the people you love there. It's safety. It's happiness. It's home. And I really really miss it.

On a lighter note, I also miss:

1. Donuts - Let's get real for a minute. I don't drink, smoke, drink coffee, cheat. I don't abuse my wife or kids, try to treat others with respect, and work hard for an honest day's wage. I go to Church every week and try to be a good guy. But I like treats, and top on that treat chart are donuts. And I've not been able to find one good donut here. They're dry, bland, and expensive. Oh Bowman's or Daylight donuts, how I miss you!
2. Radio - SLC has a couple of really fun radio stations and some great sports stations. It's a small thing, but given how much time I spent in the car, I liked to know what was good. And honestly I cannot find one radio station that I like here. It's like being in a bizzaro world...they're similar, but different. So I listen to NPR and a Gospel channel. Everything else is just so...disappointing.
3. Newspaper - I've subscribed to the Desnews for 12 years, and really think it's a good newspaper. Kind of light, conservative, etc...but all in all a good read that I've enjoyed for many years. Just can't get into Seattle Newspapers.
4. Shopping - Granted, we have not explored Seattle much cause the weather's been horrible, but thus far the shopping on the east side is just, eh. More stuff, but nothing significantly "better".
5. Eating out - I honestly am befuddled by the restaurants. There are basically three kinds - Indian, Teryaki (or Thai, or Chinese), and everything else. It's all totally overpriced and disappointing. After spending 6 weeks as a family trying to find a place we like we ended up at the Mall Food Court!
6. Sports - Jazz, BYU, U...I don't spend a lot of time watching or participating in sports, but I love BYU Football and the Jazz. Maybe when we get Dish back I can catch some of it. Speaking of...
7. TIVO - I think I love TIVO above every other gadget I have...even my iPod. Mel and I can watch a weeks worth of TV in 2 hours, saving tons of time and aggrevation associated with watching live TV. It's been painful here...we watch less TV, so that's good. But it's far more annoying. Fortunately, when we move to our official rental, we will be getting our TIVO back. We cannot WAIT!

What do I like here? I like having a job, though it's terribly frustrating and difficult. I like our ward, but we just got put into Primary so no more getting to know people or learning. I had hoped that I would be able to at least say I liked not having snow, but it's snowed all winter. So little improvement there.

If you can't tell, I miss Utah!

14 months later...

I've been thinking that I need to start writing on my blog again. So much has happened since I last wrote...geesh, how sad. I'm not going to catch up now, but maybe in the future I'll talk about the Microsoft ordeal, temporary housing, missing my family, hating my job, traveling home every weekend for a couple of months...but not now.

Today we had such a great Sunday School lesson. The teacher is seriously talented. It's by far the most thought provoking, Gospel-centered class I've ever been in. A real treat.

He started off with something I've been thinking about...namely, how S beguiles us. How he sells us. How he tempts us. He wrote the word "Desire" in the center of the board and then wrote Educate, Bombard Senses, Step by Step, and Tenacious at the four corners. He said this is how S leads us and binds us with flaxen cords. He is ok with losing a few battles...he wants to win the war. He is perfectly patient in that he knows that he can work on us day by day, hour by hour, waiting for the moment.

He also made the point that God works simiarily, but not so in your face. He too is obviously patient, but patient in the fact that he is willing to work with us in our difficulties. That's the beauty of his Plan...it's a perfect plan because it can save imperfect people.

God also wants to us also have desire...he mentioned how Abraham (1:2, Moses, and others had the desires for righteousness. These desires worked in them, leading to Action. Not just action...but a wrestle of sorts, real work. He used Joseph Smith as a great example...he didn't go to the grove to ask what church was true...he went to ask which church he should join. He was willing to work, and act. And this is the way that God wants us to live. He is perfectly fine with us working...he loves hard work...he wants us to work hard for what he is willing to give us. And in the end he always makes it worth the effort.

He concluded with an inspiring video about John Rowe Moyle that is told here. It made for a great great day.

One other thing...we received an offer today for the house. Bittersweet, as has been every step in this journey. But a blessing above all.

Two words...kitty wigs.

Click here.

To the moon, part II

When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut. I spoke about "sticky boots" that allowed you to go upside down. My parents encouraged this, and I believe used this as a way to encourage me to eat my vegtables.

As an adult, I know how completely ridiculous that must've sounded to my parents at the time, but thankfully they let nature take its course and I realized for myself that I would never go to outer space. My, how life pulls the chair from under your dreams.

In honor of a dream that never will be, I invite you to watch this HD video from the moon, taken on 10/31/07.

Best meal of the week

So I've been traveling most of the week, was in NY and Chicago. I had many nice, expensive meals and spent far too much, not that I had much choice. But today I had the best meal of the week. I got in this morning, and since I had no appointments at work and no one was expecting me in, I came and worked from home. So I got to have lunch with Abby - Spiderman mac and cheese and applesauce. Obviously,this wasn't the best lunch of the week because of the food. But the company was unbeatable. Thanks Abby!

Lego zombies...

I want one...see more here.

I don't know what to say about this...

There's nothing to say, other than this is frightening. Funny, but scary.

Who'd have thought?

Foldschool is a collection of free cardboard furniture for kids. I haven't made one, but want to. I'm not saying this is revolutionary or anything, but it's creative and it gets big points for that.

Visit the site here.

Where not to live.

I'm not going to tell you where to live, but I'm gonna tell you WHERE NOT TO. This link shows various bomb scares, shootings, and other mishaps. Updated every 7 minutes.

You've been warned.

Mashup time

This is an intersting mashup. In 1978 French filmmaker Claude Lelouch strapped a camera to his Ferrari and raced thru the streets of Paris. Thirty years later someone added a Google map to the footage. Thanks to Joe for sending this.

Check it out here.

Fun way to spend a few minutes

Are you as confused by some of the terms creatives use? Me too. This is a fun game where you can learn some design terms, while racing against time to finish the game.

Here's the link.

Historic day in the Kennedy house

I've been teaching Abby to read for the last four months. There are few things as enjoyable, as rewarding, as teaching your children to read. Or so I've learned.

So why is this a historic day? Because Abby read her first book. Ever. It's called Sid and the Mess, and it's a little reader from Kindergarten. It's 10+ pages long, and is about a horse who knocks his animal friends out of the tree. It's not the best book she will ever read, but that's not the point. The point is that she read it. And is reading it even as I type this, right next to me. It's the third time I've seen her read it today, and the enjoyment and pride that she feels about this accomplishment is such a rewarding thing.

I hope that Abby's life, like Maddies, is spent reading. That she read my favorites - Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, Ender's Game, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Xanth series, A Malady of Magicks, The Lord of the Rings. I hope I can foster a love of reading now, and throughout her whole life. But today, she read Sid and the Mess. I think that's incredible.

To the moon!

I'm no lover of Google. But they know how to create buzz, and that's why I liked this announcement so much. Turns out they're offering $20 million to the first team to "successfully land a privately funded craft on the lunar surface and survive long enough to complete the mission goals of roaming about the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending a defined data package, called a “Mooncast”, back to Earth."

I've not read extensively on private space travel, but I know that it's terribly difficult to even get a privately built spacecraft out of orbit let alone on the moon. And I can't imagine that the $20 million would even begin to recoup the costs of doing this.So why do I love it?

Because I think Google knows this, and therefore knows that they will not have to pay this out. But yet they get the buzz and recognition for dreaming of something so cool as being the first to beam a mooncast. Plus, this will likely tie to some other product they're selling in a really cool way. They're seen as a revolutionary company, willing to do or try anything as long as it pushes the bounds of what's comfortable. They're not willing to be categorized as a search company, or a software company. They're just smart, and ballsy, and cutting-edge.

So good for them.

Feel better about yourself

My friend Jen shared this site with some celeb photoshopping. Crazy. But should make us all realize that our perceptions can be influenced by the media machine. And that we all look a little better than we think we do.

Take a peek here. You'll giggle.