MORMON MOMMY BLOGS, IS THIS FOR REAL?

I'm sorry, I can't resist myself today. Need to lighten the mood a little...
Somehow I found this other blog where a mormon lady is besides herself on what to wear to church. She is overweight and gets "chafed" when she wears a skirt. So she started to wear some slacks to church, and her Relief Society President called her and condemned her for it (wow, that President really has some "cajones"). Here is a copy of the post I am finding so amusing (my own comments are always in black):

beginning:
Before I start, you all got the memo that I’m still fat, right? Ok. Just checkin’.

The RS Prez just called. We revisited a conversation we had last year. It seems I’m a bit controversial since I wear slacks to church. “They” were wondering if it was an economic reason (could I not afford a skirt?). Nope. It had to do with shaving. In the colder “winter” months of California, I don’t shave my legs, I shave my goosebumps. It’s horrid. I come away looking like I had a date with Freddy Kruger, and it’s pretty painful to boot. That was ok, they just wanted me to know they would be happy to help if it was a financial reason. Now let’s fast-forward to the rest of the year where it’s hotter than blue blazes. Again, with the fat thing, my legs are a bit close together, nigh unseperable when it comes to walking. When wearing a skirt, the G’s roll up and it gets ugly. Painful rashes for days afterwards, so I continued to wear nice slacks to church. To make up for being skirt-less, I wear shirts that I don’t wear during the week and make sure to put on makeup so I look much better than I do on a day-to-day basis, thus putting forth an effort to still have a “Sunday dress” code.

Except now I’m a bad example.

Those weren’t the words used, but it seems I have started a trend that is not looked kindly upon. There are now six sisters (that are also being called) who wear slacks to church. At least one of them is doing it for a similar reason to mine, but there are some new sisters who are “perfectly able” to wear “proper Sunday dress” and do not because when they see the other heathens they think it’s an option for everyone. And also, they don’t want the youth to think it’s ok, or that when you get to RS you can choose what to wear. The Bishop didn’t want to offend any sisters, so he made the RS Pres. do it instead. She asked if I was able to wear a skirt to the temple and I said I was, but it wasn’t as bad because there’s not a lot of walking around there. Also (unfortunately I forgot to mention this part), I wear pants for the drive, I change into my skirt when I get out of the car, and I change right back into pants when I get back to the car after the session.

I really feel for her. This cannot be a comfortable situation. And let me emphasize, I don’t do this because it’s uncomfortable and I can’t bear to be uncomfortable for the the 3 hours I worship Lord once a week, I’m doing it because it freaking hurts and not just for 3 1/2 hours (travel time, you know). I’m thinking Heavenly Father is cool with that. He’d much rather I be there in pants than not at all, right?

I’ve tried different materials of garments. I’ve tried wearing a larger size in the hopes that they wouldn’t roll up. No such luck. I considered wearing shorts underneath, but that just adds bulk and the shorts roll up too (which would be why I don’t wear shorts).

What do I do now? She said she’d see me Sunday, but I’m thinking “Like hell you will.” I’m seriously not offended, I totally get where the Bishop is coming from, but I don’t know what to do…
end

So a few few concerned fellow mormons made some comments about what she should do. Most of them went along the lines of "get some leggings and wear a skirt over them". However there were some real gems out there such as this one:

Tough question, Sally. I’m going to answer with my honest opinion as long as you know I still totally love you (even if we disagree on this one).

First, if you can wear a skirt to walk into the temple, why can’t you do the same thing for church on Sunday (even if it means changing in the car while B takes in the boys)? The amount of walking we do at church is minimal. If however, that is still too uncomfortable, there are always ways to make a skirt more comfortable. There are things like nylons and girdles. After my c-section, I tried several different kinds of girdles to help my stomach muscles (is that TMI?).

There are kinds that are a lot like bike shorts that are actually extremely comfortable - even in hot weather. And they don’t ride up. My main point is: You could wear a skirt if it was important enough to you.

Second, whether we agree with it or not, the way we dress does affect others. When we insist on our own dress code, it can be distracting for others. I’m not saying it SHOULD distract them, it just does. Since our main purpose for attending church is to worship God, we probably should minimize distractions - and no, I don’t think avoiding church altogether is your best way to minimize the distraction

Third, in my own experience, I’ve noticed that when women begin altering their dress code for Sunday meetings pretty soon other standards get altered (In particular, I’m thinking of a very sad and very recent example in my ward). How we dress to worship the Lord is an outward expression of an inward commitment. My guess is that your RS President and bishop are concerned more about you than your dress code.

Yes indeedy, wearing some slacks to church is the sure way to follow Satan, and to think that she would actually consider something comfortable... I mean what kind of message DOES that send to the youth. I am so, so apalled she even considered wearing slacks in the first place.

Or this one:

I know for absolute certainty, from personal experience, that if you’re willing to alter your standards on one thing, it follows as the night the day, you’ll be willing to alter your stance on other things.

I truly do believe that our dress code (and there is one) is an outward expression of our respect for the Lord and His house. It’s sucky, but there it is.

I would put Neosporin on the parts that rub together to keep them from chaffing. Also, I would pray considerably for help with it. Tell Him what happens to you and be willing to wear the skirt if He will help you with the problems associated with it. If none of that works, think of a couple of hours spent in a garden where the pain was so great that blood was sweat so we could make choices like this.

Oh, honey, I’m with you on this. I have to wear “Sunday dress” every stinkin’ day to work here at Church HQ, because it sets a standard and sets us apart as people who are serious about what we believe in. All the other businesses in town have casual dress or casual Fridays. Not us. Here we represent the Lord to the world. When you attend your ward, you represent the Lord to those of a different faith or of little faith who may be watching.

Oh, your name just went on the GA’s prayer roll. Do the prayer thing. I will, too. Don’t let this keep you from your blessings and blessings for your family.

Nothing makes a person want to worship then some good ole fashioned guilt trips (see above in bold). Wow, that really induces some great feelings of self worth! I think I will use it on my kids. Maybe they will pick up their rooms more often, because you know, at least they aren't bleeding from every pore...yet (till they disobey my command, lol).

OK, so I kept reading it, and I was waiting for the punch line. I mean this couldn't be for real could it? It's amazing that some people are that hard core, and this lady actually still respected the woman that called her. So after discovering no punchline, I just couldn't resist making a comment as follows:

Ya, you should probably wear a skirt, even if it means that your chafing gets so severe that it cracks, bleeds, and turns into gangrene. I mean, you don’t really need your legs do you? The church is actually pretty handicap friendly. And the Elder’s quorum always needs more stuff to do, so they could assign different people to wheel you around to your church meetings each week when you are in a wheel chair. Or better yet, get the deacons, teachers or priests to do it (but please, please don’t let them unless they are wearing a white shirt, because as we all know, different colored shirts distract too much from the spirit too).

Please don’t even think about wearing slacks. If you do, you will be drinking coffee every morning, then it will turn into needing alcohol, then it will ultimately progress to crack, then you will have to find a job at a strip club to support your habits, assuming you have legs at that point in time. Be very, very careful. Doing anything outside of what your bishop or RSP says you should do will definiately damn you to outer darkness.

There is a reason women should wear dresses to church! Afterall, slacks are more form fitting, and because us mormon men are so sexually repressed we won’t be able to feel the spirit on Sundays, when we try to ignore the form under the slacks.

My advice is to bundle up with about 4 pairs of leggings before you put the skirt on, after you slather neosporin and vaseline all over yourself. That should do the trick!

Here's to enjoying my sacreligious humor. And just for your information, I really am worried about that poor ladies chafed legs!

If you want the unabridged version, here is the link to her blog:
http://sallygirl.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/well-that-was-uncomfortable/#comment-3838

The Economy Hits Our Bellies

Melissa and I went out for dinner on Saturday night. We were so excited to go to our favorite pizza place in Park City. This place has great wings and New York style pizza. It has been next to the movie theaters forever, which always made it convenient for us, when we were in a hurry to eat and see a movie.

We pulled up, parked and hungrily walked to the Pizza place, only to be left standing with our mouths aghast reading the below sign:

I could go off on a personal rant on what I really think about this economy, how we got here, and all of the bailouts you and I are paying for, but I am trying to keep this blog positive.

RIP Atlantic Pizza! Our mouths and bellies will miss you.

Save the Whales!

I was at an animal rights event yesterday, and they were selling this shirt. I bought one for the whole family. I hope you like it. Please support us in our efforts by buying one too.




OF COURSE I'M KIDDING!

STAYCATION

Two weeks ago was a week off of school for UEA week. We had been planning on going to disneyland for a long time, but whe it came down to it, we didn't have the funds to pull it off. So instead we were going to go to the dunes, but I broke my hand and woudln't be able to ride the toys:( Plan C was a Staycation.

We rented a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in SLC for a couple of nights and went to Lagoon for Frightmares one day. I forgot my camera, so I used my phone for the pictures. Sorry for the fuzziness.

THE STORY OF THE SIGN

I came across this short movie (6 minutes) today from the Cannes Film Festival. I love it. I am happy to say that I still have a compassionate heart.

http://www.historiadeunletrero.com/

Sponsored by Home Depot

It is funny what kids will do sometimes. My kids are all about putting stickers on their motorcycles, bikes, skateboards, atv's, or whatever they can find that moves. The other day, Beau took a home depot sticker off of his toolbox he got for his birthday, and tried to put it on my motorcycle, but the tackiness was all gone. No worries, he discovered that tape would work. Check it out.

I never thought I would be good enough to have a major corporate sponsorship, but thanks to my kids, I now do. I can't wait to go to the dunes to show it off!

A Day In the Life Of...

We got the awesome chance to go out on the lake last Saturday on a friend's boat. I took Kreed, Dawson, Ryker, and Beau. Melissa unfortunately had to clean houses, and Riggs got to go play with Grandma. That was one of the best days of my life. And to think it was totally unexpected! We got a call mid Saturday AM from our friends wanting us to go, so it wasn't even planned. In thinking about some of the best days/nights of my life, I notice the pattern that often they happen when they aren't even planned. For some reason it must be easier to be in the moment at those times.

Kreed tried Wakeboarding and got up his first try. Staying up seemed to be harder than getting up for him. The rest of the boys all got to bounce around in the tubes, as well as jump in the lake to cool off every once in a while. At one point, I was on a tube with Dawson, and our friend put Beau in the driver's seat and totally let him drive, completely solo. It didn't matter to Beau that he couldn't see over the dashboard, and therefore the oncomming boats and shore, he was just feeling cool to drive the boat all by himself. (Don't tell the park rangers).

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but remembered at the last moment that I could use my phone. So here are two pictures of Kreed's first experience behind a ski boat.

COON DAWG!

So where is my coon dog? Apparently I don't have one. We have been having a racoon sneak in through the cat door into our house at night. It comes in, eats all of the cat food, drinks all of the water, and grabs the cat food bag and tries to drag it back outside. So I borrowed a couple of traps from my brother in law. I set one up on the garage on Saturday night and Melissa and I went on a date. At about 11PM Kreed called me to say that the coon came into the house, opened one of the drawers in the kitchen and then went into the office and pulled a book off the shelf. Then the coon went into the garage and got stuck in the trap. Exactly what I wanted (however I have had these traps set up for over a month and the coon has kept on outsmarting me somehow).

When we pulled up that night, the coon was still trapped, but as soon as I got out of the car, it was so scared it peed all over. I didn't know their bladders were that big. Now folks, coons are cute, but size for size, they are as vicious as a bear. That sucker was trying to eat me through the cage. It was sticking its little hands out and grabbing my jeans and trying to bite me. Man that thing was ferocious.

Back to the dog comment. If you look in another post earlier in the year you will see our "coon dog". It is a little miniture pincher. I know it is not the biggest dog, but you would think it would at least want to protect its turf. Not so. I asked Kreed what "Charley" (our coon dog) did when the coon came inside. Kreed said that Charley came flying upstairs as fast as she could and then sat down and peed all over the floor. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? Come on, really. What use is that dog then? Geez. Can't even utter a bark. And oh by the way, my blog title is misleading. THAT DOG CANNOT HUNT.

Well I have attached a couple of photos of the coon. It was a small one. The next day, yesterday, we drove it up further into the mountains and let it go. I was out of spray paint, but I was going to spray a yellow line down its back, in case it came back, so I would know we had caught it before...

Check this link out!

My sister, Rachael was here last week. She took some amazing photos of us and Nathan (my nephew and her son).
Check it out here: http://nathanielcharles.blogspot.com/

3 Strange Days

Beau and Riggs

Ryker pretending to be "Predator"

Some of the Crew and G'pa Andersen

Riggsles and his natural "faux hawk"

Beau Rocking Out

I took Zane to the airport today. Beau was with me. On the way back we heard the below song by School of Fish. I was listening to the 90's station on Sirius. I had forgotten all about this song. Not even on my Ipod. It will be now. I taught Beau how to rock out. The pictures is included. We listened to the song twice with the windows rolled down and the radio all the way up. It was awesome! Strange moments, out of the blue, like these are really enjoyable.

For three strange days

I had no obligations

My mind was a blur

I did not know what to do

I think I lost myself

When I lost my motivation

Now I'm walking 'round the city

Just waiting to come to

For three strange...For three strange daysI couldn't put a smile on my face

So they dressed me up in all of their clothes

And took me somewhere else

Johnny Clueless was there

With his simulated wood grain

So I pulled up a chair

And started drinking by myself

For three strange...I've got to make it through

No matter what it takes

Oh I've got to make it through

These strange daysI lay down for a while

And I woke up on the ocean

Floating on my back

And staring at the gray

It was completely still

Except the pounding of my heart

Bringing me back to life

From three strange days

Three strange...Three strange daysThree strange days

My Mom, Grandpa, and Zane came to visit us this week. My Mom left yesterday with Grandpa. Poor Grandpa. He just is getting old and can't think too well anymore. We had an enjoyable time. Hopefully they did too. Zane and I got up this AM and went Mtn. Biking. It was actually warm, like summer should be.

Rachael comes this week, with Nathan. I hope Nathan enjoys it, he is going to be mobbed by his 5 cousins. I don't think he will be lacking for any entertainment. We are really looking forward to it.

Here is a video of Ryker and Dawson on the Dunes. Ryker is the one that gets stuck, and Dawson comes to rescue him, but ends up making it worse. Check out Ryker falling down, and Dawson giving one more blast of the throttle just to make sure he is stuck. Pretty funny stuff!

OK, on my first blog when I asked for snow, I just meant for the winter season. This was taken just this week, the last week in May. Notice the SNOW FLAKES! Wow. You know what they say: "be careful for what you ask for..."
Things have been real busy, as usual. We went to the dunes again last weekend. Photos will be posted a new blog later. All of the boys got Buzz cuts, so that saves some money on haircuts. The kids got out of school last week. I, personally (Matt) am happy about that. I don't have to drive them to school anymore, and Melissa does not have to pick them up, which will save money in gas. On the flip side, Melissa gets to have them in her hair all day long. Her most recent, repeated comment is "What did we do? Five kids!". No kidding.
I will post some more later...

The Dunes

Our family's newest member "Charlie"

These pictures will help catch you up

Melissa & Beau kick'n it
Riggs just could not take it anymore
Beau get'n ready for winter X games

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. Since I am short on time, I have put these in to catch you up on the past few months. Enjoy.

MOAB

Riggsy in the backpack
The crew and the cousins
Buzzy and Preston in a hole

It has been a while since the last blog. Not because nothing has happened, but because so much is happening there has been no time to blog.

We went to Moab last week for the kid's spring break. It is an annual trip we go on with Melissa's parents and sisters and their families. Normally it is much warmer than where we live and it primes us for the summer season. This year, not so. It snowed the whole way down and for the first two days of being there. I was determined to ride my bike anyway, and got snowed on, but it was fun. At least I did not sweat much! The last two days were much warmer. Luckily the Motel had a hot tub and warm pool. The boys just love to swim everyday. This year we played golf, which took the time space we usually use to ride go carts and see a movie. Below are the pictures and a video.

We were supposed to go on another trip this week to Goblin Valley with my cousin Dan and Jen, but at the last moment, I did not get paid enough from my outstanding bills due, and we had to forfeit the trip in lieu of waiting for more pay to arrive. It was very disappointing to say the least. It will probably be for the better because I just got slammed with work again this week. Next week, I am supposed to go play again in Moab. Just a guys trip that weekend. Meeting some friends from Phoenix. Then the week after that I am going to go play again. This time with Dan, Rick, my uncle Mike and cousin Mike. It will be a Wild Hogs weekend in S. Utah. I am renting a Harley since I don't own one. Now I just need to get a license!

You may think, man you are playing a lot Matt. And my response would be "dang right". I have arrived at the philosophy that my last thought in life will not be "man I should have worked more". Quite the contrary. So I figure, as long as I am providing for the family (which is barely working out lately), being a good husband and father, then play I must, and as much as I can! Another thought that has come to me lately that I may start testing out is the new motto: "Food and Fun before bills". I doubt that the creditors will appreciate it that much, but hey it makes me feel better, even if I don't take action on it.

For a more serious note. I got to see my good friends Cory and Jenny last week in Moab. They moved there a couple of years ago. Cory is a river guide down there, and just got his own boat to manage. He showed it to me. I did not realize that river boats were so big, and with such a big motor. I enjoyed seeing what he was doing to it in getting it ready for the big season. He said there will be big, big water this summer because of the anticipated runoff on the Colorado River. After that I went back to his house and talked to him and Jenni for quite a while. I really enjoyed connecting with them again. It has been too long. I hope I can do it again, soon. Cory is thinking about getting another dirt bike (he gave it up a few years ago). I hope he does, as now that that is one of my favorite things to do, I would love to ride with him.

Well check this out. 72 degrees on Monday. Snow yesterday and today and in the 30's all day long. Wow, talk about a swing! I know April is generally a little chilly and rainy around here, but ususally things are blooming, it is green, and it is much warmer. I really got my wish this year! Plenty of snow. I will be snowmobiling into June probably. Speaking of which, I had another reality check last week. There is a thing that one can do each Spring in regards to snowmobiles. One can "Snowcheck" a sled. What that means is that you can give a sled dealer $500 now, to gaurantee a brand new sled of the next year's model delivered by Nov. 15th. If it does not show up by then, then you get $1500 back. Plus you get all sorts of extras for taking the risk. I wante to get a new one so bad, but Melissa planted my feet back on the earth and I had to pass. Perhaps next year...

MOOSE MUNCH

Check out the picture! I was just getting done appraising a home in Park City and was walking to my car. 50 feet away, lo and behold a Moose! In the middle of the street. At first I thought it was a bear and jumped about 10 feet in the air. After I dried my shorts, I realized it was a Moose. Much to my joy, this year is a record snow fall year. Because of this, all of the deer, elk, and moose are coming down from the higher elevations to get food. In fact, we have been encouraged, if we live slightly out of town, to set up feeding spots, as they are having a hard time living because of the snowfall and scarcity of food.

It has been awhile since we checked in. The coolest thing that has happened for me (Matt) since then, was that I got to have lunch with an old Junior High/High School friend. I had not seen or spoke to him for 18 years. He moved to Chicago right after graduation and got married to his High School sweetheart. Somehow he found my name on classmates dot com and connected with me. He was going to be in Salt Lake on business and wanted to catch up. We planned on having lunch for an hour or so, but 3+ hours later we were still talking. We had to reluctantly shut it down, as he had to get to his appointments. I now know what women feel like when they enjoy talking so much to each other for hours (or was it the female hormones I have been taking to help me feel like what my wife feels like, being a woman?). He has three kids and it was great because he related a lot of the same experiences I have had, being a parent. You know, wondering if you are raising the kids in an appropriate manner, learning how to let go and let them make decisions-sometimes to their detriment, trying to figure out where the money will come from to pay the bills and keep them housed, fed and clothed. He looked great, and the pictures of his family were well appreciated. I hope I get the opportunity to do that again someday. Zack, thanks for calling!

Gross Pointe Blank!! Check it out. I bought that, and my favoritist movie of all time, "Better Off Dead" the other day on Amazon. I have watched both movies repeatedly, and still want more. What is going on with me? New midlife crisis? I love those older movies with John Cusack. "Sorry Ricky that your mom blew up last night". "What do you do for a living? Oh, I get paid to assasinate people. Oh, I hear that is a growth industry." Name where those lines came from and I will give you a prize.

This is what we do when it's not snowing

I figured that I would post some great pictures of what we do when it is not winter around here (spring, summer, and fall). We bought a toy hauler last spring and took up motor sports. We were going to the local sand dunes about 2 times a month this last year. These photos are from our last trip down there.

Also an update:

After putting my application to be on the Search and Rescue team over a year ago, they finally called me last week. I am pretty excited about it. I have been itching to get outside of myself and do some service for something that matters for a long time, instead of just focusing on paying bills, and myself. For some reason, my church callings (though they may be many at this time), don't give me the satisfaction of service that S & R does. I have an avalanche training this week. Should be worthwhile. There have been quite a few deaths around here this winter already from avalanches. Hopefully my new acquired snowmobiling skills will come in handy, as that is what the majority of searches are for around here-lost snowmobilers.

I have one gripe, then I will be over it! We have gotten about 4 feet of NEW snow this last week here. I am in charge of coaching the Young Men's basketball team, and we had a game on Saturday AM. It was total blue skies, and all of this new snow to play on. I had friends going riding, but I could not, as I was coaching-that was painful enough. When I got to the game, we had to forfeit, because we did not have enough players! Keep in mind that we have enough players usually to field two teams. Come on parents and players! If you are going to commit to a team, at least let the coach know you or your kid won't be showing. We coaches volunteer a lot of time away from our family and from our own little freetime, which is great and rewarding when the efforts are not taken for granted. Give me a break! This weekend, I think I will just let them know that I will not be there, and that one of the parents can go in my stead. Geez.

Sorry, had to get it off my chest. Peace out, werd to ya mutha, and all that...

Found the Snow

Well, after a whole week of predicted snow storms, we only got one of four. I won't complain too much. We got about 8" at our house, and about 2.5 to 3 feet in the mountains on Saturday and Sunday. I learned how to snowboard on Saturday, with the help of my friend Kurt. I got about two green hills in and finally got the hang of it. By the end fo the day, I was doing double blues. I discovered that doing bumps on a snowboard is not near as fun as ski's. The powder was easier though. I think next time, I might try hitting a couple of small jumps and see where that takes me. The funniest part of the whole day was when we had lunch. I was hot, so I had to take off my sweat pants. Well under my sweat pants, I had a layer of long underwear, and a new pair of spandex shorts with pads on the hips and tailbone built in. But the long underwear were Sweet! I bought them from Underarmor last year, and I chose to get the camoflauge print. So there I was, standing in the middle of the restaurant (where a piece of pizza was 6 bucks) amongst all of the polished, cultured people in their fancy ski outfits, in my camo long underwear, with some weird looking padded cycling shorts over them. I was trying to hurry to not gross everyone out, but I was too late. In the middle of my changing routine, the lady at the next table looks up at me and says "those are sexy". I tried hard to not laugh, but it was too funny. I just about started dancing for her to add to the effect, but I held off.

I took Zane Snowmobiling for his first time on New Year's Eve. We had a great time. He fell off the sled a few times, and got stuck some too. But I actually got stuck more than him. I forgot to get some action pictures, but I got one of him (posted) when we were done. He was kind of surprised on how much energy it took to do that. We had a great time. Then we all went out to dinner with Melissa's family, and my Mom and Zane to Breadstix. What a small world! We ran into our dentist from Phoenix. He has a vacation home in Park City, and I have run into him a lot, surprisingly, but never in Heber. He was eating with some local friends at the same restaurant. We were happy to see him.

We spent some time New Year's Eve playing games with Melissa's sister, Theresa, and her husband, Jeff, along with some new friends of ours, Kurt and Michelle Thurkelson. Kurt is from New Zealand. When he got out of the army, he became a full time ski bum for several years. He would work here, or in France, in the winters, and in the summers he would go back to New Zealand and work the ski resorts there. He lived the life I always had an interest in living. He met his wife in Park City, because she worked there too. Now they live up the street from us. The thing that amazes me, as it does with my friends Cory and Jenni Chatwin, is that they have no heater in their house. They heat the house solely by their wood stove. Wow! I don't know if I would enjoy that too much, I don't do well at getting up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire. And that would have to be done, or the pipes would freeze.

On New Year's day, we went out to Daniel's Summit and went tubing/sledding. It took me a few hours to build a sweet run, and when I had just finished, we had to go. But Kreed did get a few jumps in. See the posted video and picture. That boy can fly! Melissa's parents, Dick and Elva Baum, went with us, as well as Kurt and Michelle.
After the tubing adventure, we went to Provo to the movies with my Mom and Zane, and Vince (a family friend of ours that lives in Provo). We went to see National Treasure 2. It was a little above Rykster's and Beau's level, so I distracted them with popcorn, sprite, and skittles.
When we got home, we all went straight to bed. We were all so tired from the late nights and large amount of activity.

Now it is back to reality. I was not too excited to come to work today, thinking about all the bills we have to pay, where the money will come from, getting my jobs done, etc. "Welcome to the new year", I said to myself, as I summoned up all of the mental energy I could to climb out of bed and get to tackling this year. I keep on thinking, "what if I just skipped out on all of my job duties, and blew everything off, and just went skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling everyday?" Probably not the most constructive thing to think about...