Our baby growing up...

I can't believe how fast it's come, but Luke turned two years old last Wednesday. Our baby really isn't a baby anymore. What a special little child he is. He has changed our lives in so many ways with his sweetness, his calm, and his humor. He truly is one of a kind. Happy Birthday Luke; we love you so much.

We celebrated his birthday with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We had a great time. Pizza, tokens, all the arcade games a kid can handle, cake, Grandma, cousins, and aunts. The highlight of the evening for me was when Ben took Luke up the playtoy. They have a big tubelike contraption similar to McDonalds playlands...the kind that stink like pee and resemble a winding maze. In the midst of the tubes, there was a big car that the kids could sit in and drive. Luke was desperate to get there but couldn't figure out how, so Ben finally begrudgingly agreed to take him through. Not only was it positively disgusting and practically impossible to get there as a grown man, but he reported afterwards that all the kids were screaming at him, "Hey! No grown-ups allowed!" Boy did I laugh.

Some pictures from the party...



Luke and his favorite new Chuck E. Cheese friend


Cousin Eliza with my sister, Katie, her husband, Jeremiah, and baby Wilson in utero


Anna and her cousin, Rue, pigging out on pizza


Darling baby Max with Rachel, Ben's sister









And finally, click on this video for Luke's candle-blowing endeavor. You can see that this was serious business for him...he wasn't messing around. But you must ignore the extra-loud rendition of his mother singing "Happy Birthday" at a much higher volume than anyone else in the room. I guess I was really feeling it...embarrassing. The video also captured my sister, Katie's, pregnancy laugh. She had her baby 3 days later and her laugh has sadly returned to normal. Nothing gets me laughing harder than laughing right alonside the pregnancy laugh.

Kids Are Reinforcing For Parents

Hi, this is Ben. How's it going? So I have this social psychology class that is pretty interesting, I suppose. There are about 8 people in the class, and 4 of us are of your classic Utah demographic--white, male, returned missionary, fathers of one, two, or three in mid- to late-twenties.

So somehow, we got on the topic of what it's like to have kids. So the half of us with kids began talking about how life-changing it is, and how difficult it can be. The other students kind of laughed and said, "Yeah, we always get the response, but it is followed by the obligatory 'But there's nothing better!'" So they started prying a little deeper. One friend of mine in there asked if we would have waited a few more years to have kids, knowing what we know now. I said that I wouldn't have, but I did say that I would like to go back to the time of not having kids knowing what I know now about how life would after kids. I would appreciate little things like sleeping in and not always having to have one person home at night while the kids sleep. What the other students must have heard was, "I hate my kids," so they let me have it. I said, "Wait. I'll put it like this..." I went on to say that it's very hard, but there truly is nothing better. I got a little emotional explaining what a great feeling it is to come home from school or work and have my little kids run out on the doorstep yelling to me to hurry up. And it is a great feeling.

So the guy next to me spoke next. He's a friend of mine in my cohort with a daughter about 18 months old. He put it very well, I think. He said, "I'm a behaviorist, so I look at it solely on the level of behavior. Having kids is reinforcing. When my daughter gets hurt, she comes running to me yelling 'Daddy! Daddy!' It makes me feel important and needed." He cited a few other examples and closed just by saying something like, "Maybe I'm selfish, but I love having a child because she is so reinforcing to me." Everyone laughed, and I really thought it was funny--with a little underlying truth to it.

I didn't give his "reinforcing" comment much thought after class ended until I sat down with my kids for dinner the next night. They were in really goofy moods, I guess, because they were just cracking up at everything I said. I started to think, "Yeah, this whole parent thing is a little reinforcing." So Jamie got some video and I've got a little clip below. We got on the subject of "Little Einsteins" and somehow started making up nonsense words to go after "Little". Really thinking about it, I must say that it is probably in the bottom 5 percent of funniest things I've ever done. As far as unfunny goes, this was right down there with Cuba Gooding Jr.'s last Disney effort "Snow Dogs". Pretty unfunny. But to a 4- and 2-year-old, you'd think they just got a personal stand-up show from Jerry Seinfeld himself. So now, I must agree that kids are very reinforcing. At least someone thinks I'm funny.

Earth Glue: Lawn mowing albums and songs that speak to your soul

A little more autobiography. Forgive me.

Part One:

When I was a young lad, it was my responsibility to mow our immense lawn in Montpelier, Idaho. When I tell you that it was an entire acre, I am not kidding. It took hours. Well, as a 15-year-old, I got a Discman for Christmas. You remember Discmans? They were awesome. Mine took 8 AA batteries, and they lasted about 6 hours. Anyway, I was very excited about this Discman. The first idea that came to mind on how I would use it was for mowing the lawn. However, it was too large to carry with me while I mowed, so I spent the rest of the winter coming up with a plan on how to use it while mowing the lawn. I've never claimed to have any ingenuity, and consequently, when the summer arrived, the only idea I had come up with was to duct tape the cd player around my chest under my shirt. If it were over my shirt it would have skipped too much. It needed to be as secure as possible. My next task was finding an album that was so good that I would not have to skip any songs...a lawn mowing album. Tom Petty Greatest Hits was the closest I could find at the time, but "Don't Come Around Here No More" messed it up. At that particular time in my life, I was unaware of the amazing music that came out in the early nineties, available at my fingertips, so finding a 'lawn-mowing' album was difficult.

Part Two:

I will be forever indebted to Jordan Pope. He was a great friend, and I have unfortunately fallen out of touch with him, though we both live in the SLC area. When I was 15, I went on a school trip with Jordan and some other friends to London. After listening to Green Day Dookie seven times in a row on the airplane, I was tired of it (and have been ever since, to be honest). Jordan handed me an album from a music group of whom I not heard as we landed. "Try this cd," he said, "I think you'll like it." I grabbed it, thanked him, and put it in my Discman. I did not have time to listen to it as I got my luggage at the airport, but as soon as we got on the bus from the airport, I played it. The first song, I thought was a little weird, so I skipped to the second. What transpired at that moment was a life-changing experience. This song spoke to my soul. I know that sounds dramatic...it is. But it is the only way I can describe it. A friend of mine comes the closest to matching the description by saying "mind-blowing (Springer, 2006)".

I sat back in my seat on the bus and listened as this song from Jordan Pope spoke to my soul while we made our way into London. I remember everything like it was yesterday...the weather, the sites, but mostly the sensation deep inside of me that overwhelmed me as this song spoke to my soul. I remember hoping the song would never end. And when it did, I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and continued on with the rest of the "mind-blowing (Springer, 2006)" album.

That album was the first true lawn-mowing album I experienced, and that song was the first song that ever truly spoke to my soul. So without further adieu, I offer you the title track off of Radiohead's second album, The Bends. Thank you, Jordan Pope.

May this song speak to your soul as it did mine, and may you find this album and duct tape it to your chest in a Discman. You will be happy for the 6 hours your batteries will last you, but miserable for the 2+ hours it will take you to get the duct tape off.





Reference:

Springer, B.J. (2006). What makes a song "mind-blowing". Discussions en route to Daybreak Elementary, (2)1.

Can parallel parking skills attract women?

A good question. I have been married for five years now and am quite "out of the game", as they call it. Of course by saying I am only "out of the game", I am implying that there was a time in my life when was in said "game." That is somewhat misleading. As can be clearly seen above (a picture taken at my job about 20 seconds ago), I am not a "lady killa," "playa," "balla," nor any other noun with a single 'a' in place of the 'er'.

However, there is one thing going for me in the positive direction. What I lack in good looks and impressive physique, I make up in parallel parking skills. It drives Jamie, my dear wife, crazy that I always brag about it. In fact, she hopes and prays that there are no parallel spots available when we are looking for a spot because she has to listen to me brag about it. Well, there's one thing she doesn't have to do when we find a spot...that is wait for me to take several stabs at parking then give up. If the spot can possibly fit my car with 6 inches on either side, you'll be walking to your final destination within seconds. Well the other day I was at the Gateway in Salt Lake City (I thought I'd specify for all you out-of-state readers I have out there...I sometimes read this blog when I'm outside of the beehive state.). Anyway, the Gateway was quite crowded so I had to resort to the parallel spots on the street to the west of the mall (500 W.). I found a tight spot and was parked within seconds, naturally, but on my way to the mall, something caught my eye. A person in a gray sedan was struggling mightily trying to squeeze into a spot. I slowed down and watched traffic build behind the driver, but the driver was persistent on getting in. So I thought I would do society a favor.

I walked over to the car and tapped on the window. The window rolled down to reveal a young lady probably in her early twenties. She looked a little weirded out (see picture above), but before she could get too nervous, I said, "Can I help you park your car?" Turns out, she got a little more nervous...understandably. I said, "Really, I'm an excellent parallel parker." She turned to her friend, another young lady in her early twenties, gave her a shrug, looked at the line up of cars behind her, and said, "Sure." She and her friend got out of the car, and I worked my magic. Though it was a clutch I wasn't used to, I was able to get into the space in one try, obviously, and shut the car off, got out, and gave her the keys. She said, "Thanks a lot," to which I replied, "no problem."

I walked off and got about ten feet away when I heard the driver over my shoulder, "So I guess you want my number, right?" I turned around and casually replied, "No thanks, I'm married. Just wanted to use what skills I have to make the world a better place. Take care." And I was off like a phantom in the night.

So the moral of the story is, if a guy like me, who has been so out of touch for so long and was never really in touch in the first place, can get someone to offer their number for successfully parallel parking their car, there is hope for all of you who want an easy way to get digits. By the way, do they still call them "digits"? Better question: did they ever call them "digits"? Good luck out there, fellas. There are many fine-lookin' ladies just waiting to have their cars parallel parked.