My entertaining Mom

     We went to Cafe Rio today for lunch with my mom and brother and his wife yesterday.   We had all just started digging into our food when my mom received a phone call.  She went outside so she could better hear the caller.  When she came back to the table she wrapped up her food and left.

     I was away from the table when my mom left so, I asked my brother where she had gone but, he didn't know.   I wonder where she had hurried off to but, my thoughts were quickly averted with kids crying, stealing my food or by making art out of salad dressing.   As we continued our meal the group of people next to us got up and asked us if the envelope he was holding belonged to us.   We quickly determined it more then likely belonged to my mom.  Upon hearing that the contents of the paper sleeve was a sizable sum of money, we tried to call my mom to make sure it did, in fact, belong to her.   There was no answer.

     Now, if you know my mom very well you may know that she has a nasty habit of leaving reasonable sums of money laying around.  So, this made us more sure of the fact it did indeed belong to her, coupled with the fact that the envelope bore the name of her bank (Chad has a very observant mind like that).  So we decided it was best to take the money home with us.

     After being unable to contact my mom again and relaying the story to Tony, I started getting kind of worried.  Why wouldn't she answer her phone?  Or at least let whomever she was with answer it for her?  Why had she left do abruptly?  What was her emergency?

     I picked up my phone and just as I was about to call my Dad at work to see if he might know what had happened or where she might be, she called me back.  She had hurried home to meet the cable guy!   Case closed.

     As for the money, that was hers too.  No surprise really.   In fact, she later told me that has happened to her a few times and that people always give it back to her.   Karma, I guess?   Crazy

Chick-fil-a

We went to Chick-fil-a last night for dinner.  Who knew it was such a 'hot spot'.  We sat down and knew the people at like 5 of the tables surrounding us.  Too funny.

I sat a one table with my kids and just after we started eating Ember decided she wanted to sit on Grandmas lap.  I thought it was sweet she wanted to sit by her Grandma.  She immediately started eating off every ones plates at the table.  She's no dummy.  She knows a good smorgasbord when she sees one.

After everyone finished eating the kids got ice cream (this includes my brother Chad hee hee).  Aidan showed me his ice cream moustache.  He thinks its hilarious.  So Ember made sure to made one for herself.  Of course, hers ended up looking much more like a drippy goatee.

Christmas

     What a fabulous Day!!  We have had such an undeniably wonderful year.  This has been the first year that our kids really got it.  The first year in fact, that we, as parents, had to get up early.  If you know me, that is not my favorite thing to do but, it was so worth seeing the joy on their faces.

     We set out cookies and milk for Santa and we had told Aidan that if, the cookies were gone when he woke up that he could come wake us up and go unwrap presents.  Tony happened to wake up just a few minutes before Aidan came out of his room.  So, he was able to witness his reaction first hand. Aidan walked over to the plate and said, "The cookies are gone...the cookies are gone.."  he ran into our room and came over to my side of the bed.  He woke me up and told me that Santa had come.  He was so excited.

      I went in to get Ember out of bed (almost 3 hours earlier then normal).  You could tell she was so stinkin' tired (her head was bobbing and her eyes half closed) but, she kept repeating, "I had a good nap...I had a good nap."  I think she was excited albeit tired, and was afraid I would put her back in her bed if she hadn't 'had a good nap'.  What a cutie pie.

Note:  We didn't take any still photos of Christmas so, I stole this pic off the Internet somewhere.  Err I mean, isn't my house lovely!

The Untold Story of the Ages

Some time ago an old friend made mention of one of my most triumphant achievements that has eluded my attention in recent years. We will forgo the argument of what accomplishments this is being judged against (i.e. marriage and sealing to my wife, births of my three children, serving a mission, etc.) and will suffice it to say that it exists in a category of its own.

The Robinson Estate was one which many of us flocked to in our adolescent days. The family was well-known and incredibly hospitable to friend and stranger alike. However, while it was a place of retreat and happiness, it was also a den of intense competition. They have a “Goalrilla” basketball hoop that is in the upper echelon of the known standards of today. It was as if you were playing on a professional stage yet with a playground atmosphere. It created an utter respect for all, yet a deep yearning to trounce whomever ventured onto the driveway at Dutch and Karen’s Manor.

Such was the arena not long after I had considered my retirement from the sport of basketball. It seemed that hundreds were loitering around enjoying a hot evening with a few leisurely conversations as summer boredom had assembled there at the Robinson's. In the midst of this tedium, an idea was spontaneously hatched to hold an event for those who wanted to participate in a challenge for the ages. A two-on-two, single-elimination tournament featuring collegiate athletes, former-high-school stars, and the seasoned church-ball veterans- all craving to be the victor of this contest of contests. Calls were made and the news had spread. People were gathering from miles away.

Feeling nothing short of being inspired, my teammate and I were drawn together like numerous other famous duos had in history: Martin and Lewis, Montana and Rice, Jemaine and Bret, Shaggy and Scooby, and after this tournament….. Sheen and Dressen. You see Justin Sheen was and is known for his many talents and plain genius, nonetheless he was and more than likely still is not recognized as a basketball player. Did that deter us? Absolutely not. In fact I waited as everyone divvied up into their supposed squads which left Justin near the end of the veritable “last kid picked” line. Thanks to their mindless assumptions that Justin was a mere nerd that had no athleticism whatsoever, I being the ying was left with my yang.

No detailed stories need be told of how our success came to fruition. Dunks were made, comebacks transpired, and game-winning shots went down. We beat friends, foes, unknowns, the superior, the un-favored, and anyone else that dared. We won.

Why you ask? Why has this not been told of before in the West Jordan annals of history? The answer is quite straightforward actually. No one has dared admit that they lost at the hands of Justin and I. They have bottled up the recollection of losing the perpetual battle that is basketball to the two people they never would’ve predicted to suffer defeat from. And to be honest, I’d suppress those memories too if I lost to a toothpick-redhead and the kid who scored better than everyone else on the ACT.

Santa Sightings

     I absolutely love this time of year.  Having kids has only magnified my love for the season.  For me, there are so many things to enjoy about this time of year. I am one of those nerdy people who could listen to Christmas music everyday.  I enjoy shopping for people I love.  I love to spend time with my Family.  I can't get enough of the Holiday goodies. It is great when people use this time of year to help lift one another up.  And the list goes on.  

     I have absolutely loved watching Aidan and Ember revel in the season.  They are so taken by all the lights and decor and have utterly loved seeing Santa. 

    The other day we went to Sam's club.  We moseyed around and ate a few samples.  One of the demo-ers was an old guy with a white beard and a Santa hat.  When we got to his table, he shouted, "Merry Christmas" and then, "Ho Ho Ho!"  The look on my kids faces was just priceless.  They were so tickled.  Then, either the same day or the next, we walked into Walmart where to greeter was also wearing a Santa hat and had a similar gray beard.  The kids looked at him and then looked at each other with pure joy.  The looks on their faces were priceless.