Wrinkled Thoughts

Three days after the judge made it official, we made it SUPER OFFICIAL by taking Maya to the temple to be sealed to us. I THANK ALL OF MY DEAR FAMILIES who came to the blessed event. We (and Maya) are truly loved. With out further ado, here's some shots of the after party! Actually, it was THREE parties in two days. The sealing was on Saturday, Maya's Blessing was on Sunday, and then we threw in a little extra CONGRATS party for my brother Ian who just graduated from Law School. His wife (Nat) was in Phoenix, but ordered a yummy ice cream cake from Maggie Moos and we all ate it without her.

Sorry if you thought I fell off the planet. I've been ignoring my blog because I've just been so dang busy! It's kind of a double edged sword. I go on vacation and do lots of fun things, and take lots of fun pictures, but when I get back I'm so busy catching up on work, that I don't have time to blog about my adventures.

Anyway… here's what we've been doing since December.

Christmas, 2007 

We spent Christmas Eve at Brent and Larry's of course… because they throw the best darned Christmas party on the planet! It was great for the kids because we "cut back" on the presents this year due to the fact that we took a CRUISE and went to DISNEYLAND at the end of January… more on that below. Here's some pics of Christmas.

A few more shots of the annual "Graham Cracker House" building… I don't see any budding architects yet… and of course, half of my kids are always naked.

On Christmas morning, we decided to go to Flat Iron Mesa park for a little sledding. Avery took his snow board. Funny (but sad) story! Avery jumped on his board and expertly carved the hill. At the bottom, he took off his board and started walking up "the trail" behind a larger man to get back to the top. Out of nowhere, a kid about Avery's age decided to PLOW THE CROWD with his wooden sled on runners. Needless to say, the crowd jumped out of the way, but because Avery was behind the large man, he didn't get out of the way in time… I take that back, Avery got out of the way, but his snowboard was a little slow. The kid (who should have looked before he leaped) ended up EATING Avery's snowboard. Yup… split his face like a watermelon. Blood everywhere… teeth missing… Merry Christmas to him.

Avery felt bad, especially after the kids mom chewed him out for having the snowboard on the hill… What? It's a dang good thing I wasn't close enough to hear her. I would have had to give her a piece of my mind. She made Avery feel like it was his fault and he didn't even want to stay. I told Avery the kid should have looked down the hill BEFORE going down (standard snow hill etiquette) and I was backed up by the large man that was in front of Avery on the up hill trail. That made Avery feel better. 

A few photos of the fun:

This year we went a little crazy and took a gianormous road trip… with 5 kids… halfway across the country and back. We survived it.

Our first stop was Flagstaff Arizona where we met my bud Myke and his family for a grand tour of the famous Riordan Mansion in the shadow of NAU. Actually, the REAL reason we met Myke in Flagstaff was to drop off our "prince" dog, Toby. We didn't need a 6th child in the car for the next 5000 miles. Here's a shot of most of the kids at the mansion.

Our next destination (not stop) was Branson, Missouri. What the heck is in Branson, Missouri you ask? Well, the ONLY thing worth seeing there is SIX (otherwise known as the Knudsen Brothers). I have blogged about them before, but if you don't know who they are, then go find out here . Oh yeah… and my wife wanted to see her good friend Nichole Knudsen too.

On the way there, we had to travel on I-40 across New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. It took us two days, with stops in Gallup, NM and Tulsa OK. We learned the joys of a "decent" hotel the first night. Gallup isn't much for hotels, so we picked one that "looked" good. Well, there wasn't much floor space to throw down the blow-up mattress … and the twins suffered through it well … as you can see from the picture.

We finally made to Branson and spent 4 glorious days taking in the sites and watching as many free shows as we could. Since SIX is the hottest act in town, every other show trades tickets with them. We got to see everything from the Chinese Acrobats to a country/comedy show to the Hughes Brothers to one of Missouri's MANY caves. It was great. Oh yeah, and we got to see SIX twice! We planned the trip so we got to see the last "regular season" show one night and then their first "Christmas show" another night. We squeezed Halloween and Ethan's 9th birthday in between. Here's all the photos we took in Branson.

After our stay in Branson, we got brave and decided to trek on up to Nauvoo to see the temple – by way of St. Louis. And of course, if you go through St. Louis, you have to stop and ride to the top of the St. Louis Arch. Here are a few shot we took while there:

The drive up the Mississippi River to Nauvoo is beautiful in the fall. The kids weren't too keen on the visit to the historic city though, so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted. Sage and I decided we'd take another trip sans children one of these years. We did get to see the temple and the visitors center. We also got to go visit the "old town" and see the Browning gun shop, eat a gingerbread cookie… and the highlight of Nauvoo… making a rope. Here's the pictures of the Nauvoo segment of the trip.

So the next destination from Nauvoo is Carthage Jail. It's only about 25 miles away from the Nauvoo temple, and WELL WORTH the trip. Being in the "Martyr Room" was a very special experience. It is considered a holy place, so you can't take photos inside the room, but here are a few I took outside. For those of you who don't know what Carthage Jail is… it's where the beloved prophet Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob.

The next stop on our cross country trek took us PAST Far West Missouri into Kansas City. We accidentally past Far West by about 35 miles to spend the night in Kansas City. Little did we know the Green Bay Packers were playing in KC the following day, so rooms were scarce! We lucked out with "smoking room" that wasn't too stinky. Anyway, we went to church on Sunday morning in nearby Liberty. Then we back tracked the 35 miles to Far West and then BACK to Liberty to visit the Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum (and others) spent six grueling months for NOTHING. Anyway, here are the photos of Far West and the Liberty Jail.

Okay, so after the hotel crisis in Kansas City, Sage decided she didn't want to stay in a Hotel again. We thought about it for awhile and decided that Hannagan Meadow Arizona was only 18 hours away if we didn't stop. Sage was game, so we left KC Sunday night and traded off driving through the night to get to Hannagan by 9am the following day. It was a beautiful thing… since we got to stay with my parents an extra day and didn't have to PAY FOR IT!  

While at Hannagan, we made my dad take us on a famed buggy ride to see the fall colors. It was a bit nippy in the open air buggy, but we all enjoyed the views. Here's the photos of Hannagan.

After Hannagan, we spent the rest of the week in the Phoenix valley at Sage's mother's house. We had a good time seeing my brothers and little sis before heading back to Utah. What a trip! I can't say I want to do it all over again anytime soon… but at least we can say we did it. 

Just 3 weeks after Sage went to visit her cousins in Phoenix, her cousin Vicky brought her kids up here for a visit. They got a good taste of the weather, but it didn't stop them all from having a good time.

They went on a hike up Bell Canyon to see the waterfall… Then, we all went to FRIGHTMARES at the the Lagoon… and then it snowed. Here's a few shots of the good times.

I was playing with my camera trying to take "artistic" shots, when I took these shots of the Colossus "Fire Dragon" ride at night. Not too shabby for not having a tripod. And yes, the train is SUPPOSED to be blurred… to show that it is in motion.

And then there is this shot. I'm not sure how I captured it exactly, but I think it has something to do with there being A) low light B) motion C) a lower ISO setting and D) The "Ghosts in the machine"… literally. Don't Avery and Isaac look "ghostly"? I love it.

When we left the Lagoon that night at 11:00pm it was 70 degrees… the next morning it was rainy and cold (of course, it was soccer Saturday). Saturday night it snowed… and today is Monday and heading toward 70 again. Go figure! 

So every once in awhile I have to send my wife away to regain her sanity. She usually goes to Phoenix to see her mother… sometimes she even runs into my brothers and sister while down there.

This trip was special because her cousin Carla was down visiting from Washington – so they all got together and did whatever female cousins do when they have new babies and nothing better to do. Here's a few shots she took while visiting.

While Sage was in Phoenix, my sister's daughter McKenzie had her 1-yr-old birthday bash, Hawaiian style. Looks like mass chaos to me, but I guess everyone had a good time. My dad enjoyed holding Maya during the party.

Sage even spent a night at the Ruff's house, where she went on a "date" with my friend Myke while his wife ran a booth at her church's carnival. Looks like good times! 

My twins are SIX years old. Can you believe that? It seems like only yesterday I had my knee surgery… and a week late the twins were born (a month early). Yes, I was SUPPOSED to have a month to recover from my ACL replacement. Instead, I had to take my brace off a day early and had to drive myself to get my stitches removed. Good times! I dug up these crazy pictures of the inside of my knee… just because they are cool.

Oh yeah… the twins. They turned six and are now in kindergarten. Yes, they are going to be the "old ones" throughout their school careers… yup, they will be the big men on campus. Don't they look like they already have the attitude?

We took them to the ol' "Classic Skating" fun center for their birthday. They had a great time skating and bouncing around in the giant blow-up "castles". We had a "bunch" of kids there, including the Millican clan and second cousins. It was the twins first "big" party… because it is the year they start kindergarten. Their next "big" party will be when they turn 8 and get baptized.

Part of the party fun put them inside a tornado machine with fake money… does it look like they had a good time?

Beth Ann brought Parker and Nate to the party, and Allison brought Sawyer. As you can see, Allison has been assimilated into the Serviceclan quite nicely. The other photo is of the twins and their best buds, Nathan and Grayson. My friend William George Shalz brought his kids Jaxxin and Shazaya… I think that's how you spell their names.

And then there is the birthday song…

We had a great trip in the middle of August with our good friends, the Millicans. Both families pulled our camp trailers to the Bear Lake KOA camp and spent a few days at the lake. We played at the beach most of the time, but we also rented a boat and some toys. I was even able to water ski for the first time in about 15 years… and I got up on a slalom ski on my first try! Woo Hoo! Here are some shots of the festivities.

The only rotten part of the trip was the fact that I had to work at night in the camp trailer using the KOA wireless internet connection. Thank goodness for laptops and wireless access points! 

Did I mention we took Toby… and he loved to chase the seagulls?

He almost got a few of them!

Okay, this post is specifically for Natalie since she BEGGED me for more pictures of the baby… Enjoy!

And here's one last picture of Maya being held by Avery. You're going to have to wait to see Maya with Ethan… he's in Arizona visiting his Grandma Jackie. He'll be home in 2 days, so we'll be sure to post him up here too.

In the meantime… here's a few more videos. Toby was being a good boy, so we let him come out front with us to enjoy watching the twins ride their bikes. Course, he kept wanting to chase them down and bring them back home. Goofy mutt. He's amazingly gentle around Maya though. Who'da thunk?

And a few gas bubbly smiles…

Sorry it took so long to "follow up" on my last post about Maya, but it has been a crazy day. She's been home about 5 whole hours as of right now. She eats (well), poops, and sleeps… and that is about it. Just like I like them.

Here's a few more photos and even a few videos (at bottom of post) for your viewing pleasure.

I'm not going to write much more, but if you have any questions about this whole adoption thing, feel free to email Sage or myself. Calling or stopping by the house is permitted as well.

I will tell you that Utah (or Utard as my Aunt Judy says) only has a 24 hour waiting period before the birth mother can sign papers relinquishing her rights. Well, those papers were signed yesterday around 2pm. So there is no going back now. Technically, Maya is a ward of the Adoption Agency until we can go to court in 6 months and finalize the adoption. But she gets to stay with us until then… and then she is ours forever. What a crazy ride! 

Okay, so she isn't officially a "Service" yet… but she's HERE none-the-less!

At around 12:30pm Mountain time at Jordan Valley Hospital she arrived via C-Section. I was kind of bummed because I had to miss the actual birth due to the fact that I had to referee a soccer game at the tournament we are playing this weekend. And then, my wife (with all the chaos) forgot to call me until TWO HOURS later! Luckily we were at half-time of Avery's first game (which we won 8-1) so all was well with the world again. Avery and I buzzed over to the hospital after his last game of the day (we lost 6-3) and I got to hold her.

Ethan is in Arizona with his grandma Jackie, so he'll have to wait a week to see her. The twins will get their first glimpse tomorrow morning when we go back before Avery's next game.

She was 6lbs 10oz (see pic on scale) and 19 inches long… smaller than everyone thought she would be. Since she came via C-Section and a few weeks early, they are keeping her in the nursery to monitor her oxygen and make sure her lungs are working.

She's absolutely beautiful. Birth Momma wanted to add another middle name to the mix because all of her other children have two middle names. I picked the spelling though. Like I said before, she will most likely just go by Maya.

What a CRAZY DAY! I don't think it has sunk in yet… she's actually here. I'm going to stop writing this post now, but I will update again tomorrow night with more pics and maybe even video… we'll see.