Baby Names...

A friend sent me this link to a site that has collected Utah baby names over a period of ten years. I can't imagine how stupid some people can be. Why on earth would anyone name their kid some of the names found on this list? Are people really that dumb? I am sure it is cute in the beginning, but how on earth does a kid learn to spell "Vyquetoriya Walkasheaqua" let alone say it?

There are some names on that list that I am sure I would get hit by my mother-in-law if I said them in front of her.

How on earth do you explain to a child how/why they were named "Zestpoole"? Their name is forever going to be questioned by spell-check and anyone with half a brain!!!

See for yourself... http://www.wesclark.com/ubn/

Welcome to Utah, if you can come up with a stupid name, someone in the state is willing to name their kid with it.

Horse with five legs...

Yesterday we were heading up to Willard to pickup some pie cherries for Marni's mom. The road I normally take to the freeway was closed for construction, so I decided to just head up the old highway that parallels the freeway.

As we were driving along I noticed in a field off to the left an obviously male horse. I thought no more of it and did not feel any particular reason to point the horse out to anyone else in the van. A few moments later, Carolyn pipes up and announces that she had just seen a horse with five legs.

I sat there in stunned silence for a few moments until I looked at Marni and we both started laughing. I thought I was going to drive off the road.

Stitches Update

Sammy got his stitches out today!!! We stopped by the doctor's office and nurse Terry took them out. Sammy did very well and only bled a little bit. I had to hold his hands to keep him from knocking the scissors and tweezers out of the Terry's hands. Now Sammy has some tape over the scar to keep things held together while the healing continues. He is going to have one cool scar!!

For his bravery Sammy got a Small Gulp (little brother to the Big Gulp)!

Best Burger Anywhere!

Last week I was in Page, AZ on business. I was looking for someplace to eat for dinner and remembered a really good place just off the main drag.

If you ever find yourself in Page, stop by and have a bite to eat at Slackers. I had the Bacon Burger. Wow!!! I can't begin to describe how incredibly delicious the burger was. It was grilled to perfection and topped with crisp bacon, just the way I like it.

For the cost conscious, you can't go wrong at Slackers. I had the bacon burger, fries, and a drink for $8.75. Compare that to the barely edible rib eye steak I had the night before at one of the local steak joints in Page for which I paid $24.

http://www.slackersrestaurant.com/

Ouch!! That hurts!!

I spent most of the past week at a customer site working on some equipment issues they were having. Finally, Friday morning we had fixed the problems and I was ready to head for home. On my way into town to gas up and head out, I called home to tell the family the good news. I was greeted on the phone by Adam. Adam told me that mom was busy taking care of Sammy.

Sammy had been playing with the kids across the street. He was hiding next to their truck and turned to run...right into the open door of the truck. As you can see from the pictures, Sammy did quite a number on his forehead. Marni finally called me on her way to the doctor to get things sewn up. She called me later to tell me that Sammy had six stitches in his forehead. Later when she took the bandage off, we realized that he really has seven stitches. Poor kid. Now he is going to have a cool scar...Lucky!!

This going out of town thing is dangerous for my family. I was in Rexburg, Idaho one time and Marni called to tell me that Carolyn had fallen back on a chair and hit her head on the table. If I remember right, Carolyn ended up with five staples in the back of her head from that one.

Influence of older siblings

This morning, the girls helped me out by bringing the mail in. Carolyn did her best carrying the ads. She had obviously dropped them a few times and was having trouble keeping them together. She just put them in a nice pile on the table.

A while later, Erin (all of 20 months) was sitting at the table drinking some water while I cleaned off the remnants left behind from breakfast and lunch. I looked over at one point and she had her elbows on the table, her hands to her chin, looking through the WalMart Ad. She was flipping the pages and talking to herself.

As I watched her, she turned to a page with a game console displayed. She mumbled a few words to herself and then clearly said "Xbox." I about laughed myself silly. Obviously she has been listening to her brothers better than I had thought.

A page or two later and she found a picture of a guy working a grill. Erin promptly muttered to herself "Daddy's cooking," and then looked up at me and grinned. It was enough to melt my stubborn heart and contemplate firing up the grill and throwing some steaks on.

Boston Temple

One of my evening trips while in Boston was to attend a session at the Boston Temple with a friend from my days as a missionary in Taiwan.

After the temple session, we went to Chinatown in Boston and ate at the Taiwan Cafe. The food was wonderful and took me back to my days as a missionary.