July 4th Weekend - Lots of running

Hi all,

I wanted to give you an update on the Holiday weekend. The family and I went down to Houston for the weekend since I had Thursday thru Sunday off. We packed our bags, left the house in shambles, and headed South at 6:30am.

On the way down we stopped in Huntsville and had lunch at Chili's with one of Brenda's old missionary companions, Marcie Toole and family. We were able to visit with her husband and new baby boy. After seeing a one month old I realize now how HUGE my kids are.

While we were waiting for Marcie we stopped into a Home Depot to buy some cabinet hinges for my Mom. All I can say is I think we saw every aisle in the store because we thought it would be a good idea to let our three year old stretch his legs. We got a break when we drifted by the lawnmower section because David mows the lawn with me and wanted to try out the new electric lawnmower. He sweeps, washes dishes, loads and unloads the dishwasher, vacuums, and sets the table too.

We were excited to see all the improvements in Nana and Grump's house. There are new laminate floors, tile in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, new counter tops, a new back splash, and progress towards a bunch of other projects. We'll update the site here with pictures. I spent a little time hanging cabinet doors with James.

Later that night we went to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and listened to the Houston Symphony Orchestra play patriotic songs. We had lawn seats and David would do some kind of impressionistic modern dance to the songs. It was hilarious, until he ran. He was in time out three times before the night was over.

On Friday we had a family meeting. People who know our family know that these meetings can result in drama just short of bloodshed. We talked about the happy subject of funeral arrangements. How fun! Now for those of you who haven't planned you estate, this is no laughing matter. Even if your spouse survives the paperwork has to be filed. If you live in Texas go to and click on consumer. There you will find forms for everything you will need in the event of the loss of a loved one.

Later that night we went to see fireworks in the Woodlands and played some chicken foot at Jon and Jocelyn's.

Saturday we headed over to Andrew and Maxie's for a Fourth of July parade. The parade consisted of all the neighborhood children on bikes riding behind the Precinct 4 Constables on 4-wheelers and in their police cars. We thought the kids would love it! Well, THEY did. Because all our kids didn't have bikes we put a few in a wagon. I drove the wagon. I ended up RUNNING to keep up with all the bikes for four blocks with sirens wailing in my ears. I was sweating. In the end the officers gave us each a nice junior badge and we have great pictures of David riding one of the police 4-wheelers.

We decided to go to the local park and pool to go for a swim. David was very excited. In fact, he decided to go out the front door and head into the street he was so excited. After I caught him I told him to wait for everyone else to get their suits on and we would all go together. He whined but gave in. We finally head over and we notice that off in the distance there are a few storm clouds, but no big deal. We only wanted to stay for an hour. As soon as we get to the pool David jumps into the kiddie pool and decides he would rather go to the big pool. I get in with my Dad who hasn't been swimming in years. As soon as we get in the lifeguard whistles for adult swim. That was the longest 10 minutes of David's life. He just could not understand why Dada could swim with Grumps and Uncle Andrew and he couldn't. He was MAD and UPSET. He cried the whole time. There were two slides into the pool that Andrew and I used and David was beside himself. I told him he could come in in just a few minutes. Well, all of the sudden those rain clods seemed closer than I remembered. The next thing I hear is thunder, followed by the lifeguards whistle for a "thunder" break and everyone had to get out of the pool. David was out of control. He had waited so patiently and was sooo sad that he could not get into the pool. So to make a long story short, I RAN him across the street, back to the house, upstairs to the bathtub, and we made a mess playing with toys together because David was going to get in some kind of pool, one way or another.

Later that evening we went over to Nana and Grumps house and watched Harry Potter 5.

Sunday morning rolled around and we met the family at church. Wendy decided it was her turn to be energetic and we spent most of Sunday school and the last hour RUNNING around and looking at pictures on the wall. One painting in particular has a lamb sitting by a lion, and by the end of church she could say "lam" and kitty ka".

We had a nice lunch at Andrew and Maxie's, dropped by Jon and Jocelyn's to say goodbye, saw Scott Ricker in the parking lot, and headed home. That's when Maxie called and let us know we left the pack-n-play at her house.

All in all it was a good weekend. Until the next fourth...

The story behind the title...

Several years ago (over four to be exact) I was engaged to a very attractive young lady. We decided early on in our engagement that we would do our best to be "good" before we were married. One night we were talking and according to my version of the story I decided that I wanted to make sure that after we were officially married that there would be plenty of time to be alone with my wife without the interruptions of little feet coming into the bedroom. Every couple needs alone time for a healthy marriage, and everyone who knows me KNOWS I like to be healthy. So as I recall my bride laughed at me and said in essence "good luck" and don't be surprised if I don't get my way on that. Now I have tell you another story to finish this one...

When I was growing up I was the second of four boys. We were typical boys who liked to rough house. Occasionally, like on my 12th birthday, I MIGHT have been in the hospital getting a splint due to a minor altercation between me and the oldest...(his fault :) ). Anyway, over the years there were several times that due to some good clean fun like throwing rocks at each other's heads that one of us was bleeding. Now my Mom was your typical Mom in many ways, but she was no Leave it to Beaver June Cleaver. She was a working Mom at the local hospital that didn't like being woke up to me bleeding like I was scalped and needing seven stitches because I thought I missed that last rock. I really thought I did miss it too. I was more upset I got hit than the fact I was bleeding. Well my Mom was not very happy. She was very efficient about dipping my head in the bathroom sink, rushing me to the doctor, and doling out punishment. She also coined the phrase "DON'T BLEED ON MY CARPET!" So we in the clan affectionately refer to the first motherly instinct of dealing with mortal peril as "don't bleed on my carpet". Who cares that your dying, just get off the carpet! Some other time I'll have to tell you about "You PUKE, you CLEAN IT YOURSELF". So back to my story...

So as I was laying there with my bride-to-be talking about the kids that would eventually be interrupting my healthy time and I told her the story of "DON'T BLEED ON MY CARPET". I have traveled many times with work, including during our engagement. Shortly after we were married I was deployed for 8 months to Louisiana. In order to get a little privacy the best thing to do in a hotel is to hang the sign on the door that says "DO NOT DISTURB". Well as I was thinking about my healthy time I decided that the sign was a great idea but the message wasn't strong enough, and in the spirit of "DON'T BLEED ON MY CARPET" I coined the phrase "DON'T KNOCK UNLESS YOU'RE DYING!". When it comes to precious alone time with my wife, I don't even care about the carpet.

So far we have been married four years and we have two children, ages three and one. Our three year old is now old enough that he wakes up about eight o'clock in the morning, comes through our door, and climbs into bed with us. Last night I was diligent in helping him learn his ABC's by reading to him the Thomas the Tank Engine ABC Book. He is doing great. Little does he know that I secretly want him to be able to read early because I want him to be able to read my SIGN when I hang it.....