Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I SPY...


While driving in the car today Brooklyn asked if we could play the "I Spy Game." We proceed to play. Brooklyn spied something pink. We were coming upon a little girl on her bike wearing a pink shirt. I asked if it were the little girl. She replies "No." I then ask if it is the flowers in the median. "No." Then she replies "Mom it is nothing outside or inside the car here. We are playing I spy animal." So then I guess the few pink animals I know about. She says no to all the animals I said. I then throw in the towel. Brooklyn proceeds to tell me the animal. "Mom it is a baby pink dragon." Man I felt foolish for not guessing pink dragon. Oh well maybe I will do better next time.

Friday, June 26, 2009

HELP!!!

Ever since we were in Orlando Camden and Brooklyn have played a game I like to call HELP!!!. If they feel stuck, trapped, fell on purpose or accident they immediately yell out HELP!!! desperately. Camden has taken it very far and says it many times a day.
Help!!!!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

New Glasses

Tassi wanted me to re-post an entry from my "personal technical" blog.

I am leaving IBM and joining Bandwidth.com.

When Joe Gregorio exited my team at IBM during the summer of 2007, he opaquely announced that he was joining Google by outlining that his job moves coincided with road construction providing faster routes to his previous employer.

I recently got a new pair of glasses. Here I am with my daughter just two weeks ago:

Brandon and Brooklyn

And then I began to talk with my wife about when I got new glasses throughout my life. I could not help notice the irony that within weeks of a major life event, I got a new pair of glasses. I am reminded of Christopher Guest teasing Eugene Levy on the commentary track of "A Mighty Wind" of Levy's peculiarity of selecting glasses before filming.

Junior High.


Upon graduating from elementary school, it was soon discovered that I needed glasses. I was quite young, and the late 80's was not exactly kind to the optically challenged community:

brandon-1

Today's youth have a much better selection of stylish frames.

I should note that I went through about a dozen of these frames. It was not long before my mother realized the economics of purchasing the warranty that covered broken frames. Replacing fractured frames became so commonplace during this stage of my life that I would go to the store to get them refitted on my bike. I do not recall whether I thought it was a good idea to ride my bike with impaired vision.

High School.


Awkwardness is one of several words I would describe myself during high school. I think I may have predated Harry Potter with the frames I had during this period of my life.

brandon-2

Nevertheless, I did play football. Between my freshman and sophomore year, I bulked up with my weight lifting. Further, glasses do not exactly go well with the football field. Thus, I would often wear contacts. Except I am petrified of touching my eye. Even to this day. My mother would pin me down on the ground, pry open an eye and jab in the contact until it stuck. I did not make it easy.

brandon-3

Abroad.


Between high school and college I went abroad to South Africa for two years like many do from my church. During this time I got my first "modern" pair of glasses (and stopped parting my hair).

brandon-4

Undergraduate degree. And the band.


Throughout my undergraduate degree at Arizona State University I played the bass guitar for the band Before Braille. (We just released an album of unreleased tracks, it is pretty good.) I definitely took on an "indy" look at this time of my life.

DSC00065

Married. Masters degree.


I got married and got serious about school and finished at Arizona State. Which led me to pursuing my masters degree at Carnegie Mellon. Just before starting graduate school I wanted a more academic look.

brandon-6

IBM.


I had just completed graduate school before joining IBM and had gotten new glasses. I remember feeling compelled to get glasses with a more "professional" look. In retrospect, they were boring. The glasses were the memory kind that bend back into shape. Here I am with my girls. They are quite active which proved useful for the flexible frames.

brandon-8

Bandwidth.com


Which leads me back to my transition to Bandwidth.com next week.

Photo 21

Presenting Brooklyn the Magician!

While at Walt Disney World we often walked over to the Boardwalk for dinner. This is Brooklyn's big debut. We are hoping this video will be the first step into show business.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I'm so dizzy my head is spinning . . .

...Like a whirlpool it never ends.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hooray for Sisters

Sisters

I love having two girls that get a long very well. It is very sweet to watch them play and laugh together. Thankfully Brooklyn is a very patient older sibling and allows Camden to jump on her. I hope my daughters can be just as close to one another as I am to my sisters.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Great!

Daddy and girls-0728

This past week I was fortunate enough to attend our Stakes Girls Camp. It is such a blessing to have a husband support me in my calling. Brandon took on both roles as a parent this past week. He would wake up and get the girls ready to go over to a friends home for the day while Brandon went to work. Then pick them up for dinner, time with daddy, and then bedtime. I had no worries that my family was okay. I missed them a whole lot. I had fun however was so very excited to get home to them.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Sure Source of Knowledge

I picked up the girls from our friends house. We could not find Brooklyn's drink cup and on the way home she began to complain about being thirsty. Soon complaining turned to whining. I told Brooklyn she needed to find her own solution. After a moment of silence, I asked, "What is your plan?" "I can drink that," pointing to the Febreeze fabric freshener spray bottle in the car. "That will not taste good." Brooklyn retorted, "I don't think you're right, Daddy." "I think I am," I assured her. Brooklyn's inquiry persisted. "Why? Did you look it up online?"

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sneaky Dad

Tassi is helping out at a girls youth camp this week. That means I have Brooklyn and Camden to myself. (With the generous help of friends during working hours.)

One of Tassi's greatest attributes is that she thinks ahead. So, in this case, she left behind some simple gifts for our girls. One to be delivered each day.

The first night was glow sticks. The girls **loved** them. And fell asleep with them. I gathered them up and put them on the nightstand.

The next morning I woke to a shrieking four-year-old. Brooklyn was upset that her glow stick disappeared in the night. She was confused how it could happen. When I explained what I had done she asked, "So, did you tiptoe into our room while we were asleep?" "Yes," I responded. "How did you get around this that squeaks?" pointing to a spot known in our family for significant squeaking in her second floor bedroom. I then demonstrated how I walked around the rocking chair, straddled her bed, obtained the glow stick, straddled her sister's bed, obtained the second glow stick and then exited the room without making the floor squeak.

To that display of masculine elegance Brooklyn replied in a serious dead-pan tone, "Dad, please don't be so sneaky in my room."

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Poor Lost Little Girl

Sweet girl thinking mad girl is lost

Nice girl: Are you okay? Are you lost?
Poor Lost Little Girl: sniffle sniffle
Nice girl: Do you know where your mom or dad are?

Mad girl's parents caught taking a picture

Poor Lost Little Girl: sniffle, sniffle. (With a look of disgust says.) She is right over there.
Nice girl: (Confused expression and proceeds towards me.) Your daughter seems really sad.
Insensitive Mom With Camera: No she is not sad she is mad.
Nice girl: Well, I think she has been crying.
Insensitive Mom With Camera: Yep she is crying. She is just throwing a tantrum. Thanks for checking on her.


Disney World was great even the tantrums. We all survived and no one got lost. I will post more photos later.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Dance Breaking

Brooklyn has started to do more free-form dancing. I call it Dance Breaking. The following was from our very recent trip to Disney World.







Monday, June 01, 2009

New glasses, part 2


My sisters asked for a picture in the comments of a previous post. Taken from our hotel room at Walt Disney World. Note Tassi tending to Camden on the floor.