No Excuses-Just Lazy and ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

To all of you who have given up on me....I don't blame you.  There really is no good reason for not writing in the blog since Disneyland, but I think that I do have some good excuses.  Here is a list of my best excuses:
Excuse #1.  While in Disneyland we were notified that the offer we put on a home had gone through--so we moved into a new (to us) home in Springville in May.
Excuse #2.  Just when we were starting to get settled, Payton was on the computer and won a million dollars!!  That is what the link told him and in the process a killer virus was downloaded that destroyed our computer.  Our attempts to find a computer have been in vain.  And turns out the whole million dollar scheme was a scam!
Excuse #3.  Just when things were starting to settle down Payton decided to go wreck on his bike.  The handlebars hit him in the stomach and he had a hard time catching his breath.  After saying a little prayer, he decided that he needed to go to the doctor.  Turns out that he had lacerated his liver.  July 3rd is now when we celebrate Liver Day--Just like the Thompson's.  After three days at Primary Childrens he was sent home and told not to run or jump for eight weeks.  Never thought that I would tell my young son to quit running outside and to come in, sit on the couch, and watch more TV!!
Excuse #4. No computer.
Excuse #5.  The start of school.  Taylor is a sophomore at SHS, Baylee is an 8th grader at Mapleton Jr. High, Kelsea is a 5th grader at Brookside, and Payton is in the 2nd grade at Brookside.
Excuse #6.  Football.  I spent most of my Friday nights watching my Red Devils and Saturdays watching my Utes.  Looking back I could have taken a couple of weeks off in November, because the Utes seemed to, but I choose not to. 
Excuse #7.  Notre Dame.  I had the opportunity to go back to South Bend and watch the Utes play Notre Dame.  What a fantastic place.  Thanks Age, Marthea, Jeff, Jennie and Jeff Park.  It was a blast.  There was a  drunk, young, female, Notre Dame fan who asked me the same question multiple times, and my answer is still the same--"No, a Ute is not a Mormon with a lot of wives!"
Excuse #8.  In late November I hurt my hand and couldn't type.  You see I was playing football, my team was up by a point with under five seconds left.  I made one heck of an athletic play and blocked the field goal...no wait that was Brandon Burton that did that!  Had to fit that in somewhere.
Excuse #9.  The Las Vegas Bowl and Jimmer Fredette.  Both were like car wrecks for me as a Ute fan.  Both were ugly moments where I should have turned my head and looked away, but just had to sit and admire an opponent who could not be stopped.  I just can't hate Jimmer, but I sure don't like Boise.
Excuse #10.  Truth is that I have spent too much time enjoying the time I have with my kids that I have just not taken the time to share it with others.

I will try and do better.  As soon as I can I will download some pictures from the moment's I shared.  Life is not always easy, but it sure is good.  The Lord continues to bless us with more than we probably deserve.

One Day More

Spent our last full day in California today. We hit all of the rides that the kids wanted one more time and then spent some time shopping. Even had a turkey leg--it was worth it Tim. I am trying to get to sleep early so that we can leave a little early. Need to get home and put together a lesson for High Priests. The kids picked out their souvenir, and we went to dinner. The kids are now out at the pool for one last swim. Not looking forward to the long drive or the cold weather, but it will be nice to get home. Pictures to come.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Scratch one off the old bucket list. For some reason, I have always wanted to go to Hollywood. Now maybe I have already been there, but I always have wanted to take my family there. Since we decided to take a vacation from our vacation, I thought that it would be fun to take the 30 mile jaunt to Hollywood. It turned out to be a really fun day.
We went to the "Walk of Fame" located outside of the Kodak Theatre and the famous Chinese Theatre. There we met all kinds of people dressed as famous people. We had pictures taken with Snoopy, Michael Jackson, and Jack Skeleton even swept Taylor off of her feet. I looked up the exact location of Cary Grant's star and made Deborah's day. It was cool to see all of the stars and places that I have only seen on TV. But man are there some weird people in this world....
After seeing the Walk of Fame, I wanted to take the kids to get a good look at the Hollywood sign with the hopes of getting a good picture or two. After driving for what Payton thought were hours, we found ourselves at the observatory. Great view of Los Angeles, but not close to the sign. We then finally asked for directions (actually Deb did-its a guy thing) and found a good place to take a photo--right in the middle of a busy road. Item two off the bucket list.
It is hard to believe that the trip ends tomorrow. We have one more day at Disneyland and are planning to hit it hard. I really hope that the kids have had fun. This has been a great trip. We have a lot to look forward to when we get home, but I am just going to focus on tomorrow and then the long drive home. Pictures to come.....

Its the Happiest Place on Earth so just be quiet and enjoy it!!!

The title of this post seems to say it all. Today was another great day, but we all seem to be going to bed a little tired and a lot ornery. We woke up later than usual, and made it to Disneyland around noon. There we met up with Riley and his family. We rode Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, went through the Haunted Mansion, conquered Indiana Jones, and finished it off with a little ride to find Nemo. The only real bummer for the day was when we found out that Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed for yearly maintenance. At least we could ride the Matterhorn, but every time we went by it was broken down, so that did not happen. Riley and I decided that we would eat dinner at the ESPN Zone so that at least we could watch the Jazz game, then they lost. It was a long day and nerves were close to the surface. I think that we almost need a vacation from the vacation. Once we left the park the kids were happy though because they ended the day in the pool with their cousins. It's ironic that we spend all of this money to come to California and see Mickey, but my kids would just rather spend time with their cousins and swim. I know that I am supposed to be teaching my children, but I continue to be taught by them. They are not really concerned with things, they just love to be around people who love them. At home they are the happiest with their cousins, whether it's with Becky's kids or Keli's kids or Riley's kids. It doesn't matter so long as they get to spend time with family. My children have taught me that it's not where you are that matters, it's who you are spending your time with. I honestly believe that they would be just as happy at a motel in Provo, as long as there was a swimming pool there and cousins to play with.
The weather has been great, not too hot, but not cold enough to need a jacket. Didn't take too many pictures today, but those that I did take will be posted when I get home. Too hard to download them on my laptop. Time for bed.

California Dreaming and Screaming!!!!

I am way too tired to post, but I will try anyways. I am sorry to point out that there will not be any pictures with the original post, again too tired. We spent all day at California Adventure. All Payton has been talking about since we decided to come to Disney was that he was now tall enough to ride the California Screamer. Needless to say he was not disappointed. I think all in all he rode the thing five or six times, the last couple of times he was on the front. Crazy kid. He did seem to love it though. All of the kids had a great time. We have only been back at the hotel for 10 minutes and they are all asleep. That is a sign that we had a good day.
We spent the day with Riley and his family again. The kids had a ball pairing off and riding rides together. I think that we rode every ride that we wanted to at least once. I even rented a "Jazzy" scooter for Deb. The rest of the week she will just have to settle with the regular old wheelchair, but everyone should be able to live the good life for a day. The pictures of her driving the thing are funny. She even challenged two old ladies to a race. We then had dinner at a nice Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Disney, and then finished the night dancing to a band next to the Disneyland Hotel. It was late, we were all tired. For those of you who know me that is a deadly, and embarrassing combination. Yes I danced. I danced long, and I danced my heart out. Napoleon Dynamite has nothing on me..except a little more, well a lot more, hair. I think that I thoroughly embarrassed my kids. Unfortunately for me Taylor caught the whole thing on video. I am sure that she will attempt to give it up to the highest bidder. But it would do her well to remember who puts a roof over her head and feeds her. Maybe if I am brave I will post a little of my glorious dancing on the blog. Maybe not.
Pictures will come later...maybe even a little video. Depends on how tired I am tomorrow.

California Here We Are!!!!

Well, we made it. After a long drive that included a diet of licorice and Cheese-its, we finally made it to our hotel. See the beautiful picture taken by Taylor of the view from our balcony--not sure what the picture is supposed to show, but I included it anyway. Since it had been a good 24 hours since we had decent food, we decided that we would go and have a nice dinner. The kids picked Joe's Crab Shack. Never been there myself, but we had a lot of fun. Still not convinced that I have had decent food yet.

Since yesterday was spent mostly in the car, we decided that today we would take it easy at the beach. It was cloudy, and the breeze made it a little chilly sometimes, but that did not seem to stop the kids from enjoying the time there. Beats the heck out of spending the day in school.

Kelsea was the most enthusiastic--braving the surf and really enjoying herself. Payton spent most of the time finding seaweed and putting it into a big pile. Have no clue why but he really enjoyed himself. Taylor chilled out on the blanket and listened to music. She is growing up too fast for my liking. Baylee spent most of her time with others--like Riley's little girl Brynlee and the other younger kids who needed someone to play with. She always seems to be looking out for everyone else. We found a lot of shells and even some live hermit crabs. Hopefully none of them made it into the van.

Deb and I just relaxed and took it all in. Deb really seems to be having a lot of fun and even braved the surf with the help of her kids. I think that I have seen her smile and heard her laugh more in the past two days than I have in a year. It was also nice to be with Riley's family and Stephanie's brother Scott and his family. The kids had a great time. We are now exhausted and ready to go to bed with dreams of Disneyland dancing in our heads.

Enjoy the pictures. Hopefully more to come.

Good...no GREAT day!!!!

Our Gang of Six

The Whole Gang--almost 50 of us!!!!

Some days are better than others, and Saturday April 17th was one of the best! It started in the morning with the annual MS Walk. The walk is organized by the State MS Organizations. We have been participants for the past three years. Our team never seems to raise the most money, but we always have a large group of family, friends, and neighbors that turn out to walk to help find a cure for MS, and help show our support for Deborah. It is the memories that are made on this walk that help get us through the hard times of the year.

We always have great support from our family and friends. All of Scott's brothers and sisters, as well as their kids were there. Deb's mom, her brother Glenn, Chris Hart, along with some neighbors and close friends came to show their support, many for the third year in a row. Each of us had a sign telling why we were walking. Mine simply said "for my wife." One of Deborah's friends husband, Kendall Redmond, added another reason why he was walking. In his words he was walking because "Life is too short to suck." I could not agree more.

Marie, Deborah, and Glenn...and Shasta

One of the neatest things about this years walk was the support that our children received from their friends. Taylor had a handful of friends walk with us, and Baylee had her friend Ashton there to lend her support.

Taylor's Gang

Baylee and Ashton

To all of you who came, we cannot thank you enough. It is your love and support that gets us through each day. We love you and look forward to seeing everyone there next year and we continue to hope and pray for a cure for this disease. If it could be cured by love, Deb would be the most healthy person on Earth. You all showed us that.

Part Two of a great day:

Future Gamer?

Payton and I went to the Red and White game at the U. I have always enjoyed the game, and really like the fact that my boy was the one pushing me to go. He was excited to be there with cousins, but was more excited to go onto the field and get some autographs and see some of the players. The highlight of the day was running into Eric Weddle. For those who know me, you know how I feel about Weddle. I think that he is a class act. Payton had him sign his football, and also had a picture taken with him. He told Eric that all he wants for Christmas is a powder blue Weddle Chargers jersey. The kid knows how to really suck up.

Payton and Eric Weddle

He was able to get all of the autographs that he wanted, including one from Shaky Smithson and Brian Johnson.

After the autograph session, Payton spent some time on the field. We played catch, and ran around. He even caught one of my passes at the goal line and ran 100 yards the other way for a TD. Payton was fascinated with the turf and the little rubber pellets that make it soft. He also thought that the whole experience was "the best day of my life....until we get to Disneyland."

Below are some pictures that I took from our experience on the field.

100 Yards is a long way to run


Thank you again to all of our family and friends. We are so blessed and are grateful for all that you do to support us.