A little treat

For those of you who still check this site. I tend to post more on Facebook now that I joined it a few weeks ago. Here's a video from Noah's 3rd birthday party today.

Happy Halloween

Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl and Black Spiderman. Oops, from right to left that is.

Noah's fashion style

I didn't get a picture, but Noah dressed himself today. He had some of those swishy gym pants on, but they're about 3 inches too short, so they look like capris. Then he put on a Spiderman shirt, with a Batman shirt over the top (both are the exact same color of blue). Then he had Batman socks on, with Spiderman sandals over those.

Noah loves his superheroes.

Let's try this one

This is from last year, but maybe you'll get an idea of how closely Joe Rospars resembles me.
I just need new glasses (which I now have, that are more like his), and more facial hair (which I now have). Damn he's good looking.

Well now, mom, anything to tell me about my twin brother separated at birth?

My Doppelganger

Bro-in-law Jeff sent me a link to myself. At least I thought it was myself when I opened it. I was thinking, "Hmm, when did I buy that suit?" Judge for yourself.

If you don't know what I look like, it's sort of like the guy on the right. His name is Joe Rospars. I'm looking for a picture of me that's recent and haven't come up with anything yet.

Happy Birthday Sister

I'm pretty sure I'm the worst brother in history, since her birthday was yesterday. I haven't phoned her yet. I don't think I did last year either, and next year isn't looking so good. I don't know what it is with me. General aversion to telephones? Birthdays?

Since her birthday is in August, as mine is, it was the one birthday I've always remembered pretty much my whole life. Except yesterday. Sorry hon!

Curiosity Almost Killed the Cat

Truman didn't come home last night. He left the house in the morning, as we left to take the kids to a sleepover. We didn't think much of it.

We didn't see him all day, come to think of it, as we were in and out of the house a lot during the day. After dinner it dawned on us that something might be wrong. Every 30 minutes one of us would go to the front door and call for him.

Nothing.

Today I was at work, but called home at noon to see if he'd turned up yet. Nope. The wiffer had driven around the neighborhood a little, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, or at least a corpse, maybe get a little closure. I wondered what was worse, him getting run over, or him being locked up in somebody's basement, the subject of grotesque little Frankencat experiments. My mind did run a little wild.

The kids were home when I got off work today, and they were going on about how they missed Truman. Lexi said we should go to the pet store and get another pet and name him Truman. Suddenly, out the back door, we hear a meow! There he was, just as if nothing had happened.

A minute later there was a knock at the front door. The lady from next door was apologizing, saying Truman was locked in her car's trunk. I think she had been unloading groceries and he jumped inside. That's her story anyway. I didn't see any stitches or electrical burns, but I wouldn't be too surprised to learn she'd been at least experimenting a little on the poor fella.

God Bless Les Paul

I know I'm a little late...was in Seattle for the weekend and got very ill indeed. If you've played an electric guitar, then give this guy your thanks.

No comment necessary

You don't need to tell us

A couple days ago, Billy Mays came on the tv with a commercial for the Slider Station, a little stove-top grill that makes mini-hamburgers.

Lexi looked up and said, "We have that".

A minute later, as Billy was further extolling said Slider Station, Lexi said, "You don't need to tell us! We already know!".

I couldn't help but laugh.

A Whale

Looking for a book...

I'm looking for a book. A specific book, entitled, "A History of Wenatchee, the Apple Capital of the World". The problem is, it's a pretty rare book, and usually goes for around $85 to 100 dollars.
I was able to check out a copy of it in Seattle, and it's a pretty detailed history of my hometown. If you see a copy for cheap, lemme know :)

One of the things the book mentions is the old Spanish Castle along the Columbia River. When I went home for hunting season last year my uncle Rick and my Dad told me stories of visiting the Spanish Castle when they were kids. Apparently this guy built it for his wife, then they put in a dam and it was buried underwater. They told me of the guy's son who flew an airplane there and they used to play in it. At least I think that's how the story goes. I wish I knew more about it. This picture is of the foundation of the Spanish Castle.

After some more Googling, I found this about the castle:

"TRINIDAD -- The development being proposed for the Columbia River, four miles west of Trinidad, is across the river and slightly north from where a cattle baron built a large home, known as the Spanish Castle, 89 years ago.
Construction of Spanish Castle was completed in 1918 at a cost of more than $20,000 by Lester Coffin, according to reports in The Wenatchee Daily World.
Coffin and his brother were Yakima-based cattlemen and "lords of the Tarpiscan range who counted their horses, cattle and sheep by the thousands," according to a May 21, 1927 World article.
Coffin dreamed for years of having a home along the Columbia River, resembling the residence of a Mexican president of the early 1900s.
The location he chose, on the river at the mouth of Tarpiscan Creek, was two miles into Kittitas County from the Kittitas-Chelan County line. It was remote and almost inaccessible.
An earlier rock house at the site had burned. Construction materials for the new house were hauled in over the rough Colockum Pass Road in covered wagons. Some materials were brought in from across the river.
The house had 13 to 17 rooms, including a spacious entrance hall, a reception room, living room, five bedrooms, two bathrooms and an indoor pool. Coffin didn't get to enjoy it. Just a few days after it was done, he died in a Wenatchee hospital.

Cool video

Irony vs. Coincidence

It grates every time I hear someone confuse these two things. Here is a little lesson I stole from another website because she says it so much better than I can (good thing it's not a link to stealing from websites, eh?). I'm thinking of adding a new word to the dictionary that would make these two terms interchangeable. Maybe Ironidence, or Coincidic.

from ehow.com

1. Step 1
   

   The definition of irony according to the online Webster dictionary is: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result.

2. Step 2

   Keeping the meaning of irony in mind, realize that in a nutshell it means that a situation turns out exactly opposite of what you would expect.

3. Step 3

   Recognize verbal irony when someone makes a statement like "Nice weather we're having out there" when it is pouring down rain and lightening outside. The opposite of what is said is what is meant.

4. Step 4

   Recognize an example of situational irony when a man makes his living examining air bags in a factory to make sure that they are in working order, but dies in a car wreck because he failed to check his own airbag.

5. Step 5

   Recognize dramatic irony when an audience is aware that a situation is a certain way, but the character in that play or movie is unaware of that situation. The character is going to be surprised or upset in the end because the result is going to be the opposite of what the character expects.

6. Step 6

   Another example of irony would be a lady writing a song called Ironic but there really aren't any ironic examples in her song. Well, a few of her examples may qualify.

7. Step 7

   The definition of coincidence according to the online Webster dictionary is: the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection.

8. Step 8

   An example of coincidence would be seeing a friend in another town you both happen to be visiting at the same time.

9. Step 9

   Another example of a coincidence would be that you are thinking of your husband and decide to call him. You pick up the phone to call him but he is trying to call you at the same time.

Grocery Store Maps

Why doesn't ever grocery store have a map of what's in each aisle? Why God, why?

I was going to make a map for my wife last Christmas because I knew she would love it. Then I forgot about it. She just told me that she made a list the other day when she was grocery shopping and it reminded me that I had these pictures. Maybe a future business venture?

The worst movie I saw last week

Let the Right One In...

I wish I were a more articulate man, so that I might articulate how god-awful this movie really was.

Let's just sum it up thusly:

Don't let this one in to your dvd player.

The Current State of Things

MJ is dead and I don't feel any emotion about it at all. Not that I expected to, but I guess if anything it's maybe just relief that we don't ever have to hear about him again. He did it to himself. You know what...you wanna live the childhood that you never had? Do it privately. Don't be a freak then say that people just don't understand you.

The thing that boggles my mind is that there are people out there that care. Or that are pretending to care. I understand the tributes and news stories, but people that you would expect to be making fun of the guy are talking about what a tragic loss this is. When was Michael Jackson last relevant--1992? In Romania? Probably the only person's death I could care less about is Ed McMahon (d'oh!).

In happier news, we had a great Father's Day. Lexi made me some ties from white paper she colored on then laminated. I even wore one to work last Sunday. I'll see if I can't get some pictures up. The night before I had just remarked that I certainly hoped I wouldn't get any ties for Father's Day, but I was thrilled when I saw these. And my wonderful wife bought me a speaker system for the ipod that I can use at work.

Last Saturday we also went to the Tigard Balloon Festival for the first time since we've lived here. It was a blast. I'm not lying.

First off, my wife woke up at 4.30 because we'd heard you need to get there early, because there are tons of people. I got up closer to 5, and by the time we'd left here it was probably 5.15. Got there at 5.30 (it's only a couple miles away at Cook Park). I'm pretty sure we were the first ones there. Ok, there were a few people milling about, but I'd say one would be safe to arrive at 6.30 and not miss anything. They have a pancake breakfast, so we got some p-cakes and coffee and found a table where we could watch the festivities.

The festivities really just consisted of watching them blow up hot air balloons, then proceeding to fly away in the hot air balloons. It was really neat though. I'd never seen them close up before, and the kids had a blast. Two hours later, they'd all flown away and we flew the coop as well. I wa hoping to go home and right back to bed, but kids never seem to want to do the same as the adults. That night we were able to drop the kids off at the babysitter's and go out for dinner to the Outback. I know it's not that exciting, but I haven't been to the Outback in years and the Bloomin' Onion was calling. Hmm, now that I write this, it's calling my name again.

Haystack Rock -- Cannon Beach -- Yes, the rock from Goonies!!!

Park Pics

Fresh Prince

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Noah, Future Supermodel

Went to a party for Tia, and the kids didn't have swimsuits, so Noah borrowed one of Tia's. Here are the (hilarious) results.

The wife is...

restructuring her closet, after taking out a crapload of old clothes to get rid of. I'm not going to get in the way of her 'restructuring', because it is Mother's Day, after all.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there, including my wonderful wife and my fantastic mother. Happy Mother's Day to everybody out there that has a mother. Happy Mother's Day to anybody I might've missed.

I wish I could blame

the lack of posting on my allergies...so I will.

Stupid allergies.

Another Video

New Toothbrushes

I use antlers in all of my decorating...

Rippped down a cupboard a few nights ago. It's the one that hung over the peninsula separating the kitchen from the family room. It's a shame to lose the storage space, but it hung low enough that you had to duck to talk to people in the other room. It opens it up a lot now.

Now to get the time to finish pulling down the wallpaper in the kitchen, patch up the ceiling, and paint the whole mess.

One man and 3 babies

I'm watching the kids today while the wifey's at work. Their friend Tia is coming over this morning and she's going to spend the night.

Any bets on how long I can last without losing it?

Ted Nugget, get off my stage!

A woman I work with was telling me about her son playing the video game Rock Band recently. He was in the other room and she heard him yell, "Get off my stage, Ted Nugget".

It took her a minute to realize she was talking about Ted Nugent.

Hilarious.

Bath Time Beards

Ok, really, last ones

Last ones

From our friend Steph, Allie's Mother:

Couple More

Grandma bought the 3 matching outfits for the girls. They were super excited about them. Noah was disgusted by this rampant consumerism and showed his distaste by wearing only a diaper, a dirty t-shirt, and socks.

Lexi's Birthday Party

So we had 4 kids yesterday for Lexi's 4th Birthday Party. Two of our own, along with Tia and Allie, her two best friends. Her birthday isn't officially until Tuesday, but it was the best time for a sleepover. Allie didn't sleep over, but Tia did. Horrible idea, that.

Ok, it wasn't horrible at all, it was exactly what I expected. Getting 4 kids to settle down at the end of the night isn't easy, but they did well. Here are the pictures.

Valentine's Day Outfits

20 years on

Last time I was home to see the parents I bought this cd second hand after not listening to the cassette for at least a good 15 years or so. I was somewhat amazed to see how well it held up and how much I still loved it. I say still, though I remember hating it when it first came out. It was the exact opposite of what everybody was expecting as a follow up to the debut album, License to Ill.

10 out of 10.


the best in mens clothing
visit paulsboutique.beastieboys.com

2009's starting off rather dull

And it's not just because Coldplay are on the Grammy's right now (rim shot!).

I've been thinking, but not about anything worth sharing.

Yes, the leaky pipe is still holding. I learned from the best. Now if my in-laws would only tell their daughter how great I am. I've even got the beard going to prove it.

Heard this on the comedy station the other day, "Wouldn't the Republicans be pissed if they one day found out that stem cells cured homosexuality?" I forget who said it.

Mitch Hedberg said, "I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an escalator temporarily out of order sign, only an escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience."

Kids are still hilarious. They yearn to go to restaurants to eat these days. They've been pretty good too, so it's been a not-horrible experience. We were at teh Cheesecake Factory the other night and Noah told the waitress, "I want soup, please!" Lexi's 4th birthday is in a week and she's very excited. I said something about her being four the other day and she told me, "I'm not 4, I'm only 3 1/2". She's very literal. She's been reading Charlotte's Web with Mandy then got to watch the movie which she barely paid attention to. She just liked mommy reading to her.

The kids are loving Scooby Doo the most though. You can't even turn on a Spongebob, it's just Scooby and the rest of the Mystery, Inc. gang. Every once in awhile Noah will say, "I love Velma", or "I love Freddy". There are some great Scooby Doo cartoons. And there are some absolutely terrible ones.

I think the kids are messing with me though. Every once in awhile I'm pretty sure they're saying swear words to see if I notice, but when I ask them what they say they won't admit it. They're mumble-swearers.

Finally found Herman Hesse's 'Knulp' at Powell's yesterday. I've been looking for it for years, but it's usually about 35-50 dollars; I was able to get a used copy for only 10 dollars. The kids were not the best bookstore shoppers. I think I might have done some mumble-swearing.

Any questions? I thoght not.

Manly Man

My wife didn't think I could do it. She said we should just pay someone to have it done.


She's probably right, but I did it anyway. We'll see how it looks tomorrow, but I think it's fixed.

Thanks to my dad for teaching me how to fix a leaky pipe many, many years ago.

It took me only 6ish hours. Here are my tips on how to do it (the wrong way):

1. Go buy a shovel.
2. Come home and dig up where you think the hole is.
3. Fill in the hole where the leak was not, and try another one.
4. Fill in the second hole and dig up the first one again.
5. Make the first hole a lot bigger and hope you're eventually gonna find that hole.
5b. Cry a little when you realize the leak is coming from underneath the driveway concrete.
6. Look up the number for a leak detection place that will charge you $300.00 to laugh at you when they see your two holes and still couldn't find it.
6b. Keep digging because you don't want to pay the 300 dollars. Rejoice when you see the water gushing out of the hole and hit the white pipe.
7. The leak was at a connection where a pvc pipe turned into a metal pipe. Makes you wonder if just replacing that connection is going to be durable enough, but oh well.
8. Go to the store and buy the stuff you need to fix the pipe now that you know what kind of leak it is.
9. Go back to the store after you get home and realize you forgot one very important connecting piece.
10. Fix the leak.
11. Go back after showering and doing a load of laundry and see that the pipe is solid.
12. Go to bed and hope in the morning the street won't be covered in water.

Look, a 12 step program. Oh my back.

New Year, Resolved

You see, last year I made a resolution to write more on this blog. And I think overall I did a pretty good job.

This year I did not resolve to do it. And I've done a pretty good job of it. Only 4 posts in January. Not good.

It hasn't been an extraordinarily busy month really, I just haven't gotten around to it. Here's why (in pictures):

Haystack Rock

Goonies!!!!!

Olliemae Coombe

Olliemae Coombe 1909 ~ 2008 Olliemae Hansen Coombe, went home to her mom and dad, her husband Frank, and her many sisters and brothers on December 27, 2008 in Lake Shore, Utah at the home of Janice and Sam Clayson, just barely missing her 100th birthday.She was born on Jan. 10, 1909 in Goshen, Utah to Charley F. and Carolina Holmstead Hansen. Even though she had no children of her own, she had many nieces and nephews, whom she considered her children. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and 13 brothers and sisters. She is survived by her many nieces and nephews. Those in the area are Janice (Sam) Clayson, Lake Shore; Leah R. Bonney, Santaquin; Guy (Jr.) and Hannah Marie Farley, Salem; Ferl (Bob) Dillenbeck, Pleasant Grove; Doug (Aileen) Hansen, Orem; and Ed (Deanna) Hansen, Payson. The family would like to thank Janice and Sam Clayson and family for their care and devotion they have given Olliemae these past years. They would also like to thank Alpine Hospice for the wonderful and considerate care they have given her, Jason, Yvonne, Shannon, Mary Ann, Tyler and Matt. Funeral services will be Friday, January 2nd at 11 a.m. at the Holladay Brown Funeral Home, 66 South 300 East, Santaquin, with a viewing one hour prior to services. Burial, Goshen Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.holladaybrown.com


Aunt Ollie was a good friend of mine. She wasn't really my aunt. She was my grandma Vera's aunt. When my Dad dropped me off at college, we went by Olliemae's house and she fried us up some ham and eggs. Every time I'd go to visit her after that she always seemed to have some ham in the fridge for me.

I didn't go there often, probably once every month or two for about 3-4 years. It was always nice to just relax, catch up on the latest family news, watch her favorite Utah Jazz basketball games, and just enjoy each others' company.

Aunt Ollie could be a crotchety old lady too. She was always critical of idiots and morons (which is why we got along so well) and loved to talk about how everybody's always in too much of a hurry and just need to slow down and enjoy life. We could sit there in silence and just enjoy the peace. I haven't talked to Aunt Ollie in years. I think I called her once several years ago and I don't think she really remembered who I was exactly, but that's ok, we enjoyed the time together that we had.

I really thought she'd live to be 100.

Rest in peace, Aunt Ollie. We love you very, very much.

Cleaned the garage today

It wasn't exactly a resolution for the new year, but it sure felt like it.

Took me about 4 hours. Mostly going through my archives, winnowing out the 'not so necessary' part of my boxes. I'm down to about 4 boxes of personal stuff in there now.

Woohoo!