Go Rockies!

Three cheers for corporate club level seats! It was the best date. We had cool temperatures, hot dogs, and no kids. Perfect.

Vacation Leftovers

Isaac hanging out at Grandma Black's house.

Chatting it up with Kelly and Liz at a family BBQ.

Playing in the wood pile with cousins.

Attempting Sunday best photos.

Once again I was terrible at taking photos and most of the pictures were taken from my mom's camera. It has to be said that we had many fun adventures with Jeff's family as well. Some favorites were:

• Arctic Circle with the cousins. Anna was beyond thrilled to be there eating an orange-dipped cone and chatting with cousins. And Isaac roamed happily around the restaurant and ended up with an extra corn dog stolen from some poor child's meal.
• Gardening in Grandma's planters. Just in general, playing in the backyard was a favorite for both kids. Most memorable, though, was the kids digging, throwing, wallowing in the empty flower beds.
• Golden Corral. I missed this one, but I hear it was craziness. Again, Anna adored being with Tanner, Ethan, and Riser. I wish we were closer so she could play with them more.
  
  It is most definitely a blessing to be living within driving distance of all these amazing people. It was a wonderful trip.
  
  

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival

At Dad's suggestion, Liz, Lily, Mom, Dad, Anna, Isaac and I headed down to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves. After, Dad treated us all to Iceburg shakes and burgers. Delish.

Wheeler Farm

It was so beautiful while we were in Utah that we decided to take the kids to one of my childhood favorites, Wheeler Farm. The weather was perfect and the animals were stinky. Just as a farm should be.

At one point we ventured to the back of the farm at sat on the banks of Little Cottonwood Creek. It was really lovely to sit on the grassy bank, throw rocks, and chat. It made me wish Spring was a bit longer here in the West.

Dave's Rules For A Successful Career

Dad passed out a copy of this list to each of us at his retirement dinner. I wanted to put it here so it would be a part of our permanent family history.

Dave’s Rules For a Successful Career

4-16-10

1. Get educated—everyone need training
2. Learn the job—learn from your surroundings, supervisors, and co-workers
3. Get along with the people—be a team player
4. Work hard—put in extra time
5. Be honest—tell the truth
6. Do what you say you will do—have integrity
7. Get the job done—complete the project
8. Do the job right—value competence
9. Solve the problems—take personal responsibility
10. Learn from your mistakes and those of others—be open to change
11. Be humble—learn to listen to others and treat them well
12. Look the part—dress and groom well
13. Think ahead—get ready for what is coming next
14. Know what you want and go after it—rely on your own opinion
15. Be prepared—think about the future and be ready for it
16. Take your spouse as your partner—work as a team
17. Take care of your family—they are more important than the work
18. Stay on good terms with your Heaven Father—you will need his blessings

The Retirement Party

Dad's party turned out to be a great success. We started with dinner at Tuscany. The room we reserved was really perfect. It was so fun to be able to talk to everyone with distraction. Has that ever happened? Even though we were a large group of ten we missed Ben, Sarah, Dan, Michelle, Julie and Jeff.

After presenting Dad with a GPS and Atlas (for all the future travels), we headed back to Mom and Dad's house for dinner and to watch a surprise video. Each of us kids made a little video expressing thanks and remembrances from dad's career. It was great for those who couldn't make it to contribute. Also on the video was a slide show of projects and jobs that dad completed over the last 35 years or so years of work.

Dad with me and Josh.

Liz and Matt, Nate and Kelly

Mom and Dad, Matt and Amanda

All the originals that were present. We really missed Dan and Ben.




Watching the retirement video.

To summarize a little of what I said in the video, I am really honored to be the daughter of such a hard worker. Dad always provided for our very large family. We never went without. But even more importantly, dad was a wonderful father. And while he always work many long hours, I never felt that he was unavailable for anything I needed. It has been from dad (and mom!) that I have learned to work hard, be thorough, value education, be efficient and have integrity.

I'm so happy for my dad and I hope he has many happy days full of relaxation and contentment and even work. (He would never be happy without some form of it.)


For my own records, Jeff's sentiments from the video:

As I begin my career with my eyes focused on the horizon and a future full of possibility, it is hard for me to imagine what it must be like to be at the end. For the first time in your life there is no more looking ahead, no more speculating about your future career plans, no more strategic planning, no more budgeting, no more bidding for jobs, no more partnership meetings, no more. It must be incredibly satisfying to be looking in the rear view mirror at a lifetime full of hard work and accomplishment, and yours is definitely a life full of hard work. If ever a man knew what it meant to work hard, it is you, Dave. When I met you more than yen years ago, I knew right away that you were a man about his business. You have always approached every aspect of your life, whether it is personal or professional, with a remarkable level of focus and determination. As every member of this family can attest, no man can wash a batch of dishes, mow a lawn, shovel a sidewalk, rake a ridiculously large load of leaves, or put away a never-ending supply of Christmas decorations with more speed and efficiency than you. To watch you slam through a Thanksgiving-sized load of dishes is truly a sight to behold.

I know through countless conversations we have had together, that you have put your heart and soul into your work. What satisfaction you must be feeling knowing that you have given it your all. Many people speak of their careers and the success they have achieved with a sense of surprise. They act as if their success was a mistake saying things like “if you were to ask me 30 years ago if I imagined myself doing what I am doing today, I would have laughed.” That kind of talk and nonchalance has never sat very well with me. While I acknowledge that there are people out there who have achieved great professional success without planning and preparation, I believe the majority of successful people do significant amount of planning and spend years in preparation. They obtain an education, work very hard, and make significant sacrifices. So to hear you talk about your career, the extensive planning which was involved and the calculated decisions which were made, and how all of it led to your ultimate goal is both inspiring and encouraging to me as an aspiring professional. Your success did not happen by surprise or accident; it was deliberately planned and executed. As you finished your graduate studies you knew what you wanted to accomplish, you planned your work and worked you plan, not stopping until you had arrived. You did what you set out to do from the beginning. By taking various positions with several companies in multiple states, you learned the construction business. You stepped up when no one else would; never shying away from any challenge. Eventually the hard work and persistence paid off and the right opportunity presented itself. You had made it! Finally, you were leading your own organization as an owner and Vice President. Of course, in many ways the challenge had just began, but you had made it, you had achieved your goal! A wise professor once told me that “success happens when hard work and preparation meet opportunity.” This philosophy could certainly be applied to you and the story.

Dave, I have always had the utmost respect and admiration for you as a professional and, more importantly, as an individual. It would be impossible to quantify how much you have sacrificed for the betterment of your family. You are an incredible husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather and friend. On a very personal note, I so appreciate all of the time you have spent with me, sometimes in wee hours of the night, giving counsel and advice. I am so grateful for your love and example. Congratulations on your retirement, Dave!

We Made It.

I just couldn't bear to miss my Dad's retirement party (you know how I love a good get-together), so I took a leap of faith and made the eight hour drive to Salt Lake City with the kids in tow. Anna and Isaac did surprisingly well, thankfully, and both to and from Utah was manageable. I don't know why I was so intimated by the drive since I've flown a couple times solo across country with the kids. Bring on the summer road trips! I'm ready!


Anna playing with the best travel toy ever. Kept her entertained on and off the whole trip.

"Mom, shouldn't you be watching the road instead of taking pictures?"

The driver side stash.

Birthday Celebration

Anna has been happily anticipating her birthday for weeks. So it was no surprise when she came into my bedroom just after 6 am ready to get the party started. To try and avoid waking the rest of the house, we snuck out for an early morning birthday errand.

We headed out to the only place I could think of that would be open at that hour, King Soopers. Luckily their flower/balloon counter opens at 7 am. We ordered balloons and then went off to pick out donuts for everyone. We also stopped at the in-house coffee shop and got hot chocolate.

Anna was adorable and took great care in picking out donuts she thought each person would like. While we drank hot cocoa she kept saying, "Oh, it's so great to be four years old." Love her.

Aren't her pajamas a crack up? Backward pants and huge t-shirt tucked in=priceless.

As soon as we got home the Balloon Party commenced with opening presents. (It was especially fun to have Grandma Marlene here for the big day. It made it so special for Anna. More on that later.) We have been telling Anna that for birthdays you only get a couple of small presents so that she wouldn't have grand expectations and be let down. So she was especially thrilled that with Grandma Black and Grandma Marlene's presents, in addition to ours, she had eight gifts to open. She counted them over and over and announced, "I am so lucky to have eight presents!"

She received from Grandma Black a digital camera key chain and a Tiana Barbie Doll. From Grandma Marlene a Calico Critter Bunny family and kitchen set.
From us she got a Calico Critter Kitty family and baby twins, a new dress (see b-day pics below) and the movie, Princess and the Frog.

Enjoying her pink star donut with sprinkles. (She picked out a matching yellow one for Isaac.)

We let Anna choose any restaurant she wanted for lunch. She really wanted to go to White Fence Farm but it was closed for lunch. Bummer. Second choice was Texas Roadhouse. I was a little surprised and asked why. She told me she likes to pretend she's an elephant and eat the peanuts there. Ha! Proof that if the kids are happy at dinner we pretty much ignore what they are doing. We've been there as a family a few times before and never noticed Anna doing this.

Grandma Marlene wanted to take Anna out to a movie in the afternoon and Anna happily agreed that would be a fantastic idea. I took the Buds back for a nap and Grandma, Jeff, and Anna made their way to see "How To Train Your Dragon." When they returned, Anna announced to me that it was good, but really short. Actually, she just fell asleep about 10 minutes in. Oops.

We finished the day with cake and candles and singing. It was really a lovely day.

My Anna Girl

What a joy to have this girl in my life. She keeps me on my toes. Here is a little about Anna as a big four year old.

• Loves to sing around the house. She sings all day long. In the car, at dinner, while she's playing, it never ends. Except in primary. She refuses.

• A bit of a perfectionist. Anna doesn't like to do things unless she knows that she can do it near perfectly. (Hence the no singing in Primary. She doesn't know all the words to the songs...)

• Loves Isaac fiercely from a distance. She still doesn't like Isaac getting up in her face or into her stuff. But she misses him terribly when he's not around and loves to show him things she knows he will love. "Look Iys, its a ______!" (insert tiger, truck, ball, etc.)

• Is into all things Madeline. Anna loves the books, the show, the French accent.

• Speaking of accents...Anna is always picking up and trying out accents while she plays. First, it was a British accent gleaned from the cartoon Kipper. Next, French from Madeline. Now she's picking up a New Orleans accent from Princess and the Frog.

• Loves her animals. Anna's bed is a constant pile of stuffed friends. There are a few that make the rounds and then end up back in the animal bin, but for the most part she sticks to five or six friends. (Kit Kat, Teddy, Lion, Little Kitty, Raccoon and Tiger.)

• Everything is named Anna. Besides the aforementioned animals every thing else is named Anna. All her dolls, the rest of her stuffed animals, toys from McDonald's all don the name. When naming time comes around she seems to think really hard, "Hmmm. I thiiiiiink he should be naaaaaamed.....hmmmmm. Oh! How about Anna?" Big surprise every time.

• Spends at least an hour a day washing dishes. She will pull up a chair to the sink, gather a bunch of bowls and spend the longest time washing dishes and usually making a pretty big mess. Good thing water is so easy to wipe up.

• Despises cleaning up toys. It's a fight every time.

• Is the master negotiator. Everything is a negotiation. Minutes stayed up. Number of bites taken at dinner. Amount of toys to be picked up. Menu items for lunch. It goes on and on.

• Tells dad about her day every evening. As soon as Jeff gets home from work, Anna will follow him around and tell him all the things she did that day.

I'm so blessed to have such a healthy, vivacious, funny, loving daughter. Happy Birthday dear Anna!

Birthday Shoot

I am pretty happy with the pictures I took during our annual birthday photo shoot. There may have been a little bribing involved for smiles. The first four or five are my favorite.

Check out those sticks for arms!

Classic Anna face. It had to be included.

She constantly pulls her hair out of her face like this.