Happy

I am one lucky wife and mother!  I could not be happier!

Pure Joy!

So... I have been really bad about blogging lately.  This was just too cute not to post!  Brooklyn is so much fun and pretty much always happy!  She is such a blessing in our life and we love her so much!  She just turned 10 months yesterday and I can't believe she is so old already.  I am starting to think about her one year birthday party and that just scares me!  Time flies!

Lake Powell 2011

A vacation frequently means that the family goes away for a rest, accompanied by a mother who sees that the others get it.

I have never come home from vacation so exhausted but I loved every minute of it.  It was so good to spend time with family, see Matthew so relaxed and not thinking about work, and bathing in the sun!  This year the trip was less about wakeboarding and skiing and more about taking care of Brooklyn :)  I think having a baby so close to the water all day long set me on edge but she had so many people to play with that we still had lots of fun. 

The happiest place on earth is also the most beautiful!

 Mother and daughter twinners! Notice the matching toenails!!

 Floating!  Brooklyn wasn't great at staying in her floatie... she would much rather swim by herself.  We tried to keep telling her that she didn't know how, but she wouldn't listen... go figure!

This little pool was perfect for the little babes.  They had some great bonding time throughout the week.  Even daddy got in the pool!

Thanksgiving Point Work Party

4th of July

Better late than never... We had a nice relaxing holiday spent outdoors with a BBQ, friends, fireworks, and popsicles.  God bless the USA!

Happy Sunday!

Being a Minority

That’s right, I’m a minority. Not because of my ethnicity, but due to my failure to adopt popular technology platforms. I don’t own a TV, a “smart” phone, a gaming system (except an old Ninetendo 64 that lives in the closet), or a new iPod (I do have a second generation Nano, and guess what, it still plays music just as well as a new one :O). Let me make one thing clear, my failure to adopt these technologies is by choice and not due to financial or intellectual constraints. So why don’t I adopt these popular technologies?

Technology should serve a need, not a self-esteem issue. Let me explain. Why should I buy a new and larger TV? Does having a larger/nicer TV really make media consumption that much better? I don’t believe that it does. (In fact, we actually just recently went from talking about upgrading from our 32 inch TV to getting rid of our TV altogether.)

When I get into my TV Zone (The state of becoming so engrossed in what I’m watching and hearing that I don’t hear or see my wife), I don’t realize what the size of the TV is. So say that on a 1 – 10 scale, 10 being the best, that I am watching a show on my computer that rates as an 8. Watching that show on a 50+ inch TV, with a great sounds system, will increase my satisfaction to maybe 8.25. So because I have a computer that I can watch television shows on, why do I need a TV? Is spending $800+ really worth the .25 increase in satisfaction? I don’t see it. It’s all about the law of diminishing returns. I probably reach the point of diminishing returns earlier then most.

Here is one more explanation for my decision. When you buy something expensive you feel obligated to justify your purchase by getting as much use out of it as possible. That makes sense right? However, do I really want to feel obligated to watch TV? TV was made for man, not man for the TV. In my opinion, TV watching and happiness have an inverse relationship; the more you watch, the more unhappy you become.

So if a larger TV doesn’t really contribute to making me happier, then why should I keep buying them? I can really boil my desire to buy a larger TV’s into two reasons. First, “A luxury once used, becomes a necessity.” Enough said on that one. Second, it’s because we got to keep up with the Jones’ and have begun to see technology as a status symbol and no longer as a tool. (This could be said of the housing market bubble as well) This is great news for consumer technology companies, but not so good for the overall well being of consumers. Kind of reminds me of the clothing industry. I have always found it funny that we are willing to pay a price premium for a t-shirt that has a brand name on it. Think about it, we are paying for the privilege to advertise some company’s brand at our own expense! To make matters worse, paying for the privilege of advertising a brand usually comes at the cost of the quality of the actual product. So you are essentially paying for a status symbol to help boast you self-esteem and aren’t primarily seeking to fulfill a need. Sounds like junior high all over again L

So what’s my point? Think before you buy and before you judge. Perhaps you will find a significant improvement in your happiness by having a new TV or by being an early adopter of new technologies. Perhaps you feel that the benefit really does outweigh the real cost and the opportunity cost associated with your purchase. However, some crazy people out there might not share those feelings and that’s okay too.

California

Matthew had a conference in Vegas last Thurs and Fri and so Brooklyn and I drove down with him and flew to California after that.  Besides the plane being 3 hrs late, we had a great time!  I had to document her first plane ride.  Luckily by the time we actually got in the air she was so tired that she passed out, which also allowed me to rest a little.  

We had so much fun playing with cousins and aunts and uncles and nanas and poppas! 

Jackson was such a sweetheart to Brooklyn and it was so fun to see Wade interact with her too!  I think Brooklyn learned a few tricks watching her cousins. 

 We also got to see GG and Poppa (my grandparents) and they loved her!  It was so much fun to watch Grandpa crawling on the floor playing peek-a-boo with Brooklyn!

 We got to go to this sweet girls baptism and be a part of her special day.  Matthew got to give the Baptism talk.  We also got to surprise Matt's parents who were there to celebrate Sydney's big day.  They didn't know we were going to be there too and it was great to see them, as always!

 Of course, what is a trip to California without the beach?  We were able to go twice and soak up the sun.  I loved seeing Brooklyn sleeping under the umbrella because it reminded me of my childhood!

 To add to our already great trip, we got to go to the pool three times!  At Kerstin's splash pad all the little babies had to wear these plastic underwear on top of their diapers and they were all out of the smaller sizes by the time we got there.  I think Brooklyn's face says it all!  haha

We can't wait until we get to see our family again at Lake Powell!  Only 29 more days!!!!

100!

For our 100th post we decided to have a party!!!  Brooklyn started dancing this week and I thought it was so fun. 

 I think she's got rhythm!  What do you think?

Dinner Time

This might only be funny to me and Matthew, but we thought it was pretty cute... so Enjoy!

He was behind me making funny faces and being a silly daddy.