Our Savior's love, shines like the sun with perfect light. As from above, it breaks through clouds of strife.

May 30, 2007

She Works Hard for the Bunny

Clara is learning how to crawl! (I never knew seeing my child figure out new things would be so thrilling, but it sure is!) Here are some photos of her trying to crawl towards her stuffed bunny...
She works hard for the bunny,
so hard for the bunny

She works hard for the bunny so you better treat her right.
(She hasn't figured out how to pull her knees under her and stand on her hands and legs, so instead she sticks her butt in the air and launches herself forwards... very cute).
Clara got to meet her Grandma Sherwood this week. These two had a great time playing together while Greg was out of town and Nicolle went to opera rehearsals and caught up on some work. Thanks Grandma Sherwood!

May 20, 2007

Clara at 4 months


Clara turned 4 months old this week. She wieghed in at 14lbs, 12 oz. (75th percentile) and is almost 26 inches tall (95th percentile). She has decided that she is too big for her bassinet and would like to take over the King size tempurpedic mattress that Mommy and Daddy sleep in.



She went swimming for the first time, can roll from her back to her stomach and tries really hard to scoot forward when she has her tummy time. She grabs for toys and sticks anything and everything in her mouth... including Greg's face. If she is hungry and sees Nicolle, she laughs. She is growing up too fast! We are having a blast with her.

May 14, 2007

Kids can be so mean.

On Sunday, I was walking out of a class and overheard one of the young men refer to me as “Unibrow Guy.” While I try not to be sensitive to the nicknames that kids give me, I did shave any hair that existed between my eye brows. It got me to thinking to the nicknames that kids gave me when I was younger. I am sure that most of you have experienced the same thing. That is why for my next list, I will be awaking painful memories. The list for today is the mean nicknames that you received when you were younger.


1: Booger Nose: I got this nickname when I was in 1st grade. I was riding the bus home and must have been caught reaching for something lodged in my nose. For the next three years, all the kids shouted “Booger nose, Booger nose.”

2: T-Bone: My sophomore year of high school I shaved my head while on the basketball team. After shaving my head, I found out that I have what appears to be a “T” in my head. Hence the name T-Bone. I wore a hat for the next year after that experiment

3:The Suchi song: Just to show that I was not always the victim, here is a moment that I am not so proud of. My freshman year of high school, I helped Jon Kupper make fun of a girl in our class named Suchita. Suchita’s nickname was Suchi, and we had a song about her

“My name is Suchi and I like to eat,
My favorite food is (slap leg) Horse Meat.
I like dinner,
I like lunch,
I eat them all watching the Brady bunch.
Because I’m hungry …
I’m hungry
Bobby, Cindy, Peter and Jan
I cook them all in a frying pan”

Even as I write that, I feel terrible. I guess I deserved far worse than being call Unibrow guy.

May 10, 2007

Idol Chatter and Lost



Before I give my options on American Idol, I need to add a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I am biased towards Melinda because she graduated from the same institution for higher learning that Nicolle did, so just as I am rooting for my fellow ASU alumni Barry Bonds to break Hank Aarons home run record, I am rooting for Belmont Bruin alum Melinda Doo a whole lot better than Jordan or Blake.

With that said here are my feelings about the show other miscellaneous observations.


Even with the Disclaimer aside, Melinda is in a different league than the rest of the competition. She is held to a higher standard than the rest of finalists. How can Randy call Jordan’s first song “The best vocal of the night.” Melinda on her worst day is better vocally than any of the other finalist on their best day. Nicolle made the comment that, there is so much detail in her songs that the judges know that she sounds great, but they don’t know how great it really was.

The best comparison I can make is when Nicolle and I were golfing with our friends Carlos and Melly. Melly, got up to the tee on a par 3 and got a hole in one. Carlos and I could not believe it. It was unbelievable. In my 18 years of golfing, I estimate that I have played 1,640 par threes. I have tried 1,640 times to get the ball in the hole in one shot. Add 500 more shots on the driving range. In addition, I have seen about 10,000 attempts for a hole in one. The number of hole’s in one that I gave gotten = 0. The number of hole in one’s that I have seen = 2.
Sorry, that is the analyst in me coming out.

Anyway, Nicolle had been golfing about 5 times before. My reaction was one of shock and awe. Nicolles reaction, that is cool.

Back to American Idol, the judges, based on their comments take me as someone who thinks a hole in one in singing is cool.
Nicolle reaction to Melinda’s hole in one every week is more like shock and awe

The problem is that the judges have taken her for granted. Every week, Melinda goes out on stage and does better than every one of the Special Guests that give a “Master Class” on how to really be awful at singing. Come on, think about it how many of the special guests would have been voted off if their performance was compared to the finalists (one exception is Bono). Did you hear Barry Gibb last night? I love the “singing” that he did, if you call talking in a high pitched voice singing. If that is singing, then sign me up for a record label right now.

Melinda takes every one of her songs and doesn’t just sing them. She becomes a storyteller. Her performances have a introduction, building up, and then when she pulls you in and has your attention, she blows you away with the ending.

Compare that with Jordan who sang the safe and boring “To Love Somebody'' and was giggling through it. Who was she thinking about when she sang that song? Was she even thinking about someone in that song? Jordan did not convince me at all that she had any emotional investment in the song. And then she comes out for the second piece and proved that if she had to sing in a concert, she is good for about one song. After one bit of belting, her voice is so shot that when she tries to sing another safe boring ballad, Paula in her infinite wisdom, encourages Jordan because the song was a hard song. I am no music expert, but I have heard some of the songs that Nicolle has sung, and if “A Woman in Love” (Jordan’s second song) was difficult song, then “Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree” is the black diamond of songs.

Blake Lewis is a unique singer, who has a Sting type voice. I am interested in what he will end up doing.

But hands down, Melinda is the best.

What are yours thoughts?

Here is one more question for you. Is Locke dead?

May 2, 2007

Happy Birthday Nicolle

Today is Nicolle’s Birthday and I thought I would list 20 (since you are turning 20) of my favorite experiences with you, that are not too personal to share with everyone:

1. Our first date: Who knew that the key to your heart was have everything that I planned on doing, go wrong.

2. Playing soccer: There may be 1 or 2 times that would not make this list, all the other times do

3. Lake Powell: I have never jumped as high when I was wakeboarding as I did during this week, I had to show everyone else what a stud you were dating

4. Hawaii: This was great because we had shave ice everyday and had so much personal time, oh wait, forget that last thing.

5. New York City: we were able to see a Yankees game and 2 Broadway show, plus we both lost about20 lbs each because of the heat

6. Europe: Too many to name

7. Victor NY: We were able to see the Hill Cumorah, Sacred Grove and the basement bathroom

8. San Diego: Each time we went, Coronado Island was lots of fun. SeaWorld was great when we got the photo of you yelling at Speedo boy


9. Riders to the Sea: Aside from Brea’s toes, and me falling asleep on stage, I loved making my Opera debut with you

10. Denver/Payson: Coyotes, Weird couple where we camped, and shag carpet at my grandparents place, what more could anyone ask for

11. Whistler: Snow that felt like a pillow when I fell (which was quite often) on a mountain that we skied through 3 different weather systems. Good times

12. Drive across the country: Remember how soft the bed felt compared to the Uhual, and you can’t beat Golden Corral in Gallup NM

13. Carolina Beach: You got to see me in my Barney wetsuit trying to learn to skim board

14. Colorado: It was a bountiful place and the impala makes for a nice tent


15. Cruise: Only real men can climb the Iceberg
16. Prescott: Friday night concerts just don’t get any better than that

17. Camping with the Rancho youth: Good thing we had experienced #10 otherwise we would have ended up like the Jordans

18. Breaking Hope out of the MTC: That was fun to see Koni’s face when we told her what we were doing

19. Manhattan Beach: Do you want to go eat breakfast at that place again?

20. Gatlinburg: I don’t know which was better watching the family do the Amazing Race or hearing Rob give the clue “Franco Prussian War” in 25 words or less

And I would have to say that my favorite experience with you is being with you everyday, because when we are apart that is my least favorite time.

I love you.