One Month For Little Mister (inc. 4th of July)

(Quick, before it's August!  Oh wait, it totally is...)

Over the weekend we hit one month for our littlest one!  He's a big and strong and healthy and almost always happy little boy, and he delights all around him.  He's tall for his age, starting to fill out (the same height as his couple-months-older cousin but not yet nearly as chubby!), a great eater, and he actually sleeps pretty well (do you hear that?...  I'm knocking on the wood-like substance of my desk), waking up a couple times to eat and then snuggling back down to sleep, in the crib and everything.  When he's awake he's really aware of things and is starting to smile (not gas for heaven's sake, we're pretty sure they're legit smiles).  He's a sweet fellow and we're enjoying all his adventures and misadventures and messy diapers and how he's really fitting in and finding his place in the family.

Independence Day was also a thing that happened so that was fun.

Enjoy some pictures!  I vow not to let the third child be neglected!

The many faces of Mr M.

Rocky Mouth Falls with a slew of family.  It was just the right length and difficulty and a great way to start the holiday.

Lots of fun with family for Floats & Fireworks, just like I dreamed when we were thinking of buying this house.  The panoramic view from the backyard was a bit hit.

Baby, you're a firework.

Do you see what I see?

Checking out the world record-breaking flag in town.  Seeing it from the trailhead was okay for us.

Giving the fox hat a go a month later.

 Oh, and by the way, we joined this club too:

So much space!  And luxury!  And room!  And... space!

He's so quiet sometimes that I sort of forget he's there and then I look over and be like, o hi! and then be like, o wow, and then be like, *kissy kissy kissy*

Lessons Learned From a Shattered Phone

(Happy 5 months to Baby!  But first, from last Friday...)

I will tell you, I fought the smartphone revolution heartily and well.  My old flip phone (which I had to eventually relent to get even that) was working just fine, and I liked my service (i.e. family plan...), and as a phone it was all I really needed.  All the texts I wrote to and received from The Wife while we were dating long-distance were on there, and it meant a little something to me, scratches and all.  But then, plans were changing, its camera, such as it was, was lacking, the idea of being able to look things up on the go started to sound really appealing, and in general I figured it was time to grow up and get off my dad's cell phone plan.  I really didn't want to become one of Those People who are always staring at their phones, especially when we had a little one on the way, but I was sure we would be able to use them judiciously.  We switched to some starter phones, which were amazing to us, but which after a couple years started to show signs of aging.  But the real jump to a more legit smartphone was switching to a completely new service.  I could go on and on about the things I like about RepublicWireless (and just one on about the things I don't quite love), but for the price it can't be beat.  The only catch was that you have to buy their phones.  Fine, no problem, we were probably due for an upgrade anyway.  Flash forward about half a year after that magical Christmas morning, full of shiny new phones in stylish protective cases that take much better pictures and have much more reliable internet features and much bigger hard drive space...

One busy morning, my phone disappeared.  We looked everywhere, I tried every possible method of locating your phone (you would think in emergencies this would be easier these days), I seemed to remember putting it on the roof of the car and thought maybe it had fallen off when The Wife went to the store later that afternoon but had no luck driving up and down the road searching, I worried it was going to die and then it wouldn't even be heard ringing (if I hadn't left it on silent...)... And then when The Wife went on her run the next morning, she found this:

Major street cred at least?

So.

Here are some lessons learned from a shattered phone.

• First things first, DON'T PUT YOUR PHONE ON THE ROOF OF YOUR CAR.

• Second things second, if you DO put your phone on the roof of your car, don't forget about it and leave it there all day.

• Third things third, wear shorts with pockets, especially if you're going out and about.  Seriously, this whole thing would have been avoided if I had had pockets and somewhere to put my phone when I came home and immediately started to doing yard work.

• If you find a shattered phone, plug it in and see if it still works.  If it does (like mine did), hurray, you will probably be able to get all your pictures and such off of it!  Especially if (like mine did) it has a removable SD card.

• That screen really does have sharp little pieces and cracks.  It might not have been able to cut me, but it sure felt like it would.  Street cred, pffft.  I'd take a nice shiny screen any day.

• Try not to let that blinking notification light and occasional ding from a phone with an obviously working phone but obviously not working screen get to you.

• If you have a protective cover, it will only go so far.  (Then again, apparently not all covers are created equal?)  This thing didn't have a chance, considering the entire back popped off along with the cover when it was, I can only presume, run over several times before finally making its way safely to the gravelly side of the road.

• When you get your replacement phone, turn off USB debugging and install lost phone recovery apps right away.  This will save you such grief, believe you me.

• Speaking of grief, if you haven't turned off USB debugging or installed lost phone recovery apps, you will still be able to get a lot of your contacts and such from some of your online accounts, but I'm sorry to tell you that, at least for the time being, your texts will be long gone (this does matter to me since I communicate with my family and The Wife so much this way, and now at least seven months' worth of that communication is lost... ah well, fresh start?).

It should be noted that if you figure out after hours of searching that such a thing cannot be done, it's probably best to give up the search, or at least moderate the time you spend on it.  All it will do is make you more frustrated and have the same result, and who needs that?

Incidentally, if anyone ever figured out how to transfer texts without having turned off USB debugging or installed lost phone recovery apps, do let me know?

• It's not a terrible idea to look on eBay for used/refurbished phones, but buy with care and don't be too hasty (luckily mine allowed me to cancel my order the next day when I found a more reputable option), and you can always check with your retailer for specials or deals:

• If you are a RW customer, you may have the option of buying a lower-priced replacement phone from their B-Stock supply, which are phones that are possibly refurbished or new returned for whatever reason but unable to be sold as "New", but are still in working order.

• Sometimes if you get a replacement phone, it will also not work...

• If your replacement phone doesn't work, try not to spend hours trying to figure it out.  In my case I guess it must have been the proximity sensor or something, because every time I tried to make or answer a call the screen instantly went black.  The call was still in operation, but you were unable to use the keypad or even hang up, and the only way to get the screen back would be if the person on the other end hung up (which made for some awkward scrambling after leaving a message).  I found that if I plugged headphones in the screen would come back on, since the proximity sensor is no longer in use, but then would go black again when I took the headphones out, and then if I turned on the speaker and took out the headphones it was fine, but if I turned the speaker off it was black again... It was most vexing.

• If your replacement phone doesn't work, you can try to take it apart and make it somehow magically work, but don't get too frustrated if it doesn't work.  Most of them time you need very specific and very unique tools for such an operation, surely by design.  I had dreams that this would work out, but no.

• If your phone doesn't work AS A PHONE, you need to get a new phone.

Third time's the charm??

• It's a bummer to lose info and pictures (I luckily didn't lose any of those at least), but there are worse things.  And most of that stuff actually does transfer pretty quickly and easily, especially if both phones are at least functional.

• In the end, it's just a thing.  We use and even need things these days, especially if it's our line of communication to friends and family and work, but there are ways to get your things working again, even if it takes (heaven forbid) a week or two.  Try not to let it occupy your thoughts too much.

And, most importantly:

• If you start to even joke that you're trying not to feel like an amputee now that your phone is not constantly on your person for a few days... it's time to detach.  I mean, I'd been meaning to disconnect a little more lately, I'd just have preferred it had been on my terms, all things considered.  Still, the fact that I was so cranky about a phone was a good reminder.  I've been happy to leave it in another room for long stretches at a time so I can concentrate on other things (until I need to grab it and take that picture while the toddler and the infant are being so cute together!).

So I learned a lot from this experience.  At the moment my third RW phone seems to be working just fine, though there is the slightest speck of broken pixel/ding in the screen at some level which lets out just the tiniest little sparkle when the screen is lit up.  I thought about trying to fix it or get the thing replaced again, but:

• If you're on your third phone in half a year and discover the tiniest blemish, embrace it.  I like to think of it as a remnant of some kind, just a hint of its dearly departed father's and grandfather's respective and varied fates.  Like a reminder to its owner of what happened, and really, if this extremely minor version of a shattered, unusable screen is what I'm left with, I'll take it.

It's almost like it has a little scar from its very infancy.

I call it Harry.

Provo City 5K

Last Saturday Julie and I decided to get out May 5K right out of the way.  The annual Provo City Half-Marathon/Relay/5K was on 1 May, and we were sure the weather would be perfect for a Spring race, right?  Wrong!

The morning started out mild enough, and since we were running late we decided to drive the half-mile or so.  After a slight difficulty registering (they couldn't find Julie's number until we discovered that somehow she had been registered under her maiden name), we joined the surprisingly large crowd near the starting line.  The half-marathon runners left first, which diminished the crowd considerably.  The wind started to pick up a little, and the rain started to fall, but there was a good energy and it still wasn't too cold.  Around 375-400 5K runners took off a few minutes later.  The course was nice, fairly flat throughout, and seemed to go by pretty quickly, even when the rain continued to fall, then pour, then turn to snow and hail, and then it turned really cold.  I crossed the finish line in pretty good time (just about 20:17, 6:33/min) and Julie followed soon after, and then we began the waiting game.  It was a fun atmosphere (or it would have been if it had been a nicer day) with were free massages, booths with samples of energy drinks and snacks and free French toast from Magleby's, but we were shivering and just wanted to hear the results.  As much as I love the rain and snow, I don't remember ever (yes, ever!) having been that cold, teeth chattering and freezing to the bones!  They finally posted the results, and since neither of us were quite in the top 3 for our age group there seemed little reason to stick around for awards, even if they did happen to call our name for the raffle (which they never do) or throw a t-shirt in our direction (and they gave us really nice t-shirts anyway).  (For the record, I placed 17th overall, 4th in my age group.  I was surprised to find that the overall winner was also in my age group, at about just over 15:00.  No way I could keep up with that pace!)

We soon discovered, unfortunately, that our car, along with over a dozen others, had been towed in the duration of less than an hour that we had been parked, leaving a large number of us stranded without transportation, cell phone or wallet.  We were the lucky ones, living relatively close, though at that temperature the walk home seemed much longer.  I was furious, quite sure they had simply been laying in wait (early on a Saturday morning when both the company whose lot we had parked in, as well as the towing company were not even operating anyway) because they knew there was a race going on, and felt taken advantage of, but we worked it out--I gave my piece to the towers and the manager, paid their exorbitant fee and drove away with Julie's car.  They sure made their money on a day they're allegedly not even open for business...  (This editorial by Eric Snider helped me to feel better about the whole situation...)  We spent the rest of the day resting and trying to restore our internal body temperature.  I swear I can still feel the cold in my bones.

So, it was kind of a rough morning, all things considered.  It's always nice to have a morning run, and it's good to get our May run finished, especially since the May weekends are starting to fill up... Details to follow.

We were unable to take pictures at the race, since our camera was in the car and by the time picture taking would have taken place, the car was gone.  It seemed kind of fitting that such a bizarre and scattered experience should not be thoroughly and officially documented, but I did manage to find a fairly good photo from the race photographers.  No way I was going to pay for it, but here's the thumbnail, which I think is also kind of fitting.

Heck, it even has the website on it.  That guy behind me was trailing me the whole time, but I was not about to let him pass me by.  Hopefully you can see how very wet and cold I am.  I just love crossing that finish line.

Goodbye, Rameses...

On Wednesday night, after more than seven years of driving, and less than seven months of listing online and showing, a very nice young man named Mike from Salt Lake City and his friends drove off with my old Beemer, leaving me with an unexpectedly sizeable wad of cash in my hand and an equally unexpected amount of mist around my eyes.  This car has given me its share of problems, but it always had its charms (the convertible roof definitely a high point, and the stereo was pretty nice, and the seeming luxury of a "vintage" BMW), but when it needed a little fairly substantial work done before it could get registered again, we decided it may have seen its day under our ownership.

I had listed it for an estimated price (OBO) I found online for its age and condition, which may still have been a little high, but I figured it's a great car for a fun renovation project, or a first car for a kid who doesn't need or require much, so I thought I would throw out the line and see if anyone bites.  We had quite a few calls and visits about it, but in the end, they decided it wasn't exactly what they were looking for, or what they were willing to pay.  I listed it again with a slightly decreased asking price, and eventually this young man came to look at it.  He even looked it up online and was prepared to pay pretty close to what I was asking based on his research.  He is a self-proclaimed amateur when it comes to cars, but it's a hobby he likes and would like to develop, and he has connections for parts and labor and has helped with other projects, so he knew what he would be getting into.  He and his friends drove it around and tried it with the top down, and before the hour was up, the negotiating was settled, the papers were signed, the cash was handed over, the glove box and trunk were emptied, the pictures were taken and the car was gone, leaving only the dark puddles on the pavement where it had leaked who-knows-what fluids over the long winter.

Sure, there were times I wanted to drive it right off the road for the problems it gave me, but it also has been with us for a lot of good times.  How many times did Elise and I take it to Jordan Landing for Harry Potter nights?  How many times did Melody, Emily and I take it for a ride while blasting and singing along to "Crusin' "?  It even had a good run while I was on the mission by Mom and Dad.  And it was the first car Julie and I ever rode in together when I picked her up at the airport, and the first car I missed her in when I drove it home three days later and looked longingly at the empty seat next to me.  When the guys were getting ready to drive it away asked if it had a name, I told them I had originally called it Rameses (since the beloved Trooper I drove prior was called Moses, a reference to the brotherhood in The Prince of Egypt), and they loved it and waved as they drove away.  I was a little more sad than I expected, but it didn't last long, and I'm glad to know it's in good hands.  I couldn't be too sad when the money received meant a little edge on bills, student loans, rent, etc. (and um, maybe a little bit toward Disneyland...), and in the end, it's pretty much an out of sight, of of mind kind of deal, though of course we'll always have fond (and not so fond) memories.

Goodbye, Rameses...

Window Crisis Solved!

Today the nice man from Glass Doctor came and fixed my car window! He tried to make it so it would seal to the convertible top without wind or leaking, and even vacuumed it out of all the thousands of glass pieces. I'm so glad there are people like this who know what they're doing. It makes me wonder if I really know how to do anything, but then, I'm like... Thanks for fixing my car, and if you ever need help or consultation in the arts or film, give me a call! There was a MINOR dilemma when I was calling for prices-the first place said it was impossible to order that part except through a dealer, so it would cost almost $500 (which is outrageous, even for a window for a Beemer that old), but that person hardly spoke English, so I had to try a couple more places, and it was much more reasonable (about $150, a relief, since those old BMW parts really can be QUITE pricy).

Anyway, I'm just glad that my car is back in action. Now, IF those vandals return, they will face the wrath of me. I don't know how, especially if they do their dirty work in the dark of the night (I parked it in the light this time).

Yay! This is not a photo of my car exactly, but of a car that matches the model and year of mine. I just found this online, but now you get the idea of what my car looks like.

"On an ordinary Sunday..."

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the title of this post is a lyric from a song, first from Sunday in the Park with George, and later used in a homage in Tick, Tick... BOOM! Both very good scores.

Anyway, today was Sunday. It was probably the first (or among the first) official, regular Sundays at church since I came home (when I wasn't out of town, or entertaining visitors at home, or whatev), and it was... interesting. I was very proud of myself for getting up and getting ready in plenty of time (especially after getting myself to bed at a decent hour last night), but church itself was kind of a struggle. It was so nice for once to be able to just be able to go to church and sit and listen and partake of the Sacrament enjoy the Spirit that is there, rather than going to hours of meetings, worrying about who's going to come to church and who isn't, getting everything ready, playing the organ while simultaneously preparing to translate the entire meeting, etc. It's nice to just GO to church and actually do what you normally do at church. I even pulled out my sketbchbook for the first time since I came home and did some drawings (mostly of Asian people, oh boy), and Elise even handed over several postcards that she had planned on sending me. THOSE would have been nice to read back in Appleton (though they were still nice to read here). I did have some hard times in the following classes (seemingly irrelevant and unimportant conversation that had little if anything to do with Jesus Christ), but someone in the ward mentioned that they had driven past our house on the way to church and reported that my car, like one of theirs, which I had parked innocently on the street, had been subject to mindless vandalism over the night. When we came home, I saw that her report was definitely true. The front passenger side window was pointlessly smashed by some local hooligans (I guess there has been some vandalism problems in the neighborhood recently... Park in the garage, they say... Well, I guess I could have parked it more in the light, you never know). JUST WHAT I NEED, I thought. I guess if my car HAD rolled down the hill yesterday, it wouldn't have had its window broken (only everything else, ha ha). Anyway, I couldn't really take much more of anything else, so I decided to end it all by falling into the merciful semi-consciousness of guilt-free, hours-long, Sunday afternoon napping. I woke up just in time to read a little and then head to the mission-prep class I had been invited to attend. It was really interesting as well. It has been several years since I actually attended a class like that. Even in a group of about 9 kids, you still have all kinds. I could already get a glimpse of what kind of missionary each would be. I guess I still have some of that spirit of discernment lingering from the last twenty-four months. Anyway, it was fun to report on the mission and tell them perhaps what I wished people had told me about the mission experience before I left. They're probably going to be prepared as they'll ever be when the time comes. It was actually a pretty good time, and I stayed until it was over. Then, driving home, I remembered that Elise and Jeff were having their announcement photo shoot in the park, so I took that route home. I sat with Mom, Dad and Cortnie for a while, while Matt and Travie took pictures of the young people in love (who are "very seldom hungry"!) and Jackson entertained himself by throwing sticks and rocks into the stream. Elise said I had a "growth coming out of my ear", which was, of course, my headphones (hey, I only had one ear bud in, I was totally aware of what was going on and being said around me... It's just like having a soundtrack to my life! I have a lot of music to catch up on).

So yes, it was a pretty interesting Sabbath. Maybe this was a boring post to read. Maybe you lost interest halfway through. That's totally fine. I'm just sad that my car is minus one window. It's so expensive to fix and keep up. Darn those ancient foreign cars! But at least it's relatively in one piece. Count your blessings, right?

P.S. I don't know HOW my car was even put into neutral yesterday. I mean, if I was going to shift out of drive, why into neutral? Could it have rolled in drive? I guess it could. It's hard to remember because the guide that holds the stick in place is loose, so I can't quite recall what gear it was in. I just wish I had turned the tires into the curb so it would have been stopped by that. Oh, whatever. Peace out.

Rescued by a parked car...

So today I went to dinner with Meg, a friend from the old Glenwood days, back in town for BYU's commencement and a few days of seeing old friends. I was so proud of myself, finding her sister's house perfectly, without writing down address or directions, and without even taking a wrong turn. I turned off the car and walked to her door, and imagine my surprise when we walked back to the curb and my car had vanished! My eyes immediately followed the road or twenty-five or thirty feet ahead when I saw my car parked dangerously close to another car that had been parked on the side of the road. That's right, my friends, I left my car in neutral and it rolled several yards until the other car stopped its progress (yay for Laws of Motion!). Meg laughed and I was absolutely crimson with embarrassment, but at the same time incredibly grateful that the neighbors had parked this car in exactly this spot. It was just far enough from where I had parked that my car hadn't had enough time to get a LOT of momentum (thereby diminishing the amount of damage done, if any at all), and at the same time stopping my car from rolling down the increasingly steep slope, into absolute oblivion, and who knows what damaging end. I examined the collision spot on both bumpers, and I could see a little bit of plastic trimming had cracked off of the top of mine, and could notice hardly anything on theirs... maybe a little scratch on the left side of the already-scratched and -dented bumper. Still, I wouldn't feel right without leaving a note.

The funniest (and most awkward) part of the story is this: After backing the car up to examine the damage, I commented I was definitely going to blog about this tonight, and Meg noted that I should probably have taken a picture with the cars touching (I had serendipitously left my camera in the car a few days earlier). We decided to reenact the moment, so I pulled forward ever so slowly while she gestured the distance between cars until we had made slight contact. I noticed a woman across the street looking at us through her window with an absolutely perplexed expression. I waved at her awkwardly while Meg took the photo, and then, the woman and her daughter emerged and crossed the street. I explained the situation thoroughly, and they seemed mostly amused, a little confused, but hardly bothered at all. She said her son would probably not even notice the damage, if any at all (she didn't notice any), but I let them know I left a note with my number regardless. Another good thing was that Meg had actually met the woman and her family, so had a somewhat friendly previous connection. I felt like such an idiot.

This is just what needs to happen on my first official date since coming home. I PROMISE I know that you're supposed to put the car in 'park' when you pull over and get out, and now Meg will probably never let me live it down! You live and learn, I guess, and nevertheless, we both agreed that it was a fun and interesting story, and made for an eventful Saturday evening.

The best part: You can see the woman coming out of her door in this picture!
She must have thought we were insane!