A Tribute To Matt

Matt is a wonderful husband and father. He is someone I look up to very much. His very essence inspires me to want to be more. I'm posting a little blurb on him because I am so proud of him. He recently received notification that he will be awarded a USDA grant to study rice. This is so exciting for our family. It is a great accomplishment on his part. These grants are very competitive and require tremendous effort just to submit. It's hard to do science. Research takes tremendous patience and perseverance. I call it "A lot of stick, no carrot". But Matt loves to do it and he's great at it. I love the example that he is for all of us and how tirelessly he works to promote our family's economic and spiritual well-being. 

Ian and Lily love their Daddy so much because he always plays with them.

Ian loves to wear his Daddy's clothes. I hope that he wants to be like his Daddy.

Lily gets so visibly and audibly excited when Matt comes home. She is a daddy's girl.

All Fun, All The Time

Here are some of the boys at the pier in Redondo Beach. Brandon, Adam (Seanna's sons), and Davis (Craig's boy) were so great to Ian.

We went to the L.A. Natural History Museum with Seanna's family, Craig's girls, and my parents. We had so much fun there, saw dinosaurs and animals. Here's a shot of Brandon and Ian. He was a great helper with my kids.

Here we are in front of the T Rex and Triceratops skeletons in the museum rotunda.

July 1 was Adam Jolley's 8th Birthday. We had a great time because we got to go to Chuck E. Cheese. It was Ian's first time there and he loved it!!!

Here's Ian asserting his dominant position over his sister while exercising his God given right to mine his nose. Nice, Ian.

That's all for now. More updates to follow. Matt arrived in L.A. this morning and we are so happy he is here. We missed him terribly. It was four years ago on this day (July 4th) that Matt came to CA with me and he "busted a move" on me while cruising in my brother's boat. That's when I realized he liked me. Soon there after we were engaged. So the 4th of July for me also marks the beginning of the best part of my life.

Feeling The Love

Yesterday we went to the beach. It took several hours to get there but we eventually made it. It's hard to get four different families and their kids organized and out the door. Even though Lily has chicken pox she's been in a great mood during the day and then becomes a demon at night. Anyway, Eric put up his Easy-up and I sat in the shade with Lily or in the sun with her covered the whole time. It was beautiful out but windy and a bit chilly for my taste (68 deg F). Here's Ian with Jennifer and Ryan (Eric's kids).

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Eric and Brandon getting ready to fly a cool kite Eric has.

Ryan kite flying with the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Pacific ocean behind.

Jennifer and Makenna.

Finally, here's Ian sampling some So. Cal sand.

Home to Roost (As In Chickens)

Well, we arrived in L.A. on the 25th. It was a long day of travel. Especially with two babies and no Matt to share the effort with. Anyway, we arrived without event (other than me getting horribly motion sick). The following day at my parents house proved to be more interesting though. My sister, Seanna and her brood arrived around 6pm, having driven to L.A. from Utah. She quickly noticed a funny little blister under Lily's chin. By this morning the now big blister under Lily's chin had several friends.

So now I'm in L.A. and under quarantine. My Lily flower has the chicken pox. So far she's in great spirits and is acting like she feels fine. She hasn't had a fever and doesn't seem uncomfortable. But this is only the first day. 

In light of these findings I spent the day trying to figure out how to see a doctor out-of-state. It was quite a challenge. The HMO's definitely make it difficult. I had to contact my doctor back in Houston and get them to refer us to some local clinic Aetna told me I could go to. In the end I had to pay in full for the visit ($85) and I'll have to submit the bill to my insurance company because the clinic was filled with jack asses. By the way, the visit was not for Lily. Although the doctor confirmed that she does have chicken pox. The visit was for Ian. I decided to vaccinate him in hopes of preventing him from getting it so I don't have to spend all my time in L.A. in quarantine.

The doctor visit was interesting because the medical people at the urgent care weren't very compassionate. They gave me a hard time about my insurance issue and then made us (Seanna, me, and our 3 restless kids) sit in the waiting room filled with people. When we arrived we informed them that we should be put in a separate room because of Lily's contagion, but they just ignored us. Then because I got my paper work in later than Seanna they were going to make us wait even longer to be seen by a doctor. At that point I had, had enough. So I addressed the entire waiting room, told them that my baby had chicken pox, and asked them if they would mind if our crew was seen ahead of them. Basically all the people in the waiting room freaked out and 30 seconds later we were escorted to an examination room.

Ian didn't like the shot at all. He cried but at least he got a sucker out of the deal so he can eventually go to the dentist and get more painful shots. I think these health care people are in cahoots and have a conspiracy with the government. So now I get to hang out here while everyone goes to dinner. And so it goes...

This morning I woke up with the idea that I would indulge in another of my favorite Mexican breakfast: pastries bought from a corner bakery together with Fanta Naranja. I waited until I started feeling hungry (a mistake that would later limit my options). Feeling sadistic, I decided to ask for advice from the Concierges, all of whom have the impression that anybody staying at their middle-end hotel wants to spend money freely and keep sending me to unreasonably priced locations. After a muddled exchange in Spanglish, English, and Spanish with two different Concierges, I was given directions in English “straight down the street two blocks past the Plaza de Bandejas (‘You know flags. Si, FLAGS’) and you will find a ‘very important’ panaderia. After walking the two blocks, I found neither the flags nor the bread, though in all fairness I have a notably poor sense of direction and ability to follow directions. Starting to feel that first of hunger panic set in, I returned to my original plan of wandering the streets until I found a suitable-looking place.

Fifteen minutes later, well into the dizzy symptoms of hunger pains, a woman asked me to help her lift the metal grating to open her store. Feeling chivalrous, I easily lifted the portcullis and seized the opportunity to ask a ‘native’ for her bakery recommendation. After some consideration, she mentioned the Wal-Mart that I had disdainfully passed 30 minutes ago. Before she could finish with a second recommendation I blurted out “El WAL-MART!?”. Seeing that further details might confuse her poor gringo, she smiled and said “yes, the Wal-Mart has a very good bakery.” Lacking the strength and mental fortitude to argue any further, I retraced my steps to the Lair of Westernization. With my stomach digesting my backbone, I stumbled into the bakery section and found all of the delicious pastries that I had sought all morning. My elusive corner bakery had been relocated to a inside corner of the Wal-Mart. I choose out some of my favorites (I love shopping for pastries in Mexico, they give you an aluminum tray the size of a large circular pizza pan and a pair of tongs. Shoppers pick up pastries and place them on their tray, which are then bagged by a nice cashier), grabbed a Fanta Naranja, and beat a hasty retreat. They were as good as any that I have ever had. Oh well, when in Rome . . .