Funniest Kid EVER!

Harrison and I have been taking Josh to work in the mornings. This particular morning it was pretty cold and I told Harrison to go get a hat. He grabbed 2 and began putting them both on. I put the jacket on him. He had to bring "strings" (his blanket) a ball and bear with him.

I took this picture of him and when I was getting my phone ready to take the picutre he pulled this super cheesy face.

I crack up every time I look at it!

Handsome little guy!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my friend and fabulous photographer Sarah Faubus for taking these amazing 18 mo. pics of Harrison.

These are just a few of my favorites:

It's another boy!

We went in for another ultrasound today. It looks like baby #2 is going to be a boy! This little guy wasn't as cooperative as Harrison was and kept his feet crossed and his knees close to his stomach the whole time. The technician tried to get him to move so she could get a better look, but he wouldn't do it. We're excited for Harrison to have a little brother and think that he is going to be a great big brother. Everything looks good and there don't appear to be any problems with the new baby.

I think we've narrowed the names we are considering down to Ethan, Logan or Cole. What name do you like?

Two Weeks

Two weeks from tomorrow we will find out if number 2 is a boy or a girl. I honestly don't have a preference this time around. I know a lot of people say that and secretly really have a preference, but in my case it's true. One one hand it would be fun to have a girl. Harrison is such a "momma's boy" that it would be fun for me to have a "daddy's girl". One the other hand it would be fun for Har to have a little brother. And since our baby will only be about 4 months younger that Jod and B's little boy, it would be fun for us to have a boy so that they could be buddies.

Here are a few names that we are liking right now:

Boys:
Logan
Ethan
Cole
Parker
Ian
Austin
Oliver

Girls:
Ruby
Iris (this is my pick, Sabrina doens't really like it)
Kennedy
Brooklynn
Emily
Taylor
Samantha

What names do you vote for?

Updates...

It's been a while since we have updated our blog... Since I just taught a lesson on Sunday about keeping a journal and told the boys that this blog was basically our family journal, I figured I ought to update it. Here are a few things that have been going on:

Baby Number 2
We haven't done a very good job of letting people know this time around....so for those of you who don't already know...we're having another baby! Sabrina and the baby are both doing well so far and it has been fun to ask Harrison where mommy's baby is and have him point to her tummy. He is also very good about giving the baby kisses and raspberries. The due date is November 16th, so the two kids will be almost two years apart. We still don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, but should find out in about a month.

New Callings
Sabrina was recently released from being the Primary Secretary and is now the 2nd Councilor. She likes being in the primary and is really good with the kids.
In addition to being the Activities Chair, I am now a Deacon's Quorum adviser. It's been a long time since I've been in YM so it will take some adjusting, but I am looking forward to getting to know the boys and other leaders.

50 miles...almost
Sabrina, my dad and I went on a 50 mile bike ride in Tooele last weekend. The ride was supposed to go through some "ghost towns" but the closest thing we saw were some old barns. The ride was pretty nice and the weather was great. I got a flat tire about 2 miles into the ride that we were able to patch. I got another flat tire at about mile 37 that I wasn't able to patch. I didn't have a spare tube so I had to wait at the gas station while Sabrina and my dad rode the last 10 miles to the car. Sabrina and I got super sunburned on our legs. It is probably the worst sunburn I have ever had. There is also a reddish-purple line on my back where there was a gap between my jersey and my shorts. All in all it was a pretty good time. We washed our pains away with beef and chile verde burritos and diet Coke from Apollo Burger.

Har's First Words
Harrison has just recently starting saying words and making animal sounds. He can say "daddy", "mama", "ah oh", "ball", and "bear". He can also make the sounds of a dog, cat, cow, and fish. We were suprised at how fast he went from babbling to saying words and knowing what he is saying. It has been a lot of fun to try to get him to say new words and make new sounds.

From 2 Cars to 1 Car and a Bike
We decided to sell our Tacoma so that we could save a little money each month and pay off some debt. It is going to force us to schedule a little better so that we can both have the car when we need it, but I don't think it should be too much trouble. With some of the money we got from the sale I was able to buy a new (to me) bike that I have been wanting for quite a while. I love my new bike and have been riding it to work almost every day.

New Website
Last but not least, I started a new website/blog for open water swimming in Utah. You can check out the website here.

Smelling the Tulips

This afternoon Harrison and I went to the Tatian Noni gardens in Provo.
They had thousands of tulips and beautiful flowers.

He actually smelled the flowers!


Then he found the secret garden and the path was paved with his favorite.... Rocks!

Mormons, Coca-Cola and Caffeine

I stopped in at the Maverick this morning to get a drink before heading to work and happened to overhear a heated discussion by two employees about Mormons, caffeine and the Coca Cola Company. Their thought was that it was hypocritical for Mormons, who are supposedly not allowed to drink caffeine (false), to come in every morning to get their Diet Cokes. One of the employees also pointed out that the LDS Church owns half of the Coca Cola Company (also false). I felt bad after leaving the store without correcting them, so I will try to set the record straight here.

Myth #1 - Mormons are not allowed to drink caffeine
I always find it a little annoying when people say "Mormons can't (fill in the blank)". One of the most basic principles of the LDS Church is the principle of agency. Every human being is allowed to use their own judgment and make their own decisions. This is as true for Mormons as it is for anyone else. The gift of agency is not free and there are consequences (good and bad) for each decision that we make. Mormons are free to choose to drink coffee, alcohol, take drugs, lie, steal, cheat, etc. just like everyone else in this world. The difference is that most Mormons choose not to. A Mormon who chooses to drink alcohol, for example, would not be able to enter LDS temples. Temples are considered sacred by members of the LDS church and only members in good standing are allowed to enter. Mormons who want to enter the temple choose not to consume substances that are outlined in the Word of Wisdom.

With all of that said, it is not against LDS teachings to drink sodas that contain caffeine. While some leaders may have counseled against its use, there has never been an official statement from the church that bans its consumption.

I can see where the confusion may come from. The Word of Wisdom, a commandment for healthy spiritual and physical living, forbids the use of tea and coffee which both contain, among other things, caffeine. But sodas that contain caffeine are not specifically forbidden. I think caffeine and overeating could be lumped in the same "gray area" category. Although neither one is healty, they are not expressley forbidden. I can understand both sides of the caffeine argument. One one hand it probably does not have the same effects as alcohol or drugs, but on the other hand I think it can still be addictive. This is an area of the LDS doctrine that is left open for individual members to interpret. I have personally felt addicted to caffeinated sodas at various times of my life and as a result I have chosen to drink less. I think we give up a little bit (or a lot) of our agency with every addiction we take on.

Myth #2 - The LDS Church owns a large percentage of the Coca-Cola Company
This myth is so outrageous that it almost doesn't deserve talking about. The Coca-Cola Company is one of the largest companies on earth and is far too large for a single entity to own a majority percentage of. The largest single shareholder (Berhshire Hathaway) in the Coca-Cola Company owns about 8% of the company (a value of about $11 billion). Now, I am not one to speak about the financial position of the LDS Church and have absolutely no idea how much money they have available for investments, but my guess is that most of their investments are tied up in real estate, church buildings, etc. To be honest, I think the LDS Church has better things to do with their money than trying to buy a controlling interest in a large corporation.

Please click here to read more about this subject at Snopes.com.

Hopefully this has cleared up some misconceptions about Mormons and the LDS Church. If you still have questions about this or any other subject relating to the LDS Church, I recommend that you visit on of the Church's websites at www.lds.org or www.mormon.org.

Thank you for being patient with my rant...