Peeping Chinese Wizards

Along with my spicy chicken teriyaki I got a fortune cookie with my lunch today.

Considering this weekend is General Conference, I have to believe this may be a true fortune.

So does that mean I should play the lottery with the numbers on the back?

A Cowboy Rides Into the Sunset

"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" Proverbs 22:1

My Grandpa died last Thursday. I've been trying to think of something to write about this but everything felt too personal to share in this forum. I think my sister's post covers it nicely so I'll just link to her and leave it at that.

And your little dog, too!

We recently watched the Wizard of Oz with the kids because...

It's a classic? No.

It's easily understandable to 5 year olds? No.

It teaches children the value of running away from home? No.

It teaches children to go into any old trailer with a crazy looking old guy by the side of the road? No.

It's fun to ponder about why the Wicked Witch of the East's feet shriveled up? (At least, that was Grant's question.) Maybe.

Toto is so adorable? Definitely not.

All children deserve to have nightmares about flying monkeys. Yes!

Point - Counterpoint

Point: I don't like being woken up early by the pitter patter (more like stomper stamper) of little feet.
Counterpoint: I worry when they sleep late. Maybe they've stopped breathing, been kidnapped, run away.

Point: It's hard going to work in the morning when a two year old just wants to snuggle.
Counterpoint: It's hard playing with kids after a long day of work when I just want to sit in a comfy chair with my eyes closed.

Point: I don't like playing "What's that smell" in the boys' room.
Counterpoint: I really don't like finishing a round in the game of "What's that smell" in the boys' room.

Point: I don't like stalking around the house, turning off lights.
Counterpoint: It's kind of fun working to achieve the appropriate level of muttering while stalking around the house.

Point: I don't like finding child inflicted damage on walls, trees, computers, furniture, cars, sisters, gardens, clothes, carpets, animals, etc.
Counterpoint: I also don't like the feeling of hypocrisy when I tell a child not to inflict damage on walls, trees, computers, furniture, cars, sisters, gardens, clothes, carpets, animals, etc. (sorry Dad)

Point: I like watching them grow up so we can do older activities.
Counterpoint: I don't like watching them grow up and finding I miss some of the younger activities. (But I'm pretty sure I'll never miss Candyland.)

Point: I like thinking about the things they're going to accomplish as they get older.
Counterpoint: I don't like thinking about the obstacles they're going to have to overcome as they get older.

Point: I like being a dad.
Counterpoint: Sometimes it's hard being a dad.

The whole point: Most of the time it's great.

Dadventures

I don't claim to be a perfect dad but sometimes I do pretty well. The boys, being twins, have pretty much always been together. It really is a rare occasion when they are more than shouting, shoving, or sharing distance apart for more than a few minutes. When they're together they feed off of the emotional state of the other in remarkable ways. That feedback loop between them can send them into fits of silliness, fright, or bravery with very little prodding. But when you get them apart, they act differently. They are generally more calm, more pliable and more attentive. So I invented "DADventures^®". Basically, I take just one boy with me and we go out. I try to leave the word "No" at home and either accept their suggestions or gently redirect them. Usually it's done around dinner time so we might get something to eat, maybe stop at the store to buy a little treat and sometimes do some other activity.

For the first dadventure I took Cole and we headed out to dinner. I asked him what he wanted to eat and provided a list of possibilities. He chose hot dogs. We went to Wienerschitzel. I got him a kids meal that came with a horrible little book about some creature who lived in hot dog land. During dinner I asked him questions and really tried to listen and tried hard to respond positively to anything he asked or said. After dinner we hit Krispy Kreme for dessert. We returned home to find a very envious Grant playing games with Sue and Bryn.

That first night we gave the boys no warning that something different was happening. Grant was actually asleep when Cole and I left but the next night Grant had all day to build up anticipation for the dadventure. Every time he looked at Cole's little souvenir book the excitement grew. I called home as I left the office and he was down at the corner waiting for me when I turned onto our street. For dinner he chose Chicken McNuggets at McDonalds. His toy was a talking Alvin and the Chipmunks figurine which he could hardly wait to bring home to show off for Cole. While Cole is a little more reserved and needs some prodding to talk much, Grant pretty much fills up any little space in the conversation with whatever is on his mind. And believe me, that little boys has plenty on his mind. Just ask him.

Since those first two dadventures I've done about one a month with each boy. We've played mini-golf, been bowling, even gone to movies. Several times it's been more convenient (for Sue, anyway) for me to take both boys on a double dadventure. It has become somewhat traditional to stop at a store to allow them to choose a small toy ($5 goes a long way at the dollar store). One thing I've changed is being more proactive with their choices for dinner. Five Guys or Buffalo Wild Wings are more typical now. Hey, there's no reason I shouldn't enjoy the food, too.

I find that I enjoy the time as much as they do and I have to restrain myself so that our dadventures don't become too commonplace. Of course, soon Bryn is going to be old enough to go and my dadventuring opportunities will increase by 50%.

Excellent.

I Passed!

...this:

Yes, I'm the proud, and very relieved, parent of a 5 mm renal calculus, sometimes known as a kidney stone. Here it is with some of it's older, yet smaller, siblings.

In lieu of flowers, please send cash.

Revolution Calling

Here are my thoughts on a couple of books I've read recently.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
I was sorely disappointed by this, not because of anything in the book, but because he didn't finish it. It was something Franklin worked on periodically for many years and then died before he could finish. His account ends in the mid 1750s, just as things were getting interesting on the road to independence. I was left wanting much more and now I'm going to have to read a biography of Franklin just to fill in the holes and finish the story. It was a fun read, and I enjoyed it up until its all too sudden ending.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine
This one got my revolutionary fervor stoked up. Granted, the debate over monarchy has long since been resolved in this country but his discussion on the purpose of government was insightful and still relevant. This pamphlet played an important role in building public support for the independence movement. What's more, Paine put his money where his mouth is by donating his profits from the sale of the pamphlet to the war effort.

In the introduction he strikes a blow for civility by declaring, "In the following sheets, the author hath studiously avoided every thing which is personal among ourselves. Compliments as well as censure to individuals make no part thereof." He stuck to that intention and I think his argument was the stronger for it. I knew I was going to enjoy it even more when, in the second paragraph, he states, "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one." Considering the importance of this little book in the formation of our country, I'm surprised I haven't read it before now. I felt smarter while reading and I sure wish I could write with the clarity and style that Paine demonstrated.