A great poem

I heard this in a talk from John Bytheway and though a lot about it. I hope that you enjoy it.

If you can smile when things go wrong and say it doesn't matter,

If you can laugh off cares and woe and trouble makes you fatter,

If you can keep a cheerful face when all around are blue,

Then have your head examined, bud, there's something wrong with you.

For one thing I've arrived at: there are no ands and buts,

A guy that's grinning all the time must be completely nuts.

From a talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland

BYU has been getting increasing difficult for me. I can't keep up with the young whipersnappers around me. It has been hard to say the least. It is nice to know that I am not alone and others have trials too.

Heber Valley Handspringers Day 1

Today Emma had her first lesson with the Heber Valley Handspringers. We were very impressed with the class structure and the teacher. She really knew how to keep the kids' attention. Emma did really well for her first time. I was impressed with how she could follow instructions. She wasn't perfect, but she had never done anything like this before. The important part was that she was having fun. She will be doing this all summer, so we will see how she progresses.

This is Emma's first time on the bars.

This is Emma learning the back Somersault.

The obstacle course

This is Emma on the Tramp. She is supposed to be jumping and clapping.

The audacity of it all!

I can't believe it! Really! It was just to much to think about. If you are as outraged by this next story please join with me in writing to......I don't know......our local congressmen? I don't think that would do anything, but here is the story anyway.

I built a computer for a family member and was rewarded with just enough to take my family to a movie! Yeah, PLAY MONEY! So we go to the store and grab some snacks making sure to keep just enough to see the movie. We wanted to see "UP", because we had heard good things about it. After the store we took the 40 min drive to civilization (Provo) to see the movie. We got to the theater and they charged us the regular fee of $5.75 for a matinee. This was no surprise. The surprise was that they were showing up in 3-D and they would charge an extra $2.50 a ticket! This was actually over budget. The problem is that we couldn't just drive home, we really went out of our way to come to this. So we scrounged up more money and payed for the tickets. For those that don't know, (because I didn't) you pay $2.50 for some cheap pair of glass that you just give back in the end. I'm sure the 3-D movies cost more to show, but $2.50 more? CRAZINESS! I am just appalled.

As far as updates go, Matthew is a full time walker. He has been walking for 3 weeks now. It is fun to see him toddle around. His face is always bruised because he falls, or walks into something. It's sad to see. I am happy to say that I am the preferred parent! Anytime he is upset he goes straight to daddy! Ha! But anytime we put Emma to bed she always wants mommy. Maybe if I bribe her with some candy. 

Emma is doing great. She starts tumbling on Tuesday. We we really excited to put her in this class. She already does so much jumping and rolling around that focusing it on tumbling should be easy! Just like sleeping through the night and potty training should have been easy.....yeah.......... . .  . . anyway, she finished preschool a couple weeks ago. It has been sad for her. She loved school and the teachers. They were really good to her. She gets to go back to the same school with the same teachers in fall.

Erin is doing great in school She had a hard start because she didn't like learning some of the material in psychology. Now she is learning about behaviors and development and she is loving it. She scores really high on her tests and she always comes to me with a "HEY mike, did you know...." statement. I always answer "yes" with a shrug. I can't let on that I don't know everything. That would ruin my status as the "THE DAD". 

There is a BYU club call the "Jane Austin Regency Club". They are putting on a dance in the fall. You are supposed to dress in period clothes and learn how to period dance. Needless to say, were going! I can't pass up the chance to get really decked out and where 20lbs of extra clothing! I just need some smashing sideburns. Erin is currently looking at dress patterns and period dress making tips. She is going to design her own dress. It will be a fun time all around, I hope.

As for me, school is going ok. Linear Algebra is something that really should be studied....well...by someone else. But I'm ok at it. In about a month I start into Multi variable Calculus and then it is the fall semester where I magically get trapped in the library for months on end studying. I'm not excited. I'm excited to end, but getting there is hard. Yes, I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's hard to see it sometimes where you can only see a foot in front of your face. My tunnel is foggy. I'll inch my way through though. WE WILL SURVIVE! 

We are looking for ways to move out of Erin's parent's house. It has been nice, but living 45 min away from school is getting increasingly difficult. The problem is since I only work part time, we can't afford much of anything. So if anyway knows of a nice cardboard box that we could rent in the BYU area, let us know! 

Well, until next update. Be nice, be good, and watch out for swine flu! It's the scarest thing that we will ever face, well, until they find something else for us to panic about. I think the next big panic will be that our supply of hair gel will get depleated due to the war on forign shores. So stock up now! You've been warned!

P.S. "Up" was awesome! We loved it!