William is born

Our baby boy, William Michael, was born yesterday, Tuesday, September 21, 2010. We've been through baby births a few times, and I tell you, it is special every time. William was born at 1:53 pm weighing 7 pounds, 8 oz and measuring 19 inches long. Mommy was cool, calm and collected through the process. She is amazing...probably in a lot more pain and discomfort than she lets on. We really struggled settling on this little guy's name(s). Lots of ideas, but in the end we knew he was William Michael. Both 'William' and 'Michael' are family names. His sisters have already started to refer to him as "Will".

William seems to be a very 'relaxed' baby, although it is only day one. I also got to witness the circumcision today, which was a new experience for me. It is a really simple procedure. It was kinda sad to see him in pain, but it really wasn't as bad as I imagined.

The girls are really excited to have a baby brother. They all want to hold him and see his little hands, feet, etc. Yup, this guy is going to be spoiled by his older sisters.

Any day now...

Melissa has been REALLY ready to have a baby lately. Due date is this week and man, she has been enduring all kinds of discomfort. I’m so grateful for women and the stuff they go through to bring a life into this world. Man, it can be downright miserable at times. She has been induced for every baby birth, but this time she’s really been feeling like labor was coming naturally in the last week or so. But, now that we’re the day before scheduled induction, it does not look like naturally induced labor is in the cards. Late last week she kept telling me “today is the day” and to be ready to rush to the hospital on a moment’s notice. Well, that emergency didn’t come and it looks like we’ll have to wake the little fella up to get him to come out and play.

We’re really excited for baby boy to join us. I’m just so grateful that it appears everything is “normal” and no reason to be concerned for health issues, etc. Life is good. Tough times, but truly, sincerely good.

9/18/2010 - Bridal Veil Falls hike

Saturday morning we had a few hours before the 1:00 soccer game, so I grabbed 3 little ones and headed up to the Columbia River gorge for an “easy” family hike to bridal veil falls. We stopped in downtown Portland at Voodoo doughnuts, just to see what all the fuss was about. As advertised, the line to buy a donut was wrapped around the front of the building. Then it was confirmed: a $1 donut, hyped into a $2 donut. Now I know. But the kids sure liked the monster-shaped donut they picked.

Bridal Veil falls is a nice, short little hike. The thing that surprised me was the elevation loss/gain. It’s a short hike, but you descend quickly, then climb back up on your way out. We took some great pictures at the bottom of the falls, then started back up the trail. But…then I noticed…darn, where are my glasses? I know I took them off briefly to take a picture, but they’re not in my pocket now. Where did they end up? I dropped them somewhere.

Long story short, I looked for 30 minutes or so, bummed about the situation. Then I said a prayer. After the prayer, I tried my step-by-step logic again, but added a twist: what if they fell off my head while adjusting the kids for a picture? Well, I had been searching around quite a bit in the area, then it struck me…it’s possible they could be in the big 18-inch pile of gooey-green sea-foam here. Maybe. I extended my arm into the goo and started feeling around. Something felt like a twig, and I felt around to find it again and pulled it out: My glasses! As simple as it sounds, I really felt this was an answer to my simple prayer. It was also cool that my 3 youngest girls were able to see it unfold. They saw daddy get an answer to his prayer. I don’t know if they’ll remember it for long, but even Clara understood. She re-told the story again the next day and it shocked me how detailed her version was. Even the 2-yr old knew what was going on. That was really cool. Oh, and the falls were really cool, too.

Speed workout (track training)

I am now starting to add speed training to my workout routine. I know I should be doing more of this, but I've basically been cheating and counting basketball as my interval training. I also will often run suicides and time myself after playing, etc. But I know dedicated speed training will be good for my overall fitness and race performance. So, I went to the track yesterday and here are the times I came up with:

40-yrd dash: 5.56 seconds*
200m: 0:32.4
400m: 1:08
800m: 2:41

*Note: I was wearing long distance running shoes for my 40-yd time. I will try again in cleats to see if it affects my time.

This was a good start for getting a feel for my speed. I found myself noticing whether or not I am up on my toes or rocking on my heels, things like that. It also teaches my muscles to give more output when they are feeling maxed out, full of lactic acid and screaming to quit. I think I'm going to enjoy this aspect of training, at least a couple times a week. I'll find ways to improve on the times above. My body had some similar "post-race" symptoms of back pain and the like, so I can tell it pushes me to the limit when I am racing against the stopwatch.

September 5 2010 – Labor day hike – Little Zig Zag Falls

We spent a great deal of labor day just prepping our house for the new baby coming. After two soccer games and a number of tasks, I decided I wanted to take my little ladies on a hike. So we hopped in the car and hustled up to Mt. Hood for a quick hike. It was worth the effort. Although a short hike (perfect for young kids and a pregnant wife who decided at the last minute she wanted to come), the falls are really a stunning site when you fist walk up to them. We went a little while there, Moriah and I hiked up above the falls for a few minutes, then I shared a short message from the scriptures with the girls. Basically, the thought was about Moroni and when he was wandering alone for so many years, he probably found some beautiful places like this near water and pondered the important things of life (pride cycle, becoming more Christlike, etc). I also mentioned Alma teaching and baptizing at the Waters of Mormon. It was a fun day hike and a great way to cap off an eventful summer.

September 4 2010 – Moriah’s baptism

Moriah’s baptism was special occasion. Both grandpa’s spoke and both grandma’s helped with the music. Aunt Heather Witnesses were bro. Fink and bro. Jensen. She was welcomed into the ward by bro. Risenmay. In her typical somewhat-shy way, Moriah really just took it all in without saying much. I was able to perform the baptism ordinance and was touched as we embraced after she came out of the water. She’s a good kid trying to do the right thing. It was a special day for our family.

Also, we took some outdoor family pictures just before going to the baptism. That’s becoming a tradition for us, as we took family pictures on Emery’s baptism day as well.

September 3 2010 – Moriah’s birthday

Wow. Moriah is 8. Time is flying. I am so proud of the little woman she is becoming. Her big hope for this birthday was to get a pet, preferably a frog or a lizard. Due to some particular issues that might make that a bad decision, we decided to surprise her with 2 hermit crabs. I am surprised at how cool I think they are. When I bought them, I was surprised at how they look and act. They are actually pretty interesting little creatures. They like to climb, change shells, etc. She’s having fun bringing them out of their cage daily and playing with them. Her party was a success, although not exactly what we had hoped. She wanted to use the pop-up pool in the backyard, so Melissa planned a big “luau” themed party. Unfortunately, my pool maintenance skills are not up to snuff. I keep trying to add chemicals, shock it, etc…but it keeps getting algae growth and I have to replace the water. Aarrgghh. That comes along with another set of issues, so we decided to skip the pol and have a slip-n-slide party in the back yard. Still did the luau action with games, Hawaiian music, etc. Tried to teach the group of friends how to hula dance with a DVD, and it was funny to watch, but I’m not sure they were totally in to the idea.

Later, my parents and I headed down to the aviation museum and were able to spend 10 minutes or so just looking at the Spruce Goose and quickly walked around the floor before they closed. They got a feel for what a quality museum it is and plan to spend a full day or two in the near future.

For Moriah’s birthday dinner, we went out to Red Robin. That was fun. When the staff sang to her, she stood up on the table and beamed out at the people in the restaurant. She was so happy and proud of her birthday. Another funny thing was what my dad ordered. He said he wasn’t very hungry, so he just ordered an oreo milkshake (ice cream) and french fries. He said he didn’t realize that the fries would be so big, but he downed the whole thing. Since they don’t have fry sauce there, I showed him the old bbq sauce/mayo/ketchup combo and he was hooked. I told him he ordered his food like a teenager! And he loved the meal. You just never know.

Happy Birthday, Moriah! It's hard to believe...where has the time gone!?!