May 2006
Monthly Archive
Mon 29 May 2006
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We went to the ward picnic today and it was a lot of fun. Connor got to play squirt guns with all the other kids for two hours straight and he was in heaven. We played softball with this huge 16-inch ball that I am told in a Chicago tradition. The thing is kind of hard to hit, but I did manage some nice liners that spun a few of the mai maids around. I also had some Kalil-like plays in the field so I think I made some friends. That and my diving grab in ultimate frisbee earned my high-fives from the bishop and stake president.
Connor and I also went on a nature hike this morning and got to see lots of cool nature stuff. We have quickly learned that bug spray is a must before going outside. So, back to work tomorrow. I am going to head up on the train, which will add time to my commute, but leave Andrea the car. Work gave me a brand-new laptop for the summer, so maybe I can do some work on the train and make the time productive.
Sun 28 May 2006
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I had a good first week at Moto and we are getting adjusted to our new surroundings. There are a couple of BYU undergrads doing internships at my same locating in Libertyville and one of them lives in our same complex. We have been carpooling every other day and it helps with the gas budget! On Saturday Andrea, Connor and I went downtown and walked around Sears Tower, Navy Pier, and Buckingham Fountain. The weather has gone from 58 degrees to 90 with humidity in one week and we aren’t sure which one we like more.
My work is pretty amazing and everybody has been really nice. The complex is huge and one can get lost in there pretty easy. I did find my way to the fitness center on Friday so hopefully I’ll continue that trend. Our ward is really cool and we are going to go to a Memorial Day Picnic tomorrow. I wanted to introduce myself as a new player for the Cubs seeing as how they have lost 20 of their last 24, but Andrea wouldn’t let me. Connor met some fun kids in Church as well, so we should have some little buddies to hang out with.
Tonight we watched an emotional tribute to all the vets and currently serving military. We are so grateful for the men and women who have fought for the country.
Sun 21 May 2006
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General[54] Comments
Traveling through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri we saw quite a bit of pretty country. In Wyoming we saw Antelope (or Cantelope as Connor described them to Grandpa Heid on the phone) and Nebraska was full of deer and wild turkeys. There were also lots of lakes and people fishing in each one of them. Now I understand why Cabella’s Corporate Headquarters is located there. We stayed in a little town called Grand Island in Nebraska and got out of town just before the state firefighters convention started. We would have liked to go up to Omaha to see where they play the college world series, but were a little crunched for time.
We got into Grandma Bonnie’s house on Friday and it was beautiful! Grandma had dinner waiting for us, which was a welcome relief after the fast food we had been eating. We visited out on her deck for the rest of the evening while Connor and I played catch on the grass. Then we watched Connor alternate between fishing rocks out of Grandma’s little pond and trying to catch a rabbit with the net.. It was really nice to have the opportunity to see Grandma’s house in Missouri before she moves. Our only regret was that we didn’t make it back while Luther was still with us. We got to see the scrapbook that Tracy did and it was beautiful. Good job Tracy!
Our drive was safe and I am proud to report no speeding tickets! There was one interesting experience that happened on our way through St. Louis though. Andrea was driving and slowed down to look at the great arch as we passed by. Well, that really ticked a guy off and he drove by us honking then gave us the one-finger salute. So then we had to explain to Connor why he was “pointing” at us. The funny thing was that he then got boxed in by two semi trucks. I took the higher road and didn’t make eye contact as we drove by although I was very tempted to take a picture of him for the blog.
-D
Photos below: Our road trip, 2,3,4th photos: Grandma Bonnies’s, last three photo’s our new apartment.
Thu 18 May 2006
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We have had a fun couple of days. While we were in Utah, we got to see some of our good friends. Melinda and Kim Colton moved into their new home in Draper and gave us a little tour. Their boys, Connor and Ian, are adorable and we had a nice visit. We got to stop in and say hi to the Robbs, Dana and her kids London and Issac (Chris was at work)they are old friends from Sandy and it was great to visit with them. We brought London a little licence plate from London that has his name on it. We saw Jake Stevens, a fellow T-Bird from Prague and former Skyline gridiron hero, Also from T-bird we visited the The Smiths and the Wilsons. The Smiths (Travis, Jean, Kalob, and Barrett) made time to visit before they took off to spend the summer in Shanghi, China, and the The Wilsons (Randall, Ashlie, Ethan, and Anna) even opened their home to us let us stay on their Arrow bed for a night. The next morning we went up Hobble Creek Canyon and played soccer at a little park. Randall and I were not happy about being there without our fishing poles! Randell also left for China this weekend on a business trip as we left for Chicago.Photos:
Top left row: Wilson Family at Provo mall then in Provo Canyon
Second Row: First photo: Connor and London Robb, Second photo: Andrea, Dana, London, Issac, Connor Third photo: Andrea, Connor, Smith Family
Third Row: Danny, Connor, Smith Family, Second Photo: Kyson, Connor washing bears that Leslie got for them at build a bear for Connor’s b-day, Third Photo: Gateway fountains Connor and Kyson, Fourth Photo: Liberty Park at Grandma’s pond Kyson and Connor Fifth photo: Dad and Danny working on roof (Leslie in background)
Sun 14 May 2006
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Just a quick note to wish all the wonderful Mothers in my life a happy day. First of all, my wonderful Mom who is just the greatest Mom ever. So fun to spend time with you this week Mom. Then to my sweet wife, the mother of my son. Andrea is a great Mom and I just love her some much. She is everything I could hope for in a mother for my son. Staying here with Carrie, I see why Andrea is such a great mom. My Mother-in-law is the best!
Happy Mother’s Day to Dana, Missy, Grandma Bonnie, Grandma Parry, Aunt Tracy, Aunt Janice, Aunt Grace, Aunt Kathy and anybody else I am forgetting! For those of you who didn’t know, Tracy spoke today in church. Wish we could have been there!
Sun 14 May 2006
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It is very nice to have extended family scattered around the Southwest! We left Fallbrook Wednesday afternoon and headed over to Aunt Tracy’s house in Glendale. After taking care of some odds and ends in the morning, we had a little BBQ at the T Heids before heading to St. George. (We could have left a lot sooner if we hadn’t had to wait to see Trevor!) Aunt Tracy was awesome as always and it was fun to see Derrick, Tiff, Casey and Trev. The next night we stayed with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Alvin at their five-star bed and breakfast. It was really nice to see them and Kathy gave us a wonderful pancake breakfast! We will for sure be back when we have more time to spend with them. Saturday we cruised into Salt Lake and got to Mark and Carrie’s house. We immediately took Connor over to Liberty Park and let him play. Salt Lake has really put a lot of money into the park and they have some fun things to do there. Connor’s favorite is playing in the little rivers that have been built just for the kids to play in. They have a little river for all of the different rivers that come into SL Valley. Later we made a long awaited stop at Café Rio and then went to see Mission Impossible III. We were on the edge of our seats the whole time.
Wed 10 May 2006
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After a few days back in the good, old USA, I have to say that it feels pretty good. I think what I have missed the most is being able to hop in a car and drive somewhere. Waiting for trains and planning my day around when they come and go started getting a little old. I did enjoy tremendously that In-N-Out burger and Yogurt Palace frozen yogurt as well. Watching more than one channel in English also has its advantages, but is a little overwhelming after not having options. Actually, that is what the Czechs say about shopping now that communism is gone. Can you imagine shoe shopping when there is only one style to choose from?
We took the training wheels off of Grandma’s bike yesterday. (OK, the bike that Grandma keeps here for grandkids, not actually Grandma’s bike.) Connor was flying up and down Los Conejos on two wheels! He did it once before a couple of weeks ago in Prague to impress Anna, one of his little friends. He couldn’t decide if he should look forward or look back to make sure she was watching him!
Between packing and sorting our belongings, Dad and I went down to the FUHS baseball game. It was pretty fun to watch such a good team play. Later we went over to Laurance Welk where I gave Devin a few ping pong lessons. He is getting better and I think he could beat me if he keeps working at it.
Thu 4 May 2006
We are back and we had a pretty amazing experience over there! I have all kinds of pictures and stuff that will have to be posted later. The video of Connor and I on the Camel is sweet.
Nice responses to my soccer post! I was laughing.
D
Tue 2 May 2006
Connor finished his second day of soccer camp and had a great time. I took some video and some fun pictures of the workout. There were two other kids in the session and given the fact that we are the only Americans at the whole resort, the kids were British. Connor is getting use to phrases like “Have a go at it, mate,” “brilliant,” and “unlucky.” They say unlucky anytime the ball doesn´t go where it is supposed to. The first 20 minutes was basically Connor kicking the ball and running after it, but then he settled down and started controlling the ball a little more. His coaches are all ex-pros and I kind of act like I know who there are to make them feel good. During the breaks, the coaches were asking the kids about who was going to win the World Cup and stuff. I was amazed at how much the kids knew about the teams and even the managers!
They were doing this one exercise where one kid would run from one corner to guard the goal and the other kid would run from the other corner and try to score. Connor kept short-cutting the cone he was supposed to run around trying to kick the ball before the other kid was in the goal. When the coach asked him why he wasn´t running around the cone Connor said “because I want to kick it before he gets in the goal.” The English boy (age 6) responded “that is because he is American.” It was kind of funny.
But don´t think that Connor was the only one mixing it up on the soccer pitch. I played in a game for the dad´s and pretty much got worked over. One of the pros made me look silly every time I tried to get the ball from him. I finally just layed down in front of him, but then he jumped over me so that didn´t work either. I did score the first goal though because of excellent positioning. A guy shot the ball and it deflected off the goalie and was bouncing right toward me in front of the goal. Some regular soccer players might have done some cool move to put the ball in the open net, but I just kind of body blocked it into the goal. Wasn´t pretty, but it worked.
Connor is loving the kids club and has made a couple little friends. I am loving speaking Spanish and am picking up the nuances of Spain Spanish. Glad to hear that the Towners and the Heids met up in So. Cal. Have a great birthday Mark!
Tomorrow we are off to Morocco for the day so we should have some good pictures of the snake charmer!
Mon 1 May 2006
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Family[70] Comments
It´s my Dad´s 50th birthday. The amazing thing is I´m 28! Danny and I often wonder how he managed so well with five kids when he was our same age.
My Dad is a special man and I owe so much to him. He is an inspiration to me and I have so many fun memories of our childhood. One of the best things about my dad is that he always took us on fun vacations. I guess I can blame him for my travel bug!
Dad, I love you so much and wish we could be there to celebrate with you. Have a wonderful 50th birthday.
(If I had more Euros, I would write more! Somebody please show this to him if he doesn´t see it! 
)
