Maddox-Man

Maddox Dancing (He is a very good dancer).

(This is taken from my wifes blog. I just liked it a lot).

Maddox surprises me every day with how smart he is! And how observant!
Some of his words now:
-juice
-moon
-shoes
-stool
-tool
-mom
-daddy
-baby
-nana
-ball
-cat
-fish
-cheese
-two
-boots
-NO
-uh huh
-yes
-dog (usually he says "woo woo"-barking like a dog)
-ooh ooh (for monkey and banana .. he also says this when he's climbing like a monkey)
-chicka, chicka (like the sound of a car or train)
-mmm (for "more" kind of a squeaking sound)

he also likes to make animal sounds, like mooo for a cow (or woo woo, the dog sound). he tries to snort like a pig and make bird sounds say "sss" for snake and spider.

he knows how to run the dvd player and tv and remotes and loves Beauty and the Beast, Curious George and Sesame Street. (not to mention some really annoying shows I don't let him watch, like Super Why! and  Word World ... Super Why! is the worst).

he loves to dance and sing and knows what music he likes (1234 by Feist, especially).

he likes trying to take care of Asher.

he loves reading and tries reading to Asher.

he's learned how to open doors

Maddox loves his family.

He loves helping with all chores - vacuuming, dishes, sweeping, laundry, picking up toys. It's awesome. Most of the time, anyway.

He loves playing outside, especially at the park (too bad it's so cold!!).

He is awesome at kicking a soccer ball.

He can recognize most colors.

He knows the letters A, S, and E. He can recognize them and say their sound.

There's much more to write about, but I think I'll go hang out with the boys. :)



We love Maddox.

Nerdy Bot

Hey everyone. Go and visit Nerdy Bot. It is a blog I am doing with my brothers and some friends about nerdy things.

You may find yourself addicted. 

How did we go so wrong?

Here is some information I digged up. Needless to say, I am very disappointed with our country.

There were over 60,000 nuclear weapons between the US and Russia resulting from the Cold War.

There are somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 major US cities/towns and there are 1100-1200 major Russian cities/towns.
30,000 + 1200 = 31,200 cities total
60,000 - 31,200 = 28,800 nuclear weapons left over.

So lets add some more places . . .

If you were to add all of the cities/towns in Europe you would have just over 28,800 cities.

So, in conclusion . . .

With 60,000 nuclear bombs we could take out all of the United States, Russia and Europe.

Is this needed?
Of course not!

Granted, it has gone down in recent years, however, the number (near 3,500) is still too large. To think that we could have at one time had over 30,000 is astonishing ans sad. There needs to be a change . . .

Some Recent Pics

Here are some pics of the boys and Lesa. I was looking at my blog today and realized there was nothing with Asher, (and probably few with Maddox). So here are some updated pictures of them.

Maddox hugging his Mommy. 

Lesa walked in on Maddox brushing Asher's hair.

Asher sleeping. (A very common thing)

This was the day after asher was born.

Ugh

So, I have been horribly swamp with school and work and a new baby, and a toddler. It almost seems never ending, but at the same time I am really happy with where I am (although I would love to have my Bachelors and be working on a Masters, but I can wait).

Anyway, school has been a bit overwhelming. For my Philosophy minor I am taking a Paradoxes class and a religious philosophy class. Between the two I am reading about sixty pages a day. I am trying to keep up with my math as well but feel like there's never enough time to just sit down and do it. The only class that has been a breeze is Geology, (which is a pre-rec for a physics degree). It has been really simple and straight forward.

Also, I am really frustrated with Warp and Weave (UVU's Speculative Fiction Journal). I've been, for the last two months, working on a site for them and setting up more professional emails and trying to get them into a big Sci-fi symposium at BYU, which would help get them known and over the last two weeks have gotten no where. They got a new editor, (because the old one took a spot as an editor for UVU's new peer-review journal and the faculty advisor kicked her out of Warp and Weave because she was upset about it, or something), and the new editor or . . . editors don't communicate with me. So now I have done ton's of (free) stuff for them and it's pretty much waisted. It's pretty frustrating.

So between all of this, and school and kids I've been exhausted. I actually have been having a really hard time sleeping and have had some other issues with sleep, or lack of, feeling weak and shaky . . . anyway, turns out that there are side effects from my Ulcerative Colitis meds that cause this and if you get them you need to see your dr. Grrr. So I guess I'll be making an appointment. Lame. At least I know why I've been feeling crappy.

Oh, and I am doing another 30 short stories in 30 days thing. If you have any ideas for stories or would like your name in one of them let me know. Your help would be appreciated. (Also, any ideas about a rebellion, time travel, or robots are especially welcome.

I think this is the longest post I've written (on this blog, Pillar of Salt stretch sometimes to ridiculous lengths) in a long time. Congrats to me!

Visions Enough In Days II

I am doing another 30 short stories in 30 days thing. I am requesting ideas that I can base stories off of. I will not be starting for a week or so, so please let me know.

Happy Birthday Lesa

Today is Lesa's 23rd birthday!!! 

I can't believe that she is 23 and I'll soon be 25 and we've been married 3 1/2 years. Time is flying. I am so glad she wanted to marry me. She is the most wonderful person I know. I love her so much!! She is a wonderful wife and mom. I just can't believe how lucky I am to have her in my life.

Here are a few things about Lesa that I love:
1. We are able to talk about anything.
2. She is a great wife and is always willing to help.
3. She is a great mom.
4. She is fun to be around.
5. She makes me laugh.
6. She wants everyone to be happy.
7. She encourages me in everything that I do.
8. She is kind and considerate.

There are many more things, but I'm writing this at work and don't have much time. Anyway, she is the best person I know and I am so happy to be with her. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LESA!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!