RJ's New Haircut!

 
 
 

RJ's First Birthday!

Top 4 Smartest Investors........ in the World!

Here are the very best, smartest, investors that I know (in no particular order)

1. Evonne and Jack Sharpe-Both of them have spent numerous hours talking sense into me, helping me financially and doing the final check on my many papers that I had to turn in..... all the way through my Masters Degree.
2. Tom and Jolene Findley-Thanks for trusting me with your daughter and all the time, energy and love you have shown me since.
3. Hildegard Scheuber- I never told this to you while you were alive because you didn't want me to know (Don't be mad.....my mom can't keep a secret because she is a horrible liar). Thanks for my mission...I love you for helping me do that.
4. Anji Findley Stephens- Thanks for taking a chance on me, being my wife, supporting me, raising our little rascal, and encouraging me to be healthy.
   

Day 2 of Cruise

Woke up around 9am and went running 7 miles on the tredmill while Anji slept in.  After working out went to eat breakfast ate lots of fruit some eggs.  Left ship walked off boat rented scooter.  Drove to Alantas and saw some expensive Yachets and lots of things we could never afford.  Got back on the Scooter and drove around Paradise Island.  Found a nice beach went swimming and ran into some fellow cruisers from vegas.  Ate lunch like a couple of beach bums with some fruit we packed off the ship.  Got back on scooter and headed to the bigger part of the island.

We were told that the whole island was only 21 miles around so we decided to drive around the whole thing.  We saw some really nice neighborhoods and some serioulsy scary neighborhoods.  I can't tell how crazy the traffic was and Anji was sure to let me know everytime she saw her life flash before her eyes.  We lived and with a little humility on my part we were able to find our way back to the cruise ship.  
We dropped off the scooter and Anji hit the shops....I tagged along to keep her out of trouble.  Got back on the boat took a nap before dinner.  

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Day 1 of cruise

Once we got on the boat and settled the first big thing we did was go meet our dinner mates.  They were two guys named Chun and Eric. (no they were not gay although we thought that at first also) from Virgina.  Both were currenty going to college in their junior year.  Kind of skipping ahead with this but we really got to know Chun a lot better than Eric.  After the second nigh, Eric stopped coming to dinner I was worried that we offend him somehow but Chun assured us that we hadn't he just was tired and not hungrey for dinner.  There is always tons of food on the cruise and you can easily get full and not hungrey if your not careful.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Dana, Jake, Maddy and Kathrine

A day or two before we flew out...Anji and I remembered that Dana and Jake live in Miami.  We called and after talking they offered us to pick us up at the airport ...we cancelled our hotel reservations and Jake picked us up from the airport.  We had some great talks in the car as we drove home and after the kids went to bed Jake showed us some video footage of his "special training".  I was able to go running in the morning and despite the heat and humidity was able to run around 6 miles. We had a blast hanging out with them and the kids cried and didn't want Anji to leave on the cruise when they dropped us off at the boat. One day I hope that we could go on a cruise together with them...they would be fun to hang out with no matter where you are.  We love you guys and thanks for all that you did for us. 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Anjils favorite airport......

Well, we are on our way to the Bahamas and we had a lay over in Kansas City and Anji is in love with this airport!...I don't want to steal her thunder so when you get a spare moment be sure to ask her about it.

We are missing RJ already. We sat right behind a little girl about RJ's age and she was good for the most part but she did have her moments...didn't bother me as much as it used to because every she would cry it reminded me of RJ.

Anji loves to sit next to the window and I hate sitting in the middle seat so we had a stranger between us...I pretended not to know her and was asking for her phone number and trying to find out where she lived....I thought it was pretty funny but I am sure I was the only one out of the three of us.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Rj and Murphey

RJ had sensory overload with being around an actual puppy that didn't run away when he invades their personal space

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Up up and away.......

I caught RJ in this position on wednesday.  I don't know what it means but it's the first time I have ever seen him like that.  Could it be foreshadowing of the walking stage?

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

When your running into first and you feel a sudden burst........Diarrhea Cha Cha.....Diarrhea.

RJ has had a bit of the runs (also known as diarrhea or if your from Utah.... Hershey Squirts). So he has been getting lots of baths (as most of his clothes and everything around him gets soiled lots of fun for mom and dad) and he has been quite Musical (also known as the farts) lately. Here was a pic that I shot after one of his baths.

On a side note: RJ has spent most of his young life being constipated and we have always wished he could have a BM (also known as a Bowel Movement or in this house its called a "Poopy") once a day. So we went from one extreme to another. Just goes to show you that you need to learn to find happiness no matter what the situation.

Another side note: Since RJ has been more mobile he likes to chase Zowie. She will be a couple a feet away from him and the RJ will get all excited and do his little army crawl and get real close to the object of his desire and then Zowie gets up and moves. RJ cries and the cycle repeats itself with RJ once again going after Zowie. It's kind of funny to watch and made me reflect on some of the silly things I have done in my life that didn't make much sense. Well got to be going thanks to my Mother we are going to the Temple today.

RJ getting his Haircut

This is RJ getting his haircut at the beauty college. (Technically this is RJs 2nd haircut. Ryan actually took him a couple months ago to get a few loose hairs snipped. But this is probably his 1st REAL haircut.) I just love the Car Smock they used...as if it makes it all better!! I love my 2 boys and thier new hair cuts!!

Another PhotoShop Adventure

Here is something else I created in PhotoShop. Believe it or not this little thing has quite a bit a time into it. Lots of fun and I think everyone should have the opportunity once in their lifetime to be able to see their name in burning flames with stars surrounding it.

With a rebel yell he cried- "more, more, more"

Anji wanted me to take a picture of his "Mowhawk". When he is a rebellious teenager I will know where it all started and who to blame.

Went on a walk today, it was hot but it was good to get out and exercise. I looked for the "Southgate" geocache again and didn't find it but we were able to take these pictures (which I think are some of the best pictures of my two most favorite people).

RJ THE BRUISER....

Rj just got done with his first MMA fight with himself. Good news is that he won bad news is that he lost also. Just goes to show you when you use anger as your primary coping mechnism everybody loses. Honestly, I have no idea how he got it I noticed it right after I caught his cousin Courtney hitting him....it was just on his back and totally unrelated to the incident (I think).

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Since RJ has been more mobile......trouble, trouble everywhere.

Anji has been really worried about baby proofing the house. She has covered all the electrical sockets, hidden all the loose wires but she doesn't seem to be able to do anything about our cobra problems. I Snapped this shot of RJ before she woke up in the morning. Man he loves those cobras...can't keep him away from them.

World Traveler......

RJ recently took a trip to the beach without us....(since he just learned how to drive). He sent us this Pic with the Caption, "Having the time of my life". I am glad to see that he is still driving in his car seat.....the extra height gives him some more visibility.

Photo Editing Class....

Had some fun as you can see with the latest class in getting my technology endorsement. Here are two picture the first one is a before picture and the second is after I worked my magic on it.
Before Photoshop:

After Photo Shop:

30 minutes in 2 minutes...

I wanted to show how much RJ is moving around so I did a little time lapse videography.

RJ's Army Crawl.......

Last week I took a video editing class and learned about stop animation. I was hanging out with my mother on father's day and decided to have a little fun with my camera phone. I know it's short but you can see that RJ is starting to get mobile.

Midway Utah Summer Conference 2009

We had a fun weekend with Anji's family in Midway Utah. Every year I go to a summer counseling conference and usually I spend it with other counselor in some hotel in SLC. This year we booked our condos and I commuted to SLC. I had loads of fun and hope that this becomes a tradition. It feels less like work and more like a vacation when my family is there.

Teaching RJ to drive....yeah my kid is a little ahead of the curve

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

This is where Anji found RJ

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Reverse works.....

Anji came and got me and wanted me to come see where she found RJ.  It really isn't a big deal but given the few seconds of worry that RJ cause her...its worth mentioning.  Anji laid RJ on the ground to get some tummy time and went into the kitchen...when she couldn't find him she looked a little harder and he had reversed himself right back into a little cubby hole.  Picture will be coming soon

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Zowie giving me kisses

This is a little clip of Zowie giving me kisses and RJ just loving it. RJ just can't get enough of Zowie unfortunately the love doesn't go in both directions. In Zowie's defense most kids can be really mean (unintentionally) to animals. Zowie has put up with a lot of hair pulling and general harassment from RJ and lot of other kids at this age and a little older. Zowie's initial reaction with RJ is to keep her distance....and I let her. I don't want to hinder Zowie from doing what comes natural when she starts to feel anxiety and that is to get away from the object that is causing the anxiety. I am trying to help Zowie feel more comfortable with RJ and I have been feeding her with RJ close by trying to send the message that...Hey yeah there is a baby next to you but your Ok …..no one died and your actually doing something that you love doing......Eating....so be happy and enjoy the world! I hope that one day soon I will have RJ feeding Zowie and throwing the ball to her, being soft (but more importantly) not grabbing her nose and feet and trying to chew on them.

I wish I were like you easily amused.

I love how kids have such a fresh take on life. It makes you stop and think about everything we take for granted. Here is Zowie just doing a little Roll over trick and yet RJ thinks that it is the coolest, funniest thing he has ever saw in his short little life. Carpe diem Son.....Carpe diem!

Illegally running with Zowie during race (again)

Anji is such a rebel that she blatantly disregards race rules time and time again. It clearly states that running with pets is prohibited but does she care....no! She endangers the lives of all around her (including the livestock in the fields surrounding) with this little stunt. I am posting this evidence as proof that she indeed broke the rules and ask for the officials of the Hurricane Half Marathon to ban her for life for pulling this little stunt.

Dancing with Grandpa

This is RJ and Grandpa dancing. Typically son you usually dance with members of the opposite sex but since you are so young we let Grandpa teach you a few moves.

I love to laugh.....haha ha ha....long and loud and clear

RJ loves to be tossed around. I am sure that this isn't good for your kid....I hope that he doesn't lose to many brain cells.

Silly hat day...

Thanks to Aunt Aimee we had this awesome hat at our house and the day Anji ran the Hurricane Half Grandpa and Grandma Findley thought it was cold enough to warrant wearing this one-of-kind-winter-wonder-head-gear. RJ is a little on the chunky side (ok...he is a lot on the chunky side) and because of that he runs on the hot side of the body temperature gauge and seems to enjoy having less clothes on (Ok.. he seems happiest when he is naked). Even though he wasn't a happy camper this picture was too cute to pass up.

Two cool cats

RJ and Zowie started a sunglasses and silly hat club and said, "Tick, tock the club is locked" so Anji and I couldn't join even though we threatened them with not feeding them....they wouldn't budge and asked us to respect the rules of "Tick, Tock"

RJ and Emma

This is a picture of RJ and Emma. Emma is the daughter of Brooke and Ben Neumann. Brooke is a counselor at Snow Canyon Middle School who I have had the privilege to work with for the last three years. Emma is a hopelessly addicted booger eater and you can't see it in the picture but RJ is sporting a big green one and she is in the process of intercepting it so it isn't wasted.

Zowie is sneaky....

Anji showed me RJ's bear (His name is Tex) and we noticed that something was missing. Zowie knows that she isn't supose to play with RJ's toys and for the most part I haven't seen her touching them but the evidence is right there before my eyes....a missing ear. Either RJ has grown some teeth I am not aware of or Anji is secretly framing Zowie for some unknown reason other than those two explanations the most logical one is Zowie has been chewing on his toys. At first you could get mad but considering several things what you see before you is quite impressive. First, she will normally attack the eyes first so the fact that Tex still has his eyes suggests that she knows that she isn't supose to play with him and she is trying to do something different than what she normally does. Second, she normally takes her stuffed animal victims to certain parts of the house to pull out their cotton batting slowly and painfully where other stuffed animals can't hear their screams. She instead keeps Tex in realively the same place she found him again demonstrating a higher level of cunning and intellegence. Third, Anji pointed out to me today that "Doggy"'(RJ's stuffed dog) has gone missing. Usally "evidence" is strewn all over the house when Zowie commits a crime againt the peaceful loving stuffed animals yet no evidence can be found that could link Zowie to this crime....she is becoming a crimnal mastermind and soon we will be powerless to stop her stuffed animal killing spree.

Biggest loser...baby!

Last day of school, I get a phone call from Brooke and she tells me that my heroes are in town. I asked, "Who are my heroes?" and she replied, "Filipe and Sione". She had heard them on the Radio and told me that they were at the local Honolulu Grill and I told the office I will be out for a bit, jumped on my motorcycle and headed down there. They both looked great and it was fun to see them in real life. It must be weird for them because we (the fans) know so much about them and they know so little about us. I had to restrain myself from giving them a big hug although I felt comfortable around them I am sure that a total stranger wanting to give you a hug would be freaky, but thats how I felt. They have been part of the inspiration I felt to change my life...and in that way they I guess I feel I know them and they know me. I wish I would have gotten a picture with both of them but they had a bunch of other people there so I took what I could get. Anyways, it was fun getting to briefly talk to them about their experiance, both of them were just as nice as you could be. After I left and was riding back on the motorcycle I thought of a bunch of questions that I wished I would have asked but didn't. Like, "How many Mormons were on this season and was there any missionsary moments?"

This last week was a fun week. Jesse and Leslie (Ryan's brother and wife) came to St George to visit. We dog sat there dog "Roper". He is such a good dog and he is not at all afraid of RJ. (Zowie still keeps her distance). We had a family dinner at their condo, its fun to see everyone and eat yummy food.


Tammy, Rachel, Carlie & RJ

RJ and me in our swimming suits


Leslie and RJ


RJ and Roper

RJ LAUGHING