One of Those Days

Gotta love Cleveland.

Today I invested a good half hour digging my car out of the driveway. I then traversed the 9 miles it is from my house to my office in the grand-prix-worthy time of 1.5 hours. Five minutes after getting to the office, the firm sends everyone home. Thanks.

Before I go further, I'd like to ask any who may know why Cleveland sent their plow drivers home early, too.

On my lovely drive back I successfully maneuvered the obscene amounts of snow the entire way . . . until getting to the home stretch: L----- Rd. L----- Rd, the venerable lane where the McGregor estate rests, had yet to be plowed. I got stuck immediately.

After much cajoling, I managed to inch forward my little Kia Optima right up to our driveway, where the car, positively and unequivocally, got stuck.

So I devoted another hour shoveling the driveway (again), digging out my car, and creating a nice little path from the car to my driveway. After all that exertion I thrust my trusty shovel into the snowbank I had just created with a wonderful sense of accomplishment. As I exhaled I noticed a flashing light coming around the corner. Who would have guessed? A full day after plowing everyone's road but mine, the city's winter hero--the plowman--tumbled down my street and shoved all the snow I just dug away from my car, back onto my car!

I wanted to cry.

I didn't.

I love this place.

Life Goal #7: Accomplished!

She doesn't look like much, but Sandusky, Ohio, has been on my hitlist for over a decade now.

Sandusky is the setting for Hollywood's greatest cinematic achievement: Tommy Boy. In that film Chris Farley, starring as Tommy Callahan, Jr., travels across the country to sell enough brake pads to save his family's business, and grows up along the way. Heartwarming.

In high school my great bud, Len Gillespie, and I would watch the film at least once a day. We could practically recite the entire movie. Amazingly, it never got old. In college I travelled with three things: a pillow, a toothbrush, and Tommy Boy on VHS. Like my American Express, I never left home without it. I made it a goal to one day visit the shrine of immature men everywhere: Sandusky.

In September, 2000, Len was killed in an automobile accident. Subsequently, each time I watched the film I would think back to those times at 2:00 watching Tommy Boy in his living room. It stung. So I quit watching.

Finally today, almost a decade after Len's passing, I made it to Sandusky. The trip from South Euclid wasn't that far, but the road I endured learning to cope with a close loss was. This post is a tribute to one of the best persons I ever knew.

"A lot of people go to college for seven years."

"Yeah, they're called doctors."

"Shut up, Richard."

Peace.

Logan's Scars

He's pretty proud of these surgery scars!

Spaghetti Special (with meatballs)

I just think he looks so funny!
Grant looooves to eat. He only has 2 teeth, but he eats pretty much whatever we eat. He especially loves pasta--spaghetti and meatballs and macaroni and cheese are some of his favorites. He's been taking a lot of baths lately! He also loves chocolate. We aren't sure how he knows when we are eating sugar, but he makes a lot of loud noises whenever he sees us eating something yummy and we aren't sharing. Interestingly, he doesn't expect Madison and Logan to share with him; he will eye and try to grab their food, but he doesn't get mad. Apparently, he knows that dad and mom will share. 

Also, Grant loves to play with instruments (see video). He does get frustrated that the xylophone sticks are connected to the xylophone. He really loves to play the drums (I'll try to get a video)--it must be hereditary because his dad and Uncle Aaron also play the drums. And of course, he loves to play the piano. I used to be able to hold him on my lap while I played, but no more--he wants to do all the playing (a.k.a. pounding). If he sees the piano is open, he stands up and cruises his way down the keys. Maybe he's a musical genius, maybe he just likes to hit things. He really likes to make noise.

Poor Madi! Sometimes Grant can be dangerous!

Joseph L. McGregor, The Most Brilliant Man in America?

No one ever asks why I married Jenny. The answer seems obvious. (In fact, the reverse question seems to be the only one that crosses people's minds.) But today I'd like to pretend that this unasked question was posed.

Underneath the apparent inequality in our marriage lies a larger truth: I really don't deserve Jenny. It never escaped me while in my dating years that my future bride should be a good mother, and a complement to my weaknesses.

All who know Jennifer know how wonderful of a mother she is. She wakes up early each day to prepare a wholesome breakfast. She could never be accused of "babysitting" the kids; rather, she interacts with them to engage their minds. When I get home each day they show me pictures they colored, projects they made, and retell the stories in the books she read to them.

Jennifer is also a pragmatist. She carefully guards against gloomy days. She hates spending money (sometimes her weakness). Where I have proved hopelessly lost in managing the details of life, she has proven that she is the most organized person alive.

And perhaps best of all, she's humbly smart. She's so well-read. Whenever I read something new, we can always discuss it because she's already read something on the issue. But she never flaunts her intelligence.

Of course, she's beautiful. As a young boy when I dreamed up what my perfect wife would look like, she modeled Jenny.

So where does this leave me? It leaves me as perhaps the most shrewd negotiator on earth. Never in the history of mankind has a man so undeserving of his wife married so far out of his league. If there's one accomplishment in my life I'm most proud of, it's that I married Jennifer.

Where we've been

Logan: Moved up to the five-yr old class in Primary in January. He's into Superman, Batman, and superheroes in general. He loves to fight with Madison. He loves to build things with Legos--he stopped asking for my help because he's figured out that he builds better than I do. He loves preschool and is excited for Kindergarten and can't wait to eat lunch at school. He can spell and rhyme... he just needs to work on penmanship. We spend about 30 minutes every morning writing letters. He and Madison are both good helpers--they cook, dust, vacuum, and even pick up a few toys once in a while.

Madison: Moved up to the Sunbeams class in January. I think she likes it, although when she sees me for Singing Time, she almost always starts her "silent cry." It might be fake, but she's very convincing, so I don't know. She loves her teachers and makes up stories that they tell her. (ex. One day she told us Sis. Rowe said she didn't have to eat whatever on the menu that night. I said, " Oh really. I think I'll have to ask Sis. Rowe about that." Madi paused then stated, "If you ask her, she might say 'no.'") She still doesn't care to play dress up, although she has lots of dress-up clothes if any little girls want to come play. She also doesn't really like to play with Barbies or babies or anything girly. She does, however, wear her cape if Logan is wearing his because then she's cool. She can be a picky eater, but the last few days she's been eating marvelously. She carries a purple washcloth around the house to wipe away her tears (which she has a lot of since she is always fighting with Logan). It's no longer worrisome or humorous. Just normal. 

Grant: Is 10 months old. He crawls and stands and cruises on furniture. He's a clown; if we laugh at something he does, he'll do it over and over and over. He just started clapping. He loves to play peek-a-boo. He points to tell us what he wants. He's a very happy, lovable,and sometimes loud baby. He loves to play with his big brother and sister, but gets very upset when they take something away from him. He loves to eat. He still nurses 5 times a day and eats at least 3 meals with the family. Logan, Madison, and I (Jenn) all have low iron levels, so at Grant's last dr. appt. I asked the dr. to test his blood. She was a little reluctant, but I was not surprised to find that Grant, too, had very low iron levels. So we are all taking iron supplements. The dr. is also worried about his weight which surprised me because he eats all day long... I guess he's always hungry! So lucky Grant gets to have cream cheese and butter on his bread!

Joe: Is home a little more because the economy isn't keeping him so busy. So we get to see him a little more, which is nice, but worrisome at the same time. I can't say much on here, so for more info you might just have to ask him. He (and I) decided that it was time to shut off the satellite to save money and promote better usage of time. We also got rid of our home line and are just using our cell numbers now. (We still have our answering machine hooked up to the old line if you need to get a hold of us before you get our cell number.) 

Jenn: loves staying at home with the children... and is thinking about giving up on having a clean house. I think I washed, dried, folded, and put away 10 loads of laundry this week (and no, I didn't miss a week). Whew! I feel like I can't keep up with life. One of my new year's goal was to get up at 6:00 a.m. so I could shower and dress, make a hot breakfast, and do some me things so that we can all eat breakfast together at 7:00. It's been tough, but also very rewarding. I am also taking an online class from BYU because I have to take 6 credits to keep my teaching certificate current. I'm actually really stressed about it because I've got to finish by Sept. 1 and I've procrastinated this for 5 years. I really don't know where the time went, but I have no excuse.  So while Logan is in school, Madison and Grant take naps, and I've got about 2 1/2 hours that I use to exercise and work on this class and get anything else done (meal prep, cleaning, etc). So we're 19 days into the new year and I feel like I've done pretty well, but I'm also exhausted at the end of the day. Sometimes I feel like life is so crazy and I know it's only going to get crazier as the kids have more activities and I just don't know how to keep up. And I know I should  be doing more playing and teaching and loving and somehow it all gets lost in the happenings of the day. So if any of you are up to sharing, I'd love to know how you do it. 

Warren County, PA

Lest anyone think I was poking fun of Jenny's hometown, I've dug up some pictures of the area so that all can get a glimpse of Warren County, Pennsylvania's charm and beauty (seriously).




Warren, PA.

Overhead view of Kinzua Dam, southerly end of Alleghany National Forest.


I hate to open old wounds, but I was unfortunate enough to stumble across one of Jenny's high school sweathearts.

Salado, TX

Now, it's time for me to showcase my hometown, Salado, Texas.

Annual "Gathering of the Clans."

Some colorful folk at a Rodeo. I'm trying to talk Jenny into getting me a shirt just like this lady's.

Bluebonnets. They're beautiful, but they only last a few weeks in Spring.

The Salado Creek runs right through the middle of town.

And apparently Salado Creek ran right through this person's car. An attestation to the resolve of Saladoans, each year, it seems, the creek floods the downtown area. Do people move? No way. Downtown just keeps getting bigger.

President Bush en route from his Crawford ranch to Salado so he can attend his daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner.

Glaringly absent is a panoramic of Salado. I coulnt' find one; Jenny insists that's because no one thinks it worth the effort.

Bowling in the Backwoods

A day after hailing in the New Year, Jenny and I went to visit her family in Northwestern Pennsylvania. For those unfamiliar with the area, it is breathtakingly beautiful. Dense trees hug the hills to form the Allegheny National Forest. In the summer, the area is unrealistically green, and in the winter, it feels like the setting of a Robert Frost poem.

But the sophistication of the area fails to match the scenery. Jenny and I went bowling in a venue likely unchanged from its opening in the early 1920's. The alley made bowlers count the score by hand. The shoes were the newest additions, likely purchased during the Carter Administration.

Best of all, a bowler two lanes over from us apparently rammed the ball down the alley so fast that a pin spat back into the lane, rolled into the gutter, and lay resting in that no man's land where shoes are forbidden. No problem for the owners of this alley. A piercing whistle shot out, and a black dog mobilized from behind the service counter. The dog immediately eyed the lanes, found his target, and strutted down the gutter to fetch the pin and dutifully return it to his master behind the counter.



Good times.

Family Entertainment (For Lola)

There's much to write about. Like how it's a New Year and we canceled our Dish Network and are now T.V.less. (So if you watch American Idol, can we be friends?) Instead of T.V, we've been finding entertainment in other places.....  Enjoy!