Nothing you ever wanted to know about the NC Kuhn Family

This is what I put up with all day!

2009-10-16T13:39:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my World.

Summer Time!

2009-07-27T11:20:00.004-04:00

So it’s pretty safe to say that the Kuhn’s are bad at blogging. In a pathetic attempt to catch up…here’s what we’ve been up to:

We took a trip to Michigan in June for a couple weeks. Marin and I went up for a week before Daniel joined us. My mom and I both decided it was time to get some food storage together. We got ahold of a canner and we canned a ton of stuff over the week. I was amazed at how relatively inexpensive and easy it was to do. We’re far from self-reliant, we I think we made a great start this summer. The only question I have is where on earth am I going to put it?! Over the two weeks in Michigan we went to the Green Field Museum in Detroit, took Marin swimming, went to the temple and did a little work around my parents house. Marin got spoiled by her aunt and grandparents and loved every minute of it.

She spent most of the time playing in grandpa’s gardens and jumping on the trampoline.

Daniel and I left Marin with her Aunt Erin and Grandma for an afternoon and came home to find this! "While the parents are away...monkey's get buried?" Her daddy is so proud. Maybe its in her blood.

We had a great trip!! We were sad it flew by so quickly.

Over July we made two beach trips. One was a day trip where were able to meet up with some friends from D.C. It’s was too short, but we enjoyed catching up with them a bit. The other trip involved camping on the beach…which ended up a bit frustrating, but I guess I’m just getting old. We were in the middle of a drunken’ brawl and a few all night parties on the beach. Not so sure we’ll ever go back there again.

Our car has been in and out of the fix-it shop several times this summer. We have sunk a small fortune into the car and pray over it daily, in hopes it will hold out a bit longer. Hopefully we have solved the big problems for now.

Other than that, Daniel seems to be working more and Marin and I always seem to be running around like crazy… doing what I can never figure out. Who ever said that summers are relaxing? We’re hoping that August slows down a bit more. We have had a great summer so far though.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:26:00.006-04:00

Hello, If you're not in the mood for a Marin-athon, Go somewhere else. This one's for Katie as she is not able to be in town for Easter and she is missing her kid (not the thirty-one year old one) more than she can say.
Here was a little bit of our day.
Most of these picture where taken as we strolled around Duke Campus.

Is it me or is she growing up way too fast?

2009-04-12T20:21:00.001-04:00

So, does this look like a child that has not even reached the 2.5 year mark yet. I feel like I'm taking Crazy Pills.

James Mitchell's Full Obituary

2009-03-20T15:19:00.002-04:00

James “Jim” Seymour Mitchell, Jr., age 41, loving husband and father, of Middletown, DE passed away on Tuesday, March 17, 2009. Jim died following a courageous 28 year battle with a chronic disease.

Jim was born to Catherine and James S. Mitchell, Sr. on February 21, 1968 in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Rowan University where he received his degree in Marketing. Jim was a shining example of hard work and determination as he worked and paid for his entire education while simultaneously receiving it. Soon after, he began work with MBNA Corporation and spent the last 13 years with them. He was so proud of what he had professionally achieved when he eventually became a Marketing Manager.

Jim had so many things in his life that he so greatly enjoyed. His unwavering devotion to the Philadelphia Eagles made for countless parties with good food and great friends. Those that knew and loved him will always remember him donned in his team’s jersey. Jim also found so much joy in the volunteer work that he did as a little league T-ball coach for the 98.6ERS. He cared so much for the kids of his team as he strived to teach them to do their best. Of all things that brought Jim the most joy, none could come close to the way that he felt about his family. Everything that Jim worked for in his life was intended for the well being of his family. He was so grateful to his “nagging” wife for her tireless support and occasional shove to keep him on the straight and narrow. Together, they are united in the purpose of becoming an eternal family. He loved and adored each of his children endlessly. Each one of them meant more to him than they could ever know. Their greatness is the reward for his, all too short, life.

Jim is survived by his wife of ten years and true best friend, Chris Kuhn Mitchell of Middletown, DE; his five children: Stone Greyson, Phoenix Nicole, Avery Raine, Zion James and Cy Renee; mother Catherine Mitchell of Middletown, DE; brother, Jarrett Scott Mitchell and his wife Myra of New Jersey; and many loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. Jim is predeceased by his father, James S. Mitchell, Sr.

Funeral Services will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2009 from the Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 500 W. Chestnut Hill Road, Newark, DE. Bishop Gordon Rich will conduct the service. There are no services planned for burial at this time.

Friends may call at the church two hours prior from 10:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jim’s memory for the future education of his children to: The Mitchell Children’s Fund, in care of Jermaine Hatton, Wachovia Bank, 310 Dove Run Center Blvd., Middletown, DE 19709.

James Mitchell's Service

2009-03-19T16:17:00.001-04:00

Funeral Services will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2009 from the Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 500 W. Chestnut Hill Road, Newark, DE. There are no services planned for burial at this time.

Friends may call at the church two hours prior from 10:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jim’s memory to: The Mitchell Children’s Fund, in care of Jermaine Hatton, Wachovia Bank, 310 Dove Run Center Blvd., Middletown, DE 19709.

To send condolences visit www.rtfoard.com.

What is This Thing Called Death?

2009-03-18T16:35:00.001-04:00

What is this thing that men call death?
This quiet passing in the night?
‘Tis not the end but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light

O God, touch Thou my aching heart
And calm my troubled, haunting fears
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for vict’ry won
The gift of Him who loved all men
The Son of God, the Holy One.

~President Gordon B. Hinckley

It Snowed!!

2009-01-22T13:52:00.007-05:00

Well, hell must have froze over...again! First Nevada and now North Carolina. We couldn't believe it actually snowed here. Usually the temperature doesn't dip below 40 degrees during the winter. It was fun for the one day it lasted. The entire state shut down for 3 inches of snow (for several days). Marin and I went out and played in it before it melted. Here are some pictures of our winter wonderland.

Its suppose to be 60 tomorrow. So we'll be heading out to the park in a jacket.

Here's to the New Year

2009-01-11T19:52:00.005-05:00

Hey Folks,
Thanks for still checking in on us from time to time. 2008 was a chaotic year for us to say the least. One thing after the next and never seeming to catch a break in between, and lately it seems difficult to to find the + side of much of anything. This simply means that we've yet to learn the lessons that we are supposed to and we should get on it before we let life drag us down that much more. So, having said that, this is how we wrapped up our last year.
On Dec. 23rd, we decided to throw caution to the wind and be all wild and crazy with a surprise trip to Michigan. With about 24 hours prep time we packed our entire Christmas into the trunk of our broke down Civic and hit the road as soon as I finished work that evening 5-6PM. We took a lovely two hour rest in the fast lane of interstate 77 as we and half the state of Virginia waited for an accident to be cleared. We took advantage of the time by watching the awesome movie, Iron Man - an early Christmas gift from Santa. Eventually we started moving again. Slowly for about the first 45 minutes, but then it was clear sailing through the rest of the state and West Virginia as well. It was such a blessing to spend the unexpected time with the family. Marin almost didn't even mind being strapped into the car seat the whole time.
The rain started somewhere around the WV / Ohio border. I slowed appropriately so that we wouldn't get to Michigan too quickly. Driving in the rain can be so soothing to the nerves.
It was right around 2 AM as we were passing through New Philadelphia that the fun really started. Well, suddenly it was as if we were transported from out of our little civ and right onto some fantastic new roller coaster that only did circular doughnuts, probably about 5-6 of them. When our little adventure finally slid to a stop, I realized just how lucky we where. We had just encountered the fabled "black ice" that bad drivers seem to blame everything on (Jason). What a treat to see it firsthand. Additionally we were so luck in that it only took Marin 10 Min to stop screaming. (We really are blessed here as, literally, the only damage to any of us or the car was the memory that we will take with us... not even a scratch on the car.) I used the cell phone to call for help and it only took a police officer 45 minutes to show up. Coincidentally, that is also about the same number of yards that we had slid down an embankment from the road. We found out that it's been a busy night for all towing companies and that it would be about 3 hours before anyone could come out to help us. Marin was a champ and probably would have been just fine to wait but instead we talked the police officer into letting her have her first trip in the back seat of his police cruiser. Did any of you know that car seats do not fit in the back of police cars? So Marin was happy to simply rest on her mom's lap as we are escorted to the closest hotel on the road that we totally didn't just about die on. After not sleeping at all, I climbed out of bed at around 6 AM on Christmas Eve (two hours after checking into the room) and called AAA again to get the process rolling. They told me that they would have a tow truck out to me in about 45 minutes so naturally it took them 3 hours. At 9AM I climbed into the cab of the tow truck and went back to the car where in the daylight I could see that if we had slid a few more yards we would have finished in some random lake... Never to be seen or heard from again. What an adventure. Since the tow truck charges per ft. that they have to tow you back to the road, the bill only came to a couple of hundred dollars. I'm not sure exactly what it came to though because AAA gets that bill. I'm a card carrying member.
We get back on the road after a delicious continental breakfast and arrive safe and sound in Saline, MI. around 2PM on Christmas Eve, the first of my two days off. I was scheduled to catch a flight late Christmas day so that I could make it home in time for work on the 26th. I HAD to be back! Christmas morning, I checked my flight and realized that the first leg of my flight was delayed but the second leg was on time. This would cause me to miss the last leg out of Baltimore and effectively make it impossible for me to get to work the next day. Southwest was so wonderful to rebook my flight to one that would depart in 60 Minutes from the time that I hung up the phone with them.
I threw everything of mine into my luggage and jumped into the car where Craig sped us lickidy split the 45 min. to the Detroit Airport. I made my flight and returned home with almost no sleep and a brand new work day scheduled to start in about 10 hours time.
Katie and Marin drove safely home escorted by Craig (a million thanks) just before New Years Eve.
Both Katie and I feel horrible that her dad had to make that drive and then fly back the very next morning. Sorry, but again - thank you so much.
We had a great time and are glad that we did it but never want to repeat that in a million years.

The Super best part of this is that, within the last two months, this wasn't even the low point. This was the way back up.

2008, we will miss you.
2009, bring it on...

Enjoy some Pix.

Disclaimer - Katie will proof me some time later. For now, you'll have to excuse my many typo's and many staughterings of the english language. I'm going to bed. It's already been a long year.

The Kuhn's Got Ran Over by Reindeer

2008-12-16T13:45:00.008-05:00

I know its been awhile since we last posted, but Reindeer are the only excuse I could come up with. Let's just say that absolutely nothing has been going our way over the last couple months. We are just praying we get through this holiday in one piece. I won't even bother to fill you in on all the depression around here, but we are looking forward to a little reprieve. On a lighter note, Daniel's long awaited scooter finally arrived. Yeah!! That means no more driving Daniel to and from work anymore (Marin and I may just throw ourselves a little party!) I'll be sure to post a picture later with Daniel and his "hog."

Other than that, Marin is talking and singing up a storm. She also likes to point at everything and ask "What's that?" Most the time I think she's doing it to test me. She is however, officially a terrible two and Daniel and I are learning some new lessons in patience. Its a dang good thing she is as cute as she is.

Even on the hard days though, we still love her to pieces and are so grateful that she is happy and healthy.

I unfortunately will not be sending out Christmas cards this year, so don't feel like we forgot you! So I hope that this will suffice.

Happy Holidays!
Love, The Kuhn's

Happy Birthday Marin!

2008-10-18T21:27:00.024-04:00

Trip to Monkey Joe's $ 5.00

Balloons $ 2.50

Happy Meal $ 3.00

Cake Mix $ 2.00

Play Tent from IKEA $ 7.00

Watching Marin open presents from grandparents $0

Knowing your 2 yr. old has no clue how cheap her parents are: PRICELESS!

Happy Birthday Marin! We can't believe you're a 2 yr. old! Daniel and I feel like you have always been with us and at the same time we're amazed that two years have flown by so fast. We love you so much Marin! We hope you had a great day.

Trip to the Zoo

2008-10-18T20:38:00.011-04:00

The temperature finally dropped down to the 70's, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather. We loaded up our neighbors and took a trip to the N.C. Zoo. It was a lot of fun. Besides the great fall weather we were able to see a ton of animals. The zoo is set up like a park reserve, which often means you don't see anything but bushes, rocks and trees. Fortunately the animals came out of hiding for their cameos. Marin was really excited about all the monkeys. She actually spent most of her time people watching, which is also great fun at the North Carolina Zoo. Other highlights included the ice cream cone after lunch and the carousel ride.

Ok- I guess she would have had just as much fun at the mall. But it was nice to get outside and get some fresh air. We had a great day!

Setting the Record Straight

2008-10-14T16:05:00.001-04:00

It would be strange if someone that was way too young, but still a legal adult, came into the funeral home to prearrange his own funeral – twice. It would be even stranger if that person ended up needing a funeral directors services shortly there after due to the actions of a group of delinquent thugs. It would be even stranger still if the parents of the kid came to that same funeral director for funeral plans even when they had no idea that their son had already prearranged for the same thing. Could you imagine the funeral directors surprise if he made the connection from identifying the kid off of an obituary photo? Any reasonably sane individual would be nothing short of flabbergasted. When that reasonably sane individual made the connection, he would certainly pass the information on to the proper authorities.
Plot Twist-
How crazy would it be if our reasonably sane individual received a phone call from the kid that he had made the prearrangement with after the cremation had taken place? Suppose that he knew this because he positively recognized the voice and the young kid recognized his as well. Obviously our sane individual had made a rather large mistake when he thought that he had recognized this kid. He would probably no longer think of himself as being sane at all. In his defense, there were probably some extremely unique and distinctive characteristics (physical as well as behavioral) that would set both of these individuals apart from the average (very very extremely large) group. Our sane person would briefly even consider the identical twin theory, but not for long. The simple truth would be that he was flat out wrong.
Another Plot Twist-
How ridiculously crazy would it be if these two kids that our now questionably sane individual had mistaken for being the same person, actually turned out to know each other!!! The questionably sane individual would find this out because the remaining young kid would begin asking him questions about the body of his friend!
Our questionably sane individual would now have gone straight to insane and not passed “Go” or collected his $200. That would be absolute ridiculousness. There is no way that there could be that much coincidence. It’s simply way too bazaar. I guess that I’ll have to come up with another idea for my book because that one is way too unbelievable. I couldn’t sell it if I tried.
The good news is that our insane person would not be in any trouble and frankly would have nothing to do with much of anything at all regarding these most unfortunate kids.

2008-10-10T14:53:00.003-04:00

I think that I need this.

If it's too difficult to see what exactly this is, check it out here.

Amendment

2008-10-10T13:08:00.001-04:00

Just for the sake of avoiding any confusion, I am nowhere near directly involved in the ongoing investigation that I mentioned in the last post. It’s like I’m connected through three completely random means to one horrific event. So I’m something like three times removed, but three times connected as well. It’s strange, but nothing to worry about. The strangeness was the reason for my mental break on the day of the previous post.

I really don’t think that I clarified anything there. Sorry.

Today I'm going to commit myself

2008-10-08T16:47:00.002-04:00

I kid you not, today is the day that I have finally lost my mind. I’ve been slammed busy with work for about the last month and a half. I still have a list of people that I need to call back from when they initially called to wish me a happy birthday… You know who you are and I’ll eventually get to it. I’ve not forgotten yet. Right now I have ten minutes of work left before I dash out the door, cram food down my throat and then kiss Marin good night as I slip out the door on my way to Cub Scouts. Them I’ll get home and fall into bed. Tomorrow will be my first day off since some time in September? Oct was supposed to be my day off, but I was called in to work because they got busy and needed me. Happy birthday to me! But I did technically get half of that day off. I’m not complaining about any of it, I’m just tired and would like nothing more than to sleep and read and play with Marin and Katie.
Now the reason that I’m going crazy more so today than any other day is because I just made a huge mistake on something that I was so positive about. I’m kind of cracked to now know that I made this mistake because I have no idea how it happened. I was positive!!! Also, there were facts to back me up on my initial mistake. I was so positive!!!
Next, the mistake that I made has a bazaar twist that actually serendipitously relates to exactly what my mistake was about in the first place.
I know that none of this makes any sense whatsoever, but I don’t think that I should be any more specific as this whole mess has to do with and ongoing police investigation that is concerning a brutal and violent act of crime that I somehow seem to have found myself connected to. Somebody please just give me a break.

Crazy Summer

2008-09-06T19:47:00.006-04:00

Yes...its us. We're back to the blog world after a summer long break from our keyboard. Entering the summer season I thought that it was going to be pretty uneventful, but obviously I was wrong about that. Marin and I ended up spending about 3 weeks in Michigan, while Daniel worked long hours here in Durham. My sister Erin drove back to NC with Marin and I and spent a week here with us, before heading back to Michigan to get ready for school. We really enjoyed having her here. We worked in a day trip to the beach with her so that she could be properly introduced to the ocean. We had a great time and brought enough of the beach back with us to prove it.

After that I spent my days gearing up for the looming task of POTTY TRAINING. It was pretty much terrible, but Marin doesn't appear to be too emotionally scarred for life because of it (although I'm sure her therapist someday will have something to say about it :) I really shouldn't complain, Marin did great!

During potty training boot camp we found out that hand, foot and mouth disease was going around the ward. So guess who gets it... Yep! Marin ended up having blisters all over the inside of her mouth, and feet. Poor kid. She couldn't leave the house for 2 weeks and we all went a bit insane being indoors so long. I was a little upset about the whole thing. Before having kids I always told Daniel that I'd let our kids eat dirt and be germy so that they would be healthy adults. Well, I've changed my mind. I get kind of crazy when people bring sick kids to play group and to nursery. I've since calmed down and have realized that there are worse things to deal with out there than a fever and some blisters. Unfortunately though, we had to cancel a trip to Delaware to visit Daniel's sister (for the 4th time). Sorry Chris! Someday we'll make good on our plans.

So after all of our summer craziness we've been left flat broke (what's new) and exhausted. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I have felt like life has been really hard lately. But leave it to the Lord to humble us when we'd like nothing better to do than complain about why life stinks. We've had a bunch of friends and family go through some really tough trials the last couple weeks and I have realized we have nothing to complain about. We're all healthy and we have a beautiful soon to be 2 yr. old, who makes us smile everyday. We also have a steady job and a roof over our head. So yes...I'll admit there are worse trials than potty training :)

My little ragtime doll

2008-08-03T21:23:00.006-04:00

So the fam packed up our little Civic and drove on up to Michigan for a few days recently. I spent about a week and then flew home and back to work. Katie and Marin have stayed behind and will be coming home in about another week. I've been home now for about five days and I'm totally finished with the batchelor thing. I miss them and want them to come home. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Katie gets to spend time with her family and that they get to spend time with Katie and Marin, but I'm also very selfish. I miss my girls.
While we were in MI, Erin (KT's sister) took some great pictures and video clips. I've been thinking about those pictures all week. Wishing that I had them here with me so that it could feel like I still had the real thing. No luck, they are all still in MI. But then... When checking my gmail today I found that someone had commented on a video that was posted to my youtube account. It was a video that I didn't know was even on there. Aparently KT had posted it and Now I get to watch it. (Emoticon Smiley) You may also watch it, but this is mostly for my own pleasure as I cannot stop smiling and will certainly watch it from my work desk multiple times tomorrow.
And it seems to be funny enough that it's been commented on by some random youtube person. -I'm not sure how I feel about that. (Emoticon Pensive)
Enjoy.

Back Up and Running

2008-07-16T18:06:00.008-04:00

IT WORKS AGAIN!!!

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Time to Boogie Woogie!

2008-07-16T17:09:00.002-04:00

Please don't hate me as I make you both the object of some intense humor!
Enjoy.

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Just remember that I'm your favorite son in law ever.

What's Cookin'?!

2008-07-14T20:59:00.006-04:00

Marin has recently decided that she needs to be involved in more of the cooking. I thought these pictures turned out so cute, I just had to post them. She wasn't so helpful with the cooking part, but does a great job helping clean up.

"YUM YUM"

Beach Trip

2008-07-07T19:31:00.014-04:00

Daniel's whole family came down to North Carolina for a beach week in June. Daniel's mom came out a couple days before to spend some time with us before the masses arrived at the beach. Cheryl and Marin went to work on saving our trees in the front yard. They're saying that the drought here is only going to get worse. Fortunately for us I don't think our yard could get much worse. I'm not sure how helpful Marin was, but she certainly found a way to stay cool in all the heat.

We stayed in a fab beach house in Kill Devil Hills. It was great weather for the most part and we had fun spending time on the beach. Marin is definitely her father's child.

She is a total water baby.

She also had a lot of fun with Daniel's nieces and nephews. I know she was glad to have kids to play with instead of her boring mother.

It was nice visiting with the family and getting to see all the kids again. Daniel's sister Chris had a set of twins about a year ago that we were able to meet for the first time. All in all we were sad to leave the sun and sand, but had a great week. Thanks Cheryl and Bob!

(Please feel free to advert your eyes away from my flabby, pasty legs, but don't you think my suit is fabulous?!)

Back to blogging...

2008-07-07T19:01:00.005-04:00

Yeah-its been awhile. Here is my meager attempt at redeeming myself. We went through some big changes in the Kuhn household during May. Since our 1 1/2 year-old is roughly the size of a 3 year-old we discovered that the baby gate had to come down, it was time for a booster seat instead of a highchair and we had to put those annoying doorknobs things on all our doors. Marin walked out the front door without my knowledge the other day, but luckily Daniel was outside to witness the escape. Unfortunately, she has now figured out how to open doors with the annoying doorknob things on them. Just last Sunday she organized THREE separate escape attempts from nursey by Houdini-ing the "child-proof" locks on the door.

Here are some pictures of Marin eating her first meal in the booster seat. She is thrilled to be in her big girl chair.

Misadventures in Shopping

2008-05-04T21:24:00.010-04:00

What you're about to see may scare you. This is not for the faint of heart. I've been complaining for some time to Daniel that I have no clothes. I went about trying to prove it to him one night and the experience left us both shocked and disturbed. Here is the pile of clothes that no longer fit me or are worthy of allowing social services to take away my child based on my appearance. It was ugly folks.

This is what is left. So pathetic and sad. (P.S. Please nominate me for TLC's "What Not To Wear.")

I was forced to realize two things about myself. One- I hoard old clothes. Don't ask me why...I do such a good job decluttering the rest of my life, but can't seem to let go of ugly shirts from high school. Two- After Marin, my body has taken on a new shape all together. I swear my waist has dropped about 3 inches. I'm not sure why that happened.

Anyway, drastic steps needed to be taken. We hopped in the car on Daniel's day off and headed to the outlets 2 hours away. We thought we'd be smart and leave during Marin's nap time, thinking she'd sleep on the way down. Ha! Yeah right. She was grumpy by the time we got there, especially after getting lost trying to find the place. However, her spirits rose after she was freed from the car and able to walk around.

We had a little success in the first store, but our luck quickly changed as soon as we left that store. What a wash the day turned out to be. You'd think finding a few shirts would be a realistic expectation after visiting 30 different stores, but were we wrong. We did have one funny experience. We went into the Oshkosh store to see if they had any kids stuff on sale and while Daniel and I were making a quick game plan, Marin had sat down, stripped off both her shoes and socks, and was already trying on flip-flops. After Daniel and I composed ourselves we had to convince an 18 month old that she needed to leave her own shoes and socks on, and that we wouldn't be trying on EVERY pair of shoes in the store. I'm not sure where our girly girl came from, but she is GIRL through and through.

A short time later we took a trip to Dairy Queen in an attempt to lighten our collective spirits. Apparently, Marin really liked the ice cream.

Daniel did too. Unfortunately, a short while later, we found out that it didn't like him back. So while Daniel took the next hour and a half to deal with his own issues, Marin decided she had retained enough water to liberate all of NC from their drought and that it was time to let the flood gates go. I kid you not... she completely wet through 4 diapers in the span of 1 hour. I had never seen anything like it. Daniel is nowhere to be seen and I am 18 miles from the car. Marin and I started hoofing it. She screamed the entire way.

By the time we got to the car, Marin had not only soaked through her last diaper, but had now soaked my shirt as well. I hadn't been able to find any shirts all day, as previously mentioned, so I walked around for the last hour of our shopping trip in a pee shirt. All in all, we didn't get much accomplished but we all made it home in one piece. My closet situation...remains the same.

Visit from Pappy

2008-05-04T20:05:00.005-04:00

Daniel's dad came for a visit last weekend. Unfortunately for him, he spent most of his visit helping Daniel fix our broken couch. Yes people..beware! When you come and visit us we put you to work! We sure appreciated all the help though! We did take a trip to Duke Gardens on Saturday afternoon. It was pretty hot out, so it was a bit of a short adventure, but we still had a good time.

Daniel's dad bought Marin a glow stick while he was here. This is a funny video of Marin, Daniel and the glow stick. Marin had a difficult time saying "pappy" so she called him "happy" instead. It was pretty cute. She had a great time playing with him over the weekend.

Marin's Room

2008-05-04T19:28:00.010-04:00

My mom came for a visit at the beginning of April. We were so happy to have her here for a visit. We worked on several projects during her week stay, but I must say...our great accomplishment was Marin's room. I am so happy with the way it turned out. I know I know...Pottery Barn Kids is bound to be knocking on my door any day. I still have some little decoration projects I'm working on for the room, but I'm so pleased that everything came together so well. Now, if we can keep Marin from pulling the wood fence out of the wall, we'll be set.

Marin had a lot of fun playing with Glamma Harris all week. She was pretty confused when my mom left. She kept asking where grandma went and would look for her around every corner. They played a lot of hide and seek during the week. She would get a little sad when she realized glamma wasn't there to jump out and chase her.

Thanks for all your help mom! We wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you. My mom also made some fabulous kitchen curtains that I LOVE!

Here's something Awesome!

2008-04-17T13:29:00.003-04:00

This was made by Katie's cousin. His name is Cole and he's an extremely funny kid. As exhibited in this clip. If you watch closely, you'll also catch a shot of Cole's actual mom - Peggy, not just a paid actress.

Enjoy.

Little Timmy and the Hippie from Benjamin on Vimeo.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-27T13:04:00.007-04:00

I can't believe its Easter time again already. It doesn't seem all that long ago we were spending the holiday in a crusty motel alone, in a new place. We are lucky to have some wonderful people around us this year to celebrate with. Our friends the Rawlings were kind enough to invite us over for Easter dinner. Great food and great company. Marin enjoyed her easter basket...probably more than anything in it. She wore it around on her head for the most of the day. However, she is now the proud owner of a Blue's Clue's movie. She loves Blue!

We had a difficult time getting her to pose for the camera in her cute Easter dress so this is about all we got.

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday!

Blog Challenged

2008-03-15T22:09:00.002-04:00

In the words of Homer Simpson..."why must I fail at everything I do?" I've sat on my rear for about the last 3 hours trying to download new templates for our blog site. Obviously nothing I did worked and we're back to the same ole' same ole' we've been using. What on earth possessed me to think that I know enough about computers to do anything fancy is beyond me. I've lost three valuable hours of my life accomplishing absolutely nothing and I'm rather frustrated. So here it is...and here it will remain. Anyone is welcome to school in the world of blogging. I could certainly use some help.

Under Construction

2008-03-15T13:12:00.002-04:00

Please be patient as our site is undergoing some construction. We're a little slow when it comes to computers, blogs, etc. And by "we" I mean I...Katie.

Day at the Museum

2008-03-11T21:10:00.007-04:00

Marin and I went to the children's Life and Science Museum here in Durham last week. We meet some friends from the ward there and had a great time letting the kids loose to explore the different exhibits. It was a lot of fun.

They have a new exhibit just for babies and toddlers, so needless to say we spent most of our time there letting the kids play. Marin found a small staircase just her size that I don't think she ever left the whole time we were there.

If I would let her, she'd spend her whole day playing on stairs...but we're not quite proficient enough for that yet. The museum has a huge playground outside and a small section of farm animals as well. Marin doesn't get out much and thought every animal she saw was a dog...but it was still cute.

They also have an amazing butterfly house which was a lot of fun for the kids. This butterfly landed on my friend Tami's hand.

We later found out that the butterfly's name is the Red Mormon. Tami just happened to be wearing a red shirt and is in fact a Mormon. Coincidence?! After the butterfly house the kids, including their mom's had had their fill of museum fun. There was a lot left unexplored so we'll definitely have to venture back again soon.

ABC's and 123's UPDATE

2008-03-10T15:35:00.002-04:00

I am rescinding all previous claims. This is why.

Look who’s reading ... a tot!

ABC's and 123's

2008-03-01T12:44:00.003-05:00

I know that I'm being ridiculous, I live 90% of my life under that assumption, but I really do think that Marin is a smart little girl. I know that every parent says that about their child, especially their first, so I try so hard not to take myself seriously. Currently I'm stuck in that 10% of non-ridiculousness and loving the sure knowledge that Marin is in fact the smartest 16 month old to ever have graced this planet. I have many examples to support this certain knowledge, but I will only bore you with a few.

1. Just the other night, some good friends of ours were kind enough to watch Marin so that KT and I could slip away for a meeting without her. When we picked her up. The husband of the couple told me how smart she is and how much she really comprehends what is going on. And she really does. you can talk to her like a normal person and she really does seem to get it. It's bizarre. You may be saying, "so what? some guy told you that she was smart." Well, I don't think that he's just some guy. He's a really smart guy himself. He's here working at Duke Hospital as an anaesthetist. Maggie, you can tell Ron that he made my week. LOL.

2. I give you this video. It's not the best example of her skills, but she sure looks cute in it.

Sorry that she didn't get to D. I'm not sure why she quit. D is actually her favorite letter. We have a Sesame street CD that has a song about the letter D. that's how I know that it's her fave.
Did you note that she's not just repeating, she actually knows what comes next. Seriously, I don't think that most kids at 16 Mo. can do this.

3. She knows an extensive amount of anatomy. When asked, if she's not playing shy, she will point to:
hair
head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, cheeks, and chin
neck
shoulders
back
belly
belly button
arms
elbows (she actually points to her wrists)
hands and fingers (she knows the difference)
legs
knees
feet and toes (also knows the difference)

4. She started at 13 months coming to us and patting her bottom while saying "inky" when she had taken a poop. Then when we acknowledged her, she would run over to the diaper bag and get a diaper and wipes and then bring them back to us.
She doesn't do this so much anymore. But sometimes we still get lucky.

These are just a few reason why I know that she's an uber genius. I'll now just sit back and wait for our call from MENSA.

Thank you, and you may now feel free to talk about how amazing it is that Marin is so smart when her father is such a moron.

Shrimp Fork

2008-02-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

Apparently, shrimp forks solve all childhood eating problems. Mothers and future mothers...be advised!

The Problem: Marin would push away food before even trying it or would decide she needed her independence from parental feeding and wouldn't eat unless she could feed it to herself. I went on numerous silverware hunts to find something that would actually pick up food and was user friendly to children. The toddler metal forks and spoons, not only cost a ridiculous amount, they are also useless in holding food of any type. I found myself constantly trying to balance the food on them in order to get the food to her mouth.

The Solution: Shrimp forks and tea spoons. They have the same curvature and staying power as adult silverware and are small enough for Marin to manipulate. She will now eat just about everything, because of her new found independence. The extra bonus is that I can actually eat a few bits of my own dinner occasionally.

Strangely Familiar

2008-02-19T13:42:00.000-05:00

Something about this and this reminds me of some old roommates that I once had.

What are your thoughts?

Daniel's ABC's

2008-02-18T15:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks. Here’s another one of those annoying list things. Enjoy.

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Katie
C- Cake or Pie: I cannot choose. I will not choose! It’s a tie between chocolate dump cake with peanut butter icing or peach pie with whole milk pored over the top.
D- Day of Choice: My weeks don’t have any way to track a beginning or end, so I choose any non-work day as my day of choice.
E- Essential Item: I need Heroes to make more episodes and put them on DVD fast!
F- Favorite Color: Blue, without hesitation.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears, of the cinnamon variety and then covered in chocolate. The one thing that makes BYU tolerable
I- Indulgence(s): Oreo’s and milk, or a dark chocolate Snickers. Drool…
J- January or July: JULY! I love hot. I despise cold. The only reason for snow is sport, ever.
K-Kids: 1
L-Life is incomplete without: Katie and Marin
M- Marriage Date: August 18, 2004
N- Number of Siblings: 3
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples as long as they are crunchy.
P- Phobias or Fears: Heights freak me out. The crazy thing is that I dig being freaked out. I like the adrenaline. I enjoy anything that gets me to the edge of a very steep drop.
Q- Quote(s): "You must be a creator of circumstances, not a victim of circumstances” – President Robert E. Sorenson, San Francisco, California Mission President 1997-2000.
R- Reason To Smile: My little girls giggle.
S- Season: Summer. I love being outside in the sun. It even beats the smell of fall or the energy of spring.
T- Tag Six: I think that I’m the last person that I know to have been tagged and if I’m not, I don’t want to suffer that anyone else would have to feel obligated to fill this out.
U- Unknown Fact About Me: Mostly unknown… I hated pizza as a kid. I was a teenager before I learned to like it. The truth of it is that I hated anything with any red sauce. Spaghetti was the first thing with red sauce that I started liking. I still hate fresh tomatoes. I’m pretty sure that they are the reason for initially hating pizza.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I think that I’m somewhere in between. We don’t eat a lot of red meat, mostly chicken and pork. Even then it’s still in moderation.
W- Worst Habit: “Yep” “uh huh” and “huh?” as opposed to “Yes” and “excuse me?” Also, I incessantly crack my knuckles. I lack the will power to stop.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: X-Ray. As in X-Ray vision. I’m all about super powers. I am such a dork when it comes to comic book stuff. I so want to be Peter Petrelli when I grow up.
Y- Your Favorite Food: It changes often. Currently I love this Japanese chicken salad that Katie makes. I think that it’s my favorite for now.
Z: Zodiac: Libra

Just Thinking

2008-02-09T15:45:00.000-05:00

To all those who think that I’m not the same person than I was only a few years ago, you are right. And I thank you for noticing. Katie and I are working very hard to build a home for ourselves that our children will be able to grow and thrive in. Most of all, we want them to feel safe in it. We want it to be a refuge from the world and all the ugliness that is out there. We don’t want to shelter our kids, but we instead we want to give them an example of what they can have if they work for it. This, by the way, has nothing to do with belongings. Frankly, we’ll probably never be able to afford to buy a new xbox, Nintendo, PSP, cell phone, car…. every time a new one comes out - we try to be responsible with our finances. On the contrary, we feel that happiness comes independent of having the latest… anything. I think that my family benefits far more when we can spend an hour at the park together than even three hours in the same room rotting in front of the TV.
I digress.
My point is this. Katie and I are in fact trying not to be the same people that we’ve always been. We believe that we can be better. We are constantly looking for ways to not only love one another, but to actually enjoy one another too. This sounds elementary, but it's kind of a new concept for me and can be a serious struggle. It really takes a lot of work. The hardest part is when you see others involved in mediocre relationships, for whatever reasons, and they seem to have given up the hope of changing for the better.
I had a friend in School that was a very good friend. We did just about everything together. We did so much together that it actually stopped me from doing other things with other people. Often was the case that my friend didn’t like those other people or those other people didn’t like my friend. I eventually realized that my “friend” was like this gigantic black hole in my life, slowly sucking me to their level of darkness. Maybe you never had one of those “friends” but we have all probably observed it at one time or another. The moral is that a true friend would/should want you to be the best you that you can be, not just the one that they’ve always known. When anyone begrudges you for wanting to reach new heights and be better people, they are surely not a true friend. I believe, for right or for wrong, that when ever this happens, you need to step beck at least a little bit from the person or persons that are fighting your attempts to better yourself. This can be so hard because you most likely feel an obligation to help your friend. In addition to the fact that your friend almost certainly is living in some state of denial with regards to their condition, they will certainly see your stepping back as a painful slap in the face of your relationship. They will also probably try to manipulate you with the blame of ruining the relationship. There is nothing that is easy about this situation at all. I think that I am a better person when I surround myself with people that actually cheer me on and wish me well. It is a dangerous place when you are surrounded with “friends” that want nothing more than the way that it always was. I want better. MY family deserves better. I have to safeguard them and keep them from the dangers of being torn down instead of built up. I have to teach them by example that they should never be in any relationship where good enough is good enough. It’s never true.
If you’ve read this letter in its entirety, you have made the list of good friends. Thanks for sitting through my brain vomit. Hope you enjoyed.

Tribute

2008-01-31T14:43:00.000-05:00

I just completely ripped this poem off of my good friends blog. I don't think that she will mind since she ripped it off of some email that she got. We have no idea who the writer Anna is but the poem is lovely.

Prophetic Passing
I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, 'Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance,
I welcome My noble, most excellent son.'

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward - there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard January 27, 2008

I would have ended it by saying:
I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward - there's work to be done.
Please drive safe as you leave on your way.

Try Walking a Mile in my Shoes

2008-01-13T07:55:00.000-05:00

Resurrection

2008-01-10T12:39:00.000-05:00

No, we are not dead. But I understand that you may think that by how often I've been posting lately. Truthfully, there is no excuse that anyone who checks this blog will accept, so I'm not even going to try. Instead I'll just give you all a nice little update and maybe a few pictures as well.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. Katie, Marin and I packed up the car and drove off to Michigan to spend the blessed turkey day with family there. It was so nice. I found it relaxing. Frankly, relaxing and holidays are not two things that I'm used to having go together. But this was really pleasant. One of the highlights was the trip that we took to the Henry Ford Museum.
This Museum is so cool. It's a really eclectic collection of just about anything that can be related to industry. But so much more! The exhibits seem to be a diverse collection of historical artifacts and industry that sometimes takes a back seat. Speaking of taking a back seat. One of the highlights was the actual bus that Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to take a back seat in. We also saw the limo that JFK was shot in, the limo that Reagan was shot in and the Rocking chair from Ford's Theatre that Lincoln was shot in. If it at any point in history could have been referred to as transportation, ie. planes, trains, cars, wagons, carriages, buses, campers, Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobiles etc... you could find it at this museum and you would most likely find many versions of them throughout the years. I so recommend a visit.

Christmas was also a lot of fun. We didn't go anywhere. We just enjoyed making some of our own family traditions this year. I think that Katie missed being home, I on the other hand found myself for the first time in a really long time getting into the Christmas spirit. I don't tend to get too excited about much, but this was just fun. It also seemed to be relaxing. I enjoyed every bit of hanging out with my two favorite girls.
Marin got her first baby doll. She loves it. We named her Annie because it's easy for Marin to say. Now Marin gets to run around giving hugs to Annie and taking care of her. Also she fits very nicely into the shopping cart that Marin got for her birthday back in Oct.
Life is good.

October

2007-11-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

October has been a busy month for us here. We’ve had two birthdays - mine and Marin's, visits from Glam-ma Harris and Grammy Kuhn, trips to the pumpkass patch, Halloween party at our house with some friends from the ward, Trunk or Treat at the ward, new calling for Daniel in the Cub Scouts, cutting more molars, finally getting my NC license, Registering the car in NC, finding out that our auto insurance policy had fallen into some kind of black hole and disappeared into oblivion – they tell us that our policy never really existed – We’ve apparently been uninsured for the last six months (our checks were cashed, and we have all the papers showing that we should have been insured WITH THEIR COMPANY.) Oh, I almost forgot that Marin has now begun walking, a lot.

She's already much better than this video is showing. This was taken when she first started. Now she's all about walking everywhere and she'll only stumble when the concrete is uneven or on a hill.
That’s just all the things that I can remember while I sit here at my desk. I’m sure that I could come up with more if I tried. But I’d rather not be reminded of any more. Some of the chaos has been fun, some nothing more than a headache and some making me just want to end it all, but we move forward and November will be almost over before we know it. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving. Who isn’t? We are going to be heading to MI for the turkey dinner. I think I’d be willing to get myself to Alaska for a good turkey dinner. Mmmmm… I think that thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think that it even passes up Christmas, but I’m not certain and if it does, it’s not by much.

Fun day at the park.

2007-11-02T13:22:00.000-04:00

This month has just been so out of control busy. We've had no time to keep anyone updated on what is going on. We barely have any clue what is going on from one day to the next. This is why it’s become one of our favorite past times to head out to the local neighborhood park so that Marin can burn off some of her energy and hopefully sleep a little better that night. Here are two new shots of Marin playing on some of the playground toys.

The slide is fun, but the swing is always my favorite. I think that Marin likes it too.

I know that none of this has anything to do with Halloween, but I figure that we all may be a little Halloweened out. I think that 90% of the blogs that I’ve visited today have had a Halloween theme that still shows up on the visible opening page. Don’t get me wrong, we have lots of fun H stuff to report on and pictures to show, but maybe that will come in another week or so when it’s started to dye out a little. Don’t ask my why I’m doing it this way. Most of the actual reason is that I’m sitting here at my work desk bored out of my mind, so I’m posting but I don’t have any of the H pictures on my computer. They are all at home. So they will be coming soon, but not today.

Does this amaze anyone else?

2007-10-22T15:55:00.000-04:00

In this corner, weighing in at a whopping 25 Lbs. and stretched to an unbelievable 32.5 inches, we have the unbelievable Marin-zilla.
Katie took Marin in for her 12 month check up today. The doctor could do nothing but laugh when she saw Marin’s measurements. It turns out that Marin, at her 12 mo. check up, is the size and weight of the average 22 month old child. She is the same size of a child that is two months shy of twice her age. The doctor assures us that she is perfectly healthy in every way, she is just really tall. She’s already tall enough to pull things off of the kitchen table. Like plates and glasses… it’s almost an accident waiting to happen. We’ve got to watch her like a hawk. She’s able to reach more trouble than any one year old ought to be able. Good thing that she’s so cute.

Hallow-egg Tutorial

2007-10-15T15:56:00.000-04:00

We’ve done this a few different ways over the years. When we first started making these eggs, we started with some left-over Easter Egg Dyes, a sharpie magic marker and whatever else we could find to be creative.
Hard boil the eggs. Allow them to cool and keep them at room temp. Do not refrigerate the eggs after boiling. It will cause them to sweat when you are ready to color them. They take some work and you will have a ton that you think are just uglier than snot, but the pumpkins are always easy. (Great for kids) Not much to it. I’ve never done it, but you may be able to use some Tie-Die tabs from an arts and crafts store if you don’t have any extra easter egg dye lying around. But it will probably stain everything badly. This year we used some of the absolute cheapest acrylic pain that we could find at the craft store. $1/tube. I don’t know how the acrylic paint would work on the eggs because this year we used fake wood eggs. (So much better and less temporary, but took us a few years of passive searching to find. {Thanks Holly})
This whole project is a lot of fun, but there are really no good instructions, just lots of creativity. Another thought may be to head to a creek bed and collect a few nicely rounded stones and then paint them. This could be fun because the jagged edges could make a good witch face… like I said, be creative, it’s more fun that way.
We are considering getting some clear lacquer to cover the eggs so that the paint won’t rub off onto each other. (this probably won’t matter with the temporary hard boiled eggs)
Have fun and post pictures if any of you decide to make them.

Dancin' Muchine II

2007-10-10T22:04:00.001-04:00

This is a fun one. Marin loves to dance, (as mentioned before) Here we caught her Droppin' it like it's hot into some poppin' and lockin'. She's got some pretty sweet moves. Aparently her new favorite movie is High School Musical. Katie and I were not really fans, but it was worth it to see her jam out to the ending credits.

Tis' the Hallo-freakn'-ween Season

2007-10-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

Katie and I decided to get crafty this year. Instead of making award winning pumpkins,
We decided to mix in some easter. We painted some awesome halloween eggs. It was the coolest FHE in a long time. Katie's are the ones that actually show some tallent.

Play Time

2007-09-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

These are some of our new favorite things. The swings at the park are so much fun. Marin likes them too. But she likes them best when I (Daddy) am pushing her because I am so much more reckless than Katie is. Katie keeps her safe and I teach her how to potentially injure herself. I’m such a role model. The other day Marin slipped in the pool and went under for a split second. Katie was on her before the splash peaked and when Marin was safe in Katie’s arms, instead of terror, I was proud. Proud that she could go under and not come up screaming from terror. She did so well. She coughed a little, but not a tear was shed. That’s my girl. We’ll have you swimming on your own in another two weeks. Woo Hoo… Here is another fun video clip for your enjoyment.

Getting excited for Halloween

2007-09-11T20:12:00.000-04:00

Anyone that saw Holl-Balls last year will recognize this costume.

Here is a better one.

Dancin' Muchine

2007-09-11T19:16:00.000-04:00

So there is one thing that we love to try and get Marin to do because we think that it is so funny. From day #1 she has always seemed to be very picky about music. When we would play something she would either get really happy or really angry (we think that this depended on whether or not she liked that particular style of music. In the beginning she seemed to like the more classical style. Nothing too pop. And by classical, I mean classical composers. She also seemed to be choosy about who was singing it. She hated church hymns. They would make her so angry. Well now a-days, she is not so finicky. It does not even have to have a beat and she will instantly get a big grin and start to shake what her mamma gave her. She even likes it when I (Daniel) sing to her. If you have ever heard me sing you know that it’s bad. (Heather, do you remember that time after church when you waited with me when I was going to meet with the bishop for my mission interview. I’m still scarred by the look on your face when you heard me try and match a note. I still remember, “Maybe your tone deaf? Hi Ya’ll!”) Anyway, Marin loves any kind of music now. It does not matter how distant the source may be from her if she hears a tune, she will stop everything and listen. Then she will do her dance. This is what we find absolutely hilarious. Some of our ward friends once spotted her standing on the church pew dancing to the prelude music in a cute little dress and are still laughing about it two weeks later. We keep trying to catch her on video, but she gets really distracted by the camera. Here is a cute example of her being stubborn.

This is all the dance that we’ve got so far.

Counting my many blessings

2007-09-08T13:50:00.000-04:00

I am apparently more of an “all or nothing” kinda guy than I ever knew. You all wanted to hear more about my work, so now I can’t stop thinking about what I can post about work. I’ll share one more work story for now. Then I need to get back to cute pictures of Marin. I’ll try to diversify my postings from now on. Mix it up a bit.
So as you may assume from my previous post that there is not much about my job that really gets to me. For the most part, I have the worst behind me and now I’m moving forward. (At least I feel better believing this.) Truth be told, there is one thing about my job that I really despise.
It is the untimely death of an infant or child. Nothing tares me up inside more than this. Some days it’s all I can do not to bust into tears myself when I sit in a room with some, almost was, parents and try to help them in any way possible. Knowing that there is not a thing on earth that I can do but watch them suffer. I cannot help but imagine myself in their shoes and it will instantly break my hart. Today I helped a Dad say good bye to what would have been his first child. His first son. Mom was still in the hospital bed recovering while Dad was doing his best to take care of business. Turns out that Nate had only two more weeks to go till full term. For all intents and purposes, he appeared to be in perfect health and development. “Just a fluke thing” said the Grandma. Not “just a” anything says me. The amount of raw emotion and feelings could not possibly be summated into a “just a” phrase. I look into the eyes of this parent or any parent that loses a child and I learn one thing, THIS IS PAIN. I am so sorry.

Its days like this that I am so happy to know what I do. That families can be together forever. On top of that I’m comforted to know that innocent children are just that… innocent.

So do with this what you will. You may file it away into the deepest nether regions of your mind and only think of it when forced to for some reason, but I think that the truth of the matter is that we should all at least think of things like this from time to time. It reminds us all to feel. And not just for ourselves. I’m sorry to have been the blogger buzz kill.

This one is for Linda

2007-08-29T16:42:00.000-04:00

I am pretty sure that there is not a single person that views this blog on purpose that does not already know that I am a Funeral Director for a living. It’s funny, but I really don’t ever, or have not yet, gotten tired of all the questions that people have. Most people feel like they are being a burden by drilling me to satisfy their morbid curiosity. The truth of the matter is that I really do love my job. I don’t get tired of the conversation because I know that I’m still just as curious as most people asking the questions. The only thing that will instantly drive me to absolute anger is when someone finds out what I do and their instant reaction is that of disgust followed by their drilling Q’s. I am not a lesser person because I do what I do. First, I provide for my family, and so far we are not eating from the dumpsters. Second, I see my job as a sort of sacred trust. If the body is a temple, and I thoroughly believe that it is, then I am providing the service of caring for someone’s most sacred possession when they are no longer able to. Third, anyone who has lost someone close to them knows that it can be one of the most difficult times in their life. It is my honor and privilege to do my best to help a family along their personal grieving process. I am not a counselor, but can certainly be a comfort to the family that has no idea what to do and how to do it. I am a director. Now to you, Mrs. Wife of the bishop’s councilor, how many “Thank You” cards have you received in your life for helping someone with one of the hardest things that they will, hopefully ever, have to go threw? And furthermore, I didn’t say “EW!” to YOUR face when I saw that you had apparently volunteered to store 1/4th of the worlds butter supply under your skin, and then ask you about what it is like being so fat! That would have been extremely rude. And FYI – I just got another thank you card in the mail today.
Now, no matter how much I do enjoy my chosen vocation, there are certainly days that I wish that I had stayed at home in bed. Lately it’s been pretty mild. But I do have some good stories to tell. Most of you have heard my best one, but as this is for Linda, the rest of you can get a repeat.
The following is not really for the faint of hart:
Working for a short time in San Francisco was so great for good/gross stories. For example… There was this one lady that I happened to get the short straw on. She was a heroine addict and had O.D.’d after sneaking into an empty room at one of the homeless hotels in the city. Now, just imagine the stench that a homeless hotel would have. Now, imagine how badly decomposed a body would be in order to overpower the rancor of hundreds of homeless packed into a single small building. The only reason that anyone found the body was because they started to smell her. They estimated the date of death to be about 14 days before they found her. Next, imagine this, heat will speed the rate of decomposition. Mid July in California. San Francisco can stay cool, but sometimes it does not. The latter was the case. Homeless hotels do not have air conditioning. Neither do they have fly traps. Now for some math. 14 days + dead body + flies = Fat Maggots!!! EVERYWHERE!!! But we’ll come back to that. Let’s talk briefly bout some science of a dead body. The vascular system of the average human body only holds enough blood to fill 1/3rd of its capacity. Since the heart keeps the blood moving it’s able to circulate and never settle. When the heart stops, the blood will settle to the lower third of the body due to gravity. When the blood settles it will seep all the way out to fill the capillaries in the skin to capacity. Then, because it’s not circulating, it will coagulate there and cause a permanent dark purple, black stain on the skin. The easiest way to understand this would be to think of a scab that forms under the skin on 1/3rd of the body. This is called a blood stain, or livor mortis. This is how they (cop shows) can tell if a body has been moved from the original scene.
So, if a lady were to O.D. and fall face forward on the floor. The blood would settle to her face (being on one of the lowest points) and stain it dark purple/black. Time makes the stain continually darker, unfixable and swollen beyond normal recognition. This was the case.
Now let’s get back to the maggots. Her arm looked like swiss cheese. There were so many holes in her from the maggots burrowing their way threw. It was one of the most disturbing and disgusting things that I have ever seen. Until 30 seconds later when we had to roll the body on its side so that we could put the water hose to her nostril and flush out her nose and mouth form the thousand and thousands of maggots that had taken up residence there. They were pouring out of her mouth and nose and every other orifice that you could imagine. And the stench was just enough to bring the strongest stomach inside out. As if matters were not bad enough….
Pause…
This body was kept under near frozen conditions due to the advanced state of decomposition. We removed the body from the cooler and allowed the body to thaw so that we could embalm her.
Unpause…
As the body and maggots began to warm up, the maggots began to reanimate. They had not died in the freezer. They were just hibernating in the layers of their own lard that they formed from the consumption of rotting flesh. As they reanimated, they began to evacuate the deceased (we where pumping it full of Embalming chemicals) and wiggle onto the work table and then onto the floor. You could not step anywhere without a nasty crunching/popping noise. It took all that I had that day to not just walk away and never return. I do however feel fairly confident that the worst is behind me. So far so good. There was nothing about this poor lady that was not absolutely revolting. But that brings me back to the cool part of my job. I get to do my best to try and work some sort of incomprehensible magic and make a disaster into something that will be pleasing enough to let the family say goodbye. Sometimes that can be done and sometimes it can’t, but when I get hugs and thank yous and even tears of gratitude for the work that I do, suddenly it’s all not as bad as I thought it was. I really do love my job. And I think I’m darn good at it.
Now, Linda. Where is my invite?

Splishy Splashy

2007-08-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

Day Trippin at the Beach

2007-08-06T21:38:00.000-04:00

This looks cool

2007-08-01T12:33:00.000-04:00

I found this really cool you tube video so I thought that I'd post it.

Edible Dogs

2007-07-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

So I have a good friend, many of you know her, that is absolutely obsessed with hot dogs. I find this kind of funny because I’ve known her for a few years now and I never really knew just how deep she was into her obsession. I thought that I knew her a little better than this. My bad. Learn something new everyday. Here is another thing that I learned, apparently I have a bit of a hot dog obsession my self. Maybe I’ll call it more of a fascination for a good hot dog than an obsession. Either way, there can be no denying the occasional urge for a good dog. When it strikes, there is no way to avoid it. I’ve tried. The craving will haunt me until I eventually succumb. My dog of choice will always be this-un. I find comfort in the thought that Kosher means Kosher.
Every once and a while, I will find myself in a pickle of a craving and unable to get to my trusted dog. For example sometimes I go to the fridge and find something sub par like those Oscar Meyer Cheese filled franks.

(Katie’s favorite) Barf!!! For some reason, they just sick me out. But she likes them so whatever. Now, the point that I’m making is that when I need a hot dog, I’ll even bring myself so low as to eat one of those mystery meat, mystery cheese? things that they call a hot dog. My head is lowered in shame. Please forgive me. Before I stop rambling, I want to make clear that there is one place and one place only that it will forever be acceptable to eat a nasty hot dog and have it taste like the best thing to ever have crossed your lips. You all know this well, it’s the dog that you pick up at a ball park with a bunch of good friends. It’s the place where you may no longer feel ashamed to indulge in a sick little pleasure and feel no embarrassment. I’ve decided that this reason, and this reason alone is why baseball is so popular. No one in their right mind would go to a game and subject themselves to such a long and slow torture unless the food somehow made it worth it. Isn’t that really what being American is all about, finding a legit reason for unhealthy food? Sounds good to me.
The End

Marinzilla

2007-07-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

I'm a little sorry to all my friends that log on to the site in the hopes of finding out how Katie and I are doing only to be inundated with info, pictures and video clips of how Marin is doing. This post will be no different. The truth of the matter is, Katie and I no longer have much of a life outside of Marin. And we love it. So again, I'm a little sorry, but only for you. Nothing in my life is more exciting to me than she is. So when you want to know how Katie and I are, your answer will be in Marin.
Marin had her 9 month check up today. Coincidentally she is 9 months exactly today. The doctor told us that Marin is the weight of the average 14 month old coming in just barely shy of 22 Lbs. In height she is the same as the average 16 month old. She is 31 in long. I can't give any percentages because she does not even show up on the charts for a 9 month old. So it's probably safe to assume that she is in the 100th Percentile? Simply put, she is just huge. As soon as she learns how to walk, I'm afraid that she'll already be able to reach the stove. That's bad news. But she is as healthy as an ox and no where near the size of one... yet. And simply because I think that she is the cutest Marinzilla to ever roam the planet, I'm including a second picture on this one post. Is that a forked tongue?

This is what we learned this week

2007-07-17T15:33:00.000-04:00

Um… a Cheerio World?

2007-07-14T14:34:00.000-04:00

So, when I was a little kid, there were a few words that my mind just could not wrap itself around properly. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I was oblivious to my misuse of the English language… maybe being a child had nothing to do with it? Anyway, I’m sure that you all can understand in some way.
Cars and Cards to my five year old brain were the same words.
Picture and Pitcher. So on and so forth.
Now, for the last few days I’ve had that stupid Madonna song streaming in my head nonstop. You know the one “and we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.” So now you get to have it in your head. Ha ha.
Well, when I was a child and heard this song, I associated it with what I knew. And since I didn’t know what a material world or material girl meant, I translated it to “and we are living in a Cheerio world and I am a Cheerio girl.” Try it some time, it works. “Living in a Cheerio world, Cheerio-o-o! a Cheerio world.” Blah Blah Blah. Now, that is what has been wedged between my two ears for days and this is why.

Now look Closer.

I was just trying to change her diaper and there it was, staring me right in the eye. Apparently it had found it's way down her shirt some time during dinner the hour or so before hand. (I hope) and lodged it's way into her belly button. Now She, like Madonna, is a Cheerio Girl.

Pointless Posting

2007-07-10T14:10:00.001-04:00

1. Were you named after anyone? Not that I know of. But my middle name is Tyson because my parents wanted my first name to be Ty. The problem was that Ty Kuhn just sounded funny. So now I’m Daniel
2. When was the last time your cried? No clue.
3. Do you like your handwriting? I don’t really care. It’s not the neatest but it’s still legible.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Some kind of peppered turkey. Once I had a cajun spiced turkey and that was really good. But truthfully, most days I’d take a PB&J.
5. Do you have kids? Just one. Marin is almost 9 Mo.
6. If you were another person would you be friends with you? I think so. I like who I am now so maybe if I were someone else I would like me.
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I am trying to cut down on my use. I’m finding it to be a little juvenile and I’m trying to progress past it, but it sure was great. And I have a long way to go until I’m fully purged.
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Still do, but I wish that I didn’t. I get a lot of sore throats.
9. Would you bungee jump? Sure would. I have before and I’d do it again.
10. What is your favorite cereal? Healthy – Raisin Bran Crunch. Sugar – Reese’s PB Crunch
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not unless I have to.
12. Do you think you are strong? Not really. Not for my size anyway. But when compared to the wee people of the world, sure.
13. What is your favorite ice cream? Bryers Vanilla Fudge Twirl. And I take every opportunity to remind Katie of this.
14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Confidence levels. How highly or not do they think of themselves. Or how open and approachable.
15. Red or Pink? Blue
16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself? I wish that I had more energy. That I would always need to be doing something.
17. What do you miss the most? Katie and Marin every time that I have to leave for work
18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Grey pants and black shoes. I’m at work. If I had my choice I’d be wearing neither j/k. not really. At most I never want more than swim trunks and no shoes. Maybe flip flops or sandals.
19. What was the last thing that you ate? Some pretzels and water. Before that I had some oatmeal for Breakfast.
20. What are you listening to right now? Mostly silence. Or the keys of the keyboard.
21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? This could be the dumbest question on this thing.
22. Favorite smells? Clean. You know that smell. I also like the smell of Cheese Puffs. They remind me of being a kid again.
23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Susan Hobgood. Her mom died and I helped take care of her.
24. Favorite sports to watch: Lacrosse, Hockey and Curling - it’s really a lot of fun to watch.
25. Hair color? Light Brown.
26. Eye Color? Blue.
27. Do you wear contacts? Nope.
28. Favorite foods? I don’t know that I have a favorite.
29. Scary movies or happy endings? Scary movies all the way.
30. Last movie you watched? Dream Girls. It was Katie’s pick on netflix. Before that it was the coolest movie ever… Transformers. Awesome!!!
31. What color shirt are you wearing? White.
32. Summer or winter? SUMMER.
33. Hugs or kisses? Kisses.
34. Favorite desserts? No bake Cookies. It’s been like three years since I’ve had them.
35. What book are you reading right now? I just finished The Golden Compass. Next I want to start The Subtle Knife.
36. What is on your mouse pad? The Road Runner.
37. What did you watch on TV last night? None. I know, shocking.
38. Favorite sound? Marin’s Giggle.
39. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles.
40. What is the farthest you have been from home? Mars.
41. Do you have a special talent? My knees and fingers can bend backwards.
42. Where were you born? Mechanicsburg, PA
43. What superpower would you like? I wish that I could fly, but not like a bird, like super man. Using no effort at all on my part. That’s how it should be.
44. Who is the one person that you wish would read this Crap? Erin Huband. Then she won’t be able to nag me about not posting on her schedule. Also so that she understands her place in my life as a blogger friend and little more. So Raspberry on her! Now don’t get your feeling hurt, you know that I love you and Chuck both. However, the ONLY reason for this irritating post, is you.

More Pool Play

2007-07-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

Katie is making me post a disclaimer that she did not know that the camera was going to pick up her voice as well as it did. But Marin is just too cute in the video that we can't not share it with family and friends. (if my family ever actually looks at our blog)

Giggly Girl

2007-06-23T15:40:00.000-04:00

This was a fun evening with Marin. By the time that we got the camera, she had actually begun to calm down.

2007-06-20T22:35:00.000-04:00

Just chillin' in my flippin' sweet pool!

Home Improvements

2007-06-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

Don't worry the stripes are not different colors. They are actually all the same color with a glaze that gives them a really cool color effect.

We decided to add some color into our drab lives. We can't take full credit for our paint or painting choices. We stole the idea from Katie's Aunt and Uncle. But we were inspired by brave souls who went before us, boldly adding color to their homes and lives. The Rooster is a painting that Katie's Dad painted. It's freaking sweet and looks awesome in this room with this red. Check out some more of his cool stuff on the link for Watercolor Backroads (shameless plug) on my friendly people links.

The color on this picture is a little strange it's a good shot of the room, but the rooster red is more the true color. Hope you all have enjoyed this short look into our sweet new home.

Going so green that I bleed spinach

2007-06-07T08:37:00.000-04:00

For more than the last year, KT and I have been down to only one car. Something unfortunate went wrong with her car and forced an early demise. However; it was a Dodge, its demise was more than likely right on time. I really don’t understand why the American auto industry is having so much trouble. I’m only one of so many that prefers to have a really expensive product work when I need it to. Since then we’ve only had a Honda to rely on (I know, I’m nervous too. It’s not like it’s a Dodge.) While in Provo things worked out great. I lived a parking lot away from work and just walked so that KT could get to her job and later when Marin came along, she was never stranded at home with no way to get out. Now that we have moved to N.C., work is a little farther than a parking lot away, about six miles farther. We have loved so much only having one car (gas, payments, up-keep etc.) that instead of a new car, I have started riding my bike to work. I feel all responsible, like I’m doing my part for the environment. While that is all nice and good, it actually has nothing to do with it. It’s just a convenient bonus. Sometimes I wonder if I should feel a little guilty about being less than altruistic. Then I come to my senses. The cool thing is that it just happened to become an easy choice for us. In addition to single handedly saving the word of pollution by biking to work, our new home is an energy star home. This means that all of our appliances are working to save energy and money. We don’t even have natural gas piped into the neighborhood because the homes are built to be conservative and eco friendly. We just got our first bills and this seems to be holding true. The home has some special type of insulation that so far has been great. It’s 90+ outside and a cool 70 inside. This remains relatively constant unless we open up all the blinds in the home and let too much sun in. I’m really just blown away by how environmentally friendly we’ve become. Now we can walk around with our noses in the air and snub everyone that is not working as hard as we are to protect Mother Gaia. Just call me CAPTAIN PLANET.

Starting New

2007-06-02T10:52:00.000-04:00

So for the last two+ years we have been living in Utah. The truth of the matter is that I am really sad to leave some great friends, but Katie and I both feel like our move to Durham has been one of the best decisions that we have yet made. Our ward is absolutely amazing. We've been there for almost two months now and we still have new people coming up and introducing themselves to us. Katie has been making some new friends by joining a group of girls in the Ward for morning walks twice a week. Last night we went to a small neighborhood BBQ. We met four other couples from the block and had a really fun time. We were the only ones with a child, but that was nothing more than coincidence. Everyone was so nice. We dig our neighbors. The coolest part was that all the ladies at the BBQ are professionals and working in full-time careers. They were all seemingly impressed with Katie for her desire to stay home with Marin. In a lot of ways they were way more supportive than just about any other group of people that we've encountered. It's really cool to be able to enjoy what you are doing and where you are doing it. Not to mention that the beaches are so close. Visitors are always welcome.

In the beginning...

2007-05-28T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hello all. KT and I thought that this might be a better way to start keeping up with all of our friends. Let's face it... neither one of us really is all that good at phone calls. We look forward to sharing much love with you all and hope that we can provide you with at least some form of mild entertainment as you delve into our increadibly boring lives.