The Todd Pad

Sarah and Daniel Take on NYC

2009-12-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

This has been a long time coming. Sarah and I visited the Big Apple back in March. I told Sarah I'd go through and choose some (many) of the best photos we captured and post them on the blog for our families and friends. Well, I put in an hour or so in April and just completed the project last night.

We had a fantastic time on our which focused mainly on soaking in the essence of the city, taking in many of the famous sights and eating as much delicious food as we could possibly pack down. It was our first significant vacation without children since we had Carter and we realized we needed it; Sarah turned to me one evening and said, "Now I remember why I fell in love with you." We laughed, but there is some truth to that. We've gotten away for a night, maybe two, but this was a full-blown, official vacation together that didn't include being interrupted incessantly or having ice water spilled just as the food arrives at the restaurant table.

We stayed in Lowe Manhattan and thanks to Sarah, we were able to effectively use the subway system to get around the city. We never once took a cab, something that I realize after just having visited another unfamiliar city in St. Louis, is quite a feat. We used my phone to locate hot spots, restaurants, sights and places to just walk around or shop. Some of our favorite moments included our jog through Central Park, walking the streets of Brooklyn to find a famous chocolate shop, dining together in an authentic NYC deli after watching a Broadway play and simply experiencing that extraordinary city together. I speak for both of us when I say that New York City is everything we expected it would be and we can't wait to return someday.

Now, on to the photos and BEWARE, there are a lot!

From NYC Post

The master navigator:

From NYC Post

Bless the iPhone:

From NYC Post

Ground Zero:

From NYC Post

Thanks to my man Dan Q, we knew that from the BK second story we'd get a good view of Ground Zero:

From NYC Post

We did do some shopping:

From NYC Post

I made her pose for this:

From NYC Post

Was happy, just a little cold:

From NYC Post

Too bad she married a teacher:

From NYC Post

Stunning architecture everywhere:

From NYC Post

Mmmmmmmm...

From NYC Post

Let's go...

From NYC Post

Grand Central Station

From NYC Post

Going to the top of the Empire State Building:

Some kind Italians took this photo. Grazie mille amici italiani!

Art and more art....

Night life:

Dining out...with NO kids!

CENTRAL PARK EXCURSION:

Step #1: Get Some Bagels

Naturalist

Exploring the park

Mmmm.hmmm

Woman down!

How cool is this? Very cool.

"Gay monster Danny"

America's Next Top Model riot:

Facebook FTW

Best pizza I've had in America:

I'd never seen Phantom before:

We walked up to the pit:

I'm not supposed to have taken ANY of these shots, but you know me

Asking for charitable donations...good but much more interesting in costume....

Thanks for seeing it with me even though you already had Babe!

Held the cam above my head and just took a shot

Goodness sake

Good thing we burned about 8K cals walking that day!

TAPPED out!

Yeah, I almost got pawned a couple times on the subway

The Fantastic MET

And we did get pregnant after this trip, so thanks FG!

Some Egyptian foot and finger wear...I asked how much to buy they said if you have to ask...

Actual Egyptian ruins:

So cool, so cool...Sarah didn't love the armory quite as much as my inner 12 year old.

Arguably the most expensive piece of artwork in N. America purchased for a museum...Duccio's Madonna and Child

Most people pass this thing without knowing what's up. Thanks wikipedia, you're the best!

Candle's burned spots along the bottom of the quadro:

You like it, they have it:

Sari's fav

My all time favorite Van Gogh...I didn't even know it was there!

Fantastic

Does your armor have a built in beard? Didn't think so.

Leaving the MET:

Huge dog we saw in Central Park

Sarah talking to her mom or someone:

I'm down for the Middle East cuisine

This place is famous for their falafel etc. at incredible prices

Fueled up and ready to keep on truckin'

Getting ready to walk across the Brooklyn bridge

Traffic below us on thebridge:

A little SoCal in Brooklyn!

I wish I had had a real camera that evening:

We sought shelter one night at the Apple store to re-charge and get warm (and book a dinner date for our last night):

From NYC Post

Last day:

From NYC Post

Lady Liberty

From NYC Post

Up close:

From NYC Post

A pheasant in NY? WTH?

From NYC Post

The Food Network area of the city (we named it that)

From NYC Post

Chelsea Market

From NYC Post

Fancy Shamsy foods and decor

From NYC Post

Our last supper in NYC would be here (thanks to restaraunt week we got hooked up with a great meal for a lot less than we would have paid

otherwise

From NYC Post

Before dinner we did the Rock

From NYC Post

You know how stubborn we are, now it's a fact.

From NYC Post

At the top of 30 ROCK

From NYC Post

Awesome art deco

From NYC Post

The last meal

From NYC Post

Our table was at the windows glowing with warmth

From NYC Post

Sarah helped this nice Jew find his way on the subway, she was that good by the last day

From NYC Post

Dim Sum for the last breakfast before hoppin' the flight

From NYC Post

We love NYC!

From NYC Post

Happy Birthday My First Born in the Wilderness and Thank You for the Tsunami of Gratitude

2009-12-14T23:45:00.000-08:00

How's that for a title?

He looks a lot like his mom with his brown eyes. Actually, he looks especially like her when he smiles because he eyes disappear...ha haa ha! *It should be noted that Carter combed his own hair the day of this pre-school photo shoot.

Today is our first born son Carter Daniel Todd's birthday. He turned five. Even though I haven't posted on our blog regularly in some time, I felt the sudden urge to write down some words if for no other reason than to have them time stamped. The thought inevitably comes that perhaps digitizing and publishing one's thoughts on Google's redundant servers located in secret locations hidden throughout the earth, probably under the seven wonders of the world, is the best way to record your thoughts for posterity. If you write them only on paper, a single house fire could destroy them. And if not, are they going to make it through the millennials who are sure to toss out paper all together so they have more room to lounge and text message?

More seriously, and the whole reason I am online when I should be fast asleep since I'm up in about 6 hours): Carter. Before he was born I didn't realize what a shock the love a child can generate within his parent's heart could cause; I knew people loved their children, but I don't think I could have realized how quickly and profoundly I could fall in love with a person I had known for such a comparatively short time until I had a child. Then again, that's just another powerful argument to add to my essay on why experential is the best kind of knowledge. Experiencing that love changed me in profound ways, and in ways I don't think every parent changes when they cause a baby to be born into this difficult world, or wilderness. Sure, I love my dear wife and until I met her I hadn't really been in love, so I had experienced that new kind of love which I realize is still unfolding and growing, especially as our family grows. Indeed, I loved her in a way I had loved no other, yet now I see the same is true for both my children and almost every other person I hold dear. Love is something that is both profound and profoundly unique depending on the nature of the relationship and the promises that are made either explicitly or implicitly due to the nature of the relationship.

I have found that the love I feel for Carter and Claire has helped me understand my relationship with God in a way that has caused me to begin to realize how deeply God must love me despite my extremely narrow vision and selfishness. I now see that even my feeble efforts to live up to my potential must please Him immensely and when I make mistakes, or simply bad choices, He can send me help but He will not force me along the higher path since He knows I must learn for myself.

Carter is a wonderful little person and my favorite boy on the planet, but that goes without saying. Like other children fortunate enough to be brought up in a loving environment with many opportunities to interact with others and take positive risks, Carter is precocious yet absolutely innocent, tenaciously curious and athletic and despite his rapid growth physically and psychologically, still completely willing to "nuggle" on the couch at nearly any time of day, although early morning is preferred.

Finally, Carter makes me want to be a better person. As I walked toward the Disneyland hotel with my ever-wise father-in-law the other night, the air was suddenly pierced by cries, innocent and high-pitched. We looked up toward the noise, as did a few passersby, to behold a small huddled mass on a balcony above and to the right of the hotel entrance. It then became clear that it was my little family who beckoned us from the fifth floor. They held balloons and called out, "Daddy, Daaadddy!" I could see Sarah, her pregnant figure silhouetted against the yellow light of the room standing in the center, and two little figures huddled near her. Their balloons undulated in the night air and the light from the room that filtered through their colors formed a miniature rainbow above their heads.

In that moment I was suddenly and violently struck by how wonderful my life is: I have a body and it works, I have a beautiful wife who loves me and chooses happiness in the midst of difficulty, I have two healthy babies and another on the way, bombs don't go off where I live and I generally feel safe wherever I go, we can take ourselves to see world class physicians when necessary, we have plentiful friends who are sincere and loving, we have jobs which provide us shelter and transportation along with the ability to choose the foods and activities we partake in and a family support network who love me and my wife and our babies... of course the mind moves a lot faster than words can, so suffice to say I felt a tsunami of gratitude.

Simultaneously, however, I felt this pang of responsibility and duty. I felt that slight sting in my eyes indicating the potential release of tears and although none were shed, I knew I had just received a message from a divine source, perhaps from some place deep in the cosmos or perhaps from the deepest reaches of my innermost being, that I must make sure to always keep those precious beings, my wife and my babies, my number one priority for both time and eternity.

Carter, I love you buddy!

I took a gamble...

2009-11-03T11:31:00.001-08:00

and I won:) Claire, with all her personality and opinions, is just a little difficult to coerce into letting me do her hair everyday. Most days, she looks like a "ragamuffin." We had keep her hair long for Tinkerbell (post to follow) and although she has beautiful hair with some natural curl, I knew the solution to our problem was a haircut but was nervous. For future hair cuts we will go to Aunt Sydnee but for this one we headed to Monkey Dooz for $10 Tuesday. The car and movie playing did work to help her relax for the hair cut. I think she is quite adorable (but, I am her mom). It'll grow quickly also and maybe by next year she will be ready for longer hair. For now, my life just got easier.

Playing a game and riding in the car during the hair cut

Lookin' all grown up

Side view--I love it!

Drum roll please...

2009-10-15T09:26:00.001-07:00

The newest Todd baby is a BOY! We are thrilled!! More importantly, baby is healthy, super active (doing somersaults during ultrasound) and big (as usual for us)! We have a long way to go to pick a name. Danny prefers "unusual" names; Redwood is one of his current favorites (his friend's name, although he's not actually pushing for that, but you get the idea). I am leaning toward Presidential (Grant, Thomas, Clinton--joking on Clinton, we can't have a Carter & Clinton:)). We've still got 20 or so weeks to decide so we are in no hurry:)

Closure on the Pipe Situation and a New Addition to the Todd Pad

2009-09-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

To follow up on the last post, everything was taken care of regarding the sewage line the day after the second "event occurred." Ironically, the object causing all the trouble in our pipe was the tip of a very old plumbing snake that must have been used a long time ago to clear out a clog and that had become stuck and, obviously, had broken off in the pipe.

You could tell how old it was by the layers of rust on it. Obviously at some point earlier in the month the item must have shifted a bit and started snagging things. At least it wasn't something that the kids put down the toilet because in this case there was nothing we could have done to avoid it which sort of makes it easier to swallow the unexpected costs.

In other news, our good friends Bill and Kathryn and their wonderful daughters gifted us (Carter) their beautiful female Bearded Dragon. "Beardies," as they're known in the pet industry, are beautiful lizards that come from Australia. They are omnivorous and will eat everything from grapes and leafy greens to crickets, worms and even small mice and so forth. We're excited to share some photos and videos of her in the future. I guess the Lindsays' two dogs in addition to the lizard was a little much, so when we found out they were looking for a good home for this radical reptilian, we had to jump on it. Sarah, while a bit less excited than Carter and I, is very accepting of her and is content to see Carter excited about having her live in his room (in a 20 gal aquarium). I'm sure as we take care of her, feed her and clean her habitat that there will be an abundance of learning opportunities. Bill even gave us all the associated accouterments including a UV light, supplements to feed or sprinkle on crickets to make them more nutritious for the lizard, a water bowl with magnetic fasteners to keep it from being overturned, etc. Thanks again guys!

This pic is NOT of our lizard Spike (Carter decided on the name but I secretly call her Gertrude or "Gertie") but ours looks very much like this. By the way, she's very docile so even the kids can hold her but I am limiting that in order to preserve her health an sanity. Thankfully for her health, Claire is quite scared of her!

Our very small trials...

2009-09-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

It would be difficult if I were to sit here and try to enumerate the difficulties of our lives here at the Todd Pad knowing that in our relatively small church group (or ward) we have numerous individuals with cancer, organ failure and various mental, emotional and spiritual crisis. Indeed, our lives are wonderful in comparison to so many people who live daily with the death of loved ones, divorce, sickness and the other trials which are extremely difficult to endure yet are all too common; Sarah's expecting and the baby appears to be healthy (sex to be determined in a few weeks!), my new job--while challenging-is going well, Carter just started pre-school again and loves it and Claire, oh Claire, is growing rapidly in every way possible. Now, this isn't to say that there aren't serious trials in our lives--I've come to see that everyone has "serious trials" whether they realize it or not--but it just wouldn't be appropriate to discuss certain issues because the hardest trials are generally things you don't want to write about publicly, such as things from the past we deal with, choices loved ones make or have made, issues of the heart, temptations, trials of faith and so forth. These are the kinds of things that hurt the most but, for the most part, are confronted by individuals on their own, with their spouse, or with the help of clergy or therapy or, unfortunately, swept under the proverbial rug only to surface again later. Now, this ISN'T to say we're necessarily dealing with those specific things right now in our lives, but I think it's worth clarifying that there are different kinds of trials.

So, with that said, we have had some challenges as of late. Since Sunday we've been experiencing plumbing issues. Although we got the intial clog snaked for about $150, today we had another back up which I feared might since we never saw what was blocking it, and we spent an additional $170 getting is re-snaked and scoped with a fiber optic camera system. That $170 helped us find a fairly large, solid object (plastic/metal) which is now stuck about halfway down the straight sewage pipe which leads to the street. That was going to cost A LOT to fix--at least $450 and perhaps as much as $1,500 or more depending on how much pipe would have to be exposed and relaced--but I worked something out on the down low and we're going to get the pipe dug out, cut, spliced and have a new clean-out port put in. EVERYTHING, including the initial work last Sunday night, is going to end up costing us close to a grand, but at least the guy who's going to do the pipe repair is also going to scope it again to see what's beyond that one object that's stuck in there in order to verify that there isn't anything else farther down the line toward the city line. When you're trying to save a little and pay of student loan debt, make a car payment and survive with a pre-2008 home loan, things like this can be extremely disheartening, but that's life!

On top of this, our clothes washer broke a few weeks ago and in an effort to save some dough, I bought one on CraigsList. No big deal...except we didn't get a private seller which is what you want (you know, someone who is moving and sells their washer for 80% off because what else are they going to do?), we got a guy who fixes 'em up and re-sells them (illegal) and that was not a good idea. Anyway, he was basically running a business without a license, so after losing about $50 and five minor garage floods, we finally got most of the money we paid him back and bought a brand new one from Costco (2 year warranty).

Also, Claire broke her leg and was in a cast, although she got out of it early. Those who've had little ones with a cast know the fun of trying to make bathing, swimming, walking, etc. possible. Good thing she healed incredibly fast!

So, in the last 5 weeks or so between these two fiascos we've had about 7 floods, two of which included the always interesting and delightful appearance of everyone's favorite guy....Mr. Raw Sewage which, I must say, was limited to the drains in the tubs backing up a bit and a little water leaking from the bases of the two toilets. "Hmmm...what is that little sphere..." picks it up, "aaahhh, pooop!" Yes, that happened to me when I was rinsing down the tubs after the first incident in preparation for the disinfection of the bathroom. You can't imagine how much bleach/chlorine, cleaning agents, disinfectants, etc. we used on the bathrooms floors and in the tubs. We even washed the beach towels that we had used to stem the tide of water TWICE in color-safe bleach. Then, of course, we repeated the whole process today after the second clog and I've now missed a day-and-a-half of work.

On the bright side, we're all alive, we're still happily married, Carter and Claire think life is all about eating, playing, learning, church, family, friends, sleeping, food and all the other good things that really are the same essential things that make us happy as adults when we're focused on what really matters in this world. Yes our little house was built in 1959 and may have some old drains, but we have drains and therefore we have water and a house and the list could go on and on. Yes we just spent about $1000 on something we had no idea was coming, but we can move on despite the fact that we might not get that fancy SLR camera when we thought we would (December).

Beyond that, the number of people (Chris B., Ryan J., Rick D., our neighbors Reid and Bev, Adam, etc.) who came by, consulted with me or literally got to work to try to figure out where the $&%# "clean out" opening is (that's where you stick the snake...ahem...which in this old house just happends to be in the closet of the master bedroom)--was phenomenal. It makes me realize that when we need help, there are literally a dozens of people we can call, including family, friends and neighbors.

So, we're thankful that our problems can be solved with time and money because there are many, many other issues that can't be solved in that way or, really, at all, at least for now or in this life. I hope that getting through these little obstacles will help us get through bigger ones in the future because I'm sure they're coming...and that's OK.

The newest addition to our "pad"

2009-09-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I was going to find a cute picture of a tadpole, but, they really aren't that cute. So you will have to settle for an all text announcement that we are having a third baby in March. I am feeling chubby and sick in the evenings but I don't throw up and am grateful. Carter definitely wants a boy, we will find out October 14th and can't wait!

--Edit:

This is Danny and here's a tadpole:

Happy Birthday Claire Bear!

2009-08-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Our big girl is two, but she says "I'n a baby" if asked about the whole thing. We are having cake & ice cream with our families tomorrow so today we had a day with just the four of us. In these photos you will notice something different about Claire--SHE GOT HER CAST OFF! To spare the details, we took her to the doctor Wednesday and they rexrayed it and did not find a break. Hallelujah! The doctor did call yesterday to say the radiologist report found some inflammation in the shin area suggesting a healing injury but she is walking okay so we will just keep an eye on her.

We took Claire to Build-A-Bear and Rainforest Cafe for her birthday. She was so cute picking out a horse, which she named "Neeah" (neigh) and the outfit for her hosey.

Checking out the clothes she picked

"Bathing" her horse

What is notable in the photo is that Claire has the horse's shoes on. She insisted on wearing them and kept them on until we were on her way home. I even questioned her about them as I was changing her diaper and she said "no, my shoes."

She fits right in!

She was a bit "concerned" when the animals started moving at dinner, especially since Danny said "they're coming" but she got used to them after a while.

Best birthday meal ever--pizza and milk:)

We told Carter that we would get a chocolate volcano for dessert but we were too full so we bribed him with the purchase of balloon animals and a ride on a little car outside of the restaurant. Here we attempted to take a picture of them with the elephant and butterfly:

Riding a rocket.

Claire climbed in another car and wanted to go for a ride again. I told her we didn't have money. She quickly replied "I have money" and started digging in her pockets. I said "where is it?" She said, "hiding." Our girl is TOO smart, TOO passionate, TOO reckless, TOO fun, TOO kissable, TOO sweet, TOO busy, and TOO caring. Happy Birthday to our TWO year old! We love you!

Carter Family Reunion

2009-08-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

My parents and I drove to Utah with the kids for a quick weekend trip and to attend the Carter Family Reunion (sorry to the friends and family who live in Utah that we didn't see, hopefully we will have another trip soon). Danny's first big presentation at work was the same Saturday as the reunion so, unfortunately, he wasn't able to come with us. His presentation did go very well though. Once we made it to Utah Friday afternoon we had tickets to meet all my aunts and uncles for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. I was excited for the kids (Carter especially) to see inside a temple and a get a better picture of where mommy and daddy are when we go. I really like the location of the temple as it is up on a hill and overlooks a beautiful valley.

Carter waiting to go inside

Claire wanting in on the fountain action

I didn't realize that this temple was full sized so Carter was pretty tired by the time we finished but he did enjoy it and even Claire talked all about Jesus because of the beautiful paintings. This is Carter at the reception provided afterwards. He found himself a seat to be comfortable while he ate a cookie:

He was very anxious to get back to the hotel to go swimming. We were glad Eric & Sydnee made it that night to swim with us and we ordered in some Pie Pizza--yum!

Rob & Laura flew in late Friday night and we stayed up late talking (that was a trend--I think we all came home tired). The next morning my dad & I went for a run in Cottonwood Heights (we stayed a Residence Inn there) and more fun pool time before heading to Riverton for the reunion.

Claire giving her second cousin Natalie a hug

My cousin Shanna was the only girl in her family growing up and wanted to name her son Carter just like me. They had three girls and thought they were done but

six months before we had Carter they had a boy and named him Carter. This is the first time the second cousins met. Carter Gray, Carter Todd, Morgan Blackburn

Aunt Kathy planned Bingo with fun prizes for the afternoon

More bingo excitement

My dad and his siblings (L to R: Jeff (my dad), Jenny, Gene, Tracy, Scott & Jerry). It was fun to hear them reminisce about life in Morgan, UT where they grew up.

Someone said "act sexy" for this photo and this is how it turned out. Gene and Jerry are twins and turn 70 this year. I am grateful I got to see them all!

My cousin Greg and his wife Christine came back to the hotel with us after the reunion and we got some delicious Cafe Rio and then stayed up late talking again. We all were laughing so hard! On Sunday we went to Temple Square and saw the International Art Competition and then walked over to the Joseph Smith Building where we went to church.

Our camera is acting up so some of these photos are pretty blurry but I had to include them anyway.

It was so nice to have so many helping hands with the kids and we are excited for baby Colin to arrive in October to join in the fun!

From Bigwaves, family reunion, Claire bday

This photo is from after church. Super blurry but at least we remember it;)

On Monday we started our journey home after we said goodbye to Robbie & Laura and stopped in Provo to see my mom's roommate from Provo. She told us the coordinates to meet "at a park that had ducks." We arrived and I said, "this is not a 'park', this is Rape Hill." If you went to BYU and lived south of campus you know the famous steps up to campus. The kids loved the ducks and it was fun to back in Provo. It took me back 10 years to being a freshman. I told Carter that just a few blocks away is where I met his Daddy. Carter said "I see my future here." He sometimes comes out with prophetic, unprompted statements as this...we will see if this one comes true.

We stayed in St. George that night and then made it home Tuesday. It really was a great trip we just wish Jake and Amy were there too (and of course Danny)! My dad was a saint and drove most of the way so I could sit in the back and take care of the kids (which also meant I took naps when they did--that is the best way to take road trips:))

Bones are Fragile

2009-07-21T21:38:00.001-07:00

Today Claire and I drove with some friends to a water park in a nearby city and arrived to find the city doing maintenance. Annoying! So we came back close to home to go a park with a small water feature. Claire wasn't too excited about the water and all the slides were really hot. I thought of the great idea of going down on a towel. We went down once, she loved it. We went down again and her foot caught on the slide at the end. I watched it bend back and knew immediately it was injured. Claire is a rough-and-tumble gal but she whimpered for a while and wanted to be held. She tried to walk on it after a little while and crumbled. I took the advice of another mom and put her down for a nap first (I am grateful--Carter was at the beach with my mom so I got some quiet time) and then I took her to Kaiser. She broke her fibula right above her ankle and will be in a cast for 4-6 weeks. No swimming and limiting the heat is dissapointing but the most dissapointing part of all is that at Kaiser Fontana they only have white casts! No cute hot pink cast to dull a mother's pain of watching her child suffer!!

Claire is a trooper and minor injuries like this make you realize how wonderful it is to have healthy bodies and that she will be just fine in the long run! Carter was sweet, too, he said, "I didn't want my sister to get hurt, I didn't." So, send me your great ideas of what to do to keep your toddler entertained indoors. I know Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will do that but she can't watch that ALL day--we'll all go insane;)

Someday we'll catch up...

2009-07-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

My getting behind all started in early May after I went to Women's Conference at BYU. It was definitely the best way I could have spent two days and felt recharged when I returned home. I had answers to prayers and confirmation that I am on the right path and although I have so many ways to improve, the Lord loves me. I also felt like being creative and domestic and made Carter a blanket, our niece Ella a tutu for her birthday, organized some closets and put blogging on the back burner.

And then life just got busy! One day in June I was thinking about blogging what I just wrote. I was getting the kids ready to go out to a ward park day when I noticed Claire went quiet. Claire being quiet is NEVER a good thing. I went into Carter's room and found this:

She climbed on the toilet and got nail polish out while I tried to do a three minute beauty routine then painted her toes and nails AND the carpet. She was so proud of herself and said "I paint a toes." Claire definitely makes getting the smallest task done difficult. She is a whirling dervish. She loves to destroy and make messes. I know it is because she is almost two and is quite normal. It can be frustrating at times though. Even trying to post this, I've been interrupted five times. Now she is crying and Danny is trying to comfort so I can push "publish." I really do want to catch up blogging but don't hold your breath:) One last photo of Claire because she is so cute and smart and we are glad she is part of our family even though she exhausts us all. She recently started asking "why?" One day Carter complained about how much she was asking it and we reminded him it was he who taught her to say it:)

She stripped herself and came out like this. What a girl!

Thank you from a husband...

2009-07-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

...I haven't been a very prolific poster lately, but I still love ye olde Todd Blogge. This is just a quicky, I want to say thank you to everyone, friends and family alike, who helped make Sarah's birthday so wonderful. In fact, this morning her dad, Jeff, took her out on a daddy-daughter shopping date (his present to her) and right now she's gone with a few girlfriends for ice cream. Hey, where were all my friends on my last birthday (which was my thirtieth?)...oh yeah, guys don't even know their friends' birthdays and if they're like me, they remember and still forget to call.

So, we're gearing up for Yosemite both literally and figuratively. Indeed, Sarah now has a nice bicicletta and she got a bike trailer for Claire (with both kids it's pretty heavy if there are any hills) and I just borrowed a little third wheel hitch with a seat, handle bars, pedal, etc. for Carter like this so he can ride with me (he actually likes to go faster than his mom at the ripe age of 4..ha!!):

We're so excited to be up there for nearly a week and then it's back to work for me on JUly 13th. We hope you all have an fun and/or relaxing holiday and that you stay cool...and once again, I mean that both literally and figuratively. (;

Sarah's bicicletta:

Bike trailer:

Thanks to everyone in the fam who helped pitch in to make this birthday so special for Sarah and for all of us since we can now bike together!

One last gift for Sari...on July 6th she'll see Yosemite Valley and a giant redwood tree for the first time:

Half-dome:

UH Cheer Squad

2009-06-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

(L to R): Amber, Shonda, Robyn, Farrah, Sarah, Liz and me

Before I post all the ordinary things that have been keeping us busy, I will share this comedic performance of me and 6 of my friends from church at our ward talent show. Three of us were cheerleaders in high school and with the combination of the others' band and drill team expertise, we put together this cute routine. There was a bake sale that night, which is why we said "don't forget to buy some yummy cake." Staying up late choreographing and laughing and then getting ready to perform took me back quite a few years. Thanks again, friends, for making it so much fun. We are already looking forward to next year's routine with bigger and better stunts;)

Good news at the Todd Pad

2009-05-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

The kids are learning to play together and it is wonderful! Yesterday Danny and I spent a good part of the morning working outside and the kids were happy making messes together inside. I did discover an ENTIRE package of gum ingested primarily by Claire, but other than that, no harm was done. This picture is of the two of them having fun on the slip 'n slide with their favorite babysitters--Aunt April and Uncle Wes.
The other fabulous news at our house is that Danny got a Teacher On Assignment (TOA) position at his district. He will be leaving the classroom and will be coaching/instructing secondary language arts teachers in his district. The new position starts July 1st and we are excited for this new opportunity. It is bittersweet for him though, as he loves his students and coworkers at FMS.

Colton Friends Dinner

2009-05-10T22:03:00.001-07:00

When we were newlyweds, we lived in Colton and made the best friends! We are eternally grateful for the examples of parenting, loving and living we received. Since then we have all spread out, but, whenever somebody comes back to So. Cal. we try to get together. The Bethers, who are now in Colorado, came to town for the weekend and we got together at Anchos for a reunion dinner. There are 22 of us together now (we missed you, Wilcoxs and Wells) and it was loud and crazy, but we had a great time. Bill is a gifted photographer and captured some great shots of the night. The pictures got out of order when I uploaded them. We had such a fun time catching up and enjoyed lots of yummy tortillas. Thank you, John & Aileen, for coming to visit and for dinner--you are the best!

These girls are growing up so fast!! Eliza, Hannah & Aubrey

Claire was a little taken aback by all the people;)

Carter showing off his Bakugans and dough

D. T.

The culprit of the "icky hand" mess

The result of the yummy blue popsicle.

Carter showing off his orange tongue from his popsicle.

David & Gayle Land, Scott & Ranelle Curtis, John & Aileen Bethers, us, Bill & Kathryn Lindsay

Eliza, Alex, Bowen, Aubrey, Hannah, Ile, Sophie, Mercedes, Carter, Claire, William & Adam

Kiddos being cute

The kids started their own game of "duck, duck goose"--it was so cute!

Not Without My Brother

2009-04-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Since returning from NYC where we walked around and saw so many interesting things, I have oft contemplated how although NYC is the "coolest" city I have every been to, there are precious gems in our own backyard. Riverside has almost 300,000 residents and a rich history to offer and I feel like we should explore it more than we do and there's no better way than on foot.

We love living near UC Riverside and one of my running routes cuts through campus. There is a beautiful area with trees and grass next to the Student Health Center that we often jog by and that the kids call "the forest." They often ask if I will run through "the pretty place" when we leave the house. Two weeks ago for FHE we finally took the chance to take a picnic in "the pretty place." We pushed the kids in the stroller and, once on campus, they got out and walked a bit themselves. I do not remember exactly why, but Carter was throwing a fit as we approached the picnic spot. We decided we would just leave him (not really, we were just trying to motivate him to get up and moving) but Claire would have no part in that. She went from being concerned to "pulling him up" herself. What a girl!

Once we arrived, we enjoyed a fine meal of PB & J for the kids and tuna for us;) We had a lesson courtesy The Friend Magazine and then played on the grass for a while.

They love their daddy and I can tell why!

Carter: "Me too, me too"

Playing with a ball

Then we walked to University Village to enjoy some yogurt together at Berrysweet.

Claire: "Mo waa waa peese"

The sun setting at University Village.

Once we started walking home, we realized just how far we had walked to get there and Blaine is no small hill pushing 75 lbs (both kids). Regardless of the fact that we might have bit off a bit more than we wanted to chew for an evening stroll, we had a great evening together! By the way, we used GMap Pedometer to find out how far we hiked and discovered we walked nearly 4.5 miles. I appreciate Danny always being a good sport on the adventures I plan--he didn't complain once. ;)

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

Claire and Her "Dollie"

2009-04-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday this week, Claire became attached to a doll for the first time. She has slept with stuffed animals before, but never carried anything around. She was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen as she cuddled her baby "Dollie" all day, wanted the doll wrapped in a "blankie", laughed it as we drove around in the car and was so gentle and nurturing to it in her own little way. It is amazing to see the innate mothering come out in my 21 month old daughter. She is so different than Carter and it is so fun to watch. I snapped this photo when I had to wake her up to leave for work and meet Danny on Thursday. It was so sweet I couldn't resist!

Carter's New Blog

2009-04-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

It seems that one of the easiest way to entertain our children is to play videos of themselves or their friends on blogs. After watching Ella sing "I am a Child of God" and Sam ride his bike, Carter decided he needed to have a video on his own blog. So HERE IT IS! Enjoy! :)

Mr. & Mrs. Eric Carter

2009-04-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

My youngest brother, Eric, married Sydnee Hancock on March 21, 2009! We love Sydnee and are so glad she is in our family! Weddings are always fun because everyone gets together and it was great to see Robbie, Jake & Amy (we missed you, Laura!).

Brad & Jolene Hancock, Eric & Sydnee, Susan & Jeffery Carter

Cutting the cake

The cute couple!

San Bernardino County Museum

2009-04-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

Before we head to the La Brea Tar Pits tomorrow, I had to post about our last museum adventure. I love having a preschool aged child. Although most days I do get tired of answering his "why" questions, it does warm my heart to hear Carter say he is going to be a scientist when he grows up because he likes to ask why so much:) Combine having a preschooler with my inability to sit still, I have been planning some fun adventures for us and our friends. We met at the San Bernardino County Museum in February with some of our friends. I tried a Picassa collage for the first time to give you an overall idea of what we did:

We saw mammals, insects, birds (all dead, of course), and an interesting exhibit about the natural disasters that have occurred in the area. There is also an exhibit about the pioneers who settled the area.

The kids liked all the animals in the museum, and enjoyed the hands on area too where we saw spiders & all sorts of creeping things and got to touch snakes & rabbits. Carter, however, has his mother's overactive olfactory gland and thought it had an "icky smell":

We all brought our lunches and had a great time eating lunch outside. It was the perfect weather that day! Claire has inherited her mother's love of peanut butter:

(In fact, she lately has been eating the peanut butter out of/off anything I put it on and leaving the bread/celery/cracker uneaten).

We had a great day--thank you Amber, Sheri, Sarah, Carole, Shonda & Carly for joining us!

2008 Backlog: Sister Oaks December

2009-04-02T05:18:00.000-07:00

My mom rented Sister Oaks--our favorite cabin--for a few days right after Christmas. So, the day after Christmas we loaded up in the van along with April and Wes and headed up to to Green Valley Lake (on the way to Big Bear) to meet my mom and dad for a few relaxing days in the cabin. Although we ended up having a blast sledding and loungin' around the cabin, we were met with a treacherous drive both up and down the mountain. It took us FOUR HOURS to get there. To make matters worse, it had snowed a lot in the previous days and we had to put on chains; although we had them, they did not fit. A post-Christmas miracle happened when one of the many s"unsavory" looking (and sounding) seasonal chain fitters decided to help us jury rig our gear to fit the Odyssey's tires. I think they wanted something like $50 to help, so we were very grateful that the gentleman decided to help us for free. Despite the fact that he refused payment, he did accept the rubber ties I had which we didn't need.

We finally arrived only to find out that my mom's little Civic was having trouble making it up the steep road to the cabin. Wes and I descended in the van--its weight an advantage--to assist them. At one point I fell and hurt my knee, my dad dented the car while leaning on it and we nearly hit someone. Eventually we had to leave the little Honda at the bottom of a hill in someone's driveway (we got permission by the way).

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Suffice to say the snow was deep and stunning. Carter ended up really enjoying our sledding expedition despite the fact that he wasn't too thrilled about the cold. Claire was clingy and didn't want much to do with any of the cold white stuff.

Finally, after putting together this post, I've decided what makes my blogging voice unique: really bad humor. Before every picture I come up with the lamest jokes. So, at least realize that I am cognizant that I am not that funny but the most important thing is that I crack myself up. (;

Big thanks to goes out to Wes for his heroics helping me get these things on and off. What a pain.

The definition of cozy!

I really like this sign that Chani and Marilyn put up because I am a huge believer in the importance

and power of imagination.

In the 21st Century, some people relax by using notebook
computers (there is wifi at Sis. Oaks)

The fear we strike in our opponents is half the battle:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Carter, this is what real mountain men do whilst in mountain
country...shop on eBay!
Ulterior title for this shot:
"Grandpa always used to say, an Intel based laptop is a man's
best friend in the back country!"

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Claire stumbled into the game after waking up late but
scored a touchdown immediately:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

I think when my mom envisioned the cabin this is probably
exactly what she saw herself doing...
staring blankly with a slight grin and absolutely no where
to go and no one to call:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

One of Carter's shots:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Oh Auntie Apey!

From Sister Oaks December 2008

This was the closest my dad came to smiling on this
particular trip:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

As I was trying to tie Carter's shoes he fell backward into the van:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

This is the look most ski bunnies are going for these days:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Apes and Wes pre-sledding shot (ahhhh).

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Then things got ugly...or hot...I can't remember.

From Sister Oaks December 2008

There was some snow on the ground:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

My mom pulling Carter:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Sleddin' time!

From Sister Oaks December 2008

April's not good at faking injury...I think it's the smile that
gives her away:

From Sister Oaks December 2008

Departing to sled:

"Uh, oh Daddy!" says Claire as I plummet down the bunny
slope.

Like father, like son:

I tried to get some action shots:

Sarah and Carter flying down the hill and my annoying,
raspy laugh:

Shaq Bowling

2009-03-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Shaquille O'Neal is actually quite comical. Case in point.

New Layout

2009-03-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

OK, maybe slightly new but not much improvement. We decided to go with something different than the minimalist green background for the blog. I'd like to eventually create a "hand built," custom background but that sounds like work and I refuse to work right now. Just kidding. For now this is it. I realized, however, that in the past we have used different color fonts and now some of the older posts may have text which is illegible. Hopefully if anyone wants to read those portions of the blog they will do the old highlight-the-text trick which will make the words legible.

Since I'm here, I'll say this: this week has been interesting to say the least. Sarah's brother Eric got married on Sat. This wasn't a long time in the making but it happened and since he and Sydnee are happy, we are happy for them and are excited for their future. So we're excited for Mr. and Mrs. Eric Carter and we wish them all the best.

We had dinner with them tonight at Islands restaurant along with Sarah's parents and her brother Rob who was in town both for the wedding and because his wife Laura was down here to take her test to become a dental hygienist. We hope and pray that she passed and that if she didn't, things will work out (they always do, right?). They are flying back up North tomorrow morning. Jake and Amy left earlier today to head back to SLO. Jake, if you're reading this, THANKS again for letting me drive your car! I know covetousness is a sin, so I am a sinner. (;

This morning we got some chores done around the house and did some shopping, mostly for the kids. New pajamas, some easter outfits, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for Carter since he's growing out of many of his clothing and new socks for him. Oh yeah, I picked up a few things for my bike-- patch kits for my flat inner tubes and something else...or maybe I put it back when I thought about that last dinner we had in NY!

Now I'm off for a late night bike ride and then I better try to get to bed by about midnight. I like to stay up and since I have the rest of this week off, it's hard to get to bed early. Sarah works tomorrow and Wed. She picked up a few shifts for a co-worker which means I get the tough job of keeping track of pre-school, T-ball, Claire's nap schedule, etc. Not an easy task and one that I don't take for granted when I'm at work and Sarah takes care of all those things and many more. I love her for what a wonderful mother and manager she is and I wouldn't want to trade my day job for her 24/7 job. Not that being a father is easy, but it's different and I'm glad for the role God gave me!

Good night friends!

2008 Backlog: Our Last Trip to San Luis Obispo (SLO)

2009-03-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

I don't often get really excited to post images on the blog (most of the time it's my slight OCD that compels me to blog so often), but I'm really excited to work on and post the many photos we took on our NYC trip. Sarah told me that before we post any new photos I need to get some of the older photos on the blog so that we can try to get this thing in some sort of chronological order since she'd like the blog to be our "family scrapbook" and if we're ever to print it out it would be nice if it were a little less schizophrenic.

So, here are the photos from the last trip we took with Sarah's family up to SLO to visit Jake and Amy and to hang out. We took the trip right after Christmas, so we were up there right before New Year's Eve.

We had a lot of fun. Our activities included: a stay at home seafood extravaganza (fresh seafood from Costco prepared by Jake and Jeff), a very fun frisbee golf game, a trip to the firing range, a couple of meals out, a trip to Jakes' shop, a drive down to see the Monarch butterflies, and walk on the pier. I didn't get very many photos of everyone, but here's what I did get.

First of all, we played a lot of Wii at Jake and Amy's place. Here Rob shows off his nearly flawless form as he bowls.

From SLO Dec 08

Jake

From SLO Dec 08

Carter found some eggs outside which soon hatched...the creatures didn't survive long and looked like small dinosaurs:

From SLO Dec 08

Blurry but cute:

From SLO Dec 08

Laura and Claire:

From SLO Dec 08

On our way to visit Jake at his store, San Luis Rides. Carter wore his helmet because he and I rode around town on an electric scooter to find a place to get my watch band adjusted (something I later discovered I could do by myself fairly easily).

From SLO Dec 08

Claire fell asleep so we simply stuck her at the end of an alley:

From SLO Dec 08

Carter scowling (it's just a face he makes...he's not really upset in this photo) below something a greaser must have scrawled on the wall. Perhaps some teenager who had just read The Outsiders decided to create this little ode to Pony Boy

From SLO Dec 08

On our way to see the Monarchs during their migration:

From SLO Dec 08

They had little telescopes set up and I shot these pictures through the lens:

From SLO Dec 08

I zoomed in with our little camera:

From SLO Dec 08

Just in case you're wondering, this Monarchs ARE NOT GOING TO MEXICO, so don't even mention the possibility. I did see one wearing a miniature sombrero, so I think someone was lying:

From SLO Dec 08

This man mentioned the possibility of the butterflies "heading toward" Mexico and was promptly kicked off the sacred butterfly grounds.

From SLO Dec 08

Sarah!

From SLO Dec 08

Claire looking at Papa:

From SLO Dec 08

Rob decided to grow an abhorrent mustachio and this is the result:

From SLO Dec 08

If there's one thing E enjoys, it's a fine meal:

From SLO Dec 08

I don't even know what to say about this photo.

From SLO Dec 08

I was a little obsessed with the new time piece Sarah got me for Christmas.

From SLO Dec 08

I got a little bored during the meal I guess.

From SLO Dec 08

We love the Central Coast of CA!

From SLO Dec 08

Even though we only have a little point and shoot Canon, we still manage to grab a couple of nice little shots. I think this one turned out pretty well!

From SLO Dec 08

I don't think Claire could even see anything, she just HAD to look and the serious look on her face cracked us up.

From SLO Dec 08

Cool old building (that's what I call cool old buildings).

From SLO Dec 08

I am not as big a fan of the graphic T as the Carter boys, but they've gotten me some really nice shirts. Sarah "had to take this picture." This was right before we ate a nice meal at Tanner Jacks on the last night. This has become our farewell to SLO restaurant.

From SLO Dec 08

Eric enjoying his B-Day dessert (he tends to make faces like this when he knows he's being photographed).

From SLO Dec 08

Jake and Amy

From SLO Dec 08

I didn't get very many pictures of all of us...actually, none of the whole family. I need to be better about that. Sarah's family isn't as into taking photos though, so it's not all my fault! Next time we'll round everyone up.

Anyway, it was a great trip and we look forward to heading up there again!