March 2008 archive
Like Father Like Son
It seems like a father should feel a sense of pride when his son follows in his footsteps. Today Isaac had an experience that I also had as a young 7-year old, but somehow I just feel sad for the kid. He visited the eye doctor today and was given a prescription for his first pair of glasses. All the feelings of despair that I had as a first grader being told I would have to wear glasses welled up inside of me for him when I found out. Or maybe it was just for my 1st-grade self. I remember being in denial at the eye doctor’s and then crying when my parents broke the news to me. Ily called me at work from the doctor’s office to tell me, and I was a little nervous to see Isaac later.
When we all got home, he was sitting in the office very quietly. “There he is, moping,” I thought, projecting my 1st-grade self onto him. But then he jumped up and started happily playing with his brothers. Turns out he’s fine with the whole thing. Excited even. Ily told me how he couldn’t read the letters on the wall, and then how he was amazed at how much easier it was when the doctor put the lenses in front of his eyes. Before bed Isaac excitedly told me that his new glasses are red(?!?) and that they will get here a week from Tuesday. He’s obviously got a much better attitude about the whole thing than I ever did. I guess the stigma of glasses just isn’t what it used to be 23 years ago. I should follow my son’s lead and cheer up. It is nice to be able to see, and this isn’t really a surprise. Ily and I both got glasses very young, so all of our kids are probably in for it. Maybe we can all get matching red(?!?!) glasses someday. I can’t wait to see what they look like.
Posted by Bryan on March 28, 2008 | Filed under: Family News | 3 comments
Happy Easter
I think we have all gotten over the nasty flu/cold virus that has been going around here. The more people I talk to, the more I find out have had the same thing. It was even dubbed, The HP Flu, at work. Isaac and I both had a fever for about 5 days straight, one after the other. He seemed to not have any other symptoms, but I got really congested on top of the fever. Ily had it for only a day or so, and Micah and Reece came out unaffected, thankfully. Finally yesterday we were all feeling well and we had fun at our ward Easter brunch. Our bishop’s family invited us over for Easter dinner last minute, which was nice because with the sickness we hadn’t done much to prepare anything special ourselves.
This morning we awoke to find the easter bunny had left a trail of yarn from Isaac and Micah’s room all over the house and ending at the easter baskets. Isaac had fun following the trail, and Micah had fun cutting it all down afterward. Reece unwrapped and took one bite of each piece of candy in his easter basket. I guess the unwrapping was more fun than the eating.
The bunny bags were hiding in a cupboard for the boys to find this year. The Easter bunny used string to guide them thru the whole house to end up at the bunny stash at the end. After we set it all up, we realized there was string everywhere and we better not come down for a midnight snack or we would die from tripping while trying to cross the living room.
We decorated eggs this year the old fashioned way, no store bought kits this time… Poor planning on my part really. We pulled out the only colored dye I had (the gel colors for cake decorating), some vinegar, and water and had a great time.
... See my Tabblo>
We had a good time at the bishop’s house. Ily has been friends with Ruth, the bishop’s wife, since before he was called as bishop and we still have a hard time not calling him Kirk. They are really nice. After the kids were done eating their older kids and friends took our boys upstairs where the ping-pong table is. Their 13-year old, Kyler, came down later and reported that is was crazy up there in the play room with the little kids. First the boys were throwing balls at each other and the big kids got them to stop, then they were throwing paddles at each other and the big kids got them to stop, then they were hitting each other with the paddles and the bigkids got them to stop, and then they were hitting the table with the paddles and the big kids got them to stop… About then Ily and I decided that our happy time eating pie with the other adults while the kids played was over.
You know, I am a male myself, but I’m realizing that growing up with two sisters was a lot different than growing up with two brothers1. Everything is so physical with these guys, I just can’t believe it. Throwing paddles at each other? Kyler does like to kid, but honestly I wouldn’t put it past Isaac and Micah at all. And Reece does have quite a little arm himself now. I was actually pretty impressed those kids got them to stop so many times.
1Or maybe I just don’t remember us being as rowdy as these guys are. Mom? Dad? Care to comment?
Posted by Bryan on March 23, 2008 | Filed under: Family News | 5 comments
Murdock Bikers
We’ve been a one-car family for two weeks now, and it’s not so bad. Not bad at all. I’m especially pleased that I finally had an excuse to get a new bike. I got a cyclo-cross bike because they are easier to put fenders on, are light like road bikes, and can still go off-road. Riding in the rain is so much better with fenders. I have no excuses now.
Having a road bike is new for me. It is so lightweight. The drop handlebars are fun when you are cruising down a hill, and it’s nice having all the different hand positions that they offer. The skinny, smooth tires are so much better on the road than knobby mountain bike tires. They almost roll by themselves. I feel like a real biker now, though I have not purchased any spandex clothing (yet?).
Isaac outgrew his bike and Micah was really ready for one himself, so we got Isaac a new bike and put the training wheels back on his old bike for Micah. His “old” bike is still in really great shape, and Micah doesn’t mind hand-me-downs from Isaac at all (yet?). The weather has been great for biking, and we are all pretty happy with our new toys, uh, ecological, earth-friendly vehicles. We just need to get Ily a bike now ;-)
Micah, Isaac, and I took pictures of our new bikes this afternoon. Micah took one of me without a bike too, as you can see. ... See my Tabblo>
Posted by Bryan on March 9, 2008 | Filed under: Family News | 0 comments
Some Basketball Photos
Isaac is playing basketball again this winter. The league is pretty good, they don’t allow stealing the ball or blocking shots, which makes it a lot easier for the kids who are just learning to shoot and dribble. They have a hard enough time without people swatting the ball away. It’s pretty fun to watch as Isaac improves each game. Here are some photos that a teammate’s dad took with his camera that is much nicer than ours.
One of Isaac's teammate's has a dad with a really nice camera. He's been kind enough to take these awesome action shots at the last few games (especially since our little camera just isn't working in these gyms). Isaac is improving by leaps and bounds each game. It's really fun to watch.<br> ... See my Tabblo>
Posted by Bryan on March 2, 2008 | Filed under: Family News | 1 comment
