Is That A Headless Santa ?

I really don't think there is much to be said here.  While in ABQ visiting our good friends, we drove past this full sized, headless, santa suit / statue.  Later in the day it was outside the front door of this house, as if to greet visitors, albeit in a completely creepy fashion.

Song Of The Day:
It was impossible not to think of the sarcastically peppy "Christmas At Ground Zero" by Weird Al Yankovic while composing this post.  I enjoyed that song the first time I heard it and it always serves as a perfect antithesis for the spirit of Christmas.  And what is more antithetical than a headless santa in the middle of Springtime in the Albuquerque desert?!

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Is It Worth Going Back For ?

Another great experience from our Spring Break to Arizona trip was being able to spend some time at the Gilbert Arizona LDS Temple.  On Tuesday, 4/1, my wife and I plus my parents were able to attend an Endowment session at the Temple, ending inside the massive Celestial Room, which is simply awe inspiring.

That visit was so spiritually uplifting that Karen and I quickly made plans to go back on Thursday, 4/3.  So it was that the whole family made the drive into Gilbert so the children could walk the grounds of the Temple and we could take a few pictures.  I already shared the family picture on Facebook, but the two photos in this post were some that I took that I really liked.  All of the grounds of this Temple are perfectly suited for some amazing photographs, so if you like either of these then give credit where it is due (and that is the site, not me!)

Song Of The Day:
I have been a fan of piano music for as long as I can remember and there are some beautiful pieces out there.  I think the piano conveys a special spirit of reverence and majesty.
This song, "I Love To See The Temple" by Paul Cardall is a perfect companion to this post.  I certainly expect that heaven will be filled with lots of music, and I hope it is often simple tunes and melodies on a piano.
In ABQ, our friends tried to take a picture of me and my older boys in front of the Albuquerque Temple, but the back lighting of the sunset made it less than ideal, as we had to cut off the top of the Temple (with the Angel Moroni atop the spire) to avoid being completely washed out.  Oh well.

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Um ... NATURAL Formation?

During our family Spring Break trip to Arizona, my mom and dad took us to the Arizona Museum of NATURAL History.  I have typed the word "natural" in all CAPS because this post is about a beef I have with their liberal use of that term as related to the following picture.

As you walk through the initial entry way into the heart of the museum, there are dozens of photographs or pieces of artwork depicting different NATURAL formations in earth's history.  Many of the depictions are inspiring and beautiful, and I found myself willingly accepting the arguably arbitrary historical timelines under which these phenomena were NATURALLY visible.  I'm sure you sciency people out there will get all riled up and defensive, but I find it a little difficult to just accept the concept of 300 million years ago versus 2-4 billion years ago.  Isn't that a bit BIG of a range?!  Really covering your bases there huh?!  But I digress ...

Amid all these images, I came across a NATURAL formation that was formed exactly 1.6 billion years ago.  It is utterly amazing that real living people were finally born which looked exactly like these NATURAL head shapes (which have a whole history about them being carved unnaturally by human hands within just the past century).

At least the kids enjoyed digging through recycled tires to find buried "dinosaur bones."  I wonder if the museum curators believe those are NATURAL too?

The picture to the right is where the kids panned for "gold" (which was also not NATURAL at all).  Just so many false claims!

(Please note the sarcasm of this entire post.  I am neither truly angry nor truly devoid of any intelligence).


Song Of The Day:
Although he is now a successful country singer, Darius Rucker used to front the band Hootie and the Blowfish.  I thought of their song "Time" as related to this post, for obvious reasons.  Listen along and see if you can catch some sarcasm in the words of the tune as you think about this post.

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Golfing Every Morning ?

One of the most enjoyable experiences of our family Spring Break trip to Casa de Case in Arizona, was the opportunity to go golfing with my dad and my two older sons ... every morning!  Thanks very much to Grandpa Jerry for his membership connection (and even more for his willingness to go out early each morning) that allowed us to golf for free each day!

The boys got better, but no one ever beat me over the whole 9 holes (we played 10 holes each round, but that is just because the 9th hole has a makeshift tee box that aims directly back toward the green of the 1st hole).  We always played that hole as a double-or-nothing hole (since I was pretty much always ahead by a lot at that point).

We played initially by strokes against par (normal scoring if you don't follow golf), but gave that up after about 3 holes because we had nothing to track the scores on that first round.  We began to keep track of two things: total strokes and a modified point system (there was 1 point open for each hole, which could be halved if two or more players tied for the lowest number of strokes for that hole).

I was very proud of my sons, who joined me with a first stroke that stayed on the green on the 8th hole.  This didn't occur until our 4th morning of playing, but it was very cool nonetheless!


Song Of The Day:
I have chosen "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs for two reasons in this post.  First, it is more from my father's generation of music, so I can picture him doing his "car dance" to this tune ... and it cracks me up!  Secondly, the song was featured in one of the best golfing movies ever: Happy Gilmore.  I need to watch that film with my boys!

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Yeah, But Do You Have A Restaurant Named After You ?!

In the past few months I have been at the Pepsi Center twice.  It was on my second trip there that I realized there is a bar / restaurant that bears the name of my oldest daughter.

I don't know anything about this establishment, but I have made a commitment to take my daughter there soon and get a picture of her in front of it!
I am sure it is not that uncommon, considering how many restaurants and bars are in existence, but this is the first time anyone in my family's name has been so prominent on a building!


Song Of The Day:
From their best (in my opinion) CD, here is "Call My Name" by my favorite group OMD.  If it were my name up on the building, I'd be sure to make a big deal out of it any time we were nearby.  In fact, it would probably become my Facebook photo and cover image too.

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What Would You Spend A Million Dollars On?

It is certainly a fun daydream that we've all had, some of us multiple times a day.  If I won the lottery (or something similar) and found myself with a million dollars, what would I do with the money?

Many years ago I had an employee who actually did win the lottery.  She won a million dollars.  This was no longer a fun daydream, but was a real-life situation where decisions actually needed to be made and plans for the future put in place.  I spoke with her shortly afterward and coordinated an approved personal leave for her at work.

When she finally returned to work, I met with her to discuss her plans for her current job, etc.  She opted to continue working, so we confirmed a few things and she resumed her role.  But something she said during the conversation threw me for a loop.  Her exact words were "It's just a million dollars.  It's not really life changing."  ... Pause for effect ... "I'm sorry you say what now?! ... Not life changing?! ... How on earth is that even possible?!"  I immediately judged her harshly and assumed she had, in fact, lost her mind.

But then I got to thinking about it ... and as hard as it is for me to admit it, I think she was absolutely right!

Here are a few examples of why it really isn't life-changing.  (And I apologize in advance if any of these logistics ruin your future fantasies of hitting it big.)
- The dream:  "I'll never have to work again"
The reality:  You would immediately be without health insurance.  You would run out of money much quicker than you realize with no new income arriving each year.  After taxes on the winnings, you are looking at likely only 7-10 years' worth of income.  You will be working, either now or later.
- The dream:  "I'll pay off my house and all my bills.  Debt free!"
The reality:  You cannot pay off things like utilities, maintenance and gas for your vehicles, continual food costs, and other typically recurring expenses (entertainment, phones, etc.)  And paying off your house carries with it some huge deductions come tax time.
- The dream:  "I'm going to take those vacations I always wanted."
The reality:  The logistics for the rest of your family do not change just due to money.  There are still school and possibly church or other commitments.  Travel still takes time and planning and it is not nearly as inexpensive as you would believe it to be.
- The dream:  "I'll donate lots of the money to good charities."
The reality:  Friends and family members will line up to be that charity, and it will be very hard to tell them no.  Someone will always plead a better case and you will be made to feel guilty for any decision to give to one and not the other, or to spend any of the money on yourself.


Song Of The Day:
The Barenaked Ladies have a great song titled  "If I Had A Million Dollars" ... so if you actually won (or inherited) a million dollars what would you really do?

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Why Are You Licking The Chair?

This past Sunday I (and my family) was blessed to attend church with my parents at their ward in San Tan Valley, AZ.

Sadly, my youngest son was not as willing to sit quietly during Sacrament meeting, so we spent some quality time together in the halls.

He wouldn't stop shouting and play screaming, so I quarantined us in a classroom.

It was at that point he decided that he wanted to taste the metal folding chairs.

I have no idea why, but it took me several minutes of coaxing to get him to stop (not including picture time).


Song Of The Day:
Sometimes I get the feeling that moments like this will one day be a long forgotten memory.  I think that is part of the reason that I blog about them and share these photos.  I thought of Josh Kelley's tune "Old Time Memory" for this post.  I especially like the lyric when a song is how I remember you because I think music really can connect us to experiences we have lived through.

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