Hinckley Blog

We're a quirky family with quirky parents - nobody can deny that. Well, last week I added a quirk that was probably inevitable. I was delighted to find that Costco had cases of Vitamin Water on sale, and I happily put one in my cart. As I was loading my heavy Costco purchases into my trunk, I decided that I was thirsty and might as well grab a Vitamin Water for the road. Then, when I got home, the Costco trunk seemed too heavy to take in the house, so I left it there for a few days. Meanwhile, on other errands, I found that having drinks in the trunk was pretty handy. So when I at last unloaded the trunk, I left my beverages there. I actually didn't think much of it, until Rob opened my trunk a few days ago and said, "Why, hello Clark!" Pops, I've taken after you and become a beverage-in-the-trunk girl. You must be so proud.

Also, you probably all recall that Rob went through a phase where everything he bought had to be treated with Teflon, because more often than not some part of his meal ended up on his shirt or pants or (gasp!) tie. Good think Mom and Dad found him a Teflon tie. He's done much better of late - I can't remember the last time he spilled something. But take a look at his daughter:


Anyone know a place to get Teflon coated baby wear? If not, Ellie will continue to undress for dinner.

We'd fingure we better put some pictures up because we haven't blogged for a while. Last weekend we went snowmobiling with Scott Jacobsen and his wife Courtney at the Jacobsen ranch-King Fisher Bend near Evanstan. The temperature was -10. So if we look like we have 17 layers of clothes on in this picture, it's because we do.

This other pictuer is an one from our first Christmas morning as a married couple. Jenni was in charge of the stockings. So of course they were filled with various citrus fruits, a ruler, and (surprise) a pocketknife on top. Merry Christmas.

Last Sunday evening about 9:15 p.m. our phone rang. Who could it be? Lo and behold, it was Gina Randall. She was in Salt Lake picking up Thalia from her mission on Temple Square, and they had a three hour layover in Cincinnati. Wow! Ellie and I headed down into Kentucky to the airport to sit with Gina and Thalia for awhile and catch up. You meet your international friends in the oddest places. Kudos to Cincinnati for being a truly international airport.

All our South African friends are doing well. Joey and Emil are considering leaving Swazi for a job in . . . I can't remember, but not South Africa. I'll email Gina and ask her to remind me. Sam and Paul are expecting their third baby (which I think they sent me an email about, Jose, but I forgot). Luke is on mission in Zimbabwe and finds it surprisingly safe. He's been out about a year. Everything else is about the same. We reminisced about old times, introduced them to Ellie, and then sadly parted ways. It's somewhat amazing that in the time since I left South Africa, I've seen Gina twice - both times in Ohio. She has a daughter, Kirsty, who married an American named Aaron and moved to Bowling Green, Ohio. Gina and Thalia were headed up there for a visit directly from Cincinnati - the first time Thalia and Kirsty will see each other in EIGHT years. Can you imagine going eight years without seeing your sister? Thalia doesn't know any of their children. She met their oldest when he was eight months old, and now he's eight years. Gina last saw them when the last baby was born two years ago. Gina's other married daughter, Shona, lives in Australia. Shona and her husband Mark headed to Bowling Green to see Thalia as well as Kirsty and Aaron, so it was going to be quite the reunion. Imagine Bowling Green playing backdrop to a South African family reunion. Wow, don't you miss South Africa? Let's go back someday.

In other news, Ellie helped Rob take down the Christmas lights this afternoon, and I thought you all might enjoy a picture.

I've been listening to a few things from the BYU podcasts lately. There's even a talk that Grandma gave some years ago! Richard Holzapfel has a good once debunking the myths of the Da Vinci Code. Our dear law school professor Gerald Williams has one on conflict. President Samuelson said to speak about something that he deals with a lot, so Professor Williams chose conflict. Music? Paul Simon's "Another Galaxy." Sting's new version of "Fields of Gold" played on the lute. Tom Wait's "Hold On." Francis Dunnary's "Sunshine." Patty Griffin's "Useless Desires." Sarah McLachlan's "The Rainbow Connection." This one was playing on my birthing soundtrack when Ellie was born! A few songs from The Weepies. Check them out at www.theweepies.com. My current favorite is World Spins Madly On.

ADDENDUM POST PUBLICATION: I forgot our favorite discovery from this Christmas. It's an all brass jazz version of O Holy Night arranged by none other than W.G. "Snuffy" Walden of Windham Hill and West Wing fame. Walden's arrangement was featured on the TV show Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip (from the creators of the West Wing), and you can download it at the show's website: http://www.nbc.com/Studio_60_on_the_Sunset_Strip/
We had it on repeat for weeks and weeks. It's worth having in your collection.

So, Mom spent her $10 iTunes gift certificate in the Motown section of iTunes. Actually, she spent her gift certificate and a little more, for tunes by such notables as the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, the Commodores, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, and our own Gladys Knight and the Pips.

Pops' only recent purchase has been the legendary Sissel singing, "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room." But I am increasingly into free podcasts. Some of favorites: Grammar Girl, Mr. Manners, 60-Second Science, New York Times Front Page (the morning headlines), Slate Explainer (answering such difficult but burning questions as "How can you tell if a rock is a meteorite?"), Slate Magazine Daily Podcast (try "The Mystery of Margaritaville"), and several NPR favorites - Story of the Day, Driveway Moments (try the recent interview with the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens), Motley Fool Profiles, Present at the Creation. What else is on my iPod today? Walking in Memphis, some old James Taylor (Blossom, Anywhere Like Heaven), Sweet Baby James sung by Highway 101...

What's on your iPod?

Pops

This morning Ellie and I got up and out of the house early (well, 10:30) to attend our first infant sign language class at our Loveland library branch. We joined 10 other mothers and babies on a circle mat in the children's section and gathered around Becky, our instructor. Ellie was the youngest of the group, which otherwise ranged from 7 months to 3 years. Becky led us in a few little songs and we worked on several signs: I love you, more, eat, drink, milk, mom, dad, thank you, yes, no, hurt. So now every time we say any of those words, we're supposed to also sign them so that she can associate the action with the word. Supposedly, it will help her develop speech skills earlier and avoid tantrums because she needs something and doesn't know how to say it. We'll see. Anyway, I felt like a pretty cool mom showing up for sign language class! I don't have any pictures from class, but I hate to blog without posting a picture. Here's one from a few days ago.

In my last post, I forgot to include this picture of our anniversary dinner. I ran out to get some Wendys for myself for dinner, since we'd had to cancel our dinner plans. When I got home, Rob had showered and set the table with china and candles and sparkling cider. What a guy!

Happy Christmas to all! Here's a belated, brief report on Ellie's first Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Nan's, and then came back to Bus and Jan's to read Christmas stories. Then we came home and put ourselves to bed. Ellie woke us up at 8:30 a.m. and we got started on the presents. She loves the exersaucer that Santa magically put by the tree. Rob wondered why Santa hadn't put coins and chocolates on the stairs. Maybe he forgot. Perhaps next year. We went over to Bus and Jan's for brunch about 11:30 and then got started on the presents under that tree. It was quite a Christmas - a circular saw for Rob, a big food processor for me, and a swing for Ellie to keep at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We spent a quiet week enjoying the lovely Arizona-ish weather, playing with the Jensen clan, and generally savoring Christmas. We spent New Year's Eve at Bus and Jan's, and stayed to ring in the New Year. I tried to watch the fireside, but lds.org was only providing audio feed, so I listened to the fireside while Windows Media Player spun weird colored lines over and over. It was excellent despite the lack of picture. We spent New Year's Day first at the Strikes for brunch, and then at the Jensens for games and visiting. We were pretty exhausted! I woke up early to Ellie's cries on our anniversary and discovered Rob still in bed at 6:30. Turns out, a stomach bug of some kind attacked him during the night. So he spent all day on the sofa in his robe munching saltine crackers and drinking Coca Cola, hoping for his stomach to settle. We had to cancel our dinner plans, but at least we got to be together all day! I went to Costco and bought each of us a new pair of pants - quite a treat. We purchased our real anniversary present months ago, we decided, when we went in to Costco for chicken tenderloins and came out with a photo printer, copier, fax machine. It's wireless, so we can print from anywhere in the house, and can finally put photos in all those empty frames we have. So Happy 3rd - true to Rob's nature, it's a geek gift. Enjoy the pics!