The Creepiest Christmas

Our little guy hasn't been sleeping well, and it's almost like he's having nightmares. But what would give Rock nightmares?

We weren't sure what this was all about, so we retraced our steps. We started thinking to the day after Thanksgiving when we all loaded into Dave's Excursion and drove down to Ashland, OR. Ashland is a magical place, full of hippies and hippy-like substances. It is also home of a pretty cool Christmas lighting festival that involves a parade and a personal appearance by Santa himself (or so we were told). But, Rock might have been spooked by the creepy, spiky snowman.
In retrospect, the 'flamboyant' Santa might have creeped him out. It isn't that Santa was all that bad, but he used words like 'Fahbulous' and 'Marvahlous' and 'Wanderful'. He also kept telling creepy adult reindeer to dance for him. Yeah, looking back, this goofy Santa Claus creeped out me pretty bad as well.
Oh, and I almost forgot about the guy who smelled like the English teacher's office. He just stood there like this the whole time...You know what? My mini 'stache and new hairstyle that I was working on over the Holiday break might not have helped anything either.
Hmm...those are all kind of creepy, scary things, but something just doesn't seem right. It's almost like he's just trying to get somebody's attention...
There is some awesome news: BYU beat Utah!! They also wore some super sweet action old school unis!! They were pretty cool. Here's Harvey toting the ball
Photos of Santa and Creepy the Snowman were from mailtribune.com...just in case somebody wanted to accuse me of stealing.

Thanksgiving Postgame Report!

Rock woke up super stinkin' early to start his Thanksgiving Day preparations. First thing he did was help Grandma Lisa get the turkey in the oven. He was confused because Gma was touching the bird, but Mommy has taught him that all meat products were 'icky' and 'germy' and to never touch them.
He decided that Gma's way was much more fun.


He knew that he had to start his metabolism, so he ate a hearty breakfast of honey nut Chex and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.
Then he kept Derek out of Gma's hair by entertaining him. He's helpful like that.
Rock is really good about calling Grammy Rae and Grappy Dale, especially on Holidays or at 7am. This Thanksgiving is no different.

The best part of Thanksgiving? Getting to sit down with family, eat delicious food and drinking root beer like a sailor. Rock is a big fan of Henry Weinhardt's root beer and cream soda. He couldn't decide which one to drink, so he chose both.

As soon as he finished off a bottle he asked for more. Who can say no to that face? A dad that is trying to munch all the potatoes before the greedy people munch them, that's who.

Gma Lisa has a cute little saying about turning into a prune and trying to get a kiss. Rock likes to tell the story, too.



A documentary on office life caught Rock's attention, and he heard a great quote: "I've been in many cults, both as a leader and as a follower. You make more money as a leader, but you have more fun as a follower." That made him think Hey, I could swindle these folks for some moneys, and then retire young!

So that's how his revival movement started.

Okay, okay. He wasn't really starting a revival, he was just practicing for life as an NFL official. But a good NFL official, not like the one that rigged Super Bowl XL for the Steelers...yeah, Rock will actually be a just and fair arbitrator of the game.

A Very Special and Slightly Sappy Thanksgiving Post

It is very fitting that Thanksgiving is coming up now, since there are so many things in our lives that make us grateful. DeA and I are thankful that our little house in Iowa sold, that I am done with boards and that I've started my sweet sauce job. I'm thankful for my wonderful, sexy, beautiful and sweet wife. Rock is thankful that he learned how to ride the Nesquik.

DeA and I are also very thankful for our parents that help us, support us and care about us. We have awesome siblings that love us. We've found a great place to rent, and DeA is especially thankful that it is right next to a soccer field. She is worried that her mad soccer kicks are leaving her, so she's anxious to get out on the field and hone her skills. Rock is thankful that Nesquik, milk and vanilla ice cream taste so good mixed in a Vita-Mix blender.

We are very thankful that we are having Baby Boulder in a few short months. Rock is thankful that he has a few short months as the attention grabber. He is also thankful that Grandma lets him help make pies for Thanksgiving.

Rock is also grateful that he doesn't get a willow switch across his behind for making a mess.

He's even thankful for the chance to clean up.

DeA and I are so very thankful for the little guy. We even love the fact that he has same teeth as a Wyoming Teamster.

Here is DeA's baby Boulder belly bump. We are so thankful that he is percolating nicely.

Heavenly Father has blessed us so much in our lives. We are so blessed to have great people around us, thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Where Rock Learns Stuff

Rock loves to talk. He likes to be animated and tell stories.
Where would he have learned this?

Rock is Smooth with the Ladies

Rock's love is currently in the middle of Wisconsin right now. He isn't sure how he is supposed to master his smooth skills with Macey so far away, so he's practicing with a Cabbage Patch doll.

I found this picture on the camera, and I can only assume that she wanted me to put it on the blog. Isn't she pretty?
Hey! Check out my three teeth and four tiny teeth buds that are taking their sweet time to break through!

Rock makes the call

Rock Versus the Batter

This is Lindsey, Rock's aunt. She is fun. This post was going to be about her, but...
Rock wasn't cool with that, so he scuttled it. He gets the attention, and that's the way he likes it.
DeA made a bowl of angel food cake batter, and the batter started calling Rock out. He told the bowl of stuff that it was going down.
He took his weapon and the fight began.
Before long, Rock was able to incorporate a second weapon to clean up the edges of his foe.
At the end, almost as if to brag, Rock started using his bare hands to wipe up what was left of the batter.

"Ugh...the victory was sweet...but too much victory..."

Finally

My awesome 10 days of studying for boards, taking boards, getting the house ready to close, borrowing Brigham's truck and pretending to be Brigham while dumping extra garbage behind his house, the three hour marathon closing and the 121(ish) hour roadtrip are all behind me. We officially said goodbye to our dear house in Davenport and to our dear home at Whitey's. It was good to get into Oregon and follow the excessive and ridiculously low speed limits to the Judd's homestead and see my family. Rock was excited to see me, but he was bummed that I took that long road trip without him riding shotgun. He tried to show how good he is at being the navigator.
"Hey, Dad, what is this delicious donut and why didn't I ever have one in the Midwest?"
"They don't sell these in the Midwest? What a terrible, terrible business decision."
"Mmm...where the deuce has this been my whole life?"
Later, Rock showed me the chair that he likes to sit in to guard the front door.

Every once and a while he tries to make a run for the road, but he usually gets distracted by the front steps.
He likes to grab the Nesquick powder and get somebody to add milk to it. He especially likes to dunk his sweet sauce old fashioned donuts in the chocolate milk. Awesomeness.