Happy Birthday Elise!

Elise is a very important part of our family. She is so fun to be around! One of my favorite things to do is to try to make her happy after a long, sleepy car ride to grandma and grandpas's house. What a personality! She was born just a couple weeks after I got back from my mission and I'm so glad that I've had the chance to watch her grow up into a pretty little girl. She will make a great older sister! I love you Elise!

Cayden - One Year Older and Wiser Too!

Even though I’m a day late on this blog, I still think it’s important for me to wish my oldest nephew, Cayden, a happy birthday!

Cayden’s 10th birthday was yesterday which is hard to imagine! He has grown up very quickly and I've enjoyed watching him grow over the years. He has become a handsome boy and a wonderful older brother to four adventerous younger brothers. He’s also a very loyal friend.

One of my first memories of Cayden was when he lived with us when he was a baby. We were in Sacrament one Sunday and he was sitting on my lap (facing me) eating crackers. The spirit in the meeting must have been pretty tingly because slowly Cayden started to brace himself for a sneeze. Before I could react, Cayden sneezed and blew just about every piece of cracker he had swallowed onto my slightly wrinkled church clothes!

All my memories with Cayden have been good memories. He's probably the most sensative little guy you will ever meet and always knows when something is wrong.

Happy birthday Cayden! I love you!

New Year’s Not-So-Resolutions

Note: The main purpose of this blog was to get rid of the disgusting nature of my last post that proudly sat atop my blog. A thousand apologies your way...


There are more broken resolutions in January than in Brittany Spears’ entire drug rehab history. People go from singing “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” to “Oops, I Did It Again” faster than it takes most Americans to say “I’m lovin’ it” at a McDonald’s drive-thru. And there’s a lot of love at the McDonald’s drive-thru!

All of these failed resolutions have helped me realize two of my biggest fears in life: failing at my goals and witnessing a successful presidential campaign by Mike Huckabee. Truth is, failure isn’t always a bad thing. But for me, failure to achieve my New Year’s resolutions is a scary proposition. Trying to change is hard. For that purpose I have decided to try something different this year. I’m going to take what I’ve learned in 2008 and compile a list of things that I WON’T resolve to do. So, like it or not, here it is. Tadd’s New Year’s Not-So-Resolutions of 2009.

1. I WON’T RESOLVE to go to bed late. I know it’s the popular thing to do in college, but I’m the kind of fish that likes to swim upstream.

2. I WON’T RESOLVE to spend my money like the United States government. And I’ll keep driving my Toyota.  

3. I WON’T RESOLVE to be excited when Carlos Boozer petitions the U.S. government for a portion of the bailout money to support his family. I want to see his business plan!

4. I WON’T RESOLVE to eat Pasta Roni for three meals a day. They are always so luring at the grocery store, tempting me with their forever falling prices. I’ll put my foot down on aisle 14!

5. I WON’T RESOLVE to date facebook on Friday nights. I’m sure there are plenty of other somewhat-on-the-creepy-side people who will be gracious enough to do that for me.

6. I WON’T RESOLVE to have flabby arms and jell-o legs. (Insert Utah/jell-o joke here:______________________)

7. I WON’T RESOLVE to be a lying, backbiting, inactive, insensitive dirtbag. I’m treading new waters here.

And last but not least...

8. I WON’T RESOLVE to hold up the wall at church dances, cheer from the sidelines, and gamble away some of the best opportunities life has ever given me. Life is not a spectator sport!

There you go, my blogging friends. I hope that in some way this list has helped you find the inspiration you need to not commit to failing resolutions. Welcome to 2009!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas A Doctor Gave to Me...

Kamas, Utah - The well worn out phrase, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” was tested yesterday when a group of snowmobilers went in search of medical attention after an accident disrupted their plans for an adventurous one-day getaway.

Tadd Farmer, a junior at BYU, and his friend, Dustin Higginson, both took dates on their trip to, Kamas, the “gateway to the Uintahs,” but neither could have predicted how this day would unfold. Kamas had already received several inches of fresh powder, and the day continued to threaten more as the snowmobile adventure began.

“I’ve been on four-wheelers and waverunners before, but I’ve never been on a snowmobile,” Tadd said. “I was ready for a fun day with good friends.”

Perhaps inexperience may have played a factor in what happened. After making one successful run down the mountain, Tadd was ascending back to the high elevation cabin with two other guys riding on back. As he approached the turn, the weight situated on the back of the snowmobile caused the machine to continue forward and not respond to the turning of the front skis. Slowing down to a try to make the turn, the snowmobile slipped into a small depression on the left.

“I felt the snowmobile tipping to the left which caused me to fall off and hit my head on a poorly placed ‘For Sale’ sign.” Tadd said of the experience. “When I got up, I first checked my teeth to make sure I still had them. Then I noticed blood coming down my ski goggles and knew that I probably needed a little help.”

“I was about to throw up. When I got back to the cabin, I asked for Tadd’s girlfriend (this was Tadd’s second date) and told her that I could almost see his brain,” a witness reported.

After putting a shirt on the wound, Tadd was immediately driven to a fire station and medical center in Kamas, both of which were closed. They finally found an open medical clinic in Heber City, about an hour and a half after the accident occurred.

The 6 mm deep wound above his left eyebrow required eight internal stitches, and nine external stitches to close it up. It was actually the first case of stitches to be performed at the brand new 5 Minute Medical clinic in Heber City. After taking some Tylenol, and after a forty-five minutes ride back to Kamas, Tadd and company spent the remaining time playing games and even made a few last runs on the snowmobile.

“I knew I wasn’t seriously hurt,” Tadd admitted. “I felt bad for messing up a day that promised to be so entertaining. I am grateful for those who made sacrifices to get the help that I needed.”

Tadd also readily admits that the accident could’ve been worse. Had he hit the sign any lower on his face, his eyes may have been damaged. One thing he appreciates a little more now than before is his sight, and the close proximity of hospitals in Provo.



Editor: The next picture may be a little disturbing. If you can’t handle a little blood and guts, don’t look at it.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I wanted to give a shout out to my Dad on his birthday and thank him for all he has done for me. I have been blessed by great parents!

He has been my coach in at least three different sports throughout most of my life. More importantly, he has been one of the best coaches for my life. Always willing to listen and teach, my Dad has helped me get to where I am today.

He would always ask at least one of my brothers or sisters to help with a project around the house and it wasn’t because he needed our help. He probably undid everything we did and did it over again once we left. He wanted to be with us and teach us things that would be useful to know.

Whenever he went grocery shopping, he would always bring back a bag of candybars and let us choose which one we wanted. He would always pick last.

My parents have been the greatest supporters I have had in my life. They had faith in me when I thought my odds were small. They had confidence in me when I had none. They taught me what I needed to know to truly be happy.

My Dad has a witty sense of humor that can make anyone laugh. He makes people feel comfortable when their near him, and doesn’t have an enemy in the world. Our driveway is always the last to be shoveled.

In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Village Blacksmith, he wrote of a hard working and noble blacksmith. This is how I feel about my dad!

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought!

I love you Dad!

Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

I am concerned with a recent trend of bloggers becoming increasing silent in their blogging responsibilities. The cause of this is still undetermined, but one could argue that the downturn of the nation’s economy is as much to blame as anything (or anyone) else. Think about it, with our stocks becoming bottom-dwelling creatures in the sea of economic tranquility, who would think to do something incredibly blog-worthy like replace an old pair of shoes with gold-plated go-go gadget spring shoes or have a chocolate fondue party where even the guests are covered in chocolate?

Because of the serious nature of this concern, my first thought was to write my lame-duck president for a portion of the 700 gazillion dollars of bailout money to go to bloggers throughout the nation. I decided against that idea because I don’t have a stamp and I doubt the president is in to blogs anyways. So I thought of an easier solution to bring back the blogs. Write one yourself.

My biggest challenge to blogging is that I never have anything to write about. As you can tell by my previous posts (or at least this one), you know that that has never stopped me in the past. So to get you thinking, I decided to generate a list which can either get you thinking of something you can blog about, or stop reading my blog altogether.

-The best thing about yesterday
-Your children
-Your lost-then-found sock
-The thoughts you had at 11am today
-Gary Coleman
-Ninja Turtles
-Gary Coleman vs. Ninja Turtles
-Your view of a flat, open, or closed universe and the possibility of other “people”
-What you like about Christmas
-What you like about me
-A childhood memory
-What you think a haberdasher is

Well, if that doesn’t help than I maybe I should go get some stamps. But come on people, who wouldn’t want to see Gary Coleman fight the Ninja Turtles?

Reasons to Vote Republican, Despite the Republicans

I like to think of myself as a nonpartisan voter when it comes to politics. I tend to lean to the republican side of the aisle when it comes to most issues, however, I have also sympathized with many democratic philosophies. Over the past several months, I have tried to ignore the political game between McCain and Obama because both candidates seem painfully weak and inadequate to meet the challenges of our country. Despite some good characteristics in both candidates, there really is no good choice for the Oval Office. Obama is a charismatic leader whose ideas and words sound nice but he lacks the experience to run the world’s superpower. McCain, a former POW and Vietnam vet, has the experience Obama’s lacking but looks and acts as if he’s been walking around with a perpetual political chip on his should for the last 26 years. With no clear leader in the campaign, I offer you my two reasons to vote Republican despite the Republicans.

My first reason for voting Republican for this election cycle is maintaining a conservative voice on the Supreme Court. As it now stands, the average age for the Supreme Court is 68 (the oldest being Justice Stevens at the age of 88). This means that there is a good chance that the next President of the United States will decide who will fill the vacancies left on the bench. With liberal reforms to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion coming before the courts with increasing frequency, it’s too risky to vote for a candidate who will place a Justice on the bench with liberal leanings. In an age of judicial activism, we cannot allow for the Supreme Court to legislate liberal laws and policies that could change forever the American way of life.

My second reason for voting Republican is to maintain a true checks and balance system between the Executive and Legislative Branches of government. It is a dangerous proposition for the American people to have one party control both the Legislative Branch and Executive Branch of government. Recent history will provide enough evidence of that. From 2000-2006, the Republicans controlled both branches of government which increased the power and influence of President Bush, making his presidency one of the most ineffective and disastrous presidencies in the history of our nation. Add a liberal Judicial Branch to the liberal Executive and Legislative Branches and you have an entire government dominated by a single ideology. Democrat or Republican, it is dangerous to have too much power.

I don’t know how you all feel, but I’m already looking forward to 2012.