pulsipher, A. D.

a sledding we will go

2011-12-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we went up to Hyalite Reservoir to go sledding. We had so much fun. Not that we are hermits, but one of the things we love about Montana is the population density and lack thereof. Not a lot of competition for resources. On many occasions, we've found ourselves thinking "If we were somewhere else, this place would be packed."

We had the entire hill to ourselves, not that we were in danger of running into other people in National Forest, but still. We kept going and going until we ran ourselves ragged. George had so much fun.

We kept Ed bundled tight, while Ashley wore my coat, hoisted by the baby bjorn. Eventually he got tired of our shenanigans and spent the rest of the morning snoozing in the car.

Here's a good shot of Ashley and the boys getting ready for another run. Even though the sun wasn't out all the way, there was no wind and the temperature was perfect. We all over-heated. We were much better repaired for the snow this time, compared to last time when we got our tree.

I experimented with the automatic timer - taking multiple shots. I wanted to get us in action, so... scroll down through the next few pictures of us enjoying the slopes.

A successful day in the books. We had such a fun time that we're planning on going up again this Saturday. Anyone is welcome to join us, just as long as you are serious about having fun.

a (tree) hunting we will go...

2011-12-03T20:37:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we observed the old time tradition of chopping down a Christmas Tree. You can't argue with the economics ($5), and the family fun. And yes, it has its environmental benefits as well. We went up to Hyalite Reservoir and had so much fun.

It had snowed quite a bit up in the mountain. The scenery was breathtaking.

Ice Fishing - Ashley's new passion. It combines several of her few favorite things. Sitting. In the cold. No but seriously here are some ice fishing enthusiasts on the reservoir as its frozen over. So beautiful.

We threw Ed in the pack and snuggled him up real cozy like. Because the sun was out the temperature was very tolerable. We had great weather on a spectacular day.

I took George. The snow was close to knee deep in some places making it pretty tough for George to head in by himself.

I blazed a trail after scouting a few potential candidates. Ashley lugged Ed in and stopped to model for me. Ed snoozed the entire time. Makes me wonder what interesting places my parents took me when I was little, that I just snoozed all the way through.

We went deeper into the woods and found a few candidates. George was an excellent helper and was having a ton of fun.

Like a responsible dad, I forgot George's gloves but because of the drawstring feature on mine, they work perfect for a toddler. By some milagro I had packed two pair for myself so we got really lucky in that regard.

Trudging through knee deep snow, with a (close to) 40 lb toddler, and a christmas tree is a serious workout. I highly recommend it. Everyone had so. much. fun.

George and I pause to catch our breath and lug our beauty the rest of the way out. Are you jealous yet of our wholesome family fun? I cannot emphasize enough how beautiful it was, and how happy we all were. We didn't have to hunt for very long, and even though we had some initial buyers remorse at our tree (as we saw hordes of childless tree cutters and their Rockefeller Square quality trees), now that its up in our house we love it and I couldn't be prouder.

Poor Ed, forced into adventures he didn't sign up for. He didn't wake up until the tree was on top of the car. Come to think of it, we should've got a picture of that.

I obviously should've dressed George better, put him in some pretty cruddy jeans that got soaked. As the picture illustrates, we stripped him down after the tree hunting and was a lot more happy. He loves our tree and was smiling about it all day.

Just in case the pictures weren't enough, we recorded some video of the adventure. Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season.

we. love. montana.

2011-11-12T21:28:00.001-08:00

we are not dead, we are very much alive...

2011-11-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

You'll have to excuse the dysfunctional layout of this post. For some reason the pictures are mounting all weird. But that's not as important is relaying the fact to you, dear reader, that despite our absence from the blog world, in fact yes we are alive and doing well. October was an insanely busy month with nary a dull moment, as you are about to see.

George very much loves wolfing his food down, especially when it is pizza, maccaroni & cheese, or depending on his mood, anything. He also has a deep appreciation for chocolate milk. Ed is growing so quickly, and was 25% heavier than George on his 2 month check in. His weight has led to such nicknames as "Fatso", "Porky", "Lumpkins" and "Poopsie."

At the end of September we reunited with our best friends, "Los Nelson." We met them up in a small resort town in the northwest part of Montana called Whitefish. It is a cute town, and we rented a condo with lake-front access. It was heavenly.

We also made a trip with our friends Andy & Lisa, out to Yellowstone National Park. George got to see Old Faithful for the second time.

Ed also got to see Old Faithful. He was super-impressed.

Here's the whole fam damily (as my mom used to say).

Ed is starting to smile a lot. He loves when we talk to him, particularly in high voices. Its the kind of thing that you do because your child responds to it and it is so fun to see him respond, but asked to make the same toned-voice in public, you wouldn't do it for a million dollars.

In early October we went out to Colorado Springs for Ashley's brother's wedding. It was a great time, despite the entire family dealing with a particularly caustic brand of 24-stomach flu, including the groom. Here's George palling around with his cousins Clayton and Henry.

The Potter girls... lucky is the man who marries these women. Going quick, 3/4 are already spoken for.

George jumped for joy at the temple... it was just about 5 years ago that Ashley and I were married here, when George was just a twinkle in our eye. Thankfully Aunt Blythe watched George and Ed while we attended the ceremony.

While in the Springs, we attended the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, or as Ashley calls it, "the world's largest zoo." Just kidding, she doesn't call it that. But it is a great zoo and all the cousins enjoyed it. George hanging out with "Paka," Charlotte and Lucy.

Ashley and her sister Serena.

See how I'm "coaxing" the giraffe to eat the lettuce, I do this with George as well and find it particularly effective.

The day before Ashley's birthday, I got in an accident. Minor damage, but... the real sweet side of this whole transaction was that it allowed me to purchase one of these bad boys.

An xtracycle, every bike nerd's dream when they want to do nearly anything humanly possible by bike.

Ed is particularly excited about the transaction as when its fully outfitted, I'll be able to transport George and Ed simultaneously on the back. I cannot wait!

Summer is gone and replaced by a beautiful fall. Ashley and the boys have taken advantage of the season.

And with fall comes another Halloween. We feel so much pressure to deliver. But fortunately for me, I married a truly visionary, genius mind in Ashley who always comes up with the best ideas for costumes. This year George was Howard Hughes-Bomber Pilot-Charles Muntz and Ed was Troy Polamalu as if he had been traded to the Denver Broncos.

The Great Aviator.

Ed got tons of attention. Lots of fun trick-or-treating along Main Street.

Here's the whole family in its glory. It is really starting to get chilly now and the brief three day fall has now given way to winter. We are bracing for impact, but looking forward to the holidays, sledding, soups and warm bread, and everything else that the Montana winter has to offer.

happy 30th ashley

2011-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Ashley's 30th birthday, not her 29th, not her 31st... her 30th. As such it is completely monumental for so many reasons.

I was reading census data the other day (gripping, I know) and it was reiterated to me that Ashley is likely going to live longer than me. Maybe even much longer than me. Women just live longer than men. With that information, I was reminded of how hard I need to work to be worthy of this wonderful woman, so that when I die she doesn't replace me with some money-bags and burn all our pictures.

Just kidding. Ashley would never do that. Ashley is loyal, loving, fun and adventurous. 30 is the new 20. She is a fantastic woman and I'm so glad that she is my wife. Every day I laugh with her. That is one of her greatest gifts to me. Now if I can only find one of those fireman calendars... then that will be my greatest gift to her.

Happy Birthday Ashley, may you have 50, 60 more of these (with me, not Mr. Money Bags). Also, here's a note from George:

summer's end... fall is upon us

2011-09-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

As much as it pains me to admit it - summer appears to be winding down. I will be the first to admit, I was very skeptical of this so called "summer" that Bozeman/Montana was supposed to have. After a soul-decimating Spring, I had convinced myself that all of these Bozemanites had deluded themselves into thinking that the summer up here was so lovely, that it made the rest of the year worth it. I was sure of this... but alas... summer eventually did come and it was glorious. We got to do so much, and next summer holds even more adventure in store as Ashley won't be pregnant, so we can do all sorts of things that we were a little less apt to do with a babe in the belly.

Ed is here and is a great addition to our family. We enjoyed a visit from Ashley's parents to help with the transition, and were the benefactors of many lovely gifts and cards. Thank you everyone!

Here's George doing his Harry Potter impersonation up at Hyalite reservoir. Had a great time "fishing" with cheetohs and hiking with baby brother.

Ed's getting more alert, and is on an "ounce a day" weight gain plan. We are supplementing breast milk with muscle milk and gold standard whey. He has consistently gained an ounce a day for three weeks running. Ed's gonna be a beefcake so help me...

Here is the little man after his first bath. Opening his eyes and looking around "shifty eyed" like he's suspicious of everyone around him. Rightfully so Ed.. rightfully so...

Coupla suckers...

Story time... note Ed's attention. Loves snuggling with his very gentle yet enthusiastic brother.

A couple of weekends ago we went to a cabin down Idaho-way, near Ashton. We had a view of the Tetons, and there was ample room for lounging and the kids to get into all kinds of outdoor adventures. I love living here - and I love that George (and Ed soon enough) get to spend so much time outside. Ed was a big hit with the kiddos. As you can see he was certainly not starved for attention.

We rotated cooking meals, and when we started to get pekish, we'd simply send George up and inquire as to how much longer we had to wait for our meals to be served to us, so as to avoid looking like a bunch of low class clowns. Kidding of course. It was so much fun to be around good friends and especially for George to be with his best friend Abram and his crush Ruby.

I love this shot because it completely captures George's post-Orange Julius drunkeness, if he were an adult he'd be singing old military songs and would reek of scotch.

A short hike from the cabin was a lovely little lake that we had all to ourselves except for when the Lord of the Flies children came up on their convoy of 4 wheelers. I swear the supervising child was no older than 9 and there were like 30 of them. Kind of creep. Here George and Abram practice safety skills before boarding the canoes.

George and I on our way down to the lake.

Mom and the boys enjoy a few chuckles as we wait our turn for the canoes.

Ashley and the boys on our very sea worthy vessel. We liked it so much I think we are definitely considering a canoe purchase for next summer. NOW are you interested in coming up to visit?

By the end of the trip, George was exhausted. Minutes from leaving he got very philosophical, pondering the world from the perspective of a dog, Tao - or "Towel" as George calls him.

The trip was a perfect capstone to our summer... We've still got a few weeks of good weather, and we're going to make the most of it. Hope you all had a great Labor Day and summer in general.

cliff edward pulsipher

2011-08-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 12 was an exciting day to say the least. We were making our final preparations for our second child. Ashley's c-section was scheduled for Monday, August 15 so we figured that we had one last weekend to cross all the t's and dot all the lower case j's. Ashley wanted to do something special for George - so they went to the Bozeman Beach. It's basically a local pond/cesspool that doubles as a leisure spot for Bozemanites in the summer time. While at the beach with George, Ashley started to get contractions and feel a little ill. She decided to head home, assuming the contractions would pass.

By the time she got home, it was about noon and she gave me and her sister Serena a call. As luck would have it - I had gone in to work early that day, looking to get a jump start on the weekend and head up with George to the ward campout. I got home about 12:30, and Ashley was starting to have some seriously regular contractions. Every four minutes. One minute long. She called Labor & Delivery and they told her to come in. I was sure that the contractions would subside, and that we'd go home in an hour or two. With our little guy being breach, I figured he wouldn't be putting much pressure on Ashley and so we had plenty of time.

When we got to the hospital, they gave Ashley a quick exam and told her that she was dilated to a six, and that if he were head down it'd likely be an 8. This little guy was coming today! They quickly made preparations, and told us that Ashley would be having a c-section. By now it was about 1:30 pm. In about an hour, our second child would be born.

They whisked Ashley away - and I got dolled up in a blue man outfit. Ashley was as cool as a cucumber and all of the staff remarked at how calm she was. When I walked in to the operating room, or (OR as people in the know call it, thank you Grey's Anatomy), Ashley was on the table and ready to go. I sat down next to Ashley with a partition between us and where all the excitement was happening. After about ten minutes, one of the doctor's tapped me on the shoulder and I stood up to see the doctors pulling our little man out of the incision. By the time I was looking, everything had come out except his head. With a few tugs, he was out, looking tiny, and a charming pink/grey color. It took him a few seconds to start crying and those were obviously the longest seconds of our life.

After the operation, I escorted our little guy to the nursery where they checked him and patted his back a little until he could get all the junk out of his lungs. Ashley was getting adjusted to her room and being cared for by the nurses. The staff at the hospital were absolutely spectacular, and I would recommend anyone having a baby to do it up in Bozeman, without hesitation.

Our little man was born at 2:35 pm, weighing in at a bantam 7.1 lbs and 21 inches. We named him Cliff Edward Pulsipher, after his maternal grandfather. We are planning on calling him Ed/Eddie but it's all still up in the air.

Here are the action shots of our little guy's journey to earth.

Ed - getting worked on by the nursery staff.

We compared Ed's hair to George's as a newborn and its totally identical.

Ed's sharpee-esque feet. So soft and fun to touch.

Little guy face on. Ready to brave the cruel world.

Here he is, snoozing away in his nursery bed/cart. The nursery had an elaborate wrist/ankle band checking system that ensured we weren't getting a switched baby. It is kind of horrifying to think about how this system evolved, and why it was necessary.

So far George is being a great older brother. He loves holding Ed and loves to put his hand "soft" on Ed's face.

Ashley and her two boys. What a beautiful mom/woman.

George showing his softer side.

Me and the boys in the hospital bed. Our stay was pretty comfy, though a little tight at times.

The look on George's face says it all. Actually, I think he was equally excited about the fresh round of ritz crackers we just gave him. Tough to tell.

Me & Ed.

More Ed feet. They truly are a site to behold. I think they are tiny, Ashley thinks they are big for a man of Ed's size.

Compare/Contrast. George nestled into Ed's hospital bed. Can't believe that George was every a tiny baby now.

Catching up on some z's with Ed. He's already shown quite an affinity for napping on one's chest. Hard to beat that feeling.

Here is Ed in his Going Home outfit. Looking like a dapper fellow.

Close up.

The Pulsipher family, now a family of four on our exit of the hospital. It was a nice stay, but we were ready to leave.

Packing the kiddos in the CRV. Suddenly feeling a little cramped in there.

Ed at home in his swing.

You may have seen some of these already on Facebook, but hopefully you enjoyed the repetition. Ed is doing a good job of packing on the ounces (at at rate of 1 oz. a day) and keeping us all company with plenty of snuggles to go around.

If you play your cards right, you can get here in time to enjoy some quality Ed snuggles for yourself.

can't get away from the summertime blues...

2011-08-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well, you can if you come to Montana! Our repeated pleas for you to come up and visit us has largely fallen on deaf ears, so that's it! No more invites!

Ok ok... I give in. Of course you are welcome any time. We are madly trying to get ready for baby #2, but in the mean time have been having one heck of a summer.

We've been eating outside a lot. The evenings are spectacular and made even easier by our CRV-insta picnic tables. Our neighbors have a CRV so they pop theirs out and its a regular block party. Lots of fun.

We've been telling George that unless he steps his game up, he'll never get into an Ivy league school. Late night cram sessions are a common occurrence in this household.

The irony is not lost on me - George and I reading a book titled "Just Me and My Mom." Nice book and all... but the mom is dressed like a victorian vampire and it makes you wonder what era these creatures live in.

Another night, another craving for Ashley. She usually eats about three of these "pregnant" size rice crispy treats a night. j/k.

George is a great example of safety. He insists on wearing his helmet, every chance he can get.

Those idiots at the marketing department at Gap (sorry Blythe!) really blew it when they didn't snatch George up to be their next model. Look at this freaking kid for pete's sake. Tell me you don't want to buy that outfit... and our child!

George continues to be a source of joy in our lives. We feel very lucky to have him and so excited for his little brother to come next week. Stay tuned for that announcement.

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

quick trip up to fairy lake

2011-07-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went for a quick day trip up to Fairy Lake about an hour northwest of Bozeman. We had heard it was pretty spectacular but we honestly couldn't have imagined what we encountered. Unfortunately, that sentiment is a double edged sword.

George was very excited to go on a hike. He was so excited, he started fabricating "sightings" to ensure us he was excited about the trip up. I think he "saw" three owls (I haven't the heart to break the whole "nocturnal" thing to him), airplanes (C'mon George, do you think we were born yesterday), and horses (flat out lie). George was really feeling the good vibes and wanted to ensure that we all had a good trip up, I think it was a little role reversal personally. George pacifying the parents with faux-sightings! So cute.

The drive was pretty smooth, but the last 7 miles are over a pretty bumpy, steep at times, dirt road. I was thankful we were in a 4wd with a little bit of clearance. There were a few climes where we were in first gear, cranking it up the hill. Pretty intense. On our way out we pitied some folks on their way in, in... older looking sedans. Tough road ahead.

Once we got to the parking lot we saw a sign that said "Fairy Lake, .5 miles." We couldn't see the lake from where we were, so we honestly had no idea what to expect. Within a few minutes... this is what we saw:

It was absolutely breathtaking. We made our way down to the Lake... and honestly couldn't commit to a place to set up camp without walking around the entire lake (it's pretty small, probably took us about a half an hour).

George walked the entire time, and couldn't resist popping in a few times to test out the water. It was chilly, but honestly I've felt colder water. It wasn't too bad. It was very warm day, and even at 7,000 ft I would guess that it was still in the mid 70's up there.

There weren't too many people around, and I was wishing that it was even a little more private so we could be as loud as we want without fear of looking stupid or scaring people who were fishing from the banks. We even saw a couple floating in the middle on innertubes. Pretty sweet. To escape the heat we finally found a good place to take a dip. Ashley went in first... and with little cajoling took the entire plunge. Completely submerged. This is no small feat as the water was very chilly. As I've said a million times, Ashley loves adventures.

After Ashley went in, I took a plunge myself. It felt so good. Honestly we could've stayed until nightfall... if it weren't for one important thing I've neglected from this tale. If you don't want the story spoiled... just stop reading now and imagine this heavenly place all to yourself.

Ok, for those of you that want the real scoop on Fairy Lake - here's the deal... It's gorgeous, I swear there has been no photoshop-funny business going on to enhance blues and greens. The water is as clear as advertised!

But there are flies out there. Serious. Flies. Huge, mammoth, man-eating flies. By some miracle they weren't too interested in George's deliciously smooth skin, but they loved my ashy-pale bicyclists legs, and Ashley's too. The flies honestly prohibited a prolonged enjoyment of this place. I don't know if simple bug spray would work on these guys, or what the deal was. But honestly, towards the end I was about to have a nervous breakdown. Ashley can corroborate this part of the story. I was about one more fly bite away from having a Dr. Leo Marvin breakdown.

So... we might go back next summer, armed with fly swatters and bug spray. I'll probably need about that much time to cool down. Other than that, it was a very fun adventure and absolutely gorgeous.

camping/rafting

2011-07-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went for an excellent adventure with our friends the Christensens. We combined a night of camping with a full day on the Gallatin River.

I don't mean to rub it in... but the summer up here really has been glorious. We are getting to do all of the things we dreamed about doing. The weather has been phenomenal and the long days make for absolutely spectacular weekends/sunsets.

We headed down towards Yellowstone and camped in Gallatin National forest. Free camping right by the Taylor Fork River. Spectacular.

Here are some pictures and light commentary.

Scott and Ashley enjoying the scenery. The river was flowing a little quick so we had to be on alert with the little ones running around, but the setting was just so perfect. Once you settle on the fact that car camping is the only way you'll be camping for the next foreseeable future, there are just so many great places that you can go.

Here's another view of the campground as we got set up with the Christensens. We miss our friends in LA dearly and nothing can replace them, but we've also been blessed with great friends here in Bozeman.

Ashley and our skipper, Scott - ponder the best way to attack the Gallatin River the next morning.

George - sometimes has issues with other kids his age. Frenemies is the best way to describe it. Not with Abram. George loves Abram... he thinks he is hilarious. Here is a picture that Celia took of the two little guys yucking it up.

In addition to the the busy river next to our campsite, there was also a very calm streamlet right next to us as well. The kiddos loved playing in it. I think some people might be reticent to take their kids camping. If you give up on the notion of getting an "awesome" night's sleep, camping with kids can be a lot of fun. We have been camping with George since he was about 5 months old.

Here we are all gathering around... singing a few lines of "Michael rode the boat ashore."

The Christensen's treated us to some home made, deep dish, brick-oven, coleman-warmed personal pan pizzas. We made flapjacks for breakfast topped off with Ashley's delicious buttermilk syrup. Camping in style!

Celia & Scott are great camping companions. Family camping can be so fun if you go with people who totally know what they are doing... not that we are imbeciles, but after a few anecdotes about grizzly bears Ashley was definitely considering moving the tent a little closer to their tent.

We scoured for wood to burn, and Ashley was amazed at my camouflage techniques. Can you spot me?

A lovely fire was topped with smores in the Rocky Mountains.

Family picture. Pulsiphers, 2011. Still waiting on a winning name for baby #2. From some angles Ashley is deceptively pregnant.

Picture of our campsite in the morning. Much to our relief, there were no grizzly sitings. I tend to be a worrier about these kinds of things, but if you follow all of the rules (keeping a clean camp, storing all smelly things inside the car) you really are doing about as much as you can. Scott brought a can of bear spray, but after a few stories about its misuse I wasn't sure which I was more alarmed by, the potential for a bear encounter or the likelihood that the bear spray would end up being used on myself, somehow.

The Pulsipher family all together on their first rafting expedition. We had previously braved the Madison river on inner tubes, but this time we were on the Gallatin river in an actual, sea-worthy vessel. Scott is a very skilled raftsman and I tried to do my best to impress the group with my mastery of nautical terms via Whale Wars.

George enjoyed rafting so much, that he wore himself right out. Towards the end of the trip we had another Montana highlight, our first moose sighting. It was so cool.

I was very proud of Ashley pulling all of this adventure off while 8 months pregnant. We may have discovered another secret to car-camping. The inflatable mattress. It makes a significant difference in your comfort level. I used to... scoff at the notion. But really, if you aren't "light backpacking" and hiking/biking into your campsite, you might as well go all out. Portable satellite dishes, inflatable swimming pools, coco lattes, foot spas, and every other comfort you can squeeze into your car - all fair game I say ; ).

it's boots and straps and cowboy hats

2011-07-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night we went to the Livingston Rodeo. Livingston is the next town over (east) from Bozeman. We haven't spent any time there, but cruising through it the other night confirmed to us that we'll need to go back. The downtown area looked really cute and the main boulevard is right by the train tracks, so that is a huge bonus for George.

Livingston puts on a bona fide rodeo. As you can tell by the clientele in the picture below, there was no fooling around. We tried to blend George in with his cowboy hat. Though the crocs might have been a tipoff that we weren't exactly seasoned rodeo goers.

The rodeo kept George's attention pretty much through out the duration of the night. It went over three hours, and George didn't squirm or have a need do to any prolonged sprinting. Our general admission seats weren't exactly the best, but the action was good for a toddler audience.

There was all kinds of things going on at that rodeo. First off - let me say that if you are easily offended the rodeo might not be the best place to go. We had the unfortunate experience of falling into many of the demographics that served as the butt of the announcers jokes.

Californians
People who voted for Obama
Democrats
Utah
Bill / Hillary sympathizers.

I'm sure if they found out we were wearing chacos and drove a CR-V to the show we would've been put in their volunteer rodeo-clown program.

Most of the people in the audience were laughing pretty hard at the Obama jabs... makes me wonder what the left-leaning equivalent of the rodeo could be, any ideas?

The sight seeing/people watching was fantastic. Check out this zoro dude in front of us.

Another key factor that may have contributed to George's enthusiasm for the rodeo, could have been his introduction to cotton candy. Do you think he liked it?

Methinks that's a yes.

Despite the... questionable comedic repertoire/color commentary of the announcers, it was still really really cool to see a completely new (to us) athletic competition. The crowning event of the rodeo is the bull riding. It is so fun to see the cowboys try to ride the HUGE bulls. George loved every second of it.

Here's an action shot of the first event of the night, bare-backed bronco ridin'.

As with most events in our family, George looked the coolest. I'm sometimes jealous that George looks about 10,000 times cooler than me every time we're in public. Ok, not really jealous, but I wish I looked as natural at the rodeo as he did. I think he was even laughing at the bill & hillary jokes. What a chameleon!

All in all it was a great night. George loved it so much that in his half-sleep state, he proclaimed "Bulls!" as we put his pajamas on. A ringing endorsement from the coolest member of our family. We hope you are all having a great holiday weekend.

softerthan a lullabye...

2011-07-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

...rocky mountain high!

Last week Ashley, George and I got back from a two week extravaganza in Colorado. We were all over the state visiting our family. We love going back to Colorado to visit our parents, grandparents, nieces/nephews, aunts/uncles, brothers/sisters and cousins. It can be a tricky feat to balance all of that in one vacation schedule - but we pulled it off decently this last go around. I had to work here and there throughout our stay so that made scheduling tricky. Between "the Springs" and the Mountains we had a great stay and were so happy that George got to spend so much time with grandparents and cousins.

Here's Ashley, George and Grandma Potter in the front garden. One of the Saturdays, we spent the entire day outside, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and watering the flowers.

George is really getting into the "cheese" phase with picture taking. This is his cheese face. I love it.

We also discovered a new treasure trove source of toys for George... garage sales. We picked up a few toys that George immediately glued himself to. He stayed outside and played on the porch, undisturbed for nearly an hour.

George got lots of cousin time. It was cousin Scarlett's birthday so we went out to a Japanese restaurant and.... I'd love to say that George's palate is distinguished enough to appreciate Japanese food at this time, but he was more interested in the fish tank than the cuisine. Here's George with my sister Blythe's kids (left to right), Duncan, Abigail, Finn & Scarlett.

After city time we retreated to the mountains to meet up with my parents and my brother Ian and his family. Here is George with his cousin Serena. They were completely riveted by a documentary on the French and Indian War. Our little history buffs!

Grandma Pulsipher has some serious wooden train tracks. The transportation planner in me got a little carried away.

Look at this masterpiece. Have you ever seen its equal?

We also got a lot of trampoline time in. George is really good on the tramp, and one of his better abilities is to fully commit to a jump whether or not he has control of his body.

I like the mid-air shots... he was battling a little bit of a cough, we think he might have some sort of Colorado-induced allergies. It seems like every time we go back home, he starts to get a runny nose and other maladies.

I wanted to include this picture because its equal parts despair/cute.

On the trampoline, in the Rocky Mountains with cousin Serena, Uncle Ian, Grandma, and cousin Eva. Pretty much the best place for a kid to jump on the tramp, in the world.

Our trip was a great success and it made us feel the pull of wanting to live near our family and friends who love us and George so much. We hope you are all having a wonderful summer full of adventure.

father/son campout.

2011-06-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend George and I went on the Bozeman Stake's annual Father Son camp out. Ever since I was old enough to think about being a father, I have wanted to do this. I was so excited to take George camping. George has been camping 4-5 times now, but every time is a new adventure because he's older, and capable of so much more. Our campsite was out in Greycliff, right off of the Madison River.

Ashley warned me several times to keep an eye on George... and I heeded her counsel. Though I will admit that more than once I temporarily lost track of him while he was under the supervision of one of 20 older kids who were very nice to play with him. George had fun from the get go. First things first, setting up the tent. We went out with our neighbors, Jackson (pictured) and his dad Tyler.

Ok, George's pose here reminds me of a famous album cover, or a famous poster. It is some sort of mo-town record or something. Will someone please end my suffering and tell me what pose this is reminiscent of. I know I've seen this before somewhere. Help me!

George loved the tent... loved wrestling around and jumping on the sleeping bags. It was supposed to be cold that night so I put his "Cars" sleeping back inside of Ashley's sleeping bag. It seemed to be a pretty good system for keeping him warm.

This is Ashley's favorite shot from the weekend. He was certainly putting on a show. When he's in his element, he does all kind of silly things. Making stinkfaces is one of his fortes.

I like this pose because it reminds me of a famous photograph with disputed origins.

At night we had a campfire and George was hamming it up as usual. This is his "cheese" face. For dinner we had hot dog, chips, delicious ginger ale and smores for dessert. The night time festivities included some fun poems, stories, a campfire, and the older kids played a few rounds of capture the flag. George didn't seem too interested.

George was however, extremely interested in throwing stuff off the bridge. Him and Jackson probably dropped a metric ton worth of debris, rocks, and driftwood into the river.

George relentlessly scoured the area for things he could drop into the river.

One of the few pictures of me and George at the camp out. You'll see what I mean shortly.

By the time George's sugar rush and raw excitement wore off, it was about 11pm. He woke up around six due to the light, and birds. So that put him about 4-5 hours short of a typical night's sleep. Still, you don't really go camping to get a good night's sleep. George only woke up once and was easily pacified, fell right back asleep.

In the morning we had all the muffins, juice, and sugary cereal a boy could ask for. George plowed through about 1.5, huge costco muffins.

Here's the man, up close, contemplating his next move. The whole time I kept asking, "George, are you having fun camping?" He would often reply, "camping... fun!" Warmed my heart after a chilly chilly night.

As promised, the picture of me looking like an idiot. I don't know what's going on in the front there...

Afterwards George watched the father son tug-o-war. He wasn't much help.

Over all the campout was a great experience, I can't wait to go again. I think you have to keep your expectations low when it comes to sleep, but other than that it was great. Due to the lack of sleep, George was a little bit of a basketcase the next day and had a serious melt down. But after that, he busted out a personal record, 5 hour nap and after that he was pretty much good to go.

Hopefully we can sneak in a few family camping trips before #2 comes in August.

a camping we will go...

2011-05-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Forest Service cabins are sprinkled throughout Montana. Most of these were built during the New Deal and were places for members of the Forest Service to live while in the field. Now they are places for us common folk to rent out (year round) to rough it a little bit and enjoy the outdoors.

Several weekends ago a group of friends rented one out for an evening. Fortunately the weather cooperated and we had an amazing time. Here are some of the highlights.

First things first, we had to ford a river. Fortunately, there was a nice bridge that made the crossing quite convenient.

George spent all day out in the sun and was starting to get a serious base coat for his summer tan. He and mom celebrated a successful crossing of the river.

We had to "hike" in about a 1/4 of mile from where we parked to where the cabin was. I carried some of our gear on my back pack. I look like a big nerd, I realize this.

Ashley, Chelsy and Abby. Apparently, if your name doesn't end in "y" you weren't invited to the cabin. (I had to go by "Davey"... j/k).

Yes, I was the founder of the fire. There is something still so fun about creating a fire, even if you are using one of those coleman fire wands... or whatever they are called. We were seriously roughing it.

Tyler made the 1/4 mile trip back and forth between the cabin and vehicles to truck some of the gear in, and he was very dismayed that he had to bring his motorcycle up. The boys each took turns riding with Tyler. George was in serious heaven.

Here's a shot of the cabin. About 20 yards behind it was a babbling brook. To the left were the firewood sheds and storage units. The inside of the cabin had two rooms with three, two bunk beds each. There was a kitchen with a fire stove, and a main room with a wood burning stove. If some people were comfortable sleeping on the ground with sleeping pads, I don't see why you couldn't sleep 20+ people in there with relative ease.

Ashley and I pause for a moment to reflect on fine big sky living. Just prior to this we saw a small herd of big horn sheep. Very very cool.

A family photo that started off as a joke and ended up looking pretty nice aside from George's tongue acrobatics.

George & Jackson had so much fun with ample room to explore and play. It is such a nice feeling to be able to let your boys wander and explore. I feel like it must be overload for their little brains.

Although Tyler and I are posing for this shot, I can assure you that the awe our sons had for us was very real. It was fun being able to chop wood for the fire outside and inside. It awakened the deep urge in me to revisit my high school vocational dream of being a lumberjack.

George hangs out by the campfire, we had a delicious meal of hot dogs, beans, sausage, cheese, crackers, and smores. Hot dogs really do taste 1000 times better when cooked over a fire.

Here we are with our next door neighbors and friends, the Barnwells. We totally hit the neighbor lottery when moving to Bozeman. Our experience would be completely different if we didn't live next door to them.

I must confess, there is a hidden agenda to many of our posts about the Montana adventures we get up to... we're trying to sell you on the excitement that awaits you if you come to visit. Want to rent that fire service cabin with us? C'mon up!

We hope you are all having a splendid Memorial Day weekend...

yellowstone, revisted

2011-05-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Several weekends ago we went to Yellowstone National Park with our friends the Christiansens. Really, if you are planning on going to "the Park" as Scott (Christiansen) calls it, there's no better person to go with. He works for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and is literally a walking encyclopedia Britannica of Yellowstone ecology/wildlife knowledge. He's like... that encyclopedia britannica kid but with a cooler haircut.

We all piled up in the Christiansen's swagger wagon and headed for the park. Of course, before we really hit the road we needed to make a pit stop for diet cokes and miniature cowboy hats.

We saw so many buffalo and elk it wasn't even worth taking a picture of them. They were everywhere. We also saw antelope, coyote, deer... and something very cool which you'll see at the end.

Here we are under the Roosevelt Arch. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the world, and it does have a special feel like few places in the United States, that I've been to. It is very difficult to resist the beauty and grandeur of the place.

Here's a better shot of the fam. Ashley looks so beautiful, and she's knocking on 7 months pregnant.

Here's Scott trying to explain the intricacies of geothermal activity to George (with Abram's curly locks in the foreground). I was afraid that maybe it was a little over his head, but George seemed to take in all in. I cannot emphasize enough how much fun it was to go with the Christiansens... we had such a fun time.

Ashley, modeling the mineral deposits. I can't really remember anything else about these.

I had to take about 15 pictures of George before I could get a cute one of him smiling. Despite running his hand along the wooden rails and filling his hands with splinters, he was still in pretty good spirits.

Here's me and George... this was one of the few pictures of me and George. Even though my glasses make me look like an idiot, I wanted some documentation that I was actually at the park. This is also one of my last pictures with a mustache... it has now gone away for the next forseeable future.

George and his good friend Abram worked really hard at the park. So hard, that they fell asleep and were totally exhausted. They laugh and entertain each other so well. They are really great friends and it is so fun to watch them play together.

Just as we were leaving... we saw one of the crown jewel's of the park. Nature/wildlife enthusiasts! No... if you scan just past them, you can see a grizzly bear. Yellowstone tip - if you see a bunch of people with their cameras out... you'll probably see something cool.

We have yet to see a wolf and moose, but we were so jazzed to see the grizzly. We love being close to the park and hopefully we can continue to see incredible things. If any of you want to come up... we'd love to show you around!

in another life...

2011-05-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

A life that didn't involve health risks, or the risk of alienating my wife with the constant threat of heart failure and obesity, I'd be a competitive eater. I think I'm really good at eating fast.

In the mean time, like every good parent - I'm training my child to accomplish all of my unfulfilled dreams.

wedding fever

2011-05-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Our good friend Alison did a post last week in the midst of Kate and Will's wedding euphoria, wherein she asked others to share their wedding stories & pictures. We thought it was a great idea so I dusted off some of our old wedding photos to share with y'all.

In case you don't know the story... we got married amidst one of the great blizzards of recent Colorado history. We even had to move our date up a day to beat the storm. In true fashion, we showed mother nature who's boss and did not let her stop us from our destiny.

Ashley on the way to the Denver LDS Temple

Me, reflecting on our white knuckle, two hour drive from the mountains to Denver.

My dad, reliving the mayhem that transpired. We were inches away from a severe car wreck. Mother nature, car wreck... nothing could stop us.

Fastforward an hour and a half later... we emerge from the Temple legally married!

The rest of these are a bunch of us kissing and posing in front of the Temple. Did I mention there was a blizzard? See for yourself.

My first test as a husband. Do not drop your bride on her wedding day. What's funny about this picture is that this was also a fulfillment of one of Ashley's initial misgivings about my husband CV. When we met, I was suffering from a pretty big back problem and she remarked to her mother, "I'm worried that if I marry David he won't be able to hold/lift our children." I passed with flying colors - Hiyo!!

Lessons learned:

1. Marry a beautiful Colorado girl
2. Trust your dad to drive you your wedding, his years of experience behind the wheel will serve you well.
3. Consider the ramifications of a winter wedding carefully

Anyone else want to join the wedding nostalgia train? Post your links in the comment section.

shave and a haircut...

2011-04-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

WARNING. These images are not for the faint of heart. George's hair was getting pretty shabby... and... like his dad and MANY Pulsipher men before him... went the way of the buzz cut. He looks so friggin cute.

The pictures will do the rest of the talking...

I love my little man.

a proud moment

2011-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

as a dad...
as a huge bike nerd...
my cup runneth o'er...

busy easter weekend

2011-04-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

This may have been the busiest weekend of our entire marriage, and to that point Ashley could not have been happier. She has an insatiable appetite for adventure, events, fanfare, jubilation, sociality and good times. We had an impromptu, action packed itinerary this weekend that started off with an easter egg hunt.

Like most communities, Bozeman puts on an Easter egg hunt that is probably more akin to a food riot than it is an easter egg hunt. 50,000 eggs gone in 2 minutes. No joke. They separate the age groups, which is nice. You'd think that would mean that George would have a fighting chance to get some eggs... well... not exactly when he's competing against parents doing all of the "hunting" for their kids. The place was a zoo.

George was holding his own... ok. Between the mob of egg-hungry helicopter parents George was able to get about 10 eggs. He was pleased with his effort, but as you can see in the next image the competition was pretty stiff.

This shot perfectly captures the insanity of the event. A random mom almost clocked George in the head with a basket that is now close to weighing more than her child because of the amount of eggs she had procured on behalf of her child. Totally nuts. I don't know if I ever want to do something like this again. Community events perfectly exemplify the economic principle dubbed the tragedy of the commons. People get crazy when something is being given away for free. Even if they are plastic eggs with abnormally sized lemon heads in them. Our private hunt with the neighbors was much more enjoyable.

As soon as it started, it was over. You can see George's bewilderment in what just transpired. It was truly a sight to see. One minute there's a mob, the next George is left to reflect on his narrow escape from blunt force trauma to the head.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating the mania, I put together a panorama of the event just after the crowd had reached its peak in activity. Click to enlarge!

We were all smiles after the event. I'd reckon that George's sugar-intake this weekend rivaled any of his young 2 years of living. The little man sure has a sweet tooth.

After the toddler ~~mosh-pit~~ egg hunt we hit up the bouncy castles. George had a pretty fun time, despite being the youngest one in the castle and who's trajectory was heavily altered by older patrons of said castle.

Later in the afternoon, we dyed ~~our hands~~ easter eggs. Ashley made a brilliant call and decided to take operation egg dye outside. The weather was absolutely heavenly, and as I told anyone who would listen, was probably "the best weather we've had this year." It was gorgeous.

Here's a cute picture of Ashley. She was the mastermind behind most of the fun this weekend everything went off without a hitch... well... except one...

George wasn't really interested in using the flimsy little dipper sticks and opted for the more direct approach, his hand. Exposure of varying colors and times gave George's left hand a lovely Hulk/corpse type hue. It was absolutely lovely.

Following the sun pattern behind our house, we decided to stretch out the fun and get to work clearing our back yard so we could start our garden and begin phase one construction on our fire pit.

Did I mention how nice the weather was? It was so nice, that George and neighbor Jackson stripped off their duds and helped their Dads in the mud pit.

George contemplates the garden plans and ultimately decided that we should go with eggplant as opposed to summer squash.

George's vegetable preferences inevitably fell on deaf ears and was clearly perturbed at his father's plans to grow a field of poinsettias instead.

The next morning we did an easter egg hunt before church, just for Jackson and George. George was a big fan of the eggs. In fact, every time we transitioned him from his car seat (asleep) to his bed for nap time, the first words out of his mouth would be something to do with eggs or treats.

At one point George's enthusiasm for his egg collection led to a jubilant "shake" of his basket. Like many times in parenthood, the heavens were opened and I was given a vision of what was just about to happen.

BINGO - eggs everywhere.

A little rushed to head out the door to church, but we had just enough time to take a family picture. The boys were in matching pink shirts. It was a great easter weekend and a lot of fun. We are exhausted. We hope you all had a great weekend as well.

Spring?

2011-04-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Due to the weird weather of Montana's spring, George and I have kept busy painting, making bread and dreaming of warm weather. I have vowed to not step foot inside our home during the summer-- we can't wait for the sun!

the results are in...

2011-04-11T11:33:00.001-07:00

the final countdown

2011-04-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

We find out tomorrow. What's it gonna be internet-world?

bird watching

2011-04-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not be aware (which would be rare because I brag about this all the time), but one summer before graduate school I had a pretty awesome job. I built birdhouses and bird feeders out of recycled, re-used, and reclaimed projects. It was so much fun. My first day on the job I built my own work desk. One day I was looking through all the loot my boss had, and noticed that he had quite a stack of old license plates. As I skimmed through them, I found a particularly handsome with my birth state on it. I asked him if I could use it to build a bird feeder. He said "sure." Up to this point, we hadn't built any bird feeders with license plates, only bird houses (we were using them for roofs).

So the wheels started spinning and I put together this proprietary design. It's made with some plywood, copper trim, and the bottom of an old wine bottle for the top. Quite an ingenious design if I do say so myself.

So I've been trucking this thing around with me for the past six years, with nary a minute in the real world to see how my design actually works. Now that George is becoming more and more fascinated with the outside world and wildlife, I figured this would be a perfect time to test this baby out. With a quick trip to the crawl space and pet store (for bird seed), the feeder was ready to go! As soon as it was up I kind of expected it to be crawling with birds... I mean c'mon birds, it's like a Furr's up in here.

(quick side note. Once me and my brothers begged my parents to take us to Furr's for dinner. I think they were shocked at our request, but happily obliged. The thought of being able to stuff our faces with all the food we could handle was too good to pass up. Keep in mind, this was in the early days of all-you-can-eat-buffets, so we didn't really know what to expect. When we got there, it was like being a time warp. We were the only people below 70, no question. Kind of weird smells from the food and patrons. We didn't go back...)

So George and I spent a few minutes picking out the perfect spot on our back porch, and I think you'll agree we found the ideal location.

I don't know how birds get the word out (twitter?) that there's a very anxious, family of nascent bird watchers providing a smorgasboard grub out there... but I'm hoping that all the birds in the know start telling their friends about our generous spread.

After an hour or so, 6-10 birds started coming out. They were very cautious, and any movement by George or I (behind a glass door) sent them away rather quickly. It would take about ten minutes before they'd come back. They are cautious little stinkers!

It's pretty fun being so close to these little guys. You think those small birds that you see frequently are just boring old gray birds. But up close, they really have some brilliant coloring. We are VERY excited to see what kind of visitors come our way and take advantage of our generosity.

That goes for both visitors of the avian and human variety. Come one, come all! Any of you have experience with bird watching, feeding, tending? I'd love to hear your experiences. I think my only prior experience to this was making a bird feeder with a ear of corn and peanut butter in 2nd grade, and wanting to eat the peanut butter really bad.

March Madness

2011-03-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

So George is a bonafide two year old now... so I guess that means his tyrannical reign can begin. But before it begins, we hope that he spares us... his humble subjects for a couple more months and allows us to bask in his sweetness.

George is a really sweet little guy and loves to give kisses and hugs. He almost likes them as much as he likes to throw things off other things.

A couple of Saturdays ago we went on a fun little adventure-hike. It was sunny out, so we went for a walk along one of Bozeman's many trails. I'm really glad Ashley has a zest for going on adventures... Or I fear that I'd waste my days longing to do the things that Ashley actually makes happen. That's why I love her.

Did I mention George likes to throw stuff. Take a look on that mug and tell me it's not the profound satisfaction that comes from hurling objects into water from heights.

Ashley and I played an important role in supplying George with projectiles. The problem that demand far exceeded supply in this case, and we were relegated to arming George with sticks, leaves, and anything else that could be unearthed from the frozen ground.

George admiring his work. As a dad with bigtime baseball fever, I must admit my heart leaps with anticipation at the slightest glimpse of George favoring his left arm. He definitely throws with both, but his left more often. But just when I get those dollar bill signs in my eyes...

He goes double barrel on me and keeps me guessing. Guess I still have a few years to wait on the verdict.

Did you guys hear that the moon was huge Last Saturday? Here's the proof. Ok, it's a crappy photo so what? I'm really into astronomy and astronomical events. I think I want to get a telescope. Do any of you guys have one? If so... any advice for a nascent stargazer?

The other night we had Scott & Celia's crew over. After exhausting the streaming netflix options, we all settled in for some delicious fun-fetti cupcakes and and some exhilarating games Ashley picked up at BYU.

The second day of spring here... marked THE toughest day I've had bike commuting since moving here. Tons of wet, sticky snow. My normal 20 minute commute took nearly 40 minutes. The plus side to this obviously is that it made some sweet fort snow. Here George & Jackson summit Mt. Pulsipher.

Here is George looking all Reinhold Messner on top of Mt. Pulsipher. Montana is pretty awesome, I'm not going to lie. Even though there are challenges, I love that George is getting a childhood with copious amounts of fun snow.

The fun didn't stop there. I built a tunnel for the lads to cross. Some are likening its engineering to the great Eisenhower Tunnel project. George manned the preliminary inspections.

After his trip through, George declared the project a success and called for an exploratory committee to be formed to consider the viability of tunnel expansion in the future.

Hope everyone is enjoying the fruits of spring. Can't wait for summer and hopefully to see some of you soon!

two years old...

2011-03-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

It hardly seems possible that a year ago we George was one... and we were in LA with all our friends from near and far. George was just getting introduced to the concept of sweet tasting food and literally dove in head first. Just in case you needed a reminder on how cute he was at one:

This year we tried to make it a very special day for George. The whole day we told him it was his birthday. We took him out to lunch downtown at one of his favorite spots, the Naked Noodle. He had spaghetti and meatballs and wolfed the entire bowl down in about ten minutes.

The afternoon festivities started off with a balloon surprise. I bought two and rode home with them, but only one made it. Good thing I got two. I didn't even notice that I had lost one.

George didn't seem to mind.

Ashley made a beautiful, adorable cake just like last year. George LOVES planes. He keeps calling this the "cake plane."

George was much more composed than his father at the age of two. Thank you Polaroid:

Look at George... cool as a friggin cucumber. "Oh, what's these... candles, I know how to handle this situation."

Candles. Out. One second and they were gone. We've got the video to prove it (see below). My heart swells with pride... the good kind.

After that George began eating his cake in a very civilized manner. Not like a year ago when he was eating like the... portly gentleman from the pie eating contest in the movie Stand By Me.

The Pulsipher Family. Bozeman, Montana. 2011

Here's George and his buddy Jackson digging in. The cake was a big success. We were very happy to spend George's birthday with our neighbors and friends the Barnwells. We are lucky to have them as neighbors.

Here's a video montage of some of the days events...

Thanks to everyone for the presents and birthday wishes. We live a very blessed life.

ralphie

2011-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

"...be... sure... to... drink... your... ovaltine? It's a crummy commercial! Son of a ..."

whoa

2011-03-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

George was really excited about the ball getting thrown up in the air. See for yourself.

whoa!!! from David Pulsipher on Vimeo.

kevin costner vs. russell crow

2011-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

I'm a HUGE Robin Hood Prince of Thieves fan. I think like many people my age, that movie really pushed the boundaries of everything we wanted in a movie:

Archery
Luscious hair
Secret hide outs
Tree houses
Sword duels
Christian Slater's beautiful face
Kevin Costner's rear end
Redemption
Classic good vs. Evil

I'm sure I'm missing something. So you can imagine the mixed feelings I encountered when I learned, last year, that Ridley Scott would be doing Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. The last time those two tangled resulted in Gladiator, an absolutely amazing film. So... nostalgia mulling in my mind, combined with Gladiator-esque expectations - I was very excited for this look at Robin Hood.

I saw the movie last year with my friend Chad. We thought it was... decent. I honestly can say at the time I liked Iron Man 2 more than Robin Hood, but I wanted to like it a lot more. So we redbox-ed it the other night because Ashley hadn't seen it.

The first night Ashley fell asleep and I watched it straight through. Then we watched it together again. After those two additional sittings I can say that I'm a much bigger fan than after the first sitting. Very good. But still, how does it compare to Kevin Costner's ~~cocky~~ ~~obnoxious~~ ~~charming~~ palatable performance?

Well - fortunately for you I whipped up a little chart for just such an occasion. Let me know your thoughts on the matter.

snowy sunday photo dump

2011-02-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

It's a snowy Sunday and I realized we've had a few adventures since the last update, so I figured it'd be a perfect opportunity to catch everyone up on what's been going on.

George and neighbor Jackson have spent a lot of time out in the snow. We've had some beautiful days lately, and combined with the snow has made for very fun time out in the snow. The plows make a nice little mountain of snow for the boys to summit, or for dad to make tunnels out of.

Just when you get used to the sun - the frigid temps come out and combined with wind - makes you really glad that you have a warm home to live in. When George and I get cabin fever it the event usually de-evolves into wrestlemania. He's becoming quite the foe.

One of George's new tricks is climbing... summiting large peaks in our house. Here he is proudly on our entertainment center.

What a difference a venue makes. One day it was -19F on my ride in, the next day we are on the beach of California. A couple of weeks ago we went for a very quick trip out to California to see some friends and thaw out.

George loved running on the beach, and in a very classy statement wore his socks while running in the sand. I highly recommend this technique if your child has developed a dime-sized blister on his foot from the previous day of running in crocs. It was effective at keeping the sand out of the blister.

Chad displays my favorite technique for diagnosing a dirty diaper. Ashley is of the mind to try the ole "pull back the diaper with the finger and examine." I don't like this tactic because it's likely that you'll get an un-expected surprise on the finger. I prefer the sniff, because it's a much lower-risk maneuver.

George, Ashley, Kimber and Abe. The Nelsons were great hosts and we hope that they let us return the favor and roll out the red carpet in Bozeman.

Pulsiphers and Nelsons - 2011

As quickly as the trip came, it ended and we were thrust back into the doldrums of winter. We got a mid-February heat wave that melted all of the snow on our driveway. It made for some epic puddle splashing.

Valentine's was just around the corner and Ashley made these delicious heart-shaped ice cream brownie creations that were the perfect compliment to an evening of romance on the Bachelor.

In a very historic move, Ashley finally embraced the reality of Bozeman living and got a sweet pair of Sorel's for 50% off at REI. These bad boys are rated to -40F so she's preparing for our next transfer up north of the arctic circle. It's like wearing comfy sleeping bags on your feet. Big improvement from her previous boots.

Extra Extra read all about it. George is still pretty cute and we are trying to prepare him for the concept of being an older brother. Not quite sure he gets it, but once Ashley's belly gets really big I think that might make it easier for him to grasp.

Aunt Blythe sent George an awesome shirt that says "cycle" on it with a picture of a bicycle. It is very cute. George loves bicycles, and is starting to get comfy on his own push/balance bike. I'm hoping that once summer hits we'll be able to do some camping, maybe even by bike.

Hope everyone is doing well and has spring on their mind, just a couple of months to go!

valentine

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's day everyone. I hope yours is as romantic as ours - watching the Bachelor and laughing our fool heads off. I don't know about you - but if your Valentine's doesn't involve soviet fashion then it just isn't Valentine's...

bargains, of the big sky variety

2011-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

One thing that's kind of fun about moving to places is discovering the new names of grocery stores. The weirdest names in the world can sound totally commonplace to you, if you've lived somewhere long enough.

I'll never forget a time I was waiting in line to see a Ben Folds concert. I was the first in line... had been there probably 7 hours or so when one of the supporting guitarists for Ben back then, Snuzz - came out and asked me if there was a place he could buy fresh vegetables. With out hesitation, I responded, "Oh sure, there's a King Soopers just down the road two blocks."

He looked at me like I had monkeys flying out of my ears. He looked at me blankly. I continued, "It's a grocery store, just down the road." He nodded thanks and went about his way. The interaction had me thinking.

King Soopers. King Supers. King. Supers. Soopers. What a stupid name for a grocery store. There is no way at first utterance someone would know what that is. Not to mention it's hideous spelling. It's one of those things that if you live in Colorado it seems so commonplace, but visitors must be completely befuddled. Or aghast at our whimsical spelling.

There's a store out here called Rosauer's. We struggle with the correct pronunciation so as to seem like we fit in.

Row-sours.

Rose-ours.

Rows-ars.

We switch a lot. Anyway, twice a year they have this awesome sale where a lot of things are on sale, including cereal. Most boxes are $1.69. Amazing deal. We bought about 25 boxes of cereal. The dude at the counter said we saved $75 bucks. That is nothing on facebook Ashley told me tales of individuals buying 30, 50, over 100 boxes of cereal. We were a little timid as this was our first time, but next time you better believe we are going to come out guns a blazing.

Also - what are some funny regional grocery store names you can think of?

I've always been fond of Bashas (AZ) because of its quasi-Arab lettering.
And in the Valley there is an awesome Place called "Jons" whose logo looks exactly like Vons except the front of the V is cut off (at least in real life - online not as much). Hilarious.

birthday recap

2011-01-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was my birthday. Thanks to all for the facebook well-wishes. I had a near perfect day. Aside from the sciatica I've been dealing with lately - Saturday's events went off sans hitch.

To start it off, Ashley made a delicious chocolate chip coffee cake, with streussel. I had no idea what she was making at the time, but it was an awesome surprise. Coffe cake is probably my favorite food. Even those hostess ones rank pretty high up there on my list.

After a lazy morning, our day got even lazier and George took a nice nap, allowing both of us to take naps ourselves. Ashley had just got back from a trip to see her parents and came in on a late night flight. So she and George were exhausted. I was exhausted because the last two weeks I've been waking up at 4 am from sciatica pain, unable to get back to sleep. Suffice it to say, the nap was a great birthday gift.

After our naps we hung around some more and played - and then headed out for dinner at Famous Dave's. Ever since we moved to Bozeman I've had my eye on that place, and told Ashley I wanted to go there for my birthday. Its not that its the best bbq around, but it is pretty darn good. The portions are very generous and the atmosphere is perfect for a rambunctious toddler. Ashley was a little worried that she'd be put off by the smell, but when she got in she immediately was reassured that she was in the mood for barbecue.

Here's a picture of George & Ashley pre-meal. Do you like Ashley's scarf? I always give Ashley a hard time about her scarf "fleet" because she could probably cover half the necks in Bozeman. Despite this, she always has an itch for more and this one came courtesy of me from a cute little shop downtown. It was a good find if I do say so me-self.

We ordered some miniature corn dogs for George. He had a couple, but was more interested in peeking at the people sitting on the other side of the window from us, and telling hilarious jokes. You can see that he's in the middle of a punch line right here:

The Pulsipher family, January 22 2011. This is the only good picture I got of my friendly mutton chops. I grew it in Ashley's absence. I saw this style on a guy when I was doing some work up in Whitefish and I thought it looked pretty bad-a so I tried it for myself. The jury is still out on whether or not it's the style for me - but it was something fun to do.

It was a great birthday and a perfect one with my family. Every day we get a little more comfortable and happy about our new life. Hope you are all enjoying your winters.

on beards

2011-01-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

So we're in the thick of winter up in here and one of the many logical things to do in the winter (from curling, sledding, warm breakfasts, etc) is growing a beard. Aside from having winter utility beards can be both fashionable and fun!

As my beard has grown longer in length, Its started to become somewhat vagrant-esque, due to my lack of hair density. It's ok... it's my lot in life. You've got to dance with who brought ya, right? I do like the fact that I have quite a bit of blond and red in my beard. It's like the beard of many colors!

Here's my beard in a festive setting:

Here's my beard in an action shot!

As I mentioned earlier, I needed to trim it down a little because I was looking a little worse for the wear, so I purchased a beard-trimmer on amazon. Everything seemed to be cut and dry until I read the instructions.

There were four things that I thought were kind of funny, as numbered in the image above.

1+2. I like that it says that there are "three factors" in determining "which beard style is best for you." But it leaves me in suspense, not telling me anything and then directs me to a defunct link or a professional hair stylist. A small info graphic with different head shapes would be great here.

3. This description really confuses me, but immediately makes me think they are trying to get me to grow a Count Rugen.

4. This is actually good advice. Cutting the perimeter of your beard should be UNDERNEATH the jawbone, not along it. This is a mistake that many novice-beard-growers make, and you end up looking like an MLB pitcher or an extra in the community theatre's rendition of Henry the 8th.

Here's a helpful link if you need direction on beard trimming.

I realize that 85% of the readers of this blog are female so... this may not pertain to you, but it may pertain to the man in your life! I'm fortunate to have a wife who is pro-facial hair. I hear many guys say that they "can't" grow a beard because their wife doesn't like it. So... good for them to accommodate that preference.

Some other random thoughts on beards. Growing up, my dad almost always had a beard. It's a great beard - and I think that a lot of my fond feelings concerning beards center around my dad's beard.

My friend Chad can grow the best beard... I mean, like world championship caliber

So what say ladies and gentleman of the jury? Are you pro-beard, or anti?

new years eve, bozeman style

2011-01-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's everyone. 2011 looks to be a promising year. 2010 was full of joy, and sadness as we left our dear home of California. Though we miss our friends so much, we are trying to make the best of our new surroundings and fortunately have fallen into a crowd that spares no expense when it comes to fun. This year started off with a bang, as we partook in our neighbors tradition of Flaming Snow.

So I'm sure you - like me are unfamiliar with the tradition of flaming snow. Legend has it that this tradition was born out of some ~~idle~~ eager minds, looking to have some fun. As I'm sure this is your first exposure to the past time, I'll walk you through it.

Step 1: Procure gasoline laced snow and gather it in a shovel.

Step 2: Light it on fire and prepare to launch it trebuchet style

Step 3: Launch flaming snow into the air creating a nordic spectacle the likes of which ye have never before seen.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3 as mob dictates

New Years Eve was awesome. Weather clothing was a must as it was -17°F. The cold front didn't damper the mood. We had plenty of spirit, snow and gasoline to welcome in the new year.

Like Ashley, our neighbor Tyler served his mission in Russia. Just when the party was looking like it would fade, Ashley and Tyler treated us all to some Russian folk dancing that kept everyone clapping until sunrise.

After the folk dancing demonstration, we ushered in the new years with the classic "2011" gas tribute. I have a cool sequence of this lighting up on flickr if any of you are interested.

Here is a picture of Ashley at the foot of the 2011. She was just about to run through it barefoot before I stopped her in the midst of her new year's fever.

Here we are... wishing you all a happy 2011 from Bozeman Montana. George would've liked to join the festivities but he was soundly asleep in his bed.

ginger bread extravaganza

2010-12-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Last week we got together with our neighbors the Barnwells and had a ginger bread house raising... much like an Amish barn raising. It was a lot of fun. Here are the entrants:

Chelsy went for the classic, candyland approach. Picturesque, quaint, delicious!

Ashley went for the... "big on landscape, little on house." Unfortunately she didn't finish as she got distracted by the party and putting George to sleep. She didn't want the paparazzi (me) to take a picture of it.

I went for the classic, Frank Loyd Wright's Falling Waters. I have never gone for something so ambitious and I was certainly limited by the medium and patience, but I was happy with the overall end result.

Tyler went for the ultimate neo-gothic castle. Fresh with suspension bridge held up by licorice strings!

Look at that attention to detail! Tyler definitely wins the craftsmanship award.

Here's Ashley's submission. As she was putting the finishing touches on it I heard her say under her breath, "Ashley, you've done it again, another masterpiece." : )

We also went to see Santa at our Church Christmas Party. As we placed George on his lap, George kept his arms stiff as a board, as if he wanted to keep contact at a minimum at all costs.

We hope you are all having a great Christmas and Holiday season.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

You probably already received this in your email, but just in case:

Also, I'm curious. How does this year's rate compared to 2009 and 2008? Cast your vote here.

I was also thinking of funnier captions than "Happy Holidays."

I was thinking of:
"Don we now our gay apparel."
"Have a Royally Awesome Christmas"
"Montana's really rubbing off on us...

Any ideas there?

it's winter

2010-12-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

Slowly - but surely - we are coming to grips with the fact that it's winter here in Montana. As we had been winter-free for nearly four years, we weren't exactly sure how we'd adjust to the cold slap in the face that is a Montana winter. We've braced for it, and made adequate preparations. We've bought our winter coats, snow tires, shovels, and dusted off our mittens and hats. It kind of seems comical that we even owned a pair living in Los Angeles.

Something that was ironically fortunate, was that the first "real" cold week was a string of days that were in the negatives. It was serious cold. It has since warmed up... and now we find ourselves enjoying the 20's and 30's quite well. We have got a lot of snow (at least two feet I'd reckon) since it started, and I am now a firm believer that if you want to enjoy snow, there's got to be a lot of it. A couple of inches and it's just annoying. A couple of feet - now there's a party! We've got several strategies in place for enjoying the winter... with more to come I'm sure:

Ashley and George pause from a fun day in the snow. When the sun comes out and its 30, it's quite easy to spend a comfortable few hours out playing. We go as long as George can handle it... wear him out. And just when we think he's ready to go in...

... we put him to work shoveling the snow. Nothing like burning off the ole "Thanksgiving five" with some manual labor!

We cut down this beauty, for the steep figure of $5 smackers. It is probably about 7 feet or so (our first full sized tree) and I'm absolutely in love with it. At night we turn off the lights and though I'm supposed to be watching season four of prison break (a death march right now), I can't help but look at this beautiful tree. It's got everything I want. The look, the feel, the smell of a family tree.

We also are experimenting with George's housewear and lounge looks... everything from the...

German tourist at the beach, to the...

Indie hipster in Brooklyn picking up a redbox rental for him and his sweetheart.

Last Saturday they closed down Main Street for the "Winter Stroll." Bozeman has a great civic scene... lots of events and tons of kids out. We meandered our way through the caroling and crowds and settled in on some delicious fry bread, pizza by the slice, and hot apple cider. So much fun.

George enjoying fry bread

Ashley caught this spectacle on Sunday afternoon. It was quite cold, but the sun was out. It had completely frozen everything on the tree... reminding me of an image of bronchioli from a 7th grade biology book.

I'm sure there are more adventures to come. We're kicking around the idea of becoming snowshoe or cross country ski-enthusiasts... though I may also take up snow-sculpture. We hope you all are enjoying your winters, near and far.

retiring the food blog, now on to death defying adventures

2010-12-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

8 foot plus icicle on our roof. I knocked it down with a shovel and it seriously almost knocked me over.

Photoshop recreation and scale so you can see the magnitude of this bad boy.

big news, pulsipherad is turning into a food blog

2010-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving and with a little help from Ashley, I made my first pumpkin pie. I documented the highlights and I was inspired to quit my job and rebrand this blog. I'm going to take super high quality pictures of the meals I make, in painstaking detail. Don't try to talk me out of it... because I know no one's thought of this idea already.

It was a pretty good pie though... all joking aside.

celeb look a like, revisited

2010-11-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, George had some pretty serious Nick Nolte/Tom Cruise action going. But now that he's knocking on 2 years, he's starting to grow into a more mature, celebrity look a like. His awesome bouffant is the product of some sweaty, snowhat fun. Ashley took some great pictures and we thought we'd share them. Take a gander and see for yourself.

I guess the big question is: Is it more Dean or Dylan? I'm not sure... I think I might be leaning toward Dylan. If you can find pictographic proof - then lets see it! List your vote below. Write-ins are also acceptable.

first snow/thoughts on coats

2010-11-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

Well, after a beautiful indian summer in Bozeman, winter is finally here. We had our first snow. Not that much accumulated even though it snowed for a full day. George wasted no time getting acclimated. Eventually we'll need to figure out more... "fun for the whole family" activities - other than rolling around in it like a bank robber might roll in their newly acquired loot. But in the mean time, this will have to do.

With help from aunts, clearance sales, ebay and garage sales - getting the Pulsiphers outfitted for winter truly has been a team effort. We came to Montana with hardly any winter wear. Now, for the most part we feel ready for it. It reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and we moved from southern California to Colorado. The first time it snowed I wore a sweatshirt, a light polyester jacket I got from my participation in little league baseball, and shorts. It was an early snow that year in Colorado, and it caught us all off guard. I'm sure the teachers at school were seconds away from calling child protective services.

We quickly got winter coats by going to the great... Burlington Coat Factory. Me and my brothers had so much fun going, running around in what seemed to be an enormous "factory" searching for the right coat. We all got coats, but the experience was so fun, that every time we needed new coats we practically begged our parents to take us to the BCF. Pretty funny.

That experience is starkly contrasted to another experiment... the time they took us to "Bearly Worn." The title/pun was certainly lost on the 5th grade mind - all I could think of was that somehow the clothes in this store were related to bears. Maybe the proceeds helped fund a bear preserve? As I cautiously perused the wares, the wheels began to turn...

bears.

bearly.

barely.

barely worn

BARELY WORN! THESE WERE USED CLOTHES!

Confident I was the only one who had cracked this divinci code, and not wanting to start a food riot, I calmly approached my mom to tell her the bad news.

"Mom, these clothes are... USED!" (It would be many years before I would come to appreciate the treasures that awaited me in the regions of "pre-owned" clothing.) My mom still cracks up everytime we tell this story. Needless to say, I did not consent to buy/wear anything from that store, but my parents got a real big laugh out of it.

So here we come, full circle. George is outfitted in a mishmash of "bearly worn" goods. Both Ashley and I found our coats on eBay. Finding ourselves moderately unprepared for a winter in Montana - I hope there's a shining Burlington Coat Factory out there, or something like it, for George some day.

yellowstone ho!

2010-11-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to the world-famous, Yellowstone park. We live about an hour and a half away from it, and it happened to be a perfect weekend to go. It was the last weekend the park was open to car traffic, the place literally was a ghost town. Ashley had heard that Yellowstone is like "Los Angeles" in the summer. I'm assuming that's traffic-wise, but hey, it could be crawling with celebrities and fancy cars, great restaurants, beach access and what not. Somehow, I doubt it. The weather was beautiful, crystal clear day and brisk, but warm enough that we just needed a light coat.

We went with one of my very best friends, Bond, and his family. They had a timeshare in West Yellowstone so we got to stay the night and live the high life for a day or so. Ashley commented (and I agree), that seeing the park by car allows you to hit all the big spots, but also you don't get the real experience as you might if you were hiking and camping. Next summer! There's so much to see yet and we just saw a fraction of it. Here are some of the highlights.

This was george doing his best Kevin Costner impression. We saw buffalo multiple times. They were all over the place.

George was not scared... this was his reaction when I told him that we would not be taking one home with us.

Hot steam pours out of the ground everywhere in Yellowstone. Half of the world's geothermal features are located in Yellowstone.

Family shot. It's really a shame that this place hasn't been turned into a resort. A Starbucks and Burger King would be so convenient. We were quite peckish after a day of exploring.

When I told George about my plans for developing Yellowstone Park George exclaimed "I can just see a Best Buy right over these unsightly pools of water"

Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes. We got there just as it was erupting. I was hoping for a little bit more downtime before the show. It was like skipping to the end of the Harry Potter series and finding out... whatever happens at the end of the Harry Potter series.

George was impressed with Old Faithful.

Not quite sure what this was. I think it was a coyote. It would've been a lot cooler if it was a wolf. Will someone out there tell me it was a baby wolf?!

I wanted to see a moose or grizzly really bad. No luck... I kept a sharp eye out for any wildlife.

Me and Bond. Want to see something magic - flashback twelve years!

Award winning photography from yours truly. The rivers are just kind of different here. Wide and shallow looking. In Colorado they always seemed, narrow and deep. I don't know if that's reality - just my perceived reality.

Saw this happy family of elk on the way out. Ashley took this picture before we had read the warning messages about elk.

A shot of the parking lot. It really was a ghost town. Highly recommend this time of year when you have kids running around acting wild. They had a nice 1ft pool that George loved. We can't wait to go back. We think next time we'll maybe do some camping, biking - make it a real adventure.

halloween wrap up

2010-11-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our first Halloween in Bozeman was a pretty big success. We were somewhat stumped when it came to costumes, but Ashley had a stroke of genius (as she is prone to), when she came up with George's costume idea. Thank you current events! Bozeman put on a great little trick-or-treat for the kiddos along Main Street. There were a ton of people there and lots of kids. I love being a part of community events. Here's some of the hightlights from the day and from the ward trunk-or-treat.

to the founder of the feast

2010-10-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

George says, "I declare this meal to be... delicious!"

Last night Ashley made beet gnocchi that was out of this world. George probably ate about two pounds worth. We (George & I) are really lucky to have Ashley, who makes us delicious meals to eat, even if she doesn't feel like eating them.

Thanks mom/honey!

Love,

George & David

new lens

2010-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last week we had an unfortunate incident. The lens that came with our camera stopped working. Canon, to their credit accepted out lens and fixed it without cost to us. So... nice for us. In the meantime, we had heard a lot about a smaller, fixed lens (portrait lens) that was designed more for close up, low light shots. We pulled the trigger and are just experimenting now with it. So far, the results are pretty fun. We don't for a second pretend to know what we're doing, but we're enjoying our baby steps into more complex photography.

We call this series... exploration/frustration with food.

Note - the fun thing about these shots is that they were all taken indoors, with no flash. Natural lighting makes for such nice shots. The new lens made this effect possible.

fat lip

2010-10-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

So we've been gushing about our newfound love for hiking. It's only natural that we now share the perils of hiking with you as well... George took a tumble and got quite a banged up lip.

He's all healed now, but it sure was a sad few days seeing him gently feed himself and maneuver around his massive upper lip.

George is into passive resistance

2010-09-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

He is not a huge fan of family photos lately. This is my new favorite. Can anyone spot George?

happy birthday ashley

2010-09-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

the birthday wishes just keep rolling in here at pulsipher ad.

i like this picture of ashley. it captures a lot of the things i love about her.

1. that she is so beautiful.
2. that she loves being around people and goofing around
3. that she is the life of the party

ashley is a fantastic mother, wife and best friend.

happy birthday babe.
i love you
sincerely,

orlando bloom.

Happy Birthday girlfriend!

2010-09-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Despite what the title may imply, this post is written by Ashley, not David (David's favorite thing to do is pretend to be me on gchat and say things like, "hey girlfriend, let's get margaritas tonight") to wish Kimber a happy birthday! Wanted to hit up a few of my favorite Kimber moments-- wish I could be there to celebrate our bdays together!

recap 3/3 - Big Sky residency

2010-09-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who've made the long e-trek with us, we've finally made it. We're in Bozeman, Montana. We officially arrived in Montana August 31st, staying the night in Billings before we were able to move into our new place September 1st.

Apropos, a little background on the reasoning for moving. We loved Los Angeles, but it's long-term viability seemed highly questionable with out a severe career change for me, or a severe commitment on Ashley's part to work full time. Toss in the iffy-schools and house sizes that could negatively impact the size of our family, and it just seemed like LA might not be our resting spot - though there are so many things to absolutely adore about it. I have to admit, the contrarian in me loves the fact that so many people have negative associations with LA. It makes me want to love it anymore. But honestly - it's the second biggest city in America for a reason people. It's a great place to be.

So after a co-worker and I cooked up a scheme involving working in Montana - the idea of moving to a place where we had never been seemed pretty intruging. On paper it seemed to make a lot of sense. More space, more house, better schools, comparable to our wholesome Colorado upbringing... it seemed like a win-win. After a long deliberation process wherein a lot of logistics where hammered out, we packed up our belongings and moved to a city that we had never been in. Transitioning from a city of 9M+ to 40K shouldn't be that big of a change, right?

From here on out I'll let the pictures do the talking.

This is the front of our little "complex." Four town-houses in a row. We're on the North end (far right). Nice because that means we don't have neighbors on one side. Not that having neighbors is a bad thing. Our neighbors are really nice. They let us borrow internet for a week until we were up and running, and have a little boy about 6 months older than George.

This is a closer look at our place. We are practically all moved in. We just have a few pictures and paintings to hang. My goal is to have us completely moved in by the time the weather gets nasty. I want to be able to park our car in our very own garage. Super exciting. What's more, you can see that the previous tenants installed some bike hooks for us, just the right amount. Talk about destiny.

This is the side view of our place. The "alley" doesn't get much sun, and we've gotten quite a bit of rain lately so that little channel is kind of like a swamp. We are loving having so much room for George to run around in.

This is the EXACT look on George's face that he makes when he's about to jump off something, e.g. kitchen table, church stage, a cliff, a bridge, or our back patio. He gives no other warning other than a few jubilant stomps, this face, and then he plunges forward whether you are ready or not.

This is a better view our our back yard. All the houses empty out into the cattle farm. We spend practically every night out there (gotta take advantage of the warm days) watching the sunset, seeing what the cows are up to, and just enjoying the stunning panorama.

This is what Bozeman looks like. Green. Lots of parks. Montana State University is here. Population (approx.) 43,000. Ashley took this picture while on a day hike with George.

George is becoming incredibly familiar with rain. While its been very warm, we've also had some pretty torrential downpours. He likes putting his hand out, palm up, and looking up into the sky to see if it's raining. This is George and I playing in the rain, out front, after work.

I'm also becoming familiar with the rain. I've gotten hit pretty hard a couple nights, on the way home. I'm finally making incredibly good use of my fenders. Ashley took this picture after she happened to see me on her way home from the grocery store.

The weather is very unpredictable here. One day blazing sun, the next day it's... well... cold enough for us softy-southern California imports to put on our coats and warm hats. We've already had to explore the nether-regions of our wardrobes, and it's only halfway through September. Ashley's picked up an awesome set of boots, and I'm scouring ebay for just the right winter coat.

Our first weekend we went up to Hyalite Reservoir. Really nice place. We've since been up three times. There are dozens of hikes, waterfalls, historical sites and camp sites to explore. George and I threw rocks in the reservoir for a while. In the winter they open up cross country ski-trails. We are really looking forward to getting into all kinds of adventures up here.

Speaking of adventures, did we tell you this is how we bathe George? As a matter of fact, this is how everyone in Bozeman washes their child because we don't have running water or electricity. I'm getting dial-up internet from one of those AOL cd's... life is pretty simple here. Or... Ashley and George were just having some fun. One of those.

Ashley took this picture today. It pretty much sums up what we love about our new adventure out here. It is so scenic, it's hardly seems like real life. We keep reminding ourselves that winter is looming and frankly we are a little scared, but as Ashley's dad said the other day, "you just have to own it." So that's what we're gonna do. We are gonna get big into winter fun and not let it keep us down.

In the meantime, we are enjoying the new adventures and the warm days. We extend a heartfelt invitation to any of you who are curious about "Big Sky" country... come and visit anytime. Especially in the winter. : )

recap 2/3: farewell party and "we be road trippin'"

2010-09-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say that the title of this blog entry is accredited to none other than Ashley, who wanted to capture the most embarrassing way to say "we are going on a road trip." It turned into kind of a joke and now we kind of say it semi-regularly. I honestly can't think of a more uncomfortable way to say you are going on a road trip, other than "we be road trippin'." Heinous right?

But before we get to the road - a little step back. Why are we going to Montana in the first place? My company was getting tons of work in the rocky mountain area. We have an office in Bozeman, Montana. This office oversees work in Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho & Alaska.

The Pulsiphers and southern California had sort of hit a major fork in the road in terms of family planning and environ - and we were starting to look at alternatives. When my company's work started to grow and additional help was needed - me and my co-worker concocted a plan that would get us out there. After a few months of waiting and logistics to figure out - everything fell into place. No we had never been there. No we didn't know anything about it. All we had to go on was a handful of pictures, a wikipedia entry, and a dash full of optimism. So in late August we packed up all our belongings (more on that later) and headed to Montana. Before we left, our friends threw us a raging party.

Now on to the photos...

The conversation flowed like the Henry Weinhard rootbeer

George and his ~~godmother~~, caretaker and "aunt" Kimber who he loves very very much.

Babies on the way, George's girlfriend Greta and all our favorite people were in attendance.

Ashley is usually the life of the party. We caught her in a rare moment without the lampshade on her head.

This is George's buddy Clark. Clark is such a loving, sweet guy. Every Sunday Clark would look for George at Church and say hi to him. Clark always shares his snacks, but is less giving with his Buzz Lightyear. That's ok, it's a pretty sweet light year.

After the party everyone had the pleasure of participating in the most efficient 2 bedroom apartment move of their lives. We started a smidge before six and were done at 6:36. Everything was in boxes, no corner was left unturned. We even had room to spare for the couches we'd be picking up in Colorado Springs. After that, the pizza and soda pop was enjoyed by all.

George and his best buddy Abe share a final hug while the truck is being loaded.

That night, August 24 - we packed up everything and drove to Barstow, Ca. I wanted to get a jumpstart on the move and this seemed like a good idea. We slept in a grungy, loud motel but the price was right ($37 bucks!). In Vegas we stopped at the outlets and just happened to snag George some $10 crocs. He loves them. We love their functionality for a little person. Every kid we visited coveted George's crocs.

The next morning we headed to my friend/mission companion Clyde's house. Clyde lives in St. George and he and his wife had a baby boy the exact same day as George. George and Myler are only 40 minutes apart from each other. They had lots of fun in the sweltering heat of St. George. It was 104 at like 6:00pm. Crazy.

After all their hard work they cooled off/cleaned up in the tub. The Behunins were great hosts and it was so much fun to catch up. We wish that it was possible to live near all our friends.

After St. George we headed up to Salt Lake/Provo to visit more friends. We had a delicious lunch with Ashley's mission companion, Ashley Thalman and her beautiful babies. George has always had a soft spot in his heart for blonds and it was no different with Harper. They had a few pretty awesome kisses, but we didn't capture them on camera.

Speaking of cameras... Ashley Thalman is a photographer and took a few snaps of George. Thank you for sharing your talents with us (and food, and delicious bread, and cds!)

Most people will want to know (in the imaginary/rehearsed conversations in my head), "How did did a 1 1/2 year old do on a 1,700 mile road trip?" All I have to say is, look at that face. If that's not the face of a little powdered sugar angel then I don't know what is. Also, donnettes are George's favorite food of all time. Nothing even comes remotely close. Though he's only had three (and probably wont' have more anytime soon), I can tell you that the 37 seconds it took him to eat three donettes was the best 37 seconds of his life. Ever.

Lotsa time in Wyoming. Big state. Cowboy country. We stopped in Casper and had Subway. On an ill-advise impulse, I had the sickest sandwich known to man. Fortunately my stomach survived.

When gas stations become your playground - you'll take anything you can get. We went really heavy on the Diet cokes. Our U-haul chugged gas, we chugged diet coke.

I think this was in Laramie. Home to the University of Wyoming Cowboys. I think this was the sheriff's car. They take their cowboy thing really serious.

Still in Wyoming. Rest stop. George was so glad to be out of the car. He loved looking at the big rig trucks. He still calls everything with wheels a "caaaaah".

To kill time George kept up on the celebrity buzz. His favorite section is the celebrities are "just like us" section.

The golden arches... the respite for the road weary traveler. Also, with huge parking spots meant for people hauling all of their earthly belongings and a child who needs to play - you really can't say no. The thing is... it always sounds like a good idea but the food just isn't that good. Give me a fatburger or In-n-Out any day of the week.

"Some people just weren't cut out for a life on the road." (Name that movie)

After 1700 long miles... we finally entered into Montana. Big Sky country. We left our good camera at our friends house in Utah - so we had to settle for a lot of iPhone pictures along the way. This is the best we could do as we entered the "Treasure State."

We've now been in Montana just over a week. Lots of things to discuss... all to come in part three.

recap 1/3 - a camping miracle

2010-09-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. So we haven't officially got the internet, we're borrowing (legally) from our neighbors until we're dialed in next month. Despite rumors to the contrary, Montana does have the internet and graduated from dial up many moons ago.

So much has happened since I last posted, and to really do justice to what was going on we need to start at the beginning and the end.

Our very first camping trip was with our friends the Nelsons. We had only been in the ward for several months (as a married couple), and Chad and Kimber took a big gamble on us and invited us to join them on their memorial day hike/camp to Mt. Anderson in the Sierras.

We'll always remember that camping trip as the genesis of our dearest friendship, and we'll always remember it because of my altitude sickness, and me wearing shoes that were too small so on the decent it felt like I experiencing foot binding.

To commemorate our time together in Los Angeles, we decided to have "one last hurrah" camping trip. Chad picked an awesome location north of Santa Barbara called Jalama Beach. We had no idea, but we would soon find out what a huge deal Jalama Beach is.

We left Los Angeles around 7:30 ish. The boys were slowing our escape so Ashley and I stopped by Primo's Donuts (our favorite Donut shop in LA) and got way too many donuts. I was sick before we crested the Sepulveda pass.

Anywho - as we made our way to Jalama (about a 2-3 hour drive) our spirits dipped a little as we saw a "camping lot ful" sign 14 miles out from the campground. Kimber texted to me, "oops." We hoped for the best as we approached the ranger station.

Once we arrived, the ranger informs us that the lot is full, but that we can get on the waiting list and find out later that day how many campers would be leaving, and that maybe we'd get a spot. Not a bad idea right? So we got on the waiting list... #25. 25 freaking people in front of us, and there were only 98 total spots. Chad said that the ranger said our chances were "slim."

We decided to make the best of it and had a nice day at the beach. At 3:00 pm everyone circled around the ranger as he ran down the names on the waiting list. As names were called, we wondered how many more spots were vacant. A couple from SD told us that they woke up at 3:00 to get there by 6:30, only to be number 21 on the waiting list. Insane. They also told us that they had counted 18 vacant spots. Our chances weren't looking good.

A handful of times, he'd call a name and no one would come up to claim their spot. The ranger quipped, "it's ok to clap." With each vacant name, I got more and more excited. Finally our name was called. We got the last spot! A camping miracle. Ironically, because we had the last spot that meant that we didn't get to choose where we were camping, but we got one of the best spots in the campsite. Some of the campsites were bordered by campers at every direction, whereas we were on the outskirts of camp so only had one pretty courteous neighbor and a good view of the beach. We could not believe our luck.

The rest of the camping experience was pretty grand. I'll let the pictures do the talking:
(sorry about the slideshow - the new blogger photo-upload interface is really buggy)

sans internet

2010-09-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

hey guys.
we've moved to montana. we're about 70% moved in. we are without internet and will be for another week or so. pictures and stories about the move and our new digs to come. stay tuned.

our new backyard...

2010-08-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Haven't been there yet, but this is what it looks like. I guess it's kinda like our back yard in Los Angeles. I'm sure George won't even notice the difference.

big news

2010-08-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ok gumshoes - I've got some trivia for you... can someone please tell me what these three images have in common?

Your clue - They all relate to our next place of residence. That's right, the Pulsipher's are moving. This may be old news to some of you, but we had to keep it on the DL until I had a chance to discuss the move with some of my clients from work. In exactly two weeks we'll be moving to our new home. We are incredibly excited, sad, anxious, nervous and optimistic. Upon hearing the news, one of our friends (a story board artist at Sony) whipped up this number to capture our journey.

We don't exactly know where we're living yet... but we (Ashley) has been diligently scouring the internet for leads. If you have any ideas or connections for us, we'd be glad to hear about it. In the mean time, we better get back to packing...

George, Ashley & David

convertibles

2010-08-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

I frequently have to rent cars. I have become incredibly well versed in the offerings of our neighborhood car rental companies, especially when it comes to the selection amongst the "budget" or "economy" class. No frills. Small. Manual windows. However - there is the random occasion when you book a budget car and there are none available. So, you typically get something a little bigger, a little more plush. A bigger Chevy. A bigger Kia. Even more rare are the times when not even the modest businessman's car is available, and you get the Michael Scott dream car.

Yes, the fine folk at Avis trusted me with my very own cherry red, Chrysler Sebring (convertible). Of course while driving it I looked like a guy about 15 years early on the mid-life crisis circuit. But it was all worth it when we saw this face:

George loved it. We started the car with the roof on, then pushed the magic button that begins the awkwardly elaborate process of retracting the roof. There is something so garish and... "look at me" about the retracting that really negates any coolness (if possible) left in the car.

Though we are happily a one car family - seeing George like it so much made me briefly wish we could live the high life of a convertible-owning family. Perhaps the novelty would wear off? I don't know, but I'm sure glad we got to pretend we were quasi-high rollers for a morning.

family reunion & colorado trip recap

2010-07-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Last week we went back to Colorado for the Pulsipher family reunion and to spend time with Ashley's family as well. We did a lot of fun things, and both Ashley and I took a lot of joy in seeing George play with his cousins. There is something special about seeing your child interact with your sibling's children. It is very special and made us long to live closer to all of them.

Before we went to the reunion, we went camping with my sisters Blythe and Dawn and their families. George quickly took to his older cousin Ivan. They were in hysterics for the better part of an hour throwing pebbles at/near each other. This is them during a "reload" moment.

It was so fun to be in a place where George could run as fast and as far as he wanted without fear of traffic, cars, or other urban maladies. Los Angeles, like most big cities, is fraught with boundaries and limits for kids. It was refreshing to see George in an opposite setting.

This is a shot looking out from our campsite. It sprinkled for a little bit that evening, and then cleared up to create this beautiful scene and even graced us with a double rainbow.

I underestimated the importance of a pillow, and had a really big crick in my neck the next morning. Both times we've gone camping we've wondered how George would sleep. So far, he's an emphatic 2-0. He tossed and turned a little bit, ~~boxing out~~ snuggling up with Ashley and I intermittently through out the night. Didn't wake up until about 6:30 or so... which is pretty darn good for camping. George, Ivan and Maxine were all smiles the next morning.

Sleeping at night with George was a piece of cake. Naps on the other hand are pretty much a no-go. This is a surreptitious shot from Ashley as I tried to read George a story to get him to drift off into a sleepy mountain daze. No luck.

After we camped a night we went up to my parents house about 5.5 miles southwest of the bustling metropolis, Hartsel. George got to pal around with his adorable cousin Serena, who he loved (obviously).

There's not really a lot to do up at my parents house, except all of the important stuff. Talk, relax, watch tv, browse the internet, eat... and totally recharge all of your life's batteries. We love going up there and rejuvenating ourselves.

The trampoline was a huge part of me and my brother's adolescent lives. It really was the "other" brother. Sleep outs, "reading days" where mom would let us stay home from school in a trade off for reading all day, endless games, winter/snow jumping, summer sprinkler escapades... I can't imagine my childhood without it. Though we did some completely idiotic things on it, I have to say I think I want my kids to have a trampoline when they grow up. Now it's gone off to retirement at my parents house, but does see sporadic use by the grandkids.

Though I take the majority of our pictures (I don't know why), Ashley takes the vast majority of our good pictures. Ashley caught this gem of George looking very Polo Ralph Lauren.

Another quality picture by Ashley - National Geographic quality people!

After a night up at my parents house, we descended from the hills to a quaint little town called Manitou Springs for the reunion. As soon as we got to Colorado, George got a cold and had some serious booger-nose. It was tough on him, and any illness-related irritability was exacerbated by trips outside where well intentioned parents mistakenly rubbed sunscreen into his eyes.

Despite feeling under the weather, it was nothing that cousin Maxine and a trip to Sonic for some slushies couldn't fix. Maxine is a great older cousin - she's like the pied piper for all the cousins.

It was so hot in Colorado that week. The sun was so bright, that when we were out I felt like we were standing under Rick Moranis' giant magnifying glass. It was like a white light. Fortunately Rainbow Lodge had a hearty air conditioner and a pool that everyone frequented multiple times each day. This is Maxine, Leeaira and George.

The photo-opp of the reunion. Five cousins all born within a year or so of each other. The Pulsipher baby-boom has officially started. George, Leeaira, Jada, Serena, Ivan.

After the reunion we spent some time with Ashley's family. Off to Grandma & Granpa Potter's house. Their newly refurbished backyard featured every grandson's dream... a fountain to throw tiny pebbles into.

Ok, I know these first two pictures make it seem like we never clothed George. But we did honest. In addition to enjoying pebble throwing, George also enjoyed delicious treats like chocolate cake and strawberries and cream. Mmmboy.

We also went for a bike ride to "Old Colorado City," a quasi-historic commercial district in Colorado Springs for a delicious lunch at La Baguette. I had the chicken salad croissant. Ashley, laughed in the face of the 90 degree temperature and ordered a steamy bowl of fondue. Despite serious reservations (on my part) it proved to be an excellent choice.

George was particularly fond of Ashley's bread that came with her fondue. He wasn't as passionate about the child's tortellini we ordered him. You'll note George pointing with his other finger, indicating "where you can go" if you try to take the bread from him.

All that carb loading got George nice and sleepy. He took some great naps at Grandma & Granpa's house - which afforded me a true indulgence - all the discovery channel programming (at high def, to boot) I could cram into my head. We gave up cable about a year ago (don't really miss it that much with Tivo and Netflix), but it's nice to soak your brain with some delicious cable TV on vacation.

We had a fantastic trip and can't wait to go back. Thanks to everyone who made our trip special, convenient, and fun.

summertime

2010-07-12T20:06:00.001-07:00

Days are longer. Days are lazy. Lotsa summertime fun...

lotsa bike rides... our friend Adrian loaned us one of his bikes that fits Ashley a lot better than her other bike. We've been taking advantage big time (no we don't ride with George in the front basket. I may let my child fall off stages but I don't let him ride in a basket).

lotsa dressing up like a barbershop quartet. George is becoming increasingly dependent and is getting more comfortable doing his own thing, singing his own songs, changing his own diapers, fixing his own eggs benedict...

lotsa tank tops... Ashley discovered this gem and we quickly discovered that tank tops are a favorite "must have" for any southern californian baby boy. Grown men? No thanks.

tank tops pt. 2 - lotsa looking manly. George is getting bigger and bigger. At night we go into his room and look at him sleep, and are amazed at how big he's getting. Then we nestle in for a couple of episodes of our new obsession and worry about what kind of teenager he'll grow up to be. One of our friends at church commented that George walks just like me. I like to think that I do a little less arm waving and spins but... what do I know?

lotsa hangin' out with Abe. Ashley and Kimber are doing a baby swap where they take turns watching both the boys Monday-Thursday. It's been a crash course on two baby parenting and I don't know how they do it, but it's allowed them to work and more importantly, given Abe and George ample time to become very close friends and develop a very sweet little friendship.

We're heading home this week for a family reunion. Excited to see friends and family. We hope you are all having a great summer - George, Ashley & David

man of/off the stage

2010-07-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

In one of those unfortunate, ill-timed events - I found myself running to console George just after he fell off the stage at church. Bad timing. He likes to walk along the stage, and they had just set up some tables so it prevented me from being right there next to him. Then, as I was walking around the table a group of people emerged and wedged themselves between me and George. I knew what was going to happen before it did, and immediately started pushing my way through the group of people. I was kind of mad at them (for not telepathically knowing that I'd need them to be out of my way), mad at myself, and mad at everyone else in the room who thought I was a delinquent parent.

Ever had one of those moments?

all i have to do is act naturally

2010-06-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

The other day I was trying to teach myself to play heart of gold and looked up the harmonica tabs on some website. Because I'm self taught - I'm pretty rough around the edges and one of the things I noticed I was doing incorrectly was the breathing technique. Without getting too technical, the site recommended breathing with your diaphragm, and less with your mouth.

You know how babies have perfect posture. Turns out they have perfect harmonica breathing techniques too. Picasso said, "it took me a four years to paint like Raphael, and a lifetime to paint like a child."

Kids are just naturally better at a lot of things. It's kind of funny that things are intrinsic to us at one point, have to be relearned.

On a lighter note, George is the next John Popper (in skill, hopefully not in girth).

potential

2010-06-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

We're still learning how to use our new camera - and every once in a while we get a glimpse of what it can do. I thought these really turned out well.

(tip - use the "expand" button when viewing the slideshow to capture the pictures in all their glory)

the farmer in the dell

2010-06-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Ashley heard about this really fun farm with unlimited berry-picking potential, and animals aplenty. George was a little under-the-weather during the trip, but it didn't stop him from having a good time. Just wanted to share a few pictures from the adventure.

down in the dumps at underwood farms

mom and george in the sunflowers

george likes sharing his food

george has turned into quite the hugger

sampling the fruits of his labors

peacefully tending his harvest

we tried to get george to smuggle these out - no luck.

you gotta get me outta here man. i'll do anything.

george lost the game of chicken ala kevin bacon in footloose

i think we can all agree...

2010-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

that one of the most oft volunteered bits of parental/marital advice is:

pick your battles

i.e. "in life there will be disagreements and in order to maintain harmony you must determine which disagreements are important, and which are not."

I also think we can all agree, that there are times in life when you need to dig in your heels and fight for what's right, i.e., who is better at ping pong and mario kart? Me, or your best friend from college?

I mean, right is right. Right? ; )

Care to share any examples when you picked a really ~~asinine~~ important battle?

waiting...

2010-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Waiting... waiting for inspiration. Back in the day, I used to be a prolific blogger. Two, three posts a week. That kind of pace is seems totally absurd to me now. I think if I had one a week now I'd feel like I'd completed a dissertation.

I like to balance blog posts with pictures, so usually I wait to be inspired by pictures we take, or the adventures we go on and the blog posts just write themselves.

The theme for the Pulsipher family this summer is patience. We find ourselves on the verge of life-changing "news." What's trying about this, is that it's completely out of our hands at the moment. It's quite one thing to be waiting on a process or product that you are 100% responsible for the time line and the outcome, it's quite another to be completely dependent on others.

Ashley and I are really good at balancing each other out, even when it comes to being patient. By our own admission, we are both terribly impatient people, but we seem to have just enough of it when the other is about to lose their cool.

I sometimes tell George that we gave him genes for being tall, and having freckles, but that when it comes to being patient, he's going to have to figure out another source for that gift. The patience well has completely run dry.

So here we are... waiting. Like George displays up above. I like what Dieter Uchtdorf said recently about patience:

"Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

I see George in a lazyboy, and it makes me want to endure things well. For him, for Ashley, and for myself. My life is better when people are patient with me. It is an admirable quality that I hope to develop.

Any tips on patience and enduring well?

fuzzy memories, extra wide

2010-05-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, feet have been a part of my identity. To put my way through college, I was a shoe-salesman.

When I was younger, I was pretty pigeon-toed (which I just learned is also called "false clubfoot, egads). It was prett significant, to the point where I had to wear corrective shoes. I don't remember much about them, but they were sturdy. My older sisters ~~lovingly~~ chided me about them, and called them my "clod-hoppers."

I don't think I knew what clod-hoppers were (I still don't, I resisted the urge to wikipedia them as a sign of solemn protest to the afflicted), but I knew that I was the butt of a joke. My sisters stopped calling them clod-hoppers when they were assaulted with three pounds of solid rubber.

After I graduated from my hot orthopedic shoes, I used to proudly proclaim my triumph over being false clubfooted. I even confused the severity of the condition with some other, more real parts of my childhood.

Before I was born, my older brother Tim was hit by a car. The accident left him confined to a wheelchair, and he did have shoes, or some type of leg braces with a metal bar in between the shoes connecting at the arches of the feet. Somehow, in my post-clod-hopper daze, I was convinced that Tim's shoes with the metal brace were actually mine, to cure me of being pigeon toed. I used to tell people that my condition was so severe that I had to wear a metal bar between my legs. People used to feel really sorry for me, and impressed that I had overcome such severe disadvantages in life.

All these feelings came swirling back to me as I look at George's adorable feet. Last week George and Ashley were visiting Grandma & Grandpa Potter, and Grandma took George to a very nice children's shoe store. I'm ashamed to admit, but we had essentially been confining George's poor feet to some crude brogans in what can only be described as modern day foot-binding.

Ok, it wasn't that bad, but... he was wearing shoes that were too small for him. Poor little guy. At the shoe store they measured George's feet and out came the results: 6.5. Extra wide. I don't know what it is, but the "extra wide" rings through my head, summoning images of pigeon toes, metal braces, John Elway, etc. It's likely that this is just common sizing issue with little chubby feet.

But what if it's a part of his identity for his entire life? What if he always has to wear birkenstock sandals? What if he's an incredible swimmer because of his flipper like feet?

I'm under no illusion that having extra wide feet will be something George has to think about beyond toddlerhood, or that it's even atypical. But, I do like the idea of learning little things about this guy, things he comes into the world with. Things he can't change. Maybe he'll invent a story that explains his extra wide feet, and how he went on to become a world class tap-dancer, or soccer player?

I hope I get to discover more of these things about him - and I hope for his unborn siblings sake, they don't tease him about it or they might find themselves on the receiving end of toy-projectile.

Be proud George. Stand tall. Stand tall on those extra wide feet of yours. I love you buddy.

me and mr. mendoza

2010-05-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

I like this picture because it represents my relationship with the scale. I shout profanities at it every morning.

Just kidding. Actually - I've been relatively successful with dieting in the past little bit and the issue has been on my mind so I thought I'd put a few ideas together.

First. For the first time since my sophomore year in high school, I'm below the mendoza line for weight. Just barely - 199. I'm not sure what my end goal is, though I've said many times to Ashley that 195 was my ultimate goal. I'm on the high end of "normal" according to this BMI calculator thing.

But then I started playing around with the figures a little bit, and I found out that I could dip down to a svelte 155 and still be "normal." Sick. I cannot even imagine what a 6'4" 155 lb David would look like. Oh wait... yes I can.

That got me thinking... there has to be some other factors than BMI that are better at predicting health. Blood pressure? Cholesterol levels? Heart rate? I dunno, probably a lot of those things. Or maybe none of them. This is an interesting graphic that said for me, a white male (as I age), that heart disease is my biggest health nemesis. So - I feel good about that. I'm doing good in the heart health category.

I was listening to a freakonomics podcast where one guy was essentially arguing that the obesity "epidemic" has been vastly, and hastily over-rated. In it, some smug academic does some research and finds out that a lot of the figures being used derives from old data, or blah blah blah some other type of shortcoming that questions the connections between obesity and health maladies.

I didn't find it particularly convincing - basically because I think it's fodder for people to convince themselves that they don't have to make lifestyle changes to become more healthy. I think a lot of my negative feelings towards obesity, derive in self loathing from when I was heavier. Its like I have to hate that person to never become him again.

If you want something really harrowing, look at the CDC's obesity figures by state, from 1985 to 2008.

Ever since I began losing weight in 2004, I have to admit I've been somewhat obsessed with the topic of weight loss. Ashley gets mad at me when I want to watch the "one ton man" shows on TV. For some reason, I feel like I need to watch those shows to prevent some type of relapse. I am afraid of gaining the weight I began to lose six years ago.

Most recently - this year I found myself about 20 lbs heavier than where I wanted to be, so I began watching my diet a lot more closely. I try not to eat sweets during the week, and I've also been skipping breakfast. Say what you will about breakfast (ok, I lied, I usually have a lump of cookie dough and a swig of milk), I think it's personally over-rated unless you are gonna go really decadent and even then that's not a once a day type thing.

So in about 4 months time I've lost most the weight I wanted to, with basic diet choices and consistent exercise.

This is just a smattering of stuff I've been thinking about. Do any of you guys think about this stuff? Do any of you have experiences, successes or failures with this type of stuff? For me it seems like I have to err on the side of zealotry to keep weight off. When I get relaxed, the clothes get a little snug.

the great blueberry caper of twenty ten

2010-05-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

"Blueberries? I haven't seen any blueberries. I don't know what you are talking about blueberries. Do I look like I know anything about blueberries?"

"Ok, I swear. I just had one. Two tops. I got them from over there. In that big box. They were basically pushed on me. Forced. I was forced to eat them. Did you see the guy? He practically begged me to do it."

"I regret nothing."

monday is the new saturday

2010-04-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had to work on Saturday, all day. Total bummer, so as a consolation I took Monday off for some family fun. There is something special about not working, when everyone else is. It's like those days in college when you could go up to the mountain to go skiing/snowboarding during the week. The fun gets amplified 10,000 times because all of the sudden the world has become your playground. A giant, vacant playground. Maybe some of you who have unconventional work schedules already know these fruits. The added bonus was that I felt less stress about the expectations of the day, whereas on normal weekends I sometimes feel like there are high stakes because it's the weekend. I think I unlocked a key to the universe - weekends on weekdays. Think about it people.

While we're thinking about these and other wild possibilities, let me caution you about thinking too much.

Apparently, not only is climbing on the railing is prohibited, but so is thinking about it. Wild.

The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but the water really was clear. George was in rare form.

Look at those chompers. You know George was feeling the Monday = Saturday conversion

George was telling some awesome jokes

George & Me (cliffs of insanity in the background)

Getting all artistic on ya. My idea. Ashley's execution. Liked it so much, I made it our banner.

Our new favorite trick for George is "party fingers." Oh, and walking.

With all our free time, we even snuck a quick trip to ~~San Pedro~~ South Korea to visit the friendship bell.

Yes, I realize that it looks ridiculous that I have the kite out 100' long and only 20' high. Ashley failed to capture my awesome kitesmanship when I had it really high, so instead I just look like an ignoramus.

Other events not captured on camera include:

A giant/delicious diet coke from 7-11
A family bike ride to Carlson Park to play soccer

I think I've made a compelling case for the effectiveness of weekend observation on weekdays. Who's coming with us?

free range george

2010-04-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our friends Keith and Leslie are great babysitters for George. It is really nice to live in a place where there are always plenty of friends willing to watch your baby while you go out. So when they went on a vacation to Scandinavia and asked if we'd take care of their chickens Virginia and Dorothy - we jumped at the opportunity. Disclaimer, by "we" I really mean Ashley (and to a lesser extent, George). I went up a couple of times, but by far and away, Ashley deserves the medal for doing all of the dirty work.

One of the last days of chicken-sitting, George got to be a free-range kid (how we long for a backyard).

Some things you may not know about chickens:

1. They are actually quite beautiful birds
2. They lay an egg a day
3. They sometimes eat their own eggs
4. They don't peck (at least these ones)

Without further ado, I give you George, Virginia & Dorothy

"Mom, I think I just put my hand in something..."

Just looking cute. He was actually playing with the horseshoe pit stake. Horseshoe pit! Backyard. Separate garage for tinkering and storage. Yes, it's true, I have serious backyard envy.

"Well see here, I've been trampin' for so long... can't even reckon when I started. Let me grab my bindle and I'll be outta yer hair."

The hunter would quickly become the hunted

"I kid you not... I once saw a chicken at least this tall. She laid eggs like as big as my head"

"I don't know if this is awkward or not, but I figured I owed it to you, to tell you straight out, I've been eating your eggs."

"I dub thee, Lady Dorothy of Cornwall..."

Three's company

As you may or may not be able to tell, Spring is in the air. The days are getting longer, warmer, and we can't wait to start making regular trips to the beach and a lot more family biking.

"i've been sick"

2010-04-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

My dad has a sculpture titled, "I've been sick." I really like the title, and the sculpture. Something about the admission itself, begs for some sort of recognition.

I remember hearing other parents (pre-George) talk about their kids being sick, and from their description wondering why they were describing it as some monolithic event.

Now I get it.

George has been sick for over a week or so. Lots of sore, runny noses. Crusty crap in the eyes and nostrils. Bad sleeping.

The funny thing is - when babies are sick you kind of realize how their entire life impacts your own. It's not like when your spouse is sick. You sympathize, you maybe get them some material comforts, make them food, but otherwise are able to go about your business. When your kid is sick - it sends an interruptive shockwave through your house.

You can't wait for your kid to get better, and you wonder if they ever will. You wonder if they were ever happy, or were they always grumpy and irritable.?

We hope that George is almost out of this last bug. It's taken it's toll on all of us. Less sleep, more stress.

Despite it - it makes you feel really fortunate to understand how much this little life affects your own.

about face

2010-03-25T09:25:00.001-07:00

So George has grown out of his car seat. Apparently now we need one that can be switched forward when we're ready, but supposedly they can stay rear facing until they are two. I'm not sure if we'll be able to wait that long (safety aside), as we'd love to see his little face as we're driving.

Do you guys have any recommendations on car seats 2.0?

In other news, Ashley and I have started the south beach diet and as you can see George helped us purge our refrigerator of all the things we could no longer eat.

Just kidding.

Birthday fun in the park

2010-03-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we had George's first birthday party. What started off as a conceptual "low stress" gathering of George's closest friends, turned into quite the production. We were sure that we'd permanently scar George unless everything went off without a hitch. Fortunately, the glitches were few (despite a last minute scare that we were going to have to play dumb about getting a "party permit", the night before).

As per usual, the pictures tell the story with some extra special video footage of George taking his inaugural steps into the world of sugar.

Thanks for the denim shirt Aunt Blythe! It was perfect for my train-themed birthday

To clear George's palate in preparation for the cake, we carbo-loaded on crackers

As always, George's best friend and Assistant Conductor, Abe was ready to party

Lucy Young and Dad, Sean. (came all the way from Nashville by ~~train~~ plane for the party)

George - Ashley - Lucy - Marissa - Abe - Kimber

I once read somewhere that one of the great things about being a dad is that you get to revisit your childhood...

I'd say that flying your son's awesome kite is right up there with "the cry out method" in terms of difficult dad duties.

My little brother Collin lives in the Valley (which might as well be Oregon). He's on tour, but his girlfriend Shelby came all the way down for the festivities. George loves Shelby.

It's the final countdown...George got his very own cake (held by friend, Julia - who came all the way from New York City) while the rest of us dined on this beauty below:

What a lovely cake...

George getting a pep talk before the main event...

the suspense is killing me...

bliss

George contemplating a job well done

One last handful for the road...

And for the piece de resistance - video footage: