King of the Hill

This kid, who is currently running the other kids ragged on the McDonald's playground as I type this, was king of the hill Sunday in Grandma's and Grandpa's backyard:

I don't know exactly what was going on back there, but suffice me to say that this kid definitely has quite an imagination.

The Girl with the Square Eyes

Kylee looked really cute when she borrowed Grandma's glasses and tried them on the other day.

Sometimes, there is really nothing else to say.

My Dinner with Jenna 2013

It was my niece Jenna's 10th birthday last week, and, lucky girl, she got to go out with me to dinner and to the store to pick out her own present to celebrate the occasion. 'Cause that's the kind of uncle that I am.

A girl after my own heart, Jenna picked Wendy's for our meal, after which we went to the store and got her a new game for her Nintendo DS.

Good times were had by all.

Jackson: Five

My nephew Jackson turned five years old last Thursday, and, as is the custom, I took him out for a birthday dinner and shopping trip.

He chose to go to Burger King, and after he had gotten his money's with his time spent on the playground (he also ate some of his dinner), we went to the store so that he could pick out his own present. He picked a LEGO Monsters set along with a LEGO set of Bilbo Baggins and Gollum (from the recent Hobbit movie).

I enjoyed my evening out with my fun and energetic little nephew, and I look forward to doing it again.

Easter 2013

So, my post about it is 10 days overdue, but we had an Easter this year. Yes, really.

The family gathered at Mike's and Jana's house for our bimonthly family dinner and to celebrate the holiday. Following a delicious dinner, we took part in an Easter devotional that Biz took great care and time in putting together a fantastic program.

Afterward, we celebrated both Jenna's 10th and Jackson's fifth birthdays, which took place later on in the week. Then the kids went out back for an Easter egg hunt, and they had a blast finding many hidden treats.

 I am somewhat fond of this shot of my two youngest nephews, one-year-old Jacob and five-year-old Jackson, who seemed to be getting along very well together:



Good times were had by all. Happy (belated) Easter!

Festival of Colors

Those longtime followers of Disconcertingly Choppy - both of you - may remember that I held my own "Festival of Froot Loops" about this time a year ago. The objective in doing so was to try to achieve the same effect as many of my friends and colleagues have by attending the annual Festival of Colors - namely, to get extremely messy and dirty and get all sorts of bright, powdery colors all over myself. So, I crushed up a box of Froot Loops and dumped the contents onto my head.

Looking back on things, I think I nearly achieved my goal.

At any rate, a week ago I was invited by Emily to join her and a group of her friends in attending the actual Festival of Colors, which is held on the grounds of the hare krishna temple in Spanish Fork. The purpose of this festival is to celebrate both the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Its larger purpose, however, is, as I believe I had correctly assumed a year ago, to get people as dirty and messy and colorful as possible.

Once again, I think that goal was met.

Here is the "before" picture of the group:

And here is the "after" shot:

We even took individual head shots. Here is mine:

I think it looks even cooler with the mustache.

Thousands of LDS folks, getting culture with the hare krishnas - that's basically what it boiled down to. I also got a mouthful of colored corn starch, which does not at all fall on the "delicious" side of the food spectrum.

While I don't think I'll necessarily be attending the Festival of Colors on a yearly basis, I am glad that I went and that I can now check it off of my Bucket List.