OH! ya Ben I like yours too!

Wow Jordan I am impressed with your poem's That is some great stuff I do not think I could do that well!

this is one of the reports i did last year called The Jaguar!
O.K. it's crapy but it did not have a lot of time
Visit my blog here

Polly, no, I'm afraid you can't post pictures here unless I host this on a different server, which I may later. As for now, you can post them on your own website and then link to them, like this:

click here for the latest pictures of Ben's family

You do that, by clicking the little link icon in the window you type in to post stuff (it's a world with a chain link on it next to the B). Anyway. By the way, Polly, shutterfly.com gave me 15 free prints because I told them I referred you to them. Sweet deal.

Chris (or Julie, whoever's posting), no I haven't shaven my legs yet. I don't think it gives you much and it just adds to those things you'd have to keep doing all the time. Clean legs, okay, stubble, bad. And somehow my sarcastic inferrence that somehow cyclists wear "cool" pants, was lost on most of you (including my wife). I'd rather wear plaid than lycra, but function trumps looks.

Jarom, this is for you. Good luck on the bar exam and all that.

Hey looks like I missed something! Thanks for the advice Chris I will have to check it out now that we got our Bonus and we can afford some for Andy. Well sorry folks but not much has changed since yesterday. So Ben can you post pictures on this thing? JK I am sorry I love to bombard you all with weekly updates on the looks of my children. It is just that it is amazing that Andy and I actually had cute kids.
Well I will check back later.

Gee, thanks Ben! I had been wondering...

I would rather wear ugly pants than shave my legs! I hope you haven't gone that far ben.

Julie: About being excited to find out about the sex -- um, yeah, that's what caused it. I just didn't want you to have to wait for a doctor to tell you.

Polly: Notice how I stay above the fray on the Idaho/Utah sucks bandwagon, living here in "colorful Colorado."

Tyler: Utah sucks. Crackberrys suck.

Jarom: see editors note.

Chris: Golf is for people who wear ugly pants. Now cyclists on the other hand, they wear sweet pants. Tyler gets a double whammy.

No one wears pants
like Lance,
who took the yellow jersey back today,
by the way.

And for those of you who don't know anything about the Tour de France, the yellow jersey is given to the guy who is currently in first place.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!!! there are lots of good sets with good prices on the web. Just depends on how much you want to pay. Find a set you like on any one of the web retailers and then go to golfclubreview.com and see what they have to say about it and run your choice by those who are in the know (not me). I have my eye on a set from golfdiscount.com, now all I need is the money. (imagine that!) have a good b-day see ya. Chris

Hi all, I guess I will take a turn here- since you all seem to be having so much fun with it. I am not sure what to post...things are pretty boring here lately without school or work to worry about. Chris has an ISU job where he goes whenever he wants and takes care of his project in the greenhouse. Basically easy money- just wish it were more. I am just playing mom trying to keep my kids out of the road, and entertained when it is too hot to do anything. They love the wading pool, and love to spray everyone with the hose even more. Conner was weighed the other day and is now a wopping 44 pounds, and Jack catching up quickly at 34. They have so much fun together, and it is nice for me that they have each other.
I have just been put into the Relief Society presidency as the secretary. It is a fun job- you get to go to all the meetings, yet not as much resposibility as the others. Just keep really good records of EVERYTHING. Things are going good with my latest pregnancy- I am almost 19 weeks, and feeling baby move quite a bit. It is really an amazing feeling, kind of like I have swallowed a live rat. We are excited to find out the sex in about 2 weeks, I have a feeling that we will have another boy to help outnumber me though.

I just want to thank Jarom for defending our state- hey it has it's downfalls but it's home for now! :) I guess that is all for now, hope you are all doing well!

Well we are doing well. Andy's Birthday is tomorrow. He got promoted to lead which means he is a survey crew leader. He gets more money and more overtime but gets paid for it too. He really wants golf clubs for his b-day so any advice from my brothers would help.
Brock has learned the art of crawling it is more like a leapfrog/army crawl but he will get it soon. Abby is a complete terror. She had some freinds over the other day and screamed when any of them tried to touch her toys. She talks pretty well though and she is quite smart. So I guess I will keep her. I am currently the Young Women's President and I do not mind it to much I only have a few girls and it is sure giving me some experience. I have been doing a BYU free marriage and family course to take up some time in the afternoon it is kind of nice to think ocasionaly. I also got a job cleaning the church house. It is only 4 hours a week and it is nice to get out of the house.
I think you all should be making fun of Nevada. Lets just all admit that Nevada is worse than Utah and Idaho. Andy and I would love to live in either state or even Colorado. Sound like you all are busy people and Bike riding does sound like a nice hobby. I hope Angela and Drew take you up on that advice Jarom. Good luck on the bar Jarom we hope you do well. Ben you have fun going to that airshow it does sound like fun.

Just a few details to go over. First, Ben: I am flattered that you think I am so skilled in the world of computers as to surpass even you. But, lets be honest here. The fact is I would have given Tim the exact same advice. I mean heck, I'm formatting at least once a week now and it works for me everytime! Second, Tyler: What do you mean "in-bred" white folk in Idaho?! C'mon, where have you been. Idaho is mostly hispanic now and all of the in-breeders moved to Utah. As to offense...none taken.

As far as current events here, nothing much going on. I have been studying for the bar exam and Jen and Ethan hang out, go swimming and work on their tans all day. Joe and Andrew popped into town for a visit this week. It turns out Angela had them come up to refinish her basement. When they arrived, their work came so highly regarded that Drew's brother has them refinishing his basement as well. Joe seems to have both projects simultaneously in hand. However, upon inspection I felt compelled to point out a few things that may need to be rethought. The first thing I noticed (after the door had been torn out, framed in and the sheetrock cut to fit) was that the water softener brine tank (the kind that has to be replaced periodically) was between the (former) door and the hot water heater (along with all of the accompanying pipes) on the other side. Removing the door effectively cut off access to the tank so that "removable" had simply become a term of art and not an adjective. Secondly was the 'wiring' Joe was 'upgrading'. Both houses hail from the earlier part of the 20th century and contain cloth insulated double strand wiring in walls and ceilings insulated with paper products that have been 'curing' in 0% humidity for the last 50 some odd years. Joe has been excitedly replacing what was once a single, dangling 40 watt bulb fixture (connected to a single two-prong plug and fed from a single screw-in 15 amp fuse that I am sure has been load tested recently) with multiple billion-watt recessed fixtures and three-prong (not grounded to anything of course) outlets all crammed into about 6 inches of total clearance from the (nicely aged and extremely dry) pine flooring above. Needless to say I recommended that all of the smoke detectors in the house be checked and Drew and his brother should immediately double their fire coverage. Lastly, and I was remiss to say anything, concerned a "pass-through cupboard" Angela wanted Joey to build from the linen closet in the hall to the bathroom. While going over the details of the "plan" it was apparent that the "extra space" in the wall that "needed to be used" was in fact already in use. It didn't take long to convince Angie and Drew that knocking through the wall might be a bad idea. It just happened to be the space that contained the gas vents for the furnace, gas fireplace, gas water heater, and downstairs plumbing not to mention a few other misc. electrical lines etc. Joey seemed only a little dissappointed about having to put the sawzall and sledge hammer away. Looks like another Whitehead "project" is well in hand. The thing to remember here of course is that you get exactly what you pay for. Ta ta for now.

[editors note: Sheez, I said blog, not blo-novel]

Time to try out this fancy new bolg deal. I just returned from Denver and got Ben's e-mail on my blackberry (affectionately known as "crackberry") while I was on the plane at the Denver airport. I had a quick trip over for a mini-practice group retreat. Lots of food and boring meetings.

Under the guidance of Ben "Lance" Whitehead I have bought a bike and taken to riding it a few times a week and trying to work a few pounds off. So far have lost about 16 pounds and no more soda has helped a lot. Hasn't helped my golf game yet, the ultimate challenge.

Working a lot and playing a lot this summer. Our family went to Island Park last weekend and helped my brother-in law work on his "cabin". It will be about 4,000 s.f. when he finishes it with a four car garage. It was hot, dusty and tons of bugs. Why does anybody like camping anyway? My kids didn't quite get it either, they are already spoiled past the point of hanging out at a campground with a bunch of people from Idaho. No offense Jarom, Julie or anybody else taking great pride in their white in-bred state. Now you can all start the mormon jokes and keep them coming. We like Utah.

Tyler.

Just sitting here at my computer at midnight waiting for a simulation to finish (and pass) so I can go to bed. Just zoning out. Tim called me wanting computer help. I gave him the usual suggestion -- format your hard drive. We'll see if he does it. So, you call Tyler if you have a legal problem, or Tim if your kid has an ear infection, but you call me when your computer crashes? I don't make the stupid thing, I just work with them like you do. I'm really only good with problems related to C or Verilog. Actually, Jarom is the guy to call with computer problems, he's way better at it than I am. Need his number?

Well, my sim just puked again. I'm never going to finish this tonight. Oh well.

Let's see, the latest news for the Whitehead family in CO. As usual, I'll start with the oldest:

Dad is contemplating returning to school in the Fall, trying to figure out what class to take. I think I've got that part down, I'm just not entirely jazzed yet about all the paperwork you have to go through to change your degree. I'm changing it from a thesis degree (MSEE) to an non-thesis degree (MEEE) and the requirements to do so seem awfully stupid. I don't need a thesis, I'm not joe new graduate looking for a job. Got a nice job and I only need a degree for fun and maybe future employment--hence the change of programs. The last two classes should be pretty easy, actually. If my study plan gets approved by the committee. Oh, and I'm riding my bike a lot. Today I passed a co-worker who has taken up riding to work as well. I slowed down and rode the rest of the way with him. I'm stoked for him.

Julie ran a 5k in Utah while we were there. She got first in her age group (20-29). I am so proud. She is the first counselor in primary and she seems to be enjoying it. Her sister, is staying with us for a while. We're glad to have her here, she's a lot of help and she's already found a job within walking distance of home.

Jordan is getting too old too fast. He's reading a lot, he's a total bookworm. He's learning to play baseball (a pre-requisite to being an American) and riding his bike all over town with his friends. He'll be nine in a few weeks.

Alan is excited to start Kindergarten this Fall. He reads very well already, and knows most of those things you're supposed to come out of Kindergarten knowing. He's also in baseball -- T-ball. It's the most incredibly boring thing I've ever watched, all the parents act excited though when the batter hits yet another ball to the pitcher who inevitably fumbles for it and throws it toward the first baseman who lets it roll right by. The batter gets to first base and everyone applauds greatly. Then it happens again, until eight runs have come home, then the ump yells "everybody rotate!" Meaning, the inning is now over, and the teams switch places in what becomes a seemingly endless game. But he's having a blast.

Lacey is trying not to be so spoiled lately. We're working on her manners and her tendency to scream for what she wants. She's doing much better. If she gets a nap, she does a lot better. She can be so sweet--usually in the morning. We love her as our little princess and it's hard not giving into her. She plays with Alan very well and they are hillarious together when they wrestle around the living room.

Finally, Ryan is our little fridge. Lately his favorite game is to hit dad at full speed while dad is sitting on the couch reading. It can hurt a lot. He's as cute as ever and does the funniest things that toddlers do. His speaking has gotten steadily better lately and he's saying short sentences that are sometimes understandable.

As a family we're going to some air shows next week. First one is the Thunderbirds in Cheyenne, and then on Saturday the Blue Angels will be at the Loveland/Fort Collins airport. Sweet. We LOVE airshows. Can't wait.

That's pretty much it. Ciao.