I Think It Might Be Riggsed

As far as Saturdays go, I realized that we were running out of days that we could get up to the top of Mt Graham before it started to get really cold. So I mentioned to Shannon about heading up to Riggs Lake and going fishing since I had purchased a fishing license for our Young Men's Summer activity and it is way to expensive to use only the once. She thought it was a good idea and so our plans began. At some point, we talked with my parents and they decided to go with us. Unfortunately, I had a commitment that morning that took until almost 1:00, and so we got a bit of a late start. By the time we hit Noon Creek, I started to get the question, "Are we almost there yet?" I can't say I was totally surprised by the question, but I was taken a little off guard that it was Shannon who was asking. Just kidding, it was actually Braden, although she did ask it by about Treasure Park.

Anyway, once we arrived, we were stunned by how beautiful and green everything was. The mountain has had a great deal of rain this year and you could really tell. We got all set up and on the first cast...Abby tangled the line. So we had to sort through that and then on the next cast she did really well. However, she caught some lake weed and refused to touch it. So her fishing day took a break for a while. Braden was up next and his first cast...tangled the line. After we worked through that, he cast again and...tangled the line. It took a while but we finally got him straightened out. Abby returned later and wasn't tangling the line, but was very violent in her back swing. Imagine her trying to fly fish with a regular pole and you should have a pretty good visual of what was happening. She nearly hooked Kate and Grandma once and another time, I was bent over the tackle box and felt her bobber hit me in the back. Fortunately, we got that one straightened out too.

As far as the fishing went, it started out a little slowly and then...BOOM!!! I caught a fish. I was the hero of the day. Braden was shouting my praises and I could have walked away right then bigger than Jonas Brothers in my kids eyes. Unfortunately, I am not that smart and continued to fish. I caught another, and then another. By the fourth fish, they weren't nearly that impressed cause clearly it wasn't that hard. And they kind of had a point. One time I cast out and before my bobber could settle in it was pulled under. Another time, I was reeling it back in and some dumb fish grabbed on on the way in. We found out they had stocked the lake on Tuesday and so we were literally almost shooting fish in a barrel. Although, I think it might have been that we had the right spot too. Those around us didn't seem to be having the luck that we had. By the time it was all said and done, I had brought in 7. Abby was just trying to learn to cast and was practicing that. I showed her once and then handed her the pole, when she caught a fish. She celebrated by dancing all around the shore singing, "I caught my first fish" while I finished reeling it in. Braden was pretty jealous until he also caught a fish. We told him he could celebrate too if he wanted, but he said he wasn't very good at that and kept holding the pole while I pulled out the hook. In the end, Abby caught 3 fish and Braden 1. It was pretty awesome. They now want to go back because they have tasted success.

Because of our late start, we fished until the sun was behind the horizon. As you can see from the picture above, it was really pretty. However, that meant we didn't get started down until after dusk and drove down mostly in the dark. Nothing funner than driving Swift Trail in the dark. Did I say nothing funner? My use of the word funner tells you what frame of mind you have to be in to enjoy that drive. Anyway, it was a really nice afternoon and one we will be repeating soon.

(I suppose I should now learn how to clean fish and get rid of the 20 pairs of eyes staring at me from my freezer.)

Meet Buddy Harry Rapier

Well, it finally happened. I have fought for years the idea of getting a dog. The tears and agony of my oldest daughter could not move me. I was a rock. The key word there is WAS. On Sunday, my mom called with the opportunity to become the proud owners of a shitzapoo (sp?). That is not me sneezing or trying to curse in a clever way that no one knows what I am doing, but rather a shitzu and poodle mix. The dog was six weeks old and would normally sell for $400 retail. However, we had the one time offer of $400 off the $400 price tag. Even I can't pass up a deal like that. So last night we went to Duncan and picked up the newest member of our family. We were worried that we would have trouble naming the dog or rather having everyone agree on a name. Immediately, Braden said he wanted to name it Buddy. As is completely in line with what we expected, Abby immediately said no. However, within 15 minutes she had agreed. We overheard her later in the van admit to Braden that she wanted to name it something better (code words for I didn't want to let you Braden name the dog) but she couldn't come up with anything and went with Buddy. On the other hand, Logan wanted Harry. When we persisted in calling it Buddy, he broke down in a swell of tears and so we compromised with Buddy Harry. Then Braden pointed out it was our family's newest member, we realized his full name is Buddy Harry Rapier. I believe we will be calling him Buddy. I had really wanted Migrow the 2nd in honor of my first dog, but that idea fell completely flat. (I still can not tell you where the name Migrow came from other than to say I was four.) Another fine observation from Braden is that Kate is 3 months and Buddy is six weeks, they are like twins. I don't even know where to begin with that.

After a night where we the parents just prayed that the dog would be there in the morning, Shannon went out this morning at 6:30 to get the dog and take it in to wake up Abby in a cute way. She stuck her head out and couldn't see the dog. So she called for it. From inside the new dog house came Abby's voice, "He's in the dog house with me Mom." Don't know what time she went out there and we don't know what prompted her to crawl inside the dog house, but what you gonna do.

Needless to say, we all love the new addition to our family. Even me. Maybe I should actually say, Especially me.

One Angry Father

I recognize this is not necessarily meant to be a political blog but rather a way to keep family and friends updated on the goings on with our family. However, I am finding that it is also a good place to vent my thoughts as they arise. I don't have that many thoughts so the blog only gets updated every other day or so, but today my thoughts veered from my typical family or personal update to a more political one. The ironic twist is, this update is motivated almost entirely by family.

Several years ago, JohnMcCain led what has become known as the "Gang of 14" which was a group of senators that basically undermined a number of George Bush's conservative appointments to the judiciary. This was on the heels of several other things with which I disagreed with John McCain on. The "Gang of 14" was the final straw. I made a personal vow that I would never vote for John McCain in any election ever again. Little did I know...

After a frustrating primary, my feelings for John McCain had not gotten much better. He continued to poke social conservatives like myself in the eye with his rhetoric and seemed unable to support anything that would solve the issue quickly becoming the most important to my family...high (gas, food, energy) prices. I started to convince myself that maybe not voting for President was my only option. The only thing that would change my mind was McCain's VP pick. When he announced his choice of Sarah Palin on Friday, I was on my back to the fold. She holds beliefs that I could wholeheartedly support particularly with regards to abortion.

Then came today. It was always known that Sarah Palin's son has Down's Syndrome. Released yesterday was the news that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. All day today, I have listened to news reporters and people in the public eye make the most asinine arguments about this most personal family matter. I have heard people say they hoped this daughter had a choice for an abortion (implying she did not). Subtle shots about Mrs. Palin's hypocrisy for endorsing abstinence education and opposing birth control in the schools. As if because she holds these beliefs she caused her daughter to make this uneducated about what can happen when you have sex. Not so subtle implications that hypocritical conservatives like myself would throw her overboard immediately for not living up to our perfect standards. But most of all, it angered me that they were even talking about it at all. No one wants their dirty laundry aired in front of the world. However, when you run for political office, that is the choice you make. But what kind of people do we want to have run if we as a society are going to crucify their kids on the alter of "well, this is national politics". Everyone should have had the decency to let this go. They should have said, this is not about the issues and it is all about the emotional psyche of a young 17 year old girl. As a society, we should not be willing to sacrifice our youth the way the blogs, the media and left have been sacrificing her today. This should have been between a young girl who made a choice her parents wish she wouldn't have. They should have been allowed to remain a family matter and left alone.

I have two daughters. I am doing all I can to teach them what I believe to be right. I will teach them that sex should wait until marriage. But wait, shocker coming....they may not make every decision I would want them to. If the situation Bristol Palin finds herself in today were my daughter, I would handle it exactly as the Palins are handling this. They are standing by their daughter. They are not backing down from their beliefs nor are they being bullied into leaving this political fray they have entered. Because there is more than one lesson I would want my daughter to learn. First, choices have consequenses. Sometimes that lesson is a hard one to learn. But second, family is always there for you and third, just because a mistake has been made does not mean you quit or let others define you as a failure because you and your family didn't live up to perfection. Last I checked, only One has done that and He is not running for political office. Despite what the left leaning media would have you believe.

So what is the point of my little diatribe here? It is that I will proudly vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Those in the media, who so quickly underestimate me to be of a mind that Sarah Palin is not worthy of consideration because her daughter made a tough choice, have guaranteed that. I still don't care all that much for several of John McCain's views. I will vote for John McCain because the left's treatment of a 17 year old girl is more than I can stomach and makes me angrier than I have been in a long time. Because someday, my daughters will be 17, and today I vote for them.

Perfection in an Imperfect World

It is funny how much we over use the work "perfect". That meal was perfect or she looks just perfect. The reality is that perfection is actually a pretty tough thing to attain. Well, this past weekend, my family gathered in Phoenix at the The Pointe at Tapatillo Cliffs and my first thought reflecting on it was that the weekend was perfect. Now I would ask you, when did perfection start to include the 3,487 times that the phrases "are we there yet" or "when are we going to eat" are repeated by impatient and grumpy children. Or when did perfection take in hauling luggage for a family of six up two flights of stairs and a very large hill, (what did I expect to find at a place with the word cliffs in the title), in what had to be 98.9 percent humidity. Lastly, when I get beat at cards as badly as I did, perfect does not immediately come to mind.

However, in spite of those examples, I would say that this last weekend was perfect for our family. We had a wonderful time swimming and visiting the Arizona Science Center and celebrating my Mom's birthday. Logan, who last saw Jerry when he was three weeks old, took to his uncle so well and would hardly leave his side. Grandad and grandkids had a wonderful time together in the pool (see photo) and my Mom got to be around her whole family for her birthday. Looking at the photos attached and seeing the looks on our faces, I would say for this life, we look like the time we had was pretty darn perfect.