Devil Bunk 2

Sam's post was not only hilarious but makes me remember his desire to NEVER fall off a bed as a baby. The rest of you would happily fall off a bed or couch and clunk your head on the floor. This would result in many tears but would't dissuade you from repeating the activity again in the future. Sam on the other hand only did it once. After his 1st clunk and cry he laid still as a corpse from then on. He apparently got it and could then be trusted to be laid precariously on the edge of the sofa or bed - the rest of you had to go on the floor or be tucked tightly on the bed. Max was by far the biggest clunk baby. He wanted to go, go, go and was never willing to lie quietly anywhere during the day. He also loved to pull books off the book shelves, but i will tell that story at a later date.

So all this reminds me of a story from my past. I have never shared this story with any of you, but will tell you about my Freshman Year bunk at Miami University. Sammy - it is dangerous, be bary, bary careful.

My roommate Dan Lew and I decided to modify our beds so we could put a couch underneath. This forced is to lift the top bunks higher up so you wouldn't hit your head each time you stood. The other "loft bed" had a stereo underneath since we had massive stereos with turntables, cassette players, tuners, albums, tapes and massive speakers. Much different than now with one iPod and a speaker.

So I climbed into the bed from the head of the bed each night. I generally slept still as a rock on my back and actually thought it was cool to be up there. How surprised do you think I was when one morning I awoke by slamming my head into the corner of Poppa's trunk which sat next to the couch under the bed as somewhat of an end table. I can assure you I woke up with quite a start and some serious pain. My forehead slammed into the metal corner which had rivets holding the trunk together. Specifically my eye brow hit the metal and tore a chunk of skin away. I came to realize a couple hours later while being stitched up at the med center that had I hit the metal just 1/2" lower where my eye is I might have majorly damaged my eye. Fortunately I have an extremely hard head (Poppa's words) and survived with simply stitches, bandages and a black eye. If you would like to see the scar I will be happy to share.

My counsel is to never have anything sticking our under the bed other than possibly a gymnastics matt!

I love you all in points west and in Lakewood. The mountains were beautiful!

Devil Bunk

So Dane decided a couple of days ago to switch our mattresses on the bunk bed, putting mine on the top bunk and his on the bottom. It was his original goal to be in bed before I got home so that I would accidentally climb into bed in the dark and freak out. Fortunately for him I came home before that happened. I will say though that the switch in the bunk beds has made me realize something new: the top bunk is of the devil. First of all, it is terrifying. I mean I'm laying in bed and all I can think about is "wow, that would really suck to fall in the middle of the night." Then for some brilliant reason the top bunk decided to be like 2 inches away from the ceiling. Within about two minutes of attempting to get to bed (which involved problem #3: I had to pretty much pole vault to get up there; I don't know how Dane did it, he's like 3 inches shorter then me) I was able to smack my head against the ceiling no less than four times. I felt like such an idiot, especially because Dane was already asleep so I was pretty much battering myself alone, I didn't even get moral support. Finally, after probably receiving a concussion from blunt force trauma I was able to fall asleep. All is well, right? Heck no! The devil bunk bed decided it would be funny for my entire blanket to fall off the bed. Now all you bottom bunkers don't realize how spoiled you are. In the bottom bunk you just reach over and grab it off the floor, no problem. Well as I clumsily reached over the bed to grab the blanket at 3 in the morning I realized "hey, that's really far away" (also I almost flipped off the bed for that stupidity). I decided that getting off the bed and taking the risk that I wouldn't be able to pole vault back onto the bed in the middle of the night wasn't worth it so I proceeded to fall asleep without my blanket (I'm pretty sure frostbite set in too). I slept until the morning and oh my, realized the blessings of the bottom bunk. Man, the things you take for granted.

With love forever and always, Sam

Ps: oh yeah, I woke up and met the ceiling with my face. Curse you devil bunk.

Amazing Life

Thought you all should know that you have the best Dad and he is the greatest husband. May each of you boys be just like him in the way he treats his children and his wife...

Every Day I'm Shufflin'

Dear Family,
   Well, this was really an incredible week for me.  I can't believe how blessed I am to have such a family as you.  It was so spectacular to be able to spend this week just enjoying one another, and being all together.  I would like to share a few of my personal highlights from the break, which, btw, was possibly my favorite vacation with the family that I've had in years.  Well, here we go:

1.Playing at the Nickel-cade with Sophie
  a.Fruit Ninja Extravaganza
  b.Taking tickets off the other machines when people had left them  :)
  c.Playing the shooting game with the giant spiders.
  d.Playing japanese DDR, and realizing too late that they play with diagonal tiles instead of Left, Right, Up, Down.
  e.Singing the baby-bottle pop song.
2.Playing Powergrid
  a.Sabotaging Luke so that he would lose
  b. Having Emma sabotage me (didn't like losing, but I love that she was ruthless...)
  c.Playing about a dozen times = Priceless
3.Playing Monopoly
  a. Watching Corey wipe the floor with everyone and winning her first game ever!
  b. Listening to Corey ask me how proud I was of her over and over after the game :)
  c. Owning a monopoly that Jack built Hotels on for me, shortly before he died, and I remained!
4.Getting an awesome birthday CD from Jackob
5.Getting an Awesome Gift Card from Mamma och Pappa
  a.Getting p90x so I can be sexy, fine, hot, cause 'I work out'....'wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle...'
  b.The King and I
  c.The Music Man
  d.Home Alone
  e. The Santa Clause
  f. Power Grid Expansion
  g. October Sky
  h. Community Season 2 and 3
  i. Mr. Hollands Opus
6. Driving home with Jack and  Corey and looking at people's Christmas lights
7. Stuffing
  a.Stuffing later that night
  b. Stuffing the next day
  c.  Sadness over no more stuffing the next next day.... :(
8. Grape Pie
9. Guesstures
  a. The goofy trophy...(oh boy...give that to me!!!)
10. Taboo
  a.Having Corey buzz me over and over till I get fed up and read all of the 'Taboo'words
  b. Sophie getting progressivly louder as she describes words
11. Listening to Christmas Music
12. Beating Sky City NM, and getting an awesome Steam Saw for my Barbarian.
13.SUPER SMASH BROTHERS
  a. beating luke as Pikachu
  b. beating luke as DK
  c. beating luke as jigglypuff
  d. beating luke with my fists after he beat me with anyone
  e. beating luke as mario
  f. beating luke as ness
  g. never ever ever beating anyone as Link...
14. Jack giving me a free grilled cheese at just the right moment when I was hungry
15. Jacks relatively speedy convalescence
16. Grandpa Dick playing hearts and LOSING to YAYA!
17.Watching Grandpa Dick Jr. Shoot the Moon = Be--ah-you-tih -full...
18. Having a queen bed to sleep in at Yayas...gonna miss that size
19.Having awesome Cincinnati style chili
20. Spending a fantastic week with my family, the best of all.

I love you all, thanks for an amazing time.  You're the greatest of all time, and I love that we have all eternity together.

Max

Thank you family

I want you all to know - especially my Max birthday boy and my amazing husband - how much I appreciate the support and accommodations everyone made so I could be with my Mom and Dad today to get thru Grandpa Dick's surgery. As the surgeon said - "he made me work on this one" - took close to 2 hours instead of the planned 40 min... But it is done and hopefully he is now on the mend. Can't wait to be all together tonight to share in the birthday celebration. I love you. Families are forever. Mom

Gloria's Italian

Terrific dinner at an Italian restaurant in Provo. Luke and Jack went to Jack's FHE instead and possibly will post death-defying stunts from the scary trampoline place. Delicious pasta - let the birthday celebration for Max begin ... Almost 24!

Super Smash Saturday

Joy and happiness - Max has all the brothers at their house to play his favorite tournament game...

Sam's Awesome Apartment

We loved going to 2 sacrament meetings today - jack's ward and then Sam's ward - then Dad, Soph and I checked out Sam's apartment. We were impressed!

My girls

Reunited - part way!

Could not be happier as I gather my "ducks" - Luke is en route and everyone else here. Loved surprising Jack by knocking on his window (good thing he lives on first floor!), surprising Sam as he came out of Spanish and being at Max's front door when he thought it was Jack! We all had lunch at the Wilk. Jack headed to choir, dropped Max off - rainy day! - and Sam was subjected to a little "what not to wear episode" with himself as the star of the show. Soph worked her magic and found him a couple shirts and sweater to kick up his dress style a notch for his night out. We were jealous Sammy had vocal point tix and the concert was sold out. Jack called for a ride to the martial arts competition that he had to attend for his class - it was at uVU. Soph and I shopped at a Marshall's type store and Soph got a jacket with some of the money she was saving for the trip. We retrieved Jack - checked into our hotel and then went to see Breaking Dawn pt 2 - honestly, I slept a little but there was a great fight scene and it was pretty crowded there. We got to our hotel - Javk decided to crash here too since we got an upgrade to a suite. I was pretty tired after very long day (22 hours!) and now feel surprisingly perky with the time difference of course. Can't wait to see Corey still - and Luke and Dad fly in today. Can't wait! I am feeling very thanksgiving about it all - Sam is spending the day with Creighton (pre planned before I got here early) - Hopefully Corey and Max can get a little rest as they both had the flu this past week. Soph and I are going to get Luke at 11 - then running to Costco to get some dinner stuff etc. We should all be to Corey and Max's by 9:30 or so assuming Dad's flight gets in on time. Big dinner at their house tomorrow - I will cook:-). You are the best - this is what eternal family is all about. I love you. Mom

Leaving Holland

It has been a good few days in Holland and I am now boarded on a plane coming back to the USA. What a wonderful country - I look forward to bringing all of you here. I traveled with Art Van Wingerden and a partner of ours from a company in Holland named Modiform - Leo Swart. He is a real gentleman and we have named him some years ago "the Prince of the Netherlands.". It probably goes without saying, but he loves the name. A picture of the three of us is here.

The Swart's - Leo, his wife Simone, and son's Temo, Daan & Geijs - are great people. They had me into their home for dinner last night and it couldn't have been better. They live right outside of a big town called Den Bosch in Empele. They built their house 10 years ago so it is a little rarer to be so new. There is an old gothic style Catholic church from 1220 in the town which is beautiful too called St. Jan's. It certainly rivals those we saw in Italy an France. Their family is coming to the United States for Holiday next summer and I have invited them to stay with us for a night. The kids have been researching Cedar Point for months and can't wait to go!

Art left a day earlier so we were able to have the last day going to separate greenhouses and garden centers. I took a lot of pictures of different packages I believe can do well in the US also. Additionally, I am always blown away that every single house in Holland has a ton of plants and many of them in the front windows as you drive down the street.

Another cool thing is the bike riding. Everybody, and I mean everybody, rides bikes for transportation and not sport. I have never seen so many bikes. Leo said that only China rides as much. Not a surprise, everyone in the country is thin! I didn't see a fat person for three days until I came back to the airport this morning to get on the plane to America! We should take this example - last night Temo was going to James Bond following dinner. They all hopped on their bikes and rode the 8 km (yes 5 miles). It was normal any time of the year in any weather.

I have to go - I will see you all tonight!

I Make Stuff Happen

My fabulous creations. AKA: Home remedies of life.
By order of appearance (and creation)

1. Headlight wrapped around a milk jug filled with water, creates a gentle ambient light.
Side effects: fills your soul with a calm warmth; provides a soft, seemingly natural light;helps save the environment, puts an otherwise useless headlight to work, raises your IQ, encourages people to be nice to you.

2. Homemade Speakers (Amplifiers)
They're awesome. They double the output of my iPhone. It's kind of a big deal. I use it to listen to music in the shower.

3. Mini-Hurricane in a Bottle! (Water Spout) I made two.
I discovered that regular soda bottles fit perfectly into Minute-Maid bottles. Add water, super glue, presto. I now have entertainment.


-Sir Jacob van Heemskerck Duker DeBaltzo Esquire

Go Luke Go Soph!

So the sport seasons of soccer and volleyball have come to an end. Our 2 current Rangers had great years - Luke lettered in soccer so is now a 2 letter guy with swimming as well - coach said some really nice things about him including commenting on his integrity , his leadership, that only good things come out of his mouth. I am very proud of the effort, consistency and responsibility Luke shows in his athletic endeavors. Coach finished up by saying that if he had a son, he would want him to be just like Luke. Truly warmed my heart. Sophie's banquet was last night - she was recognized for her positive and happy attitude - which I love! She also received defensive player of the year, top serving percentage (93% of her serves were in play) #1 in digs (2 x what anyone else had) and several other significant stats. Coach feels she will be a strong lombrero in high school volleyball. I am particularly proud of these two because they are excelling in sports where they are some of the very few who are not playing year round or club primarily because it is virtually impossible to do so without Sunday games. Way to go DeBaltzo Rangers! I love you guys:-)

Sophie's YW ear warmers(:

Football is Awesome

Well. That's an exaggeration if I've ever heard one.
I went to most of the games with Sam this year. We usually had seats in the lower section of the north end zone, but for the coldest game of the season our seats were in the upper balcony, ten rows from the top of the stadium..

Fortunately, no one was at the game (it was snowing) so we moved forward until we were ultimately ten rows from the field. It was really cold.
I used my headphones as earmuffs. Unfortunately they're noise-reduction headphones.. So I don't hear a lot of what goes on when it's cold.

We won by a lot. 52-10


-Sir Jacob van Heemskerck Duker DeBaltzo Esquire

Sorry!

Ok well I have been slacking hard core on the blog. Life has been going pretty fantastic for me here. Studying like crazy and just enjoying life a lot. I hope you like the pictures, we've been having a good time. Halloween was pretty awesome! King Henry (my apartment) complex is known for having a lot of guys who think they're all that (aka tools in Utah terms) so I dressed as a guy from king Henry. I wore a shirt that was way too small, board shorts, high socks, "poppin" shoes and a flat-brimmed hat. I liked it mostly because it required no extra cost to me:).
Our frisbee team got destroyed again on Saturday, completing our intramural season with a record of 0-7. Sorta brutal, but good news! On our way home from the massacre we saw an old lady who was holding a garage sale and decided to stop by...and she was selling tons of Christmas stuff! Now our apartment is thoroughly decked out for the holidays. We decided that we only had like two weeks after Halloween to celebrate thanksgiving so why decorate for that; instead we invested in having 6 weeks of Christmas (with of course a three day break for thanksgiving)! Best of both worlds. We've been listening to Christmas music like crazy too which has been awesome. My song of the year thus far is "shake up Christmas" by Train (I know it's like two years old but it came out while I was gone).
So I love you guys a ton, you're the best. I'm happy, working hard, and loving life.
With love forever and always;)
-Sam

Three-Dimensional Self-Imaging

Put two copies of the same picture side-by-side, cross your eyes until the picture overlaps to form a third picture in the middle. Keep the middle image perfectly overlapped until the center image focuses. It's awesome.


-Sir Jacob van Heemskerck Duker DeBaltzo Esquire

Awesome Position

Scrolling through my camera roll I came across some great pictures. They are posted. Nice batter position by Jack! I love you guys - 1 week from tomorrow I am in Utah!

I live the blog

Every so often I miss some days on the blog and when I catch up I am so happy. I love all of the posts and Jack, don't stop with your regular published pictures and comments. We are due to hear a big update from Sam, Max, Corey, Sophie and Luke.

I have been traveling a bunch and am glad to be home this week. I have a picture of the trade show attached. San Diego weather was great, but it is always great to get home. The weather here was unbelievable with Sandy coming through and I was glad to get home safely. It was fun having friends in the house all week. I was particularly glad to be the home everyone could come to rather than looking for a shelter and being out if heat. It reminded me to be thankful for my many blessings.

This past weekend was much needed for rest. So we spent the entire day raking on Saturday! So much for rest. Sophie helped for a long time and then Luke jumped in upon coming home from helping with Alex Northrup's Eagle Scout project.

A-ROO is going really well although very busy. I can be thankful for that. Next week I leave for Holland for a few days before flying to Salt Lake City to see my Provo family!

I love you guys,
Dad

Sophie's bottle rocket

Built Nemo style...

Countdown

Two weeks!!!!

O-H-I-O

Exercise your right to vote!

Halloween ... Finally!

Nur das Beste

Probably the coolest thing ever. I just started watching the show 'Arrow', which follows the story of Oliver Queen, aka 'The Green Arrow'.

This show is basically the perfect combination of Batman, 'Lost', 'Smallville', and 'Robin Hood'.

It's incredible.
It also just may be the encouragement I need to finally start working out..

-Sir Jacob van Heemskerck Duker DeBaltzo Esquire

Lots of Leaves

The ratio of rakers to leaves is a rapidly diminishing number. Therefore, we have to bribe the small ones left at home. Tonight dinner out at a new place on Madison - Taco Tonto's...