Unexpected consequences

So apparently our car crash came just after a radioactive space probe exploded in the atmosphere. It seems to have had some somewhat disturbing effects on Topher:

March: A Month of Firsts

March has been a rough month for our family, but it has also been a month of firsts for Topher. He was in his first car accident (I'm not too happy about that one) and he took his first trip to the ocean. He has also begun to sit by himself!!! You can tell from these pictures that he prefers it to lying on the floor :).



Acutally, Toph still sometimes has a hard time staying up when he's wearing pants because his chunky thighs are restriced :). He's doing great though!! This month Topher also got his first virus: RSV. He was pretty sick, coughing and drooling like it was going out of style, but he still tried incredibly hard to be pleasant.

Notice how red his little eyes were :(.

Thankfully, the RSV has cleared up rather quickly and Toph is no longer contagious. While the aforementioned firsts are the big ones, there are a few more that have been fun. Toph had his first St. Patrick's Day, although all we did was go car shopping, and he also took his first bite of carrots. And most importantly, Toph watched his first UCONN basketball game last night and was thrilled when Purdue lost :). Go Huskies!!!

Crunch...

Spring break had been pretty good to us up until Friday. We'd had a good time in Mystic, I'd been relaxing more than I should have (as opposed to getting homework done), and we were on the way to a friend's house for a game night. Unfortunately, everything changed when this became my view:

Not pictured: The sun on the horizon making it impossible to see the stop light or the SUV stopped at it in front of me.

The experience was harrowing, but turned out about as well as we could hope, all things considered. By the time we got out of the car, there was already a pair of paramedics ready to help who had been driving behind us on their way to work. Our car was totaled, but the SUV actually took it pretty well. This was the extent of the carnage:

Rest assured, this was the greatest bean dip ever created, and now nobody will ever get to taste it.

We weren't seriously injured, but we wanted Topher checked out and Megan had some back pain, so we each got to take our first Ambulance ride.

Megan checked out without any major injuries, but she still has some soreness. Topher actually took it the best of all of us, as evidenced by my new favorite picture of him:

Topher was just happy for the chance to flirt with the nurses in the Emergency Room

I was fine, though I'm currently wearing a brace on my wrist for some soreness that may or may not be related to the crash. We met the couple we hit while we were in the hospital. The were really nice and understanding. If you have to hit someone, I recommend hitting someone that's really nice.

The next Monday, we went to recover our belongings from the car.

Sad times

It was a pretty emotional time. "Just one last look" by The Temptations kept running through my head as I collected my belongings.

I was dangerously close to sampling the bean dip, but resisted the temptation.

The car was old enough that it would have cost twice as much to fix it as the car was worth. To make matters worse, because the impact was from the front they told us the salvage value was not much more than the towing cost.

We had some good times in that car. I took Megan on our first date in it, it brought us across the country to Connecticut, and it brought Topher home from the hospital, and that's only the start of the memories. It'll be missed.

Rest in peace, good friend.

Mystic and Magic - Another Photojournal from Topher

Because Topher's dad is on Spring Break this week, his family decided that they would take a trip down to Mystic, CT, which is right along the coast of the Long Island Sound. While going to the coast sounds like a long trip (To Utahns, at least), it was actually just an hour drive, made a little longer by the snow.

Topher would like you to note that this was taken while the car was stopped because there was a wreck up ahead. His dad has sworn off taking pictures while driving (most the time).

Topher's folks enjoyed going to the ocean.

Topher was a little less excited.

Again, the car is in park. Topher's dad has completely sworn off taking pictures from outside the vehicle while it is moving.

Topher's mom lives for this sort of stuff, though:

Topher was also a little weirded out when his parents stopped at multiple cemeteries to take pictures. In his parent's defense, his mom loves history and his dad loves sculpture and architecture.

The real excitement came on Tuesday, when the family went to the Mystic Aquarium. Notice how much Topher seems to be enjoying himself:

Topher got up close and personal with some Beluga Whales:

Topher's dad found a stalker fish who wouldn't stop staring at him.

And Topher's mom hooked up with some sea lions.

Topher and his dad learned that it is a bad idea to point behind mom and yell "Shark!"

His mom was afraid of them, but Topher totally kept his cool.

Topher appreciates everybody's responses regarding the animal cracker, but he thinks he found the answer. Behold, the Turd Frog:

Topher was also happy to find Nemo:

But was then made uncomfortable by this sign:

Didn't Nemo's mom die? Ewww....

Overall, Topher and his family had a rip-roaring good time in Mystic. If you want to see some more of the many sea animals (plus an iguana), you can look at this web album.

I'm still watching.

Just when you thought it was safe...

I'm extraordinarily happy to report that I recently repaired my Mac and it's fully functional. In honor of this blessed occasion (and the return of iMovie), we are offering our viewers a sneak peek of our next summer blockbuster. Please take warning: Some of this footage may be disturbing for sensitive viewers.

And while I have your attention, I was wondering if anybody could identify this animal cracker for me. It's not a turtle, because a different cracker was the turtle. I also don't think it's a penguin, because it has no beak.

Next time you go to the Zoo, be sure to ask where the Amorphous Blob cage is.

Talent Show

Megan and I like to think that we are pretty talented people, but when our church decided to put on a talent show, we decided that the operative word of that sentence was "think." However, after avoiding it for a while (and having "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick," quoted to us about a hundred times), we figured we'd give it a go.

Topher's recently developed talent was looking roughly towards the camera when we're talking a family photo.

Megan spent the two weeks before the show working hard on "Right Here Waiting for You." She rocked it.

She played so well they set some fireworks off from the piano.

Notice how relaxed she looks. The sign of a true master.

Megan's hard work practicing inspired Topher. He worked all week to be able to perform his favorite song, "The Gambler."

However, when the big night arrived, he decided he wasn't ready. Maybe next year. As a side note, I'm hoping this video will someday be played on VH1's "Before They Were Stars."

I don't have any performing talents, but when the Talent Show was also billed as a "Fine Arts Night," I realized that I had something that could be roughly construed as art.

Here's a hint, my talent's not making nice displays.

And here is a close up of the display.

The octopus is a puppet I made myself. I really liked the sculpture on the left, but by the time the show was over, it was totally mangled (apparently the kids in the ward don't get to go to enough museums). There are also a few wood carvings.

The computer in the back showed off some of the other stuff I've done (mostly sculptures, but also some puppets and mixed media [Can't beat mixed media]). You can check out the pictures by clicking ->here<-.

And before you ask: It is a bird made out of broken dart pieces.