"New Pow Ruske?"

My sweetheart has returned from Russia!!! Nathan had been in Russia for almost 2 weeks and he got back late last night. He went with an organization called "Heart to Heart" and was training pediatric cardiologists in the city of Tomsk which is in Siberia. Nathan's Russian really came in handy and the group was very grateful that he was there. I'm sure that he'll share some experiences and pictures on the blog soon. I'm just grateful that he's home! The kids were excited this morning to wake up and see Daddy here! We sure missed him! WELCOME HOME! WE LOVE YOU!

The title to this entry is a little joke between Nathan and I. On the movie, "The Hunt for Red October" Sean Connery, the main character, says this quote which is supposed to mean, "So you speak Russian?" but he totally murdered the Russian language! So anyway, just in case you were wondering....

"I'm a cat Mommy! MEOW!"

I have been blessed with very creative children, but my Haley, she takes the cake! She is constantly brightening my day with her creative ventures and "projects". One school morning during a crazy and frustrating week, Haley greets me with "I'm a cat Mommy! MEOW!" and shows me her "claws". For a few days before her cat venture she had discovered that she could put her barrettes on her fingers to create longer "fingernails".

The morning of the cat, she had discovered that she could also put the barrettes on her toes and make longer "toe nails".

She brightened my morning and I just had to document her "cat" pose! MEOW!!!

Happy Easter!

Aren't they beautiful? My sweet children in their sweet Easter duds! I love buying my kids new clothes for Easter! The kids were really excited about Easter this year, I really don't know why, but they woke up early and had a hard time falling asleep, it was Christmas all over again! Nate kept saying, "I'm going to ask the Easter Bunny for this or this..." I had to keep reminding him that you don't ask the Easter Bunny for things like you do Santa, you just get what he gives you in your Easter basket. Anyway..... the kids woke up to find this letter:

The Easter Bunny leaves a letter in the same place every year and hides the kids baskets every year. This year the clues led the kids to Michael's crib. The baskets were hidden way under his crib. Easter baskets are really fun and the candy is really yummy, but maybe next year we'll focus more on the real reason for the season.

We had Easter dinner with our good friends the Henstroms. We had LOTS of great food and banana splits for dessert. Good food and great company, couldn't ask for anything more!

Fooled you!

I decided to try and trick the kids for April Fools Day and planned a tricky dinner. I told the kids we were having grilled cheese with cupcakes for dessert.

Haley came into the kitchen while I was making the grilled cheese and asked "Mommy, why is there frosting on our grilled cheese and is this play dough on top of our cupcakes?" She almost blew my surprise! So I had to quickly call the boys in and have a very fast prayer before they discovered my April Fool's joke. The kids grilled cheese was actually toasted pound cake slices with almost life-like cheese colored frosting. The kids were really surprised and were hesitant to eat their sandwiches. Haley reminded me that she doesn't like pound cake, so she just scraped her cheese frosting off and ate the frosting plain. That's my girl!

While the kids were enjoying their grilled cheese, I suggested that maybe they'd like to have their "dessert" now. They look like real cupcakes, right?

Michael started reaching for his cupcake right away! He was so excited that he didn't have to eat anything before he got his dessert (usually it's a fight to get him to eat a couple of bites so that he can have dessert). When I gave Nate his cupcake he said, "Wait a minute Mom! Hey! These cupcakes smell like meatballs!" Haley immediately tried her frosting and said "SMASHED POTATOES!" The "cupcakes" were actually meatloaf with colored mashed potato "frosting"! It was a lot of fun planning and pulling off this April Fool's dinner!

Andy was sad that his top heavy cupcake wouldn't stand upright on his plate!

Como Zoo

This week, it's Spring Break so the kids are out of school. On Monday, we went to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. It's a great little zoo and it's free (they only ask for donations). Unfortunatley it was a little too cold for the animals to be outside, so we traveled from one inside building to the other looking at the animals. Michael was quite freaked out by the animals (or "goggies" as he calls them), which came as a complete surprise to me. Our first stop was the monkey house and he wouldn't go near the glass windows of the cages. I thought it was quite funny! My favorite was when we went in to see the giraffes and he would shake his head "no" every time I asked if he wanted to go see the giraffes. There were no glass windows separating us from the giraffes, so it really freaked him out. He even broke down into tears. I got it on video, but I don't know how to add video yet, so that will have to be added later.

This was taken in the giraffe house. He insisted on wearing his blankie like a scarf. He is standing so impatiently in the doorway, waiting for us to be done looking at the giraffes. The giraffe is Haley's favorite animal, so we were in there longer than anywhere else.

Michael did like seeing the "goggies" just at a distance. Every animal is a "goggie" except for a duck, which is a "Qak". Nate loved seeing the poison dart frogs. Frogs are his favorite animal. Andy just loved always being first in a building because he would be the first to open the door. Who cares about the animals, right? As long as there are doors to open, Andy is happy!

Pinewood Derby

Nate's first Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was the same day as "Wacky Hair Day" - hence his hairstyle in this picture. He took a shower because he didn't want to go to the Derby with wacky hair and I didn't have him comb it before this picture was taken. Nate and Nathan worked on the car somewhat together and Nate decided on the color and racing stripes. His car didn't do as well as he had hoped, but for a first Derby, I think he did pretty great! Each Cub got a trophy at the end of the race (a BBC Rootbeer bottle with a real toy car on top)!! Nate is pictured below with his good friend Kimball Henstrom who also particpated in the race.

Wacky Hair Day

Today at school it was "Wacky Hair Day" so we got into the spirit of the morning and went crazy! Andy and Michael wanted in on the fun as well! Our school colors are black and red. The effect was quite Halloweenish, so next year we'll choose some happier colors. The kids had a lot of fun and even helped each other put on the glitter! The extra child you see is Tressa Krauss. She comes to our house some mornings before school because her mom works at Mayo.

A Very Cool Yule

So, now that over a month has passed since Christmas, I figure it's about time that I post some pictures on the blog. To the good fortune of many, I am hoping to focus my time and yours on pictures in lieu of my typical rambling prose. Before proceeding , though, it would be appropriate to say that this Christmas was special as we were able to have Nikole's parents and her youngest brother over. We always enjoy their company, particularly during the Holidays.

As parents, Nikole and I continue to try to teach our kids about the true purpose of Christmas--to celebrate Christ's birth, life, and ultimately his sacrifice for us. This becomes tricky in the face of the the commercialization of Christmas. We are finding it difficult to both indulge our kids' excitement for tearing through wrapped gifts, while reminding them that receiving such presents should not be the focus of our celebration. Currently our balance leans a bit toward indulgence, and we continue to discuss ways to sway that balance in the future...

Here I am being the donkey in the Taggart Community Theatre rendition of The Nativity on Christmas Eve. The role came naturally to me.

Here is a group photo of all the actors in the nativity: Andy was a shepherd, Nate was Joseph, Haley was Mary, and Michael was a sheep.

Michael enjoyed his Thomas train set.

Nate's Santa gift was a K'nex roller coaster

Haley is pleased with her Littlest Pet Shop stuffed animal.

Andy is absorbed in his Leapster. Not pictured is the Nintendo Wii, which has quickly become our family's favorite toy.

Christmas is one of those unique occasions when sibling conflict abates, and brothers and sisters can express their true feelings to each other. Sort of.

I was able to take the day after Christmas off from work, and the weather was nice enough that we could go sledding at one of the big hills in town. It was a lot of fun, and we weren't run over by any snow boarding punks.

Naive in N'Orleans

I spent last weekend in New Orleans for the big annual American Heart Association conference. I had not previously been to the Big Easy and was looking forward to having some tasty Cajun and/or creole cuisine (they are different cuisines, right?). Several times throughout my stay I recalled that old commercial with an allegedly real, live Louisiana chef telling me that he "gar-on-TEES" that I will like new Cajun Style Ruffles. I don't think I ever got around to trying them, but I suspect that that commercial is responsible for my continued interest in New Orleans food.

The sad truth is that the extent of my New Orleans cultural experience was born of that potato chip commercial from the mid-1980s. I imagined impromptu jazz parades in the middle of the day, as onlookers shout out "OOOOO-EEEEEE! That is one a fine puh-RADE! I GAR-un-TEEE!!" So it should come as little surprise that I was somewhat naive in planning this trip. When selecting a hotel (location, location, location!) I found one nestled into a corner of Bourbon Street and concluded it would be exciting to stay where all the "fun" is. I would soon learn that my definition of "fun" differs greatly from the prevailing Bourbon Street definition. For me, "fun" is to eat my kids Halloween candy while trying to make it through an entire Netflix-issued DVD without falling asleep. Different definition, indeed.

Now, that's not to say that my hotel was skanky or anything. It was actually quite nice--Mayo Clinic was paying, of course. The only real issue, other than the low pressure, lukewarm showers, was the location. Directly across the street were a cabaret theater and one of at least three so-called "gentleman's" clubs that I passed each time I walked to Canal Street to catch the conference shuttle. The remainder of Bourbon Street was a hodge-podge of bars, blues houses and moderately upscale restaurants. The word was that the far east end of Bourbon Street attracted those of more alternative lifestyles. Even at my end of the street, though, I found more than enough alternatives to my admittedly prudish lifestyle.

After checking in to my hotel, I discovered that I had been assigned a 2-double bed room facing the inner courtyard. I quickly requested a switch and was pleased to find that they had a king room available with a balcony facing the corner of Bourbon and Bienville. I thought, great! Now I can open the balcony door to enjoy the evening music, while keeping the curtains shut so I don't have to actually see anything. It was a great plan, ruined only by the fact that the music I had looked forward to turned out to be a potpourri of honking, police sirens and drunken revelry mixed with three or four different musical genres playing simultaneously and each doing its darnedest to be the loudest on the street. There was Jazz, Blues, Country-Western, and Cover Band Playing Selected Hits from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.

The thing is, the cover bands were actually not bad. It became somewhat of a surreal experience. One minute it's Joe Cocker. Next it's the Eagles. Then there's John (+/- Cougar) Mellencamp. Guns N' Roses. The Beatles. I half expected them all to come out from their various bars at the same time, look around at each other with a confused expression on their faces and say something like, "Wow. What a coincidence. Aren't some of us supposed to be dead?" Instead the Billboard hits just kept on rolling and rolling... until at least 3 AM. It was a Saturday night, so I figured that with the weekend and all, I shouldn't have expected a quiet night. Turns out the weekend had nothing to do with it; Monday night and Tuesday night were no different. Apparently there are always people in New Orleans looking for an excuse to party and get smashed. And where better to do it than right under my balcony.

I don't want to be the cynic who won't acknowledge the good there is in a place like New Orleans. I have to say that I didn't meet a mean person during my stay. There was, of course, the old toothless lady outside the Krystal's hamburger stand who was trying to pick a fight with an old toothless man. But she doesn't count, because 1) it was probably just a really bad hangover, and 2) technically, I didn't "meet" her. Otherwise, though I have to say everyone was very nice and friendly.

Another thing I really enjoyed about New Orleans was the food. While half of the time I may not have known exactly what I was eating--what exactly is "debris" on a Po-Boy sandwich?--I for the most part enjoyed eating it nonetheless. Perhaps my favorite meal, which also turned out to be the cheapest, was at a little hole-in-the-wall called Coop's Place. I had barbecue shrimp, Cajun fried chicken, jambalaya, green beans and red beans and rice. Never mind that we incurred a 20% fee for requesting that the three of us to have separate checks ("I have to enter your order now, then go back and re-enter it to get your bills. It's a real pain in the [butt]."), it was a very fulfilling, albeit a heart unhealthy meal.

Afterwards, we walked back to my hotel, where three other colleagues were finishing their dinners in the oyster bar located, again, right below my balcony. After perusing the dessert menu, I decided that I just wanted some ice cream, which, of course, they didn't offer. So I walked across the street for a $5 ice cream cone and brought it back to the oyster bar window, opposite which the rest of my party was seated. It was a prime location, as I could both signal to them that they needed to hurry up and watch Monday Night Football on one of the widescreen TVs hanging behind the bar. My fantasy football team's victory hinged on the performances of a couple players, so I had a real interest in how the game turned out.

Around this time, a friendly guy who referred to me as "Big Man" came up.

"Hey, Big Man! Whassup? You watchin' the game?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Whose your team?"

"Neither one. Just watching for fun."

"That's cool, that's cool.... Here you go, Big Man."

At this point he pulled a small business card from a stack of about 30 or 40 and offered it to me. I glanced down at it. I didn't read the whole thing, but I immediately recognized a curious series of X's at the end of some word in the center of the card. Now, I'm no genius, but I'm fairly certain that there is no real word in the English language that has more than one X in a row. Using the deductive reasoning skills that I honed from years of trying to figuring out which of my kids forgot to flush the toilet, I concluded that whatever dubious activity he was inviting me to participate in, I was not interested.

"They is [ladies of the night]," he explained, as if I needed an interpreter.

"I'm not interested in that stuff," I responded plainly.

"Oh, that's cool... cool, Big Man. I get it. You married?"

"Yeah, I am. But even if I weren't, I wouldn't be interested." The complexity of my negative conditional statement caught him a bit off guard.

"You never been to a [gentleman's] club?!"

"Nope. Never."

My reply was met with stunned silence. Visibly confused, he tried to make sense out of the events of the past 90 seconds. I mean, what kind of person hangs around on Bourbon Street after 4:30 in the afternoon? Certainly not the kind who doesn't patronize it's various fine establishments. I wanted to provide him with context for my response, but, while the thought crossed my mind, I decided it was probably not the best situation to explain to him my moral and religious beliefs.

Undeterred, and seemingly unable to find any other logical explanation for my disinterest, he asked, "So, what? Are you Mormon?!"

Stifling the urge to laugh, I explained that, yes, in fact, I am a Mormon. He was excited to inform me that he, too, is a Christian. We exchanged a few pleasantries, after which he asked if I could give him some money to buy a hot dog.

Weekend Update

I'm ashamed that I haven't been more regular in my blog posts. My hope was that this blog would be like a journal of each weeks activities. I guess it HAS become like my journal, in the sense that I don't keep it up to date.

Since my last post we have had several significant events. I've been in the cardiac cath lab since August, and will continue to be there through October. It's a good thing that I absolutely love it. I had a sneaking suspicion that I would enjoy it; now I'm considering it as part of my long-term career plans. If I decide to do cath, it would probably require an additional year of training, which we would probably have to do elsewhere. I have plenty of time before I have to settle on my post-fellowship plans, so even if I am anxious, I don't feel rushed.

Summer is winding down here in Rochester. It has been a very nice summer--not too hot or muggy, not too many mosquitos (although we have had a lot of bees). The weather turned cool pretty abruptly this week. We've had several days in the 70's, dipping down to the 50's on occasion. Hopefully this portends a nice, long autumn, as opposed to the two week autumns we are used to.

As summer comes to a close, Nate and Haley have started back to school. Nate is now in the 3rd grade; Haley is in 1st. They seem to enjoy it very well, although their opinion about school--and their overall state of happiness, for that matter--is closely tied to the chores-to-play time ratio of a given day. For example, if they have to clean their rooms before playing with their friends, then school was dumb and boring. If, on the other hand, they get to watch TV all day, eat ice cream and donuts for dinner and stay up until midnight, then school was fun.

The new school year means renewed responsibilities for Nikole. She is the leader of VIE (Volunteers in Education) at the elementary school. So, she is responsible for finding parent-volunteers for various school related activities throughout the year, such as helping out with picture day and stuff like that (you'll have to ask her for all the particulars). Last year she found herself filling in most of the time when she couldn't get anyone else to help out. Hopefully this year will be easier for her.

Sorry this post isn't as interesting as others may have been in the past. In addition to entertaining (which I always try to do), I feel obligated to inform you about the goings-on at the Taggart homefront. We've had some other outings that have been pretty fun--church family campout, the Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota--as well as our normal day-to-day events that are sometimes humorous. I'll make a point to post some more pictures and more lighthearted fare in the near future.

Girlie-Man

We have a nighttime routine for getting the kids ready for bed: Put on your pajamas, brush your teeth, read scriptures, read a story, say prayers. On a rotating basis, one of the verbal kids gets to choose a storybook that we will read together as a family. Tonight was Nate's turn. As I was coming into the family room, I asked him if he had chosen a book. He answered that he had. Glancing at him, I noticed a book in his lap with a preponderance of pink on its cover.

"Is that your book?" I inquired.

"Yes," he replied.

Briefly mulling over the matter, I suggested, "It is a bit girlie, don't you think?"

His precocious pre-adolescent mind had apparently already dissected my argument before I had even presented it. "Some books aren't just for girls, Dad," he stated. "Boys can read them, too."

"Uh-huh," I conceded. "What's the title of that book?"

Nate, lowered his eyes and scanned the front cover. Then, after a pause of comedic perfection, he answered:

"Ballet Kitty"

I laughed hard, and informed him that this story will be going on our blog.

Independence Day

We had a nice, fairly relaxing 4th this year. I had the day off from work, which is always nice. Each year our ward has a picnic. We had fun eating sloppy joes and relaxing. The kids had fun playing games, running 3-legged races, etc. The weather was beautiful--sunny, but cool (in the 70's).

After the picnic we came home and hung out for my birthday. Nikole bought a couple of ribeyes and made a tasty marinade. I grilled them and some hamburgers for the kids.

Here I am blowing out my birthday candles. Nikole had initially put three small candles on one cupcake and a big number "1" candle on the other before I informed her that, in fact, I was turning 33, not 31. I think she was hoping I wouldn't catch the mistake and, knowing we are the same age, I would tell everyone that she is also 31. Or maybe she just likes younger men.

For dessert, Nikole had put together an ice cream tasting contest with seven different flavors. I was poised to win the trophy, but I mislabeled Drumstick ice cream as Tin Roof Sundae. Nate won instead (the kids only had to guess one of the ingredients in each flavor). That's fine with me. Either way we ended up with a freezer full of tasty, heart-healthy frozen treats!

Magna Cum Laude

Nikole, our offspring, and I recently returned from a trip to visit her parents in Magna, Utah. Unfortunately, we hadn't been out there in a few years, and while her parents have come to see us a couple times in Rochester, it was nice to see them in their natural habitat. Nikole's sister and brother also live in Utah with their families. Nikole and the children had flown out about a week before I came. I don't know exactly what they did during that week, but I know they enjoyed it. You'll have to ask her for the details.

Our kids really enjoyed seeing their cousins and seemed to hit it off as if no time had passed since our last visit. Here is Haley with her cousins, Corianne and Samantha, who are Nikole's brother's children:
The Friday after I got there, we went to Provo to visit the Y. It had been several years since our last visit, and things continue to change on campus. The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Building is complete. Unfortunately we didn't plan our time well enough to make it by. More importantly, we were able to hit the bookstore for some apparel and the Creamery for some ice cream.

Here are Nikole and I standing in the quad in front of the the Wilkinson Center, reminiscing about falling madly in love at the Y:

Each time we go to Provo, we make a point to eat at Los Hermanos, which continues to be our favorite "authentic" Mexican restaurant. I snapped a semi-candid shot of Nikole chowin' down:

After ice cream at the Creamery, we swung by the Missionary Training Center (MTC) so I could show the kids where they can go in 11-16 years if they live righteously. While they seemed to not grasp the significance of the moment, they did oblige me by smiling for this picture:

As we usually do when we visit Utah, we went to Temple Square. We got several pictures of the gardens. This a particularly nice one of Haley and Andy ("particularly nice" in the sense that they are not yelling and screaming at each other):

The visit to downtown also afforded me the opportunity to buy a couple of new suits at Mr. Mac. Turns out that I've never bought a suit from anywhere else. The service is outstanding and they do a good job of bloating the ticket price, so when they knock off a chunk, you feel like you're getting a great deal.

Nickelcade was another stop for us. It is an arcade where you pay a nominal entry fee, then use nickels instead of quarters for all the games. We gave each of the kids a couple dollars worth of nickels and let them run wild. The fact that Andy returned empty handed after about 15 minutes makes me think he was meandering around indiscriminately dropping nickels in games left and right, not sticking around to utilize the credits. We could have saved the money since, as illustrated below, he got plenty of enjoyment out of "playing" games without putting any money in.
The definitive highlight of our trip was the smashing good time we had at Cherry Hill. It is a campground/waterpark near Kaysville. My in-laws had rented a nice RV trailer where most of us slept. Those that didn't fit in the trailer slept in a tent.

We set up camp on a Monday and stayed until Wednesday morning. Tuesday was spent at the water park, which was a blast. The weather cooperated well as we were blessed with sun and warmth.

Holden (Nikole's sister's son), Andy, Nate and Haley

All the kids enjoyed the Pirate's Cove and the Lazy River. Nate had a lot of fun on Cardiac Canyon.

Nate and Grandpa Bice waiting in line for the Cardiac Canyon ride

Andy really enjoyed going down the water slides with his dad (sadly, no pictures). Andy and Haley spent most of their time in Pirate's Cove.

Here's Andy under a waterfall

Haley with Grandpa in Pirate's Cove

Cherry Hill also had softball and baseball batting cages. We had a few tokens from the package we purchased, and Grandpa Bice, Nikole and I made good use of them the last night we were there.

The trip was loads of fun overall. The kids did not want to leave. The night before we left, Nate cried, because he would "miss Grandma". We certainly look forward to the next opportunity to visit Nikole's family!