Carnival

Why did we do this?

The Layton Hill's Mall hosted a small Carnival run by some gypsies, and for some reason we thought we'd waste our money on a few rides and games that we haven't seen since our early teen years.  It was a nice day, and Rachel needed to get out anyway.

Rachel only wanted to ride the Merry-go-round.  We tried to get her to ride other rides, but being the sensitive girl she is, she stuck with familiar, slow, and low rides.  She rode this one twice but also tried the Fun Slide (a huge slide) with daddy (hanging on to dear life) and the Strawberry Tilt-a-whirl with me.

Remember the Duck Pond game that is also popular at school and community carnivals?  I'm sure you paid a $1 at most to choose a floating duck out of water to receive a prize.  We actually paid $5 for Rachel to fish out three ducks and win this plastic Barbie rip off which soon fell apart at home.  She did love it, though.

It was fun to see some of the rides we haven't seen for years.  Tyler even went on the Graviton where you stand next to a wall and the ride swings you around so quickly that gravity glues you to the wall.  He said the first few minutes were pure childhood-like giddiness, then his age hit.  He wanted to vomit. 

Salt Lake Temple

I thought that this was pretty cool.

A new exhibit opened today on Temple Square that has a 1/32 scale model of the Salt Lake Temple with the sides cut away. Its a great way to show visitors what the inside of the building looks like while preserving the sanctity of the temple:

More info here.

Swinger

How did parenting work before pacifiers and baby swings?

Resemblance

Tyler:

Rachel:

Wesley:

Weird

I rarely ever have memorable dreams of any sort, but last night I experienced one of the most realistic, vivid, and memorable dreams I've ever had. It went something like this:

Tori and I are participating as members of the US delegation to a United Nations conference being held in Salt Lake City.  All of the member nations are participating in a game of duck, duck, gray duck at Liberty Park.  The Mexican delegation is found to have been cheating, and a debate ensues about how to proceed as I have refused to participate further unless the cheaters are removed.  During the heated discussion, a gunshot is heard and panic ensues.  The sound is soon determined to have been a UTA bus backfiring nearby, then a rumor spreads that the sound was that of a plane crashing in Izmir, Turkey.  The Shah of Iran was on board the flight and his apparent assassination leads to widespread chaos in the crowd as delegations from the various nations, believing that the event is the beginning of a new world war, rush toward the airport (on foot?) to return home to control the unfolding international crisis.  In the panic, a number of world leaders are trampled to death and the situation escalates.  

Meanwhile, lost somewhere in the crowd, Tori begins having contractions again.  We meet up and are somehow able to hire a gypsy cab to take us to her OBGYN’s office in Ogden.  Her doctor (our downstairs neighbor?) quickly does an ultrasound and determines that she must have been pregnant with twins and the second child was accidentally not delivered a week ago when Wesley was born!  As my wife is prepped for surgery, I realize that I am late for work.  Having used all of my remaining vacation time the week before, I leave Tori at the hospital and ride on horseback to my job on the set of a movie based on a non-existent John Steinbeck novel.  

We’re shooting a scene where I, the villain, and my accomplice are locked inside of a mansion in which a bomb has been hidden.  We hide under a bed (to prevent injury from the bomb) and jump out the windows just after the blast, hoping that the authorities will believe that we died in the explosion.  We hide in a ditch and are quickly captured.  I am taken to a (nearby?) castle and am put in the dungeon.  I plan an escape down a tunnel that is located in my cell and emerge in a grocery store.  

Tori calls me on my cell phone and tells me to bring her some hummus and crackers at the hospital.  I arrive at the hospital and learn than the mystery twin baby was really just a bad case of indigestion.  A nurse comes into the hospital room, and turns out to be one of the guards from the castle dungeon from which I had just escaped.  I run and am chased through the corridors of the hospital.  I burst through the doors of a restricted area and an alarm begins to sound.  I become disoriented and soon wake up to the sound of my alarm clock.

TiVo

The party's over:

TiVo kindly informed us this morning that our subscription has expired.

Wesley's Birthday

We arrived at McKay-Dee at 5:30 a.m. for paper work and vitals.

Tyler was excited.  At least with this c-section, he had time to get dressed before I was taken to the OR.

Wesley arrived at 8:09 a.m.  He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz

We were surprised and excited to see all his curly hair.  

He only fusses for milk and a binky.  Recovery is always annoying.  For some reason, I couldn't feel my right leg for a long time. 

Tyler spent the first night with me in a very uncomfortable chair.  How nice!

At first, we thought Wesley looked a lot like my brother.  However, after finding Tyler's blessing day picture, Wesley mirrors his daddy's image minus the dark curly hair. 

Rachel stayed with her Grandparents and cousin Corbin over the week-end.  She loved her first sleep over with the Miller family.  She came to visit me on Mother's Day to sing the sweetest song and love on her new brother Wesley.

 

This was the first time she met Wesley.  She did her own hair with several butterfly clips for the special occasion.

 

Hospital Food

Overall, my hospital stay after Wesley was really good. I asked a lot of questions and learned much. However, the food that I ate for four days was a hit or miss experience. Some of it was delish (veggie burger, malt-o-meal, sugar free hot chocolate, tapioca pudding) and others were a mystery (french dip, broccoli, toast, and tossed salad). I guess that is just how hospital food goes. What are your experiences with hospital food?
Now, I am super thankful for the meals my ward is providing for my family. It is so nice to have their support and thoughtfulness. I do have more pertinent pictures and stories from the hospital, but I have to download the pictures/videos first.

Happy Mother's Day, Tori!

Baby Wes

John Wesley Lloyd was born this morning at 8:09 at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden.  

7 Pounds, 14 Ounces  -  20 Inches long

According to one of the nurses, we must have "used a different recipe" this time around because he came out with as much dark, curly hair as his sister has grown in three and a half years.

Vacation

I've just finished booking the last flights and hotels for all of our summer / fall travel.

In total, we'll be visiting 15 different states, with the notable exception of Kansas- which we hated driving through so badly last year that we'll be avoiding it entirely on our way to Arkansas and back this summer.

Garden

Someday it will stop raining and snowing and these plants will be able to move outside.

Until then, we have a garden in our kitchen.