I [heart] Hearts

It started a few days ago while browsing through a box of saved items of Breck's that Colleen had been storing at her house. There was our wedding announcement/invite from our nuptials way back in 2002. Breck was examining its detail and remembering how she had hand-tied each ribbon on the cards. She also noticed a detail she hadn't remembered being there before (all the details seemed new to me as I had no interest or opinion at the time what the announcements looked like & I don't think I ever took more than 1/2 second to really look at them; if it didn't have our names on it I probably wouldn't have been able to pick it out of a lineup). On the background of the card was written LOVE; or more accurately

L O

YE 

Neither of us had remembered that the "V" was written with a heart (how cute!)

Since then it seems I've been seeing this display of love everywhere I look. It's not even February yet and already I'm being inundated with all things Valentine's Day. Every bit of advertising is colored with pink and red and covered in hearts. The word LOVE is plastered all over everything. Yesterday Breck and I were comparing the LYVE pattern she just sewed on a shirt for Skye versus the LOYE displayed on a Krispy Kreme ad I was drooling over (actually the "O" was a donut and the "V" was a heart-shaped cookie).

 
I've never been hesitant to vocalize my dislike (okay maybe not 'dislike'...how 'bout 'indifference') for this frilly holiday. I claim to loathe the cheesy Valentine card or the silly love song yet every year I find myself sitting down to write my own version of a sappy love poem.  Why do I do this? They all tend to sound somewhat similar because really how many different ways can you say 'I love you'?
 
As this LOVEly season approaches I begin to anticipate what words I could write to my Valentine to express my feelings. I'm continually interested and amazed by song lyrics and occasionally write them down for future reference or use but they are disorganized, sporadic, and scattered in various places. I want to start a habit of writing down a song lyric at least once a week (its still January, so not too late to start a New Year's Resolution, right?) to post here so that I can remember and reference them later.  Here's one I came across the other day:
 

"Some people wanna fill the whole world with silly love songs. And what's wrong with that?"

- 'Silly Love Songs' by Paul McCartney

 
This year, same as every year, I've got no money to buy her jewelry. We have no time to take a romantic vacation (and who takes romantic vacations after they have kids, anyway?). I may give her a gift as suggested in a PSA I saw yesterday: "Give the one you love something special this year for Valentine's Day: check yourself for testicular cancer". But who am I kidding, that's a gift for me as much as anyone else:) So although I feel that they may have lost some of their emphasis and charm over the years and are getting a bit repetitive (did I already say that?), I will continue to write Breck silly love poems every year (I wish I could write music...maybe some day) because I know she loves them. And what's wrong with that?

Happy 1st Birthday Skye

November Sky
When you ask me why I do the things I do
Its so is easy, it’s because of you
Things have never been the same
Since that first second I said your name
If you want to know why
It’s my November sky

When you look up & see the clouds around
You’ll remember where my heart is found
Truer words I couldn’t say
Yesterday, tomorrow, or today
If there’s a reason why
It’s my November sky

When you see the look that is in my eyes
You’ll know its only truth, there are no lies
Each time the smile on your face
Takes me to a better place
There’s no question why
It’s my November sky

Today I got to spend time with some of my most favorite girls in the world for my birthday: My lovely mother gave me a ride to work this morning and baked me some birthday brownies; I went out to a delicious dinner (The Copper Onion) with my beautiful wife and daughter; and I just got back from a walk to the park with my two crazy dogs. Life is good surrounded by all these beauties who love me.

Me & my beautiful girls last weekend in sunny St. George. Good thing all of the houses in the Parade of Homes were way out of our price range, otherwise Breck would have tried to convince me to buy one. She's been desperate for some warm weather and this weekend just made her longing even worse.

One project always leads to another.
I started with a plan to just finish out the laundry room.























Then I decided to tear up the nasty carpet on our stairs.
























Now it appears I'm going to discover a dead body under this pile of asbestos in our crawl space.

I won!
Here's Skye's cool new chair I won from Grassrootsmodern.com.


















A photo of the two pieces of Skye's furniture she doesn't/can't use.

Being a new dad it is amazing to me the things that now jump out at me as I'm browsing the internet; things that in my earlier days would have easily passed by without a second glance: deals on diapers, sales on strollers, and bloggers' advice on anything and everything related to parenting.
Here's an interesting take on parenthood I came across from another new dad who seems to take a little more of a tree-hugger tone to life than I do, but in my current quest to lessen my negative impact on the earth and leave behind a more gentle legacy I quite enjoyed his thoughts:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/ode_to_women_and_nature.php

Today

Today there is sickness, today there is war

Today there is hatred, there are hungry & poor

Today in the world we find bitterness & strife

But the glass is half-full, because today brings new life

Today you were sent by God, down from heaven above

To parents ready to share with you no lies, just love

You were conceived with purpose, with meaning, & care

That your joys & your struggles, with us you'd share

We're your Mom & your Dad, through our life now comes yours

May you take it on an adventure through stormy seas & new shores

Grab life with both hands & enjoy every moment you're here

Don't be afraid to fall down, to have questions & fear

Each hurdle & boundary overcome makes you strong

Today may you breath life to live healthy & long

Pretty in pink, my blue Skye came today

Into my arms where forever you'll stay

Skye Harper Croxford

Born Tuesday, November 24, 2009 @ 2:28 pm

7 lbs, 14 oz., 21 in.

Hey baby, your room is ready! After over 4 months of renovations (refinished wood floors, paint, new shelving, new door hardware, new furniture, new lighting, etc.) our nursery and home office are finally complete. Hope the baby recognizes it will occupy the nicest room in our house.

Hopefully this will let our trick-or-treaters know why we're not home to pass out candy.

We had a fun trip up the coast of N. California and Oregon following the Utes football team last week. Nine hotels in nine nights, but we saw some amazing things from the big city and big bridges of San Francisco, to the beautiful vineyards in the hills of Napa & Sonoma, to the scenic coast and beaches on the coast, to the giant redwoods of N. California, and finally to the breathtaking rocky cliffs on the Oregon coast. A great trip that I've wanted to take for years and am glad lived up to and exceeded my expectations.
see our other pictures here

Don't worry if you're scared of the thunder & lightening. Mel will rescue you...just as soon as she gets the courage to come out from under Breck's desk.

Can you believe it? Preston graduated! Now I must join the working world.

A beard is the hair that grows on a person's chin, cheeks, neck, and the area above the upper lip. Typically, only males going through puberty, or post-pubescent males are able to grow beards. When differentiating between upper and lower facial hair, a beard specifically refers to the facial hair on the lower part of a man's chin (excluding the moustache, which refers to hair above the upper lip and around it). The study of beards is called pogonology. In the course of history, men with facial hair have been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom and knowledge, sexual virility, or high social status; and, conversely, filthiness, crudeness, or an eccentric disposition, such as in the case of a tramp, hobo or vagrant. In many cultures beards are associated with nature and outdoorsmen.

Who is that guy?

Anyone for some mutton?

The "friendly" mutton...

Merv the perv...

Forget being an architect, I could easily pass for a cop...
How angelic...

And it came to pass...

There's a man with an upside down head
His hair fell out one night while in bed
So he let his beard grow
So that no one would know
He's the man with the upside down head

Summer is officially over! Breck and I took full advantage of our lack of responsibilities this summer, spent more money than we had, and it seemed like we were away more than we were home, but we had a great time:

After a month spent on the other side of the planet I returned in time to spend Breck's birthday party at Pineview Reservoir with friends. We love this lake.



We survived the rapids of the Snake River and chaotic "homemade" fireworks show at the Yates Family Reunion in Star Valley over the July 4th holiday.



A quick weekend was spent in the heat of Las Vegas to see Breck's favorite comedian John Hefron. (Mr. Hefron made sure to "keep [his] hands where we could see 'em" to avoid offending the husbands standing by).



No kids, no clubs, and no clothes? I guess we might as well drive a Harley up to Bear Lake this year.



Hey, there's my campground!



We can see the Lagoon fireworks from Chip & Colleen's backyard.




Aiden transformed into a power ranger at the Utah Arts Festival.




Isn't Paul the best? He invited us up to his Cabin near Oakley.





Always fun to spend time with the family. Croxford Family Reunion 2008 in Jackson, WY. I guess we forgot to get any pictures with the actual family. But here we are.



We always manage to find time for golf with Ty & Sue.



It's become tradition to see Jack Johnson in concert every summer. Hope he comes back next year.



Here's our new fountain in the backyard. Thanks for your help mom and dad!




Go Utes!



See you next summer!