Remembering 9/11

Eight years ago today, the nation, indeed the world, was changed forever. It is a day which I shall never forget.

I was getting ready for work. As I always do, I had the radio tuned to KSL. I heard them reporting about a plane that had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. Then they announced that a second plane had hit the other tower. I knew then it was not an accident. It was an attack. I ran upstairs and told Mom what was on the radio. She quickly turned on the TV and we watched the news reports and saw the video of the second plane hitting the tower. It was stunning.

I drove into work, not even paying attention to the road. I was intently listening to everything that was being reported. I was working in Preston at Freedom Plastics as a sales representative. I think I received 2 phone calls all day long. When the first tower fell, I was stunned. When the second tower fell, I just sat at my desk and stared out into space. I could not believe it. I said a silent prayer to myself.

I have often wondered what I would have done if I had been at the twin towers on that day. This video is about someone who was.

Adoption and Independence

Angie's Adoption Day was June 29. Prior to the day, we asked Angie what she would like to do for her day. She asked that Riley Evans (her next door neighbor and best friend) go swimming with her and sleep in a tent with her in the yard. Since we celebrate the day as a birthday, we said OK even though that meant Deb and I would be sleeping in a tent with her!

The day started out slow. When we finally go ready to go to Downata Hot Springs for swimming, a thunderstorm passed over closing the pool. We decided to go back home and have dinner--macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. Angie loves mac and cheese and every time we ask her what she wants to eat, she says, "Macaroni!"

After dinner, the storm passed and the pool at Downata was open again so we went swimming. We had a blast and Angie went down the Dragon Slide (pictured on the left) a bunch of times. In fact, the one time I went with her, she sprinted up the stairs, and I could not catch my breath when I got to the top. I thought I was going to die!!!!

After swimming, we suggested that maybe it would not be a good idea to set a tent up in the yard since it may rain. We said we would set it up in the front room, and she and Riley could sleep there. She agreed and we hurried home and set up the tent in the house before she could change her mind!

The next day, Angie asked if Lilli would sleep with her in the tent. Mom said OK. That night as we were getting ready for bed, we asked Lilli if she wanted to sleep in the tent. She said, "No. My bed!" Mom then offered to sleep with her in the tent. Angie got excited, then Deb remembered she would be working at the library the next day. I then offered to sleep with Angie in the tent so Deb could get a good night's rest.

My sleeping arrangements were me sleeping on a sleeping bag in the tent on the floor of the living room. I like a firm bed so I thought that would be OK. Man, was I wrong! I COULD NOT GET COMFORTABLE AT ALL!!!!!! I think it was the worst night of my night. However, Angie loved having me sleep with her, and I would not change that for a million dollars!

On the 3rd of July, we went to Logan to watch their fireworks. We found a spot along the road just west of the stadium to park and watch. It was a lot of fun, and the girls enjoyed it.

For Independence Day, we went to Arimo for their parade. After the parade, we stayed around for the pot luck lunch held at the city park. It was very delicious with an overabundance of food! Late afternoon we went to Pocatello to meet with Landen Brower so we could go to "The Biggest Show in Idaho" fireworks show at the Bannock County Fairgrounds. Since Landen works for Courtesy Ford (a sponsor of the show), he is able to get us in. Every year, it is awesome. Deb, the kids, and I love it. This year, though, we began to wonder if the fireworks would go on. It started to rain and did it ever rain. At about 8 pm, it started to let up and at about 9 pm we went to the fairgrounds. The skies cleared up and the show went on, although it was quite chilly.

All in all, we had a wonderful day with family celebrating the great country which God has given us.

Swan Lake Makes the News

KPVI, Channel 6 out of Pocatello, did an "exclusive" on the flooding in Swan Lake on Sunday, June 14. We were watching the news when it came on. Bob Hayes and Kim Thomas were interviewed for the story. I checked KPVI's website, but they do not have the video there, but they do have a story about it. You can find it here.

Deb and I along with the girls were in Swan Lake that day to support Jackie's friend, Shannon Fleischmann, and her baby boy Noah being blessed. Brad did it for the family. Rex and Lori Criddle with several of their children were also there for support. We had a delicious Dutch oven dinner (chicken and potatoes) along with other delightful delectables! (I sound like a food critic!)

After dinner, Jackie, Brayden, Shantae, Taylee, the Criddles, and Fleischmanns left. A few minutes later, it started to downpour and then subsided. Shortly after that, a huge river of floodwater was roaring down Swan Lake Creek. The Matkin home was completely surrounded by water, and Brad got a call that the church was flooded. We began to wonder if we would have to stay there all night since we were surrounded by water. Eventually the floodwaters did subside, and we were able to get home.

Lake Powell

On May 31, we motored to Wahweap Marinia just out of Page, Arizona, to join Lynn and Leisha Brower on their houseboat. We spent a week just swimming, reading, playing games, and eating! It was a lot of fun.

Of course, Lynn and Leisha were there along with their daughter Kaylee. Deb (and Lynn's) mother, Idonna, was on the boat. Our family rounded out the Brower's on the boat.

Leisha's family members that came were her mother and father, Marge and Mel, her brother, Val, and his son Kevin, her sister Annalee and brother-in-law Dave and their children Zachary, Aurianna, and Gretchen, her brother Terro and sister-in-law Lorie and their children Tameka, Brennan, Bonita, and Marin.

We parked the houseboat in Last Chance Bay. It took us 2 to 3 hours to get where we were going to stay for the week. We were in a nice little cove which according to Lynn, the water was 89 feet deep off the back of the boat. Lilli's swimsuit lies there now! (Thanks to Deb's thoughtful and wonderful husband who does every wish that Deb asks!)

Deb and I along with her mother were in charge of the Sunday evening dinner and Monday morning breakfast. We got the cooking out of the way fast! On Thursday night, we did the "Huddle." Every night, each family is assigned to do the Huddle which is a mini version of Family Home Evening--a thought and a prayer. When we did ours, Grandma Don read a scripture on families, Angie sang "My Eternal Family," Deb provided an object lesson on families, and I read a story from my first mission president's wife about families. To conclude, Lilli led everyone in the "Hokie Pokie." Grandma Don then prayed.

Saturday morning we brought the boat back to Wahweap Marina and disembarked from the boat. We loaded up and headed for home. Highway 20, which goes from Highway 89 to I-15, is a very windy road. Right after we got off the road and onto I-15, Lilli puked. And this was no gentle puke. It shot out of her mouth. Of course, it took some time for us to clean it up at Exit 100 on the freeway.

All in all it was a great time. If you would like to see some pictures from our trip, you can see them on our Picasa web album here. Also, for those on Facebook, pictures can be seen on my account here.

Angie's Dance Recital

A professional photographer was at Angie's Dance Recital held on May 16. Go here to see a slideshow from her dances.

Sockie & Me

Over the weekend, we watched Marley & Me on DVD. It was a fun movie, especially for a dog lover like me. As for the movie, I found the acting compelling and the story very interesting. Deb, not being a dog lover, would have given the heave-ho to the dog in the first 15 minutes of the movie! In a big turnaround--I cried and Deb didn't!

SPOILER ALERT!
If you have not seen the movie and do not want to know how it ends, do not read the rest of this post. I am going to relate aspects of the movie to my first dog, Sockie, especially on how the movie ends.

I have always been a dog lover. When an opportunity came up to get a dog, I jumped on it. I was living in Salt Lake City with Uncle Ralph at the time. Tom Gambles, my cousin, hooked me up with a year-old Cocker Spaniel. The owner had moved and was unable to take the dog with him. The dog was living at the owner's parents home, but they were gone a lot so the dog was left alone--chained up in the backyard. A neighbor would feed and water him, but the dog wasn't happy with his life. Naturally, the owner's parents were very willing to let me take him.

Tom took me to pick him up. When we got there, Sockie went crazy. We could hardly contain his excitement--especially when Tom unhooked him from his chain. Sockie, who was named after the Portuguese word for volleyball, was a big, matted ball of fur. For those that know about Cocker Spaniels, they need haircuts--and often. Sockie must not have had one for months.

We loaded Sockie into the back of Tom's pick up and headed back to the house. A few blocks down the road, Tom looked back where Sockie was supposed to be, but he wasn't there. We turned around and found him trying to make friends with another dog. He loved other dogs and it did not matter how viciously they were barking, he wanted to go sniff the other dog. In any event, we tied him in the bed of the truck and went home.

The next day, I took Sockie to get groomed and to have a check up. I think the receptionist about had a coronary when she saw him. He was so furry and matted. When I came back a couple of hours later to pick him up, I did not recognize him. The vet said he was healthy except his ears had an infection. He told me that was typical with floppy-eared dogs, and I would have to keep on top of it. As I turned out, it was a battle all of Sockie's life.

When I first got Sockie, it was to be a temporary arrangement. As such, I tried to keep my emotional distance from him. I did not want to get too attached to him because I did not want to get heart broken when the owner came to get him. However, as the days went by, it was tough to keep my distance. Then one late summer evening, I was sitting outside petting Sockie. He was on my lap. I realized that I did really love the dog, and I was in it for the long haul. As it turned out, the original owner never did ask for him back.

When I first got Sockie, he hated to be alone. I was determined to make him an outdoor dog. However, he would bark and whine every time I would go into the house to go to bed. It was Uncle Ralph who told me to bring him in and make him an indoor dog. Uncle Ralph was to blame for all the clothes that Sockie chewed!!!!

As an indoor dog, Sockie was very easy to house train. I only had to correct him a couple of times before he knew that he had to do his duty outside. Although Sockie loved being outside, he did not want to be out there alone for a very long time. However, his male instincts would take over at times, and he would disappear for a long time if he caught a scent of a female anywhere near. It was at such one time when he disappeared for a few days. I finally found him in the pound. Being locked up didn't keep him from wandering though. Years later, when we had him "fixed," he did stop wandering.

Sockie made the transition from Salt Lake to Swan Lake quite easily. The typical Cocker Spaniel haircut--short on the top and long on the bottom--was done, though. He would come in from outside with all kinds of burrs and weeds in his fur. He never got another "Cocker cut" again.

When I got married, Mom (bless her soul) kept Sockie with her. A few months after we were married, Mom called me to tell me that Sockie was not doing good. He was not eating and had diarrhea with blood in it. Deb and I took him to the vet in Preston. I held Sockie on my lap as Deb drove. When we got there, the doctor confirmed my fears. Sockie was dying. He said we could try to stop the bleeding, but it was very unlikely that he would recover. He suggested that we put him to sleep. With a broken heart, I agreed. As in the movie, the vet left us alone with Sockie to say our good byes. I told Sockie how much he had meant to me, and that I loved him. Then the doc came back in. Unlike the movie, though, I could not stay in the room and be there when he was euthanized. We took Sockie back to Swan Lake and buried him just across the fence in the backyard. Everytime I pull up to Mom's house, I think of my great friend Sockie.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his." (Quote from the end of the movie--and so very true!)

Emma-Angie's Little One

Here's a fun picture tag. The rules:

1. Go to your documents/pictures

2. Go to your 6th folder

3. Go to your 6th picture

4. Post it, and blog about it

5. Tag 6 people to do the same

6. Name your picture

OK. Chelsea tagged me about four million years ago and I finally got around doing it! I followed the instructions, and this is the picture I got:

I took this picture on New Years Eve 2008. We had gone to Grandma Don's to celebrate the New Year. I was taking pictures and Angie asked me to take a picture of her "baby."

Angie is a wonderful little mother. She has two dolls that she plays a lot with--Emma pictured above and a bigger, cloth doll she has named Deidre (recently renamed from Tracy). In fact, the day before yesterday, she announced that Deidre had just had a baby. Therefore, she (Angie) was a grandmother and I was a great-grandfather. However, Deb was a grandmother also. I'm a little bummed about that!

A little later, Angie told me that Deidre had rode in an ambulance. I asked her why. With a little bit of contempt in her voice she said, "She had her baby!"

Then a few minutes later, Angie asked me if I wanted to see where Deidre had a shot. I said sure. She lifted the doll's dress, and Angie had put on the stretchy stuff that I had for my arm when I had my IV last fall. I asked her what the shot was for (I'm a little dense at times!) and again she informed me that Diedre just had a baby. She then asked me if I wanted to see the "newborn" (her word!). She had wrapped up her smallest doll into a blanket. I asked her what her name was and she said Alyssa.

OK. Why is my little girl growing up so fast! I'm already a great-grandfather for crying out loud!

Now, for the six people I will tag: I don't know if all of these follow my blog, but I tag Amber Smith, Kaiann Womack, Ally Probst, TJ Probst, Jennie Wilding, and Rachelle St. Gelais.

Have fun!

Angie

I was browsing the Internet when I decided to go to Dan Lewis' website. He is an artist living in Downey that has done several church-related paintings. Right after we got Lilli, he asked to paint Angie. The picture on the left is the result. Of course, we were very proud of Angie when she "sat" for the portrait. Actually, Dan had her sit and walk around while he took pictures with his camera. He then painted Angie from one of the pictures. When Dan first showed us the portrait, it was Angie in her Easter dress and little flowers in her hair. He then changed it a made her into a little Pioneer girl. At any rate, I was quite surprised to see Angie's portrait on his home page. To visit his website, go here.

JJJJAAAACCCCKKKKSSSS!!!!

Jackie become the champion of the Gambles Family NCAA tournament contest. She dominated the field with 1570 points. Deb was second with two of her brackets scoring 1380 points. Nathan was third with 1360 points. Jackie correctly got 99.6% of the games right.

JJJJJAAAAACCCCCKKKKKSSSSS!!!!!

How All Funerals Should Be

Alright, this is one of the best funerals I have ever seen. I wish all funerals were like this!

March Madness

It is the time of year again to see who can be the best predictor! If you would like to join the Gambles Family in seeing who is the best NCAA picker, then go to ESPN's website (click here) and fill in a bracket. After you have filled it in, click on join a group and search for "Gambles Family." The password is 8975555. Bring it on!!

The Holy Temples

With all of the hubbub about HBO's airing of the endowment, I found this video on YouTube. It relays what the temple means.



We recently went to Seattle to see Deb's friend get married. It was the first time I had been to Seattle. I felt very lost (and would have truly been lost without Google Maps!) until we pulled into the Seattle Temple parking lot. As we entered the temple, I felt I was home--even though I was nearly a thousand miles away. I was in a strange land--but I was home.

Funny Video

OK. It's been some time so the sting of the ending of last football season has begun to go away. I found this funny video about Utah's football season. Enjoy!

Being a Donkey

Being a donkey as in being stubborn--not the other word associated with donkeys!!!!

This last Saturday (Jan. 24), I went to get Lilli out of her bed. I told her I would not get her out of bed until she told me her name. We have had a heck of a time getting her to tells us her name. When we asked, she usually responded with Baby or Angie. (As a sidebar to the story, Angie says Lilli's full name is Lilli And Jade!) So, that morning I told her I would get her out of her bed when she told me her name. She tried Baby and Angie and I said no. She just sat there. (As another sidebar to the story, Lilli tried to climb out of her bed once before and fell hard. Yesterday was the first time since then that she tried to climb out of her bed. She succeeded. I expect her to climb out more often now.) I told her I was going to fix breakfast and leave her in bed. She started to cry and I asked her what her name was. She said nothing so I went to the kitchen and started breakfast. A few minutes later, I asked her what her name was and again she said nothing. I did this several times, but she would not answer me.

Each morning, we prepare a milk shake for the kids with nutrients to help in their growth and immunity. Both girls love it and ask for it every morning. We make it with the blender. When I turned the blender on, Lilli knew what was going on and wanted out of her bed. I told her she had to tell me her name. Nothing. I finished her milk shake and told her as soon as she told me her name, she could have her milk shake. I thought for sure that would get her out of her bed. But she refused. Finally, after about three attempts with her milk shake in my hand, she said a hardly audible Lilli. I cheered and praised her for doing it. Yet, she seemed to be defeated. Over the last few days, though, she has been more willing to say her name.

Comparing kids one to another can be very dangerous (and usually stupid), but since Angie and Lilli are complete opposites, it is easy to see the differences. Angie was quick to speak and very willing to repeat what we asked her to repeat. Lilli is the complete opposite. If we ask her to repeat something, she will not do it. She is very strong-willed and stubborn. Raising Lilli will be (and is) very different from raising Angie.

Lastly, even though raising a strong-willed child like Lilli may be more challenging than raising a compliant child like Angie, I would never want it any other way. I love both girls so much, and I love the learning moments we share together. Being a father is much more difficult than I expected, but at the same time it is much more rewarding.

Who Would Believe Ants Could Do This?

I really enjoy Kim Komando's Video of the Day. On today's video (Jan. 21, 2009), she has a video showing what ants can do. Scientists found an abandoned ant hill and poured tons of cement down it. What they uncovered is amazing!



By the way, I still plan to get some pictures from Christmas posted.