A Poem

Found on an American Greetings card my dad sent me:

ALL ABOUT FARTS

A fart can be quiet,
a fart can be loud,
Some leave a powerful
poisonous cloud...

A fart can be short,
or a fart can be long,
Some farts have been known
to sound just like a song...

A fart can create a most curious medley,
A fart can be harmless,
or silent but deadly...

A fart might not smell,
while others are vile,
a fart may pass quickly,
or linger awhile...

A fart can occur
in a number of places,
And leave everyone
with strange looks on their faces...

From wide-open prairie,
to small elevators,
a fart will find all of us
sooner or later...

But not all farts are bad,
this is simply not true-
we mustn't forget...

Dear,
sweet,
old farts
like you.

Happy Birthday, son!"

Don't fit

So, yesterday on the way to Gramma and Grampa O'Neal's house, James and I were getting into a little back and forth, "no I'm not!" "Yes, you are!" "No, I'm NOT!" "Yes you are!"

James pulls this out:

J: "Dad, you're a LEGO."

Me: "What? Why am I a LEGO?"

J: "'Cuz you don't fit!"

Hmmm...

Out of the mouths of babes...

And no, Isaac didn't teach him that one...

Snowman

James, upon seeing the first snowfall of the year, was standing just outside our front door letting the snow fall on his head.

Dad, dressed in shorts and t-shirt, yelled at him to shut the door.

Says Dad, exasperated, "What were you doing out there?"

Responds James, "I was trying to make a snowman."

Thanksgiving Eve with Grampa O.

The cousins. We're by the windmills in Spanish Fork Canyon. 'Twas chilly, mostly due to, well, wind. Duh.


The windmills were near a quarry. The boys went down for a look. Tayler and Isaac are there at the top. Uncle Kurt is there in his white hoodie. And yes, that's James following them up. Sigh.

Grampa O took us to check out the trains over in East Bay, Provo. This is Uncle Matt with Paden, who loves trains.
Then we grabbed some pizza and went to the park in Payson by the bandstand. The boys started up a game of tag, but when Ty seemed to be at a major disadvantage, the rules changed to not being able to touch the ground. That leveled the playing field quite a bit, was fun to see Matt and Kurt flying back and forth.





Even Grampa O got in on the fun!







James getting dirty...and leaving a message. For someone. I really should have taken a picture of him when he pulled his pants down to pee on a tree.

All in all, a good morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ummm...yeah

My brother in Hawaii had me check out this website.

Interesting...

www.HowObamaGotElected.com

Essentially talking about media bias in the recent presidential campaigns.

FYI, I take this with a big grain of salt, being that the source is...well, the media. But makes you think...and wonder...

even after 15 years...

not sure why, but the audio is out of sync.



yes, i haven't played the tuba in over 15 years.

thank you bro. mrykalo for dragging this skeleton out of my closet.

What's up, doc?

I love that James ASKS for a carrot as a snack.

Dishes

"If you have to dry the dishes

(Such an awful, boring chore)

If you have to dry the dishes

('Stead of going to the store)

If you have to dry the dishes

And you drop one on the floor--



Maybe they won't let you

Dry the dishes anymore."

- Shel Silverstein

The Emperor's New Clothes

Isaac and Maile were in a play tonight (Friday night). Our camera really sucks, but we do the best we can. Thanks to the Michels, the Tolmans, and Julie and Dusty for coming out to support Isaac and Maile.

Lucky shot with both Maile AND Isaac. Isaac was the "bad guy" (the guy who tricks the Emperor into thinking he's wearing clothes visible only to those who are truly wise), Maile was a "decorator" for the pending birthday celebration.

Isaac really got into his part. Kinda went all out, which was pretty cool to see.

Thanks again to the folks who came out to see the budding thespians!

Maile's dress from grandma

Rebecca's mom makes wonderful dresses for all the granddaughters, and Maile's baptism dress was no exception.





Of course I was partial to the white muumuu we got Maile in Hawaii, until I saw this dress.

Just because...

New Shoes

"Hey, I put some new shoes on,

And suddenly everything is right,

I said, hey, I put some new shoes on

and everybody's smiling,

It's so inviting,

Oh, short on money,

But long on time,

Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,

And I'm running late,

And I don't need an excuse,

'cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes."

-Paolo Nutini, "New Shoes"

I have NEVER in my life owned a pair of shoes with that name or that logo on it.

Until now.





I fully expect these shoes to make me be like Mike.

If not I want my money back.

Ahem.

History

It's clear history has been made with the election of the first president of African-American descent.

Ok, let's celebrate the fact that America has come a long way in terms of the racial divide, let's celebrate that the American Dream is still alive and Mr. Obama is living proof of that, the idea that one can, from humble beginnings, still scale the mountain and reach the top.

Awesome.

Honestly, though, I feel a little more anxious about what the historians will say AFTER the next 4 years, heck, what history will we see being made in the next 4 months?

Our nation is at war, we are in the middle of a financial crisis, yeah those are important, but I'm keeping an eye out for some other things too, like abortion, marriage, and even our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Mr. President-elect, it's time to roll up the sleeves and get to work. No more talking, no more preening for cameras, no more making promises. Time to start keeping those campaign promises, time to start serving the people of this nation, time to be a leader not only in word, but in action.

This citizen is praying for you.

Election Day

Something great is happening right now that I'm not sure I've experienced before, even though I've only voted in a presidential election 3 times before this.

Regardless of which candidate you support, I'm fairly proud of the passion I'm seeing from people around me. The few conversations I've had, the little tidbits of information here and there, the campaign information I actually have allowed myself to be exposed to in the last coupla weeks, it all indicates at least one good thing: WE THE PEOPLE are engaged and interested.

I don't remember this feeling any other time the last few times I voted. This time feels different, and even if it's just me, my perception is my reality, and I can remember that one of the greatest blessings of living in this great nation is not only the opportunity to vote, but that everyone has the right to express their ideas about who the best candidate is and why.

I'm reminded of my brother Mark talking to me about this when he was in Iraq. I complained to him that the media was all doom and gloom about what he was doing there, compared to the stories he was sharing with me. He politely reminded me that he wasn't just fighting for me, my family, and those who think like we do. He was also fighting for those who think differently and THEIR right to speak their mind.

Of course, you could even disagree with him there. But again, that's the point. We CAN disagree, because we live in this great nation of ours.

I am grateful to be a citizen of the United States of America. Warts and all, she's the best.

Baptisms

Maile Pualani Chock was baptized at the Provo Sunset Stake Center on Saturday, November 1, 2008 by her father, Thomas.



'Twas a good service, only 4 other children were baptized that day, so even though we went last, it wasn't too long of a wait.

Some of my impressions:

Becca gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost. I really liked how she taught us the difference between the Power of the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I told her she better be careful, she looked a bit too comfortable sitting up on the stand with the Stake Primary Presidency...

It was wonderful to see the Hamiltons there, we haven't seen them in a LONG time. Clark Hamilton and James Chock are a pair, I'd feel sorry for any nursery leader that had them BOTH. Seth is a MONSTER. He's got not only the height, but now he's getting THICK. Get that boy playing football!

Maile is still taller than most kids her age. Becca thinks she'll stop growing, I hope to have a 6'2" volleyball player someday...

I liked that there were musical numbers between every group being excused to the font.

We tried to take a picture of everyone who came for Maile's baptism, but our camera didn't take the picture. Go figure. Shoulda had Rich bring his camera for that. Oh well.

----------------------

Later that afternoon, we got to go to another baptism, this time it was our friends Justus and Katrina Lawrence baptizing their son, Te. Isaac, Maile and I take karate from Justus, and Te is in many of the classes Maile and Isaac are in.

Funny thing was that the night before, I had taken Isaac and Maile trick-or-treating, and since we were in the car, decided to stop by the Lawrences for a good spook (Katrina has great Halloween decorations). Somehow we got talking about Maile's baptism, at which point we found out Te was getting baptized the next day. Katrina then smacked her forehead exclaiming she had forgotten to ask someone to play music.

Luckily for them, I have a wife who can pretty much sight read anything.

So, I volunteered Rebecca in exchange for the chance to have Filipino food. I don't know what Rebecca thought, but I thought it was totally worth it. Yum.

Impressions:

The Lawrences are DEFINITELY a karate family.

Miki's talk on baptism started basically the same way the Black Belt Success Cycle starts. Isaac commented on Miki's eyes, and I asked him if he didn't remember those eyes from karate (we took from Miki for a while).

I've never heard the words "black belt" uttered in a confirmation prayer before. But it wouldn't fit so well anywhere else, either.

It wouldn't be Justus if he didn't tell the kids sitting in the front row to "look sharp" right before raising his right arm to the square.

All in all, a great Saturday.

Halloween 2008

some thoughts about the kiddies

Isaac

he is smart. extremely intelligent, very creative. what's most impressive about him is his ability to play the role of big brother. he's fairly good at it, and he's even stepped in a time or two in the recent past to help with the younger ones. i pray his inquisitive mind continues to ask good questions.

for him to fly, i believe he needs simply to recognize more than what is immediate to him (as in other people), though i believe that will come with more time and maturity. i'm grateful for his participation in karate, because i think he's seeing that he's not only academically talented but could be talented physically/athletically as well.

Maile

her smile really can light up a room. she's so good at making friends. she's smart too, but it never really defined her, which is pretty cool. she's very sensitive to the feelings of people around her, though sometimes she uses that to augment her "teasing." energy, vitality, life.

her flight will happen as she continues to have fun with life, no matter what life throws at her. we need to remember she's not the same age as Isaac and treat her accordingly...

Angela

right now she's the most helpful of all our kids. she's always asking if she can help in the kitchen, and is genuinely disappointed when she wishes to help and there's nothing for her to do. she likes to make others happy, and is constantly giving us pictures that let us know of her love for us. if you ever get a chance, tickle her, that laugh of hers is beautiful music.

for her to fly, i think she will want to nurture her friendships. she has so much to offer, i think she'll be a positive influence on anyone she chooses to befriend. if she learns how to take good care of herself and her relationships, she'll be soaring.

James

rough and tumble, his physicality can be surprising. there's a good reason his favorite PBS cartoon is Curious George, who is a problem solver. he understands negotiation well for a 3 yr. old.

he's young enough that his flight depends more on mom and dad than on his choices. i imagine the same should be said for Angela. but forced to respond, i would say the concept of "bridled passions" best fits. he doesn't do anything halfway, which is great, unless the situation calls for halfway and he goes all out. this isn't about him toning himself down, mostly about knowing when, to use hoops terminology, to drive the lane, when to pull up for a jumper, or when to pass it off.

Halloween Pics

Some of the Halloween pics from our camera have been posted here.

An enjoyable evening of pumpkin carving and a small birthday cake ceremony for Isaac were had by all. I hope.

Chocks Sparring at BLK Tournament, Oct. 25, 2008

Thanks to Katrina Lawrence for taking these videos and posting them.

Here's Isaac's match, unfortunately he lost but hopefully this makes him hungry to perform up to his potential next time. This isn't just a dad talking up his son, but Isaac is better at sparring than he showed here. In his defense, he was sick AND he was drugged up the morning of the tourney. I told him "true champions are those who get right back up when they fall." Isaac's on the left.



Here's my match with Steve Hansen, there were actually only 3 of us in our division, and we're all from the same school (BLK Lindon). Steve and I had a great match, though it was the only match of the day for me. Oh well. I'm on the left.