Josh & Renae Haldeman Family

A few pics & other things

2009-06-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that we've done over the past 6 months!
The girls played soccer. Addy played and Aubrey more participated but by the end she was getting up in there. At the end of the season I sat down with them individually to see how they liked it. Addison said she definitely wants to play again. Aubrey said she wasn't very interested because there is too much running. Then she said she'd rather play "beach ball." After some Q&A we realized she wants to play T-Ball. A little less running, plus I understand baseball.

Renae and I had a getaway to Zion National Park for a few days to celebrate both of out birthdays. It was weird not having the kids, but also great.

I have had the hiking bug lately and hiked Mt. Charleston on Memorial day with Preston, Aaron & Tyson. Then the next Friday I hiked the Subway in Zion's National Park. I love Zions and would like to go more.

Addison fell a longtime ago on a tin can, slicing her hand to the bone. She got 6 stitches on the inside to sticth the muscle back together and 13 on the outside. It was nasty. Being the big man that I am, I almost fainted when they were stitching it up.

We went to the annual county fair out at Logandale. Some people say it's lame, but for city folk like us that don't know any better, we sure do enjoy the food, the animals and the rides. It's always fun to hang out with old man Haldeman because he usually has his head burried with tax season that time of year.

Addy, Aubrey & Renae gave talks in sacrament meeting in May. Our Bishop challenged the ward to memorize the scripture mastery for the New Testament. Since I never did it in High School our family took on the challenge. We all did it (even the kids, and they were better than Renae and I for the most part) and the ladies in the family got to share their thoughts on it.
Addison graduated from Kindergarten.
Renae & Aubrey have been going to a homeopathic doctor for the 12 months or so and they both have increased energy, positive attitudes and Aubrey hasn't had to have breathing treatments or antibiotics for more than a year now! Woo-Hoo! How bout keeping your medical costs down! Part of this homeopathic thing has put a strain on our diet. Hardly any eggs, little cheese, few sweets, no milk (I still drink it but not the kids, they get rice milk instead), and not too much meat. Sometimes its as bad as it seems and at other times it's just fine.

We're working on getting David potty trained. Maybe we're crazy because he's not even two yet, but we're tired of buying diapers. The kid is already "pee-trained" now he just needs to learn to drop the deuce.
More on David... He's crazy and fun. He loves giving high fives, pounding and yelling, "Ahh Man!" or something that resembles, "Thats talkin bout MAN!" He rarely cries and always smiles.

I got a promotion at work. No more credit analyst title for me. Now I'm a "Loan Officer" with an AVP title. It's about freaking time!

Mr. Trampoline

2009-01-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

Check this out... I finally decided to update this STUPID thing. I might do that every now and then.

On a completely different note, Renae and I saw the Benjamin Button movie and we enjoyed it. We also saw Doubt. And I doubt anybody should ever think about watching that movie. It was HORRIBLE and STUPID and A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME AND FREE MOVIE TICKETS PLUS THE $20 WE GAVE THE SITTER! That's all I have to say.

Birthdays

2008-07-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

We've had a couple of birthdays recently.

David just turned one while we were on vacation. He did a heck of a job blowing out the candle. This was his first exposure to cake. He went on a crazy sugar high and did not sleep well at all that night. I'm not exaggerating when I say he almost lost his life that night (just ask Renae for the details). David has 4 teeth and is starting to walk. Soon he'll be running, and that's when the training begins.

Addy just turned 5 and she's awesome. Always helping out and cleaning up and sometimes acting like a 5 year old. After her party, she and Aubrey took all the glitter out from a new present and promptly spilled about 16 ounces of it all over the floor with glue. If this was Renae's blog, she'd have taken a picture and added it. Renae is not into blogging, and did NOT take a picture of the mess. Despite our best efforts, there is still glitter throughout the house (I hate glitter).

Addy starts kindergarten in the fall. It's crazy to think that she's getting that big and old. I guess that's how life is.

Below are some pics of her party.
(This is an ice cream cake that Renae made. It was delicious! Renae always makes the coolest cakes.)

San Francisco Trip

2008-07-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to San Francisco and San Luis Obispo the week of the 4th of July. We had a grand 'ol time. Below are some of the pictures from the trip. Here are some of the highlights (in no specific order):
1 - Fisherman's Wharf - lots of fun shopping (if you're into that kind of stuff, I'm not, but the girls are)
2 - Cubs vs. Giants - Renae's sister Megan watched Addy & Aubrey so we could spend our 7th wedding anniversary at a ballgame with David. The game was fun, food was good and the seats were actually behind homeplate (unlike New York) and the price was less than half of what I paid in New York for twice the number of seats.
3 - Alcatraz - The audio tour is great. Even the girls liked it.
4 - Chinatown - That's the cheapest food I've ever had in my life. Tasty too.
5 - Lombard Street - What the heck are people thinking? That street is ridiculous. One of these days an earthquake is going to smooth that place out
6 - The family portrait - We had one of those painting people do a sketch of the family. The sign said $3.99 per face. The guy gets done and asks for $50! He did a horrible job, and wants $50 on top of that! We gave him $30, which is more than he should've been paid. What a rip!
7 - Ice Cream - We had some ice cream ever day and it was GREAT!
8 - Oakland Temple - A beautiful view of the bay area and a beautiful temple as well.
9 - Golden Gate Bridge - It's big and pretty, but I'm more impressed with the Bay Bridge.
10 - Jumping on the bed - We quit letting our kids jump on their beds here at home, but let them have at it in the hotel. We also went swimming at the pool. You gotta love the Marriot!
11 - Exploratorium - It was like our Natural History Museum in Vegas, but on crack. Tons of great, hands-on exhibits. We all had a great time. Addy drank water out of a toilet (see picture below).
12 - Hanging with family in Arroyo Grande / San Luis Obispo - we went on hikes, to the beach, out to eat, farmer's markets and ate and ate and ate. Thanks to all the family for their hospitality towards us.

All in all we had a great time.

The Olympic Triathlon

2008-07-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

For some reason I thought there was an unwritten rule that you couldn't blog in June. Was that wrong? I finally have some free time as I'm home from church because David is sick. So I thought I'd update those of you who care about what has been going on with the Haldeman's. This is the first of a few blogs. Enjoy.

On June 14th I competed in and completed an Olympic Triathlon. That consists of 1500 meter swim, 24.2 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run. I finished in 3 hours and 4 minutes. I would've finished under 3, but I was lolly-gagging during the transition areas. I could've "manned up" and peed on myself while riding the bike, but a port-a-potty stop seemed more sensible. I finished 8th out of 19 within my division. Basically I'm an "average Joe" triathlete. Considering how much time I put into it training, I'm happy with what I got out.

For those curious about the individual times: Swim - 37 minutes Bike - 85 minutes (approximately, the timer thing is messed up) Run - 53 minutes. The other 9 minutes was wasted in the transition area changing clothes and what not.
(I had hoped to have real pictures, but the event people didn't have any photographers posted throughout the race, pretty lame!)

I think I've retired from Triathlons for a little while. I thought I was going to be done with crazy events for awhile too, but my brother in-law has challenged me to run a half marathon with him in November. There's a race the last Saturday in November at the Valley of Fire. So it'd be great for people like Crystal and others to join in the fun as well.

After the race, the family and I went to Zion's National Park and hung out in the Virgin River and ate some pie. David rubbed some of that pie in his hair, hence the mohawk. It was a fun trip. Thanks to Carol and Danny for letting us use the home in St. George!

New York New York

2008-05-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this trip for years. Literally. And I finally get the cojones (and the cash flow) to make it happen. I flew out Wednesday nigh on a red eye. Landed @ JFK around 6am. I had 3 quality hours of "airplane" sleep. After that I went to the Manhattan temple, to the hotel, and then to Shea stadium to watch the Mets battle it out with the Nationals. I was exhausted so I headed back to the hotel and crashed. The next morning I awoke to no sunshine and lots of rain. I didn't let it stop me as I did the tourist thing.

I saw the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Ground Zero, the Financial District, a river that probably has dead bodies on the bottom of it, Time Square and a few other places along the way.
Then I head of to Yankee stadium hoping that the rains will stop and my trip won't be in vain. After hanging around for a few hours, this is what comes on the scoreboard:
To make matters worse, no makeup date was announced and my flight leaves the next evening. The Saturday game was a day game. So I decided I couldn't travel this far and not watch the Yankees play. So I paid $90 for a seat "right behind home plate." It wasn't quite behind home plate, I'd guess it was more in left field. I'm just happy I was able to get in the stadium and watch 7 innings before I had to leave to catch my flight. All in all the trip was quick, full of activities and not a lot of sleep. I had a great time, and I can't wait to go back to New York with my wife.

(A view behind "Home Plate")

Triathlon

2008-05-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Let's get things started with an obvious statement: I'm a lazy blogger.

OK, now that that's out of the way... a few weeks ago I completed my first triathlon. It was a sprint distance which means it's 750M swim, 12 mile ride and a 3.1 mile run. My time was 1h 36 minutes. The swim took way too long (that's my weakest link) but the bike and run were great. I wish they had a dualathon and could cut out the swim part. Swimming in open water is a lot tougher than swimming in the pool. All in all, I'm happy with my time and it was a lot of fun. I finished about right smack in the middle. So I guess I'm an average amateur triathlete. Now that I have my first one under my belt, I'm preparing for an Olympic distance one in St. George sometime in June.
(Below is a picture with Justin Alstrom, our bikes were right next to each other, pretty random, eh?)

This weekend is my New York trip. I'm traveling solo unless Ryan drives up and hangs out Friday night & Saturday with me. I have my ticket to the Yankees vs. Mets. The biggest obstacle I have to overcome now is the rainy forecast! Wouldn't it be horrible if I flew across the country to watch a game that got rained out! Uggh!

That's all for now. Sorry for no cute kid pics. Maybe I'll post next week and share my New York experience. Hopefully I don't get robbed!

I'm not such a dead beat dad afterall!

2008-04-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the county fair. I decided to quit being such a cheapskate this year, and let buy the kids the unlimited pass to go on all the rides their hearts desired. The minute we walked in they wanted to go on the roller coaster. Renae and I were hungry, so we insisted on the food instead. I love carnival food. Not sure why, but it just tastes great! After dinner, it was a race to the rides. The kids loved everything, the Ferris wheel, fun houses, roller coaster, merry-go-rounds, the lame kid rides that just go in circles and the pirate ship ride (not the one that went upside down). It'll be great when they're just a little bit taller and can go on all the crazy rides that they want to. (Thanks Grandpa Steve for coming along!)

Quick Comments:-
Next week is the triathlon. I'm nervous and excited all at once.
- Aubrey has said a couple of funny things lately. The ones I remember are:
"I'm smart because I eat smarties." and "I learned how to do it (buckle her seat belt) because my brain taught me how."
- David has a 103 degree temperature. I love teething babies.
- I'm eating Apple Jacks right now. Renae hasn't purchased the sugar cereals that I enjoy so much lately, so I made a special trip to the grocery store. I can eat some crap, because I work out too much, I'm wasting away here!
- I'm planning a trip to the holy land. No, not Israel, Yankee Stadium. I've yet to pull the trigger on purchasing the airfare, but the dream weekend would be 5/15 - 5/18. I would see the Mets play the Nationals, then the Yanks play the Mets, then I might head up to Boston to see the Sox play the Brewers. If anybody has any hook-ups or is willing to let some weirdo (me) sleep on their floor for a couple of nights, let me know.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-04-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

(Pictures are below for those who don't want to read the blah blah blah)
For those of you who either don't know, or forgot, yesterday (April 5th) was my birthday. I turned 29 for the first time. Thank you to all who called or emailed or sent large checks payable to me. To those of you who didn't, I'm sure it was due to family emergencies, over scheduling of activities, tension due to the Final Four and the stress associated with bracketology, or you are holding a grudge against me and choose to show it by not wishing me a happy birthday, but rather wishing me an unhappy birthday. Whatever your reason may be, I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars for next year, put it in your outlook, on your mirror, tattoo it on your bicep, put it anywhere and everywhere so we can celebrate together next year.

The birthday was fun. After swimming 1 mile in little over 30 minutes (yeah, you do have to be crazy to want to swim that far), I went to Verrazano's Pizza with the family. Then had some cake with the family, hit up the Priesthood session then to a guys house in the ward to watch the basketball games we missed during general conference. I had fun watching the games even though the wrong teams won.

I got everything I wanted and then some. I didn't really want anything because I went out and bought everything that I wanted about a month ago. I blew way too much money on bike equipment (Yes, I bought some sexy biker shorts. No, I don't like to wear them when the sun is up) for the triathlon (training update below). I also got the thumbs up from the wife to fly out to New York and say farewell to Yankee stadium before the baseball season is over. I'm in the process of coordinating that event.

Training:
Things have been going well. I'm not as disciplined as I should be, but I'm still doing well. Last week I swam twice, ran three times and biked once. I'm terrified of the swim, and very confident with the bike and run, but not so sure how things will be after the swim. On Friday I biked about 20 miles then ran three just to see how it would feel. The answer is it felt fine. The first race is April 19th at Lake Mead. The water should be in the 60's (I hope). I'll post something after that if I survive. If there are no additional posts, then send flowers to Renae.

On a side note, my weight is now the lowest it's been since I got married. For those of you who really want to know, I weighed in at 178 on Saturday.

Kids:
The kids are great. Aubrey prefers to go by Wendy because she is in love with Peter Pan. She has been trying to fly by jumping off stools and she is always pretending to receive phone calls from good 'ol Peter. I'm not too fond of this Pan character... he seems to forward to me. Taking my poor daughter off to Neverland in the middle of the night... that's not going to win me over. Addison is perfect in almost every way. She is a great helper. She also likes to pretend, but she's all about being a princess. She can't wait to go to school next year and I can't believe she's almost 5! David is finally grasping the fact that he too can be mobile. Today he started crawling and I'm sure tomorrow he'll be ripping pages out of books and rolling down the stairs. Updates to come I'm sure.

The Wife:
She's alright I guess... No, she's perfect. She deals with me being gone 2-4 nights a week doing church stuff. She always has dinner ready when I get home and keeps the house nice and clean. She runs this ship like a drill Sergent. The kids all know how to work and it's because their mother taught them. I love it when Addy makes her bed, cleans her dishes, and loads it in the dishwasher. Her and Aubrey clean their bathrooms once a week, regularly empty the dishwasher, and help with dusting, vacuuming and whatever else is asked of them. They're good kids... all thanks to their mother. I don't want Renae to get too big of a head on her shoulders, so please don't mention any of this to her. She'll never know unless you do tell her, she never reads this thing.

Last comments:
-After much hard work, Renae has completed our food storage. We seriously have a year's supply of food per the recommendation on providentliving.org. Now we need to get the water.

-I cheated on my sweets once a week goal during my birthday week. I figured it would be OK. It will be the only time I'll cheat, and I credit the better eating to my six-pack and lower weight. It's amazing what 3 servings of fruit and 4-5 servings of veggies can do.

-Congrats to Crystal for staying within your food budget for the past few months. Renae has been trying to stay within hers... she only has $500 a month to work with though and it's tough.

-Addison's goal for this month is to memorize the articles of faith.
Aubrey's goal is to quit getting scared in the middle of the night.

-If my brother comes in town from Utah, but doesn't take any time to come and visit me, should I consider him dead to me? (Thanks Jake, it was my birthday weekend and you couldn't even say hello!)

Sorry for the long post, but when you only say something once a month, it might as well be worthwhile, or at least take up a lot of space.

(David discovers Oreos)
(Aubrey washes dishes)
(Three kids in a tub)
(Cute Addy)
(Birthday party)
(David crawling)
(Aubrey having fun in the tub, she loves the bathtub)
(My smoking hot wife)

Taylor Oblad's Stupid Tag

2008-03-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Despite my want to not partake of these ridiculous blogging rituals I find myself here typing up what Taylor asked me to do:

Tagged...for the first time.

This one is easy and fast.

Pick up a book you've been reading (what reading? who reads anymore?) or a random book, turn to page 123, go 5 lines down, and type out the next 3 full sentences.

Here we go:

Book - Yearning for the Living God (by F. Enzio Busche, a great read, I highly recommend it. Seriously)

"We gave them housing in our home while Brother Hill served as the responsible building director. He was a plumber, and although he did not have much of an understanding of other aspects of construction, with his humility, dedication, and industry, he was able to provide the direction, continuity, and leadership so necessary for our success. The whole city became very nervous when they heard that we were not hiring any company to do the building for us but that we would do it ourselves."

I hope you're happy Taylor. This was stupid!

The Birthday Bash

2008-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

After much thought and consideration, we decided to do something that the whole family would enjoy... we went to Disneyland. We had a blast! What made the trip even better was the cost. I know that Disneyland and low cost do not go hand in hand, but we scored some tickets from Craigslist for $27 a pop. We stayed at my Uncle's beach house and only had to pay the cleaning fee ($75). Then we brought a bunch of food from home to keep the dining costs down. I'm a cheap guy, but I still like to have fun. One non-cost cutting thing that we did was bring along Abigail, Renae's 12 year old niece. She was a lot of fun and a ton of help.

The quotes:
I've been noticing that Aubrey has been saying a lot of funny things lately. Unfortunately I don't remember them all or write them down. Here is a taste of what I remember:
While driving in the car, "Mom, did you toot? Because it stinks!"
After asking her if she wanted to meet Mickey Mouse, "Dad, you're crazy. Mickey can't come out of the TV."
Addison said, "What's that noise?" and Aubrey replied "It's a mystery!"
She's been using the word "delicious" a lot lately. And the way she pronounces it is so cute.
"Addy's being rude to me, and I don't like it. And I'm not going to play with her anymore."
There has been so much more. I need to write them down when she says them. She is smart and funny. What a gal!

Finally... for Christmas Addison received a pair of Barbie roller skates. To be honest, I didn't think she'd ever learn to skate, but lo and behold, now she's rolling around like Tonya Harding (minus the crowbar). It's funny because when I was taking the pictures, she was striking an awesome "Disney on ice-ish" pose with the hands out. She makes me laugh.

David is still a bum. He doesn't roll much, has no desire to crawl, but he loves to smile and laugh. Whenever I come home he gets a big smile and says "Da da da da." Nothing makes your heart warm-up quite like that. Unfortunately I don't have a heart, I also had my tear ducts removed so I can no longer cry.

A TV show about blogging just came on. I don't want to be anything like this chick or any of the people on the show, so I'm going to bed. Those people are retarded.

Shocked and Amazed

2008-02-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

I'm surprised at the number of people that comment on this thing. I love all of you! Now let's get serious. Renae is turning 30 on Feb. 22nd. She threatened me with death if I throw her a surprise party, so that is out of the question. I suggested a pot-luck kind of an event. She agreed then said something to the affect of "I hate being the center of attention blah blah blah." So... I'm open to suggestions. Do I:
a) do nothing
b) take her out, just the two of us
c) do the pot-luck thing
d) ladies night out
e) rent old sports illustrated blooper movies, tie her up, and make her watch them.
f) ________ (that means write in your own ideas)

Some of you may be thinking why is Josh doing this on the Blog, won't Renae find out? The answer is NO! She doesn't ever look at this thing. She doesn't care about Blogs (blasphemy, I know), and she hates little children too.

On a different note, Saturday was about as good as it gets! After a great date with Renae on Friday night, where we went to dinner and a movie, I got up at 6:00am to get going for the day. I headed to the gym where I lifted weights, did a spin class and hung out on the treadmill for awhile. I finished up with some stretching and a shower, and headed off to get a massage. It was a deep tissue, hot stone action kind of a massage. After that relaxing hour I came home, pigged out (it was my sweet day), wrestled with the kids (while Renae was working out), and then took a nap. This is what life is all about.

Finally, if any of you Las Vegasites are interested in seeing "The Producers" for FREE, call this number 946-4567, and mention the code: LEO and the word that I heard is that you can get free tickets. This week only. Good luck.

I feel like I always have to include pictures. Aubrey has been battling a cold that will turn into Bronchitis or pnuemuonia if we don't do her dang breathing treatments. She sure is cute.

Lazy Blogger

2008-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've decided that I'd rather read what you guys have to write than whatever stupid thing I'll come up with. An big Thanks goes out to Crystal & Becky for being so on top of your blogs to make little people like me feel like jerks for not sharing my world with you.

On that note... I want people to know that I too want to be like Lyndsey Futrell so I signed up for two Triathlons. No, not the Iron Girl, but that would be interesting. The first is @ Lake Mead in April and the second one is at St. George in June. Swimming is my weakest link so I've been building that up. I don't wear a speedo, I wear jammers which is like an extended speedo. It's still gay, but not as gay as it could be.

The other goal we've set is Renae and I only eat sweets one day a week. The week resets on Sunday, and you can pick any day you want, but you only get one day. It's been great in helping me with my candy & chocolate cravings. It's also tough on those long afternoons at work when you wonder why they don't have "corporate nap-times."

I shouldn't do this next part, but I will because Renae never reads this thing and neither does anybody else now. Renae's weight is now less than it was before she had David. She KICKS BUTT (but doesn't take names, she is no respector of people). She's been jogging, and stretching and eating healthy. She's one of those lucky ducks with some smoking hot abs! Too bad for all of you, you will never see them because she is a one-piece bathing suit type of gal.

The kids are all sick, but getting better. Tomorrow Addison is having a pajama party at school. Aubrey has been throwing temper tantrums lately. She's usually pretty mellow & nice, but lately a firey attitude has been creeping up. I think it's about time she gets her butt kicked. Any takers?

Finally, I just got set-apart as the Elder's Quorum President in my ward. I'm very excited about it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm also very nervous because that means I need to grow up. I should've stayed in Neverland with Peter Pan.

I haven't taken or downloaded many pics as of late... sorry about that. Try to enjoy this one.

Time for goals

2007-12-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year where most of us consider setting New Year's Resolutions. We get pumped up about them, and then within 3 months we've quit. I'm a big fan of setting goals. It's fun to challenge yourself. Here are some tips:

Make them attainable. Don't set goals where that will lead to failure. I read an article in Sports Illustrated years ago that Hershel Walker did one million push-ups and sit-ups a year. I wanted to do something like that but I knew that one million was unattainable. I did the math and determined that 75,000 sit-ups and push-ups would be challenging, but doable. So that was my goal.

Write your goal down. Don't just write it down and put it away. Tape them on the bathroom mirror, put it in your car, post it on the refrigerator. Put it all over the place so you will see it and be reminded of it often.

Tell other people about your goals. This helps in two ways. The first is the people you tell will act as a support group. They will ask you about how your goal is progressing. The second way that helps is you are then held accountable to the people you told. They will ask about your progress, and you don't want to respond with, "uh, oh yeah, that thing... well, I quit."

Break large goals up. If you want to do 75,000 push-ups a year, that is approximately 260 a day, 6 days a week. If you want to run a marathon find a running program and stick to it. You don't run 26.2 the first day, you break it up and build up your strength.

Make it up in your mind that you will DO IT! This is the most important part. Mr. Johnson (our 8th grade science teacher) taught us, "If it is to be, it is up to me." You are responsible for your own success (or failure) in life. There is another saying I like, "Whether you think you can, or can't, you're right." When achieving goals, you have to have a determination to make it happen. If you want to do 260 push-ups a day, then you have to make time to do it. You'll be tired at night, but you have to find the motivation to achieve your goal. If you want to progress your career, then you have to find the motivation to increase your knowledge, and skills. Determine what needs to be done and do it.

I'll end this rant by sharing a story my mother-in-law told me. She used to drive school buses and she always loved to drive the short bus (no, I didn't ever ride in her bus, but Renae did). She had a student named Daniel that suffered from cerebral palsy. He couldn't control his body. His muscles and hands wouldn't function, he would shake all the time. Daniel and Debbie (my mother-in-law) set a goal for Daniel that by the end of the school year, Daniel would be able to buckle his own seat belt. Everyday they tried, both morning and night. As the year progressed, Daniel got better at controlling his arms but still couldn't buckle the belt. Finally, on day 155, Daniel buckled his seat belt all by himself. It was the first time he had ever done anything for himself. He screamed "I did it! I did it!" He cried and Debbie cried. It was a great moment.

My challenge for you is to set some goals that will challenge and inspire you towards greatness. We set monthly goals with Addison and Aubrey to help them overcome habits like biting nails, talking back, making their beds and so on. The reward is they get to go on a date with either mom or dad. It's a lot of fun.

If you decide to set a goal of running a marathon, good luck! I ran my first one last June. My goal was to break 4 hours. I ran it in 3 hours 53 minutes and 19 seconds. It was the toughest thing I've ever done mentally and physically. The best part of it was that I lost 15 pounds. The year before I did all those sit-ups and push-ups. The combined effort looked great, if I do say so myself.

Christmas Work Parties

2007-12-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... it's that wonderful time of year. We all love the holidays and the things that make them so special, like Christmas work parties. We've all heard the stories about people making fools of themselves at these social events, only having to show up at work on Monday. Well I work with a guy (he's a wonderful man), that danced his heart out last year at the Christmas party. He took second in the dance competition and won $500. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYllQ-tZ3hs
Please feel free to share your stories.

Burn Baby Burn!

2007-11-27T20:50:00.000-08:00

As promised, new family photos have been posted all over the site. See the slide show below.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My was one that I will never forget. We smoked our turkey. The process is long and difficult, but the end result is worth it. The 18 pound bird cooked from 12:30 am until about 2pm. Around 6am I got up to check on the turkey and make sure the coals are still hot. The heat was low, so I added more coals then went upstairs to get ready for my 5K run. I came back down, and the coals had not yet lit up. I squirted in some lighter fluid, and to my amazement, the coals and the lighter fluid were not yet burning. So, I get out the long match and throw it in. (Unbeknown to me, the lighter fluid had begun to evaporate.) As the match reaches the now gaseous lighter fluid, a burst of flames shot out at me lighting my shirt & shorts on fire. I did the 'ol stop, drop & roll, putting out the flames. I'm now lying on my back in the cold Las Vegas morning thinking about how much pain I'm in. I'm a bit delirious due to lack of sleep and I can't remember what to do for a burn. I limp upstairs and find the boy scout manual which recommends cold water. I hop in the tub, and the whole time I'm thinking, I can still run my race. I get dressed and drive down to the race. I get my number and sweatshirt and I happen to see the medic on staff. I ask him his opinion of my burn, and he recommends that I go to the emergency room. I leave the race, mad about the fact that I wasted $30 bucks. I head down to the emergency room where they clean up my wounds and they teach me how to care for second & third degree burns.

P.S. The turkey was great, but would have tasted better if I didn't burn the hell out of myself.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-11-27T20:49:00.001-08:00

Shoulder Injury

2007-11-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

I started the training for the 'ol triathlon. After my 1st session in the pool I knew it was going to be tough. A couple days later as I go to the pool again and try to grab my gym bag and realize that I can't hardly lift my arm while fully extended I realized that it's REALLY going to be tough. So, I went and saw a physical therapist, turns out that my right shoulder blade is about 7 centimeters too far out to the right. Ryan Miller will recall our sophomore year playing against Western H.S. I was playing corner and the Warriors ran a sweep left. The outside linebacker didn't do anything so I see a big fullback coming my way with a tailback right behind him. I tried to "man-up" and take them out, but this dude crushed my feeble 140 pound sophomoric body. Next thing I know, I'm running off the field, waving one arm while the other arm plays dead. Turns out because I never properly fixed that dislocated shoulder and now I'm all jacked up. Thanks for laughing Ryan! I'm 2 weeks into therapy and things are feeling better. In the meantime I'm biking and running. That training schedule will make it here soon. Basically I'm going to do a "3-3-3". 3 days a week biking, 3 days a week running and 3 days a week swimming. Then every two weeks or so do them one right after the other.

The next post will have updated family photos and a little discussion on goals.

The family is doing well in case anybody cares. Addison and Aubrey have been working their butts off recently in an attempt to earn extra cash for the holidays. Renae runs a sweatshop here. These kids will learn how to work!

I hate not adding pictures, so here is an old favorite. Nate Haldeman is the photographer and the alignment of this picture really shows the beauty that Moab, Ut. has to offer. If you've never been, then you've got to go. If you plan ahead, try to schedule a river trip with Nate. It's a blast!

I'm NOT one of the girls!

2007-11-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun lately. Halloween was great and prior to that we went to one of our favorite vacation spots... San Luis Obispo / Arroyo Grande in California.

Halloween was fun with way too much candy. We attended two different trunk-or-treats and then did trick-or-treating on Halloween day. I remember the good 'ol days when they'd put razor blades in candy and give you candy apples, or pennies... what happened to those days? Addison was a cowgirl.

Aubrey was a fairy (We're lame for not taking more pictures).

David was a cow, Renae was a mean Cowgirl .

I was a Cowboy/Bandit wearing really uncomfortable clothes. Those of you who may have read Ryan Miller's blog about fashion many months ago will be happy to know that I am one of his prodigés. The thing that makes this costume so unique is the accessories. Notice the bananas in the holsters, the forks for the spurs, and the horse. Those of you thinking it'd take at least $100 for you to wear that ridiculous outfit, just know that that is exactly how much I won at a costume contest at work. I had to take my WIFE'S pants off after an hour; they were cutting off the circulation in my legs.

While traveling we did lots of fun things. I got sick, we went on a hike at the beach, went to a farm/barn, played Foosball, relaxed, watched movies and ate tons of great food. Life is supposed to have lots of relaxing moments spent with friends and family.

World watch out... I've opened up an account with Scottrade and I've begun blowing my kids college funds on stocks that are declining in value. We've been setting a little bit of money aside for our kids future and they'd been sitting in some stupid low yield C.D., so I took it out and invested it wisely. After two days, their money has already declined in value by 8%!!! Now that's some smart investing. No worries, I'm in it for the long haul and I have a bit of confidence that they'll go up in value. If you have any stock tips or suggestions, throw them my way.

There was a recent comment that suggested that I was one of the girls. As fun as that may sound, I'll disagree. I'm trying to get Renae to take over my duties, but until today she hadn't looked at this thing since the first post. Sometimes she acts like a grandma afraid of the Internet thinking it's going to attack her children in their sleep like the Boogieman. So as flattered as I was about being one of the girls, no thank you. I don't have time for that, I got to run... I have an massage appointment then I think I'm going to get my nails done.

And finally, if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, it does in deed make a sound. I only say that because I did not watch the World Series at all, but the Red Sox still won, and I am NOT happy about that. They've wronged me in a previous life.

Battling Depression

2007-10-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Call the suicide watch team. Life is no good at the Haldeman household. The Yankees have been eliminated from post-season play. I have been a Yankee fan since I can remember and watching them lose year after year is beginning to really hurt. Since I've been married they have not won a World Series Title. I told Renae earlier this year that the man cub (David) would change all of this. Since it hasn't, I have kicked Renae and the kids out of the house. They are living in a van, I can only assume that they'll move down by a river (it makes fishing easier). Please do NOT open your homes to them, it will only cause bad luck and depression. Of course this is NOT true, but the thought has crossed my mind.

The girls are getting psyched for Halloween. Addison is going to be a Cowgirl. Aubrey will be a fairy, and David will be a Cow. I hate dressing up. I figure I dressed up everyday in High School, why should I dress up now? I will however entertain the girls by dressing up as a "bandit." Renae is going to go along with the Western theme and be a "cooky" or someone who cooks the food for the stage coach team (or a cowgirl without stealing Addison's thunder). Aubrey won't fit in with the theme, but she's a bit of an oddball anyway. She really has a great personality. She's very witty, quick to catch on to sarcasm, and loves to laugh.

Here's what you want... pictures:

Addy was wearing her swimsuit and wanted to get all "cowgirled" up.

Aubrey tumbling @ Gymnastics.

Aubrey & Addy @ Gymnastics

Aubrey, Taylor, Addy & Kaitlin

Valley of Fire Campout

2007-10-06T14:28:00.001-07:00

Renae's Pics

2007-09-24T22:09:00.003-07:00

I suck at NFL Picks!

2007-09-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I need to carry around the camera more to capture more moments. Addison and Aubrey started up dance this past week. Addy danced last year, and this is Aubrey's first year. It's fun to watch them get so excited about it. The get in their tights and run around the house shaking their hips and loving life. It's great. Next week I promise pictures of the girls in all their dancing glory.

I went on a campout with the Teacher's quorum to Lake Mead. It rained on us Friday night, but Saturday was great. It started out gloomy and cloudy, but as soon as we hit the water the sun came out and the clouds went away. Because of the gloomy start, I ignored the need for sunblock. I'm now paying the price for that as I look like a freaking LOBSTER.

The thing we're looking forward to this week is camping. We've been planning this for awhile and the girls are getting excited. We recently purchased a tent, some sleeping bags and other camping necesities. We'll be going to the Valley of Fire this Thursday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. The girls are nervous about the fire, and excited about sleeping in a tent. Pictures of that are to follow as well.

I'd like to thank all of you for your posts. It's great to know that alot of you have a ton of time on your hands to look at something stupid that I've typed up. Thank you for your comments. I enjoy going to your sites and seeing your blogs.

I've been harrassed for not having more pictures of Renae, so here are some. If she ever decides to check out the site she can let me know if she approves or not. If she doesn't approve, they'll shortly be removed.

One last thing... I've been doing NFL picks, and so far this year I'm horrible. I'm going to go gambling show on you here shortly and give you my top 5 picks sure to go wrong.

Josh

Summer Recap and look ahead

2007-09-17T20:58:00.002-07:00

This past summer was great. I wasn't cool enough to blog back then, so I'm playing catch up now. We started off by going to Ogden, UT where I ran my first marathon. The goal was to break 4 hours which I did. Three hours, fifty-four minutes and I can't remember the seconds. At the 20 mile mark I was on pace to finish in 3 hours 40 minutes. I allowed that to get in my head as I took longer water breaks and walked more than I should. At the conclusion, an amazing feeling of accomplishment came over me like I've never had. I fought back tears and told myself that tough marathon runners don't cry! The next day as we drove home I had intense pain in my feet and quads. By Monday the pain was practically gone. I've been asked since then if I'll do another one. My answer is a resounding YES! I won't be doing it soon though. It takes too much time away from my family right now, and the long weekend runs would leave me worthless to help around the house and the yard. It's tough mowing the lawn when you get done running 20+ miles. One last note, I lost 15 pounds by running and trimmed a lot of fat away.

Later on in the summer we took our annual trip to San Clemente California which was filled with walks to the beach for boogie boarding, sand castle building, burying kids in the sand, finding sea shells, going to baseball games, and a trip to Knott's Berry Farm. We had a great time with everything. Renae almost put the beatdown on some lady at Knott's Berry Farm. The lady was old and cranky, Renae was hot and hungry. It wasn't a good mix. It all ended well with the lady shutting up and life moving on.

I work with the teacher's quorum in our ward. We had a great trip to Yosemite National Park where we worked on the cycling merit badge. We road 100 miles in the park and around it, went on some hikes and I was inspired for a goal that is 5-7 years out; scale the face of half dome. Renae is adamant that it won't happen. She refuses to talk about it. I'm going to train and be prepared for it, and just as an added measure, I'll take out a little more life insurance before I do it. This picture has half-dome in the background. It takes about 3 days to climb. The first day is hiking to the base, the next two days are scaling it.

Addison and Aubrey are starting dance again this Wednesday. Addison is going to pre-school 2x a week, and David laughs now, but still cannot speak, walk, crawl, swim, work, play baseball, catch a football, balance the books, or comprehend a financial statement. We're working with him though. (Addy, Aubrey & Cousin Cyrus after Addy's Christmas recital)

Life is good. Lately my kick has been to motivate people into action. On that note, there is a 5k Thanksgiving morning. It's at Bunker Park (Tenaya & Alexander). The cost is $25 to run. Come run, then you won't feel guilty about stuffing your face later on that day. Here is the link: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1470973 Hope to see you there!

Addy, Aubrey & David

2007-09-17T20:58:00.001-07:00

Addison's 4th B-Day

2007-09-11T21:23:00.001-07:00

2007-09-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's hard for a princess when she doesn't get her way.

My first Blog

2007-09-10T20:45:00.001-07:00

I feel like Addison does right now. Excited and nervous all at the same time. Our little Addy starts pre-school tomorrow. It's crazy how big the family is getting and how old the girls are.

Here's a quick update as to who we are, and what we do.

Josh - I'm a banker, with Bank of Nevada. I love sports, and I'm currently training for a triathlon. Earlier this year I ran a marathon. It was lots of fun, very challenging. I used to think that marathon runners are stupid. Now I know that they are. For the love, who in their right mind would run 26.2 miles for fun?

Renae - She's the glue. Without her the house would literally fall apart. She's a workaholic. She's always doing something. Either cleaning, cooking, helping the kids, reading a book, working out, finishing a quilt, memorizing the dictionary. It's always a new adventure.

Addison - She is 4 now, and as mentioned earlier is beginning pre-school tomorrow. She loves to dance, color, paint, sing, boss around her sister, help cook, clean and whatever else her mom does. She says that she wants to be a mom when she grows up, just like Renae. Most of the time when she's pretending, they play mom and dad. Addy is mom (or Renae) and Aubrey is Addison. Weird how that works out. Regardless, it's fun and they are both cute.

Aubrey - Watch out world for this girl. She is cute, smart and very witty. She's the type that will be the valedictorian, class clown, and prom queen. She's always jumping around, cracking jokes, and flirting with her cute curly hair, and her big blue eyes. That girl has a steel trap memory too. She's going to be joining Addison on the dance front this year. I wanted them to do karate, but they preferred to do ballet. What's up with that?

David - I think he's destined for greatness, but as of right now he's just a bump on the log. Most of the time he sits around doing nothing. I recommend that he gets up and do something, but he just lays there. When he tries to sit up, he usually passes gas. It's rather amusing. He's already sleeping through the night, and is very serious. We've decided that we're going to keep him after all.

Thanks for getting to know us. I'll see how I do at this. To be honest I feel out of place right now with the writing thing. Hopefully I won't put my foot in my mouth and get myself fired, sued, or anything else.

Josh